"What's going on?"
Although they could tell Yugito Nii was holding back, they didn't understand why.
"What else could it be? She's fallen for our Lord Ryuyun!"
At this, Inoichi and Choza froze instantly.
"Hiss!"
"Is that true or false?!"
They looked utterly shocked.
Only Nara Shikaku remained calm.
"What's so surprising about that? Is it really unexpected for Lord Ryuyun to be admired — both for his strength and his looks?"
"Uh…"
It did make sense.
Their surprise wasn't that someone liked Aoyama Ryuyun, but that it was the Two-Tails Jinchūriki from the Hidden Cloud Village — their enemy.
Noticing their disbelief, Shikaku waved his hand casually.
"Don't worry about it. Lord Ryuyun will handle this matter himself. We don't need to interfere."
"You're right!"
They nodded in agreement.
Anyway, all they had to do was inform Aoyama Ryuyun about it.
---
After returning to the Konoha camp, Jiraiya gathered several jōnin.
"Among the ninja I brought this time, there are also excellent medical-nin. Give the order — all injured ninja are to receive treatment immediately!"
"Yes, sir!"
Treating the wounded was top priority. No one objected.
"Alright! You're all dismissed!"
This battle had worn Jiraiya down more than he'd like to admit.
He'd been fighting Kumogakure for a full year, but had never felt this exhausted.
Those muscle-headed brutes really had incredible stamina.
At least they'd managed to hold their ground. Still, Jiraiya couldn't help but worry — they had survived this round, but what about the next?
"So troublesome…" he muttered, exhaling heavily.
He truly didn't understand why the old man had given such an order back then.
Wouldn't it have been better to leave Aoyama Ryuyun in charge of this front from the start?
But even that wasn't what troubled him most.
What truly puzzled Jiraiya was how Aoyama Ryuyun had managed to dominate Kumogakure for an entire year.
Could the gap between his own strength and Aoyama Ryuyun's really be that vast?
"Forget it. The more I think about it, the more it annoys me. I'll get some rest. Who knows when the next battle will start…"
Stretching his legs, Jiraiya left the Konoha camp.
---
Unlike Konoha's camp, the atmosphere in Kumogakure's was far more upbeat.
Although they hadn't managed to crush Jiraiya's forces,
the Third Raikage and his men looked genuinely satisfied.
"Now this is what a war should be like!"
A proper, even contest — not one-sided humiliation.
When fighting Aoyama Ryuyun, the Third Raikage had been driven to despair.
"That past year was a damn farce of a war!"
To be dominated for an entire year — the more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
For these hot-blooded Kumogakure shinobi, being dominated was intolerable —
but dominating without resistance wasn't any fun either.
Only a back-and-forth battle like this made them feel alive.
The surrounding ninja all nodded in agreement with the Raikage's words.
At least this time, they'd fought to their hearts' content.
"I didn't expect that Minato Namikaze had that much skill after all,"
Ay admitted, arms crossed.
As Minato's opponent, he had initially looked down on him.
But after this battle, Ay had gained new respect for Konoha's Yellow Flash.
Relying on his Flying Thunder God Technique — a high-level space–time ninjutsu —
Minato had managed to keep Ay and Killer Bee contained, preventing them from retreating for quite some time.
"But even so…" Ay clenched his fists, his eyes burning with fighting spirit.
"Next time, I'll definitely get my revenge!"
Looking around at the morale-filled chamber, Ay nodded in satisfaction and said no more.
---
Another half-year passed in the Third Shinobi World War.
On the Sunagakure front, Tsunade and Orochimaru — two of the Sannin — fought side by side,
leaving Sunagakure's forces completely disoriented.
However, the Sand's endurance was remarkable; they refused to surrender no matter how bad things looked,
which was starting to frustrate even the Sannin.
On the Kumogakure front, Jiraiya and the Third Raikage clashed repeatedly.
Each battle saw alternating victories and defeats —
neither side able to claim a decisive edge.
The Kirigakure battlefield should have been the most stable,
since the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, personally led that front.
But to everyone's dismay, it was actually the only front where Konoha was at a disadvantage.
Indeed — everyone finally realized the truth.
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was getting old.
He was no longer the "God of Shinobi" he once was.
The most peaceful front was the Iwagakure battlefield.
Konoha's forces there were the smallest in number, but the quietest in activity.
With Aoyama Ryuyun in command, Iwagakure's constant probing skirmishes were all repelled.
As for a full-scale assault, Ōnoki didn't even dare attempt it.
---
In fact, if it weren't for the sudden reappearance of the Sarutobi clan ninja from before,
Aoyama Ryuyun might not have realized that another six months had already passed.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi not dying, I can understand — after all, he's a Kage-level ninja.
But how did you lot manage to survive this long?"
The men standing before him were the same Sarutobi clan ninja
who had been sent months earlier to request support from him.
And now, half a year later, they had returned.
"You didn't survive this long by playing dead, did you?"
"…"
They were speechless — seething inside, yet not one dared to respond.
Aoyama Ryuyun's reputation in battle was absolute.
If he decided to kill them right now, no one would question him for it.
"Cough, cough! Lord Ryuyun, you jest!" one of them forced out, smiling stiffly.
Of course, they hadn't literally played dead —
but their survival was mostly thanks to the privileges of their Sarutobi bloodline.
In every dangerous encounter, they had hidden inside the camp,
avoiding the front lines altogether.
Otherwise, they'd have long since perished.
"Alright, alright, I'm too lazy to listen to your nonsense,"
Aoyama Ryuyun said flatly, waving a hand dismissively.
A few sarcastic remarks were enough — he had no interest in chatting further.
Even if he had the time, he certainly lacked the patience.
"Lord Ryuyun! We—"
They began, but he cut them off with a glare.
Still, they didn't leave — clearly, they hadn't yet stated their true purpose.
Visit patreon.com/Akeyno to get 30+ chapters