Chapter 495: Looking Up
From a seven-year-old boy to a dashing sixteen-year-old youth, Toneri had been pursuing Hinata for over nine years.
He hadn't succeeded, but it wasn't a total failure either. These days, Hinata could warmly call him "Brother Toneri" and talk to him quite naturally. She was no longer like her childhood self—always blushing with shyness, keeping her head low, and refusing to speak.
Yet, considering Hinata's personality, Ryo felt that Toneri's prospects were rather bleak...
Toneri's breathing gradually stabilized. His eyes closed slightly, as if he were falling asleep right there on the grass. Ryo shook his head gently and sat cross-legged beside him: "Young man, what's on your mind?"
"Elder, I was wondering... if I choose to marry into the Hyuga clan right now, with Uncle Hiashi playing matchmaker, would Hinata... would she agree?"
Ryo pondered for two seconds: "She probably would."
Through their interactions over the past two years, Ryo had noticed that Hinata didn't harbor the same unusual feelings for Naruto as she did in the original story timeline. This meant her heart was mostly unattached at the moment. If guided by Hiashi's counsel, she likely wouldn't be as resistant to Toneri as she was during her childhood; the probability of her agreeing was exceptionally high.
Toneri hesitated for a moment: "What if I don't want to marry into their family? What if I want to rebuild the 'Otsutsuki Clan'?"
"Then Hiashi won't help you, and whether Hinata marries you will be left entirely to fate. If she doesn't find someone she truly loves within the next ten years... she'll probably end up marrying you."
Ryo burst into a chuckle. How on earth did Toneri unknowingly become Hinata's backup plan?
"Then I'd like to wait a bit longer, Elder."
Toneri hadn't forgotten the mission to preserve the 'Otsutsuki Clan' that he had inherited from his father's hands. This youth kept far too many heavy burdens locked inside his mind; it must be exhausting...
"There's no practical necessity to place so much pressure on yourself. If you can completely let go of Hinata, you'll find that... staying single is actually quite pleasant."
Toneri froze: "Elder, wouldn't it be more standard for you to counsel me to pursue alternative girls? Why on earth are you saying staying single is pleasant?"
Ryo smiled: "See? Aren't you perfectly clear about it in your own heart? Hoshino likes you quite a bit, and that girl is exceptionally easy on the eyes. You pairing up with the Byakugan Princess can yield the Tenseigan, so aren't you a fraction curious about what kind of spectacular result would be brought into existence by pairing up with the Sharingan? Hoshino definitively commands the potential to unlock the Mangekyou..."
Toneri stood thoroughly speechless. Traps everywhere... Elder, executing logistics like this will cause you to lose me completely.
"Elder, I have successfully restored my stamina. Let's engage in another round!"
Ryo shook his head smoothly: "Let's do it tomorrow. That was your absolute first completion just now, after all. Refrain from forcing your parameters, and avoid inflicting trauma across your core foundations. I can accommodate you at any given moment."
"It's no issue, Elder. Let's launch!"
"Tsk, very well, since you insist, let's go!"
The absolute final slot lining the Whirlpools' Five Masters cluster was ultimately assigned to Juugo; Toneri single-mindedly chose to remain behind in Konoha. Ryo figured that unless Hinata smoothly married out of the family, there was fundamentally zero hope of bringing this youth back...
If he couldn't bring him back, so be it. Currently, the Land of Whirlpools was packed to the absolute brim with premier talent; there was zero practical necessity to force him.
Within the soon-to-be-established Whirlpools' Five Masters cluster, every single individual barring Juugo operated as an S-rank shinobi. Factoring in Nagato and Konan, Kisame and Zabuza, alongside the Captain and Vice-Captain of the Patrol Team down the chain, a loose calculation explicitly proved that the Land of Whirlpools' repository of S-rank shinobi successfully surpassed ten individuals.
If Minato and Kushina were retroactively tallied as part of the Land of Whirlpools' assets, and disregarding Ryo's very own presence, the high-tier capability of the Land of Whirlpools heavily mirrored Konoha's attributes.
From a mere mid-tier clan developing into the single most magnificent and prosperous nation of the modern era, Ryo felt that—phrasing it with absolute modesty—the credit belonged entirely to his glorious contributions!
Kimimaro and Karin still required three to four days before their merchant fleet could successfully journey back, prompting Ryo to hold back his departure to the Land of Whirlpools, comfortably remaining inside Konoha instead. He executed a routine of traveling to the hospital twice a day to check in on Doctor Sakura's medical cultivation, resolving the intricate difficulties clogging her progress.
Credit where credit was due, Doctor Sakura executed her clinical duties with spectacular composure, turning exceptionally popular among the populace. This was concurrently achieved under parameters where the Konoha Hospital apparel aesthetics were far from attractive. If he manually formulated a custom 'Angel in White' uniform block for her... tsk!
Three days rolled past with absolute smoothness, subsequent to which Obito finally dispatched an active transmission to notify Ryo: The Six Kage Summit was officially locked to convene on June 1st right inside the central high tower of the Land of Rain.
Ryo fell into brief calculation before cleanly flashing straight inside his Eight Trigrams Space: "Killer Bee, I have brought an exceptionally brilliant piece of intelligence for you. On June 1st—which is a mere twenty days from now—your physical confinement will officially conclude, and you shall be released!"
Clutching a pen between his teeth, Killer Bee fell into deep contemplation upon catching those words, leaning his head back down to continue writing and drawing frantically across his custom notebook.
Residing inside Ryo's pocket space over these past three days, Killer Bee hadn't parsed out a single shred of stifling boredom, single-mindedly dedicating his focus to pure creative writing. He was proactively formulating the performance parameters for his upcoming 'Konoha Concert' blocks a few years down the line, entirely focused on executing a magnificent show... Hopefully, Konoha's structural property damages wouldn't scale to a catastrophic tier.
"Hey, did you catch a single syllable of my prose?"
"Oh, yo~"
Ryo shook his head with a thoroughly helpless sigh. Immersed deep within his creative flow, Killer Bee appeared exponentially more greasy and oily. The Great Ancestor might as well depart; Kimimaro's squad should be making their final arrival right about now!
The Land of Whirlpools.
Kimimaro's trio had indeed successfully returned, and Ryo smoothly tracked down their coordinates. Standing right beside them was Guren, who wore a face entirely packed with unadorned frustration.
"Lord Ryo! Your vertical parameters have surged!" The eighteen-year-old Kimimaro had still commanded a visual angle that allowed him to look down at Ryo during the recent New Year, yet currently, their heights were almost perfectly level.
"Mmm, he has definitively shot up, and he has expanded a layer horizontally too!" Karin supplemented.
"Lord Ryo, exactly why have you permitted this specific female to enlist inside our squad?" Kimimaro directed his finger straight toward Guren.
"That's exactly right, why? Her raw capability is so weak." Karin supplemented yet again.
Guren's face flushed a deep crimson, yet she fundamentally lacked the capacity to launch a verbal counter-strike; she had literally been pinned to the dirt and thoroughly flattened multiple times by Kimimaro's hands a brief moment ago...
Ryo burst into a gentle laugh: "What are you two executing, trading back-and-forth lines like a unified couple returning home?"
Karin gave a firm nod. The Great Ancestor truly commands a premier eye!
Kimimaro scratched his hair loops: "Lord Ryo, over the recent duration, Karin has continuously deployed this linguistic style; does there exist a structural complication?"
"Don't you parse it as being exceptionally awkward?"
"It feels perfectly acceptable."
Karin wove a subtle 'victory' hand sign straight toward Ryo. This was a premier behavioral methodology she had newly formulated to navigate her relationship with Kimimaro—'faking' a romantic dynamic strictly to give herself a trace of immense internal satisfaction...
"But the Great Ancestor parses it as being monumentally awkward."
Kimimaro tilted his head: "Karin, refrain from deploying that specific linguistic styling over the subsequent duration."
Karin: "...Understood (I desperately desire to blast the Great Ancestor straight to the heavens)!"
Ryo smiled gently. Having failed to see Kimimaro's squad for a prolonged duration, deploying a harmless, lighthearted joke was highly optimized to cleanly dissolve any trace of internal estrangement: "I haven't explicitly assigned Guren to enlist directly inside your squad; rather, I am systematically organizing your parameters into a brand-new technical entity—the Whirlpools' Five Masters, which commands parameters identical to the Six Ninja Swordsmen."
"Paralleling their system, barring highly specific logistical developments, I will absolutely never deploy brute force to force you to execute field missions collectively together. It strictly grants you an official sovereign station; down the chain of future timelines, ordinary Jonin who cross your path must address you as 'Lord'."
"Identical to the protocol governing Zabuza. Haku, you command a highly comprehensive understanding of those mechanics, correct?" Ryo supplemented.
"Mmm," Haku offered a sweet, radiant smile.
"Is that how the logistics map out..." A massive smile blanketed Karin's face.
She was a girl who commanded exceptionally distinct, vibrant behavioral traits—susceptible to looks, highly fond of currency, and completely obsessed with official status...
Guren furrowed her brow: "I have barely initiated my enlistment into the Land of Whirlpools, yet you are completely willing to grant me a sovereign rank of this tier?"
Ryo chuckled smoothly: "You similarly parse it as being improper? Then I shall officially delegate a custom mission parameters straight to your hands: the absolute final slot populating the Five Masters is a youth named Juugo. His independent strength tier is currently a small fraction lacking, meaning across the initial phase, you are structurally forced to escort him to execute his mission rotations—this is an unbreakable, mandatory pairing!"
Guren: "..."
"Juugo... why on earth does it feel as though I have tentatively caught wind of that name in the past?" Karin murmured softly under her breath.
Ryo revealed a broad smile: "Let's move. The Great Ancestor shall personally escort you to look up—to look up at the spectacular height of our village folks..."
☆☆☆
-> 30 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you