Konoha.
The Konoha higher-ups, who should have been cheering and celebrating after winning the Lightning-Fire War, found themselves utterly unable to smile.
Now the entire ninja world knew of their shameful act of betraying their own village's hero. The villagers within Konoha were even issuing condemnations and demands for answers directed at the Hokage and the series of higher-ups.
The Konoha villagers had been kept completely in the dark. They originally thought the fault lay with Ryun, and that the Hokage had magnanimously forgiven him...
But now, with the flood of external information and the malicious spread of news by spy personnel, the Konoha villagers were shocked to discover that the one at fault was actually Konoha's Hokage!
It was Konoha that betrayed Ryun first, using him as a sacrificial pawn between two nations. Furthermore, after the fact, they acted with extreme irresponsibility, allowing the hero's mother to take her own life at home while Ryun was presumed dead.
The Third Hokage's various failings led to a series of tragedies. Konoha's hero barely escaped hell, only to wake up and witness his mother's death with his own eyes, encountering yet another 'hell'!
That young boy, only thirteen years old, was driven mad by the harsh reality. That is why the incident of him losing control, running amok, and severely injuring the Hokage occurred.
Upon learning this news, the Konoha villagers couldn't help but shed silent tears, feeling sympathy and grief mixed with indignation over the hero's tragic experience.
Now, every day, people go to the Hokage Building to cause a loud commotion. Even sending ninja to drive them away has proven ineffective.
The Third Hokage, at the center of the storm, had no choice but to step forward and publicly apologize, admitting his mistakes. He shouldered the vast majority of the responsibility alone and, in front of all the assembled villagers, decisively announced his resignation.
For now, he is only acting as Hokage. Once the war is over, he will relinquish all Hokage authority. He won't even retain his position as principal of the Ninja Academy. Furthermore, he guaranteed that he would personally ask Ryun to return to the village...
Hiruzen Sarutobi's sincere attitude in admitting his faults left no room for criticism. Everyone, considering that his actions were all for Konoha's sake and that he had worked tirelessly for so many years, ultimately chose to forgive him.
This public opinion storm, with the Third Hokage as its primary casualty, thus came to an end.
Ryun learned a bit about what happened in Konoha through intelligence personnel in Otogakure, but he was dismissive of it and couldn't be bothered to pay attention.
As for the bounty and declaration of war issued against him personally by the Land of Water, he sneered at them.
Never mind that the Land of Water currently had no idea where he was hiding; even if they did, who in the entire ninja world would dare accept the bounty on his head... That would be like having a death wish...
As for Kirigakure? They were just talking big to show the Daimyo of the Land of Water. Even if they knew Ryun's whereabouts, what could they do? Probably even if the Third Mizukage himself mobilized along with their village's Three-Tails, it still wouldn't be enough to take him on...
However, since they had already issued threats, Ryun felt he could move Kirigakure up the priority list for his tailed beast collection plan.
Of course, his primary target for tailed beast collection remained the one he hated the most: Kumogakure, specifically the Eight-Tails Gyuki, whose combat power ranked second among the nine tailed beasts!
After confirming his target, Ryun did not immediately set out for the Land of Lightning. Instead, he wrote a letter to Orochimaru, inquiring about Jiraiya's whereabouts.
Jiraiya at this stage should still be within the Land of Rain. The original story mentioned that he taught the 'Nagato trio' there for nearly three years.
Ryun couldn't find Nagato within the Land of Rain, so he could only try to find out Jiraiya's whereabouts. The Rinnegan—he felt it necessary to secure it in his own hands.
As for that 'old dog' responsible for his mother's death, Ryun bore him deep-seated hatred and would never allow him to achieve his wishes.
The next day, Ryun received a reply from Orochimaru. He stated that he didn't know Jiraiya's specific whereabouts either but would notify him if any news came up.
After getting the reply, Ryun decisively headed for the Land of Lightning.
During this period, Kumogakure had just suffered a major defeat on the battlefield, which implicated the entire Land of Lightning due to various factors. The national morale was generally low and dispirited.
Ryun entered the Land of Lightning alone and carefully made his way to the vicinity of Kumogakure.
He staked out the main road at the entrance of Kumogakure for some time and, under cover of night, captured a certain jonin team leaving the village on a mission.
"Where is the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki?"
Ryun immediately killed several lower-ranking ninja, then used the hypnotic ability of his Sharingan to interrogate for information on the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.
"Maybe at... Cloud Lightning Gorge... or maybe on... Turtle Island..." the Kumo jonin replied, his eyes vacant and his speech halting.
As long as a Jinchuriki isn't deliberately sealed away, a jonin actually has the clearance to know their whereabouts. Even if they can't pinpoint the exact location, they can know the general area.
After asking for directions, Ryun decisively snapped the other's neck.
Following the route provided, Ryun quickly found the location of Cloud Lightning Gorge. He secretly infiltrated it, expanding his sage perception, but consistently failed to find any trace of the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.
Ryun stayed in the Land of Lightning for over ten days. During this time, he left Cloud Lightning Gorge and embarked on a journey to find Turtle Island.
Unfortunately, that island was alive. The giant turtle's direction of travel was only known to the higher-ups of Kumogakure. Ryun secretly captured quite a few Kumo-nin, but after repeated inquiries, he couldn't find Turtle Island's exact whereabouts.
Just as he was planning to infiltrate Kumogakure to continue gathering information on the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, a message delivered by a small white snake from Konoha made him instantly abandon his plan to capture the Eight-Tails and decisively set off for Konoha.
Kushina sent him a message saying that Mito Uzumaki was critically ill, and it was most likely the kind that would be very difficult to recover from...
This situation meant the old woman's life was nearing its end, and it also meant... Kushina was about to become the new Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!
"Dammit, why is she giving out so quickly..."
Mito Uzumaki's sudden critical illness caught Ryun somewhat off guard. Based on this information, he felt this old woman might die even sooner than in the original story.
When Kushina became the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, she wasn't as tall as in her adult years, and her physical development seemed quite immature in all aspects, so her age was probably around 15.
She is 14 this year. Unless Mito Uzumaki's illness can take a turn for the better, her death might occur half a year to a year earlier than in the original story.
Kushina needed him most right now. Ryun would not let her face the fear and pressure from the Nine-Tails alone.
Moreover, he had already thought it through. Rather than letting Konoha seal the Nine-Tails inside some unknown person, it would be better to seal it inside Kushina.
When the time came, acquiring the Nine-Tails' power might be very easy for him. The obstacles from Konoha would likely be minimal, and he could plan much more, and much bigger, things involving the Nine-Tails.
It was nearly impossible for the Nine-Tails to break loose and run amok under the dual restraints of Uzumaki sealing techniques and the Mangekyo Sharingan, even if it was the complete Nine-Tails.
So Kushina would be safe. Perhaps she wouldn't have her personal freedom severely restricted like in the original story.
After some consideration, he decided to go to Konoha first. He would see the old woman for the last few times and accompany Kushina through this most difficult period.
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