Returning to Konoha

After the evacuation was completed, Minato handed over the command over the troops to Ryo, and went to the Hidden Cloud to get the two S Rank Lightning Jutsus.

Over 7000 of Konoha's Ninjas were told by Ryo that their war against the Cloud is over and that they had finally won.

They were all immersed in the joy of victory. They had been in this battlefield for many years, and with this war's end, they finally get to go home.

Looking at the boiling crowds, Ryo did not want to disrupt their joy, and just stood there and enjoyed watching them enjoy their sudden victory.

Soon after, Minato returned handing two scrolls to Ryo.

"Here are the two Jutsus promised by the Hidden Cloud. There's only one S Rank Lightning Jutsu among them. The other one is an A Rank Jutsu." Said Minato.

This made Ryo wonder why Minato would accept such an offer.

He opened the scroll, and he was in for a surprise! The S Rank jutsu was the 3rd's [Hell Stab], and the other one was the [Added/Light Weight Rock Jutsu], that's usually used by Onoki.

[Translator Note: Both techniques had been stated as B Rank in the Databooks. However, the level of the Ultra version of the Added/Light weight Rock Jutsus had not been specified. The author probably made Hell Stab S Rank because it had also been stated to be the 3rd Raikage's strongest Jutsu, that that might have led him to think it was S Rank.]

Needless to say, Hell Stab was the strongest Jutsu of the 3rd Raikage, but seeing what practice was required for it made Ryo lose interest in it.

What Ryo was really intrigued by was the [Added/Light Weight Rock Jutsu], as it was more useful than many S-class Jutsus. It's no wonder that Minato agreed to accept it.

[Added/Light Weight Rock Jutsu] is actually not limited to manipulating earth and stone. This was a Jutsu developed by the 2nd Tsuchikage. It was very practical, as it was capable of changing the quality of a target without using Hand Seals.

The problem with this Jutsu was that it was extremely difficult to master, requiring great Chakra control and intricate understanding of the structures of the targets.

While many can enhance their Chakra control, most people who practice this Jutsu get stuck when it comes to this understanding.

According to Minato, the Cloud had got this Jutsu 20 years ago, but no one was successful with it for all that time.

Ryo was quite excited to see this scroll. It was as if this Jutsu was tailored for him.

As a Medical Ninja, he obviously had great Chakra control. As for understanding matter, his Physics knowledge from his past life should serve him rather well with this Jutsu.

After understanding the principle of this Jutsu, Ryo tried to inject Chakra within his Ice Scalpel, and its molecular structure was actually modified.

Following the instructions, Ryo used the Chakra on the Ice molecules, and the Ice Scalpel became extremely light.

When Minato was presented with the two Jutsus, he didn't find that they could be of much use to him.

Mastering Hell Stab required immense physical power and Chakra stores that were too, and it also relied on the Lightning Chakra Mode. The [Added/Light Weight Rock Jutsu] on the other hand required knowledge that was out of his reach.

The Reason why Minato agreed to replace the second S Rank Jutsu by [Added/Light Weight Rock Jutsu] was that he thought of the possibility that Ryo could make great use of it.

Seeing the expression on Ryo's face as he held the Scalpel, Minato knew that his intuition was right.

He didn't disrupt Ryo's practice, and told everyone to rest in place until he finished, and they all took off and took the road again.

In the Cloud Village, the 4th Raikage once again punched through a table. He never thought that Minato could silently move away 7000 Ninjas!

He was full of regret, but he wasn't stupid. To get away with a minimum amount of losses, he deliberately chose two techniques that were extremely difficult or near impossible to learn.

Despite that, he was very angry as he delivered the two Jutsus, and if he realizes that Ryo was already on the path to mastering [Added/Light Weight Rock Jutsu], he'd be even more furious.

One leader was completely unaware of what was going on. A knew that Onoki did not find out about this.

Right now, Onoki thinks that balance had been restored, and that Konoha, the Rock and the Cloud were all mutually restrained. He believed that was the reason why the Cloud weren't acting so rashly.

However, he was completely wrong. The reason why the Cloud weren't quick to attack was the fact that they were preparing a big surprise for the Rock.

Two days after Konoha evacuated, A led 10000 Cloud Ninjas, along with Killer B and Yugito Nii to attack the Hidden Rock.

Onoki sent people to Konoha's camp for help, but what he didn't expect was that the 7000 Konoha Ninjas awaiting them there were actually Cloud Ninjas in disguise.

After the battle started, the Rock was being pushed back, and with the leadership of the Nibi, the Rock started suffering some heavy losses.

At that time, from the back, "Konoha's Ninjas" arrived, and Onoki breathed a sigh of relief. What he did not expect, was that their back line was suddenly attacked by these Konoha Ninjas.

Onoki was hit by one of them, which went against all his expectations.

"Haha! Old man, you have killed my father, and today you shall pay the price!" A laughed out loud.

Onoki turned back to find that the Konoha Ninja that attacked him was actually A in disguise.

The result of this battle was self-evident. The Rock were defeated. Over 4000 of the 10000 Rock Ninjas were killed, Onoki and Han were badly injured and captured, and the captain of the Explosion Squad was killed by Killer B.

"Old man, you've lost! Now hand over my father's body, and I'll let live. Otherwise, you'll have your burial along with his!"

Onoki trembled from rage, but he was in no situation to fight back, he could only give back the 3rd Raikage's corpse to A.

The Cloud, although somewhat violent, always kept their word. After it was confirmed that the body was that of the 3rd Raikage, Onoki and Han were released.

Leaving, he thought of the Cloud using the Transformation Jutsu, and how he was fooled by that. His vision became blurry, then he fainted.

The Cloud all were extremely excited, cheering happily. A's status as the 4th Raikage was solidified; he proved to everyone that he was well worthy of his position.

As the Cloud were winning the battle, Minato and Ryo returned to Konoha along with 7000 Ninjas.

At the entrance of Konoha's camp, the whole village, led by the smiling 3rd Hokage greeted their Heroes.

This was the second time that Ryo experienced such a scene. The difference is that the last time he was just in the audience, while now he's the one welcomed by the cheering crowds.

Minato and Ryo were up front, followed by the representatives of the different Clans and the Jonins of the camp.

The 3rd was glad to see Minato and Ryo. The two of them were apprentices of his desciples. Of course, he was extremely glad of their achievements.

"Ryo kun, I haven't seen you in a long time!" A slightly hoarse yet very charismatic voice was heard, it was Orochimaru.

"Orochi san, long time no see!" the two believers in science were both very happy to see each other, and both had a certain level of friendship.

"Talking could be left for later. For now, let's let the Heroes return Home!" The 3rd made the people split, creating a path through which Konoha's Ninjas entered the village under everyone's cheers!