Ryou needed the powerful Wood Release of Hashirama cells.
Wood Dragons, Wood Golems, and those fancy Deep Forest Emergences, who wouldn't drool at the sight?
Ryou had already integrated White Zetsu cells and gained an adaptability to Hashirama cells.
Moreover, he possessed the Chimera Technique. He planned to free up time in the coming days to develop the technique into a version capable of fusing two Kekkei Genkai.
Once he fused the Hashirama cells and obtained Wood Release, he would have a true trump card.
After some internal deliberation, Ryou said, "Ancestor, fusing with Hashirama cells will take time. I think the plan to capture the One Tail should be postponed a bit longer!"
Madara nodded. He was now extremely wary of the mysterious power from beyond the sky.
Even if all the Tailed Beasts were collected, if a single beam of light from the heavens descended and wiped them all out, it would all be for nothing.
Madara's current task was to protect the Gedo Statue, lie low underground, and let his subordinates capture the Tailed Beasts.
Madara said, "Tsunade and the others have arrived. Go receive them. And while you're at it, take over the Hidden Rain Village as a base of operations."
"Yes, sir!"
Ryou, along with Konan and Nagato, left Madara's cave and returned to the surface.
After reuniting with the members of the Akatsuki and the Hidden Rain, Konan and Nagato realized what they had lost.
Yahiko's body was gone!
Nagato and Konan wept bitterly.
Earlier, Ryou couldn't even save all the members of the Akatsuki and the Hidden Rain, let alone worry about a single corpse.
It had probably been vaporized in the explosion.
Ryou comforted Konan, "Konan, don't be sad. As long as you are here, Yahiko's will lives on."
"As long as you remember him, he will live forever."
Konan nodded.
Ryou turned to look at Nagato. Nagato thought Ryou would offer him some comfort too and braced himself.
But—
"What kind of man cries and whimpers like that? Go cry somewhere else, don't upset my Konan."
A fresh wave of grief hit Nagato, and he went off to mourn by himself.
Ryou prepared to send the two Anbu Jonin from the Hidden Rain back to the village to make arrangements, instructing the villagers to welcome the new sun of the Hidden Rain Village.
With Hanzo and the Hidden Rain Anbu all dead, these two Anbu Jonin were probably the strongest left in the Hidden Rain.
"Hey, what are your names again?"
It finally occurred to Ryou to ask for their names.
The two Hidden Rain Jonin were speechless. This guy finally realized he needed to assign them names!
"Ryou-sama, I am Kotaro!"
"I am Sakuya!"
Ryou nodded. "Alright, you two return to the Hidden Rain and take over the village. Tell them... from now on, I am the new leader of the Hidden Rain."
"Yes, Ryou-sama!"
Kotaro and Sakuya had no choice. Hanzo was dead, and the Jonin and Special Jonin of the Hidden Rain Village were basically wiped out.
Now, the Land of Rain had completely lost its military power and could only rely on Ryou's strength to protect the nation.
Ryou took Konan's hand. "Come, Konan, I'll take you to meet someone. Do you remember Tsunade?"
Konan remembered. "Princess Tsunade! She was there when Yahiko, Nagato, and I first met Teacher Jiraiya."
Back then, the Sannin each had their own views and stances upon seeing the three war orphans.
Yahiko wanted Tsunade and the others to teach them Ninjutsu.
Tsunade was indifferent; she would never teach Ninjutsu to anyone outside Konoha Village.
Orochimaru suggested killing the three of them.
Because Master Orochimaru is kind-hearted and can't bear to see the poor suffer. Killing them would spare them from suffering.
He really is, I could cry!
Only Jiraiya stayed to take care of Konan and the others.
Konan did not go with Ryou to see Tsunade.
Instead, she stayed behind with Nagato and the others.
They hadn't given up hope yet and still wanted to search for their comrades' bodies. Even if they couldn't find them, they would erect cenotaphs.
The dead deserve respect!
Ryou went to see Tsunade with three Ninja Cats.
Tsunade and the others arrived at the edge of the explosion site, staring in shock at the vast, devastated area.
Some superstitious Kusagakure shinobi immediately knelt down.
Only divine power could achieve this. This was divine punishment. god, seeing the world plagued by war, had sent down divine retribution.
Kiyomi tightened her grip on Tsunade's hand, taking a fearful step back. "Lady Tsunade!"
Tsunade was also deeply shaken inside, feeling this was a power only a god could possess.
Suddenly, Ryou's figure appeared.
The White Zetsu clones all paid homage to him as their master.
The Kusagakure shinobi who saw Ryou immediately stood at attention and saluted.
Then, a group of Ninja Cats gathered around, surrounding Ryou.
Fish Ball grabbed Ryou's pant leg, pointing fearfully at the massive crater spanning dozens of miles. "Ryou, what kind of power is this?"
With Madara not around, Ryou casually slandered him: "This is the divine punishment Old Demon Madara received for his many evil deeds. Don't be afraid. If you haven't done anything wrong, you have nothing to fear."
Fortune moved away from Ryou, saying with concern, "Ryou, why doesn't god punish a beast like you?"
"(ﾒﾟ皿 ﾟ)ﾒ." Enraged, Ryou directly robbed Fortune of all his valuables.
"Ryou, you beast! You're even worse than the ancestor!"
Tsunade approached with Kiyomi and Chizu. She asked Ryou, "Ryou, if it really was divine punishment, is Uchiha Madara dead?"
Ryou shooed away the cats around him, then moved closer to Tsunade and shook his head. "Disappointing, Tsunade."
"There's a saying: the good die young, while the wicked live a thousand years. Even divine punishment couldn't finish off that Old Demon Madara."
Tsunade couldn't help but feel disappointed. "Damn it! Even an attack like that couldn't kill him. What a pity!"
Ryou also nodded. "Yeah, Old Demon Madara is really hard to kill."
"Enough of that, Tsunade. Who are these two with you?"
Tsunade introduced them to Ryou. "This is Kiyomi! A descendant of the Uzumaki Clan. She's married and pregnant now, so don't you dare lay a hand on her."
Ryou retorted, "Tsunade, what kind of scum do you take me for? I'm a Medical Ninja who saves lives and heals the wounded, after all."
"Pah!"
Tsunade put her hands on her hips, looking at Ryou disdainfully. "Ever since I learned your true nature, I've known you're the scum of the scum."
Ryou pointed at Tsunade and shouted, "Fine, fine! If that's how you're going to be, I won't pretend anymore. In a few days, I'll suggest to Old Demon Madara that we hold a grand wedding."
"Then, we'll see if I don't 'wash your basket'!"
"You evil, lecherous Uchiha!"
Tsunade charged forward, swinging her fist to teach Ryou a lesson.
But Ryou stopped her with one hand.
Tsunade had Ryou's life spores inside her body. Her Chakra was being absorbed by his spores. Essentially, Tsunade's life was in Ryou's hands.
Ryou pressed down on Tsunade's head, easily suppressing the Slug Princess, one of the legendary Sannin.
The Uchiha Clan's Ninja Cats' morale soared in unison: "How dare a mere Senju challenge our Uchiha?!"
During the Warring States Period, the Uchiha Clan's Ninja Cats had encountered many Senju Clan Ninja. The older Uchiha Clan Ninja Cats hissed at the sight of Tsunade.
Kiyomi pleaded, "Please, sir, don't harm Lady Tsunade!"
Ryou released Tsunade but bound her with wooden vines and gagged her with leaves, turning her into a bound wife.
Ryou looked at Kiyomi, whose appearance somewhat resembled Karin's, and asked, "From the Uzumaki Clan?"
Kiyomi nodded.
Looking at her slightly swollen belly, he asked, "How long have you been pregnant?"
Kiyomi said, "About two months!"
Ryou suddenly felt a sense of disorientation. In the blink of an eye, key characters from the original work like Karin were about to be born.
Before he defected, Ryou had witnessed the births of Hyuga Neji, Lee, and Tenten at Konoha Hospital.
In a few days, it would be the New Year. The year 51 of Konoha was fast approaching.
Konoha Year 51 marked the beginning of the Golden Generation.
The Third Great Ninja War would end this year. Minato would succeed as the Fourth Hokage of Konoha, and the young heroes would be born one by one.
Shino, Sakura, Kiba, and also Sasuke and Naruto!
When Ryou left Konoha, he had examined Mikoto's health. She was also starting to show signs of pregnancy.
Kiyomi was probably about to get pregnant too.
Thinking of this, an expression of unwillingness crossed Ryou's face.
If only he had recovered his body a little sooner, Sasuke would have been his child.