In Naruto, the System Asks Me to Entrust Pokémon

"Bui!"

The moment passed, and the Espeon nestled in Ryo's arms looked up at him with wide, incredulous eyes.

It had only just been born today and had no idea that Ryo possessed such immense mental power.

As a Psychic-type Pokémon, it was highly attuned to mental energy. What Ryo had just displayed was beyond anything it could comprehend, far surpassing its own strength.

Nearby, Dragonite's sharp gaze landed on Espeon.

"Roar!"

It growled at Espeon, clearly unhappy.

If Espeon hadn't made a sound, Dragonite might have forgotten that it was just lounging in Ryo's arms while its trainer had to fight!

Hearing Dragonite's scolding, Espeon looked up at Ryo with a pitiful expression, as if pleading for help.

Internally, Espeon felt helpless. Given its current strength, there wasn't a single opponent in this battle that it could handle. What else could it have done?

"All right, that's enough. Don't blame Espeon, Dragonite," Ryo said, waving his hand to calm the tension. "I wanted to test my own abilities anyway."

Since obtaining his mental powers, Ryo had been eager to try them out in a real fight but hadn't had the opportunity until now.

After this battle, he had to admit that his mental powers were incredibly strong.

His performance had proven that he could take on Jonin without issue. Even against the elite Jonin from Root, he had been on the offensive the entire time.

But the fight had also highlighted his weaknesses.

His control over mental energy was still unrefined. If he had better mastery, he wouldn't have expended so much energy to stop the Root ninja's attacks.

Ryo made a mental note to himself: "I need to focus on improving my mental energy control and practice object manipulation. And if possible, I should craft specialized tools like flying swords or knives."

If he had been wielding crafted weapons instead of ordinary stones during his fight with the fire dragon, the outcome would've been entirely different.

Shaking his head, Ryo pushed the thought aside for now. He glanced at the unconscious Root ninja lying in the crater before turning to Dragonite.

"Dragonite, rough them up a bit—just don't kill them. Afterward, toss them out of here," he instructed.

He could easily guess Danzo's intentions. The Root leader must've learned about the Pokémon and wanted to take them under his control.

But there was no need to keep these men around. Killing them, however, was out of the question. These were high-ranking Jonin, and one was even an elite Jonin.

If he killed them, Danzo would undoubtedly retaliate, and even the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, might take issue with it.

Jonin were an invaluable resource for Konoha. Each one was a crucial asset.

Ryo's Pokémon haven had only just begun, and he couldn't afford to completely antagonize the village.

At the same time, letting them off without consequence would make him seem weak. A thorough beating would serve as a warning to Danzo.

Dragonite nodded, its eyes gleaming with anger as it stared at the unconscious ninjas.

It was furious at these attackers for targeting its trainer. If Ryo hadn't specifically instructed it to spare their lives, Dragonite would've already unleashed a Hyper Beam and obliterated them.

"Bui!"

Espeon chimed in, its voice filled with determination.

"Hm?" Ryo looked at Espeon, surprised. "You want to teach them a lesson too?"

"Bui!" Espeon nodded, glaring at the fallen ninjas with a fierce look.

"Alright then," Ryo said with a chuckle. "You two can handle it. Just come back when you're done."

"Roar!"

"Bui!"

Both Pokémon nodded enthusiastically, their expressions saying, "Leave it to us!"

Satisfied, Ryo turned and headed back to his cabin.

The intense battle had drained him significantly, leaving him exhausted. That was the only reason he'd handed the task of dealing with the ninjas to his Pokémon.

"Damn it," he muttered as he walked into the kitchen and saw his cold dinner. "Of all times to show up, they had to come during dinner."

Muttering complaints under his breath, he reheated the food and sat down to eat.

In a nearby forest clearing, Dragonite and Espeon had dragged the Root ninjas there.

Dragonite raised its tail high and began slapping the ninjas across their faces.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

The sharp sounds woke the ninjas from their unconscious state.

As soon as they opened their eyes, they were greeted by the menacing faces of Dragonite and Espeon.

Panic set in immediately.

"W-What are you doing?! Stay back!"

"Help! Somebody save me! Mom!"

"I'm sorry! Please stop!"

Their cries echoed through the forest for the next half-hour.

When Dragonite and Espeon finally emerged from the forest, they looked quite pleased with themselves, their earlier anger replaced by satisfaction.

The ninjas they left behind were unrecognizable. Their swollen faces made it impossible to tell who was who.

Each one lay on the ground, staring blankly at the sky with lifeless expressions, occasionally groaning in pain.

Despite their intense training and high pain tolerance, the prolonged punishment had been too much for even them to endure.

A short while later, several masked ninjas appeared in the clearing.

One of them stepped forward, frowning as they examined the battered men on the ground.

"Take them back for treatment," they ordered.

The team quickly and efficiently evacuated the injured ninjas, leaving the forest silent once more.

Back at Root's headquarters in Konoha, Danzo sat in his office, his expression grim.

"Still no news?" he asked a kneeling ninja.

The ninja shook his head. "No, Lord Danzo. There hasn't been any word yet."

Danzo's face darkened with worry. Nearly an hour had passed, and there hadn't been a single report.

"Bang!"

The door to his office burst open, and an angry voice echoed through the room.

"Danzo!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi stormed in, his face contorted with rage.

The Third Hokage's glare burned like fire as he marched up to Danzo, radiating fury.

"Who gave you permission? Who authorized this operation?"

Danzo frowned. "Hiruzen, I was doing this for Konoha."

"I told you already—Ryo is off-limits!" Hiruzen snapped.

Danzo narrowed his eyes. "Even if you stop me this time, I won't give up, Hiruzen."

"I'm the Hokage!" Hiruzen roared, his voice shaking the room.

Danzo clenched his fists tightly. "Hiruzen, are you really going to let Kakashi's words dictate our actions? We can't afford to wait!"