Looking at his mother holding a stick and pliers in her hands, Ryun's face turned pale, and fine beads of sweat broke out on his forehead.
"The… the stick…"
In the end, he chose the relatively lighter punishment between having his lips torn or his legs broken… After all, those pliers looked terrifying…
The moment Ryun made his choice, Asuka immediately threw the pliers aside, grabbed the stick, and started whacking Ryun's legs without another word.
While beating him, she muttered angrily:
"You dare lie to me, you dare spout nonsense, you dare play the hero…"
Ryun gasped in pain after the first strike and let out a scream, but from the second hit onward, he felt no pressure at all…
With his 'divine technique' protecting him, he channeled chakra into his legs. Even if Asuka, an ordinary person, broke the stick from hitting him, his legs wouldn't suffer a single scratch…
Of course, he still had to let his mother vent her anger. He cried, begged for mercy, and made sure to put on a pitiful act, complete with tears and snot—all for the sake of appearing miserable.
"M-Mom, I was wrong, I won't dare do it again…"
Unfortunately, Asuka remained unmoved and kept whacking his thighs and buttocks with the stick.
"You love playing the hero so much, huh? Have you forgotten how your father died? Have you ever thought about me? If you died on the battlefield, what would happen to me? You're the only family I have left, do you understand?"
Asuka scolded him while hitting him, but as she spoke, her own tears began to fall.
Hearing these words and seeing Asuka cry, Ryun froze for a moment before falling into silence.
He stopped making a sound and let Asuka continue beating him, no longer bothering to pretend.
This matter really was his fault—he had been too selfish and reckless, only thinking about keeping her from worrying without considering how she, as his mother, truly felt.
Gradually, Asuka either grew tired or couldn't bear to keep hitting him. She threw the stick aside and sat down on the engawa, panting heavily…
Seeing that she had stopped and that her palms had turned red from the force of striking him, Ryun quickly crawled over and used Mystical Palm Technique to heal her hands…
"Mom, maybe you should exercise more or try refining chakra. That way, you won't get hurt or sick as easily…"
While healing Asuka's hands, Ryun gently suggested.
"Aren't you in pain?" Asuka couldn't help but ask.
The stick was nearly broken from how hard she had hit him, and her own hands hurt from the impact, so how could her son act like nothing had happened?
"The pain on my body is nothing compared to the pain in your heart. Mom, you hurt more than I do…" Ryun said seriously.
Asuka stared at him blankly before suddenly pulling him into a hug:
"I should've just chosen to tear your mouth shut so you couldn't spout such nonsense…"
Asuka pinched his cheeks lightly and couldn't help but laugh.
"Uh… I was wrong!" Ryun chuckled awkwardly and apologized again.
"Tell me what you did on the battlefield. Don't leave anything out." Asuka stroked his long hair, her tone gentle.
Having already beaten and scolded him, Asuka forgave him.
There wasn't much to say about the life-and-death battles on the battlefield, but Ryun still picked some lighthearted and interesting stories to share.
The mother and son sat on the engawa chatting for a long time until Kushina arrived, at which point they finally stopped.
"You brat, no more gambling outside from now on. And return all the money you won from Lady Tsunade—cancel those gambling debts too…"
Asuka scolded him one last time.
Her son had taken all the money Tsunade had earned through life-and-death battles and even left her with a huge debt. Asuka felt it was incredibly rude…
"I already returned it. I was just playing around with her…"
Since Tsunade had promised to teach him how to use her monstrous strength, of course Ryun had returned the money.
He canceled all her debts and returned half of what he had won. Even then, Tsunade was so grateful that she acted obsequiously around him these days.
"You two talk. I'll go make something delicious for you." Asuka gently pinched Kushina's cute cheeks before leaving the two alone.
"Nana, I missed you so much…"
Ryun rushed forward, hugged Kushina tightly, and began showering her cheeks with kisses, his fiery passion almost melting her on the spot.
"Stop it… my face is covered in saliva…"
Kushina giggled and tried to push him away, but her struggling hands clearly didn't use much strength.
"Nana, did you miss me during this time?" Ryun went straight to the mushy talk.
"Of course I did. Why even ask?" Kushina blushed and responded warmly.
"How much? As much as I did, thinking about you day and night?" Ryun grinned while staring at her face.
"That's so cheesy, aren't you embarrassed…" Kushina buried her face in his chest, her ears turning bright red from shyness.
"Hahaha!"
Ryun laughed heartily. He loved teasing Kushina the most—her bashful reactions were always so amusing.
The two were affectionate in the living room until Asuka quickly prepared a table full of delicious dishes. The three of them ate while chatting happily.
Being home made Ryun feel especially relaxed. The tension from being in a dangerous environment finally eased, so he did most of the talking at the table while the two women mostly listened attentively.
Ryun spent the afternoon playing cards and chatting with Asuka and Kushina. But around 4 p.m., two Uchiha clansmen arrived at his doorstep with an invitation.
"Seimaru, Senya, what brings you here…"
The visitors were Uchiha Seimaru and Uchiha Senya—old acquaintances.
"Haha, Ryun, you've made a name for yourself in the Land of Rain and returned triumphantly. Of course we came to see you." Seimaru laughed and flattered him.
"Ryun, the clan elders have prepared a victory banquet at the clan compound. They sent us to invite you and your mother to join them."
Senya smiled as he stated their purpose, then bowed slightly and respectfully presented the invitation.
"..."
Ryun frowned immediately. He had just returned to the village and hadn't even spent enough time with his family, yet the Uchiha Clan was already making things difficult for him.
Even the Konoha higher-ups knew to give returning ninja a day to reunite with their families before summoning them to the Hokage Building the next day for commendations and debriefing. Yet the Uchiha Clan came calling the same afternoon.
Though they claimed it was a victory banquet, Ryun wasn't naive about their true intentions.
"Go back and tell them I appreciate the elders' kindness, but I'm exhausted today and want to spend time with my family. Let's talk again in a few days…"
Ryun spoke indifferently. He had no interest in dealing with the arrogant members of the Uchiha Clan.
Given his current strength and reputation, there was no need for him to humble himself or cater to the Uchiha Clan anymore.
"This…"
Seimaru and Senya exchanged uneasy glances. If they returned empty-handed, they would leave a bad impression on the clan elders for failing their task.