Ryuna's life (part 3)
Ryuna:
After the fox attack, people focused on reconstruction, and Ryuna had to stay in one of the few standing buildings whose owners had died. The Third Hokage, who had taken back the Hokage hat, and the Elders wanted her Jinchuuriki seal examined by Jiraiya.
Yumi, her mother, had died, crushed by debris, while protecting a child who had been separated from their parents during the chaos at the start of the attack. The child survived, but her mother’s body took some time to be found and even longer to recover. Her funeral was private, as she hadn’t been the greatest supporter of the Village, and the family agreed she wouldn’t have appreciated a large ceremony that felt like a tourist attraction.
Kaito and her grandfather had permission to stay in the house and go outside, but Ryuna couldn’t leave yet (except to attend her mother’s cremation). Naruto stayed in the house or garden with her grandfather or brother, with the threat of a furious Jinchuuriki looming if anyone dared to try and take the child. The Hokage eventually agreed that Naruto’s future would be decided in a few weeks when Ryuna could attend a Council meeting.
Meanwhile, Ryuna needed to find a way to prevent Jiraiya from discovering the truth about the seal.
She began flipping frantically through her fuinjutsu notebook before finding what she was looking for. She convinced Oro-sensei to gather the materials for what she needed to do, along with Minato-nii's old diary containing his notes on his seals.
Kakashi and Obito’s visit happened just days later. Kakashi seemed conflicted with the implicit expectation that he would lie—commit treason—to the Hokage for her. This, combined with his obvious, self-inflicted guilt over Minato’s death, drove Ryuna’s patience to its limit.
“Stop being so arrogant, Kakashi!” she fumed, keeping her voice low because of the sleeping baby in the next room. The thin walls didn’t offer much sound insulation. “You’re not a god to take responsibility for other people’s actions as if you had control over them. Minato and Kushina-nee chosed to put themselves in front of that attack. Their choice not yours. So stop torturing yourself as if what happened was your fault.” The bitterness in her voice probably shouldn’t have been there, but she was too exhausted, sad, and angry for her brain-to-mouth filter to kick in. “The only thing in this world we truly control is our own actions. Our choices. I’ve decided that I’ll protect Naruto, ensuring he isn’t treated as a human weapon, a political bargaining chip, or burdened with the hate of the villagers after so many lost loved ones to the Fox. I know how people treated Kushina-nee and how Jinchuurikis are treated in other Villages. Naruto won’t face that. That’s my choice. What will you do with the only thing you can control, Kakashi?”
Kakashi looked into her eyes as if searching for something, but Obito immediately committed to staying silent. He wanted to help protect Naruto and offered to babysit when things politically calmed down.
“But is it okay for you to be treated like this?”
Is it okay if people hate you instead?
“It’s not okay,” she replied with a humorless huff. “But I’d be ashamed of the person I’d become if I let Naruto suffer that.”
Live without shame. Die without regrets.
Kakashi didn’t say what he decided, but Ryuna knew he wouldn’t. He didn’t want to bear the consequences of that decision and was there when his father left them with his last words. He wouldn’t risk Naruto, his sensei’s son and the closest he had to a little brother. He wouldn’t dishonor Ryuna’s father’s memory by betraying her trust.
After the duo left, Ryuna returned to her project, acutely aware of the diminishing time she had. She needed it ready by the time Jiraiya arrived.
Jiraya:
Seeing Konoha’s state almost pulled Jiraiya’s heart out of the pit it fell into after hearing of Minato and Kushina’s deaths. His student, his legacy. The one he believed to be the child of prophecy.
A son in every way but blood.
Jiraiya was surprised—a good surprise—to learn that baby Naruto hadn’t become the new Jinchuuriki, even though he was one of the few with Uzumaki chakra capable of bearing the burden. One of the few, but not the only one.
Takeshi Ryuna, the new Nine-Tails Jinchuuriki.
He remembered Minato and Kushina talking about the girl when it came to fuinjutsu, describing her as a prodigy. As Kushina’s cousin and grandniece of Uzumaki Mito herself, Ryuna qualified as the Beast’s host.
Jiraiya and the Hokage went to the house where she was being held until her seal could be examined. They could hear sounds from inside: a female voice singing a lullaby. He’d been informed that the girl had insisted Naruto stay with her under the pretense of protecting the child, given the uncertainty over whether the attack had been aimed at the Fox all along or at Minato, with the bijuu used as a means to strike a powerful blow against Konoha.
With everyone still occupied rescuing survivors and gathering their dead, no one could give the Fourth Hokage’s orphaned son proper attention. The Third had also explained that Naruto’s guardianship would be decided at a meeting in a week, along with a discussion of the attack and plans for reconstruction.
The Village was in chaos, and Sensei was relieved that at least the already overworked Anbu wouldn’t need to protect the baby along with the new Jinchuuriki.
What Jiraiya found strangest was the complete absence of chakra signatures inside the house, though the sounds proved someone was inside. He wasn’t a sensor, but even he could sense a presence at such a close distance. He had trained extensively for it; the skill was crucial for a spy.
But there was no chakra signature inside, except for perhaps a faint flicker of chakra similar to Minato’s, which he knew belonged to Naruto given its small size. The signature could have easily been mistaken for an animal of moderate size (Naruto, being half-Uzumaki, should have larger reserves than a regular child).
Entering, Jiraiya and his Sensei were greeted by the sight of a child no older than ten gently rocking a baby with smooth, tender motions.
Ryuna resembled the Uchihas, with black hair, a slim build, and pale skin, but her blue eyes were distinct. Minato’s were like the sky on a sunny day, while hers were like clear water with white sand beneath, reminiscent of Uzushio’s beaches. It wasn’t too surprising after meeting Kaito, her twin, who had the same shade. Ryuna wore red makeup around her eyes, making them even more striking.
Naruto, Jiraiya realized, was a copy of his father. Same hair, eyes, and rosy complexion. The most distinctive marks were the whisker-like lines on each cheek, which made the Sannin wonder about their meaning.
As if reading his mind, Ryuna answered (she likely noticed the intensity of his gaze on the younger child):
“Naruto, in a way, shared Kushina-nee’s womb with the Fox. It’s no surprise he was affected by its chakra as he developed,” she explained. “I’m a medic, Jiraiya, so I’ve examined him for any issues, but I’d say the biggest consequence has been an above-average healing rate.”
“Mito’s children didn’t have this… they weren’t affected,” Hiruzen pointed out with concern, and Jiraiya realized they still hadn’t greeted their hosts properly.
“Mito rarely used the bijuu’s chakra, if at all,” Ryuna replied, shrugging slightly to avoid disturbing the small child. “Kushina-nee was an active shinobi during the war, so it makes sense that there was a higher flow of the Fox’s chakra in her system. The constant chakra exchange eventually wore down the seal—not enough to break it but enough to allow the Fox’s chakra to circulate through her network, even when not actively used.”
That actually made a lot of sense.
Carefully, Ryuna placed Naruto in a comfortable nest of blankets before turning to Jiraiya and the Third. She hesitated briefly before speaking.
“Well, I think I should warn you that you won’t be able to check the seal on my body,” Ryuna said, and both men tensed. “Not because I won’t let you, but because my body is full of seals, and I covered them with tattoos months ago so no enemy could read or copy them. I have the design for the Jinchuuriki seal that’s on me. It’s a project Minato-nii and I worked on together when we found out about the pregnancy. We planned to replace Kushina’s seal with a safer, updated version. It would have the safety of the seal I used on Rin, combined with the chakra-sharing benefits of Mito’s original seal.”
Ryuna handed over a small notebook filled with Minato’s handwriting, which Jiraiya would have recognized anywhere. He was sure this was no forgery. The notes showed the result of many months of research and testing. Some sections featured what he assumed to be Ryuna’s handwriting, while other parts were written by her alone.
The final version of the seal was… absolutely brilliant.
Jiraiya had heard of Ryuna’s genius, having been trained in fuinjutsu by the last true Master Seal user of Uzushio from an early age. He never imagined she could create such things.
Jiraiya had heard of Ryuna's genius—she had been taught by the last true Fuinjutsu Master of Uzushio practically since birth, learning about seals at the same time as she learned to speak. He had never thought she could create such things.
Skin seals weren’t common, but neither were they exclusive to the Jinchuuriki seal or the Hyuga's Caged Bird Seal. There were many others, but these were some of the few designed to be applied directly to a living being. Knowing Ryuna had so many seals across her body that she needed to cover them all with tattoos was fascinating, but also inconvenient.
"May I see your abdomen?" Jiraiya asked anyway.
Ryuna removed the long-sleeved robe covering her, revealing a sports top typically worn by kunoichi. Sensei, Jiraiya noticed, was equally surprised at how little unmarked skin she had beyond her hands, neck, and face. The long sleeves had hidden all the tattoos. Some tattoos even extended onto the skin covered by the small top, as she was still young and hadn’t developed much in the way of curves.
Starting from her stomach, along her right side and covering her entire right arm, Jiraiya recognized all the Tailed Beasts depicted, connected in such a way that it was impossible to tell where one ended and the other began—yet each remained identifiable. Emerging from behind the Beasts was a trio of leopards locked in combat, though none of their strikes connected. They were surrounded by dozens of butterflies in various sizes and colors, ascending along her left side up to a sakura branch in bloom that passed over her shoulder to her back, meeting a scene of Uzushio before its fall. This extended across her back as far down as Jiraiya could see, ending where the waist of her pants began. Her left arm was adorned with intertwined dragons, surrounded by swirling water and wild whirlpools.
Jiraiya had no doubt that her legs held more, but he had no excuse good enough to ask to see the full work of art her body had become—the masterpiece in fuinjutsu that she was.
"What kind of seals are hidden by these tattoos?"
How had she painted tattoos over seals without affecting their functionality?
“Mostly storage seals,” she replied, tilting her head slightly like a cat, which suited her slit-pupil eyes. “There are a few different ones, like a diagnostic seal that’ll alert me if I’m poisoned, for instance, but most are indeed storage seals.”
“I didn’t know you had these seals,” Hiruzen noted, his brow furrowing.
“I created them when Minato-nii was Hokage, and he was aware of them,” she clarified, not rudely, but making it clear that the acting Hokage at the time had been informed and that her actions were therefore sanctioned. Of course, there was no way to verify her word now. “Besides, the technique I used is my invention and qualifies as a clan secret.”
This meant she wasn’t obligated to provide them with any detailed explanation of how it worked. Though it seemed a bit much to go to such lengths to protect a few storage seals…
Jiraiya left with the notebook containing the Jinchuuriki seal notes to study it more deeply, but they also conducted brief tests, with Ryuna summoning the Fox’s chakra to demonstrate that the seal was functional and that she retained sanity and control of her body. They did this in the garden after Ryuna summoned her leopards to watch Naruto while she stepped aside.
More importantly, she summoned them without hand signs or blood.
She’d said most of the seals were storage seals, but not all of them, he remembered.
She managed to demonstrate some control of the bijuu’s chakra, though she was careful not to push too hard on a seal still settling into her chakra networks, and Jiraiya thought it safer to study the seal further before proceeding. They left, but Jiraiya felt torn between the urge to see his godson and the desire to flee.
He couldn’t help but see Minato whenever he looked at the child’s blonde hair. He couldn’t help but remember that he had lost the closest thing he had to a son since the deaths of the children in Amegakure.
It was better not to get attached, he thought. Jiraiya would soon be back on the road to tend to his spy network anyway. It would be better for Naruto if Jiraiya didn’t stay too close; enemies might try to target the boy just to get to him, or something like that.
Ryuna:
Ryuna used a shadow clone to apply her modified storage seals on her body. She had a wide variety of them, with space for more under new tattoos, which required her to use medical ninjutsu to ensure they healed quickly enough to convince the Hokage and Jiraiya they had been there for some time. Well, even if they suspected otherwise, there’d be no way to prove it—Ryuna typically wore long sleeves to protect her very fair skin from the sun.
If they couldn’t see the Jinchuuriki seal, how would they know it wasn’t there?
She had storage seals for regular items but also chakra storage seals capable of holding refined chakra for healing, for instance. This particular seal was connected to a diagnostic seal that would target any unnatural physical change (such as hormonal imbalances or other physiological issues) and immediately initiate healing. Growth hormones would be allowed, while aging-related changes, like decreased collagen production, would be corrected. In other words, Ryuna would grow but never lose her physical peak, with any signs of deterioration (aging) treated like an illness. Normally, this would wear out her body and shorten her lifespan—cells can only divide so many times before stopping. But by fueling her body with natural energy, she could continue to heal until she chose to let her body age naturally.
She also had seals on her head, hidden in her scalp, to prevent mental infiltration or control by external forces. Internal interference genjutsu (those that only affected her mind) or the Yamanaka's Mind Walking technique wouldn’t work on her, though visual or auditory genjutsu that created external illusions could still deceive her senses. There would be no direct manipulation of her mind or body.
The most interesting—and somewhat accidental—discovery was that, by adding chakra to the ink of her tattoos and connecting them to some seals to extend their area of effect, Ryuna also nullified the Byakugan. The only thing those eyes couldn’t see through was chakra, which would appear “solid” much like a regular eye can’t see through a wall. By placing chakra in the tattoo ink and passively connecting it to her camouflage seals that used natural energy, Ryuna became a bright point to the Byakugan, yet her chakra network remained hidden. Her connection to natural energy across her seals allowed her to blend perfectly into the environment for other types of sensors. Hyuga couldn’t see her (internally) with their dojutsu, much less locate and strike her tenketsu with the Gentle Fist or any other techniques they had.
Her clone handled the tattooing without worrying about affecting the seals since they weren’t on her skin. The tattoos were mainly to make people think there was something there to hide, but her real seals were carved directly into the flesh and then healed with a new chakra network following the scar’s path. This new network formed the seal’s pattern inside the flesh itself. Since Ryuna was a skilled medic, she could heal the skin to the point that no visible scars would give away the truth of her technique.
The tattoos would deceive anyone who figured out her techniques relied on fuinjutsu. They’d think the seal was painted on the skin, and anyone trying to steal the technique would struggle to understand it. After all, who would think she’d go to such lengths to hide something invisible? As Kakashi says: look underneath the underneath.
This sealing technique was Ryuna’s masterpiece.
It also gave her ideas for progressing with her shadow clone modification project, but she’d have to work on it when she had more free time.
Ryuna finally spoke with Orochimaru about formalizing his adoption into the Takeshi clan. He was advancing quickly through the security levels in the Library, and once he reached the final level, he would be eligible to become the clan leader if something happened to Ryuna, as Kaito had no interest in fulfilling the requirements for the role.
The Council meeting began as expected, with the Elders (especially Danzou) attempting to impose isolation on Ryuna due to her new status as a Jinchuuriki. He received support from many members, but Ryuna remained silent until they tired of their own voices. Her mother had taught her the power of staying calm during a heated discussion. It was a sign of strength, she'd said.
So, Ryuna stayed quiet, holding her cards carefully, preparing what would likely be one of the biggest bluffs of her life.
"I disagree," she finally said calmly, referring to the decision to isolate her.
"This decision has already been made, girl," Homura, one of the Elders supporting Danzou, spoke patronizingly. "It’s best for Konoha, something an inexperienced child wouldn’t understand."
"According to our own laws, Homura-san, I’ve been an adult since age six, a clan leader, and part of our active shinobi forces. What I have to say should be heard, regardless of whether this Council’s voting members like it or not," she replied, her voice neutral as she looked Homura straight in the eye, not flinching even as she felt the room’s attention shift to her. "In any case, you all seem to have forgotten the terms upon which the alliance between Konoha and Uzushio was built. Uzushio offered a member of their own village to serve as a Jinchuuriki using a seal created by an Uzumaki Princess, wife of the Shodaime, for the sake of our Sister Village," she said, noting how some Council members shifted uncomfortably as she implied the Jinchuuriki belonged more to Uzushio than to Konoha and had merely been loaned. "But as a condition, the Jinchuuriki was to be well-treated, considering that our alliance is based on mutual respect and goodwill. Isolating a descendant of Uzushio serving as the village’s Jinchuuriki or imposing sanctions and limitations on them not applied to others would disrespect that alliance."
She noticed that the Nara Chief observed her with a glint of interest, as did the Yamanaka and Inuzuka leaders. The Uchiha chief’s interest was more analytical, as if assessing her strategy for his own ends. Given the rumors she'd heard lately, that could come up soon.
"Uzushio doesn’t exist anymore, girl," Danzou responded coldly.
"First of all, Shimura-san," Ryuna replied with an unusual iciness in her voice, "I must remind you and Homura-san that I am a shinobi of this Village, an Uzushio legacy, the head of the Uzu clan, and a descendant of two noble lineages, whereas you are a civilian. I hope age isn’t clouding your mind, and you remember to address people appropriately. Especially considering that your presence here in a shinobi matter is a courtesy granted by the Hokage. You’re here as advisors, with no voting rights—let alone veto power." Her calling him a civilian left the room in a breathless hush; since the Elders retired from active duty, they were legally civilians. Not that she would give them a chance to argue. She’d studied Konoha's laws exhaustively when she discovered Danzou's plans while helping Minato-nii prepare to undermine the elder. "If Konoha breaks the alliance terms by trying to imprison any member of my family, I have the authority to act as necessary to protect my people from any attempt to steal our lineage. Small or not, if the treaty between Konoha and Uzushio is invalidated, the benefits Konoha enjoys from this alliance will be revoked."
Ryuna punctuated her threat by letting a bit of the Fox's chakra leak through her seal, making her eyes glow red. Her slit pupils, a feature of her Sage Seal, helped create the illusion of Bijuu chakra. This was also a small demonstration of her control and strength, carefully calculated to ensure they would no longer question who the Jinchuuriki was. Hopefully, this would permanently divert Naruto from their radar—at least regarding the Bijuu, though some might still target him due to his father.
That was the bluff.
If they continued insisting on imprisoning her or seizing Naruto, Ryuna might have to take extreme measures to protect her family, but that would make them all fugitives—a fate she wanted to avoid if possible.
Besides, she was sure that as soon as she left the room, a price would be on her head. And on the heads of her friends and family. She had no illusions about Danzou being unscrupulous enough to target her indirectly if she proved too elusive.
"Stealing lineage? That’s a bit of an exaggeration…”
"Taking me anywhere against my will or consent qualifies as kidnapping. As a member of a clan with a kekkei-genkai and secret techniques, this would make any abduction an attempt to steal a bloodline, just as any external pressure on the clan for an arranged marriage would be," she turned her eyes to the Hyuga and Uchiha, who would understand her next words well. "After all, it’s not uncommon for those seeking a bloodline to capture people alive so they can serve as breeders, producing natural kekkei-genkai for the enemy."
This made all the clans with kekkei-genkai tense at the implications. The idea that such a thing could happen legitimately and with Council support within their own village was unthinkable.
It was working.
"That said, I will not isolate myself from the Village, nor will I give up being present in my cousin's son’s life," she broke the tense silence, showing no sign of backing down. "My seal is a stronger upgrade of the old one and, unlike the seal used to contain the Three-Tails, it allows chakra transfer. If you need proof of my control, I’m willing to participate in training under the supervision of whoever you deem necessary, but I will ensure a secure training field in case of any unlikely eventualities."
"How do you plan to guarantee a training field?" Inuzuka asked, a feral grin spreading across his face at the prospect of training with a Jinchuuriki.
"A few days after the attack, I purchased a large piece of land on the edge of Konoha, near the walls. There, I plan to build a complex for my clan, as well as a training ground designed to withstand—and, if necessary, contain—a rampaging Tailed Beast," she explained. "It will take some time, just like the village’s reconstruction, which is good since I want to allow my seal to integrate fully with my chakra pathways before engaging in heavy combat. Using small amounts of the Fox’s chakra helps my system adapt."
"That means you’re vulnerable now, yet you’ll insist on being around people who can’t fight a bijuu," Danzou grumbled, though he didn't dare call her “girl” again.
"I never said that," she raised an eyebrow condescendingly, her tone flat. "It's preferable I avoid combat for now, but the seal was designed to handle the strain if I must fight here and now. It might strain my chakra network, but it won’t kill me or harm the seal, and any damage to my network would be quickly healed by the Fox’s chakra. I am far from defenseless or out of control, Shimura-san."
Danzou's eyes blazed with a hatred Ryuna knew would always follow her. This was a man willing to kill and betray to get what he wanted.
"I believe we should discuss Namikaze Naruto's guardianship," Danzou spoke with the obvious intent to hit a nerve in Ryuna. Using Minato's surname was a deliberate attempt to imply the boy wasn’t really part of the Uzu clan.
"What is there to discuss with the Council? This is a clan matter," Ryuna said before anyone else could respond, her tone indifferent though her heart raced a bit.
"He’s a target for being the Yondaime's son, and he isn’t truly an Uzumaki."
"Yes, the Hyuga are targets for the Byakugan, the Uchiha for the Sharingan, the Aburame for their insects, and I could go on indefinitely," she huffed without humor. "Konoha has no shortage of valuable people, all of them targets in some way. Unless we're here to discuss every child who fits this profile, including those within a clan? If I'm not mistaken, Aburame-san, you have a nephew with a unique insect colony who lost both parents. Should the Council discuss his guardianship?"
The Aburame chief stiffened.
"No. Why? Because what you said earlier makes sense, and discussing it would endanger clan secrets," he answered. "The guardianship of Namikaze Naruto belongs to the Uzu clan since the Yondaime had no living relatives, and Uzumaki Kushina bore an Uzumaki kekkei-genkai possibly passed on to her son. As the closest living blood relative, Takeshi-san has legal claim to the boy."
"Thank you, Aburame-san, for clarifying things." She smiled politely, but the room felt the chill of a predator’s gaze. Danzou looked ready to unleash jutsu on her.
The meeting continued with urgent bureaucratic matters to allow missions to resume so Konoha wouldn’t seem vulnerable despite recent tragedies. Missions would also help generate funds for reconstruction.
When Danzou spoke again, it was to accuse Kakashi and Obito of involvement in the attack since reports had sighted the Fox with Sharingan eyes and both boys possessed strong Sharingan. The elder pointed out that both had refused a Mind Walk interrogation.
They did this to protect her, Ryuna realized with a shiver of concern running down her spine. And the idiots didn’t even warn her that they’d been approached with these suspicions, but she should’ve suspected when Obito didn’t come to visit Naruto again after that day when they questioned her.
They had already been approached back then.
With her mind racing, Ryuna started planning what to do to save the boys and still protect their secret...
“They didn’t allow the Mental Walk to protect the sealing methods used to trap the Fox,” Ryuna interrupted Danzo’s biased rant about how Uchihas weren’t trustworthy. “As secure as a seal is, two people can keep a secret if one of them is dead. We’re not going that far, of course, but you get the idea. The fewer people who know the sealing matrix, the safer it is for Konoha, so that what happened this time doesn’t repeat. I believe we can mitigate the risks if we take some security measures to protect the secrets of my clan and Konoha.”
“What security measures?” Yamanaka frowned.
“The Council needs to choose someone trustworthy, someone whose word won’t be discredited, to perform the Mental Walk,” she explained. “Before carrying out the procedure, I will insist that a document be signed with a blood mark and a chakra signature, basically committing to never share the sealing method, the people involved, or the matrix itself. What will need to be verified in the testimony is: 1. Was Hatake-san and Uchiha-san somehow involved in the attack against Konoha? 2. Did Namikaze-san and Uzumaki-san seal the Fox by their own choice after determining it was the best course of action for the Village? And 3. Does the Fox currently pose a threat to Konoha?”
Yamanaka and Nara pondered thoughtfully.
“And if we have more questions?” Nara asked.
“As long as they aren’t about the seal, I don’t think it’ll be a problem,” Ryuna agreed easily. “Once the documentation is properly filled out, I’ll allow a Mental Walk on myself as well.”
“You seem to trust a document a lot,” Nara pointed out suspiciously.
“It’s a fuinjutsu technique my father created after the fall of Uzushio,” she explained. “It basically binds the person who signs the contract to follow the pre-established guidelines of the agreed terms.”
“What happens if the contract is broken?” Yamanaka asked, furrowing his brows.
“You can’t break the contract,” Ryuna said. “If someone tries to break it with words, actions, or deliberate inaction, their body would be compelled to keep the secret. The signer's chakra would feed the seal binding them to the contract, and it would be their own chakra forcing compliance. It was done largely to protect the information even if the signer is tortured by enemies. My father created this as a safety measure when he suspected Uzushio fell due to a betrayal from someone inside.”
Ryuna could see the yearning and desire in some of the people present, who would find this technique quite useful. Unfortunately for them, it wasn’t something she was willing to share with the current Konoha. Maybe in the future, if the Village proved worthy. If it showed it didn’t view its own people as expendable.
What happened to Sakumo was utterly unforgivable, and Ryuna could never trust these people while they thought what happened was acceptable.
“A binding contract through chakra,” Nara sighed, impressed. “If we could get the Kages from the other Villages to sign it...”
“The contract only binds one person,” Ryuna countered immediately. “A Kage can be killed or deposed. The only way to make peace through these means would be to get all the citizens of the Hidden Villages to sign the contract, and that’s not very realistic. If they were forced, it would only guarantee that future generations would grow resentful and conspiring…” This made her think of the Hyuga Branch family.
“It’s a shame, really.”
“Isn’t there any risk for the signer?” Yamanaka pressed.
“Well, I couldn’t test it that far for obvious reasons, but I suppose if a person kept trying to break the contract repeatedly, they could suffer chakra exhaustion. Depending on how severe it is, that could be lethal,” she paused. “I suggest you read the contract carefully before signing. If needed, changes can be made, but only if the important points are still protected.”
Yamanaka agreed, looking relieved that the seal only posed a life risk in extreme situations.
“The terms are acceptable for my clan.”
“Indeed, this would be an ideal solution to our problem. Kakashi and Obito are very useful shinobi, and Konoha needs each of them in these tough times,” pointed out the reinstated Hokage.
Hiruzen was exhausted after being suddenly yanked out of retirement. It must be frustrating to be forced back into a job he thought he’d finally left behind. As praised as the position of Hokage was, it came with a lot of paperwork, little action, tons of stress, and high expectations. The only thing people seemed to remember when talking about the Hokage was that he was the strongest man in the Village (which was debatable), but they conveniently forgot the position was behind a desk in the middle of the Village, not on the battlefield. The Hokage’s individual strength was irrelevant; the position needed a ninja of paper willing to risk their neck.
“That doesn’t change the fact that the Beast was controlled by the Sharingan, and people saw its eyes,” Danzo pointed out sharply, and the Hokage sighed tiredly but didn’t argue. This really irritated Ryuna.
“I think the Uchiha complex could be relocated to the edge of the Village, that way we reduce the risk if any Uchiha is actually responsible for this, and ensure that the police force stays near the Village prison.”
“That’s absurd…” Uchiha Fugaku’s fist was clenched so tight his skin paled.
“I don’t support the proposal,” Ryuna immediately took a stance. “Your only proof is that there was a Sharingan design in the Fox’s eyes, but that only proves the Sharingan was used, not that the Uchihas were involved.”
“Again with the bloodline theft argument,” Koharu, the elder, mocked.
“We’ve just come out of a war, and not all the bodies have been recovered from the battlefield, Koharu-san. For someone to have gotten their hands on a Sharingan is not just a possibility, but a probability,” Ryuna replied coldly, sending something close to Killing Intent toward the elder. “The Uchiha clan had nothing to gain from the attack, so why would they take that risk? The only people who would benefit both from the attack itself and the suspicion falling on the clan responsible for maintaining order and peace within Konoha’s walls are our enemies. I’m not saying that an individual from the Uchiha clan couldn’t be responsible for the attack, but we can’t punish the collective for the crimes of one individual. Unless Konoha wants to take responsibility for the actions of every rogue ninja who’s ever left this Village?” The Hokage’s silence when she looked at him was enough of an answer. Taking such a responsibility would be incredibly problematic in more than one way. Ryuna ignored the intense gaze Fugaku was sending her.
“I suggest a full investigation of the Uchiha clan, yes, preferably a thorough one so their loyalty won’t be questioned on the same issue again, but resolve it quickly. Removing them from their homes would send the wrong message to the citizens and create division, which again only benefits the enemy. For the public, we should hold a thief of eyes accountable for the attack, regardless of who is truly guilty. That’s the best for the Village, at least that’s my opinion.”
The silence told Ryuna that the people were divided in their votes. Well, considering they’d seemed ready to vote in favor of the elders before, this was half the battle won. They just needed one final push:
“If I attacked Hokage-sama right now and said I was controlled by a Nara shadow, or one of the Yamanaka’s mental jutsus?” Ryuna said, looking into the eyes of the leaders of the respective clans. “All of our techniques are dangerous or would be useless in war. Konoha prospered, not because of the strength of a Jinchuuriki or an individual, no matter how strong they were, we thrived because of the strength of our people, the strength each clan gives us through loyalty and hard work. If we allow ourselves to be torn apart by the schemes of enemies who want to weaken us, what’s to stop the next time it’s one of you accused of treason when all you did was try to protect this Village?”
This case set a dangerous precedent, she reminded them.
Nara was the first to support Ryuna’s decision, but soon others followed.
That day, in that meeting, Ryuna gained an alliance with the Uchiha clan and the respect of everyone else, as well as the eternal hatred of the elders. She was invited by Nara to play shogi and to dinner with the Inuzuka matriarch.
That night, Ryuna spent hours going through her father’s old notes to prepare the binding contract for the Yamanaka to sign before returning all the notes to the secure seals where they had been stored. Ryuna used chakra seals, invisible to the naked eye, although they could be seen by the Byakugan. She added several additional seals to protect the paper where the contract would be signed, ensuring that its contents couldn’t be altered or torn, maintaining the terms intact. There were so many seals in so many layers that it would be impossible to unravel them without her father’s notes.
When the Mental Walk was finally carried out and Kakashi and Obito were cleared, the Yamanaka chosen for the job looked at Ryuna with wise, understanding eyes, comprehending her insistence on keeping the seal’s secret. He did a good job of confirming the boys' story, and Ryu was reassured knowing he couldn't reveal the truth about the Jinchuuriki even if he tried.
The Mental Walk performed on Ryuna herself required her to consciously open her mind to intrusion due to her mental protection seals. This meant that the Yamanaka couldn’t wander beyond the areas she had deliberately allowed him to access. She showed just enough for the ninja to know she posed no threat to Konoha.
Ryuna only met with Uchiha Mikoto, as Jiraiya had already left the village when things with the Council calmed down—apparently fleeing from his own ghosts.
Dinner at the Uchiha clan’s main house included Fugaku, Mikoto, and little Itachi, just six years old, who had already become a genin due to his brilliance and the Village’s need for more manpower. Naruto slept near Sasuke on a few cushions, and the "adults"—Ryuna and Itachi were legally adults, after all—discussed the terms of Naruto’s custody, as Mikoto was Kushina-nee’s chosen godmother before she passed away.
During the rebuilding, Naruto would spend his days (and sometimes nights) at the Uchiha house with Sasuke while Ryuna helped with the Village’s reconstruction. She had proposed to the council the integration of seals into the buildings of Konoha. She even argued that the houses still standing should be rebuilt according to new safety standards. The seals would ensure the structural integrity of buildings even under a large-scale attack.
Seals would be placed in all the supporting beams and would detect any threat to the structural integrity within a ten-meter radius, reacting by simultaneously creating a barrier (a chakra shield) and activating a storage seal to absorb the attack, whether physical or chakra-based. She thought of incorporating a second seal when she realized that in the case of a giant stone being thrown at a house, for example, the shield wouldn't dissipate the threat, and the barrier could only remain active for so long before the seals began to overload. Though Ryuna was confident the protections would withstand a close-range fight with all Nine Tailed Beasts. The advantage was that any absorbed attack could later be released in a defensive counterattack.
She traded her services for permanent tax exemption on her new property.
Since the whole village was under reconstruction, Ryuna proposed a project to revitalize and expand the evacuation tunnels, as the Village had grown considerably since they were originally built. The Hokage was hesitant, but Ryuna gained support from the clan heads she had impressed in the last meeting, as well as from the Daimyo, who was interested in seeing the success or failure of the new water and electricity piping projects. If successful, he could incorporate the project into the Capital.
Seals were added to Konoha’s ground so the soil wouldn’t collapse with so many tunnels underground, though they had been built to withstand the weight. Ryuna was more concerned they might cave in with the impact of an intense battle that could weaken the seals in the buildings. Seals for the same purpose were also placed inside the tunnels and shelters as a third layer of protection. All of them were powered by natural energy, but would only activate automatically when needed to avoid depleting the local flora that fueled the natural energy used. The jutsus and enhanced strength helped speed up the process, significantly shortening the reconstruction and showing the civilians that chakra had more applications than just violent ones.
This gave Ryuna ideas, but she noted them down in her journal and set them aside... for now.
With so many seals to draw, Ryuna, Kaito, and Orochimaru stayed busy in the months following the attack.
There were assassination attempts on Ryuna and several kidnapping and murder attempts on Naruto. None were successful, but the desperation of the attackers to hide their origins was incredibly suspicious. Konoha was fragile, no matter what image the leadership tried to present to the world, and no other shinobi village would have felt threatened under such circumstances. Konoha wasn’t in a position to fight another war, and the strength of the Yellow Flash was a big reason why some villages had agreed to retreat.
With Minato out of the picture, why not take advantage of the situation to finish what they started?
So when the attackers decided to retreat from an assault when they realized they couldn’t win, that was suspicious. It wasn’t as if they thought taking down a Jinchuuriki would be easy or that they could do it without casualties. If they had come all that way for that purpose, why retreat? If they were the type to care about their comrades, why was their teamwork so poor? One of them even went so far as to use a teammate as a human shield, for Kami’s sake.
The only explanation Ryuna could think of was that these people hadn’t been sent by anyone outside the Village. If it was someone from within—Danzou—then it would make sense that he’d go to great lengths to avoid leaving clues that could lead to him. Especially when the tunnels and underground shelters he had used as a base were being dismantled and rebuilt under the eyes of so many Konoha citizens.
Jiraiya wasn’t in the Village to check Ryuna’s work, making her the only Master of Seals in Konoha. This also meant no one noticed when she placed monitoring seals alongside the protection seals in the tunnels and shelters, allowing her to know when someone entered and where, in the entire tunnel complex, they were and how many there were, as well as listening devices. She couldn’t place any barriers to prevent Danzou from using the tunnels again without that also stopping some people from sheltering there in case of an attack, which she would never do. You never know what tomorrow might bring.
The shelters were fully equipped with dormitories, bathrooms, and an emergency hospital located just below the main hospital. There were renovations to ensure that the transportation of the injured to the underground could be done quickly and safely without needing to take them outside. There was also a kind of kitchen with hundreds of temporal storage seals that would allow for the storage of fresh food without it spoiling over time, as it was impossible to predict how long people might need to stay there in case of an attack.
After many failed assassination attempts, Kaito approached Ryuna when they were alone and warned her that Danzou had approached him. He tried to turn his brother against her by bringing up the death of their mother in the Fox’s attack to create division. He also made a subtle offer for Kaito to join his special Anbu unit as his personal Master of Seals since Kaito was good enough to earn the title by Konoha’s standards, even though he didn’t dedicate as much time to the art as Ryuna. Kaito’s strength was known in the higher circles of the village, and if he wasn’t so averse to bureaucratic work, he’d be a strong candidate for the next Hokage.
Kaito’s involvement in the Yondaime’s secret mission to take down Danzou was highly classified, and many people thought he disliked Minato-nii for placing Kakashi (the fact that Kakashi was four years older than the twins was always conveniently ignored by the boy) in the Anbu so young. That wasn’t entirely wrong—Kaito did harbor resentment and kept his distance from Minato whenever possible, but they worked together on more than one project.
However, the seemingly hostile image Kaito held toward the Yondaime could be shifted to Ryuna, who had supported the late Hokage. Danzou was trying to exploit this, and the twins decided to turn the tables.
In public, they mostly ignored each other, occasionally putting on a little show of veiled hostility.
It took months of acting in public to sell their story.
When Kaito went to Ryuna and informed her that he had finally infiltrated Root, they began their plan.
Shikaku:
Nara Shikaku was rarely impressed. It was difficult for anyone to surprise him enough to make an impression, but Takeshi Ryuna seemed to have that gift.
A 10-year-old girl shouldn’t be able to stand in a room full of battle-hardened shinobi, some old enough to have fought in the First Great War, and act as if everyone owed her respect—even though she was technically right. She had the air of an experienced courtesan who could look the most powerful man in the country in the eye and demand he bow to her.
He knew she was nervous because he was sitting in just the right spot to see her hands gripping her fingers nervously every time she had to speak. Even though no one else could see any sign of nervousness in her face or body language.
She reminded him of her mother, Yumi, whom he had seen at meetings since Shin’s death in combat. Yumi used to have the same sharp intelligence and cutting tongue, but she lacked the motivation to speak out against anyone. She didn’t care about Konoha’s prosperity or the clans—just her children and her father. So, she let everyone sink into redundant discussions for weeks, sometimes months, happy that as long as they were fighting amongst themselves, they weren’t coming for her children. The few times Yumi spoke at those meetings, everyone fell silent as if the Daimyo himself was reprimanding them.
Ryuna, however, had motivation. Namikaze Naruto was her will of fire.
It would be an understatement to say that it wasn’t common for someone to impose their will on the Elders of Konoha so easily, but Ryuna managed to present her case in such a way that opposing her would have been a betrayal of the very principles Konoha was built upon. Speaking against her would have led many clans to turn against the administration, at best. At worst, civil war.
She knew that. She was quietly challenging the Council to declare war on her. To abandon their hypocritical speeches about the will of fire.
Shikaku wasn’t naive. He had been Minato’s advisor and knew about the rotten roots hiding beneath, but he no longer had the power to do anything about it. Not without risking his own clan’s safety, so he stayed silent, waiting for an opportunity.
That’s why he knew Ryuna’s chances of surviving after that meeting had dramatically decreased.
It was a pleasant surprise that she was still alive and still showing up at Council meetings with new ideas on how to improve Konoha’s security while continuously undermining the Elders' authority, over and over again. Every time someone tried to argue against someone’s early graduation, Ryuna intervened. A relocation measure that would harm a clan that no one really liked? Not happening.
Danzou was obviously trying to get rid of her, but failing, judging by his frustration. The man might have been an elite ninja once, but Shikaku was friends with the Yamanakas, and Inoichi had confirmed his suspicions after analyzing Danzou’s behavior.
Danzou was trying to get rid of Ryuna and failing.
It wasn’t as surprising as it should have been when the identity of the Jinchuuriki became public knowledge through rumors that no one could trace back to the source. People became hostile toward Ryuna, and there was even a movement to take Naruto from her, claiming it wasn’t safe for the child of a hero to be under the care of a monster.
Shikaku was eating lunch at an Akimichi stall when a civilian threw a stone at Ryuna, who was passing by. She didn’t dodge, even though the object wasn’t reinforced with chakra, it still shouldn’t have been completely painless.
She was hit, but didn’t make a sound or move to acknowledge the blow. Instead, she looked the civilian in the eye as he insulted her. The crowd around her had a hostile aura, and Shikaku wondered if he would need to intervene, but he was curious to see how she would handle the systematic hatred every Jinchuuriki faces.
“You should know that if anyone throws explosives at Konoha’s walls, they’ll be considered an enemy if they’re foreign and a traitor if they’re a citizen, even if the walls are strong enough to withstand a thousand times more force. Because these walls are responsible for the safety of everyone inside. Many lives depend on them,” she said in that same calm, unwavering voice. It was loud enough for everyone around to hear without her having to shout, and Shikaku would bet her vocal cords were reinforced with chakra. The civilians seemed confused by her words. “I don’t see how attacking the only barrier between you and the Nine-Tails could be considered a minor offense. Inciting another attack by the Fox could earn you a one-way trip to Torture and Interrogation, at best.”
The silence that followed those words was suffocating, and Shikaku felt a déjà vu from the Council meeting.
“Having said that, I’m sorry for your loss,” Ryuna bowed her head in respect, though her expression didn’t change and she didn’t fully bow, as she was hierarchically superior to everyone in Konoha. This included the Hokage. “I didn’t cause the attack of the fox. The blame lies with the enemy who infiltrated the village, but I wish I could have stopped it before so many lives were lost. I’m glad I stopped it in time for you and everyone here to survive. I hope you live a life you can be proud of when you meet your loved ones again. Have a good day.”
With that, she turned and left, leaving everyone behind in stunned silence.
What do you respond to that?
You don’t respond. You lower your head, regretful, and give thanks.
Shikaku heard of two more similar incidents in the following weeks. In one, things were resolved peacefully with words, but another resulted in a group of civilians being taken to T&I despite the Elders’ complaints about the exaggerated reaction and how they couldn’t punish civilians this way.
“You’ve all seen enough Jinchuuriki in your lives,” Ryuna said in an unusually cold voice. “You should know that a Jinchuuriki’s emotional state affects the seal when it was designed for chakra sharing. My seal doesn’t allow external alterations, but my emotional state still affects the seal. Do you really think it’s wise to allow people to attack me when I’m the only thing keeping the Fox from repeating its last visit to the village?”
“That’s why we wanted you to do special training…”
“Suppressing emotions and isolation wouldn’t make the seal more stable. If anything, it would make it more volatile since I wouldn’t know how to deal with emotions,” she mocked. “Suppression doesn’t make those emotions disappear after all. Social isolation wouldn’t help with that goal either. There’s a reason no Jinchuuriki from any village is kept in a cage. You really should think a little before making such suggestions.”
That silenced any further suggestions, though it didn’t lessen their frustration.
As the months went on, reconstruction was in full swing, and the new Uzu complex was starting to take shape. Orochimaru spent most of his time in his new lab at the complex, which had protections that made it completely inaccessible to anyone who didn’t belong to the family or hadn’t been personally invited by one of them.
What Orochimaru was working on there remained a mystery, but Shikaku saw the Sennin and Ryuna occasionally bent over papers, silently discussing numbers, probabilities, hormones, and things like that. When asked, they simply promised something that would aid advancements in medicine.
To add, Ryuna presented a project to the Daimyo (she ignored the Hokage) and immediately received support and even sponsorship to carry it forward: a civilian school. She started building it within the grounds of her own complex, but outside the fuinjutsu barriers that wouldn’t allow anyone in without permission. The school, apparently, would have its own independent security system in fuinjutsu.
Neither the Hokage nor the Elders could do anything against the Daimyo’s approval. The Yamanakas had their flower shop, the Akimichi had their restaurants, and now the Takeshi had their school.
The clan of artisans and teachers was earning their fame.
To say Ryuna was busy would be an understatement.
Danzou, who hadn’t yet gotten over the blows to his authority, worked on the Third’s ear to send Ryuna on missions. He reminded him that she was still an active shinobi, and if her Jinchuuriki seal was really that secure, there was no reason to keep her in reserve.
Four months after the attack, Ryuna was back in the field.
Kakashi:
Kakashi had a hectic life with consecutive missions after the attack, helping Konoha create the illusion of strength for the other villages and ensuring they wouldn’t lose contracts. For high-risk missions, he was often paired with Obito since they worked well together, and Minato made them a recurring duo in Anbu, sometimes adding Kaito into the mix.
They always found time to train together since the aftermath of the interrogation about the Jinchuuriki seal and the attack. Kakashi’s decision to stay silent and protect Ryuna’s secret might have been impulsive, but he just couldn’t bring himself to speak.
What are you going to do with the only thing you can truly control?
Those who break the rules are trash...
But those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash.
So Kakashi didn’t speak. He knew Obito wouldn’t either, not while he felt indebted to Ryuna and her family for saving Rin, even if it meant they couldn’t save their own father. Obito had become a more serious guy (he still acted like a fool sometimes, but his mood had changed), and he now had an older brother-like protective air when it came to the girl, Takeshi, who was taking the lead of her clan.
Since Shin’s death, Kakashi had made a conscious effort to stop visiting the Memorial Stone as frequently as before, but with Obito’s return, it had become easier. For a while. Then Minato and Kushina-nee died, and Kakashi found himself walking to the Memorial Stone without even realizing it.
Don’t live for the dead, Kakashi.
Shin’s disappointed voice would always echo in his ear when this happened, and Kakashi had to force himself to stay for just a few minutes before leaving.
It was during one of his Anbu missions, when Kaito was accompanying him, and they were tired and alone, waiting for the scheduled time to meet up with the rest of the team, that Kakashi finally understood why Shin had wasted his last breath offering Kakashi his final words.
“There are no orphans in the Takeshi clan,” Kaito responded as if that were all the explanation Kakashi needed. Thanks to his Sharingan, Kakashi remembered that Shin had used those same words when speaking to Ryuna shortly after declaring her the new clan leader.
“What does that mean?”
Kaito blinked in surprise, as if he hadn’t considered Kakashi might not know. Then understanding dawned on his face, and he let out a humorless snort.
“So you didn’t know,” he murmured almost to himself. “You know, I resented you for a while when I was younger for rejecting us, for refusing to get close. But Dad said you couldn’t force these things, neither us nor you. So we’d just have to wait until you were ready for a family. It still hurt when you avoided me every time I tried to reach out... but if you didn’t know, I guess it makes sense.”
“What didn’t I know?” Kakashi didn’t want to process the fact that he had hurt Kaito so much.
He had been so used to Obito always arguing and Gai always chasing him for a challenge, never affected by his constant refusals and evasive temperament, that he had never stopped to think that maybe Kaito cared. Maybe Ryuna cared, which is why she fought with him the last time they saw each other.
You’re not some god who can take responsibility for other people’s actions as if you had any power over them.
“Our clan is old, you know, and we have rules about who’s a member and who’s not. There are those who are Takeshi because they were born into the clan or were adopted by a clan member—formal members—who are protected and have certain rights, like shelter, food, education, and healthcare if they’re underage. Then there are those who become effective members, who don’t have blood ties or formal adoption but follow our customs and are accepted by the leader. Formal members are protected, but they don’t have the privilege of visiting the more restricted parts of the family library, that’s something only effective members can do. You can be both a formal and effective member at the same time. Senju Tobirama, the Second Hokage, was an effective member of the clan and was even eligible to be the leader’s successor. There was a whole plan to unite Konoha and Uzushio through Tobirama leading both, but he died before anything happened,” Kaito explained with a smile, as if revealing a great secret. Maybe it was. “All these people, whether they carry the Takeshi name or not, are members of the clan. It’s always been that way, even during the Warring States period. ‘There are no orphans in the Takeshi clan’ is something we said to each other, and outsiders heard it, but never understood.”
Kaito paused, looking at the darkness around them, and Kakashi felt like he understood why the boy was explaining all of this to him.
Shin was his godfather. Did that make him an adopted member of the Takeshi clan? Shin had crossed a war zone with two small children just to be near Kakashi and take care of him. Kakashi would take that as confirmation.
“All the members of the clan are the responsibility of the leader, Kakashi,” Kaito went on—Shin had been the leader, so that would make the last Hatake his responsibility. “All the members, but especially the children. Our future.” Kaito sighed before speaking as if quoting something he had heard many times. “All the members of the clan are the leader’s children. No one gets left behind, no one is without family. There are no orphans in the Takeshi clan.”
And now Ryuna was the leader.
She had taken in Naruto and seemed desperate to keep him...
“Naruto... Ryuna...” Kakashi wasn’t sure how to voice his concerns, but Kaito seemed to understand anyway.
“Naruto lost his parents, so now Ryuna, as the new leader, will take care of him like he’s her own child,” Kaito said with an ironic smile. “Did you know that in the past, if the clan leader didn’t raise the children under their care well, they could be removed from their position? I think we’re the only clan that punished a leader for being an incompetent parent. But don’t worry, Ryuna’s a good mother to Naruto.”
“She’s 10.”
“Old enough to take a life,” Kaito shrugged, though he didn’t look Kakashi in the eye. “It should be enough to care for a life, too.”
“Uchiha Mikoto would have taken Naruto in, or maybe I should have told the Third Hokage the truth...”
"Kakashi, I don’t think you understand" Kaito said quietly. It wasn’t a threat, but more exhaustion. “Naruto is ours to protect. My nomadic civilian clan survived the Warring States period even though we had things others would kill for: knowledge, influence, money. Still, the shinobi clans feared us. We didn’t train our children in combat, most of our members were artisans, teachers, farmers. Mundane professions. Even so, shinobi feared us, Kakashi. Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“I’ve read several journals from an event where a small Takeshi village was attacked to plunder grain and steal the younger children to sell them as slaves. But they didn’t kill everyone in the village,” Kaito continued, his voice becoming hypnotic. “No, they killed the men and raped the women, but they left them alive. About 30 women, injured but alive, to die of hunger during the winter. Their children had been stolen, and no Takeshi mother would allow that. Screw the lack of training or strength. They hid their scent, rubbing mud on their bodies and faces until it was impossible to see their skin beneath, so they could blend in easily. Some of them saw which direction the invaders took when they took the children, leaving easy-to-follow tracks even for an amateur. They grabbed forks and kitchen knives and dipped them in latrine muck. People forget that shit is a poison that’s very easy to acquire and very effective once it enters the bloodstream. The attack on the camp wasn’t pretty, and many of the women died, but they didn’t go there to survive. One of the survivors described one of the women being pierced by three swords in the stomach and continuing to fight despite blood pouring from her mouth and her mind unraveling. They were a vision of hell... In the end, the invaders, who were outnumbered, died just like most of the women. The children survived and were taken care of by the leader at the time. When the rest of the clan found out what happened, they used their money and political influence to completely wipe out the clan where the invaders came from. This happened 3,000 years ago and wasn’t the first or last time my clan experienced something like this.”
Kakashi didn’t dare speak. His mind clung to one simple fact: whether civil or not, the Takeshi could not be considered harmless. He had always thought Kaito and his immediate family were an exception, but if he was understanding it right, then the only difference was that the current Takeshi knew how to direct their determination and violence. But it was also clear they weren’t violent unless provoked.
“I just wanted to say, Kashi, that we’ll go to war before we let anyone steal one of our children,” Kaito finished with a look that sent a chill down Kakashi’s spine.
It didn’t feel like a threat, but like a promise.
There are no orphans in the Takeshi clan. Taking Naruto from them would be like stealing a child, regardless of any blood ties.
Shin considered Kakashi a son, he remembered. Did that protection still extend to him?
Kakashi had avoided meeting with Ryuna alone ever since their last argument. When she was still part of Anbu, they had worked together fairly often, and it was impossible to avoid her completely. But now it was easy to disappear and blame it on a hypothetical mission. With his new status as a Jinchuuriki, it had been decided that it would be too dangerous for her to continue as captain of the Anbu rescue team. The captains weren’t too happy about it; everyone knew it meant an increase in casualties, and that wasn’t something anyone liked.
Avoiding Ryuna had become easier with his numerous duties on the Council and his own missions.
It still hurt that you avoided me every time I tried to reach out.
When he returned to Konoha, Kakashi asked Kaito to arrange a training session with his sister, and the boy had a spark in his eyes Kakashi hadn't noticed was missing. He was a terrible person, but if these twins weren’t going to make the smart move and distance themselves from him, then the last Hatake would have to do better. He couldn’t let them sink because of him.
During the training with Kaito and Ryuna, it was as if time hadn’t passed, and Kakashi almost forgot about the attack by the Fox, the death of Minato-sensei, and Kushina. It felt like everything was right with the world.
The biggest difference that snapped him back to reality every time was how he and Kaito were fighting against Ryuna. Not because she was strong enough to beat them both, but because Ryuna was officially Konoha’s Jinchuuriki, and it was expected that she would fight with the strength of a bijuu (which she didn’t have to rely on). She was trying to become strong enough to win without needing the Fox’s chakra.
As if it were that easy.
If Kakashi was called a genius for his combat skills, however, Ryuna was a genius of the mind. She wasn’t the strongest or the fastest, although she could keep up with a high-level shinobi if she enhanced her body, she would never be the fastest on the field.
But fights with Ryuna were never about strength or speed. He remembered seeing baby Ryuna practicing katas in the training field where he met Minato-sensei, remembering how her movements felt strange and how she said they were a traditional dance from the Daimyo’s Court, not fighting katas. She didn’t practice because someone told her to or because her life depended on it, but because she enjoyed dancing.
The way her body moved while they fought reminded him of how Ryuna danced.
She wasn’t fast, but she didn’t need to be. It was almost as if she knew where he would strike before he did, and he had the damn Sharingan. His eye couldn’t pick up any special technique, and it was incredibly frustrating to fight her.
Kakashi and Kaito still won, but it wasn’t as easy as it should have been.
“What kind of fighting style is that?” Kakashi asked Ryuna during the break.
Ryuna looked at him, seemingly surprised that he was talking to her before she smiled, as if their previous argument never happened.
“My style,” Ryuna laughed at his face. “I made it up. I did what worked for me, and I like to dance.”
“But dancing is…”
“It’s actually pretty similar to fighting,” she said.
“How?”
“Well, if you’re dancing with a partner without a planned choreography, you have to be able to read your opponent’s movements, whether you’re leading or being led. You read their movements and anticipate them—you have to move in perfect sync or the dance is ruined,” she explained with a bright smile and a spin that made her skirt twirl around her. “It doesn’t matter if your opponent is faster because you know their rhythm and can predict their steps. You know where they’re going to attack you next. It doesn’t matter if your opponent is stronger if you decide it’s a dance without physical contact, and all the strength in the world becomes useless if they never land a hit.”
Ryuna’s eyes were hypnotic, electric, and he wondered if they had some kind of distraction power that made her opponents more careless and predictable.
He pushed the thought aside when he saw Orochimaru-sama approaching them for the next sparring session, and Kakashi felt a little sorry for Ryuna for the impending beating. Even Kaito flinched a little, but the girl didn’t back down, even as her bones cracked and blood gushed from her wounds. Surprisingly, neither the brother nor the sensei stopped, and he saw how her injuries healed quickly, even though the Sharingan couldn’t process the overload of information from Ryuna’s confused chakra flow at that moment.
Ryuna hadn’t been idle these past months.
If she was going to pass for a Jinchuuriki, she had to be convincing.