Hokage: Ryo’s Path

“Hey, Cocky-Ryo, wait for me!”

As soon as he heard his voice, he knew it was Obito. Since Ryo beat Kakashi to the 1st place in the last class ranking, Obito has two rivals now.

Kakashi usually ignores Obito’s provocations. But when occasionally cornered by him, he beats him up.

Unlike Kakashi, Ryo never gets angry. After all he’s in his thirties now, and these are kids teasing him. That’s why obito calls him out as cocky.

“Obito, you didn’t arrive late today? Didn’t you meet grandma today?”

“I met her, but I didn’t help.”

“Why? Lost your  helping fetish?”

“Oh! Yesterday I heard her taking punches to Sakumo-San with others”

With his main body remaining for the past months in school and focused on keeping him covered, and his main body fully devoted to medical ninja, Ryo didn’t get pay attention to the rumors floating around the village.

“Obito, what happened with Sakumo-san?”

“Cocky Ryo, you do not know?”

Ryo shook his head.

Obito sighed and said: “well, Sakumo san and his nakama went to the village hidden in the sand to carry on a secret mission, and they were trapped by the sand ninja. While Sakumo san was able to evade the trap, his companions were caught. So he chose to give up on the village and save them. They returned three days ago. I heard that this brought a great loss to the village, so everyone turned on him, even the ones he saved! Grown-ups! They suck!”

(Translator note: Obito supposedly doesn’t know about these events as he has been told about them by Minato after Sakumo’s death! But this is how the novel has been written, perhaps by butterfly effect Ryo’ presence got him to know about it  )

This was the case indeed ! according to the manga, Kakashi chose to become a genin early because of his father’s death, and this is year 38, the event of his suicide should happen around this days according to the initial timeline!

Kakashi has become one of the few close friends of Ryo, and Sakumo was close to his parents as well. No matter how much Ryo was self- centered, he will never allow Sakumo to die!

“Obito, you go to school first. I have something to do”

Ryo has no idea when Sakumo would kill himself. He knew it happened days after being turned on by his friends. With these events happening just a few days ago, it is probably due to today or tomorrow!

After being left by Obito, Ryo turned around and flew right towards Kakashi’s house. With his great memory, he would never forget that place he once visited as a baby.

There was no one guarding the door of the Hatake clan house. In addition to the Hokage, no one dared to even look at their door! Ryo saw Sakumo entering the house.

Sakumo was not the same as he was when he was 1 year old, and as for  Ryo followed him inside, he saw him stab himself to the heart to fall into a pool of blood!

“Sakumo-San!” Ryo  was shocked, is it too late?

The mountain swiftly ran toward him and after some inspections, he decided that it is not too late yet!

His heart was stabbed by a short knife and the blood supply to the brain was insufficient. But Ryo had great confidence in his ability to save him.

At 1st he used the mystical palm technique and attempted to heal his heart. At the same time, a ninja with an animal mask slowly approached Ryo from the back.

As a Yamanaka, and exceptional one actually, Ryo had no problem detecting the approaching masked ninja

Ryo pretended not to know, while his left hand continued treating Sakumo, his right quietly formed a ninja scalpel!

As the approaching ninja prepared to kill him, Ryo swiftly turned and used the scalpel to cut him in his legs, cutting up his veins! If he wasn’t as short, the masked ninja’s throat would have been the thing cut!

The injured ninja collapsed, and Ryo saw his clothes, he looked the same as the root members in the manga.

“Who are you? Why did you attack me!” he asked while still treating Sakumo

The masked ninja did not answer. But Ryo didn’t really have time to focus on him and devoted himself entirely to healing sakumo. In his past world, the lack of oxygen flow to the brain for a full 4 mins would cause irreversible damage to the brain. Even with his healing, he cannot confirm how Sakumo’s brain can persist with low oxygen supply.

“[Ice release: Freeze]” This Ninjutsu is one that was developed by Ryo based on his own body. The human body can be temporarily frozen, and 70 to 75 percent of the human body is water. Even if the bones contain 10 to 40 percent of the water, the Ninjutsu can freeze the body’s moisture, allowing the body to live through longer operations. In order to save Sakumo, Ryo was using Ice release for the first time in the presence of outsiders.

The cut ninja on the ground is probably one of the root. The Hokage would not attack villagers randomly and so are the anbu working under his command. The shadows of the shadows are not free to attack the people in the village. With his knowledge of Hiruzen’s personality in the manga, Ryo knew that he wouldn’t share the village’s opinion and that he would not know of this event.

The Ice used by Ryo was seen by the ninja on the ground. As he didn’t plan on unveiling his secret just yet,  ryo had the thought clear is his mind: Only the dead can keep secrets.  He formed the Chakra scalpel again.

“[Water release: Water wave!]” The ninja on the ground, although his legs can not move, but had noticed the killing intend that Ryo had.

A class c water jutsu is not what he should focus on, he should focus on the scalpel ! that’s what went through his mind

“Freeze!” In the instant when the water waves landed on the ground, the water was almost directly frozen by Ryo. The mask ninja never imagined that the water would suddenly freeze, and it was more shocking to him when Ryo teleported through the ice to appear behind his back, slitting his throat in one swift move!

After killing the masked, Ryo melted the ice.

This didn’t actually focus on the feeling he had on his 1st kill, he just was focused on saving Sakumo! He originally planned on taking him to the hospital. With the equipment there he thought he could save him.

He tried lifting him to find that whatever power he had left was too little. After a suspended use of mystical palm, a few Ice release techniques and twice using a ninja scalpel, he ate through his Chakra supplies really fast.

His ice should last for 20 minutes, so he had no time to regain his power. Luckily, Kakashi’s mom heard the fight and rushed over!

“Sakumo!”

“Riko-san, I’m the son of Shinse Yamanaka! Please help me get him to the hospital immediately.”

She was also a medical ninja, and after examining her husband she was desperate. As she thought he was dead she fell down and bursted into tears.

“Riko san! I can save Sakumo-san. He’s not dead. Believe me!  Just help me get him to the hospital.”

“You can?”

“Yes!”

Ryo’s firm eyes gave Riko Hatake Hope. She carried her “dead husband and with Ryo right behind her, the rushed to the hospital!