Chapter 78: Fast development

Riku turned back to look at Sakura, a questioning look on his face. He thought for a moment that she was talking about the huge boulder he had just smashed into pebbles with his fist as a demonstration of his super strength. Just in case his question was broad.

“What is?”

“You, teaching me. We’re the same age for one. For two…”

“You hate my guts.” He interjected.

Sakura didn’t deny it. “I do. Or I used to. My friendship with Ino fell apart because of you, then you were taken by Tsunade-sama as an apprentice, then you killed Sasuke…” The last part was said with a held breath. It was difficult for her to speak about it. Not because of Riku killing Sasuke but because it was Sasuke and her time in therapy had shown her her unnatural obsession with the guy. “Then send me to jail.”

“None of those things were my fault.” He answered her with a flat expression.

“I know. Now.” Sakura replied after another sigh. “Therapy helped a lot with seeing things as they are. You didn’t go out of your way to seduce Ino. Meeting Tsunade-sama was your own luck, Sasuke was an enemy of the village and I… screwed up. I still don’t like you. But for you. Not for imagined actions against me.”

Riku conceded. “That’s fair enough.”

“But you don’t care, do you?”

“Not one bit.” He admitted it shamelessly. “I don’t know you enough to care. The bit I know… Makes me want to have nothing to do with you. But that’s the you from our academy days. Time changes people however. Look at Naruto and I. We couldn’t stand each other much but now? We’re not friends but we’re alright with each other.”

She gave him a flat look. “You’re brothers.”

“And?” He asked her with an eyebrow raised. “I don’t see him that way. We spent little time together. When we do it’s because his father is here.”

That took her aback a bit. “You don’t consider Namikaze-sama your father?”

“Nope. I acknowledge he is my sperm donor and we’re getting along just fine but I see him more as an uncle than father.”

“Why?”

Riku stayed silent for a moment and his gaze bore into her. Sakura flinched from it.

“I… For starters I am the child he didn’t sign up for. A child made against his will. I’m like… an affair baby in a way and I don’t really want to immerse myself into the Namikaze family like a hair in the soup. Naruto also deserves all the attention of his father and Kushina-san shouldn’t have to deal with me either. Uzumaki or not. It’s not like I don't have my own family too.”

“I see.” She said nothing more but her thoughts ran. She had always made Riku into an evil monster in her mind. The one that beat Sasuke, the one that took Ino from her. In their academy days he had always been so cold and distant. She realized now it was because no one wanted to have anything to do with him. Both because of his mother’s crimes and because very few students were as dedicated to becoming a shinobi as he was. Now she perhaps saw a glimpse of kindness that no monster could have.

“Less talking, more training. I’m sure you’re more than smart enough to understand the principle behind the strength of the hundred seals. With your chakra control I don’t think it will take you long to master it. What will take time is training how to use it in creative ways.”

After tilting her head to the side she asked aloud the question she had in mind. “Creative ways?”

“Fists and feet are an obvious way to use the technique but there are other parts of the body that you could use. The elbows and knees, the forehead to name a few. Your whole body in truth. Look.”

Rik walked to another boulder. Smaller this time around. Taking a stance, he pivoted on his foot and hit the rock with the side of his ass, blowing it to pieces.

“See what I mean? Your body is a weapon and the strength of a hundred seals relies on releasing chakra on the tenketsu. In consequence-”

“Every tenketsu turns into a weapon with this jutsu.” Sakura nodded in understanding.

“Yes. Now focus first on the hands, then feet. Afterwards we’ll work on other important parts of the body useful in Taijutsu.”

“What about the Taijutsu style?”

That was a valid question. Thankfully, Riku had thought of it long before. “I can’t teach you my mother’s style. It belongs to the clan. That’s why I asked Gai to come around soon to see what would fit you the best.”

“What about your Iryoken?” She inquired. The idea of destroying people was quite interesting for her.

Riku shook his head, turning her down. “The Iryoken is not really a style. It’s a skill. I use my mom’s style and apply the Iryoken to it. It’s not like the Goken or Jyuken which have stances and secret techniques. I could teach it to you but it would take too much time. Even mom, who had perfect chakra control like you do, couldn’t replicate it on her own after years of trying. It’s also way more chakra intensive than the explosive strength. Maybe after the war, if you still want to learn. However just like the strength of a hundred seals-”

“It’s a Master-disciple secret. I can’t share it with anyone without explicit approval from you or your master. I remember.” She said with exasperation. Not like she was against it. She understood why and she had no one to teach too anyway. It was just that Riku had been reminding her about it a lot and it was tiring.

“Good. Now go practice on your own. Try a tree first before hitting rocks.”

Seeing her fired up, Riku left her alone and turned into the direction of the three people to the side of the garden. Two of them were helping the third walk on his own legs. Something he hadn’t been able to do for the past decade.

“That’s great, Nagato. It’s two more steps than yesterday.” The orange haired man cheered as the former Leader of Ame's legs fell under his own weight.

An hour earlier in the outside world, Riku went to visit Nagato and Konan in jail for a proposition. To join the war effort at Konoha’s side. Their refusal was done in a heart beat. They had no love for Konoha after two Shinobi wars ravaged their country and took their loved ones. Especially their third teammate, Yahiko. The man had been killed during a confrontation with Hanzo the salamander and former ruler of Ame. The kicker had been Danzo meddling with things. What was supposed to be a diplomatic meeting between Akatsuki and Hanzo for a more relaxed politic from the Tyrant, turned into a tale of betrayal because of Konoha's crippled warhawk. As a result they blamed Konoha as a whole.

Since Nagato used Yahiko’s body for his Deva Path, Riku told them that, if they had anything with the man’s chakra, he could be brought back to life fully. They didn't believe him at first but he had called for Kushina as proof. The woman had been delighted to help in turning her fellow Uzumaki to their side. She still had mixed feelings towards the man and his plan to extract all the Bijus from the jinchuriki. It was the reason she died and Naruto was hunted after all. She knew how to separate things however and understood the intent behind Nagato’s plan was to hold the bijus to deter nations from warring against each other or risk being annihilated. She recognized the man wanted peace but in her opinion went all wrong about it.

When Riku advocated for an alliance with Ame and shared his plans for the future of the Shinobi world, Konan was the first to crack. What Riku was selling sounded very much like what she, Nagato and Yahiko dreamed of in their youth. Before Obito made contact with them. After ironing the deal in detail, Ame-nins and Riku came to an agreement.

Konan still had a few exploding tags made by Yahiko she had kept as memento and gave them to Riku. He and Karin worked diligently and meticulously to reanimate Yahiko’s body and heal it of all injuries or degradation from his death. Once it was done they performed the same variant of the Edo Tensei and Yahiko was brought back to life.

Shocked to be in the impure world once again at first, it took him quite a few days to deal with his resurrection. Thankfully Konan and Nagato’s presence helped a lot. The most difficult was to learn of what his friends had done to honor his memory and their dreams. He hadn’t been happy about that and let them know in no uncertain terms. The fight was quickly over though. Much like Naruto he had a disposition to let bygones be bygones should people really regret their actions.

Since then, the trio spent their time helping Nagato to walk again. His body may have healed but his brain needed time to relearn how to send proper signals through the nerves of his legs. It was a long process but they did that in the Botib so they had all the time in the world.

Leaving the garden he passed through the main hall. On his way to the training room he saw Kushina and Karin sitting around the main table and practicing with their chains on how to make seals with them. Of all the kekkei Genkai he knew about, the Adamantine chains were the only one he wished he had. The rinnegan, sharingan or byakugan held no interest to him. The elemental kekkei genkai weren’t ones as he demonstrated through fuinjutsu. Everything else was useless to him.

The chains however? They could help with fuinjutsu and would make it simpler to directly use his chakra to create seals. He was still working on it from Minato’s instructions and it was maddening. So far he was able to put a hiraishin on anything but a version that requires his own chakra to use as there was none of his chakra stored in his target. It necessitated modifying the formula a bit and that had taken time.

Stepping in the training room, he saw Minato, looking at Naruto sparring with Itachi, while Kakashi sparred with Sasuke. The former was learning not just how to break genjutsu powered from the sharingan but actively how to counter it. The latter was working on how to manipulate his raiton in different shapes than a sword.

The reformation of Team 7 had been tense. Sakura’s first reflex was to reach for Sasuke but she held herself back. Naruto had mixed feelings. On one hand he was glad to see his rival again on the other he was saddened and a bit bitter to see the person who he considered his very first friend but never was in the state they were in. Kakashi had laid down the law immediately. They didn’t have the time to quarrel and for their egos to clash. The world’s future was at stake.

“How is Naruto doing?” Riku asked his father.

“Well. He’s using shadow clones to work on his muscle memory to remember the stances of my style. It’s down now but he needs a bit more time to master it and to switch from it to the frog kata. His chakra control made leaps and bounds and can now make a rasenshuriken with one hand, he’s currently working on mastering other affinities. I have to say, I’ve never seen anyone deal with so much information at once and progress so fast.”

A nod of acknowledgement escaped Riku’s control. “Naruto is smart. His quick thinking when doing is perhaps the best in the village. He instinctively understands what he needs to do once it was explained to him properly. With the shadow clones he’s able to try and test every idea that comes to him on how to achieve his objective, increasing the speed at which he learns. That jutsu was really made for him.” He replied while looking at his brother, sprouted from the ground and attacked Itachi. He had substituted himself with a shadow clone which was affected by a genjutsu in his stead.

They watched in silence for a while. Riku’s attention was then caught by Gai who was practicing farther away in a corner of the training room, shattering a boulder with shurifuins of his own creation. The green beast of Konoha had diligently kept working on his fuinjutsu and Riku had taught him more advanced seals and how to carve them on shuriken. Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by ɴovelfire.net

It wasn’t something new. What was however was Mei looking at the man with clear interest and dare he say hunger and thirst. Wondering in amusement if the jonin had noticed the lustful gaze of the Mizukage, the idea of the two of them together almost made him laugh.

‘The beauty and the beast,’ He thought.

Having seen enough, he left the room. On his way outside the Botib he came across Shikaku who was apparently done with his nap. The man would sneak all the time to get proper rest.

“Shikaku-san. I’m done reviewing all the information. Meeting in my office in one hour.”

Riku got a nod of acknowledgment and stepped outside the Botib. Thanks to the Time dilation effect, weeks had been spent inside the Botib and it showed with how far along his training went. For the oldest permanent occupant inside, it had been a year. Outside? It was lunch time. Riku had become Hokage the previous day and it was publicly announced in the morning. For him it was very old news but for others it wasn’t.

That’s why, out of nowhere he was tackled to the side by Ino. An act of comfort towards her husband for the loss of his mother. The village may have lost their Hokage but Riku lost so much more.

“It’s alright, Ino.” He took her in his embrace properly. “It’s weeks old news for me.”

She pulled back her head to look at his face and blinked. Realization downed on her face and she gave him a flat stare.

“You could at least have filled me in.” Her eyes narrowed in accusation.

“I’m sorry. I had a mountain of things to do. Still do but I have time for lunch. Outside the Botib.” A gentle and soft smile graced his lips.

She sighed in resignation. He always had a cart load of work before and she never begrudged him for it. It was important work. The last thing to date that took him away from a long time was the creation of the bunker underground the village and it saved everyone’s lives. Now that he was Hokage and in such an unfortunate and sudden way, she knew he was asked for everywhere. She held no blame on her husband’s head but she certainly didn’t like he was spending time away from her. Long period of time.

Her face said it all and Riku reacted. Cupping her cheek and laying a loving kiss on her lips, he tried to calm her down. “I know. But it’s only for a little bit longer. A few days to a month at best. Afterwards…” he paused there, looking far away. Lost in thought for a moment his eyes settled back on the blonde. “No more extensive work for a while.”

“Riku.” His name was said firmly. “I believe you when you say the war is going to end soon but you’re Hokage. There won’t be an end to overwork, so don’t lie to me.” She put a finger on his lips to stop him from formulating a reply. “It’s alright. I knew what I was getting into when I chose to date you. I don’t like it but I’m accepting it. Just don’t serve me bullshit, okay?”

His lips spread further, changing his smile into a grin. “I wasn’t. Tomorrow Iwa falls, then it’s Obito and the undead’s turn.”

Ino searched his eyes for any deception and found none. Satisfied and having faith in him, she nodded. Taking his hand, she dragged him to the kitchen. Karin was in the Botib, and Hinata was at the Hospital working, meaning there were only the two of them. To her, they haven’t seen each other in a month and she sure as hell was going to spend some time alone with her husband. Even if depraved sex wasn’t on the table. A simple lunch would do.