Ryoma didn't spare them a glance and pushed past. Nobody dared to stop him.
"Ryoma, what are you doing?!"
Danzō, Koharu Utatane, and Mito Uzumaki saw Ryoma force his way in and immediately stepped forward. If Ryoma broke in, it would be a disgrace to Konoha.
"Get out of the way!" Ryoma's voice cut through the crowd like a blade.
Danzō, Koharu and Mito stared as if their eyes might pop out. The aura radiating from Ryoma made them want to kneel. Up close, the three of them looked stunned — their faces white with disbelief.
"Sage—Tailed-Beast Mode?!" Mito was first to tremble; the words stuck in his throat.
Two ANBU commanders landed behind Ryoma in an instant. They had come to observe the clash between Kurama and Matatabi inside the Four-Violet Formation, and the new development made them frown.
When one of the elders saw the ANBU arrive, he felt a sliver of relief — even bold Ryoma wouldn't dare act recklessly with Root operatives present.
He turned to Koharu and began, "Ryoma, you can't—"
Before he finished, Ryoma slapped the man aside.
Danzō, Mito, the newly arrived Root operatives, and the administrative ninjas who had already knelt — all of them felt their hearts drop.
Ryoma dared to strike him?!
Horror was their first reaction. The murderous aura and the sheer volume of chakra around Ryoma felt like an oppressive mountain. Standing before him, even the bravest felt confidence drain away.
How had Ryoma become this terrifying in just a few days?
Even the legendary heroes of Konoha felt a chill down their spines. Koharu, one of the village elders, was speechless.
Danzō and Mito exchanged looks; both felt a deep, rising dread.
Koharu collapsed to the ground. Her eyes were wide, her face slack with shock.
The man Ryoma had struck staggered, blood in his mouth — several front teeth knocked out — his hand trembling as he clutched at the blood pooling on his lips.
"Ryoma… you'll pay for this!" Koharu's eyes blazed. She had never been humiliated like this.
"Root operatives — why aren't you arresting this traitor?!" Koharu screamed.
The Root operatives hesitated. They wanted to stop Ryoma, but memories of recent losses and the sealed Kage weighed on them; they held back, looking to one another for restraint.
"Explain. Who is inside? What happened?" one demanded.
"Uzumaki Mito was sealing Kurama, and someone interfered — that's what caused the chaos!" someone shouted.
"He even struck me — he's a criminal against Konoha!" Koharu raved, losing herself to fury.
Beaten in front of everyone, she longed to smash Ryoma into pieces.
Ryoma ignored them and barreled straight toward the Four-Violet Flame Formation.
Inside the formation, Uzumaki Kushina, Mito Uzumaki, and the others all noticed Ryoma at once.
Erao smiled coldly.
"Heh — another one coming? Do you humans really plan to touch the seal?" Before his words finished, the Matatabi and Kurama contingents were once again held in check by the near-complete chakra of Mito.
When Kushina saw Ryoma charging in, tears sprang to her eyes. "Ryoma!"
Mito barked, "Don't touch it! The formation is bound with purple flame — any contact with the seal will burn you!"
Kushina's face drained of color as she cried, "Ryoma, don't—"
But Ryoma's hand was already on the edge.
A searing pain shot through him. His fingers were scorched by the Four-Violet flames, the purple fire running up his hand as he staggered backward.
Kushina stared at Ryoma's charred hand, tears threatening to spill. "Ryoma!"
Koharu — still reeling from Ryoma's earlier blow, blood at her lips and teeth knocked loose — spat and hissed through gritted jaws.
"That formation can't be breached from the outside without Kage-level strength!" she cried.
"Matatabi and Kurama both ran wild because of what Ryoma did! You've brought this ruin down on Konoha yourself — you're a sinner!"
Ryoma looked at the man he'd struck with icy calm. "Today, I will kill you."
...
TN:
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