As Ryun infused a large amount of chakra, a large tree slowly grew out and waved its branches at him a few times.
Ryun sighed and withdrew his Yin Seal.
He had just used nearly the amount of chakra equivalent to a Jonin, and that was only enough to grow one tree.
This was far inferior not only to the First Hokage's version of Wood Release but even to Yamato's.
It seemed that only after he upgraded his Yang, Water chakra affinities, and Wood Release talent to a high level would his Wood Release have any real combat capability.
Ryun wasn't feeling discouraged by this, though.
For him, obtaining Wood Release was primarily to prove his identity and bloodline. For now, using the Flying Thunder God and the Yin Seal in combat was already sufficient.
Moreover, Moegi had also enabled him to awaken Cellular Activation, which further increased Ryun's motivation to train his body.
But having motivation himself wasn't enough; he had to accelerate the improvement of the girls' strength.
Otherwise, if their stat panels didn't increase, Ryun's subsequent simulation gains would be hindered as a result.
However, this matter couldn't be rushed, because besides improving their stat panels, what talents to leave for them was also something Ryun had to consider.
Each person had a different personality, past experiences, and teammates by their side.
Therefore, Ryun had to first figure out what kind of enhancement path to give them.
Of course, later on, after Ryun had maxed out his own comprehensive panel, he could naturally max out the girls' talents too.
But Ryun couldn't afford such consumption right now. Even with his remaining 25 simulation attempts, he couldn't bind too many stats and talents during each person's simulation.
Having a general direction in mind, Ryun returned to the Kazamatsuri Hot Spring House.
His new home was almost completely renovated; there wasn't much time left before he moved out of the Kazamatsuri Hot Spring House.
He had to admit, living at the Kazamatsuri Hot Spring House was quite comfortable. Being attended to was indeed easier than managing everything alone.
Perhaps in his new home, he could invite some girls to live together?
It sounded a bit forward at first, but it didn't seem entirely impossible—
Never mind, he'd consider it after moving back.
Right now, Ryun hadn't yet fully experienced the pleasant events from this simulation.
First, naturally, was getting a close-up view of the world-famous scene, "Danzo, come to hell with me."
Ryun arrived before the Four Violet Flames Formation and tried to slip inside using the Flying Thunder God. Unfortunately, he found that he failed.
Clearly, if he entered, it would directly change the outcome of the war, which was unacceptable for the simulation itself. Ryun could only, regretfully, under the glares of the Anbu ninja and the Sound Four, summon half a watermelon, eat it with a spoon, and watch the scene between Danzo and Sarutobi Hiruzen again. Then, he transferred to that delightful night a few years later.
Anko on the left, Kurenai on the right, and in front of him was Ino, grinning mischievously and already pregnant.
Faced with the provocation of the three girls, you unleashed your Yin Seal and fought in a bloody battle until dawn.
Only then, still savoring the experience, did he shift his attention to that night when he made Moegi an adult.
Although he still felt a twinge of guilt, this was just a simulation. What was wrong with being husband and wife with Moegi?
After experiencing the wonderful life, Ryun composed himself and turned his attention to the two opportunities left for his real-world self by his simulation self.
One was that, during the simulation, when Ryun arrived at Shikkotsu Forest, he left a Flying Thunder God mark there.
Ryun went to the Shikkotsu Forest within the simulation and suddenly his eyes lit up.
Here, he could also sense the Flying Thunder God mark he had left in Konoha. Didn't this mean he could use the method of intersecting multiple lines to determine the current location of Shikkotsu Forest?
Having this idea, Ryun didn't rush to try it. Instead, he went to see how Ino managed to summon him using the Flying Thunder God mark.
Seeing the actual method, Ryun suddenly understood. It was a very simple solution his simulation self had devised.
That was, Ryun left Ino multiple sheets of paper imprinted with the Flying Thunder God formula, and Ino bound them together.
This way, several overlapping Flying Thunder God marks appeared in Ryun's sensory perception.
When Ino was in danger, she could destroy one of the marks. When Ryun sensed that a mark had been tampered with, he could understand that Ino was in trouble.
This wasn't too different from Minato giving Flying Thunder God kunai to Kakashi, telling them to throw it if they were in danger.
The advantage was that this method allowed Ino to keep the Flying Thunder God marks on her person long-term. Ryun only needed a shadow clone to sense them periodically.
However, Ryun was still somewhat unsatisfied with this. Could he later design a technique, dividing a part of his mental energy, to constantly check the status of these Flying Thunder God marks, similar to the Illusion-Solving Seal?
—It seemed feasible. He could make a note of it and study it slowly.
At this point, Ryun had experienced about seventy to eighty percent of the gains from this simulation. Then, Ryun's consciousness returned to the real world and began calculating distances based on the spatial coordinate system in his mind.
Finally, his eyes looked towards a certain direction. At the end of that direction lay the most mysterious Shikkotsu Forest!
He had actually done it!
His simulation self and his real-world self had worked together. Without signing a contract scroll, they had directly pinpointed the location of Shikkotsu Forest. This meant that his real-world self could go directly to Shikkotsu Forest to find the Slug Sage.
Ryun immediately took out a map of the ninja world and calculated on it. Then, a strange expression appeared on his face.
He was astonished to find that Shikkotsu Forest was over the sea!
No, using the phrase "over the sea" was very inaccurate.
Ryun also considered the planet's curvature and then realized with shock that Shikkotsu Forest should be at the bottom of the sea!
This—
Ryun's excitement diminished considerably.
Even the Six Paths of Pain couldn't retrieve Jiraiya's body from the deep seabed, and they weren't even human.
Could Ryun, by himself, manage to enter Shikkotsu Forest? Wait—maybe it wasn't impossible?
The possibility of Ryun himself infiltrate into Shikkotsu Forest wasn't high. But what if he carved the Flying Thunder God mark onto a heavy object, threw the heavy object into the sea, and then used the Flying Thunder God to enter—
This was a method worth trying, but whether to actually do it or not, Ryun needed to consider.
Because in a few months, the Chūnin Exams would be held. Afterwards, Ryun could go find Tsunade.
Wasn't it possible that finding Tsunade and obtaining the Slug contract scroll would be much simpler than Ryun fussing around and drilling into Shikkotsu Forest on his own?
Ryun put away the map. Regardless, he had something to do next.
For the following period, Ryun began even more intense training.
Occasionally, he ran into Gai, who was even amazed by Ryun's hard work.
During her time off, Tenten also asked in confusion if Ryun could really handle training this hard?
Then, she tasted Ryun's upgraded Yang Release chakra, blushed as she lay in Ryun's arms, and was convinced by the power of Ryun's strong Yang Release.
Of course, the two didn't do anything overly intimate; instead, they poured their excess energy into training as well.
About half a month later, Ryun's house was completely renovated.
Ryun started packing his things alone, preparing to go home. Moegi was helping on the side, but judging by her expression, she was very dejected at the moment.
Ryun patted her head and said, "Feel free to come play at my house whenever you want. The doors of my house are always open for you."
Before Moegi could feel happy, Ryun continued, "When your grandmother wants to retire, I'll take over this shop. Then, you can be the proprietress."
Moegi was stunned on the spot, not understanding how Ryun could hit the core of her feelings twice in a row.
She put her hands on her hips, pretending to be mature, and said, "Now I know why so many sisters like you, Ryun. You big brother, you can see right through a girl's heart!"
"Alright, I admit you've convinced me. If I don't want to be a ninja anymore in the future, I'll come back and be the proprietress, and I'll keep this room reserved for you forever."
"Then I thank you in advance, Proprietress Kazamatsuri."
Moegi smiled and touched her nose, but there was one thing she didn't dare to ask.
If she was the proprietress, then who was the proprietor?
Ryun had too many girls around him; she'd better not join in on this commotion.
The next day, Ryun moved back to his own home.
Looking at the spacious courtyard and the brand-new house, Ryun showed a joyful smile.
Although he now had assets exceeding twenty million ryō, and had achieved success and fame many times in simulations.
In reality, however, this was still his first time owning his own residence.
In high spirits, Ryun took out a brush, dipped it in ink, stepped on the wall to get close to the plaque, and wrote the two big characters "Nojuro" on it.
Then, from behind Ryun, an old man's voice sounded: "Your writing is quite good."
He turned around in astonishment, never expecting to see Sarutobi Hiruzen.
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