Half a year later.
"We can basically confirm it. The ninja who has been killing large numbers of our Otogakure ninja in the Land of Rain is Konoha's S-Class Rogue Ninja, Uchiha Itachi."
The Anbu captain of Otogakure reported the war situation to Ryun.
"This guy is notorious in the Land of Fire. He slaughtered his own clan, killed his parents. He is a vicious criminal of the worst kind..."
Listening to the Anbu captain's report, Ryun's face couldn't help but show a somewhat amused expression.
"My esteemed teacher, how did he deal with encountering Uchiha Itachi?"
Since the war began, Orochimaru had not let Ryun take action even once. He was clearly treating Ryun as the final trump card in this training exercise, one that would not be used until the absolute last moment.
In this lifetime, Orochimaru's body had undergone a transformation through the Dragon Vein and sublimated into a 'dragon', successfully mastering the Sage Mode of Ryūchi Cave. As long as he faced Uchiha Itachi, Orochimaru would definitely not be instantly defeated as easily as in the original story.
Furthermore, Ryun had taught him how to quickly break free from the Sharingan's genjutsu restraints. He had even left a ocular technique within Orochimaru's eyes, to protect Orochimaru's mental safety at critical moments.
As long as Orochimaru wasn't suppressed by a genjutsu genius like Uchiha Itachi, even if he encountered the Six Paths of Pain, he could probably manage to fight them to a standstill...
In fact, what Ryun didn't know was that the Animal Path Pain and the Deva Path Pain had already fought Orochimaru. The cunning Orochimaru, after gathering considerable intelligence on Pain's abilities, decisively chose to temporarily avoid a direct confrontation.
On that battlefield in the Land of Rain, the Six Paths of Pain primarily targeted the allied forces of the Land of Lightning, Land of Wind, and Land of Water. Seeing that Ryun had not taken action since the Land of Rice's declaration of war, he didn't dare to excessively slaughter the Otogakure ninja troops for fear of provoking the Land of Rice too much and causing an enraged Ryun to personally enter the battlefield.
His plan was to deal with the three-nation alliance first, and only then could he devote his full energy to confronting Uchiha Ryun. So, the current situation was not the right time for a decisive battle from Nagato's perspective.
"The Sound Shadow has already clashed with Uchiha Itachi once... The opponent possesses the Mangekyō Sharingan. The two of them fought to a draw..." The Anbu captain reported truthfully.
"Oh? He can fight Uchiha Itachi to a standstill now..." Ryun smiled and nodded. It seemed his efforts in teaching Orochimaru so much about the Sharingan hadn't been in vain...
"Another point is, the Sound Shadow proactively revealed the information about Uchiha Itachi being in Amegakure. The Konoha side has clearly received this news..." The Anbu captain offered another important piece of intelligence.
"Huh... Was teacher provoked by Uchiha Itachi? Or does he want Konoha to also join the fight against Amegakure?"
A look of surprise appeared on Ryun's face, but he immediately dismissed the possibility himself.
"No. Konoha is currently still locked in a fierce battle with Iwagakure. Most likely, they will just turn a blind eye. They wouldn't target Amegakure over the issue of Uchiha Itachi."
"The Shadow is truly worthy of being called a 'God'. You never leave your home, yet you can understand the major trends of the ninja world... You are absolutely correct. Konoha indeed has not made any response regarding the Uchiha Itachi issue." The Anbu captain expressed sincere admiration.
"Currently, the Sound Shadow has captured six towns in the Land of Rain. Our Otogakure is progressing steadily. Amegakure is mostly adopting a defensive strategy against us now. Their main offensive focus seems to be on the three-nation alliance forces..."
"Mm... I understand!" Ryun nodded, having gained a general understanding of the situation in the war between the Land of Rice and the Land of Rain.
Not long after the Anbu captain left Ryun's home, Kakuzu and Sasori of the Red Sand finally brought Hidan to his doorstep!
"Hey, is this the so-called 'Illusory Sun Dragon God' you said could rival the great Jashin? He's just a tall, pretty boy... Doesn't look like much, huh? Someone like this dares to be considered a god on the same level as the great Jashin?"
Hidan immediately pointed at Ryun's face, belittling and mocking him.
"!!!"
"Bastard! Do you really have a death wish? What did I tell you before we came here?" Kakuzu grabbed Hidan by the collar and shouted at him.
"Boss, how about we just kill this mad dog... I've had enough of him on the journey here..." Sasori of the Red Sand suggested.
"Hey, hey, hey, who are you calling a mad dog? You're the mad dog, your whole family are mad..."
Thwip...
Before Hidan could finish his retort, Ryun executed a lightning-fast Chidori hand chop. One of Hidan's arms was immediately severed.
Kushina and her daughter weren't home at the moment, so he wasn't worried about bloodshed in the house.
"!!!"
When they saw Ryun's expressionless face and his sudden, cold attack, Kakuzu and Sasori were both greatly startled by the abrupt move.
After reacting, the two quickly stepped aside.
Hidan brought this upon himself; they couldn't be blamed. Their mission was to find and bring back Hidan. Whatever Ryun decided to do with him next was none of their concern.
"Ah... It hurts, you bastard! I'm gonna kill you!"
After having his arm brutally severed by Ryun, Hidan ignored the blood gushing from his shoulder and, with a frenzied expression, immediately drew his scythe, ready to fight him to the death.
However, before he could even swing the scythe a few times, Ryun seized the opportunity and delivered another hand chop.
Another thwip sound, a scalp-numbing noise, and Hidan's other arm instantly fell onto the grass.
After suffering two severe injuries in quick succession, Hidan involuntarily retreated a few steps, a look of fear finally appearing on his face.
This person in front of him was terrifyingly strong, and his attack speed was incredibly fast. He hadn't even warmed up yet, and both his arms had been chopped off by the guy!
Without arms to wield his scythe, he didn't know how to fight to the death anymore...
"What are you afraid of? Where did all that arrogance from calling me a pretty boy go?"
Ryun stared expressionlessly at the rapidly retreating Hidan.
"Bastard! You think I'm afraid of you? I wasn't even ready yet and you launched a sneak attack! A shameless guy like you dares to call himself a god!" Hidan snarled viciously.
That fearless, desperate spirit instantly sent chills down the spines of Kakuzu and Sasori, who were watching from the side.
This guy with the immortal body truly didn't value his own life at all...
Whoosh!!!
Ryun's figure vanished instantly, reappearing right in front of Hidan.
He leisurely stretched out a leg and kicked towards Hidan's thigh. His movement speed was astonishingly fast, but the kick itself wasn't particularly quick. Hidan instinctively raised his left leg to block.
Thud... Crack...
Faced with a sweeping kick containing terrifying strength, the bone in Hidan's left leg, used to block the attack, instantly snapped.
Whoosh...
As the immense force fully connected, Hidan's entire body was sent flying like a cannonball. But before he could crash into the courtyard wall, Ryun, moving later but arriving first, precisely grabbed Hidan's right leg with his keen eyesight.
Crack...
The Dragon Claw Hand exerted its fierce power. The clear, crisp sound of shattering bone immediately erupted from Hidan's right leg!
"Ah...!"
A deafening, piercing scream suddenly rang out in the Shadow Mansion's garden.
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