Ryosuke stood in the sky.
The Dragon-Serpent Pearl spun slowly in his hand, condensing almost tangible natural energy. It surrounded Ryosuke's back, spreading outward in rippling circles like waves on a lake.
"Roar!"
Thousands of azure water dragons coiled through the heavens, circling above Warsaw City.
"Still not enough."
Ryosuke once again controlled the Dragon-Serpent Pearl. The natural energy within a radius of nearly ten kilometers surged toward him.
Dust on the earth trembled; the wind gathered the clouds, flowing into Ryosuke's palm like homing birds returning to their nest.
The torrent of natural energy clustered around him.
Even though thousands of dragons roared above, compared to them Ryosuke's figure looked incredibly small, but at this very moment, he seemed to be the absolute center of heaven and earth.
All eyes, rebels, samurai, or fleeing civilians, slowed their actions and stared blankly at Ryosuke standing upon the vault of the sky.
They all knew that just this morning, Ryosuke had arrived at Warsaw City.
And they also knew that, faced with this rebellion, Ryosuke could never simply stand by and watch.
So then... what would he do?
Hands clasped behind his back, Ryosuke floated in the air. Under the shroud of the Dragon-Serpent Pearl's natural energy, he lightly waved one hand.
The surging energy rippled outward, transforming into specks of chaotic flame that merged into the thousands of water dragons.
BOOM!
In an instant, the dragons' scales gleamed with a new sheen, their eyes glinting faintly with divine light. Just a single glance was enough to shake one's soul.
"This should be about enough."
Ryosuke turned his head toward the daimyo's mansion.
Across dozens of kilometers, his gaze locked precisely onto Tokugawa Shingen.
For the first time, this daimyo, who had already surrendered and agreed to pay reparations, truly understood how terrifying Ryosuke could be when he entered battle mode.
Just that look, though the two sides were technically allies, made Tokugawa Shingen shudder from the depths of his heart, scattering any hidden thoughts he'd had.
He swallowed hard and gave the order, "Fire the signal flares."
A few seconds later, samurai fighting rebels across the city took the signal flares from their belts and aimed them toward the sky.
Bang!
One by one, crimson flares shot upward, illuminating the night and pointing Ryosuke toward his targets.
"Go."
Thousands of water dragons roared and surged toward the directions where the flares had been launched.
Seeing the dragons charging their way, both rebels and samurai tensed to the limit. None of them knew who the dragons were meant to attack.
The ones most terrified were the civilians and the wealthy trapped between both sides with nowhere to flee,
No matter who the dragons are after, they thought, being in the middle of it, we're doomed to get caught up in it.
The samurai had strong bodies.
The rebels had puppet armor.
The citizens…
Had the next life.
A middle-aged rich man pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. After taking a drag, he noticed a young man beside him in ragged clothes, hair disheveled.
"Wanna take a puff?"
The young man shook his head nervously. "I don't know how."
"We're about to die anyway, who cares if you 'know how'? Ever dated a girl?"
"I have."
"Then it's the same thing. Look at the size of this cigarette tip, isn't it about the same as a woman's... haha, yeah, about the same. Same principle, go on, take a puff."
The young man took the cigarette, recalled moments with his girlfriend, and took a deep drag, so deep he nearly finished the whole thing, leaving just a stub. The middle-aged man stared, dumbfounded.
"Brother… your girlfriend sure had endurance."
He took back the stub, inhaled once, then sighed as he looked at the dragons overhead. "Next life, treat her better."
Across the battlefield, people looked up, waiting for the dragons to strike.
But then...
BOOM!
Thousands of dragons exploded at once.
They turned into countless droplets, falling like torrential rain over every corner of the battlefield.
Everyone was stunned.
What… what was this supposed to be?
All that show, flying in the air, dragons everywhere, and it turned out to be a giant… bath?
Those watching from the rear through surveillance were still confused, but those in the middle of the battlefield didn't have the luxury of thinking.
They wiped the water from their faces and refocused on their enemies, ready to swing their blades,
But…
They couldn't move.
Not one or two people, everyone touched by the rain, rebels and civilians alike, couldn't move at all.
"My body… I turned into stone!"
"It's the water! There's something wrong with that water!"
Cries of shock erupted.
And cries were all they could manage.
Natural energy filled the air. Normally, the human body had its own defense mechanism, it wouldn't absorb natural energy and turn itself into stone.
But Ryosuke had added Ripple Energy into the water.
The ripple's penetrative force broke through the body's defensive barrier, letting the natural energy within the water seep in.
It was a blend of Ryūchi Cave's "Snake Venom Infusion" and Mount Myōboku's "Toad Oil" techniques.
However, Ryosuke had greatly weakened the concentration. All those who were petrified only had parts of their bodies turned to stone. After the war ended, they would gradually recover.
As for now, no matter what the rebels thought, they could only stop fighting.
And since their bodies were partly petrified, the stimulants that forced their potential couldn't circulate anymore.
Their bodies would weaken, get sick, but at least they wouldn't burn their lives away and die tonight.
This, was Ryosuke's solution.
He had forcibly pressed pause on this mad city, ending a tragedy that should never have happened.
A samurai looked at the frozen rebels before him and swallowed hard.
"So… it's over?"
They too could feel the trace of natural energy invading their bodies. But samurai and ninja were experts at chakra control, this mild dose had little effect on them.
One samurai glanced at the wound on his shoulder, gritted his teeth in hate, and raised his sword, about to slash down the immobilized rebel.
A large boot suddenly kicked him over.
It was his captain.
"A true samurai doesn't swing his sword at someone who's lost the ability to fight. And besides..."
The captain pointed toward Ryosuke, who still hovered in the sky, overlooking the city.
"If you're that eager to die, go to a corner and disembowel yourself. Don't drag us down with you!"
Without looking at his ashamed subordinate, the captain sheathed his sword, removed his helmet, and gazed up at Ryosuke standing alone in the heavens. After a long silence, he sighed, "What an incredible man."
At the daimyo's residence, "Many of you have said, both in front of me and behind my back, 'Why did the daimyo surrender when we were ready to die fighting?'"
Tokugawa Shingen stood by the window, spreading his hands toward Ryosuke's direction.
"This is why."
Guests, officials, nobles, all fell silent.
They couldn't find words to describe their shock. Countless thoughts clashed in their minds, but the more their hearts surged, the more reality fell silent.
Until finally, their minds went blank, leaving only one echoing thought, "This is Ryosuke."
"This is…"
"Invincible."
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