Chapter 476: Crashing the Place
Doto Kazahana's lifeless vessel was dug out from the deep snow by the three students of Team 7 and buried within the immediate vicinity of the Land of Snow's hidden treasure.
It was entirely because of this so-called treasure that Doto had murdered Koyuki's father and relentlessly pursued her, desperately seeking to strip away the key to opening it—the Hexagon Crystal Necklace.
Having completed the burial, Koyuki very conscientiously activated the treasure mechanism. Doto was her biological uncle after all; despite how horrendously he had treated her, she still desired to let him die with his eyes closed... Though once the treasure officially opened, Doto wouldn't be closing his eyes in peace even in his next life.
The legendary treasure turned out to be nothing more than a massive heating generator—yet another piece of high-tier black technology native to the shinobi world. Once activated, it could thoroughly melt the accumulated snow pack across the entire nation, enabling the Land of Snow to welcome a brief, fleeting spring.
"Cool~! Great Ancestor, your special effects are as spectacular as always!" The eccentric director completely misunderstood the situation.
Ryo smiled and waved his hand: "A minor matter, a minor matter."
In his mind, however, he was secretly calculating: This heating machinery shares a profound destiny with the Great Ancestor, but wouldn't it be a fraction unprincipled to just carry it away?
'Fortunately', right after bestowing a single spring upon the Land of Snow, the heating machine broke down completely. It turned out to be an incomplete prototype... Consequentially, Ryo no longer had to hesitate.
With everything brought to a settled conclusion, Koyuki Kazahana was smoothly crowned as the Queen of the Land of Snow, and she immediately resumed her career as an actress... after all, the movie hadn't finished filming yet! Fortuitously, she wasn't the type of person to burn bridges after crossing them, otherwise, the eccentric director wouldn't even have a place to cry.
As for the remaining logistical troubles, Ryo systematically resolved them on her behalf...
"Yo, kid Deidara, your injuries are more or less healed, aren't they? Remember: flying carries inherent risks; riding birds demands absolute caution!"
Deidara didn't want to talk to you and summoned his massive clay bird.
"Yo! Leaving just like that? Help me pass along a warm greeting to little girl Kurotsuchi. As for the Akatsuki organization's side of things, make sure you explain the exact logistics of the situation thoroughly to Yahiko!"
"Yahiko will arrive on location in two days. Explain it to him yourself, you old bastard! Un!"
Old bastard? Ryo's face instantly went dark. Subconsciously lifting his hand, a sharp bolt of electrical light lanced out...
"Old bastard! Shooting my bird again?!"
The giant white bird spiraled downward out of control.
Ryo pursed his lips: "I explicitly told you, riding birds demands absolute caution. Yahiko is arriving in two days? That kid is quite serious and responsible... It's just a pity his individual capability is a fraction lacking, leaving him only capable of bossing around brats like Deidara."
Two days later, Yahiko arrived precisely on schedule.
While systematically imbuing the production crew's scenes with high-powered special effects, Ryo simultaneously counseled Yahiko: "The situation is exactly as it appears, and the facts are exactly as stated. As the leader of the Akatsuki organization, you must meticulously filter out the virtue and vice of your active members. You cannot allow yourself to be utilized as a tool by others."
"I understand completely, Senior!" Yahiko let out a long sigh. "It's still because the baseline influence of our Akatsuki organization is insufficient. In truth... if Koyuki Kazahana had initiated direct contact with us first, we would have gladly resolved the treasonous usurper on her behalf."
"Consequentially, you must continue to work hard," Ryo smiled. "The Three-Tails has been captured, and the Five-Tails and Eight-Tails likely won't escape the net either. The shinobi world is on the verge of plunging into absolute chaos, and when that time comes, your personal influence will naturally expand exponentially."
Yahiko offered a bitter smile: "Expanding our influence through such catastrophic means is something I genuinely don't look forward to."
"Great Ancestor, trouble you to manifest a blue-light special effect right at this spot!" The director's loud shout rippled over.
"Aye, coming right up!" Ryo was thoroughly enjoying the process, waving his hand to dismiss Yahiko: "Head on back if you have nothing else, the Great Ancestor is incredibly busy!"
Appraising the frantically bustling production crew, Yahiko stood completely speechless: "Senior, please carry on with your work."
"Mmm, head back and wait to watch the movie. Deidara actually makes a live appearance inside this installment! Oh, by the way, he plays an antagonist who tries to obstruct a righteous path of vengeance."
Yahiko: "..."
The road ahead for the Akatsuki organization is filled with immense hardship.
Over the subsequent stretch of days, Ryo quietly dedicated his time to operating as a premier special effects artist. Whenever a scene featured Tsukika, he worked with exceptional diligence, resulting in her radiating a holy, pure brilliance every single time she stepped into the camera frame...
Scene after scene wrapped filming, and upon completing the sequence depicting their flight from the Land of Snow, Tsukika and Kakashi successfully reached their 'Wrap' milestone.
Tsukika felt a trace of lingering desire: "Great Ancestor, filming a movie is so incredibly interesting!"
Ryo smiled as he ruffed her hair: "Who knows, perhaps Tsukika will mature into a massive superstar in the future, incomparably more famous than your Sister Koyuki! But it won't do right now; you must prioritize your core cultivation first."
Tsukika pouted her tiny lips: "I know!"
"Heh," Ryo chuckled softly. "The Great Ancestor can't exactly follow you around endlessly to add special effects for you forever, can he? Once Tsukika's raw strength becomes formidable in the future, you can smoothly add special effects for your very own self!"
"Mmm!"
Ryo let out a gentle sigh of relief. Close call, I was almost on the verge of being torn to shreds by Kushina...
With his mind thoroughly relaxed, Ryo turned to face Kakashi, initiating another wave of lighthearted teasing: "Are you fully prepared to marry into the royal family of the Land of Snow?"
"Marry into her family?" Kakashi scratched his silver hair, flashing a highly embarrassed, awkward smile: "In another two or three days, once the production crew finishes the remaining minor shoots, it will be time for us to head back."
Ryo given a subtle pause: "What about Koyuki's side...?"
"Koyuki will mature into an exceptionally excellent Queen," Kakashi spoke softly. "Senior, Hanare and I have reached an understanding. Following the conclusion of this mission, we will..."
"You ultimately selected Hanare? That's excellent, that girl has faithfully waited for you for a solid seven or eight years!"
"Well, it wasn't a matter of selection. When I originally escorted Koyuki away, she was a mere six years old. I have consistently viewed her strictly as a little sister."
Ryo shook his head with a laugh: "She might not necessarily view you strictly as a big brother... It's fine as long as you maintain a proper baseline of boundaries; the Great Ancestor won't interfere in this matter."
"Mmm, rest easy." Kakashi turned to depart.
Watching Kakashi walk away, Ryo cursed inwardly: Is this seriously the suffocating distress of being simultaneously adored by two matchless beauties? I desperately want to incinerate Kakashi to absolute crisp right now...
Fortuitously, Naruto—who was currently walking over with a thoroughly black-and-blue, swollen face—successfully saved Kakashi from further internal execution.
"Hehehe, that idiot brother got beaten to a pulp again!" Tsukika giggled.
Ever since witnessing the raw, cataclysmic output of Sasuke's Susanoo during their prior clash, Naruto had officially activated his 'Challenge Mode', mounting a massive fight every two days and a minor brawl every three days.
Regrettably, Naruto's peak offensive output currently topped out at the 'Vermilion Spiral Sphere'—a Rasengan laced with the Nine-Tails' chakra. It possessed zero capability to breach the defensive parameters of Sasuke's Susanoo. This was a stark, structural disparity in raw individual strength, something that tactical combat strategies completely failed to bridge. Consequentially, Naruto ended up thoroughly thrashed every single time...
"Great Ancestor, does there exist an absolute powerhouse technique capable of shattering Sasuke's broken skeleton structure in a single strike? Teach it to me, please." Having sustained continuous losses for better part of a month, Naruto launched an active 'out-of-bounds request for backup'.
Ryo smiled: "Such techniques certainly exist, but given your current baseline, you are entirely incapable of grasping them. The proper timing hasn't arrived yet; comfortably allow Sasuke to beat you for a year or two first!"
"A year or two?!" Naruto's face turned completely green, his dual hands instantly clamping down on Ryo's sleeve. "Great Ancestor, you must possess a way~"
As he spoke, his physical body began twisting and wriggling in a desperate whine...
"Ew~ Brother, you are simply too disgusting!" Tsukika recoiled.
Ryo was equally unable to endure the psychological assault, forcefully breaking free from Naruto's grip: "Hold on, let the Great Ancestor think for a moment!"
In truth, there wasn't a massive amount of detail to parse through. The logical next phase of Naruto's cultivation should rightfully be Sage Mode, but his 'precedent strength' was currently insufficient.
Senjutsu demanded an exceptionally monumental repository of personal chakra.
Using Kakashi as a standard unit of measurement, Naruto's current individual chakra pool sat at roughly 1.5 Kakashi. To smoothly reach the baseline threshold for cultivating Senjutsu, a minimum of 3 Kakashi—which sat close to Minato's native chakra baseline—was the absolute optimum.
The Nine-Tails couldn't be factored into this equation. Even though the half-portion of the Nine-Tails sealed inside Naruto's vessel commanded a whopping 100 Kakashi, it offered zero active contribution toward his initial cultivation of Senjutsu.
Though it's not entirely devoid of alternative solutions. If he can cultivate inside one of the Three Great Sage Regions where natural energy is exceptionally dense, he might not necessarily fail.
But deploying Naruto to cultivate my personal 'Ryo Sage Mode' right inside their very own territory... wouldn't that fundamentally resemble an act of crashing their place? Is it a fraction improper?
"Great Ancestor~ Mmm~"
When Naruto activated his whining routine, zero individuals possessed the capability to withstand it.
"Get away from me! Once we return to Konoha, the Great Ancestor will personally take you to crash a place!"
"Crash a place?"
"Mmm, crashing a place for the sake of your cultivation!"
"That sounds phenomenally strong..." Delight instantly blanketed Naruto's countenance. "Thank you very much, Great Ancestor~ Mmm~"
"...Beat it!"
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