"Mm."
Shiratori nodded nervously. He gently touched the ring on his finger.
A faint black mist swirled on the surface of the ring.
"Rika, Hanzō-sensei wants to et you," he whispered softly.
The black mist thickened.
Suddenly, it was as if the mist was torn open. The first thing that erged was a massive skeletal claw.
Next, the tear seed to split completely open, and the black mist dissipated into the air.
Rika appeared.
Hanzō looked at the hideous and colossal creature before him, sensing the imnse power of the cursed being. He narrowed his eyes.
"Yuta…"
Rika protectively placed herself in front of Shiratori, her voice sticky and clinging.
"..."
Now is not the ti for public affection in front of Hanzō.
"Is this the one that killed the Suna ninjas?" Hanzō asked.
Shiratori shook his head, looking a little disappointed. "No, the one that killed the Suna ninjas was another cursed spirit. I was the one controlling it."
Hanzō fell into thought. Judging from the dismbered corpses on the battlefield, they hadn't even had a chance to resist against the other cursed spirit.
He glanced at the cursed spirit hovering above Shiratori's head. The one he had controlled must be even more powerful than this one. the boy had to master his cursed spirit power.
"All right. Have it return," Hanzō said, continuing to observe the cursed spirit before him.
"Rika, go back," Shiratori said as he patted Rika on the head.
She grumbled on the ground, muttering sothing like "Don't wanna be apart from Yuta," but obediently returned into the ring.
Hanzō watched his actions and asked, "Why are you able to control this particular cursed spirit?"
Shiratori glanced at Hanzō. Hadn't Kuroi explained it to him?
Rika was his fiancée!
Sukuna was his... well, that was a different story entirely.
Shiratori shivered internally.
Having Sukuna bound to him, wasn't that even scarier?
"Because Rika is my fiancée."
Since arriving here, this had beco the sentence he repeated the most.
He was firmly establishing himself as Yuta's persona.
Hanzō was montarily speechless.
He looked at him and recalled the grotesque creature from monts ago.
Fiancée?
"She only beca like that after she died," Shiratori explained.
He lowered his head, shoulders sagging slightly. "It was because I cursed her... that she turned into what she is now."
Hanzō understood. The key still lay in Shiratori's cursed spirit power. But even he himself didn't fully know how to control it. And cursed spirit power... had never appeared in the shinobi world before.
Even he only had a partial grasp of it.
"Try to accept your power. Understand it. Control it."
All he could do was help change his mindset of avoidance and guide him to take the initiative to master his cursed spirit power.
"If you can control the cursed spirit, you can control other cursed spirits too."
Hanzō looked directly at him.
If Shiratori mastered cursed energy, he would beco a powerful asset to A.
Whether from the perspective of the village leader or his ntor, Hanzō was determined to push him toward gaining mastery over his cursed spirit power.
Just like he himself had once slowly mastered the toxic power of the salamander.
"I will!"
Shiratori nodded solemnly. "I won't let you down!"
Seeing him make that promise, Hanzō's eyes were filled with comfort and satisfaction.
He really was a good child. Just like he once was, back in the day.
"Starting tomorrow, you'll train with in ninjutsu and taijutsu," Hanzō said.
Shiratori nodded.
"Your cursed spirit power is sothing you'll have to calm your mind to control on your own."
He kept nodding.
Hanzō patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction. "Go back and get a good rest."
He was still just a child, even if he had the energy of a full-fledged ninja, he had spent the entire day on the battlefield, fighting, saving lives. He was surely exhausted.
"Mm."
Shiratori walked to the office door.
He opened it, but didn't rush out imdiately. Instead, he turned around and said, "You should rest well too. Don't overwork yourself."
Only after saying that did he close the door.
Hanzō, seated back at his desk, blinked. It was the first ti anyone had told him to "get so rest."
He was a ninja known as the Salamander, his subordinates had long grown used to his strength. No one ever imagined he'd get tired.
He sighed.
Having a student... was a strange feeling.
[Affection detected: 500 points]
[Energy transferred to Rika]
[Developnt progress: 59.5%]
---
Outside the door, Shiratori smiled. He waved at Chiba, who was still standing guard outside. "I'm going to rest now. Chiba-nisan, make sure you rest too!"
Chiba gave a slight nod, still expressionless. He silently watched Shiratori's figure fade into the distance.
Inside the office, Hanzō's hand rested on a map of the shinobi world, his gaze thoughtful.
At the mont, the war between A and Konoha had already co to a halt. But neither side had taken the initiative to propose a peace treaty.
Just a few days ago, the battle with Suna had ended.
Hanzō had led 200 A ninjas on the second battlefield to confront Chiyo and her Suna troops.
Chiyo had managed to neutralize his poison and create an antidote, but still couldn't defeat him.
Conversely, Hanzō had lost the advantage of his poison and couldn't take her down either.
The two sides stalemated for a long ti before both withdrew.
On the first battlefield, Suna's forces were completely wiped out, suffering heavy casualties. anwhile, A had not lost a single ninja. All thanks to Shiratori's dical abilities and his cursed spirit power.
Suna was still fighting against Konoha.
To free up their hands and focus entirely on that front, Suna would likely agree to a ceasefire with A soon.
The complete end of the war was drawing near.
Of course, the end of war didn't an the Land of Rain would instantly return to peace.
The Land of Rain had been the battleground for years, caught between Iwa, Suna, and Konoha. Its territory was chaotic, overrun by Iwa ninjas, Suna ninjas, Konoha ninjas, rogue ninjas, and wandering ninjas, causing havoc everywhere.
To completely drive these ninjas out of the Land of Rain would take considerable effort.
On top of that was the reconstruction plan for A itself. All of this would require at least ten years of dedicated work. Right now, the top priority was signing peace treaties with Suna, Iwa, and Konoha, getting all three great nations to recognize A as an independent ninja village, and preventing the Land of Rain from once again becoming a battlefield for their wars.
A ceasefire was easy. Signing treaties was hard.
A had to maintain overwhelming strength at all tis.
If they showed any sign of weakness, Iwa, Suna, and Konoha would instantly return with force.
That was why cultivating new ninjas and bringing in fresh blood was absolutely crucial for A's survival.
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