Seeing Uchiha Inabi's expression, which looked as if he had swallowed a fly, Aokawa teased him.
"If you feel bad about it, I can teach you the Gentle Fist."
"I don't mind."
Uchiha Inabi's face darkened upon hearing this, and along with Uchiha Tetsubi, they both simultaneously gave him a look of disdain.
Gentle Fist?
Without the Byakugan, what's the point of learning it!
Aokawa smiled and turned his head, only then noticing Hyuga Ryosuke nearby.
His ribs were also broken, and Rin Nohara had only given him emergency treatment earlier.
"Come here and lie down properly."
Aokawa called out, telling Hyuga Ryosuke to lie flat.
His palms glowed with a green light as he placed them over him.
Seeing this, Rin Nohara trotted over and squatted down to watch Aokawa's treatment carefully.
"Your fat layer is just too thick," Aokawa complained while treating him.
"I have to use twice as much Chakra as I do for others just to penetrate the fat and reach your bones."
"Time to lose weight, fatty."
"In the future, I'll tell Grandma not to serve you so much rice."
Hyuga Ryosuke didn't react much to the first comment about losing weight, but as soon as he heard about not letting Grandma feed him, he immediately started shouting: "What's wrong with being fat? If it weren't for this layer of fat buffering the impact, I might have died just now. From now on, Grandma should serve me an extra bowl of rice!"
After a long while, the treatment was complete.
Hyuga Ryosuke remained unhappy, sitting on the ground without saying a word.
"What's wrong?" Aokawa patted his shoulder.
The fat boy looked up at him with a complicated expression.
"Aokawa, how did you suddenly... learn Medical Ninjutsu too?"
"And your strength has become so... so powerful."
Aokawa said casually, "I just learned it by watching."
"Bullshit!" Hyuga Ryosuke suddenly became agitated.
"Don't I know what your talent is like?"
"I have great talent, aren't you happy for me?" Aokawa countered.
"When you could barely manage the Three Basic Jutsu to become a Genin, I was genuinely happy for you, brother!"
"When your strength reached Chunin level, I felt it brought honor to me too!"
"Even if you became a Jonin, I'd be jealous, but I'd still treat you as a goal to chase after!"
"But..."
Hyuga Ryosuke's voice carried a sob, becoming more emotional as he spoke.
He stood up abruptly and pointed at the distant mountain wall.
"But you, you bastard, you slapped that kind of monster—that terrifying humanoid monster—into the rock wall with one hand!"
"That kind of terrifying power, I'll never catch up in my fucking life!"
"You went and got this strong behind my back!"
Hyuga Ryosuke's eyes were red, like a wronged child, as he pounded on Aokawa's chest. "You really deserve to die!"
Aokawa let him hit him, and only after his emotions settled slightly did he slowly speak.
"It's not as simple as you think."
Hyuga Ryosuke froze and stopped, waiting for what came next.
"You were unconscious afterward."
Aokawa's tone was very flat.
"That monster's complete form was fifty or sixty meters tall, and I suppressed it too."
"..."
Hyuga Ryosuke was completely stunned.
The next second.
He simply covered his face and squatted on the ground, wailing.
He kept muttering: "You really deserve to die... you really deserve to die..."
Aokawa sighed and patted his back.
"Stop crying."
"When I have time, I'll demonstrate the Return to Heaven for you."
The crying stopped abruptly.
Hyuga Ryosuke snapped his head up, eyes wide.
"Return to Heaven? How did you even learn that thing?"
But on second thought, if he could suppress a monster like the Eight-Tails, knowing the Return to Heaven seemed... normal?
His expression became uncertain as he asked cautiously.
"Just... a demonstration?"
Aokawa nodded, looking into his eyes.
"Yes, just a demonstration."
He emphasized the word "demonstration" very heavily.
Hyuga Ryosuke understood instantly.
The despair and tears in his eyes vanished, replaced by a burning light.
He nodded vigorously, his voice cracking with excitement.
"Yeah! Just a demonstration!"
"Aokawa, the Main Camp has been destroyed. What do we do now?" Kakashi walked over, interrupting their secretive conversation.
"There are still quite a few Cloud Ninja scattered around, and everyone is injured, so we shouldn't split up," Aokawa looked around. "I think we should just rest nearby and wait for the front-line troops to return before heading back to the Main Camp."
Hyuga Ryosuke looked at the devastation around them, with craters and puddles everywhere, and frowned. "There's nowhere to rest!"
"That's easy!"
Aokawa clapped his hands together: "Earth Release: Rock Platform Technique!"
Rumble!
A massive, neatly shaped slab of rock, dozens of meters long and wide, slowly rose from the water, stopping only when it was a meter above the surface.
Everyone stared with wide eyes: "You can even do it like that?"
"When your talent is high, you can really do whatever you want with Ninjutsu!"
Just as everyone was preparing to jump onto the platform to rest.
Aokawa clapped his hands toward the platform again: "Earth Release: Row of Rock Houses Technique!"
Rumble!
On the dozens-of-meters-wide platform, houses constructed of rock rose one after another.
The houses were fully furnished with stone beds and tables—everything one could need.
The group was stunned for a moment before rushing into the houses with joy.
Camping outdoors for a Ninja was arduous, so having a house for shelter was a blessing... Two days later, news came from the Front Lines that Orochimaru's forces were unstoppable, pushing directly into the Land of Frost.
However, because logistics couldn't keep up, they returned after seizing a large amount of supplies from the Land of Frost, stationing themselves near the outpost in the Land of Hot Springs to build a Main Camp on the spot.
At the same time, personnel were sent to search for remaining Cloud Ninja in the rear, and the rest were ordered to join the Front Lines.
Upon receiving the order, the group didn't delay and set off immediately.
They moved across the former Battlefield.
Even after two days, the scene was still shocking.
The earth looked as if a god had scooped out a massive chunk with a spoon.
A giant, circular pit, as smooth as a mirror, occupied everyone's vision.
That was the result of Aokawa throwing the reishi spear.
Uchiha Inabi looked at the edge of the pit, his Adam's apple bobbing.
He couldn't imagine what kind of power could vaporize the earth like this in an instant.
He looked again at Aokawa, who was walking at the very front of the team.
A sense of awe arose spontaneously...
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