Chapter 270 : Riku Strength Is Confirmed, Very Strong

A large part of ninja warfare is actually fought through group battles. Aside from Namikaze Minato, it’s difficult for a single person to turn the tide of an entire battlefield.

This is because the Kage of each village rarely steps onto the battlefield themselves. Instead, they lead from behind while the shinobi beneath them do the fighting.

The reason the Third Raikage was ambushed wasn’t because he entered the battlefield personally, but because Iwagakure devised a trap. They lured him into the Land of Earth under the pretense of a treaty negotiation. Much like the Second Hokage, the Third Raikage was ambushed and then surrounded.

The Second Raikage, in fact, had also been killed in a surprise attack by Ginkaku and Kinkaku. After ascending to the position of Raikage, the Third Raikage personally avenged him by killing the Gold and Silver Brothers.

In terms of strength, the Third Raikage was overwhelmingly powerful—he had reached the peak of Kage-level combat ability.

Yet in the end, he still died a regrettable death, much like the Second Hokage.

The truth is, most Kage who die during their tenure do so in ambushes or carefully laid traps. Killing a Kage through direct confrontation is incredibly difficult.

Unless you’re someone like Uchiha Madara, Senju Hashirama, or Riku—someone with absolute power—it’s nearly impossible to take down a Kage-level ninja head-on.

If it’s an ordinary Kage-level opponent, even at full strength, defeating them in a fair battle is near-impossible.

Minato Namikaze chuckled as he heard this, especially when he learned that Naruto had eventually become Jiraiya’s student.

"I never expected that my son would end up with the same teacher as me," he said with a smile.

Riku laughed. "Technically, Naruto’s first mentor was Kakashi-sensei. After graduating, Naruto was placed under his command as a Genin, just like I was. We were even on the same team."

Minato raised an eyebrow and laughed. "So the two of you were teammates too?"

Riku grinned. "Well, it was a small team. But a few years later, Naruto became Jiraiya-sama’s student. You see, Kakashi-sensei didn’t have much left to teach him—his style of ninjutsu wasn’t particularly suited to Naruto."

"But he did learn the Rasengan."

"Rasengan?" Minato was momentarily stunned. He hadn’t expected Naruto to master the Rasengan.

"I never thought the next generation of Konoha shinobi would become this powerful," Minato said, clearly proud.

Even for a Jonin, mastering the Rasengan is no small feat. Kakashi could replicate it using the Sharingan, but even then, his Rasengan lacked stability. He’d demonstrated it once while training Naruto.

If someone as skilled as Kakashi struggled with it, it’s easy to imagine how difficult it would be for other Jonin.

Yet Naruto had mastered it while still in his teens. That brought Minato a deep sense of satisfaction.

Riku laughed. "Not everyone is that talented, though. In our class, only Naruto, Sasuke, and I really stood out. The others were no different from the previous generations."

"Once Naruto gained control over the Nine Tails, his strength reached the Kage level. And in that class, there was another genius—Uchiha Sasuke, the one Naruto always aspired to surpass."

"One of the reasons I helped lift the seal on the Nine Tails was because Naruto needed to grow stronger if he wanted to catch up to Sasuke."

"Sasuke is far stronger than him now. He’s not just the rival Naruto wants to defeat—he’s also the friend Naruto cares about the most. But Sasuke has left the village, so Naruto has been determined to bring him back."

"I won’t get into the details. Let’s just say that Naruto’s biggest motivation for getting stronger has always been to bring Sasuke home."

"But after three years of training, when he finally went to find Sasuke, he realized he was still being completely outmatched. It left him feeling frustrated and defeated."

Minato nodded thoughtfully. "This Sasuke must mean a great deal to Naruto. His personality reminds me of Kushina."

Riku smiled. "Honestly, every member of Kakashi-sensei’s team turned out exceptional. Besides me and Naruto, there’s Sasuke—who at sixteen already has the strength to take on a Kage—and then there’s our last teammate, a girl."

"She’s the apprentice of Lady Tsunade. She’s mastered Tsunade-sama’s unique medical ninjutsu, along with the monstrous strength technique. She’s already at Jonin level."

"Her medical ninjutsu is so advanced that even Chiyo of Sunagakure praised her. And she’s only sixteen."

Minato smiled. "Sounds like you’re bragging about yourself by proxy."

Riku smirked. "I don’t need to brag."

And truly, he didn’t.

Minato could clearly see Riku’s overwhelming strength. His speed surpassed even Minato’s own, and his mastery of Lightning Style ninjutsu—cast without any hand signs—was clear proof that he had reached, if not exceeded, the Kage level.

And Riku was only sixteen.

It was downright terrifying.

As they approached the towering building ahead, Riku’s voice was calm. "It’s time to go in."

The three behind him—Minato, Choza Akimichi, and the other—nodded silently.

As they stormed into the city of Rōran, the four of them were immediately sensed. Chakra threads stretched throughout the city, alerting their enemy to their presence.

At that moment, Mukade—near the Rōran dragon vein—opened his eyes.

"So... he’s finally come. It’s been over ten years. I thought the dragon veins would have consumed you by now."

Mukade knew exactly how dangerous Riku was. As a former high-ranking officer of Sunagakure, he had detailed knowledge of Riku’s abilities.

The four of them appeared in the city center.

Riku looked up as hundreds of puppets began descending from the skies.

Choza Akimichi frowned at the approaching swarm. "This is bad. We’ve been discovered."

Riku remained calm. "There are fine chakra threads spread throughout this entire city. It looks like he’s connected the entire infrastructure to the dragon vein’s energy."

"We were probably marked the moment we entered."

As soon as Riku finished speaking, one of the flying puppets spoke up:

"Riku! I’ve been waiting for you in this time and space for over ten years—and you’ve finally arrived! Hahaha! But I am no longer the man I once was. Back then, I was merely a Jonin—not your equal. But now I possess the power of the dragon veins!"

"Even if you can suppress Tailed Beasts, you won’t be able to defeat me now! After I kill you with these war puppets, I’ll conquer the Five Great Nations and rule the entire world! Hahaha!"

Minato glanced at Riku, surprised.

So it was true—Riku hadn’t been exaggerating earlier. He truly could suppress Tailed Beasts.

Minato remembered: Riku had once said he died while sealing the Nine Tails.

But here he was, able to communicate with Kurama and even suppress the beast.

That kind of power? Unthinkable unless the Nine Tails itself had submitted willingly.

And Minato knew: if the Nine Tails hadn’t been dominated, there’s no way it would ever listen.

It was simply impossible.

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