Chapter 670: Son Ryouka vs. Enma
Chapter 670: Son Ryouka vs. Enma
In the Rain Country, within the city of Six Paths.
The Shinshu Headquarters, Leader's Meeting Room.
"Teacher Son, I wish to accompany you as your bodyguard on your trip to the border," explained Yahiko, stating his intention.
Konoha had already held two negotiations with Shinshu, and with the news of Uchiha Danzo's actions spreading throughout the Shinobi World, the tense relationship between Konoha and Shinshu was no secret within the latter's village.
Additionally, Yu Sheng Mu had not specifically ordered the negotiation results to be kept confidential, so most of the middle and upper-level members of Shinshu were aware of Mu's plan to engage in combat with Enma.
Upon hearing this, Yahiko immediately became uneasy. After the battle, the Uchiha Danzo incident would be over, and it seemed that Konoha intended to use this as bait to assassinate Son Ryouka.
However, Yahiko believed that with Son's wisdom, he would not be fooled by Konoha's plan, and there must be a good reason for agreeing to these terms. Therefore, Yahiko did not question the negotiation itself; he only wanted to accompany them.
Yahiko did not doubt Son's abilities, but with the unpredictability of life, who could guarantee what Konoha might do?
Although he couldn't compare to the monstrous Nagato, he was still considered exceptional among Jonin.
Before Mu could respond, a series of knocks echoed from the door.
"Come in," Mu instructed, looking towards the entrance.
With Son's response, Akado entered the room.
Seeing Yahiko, Akado wasn't too surprised and addressed Son, "Have you arranged for the accompanying ninja? Include me, and let me witness your full strength."
Son's confidence was overwhelming, and he had personally claimed that when he defeated Akado, he hadn't even exerted two-thirds of his power. Akado was curious to know just how powerful Son truly was.
Akado was a well-traveled ninja, having even fought the God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama, although he had been effortlessly defeated. Nonetheless, he had the experience of combat.
Currently, Yuyu Mu was renowned throughout the Shinobi World, with many ninjas believing he had the potential to become the second God of Shinobi.
Akado wondered if Son could possibly be the second coming of Uchiha Madara, solely in terms of strength.
Just as Mu was about to speak, the knocking sound echoed again.
"Come in."
Nagato entered, seeing Akado and Yahiko inside and momentarily freezing.
"Teacher Son, I wish to accompany you to the border," Nagato stated, closing the door behind him and explaining his purpose when he saw that neither of them was speaking.
Nagato was the only one aware of the connection between Son and Yuyu Mu.
Nagato wasn't worried about Mu losing to Enma; Mu's strength was evident in any of his identities, indicating that his true power was even greater than what he displayed.
However, Nagato felt that Mu's position between Shinshu and Konoha would be challenging, and he was concerned about potential issues. Therefore, he wanted to accompany them.
Knocks echoed once more.
As soon as Nagato finished speaking, the knocking resumed.
Yahiko and Akado exchanged glances, wondering if there was another visitor.
"Come in," Mu said, opening the door.
Xiaonan and Laozi entered together.
Seeing the three people standing inside the office, the duo hesitated, their faces showing surprise.
"You go first," Laozi said to Xiaonan.
They had met on their way to the Leader's office and weren't together for the same reason.
"Teacher Son, I wish to accompany you to..."
As soon as Xiaonan began speaking, all four people in the office displayed strange expressions.
Xiaonan couldn't help but look puzzled, instinctively glancing at her clothing with her peripheral vision. She found it to be as neat and clean as usual, with no abnormalities.
"It's not that I don't want to agree, but if you all leave, who will handle the affairs of Shinshu?" Mu asked with a helpless smile.
Two or three people going was fine, but if too many of the middle and upper-level members left, who would manage the work?
Akado was about to say something when the knocking sound echoed again.
One after another, several of Shinshu's founding elders entered the office, expressing their desire to join the leader at the battle site.
Soon, the office was packed, leaving the last arrivals stunned.
"Alright, let's decide by drawing lots," Mu finally decided, drawing lots to take four people with him and then selecting five Shinshu ninjas with good performance to expose them to the world.
After all, these elders had traveled the Shinobi World with him, and he couldn't favor some over others.
Mu's decision was met with everyone's approval.
They also understood that they couldn't all go; as middle and upper-level members, if they all left, it would be problematic.
The drawing method was simple: numbers were placed in a box, and everyone drew a number. Only those who drew numbers one, two, three, or four could accompany Mu.
"Sun, do you have a way to see through the numbers?"
"Laozi wanted to cheat."
The reason was simple; he believed his strength to be the greatest, and if problems arose, he could help Son Ryouka. This was a well-intentioned act of cheating.
"I don't have such an ability," the Four-Tails shrugged, indicating his helplessness.
If it was about fighting, there would be no issue, but when it came to cheating by drawing lots, he truly couldn't find the corresponding ability.
Laozi had no choice but to draw honestly, but to his surprise, his luck was unexpectedly good that day, and he drew number four.
Additionally, Nagato drew number one, Kakudo number two, and Chika number three.
"Alas, my luck is terrible today," Yahiko sighed, running his hand through his hair.
He had drawn number five, just one number off.
"Even if I'm not there in person, I can still cheer for Teacher Son Ryouka in my heart," Xiaonan comforted.
After saying this, Xiaonan walked up to Son Ryouka and presented him with a paper flower, "I wish you all the best, Teacher Son Ryouka."
"Thank you," Yu Sheng Mu Yue smiled and accepted it, placing the flower on the office desk.
...
On the day of departure, the ninjas who didn't draw lots gathered to see Son Ryouka off.
Some of the more emotional ninjas even had watery eyes.
They weren't sure how strong Son Ryouka's strength was, but they knew that the Third Hokage was one of the pinnacle figures in the Shinobi World.
So, in the eyes of many, Son Ryouka had reluctantly agreed to this extremely dangerous battle to preserve Shinshu.
"You must work hard and train diligently to strengthen Shinshu quickly, so we won't have to bow to the five great ninja villages!" This was the thought on the minds of many ninjas seeing him off.
In their hearts, Son Ryouka was the greatest ninja in the Rain Country, even surpassing Hanzou.
Seeing their leader, the person they admired, in such a predicament, it was hard for them not to feel distressed.
"It's just a few days' trip, why does it feel like I won't be back for a long time?" Yu Sheng Mu Yue smiled and consoled the crowd.
After hearing these words, the Shinshu ninjas were even more touched. Indeed, their great leader, Son Ryouka, even in such a situation, maintained his composure to comfort them.
Yu Sheng Mu Yue was at a loss; in this situation, even if he said he could easily defeat Enma, it wouldn't help. These people had already assumed that he was sacrificing himself for Shinshu.
"Teacher Son Ryouka, please come back safely. I still want to hear your teachings on Shinshu philosophy," said a Shinshu ninja, reluctant to part.
These words instantly stirred the emotions of the ninjas seeing him off, and they all echoed the sentiment.
The nine ninjas who were going to the border with Yu Sheng Mu Yue also had solemn expressions, feeling the weight of their responsibility.
The importance of Son Ryouka to the Rain Country and Shinshu was undeniable.
Without a soul figure like Son Ryouka, could Shinshu still maintain its vitality? No one dared to give a definite answer.
"Don't worry, I'll be back soon," Yu Sheng Mu Yue gave all the Shinshu ninjas a warm and confident smile.
After saying this, Yu Sheng Mu Yue set off with Nagato and the others, heading east.
Along the way, Yu Sheng Mu Yue's main body arrived, and he took the opportunity to replace his Shadow Clone.
As Yu Sheng Mu Yue approached the mountain where the battle was to take place, he activated his Byakugan to sense his surroundings and discovered that Enma and his team had just started climbing the other side of the mountain.
Orochimaru and his negotiation team, having arrived early, were already halfway up the mountain.
Eventually, Yu Sheng Mu Yue's group and Enma's team reached the mountain's midpoint at approximately the same time.
Both sides stood facing each other, sizing each other up.
However, most of the attention from both sides was focused on their leaders; Enma for the Leaf Village, and Yu Sheng Mu Yue for Shinshu.
The Hokage was the pinnacle of the Shinobi World, and it was rare to see two Hokages from different villages together.
As for Son Ryouka, in the eyes of the Leaf Village ninjas, he was also a mysterious and powerful figure.
Suddenly appearing in the Rain Country, founding Shinshu, and stirring up the Rain Country's affairs, he quickly became famous in the Shinobi World.
"So this is the Third Hokage of the Leaf Village, what an imposing aura!"
Several less powerful Shinshu ninjas felt immense pressure just from being swept by Enma's sharp gaze.
"A battle between a Ninja Master and a Ninjutsu Professor, it's hard to imagine what's coming next," Kakudo thought to himself.
Kakudo had met the First Hokage but had never met the Third.
Although he hadn't met the Third Hokage, Kakudo had heard many stories about him.
It was said that this Hokage had mastered most of the Leaf Village's secret jutsu and possessed an unimaginable array of techniques. No one could suppress him in battle; instead, it was easy for him to suppress others.
However, Kakudo didn't think Son Ryouka would be suppressed by Enma. Based on Son Ryouka's performance in theory classes, his ninjutsu in other attributes should be equally impressive.
"Besides Orochimaru, even the Konoha Elder, Mizuhoto Monen, has come." Laozi noticed Enma's companion.
As a former enemy of Konoha, Laozi was not unfamiliar with this high-ranking Konoha figure.
After becoming a high-ranking official, Mizuhoto Monen rarely took action, but before that, he was also a famous genius ninja in Konoha.
Laozi was glad he came, otherwise, with so many powerful individuals on Konoha's side, if the battle turned unfavorable for Konoha, the one-on-one combat might be disrupted.
"So he's Son Ryouka? He's so young." Mizuhoto Monen observed, thinking of Yu Sheng Mu Yue's appearance after transformation.
Although Yu Sheng Mu Yue looked older than his original body after transformation, in Mizuhoto Monen's eyes, who was approaching old age, this was still considered young.
"Former bounty hunter Kakudo, the first genius of the Shinobi world, Nagato..." Mizuhoto Monen then shifted his gaze to the other Shinshu ninjas.
He didn't believe that such a young Son Ryouka could defeat Enma.
Defeating Danzo indeed required strength, but that was the extent of it.
Having prepared the antidote in advance, Mizuhoto Monen was also confident in defeating Danzo, and Enma's strength was even stronger than his.
"The strongest forces have all come, but I won't let you interfere with Enma's battle." Mizuhoto Monen assessed the strength of both sides and then completely put his mind at ease.
Whether it was individual or overall strength, their side was superior to Shinshu.
"I hope it doesn't get too ugly." Zhi Shui, standing beside Orochimaru, sighed inwardly.
He didn't want to see Shinshu and Konoha standing on opposing sides, but he also had no way to stop it.
Enma's gaze quickly swept over all the Shinshu members and finally rested on the ninja with short brown hair and a robe.
"It's an honor to meet you, Senior Enma." Yu Sheng Mu Yue smiled faintly and greeted him proactively.
Son Ryouka's action caught Enma off guard, as he had imagined Son Ryouka would be more anxious.
After all, the person he was about to face was the Third Hokage, who shook the Shinobi world, the leader of the strongest ninja village, and the true pinnacle of the Shinobi world.
"The honor is mine," Enma replied indifferently.
He didn't want to harm Son Ryouka, but Enma also knew that the death of Uchiha Danzo was mainly due to his own recklessness, and nothing would have happened if he hadn't attempted the assassination.
If one had to say what Son Ryouka did wrong, it was that his forces were too weak, and his over-defensive actions provoked a force he couldn't afford to offend.
"Shall we begin now?" Yu Sheng Mu Yue asked.
As he spoke, Yu Sheng Mu Yue gave Enma an appraisal.
His chakra was similar to the results from a few years ago, but there was some improvement in skills.
[Name: Enma]
[Skills: Combination Jutsu (Perfect Rank: 14000/15000), Fire Nature Transformation (Perfect Rank: 9000), Earth Nature Transformation (Perfect Rank: 7500), Lightning Nature Transformation (Perfect Rank: 6100)...]
When Yu Sheng Mu Yue first used his upgraded appraisal technique to examine Enma's skill panel, the dense array of skills left a deep impression on him.
At that time, he thought that if he had a skill panel surpassing Enma's, he wouldn't have to worry about survival and could do something he wanted to do.
Over the past four years, he had worked hard, and with a little help from the system, he now possessed skills no less than Enma's and even had several perfect-rank skills that Enma lacked.
He was indeed doing what he wanted to do, using his knowledge and abilities to bring some changes to this tragic world.
"Let's start now."
Enma looked at the Konoha ninjas, signaling them to retreat.
The battle between strong ninjas could be dangerous even for ordinary ninjas, just from the aftermath.
Yu Sheng Mu Yue also signaled the Shinshu side to retreat.
Enma's strength was formidable, and without any weak opponents, it was even more prominent, so Yu Sheng Mu Yue would show his true abilities.
Since Enma was taking the initiative to provoke, Yu Sheng Mu Yue didn't hold back. He also had some powerful abilities that hadn't been tested in actual combat.
Orochimaru stared intently at the battlefield, as he hadn't seen Enma fight personally in a long time.
PS: I made some changes to the description of No Limit in the previous chapter.
I accidentally remembered something incorrectly. It's not that No Limit can't defend against toxic gas, but when Gohei Doushi first learned the Reverse Technique and developed the Fully Automated No Limit, he couldn't effectively identify toxins and similar substances.
Also, why did I choose to teach Kakashi? Don't you think they're similar? () Of course, Kakashi also needed more techniques in my book's setting.
(End of Chapter)
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