Walking ahead of Naruko and Sako, Ryoma lightly tapped their heads with a hand chop.
"Don't be careless next time. Those four weren't stronger than either of you, but their coordination was excellent. A surprise attack like that—if I hadn't shown up—your client would've been dead."
"Got it."
The two girls nodded obediently, clearly taking the lesson to heart.
From behind them, Shion hesitated before speaking.
"Excuse me… are you really Lord Ryoma?"
Earlier, she hadn't had the chance to properly see him. Now that she looked closely, she recognized the familiar face—the man whose reputation had long spread across the world.
Over the years, Ryoma's influence had reshaped the shinobi world. Wars had ceased. Even when conflicts arose, ninja were dispatched to resolve them before they escalated. As the strongest shinobi alive, his existence alone acted as deterrence—much like a living embodiment of absolute power.
For someone like Shion, who lacked confidence in her own strength, such power was something she deeply admired.
"It's me," Ryoma replied with a faint smile, gently patting her head.
He then shifted his attention to the wounded scattered throughout the palace.
His mastery of medical ninjutsu had long since surpassed conventional standards. Raising a hand, he released a vast wave of medical chakra. The energy rose skyward, transforming into a gentle rain that blanketed the palace grounds like a divine miracle.
Where the rain touched, wounds closed at visible speed. Broken bones mended. Blood loss stopped. The injured recovered one after another.
Not everyone could be saved. Those who had been bisected by blades or burned to ash were beyond even this.
With his Rinnegan, Ryoma could use the Outer Path — Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique to revive the dead through the King of Hell. But resurrection required an immense life-force cost. He was no saint. He would not expend such power without reason.
For the next two days, Ryoma remained in the palace.
According to intelligence reports, there had been no further clashes. Aside from the initial casualties caused by the four-man assault, the situation had stabilized.
Strangely, the Ghost Legion that had previously occupied the front lines had vanished without a trace. The jonin and squads dispatched to intercept them returned empty-handed.
The moment Ryoma learned that Mōryō's whereabouts were unknown, he decided to act personally. He would take Shion to the Sealing Ancestral Hall of the Land of Swamps.
Years ago, when he dismantled the old feudal system and overthrew the daimyō of the Five Great Nations, smaller countries had surrendered without resistance—including the Land of Swamps. Administrative matters afterward had largely been handled by Tsunade, so Ryoma himself had never visited the site directly.
Using the map he had memorized and Shion's guidance, he pinpointed the hall's location.
"Boom."
Space distorted as Amenominaka-like rifts tore open—though this time it was the dimensional technique Yomotsu Hirasaka. A dark void split the air, and Ryoma stepped through with Shion.
They arrived before the Sealing Ancestral Hall.
But something else stood there as well.
Arrayed in suffocating density before the entrance was the Ghost Legion—countless towering figures, each nearly three meters tall. Their oppressive forms stood like demons of Asura, stretching beyond the limits of sight.
"So the legion from the front lines relocated here," Ryoma muttered, touching his chin.
"It must be Mōryō's order," Shion said, her voice trembling. "They're preventing us from entering."
Even at a glance, the army seemed endless. She couldn't see where it began or ended.
Ryoma turned to her calmly.
"I'll send you to the entrance. Mōryō should be inside. Go and complete the sealing."
Shion hesitated. "But… if I'm alone…"
"Believe in yourself."
He lifted her in a princess carry and stepped forward.
In an instant, they appeared directly before the hall's gates, bypassing the army entirely.
"There are many things in this world humans can't control," Ryoma said quietly. "All you can do is trust yourself—and give everything you have."
Shion took a deep breath, steadying her heart.
"Lord Ryoma… I understand."
Without another word, she ran toward the entrance of the ancestral hall.
Watching her figure disappear inside, Ryoma turned back toward the countless Ghost Legion soldiers.
The air grew heavy.
And the battlefield began.
If these creatures weren't eliminated here, they would follow him inside. And if that happened, sealing Mōryō would become far more troublesome.
"At least if Shion goes in first, I can fight without holding back."
Ryoma's body slowly rose into the sky, hovering directly above the center of the Ghost Legion. He lifted both hands calmly.
"Shinra Tensei."
"Boom—!"
An invisible repulsive force erupted outward with Ryoma at its core.
The air itself seemed to collapse.
The surrounding ghost soldiers were struck head-on by the overwhelming shockwave. It was as if an enormous hammer weighing hundreds of tons had smashed into the earth. Space visibly distorted, ripples spreading in all directions like the aftermath of a catastrophic earthquake.
The ground shattered.
The seemingly indestructible Ghost Legion crumbled instantly under the force of the Rinnegan's Deva Path ability.
Thousands of ghost golems were blown apart in a single strike.
Fragments of stone and debris filled the air.
Ryoma narrowed his eyes.
"There are still quite a lot."
The ripple of his Rinnegan faded—then his pupils shifted.
The tomoe rotated.
His eyes transformed into the Mangekyō Sharingan, switching seamlessly from the Rinnegan. A surge of tyrannical chakra erupted from his body, rising into the sky like a blazing blue inferno.
"Boom!"
A colossal skeletal figure materialized, rapidly forming muscle and armor as it descended to the battlefield.
The Third Stage Susanoo stood tall upon the earth.
Its massive frame towered over the battlefield, exuding an overwhelming aura of destruction. With a single glance from Ryoma, the giant chakra avatar moved.
Several ghost soldiers were casually seized within Susanoo's enormous palm.
Crack—!
Under the sheer grip strength, their bodies shattered into countless fragments.
"Swoosh!"
A massive blue chakra blade condensed into Susanoo's hand.
With a single sweeping strike—
"Rumble—!"
The battlefield split apart.
Rows upon rows of ghost soldiers were cleaved in two. The slash extended so far it felt as though heaven and earth themselves had been divided. The shattered remains of the constructs were caught in the violent chakra aftershock, crushed, torn, and erased into nothingness midair.
The so-called "war machines" that once threatened to destroy entire nations were now nothing more than brittle toys before absolute power.
Under the might of the Rinnegan and Susanoo, the Ghost Legion was being annihilated without resistance.
(End of Chapter)
📝 Limited-Time Offer (Ends Soon): $9 → 20 chapters ahead
🦊 Pa-treon-com/LordMerlin
😊 Thank you for your support!