Hit by the flame arrow, Byakuya dissolved into a puddle of water and dripped to the ground, instantly turning into steam under the intense heat of the Flaming Annihilation Arrow.
Using the Water Formation Wall as cover, the prepared Byakuya had already used a water clone to switch out his real body.
Ryouma turned his gaze toward the one who cast the Water Formation Wall, a man with a shark-like appearance. Although it was their first meeting in real life, he instantly recognized who it was.
"Thanks, Kisame," Yagura nodded toward the man.
"Protecting the Mizukage is what I should be doing. But right now, the priority is figuring out how to take down the enemy."
Kisame had just returned to the village after completing a mission, only to run into an enemy invasion, and it was that infamous explosion maniac.
Yagura reminded Kisame, "The opponent can reflect ninjutsu, so we can only use taijutsu."
Kisame immediately frowned. If ninjutsu couldn't be used, that meant half of his power was already neutralized. Still, as a ninja of Kiri, with the enemy already at their doorstep, no matter how difficult, he had to fight.
Drawing a ninja sword from his back, he coordinated with Yagura to attack Ryouma from two sides.
Meanwhile, Byakuya waited from afar for the right moment to strike with Hazy Mist Slash.
Faced with an attack from two elite Kiri ninjas, Ryouma ran his fingers along Lostvayne, switching from the Chidoryu Style to Aotsuki Style: Blazing Sword Leap.
Against multiple enemies, this form was more effective.
With a fiery breath, the fire chakra nearly became tangible, extending Lostvayne even further.
They were banned from using ninjutsu, but he wasn't.
Wielding the flaming longsword, he spun once, unleashing a ring of fiery sword energy.
"Aotsuki Style: Blazing Sword Leap – Flame Dance!"
The high-temperature slash distorted the air as it expanded outward.
Kisame retracted his sword and formed hand seals at high speed.
"Water Release: Great Shark Bullet!"
A massive shark made of water appeared and swallowed Ryouma's flame slash in one gulp. Under his control, it then flew into the air, giving Ryouma no time to counter.
With Kisame providing cover, Yagura successfully closed in on Ryouma and brought down his staff in a powerful strike, who raised his sword horizontally to block it. However, without the stimulation of the Chidoryu in his cells, his strength and speed had dropped. Even so, he blocked the blow with both hands.
Yagura's taijutsu style was a complete contrast to his appearance, violent yet not without technique.
After Ryouma blocked the staff strike, Yagura pulled the weapon back and used the iron hook at the tip to catch Ryouma's sword, trying to wrench it out of his grip.
At that moment, Kisame was already behind him, swinging his sword toward Ryouma's back.
From a distance, Byakuya had memorized the positions of all the Flying Thunder God kunai on the battlefield, ready to launch his Hazy Mist Slash at any time.
To Yagura, the only option Ryouma had in such a dire situation was to release his right hand holding Lostvayne and turn to block Kisame's attack. But if he did that, it would fall perfectly into his trap.
He had noticed that every time Ryouma used his reflection ability, he would first make a swinging motion with his weapon. If they could disarm him, they could use ninjutsu to test whether the theory was accurate.
But Yagura was wrong, Lostvayne held a special meaning for Ryouma. No matter the circumstances, he would never allow it to be taken from him.
Besides, this situation wasn't exactly a crisis.
"Wind Release: Sand Buckshot!"
Shukaku, who had been resting on Ryouma's shoulder all along, formed hand seals and condensed a mass of sand bullets around Ryouma, which he then launched at the enemy.
Kisame and Yagura quickly retreated to dodge the attack. But at nearly point-blank range, it was impossible to avoid all the sand bullets.
Both of them were inevitably injured.
Yagura fared better. Swinging his heavy iron staff, he blocked most of the bullets but still suffered minor abrasions.
Kisame was in much worse shape. Facing the barrage, he barely managed to protect his vital areas. His legs and arms were riddled with bloody holes.
Sensing a shift in the air, Ryouma quickly leaped to the side again, narrowly avoiding another Hazy Mist Slash.
In the distance, Byakuya cursed under his breath. "His sensory skills are this sharp? Or have I just slowed down after so many years off the battlefield?"
In truth, his blade hadn't slowed. It was just that Ryouma, with his Rikugan, possessed an extraordinary awareness of environmental changes. Anyone else would've died under the invisible slash of Byakuya by now.
Having seen through several of his attacks, Ryouma now understood the Mizukage's tricks. Channeling his chakra, he didn't pursue the injured Kisame but instead slashed twice toward Byakuya with his flame sword.
The two slashes merged in midair, forming a flaming cross that surged straight toward Byakuya.
Among all the enemies present, the one posing the greatest threat was undoubtedly the Mizukage with his untelegraphed attacks. Killing him would benefit Konoha the most.
Byakuya quickly unleashed multiple Hazy Mist Slash, dispersing the flaming cross attack.
Ryouma used the opportunity to channel a massive amount of Shukaku's chakra into Lostvayne. He charged up a powerful downward slash aimed directly at Byakuya.
"Aotsuki Style: Blazing Sword Leap – Head Dance!"
A dark purple flame extended into a colossal blade several dozen meters long, cleaving downward like a falling meteor. Everything it touched, even the ground, was melted by its heat.
Byakuya knew that Hazy Mist Slash alone couldn't block it. He tried to escape, but sand suddenly surged beneath his feet, wrapping around his right leg and disrupting the teleport.
From a distance, Kisame tried to form seals and launch another Great Shark Bullet to swallow the massive flaming blade, but Ryouma had already anticipated this move. He casually tossed a Flying Thunder God kunai and formed a one-handed seal.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
The single kunai instantly multiplied into hundreds, hovering in midair like floating turrets, surrounding Kisame.
The intense, cannon-like barrage not only cut off his rescue attempt but also placed him in grave danger himself.
Left with no choice, he released the shark bullet he had originally meant to save the Mizukage with, using it to swallow the wave of shadow clone shuriken coming at him.
Yagura wanted to help too, but his Water Mirror Technique could only reflect attacks aimed at him, there was nothing he could do. He'd tried his best.
Finally, the Head Dance slash landed as expected. The ferocious blaze instantly engulfed the Mizukage's form.
The extreme heat even melted the road stones into shimmering crystal.
Seeing Byakuya struck by Ryouma's attack, Kisame and Yagura couldn't help but cry out in shock.
"Stop shouting. Your Mizukage's fine. Well… maybe 'fine' is a stretch," Ryouma said with a slight smirk.
"Cough, cough…" The weak voice of Byakuya came from not far to the right of where the slash had landed.
After realizing he had been caught by a sand-based hand, he had decisively severed his own right leg and barely managed to escape the attack range using the Body Flicker Technique at the last second.
Now, he was kneeling on the ground on one leg, barely supporting himself with both arms to keep from collapsing. His body was covered in severe burns. Even if he barely survived this, his fate would likely be the same as being crippled.
Ryouma raised his left hand, forming a finger-gun gesture, aiming at the kneeling Byakuya.
Yagura's expression changed dramatically. "Wait! Let's negotiate!"
At this point, Kiri had already been reduced to ruins. He couldn't even begin to imagine what the village would become if Byakuya were killed by Ryouma.
"You are still a Kage, after all. Any last words?" At Ryouma's fingertips, a spindle-shaped lightning Finger Gun Rasengan began to form, crackling loudly with static in the air.
Byakuya coughed violently, spitting out several mouthfuls of blood. His respiratory tract had been severely burned by the superheated air, every breath felt like torture.
"Cough… Yagura, after I die… you'll become the Fourth Mizukage."
Yagura was stunned for a moment, then quickly nodded in agreement. Anyone with eyes could tell, at this distance, there was no saving Byakuya, unless Ryouma suddenly showed mercy.
But looking around at the wreckage and devastation, even a fool could tell that this demon had no such mercy.
Byakuya had done his duty to the very end. Even at death's door, he still thought about Kiri.
A flash of lightning flickered at Ryouma's fingertip. The Rasengan pierced through Byakuya's heart, taking his life.
"Ryouma!!" Yagura glared at Ryouma, face twisted with rage.
Ryouma didn't think killing Byakuya was anything special. Aside from that troublesome sword-hiding technique, he felt the Mizukage was even weaker than Yagura.
No wonder Byakuya, despite being a bodyguard alongside Gengetsu for the First Mizukage, never became the Second, he had to wait until Gengetsu died before becoming Mizukage.
Ryouma suddenly wondered: maybe it was out of jealousy toward Gengetsu's natural talent that he had tried to exterminate all the clans with bloodline limit?
But to him, those old stories didn't matter. He couldn't be bothered to think about them. His gaze swept over the battlefield and finally landed on Yagura.
"Even though that guy made you the Fourth Mizukage… still…" At this point, he pointed the tip of Lostvayne at Yagura and continued, "When did you get the mistaken idea that I was only going to kill Byakuya?"
Yagura's pupils shrank slightly, but he wasn't the type to fear death. Just as he was preparing to fight Ryouma with all he had, Kisame, severely injured on the side, suddenly began weaving hand signs and unleashed an enormous torrent of water, turning the surrounding area into a vast body of water.
"Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
Ryouma swung Lostvayne, "Full Counter!"
The water created by the Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave was instantly affected by a force foreign to the shinobi world. Chakra began to reverse flow.
The water domain, like a giant water sphere, shattered instantly. The vast quantity of water dispersed, falling as a light rain over the ruined Kiri.
It was as if the village itself was crying…
He slowly sheathed Lostvayne, there was no longer any need to fight.
Watching a few flopping sharks on the ground, he muttered indifferently to himself, "You've got some skills, Kisame."
Well, let them run if they want. His real goal had only been to destroy the infrastructure of Kiri. Killing Byakuya was just a bonus.
After this battle, Kiri no longer had the capacity to continue waging war. Judging by the time, several days had already passed, it was time for him to go back.
If Kiri still didn't know when to give up and continued the war, next time, he wouldn't spare even the ordinary people of the village.
Ryouma took out a blank scroll from his ninja pouch and sealed the body of Byakuya. He briefly sensed a backup trick he had left on a certain overconfident little girl. After confirming it was still intact, he left Kiri.
Inside Kiri's shelter, Mei was sitting alone in an open area, silently stewing in frustration. The explosions just now had come in waves, some had sounded dangerously close.
Fortunately, the shelter hadn't been caught in the blasts in the end. She couldn't even imagine how fierce the battle outside must have been.
She lifted her hand, involuntarily recalling the moment that white-haired bastard grabbed her wrist. The cold killing intent in his eyes at that time still made her shiver when she thought about it.
That was definitely the closest she had ever come to death. Lowering her gaze, her thoughts churned restlessly before she muttered to herself. "If you manage to escape from Kiri alive this time, I will personally kill you one day."
Ryouma appeared inside his room in the frontline camp of the Kiri battlefield, instantly crossing a vast sea from Kiri to here.
Shukaku, seeing the familiar layout of the room, couldn't help but sigh, "Space-time ninjutsu really is amazing."
Ryouma chuckled, "What, you want to learn it too?"
"Huh? Can I?" Shukaku blinked in surprise.
Ryouma tilted his head and cracked his neck lazily. "Mm… You'll have to get Tsunade's permission first. But you might have to act like a cute pet for a few days to cheer her up."
Suddenly, Shukaku wasn't so eager to learn Flying Thunder God Technique anymore. After all, his partner already knew it, and since he didn't plan on leaving Ryouma, it was basically the same as knowing it himself.
Ignoring Shukaku's mental gymnastics, Ryouma looked out at the darkening sky and decided to rest for the night. Whatever needed doing could wait until tomorrow.
The next morning, Ryouma got up early, opened his door, stretched leisurely under the bright sun of the Land of Fire, and strolled casually toward the command center.
By now, Fugaku and Hizashi were likely already at work.
Along the way, a few Konoha ninjas respectfully greeted him.
"Captain Ryouma! Long time no see!"
"Thank you for saving me last time."
Ryouma responded to each of them warmly. To him, strength was his least important trait. His real strengths were his politeness, high character, and elegant demeanor.
One could only wonder what the ninjas of Kiri and Suna would think if they heard this self-assessment from Ryouma.