The next day, a new year, Konoha Year 51.
Jiraiya arrived at the Uchiha household early in the morning with a razor to give Itachi a haircut.
Ryou's white cat clone rushed up and hissed at Jiraiya: "Jiraiya, you're not allowed to cut Itachi's hair."
"Itachi, you little ungrateful brat, all the tri-color dango my main body often buys for you has gone into a dog's belly."
The more anxious the white cat got, the more Jiraiya insisted on cutting.
"With your main body's makeup, marrying the woman I love most, I've got to make him suffer a loss."
Mikoto was somewhat helpless.
Just how much resentment does Lord Jiraiya have toward Big Brother!
She then felt a bit of pride; right now, the greatest harm the Village could do to Big Brother was probably giving Itachi a haircut in the first month!
Amegakure.
Ryou climbed up from Tsunade's belly; the sleeping Tsunade was woken up by Ryou.
They had fought fiercely all night, basically without a clear winner.
Tsunade had the Creation Rebirth Technique to replenish her physical strength, while Ryou relied on pure stats; Asura's Sage Body wouldn't suffer any burden even without sleep for three days and nights.
Tsunade said somewhat dizzily, "It's still early, isn't it? Sleep a bit longer!"
Ryou kissed her on the cheek: "Tsunade, I still have to carry out Old Demon Madara's mission. Sorry for leaving you alone in the bedroom for a few days."
Tsunade woke up instantly, hugging Ryou's shoulders and saying, "Be careful!"
"Okay!"
Tsunade helped Ryou get dressed.
Ryou took out a lily seed, planted it in a pot, and then activated Wood Release to make the lily seed grow and bloom into a white lily flower.
"This is for you, Tsunade."
Tsunade took it and kissed Ryou on the cheek.
Then, Tsunade also prepared a gift for Ryou; she took off the blue-green necklace from around her neck.
Ryou shuddered suddenly.
"This is my grandfather's memento. It's a special type of Chakra crystal ore, worth enough to buy three mines."
"I once gave it to Nawaki, but unfortunately, Nawaki died in battle."
"Now that I am your wife, I'm giving this necklace to you. You have grandfather's Chakra, so this necklace suits you best."
Ryou looked at the smiling Tsunade and vaguely saw a vision of himself lying weakly in bed, with Tsunade bringing him a bowl of medicine.
"Ryou, it's time to take your medicine!"
Because in the original work, Tsunade's necklace was no lucky charm; it had a tragic history of inheritance.
Its first owner, Hashirama, didn't die of old age either. After Nawaki put it on, he was blown up by Exploding Tags right after entering the battlefield during the Second Great Ninja War.
And in the original work, Tsunade's lover Dan died in battle shortly after receiving the First Hokage's necklace.
Tsunade, the original owner, didn't have an easy life either. The dead are gone, but the living must bear the pain of their loss.
This was a cursed necklace.
Seeing Ryou's hesitation, Tsunade asked in confusion, "Don't you want it?"
"No, how could I not want something of yours?"
Ryou finally took the necklace, and Tsunade put it on him herself.
The curse of the First Hokage's necklace was just a coincidence, not something real.
The era Nawaki and Dan lived in was the high-risk period of the Second War; even Kage had a chance of dying, let alone them.
As long as you're strong enough, no curse can restrain you.
Ryou thought this in his heart, but as soon as he stepped out of the house, he was hit by bird droppings.
Ryou was furious: "Where did this stupid bird come from?! Candy, issue a Jianghu Extermination Order, gather all the Jonin in the Village, and kill every bird in Amegakure."
Nephew getting a haircut in the first month, Tsunade's First Hokage necklace—the negative buffs were truly maxed out.
Amegakure's underground base.
Madara began to assign tasks to Ryou, Nagato, and the others.
"Ryou, you go to Sunagakure. I'll leave the capture of the One-Tail Shukaku to you."
"Nagato, Konan, take the Kusagakure Ninja to Takigakure and capture the Seven-Tails Chomei."
"Yes!"
Ryou stopped Konan as she was about to leave and said to Madara, "Ancestor, going to Sunagakure alone is too lonely. Let Konan come with me!"
Konan's face turned red; seeing Ryou made her think of Tsunade's cries for mercy.
"Dream on. Now go capture the One-Tail."
Madara generated electricity in his hand, the current heading toward Ryou.
Ryou quickly dodged, but before leaving, he looked at Madara with his Sharingan: "Ancestor, I hope nothing happens to Tsunade."
"Oh?!"
Madara suddenly noticed an unprecedented seriousness in Ryou, something he had never seen before.
He had a bit of the aura of a fine man of the Uchiha Clan!
Madara then sneered, "What can I guarantee? The Land of Rain will soon become a battlefield for a great war. No one can survive alone in this war."
"She might die in battle in Amegakure, or she might be killed by the people of Konoha."
Ryou said, "Then I'll take her with me."
Madara sneered, "Don't be naive, Ryou. My patience with you is limited."
Ryou's Sharingan spun rapidly, as if a Mangekyo pattern was about to form.
"If anything really happens to Tsunade, then I will destroy this world."
Madara erupted with a powerful aura to suppress Ryou: "Are you threatening me?"
Ryou wasn't pressured by Madara's aura at all: "If you think so, then I am!"
A black Susanoo emerged from Ryou's body, its skeletal form covered in meridians and flesh, as if wearing a layer of clothing.
Susanoo Second Form!
Madara was somewhat surprised.
Ryou had developed the second form of Susanoo with only three tomoe; his dōjutsu power was evolving toward the extreme.
With each passing day, Ryou's dōjutsu power grew stronger.
His Susanoo already had its own exclusive weapon.
It was a fan, a fan just like the Gunbai.
Madara seemed intimidated by Ryou's aura and nodded: "I won't let Tsunade join the war."
"If the Eye of the Moon Plan succeeds, I will give you and Tsunade special privileges to live in the real world, and you can breed a world that belongs to the Uchiha."
Ryou immediately retracted his Susanoo.
He added, "Just me and Tsunade? That would be too slow to breed a new world."
"I think Konan and Kiyomi could be my concubines."
"How about this: the men, the ugly ones, and the old ones will all be banished to the illusion world."
"And I'll take care of the remaining young and beautiful ones!"
The more Ryou spoke, the happier he became; he felt this was perfectly fine.
He had wanted to do this for a long time!
He didn't notice Madara's face getting darker and darker until he finally pulled out the six paths black rods.
"Brat, do you think my Eye of the Moon Plan is a garbage disposal center?"
Madara chased after Ryou with the six paths black rods to hit him.
Ryou desperately fled.
The ground surface.
Ryou escaped to the surface, clutching his sore backside.
Madara pointed at Ryou: "If you don't bring Shukaku back, I'll catch an old hag and marry her off to you."
Ryou quickly guaranteed: "Don't worry, Ancestor. I will definitely bring Shukaku back."
"Here!"
Madara pulled out a scroll and gave it to Ryou: "This is Yin-Yang Release. Now that you have the Sharingan and Wood Release, it's time to step into the realm of the Six Paths Techniques."
"Thank you, Ancestor."
"Now get lost, don't ruin my mood."
"Yes!"
Ryou tucked away the scroll Madara gave him and set off toward Sunagakure.
On the way, Ryou saw Konan, Nagato, and their group, so he went over to show his concern for Konan.
"Konan, be careful. Although Takigakure's combat power isn't high, Chomei won't be easy to deal with."
"It has wings and can fly."
Konan nodded: "You should be careful too. Although Sunagakure is the lowest among the Five Great Ninja Villages, it's still a major Village. Try to stay hidden as much as possible; don't draw too much attention."
Ryou nodded and then opened his arms to hug Konan.
Konan struggled for a bit but eventually ended up in a hug with Ryou.
"ヽ(#`Д´)ﾉ."
Nagato watched while holding back his anger; this greedy Uchiha, he already had Lady Tsunade and still wasn't satisfied.
He wouldn't even let Konan go; he really thinks he's a Daimyo.
After hugging Konan, Ryou took out a spore that looked like a white spider clump and gave it to Nagato.
"Nagato, keep my spore with you. It can save your life at a critical moment."
Looking at Ryou's sincere expression, Nagato felt like he saw Yahiko's shadow.
He took Ryou's spore, deeply moved: "Thank you."
"No thanks needed. We're friends, Nagato. Take good care of Konan."
Nagato nodded and then led Konan and the Kusagakure Ninja out of Amegakure.
As she was leaving, Konan turned back to wave at Ryou, and Ryou smiled and waved back.
Konan seemed to have an illusion that Ryou's smile was a bit sinister.
She shook her head, thinking she was hallucinating because she hadn't slept well last night.
Ryou smiled sinisterly where he stood.
His spores indeed had great auxiliary capabilities, but they were also controlled by Ryou.
If Nagato equipped Ryou's spore, Ryou would be able to control Nagato.
When the time comes, I'll suppress all of Nagato's male hormones and make him only secrete female hormones.
Let's see how he'll still like Konan then!
Kekeke... Ryou then summoned his High Cloud Quintet.
He gave orders to Fish Ball, Fortune, and Fried Rice.
"You three stay home and protect Tsunade and Kiyomi. Don't let them come to even the slightest harm, understood?"
The three Ninja Cats nodded.
Ryou then called Candy and Snowy.
"Let's go. Set out for Sunagakure."
Fortune shouted, "Ryou is coming, and Sunagakure is in chaos! Ryou is coming, and it's bad news for those with wives!"
Ryou grabbed Fortune and rubbed its body vigorously.
"You bastard, Fortune, ruining my reputation."