Master, Please Become a Hokage

The explosion stopped.

A puff of white air escaped from Sarutobi Ryo's mouth.

As the smoke and dust dissipated, Sarutobi Ryo's tired, yet spirited eyes were revealed.

"Amazing..."

Sarutobi Ryo offered a heartfelt praise for this taijutsu.

Merely grasping the basics allowed his own strength to leap to a new level.

This was the power of a 'Technique'.

If he continued to practice, whether it be the power, or his own physical abilities and strength, all would continue to improve at an exaggerated pace.

"Let's stop here for today..." Sarutobi Ryo walked to a nearby stream and took a bath directly.

Watching his young master heading into the night, Yamanaka Satoshi laid back down, returning to his field bedding: "Now young master has become even more powerful... the assessment mission is secure..."

Chapter 22: Down Z! The Young Pharmacist, Yakushi Nonou

Sunrise and sunset.

When dawn arrived once again, Sarutobi Ryo and Yamanaka Satoshi arrived at the eastern coastline of the Land of Fire.

Returning to this familiar place, last time during the Whirlpool Country mission, he didn't have the chance to properly see it.

Looking at the girl facing the sea breeze, Sarutobi Ryo's cold expression couldn't help but soften slightly.

In his previous life, Sarutobi Ryo came from the bottom of society and was used to seeing the dark side.

In this life, his identity changed, and he prospered from birth, but the path of a ninja was still full of bloodshed and darkness.

Along the way, he trained like a robot, became stronger, killed people... then trained again, became stronger, killed people... repeating this cycle.

Two lifetimes as a person, the essence of life didn't seem to have changed much.

Sometimes, Sarutobi Ryo was quite envious of his childhood friend's carefree and optimistic demeanor.

And with her by his side, his cold heart would feel a little warmth.

The waves continued to crash, smelling the sea breeze, listening to the sound of the sea.

As the sun rose, a girl dressed as a commoner walked from the other side of the beach.

She looked about ten years old, with fair skin and a beautiful face.

Her light golden hair, with curled ends, hung down.

Regarding her figure, Sarutobi Ryo couldn't help but take a few more glances.

Ordinary people's clothes couldn't hide that... Down Z! figure.

That's right, it's Down Z!

Sarutobi Ryo had always thought that this kind of figure could only be seen in manga and games, but he never thought that... there would be such people in the real world.

The sun rose over the sea, the glow of dawn stretching for miles.

The sea breeze blew, blowing open her face covering, revealing her compassionate eyes.

The sanctity of her face, mixed with her Down Z! figure, created a kind of... unique charm.

Sarutobi Ryo stared fixedly at the person who came.

It wasn't until this girl walked up to him that Sarutobi Ryo slowly opened his mouth: "The Walking Shrine Maiden... Yakushi Nonou."

"Young Master Ryo."

Yakushi Nonou nodded slightly, greeting him.

Perhaps everyone in Konoha knew Sarutobi Ryo.

But... those who knew the alias "The Walking Shrine Maiden" were very few.

Because this title was a title obtained in the dark world underground.

It was not known by the ninjas of the surface world.

Nonou was a little surprised, and then thought... perhaps Lord Danzo had personally told this young master in front of her.

Yakushi Nonou was sizing up Sarutobi Ryo.

Sarutobi Ryo was naturally observing her as well.

For some reason... this famous Naruto character in front of him seemed... to have a very cold attitude towards him, even a little hostile.

Of course, as Konoha's number one 007 spy female ninja, Nonou was very good at hiding her own thoughts.

This coldness flashed by, and then turned into the usual attitude towards people that could be seen everywhere.

Sarutobi Ryo, who had an excellent memory, couldn't find any memory of offending her.

"I am the contact person for this assessment mission, I have already read Lord Danzo's decree regarding the specific situation..."

Yakushi Nonou adjusted her round glasses.

These glasses added a touch of intellectuality to her.

The Root ninjas had a unique method of communication.

Even if they were thousands of miles apart, they had a way to transmit information to each other in a short period of time.

"Mm." Sarutobi Ryo nodded, "Please tell me about the specific target of the assessment mission..."

"Don't rush."

Nonou turned around, signaling Sarutobi Ryo to follow.

Behind her, Yamanaka Satoshi hurriedly ran over to pick up the shoes.

"According to my observation, it is most suitable to take action at night for this assessment mission..."

This female ninja, who had made great contributions to Konoha during the war, was now able to return home due to post-war cleanup missions.

"The mission target belongs to a gangster organization entrenched in the local port."

Gangster organizations, also known as Yakuza organizations.

Similar to Japan in reality... most of the gangsters in this world are composed of samurai, ronin, and rogue ninjas.

Back in the Warring States period, ninjas drove the samurai off the stage of history.

Some samurai went to the Land of Iron, establishing a neutral country.

Another part of the samurai chose to work as bodyguards, guards... or form gangster organizations for a living.

Even the ninjas of the Five Great Nations cannot be involved in all aspects of the country.

Therefore, tacitly allowing the existence of these samurai and ronin has become a rule that everyone abides by.

"Look there."

Entering the edge of the town, Yakushi Nonou came to the top of an abandoned building and pointed to the distance.

Ninjas generally have very good eyesight.

In the original work, during the Chunin Exams, Akai and Kakashi could clearly see Orochimaru in the Four Violet Flames Formation from hundreds of meters away.

As for Sarutobi Ryo... because of the existence of the system, farsightedness was even less of a problem.

As the pupil of his right eye contracted and dilated.

The distant scene immediately zoomed in, allowing him to observe the target with a higher magnification vision.

On the pier, a group of workers were transporting goods back and forth.

A small number of samurai and ronin were distinguished from them.

These samurai maintained law and order, and their uniform attire showed the fact of the gangster organization.

"Young master, they are all ordinary people..."

Yamanaka Satoshi, who had caught up at some point, sensed the distance and found that they were indeed all ordinary people.

Even the samurai were just slightly stronger physically, with slightly stronger chakra.

Far from reaching the level of the samurai of the Land of Iron.

You must know that the samurai of the Land of Iron can compete with ninjas.

"Who is their mastermind?" Sarutobi Ryo turned his head and looked at the spy female ninja with the Down Z! figure.

"..."

Nonou was silent.

She didn't know whether this young master had guessed it himself, or if Lord Danzo had told him.

"The Guardian Ninja Twelve... the people beside the Daimyo of the Land of Fire."

"Oh?"

Sarutobi Ryo raised his eyebrows.

Just when Yakushi Nonou thought that this Second Generation Hokage's son would choose to consider the matter carefully, or even contact the Hokage...

The words that Sarutobi Ryo blurted out stunned her on the spot: "Then kill these gang leaders one by one first, to lure out the mastermind behind the scenes."

"What, is there a problem?" Sarutobi Ryo's directness caused Nonou's expression to change slightly.

"No problem, let's follow your arrangements, Young Master Sarutobi Ryo."

Nonou nodded.

"If you want to take action, I still suggest doing it at night... so as not to scare ordinary people..."

"Mm, okay... Next I'm going to scout the area..."

After Sarutobi Ryo finished speaking, he directly took Yamanaka Satoshi and left.

Staring at the backs of the two leaving, Nonou adjusted her glasses, and became slightly curious about this young master.

"Perhaps... the descriptions in the intelligence are not entirely accurate..."

Chapter 23: Black Reaper Sarutobi Ryo

The pier at night was calm and tranquil.

The people who had been busy all day, after dinner, extinguished their lights one after another.

The entire port town slowly sank into darkness.

Not long after, the peaceful road was disturbed by a burst of noise that came from far to near.

A local gang leader, after feasting and drinking, was taking a few of his subordinates back to their stronghold.

However, they soon stopped in their tracks.

Because...

Under the dim street lamp in front, a figure stood there, all black, wearing a white mask.

Soon, the other party stepped towards them, the speed getting faster and faster.

"Who?!"

The vigilance of those who had been in the lower ranks for many years made several gang members tense up immediately.

When the gang leader asked this question, Sarutobi Ryo had already arrived in front of him.

Sarutobi Ryo, who was covered from head to toe, only revealed his hair and ears.

His face was completely covered in a white mask.