The elites of the Konoha Anbu did not object. The Anbu were the elites of Konoha, and enemies would tremble with fear at the mere mention of them.
But now, they didn't even have the qualification to deal with Ryou.
"Damn it, Uchiha Ryou's growth is too fast!"
A Konoha Anbu member clenched his fist and spoke with resentment.
"Yeah, back then the three of us chased him like a dog."
"But now—"
Among the Anbu group were three guys who had pursued Ryou when he first defected.
Thinking back to those years—
Actually, it wasn't years ago, it hadn't been that long. Back then, they were pursuing Ryou, who had just defected from the Village's main gate.
Although they couldn't catch him, Ryou was like a stray dog in front of them.
But now, they didn't even have the qualification to stand before Ryou.
This kind of growth—no, this wasn't growth, it was straight-up cheating.
The combat techniques they had practiced bitterly for years were flimsy and weak, while the stats Ryou gained from his cheats were as solid as a rock.
Who was strong and who was weak? It was clear at a glance!
The Anbu member who had been the most energetic in chasing Ryou back then lamented, "Sigh... I feel like the highlight of our lives was probably when we were chasing Uchiha Ryou like a dog."
"We can brag about it for a lifetime!"
"Yeah! When we get back, we'll write that experience into our files."
"Great idea!"
"Good!"
Ryou's ears twitched.
After transforming into the Futamata-no-O-no-Mikoto, his hearing had also increased tenfold, allowing him to hear the Anbu's quiet whispering.
He immediately hissed at the three Anbu who had once hunted him: "Fine, so it's you three. Watch me catch you and kill your whole families, slaughtering nine generations of your clans."
Chakra flames condensed on Ryou's four claws. With a leap, he charged out, his starting speed so fast he was just an afterimage, outrunning even the sound of the wind.
Shisui was shocked: "With such a huge body, his speed is still this fast?"
The Seven-Tails said: "Shisui, I don't think we can fight him head-on. We should focus on withdrawing."
"Wait a minute..."
Shisui couldn't abandon his comrades.
Ryou's speed made it impossible for the Anbu to react at all; in an instant, he appeared at the gathering spot of the Konoha Anbu.
Claws like a great tree swung down violently, the air being torn with a loud crackle; the mere wind from the claws was enough to make people suffocate.
The Konoha Anbu were all caught within Ryou's claw wind.
Their expressions were filled with horror. It was over; with an attack of this range, their bodies would be easily torn apart.
At the critical moment, Jiraiya arrived in haste with Gamaken.
"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"
"Toad Shield!"
Gamaken used his giant cream-colored pot-lid shield to block Ryou's cat claws.
Jiraiya performed an Earth Release Ninjutsu, creating a massive swamp beneath Ryou's feet, causing Ryou's four limbs to sink in.
Relying on the strength of one man and one beast, they barely managed to block Ryou's Soul Scattering Iron Claws.
Jiraiya turned back and shouted at the dazed Konoha Anbu: "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and escape!"
The Anbu members didn't have time to thank Jiraiya; one by one, they used Body Flicker to flee.
The three who had been whispering earlier also shut their mouths tight, not daring to discuss anything related to Ryou again.
The most important thing now was to go back and destroy the records of them hunting Ryou, letting it rot in their stomachs for a lifetime.
Otherwise, their whole families would be targeted by this cruel Uchiha.
Ryou shouted loudly at the Konoha Anbu: "Those who hunted me, remember to write your deeds of hunting me on your epitaphs when you die."
Jiraiya looked at Ryou speechlessly: "Ryou, you kid, why be so narrow-minded?"
At this moment, the Swamp of the Underworld was slowly sinking Ryou in, but there wasn't the slightest panic on Ryou's face.
"Jiraiya, you know my personality. I'm just a petty guy. Kindness can go unrewarded, but a grudge must be repaid."
Ryou shifted the topic and began to seek revenge on Jiraiya.
"Jiraiya, back then you transformed into me to hit on the class beauty of the neighboring class, nearly causing me to get stuck with a romantic debt. This grudge must be repaid."
Jiraiya spat: "That class beauty stalked you relentlessly afterward; you should just be happy about it!"
"Hmph!"
Ryou snorted, and intense heat rose from his body. The mud of Jiraiya's Swamp of the Underworld was directly baked dry by this immense heat.
Ryou also stopped sinking into the earth.
Ryou was not fighting alone; while in the form of the Futamata-no-O-no-Mikoto, Candy was assisting with control.
Candy played the role of forming hand signs, guiding the nature transformation of Ryou's chakra.
This allowed Ryou to perform Ninjutsu without needing to form hand signs himself.
The heat that had just risen from his body was Candy guiding the chakra on the surface of Ryou's body to take on Fire Nature.
Ryou essentially had a secondary brain; while he was talking to Jiraiya, Candy was thinking of a countermeasure to dispel Jiraiya's technique.
After escaping the Swamp of the Underworld, Gamaken pressed both claws against his shield, trying to suppress Ryou with physical strength.
But he still underestimated the strength of a Tailed Beast level.
When the Nine-Tails attacked Konoha, without even adding chakra, its tails and claws alone could send Konoha flying.
Gamaken was also a giant Summoned Beast, possessing immense strength.
But under the super stats of a Tailed Beast, his strength simply couldn't withstand such demonic beast force.
With a little force from Ryou's claws, the massive power easily suppressed Gamaken.
He then pushed him backward. Gamaken's two hind claws plowed the ground desperately, carving out furrows like small rivers, but he still couldn't stop Ryou's massive strength.
This was absolute stat suppression.
Ryou laughed loudly: "Ken, you still need to practice. Go back to Mount Myōboku and settle down!"
Jiraiya formed hand signs, preparing to use a large-scale Fire Release to attack Ryou.
But a vine over ten meters long suddenly extended from Ryou's body, biting toward Jiraiya like a tree snake.
This was an attack launched by Candy.
Jiraiya used his feet to speed up the hand signs, finally performing the Ninjutsu at the moment the vine approached.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
Three dragon-shaped flames spat from Jiraiya's mouth, covering the vine extended by Ryou.
Kakuzu was not idling either.
His Wind Release mask and Lightning Release mask appeared behind Ryou.
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
The Wind Release mask spat out a heavy cannon of wind.
The Lightning Release mask spat out a sharp great spear of lightning from its mouth; this technique concealed an amazing power that could even pierce through rock, making it a highly lethal technique.
"Storm Fang Wolf Fang!"
Ryou finally erupted. His demon cat body rotated at ultra-high speed, creating a tornado through his own rapid spinning.
The Inuzuka Clan's Fang Wolf Fang was a high-speed rotating thrust attack, but on Ryou's body, it became a defensive attack like the rotation.
Gamaken's shield, Jiraiya's Fire Release, and Kakuzu's Ninjutsu attacks were all neutralized by the ultra-high-speed tornado.
Gamaken and Jiraiya were blown dozens of meters away, and Kakuzu's two Earth Grudge Fear masks were nearly pulled in and crushed.