Hokage: Ryo's Path

As soon as Ryo returned, he felt that there was something wrong with his clan. Everyone’s faces were gloomy, and they all seemed to be in a hurry.

“Is there something wrong with the clan?” Ryo wondered, before quickly teleporting to Inoichi’s side.

At this time, Inoichi was on the front line with Shikaku and Choza, and all three had been discussing tactics for a while. Naturally, Ryo’s sudden appearance in their tent made them both surprised and delighted!

“Ryo! You’re finally back!” said Inoichi with excitement.

Looking at the costumes of all three, Ryo frowned, and immediately released his mental power to perceive the surroundings.

“A military camp?! What happened? Who are we going to fight?” asked Ryo after finding out that he was in a military camp!

“Our opponent is the Cloud Village. While you were away....” Shikaku gave Ryo a concise narration of what had happened.

As Ryo listened to Shikaku, he suddenly remembered the incident that happened in the Manga; it was what caused Neji to lose his father.

Now however, it seemed like Konoha had made a completely different choice.

After understanding the general situation, Ryo decided to go see Sakumo: “Inoichi Ni-san, I’m going to find Sakumo san. You carry on!” After finishing his words, Ryo disappeared.

Just like Inoichi, Shikaku and Choza, the 3rd, Sakumo and Kushina were also discussing how to face the Kage Tiers of the Hidden Cloud in the main tent.

“Sandaime, we’ll hand over the Nibi to you! I’ll deal with the Raikage. As for the Hachibi, Kushina should be able to cope with him.”

The third and Sakumo thought that Kushina had one half of the Kyubi left in her body. To them, Kurama was so strong; even his half should be able to deal easily with the Hachibi.

Upon hearing this arrangement, Kushina immediately discussed the matter with the small Kyubi in her body.

This small Kurama was originally a soul Shard and a Tail’s worth of Chakra left by Kurama behind in Kushina’s body in order to preserve her life. It was Korin that turned him into what he was now.

Although the small Kyubi had the same Yin and Yang Properties as the complete Kurama, the amount of Chakra remaining in him was too small, somewhere between that of the Yonbi and the Gobi.

Fortunately, in the past years, Kushina had also gotten a lot stronger. It might be a little difficult for them to cooperate to actually defeat the Hachibi, but they would have absolutely no problem dragging it down.

After hearing Small Kurama, Kushina sighed and just wanted to agree, when suddenly, a familiar voice could be heard in the tent: “Ne san, you stay here and take care of Naruto; Ieave the Hachibi to me!”

Hearing Ryo’s voice, Kushina turned around and smiled happily.

The 3rd and Sakumo were also delighted to see Ryo, breathing a sigh of relief. With Ryo back with them, their victory was certain!

“Ryo, where have you been all this time?” asked Kushina with concern.

Ryo hesitated for a moment, and then smiled saying nothing.

While resurrecting Minato was almost certain, accidents could still happen. If that was to occur, it would crush Kushina’s heart. Therefore, Ryo decided to conceal the matter, for now...

Upon seeing the expression on Ryo’s face, Sakumo could guess what he had been doing, and he also smiled, saying nothing.

“Well, it’s no time for guessing games! We’re about to go into war; let’s discuss our problems with the enemy for now! Ryo, you have said that you will deal with the Hachibi; are you confident?” asked the 3rd.

“Don’t worry Sandaime sama! I have this new technique, and I can’t wait to try it on the Hachibi!” Ryo replied.

“Since that’s the case, then we will redistribute! I will deal with the Raikage, the 3rd will deal with the Nibi, and the Hachibi will be left for you! As for Kushina, just like Ryo said, you protect Naruto!” said Sakumo.

Everyone was very satisfied with this arrangement, and they agreed.

In the Hidden Cloud’s camp, no one knew about Ryo’s return, and A was actually optimistic about his village’s odds, mainly thinking about what compensation he shall demand from Konoha after victory.

The next day, the 4th Raikage ordered his troops to attack!

The Hyuga and Aburame Ninjas near Konoha’s camp had been monitoring the surrounding dynamics, and they immediately noticed the Cloud’s attack.

The news immediately reached Konoha’s camp, and their Shinobi who were ready to engage in battle were immediately dispatched. The two sides met in the woods on the border of the Fire Country!

A and Killer B were the first to rush into Konoha’s ranks, like the behemoths they were!

Sakumo and Ryo looked ahead, and immediately located their opponents!

Using his signature “Acrobat Seven Swords Style”, Killer B began harvesting lives!

Ryo activated his Mangekyo to enhance his Ice Lightning Chakra Mode. As soon as Killer B showed an opening, he popped up in front of him and kicked him far and away!

After going through a few trees, B managed to stop: “Who’s the one who kicked me? You’ve actually dared to attack the Killer B? Bakayaro Konoyaro!”B made his strange rhymes again.

“It’s me! You’re actually as tough as they say, B; not being hurt by that kick!”

“Ryo Yamanaka!” The Hachibi was shocked upon seeing Ryo.

“This place is too small; I can’t fight you well here. You’re going with me, B!” After finishing his words, Ryo immediately flickered to B’s side, teleporting with him to the desert of the Wind Country!

The change of the surrounding scenery made B stunned for a while. Fortunately, the Hachibi in his body told him: “Ryo Yamanaka has used some Space-Time Ninjutsu to bring us here!”

“Space-Time Ninjutsu? He’s really annoying, this Bakayaro, Konoyaro!”

“Okay, this is spacious enough! Let’s have fun!”

............

On the other side of the battlefield, with his White Blade shining bright, Sakumo was colliding with A’s Lightning Chakra mode.

Sakumo also had his clan’s style of the Lightning Chakra mode, granting him the speed of the Raikages’ style, but with more emphasis on offense.

As for A, he had inherited his style from his father, gaining great defensive and speed abilities with Lightning Chakra Mode Armor.

The battle between the two was a lot like a confrontation between a spear and a shield. Unfortunately, the two were just too fast for those around them to even witness their great battle!

In comparison, the 3rd’s battle against Yugito Nii was much simpler and cruder.

While he was far from his peak, the 3rd wasn’t having a problem dealing with this opponent.

At the beginning of the fight, he summoned Enma, who immediately used [Transformation: Adamantine Staff], turning into a extending and expanding staff that is as hard as adamantine! The 3rd waved his massive staff, which expended as it moved, taking Yugito Nii in her Full Biju mode by surprise and slamming her.

The Nibi’s body is similar to that of a cat, and was very agile. However, no matter how much Yugito Nii tried to dodge, the 3rd’s staff could always land!