Having made the broad plan, he couldn't just act recklessly.
Leaving Konoha this time, even if the process went smoothly, wouldn't be for a short duration.
Therefore, he had to properly arrange matters here in Konoha.
Moreover, after several nights of consecutive all-nighters researching the Tailed Beast Seal, his mental state was extremely poor.
Rushing back to Sunagakure in this condition could easily lead to a mishap.
So, haste was not advisable.
Konoha was busy with the war, and the Academy's teachers were also devoting their utmost to training the students, hoping to turn them into real Shinobi as quickly as possible. The Sunagakure's teachers had also learned a great deal in a short time and had already begun formal internships, acting as teachers for certain subjects.
As for the Medical-nin side, needless to say, Konoha had officially started paying them wages.
The Sunagakure's delegation's study path was already on track, requiring no worry. He just needed to have Karura and Yashamaru be more vigilant when he left.
These two were kind-hearted, gentle people. Even in another village, they had made many genuine friends.
If they encountered difficulties, they could seek help from those Konoha friends.
Here, something must be mentioned.
The Senju Clan, which didn't appear in the original anime, had actually been teaching at the Academy all along. But they seemed to have abandoned their surname, focusing solely on nurturing Konoha's next generation (A/N: As mentioned in the Itachi Shinden novels).
Karura, interning at the Academy... a large portion of her friends were from the Senju Clan.
Although they didn't hold positions in Konoha's core authority, given the Senju Clan's prestige in Konoha, general minor issues shouldn't trouble them.
But just in case, Ryuji decided to leave Gin in Konoha.
Her body still hadn't been replaced... Although the Sage cells were cultivated to a level suitable for making a new body two days ago, he hadn't had time to make it due to being busy with the Tailed Beast Seal research.
"I could finish making Gin's body before leaving. Also, need to make more Scarab puppets." Ryuji thought carefully.
There were two purposes for making more Scarab puppets.
First, to deal with Akatsuki's guerrilla tactics utilizing their familiarity with the terrain.
Second, to establish relay signal stations for the mental link between Sunagakure, Amegakure, and Konoha.
Sunagakure was currently in a state of upheaval. He needed to keep a grasp on the situation between these places at all times, and absolutely could not let something like the Third Kazekage incident happen again.
In fact, Ryuji wished he could spread Scarab puppets throughout the entire Shinobi World, forming a mental network spanning it. But he hadn't managed to research a Chakra Generation Device, so he's unable to solve the issue of the Scarabs being self-sufficient.
Manually supplying them would be too much work. He could only implement this plan later after developing a Chakra Generator.
'Besides Gin, Kuro also needs to stay.'
Ryuji continued thinking about matters that needed arranging.
Kuro was responsible for finding targets to be replaced by Wood Release user. Three suitable candidates had already been found, but further investigation was needed to prevent future slip-ups.
So he couldn't leave.
Next, Ryuji thought for a while longer but found no other matters. So he went to the Portable Space to make Scarab puppets.
The data for these things were backed up in the 3D Printer. He just needed to set the quantity and pour in enough materials, and it could produce them automatically.
As for Gin's new body...
"Forget it. I'll make it after I return." After some thought, Ryuji gave up on the idea of making a new prosthetic body for Gin before leaving.
Mainly, time was too tight; it was easy to make mistakes.
Moreover, Ryuji wanted to make the body like a normal human body... Using Sage cells as material, he could make a Sage Body for her.
Although it might initially be weaker than a prosthetic body, its growth ceiling would definitely surpass any prosthetic body his current technology could make.
However,
A normal body needed to consider compatibility with the soul. If compatibility was too poor, the body would reject the soul.
Gin's soul was made using the Chakra Consciousness of a female Shinobi Ryuji had once encountered as raw material. She was just an ordinary Shinobi, with no relation whatsoever to the Sage of Six Paths' family. It was highly likely to have rejection with a Sage Body.
And Sage cells reject ordinary human cells. He couldn't use the body cells of Gin's original owner to fuse with Sage cells to cultivate a body with excellent compatibility for Gin.
But it wasn't unsolvable.
After understanding the rejection between Sage cells and ordinary cells, Ryuji often thought about how to use them to modify his own body, or directly make a new Sage Body.
As it turned out, he really thought of a way.
That was White Zetsu's cells.
White Zetsu, whose life force was drained by the God Tree, transformed into something between biological and plant-like, had bodies with excellent compatibility with the vast majority of people's souls.
If he fused White Zetsu's cells with Sage cells, cultivating a new type of Sage cell that could fuse with ordinary cells, then he could use his own cells to fuse with this new Sage cell again, cultivating a body with 100% compatibility with his own soul.
This plan was also applicable to others.
And this time, he was going to Amegakure to fight Akatsuki. If he forced Nagato into a life-and-death crisis, Madara should send White Zetsu to rescue him, right?
At that time, he could collect both the Rinnegan and White Zetsu's cells.
Nagato wasn't Naruto or Sasuke.
Those two were reincarnations of Asura and Indra. Killing them would lead to new reincarnations of Asura and Indra appearing, making things beyond his control.
But Nagato wasn't.
Having control of the Rinnegan in hand would be more assured than letting things develop along their original trajectory.
Because, ever since attending the Shinobi Academy, he had been thinking of methods to completely eliminate the unstable factor that was Otsutsuki Kaguya. One of those methods required the Rinnegan as a foundation.
After properly planning everything, Ryuji left the Portable Space and informed Gin and Kuro of the arrangements via the mental link, also having them notify Karura and Yashamaru.
After that, he fell into a deep sleep.
…
When he woke up, it was already the middle of the night.
Outside the window, it was quiet, with only the sound of cicadas and insects.
Ryuji still felt very sleepy, but he no longer felt his thoughts were like mush or had a headache.
After washing up in the kitchen, he immediately felt much refreshed, and the sleepiness was swept away.
However, looking at the pitch-black window, he fell into silence.
Entering and leaving a Shinobi Village required a pass, especially for outsiders.
And passes could only be issued at the Hokage Tower. Some special individuals required passes personally approved by the Hokage to come and go freely.
Ryuji belonged to the special category.
But at this time, the Hokage Tower was already closed.
"This is a slip-up!" Ryuji scratched his head.
Important matters were flawless, but trivial matters always had a slip-up. An old flaw.
"Huh? What's this?"
Just as Ryuji was considering whether to knock on the Hokage's door in the middle of the night, he suddenly noticed three plates of snacks and a letter on the low table.
He quickly rushed over and opened the envelope.
Inside was a note from Karura and a Konoha's travel pass.
"Girls really are considerate!" Ryuji praised, grabbed a few snacks, and headed straight out the door.
…
(A/N: Most teachers at the Konoha's Shinobi Academy are from the Senju Clan, as mentioned in Itachi Shinden. But the Senju Clan abandoning their surname is my own guess.
I checked the information; none of the teachers at the Shinobi Academy had the surname Senju, including Itachi's teacher. Combined with Tsunade and Nawaki not having surnames, I made this guess.
Otherwise, starting from Tsunade's father's generation, the Senju Clan only gave birth to girls, not boys, right?
I know many people only acknowledge the original manga, not anime filler, games, movies, etc.
But the original author of Itachi Shinden was Kishimoto who conceived the plot, written by another author. In the manga world, there are also many duo mangaka where one person thinks of the story and draws the storyboards, and another does the drawing.
Therefore, the content and settings of the Itachi Shinden novel are second only to the original manga, more referential than movies, game plots, or anime filler.)