The world was still painted in shades of grey and deep indigo when Ryu arrived at the Sarobi estate. The air was cool and clean, holding the promise of the coming day. He found Hiruzen already in the garden, a simple yukata draped over his frame, sipping from a cup of green tea as he watched the stars fade one by one. He seemed less like a legendary shinobi and more a part of the tranquil morning itself.
"You are early," Hiruzen noted, though his eyes held a warm, approving glint. "Eagerness is a fine fuel for a young fire."
Ryu bowed respectfully, his back straight. "You told me to be here at dawn, Sensei. I did not want to be late." He hesitated for a moment, then reached into a pouch on his hip. "And… I practiced."
He took a single shuriken and held it between his fingers, just as he had seen his master do. He took a deep, calming breath, focusing not on the result, but on the feeling—the complex web of chakra, the brief and perfect division of self. He flicked his wrist. The shuriken spun through the air, and in a silent, flawless motion, two more identical shuriken split off from the original. The three blades flew in a perfect formation and embedded themselves deep into a distant straw target, their impacts a single, solid thunk.
It wasn't the storm of steel Hiruzen could create, but it was perfect. Hiruzen's eyebrows rose high on his forehead, his jaw slackening in pure, unadulterated astonishment.
"By the First…" he breathed, setting his teacup down with a soft click. "You mastered the basics of the technique in a single night? How?"
"It was… difficult at first," Ryu admitted, a little embarrassed by the praise. "My chakra kept fighting the transformation. So, I used a different approach. I used the Transformation Jutsu to turn myself into a shuriken."
Hiruzen blinked, the concept so utterly absurd yet so brilliantly logical that he was momentarily speechless.
"I needed to understand its structure," Ryu explained earnestly. "Its balance, its integrity, how it feels to cut through the air. Once I understood the 'what,' the 'how' became easier. I made three shadow clones, and we just kept practicing the division of chakra until we got it right."
A deep, rumbling laugh started in Hiruzen's chest. He walked over and placed a large, warm hand on Ryu's head, ruffling his pink hair affectionately. The sheer, unyielding determination of the boy was a marvel. "To go to such lengths… your heart is truly a furnace, Ryu-kun." His expression softened with a hint of concern. "But you must be careful. Do not let your eagerness to reach the destination cause you to burn out on the journey. You are still growing. You have a long, bright road ahead. Walk it, do not sprint."
"Yes, Sensei," Ryu said, his heart swelling with pride.
"Good. Now then," Hiruzen said, a playful, dangerous glint returning to his eyes. "Let us see how you handle a bit of heat."
He led Ryu to the training clearing and went through a rapid series of hand seals—Tiger, Horse, Rat, Dog, Tiger. The air itself seemed to grow heavy, superheating around the old Hokage. "Fire\ Release:\ Fire\ Dragon\ Bullet!"
Hiruzen drew in a deep breath and expelled a massive, roaring jet of fire that coalesced into the shape of a serpentine dragon. It twisted through the air with a terrifying intelligence, its eyes burning with malevolent light, before crashing into the far side of the clearing with an earth-shaking explosion that left a crater of scorched, glassy earth.
Ryu stared, his mouth dry. That was the power of a Kage.
"Now, we work on your taijutsu," Hiruzen said as if he hadn't just breathed a cataclysm into existence. "Your style is direct, powerful, and fast. But it is linear, like a lightning bolt. It is predictable. I will teach you the foundations of the Senju clan's taijutsu. Their style is like a great river; it can flow gently around an obstacle, or it can swell and crash with the force of a tsunami. It is about grounding, about using your entire body in every motion."
For the next hour, they fought. It wasn't a spar; it was a grueling lesson. Hiruzen never attacked to harm, but to teach. His movements were fluid and powerful, and he would effortlessly redirect Ryu's lightning-fast charges, using his own momentum against him.
"Sink your weight!" Hiruzen commanded, sweeping Ryu's legs out from under him. "The power does not come from your arm, but from the ground itself! Feel it!"
Ryu, covered in dirt and sweat, would scramble back up and try again. He slowly began to understand, letting go of his straight-line attacks and trying to incorporate the flowing, circular motions his master was showing him. He was clumsy, his movements a poor imitation, but he was learning.
Finally, Hiruzen called a halt. "Enough for today. Your body must rest. Your mind, however, will now work."
He led the exhausted Ryu back to the veranda, where Biwako had left a fresh pot of tea and some rice balls. As Ryu gratefully ate, Hiruzen began the next lesson.
"You asked me about genjutsu," he started. "It is the art of the phantom, a technique that attacks the mind by disrupting the flow of chakra in the cranial nervous system. To fight it, and to one day wield it, you must first have a spirit that is unshakeable." He looked at Ryu, his gaze piercing. "Therefore, before you learn to cast a single illusion, you must first enhance your Yang Release."
Ryu looked at him, confused. "Yang Release?"
"Chakra is made of two parts, spiritual and physical energy," Hiruzen explained patiently. "Yin Release is the domain of the spirit, the imagination. It is the key to creating form from nothingness, the foundation of most genjutsu. Yang Release, however, is the domain of the physical. It governs vitality, life force, the very energy within your cells. Before you can learn to fool the minds of others, you must first make your own reality, your own life force, an undeniable and unbreakable fortress."
He gestured to Ryu. "Close your eyes. Turn your senses inward. Feel the blood moving in your veins, the air filling your lungs. Now go deeper. Feel the energy in every muscle fiber, every bone, every single cell. That is your physical energy. I want you to focus on it. Will it to grow stronger, more vibrant. This is your first step. Strengthen your vessel, and you will build a natural defense against any who would try to poison your mind with illusions."
Ryu did as he was told, closing his eyes and sinking into a deep meditative state. He reached inward, past his chakra coils, searching for the raw, fundamental energy of his own life.
Hiruzen watched him, a quiet satisfaction on his face. Ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu… they were all just branches of a great tree. And today, he had begun teaching this remarkable boy how to properly tend to the roots.