"It's impressive to be so energetic this early; I thought you'd be sleeping in."
By the time Izayoi finished showering and came out in just her pajamas, a teasing voice immediately reached her ears.
Following the direction of the voice, she saw Shion wearing an apron, busy making breakfast in the kitchen.
As various departments fell into a routine, the Hokage's secretary only needed to handle a few important matters, and the workload for Hinata and the other two had significantly decreased.
Since a year ago, the three of them no longer had to rush to the Hokage's Office simultaneously.
Even if Izayoi didn't go to the Hokage's Office, they could take turns attending to their duties each day and manage all the tasks; sometimes they didn't have to do anything at all.
If they wanted, they could just leave a Shadow Clone there and let their main body act freely.
Today, it was Karin's turn to be on duty, while Hinata and Shion were quite relaxed.
Hinata had already gone back to the Hyuga Clan to meet Hanabi; the two had planned a trip, leaving just Shion and Izayoi at home.
Seeing Shion tease her, Izayoi quickly appeared behind her, wrapping her arms around the girl's waist and resting her chin on her fragrant shoulder, grinning mischievously, "Getting jealous this early in the morning? Should I bring you along next time?"
"Hmph, dream on!"
Shion seemed to recall something, her face turning red as she elbowed Izayoi, clearly hinting at some story behind it.
"Hey, are you blushing?"
"Stop it! Where are your hands going? Go wash them, then wait outside. I still need to finish breakfast."
"Hehe, I'll help you!"
"Eek… that tickles! If you're going to help, then just help, don't get handsy."
"I'm just trying to be helpful!"
The atmosphere in the kitchen was warm and cheerful.
From the conversation between Izayoi and Shion, it was clear that over the past two years, Izayoi had not only settled down with Hinata but had also developed a much closer relationship with Shion.
Not just Shion, but even Karin, who had gotten close to Izayoi even earlier, had also formed a bond with him.
To be precise, they had finally been accepted by Hinata.
Anyone who wasn't blind could see the feelings that both girls had for Izayoi.
Hinata allowing them to live in Izayoi's home was already a tacit acknowledgment of their relationship.
However, Hinata worried that someone might sneak away and get ahead of her as the First Wife, which is why she had never made a clear statement.
It wasn't until last year, after she celebrated her birthday and officially came of age, receiving the best gift of all—her relationship with Izayoi—that Hinata finally expressed her feelings, becoming true sisters with Shion and Karin.
Over the past two years, the Rookies not only underwent changes in status but also saw significant physical transformations.
After all, it was mentioned earlier that around the ages of fourteen or fifteen, boys enter a real growth phase, leading to substantial changes in both strength and physique.
The most notable example was Uzumaki Naruto, who, at graduation, was the shortest among the Rookies, even shorter than Sakura Haruno, but had now grown to a height of six feet.
Sasuke Uchiha had also reached six feet two inches.
In contrast, the more mature Izayoi and the three girls had not changed at all in height over the past two years, remaining at six feet two inches and just over five feet seven inches, respectively.
They felt that this height was already perfect and had deliberately used Yin Seal to lock in those measurements, not wanting their growth to become awkward.
However, over the past two years, the aura surrounding Izayoi and the others had changed dramatically.
Izayoi appeared more mature but became more playful around Hinata and the others.
Meanwhile, Hinata and her friends seemed to have transformed from girls into women, exuding a more mature and beautiful presence. When standing alongside Ino and Sakura, it was evident that they carried a hint of a more mature, married woman's aura.
Especially when they styled their hair like that of a married woman, they looked like wives.
This change in Hinata's aura brought immense joy to the Hyuga Clan, with Hiashi Hyuga often probing to find out when Izayoi planned to marry Hinata.
As for Izayoi, he had long made up his mind.
After finishing breakfast amidst their playful banter, Izayoi, at Shion's request, accompanied her back to the Demon Country to provide medical treatment for the citizens who revered the Priestess.
As one of the most isolated countries in the Shinobi World, only a few residents of the Demon Country had heard of Izayoi's name, and none had seen his face.
The country had no ninjas; only the Daimyo's guards possessed Chakra. Even if they knew of the God of Shinobi, they couldn't comprehend what kind of being he was, and not even a photo of Izayoi had circulated in their land.
The people of this country still revered the Priestess.
Especially since Shion had "eliminated" Moryo, the Demon Country no longer faced the crisis of Moryo's disasters, and she treated the citizens every year, no longer foretelling others' deaths, which had increased her followers.
As a result, whenever Izayoi came to assist Shion in the Demon Country, he was met with hostility from countless people, regardless of gender.
However, as the Priestess was a lineage passed down through generations, they could not stop her from seeking true love, so they could only watch helplessly as Izayoi took their goddess away.
But seeing Shion smile more often, shedding her previous coldness and aloofness, it was clear to everyone that she was now very happy, and gradually, those followers began to accept Izayoi and felt gratitude towards him.
They slowly realized that their Priestess was also human; she longed to live like ordinary people and find her own true love.
Thus, these followers began to bless their Priestess.
With the return of their Priestess, the Demon Country soon became lively.
Regardless of whether they were feeling unwell, people flocked to the shrine.
Shion only needed to use a summoning technique to call forth the Slug Sage's clone, allowing her to perform group medical ninjutsu to help the residents of Demon Country with their check-ups and treatments.
For those with more severe ailments, Shion would personally take charge, utilizing her already exceptional medical ninjutsu, along with her Priestess Power, to drive away their illnesses.
Of course, if there were any conditions that Shion found inconvenient to handle, Izayoi would step in and use Yin-Yang Release to assist with their treatment.
One couldn't help but say that the residents of Demon Country were truly fortunate.
Even the people from Konoha weren't worthy of having Shion and Izayoi personally intervene; yet, these residents could receive the unreserved help of Shion, who inherited the power of the First Priestess, and the God of Shinobi.
This time, Izayoi was also assisting Shion.
However, the treatment wasn't over yet when a sudden wave of unfamiliar information surged into Izayoi's mind.
Before he could fully digest this information, he abruptly turned to look in a certain direction, his eyes filled with surprise.
"Darling, what's wrong?"
Shion immediately noticed the change in Izayoi and couldn't help but ask.
"Shion, I have something important to take care of, so I'll be leaving for a bit. I'll send a Wood Clone to help you later."
Before Shion could respond, Izayoi's figure vanished without warning, indicating his urgency.
When Izayoi reappeared, he had already left the Shinobi World and found himself on a deserted island.
Standing on a cliff, Izayoi gazed out at the vast ocean, but his focus wasn't on the water; instead, he was fixated on an island across the sea, which was separated from him by the Shinobi World.
More specifically, he was staring at a black-red portal that appeared on that island.
This portal was different from the Great Sun Spirit created by Sasuke Uchiha, nor was it the Kamui produced by Hinata.
At that moment, Sasuke was busy training the members of the Anbu, ensuring they remained vigilant during these peaceful times.
Meanwhile, Hinata was out shopping in a city within the Land of Fire with her little sister-in-law.
That black-red portal had nothing to do with either of them.
Aside from them, only two other individuals and one deceased person in this world could create such a portal.
The deceased was Hamura Otsutsuki. If his power allowed him to traverse between the Pure Land and the real world like Hagoromo Otsutsuki, he wouldn't need to create a portal; he could simply appear anywhere in the Shinobi World.
However, if he did appear, Izayoi would sense it immediately.
Because their souls could not block Izayoi's perception.
The remaining two individuals were Izayoi himself and the one with the black eyes and Divine Technique... Isshiki Otsutsuki.
In the past two years, to those who knew him, Izayoi had seemed lazy, often appearing like a slacker. Whenever he went out with Hinata and the others, he would either use the Wood Transformation Technique or cast Genjutsu to pave the way, leading others to perceive him as a mysterious figure.
In reality, Izayoi had been extremely busy during these two years.
His main body frequently entered the Other Dimension to assist Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi with their experiments.
Additionally, he had utilized the Multiple Wood Clone Technique to create hundreds of Wood Clones, which spread across the Shinobi World and explored countless Other Dimensions in search of Isshiki Otsutsuki's whereabouts.
Yet, in these two years, Izayoi had achieved no results.
If it weren't for knowing about Boruto and using Ame-no-Tokotachi to observe the past, as well as a scientific team quietly advancing technology in the Shinobi World behind the scenes, Izayoi would have even doubted the existence of someone like Isshiki Otsutsuki.
Izayoi had often lamented that Isshiki Otsutsuki truly didn't resemble a pure-blooded Otsutsuki at all.
After being overshadowed by Kaguya Otsutsuki, this pure-blooded Otsutsuki had become exceedingly cautious.
Even when Izayoi had asked the Daimyos to maintain the status quo and simply manage Konoha, Isshiki Otsutsuki showed no signs of emerging.
If he had been hiding in the Other Dimension since Izayoi learned the Sage of Six Paths Mode, then Izayoi had to admire the upper hand of this Rabbit Goddess.
What incredible patience!
However, Isshiki Otsutsuki's ability to endure meant he likely wouldn't return to the real world for several years; he would probably hide for decades, only emerging after Izayoi had passed away.
A thousand years ago, Isshiki had done the same to Hagoromo Otsutsuki.
If he couldn't compete with Kaguya's offspring, then he would remain in the Other Dimension until that offspring perished.
As long as Jigen's body hadn't collapsed and he had consumed plenty of chakra pills, evolving into a being with black eyes, even if he had only half a body left, his lifespan would still be longer than that of Kaguya Otsutsuki and many pure-blooded Otsutsuki.
Logically, he should remain hidden in the Other Dimension until Izayoi passed away before making his move.
The sudden appearance now must indicate something important.
"Finally willing to show yourself? This time, you absolutely won't have a chance to escape!" Izayoi murmured.
Then, he and the hundreds of Wood Clones scattered across the Shinobi World activated Yomotsu Hirasaka to enter the time-space tunnel, tearing open a small rift in a dark place. The far-sight and x-ray vision abilities of the Rinne Tenseigan surged forth from the rift, covering the entire Shinobi World.
Izayoi's main body focused intently on the island where the black portal had appeared.
Meanwhile, the other Wood Clones continuously scanned the island, spreading out in all directions, leaving no area unchecked, not even the light-permeable layers beneath the sea.
The scene returned to the island.
The black-red portal, shaped like a black hole, appeared for less than five seconds before vanishing without a trace.
During this time, Jigen, who was parasitized by Isshiki and marked with Karma, did not emerge from within.
At first glance, it seemed like a peculiar phenomenon.
Neither Izayoi nor the Wood Clones detected any chakra or life fluctuations.
Thus, Izayoi and the Wood Clones simultaneously activated Ame-no-Tokotachi, observing the future of various regions on the island.
Soon, Izayoi's gaze locked onto a specific area.
Under a tree in that area, a gray-furred wild rabbit was hopping around, searching for food.
Three minutes later, a sudden, human-like look of confusion appeared on the rabbit's face.
Then, it began to hop toward the seaside.
At first, it was just the ordinary hopping of a wild rabbit.
But a few minutes later, the rabbit surprisingly leaped several meters, even over ten meters, quickly reaching the shore.
As it made its way to the seaside, a massive shark suddenly emerged from the dark depths of the ocean, appearing in the illuminated layer beneath the island, swiftly swimming toward the shore where the rabbit was.
Seeing this scene, Izayoi instantly understood.
"What a genius idea; no wonder I could only find their outer layer," Izayoi couldn't help but exclaim. "I thought he hadn't gathered his subordinates yet or had hidden them in another dimension, but it turns out they were concealed in the depths of the ocean."
In Izayoi's eyes, that enormous shark was not a real shark at all, but a robotic fish.
It was a submarine that didn't belong to this era.
Inside this submarine, Izayoi saw a group of scientists, along with many high-tech products.
These scientists were all dressed in white coats.
Only one person was wearing a black suit and orange sunglasses.
Though it was their first time seeing him, through glimpses of the future and the past, Izayoi recognized his identity—none other than... Amado!
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