Ryo stood still, his gaze falling on Kushina, who was running toward him. Without any preamble, he got straight to the point: "Basics determine height. Tree climbing, water walking, how long have you practiced?"
Kushina had just steadied herself when his direct approach, not even giving her time to catch her breath, startled her. She instinctively puffed out her small chest, showing the pride unique to the Uzumaki clan. "Of course I've practiced! I can climb to the top! Water walking, I can also last several minutes…"
Her voice weakened under Ryo's cold, expressionless gaze.
She mumbled softly, "…Although, sometimes I fall down…"
"Falling down means you're trash."
Ryo's evaluation was blunt, like stating a simple fact. "Chakra control, rotten."
This harsh judgment was like hot oil splattering into cold water, and Kushina instantly ignited, flames flashing in her eyes.
"Who are you calling trash?!"
Her small fists clenched, her cheeks flushed, and her ponytail seemed ready to explode with anger. Even the tips of her hair seemed indignant.
Ryo completely avoided her burning eyes. Instead, his gaze pressed down even more heavily, carrying a condescending scrutiny. "The Uzumaki have naturally immense chakra, which is a huge obstacle for fine control. Yet after two years, you're still like this."
He paused deliberately, his tone flat but every word sharp. "That proves you haven't put in the effort, or," he tilted his head slightly, a sneer curling at the corner of his lips, "you're simply incapable."
"You!" Kushina's chest heaved violently with anger, her dark green training uniform tightening and loosening. Grievance and fury intertwined, rushing to her head.
She wanted to shout back, wanted to rush forward and punch this detestable guy into the ground. Her fists clenched so tight her knuckles turned white, but she held herself back with visible effort.
Her voice came out strained, trembling not with weakness but with sheer indignation.
"…Who… who didn't put in effort? I just… I just have a bit of trouble controlling it, that's all!"
Ryo didn't soften in the slightest. He met her glare head-on, like steel against fire.
"Excuses. On the battlefield, no one cares why you fail. They only care that you failed."
The words hit Kushina like a whip. She bit down hard on her lip, the anger in her chest boiling hotter. Her nails dug into her palms, but she still refused to look away from him.
Ryo let the silence stretch, while he assessed the situation in his mind, her chakra control clearly exposed the conflict between her "essence" (immense chakra) and "intelligence" (fine control). As for hand seals, one of the eight core ninja basics, Ryo was almost certain she hadn't developed them well. Combined with her rough personality, complex hand seal processes would only slow her down.
He had to find a breakthrough, bypass her weaknesses, and directly boost her combat ability.
The strengthening plan he designed for Kushina surfaced clearly: ninjutsu that could be cast without hand seals.
This would perfectly bypass her hand seal weakness, directly turning the Uzumaki's immense chakra into destructive power, raising her combat strength in the shortest time.
Decision made, Ryo's tone returned to calm coldness. His words came out faster than usual, as if erasing the awkward seconds before. "Begin. First lesson, Rasengan."
Ryo raised his right hand, fingers naturally spread, palm facing up.
Just as Kushina looked at him with curiosity and a trace of mischief, a ripple spread in the depths of Ryo's calm eyes.
He slowly lifted his right hand, fingers spread, palm facing the hazy morning light.
The starting posture was unremarkable, with no complex hand seals, no roaring wind or thunder. However, in the next instant,
Sizzle!
In just one second, before Kushina's gasp even left her throat, a fist-sized, rapidly spinning, pure blue chakra sphere, the Rasengan, suspended above Ryo's palm!
Its inner light flowed brilliantly, the surrounding air churned wildly, lifting strands of Kushina's red hair.
Violent. Pure. The aura of destruction spread out like an invisible shockwave instantly.
Kushina's beautiful blue eyes widened to the limit.
Her pupils rapidly contracted under the glow of the deadly sphere.
Her small mouth gaped slightly, her earlier smugness instantly shattered by this terrifying ninjutsu, cast without hand seals, purely condensed from destructive power. Even her anger froze.
"…This… this?!" she gasped.
"It's called Rasengan." Ryo steadily held the miniature storm. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a metallic weight, each word striking Kushina's ears and pounding heart.
"A highly compressed, rapidly spinning sphere of pure chakra. No hand seals, instant cast." He paused, his gaze sweeping over the turbulent energy inside the sphere, before adding the most critical detail. "It destroys from within, with immense power."
"It bypasses complex hand seals, relying solely on chakra shape transformation. This is perfect for you, since you're not skilled in hand seals."
"It maximizes the advantage of your immense chakra."
This last sentence was like a surgical knife, directly pointing out the core problem she needed solved most.
The storm in his palm did not weaken, its low hum speaking for itself.
Seeing Kushina's captivated expression, her eyes glued to his palm, Ryo finally threw out the bait, his voice utterly flat. "Want to learn?"
"Want to learn?!" She trembled with excitement, lunging forward and grabbing Ryo's arm tightly, the one holding the Rasengan.
No hand seals. Instant cast. Internal destruction. Immense power. And it was perfect for her.
These keywords exploded in her heart like thunder.
"Learn! Of course I want to learn! Now! Immediately!" Her voice shook with excitement, her cheeks red like hot iron. Her knuckles turned white from gripping, fingernails almost digging into Ryo's arm through his training uniform. "Right now! Quickly tell me how to do it! Tell me!"
The hand seal problem that had troubled her suddenly had the perfect solution.
(To be continued.)