Ryun's brows were deeply furrowed. What was coming had finally arrived.
Just how great was Danzo's grudge against him? This time, he had mobilized his entire force.
It couldn't be that Shimura Taiji was his illegitimate son, could it?
Ryun had a hundred question marks in his mind, and this time, the system also answered Ryun's confusion.
[Yamanaka Fuu led a team to thoroughly investigate your memories. Unfortunately, they found nothing strange. However, they easily discovered the Strength of a Hundred Seal and the Illusion Release Seal on your body. Although they could not determine the exact functional principles of these two seals, it did not prevent them from recognizing their general effects.]
[The fact that you possessed powerful ninjutsu without relevant memories aroused Danzo's curiosity about you. He defined your situation as follows:
You had your memory erased by some powerful means and were branded as a spy for an enemy ninja village.]
[Sarutobi Hiruzen was puzzled by your condition and hoped to summon Tsunade back to Konoha to assist in the investigation. However, Tsunade dismissed Hiruzen's letter as a poor excuse and refused to return to Konoha. Thus, the decision on how to handle you fell back into Danzo's hands.]
[Hiruzen, taking pity on your talent for mastering the Strength of a Hundred Seal, refused Danzo's decision to execute you. Danzo ultimately branded you with the Tongue Eradication Seal and subjected you to horrific brainwashing education.]
[You hid away a portion of your spiritual energy. The remaining majority became Danzo's puppet. You became Danzo's most trusted right-hand man. He even brought you to participate in the Five Kage Summit after becoming the acting Hokage.]
[Later, Sasuke came to seek revenge against Danzo. In that battle, you were captured by Uchiha Obito and became a prisoner. Subsequently, during the Fourth Great Ninja War, you were used as a human sacrifice by Yakushi Kabuto for the Impure World Reincarnation technique. You died.]
[You left only a trace of spiritual energy in the world, but without a physical body, it dissipated not long after.]
[Unfortunately, this simulation failed. You cannot receive a reward.]
Looking at the rapidly scrolling text before his eyes, Ryun stood frozen in place, unable to regain his composure for a long time.
Although he had been prepared from the beginning that failure would come one day, he never expected this failure to be so brutal.
Forget pursuing the simulation target Kazamatsuri Moegi. Apart from Anko, he didn't even leave behind a single descendant before becoming Danzo's captive.
What was Danzo doing?
Directly targeting Konoha's popular writer?
Alright, clearly the identity of a writer couldn't protect Ryun.
Even Ryun knowing the Strength of a Hundred Seal, possibly being Tsunade's disciple, might not necessarily protect Ryun.
Once Danzo decided on something, he would act no matter what.
If Ryun's strength was insufficient to resist Danzo, then no matter how many identities or backgrounds Ryun had, they all became meaningless after his capture.
So why did Danzo move against him?
The reason?
Evidence?
It seemed there was nothing. And precisely this 'nothing,' this groundless suspicion, made Ryun realize Danzo's modus operandi.
If he felt Ryun was suspicious, he would investigate the secrets on Ryun's person. Even without evidence, it wouldn't hinder his actions.
If he insisted on evidence for everything, why would Danzo establish the Root and act as Konoha's darkness?
Expecting such a guy to follow rules was itself a joke. Or in his eyes, he himself was the embodiment of the rules.
Even if he captured the wrong person, he probably wouldn't admit the mistake. After all, everything could be explained by the theory of shadows in the sunlight.
At worst, he could have Sarutobi Hiruzen clean up his mess.
Seeing this, Ryun slowly closed his eyes, calming his agitated emotions.
Losing one simulation attempt wasn't scary. What Ryun needed to ponder most deeply was the ninja world perspective revealed in this simulation.
No matter how smoothly things went for Ryun before, facing a guy like Danzo, a single failure could plunge him into an irreversible abyss.
To deal with all this, he could only continue to improve his strength, keeping himself undefeated.
Or, before Danzo acts, find a way to eliminate Danzo first.
However, looking at the timeline, trying to eliminate Danzo before the main story begins seems almost impossible.
As long as Hiruzen is alive, Ryun taking action against Danzo would be equivalent to taking action against all of Konoha.
No matter how much Ryun improves his strength, he cannot possibly attain the power to carry rice upstairs before Naruto and the others graduate.
How about leaving Konoha to lay low before Danzo moves?
That is also a feasible method.
Contacting Tsunade early, regardless of what relationship he establishes with her, with his medical ninjutsu talent, it should be enough to gain Tsunade's protection.
Wait until Hiruzen steps down and Tsunade becomes the new Hokage.
By then, Danzo probably won't be interested in Ryun anymore. His goal will shift to how to become the new Hokage.
At that time, the resistance to Ryun taking action against Danzo would be much smaller. Perhaps Tsunade would even secretly help.
But Ryun felt very unwilling to do this.
He rested his chin on his hand, thinking about what other methods could break this deadlock.
This was clearly not a problem with an easy solution. Ryun also tried hard to restrain himself, not to rush into another simulation immediately.
There was still plenty of time before Danzo would act. Ryun could think of a solution while training.
However, just in case, he could start preparing an escape route now.
In short, a method to flee and leave Konoha.
For Ryun now, leaving Konoha was already a simple matter.
The only thing he needed to do was to place Flying Thunder God marks outside Konoha village, or even in more distant places.
Ryun had already thought of a plan for this.
Early the next morning, Ryun came to the marketplace inside Konoha. There were many merchants coming and going here, driving horse-drawn carts in and out of Konoha every day.
Ryun looked around, occasionally placing his hand on the outer side of a carriage, silently leaving a Flying Thunder God mark.
When Ryun closed his eyes at night to sense these carriages, many had already left the confines of Konoha village, heading in all directions across the ninja world.
Only then did Ryun breathe a sigh of relief. From now on, leaving Konoha would be a matter of mere thought for him.
With these basic conditions, plus the Illusion Release Seal, even Danzo would find it difficult to capture Ryun again.
Ryun waited for a long time, until midnight.
He selected a few carriages that had been stationary for a long time, clearly in rest mode. First, he left a shadow clone on guard duty. Then, he released the Strength of a Hundred Seal, and immediately activated the Flying Thunder God Technique.
In an instant, Ryun's figure appeared in a shed several dozen miles away from Konoha village.
There was no one around, only two tall horses staring at Ryun with tilted heads, as if asking: Who are you? Where did you come from? Are you going to sleep in the same room as them?
Ryun smiled happily. Leaving Konoha put him in a great mood.
He gave each horse a large handful of fodder, then shot out like an arrow from a bow, roaming randomly through the Konoha forest, chasing after faintly visible lights like a firefly.
Gradually, a small town with lit lights appeared in Ryun's vision.
Ryun casually left a Flying Thunder God mark on a tree, then deactivated the Strength of a Hundred Seal and used the Transformation Technique.
He transformed into the appearance of a young nobleman of seventeen or eighteen, resembling himself by about seventy or eighty percent. Swaggering with an air of detachment, he walked into the town and arrived at the only commercial street.
Looking at the neon signs of various shops, smelling the strong fragrance on the approaching attendant, Ryun felt that at this moment, he was truly savoring the taste of freedom.
It would be even better if there wasn't a white-haired man with a 'oil' forehead protector, holding a girl in each arm, Jiraiya, right in front of him.
"Hmm? Young man, which village's ninja are you? So young and already visiting a nightclub, very keen on life experiences!"
Jiraiya noticed Ryun's disguise but had no intention of exposing him.
He was very confident in his own strength and wasn't worried that Ryun was targeting him. Moreover, just seeing Ryun's seemingly carefree yet somewhat restrained manner, he knew Ryun was also a first-timer in this kind of place. "So, do you need me to recommend some services for you?"
"No need, sir. I'm just here to look around."
Ryun's reply made Jiraiya laugh heartily. He said, "Then look around. If you really want to experience life, it's better to wait a few more years."
"At your age, you're more suited to find a young girl to fall in love with, to taste the wonderful flavor of romance."
Ryun blinked and asked, "Then you must be very experienced, sir?"
"Of course!"
Jiraiya became enthusiastic, striking his classic Toad Sage pose. "Back in the day,"
Watching Jiraiya boast and talk, the lyrics of a vague song about tears not drying from years past, along with Senju Tobirama's AI singing voice, suddenly appeared in Ryun's mind.
At this moment, how could he not have a drink?
---
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