At noon, his mother arrived late with a bento. She stayed with him until the start of her workday, and upon leaving, she took the pack of dogs with her, leaving Kage to watch over Ryōto.
After lunch, Princess Tsunade came for an examination.
"Does it hurt here?"
Ryōto shook his head.
"And here?"
Ryōto shook his head again.
"Well, what about here?"
Ryōto continued to shake his head.
"Do you feel anything unusual?"
I do, but I won't tell you.
Ryōto shook his head.
"Strange..." Tsunade murmured, frowning. She looked up at Ryōto and asked, "What's with that look on your face?"
"You stink..." Ryōto answered honestly.
A vein bulged on her forehead. Gazing at this impudent boy from the Inuzuka Clan, Tsunade raised her hand, sniffed it, and declared, "It doesn't smell at all!"
Ryōto simply stared at her in silence.
"You little brat!" Tsunade awkwardly straightened up, averted her gaze, and, moving to a safe distance, said, "You'll stay here for a few more days for observation." With those words, she turned and hastily departed.
Some people, even after growing up, remain infantile children. Ryōto dressed and lay down again.
Tsunade was a vital combat asset to the village, holding a special status. Truthfully, in her current half-dead state, she was of little use. In the future, during the Third Shinobi World War, her absence would indirectly lead to even greater casualties. For now, the biggest headache was the issue of the White Fang of Konoha. It was necessary to win her over to his side so that she could support him at a critical moment. But Ryōto had no idea how to do that yet. He needed to find a way to establish contact with her, but a key intermediary was missing.
As for the hidden storyline with Nohara Rin, although it led to a confrontation with Uchiha Madara, Ryōto already had a plan. He looked at Kage and said, "Can you make yourself smaller?"
"?" Kage tilted her head in confusion.
"Take the form of a five or six-year-old girl."
Uchiha Obito is a lolicon; he's unlikely to be interested in adult women. If I can make him fall for someone else, Madara will likely shift his focus away from Rin.
Kage nodded and replied softly, "I can, young master."
Though Ryōto didn't hold out much hope, he still asked, "So, do you know how to seduce men?"
Kage looked at him with a bewildered expression and answered, "I was never taught that."
Just as I thought. It's too late to learn now.
At that moment, Ryōto sniffed the air. The scent of Namikaze Minato! What was he doing at the hospital? Could it be that his 'little pepper' was sick? No! The Uzumaki Clan is as healthy as demons; they could drink expired milk instead of water. That means...
Ryōto glanced at the wall.
Uzumaki Mito?
Tossing aside the blanket, Ryōto stood up and said, "Kage, take me out for some fresh air."
He rose and settled into a wheelchair. His body was still weak, lacking strength, but he had enough for a short walk. He didn't know whose wheelchair it was, but it was a great help.
Kage wheeled him out of the room and into the hospital's inner courtyard. The sun was just right, and many patients were basking in its warmth. Ryōto leaned back in his chair, squinted, and seemed to doze off.
A long time later, a laughing boy and girl, around fourteen or fifteen years old, emerged from the building and walked past Ryōto. They would likely return the way they came. Ryōto was just hoping to become a familiar face, not expecting to meet them on the first try. After seeing the same person more than three times, any normal person would likely offer a greeting. But pleasant surprises always happen unexpectedly, and a chance only presents itself to those who are ready for it.
Minato stopped and looked at Ryōto. He was a compassionate young man. Kushina also paused, glancing at the boy with curiosity.
Ryōto opened his eyes slightly... This guy saw my technique. If he's working on the Rasengan, he must be curious.
With a smile as bright as the sun, Minato approached Ryōto and said, "Long time no see, Ryōto."
Ryōto opened his eyes and looked at Minato, his gaze silently asking, "Who are you? How do you know my name?" Ryōto was sure he hadn't given his name during their last encounter. Well, this is good.
"I'm Namikaze Minato, a teammate of your brother, Inuzuka Agito."
Gazing at his radiant face, Ryōto suddenly froze. In this new life... should I continue these days filled with intrigue and deception, just like in my past one?
...
Perhaps... there's no need for that...
"Hey-y-y!" Minato waved a hand in front of Ryōto's face.
"Can't you see I'm ignoring you?" Ryōto said listlessly, his head drooping. "If you're smart, you'll stay away from me."
"Haha..." Minato laughed and looked imploringly at his 'little pepper'. Kushina snorted with laughter. She walked over, took Minato's hand, and said with a smile, "The kid has spoken, let's go."
Minato smiled at Ryōto and left, laughing and chatting with Kushina.
"Kage, let's go," Ryōto said.
Kage began to wheel the chair back.
Gazing at the hospital building before him, Ryōto narrowed his golden eyes. Fourth floor, first room on the left—the chamber of Uzumaki Mito. The guard detail consists of twelve people, organized into three squads.
I've found you!
Ryōto sniffed the air and smirked.
"So they really are here..."
What a blessing that the hospital reeked of disinfectants. A mixture of fungi and something else, a strange scent—White Zetsu.
Resting his cheek on one hand, Ryōto began to tap his fingers lightly on the armrest of the wheelchair. Being watched by Madara was expected. The selection of the new Jinchuriki for the Kyuubi was information he had to verify. A small fry like him wouldn't arouse Madara's interest.
"By the way, Kage, I never gave you a nickname," Ryōto said. Behind him, Kage's face lit up upon hearing this. If she had a tail, it would have been wagging furiously by now.
"How about 'Bloodhound'?" Ryōto suggested.
"I love it, young master," Kage replied.
"Do you know how to kill?" Ryōto asked with a slight smirk.
"I do," Kage nodded and, smiling, revealed a row of pearly white teeth. Her smile was gentle, pure, and beautiful.
His mother had already told him about her talent—an exceptional sense of smell. Besides, being a golden retriever, she would typically handle search tasks and could even be used to find drugs. Thanks to her docile nature, she possessed the qualities of a companion dog. Her distinguishing feature was the ability to discern individual scents, even when mixed with many others or masked. Many dogs can smell illness in a person's body, but Kage's ability for precise identification was simply incredible, comparable to expensive, high-precision medical equipment.
And the current Kage was far more formidable than before. It was worth noting that, before this, her level within the clan was assessed as jōnin. And if Kage picked up someone's trail, escape was impossible.
"Then it's simple."
The simplest solution, without a doubt, would be to simply finish off Obito, and then Rin would be safe. But Ryōto wasn't going to do that. He wasn't some kind of devil, after all.
…
Deep night fell, and the hospital sank into silence. In a corner just outside, a figure slowly emerged from the ground. An adult woman with golden hair and long legs, dressed in a vest and uniform, stepped out onto the street and returned to the ward in Konoha Hospital.
"Young master, it's all clear," Kage said, and opening her mouth, she reached a hand into her stomach and extracted the wet corpses.
One, two, three...
"Is that all?" Ryōto asked.
"Young master, I searched the entire village. There were only three of them," Kage answered.
For the next step of the plan, it was necessary to temporarily blind Madara.
Ryōto waved his hand. "Eat them."
"As you wish, young master." Kage stuffed the corpses back into her stomach, where strong acid would destroy all traces. The crunch of breaking bones was absent—these creatures were, in essence, fungi.
A secret technique of the Inuzuka Clan.
…
In a subterranean cave in the Land of Earth, beneath a colossal statue, a gray-haired old man opened his eyes, in which three tomoe slowly spun.
"What is it?" he asked.
The Zetsu's Venus Flytrap form, looking at him, buzzed, "It seems the White Zetsu have been discovered."
"By whom?"
"Konoha."
Widening his eyes, Madara uttered, "How is that possible?"
"Should we send more White Zetsu?"
After a long silence, Madara replied, "There's no need."
He gazed into the distance and smirked. It seemed someone outstanding had appeared in his home village. But it was unlikely this person understood the purpose of the White Zetsu; they had simply discovered the spies and disposed of them.
"Interesting. Do you wish to dance as well?"