"RYU! YOU DON'T NEED TO CALL IT OUT WITH YOUR VOICE! CALL TO THE DRAGON ZONE WITH YOUR HEART!" Hurricane shouted over the storm.
"HOW?!" Ryu asked.
"BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!" Hurricane replied.
"OKAY! I BELIEVE! I BELIEVE IN MYSELF! TO SAVE THE ONES I LOVE, DRAGON ZONE, I CALL TO YOU!" Ryu roared as he shut his eyes to concentrate on drawing power.
Somewhere in the dark, the elemental balance in the real Dragon Zone began to glow. Then, the real Dragon Zone began to spin. The barriers governing each element disappeared and the elements merged into one!
"HHHAAAAAHHH!!!" Ryu roared as he opened his eyes.
The Ryuugan had been activated. The huge energy leaked from Ryu's body creating a tremendous storm of light and force around him. Ryu's muscles grew in size and his form became more muscular. His hair flamed and his body shone with a fiery light.
"Who is this powerful boy? Just a moment ago, he was our toy" the Devil said in a surprised tone.
"WIND ELEMENT! WIND SILENCER JUTSU!" Ryu roared as a huge amount of power from his body, charged into the Twisting Devil and tore it apart into insignificant wisps of wind.
The wisps slowly disappeared and the storm cleared. The Ryuugan disappeared and Ryu collapsed on Molten's back.
"You did it Ryu. You finally learnt to believe in your strength" Molten said in admiration.
The Wind Ryu could now be seen on top of the mountain. The others were safely standing on the ground of the Wind Village.
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Ryu slowly opened his eyes. The others were looking down at him. From the look of his surroundings, it seemed as though he was in a Temple.
"Are you okay?" Michael asked.
"If I'm not dead yet, yeah" Ryu said as he struggled to sit up.
He grunted in pain and held his head.
"Be careful. You shouldn't move so much" Atlanta said with a smile.
"You really are amazing Ryu. You believed in yourself and entered the Jinn State with your will" Rokkan said.
"How did you know that? You were the first to be sucked in" Ryu asked.
"That's true, but the devils were just illusions and their vortex was the way out" Rokkan said. "Clever isn't it?"
"WHAAAAT?! GENJUTSU?! S-SO I WENT THROUGH ALL THAT WHEN WE COULD HAVE AVOIDED IT?!" Ryu roared.
He suddenly clutched his head.
"OUCH! OUCH! OUCH! OUCH!" he screamed in pain. "What is this pain?!" he asked.
"Apparently, the Jinn state has side effects" Rokkan said.
"But I've entered the Jinn state…oh yeah, I nearly forgot. That, time, I vomited blood and was paralyzed temporarily. But this one…felt quite different. I felt more powerful" Ryu said.
"Your first transformation was only partial. This time, you completed the first phase of the Jinn State. That's about all I know of the Jinn State" Rokkan said.
"THAT'S IT?!" Ryu exclaimed in disbelief. "OUCH! OUCH! OUCH!" he screamed in more pain.
"Lower your voice already! Your yelling increases the pain!" Atlanta ordered.
Ryu lay down.
"That's a good idea, rest" Nadia said.
Ryu shut his eyes.
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
The amount of power the Dragon Zone unleashed had a bad effect on Ryu. He remained in bed with a high fever for five days. On the sixth day, his fever broke. The others had assembled with the Wind Ninja at the Temple's yard.
"What brings you here?" the Wind Master asked.
"We seek to unite the Dragon Saints and Human Saints and seal Shekan before he regains full power" Michael said.
The Wind Master held his beard for a while. Then he spoke.
"Very well, the Wind Saint Tornado is a friendly spirit but for the human saint, I'll say he is too young" the Wind Master said.
"How young?" Atlanta asked.
"He is only fourteen years of age. But what worries me most is his attitude. His age doesn't trouble me much for he is a formidable opponent. A very formidable opponent" the Wind Master said eerily.
Ryu walked groggily into the Hall of the Temple.
"Ryu!" Michael waved joyfully.
"You shouldn't be up. You need to rest. Come, let me take you to the room" Atlanta got up and walked towards Ryu.
Ryu raised a hand to stop her. He took a few steps forward and collapsed to the ground.
"Ryu!" Nadia and Atlanta called in concern.
Michael folded his arms with a playful smile.
"Don't help me! I can do this! I must develop a more powerful technique than Gaiden's. To do that, I must master the Jinn State and its side effects. I won't give up until I keep my promise!" Ryu said as he struggled to stand.
His knees were trembling.
"D-DAMN THIS!" he yelled as new energy filled his body and his strength returned. He could now stand firmly.
"Let us see what we can find out about the Jinn State" Ryu said.
He raised his ring. A Dragon appeared but it didn't look like Molten. It was larger, more terrifying, and surrounded by flame. Its wing span was wider and longer and it looked more muscular.
"Wh-Who are you? And where is Molten?" Ryu asked in surprise.
"I didn't think you wouldn't recognize me Ryu" the Dragon said.
"WHAT?! YOU'RE MOLTEN?! B-BUT YOU LOOK SO DIFFERENT!" Ryu exclaimed in shock.
The others shared his surprise.
"I evolved Ryu, through the Ryuujinn State. My abilities have increased tremendously as well. The others too, after being defeated by the Devils decided that, we were not powerful enough to defeat Shekan in our present states so we evolved into the forms with which we created the world. Our most powerful forms" Molten explained.
"NEAT!" Ryu exclaimed in excitement.
"Now to get down to business, we've been wondering what the Jinn State is" Michael went straight to the point.
"We figured knowing more about it could help Ryu control it" Nadia said.
Molten bowed slightly.
"I will tell you. Just as we, the Dragon Saints have our main elemental affinities which differ in characteristics from one another; the Dragon Zone is divided into two. The Light Side, elements of Generation, which are Water, Wind, Earth and Light; and the Dark Side, elements of Destruction, which are Fire, Lightning and Dark. Crystal is for both generation and destruction and is thus a neutral element" Molten explained.
"Each ninja has a natural affinity to one of the elements; but…there is a special body, how it came about, no one knows. That secret must remain hidden until the right time. This body is one with the Dragon Zone" Molten said.
"One with the Dragon Zone?" Ryu asked.
"How?" Michael asked.
"For this special body, the Dragon Zone will merge all the elements it generates into one and hence, the Jinn State is born. This body type is rare and appeared twice in the same generation, in Gaiden and Shekan. For this generation, that body is you…Ryu" Molten concluded.
Ryu scratched his head in confusion.
"When the Jinn State activates, I actually merge with the Dragon Zone?" he asked.
"I must return to the others" Molten said as he disappeared.
"Wow, that's some story" Michael said.
"It doesn't help" Ryu stood up. "Let's stay here for a while before we seek the next saint" Ryu said.
"Tornado?" Nadia asked.
"Yep, that one" Ryu said.
"Good idea, in the meantime…BACK TO BED RYU!" Michael ordered.
"Yes brother boss" Ryu said glumly as he walked into the Temple.
"He hasn't changed one bit" Nadia grumbled.
"But it's good to hear that the Dragon Saints are now immensely more powerful than before" Michael said.
"That increases our chances of defeating Shekan" Rokkan said.
"Damn straight!" Nadia exclaimed in excitement.
"Just two more ryu to go and then…Shekan" Atlanta said in a not so excited voice.
"You don't seem excited. You still don't believe Ryu can do it, do you?" Nadia asked worriedly.