The Land of Hot Water, located in the western part of the Land of Water, was surrounded by mountains and filled with hot springs.
The moment Ryosuke stepped onto the soil of the Land of Hot Water, he caught a faint aroma of osmanthus in the air.
"The Land of Hot Water has a lot of natural hot springs, so there's always this faint sulfur smell, like rotten eggs. To mask that smell, every city and street here plants a lot of osmanthus trees." Kakashi said.
Having carried out missions for many years and traveled far and wide, he was deeply familiar with the different customs and habits of every country.
Seeing Ryosuke's interest, they chatted as they walked, "The Land of Hot Water, including the Hidden Hot Water Village, values peace, has simple and honest folk, and never participates in battles."
"Even the shinobi here train in jutsu mainly to help their villages and towns develop."
"The people of this land believe that hot springs have the divine power to 'purify the heart,' and on every major festival, they hold a 'Hot Spring God Festival.'
"At that time, people put on beautiful kimonos and yukatas, men and women bathe together, and for more detailed information…"
Kakashi lifted the book in his hand. "Please refer to Make-Out Paradise. Lord Jiraiya's observations in this work are particularly meticulous and vivid. Want to take a look?"
"No need."
Ryosuke refused the recommendation.
Kakashi shrugged, not pressing further, and instead asked, "But this time, why didn't you bring Sasuke and Rei along?"
"They have their own training," Ryosuke replied.
Sasuke and Rei had stayed behind to study swordsmanship with the Miyamoto system.
As for Amber, Mayuri, and the others, ever since they arrived in the Hidden Mist Village, Ryosuke had taught them Ripple Breathing, and they were now training in both Ripple and ninjutsu.
It wasn't just about physical training, they were also responsible for receiving visitors from Konoha and continuing lessons based on their own understanding.
That, too, was a form of inner cultivation.
The group walked and paused along the way, sometimes investigating traces of missing-nin, sometimes asking locals for information.
The Land of Hot Water wasn't big. After searching all the way, it took less than three days before they heard something at a hot spring inn,
"You're here looking for that sickly, big-breasted beauty?"
An elderly granny said. She held a sugar-crusted pastry in her left hand, a cigarette in her right, seemed a bit hard of hearing, and spoke in a loud voice that drew a lot of attention.
Hearing that Ryosuke and Kakashi were looking for a "big-breasted beauty," the women nearby shot them looks of contempt, while the men subtly nodded, their eyes expressing approval.
"Granny, have you seen her? Is she still here?" Kakashi asked.
The old woman took a puff of her cigarette. "She left this morning. Before leaving, she bought a bunch of rice balls. If you ask me, it's only women who can really eat that can grow that pair of..."
Ryosuke glanced at the time, it was just past one in the afternoon. In Tsunade's current condition, she wouldn't have gotten far. Cutting off the granny's words, he pressed, "Do you remember which direction she went?"
"Which direction…"
The granny was about to raise her hand when, suddenly, her face turned wary.
"I can't tell you. A lot of people have died in town recently. Who knows if you're bad people?"
'A lot of people have died?'
Kakashi was about to explain.
Ryosuke didn't want to waste time.
"White Snake!"
The white snake appeared behind the old woman. This time, instead of slapping her, it merely touched the back of her head lightly.
Zzz~
Click!
Two discs popped out.
Ryosuke checked the memories.
From the granny's perspective, quite a few people had indeed died recently, some were tourists from outside, others were local residents. There was no pattern at all; it was as if the killings were completely random.
Many victims were chatting with family one moment, then suddenly vomiting blood and collapsing the next.
Even more terrifying, this indiscriminate, bizarre killing spree was spreading like a plague.
Multiple cities across the country had outbreaks. Out of fear, people called it, "The Demon God Murder Incident."
The Land of Hot Water had always been peaceful, and the people living here had never experienced anything like this. They were already on edge, and naturally unwilling to casually reveal someone's whereabouts to strangers.
"Let's go."
Ryosuke now knew which direction Tsunade had gone.
From the granny's memory, Tsunade's condition was terrible, she could barely walk straight, and might collapse dead at any moment.
Ryosuke and Kakashi hurried forward, until they passed through a narrow alley.
Whoosh~ Whoosh~ Whoosh~
A thin, sharp sound of wind approached.
A rain of needles shot toward them, accompanied by a powerful woman's shout from above, "Finally! Pretending to be sick for a week wasn't in vain, I've finally lured out you murderous lunatics!"
A shadow appeared on the ground.
Following the sound, Ryosuke looked up and locked eyes with a pair of furious bright brown eyes.
Tsunade.
She wore a grass-green haori, her light blonde hair flowing in the wind. Underneath was a gray sleeveless top with a deep neckline, revealing her impressive figure wrapped in bandages.
She was indeed injured.
But who said being injured meant being half-dead?
She had the Strength of a Hundred Seal and Katsuyu's healing.
Even if her head were cut off or her body sliced in half, Tsunade could still keep fighting full of vitality.
A few days ago, she had been ambushed by an unfamiliar organization. She easily crushed them, killed some, and let two or three tough ones escape.
She'd been drinking at the time and wasn't in the mood to chase them, but that very night, a piercing wound appeared on her chest that refused to heal.
No matter what she tried afterward, it didn't work. Even the Great Slug Sage of Shikkotsu Forest could only ease the injury, not cure it.
"This is a curse," the Great Slug Sage had said.
After thinking it over, Tsunade decided the only way was to find those lunatics and force them to reveal how to lift it.
She knew killing members of that insane organization would make them retaliate.
So she pretended to be half-dead, fishing for enemies hiding in the shadows to take the bait.
"You sure made me wait long enough!"
Tsunade gritted her teeth. Just thinking about the pain of the past few days made her furious.
"Die, for, me!"
Activating her monstrous strength, Tsunade clenched her fist. Air compressed in her palm with an explosive boom, and the air around her fist visibly distorted.
The thousands of flying needle traps, Tsunade descending from above, and Shizune, who stood not far away forming hand seals to block escape routes with Earth Release, attacked together.
Kakashi's head snapped up. Normally lazy and laid-back, he showed rare panic in the face of Tsunade's falling punch.
"Lady Tsunade, don't punch! It's me!"
'Kakashi?!'
Tsunade hadn't expected to run into a Konoha ninja here, but it was too late to stop her descending fist. She could only shout, "Get out of the way!"
But how could one just dodge a punch like that?
Kakashi grabbed Ryosuke with one hand and leapt back, trying to get as far away from the strike zone as possible.
But he realized, he couldn't pull Ryosuke along.
"This unreliable feeling… you really are my classmate," Ryosuke said, stepping forward from beside Kakashi.
"Star Platinum: The World!"
Centered on Ryosuke, a ripple of gray spread outward instantly, freezing the whole world.
Ryosuke glanced at Tsunade's fist only inches from him, then followed her arm upward. From there, an image from a certain memory surfaced, he looked away, sighing softly.
"Thank goodness it's only five seconds."
"If it were five minutes, ten minutes… the test of willpower would be far too much."
Star Platinum grabbed Tsunade and adjusted her posture so her punch aimed at the sky instead of the ground.
Then he pulled Kakashi out of the needle trap's range.
Five seconds passed.
Whoosh~ Whoosh~ Whoosh~
The long needles pierced the walls. Tsunade's monstrous punch smashed into the sky. She staggered, took a few steps to steady herself, and stared dazedly at Ryosuke standing a short distance away.
"What did you do to me?"
Shizune came running over, cradling the little pink pig Tonton, and politely nodded to Kakashi.
Ryosuke waved her off without explaining, giving Kakashi a look to let him explain instead.
Kakashi explained the situation of the Third Hokage stepping down.
Tsunade briefly recounted recent events on her end.
Part of the reason she had come to the Land of Hot Water was because of Ryosuke.
When she heard that Ryosuke had killed Orochimaru, she knew that, on one hand, Orochimaru's crimes meant even dying ten thousand times wouldn't be enough, but on the other hand… she couldn't help but feel nostalgic for her old classmate and comrade-in-arms.
So she came to the Land of Hot Water, rumored to be the most tranquil and peaceful place, to ease her troubled mind, only to encounter the "Demon God Murder Incident."
"It's not just coincidence," Ryosuke said.
From the granny's memories, he'd seen that the victims had nothing in common, their professions, genders, and nationalities all varied. The only similarity, most of the dead were strong, energetic young people.
Ryosuke analyzed, "Even though you're older, your vitality is far stronger than the average person. As long as you appear in front of those people, they'll definitely target you."
"Older," Tsunade's mouth twitched, her eyes flaring as she stared at him. "You're Ryosuke, the one who killed Orochimaru and overthrew Yagura?"
"That's me."
Tsunade stepped closer, locking eyes with Ryosuke for a full ten seconds before suddenly patting his shoulder hard.
"Young and capable. Once I become Hokage, how about you join Konoha and work with me?"
Kakashi's face lit up.
"Lady Tsunade, you've agreed to be Hokage?"
Tsunade shook her head. "I'll have to talk with Teacher Hiruzen first before I decide. And..."
She pulled open her collar, revealing the still-bleeding bandages.
"If I don't kill the one who cursed me, there's no point even if I go back."
Konoha didn't need a Hokage who was constantly injured.
Tsunade's fists clenched. "It's just a shame those rats are hiding too deep."
Hearing this, Kakashi gestured toward Ryosuke. "If it's finding people you're worried about, don't worry, we've got 'Ryosuke's Marvelous Little Vines.'"
"Don't use weird descriptions like that. And…"
Ryosuke looked hesitant.
"And?" Tsunade asked.
"I'll need to touch your wound to activate my ability," Ryosuke said.
After repeatedly using Hidden Purple, Ryosuke roughly understood its principle, the purple vines were like threads linking to the 'cause.'
If he had seen and knew someone personally, they were the source of the cause, and he could activate the ability directly.
If he wasn't directly connected to the cause, he needed a corresponding item to link to it in order to use Hidden Purple accurately.
"Oh, that's all?" Tsunade relaxed. "I thought you were going to ask me for money."
She waved him over, pulling her collar and bandages aside, her face full of anticipation.
"Come on! Hurry up and touch me! I can't wait..."
"To blow those murderous bastards to pieces!"
Ryosuke's mouth hung slightly open.
Was this the boldness unique to middle-aged women?
The wound was a mess of flesh and blood. Ryosuke wasn't some pervert, there was no romantic thought at a time like this. He had only been concerned she might mind.
Since Tsunade didn't, Ryosuke took a Polaroid from his bag, pressed one hand to her wound, and gripped it firmly with the other.
The Polaroid cracked, spitting out a photograph, a dead body lay in the middle of a ritual circle.
Around the corpse stood many people, naked, their bodies painted pitch black.
Behind them loomed a terrifying, grotesque statue, and above the statue stood a plaque with large characters, "Cult of the Evil God."
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