The Uzumaki Girl

Ryuto put the map away and continued forward.

He kept his Ki Sense active, like an all-weather radar.

For the past two weeks, he had traveled by day and found somewhere to practice localized reinforcement at night. His ki control had grown increasingly smooth. Now he could instantly concentrate ki in any part of his body and disperse it just as quickly, like switching a light on and off.

His stamina had improved too. He could walk for fourteen to sixteen hours straight without getting winded.

"At this pace, I could've run marathons in my last life," Ryuto muttered as he climbed a hillside.

From the crest, he looked out over a forest that stretched beyond sight.

According to the map, the Uzumaki Clan's settlement lay deep within this forest.

"Finally getting there." Ryuto let out a breath of relief.

He was about to head downhill when his Ki Sense suddenly sounded an alarm.

Ahead and to his left, at the edge of the forest, chakra was surging erratically.

Not one or two sources, but four.

Three were chasing, and one was fleeing.

The three pursuers' chakra felt cold and volatile, just like that of the Uchiha ninja on the battlefield before.

The fleeing person's chakra was unusual, warm yet resilient, but now it was as weak as a candle flickering in the wind, about to go out.

"The Uchiha are chasing someone?" Ryuto frowned.

"If the Uchiha are involved, I need to go lend a hand."

Ryuto moved, pouring ki into his legs and shooting forward like a cannonball.

Rena Uzumaki gasped for breath, her vision darkening.

Her chakra was completely depleted. Not a drop remained.

She gritted her teeth and ran on, clutching a scroll tightly in her hand.

It was an important Sealing Jutsu scroll belonging to her clan. She absolutely could not let it fall into Uchiha hands.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh-

Something whistled through the air behind her.

Rena tried to dodge, but her body would not obey. Her legs buckled, and she pitched forward.

Three kunai skimmed past her back and embedded themselves in a tree ahead.

"Run. Why aren't you running anymore?"

Three Uchiha ninja landed, surrounding her in a triangle.

The one in the middle had a scar on his face. He sneered. "You little Uzumaki brat, you're pretty good at running. Hand over the scroll, and I'll make it quick."

Rena pushed herself up, shielding the scroll against her chest.

"In your dreams."

"You're asking to die." Scarface formed hand seals. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

A fireball blasted toward her, heat rushing into her face.

Rena closed her eyes.

It's over.

Thud!

A dull impact rang out.

The burning she had expected never came.

Rena opened her eyes and froze.

A young man in ordinary cloth clothes stood in front of her, his right hand raised level. Pale golden ki had condensed into a round shield in front of his palm, firmly blocking the fireball.

The fireball struck the ki shield and exploded, scattering sparks, but none reached behind it.

Scarface froze too. "Who the hell are you?"

Ryuto ignored him and glanced back at Rena. "Are you okay?"

Rena shook her head blankly.

"Get farther away." With that, Ryuto turned to face the three Uchiha.

Scarface sized Ryuto up. He saw no forehead protector, and his clothes were ordinary too. He did not look like a ninja.

"A drifter? Stay out of this. Get lost."

Ryuto said nothing. Ki began flowing throughout his body.

Pale golden light shone through his skin, wrapping his entire body like a thin golden film.

"What kind of jutsu is that?" Scarface frowned. He didn't form any hand seals.

"Get him!" He waved a hand.

The Uchiha on either side charged at the same time, thrusting their kunai straight at him.

Ryuto moved.

With ki covering his whole body, his speed surged.

He turned sideways, caught the left Uchiha's wrist in his left hand, and twisted.

Crack.

The wrist bones shattered.

His right fist slammed into the other Uchiha's chest.

Bam!

The man flew backward, struck a tree, and slid down without moving.

The entire exchange took less than a second.

Scarface's eyes widened. "What the hell is that speed?!"

He hurriedly formed hand seals. "Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"

Flames lashed toward Ryuto like a whip.

Ryuto neither dodged nor ducked, charging straight into the flames.

Ki flowed over his body's surface. The flames were deflected as soon as they touched the ki film, leaving even his clothes unburned.

Before Scarface could finish his next hand seal, Ryuto was already in front of him.

One punch.

Scarface flew backward, broke through two trees, and lay motionless on the ground.

The fight was over.

Five seconds from start to finish.

Ryuto stood where he was as the pale golden ki around him slowly dispersed.

He looked at his fist.

"Covering my whole body roughly tripled my speed and strength. The drain... isn't bad. I can keep it up for several dozen minutes."

He walked over to Scarface and crouched to check him.

Not dead. Unconscious.

Of the other two, one had a shattered wrist and the other had broken ribs. Neither could fight anymore.

Ryuto stood and looked at Rena.

Rena was still sitting on the ground, her eyes wide and her mouth open enough to fit an egg.

"You... you..." She pointed at Ryuto, unable to get the words out.

"Can you still walk?" Ryuto asked.

Rena tried to stand, but her legs gave way, and she nearly fell again.

Ryuto reached out to steady her.

"Th-thank you." Rena's face reddened slightly.

"Why were they chasing you?" Ryuto asked.

Rena hesitated, then raised the scroll in her hand. "For... something belonging to our clan."

She looked at Ryuto. "Are you... a taijutsu ninja?"

Ryuto nodded. "Yeah. A wanderer. I've practiced taijutsu for a few years."

He told a lie.

Rena believed him.

That speed and strength really were signs of top-tier taijutsu. The golden light was strange, but the Shinobi World had all sorts of bizarre jutsu. Perhaps it was some secret taijutsu.

"Thank you for saving me," Rena said earnestly. "My name is Rena Uzumaki. I'm from the Uzumaki Clan."

"Ryuto." Ryuto gave his name.

"Mr. Ryuto." Rena looked around. "We're still some distance from our clan grounds. I've exhausted my chakra, so going back alone would be a little dangerous..."

She looked at Ryuto, her eyes bright. "Could you... take me back? Our clan will be sure to thank you properly!"

Something stirred in Ryuto's mind.

He had been worrying about how to approach the Uzumaki Clan, and now an opportunity had come right to him.

"Sure." He nodded. "I was hoping to visit the Uzumaki Clan anyway."

"That's great!" Rena smiled. "Let's go, then. I know a shortcut."

Supporting her, Ryuto headed deeper into the forest with her.

After they had walked a while, Rena could not help asking, "Mr. Ryuto, that move you used... what kind of taijutsu was it? It was incredible. You took down three Uchiha chunin in just a few moves."

Ryuto's expression did not change. "A secret taijutsu passed down in my family. It enhances physical capabilities."

"Qigong?" Rena tilted her head. "I've never heard of it."

"A small school. Not very well known." Ryuto changed the subject. "Your Uzumaki Clan is really good at Sealing Jutsu, right?"

"Of course!" Rena puffed out her chest. "The Uzumaki Clan are Sealing Jutsu experts! Oh, Mr. Ryuto, is there something you need at our clan grounds?"

Ryuto thought for a moment. "I wanted to ask whether Sealing Jutsu could be used to make some kind of... equipment with adjustable weight."

"Adjustable weight?" Rena blinked. "You want it for training?"

"Right."

"It's theoretically possible," Rena said. "Sealing Jutsu can already seal things away and release them. With a good design, equipment that stores weight and releases it whenever you want should be doable. But you'd have to ask the clan elders about the details. I'm only a beginner."

Ryuto felt reassured.

There's a chance.

They walked a little farther before Rena suddenly said, "Mr. Ryuto, with the strength you showed just now... you must be at special Jonin level, right? Maybe even close to Jonin."

Ryuto did not answer.

He was assessing himself too.

Those three Uchiha had considerably more chakra than the wandering rogue ninja he had encountered before. They were probably properly trained chunin.

With ki covering his whole body, fighting them had been like fighting children.

But what about Jonin?

Uchiha Jonin, the ones who could use the Sharingan, certainly would not be so easy to handle.

"Above chunin, but not quite Jonin." Ryuto placed himself at that level.

He still needed to train.

When he said nothing, Rena took it as agreement and admired him even more.

A taijutsu ninja at special jōnin level, so young and a wanderer at that-he was a real treasure.

I need to get him back to the clan right away!

The two continued forward.

The forest grew denser, and the light dimmed.

Ryuto kept his Ki Sense active, staying alert to their surroundings.

Suddenly, he stopped.

"What is it?" Rena asked.

"There are people ahead," Ryuto said. "Five of them. Their chakra feels... a little like yours."

Rena sensed carefully, then smiled. "They're from our clan! They must be out looking for me!"

She waved ahead. "Hey-I'm over here!"

Five Uzumaki ninja emerged from the trees. They all let out breaths of relief when they saw Rena.

The young man leading them grew wary when he saw Ryuto. "Rena, who is this?"

"He's Mr. Ryuto, a taijutsu ninja. He just saved me!" Rena said quickly. "If it weren't for him, the Uchiha would have captured me."

The young man looked at Ryuto, his gaze softening a little. "Thank you for your help. I'm En Uzumaki, Rena's older cousin."

"Ryuto." Ryuto nodded.

En Uzumaki glanced at the scroll in Rena's hand. "Did you get it back?"

"Yes!" Rena nodded.

"Good." En Uzumaki looked at Ryuto. "Mr. Ryuto, since you've come this far, why not return to our clan grounds with us and rest a while? The clan leader will certainly thank you in person."

Ryuto nodded. "All right."

The group headed deeper into the forest.

Ryuto followed behind, quietly extending his Ki Sense.

He could feel more and more chakra signatures around them as they went farther in.

They were nearly at the Uzumaki Clan's settlement.

Sealing Jutsu, weighted equipment, and "technical support," a rare find in this Warring States Era...

At last, he was about to take the first step.