GSiN: Ch. 189

"By the way," Jiraiya added casually, "that reinforcement's name is Aotsuki Ryouma."

The moment his words fell, Sōto and Hanzō's expressions both changed at once.

"Aotsuki Ryouma?"

Aoi repeated the somewhat familiar name under her breath.

As the Seven-Tails jinchūriki, she had rarely ever left Taki except for that one time when she was kidnapped by Kumo as a child. She knew little about the outside world, especially about people who had nothing to do with her.

Sōto, on the other hand, drew in a sharp breath. Having roamed the shinobi world for years as a missing-nin, his understanding of the famous and the powerful far exceeded that of the secluded Taki ninjas.

The name "Aotsuki Ryouma" alone might not ring a bell for everyone. But if you called him "Leaf's Gale," there probably weren't many in the entire shinobi world who wouldn't know who that was. After all, there was only one person in history who had single-handedly taken down an entire great hidden village.

Thinking of this, he gave Jiraiya, who still wore his usual grin as if everything was under control, a long, searching look. Then he gave a cold order to Aoi.

"Go check on my brother."

"Uh..."

"Go! Now!"

"Yes!"

Aoi didn't argue and immediately turned to leave.

In the battle earlier, even though Sōto had intentionally held back, Sōwa had still fainted from excessive blood loss.

Originally, that situation should have been good news for Sōto's plan to seize control of Taki. But if what Jiraiya had just said was true, the situation was about to change completely.

While Sōto was lost in thought, Hanzō suddenly charged forward.

He swung his scythe, his killing intent locked straight onto the scroll in Jiraiya's hand.

With his sharp eyes, he instantly saw that it was a chakra transmission device, a scroll capable of sending out a signal. If he could destroy it now, he might still prevent Konoha from receiving the call for reinforcements.

However, that wish of Hanzō's was unlikely to come true.

The alert scroll Jiraiya held was actually a version 2.0 prototype jointly developed by Ryouma and Minato. As long as you were anywhere within the shinobi world, its activation signal could be received almost instantly.

As Hanzō's fierce strike came crashing in, Jiraiya whipped his long white hair with a sharp motion. In an instant, countless strands of his white hair hardened with senjutsu chakra, turning into razor-sharp needles that shot toward Hanzō, sealing off every possible route of advance. But Hanzō didn't back down. He quickly performed the Water Body Flicker, using the lake as a medium. His body blurred and vanished, reappearing in front of Jiraiya almost instantaneously.

In the history of shinobi who mastered body-flicker techniques, users of the Flying Thunder God, Tobirama Senju, Minato Namikaze, and Aotsuki Ryouma, were undoubtedly the top tier. Right below them stood masters like Hanzō with his Water Body Flicker, or Shisui's Body Flicker.

Such ninjas were notoriously difficult to counter.

Across the lake's surface, Hanzō's figure closed in like a phantom, the gleam of his scythe slicing through the air.

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed. The instant Hanzō appeared, his Sage Mode perception had already alerted him. Just as he was about to counter with a Frog Kata strike, the alert scroll in his hand suddenly pulsed with chakra. The next moment, a vast surge of blue chakra erupted like a spiraling storm. Caught completely off guard, Hanzō was hit head-on, blasted backward, and crashed heavily onto the ground in the distance.

A few seconds later, as the chakra storm slowly dissipated, a single figure stepped out from within it.

It was a boy of about seventeen or eighteen, white-haired, with a plump tanuki perched on his head.

Ryouma said as soon as he appeared. "I didn't expect you to track down Black Zetsu's traces this quickly."

The corners of his mouth lifted in a faint smile as he added, "When I get back, I'll be sure to put in a good word for you with Tsunade-neesan."

Jiraiya scratched his head with an awkward grin. "Haha, I'd appreciate that! But, actually, the reason I called you here isn't exactly what you think..."

Seeing Jiraiya hesitate, Ryouma's gaze swept around the battlefield, finally landing on Hanzō, who had just managed to climb back to his feet in the distance. Now that he thought about it, he had felt like he'd bumped into something when he appeared.

When designing the alert scroll, he had thought to himself that no heroic entrance should come without a few invincibility frames, so he'd sealed the Revolving Heaven technique inside it. And judging by the results, it had worked perfectly.

Konan and Yahiko exchanged glances. Finally, Yahiko pursed his lips and stepped forward, addressing the white-haired boy.

"Um, we're Jiraiya-sensei's students. My name's Yahiko, and this is Konan. Are you the one they call Leaf's Gale?"

"That's me," Ryouma replied with a nod. "Though I'd prefer if you just called me by my name."

His eyes shimmered faintly as he briefly sized the two up.

Seeing how easygoing he was, Yahiko and Konan both visibly relaxed. After all, under the title "Leaf's Gale," countless ninja corpses had been left in his wake. And in the shinobi world, outsiders were rarely welcomed.

Even back when they were orphans, Orochimaru had nearly killed them on sight, so the fact that this man was being kind at all was a relief.

"Then I'll do just that," Yahiko said sincerely, before quickly summarizing everything that had happened so far in as few words as possible.

When Ryouma finished listening, he frowned slightly and turned to Jiraiya, his tone a bit helpless.

"You do know the alert scroll isn't supposed to be used so casually, right?"

"Sorry, sorry, Ryouma! I didn't have a choice this time!" Jiraiya clasped his hands together, grinning from ear to ear. Leaning forward, he added, "When we get back to Konoha, I'll have Orochimaru treat you to dinner, and I'll throw in a full, personally signed first-edition set of Icha Icha Paradise! How's that?"

"Ahem."

Ryouma cleared his throat lightly and waved a hand dismissively. His voice was calm.

"I'll pass on the dinner. Anyway, I just need to take care of Hanzō and that missing-nin, Kazama Sōto, was it? And that'll settle it, right?"

"Exactly, exactly! I'm counting on you, Ryouma!" Jiraiya said, beaming.

Ryouma didn't respond. His eyes turned toward Hanzō and Sōto in the distance, glowing faintly blue as he swept his senses like radar across the vast underground cavern. But then, as his gaze passed beneath the giant tree on the island, he suddenly caught sight of a familiar, suspicious figure hiding in the shadows. He tilted his head slightly.

"You don't happen to have another ally here, do you?" he asked calmly, still staring in that direction.

"Hmm? No, not that I know of. Why do you ask?"

Jiraiya followed his gaze, but aside from Hanzō glaring their way from afar, he saw nothing. He looked puzzled.

"It's nothing," Ryouma said, withdrawing his gaze.

His Rikugan had already confirmed it. The one he'd just seen was Shiori. Since that was the case, there was no need to dig deeper.

Most likely, the Shiori from the future had passed along some kind of intel. He'd ask her about it privately once he finished helping Jiraiya clean up this mess.

Not far from the shore, Hanzō took a deep breath, still feeling a trace of lingering fear. If he hadn't reacted quickly just now, releasing a layer of Water Formation Wall outside his body to offset part of that chakra vortex's impact, he probably wouldn't even be able to stand right now.

He strained his mind to recall the intel he had on Ryouma, and the more he thought, the colder his heart grew.

Let's not even mention that terrifying dual bloodline limit, Magnet Release and Blaze Release, but that ability to reflect attacks... Still, there was one small piece of good news. His own strength lay mostly in poison techniques and taijutsu, so he hadn't been completely shut down like other ninjutsu-type ninja would have been.

Thinking this, he turned and shouted to Sōto, "Hey! You don't want to see that leader position fly away, do you? How about we work together for now and drive those guys out first?"

Hearing Hanzō's slightly anxious tone, Sōto remained silent. His eyes flickered for a moment, and then an idea came to him. He decided to wait and see, to watch how far Hanzō could push Ryouma. After all, Hanzō had earned the title "Salamander" for a reason. His strength should still surpass that of the Third Mizukage, who had been slain by Ryouma.

If those two ended up evenly matched and seriously injured each other, wouldn't that let him swoop in and reap all the benefits?

Damn bastard!

Hanzō cursed inwardly. Just from Sōto's smug expression, he could tell that guy was planning to sit back and watch.

What an idiot. Ryouma wasn't some soft-hearted fool. Anyone who could carve out a name for themselves in the chaos of war wouldn't fail to see through Sōto's petty scheming.

On the lake's surface, Ryouma slowly withdrew his gaze from Shiori and refocused on the battlefield ahead.

"I say, Hanzō," he spoke in a relaxed tone, "you're getting on in years. Why bother stirring up more trouble? Wouldn't it be better to just enjoy your last years in peace?"

Hanzō gave a cold laugh, tightening his grip on the chain-scythe in his hand. His voice was low and hoarse.

"Heh. A guy like you from the Land of Fire would never understand the situation Ame is in now."

Ryouma shook his head lightly, his tone still calm. "No need to get so worked up. Actually, I have a pretty good proposal for you."

He paused for a moment, then met Hanzō's eyes. "You already know you can't fight against the Land of Fire. So why not just join us? If you bring Ame under the Land of Fire's rule, I can guarantee no power in the entire shinobi world will touch you. How about it? Not a bad deal, right?"

At those words, Hanzō's brows furrowed deeply, his eyes flashing with anger. He snorted coldly.

"Do you take me for a fool? Join you Konoha types? You might as well say you plan to destroy Ame outright."

"Look at you, getting all worked up."

Ryouma smiled faintly, unbothered by the mockery.

In the next instant, a violent wind surged upward, howling as it spiraled skyward. The powerful gusts whipped his robes into a fierce flutter.

Chakra from Kurama poured out endlessly, rapidly forming a brilliant golden cloak around his body.

Kurama Mode!

Feeling the overwhelming pressure radiating from Ryouma, Konan and Yahiko instinctively stepped back a few paces, quietly moving behind Jiraiya. Both of them showed a hint of awe, clearly shaken by the overwhelming chakra pressure emanating from him.

Seeing the reactions of his two students, Jiraiya's mouth curled into a smug smile. He crossed his arms.

"So, what do you think? Now you see the kind of backup I can bring in, huh? This isn't someone you can just call up casually."

Shima glanced at him with a look of mild dissatisfaction. "Since you can summon someone this strong, why drag us into this?"

Jiraiya scratched his head awkwardly and let out a dry laugh, mumbling vaguely, "Well, hehe, you know, always better to have insurance, right?"

Fukasaku was about to say something along the lines of "Jiraiya is just caught up in a special situation," but after a quick glance at Shima, he hesitated. He didn't want to be lectured again. So he closed his mouth, cleared his throat lightly, and shifted his attention to the battlefield.

The gentle lake breeze blew as Ryouma took a steady step forward, walking unhurriedly toward the Ame forces on the shore.

With every step he took, the hearts of the two Ame ninjas assigned to sensory duty in the distance pounded violently, as though gripped by an invisible force.

"H-Hanzō-sama, the chakra from the enemy is incredibly powerful, it feels almost like..." one of the Ame ninjas stammered, trying to report.

"Like a tailed beast, huh?" Hanzō interrupted in a low voice, his gaze fixed on Ryouma.

He recalled the intel he had gathered earlier, rumors that Ryouma had a tailed beast sealed within him. Now, seeing it firsthand, the rumors seemed true. But what puzzled him was why the chakra from this tailed beast felt so much stronger than the chakra from the Seven-Tails.

"Don't engage yet. This guy specializes in battles against multiple opponents, so don't give me any openings to exploit."

The ninjas following him were all elite Ame forces, the village's most valuable assets. Losing them to Ryouma's power was something Hanzō could not accept.

After issuing his orders, he wasted no time, charging directly at Ryouma.

At the same time, the small, poisonous salamanders he had previously laid in wait beneath the lake began to surface. They opened their mouths, releasing streams of corrosive venom that rained down on Ryouma from all directions.

Oh? Salamanders, huh?

Ryouma's expression remained calm as he ignored the toxic rain surrounding him. In the next instant, the tailed beast cloak around his body flared up, bursting with blinding light. Immense chakra surged outward, pouring from every point on his body.

A golden chakra whirlwind erupted around him, rapidly coalescing into a dense, impenetrable sphere, effortlessly dispersing the torrent of venom that had been falling.

The toxic liquid was flung away by the powerful centrifugal force, splashing onto the lake's surface and creating a circle of poisonous mist. However, not even a drop of the venom could come near him.

This was the Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven, known for its absolute defense that left no gaps.

Unlike the Mind Body Switch Technique, he hadn't replicated this by observing someone else use it. Instead, he'd reconstructed it based on the principles stored in his previous life's memories. To be honest, he'd never actually seen the Hyūga main house use this technique in battle.

In theory, with his Rikugan enhancing his abilities, his version of the technique should be even stronger than theirs.