Poke, poke.
While walking quietly, Uchiha Hikari poked Makoto and pulled him aside.
Glancing at Raiga Kurosuki, who was staring blankly at the scenery on the other side of the giant hand, she whispered, "You asked that earlier... so does that mean he actually starts a family in the future?"
The inherently kind-hearted Hikari was afraid of misunderstanding him.
Although starting a family doesn't necessarily mean they aren't "bonded together" people—like Hashirama Senju and Madara—she wanted to be sure.
"Oh, that's not necessarily true. We should go by what the evidence says, not what he thinks."
"In the future, a person appears who claims to be Raiga Kurosuki's daughter. But she didn't look like him at all—blonde hair and with a top celebrity looks. Of course, the looks could be attributed to her mother, but her age is unexplainable."
"Raiga Kurosuki's death is supposed to happen... well, basically now. Yet twenty years later in the Future, the person claiming to be his daughter was at most sixteen years old."
"..."
Uchiha Hikari fell silent.
The math wasn't mathing!
The information seemed a bit overwhelming!
'The father dies twenty years ago, but the daughter is only sixteen?'
'This must be because Orochimaru kindly helped Raiga's wife with time-delayed fertilization in the future, right? It must be.'
"Don't overthink it. Look at his reaction just now—he doesn't even care himself." Makoto patted Hikari's shoulder.
In Buntan Kurosuki's memories, her mother's most frequent words were, "You're just like your useless father."
Although Raiga Kurosuki was indeed useless, not everyone had the right to call him useless.
As one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, bullying ordinary ninjas was no problem for him.
As for Buntan's mother being some great clan ninja from the Hidden Mist? That was even more impossible.
After the "Bloody Mist" era began, bloodline clans were essentially wiped out.
If her mother really had the status and right to insult Raiga, she wouldn't have left no name behind—especially when Mei Terumi was so short-handed for talent later on.
A reasonable speculation:
Raiga might have indeed had sex with her, but Buntan wasn't his biological daughter.
It was just that this identity made it easier to inherit the Kiba blades, so her mother directly had Buntan appear in the Hidden Mist as "Raiga's daughter" for clout.
One could only say Kisame was quite lucky.
Kisame killed the girl he was on a mission with back then.
That girl was actually quite gentle; she probably wouldn't do the same shady things as Buntan's mother.
But the fact that Kisame even killed such a normal girl means someone like Buntan's mother would never survive being in the same team with Kisame.
That's actually a good thing.
Otherwise, in Boruto, that guy Shizuma Hoshigaki—who looks like Michael Jackson and seems to have wandered over from the One Piece set—probably wouldn't claim to be from the "Hoshigaki Clan" but would directly declare himself Kisame's son instead!
...
On the other side of the Golem's hand.
Ranmaru was giving directions while Hashirama Senju controlled the wooden giant's movement.
With his amiable personality and natural charisma, Hashirama gradually made the wary Ranmaru lower his guard.
...Well.
Actually, it was more like the young feminine boy Ranmaru made Hashirama lower his guard.
Because this guy blurted out everything!
He was the First Hokage.
He was revived through Impure World Reincarnation.
In this Edo Tensei form, he couldn't use his full power from his prime.
One sentence after another, Hashirama cheerfully revealed his entire stat sheet without any reservation.
Hearing Hashirama's words, Raiga, who had been looking dispirited, suddenly brightened up.
'Can't use full power from his prime?'
Could he actually be all back and no bite?
Could this wooden giant they were riding on just look massive but actually shatter at the slightest touch like balsa wood?
Thinking this, Raiga reached behind his back.
Remembering that his Kiba swords had already been stolen by Makoto, he felt like crying but had no tears left!
He could only clench his fist, channel his frustration, and throw a full-power punch downward at the wood.
CRACK.
"AAAAHHH!"
Raiga clutched his hand and rolled on the ground, howling in pain.
'So damn hard!'
Hearing Raiga's cries, Ranmaru anxiously turned to look.
But all he saw was Raiga rolling around alone, while Makoto and Uchiha Hikari were clearly keeping their distance, looking at him like he was an idiot.
"This guy's something else. He's punching a wooden giant that even a Tailed Beast Ball can't break," Makoto complained.
Did this Raiga guy really think Wood Release had the same durability as regular Home Depot lumber?
The Nine-Tailed Beast's point-blank Tailed Beast Ball could be caught directly by the wooden giant's hand and thrown back like a volleyball.
And this dude try to punch it?
After howling for a while, Raiga finally quieted down.
If he hadn't stopped, Hikari would have considered using Amaterasu to sealed his mouth just to shut him up.
"Just... who are you people..." Raiga asked weakly, cradling his shattered hand.
Uchiha Madara-style Susanoo... Impure World Reincarnated Hashirama Senju... Were these things he was supposed to be facing?
"I'm an ally of the Mizukage. I came back this time to capture the Three-Tails, so I'm also collecting the missing Ninja Blades to give to the Mizukage as a meeting gift."
Makoto didn't hide anything and directly stated his purpose.
"Ah?? An ally of the Mizukage?" Raiga was stunned.
Back in the Land of Water, he'd recently heard rumors about the changes in the Hidden Mist Village.
The Mizukage now controlled the entire Land of Water's lifeline, wielding immense power that could be said to completely surpass even the First Mizukage.
Meanwhile, the Hidden Mist had undergone large-scale reforms and was no longer the "Village of the Bloody Mist."
Many rogue ninjas, including the Six-Tails Jinchuriki, had chosen to return to the village and serve again.
After all, such changes in the village were good news for the vast majority of people.
Even someone like Zabuza, who originally had a fearsome reputation, would have chosen to return to the village if he hadn't previously promised Makoto to stay in the Land of Waves.
However, nothing can satisfy everyone.
Some people simply enjoy killing and revel in a twisted atmosphere—there's no helping that.
And Raiga, if he were still in the village, would undoubtedly be one of them.
His hobby of holding funerals for those he killed could only be freely indulged in the lawless Bloody Mist era.
So, despite hearing about the changes, Raiga had no intention of returning.
If he went back, how could he continue his perverse hobby?
But now he changed his mind—after all, he'd lost his Kiba blades.
"Well... even if the Hidden Mist has the swords now, no one there can unleash the true power of the Kiba like I can. I'll pledge allegiance to the Fifth Mizukage and follow her orders if you give them back..."
"You're overthinking it. Coincidentally, there is indeed someone in the Hidden Mist Village right now who can wield the Kiba's power better than you."
Makoto shattered Raiga's fantasy instantly.
Thinking he could "compromise to survive," retrieve his Lightning Blade, and reclaim the honor of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen? Pure wishful thinking.
"Don't take it personally. I recall that inheriting the Ninja Blades has always been based on strength, right? I might give you a chance when the time comes."
With that, Makoto paid no further attention to Raiga.
Because the wooden golem had stopped and their destination had been reached.