The Old Man in Uzushiogakure

'What? How come I didn't sense him?' Ryuu quickly turned around while throwing his Kunai directed at the voice he heard.

But he widened his eyes as soon as he saw it was just an old man.

The Kunai headed towards him.

"Oh no!"

Just as it was about to hit him, Kunai disappeared.

"Is that how your generation greets the elderly?!"

Bonk!

He smacked Ryuu with his stick.

"Ow." Ryuu rubbed his head.

'What the hell is that? I'm sure I was accurate. Wait! What am I saying, I'm glad I didn't hit him.'

Ryuu looked at the walking stick the old man used.

'A wooden staff, but it felt like something harder than metal.'

The old man had dark short hair and wrinkles all over his face and soggy skin, but he also had strange tattoos on his right arm and neck to the face, with an eyepatch.

'Could that be the same old man I saw in the painting?

Nah, he's too short, and also this painting must be at least three hundred years old, no one lives that long.

But his voice sounded so dusty, I wouldn't be surprised to know that he's old.'

The old man stared at Ryuu, thinking to himself,

'He's earlier than expected, he is also a lot younger than what I'd imagined him to be.

Tori, did you leave him so early on purpose?'

The old man asked himself.

"Excuse me, I would like to know, who are you?" Ryuu asked.

"The home intruder shouldn't be the one asking questions, should he?"

Ryuu's head dropped depressingly.

"Right…"

"Your hair is very messy for an Uzumaki, did it get ruined by the traps I made, or were you born like that?"

Ryuu's head dropped, and his self-esteem was crushed.

'That's a lot of damage.' He said to himself.

"My name is-"

"Ryuu Uchiha, I know already." Ryuu's eyes widened.

"How do you know my name?"

"Does it matter?"

"Not really, as long as you're not here to kill me." He nodded and scoffed.

"If I wanted to kill you, don't you think I would have already? After all, I did show you where to find the entrance and I disabled the dangerous traps, didn't I?"

Ryuu's eyes widened.

"That was you?" He nodded.

"You find it hard to believe?"

Ryuu nodded.

The old man looked around and noticed the multiple books Ryuu read and left on the floor.

He also noticed the bowls of Ramen on the floor.

"I see you didn't waste any time and went directly to my collection of fuinjutsu."

Ryuu tilted his head.

"Old man, these are yours?"

"Are you deaf? Didn't I just say they are?"

Sigh.

Ryuu sighed as he realized the long day he had ahead of him.

"Weren't you taught to clean up for yourself?" He asked as he picked up the bowl with his walking stick.

"Huh?" Ryuu looked at the walking stick the old man used.

"What is it now?" He asked.

"Old man, the walking stick is strange, is it something special?"

"Does it matter if it is? You don't need one, do you?" Ryuu quickly shook his head.

"On second thought, your stance tells me otherwise, you might need it more than me."

Ryuu's head dropped.

'Maybe he is right, I have been feeling some kind of pain.'

Bonk!

"Quit being so depressed all the time, will you?!" Ryuu rubbed his head in pain.

"How annoying." He said as he rubbed his head.

"Tell me, have you met my old friend Tori?"

"Tori? No disrespect, but I don't hang out around old men, you know."

Ryuu jokingly said.

"Can't you be serious for once?"

He hit Ryuu with his staff again.

'Damn it, it was just a joke, what a drag, how does he move so fast?'

Ryuu had multiple bumps on his head.

"I haven't met your friend." He shook his head.

"I don't believe you, you see, my friend told me he'd leave you to me so that I can give you directions to where you can find his son."

Ryuu's eyes widened.

'Wait a minute, could he be talking about the Phoenix?'

"So, you have met him?" Ryuu nodded.

"He told me he doesn't have a name and that he didn't need one."

A small smile on the old man's face appeared.

'So he does have other moods.' Ryuu said to himself.

"When he came to me, he offered to lend me his power, he said he saw great vitality in me and that only I could survive being his host.

But I declined, I told him I have enough problems as it is.

Back then, the only time people had a chance to be peaceful was when they died.

Anyone could've been your enemy and within a blink of an eye, you could've been ambushed and killed on the spot so anyone would've accepted a deal which grants you powerful flames and vitality."

"So why didn't you accept?" Ryuu asked.

"Because…

Unlike the rest of the shinobi in those days, I had no interest in dying an 'honorable death' or so they called it.

Dying on the battlefield was never an option for me, and neither was fighting.

I had no skill or talent when it came to fighting, the only thing I had going was my intellect.

Of course, being born from the Senju clan, I had no problems with chakra or vitality."

Ryuu's eyes widened.

"You're from the Senju clan?"

He nodded.

"Even with the Sharingan, you're as blind as a bat. Didn't you see my painting?

My name is Hinote Senju, the founder of Uzushiogakure."

Ryuu spat out his ramen.

That too vanished before hitting Hinote.

"That's impossible! You'd be waaay over three hundred years right now!"

He nodded.

"My age doesn't matter.

What matters is you get what Tori wants you to get."

"And what's that?"

Ryuu blinked and found himself outside of the room and near the tower.

"What was that just now?"

Hinote didn't respond.

"Haven't you heard of the flying Raijin? I was so sure you should've learned that move by now." Ryuu's eyes widened.

"But that can't have been the Flying Raijin, you didn't even have physical contact to teleport with me, and I haven't seen this version of the fuinjutsu inside your library."

He nodded.

"I didn't keep this one inside my library because it is such a basic move, my apologies, I thought your brain would be more developed by now."

Ryuu's eyes widened.

'Basic move? Underdeveloped brain? If age doesn't kill this guy, I will.'

Ryuu said to himself.

"Hey old man, you never told me how you got to live this long."

He nodded.

"It's because you haven't asked yet."

Sigh

Ryuu began getting frustrated with Hinote.

"Old man, earlier when I threw my kunai towards you they vanished without a trace and you came out without a scar on your face, what happened to them?"

He tilted his head in confusion.

"Didn't you read about the space vacuum seal?" Ryuu shook his head.

"What does that seal do?"

"I thought I made it clear by the name, it's a seal that teleports all incoming projectiles and sends them into another dimension.

I do not know what's in the other dimension, and I do not care."

Ryuu's eyes widened and were glistening.

"You're telling me that can be achieved by mastering fuinjutsu?"

Sigh

"Kids these days are impressed by anything." Ryuu didn't hear Hinote muttering.

"We're here."

"What are we doing here?"

They stood in front of the waterfall, which had a boulder floating in the middle.

'That water… it's so dark, there's something ominous about it…

It looks so strange.' Ryuu reached his hand to touch it.

Donk!

Hinote smacked his hand again.

"No touching!" Ryuu rubbed his hand.

"What's in the water?" He asked.

Hinote ignored him.

Ryuu tightly clenched his fist.

"I'm tired of this! You've placed multiple traps, you're constantly being an asshole and now you won't even answer my question?!"

"Stop being a sensitive brat and just listen to me." Ryuu frowned.

He swung his fist towards Hinote.

"Argh!" Ryuu's eyes widened as he felt a sudden pain in his hands.

"Aah!"

Ryuu looked at his hands, he had fallen on the ground and he was looking around.

"Ah!" Ryuu shouted in pain as he realized his hands were broken.

"What is this?"

"I used a seal I placed on you to increase gravity on your hands, I'm disappointed in how weak you are."

The old man healed Ryuu with a strange form of medical ninjutsu, his staff was glowing as he healed him and Ryuu's hands healed immediately.

"You children these days are so needy, back when I was growing up, all we desired was…

Wait, I don't even remember what I desired as a child."

Sigh.

Ryuu sighed.

'I knew it was eventually going to happen, he's losing his mind just like geezer sage in Mount Myoboku.'

"That power you used to heal me, what is it?" Ryuu asked.

The old man stopped walking and stood still.

"You don't recognize it?" Ryuu shook his head.

"I see…" He removed his sleeve and placed the staff standing up.

Whoosh…

A gold aura appeared, surrounding the walking stick.

The stick stood still and didn't wobble even a bit.

Ryuu had a worried expression after seeing the old man's hands and the walking stick.

'The stick has burn marks on it, an outline of his hand, he must've held that staff for too long.

And his hand looks burned. It's no doubt that he held that stick for that long, but the question is why? And why did he release it now?'

Ryuu questioned himself as he observed Hinote.

(Authors Note: Discord link is on my bio)