---Third POV---
"Father, about Kurotsuchi and the others..."
Out of habit, Kitsuchi wanted to remind his father, but then he thought better of it. Since Deidara was currently in a phase of transformation inspired by his idol, it would be best not to disturb him.
So he quickly stopped himself mid-sentence and shifted the topic: "Father, what was that you just gave away?"
"It was nothing, just a little something from my personal collection. Ryouma is truly a good man." Ōnoki sighed with emotion.
In his view, Ryouma had clearly noticed Deidara's standing within Iwa, but instead of exploiting the influence he held in the kid's heart, he chose not to take advantage of it.
On the contrary, he generously guided Deidara in a direction that benefited the village.
Admittedly, the method was a bit terrifying, but regardless, the result was positive.
At the very least, blowing up mountains was better than blowing up their own village. And once the surrounding peaks were destroyed, it even made it more convenient for Iwa to build roads.
---
Inside Orochimaru's laboratory in Konoha, Ryouma and his two companions slowly emerged from the Kamui space.
Since the crate of Revita-Inject had all been gifted to Ōnoki, they had no choice but to return to Konoha first to replenish their stock.
Kura hurried into a laboratory room to prepare more injections, while Ryouma spread open the scroll that Ōnoki had given him on a table.
Poof!
With a burst of smoke, a chunk of ore with a metallic sheen appeared on the scroll.
"Is this iron ore? Its color looks really unusual," Obito asked curiously.
"This is no ordinary ore."
The sudden voice from behind startled Obito. He spun around to see Orochimaru, who had come from another room in the base after hearing the commotion.
Passing Obito, he fixed his ever-menacing serpent eyes on the ore, scrutinizing it carefully.
"Judging from its luster and the number of facets, if I'm not mistaken, this should be high-grade chakra-conducting metal from the Land of Earth."
"What?" Obito exclaimed. "Such a huge piece of chakra-conducting metal, and the Tsuchikage just gave it away so freely!"
Ryouma was surprised too, he had assumed it was just some ordinary specialty product of the Land of Earth.
But Orochimaru, sharp as ever, picked up on the key words in Obito's remark and connected it to Ryouma's recent dealings.
"So, this is a gift from Ōnoki. Ryouma, this piece of chakra-conducting metal is large enough to forge a complete ninja blade. Or perhaps it could be used to fully repair your beloved sword. In fact, given how much material there is, you could even have it reforged into a long blade."
Here, he cast a meaningful glance at the broken blade at Ryouma's waist.
"Restore the blade...?"
Ryouma was tempted. Although weapon length made little difference to him, since he usually relied on chakra-enhanced strikes, the sword held deep personal meaning for him. If he could give it new life, then...
Orochimaru immediately saw the flicker of desire in Ryouma's eyes.
"If you're interested, I can introduce you to a renowned smith. He has forged many famous weapons in the past."
Years ago, during his obsession with collecting various legendary blades, he had come to know many distinguished swordsmiths.
Given Ryouma's relationship with him, there was no need for polite formalities.
"Then I'll trouble you with it, Orochimaru."
"Think nothing of it."
Moments later, Kura returned to the group, carrying a suitcase once again filled with injections.
"Everything is ready, Ryouma-sama."
"Good." Ryouma nodded to Obito. "This time, we're heading to Kumo."
---
While Ryouma was busy running around promoting his "business" everywhere in hopes of achieving financial freedom as soon as possible, Shiori was steadily advancing toward her current goal, awakening the Complete Susanoo.
The problem was... the process wasn't going very smoothly.
Outside Konoha, at the Valley of the End, a towering white giant, dozens of meters tall, stood solemnly, exuding a suffocating aura.
Even the chakra currents swirling around its body made the earth beneath tremble, as if unable to withstand such overwhelming force.
Inside Susanoo, Shiori clenched her fists tightly. Her eyes shone with stubbornness and frustration as she whispered to herself, "Still not enough... nowhere near enough..."
Her Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan spun rapidly, the intricate patterns glowing as torrents of ocular power surged outward like a dam breaking, flooding into the giant without end.
In an instant, the already solid Susanoo grew unstable again, as though undergoing a second growth spurt, expanding larger and larger.
But when its height reached seventy meters, the growth faltered and gradually came to a stop, as if it had run out of fuel.
She frowned deeply.
She remembered Ryouma once mentioning that Madara's Complete Susanoo could easily exceed a hundred meters in height, its chakra armor perfectly stable.
And yet, despite wielding the same Eternal Eyes and training for so long, even pouring everything she had into it, her Susanoo couldn't even be called a half-finished product.
At this rate, who knew how many years it would take before she could fulfill her promise to fight Ryouma?
The worst part was, she could clearly feel it. Her eyes still had far greater potential locked within them. The real limiter was her body, still just that of a seventeen-year-old girl, not yet fully matured.
That was the most frustrating thing. At her current pace of training, she would probably need another seven or eight years of growth before her chakra and ocular power would be strong enough to sustain a Complete Susanoo.
That speed was completely unacceptable.
But more importantly...
"Even if I do awaken the complete form... can I really defeat him?"
With a soft wave of her hand, she dispersed the colossal Susanoo surrounding her, landing steadily back on the ground.
Of course, she already knew the answer to that question deep down.
Phew...
A gentle breeze swept through, carrying a coolness that brushed against her skin and stirred her long black hair. Her hair danced lightly in the wind.
With a soft sigh, she leaned back, stretching out on the soft grass.
Raising her hand, she caught a leaf drifting down in the breeze and pressed it over her right eye.
Ever since she had personally dealt with Danzo, Enkakuden hadn't activated once. This made her start to resent her future self a little.
By all logic, her future self should clearly know that, for the current her, the most important thing was finding a way to grow stronger quickly.
Or... perhaps she didn't need guidance from the future. Perhaps she could find her own path to power.
In the wide expanse of the Valley of the End, she gazed at the distant statues of Madara and the First Hokage, their hands locked in opposing seals.
"Looks like I'll have to find another way... otherwise, that guy really will drift farther and farther away from me."
---
Evening, within the Uchiha clan compound.
Shiori had a strong sense of time, and as usual, she returned home right on schedule.
"Yo, Shiori, good work on your training today." Homura stuck his head out from the kitchen. "Tonight's dinner is curry, that okay?"
Changing into her slippers and stepping into the living room, Shiori said coldly, "Didn't I tell you to let me handle dinner?"
"Come on, do you really think I'd be the kind of lousy father who makes his daughter cook for him every day?"
Shiori's mother had passed away very early, so Homura had long since trained himself to be an excellent cook. Although in past years he often drank himself into a stupor, he never once slacked on daily meals. Otherwise, Shiori's health would never have developed so well.
"Go take off your training gear. Dinner's ready soon."
At the dinner table, Shiori ate as usual, expression calm. But Homura, with his keen perception honed from years as a single father, noticed something was off.
The left corner of her mouth was 5 millimeters lower than normal!
If that could be chalked up to his aging eyes, there was still another clue, she was eating faster than usual. Tonight, she reached her second bowl a full thirty seconds earlier than on other days.
His daughter rarely interacted with others, so very little ever affected her mood. For something to trouble her enough to disrupt her mealtime rhythm, it had to be either something about Ryouma, or something about getting stronger.
Thinking this, he cleared his throat.
"Hey, did you have a fight with Ryouma lately?"
"Hm?"
Shiori looked at her father strangely, not sure what nonsense he was about to say this time.
"That guy's been busy with something lately, I haven't even seen him around. How would I fight with him?"
"Oh, so you haven't. That's a relief. But you know, relationships need nurturing. You have to take the initiative to step into his life. That way, he'll start to see you as a love interest."
"Don't forget, with his talent, there are kunoichi eyeing him all the way from the Land of Fire to the Land of Wind."
Homura had once "coincidentally" bumped into Ryouma in the village several times, subtly probing him. He discovered that Ryouma seemed to see Shiori as nothing more than a close buddy, like he did with other friends.
That wouldn't do at all.
What's more, others seemed to have their eyes on him. With competition this fierce, how could Shiori still be so relaxed, spending every day focused only on training?
But to Homura's heartfelt fatherly advice, Shiori only gave a cold snort.
"You want me to waste time on some boring romance game? Don't be ridiculous. Once I have the strength to defeat him, he'll naturally realize who's most suited for him."
"Uh..."
Hearing Shiori's strange confidence, Homura was at a loss for words. No normal man would ever understand the twisted logic of his daughter's heart.
He rubbed his fingers together in a pinch, gesturing as he said, "I think your view of romance has a tiny problem."
If Shiori only saw Ryouma as a friend, Homura wouldn't have interfered. But the problem was, it was clear she was yearning for more. As a father, how could he just watch his daughter set herself up to be a loser in love?
"Enough. I have my own plan. Stop meddling."
Shiori gathered her dishes, set them in the sink, and turned back to her room.
Bang!
Hearing her door slam shut, Homura let out a helpless sigh.
"Haah... if only Ken were still around..."
If Ken were alive, he could have teamed up with him to matchmake Ryouma and Shiori. The two of them could've watched the pair's dates from the shadows, now that would've been fun.
---
Meanwhile, back in her room, Shiori pulled out a thick notebook from her drawer, flipping to today's training plan. She picked up a pen and carefully checked off every listed task.
Once finished, she solemnly wrote a number in the blank space beside it, 70.
Then she put the notebook away with care, leaned back in her chair, and lazily stretched her body. Her legs rested atop the desk.
A soft evening breeze slipped into the room, stirring the light curtains.
She half-closed her eyes, savoring the coolness of the autumn air. After a moment, she slowly opened them again, gazing out the window.
Above the treetops, a waning crescent moon had risen, shedding its pale glow. She stared at that sliver of moonlight, lost in thought.
"Looks like... I'll have to rely on some outside help."
---
The next day, Shiori left home early.
She passed through a quiet residential area, heading straight toward the Uchiha clan's archive.
The archive was located deep within the compound. Inside, it housed every secret of the shinobi world the clan had collected since the Warring States period.
These scrolls and texts recorded countless hidden truths and historical events. But because most of the content was tedious records of Uchiha history, few ever bothered to read them.
In contrast stood the clan's Secret Technique Repository, where jutsu scrolls were stored. Access there was restricted, elders would only allow entry based on a clan member's progress with their Sharingan.
But what she needed now were not jutsu, but the neglected intelligence buried in the archives.
She opened the heavy wooden door. The musty scent of old parchment filled the air. Bookshelves loomed, crammed with scrolls and tomes.
She walked slowly among the rows, eyes sharp as she searched for the information she needed.
After spending an entire day in the archives, she finally pieced together several possible ways to increase her strength.
And the one with the highest chance of success was, to drink the "Hero Water."