"Good! You've stopped swaying." Tekka made a low turn, and Riki raised his sword just in time to block an upward strike.
"I've been... training my balance more."
"And you keep using too many words."
Tekka spun and disarmed Riki with a sideways strike. The sword flew and fell far away. Riki remained standing, his eyes flashing.
"Get it back!" Tekka ordered.
Riki ran, grabbed the sword, and returned.
This time, he didn't wait; he lunged forward, a diagonal strike, a short spin, and another strike, straight to the waist. Tekka blocked them all easily, but frowned slightly.
"Finally, a reaction! Are you
angry?"
"I'm trying to win!"
"It's different."
Riki didn't respond, but attacked again.
The blade dance continued for a few more minutes. When it stopped, both were sweaty, but only Riki was panting and covered in dust, a testament to the difference between father and son.
Tekka took a final step back, lowering the katana. Riki was panting, his shirt clinging to his body, his hands still firmly on the hilt of the weapon.
"Interesting…"
Riki suddenly turned, and as his father mumbled, he caught sight of the approaching figures, their steps slow, their faces happy, but marked by age and authority.
They were the elders.
Takeshi Uzumaki walked ahead, his eyes, lined with deep lines, fixed on Riki, but momentarily shifted to Tekka, with a glint of restrained assessment.
Beside him were old Chikashi, with his pale eyes and ever-critical expression, as if something serious was always going to happen, and the matriarch Haruka, a woman who, even in her old age, maintained the erect bearing of a family leader, her appearance betraying no signs of her age.
"Elders..." Akari murmured, bowing her head respectfully.
The others followed suit, quickly composing themselves; their presence commanded immediate reverence.
"We were watching from afar," Takeshi said bluntly. "And I saw something I didn't expect to witness on this ground."
Tekka didn't respond immediately, his eyes fixed on the elders with calculated reserve, but he lowered his head slightly out of courtesy.
"I was training with my son, is that a problem?"
"Training..." Chikashi repeated with a hint of derision. "That was Uchiha kenjutsu. I haven't seen moves like that since the Second War, and you're skilled, Konoha police officer."
"I'm Riki's father," Tekka replied, more firmly. "And he's an Uchiha, and he must learn everything it means to be an Uchiha."
Takeshi approached slowly, his eyes still on the boy. Riki stood straight, his breathing more controlled now, though he could feel sweat trickling down his temple.
"Do you understand what this means, boy?" the elder asked, his voice low but serious.
"It means I can't ignore who I am," Riki replied. "Nor what I might be. I'm an Uzumaki? Yes, Chinoike, of course." He said, his Ketsuryuugan activated. "But I'm also an Uchiha, elders!"
There was silence.
Haruka broke it with a comment that sounded more like a verdict:
"He speaks like an adult; this could be both dangerous and promising."
"I'm not a danger; I won't turn my blade toward the family!"
Takeshi tilted his head slightly, considering the words, then turned to the other elders.
"The boy awakened the Ketsuryuugan, that's a fact, but now he's also learning the Uchiha killing style. If he masters both legacies… we'll be facing something unprecedented."
Chikashi crossed her arms.
"A weapon… or a threat?"
"Or a chance," Takeshi said. "A chance for something new, Uzumaki, Chinoike… and Uchiha, united in a single generation."
Haruka cast a brief glance at the children behind Riki, still watching, silent.
"The seed isn't alone."
The elders nodded silently.
"Come on, children," Takeshi said finally, turning around. "The heat of the valley may not kill, but it punishes us, and we're too old for so much sun."
Akari, Kaede, Satoru, Renji, and Hina were called by their respective elders, following them with furtive farewell glances at Riki. Some exchanged smiles, others restrained nods. Hina paused briefly beside Riki.
"You did well," she said, before walking away.
When everyone was gone, only father and son remained between the rocks and the pulsating heat.
"They're watching you," Tekka murmured. "They all will be, and they'll judge your steps more harshly than anyone else."
Riki looked at the spot where Takeshi had disappeared, then at the sword in his hand.
"Then let them watch, I'll follow anyway."
Tekka let out a soft sigh, somewhere between frustration and pride.
"You speak like an Uchiha, and because of that... you'll need more lessons."
They stared at each other for a moment, father and son.
With the elders gone, the young men also departed, leaving only Tekka and Riki.
Sighing deeply, Tekka stood staring at the uninteresting horizon, a whirlwind racing through his mind. Elder Takeshi's behavior reminded him that Danzou wouldn't be his only concern. This village experiment he was in also had plans for his son, and his influence on the boy was already profound...
"Let's get going."
They both returned in silence, Tekka still lost in his contemplation, and Riki making plans.
As he approached the family home, Tekka saw Akemi at the door, the gift the world had given him, and the only reason he hadn't yet torn Riki from this inhospitable place.
Hearing his wife's call, Tekka walked over to Akemi.
"Akemi, we need to talk." He began speaking as soon as he approached.
Tekka walked past his wife, who was standing by the door, and entering the house, walked to the kitchen. He filled a glass with water, drank it in one gulp, and then repeated.
She drank the water as if she were gathering courage. Then Tekka pulled out a chair and sat down, crossing her right leg over her left. Her posture was impeccable, and just by looking at Akemi, she knew how serious that moment would be.
She pulled out the chair and sat down, looking at Tekka. "You can begin..."