𝑾𝑰𝑻𝑯 𝒀𝑶𝑼 | 𝑲.𝑰𝑵𝒁𝑼𝑲𝑨

|I{•------» [38] «------•}I|

If it was at all possible for her to conjure dark clouds above her head, they would have been dark and thunderous with pure irritation as she went off in search of Ebisu. She spent enough of her time growing up trying to get away from the older male, and now she was actually going to him.

"Princess Ruka!" Ebisu gasped, sweeping down into a low bow and then straightening up again. "I'm so glad that you've come looking for me! It's a miracle—"

"Actually, I've changed my mind," she quickly interjected, walking away from him and leaving him to choke out in embarrassment. "Come back!"

Ruka heaved an exasperated sigh, her small fingers rubbing at her temples as she walked away from him, screaming, "I guess I have to train myself alone."

"Why don't you allow me to train you?"

Ruka turned around to face her grandfather, raising an eyebrow. "Don't you have some paperwork to do?"

Hiruzen gave her a soft smile of relief that she was no longer mad at him. "Lucky for you, I've completed everything."

"I'll go easy on you."

---

Ruka fell on the ground with a groan. "Go easy on me, huh?" she said sarcastically as she slowly got up, wiped the sweat off her forehead, and locked eyes with her grandfather. This was the last phase of her training, a session with the God of Shinobi.

"Are you giving up?" Hiruzen grinned teasingly at her.

The princess clenched her jaw as she ran and threw a blazing blue fire ring at her grandfather, making arc movements with her arms.

He easily deflected it with a swift kick. "Fire Dragon Bullet," he said as he exhaled a breath of flame toward her.

She bent her upper body to the right to avoid being scorched. Ruka created a large fire lash, sending him a few steps backward. With that, she lifted both her hands up and created a wall of flame, pushing the Third Hokage to the edge of the circle.

She thought she had him, until Hiruzen broke through the wall and created a dragon-like head that shot mud balls at her with the fire released.

Ruka began to close her eyes as the beast and her chakra began to merge. "Let's do this," she thought to herself. Her eyes began to glow bright blue as she made the walls of the circle higher, making them hotter by the second.

Hiruzen felt sweat drip from the side of his face. The blue flame made it the hottest fire. He was impressed by her use of Natural Energy, something most Sages did, but Ruka wasn't a Sage yet.

She made the circle smaller and smaller until the wall covering him was only an arm's length away.

"Alright," Hiruzen started, and Ruka put her attention on his voice. "I've forfeit."

The walls of fire lowered as Ruka put her hands down. As the fires were put out, she saw her grandfather with crossed arms. He walked up to her and smiled. "You've certainly exceeded my expectations, Ruka."

"I could have done better," Ruka mumbled as she dropped herself on the ground and lay back, staring at the bright sky.

Her eyes began to flutter shut as Hiruzen sat beside her. "A grandchild is a precious gift, and you were the first blessing our clan received in some time. You were a wonder, not just to us but to the shinobi before you were even born, and I knew then that your bloodline would bring forth as many who despise it as those who admire it."

"To hurt you would

be to hurt not just the Senju and Sarutobi, but to hurt the Leaf."

There was a peaceful silence with birds chirping between them until Ruka decided to break it. "Do you ever regret being a Hokage?"

"Most of the time, I do," Hiruzen told her honestly. "I couldn't be there for Asuma and your father because of my duty as Hokage, but I'm lucky enough that they grew up well. But at the same time, I don't regret it because I'm happy to see how this village turns out. And one day, this village could be a peaceful village for future generations."

"Do you see yourself being a Hokage?"

Hiruzen could see the hesitation in her before she answered. "I do, but... I don't think I have what it takes to be a Hokage."

Before he could say anything, a scream was heard as it came closer to where her grandfather and Ruka were located. "Princess Ruka!"

Ruka rolled her eyes in annoyance as she sat up, finding Ebisu running toward her desperately. "Please! Please allow me to oversee your training!""