Chapter 482: Time Flies
Time flies like a weaver's shuttle.
In the blink of an eye, three months rolled past, and quite a few notable events, both grand and minor, played out across Konoha.
First, the sister piece to Princess Gale's Great Adventure—titled Princess Koyuki's Vengeance—was smoothly screened at the Konoha Theater, drawing a wave of universal acclaim.
Little Tsukika's onscreen presence was exceptionally spectacular, making her a household name virtually overnight and cementing her status as Konoha's universally recognized little princess. It made her incredibly ecstatic.
Kushina, however, found herself simultaneously thrilled and deeply anxious. It seemed Tsukika's dream of pursuing a career as an actress was officially unstoppable now...
Following that was the official celebration of Kakashi and Hanare's wedding. Hanare had originally been an intelligence ninja from Lock Village in the Land of Keys. After getting lost during her childhood, she was escorted back to her village by Kakashi. Running into him again six or seven years ago during the Akatsuki organization's very first collective assembly, she had tirelessly chased after him ever since, finally bringing their romance to a successful fruition. Ryo brought Sakura along to send them their warmest blessings.
During the wedding, Guy was so incredibly emotional he was entirely unable to contain himself. Ever since Ryo forcibly altered the parameters of their classic rivalry games from Rock-Paper-Scissors to 'Left One Punch, Right One Punch', Guy's sparring matches against Kakashi had overwhelmingly ended in catastrophic defeats...
With Kakashi proactively securing his lifelong partner first, Guy figured he had dropped yet another round in their eternal scorebook. Following the wedding, he systematically initiated a campaign of 'harassing' Konoha's eligible women, throwing the village into a sequence of chaotic commotions... Ryo even caught wind of a rumor that Anko had nearly used a snake to bite Guy to death.
Next, Shino Aburame actually emerged as a localized little hero of Konoha. During the Joint Chunin Exams hosted by the Hidden Sand Village, Shino systematically swept through the brackets, flattening his competition like dry weeds to secure the championship trophy and making the entire village share in the absolute glory... though Shino himself manifested a thoroughly subdued mood about the whole thing.
Afterward, Hinata formally returned to her squad, leaving her only capable of seeking Ryo's personal guidance during active mission gaps. Consequently, Ryo finally dedicated his focus to meticulously training Neji, causing this particular genius to experience a torrent of rapid, vertical growth.
Sakura's innate talent was indeed quite decent. Consuming a mere two and a half months to successfully wrap up the first phase of her medical cultivation, she finally commanded an active offensive kit upon mastering the Chakra Scalpel. She was currently enhancing her fine Chakra Control to prep for cultivating the Mystical Palm Technique.
Most critically, consuming three months of continuous effort, Naruto finally wrapped up his comprehensive cultivation of Sage Mode, harvesting a whopping 160 Witness Points for Ryo!
Konoha Training Ground 7.
"Great Ancestor, exactly what is Neji doing...?"
Ryo chuckled softly: "I am guiding his cultivation, alongside Hinata, Sakura, and Hanabi."
"Hinata, and Sakura?!" Naruto stood frozen on the spot for a second. "Umm... who on earth is Hanabi?"
"A little beauty, you want to get acquainted?" Ryo teased lightheartedly. "Hinata's younger sister, you'll see her in a few days. Focus on absorbing Sage energy; the Great Ancestor will teach you a brand-new technique first!"
"Ohh!" Naruto immediately dropped to sit flat on the dirt.
"Hold on! Deploy three Shadow Clones, and absorb natural energy collectively together."
"...Oh, Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto scratched his hair, weaving his hand seals as instructed.
The visual alteration Ryo's Senjutsu inflicted upon a person's physiology centered strictly on the eyes. Consuming five minutes of focused effort, Naruto's true body alongside his three Shadow Clones simultaneously crossed into Sage Mode, their four pairs of eyes glowing with a brilliant, vibrant yellow.
"Have the Shadow Clones remain seated to continuously absorb natural energy and sustain the Senjutsu output. Your true body shall follow me to master a new technique. You've caught a glimpse of this technique before..." Ryo extended his right hand, and a sharp, piercing, buzzing screech steadily vibrated through the clearing.
Ryo had long since taught Naruto the prerequisite skills for the Wind Style: Rasenshuriken. Under Ryo's immediate, hands-on guidance, Naruto consumed a mere month to successfully master this S-rank ninjutsu, netting Ryo another 40 Witness Points.
Regrettably, over these identical four months, Sasuke had already elevated his mastery over the Susanoo straight to its second phase, leaving Naruto entirely incapable of beating him in a straight fight. If he couldn't win, he would simply have to continue putting in greater effort; such was life. He had already stomached bugs, so what on earth was left to fear?
Furthermore, Naruto now commanded two distinct legendary teachers to guide his cultivation. Aside from Ryo, this Great Ancestor, he had officially apprenticed under Jiraiya as well. With both of them jointly feeding him instructions, how could he possibly fail to catch up to a mere Sasuke?
"You... apprenticed under Jiraiya?"
"Mmm."
"Because his disciple is prophesied to potentially become the Child of Prophecy, the savior of the world?"
"Mmm."
Ryo let out a heavy sigh. The Witness Points for the apprenticeship were completely gone. Grabbing Naruto by the collar, he cleanly yanked down his pants—Smack, smack, smack!
"Ow!"
This time around, Ryo channeled an exceptionally heavy amount of diligence into the beating. This rascal Naruto was experiencing a torrent of rapid physical growth; after another brief stretch of time, pulling down his pants to whack his backside wouldn't be particularly appropriate... Consequentially, he had to seize the window of opportunity to beat him to his heart's content!
Time flew yet again, and the weaver's shuttle danced once more.
As time marched forward drop by drop, Ryo and the collective generation of children steadily matured day by day.
By the close of Konoha Year 61, Konan and Nagato finally welcomed their very first romantic crystallization into the world. Deeply gratified in his old heart, Ryo personally took over the kitchen duties during the annual reunion dinner, creating a massive table packed to the brim with exquisite dishes to feast on thoroughly.
Regrettably, Tenji chose to orchestrate another wave of chaotic disruption right during the New Year. This time, his target was the Hidden Stone Village, only to be violently repelled and severely mangled by an Ohnoki who had stood fully prepared for an ambush!
Unfortunately, the Five-Tails was still successfully captured in the end, and Ohnoki sustained non-negligible physical trauma from the clash. Upon catching news of the incident, Ryo personally traveled to the Hidden Stone Village to administer medical treatment to Ohnoki, smoothly assisting the young girl Kurotsuchi in mounting an internal coup along the way...
The official ascension of the Fourth Tsuchikage harvested 20 Witness Points for Ryo.
Time still flew, and the weaver's shuttle still danced.
In July of Konoha Year 62, Naruto, Sasuke, Neji, Tenten, Toneri, and Hoshino smoothly secured their official promotions to the rank of Jonin, leaving the cluster of youths exceptionally thrilled. However, within that exact same month, Gaara officially assumed the mantle of the Fifth Kazekage inside the Hidden Sand Village...
Ryo traveled to the Hidden Sand Village, reminiscing for several moments with Chiyo and inquiring briefly about Sasori's current active status, before officially participating in the inauguration ceremony of the Fifth Kazekage Gaara, netting another 20 Witness Points.
In September of that identical year, Nagato and Konan's child was successfully delivered into the world—a little princess. Ryo personally bestowed upon her the name Nanshi Uzumaki, proceeding to remain inside the Land of Whirlpools for two months to look after Konan and the newborn infant... explicitly enjoining Nagato and Konan to maintain their excellent momentum before he departed back for Konoha.
Time flew for one final rotation, and the weaver's shuttle danced for its ultimate lap.
The New Year celebration of Konoha Year 63 rolled past with absolute smoothness. Tenji failed to orchestrate any chaotic disruptions—perhaps because the trauma inflicted upon him by Ohnoki hadn't fully mended yet, or perhaps he simply desired to rest for a solid year to grant himself a brief vacation...
Ryo's physical age finally reverted back to fourteen, initiating a phase of rapid, vertical development as his height shot up and his physical attributes skyrocketed. However, what he found completely impossible to psychologically stomach was that this unfortunate brat Naruto had shot up as if he were fed livestock grain, his height actually eclipsing his own!
For the dignified Great Ancestor to be actively mocked by Naruto regarding his physical height—he nearly felt tempted to dump stat points straight into his age parameters...
"Stay composed, maintain a balanced mindset. Naruto is merely experiencing early, explosive development; his residual kinetic momentum is bound to be lacking. Before the Great Ancestor rejuvenated, my height was infinitely close to 180 cm. This time around, I will undoubtedly surpass 180 cm. I'll grow slowly; I can easily execute a clean reversal! Dumping points risks compromising my natural development parameters..." Ryo administered a wave of psychological counseling to his own mind. "So what if he's two centimeters taller than me? He still can't beat Sasuke in a straight fight anyway, can he?"
In March of Konoha Year 63, Ryo officially bid farewell to his long-standing squinty-eyed era. Both of his eyes simultaneously evolved into the six-tomoe Rinne Sharingan, elevating his raw strength tier rating to an absolute SSS+!
Not only that, but his repository of Witness Points had successfully accumulated to 900 points. He was a mere 600 points away from achieving his maxed-out account milestone!
In early April of Konoha Year 63, upon receiving word of a highly specific piece of intelligence, Ryo let out a long, slow sigh.
"Has this day finally arrived? Time truly flies... Get ready to engage in a game of tug-of-war against the old Sage of Six Paths; we are pulling him straight down to this mortal realm!"
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