Another battle with Sakumo made Ryo realize his defects in both mentality and strength.
His way to go was relying on a speed, and killing in one hit. This assassination style was similar to that of Minato in the Manga.
The main difference with Ryo was that teleportation relied on Ice, while Minatoâs Flying Thunder God was a space-time Ninjutsu.
Ryoâs ice allowed him to teleport within the range of 50 meters. On the other hand, Minatoâs Flying Thunder God has no distance restrictions. As long as he has an object marked, Minato could cross unlimited distances. Ryoâs Ice teleportation was incomparable to that.
This technique also allowed Minato to go deep behind the enemy line to complete to most difficult of mission, while still being able to retreat at will.
After facing Sakumo, Ryo felt the need to change his fighting style.
His idea was to use his âIce Releaseâ to condense things that work like Minatoâs Kunai. Like some form og a tool that could be used as teleport markers.
With that, Ryo should be able to find the perfect position for teleportation without using huge blocks of ice that would give it away.
And this kind of tactic can also confuse the enemy into making him think that Ryo needs tools or markings to teleport just like Minato.
If he could perfect this idea, heâll maximize the mobility he gains from his Ice Release, and that would add up to his Lightning Chakra mode blinking.
Ryo went and sought Sakumoâs help with improving this idea. The latter was tired with managing the camp, so he accepted his request.
Over the following days, the White Fang threw off all the affairs of the camp to Jiraya, and focused on helping Ryo develop his new Jutsu in the desert outside the camp.
Ryoâs choice for a marker was an Ice Scalpel. After all, he had a lot of experience with them in this world as a medical Ninja, and in during his past life as a great surgeon.
Unlike the Chakra scalpel, this new one was not sharp enough to cut through meridians, but it was still sharp.
It was made by turning moister in the air into Ice by using natural energy, then condensing said ice into the form of a blade. During their production, Ryo infused the scalpels with his bodyâs own Natural energy, thus making them stronger.
After making the perfect scalpel for the task, Ryo needed to become more familiar with this marker based teleportation.
He has had a lot of experience with Ice teleportation of the years. Now, he was just changing the way he positions. With this, heâll soon be able to use this scalpel freely within 50 meters.
After Ryo finished his vision of the technique, it was time for him to master it.
To master a Justu, there is no way around training. Ryoâs new Jutsu revolves about teleportation involving small pieces of ice. It was complicated enough to even make Sakumoâs head spin.
Ryo and Sakumo were on completely different levels when it comes to strength. But between his Ice-Lightning Chakra mode blinks and his Ice instant teleportation, Ryoâs speed actually exceeded Sakumoâs ability to react.
This made Ryo able to have a decent fight with Sakumo. This was the 1st time it happened ever since they started these challenges a few years ago.
As Ryo and Sakumo were practicing, an Aburame Ninja came shouting to them: âSakumo san, Ryo san, Jiraya san called for you immediately.â
The 1st thing Sakumo thought about was that the Sand shouldâve made a move. He immediately stopped fighting Ryo and Ran towards the camp. Ryo also grabbed an Ice Scalpel and followed him.
âJiraya! Whatâs wrong? Any movements made by the Sand?â Sakumo rushed like the wind his tent and went straight to the point.
Ryo who followed him entered the tent just in time to hear Jirayaâs answer.
âNo, itâs the Village hidden in Rocks, they declared war on Konoha. The Cloud village also declared war on both of them at the same time.â Jiraya handed a letter to Sakumo, who passed it on to Ryo after he finished reading it.
âJiraya, whoâs in charge of the different fronts back home?â Sakumo didnât see the messenger around, so he asked Jiraya.
âNow everything in the village is being handled by Sarutobi Sensei. Before that, he had already suspended Danzo and the two advisors. He made Minato Kamikaze in charge of the hidden cloud battlefield, and Orochimaru as commander in chief of the battlefront with the Hidden Rock. And on the battlefield of the Hidden Mist, he had the Heads of the Hyuga clan and the Ino-Shika-Cho Alliance. He said that we can handle the Hidden Sand.â
Sakumo was surprised that the 3rd had suspended Danzo and the advisors. But that wasnât important to him as he had no interest in politics.
All that he was concerned with was the battle with the Sand. Ryo thought the same.
After hearing what Jiraya just said, Ryo understood that Konoha wasnât exactly in a bright situation. The 3rd world war went all out, and Konoha was now faced by all of the other 4 great nations.
This biggest problem was that the battle front with the Sand alone required three quarters of Konohaâs medical Ninjas, along with two of its pillars.
On the other hand, the Rock, Mist and Cloud villages were all attacking Konoha, but for some reason, the Rock and Sand were not in war yet, giving both countries an advantage in distribution of their troops.
So it was clear to Ryo that their role should be holding the Sand off until war starts between them and the Rock. That way, Konoha should be in a relatively balanced state against all 4 big nations.
Sakumo didnât know as much as Ryo about the warâs events, but he knew well how important their position was. They should get an advantage against the sand as soon as possible.
The Sand camp was outnumbering that of Konoha. And with the two Quasi-kage level Shinobis who arrived recently, forces between the two camps were equal, and thatâs if Jiraya could really take care of Shukaku.
Ryo was also thinking about the same thing. He was wondering about the best way to break the deadlock.
âSakumo san, if we find a way to make the Sandâs Sensory Ninjas disappear, could that turn the tide of this war?â
Ryoâs words caught Sakumoâs and Jirayaâs attention. If the Sand were to lose the Sensory Ninjas, they would lose the advantage thy have being familiar with the battleground.
âIf that happens to the Sand, of course it would be great for us. But how could that ever happen?â Sakumo asked.
âI can find the sensorial ninjas in their camp, but there should be no way that I could kill them.â
Over the course of his childhood, Ryo learned the Yamanakaâs secret techniques. That, along with having the Sharingan and the spiritual power granted to him when crossing over, made it easy for him to detect all Sensory Ninjas in the Sandâs squad.
âSakumo San, how do you feel about having the two of us sneak in and kill those Sensorial Ninja?â
Ryoâs crazy idea scared both of the Sakumo and Jiraya, âHow can this be? They same ones you want to kill will be the ones to detect you whenever you enter their camp.
âI have secret technique that helps me hide my Chakra from sensorial Ninjas.â As he finished his words, Ryo use that technique to hide his Chakra.
Jiraya called for the Aburame Ninjas, who werenât actually able to locate Ryo.
âRyo, hand me this secret technique, and wait for me to master it. Then weâll handle those sensory Ninjas.