Ryu woke up, staring at a wooden ceiling.
Aino's face popped into his view and shouted "Waaaah! A zombie!" Ryu sat up and looked at her, saying softly "Not a zombie."
Aino pouted at him, saying "Why are you so gloomy, daddy? You're no fun anymore." Ryu looked at her and she snorted, "Hmph! Big dummy Daddy, always crying! Aino will never cry because Aino is super strong!" as she flexed her arms.
Ryu's lip curled up slightly and he stroked her hair, saying "Daddy loves you." Aino waved her fists and cheered, "Who doesn't?! Aino is the bestest!"
Ryu laughed and hugged Aino, rolling over and pretending to sleep, snoring exaggeratedly.
Aino struggled in his arms and shouted "Ah! Help! Aino was captured! Help!" Anko walked in and said "Oh no… Aino is captured, what do I do???" Aino struggled "Mommy! Come save Aino! I'll love you more!"
Ryu froze and rolled to the other side as Anko lunged at him.
He jumped out the window and ran off, snoring with his eyes closed as Aino shouted "Sleep Escaping! He's sleep escaping! Waaaaah! Aino's being kidnapped! Help! Naruto-Otouto!"
Naruto was eating ramen and heard Aino, looking up to see Ryu 'sleep escaping' as he ran by quickly.
He looked at his ramen and then Ryu's back before groaning, chasing after him as he shouted "Keep it warm! I'll be back!"
Naruto stopped Ryu and said "Halt! No sleep escaping on my watch!" Ryu jumped and stepped on Naruto's face, planting him into the ground as he continued escaping. Aino covered her face and sighed "Naruto-otouto, it's okay… You're so dumb. Aino didn't expect much…"
Naruto jumped up and shouted "Damn it! It's ANIKI! ANIKI, UNDERSTAND?!" as he flashed past Ryu, kicking at his head.
Ryu ducked and pressed one hand on the ground, kicking his feet up, grabbing Naruto's waist and piledriving him into the ground as he flipped over and ran.
Naruto turned into a puff of smoke and appeared in front of Ryu, saying "Dad, I love you. If you love me, you'll stop." Ryu stopped following around and pointed at him in shock, "What a low blow!"
Naruto rubbed his nose and grinned "Worked, right?"
Ryu rolled his eyes and Naruto said "I heard what happened from Granny Tsunade…" Ryu frowned and turned around, walking away as he said "What happened? Nothing happened."
Naruto shouted at his back, "Ryu! I promise!" Ryu stopped and Aino poked her head over his shoulder, looking at Naruto as he clenched his fists and continued "I promise! I will bring him back! Whatever it takes! A Hokage who can't even save a friend isn't a Hokage at all!"
Ryu turned up to the sky and Naruto added, "So please! Stop being so sad!" Ryu closed his eyes and said softly "I hope you can, Naruto." before disappearing as he sighed "I really hate the rain…" while tears dripped from his face.
Naruto looked at the sky and sighed "It's not even raining…"
A week or so later
Ryu was sitting on a wooden crate, while propping his cheek up, looking at the United Joint Ninja Force. Everyone was lined up in their divisions, looking up at Kakashi, Gaara, Darui, Mifune, and…
Ryu of all people…
Ryu yawned as he looked down at the Army, Kakashi glanced at him before saying "Anything to say?"
Ryu looked at him and replied "I thought we decided Panda-chan was Commander General." Gaara's mouth twitched and Ryu waved, continuing "If you want me to say something, I'll say it!"
Kakashi felt bad in his stomach but Ryu already stood up.
He walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down at all the people with his hands behind his back, saying "Hello, little babies!"
Kakashi choked and Ryu continued, looking down at the ninja with a smile "Most of you have never been to war, or know what war is like. Which is why you even have time to be thinking about whether Panda-chan is a good Commander General, or even why theres a bastard from another village standing next to you!"
Ryu smiled and waved his finger while chuckling "But don't worry, little ones! The people who are worried about the person next to them will die very quickly! Among the first wave of deaths! This is war, not a tea party! Who you're standing next to doesn't matter, the only thing that should be in your mind right now is 'Is this guy next to me going to kill more people than me?'"
Ryu grinned and laughed, "If you die, die fighting. If you go to hell, bring a few enemies with you! Stop worrying about which shitty village you're from and start worrying about who's going to miss you when your bones are crushed and even your flesh wasn't spared. Most of you will end up names on a plaque without even a corpse, write your wills now boys, we're marching into hell very soon."
He looked at their faces and burst out laughing before touching his lips with excitement, "I forgot to mention~ I received crucial pieces of little intel just a bit ago~ A little rat on the other side has Resurrected all the Jinchuuriki that were killed. All previous Kazekegs they could find, all the famous dead ninja, maybe you'll be fighting and killing your friends and family!"
Ryu bubbled with excitement, saying "Impure World Reincarnation is a technique that brings the person back to life with an indestructible body but it also controls the person's will. Even if that person was your lover or father when they were alive, they will try to kill you…" He nearly jumped on his feet, thinking about something as he said with a giggle "Maybe you'll even fight Hashirama Senju, isn't it exciting!?"
Kakashi pulled Ryu back quickly as the Ninja below were all pale and shocked.
Gaara stepped up and looked at the Ninja seriously, shouting "Everyone! Listen well! What Ryu-sama said was correct. Forget about your villages and grudges, if we don't band together, we will all die. There's no next time, there's no retries, and there's nothing to look forward to if we lose this war!"
Gaara waved his hand, continuing "We're fighting for our homes! The children and eldery behind the village walls! Not only your own village, but the person next to you's village! Akatsuki's plan is to destroy the world! If I could do it all alone, I would! But I can't! I'm too young to do it alone, which is why I need your help! Please!"
He bowed 90 degrees and shouted "Come and fight with me!"
The ninja under the cliff looked at Gaara before erupting into battlecries.
A while later