Ninja Ice House

Chapter 558 Mixed joys and sorrows

Kurenai wanted to say a few more words to Karin, but their relationship was limited to this. They got along well as teacher and student, but taking it a step further would be difficult.

It's not that Kurenai Yuhi, as a teacher, was intent on ruining Karin's parents' relationship or trying to become the young master's wife.

But some things can't be ignored just by avoiding talking about them. Whenever Kurenai wanted to have a deep chat with Karin, she would look at her fair and innocent smiling face and swallow her words.

After seeing off the somewhat emotional Kurenai, Karin tidied herself up and went out to Myojinkan. Her friends had been soaking in the hot spring inn for quite a while and were probably getting impatient.

After entering, we first went to check out the hot spring pool where my younger siblings were playing, and told them not to play too wildly before entering the legendary volcanic mineral hot spring pool that is said to have beauty and skin-nourishing properties. Kurama Yakumo and Usami couldn't wait any longer.

Besides the two of them, there were also Hinata Hyuga, Sakura Haruno, and others, but they didn't stay long and left after talking for a while.

"Is the matter done?"

Hearing the commotion and seeing Karin approaching in her robe, he couldn't help but ask,

"It took so long!"

"It's quite troublesome, after all, it's a large system task."

Hundreds of people were directly involved, and thousands more may have been indirectly implicated.

For an average person, managing three to five people well is already quite an achievement. When that number increases by hundreds or thousands of times, it's impossible for an individual to handle it alone; many assistants are needed to help execute the plan.

Besides, Karin doesn't have complete control over many things. For example, the Konoha ninjas are, after all, the Fifth Hokage Tsunade's people, so they can't just obey Karin's every word. They can only be commanded indirectly through acquaintances.

There are just too many things that need to be coordinated. Some things can be left to Kurenai Yuhi and Hinode Togakushi, but not everyone is as wholeheartedly cooperative as they are.

"It's good that it's over for now! I think your father was just being lazy and wanted to dump things on you under the guise of 'training'..."

Karin smiled but remained silent after hearing this.

How much of this was valuable training, how much was due to the father, Gu Shanbu Shui, not wanting to appear directly, or whether there were other considerations requiring him to remain behind the scenes, remains unknown.

These things are not important. As long as we can successfully awaken Jiraiya without paying too high a price, we will consider it a success.

At this time, having a helper is indispensable.

Tenyujin, the Mangekyou Sharingan eye technique possessed by Uchiha Izumi, is a super insightful eye that can see entangled destinies and twisted bonds. In the ever-changing dream space, it is very necessary to break through the fog and find the key points to avoid unexpected complications and further trouble.

Putting aside other enhancements, this eye technique does provide a decent boost in combat, but its greatest function is actually auxiliary enhancement. The stronger the user, the more terrifying its power becomes.

Uchiha Izumi isn't particularly strong yet, but her companions are incredibly powerful. As long as she provides good support, they can easily win without any effort.

With a slight smile, Usami sighed softly:

"I've already told her about that over there... she has no objections, but she hopes to receive protection from the Gusugi family. In this turbulent era, a pair of 'wild' Mangekyou Sharingan, with the wielder not being particularly strong, is too dangerous..."

When empowered by special abilities, Uchiha Izumi truly possesses extraordinary combat power. The power of the Mangekyou Sharingan is domineering, and once Susanoo is activated, even the Five Kage will find it troublesome for a short period of time.

However, energy and chakra are limited, and eye power is even more limited. If one is as unrestrained as Itachi Uchiha and exhausts it prematurely, becoming blind and developing bloodline diseases, then it would be a huge loss.

The need for time and space to grow is a consensus among almost every genius ninja.

"This... it's not a big problem. It was caused by using a forbidden technique provided by our family, so proper treatment is only natural. However, the situation may not be as perfect as you think."

“Understood. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. I will offer my strength to serve the Gusugi family in exchange for the necessary protection.”

"Alright! No need to be so polite. We're companions after all. As long as we have a plausible reason, it'll be fine."

An individual is an individual, and a family is a family; this is something Karin only came to understand after she grew up.

As Karin grows up and becomes an adult, she becomes increasingly aware of the distinction between public and private interests. Every intelligent being has its own little calculations, but these are not entirely equivalent to the interests of the family as a collective.

As a princess, Karin can certainly draw money at will, but every time she acts willfully, it may come back to haunt her in various forms in the future.

The three of them leaned quietly against the edge of the pool, enjoying the hot spring water and steam nourishing their skin and bodies, while chatting.

After chatting casually for a while, Karin asked Kurama Yakumo:

"The Fifth Hokage already sent you to visit Jiraiya-sama, right? What were the results of the examination?"

Kurama Yakumo replied:

"At the time, the Fifth Hokage and Ms. Kurenai were both present, along with numerous members of the secret service monitoring the area. Overly aggressive methods couldn't be used. Judging from the observations, it was a mixed bag..."

"How to say?"

"From a macro perspective, the current timeline of the dream space is shortly after the end of the Third Shinobi World War. 'Yellow Flash' Minato Namikaze is vying for the position of Fourth Hokage. All three legendary Sannin of Konoha are still alive, and the Third Hokage is still going strong. It is almost the most powerful era for Konoha since the death of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. Apart from the deceased 'White Fang of Konoha,' Sakumo Hatake, it can truly be described as a land teeming with talent and masters..."

"Can't beat it!"

"A direct confrontation would be virtually impossible to gain an advantage. That era was full of geniuses who had emerged from the baptism of the two Shinobi World Wars. Their talent, strength, experience, combat power, and loyalty were all unshakeable. The possibility of internal infiltration and subversion was infinitesimally close to zero. Moreover, this was a dream space that had been beautified by Jiraiya's subconscious. For outsiders to enter, it was no longer a simple matter of fighting on 'away ground,' but they might even be rejected by the entire dream space..."

"Then... the pressure on your side will be even greater."

Karin, who had a headache, rubbed her forehead and then asked expectantly,

"What's the good news?"

Jiraiya is still unrequitedly pursuing Tsunade...

At this point, the three of them couldn't help but smile knowingly.

"Even in his dreams, our highly respected 'Toad Immortal' doesn't dare to dream of winning the heart of a beauty. He's really a bit... too naive and too cowardly."

Karin chimed in:

"And he's supposed to be a novelist known for his imagination? The 'Intimate Paradise' series sold so well, it turns out it was all just his own daydreams!"