Fukasaku then looked at the Third Hokage: "And you, Hokage, if Jiraiya had let Little Ryou sign the Mount Myōboku summoning scroll back then, wouldn't everything be fine now?"
"The Shinobi World has so many calamities because of the deep-seated prejudices of you old geezers; you don't care about right or wrong, you just start labeling people first."
"Regardless of ability, you look at the stance first."
"Even the kindest person would be forced into becoming evil by you!"
The Third Hokage also lowered his head, accepting Fukasaku's criticism.
Itachi and Izumi, the two little ones, looked in shock at the old toad who was not even as big as them, yet could scold the Konoha higher-ups so much that they didn't dare to talk back.
Even the high-ranking members of the Uchiha Clan Police Force stood at attention obediently.
Itachi and Izumi also stood at attention.
After finishing his lecture, Great Fukasaku said to Jiraiya: "I agree to Little Shisui forming a contract with Mount Myōboku."
As soon as these words were spoken, the members of the Uchiha Clan all broke into smiles, while Danzo, Koharu, Homura, and the others looked dejected.
Koharu poked Danzo, telling him to quickly invite Tobirama-sensei to possess him.
Danzo ignored her.
He didn't know Edo Tensei; Orochimaru had only given the Summoning Formula to Hiruko.
He had just been scaring Jiraiya.
Besides, given Great Fukasaku's seniority, even if Tobirama-sensei came, he would be scolded like a greenhorn.
But Great Fukasaku's tone shifted as he said to the Uchiha Clan: "Our Mount Myōboku will only sign a contract with Little Shisui alone. Don't think your Uchiha Clan will become our masters."
"That's impossible. If Jiraiya has no children, then the summoning scroll will be kept by Minato's family."
Upon hearing this, the Uchiha Clan members' smiles instantly vanished.
They had wanted Shisui and Minato to compete for Jiraiya's legacy, but they didn't expect Great Fukasaku to have already declared it would be given to Minato for safekeeping.
Danzo and the elders of the Senju Clan immediately smiled.
Namikaze was just a small surname; in the future, the child of Minato and Kushina would take the surname Uzumaki.
And since Uzumaki was an ally of the Senju, it meant the Mount Myōboku summoning scroll would effectively belong to the Senju lineage.
Their Senju side always won—they were practically winning to the point of numbness!
"Alright, everyone disperse. Danzo, it's time for us to talk about our business!"
Danzo stopped smiling again!
...
Amegakure, Great Tree of Takigakure.
"Woof woof woof—"
The sound of barking echoed within the hollow of the Great Tree of Takigakure. This sound was like rolling thunder from underground, heavy and far-reaching, like a big dog barking.
The one barking wasn't a dog, but Seven-Tails Chomei.
Ryou had the Great Tree of Takigakure loosen the vines bound around the Seven-Tails. After being released, the Seven-Tails showed no aggression toward Ryou.
Like a dog, it affectionately nuzzled its body against Ryou.
Ryou stood on the ground, stroking the Seven-Tails' horn, his eyes full of pride: "Good dog, good dog!"
Through Ryou's continuous release of Sharingan genjutsu energy, the Kotoamatsukami mental wall in the Seven-Tails' mind had been destroyed by him.
Now, the Seven-Tails had become a dog raised by Ryou.
This proved that Kotoamatsukami was not absolute. The most sinister part of this technique was quietly changing a person's will.
But once a person's will is changed, those who live with them day and night will definitely notice something.
Don't believe those fantasy stories where someone is possessed and their family still treats them like their own.
A father knows best what his son is like.
What's real is real, and what's fake is fake; the fake can never pass for the real.
The same went for Kotoamatsukami; as long as it was fake, it could be changed back.
Although Shisui's eyes were destroyed, Shisui himself was still around. If Shisui were to research and recreate Kotoamatsukami and use it on Ryou one day, what then?
In the original work, Madara could activate Susanoo even without his Sharingan, proving that Madara's mastery of Susanoo had reached perfection.
It belonged to the most fundamental Yin Release Ninjutsu.
Kotoamatsukami was a genjutsu, and since it was a genjutsu, its essence was Yin Release. It was inevitable that Shisui might one day develop a hand-seal version of Yin Release Kotoamatsukami.
Ryou had to guard against it.
He then used the Sharingan's genjutsu energy to form layers of barriers in his mind to protect his brain.
Protecting the brain with a genjutsu barrier wasn't something Ryou had blindly invented; it had appeared in the original work.
To prevent information about the Six Paths of Pain from being leaked, Nagato had set up genjutsu barriers within their minds.
In the original work, Jiraiya had disabled one Animal Path and handed it over to Konoha's interrogation team for investigation.
When Yamanaka Inoichi used his family's Secret Technique to investigate Pain's information, he encountered the genjutsu barrier set by Nagato.
Although for a genjutsu expert, this layer of genjutsu barrier was almost non-existent, having it was always a safeguard.
Moreover, Ryou had set the genjutsu barrier with genjutsu close to that of a Mangekyo.
Shukaku stood on Ryou's shoulder, looking at the Seven-Tails with pity.
Poor Chomei, from now on, it could only be the dog of this evil Uchiha.
After setting up the genjutsu barrier for his brain, Ryou prepared to leave. Before departing, he instructed the Seven-Tails: "Alright, Chomei, get some rest. Tomorrow, come with me to Hozuki Castle."
"When we return, I will strip away a portion of your chakra and let you live on in the form of a clone."
The Seven-Tails nodded, then found a place to lie down and sleep.
The Seven-Tails had a large amount of chakra absorbed by the Great Tree of Takigakure and had been subjected to Ryou's torture and brainwashing; it was already exhausted.
It desperately needed a good rest to recover its chakra and energy.
The training of Magnet Release and the breaking of the Seven-Tails' Kotoamatsukami were all completed; Ryou could not wait to go and mess around.
Candy jumped onto Ryou's other shoulder, reminding him: "Ryou, the Slug Sage once said she would take you to Ryūchi Cave to train in Senjutsu."
"When are you going to Ryūchi Cave?"
Ryou rubbed his chin: "After returning from Hozuki Castle, I suppose!"
Looking at the current situation, it seemed a major battle with the Shinobi Allied Forces was imminent.
Conventional power-ups were no longer useful to Ryou; only two remained.
One was the Mangekyo, and the other was Ryūchi Cave Senjutsu.
As for the Mangekyo, he would wait for Madara's arrangements! After all, Madara wanted Tsunade to die in front of him so that he would awaken the Mangekyo.
Although it was a bit unfair to Tsunade, Ryou could resurrect her afterward. More importantly, Ryou couldn't resist Madara.
He could only make use of Tsunade for now.
As for the Ryūchi Cave Senjutsu, it depended on the Slug Sage's wishes.
Ryou planned to create a Spore Clone to take his place after returning from Hozuki Castle, while his main body went to Ryūchi Cave to train in Senjutsu.
Using that to ascend into a dragon.
Candy nodded, then looked at the Great Tree of Takigakure: "This giant tree can save you the chakra needed to create Wood Golems. I think a Summoning Formula should be engraved on it so it can be summoned as a Shinobi tool."