Chapter 118: The Two Who Took a Beating for Nothing

After listening to Ryo's explanation, Sasori and Deidara found it hard to believe.

"So that's why the leader put so much importance on this mission… sigh—"

Shaking his head with a sigh, Sasori said no more.

Meanwhile, Deidara silently looked at Ryo and said, "If you're going to do it, then just get it over with."

Ryo shook his head slightly. "I never said I was going to kill you."

"Hm?"

Both of them looked at him in confusion, not understanding what he meant.

"What?"

Ryo raised an eyebrow. "Do you want to die?"

The two quickly shook their heads, pushing aside their curiosity.

For them, staying alive was enough. The how didn't really matter.

Whoosh—

At that moment, Gardevoir appeared beside them, carrying Itachi and Kisame.

"Ryo, I've brought them back."

With that, she unceremoniously tossed them onto the ground.

Ryo nodded, glancing at the battered and bruised Itachi and Kisame. He couldn't help but feel a little sorry for them.

Sasori and Deidara, on the other hand, felt relieved.

They were lucky they hadn't been the ones facing Dragonite—otherwise, it would be them lying unconscious right now.

As they took in the miserable state of their comrades, their fear of Dragonite deepened.

Just how strong is this thing?

Even though Itachi and Kisame had gone all out, using every trump card they had, they were still taken down by a single attack from Dragonite—and not even at full power.

Not even Pain himself could pull off something like this…

Even if all six bodies fought together, they wouldn't be able to manage this.

"Gardevoir, can you heal them?"

Hearing Ryo's request, Gardevoir's expression showed a trace of confusion. These were the same people who had just tried to attack them—why heal them now?

Ryo noticed her hesitation and shook his head. "Just do it. These guys are pitiful in their own way… and besides, I have a use for them."

"…Fine."

Accepting the explanation, Gardevoir nodded.

With a flick of her hand, a wave of green energy flowed toward Kisame and Itachi.

As the energy entered their bodies, their wounds began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Before long, their injuries were completely gone—if not for their tattered clothing, no one would have believed they had just been through a brutal battle.

Sasori and Deidara watched in stunned silence.

They turned to look at Gardevoir with newfound awe.

A Pokémon with Kage-level combat power… that can also heal?

And not just ordinary healing—this was faster than even the best medical ninjutsu.

Even for a skilled medical-nin, treating wounds like those would take at least half an hour.

But Gardevoir?

She had done it with a single wave of her hand.

Cough, cough—

A weak cough broke the silence as Itachi slowly opened his eyes.

Upon seeing Ryo, Dragonite, and Gardevoir, he tensed, preparing to move.

"Itachi, relax. We've already been captured."

Sasori spoke up, cutting through the tension.

Hearing this, Itachi glanced at Sasori and Deidara before silently sitting down to rest.

He said nothing.

Sasori and Deidara let out a quiet sigh of relief.

They had felt somewhat awkward about the situation—they had come out of the fight completely unscathed, while their allies had taken the full brunt of the damage.

Not long after, Kisame woke up.

After hearing Sasori and Deidara's explanation, he froze.

What the hell?

Did I just take that beating for nothing?

Whoosh—

At that moment, several figures appeared around them, their gazes filled with curiosity as they looked toward Ryo and the Akatsuki members.

The Akatsuki members instinctively tensed.

With a sudden flash, Hiruzen Sarutobi appeared, his brows furrowed as he looked at Itachi and the others.

"Ryo, what is the meaning of this?"

Ryo casually waved a hand. "Nothing much. Dragonite was just testing out a move."

The surrounding shinobi stared at the scene before them—the fallen trees, the massive crater over a hundred meters long and several meters deep, the overturned ground—and their lips twitched.

If they had the strength to do so, they would have loved to ask Ryo:

Testing a move?

You call this testing a move?!

We felt the impact all the way on the other side of Konoha!

Testing a move and leaving the ground in ruins—are you serious?!

Hiruzen let out an exasperated sigh, rolling his eyes.

Ryo could lie with a straight face like no one else…

Seeing the questioning looks from the surrounding shinobi, Ryo coughed lightly in embarrassment.

"Third Hokage, I can handle this myself. Sorry for making you all come here."

Hiruzen gave him a deep look before nodding.

"Very well, but be careful. Uchiha Itachi is not a simple individual."

Ryo chuckled. "I understand."

Just say you want to remind me that Itachi is still your guy. Why beat around the bush?

Seeing that Ryo understood, Hiruzen nodded and led the Konoha shinobi away.

"Itachi, looks like Konoha is still watching you closely," Kisame mused.

Itachi remained silent, his gaze shifting to Ryo instead.

From Hiruzen's attitude toward Ryo, he had picked up on something.

And it seemed Sasori had as well.

With a wry smile, Sasori muttered, "We really didn't have enough intel before coming here… I regret taking this mission."

Even just seeing Hiruzen's deference toward Ryo was enough to tell him that things were far from simple.

They had charged in blindly, and now they had no idea what fate awaited them.

Ryo didn't respond to their words.

Instead, he simply glanced at them and said, "Follow me."

With that, he turned and walked into the wooden house.

The Akatsuki members exchanged looks before cautiously following—Dragonite and Gardevoir watching them closely.

Meanwhile, outside, Cynthia hesitated for a moment before shaking her head.

"Forget it… I guess he has something important to do."

Roar—

Garchomp tilted its head, looking at Cynthia in confusion.

Cynthia sighed.

"Never mind, let's go inside too."

Though she said that, she was starting to feel a little anxious—

The Chunin Exams were about to begin… and who knew how long Ryo was planning to keep this up?

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