Malphegor
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GSiN: Ch. 134
🕑 Added 2025-07-08 23:11:01 +0000 UTC---Third POV---
"Good morning, well, I would like to say that," Ryouma said, turning his head to glance at the sky, already bright and high. "But it's almost noon now, isn't it?"
"Haha!" Homura laughed heartily. "You're funny, kid. Not like your dad at all, he was such a quiet one. Back in the day, he…"
Halfway through the sentence, he suddenly stopped. He scratched the back of his head and said,
"Sorry, sorry. Once I start talking about the past, I can't stop. You're probably here to see Shiori, right? Come on in."
"Sorry to intrude."
Truthfully, Ryouma was quite curious to hear the rest of the story.
After inviting him to sit on the couch, Homura handed him a drink that didn't really look like tea. "Haven't bought tea in ages. You can handle beer, right?"
"Thanks, but I'm still not allowed to drink…"
"Just kidding, haha. That's just plain apple juice in your cup."
It was clear Homura had expected Ryouma's reaction. Seeing his startled expression, he grinned with satisfaction and cracked open a real beer for himself.
"Haha, I'm not a fan of sweet drinks, but Shiori really likes them. She might act all serious and silent most of the time, but in private, she's actually quite adorable."
"Hahaha…"
Ryouma didn't really know how to respond. He felt like Homura had become more cheerful than the last time he saw him, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
With that thought, he took a sip from his cup. It was definitely sweet, probably not just apple, but also strawberry and other fruit juices mixed in.
Wow, Shiori sure knows how to enjoy herself, he couldn't help but think to himself.
As he watched Ryouma drink, Homura casually said,
"By the way, that drink you're having was poured from the bottle Shiori didn't finish this morning before she left."
"Wha—cough cough!"
Ryouma choked mid-sentence, the drink going down the wrong pipe and sending him into a coughing fit.
Seeing this, Homura dropped the half-empty beer back on the table and hurried over to pat Ryouma on the back.
"You alright, kid?"
"Cough cough… I-I'm fine."
Ryouma mentally took back what he said earlier, Homura might be too cheerful now. A little restraint wouldn't hurt.
"All right then."
He pulled out a storage scroll from behind his back, unsealing its contents. A beautifully wrapped box of tea appeared on the table in front of them.
"This is tea from the Land of Tea. I hope you can drink a little less alcohol from now on."
Homura looked at the tea box on the table.
"You really are something…"
He reached out with a large hand and gave Ryouma's hair a rough tousle. Smiling kindly, he said, "I approve of you taking Shiori with you."
"That's not what this is." Ryouma sighed and rubbed his forehead.
"Eh? It's not? Then why the formal visit, and the gift?" Suddenly, a realization seemed to hit Homura. "Wait, don't tell me you already…"
"I don't know what you're imagining, but please stop jumping to conclusions. I came here today to thank you."
"Thank me?"
"Yes. Do you remember the technique you once placed on me?"
Of course Homura remembered. It seemed he had definitely misunderstood.
"Since you're bringing it up, I'm guessing that technique actually came in handy?"
"It did. That's why I made a special trip to thank you."
Thinking back to everything that had happened since he stepped through the door, Ryouma couldn't help but put extra emphasis on the words special trip.
"Hahaha~ It was nothing, really," Homura laughed. "By the way, that enemy who triggered the eye technique, did you take care of him?"
"Yeah, I eliminated him."
"As expected of Ken's son." Homura slapped Ryouma on the shoulder with excitement, taking a big swig from his drink.
At that moment, the sound of rustling came from the entrance.
Shiori had just finished her daily training. As she changed her shoes at the door, she noticed there was a guest inside. Since all ninja footwear looked the same, she couldn't tell who it was.
She walked into the living room.
"Morning, Shiori. Look who's here," Homura said with interest.
"I see," Shiori replied coolly. "And it's already almost noon."
Brushing off her increasingly unruly father, she looked at Ryouma and asked, "You came to see me, right? Is there a mission that needs my help?"
Homura raised his hand slightly, wanting to say Ryouma was actually here for him, but seeing Shiori's stern look, he quickly withdrew it.
"It's nothing like that. I just happened to be passing by and thought I'd drop in. Also, Iwa has surrendered. The war's over. Oh, and that news is still confidential for now, but the Hokage should be announcing it officially tomorrow or the day after."
Ryouma didn't have the heart to mention he had actually been killed by an enemy and had come here to express his gratitude.
A man's got pride, after all.
"Is that so?" Shiori replied, clearly skeptical.
She had a strong feeling the two men in front of her were hiding something from her.
"In that case, I'll take my leave."
Since his business was done, Ryouma stood up and made his way to the door, ready to make his escape.
"Wait," Shiori called out to him. "You still remember our agreement, don't you?"
"What agreement?"
"The one where, once I can activate my Complete-Body Susanoo, we'll have a proper fight," Shiori said seriously.
When she brought it up, Ryouma finally remembered, yes, they had made that promise.
"You can already activate it?"
To be honest, he was a little surprised. Reaching that stage wasn't easy. Even with the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, it still required long and intensive training.
"Not yet," Shiori answered truthfully. "Just reminding you, don't forget when the time comes."
"Don't worry. I won't turn you down."
Waving without turning back, Ryouma pushed the door open and left.
Based on his calculations, for Shiori to awaken the Complete-Body Susanoo, she'd probably need to wait until after her body matured, around 18 years old, when her chakra and ocular power had developed enough.
Unless she got some kind of cheat… but that was highly unlikely.
---
Back home, Ryouma looked in awe at the finely crafted miniature fountain in the courtyard.
"Oh! Not bad. You got it fixed up already? Which craftsman did it?"
Not only was it done quickly, but the patterns and detailing were impressive too. He definitely needed to send a thank-you gift.
"Actually, it was... mmph!"
Rin had just tried to say who the craftsman was, but Tsunade suddenly pulled her into a hug, burying her whole face in her chest so she couldn't say a word.
"Alright, who did the repairs doesn't matter. What matters is the payment. That craftsman is very hard to hire. It cost five hundred, no, ten million ryō!"
"Five hundred ryō, huh? Alright, here you go."
Ryouma pulled out a few bills and handed them to Tsunade, then pulled Rin out of the deep "abyss."
"Huff... I'm saved." Rin blushed and panted heavily.
Tsunade waved the few bills in her hand, complaining, "Hey, hey, I spent more than five hundred ryō just on the tobacco to get the old man to come over and help, uh..."
Realizing she had let something slip, she quickly shut her mouth.
"Old man?" Ryouma caught the key word in her sentence. "The craftsman you mentioned wouldn't happen to be..."
Rin quietly finished the sentence for him, "The Hokage. And Tsunade-sensei didn't even offer him lunch."
"I see."
Ryouma had already suspected there was something fishy about how eager Tsunade had been yesterday.
She stuffed the money into her clothes, crossed her arms, and muttered somewhat defiantly, "He's the one who said the village still had a lot of work to do."
Looks like this operation failed. She had thought everything would go smoothly without Shizune around, but she hadn't expected Rin to turn on her too. Next time she'd have to come alone and do it in secret.
Ryouma ran his hand along the edge of the pool wall, feeling the solid inner lining.
Even though Hiruzen was known as the Professor, and mastered all five chakra natures, if one had to say which he was best at, it would definitely be Fire and Earth Release.
"Isobu, are you satisfied with the pool?" Ryouma asked the three-tailed snapping turtle in the water.
"It feels great."
Isobu surfaced from below, bubbles rising around him.
---
Two days later, just as Ryouma expected, Hiruzen had his men post notices all around Konoha's bulletin boards announcing that Iwa would soon be coming to Konoha for peace talks.
The notice also prominently mentioned that Minato, leading his squad members, Ryouma and Obito, had destroyed Iwa's military stronghold, forcing the Tsuchikage to withdraw from the Land of Grass, effectively ending the battle on the Iwa front.
Basically, the announcement made them sound as heroic as possible. While most of it was true, anyone with a discerning eye could see what was really going on, Hiruzen was clearly paving the way for Minato.
After all, the true commander of the battlefield was Orochimaru. Yet now, the person all the villagers were talking about wasn't him, but...
"Why is everyone talking about me?"
Ryouma lay on the rocking chair at home, a confused expression on his face. These days, as soon as he stepped outside, he'd be surrounded by villagers thanking him or asking for autographs.
"Hehe~" Rin giggled while hugging Shukaku. "Well, you were so active on the battlefield. No matter where the victory was, you had a hand in it."
"If possible, I'd rather not be this famous."
Ryouma looked up at the clear blue sky of the Land of Fire. Speaking of which, Orochimaru should be back soon. He still had to discuss with him how to use White Zetsu's cells to help Obito recover his visual power.
In the last battle at the Land of Grass, Obito hadn't actually used up that much of his ocular power. He was more exhausted due to his young age and limited chakra reserves.
In fact, as long as one didn't keep Susanoo activated for long periods, the Mangekyō Sharingan's chakra consumption was manageable. At the very least, you wouldn't go blind just a few days after awakening it.
"By the way, how much has your Yin Seal charged up?"
"Hmm, about 30 percent or so."
Rin didn't have a large chakra reserve, so this charging speed was actually pretty fast.
"Thirty percent, huh." Ryouma suddenly sprang up from the recliner, placed his right hand flat on her forehead, and reminded her, "Don't move."
"Okay."
Rin didn't know what he was planning to do, but she obediently stayed still.
Sensing the chakra flow within her body, Ryouma activated the tailed beast chakra sealed within his own chakra pool, and began using the Spirit Transformation Technique to continuously transfer his chakra into Rin.
"Alright, start channeling it into your Yin Seal now."
"Got it."
Given her relationship with Ryouma, there was no need for her to be modest or refuse.
The chakra transfer efficiency of the Spirit Transformation Technique was very high. In less than two minutes, Rin already felt the chakra pool of her Yin Seal filling up.
"That's enough, it's full already!"
"Huh? Already? I barely even tried." Ryouma quickly cut off the chakra transfer. He had thought the Yin Seal had a huge capacity, turns out, it really wasn't that much.
"Are you underestimating the chakra of us four tailed beasts?" Shukaku complained.
After all, the combined chakra of the four tailed beasts inside him was probably close to one-fifth of the total chakra of the Ten-Tails.
Rin could feel the Yin Seal brimming with power. She put Shukaku to the side and leapt excitedly into Ryouma's arms.
"This is great! Now I'm qualified to go out on missions!"
This was the agreement she had made with Tsunade, only after fully charging her Yin Seal and being able to use the Strength of a Hundred Technique would she be allowed to return to front-line combat. Even though the war was already over, being able to leave the village to go on missions with Ryouma was good enough.
"Oh right, when did you learn the Spirit Transformation Technique? I thought you said it was really hard?"
Once the excitement passed, she suddenly noticed a critical detail.
Of course, Ryouma couldn't say he had learned it long ago but only helped her now that the war was over, that would make him seem like some control-obsessed, domineering CEO type from K-Dramas.
So, without blinking, he lied with a straight face. "I just learned it recently. Suddenly had a burst of inspiration."
"Really now?" Rin caught a whiff of the lie, but since she was the one benefiting, pressing further would be a bit ungrateful.
---
A few days later, Orochimaru finally returned to the village with the Konoha forces from the battlefield.
This time, the return wasn't grand at all. The group marched quietly from the village gate to the Hokage Building, where Hiruzen gave a short speech and then swiftly disbanded the troops.
Orochimaru seemed to have guessed what was going on. His expression was grim, and he remained silent throughout the entire return ceremony.
As for how Ryouma knew all this, it was because he'd once again been summoned to stand on the Hokage Building rooftop as part of the official welcome.
Orochimaru's aura was so heavy, it made Ryouma feel chilled.
Thinking back to analysis threads from his previous life about early-era Orochimaru, he couldn't help but mentally grumble...
Whoever keeps saying Orochimaru didn't want to become the Fourth Hokage should be sent to participate in his human experiments.
