The scene shifted to the Hamura estate. Ryu was sitting in the centre of the training room, chakra flickering around him like golden flames. He formed the [Adamantine Sealing Chains], watching as they materialised from his chest.
Three seconds. Four. Five. Six. Seven.
The constructs began to dissolve. Links loosened, edges blurred, and the golden-red energy broke apart into drifting fragments. The chakra clumps floated upward, disintegrating further until nothing was left but air.
Ryu exhaled slowly. "I've raised the time limit by another second and decreased the formation time, but it's not enough for battles."
Just then, he sensed it---a presence approaching the estate. The detection seal at the door sent signals rippling through his awareness. "Kakashi's chakra signature."
Kakashi stood at the entrance of the Hamura compound, but before he could approach the door, one of the masked figures that had been stationed at a distance for the protection of the Hamura estate stepped out of concealment. The bear-masked ANBU studied Kakashi for a moment.
"Kakashi-san," the ANBU acknowledged. "Personal visit?"
"There's been a new development," Kakashi said quietly. "I found something while tracking Orochimaru. I need to send a message to the Hokage. Also, I'm going to ask Ryu to take a look at some people outside the village."
The ANBU leader's posture stiffened. "The people can't come here."
"It's complicated," Kakashi replied. "I need to earn the trust of these people. They could become valuable allies for the village if we're able to bring them to our side."
"What did you discover?" the ANBU leader asked.
"A new clan possessing a unique bloodline previously unseen. Apparently, they're being fooled by Orochimaru. We can gain a powerful clan if we can earn their trust."
The ANBU leader considered this for a moment. "You're right to approach this with the hope of earning the tribe's trust in mind. I'll inform Lord Hokage and tail you from a distance. But you need to keep Ryu's safety paramount."
Kakashi hesitated, then pulled out a scroll from his pouch. "There's more. It's not just one bloodline I discovered. There's also a Root ninja who can use Wood Style. "
The ANBU leader went still.
Kakashi continued, "Give this to Lord Hokage—the details are inside."
For a moment, silence stretched between them. He took the scroll. "This is too much to handle," he said finally. "I'll inform Lord Hokage. Your priority is earning that clan's trust and keeping Ryu safe. My team will follow you."
Kakashi nodded.
The ANBU vanished.
Kakashi approached the compound entrance. He knocked on the door, and after a moment, Dan appeared in the doorway. His weathered face was unreadable. For a moment, the two men simply looked at each other.
"Kakashi," Dan said. "It's been a while."
"It has," Kakashi agreed. "I need a favour from Ryu."
Dan studied him for a moment longer, then stepped aside. "He's training. You can go see him." He pointed down the corridor toward the training room.
They walked through the compound in silence. Dan led Kakashi down a familiar corridor, then paused at the door. Dan opened it without knocking.
Ryu was sitting in the training room.
"Kakashi," Ryu greeted, wiping his hands on a towel. "I wasn't expecting you."
Kakashi studied him for a moment. The kid looked tired, but his eyes were sharp.
"I need your help," Kakashi said. "I have patients who need to be examined. They require your assistance."
Ryu tilted his head slightly, processing the request. There was something in Kakashi's tone – urgency, carefully controlled.
"Alright," Ryu said.
Kakashi blinked. "You're not going to ask any questions?"
"Should I?" Ryu replied. He tossed the towel aside and walked toward the door. "We shouldn't keep the patients waiting."
Dan stepped forward. "No offence to you, Kakashi, but Ryu isn't going alone." He pulled out a communication device. "Kaori. Kohinata. I need you both to accompany Ryu on a mission."
A moment later, two voices crackled through the device. "Understood," Kaori's calm voice replied. "We'll be there in five minutes."
Within minutes, Kaori and Mukai Kohinata arrived at the compound, already geared up. "Where are we going?" Kaori asked, adjusting the strap of her weapons pouch.
"North of the village, a few miles out in the wilderness," Kakashi replied. "There is a cave system there."
Ryu raised an eyebrow but said nothing. The journey was swift. Ryu, Kaori, and Kohinata moved in formation, with Kakashi leading the way. They travelled north, the familiar terrain gradually giving way to rockier ground.
After several miles, Kakashi slowed. Ahead, a cave entrance yawned in the hillside.
"Stay alert," Kakashi warned.
They entered the cave together.
Inside, the air was thick and still. Ryu's eyes adjusted quickly to the dim light. The corridor stretched deeper into the mountain.
Kohinata commented, "The caves are quite big."
A figure emerged from the shadows ahead. Dark hair, pale skin, cautious stance.
"Kinoe," Kakashi said, recognition in his voice.
The boy lunged forward, kunai flashing toward Kakashi's throat.
Kakashi dodged and then hands moved in a blur. Ninja wire shot from his sleeve, coiling around Kinoe's wrist mid-strike. The boy's momentum carried him forward, but Kakashi twisted sharply, redirecting the blade past his shoulder. In one continuous motion, Kakashi pulled the wire taut, wrapping it around Kinoe's arms and torso, binding the boy into submission.
"Kinoe!" Kakashi said sharply. "Stop!"
The boy struggled against the restraints, his movements jerky and uncoordinated. Then the smoke suddenly dispersed, erupting from Kinoe's mouth and nose in a violent exhalation. The boy went limp in the wires.
Kakashi caught him before he fell, carefully lowering him to the ground.
Then it happened.
From the shadows, more figures emerged.
"Attack!" one of them snarled.
One smoke-form lunged toward Kohinata. His blade arced through the air, striking true—but the steel passed through smoke, nothing but resistance and displaced air. The figure reformed instantly, lunging at Kohinata's exposed side.
Kohinata's eyes widened. "My blade passed right through them!"
Another attacker rushed him. This time Kohinata was ready. "Wind Release: Wind Wall!"
A barrier of compressed air formed between him and the approaching smoke. The wall held, forcing the smoke to disperse around it rather than through it.
Kaori moved to intercept another attacker, kunai flashing. She hurled three kunai in rapid succession at the second attacker's centre mass. The blades passed through the attackers as they turned into smoke as they reformed again, uninjured.
"They're intangible!" Kakashi called out. "Don't let them close to you."
In a cave, wind was limited and their smoke was safe – but even smoke could be pinned down if the right kind of cage was used.
Ryu watched the exchange with calm eyes. "Logia-like abilities. Smoke transformation. They're from the filler episodes – people with smoke abilities completely out of control."
"Take the kid hostage!" the leader shouted.
A smoke figure lunged at Ryu. Ryu didn't move.
The attacker swung—and stopped.
A barrier flickered around Ryu's body. The [ReflexGuard] seal had activated, deflecting the strike.
Before the attacker could react, barriers of chakra erupted around him—front, back, sides, and top. A prison of barriers.
"He's no ordinary kid!" the leader shouted. "Gang up on him!"
More smoke-forms converged on Ryu's position.
Ryu activated his [Magno-telekinesis-seal pair].
The carbon cards in his pouch flew into the air, swirling around him. They shot forward, each card targeting a different attacker.
The cards passed through the smoke-formed bodies harmlessly. For a heartbeat, nothing happened. Then each card flared with chakra and barriers erupted into place.
One by one, prisons of chakra surrounded each fighter. The moment their smoke-forms solidified to strike the chakra walls, they found themselves unable to escape, even in smoke form.
All the main fighters were trapped in barriers made of chakra. Only the elderly and a few children remained cowered behind the elderly.
In some distance in the cave, Yukimi woke up. She'd been knocked unconscious by her clansmen.
"Tenzo," she whispered, her brother's name a reflex on her lips.
When her sight cleared, she saw Kinoe lying unconscious on the ground. Panic surged through her. She scrambled to her feet and rushed to him, dropping to her knees beside his still form. She looked around at trapped clansmen.
Ryu snapped his fingers. All the trapped people were released.
The cards came flying back and formed a deck in front of Ryu. He plucked it from the air and gave it a lazy shuffle, as if he hadn't just neutralised an entire clan.
Ryu came near the children slowly, meeting their eyes. "Hey. I'm not here to hurt you," he said quietly. "Someone said people needed my help, so I came. That's all."
One old lady stepped forward and said, "Please don't hurt them," asking for forgiveness for attacking them.
Ryu put his hand forward. The old lady hesitated, then handed him her hand. Green chakra flowed from his palm. The Mystical Palm Technique worked through her system. She was malnourished and weak. Ryu's chakra revitalised her. Her breathing came easier.
"You should eat properly, Granny," Ryu said quietly.
The old woman's eyes filled with tears. The clan leader stepped forward, wary. "Who are you?"
"All right, let's begin with introductions." Ryu made a showman's bow. "I'm Ryu Hamura, a medical apprentice."
A man behind the clan leader recognised him. "You are 'The Gambler'… I recognised you from your bounty poster."
A vein popped on Ryu's forehead. He forced a smile. "So this cursed nickname is going to haunt me forever."
"So you've seen my bounty poster," Ryu said.
"Don't worry. I'm here to help you." Ryu's expression grew serious. "I have already guessed the problem here. You have trouble controlling it and staying solid."
The leader was surprised Ryu knew and nodded. "But how did you figure it out?"
"I figured it out by analysing the caves and your unique abilities. Caves offer you protection from strong winds," Ryu lied.
"You're smart for a child," the leader said. "No wonder your name is being circulated as one of the smartest people in the village right now. And the richest."
Ryu laughed and then asked, "How do you collect information if you're trapped in the cave? You have contact with outsiders?"
"Not everyone is facing the dispersion problem. There are a few who do not share this cursed bloodline. They are in charge of going out and managing our supplies. Most of our clan cannot work or have employment opportunities due to this curse."
Ryu said, "I know what fear of dying with no hope is like. I was in the same situation as you in the past, dying due to an incurable illness."
Kakashi stepped forward. "He cured himself by creating medicine no one had seen before. You can trust him. We are here to help."
The Iburi Clan members exchanged glances.
##PoWeR StOnEs PLeaSE##
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