In the Royal Fire Palace, the highest authority in the land of the Fire, surpassing even the Hokage, the Daimyo of the Fire Nation, was having a dinner meeting with another Daimyo.
The Fire Daimyo, Modoka, asked the River Daimyo, "I heard you went to see that genius boy my son told me about."
Azuma Kasen, the Daimyo of the Land of Rivers, replied, "Yes, that boy is something else. Your country is lucky to find such talent."
The Fire Lord replied, "Father, you are out of touch. Trusting a boy that isn't even out of the academy yet. He may be smart, but all the things are done by the employees of his company."
Azuma Kasen replied, "You believe what you want to believe, but trust me on this. That boy is a gem."
Modoka replied, "If you say so."
Azuma Kasen asked, "You haven't forgiven her."
"Some things are not forgiven, ever," Modoka replied, "Trying to kill your only son is one of them."
Azuma Kasen replied, "I understand your feeling. I am just thankful you didn't execute her for treason."
Modoka replied, "I would have if I had not been stopped by my son."
Azuma Kasen said, "Even after everything, that brother and sister are still closer than ever."
Modoka replied, "They have always been like that. She is the only good thing that has come from her."
Azuma Kasen replied, "Saying that about a child in front of a parent."
Modoka replied, "I am sorry, Father. But that is how I feel about her."
Azuma Kasen said, "She is not totally at fault here. She never wanted to marry you. And you, you only married her because I don't have a son, and you will have control over the land of rivers after I am gone. She was wrong to attempt to kill her stepson, but you created the distance in the relationships that she took such steps."
Fire Daimyo did not say anything at first. He knew Azuma Kasen, the Daimyo of the Land of Rivers, was not wrong in saying that. It was Fire Daimyo's greed that was also to blame for the current situation.
The scene shifts back to Senju training grounds. Ryu was huffing. He was totally out of juice after practising the Senju-style taijutsu. His hands were shaking out of pain.
Tsuande said, "You did good. Just a few more days, and then you start rock crushing training. Once you can release good enough chakra impulses from your arms, then you have to train your legs too. I hope you can manage training your legs by yourself."
Ryu nodded and said, "Yes…huff huff… Skipping leg day is not ideal... huff huff… I need to go attend a medical class now."
"Not so fast," Tsuande said, stopping Ryu from leaving. "Last time, I promised you shadow clone jutsu."
Ryu smiled and said, "Finally."
Tsunade sighed and broke the news to Ruy, "Sorry to burst your bubble. I am sorry, but you have to wait for your graduation for that jutsu."
"What??" Ryu asked in surprise.
Tsuande replied, "I cannot give you Shadow Clone jutsu even if I want to, as your grandfather and Hokage had asked me not to. For now, in exchange for that jutsu, I am going to give you another A-rank jutsu. I am told you are in need of this jutsu."
"What jutsu?" Ryu asked.
Tsunade replied, "It is called [Rasengan]."
"Rasangan!!" Ryu exclaimed.
Tsuande replied, "Dan came to meet Hokage a few days back and asked for that jutsu. You need to learn chakra shape manipulation. That jutsu is the ultimate form of chakra shape manipulation."
Ryu was in deep thought, 'Why are they trying to keep me away from the Shadow Clone jutsu? Is it because I have a tendency to do many things at once? Are they worried that I might overuse the shadow clones? Or is there a celestial force trying to make this story not boring?'
'I think those two celestial peeps are at work. Can they influence things here? The Shadow Clone's side effects must be real; otherwise, everyone would be training like crazy using them.'
Ryu said, "Shadow Clones or Rasengan. That is a difficult choice."
After thinking for a minute, Ryu replied, "I can agree with more benefits. I will agree if you teach me a few lightning, earth and water jutsus."
"Deal," Tsunade said, and they shook on it.
Tsunade handed him the scroll for Rasengan.
Ryu thought, 'This scroll is useless to me. I can right now turn it into an S-rank scroll and give it back to her. But I will accept it for now.'
Ryu left the Senju training grounds and went to attend medical apprentice class.
"Good evening, Nono-sensei," he said.
There were people waiting for him. Ryu saw them and guessed who they might be.
"Good evening, Ryu," Nono said, "these are members of the Leaf Medical Council."
Ryu thought, 'So they are here after nearly killing me.'
'They are here to take advantage of me… Not happening.'
"Hello, Ryu Hamura," the councilman said, "I am Chiune Sugihara. A member of the Leaf Medical Council."
The councilman Chiune Sugihara thought, "This boy really helped develop a cure for TB and also the Yukimira antibiotic."
"If you don't mind, please, can you tell me how old you are?" Sugihara asked.
Ryu replied, "I am almost 8, Mr Sugihara."
The councilman was shocked. "An 8-year-old publishing an anti-TB research paper."
The council member thought, "This kid is also Lady Tsunade's apprentice. He is seen a few times with her. Maybe he really did help discover those medicines. She has taken an apprenticeship only once, and Shizune-senpai is an exceptional talent, only second to Lady Tsunade. I need to make a good impression on him. In future we might need him. It would be beneficial to us if he were indebted to us."
Chiune Sugihara told Ryu, "What a brilliant young man you are. We didn't believe at first, but when Lady Tsunade took you as an apprentice, we could no longer doubt your talent. The council has decided to promote you out of turn and move you to a professional course due to your exceptional skills."
Nono asked, "But the condition was for two research papers."
Chiune Sugihara replied, "Yes, it was. But we were expecting a regular research paper and not a cure for TB-like illness. The medical council unanimously deemed that keeping such talent in the apprentice course is a waste of talent. The Hokage had also asked us the same, so it wasn't a very difficult decision to make."
He became serious for a second and then said, "I already know about your brush with death. And I must apologise to you on behalf of the council. If it means anything to you at all, I was against the decision."
After a pause, he added, "In the event of a life-threatening illness, we should have allowed the use of an experimental drug, but someone higher than me in the council voted against it. But he is no longer part of the council, so rest assured."
Ryu replied, "Thank you, Mr Councilman. It's fine. Everything turned out for the best in the end."
Chiune Sugihara, "Thank you for understanding."
Ryu waited for him to relax before dropping an unthankful attitude of his. He said, "I wasn't interested in out-of-turn promotion, as my schedule was full. But now that opportunity has presented itself, I cannot deny your generosity."
Chiune Sugihara was stunned for a second. He knew about Hamura Industries and the solar-paint product was making waves in the market. Every noble and businessman and anyone who could afford it was eager to buy it. And the medical council was too in on this list.
And the medical council were surprised when they heard that the company is managed by the same kid who the Hokage is endorsing, and they were equally surprised when they were informed that Lady Tsunade is back in the village and she went to meet him the first day she came to the village. They soon found out the reason for that. It was the [Healing Seal] credited to Ryu's grandfather and Yuki Sarutobi, a well-renowned researcher. They also found out that Ryu was in touch with Ikkyu Madoka and Azuma Kasen, the Daimyo of the Land of Rivers, and both had visited his home.
When Ryu gracefully refused to acknowledge any favour on part of the Leaf Medical Council and their goodwill, Chiune Sugihara thought, 'I thought he would be easy to influence, but it would not be easy, it seems. He is thanking me and telling me that he doesn't need this promotion. This kid understands the politics that come with being in the limelight really well. No matter; we have to give him the special treatment anyway.'
In response, Chiune Sugihara said, "You may not want a promotion because you would have earned one in a year even without our help, but a lot of influential people believe you are already qualified for the next level, and I can not turn them away. So please accept this."
He presented Ryu with the completion papers for apprentice courses and said, "I am honoured to present you with this. I hope to see more achievements from you."
##PoWeR StOnEs##
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