"Sorry, Elder Danzo, I have to go save my subordinates."
Minato activated the Flying Thunder God Technique, teleporting toward Kakashi and the others' location.
As he left, Minato couldn't help but feel shocked. If the one who attacked the Konoha army before was just Ryou's clone, then how massive must his Chakra be?
Wouldn't that be like having a Tailed Beast sealed inside his body?
Furthermore, even the Byakugan couldn't distinguish between the real body and the fake. What kind of clone technique was this?
Danzo frowned slightly at Minato's lack of perspective; clearly, Hanzo's stance was more important right now.
While Danzo could still move freely within Hanzo's high tower, he needed to settle Hanzo's matter quickly. If he waited, the opportunity would be lost.
Hiruzen's disciples and grand-disciples were all so impulsive. How could Danzo feel safe letting a Ninja with no sense of the big picture become Konoha's Hokage?
The Hokage position... it still had to be his!
Ryoma reminded him from the side, "Lord Danzo, don't you think that Yakuganra from the Akatsuki is very suspicious?"
"Hanzo's people say Yakuganra is Princess Tsunade's disciple, but as you know, Lord Danzo, Princess Tsunade hasn't had a single disciple to this day."
"No one in the Senju Clan has been able to inherit Princess Tsunade's secret techniques."
Danzo narrowed his eyes, immediately grasping the key point: "Could it be... that Yakuganra is actually Ryou?"
"That's right, Ryou's Medical Ninjutsu is also superb. Plus, since Uchiha Madara captured Tsunade, he would surely interrogate her for all her secret techniques."
"That's how Ryou obtained Tsunade's secret techniques."
"But why would he appear in the Akatsuki?"
Ryou was the great contributor to Madara's resurrection. In the eyes of outsiders, he should be serving under Madara right now, discussing how to destroy the Ninja World or how to carry out terrorist attacks.
He shouldn't have the leisure to run off to the Land of Rain to practice medicine and save lives.
Danzo stroked his chin and murmured, "Minato definitely didn't come to the Land of Rain just to find me. Hiruzen must have given him other missions."
"The Akatsuki?! All the riddles lie with the Akatsuki. It seems Hanzo is still of some use."
"Gu, follow them and see. Find out what Minato's purpose in the Land of Rain is."
Minato hadn't told Danzo about the Rinnegan. Originally, he hadn't even wanted to tell the Third Hokage.
This was based on Jiraiya's stance.
Jiraiya believed that the Great Toad Sage was an elder more worthy of trust than the Third Hokage. The child of prophecy it spoke of was meant to emerge and transform the entire Ninja World, and should not be coerced or exploited by any single Village.
He understood the darkness of the Village, and he knew even better that the Third Hokage and the Village elders would never allow a variable like the child of prophecy to become the strength of another nation.
One hour ago.
Crimson Sake House.
Kakashi immediately pulled Kurenai and Rin to a street corner, holding his breath and hiding with extreme tension.
They watched Ryou's every move from the shadows.
Kurenai's eyes widened as she stared intently at Ryou's face, her voice filled with disbelief.
"Impossible, impossible. He clearly blew himself up in front of Hokage-sama and so many of the Village's Ninjas."
"Lord Hiashi already confirmed he was dead. How is he still alive?"
Ryou was wearing a black kimono. At this moment, he was holding two Courtesans from the Crimson Sake House, preparing to take them home for personal use.
With a high bridge to his nose, narrow eyes, and the Uchiha Clan's signature spiky hair, he exuded a sense of casual dissipation when he lowered his gaze.
Kurenai couldn't possibly be mistaken; this was definitely Ryou, who had been declared dead by self-detonation by the Third Hokage and numerous Jonin.
Rin and Kakashi looked solemnly at Ryou, who was flanked by the women.
Ryou's appearance had changed significantly; he looked even younger than their teacher Minato, but upon closer inspection, they could still tell.
Rin hardly dared to breathe as she watched Ryou nervously: "Ryou-senpai—did he really achieve immortality?!"
Kakashi clenched his fists, feeling a mix of tension, solemnity, and joy.
Because through Ryou, he could find Obito's whereabouts. Kakashi owed Obito too much and was desperate to rescue him from Madara's side.
His gloved hand slowly reached for his tool pouch, touching his shuriken.
With just a light toss, he could take out Ryou in a second.
But Kakashi did not act rashly. Based on the intelligence, Ryou was no longer a Ninja that an ordinary Jonin could handle.
He had to notify Sensei Minato as soon as possible to take Ryou down.
Kakashi was about to call Minato's Summoned Toad to alert him, but suddenly—
"Meow~"
A meowing sound came from where they were hiding.
Dammit! This cursed stray cat!
Ryou, who was about to leave with the two Courtesans, suddenly turned his head slowly and looked toward Kakashi and the others.
With a single glance, the three of them felt as if they were falling into an abyss, as if they were looking at some ultimate mass murderer.
The three of them wanted to run, but Ryou appeared before them like a ghostly shadow.
"Hisashiburi da na, Kakashi, Rin, and.... Kurenai!"
A Ninja Cat jumped onto Ryou's shoulder, a lollipop dangling from its mouth.
A Ninja Cat?!
Now Kakashi and the others understood; they had been discovered from the very beginning.
Kurenai gripped her Kunai, looking at Ryou warily as she shouted, "Ryou, just how many lives do you have? Why aren't you dead yet?"
Ryou held out both hands: "This many!"
Kurenai was shocked: "You have ten lives!"
Ryou shook his head: "Not the number of fingers, but the number of hairs on my body. I am immortal."
Kakashi's hands quickly formed seals, rapidly performing an Earth Release technique.
Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!
A wall of earth rose rapidly from the ground, directly blocking Ryou's view.
"Rin, Kurenai, run!"
Rin and Kurenai threw smoke bombs and fled behind the screen of thick smoke.
Ryou looked at Kakashi's Earth Release. Kakashi's Earth-Style Wall was quite unique, actually having dog heads carved into it.
Candy took out the Gunbai and gave it a violent swing, blowing away Kakashi's Earth-Style Wall and the smoke they had left behind.
Ryou was about to give chase when the Courtesans he had just pushed aside caught up, grabbing his shoulders from both sides and physically restraining his arms.
"Lord Yakuganra, we sisters are already yours. Don't leave us behind."
"Get lost!"
Ryou slapped each of them away.
Where is there true love in this world? It's five hundred a night!
Spreading legs is just business. You want to talk about feelings with me?
Ryou activated the Body Flicker technique, catching up to Kakashi's group.
The three of them ran for their lives, but Ryou went full power, his body erupting with an aura formed from Chakra, flying in front of them in an instant.
"Hey, do I look that scary? Is there a need to run like your lives depend on it!"
Ryou dispelled the clothes from his Transformation Jutsu, revealing his Ninja appearance.
A short-sleeved, high-collared zippered shirt, wide-legged pants tied with a white belt, and what chilled Kakashi's group the most was the rogue ninja headband on his forehead.
The spiral pattern that looked like a bird or a leaf had a single slash through it, representing the abandonment of one's Ninja Way.
It was the symbol declaring a break with the Village and no longer being loyal to a Ninja Village.
The three of them panted heavily. It had been drizzling in the Land of Rain, and they couldn't tell if the liquid on their foreheads was sweat or rain.
Ryou just stood there, showing not a shred of hostility, yet an immense pressure seemed to emanate from within him.
This was the natural pressure of the strong.
Rin plucked up her courage, took a step forward, and asked, "Ryou-senpai, why did you betray Konoha?"
Ryou smiled: "Because Konoha betrayed me!"
Kurenai shouted loudly, "How could Konoha betray you?"
Ryou looked at Kurenai and said, "If it's not that I'm unworthy of this era, then it's that this era is unworthy of me."
"Konoha couldn't give me what I wanted, so it betrayed me!"