Passerby

Torikaze was at home practicing Cloud Release ninjutsu, completely unaware that because of him, a poor old Uchiha man was coughing up blood.

He was at a critical stage now. If he could break through, his Cloud Release training would be complete; otherwise, it would take much longer.

Pale blue energy swirled around Torikaze. His eyes were tightly shut, his expression grave, while large beads of sweat slid down from his temples.

He was following the method recorded on the scroll, doing his utmost to fuse Water-, Fire-, and Wind-natured Chakra into one. This was by no means an easy task!

Equal amounts of Water and Fire Chakra balanced each other out, but once Wind-natured Chakra was added, it fueled the fire and suppressed the water, making perfect fusion impossible.

Although the scroll gave a ratio, Torikaze discovered in practice that following the ratio left behind by his ancestors made success completely impossible.

With a muffled bang, Torikaze's face suddenly turned deathly pale.

"Failed again."

The backlash from a failed Chakra fusion was not severe, but it threw the flow of Chakra within his body into disorder. If he wanted to continue training, he had to sort out his Chakra again first.

But this had become routine for Torikaze. He had no idea how many times he had failed over the past month. Although he had not succeeded this time, he had found the right ratio!

"This time, it'll definitely work."

Once he had finished regulating his Chakra, he attempted the fusion again. Torikaze silently recited in his heart, 44% Water, 31% Fire, 25% Wind.

This was the ratio he had arrived at after a month of constant experimentation.

Sure enough, when he fused his Chakra according to this ratio, the three types restrained one another. None could devour the others, and in the end, they obediently fused into one.

"Hah." A dense cloud of mist escaped Torikaze's mouth. It was easy to tell that compared to the Hidden Mist Technique, Cloud Release was markedly denser, offered lower visibility, and was much colder.

"I finally did it!" God knew how much he had suffered these past few days!

At first, he had followed the ratio left behind by his ancestors, but he had never been able to succeed. In the end, he had no choice but to find his own ratio.

What puzzled him, though, was why his father had not told him about this. Could it have been a test?

He could not fathom his father's thoughts.

But if Windcloud Mountain were still alive, he would probably have said, "Son, your dad forgot!"

Either way, he had finally mastered Cloud Release. It was another layer of security!

"I wonder which is stronger, Dust Release or Cloud Release?"

He supposed he would only know after reaching the Battlefield. Looking out the window, he realized it was already getting late.

He hurriedly stripped off his clothes and took a bath. He had sweated quite a bit after training for so long, and he still had to visit his Master's home. He could not show up smelling all sweaty and make a bad impression for no reason.

Afterward, Torikaze changed into a fresh set of clothes. Since it was his first time visiting his Master's home, he needed to look more formal.

He was now wearing the attire the Windcloud Clan wore on formal occasions. The Hidden Cloud Crane Crest embroidered in gold thread upon the black robe looked exceptionally noble. Whether it was an illusion or not, he felt it gave him the air of a wandering hero.

Outside, the sky was gradually darkening. "It's about time."

After tying back his long white hair, he left the house.

As he walked down the street, the vendors were beginning to pack up their stalls and head home. Only a few restaurants remained open, and business inside seemed fairly good.

The sights put Torikaze greatly at ease, as though he were once again visiting his grandfather's home in the countryside as a child. It was peaceful and pleasant, a very leisurely sort of life.

From several streets away, he could hear mothers with booming voices calling their children home for dinner. Everything was so beautiful.

At that moment, he actually came to understand Hashirama Senju's dream—why he had been willing to pay any price to establish this village, and why he had wanted to protect it even until the end of his life.

After walking for around twenty minutes, he arrived at the Senju Clan Grounds. From the outside, they looked rather ordinary, lacking the ambience of the Windcloud Clan. Every time Torikaze returned home, he felt as though he had arrived at some immortal cultivation sect.

The Senju Clan Grounds, on the other hand, resembled a large residence. They were full of everyday life and considerably livelier.

He had no idea where his Master lived, so he could only grab a random Passerby to ask.

"Sir, where does Lord Hokage live?"

Passerby froze. Only one thought filled his mind: Why was this kid so rich? If he was not mistaken, the pattern on those clothes was embroidered with gold thread, right? They could do that now?

"Who are you? What do you want with the Clan Head?" Passerby asked.

"Ah, Lord Hokage asked me to come. I'm his disciple."

Upon hearing that, Passerby looked like he was about to explode. He did not even dare glance at Torikaze's gold-threaded clothes again!

Kids these days were not just rich—they could brag like this too?

But before he could say anything, someone emerged from the clan grounds.

"Kid, you finally came. Big Brother has been waiting for you forever!"

Tobirama Senju stood at the entrance to the clan grounds with a stern expression, looking to be in a rather bad mood.

"My apologies, Lord Tobirama. I had just finished training and lost track of time."

Seeing how respectful the boy was, Tobirama naturally did not make things difficult for him and led him into the clan grounds.

Passerby was left standing outside in the wind, utterly bewildered. "So this kid really is the Clan Head's disciple?"

In less than five minutes, half of Konoha knew about it! The heads of the major clans also started asking around everywhere, trying to find out who had been lucky enough to receive such a blessing—and perhaps recruit him while they were at it.

Within the Senju Clan Grounds, everyone who saw Lord Tobirama bring in this child cast envious looks his way.

"Come inside. I'm getting a little hungry."

Torikaze acknowledged and followed Tobirama Senju into the house.

The moment he entered, he saw a red-haired woman with two bun buns. Before she could react, Torikaze immediately said, "Hello, Shishou's Wife."

Mito Uzumaki immediately smiled when she heard that. "What a sweet-talking child. Come change your shoes and eat. Your Master has been waiting for you for ages."

Torikaze looked apologetic. "Sorry, Shishou's Wife. I kept you waiting."

Mito merely smiled and said nothing.

Only then did Torikaze let out a sigh of relief. Good heavens! Did they know who that was? The princess of the Uzumaki Clan! What woman of the Uzumaki Clan didn't have a fiery temper?

If he didn't sweet-talk her now, he definitely wouldn't have an easy time in the future!

Torikaze and Tobirama followed Mito inside. Sure enough, the table was already loaded with dishes. Hashirama was waiting beside it, practically drooling.

When he saw Torikaze arrive, he pretended to be angry. "Torikaze, why are you so late? Could it be that you have some objections to me, your Master?"

Master, your acting really isn't very good, Torikaze grumbled inwardly. Outwardly, however, he put on an innocent expression. "Master, this disciple was late because I successfully cultivated the clan's Secret Technique today."