After bidding farewell to Yugao, Ryo returned home and explained the situation to Chinse. Having nothing to say, she quietly packed her sonâs luggage.
The next day, Konoha Ninjas were assembled, with Orochimaru in the lead, and Minato and Ryo on his left and right. Kushina and Minatoâs team were right behind the three.
Orochimaru wasnât good with speeches; he was the type that showed everything with his actions. Even so, Konohaâs Ninjas all had utmost respect to him.
With the ones mentioned taking the lead, Konohaâs Ninjas started moving in a mighty spectacle towards their decisive battle.
In the Wind Countryâs battlefield, Sakumo and Jiraya noticed the movement of the Rock and Sand, and they immediately mobilized their troops to follow the two enemy camps to Kikyo Pass
The two Konoha troops arrived to there at the same time.
All of Konohaâs Kage tiers gathered in a tent do discuss their following actions.
âSakumo san, do you have any information to share with us?â Orochimaru asked.
Sakumo thought and said: âThe only thing worth noting is the danger of the Sandâs Puppet division, which we all know. The Hidden Rock seemed to have some movement in their camp recently, and it seems theyâre plotting something big. Either way, we should be extra careful.â
After a brief exchange of information, everyone formed a general understanding on the enemyâs overall strength. The next step was assigning opponents.
The six Kage tiers in the camp were not that far off each other in terms of strength, with Sakumo and Minato being the stronger ones.
Sakumo proposed that he should deal with Chiyo and Ebizo, and no one had any objections.
Minato also suggested that he should handle Onoki. The others were then divided: Orochimaru was to face Bunpuku, Jiraya was to face Rasa, Ryo was facing Kitsuchi, and Kushina was to face Han.
After the meeting, Ryo went to see the medical team, and on the way, he went and took Shisui along. Sakumo on the other hand went to where Kakashi and his friends were at.
Minato and Kushina went to contact the heads of the main clans around, while Jiraya remained with his old pal Orochimaru.
Ryo was initially planning to arrange Shisui to remain with the medical team. However, the team was put off the battlefield.
It was because the Sand, after Ebizoâs arrival, always sent Ninjas after Konohaâs medical team. Sakumo was overwhelmed and couldnât defend them anymore, so he assigned all of them to remain behind and provide support from the backline.
Therefore, Ryo had to put Shisui with the Uchiha clan.
The Uchiha clanâs representative on this battlefield was Fugaku Uchiha, an acquaintance of Ryo. The latter had no idea of how Fugakuâs power evolved over the past few years.
Ryoâs perception capabilities were far beyond those of most, he perceived danger well. Facing Fugaku, he could feel that this man in front of him was extremely dangerous.
As the man in front of him should be a quasi Kage tier by now, Ryoâs feeling that he was so dangerous can be explained by one thing, and that is that Fugakuâs Mangekyo had been awakened.
Fugakuâs Mangekyo didnât get much attention in the Manga, and its specific power wasnât explained. However, it should at least have Amaterasu, which was already really powerful.
Ryo actually liked Fugaku a lot after their encounters in the Wind Country Battlefield, just the eye contacts he gave him were enough for Ryo to be really grateful.
Ryo was very curious about the Mangekyo as he greeted him: âFugaku san, I havenât seen you in a long time!â
âLong time no see Ryo! Iâve been getting news of your growth over the course of the past few years. Your father would be very proud!â Fugaku turned and smiled at the sight of Ryo.
Ryo felt a bit awkward, as he didnât have any image of his father. He went on to discuss Shisuiâs matter: âFugaku san, can you please take care of my apprentice, Uchiha Shisui?â
âUchiha Shisui? Youâre took in an Uchiha as a disciple?â Said Fugaku with some surprise
âYes! Shisui, come in and say hello!â Ryo nodded, and then invited Shisui in.
Hearing Ryo, Shisui rushed in.
He had heard the discussion between the two just now, and never expected his Sensei to have such a good relationship with the man who was candidate to be the next Uchiha clan head.
Although he had some doubts, Shisui was smart enough to not ask question about what he didnât need to know. He saluted his elder: âHello, Fugaku san! Pleasure to meet you!â
âWell, you came in the right time! My son, Itachi, will be coming in a few days. When that happens you can get a companion!â Said Fugaku with a smile.
Hearing Itachiâs name, Ryo smiled, and was looking forward to meeting him. After all, he was a man that Ryo practically worshiped in his past life.
After settling Shisuiâs matter, Ryo began to put his Teleportation Seals in several key places, and waited for the battle to begin.
On the other hand, Jiraya was bragging to Orochimaru about his new book. The latter was surprised to see that Jiraya started writing. After reading a few pages, he felt it was dumb, and stopped reading.
Like in the Manga, the book was âThe Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobiâ was summery of jirayaâs hopes and ambitions.
It was a shame that his writing style wasnât as good at the time, that almost no one liked it, and no one arrived to its signing at release.
Orochimaru obviously wasnât interested in this novel, but out of friendship, he didnât ridicule Jiraya.
Another interesting conversation that took place was during the father son meeting between Sakumo and Kakashi. Facing his father after such a long time, Kakashiâs cold façade collapsed immediately.
Their discussions were very simple. Both mostly asked each other about their current situation. Sakumo specifically asked about his wife. Hearing Kakashi say that she was doing well, Sakumo felt relieved.
Then the two went on to spare. Kakashiâs progress during that time wasnât small, but facing Konohaâs White Fang, he could only be beaten with ease.
At the end of that fight, Kakashi felt that his father was just too terrifyingly strong. He initially thought that his strength evolved enough to make the gap between them less pronounced.
This battle, with his own growth in strength, Kakashi realized the gap between him and his father. He felt far behind.
Sakumo however was very satisfied with his sonâs progress. He himself was not that strong at Kakashiâs age. He felt the happiest knowing that his son was growing up and evolving.