Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, three years had passed.
"Staying at home, living our peaceful lives, ignoring the strife and the chaotic world, isn't that quite nice too..." In the garden, Kushina said softly, looking at the man napping with their daughter under the cool pavilion.
"Are you telling me what to do?" Ryun asked without even opening his eyes.
"..."
Upon hearing this, Kushina couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"I would like to have a few more quiet days too, but it's a pity the flames of war are almost at our doorstep..." Ryun said casually, gently patting his daughter's bottom.
"This world..."
"A great war has been fought on and off for almost five years now. Who knows when it will end. Why are the Five Great Nations so warlike? Is it truly impossible for them to coexist peacefully..." Kushina said with a heavy sigh.
"Asuna (Minato's wife, Asuna) wrote me a letter. She said Konoha's situation is very bad now. Too many people have died in the war up to this point. Minato is constantly running around to various battlefields all year round. The time she spends with her own man is pitifully short..."
"She holds you, her elder brother, in the highest esteem, her words are full of praise. I know she longs for you to step in and end this chaotic era, she just doesn't dare say it out loud. Presumably, Konoha must be nearly driven into a corner by the four great shinobi villages..."
Ryun listened quietly to the chatter in his ear but never showed much reaction.
"I told Asuna that you went into seclusion for training, and I made it clear that you have no intention of participating in the war..."
The Kushina of before might have urged Ryun to act, to save Konoha and pacify this chaotic world. But having grown accustomed to their blissfully close, happy life, she genuinely didn't want Ryun to provoke the great shinobi villages again, nor did she want her husband to leave her and their child to take risks.
Even if Ryun's strength was truly very, very great. Even if everyone said Uchiha Ryun possessed the power to pacify the ninja world.
After Kushina finished speaking, Ryun finally spoke faintly.
"The power possessed by the Five Great Shinobi Villages is too great. There are too many ambitious individuals. Shinobi are the source of this world's turmoil. In the future, when I have exterminated the shinobi of the Five Great Nations, leaving only Otogakure, peace can then be achieved..."
Kushina clearly froze for a moment upon hearing this. "Exterminate the shinobi of the Five Great Nations???"
"That... that's a bit much, a bit much... You mustn't act recklessly..." Kushina hurriedly tried to dissuade him.
Ryun's idea was too crazy. And judging by his expression, he didn't seem to be joking at all, which was terrifying...
After spending a few quiet years at home, how had his thoughts become so radical? Kushina wondered if it was because she had always made Ryun look after the child, causing his resentment to grow heavier and heavier??? But it didn't really seem like it.
Not long after, Orochimaru sent over some bad news.
"The food supplies sent by the Land of Fire to the ancient land of Loulan have been intercepted again by the Land of Wind."
"We cannot rule out the possibility that Konoha intentionally created this problem to force Otogakure to step in and deal with the Land of Wind." Orochimaru said this possibility with a serious expression.
The Third Great Ninja War had been fought until now. Every shinobi village, every country, had already exerted their full effort. The quagmire of war had formed. It was a matter of which of the Five Great Nations would hold out the longest.
As the Shadow of Otogakure, Orochimaru naturally viewed Konoha with a perspective of 'human nature is treacherous'. Even if he hoped in his heart that the Land of Fire would ultimately win the Third Great Ninja War, he could not tolerate them setting their sights on Otogakure.
"These guys, not a single one is easy to deal with..." Ryun couldn't help but sigh.
'The Akatsuki organization is really useless. How much time has passed? Can't they even get the tailed beast capture mission on the agenda yet?' Ryun secretly complained in his heart.
Actually, if the Akatsuki organization just started targeting the tailed beasts, this protracted war among the Five Great Nations would end immediately. Everyone would be busy protecting their tailed beasts and dealing with Akatsuki in the future. Where would they find the extra energy to fight life-and-death battles and wage war...
"Teacher, in my name, send a letter to Sunagakure. Tell them to hand over ten times the amount of grain seized this time as compensation to the ancient land of Loulan. Otherwise, I will go to Sunagakure myself and take the One-Tail Shukaku from within the Fourth Kazekage as compensation for this incident."
Hearing that Ryun wanted to use his name to threaten Sunagakure, Orochimaru was directly shocked.
"Wouldn't doing this let the entire ninja world know you are in Otogakure? Then your 'Shadow' status will be brought into the open..." Orochimaru couldn't help but remind him.
"It doesn't matter. It might also let certain people know where I am, saving me the trouble of looking for them one by one..."
Actually, after all these years, some people outside of Konoha could already guess he was in Otogakure. It was just that Orochimaru controlled Otogakure too well. The village itself was very insular, making it difficult for outsiders to learn the specific situation inside Otogakure.
"Alright..."
Orochimaru finally nodded and accepted the task.
"There is one more thing. Just today, Kirigakure's S-Class rogue ninja Kisame Hoshigaki came to pledge his allegiance to our Otogakure. Should I have him come see you?"
Hearing Orochimaru's words, Ryun visibly started.
"Kisame Hoshigaki? That guy came to pledge his allegiance to us?? What is this about..." Ryun was confused by Kisame Hoshigaki's puzzling actions.
"Apparently, he went to assassinate the Daimyo of the Land of Water, who has a grudge against you. After failing, he was listed as an S-Class rogue ninja by Yagura..."
"He also happened to know that Raiga Kurosuki (one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist) betrayed Kirigakure and pledged his allegiance to us. So he intended to follow Raiga Kurosuki's example, to see if we would accept him, preferably giving him a ninja sword and a chance to pledge his loyalty..."
After listening to Orochimaru's account, Ryun couldn't help but frown. At first glance, it sounded reasonable. If scrutinized carefully, it didn't seem to have any logical flaws either. But Ryun always felt things weren't that simple.
"Someone, bring Kisame Hoshigaki to me!" Ryun called out to Kabuto Yakushi, who was waiting outside the Shadow's residence.
"Yes!" A response came from outside the residence.
"Kabuto Yakushi, huh..." Ryun withdrew his perception and muttered.
"I never expected you to even know about a small character like Kabuto..." Orochimaru looked quite surprised.
"Don't underestimate small characters. This small character by your side possesses great ambition. This guy is probably a double agent, right..." Ryun said, frowning.
"You even know that!!!"
Orochimaru was shocked again. Clearly, Ryun shouldn't have known about this. Moreover, he hadn't dealt with most of Otogakure's affairs these years. Yet he could still pinpoint Kabuto's intelligence accurately. This was truly incredible...
Where did Ryun get his intelligence from? Could there be a spy he planted by my side???
It's no wonder Orochimaru's thoughts ran wild like this...
"Judging by your tone, you clearly know Kabuto's nature... Keeping such a person by your side brings more harm than good. Who knows, he might betray you one day..."
Faced with Ryun's advice, Orochimaru was completely nonchalant.
"No need to worry about that. I know the child Kabuto has ambition. But as long as I am alive, he can never turn on his master."
Orochimaru was very confident. Ryun carefully pondered this statement and could reluctantly accept it.
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