After a brief silence, Nara Shikaku gazed at Rorin and slowly said,
"Rorin-kun, I suggest that for the time being, you avoid leaving the village alone. If you need to go out on missions, it would be safer to team up with a jonin like Kakashi."
Rorin snapped back to his senses and thanked him.
"Mm, thank you, Shikaku-san. I'll be careful."
Nara Shikaku nodded. Afterward, the two played a game of shogi before Rorin left the Nara residence. As for the result—since Rorin had never played shogi before, he was thoroughly crushed.
After leaving the Nara home, Rorin began to think things through carefully. While he wasn't afraid of Shimura Danzō's subordinates, there was always the possibility that Danzō himself might act and use Kotoamatsukami on him. If that happened, there would be no arguing his way out of it. So the best course of action now was to focus on mastering the Flying Thunder God. Once he perfected it, he would have nothing to fear.
On his way home, Rorin could clearly feel someone monitoring his every move. His brow furrowed slightly—the feeling of being controlled like this irritated him.
...
Meanwhile, after finishing his conversation with Rorin, Nara Shikaku got up and headed to the Hokage's office.
Knock, knock, knock!
"Come in!"
Inside the office, he found Kakashi already there. Seeing him arrive, Kakashi gave a small wave in greeting.
Nara Shikaku nodded in return, then stepped forward and reported to Tsunade.
"Lady Hokage, I just spoke with Rorin about Root. I learned something—Root had already made a move against him before, but it seems they failed."
Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "Oh? When did that happen?"
Nara Shikaku glanced at Kakashi before continuing,
"According to Rorin, it was before Kakashi went to inform him of your summons last time."
Hearing this, Kakashi was momentarily stunned. Back then? He hadn't noticed at all that Rorin had just gone through a battle. Or perhaps… it wasn't a battle, but a one-sided slaughter, Kakashi suddenly thought.
Tsunade lightly tapped her desk, thinking for a moment before speaking softly,
"Shikaku, tell Rorin not to leave the village alone for now. Sigh… if that last rescue mission had lasted longer, we wouldn't have this headache."
Kakashi looked slightly awkward, then asked, "Lady Hokage, are there any important missions coming up?"
Tsunade shook her head. There were no S-rank missions recently, and she couldn't possibly assign two or three jonin to accompany Rorin on trivial tasks like finding lost cats and dogs.
Kakashi was worried about Rorin. He was quite familiar with Root and naturally didn't want Rorin to fall into their hands.
After thinking for a while without a solution, Tsunade finally said,
"There's no other way. Let him stay in the village for now. I understand why he asked to learn the Flying Thunder God before. We'll wait until he masters it. I have faith in him."
Kakashi and Nara Shikamaru both nodded slightly before leaving the Hokage's office.
...
After returning home, Rorin began studying the Flying Thunder God. Whenever he got hungry, he would go to Ichiraku Ramen to eat. In his opinion, there was no place in this world safer than that shop.
Time flew by. Rorin immersed himself in studying the Flying Thunder God for half a year. Finally, on this day, a smile spread across his face.
"Finally… finally mastered it!" he exclaimed.
He wasn't sure whether it was his poor sense of space-time or something else, but in the end, he had successfully grasped the technique.
Of course, he hadn't spent the entire six months solely on the Flying Thunder God. During breaks, he also developed another taijutsu technique.
A slight grin appeared on his lips. Staying cooped up in the village for half a year had bored him to death. Stretching his body, a series of cracking sounds echoed as he glanced out the window.
Muttering to himself, he said, "Time to deal with the pests around me."
Opening the door, Rorin stepped outside. He was still wearing his usual black-and-white kimono, but this time his hands were wrapped in red bandages—custom-made by Tenten's family, reinforced for both durability and added weight. A large scroll was strapped to his back.
...
Inside the Hokage's office.
"You're leaving the village to train?" Tsunade asked, puzzled.
Rorin nodded with a smile.
"I've been cooped up for too long. I want to go out for a bit."
Tsunade paused briefly, then smiled faintly. "So… you've learned it, haven't you?"
Rorin nodded.
"Alright. Go register first," Tsunade said softly.
As Rorin turned to leave, Tsunade's concerned voice came from behind.
"Be careful."
Rorin waved without turning back.
"I will."
After registering his departure, Rorin headed toward the village gate. There, Nara Shikamaru was leaning against the entrance. Seeing Rorin approach, he casually said,
"Next time you come back, I hope your shogi improves."
"Yeah. See you."
The two exchanged a palm strike in farewell.
During these past six months, out of sheer boredom, Rorin had frequently gone to the Nara household to play shogi with Nara Shikamaru and pass the time.
Watching Rorin's departing figure, Shikamaru withdrew his gaze. Over the past six months, he had learned about Root targeting Rorin. After a moment, he headed alone to Ichiraku Ramen and sat in the innermost seat.
"The target has left the village alone. It's time to act."
Hidden in the shadows, four Root members watched the direction Rorin left and instantly followed using Body Flicker.
...
Rorin walked forward alone. After traveling nearly a kilometer away from the Hidden Leaf Village, he stopped and spoke calmly,
"You can come out now. We're far enough from the village."
He let out a light chuckle. The moment he left the village, he had activated his Byakugan to track them. Seeing that Shimura Danzō hadn't personally appeared, he relaxed slightly and deliberately moved farther away before dealing with the tail.
Four figures appeared instantly. One of them, standing at the center, spoke slowly,
"Kaguya Rorin, surrender now. We don't know why you dared to leave the village so confidently, but if you think we're like those you dealt with before, you're gravely mistaken."
Rorin smiled, not bothering to waste words.
He released the restrictions on his chakra.
Eight Gates, open!
Bone spikes slightly protruded from his body. Rorin thought to himself, What a pity… without the system, this move feels like it's missing something.
He locked onto the four opponents as the red bandages in his hands began to dance. He might not know the Front Lotus or Reverse Lotus, but…
As he charged forward, a flash of light entered his body.
[A long-awaited system activation!]
Crimson Lotus!
Accompanied by a familiar, perfectly timed background tune, that long-lost feeling returned.
The red bandages shot forward, instantly binding all four enemies. Rorin used Flying Thunder God to teleport to the marked position on the bandages. His bone spikes struck repeatedly, and with the combination of Flying Thunder God and his own speed, he unleashed a continuous, relentless assault.
A brilliant crimson display bloomed as he finally bound all four together and slammed them heavily into the ground.
Smoke filled the air. Without even checking whether they were dead, Rorin used Flying Thunder God to leave. The destination marker was a bone spike engraved with his seal, which he had asked Nara Shikamaru to place earlier—ensuring no unexpected complications.
Once safe, a faint smile appeared on Rorin's face as he softly said,
"Long time no see."
[Host, long time no see!]
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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