Kakuriyo Space, Deep Forest Emergence

It truly lived up to its reputation as the capital of the Land of Fire.

Neither its size nor its prosperity was anything Konoha could match.

After all, although Konohagakure was the foremost of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, renowned far and wide and receiving plenty of commissions for all sorts of missions every day,

the village's share of the usual mission fees, along with its meager tax revenue, was nowhere near enough to support a ninja force numbering at least ten thousand.

Even when there was no war,

its finances still depended on funding from the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.

That was one of the means by which the daimyos of the various nations kept the ninja villages under their thumbs.

For example, after Suna Village's defeat in the Third Shinobi World War, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind had continually cut its funding under all sorts of pretexts.

This had forced Suna Village's Fourth Kazekage, Rasa—a Kazekage, of all people—to spend vast amounts of time and effort extracting Gold Dust from the desert to sell, struggling to keep the village's finances afloat.

"Innkeeper, two rooms..."

"Wait..."

Inside an inn.

Before Rikuto could finish,

Shizune, standing beside him, cut in. "Sorry, one room will be enough!"

Tsunade stood nearby with her arms crossed, showing no sign of objection.

It wasn't that she couldn't understand the difficulties her "finance minister" Shizune faced.

She might as well save some money.

Besides, Rikuto was still just a little kid who hadn't grown up.

There was nothing to be concerned about.

"..." Rikuto.

You're the ones who arranged this.

Chapter 46: Kakuriyo Space, Deep Forest Emergence

"Shizune, take Rikuto out for a look around!"

They had rented a room at the inn.

They had only just put their luggage away.

But Tsunade couldn't contain herself and promptly washed her hands of the matter.

"Wait, Lady Tsunade..."

Shizune couldn't stop her in time.

Tsunade ran off excitedly with the money she had tricked out of Rikuto.

She had visited the casinos in the capital of the Land of Fire countless times over the years, so naturally she knew her way around.

"Senior Sister Shizune, you'd better follow her and keep an eye on her!" Rikuto said helplessly. "Sister Tsunade's fear of blood is too much trouble..."

Shizune wasn't the only one who was worried.

To be honest, even he was a little concerned about Tsunade.

After all, a weakness like her fear of blood was enough to make anyone worry.

He knew perfectly well that Tsunade, as one of the Sannin, was incredibly powerful. Even a well-trained Jonin couldn't withstand a blow from her terrifying monstrous strength, and she could handle the vast majority of emergencies.

Even so, he couldn't help worrying that something might happen.

"But, Rikuto, you..."

Shizune hesitated, holding Tonton in her arms.

Rikuto was levelheaded and mature for his age, but he was still only eight.

"Don't you know how strong I am?" Rikuto said with a chuckle. "Even you aren't a match for me, Senior Sister!"

"Besides, my innate sensory ability is nothing to scoff at. I can come find you whenever I need to!"

"All right, Rikuto, be careful!"

Hearing Rikuto say that,

Shizune felt reassured. "If anything happens, remember to come find us!"

"Yeah, don't worry!"

Rikuto smiled.

They were going to stay in the capital of the Land of Fire for a few days anyway.

He wasn't in any hurry to go out and explore.

After all, he had experienced the even more prosperous twenty-first century.

Though the two were different in meaning,

and the customs and culture unique to the ninja world differed from those of modern cities,

right now, he was more interested in studying the Wood Release scroll the First Hokage had left behind.

He had to admit that some high-level Wood Release Ninjutsu did have their own unique qualities.

As a Logia Woods-Woods Fruit user, he could use them as a reference and imitate most of what they did.

But it was quite possible he was only copying their outward form.

They might not have the power of the originals.

"Swish... swish..."

After Shizune left,

he made sure no one was watching.

The enormous scroll was spread open.

Rikuto activated his Sharingan.

With his photographic memory,

he committed the Ninjutsu recorded on it

to memory one by one.

"Wood Release: Wood Clone, Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall, Wood Release: Silent Strangling Jutsu..."

Rikuto rapidly memorized one Ninjutsu after another, each usable only by someone possessing the rare and unique Wood Release Kekkei Genkai.

Before he knew it,

two hours had passed.

"That should do it. Time to give it a try!" Rikuto stretched, loosening his limbs.

The scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan

instantly transformed into a dazzling pattern.

"Ōnamuchi! Kakuriyo Space!"

In an instant,

Rikuto, who seemed to have done nothing at all,

vanished from where he stood at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Kakuriyo!

It was said to be the world where the gods dwelled.

It was a dimly colored parallel space of eternal, desolate silence.

From here, he could look directly outside. The bustling town all around appeared in three dimensions, taking it all in at a glance, with even every blade of grass and tree visible in minute detail.

Rikuto's vanished figure appeared there.

And he was still standing in the inn.

That meant

that simply by being in Kakuriyo,

Rikuto effectively had the field of vision of a Byakugan.

Although he couldn't personally watch in all directions without a blind spot,

in some respects, it was even more incredible than the Byakugan.

Looking at the translucent inn he could see straight through, as well as the surrounding streets and buildings, Rikuto chuckled. "I have to say, there's nowhere better to practice Ninjutsu than here..."

Ōnamuchi

was a Dōjutsu born from both his eyes together.

His left eye's ability could open Kakuriyo and allow him to enter it.

He could make part or all of his body intangible, or move directly through Kakuriyo.

His right eye's ability could even affect the outside world directly from the parallel space of Kakuriyo, launching attacks at a target that were invisible to the naked eye.

Moreover, unless someone possessed a Dōjutsu like the Sharingan or Byakugan, they couldn't see him.

Even sensory-type ninjas with outstanding perception

could only sense his Chakra.

It was a virtually unbeatable BUG ability.

Most importantly, while in Kakuriyo,

he effectively had the Byakugan's ability to see through things, allowing him to see directly through any obstruction.

Of course, it wasn't without limitations.

Over the past few days, Rikuto had tested it more than once and confirmed the extent of the parallel space of Kakuriyo.

It covered roughly a two-hundred-meter radius centered on him.

And more importantly,

it could continually change as its host moved, rather than remaining fixed.

"This would be a first-rate ability for peeping!"

Seeing a young man and woman in a room dozens of meters away, burning with passion and doing indecent things in broad daylight...

Rikuto's lips twitched.

He shook his head and paid them no attention.

"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"

Staring ahead,

Rikuto's gaze sharpened.

He showed no intention of forming Hand Seals.

With nothing more than a low shout, he thrust out his right hand and clenched it sharply.

"Swish... swish..."

In an instant,

within Kakuriyo Space,

vast stretches of ground split apart, and countless saplings surged out.

They grew at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In the blink of an eye, they became a mass of towering trees.

"Rumble-"