Returning home from the Uchiha clan territory, it was already nearly past 8 PM. Since it was too late, Ryun's family decided not to go to the night market and planned to visit the next evening instead.
Tonight, Might Dai brought his son Might Guy over as a guest, so as the host, Ryun naturally had to keep him company and chat for a while.
"Bro Ryun, I never expected you to advance from a fresh graduate genin to a jonin in just over half a year. Meanwhile, I've been a ninja for so many years but still can't get past the chunin barrier..."
Might Dai was famously known as Konoha's Eternal Genin. Besides not knowing any ninjutsu or genjutsu, he also struggled with written ninja theory, which was his biggest weakness in the chunin written exams.
"If it weren't for my child being so young, I'd definitely go to the battlefield to fight for a better future..."
The only way for Might Dai to get promoted to chunin was through battlefield achievements. However, since his son Might Guy had just been born, Konoha wouldn't allow ninjas like him to go to the frontlines.
Genin could only take low-rank missions and couldn't accept higher-paying ones, so Might Dai was under quite a bit of financial pressure.
"For someone as skilled in taijutsu as you, Dai, Konoha's refusal to promote you is their loss. The Third Hokage is too stubborn. Even if you only know taijutsu, as long as it doesn't affect actual combat ability, you should still be promoted..."
While teasing little Guy's "little acorn," Ryun tried to comfort him.
Once Might Dai opened the Eight Gates, even elite jonin teams like the "Seven Ninja Swordsmen" could be turned into the "Three Lucky Stars." Keeping him as an Eternal Genin was a huge waste of talent.
After all, the combined strength of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen surpassed that of an average Kage-level ninja. Most Kage would be in serious trouble if they ran into these seven.
Each of the seven swords had unique abilities, and none of them were pushovers. They only suffered such a crushing defeat because they ran into someone like Might Dai, who had his own "cheats"...
"Hey hey hey... what are you doing? Why are your hands so mischievous..."
"Ah... you shameless jerk..."
Asuka and Kushina saw him examining baby Guy's little "acorn" and couldn't help but exclaim in shock.
Might Dai, the father, didn't try to stop him at all.
"The main problem is that Konoha's chunin written exams are too difficult. I just can't seem to remember anything..."
Might Dai said this while bursting into tears. The exam questions were too complicated for him, and he also didn't have the ability to cheat during tests.
"..."
Given Might Dai's situation, aside from risking his life on the battlefield for military merits, the conventional path to promotion was indeed very difficult for him.
Ryun didn't have a good solution for this. The best he could do was talk to the Third Hokage later and explain Might Dai's true strength, hoping for a special promotion.
"Don't lose hope, Dai. Now that I'm a jonin, we can team up to take on high-rank missions. Once you have enough high-rank mission records, Konoha will have to acknowledge your skills, and they'll have no choice but to promote you."
Ryun comforted him again and made a good suggestion.
"Really? That's amazing! The thought of teaming up with you for high-rank missions already gets me fired up!"
Might Dai said excitedly. If Asuka and Kushina weren't present, he would've definitely made Ryun experience the passion and romance between men (hugging and crying).
"Have you been going out for morning runs lately, Dai? How about we go together tomorrow?" Ryun invited him for some physical training.
"Yeah, sometimes I even carry little Guy while running... Same time and place as usual tomorrow. Let's continue sweating for the sake of youth!"
Once the keyword "youth" was triggered, Might Dai flashed his signature sparkling white teeth.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Ryun felt that baby Might Guy had it rough... having such an energetic father who was even more hyper than him...
Not long after, Might Dai got up to leave. Ryun personally walked him to the door and said, "Dai, raising a child is expensive. If you ever have financial difficulties, come find me..."
Might Dai paused for a moment before bursting into laughter, saying that his family was still getting by.
But seeing Ryun's insistence, Might Dai was moved to tears and promised to seek his help if things got tough.
After seeing Might Dai off, Ryun sat in the living room and chatted with Asuka and Kushina. However, before long, Asuka took out a deck of cards and suggested playing Dou Dizhu...
It seemed her gambling addiction wasn't small either, though Asuka rarely gambled with outsiders. She particularly loved card games like Dou Dizhu, which only Ryun's family knew how to play in this world.
The three of them played for a long time until it got late, and Kushina reluctantly got up to leave.
"It's getting late. I should head back now..."
"Yeah, it's not safe for a girl to go home alone at night. Let Ryun walk you back!" Asuka instructed.
"I'll take you home!" Ryun volunteered.
"No need, you'd have to make a round trip..."
"It's fine, no big deal..." Ryun grabbed Kushina's hand without hesitation.
The girl's shyness and joy were written all over her face. Having Ryun escort her home filled her with both a sense of security and happiness.
"Be careful on your way back, and don't go playing around instead of coming home..."
"Got it... Mom's so nagging..."
"You little brat..."
As soon as they turned the corner from the street in front of their house, Ryun's "wolf instincts" kicked in, and he pinned the little tomato against a wall.
"Ah... wh-what are you doing?"
Kushina, with her hands pressed against the wall, felt extremely embarrassed by the position...
Seeing the mischievous grin on Ryun's face so close to hers, she couldn't help but panic while also feeling a strange sense of anticipation.
"What do you think I'm doing?"
Ryun puckered his lips, making his intention to kiss her very obvious.
"No... we can't do this..."
Kushina's face turned so red it looked like it might bleed. She shook her head left and right to avoid letting Ryun succeed. This guy clearly wanted to kiss her...
Seeing Kushina resisting, Ryun held her head firmly with both hands to stop her from struggling.
Before leaving for the Land of Rain battlefield, he had kissed Kushina twice. Now that he was back, he couldn't let those sweet memories fade...
Even though Kushina was still young, Ryun felt that a little kiss wasn't too much. Besides, his own moral standards weren't exactly high...
"No..."
"Mmm..."
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