Chapter 251 : Riku Is A Senju Hashirama-Level Powerhouse?
Naturally, Samui and Yugito couldn't afford to fight over this incident. Originally, Yugito just wanted to remind Samui that she was a kunoichi of the Hidden Cloud Village.
Don't get it twisted.
Samui felt she was being wrongly accused—she never harbored the intentions that Yugito and the other had implied. Yet they were twisting her actions to make it seem like she did.
After a long silence, it was Yugito who spoke first. "I'll report what he said to the Raikage. But Samui, I just want you to remember—you're a jōnin of the Hidden Cloud Village. Lord Raikage relies on you. Don't forget your place."
At this time, there were very few diplomatic exchanges between ninja villages, let alone marriage alliances.
Such things had practically never occurred in any of the great villages.
Generally, the major villages remained in hostile positions. Even the alliance between Sunagakure and Konoha was unusual—something the other three great villages never participated in at the time.
So Yugito, along with the other kunoichi, only meant to remind Samui not to get involved too deeply.
As for future marriage alliances between villages, those wouldn't become possible until after the Fourth Great Ninja War—only after a precedent of cooperation had been established among the Five Great Nations, backed by the overwhelming power of Naruto and Sasuke.
Until then, inter-village marriages were impossible.
Even within a single village, marriage between prominent clans was rare, let alone between different villages.
And both Samui and Riku were influential figures within their respective villages.
Samui looked at the two and responded calmly, "I know exactly where I stand. But you—didn't he give you information too? If what you said is true, then what exactly do you think he's planning with you? That he likes you? That's ridiculous."
Yugito and her companion were stunned. Their brows furrowed.
"If that's the case," Yugito said, her voice cold, "then I won't accept it."
But just as she finished speaking, Samui smirked and shot back, "Wanting it is one thing—but do you really think he'd choose you? Do you even know if he likes you? At your age, you could be his mother. Maybe try toning down the narcissism."
Samui said this purely to counter the earlier insult about her loyalties.
In truth, Yugito was only twelve years older than Riku—not old enough to be his mother—but Samui's retort was sharp and effective.
Yugito was clearly agitated by the jab, though she tried not to escalate things.
Still, seeing two elite jōnin squabbling like children was more than a little embarrassing.
"Enough," Yugito finally said. "We'll leave it at that. I'll report his words to the Raikage. His intentions aren't important. What matters is whether the intel is true."
Karui and Omoi both sighed with relief that the confrontation didn't erupt into a fight.
If it had, they would've been powerless to stop it.
As the tension faded, Omoi and Karui felt like they'd survived a miniature war of their own.
Meanwhile, Riku had already returned to Konoha alongside Neji, Rock Lee, and Yugao Uzuki.
He had no idea that his casual actions had nearly caused Samui and Yugito to come to blows.
Once back in Konoha, he gave his mission report to Tsunade in the Hokage's office and resumed his usual routine.
However, Riku did not mention sealing the spatial rift between the Otherworld and the Ninja World. Instead, he reported that he had sealed the demon spirit using a powerful sealing jutsu.
That alone was enough to shock the entire ninja world.
Riku's feat—sealing the demon without external help—was something not even the Five Kage could accomplish.
When the demon spirit had first broken free, even combined efforts from the villages had failed to subdue it. If not for Miroku's intervention, the world might have been destroyed.
Now, Riku had sealed it on his own—without even relying on Shion.
This display of strength left the entire ninja world in awe.
Especially the Hidden Cloud Village.
After hearing Matatabi's account, Yugito relayed everything to the Fourth Raikage.
Upon reviewing the intel, including fragments from the notes of Hashirama Senju, the Raikage's expression turned grave.
Looking at Yugito and Samui, standing respectfully before him, he asked, "Is this true?"
Yugito nodded. "Yes. Matatabi said Riku's power exceeds even Hashirama Senju's—and his chakra reserves surpass his as well."
The Raikage's rugged face hardened.
"Does Matatabi truly understand the extent of Hashirama's strength? He was the one who reigned supreme over an entire era. The God of Shinobi."
Yugito frowned slightly and glanced at Samui. "To be honest, watching him fight… I get the feeling his strength might already exceed both yours and Killer Bee's."
"I'd go so far as to say neither of you could defeat him."
"His speed alone is beyond comparison. It's like he's mastered some form of space-time ninjutsu."
The Fourth Raikage wasn't shocked by this alone. Samui had previously reported that Riku had learned the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Namikaze Minato had once mastered the same jutsu, allowing him to surpass even the Raikage in speed.
So it wasn't surprising that Riku could move faster than him.
But Yugito's claim that Riku's overall strength now surpassed even him and Killer Bee—that gave him pause.
He clenched his fists, silent in thought for a moment, then asked firmly, "Are you sure?"
Yugito nodded again. "Yes. His speed is well beyond yours. And the teleportation jutsu he uses… I don't think it's the Flying Thunder God."
"What do you mean?"
"When he appeared beside me, there was no marking. No sound. Nothing."
They all knew how the Flying Thunder God Technique worked—it was well documented in Cloud's intelligence archives. The Raikage himself had studied its mechanics in great detail.
Every experienced jōnin in the Cloud knew how it operated—some even better than the shinobi of Konoha.
The Raikage sat deep in thought. He couldn't wrap his head around how someone only sixteen years old could be that powerful.
Riku had even mastered Sage Mode.
The Raikage knew very well how rare that was. Aside from Jiraiya, no other ninja in the world had fully succeeded in mastering Sage Techniques. Not even Orochimaru.
And he understood how much of a boost Sage Mode could give a shinobi.
He also knew just how dangerous the demon spirit was.
Although he had never fought it directly, his father—the Third Raikage—had once battled the creature in the Land of Demons.
The Third Raikage, one of the strongest shinobi in history, hadn't been able to do anything against the spirit.
That alone proved how terrifying the monster was.
Now Riku had sealed it—without Shion's help.
That meant Riku had surpassed the Kage level.
Miroku, the original shrine maiden, was already at the peak of Kage-level power—perhaps even above Hanzo the Salamander.
And Hanzo was widely known as a demigod in the shinobi world.
That title wasn't self-proclaimed—it was earned through fear and respect.
And now… Riku stood above even that.
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