"Hm? Did Deidara and Tobi already leave? Never mind, next I'll go to Otogakure to find Kabuto."
After Li Xing woke up from his second sleep, he found that Deidara and Tobi were gone. He couldn't be bothered to think about it, so he packed his belongings and prepared to head to Otogakure in the Land of Rice.
...
This time, Li Xing planned to travel leisurely, giving Kabuto some free time. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
"Yugito, are you alright? Don't worry about it. If Kumogakure doesn't want you, we do. Hoshi-kun and I will always be behind you."
Karin saw that Yugito had been moping all the way, not even bothering to argue. She had no choice but to tightly hold Yugito's hand and comfort her.
"I'm fine, you don't need to comfort me." Yugito forced a smile, pretending to be alright, but anyone could tell she was unhappy.
"You don't look fine at all! Can't you be more energetic? So what if Kumogakure put a bounty on you? It's no big deal. If they don't believe you, it just proves they never valued you. Even if you went back now, without the tailed beast, they'd only treat you as a criminal."
"Look at Hoshi-kun. He's a disciple of the Fifth Hokage of Konohagakure and has now joined the Akatsuki. Even Tsunade didn't put a bounty on him. These are the people you should be concerned about. Since they don't care about you, why should you care about their bounty?"
Yugito was stunned: "Li Xing... you're a disciple of the Fifth Hokage? Then why..."
"Yes, I'm Tsunade's disciple, but not anymore. If you must say, Tsunade and I are more like family. I just have a few personal thoughts." Li Xing walked ahead, Tsunade's face flashing through his mind.
"Family...?" Yugito lowered her head and murmured. She recalled becoming a jinchuriki at the age of two, being hated by everyone at first, and then, through her own will, becoming a perfect jinchuriki and gaining recognition. But in the end, this was the result. Perhaps, as Li Xing said, those people only respected jinchuriki who could control the power of the tailed beast, and they only loved the village. She herself was dispensable. It would be the same if someone else became the jinchuriki.
Yugito, with her head down, didn't notice that Li Xing had stopped and turned around. She accidentally ran straight into Li Xing's arms, and Li Xing embraced her.
"Don't think about those troublesome things. Now, you have me and Karin by your side. We are truly a family."
Li Xing was now half a head taller than Yugito. Yugito looked up at his face, her eyes involuntarily reddening, but her pride wouldn't allow her to cry.
"Cry, just let it out. After crying, you will no longer be Yugito, the Second of Kumogakure. You will be a woman who belongs only to Li Xing."
Upon hearing Li Xing's words, Yugito could no longer hold back. She wrapped her arms around Li Xing's waist and buried her face in his chest, sobbing. Li Xing smiled and raised a hand to stroke Yugito's hair.
For Li Xing, who had lost his parents at a young age, family was the most important thing. Everyone in the Butterfly Mansion, Tsunade and Shizune whom he met here, Karin and Yugito by his side, were all Li Xing's family. It was just that this family relationship might only be that of husband and wife. (Did you think I kept so many female characters from Demon Slayer single for no reason? But don't misunderstand, those three little ones don't count. Kanzaki Aoi, it depends on my mood. Miss Nin, you guess for yourself...)
(*￣3￣)╭♡...
Otogakure, within Orochimaru's research base.
Kabuto slumped in his chair, staring blankly at Orochimaru's research achievements before him, unsure of what to do. Ever since Orochimaru's failed reincarnation, Sasuke had taken Suigetsu, and Karin and Yugimaru, whom Kabuto had brought back, had also left, disappearing into seclusion.
The Orochimaru base was now empty, leaving only Kabuto to ponder life.
"I have once again lost the meaning of my existence. From the beginning, I had nothing..."
"No, your existence has meaning, Kabuto. Do you remember what I told you before? I acknowledge your existence and hope you can surpass Orochimaru. Now is the time for you to take your first step forward!"
Li Xing slowly emerged from the shadows, with Karin and Yugito following behind him. The person Li Xing needed to find was Orochimaru's subordinate, Kabuto.
"Li Xing, what are you doing here? Lord Orochimaru is already dead. I can't achieve what Lord Orochimaru could by myself. I'm of no use to you."
Kabuto lowered his head and mocked himself. He never thought he could surpass Orochimaru, and Li Xing's words were meaningless to him.
Li Xing got straight to the point, throwing a scroll and a piece of ore at him. The scroll contained the forbidden jutsu invented by the Second Hokage, Edo Tensei, and the ore was a special meteorite collected from the underwater world.
"The scroll is Edo Tensei, and the ore is what Orochimaru wanted. You can try to incorporate this ore into Edo Tensei and see what happens. If you succeed, then you will have surpassed Orochimaru."
Kabuto looked at the scroll and the ore on the ground, a sudden impulse striking him. He immediately picked up the Edo Tensei scroll and the extraterrestrial ore.
"Can I really do it?"
Li Xing walked up to Kabuto and placed his hands on his shoulders. "You can. I believe in you. I am the one who truly acknowledges you. The meaning of your existence has always been here with me."
Kabuto looked up at Li Xing. In that instant, his eyes behind his glasses seemed to regain their brilliance.
"Li Xing-sama, from today onwards, I wish to be your right-hand man and help you improve Edo Tensei."
Li Xing smiled. He had not misjudged. Kabuto had already understood Li Xing's intentions without him saying anything.
"Very good. From now on, you are the last member of our team. Ninja teams always have four members, so it's perfect. However, you must respect Karin and Yugito, they are my wives."
"Yes, Li Xing-sama, Karin-sama, Yugito-sama. My name is Kabuto."
After successfully recruiting Kabuto, Li Xing walked to a bottle by the wall. Floating in the bottle was Orochimaru's severed arm. Li Xing punched the bottle, shattering it, and took out a ring from his little finger. The ring had the character '空' (Kū, emptiness) written on it. The mission to retrieve the ring was complete.
"Kabuto, pack up any useful documents here, and then we'll prepare to leave. Edo Tensei requires DNA from the living, but bones will do as well, so we're going grave-robbing."
"Yes!"
...
In the days that followed, Li Xing took Kabuto around, digging up graves. As for the sacrifices for Edo Tensei, they simply captured some ninja from Kumogakure. Most of them were ANBU ninja who were sent to find and kill the rogue ninja Yugito. At first, Yugito felt some pity, but as more and more ninja from Kumogakure came to kill her, Yugito's love for Kumogakure was completely extinguished. Now, Yugito actively captured ninja from Kumogakure to be sacrifices for Edo Tensei.
Just as Li Xing and the others were engrossed in grave-robbing, drawing cards, and conducting experiments, Kakuzu and Hidan had also successfully captured Han, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki.
(Is it cruel? But it's a necessary sacrifice. Sacrificing Kumogakure to fulfill my protagonist's destiny is simply the greatest heroic tale.)