Konoha Village, Hokage's Office
The heavy, dark red curtains shut out the harsh sunlight. The air inside was thick with cheap tobacco smoke and the silent scent of gunpowder.
Hiruzen stood with his back to his desk. The brush in his hand hovered over an urgent battle report from the Suna frontlines. A drop of black ink fell silently onto the parchment, spreading like a small, ominous shadow.
Homura's voice nearly sprayed the back of Hiruzen's neck.
"Did you see what that Kamiyama Ryo did? He dared to show killing intent right in front of you! He wanted to kill us, plain and simple! Today it is the advisors, tomorrow it could be you! Someone that dangerous and unstable must be contained, watched closely!"
Outrageous. The gall of that upstart, threatening him, an elder of Konoha.
Did he still have the village in his eyes? Did he respect authority at all?
If this was tolerated, what would stop other shinobi from following suit?
Such defiance must be crushed, immediately.
Koharu's thin, sharp face twisted as she chimed in, her voice as shrill as a knife scraping bone.
"He is absolutely right! And that is not even the worst of it! We are talking about the Jinchūriki, the village's ultimate weapon, its greatest treasure! She is not Ryo's girlfriend! He must be kept far away from Uzumaki Kushina! If he manipulates her emotions, it could end in disaster! And you, Hiruzen, you know exactly how dangerous it is when a Jinchūriki gives birth and the seal weakens!"
Hiruzen slowly turned around. His graying beard trembled slightly as his weary yet razor sharp eyes swept across the two faces before him, faces painted with false righteousness but shadowed by fear of losing power.
He slapped the battle report flat onto the desk with a sharp thud.
"Enough, Homura. Koharu."
His voice was not loud, but it carried the iron weight of Hokage authority.
"Kushina and Ryo are both pillars of Konoha, Tsunade's disciples, and my students' students. I trust their character completely. Just as I trust you both to maintain Konoha's stability when I eventually step down."
He paused deliberately, watching their expressions sour.
"Ryo's will to protect the Jinchūriki is steadfast. That is exactly the bond Mito-sama and I hoped to see. As for the rest," his tone hardened, "I have not gone senile yet. Do your jobs. That is the best support you can give me. Understood?"
The warning in his words struck deep. Both advisors went pale, as if someone had clamped invisible hands around their throats.
The phrase when I step down hit them like a bucket of cold water, dousing the faint flames of ambition smoldering in their hearts.
Their lips twitched, desperate to retort.
"Out!" Hiruzen's roar cut through the tension.
He slammed his pipe against the desk, the dull thud echoing like a gunshot.
The two advisors flinched as if struck, glaring resentfully at the pile of paperwork, the symbol of absolute power, before turning on their heels and leaving the room in silence.
The heavy wooden doors closed behind them, shutting out both the noise of the world and the whisper of political schemes.
Hiruzen let out a long, tired sigh, rubbing his throbbing temples.
The aftereffects of the Nine Tails' transfer had not yet faded, the frontlines were strained, and the village was riddled with petty troubles.
He leaned back in his chair and lit his pipe once more.
White smoke curled upward as his eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
Ryo. Tsunade. Jiraiya. Orochimaru.
All powerful, all loyal, for now.
As long as their strength stayed aligned with his, as long as they did not threaten the authority of the Hokage, they could live and act as freely as they wished.
After all, which great shinobi was not a bit unruly?
Even his three students had their vices, gambling, debauchery, rebellion.
And as for Homura and Koharu?
He chuckled quietly.
Two old relics clutching to power, they were just reacting to the new generation's rise.
Still chuckling, he reached for the crystal ball on his desk.
After all that hard work, a little entertainment would not hurt.
Senju Estate, Ryo's Room
The afternoon sun streamed warmly through the paper doors, casting soft golden stripes across the tatami.
The air was still. Only the faint scratch of a brush against skin and Kushina's stifled, ticklish gasps broke the silence.
Ryo sat cross legged behind her, his long, steady fingers glowing faintly with concentrated chakra.
With delicate precision, he was inscribing a minuscule but intricate Hiraishin no Jutsu formula along the side of her smooth, pale abdomen, close enough to her Jinchūriki seal to link with it, yet far enough not to disturb it.
The completed design resembled a small, round tomato.
Its scarlet hue was not ink, it was pure chakra light, softly pulsing against her warm skin like a living mark.
"Ahh… Ryo, are you done yet? That tickles…"
Kushina squirmed slightly, the tips of her red hair brushing against his arm. Her cheeks glowed pink, caught somewhere between shyness and sweetness.
Since becoming the Jinchūriki, her senses had sharpened immensely. She could even detect the faint chakra of the hidden ANBU watching from beyond the walls, those who claimed to protect her, but in truth only monitored her every move.
That invisible cage of surveillance weighed heavily on her heart.
"Do not move," Ryo murmured, voice low but gentle. His hand remained steady as stone. "Almost finished."
He watched the forming seal intently, adjusting the chakra output with microscopic control.
"I know about the ANBU."
Kushina stiffened slightly, then slumped, deflated like a pufferfish.
"They are always there, like flies," she muttered sullenly, her voice small and bristling with frustration. "So annoying! They will not even let me leave the village! Always saying they are afraid I will lose control, hmph!"
"Done." Ryo's tone was calm but certain.
The final rune clicked perfectly into place.
The tiny chakra tomato glowed once, then dimmed, fusing seamlessly into her skin, like a natural birthmark.
Ryo exhaled softly, drawing back his hand, the warmth of her skin still lingering at his fingertips.
"It is complete."
After days of relentless training, burning through shadow clones and guided by Kushina's own deep knowledge of sealing, he had finally grasped the basics of the Hiraishin no Jutsu, an S rank space time ninjutsu.
His foundation was still shallow, far from the effortless mastery of the future Fourth Hokage, but the core function, long distance teleportation, was finally stable.
The key to survival and rescue was now within reach.
He looked up, meeting Kushina's bright blue eyes. There was a new depth to them since the sealing ritual, traces of the Nine Tails' crimson glint mingled with the unyielding strength of her Uzumaki blood.
"Hiraishin?" she repeated, eyes wide with wonder as she touched the mark. The surface was cool and smooth, leaving no trace of discomfort.
"That is the one, right? The super cool technique that lets you whoosh across space instantly?" Her eyes sparkled, then dimmed a little. "But even if you can do that, it is not like they will ever let me leave the village." She pouted, looking heartbreakingly dejected.
Ryo reached out, resting a broad, calloused hand atop her soft crimson hair, ruffling it gently, awkwardly, but full of quiet affection.
A faint breeze stirred the room.
Kushina blinked. For a moment, Ryo vanished from sight, and before she could gasp, warmth bloomed behind her. His arm slipped naturally around her waist from behind, his chin brushing the curve of her neck.
"Do not worry."
"The mark is set. Once I am strong enough to crush every obstacle, I will take you anywhere you want to go."
The instant his words faded, his body flickered again, gone and back in the same heartbeat, as though he had never moved at all.
The speed was breathtaking. Even a shadow clone could not react that fast.
"Wow!" Kushina clapped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide in disbelief before bursting into pure delight.
Then she threw herself forward, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist, pressing her cheek against his chest with a fierce little smile.
"Mm! I believe you! We will travel the whole ninja world together!"
The gloom that had clouded her heart for days melted away, replaced by dazzling excitement and hope.
(To be continued.)