Garyō

Garyō is a man of small build with long, white hair and a beard. He appears to be blind in one of his eyes. He also wears long, firm clothing. Blank Period Kakashi Hiden: Lightning in the Icy Sky Main article: Kakashi Hiden: Lightning in the Icy Sky One year after the end of the Fourth Shinobi World War, the Armament Alliance's mountain hideout was found by Sai and Naruto Uzumaki of Konohagakure. The Armament Alliance engaged them in an attempt to stop them from capturing Garyō, but Naruto was able to locate and apprehend him. Naruto was prevented from escaping with Garyō by Garyō's bodyguard, Kahyō. Garyō tried to convince Naruto that the Armament Alliance's attacks against the Land of Waves were the best way of creating true peace. Naruto conceded that money has a corrupting influence on the world, but did not believe that justified the casualties caused by the Armament Alliance. Kahyō made to attack Naruto, but he and Garyō were taken away by Sai. Garyō was imprisoned in the Blood Prison. Two months later, the Armament Alliance hijacked the Tobishachimaru, an airborne transport vessel, to negotiate Garyō's release. When that failed, the hijackers strapped explosives to the hostages and dropped them on the Blood Prison, destroying the prison's outer walls. Armament Alliance forces stormed the prison, located Garyō, and escaped with him. But Garyō quickly fell victim to Ino Yamanaka's Mind Body Switch Technique, forcing Garyō to break away from his rescuers and return to prison.

During the Fourth Shinobi World War, Madara Uchiha cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi upon the world in an attempt to bring an end to all conflicts. The Infinite Tsukuyomi was lifted shortly afterwards and Madara died, signalling to many that his plan was a failure. But Garyō believed that Madara's goals were admirable and could be achieved through different means. In Garyō's view, the conflicts that Madara wanted to end were caused by money: money created inequality, bringing happiness to those with money and unhappiness to those without it. In order to free the world from money's influence, Garyō formed the Ryūha Armament Alliance. Many missing-nin joined the Armament Alliance, drawn to Garyō's promise of a world where they had options other than mercenary work. The Armament Alliance started carrying out terrorist acts against the citizens of the Land of Waves, who lacked the means of defending themselves. Once enough were killed to give equal opportunities to everyone, the Land of Waves would become proof-of-concept that would convince other countries to adopt the Armament Alliance's philosophies.