Early morning.
When Kushina woke up in the bed, she found Ryun, unusually, had not gone anywhere and was lying motionless beside her. The natural energy around them was slowly flowing into his body, synthesizing into Senjutsu Chakra before being channeled entirely into the Yang Seal on his forehead.
"Awake?"
The moment Kushina's eyes fluttered open, Ryun immediately knew she was awake.
"Mmm..."
Kushina smiled and softly hummed in affirmation. Then, she flipped over, half of her warm body directly lying on top of Ryun.
They had been wearing nothing from last night until now. Feeling the fiery softness press against him again, Ryun's temper was instantly provoked.
"You... what else are you trying to do..."
Kushina was startled fully awake. The 'injuries' from last night might not have fully healed yet. Doing it again would definitely hurt terribly.
"I was cultivating properly, and you started it..."
"You... can't... mmm..."
He believed starting the day with some physical exercise was very necessary...
Ryun's happiness X1, Kushina's happiness X5, pain X1.
The newlywed pair, having tasted the forbidden fruit, clearly found it hard to resist once they experienced that wonderful feeling...
"See, this is perfect, no need to wash the sheets again..."
Watching his beautiful wife, now dressed and cleaning the room, Ryun couldn't help but tease her with a laugh.
Hearing this, Kushina immediately glared at him 'fiercely', the blush on her face lingering for a long time. After removing the bed sheet, she limped, preparing to go wash it. But just as she reached the door, Ryun grabbed her wrist.
"You... don't tell me... you... want to go again???" A look of genuine fear finally appeared on Kushina's face.
If this beast Ryun wouldn't calm down for a while, it wouldn't be happiness 5:1 anymore, but pain 5:1...
"What nonsense are you thinking... Seeing you're uncomfortable, I just wanted to use medical ninjutsu to treat you..." Ryun looked embarrassed.
Hearing this, Kushina immediately relaxed. The next moment, she stood on her toes and kissed Ryun on the cheek. "So you do have a conscience, and know to feel sorry for me..."
"No need for treatment. It doesn't hurt as long as I don't make big movements. It feels a bit strange, tingly and numb, but it's barely acceptable..."
After saying that, Kushina pushed him away, then hugged the sheet and walked away limping.
"Walking pretty fast. Uzumaki physique really has something to it..."
Ryun muttered to himself, then headed straight for the kitchen with a good mood.
The Shadow's residence originally had maids and guards, but neither Ryun nor Kushina liked having a third unfamiliar person of the opposite sex in their home. So not long after they moved in, they paid a sum of money to dismiss all those people.
After having a nutritious breakfast with Kushina, the inseparable couple went nowhere, simply lying on the rocking chairs in the garden, enjoying the flowers and chatting.
"You really are quite leisurely..."
Orochimaru suddenly appeared on the wall surrounding their home.
He wasn't deliberately seeking out Ryun. After all, his student had just gotten married, and he wouldn't disturb them without a particularly urgent matter. His appearance now was simply because he was passing by the Shadow's residence, sensed the couple, and jumped onto the wall to chat...
The Shadow's residence and the Sound Shadow's residence were not far apart. Orochimaru was currently on his way to the administration building for 'work'...
"Good morning, Teacher..."
"I don't handle affairs, of course I'm leisurely every day..." Ryun let go of Kushina, who had hurriedly stood up to bow, and spoke casually, not even bothering to rise.
"The Land of Wind officially declared war on the Land of Fire last night..." Orochimaru directly stated this key piece of intelligence.
"War has started..."
"Heh, those guys from Sunagakure must have endured Konoha with great difficulty... They weren't even willing to wait half a day more, they really timed this war precisely..."
Ryun rocked on his chair, his expression very relaxed and comfortable, as if he had already known war would break out last night.
"It was indeed precisely timed... The moment midnight passed, the Land of Wind made the first move..." Orochimaru also smiled now.
"Let them fight. It has nothing to do with us anyway... By the way, what about the situation in the Land of Grass? Has fighting started there?" Ryun suddenly asked this question.
"No war has broken out there yet, but I think it's coming soon. In fact, all four great nations should have reached a consensus to send troops against the Land of Fire. Fighting is inevitable."
"The current situation is very unfavorable for the Land of Fire."
Orochimaru stated his opinion.
"Hmm, the commander on that front now should be Brother Jiraiya, right?"
Ryun's question clearly made Orochimaru pause.
"Hmm? Isn't it?" Ryun couldn't help but frown and ask.
"It is. Jiraiya arrived at the battlefield yesterday. I didn't expect you to know already... Do you have your own intelligence network?" Orochimaru asked curiously.
"No, I just guessed..."
Ryun brushed it off with a laugh. Orochimaru seemed slightly surprised but didn't press further.
"Keep a close eye on the situation on the Earth-Fire battlefield for me, especially... the ninja team that Namikaze Minato is in!"
As soon as Ryun said this, not only was Orochimaru stunned, but even Kushina beside him was surprised.
"The Fourth Hokage's son..." Orochimaru thought Ryun wanted him to keep an eye on Kakashi.
Ryun did not deny this point, nor did he specifically tell Orochimaru to watch anyone.
"Just find out their general location. Try not to alert them, and don't recklessly approach to gather intelligence..."
"I understand..."
Orochimaru nodded in agreement, then brought up another matter.
"Kakuzu came to Otogakure to report a few days ago. That guy comes like this once every year. He said you told him to come..."
"Hmm, still obedient..."
Ryun nodded first, then thought and said, "If he comes again in the future, you can use your judgment to have him do some dangerous dirty work. Just say I ordered it..."
He felt it was wasteful not to use such a Kage-level fighter...
"That's good. Previously, I wasn't sure of your relationship with him, so I let him act freely..."
Otogakure was not lacking in S-rank missions. As the Sound Shadow, sometimes certain S-rank missions required Orochimaru's personal involvement to complete.
If Ryun hadn't just gotten married yesterday, Orochimaru would have wanted to toss him a few troublesome S-rank missions to handle now. After all, Ryun was the Shadow of Otogakure, how could he really do no work at all...
"After today, I will be leaving temporarily. I want to take Kushina to the Land of Whirlpools to pay respects to her parents, and also travel around and have fun..." Ryun stated his upcoming itinerary.
"Hmm..."
Orochimaru nodded without saying much. But just as he turned to leave, he thought of something and stopped.
"Since you're going to the Land of Whirlpools, help me complete a mission along the way... Tsunade is currently in the capital of the Land of Hot Water. Tell her to come to Otogakure. I want her to help me train several batches of top-tier medical ninja for me..."
"She doesn't plan to return to the village to help Konoha fight the war? Also, will she listen to you?" Ryun asked with a skeptical expression.
"Konoha is far from a life-or-death situation yet, she probably isn't that worried... Also, she might not listen to me, but she will most likely listen to you." Orochimaru now smiled somewhat slyly.
"I just want to have a good honeymoon. You really know how to trouble me..." Ryun complained with a headache.
"You are the Shadow-sama, after all..."
"Get lost!"
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