Chapter 48: One-Man Army
"So amazing... so amazing! Sister, is that big brother your boyfriend?"
When Ryuzen returned to where he had left the Hyūga sisters, Hanabi's earlier reserve had completely vanished. The young heiress's eyes shone with undisguised admiration as she watched the boy who had just effortlessly slain a giant three-headed serpent.
Ryuzen's strength had conquered her completely.
Hanabi's question made Hinata's face turn crimson. She quickly reached out and covered her sister's mouth with both hands.
"Shut up... shut up!"
"Mmph mmph!"
Ryuzen glanced at the suddenly talkative Hanabi, then turned to Hinata with a slight smile. "Let's get your sister back to the clan compound first. I need to help others."
Speaking of the situation, Hinata nodded seriously, her embarrassment momentarily set aside.
Taking both Hyūga sisters with him, Ryuzen ran toward the direction of the Hyūga compound. His Kenbunshoku Haki spread quietly around them, painting the battlefield in his mind, alerting him to threats before they appeared.
They didn't take to the rooftops this time. Too exposed. Too many enemies with line of sight. Instead, they moved through the ruined streets, using destroyed buildings for cover.
They hadn't gone far when Ryuzen's right hand settled on his sword hilt again.
Shing—CLANG!
A white silver light transformed into dark red sword energy three to four meters long, rising from his blade in an upward arc.
"Ahhh—!"
A figure passing through the air above them—a Sound ninja who had been about to drop down on them from a rooftop—flew directly into the path of the sword energy. The impact blasted him more than ten meters into the air. The force and the tearing wind left him covered in wounds before he even hit the ground.
He fell from that height, crashing limply onto the street below. Unmoving. Perhaps dead, perhaps merely unconscious, perhaps destined to survive until the war ended and medical ninja could reach him.
Ryuzen didn't check. He had already sheathed his sword and continued running.
Behind him, Hanabi stared with gleaming eyes.
So amazing! So cool! So strong!
From the moment Ryuzen had walked into the venue holding her sister's hand, Hanabi had been secretly paying attention to him. She had watched his match against Neji—the cousin their father called a genius. She had seen him kill those ninja who attacked them. She had witnessed him destroy the three-headed serpent like it was nothing.
Every time, he remained calm. Unhurried. Completely in control.
It was the most impressive thing she had ever seen.
Ryuzen remained unaware of the young Hyūga heiress's thoughts. His focus remained on getting them to safety.
Ten minutes later, they arrived at the entrance of the Hyūga clan's mansion. The compound gates stood closed, but through them, they could see armed clan members patrolling the walls. The Hyūga were prepared.
"Go inside," Ryuzen told both sisters. "Stay there until the war ends. Don't come out before then."
The Hyūga clan was one of Konoha's founding families. Even during an invasion, their compound would be one of the safest places in the village. Clan members would protect their own. Hinata and Hanabi would be secure here.
"Mm!" Hinata nodded, then reached out and gripped his hand briefly. Her voice carried gentle concern: "Ryuzen-kun... please be careful."
She knew his character. She knew she couldn't stop him from participating in the war. So she simply showed him her trust and her worry in equal measure.
Ryuzen smiled at her—a genuine smile, not the cold expression he wore for enemies. "Don't worry. I'll be fine."
Then he turned and vanished.
His afterimage danced across rooftops, moving faster than most eyes could track. Soon he reached the center of Konoha, where the fighting was thickest.
He stopped atop a high building and surveyed the battlefield below.
His silver hair—now streaked with the blood of enemies—moved in the wind. His red eyes swept across the chaos beneath him. And slowly, a bloodthirsty smile spread across his handsome face.
From his Kenbunshoku perception, he could sense no villagers in this area. Only ninja. Konoha ninja trying to hold the line. Sand and Sound ninja pressing their advantage.
According to Konoha's emergency response protocols, three phases activated automatically when the village came under attack.
Phase One: Eliminate the enemy's surprise attack force. That had failed almost immediately—the invasion was too well-coordinated, too massive.
Phase Two: Evacuate all civilians and children to designated shelters. That was still ongoing. Most Konoha ninja in this area were escorting non-combatants to safety, leaving only a small rearguard to delay the enemy.
Phase Three: Once evacuation was complete, mobilize the village's full military power to crush the invaders. That hadn't started yet.
In this area, right now, Konoha ninja were outnumbered. Outgunned. Dying.
If they fell here, no one would blame them. No one would investigate. No one would ask questions.
Ryuzen's smile widened.
"So... before the village fights back, this is my show."
He drew his tachi. The silver-white blade caught the light, gleaming coldly. Then black spread across its surface—Armament Haki coating it from hilt to tip.
When the blade had turned completely black, Ryuzen vanished.
FWOOSH—
A gust of wind swept through a small battlefield where three Konoha ninja were desperately fighting six Sand and Sound invaders.
One Sound ninja's eyes went wide. His vision was shaking—no, he was falling. He caught a glimpse of his own body below, headless, and the figure of a boy standing behind it.
THUD.
His head hit the ground.
RIP—
Before the body even finished falling, another tearing sound echoed. A Sand ninja beside him suddenly split diagonally from left shoulder to right hip. A column of blood sprayed outward.
But before any of it could touch the boy, he was gone.
"So... so fast! So powerful! Who is that kid?!"
The surviving Konoha ninja stared at the empty space where their enemy had been, expressions of shock and hope warring on their faces.
Another battlefield.
CLANG—CRACK!
A sword met a kunai in direct clash. The kunai shattered instantly.
The Sand ninja holding it stared at the broken weapon, then at the black-bladed sword that had destroyed it, then at the boy holding that sword. His expression shifted from shock to horror.
Ryuzen regarded him with a slight smile. "Impressive. You actually blocked my first strike. As a reward... I'll let you die quickly."
He vanished. Appeared behind the Sand ninja. Kept moving toward the next battlefield.
Behind him, the Sand ninja's body separated at the waist.
Everything is so heavy.
Ryuzen leaped between rooftops, his blood-stained face wearing a calm smile. His emotions remained flat—no thrill, no horror, no satisfaction at the killing. Just... peace.
In his ears, only breathing existed.
His own breath, steady and controlled. The breaths of enemies he hadn't yet reached—rough, heavy, rapid with fear or exertion. The breaths of those he had already passed—slowing, stopping, ceasing entirely.
These ninja... I don't know their ranks. Genin. Chūnin. Maybe some special jōnin mixed in. It doesn't matter.
Their bodies felt fragile. One swing. One cut. They separated like paper.
In this state, Ryuzen's power was absolute. Devastating. Unstoppable.
He wasn't fighting them.
He was simply removing obstacles.
A group of five Sound ninja spotted him landing on a rooftop above them. They raised weapons, formed hand signs, prepared to attack.
They never completed the motion.
Shing—
One flash of dark red light passed through all five.
They stood frozen for a moment. Then, simultaneously, they fell apart.
Ryuzen didn't pause. He was already moving again.
A jōnin-level Sand ninja—one of the stronger invaders—sensed Ryuzen's approach and turned to face him. His eyes narrowed as he took in the boy's apparent age.
"A kid? They're sending children to fight now?" He laughed, forming hand signs. "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
A massive gust of wind tore toward Ryuzen, powerful enough to shred flesh from bone.
Ryuzen stepped through it.
Not around it. Through it. His blade moved in a pattern too fast to follow, and the wind simply... parted. Flowed around him. Left him untouched.
The jōnin's eyes went wide. "What—"
Shing.
He didn't finish the question.
Ryuzen stood alone on another rooftop, surveying his work. Bodies littered the streets below. The surviving Konoha ninja in this sector had stopped fighting—there was no one left to fight.
One of them, a chūnin with a bandaged arm, approached cautiously. "You... who are you? I've never seen a jōnin like you before."
Ryuzen glanced at him. "I'm not a jōnin."
"Then what—"
"Genin." A slight smile. "Yagyu Ryuzen. Team 8."
The chūnin's jaw dropped. Behind him, the other Konoha survivors overheard and stared with identical expressions.
A genin. A genin had just single-handedly cleared an entire sector of the invasion force.
Ryuzen didn't wait for their reactions. He was already moving again, seeking the next battlefield.
The invasion was far from over.
And he was far from finished.
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