The celebration continued until early morning.
Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, three half-grown children, had long since been unbearably sleepy, sprawling out and lying in a mess to the side, fast asleep.
The tavern was very warm, and with their physiques, logically they would not be cold, yet Ryosuke still habitually pulled over a blanket and covered them, at least cover the belly button.
The others each said their goodbyes and scattered, while Ryosuke sat on the tatami enjoying this silence of late night.
This trip to Hidden Cloud Village brought Ryosuke no small amount of harvest.
Soul fragments were one aspect.
After defeating Raikage A, Killer B, and numerous Hidden Cloud ninja, Ryosuke had obtained 3400 soul fragments. Counting what was left from previous draws and the recent small gains,
Current total soul fragments, 3889 pieces.
Ryosuke thought a moment, then took out 2000 fragments, raising White Snake from level three to level four.
White Snake stood hands on hips, grinning, "Yo, look at this, how embarrassing, making you spend."
After advancing to level four, White Snake gained a new ability, [Forced Command]
For animals or humans with weaker willpower, it can forcibly command the other party to do things against personal will, even to die.
This ability already had a manifestation in Stone Ocean. The priest once caught a poison dart frog, wrote down the command "explode," and when thrown like a bomb, it really exploded.
"The stripping and domination of the strong over the weak… truly an ability filled with malice."
White Snake shrugged its shoulders.
Seeing that White Snake was soon approaching level five, once it obtained the Ascension Star Core, evolution could be considered. Ryosuke asked, "Once you evolve into New Moon, will the 'White Snake' still exist?"
White Snake smacked its lips, not answering immediately, only lowering its head to look at its toes. After pondering a long while, it said, "I don't know."
After speaking, White Snake again showed a sly smile, "What, can't bear to part with your brother here?"
"New Moon is very strong, ultra-wide-range gravity rewriting. But speaking of usefulness, you are more useful." Ryosuke said calmly.
'Useful.'
White Snake was silent half a second, then chuckled, "That's for sure. Who could be more useful than me, "
"And also."
Ryosuke continued, "The way you slap people across the face, I find it quite pleasing to the eye."
Ryosuke imitated White Snake, swinging his hand in a slap a few times, yet he could never quite bring out its essence.
"You think it's easy? I practiced this."
White Snake chuckled a few times, then lowered its head to look at its hands, "As for after evolving into New Moon, whether I still exist… I don't know. At least, for now, it is like this."
Ryosuke nodded.
White Snake dispersed, not continuing the topic.
After it left, Ryosuke again took out a notebook, recording the content of his negotiations with Hidden Cloud Village.
This was the second harvest from this trip to Hidden Cloud.
Different from Orochimaru's biological technology, this other side was military science. As long as a portion could be converted from military to civilian use, it would absolutely greatly increase productivity.
"Orochimaru's technology is mostly applied in agriculture and medicine."
"Hidden Cloud's military technology can be applied in industry and construction."
"And in recent days, understanding of regional customs as well…"
Night grew deeper, the lamp flame burned slowly.
Ryosuke sat at the desk, continuing to perfect the notebook's contents.
———
More than half a month passed.
The learning of Konoha's group in Hidden Mist temporarily came to a close. Tsunade and Kakashi would lead the team, bringing Naruto, Sakura, and the rest back to Konoha.
"Next time we meet, I'll have to call you 'Fifth Hokage,' right?" Ryosuke said.
Tsunade extended her index finger and waved it, "Don't be so certain. I haven't agreed yet."
But Ryosuke knew, she would agree.
If she didn't return to Konoha, perhaps not. But once she returned and truly saw the mess, with Tsunade's personality, it was impossible for her to just leave again.
Ryosuke stretched out his hand, "Goodbye."
His smiling gaze looked at Tsunade a bit unpleasantly, as if all her thoughts were being seen through by this brat.
"What goodbye, saying it so formally."
Tsunade pulled Ryosuke's hand, giving him an overly full embrace, slapping his back forcefully as she said, "After all, we fought side by side as comrades. Remember to come see us when you have time."
Saying this, Tsunade laughed heartily and turned to leave.
Ryosuke watched their figures gradually vanish into the mist. Mei Terumi leaned closer and asked, "Reluctant, huh?"
She spread her arms, making a hugging gesture.
"Want me to let you savor it a bit?"
Ryosuke stretched out his hand and pressed it to her forehead, pushing Mei Terumi away, speaking softly, "I was just thinking, Konoha, Hidden Cloud, Hidden Mist, all are about to welcome great changes, a kind of…"
"Feeling that 'time is going to accelerate.'"
Mei tilted her head slightly, not fully understanding Ryosuke's thought.
But, he often said some hard-to-understand words.
Whether time accelerated, whether the villages changed, she only needed to trust Ryosuke's decisions and keep moving forward.
After sending off the Konoha group, Ryosuke was about to return to continue practicing Golden Spiral, when he heard a voice calling from afar.
"Lord Ryosuke!"
A Hidden Mist ninja came leaping across rooftops, carrying in his hands a red toad with swimming goggles around its neck and a scroll strapped to its back.
Ryosuke recognized it.
Gamakosuke, the liaison toad connecting Mount Myoboku with the outside villages.
A few days earlier, Ryosuke had used it to exchange letters with Jiraiya, asking if it was convenient to visit Mount Myoboku, after all, he had just gone to Ryuchi Cave and chopped up the White Snake Sage, and he didn't want to cause unnecessary misunderstanding.
"Has the Great Toad Sage woken up?" Ryosuke asked.
Perhaps as the price of peering into the future, the Great Toad Sage spent most of his time asleep. After Ryosuke expressed wanting to consult about the "Dragon Pellet," he had been waiting for the Great Toad Sage's awakening.
Gamakosuke leapt down from the Mist ninja's hands, "An hour ago he just woke. Hearing you were coming, he's propping his eyelids open with firewood sticks, afraid he'll fall asleep again… Hurry and follow me…"
It was panting slightly, legs trembling, clearly exhausted from a long-distance rush.
Ryosuke patted Gamakosuke's shoulder, sending over a strand of ripple energy. Only then did it catch its breath a bit. It removed the scroll from its back, unrolled it to reveal a complex summoning array.
"Drip a bit of your blood inside, and you'll get temporary summoning permission. Mount Myoboku will perform reverse summoning to bring you over."
Ryosuke nodded, likely this was Mount Myoboku's temporary pass. With a flick, a drop of blood flew out, landing on the scroll.
In the next instant, he heard a particular "breathing," and in the unseen distance, some connection was formed. That breathing sound sounded like,
"Ribbit!"
"Ready?" Gamakosuke asked.
Hidden Cloak Purple dragged the White Snake Sage's head from the warehouse, leaping over half of Hidden Mist Village, thudding it heavily to the side, making Gamakosuke's eyelids twitch.
Ryosuke said, "Let's go."
Gamakosuke pressed his palms together, slapping down on the scroll.
"Ninja Art: Reverse Summoning!"
Heaven and earth spun upside down. Ryosuke only felt his body stuffed into an exhaust vent, endlessly stretched and twisted within the narrow passage, until suddenly, he was thrown out.
Click!
Ryosuke's feet landed firmly on the ground.
The instant he landed, a curious gaze fell on him.
Ryosuke locked eyes with an ancient, extremely old toad.
Its whole body was orange, with yellow eyes. Around its neck hung a string of prayer beads, with a pale-purple cat's-eye stone in the middle inscribed with the word "Oil." On its head, a scholar's cap.
At this moment, the old toad was using two sticks to prop up its eyelids, holding in its hands a huge teacup. The bitter fragrance of tea filled the room, showing how much tea it had brewed just to stay awake.
Gamakosuke bowed and withdrew.
Inside the room there was no one else, no other toads.
Ryosuke quietly sensed the aura of the Great Toad Sage.
It was vast natural energy like the White Snake Sage, but different in temperament.
The White Snake Sage, even in the form of an old crone, still had edges and barbs. Every word, every look, was like its feral fangs.
The Great Toad Sage, as if… already dead.
"Your feeling is not wrong."
The Great Toad Sage spoke slowly, dream-like, "Most of the time, I 'live' in the future."
"This is the reason you are always asleep?" Ryosuke asked.
"Yes… in the dream future and the waking reality, in the past I could still balance…"
The Great Toad Sage's eyelids drooped down as he spoke. Luckily, the sticks propping his eyes creaked under pressure, forcing him awake again, "I could still balance both. But ever since you appeared, the 'future' I spent hundreds of years peering into…"
He sighed.
"Has been overwritten by you."
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