The next morning arrived quickly.
Hyuga Ruri, following her orders, hurried towards the eastern Port Town in the Land of Fire. She had a mission to fulfill.
Meanwhile, Hatake Sakumo had been sitting in his living room since dawn, waiting anxiously. He was expecting news from the Konoha leaders.
"Sakumo-sensei."
A figure appeared in the courtyard outside the open doorway. It was a young man with striking golden, choppy hair and a kind face.
"Jonin Minato Namikaze..."
Hatake Sakumo stood up to greet the rising new Jonin, his son Kakashi beside him.
"Minato-sensei!"
Kakashi, fresh out of the academy, wore a gleaming Forehead Protector. He had been eagerly waiting for his assigned Jonin instructor to arrive.
After a brief exchange of greetings, Minato Namikaze left with Kakashi, who was bursting with enthusiasm. Hatake Sakumo watched them go, his mind troubled.
He had always preferred to keep to himself, but his weakness had forced him to choose a side. " I hope… this is a good thing…"
Hatake Sakumo sighed and went back inside.
----
Time passed quickly.
In the Land of Fire's eastern Port Town, where Sarutobi Ryo was, big changes happened in just a few days.
Sarutobi Ryo acted swiftly and decisively, completely wiping out the Yakuza gangs. As more criminals were killed, new bosses were promoted, and fresh faces joined, the Yakuza's rules changed dramatically.
This Yakuza group had started as a small dock operation, exploiting ordinary people. Later, a female ninja from the Twelve Guardian Ninja turned it into her personal property. Now, after Sarutobi Ryo stepped in, the local Yakuza had become a legitimate Transportation Company.
This company would pay taxes to the Land of Fire's government, just like any other legal business.
The world of Naruto does have Transportation Companies, like Gato, who became a wealthy and famous figure through his shipping business. This shows how profitable the business can be.
Even Jiraiya and Kakashi had bankbooks, showing that the world has a realistic economic structure.
Compared to a shady dock operation, a Transportation Company was the future of the Port Town.
Sarutobi Ryo's actions led to legends spreading about him. People whispered about a "Black Grim Reaper" who had become the new Yakuza boss.
Sarutobi Ryo hadn't needed to do much. To ordinary people, a Jonin-level Ninja was like a monster.
He simply reorganized the local Yakuza, putting Yamanaka Hui in charge of most of the work. She really took to the Yakuza life, quickly turning the local gangs into one unified group.
Sarutobi Ryo could easily guess how she had done it.
From that day on, Sarutobi Ryo had his own real business.
For a Ninja, strength is vital. But earning a living is just as important.
Sarutobi Ryo didn't have to worry about food, clothes, or other daily needs.
Money is like wings for a man. Money might not be everything, but you can't do anything without it.
----
A week flew by.
Yamanaka Hui, who had fully embraced the Yakuza life, had become a real Big Sister.
In the suburbs stood a magnificent Manor. The Manor that used to belong to that woman now belonged to Sarutobi Ryo.
Yamanaka Hui took out a bankbook and placed it in front of Hyuga Ruri. Since Ruri had arrived, Yamanaka Hui had pulled her in to help, which sped up the unification of the Yakuza.
The Hyuga Clan's Byakugan can see up to 10 kilometers. It's very useful for catching people or finding locations.
"Ruri, this is your share, okay? Thanks for your hard work."
Now that they had a legitimate shipping company, everything was running smoothly.
Yamanaka Hui had also ordered her subordinates to keep their mouths shut. She didn't want to alert their targets, so they could successfully meet with the Kirigakure Ninja and begin the assassination plan.
"..."
The white-eyed girl with a flat chest looked at the bankbook in her hand, her expression changing. They were giving her too much money.
She had never seen so much money since becoming a Ninja.
"Money can be a bad thing, but it also brings happiness. Okay… Ruri, go wander around today, buy whatever you want..."
Yamanaka Hui patted her teammate on the shoulder. She had always been like an older sister to Hyuga Ruri. Ruri had a sad past and was very depressed, so Yamanaka Hui naturally showed her extra love and care.
As Hyuga Ruri turned to leave, Yamanaka Hui waved at her. "Be back on time before tonight… don't get carried away."
Tonight was the time for action.
"I'll go see how Young Master's training is going..."
Yamanaka Hui put away the other bankbooks and hurried into the Manor's Underground Space.
----
Down below, the underground space was large and open.
Sarutobi Ryo sat cross-legged in the center, with more than 10 identical copies of himself sitting in front of him.
This was the "Shadow Clone Cheat Training Method."
The idea was to create Shadow Clones and have them train in Chakra nature transformation.
Since Shadow Clones can send their memories, experiences, and knowledge back to the original, it's like one person being able to do many things at once.
It's like upgrading from one computer to using many computers at the same time.
Over the past week, Sarutobi Ryo's main body had been staying here. Only one of his Shadow Clones had gone out.
Training with multiple Shadow Clones is like using a "multiple experience cheat."
One Shadow Clone can increase training speed by 1x.
Ten Shadow Clones can increase training speed by more than 10x.
In the original story, Uzumaki Naruto used this trick to master the Wind Release: Rasengan Shuriken, an S-rank technique, in just one week.
In theory, the more Shadow Clones you create, the faster you can train.
But there's a catch: "Chakra quantity."
Unless a Ninja is a Jinchuriki or has a rare gift, their Chakra quantity is limited.
The less Chakra you have, the fewer Shadow Clones you can create, and the riskier it is to use the technique.
Sarutobi Ryo, as a member of the Sarutobi Clan, has a strong body and a lot of Chakra, but not as much as a Jinchuriki.
Using 10 Shadow Clones to train is enough to maintain his basic combat level, so he can defend against enemies at any time.
And compared to Uzumaki Naruto, Sarutobi Ryo has a big advantage: his intelligence and the Ninjutsu Doctor talent he inherited from Sarutobi Hiruzen.
A sharp mind and talent let him understand techniques very quickly.
It's not too hard for him to break down, analyze, and rebuild a technique.
So, Sarutobi Ryo's training speed this week has been very fast.
The Shadow Clones, combined with his high intelligence, have brought about very good results.
After a week of hard training, Sarutobi Ryo's main body and Shadow Clones were giving off a refined aura.
In the main body's right eye's vision, the Chakra flowed around the 10 Shadow Clones in front of him.
It looked like a stream of air or a thin film forming on their skin.
This "force field"-like "membrane" was Sarutobi Ryo's training result: Steel Release Bloodline Limit!