Sarutobi Ryo wasn't surprised when Uzumaki Mito suddenly attacked, trying to change the subject.
It was just like the old days, he thought, when she believed Senju Hashirama was hanging around the wrong people and that Uchiha Madara was a threat.
Uzumaki Mito, with her special ability to sense bad intentions, had immediately felt three dark presences the moment she entered the room.
One was Orochimaru, who hid a deep well of evil in his heart.
Another was Shimura Danzo, known as the Darkness of the Shinobi.
While those two had their own unique obsessions--one with living forever, the other with controlling power--the third dark presence… Sarutobi Ryo, held the purest evil of them all.
In her mind, his chakra was like the deepest, darkest ink.
Like ink, it was without any hint of impurity, terrifyingly pure.
Uzumaki Mito had never encountered such pure darkness.
What kind of evil … does he possess? she wondered.
Regardless, Uzumaki Mito knew that Sarutobi Ryo would become a powerful obstacle.
"Yeah, not bad," Sarutobi Ryo replied casually, not denying her accusations.
No matter what Uzumaki Mito plans, he thought, one day, I will turn her into a Weapon of the Will of Fire!
He imagined using a Sarutobi clan Summoning Weapon to forcefully inject her with the Will of Fire chakra.
Looking at her beautiful face, Sarutobi Ryo felt a fire ignite within him.
He stared intently at her, examining her brazenly.
Feeling his intense gaze, Uzumaki Mito subtly moved to sit further away.
----
When the meeting ended, Sarutobi Ryo received a new mission.
He was ordered to disrupt enemy activities behind the lines of Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Sunagakure.
According to intelligence reports:
Kumogakure's Anbu unit wasn't very good and lacked effectiveness. This village mainly depended on direct attacks. Any plans they made were usually simple. So, there wasn't much to sabotage there.
Iwagakure had too many ninja, making it impossible to sneak in. Uzumaki Mito couldn't just send Sarutobi Ryo to his death; it wouldn't look good.
Therefore, Sunagakure was the most suitable target for Sarutobi Ryo.
His mission: Sneak into Sunagakure's rear lines and assassinate important leaders.
He was given a list of names.
Most of the people on the list had already been taken care of by the reinstated Third Kazekage himself--fired or locked up in Hozuki Castle.
The remaining leaders had to handle much more work than before.
So, losing even one of them would be a major blow to Sunagakure.
After the Third Kazekage cleaned up and reorganized Sunagakure, the weaknesses within the village became very clear.
Each assassination of a leader would severely damage Sunagakure's operations.
Sarutobi Ryo accepted the order and prepared to head to the battlefield.
----
By the time he got home, it was already dark.
Ruri sat in the living room, watching the courtyard outside. She saw Sarutobi Ryo arrive.
"Welcome back…" she said softly, her usually calm voice showing a rare bit of warmth.
"Yeah, Ruri, I'm back."
Sarutobi Ryo walked over and gently hugged her.
The world didn't know about Sarutobi Ryo and Ruri's relationship.
They also didn't know that Ruri had moved in.
Or that Ruri was pregnant.
Pacifying the Hyuga clan and changing her surroundings had greatly improved Ruri's mood.
She became happier every day.
Soon after, Yamanaka Hui finished making dinner.
The three of them sat around the table, eating together, creating a heartwarming scene.
For Yamanaka Hui, Ruri had finally escaped the Hyuga clan and gained significant freedom.
Significant, but not complete, because Ruri still had the Caged Bird Seal on her forehead.
She needed to find a way to remove it.
"Cursed Seals start at A-rank…"
Sarutobi Ryo shook his head. Cursed Seals weren't easy to undo.
In the original story, he thought, Orochimaru's Cursed Seal, the Caged Bird Curse Mark … these Cursed Seals were all A-rank.
Unless it was a temporary Cursed Seal used only to control someone for a short time.
"But it's not like there's no solution…"
If I can successfully fuse a Truth-Seeking Ball one day, gaining the Power of All Things, Sarutobi Ryo thought, maybe I can erase the Caged Bird Seal for Ruri.
Because every technique had its weakness.
After dinner, Sarutobi Ryo went to wash up.
The two girls sat at the table and began to chat quietly.
As good sisters, there was nothing they couldn't talk about.
"Ruri, what were the results of your medical examination?"
Seeing her smiling face and thinking of her usual care, Ruri felt sorry for Yamanaka Hui.
Because … it's as if I've taken something that should have belonged to her, she thought.
Hesitantly, Ruri said, "I… I'm pregnant."
"Really?!"
Yamanaka Hui's eyes lit up, looking genuinely happy.
Ruri wondered if she had misunderstood.
What I meant was, the father of this child is actually …
"That's great! I never wanted kids anyway. I heard childbirth is really tough, and raising kids is even more of a headache… Now that's great, you can deal with all that, Ruri…"
Yamanaka Hui patted Ruri on the shoulder.
Now it was the Kuudere Girl's turn to be surprised.
"Hui… you… know the child's father is Sarutobi Ryo?"
"Of course," Yamanaka Hui nodded, not thinking it was a big deal.
As a representative of evil girls, Yamanaka Hui had played the villain since she was a child and knew the self-cultivation of villains well.
What's wrong with having multiple wives? she thought. Isn't that normal?
All those important people are like that.
It's no big deal.
Seeing Yamanaka Hui's carefree appearance, Ruri slowly relaxed, feeling much calmer inside.
"Hui… thank you…"
She thought about it and felt that Yamanaka Hui was still pretending to be generous.
Maybe she will secretly cry in her room later, Ruri thought.
However, Ruri's imagination was just wishful thinking.
"Let's go take a bath together…"
Yamanaka Hui smirked, thinking of something.
"Tonight, you can continue to serve him… This is a good opportunity to get closer to him…"
"?"
Before Ruri could react, Yamanaka Hui pulled her up and headed towards the bathroom.
----
When Sarutobi Ryo came out of the other bathroom and returned to the bedroom, he resumed his Eight Gates Formation training.
"First Gate… Opening Gate, open!"
As the chakra pathway in his brain opened, Sarutobi Ryo felt the flow of chakra within his body speed up instantly.
Along with it came mental clarity and sharper senses.
His entire perception of the world was completely different.
*
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[T/N:
Final Total Power Stone Collection : 145 PS
Goal : Reach +50 Total PS = +2 Bonus Chapters next day! 🚀
Want to support my work and get early access to chapters? Check out my Patreon! 👇
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]