Gotta was on his knees. Ryu's kind words made him feel better; he stood up and asked, "How will you help us?"
Ryu smiled and pulled out a storage scroll and released it with a puff of smoke. Several blank scrolls tumbled onto the cave floor, along with a small wooden case filled with brushes and ink.
"Orochimaru never talked to you about technical details, did he?" Ryu said as he knelt and began writing on one of the scrolls. "Not very confidence-inspiring."
The clan members gathered closer. Kakashi and Kinoe watched from the side, while Kohinata and Kaori stood near Ryu.
Ryu's brush moved quickly across the scroll, leaving behind a long sequence of seemingly random letters. He finished one scroll and started another, then a third. The letters were different on every scroll, but subtle similarity appeared in certain sections.
When he was done, Ryu looked up at Kakashi. "What is a bloodline?"
Kakashi tilted his head slightly. "A genetic trait passed down through families. It grants unique abilities—like the Sharingan and Byakugan."
"Correct," Ryu said. "But what is a bloodline more exactly, more simply?"
Kakashi didn't answer.
Ryu tapped the scroll in front of him. "It's information stored in your blood. This information is passed from parent to child. And occasionally, this information contains special power—like your Sharingan."
He looked around at the Iburi clan. "Sometimes this information corrupts and leads to birth defects. Other times, a simple mutation occurs without any ill effects. And sometimes, a unique feature emerges."
Ryu pointed to his own different-coloured eyes. "Like a simple change in eye colour or hair colour. My situation is called total heterochromia".
Yukimi, standing near her father, spoke up. "His eyes are mesmerising... but his hair is funny."
Ryu ignored the comment and continued. "And rarely, a mutation can lead to a first-generation bloodline limit... just like the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju."
Kakashi's gaze flicked toward Kinoe, but he said nothing.
"Wait," Kakashi said. "The First Hokage's Wood Release was just a mutation?"
Kinoe tensed.
Ryu nodded. "Either a mutation or a recessive trait that skipped several generations and resurfaced in him. We'll never know for certain."
"This was a good opportunity to get a sample of his DNA," Ryu thought, glancing at Kinoe. "I have collected some blood but not enough for too many experiments…"
Kakashi crossed his arms. "So their bloodline isn't like the First Hokage's."
"Yes and no," Ryu said. "Their case has moved past the first generation—that's rare. Usually, a first-generation bloodline fails to pass on. The First Hokage's children didn't inherit Wood Release. But the Iburi Clan is at the fourth, maybe fifth, generation. The bloodline has solidified."
Ryu looked at the gathered clan members. "Is there anyone here who cannot turn into smoke?"
The clan members blinked, glancing at one another. Finally, a young boy stepped forward, eyes downcast.
Ryu handed him one of the scrolls. "Hold this."
He then pointed to two others. "You two—can you both transform into smoke?"
They nodded.
"Good. Come here."
The two stepped forward, and Ryu handed each of them a scroll. Then he turned to Kakashi and Kinoe. "You two as well. Stand next to each other."
Kakashi and Kinoe exchanged glances but complied. Ryu gave them each a scroll.
Ryu gestured for everyone to hold up their scrolls. "All life contains a code. In humans, the genetic code is roughly ninety-eight per cent similar across all individuals. The two percent difference accounts for our individuality."
He pointed to the scrolls. "Suppose the letters on these scrolls represent that two per cent. This is just a demonstration, not real sequences, but it shows the principle. Look closely."
Gotta and the others leaned in. The scrolls each displayed:
Kakashi Hatake's scroll: ACTG GTAC GATT CGAA CTGT ACGG TACC TGTA
Kinoe's scroll: TGAC CGTT AGCC GATA ACGG TTAC CGTA TAGG
Yukimi Iburi's scroll (bloodline): [GCTA ATGC TAGG CCTA] [AAGG TCCT AGGA] GCGA
Iburi Boy-1's scroll (bloodline): [GCTA ATGCTAGG CCTA] [AAGG TCCT AGGA] ATGC
Iburi Boy-2's (no bloodline): [GCTA ATGC TAGG CCTA] ACFG CACG FAFC TACG
The differences and similarities stood out. The boy without the bloodline had a slightly different pattern than the two who could transform. And all three of them shared certain sequences that were completely absent in Kakashi's and Kinoe's scrolls.
"Even within that two per cent, there's similarity when two individuals are from the same family," Ryu continued. "Blood brothers are more similar. Twins are even more similar—sometimes identical."
Ryu pointed to the two Iburi members with active bloodlines. "See? Their codes are almost the same. But this boy"—he gestured to the one without the ability—"has differences in key areas."
Ryu tapped the scroll. "If I can identify the code most common in your clan that's missing from outsiders and also missing from clan members without the bloodline, I've found the gene responsible for your ability."
As he gazed at the scrolls, understanding began to dawn on him as he said, "Now I know why they say you're the smartest person in the village."
Ryu smiled faintly. "Thank you. But figuring out a problem is different from finding a solution. If I sequence the bloodline of everyone in this clan, I may find the gene responsible for your instability."
"How long will that take?" Gotta ask.
"Hard to say. Months, maybe years."
Ryu paused. "Before we go further, I need to know your clan's history. When did your bloodline ability first appear?"
Gotta sighed and began explaining their past—the war orphan founder, the discovery of the ability, the decades of hiding through multiple wars, and their fear of shinobi and the wind.
When he finished, Ryu frowned. "So you never trained as a ninja."
Gotta nodded. "We feared what they would do to us."
Ryu said, "That was a bad move."
"What do you mean?" Gotta ask.
"Your bloodline is essentially a ninjutsu built into your blood," Ryu explained. "And like any ninjutsu, it needs training and control. Your founder discovered this ability and immediately hid in the caves. He never trained. He never pushed his limits. He never learned to control the transformation."
He pointed to the clan members. "If your founder had trained as a shinobi, pushed his transformation to its limits, and learned to control it... his body might have adapted. Over generations, your clan might have developed natural safeguards—ways to stabilise the smoke form and mechanisms to prevent dispersion."
Kakashi tilted his head. "Could they start training now?"
"It wouldn't be a bad idea," Ryu said. "Training might help you stabilise—at least to some extent. Better chakra control could mean better control over your transformations. Training in wind chakra might improve your chances further. "We will need to experiment to determine the effectiveness of this approach."
Ryu looked at Gotta. "But the medical solution is to suppress the gene responsible through medication. The tricky part is finding a medicine that targets that specific gene without harming the rest of your body."
Ryu crossed his arms. "How about we approach this from multiple angles? A ninjutsu solution and a medical solution. We can reach multiple answers and choose the safest option."
Gotta nodded slowly. "That sounds... reasonable. You're looking for the safest path… Unlike Orochimaru."
The mood shifted. The clan members exchanged uneasy glances.
Ryu softened his tone. "It won't be very easy."
"I understand," Gotta said. "If it were simple, Orochimaru would have done it already."
"Orochimaru didn't want to cure you," Ryu said. "He wanted to isolate your bloodline gene and transfer it to someone else. I can ask Lord Hokage if they salvaged any data from his labs. It might give us a head start."
"Wait," Kinoe said, voice sharp. "If you can isolate a gene, you could give it to others."
Kakashi glanced at Ryu. "Then you could create an army of bloodline users?"
Ryu let out a dry laugh. "If things were that simple."
"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked.
"Have you heard of tissue rejection?" Ryu asked.
"Yes."
Ryu replied, "The same concept applies here. Not everyone can survive an invasion of their genetic code. The body fights the foreign cells. The battle between new and old will kill the test subject. Survival rate? Maybe one in three hundred. And even if they survive, complications like cancer are almost guaranteed."
The clan members went pale. Kinoe's fists clenched. His face twisted with anger.
Gotta's voice was quiet. "Is it too risky to treat us, then?"
"No," Ryu said firmly. "In your case, no new gene is added. We're only suppressing the existing one. There are side effects, but nothing as deadly as what I just described."
He looked at Gotta. "Your old buddy Orochimaru was declared a criminal for exactly what I explained. All his test subjects died. Some experiments are just too inhumane."
Gotta's shoulders sagged. "Many of them must have been from my clan. They volunteered, hoping for a cure. I was wrong."
"You did what you thought was best," Ryu said. "Desperation forces people to do things they wouldn't normally agree with."
"That doesn't lessen the guilt," Gotta said quietly. "But... I can put my trust in you now. You're kind. I know you'll do your best to help our cursed clan."
Ryu smiled. "Then let's start with something immediate."
He pulled out another scroll and summoned many small tags.
-[Temporary Enhance] running on [Fast Thinking] and [Parallel Thinking]
-[Overclocking enabled]
Ryu began sketching on the tags. "The [ReflexGuard] seal—originally designed for combat defence. But your problem isn't enemy attacks. It's dispersion."
His brush moved with inhuman precision, modifying the core structure of the seal. The clan members watched, transfixed, as complex patterns emerged across the paper.
"I'm modifying it to create micro barriers covering your entire body. When you transform into smoke, the barriers activate and expand—holding your dispersed form together."
The brush never stopped moving. Kakashi's eyes narrowed slightly, hand twitching in recognition. A seal that complex, modified that quickly—most jonin couldn't manage it.
Within minutes, Ryu had produced dozens of paper tags.
-[Overclocking disabled]
He blinked, a faint headache pulsing behind his eyes.
"Wear these," Ryu said, distributing the tags to the clan members. "They'll activate automatically when you transform."
He glanced at Kakashi and lowered his voice. "Keep it a secret, please."
Kakashi gave a small nod, the corner of his visible eye crinkling slightly. I knew it.
Ryu turned back to the clan. "This is temporary. It'll fail in extreme conditions. But it's something."
He stood and formed a series of hand seals. "Earth Release: Stone Pillar Technique."
The cave rumbled. Stone pillars rose from the ground, reinforcing the ceiling and walls.
The clan members stared in awe.
"It's not perfect," Ryu said, dusting off his hands. "But it's safer than before."
He turned to Kaori. "Stay with them. For now, prepare a list of supplies with them, and call someone from the company to deliver them."
He handed Gotta a small communication device. "Use this to contact me directly."
Ryu looked around the cave one last time. "This place is safe but too isolated. How about I give you a place to live that's even safer? Inside the Leaf Village."
Gotta hesitated, then he sighed. "Anything will be better than living like this."
Ryu nodded. "Good. I'll make the arrangements."
Kakashi, Kinoe and Kaori remained near the cave entrance, watching silently.
And with that, Ryu left the cave with Kohinata.
##PoWeR StOnEs PLeaSE##
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