Chapter 39
Lee still grappled with Ryota's attack even as Ryota began to attack Hinata and Risa. Both girls disappeared, leaving Ryota even more pleased.
This is going to be quite a show…
Risa was only a few feet behind Ryota, nearly done with her Reverse Illusion. She unleashed it and waited for Hinata's signal. She heard it as Hinata began to attack Ryota with the Gentle Fist Style.
Ryota was truly amazed at the power this woman possessed. She was trying to distrupt his chakra flow. But he knew all the secrets of the Byakugan, and easily countered, effortlessly killing her with one swipe of his hand. Her head rolled next to him and Ryota noticed Risa standing behind him, her fingers still held in the sign of the tiger. He cocked his head to the right and began laughing again.
"You truly are a master of illusions, Risa Haruno, just like your mother. I can't wait to kill her. To be frank, I just want to hear her scream after she finds out you're dead, but it won't be that easy, will it?"
Risa glared at Ryota and focused her attack again, Ryota still walking closer. He stopped as he saw Risa assault him with shuriken and kunai, even knowing that Ryota could easily deflect them. He held out a hand and saw the daggers lodged into his hands. Risa smirked and Ryota turned to see her hands still in the sign of the tiger.
"You…bitch!" Ryota said, flailing out a hand to strike Risa away, effectively destroying the illusion as well.
Risa called out to Lee for help, as Lee began to finally overcome the strain of the attack. He screamed out and rushed at Ryota with incredible speed, seeming to almost disappear and reappear behind Ryota, smashing his feet into Ryota, even as the musical ninja blocked the attacks as if they were second nature to him. Lee was amazed at Ryota's power, but noticed he was breaking down, as Lee had his greatest amount of power yet. He would almost guarantee he was stronger than his father in taijutsu, but that was his specialty.
Ryota stared and struck away Lee's attack, returning the favor with his own set of attacks that left Lee paralyzed, the chakra flow dying down even more.
"It…it can't be…you…you sealed my chakra gates…"
"It's a simply manipulation of the Byakugan's powers…in this case, I simply stopped the flow a bit more forceful than usual. And now…you die…" He said, holding up a hand and stabbed down, meeting with Hinata's strong hands, which stopped the attack cold. Her eyes were brave now, not like the usual orbs full of timidity and humility he was used to seeing. But he also knew that ninjas changed drastically when a friend's life was in danger. It amused him so much that he began laughing uncontrollably, ceasing his attacks while cackling in insanity yet again. He shook his head, taking away the amusement by striking into Hinata again and again, seeing how long it would take before she broke. It didn't take long, as after only five attacks, Hinata's strength gave out as she collapsed on the floor.
Ryota was losing interest as he stopped to look towards Risa, who was prepared to fight him again.
"Do you really want to fight me, when I've already destroyed your leaders? Are you not afraid of me?"
Risa nodded and replied, "I've never been so afraid now, but the fact is…ninjas are not to show fear…the one proverb that corresponds to this is this 'A fool knows no fear, a hero shows no fear." And also…I have a duty to my friends, and I can't ignore that… But you wouldn't know that…what with no friends to be loyal to…"
Ryota was speechless it seemed as his eyes glowed darker still. He responded with a new tone, seeming to drift off into a dreamlike state.
"I…I always wanted friends… But…everyone hated me… They were afraid…of what I might do… And so…I never had anyone to accept me… But…the past is foolishness that is gone…and the future will never happen the way we want it to occur. I will focus on the present and destroy all that exists to hurt others… Now…you will perish, Risa Haruno…" He held out a hand, but could do nothing at the sight of Risa still facing him with unchanging courage. He dropped his hand and appeared behind her, striking the back of her neck, effectively knocking her unconscious.
"Perhaps…you're right…I will spare you…I don't understand this completely, but the Stone Village will still perish. I'm…I'm sorry…"
Ryota held out a hand and unleashed a burst of black chakra that consumed the village in the ebon flames, everything burning slowly to the ground. His eyes watered, but dried quickly as he left Risa in a safe area and then left for the Lightning Village.
I…I will find the same courage you have, Risa Haruno… I will become…truly innocent…

Jiraiya looked at the three children, who were still in shock after what he had just told them. He put a hand to his head and responded quickly, not wanting to drive them away.
"Okay, I'm sorry about that…just wanted to get right to the point… Let me explain… It was about ten years ago, when Minoru's father had been possessed by the curse seal. He had become a slave to Orochimaru, and the only way we could save him was through a curse of our own. Sasuke was saved, Orochimaru was killed, as well as Itachi, in a final epic battle. But…there was a catch to all of this… In order to repent for Sasuke's sins…as well as the sins of all ninjas…we had to curse one child of each family in one manner or another… Jotaro was the cursed one of Naruto and Hinata's children. Minoru was the single accursed child affected by the Curse Seal Level 3, unattainable by anyone except a sennin level ninja. Basho was affected with the Mental Chakra, while Kyoji had the innocence that could have killed him many times… And Hitomi and Ryota…Hitomi was an orphan that Kakashi had found…even though, Hitomi knows her true parentage now… She was cursed herself already by unknown causes…and Ryota…we found him… I will tell his story at a later time. The important thing is that now, you understand why you are the way you are and why we kept the secrets about them. We…we didn't want to hurt you… So…do you understand?" The children nodded and Jiraiya replied by pointing to a clearing nearly a mile away, "There…that's where the first stage of the training begins…you need to show me your true chakra control…"
The children rushed towards their first new trial and Jiraiya thought to himself
"Eager as Naruto was …and so akin to him…cursed and confused… But I can't tell them what their destiny… They'll have to find that out themselves…"

Basho sensed a mental outburst and called out to the others, ready to initiate his master plan of five phases, as he did with Hattori and the others.
"Okay guys…my plan is simple…but we all have to be ready to die for this cause…Ryota is, in theory, as strong as the Kyubi was…so…let's swear right now…that we will sacrifice ourselves if necessary to defeat or stall Ryota…" Everyone nodded, either hesitantly or determined. Basho grinned his raccoon grin and began to explain the plan, even as Ryota watched them, unable to listen to them, overwhelmed by his own thoughts…
What is my purpose…

Chapter 40
It had been only fifteen minutes and Basho's plan was initiated, only Kyoji standing alone in the clearing. Ryota was intrigued, but disinterested as he disappeared into the forest as well, searching for the others, finding nothing. In frustration, he returned to find Kyoji still waiting, nothing seeming to have happened in terms of preparation. Rushing forward to attack, he struck the back of Kyoji's neck and struck metal. He flailed back and smirked.
"So…changed your weak spot, Kyoji?"
"Nope…" Kyoji replied, turning to Ryota, his clenched fist raised, "I have no weak spot now…" The fist plunged into Ryota's face, sending the yin yang ninja into the forest, returning with no injuries at all. He and Kyoji met face to face, their moves seeming to crash like thunder as they fought through the forest, much like he had with Lee only a short time ago. The battle was of epic proportions, but ended as Ryota stopped his punch and quickly returned behind Kyoji, striking down with so much force, Kyoji's mouth spewed blood and he lay still.
"Finally…someone's dead and not just unconscious…" Ryota looked around to see if any of the others had returned to fight, but he saw nothing. He then rushed through the forest, searching for any trace of chakra.
Elsewhere, Basho smirked and noted to himself the progression of the five-phase plan.
"Phase 1 Complete. Steel Ninja down…" He then projected a mental message to the next participant in his proverbial game of chess.
Psycho Shuriken…you're up…
Basho then faded into the leaves, leaving the traces of Mental Chakra behind.

Elsewhere, Shige received the message and responded aptly, focusing all the chakra she could muster, the crimson chakra rising above her, unable to contain itself.
Ryota sensed the burst of energy and followed it to see only the faint red cloud. He cursed his luck, but sensed trouble was still afoot. He glared and looked suspiciously around the entire area, seeing nothing. He sighed and left, stopping just as he left the ground to throw his arm around to deflect a hail of blades and other various weapons.
"…The child of Tenten and Neji…your gifts are interesting…but they won't affect me…I have control of my anger…so…you won't be doing anything to alter my persona…"
Shige simply grinned in the shadows and replied.
"This isn't to get you angry…it's just to hold you off…but you probably already knew that…"
Ryota smirked and turned around, blasting Shige with the fiery ninjutsu of Minoru, leaving the "Psycho Shuriken" unable to do anything. But Ryota didn't know Shige had left a parting gift. Ryota continued walking even as the explosion struck him from within. The dust settled and Ryota looked at his arm, which pulsated red.
"So…you infused my body with the anger chakra and let it build until it exploded? …Truly, Basho Nara is behind this strategy… I believe the next opponent would be…"
"Me…" a voice called out from behind Ryota. Ryota heard a barking and turned to face Kiba and Akamaru, both of them instantly mimicking each other and focusing chakra, instantly leaping with power.
Ryota was intrigued yet again.
"So…Inuzuka clan bloodline ninjutsu…Double Headed Wolf plus Wolf Fang…Am I right?"
Kiba grinned and rushed towards Ryota, who let the clone pass straight through him. The true Kiba assaulted him from above while Akamaru followed suit with the Double Wolf Fang attack. Ryota was in the middle of chaos, but emerged unscathed again as he grasped the ninja and his partner, preparing to crush them, but stopping at the memories of Risa's courage. He simply thrust them to either side, letting them be knocked unconscious as well.
"This isn't over, Basho Nara…not by a long shot…"

Basho laughed to himself at Ryota's confidence.
He doesn't even know I'm here. Truly, even his mind is susceptible to confusion…and I'll be able to take that to my advantage… Phases 2 and 3 are a bust. 4 won't be any better, but Konohamaru has his orders. He should be able to do some decent damage, or at least hold him off until I can muster up a bit more chakra…
Basho disappeared again, his hands, in the usual symbol of his old habits, generating chakra that crackled in his hands like Kakashi's Rairiki. This was to be his finest hour…

The Lightning Village was much like Konoha, with influences of the Water Village and Earth Village. It was best described as the most technologically advanced city of the Five Countries. Konohamaru was impressed, but he also knew of his mission. He turned to face the destruction Ryota was causing in broad daylight. It was disgusting, seeing so much senseless destruction, but he knew that Ryota wasn't to blame. It was everyone else that was truly the cause of the suffering.
Ten years ago, Ryota was truly an innocent child. Konohamaru was only 13 at the time, but he was already a chunin and he lived next door to the family that took care of the outcast child his first night. Konohamaru remembered Ryota as a very quiet child, speaking little, if any at all. The only person he had spoken to was Tsunade, and he had only called out for help, which Tsunade responded to with a heartfelt embrace, giving the child a kiss of the forehead and lifting him up, comforting him as he was drenched in blood and seemed traumatized.
The family that took care of Ryota was truly good-natured and he would never have thought of them as being hateful. But he heard them speaking and apparently, so did Ryota.
The family was talking about how freakish Ryota looked, with his one white eye and his one solid black eye. Konohamaru gasped at the sight he then saw before him. Ryota…had murdered all five of the members of the family, even slaying the recently newborn child with a single finger, crushing every soft bone in the infant's body with a single strike. Konohamaru then sent out the alarm, Tsunade holding off the child, who had become a berserker, destroying the house and killing any ninja in his path, regardless of gender, age, or any preference. Tsunade managed to perform a seal, destroying her own sannin powers and the scroll of the ancient secrets of the Kyubi as well, both useless in these chaotic times.
Ryota recovered a few days later, now completely devoid of emotion, as the seal had sucked out nearly all of Tsunade's soul to seal away Ryota's powers, which seemed to stem from music, which he had listened to before he had killed the Sakai family. Konohamaru sighed at the memories of what had happened the next ten years. Ryota was trapped in the body of the a ten year old, but his mind had matured, gaining new knowledge, but he was unable to use it, still trapped by the seal and his own limitations. Soon…it was obvious that the seal would break, as Ryota was still gaining exponential power even with his berserker soul sealed away, so it was decided that every year, a soul would be sacrificed to power Ryota's seal. And now…ten lives had been destroyed in vain, as he saw Ryota careening towards him, his hand raised, crackling with electricity. Konohamaru knew he had to use his strongest summon, the Leaf God. Thrusting out the scroll and signing a blood contract, the forest seemed to erupt with power as a towering being composed entirely of leaves. It thrust a hand at Ryota, who took away the Rairiki power to strike at the creature's core, destroying it in an instant, as he followed with a strike to Konohamaru's neck, effectively knocking him unconscious as he saw Basho standing in the distance, Mental Chakra flowing from everywhere as the true battle and fifth phase began of Basho's master plan.

Jiraiya looked at the three prodigies, who stared at him disbelievingly, as Jiraiya's training was not so difficult. The first test, water chakra training, was easy, even for Jotaro with a little determination. The leaf concentration test was passed quickly as well, with Hitomi easily finishing in under a minute. The final training before the Taigan Four training took nearly two days, but even the goofy Jotaro passed in under two days. The final training was not so simply, Jiraiya thought to himself as he faced the students and began his explanation
"Okay…you made great progress…but the Taigan Four technique is truly a technique that is only able to be used when the three of you are in complete sync. To put it simply, my theory on the Taigan is that its true power lies within the three children who possess the Taigan Left, Right and Duality that Hitomi uses. Ryota's power is something of a genetic fluke, but its power is nearly five times that of even Hitomi's full strength. So…with the basis of nindo being teamwork, I devised this technique… It involves all three of you focusing one hundred percent of your chakra into your Taigans at the same instant. This amount of chakra will nearly kill you, but it will cancel out Ryota's powers, effectively winning. But…this will take time… Are you ready to take on this task?"
The three children nodded and Jiraiya held out a hand, a crude effigy of Ryota appearing before them.
"Focus on that…and meditate before you even start trying to use 100% power. Otherwise…you'll destroy my beautiful creation…"
Hitomi sighed as she sat down and began her meditation, Minoru and Jotaro following as well.

Ryota faced Basho and smirked, even as Basho focused his chakra. The Sharingan in Ryota's right eye began to flash red as the five black semicolons appeared at once. Suddenly, the entire forest seemed to tremble as Ryota began to unleash a new technique, only able to be used by the greatest ninjas of the Uchiha clan.
Basho froze at what he saw. There were hundreds of weapons, ranging from small poison darts to large daikatanas. But in an instant, all the hundreds of thousands of weapons began to attack him in every imaginable fashion. Some impaled him, while others removed his organs. Some even attacked vulnerable points only a male would feel true pain in.
The Tsukiyomi, or Illusionary Underworld Moon, was truly one of Ryota's favorite moves, as it was able to create a variety of illusions, even with his powers, this made him feel godlike. Most of the time, the Tsukiyomi was only able to recreate a memory that had happened. In this case, he took Basho's own contemplations of how weapons could be used and used that against him. Basho began gesticulating in various fashions as the illusion worked itself on him.
He'll be like that for at least a day or two before he recovers. Even though…to him that will feel like three days of torture…it will leave an impression on him for nearly a day. If it doesn't kill his mind first…
Ryota then burst forth chakra from his feet, leaping into the sky, heading towards Sound Country, where there would only be one more step until his vengeance was complete. He almost forgot about destroying Lighting Village, taking the chakra Basho had expended, manipulating it into a huge sphere that he thrust into the village, a huge explosion following soon after, Ryota in the backwash of the debris.

Shikamaru and his team had been waiting on duty for a week, not wanting to take any chances. The leader looked with a lazy eye towards Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura, who were also waiting.
"Do you really think Ryota will show, Naruto? He's wanting to kill Konoha, not Sound."
Naruto responded to Shikamaru without even looking his way, "But he was born here, and his family even hated him enough to try to kill him. He wants vengeance. He wants to destroy everything. Trust me…"
Shikamaru nodded, still remembering when he was their leader. He sighed and looked up at the sky, still noting that the clouds were very nice this morning.
Ryota gets stronger with every passing minute now…every opponent…every battlefield…Can we…can we really hope to defeat him after he's defeated over ten of our strongest? …I guess I'd better start thinking positive. He's coming straight this way… Shikamaru ended his thoughts as he saw the small dot on the horizon. This was truly a dark day for Konoha.