Facing Minato's question, Ryou did not give a direct answer.
Instead, he asked Minato: "Minato, that child Obito has always aimed to become Hokage. Do you believe an Uchiha can become Hokage?"
Minato said categorically: "They can! They definitely can. As long as they are a Konoha Ninja and the Will of Fire burns in their heart, they can definitely become Hokage."
Ryou laughed: "Stop joking, Minato. Do you have any idea how much the Third Hokage has been on guard against me since I was a child?"
"Regarding the Rasengan, I originally intended to trade it for your Flying Thunder God Technique."
"But I didn't expect that fellow, the Third Hokage, to interfere and force me to hand over the Ninjutsu."
Ryou controlled the giant snake beneath his feet; the snake's head swung and charged toward Minato.
Minato's speed was like a Yellow Flash; in the blink of an eye, he appeared on the giant snake's head, a Kunai radiating cold killing intent slashing toward Ryou's neck.
"I know the Village is very wary of the Uchiha. Now I realize this is the fear that Hokage-sama and the various Advisors have for the Uchiha's power."
Before, Minato couldn't fully understand why the Uchiha in the Village faced such an awkward political environment. Why was the Uchiha Clan basically ostracized by the other major Ninja Clans in Konoha?
Now, having witnessed Uchiha Madara's power and hearing the secret of the Mangekyo Sharingan from the Third Hokage's mouth, he completely understood.
The high-ranking officials were fearing the Uchiha's power.
Their generation had basically grown up listening to stories of Hashirama and Uchiha Madara, whose power was enough to change the entire Ninja world.
The more they knew, the more they feared.
Ryou completely ignored the Kunai Minato was about to slash across his neck, and the Chakra in his hand condensed into the shape of a blade.
This was the Chakra Scalpel, a high-level combat Ninjutsu for Medical Ninjas, used by Yakushi Kabuto in the original story.
Ryou's Chakra Scalpel slashed toward Minato's head and chest.
In any case, this body of his was a Spore Clone; if he could take Minato down with him, it would be a gain.
Minato's reaction was very fast. Before Ryou could strike, he flipped over and condensed a Rasengan in his hand, slamming it into Ryou's back.
Ryou's giant snake was caught in the aftermath and was sent directly back to Ryūchi Cave by Minato's Rasengan.
The Third Hokage had already led a large group of Ninjas to the opposite side of the canyon. Seeing Minato emerge from the smoke clutching Ryou's figure, he smiled and said: "Minato, you're still as fast as ever!"
The Third Hokage was truly afraid that Minato would act on impulse and kill Ryou to avenge Jiraiya.
Ryou was not the main point; he was just a small pawn. The main point was Uchiha Madara behind Ryou.
The most rational thing was to capture Ryou and interrogate him for information on Uchiha Madara.
Minato walked over, holding the Ryou who had been knocked unconscious by the Rasengan.
Suddenly, Hizashi warned Minato loudly: "Minato, be careful! That's a clone—"
A figure drilled out from the ground, looking as if a ball of flame was burning in his hand.
"Fire Release: Heavenly Prison!"
Ryou had learned the Uchiha Clan's Fire Release scrolls, so he basically didn't lack Ninjutsu.
But against a high-end mobile Ninja like Minato, the Uchiha Clan's Fire Release Ninjutsu was simply useless; only this Fire Release Sealing Technique from Kusagakure had some merit.
As long as it hit Minato, it could bind all the Chakra in Minato's body and even burn him.
Unfortunately, Minato's reflexes far exceeded those of ordinary people. The moment Hizashi spoke, he used the Flying Thunder God to flash away.
Ryou's Heavenly Prison Secret Technique didn't hit Minato, and he turned back to curse at Hizashi.
"Hizashi, you bastard! Who told you to speak up and warn him? Don't you know a true gentleman observes in silence?"
Hizashi did not lose the poise of the Hyuga noble family: "Ryou-senpai, your clone was too special. If my Byakugan hadn't seen your Chakra underground, I'm afraid I wouldn't have seen through the clone in Minato's hand."
Ryou had created the clone on the back of the Ryūchi Cave giant snake to deceive Minato.
Minato was completely fooled by Ryou's Spore Clone, but the battlefield didn't belong only to him and Minato; the battlefield was complex.
With the Hyuga's Byakugan present, Ryou's hidden clone was easily seen through.
Minato teleported next to the Third Hokage and thanked Hizashi: "Thanks, Hizashi. If it weren't for you, I almost fell for it."
Regarding the young Jonin who was currently the rising star of the Village, Hizashi did not dare to be negligent and smiled: "Even without my reminder, I believe you would have dodged it with your reflexes, Minato."
The first requirement for practicing the Flying Thunder God Technique was to have fast reflexes. Minato didn't have Uchiha eyes, but his reaction speed was completely comparable to the insight of the Sharingan.
Kakashi's Chidori was a high-speed straight thrust; the speed was too fast for his visual nerves to keep up. It was only after being fitted with Obito's Sharingan that he could unleash the power of the Chidori.
Minato's battles were similarly high-speed, but he didn't need a Sharingan to compensate for dynamic vision.
His reflexes could fully keep up.
Even without Hizashi's reminder, it was impossible for Ryou to hit Minato.
Yuhi Shinku walked up, looking at Ryou with some regret: "After Ryou resolved the hereditary disease in his body, his talent as a Ninja completely awakened. His talent is definitely not inferior to the likes of Jiraiya and Orochimaru."
The Third Hokage nodded: "Indeed. Unfortunately, a wrong path is a wrong path. If I had been more on guard against him, today's scene would not have happened."
The Third Hokage took a step forward and said: "Ryou, surrender and accept judgment!"
Ryou deactivated his Sharingan, revealing ink-colored eyes.
After splitting half his Chakra to create a clone and then using the Heavenly Prison, Ryou didn't have much Chakra left.
He had already finished showing off on this trip; it was time for him to exit the stage.
"Hmph! Surrender? Hiruzen, you are still so hypocritical! You, who condone the evils of Danzo and Orochimaru, are no better than me."
Ryou mobilized all his Chakra, and a Chakra aura erupted from his body.
Hiashi looked on in shock: "Is he throwing his life away? All his Chakra is being refined; this is forcibly overdrawing his life force."
When a Ninja's Chakra is completely exhausted, they fall into an extremely weak state because Chakra is a mixture of physical and spiritual energy.
No more Chakra means the body has no more energy to continue refining it.
So-called forced refining of Chakra is overdrawing one's energy, which carries the risk of death.
In the original story, Kakashi used Kamui by overdrawing his body when his Chakra was exhausted, eventually dying from draining his life essence.
In Hiashi's Byakugan, Ryou was treating his entire body like dry firewood, burning it into Chakra.
Ryou clapped his hands together.
"Fire Release: Demon Lantern!"
Bang, bang, bang!
All of Ryou's Chakra was converted into fire-attribute Chakra, and fireballs with demon masks circled around him.
There were at least a hundred of them; at this moment, Ryou looked like a monarch commanding flames.
Under Ryou's control, the swarm of Demon Lanterns fireballs all rushed toward the Konoha Ninjas.
"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"
Hizashi used a Chakra air palm to knock down a patch of Demon Lanterns, then warned everyone: "Watch out! A large amount of explosive Chakra is condensed within the fireballs. Don't let them get close!"
Just as he finished speaking, one of Ryou's Demon Lanterns flew onto a Konoha Chunin. With a bang, it was like an exploding tag going off.
That Chunin let out a cry and was instantly charred to a crisp.