Ryu was traveling through the air, humming to himself. He suddenly frowned and disappeared from the spot.
~~~
A man with black skin and white patches like a skeleton swung a scythe at himself along with a spike, stabbing at his own heart while laughing maniacally, "Die!"
Asuma was bloody on the ground and Shikamaru shouted "STOP!"
Suddenly, the spike and scythe were grabbed before they could stab the man.
Ryu sighed as he held the weapons, saying "Honestly, such a cruel method…" he smiled at the skeleton man, "Suicide is bad, my friend." Shikamaru let out a breath and said "Ryu-sama! The ci-"
Ryu cut him off saying "I know." as he grabbed the skeleton man's neck, flashing out of the circle on the ground.
He looked at the skeleton man, grinning "Like I said, Suicide is a sin. Let me kill you, okay?" he raised his arm and covered it in Haki, looking at another guy, saying "Eh? Can't you see I'm busy?"
His eyes turned into his Eternal Mangekyou as flames crackled from the corner of his lips, the surrounding temperature getting hotter and hotter as he cackled.
He kicked the other guy flying and looked at the skeleton man, lifting him up in the air by his neck as the guy said "Let go of me! Damn you!" as he swung the scythe at Ryu's neck.
Shikamaru shouted "Ryu-sama!"
The scythe chopped right through Ryu's neck and the skeleton man cackled "That's it?! Hahahahah! My God will love your soul! Hahaha!"
Ryu suddenly spoke with a teasing smile "Hey, hey… You ever heard the phrase, don't count your chickens before they hatch?" as flames condensed Ryu's neck again.
The man froze and shouted crazily "What?! Impossible! How can you!?" Ryu grinned, "Nevermind that, I have a question."
The man frowned, "I won't say anything!" Ryu shook his head and laughed "No, you don't understand. I want to ask…" his lips curled up and his throat rolled "Have you ever felt the heat of the Sun?"
Before Ryu blew out a pillar of flames at a temperature of 6000 degrees!
The skeleton man couldn't even scream before his head was reduced to ashes.
Ryu grabbed the Scythe and Spike before sealing the body in a scroll and sending it to a little snake that disappeared into the ground.
Ryu turned around and grinned like a devil, looking at everyone else as licks of flames escaped his sharp toothed mouth, "Turns out, the Sun can even burn up God!"
The other man was shocked and stared at the melted dirt, unable to comprehend what happened.
Shikamaru froze as Ino and Choji appeared, holding Asuma, who was looking at Ryu with a complicated expression.
Shikamaru shouted in shock "That flame! How hot was that flame?!" Ryu smiled and replied "Around 6000 degrees. That guy is immortal but he can't regenerate body parts so if his head is turned to dust then he's…"
Ryu made a throat cutting gesture and chuckled.
The other man turned and escaped quickly, muttering "Oh what the hell! Big news!"
Ryu watched him go and didn't stop him.
Just a rat.
He walked over to the group and fished out a cigarette, his finger turned into flames and lit the tip before he turned off his Eternal Mangekyou.
He exhaled a cloud of smoke and Asuma sat up, looking at him, "Why did you save me?"
Ryu looked at him with a hand in his pocket as he took a long drag from the cigarette. He pinched the cigarette between his fingers, saying after a long while "The longer you live, the more you suffer…"
He turned around, looking at the sky "Not to mention…" he felt the rain dropping on his face and changed tones, "Growing up without a father is a really painful thing for a child..." he flicked his cigarette away and muttered "I really hate the rain." before disappearing.
Asuma's face changed and he finally sighed, saying "Let's go back." Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji smiled and nodded, returning to Konoha with the other Jonin.
Ryu returned to the house, drenched from the rain.
Aino ran over on her little feet, making a thumping sound as she said in her sweet and milky voice "Daddy~!" Ryu smiled slightly and she jumped into his arms. He caught her and walked inside, kissing her little cheek, saying "Did you miss Daddy?"
Aino waved her hands and smiled happily "I always miss daddy!" Ryu paused and looked at her cute face, smiling gently as he sat down on the sofa, playing with her.
Anko looked at Ryu with her arms crossed, asking "What happened?" Ryu continued playing with Aino as he said gently, "I saved a certain bastard from a sure death." Anko looked at the scythe and spike, picking them up and hanging them next to the beheading sword as she smiled "Is it the 'going to be a father soon', bastard?"
Ryu stayed silent and Anko walked over, hanging her arms around his neck from behind as she kissed his cheek and smiled "I'm glad." Ryu looked at Aino, who was looking up at him with a cute smile and watery eyes full of happiness, he smiled slightly and said "Yeah…"
"Me too."
~~~
The next day
Ryu was sitting on the couch when someone knocked on the door.
He yawned and got up, walking over to the door with Aino sleeping in his arms. He opened the door and raised his brows.
Kurenai and Asuma were standing at the door!
Ryu looked at them and said "What do you want?"
Kurenai bowed 90 degrees and said "Thank you for saving Asuma's life, Ryu." Ryu was stunned and looked at Kurenai bowing before turning to Asuma, who scratched his cheek and looked away, saying "Ahem* Well, Thanks… I guess."
Ryu's mouth twitched into a smile as he said "Like I said, take care of your kid. Growing up without a father isn't good for anyone." he picked up Kurenai and adding "Alright, stop bowing here. Me and Asuma will never be friends, I was there, so I saved his life, that's all. If he goes to die again, I can only say sorry."
Kurenai smiled at Ryu and tugged Asuma away, saying "Tell Anko I said hi~" as she dragged Asuma away as he glared at Ryu, but didn't say anything as Aino was sleeping in Ryu's arms.
Ryu watched them go and pursed his lips before turning around, closing the door.
But suddenly, a foot stepped in between the door and Kakashi walked in the house as though it was his own.
Ryu rolled his eyes and closed the door, walking to the kitchen, saying softly "Drink? Eat?" Kakashi asked "Do you have coffee?" Ryu nodded and made him a coffee, rubbing Aino's back gently before sitting down as he stirred his own.
He liked sweet things but coffee?
If you add sugar to coffee, you're an inhuman monster!
Kakashi sipped on the coffee and let out a breath, saying "I'm going on a mission tomorrow with Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji." Ryu tapped the spoon on the coffee cup, saying "Oh yeah? To hunt down the rat that escaped?"
Kakashi nodded and added, "Also, Naruto seems to have created a new Jutsu." Ryu sipped on the coffee before putting it down and tapping the table as he said "The new Rasengan thing?"
Kakashi nodded and sighed "He's really Minato-sensei's son…" Ryu smiled and nodded "Yeah… By the way, that rat you're chasing… There's something you should know."
Kakashi looked at him and Ryu explained "His name is Kakuzu. He's lived for a long time, he even tried to assassinate the First Hokage." Kakashi froze and Ryu chuckled, "Obviously, he fled miserably. I'm telling you this so that you don't get surprised and die from a sneak attack."
Kakashi let out a breath and Ryu continued, "He has 4 masks on his back, each of them is a heart that can use different Nature Releases Wind, Fire, Lightning, and Water. He himself has a heart and can use Earth. So to kill him, aim for his four masks at the beginning before he fingers out that you know his weakness."
Kakashi nodded and said "What about other abilities?" he didn't even question Ryu at this point, Ryu seemed to know everything about the enemies of Konoha. Kakashi didn't ask, nor did he care, the past proved his words to be true again and again.
Ryu pursed his lips and said "Well, he has a bunch of string inside of his body. Even if you cut his limbs off, he'll just stitch it back and be fine. If you can't finish him off in one blow then try and take off his cloak so he can't hide a missing arm. He can also separate the Masks into string beasts."
Ryu drank his coffee and looked at Kakashi, who rubbed his chin, nodding, "By the way, Naruto's jutsu… seems to hurt himself too." Ryu frowned and said "That dumb kid, does he just forget what people teach him?"
Kakashi sighed and shrugged. Ryu sighed and said "You should tell him that Armament Haki will solve his problem and protect his body from the Chakra…" Kakashi froze and slapped the table, saying "That's it!" He drank the rest of his coffee and ran out the door, saying "Thanks, Ryu! See ya later!"
Ryu blinked and sighed "What a strange group of friends I have…"
The next day