"Smack!"
Ryūjin brought his hands together, and the violent chakra of Sage Mode surged through his body.
Under his control, the gold dust in front of him erupted, roaring outward in a raging torrent. It swept toward the surrounding puppets from every direction, fast and overwhelming.
Ōtsutsuki Shinichi's pupils shrank slightly. "What a powerful Magnet Release."
He immediately controlled the puppets to evade.
But the gold dust did not come from a single direction. It surged from all sides, closing in completely.
In moments, every puppet was trapped within the golden flow.
"Explode."
Ryūjin clenched his fist.
Boom, boom, boom!
All the Ōtsutsuki puppets detonated at once.
"What!"
Shinichi's expression tightened again. The strength of the Uchiha in front of him had already reached a level that forced him to take this seriously.
Since when did someone like this exist in the shinobi world?
In that brief moment of distraction, Ryūjin had already gathered an enormous mass of gold dust and sent it crashing forward.
It surged like a tidal wave.
This was no exaggeration. The sheer volume of gold dust formed a massive, raging sea that swept forward with unstoppable force.
Shinichi felt a chill run down his spine.
Was there still anyone in this era capable of using jutsu on this scale?
"Toneri, move!"
Without hesitation, Shinichi grabbed Ōtsutsuki Toneri and used the Body Flicker Technique to retreat, barely avoiding the incoming wave.
Boom, boom, boom!
From within the golden sea, massive fists formed and shot forward, relentlessly attacking Shinichi.
He responded by firing light orbs, blasting the sand fists apart one after another.
But what he did not realize was that during this exchange, Ryūjin had already marked Toneri with a Flying Thunder God seal.
The entire attack had been a distraction.
Toneri, still just a child, had no awareness of what had just been done to him.
With the mark successfully placed, Ryūjin had already achieved his goal.
With a single thought, he withdrew his jutsu.
The raging sea of gold dust suddenly stopped.
"You two, take care."
Ryūjin gave a casual wave.
Then, right in front of their stunned expressions, he disappeared using Kamui.
Silence followed.
Ōtsutsuki Shinichi and Toneri looked at each other, both completely confused.
They could not understand it.
He appeared out of nowhere, attacked with overwhelming strength, and then simply left.
"…Let's go," Shinichi said at last, his tone low.
Without wasting another moment, he brought Toneri onto their aircraft.
This world was far more dangerous than expected.
Better to leave.
The craft lifted into the air and quickly vanished into the sky.
Moments later, Ryūjin returned to Konoha using Kamui.
Not long after, he was summoned to the Hokage's office.
As expected, it was because of the Kumogakure incident.
Inside the office, the atmosphere was tense.
Rinkawa stood at the center, speaking loudly.
"Hokage, this is absurd. Why would Kuroki kidnap a Hyuga child? What reason would he even have?"
"To be frank, while the Byakugan is powerful, Kumogakure does not need it that badly."
"Our delegation came here sincerely to negotiate peace, yet one of our members was killed. You must give us an explanation."
"If not, Kumogakure will not let this go, even if it means war."
He spoke as if he were the victim.
Hiruzen Sarutobi remained calm, his posture low.
"I deeply apologize for what happened to Kuroki."
"Rest assured, I will give you an explanation."
"Please allow us to clarify the facts first."
Rinkawa snorted. "You had better. Whether this becomes peace or war depends on your answer."
Hiruzen then turned to Ryūjin.
"Uchiha Ryūjin, report what happened."
Ryūjin spoke plainly.
"I was patrolling near the Hyuga compound. I saw Kuroki kidnapping Hyuga Hinata and attempting to leave."
"He attacked me on sight. I killed him in self-defense."
"That's all."
"Nonsense!" Rinkawa immediately shouted. "You are colluding with Hyuga Hiashi to frame us!"
Ryūjin ignored him completely.
Hiashi was then asked to speak, and his account matched Ryūjin's.
Still, Rinkawa refused to accept it.
The argument continued until Hiruzen finally dismissed the Kumogakure delegation.
After they left, only Hiruzen, Hiashi, and Ryūjin remained.
"Hokage-sama, everything I said is true," Hiashi said.
Hiruzen raised a hand, cutting him off.
"How the matter truly happened is no longer important. Politics is not about right or wrong."
Hiashi fell silent.
He understood.
There was no decisive evidence. Only two testimonies against one.
In this situation, the outcome depended on what each side was willing to risk.
"Hokage-sama, you mean…"
"You may leave, Hiashi. You were not the one who killed Kuroki. Forget today."
Hiashi froze for a moment, then understood.
His gaze shifted briefly to Ryūjin before he left.
There was nothing more he could do.
Ryūjin let out a quiet scoff.
So it really was this route.
Hiruzen did not even hesitate to sacrifice people when needed.
"Uchiha Ryūjin," Hiruzen began, hands behind his back, "the war has lasted many years. Every nation has suffered."
"Konoha has endured especially heavy losses."
"Countless shinobi have died. The villagers have suffered."
Ryūjin's expression turned faintly amused.
Here it comes.
"Now, peace has finally been achieved, built on sacrifice."
"Konoha needs this peace."
"This negotiation must not fail."
"For the sake of stability, some sacrifices are necessary."
"Your clan has always supported the village. I believe you understand what must be done."
Hiruzen looked at him calmly.
"Between your life and Konoha's peace, the choice is clear."
Ryūjin stared at him.
Then he spoke.
"So after all that, you're telling me to go die."
"Your sacrifice will not be meaningless," Hiruzen continued. "Your spirit will live on…"
Ryūjin burst out laughing.
Not amused, not impressed.
Just pure mockery.
Hiruzen frowned. "What are you laughing at?"
Ryūjin shook his head.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi, you really are something."
If he had done something wrong, fine.
But he followed the rules and did his job.
And this was the result.
"Since peace is so important to you, why don't you go die for it?"
"If you want to kneel to Kumogakure, that's your business."
"But dragging me into it? You've got the wrong person."
His tone was flat, every word sharp.
"What are you, exactly?"
"Uchiha Ryūjin!" Hiruzen's voice rose. "You dare…"
"Spare me."
Ryūjin entered Sage Mode instantly.
In a flash, he appeared in front of Hiruzen.
Smack!
The sound echoed loudly through the office.
Hiruzen was sent flying before he could react.
Boom!
His body slammed into the wall.