CHAPTER 17; THE WIND RYU:- THE JINN STATE

"Wow, it's almost impossible to believe that all this has happened to us. A month ago and I'd never have imagined that I'd be saving the world from Nemesis and Shekan. What do you think Ryu?" Michael asked.

Ryu remained silent. The Rainbow jutsu was something impossible by ninja standards. It was only pure ancient magic that could develop such a technique. Ryu wondered how he was able to use that technique without seals or chakra. He didn't want to face the possibility of not being able to keep his promise.

Michael respected Ryu's silence, for he understood the gravity of Ryu's promise.

"Let's take a rest here!" Michael called over the wind.

The dragons descended.

"We need to meditate" Crystal said as she disappeared in a flash of light.

"Molten, I need to talk to you, follow me" Ryu said silently.

"No joke from Ryu, just silence. It's weird but it's almost as if he's matured" Nadia said.

"He must be worried sick about his promise" Michael said.

"Develop a technique stronger than Gaiden's? I think all that fire jutsu must have fried his brain" Atlanta said.

"You don't think he can do it?" Michael asked.

"Gaiden used years to develop the Raiton(Lightning Element) jutsu! Ryu used half an hour to discover it…" Atlanta said.

"Yes? I don't see where your doubt is coming from when you're acknowledging these things" Michael said.

"I do believe Ryu can develop a more powerful jutsu but…I don't believe he can do it before the full alignment of the moons of Tristran. He wouldn't even know where to begin" Atlanta said.

"Yeah right! Where did he learn to create that ridiculous jutsu I won't even mention" Michael said in a bored tone. "When Ryu puts his heart into something, he can do it. I feel the real Ryu is beginning to awaken."

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Meanwhile, a reasonable distance away, Ryu stood with Molten.

"What is wrong Ryu?" Molten asked.

Ryu remained silent. Molten lowered his head in acknowledgement.

"It's the technique right?" Molten asked.

"Yeah, I know I performed the pact of the succeeding dragon but now I'm wondering whether I should have. Sheesh, I just had to say a technique surpassing Gaiden's" Ryu said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"What of the Rainbow Element Jutsu?" Molten suggested.

"Yeah, that's the greatest but the thing is…I don't know how I did it. I used neither seals nor chakra" Ryu said.

"WHAT?! A TECHNIQUE WITHOUT CHAKRA?!" Molten exclaimed in shock. "That art has long been lost. There was a time when people could perform pure magic without using chakra. Elemental ninjutsu traces its origins from those magi. Presently, only dragons can perform pure magic and before you ask, it's impossible to teach you unless you were born with it" Molten said.

"It's weird but for the first time in my life, I doubt myself. Maybe Atlanta is right, maybe Shekan is more powerful than I am. Probably, it was luck that Gaiden sealed him" Ryu said.

"HEART AND HATE" Molten muttered under his breath.

"What?" Ryu asked.

"Atlanta is right. Shekan was seven times more powerful than Gaiden. Gaiden was a shy type and what does the elemental law say about shy type ninja?" Molten asked.

"They are incapable of withdrawing their full power since they cannot create the strong feelings that pull out the power" Ryu stated. "Gaiden shy? That can't be!"

"Gaiden was by all standards no match for Shekan. I was quite close to Gaiden so I knew him very well. If I were to judge Gaiden's abilities, I would say he's no match for Nemesis" Molten said.

"No match…for Nemesis? Now you're just exaggerating" Ryu said in disbelief.

"Dragons…never exaggerate nor lie. We say the truth as it is" Molten tried to open Ryu's eyes.

(Why do I get the feeling that that fact will be disproven by the end of the story?)

"Then how could Gaiden defeat Shekan?" Ryu asked.

"HEART AND HATE" Molten said silently.

Ryu was becoming impatient.

"YOU KEEP REPEATING THAT! WHAT IS IT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!" Ryu roared.

Molten narrowed his eyes.

"Control your feelings Ryu or you'll end up following the path of Shekan" Molten warned.

Ryu sighed.

"I'm sorry Molten. It's just that, ever since I discovered Atlanta's betrayal, I've been feeling angrier at Nemesis and Shekan" Ryu said.

Molten's expression relaxed.

"All power needed to perform a jutsu comes from the heart, I believe they taught you that" Molten said.

Ryu nodded.

"The strength or weakness of a technique comes from a particular feeling. The greatest power comes from the forbidden emotion of a ninja and that's…" Molten paused.

"Anger" Ryu completed his sentence.

"Why is anger forbidden in performing a jutsu Ryu?" Molten asked.

"Anger is difficult to control and suppress. It is unstable and so becomes the technique if anger creates it. So unstable that you might unintentionally destroy your friends and…yourself and everything you love" Ryu said as he began to understand what Molten was getting at.

"Gaiden won because he never gave up. The understanding of this emotional balance is in itself power. Power is not necessarily the strength of a technique but the ability to effectively manipulate that technique" Molten explained.

Ryu began to understand.

"Gaiden understood this principle and with his suppressed feelings, he learnt to control his power and to draw out even more power with his will. I believe you can develop a technique surpassing anything the world has ever seen because your power comes from a force more powerful than any other. Your power comes from heart and not hate" Molten said.

"Heart?" Ryu asked in confusion.

"Your ability to understand the feelings of others, and the universe. You are more powerful than Shekan not because of your ability to control all the elements but because you love. The fire burning within you comes from your strong desire to protect those you love. Your promise to Atlanta in the presence of the Dragon Lord, you know what is at stake if you fail, Atlanta's happiness" Molten said.

Ryu frowned.

"The flames that cannot be put out come from your desire to protect others. When you think about what is at stake, you just can't lose no matter what…or can you? Is it that your abilities are a fake…" Molten began to taunt Ryu.

Ryu's frown became fierce.

"…maybe you really are weak and pathetic" Molten continued.

Ryu's eyes narrowed.

"…maybe you really are an enormous fool…" Molten kept fuelling the fire of Ryu's rage.

Ryu bared his teeth in a fierce growl.

"…maybe we are all wrong to believe in you. That's it! End of case, the world is doomed. The world is definitely…" Molten was saying when…

"SHUT UP YOU IDIOT! I AM NOT WEAK! I CAN DEFINITELY DEVELOP A JUTSU MORE POWERFUL THAN GAIDEN'S BEFORE THE MOONS OF TRISTRAN ALIGN!!!" Ryu roared.

"That's the spirit. We all believe in you" Molten smiled.

Ryu's frown turned into an expression of surprise.

"You tricked me?" Ryu asked.

"I only reawakened the real you, the fun you" Molten said.

Ryu smiled.

"Thanks Molten" he said gratefully.

Hurricane approached them.

"I saw that. You played reverse psychology on Ryu" Hurricane smiled.

Molten was about to protest.

"For once, I'm glad you did" Hurricane said as he disappeared.

"Hey Molten, before we begin to develop the most powerful jutsu, I've got an idea" Ryu smiled slyly.

"Why do I love that smile?" Molten said with a cunning look on his face.

"WHOO HOO!!!" Ryu screamed as they flew over the clearing where the others were.

"READY?!" Molten called.

"LET'S DO THIS!" Ryu called back.

Michael and the others smiled.

"That's the Ryu we know and love!" Michael said joyfully.

"FIRE ELEMENT! MICHAEL AND NADIA JUTSU!" Ryu called as the image of Michael and Nadia kissing appeared in the sky.

Michael scowled.

"I take that back! THIS IS THE RYU I KNOW AND HATE!" he yelled angrily.

"So that's the technique you guys were talking about" Atlanta burst into uncontrollable laughter.

"You think it's funny?!" Nadia yelled.

"EAT THIS!" Nadia and Michael called together.

"WATER ELEMENT! RYU AND ATLANTA! RAINBOW OF LOVE JUTSU!" they roared as a watery image of Ryu and Atlanta kissing under a rainbow appeared.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" Atlanta yelled.

"Sweet payback" Nadia said as she and Michael smiled in grim satisfaction.

Ryu saw the technique.

"Th-th-that's AAAH!" he screamed as he fell off Molten's back at the sight of that ridiculous image.

He fell on a tree, breaking branches in the process and finally hitting the ground hard.

"THAT'S NOT FAIR!" he yelled.

"On the contrary!" Michael yelled.

"Fine, tit for tat, we've done each other" Ryu said as he rubbed his aching head.

"I must join the others Ryu. I'll be seeing you soon!" Molten called over the wind and vanished in a flash of light.

"Ryu, let's go find some logs for firewood. It's late" Michael said.

"Yeah right, as if…" Ryu was saying.

"NOW!" Michael ordered.

"Okay, chill out bro! I'm on my way. Sheesh! Why do you always have to act like you're the boss of me" Ryu muttered.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that" Michael said and the two brothers walked away.

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Night soon arrived and the five friends sat around a fire.

"Rokkan, you've been so silent. Is anything the matter?" Ryu asked.

"I've been wondering Ryu. When you were dead and the fire saint called to you, how did you merge your spirit with his?" Rokkan asked.

"Honestly, I have no idea. I just had a strange feeling as though I needed to act quickly or lose someone important. The next thing I knew, I was seeing through Molten's eyes" Ryu said.

"Let's see. We've found about five saints. It's left with about three more to find…I think" Michael said.

"You think?" Ryu gave Michael a serious glare.

"There may be hidden ryu just like the ryu of destiny" Michael said.

"From here, the closest ryu is the wind ryu. To get there we'll have to go through the Twisting Devils Of Doom" Rokkan said.

"How do you know so much?" Nadia asked suspiciously.

"My sensei, the only other human other than Gaiden to journey to the Wind Ryu and come back unscathed" Rokkan said.

"So how do we go through the Twisting Devils?" Michael asked.

"Someone with wind powers could tame them" Rokkan said.

Everyone turned to Ryu.

"Why are you all staring at me like that?" Ryu asked nervously.

"Come on, you can't be that daft. You're the only person we know of with the ability to control and use wind jutsu" Atlanta said.

"It's either you do it or we let Shekan rule" Michael said.

"WHAT?! YOU DUMP ME WITH SUCH RESPONSIBILITY WITHOUT CONSULTING ME FIRST?! YOU GUYS ARE THE WORST!" Ryu yelled in anger.

"Think about it, either you do this or we serve Shekan fireflakes for breakfast, your choice" Michael said calmly.

"You can't play reverse psychology on me Michael. This is just typical of you guys. When it's safe, it's either 'Ryu you idiot' or 'I'm gonna punch your lights out Ryu' but when danger comes, 'let's just leave Ryu to handle the problem'" Ryu argued.

"RYU! THIS IS SERIOUS!" Michael yelled impatiently.

"If I could, I would but I can't so I won't" Ryu said.

"What do you mean?" Nadia asked.

"The glitch in your obviously perfect plan is that I can only use the other elements when I enter the Jinn State!" Ryu said sarcastically.

"So? What's the problem with that?" Michael asked.

"Hello?! Have you been listening to me or is your brain filled with water?! I can't enter the Jinn State on impulse, that's what!" Ryu roared in anger.

"It was a good plan. I guess we've got to find a wind element ninja" Michael said.

Ryu remained silent for a while and then he smiled.

"Of course! I can't believe I forgot!" Ryu exclaimed.

"What?" Michael asked.

"Dragon Saints can control…" Ryu began.

"All elements" Michael joined him in completing the sentence.

"I take back all mean things I said about you, especially idiot, you are a genius!" Michael exclaimed.

"Thank you, thank you very much" Ryu said with a slight bow.

"Let's get some rest. Tomorrow's going to be a big day" Michael said.

Ryu yawned.

"Now that you mention it, I'm tired" Ryu said as he dropped to the ground.

"Shield's up" he said tiredly.

"Good thinking Ryu, now rest" Michael said calmly.

The companions fell asleep. Unknown to them, one moon of Tristran had appeared in the sky!

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

The following day, the companions were up at dawn. They began to put their things together.

"We'll need the dragons to get to the Wind ryu for it is above the clouds on the Mountain of Eternal Storms" Rokkan said.

"This just keeps getting better and better" Ryu said as he raised his ring.

The others did the same. Flashes of lightning announced the appearance of the Dragons.

"We need to get to the Wind ryu" Michael said to Hurricane.

"That would mean that we need to risk going through the Twisting Devils" Hurricane said grimly.

"You can get us past them right?" Ryu asked hopefully.

"No we can't. A special barrier has been placed on the devils by Tornado to make sure that no other Dragon Saint can calm the Devils, except for a human saint" Crystal said.

"That means, it all depends…on you Ryu" Crystal said.

"I'll do my best" Ryu promised.

Michael gave him a playful punch on his shoulder,

"You can do it" he said.

"What? Calm down a group of twisting devils that can throw me about in a stormy frenzy? Sure, I can definitely do it" Ryu said in a way that made Michael wonder whether he was being serious or sarcastic.

"Well then, let's go" Michael said.

Ryu had a sickening feeling in his stomach. He clutched his stomach tightly.

"Mikey, is this how you always felt whenever I said 'let's go?'" Ryu asked.

"More or less" Michael replied with a smirk.

The companions mounted their dragons and took to the skies. They rode on for hours.

"Hurricane, what do you think of getting a chance to see Tornado again?" Crystal asked.

Hurricane smiled.

"It's definitely going to be interesting. Just imagine the sort of storms we could create" Hurricane said excitedly.

Molten puked a stream of lava.

"Hurricane, water wasn't bad enough. You still want to combine water with wind. I'm definitely going to be sick of you two" Molten said as he held the urge to puke again.

"And while you're visualizing the art of creating storms, I'll be here wondering how to enter the Jinn State and calm the devils" Ryu said as he threw up too.

"What's wrong with those two?" Atlanta asked.

"Why do I even bother?" Terranica muttered.

"THERE IT IS!" Rokkan suddenly pointed to a mountain which had its peak above the clouds.

"Wow! It's so amazing! I had no idea there was a mountain this tall" Atlanta said in admiration.

Ryu gulped.

"Ready Ryu?" Crystal asked.

"If by that you mean, 'is my heart in my stomach?' definitely" Ryu said nervously.

"LET'S ASCEND!" Hurricane called and the dragons rose higher and higher.

Using chakra control, the human saints were able to keep themselves from falling off. Ryu could hear the sounds of thunder and wind as they neared the clouds.

"The Twisting Devils" Rokkan muttered.

Ryu gulped again.

"HANG TIGHT!" Molten called.

Eventually, all the companions could see was clouds and mist and then, they rose above the clouds. Above the clouds, an unnatural storm was raging. Lightning flashed across the atmosphere. Fortunately, the dragons were very skilled in evading the lightning. Unfriendly winds were blowing, loud thunder kept striking fear into the hearts of the companions and worst of all, in the heart of the storm, five tornadoes also known as the Twisting Devils were raging around.

"Beyond us lies the Wind ryu, no one shall pass,

You better turn back all of you, or see this world through glass!"

The devils said with one voice.

"What are they saying?" Michael asked.

"They are threatening to kill us" Hurricane replied.

Crystal narrowed her eyes, "these devils could not have been created by Tornado. They are evil, yet…they still possess the barrier" Crystal said.

"Please let us move on to the Wind Ryu, we must stop Shekan" Ryu pleaded.

"Shekan, Shekan, when will you return,

We await you, we'll be strong and firm!"

The devils said in a rhyming song.

"What?! You serve Shekan?!" Ryu roared in anger.

"Shekan our master, we await your rule,

Brothers, Sisters, let's wipe out all these fools!" the storms roared as they began to charge towards the companions.

"And I'm supposed to calm them? Tell me whose idea this was again and I'll scorch him right now!" Ryu yelled as he glared at Michael.

"How was I supposed to know that they were serving Shekan?!" Michael defended himself.

"HERE THEY COME!" Crystal called.

The devils drew closer. The dragons swiftly evaded their first attack.

"If we can't quell them, let's destroy them!" Molten roared.

"Don't attack!" Crystal ordered.

"WHAT?!" the others exclaimed in surprise.

"If we use Crystal, Earth, Water, or Fire attacks on them, their spinning would only hurl the elements back at us" Crystal explained.

"I see, in this case, only wind can defeat them" Hurricane reasoned.

"But dragons cannot attack them because of the barrier" Crystal explained.

The Devils charged at the friends and threw them in different directions. Hurricane narrowly missed crashing into Molten in mid-air.

"Brothers, Sisters, now combine,

Now is the time to end their lifeline!"

The devils sang as they fused to form a super humongous, ginormous, tornado devil.

"OH…MY…GOD!" Ryu exclaimed.

"Uh-oh, I don't like the looks of that" Michael said.

The super devil began to spin so fast that, it began to suck the companions into its vortex! The companions struggled not to be absorbed but their efforts were in vain. Terranica and Rokkan went in first!

"RYU! ACT QUICKLY!" Rokkan called.

"TERRANICA! ROKKAN!" Ryu screamed.

Next, Crystal and Atlanta were sucked in.

"RYU! YOU CAN DO IT!" Atlanta called to Ryu as she and Crystal disappeared into the vortex.

"CRYSTAL! ATLANTA!" Ryu called. "I'LL TRY! JINN STATE ACTIVATE!" he yelled but nothing happened.

"DAMN THIS…WHY IS IT NOT WORKING?! JINN STATE ACTIVATE!" Ryu called frantically however, there were no results.

"Michael, Nadia and Hurricane began to drift towards the vortex of the Super Tornado Devil.

"Ryu! You don't need to call it out with your voice! Call to the Dragon Zone with your heart!" Hurricane shouted over the wind.

"How?!" Ryu called back.

"BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!" Hurricane called as he disappeared into the vortex with Michael and Nadia.

"HURRICANE! MICHAEL! NADIA!" Ryu screamed as tears began to stream down his eyes. "Okay!" Ryu called as he formed the basic ninjutsu seal for drawing out chakra. "I BELIEVE IN MYSELF!" Ryu roared as he shut his eyes for concentration. "TO SAVE THE ONES I LOVE, DRAGON ZONE, I CALL TO YOU!!!" Ryu roared.

Somewhere in the darkness, a hidden Dragon Zone, the true Dragon Zone began to glow as the elemental energy gushed out of Ryu!

"HAAAAAH!!!" Ryu roared as he opened his eyes, the Ryuugan(Dragon Eyes) had been activated.

Ryu performed the wind element seals. "WIND ELEMENT! WIND SILENCER JUTSU!" he roared.

A huge force of wind from Ryu crushed the Super Tornado Devil and the storm ceased. With a loud roar, the devil disappeared. Ryu could see the Wind ryu now.