Originally, he had been proudly showing off that his village's Jinchūriki had grown up and could stand on their own. But after what was said, he instantly lost all enthusiasm.
"Ryun, ahem, let's discuss the war situation outside instead," Ōnoki said, rubbing his forehead helplessly.
What the other person said wasn't wrong. Blocking tens of thousands alone, slaying three thousand, and easily defeating two Jinchūriki—compared to that, there really was nothing to boast about.
"Right now, Yugito is leading five thousand troops stationed at the border. Today, about a thousand were killed on our side, and another thousand were injured. The remaining combat-ready forces number at least three thousand." Ōnoki's eyes burned with a provocative glint.
Uchiha Ryun glanced at him. He wasn't stupid. He was here to mediate, not to fight for Iwagakure.
"So, currently, the enemy has only sent one Jinchūriki and five thousand troops?" Ryun extracted the key information.
Ōnoki's heart skipped a beat. It seemed Ryun wouldn't be easily fooled. He nodded. "Yes."
"I remember Kitsuchi said that if we made Kumogakure retreat, Iwagakure would pay Konoha materials worth three hundred million ryō, right?" Ryun said with a faint smile.
Ōnoki looked at Kitsuchi, his eye twitching. 'I told you to drive away the tiger by luring the wolf, but instead, you brought fire to our doorstep? Three hundred million just to make them retreat?'
Kitsuchi nodded helplessly. He hadn't expected Ryun to be so unreasonable. Three hundred million ryō—wasn't that enough to help them fight Kumogakure?
"Alright, I understand. Tomorrow, I'll personally go to the battlefield and persuade the enemy to retreat." After saying that, he was about to ask where he could find a bed, as he was a bit tired. He didn't act like an outsider at all.
Ōnoki gave Kitsuchi a look, and Kitsuchi understood. He led Ryun to Iwagakure's most luxurious guesthouse and even asked if he needed "special services."
Ryun gave him a sidelong glance. 'Is this a service? This is clearly a scheme to get my bloodline! Would he fall for it? You're testing an official like this? What kind of official can't pass such a test?'
So Ryun said righteously, "Sorry, I'm already married. My wife doesn't allow me to fool around outside."
Kitsuchi gave him a strange look. He stared at Ryun for a while, then at a certain part of his body, clicked his tongue three times, and shook his head.
Ryun flew into a rage out of humiliation. "Get lost!" With that, he threw Kitsuchi out and locked the door, preparing to sleep.
The Next Morning
Ryun got up and pushed open the door, intending to have some breakfast. However, the food here was unbearably bad—things like mushrooms and fried scorpions. It completely killed his appetite.
He couldn't help but wonder, 'Bro, the Land of Earth is rich in mineral resources, but is this really all you eat? You have so much money, yet you eat like this?'
He sighed and took out some venison that Manda had hunted for him in Ryūchi Cave from his storage scroll, grilling it outside.
Sizzle—oil dripped, making the passing villagers drool. This handsome young man could even grill meat.
Ryun skillfully brushed oil and added seasoning. Soon, the aroma spread throughout the street. However, because of the Konoha forehead protector he wore, even though everyone was envious, they didn't dare approach to ask.
And so, under everyone's jealous gazes, Ryun finished a simple breakfast and then went to greet the Tsuchikage before heading to the front lines.
The Battlefield
What he didn't expect was that both sides were already fighting.
On one side was Iwagakure's defense team, led by Han. On the other was Kumogakure's invasion force, led by Yugito. While the two Jinchūriki were tacitly restraining each other, the shinobi below were also engaged in battle.
"Lightning Release: Earth-Style Rampart!"
"Earth Release: Stone Spear!"
"Lightning Release: Crackling!"
"Earth Release: Splashing!"
The battlefield was intense. Kitsuchi followed behind Ryun, about to join the fight, but Ryun stopped him.
Kitsuchi looked at him in confusion. Ryun signaled, 'Watch me.' He took a deep breath and shouted, "Stop—stop fighting! Stop it now—"
Before he could finish, a shuriken flew toward him. "Shut up! Stop yapping nonstop!"
Ryun was stunned. He looked at the shinobi—his forehead protector marked him as a Kumo-nin. He caught the shuriken and turned to Kitsuchi, pointing at the man. "He's talking about me?"
Ryun pointed at himself. Kitsuchi was torn between laughter and tears. Then he saw Ryun flick his finger.
"Wood Release: Piercing Wood Technique!"
The Kumo-nin was impaled by a sudden wooden spike, his eyes wide in shock. The Iwa-nin fighting him froze, then swiftly decapitated him with a shuriken and looked over.
Seeing Kitsuchi, the Iwa-nin immediately said, "Lord Kitsuchi, you're here!"
Just as Kitsuchi was about to smile in response, a bolt of lightning flashed—piercing the Iwa-nin's chest. Kitsuchi's pupils shrank in fury. "You bastard!"
Ryun looked at the attacker. He didn't feel much emotion—after all, this wasn't a Konoha shinobi.
However, this shinobi was dark-skinned and looked somewhat like the future Fifth Raikage, Darui. No, Darui wasn't born yet in this era. This was probably one of his elders.
The Kumo-nin saw Kitsuchi's rage and shook his head. On the battlefield, no one knew if death would come the next second—himself included. So there was no point in getting too emotional. It would only lead to unnecessary grief.
But when he looked at Ryun, he frowned. This person seemed familiar—probably not someone to mess with. So he threw down a smoke bomb and immediately retreated.
Kitsuchi wanted to chase, but Ryun grabbed him. "Come back. If something happens to you, I'm afraid the old man Ōnoki will get mad at me, and I won't get my money."
Kitsuchi wanted to argue, but then Ryun's eyes transformed into the six-tomoe rinnegan pattern of the Mangekyō Sharingan. An oppressive aura washed over him, and he gulped. "I understand!"
Ryun nodded. Then, he clapped his hands together.
"Wood Release: Wood Human Technique!"
The ground trembled violently as countless vines burst from the cracked earth, converging into a giant wooden figure. Everyone on the battlefield froze.
Ryun clapped again. "Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique!"
More trees gathered, forming a five-clawed wooden dragon that coiled around the wooden giant, glaring down at the battlefield.
Inside Yugito and Han, Matatabi and Kokuō stiffened simultaneously. They looked at Ryun, and terror surged in their hearts.
'It's him!' they both thought, shaken.
"Now, can you stop and listen to me?" Ryun took out the Flame Fan from his system space, slung it over his back, crossed his arms, and coldly stared at the two commanders below.
One was Yugito, the Two-Tails Jinchūriki of Kumogakure. The other was Han, the Five-Tails Jinchūriki of Iwagakure.
The two stood there obediently, looking at Ryun. Han even threw his kunai and weapons to the ground, pulling down his mask to smile at Ryun.
"If you fight Yugito later, you can't fight me, right? Lord Uchiha Ryun!" Han said, acting like a bootlicker.
Yugito's mouth twitched as she stared at Han. Inside her, Matatabi muttered, "Maybe… maybe we should surrender too…"