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It took Ryosuke seven days to kill Orochimaru.
Returning to Konoha took five days.
In only twelve days' time, when Ryosuke saw Jiraiya again, he almost couldn't recognize the man in front of him.
Jiraiya looked absolutely terrible.
Hair knotted, eyes filled with red blood vessels, twelve days of intense mental tension, no sleep, and needing to maintain the Clean Water Sphere's normal operationā¦
It was nearly draining this legendary Sannin down to the last drop of oil and the dying wick.
"Seeing you return, I can finally relax." Jiraiya grinned, revealing a smile.
"You've worked hard."
Ryosuke gently patted Jiraiya's shoulder, and the last trace of estrangement vanished. The control of the white snake was lifted from the "command" written in Jiraiya's heart.
The command could only make Jiraiya stay beside Sasuke, it couldn't make him put in such full dedication.
Kakashi gave Jiraiya a slight nod, and the four walked out.
Inside the room were only Ryosuke, Jiraiya, Konan, and the unconscious Sasuke.
Jiraiya sighed lightly.
Compared to physical exhaustion, the guilt in his spirit was more painful. It was all worth it. He formed hand seals, controlling the Clean Water Sphere to gradually disperse, revealing Sasuke at the core.
Sasuke had become much thinner, cheeks sunken, ribs prominently visible, like a famine-era refugee. His life energy was barely noticeable.
If delayed for a few more days, Sasuke might truly not have held on and died.
Ryosuke did not delay any longer. He placed Orochimaru's disc into his chest. The power of nature and ripple gathered at his fingertips, gently pointing to Sasuke's forehead.
Using the curse mark's operation method, he began reversing and extracting all the invading forces bit by bit.
Droplets of black tomoe flowed along Sasuke's meridians, finally exiting through the center of his brow. Ryosuke used a small bottle he had prepared in advance to collect them.
Jiraiya and Konan, watching from the side, unconsciously lightened their breathing.
After ten minutes, all of the Heaven Curse Mark inside Sasuke's body disappeared.
Perhaps because it had been flowing out from the forehead for so long, a black, inverted three-tomoe symbol appeared at the center of Sasuke's brow.
Three smooth tomoe overlapping together, the tips pointing outward, it looked somewhat like a curved Mercedes-Benz logo.
Ryosuke felt the pattern looked familiar.
((("Three fish with one head?"
The so-called "three-fish-one-head pattern" originated from the Eastern Han period, originally used in tomb murals. Later it gradually spread and was no longer restricted to funerals.
Its Taoist meaning is reincarnation, endless life.))))
A coincidence?
Or perhapsā¦
Ryosuke looked toward the crown of thorns on Sasuke's head.
Was it a miracle blessed by a Saint?
Just as the last drop of the Heaven Curse Mark was removed, the clean water surrounding Sasuke burst apart, and he landed firmly on the ground. His brows and eyes drooped, as if looking at the floor, yet also as if overlooking the world.
Ryosuke looked at Jiraiya.
He shook his head, signaling that it wasn't his doing.
"I lost control over the Clean Water Sphere. Noā¦ not just the Clean Water Sphereā¦"
Jiraiya formed hand seals.
It was the simplest Clone Technique seal. Any student who graduated from the ninja academy would be able to perform this basic jutsu.
However, a faint puff of smoke appeared, and Jiraiya's clone only lasted half a second. Under Sasuke's gaze, it flickered and distorted like a television with poor signal, then disappeared.
Jiraiya stared blankly at Sasuke standing on the ground, thoughts racing yet with no clue. The only thing he could confirm was, under this child's gaze, his ninjutsuā¦ was "nullified".
"Did you see that?!" Jiraiya said.
Konan said, "I saw it!"
"I didn't see anything."
Ryosuke reached out and ruffled Sasuke's messy hair.
"All I saw was a just-awakened child, and a middle-aged man who hasn't slept in too long and is hallucinating. As for you, "
Ryosuke looked toward Konan.
Konan caught on and quickly spoke, "I didn't see it either."
She clutched her chest, afraid Ryosuke would inject her with some strange command again.
All three people in the room were clear, if the ability of "ninjutsu nullification" was real, how much of a storm would it stir in the ninja world?
Konan knew, Pain's Preta Path could absorb incoming ninjutsu, that was already terrifying enough. But Sasuke's displayed ability just now was even more terrifying.
Within visible range, even Substitution Jutsu couldn't be performed. What concept was this? It directly downgraded ninjas into samurai.
Jiraiya and Konan had different thoughts.
At that moment, Sasuke suddenly snapped out of it, "Brother Ryosuke? Iā¦ where am I?"
"Konoha."
"Huh?"
Sasuke didn't understand how he'd returned to Konoha.
Ryosuke explained, "During your coma, I still thought it was more important to continue the Uchiha bloodline, so I signed an agreement with the Third Hokage."
"After you turn eighteen, every day a different strong woman will be assigned to breed with you. Sasuke, you have to work hard, the future of the Uchiha depends on you."
"HUH???"
Sasuke turned pale with fright, not a trace left of his previous sacred and dignified look.
Ryosuke burst into laughter and threw the set of clothes he had prepared to him.
Only then did Sasuke realize Ryosuke was bluffing. While putting on the clothes, he laughed foolishly.
Jiraiya once again formed hand seals. Ninjutsu worked normally, it seemed like it really was just a hallucination from overexhaustion.
But everyone knew, it wasn't a hallucination.
Ryosuke put his index finger to his lips, making a "shh" gesture.
Jiraiya nodded slightly, indicating he wouldn't talk nonsense.
Just the Sharingan alone was enticing enough. If paired with "ninjutsu nullification," it would surely draw pursuit from countless ninja villages and bounty hunters.
Ryosuke and the group walked out of the infirmary. Kakashi's four-man team was still waiting outside. As host, Jiraiya proposed to personally host a banquet to celebrate Sasuke's awakening and Ryosuke's return to Konoha.
Ryosuke did not refuse and followed Jiraiya to his usual izakaya, where a full table of good wine and food was set.
Kakashi's four sat at a separate table.
They were still on duty and couldn't drink, only sipping tea and eating light dishes.
But before long, the proprietress brought them wine and meat.
Kakashi was stunned, "We didn't order these."
The proprietress pointed to Ryosuke and said, "That guest ordered it. He also asked me to pass a message, 'I don't plan to kill anyone today. I'll be gone tomorrow. So, drink at ease.'"
Kakashi's team was dumbfounded. They turned and saw Ryosuke and Jiraiya chatting with their arms over each other's shoulders, while Konan shelled edamame for Sasuke.
Seeing them look over, Ryosuke raised his glass in greeting, smiling freely.
"Ha, "
Asuma rolled up his sleeves, stroked his beard, and laughed, "Kakashi, now I finally get what you meant by 'interesting.' Ryosukeā¦ really is quite interesting."
After saying that, Asuma no longer cared about his mascot mission. He picked up his wine and walked to Ryosuke's table to drink and chat.
Soon, Might Guy and Kurenai also joined in. Only Kakashi remained seated at the adjacent table, maintaining alertness.
However, it wasn't Ryosuke he was wary of, but others with bad intentions.
After three rounds of drinking, Ryosuke approached Kakashi and softly said, "Thank you."
Ryosuke was thanking Kakashi for that night of the Uchiha massacre, he had personally stepped up to "intercept" Ryosuke and Sasuke.
They were all smart people. Many things didn't need to be spelled out.
Kakashi clinked glasses with Ryosuke, "How did it feel being out there?"
Ryosuke pondered for a few seconds, "Konoha is rotten. Outside is even more rotten. It's just a world competing over who's worse."
Kakashi laughed.
"Your summary is quite on point. Konoha does have many things that aren't good, but it also has many 'treasures' I cherish deeplyā¦ It's already quite good."
Ryosuke raised his cup. Under the izakaya's dim yellow light, the wine shimmered like flowing gold.
"But can't it be even better?"
"Betterā¦"
Kakashi said, "I don't dare to imagine it. Can't even think of how."
By the end of the banquet, Jiraiya was dead drunk. He was truly too exhausted. Two Anbu ninjas supported him away to rest.
Kakashi asked, "It's getting late. We've arranged a guest room for you to rest. Want to go now?"
"Before sleeping, I want to take a detour to one place."
"Where?"
"Uchiha Clan's ruins."
Ryosuke looked toward Konoha Village's darkest and deepest area.
"I want to go back and have a look."
As the words fell, from the sky, it suddenly began to rain.
āāāāāāāāāāāāā
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