Tsunade roared at Ryou, "Ryou, why did you help Uchiha Madara restore his strength?"
Ryou was stunned for a moment, then reacted, "Tsunade, you're actually interrogating me? You should realize that you're the prisoner now."
Ryou rushed forward and pinned Tsunade beneath him.
"You bastard! What do you think you're doing?"
"What am I doing? Hmph, when a man and a woman are alone in a room, if nothing happens, it just means the man is gay."
Katsuyu jumped onto Ryou's face, trying her best to stop him.
"Lord Ryou, please do not act recklessly."
Ryou grabbed Katsuyu. "Katsuyu, do you really think I can't deal with you?"
Katsuyu threatened, "If you dare to harm Lady Tsunade, my main body in Shikkotsu Forest will descend. Even if I have to perish along with Uchiha Madara, I will kill you."
Ryou immediately softened and hurriedly bowed to Katsuyu. "Lady Katsuyu, please just let me go like a puff of air."
Only then did Katsuyu feel at ease.
Ryou was suddenly taken aback; he felt his contract with Ryūchi Cave being modified.
"Is that bastard modifying the contract?"
...Konoha, Root's underground base.
With Hiruko's help, Orochimaru crawled out from the belly of a white snake, his entire body covered in serpentine mucus.
Hiruko looked at Orochimaru, who was so weak he barely looked human, and a deep sense of fear flickered in his eyes.
"Orochimaru, is Uchiha Madara really that strong?"
Hiruko had previously been bound by Ryou's pitcher plant Jutsu and had escaped by using a self-detonation to break the Wood Release binding.
Later, he found the unconscious Orochimaru in the wild and brought him back to the underground base in Konoha.
Orochimaru found a place to sit and panted heavily from exhaustion, explaining to Hiruko, "My previous unconsciousness wasn't caused by Uchiha Madara, but by that dog, Ryou."
"I knew he couldn't be trusted. While he was signing the summoning scroll, I forcibly overextended my body to refine Chakra and create a clone to escape."
Orochimaru spoke with little strength, his eyes still harboring resentment toward Ryou.
Orochimaru had fainted earlier because he had overdrawn his Chakra. Fortunately, he had previously integrated Ryūchi Cave's white snake cells, giving him powerful vitality.
Otherwise, he really would have lost his life due to the forced extraction of Chakra.
"Brat, do you really think I can't deal with you just because you signed Ryūchi Cave's summoning scroll?"
The more Orochimaru thought about it, the angrier he got. If he couldn't beat Madara, couldn't he at least beat Ryou?
Orochimaru opened his mouth and spat out the Ryūchi Cave summoning scroll. He unrolled it and stopped at the last row where the name 'Ryou' was written.
He performed a hand seal and wiped it, directly erasing Ryou's name.
Can a contract between a Ninja and a Summoned Beast be forcibly dissolved?
Yes. The Uzumaki clan has a type of Contract Seal that can dissolve the contract relationship between a summoner and a Summoned Beast. In the original story, Minato used a Contract Seal to release Obito's control over the Nine-Tails.
A Contract Seal only releases control; it doesn't permanently dissolve the summoning contract.
To truly dissolve it, one must address the source. Orochimaru directly erased Ryou's name from the Ryūchi Cave summoning scroll at the source.
Of the four elements of the Summoning Jutsu, he directly destroyed Ryou's first element—signing the contract on the summoning scroll with the Summoned Beast.
After giving Ryou this small bit of revenge, Orochimaru felt a bit better. He then answered Hiruko's previous question.
"It's not a matter of whether Uchiha Madara is strong or not. He has already surpassed the concept of a Ninja. I believe he has touched the level of the legendary founder of Ninshū, the Sage of Six Paths."
Hiruko was shocked to hear this. "The level of the Sage of Six Paths? Doesn't that mean he's invincible?"
Orochimaru nodded. "Exactly. Jiraiya was killed, Tsunade was captured, and I nearly died in the Land of Grass. Uchiha Madara is invincible."
Hiruko said indignantly, "Damn it. With Uchiha Madara as his backer, we'll never be able to kill Ryou now."
Orochimaru glanced at Hiruko. "Hiruko, weren't you also taken down by Ryou?"
"This—"
Hiruko suddenly became hesitant. He had already integrated white snake cells and could transform into a Great White Scale Snake, yet he hadn't managed to beat Ryou?
"By the way, Orochimaru, I discovered a secret. Ryou knows Wood Release secret techniques!"
"What?!"
Orochimaru was startled. It was one thing for Madara to know Wood Release, but what the hell was with Ryou?
Hiruko was certain. He told Orochimaru about being bound by the giant pitcher plant earlier. A plant attack that could absorb Chakra—that was an authentic Wood Release secret technique.
Orochimaru rubbed his chin and analyzed, "From the looks of it, when Uchiha Madara fought the First Hokage at the Valley of the End, he must have obtained the First Hokage's cells."
"After decades of research, he overcame the compatibility issues and mastered the First's cells."
"Uchiha Madara actually understands science!"
Orochimaru became interested. He held appreciation for anyone who grasped the truth.
What he looked down on most were those who spoke big words, constantly claiming they were acting for the sake of Konoha while being hollow inside.
"Wood Release, Sharingan! I must find a way to obtain these two powers."
Orochimaru showed his ambition.
Hiruko reminded him, "Orochimaru, I must remind you that the problem of Uchiha Madara is imminent. He will destroy the entire Ninja world."
It was almost the end of the Ninja world, yet Orochimaru still wanted to 'level up.' Did he have any sense of the situation?
Orochimaru waved his hand. "No rush, I will take action."
Hiruko looked at Orochimaru in confusion. "Orochimaru, how are you going to take action? You were beaten like a dead dog by Uchiha Madara earlier."
Orochimaru pointed at Hiruko. "Hiruko, how did you come to be?"
"Edo Tensei?!"
Hiruko immediately realized, "Orochimaru, you're planning to reanimate the First Hokage?!"
It was simple logic. In the Ninja world, only Hashirama could resist Madara. So, wouldn't it work if Orochimaru just resurrected Hashirama?
Orochimaru nodded. "Come, let's go to the Konoha Cemetery!"
Hiruko said urgently, "Orochimaru, do you know what you're doing? You're desecrating the heroes."
Even though Hiruko was bad, he had grown up hearing stories of Hashirama and, in his heart, he admired the First Hokage's achievements.
For Orochimaru to disturb the grave of a former Hokage was an act that would demand he commit seppuku before all of Konoha.
Orochimaru looked at Hiruko. "Hiruko, if we don't summon the former Hokage, do you think you have a way to deal with Uchiha Madara?"
"..."
Hiruko suddenly went silent. It seemed that Orochimaru's method was indeed the optimal solution... Ryou felt his summoning contract with Ryūchi Cave being dissolved. He quickly bit his finger, and after drawing blood, he activated the Summoning Jutsu.
With a 'poof,' what Ryou summoned wasn't a snake, but a cat—a white short-haired cat.
It was the Ninja Cat Ryou had once adopted, Fried Rice. As the name suggested, Ryou used to have it cook specifically for him, so he named it Fried Rice.
At this moment, Fried Rice was still wearing a chef's uniform and holding a spatula in its hand.
It seemed it was still cooking when it was summoned.
Ryou's eyes widened as he looked at Fried Rice, his voice full of disbelief. "Impossible, impossible. Where's my big snake? Where's my huge snake?"
"I don't believe it. Summoning Jutsu!"
Ryou didn't believe his contract with Ryūchi Cave had been forcibly dissolved, so he tried again.
Fried Rice was still a bit dazed. It had been cooking for the Ninja Cats in the Abandoned District and hadn't expected to be suddenly summoned to this place.