The messy scene in the backyard was mostly cleared in an instant.
The lingering smell of blood mixed with mud stung their noses, leaving only silent wreckage and a few people standing in a daze.
Kushina bit her lip hard, almost tasting iron. Her whole body still trembled slightly, half from fright, half from immense confusion and fear.
Her grandmother's presence beside her was like a giant iceberg, exuding a chilling coldness.
She did not dare to look up, only felt Mito's grip on her hand tighten. That hand was rough and warm, carrying a strange, heavy strength.
Mito did not speak immediately.
She pulled Kushina forward two steps, her gaze sweeping over the muddy pit where Nawaki had fallen. The congealed black and red bloodstains were particularly jarring.
Mixed in were a few blown-up, charred scraps of fabric.
The old woman's gaze paused for a moment, extremely brief, so brief it could have been an illusion.
Then she turned to Kushina, her tone calm and seasoned, yet carrying an unmistakable conclusion. "Kushina, in real combat drills, there will always be injuries."
Kushina looked up sharply, eyes wide with disbelief.
Grandma is…
Mito seemed oblivious to her shock, continuing in a steady, unhurried voice. "This time, it is not Ryo's fault."
This sentence blocked all of Kushina's attempts to plead for Ryo. "Your brother Nawaki has been graduated for over a year now. He could not see such an obvious trap."
Mito's voice even carried a hint of sternness, disappointment at his failure. "He deserves to be injured."
Deserves, deserves?
The words lashed at Kushina's heart like a whip.
Were those words spoken by the grandma who doted on Nawaki?
Nawaki was lying in a pool of blood, bone showing.
Tears gushed out, blurring her vision. "But, Grandma…"
"No buts." Mito cut her off decisively, tightening her grip on Kushina's hand a little more. Her eyes, which had seen through the ways of the world, fixed on her granddaughter's tear-filled gaze.
"With your sister Tsunade here, Nawaki will be fine. Her medical ninjutsu can pull back someone with half a life left, let alone a serious flesh and bone injury. What are you worrying about?"
Kushina was stunned by this barrage of conclusions, tears clinging to her lashes as she stared blankly at her grandmother.
Her calm, almost cruel tone, the unquestionable attitude, was like a basin of ice water, freezing her burning anger and worry for Ryo.
Logically, it seemed to make sense. Nawaki did rush into the trap himself, and Ryo did not use sword or taijutsu, only clones, the Academy Three, and that new jutsu. But he still used explosive tags.
She suddenly turned her head, her gaze piercing the lingering smoke, glaring at Ryo with a mix of grievance and resentment.
Why was he so ruthless?
What if Mito really was not reasonable?
What if she got angry and wanted Ryo's life?
These fears almost tore her apart.
She clasped her fingers tightly, not even noticing her nails digging into her palms.
Ryo sneered inwardly, wanting to throw the truth in her face. Silly girl. Your grandma and your sister conspired with me to do this. All to break the leg of that reckless Nawaki who is eager to rush to the battlefield and die. To make him lie quietly in a hospital bed for a few months. To keep him from ending up a corpse on the battlefield next time.
That truth was too cruel, and too absurd.
Ryo forced down the impulse.
With Kushina's quick temper and inability to keep secrets, she would shout it at the barely conscious Nawaki in Konoha Hospital within half a day.
If Nawaki learned from her that this "bloody lesson" was orchestrated by his sister and grandmother, Ryo did not want to imagine the outcome.
Nawaki would probably collapse and question his life. Was he really "their own"?
What a huge irony.
While Kushina was left speechless by Mito's "conclusion," Ryo took a step forward, breaking the eerie silence.
He looked at Mito, his posture neither humble nor arrogant, with a hint of a junior's respect. "Mito-sama, I am very sorry about Nawaki. Although it was necessary for the drill, he was indeed injured."
Mito nodded slightly, her face unreadable. "As long as you know the limits. Ruthless, but leaving room. Tsunade can heal Nawaki, let him lie down for a few months, cool his head, and keep him from running to the battlefield and not coming back."
Mito spoke directly, without any attempt to conceal her meaning.
Ryo understood and got straight to the point. "That is Nawaki. I want to bring up another matter."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the still-dazed Kushina. "There is still some time until graduation. The battlefield situation is getting worse by the day. Kushina, she…" He left it there.
He saw Mito's eyelid twitch slightly.
"My meaning is, during this period before graduation, I want to arrange special training for Kushina." Ryo stated his purpose. "Mainly practical combat response and the mastery of a special ninjutsu."
He did not mention the name, but his gaze drifted to Kushina's face.
Her eyes had gone wide when she saw him dismantle Nawaki's Suiryūdan with the Rasengan.
Mito scrutinized Ryo.
Tsunade had already informed her of the boy's true strength.
Elite jōnin, without a doubt.
Hiruzen might not know Ryo's capabilities, but she did.
Entrusting Kushina to him for a time, to push her strength before war broke out, was a worthwhile deal.
Kushina, who carried the remaining hope of Uzushiogakure, had, in these two years, come to see Konoha as home.
Mito saw it clearly.
Kushina's sense of belonging no longer needed proof from sitting in a classroom.
Besides, there was a better bond.
This girl had tied her heart to Ryo.
She should give them space and let their relationship progress.
"Strength," Mito finally said, steady as ever, "is crucial. It is always good for Konoha to have more power."
She looked at Ryo, a flicker of approval in her cloudy eyes. "I will leave Kushina with you for a few months. Arrange it as you see fit. I will not interfere."
The last four words were both trust and acknowledgment.
Beside him, Kushina felt dazed, her ears buzzing ever since Ryo mentioned special training for her.
What battlefield. What special training. What were Grandma and Ryo talking about.
Her sluggish mind turned like old gears.
Just now, she was fearing her brother's injury and Ryo's reckoning. How did it jump to her getting individual special training with Ryo.
Not only did Grandma not blame him for injuring Nawaki, she agreed to let him train her.
When Mito's words, "I will leave Kushina with you for a few months," reached her, what exploded was not thunder, but a scorching current rushing to her head.
Her previously pale face turned red like a cooked shrimp.
Ryo, alone, guidance.
"Whoosh." Mikoto's "Ryo Emotional Progression" strategies flashed before her eyes, creating physical contact, hugs, even kisses.
Boom.
Kushina felt her scalp steam. Her whole body went dizzy, as if she were soaking in a honey hot spring, her feet floating.
Ryo's peripheral vision caught her rapidly rising blush, and he clicked his tongue inwardly.
"I understand, Mito-sama." Ryo bowed slightly. "I will arrange time and place. I will not delay Kushina's basic fūinjutsu studies with you. As for the academy…"
"Hmph, a few months of practical experience is worth years of wasted time there. If she graduates early, so be it. I will talk to Sarutobi." Mito's tone was flat, but her words carried the assertiveness of Konoha's ruler.
"Thank you." Ryo's goal achieved, the curve of his mouth flattened. His gaze turned to Kushina, who was still in a steam-engine state.
The instant their eyes met, she dropped her gaze as if scalded, fingers nervously twisting the hem of her clothes. Color rushed from her neck to the tips of her ears, and even her unruly red cowlick seemed to droop in embarrassment
"Then I will not disturb you further today." Ryo took his leave. This was not the place to linger. He had taken the blame and achieved his goal. Time to go. "I will make time to visit Nawaki."
Mito waved her hand. A hint of fatigue flashed in her eyes, tacit consent given.
Ryo turned and left, his steps swift and decisive, quickly crossing the messy courtyard and disappearing under the porch at the gate.
The moment he left, the taut string in the backyard seemed to loosen a little.
Mito turned her head, her gaze falling on her little granddaughter, who had not yet emerged from her tangle of emotions.
Kushina was still immersed in the idea of being "specially trained" by Ryo, her face red, wearing the dazed look of someone who had survived a calamity, mixed with a shy anticipation she could not put into words.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
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