Chapter 492: Awakening
Killer Bee's respiration gradually stabilized, transitioning from the precipice of death into a deep, peaceful slumber. Ryo stared down at this stocky, massive physique, feeling a slight touch of vexation.
Teuchi had instructed him to keep Killer Bee perfectly hidden, but how was he supposed to hide him, and exactly where?
"I can't possibly have him live inside the Great Ancestor's space indefinitely. He said to resolve things as swiftly as possible, but how swift is swift? He's survived from Kaguya's era down to the present, so three to five years is probably swift to him... Am I supposed to let Killer Bee reside in my space for that long?"
The reconnaissance parameters of the White Zetsu were simply too formidable; Ryo genuinely couldn't map out more than a handful of secure locations at the moment.
The Moon, his pocket space, Sara's ramen shop?
"No way," Ryo shook his head frantically, casting another glance at Killer Bee's greasy physique. It was simply far too oily; keep your distance from my Sara...
Fortunately, Killer Bee was slated to sleep for another two to three days, granting Ryo ample duration to meticulously analyze the logistics. He still lacked the data on whether Teuchi had revealed his face when launching the ambush against Killer Bee, or how he was supposed to offer a logical explanation once Killer Bee woke up...
"Troublesome!" Ryo let out a sigh, cleanly flashing out of the Eight Trigrams Space to step inside the Uzukage Residence.
Nagato was waiting on location: "Well! Teacher, exactly what did that bureau dispatch to deliver to you?"
"A monumental treasure of a package." Ryo let out another sigh, turning his focus to speak up: "Shark-faced young man, long time no see, your complexion appears even greener!"
"Senior, long time no see. You seem to have... grown plump?" A familiar shark-like cadence rippled out.
"That's right, Teacher. I intended to inquire earlier, exactly why did you expand a small layer?"
Ryo flatly declined to answer, flicking his wrist to extract Samehada. He lunged his arm to toss it straight toward Kisame, yet it completely failed to release...
Appraising Samehada, which was currently wrapping itself tightly around his right arm while wriggling dynamically to act thoroughly spoiled, Ryo stood completely speechless... Kisame's face grew exponentially greener.
"You're this hideous yet you're acting spoiled? Is the Great Ancestor's chakra that delicious? I simply won't let you eat it! Off you go!"
Returning to Kisame's side, Samehada manifested a thoroughly dissatisfied baseline, acting exceptionally disdainful toward its native master... Kisame fiercely delivered a heavy kick to its form in sheer irritation.
Ryo shook his head with a chuckle, appraising Kisame as his active memory smoothly recalled the original story timeline where Kisame was deployed by the Akatsuki to Turtle Island to execute a covert reconnaissance sweep...
"Since they dispatched Kisame to reconnoiter Turtle Island, it explicitly proves that the White Zetsu lack the capability to detect its tracking parameters. I can comfortably deliver Killer Bee to that location, which happens to line up flawlessly with bringing Naruto over to cultivate his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode... However, the specific coordinates of Turtle Island are strictly known to the Hidden Cloud Village alone; how on earth am I supposed to interrogate them?"
On the other side of the room, Samehada was continuously thrashing within Kisame's grip, single-mindedly struggling to press itself right in front of Ryo's face. Parsing that the situation was turning highly anomalous, Kisame hurriedly presented his departures; if he delayed any further, he wouldn't be capable of retaining Samehada...
Only Ryo and Nagato remained inside the room. Nagato couldn't resist throwing out another curious question: "Teacher, exactly what treasure did that bureau deliver to you?"
"Sigh..." Ryo let out a long breath. "They swiftly delivered your rap master straight over!"
Nagato stood entirely frozen: "Brother Killer Bee?"
Ryo gave a firm nod: "Precisely him."
He possessed zero practical necessity to conceal details from his own disciple. Ryo provided Nagato with a comprehensive breakdown of Killer Bee's current physiological parameters and explained the exact nature of his immediate dilemma.
Nagato sat dazed for a long while: "You are explicitly detailing that the bureau extracted the Eight-Tails specifically to resolve the threat of the Dark Akatsuki, subsequent to which they left Brother Killer Bee to your medical care... Then Naruto and Kushina won't run into any structural complications, right?"
"Mmm?" Ryo honestly hadn't factored that specific angle into his calculations. After brief, focused contemplation, he shook his head: "Absolutely not!"
"Well! Currently, the core objective is to keep Brother Killer Bee completely hidden, meaning we cannot afford to expose the active news of his survival, correct?" Nagato systematically organized his thoughts. "The Patriarch of the Hidden Cloud Village, the Fourth Raikage, commands an exceptionally explosive temper; he is monumentally difficult to communicate with..."
Ryo gave a firm nod; the primary headache was locked precisely at those technical coordinates. During his younger years, his baseline persona had been far too unrefined, leading him to construct a highly bizarre feud against the Third Raikage, which ultimately culminated in him executing the elder—and that individual happened to be the Fourth Raikage's biological father... Sigh, if it were his current mature self, he would undoubtedly have chosen to convince the man via unvarnished reasoning, rather than acting on raw impulse.
"Forget it, let things map out as they will. Once Killer Bee wakes up in a couple of days, I'll engage in a detailed discussion with him to scan his personal opinion. The Fourth Raikage is largely left without a shred of alternative recourse when handling his younger brother anyway."
Nagato nodded: "Well! The absolute millisecond Brother Killer Bee wakes up, trouble you to let my presence step inside your pocket space to join the discussion as well!"
Ryo shot a fierce glare toward Nagato: "Drop that underhanded routine. If you desire to rap, explicitly state you wish to rap; why on earth are you launching a flanking maneuver... I am heading over to inspect Nanshi!"
Nagato's residence.
Nanshi Uzumaki was delivered into the world in early September of Konoha Year 62, and the current timeline sat right at early May of Konoha Year 63, meaning she had barely crossed her eight-month milestone.
Nanshi didn't inherit a pure Sage Body, leaving her physical constitution a small tier inferior compared to Tsukika's native attributes, while her alternative talents remained temporarily unparsed. However, when all was said and done, she operated as the biological crystallization of Nagato and Konan; her innate potential was bound to be spectacular.
"Nanshi, call me Great Ancestor."
Nanshi: "Giggle..."
Ryo smiled gently: "Well, you've successfully sprouted four tiny teeth, little one."
Nanshi: "Yo, yo..."
Ryo: ???
Konan massaged her temples: "Teacher, please refrain from spouting the word 'well' before Nanshi. Nagato... sigh, this is entirely the structural fault of Killer Bee! By the way, your return was triggered by the chest delivered by that bureau, wasn't it? Exactly what rests inside?"
Ryo hesitated for a solid two seconds. If he explicitly declared that Killer Bee was packed inside the box, would Konan turn exceptionally thrilled, or would she turn so ecstatic that she'd demand he release Killer Bee strictly so she could beat him to absolute dust?
"It was packed to the brim with a pile of loose garbage, nothing more than a localized prank, heh..." Ryo offered a superficial chuckle.
Konan lightly smoothed her hair, casting a smiling gaze directly toward Ryo: "Teacher, could it be that it's a fraction inconvenient to articulate the details?"
"Oh my, look over there, Nanshi is smiling!" Ryo frantically shifted the conversational coordinates.
Nanshi: "Yo, yo..."
Ryo's face went completely rigid. Holy heaven, a person cannot even utter the phrase 'oh my' anymore? He suddenly felt a trace of internal urge to violently thrash Killer Bee himself; that underhanded extraction of the Eight-Tails was truly a premier execution!
Parsing out that Nanshi was displaying a distinct trajectory of her behavioral patterns 'growing crooked', Ryo frantically initiated a campaign of rectifying educational guidance; a child who smoothly called him Great Ancestor was explicitly a model child.
Regrettably, Nanshi was simply a fraction too young, only capable of emitting simple vocal structures like yo-yo, giggle, or mmm-mmm. Articulating 'Great Ancestor' was structurally far too advanced for her current baseline, leaving his training blocks thoroughly jammed, forcing him to shelve the guidance for a later date.
Having traveled back to the Land of Whirlpools after a prolonged absence, Ryo naturally intended to check in on several of the youths, yet the process proved exponentially more jammed.
Kimimaro and Karin had coupled up to escort a merchant fleet straight to the Land of Earth, while Haku had paired up with Zabuza to execute an active field mission assignment. Ultimately, Ryo only managed to successfully track down Sara.
"Father, you've grown vertically with exceptional speed, and why on earth have you turned a layer plumper?"
Ryo scratched his hair: "Commanding a fraction of flesh, doesn't it make a person look slightly more adorable?"
Sara broke into a gentle laugh: "Adorable, hahahaha..."
Ryo shook his head: "Go dish out a bowl of ramen for me, let me sample whether your culinary execution has marked a layer of progress!"
Sara hesitated for a solid two seconds: "Double the portions?"
Ryo: "..."
Over the recent duration, Konoha offered zero active system points for him to harvest, prompting Ryo to settle down for a brief residency inside the Land of Whirlpools, passing his time chatting alongside Sara while carving out windows to tease little Nanshi.
Three days later, Nagato tracked down Ryo's coordinates once again.
"Teacher, the Akatsuki organization has dispatched an active transmission. The Fourth Raikage has officially notified them to assemble the Six Kage; he desires to convene a Six Kage Summit to systematically formulate a structural methodology to eradicate the Dark Akatsuki."
Ryo given a subtle pause: "The Witness Points are proactively delivering themselves straight to my doorstep? I came incredibly close to entirely forgetting this specific structural milestone... With Killer Bee completely missing from active tracking, the Fourth Raikage has clearly turned monumentally frantic."
"Teacher, what are our operational logistics? Has Brother Killer Bee successfully woken up?"
"Not yet... err, wait, he's awake!"
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