The second afternoon after Ryun returned to the village.
"That... Kushina, the Hokage wishes to meet Lord Ryun. If it is convenient, please ask Lord Ryun to come out and accompany me to the Hokage Building..."
An Anbu Operative stood awkwardly at the door, his voice carrying a trace of humility and helplessness.
This was his second time coming to summon someone today. He had come once in the morning, only to be dismissed by Kushina's statement that Ryun was busy. After reporting to the Hokage, the Hokage wasn't angry, merely instructing him to try again in the afternoon and specifically telling him to maintain a good attitude...
But he thought to himself that his attitude had never been bad...
"He's taking a nap... Aren't you all annoying? Didn't we say Ryun will come over when he has time? What is that dead old man Third Hokage so anxious about? If he's in a hurry, he can come here himself..."
Kushina placed her hands on her hips and scolded angrily. Ever since learning that Sarutobi Hiruzen had taken action against her man, she had not a shred of goodwill left for that old fool.
"Uh..."
The Anbu, having been denied, could only flee the scene in disgrace. He didn't even dare retort when the Hokage he always respected was insulted, because lying in that small house was an SSS-Class Rogue Ninja. If he truly angered the other party, it wasn't impossible for him to be killed on the spot...
Actually, he didn't even need the one inside the house to take action; Kushina's fiery temper was enough to deal with him...
"That dead old man sent someone to summon you again..." Entering the inner room, Kushina familiarly lay down next to Ryun.
She hadn't been lying earlier; she and Ryun really had been taking a nap... and they had just lain down less than five minutes ago.
Being called right after lying down was why Kushina lost her temper...
"Ignore him... Let's sleep for a while first. We'll go visit Brother Dai later..." Ryun replied without even opening his eyes.
"Okay, okay..."
Kushina nodded, then half her body directly sprawled on top of Ryun.
"Your body temperature feels much lower than a normal person's? Icy cool... It's so comfortable..."
As she spoke, Kushina couldn't help but nuzzle against his body.
"I have a Dragon Pearl inside me, regulating my body temperature isn't difficult," Ryun answered casually.
"What's a Dragon Pearl... How do you have a Dragon Pearl inside you..." The curious baby Kushina continued asking.
"Because I am a sage from Ryūchi Cave. Dragons can gather natural energy to produce Dragon Pearls, humans can also use this method to form a body core. Dragon Pearl, body core, they are pretty much the same principle..."
"Where is Ryūchi Cave? What is a body core... When did you become a sage?" Kushina's questions kept coming.
"Ryūchi Cave is one of the three great sage regions in the summoning world..."
Ryun patted her back and explained patiently, but as he spoke, Kushina felt her eyelids grow heavy, and the bedroom soon fell quiet.
In the heat of summer, outside the small house, a group of elite Anbu stood guard under the sun, while the two inside the house slept exceptionally soundly.
Ryun's body temperature was low, Kushina's was high. Two hours of cuddling and sleeping left both full of energy, and they finally stepped out of their front door under the watchful eyes of the elite Anbu.
Ryun and Kushina brought gifts to visit Might Dai's home, but unfortunately, old Dai was out of the village on a mission. He could only chat about everyday matters with Dai's wife for a bit, then played games with little Guy for a while before saying goodbye and leaving.
"Where to next? Should we visit Teacher Orochimaru?" On the road, Kushina, holding Ryun's arm, asked.
"No, Teacher Orochimaru is not in the village," Ryun gently shook his head.
"How do you know he's not in the village..."
"If I want to, my sensory range can cover the entire Konoha..."
A casual, honest sentence from Ryun made Kushina look at him with admiration again.
"Should we go see that dead old man next? To save him from sending people to bother us every day..." Kushina suggested.
"The sun isn't so scorching at this time. I wanted to take you to see the cherry blossoms... Are you sure you really want to go to the Hokage Building?" Ryun teased with a smile.
"Ah! Let's go, let's go, see the cherry blossoms, see the cherry blossoms, forget that dead old man..." Kushina pushed Ryun's back, laughing and urging.
In Kushina's eyes at this moment, no matter how urgent official business was, it wasn't as important as a date. Besides, Konoha hadn't exploded yet, had it...
They were leisurely enjoying the flowers and having fun in the cherry blossom grove, while the Konoha higher-ups in the Hokage Building were as anxious as ants on a hot pan.
"Hiruzen, if he doesn't want to see you, then you have to go see him in person..."
Homura Mitokado spoke with a serious expression.
"Right now, the Land of Fire is surrounded by enemies on all sides. The border lines are garrisoned with large numbers of enemy troops. Time is truly very important for us. If Konoha cannot persuade Uchiha Ryun to take action, then the Land of Fire might truly be destroyed this time..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen remained silent upon hearing this, just smoking his pipe.
"Just give a straight answer, are you going or not..." Koharu Utatane couldn't help but urge at this time.
The Hokage declaring war on four great nations with almost no chance of victory, making such a crazy move without even discussing it with them, made the two Hokage Advisors very angry. Even though Sarutobi Hiruzen explained the specific reasons afterward, they weren't very convinced.
In the view of the two, Sarutobi Hiruzen was very incompetent as Hokage. Betting all hopes on Uchiha Ryun was too radical. The Hokage initiating a war mobilization like this in advance was equivalent to gambling with the lives of all Konoha ninja.
Of course, if you really asked the two advisors if there was a better way to solve the problem in that situation, they would probably say: The advisors' opinions are for reference only, you are the Hokage, the decision should be yours.
"Let's wait a bit longer... If he doesn't come today, then I will go find him tomorrow..." Sarutobi Hiruzen, smoking his pipe, replied. His voice sounded hoarse and weak, as if half-dead.
"Once the flames of war ignite on the border, countless people will die. What use is saving face then?" After saying this, Homura Mitokado walked out of the smoke-filled Hokage's office.
"He is your disciple's disciple, you are his master's master. With this relationship, why care about face? You finding him, him finding you... actually there's no difference..."
After saying this, Koharu Utatane also left. Staying in the office any longer, who knows, might really get lung cancer one day...
"Master's master... How dare I still call myself that..." Sarutobi Hiruzen laughed bitterly to himself.
"Someone, have Jiraiya come see me..."
"Yes!"
Currently, among the Sannin, only Jiraiya was still in Konoha. Orochimaru's whereabouts were currently unknown, with no news at all. Tsunade had resolutely left Konoha after the truce between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire.
When Sarutobi Hiruzen most wished his two disciples were here, both had disappeared, which greatly depressed him as their teacher.
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