[169] : First Target: Shukaku

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Morning came early the next day. Shin awoke at first light, remembering how Tsunade and Mikoto's meddling last night had stopped him from having a proper "chat" with Kushina.

He had woken up early and decided to cook breakfast himself. Mikoto usually handled the kitchen, but today, she deserved to rest.

"Wow, that smells amazing, Shin, you cooked all this, right?" Kushina stepped out of her room, caught a whiff of the delicious food, and sprinted over to the table.

"I can tell just from the scent—this is definitely your cooking!"

He nodded, watching her inhale the aroma.

"It's been a while since I've tasted Shin's cooking," Tsunade added, sitting down. "Ever since Mikoto joined us, she's been doing most of the cooking."

Shin merely shrugged. As they all settled at the table, Tsunade eyed him curiously.

"So, what do you need Tailed Beast chakra for? Don't tell me you plan to revive the Ten-Tails."

"No," Shin said evenly. "To fully resurrect the Ten-Tails, you'd need the entire beasts. Just small amounts of chakra won't cut it. I do need all nine Tailed Beasts' energies, but only for Six Paths Senjutsu."

"Uh-huh..." Tsunade nodded vaguely, clearly not fully grasping it.

Shin noticed, but he didn't poke fun. Annoying Tsunade rarely ended well.

"What about Madara Uchiha?" she continued. "I still say it'd be better to get rid of that man sooner or later."

She had no desire for someone as dangerous and ambitious as Madara to remain alive—especially given her personal hatred.

After all, the Valley of the End battle had left her grandfather wounded. Not long after Madara's supposed "death," Hashirama Senju had passed away, too, and Tsunade felt Madara bore part of the blame.

"No rush," Shin replied. "Later, if you want, Tsunade, you can kill him with your own hands."

"You think I could?" Tsunade snorted, unconvinced.

"Don't sell yourself short," he said with a grin. "After all, you have me—the undisputed best in the world—by your side. Surpassing Madara's not impossible."

"I see your confidence is intact," Tsunade muttered, rolling her eyes.

She then grew serious.

"Anyway, if you plan to gather Tailed Beast chakra from multiple villages, you know that basically puts you at odds with the entire shinobi world. Even I'm tempted to stop you."

She pictured how vital the Tailed Beasts were to every Hidden Village—this was practically looking for trouble on a massive scale.

"Let them come," Shin said with a careless shrug. "If the entire Shinobi World banded together against me, I still wouldn't lose. I only need to worry about actual Six Paths–level foes."

Although he was a "pseudo Six Paths" at the moment, Shin's fighting ability put him in league with fully realized Six Paths combatants.

Only the highest tier of power could challenge him.

"Don't be reckless," she warned. "There's a limit to what you can handle alone."

"You're right," he conceded. "I'll at least keep a low profile. I'm not out to cause pointless trouble. I can disguise myself if needed."

He sipped his tea, then glanced around the group.

"So, first target: Shukaku, the One-Tail."

"Why start there?" Mikoto asked. "Isn't it closer to hit Kiri for the Three-Tails or even Konoha for the Nine-Tails?"

"I want them in order," Shin answered.

"The Gedo Statue sealed them from One to Nine, so I'll mimic that. You can think of me as a 'Human Gedo Statue,' collecting each beast's chakra in turn."

"Who knows if that'll grant me real Ten-Tails power—probably not, unless I merged with the Gedo Statue itself. But I have zero interest in being the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki."

"That means heading for the Land of Wind," Kushina said brightly, "And we've never gone there before."

"Trust me, it's not a nice place," Tsunade remarked wryly.

"Either way," Shin said, "Hiruzen sold Shukaku back to Suna, so we'll find it there."

In truth, Hiruzen had returned the One-Tail to avoid war with Suna, receiving a hefty payment in return. But it left Suna even more impoverished.

"Should we teleport straight there, Shin?" Kushina asked.

"No need," Shin replied. "We'll take our time and do a bit of sightseeing. If I'd been in a hurry, we could've left last night."

"Shin, you seem to know everything about this world," Mikoto remarked.

"Mind telling us more about these 'secret truths' of the Shinobi World?"

At her words, Kushina, Tsunade, and Konan all turned expectant gazes on him.

It was obvious Shin possessed knowledge far beyond the norm, from the existence of the Ōtsutsuki on the moon to the evolution of the Sharingan and Madara's survival.

Shin caught their curious looks and decided he might as well share a few secrets. After all, it wasn't as if they were forbidden.

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