Ryusei had expected complications and was vigilant the entire time, but not like this.
The Hyūga really did have hidden powers, and worse, someone had been watching.
Fortunately, he had run into Pakura today, because if he'd been forced to use more of his own abilities at that time, Hiashi might have caught some clue, maybe even identified him.
And then he'd have to worry about that kind of crushing presence breathing down his neck constantly later, "Damn it," he muttered inwardly. "When did that bum Hiashi get this strong?"
"No. It obviously wasn't Hiashi himself..." Ryusei narrowed his eyes.
This had to be something else, a secret weapon, ancestral in origin.
The cursed seals, the clan's oppressive hierarchy, their obsession with control, other internal and external policies, mysterious history, it's all tied together to that probably as well.
That was why no Main Branch Byakugan had ever gone missing on this front. Not one.
Because in those dire moments, the Main Branch received just enough of a boost to either finish their enemy themselves or hold out until Hiashi himself arrived in a flash to clean up the aftermath literally, and no one ever lived long enough to report what they'd witnessed.
Against that kind of power, most wouldn't even sense it coming, let alone survive it.
Later, with his authority as Commander, Hiashi could bury the incident however he wished.
Ryusei clicked his tongue.
At least Pakura had broken through to Low Kage level in that moment, to finish that guy on time, for him to steal his Byakugan, and he himself had his sensory edge.
It was only thanks to that sensory mastery that he had felt Hiashi approaching so fast, sensed that alien surge, and cloaked them both before the man could lock on.
Anyone else would have been caught and erased without even understanding what hit them.
Ryusei was more curious than ever now.
But curiosity was one thing; standing in front of that power was another.
That aura was definitely fast approaching 'beyond Kage'.
Beyond Tsunade and Orochimaru, for example, Ryusei has felt directly so far.
He wasn't qualified yet.
"So that's the story…" he thought, jaw tightening.
The Hyūga had some kind of energy weapon, maybe channeled through Hiashi himself as patriarch.
That jōnin must have triggered a signal, and Hiashi poured it into him before arriving personally at inhuman speed.
But even so, Ryusei was certain of one thing: whatever this energy source was, it had limits. At least in its long-term capacity.
It had to. If it didn't, the Hyūga would have already crushed the shinobi world under their heel instead of submitting to Hiruzen.
For now, Ryusei left it at that.
When he climbed high enough himself, when his strength neared those stages, then he would dig into the Hyūga's secret, tear it apart, and find a way to turn it into his own.
Until then, patience.
As they finally crossed into the Land of Fire, putting distance from the Land of Rivers, Ryusei slowed and set Pakura down.
Her feet found the ground, her face already cold again, eyes narrowed like she had swallowed any warmth she'd shown earlier.
Ryusei noticed. He could tell what that look meant.
A misunderstanding.
He sighed quietly, his voice even behind the mask.
"I carried you away so abruptly because I sensed the strongest presence I've ever felt. The Hyūga patriarch himself, probably. Hiashi. He was heading straight for us."
Pakura's expression didn't change, but inwardly she was shaken.
She had never expected him to admit it so bluntly.
And, Hiashi, the man she had always written off as a cowardly commander, since arriving on this front, harboring such power?
Enough to make even this stranger so cautious?
But then she remembered the Hyūga jōnin they had just fought, how he had surged with overwhelming chakra in seconds.
The Hyūga had secrets. More than anyone gave them credit for. It could explain that.
But that wasn't what bit at her, in the first place.
After a day of being carried, healed, touched without much choice… she felt oddly numb to it now, almost immune, as if her body had grown used to it without her realizing.
What stung deeper, strangely, was the thought that she might have been betrayed again, used like a piece on his board, the same day she had already been cast aside once.
Ryusei picked up on it instantly. Her chakra, her eyes, her silence, they all told him. He exhaled again, sharper this time.
"Don't twist it. I had no idea the Hyūga's hidden power was at that level. Only faint hunches. If I pushed my own abilities, my identity could've been recognized. That's the only reason I let you fight. I didn't want to use your life to test it in any way. And tell me, didn't I save you? Didn't I carry you when it slowed me down, masked your presence along with mine, when Hiashi was almost on top of us? If you were expendable, do you think I'd have bothered?"
Her face and chakra aura eased just a fraction, but Ryusei caught it instantly. Yet, she still held the cold mask, lips pressed tight instead of answering, as if refusing to let him see the shift.
Ryusei's grin curled behind his own mask.
'Heh. So it's like that. No matter how deadly or legendary, every woman's the same. They play the emotional card, pretend indifference, keep a childish edge tucked under all the steel.'
He leaned back a little, his tone amused. "Fine then. If you want me to say it plain, I don't throw away tools I need. And right now, you're more valuable than most. Like a rare gem."
Pakura exhaled sharply through her nose. "A gem. Hmph."
Her eyes narrowed as her lips curled into a thin line. "Call me that again and I'll melt the ground under your feet, or burn that mask right off your face. I don't care if you mean it as mockery or flattery. Don't do it twice."
Her tone cooled a little, though. "Still… you're not wrong. I shouldn't be standing here. And yet I am. Because of you. So fine. Cooperation, for now. Until I decide otherwise."
She cut him a sidelong look, hazel eyes glinting.
"…But you'd better prove you're worth mine."
Yes, by this point, Pakura was very curious.
More than she cared to admit.
What kind of longer-term cooperation did he really have in mind? What was his endgame?
Questions gnawed at her.
His true identity, the powers he kept hidden, and why he was so fixated on the Byakugan and the Hyuga.
Even the simple detail of what face he hid behind that mask, it all pressed against her thoughts.
And was he truly as young as her instincts told her?
That, too, bothered her for some reason.
Her hazel eyes lingered on him for a moment longer beneath the mask she now wore herself, but she said nothing anymore.
Ryusei noticed that flicker of curiosity, so he spoke evenly, without hesitation.
"If you're curious, my goal's always been the same. Survive. In this kind of world, treacherous, unpredictable, seen it yourself. Betrayed by your own. The ones you helped the most. Then, watching an ordinary Hyūga suddenly explode with power beyond reason. Anyone can turn into a monster in an instant. If you stand alone, you die."
His tone didn't waver. "That's why I chose you. Together, we're stronger. Together, we raise the odds of not just surviving, but pushing higher against the weight pressing down on us."
He let that sit for a moment before adding, quieter, "Your village betrayed you once. Mine wants me dead ten times worse. Assassination attempts, traps, constant pressure. But unlike you, I didn't have anyone pulling me out when it counted. It was always just me."
Pakura's chest tightened despite herself. Behind the mask, his voice had a raw edge, one that didn't sound like performance. She hadn't expected sincerity from him of all people, but for some reason, it was there.
Her mind churned. This man wasn't some random mercenary. No drifter could develop sensing that sharp, or wield multiple elemental natures with such control. He was hiding more, much more.
So she tested him, tilting her head faintly. "…Are you from Konoha?"
Ryusei chuckled, sly. "Why, do you want me to be?"
Her eyes narrowed at once. "…That's not an answer."
"Of course it isn't," he teased smoothly, before she could flare in anger. He shifted the topic with practiced ease. "But what does it matter who I am? What matters is I have a way to make you stronger. So tell me, what's your greatest limitation with your bloodline right now?"