Chương 131: Sunset Part 2

A few minutes later Master Shuzo began to calm down. I stayed close without saying anything, keeping a small, steady smile on my face even though he never looked at me. It was harder than I expected. This man had been teaching me for a long time. Strict, relentless, never allowing half-effort, yet every ounce of him was given to make sure I learned fast and well. He cared about me, even if he never once said it aloud.

I could feel it every time I worked on dangerous seals, the way his eyes never left me, his hands twitching at every mistake, ready to intervene the moment something turned deadly. And he gave me his knowledge without hesitation. Once I reached a basic mastery of fuinjutsu he could have stepped back, handed me books, and left me to study on my own. Instead, he stayed, pouring out everything he knew, spending the little time he had left on me. That alone made me feel like I owed him a debt I could never repay.

He raised his head and wiped his tears. His voice came soft, tinged with sadness.

"I am not even sure if this emotion is from the illness. I have not acted like this since I was a child." His gaze drifted upward, eyes lost in the past. Then, after a long silence, he looked down at me again, resignation heavy in his expression.

"I think it will not be long now." The words sank into me like a blade. My chest tightened, emotions swirling until they broke through. Tears spilled down my face before I could stop them. I wasn't only sad for him, it was the thought of something eating away at who he was, erasing everything he had earned and leaving only a husk that sometimes remembered what it had lost. That cruelty struck me harder than anything else, and it made the tears come all the faster.

Master Shuzo reached out and patted my shoulder, trying to comfort me through his own suffering.

"It is strange to see you act like a child, Noa," he said with a soft chuckle. I looked up through blurred eyes and forced myself to smile.

"I promised myself I would say this while the person I cared for was still alive." I took his trembling hand in both of mine and spoke from the bottom of my heart.

"Thank you, Master Shuzo. You gave me your time when it was most precious, never once cutting corners, never once holding back advice or experience. I was lucky. Fate gave me a teacher greater than I deserved. You are more than just a master to me, and I will treasure every moment I had with you." Surprise flickered across his face. He had not expected me to speak with such certainty. Then he smiled, his hand rising to ruffle my messy hair, as everyone always seemed compelled to do.

"It is good to hear that from you, kid. You have incredible potential, and I see the future of Konoha safe in the hands of someone as smart and hardworking as you. And truthfully," his smile softened as he let out a laugh, "I have grown to like you a great deal." The words only broke me further. I leaned forward and hugged him tightly, giving him all of my emotions at once, foolishly hoping that somehow it might make him better, might buy him just a little more time.

He stiffened at first, startled by my show of affection, then slowly returned the embrace with one arm while ruffling my head with the other. I felt guilty. I should have been the one to comfort him, yet I clung to him anyway. When at last I let go, my tears had stopped. I wiped my face and forced a silly grin. He mirrored it, smiling back at me, the warmth still there despite everything.

"I am sorry I pushed you so hard and forced the pace," he said quietly, his expression falling again.

"Things are worsening quickly for me, and I think you may have already noticed."

"Do not worry about it, Master. I did not mind." Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. He chuckled, his shoulders loosening just a little.

"You absorbed it better than anyone I have ever seen." His eyes narrowed, a hint of humor flashing through them.

"Are you really a kid?" I scratched my head nervously, unsure how to respond. He studied me for a long moment, then his expression grew determined. Chakra flared in his hand and, with a puff of smoke, a massive scroll appeared between us, nearly as tall as I was.

"Hold that." I caught it quickly, surprised by the weight.

"This is my life's work," he said.

"Every seal I know, every lesson, every experiment and thought on how to improve them. All of it." My eyes widened.

"Master, this is too much. I am not worthy of something like this." He shook his head firmly.

"No one in my clan has the talent for fuinjutsu. I left a copy with them, and another for the Hokage, so you are not the only one with this knowledge. But you, Noa… you have the mind and the will for it. If you want to honor my work, study it. Master it. Help Konoha with it when the time comes." His hand gripped my shoulder with surprising strength. The weight of his expectation pressed down on me until it almost broke me, but I nodded.

"I promise, Master. I will do my best." He smiled, clearly pleased with the determination in my voice. I hesitated, but after seeing his resolve and the weight of him giving me his life's work, the hesitation slipped away.

"There is something I want to show you as well." He looked puzzled, then chuckled.

"I doubt you have seals I do not already know." That earned a laugh from me.

"Not seals." My lips curled into a smirk.

"Coat your eyes with chakra and pay attention. Do not blink." I straightened, drawing in a deep breath. My fists clenched at my sides as I whispered the word I had poured everything into.

"Stormdrive." My heart slammed in my chest, each beat like a drum of thunder. Lightning surged through me, coursing from my core into every vein, every muscle, every bone. Sparks burst across my skin, the hum growing until the room itself seemed to vibrate. The air stung of ozone as arcs crawled across my arms and legs. Then I moved. The chakra in my body detonated into momentum. In an instant I vanished, the stone floor cracking beneath me.

The air snapped as I reappeared near the shelves, lightning trailing behind in jagged arcs. Before the sound even faded, I burst again, Flicker tearing me across the room at a violent angle. My body exploded between sharp turns, each movement twisting unnaturally through the air, trails of lightning carving glowing lines wherever I passed. Each step cracked like a thunderbolt, the walls groaning as the confined chamber struggled to hold me.

The arcs painted the space in fleeting flashes, a glimpse of the full, terrifying potential of Stormdrive's mobility. Master Shuzo's eyes followed me, wide and unblinking, sharpened by chakra. The space was tight enough that he could just barely track me, but even as I limited my speed for him, I knew he could hardly keep up. I did not stop there. I raised my hand, raw current swelling in my palm. No hand seals. No wasted movement. Only intent.

The chakra condensed sharply, just a fraction of its true force, a weaker echo of the Thunderclap Spear. A thin arc screamed out, carving a black scar into the wall. I shifted my stance and struck again. This time the discharge burst from my fingers like a whip, a shortened, controlled Current Shot. The crack of it was sharp enough to leave my ears ringing. I spun, lightning crawling higher up my arm, but cut the flow before it reached full strength. Any more and I would have torn the shelves apart.

Master Shuzo's eyes narrowed as he watched. His voice came low and sharp.

"All that… without a single hand seal." At last I stopped, planting myself in front of him. My breath was heavy, but the storm within me roared harder than ever. Lightning crawled across my body, wrapping me in a living armor of static. Arcs snapped outward, hissing as they struck the floor and burned black trails into the stone. The room glowed with blue light, shadows dancing across the walls as Static Shell pulsed around me. I straightened, shoulders squared, the storm spilling from me in every direction.

"This," I said, my voice steady despite the thunder in my veins, "is the path I've been shaping with my own hands." The light washed over his face, sparks carving sharp lines across his features. His eyes widened, lips parting as though words were about to come but never did. He sat frozen, caught between disbelief and awe, the arcs reflected in his gaze. For a long moment he did not move, did not even breathe, and the silence grew heavy with what he might say next.