After a long journey, Ryun finally arrived in the Land of Fire from the Land of Lightning.
Konoha Village, Main Gate.
When his figure appeared before the two on-duty ninja, both were greatly shocked and surprised.
They did not dare to stop Ryun from entering the village. Instead, they proactively stepped forward to bow in respect, and immediately rushed to the Hokage Building to report this news to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Upon receiving the news, Hiruzen was overjoyed, but then, as if remembering something, his full expression of joy suddenly withdrew, and his face turned grave.
Ryun's return this time was most likely because of Mito Uzumaki's critical illness.
Or rather, he came back because of Kushina, the future Nine-Tails jinchuriki!
If Ryun held an opposing stance on the 'Nine-Tails container' matter, or if he forcibly took Kushina away, then Konoha, which had just barely calmed down, might once again be thrown into tremendous turmoil.
Ryun even had a tailed beast at his disposal now. To put it bluntly, he possessed enough power to annihilate a small to medium-sized country. If someone like him became an enemy of Konoha, the threat would be even greater than directly going to war with another major nation…
War between major nations required consideration of many factors, but if Uchiha Ryun went to war with another country, it could truly happen at a moment's notice. The key problem was that overwhelming him with numbers might not even be possible…
"No, I need to have a good talk with him now…"
Hiruzen feared that the 'Nine-Tails Jinchuriki Plan' would encounter complications due to Ryun's appearance, so he quickly got up and headed for the Senju clan compound.
Inside the Senju Clan Compound.
When Ryun saw the emaciated old woman on the bed who was nearing the end of her life, he knew that Mito Uzumaki's illness most likely could not be cured, as she was already close to being completely drained, like a lamp running out of oil.
"Child… you've returned…"
Mito Uzumaki grabbed Ryun's hand and spoke with a kind and affectionate expression, her withered, aged face looking very haggard.
"Yes, Grandma, I'm back…"
Ryun forced a stiff smile onto his face. It wasn't very pleasant to look at, but it made Mito Uzumaki very happy.
"I heard from Kushina that you led Konoha to victory against Kumogakure and personally defeated the Third Raikage… cough…"
As Mito spoke, she began coughing incessantly.
Kushina, who was nearby, quickly patted her back to help alleviate it.
"Yes…"
Ryun nodded gently in response, not refuting that it was for his own sake, let alone for Konoha's.
There was no need to clarify everything when someone was about to die. Going along with her wishes and letting her pass away peacefully was all Ryun could do now.
After all, she truly considered him one of her own and had given him much help.
"It must have been very hard being alone outside… Come back to Konoha… This is still your home after all, and Kushina will also become your family…"
Mito Uzumaki smiled as she entrusted Kushina to him.
Hearing this, Kushina, who was beside them, couldn't hold back her tears, feeling both joy and the reluctance and sorrow of impending loss for her relative.
Upon hearing this, Ryun still nodded gently but did not speak.
This made it somewhat unclear whether he was nodding because he had suffered, because he agreed to return to the village, or because Kushina would become his family.
"I will take good care of Kushina!"
Ryun looked at Mito Uzumaki while simultaneously reaching out to hold Kushina's hand.
"Grandma believes you. You have always been very reliable. I am very much at ease with Kushina by your side…"
"But…"
Mito's tone then shifted.
"But… Grandma still has to beg you, do not take Kushina away from Konoha…"
Mito Uzumaki's thoughts were largely similar to Hiruzen's; they both feared Ryun would forcibly take Kushina away from Konoha.
If that happened, it would be an extremely bad situation for Konoha.
Ryun and Konoha might even come to blows over this matter, and Mito Uzumaki did not want to see any more internal conflict within Konoha.
Hearing these words, Ryun fell silent for a long time. Finally, he nodded gently again.
"I promise you, I will not forcibly take Kushina away, and I will not interfere with her becoming the Nine-Tails jinchuriki."
As soon as Ryun said this, Mito Uzumaki's face showed delight. Outside the bedroom, Hiruzen, who had been waiting, also let out a huge sigh of relief, feeling immensely pleased.
If Ryun didn't cause trouble, then everything was easier. Moreover, this proved he still loved Konoha in his heart. Even if Kushina, this future Nine-Tails jinchuriki, ended up with Ryun in the future, Hiruzen would hold an approving attitude.
If the incident where Ryun 'assisted' Konoha in defeating Kumogakure had never happened, then Hiruzen and the Konoha leadership might have been too afraid to let Ryun near Kushina in the future.
Having such thoughts wasn't because they deliberately wanted to 'stand in the way of true love', but because they feared Ryun would seize Konoha's 'strategic weapon' and privatize the 'Nine-Tails'…
"Good… cough… Very good!"
Mito Uzumaki was so excited she coughed repeatedly, then suddenly instructed Kushina, who was soothing her back, to take out a stack of handwritten notes from a certain drawer.
"Grandma prepared these for you recently. Even though her body was unwell, she still insisted on writing these things down…"
Kushina said as she handed the notes in her hand to Ryun.
Ryun skimmed through several pages quickly. It contained nothing but knowledge and experience regarding the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques.
It could be said that Mito Uzumaki's life's learnings were all in here. Some of the knowledge was even things Kushina hadn't managed to grasp yet.
Only someone with Ryun's current strength, perspective, and level of sealing technique proficiency could understand the knowledge within.
"Thank you… for Grandma's gift…"
Ryun did not refuse Mito Uzumaki's kindness and was genuinely touched in his heart.
Mito Uzumaki had prepared this gift long ago. Even if Ryun hadn't agreed to let Kushina become the Nine-Tails jinchuriki, she would still have passed this knowledge on to him.
Both Ryun and Kushina were successors of the Uzumaki clan. She did not want to take her life's learnings to the grave. Furthermore, this knowledge and experience could also be considered a gift for Ryun promising to take good care of Kushina for her.
"There is also another scroll there, inside which I personally placed an Uzumaki restriction. I believe with your ability, you can easily open it… It contains the secret techniques of our Uzumaki clan. You must pass these things on to future generations on my behalf…"
Mito Uzumaki pointed to a large scroll in the bedroom. She wanted to clearly entrust all the people and matters she wished to, while she was still lucid.
The scroll contained many high-level ninjutsu of the Uzumaki clan. These were things she retrieved from the old clan lands after the Uzumaki clan's destruction. To use these high-level sealing techniques, one must be a successor of the Uzumaki clan and also be highly proficient in Uzumaki sealing techniques.
It was still too early for Kushina to learn the things inside the scroll. Currently, the only one qualified to learn these high-level sealing techniques was Ryun. Only with Mito Uzumaki's experience notes, combined with Ryun's own knowledge reservoir and learning talent, would there be any possibility of mastering them.
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