As for Ayane's attitude, let's not talk about it for now—because even when this woman is angry, she just keeps a smile plastered on her face. It's impossible to tell if she's pissed or genuinely doesn't care.
Precisely because of this, in some ways, she's even more dangerous than Ruri.
Ruri's way is much simpler—whether she's happy or mad, it's written all over her face.
And right now, she's really angry—furious, even.
If I don't give a reasonable explanation, who knows what kind of terrifying thing might happen. Hakushi truly couldn't predict it.
The Katsuyu clone sitting on Hakushi's shoulder could also feel the tense "calm before the storm" brewing in the room. It immediately started wriggling, acting like it had nothing to do with all this, and slowly crawled off his back onto the ground, moving away from this smoke-filled battlefield.
Lord Hakushi's romantic life really is colorful, huh. The living slug sighed quietly to itself.
"So, um, what's with you two? Does it really have to be this scary just to welcome me back?"
Hakushi tried to defuse the oppressive atmosphere he'd sunk into like quicksand.
Hearing Hakushi's clumsy excuse, Ruri snorted coldly, "How nice of you to say that. You disappeared for over a whole week without a word! If you hadn't come back, I honestly would've thought you'd vanished for good."
"Exactly! Hakushi-kun, do you have any idea how much trouble you caused by suddenly running off? You messed up all our work schedules, and now we have to worry about your safety, too!"
Ayane was also scolding Hakushi for his behavior.
Hakushi could pretty well imagine how Ruri and Ayane must have been at their wits' end these past few days after he left.
After all, most of the time he was the one managing things—Ruri handled security and reconnaissance, Ayane's role was supervision. Having them both cover his work as well probably left them scrambling beyond belief.
"I'm not a kid, you don't need to fret over my safety. But since I'm back now, I'll be more considerate next time."
The main thing was, his trip to Shikkotsu Forest had been far too sudden—especially since it was a Katsuyu clone who used the Reverse Summoning Jutsu to bring him there, not even really his own choice.
His original plan had been to summon a part of Katsuyu first, get the lay of the land in Shikkotsu Forest, and then decide whether or not to go myself.
He didn't expect that right after hastily contracting with Katsuyu, she'd just Summon him straight to Shikkotsu Forest, with no time for explanations to Ruri and Ayane.
And since Shikkotsu Forest had such a natural Immortal Training environment, just learning Katsuyu's healing-type Immortal Techniques took him days, so there was no way he could get back quickly.
"So this is the one from Shikkotsu Forest…"
Ayane looked toward the silent Katsuyu off to the side.
Ruri also turned her gaze, eyeing Katsuyu with interest.
"Yeah, that's right; this is one of the Shikkotsu Forest Sage Katsuyu Sage's clones. Came along with me this time because there's some important business. Normally, just call her Katsuyu—that's her name."
Hakushi introduced Katsuyu's identity to both of them.
"Good afternoon, you two."
Katsuyu's soft, squishy voice rang out.
Since it was their first meeting and things were a bit awkward, Ruri and Ayane just nodded at Katsuyu in greeting.
Honestly, compared to a Summoning Beast like Katsuyu who just showed up, those silly sons and daughters were much more familiar to them.
"So, you two came here together—do you need something from me?"
Hakushi asked.
The two of them barging in like this with an "interrogation squad" vibe had actually startled him a bit.
"Mainly, we wanted to check on how things were here—and by the way, the group of Medical Apprentice Ninja just arrived safely in the Land of Fire by sea. They should be entering Konoha right about now. Oh, and another thing—the Third Kazekage of Hidden Sand Village, after all kinds of spy operations in the different villages, it's now confirmed he disappeared before the start of the Third Great Ninja War. The cause is unknown; there's a real chance he was assassinated."
Ruri gave a quick summary of the situation.
After all, the disappearance of one of the Five Kage—the Kazekage—was no small matter, and Ruri really couldn't think of anyone who could just make one of the Five Kage vanish without a trace. It was basically unheard of.
"So it's confirmed?"
Hakushi was a little surprised; before, the Kazekage's disappearance had just been speculation.
Now that it's confirmed he went missing before the war, that means the other nations must have evidence of it—otherwise, they wouldn't make such a definite claim.
Of course, it could also be a tricky ploy by Hidden Sand—but that seemed unlikely.
"Still, for Hidden Sand to have the guts to launch a war against Konoha after losing their Kazekage… They really do have nerve."
Ruri had personally experienced the strength of Hidden Sand Ninja during the Second Great Ninja War.
In terms of overall ability, they weren't even on the same level as Konoha.
Konoha was overflowing with Bloodline and Hiden Jutsu Ninja—not just top-tier ninjas; these are what make the village a true powerhouse that frightens other nations.
The Bloodline and Hiden Jutsu Ninja might not match elite ninja individually, but when you factor in entire ninja clans, their deterrent force is greater than any single powerhouse could ever hope to be.
The Uchiha Clan's reputation was built exactly that way.
Whether as individuals or as a whole clan, as long as you had the power to make others back off, that was true strength.
For Hidden Sand to still have the guts to wage war against Konoha after losing the Third Kazekage—Ruri had to admit, she saw them in a new light.