Danzo coughed. "Ryoma, you must be joking. The shinobi world doesn't work like that. We are not jinchūriki material."
Homura Mitokado quickly nodded. "That's right. We're not suitable."
Ryoma's smile didn't waver. "If I say you're suitable, then you are. Don't you want to be the Two-Tails' jinchūriki? That settles it."
"What?!"
Danzo, Homura, and Koharu Utatane all went pale, their faces twisting with dread.
Matatabi, the Two-Tails, glanced at the three elders with open disgust. "Too old. I don't want any of them!"
Ryoma kicked the beast. "Shut your mouth."
At that, the three elders lit up with relief.
"See? You heard it yourself." Danzo's voice was shaky.
"We're not a fit," Homura added quickly.
"There's that kunoichi we captured from Kirigakure — Terumi. She's young, strong. She'd be better," Koharu suggested desperately.
Ryoma chuckled. "If you won't choose, then I'll choose for you."
The elders' faces darkened. None of them had ever been disrespected like this, especially not by Ryoma.
From the sidelines, Sakumo Hatake and Minato Namikaze quietly watched, both realizing this standoff was rooted in Danzo, Homura, and Koharu's schemes. Sakumo in particular had long despised Danzo's ideology — sacrificing anyone and anything for Konoha's so-called 'greater good.'
Homura suddenly snapped, trying to drag others into it. "Sakumo, is this how ANBU treat the village elders? Does Lord Hokage even know?"
Sakumo coughed into his fist. "Elder Homura, Ryoma is the most skilled sealer here. You saw how he handled the Nine-Tails. If he believes you're fit, then for Konoha's sake, I trust his judgment."
"For Konoha?"
Danzo, Homura, and Koharu turned on him in outrage.
Ryoma smirked. "You elders are always preaching about sacrifice for Konoha. Well, today you'll put that into practice."
Roots and vines burst up from the floor, coiling around Homura's body and locking him in place. His eyes widened in terror. "No! Don't! Let me go—I'll do anything!"
Ryoma pointed at him. "Homura Mitokado, you'll do nicely. For Konoha."
"I don't want this!" Homura shrieked.
"I don't want to enter this old man either!" Matatabi roared.
"Silence!" Ryoma slammed his fist down, driving the Two-Tails into the ground again.
Danzo staggered back, pale with fear, while Koharu's heart hammered with a strange relief — at least it wasn't her.
Ryoma's right hand lit up, five elemental symbols glowing on his fingertips — earth, water, fire, wind, lightning. He drove them into Homura's stomach.
An Uzumaki clan sealing formula spread across Homura's abdomen, ancient and complex.
"Ryoma, stop! Please! I'll give you anything you want!" Homura begged. His voice cracked as he turned desperately toward Uzumaki Mito. "Lady Mito, please! For Lord Tobirama's sake—spare me!"
But Mito only shook her head. Her gaze was icy. "Homura… the older you grow, the less wisdom you show. Sakumo is right — everything is for Konoha. Your sacrifice will serve the village."
Homura's screams echoed as Ryoma pressed the seal and forced Matatabi into him. Two extra Uzumaki lock seals flared, doubling the security of the binding.
Homura Mitokado had become the new jinchūriki of the Two-Tails. But with the additional seals, his control was practically nonexistent — he was more a prison than a host.
The elders and ANBU looked on, stunned and horrified.
Freed from his bindings, Homura staggered, then roared and lunged at Ryoma. "I'll kill you!"
A single strike from Ryoma sent him flying, his body crashing to the ground. Blood poured from his head — then knit itself back together almost instantly. His teeth had sharpened, his features already warping into something beastlike.
Koharu's stomach turned at the sight. For once, she was thankful it hadn't been her.
But Ryoma's earlier words echoed in her mind like a curse:
"Today, I will kill you."
Ryoma wouldn't want to kill me… right?
The thought made Koharu Utatane break into a cold sweat.
Just then, a golden Adamantine Staff slammed down from the sky, separating the two sides.
Relief washed over Koharu when she saw who it was. "Hiruzen! You're finally here!" she cried.
Sarutobi Hiruzen scanned the ruined training grounds, his brow furrowed. "What happened here?"
The damage was unmistakable — it was Wood Release, and it could only belong to Ryoma.
Does he truly command Wood Release at the level of Sage Arts? Hiruzen wondered.
His eyes shifted toward Ryoma, while Koharu clung to him, weeping and accusing Ryoma loudly.
Before Hiruzen could respond, others arrived — Tsunade, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and more shinobi of Konoha. Each of their reactions to Ryoma was different.
Orochimaru's golden eyes glittered with hunger. The stronger Ryoma grew, the more desperately he longed to unravel the secret of his blood. What lies in his genes that makes him this powerful?
Jiraiya's expression was grave. Is Ryoma a blessing to Konoha… or a curse? If he became a threat, then no matter the cost, Jiraiya knew he would have to confront him.
Tsunade, however, was torn. Ryoma's way of doing things was utterly unlike her grandfather Hashirama or her granduncle Tobirama. Neither of them had ever acted with Ryoma's recklessness. Can the future of the Senju clan truly rest in his hands?
Listening to Koharu's sobbing accusations, Hiruzen let out a weary sigh. Ryoma was unorthodox to a fault — sealing the Two-Tails into Homura and turning him into a jinchūriki?
The young always chase extremes.
Yet, another voice whispered in the back of Hiruzen's mind. One he could not ignore.
This was the right thing to do.
Over time, he had watched Homura and Koharu sink deeper into the same darkness that had consumed Danzo. And now, for them to turn to him in tears after Ryoma forced their hand…
Hiruzen shook his head and muttered quietly, "You brought this upon yourselves."
...
TN:
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