The crisp sound entered Hiruzen's ears. He looked up and swept his gaze across Ryouma's white hair, and for some reason, it reminded him of his teacher.
If it were Tobirama-sensei, what would he have done?
His expression softened a bit, and he gently nodded to Ryouma.
After seeing Ryouma off, he looked down at the two opened scrolls in his hands. One had "Three" written on it, and the other displayed the word "Final" or "Absolute."
According to Ryouma, one of these scrolls contained the corpse of the Third Mizukage, and the other held a biological weapon created by Madara using the cells of the First Hokage.
He called for the ANBU to take the scrolls away.
"Take these to the secure laboratory beneath the monument. Classification level S. Only those with my direct authorization are permitted access."
Then, he picked up his tobacco pipe from the table, lit it, and began to smoke.
"A troubled time indeed…"
So many things had happened. By the time Ryouma finished his report and walked out of the Hokage building, the sun was already about to set. These past two days had been extremely hectic for Ryouma.
He had traveled across two countries, just finished a battle with Madara, rushed to destroy Kiri, and now returned to Konoha to report the mission, all in a schedule so tight it could rival the misfortunes of some certain student in a certain Academy City.
Speaking of which, he still hadn't even seen the house gifted to him by the Hyūga clan.
He took out the house certificate and keys and followed the address to find it. The journey took him through Konoha's more affluent districts, areas with wider streets, better maintained gardens, and distinctly fewer ninja supply shops.
He finally stopped in front of a detached, single-family house. Looking up at the three-story building, he couldn't help but marvel at the Hyūga clan's wealth and generosity.
Not bad, Hyūga. Not bad at all.
He opened the main door, walked through the small courtyard, and entered the house, casually looking around. There wasn't much furniture inside, perhaps because the Hyūga didn't know his tastes, they didn't want to overdo it.
Running his hand along a wall, he noted the quality of construction. The space was clean and open, with hardwood floors, high ceilings, and an abundance of natural light.
He checked the view from several windows.
The house was located in Konoha's prime residential area. It wasn't too obvious now, but by the time of the Boruto era, this place would be worth its weight in gold.
This Byakugan-bribe was definitely worth it. Then again, considering what the Byakugan meant to the Hyūga clan, perhaps no material gift could truly balance the scales.
Speaking of which, Heiji had also invited him to come over sometime to catch up. But that could wait.
He strolled back to the Senju compound, he had just sensed that Rin, Tsunade, and Shizune were all there.
Ryouma opened the living room door and shouted, "I am back!"
Shizune looked toward the door in surprise. "Eh, Ryouma! You could have sent word you were coming back today. We would have prepared something."
"You're back, fine, but don't go yelling like that. You're a jonin now, you know?" Tsunade scolded casually.
She was lying on the sofa while Shizune gave her a full-body massage. As a seasoned veteran of two ninja wars, this short separation didn't mean much to her. But to a certain girl, it was a different story.
Rin poked her head out from the kitchen, her face full of barely-contained excitement. Her hair was slightly disheveled, a smudge of flour on one cheek betraying her cooking activities. Unlike Tsunade's practiced nonchalance, she made no attempt to hide her delight.
"Ryouma! Welcome back! And Shukaku too!" Her eyes brightened as she wiped her hands on her apron. "I was just finishing dinner. Your timing is perfect!"
Ryouma nodded toward her and stepped into the room, pulling up a chair to sit down.
"Something smells good," he commented, relaxing his posture. "Please tell me it's not Tsunade-nee's cooking."
"I heard that," Tsunade murmured without opening her eyes.
He then sighed, "How come as an adult you still need your students to look after you every day? This kind of laziness will only spoil you."
Tsunade didn't care at all. She finally opened her eyes fully. "Not everyone needs to hurl themselves into mortal danger to feel accomplished, you know. Some of us have learned the value of delegation. Perhaps you'll discover it someday. You're just jealous of my lifestyle, haha."
Ryouma immediately felt attacked. Damn, she saw through him. These past few days in the Land of Water, he'd been beating up century-old geezers, dropping bombs on other villages, and constantly exposed to the elements. Meanwhile, she was here, enjoying the comforts of home with people attending to her needs.
Shukaku jumped down from his shoulder and curled up in a cozy corner of the sofa. After staying in the humid Land of Water for so long, it was utterly miserable and finally glad to relax. The tanuki released a sigh that seemed disproportionately large for its small body.
"So much water... everything damp..." it mumbled pitifully.
"Don't be dramatic," Ryouma said, patting its head.
Rin came out of the kitchen with dinner and set it on the table, and said apologetically to Ryouma, "Sorry. I didn't prepare anything you or Shukaku particularly like. If I'd known you were coming back today, I would have made your favorites."
"Don't worry about something like that. I came back so suddenly anyway. Besides, good company matters more than the menu."
Tsunade's eyes sparkled with curiosity as she suddenly threw an arm around his neck. "I heard you wiped out the Seven Ninja Swordsmen on the battlefield. Pretty impressive, huh?"
"Can the interrogation wait until after I've had at least three bites?" Ryouma asked, trying to focus on his food.
Rin had heard about it too. She knew how much he hated the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. When she heard the news some time ago, she even bought flowers to help him honor Ken's memory.
Ryouma gave a brief summary of what he'd told Hiruzen earlier, recounting it to Rin and the others.
Shizune listened with her hand over her mouth the whole time. In the end, she couldn't hold it in anymore. "W-Was I really supposed to be hearing any of that? That sounds like S-rank intelligence! We could all be court-martialed! Are there ANBU listening right now? Should we be using code words?"
Technically, this kind of intel was top secret, but Ryouma the distinction between 'village security' and 'family security' had always been blurry at best. These were the people he trusted most, why wouldn't he share important information with them?
"Relax. There's no one else around here. As long as you all keep quiet, nobody will know. Besides, you're a jonin with security clearance. Rin's training under Tsunade-nee, who has the highest clearance possible. We're not exactly civilians here."
Tsunade didn't care much about the rules either. She was more concerned about something else.
"Forget the classification level," she said, her expression suddenly serious. "What matters is that you took unnecessary risks. But tell me honestly, how close was it? How close did he come to killing you?"
Ryouma hesitated, "It was... challenging. But I had everything under control."
"You idiot!" Tsunade smacked him on the head with her fist.
Ryouma clutched his head and slumped over the table, shouting in protest, "What did I do this time?"
Tsunade snorted. "Do you have any idea how dangerous he is? He's been faking his death and hiding all this time, who knows what he's planning, and you went after him alone?"
She was just thankful Ryouma came back safe. Otherwise, she would've started believing the necklace her grandfather left behind really was cursed.
Rin didn't have any strong opinions about Madara. History wasn't a subject taught in depth at the Ninja Academy, and most of the newer generation in Konoha didn't understand the significance behind that name. To her, Madara was a distant historical figure, not the living nightmare that the older generation remembered.
Compared to Madara, she was more interested in what had happened to Ryouma in Kiri.
"Tsunade-sensei, he always plans everything carefully. He must have been fully prepared before deciding to fight," she said as she moved her chair closer and reached out to rub Ryouma's head. "Besides, he came back safely. That's what matters most, right? Does it still hurt? I can use medical ninjutsu if you'd like."
"Rin, you're too soft on him."
Ryouma understood what Tsunade was feeling and smiled gently. "Mm, I'll be more careful from now on."
"You'd better. Stop trying to handle everything on your own." Tsunade was simply worried because she couldn't bear to lose another important person again. "People who try to shoulder everything alone end up buried under the weight."
Shukaku really wanted to chime in and ask what exactly "handling everything on your own" meant, wasn't it a person too? From its perspective, it had been an equal partner in all of Ryouma's adventures, not merely a passive observer or tool.
But seeing Tsunade's fist, it wisely decided it was best not to get involved in this family war. Some battles weren't worth fighting, especially when one was barely the size of a house cat and the opponent could shatter mountains.
Shizune asked curiously, "By the way, Ryouma, what level is your strength at now? I mean, being able to infiltrate a major ninja village and kill the Mizukage… That's just hard to imagine."
Ryouma frowned and thought for a moment before replying, "Hmm… Barely at the level of an average genin in Konoha, I guess."
Shizune didn't know what to say. Was that supposed to be a subtle jab at her? Because, in this room, she was the actual genin.
Back when the battle at Suna ended, both Rin and Obito had already become chunin thanks to Minato's recommendation.
"Oh, right." As Ryouma spoke, he pulled out a scroll from behind his back. He released the seal, and with a puff of smoke, a large pile of specialty goods from the Land of Water appeared on the table.
"These are souvenirs~"
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