Chapter 542: The Forgotten
The absolute moment that specific sentence escaped Ryo's vocal apparatus, his internal parameters registered profound regret. This was exponentially magnified when Tsukihi, projecting a highly worried aesthetic, innocently inquired, "Does Mom's new biological vessel harbor some hidden structural defects? Why does Dad specifically need to exercise caution tonight?"
It fundamentally wasn't regret over uttering inappropriate logistics in front of Tsukihi's sensory arrays; her biological age had already breached the threshold where acquiring basic comprehension of such matters was appropriate, and Kushina would naturally execute the necessary educational protocols. Even Naruto, despite his aggressively bratty baseline, commanded enough situational awareness not to vocalize an inquiry matching Tsukihi's, explicitly proving his cognitive loops harbored at least a minor degree of baseline comprehension.
Ryo's primary, absolute anxiety mapped strictly to Naori's analytical evaluation of his matrix. By initiating this specific caliber of joke in front of the junior generation, didn't the Great Ancestor inadvertently project a monumentally unreliable, profoundly unserious aesthetic?
Negative! I must optimize my parameters to project absolute maturity and flawless stability!
Having successfully escorted Minato's family unit out of the cemetery perimeter, Ryo executed a rapid, anxious covert scan of Naori's facial expression.
"Ryo Uzumaki, does my facial profile currently exhibit some structural anomaly?" Naori chuckled lightly.
Ryo blinked his dual eyes rapidly: "Negative... audit your reflection yourself! Ice Style: Ice Mirror Jutsu!"
Naori: "..."
"Furthermore, Naori, moving forward, can your vocal apparatus please omit the dual characters 'Uzumaki' when addressing me? Strictly utilize 'Ryo'."
"...Understood, Ryo."
Ryo gave a firm, satisfied nod: "Let us mobilize. I will escort your presence to rendezvous with Mito and the collective vanguard. Their matrices are currently stationed in an astronomically high-tier, luxurious coordinate—the Sky Island."
That specific coordinate mapped to a suspended island Ryo had constructed utilizing Wood Style, elevating it straight into the high-altitude air blocks to successfully adapt to his max-level combat output following a prior stat allocation cycle. Because the absolute moon had been forcefully pushed into deep space due to unavoidable logistical constraints—rendering its atmosphere non-existent—the Sky Island subsequently defaulted into the absolute optimal coordinate for a secluded retreat...
As for the castle anchored on the moon, he was profoundly afraid that strictly Ryo possessed the capacity to occasionally execute a leisurely stroll up there... perhaps Kaguya commanded the baseline capacity as well?
Withdrawing the ice mirror, Ryo executed a minor concentration block, instantly architecting dual pitch-black flying carpets directly before his physical frame. Having successfully hit max level, crafting Truth-Seeking Balls was a trivial maneuver requiring strictly a casual wave of his hand; there was zero operational necessity to painstakingly squeeze dual spheres straight out of his chest cavity every single time...
As their dual physical frames respectively boarded the separate flying carpets, Ryo's internal parameters abruptly registered a spike of profound regret. His matrix absolutely should have architected strictly a single, shared flying carpet...
This sheer deficit in strategic IQ!
Operating the dual flying carpets to initiate their vertical ascent while swimming in a sea of absolute remorse, his audio receptors suddenly audited a high-volume shout echoing from a distant coordinate block: "Yo! Teacher, halt your advance! Stand by for a micro-second!"
"Nagato?" Ryo abruptly paused, smoothly steering the flying carpet toward the audio source: "What are the operational logistics?"
"Teacher, an envoy from the Hidden Cloud Village has successfully arrived on base."
"The Hidden Cloud Village... What is their objective? Have they successfully finalized their reconstruction phase, or are they requisitioning our operational assistance?"
Because Orochimaru had previously initiated a global deployment of Deep Forest Emergence, although the maneuver failed to generate catastrophic casualty metrics, the structural architecture spanning every sovereign nation had been essentially obliterated. Over the past three-month cycle, all nations had been exhaustively occupied with executing their reconstruction protocols; even the Land of Whirlpools had only recently finalized its restoration phase...
"Yo, this must be... Senior Naori Uchiha, correct? Greetings! I am Teacher's disciple, Nagato Uzumaki." Nagato smoothly initiated a greeting toward Naori before pivoting back: "Teacher, their reconstruction phase is officially complete. The envoy deployed is the Raikage's secretary, Mabui, and she is explicitly requesting an audience with your presence."
"Secretary? Is her matrix executing a defection to align with the Great Ancestor?" Ryo muttered internally. Did my cognitive loops fundamentally forget a specific, lingering logistical parameter?
...
Ten minutes later.
Projecting a radiant, absolute smile, Ryo and Naori sat shoulder-to-shoulder, sharing a singular flying carpet, while a secondary flying carpet actively transported Mabui.
"Your parameters are stating... your sensory arrays fundamentally cannot locate the coordinates of the Island Turtle?"
"Flawlessly accurate, Senior." Mabui maintained her signature intellectual, composed aesthetic, articulating smoothly: "Every single guiding island structurally tethered to the Island Turtle has vanished under highly anomalous circumstances... Speaking of which, how should I formally address the companion at your flank?"
Ryo hesitated for a brief fraction of a second before auditing Naori's light chuckle as she articulated: "My designation is Naori Uchiha. My current biological age... is 20 years old."
Mabui reciprocated with a warm smile: "A female kunoichi hailing from the Uchiha Clan? Then I shall address you as Little Sister Naori. I am currently 29 years old."
"That sounds highly optimal!"
Ryo massaged his forehead, pondering deeply for a solid two seconds: "My designation is Ryo Uzumaki, and my current biological age is 15 years old!"
Naori subtly tilted her head to audit his profile: "Greetings, Little Brother Ryo."
"Mhm! Big Sister Naori!"
Mabui's facial expression turned completely wooden: Ew~ Good grief...
Ryo broke into a light laugh: "Naori, evaluating the absolute timeline, whose biological matrix is genuinely older?"
"Your parameters should logically hold seniority. My birth coordinate maps to early December of the year 903."
"Eh, then my matrix eclipses yours strictly by a margin of a few days. My birth coordinate maps to late November of 903. What an astronomical twist of absolute fate!"
Mabui's facial complexion registered profound, unvarnished shock. The year 903? Didn't that specific chronological milestone map straight to the absolute Warring States Period? Did the shinobi world genuinely harbor a second ancient monster?!
The transit phase primarily consisted of Ryo aggressively initiating what he self-evaluated as 'flirtatious banter' with Naori, continuing uninterrupted until they successfully intercepted their terminal destination—the Island Turtle. The Island Turtle's baseline ecosystem remained completely intact, fundamentally unaffected by the catastrophic global war.
Entering the villa positioned directly in front of the Falls of Truth, the collective group successfully audited a monumentally disheveled Killer Bee, whose garments were essentially shredded into absolute rags. The aesthetic shock immediately prompted Ryo to aggressively slap his hands over Naori's dual eyes, while Mabui violently furrowed her brows and sharply averted her gaze...
"What exact operational maneuver is your frame executing?!" Ryo aggressively waved his hand, violently launching one of his spare garments straight at Bee. "Execute a rapid equip sequence and completely obstruct the necessary anatomical zones!"
Killer Bee rubbed the back of his head with an embarrassed, sheepish grin, his facial expression rapidly morphing into profound, immense grievance: "Mabui, Senior, your vanguard has finally intercepted my coordinates! When my matrix deployed to this location, I failed to pack any spare garments for standard hygiene cycles! The island's jungle density is exceptionally high, and my training regimen remains active..."
RIIIIP!
"Uh, Senior, your garment parameters are structurally too small."
Ryo was rendered absolutely speechless. This damned fat bastard!
"Make do and forcefully equip it. As long as it provides baseline visual obstruction, it is acceptable. Blame the Great Ancestor's flawless, optimized physical architecture; I lack a single garment that can successfully accommodate your specific volumetric mass."
"Yeehaw~! ...Mabui, my internal chronometer calculates it has been nearly a full half-year cycle. Exactly why hasn't Big Bro authorized a logistics drop containing fresh garments and nutritional supplies?"
Mabui completely bypassed the inquiry. Her vocal apparatus couldn't possibly articulate the unvarnished reality: the sheer volume of operational tasks had caused everyone to fundamentally forget Killer Bee's existence...
"Senior, exactly who is the companion anchoring your flank?"
"Ahem, Ryo, the operational necessity to continuously obstruct my visual input has terminated," Naori gently cleared her throat.
"This bastard equipping my garments projects an astronomically catastrophic, retina-searing aesthetic. Since your ocular parameters have only recently restored functionality, it is highly optimal that you maintain visual isolation."
"Senior, you fundamentally cannot blame my parameters for this specific logistical outcome!" Killer Bee voiced profound dissatisfaction: "A full half-year cycle. My singular matrix has been strictly isolated on this desolate rock. While my emotional parameters are immune to absolute loneliness, shouldn't central command at least deploy a baseline supply of garments and nutrition? I lack the intelligence regarding how long my deployment will last..."
"You are officially cleared to execute a return transit."
Killer Bee abruptly paused: "Yeehaw~! I am officially cleared to return! The catastrophic war is launching, and the great Lord Killer Bee shall deploy as the supreme tactical trump card, oh yeah!"
Ryo pondered for a swift half-second: "Naori, my hands lack the capacity to cover multiple vectors. Manually obstruct your own audio receptors."
"...Understood."
Killer Bee: "..."
"Lord Killer Bee, the global war officially launched three months ago," Mabui stated, smoothly brushing a lock of hair.
"Three months ago? Yeehaw~! I fundamentally failed to calculate that those absolute idiotic bastards from Dark Akatsuki could sustain their resistance for such an extended duration! Stand by and watch this great lord flawlessly execute the terminal strike, oh yeah!"
"Suppress your absolute arrogance; your operational value is effectively zero." Ryo stated with profound, helpless exasperation: "The active combat phase strictly lasted for a total of two days."
"...Two days?"
"Mhm. The absolute, unvarnished reason your matrix was stranded here for an excess three months strictly maps to the reality that the Great Ancestor fundamentally forgot your existence. And your Big Bro... highly probable executed the exact same cognitive lapse."
"...Oh~ yeah?"
Auditing the absolute, bewildered 'black man question mark' expression plastered across Bee's face, Ryo's internal parameters registered profound, immense satisfaction. However, right at that exact micro-second...
"Ryo Uzumaki! You heartless, absolute bastard! Exactly what kind of catastrophic anomaly did you hand my summoning scroll over to?! That bastard's eyebrows command an astronomically terrifying density, and his physical aesthetic is profoundly, utterly hideous! The absolute micro-second he initiated a summoning cycle, his vocal apparatus began spouting endless garbage regarding 'youth, youth,' and he even possessed the sheer audacity to claim his 'thing' was structurally larger than Teacher's! Larger, larger, larger—I'll smash his idiot head!"
The Divine Turtle? Absolute disaster, my cognitive loops fundamentally forgot its existence as well! Analyzing the audio data, did Obito successfully coordinate Rock Lee to establish a summoning contract with it? A flawless, unbroken lineage of absolute idiots...