"Don't be nervous. Sit."
Setsuna Uchiha spoke flatly, plucking a shuriken from his pouch and tossing it to Ren. Ren caught it effortlessly. He examined it—it was high-end gear, sturdier and better crafted than the cheap kunai he used for blocking.
"Great Elder, what is this for?" Ren asked, genuinely confused.
"Who taught you your shurikenjutsu?" Setsuna asked, his eyes half-closed.
Ren felt a chill. He had barely moved against Seishiro and hadn't even used his specialized wire techniques, yet Setsuna had already sensed something "unusual" about his style. Ren couldn't exactly say: "I've been grinding your own S-Rank skills through a system for a year." He put on his best "honest kid" face. "Great Elder, I'm just a Genin. Aside from the basic clan courses, I haven't had any way to learn ninjutsu. I just... practiced with the cheap stuff I could afford."
"Oh?" A sharp light shot from beneath Setsuna's eyelids. So, a buried talent? No wonder that proud brat Shisui was so focused on him.
Setsuna pondered for a moment, then pulled out another shuriken. Holding it in one hand, he formed a single-handed Tiger (Yin) seal with the other.
A localized glow enveloped the shuriken as it began to levitate and spin rapidly in mid-air.
"The Phoenix Sage Fire and the Phoenix Sage Flower Red share the same origin. The seals don't change," Setsuna explained calmly. "The technique is simple: coat the tool in chakra, use the Tiger seal to change the chakra's nature, and throw."
Ren stared, his expression turning strange. Is the Great Elder... coaching me?
The Phoenix Sage Flower Red was a B-Rank advancement of the basic Phoenix fire. By wrapping rotating shuriken in flames, it added cutting power and used the wind from the spin to amplify the fire.
"You. Try it," Setsuna commanded, letting the red-hot shuriken drop to the ground.
Ren was slightly disappointed—he'd expected Setsuna to catch it with his bare hands like a total badass. I guess even legends are flesh and blood, he thought.
Ren focused, forming the Tiger seal and reaching out with his chakra. The shuriken on the ground flickered with a tiny spark, wobbled twice, and then fell flat. Ren gave an embarrassed laugh.
Setsuna nodded imperceptibly. "That is the simplest form of shape transformation for Fire Style. Remember that feeling. It allows for various applications, such as..."
Setsuna threw a shuriken attached to a wire into a nearby tree. He casually wove four seals—Snake, Dragon, Rabbit, Tiger—the sequence for Dragon Fire Jutsu. A line of fire instantly raced along the wire.
"Practice with the Dragon Fire first. Once you master that, move to the Flower Red. When you reach that level, find me again."
Setsuna then threw another wire-shuriken. This time, he formed only a single Tiger seal. The Dragon Fire erupted instantly.
Ren was speechless. A one-seal fire jutsu? That's only slightly less impressive than Hashirama Senju clapping his hands and getting whatever he wants!
"Master the nature transformation of fire, and then..." Setsuna frowned as he looked into Ren's eyes. He shook his head. "Never mind. Just survive first. We'll talk about the rest later."
In just two minutes, the veteran of the Warring States period had taught Ren the core of Fire Style. For a normal ninja, it would have been gibberish. But Ren already possessed Sublime-level tool mastery and Proficient Phoenix Fire.
The knowledge clicked.
[You have mastered Fire Style: Dragon Fire Jutsu (Beginner, C).] [You have mastered Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Flower Red (Beginner, B).]
Ren looked at Setsuna with a look of pure misery. Stop teaching me! My brain is itching! If I keep leveling up, I'll be too strong to die before I even reach the battlefield!
Just then, Seishiro returned from setting the traps, his face grim. "Great Elder, there's a squad of Hot Water ninjas scouting the area. I suggest we retreat for now..."
He stopped short, seeing Setsuna teaching Ren. His eyes turned red with envy. I knew it! Ren is a 'child' of the Hawk faction! He even tricked Lord Shisui into thinking he was a Dove! Unbelievable!
"What did you say?" Setsuna asked, pulling Seishiro back to reality.
"A Hot Water squad is patrolling with clear intent," Seishiro reported, trying to hide his annoyance. "The Shinobi Handbook says to avoid unnecessary complications outside the mission. Given the chaos in the Land of Hot Water, we shouldn't make direct contact."
Ren remembered what Obito (quoting Minato) had said: in war-torn lands, the local ninjas are often the most dangerous because you don't know who they truly serve.
Ren was all for "complications," but he had no excuse to push for a fight.
However, Setsuna's three-tomoe Sharingan began to spin slowly. He kicked out the bonfire and drew his long katana.
"Prepare for battle," Setsuna commanded, his voice cold. "Seishiro, lead the way. We're going to eliminate that squad first."
"Then, we march. We're crossing the border tonight!"