Rise of the Dragon - Chapter 013 (Patreon)

Chapter 013 – Breakfast

[Year 69 – December– Konohagakure – Senju Compound]

Pushing the thoughts on Kimimaro's situation aside for the moment, Ryuma brushed his teeth and took care of his morning duties.

Getting dressed in a simple white haori with the Senju Crest on the back and a hakama of the same color, before stepping out of his room, where he could see Yui already standing in the hallway calmly and waiting for him.

In his last life, Ryuma had always needed peace and quiet in the morning, as the most aggravating thing for him had always been to wake up and be directly subjected to social interactions. This distaste had clearly carried over, so he had some time ago asked Yui not to enter his room in the morning just after he had woken up. He had even asked her to just wait for him downstairs by the breakfast table.

Being the faithful servant she was however, Yui insisted on waiting before his room and accompanying him to the dining room every morning.

“Good morning, Young Lord. Have you slept well?”, Yui asked with a gentle tone.

“I have. Thank you.”, Ryuma answered through Spiritual Speech.

They did not speak anymore, as they moved down the stairs and into the small dining room, where a long table was placed at knee height, which was the more traditional height, contrary to the normal tables. Several seat cushions were placed all around the table, for people to sit on.

On the table itself though, only one set of tableware was placed, which was clearly for Ryuma.

The Moha did not eat their breakfast together with him, and neither did the other inhabitants of the compound. This was as much a form of respect, as it was a distinction of status and authority.

The members of the Outer Senju Clan would eat their breakfast before the Main Clan and do so in their own quarters, because as servants they had to get up earlier and be ready to serve the Senju after the latter woke up in the mornings.

It was a very old rule, but the Moha still adhered to it strictly, such was their devotion and loyalty.

Ryuma had not tried to change that, as he did not plan to rule the Clan as a democracy or a family. He was the Clan Head of the Senju and his word would be the only one that mattered.

Strength was the path he chose, and it was also the way he chose to rule.

That didn't mean that he would not listen to the Moha's advice, but there had to be a clear distinction between giving advice and having a say in the decision-making process.

As much as Ryuma loathed Danzo, he would be the first to admit that he at least knew what it meant to be a Shinobi.

Being willing to do absolutely everything to achieve his goal and leading Root with an iron fist, Danzo was one of the only people in Konoha that had not yet forgotten that Shinobi were not heroes or saviors. Shinobi were killers, trained from a young age to reap human life with no remorse or hesitation.

It was this ruthlessness and determination that Ryuma planned to adopt into his own behavior, as this was a dog-eat-dog world and death was but a moment away.

Many people may think that Naruto had proved differently, due to preaching friendship day in and day out, until he eventually reached his goal of being a Hokage. But most forgot that the people only listened to the delusional fool because he was quite literally a human-shaped nuclear warhead.

Without the Nine-Tails and his powers as the Shinobi World Jesus, Naruto would have died the moment he tried to talk his enemy into giving up the fight the first time.

It wasn't bonds and friendship that made Naruto strong, it was the fact that he was the reincarnation of Asura, who was quite literally the son of a god. Not to mention his Uzumaki inheritance that gifted him great physical capabilities and ridiculous regeneration abilities. Having the Yang-side of the strongest Tailed Beast sealed inside of him, was certainly not a bad thing either.

Ryuma found it ridiculous that even with all the preaching about the power of love and friendship, Naruto only made something out of himself because he was unmistakenly one of the strongest Shinobi that had ever lived.

Strength was the only truth indeed. Only with strength could one ensure the safety of those one cared about. Only strength allowed one to bring about lasting peace.

The fact that even Hashirama, the God of the Shinobi, was too foolish to understand this, even when he had all the evidence, baffled Ryuma.

If his great-grandfather had just kept the Tailed Beasts and let his own Clan use them, he could have brought about an era of peace. Instead, he had foolishly gifted them to the other Shinobi villages and as soon as he had died, they had repaid his grace by waging war against Konohagakure.

In the following conflicts, the Senju had slowly been brought to the brink of extinction, until today when it was now on Ryuma to pick up the pieces of this broken Clan and revive it.

And he would do it. Ryuma was determined to restore the Senju Clan and unlike Hashirama and Tobirama, he would not let himself be blinded by naivety or a false sense of belonging to the village. For all he cared, the village could go up in flames, as long as the Clan survived.

Konoha wasn't a place of friendship and comradery, it was a cesspool of deceit, betrayal and manipulation. The civilian council was a disease that gained strength by feasting on the broken remains of the Clans, at first it had been the Senju, but the Uchiha would soon follow.

The two founding Clans of Konoha, nearly extinguished and yet, Konoha wouldn't be affected and its people, for the most part, would not care too much, and neither would its leaders.

The Will of Fire was a bad joke in Ryuma's eyes.

Carrying the torch of belief and comradery from one generation to another, inheriting the will and aspirations of those that had passed away. Words of unity and cohesion, and yet they sounded so hollow in his ears.

Shaking off these thoughts, Ryuma concentrated back on his breakfast, while Yui gently and carefully combed his long hair, before braiding it with nimble finger movements.

This was the only time of the day when he could relax and just enjoy the moment, as the rest of the day was naturally filled with different training regimes.

Though he also took this time to revise some of his plans.

Over the last two months, he'd had some time to try and recall every other minor knowledge he had of the events in this world. Ryuma knew that there was naturally a lot he would not remember, as there was simply too much canon knowledge for him to recall perfectly.

He did of course have a general understanding of most of the timeline and also a good number of minor events, but the gaps in his knowledge were still rather substantial.

Thankfully the constant meditation Ryuma had done these past few days, had him remember some events in greater detail, while also making him recall a few other minor events. He had written all of them down and sealed them in a small storage seal that he had drawn behind his ear, directly into his skin.

Branding himself with seals was never pleasant, but he could not risk others finding these notes, not even the Moha.

The storage seal behind his ears also was rather special, as it was a variation of a normal storage seal that would only open through a special method devised by himself, that needed him to infuse the seal with not only his chakra but also his spiritual energy.

It was simple but very effective. And while there were ways to crack it, he could always just destroy it, which would also destroy the content within.

Thinking back to what he had remembered during the last few days, Ryuma addressed Yui.

“Yui, please go and fetch the Elder and Master Paku for me. I have some things that I need them to take care of.”

Having already finished the braids in Ryuma's silvery hair, the Moha didn't hesitate to rise and bow slightly: "Of course Young Lord. I will go right now."