The story shifted back to Kumogakure.
After Ron escorted the Daimyo, his entourage, Tsunade, Kurama, and Katsuya Sage back to the Land of Lightning, he arranged for Tsunade to stay within the Raikage Mansion. Regardless of whether her visit would be temporary or long-term, it was the safest and most practical choice. The mansion was not only the most secure location in Kumogakure, but also the most convenient place to house individuals of her level without drawing unnecessary attention.
Although Kumogakure and even the capital were protected by large-scale barrier systems, these were not simple defensive walls. They were layered sensory barriers capable of tracking movement, identifying chakra signatures, detecting foreign intrusion, and countering reconnaissance attempts. Every major settlement in the Land of Lightning possessed such systems, along with auxiliary functions such as identity verification and threat assessment.
But only Raikage mansion above Ron's personal underground research center can defend and even control, in Ron's opinion, a rampaging wild 10-tails; it needed to be sealed as soon as possible, or else the defensive and constraining mechanism Ron created using sealing techniques in his house will go down when the research center underground runs out of chakra.
During the flight back, Ron had already prepared official ninja IDs for the Daimyo's new accompanying officials, mostly updated access rights to be in Kumogakure, as well as for Tsunade herself. More importantly, he personally registered the chakra signatures of Tsunade, Kurama, and Katsuya Sage into Kumogakure's central database.
This was the Kumogakure; general identification alone was never sufficient. If three powerful, unregistered chakra signatures suddenly appeared, multiple departments would immediately be alerted, forcing widespread mobilization and investigation. The capital allowed Tsunade to remain relatively inconspicuous due to the Raikage's direct orders and the absence of constant ninjas being wary of them, but the moment an unidentified chakra entered any major city or village in the Land of Lightning, alarms would be triggered.
For civilians, seal-based and electronic identification was enough. For ninjas, however, identification involved chakra-metal electronics integrated with sealing formulas. A registered chakra signature was as essential as a name.
Ron simply handed three completed IDs to Tsunade, Kurama, and Katsuya, personally linking each ID to its respective chakra signature. In daily life, presenting the ID alone would allow access to most facilities in Kumogakure hospitals, hotels, and public institutions. For higher-security areas, an additional verification step was required; the user would channel chakra into the ID while a secondary device scanned and confirmed authenticity.
Not long after landing in Kumogakure, the Daimyo and his group proceeded directly to the Raikage Building to attend official meetings. There was much to discuss. Scrolls sent back by envoys such as Kurozai would soon arrive for signing, and the political and economic implications of recent agreements required careful coordination. These meetings were expected to last several days, involving not only the Raikage and the Daimyo but also many high-ranking Jonin and officials responsible for implementing the upcoming changes.
As everyone departed, Tsunade watched Kohana follow the Daimyo and his entourage. She then turned toward Ron and asked casually, "Hey, Ron, what do you want me to do? Do I have to stay here?"
Ron tilted his head slightly before answering, his tone calm and matter-of-fact.
"Tsunade-san, you can go wherever you want. Just present your ID if they stop you. If they still stop you, that just means you're not allowed to enter that area."
He paused briefly, then added, "You can also accompany my uncle and Kohana if you want. Father doesn't mind if you attend the village meetings. You're not a ninja of Konoha anymore, after all. He'd actually be happy if you joined, and he's even willing to offer you a high position if you decide to settle in Kumogakure."
Ron looked at her directly."And I want you to consider it seriously. I really need capable people."
Tsunade, Kurama, and Katsuya all stared at him strangely. Tsunade could not help but ask, her brow furrowing slightly, "What do you need me for, brat? From what I've seen, the medical system here is already better than anything in the Land of Fire. So what exactly do you want my help with?"
Ron smiled, the expression oddly mismatched with his age, and glanced between her and Kurama. "Well, mostly my research," he said casually. "Also, tailed beasts get paid very well depending on their work."
The looks of confusion only deepened.
Seeing this, Ron continued, explaining without hesitation. "I'm currently researching how to allow summoning beasts to use ninjutsu more effectively. As you know, even among summoning beasts, only the most intelligent and spiritually developed can properly use ninjutsu. Others can circulate chakra to perform certain feats, but it's inefficient. Human bodies and summoning-beast bodies are fundamentally different."
He spoke as if reciting a familiar report. "On top of that, I'm working on genetic modification of organisms, along with several other long-term projects. I was planning to ask Katsuya Sage some questions about natural energy as well."
He then gestured lightly toward Kurama. "As for tailed beasts, Kurama, Gyuki, and Matatabi are among the richest individuals in the village now. My brother is Gyuki's jinchuriki, so he wastes a lot of Gyuki's money, but Gyuki also benefits greatly from it; they take turns, I guess, they are now partners, perfect Jinchurikki to speak."
Kurama's expression darkened slightly. Ron continued unfazed. "Gyuki's chakra is used to power large-scale village infrastructure, like barrier systems in towns and cities. Ninjas only need to supply a portion of chakra to control and maintain them. We could have ninjas supply all the chakra, but that's inefficient and takes away from their training time. So I designed a system where the village's massive chakra batteries could be charged primarily with tailed-beast chakra if needed."
He raised a finger, emphasizing his next point. "And Kumogakure is rich. Charging a single super-large battery is classified as an S-rank mission worth about one million ryo. Even the smallest town in the Land of Lightning needs one such battery per week just to keep essential systems running."
"When my brother takes on this mission, the Eight-Tails can recharge more than a hundred batteries in one go. That's over a hundred million ryo earned. The village takes a small percentage as a mission fee, of course, but Gyuki still makes more than a hundred million ryo every month."
Ron smiled faintly. "Working for me is also very profitable. Every researcher under me at the Hollow Mountain Research Center is paid extremely well by both me and the village. Their work directly advances and maintains Kumogakure's technology and large-scale projects. In addition, they work on my assigned projects also! O they are developing batteries with 10x more chakra capacity, it should be out soon, so even that simple mission would be less annoying now for tailed beasts!"
He then added almost casually, "You could say you'd be living a very comfortable life here. Tsunade-san, Katsuya Sage, Kurama, you'd all be rich."
After a brief pause, he concluded, "Also, I might actually be the richest individual in the world, aside from daimyo, village leaders, and old clan heads, I guess. For example, of all trade passing through the Land of Snow, excluding products I personally created about which I also have shares in their profit, I get fifteen percent of the trade hub's revenue, which goes directly to me."
Silence followed.
And for the first time since arriving in Kumogakure, Tsunade began to realize just how far beyond conventional measures this village and Ron himself had already gone.