"How did things go?" After they returned, Ryoha put down Konan, and all the women immediately gathered around, asking.
"It went just as I expected. See for yourselves." Ryoha used genjutsu to replay everything they had experienced.
"I never expected the user of the Rinnegan to die at the hands of these two, but it's not surprising. He embarked on a path that was a virtual one-way ticket to death. With his strength, it was only a matter of time before he met his fate," Tsunade sighed after watching.
"The Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan? It seems rather weak. I'm surprised that Sasuke, who possesses it, is essentially powerless in front of Ryoha," Hyuga Hanabi, a rival of the Uchiha clan, commented.
"It's not the eyes that are weak; it's the user of the eyes who is weak. A bloodline limit is like a weapon. The higher the grade of the bloodline limit, the more potent the weapon. However, to unleash the full power of this weapon, you need a peerless master. Sasuke's current strength is at the elite jonin level, and he hasn't even fully developed his previous Mangekyou Sharingan, let alone the current Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. You can think of the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan in his hands as a child wielding a divine weapon. As a result, he can only rely on the sharpness of his weapon to fight, and he might even become a slave to his weapon in battle. A child wielding a divine weapon – how much power can they truly unleash? You can imagine that," Kurenai explained.
"I see. So the power of a bloodline limit is directly proportional to the user's strength," Hanabi seemed to grasp the concept.
"That's correct. Don't assume that having a powerful bloodline limit makes you invincible. While it certainly provides an advantage over those without one, it doesn't mean you're that much superior. So, do you want to be the master of your weapon, someone who can fight and change weapons at will, even fighting barehanded if necessary, or do you want to be a slave to your weapon, helpless without it? The choice is yours," Kurenai stated.
Although Kurenai addressed everyone, her message was primarily directed at Hanabi. She knew that Hanabi was still young and heavily influenced by the Hyuga clan, so she needed to guide her in the right direction. Since she was Hinata's sister, Kurenai cared for her as well.
"But I've seen my brother-in-law frequently use the Dark Release to fight. Doesn't that mean he relies on his bloodline?" Hanabi asked, demonstrating her willingness to learn and ask questions.
"Haha!" Tsunade, Kurenai, Shizune, and other women couldn't help but laugh. With their laughter, the beauty of the garden overshadowed the blooming flowers.
"I never expected it would come down to me, but alright, let's consider today as a free lesson," Ryoha said with a somewhat resigned expression. Then, with all the women in tow, he used space-time ninjutsu to arrive on top of an ice mountain. Once Kurenai had led the women into the sky, Ryoha descended on the summit of the snowy mountain.
"Hanabi, activate your Byakugan and take a good look. In my eyes, the source of fighting power is the body. If your body isn't strong enough, all the jutsu, although not entirely useless, will be significantly affected. Remember this: your body is your capital for combat. You were wondering why I've been using Dark Release in battles recently, right? It's simple."
"Dark Release was created not long ago, and I need plenty of battles to explore and understand it. I want the entire ninja world to remember that Dark Release is the ultimate power. So, I've been consistently using Dark Release, and it's a bloodline limit that I've personally crafted, in other words, my masterpiece."
"If I were to lose this masterpiece, I could entirely create a new one. Even if I lost this bloodline limit, I could recreate a new Dark Release. So, whether or not Dark Release exists doesn't affect me because it's not Dark Release controlling me; it's me controlling Dark Release. Do you understand what I'm saying? I'm someone who uses a bloodline limit but doesn't depend on it. It's like being someone who uses weapons to enhance combat abilities but doesn't rely on them. Alright, see it for yourself. This is my strength."
Ryoha suddenly tensed every muscle in his body, looking like a cheetah ready to pounce on its prey. All of a sudden, Hanabi felt her vision blur. When Ryoha slowed his movements to the extreme, Hanabi could finally see. In her view, Ryoha clenched his fists, concentrating all of his body's strength in his fists, and then struck the ice mountain beneath him.
A deafening roar reverberated throughout the icy landscape, making Hanabi's ears feel as if they were going deaf. Hanabi and others who had insufficient strength or had rarely seen Ryoha in combat could not clearly comprehend the terrifying nature of Ryoha's fighting power. In their eyes, Ryoha seemed like he had done something they couldn't accept.
With a thunderous sound, half of the snowy mountain under Ryoha's feet appeared to be crushed by a meteorite from the heavens. The entire mountain crumbled, and though the mountain itself wasn't extremely large, it was definitely not small, with a height difference of at least three hundred meters. The mountain avalanche caused by a single punch displayed the might of this act.
"Hiss…"
Except for Tsunade, Kurenai, Bulma, Haku, Byakko, and a few others whose strength exceeded that of the Kage or were well-acquainted with Ryoha, the others, such as Hanabi, Hinata, Guren, Konan, and even Koyuki, who had stopped by here earlier, all took sharp intakes of breath.
"Do you see it now? If I want to fight, whether I have bloodline limits or other jutsu doesn't matter because, for me, true barehanded combat is more than enough. I'm not someone who has only the Dark Release as a weapon. I have five elemental chakra natures, taijutsu, and genjutsu, among other things. Eighteen different kinds of weapons at my disposal. It's just that Dark Release is my favorite weapon that I personally created," Ryoha explained.
As the snowy mountain had disappeared beneath his feet, Ryoha had to levitate using wind chakra or space-time ninjutsu, which was a simple task for him. Flight was essentially an expression of wind-style jutsu or space-time ninjutsu. Of course, for others, mastering Wind Release was no simple feat, and only a few could do it, like Byakko and Haku.