A groan escaped Ryu's lips as consciousness returned, slow and sluggish, like swimming up through thick honey. The first thing he registered was the scent of old books and fragrant, herbal tea. The second was the soft, woven texture of a tatami mat beneath him. He was covered by a light, warm blanket.
His eyes snapped open. The light filtering through the shoji screen was the deep, golden orange of late evening. Evening?!
Panic, cold and sharp, seized him. "I missed the Academy!" he yelped, trying to sit up, his muscles screaming in protest. The entire day was gone! Daikoku-sensei was going to kill him. His parents were going to kill him!
A calm, familiar chuckle came from beside him. "Easy, my boy. You will not be getting into any trouble."
Ryu turned to see Hiruzen Sarutobi sitting on a cushion nearby, a pipe held loosely in his hand. "I took the liberty of informing your instructor that you came down with a sudden and severe fever. He was quite understanding."
The relief that washed over Ryu was so profound it left him dizzy. He slumped back onto the mat, his entire body going limp. "Oh," was all he could manage, before his manners, drilled into him by his mother, kicked in. "I'm sorry, Lord Third. I apologize if I caused you any inconvenience."
"Nonsense," Hiruzen said, waving a dismissive hand. "The inconvenience was all mine, having to face my wife's scolding." He gestured to Ryu's torso, where the faint, warm glow of medical ninjutsu still lingered. "She said I was a reckless old fool for pushing a child so hard."
Ryu looked down, realizing the burns and deep aches from the spar were completely gone. He felt tired, his chakra coils as empty as a dried-up well, but he was healed.
"Now," Hiruzen said, his expression shifting from amusement to a deep, scholarly curiosity. "That technique of yours. The beam. It packs a truly fearsome power. And your Lightning Armour… I have only ever seen its like used by the Raikage. Tell me, how did a five-year-old boy from a civilian family develop such profound jutsu?"
Ryu sat up properly, thinking for a moment how to explain the impossible. "I… read about the Lightning Armour in an old scroll, sir," he began carefully. "And I learned that jutsu are performed by channeling chakra through the tenketsu points. I figured that for the armour to work, you'd have to activate the whole system, to circulate the lightning through every point in the body at once." He saw the intense focus in Hiruzen's eyes and continued. "I once saw a detailed medical diagram of all 361 tenketsu points. So… I started practicing. I would sit for hours and just focus on opening one dormant point at a time with a tiny thread of chakra. It took me a full year to open them all. After that, I just… flooded the network with lightning chakra, and… voila."
Hiruzen stared at him, utterly baffled. It wasn't the power that shocked him; it was the sheer, unbelievable discipline and intellect. For a child to not only deduce the entire theory but to then undertake such a dangerous and painstakingly delicate process, alone, based on a single diagram… it was beyond genius. It was unprecedented.
"And your… beam?" Hiruzen asked, his voice filled with a new level of awe.
Ryu scratched the back of his head, a shy, sheepish look on his face. "Well, my first idea was to make a ball of lightning and just squish it really small until I could shoot it like a laser, but that didn't work at all. It just kept exploding."
Hiruzen hid a smile. The boy's explanation was so childish, yet the underlying theory was sound.
"So instead," Ryu continued, his confidence returning, "I started spinning the ball of lightning, like a little hurricane. Then I added my wind chakra to make it spin even faster and hold together. I just kept feeding both into the vortex until the pressure felt like it was going to tear my hand off, and then I let it go."
"Incredible," Hiruzen breathed. "To possess such perfect chakra control at your age, to blend two separate natures so seamlessly… a true marvel." He leaned forward, his expression becoming more analytical. "But performing that jutsu takes a huge toll on you, does it not?"
Ryu's face fell, his earlier excitement deflating. He nodded, looking down at his hands. "It uses everything I have," he said in a sad, frustrated tone. "My chakra is completely gone. It will take me at least a full day of rest to recover enough to even walk properly."
Hiruzen's expression softened. He reached out and gently rubbed Ryu's head, his touch warm and reassuring. "You are still growing, Ryu-kun. Your body is a vessel that is not yet large enough to contain the power of your spirit. In time, your reserves will grow. You will become stronger."
He stood up, beckoning for Ryu to follow. "Your ninjutsu is exceptional. You have already developed two techniques that I would classify as A-rank. Your taijutsu is fast and powerful, but you have a tendency to rush in, to favor a direct, overwhelming assault. That will not always work." Hiruzen's voice took on the tone of a master instructor. "You need more tools. Reliable B-rank and C-rank jutsu that you can use constantly in a battle to wear an opponent down. If you only rely on your strongest attacks, you will run out of chakra and lose the fight. Always play the long game. A trump card should only be used when you are certain you can end the battle in a single, decisive move."
He led Ryu back out into the garden, the evening sky now a tapestry of deep purple and fading orange. He picked up a single, standard shuriken from a pouch on his belt.
"Watch closely," Hiruzen said. He flicked his wrist. The single shuriken flew through the air, and then, in a silent, breathtaking display, it multiplied. One became ten, then fifty, then a hundred. A storm of solid steel, each glinting in the twilight, converged on a large straw target at the far end of the garden, covering it so completely that not an inch of straw was visible. It was his signature technique, the Shuriken\ Kage\ Bunshin\ no\ Jutsu.
Ryu's jaw dropped. He tried to copy it, throwing his own shuriken and pushing his chakra into it. It wobbled through the air and clattered uselessly to the ground.
Hiruzen chuckled. "Give it time. With diligent practice, you will get it."
"Lord Third," Ryu said, his mind already racing. "Will you… will you also teach me genjutsu?"
Hiruzen laughed, a full, hearty sound this time. He reached over and ruffled Ryu's pink hair. "Patience, my boy. One step at a time." His smile was kind and all-encompassing. "I will teach you everything. I promise."
Ryu felt a warmth spread through his chest that had nothing to do with healing jutsu. He had a master. A real master. He bowed low, a deep and heartfelt gesture of respect and gratitude.
"Thank you, Sarutobi-sensei."
He made his way home under a sky full of stars, his body tired but his spirit soaring. The path ahead was long and difficult, but for the first time, he felt he had a true guide to help him walk it.