Uchiha Ryun looked at Kato Dan's soul charging toward him, his expression grave. This guy must not be allowed to make contact.
Then, he narrowed his eyes. His skin instantly turned pale, the sage markings appeared, and golden dragon scales armor emerged on his chest, with the reverse scale at the center glowing.
Ryun was startled. He could feel the reverse scale's desire for Kato Dan's soul, urgently urging him to perform the Sage Art: Dragon Soul Annihilation Technique.
This was the first time he had received guidance from the reverse scale. He looked at the charging Kato Dan, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth, and channeled sage chakra into the reverse scale.
Immediately, the reverse scale erupted with golden light. The intense light stung Dan's eyes, forcing him to shut them instinctively. When the light faded, he slowly opened them again.
Jiraiya's voice suddenly rang out, "Kato Dan! It really is you!"
Dan turned in confusion to look at Jiraiya. Unexpectedly, Jiraiya was also looking right at him! He, he could see him?
No, that wasn't right. It was that golden light! Uchiha Ryun!
He had no time to deal with Jiraiya. He looked toward Ryun, and his heart began to pound wildly.
He saw Ryun enveloped in golden chakra—Susano'o! Then a roaring golden dragon flew out from within him, coiling above his head. Its powerful soul energy made cold sweat pour down Dan's back.
He had a premonition: if he didn't run, he would die here today. So he changed direction, flying toward his own body.
Jiraiya quickly blocked Dan's path, throwing a punch!
Bam! Dan was sent flying, crashing into a tree. His pupils constricted in shock. How was this possible? His Spirit Transformation Technique had... had failed?!
No! It hadn't failed, because he was still here in soul form, but he had lost his physical immunity!
There was only one possibility: the golden light from Uchiha Ryun earlier!
"Monster! You monster!" Dan roared, glaring at Ryun with eyes full of jealousy and rage.
"Finished? If you're done, prepare to die here." Ryun sneered, waving his right hand. The golden dragon charged toward Kato Dan, jaws wide.
Naturally, Dan wouldn't just wait for death. He churned his soul energy, forming two sharp blades in his hands, and slashed at the dragon.
The dragon's eyes held a look of mockery. What trash dared to challenge it?
With a swing of its divine tail, it struck Dan. Seeing he couldn't dodge in time, Dan gritted his teeth and stabbed both soul blades toward the dragon's tail.
A ding sound rang out. The soul blades actually shattered, and the broken pieces visibly merged into the dragon's body.
With a smack, the dragon's tail slammed into him, throwing him to the ground.
As he tried to get up and escape, the dragon opened its massive mouth and bit off one of his arms!
Rip! Dan's arm, in its soul state, was bitten clean off. The sight made Jiraiya's scalp go numb.
He had thought Kato Dan's Spirit Transformation Technique was terrifying enough, but today, Uchiha Ryun's golden dragon was even more horrifying!
Dan cried out in pain, "What kind of monstrous thing is this? It can actually devour souls!"
"Hmph, daring to assassinate me means being prepared to die." After saying this, Ryun commanded the golden dragon to continue its attack on Dan.
The dragon, having received Dan's "offering," howled excitedly. Finally, it had a chance to feast today! It flew toward Dan once more.
It tore off Dan's other arm. This time, Dan severed the soul connection to the arm himself, sacrificing it to survive, and flew toward his original body.
The dragon devoured the self severed arm, then raised its head and noticed Dan had disappeared. Its eyes became adorably dumbfounded, which made Ryun sigh inwardly.
The dragon was powerful, but a bit... childish? Ryun shook his head and recalled it. He glanced at the stunned Jiraiya and sighed. "I believe you didn't do it on purpose, that he deceived you. Please return to the village and announce for me: Kato Dan's assassination attempt on the Hokage has failed. He is now classified as an S rank missing nin."
"Yes! Hokage sama!" Jiraiya was completely convinced now. In taijutsu, he was no match for Ryun. Even Kato Dan's Spirit Transformation Technique had been completely crushed by Ryun.
As for ninjutsu... Jiraiya wasn't a fool. There was no need to humiliate himself further.
Ryun nodded and began tracking in the direction indicated by his soul sensing radar.
Finally, he stopped outside a cave. He looked around and found the surroundings somewhat familiar. Wasn't this the area near the Kannabi Bridge from the anime, where Obito was crushed by rocks?
And in the next moment, his soul sensing technique detected that besides Kato Dan's soul inside the cave, there was also a very familiar old friend—Black Zetsu.
Black Zetsu looked at Dan's soul and was taken aback. "What happened? Did you fail? You're injured so badly!"
Dan's soul nodded, then merged back into his body. He tried to raise his arms but found they had lost all sensation and couldn't be lifted at all.
Gritting his teeth, he said, "Damn that Uchiha Ryun! He stole my woman, and today he's trying to hunt me down to the very end!"
Black Zetsu looked speechless. He stared at Dan, beginning to doubt if he had chosen the wrong person. He was so useless!
But in the next moment, his expression changed drastically! He possessed Dan's body. "Don't resist! If you resist, you will definitely die today!"
Dan, who had initially been somewhat resistant, compromised upon hearing the word "die." Driven by human jealousy, he wanted to kill Uchiha Ryun. Driven by fear of death, he chose to submit and endure.
Black Zetsu breathed a sigh of relief and instantly took control of Dan's body. Just then, he saw nine golden dragons flying into the cave, accompanied by dragon orbs.
Nine Dragons Shining Heaven Technique!
Black Zetsu's face paled. He quickly burrowed into the ground and vanished, grumbling inwardly, 'Dammit, it's all your fault, Uchiha Ryun! You made me lose such a strong puppet!'
'Mother, you are on the moon. You will protect me, right?' Black Zetsu's heart ached as he fled a thousand miles away, completely disappearing from Ryun's soul sensing technique.
Uchiha Ryun's face remained calm as he watched the cave collapse. He sighed.
This old friend was still as good at running away as ever. Kato Dan, so you are the new puppet he chose?
Interesting. It seems the ninja world won't be peaceful from now on.
Thinking this, Ryun used the Flying Thunder God Technique and returned to the village gate. He found three thousand shinobi gathered outside!
The shinobi's eyes were blazing with fury, their teeth gritted, veins bulging on their temples! They were burning with rage!
At the lead were his fiancée Tsunade and Uchiha Madara, both radiating killing intent. Jiraiya was pointing in the direction Ryun had chased, explaining something.
Ryun suddenly understood. They had heard about the assassination attempt by Kato Dan and that he had gone to pursue him. Worried, they had assembled forces to support him.
Ryun's sudden appearance stunned everyone present. They rushed forward, "Hokage sama, are you alright?"
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