Chōjūrō was no stranger to using chakra release with his Hiramekarei blade in battle.
Though he had never faced Zabuza in combat, he knew the chakra projectiles released by the twin blade were notoriously difficult to intercept. From a certain perspective, the chakra release technique was Hiramekarei's ultimate move.
If the chakra balls released by the twin blade could be sliced through so easily, Hiramekarei would never have earned its place among the Seven Ninja Swords of Kirigakure.
Yet Richard had just proven something quite definitively before Chōjūrō's eyes—the chakra projectiles weren't nearly as formidable as he had believed.
Though Chōjūrō didn't understand how Richard had accomplished this feat, his expression quickly shifted from shock to calm curiosity. "How did you do that?" he asked.
"Nothing special," Richard replied casually. "With sufficient swing speed and the proper attack angle, it's quite straightforward."
For Richard, this truly wasn't a difficult task. Even if he'd been wielding an ordinary samurai sword instead of Kubikiribōchō, he could have accomplished it with ease. Though an ordinary blade would likely have shattered upon contact with the chakra ball.
Chōjūrō frowned slightly at Richard's answer. While what Richard said was technically true, not just anyone could perform such a feat.
Beyond the swing speed and attack angle Richard had mentioned, there were other critical requirements—precise judgment and exceptional chakra control. Without these, even with perfect speed and angle, splitting the chakra ball cleanly in two would be impossible.
After a few seconds of silence, Chōjūrō decided not to dwell on the matter and began forming hand seals to perform a Water Style escape jutsu.
Richard shook his head helplessly as he watched Chōjūrō's hands move through the seals. Whether it was Zabuza, Kakashi, or now Chōjūrō—they all shared what he considered a fatal flaw in combat.
They insisted on forming hand seals during battle.
While hand seals were necessary for ninjutsu, and these shinobi could form them quite rapidly, combat wasn't a turn-based game. The time spent forming seals was when they were most vulnerable to attack. An enemy striking during this window would instantly seize the initiative.
Of course, not everyone could exploit this vulnerability. These elite shinobi wouldn't simply stand still and allow themselves to be attacked. They remained vigilant while forming seals and knew techniques to avoid enemy strikes during this critical moment. Moreover, few opponents could close the distance and attack them in the brief window when they were forming seals.
Zabuza and Kakashi were undoubtedly elite jonin. As for Chōjūrō, he barely qualified as one at present. Though his combat experience wasn't particularly extensive, his raw power wasn't significantly weaker than other elite jonin—otherwise, Mei Terumi wouldn't have chosen him as her bodyguard.
Compared to other ninja, Chōjūrō's hand seal speed was indeed impressive. But to Richard, it might as well have been moving in slow motion.
Just as Chōjūrō completed the first seal and separated his hands, Richard appeared before him as if he'd teleported. He raised his right foot and delivered a powerful kick that sent Chōjūrō flying.
Mei Terumi had already warned Chōjūrō and Ao about Richard's superhuman speed, but Chōjūrō hadn't expected him to be this fast. By the time he registered what had happened, he was already airborne from Richard's kick.
Richard had carefully controlled his strength to avoid accidentally killing Chōjūrō, but even so, the young swordsman couldn't help but cough up blood as he was sent flying backward.
As Chōjūrō landed roughly on the ground, Richard called out, "That's enough for tonight. You don't need to shadow me anymore. I'll head back to the apartment on my own."
With that, Richard stored Kubikiribōchō back into his system space.
Chōjūrō attempted to respond but was overcome by a sharp pain in his chest. Though frustrated, he recognized he was in no condition to continue monitoring Richard covertly.
Looking up at Richard, who had already activated his flight ability and was hovering above the ground, Chōjūrō simply nodded in resignation.
Without another word, Richard flew toward his apartment, quickly disappearing from Chōjūrō's sight.
Once Richard was gone, Chōjūrō retrieved the bandages from the ground and carefully rewrapped Hiramekarei. Then he departed the park, heading directly to Kirigakure's hospital to have a medical ninja treat his broken ribs.
Richard had indeed controlled his power well, but that didn't mean Chōjūrō escaped unscathed. Richard had merely ensured he wouldn't kill or seriously injure the swordsman.
Time passed quickly.
In the blink of an eye, Richard had been living in Kirigakure for over ten days.
During this time, he exchanged numerous water-style jutsu scrolls with Mei Terumi, trading from the collection he'd acquired from Orochimaru.
Although he failed to obtain any forbidden or secret techniques, Richard wasn't particularly concerned. Neither forbidden nor secret techniques would significantly enhance his already formidable power.
He mastered all the water-style jutsu with minimal effort, and the techniques hardly consumed much of his time.
The remainder of his days were spent in Mei Terumi's company.
Though Mei was still young at 27, in the Naruto world, a 27-year-old woman was considered well past her prime for marriage.
Simply put, Mei Terumi had already developed a complex about marriage. While she genuinely desired a husband, in Kirigakure's talent-depleted village, not only was there no suitable marriage partner, there wasn't even a man who sparked the slightest interest in her.
Currently, Chōjūrō was the most promising young man in Kirigakure. If he had been closer to her age, she might have considered him. Unfortunately, Chōjūrō was nearly a decade younger than her.
Though she didn't mind some age difference, a gap of nearly ten years exceeded her comfort zone.
If Kirigakure had been as talent-rich as Konohagakure, even Richard's striking appearance and charisma wouldn't have turned her head—after all, they'd only known each other for a little over ten days.
But in Kirigakure's current state, not a single man—whether in their twenties or even in the broader range from 10 to 60 years old—could compare to Richard.
One was an aging single woman haunted by marriage anxiety; the other, a handsome man whose only potential flaw was his mysterious origins.
Just as effortlessly as he'd mastered Kirigakure's water-style jutsu, Richard captured Mei Terumi's heart and engaged in exploring the deeper mysteries of life with her.
Mei Terumi was undoubtedly the "village beauty" of Kirigakure.
Despite his limited experience, Richard found their intimate encounters to be deeply satisfying for both body and mind.
Mei knew Richard couldn't stay in Kirigakure forever, much less marry her. Still, she didn't refuse his advances. Even without the promise of marriage, they could enjoy their fleeting moments together.
It had to be said that adult women were far more pragmatic than younger girls.
In the apartment's dining area, Richard and Mei, having just awakened, were enjoying lunch together.
"I'll be leaving Kirigakure tomorrow," Richard announced to Mei, who sat across from him.
"Where to?" she asked.
"Konoha," he replied.
Richard hadn't previously mentioned to Mei that he was heading to Konoha—he had only told her he wouldn't remain in Kirigakure much longer.
"I see," Mei replied with a simple nod, not asking what business took him to Konoha.
After finishing lunch, Mei left the apartment. Though she wasn't yet the Fifth Mizukage, she was learning village administration from Elder Yuanshi in preparation for the role.
Once Mei departed, Richard also left the apartment, flying toward the lake where Isobu resided.
He arrived quickly at the lake housing the Three-Tails. Even after more than ten days, the water level hadn't fully recovered. The lake water lost during the Tailed Beast Jade explosion would take time to replenish.
As Richard hovered in the sky above the lake, Isobu, who had been concealed at the bottom, quickly surfaced.
"I'm leaving the Land of Water tomorrow," Richard announced. "After I'm gone, if a kunoichi named Mei Terumi comes seeking your assistance, do what you can to help her."
Mei Terumi? Though Isobu didn't understand why Richard had come to discuss this matter, the great beast didn't refuse. It raised its massive head and nodded in agreement.
"Also, individuals wearing black robes with red cloud patterns may come hunting for you in the future," Richard continued. "If you encounter them, I authorize you to use the reverse summoning technique to bring me to your location."
Although the Three-Tails wasn't a ninja, it could still perform reverse summoning techniques. After signing the blood contract, it had gained this ability.
Isobu again remained silent, simply nodding its enormous head in understanding.
"That's all then," Richard concluded. Without further acknowledgment of the Three-Tails, he flew back toward Kirigakure.
The following day at noon, Mei personally escorted Richard from Kirigakure.
After departing the village, Richard immediately took flight toward Konoha without hesitation.
Though he hadn't fully resolved the question of his origin story, he had determined how to enter Konoha.
As a merchant!
He planned to enter Konoha under the guise of a businessman.
While Konoha maintained vigilance against ninja from other hidden villages, they welcomed merchants from other nations. Regardless of a businessman's country of origin, as long as they conducted legitimate trade, Konoha wouldn't turn them away.
Beyond ninja, Konoha housed many civilians, including numerous ordinary people from other villages and countries.
Though Richard hadn't decided what kind of business to establish in Konoha, the specifics didn't matter to him. He simply needed the merchant identity to secure residence in Konoha.
As for whether the business would actually be profitable—that was entirely irrelevant to his goals.
Several hours later, Richard arrived in the skies above Konoha.
To avoid unnecessary complications, he landed in the forest outside the village and retrieved a pre-prepared backpack from his system space.
With a composed expression, he walked toward Konoha's main gate.
Soon, the Konoha ninja stationed at the entrance spotted him.
Though Richard wore no forehead protector and carried no visible weapons, a man in his early thirties—dressed in Konoha's standard chunin uniform and bearing a distinctive facial scar—used the Body Flicker Technique to appear before him, blocking his path.
"Who are you? What's your business in Konoha?" the scarred chunin demanded.
"My name is Richard. I'm a merchant," Richard replied calmly.
A merchant?
The scarred chunin immediately frowned at Richard's answer.
Though Richard carried no weapons and wore no foreign village insignia, the chunin's instincts told him that this man was no ordinary businessman.
His intuition was correct—Richard was indeed no merchant.
"Do you have anything to verify your identity?" the chunin continued.
"Would gold suffice?" Richard replied.
Gold?
The scarred chunin hadn't expected such a response and couldn't hide his surprise.
Richard opened his backpack before the ninja, revealing its contents.
The pack contained dozens of gold nuggets, each about eight centimeters long, four centimeters wide, and half a centimeter thick.
These gold nuggets, like the coins he had used previously, had once belonged to the royal family of Wakanda. Unlike the coins, however, these nuggets bore no inscriptions or patterns.
Upon seeing the gold in the backpack, the scarred chunin's expression grew peculiar.
He had noticed Richard's backpack earlier but hadn't expected it to contain pure gold.
"Are you coming to Konoha to make purchases, or do you intend to establish a business here?" the chunin inquired.
"Establish a business," Richard answered smoothly. "I've heard Konoha has an excellent commercial atmosphere. I plan to start a new venture here."
After a moment's consideration, the scarred chunin said, "Follow me. All visitors must register before entering the village."
"Of course," Richard nodded.
He followed the chunin to a building adjacent to the village gate.
Though registration was required for entry, the process wasn't particularly complex.
Name, age, ninja status, country of origin, and purpose for visiting Konoha—these were the only details required.
After receiving the form from the scarred chunin, Richard quickly completed it.
He entered his real name and age truthfully.
For ninja status, he checked "yes."
A ninja didn't necessarily need to be affiliated with a hidden village. Many shinobi in this world operated independently, belonging to no village or clan.
Anyone who had mastered ninjutsu could be considered a ninja, regardless of village affiliation.