"Is that supposed to be an insult to me?"
Aoyama Ryuyun, effortlessly controlling the Four Extreme Sacred Beasts, smiled faintly as he glanced at Nara Shikaku beside him.
"Of course not. On the contrary, in an era like this, what Konoha needs is a monster, isn't it?"
Nara Shikaku returned the smile.
They exchanged a knowing look but said nothing more.
Sarutobi Shinnosuke, hidden among the crowd, frowned as he observed the harmony between Aoyama Ryuyun and Nara Shikaku.
But in the end, he still held his tongue.
The Ino–Shika–Chō are loyal to the Hokage. There's no way they could be a problem…
Shinnosuke exhaled softly, realizing that he might have been overthinking — to actually suspect the Ino–Shika–Chō trio seemed excessive even to him.
"Boom! Boom!"
The clash of monsters resumed, echoing through the battlefield.
The Two-Tails, after all, was a Tailed Beast — a living natural disaster. The Four Extreme Sacred Beasts, despite their overwhelming power and being born of stone and chakra, found it difficult to suppress such a creature for long.
But Aoyama Ryuyun's patience had reached its limit.
"Let's end this directly!"
He raised his hand, eyes sharp as a blade as they locked onto the Two-Tails.
"Earth Scroll — Changing Heaven and Earth!"
"Rumble… rumble…!"
The ground quaked violently as fissures split across the landscape. The entire battlefield seemed to turn over, the terrain warping under Ryuyun's will.
An enormous surge of rock and soil rose like a tidal wave, crashing down upon the Two-Tails and swallowing it whole.
"Roar!"
The Two-Tails struggled and howled, but under Aoyama Ryuyun's crushing power, the beast's defiance sounded pitiful — almost comedic.
"Boom!"
With one final roar, silence fell.
When the dust settled, all that remained was a colossal crater at the center of the battlefield — as if a meteor had struck.
Every Konoha shinobi stared in stunned disbelief at their supreme commander, Aoyama Ryuyun.
"Lord Ryuyun is invincible!"
"Lord Golden Lion!"
"Lord Ryuyun is the strongest!"
This power was inhuman — and yet, it filled them with immense relief.
Before, when they had first faced the Hidden Cloud forces, there had been hesitation and unease. But now, after witnessing this overwhelming display, every Konoha shinobi felt confident.
Their supreme commander had severed the arm of the Third Raikage and subdued a Tailed Beast. What more was there to fear?
Ignoring the cheers around him, Aoyama Ryuyun walked calmly toward the crater.
With a casual motion, a stream of rock surged upward from the pit — and within it, restrained by solidified earth, was the Two-Tails' jinchūriki, Yugito Nii, reverted to her human form.
"You bastard!"
Even while trapped, Yugito's eyes blazed with defiance as she glared at Aoyama Ryuyun.
But as she recalled their battle, a wave of helplessness washed over her.
Could she truly stand against such a monster?
"If you have the guts, kill me! I'll never surrender!"
Hidden Cloud shinobi did not fear death, and Yugito Nii was no exception.
She met Ryuyun's gaze with unyielding pride — as though he were some villain standing over her defeat.
Aoyama Ryuyun merely chuckled, saying nothing, before turning to Nara Shikaku.
"Do we have a sealing squad on site?"
"Uh…"
Shikaku hesitated for a moment, then nodded, realizing what Ryuyun intended.
"Yes. Since we anticipated the possibility of facing both the Two-Tails and the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki, I specifically brought a sealing team from Konoha."
"What are you planning to do?!"
Hearing this, Yugito's composure wavered. The idea of a sealing team being prepared for her made her uneasy.
"Don't worry. I won't let you die."
Ryuyun's calm tone made her shiver. He had other plans — after all, he still needed her alive to provoke those hot-headed shinobi of Kumogakure into another war. Killing her now would defeat that purpose.
"Bring the sealing squad here. Have them reinforce the Two-Tails' seal, suppress her chakra again, and confine her."
"Yes!"
Shikaku immediately relayed the command.
Once his orders were given, Ryuyun turned back toward the assembled Konoha troops.
He smiled faintly.
"First battle — victory."
"Yeah!!"
His words ignited another explosion of cheers.
As Yugito was dragged away, she continued to glare at him furiously.
"Just wait! The war has only begun! Our Hidden Cloud Village won't lose like this!"
"…"
Aoyama Ryuyun didn't bother to respond — his look alone said, 'You're an idiot.'
"Hmph!"
Yugito turned her head away, seething with anger, though it no longer mattered.
…
Before long, news of Konoha's stunning victory against the Hidden Cloud spread throughout the entire shinobi world.
The Third Raikage's arm had been severed, and the Two-Tails' jinchūriki had been captured alive.
Every village in the Ninja World now viewed Aoyama Ryuyun in a new light.
After years of silence, he had returned to prominence — stronger and more revered than ever.
"As expected of this old woman's man!"
On the Sunagakure front, Tsunade, upon hearing the news, smiled proudly — almost smugly, as though she had defeated the Hidden Cloud herself.
Her greatest pride, at that moment, was that she had chosen Aoyama Ryuyun long ago.
"Lord Ryuyun is amazing!"
Beside her, Shizune exclaimed, her voice full of youthful admiration.
Orochimaru, too, had received word of the battle.
"Heh… I truly look forward to seeing how this war ends."
Even faced with simultaneous wars against multiple villages, Orochimaru never once believed that Konoha would fall.
In truth, it was Aoyama Ryuyun's feats that intrigued him most.
If possible, Orochimaru would have loved to use such a specimen for his experiments — but that, of course, was impossible.
Meanwhile, on the Iwagakure front — unlike the Sunagakure or Hidden Cloud battlefields — the situation was far more perilous.
The Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, wielding Dust Release…
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