Chapter 273

The hands of the clock pointed exactly to the "6" position; the time was just right, not a minute more, nor a minute less.

Overtime? It is impossible to work overtime in this life.

"Poof!"

Ryosuke, wearing the Mizukage's haori and sitting behind the desk, pressed his palms together, then transformed into a puff of mist.

Clearly, the Ryosuke in the office was merely a Shadow Clone.

No way, right? No way?

With the Shadow Clone Technique available, surely no one would still come to work in person, right? (Manual doge head)

Just as Ryosuke's Shadow Clone vanished, a hurried knocking sound came from outside the Mizukage's office door.

"Knock! Knock! Knock!!"

The knocking was urgent; clearly, the person arriving knew of Ryosuke's rule of "leaving work on time."

After knocking in vain, the office door was pushed open.

A handsome, effeminate man with pale hair appeared in the office, shaking his head to himself as he looked at the empty room.

He looked up at the wall clock and found that the hand had just moved past "6," likely by less than a minute.

"This guy!"

Mangetsu Hozuki cursed under his breath, a flash of helplessness in his eyes.

But soon, Mangetsu Hozuki revealed a faint smile, as if he had grown accustomed to the Fourth Mizukage's unreliable behavior.

As the Anbu Leader, he naturally had matters to discuss with Ryosuke at this hour; seeing that Ryosuke was not in the Mizukage's office, Mangetsu Hozuki stopped bothering.

In truth, the matter he wanted to discuss was not major, but to show respect for the Mizukage, Mangetsu Hozuki chose to report on both big and small matters.

And to this, Ryosuke would often reply with a single sentence.

"Handle these trifles yourself; don't bother me."

Mangetsu Hozuki naturally did not take Ryosuke's words to heart; instead, he understood this as a sign of trust.

In the two years since succeeding as Anbu Leader, Mangetsu Hozuki and Ryosuke had worked together perfectly, and Mangetsu Hozuki admired Ryosuke's talent from the bottom of his heart.

In two years, Kirigakure had undergone earth-shaking changes.

Not only had its overall strength returned to the level before Yagura Karatachi's civil strife, but the entire village now presented a flourishing and prosperous state.

Under the internal reforms led by Ryosuke, the interests of the major ninja clans were balanced, and civilian ninjas were given opportunities to stand out.

The living conditions of both ninjas and civilians had seen qualitative improvements.

And with the constant support of the Ninja Cat clan, Kirigakure's medical ninja system had been perfected, and the village even possessed a "Ninja Cat Hospital" led by Ninja Cats specializing in Yang Release.

Within the village, a large group of talented civilian ninjas had emerged, such as Kisame Hoshigaki, Zabuza Momochi, Mei Terumi, Ringo Ameyuri,

and others; in time, these ninjas would inevitably become the pillars of Kirigakure.

As a member of the village, Mangetsu Hozuki was naturally happy about the village's changes.

Although on the surface, Ryosuke was just a "nine-to-six" salary thief every day, in reality, Mangetsu Hozuki clearly knew how much effort Ryosuke had contributed to Kirigakure's development.

Since Ryosuke was not here, Mangetsu Hozuki did not linger; he tossed a file onto Ryosuke's desk and turned to leave.

You say handle it yourself? That is impossible.

Even if it were just a few trifles, he had to let Ryosuke Mizunuki have a headache over them himself.

Thinking of this, Mangetsu Hozuki left the Mizukage's office happily.

In a corner of Kirigakure, a young man wearing a conical hat to cover his face suddenly shivered; did someone speak ill of him behind his back?

The young man took off his hood and veil, revealing an extraordinarily handsome face.

With a Shadow Clone to take his place at "work," Ryosuke's days were quite carefree.

Trivial matters were decided by the Shadow Clone; he only needed to provide ideas on the big picture.

Then he would distribute the tasks, offer some spiritual encouragement, describe a beautiful future to ignite the 996 spirit of his subordinates, and he could then

slack off, go shopping, and sleep.

A "boss," after all, should have subordinates do the work while he does nothing—ahem.

Returning to the point, after throwing a large amount of miscellaneous work to the Shadow Clone, Ryosuke did not relax himself, but instead constantly engaged in the research of secret techniques and the improvement of his strength.

After all, his own strength was the foundation; in two years, Ryosuke had developed several trump cards, which we will not mention for now.

Today was considered a rest day Ryosuke had arranged for himself.

Generally speaking, during this time, Ryosuke would patrol the village to see if any ninjas were slacking off.

Oh no, it was to inspect the village's livelihood conditions and understand current problems in the form of a "private visit."

This was also to remind himself at all times that a thousand-mile levee is destroyed by an ant hole; he must always pay attention to the most basic, bottom-level trifles...

Of course, it wasn't because he wanted to find some excitement and was wandering around with the mentality of a spectator!

Ryosuke skillfully put the conical hat on his head and walked slowly through the bustling crowd of Kirigakure.

Strangely, Ryosuke Mizunuki, who should have been exceptionally eye-catching, did not have a single person cast an extra glance at him at this moment.

This was not a coincidence, nor was it Ryosuke using the Magic Mirror Illusion to turn invisible.

Secret Technique: Idler's Retreat.

This was a Yin Release secret technique Ryosuke had developed by chance; once cast, it could lower one's "presence," causing people around to subconsciously ignore your existence.

Ryosuke walked through the crowd in this bored manner, casting glances at nearby people from time to time.

Suddenly, Ryosuke seemed to have discovered something, and a sharp glint burst forth in his eyes.

Beside a book stall not far ahead, he saw a familiar figure.

So Ryosuke moved silently toward this figure.

At this moment, an extremely beautiful young girl was having a headache over which of the books in front of her to choose.

This girl with chestnut-colored long hair looked to be only sixteen years old; one of her autumn-water-clear eyes was revealed on her fair cheek, while the other was covered by her long bangs.

At this moment, the girl's fair face was full of hesitation, her eyes drifting uncertainly over the book stall.

"Girl's Must-Kill Secret Manual: Make a Man Fall in Love with You After One Look!"

"Like Him but Don't Know How to Start? This Book Teaches You What to Do!"

"Mizukage Secret Transmission: The Untold Story of the Fourth and the Anbu Leader!"

"Land of Water Poll: The Man Girls Most Want to Marry!"

By the way, the person on the cover of the last book was none other than Ryosuke Mizunuki.

After some hesitation, the girl finally made up her mind!

Only children make choices; adults, of course, want them all!

At that moment, a sharp glint burst forth in the girl's eyes, and she took out her wallet from her bosom; just as she was about to pay,

suddenly, a hand rested on the girl's shoulder.

The girl's body suddenly tensed; a ninja's instinct made her subconsciously want to initiate a counter-action.

But when she glanced sideways and saw the ring on the finger of the large hand on her shoulder, she suddenly stopped.

"No way..."

The girl muttered to herself in her heart, her heart jumping violently twice.

Surprise, shyness, panic, secret joy...

Countless chaotic emotions surged into the girl's heart.

"Long time no see, Mei."

When Mei Terumi turned around, she saw the gentle face she had been thinking about day and night.