Fate

Unaffected by the personalities of some outgoing, optimistic people, Naruto in Ryosuke's timeline was frighteningly well-behaved.

Although Naruto did not know how to make the villagers acknowledge him, he knew what kind of person could become Hokage: a powerful and great ninja.

So he did not compete with Sasuke Uchiha for first place, nor did he pick fights or arrange duels with the other students.

Understanding his own problems and seeking ways to solve them was a trait Ryosuke had discovered in this Naruto.

It also made him admire Naruto more and more. In the boy, he saw the shadow of his former self.

They were both orphans, and both just as strong, working hard in silence.

"Ryosuke, do you know how I can properly control the chakra inside me?"

It was as though Naruto could sense Ryosuke's attention and admiration, and he grew increasingly close to him.

On the surface, Ryosuke had not paid him much attention, merely answering whatever he was asked.

"As for chakra control, the Ninja Learning Manual contains relevant material. I think you've already read it."

Looking at the troubled Naruto beside him, Ryosuke explained with a smile, "Chakra control is a necessary condition for becoming a ninja. Even if you can refine chakra, if you lack the ability to use it, you won't be able to perform ninjutsu, so..."

"I know that. I just want to know how to control it. Why can all of you do it while I can't?" Naruto scratched his head. "Refining chakra goes smoothly for me. I even feel like I have more chakra than quite a few people in the class."

"But every time I use chakra, I can feel most of it leaking away as it circulates, as though it is being drawn into somewhere deeper inside my body."

As he spoke, he extended a hand and unconsciously touched his abdomen.

Every time, more than half his chakra was lost there. He did not know where it went, nor could he investigate it.

"I don't know about that. The Ninja Manual doesn't explain it, but I think you could try asking Third-sama." With his usual smile, Ryosuke casually guided him toward seeking out Hiruzen Sarutobi again and asking for the truth.

There were many things he could not tell Naruto.

Naruto's identity was sensitive, and so was his own existence.

As a weapon of war, Naruto could live such a relatively free life entirely because Hiruzen Sarutobi had protected him.

Therefore, Hiruzen Sarutobi valued him highly and was also deeply wary of him. He had always sent quite a few ninja to monitor Naruto in secret, and even occasionally used the Telescope Technique himself to spy on Naruto's life.

With that as the premise, although Ryosuke admired Naruto, he could not openly teach or guide him. He could only become a guide hidden in the shadows.

Hiruzen Sarutobi hoped to keep Naruto in his grasp, have him inherit the Will of Fire, and make him a ninja like Minato Namikaze.

Then Ryosuke would simply go with the flow and push Naruto toward Hiruzen Sarutobi.

All in all, Hiruzen Sarutobi would absolutely never harm Naruto, at least not before he officially became a ninja.

But whether he could maintain his own consciousness and judgment under Hiruzen Sarutobi's constant indoctrination depended on the abilities of this somewhat withdrawn and introverted Naruto himself.

"Third-sama treats you very well, but everyone is different. If you want to become a true Hokage, if you want to earn other people's recognition, you can't follow his path completely."

After school, before leaving the classroom, Ryosuke rose to his feet and quietly said to Naruto, "Otherwise, everyone in the village will only acknowledge you because of what Hiruzen Sarutobi has done, rather than because of your own efforts."

"Ryosuke..."

Naruto stared blankly at his smile, not quite understanding.

"See you tomorrow."

Ryosuke nodded to him, then left the classroom with Hinata beside him.

After he left, the Anbu ninja who had temporarily stopped monitoring Naruto during class appeared nearby again.

Thanks to the perception granted by those powerful Byakugan, whenever people monitoring Naruto appeared nearby, or whenever Hiruzen Sarutobi used the Telescope Technique to spy on Naruto, Ryosuke could avoid them in advance.

"Ryosuke, you seem to think highly of Naruto Uzumaki. Father said you shouldn't have too much contact with him."

On the way home, only Ryosuke and Hinata were together.

Perhaps because she had noticed Ryosuke's unusual attitude toward Naruto, she spoke softly.

"I haven't had much contact with Naruto. Although we're desk mates, in nearly a month since school began, we've spoken fewer than twenty times."

Ryosuke replied casually. As he walked, both hands moved through the empty air, his fingertips tapping lightly as though a huge piano stood before him.

"But..."

Hinata hesitated. She always felt that Ryosuke's relationship with Naruto was not so simple.

"You know, Hinata."

Before she could voice the doubts in her heart, Ryosuke spoke again. "In this world, there is a theory called determinism."

"It means that from the moment a person is born until the moment their life ends, every part of their fate is predetermined. What do you think of that idea?"

His tone was indifferent and flat, lacking his usual warmth.

There was no smile on his face either. He carried a calmness that seemed to stand above all things and look down upon everything.

After seriously considering the question, Hinata responded, "...I can't accept it."

"That is normal. No one wants everything in their life to be arranged for them."

Ryosuke's fingertips continued tapping through the air, yet Hinata did not find it strange in the slightest, nor did she think he looked like a madman.

So... it wasn't a piano.

A chessboard suddenly appeared before Ryosuke. The fingers he had been tapping were actually pressing against its pieces, moving them across the board.

It was Genjutsu. Hinata realized that immediately, because the chessboard had appeared far too abruptly.

But she did not circulate the chakra within her body to break free of the Genjutsu. She wanted to know what Ryosuke was doing.

"If this chessboard represents the fate I spoke of, then these pieces represent each individual person."

Ryosuke explained quietly, "Whenever these pieces turn away from the paths they were originally meant to take and move in another direction, I become deeply interested."

"I really want to know what these pieces that have broken away from their original paths of fate will become. And during that process, I don't mind giving them a push or two to make them move a little faster."

"...Ryosuke."

Hinata's eyes were filled with fear and unease.

She felt an overwhelming pressure coming from Ryosuke.

It was like standing alone by the sea, facing towering waves crashing toward her. That pressure left her unable to speak and finish what she had meant to say.

Her entire body trembled. Even though she was far stronger than before, she could not suppress the fear rising from the depths of her heart.

"Sorry, sorry."

Noticing that something was wrong with Hinata, Ryosuke quickly suppressed the somewhat restless chakra within him. He reached out and clasped her small hand, offering comfort.

Just now... he seemed to have entered a very subtle state.

It was as though he could truly see everything that would happen in the future, rather than merely relying on the plot in his mind to make calculations.

It was a state in which everything was operating within his mind, even the survival or destruction of this planet.

But after waking from that state, it was as though he had seen nothing at all and remembered nothing at all.

Thanks to Zaun Badger-Stabber King and Li Tongming for their donations.