Orochimaru summoned Ryosuke, Nawaki, and Shibi of Team 5 to order them to pack their gear tonight and gather at the village gate at 5:30 AM tomorrow to head to the front lines for support.
War had crashed into them unexpectedly.
Fortunately, Ryosuke and the others were mentally prepared, so they weren’t terrified to the point of despair before even reaching the battlefield.
Shibi bid farewell to Ryosuke and Nawaki and went straight home.
He needed to prepare exceptionally complex things.
Nawaki was also about to go home to prepare, but Ryosuke stopped him, saying he wanted to treat him to ramen.
This greatly surprised Nawaki, because in his impression, Ryosuke had never treated him to a meal, not even snacks.
He was among the top-tier stingy people, and now he was actually treating him to ramen.
He decided to agree and see what Ryosuke was planning, what his intentions were.
Ryosuke indeed had “ulterior motives”, he had a bold idea.
First, he admitted that if a person had no shame, their life would be much easier.
If Orochimaru can transform himself into a female for eternal life, then it’s no problem for me, Ryosuke, to be shameless for the sake of becoming stronger.
When he was about to go to the front lines to fight, he suddenly had an idea that could enhance his strength—to learn from the future Sasuke and seal ninja tools like Shuriken on his wrists.
During combat, combined with his Sharingan and superb ninja tool throwing techniques, it would surely produce miraculous effects, greatly enhancing the ability to cope with complex battle situations.
Then the problem arose: he couldn’t use Fuinjutsu and could only seek help from others.
Therefore, he set his sights on Nawaki’s sister… no, he set his sights on Nawaki’s Grandma—Uzumaki Mito.
Looking across the entire Ninja World, no one was more proficient in Fuinjutsu than her.
Ryosuke was not qualified to approach her but it didn’t matter, he had Nawaki.
So, shamelessness was key.
He’d start with Nawaki, and then through him, connect with Mito.
Would Mito help?
Ryosuke had never considered this question.
In his view, he was Nawaki’s close friend, like siblings, so he was essentially Mito’s grandson.
Would her old self refuse a small request from her lovely grandson?
That’s right, Ryosuke shamelessly resorted to moral blackmail.
To achieve his goal, he spared no expense in treating Nawaki to ramen.
“Why are you suddenly treating me to ramen?” Looking at the tonkotsu ramen placed in front of him, Nawaki couldn’t help but scrutinize Ryosuke with suspicious eyes.
Ryosuke glanced at the young Teuchi, then at Nawaki, and said indifferently, “Aren’t we heading to the front lines tomorrow?
We don’t know when we’ll be back once we go, so I’m treating you to a meal.” Nawaki slammed his hand on the table.
“No, there must be something.
Quick, tell me, what is it?
Otherwise, I won’t eat this bowl of ramen.” “I didn’t expect you to be so perceptive.
Alright, I won’t hide it anymore.
Nawaki, is your sister home?” Nawaki reacted strongly, springing to his feet and knocking over his chair.
He pointed at Ryosuke and said fiercely, “Aha, I knew you had ill intentions.
You’re actually eyeing my sister.
You arrogant fellow, you’re indeed presumptuous…” “Stop, stop, stop!” Ryosuke quickly appeased the bristling Nawaki.
“I’m just kidding with you, I’m not looking for your sister, I’m looking for you.” “Really?” Nawaki picked up his chair but didn’t sit down, still looking at Ryosuke suspiciously.
“I want to ask for your help, I have something important to ask of you.” “What is it?” “I want to ask Mito-sama to help me engrave a Fuinjutsu.” Ryosuke answered truthfully.
“Fuinjutsu?” Nawaki finally sat down, patiently listening to Ryosuke’s explanation.
Ryosuke didn’t hide anything, explaining in detail his desire to enhance his combat power and his idea of using Fuinjutsu to store ninja tools.
Nawaki hesitated for a while before saying, “I can only take you to see my Grandma.
Whether she’s willing to help you, I can’t guarantee.” “That’s enough, thank you for your trouble.” Ryosuke clasped his hands together, thanking him sincerely.
“Seriously, I knew you had ulterior motives when you came to me.
One bowl of ramen is too cheap for you.
Teuchi-nii, add another serving of char siu and an egg for me.” Ryosuke quickly said, “Wait, just add an egg, no char siu.” “What?
So stingy.
I’m not helping you anymore…” Nawaki and Ryosuke ate their ramen while bickering, taking half an hour to finish one bowl, and then they went together to the Senju Clan compound.
The Senju Clan compound was located on the outskirts of the village, a desolate area with sparse human presence.
They walked for about half an hour, traversing streets and alleys, before reaching their destination.
Silence and loneliness.
This was Ryosuke’s first impression of the Senju compound.
The doors of the houses were tightly shut, and moss grew at the base of the walls, clearly abandoned for a long time and left untended.
Ryosuke couldn’t help but ask, “Nawaki, your Senju Clan…” “Just as you see, there is no Senju Clan anymore.” Nawaki’s tone was very calm.
“Is that so?
What a pity.” Ryosuke didn’t know what to say.
Should he comfort him?
Or press for the truth?
No, neither would do, because he wasn’t qualified.
“Alright, we’re here.” Nawaki led him to the entrance of a large courtyard.
After pushing the door open, they met a white-haired woman in the front yard.
She was holding a broom, sweeping the courtyard.
Nawaki bowed and greeted, “Grandma Saki, hello, I’m looking for Grandma.” Ryosuke also quickly bowed and greeted her.
Saki, however, did not speak.
She nodded to the two of them and continued her work, sweeping the courtyard.
“Grandma Saki dislikes being disturbed while doing her chores, so she usually doesn’t respond warmly.
Let’s go, I’ll take you to my Grandma.” Nawaki led Ryosuke through several corridors before stopping in front of a door.
He knocked on the door and said, “Grandma, it’s me, Nawaki.
May I come in?” “Come in.” Nawaki pushed the door open and walked in, with Ryosuke following behind him.
Upon entering the room, they saw a woman sitting in a chair by the window.
She had striking long red hair, styled into twin buns, a purple diamond-shaped mark on her forehead, and what looked like talismans hanging from her two hair buns.
This was Uzumaki Mito, the First Hokage’s widow, and currently Konoha’s true strongest person.
Nawaki threw himself at Mito’s legs, acting spoiled.
Mito stroked his head, dotingly saying, “Oh, my good grandson, you’ve grown so much in a few days.
I’m happy to see you growing up healthy.” Watching the touching scene and atmosphere of warmth between the grandmother and grandson, Ryosuke felt awkward, not knowing how to react.
Fortunately, Mito didn’t leave him hanging for too long.
She smiled and said, “You must be Nawaki’s classmate.
I’m glad you came to see me.” Ryosuke quickly returned the greeting, saying, “Hello, Mito-sama.
My name is Uchiha Ryosuke.” Mito showed no change due to the surname “Uchiha” and smiled, saying, “No need to be so formal.
You can call me Grandma, just like Nawaki.” “Grandma Mito.” Ryosuke forced himself to say.
Mito was very pleased, nodding with a beaming smile.
Nawaki said, “Grandma, Ryosuke wants to ask you for a favor.” “Oh, what kind of favor do you want me to help with?” Mito felt curious.
She had been living in seclusion for many years, with very little interaction with the outside world, so logically, no one should have noticed her.
But now, a boy of her grandson’s generation not only knew about her but also came to ask for her help, which greatly exceeded her expectations.
And this boy was from the Uchiha Clan, which was even more novel.
Mito, like Hashirama, had witnessed what kind of people the Uchiha Clan were, so her attitude towards the Uchiha Clan was similar to Hashirama’s and she held no prejudice.
As for Madara’s defection from Konoha and subsequent battle with Hashirama, causing severe consequences, that was even more normal, as Madara was simply that kind of person, and others should not be implicated.
Furthermore, Mito could determine a person’s character through Chakra.
She could see that Ryosuke was actually quite good.
“It’s like this…” Ryosuke quickly took over, explaining the whole situation in detail.
Mito said, “So that’s it.
Come closer and let me see your hands.” Ryosuke quickly stepped forward and extended his hands.
Mito held his hands, turning them over and examining them, then pointed to his wrists and asked with a smile, “You want to leave a sealed space on your wrists to store ninja tools?” “Yes, thank you for your trouble.” Mito formed a few hand signs, then used her index and middle fingers to draw a circle on Ryosuke’s wrist, and then tapped a few times inside the circle, leaving behind the character for “sword.” Mito said, “Alright.
I’ve made some simplifications, I’ve removed the need for hand signs.
You just need to use Chakra to store and summon ninja tools.” And just like that, it was don.
The sheer power of Mito, even just the tip of the iceberg, greatly astonished Ryosuke.
He quickly suppressed the shock in his heart and immediately thanked her.
Mito waved her hand, unconcerned.
“No need to be so polite, it was just a small favor.” Ryosuke still wanted to thank her again, but Mito stopped him.
She then pulled him and Nawaki into idle conversation, talking about the younger days of Hashirama and Madara, distant Konoha history, and all sorts of strange and wonderful stories.
Ryosuke stayed for over an hour before Mito had Nawaki escort him back.
As they walked along the quiet streets of the Senju compound, Ryosuke suddenly said, “Nawaki, don’t die.” “Huh?” Nawaki angrily bumped Ryosuke’s shoulder.
“What nonsense are you talking about?
How could I die?” “We’re going to the battlefield.” Seeing Ryosuke’s serious expression, Nawaki was silent for a moment before saying, “Yes, we’re going to the battlefield.” “So, don’t die.” “Idiot, who’s going to die?
I won’t die before becoming the Hokage.” Nawaki paused, then added, “Protecting Konoha has always been the mission of the Senju Clan.” Ryosuke patted Nawaki’s shoulder.
“Is that so?
Then there’s nothing to be done.
I hope we can all live well.
Alright, I’ll go from here.
Go back and accompany Grandma Mito.” Would Nawaki die?
How exactly would he die?
Was it really an accident?
Ryosuke knew none of this, he only knew that he didn’t have much time left.
If he didn’t want to die, he had to get stronger, stronger than all his enemies.