This was the adult world; there was no reward without effort.
Following the lord before them was obviously much better than following those bastards from the Grass Village.
At the very least, this lord had healed her and saved her life.
Those bastards in the Grass Village hadn't even given the mother and daughter enough to eat.
Whenever they got hurt, they would bite her.
Hearing her mother's words, Karin immediately put on a serious expression.
"My lord, I am willing to learn medical ninjutsu. I will do whatever is required of me."
Ryōsuke looked at Karin but shook his head.
"Actually, it might not be necessary to bite you to receive healing."
"Since you possess a special constitution, extracting the effective bodily components should be enough."
"Karin, just study hard under Yakushi Nono."
Karin's face immediately lit up with joy. If that was the case, it was completely acceptable.
Then she would definitely study hard.
Once she mastered it, she wouldn't have to be bitten anymore.
Karin's mother naturally breathed a sigh of relief as well.
*It seemed we haven't followed the wrong person,* she thought. *The person we are following this time isn't as inhumane as those people from the Grass Village.*
Afterward, Ryōsuke placed her on a chair, asked Yakushi Nono to take good care of them, and then opened another portal to return to Konan's house.
The three people in the room were still amazed to see such an ability again.
Such a convenient and swift ability was simply not something an ordinary person could use.
Yakushi Nono walked over to Karin's side, a hint of joy on her face.
"From now on, you can call me Teacher Yakushi. I will teach you medical ninjutsu properly."
"I will also help you find a way to utilize your special healing abilities without needing to be bitten."
"Okay."
Karin's face was full of happiness.
As long as she didn't have to be bitten, she felt she could accept anything else.
Seeing Karin happy naturally made Yakushi Nono happy as well. Ryōsuke had brought her a wonderful disciple.
Having such a student was good news for both the orphanage and the Leaf Village.
"Now, let's get your mother settled in first."
…
Meanwhile, Ryōsuke teleported directly back to Konan's house.
Konan was currently sitting inside the room.
Seeing the portal open, she knew Ryōsuke had returned.
He was still dressed as the White-Masked Man in Black.
It seemed he had gone out to conduct business again.
*Was he making preparations to unify the shinobi world?*
She couldn't help but ask.
"Where did you go?"
"I went to the Rain Village and gouged out Nagato's Rinnegan."
Ryōsuke didn't hide anything.
Konan's face darkened.
"You didn't do anything else to him, did you?"
Ryōsuke had told her long ago that Nagato's Rinnegan wasn't natural, but rather implanted by someone else.
Naturally, she felt that it wasn't a good thing for Nagato to keep those eyes.
Ryōsuke replied slowly.
"Of course not. Although he didn't cooperate at first, so I had to take some forceful measures."
"After taking the eyes, with his abilities, he can certainly find another pair."
"Of course, I also used the power of the Rinnegan to properly heal his body."
"While he still can't compare to an ordinary person, his condition is undoubtedly much better."
Hearing this, Konan felt incredibly happy.
She didn't doubt Ryōsuke's words; he definitely had the ability to do so.
"Thank you. Nagato is my only remaining family."
Ryōsuke, however, was dissatisfied upon hearing this.
"What about me?"
Konan felt helpless.
There was no doubt that this man had already occupied her heart.
"You are too."
Ryōsuke was very pleased.
"Then how do you plan to repay me?"
"Repay you?"
Konan was slightly taken aback.
Ryōsuke reminded her.
"I healed Nagato, after all. You should reward me properly."
Konan understood what he meant.
She spoke boldly.
"Alright. I'll cooperate with whatever position you want."
Nagato was very important to her, and she didn't want to be the only one left of their original trio.
Ryōsuke was extremely satisfied; it seemed healing Nagato hadn't been a waste of effort.
"Then you can be on top this time."
Konan thought about that position. *Wouldn't Ryōsuke see every bit of my shamelessness?*
*What an incredibly bold request.*
However, since she had agreed, she had no choice but to comply.
The night passed without further words.
…
Meanwhile, in the Sand Village.
The destruction Ryōsuke had caused earlier had already been repaired.
Although the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, had ordered a lockdown on the information.
The commotion had been so massive that the news had long since spread throughout the entire village.
The villagers were all worried; after all, such a powerful enemy had invaded.
A day later, a few idle villagers were still discussing the mysterious powerhouse who had taken the One-Tail, Shukaku.
"Who do you guys think that mysterious person really is? How could he be so absurdly strong? He heavily injured the Fourth Kazekage and a group of elites."
"Who knows?"
"I heard it's Uchiha Madara, who's been rumored to have resurfaced in the shinobi world recently. This time, he took the Eight-Tails from the Cloud Village and the One-Tail from our Sand Village."
"I'm actually looking forward to this guy going after the Nine-Tails in the Leaf Village. I wonder if this Uchiha Madara has what it takes to deal with Uchiha Ryōsuke, the strongest in the shinobi world."
"True. If that happens, we'll get to watch a good show."
"The Leaf Village is too powerful right now. Our Sand Village is truly in a precarious position."
"Tell me about it. The Leaf Village and the Sand Village are neighbors, and having a neighbor that strong isn't good for us."
"I hope this Uchiha Madara takes the Leaf Village's Tailed Beasts too."
…
Meanwhile, deep underground beneath them, Black Zetsu—wearing a black cloak with red clouds, his face half-black and half-white—had a dark expression.
*Damn it, that guy impersonating Madara has collected another Tailed Beast.*
*But not only that, even the two from the Stone Village have disappeared.*
He had been gathering intelligence all over the shinobi world.
*Right now, the Leaf Village has two Tailed Beasts.*
*But I wouldn't dare go near the Leaf Village.*
*Even Obito, with his Kamui dimension, suffered a massive loss there.*
*My ability to conceal my presence is formidable, but I might not be able to infiltrate and escape smoothly.*
*There is a great terror there.*
He wanted to resurrect his mother, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, but he currently didn't have a single Tailed Beast in his hands.
No news of collecting Tailed Beasts had come from Nagato's side either, so naturally, nothing could be sealed into the Gedo Statue.
The Gedo Statue was the Ten-Tails, which meant the Ten-Tails currently didn't even possess a tenth of its peak power.
Black Zetsu was starting to feel anxious.
He simply didn't have enough combat power on hand right now.
He had to deal with that person in the Leaf Village, as well as the imposter Madara who had suddenly appeared.
Suddenly, he sensed a small snake slithering nearby.
This wasn't an ordinary snake; it was a snake carrying chakra.
This made him think of a certain talent in the shinobi world—Orochimaru.
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