Chunin first

Two days had already passed since Ryo had officially become a ninja. During these last two days, he had spent very little time at home and most of his time in the academy library, searching for new jutsu to learn. He wanted a few more Doton and Futon techniques.

In his hand were three scrolls. One of them was Earth Release – Underground Fish Technique, the other was Earth Release – Suicidal Decapitation Technique, and the last one was Wind Release: Great Breakthrough. Ryo had chosen three more jutsu to train and master.

"The first one will help me escape from powerful jutsus that I somehow can't dodge or defend against. The second one requires the first one to be used; it's the one Kakashi used on Sasuke during the bell training. And finally, the Wind Release jutsu, since I don't have any area jutsu yet, this will help for now."

Once all three were ready and thoroughly read, with the hand seals for each memorized, Ryo left the library and flickered to the training area. Upon arriving, he was stopped by a ninja standing in front of the training ground. It wasn't an Anbu this time, and Ryo couldn't sense him at the location.

"Ryo-kun, the Hokage sent me here to let you know that he wants you in his office tomorrow." The man spoke calmly and then left without saying more. Ryo continued on his way into the forest, mentally reviewing the hand seals for the new jutsu.

It was still afternoon, and he had a few good hours to train the new jutsu. Once he reached the training spot, Ryo formed a hand seal, putting half of his chakra into it, and then a shadow clone appeared. "You'll work on the two new Earth techniques. I'll train the Wind one farther away, as you can disappear if hit by flying debris."

Ryo moved about 20 meters away from the clone and turned in the opposite direction. He had read that this wind jutsu could cause considerable destruction in the direction it was released, provided one had good mastery over it. Starting the hand seals, he focused on the pathways chakra needed to take.

Ryo took in a deep breath, filling his lungs with air, and then expelled it forcefully through his mouth. The wind that came out gathered strength, lifting dust and leaves from the ground in front of him, traveling about 5 meters before diminishing and disappearing, leaving a small cloud of dust in the air.

"That was bad. The jutsu is weak at the initial stage, but it can create a dust curtain in a way. Once mastered, it can be very useful, but for now, it won't be much." He continued training for another two hours until his chakra reserves were significantly depleted. However, Ryo had managed to improve the effectiveness of the jutsu, as it now left marks on the trees with the wind power.

Along with that, the clone also disappeared, flooding Ryo's mind with memories and returning a portion of the chakra he had spent to create the clone. The clone had also managed to perform the two earth jutsu, albeit quite poorly. It had succeeded in burying itself in the ground, but moving was still challenging due to the chakra dispersion in the surrounding soil.

Ryo knew he still had a lot of training to do with these jutsu, especially in chakra usage, but he wouldn't accomplish everything in one day. Having successfully used the jutsu was enough for now. With night approaching, Ryo returned home, knowing that the next day he would meet with Hiruzen and discuss training with the golden coins.

The new day arrived quickly, and it was already mid-morning when Ryo walked towards the Hokage's office. Ryo wore his forehead protector, a loose black shirt with a high collar reminiscent of what some Uchihas wore, and dark pants with storage compartments where he kept his ninja equipment.

Entering the office, he saw Hiruzen sitting in his chair as usual, smoking his long pipe. "Hokage-sama, good morning," Ryo greeted as the old man set his pipe aside and opened a slight smile.

"Ryo, congratulations on becoming a ninja. I heard about what happened, glad that some made it, and those who failed still have next year, so I'm ok with it. But tell me, Ryo, now that you're a ninja, what do you want to do?"

Ryo looked at Hiruzen before replying. "My goal hasn't changed much, but I know I need to go on some missions as a genin since I'll be assigned to a team. So, my training with Tsunade-sama won't be possible for now, right?" Hiruzen listened and nodded.

"Yes, Tsunade has a strong personality, and I'll need some time for that. However, what I can do for you, Ryo, is as soon as you're released from team missions, or better yet, when you become a chunin, I'll arrange an opportunity for you to meet her and try to persuade her to teach you. But I can't promise anything. What you can do now is focus on becoming a chunin first."

Ryo wanted to curse Hiruzen out, but he held back, thinking, "This old man, he's making me focus on becoming a chunin first?" The boy then took a deep breath and smiled faintly, saying, "So, I'll have to work hard to become a chunin too? Alright. I feel like I can achieve that in a year or two at most." He spoke while looking into the Hokage's eyes.

"This kid," Hiruzen thought before continuing, "But how is the training with the coins going? Did you manage to master another one?" Ryo nodded and then took out three golden coins from his pocket, causing them to slowly float in the air for a few seconds.

"Yes, but I don't know when I'll get the fourth one. It's a mysterious art, and even the scrolls I had don't explain beyond the third coin." Of course, Hiruzen knew this; what he didn't know was the true power contained within them. He had already been impressed by Ryo creating a weapon with them.

"I understand. The path from now on will be in the dark to master this art. But I feel you'll succeed, Ryo. The Will of Fire burns within you!" The old man gave a big smile and continued, "I heard you taught a jutsu to Naruto. He's always a lonely child; keep being a good friend to him. All the other kids avoid him because of rumors. So keep being there for him when you can, Ryo."

He picked up a paper from the table and quickly reread it. "But try to avoid teaching him other jutsu for now, at least until he graduates. Naruto still doesn't have the maturity you have at your age, Ryo." The report mentioned that Naruto was playing around with the Wind Shuriken jutsu, bothering the teachers with it.

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