A Duel to the Death

"Stop, Tsuki Uchiha! Are you trying to provoke a civil war between the Uchiha Clan and the village? You actually dared to unleash an S-Rank Technique inside the village."

Most S-Rank Techniques had astonishing range. They might not affect all of Konoha, but destroying a small part of it would be easy.

By then, the surrounding ANBU had arrived as well, encircling Tsuki Uchiha and watching him with wary expressions.

Civil war!

Upon hearing those words, clarity suddenly returned to Tsuki Uchiha's mind, which had been clouded by rage. His hand seals came to a halt.

The backlash from the disrupted chakra flow made him cough up a mouthful of blood.

Tsuki Uchiha raised his head and swept a glance over the situation. He knew there was nothing he could do.

He gave Ryōken a cold look, the killing intent in his eyes undisguised.

Then he prepared to leave.

He did not take the encircling shinobi seriously at all. These ANBU would never dare make a move. The Uchiha Clan did not want to completely fall out with the village, and neither did the village. It would only benefit others.

Though they were somewhat indignant, there was nothing they could do. They looked at Ryōken with pity. Ryōken would eventually have to leave the village, and when that happened, Tsunade would not be there to protect him. He would still be doomed to die.

Tsunade also sighed inwardly. Meticulous as she was, she naturally understood the situation. She began considering keeping Ryōken by her side, so she could at least protect him for a while, until he possessed the ability to defend himself.

But at that moment, Ryōken suddenly spoke.

He called out to Tsuki Uchiha.

"Three months from now, a duel to the death!"

Ryōken looked calmly at Tsuki Uchiha and spoke coldly.

The moment those words left his mouth, everyone was astonished. They were surprised by Ryōken's courage, then sighed again, mocking his overestimation of himself.

Today, if Tsunade had not been present and had not used the threat of civil war to force Tsuki Uchiha to stop unleashing his S-Rank ultimate technique, Ryōken would never have escaped death.

Even Tsunade might not have been able to withstand an S-Rank Technique at this point.

A trace of mockery appeared at the corner of Tsuki Uchiha's mouth. Did this brat think that because he had made him suffer a minor loss, he was qualified to fight him?

He could not even be bothered to sneer. His expression was calm and cold.

"Very well. I'll let you live for another three months."

In a mere three months, he absolutely did not believe Ryōken could pull off any sort of comeback.

As long as he took things seriously, Ryōken would be nothing more than prey for him to kill.

The next moment, Tsuki Uchiha vanished from the spot in a Body Flicker.

"Although Ryōken's talent is indeed exceptional, no matter how gifted he is, he has no chance to grow anymore. It's simply impossible for him to defeat a Kage-level opponent in three months."

"Yeah, and he's an Uchiha Kage-level shinobi at that."

"He was too impulsive. If he had just stayed with Tsunade, he might have lived a little longer."

Everyone sighed. Seeing that the matter was over, they shook their heads and left.

Tsunade turned toward Ryōken, her gaze carrying a hint of frustration at his failure to meet her expectations. She snapped, "Are you trying to get yourself killed? You actually challenged an Uchiha Kage-level shinobi."

"Quick, go find your teacher right now. Maybe there's still a chance to cancel this absurd duel."

He knew she meant well, but did she really have so little faith in him?

Ryōken's lips twitched. He raised his head, his expression spirited and brimming with confidence. "Don't worry. Three months is enough."

Seeing that Ryōken remained completely unmoved, Tsunade shook her head, helplessness flashing through her beautiful eyes.

"Then do as you please."

With that, she turned and left. Since they had agreed upon a three-month appointment, Tsuki Uchiha would not go back on his word and target Ryōken during that time.

The Uchiha Clan might be somewhat obsessive, but their clan's honor would never permit them to do such a thing.

Even so, she could not just watch Ryōken walk to his death. A genius capable of wielding immense power on the battlefield could not be allowed to die in the village's internal strife.

Determination appeared in Tsunade's beautiful eyes as she murmured softly, "Looks like I'll have to discuss this with Teacher and White Fang."

Watching Tsunade's departing figure, Ryōken calmly shook his head.

Three months might be short, but it was already enough for Ryōken to gain the strength to defeat Tsuki Uchiha.

Setting everything else aside, merely completing the transformation of his chakra would greatly increase his strength.

Probably no one could have imagined that Ryōken's current strength was entirely supported by his astonishing swordsmanship, while the chakra that formed his foundation had yet to break through.

Otherwise, their jaws would truly have dropped.

Ryōken, who possessed only Chunin-level chakra, had actually gained the upper hand in a clash of ninjutsu against Tsuki Uchiha, a genuine Kage-level shinobi.

The next day, at the village entrance.

Tetsuki and the others were already fully equipped and ready to depart.

Tetsuki stood there with a cold face, silent and motionless.

Beside her, Qing Zang smiled faintly and said with a touch of schadenfreude, "Let's not wait any longer. Ryōken can barely protect himself right now. I imagine he won't be participating in this mission."

Tetsuki made no effort to hide the disgust and revulsion in her eyes. She shot Qing Zang a cold glance, without the slightest desire to respond.

If he had not been recommended by the old steward Tian Jing, and if he had not been a samurai, Tetsuki would have kicked him out long ago.

Still, she secretly made up her mind that once they arrived in the Land of Iron, she would throw this man of poor character out no matter what.

Someone who felt no gratitude whatsoever toward his lifesaver and even took pleasure in his misfortune was not worth trusting, no matter how strong he was.

At that moment, Ryōken walked over from the distance.

Tetsuki's beautiful face, which had seemed frozen over, immediately softened somewhat, and a trace of gentleness even appeared in her beautiful eyes.

Whether Ryōken could lead the samurai to rise again or not, he had still saved her life. That greatly improved Tetsuki's impression of him.

"Let's go."

Ryōken placed both hands behind his head and spoke casually.

Inside the carriage.

Tetsuki looked at Ryōken, seeming as though she wanted to speak but hesitated.

After thinking it over, she decided to apologize. After all, she had been the one to kill Kouichi Uchiha, yet Ryōken had to bear the resulting trouble.

"I'm really sorry."

A faint blush appeared on Tetsuki's pretty face. She turned her head slightly away, not daring to meet Ryōken's eyes.

Ryōken blinked and teased, "Were you planning to watch me get killed that day?"

"How could I?"

Tetsuki hurriedly turned back and shouted.

Seeing the teasing smile on Ryōken's face, Tetsuki immediately realized what he meant. She fell silent awkwardly and turned to look outside the carriage, though a faint smile appeared on her face.

Ryōken had no other thoughts on the matter. Seeing that there was nothing more to say, he closed his eyes and continued his deductions.

At the end of the day, Ryōken had always suffered from a lack of moves. He kept using the same few techniques over and over.

Against opponents weaker than himself, it was naturally simple. One sword strike was enough to finish them.

But facing someone roughly equal to him, or even stronger, became awkward.

Now that he had Lightning Release swordsmanship, he also needed to deduce corresponding sword techniques for the other elements.

The Hokage's office.

"Teacher, do we really not need to interfere in this matter?"

Tsunade slammed the desk in fury, her face full of disbelief.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded helplessly and picked up the documents that had been knocked to the floor.

"You know as well as I do that war is about to break out. As one of Konoha's two great clans, the Uchiha Clan's combat strength cannot be underestimated."

"Besides, the rules for duels to the death were established by Teacher Tobirama. They cannot be changed so easily."

At those words, Tsunade's expression changed several times before she fell silent.

"Who would have thought that Ryōken would take the initiative to provoke a duel?"

As he spoke, Hiruzen Sarutobi also revealed a trace of anger.

Originally, he could still have protected Ryōken. After all, Kouichi Uchiha had merely been a newly graduated Genin, and he had brought death upon himself.

With a little mediation and reassurance, the matter might have simply been allowed to pass.

Yet Ryōken had unexpectedly gone looking for death himself. Now things had become troublesome.