Chapter 123: Payment
The Six King Pistol wasn't something Ryū had learned from Whitebeard. He'd developed it independently—leveraging his Perfection-tier Six Powers mastery, studying frames from the anime in his memory, and drilling the technique through repetition until the extension clicked.
The result was significantly more powerful than Rob Lucci's version, because Ryū's baseline stats were already above Lucci's to begin with. Add Armament Haki's massive amplification of physical techniques, and his full-power Six King Pistol was a strike that could kill any Kage-level shinobi in a single blow.
Well—the Third Raikage might survive. That man was an exception on the durability spectrum.
* * *
The ground around Kurama's fallen body was devastated. The earth had fractured so thoroughly it was doubtful anyone could build on it again. Some cracks had struck groundwater—little geysers spurted from the fissures, forming absurd miniature fountains across the wasteland.
And the crater from the final Six King Pistol strike? It could have been repurposed as a lake. Kurama's body was half-buried in it. The diameter was somewhere in the hundreds of meters. Maybe more.
By my best guess, the shockwave shouldn't have reached my place. But with tremors this bad, the furniture's probably scattered all over the floor. Another cleanup job when I get home.
* * *
Once the sharp sting in his hands had faded, Ryū silently watched as Kurama—beaten into total submission—was sealed by Hiruzen and Minato using a paired sealing technique he'd never seen referenced in the original manga.
That marked the end of his involvement.
In a true one-on-one, the Nine-Tails would have been a nightmare to finish. That health bar was obscene—a solo fight could have dragged on for days.
But with the jōnin corps providing crowd-control support—restricting Kurama's movement, chipping at its stamina, interrupting its Tailed Beast Bombs—the combined effort had pushed the fox to breaking point by nightfall.
Watching the bizarre seal markings crawl across Kurama's motionless body, Ryū knew the Nine-Tails incident was drawing to a close.
The main reason I could dominate it was the speed gap. Its attacks were too slow—claws, tails, Tailed Beast Bombs, all of it was trackable. If the Nine-Tails had MY speed, this might have ended in a mutual KO. Its raw power was no joke.
* * *
Hiruzen and Minato hadn't attempted to implant the sealed fox into a new jinchūriki—probably because too many people were watching. Jinchūriki identities were highly classified. Every jinchūriki was a walking nuclear weapon, and you didn't broadcast where your warheads were stored.
Not even to your own people. Who knew whether a spy was watching?
None of which interested Ryū. He fished the two Sharingan eyes from his pocket and studied them briefly—a pair of one-tomoe eyeballs that looked like oversized marbles with strange patterns swirling inside.
His mouth twitched.
Why is this one oval-shaped now? Did I accidentally squish it when the Nine-Tails slapped me across the village?
Whether a slightly flattened Sharingan still functioned was a question Ryū had no data on. The original Naruto manga had never covered this particular scenario.
Knowledge gap. Whatever—I'll send both to Wolffy and let him figure it out.
* * *
Right—there's one more thing. Almost forgot.
Ryū picked his way across the fractured terrain to where Minato stood. The Fourth Hokage's complexion was distinctly pale—probably running on fumes. Between teleporting away every Tailed Beast Bomb and co-executing the sealing, his chakra reserves had to be nearly empty.
Minato, feeling the weight of Ryū's gaze, glanced over at the young man who stood beside him looking almost completely unharmed. Just… slightly roughed-up clothes.
He cleared his throat: "Um… is there something you need, Yagami-kun?"
The deference was total now. After what he'd witnessed, Minato had mentally placed Ryū on his own level—or possibly above it.
Ryū didn't bother with pleasantries. He pointed at the seal-covered, motionless Nine-Tails: "I just solved a pretty big problem for you. Don't you think some kind of payment is in order? I don't do charity work."
Minato's eyelid twitched: "…P-payment?"
Ryū said, as if this were the most natural thing in the world: "You don't think I deserve compensation? A Nine-Tails that nearly leveled the village. Name your price."
Minato: "…"
Payment.
Well…
He's not wrong.
Minato suppressed the urge to retort, looked at Ryū, and committed: "Once the Nine-Tails situation is fully resolved, I'll send someone to deliver your payment. You have my word—it won't be small."
A Hokage's promise was worth something. And Konoha wasn't exactly strapped for cash. So his payment would come through.
My wallet's almost empty, after all. That's the only reason I'm even asking. Originally I was going to rob Kaido's operation—but who knows how much money that guy has right now? Openly extorting the Fourth Hokage is way more efficient.
Wait—"extorting"? This is fair compensation for services rendered! How is that extortion?
After all, I just played the role of… what was it again? The word's on the tip of my tongue. Oh right. Konoha's savior.
* * *
"One more thing. You should probably check every water source in the village. The people who released the Nine-Tails also poisoned the water supply. They're all dead now, by the way."
Ryū tossed the line over his shoulder without slowing down. And left.
Minato watched the retreating figure until it disappeared from view.
Hiruzen's voice materialized at his shoulder: "That young man is extraordinary. Standing beside him… I had the same feeling I once had standing before the First Hokage. Though he may still be a step below Hashirama-sama."
"It's difficult to believe he's only seventeen. When I was seventeen, I'd barely made jōnin. At seventeen, with his power… if his political instincts matched his combat ability, he could become the Kage of any village he chose."
Listening to the undisguised awe in the old Hokage's voice, Minato nodded deeply. Only those who had stood close enough to watch Ryū fight truly understood how terrifying the young man was.
Then Minato processed the other thing Ryū had said.
"The water sources have been poisoned?" He scratched his head. "…What a pain."
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