"At the last Five Nations Conference, he slaughtered the envoys of the other four nations and smashed their corpses into pulp before sending them back. With such madness, how could the great powers feel at ease?"
"Only the two of us together can hope to drain Ryosuke's stamina. Look at the Raikage—he fell in a single move." Uchiha Madara frowned as he watched the battlefield.
"Let them wear him down first. If we act too soon and push Ryosuke into a corner, he'll go berserk. If he escapes, we'll never find him again," Senju Hashirama said anxiously.
He still remembered the time when Ryosuke, back then only at a quasi-Kage level, had been forced to desperation in battle. The energy he unleashed even then was terrifying, especially that monstrous dragon form.
What unsettled him most was that the dragon form could fly. Ryosuke had said it was not even complete, yet it left Hashirama wary to the core.
"My apologies, but I'm still alive. So this is the Cloud's ultimate Lightning Release? How disappointing!" Ryosuke's face twisted with frenzy. In his hand, a massive spiked club appeared once more. He leapt high, his towering form blotting out the sky as he descended upon the Raikage.
"I couldn't even scratch him?" The First Raikage lifted his head, staring at the unscathed monster plummeting toward him. Despair filled his face.
He was the First Raikage, the mightiest of the Cloud. Yet he had not left the faintest mark on his foe.
Three years ago, he had been crushed in a single strike. Was history repeating itself?
"No! I can't accept this! I refuse!" He shut his eyes in despair.
THUD!
A deafening sound shook his ears. Yet he felt no death. When he opened his eyes, a giant hand of sand stood before him, blocking the crushing strike.
"Oh? You couldn't resist interfering, could you?" Ryosuke sneered at the wall of sand.
"I can't let you kill the Raikage. As much as I might want him gone, not now," the First Kazekage said coldly.
"I'd rather kill you, fool. You dared to dream so wildly," Ryosuke's eyes chilled. His leg lashed out in a sharp kick at the Kazekage.
He remembered well: at the last Five Nations Conference, this fool alone had demanded that Konoha cede fertile lands to the Sand, along with thirty percent of the funds earned from selling tailed beasts.
That delusion had nearly cost the Kazekage his life then and there, if not for Hashirama's intervention.
"Hmph. And yet here I am, alive," the Kazekage smirked, waving his hand.
All around, the ninja of every village regrouped, tightening their encirclement.
"So, they're going to use a swarm tactic?" Ryosuke scoffed at the soldiers rushing in again.
These idiots didn't value their comrades' lives at all.
He turned his head, spotting a hesitant man wearing Konoha's forehead protector. "You're from Konoha, aren't you? Why aren't you attacking?"
"My lord Ryosuke," the man said nervously, cold sweat on his brow, kunai trembling in hand. "I once followed you when you pacified the wars. You are the village's hero. How could I raise a hand against you?"
"Oh? So I haven't been completely cast aside by the village after all!" Ryosuke burst into booming laughter.
Sarutobi Kanken bit his lip, voice quavering. "Forgive me, my lord. The Hokage's orders…I must obey them."
"Heh. Step back. If you fight me, men of your level will be nothing but kindling."
Kanken forced a strained smile. "My lord, you know our purpose is only to drain your stamina."
"Drain me? With you weaklings?" Rage flared in Ryosuke's chest. Is Hashirama truly this stupid?
But he realized Hashirama's intent. It wasn't about exhausting him—it was to pin him down, keep him from even thinking of escape. If Ryosuke slipped away, who could capture him?
…
"Damn it! To be defeated so utterly?" The Raikage pounded the earth with his fist, fury and humiliation twisting his face, while Hashirama knelt nearby, channeling Sage chakra to heal his wounds.
Madara watched from the side, cold and indifferent. To him, aside from Hashirama and Ryosuke, no one else in the shinobi world was worth his notice.