This puppeteer is a bit... well...

Chapter 186 Heading to the Land of Whirlpools (Please subscribe and vote with monthly tickets)

Kurenai likes me, but Yekura is not angry because she knows it; instead, she is worried that she can't compete with Kurenai.

For a moment, Long Er's mind was a little dazed.

He wasn't a clueless man; his usual straight-man behavior was just a joke. But he wasn't a Casanova either; he never dreamed of flitting between different beauties and building a harem.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that he doesn't particularly value romantic relationships between men and women.

If Yekura hadn't frequently conveyed her feelings to him, he might not have even thought about relationships yet.

This is why Yecang was unhappy when he clashed with Wanlijiang in the Great Rift Valley.

Because he didn't really care that much to begin with.

Gallo's subsequent confession left him bewildered, unsure how to respond.

Because before this, he felt nothing at all.

But before this matter was over, she heard that Hong also liked her.

He was even more confused.

Some might say, "Isn't it a good thing that so many outstanding women like you?"

You think that way because you really yearn for such a thing.

Some people might say, "If you don't even yearn for something like this, are you even a man?"

Ha ha!

It has nothing to do with whether or not someone is a man, but rather with whether or not one can possess such a person.

The easier something is to obtain, the less people care about it.

Ryuji is an example of this.

If he simply wanted women, he could make one every day without repeating the same one.

With such abilities, would he still think about having multiple women on one side and flitting between different women?

Obviously not.

So, faced with this situation, he was dumbfounded once again.

"Are you confused?" Yekura continued, "I clearly don't care about Kurenai, but I do care about Karura?"

Ryuji was still in a daze and didn't hear what Yecang was saying at all; he just nodded subconsciously.

"Of course it's because of our different statuses!" Ye Cang said. "Back then, I was just your teammate and friend, and I had no right to ask anything of you. But now, I'm your girlfriend, and naturally I don't want any other woman to compete with me for you."

"Does the logic still not hold water?"

"Because Hong is so gentle and considerate towards you, she would never do anything to make things difficult for you. Even if she likes you, she wouldn't try to take you away from me, because that would only annoy you."

"As for Wanlijiang, although the situation is different, the reason is the same: she cannot take you away from me."

In other words, cheating is fine, but you can't let your partner be stolen away!

Ryuji snapped out of his daze and, after hearing Yekura's subsequent words, made a mental summary.

He felt the girl's hands tightening their grip, and sensed that her feelings weren't as generous as she claimed.

She made concessions simply because her love for the man was too deep.

In that instant, Ryuji made a decision.

He took a deep breath and said, "I'll go and explain things to Garuro and Wanlijiang later. As for Hong... if she doesn't say anything, I'll just pretend I don't know!"

Ye Cang's body trembled slightly, and then he looked over in disbelief.

"Don't look at me like that," Ryuji chuckled softly. "Although I believe love is a feeling that brings warmth and joy, it's built on the foundation of both parties being willing to sacrifice for each other. You're willing to endure hardship for me, so how could I bear to let you endure hardship for me!"

"Ryuji..."

Yekura's orange eyes trembled, and tears streamed down her cheeks.

Upon seeing this, Long Er pulled her into his arms.

……

The next day.

Ryuji found Karura and Marie and explained the situation to them.

Gallo appeared disappointed and sad, but didn't say anything, only expressing understanding.

Wanlijiang ran away with tears in his eyes.

Although the girl knew that there were no feelings between her and Ryuji, she couldn't help but hope that feelings would develop over time.

Now, her hopes are dashed, and the girl's heart is broken.

Seeing the two girls' reaction, Ryuji felt a pang of guilt.

Sigh, why do I have to be so handsome and outstanding?

If I were more ordinary or less attractive, I probably wouldn't attract so many women!

After a sigh, Long Er composed himself and went back to continue his experiments.

……

Time passed slowly.

In the blink of an eye, a week has passed.

This week, Ryuji spent his mornings conducting experiments and his afternoons spending time with Yecang.

As their relationship blossomed, they also made significant progress in their research.

First up are the remakes of the mechanical bird and the steel fortress.

Because of the progress in the research on the essence of chakra and the significant breakthrough in chakra storage technology, the two mechanical beasts have become much more powerful.

Thanks to the improved energy source, Ryuji also underwent a comprehensive upgrade to other components, resulting in enhanced performance and a wider variety and greater power of its weapons.

And the enhanced armor...

While there has been no progress in Sage Transformation, there has been a significant breakthrough in chakra amplification. A method has been developed to keep chakra constantly active, unleashing greater power with the same amount of chakra, thus increasing Ryuji's strength by a full third.

The augmented armor is similar in style to exoskeleton armor, with soft armor only on the shoulders, hands, knees, belt, and knee pads, but without any connecting tubes.

This is a genuine ninja technology, which works through the array patterns on the armor.

Having created these three items, Ryuji was originally planning to press on and finish the remaining research, but a piece of news disrupted his plans.

……

"The Hidden Mist Village has attacked the Land of Whirlpools!"

During the roundtable discussion, the Third Kazekage revealed this surprising news.

The Land of Whirlpools, Whirlpool Village, is a village and country established by the Uzumaki clan. Their sealing techniques are extremely terrifying and are feared by all nations in the ninja world.

But everyone knows that the Land of Whirlpools and the Leaf Village are in cahoots, and attacking the Land of Whirlpools is tantamount to declaring war on the Leaf Village.

"And the result?"

Luo Sha asked impatiently.

"We haven't received any results yet, but Konoha's main forces are tied up in the Land of Earth, and they've only sent a few small teams to provide assistance," the Third Kazekage said.

"It seems the Land of Whirlpools is doomed," Ebizo sighed.

The Land of Whirlpools borders the Land of Fire. It has a large land area and rich soil, and Whirlpool Village is quite powerful.

But in the end, it was just a village established by a ninja clan, with a population of only a few hundred and a mere few dozen ninjas. Compared to Kirigakure, one of the five great ninja villages, it was nothing.

If Konoha had not sent reinforcements, the Land of Whirlpools would have been doomed.

"There's nothing we can do about it. Who told Konoha to be so reckless as to attack us before!" another councilor said.

Konoha was on the verge of victory in the war against Iwagakure, but they attacked the Sunagakure delegation instead. In the end, their attempt to gain an advantage backfired, resulting in heavy losses and turning what was supposed to be a victory into a stalemate.

It will take at least a year and a half to re-determine the winner.

"This is an opportunity!"

Long Er suddenly spoke, attracting the attention of everyone in the conference room.

"The Uzumaki clan inherited the sealing techniques passed down from the Sage of Six Paths, which are extremely powerful. We can take advantage of the Hidden Mist Village's attack on the Land of Whirlpools to legitimately seize them."

He thought to himself, "Even absorbing the exiled Vortex Clan."

However, news of the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools had not yet arrived, so he was only thinking about it in his mind.

"It's a sealing technique inherited from the Sage of Six Paths! No wonder it's so powerful!"

"It's more accurate to say that only this way makes sense!"

"If it's a sealing technique passed down from the Sage of Six Paths, then it's definitely worth risking war with Kirigakure to seize it."

"What are you afraid of? If the war breaks out on our home soil, there is no way that Wuying Village can defeat us. The initiative is in our hands."

Inside the conference room, everyone was talking animatedly.

The Third Kazekage nodded slightly: "In that case, let's gather the ninjas and head to the Land of Whirlpools to seize the sealing technique."

"Sending ninjas now is probably too late." Ryuji pondered for a moment. "As the saying goes, 'kick a dog when it's down.' There are probably quite a few ninja villages that think the same way as us. The ninja villages in the countries surrounding Uzushiogakure will definitely act faster than us."

Upon hearing this, everyone frowned.

The Third Kazekage pondered, "Then what should we do?"

"Let's drive the mechanical city."

After the delegation was sent back, the mechanical castle was parked high in the sky outside Sunagakure. If you took the mechanical castle there, it would only take half a day to get there.

Moreover, only the Mine Castle could snatch the final victory from Kirigakure and the other ninja villages that wanted the government to plunder it.

"Although it will affect the construction of the mechanical castle, there's no rush. Compared to the Sage of Six Paths' sealing technique, it's nothing." The Third Kazekage pondered for a moment. "In that case, I officially appoint Jonin Ryuji Ayaki as the leader, leading the elite puppet force and the mechanical castle to the Land of Whirlpools to seize the Sage of Six Paths' sealing technique."

"yes!"

(End of this chapter)