Arrival at Kumogakure

Perhaps to avoid complications or simply because of his impatience, the Fourth Raikage ordered everyone to set off for Kumogakure immediately after returning.

Karui had just undergone surgery. Though the bleeding had stopped, his wounds were not yet healed, so Zhang Miao ordered the Hyena Clan to prepare a stretcher for Karui to be carried on.

Naturally, Zhang Miao didn't miss the chance to enjoy some comfort himself. He arranged for a palanquin carried by four people for his travel.

Thus, the group set off, with the Fourth Raikage and Amai leading, Karui's stretcher in the middle, and Zhang Miao's palanquin bringing up the rear. They left Tanzaku Town in a grand procession, heading towards Kumogakure.

The Fourth Raikage didn't reveal the true identity of the Hyena Clan members to Karui and Amai, merely stating that they were dead.

Although the Hyena Clan's explosive bugs had hit Karui, he hadn't fought them directly or seen them clearly due to the dark forest. Therefore, he had no idea that his stretcher bearers were his enemies. During the journey, he even thanked them.

"Thank you for the trouble. When we return to Kumogakure, I will surely repay you. May I ask your names?"

Hearing Karui's words, the two Hyena Clan members carrying him remained silent, showing no emotion as they held him forward.

Faced with their silence, Karui felt a bit awkward. At this moment, Zhang Miao's voice came from the palanquin.

"They are my attendants. You can call them Monkey One and Monkey Two. As for repayment, there's no need. Just don't think about taking revenge on me!"

"Uh... Lord Ryunosuke, you're joking." Karui's face showed a hint of embarrassment. "We are in a time of peace now. I have no thoughts of revenge."

Karui was sincere. Zhang Miao's overwhelming strength had crushed entirely any thoughts of revenge.

Moreover, Karui noticed that the six people carrying him and Zhang Miao had chakra levels equivalent to Jonin. In any shinobi village, they would be pillars of the community. But here they were, willingly acting as bearers. This alone made Zhang Miao seem even more unfathomable to Karui.

While Karui elevated Zhang Miao's status in his mind, the system's prompt sounded in Zhang Miao's head.

"Ding... Congratulations, Your Highness, for earning Karui's genuine respect. You have received 10 five-star Jonin Karui ninja fragments!"

Hearing this system prompt, Zhang Miao's face lit up with a smile.

"Finally! Hard work pays off. The ancients were right!"

In truth, Zhang Miao had assigned the Hyena Clan to carry Karui not on a whim but with a plan—to collect the ninja fragments of the Raikage and his group!

This tactic proved effective, allowing Zhang Miao to steadily collect ninja fragments from the Fourth Raikage, Karui, and Amai daily during their journey to Kumogakure, much to his delight.

"The results are better than expected. By the time we reach Kumogakure, I should have enough fragments of Karui and Amai. Then I can start collecting from other elite ninjas in Kumogakure!"

Thinking this, Zhang Miao recalled all the Kumogakure ninjas featured in the Naruto series, muttering their names to himself.

"The Fourth Raikage A, Killer B, Yugito Nii, Mabui, Samui, Darui, Omoi, Karui, and many more..."

He noted each name in a small book, planning to collect their ninja fragments upon arrival in Kumogakure.

He prioritized Killer B and Yugito Nii, both Jinchuriki and critical targets for this trip to Kumogakure.

"Now that I have the Six Paths body, my next step is to become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, like the Sage of the Six Paths, by recruiting all the Tailed Beasts!"

Zhang Miao already had Shukaku, Son Goku, Kokuo, and Kurama. The remaining Tailed Beasts were in Kumogakure, Kirigakure, and Takigakure.

Since Jinchuriki generally couldn't leave their villages freely, Zhang Miao had to visit these villages to collect and recruit the remaining Tailed Beasts.

Kumogakure was the first stop on his Tailed Beast collection route.

Though Zhang Miao wanted to reach Kumogakure quickly to start collecting his target's ninja fragments, he considered Karui's injuries and traveled slower, resting as needed.

After nearly a month of travel, they finally arrived at Kumogakure.

Upon arrival, the Fourth Raikage immediately took Zhang Miao to Killer B's residence and personally watched him remove the Eight Trigrams Seal from Killer B before leaving.

When the Raikage left, a boy and a girl ran into Killer B's house.

These children, around ten years old, had dark skin. The boy had white hair, while the girl had red hair. Both carried long swords on their backs. Upon entering, they curiously glanced at Zhang Miao and his companions before bowing to Killer B.

"Master, we're here. Please guide our training today!"

"Please!"

Hearing them, Zhang Miao immediately recognized their identities, his eyes lighting up.

"They call Killer B 'Master,' so these kids must be Omoi and Karui. Perfect timing! I was planning to collect their ninja fragments!"

With that thought, Zhang Miao greeted them with a smile before Killer B could respond.

"Hello, you two. If I'm not mistaken, you're Killer B's students, Omoi and Karui, right?"

Hearing Zhang Miao call their names, Omoi and Karui turned their curious gazes to him.

"Who are you? How do you know our names?"

"Are you a new student of our master?"

Despite Zhang Miao's immense strength, he appeared to be a teenager, around thirteen or fourteen, leading them to assume he was a new student of Killer B.

After hearing their questions, Zhang Miao shook his finger at them.

"No, no, no! I'm not your master's student; I'm his friend!"

With that, Zhang Miao snapped his fingers and began rapping.

"Yo, yo... My name is Kakui, my friend is Killer B. He has two young students, Omoi and Karui, oh yeah!"

Omoi: "..."

Karui: "..."

Such terrible rapping could only come from their master's friend!

As this thought crossed their minds, the system's prompt sounded in Zhang Miao's head.

"Ding... Congratulations, Your Highness, for earning Omoi's trust with terrible rapping. You have received 5 five-star Jonin Omoi ninja fragments!"

"Ding... Congratulations, Your Highness, for earning Karui's trust with terrible rapping. You have received 5 five-star Jonin Karui ninja fragments!"

Hearing these prompts, Zhang Miao's smile widened.

"It doesn't matter if it's a black cat or a white cat; as long as it catches mice, it's a good cat. So what if my rapping is terrible? This is a double win—hooray for ninja fragments!"