Ryosuke was a bit worried about Terumi Mei.
Saito's rank was very high, and it was unknown whether Terumi Mei could handle it.
However, confrontation and cooperation with a daimyo was one of the trainings of a "Kage", so he could only hope that Terumi Mei would grow in this process.
Miyamoto was receiving ripple treatment from Sasuke and Rei.
The onlooking crowd gradually dispersed. The men gestured and postured, imagining themselves as swordsmen; the women discussed whether Ryosuke's face or Miyamoto's was more handsome.
Tonight, Kirigakure was still full of gossip material.
Kakashi and the others, carrying travel bags, came over in big strides after the crowd dispersed, swept his gaze around, and sighed, "Is your life always this lively?"
"Just some rights and wrongs, that's all."
Ryosuke saw Kakashi's travel-worn appearance, clearly from rushing day and night, "Here on a mission?"
"Indeed on a mission."
"Looking for who? Terumi Mei?"
"No."
Kakashi said, "Looking for you… The Third Hokage-sama may be abdicating."
Sasuke, who was helping Miyamoto heal, heard this, and his eyes lit up with a biu.
"The old man Hokage is going to abdicate to Brother Ryosuke?"
Kakashi looked at the expectant Sasuke, licked his lips, "Uh?"
———
Ryosuke and Kakashi arrived at an tavern.
Lifting the curtain, the busy Iwamine's eyes lit up. She wiped the water from her hands, walked gracefully over, greeted with gentleness, then knelt down to help Ryosuke change shoes.
"I can do it myself," Ryosuke said.
After Yagura stepped down, the red light street was largely shut down on its own, and many girls lost their source of income.
The Kirigakure government allocated some funds; some girls took the money and returned to their hometowns, while others stayed in Kirigakure to find new jobs.
Iwamine, once an oiran, had saved some money in recent years, and with government assistance, took over this izakaya to become the proprietress.
Many people looked down on her past identity, feeling that food and drinks handled by her were dirty, so business was not good, but Iwamine's smile now carried more ease than before.
"Thanks to Lord Ryosuke's care, otherwise my shop would have closed long ago."
Iwamine said this while bringing side dishes and drinks to the two, then bowed again, quietly withdrawing, leaving the space to the two men who needed to talk.
"Sarutobi Hiruzen is abdicating?" Ryosuke asked.
Kakashi nodded, "The news has not yet been made public, but basically all the upper echelons of Konoha know the Third's intentions."
He looked out the window, at Kirigakure under reconstruction.
"The Third has been greatly impacted."
"Because of Yagura's stepping down?"
"Yes," Kakashi said, "but not only that, also Danzo's death, the annihilation of the Uchiha clan, the early death of the Fourth… Too many tragedies."
The world all knew that under the First and Second Hokage, Konoha was invincible.
The world also knew that today's Konoha merely had an outer shell of "strength", having long lost its former oppressive power.
The Third Hokage was the witness to decline, and also a participant.
Putting aside the hesitation in his governing philosophy and his indulgence toward Danzo, whether right or wrong, and how much harm it brought to Konoha, Sarutobi Hiruzen's loyalty to Konoha and to the Will of Fire was beyond doubt.
He desired Konoha's stability and prosperity more than anyone.
Such an old man, having personally experienced so many events of decline, could not but feel desolate in his heart.
"…The Third had been forcing himself to hold on, but after hearing about Kirigakure's situation, he went to the Fourth's grave and sat in silence for an entire night. The next morning, he summoned me, and the first thing he said was..."
Kakashi raised his glass, "Times have changed."
"I had never seen the Third like that before, his shoulders collapsed, sitting before the grave, thin and small, with his back slightly hunched."
"He told me to go find Tsunade, bring her back, and have her take on the role of Acting Hokage."
Ryosuke slightly nodded.
Tsunade, he knew her, though the specific reasons were inconvenient to detail.
However, Ryosuke's understanding was too "surface level", so he asked, "Does she have the ability to be Hokage? Stronger than Jiraiya?"
"Lord Jiraiya… uh…"
Kakashi found it hard to evaluate the two's administrative abilities, so he explained from another angle, "Lady Tsunade is the First Hokage's granddaughter."
The two men looked at each other, lightly clinked glasses, and tacitly skipped this topic.
"So, you want me to help find the missing Tsunade?" Ryosuke asked.
"Yes. Lord Jiraiya said you have a 'strange little vine' that can cross mountains and seas to find a target, so he had me come ask for your help, of course, Konoha will pay sufficient compensation."
The cause and effect of the matter was now clear.
"But why are you the one coming? If we're talking about finding Tsunade, he's her old classmate and should be more familiar with her whereabouts."
Kakashi sighed helplessly, "Lord Jiraiya was injured during his travels and is still recuperating at Mount Myoboku. The request for your help was relayed to me through a toad."
As for the cause of Jiraiya's injury, part of it was because of Ryosuke.
Seeing Ryosuke absorb natural energy and fly through the skies and earth, he thought, if Ryosuke could do it, then after training for over a decade, as long as he grasped the method, he could too, right?
As a result, after trying it once, the balance between natural energy and chakra was severely disrupted, and his lower body turned to stone, forcing him to ask the toad sages of Mount Myoboku to treat him.
"But this is also good news."
Kakashi chuckled, "Lord Jiraiya can finally focus on writing books. Oh, and he also asked me to bring you a message."
Hearing this opening, Ryosuke reflexively said,
"To have me lay down my arms and surrender?"
"What?" Kakashi was confused.
"Sorry, go on."
"Lord Jiraiya said, 'Be careful of Ryuchi Cave, the snake sages have been very active lately.'"
Ryuchi Cave, snake sages.
Ryosuke still remembered the Kunitsukami he had once chopped down with a single swing.
Thanks to the dragon-snake pearl she sent, Ryosuke had been able to master natural energy so quickly.
"Thanks for the warning."
Ryosuke never underestimated enemies, "I'll be careful. As for the reward you mentioned…"
"I want Konoha to send some people here to attend my lectures, to witness the reconstruction of Kirigakure. After returning, they should tell Konoha's villagers the parts they think are worth telling."
When these people returned, Ryosuke's daily income of soul fragments would increase again, and Konoha would become a coordinate point to spread Ryosuke's ideology.
"Only that?"
"Only that."
Kakashi nodded, performed the summoning technique, and called out a pug ninja hound. After telling it Ryosuke's request, he dismissed it, letting it relay the message back.
"There'll be a result at the latest the day after tomorrow," Kakashi said.
"Alright."
Ryosuke stood up, "I'll go find a camera."
He slid open the door and found Iwamine sitting at the end of the corridor, still kneeling, with a table of dishes before her, seemingly reluctant to disturb the two men's conversation, so she hadn't brought them in right away.
Ryosuke walked over, "No need to wait here; go tend to other guests."
Iwamine smiled lightly, "Lord, you are the only guest I need to tend to."
Seeing he couldn't convince her, Ryosuke shook his head and left.
Iwamine carried the small table into the room, set down the dishes, bowed slightly to Kakashi, and was about to leave when Kakashi suddenly stopped her, "You respect him a lot."
Iwamine quietly met Kakashi's gaze, and without any evasion said, "Yes. Lord Ryosuke is the person I respect the most."
"Because he pulled you out of the mud?"
Iwamine smiled and shook her head, "I've seen many people, some mediocre, some outstanding. Mediocre or outstanding, they are all just passersby in life, ordinary as can be."
"But some people, just by standing there, are dazzling with light, and only by meeting that person can you understand the beauty of life."
Iwamine gazed toward the distance where Ryosuke had gone.
"He is such a person."
Kakashi was stunned, and after a long silence, said, "You… really have changed."
Iwamine covered her mouth and smiled lightly.
At this moment Ryosuke returned carrying a television, "I couldn't find a camera, so I'll make do with this."
He plugged it in, turned to Kakashi, and stretched out his hand, "Give me something related to Tsunade."
Kakashi handed him a dice.
Ryosuke took the dice.
'Hermit Purple!'
Purple vines appeared, entwining the television. The next second, the TV screen shook, countless snowy static shadows appeared, and amid the chaotic shadows, Tsunade's figure gradually appeared.
Her expression was pained, her face ashen, and at her heart was a wound, with fresh blood flowing endlessly.
'Tsunade... is she about to die?!'
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