Hearing this, everyone fell into thought.
Indeed.
Konoha preferred to exchange tangible, visible benefits rather than agree to a study abroad request that offered no immediate advantages. Would they simply let Sunagakure's personnel return with what they had learned so easily?
The answer was obvious.
Although the current situation prevented Konoha from making any major moves openly, they could certainly resort to underhanded schemes in secret.
But...
"Wouldn't our strength be enough to handle minor schemes?"
Karura raised a question.
Although it was a study delegation, aside from a dozen or so Genin handling miscellaneous tasks, the rest were the young elites of Sunagakure.
Especially those fifty learning Medical Ninjutsu… each was a skilled puppeteer, the weakest being Elite Chunin, the strongest already Jonin. A four-person team could, through coordination, engage even a Kage-level opponent.
With such a force, unless Konoha disregarded the situation and openly attacked, they had nothing to fear.
"Many things cannot be resolved by force alone."
'Or rather, using force to solve problems is the last resort.'
Ryuji added this internally, then continued aloud, "Konoha is merely restricted by the situation from acting against us, not incapable. They don't need to do anything drastic to us. They just need to find a reasonable pretext or even an excuse to detain us for an extended period. Once they resolve the current situation, they can deal with us however they please."
"As long as we don't fall for it, wouldn't that be fine?"
Kana instinctively replied.
Then.
Everyone looked over, their gazes carrying a hint of 'look at this uneducated one'.
"Did... did I say something wrong?" The girl asked cautiously.
No one answered.
Everyone glanced at Ryuji sitting at the head of the table, then silently averted their eyes.
The girl grew increasingly flustered.
Ryuji couldn't help but sigh.
He initially thought this child was just naive and inexperienced, having recently emerged from the mountains.
But now it seemed she might be a bit... uneducated.
"Saying 'don't fall for it'... if everyone could simply avoid falling for traps, then schemes wouldn't exist in this world."
Open attacks are easy to dodge; hidden arrows are hard to defend against.
Those who employ schemes always hold the initiative. They are hard to guard against; how could a simple 'don't fall for it' resolve things?
Hearing Ryuji's explanation, Kana realized her words were somewhat... simplistic. She promptly stopped speaking.
Instead, Karura thought for a moment before asking, "Then what should we do?"
"I've already made preparations for this matter, so there's no need for excessive worry. All of you should keep a low profile recently, and it's best not to get entangled in any trouble with Konoha's people."
"Understood!"
"Then that's all. Once Yashamaru and the others return, just relay the meeting's contents to them."
"Yes."
After receiving their orders, everyone filed out, leaving only Aka, Gin, Kuro, Karura, and Kana.
Ryuji turned his gaze to Karura, asking curiously, "Is there something else?"
"There are some things I'm curious about."
Karura maintained her gentle smile, seeming as if something pleased her, her eyes nearly closing into slits from happiness.
"What things?"
"About the things Ryuji-sama did after leaving Konoha."
"About me?"
Ryuji was taken aback, somewhat surprised.
Although Karura appeared to be a delicate girl of about fifteen, she was actually twenty-one, belonging to Rasa's generation. The two didn't usually interact much, only becoming acquainted due to this delegation mission.
'What did it mean for this woman to be interested in my affairs?'
However,
Although puzzled, Ryuji didn't dwell on it and asked, "Which things?"
"The resurrected Third Kazekage-sama, the Mechanical City!"
'It seems she's just genuinely interested in bizarre events.' Ryuji inwardly sighed in relief, then scratched his head in a troubled manner. "I merely treated Third Kazekage-sama's injuries. I didn't resurrect anyone as rumors claim; I don't have that ability. As for the Mechanical City..."
Ryuji paused, then continued, "It's a city constructed using mechanical principles. Explaining it in detail would be too troublesome. You'll understand once you see it with your own eyes."
"I see."
Karura nodded slightly, slowly rising, and gave Ryuji a slight bow. "Thank you for the explanation, Ryuji-sama. I shall take my leave now."
After speaking, she turned and departed slowly.
Watching the girl's retreating back and recalling her constant smile with eyes narrowed to slits, Ryuji couldn't help but feel some confusion.
'What exactly did she understand?'
'Did she believe my nonsense, or did she immediately see through my fabrication, understanding I didn't wish to elaborate further, and thus stopped questioning?'
Swoosh~
The sound of the door opening and closing brought Ryuji's attention back to reality. He looked at Aka and the others, nodding slightly. "Kuro, provide the target's specific information."
Kuro nodded silently, taking out a scroll and unfurling it. It contained information about a person.
Name: Yomatsuya
Gender: Male
Age: Ten years old
Both parents deceased at an early age, no other relatives. Lived alone since childhood. Introverted personality, no friends. Fourth-year student at the Shinobi Academy. Average academic performance, neither outstanding nor poor. Not noticed by classmates, nor given attention by teachers.
After introducing the information on the scroll, Kuro added, "Most importantly, his maternal grandmother was from the Senju Clan. He carries Senju bloodline, perfectly meeting Master's requirements."
"Indeed, he perfectly meets my requirements," Ryuji nodded slightly.
An inferiority complex is easy to imitate.
Having no friends and receiving little attention means few people truly understand him. Even if replaced, it would be difficult for anyone to notice anything amiss.
Possessing Senju lineage also provides a reasonable explanation for later awakening Wood Release and drastically improving from previous mediocrity, avoiding excessive suspicion.
"He's the one!"
Ryuji took out a kunai and pinned it onto the boy's portrait on the scroll, his expression cool as he looked at Kuro. "Three days from now, I have a meeting with Danzo. Konoha's attention will be drawn to me then. That's when you'll act."
"Yes."
…
After the meeting adjourned, everyone went about their own tasks.
Gin took Kana to arrange a room for her. Kuro went out to gather intelligence, preparing for the operation in three days.
Aka changed back into her original maid outfit, resuming her gentle big sister persona.
However,
No one would ever see her as just an ordinary, understanding maid big sister again.
Although the news was overshadowed by Kumogakure's defeat and the death of the Third Raikage, none of the major powers overlooked this piece of information.
After all, she was the woman who slew the Demigod.
How could she not attract attention?
How could anyone still see her as an ordinary maid?
Probably, outside attention on her was even higher than on Ryuji himself.
Because,
Things like the Floating Continent sound impressive, but without having seen it personally or concrete achievements, people could only imagine its power through speculation.
How could that compare to the tangible feat of killing the renowned Hanzo of the Salamander, who stood at the pinnacle of the Shinobi World?
This was also why Kuro was tasked with the operation instead of the stronger Aka.
Too many eyes were on her; it was hard to avoid detection.
As for Gin...
While it wasn't impossible for her to do it, considering personality and capability factors, Kuro was more suitable.
Kana went without saying.
Ryuji now highly suspected she was somewhat uneducated. Having her handle matters alone under such circumstances would mean he himself was uneducated.
As for Ryuji himself, he retreated into his laboratory.
Once a plan was formulated, preparations had to begin.
He needed to create the Wood Release Shinobi.
Using the Sage cells cultivated by fusing Yamato and Naruto's cells to create the body, using Hashirama's Chakra extracted from the sealed crystal to enhance Wood Release power... The blueprint for creating a Wood Release Shinobi had long been prepared, waiting only for selecting a suitable target to begin manufacturing.
Inputting Yomatsuya's physical features into the 3D Printer, then pouring in all the pre-prepared materials, Ryuji pressed the switch.
Immediately, the machine started operating.
A child around ten years old was printed out.
…
Yomatsuya was an extremely ordinary boy.
Black hair, black eyes, regular features but not particularly handsome. Neither tall nor short, neither stout nor thin.
Only his personality issues gave his expression a somewhat gloomy cast, emitting an aura that kept others at a distance.
Just an unsociable, ordinary child.
"So this is my setting?" Feeling the memories implanted in his mind, Yomatsuya asked calmly.
Personality: Introverted, indifferent to others.
The settings ingrained into his very soul made the boy's first words perfectly fitting.
"That's right," Ryuji nodded in satisfaction. "To ensure flawless execution, the memory of you being created by me will also be sealed. From now on, you are the real Yomatsuya."
"Understood."