Uchiha Madara and Ōnoki ended in a "draw". The Iwagakure forces were just outside the Land of Fire's border. Uchiha Madara stood at the edge, looking at Ōnoki's panting state.
Ōnoki was speechless. How was Uchiha Madara like a perpetual motion machine? He could match his every move, and each time his power was just about the same as his own. Truly worthy of being Uchiha Madara.
Uchiha Madara did not speak. He shook his head. This guy was not up to it either. How boring. He looked again at the Iwagakure troops and sighed. He had promised Ryun not to act recklessly. Otherwise, he would have found some amusement on this very troop!
He looked in the direction where Ryun's army had advanced. He did not know if they were having a good time over there. He himself was very unsatisfied.
The Next Day
Ryun and his group followed the map given by Ōnoki and had arrived at the base of the Earth Daimyō's capital city. The guards atop the capital were greatly alarmed. They immediately closed the city gates, drew their bows, and aimed their arrows at Ryun and the others.
Furthermore, someone went to inform the Daimyō. The Daimyō's eyes widened. "What? Ōnoki? Where the hell is he!"
"Reporting, Lord Daimyō, Ōnoki encountered Uchiha Madara and cannot advance an inch!" A messenger reported.
"Uchiha Madara!! What kind of joke is that! Isn't that guy dead?" The Daimyō did not pay much attention to the affairs of the shinobi world, only concerning himself with his country's money, grain, and governance.
"It's absolutely true, Lord Daimyō!" The messenger said urgently, kneeling on the ground trembling.
"Hmph! Immediately tell Ōnoki to withdraw his troops and defend the capital. The rest of you, come with me to the city wall to block the Konoha shinobi's attack."
Outside the city gate, Ryun coldly watched all of this. He waved his hand. Maruboshi Kosuke stepped forward and formed hand signs.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
A massive water dragon materialized out of thin air. Its body was larger than the city wall. The samurai and soldiers of the Earth Daimyō's capital felt their legs go weak. Holy shit, isn't this Water Dragon Bullet a bit too big!
But Maruboshi Kosuke paid no mind to their astonishment. He controlled the water dragon and sent it charging toward the capital's main gate!
The water dragon roared and rushed at the gate. The gate was shattered in an instant. The water dragon bullet transformed into a vast expanse of water, flooding the ground of the capital. For a time, the entire capital was filled with water.
The guards on the city wall hastily retreated. They prepared to take the Daimyō and leave. Where there is life, there is hope!
As a result, Ryun clapped his hands together. "Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!" A great fire rushed into the capital, instantly vaporizing the accumulated water. The scalding steam burned the soldiers!
Immediately, the air was filled with cries of misery. After the water on the ground was vaporized, everyone, led by Ryun, charged into the Earth Daimyō's capital.
This was a one-sided slaughter belonging to Konoha. In less than thirty minutes, Ryun led his men to block the entrance of the Daimyō's palace. The Daimyō at this moment was sweating profusely.
This was just too damn fast! What should he do? He was somewhat disoriented, his heart pounding wildly. Was he going to die here today?
Ryun laughed. "Daimyō, come out!"
The Earth Daimyō's face was ashen. However, he maintained the demeanor of the royal family perfectly. Suppressing the fear in his heart, he walked towards the entrance.
"How dare you! A mere Hokage, how dare you show disrespect to the Daimyō! You have the gall!" The steward of the Daimyō's palace shouted angrily.
A flash of blade light followed. The steward's head separated from his body.
Ryun frowned. "Sakumo! You are too rude! Who allowed you to do this!" On the surface, Ryun was scolding Hatake Sakumo, but in his heart, he was giving him praise.
"My apologies, Lord Hokage. That dog insulted you. This subordinate could not bear it and acted impulsively." Hatake Sakumo knelt on the ground.
Ryun looked at him. "You have frightened our comrade Daimyō! Letting this go unpunished is unacceptable. For this, you are fined one month's salary. Do you have any objection?"
Hatake Sakumo's mouth curved into a slight smile. "I have no objection."
His position did not rely on a salary to survive. Besides, it was obvious the Hokage was very satisfied with his actions, so he was very happy.
Ryun then nodded and looked at the Daimyō. "Daimyō, you were startled. I heard that the Daimyō was deceived by others, and that's why you thought to declare war on my Konoha, correct?"
Ryun stepped forward, grabbed the Daimyō's arm, and smiled.
The Daimyō was sweating profusely. "Yes... yes, yes, yes... Hokage, I was deceived by others."
"Oh? Could the Daimyō please tell me who it was?" Ryun smiled as he asked this question, then walked to stand behind a minister. "Is it him?" He glanced at the Daimyō.
The Daimyō's heart raced wildly. This was his second son! Just as he was about to say something, Ryun threw a punch and killed the Daimyō's second son.
"You..." The Daimyō gasped. He had not expected Ryun to act so decisively.
"Oh? Daimyō, did I kill the wrong person?" Ryun laughed.
"No... no." The Daimyō shook his head, then lowered his head, his gaze filled with venomous hatred.
Ryun sneered. Of course he knew who he had killed. He had spent the entire previous night reviewing intelligence. He knew the Earth Daimyō's family members clearly.
The Daimyō's advisors now glared angrily. "Since the Hokage has already killed the one who deceived the Daimyō, shouldn't you withdraw your troops?"
"Withdraw our troops? My Konoha shinobi traveled a long distance to the Land of Earth to seek justice. Could it be that simply killing one person who deceived the Daimyō is enough to resolve this?" Ryun said lightly.
"Daimyō, I heard there are many good things in your treasure vault..." Ryun smiled.
The Earth Daimyō's face turned deathly pale. He knew what Ryun was referring to, but he did not want to agree. He gritted his teeth.
"Lead the way," Ryun said flatly.
The Daimyō did not move, only clenching his fists, his whole body trembling. Seeing this, Ryun laughed. He walked to stand behind another person. This was his third son.
He struck again, killing him. Blood spurted onto the Daimyō's face, causing him to momentarily lose his senses.
"Daimyō, I actually received information that there was not just one person who deceived you into declaring war on Konoha. There were six people in total," Ryun's voice was icy.
The six people he spoke of were precisely the Daimyō's six sons present. Two were already dead, four remained.
If Ryun continued killing, all his heirs would be gone!
The Daimyō gasped. "Please, Lord Hokage, follow me." As he spoke, the Daimyō made a decision. Money lost could be earned again. If his sons were gone, there would be no hope left.
Thus, he chose to lead Ryun to the treasure vault. The Daimyō's advisors looked on furiously, but there was nothing they could do. The strength of Ryun and his over two thousand elite jōnin was too overwhelming.
Moreover, Ōnoki was currently entangled by Uchiha Madara and simply could not break away. Facing Ryun now, even charging forth with their lives would be useless.
Ryun smiled. "A smart man knows how to adapt to the circumstances. Comrade Daimyō's decisiveness is something I, Uchiha Ryun, will not forget. Please lead the way quickly."
The two thousand shinobi were all excited, looking at the Daimyō with a 'you're such a good person' feeling.
Ryun had the clan heads follow him, then the elites of each clan. These people were responsible for bagging the goods.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📖 Like the story? Read 120 chapters ahead!
🔗 patreon.com/atomelectron
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━