Ryu's eyes opened to morning light filtering through his window. The dream negotiations with the moon council were still vivid in his mind—insight into artificial Byakugan within the dreamscape and, most importantly, an alliance that could reshape the future.
"Not bad for a night's work."
A small smile crossed his face. The outcome had exceeded his expectations. Taro had agreed to teach the blind warrior's technique to Akihiro, and Kiyomizu would soon begin dream training for perfect Yin–Yang release.
Ryu sat up, rolling his shoulders. "Okay... Let's freshen up and train."
later that morning
Ryu led the group, running fast around the track. Behind him, his adoptive siblings struggled to keep up. Jiyuu and Yasashii pushed themselves hard, their breathing rough. The twins—Kaia and Akihiro—ran right behind them. Kaia kept adjusting her pace to match Akihiro.
On a slower inner track, Souji walked carefully. Each step was cautious but steadier than before.
Away from the runners, Rina sat on an old wooden bench. Her wheelchair waited beside her. She held a leaf between her fingers, eyes closed. The leaf shook slightly as she pushed chakra through it to train her wind affinity. Occasionally her eyes opened to watch the runners. Longing and determination passed over her face before she forced her focus back to the leaf.
Ryu saw that look as he ran past. He thought, "The prosthetic leg prototype designs are done. I just need to speed up production."
He looked back at the track. Akihiro caught his attention most. The blind boy no longer stumbled. He didn't slow down or hesitate. His feet moved around rocks and dips in the ground like he could see them.
"Akihiro is improving quickly," Ryu thought. "The [InstinctGPT] seal on his body is working perfectly. It's helping him learn months of training in just days."
"Alright, take a break and get onto your respective assignments!" Ryu called out, slowing to a walk.
The others dropped onto the grass, breathing hard. Ryu stayed standing. His breathing was already back to normal. He waited for them to catch their breath.
"Akihiro. Kaia." He waved them over.
The twins got up and walked to him. Their tired faces now showed curiosity.
"I have news for you," Ryu said quietly. "I found a teacher for Akihiro."
Akihiro's head tilted. His fingers moved quickly in signs, "A teacher?"
"Yes. I made contact with a clan that has special techniques." Ryu paused. "The teacher himself is blind. He comes from a long line of people who have learned to see without eyes using a special ninjutsu. They train blind warriors to sense everything around them. Their method is better and different from what I have planned for you; you can learn both my method and their method. There's no harm in learning both... just know you will be in capable hands."
Kaia grabbed her brother's hand. Her eyes went wide. "Really? They can help him?"
"They agreed to train him. But it will be hard work." Ryu looked at Kaia. "You can also learn the technique, even though you don't need it. It might give you another way to perceive the world."
"When?" Kaia asked, watching Ryu's lips carefully.
"Soon," Ryu said. "But this stays between us for now. The clan is very secretive. No one in the village knows about their existence, and I plan to respect their privacy. Your job is to get your chakra control perfect. I'll send you to them when you're ready. Until then, keep following the current training plan... I'll figure out what to tell Grandpa later."
Kaia hugged her brother tight. When she let go, she formed a careful hand sign behind Akihiro's back where he couldn't sense it—a silent 'thank you' meant only for Ryu's eyes.
Ryu nodded once, understanding the gesture. "Back to work. Break's over."
As they returned to the group, Ryu's eyes went back to Rina. She was still working with the leaf.
"Five days until the main satellite deployment," he thought, checking his mental list. "The satellite is on schedule. But I need to speed up all my projects. The prosthetic, the IronHeart City and SunFurnace, and now the Moon City… It's too much work for little me… I need to hire more people."
At the same time at Ichiraku Ramen
Steam rose from a bowl. Naruto Uzumaki leaned over the counter and ate the noodles fast. He slurped loudly. Broth splashed on his cheeks as he grabbed more noodles the moment he swallowed.
Teuchi laughed, already getting more noodles ready. "You're eating a lot today, Naruto. "Thank Ryu-kun when you see him."
Naruto nodded and smiled while chewing. "Big-brother-funny-hair is so kind... unlike everyone else in the village. Everyone else is a jerk."
His chopsticks stopped halfway to his mouth.
"No one treats me to ramen except old man Third," he thought. "But he said I need to train to repay for the food..."
He ate another mouthful, still thinking. "Maybe I should train like everyone there... Maybe some other time."
"One more, please!" Naruto said.
"Here you go, Naruto!" Teuchi said, putting a fresh bowl in front of him.
"Thanks!" Naruto grinned. All his worries disappeared when he saw the ramen bowl.
The rest of the day passed at the academy with the usual lessons—theory, taijutsu drills, and chakra control exercises. Ryu went through the motions, his mind already working on designs and calculations for future projects while his body moved through the familiar routines.
Later that night
Moonlight lit up the floor of Ryu's room, making a bright path across his bed.
Ryu closed his eyes in his bed and then opened his eyes somewhere else.
A tall man in white robes stood near him. Kiyomizu Otsutsuki had been waiting. "You're late." Kiyomizu's voice carried no warmth. "There is a time limit for this place. Let's not waste time and start the training."
Kiyomizu raised his hand. A light green ball of Yang chakra formed above his palm.
"You already know some Yin release techniques, so we can skip the basic explanations." He held out the white ball. "Use your [Yin release], gather Yin chakra in your palm and try to pull this [Yang Chakra ball] toward you."
Ryu lifted his hand. He gathered Yin chakra. He pushed it out onto his palm and tried to pull the chakra ball in Kiyomizu's hand.
The ball shook under the pull, vibrating in place instead of drifting. The vibration grew stronger as Ryu tightened his efforts, pushing more Yin into the connection.
Kiyomizu said, "That was fast... For a first attempt, it was impressive. Now move it to your other hand."
Ryu switched focus. He guided the ball from his right hand to his left using only chakra control. It again vibrated under the pull.
"Good. Your Yin release is good but not enough. Now we test your Yang."
He closed his hand. The chakra ball disappeared. A new one appeared instead with a slightly different shade of green… darker.
Kiyomizu said, "Try to pull it."
Ryu reached out his hand. This time he tried to use Yang chakra. He pushed Yang forward and tried to grab the darker ball of Yin chakra. But nothing happened.
He frowned and tried again. He used more power, changed the way he pushed the chakra, and tried different mental images.
The ball didn't move at all. No tremor. No vibration. Nothing.
"Again."
For several minutes, Ryu tried different ways. It didn't matter how much force he applied; Kiyomizu's palm held the chakra ball in place.
Ryu's face showed frustration. "I used everything I had, but the Yin ball still wouldn't move."
Ryu thought, "This training isn't simple."
Kiyomizu said, "You wouldn't need training if you could do it on day one… Even with good Yin release as per earth standard... you could only make it vibrate… You need to pull it towards you… even though you failed… it is impressive for a first day."
Ryu nodded.
Kiyomizu continued, "Your [Yang-release] is poor… Listen carefully. Yin and Yang always come together. When you pull out Yin from your body, what's left behind is Yang. The same works in reverse."
Ryu's eyes narrowed as he understood. "Taking one away leaves the other."
Kiyomizu continued, "Do your normal Yin release with one hand. Focus on the leftover chakra when the Yin is gone. Don't pull additional chakra from your chakra pool—use only the leftover and move that to the other hand. It wouldn't be perfect but it would be mostly Yang chakra."
Ryu closed his eyes. He pictured his chakra system—the pathways running through his body from his core. He gathered chakra in his stomach, then pushed Yin into his left hand. Then he focused the remaining chakra into his right hand.
Ryu grabbed onto that warm feeling, moved it into his right hand, and pointed it toward the ball.
The ball started vibrating slightly under the pull.
Kiyomizu smiled slightly. "Impressive. Most people take weeks to understand this. You did it on your first try."
Ryu replied, "It makes sense. If A plus B equals C, and you remove A, then B is left."
"Logic is one thing. Actually doing it is another. But you can't rely on this trick forever. You need to use Yang naturally, without actually wasting Yin chakra… It basically leaked out of your body to use minuscule Yang."
Ryu nodded.
"Let's keep on practising." Kiyomizu made another ball of Yang chakra.
"We'll have a tug-of-war using Yin chakra. Then we'll switch to Yang."
The room went quiet except for the soft hum of chakra.
Ryu reached with Yin toward the ball. The ball shook between them—sometimes jerking when Ryu's chakra flared but did not escape the grasp of Kiyomizu.
His Yin was strong. But his Yang was weaker. The chakra ball barely moved a bit when Ryu used Yang chakra. But with each try, he got better by a miniscule amount.
"That's enough for tonight." Kiyomizu let both balls disappear. "Your mind needs rest to learn these new skills. Good night… sweet dreams."
Ryu replied, "Goodnight, Sensei."
Ryu then thought, "I wonder if I can sleep here… A dream inside a dream… that would be inception-level dreaming."
Kiyomizu's body broke into pieces of light and vanished.
Ryu blinked, and the scene changed. He was in his bed again and it was still night.
A/N:
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