The courtyard was quiet. Neither Ryosuke nor Mito moved.
The distant rustling of leaves filled the silence, but neither of them blinked. Then, without a word, Ryosuke shifted.
He weaved a set of hand signs quickly.
"Fire Release: Ember Bloom!"
A burst of flame arced toward Mito in spiraling petals, more distraction than destruction.
She answered in kind.
"Earth Release: Stone Fan."
A slab of hardened stone rose from the ground, absorbing the flames before shattering into fragments.
The duel began in earnest.
Ryosuke moved like a blur, his chakra flaring. With each step, he laid down invisible threads of chakra pressure, anchoring them to the space around Mito. The very air thickened.
But Mito didn't falter.
"Uzumaki Style: Adamantine Sealing Chains!"
Golden-red chains surged from her back, clashing against Ryosuke's chakra pressure like a blade through fog.
They exchanged blow for blow—sealing tags, suppressive waves, chakra threads—but neither gained ground.
Then Ryosuke saw it. A tiny opening in Mito's defense, the barest hesitation. He lunged, hand flying into a half-seal.
From his back, his own Adamantine Sealing Chains erupted—wild and forceful, but real.
Mito's eyes widened as they wrapped around her, pinning her arms mid-sign. She chuckled softly.
"Impressive," she said, smiling with something like approval. "You're already at the level of a jōnin."
Then her chakra pulsed—violently. A raw wave exploded outward from her body, forcing the chains off with sheer pressure.
"But," she added, stepping forward, "your mastery is still unrefined."
Before Ryosuke could recover, her own chains snapped forward like striking snakes. They coiled around him, tight and absolute.
He grunted, straining for even a flicker of resistance—but the chains were flawless. There was no gap.
"..huff... Huff.. I lost." he said simply.
Mito's chains loosened, then vanished into motes of fading chakra.
"You were right," she said, turning her back to him, "You've earned some freedom."
She paused.
"But don't think for a moment that means I'll stop watching you."
"I'd expect nothing less."
Ryosuke couldn't help but smirk faintly as he stood in the courtyard, chest rising and falling as he caught his breath. The adrenaline was fading, replaced by the dull hum of exhaustion and satisfaction. He glanced up—just in time to see Mito subtly sign something towards a tree outside that was tall enough to look inside of the courtyard.
His eyes followed the motion.
There—barely visible—two masked figures vanished into the trees without a sound.
'ANBU.
Of course.'
'They were watching the whole time', he thought, brushing a bit of ash off his sleeve. 'Probably reporting to Hiruzen now, if Jiraiya hasn't already told him where my strength stand.'
The idea didn't bother him much. He had wanted them to see.
He turned and headed back inside.
The hallway was quiet until—
"That was amazing!"
Kushina's voice cut through the air like a burst of sunlight. She grinned as she walked up to him, eyes still bright from what she'd just witnessed.
"I've never seen Mito-sama fight before! You were great too, but she was… terrifying! In a good way, I mean."
Ryosuke chuckled, not bothering to hide the sweat still clinging to his skin.
"Yeah," he said. "She's not someone you want as an enemy."
Kushina nodded fiercely. Then her eyes lingered on him for a moment—half admiration, half curiosity—but she said nothing more.
Ryosuke offered her a tired smile and excused himself.
"I need to finish the book," he said simply.
Kushina said nothing, as she watched his him go to his room, his back that was carrying the weight of thousands of people, and how far he has come in his journey.
She clenched her fists, resolving to catch up and not be a liability, after all she's an Uzumaki too.
Back in his room, he closed the door, sat down at his desk, and opened the half-filled manuscript. The ink still smelled fresh. Outside, the wind rustled through the trees of the Senju estate.
He dipped his brush and began to write.
---
The soft crackle of a burning pipe filled the Hokage's office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a stream of smoke, eyes trained on the two ANBU kneeling before him, their masks betraying no emotion.
"Report," he said calmly.
The taller of the two responded.
"The disturbance within the Senju estate was a sparring match between Mito-sama and Ryosuke Uzumaki."
The Hokage raised an eyebrow, not surprised, but clearly intrigued.
"Tell me more of the details."
The second ANBU stepped in.
"It was a genuine match. No intent to kill, but both parties fought seriously. Ryosuke began with Fire Release. Mito-sama countered with Earth. They exchanged several high-level techniques—chakra pressure manipulation, sealing techniques, and at one point, Ryosuke even used Adamantine Sealing Chains."
Hiruzen paused mid-puff.
"He used the chains?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama. And for a moment… he actually caught her."
A long silence stretched across the room. The pipe in Hiruzen's hand cooled slightly.
"And?"
"He lacked full control. Mito-sama broke free using a chakra burst and turned the chains against him. He admitted defeat shortly after."
Hiruzen leaned back in his chair, eyes narrowed.
'So… he's already this strong? At that age?'
He tapped the pipe against the edge of his ashtray, deep in thought.
Had Ryosuke been hiding this strength all along? Or had Jiraiya simply failed to report it? Either way, it meant one thing:
He was dangerous.
Not because of raw power. Konoha had many powerful shinobi. But because of what he represented.
A mind like his, laced with ideals that Mito-sama herself couldn't seem to root out.
Books that stirred something in people, questioned things best left unquestioned.
A fire that could either illuminate… or burn everything down.
And now… he was strong enough to stand on par with the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails.
Hiruzen's jaw tightened.
Can Jiraiya even reach him… or is it already too late?
He waved the ANBU away with a quiet command.
"Keep watching. Discreetly."
As the door clicked shut, Hiruzen gazed out the window toward the Hokage Monument, smoke curling from his pipe like the thoughts clouding his mind.
"Far too dangerous," he murmured.
"But too talented to lose."
---
In the depths of Konoha, far beneath the Hokage's office, Danzo Shimura stood still in a cold chamber, eyes narrowed as the report was delivered.
The words echoed in the silence:
"Ryosuke Uzumaki sparred with Mito-sama. He held his own. Caught her in sealing chains, if only for a moment."
Danzo's lone visible eye twitched. His hand, resting behind his back, clenched slowly.
"He's already that far along?"
The Root operative remained kneeling, silent, awaiting orders.
Danzo turned away, the shadows in the room casting jagged silhouettes across his back.
"I underestimated his talent, he's already brushing Jōnin level… and that's without formal missions, without proper experience."
He walked slowly to a table lined with scrolls and dossiers—each labeled with names, ranks, clans. He stopped at one marked Ryosuke Uzumaki.
'The folder was thin. Too thin.
Still too much I don't know…'
But what he did know was enough.
"A brilliant mind. A dangerous pen. Techniques even the elders thought lost. And now…"
He looked at the report again, his tone a whisper.
"Power."
Danzo's hand slammed down.
"He can no longer be approached through diplomacy. If I wait any longer, he will leave my reach entirely."
He turned to his Root agents.
"Mobilize the best of them. Every high-tier operative we have in the village. Get him out of that estate—separate him from Mito-sama. Use whatever you need, but keep it quiet."
He paused, then added coldly:
"This must be done outside public view. There can be no incident. No witnesses."
The agents vanished into the shadows.
Danzo stared at the flickering candlelight on the stone wall.
"If I can control him… he'll be a blade in my hands that will reshape the world."
His expression hardened.
"If I cannot—then I shall ensure no one else does."
"For Konoha."