AN: Enjoy y'all.

Sasuke hadn't expected much from their first team meeting. But what did turn out happening he should have anticipated.

The newly minted members of team seven had met on time. Their Sensei did not.

Just like when he had gone to collect them at the classroom, Kakashi arrived much later than agreed upon.

Sasuke remained silent as Naruto angrily exploded.

"TWO HOURS SENSEI! TWO!"

The white haired Jonin airly defended himself, a steady smile being conveyed from his mostly covered face.

"Mah, Naruto, old ladies need help across roads, ladders might be in the way-" he shrugged, "needless to say, I took the safest path here"

The Uchiha couldn't help but snort as Naruto's brain visibly tripped a circuit, the youth's outrage vanishing in the face of his teacher's supremely lax attitude.

A string of tired words drifted past Sasuke.

"I appreciate the wait, Sensei, but is this going to be a common occurrence?"

Turning his head slightly, Sasuke's eyes landed on Ryo.

The youth was resting up against the base of a tree trunk, his arms crossed over his tucked knees.

Sasuke had sworn he'd heard him snoring earlier, but now he was definitely awake.

…when the boy had arrived at the training ground the Uchiha had kept a keen eye on him. Because Ryo had shown up looking different from before. Visibly it was a small change, but it left Sasuke with far too many questions.

His teammate no longer had cloth covering his eyes.

But the once iridescent orbs didn't glitter and glow with strange energies in this instant. For lack of a better word, Sasuke's team mate looked 'normal' again.

"Well who's to say whether or not I find myself helplessly lost on the road of life…" Kakashi shrugged before clapping his hands together, "but now that we're all rested and ready, and unless anyone has anything to say, perhaps we can begin with today's team meeting!"

'So Kakashi has something particular in mind' Sasuke thought to himself, his attention focused on the Jonin as both Ryo and Naruto approached him, the latter standing on the former's other side.

Kakashi stopped just before the trio.

"Before I can begin any lessons, I will personally evaluate you. Today I'll be getting a personal measure of your fighting ability. So this means, no Ninjutsu, no Genjutsu, no clones and no weapons-" the white fang fixed each one of the genin as he brought up their specialities, Sasuke wanting to frown as soon as his blade was restricted.

Their sensei was still talking though.

"-because I need to see what you're capable of to establish my own baseline. I want to see how accurate the Academy records truly are"

"We don't stand a chance dueling you, even without the additional restrictions" Ryo's words echoed Sasuke's unspoken frustration.

"I will not be fighting back" Kakashi clarified, "all I ask is that each of you tries their best to land one solid strike"

Sasuke understood now.

'He's basically going to be a training post that can move'

Kakashi wasn't going to fight back, but he'd be defending himself to the greatest extent of his capabilities. As a Jonin, he was leagues ahead of them all. But Kakashi wasn't just any Ninja.

He had quite the history, and just the stories alone rarely lived up to the truth.

Even Sasuke knew that Kakashi was a former ANBU.

Being the Son of a clan head had some perks.

Over breakfast his Father had alluded to Kakashi's considerable strength and experience as a Ninja.

Knowing all this, Sasuke almost wanted to sigh.

He didn't stand a chance.

But Sasuke fixed his teacher with a cool gaze.

"Don't complain if it hurts when I hit you, Sensei"

Kakashi cocked a brow at Sasuke.

"That's bold, kid"

Kakashi stood straight, his posture shifting into a defensive stance with his arms up.

"Let's see what you got"

Ryo and Naruto hastily moved back.

"Is that all?"

The ANBU nodded.

Hiruzen leaned forward and laid his elbows on his desk with his fingers lightly interlinked before his face.

"Summon Weasel"

The Commander vanished.

A few moments later Itami Uchiha's masked figure appeared in the Hokage's office. She knelt.

"Lord Hokage"

Hiruzen studied her for a quiet second.

"Give us the room"

Four concealed presences instantly removed themselves from Hiruzen's senses. Seals encaged the space right after his guard vacated the room.

The following words would be known to only Itami and the Third.

"Stand"

The Hokage's loyal soldier stood.

"...your orders have changed. I'm removing you from my guard. Bear will fill your place"

Itami didn't react besides an affirming, "hai, Hokage-sama"

Hirzuen leaned back in his chair.

"What I ask of you now…" Hiruzen sighed, waving a hand before beginning his command again. Now was not the time to let morality or ethics seep into his duty.

This was the kindest way forward for all parties involved.

"You will give him a good foundation. But don't let him stray too far. Keep him as close as you can. The longer he's under your wing and loyal the longer we can spend preparing for any eventuality"

Itami's posture straightened just minutely.

"Him, Hokage-sama?"

Hirzuen looked at her flatly.

"You know who I'm talking about"

She did.

She just wanted to see if he could say the boy's name.

"And how close does Ryo need to be?"

Hiruzen's stare was ice.

"As close as is necessary"

She understood.

Her position was two-fold now. On one hand she would be the one to train and teach Ryo. And on the other hand… she was to earn his complete trust, his loyalty… or more. And if the time came, and he strayed….

Should an opportunity present itself to remove the threat of the Entity, she'd take it.

Her strike would be the one attack Ryo would never see coming.

….

But only if it came to that.

'Plans within plans'

Until then…

"I understand, Hokage-sama"

Hiruzen promptly dismissed her. He hadn't the taste for such orders. No matter how necessary they would be.

She departed a moment later.

"Down goes the Orange Eye-Sore! Up next, Broody versus Pinkie! Let's see it!"

The black haired Uchiha felt his muscles coil.

As Naruto trudged back to the sidelines, another stalwart defeat beneath his belt at the hands of the resident Uchiha Heir, the pink haired Genin stood.

The Uzumaki landed like a sack of potatoes…bruised potatoes at that, and Ryo calmly swept himself up and toward Sasuke.

Today, on their second day of training, Kakashi had staggered a bracket of fights for his Genin. Both against their Sensei and against each other, the morning had started with a serious note of violence.

Kakashi had first warmed them up against three of his clones. And the white haired Jonin had allowed his creations to fight back against the Genin.

The Uchiha had come the closest, but none of the Genin had 'won' their first spar.

Today, Kakashi sat back and pitted them against one another.

Sasuke and Naruto had fought in a best of three to start it off and the Uchiha had cleaned house with back to back victories.

But now comes a conundrum.

Sasuke had fought Ryo before in the Academy. The boy was quiet and took defeat quite more gracefully than his blonde haired best friend usually did, but he wasn't a threat to Sasuke.

It's just…

The Pinkette stopped a few feet from him, bowing slightly and then adjusting his posture into the academy stance.

It all seemed so familiar, but the Uchiha couldn't take his gaze away from Ryo's own.

He hadn't seen when, but Ryo's eyes had started to glow a soft blue.

But they hadn't before?

He frowned.

And that's when Sasuke's senses twisted and twitched at the feeling of something foreign.

'Something's off'

The Jonin obviously sensed it also.

"No techniques"

'Technique?!' Sasuke unnervingly thought to himself.

Kakashi's voice lacked all the exuberant joy it had possessed when he had been calling out the rounds. His mocking commentary was now replaced with a hard order.

"I can't release it Sensei"

"And why not?"

"... it's a part of my training. I'm to hold my technique for a whole day, regardless of my circumstances. Using my eyes helps me manage the technique more efficiently"

Sasuke didn't know why, but Kakashi's sudden second of silence unnerved him.

"Use till failure?" he hummed to himself, before directing his curiosity at Ryo directly "my clone struck you fairly easily during the warmup. How?"

Ryo smirked looking over at his Sensei with a dry smile, "you're too fast Sensei… it's a waste of energy of energy if I want to make the whole day"

Kakashi's visible eye widened with some kind of wondrous understanding.

"You can selectively ignore things with the field?"

Ryo shrugged, "kinda. I'm almost there, but it's easier to just sorta... put my ability in sleep mode?"

Kakashi's eyebrow rose, "not bad. I might have a trick or two for you that could do well with that-"

While Sasuke was following between the lines of Ryo and Kakashi's somewhat subtle conversation, realizing that Ryo had some kind of outside obligation tied to his glowing blue eye'd look and some considerable technique, it seemed someone else was feeling sick of being left out of the conversation.

"HUH?! THE HECK ARE YA TALKING ABOUT?!" Naruto exploded, sitting up right with a foul expression. His face was still lumped up a little, but the bruises were already vanishing.

Tough little bastard.

"Naruto"

Sasuke's gaze followed Naruto's toward the one who had addressed him.

"Once Gramps gives me the okay, I'll tell you everything. But it's got to do with the four eye'd bastard. So although me and Kakashi might have to be a bit vague at… times…"

The pink haired youth stopped himself.

"Unless…"

He thought over whatever he was thinking on for a second more.

Ryo looked to Kakashi, and then back to Sasuke.

"I never really got the classification, Kakashi-sensei, for my uh… my situation"

"Ryo"

The Jonin's instant response was a hard steel, the youth's name delivered as a warning.

And the youth shrugged at their Sensei.

"Look. We're on a team together, if anyone needs to know, it'd be them yeah? Sasuke's a bloody Uchiha-"

Sasuke wasn't sure if he liked or hated how Ryo said his clan's name.

"-if anyone should need to know, it'd have to be the guy who could unknowingly poke him with a Genjutsu!" Ryo finished his sentence with heavy emphasis, desperately imploring the importance of his words to Kakashi.

And the Jonin thought it over.

Sasuke stood there with baited breath, the very thought of their immediate fight slipping away at the chance to finally get some answers.

His mind had been burning with questions.

"I need to clear it with the Hokage, but Hiruzen will likely agree. So I'll say this once-"

Kakashi threw a long and familiar object toward Sasuke.

Ryo ignored the Uchiha catching his sword, as Kakashi calmly announced to them all, "no one uses Genjutsu or Yin techniques on Ryo, ever. If you can't comply with this rule, you are not fit to be Shinobi and will be stripped of your rank"

Kakashi leant back, Naruto's gaping mouth, Sasuke's widened eyes, and Ryo's grimace completely at odds with his now comfortably calm vibe.

"So Ryo. If you get to use your technique, Sasuke can use his sword."

And the Pinkette laughed, fixing Sasuke with a smile that was a hair's breadth too large.

"Let's dance, teme!"

And with eyes widening at the suddenly incredibly fast Ryo, that would be Sasuke's first time experiencing Infinity.

"Ryo wants to tell his teammates about the Entity"

Hiruzen nodded, slowly puffing away on his tobacco pipe as he and Kakashi walked through the Shinobi graveyard.

"I figured he would" Hiruzen puffed a small cloud before him, "he is concerned for Sasuke's safety?"

Kakashi hummed, "so it would seem"

The third Hokage sighed, "very well. Brief them, fully. This is an A, borderline S-rank, secret. Or that's how Danzo had decided to classify it" Hiruzen seemed exhausted.

"A-rank?" Kakashi was perplexed, "surely that's too low?"

Hiruzen's sight turned cold, but he would say nothing more.

Kakashi took a moment to analyze the info he had been given.

It took him a few moments to see it.

'Danzo had deemed the information A-rank to ensure that the official report made its way to the Jonin Commander'

Shikaku Nara would be given a situation update regarding current known threats to the village long before Hiruzen could officially have the information reclassified. And by then…

Inoichi Yamanaka was the Nara clan head's close friend.

Word would spread quickly between the clans.

By the end of the month, any Ninja with eyes and ears would know at least something regarding the newly made Genin Ryo.

Those in service to the village would probably know only enough truth to considerably steer clear of the boy, but not enough to openly vilify him.

Similar to Naruto, he would carry an evil omen with him.

He would be privately cursed by those of the village… and openly by some.

….it might damage the boy's relationship with the village as a whole.

Danzo didn't want the youth to integrate with Konoha's society. The head of the ANBU Black Ops favored a puppet or a corpse, not a possibly loyal soldier.

Hiruzen likely had his own plan in the words regarding Ryo and the developing Situation. The Professor was a shrewd man when he needed to be.

"It's going to be a balancing act anyway. The kid's really leaning into his abilities, he's constantly trying to innovate and none of us are sure what he's going to come up with"

Hiruzen fixed Kakashi with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you concerned about this? I'd argue its proof of his value"

"The council will see how it sees" Kakashi shrugged slightly, his eye briefly tracking to a familiar headstone for a sudden moment in passing.

"But no. What concerns me is who Ryo could be receiving instruction from, beyond Weasel"

…Kakashi was right. There was nothing to say Ryo wasn't learning from the Entity.

Ryomen Sukuna did indeed make a pact with its vessel.

Several, in fact, and while the true nature of these invisible agreements was still unknown to Hiruzen, he wasn't foolish enough to consider them insignificant.

The pacts had been made on behalf of the Entity, not Ryo. Each an exchange for a boon while in return receiving a restriction.

'A binding contract… formed with this 'Cursed Energy', perhaps?'

Now was not the time to develop his theories though.

Hiruzen gazed toward the village for a moment, before looking at Kakashi meaningfully.

"Besides a blatant desire for death and destruction, we know next to nothing about the entity's intentions nor its relation to Ryo's new abilities. So long as it remains contained, nothing shall be done to Ryo"

Kakashi hummed, his thoughts going elsewhere.

In the silence of their walk he couldn't help but ask another question.

"You still have people digging for info 'bout Sukuna?"

The Hokage nodded.

"Any leads?"

Hiruzen puffed some smoke, but said nothing.

Kakashi looked away, his eyes gazing over the headstones.

"... I just hope we make the right decision, Hokage-sama"

Hiruzen chuckled sadly.

"As do I, Kakashi… as do I…"

"Ryo and Sasuke! Rematch!"

It absolutely infuriated the Uchiha when after being solidly defeated by Ryo during the spar yesterday, the youth told him how it worked…..

"-but essentially, the closer you get to me, the slower you travel-"

That had been the outstanding piece of information.

And every fight since then, Sasuke just couldn't for the life of him find a way through Ryo's technique.

Shuriken, Kunai, the very swings of his sword, it didn't matter what he sent Ryo's way, Infinity always affected it.

Him too.

Ryo's new style of grappling was painfully unavoidable. How could you, when as he reached for your wrist, arm, or leg, it was like trying to retract yourself through mud.

Heavy and dense mud.

To top this off, the kid's eyes were eerily focused. During each spar the glowing blue orbs had remained positively frozen on Sasuke's form.

It was honestly a little unnerving. At least Ryo still needed to blink every now and then, so it wasn't a total creep show.

But the constant eye-contact made Sasuke yearn for his still undeveloped Sharingan. He possessed the eye, from his birth it had been confirmed, but the Tomoe had not manifested yet.

Even after years of intense training both at home, the academy and on his own time, the Uchiha heir lacked his clan's iconic ability.

In an ocular battle, the Sharingan reigned supreme.

'No Genjutsu though' Sasuke reminded himself, walking forward into the field while throwing Kakashi a question.

"Sensei! Can I use Ninjutsu as well today?"

The white haired Jonin visibility thought it over for a moment before permitting the request.

"Nothing above B rank"

…Sasuke could certainly make do with that.

And then he caught Kakashi's eye. The man's look was knowing…

'He does know,' Sasuke affirmed to himself. And he had Kakashi's approval, since he allowed B-rank techniques.

"Sounds fun!"

The Uchiha turned to face his opponent.

Ryo was smiling.

And then Sasuke held his hands together in a very familiar cross hand sign.

"Kage Bunshin"

Sasuke let out a short grunt before he unsheathed his sword.

"HEY! THATS MY MOVE, TEME!"

My eyes narrowed at Sasuke's instant use of a clone.

Firstly, yes, he'd obviously just used a very dangerous B-rank technique, one that was indeed going to become Naruto Uzumaki's signature move…

But secondly, he'd also dumped a ton more Chakra into the clone, his own reserves dropping drastically.

I'd wager it was a 65-35 split, with the Clone taking the larger amount.

The Original Sasuke dropped into a stance, his sword sweeping before him into a readied position, while the clone settled onto its back foot.

Tightening my focus, I hardened the barrier that my Infinity protected me with, preparing for a sudden and powerful attack.

As soon as Kakashi shouted, "Hajime!" my concern was validated.

The original Sasuke swept toward me with dexterity and purpose while the clone leapt away, tossing Kunai and Shuriken like there was no tomorrow.

This was an all out attack by Sasuke.

As each Shuriken and Blade passed into Infinity, my attention shifted to Sasuke's sword… which was drifting towards my legs.

However, so long as he was slowed I'd have the edge.

"Trying to cripple me for real, teme!" I can't help but yell out.

Since the field is affecting him already, I'm able to rotate back to avoid the blade, sweeping a kick toward his ribs in the same movement.

There's a spike of Chakra before my assailant vanishes.

My foot collides with the flat edge of one of the many floating Kunai Sasuke had substituted with. Sasuke's clone was still throwing them at me, meaning my senses were torn between targeting Sasuke with Infinity as well as the Kunai and Shurkien.

'He's given himself a field of targets to swap with… and if I want to drop them out of the air I'd have to deactivate Infinity for a moment…'

He's really decided to test my limits…

Most of my focus and attention was going to the threat I was actively fighting, but if I wavered on all the new projectiles eventually one might slip through.

Also keeping Infinity active was drawing on my cursed energy reserves… a faster fight would be favorable, but based on Sasuke's blitzkrieg he's banking on a chance my field might fail.

Which it could.

Fuck.

My attention returns to the fight, and Sasuke's sudden presence above me.

The sword is coming at me from up high, the blade inching closer and closer through the field. He was aiming directly at my back.

I twist down, bringing my whole body down to the ground with my gaze locked on Sasuke's sword as it sweeps before me.

"Ah! Close!" I chuckle, managing to catch his surprised look from below him.

Encased within Infinity, it didn't matter how quick Sasuke was, I was faster.

At this proximity, he's sufficiently slowed now, so thinking a little creatively I drop back onto my hands.

Showing off a little Ninja dexterity myself, I extended my whole body upward in a handstand that doubled as a brutal two legged kick.

As my attack struck home, my eyes were instantly drawn to the sudden swelling of Chakra.

"KATON-"

'Ah fuck' I can't help but gripe.

With Sasuke reeling above me, I'm only given a second to flip back onto my feet and focus on the new threat.

"-GOKAKYU NO JUTSU!"

Damn, can Sasuke cast a Fireball or what!?

It was a C-rank technique for certain, but his clone had dumped Chakra into it.

Still… it wasn't the same level as the Fireball I'd tackled before.

'Sorry Sasuke' I grin again, funneling a bunch of cursed energy into Infinity as the technique hurtles toward me, 'but your sister's got you beat'

As soon as the Uchiha's fireball hit Infinity it suffered the same effects as everything else that touched my technique did.

And then was pain instantly radiating across my form.

Two Kunai had lightly slashed my arms and legs, just enough to disable me, but not enough to cripple me.

Their origin? The still falling Uchiha, the Original Sasuke who had a few more tools of his own.

The fire ball detonated within Infinity as I fell to my knees.

Naturally I'd have kept my focus on just the Jutsu, but my mind wasn't good enough to keep track of every single item in Sasuke's arsenal….

Infinity, in its current form, could be overwhelmed.

Having to consciously detect and evaluate everything that touched infinity was too much.

I'd been struck because I'm imperfect, not the technique, because if I'd been able to keep track of it all…

Because I wasn't capable of automatically tracking targets, I would lose… fuck. Had pride really gotten the best of me?

Sasuke's clone is approaching me from one side, the original, from the opposite. Both have weapons drawn.

Kakashi hasn't called the fight yet.

No doubt he's interested in what I may or may not have up my sleeve.

Until Sasuke secures a yield from me, it's not over.

'But I've got nothing up my sleeve'

Well, except for him.

But that wasn't an option.

Sasuke's blade sweeps low across the dirt as he nears me. I've got seconds before I'll be forced to surrender.

Fuck.

Losing? Now? After all this bullshit I've got under my belt?

Surely… surely I can-

A phrase knicks at my mind.

A command from a particularly evil being after it'd sliced my legs off in a completely spiritual out of body encouter.

"Heal yourself"

Could I?

Cursed energy didn't seem like it was capable of that. My eyes let me see it's composition and function, but regeneration didn't seem like a likely usage for such a negative source of energy…

Negative energy…

Wait.

Could that mean-?

"Yield, Ryo"

The words wash over me like cold ice.

I glance up at Sasuke.

My grin is massive.

"I yield"

Sasuke frowns, but reaches down to me as Kakashi calls the fight.

"Thanks" I say to the Uchiha, taking his offered hand up.

"It's nothing, we're teammates" Sasuke calmly refutes.

"Oh" I grin.

He thinks I'm thanking him for the hand up.

"Thanks for the inspiration, Sasuke"

I chuckle at his confused expression.

"Next time I won't go so easy on you, teme"

A fire ignites in Sasuke's eyes, "do your best, idiot"

….oh this was going to be so fun.

Itami wasn't sure what to expect when she appeared at the training ground. After shadowing Ryo all day, even during his battle with her younger brother, the Uchiha ANBU had been clearly aware of when the boy's mood shifted.

Even though Sasuke had managed to push the boy to his brink, inevitably finding a lack of control and concentration in Ryo's ability, the defeat the boy suffered hadn't mellowed him out.

That savage look of intrigue was gleaming beneath the surface.

Itami certainly believed in Ryo's 'Cursed Technique' being far more free flowing and unpredictable, than anything like an elemental technique. Unlike a static Jutsu 'Infinity', as the youth had called it, seemed to function according to what it's user allowed.

Thus learning it was an intuitive thing.

No scrolls.

Just feeling, action and reaction.

And that made it all the more dangerous.

Itami and by extent the Hokage understood that this meant the upper boundaries of Ryo's capabilities were currently unknown. There was no telling what he could do.

And based on that self satisfied yet excited look, Ryo had come to some sort of conclusion or understanding.

In his moment of defeat to Itami's little brother, the pink haired genin had realized something related to his ability.

"No Neji?"

Ryo didn't look up at her from his seated form, his eyes closed as Cursed Energy hummed around him, focusing itself into Infinity.

Itami's Sharingan instantly sprung into action.

It was getting easier to discern the energy with her enhanced gaze, but it was still akin to a miasma or a mirage in the desserts of Suna.

Something that wasn't quite there, even though your body told you it was.

"The Hokage feels my talents are sufficient for your training. Neji has been reassigned"

Ryo huffed, "Never really got to apologize… I still feel bad about… you know… Sukuna really rattled him, didn't he?"

Itami said nothing.

It wasn't her job to right the proverbial wrongs Ryo believed he had committed.

"But whatever. If you get the chance please pass it on, I didn't mean for him to… you know?"

The boy opened his eyes, looking up to her spinning Sharingan.

Itami nodded, "I will let him know"

Ryo sighed, looking away from her, "thanks"

She stopped a few feet from him, Infinity only just beginning to slow her steps.

'He's been keeping it on longer and longer' she mentally affirmed, noticing the slight development.

"I'm assuming you have something in mind for today's training?"

Ryo glanced up at her with a cocked eyebrow.

His expression leveled out into an almost disappointed expression.

"Ninja. Right. Nothing ever gets by y'all?"

Itami didn't really know what to say to that. She just nodded.

Ryo winced at her, his expression tight for a moment.

He just sighed after a moment.

"You're right though. I do have something I want to try" he got to his feet, dusting his hands off lightly before fixing her with a shrug, "but if you could help me…?"

Itami nodded at him.

"What do you need from me?"

Ryo rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Throw rocks at me?"

Itami blinked.

What a question.

Probably not the strangest request I've ever made, but it's certainly up there.

I clarify the reasoning of my order to the Uchiha ANBU with a quick explanation.

"I just need to get a feel for a multitude of objects entering my Infinity, and then I can try… well, try figuring out how my ability actually registers things within it"

Itami was ANBU.

Her mind had probably quickly pieced together what I was aiming to accomplish.

Reaching to the earth beneath us, she hefted a handful of stones.

I focus on Infinity now, feeling the slow draw of my Cursed Energy permeate my nerves.

I'm ready.

So I speak to the Shinobi before me.

"From every side, and as fast as you can, I need you to throw as many rocks as you can, Itami-sensei"

"Very well"

She complies instantly, and I can sense each pinpoint strike which follows.

My focus shifted to Infinity.

As each rock and pebble flew at me, my attention delved deeper.

And I…

'Oh wow'

Now that's so strange.

My technique rippled, like water. But I didn't observe this. I felt it. A sensation created by sight now traveled through feeling across my nerves.

Cursed Energy made this possible.

"Sensei" I speak softly, "Please throw as many as you can"

And I felt as Itami instantly complied with the request.

Each stone sunk into the ocean of infinity, none of them capable of every reaching the bottom of my ability's void.

Here at the center of my cursed singularity, I smiled.

This feeling was my ability, and now I was completely aware of it.

My gaze refocused, my eyes tracking to Itami's as she passed in front of me.

That's when I stood, taking a moment to look at the wall of rocks suspended between the two of us.

Heh. I probably looked like I had an asteroid belt surrounding me.

She ceased in her pebble throwing as I asked her a question.

"Sensei. If you have Kunai, will you throw those too?"

I grin at her as I say it.

My connection to Infinity was a feeling. The deeper I made this connection, the better my control.

I looked back to Itami, waiting for her reply.

"Very well"

Her tone is flat and her eyes are emotionless.

I can't know what she's thinking, but there's some kind of hesitation I'm picking up on. A sudden stiffness that wasn't there before.

…but if she's going to go through with this.

"Aim for my vitals, Sensei" I clarify, "or this isn't going to be much of a test"

I thought I saw her eyes narrow.

But I wasn't sure.

'Life or death' I mentally remind myself.

And as she threw her weapons, my mind tugged upon a new place.

Cursed Energy was crawling through my consciousness.

A pair of blood red eyes snapped open.

"Careless brat…."

The eyes slowly drifted shut, their world returning to a patient darkness.

In the shadows, Sukuna waited.

His time would soon come.

As soon as she released her Kunai at him, Itami felt the air change. She immediately saw the bladed Ninja tools fly forward toward her target and student.

Liver.

Right lung.

Heart.

He would die in seconds.

But Ryo's eyes never looked toward them, Itami slowly meeting his own gaze as the weapons sailed toward him.

The Genin's eyes flared with blue fire as he grinned like a maniac. Cursed Energy visibly blossomed up from around his body.

In the next second he strode toward her, his infinity pushing back the pebbles that surrounded him. And as the Kunai landed, Ryo shoved them away with his field.

'Wait… no…'

He wasn't repelling them.

Itami's gaze narrowed down, her mind trying to make sense of the phenomenon she was witnessing. Because it wasn't as if the debris and Kunai were being pushed away, but as if they had struck something solid, it was as if-

"Sensei! I've figured it out!"

His grin was gigantic.

"The speed and shape of an object tell me its danger" he looked around himself, eyes gleefully flashing with energy, "and it turns out…. Well-"

All the stones and the Kunai fell to the earth of the training ground.

"My Infinity doesn't need to be just around me, that's just how it naturally functions" he flipped a hand so it was palm side up.

"I'm just the center of my own singularity, one that allows me to slow something forever once it touches the threshold…. And I think I can set that threshold as far as I want… Meaning I can rob any moving thing of it's momentum and kinetic energy long before it reaches me"

Her eyes widened slightly.

'...an invisible singularity that effects anything the caster desires. Like the pull of a black hole…'

Ryo grinned while Itami was internally horrified.

"I think your little brother is gonna be pissed next time we fight, Sensei"

So yeah.

I'm trying to let the MC believably 'figure out' infinity. JJK powers are supposed to be intuitive at a young age, so since Ryo's a bit older he's gotta take time to learn the baby steps.

Best regards,

Freedom