Though Tsunade wasn't prone to domestic violence, no one could guarantee that marital disputes would never occur.
If one accidentally provoked her anger, the consequences could prove severe.
Fractured ribs or months confined to a hospital bed weren't beyond possibility.
After her punch was blocked by Richard's hand, Tsunade snorted in dissatisfaction and withdrew her fist.
"It's presumptuous to remind a woman of her age," she declared, fixing Richard with a stern gaze.
Before Richard could respond, she continued, "I resigned myself to solitude long ago."
"Marriage and similar lie entirely outside my considerations."
With that, she turned and walked away before Richard could reply.
Richard shrugged and followed silently.
For the next half hour, neither spoke as they strolled like casual diners enjoying an evening event.
"I'm returning home," Tsunade announced abruptly, halting her steps.
"Very well," Richard nodded.
Without further comment, Tsunade departed toward her residence.
Once she vanished at the street intersection, Richard employed Flying Thunder God, instantly disappearing and rematerializing at his residence near the Uchiha district.
Compared to three years earlier, many new neighbors had established homes nearby.
Perhaps drawn by affordable housing prices, or simply preferring this area to downtown, numerous properties had sold during the past three years.
Upon arriving home, Richard proceeded directly to the master bathroom.
Sinking into the bathtub, he enjoyed a lengthy soak.
After more than thirty minutes of comfortable relaxation, he emerged, wrapped himself in a towel, and retired to the bedroom.
The following noon, Richard arrived at his office in downtown Konoha.
Kaede Shiranui and his other assistants had arrived punctually, fully prepared for the day's business.
After briefly greeting them, Richard proceeded to his private office.
No sooner had he settled into his chair than Yui Hyuga, dressed in a white kimono, entered carrying a stack of documents.
"These are recent commission requests. Would you like to review them for any of interest?" she inquired.
"Place them here. I'll examine them shortly," Richard replied.
"Certainly. I'll leave you now," Yui responded, bowing slightly before departing, gently closing the door behind her.
After her exit, Richard contemplated his next course of action.
According to the original timeline, Naruto would have returned to the village earlier, participating in Gaara's rescue operation.
Following Gaara's rescue, Yamato and Sai would have joined Team 7.
Yamato, Naruto, Sakura, and Sai would have formed the reconstituted Team 7, journeying to Tenchi Bridge on Kusagakure's border to gather intelligence about Orochimaru and Sasuke.
This would have culminated in the spectacular confrontation between a rampaging Naruto and Orochimaru, followed by Sasuke's impressive display against his former teammates.
After brief consideration, Richard decided to visit Otogakure today to meet Sasuke and Orochimaru.
Having made this decision, he immediately rose and prepared to depart.
"I must attend to a matter. If anyone requests my presence, inform them I won't return for several days," he instructed Yui and the others.
"Understood," they replied in unison.
After providing these instructions, Richard activated Flying Thunder God, instantly vanishing from their sight.
During his three years of travels, he had placed Flying Thunder God markers in every country he'd visited.
In mere moments, he arrived in the Land of Grass, home to Kusagakure.
Upon reaching his destination, Richard immediately employed his flight ability, soaring toward Orochimaru's secret hideout within the Land of Grass.
Though he'd never visited Orochimaru's Land of Grass facility before, he possessed a general understanding of its location.
Less than ten minutes later, he hovered above the hideout.
Without hesitation, he activated his enhanced vision, surveying the complex below.
Sasuke, Orochimaru, Kabuto, Kimimaro!
His enhanced sight easily identified them all.
Just as in the original timeline, after becoming Orochimaru's student, Sasuke had completely transformed his appearance. He now wore a kimono similar to Orochimaru's, secured with a purple rope belt at his waist, and carried the Kusanagi blade Orochimaru had gifted him.
Though only three years had passed, Sasuke appeared significantly more mature than during his time in Konoha.
His power had increased dramatically as well.
If any criticism could be leveled, it would be his inexplicable habit of exposing his chest—a peculiar affectation whose origin remained mysterious.
Compared to Sasuke, Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Kimimaro exhibited minimal changes.
After confirming both Sasuke and Orochimaru's presence at the hideout, Richard—floating thousands of meters overhead—descended to the entrance.
He approached with measured steps and a composed expression.
Shortly after entering the complex, an attacker struck from behind in the dimly lit corridor.
CLANG!
Richard casually withdrew a kunai from his system space, effortlessly deflecting the assault.
"Three years without meeting, and you greet me with an attack? Rather discourteous, wouldn't you say?"
Though his back remained to his assailant, Richard recognized him immediately as Sasuke.
Hearing this, Sasuke persisted, striking again with Kusanagi.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Compared to three years prior, Sasuke's swordsmanship had grown remarkably sophisticated.
Nevertheless, his Kusanagi blade still failed to penetrate Richard's defense.
Though Richard rarely employed his Masamune blade these days, his swordsmanship still surpassed Sasuke's.
Realizing conventional attacks proved ineffective against Richard, Sasuke shifted tactics.
Chidori Blade!
As lightning-natured chakra flowed into the sword, its blade illuminated with blue-white electrical energy, its already formidable cutting power increasing exponentially.
Chidori Blade represented a derivative technique Sasuke had developed from the original Chidori, powerful enough to effortlessly slice through steel.
Beyond its cutting capability, anyone struck by Chidori Blade suffered temporary paralysis from the intense electrical current, losing mobility for a period.
Observing Sasuke's Chidori Blade, Richard channeled his own chakra, infusing lightning-nature energy into his kunai.
Chidori Blade!
Mirroring Sasuke's technique, Richard also performed Chidori Blade.
Sasuke had intended to showcase his progress from three years of Orochimaru's tutelage.
Instead, he discovered Richard already possessed knowledge of Chidori Blade.
Though Richard wielded merely an ordinary kunai rather than Sasuke's specialized Kusanagi, this didn't impede his execution of Chidori Blade.
Compared to chakra-infused metal, standard metallic weapons exhibited significantly inferior chakra conductivity.
However, this didn't render ordinary metal incapable of channeling chakra.
With sufficient chakra reserves and exceptional chakra control, even conventional metal weapons could achieve enhanced potency through proper chakra application.
Witnessing Richard perform Chidori Blade with an ordinary kunai, Sasuke initially registered surprise.
This astonishment quickly subsided as he renewed his assault with the Chidori-enhanced Vibranium Sword.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The metallic collision of Vibranium Sword and kunai reverberated throughout the corridor.
Recognizing the persistent gap between himself and Richard, Sasuke eventually ceased his attack.
Though he had developed techniques like Chidori Stream, Chidori Sharp Spear, and Lightning Release: Kirin, he understood that deploying his entire arsenal would still prove insufficient against Richard.
Over the past three years, both had grown stronger.
Without Asura's power, the Six Paths Sage's chakra gift, and the activation of his Six Tomoe Rinnegan, Sasuke wouldn't even merit Richard's serious attention.
Compared to Naruto and Sakura, Sasuke's three-year improvement was indeed remarkable.
Yet measured against Richard, the disparity hadn't narrowed—it had widened.
Under Richard's steady gaze, Sasuke deactivated Chidori Blade and sheathed Vibranium Sword.
"Did you come specifically to see me?" Sasuke inquired.
"Yes."
"After three years under Orochimaru's guidance, I'm curious about your development."
"Incidentally, yesterday I encountered a clone possessing one-third of Itachi Uchiha's power."
Richard likewise deactivated Chidori Blade, returning his kunai to his system space as he spoke.
"How powerful is he?" Sasuke immediately asked.
"Among S-rank ninja, he stands near the pinnacle."
"Kakashi fell to his Mangekyō Sharingan technique instantly."
Richard explained calmly.
Learning of Kakashi's immediate defeat by Itachi, Sasuke's expression suggested he found this unsurprising.
Though Kakashi had far outclassed him when he'd left Konoha, after studying under Orochimaru, Sasuke realized Kakashi's strength fell short of his earlier estimation.
More significantly, he discovered he had consistently underestimated Itachi's true power.
Itachi was formidable!
Far more powerful than Sasuke had ever imagined!
This realization reinforced his decision to leave Konoha.
Had he remained, he might have achieved jonin rank by now, but would never have acquired the power necessary to exact revenge against Itachi.
"Which eye technique did he employ?" Sasuke asked seriously.
"The technique that defeated Kakashi was Tsukuyomi."
"His other Mangekyō ability is Amaterasu."
Richard replied directly, withholding nothing from Sasuke.
At this point, Sasuke remained unaware that Itachi had never intended his death.
In fact, everything Itachi had done served solely to protect him.
Hearing Richard's response, Sasuke frowned immediately.
Though familiar with the names Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu, he lacked understanding of their capabilities.
As he prepared to ask Richard about these techniques, Orochimaru—clad in his kimono—approached from the hideout's interior.
After appraising Richard, Orochimaru observed, "You didn't come merely to evaluate Sasuke's progress under my tutelage, did you?"
"Correct. I'm not here solely for Sasuke."
"I have something to discuss with you as well."
Richard replied.
"What might that be?" Orochimaru asked casually.
"I want the Akatsuki ring in your possession."
As he spoke, Richard extracted from his system space the ring "Gyoku," which had belonged to Sasori.
Though he hadn't killed Sasori personally, following Sasori's death, he had deliberately retrieved the ring from the puppet master's remains.
In the original timeline, Sakura and Chiyo hadn't recognized the ring's significance, allowing Tobi to claim it.
Seeing the ring in Richard's hand, Orochimaru frowned immediately.
"Did you kill Sasori?" he inquired.
"No. I merely observed the battle as a spectator," Richard answered calmly.
The Gaara rescue operation had concluded just yesterday. When Chiyo, Sakura, and Temari confronted Sasori, Richard had been the only witness present, explaining why Orochimaru lacked prior information.
Had Orochimaru still belonged to Akatsuki, news of Sasori's demise would have reached him promptly.
"Why do you want my ring?" Orochimaru asked, frowning.
"No particular reason. I simply collect them," Richard replied.
Beyond Orochimaru's ring, he planned to acquire all nine Akatsuki rings eventually.
Orochimaru didn't immediately respond, instead falling silent in contemplation.
Though Akatsuki rings served special functions, they conferred no strength enhancement.
Orochimaru had retained his ring not for practical purposes, but like Richard, as a collector's item.
Additionally, it served as a perpetual reminder against underestimating Itachi's genjutsu.
During their confrontation, Itachi had effortlessly defeated him with Ephemeral and Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes, severing his arm in the process.
Though losing a limb meant little to Orochimaru, that defeat represented a profound humiliation.
He had preserved not only the Akatsuki ring but also the arm Itachi had severed, maintaining both in his laboratory.
"I'll provide the ring, but with one condition," Orochimaru finally stated.
"Which is?" Richard asked evenly.
"Information about Itachi Uchiha. I'll exchange my ring for whatever intelligence you possess."
"Both Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu you just mentioned, plus any other details—I want everything."
Orochimaru replied promptly.
Quite ambitious!
Richard inwardly remarked on Orochimaru's audacity.
"A single ring's value isn't so great. I'll provide some information, but certainly not all," Richard countered.
"Partial information suffices, but it must include details about Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu," Orochimaru replied.
Naturally, Orochimaru recognized the impracticality of demanding comprehensive intelligence for a mere ring.
He had opened with an extreme position purely to secure negotiating leverage.