In front of the main gate of the Shadow Mansion.
Might Dai directly pressed the doorbell of Ryun's house.
Although he knew his sworn younger brother was in seclusion and should not be disturbed, the village had issued an order. He needed to cooperate with others from the village to investigate the specific details about this Divine Tree.
The sound of the doorbell echoed inside the villa. Hearing this, Ryun frowned slightly. He waved his hand, opened the window, and sensed the few familiar figures at the main gate.
"So it's them..."
Ryun's brow instantly smoothed. His figure flickered, and he arrived at the gate, personally opening the door of the Shadow Mansion.
"Dai, big bro, Tsunade, big sis, Jiraiya, big bro, Minato, what brings you here today..." Ryun greeted them with a smile.
"Haha, the village has a mission, and we took the chance to come see you!" Might Dai scratched his head and laughed heartily.
"Please, come in..."
Ryun welcomed them into the mansion, then brewed some fragrant tea for them in the garden.
"After all these years, have you reached the state of returning to simplicity through your training? I can't sense even a bit of your presence..."
Jiraiya could not help but sigh in amazement. He felt Ryun's existence was like the ubiquitous earth, water, flowers, and grass in nature. Even the breath he exhaled seemed to harmonize with the frequency of the natural breeze. If Ryun hadn't opened the door just now, Jiraiya wouldn't even have sensed anyone behind it...
Thinking this, he considered activating Sage Mode to sense Ryun's condition. However, fearing it might cause an unnecessary misunderstanding, Jiraiya ultimately abandoned the idea.
"In Sage Art cultivation, there has always been the concept of merging one's form with nature. After we activate Sage Mode, our presence also becomes elusive and mysterious. Ryun has achieved the profound realm of 'uniting his body with nature' in his Sage Art practice!"
Namikaze Minato answered for Ryun with a smile.
"What profound realm is that? It is just the basic foundation of cultivation that even a child can comprehend..." Ryun was not being modest. His daughter Nanaise could truly achieve this!
"..."
"..."
The master and disciple pair, both of whom had mastered Sage Mode, fell silent instantly.
"You live in such a nice place, no wonder you haven't returned to Konoha all these years..." Tsunade suddenly pursed her lips and said.
She and Shizune had stayed here for a few days. It was extremely comfortable... If Konoha hadn't urgently recalled her back then, she would have really liked to stay longer.
"By the way, where are Kushina and Nanaise? Why are you the only one at home?" Tsunade suddenly realized.
"They went off to train..." Ryun explained simply.
"Training... Your whole family are training maniacs!" Tsunade could not help but吐槽.
"Haha, diligence is one of Ryun's fine virtues. Your wife and Nanaise are influenced by your goodness. Birds of a feather flock together..." Might Dai laughed heartily.
"You were in seclusion training at home just now, right? Our visit must have disturbed you..."
"Big brother, what are you saying, not at all..." Ryun denied with a smile and handed the brewed tea to the four of them.
"Ryun, what is the deal with the Divine Tree outside?" Tsunade only took one sip of tea before she couldn't hold back and got straight to the point.
"The Divine Tree? I planted it. What about it?" Ryun asked in return with a smile.
"You planted it... a tens of thousands of meters tall Divine Tree planted overnight???" Tsunade widened her eyes and asked again.
"This tree should be the aggregate of the nine Tailed Beasts, right? The legendary demon tree of ultimate evil that once brought disaster to the entire world..." Jiraiya suddenly spoke up, his expression serious.
When the Divine Tree and the blood moon appeared, the toads of Mount Myoboku already knew the Ten Tails had been revived. So they immediately notified Jiraiya, Namikaze Minato, and the other sages of Mount Myoboku.
Long ago, the great toad sage Gamamaru taught the Sage Arts to the Sage of the Six Paths, giving Hagoromo Otsutsuki the power to defeat his mother. Now that the Divine Tree has reappeared, Gamamaru understood that the ninja world was probably about to be thrown into great turmoil again...
Even more critical, through Jiraiya's account, Gamamaru had learned that Uchiha Ryun was the demon god from its dreams. Not only did the spiral eyes match, but even the black Susanoo matched perfectly!
Gamamaru urged Jiraiya and Namikaze Minato not to make an enemy of Ryun. Both quickly stated that their relationship with Ryun was fairly good and it was unlikely they would end up opposing him.
Unwilling to interfere too much with fate, Gamamaru said what needed to be said and then shooed the two out of Mount Myoboku.
"Jiraiya, big bro, you even know that it's the aggregate of the nine Tailed Beasts. I'm curious where you obtained this information..." Ryun's eyes held both surprise and curiosity.
Hearing this, Jiraiya fell silent. He did not dare reveal the identity of the great toad sage.
"Let me guess. The toads of Mount Myoboku told you, right..."
It is very difficult for an ordinary person to connect this towering Divine Tree with the nine Tailed Beasts, because the difference in appearance is far too great... Ryun did not believe Jiraiya could have guessed it through his own imagination.
As one of the few beings who witnessed the Divine Tree bringing calamity to the world, it is not hard to understand why Gamamaru defined this Divine Tree as a demon tree of ultimate evil. Knowing the plot, Ryun understood that the great toad sage had already disclosed this matter to Jiraiya!
"You..."
Jiraiya looked utterly astonished.
"As expected, nothing can be hidden from Ryun..." Minato forced a bitter smile.
"Since you all already know that tree is formed from the Ten Tails, why come to Otogakure to ask a question whose answer you already know?" Ryun looked at Jiraiya with a teasing smile.
"This is a demon tree. It is the embodiment of ill omen and disaster... We want to know your purpose for reviving it..." Jiraiya's words were very straightforward, his tone extremely serious.
"Purpose? What can Konoha do, even if you know my purpose? What if I said I want to use its power to annihilate the ninja of the various nations?"
As soon as Ryun said this, the expressions of everyone present changed drastically. The teacup in Tsunade's hand fell due to her immense shock, shattering on the ground with a crisp sound.
"R... Ryun, you sure love to joke..." Minato managed a strained smile, beads of sweat faintly appearing on his forehead.
"I am not very fond of joking. Of course, you can also consider this a joke..." Ryun still wore a smile on his face, but this smile seemed utterly sinister no matter how you looked at it!
"Annihilate the ninja of the various nations? Does that include us as well?" Tsunade asked, her face darkening.
The atmosphere inside the Shadow Mansion grew noticeably tense. However, Ryun's next words allowed everyone present to relax, at least a little.
"Tsunade, big sis, what do you take me for? Taking action against you? I'm not so far gone as to be that insane, am I?" Ryun shot her an exasperated glance.
"What about the others? I mean the other ninja who have no connection to you!" Tsunade pressed urgently.
Hearing this, Ryun smiled again. "You just said they have no connection to me..."
Tsunade, "???"
Jiraiya, "!!!"
Minato, "!!!"
Dai, "..."
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