In the hospital of Kumogakure, the Third Raikage flexed his right hand slightly and frowned.
The doctor standing beside him trembled and said cautiously,
"Lord Raikage, we've done everything we can... but there's nothing more we can do."
The Third Raikage's face darkened. A low growl escaped his throat, and the chakra in his body surged uncontrollably.
"Ryoma... this grudge will not go unpaid!"
With a sharp motion, he slammed his right hand against the table—
Yet, the table remained intact.
"Ugh!"
The Raikage's roar echoed through the room. Normally, even a light tap from his hand would splinter wood like paper. Now, his right arm was completely useless.
After a moment of silence, the Third Raikage stood up. He had already made up his mind. In his current state, he could no longer hold the position of Raikage for long—it was time to pass it down.
Though his son was still young, his strength already stood among the elite of Kumogakure. With the proper support, he could take the mantle.
And after what happened with Ryoma, even the village elders wouldn't dare object.
That night, Ryoma arrived at the outskirts of Kumogakure, guided by Misami, the mother of Mabui.
A group of Kumogakure shinobi immediately surrounded them.
The man leading them was none other than Troy—a powerful shinobi who, in the future, would be resurrected during the Fourth Great Ninja War. He possessed the Kekkei Genkai Magnet Release.
"Stop right there!"
Troy raised a hand, and the shinobi beside him took fighting stances.
After the Third Raikage's injury, Kumogakure had been on high alert, wary of attacks from other villages.
Now, seeing Ryoma approach in strange clothing without a village forehead protector—something even rogue ninja kept—Troy's group grew tense.
Ryoma's expression had also changed; the calmness on his face was replaced by the prideful arrogance of a true Uchiha.
Ignoring Troy's warning, Ryoma continued walking forward.
"Lord," Misami whispered urgently, "that man ahead is Troy—our village's elite jōnin and a user of Magnet Release!"
Misami had long since surrendered herself fully to Ryoma's command.
"Magnet Release?" Ryoma said with mild curiosity. "So Kumogakure has it as well? Like the Third and Fourth Kazekage?"
"I-I'm not sure, my lord! But you must dodge his shuriken—!"
Before she could finish, Troy had already moved.
Several shuriken charged with Magnet Release chakra shot toward Ryoma.
Misami quickly leapt aside, shouting anxiously, "My lord, you didn't dodge them?!"
Ryoma calmly held up his kunai.
"I blocked them."
"You can't touch them!" Misami cried. "His Magnet Release spreads through contact! If your kunai touched those shuriken, then you're already magnetized!"
"That means," she said with growing panic, "your whole body is full of magnetic chakra right now!"
Ryoma tilted his head slightly. "Hmm… I do feel a little pull."
To him, the magnetism was nothing more than an itch—completely harmless.
Troy smirked triumphantly. "You won't survive the second wave!"
The shuriken in his hand grew larger—massive enough to cleave a man in two.
"Run, my lord!" Misami shouted.
Before Troy could launch his attack, Ryoma vanished.
Whoosh—
In the blink of an eye, he appeared right in front of Troy.
Everyone froze.
What speed!
Cold sweat rolled down Troy's back. His instincts screamed at him to retreat, but before he could move, Ryoma's hand closed around his throat.
"Do you wish to dance as well?" Ryoma asked coldly.
"W-What... dance?" Troy croaked, confused.
Before the thought could form, Ryoma's chakra flared—and Troy's entire body erupted in flames.
Boom!
His charred body hit the ground with a heavy thud.
Troy, once one of Kumogakure's most promising shinobi and a future pillar of the Raikage, was defeated in an instant.
At just over 20% fusion, Ryoma's power when channeling Uchiha Madara was overwhelming. He wasn't even using Wood Release yet, and Troy had stood no chance.
The other Kumogakure ninja stood frozen in horror. Their elite jōnin hadn't lasted a single second.
Suddenly, a burnt hand clutched Ryoma's ankle.
Troy, barely alive, rasped out, "Go... report... enemy... attack...!"
His voice faded into a final hiss.
The remaining shinobi, startled, began to retreat.
But Ryoma inhaled deeply and exhaled a torrent of fire.
"Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"
A wave of crimson flame engulfed the fleeing shinobi, incinerating them where they stood.
Troy's eyes widened in despair as his final hope vanished along with his comrades. Then, lifeless, they closed forever.
Ryoma kicked aside the corpse and looked at Misami.
"Keep leading the way."
As he played the role of Uchiha Madara, Ryoma could feel his mindset shifting—his demeanor becoming colder, more ruthless, and more prideful.
Misami hesitated for a heartbeat before bowing deeply. "Y-Yes, my lord. This woman will lead the way."
Ryoma's overwhelming presence was burned into her mind.
[Ding! Acting as Uchiha Madara – Similarity: 70%! ]
The synchronization with Madara's character continued to rise rapidly, pushing his fusion level past 30%.
The results were astonishing—far faster than he had ever expected.
Strange as this roleplay ability felt, its power was undeniable.
Ryoma glanced at the remaining character cards—
Two of Uchiha Itachi, one of Senju Hashirama, and one of the First Mizukage. Four cards in total.
"How much farther?"
"Reporting, my lord—it's just ahead!" Misami said respectfully.
"Good." Ryoma's eyes glinted.
Ryoma stared ahead, the Sharingan in his eyes spinning slowly—but even so, his vision remained unclear. At this range, even the Byakugan would have performed better. Still, Ryoma had learned something important: his "character card" could be dismissed. Once he returned to Konoha, he could seal away these eyes of chakra.
With that, he could assume multiple identities—perhaps even three.
The Hokage of Konoha in the light… and the true mastermind behind the scenes in the shadows.
This path led directly toward Kumogakure, the Village Hidden in the Clouds.
Along one of its main roads, a five-man squad assigned to guard the second defensive line was on patrol when they noticed a lone figure approaching—his shadow stretched long beneath the setting sun, blood-red light washing over the road.
"Wait—someone's coming!"
The lead ninja narrowed his eyes, motioning for the others to ready their weapons.
"Is that a Konoha shinobi? No… his armor's red. Surrounded by our patrol routes, yet he's walking straight toward the village?"
"Could he be a samurai from the Land of Lightning?"
Ryoma's appearance made them hesitate. His crimson armor gleamed under the dying sun, unsettlingly reminiscent of legends long past.
Still, the captain's instincts screamed danger. He turned to a genin behind him.
"Go. Report back immediately! Tell the Raikage there's an unidentified warrior approaching the village gates!"
"My lord—"
"Go! Now!"
The jōnin's expression was grim. Two figures walking openly down the main road toward the village—yet no one had intercepted them earlier? That meant only one thing: something had already happened along the outer defenses.
He couldn't afford to underestimate the situation. Kumogakure's strength had already been drastically reduced—barely two thousand shinobi remained combat-ready, less than one-fifth of its original force. They were now among the weakest of the Five Great Villages, second only to the weakened Kirigakure.
By contrast, the Sand Village—captured by Ryoma—had surrendered with minimal bloodshed.
Ryoma strode calmly toward the guard post. The messenger-ninja, panting heavily, burst into the Raikage Building.
"Lord Raikage! An unknown intruder is approaching the gates!"
"What?"
The Third Raikage looked up sharply. At his side, the A–B duo, the Fourth Raikage and Killer B, exchanged quick glances.
"An intruder? Through multiple defensive lines?" Ai muttered. "Impossible."
But before the Third Raikage could respond, a piercing scream split the air outside. A Kumogakure shinobi's body fell from the sky, his vest still smoldering.
Then Ryoma appeared—his red armor gleaming—followed closely by Misami. Behind them lay a trail of fallen Cloud-nin, their bodies motionless in the dirt.
The Third Raikage and the A–B duo froze.
"One man… broke into the village?"
"Is he a samurai?" Killer B frowned.
"His armor is outrageous…" muttered Ai, narrowing his eyes.
But the Third Raikage's expression had gone pale. His eyes trembled as he stared at the red armor, the fan crest, and the wild, spiked hair.
"This… this can't be…"
"Father?" Ai demanded. "Do you know him?"
"Impossible… he's supposed to be dead! Did Konoha spread false news—or was it all staged?"
The Third Raikage's mind raced. The sight before him was unmistakable—this man looked exactly like Uchiha Madara. The same crimson armor. The same Uchiha fan insignia. The same menacing aura that once burned itself into his memory when he was a boy.
That faint, terrifying memory resurfaced now, overlapping with Ryoma's appearance.
"It's him…" he whispered.
"Uchiha Madara!"
The younger generation—the A–B duo—were confused. They had never seen the man who once fought the First Hokage himself.
Outside, more Cloud-nin surged forward, surrounding Ryoma.
He moved like a storm unleashed—taijutsu, ninjutsu, and ocular techniques flowing together seamlessly.
One by one, Kumogakure's finest fell. Some tried to flee, but Ryoma's form blurred; he appeared behind one, lifted him with a single hand, and—
Boom!
A violent explosion echoed through the valley.
The Third Raikage's eyes twitched. His hands trembled.
"Sharingan… That's Madara Uchiha!"
The moment he said the name, Ryoma felt something strange—a surge within his system.
Impersonation rate: 80%. Fusion: 40%.
The A–B duo's eyes widened.
"What?! But Madara was killed by Ryoma himself! How can he be here?" Ai shouted.
The Third Raikage shook his head.
"No… look! That Fire Release—Katon: Great Fire Annihilation! No one in Konoha today can use it. Only Uchiha Madara could wield such power!"
Below the Raikage Building, a sea of flames roared. Kumogakure shinobi writhed on the ground, their bodies engulfed in fire that refused to die out. Their screams pierced the evening air.
The three Raikage stood frozen. The power before them was beyond comprehension.
A single man overwhelming thousands of Cloud-nin—his ninjutsu, taijutsu, and Sharingan on a level no one could match. Even their elite jōnin fell like paper dolls before him.
At that moment, even the proud Fourth Raikage and Killer B believed the Third's words. No ordinary shinobi—no living man—could possess that kind of strength.
And with each passing second, the illusion deepened.
The red armor. The spinning kaleidoscope eyes. The unstoppable might.
Impersonation Rate: 81%… 82%… 83%… 90%!
Fusion: 50%!
Within a single day, Ryoma's synchronization with Uchiha Madara's power had soared to half completion—and it was still climbing.
Ryoma himself hadn't expected to move so fast.
Among the thousands of Kumogakure shinobi he charged like a storm, cutting through them with unmatched ferocity. One after another they fell.
"Quick—someone report to the Raikage!" the remaining shinobi shouted, their earlier confidence already replaced by panic.
Though a thousand men surrounded him, every step Ryoma took made hundreds of them recoil. One man was worth ten thousand.
The lower- and mid-rank shinobi of Kumogakure collapsed under the shock. Nobody had imagined a single warrior could be so devastating. Ryoma's expression brightened—this was pure, unrivaled mowing of the field.
All he could picture was the anime scene: a lone Uchiha breaking into an army of a hundred thousand, switching to unmatched mode and cutting down the massed ranks until nothing could stop him. The mood among Kumogakure's forces now mirrored that memory.
"Retreat! Fall back!" voices rose from the panicked ranks as one after another shinobi were forced away. Fear and fury warred in their faces, but none dared to take the initiative. Even the elite jōnin, confronted with Ryoma's invincibility, lost heart. The battle was collapsing before it had truly begun.
From a distance, villagers watched in stunned silence. A single man had breached the Cloud Village and sent thousands of its defenders fleeing?
"Are all Kumogakure's shinobi like this now?" someone whispered. "Who is that? Where did he come from?" "Does that warrior even use ninjutsu?"
Inside the Raikage Hall the Third Raikage barked orders. "You two, cooperate—work together!" he ordered the A–B pair. Only by fighting in perfect tandem could they hope to stem this.
"Father!" the Fourth generation, Ai, protested faintly, a cold foreboding clutching at him.
The Third Raikage watched Ryoma advance toward the Raikage Building and shook his head.
"Ai will be the Fourth Raikage someday," he said with a weight that made Ai start. "From today, he is our future."
"Father—" Ai began, but the Third Raikage, voice hard as iron, cut through the noise.
"Listen to me! Gather the elite jōnin. Abandon the village—move immediately to the Land of Snow!"
"Father!" Ai shouted. "I won't run. I'll face this Uchiha with you—"
Before he finished, the Third Raikage struck him with a palm. The blow stunned Ai and startled Chirabi nearby.
The Third Raikage looked at Chirabi with newfound intensity. "Chirabi, Ai is entrusted to you. He is the Fourth Raikage designate—be his right hand and his left."
Chirabi swallowed, nodding. "Yes, Lord Raikage."
"Go!" the Raikage roared. "Take the elite—now!"
As the elite shinobi carried Ai away, tears tracked at the corners of Chirabi's eyes. The Third Raikage drew a long breath, leapt from the highest balcony of the Raikage Building, and descended.
A thunderous crash marked his landing. The Raikage shrouded himself in thunder chakra; the ground ruptured beneath his feet, cracks spidering outward from the point he struck.
He fixed his gaze on the man in red approaching beneath the blood-red sunset. "Who are you?" the Raikage demanded.
Ryoma's mouth quirked in a faint smile. "You don't know who I am?" he said, and his voice carried a cold amusement.
For a heartbeat the Raikage hesitated. Something about this figure was disquietingly familiar—yet the spinning ocular wheel in those eyes was not the Raikage's memory of Ryoma. The presence before him was… other.
Ryoma raised a hand, the Uchiha fan emblem briefly flashing as wind surged from him, blasting the surrounding air and blowing back the nearby shinobi.
The Raikage's shoulders trembled. He remembered legends—Uchiha tales taught to him as a child. Uchiha Madara: the name struck like lightning in his mind. Were the reports from Konoha wrong? Had the Uchiha truly returned?
"Uchiha—what do you want?" the Raikage shouted. "Kumogakure will submit if you grant us mercy. What reward do you seek?"
Ryoma paused, attempting to imagine what Madara might say in this moment—what arrogance, what menace. He let the impersonation play out, letting the voice and posture match the phantom he had adopted.
A slow smile curved Ryoma's lips. "Rewards?" he said.
"What rewards do I need? Your village cannot offer what I want."
He let his words hang, then added, with absolute, casual cruelty:
"I came for sport. Kumogakure will bend the knee to me, and I may spare your lives. Refuse—and I will destroy you without a second thought."
...
TN:
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