Pure Bystander

Torifu was training in Cloud Release ninjutsu at home, unaware that, because of him, a poor old Uchiha was spewing blood.

He was at a critical stage. If he could get past it, he would master Cloud Release; if not, it would take him much longer.

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

Following the method recorded on the scroll, he was doing his best to fuse the Chakra of three natures—Water, Fire, and Wind. It was no easy task!

Equal amounts of Water and Fire Chakra were evenly matched, but adding Wind Chakra would fan the flames and suppress the water, making a perfect fusion impossible.

The scroll already gave the proportions, but when Torifu put them into practice, he found that succeeding with the ancestor's formula was completely impossible.

With a dull thud, Torifu's face suddenly turned deathly pale.

"Another failure."

The backlash from a failed Chakra fusion wasn't severe, but it threw the flow of Chakra inside his body into disarray. To keep training, he had to regulate it again.

But this was all routine for Torifu. He had lost count of how many times he'd failed over the past month. He hadn't succeeded this time, but he had found the right proportions!

"This time, it'll work for sure."

After regulating his Chakra, he tried fusing it again. Torifu silently recited to himself, 44% Water, 31% Fire, 25% Wind.

These were the proportions he had arrived at after a month of repeated attempts.

Sure enough, with these proportions, the three types of Chakra counterbalanced one another. None could overwhelm the others, and in the end, they had no choice but to obediently fuse into one.

"Phew." A thick cloud of mist billowed from Torifu's mouth. He could clearly feel that Cloud Release was much denser than the Mist Concealment Technique, with lower visibility and a colder temperature.

"I finally did it!" Who knew how much he'd suffered over the past few days!

At first, he'd followed the proportions left behind by the ancestor, but he could never make it work. In the end, he had no choice but to find his own formula.

But one thing puzzled him: why hadn't his father told him about this? Could it have been a test?

He couldn't figure out what his father was thinking.

If Kumonaka Yama were still alive, though, he'd probably have said, "Son, your dad forgot!"

Anyway, he'd finally mastered Cloud Release. That was one more layer of protection!

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

He'd probably have to go to the battlefield to find out. He glanced out the window and saw that it was already getting late.

He hurriedly took off his clothes and had a bath. He'd worked up quite a sweat during his long training session, and he was going to his master's house soon. He couldn't show up smelling bad and make a poor first impression.

Afterward, Kumonaka Torikaze changed into a fresh set of clothes. Since it was his first time visiting his master's home, he wanted to look presentable.

He was now wearing the formal attire of the Kumonaka Clan. The Cloud Crane Hidden Pattern, embroidered in gold thread on his black robe, looked especially dignified. Whether it was his imagination or not, he felt like some sort of wandering hero.

It was already growing dark outside. "It's about time."

He tied back his long white hair and left home.

The street vendors were starting to pack up their stalls and head home. Only a few restaurants were still open, and they seemed to be doing good business.

The scene put Kumonaka Torikaze at ease. It reminded him of visiting his grandfather in the countryside as a child: peaceful, comfortable, and leisurely.

From several streets away, he could hear loud mothers calling their children home for dinner. Everything felt so wonderful.

For a moment, he found himself understanding Senju Hashirama's dream. He understood why Hashirama had spared no effort to establish this village and had protected it until the end of his life.

After walking for about twenty minutes, he arrived at the Senju Compound. It looked fairly ordinary from the outside, without the Kumonaka Clan's distinctive atmosphere. Whenever Kumonaka Torikaze returned home, he felt as if he were entering some sort of immortal sect.

The Senju Clan's grounds, by contrast, looked more like a large family estate, bustling with the warmth of everyday life.

He had no idea where his master lived, so he could only grab some random passerby and ask.

"Excuse me, sir. Where does Lord Hokage live?"

The passerby froze. One thought filled his mind: How rich was this kid? Unless he was mistaken, that pattern on the clothes was embroidered in gold, wasn't it? They had people who could do that these days?

"Who are you? What do you want with the clan head?" the passerby asked.

"Oh, Lord Hokage asked me to come. I'm his student."

The passerby looked as though he might explode. He didn't even dare look at the gold-threaded clothes Kumonaka Torikaze was wearing!

Kids these days weren't just rich—they were boastful, too?

Before he could say anything, someone emerged from the compound.

"Kid, you finally made it. Big Brother's been waiting ages for you!"

Senju Tobirama stood at the entrance to the compound, his expression stern. He didn't look to be in a very good mood.

"Sorry, Lord Tobirama. I'd just finished training and lost track of time."

Seeing how polite the boy was, Tobirama decided not to give him a hard time and led him into the compound.

The passerby was left standing outside, utterly bewildered. "So that kid really is the clan head's student?"

In just five minutes, half of Konoha knew about it! The heads of the various clans began asking around to find out who had been so lucky—and to try to win him over while they were at it.

Inside the Senju Compound, everyone looked at the child Lord Tobirama had brought in with envy.

"Come inside. I'm getting hungry."

Torifu answered and followed Tobirama into the house.

As soon as he entered, he saw a red-haired woman with her hair tied into two buns. Before she could react, Kumonaka Torikaze promptly greeted her. "Hello, Mistress."

Mito Uzumaki immediately smiled. "What a sweet-talking child. Come change your shoes and have dinner. Your master's been waiting for you for ages."

Torifu looked apologetic. "Sorry for the wait, Mistress."

Mito simply smiled at his words and said nothing.

Only then did Kumonaka Torikaze let out a breath of relief. Good grief! Did they know who she was? She was the princess of the Uzumaki Clan! Weren't all the women in the Uzumaki Clan hot-tempered?

If he hadn't said something nice to smooth things over, he'd surely pay for it later!

Torifu and Tobirama followed Mito inside. As expected, a whole table of dishes had already been prepared. Hashirama was waiting by the table, nearly drooling.

When he saw Torifu arrive, he pretended to be upset. "Torifu, why are you so late? Could it be that you have some grudge against me as your master?"

Torifu complained inwardly, Master, your acting is really terrible. But aloud, he feigned innocence. "Master, I was late because I mastered my clan's secret technique while training today."