Chapter 477: Bringing a Whole Bunch of People
The journey to the Land of Snow had commenced in mid-February, and by the time the group returned to the pleasantly temperate climate of the Land of Fire, it was already April of Konoha Year 61.
After a single round trip, the team's count had decreased by two members: Koyuki Kazahana and Sandayu Asama.
In the end, Koyuki Kazahana had still bidden a lingering, reluctant farewell to Kakashi. She lacked the reckless courage to completely abandon the Land of Snow just to follow him back to Konoha. As time marched on, her childhood longings would inevitably fade. Barring any major surprises, their opportunities to cross paths in the future would likely be few and far beneath notice.
Kakashi didn't dwell too heavily on the matter, but Tsukika found it incredibly hard to part with her favorite superstar sister, soaking several of Ryo's outfits with her tears...
Having barely crossed back into the borders of the Land of Fire, Tsukika's tiny lips pouted yet again, her eyes welling up as if she were on the verge of another massive crying fit, because another separation was staring her right in the face...
Ryo hurriedly offered comforting words to placate her: "Once the director and the crew finish editing the film, they'll travel to Konoha to screen it. You'll see them again very soon."
"That's exactly right, Princess Tsukika! Your acting skills were phenomenally cool, we will see you in half a month!" The eccentric director very tactfully chimed in to support him.
"In half a month?" Tsukika muttered softly, her little face instantly shifting from cloudy to clear skies: "Cool~!"
Ryo lightly ruffled Tsukika's tiny head: "Cool!"
Konoha Village, Kushina's house.
Kushina cradled Tsukika tightly in her arms, leaving two solid rows of lipstick marks across her tiny cheeks... Being separated from her daughter for two whole months had driven her completely mad with longing.
Naruto didn't receive anywhere near the same luxury of treatment. Kushina merely gave him a brief embrace before knit her brows to declare: "Hurry up and go take a bath, your body smells completely weird!"
"...Oh."
Ryo burst into laughter, pushing away Kushina's impending reunion hug: "The Great Ancestor isn't particularly clean either. You mother and daughter carry on chatting first; I'm heading in to take a bath as well."
"Mmm, please go ahead, Great-grandfather."
"Mama, where did Papa go?" Tsukika inquired in a low whisper.
"He went to guide his new disciple. Tsukika, tell Mama all about what you ran into while filming this movie? Was it interesting?"
"It was super interesting, and phenomenally cool! I want to mature into a massive superstar just like Sister Koyuki in the future..."
Ryo ran a hand through his hair, picking up his pacing to step inside the bathroom block. Ever since his raw strength reached its current tier, his body was naturally immune to dust and he virtually never perspired. It was a miracle if he took a bath once a year, but this time he was forced to wash...
He had to completely dodge this initial wave of Kushina's explosive lecture before he could find an opportunity to 'counter-attack', otherwise, he risked being instantly obliterated.
Speaking of which, ever since Ryo delegated their gambling funds to Kushina's safekeeping, her home's interior decorations had grown increasingly luxurious. Originally, the bathroom housed only a standard bathtub sufficient for two individuals, but it had now been upgraded to a localized, miniature bathhouse pool capable of comfortably accommodating five or six people.
She had been too embarrassed to outright 'relocate houses', so the bathroom space was nearly entirely consumed by this massive bath pool...
Naruto moved exceptionally fast, having already stripped himself bare to soak inside the pool. Catching sight of Ryo, he stood frozen for a second: "Great Ancestor, you actually need to take a bath too?"
Ryo nodded with a smile. Naruto felt his vision blur for a mere fraction of a second, and Ryo was already soaking directly across from him.
Peering over at Ryo, Naruto pursed his lips, speaking with a trace of absolute urgency: "Great Ancestor, exactly when are you taking me to crash that place?"
"No rush," Ryo closed his eyes in pure comfort. "You've only just returned; comfortably rest at home for a few days, then secure a prolonged vacation leave from Kakashi. Crashing that place will easily consume two to three months of continuous effort."
"It requires that long?" Naruto pondered for a brief moment. "Once we finish crashing the place, will I be capable of beating Sasuke?"
"After the crashing is complete, the Great Ancestor will teach you an exceptionally formidable ninjutsu. There should be an excellent hope..."
"An exceptionally formidable ninjutsu?!" Naruto violently bolted upright to a standing position; a powerful ninjutsu held a significantly stronger psychological pull for him.
"Tsk, tsk!" Ryo squinted his eyes to appraise Naruto for a second before closing them right back up. The brat is beginning to experience puberty; it's a bit blinding...
Naruto hurriedly sat back down into the water, his face completely unpurged of excitement: "Hey! Exactly what kind of ninjutsu is it?"
"A ninjutsu completely synthesized and created by the Great Ancestor himself. This specific technique is something only the Great Ancestor throughout the entire world is capable of executing!"
"Ohh!" Naruto was entirely unable to suppress his exhilaration, and several giant bubbles suddenly erupted to the water surface right beside his backside...
Ryo: ???
This bath is fundamentally unplayable now. Time to beat this rascal!
Having successfully evaded Kushina's initial wave of frustration, the entire matter regarding Tsukika wanting to become an actress once she grew up quietly blew over.
After all, that belonged to the distant future anyway. Furthermore, Ryo felt that by the time Tsukika reached her age of maturity, the shinobi world would definitely be peacefully secure beyond measure. If she desired to be an actress, she could comfortably go be an actress. When children pursued their dreams, parents shouldn't construct unnecessary impediments... naturally, provided it wasn't an entirely impractical illusion.
The matter was temporarily shelved, and after a peaceful week rolled by, Ryo brought Naruto to track down Jiraiya.
Among the Three Great Sage Regions available for crashing, Ryo had weighed his choices back and forth before ultimately selecting Mount Myoboku.
Dumping Naruto directly inside the Ryuchi Cave wasn't a choice Ryo could feel at ease with. He felt perfectly at ease regarding the Shikkotsu Forest... but the Katsuyu Sage shared an exceptionally excellent relationship with him, and 'screwing over an acquaintance' felt a fraction unseemly.
More critically, back in the day, the Great Toad Sage's nebulous, cloud-wrapped prophecy had left Ryo swimming in absolute confusion for an immense duration. If he didn't crash Mount Myoboku, where on earth was he supposed to vent?
This left Jiraiya in deep distress.
"Senior, isn't it a fraction premature for Naruto to cultivate Senjutsu? Furthermore, since he is traveling to Mount Myoboku, wouldn't it be better to just let him learn Mount Myoboku's native Senjutsu..."
"With me, Sage Ryo, present, a mere Mount Myoboku Senjutsu... heh!"
Jiraiya: "..."
An active opposition was out of the question; it was completely impossible to oppose him in this lifetime. He couldn't beat him in a straight fight anyway, so Jiraiya could only summon a toad to help negotiate.
"Summoning Technique!" Fukasaku, the elder toad who had traversed eight hundred years of life, was systematically summoned over.
"Hahahahaha... Perverted Sage, your Summoning Technique failed miserably too!" Naruto clearly held the cognitive bias that a toad's raw strength scaled linearly with its physical volume.
Fukasaku cast a brief glance toward Naruto, thoroughly unwilling to waste breath on a short-sighted brat. Turning his head to gaze directly at Ryo, he paused: "Ryo Uzumaki?"
Ryo given a subtle pause. Could this seriously be a form of instinctual resonance operating between Sages?
"Regarding the logistics of your physical rejuvenation, I previously inquired with the Great Sage out of personal curiosity," Jiraiya explained sheepishly from the side.
Realization instantly dawned on Ryo. Rapidly closing the distance to Fukasaku's immediate side, he spoke up: "It has been countless years since I last saw your Great Old Man. I miss him dearly. How about you escort this Sage over to reminisce and exchange a few old stories with him? And while we are at it, let this rascal cultivate Sage Mode?"
Half an hour later.
Inside the Toad-Mouth Palace blocks of Mount Myoboku.
Ryo and Jiraiya treaded smoothly at the front, while Naruto followed behind, casting curious glances in every possible direction.
"Naruto, once you meet the Great Toad Sage in a moment, you must maintain an absolute baseline of respect! Refrain from looking around randomly!"
"I know, Perverted Sage!"
Ryo chuckled softly. Jiraiya had entirely forgotten what kind of demeanor he himself had manifested when he first arrived at Mount Myoboku; his baseline back then was significantly more unreliable than Naruto's...
Sensing the colossal pool of chakra resting directly ahead, Ryo could roughly parse out the Great Toad Sage's active chakra repository. It was approximately equivalent to fifteen individual Nine-Tails—infinitely close to four times his personal baseline!
Truly spectacular. It seems I must achieve a completely maxed-out account tier before I can smoothly eclipse its volume.
The long corridor steadily reached its terminal end. Resting atop a colossal rattan chair, the Great Toad Sage appeared exactly as he had over thirty years ago—entirely unchanged.
"Great Toad Sage, long time no see. Can you still recognize me?" Ryo spoke with a smile as he locked eyes with those cloudy, ancient pupils.
"You appear to be... Shusui Uzumaki?"
Ryo: ???
The absolute final sliver of internal apology he felt regarding deploying Naruto to cultivate Senjutsu right inside their territory vanished into thin air in a single fraction of a second. Furthermore, Ryo was firmly resolved to bring Itachi, bring Sasuke, bring Tsukika—bring a whole bunch of people over next!
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