When Fumori Masaki saw Hatake Sakumo walk out of the tent, he was somewhat pleasantly surprised. He knew that Roshi should have been brought here, and he didn't see any look of failure or dejection on Hatake Sakumo's face.
"Sensei," Hatake Sakumo quickly stopped. "You're back."
"Mm, you all worked hard. You must have encountered a lot of trouble on the way, didn't you?" Fumori Masaki said as he entered the tent with Hatake Sakumo.
After entering the tent, the other people inside quickly stood up and greeted Fumori Masaki. Asuna and Mizuki saw Fumori Masaki frequently, so they didn't have any special feelings. But Yamanaka Risa and the others rarely saw him, and when they saw the Hokage so close in front of them, they couldn't hide their excitement.
Fumori Masaki responded to each of them, his gaze lingering on Uchiha Ken and Fujimura Yuki for a moment. At this time, no one knew his inner thoughts.
After the Uchiha Setsuna incident, Fumori Masaki could basically conclude that Uchiha Ken was the reincarnation of Indra. The connections and circumstances were simply too coincidental, making one unable to help but suspect.
And since it was already confirmed that Uchiha Ken was the reincarnation of Indra, then finding the reincarnation of Asura was not a problem. A basic condition for Asura's reincarnation was being a descendant of Asura; both Senju and Uzumaki were possibilities. However, due to the subtle opposing relationship between Asura and Indra, their chakras would attract each other. Therefore, one only needed to look for a descendant of Asura among the people around Uchiha Ken.
Fumori Masaki quickly identified his target: Fujimura Yuki. He possessed a relatively strong amount of Senju blood, and Fumori Masaki had also secretly gathered information on both of them, discovering that their birth dates were very close. From this point, he could basically conclude that Fujimura Yuki was the reincarnation of Asura.
To be honest, although the reincarnations of Indra and Asura had been identified, Fumori Masaki still had a headache, because these two people were not very familiar with him, and their relationship wasn't very deep. Influencing them would truly not be an easy task.
Fumori Masaki couldn't help but glance at Asuna and Mizuki, thinking why couldn't they be the reincarnations? Since they were his children, it would be easier to find a way to influence them. Although both were girls, what was reincarnated was chakra, not their souls. Was gender really that important?
Uh, perhaps it was indeed quite important, because chakra, to some extent, had the nature of a soul—the Sage of Six Paths who appeared in later generations and Minato Namikaze sealed within Asuna were both chakra remnants, and they also had attributes similar to DNA. Their chakra might genuinely not choose to reincarnate into a female body.
Because Fumori Masaki only glanced briefly, Asuna and Mizuki didn't find anything strange. Meanwhile, Hatake Sakumo said to Asuna, "Asuna, bring Roshi out."
Asuna nodded, first using the Summoning Jutsu to summon her shadow clone from the Shikkotsu Forest, then, after dispelling the shadow clone and understanding Roshi's situation in Shikkotsu Forest, she cast the Summoning Jutsu again to summon the slug carrying Roshi into the tent.
Seeing Asuna's actions, Fumori Masaki was a little surprised. He then remembered the slug tactic mentioned in the report and couldn't help but "tsk." He now realized he should have informed Uchiha Kagami's side to adopt this method much earlier. That way, Hatake Sakumo and the others wouldn't have had to travel all this way; the exchange could have been completed entirely in Shikkotsu Forest.
However, because Fumori Masaki used slugs so rarely, although he had read the report, he hadn't paid attention and had forgotten this method. And due to the intensity of the war, Uchiha Kagami couldn't immediately inform Fumori Masaki about this, forcing Hatake Sakumo and the others to come here.
Although Fumori Masaki made this mistake, no one said anything. Bringing it up would have been a bit awkward, so they avoided the topic.
After the slug released Roshi, Kurihara Kana, who knew some medical ninjutsu, went over to help give Roshi the antidote so he could wake up quickly.
While waiting, Fumori Masaki inquired about what Hatake Sakumo and the others had encountered on their journey. When he learned of the tactics they had adopted, he couldn't help but feel a little surprised, not expecting them to be able to reduce the danger to such an extent.
When he heard that the double insurance among them was proposed by Uchiha Ken, Fumori Masaki glanced at Uchiha Ken, nodded slightly, and thought, "It seems Risa did a good job; she really helped him adjust his psychological issues."
Due to the influence of the Sharingan, younger Uchiha clan members were more prone to psychological problems. Fumori Masaki had arranged for him to be among the first batch in the psychological medical department, and entrusted him to Risa, whom he trusted, for treatment. According to Risa's report and Uchiha Ken's recent performance, it seemed to be quite good.
"Well done." To further reassure Uchiha Ken, Fumori Masaki nodded gently at Uchiha Ken, expressing his approval.
"Thank you for your praise, Hokage-sama," Uchiha Ken replied calmly. Although he spoke words of thanks, his tone seemed rather flat.
Fumori Masaki merely smiled slightly and let it pass. Uchiha Ken had a difficult background and had gone through so much, so it was perfectly normal for his temperament to be on the colder side. Arrogance was a common flaw among the Uchiha family to varying degrees, and it would be even more pronounced in Uchiha clan members who had experienced such tragic events.
Then, Fumori Masaki turned his gaze to the unconscious Roshi. Under the effect of the medicine, the anesthetic in Roshi's body gradually faded, and he slowly woke up.
As soon as Roshi woke up, he found himself in a different place. Although it was a Konoha Ninja Village camp, besides the people he had seen, there was also a person staring at him.
Roshi immediately felt a surge of fear, because this person's aura was almost one with the surrounding objects. If he hadn't seen him with his own eyes, it would feel as if he didn't exist at all. Who exactly was this person... Soon, Roshi noticed Fumori Masaki's attire. Because he had been involved in battle, his clothing had become simpler, but there was a flame-like pattern on his sleeve. That kind of pattern couldn't be used by just anyone; the only person who could use it was—the Hokage of Konoha Ninja Village.
"You are the Third Hokage of Konoha Ninja Village, Fumori Masaki?" Roshi's throat felt a bit dry because he hadn't drunk much water.
Fumori Masaki nodded lightly and said to Hatake Sakumo, "Pour him a cup of water." Then he told the Konoha ninja outside to get some food.
Roshi didn't show any reaction to this. He already knew that the Konoha ninja treated prisoners quite well. If severe interrogation wasn't being used, they wouldn't be overly harsh in other areas. Since he was a jinchuriki and they had no intention of extracting the tailed beast from his body, maintaining basic treatment was appropriate. In the previous camp, his diet wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either.
After drinking the water, Roshi felt his throat improve a bit. He looked at Fumori Masaki with a mixture of surprise and uncertainty. He wasn't unfamiliar with ninjas who had strong chakra suppression abilities, but he had never seen anyone like Fumori Masaki. Of course, he couldn't imagine that it was the power of the Sage Mode; those who couldn't use natural energy would never understand its mysteries in their lifetime.
"Hokage… Your Excellency." Roshi paused, still addressing the other party with a respectful title. Regardless, as the highest leader of a ninja village, and given that his attitude towards him was not bad, he felt that he should also show a certain degree of respect. "I heard you want to speak with the Tailed Beast inside me?"
"It seems Kagami already told you. Yes, that's my intention," Fumori Masaki said. "I have a small personal matter I want to ask."
Roshi was silent for a moment, then said, "I don't know how to make it talk to you."
"It's alright, I have my own method," Fumori Masaki replied. Mental secret techniques can generally establish a mental link, but the pressure from a Tailed Beast is extremely powerful. Anyone not strong enough cannot establish a link, and cannot even help send Fumori Masaki's mind in, which is why he didn't ask the Yamanaka clan for help.
However, the Uchiha clan's Mangekyo Sharingan could achieve this. Its power was sufficient to withstand the pressure of the Tailed Beast and establish a mental link. Therefore, the task of conversing with a Tailed Beast, which had been impossible in the past, Fumori Masaki could now accomplish.
"Ken-kun, could you help out?" Fumori Masaki turned to Uchiha Ken and said gently.
"Huh?" Uchiha Ken looked up, a little surprised.
"Please use your Mangekyo Sharingan to connect my mind with the Tailed Beast's mind," Fumori Masaki said.
Roshi was instantly shocked when he heard this, looking at Uchiha Ken. This young brat actually possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan too? Wasn't the Mangekyo Sharingan a legendary realm? How could two people appear in such a short time? What a joke!
"Can, can I do it?" Uchiha Ken was a little flustered, clearly not expecting Fumori Masaki to make such a request. He felt that what Fumori Masaki was about to say must be confidential, and he, as someone with a criminal record, was not qualified to be privy to it.
"Why not? You are a ninja of the village, and you have already proven your loyalty. Why shouldn't I trust you? I'm sure you can uphold the principles of a ninja. In fact, you don't need to worry; I will also make it so you can't hear anything," Fumori Masaki said with a smile.
According to battlefield intelligence, Uchiha Ken's Mangekyo Sharingan shouldn't be the genjutsu type. If that's the case, even if he can enter the mental world, Uchiha Ken's control over the mental world couldn't be that strong. With himself and the Tailed Beast both vouching for it, blocking out sounds shouldn't be a problem.
Moreover, Fumori Masaki believed that Uchiha Ken truly wouldn't try to listen. The reason he was doing this was also to give the other party confidence; this kind of precaution, in the other party's eyes, was actually a reassuring approach.
"Uh, okay, yes," Uchiha Ken froze for a moment, then subconsciously nodded.
Fujimura Yuki and Kurihara Kana, who were behind, looked at Uchiha Ken with some surprise, not expecting their wrongly accused teammate to gain the Hokage's trust so quickly. They were happy for him in their hearts.
And while Hatake Sakumo and the others were somewhat surprised, they knew a little about it. They also didn't believe Uchiha Ken would have any malicious intentions, and even if he did, Fumori Masaki would certainly have the necessary preventive measures.
Uchiha Ken walked up to Roshi, glanced at Fumori Masaki, and said, "Then I'll begin, Hokage-sama."
"Mm," Fumori Masaki nodded.
Uchiha Ken closed his eyes, then opened them, his eyes transforming into the Mangekyo Sharingan. His left and right eyes each reflected into Fumori Masaki's and Roshi's eyes, and his visual prowess was released accordingly.
Fumori Masaki controlled the chakra within his body. In Sage Mode, body energy, spiritual energy, and natural energy were a trinity. While maintaining extreme balance, it also made its stability incredibly powerful. A triangle is the strongest and most stable shape in the world.
Unless there was a power that surpassed Fumori Masaki's chakra, and given Fumori Masaki's current chakra quality, it would be impossible to destroy the balanced stability of Sage Mode, unless it was Tailed Beast chakra or something similar. At least, it had been proven in the past that ordinary Sharingan couldn't do it, and a Mangekyo Sharingan not specialized in genjutsu couldn't accomplish such a feat either. The Mangekyo Sharingan's ability to control Tailed Beasts was, to some extent, due to the relationship between the God Tree, the origin of Tailed Beasts, and the Sharingan, rather than the Mangekyo Sharingan possessing power that surpassed the Tailed Beasts.
Therefore, Fumori Masaki was not very worried about Uchiha Ken using genjutsu to control him. The information gathered from the battlefield, Uchiha Ken's psychology, and his own abilities could guarantee this. Afterwards, he would also have members of the Hyuga clan or Yamanaka clan help check, and if all else failed, Kagami could help take a look.
The only thing Uchiha Ken could do was to link Fumori Masaki's mind with the Tailed Beast's mind. And during the process of mental linking, Fumori Masaki could also feel the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan. He felt that the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan had not entered this mental world, indicating that Uchiha Ken had not chosen to eavesdrop.
And to put Uchiha Ken at ease, Fumori Masaki still chose to use his own mental power to isolate, then looked at the huge Tailed Beast in front of him, which shared a name with a character from a novel in his previous life—the Four-Tails Son Goku.
The Four-Tails Son Goku looked at Fumori Masaki with a somewhat surprised and uncertain expression, saying, "You are the Hokage of Konoha Ninja Village? How do you possess such a level of power? Are you a blood relative of the Sage of Six Paths? Impossible, your chakra doesn't have the aura of a Sage's descendant. You are merely a mortal, but why is your power level so close? I have never seen a normal human so close to the Sage's body. Back then, only the direct blood relatives of the Sage of Six Paths for the first seven generations possessed this level of power."