Chapter 245 : What Does Riku Want?
Riku nodded. "This is my mission. I’ll do everything I can to see it through."
Yugito and the others turned to look at Riku. Only now did they truly realize—Riku was only sixteen years old. And yet, he might already possess power greater than the Fourth Raikage. It was terrifying to even imagine just how prodigious his talent must be.
When she had been Riku’s age, Yugito hadn’t come close to Kage-level strength. Even with the power of the Two-Tails, all it did was boost her destructive capability. At best, she had only reached the level of an elite Jōnin.
But Riku? He could kill Jōnin instantly.
That kind of strength wasn’t just Kage-level—it was well within the upper echelon of Kage-level power.
Even among Kage-level shinobi, being able to instantly kill a Jōnin was rare. After all, Jōnin were the pinnacle of combat power within a village—highly skilled, versatile, and often in possession of powerful secret techniques.
Instantly killing one wasn’t easy. Unless the Jōnin in question was weak, or the attacker possessed extraordinary speed like Minato Namikaze or the Fourth Raikage, even then it might not succeed—because every Jōnin had their own means of survival.
As they journeyed onward, they passed through several small countries that had already been reduced to ruins by the Ghost Army. Looking at the uniform, expressionless soldiers made of stone, Riku frowned.
"If these things are unleashed upon the entire world, nothing will stop them. They’re unkillable," he muttered darkly.
Carried on Yugao’s back, Shion clenched her fists tightly as she surveyed the devastation around her. It only made her feel the weight of her duty more acutely.
Yugito glanced at Riku. "These stone soldiers... they can’t be killed. If they invade the five great nations, I doubt any one of them could stand against such destruction."
Riku nodded. "Exactly. That’s why we have to seal the spirit. If we don’t, the world as we know it will fall. And we have to do it fast. The five great nations may not be able to hold out for long."
Yugito nodded firmly. "I’ll help you. Though I’m not sure whether I can actually seal the spirit or not."
Riku turned to the two Cloud shinobi traveling with Yugito. "I believe we’ll win this battle. Even if Lady Miko can’t do it, I will."
The two shinobi looked stunned. "How can you be so sure? If the Miko can’t even seal it, how will you?"
Traveling behind Yugao, Shion didn’t hear the conversation.
Leaping through the treetops, Riku said, "I have a way. And if I fail... then yeah, you might as well declare the world finished."
That sounded arrogant. But the others, including Yugito, didn’t dismiss it. If Shion failed to seal the spirit—and Riku couldn’t do it either—then the world would indeed be overrun by ghosts. There’d be no place for shinobi to survive.
No place for humanity at all.
Yugito looked at him seriously. "If you really can seal the spirit, then I’ll follow your lead. I’ll also keep a close watch on Akatsuki."
Riku chuckled. "That’s your own business. Keeping tabs on Akatsuki helps you more than it helps me. Why are you making it sound like a favor?"
Yugito glanced at him. "Even if I don’t know what your plan is, I can guess—you don’t want Akatsuki to capture the free-roaming Jinchūriki, do you?"
Riku paused for a moment, then shrugged. "Not really. I don’t care much if they succeed or not. But I’d be disappointed if you died."
He smiled faintly. "It’s like with Samui back in the Land of Water. I could’ve used the Flying Thunder God Technique to escape. Do you know why I didn’t?"
Yugito blinked, caught off guard. She shook her head. "Why?"
Riku grinned. "At first, I just didn’t want her to die. Too many people had been evacuated, and it drained a lot of my chakra. Strategically, as someone from another village, letting her die there would’ve benefited Konoha more."
"But later, I changed my mind. She was a decent person. It would’ve been a waste to let her die."
He looked at her more directly now. "Same goes for you."
"There aren’t many Jinchūriki who have full control over their tailed beasts. It’d be a waste if you died. Besides, I’m confident that even if you survive, Cloud Shinobi won’t be able to break through the Land of Fire."
Yugito narrowed her eyes at him. "You’re arrogant. Cloud’s military power far exceeds Konoha’s."
Riku smiled calmly. "Overall, sure. But my strength alone is enough to close that gap. Do you believe that?"
He looked at her with a relaxed, almost teasing smile—like the words hadn’t carried any weight at all.
After a long pause, Yugito finally said, "Maybe. You might have that kind of power. I’m not your match, that’s for sure. But that doesn’t mean no one in Cloud is."
Riku gave a slow nod. "That’s fair. There are quite a few powerful shinobi in your village—the Fourth Raikage, Killer Bee, you, Darui... Your numbers of Kage-level combatants are higher than ours."
"But even so, I dare to act like this because I know that Cloud won’t move against Konoha."
"Besides, in the current climate, Cloud doesn’t have the capacity to invade Konoha."
Yugito gave a rare smile and nodded. "You’re right. There’s too much going on in the ninja world right now. And the daimyō of the five great nations all want peace. If they don’t want war, then even the strongest village can’t do anything."
In truth, the relationship between the great ninja villages and their respective countries was a delicate balance. The daimyō didn’t directly control the shinobi, but the ninja villages existed to serve their nations’ military interests.
If a daimyō didn’t want war, then the village stayed at peace.
A village’s strength also depended on how much funding and support it received from the daimyō. Even a powerful village like Kirigakure, which once allowed someone like Kisame to attempt an assassination of the Mizukage, needed trust from its nation’s leadership.
That was why, even during the Great Ninja Wars, the villages had to protect their daimyō. Losing them could mean losing everything.
Now, however, the consensus among the daimyō seemed clear—they wanted peace.
Aside from the Land of Lightning, which continued to support Cloud with generous military funding, most of the other countries had quietly reduced shinobi expenditures.
Even the thunderous Land of Lightning had no real desire for war.
So Yugito understood—as did the rest of the shinobi world—not just the daimyō, but the shinobi themselves didn’t want war either.
Each time the world went to war, the strength of the ninja villages declined. Generations of lives and knowledge were lost in the chaos.
So despite being one of the most militarized and powerful villages, Cloud had no intention of launching an attack on another.
Their attention, like everyone else’s, was increasingly focused on Akatsuki.
Especially since Iwagakure had begun cooperating with Akatsuki—and Cloud had never trusted Iwa since the Second Great Ninja War.
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