Tap Tap Tap Tap Tap...!
Sounds echoed within the enclosed room. The sound of tapping. The sound that is produced when two different solids, both hard, hit against each other harshly.
The paint cracked and crumbled beneath the force, slowly peeling off the walls of the claustrophobic room that Ryuma was forced to make do with.
Several months had gone by. The passage of time was slow for Ryuma, but the others commented about how fast time flew. It was mostly because they were having fun and enjoying themselves, while Ryuma hated every second of his capture.
The broken shackles in his arms also rattled in the air and he repeatedly punched the wall, cracking it more and more each time. The sound of cracking walls. The sound of his fists hitting the wall. The sound of the chains rattling. The sound of being alone.
Within the room, there was no one else. And the room itself, was quite ruined. Numerous cracks and holes, courtesy of Ryuma smashing them into the place. He had a habit of jumping up and down, smashing walls and floors, sleeping upside down on the ceiling, and many more bizarre things that only he ever did.
Ryuma practiced his chakra reinforcement a lot. He had become a master at channeling his chakra into his limbs and expelling it outwards to deal massive structural damage.
Ryuma was glaring at the wall, which was slowly failing to stay up after repeated jabs. He had already been growing tired of being stuck in this place and only being able to practice his chakra enhancement.
Not too long ago, Ryuma realised the source of his fast growth. It was his immense vitality. No, it would be correct to call it "boundless". Because Ryuma seemed to recore from fatigue and trauma really quickly.
Compared to the average human, his chakra reserves replenished much, much faster; as if he were constantly obtaining more after exhausting it all. Any cuts, bruises and injuries would heal themselves. All humans can heal from wounds, which can be accelerated with medical ninjutsu. But Ryuma seemed to have a natural healing factor that set him apart from normal people. He also realised that he has a higher pain tolerance too.
Taking advantage of that, and his ability to use shadow clones, he massively upgraded his training speed and efficiency. Even when he was training, he always left one shadow clone to meditate and refine his chakra. With how he was going, he had no doubt in his mind that he'd be able to soon manipulate the physical and spiritual aspects of chakra separately.
He always improved his chakra control and his precision, which usually involved creating a thread of chakra. Each time, the thread was thinner yet harder. More chakra, twisted and compressed into a smaller and finer fibre. He would at least spare a single shadow clone just to do this, each and every day.
Most of these few months were spent learning about weaponry and combat. He was forced to fight the other rouge ninjas day in and day out. Combat practice was a crucial thing to learn and taijutsu was the main focus. In their minds, Oushi and Inori chose not to teach him about elemental jutsu just yet, because he was too young.
So, they taught him the basics that any ninja should know. Can't move on to elemental jutsu without knowing the basics.
He had already learned the Henge no Jutsu, Clone Jutsu, and Substitution Jutsu.
Of course, he also learned the Shadow Clone Justu, but they didn't know that.
He was later taught the Tree Walking Technique, Water Walking Technique, Rope Escaping Technique, and the Temporary Paralysis Jutsu. He also learned the Body Flicker Technique and the Chakra Veil Justu. He was taught how to create paper bombs and how to dispel genjustu, how to fight with kunai and swords, and throw shurikens.
He's not going to lie and say that the time he spent here hasn't been productive. That would be a complete lie. The academy would've taken their sweet time slowly teaching the kids everything, basics and all. Ryuma has talent and a mature mind that allowed him to do such things which would otherwise be impossible for a child.
But still, the chains irritated him. Not just the sounds of the chains. Not just the scraping of the chains against his skin. Not just the pain of having to sleep with chains on.
He hated the broken shackles on his arms. He hated the chains that connected his feet together, restricting his overall movement. He hated how they chained him to a wall at night when he was supposed to "go to bed".
The room was small and claustrophobic. The chains were restrictive and degrading. They never, not once, treated him like a person. To them, he was just a tool. A weapon. A slave. Someone that existed solely to serve them and work for them, until they die.
Ryuma refused to live a life like that. The very moment he becomes strong enough to kill them all, he'll do so in a heartbeat.
His hands were already stained anyway...
His mind wandered even more. To the first time he ever killed someone. To the time when they dragged a living person into his "cellar" and ordered him to kill them. He was stumped, he didn't want to. Of course, he realised that, as a shinobi, he would eventually have to. And he wouldn't have minded killing an enemy shinobi. But the person they brought, he didn't look like a shinobi.
He looked like a civilian.
In the end... He has no choice. He felt his arms gripping the kunai, guided by Mahito's bigger, stronger arms. Mahito made the kunai touch the person's neck, constantly telling him to kill. He even pressed Ryuma's hand against the neck until it bled.
In the end, a piece of light faded from his eyes.
His grip tightened, and he pulled. He blade sunk into flesh and drew blood, some of which splattered on Ryuma's face.
If he were truly a child, with no memories of a previous adult life, it would've completely broken him. After years of gaslighting, being raised by them as a weapon and being made to kill and being told that it was normal... Any normal kid would've already been broken.
Ryuma didn't despair though. All it did, was fuel his hate for them. But he didn't show it. He was taught by the Root to not show emotions. He was taught how to hide his emotions.
Another image of Danzo appeared in his mind and he immediately scowled.
"Grrgh...!" With a growl, he reeled his right hand back and slammed it into the wall, as hard as he could for the final punch.
He felt his arm go cold, before warmth filled its inside and outside. Ryuma didn't notice the slight glow that appeared over his hand, coating it like a glove. There was a blue hue around his chakra-enhanced fist and a blue tint in his eyes.
BAM! SMASH!!
The wall gave out.
The fist landed, immediately cracking the wall and shattering it. His first went inside, driving his entire arm through the wall and sending ripples through the entire structure. The lights flickered and sparked. The walls, ceiling and even the floor of the structure, not just his room, but the entire thing, shattered. A little more force and the entire thing would collapse.
Ryuma gasped in surprise when he noticed this.
He swiftly jumped back to avoid the falling concrete. He then stared at the now crumbling room in surprise and confusion. Even with chakra enhanced strength, he shouldn't have been able to do such a thing.
He then looked down at his own arm, only for his eyes to widen. His right arm, the one he used for that punch, was different.
He had lines on his skin, not like ink marks. Lined and grooves. His skin was rough and rigid, as if it was solidified. His skin got darker, turning a shade of brown. His flesh was no longer flesh, as in, it didn't feel like it. His arm felt heavier, sturdier, and stiffer.
He stared at his arm in shock, not knowing what to make of this. He had absolutely no idea what had happened.
And he didn't have any time to process this either. Because the door slammed open and Mahito burst in.
"The FUCK 'r ya doing?!" His eyes scanned the crumbling walls, before falling onto the little boy with a hardened glare.
"You little shit! Don't destroy this place. Do you know what I had to go through to get you this?!!" He marched up to Ryuma and smacked him, before dragging the boy outside and throwing him into the grass.
"Go fuck around out there! You two, look after him." His signalled the Root spies to observe Ryuma, who had stood up and turned around, hiding his disfigured arm.
He walked a little forward, into the forest. He felt calm, like always. He didn't know why, but he loved being in the forest. He felt so at home, for some odd reason. He felt like he could utilise his chakra better when exposed to nature.
He noticed the fluctuating energy in his arm and wondered what to do with it. He traced a finger against it. He didn't know what to say. It felt like it was not living flesh. A texture similar to trees. A roughness and toughness reminiscent of stone. A touch of moisture that shouldn't be there.
With a long exhale, he expelled the fluctuating chakra out of his body. He noticed his arm slowly returning to it's original shape. After a bit, it was back to normal. In appearance and composition.
"The hell was that...?" He wondered.
•••
"Why did you give me some papers ?" Ryuma questioned, picking up the pieces of paper than he was handed by one of his trainers, Inori.
The Root ANBU nodded their heads.
They had obtained this from Danzo, under the orders of teaching him elemental jutsu. They first wanted to prepare and see what he had an affinity for before making any moves. He had already mastered all the techniques they had taught him so aside from taijutsu, bukijutsu and kenjutsu, which can only be improved with years of practice, they chose to teach him ninjutsu.
"Those are chakra papers. They are to be used to identify what your elemental affinity is." Inori explained.
"So, does that mean, if I have one elemental affinity, I can only learn jutsus of that element ?" Ryuma asked, as if he didn't already know the answer to his own question.
"No. Anyone can learn ninjutsu of any element. However, having an affinity will allow you to learn that element faster and you'll be better at it."
"So... What do I do now ?" He asked.
"Just channel your chakra into it. Depending on your affinity, it will react differently. For fire, the paper will burn and turn to ash. Wind will split the paper in half. Earth will turn it into dirt and make it crumble. Water will leave it damp. Lightning will make it wrinkle." Inori slowly explained the reactions of all five elements.
"And why do I have more than one paper ?"
"It is just to check if you have more than one element. It is a rare phenomenon, to have more than one, but it isn't impossible."
With two hands and a sigh, Ryuma picked up four papers, held between his fingers. He then channeled his chakra into the papers and observed their reactions. Truth be told, he was curious about his element.
'I wonder which one I'll get.'
One paper became soggy and started dripping.
One paper turned brown and started crumbling.
One paper, suprisingly, had a reaction that was not mentioned. It sprouted a plant.
One paper didn't react.
Ryuma blinked.
Inori blinked.
They ignored the first two papers, only looking at the third one.
"Is that wood release?" He nonchalantly questioned.
"I assume so..."