Chapter 497: I Believe
May 31, Konoha Year 63.
Within the dense mountain forest lining the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain, Ryo followed unhurriedly behind Obito, Naruto, and Sasuke. Along the route, he casually described the local customs and landscape of the Land of Rain to the two younger boys.
Obito didn't put on any grand executive airs before his two guards either, vividly narrating the historical chronicle of how he had successfully executed Hanzo, the former leader of the Land of Rain.
"Was Hanzo that formidable?" Naruto murmured, stating that he had fundamentally never caught wind of that name before.
"Idiot, didn't we meticulously study his metrics when we parsed through the active annals of shinobi history back at the Academy? Hanzo of the Salamander—the absolute Demi-God of the shinobi world who personally bestowed the legendary title upon the Sannin."
Naruto's face instantly flushed a deep red: "Tch! Who on earth could comfortably retain data that ancient? A ninja who bestowed the title upon the Sannin, a Demi-God... Brother Obito, executing a high-powered clash against him back then must have been exceptionally grueling, right?"
"Address him under the sovereign mantle of the Lord Fifth Hokage," Sasuke reminded deadpan. "The absolute fraction of a second we step inside the Land of Rain, refrain from letting the shinobi of alternative major villages conclude that the ninja native to Konoha lack basic logistical etiquette!"
"So annoying! Aren't we technically not there yet?!"
Obito tilted his head: "Altering your linguistic style once we touch down inside the Land of Rain will be perfectly precise and on schedule... Reflecting on that specific battle against Hanzo, it actually wasn't monumentally grueling."
"The exponentially more grueling combat parameters manifested subsequent to that—Salamander Zenzo, Salamander Sanzo... At that exact fraction of a second, I genuinely assumed my vessel was going to conclude its lifetime parameters on location."
Naruto given a sudden pause: "Oh? Ohh! Precisely, those two individuals were indeed exceptionally high-tier!"
Ryo came incredibly close to violently bursting into a booming laugh.
Sasuke massaged his temples: "Idiot, those two names are completely nonexistent across our academic textbooks, and I have fundamentally never caught wind of them either!"
Naruto's face instantly flushed to an absolute, blistering crimson, yet he stubbornly launched a fierce verbal counter-defense: "That is strictly because your personal tracking parameters are lacking! I possess the active data regarding those two entities; the Great Ancestor personally shared the chronicle with me! Correct?"
With those words delivered, he directed a thoroughly imploring, wide-eyed gaze straight toward Ryo.
Ryo paused for a fraction of a second: "Pfft! Hahahahahahaha—hiccup..."
Obito executed an identical template of reaction simultaneously; the two of them performed the laughing sequence with absolute, seamless precision, leaving Naruto entirely swimming in a fog of confusion: "Exactly what happened?"
Ryo and Obito shared a highly synchronized, tacit understanding to securely preserve the absolute terminal boundary of Naruto's dignity, withholding the secret regarding the mass-production line of custom Hanzos...
Even though Naruto failed to parse out exactly how he had executed an awkward blunder, he wisely chose to shift the conversational coordinates: "Hey, Great Ancestor, the First Hokage was universally addressed as the God of Shinobi, correct? He operated as a complete, absolute God of the entire world, not like a half-baked variant like Hanzo of the Salamander, right?"
Ryo's brow furrowed to a subtle degree. Why on earth does this specific question sound this monumentally bizarre?
"Mmm, Hashirama was a completely whole specimen."
Naruto revealed a face packed with absolute, burning yearning: "A complete God... Great Ancestor, didn't you explicitly detail in the past that your independent strength tier vertically eclipsed the First Hokage? Exactly why has zero individual across the world addressed you as a God?"
"What do you mean by 'I explicitly detailed'? It is an unvarnished, historical fact!" Ryo deadpan corrected him. "The underlying technical reason zero individual addresses me as a God is strictly because the Great Ancestor has long since transcended the baseline of a common deity!"
Pondering the details for a brief moment, Ryo supplementally added a wave of grand, fictional styling: "Above the baseline parameters of a standard God, there still exist True Gods, Main Gods, and Creator Gods! The Great Ancestor operates precisely as a Main God, and I sit a mere single stride away from achieving the absolute mantle of a Creator God!"
He smoothly deployed the classic tropes and structural world-building parameters native to the web novels of his previous life, thoroughly hoodwinking Naruto until the boy stood completely dazed and wide-eyed: "Formidable beyond measure!"
Sasuke: Heh.
"Great Ancestor, down the subsequent timeline, I will undoubtedly surpass your baseline to officially ascend as a Creator God!" Naruto hollered with burning exhilaration.
Ryo shook his head with a gentle laugh. Fanciful child, cease your daydreams; the system attributes currently backing your vessel simply aren't resilient enough...
Trading rowdy banter as they sprinted through the terrain, the cluster of four steadily left the perimeter of the mountain forest behind, and the visual architecture marking the Land of Rain rapidly loomed straight within their sight parameters.
"The structural layout of the buildings is exceptionally unique," Naruto noted.
Sasuke knit his brows: "Idiot, currently we operate strictly as the personal guards escorting the Lord Fifth Hokage. Focus your mind to maintain an absolute baseline of surveillance; an active squad is advancing toward our coordinates!"
"...You absolute bastard! Exactly how many continuous times have you hollered 'idiot' straight toward my face along this route?!" Naruto bellowed in deep dissatisfaction.
"Tch, idiot!"
"Exactly what did you spout?!"
Obito felt a fraction of a splitting headache. These two guards had barely touched the border blocks of the Land of Rain, yet they appeared monumentally primed to violently engage each other in a straight fight. The Master completely refrained from administering a wave of parental intervention, single-mindedly enjoying the comedy show instead...
Right at that exact fraction of a second, Sasuke—who was currently locked in a dense 'stare-down' against Naruto—suddenly experienced a sharp physiological shift. His physical torso staggered dynamically across the dirt, and his hand violently clamped down over his eye sockets.
"Hey, Sasuke, exactly what happened to you?"
Even though they traded furious verbal crossfire at any given given moment, the absolute fraction of a second an anomalous development struck Sasuke's vessel, the very first person to project a torrent of intense, visceral concern was precisely Naruto...
"Master, Sasuke's parameters...?" Obito cast an inquiring gaze straight toward Ryo.
"His ocular structures stand right at the absolute peak vertex of their evolution phase; his sockets will occasionally radiate a layer of distinct discomfort. His vessel is perfectly unharmed."
True to his medical word, Sasuke rapidly restored his physical composure, his face instantly locking back into an aloof, cold expression: "Over the recent duration, the anomalous swelling across my sockets has been manifesting with escalating frequency. The ultimate metamorphosis will conclude exceptionally soon, subsequent to which I shall thoroughly flatten you, you absolute idiot!"
Naruto curled his lips into a pout. Just as he was preparing to launch a rapid verbal counter-strike, a crisp, vibrant female voice rippled across the clearing from ahead: "Do I command the honor of addressing the Lord Fifth Hokage? I operate as the high-tier Rain shinobi designated to formally oversee your welcoming reception—Ajisai. Please chart your course to follow my lead... Eh? You've actually escorted three separate guards?"
Ryo was concurrently lost in a wave of nostalgia, parsing out that over the handful of years he had failed to see her, that beautiful little girl from the past had smoothly bloomed into a premier, magnificent young woman who wasn't a shred inferior to Konan's visual aesthetics. He hadn't anticipated that she would deliver a verbal line of this nature, causing his countenance to instantly go completely black.
"Three guards? Ajisai, you've genuinely caused the Great Ancestor's old heart to wash over with a layer of deep sorrow!"
"Eh? Great Ancestor, do you actively command a baseline connection alongside this older sister?" Naruto offered a scratch of his hair.
"Naruto, remember our operational posts as official guards; refrain from spouting redundant prose!" Sasuke razor-sharply reminded him.
Naruto frantically clamped his hand over his jaw.
"Great Ancestor?" Ajisai murmured softly under her breath. Meticulously appraising Ryo's visual parameters for several brief moments, her countenance experienced a sudden, sharp shift: "To think it genuinely constitutes Senior Ryo Uzumaki! My deepest, most absolute apologies!"
As she delivered her words, Ajisai's residual visual tracking continuously sneaked subtle glances to inspect the horizontal mass lining Ryo's abdomen and cheeks...
"The Great Ancestor is perfectly aware that he has expanded a layer horizontally!" Ryo let out a heavy sigh. "Exactly why is it that every single time I journey to the Land of Rain, the welcoming official is strictly your presence?"
Ajisai commanded a decent history of active interaction alongside Ryo. Shaking off her rigid composure after a brief moment, the naturally lively, radiant girl smoothly pinned a brilliant smile back onto her face: "Currently, I officially occupy the station of Chief External Liaison Officer for the Land of Rain, you see! Every single external diplomatic matrix falls directly under my administrative oversight to coordinate. Escorting a monumental milestone like the assembly of the Six Kage naturally demands that my presence executes the deployment!"
She was exceptionally ecstatic—not because of the official status she commanded, but strictly due to the unarnished reality that she could comfortably lift a non-negligible layer of workload off Yahiko's shoulders...
Ryo gave a firm nod: "Spectacular!"
Only subsequent to Ryo concluding his casual communication matrix alongside Ajisai did Obito, operating under his sovereign mantle as Hokage, open his mouth to speak: "Ajisai, is it? We shall temporarily hold back traveling to our assigned residential blocks; escort my presence straight to track down Brother Yahiko's coordinates immediately!"
Ajisai gave a firm nod: "Lord Yahiko explicitly mapped out the logistics down that exact track!"
The cluster of ninjas prepared to initiate their physical advance, yet Ryo wove his hand into the air to abruptly halt their steps: "Hold back your movement for a brief moment; the Land of Earth's fleet has successfully arrived on location as well."
High up within the heavens, Ohnoki was currently hauling Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi through the air blocks, executing a rapid flight path straight toward their coordinates.
"The Fourth Tsuchikage, little girl Kurotsuchi, alongside her personal guards Ohnoki and Akatsuchi—long time no see!"
"Oh! Senior!" Kurotsuchi chorused back a brilliant, radiant smile, while Akatsuchi offered a highly rustic, honest chuckle.
Ohnoki's old face was completely twisted into a bitter knot. The absolute second his boots touched the grass, he swiftly exchanged a brief template of diplomatic greetings alongside Obito and Ajisai, subsequent to which he violently snapped his head to lock onto Ryo: "Senior! A solid year and a half ago, following your high-powered battle against the Patriarch of the Dark Akatsuki, didn't you explicitly state that my vessel commanded less than a single year of natural life left, enjoining me to pick a successor down the line as swiftly as possible? Exactly why...?"
Ryo subtly squinted his dual eyes, smiling but maintaining absolute silence.
"If the Senior hadn't executed that specific maneuver, exactly how many additional decades did you intend to arrogantly monopolize the executive seat of the Tsuchikage, old man?"
"I razor-sharply parsed out from the absolute beginning that this was a thoroughly underhanded trap compiled by your hands, brat! Senior, exactly why did you couple up alongside her to indulge in such chaotic antics? For her to officially assume the mantle of Tsuchikage under her current parameters is structurally far too premature..."
A monumentally massive face suddenly closed the physical distance, causing Ohnoki's unvarnished prose to violently choke inside his throat. Having failed to meticulously track the visual metrics a moment ago... exactly why on earth had the Senior turned this plump?
Ryo pursed his lips, manually composing an exceptionally menacing, ferocious expression across his baby fat: "If you toss out one more syllable of redundant prose, the Great Ancestor will personally administer a beating to ensure your vessel genuinely commands a single year of natural life left. Do you believe me?"
Ohnoki: "..."
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