HOKAGE'S OFFICE
KNOCK. KNOCK.
'I hope something happened to get me out of this infernal paperwork.'
"You may enter." Tsunade said without immediately looking up, but her tone already showed contained impatience as she mentally organized yet another unwanted interruption.
The door opened without delay, and Shizune entered first, with Riser right behind, maintaining a steady posture and without any hesitation as he crossed the room to an appropriate distance from the desk.
"Tsunade-sama…" Shizune began while keeping a firm posture, already making it clear that this was not a common interruption. "I brought someone you need to see."
Tsunade raised her gaze in the same instant, her attention shifting completely as it focused on the man in front of her. She couldn't sense any chakra at all, and that, more than anything else, put her on alert, automatically reorganizing her reading of the situation.
"Can I know who this stranger is that you brought into my office?" She lightly rested her elbow on the desk. "Even knowing that I'm busy?"
Shizune kept her gaze steady, ignoring the Hokage's tone as she took a short step forward, assuming responsibility for the situation.
"He introduced himself as Riser Phenex." She adjusted her posture before continuing. "And he possesses the Sharingan."
Tsunade didn't react immediately.
Her gaze remained fixed on Riser for a second longer, absorbing the information before drawing any conclusion. The idea didn't fit with what she knew, and that alone was enough to keep her stance skeptical.
Riser took a step forward, slightly passing Shizune's line without aggression, but taking control of the interaction as he positioned himself directly in front of the Hokage.
"Lady Tsunade, it's a pleasure to meet you." He kept a steady tone, without inclining his body or lowering his gaze. "If you allow me, I can show you the Sharingan."
Tsunade watched without looking away.
His posture wasn't that of someone trying to convince, nor someone seeking approval. It was direct, controlled, and that alone already shifted the weight of the proposal.
"Of course." She replied without changing her tone. "I allow it."
The silence that followed wasn't empty, it was brief and functional, as if both were measuring exactly what would come next. Riser didn't say anything more.
His eyes changed.
The red replaced the natural tone instantly, and the three tomoe spun with precision within his irises, stable, without fluctuation or visible effort. The activation was clean, direct, without excess, and the presence of that power became evident immediately.
"You really have it."
"I don't know what you know, but the Uchiha clan was massacred." Tsunade kept her gaze fixed on him. "And the only two Uchiha known, one became a missing-nin and the other abandoned the village."
"I wasn't born in this village." Riser kept a steady tone, without looking away. "My surname is Phenex, not Uchiha." He made a brief pause before finishing. "I know the story… but I don't care about it."
The silence that followed wasn't of doubt, but of evaluation. Tsunade didn't look away, she simply reorganized her own reading of the situation before acting.
"Shizune, you may leave." She said without changing her tone, already taking control of the conversation. "I want to speak with him alone."
Shizune hesitated for a second, but nodded right after. She cast one last look at Riser before leaving, closing the door behind her without making noise, leaving the room isolated.
Riser didn't wait for an invitation.
He pulled the chair in front of the desk and sat down naturally, crossing his legs slightly while keeping his gaze fixed on Tsunade, without any sign of submission or hesitation.
"You're strong and you want something." Tsunade rested her elbows on the desk, interlacing her fingers. "The question is how much… and what."
"I want to become a jōnin of the Hidden Leaf Village." Riser answered directly, keeping his tone firm. "And about my strength…" He tilted his head slightly. "You can test me."
The request lingered in the air for a moment.
It wasn't just bold.
It was absurd.
A complete stranger, without history, without record, without any formal connection to the village, directly asking for one of the highest ranks in the ninja hierarchy, based solely on his own power.
Tsunade let out a low laugh.
"That's impossible." She leaned back slightly in her chair, without taking her eyes off him. "I can't make a decision like that."
"Why?" Riser interrupted immediately, without raising his tone. "I thought the Hokage could do anything." He kept his gaze firm. "But it seems your title is just for show."
The impact was immediate.
CRASH.
The desk split in half.
Tsunade's strike was direct, without preparation, crushing the structure with brute force as the impact echoed through the room. Fragments of wood scattered to the sides, and the force of the action completely broke the previous rhythm of the conversation.
The ground trembled slightly.
Before the sound even faded, presences appeared around them.
ANBU entered.
Fast, precise, silent movements. Masks appeared at strategic points in the room, surrounding Riser in seconds, weapons already positioned, ready to act at the slightest sign of threat.
Tsunade didn't stand up.
But the pressure in the room had completely changed.
"You've got nerve." She spoke, her tone lower now, but much heavier. "Or you're just an idiot who doesn't know where he is."
Riser didn't move.
He remained seated, looking directly at her, completely ignoring the ANBU presence around him, as if they simply weren't relevant to the situation.
"I know exactly where I am." He answered without hurry.
One of the ANBU took a step forward.
The blade moved slightly closer to Riser's neck.
"You think you can walk in here…" Tsunade continued, resting her arm on the broken desk, completely ignoring the state of the furniture. "Demand something at that level… and walk out unharmed?"
"No." Riser answered without changing his tone. "I know I can't demand."
He made a brief pause.
"That's why I came to negotiate."
"Negotiate?" Tsunade narrowed her eyes slightly, evaluating the response more carefully now. "You come here, provoke me, break the flow of my office… and call that negotiation?"
"It depends on what I have to offer." Riser kept his gaze fixed on her, without changing his posture or backing down from the pressure that still dominated the room.
Tsunade didn't respond immediately. Her gaze remained steady, analyzing every detail of his words, not for the content itself, but for the confidence with which they were said. The absence of hesitation was more relevant than any direct argument.
"For your own sake, I hope it's more than a Sharingan."
The silence that followed didn't break the tension. On the contrary, it reinforced the new rhythm of the conversation, where every word had to carry real weight. Riser didn't look away, he simply reorganized his approach before continuing.
"Well…" He tilted his head slightly, adjusting the focus of his speech. "If the fact that I am, at the moment, the only one capable of increasing the village's strength and restoring the Uchiha clan isn't enough…" The pause was brief, but calculated. "Then you should start thinking about something else."
He kept his tone steady.
"Why is it that you…" Riser held her gaze directly, without interruption. "Tsunade, one of the best chakra sensors in this world…" He lightly rested his arm on his leg, keeping his body relaxed. "Can't feel absolutely anything coming from me."
'This arrogant bastard is right… he activated the Sharingan in front of me and I didn't feel anything.' Tsunade kept her gaze fixed on him, without letting the internal shift show on her face. 'But even so… after breaking my desk, with ANBU here… I can't back down. What can he even do… I'm a Legendary Sannin… and he has a blade at his neck.'
"You're far too arrogant." Tsunade kept her tone firm, without raising her voice. "One order from me and you lose your head."
Riser smiled without hurry, as if that threat carried no real weight in that situation.
The door opened abruptly, interrupting the tension before it escalated further. Shizune entered quickly, taking a step forward before freezing completely upon seeing the destroyed desk and Riser seated with a blade against his neck.
"What happened, Tsunade-sama?" Her voice came out fast, but lost strength midway through the sentence as the scene imposed itself.
Her body reacted before her mind caught up, and her gaze stayed fixed there, trying to understand how things had escalated so quickly. The environment felt out of control, yet no one moved, and that made everything even stranger.
"I didn't tell you to come in here, Shizune." Tsunade kept her tone firm. "Leave."
Shizune didn't move.
The order came too late.
In the next instant, the position changed.
Riser was no longer seated in front of Tsunade, and the space where he had been simply remained empty for a fraction of time that no one could follow.
He was already behind Shizune.
The movement wasn't seen, wasn't felt, and left no trace. His hands positioned themselves with precision, controlling her body without excessive force, but without leaving any room for reaction.
Shizune froze instantly.
ANBU reacted, appearing around them, but they were already at a disadvantage, because none of them saw the exact moment of the transition. The encirclement formed, but without initiative, stuck between acting and not acting.
Tsunade didn't move.
But her gaze changed completely.
"Why…" Riser kept his tone calm, as if nothing had gone out of control. "Now that she's here… shouldn't she take this moment with us?"
Shizune couldn't respond.
The shock came in layers, first from the blade that had been at his neck, now from the impossible position behind her. Logic couldn't keep up with what was happening, and that was what weighed the most.
"Riser…" Her voice came out low, unstable. "How…?"
Tsunade didn't respond.
For the first time since the beginning, something had completely slipped out of her control. It wasn't strength, it wasn't direct pressure, it was a total absence of reading.
'What was that…? I didn't see the movement… didn't feel the shift… nothing.'
Her mind tried to follow.
It failed.
ANBU maintained the encirclement, but now limited by Shizune's presence. Any mistake there would turn into an immediate consequence.
Riser didn't tighten his grip.
Didn't threaten.
And that only increased the pressure.
"Calm down." He spoke simply. "If I wanted to hurt someone, I would have already done it."
The sentence landed cleanly, without exaggeration, without the need for reinforcement.
Tsunade kept her gaze fixed on him, but now with a different reading. The analysis had been replaced by real caution.
"Let her go." Her voice came out firm.
"I can let her go." Riser answered without hesitation. "But that doesn't change the fact that none of you were able to keep up with me."
He still didn't move, maintaining control of the situation without needing to reinforce the threat.
Shizune swallowed dryly, trying to regain rhythm as her body still didn't fully respond. The fear wasn't of pain, it was of what she couldn't understand.
'He was there… and now he's here… I didn't even see it…'
Tsunade clenched her jaw slightly.
She understood.
That wasn't normal speed, nor a simple technique. It was something outside the pattern she knew, and that completely changed the weight of that negotiation.
"You've already made your point." Tsunade spoke, lower now. "Now let her go."
Riser held her gaze for one more second before acting.
He released her.
The movement was clean, without resistance, and Shizune stepped away immediately, retreating two steps before regaining her balance. Her breathing was still irregular, but control was starting to return.
ANBU didn't advance.
But they didn't relax either.
The environment remained tense, now sustained by something deeper than direct threat.
Riser walked a few steps forward, reclaiming an open position within the room, as if nothing had happened. His posture remained the same, stable, without any sign of effort.
"Now…" He slightly adjusted his focus. "We can go back to the negotiation."
Tsunade didn't respond immediately, but this time the refusal didn't come.
She was thinking
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