"What!!!"
Kushina's voice clearly rose several pitches.
"The four great nations want to use me to threaten Ryun?"
"While there are some discrepancies, that is essentially the case..." Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded gravely.
"Those despicable guys... I would rather die than let those rats succeed." Kushina clenched her fists and said angrily.
"Don't be so quick to talk about life and death... Things haven't reached that terrible point yet. Besides, I would never hand you over. First, contact Ryun for me..." Sarutobi Hiruzen hurriedly tried to console her.
Hearing this, Kushina fell silent. She didn't want to affect Ryun because of herself, and she didn't know whether she should listen to the Third Hokage and ask Ryun to return.
"You... are you in such a hurry to have him return because you plan to do something to him in Konoha..." Kushina said, staring at Sarutobi Hiruzen with a suspicious look.
Hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen's old face instantly flushed red, and he couldn't help but rebuke angrily, "Do I seem so despicable in your eyes?"
"War mobilization has already begun. Do you think I would be foolish enough to deceive everyone for such a scheme? Do you think that is necessary?"
"Taking a step back, who is Uchiha Ryun? Dare to choose to make a move against him within Konoha... Are you crazy, or am I, the Hokage, crazy?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen spat so vehemently that saliva nearly splashed onto Kushina's face.
"Uh... Okay, I'll try to get him to come back." Kushina nodded awkwardly, then turned and went into the bedroom to start writing a letter to Ryun.
Coincidentally, it had been nearly a year since she last saw Ryun, and she missed him terribly. If Konoha agreed to let him return, that would be even better.
Over the past two years, Ryun's notorious reputation had grown immensely, and Konoha had even listed him as an SSS-Class Rogue Ninja. Kushina had always been very worried about his safety.
Although Kushina dreamed of seeing Ryun, her sensible side told her she couldn't affect her man.
All along, she could only silently follow news about Ryun. Every month, aside from writing him a letter, she patiently waited.
Kushina believed Ryun wouldn't make her wait too long, and she would unconditionally support any decision Ryun made, even if it meant making an enemy of the entire ninja world.
"I've already sent the letter via summoning animal. If you have no other business, Hokage-sama, please go back and rest. I need to continue sleeping..." Kushina yawned, preparing to see her guest out.
"Hmm... How has the Nine-Tails been lately? Is it still behaving..." Sarutobi Hiruzen asked another question.
"The Nine-Tails..." Mentioning that fox, Kushina clearly paused for a moment.
Ever since Ryun personally used sealing techniques to suppress the Nine-Tails, she had never been harassed by its malicious thoughts again. Sometimes she even forgot she was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki...
Ryun had placed an extremely powerful seal on the Nine-Tails. It could no longer affect Kushina in the slightest. Of course, Kushina also couldn't use a single bit of the Tailed Beast's power.
"Same as always. It can't cause even a tiny ripple on me." Kushina replied confidently.
"Mm, that's good..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen stood up, preparing to leave. But when he reached the doorway, he turned around and couldn't help but ask one more question:
"That... Do you think Ryun will come back..."
Hearing this, Kushina paused again, then after thinking seriously, she gave a definite reply:
"He will definitely come. It's just unclear when he will arrive."
Kushina missed him, and Ryun definitely missed her too.
That man had once said in a letter that if Kushina wanted to see him, he would immediately return home to meet her.
This wasn't just an empty promise. A year ago, because Kushina was overly worried about Ryun's safety, she said she wanted to meet him. The result was that he rushed home in less than half a day...
At that time, Ryun was already an SSS-Class Rogue Ninja. Yet, not only did he dare to ignore Konoha and return to meet her, he also stayed at home and spent nearly two days intimately with her.
So, regardless of whether the Hokage needed him or not, Kushina believed that as long as she sent a love letter asking to meet him, her Ryun would immediately come home to find her, no matter where he was. This was beyond doubt.
After seeing the Third Hokage off, Kushina didn't go back to sleep. She lay on the bed, hugging the chili pepper pillow Ryun had given her, giggling foolishly with joy.
As soon as the sky began to lighten at dawn, she got up to clean the house. Then, after making herself pretty, she went out to buy groceries.
10:00 AM.
Near noon, the main gate of Konoha welcomed a special guest.
The newcomer had long, flowing black-purple hair, an elegant light blue formal outfit that fluttered in the wind, exuding grace and vitality. His height of nearly 1.9 meters made him stand out prominently in the generally shorter ninja world. Coupled with his exceptionally handsome, pale face, the man looked at first glance like an immortal from heaven who had descended to travel the mortal world and just happened to arrive at Konoha.
"Please wait!"
Seeing this noble young man arrive silently and attempt to pass through the gate without stopping, the Chunin on guard duty quickly called out to stop him.
It was currently a sensitive period where Konoha was preparing its army for war. Any unfamiliar personnel entering the village would undergo strict inspection and questioning. This person's elegant and imposing attire made him seem unlike a bad person, but entering the village without a word and trying to leave immediately was something that had to be guarded against.
"Do you need something?"
The well-dressed young man turned his head and asked with a smile.
"!!!"
When the guard Chunin saw the man's heterochromatic eyes, one gray and one black, his pupils constricted sharply.
"S-Sir... a-are you p-perhaps... R-Ryun... sama?" the guard Chunin stammered.
Early in the morning, the Hokage's office had sent word to inform him that Uchiha Ryun might visit Konoha recently. If he arrived, he was absolutely not to be obstructed, and his arrival needed to be reported to the Hokage immediately.
This legendary SSS-Class Rogue Ninja possessed a pair of heterochromatic eyes. The guard Chunin was very familiar with his portrait. The moment he saw the man face-to-face, he was sure of his identity.
"It is me..." The young man nodded amiably.
The newcomer was indeed Uchiha Ryun, the man who pressed down on the entire ninja world until it could barely breathe, the current pinnacle powerhouse standing alone at the top tier of the ninja world, and also the absolute taboo explicitly forbidden from discussion by Konoha's Hokage.
"It... it really is Ryun-sama..."
The guard Chunin exclaimed, then quickly straightened up and raised his hand to grant passage.
"Please proceed, sir..."
Ryun withdrew his gaze and nodded slightly, then strode off in the direction of his home.
Watching Ryun's figure completely disappear from view, the Chunin abandoned his post. He put down his work and rushed at high speed towards the Hokage Building.
At the street corner in front of the house.
A beaming Kushina, carrying dozens of large and small bags, was nearly home.
Watching the red-haired girl walking while grinning foolishly for no reason, Ryun ultimately couldn't hold back his laughter, letting out a soft pfft sound.
"Hey, you little red-haired airhead over there, is that any way to walk? Not looking ahead, just lowering your head the whole time, giggling foolishly... What are you thinking about that's making you so happy?"
Ryun stood in front of the house and called out loudly.
Hearing the voice, Kushina's head snapped up. Her surprised eyes then burst with brilliant light. She dropped all the items in her hands and ran with big strides towards Ryun. Without slowing down, she launched into a life-risking flying tackle, resulting in a 360-degree spinning embrace.
"Wuwuwu, you little brat, I missed you so much..."
The girl's tears fell instantly. Ryun hurriedly patted her back and comforted her softly, "Don't cry, don't cry. I missed my little tomato so, so much too..."
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📖 Like the story? Read 120 chapters ahead!
🔗 patreon.com/atomelectron
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━