Chapter 498: Serving as Bait
Ohnoki submitted to absolute defeat. Ryo and Kurotsuchi exchanged a look, concurrently extending their right hands to execute a crisp high-five—Smack!
Witnessing this, Ohnoki could only offer a bitter smile. He fundamentally lacked the data on exactly why his granddaughter was exceptionally affectionate and close to Ryo. Perhaps... it was due to their shared chaotic nature?
Regardless of the underlying logistics, since the parameters had already mapped out this far, Ohnoki had no alternative but to gracefully accept his mischievous granddaughter's 'good intentions' and comfortably retire to enjoy his twilight years. However, prior to concluding his active career, the utterly detestable Dark Akatsuki absolutely had to be resolved!
Having continuously suffered the extraction of two separate tailed beasts, paired with the subsequent loss of two dear old friends, even if A hadn't proactively proposed the Six Kage Summit, Ohnoki would have initiated the motion himself... provided he still sat in the executive seat of the Tsuchikage.
"Senior, Lord Fifth Hokage, Lord Fourth Tsuchikage, please follow my lead." Ajisai lifted her voice, concurrently extending her right arm to formally direct their path deeper into the Land of Rain.
Ryo chuckled smoothly: "Let's advance. Whatever prose you guys desire to articulate, comfortably hold it back for a later duration. Prioritize settling down into our residential blocks first; refrain from making Ajisai's administrative duties exceptionally difficult."
The cluster of eight rapidly sprinted into the Land of Rain. Kurotsuchi closed the physical distance to Ryo, whispering softly into his ear: "Senior, that blonde-haired guard escorting the Fifth Hokage... does he suffer from severe halitosis? Exactly why is he continuously clamping his hand over his jaw?"
"Disregard his existence, his mental parameters are fundamentally delayed."
Standing beside Kurotsuchi—the premier archetype of the 'perfect child from a neighboring family'—Ryo's assessment of Naruto's thoroughly silly and absent-minded visual presentation only sank into further disdain...
"What about that alternative dark-haired one? His facial aesthetics are exceptionally handsome, but is he suffering from active facial paralysis? Why on earth doesn't his countenance manifest a single shred of expression?" Kurotsuchi launched another whispered inquiry.
Ryo cast a glance over his shoulder to lock onto Sasuke: "Precisely, he is indeed suffering from facial paralysis!"
Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a prolonged look—we currently operate as the official Hokage Guards, we absolutely cannot afford to shed a single shred of Konoha's dignity inside the Land of Rain...
Yet this dark-haired girl is so monumentally annoying! And the Great Ancestor is exponentially more annoying!
Following their entry into the central blocks of the Land of Rain, the cluster of eight systematically bifurcated their paths. Under the explicit guidance of two female shinobi, Suiren and Fuyou, the Hidden Stone delegation set out toward their assigned residence. The two girls had originally operated as Ajisai's Genin teammates, yet they currently functioned directly as her administrative subordinates.
Meanwhile, Ryo's cluster was personally escorted by Ajisai straight to the central high tower of the Land of Rain. Having received the active intelligence in advance, Yahiko was currently waiting outside the perimeter gates, and standing right beside his flank was an 'aged and withered' Ameyuri Ringo—she was actively approaching fifty years of age and had fundamentally never married her entire lifetime. It was highly probable that her shark-like teeth were far too terrifying, preventing her from successfully securing a suitor...
"Lord Yahiko, Lady Ringo!"
Yahiko nodded toward Ajisai, stepping forward to welcome Ryo: "Senior, long time no see! Alongside the highly esteemed Lord Fifth Hokage... heh!"
Obito offered a sheepish chuckle: "Brother Yahiko, Sister Ringo, long time no see!"
"I genuinely hadn't anticipated that a stinking brat like you could systematically ascend to the mantle of Hokage. It appears Konoha has completely run dry of capable personnel," Ameyuri Ringo's verbal strikes remained as unforgiving as ever. "Or could it possibly be that you relied entirely on your Master's hidden assistance?"
Ryo raised his eyebrows: You hit the absolute nail on the head!
Obito's face experienced a sharp shift. He frantically spun around to intercept Naruto—this child was on the absolute verge of actively fulfilling his 'duties' as a Hokage Guard by launching a physical assault...
"Naruto, maintain your composure! Sister Ringo, please refrain from executing your teasing routines against me."
Sasuke cast a completely speechless, sidelong glare at Naruto. This absolute idiot, can't he parse out that the Hokage maintains an exceptionally harmonious relationship alongside these individuals, and that she's strictly cracking a joke?
"Currently, you can comfortably alter her title to Aunt Ringo, Obito," Ryo suddenly interjected, his countenance packed with a trace of deep nostalgia: "Back in your youth, it was strictly your teeth that lacked visual aesthetics. As for the current timeline, fundamentally zero segments of your vessel are visually pleasing!"
"My deepest gratitude for your premier compliment!" Ameyuri Ringo cracked a massive, toothy grin.
Ryo shook his head with a light laugh: "Hold back your laughter. I genuinely harbor zero desire to shatter your teeth to execute a mandatory cosmetic surgery block for you. If you desperately desire a cosmetic upgrade at this exact junction... you are structurally forced to swap out your entire face."
Ameyuri Ringo cast a sidelong glance toward Ajisai, her grin stretching even wider: "Swapping out a face is perfectly workable too."
Ajisai offered a sweet, radiant smile: "Lady Ringo, you are cracking jokes yet again!"
Ryo raised his eyebrows: "This is fundamentally not a joke. Ajisai, you must ensure you maintain a significant physical distance from Ameyuri Ringo over the subsequent duration. She is actively manifesting intense envy toward your youthful facial parameters!"
Yahiko shook his head to smoothly shift the conversational coordinates: "Ajisai, travel over to the Tsuchikage's designated blocks to inspect if they demand any supplementary logistical arrangements. Senior, Obito, let's head upstairs to execute our discussion!"
Ryo let out a long, sweeping sigh: "The passage of absolute time... whom does it ever spare? Let's advance, heading upstairs!"
Everyone: "..."
Ryo knit his brows: "Are you guys not advancing?"
"...Advancing!"
The executive hall located on the absolute top floor of the central high tower.
Ryo and Obito, alongside Yahiko and Ameyuri Ringo, took their respective seats on opposing flanks of the chamber.
As for Naruto and Sasuke, strictly adhering to the 'Eighteen Fundamental Codes of a Guard', they stood silently and rigidly directly behind Obito's chair.
"Exactly how many of the Six Kage have successfully touched down on location as of this moment?"
"Four," Yahiko responded firmly. "Strictly the First Uzukage and the Fifth Kazekage remain unaccounted for."
Ryo gave a firm nod: "Nagato commands exceptionally swift flight parameters; he will arrive shortly. Exactly what is causing the delay regarding Gaara?"
"When all is said and done, he operates as the One-Tail Jinchuriki," Yahiko offered a bitter smile. "The Hidden Sand Village is exercising extreme caution. They explicitly summoned Sasori of the Red Sand back to the village, and his escort volume for this summit will undoubtedly be massive, consequently resulting in a delayed arrival."
Ryo pursed his lips: "Executing a redundant, unnecessary maneuver."
"No, Senior, I similarly opine that exercising a heightened layer of caution is optimal. The Dark Akatsuki's logical next capture target is highly probable to be his vessel. Obito, as for your Konoha Village's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki..."
Obito loosely jutted his chin over his shoulder: "Behold, he is standing right behind my flank!"
Ryo titled his head to issue an instruction: "Naruto, offer a smile, and smoothly execute a formal greeting alongside Yahiko."
Naruto offered a silly, scratch-headed 'hehe': "I am Naruto Uzumaki! Once the subsequent iteration of the Six Kage Summit convenes, I shall participate operating as the Sixth Hokage. Please take good care of... err."
Disaster, I accidentally spouted the unvarnished thoughts locked inside my heart!
Obito massaged his temples. Escorting a guard who is monumentally primed to execute a coup and usurp my mantle at any given fraction of a second... talk about losing absolute face... Master has tossed me into a catastrophic pit yet again!
Yahiko stood temporarily speechless, fundamentally failing to parse out a logical response. He could only offer a distant yet polite smile...
"Tch, just another stinking brat who lacks the baseline realization of exactly how high the heavens soar," Ameyuri Ringo curled her lips in deep disdain.
"Indeed, his behavioral parameters mirror Obito's initial archetype flawlessly," Yahiko let out a soft sigh of relief. At least the atmospheric tension didn't freeze completely!
Naruto: My heart is packed with absolute fury, yet I am structurally forced to maintain a polite smile...
"Although this child is somewhat intellectually delayed, with my personal presence escorting him at every given moment, there is zero necessity to harbor anxiety." Ryo waved his hand dismissively: "I explicitly declared that the Hidden Sand Village is executing a 'redundant maneuver' strictly because I have long since deployed an absolute, high-powered defensive measure straight into Gaara's vessel. I am literally waiting on location for Tenji to launch an ambush against him!"
"Tenji?" Yahiko was visibly startled.
"The Patriarch of the Dark Akatsuki is designated as Tenji."
"This title..." Yahiko slowly shook his head: "Are the defensive measures you planted within the Kazekage genuinely secure? If we deploy the Kazekage operating explicitly as bait... No, no, no, that is fundamentally unworkable." Yahiko let out a bitter laugh: "Over this recent stretch of duration, the Fourth Raikage has caused such a monumental, chaotic uproar... to think my cognitive processing actually generated such a terrible, underhanded proposal!"
Ryo raised his eyebrows: "Why, did the Raikage travel straight to your headquarters to orchestrate a massive disruption?"
Yahiko sighed heavily: "Indeed. He explicitly stated that our Akatsuki organization has operated for this monumental duration, yet we have completely failed to lock onto the coordinates of a mere, shadow-hiding Dark Akatsuki... He fundamentally lacks the rational capacity to reflect on the fact that the Hidden Cloud Village has provided absolute zero coordination in executing our search grids."
Ryo shook his head with a gentle laugh. A genuinely harbored a profound, visceral concern for his younger brother Killer Bee. It was highly probable that he wouldn't even extend this tier of care toward his own biological wife...
Eh? I haven't caught wind of A commanding a wife. And Killer Bee lacks one as well. One is a reckless brute pushing forty, while the other is pushing thirty... tsk, I absolutely cannot afford to let my calculations wander further down this specific track!
Ryo's expression snapped back to absolute seriousness: "In unvarnished truth, the Great Ancestor has continuously been utilizing Gaara to operate strictly as bait. I deployed a Kotodama Seal (Word Spirit Seal) to securely plant two of my clones directly within his matrix. It is purely due to Tenji commanding exceptional luck that he structured Gaara as his final capture target; otherwise, I would have successfully hunted him down ages ago!"
"A Kotodama Seal?" Yahiko failed to recall ever catching wind of a sealing formulation under that designation. "As long as you command absolute certainty over the logistical parameters, it is fine."
Ryo smiled gently: "I invariably command absolute certainty."
☆☆☆
-> 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