As he leaned there, arms crossed, Ryusei's eyes narrowed slightly. A stray thought struck him, sharp enough to make him straighten.
'Wait… if she can push that parasitic overgrowth into her strikes, what happens if she layers it over that Rotation? Or even Vacuum Palm?'
The image played out in his mind: the spiraling dome of Rotation, no longer just a shield, but a storm of malignant chakra, each thread of contact potentially planting tumors into anyone reckless enough to touch it.
Or a Vacuum Palm, no longer just concussive force, but carrying that similar twisting growth into the enemy's flesh from afar.
From a pure close-range specialist, she could turn herself into a long-range threat as well.
Of course, Ryusei knew the difficulty. Healing and overgrowth were two sides of the same coin, but to deliberately twist Yang Release into something harmful required vision and precision beyond anything most shinobi could manage.
That was why even he, with all his understanding of chakra programming, couldn't do it.
He could theorize, yes, but he didn't have the Byakugan to guide it. Kanae did. And even for her, it would take time to refine before she could fire it cleanly from a distance.
Still, the potential was there.
'She could trade some of that terrifying close-range lethal potency for longer reach with Vacuum Palm. Or make Rotation not just untouchable, but cause injuries for anyone who dares to test it, even if not precise. Growth… can be just as dangerous as decay. If she masters that, she becomes something entirely different.'
His gaze softened again, just for a second, as he watched her stumble through another failed spin, sweat flying from her hair.
'Even with that damned Curse Mark choking her future for now, perhaps she won't be any weaker than Renjiro soon.'
And then, almost imperceptibly, the corner of his mouth tugged upward again, that dry, mocking smirk returning.
'Well, caged bird, surprise me. I'd enjoy it if you did.'
Kanae only noticed him once she finally stopped spinning, her body slick with sweat, breath short, and hair clinging messily to her cheeks.
She wore only a black sleeveless undershirt now, the thin fabric clinging to her frame, with mesh armor covering her torso beneath it.
Her official uniform and flak jacket had been set aside long ago to give her full freedom of movement while practicing Rotation.
She froze mid-step, violet eyes widening when she saw him leaning casually against a tree, arms crossed, watching as if he had been there the whole time.
Her face went red instantly.
"You…! How long have you been standing there?" she demanded, voice a little sharper than usual. Her tone tried to be cold, but it cracked under embarrassment. She turned her face away, muttering low, "Pervert…"
Ryusei only tilted his head, eyes narrowing with that familiar amused glint. "Pervert? I was just admiring the sight of Konoha's future prodigy spinning in circles like a dizzy academy student. Truly inspiring. If anything, I should thank you for the comedy."
Her fists clenched, but her lips trembled between anger and something else.
"Don't look at me like that. I must have looked ridiculous…"
He grinned, stepping closer without hurry. "Ridiculous? No, you looked… determined. Even when you failed, you didn't stop. Honestly, it was kind of sweet. And maybe," he let the words hang a moment, "you look even better when you're not pretending to be some cold Hyūga ice doll."
Kanae flinched, her face burning hotter. "Y-you…" She raised her hand to swat at him, but he caught her wrist gently, still smirking.
"Relax. It suits you," he said simply, before finally releasing her.
The words disarmed her more than any mockery. For a moment, she just stood there, chest tight, the sting of sweat on her skin forgotten.
Then he began explaining his sudden thought, weaving it into the conversation so naturally that she found herself leaning in, completely immersed.
How her overgrowth Yang Release could, one day, be layered into Rotation or even Vacuum Palm. How it might turn her from a pure close-range fighter into someone far more versatile.
Her Byakugan and Gentle Fist insight filled the gaps instantly.
She countered with her own observations, pointing out where chakra control would break down, where the strain on her tenketsu would be too much.
They traded ideas without even realizing how close they'd drifted to each other while talking, their steps falling into rhythm.
Her eyes sparkled despite her exhaustion, and when Ryusei praised her vision, she almost… almost leaned in, the urge to kiss him bubbling up before she shoved it down with sheer willpower.
Instead, she only bit her lip, cheeks burning, her heart whispering words she could not say aloud.
'So he really thought about all of this… for me. He really is my most important person…'
By the time she realized where their steps had carried them, they were near a small hot spring hidden between the rocks, steam curling lazily into the air.
Kanae's entire face went crimson.
This was where she always bathed after training, the only option during war in these lands.
But she had been so lost in their conversation that she walked here automatically. Now, with Ryusei at her side, the air felt unbearably ambiguous.
'No… don't misunderstand… I didn't…'
Her panic only worsened when Ryusei's grin widened knowingly.
"What's this? Inviting me along already? Bold of you, Hyūga."
Her face flared scarlet. "Shut up! Don't… don't say things like that!" she sputtered, spinning to face him, Gentle Fist rising instinctively.
He only laughed softly. "Careful. You might make me think you really want me to peek. Isn't that what you already do with your Byakugan anyway, on me? Don't think I haven't noticed where those eyes of yours wander…"
Her body locked up, mortification flooding her veins. "Y-you—!" she shouted, but her voice cracked. She launched a playful Vacuum Palm at him instead, sending him back a step.
And then, in a voice so small it nearly vanished into the steam, she whispered, "I-If you ever… mean something like that… then wait… until the seal is gone."
Ryusei blinked, his smirk faltering for just a fraction of a second at the rawness of it. But then it returned, softer this time.
Kanae, however, didn't wait for his reply. She turned and bolted toward the spring, calling over her shoulder, "If you even try, I won't show mercy!"
Ryusei chuckled low in his throat, watching her retreating figure. "That girl…"
He shook his head, still grinning faintly, and turned away into the trees.
He wasn't interested in her that way… not yet. But she was making it harder every day.
In truth, Ryusei hadn't just been watching and planning for Kanae the entire time.
Most of his focus was turned inward, turning over plans, weighing options, and charting out the next steps of his own growth.
The path ahead was obvious: he had to push past Elite Jōnin into something akin to 'Quasi-Kage' territory.
Fire and lightning, his strongest releases, were already sharp enough, but the other three, wind, water, and earth, lagged behind.
Raising them to the same level would be grueling.
And that was only considered the "basics" currently by him.
"Basics" most shinobi never touched, since most of them spent their entire lives mastering a single release.
For Ryusei, only after bringing all five to parity could he even begin to touch the real prize: elemental fusion.
Fire and lightning first, to forge a unique kekkei genkai.
Then, if he lived long enough, the harder challenge, melding wind, water, and earth into a unique, never-before-seen kekkei tōta.
It was insane by any normal standard. But Ryusei's lips curved faintly, his mind already sketching the pathways.
However, even if he failed to push that far for quite a while, with his versatility across all five elements, he could still create countless powerful fusion techniques.
The difference was clear in his mind.
Kekkei genkai and kekkei tōta were pre-fusions, your chakra coils internally transformed, weaving two or three elements together before a technique even left your body, creating an entirely new nature in the process.
In contrast, so-called "fusion" or combination techniques were cruder.
They were really just two separate jutsu cast in perfect succession, launched quickly enough that they overlapped in the air and created synergy.
It was effective, but also logistically difficult, although less so.
The timing, the hand seals, the flow, it was why most shinobi only managed it with shadow clones, each clone handling one element.
But even then, success demanded flawless synchronization, and most people lacked that precision.
With his sensory abilities amplifying his connection, even his clones were closer to seamless extensions of himself.
If he practiced with them, he could perfect the process faster than anyone else.
Also, Ryusei, however, had another edge.
His way of thinking, first principles, breaking chakra programming down into its base rules, let him see through the clumsy surface.
To him, it wasn't two techniques colliding; it was lines of code being rewritten.
He felt like eventually he could do it with just the main body alone with special hand seal sequences.
That was the next step.
Level all five elements to an even standard, create a suite of planned fusion releases, then advance to forging true kekkei genkai, and eventually kekkei tōta.
With just that path alone, Ryusei knew he could reach high Kage level, perhaps even peak Kage territory, especially if he matured..
And that wasn't even counting the gates, especially Sixth and beyond, that still lay ahead.
So, his potential was vast - was putting it mildly.
But potential meant nothing if he didn't survive long enough to see it realized.
Progress at that scale would take years.
He needed other lower-hanging fruit techniques and different "cheats" to grow at an even more rapid pace, opportunities he could grab soon to secure his breathing room.
His narrow eyes curved faintly, thoughts drifting. "Tsunade. Orochimaru…"