Breakfast was very plentiful.
To be precise, it was a little too plentiful.
Ryosuke stared blankly at the pork knuckle, whole roast lamb, steamed wagyu beef… all arranged on the table. He raised his hand and pointed, "You usually eat this for breakfast?"
Mount Myōboku eats bugs, Ryūchi Cave eats people.
Shikkotsu Forest, though, was on another level, they were eating an imperial feast.
The Slug Sage, who had spent the whole night being shocked by Ryosuke's training speed, rarely saw him startled by something, so it smiled lightly and said, "No. I normally just eat some leaves."
"I originally thought you would train in Shikkotsu Forest for a while, so I specifically bought a lot of food, but who knew… ahahaha."
"In any case, don't feel pressured."
It handed him a pair of chopsticks and said gently, "Just eat whatever you like. Whatever's left, the little slugs will take care of."
Ryosuke looked at the table full of dishes, then thought of the help from the Slug Sage last night, and his expression softened slightly.
There was no interest-based relationship between them, and there was absolutely no possibility that the Slug Sage would "fear" him, everyone in the shinobi world might fear Ryosuke, but the Slug Sage would not.
Because Ryosuke simply could not kill it.
This was kindness, pure, untainted by interest or desire, to the extreme.
Ryosuke extended both hands, accepted the bowl and chopsticks, straightened his back, and thanked it seriously.
He carefully tasted each dish. All of them were excellent, clearly cooked fresh on the spot, definitely not pre-made meals packed and brought in.
After eating for a while, Ryosuke really couldn't suppress his curiosity, "Did you make all this yourself?"
"Yes."
Two little slugs wearing chef hats wobbled their bodies.
Ryosuke asked, "You even practiced cooking on your own… why?"
"Of course, to make food for you."
The Slug Sage smiled and said, "To be precise, it's to make food for the people who come to Shikkotsu Forest to train. I can't just let everyone come here only to eat leaves and bugs, right?"
Ryosuke thought of the insect hotpot at Mount Myōboku.
This… was far too large a difference.
Comparing the feelings he got from the three sages, Ryosuke let out a soft sigh. "You really are very different."
The Slug Sage smiled gently. "Because the other two live more transparently than I do."
"The White Snake Sage focuses on the present. The Great Toad Sage sets his gaze on the future. Only I keep remembering the past."
"Ryosuke, since you established your Past Projection, you should know that all past moments that resonate with us correspond to extremely precious memories."
"But memories aren't made of yourself."
"What makes them rare and precious are the people and events within them, but…"
The Slug Sage looked tenderly at Ryosuke, its eyes filled with envy. "As long as you live long enough, one day, those precious people will exist only in your memories."
Every time one resonates with a Past Projection, every transmission and interaction of energy brings the most precious memories of past people to the surface.
"So, I treasure every person who appears by my side."
The Slug Sage looked calmly at the distant mist and said softly, "Ryosuke, maybe a hundred years from now, this precious time we've shared will become my next Past Projection."
"I'm very grateful you appeared in my life."
Ryosuke raised his cup of tea and nodded in acknowledgement.
———
After saying goodbye to the Slug Sage, Ryosuke returned to Konoha ahead of time.
He entered Tsunade's office and found Kakashi and Naruto sitting across from her.
When Ryosuke pushed the door open, Tsunade waved. "You came at the perfect time."
"What's going on?"
Ryosuke set down the gift he had brought from the Slug Sage on the desk, pulled out a chair and sat down. When he lowered his head, he saw a portrait on the table, with a name written beneath it, "Uchiha Obito."
Ryosuke read the name aloud, then smiled. "His identity is confirmed? Were you able to find his past records?"
Tsunade seemed to have already anticipated his question and took a file out of the drawer, handing it to Ryosuke.
He accepted it. It was thin, he skimmed through it quickly and finished it almost at once.
Aside from Obito being Namikaze Minato's student, having been Kakashi's classmate for a period of time, and being a member of the Uchiha clan, there was nothing noteworthy about him.
Just an ordinary Uchiha kid.
The file stated he died on a mission many years ago. Kakashi's Sharingan came from Obito. Who would've thought that after so long, he would reappear as the masked man who had wreaked havoc everywhere.
Ryosuke set the file down. "I've basically got the picture. What were you all discussing?"
Judging by the current intel, whether or not Obito's identity was exposed didn't seem to matter much.
If he had been a powerful figure in the past, then after turning dark and going into hiding, they could search for weaknesses based on his history.
But with the available information, young Obito was a blank sheet of paper, there was nothing to take advantage of.
Tsunade and the others understood this too. Their meeting today wasn't about this intel, but rather…
"Because of this Sharingan."
Kakashi said, "My Sharingan and Obito's Sharingan are both space-type. So I was thinking, maybe our spaces are connected."
"Some time ago, I tried using Kamui to absorb a few explosive tags. Nothing happened. Then I thought, now that Naruto is gradually mastering the Nine-Tails' power, maybe we could try absorbing a few Tailed Beast Bombs and see what happens."
"Of course… this experiment needs your cooperation, Ryosuke."
Ryosuke understood what Kakashi meant.
Kakashi would use Kamui to absorb the Tailed Beast Bomb. Ryosuke would use Hermit Purple to probe Obito's state.
If their Kamui spaces really were connected, this attack might injure Obito.
Kakashi said, "We still don't fully understand the principle behind Obito's intangibility. But the way he escapes is definitely through using Kamui space to perform long-distance spatial teleportation."
Ryosuke nodded.
"If the experiment really succeeded…'
Ryosuke, Tsunade, and Kakashi exchanged glances. A strategy appeared simultaneously in their minds.
Kakashi would first use Kamui to absorb the Tailed Beast Bomb, forcing Obito out of the Kamui space.
Ryosuke would use Hermit Purple to lock onto Obito's location as he returned to the real world.
Then, Heavenly Transmission would send Ryosuke to that exact spot in an instant.
Obito's intangibility only lasted a few minutes. Once Ryosuke exhausted that duration...
Tsunade clenched her fist. "Then we dry him to death!"
Ryosuke clenched his fist. "Dry him to death!"
Kakashi clenched his fist… then let it go. "Dry him… sigh!"
He truly hadn't expected that his former best friend would become like this. To say he wasn't sad at all, impossible.
"But we can't do it yet."
Ryosuke raised his hand and pointed at the glowing purple cracks on his arm.
He had established his Past Projection. He could walk around normally now, but he still couldn't fight, much less use Heavenly Transmission, a technique that destroys and reconstructs large portions of his body.
A month at the shortest, three at the longest, by then Ryosuke's first projection would be fully completed.
Though some dragon-vein energy would still remain, it wouldn't affect his combat strength anymore. That would be the perfect time to go dry Obito to death.
Everyone nodded.
After their discussion, to avoid alerting the enemy, they decided to postpone the experiment for now.
When the meeting ended, Ryosuke said goodbye to Tsunade and Kakashi. At the entrance of the Hokage building, he called Naruto over alone.
"Here."
Ryosuke handed Naruto a Flying Thunder God kunai and his forehead protector.