Valley of the End

It soared into the clouds and plunged beyond sight.

The rushing waterfall was like surging, rolling waves, cascading down from the heavens and smashing violently into the river on the Valley Floor, stirring up the current.

On the outskirts of Konoha, within the Valley of the End, Ryosuke stood atop the rushing water with his two guards, Souji and Seisai, gazing at the two enormous statues that resembled gods.

The First Hokage, Hashirama Senju.

The strongest clan head in Uchiha history, Madara Uchiha.

The valley was deep. Looking up along the waterfall from the water where Ryosuke and the others stood felt like being trapped in a lightless abyss, swallowed by darkness.

On either side of the gorge, the cliff walls carved with Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha had been weathered by the water until they seemed almost lifelike.

Their faces stood at the very top of the gorge, appearing to be shrouded in clouds and mist when viewed from below.

Their postures, their expressions—it was as though neither had abandoned his own beliefs and conclusions until the very last moment of battle.

Even at the instant their lives ended, they had maintained the stances they held in life, becoming two statues still arguing that their own ideals were right.

"No matter how many times I see it, it's always this magnificent."

As Ryosuke silently examined the two statues before him, Souji Hyuga behind him spoke with a touch of sentiment. "Ryosuke-sama may not know this, but when our generation was still in school, we often came to visit the Valley of the End."

"And whenever we came, the few Uchiha in every class would always become even more smug."

Seisai Hyuga joined in. "It's laughable. Back then, the entire Uchiha Clan abandoned Madara Uchiha and supported Hashirama Senju's ideals, yet their descendants now take pride in the glory Madara Uchiha possessed."

"But if Madara Uchiha had become Hokage back then, perhaps the Ninja World would never have entered an age of peace. There would only have been endless years of war." Souji began voicing his own opinions again.

The two each spoke their minds, chatting freely about the Uchiha.

Ryosuke did not join them. He quietly listened to their conversation while looking over the traces left in the Valley of the End by that great battle long ago.

Many of the rock walls in the valley bore marks of having been scorched by intensely concentrated flames.

They should have been caused by Madara Uchiha's Fire Style.

Likewise, Hashirama Senju had left behind no small number of traces.

Most of them were fist and palm prints.

These were not small marks made by striking the rocks with bare hands, insignificant against the vast gorge.

They were massive craters blasted out by the enormous Buddha statue formed through Hashirama Senju's Wood Style Ninjutsu—the Buddha of the Heavenly Hand in the True Several Thousand Hands state.

Even the Valley of the End itself, this enormous rift-like gorge, had been created by the battle between Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha back then.

Could this really be the kind of destruction a battle between ninjas could cause?

His hand trembling, Ryosuke expressionlessly ran his fingers over the pitted rock walls, feeling the brutality and intensity of that battle.

Several decades had passed, yet the marks left by that battle remained. It was clear just how earth-shattering its scale had been.

Ryosuke's heart churned with emotion. Few things could still make him this excited.

It was like obtaining an immortal cultivation manual in the modern era, having just tempered his body and established his foundation, smug over having stepped into the supernatural.

Then, during a chance trip, he suddenly came across traces left behind by an ancient cultivator at the Nascent Soul tribulation stage. It was as though another door had been thrown open before him—a vast, solemn door.

Someone had walked this path before.

And the journey down this path excited him even more.

Normally, his battles with Hyuga Hiashi already seemed like battles between ninjas, possessing power far beyond ordinary people.

But now that he had come to this deep valley, he finally understood what true transcendence was.

The more turbulent his heart became, the calmer his outward appearance was.

Being expressionless was Ryosuke's most relaxed state, and also his most excited state.

Only a smile lay between those two states; it was when his vigilance was at its highest.

Closing his eyes, Ryosuke took a deep breath and calmed the excitement in his heart.

He slowly exhaled the stale air. When he opened his eyes again, the turbulence in them had faded, leaving only the calm resolve to face this Ninja World.

"Souji, Seisai, it's time to go..."

His calm voice rang out. He slowly turned around and walked toward the exit of the gorge with a smile.

Since he had arrived at the Valley of the End, at the edge of Konoha, that meant... Ryosuke could finally leave the village.

For the first time in five years, he was stepping out of that small village, ready to witness the splendor of this Ninja World.

The practical combat opportunity he had long awaited had finally arrived.

In Hyuga Hiashi's heart, Ryosuke held a very high position, equal to—or perhaps even above—that of the clan.

Thus, even after realizing he had nothing more to teach Ryosuke, he had continued holding him back and had not allowed him to experience real combat.

On the one hand, there had been no opportunity. On the other, he simply could not bear to do it.

But now, Ryosuke had finally found a chance to leave the village.

This time, his task outside the village was to visit the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, something the Hyuga Clan did every year as a matter of routine.

In previous years, however, it had always been handled by members of the Branch Family.

This year, Hyuga Hiashi intended to use this opportunity to arrange a not-too-difficult mission outside the village for Ryosuke, while also broadening his horizons.

He could not stay cooped up in the village forever, like a frog at the bottom of a well.

The Hyuga Clan placed considerable importance on the task of visiting the Daimyo, but the term "Daimyo" had not left much of an impression on Ryosuke.

Or rather, such people had not stood out in the plot of Naruto and had scarcely gotten any screen time.

But that had been the world of a manga. Ryosuke was in the real Ninja World.

Naturally, there were some differences between the two.

If one wanted to survive in this Ninja World, one absolutely could not underestimate these so-called Daimyo and nobles. Even if they lacked the power of ninjas, they possessed far more than ninjas did.

And what they possessed more of was human hearts.

Was this world's population large?

Compared to Ryosuke's previous life, of course it was not.

Did this world have many ninjas?

Yes. After all, it was a world of ninjas, and there were quite a few who possessed supernatural power.

Then... among the total population, were there more ninjas or more ordinary people?

Without question, there were more ordinary people.

Most of the Ninja World's population consisted of ordinary people. Only a small number possessed the talent to become ninjas.

Ryosuke had expected the numerical gap between ordinary people and ninjas.

But he was quite surprised to learn that the rulers of this Ninja World—the Daimyo and nobles, who were merely ordinary people—truly held real power.

Originally, he had thought that given the strength of ninjas, the Daimyo and nobles of each nation would be more like puppets, helping ninjas govern the Ninja World and control ordinary people.

But to Ryosuke's surprise, the Daimyo and nobles had always been the actual rulers of their respective countries, controlling the lifeblood of the nations they belonged to.