After writing the recruitment notice, Richard posted it at the office entrance.
Though Konoha boasted many named female characters, he knew those with significant roles in the original timeline would unlikely apply.
Compared to assistant positions, they preferred careers as true shinobi.
After posting the notice, Richard entered his office and waited patiently.
Though the notable kunoichi from the original timeline wouldn't apply, he harbored no concerns about finding a suitable assistant.
Given his current reputation in Konoha, numerous applicants would likely appear.
His prediction proved accurate.
Less than thirty minutes after posting the recruitment notice, several women meeting the criteria arrived at the office.
Though they all satisfied the basic requirements, Richard rejected each after interviewing them.
Meeting the recruitment criteria represented only the minimum qualification—determining their suitability as an assistant required thorough interviews.
After dismissing these applicants, Richard returned to his office and continued waiting.
Time passed steadily.
Before he realized it, evening had fallen.
During one afternoon, Richard had interviewed between twenty and thirty candidates.
Yet none truly met his standards.
He didn't require extraordinary strength from his assistant—he'd clearly specified in the notice that combat participation wasn't necessary.
However, he hoped his assistant could genuinely share the office workload rather than serving as mere decorative reception.
As darkness descended, Richard, having spent the afternoon interviewing, closed the office and flew toward his residence.
Soon, he arrived home to find Yugao seated on the living room sofa.
After meeting with Tsunade, she had returned directly from the Hokage's office.
Though now a Jonin, Tsunade hadn't immediately assigned her any missions.
This wasn't due to a shortage of S-rank or A-rank missions, but because Tsunade hadn't yet determined appropriate assignments for Yugao.
S-rank missions remained out of consideration.
While Jonin qualified for S-rank missions, not every Jonin possessed sufficient strength to complete them.
Casually assigning such missions to Yugao, given her current abilities, would likely result in complications.
Whether mission failure or personal injury—even death—such outcomes didn't align with Tsunade's objectives.
For Tsunade, Yugao's primary value lay in binding Richard firmly to Konoha.
Beyond this, she maintained modest expectations.
Regarding A-rank missions, though considerably less demanding than S-rank, not every such mission suited Yugao's capabilities.
Until identifying an appropriate A-rank mission, Tsunade preferred minimizing unnecessary risks.
Having returned home early from the Hokage's office, Yugao had prepared dinner in advance.
Upon Richard's arrival, they could immediately enjoy her carefully prepared meal.
Seeing Richard return, Yugao, wearing casual attire, immediately rose from the sofa and approached him. Like a devoted partner, she retrieved slippers from the cabinet and greeted him gently: "Welcome back. How did the office matters progress?"
"Everything's fine with the office, though I still lack a suitable assistant," Richard replied promptly.
"Take your time—you'll find someone eventually," Yugao reassured him.
"Yes," Richard nodded.
"Let's have dinner first. I've prepared some of your favorite dishes today," Yugao suggested, her expression tender.
"Perfect," Richard agreed.
Taking their places at the dining table, Yugao brought out the prepared dinner course by course.
Afterward, they enjoyed an intimate dinner together.
Following the meal, they divided responsibilities—one washing dishes while the other cleaned and organized the kitchen.
After relaxing briefly in the living room, they proceeded to the open area near their residence to practice swordsmanship.
To facilitate sparring, Yugao changed into form-fitting combat attire.
Though chosen for practicality, the outfit undeniably enhanced her appeal.
It accentuated her figure perfectly.
Combined with her martial bearing and purple hair secured in a high ponytail, she exuded a charisma absent from her everyday demeanor.
Though nominally sparring, Yugao employed her full arsenal, wielding the vibranium katana to execute Konoha-style swordsmanship, Dance of the Crescent Moon, Tiger Hunt, and other techniques, attacking Richard with her complete strength.
Nevertheless, her assault posed no threat to Richard.
Regardless of her approach, he defended flawlessly, offering no openings.
Conventional wisdom suggested occasionally allowing Yugao to land strikes, maintaining her enthusiasm.
Yet Richard refrained from such concessions.
During previous sparring sessions, he had attempted letting Yugao strike him.
However, rather than satisfaction, she had expressed disappointment, believing Richard underestimated her abilities.
Yugao accepted the substantial power disparity between herself and Richard.
However, she rejected condescension or deliberate allowances.
Victory indeed held tremendous appeal!
But she sought dignified achievement, not victory granted through patronization.
Time advanced swiftly.
Thirty minutes passed.
The half-hour of high-intensity combat depleted considerable physical strength and chakra from Yugao.
Perspiration dotted her face as her chest heaved with labored breathing.
"Let's conclude for tonight," Richard suggested, noting Yugao's diminished chakra and stamina.
"Yeah," Yugao nodded, returning her vibranium katana to its scabbard.
Just as they prepared to return home, an unexpected figure entered their field of vision.
Sasuke Uchiha!
He walked directly toward Richard and Yugao.
After briefly regarding Yugao, he addressed Richard: "I need to speak with you privately."
Hearing Sasuke's request, Richard frowned and replied: "Yugao is my girlfriend."
Sasuke momentarily faltered before quickly recovering.
"My apologies, Miss Yugao. I'm Sasuke Uchiha—I've been too presumptuous."
With that, Sasuke bowed respectfully to Yugao.
He had observed from nearby for some time, witnessing the sparring match between Yugao and Richard. Perceiving Yugao's strength as modest, he'd initially dismissed her, not even considering a proper greeting.
"No matter," Yugao responded. "You two talk—I'll head back first."
With that, she nodded toward Richard and departed for their residence.
After Yugao's departure, Richard addressed Sasuke: "I recognize your assessment of Yugao's abilities as inadequate. However, in my presence, accord her proper respect."
"I'll let it slide this time—but try that again, and you'll hear about it.
"Understood. It won't happen again," Sasuke quickly assured him.
"Now, what did you wish to discuss?" Richard inquired.
"I want you to train me personally," Sasuke said firmly.
"It's not that Kakashi-sensei isn't strong… I just think you're the better choice."
"While you were away from the village, Itachi came back. He fought Danzo in secret."
"I don't know exactly what happened, but… Itachi won."
"Kakashi-sensei said Danzo's power is close to his own."
Sasuke spoke without hesitation.
Richard gave a calm look. "Did it ever occur to you that Kakashi might just be being modest?"
Though Danzo possessed significant power, including his Sharingan arm and Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan, Richard believed Kakashi's abilities surpassed the elder's.
Examining raw capabilities alone, Kakashi might indeed appear inferior to Danzo.
However, Kakashi's combat intelligence far exceeded Danzo's.
Setting aside other factors, Danzo's attempt to pierce Sasuke's Susanoo with a kunai in the original timeline illustrated this disparity.
Though Sasuke's Susanoo hadn't achieved complete form then, it didn't mitigate the "wisdom" Danzo had demonstrated.
"Kakashi-sensei might be modest, sure… but even then, he's not as strong as you," Sasuke said, eyes steady.
"If I'm going to beat Itachi, I need to learn from the strongest teacher I can find."
Sasuke's perspective contained validity, yet Richard remained reluctant to guide him personally.
Due to Richard's intervention, Sasuke's destiny had already diverged significantly from the original timeline.
Further intervention might render Sasuke completely unrecognizable from his original counterpart.
Short-term benefits would include substantial power increases.
However, this might prevent him from acquiring the Rinnegan bestowed by the Sage of Six Paths.
Should events progress to that point, Sasuke's peak potential would fall far below his original timeline capabilities.
After brief consideration, Richard addressed Sasuke: "If you want my full guidance, it's not impossible."
"If you can defeat Kakashi, I'll consent."
Defeat Kakashi?
Sasuke regarded Richard with surprise.
Though uncertain of Richard's motivation for this stipulation, he nodded firmly. "I'll defeat Kakashi-sensei as swiftly as possible."
"Consider this friendly advice: Kakashi isn't as weak as you believe."
"Raikiri represents merely one of his trump cards."
With those words, Richard disregarded Sasuke further and proceeded toward his residence.
Watching Richard depart, Sasuke turned and walked toward the Uchiha district.
Upon returning home, Richard entered the living room and addressed Yugao, who rested on the sofa: "Would you like to have a Rinnegan?"
What?
Yugao regarded Richard with confusion.
After several seconds, she responded: "Even if I want it, I couldn't awaken the Rinnegan."
"You can't awaken it naturally, but you could receive a transplant," Richard continued.
A Rinnegan transplant?
Hearing Richard's suggestion, Yugao initially assumed he intended to transplant his silver Rinnegan into her.
Just as she prepared to decline, Richard spoke again.
"Don't misunderstand—I wouldn't transplant my eyes to you."
"I'm referring to transplanting this Rinnegan."
As he spoke, he retrieved the specimen jar containing Nagato's—or more precisely, Madara Uchiha's—Rinnegan from his system space and presented it to Yugao.
This...
Yugao stared at the specimen jar, momentarily speechless.
Offering the Rinnegan transplant wasn't Richard's impulsive decision, but rather a carefully considered proposition he'd contemplated for several days.
Compared to average Genin and Chunin, Yugao's talent wasn't lacking.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have mastered Konoha-style swordsmanship and the Dance of the Crescent Moon, ascending to Special Jonin rank.
However, measured against elite Jonin like Kakashi and Guy, or prodigies like Naruto and Sasuke, her natural gifts appeared ordinary.
Following conventional development, even lifelong dedication would leave her merely an average Chunin by her final days.
Under these circumstances, extraordinary measures became necessary to enhance her capabilities.
For instance, a Rinnegan transplant.
However, even with the Rinnegan, she couldn't fully harness its power.
Her chakra reserves and vitality couldn't support complete utilization of the Rinnegan's abilities.
Therefore, following transplantation, methods for increasing her chakra volume and vitality would prove essential.
Otherwise, her "chakra depletion" would exceed even Kakashi's experience with his transplanted Sharingan.
Richard had considered potential solutions.
One option involved transplanting Hashirama Senju's cells into Yugao.
Though not everyone could withstand Hashirama's cells, Richard remained absolutely confident Yugao could safely incorporate them.
However, he quickly rejected this approach.
He had no desire to witness Hashirama's facial features manifesting on Yugao's body.
Having dismissed Hashirama cell transplantation, alternative methods unavailable in this world warranted consideration.
For example, subjecting Yugao to careful experimentation and transformation, employing Compound V and magical energy to enhance her physical attributes, thereby increasing her chakra and vitality.
Though Richard hadn't conducted such modifications in this world, he had performed similar procedures on Starlight from The Boys universe, his women from the Marvel Zombies universe.
Even accounting for potentially different cellular structures in the Naruto world's inhabitants, he maintained absolute confidence.
Of course, before initiating such transformation experiments, Yugao would first need the Rinnegan transplant. Detailed understanding of her body's data after receiving the Rinnegan would prove essential.
Without such precautions, preventing experimental complications would prove challenging.