Ryosuke stayed in the Hidden Cloud Village for three days.
During those three days, all sorts of rumors spread everywhere.
Some said Ryosuke's talks with the Cloud Village collapsed, and he slaughtered the entire village, blood flowing into rivers.
Others said Ryosuke had already been assassinated the very first night he arrived at the Cloud Village, and now his corpse was rotting.
Still others went even further, saying the Cloud Village had found thirty or so plump women skilled in Lightning Style and Water Style, who bewitched Ryosuke until he was utterly obsessed, unwilling to leave, and planning to settle in the Cloud Village for good.
But three days later, when Ryosuke and Sasuke left the village under the escort of Killer B and the others, all those rumors collapsed on their own.
The Cloud Village had prepared a ship for Ryosuke, with enough storage space to hold the White Snake Sage's severed head, along with the war reparations and follow-up documents for coordination, and asked Ryosuke to bring them all back.
Standing by the riverbank, Ryosuke waved his hand at Killer B and the others,
"Go back, no need to see us off."
Everyone waved farewell.
The ship started up, Ryosuke and Sasuke's figures growing smaller and smaller.
Killer B glanced to his side, at his senior disciple Samui, who stood quietly, watching Ryosuke's departure.
She looked extremely tired.
And of course, these three days, Samui had been busy handling communications with every faction in the village over the Cloud–Mist coordination work.
The workload was one part of it.
The other was the ridicule she received from her fellow Cloud villagers.
"So how does it feel, betraying your village and gaining power?"
"If I don't listen to you, will you write my name down and have Ryosuke kill me some other day?"
Of course, the ridicule was only from a minority.
Most Cloud ninjas were straightforward, blunt people.
"Ahh."
Killer B handed her a bottle of juice, breaking Samui's train of thought.
"I need tea or coffee."
Samui said that with her mouth, but still took the juice, twisted it open, gulped down a huge mouthful, and pressed back down the stone weighing on her heart.
"What did Ryosuke say to you, that made you take on this job?" Killer B asked.
Samui looked at Ryosuke's figure in the distance, silent for a long while before speaking,
"He said this job isn't easy, and asked if I wanted to leave with him."
"He also said, the Leaf Village and the future Sand Village will both need someone familiar with 'Awakening Knowledge.' Doing the same work in a different environment would be much easier…"
"But I refused."
"Why?" Killer B asked.
"Because this job, in the Cloud Village, whoever does it, it won't be easy, and they'll be hated. Since that's the case, it's better if it's me, who's already a traitor, who takes it on."
'As long as the people of the village can show more smiles, that's enough.'
Killer B scratched his head.
He knew Samui wasn't really a traitor.
If, back then, her messenger pigeon had gotten out, this battle might never have happened.
His big Brother would still be the Raikage, the elites of the Jutsu Corps wouldn't be injured, and they would still be the strongest village.
Samui had truly made her judgment from the perspective of the village.
Killer B wanted to comfort her with a few words, but didn't know how. He reached into his clothes, pulled out a sheet of paper, and handed it to her.
"I saw you working hard lately, so I wrote you a rap."
Samui took the paper, glanced at it, it was full of fiery, passionate rap lyrics. She shook her head, sighed, and said,
"The world is in turmoil, and teacher has no great ambition, only passing the time with lyrics?"
After speaking, she ignored the dumbfounded Killer B, turned, and went back into the village to continue her work.
———
The Land of Lightning lies just north of the Land of Water.
Heading south across the sea, you arrive at the Land of Water.
Taking advantage of the time on the ship, Ryosuke continued studying the White Snake Sage's giant head.
Though dead for so long, it was still continuously releasing life energy. But unlike ordinary living beings' vitality, the energy from the White Snake Sage's head was more like… radiation.
"A person's body temperature is heat."
"And certain radioactive substances, during half-life radiation release, will also continuously produce heat."
"Both are heat, but their nature is completely different."
Ryosuke placed his hand on it, sending ripples inward. But under the interference of the overwhelming life energy, he couldn't sense in detail.
Still, after these days of probing, Ryosuke had gradually found a method.
He adjusted the frequency of the ripples, making them sharper, finer, stabbing toward the core.
After long attempts, because the ripples were too sharp and narrow, compared to the massive snake head, he could only explore little by little.
Just as Ryosuke was about to stop for the day, the ripple suddenly touched something.
It was a thumb-sized sphere of unknown material, half pure white, half golden like sunlight. All of the White Snake Sage's released life energy came from this small orb.
Zzzt~
Ryosuke's ripple was bounced away, perception broken.
He carefully recalled the orb's details, his mouth half open, "That little orb just now… could it be the White Snake Sage's Dragon Pill from transforming into a dragon?"
Ryosuke's heartbeat quickened.
His ripple training had hit another bottleneck. If he could absorb the White Snake Sage's life essence accumulated over a thousand years, maybe he could take another step, such as…
Gaining the power to leave the planet, to go see the moon?
Or like Kars, becoming the ultimate lifeform, truly immortal and indestructible?
Whichever result, it would be good for Ryosuke.
He drew out the Great Annihilation Blade from the "rift," summoned Platinum Star to stop time, hacking and smashing. After more than ten minutes of hard work, he finally cut open a gap at the spot he remembered.
Ryosuke reached into the gap, touched the "Dragon Pill," and was about to pull it out.
But with the slightest movement, a flood of life energy gushed out. The golden luster on the Dragon Pill immediately dimmed a little.
Ryosuke understood.
"The White Snake Sage's head is basically a preservation bag. Once I take it out, the life essence inside the Dragon Pill will scatter away."
But leaving it in the snake head, Ryosuke had no way to study it properly, let alone absorb it.
He thought a moment, then carefully put the Dragon Pill back into its preservation bag.
"When I get back, I'll go to Mount Myoboku, visit the Great Toad Sage."
The toad who could peer into the future, maybe he could give Ryosuke some guidance.
Ryosuke wiped the snake blood from his arm, returned to the deck, and saw Sasuke arranging souvenirs.
These were things Sasuke had bought in the Cloud Village as gifts.
While Ryosuke was busy discussing follow-up plans with Killer B, Sasuke had been strolling around the village in his free time.
"How were the three days in the Cloud Village?" Ryosuke asked.
"Very interesting."
The Cloud Village had mountain terrain unlike the Leaf or Mist, which was a refreshing experience for Sasuke.
"It's just that there were always groups of older sisters in short skirts and low-cut tops fluttering around me, chattering nonstop, so annoying."
Ryosuke was speechless.
The ship sailed on.
At the edge of the sea's horizon, land appeared.
As Ryosuke steered toward the harbor, he saw it crowded with people, commoners, Mist ninjas, but mostly samurai and attendants.
The samurai stood tall, long swords at their waists, holding banners fluttering in the sea breeze.
Attendants had spread vast swaths of silk on the docks in advance, holding up wide parasols.
Saito, with her four-year-old son, knelt on two cushions, waiting respectfully for the ship to dock.
When the ship stopped, Saito bowed in full prostration with her son and said aloud, "Welcome back, teacher, slayer of the White Snake, victor over the Cloud, triumphant return."
As her words fell, the crowd of samurai and attendants all shouted in unison, "Slayer of the White Snake, victor over the Cloud, triumphant return!"
Ryosuke stood on the ship, meeting Saito's gaze, then looking over the samurai, attendants, commoners, and ninjas.
In every person's eyes shone a light.
The light of witnessing history with their own eyes, of seeing a legend, of shared glory.
Step by step, Ryosuke walked down from the ship.
Saito immediately rose, moving gracefully toward him.
"What scheme are you playing now?" Ryosuke asked.
Saito replied, "Teacher Ryosuke, you jest. I did nothing. Everyone simply heard you were returning soon and came voluntarily to welcome you."
"I only saw the heat of the day and prepared tea and parasols for them in advance. Besides…"
She stepped closer, almost touching him, a faint fragrance drifting, her voice low, "…Besides, the Mist Village suffered a foreign invasion. Many were wounded, many lost their homes, houses, and jobs."
"The people need some spiritual comfort to help them out of sorrow."
"I say this not as the Daimyō's wife, but as a member of the Land of Water. Please, don't refuse."
As she spoke, she pointed behind.
Tall horses.
A carriage prepared specifically to display the White Snake Sage's head.
And beside it, ornate armor and jeweled blades.
All of it prepared for Ryosuke.
"So over the top?"
Saito covered her mouth with a smile, "With your power, this already counts as plain."
Plain? Not at all.
To single-handedly crush the Raikage and the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki, that was absolute strength.
To then, after victory, make the defeated sincerely cooperate, that was absolute skill.
Many had power, many had skill, but someone who possessed both, pushed to the extreme…
Saito prided herself on having met many strong people.
But none of them could compare to Ryosuke.
Ryosuke shrugged off the purple robe of the Hidden Mist, dragged out the White Snake Sage's head and the war reparations, and dumped them on the prepared carriage.
"That's enough."
He brushed past the samurai blocking off the crowd, grabbed the carriage reins, and headed into town.
Saito froze, staring at Ryosuke's simple hemp clothes.
"But the horse and clothes…"
Sasuke jogged over to help with the carriage, heard Saito's words, and said, "Clothes, so long as they cover the body, they're fine. As for horses…"
He looked at Ryosuke disappearing into the crowd.
Sasuke smiled, didn't explain further, and chased after.
Saito watched Ryosuke blending into the common folk, then looked down at her own ornate gown, suddenly feeling utterly out of place.
In the past, that sense of being out of place had given her unmatched pride.
Saito had turned that pride into the aloof tolerance and superiority of a high-ranking woman toward those beneath her.
But today, that pride, she didn't know why, had vanished.
As if… she was the one who had been "left behind."
[T/N: If you are liking my works so far, do try the new novel🥳: 'HSR: Diviner of Luofu'. A Honkai: Star Rail fanfic with Single Female Lead and exciting plot. 🫡]
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