Chapter Text
𓍊✿𓍊 ~ Chapter One — Budding Potential ~ 𓍊✿𓍊
He was a child once. As a child, he was happy, innocent, hopeful…
Naïve. Ignorant, stupid. Despite that, if he had the chance to be that child again, he’d take it in a heartbeat. Maybe things could’ve gone differently if he did it again…
Nineteen years ago…
“Hey, Ryu!!”
He looked back, his shimmering ember eyes lighting up at the sight of the auburn-haired girl that sprinted toward him. “Aiko!” he called back, waving his brown-skinned hand with a loud grin on his face.
She jumped in front of him with her pale skin shining white in the high noon light. “Ryu, Ryu! I have places to take you!”
“Wait, what—?”
She grabbed his hand and pulled him. “C’mon!”
“Wait, wait!” he called, holding his Konoha headband on his forehead as he was pulled along. “I have a mission in half an hour! I need to get ready!”
Aiko laughed. “Looks like we’re just gonna have to go faster then.”
“Then I should lead the way!” Ryu declared, pulling out of her grip and jogging ahead of her. “Where are we going?”
Aiko smiled and brushed the hair out of her face. “Somewhere special! ”
“C’mon Aiko, I don’t have time for thisss,” Ryu whined playfully.
Aiko sighed in defeat. “The Sakura tree.”
“Oh… why the Sakura tree? That’s only for important things, y’know,” Ryu asked, pursing his lips as his mind whirled.
Aiko smirked. “You’ll find out when we get there!”
“But… I have a mission…”
Aiko’s smirk grew. “Aw, is the big boy Jonin too slow to get there in time?”
“Hmph,” Ryu huffed, biting his lip as his logic and competitive spirit battled for decisional superiority.
Ryu sighed before picking up Aiko. Before she was even able to yelp in surprise, they were already meters away from the grassy field they were before. Another moment and they were atop a roof, then another, then another.
The process repeated a dozen times through a forest before they found themselves in a pink oasis in the center of a desert of green. A lone Sakura tree was in full bloom in the middle of a forest.
“The big boy Jonin is not too slow,” Ryu declared, his competitive spirit as satisfied as the smirk on his face.
Aiko silently cherished the solid ground beneath and dusted herself off. “Showoff,” she mumbled.
Ryu laughed. “Hey, you asked for it.”
“Yeah, yeah,” she dismissed with a laugh before her smile shrunk with a sigh. Twiddling her thumbs, she looked anywhere but at Ryu. “I… I have something to tell you.”
Ryu nodded. “Yup, it’s not like you told me this a couple of minutes ago.”
“Oh, just shut up and let me talk,” she playfully commanded, her smile momentarily returning before she sighed loudly. “I… am going to be leaving soon. For a long time.”
Ryu’s eyes widened as he froze on the spot.
Seizing the opportunity, Aiko continued rambling. “My father found a business opportunity in the Land of Grass. It’ll make us—him really rich. So he’s obviously gonna take it. I… I just wanted to thank you for being my friend. I really enjoy every second I’m with you, and,” her voice hitched as she struggled to speak, emotions overtaking her.
Closing her eyes, she inhaled in an attempt to quell herself.“—And I’m really sad to be leaving you and the others—Miya and Dantai… and, and—” She broke off her again, voice cracking once more.
“Aiko, Aiko breathe,” Ryu soothed, grabbing her hand and squeezing it. This time, Aiko complied, taking a few moments to regain herself. After another several moments, he asked, “Are you okay?”
She nodded, the movement almost flawless if not for the slight shaking of her frame, which Ryu politely ignored.
“When are you leaving?” he asked finally.
“...Soon, a few weeks at most.” Her expression turned somber once more.
“When did you find out?”
Sighing, she laced her fingers around his absently. “Last night, actually.”
“Really?” Ryu asked, eyes widening.
“Yeah, I wanted to let you know as soon as possible… didn’t want to hide it, you know?”
He nodded in understanding. “Have you told Miya or Dantai yet?”
“No, I wanted to make sure I said goodbye to you first, since you were, y’know, my only friend here for like a year,” Aiko explained. “I’ll tell them soon… I know they just got back from a mission a few days ago, so—” Her eyes widened in horror. “Oh crap, your mission! What’s the time?! You’re going to be late!”
Ryu rolled his eyes, a small smirk plastered on his face as he freed his hand, making a cross with his fingers. A puff of smoke later, a doppelgängerr of himself appeared. Nodding to the original, the clone flickered away into the distance.
Aiko blinked, fretting again. “Is that… okay? I mean, you’re usually not supposed to send clones to do a mission by themselves, right—?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Ryu said dismissively, lacing their fingers once more. “I’m me, after all. Besides, it isn’t a difficult mission, anyway.”
“But still—”
“I’d rather spend the time with you,” Ryu interrupted, looking away. “And… for what it’s worth, I enjoyed every second, too. I-I don’t regret a single moment…”
Aiko ducked her head, her cheeks turning the same hue as her hair. Neither looked at each for several moments until Aiko broke first. “Well, that’s good to know, but stop being so down! It’s not like we won’t ever see each other again.”
Ryu looked back at her, gaze piercing and pessimistic. “You sure? The Land of Grass is… pretty far away.”
Aiko huffed, “Yeah, so? Who cares about that? I’ll come back one way or another when I’m old enough. When I can travel on my own…”
Ryu laughed. “Ah, right, you don’t have the same rights as adults in the eyes of the law.”
Aiko shoved Ryu in agitation, which only made him laugh harder. “Shut it, you!”
“All right, all right,” Ryu said, ceasing. “I’ll hold you to that, though.”
“Sure, sure. I’ll be back before you know it! With loads of money, too! I could even buy you one of those entire libraries that you love so much!”
“Yeah, all right. And by the time you’re back, I’ll be Hokage,” Ryu said with a roll of his eyes.
“Hey, it’s not impossible! Just slip some poison in the old man’s tea and you could probably do it!”
“AIKO!” Ryu yelped, scandalized.
Aiko laughed as the boy sighed, exasperated. “Promise me one thing, though.”
“Hm?”
Her eyes turned serious and sorrowful. “Don’t ever give up on your dream. The world needs more heroes like you, Ryujin.”
Ryu blinked at the use of his full name but grinned widely nonetheless. “Don’t you dare worry about me giving up on my dream. That is one thing I’ll never let go. The day I give up on that is the day I stop being Ryujin Hiyenzo!”
Aiko smiled, bright and warm as the embers of Amaterasu herself. “Thank you.” And with that, a second promise was sworn that day.
He smiled. He was going to miss her, but alas, this wasn’t the first time he lost someone, and unlike the other time, it wasn’t forever. He’d see her again. Definitely. He was happy, Ryu was happy .
But little did he know…
That was but the first hamartia.
—⊱✿⊰—
Nineteen years later…
He smiled. He smiled a toothy grin that split his dark-skinned face in two, his coal-black eyes shining, sparkling with tears that blended with the backdrop of his obsidian irises that created a painting of the starry night sky in his eyes. He wiped the welling tears away with his free hand, erasing the painting, to focus on the reality in front of him.
The reality of the headband that sat in his grasp—a headband with a bold red fabric that perfectly matched the jacket and pants he wore. On the headband's center, there was a metal sheet that glinted with the majesty of silver in dawn's light. The metal sheet was carved with a swirl that matched the pattern of a falling leaf.
The symbol represented Konohagakure, the village he called home… and the village he was now going to serve as a Shinobi.
He scratched his mane of shaggy crimson hair and looked up at the person—no… brother who sat across from him. He held the same grin on his face and the same Konoha headband in his hand as he looked at him with his shining azure eyes.
"We did it man…"
His brother laughed. "Damn right we did!!" he declared.
They nodded, making eye contact. They closed their eyes, and at the same time tied their respective headbands on their forehead. They opened their eyes and stood, grabbing each other's forearms and grinning.
"One step closer," he said with a grin.
"To becoming Hokage," his brother continued, matching his grin.
They laughed, releasing their grip on each other's arms. "Man, I was so scared when you said you failed the exam!"
"I was too!!" his brother yelled, flinging his arms. "But. I ended up doing it… and if you think about it, Mizuki was technically right about stealing the scroll being a way for me to get promoted…"
He wheezed. "Aye Naruto, it's all about the technicalities…" he trailed off before taking a deep breath. "I hope a pretty girl is on my team."
"Yeah, but when you think about your track record with girls…"
He huffed. "C'mon, have some hope in me!"
"I dunno Shinrai, your Uzumaki bloodline might end with you," Naruto dismissed with a shrug.
Shinrai scoffed. "Like you're doing much better, you've had that same hopeless crush on Sakura since forever."
"And you have the same hopeless crush on every girl you see!!" retorted Naruto with a pointed finger.
"HEY!! Not all of them!! Just… most of them," admitted Shinrai as he lowered his gaze.
Naruto laughed.
"Fuck you," Shinrai insulted playfully before walking off. "C'mon, we can't be late for our first team meeting."
Naruto sputtered. "Oh—yeah! It's a real shame that we're not on the same team, though…"
"It is. If we were, then we'd be unstoppable," Shinrai said with a smirk.
Naruto nodded in agreement as they walked out the door of their apartment.
Once they reached the bottom floor, then the exit, and lastly the sidewalk, Naruto looked back at him.
“Hope it goes well, y'know!” Naruto yelled as he ran in the opposite direction.
Shinrai waved. “Good luck to you too, brother!”
Shinrai smiled as he watched Naruto’s back. He loved his brother, Naruto made him happy, and happy was warm. But, now that he’s gone… the cold was back. He always felt warm, a good feeling in his chest, a heating tingle that rose and fell with his breath. But, whenever he wasn't occupied with something, or not around his brother… there was this cold spot.
Like an iceberg in the middle of a bamboo forest—no… like a deep, icy lake. Luckily, he had a solution to make the cold go away, to warm that icy lake permanently. A true romantic love. The type of love where he could just look at her, look at her beautiful hair, her soft eyes, her smooth skin, her big and round…
He could just look at her and feel the butterflies in his stomach as his legs melted into flabby jelly. When she spoke it would sound like the most beautiful symphony of songs like he could wave his head to the rhythm of her every syllable, the melody of her inflections, the harmony of her soft tone… soft like a warm wool blanket on a cold winter night.
Shinrai let out a giddy giggle at the prospect. A girl like that… a girl like that would surely make the cold go away. Nothing else could, right?
Of course not, he told himself, before turning his back and walking toward where his team was instructed to meet. He hoped he prayed; he longed … that she would be there waiting for him.
—⊱✿⊰—
She stood in front of a shrine. The shrine glowed noir and ginger in the light of the dawning sun, easily outshining the dim glow of the incense candles which granted the room its pleasant smell. Heading the shrine surrounded by flowers was a picture. Framed with glinting silver, the picture of a beautiful woman with silky black hair, near-flawless pale skin, and pupil-less lavender irises.
She was the spitting image of the woman on the shrine. She inhaled deeply, expanding her diaphragm before exhaling for a few long seconds, relaxing. "Hello mother," she greeted, looking at the portrait which seemed to glisten at the sound of her words.
"I have finally become a Shinobi; I even passed the Academy Exam at the top of my class. Perfect score on the written part, and according to my instructors, flawless performance of the three Academy Jutsu."
She smiled as warmth swelled in her chest. "I'm… honestly proud of myself, brother is as well, and I hope you're proud of me too. I will be assigned to a four-man cell under a Jonin sensei today, and I really hope that they're good people I can get along with and grow alongside… lifelong friends.
"And of course, I won't allow any of my new experiences to get in the way of my duty as a Hyuuga and my destiny to serve the Main Branch…" she trailed off, closing her eyes as the shimmer on her mother's shrine dimmed slightly. "Not that fate would allow it."
She paused, looking toward the sound of the opening door. In walked a boy—not much older than her—with a Konoha headband, the same pale lavender eyes, and long brown hair. He bowed in front of the shrine, and then he spoke. "Kusari," he greeted.
"Hello, Neji. I was just finishing up," she assured as she fixed her clothing.
He nodded. "Fret not, I was just checking on you."
"To make sure I would not be late…?" she inquired.
He chuckled. "Partly."
"I thought so," she remarked, before turning to her mother. "Goodbye mother, I will talk to you when I return."
Neji bowed to the shrine before leaving the room alongside Kusari. "I wish you luck on your first day as a Shinobi, and remember that fate is on your side, and destiny has greatness planned for you," he said once they were outside.
"Thank you, brother," responded Kusari with a bow. "I wish you luck with whatever Gai-sensei has planned for you today."
Neji smirked. "I have dealt with him long enough to be able to handle it."
"I know. I just thought that it'd be proper to give you the same courtesy you gave me."
Neji titled his head. "I guess so. Before you go, I have some information about who your sensei may be."
“Oh? Who are they?” Kusari inquired.
Neji cleared his throat. “Ryujin Hiyenzo.”
“I’ve heard of him,” Kusari muttered, placing a hand on her chin.
“So have I. Use that information to better prepare. Farewell sister,” was the last thing he said before walking off.
"Thank you, farewell brother," she said in kind as they split paths, leaving the Hyuuga compound where they resided. She looked towards the clouds that were colored the namesake of her eyes.
Kusari took a long, deep breath once again. This was the beginning of her destiny, the turning point of her life where fate will reveal its cards to her… and all that she knew for sure is that she would continue to make her brother proud, continue to serve the Main Branch, and she would not let the sacrifice that her mother made bringing her in this world go to waste.
—⊱✿⊰—
He took a deep breath. The silver of his Konoha headband reflected a natural emerald that described the leaves of the garden he meditated in.
His hair was as brown as the wise bark of the surrounding trees, which twisted and turned with the knowledge of decades passed.
Knowledge… Knowledge that he wished to attain.
His skin was the color of the blossoming charlie brown roses, which bloomed with the beauty of a peaceful world under the guidance and rule of a benevolent, yet stern hand.
He… would be in control of that hand.
He took another deep breath before opening his garden green eyes to the world, allowing his senses to take hold. The sound of water falling and birds chirping blessed his ears with the calm isolation one felt in the depths of their own world.
His eyelids parted as he let out a breath that was held deep in his abdomen. What was hidden beneath were irises which glowed like sun-kissed leaves. He uncrossed his legs and stepped off the stone platform, placing the soles of his sandals on the surface of a crystalline pond.
He walked forward on the water through the garden of his family name. Eventually, he reached land once again as he stepped foot onto a path of polished stone which led into a further walk out of the garden, and face to face with a castle.
A castle that seemed to grow out of the very ground beneath; its bark was rough and dark like raw cocoa, and the further up he looked, the lighter the gradient wood became and the four fortifications twisted together, coalescing into a leafy tree top that shimmered atop the castle like a giant emerald.
He smiled at the sight he'd seen over a thousand times, then he entered the building. Once he entered, he was bombarded with the sound of children.
Many loud children.
He chuckled before looking to the left at the call of his name.
"Gosei!!" screamed a toddler—no older than three.
He crouched down to her level. "Hamai! How're you—"
"Mama wants you!" She informed, grabbing his hand and pulling Gosei far into a different room… where there were six other children, ranging in ages from two to eleven, waiting alongside a father and a mother holding two infants.
The mother stared at Gosei with his same green eyes. “Gosei, you had us waiting for longer than expected. Care to explain why?”
“Heh, sorry mother, I got a little too deep into my morning meditation,” he sheepishly apologized.
She let out a breath and smiled. “It’s alright, just be happy I didn’t have to go out and get you myself.”
Gosei gulped before walking beside his mother and father, standing in front of his six non-infant siblings. His mother stood and handed the twin infants in her hand to her unsuspecting husband, who sputtered out of his daze to hold them.
“I’m sure you all know why I called you here today, children,” she said as she placed a hand on Gosei’s shoulder. “Our eldest heir to the Senju has become a Shinobi at last, and today is the day that he finally sets out into the worldly expanse to rejuvenate the honor of our clan!”
The father cheered. “Yeah!! Give it up for your big bro Gosei!!” he yelled, awakening the sleeping infants with wails as the rest of the room spattered childish noises of approval, aside from the second eldest, a daughter with her mother’s blonde hair and her father’s maroon eyes clapped with an expression as bright as the summer sun.
“I can’t wait to join you, big brother!!” she called out.
Gosei laughed. “You just have to wait a year, Natsuyo.”
“That’s one year too long,” she stated with a defiant look.
Their mother butted in, now holding the infants once again as their father was looking down at his lap with his brown hair hiding his face. “But it is a year that you’ll have to endure unless you find a way to graduate early, that is.”
“Good idea…” she mused, her expression falling as she delved into her thoughts.
Gosei cleared his throat in a fruitless attempt to silence the crowd of children. He sighed, then his mother cleared her throat, and the children quieted themselves in a matter of moments.
“Gosei has something to say, and he would like you to listen,” she stated, and the children turned their gazes toward him.
He nodded at his mother before taking a deep breath. “As the eldest, it is my responsibility to lead you all into greatness by example.” He smirked. “And my example will be the example for generations of Senju after us will follow. I’ll surpass the Nidaime, even the Shodai, and become not only the strongest Hokage, but the greatest Hokage—no, leader ever seen in history. My journey began the day I was born, but today is the day my journey evolves into the quest for greatness that was bestowed upon me by the blood of the Senju that courses through my veins.”
His father laughed. “That’s quite the lofty ambition, son.”
“Ambition, father?” Gosei questioned. “This is no simple ambition. It’s my fate, my destiny, a guarantee in my life.”
His father put his hands up in playful defense. “Well, my bad son.”
“Anyway, I must go now. Thank you all for listening,” he announced before walking off and out of the compound with the backdrop of cheering children and beaming pride from his mother.
He knew who is sensei likely was, Ryujin Hiyenzo; he respected him, but even he would bow to him one day. He walked off with a smirk on his face, his spirits higher than the sun above. It felt good getting that off his chest. He recited it mentally over a hundred times since he first gained his headband. First, he made his dreams known to his family. Next would be his team, and last but anything but least…
The world.
—⊱✿⊰—
Hiruzen let out a breath into his pipe. A ring of smoke rose from the end opposing his face as he looked down into his crystal ball with a small, satisfied smile on his face. “So, it starts,” he said to nobody in particular. He cared for all his subordinates greatly, but he couldn’t help but hold a special interest in two new teams coming together.
Team 7 and Team 5.
They were quite similar in some ways. They both had socially reclusive senseis, which he purposely put in charge of Genin to reignite their dimming Will of Fire. They both had a high-spirited Uzumaki, and they had a member of a noble, yet extinct—or nigh extinct—clan.
He’d already looked over the routine of Team 7; they should be meeting soon, but things wouldn’t get interesting until Kakashi arrived… which would take a while. However, Ryujin was quite the opposite. Hiruzen chuckled. He always appreciated his punctual and professional demeanor.
However, he did know that Ryujin’s tolerance for those who weren’t up to par was low, far lower than Kakashi even. So, he made it a point to pick nothing short of the best available prospects for him to train.
Shinrai Uzumaki. His Uzumaki blood was as pure as the crimson of his hair. Even though he was largely average in the intellectual department, his physical skills were exceptional, far surpassing anyone in his year in pure physical strength and athletic ability. The only one who could come close was his adopted brother Naruto, though that was to be expected.
On top of that, the untapped potential from his… past … granted him an additional layer of unpredictability on top of what was naturally bestowed upon him. All of this combined with his insensible drive to do better and support his brother… he feared for anyone who dared to cross his path.
Kusari Hyuuga. One would say that she was the Shinobi's manifestation of excellence. Her scores on the Academy’s academic curriculum were the top of her year and would surely be entering the record books in the top five of all time, alongside other once-a-generation prodigies such as Minato Namikaze: the Yondaime Hokage, and Itachi Uchiha.
Furthermore, her Hyuuga techniques were well on the way to surpassing her prodigious brother Neji Hyuuga. However, there may be even more to her, as the circumstances of her birth caused quite a stir among her clan. He hated to say that he was unaware of most of the details that transpired, as the Hyuuga were a secretive bunch. But what he was aware of, is that she was something special.
Gosei Senju. His name should speak for itself, but through his actions in the Academy, he somehow managed to make himself a name before even becoming a Shinobi. He was Sasuke Uchiha’s only true rival for the top spot in the Academy. Whether that be the curriculum’s leaderboard or the social hierarchy, they were always neck and neck, clawing at each other for number one.
In the end, Sasuke won the curriculum’s leaderboard, and Gosei won the social hierarchy. He’s already shown to be a prodigy equal with Sasuke, but what stands out more is his ability to move a crowd, and sway the people to his side. With an ability such as that… his goal of becoming Hokage seems more than feasible. However, he may find himself a new rival in that aspect…
Overall, Hiruzen was proud of his selection of Genin for Ryujin. However, he could only hope that Ryujin wouldn’t use them as an outlet for his frustration too much. This was partly for his benefit as well. He just hoped it wasn’t too late for him. It would be a special shame if these three examples of budding potential be improperly guided. But alas, he trusted Ryujin… probably more than anyone in this village. Minato did as well, so why not him?
After all, Ryujin was an example of budding potential himself.
𓍊✿𓍊 ~ Chapter end ~ 𓍊✿𓍊