"What is it?"
Orochimaru watched as Ryoma took out the stone slab and the metal sphere.
Ryoma shook his head. "I don't know."
And so, Ryoma remained in the laboratory for a long time.
Of course, Ryoma had thousands of shadow clones scattered across the shinobi world, each carrying out missions in different villages.
Sometimes, he felt that the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique was the true bug of ninjutsu.
One Ryoma was effectively a thousand people.
In the laboratory alone, hundreds of Ryoma's clones worked side by side.
Each one possessed the knowledge and experience of a top-tier scientist—comparable to Orochimaru himself. The speed of experimentation was hundreds, even thousands of times faster than before.
The downside, however, was that Ryoma's real body—especially when accompanying Kushina—had to constantly maintain a clone active elsewhere. Clones would dispel themselves at random times, sending back memories and interrupting whatever he was doing.
A month passed.
Their research on the stone slabs and the metal sphere had produced very few results.
But Ryoma's knowledge continued to grow.
At this point, his theoretical foundation and experience had already surpassed Orochimaru.
Now, in the lab—
Orochimaru watched Ryoma writing talisman-seals across an open scroll. He recognized traces of a familiar style.
"This is… the formula for evolving the Flying Thunder God Technique, isn't it?"
Orochimaru stroked his chin. "But the structure also resembles the Attachment Technique in some parts."
"Sharp as always."
Ryoma continued drawing without looking up. "I want to take the Flying Thunder God—no, space–time ninjutsu itself—and turn it into something civilians can use."
"What?"
Orochimaru snapped his head toward him, staring as though Ryoma had lost his mind.
"That's impossible."
The source of all ninjutsu, chakra, did not exist in everyone. Most people in the world were ordinary civilians; only a small minority were capable of molding chakra—ninjas.
To shinobi, chakra was controllable, but still dangerous. Chakra that didn't belong to one's own body was even more volatile; the slightest mistake could cause severe internal damage.
Even medical ninjutsu, despite its gentle nature, demanded extremely high chakra control before one could practice it safely.
Yet Ryoma's idea wasn't just to let ordinary people handle external chakra—he wanted them to use space–time ninjutsu.
Even the current Heavenly Transfer Technique—which allowed long-range, mass teleportation—required the teleporter's own physical stamina to stabilize the process. Ordinary civilians would quite literally fall apart if subjected to such instantaneous speeds.
"Nothing in this world is impossible."
Ryoma wasn't speaking on impulse. He had already invested considerable time into studying space–time ninjutsu. He had long planned to establish a transportation system for the entire shinobi world.
After all, the saying went: to get rich, build roads first.
Space–time ninjutsu in the Naruto world was fundamentally different from the technologies of the modern era. There was no need to dig tunnels or carve out roads like in his previous life. If Ryoma truly succeeded in adapting these techniques for civilian use, the world would become countless times more convenient and advanced than the modern society he once knew.
Moreover, Ryoma had just unified the entire shinobi world. The great villages were spread across a vast continent, separated by mountains and rivers. For governance, coordination, and resource distribution, the distance between them was a major obstacle. A device capable of instantaneous space–time communication made perfect sense.
As Ryoma calmly explained his plan, Orochimaru's shock deepened. His earlier doubts about Ryoma's theoretical knowledge gradually faded away.
"If Ryoma really develops a device that lets ordinary people use space teleportation… the entire world will change. The continent will truly become one."
"So that's the scale of your vision…"
Orochimaru exhaled, feeling a trace of self-mockery.
"How can I help?"
With his extensive research experience in ninjutsu and science, he volunteered himself without hesitation.
"Yes, pass me that pair of scissors. This scroll is too long."
Orochimaru: "…"
I'm a world-class scientist, and you want me to… pass scissors?
Another month passed quietly.
Ryoma's workload in the laboratory continued to grow.
One project was the civilian adaptation of the Flying Thunder God Technique.
The other was Kushina—or rather, her lack of progress.
Kushina had begun to blame herself. It had been more than three months, and despite her daily exercises and efforts, she still wasn't pregnant.
She desperately wanted to be a mother—to have a daughter like Sarada someday—and that lingering disappointment weighed heavily on her heart.
Ryoma, wanting her to find joy again, made this his highest-priority personal project.
Meanwhile—
Opposition against Ryoma inside the major shinobi villages had been thoroughly purged. The remaining factions had joined the Shinobi Alliance as previously planned.
Since Kumogakure was the first to join the Alliance and not only avoided losses but gained many benefits, the other three villages were filled with envy.
Now, inside the Hokage Building, Hatake Sakumo was reading aloud a scroll sent by the Alliance.
Its content demanded that Ryoma "deeply recognize his mistake of starting the war," "liberate the villages," and "assume responsibility for the destruction."
"Jumping-beam clowns," Ryoma sneered.
Though the four major villages—excluding Konoha—had suffered heavy losses, the shinobi world was now unified. In the long run, unification was a benefit to all. Even if there were problems, time would reveal the truth.
The arrogance dripping from the scroll was almost laughable. Especially when they claimed they would oppose the Alliance. Ryoma could already sense their foolishness.
As the saying went: even a rotten ship still has three pounds of iron.
He wasn't sure how many forces the Five Daimyō had managed to muster… but did they not understand? If it came down to a fight, Konoha wouldn't even need to act. The elderly, the infirm, and the recovering shinobi from the Four Great Villages would be more than enough to deal with them.
"My lord, the Daimyō of the Five Nations and their supporters say they wish to meet with you once the war officially begins," Sakumo said. "What are your thoughts?"
Just then, a familiar mechanical chime echoed in Ryoma's mind.
[Ding! Based on the host's current circumstances, three choices are available!]
[Option 1: Reject the meeting. Immediately eradicate the Daimyō of the Five Nations.
Reward: A-rank ninjutsu — Wind Blade.]
[Option 2: Agree to the meeting. Accept the solicitation of the Five Daimyō and establish the World Guardian Shinobi Unit.
Reward: A-rank ninjutsu — Telescope Technique.]
[Option 3: Agree to the meeting. Reject the solicitation of the Five Daimyō, and eliminate the Five Nations Alliance.
Reward: S-rank Summoning Inheritance — Shikkotsu Forest!]
...
TN:
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