"I thought you were supposed to be intelligent, stop trying to fight me, I'm trying to keep you alive Ryuu."
Ryuu kept on running. Ignoring the voice in his head.
"Have it your way." Ryuu's flames disappeared.
"What have you done?" Ryuu asked.
"Hmph, I'll keep going." Ryuu entered lightning chakra mode.
He left and ran towards the source of nature energy.
"You can't stop me, I'm the one that controls you, not the other way around."
"Argh!" Ryuu fell to the ground, holding his leg.
"What the hell!" Ryuu looked at his leg, which had a spear of Phoenix Flame through it and was bleeding thoroughly.
"You must listen to me!"
Ryuu blinked and found himself in the dimension he was in when he unlocked his Mangekyou Sharingan.
That strange eye stared at Ryuu again.
'Oh great, what does this mean?'
He tried to force himself out, but nothing happened.
"What do you want from me?!"
"Quiet!" it said.
"You seem to misunderstand your role in this, so let me explain, these flames you call to are not yours, they are a small part of me. If you disagree or disrespect me, I can and I might kill you."
Ryuu frowned.
"At least tell me why you don't want me here!"
"All that knowledge you have about this world you still don't know where you are, this is the land of ancestors and the home of the God tree." Ryuu's eyes widened.
"You may be wondering why I still don't want you here, and the reason is simple.
Long ago far before the age of the Otsutsuki clan and far before the age of shinobi, the earth was ruled by the sages, the toad sage, the snake sage, and the slug sage, you know these three as the masters and teachers of Senjutsu.
These three are the remaining ones that teach their versions of Senjutsu, but they aren't the only ones, they are far from being the most powerful ones.
The Phoenix is a bird known worldwide but seen as a mythical creature, a creature that never existed but that's where you are wrong, the Phoenix is the epitome of Senjutsu but with a twist of our own."
"A twist?"
From the white flaming eye, a spiral of flames appeared, and when it dispersed, a golden bird with red wings and a dark red spiky crown appeared.
It had sharp dark claws that shined and reflected light, because of their sharpness, and they were coated with black ash.
"I am one of the last Phoenix's I was born over a millennium ago.
I never met my parents, but through a secret ability, I could learn more about my kind and what happened to them.
I got the memories of my parents and their power.
Phoenix's are almost like the Otsusuki clan; we spread throughout the universe in search of a new host, when we find one, we don't force ourselves into them; we look for the most compatible one and convince them to become our hosts and after becoming one; we leave the planet after leaving an egg.
That is how my kind evolves, the offspring of a Phoenix wields more power than the parents.
Not only was I that egg, but I am the son of what you would call the king and ruler, or Kage.
I have no name, for I do not need one." Ryuu nodded.
Ryuu had sat down, crossing his legs and listening closely.
"Phoenix's are masters of not only Nature energy but all kinds of energy which include, chakra, physical and mental energy, and more, that is the reason we are compatible with all kinds of ninjutsu and Senjutsu and why we can recover and increase them at will and or subconsciously.
Throughout history, we selected very few humans to present our power, like your brother."
Ryuu's eyes widened, the Phoenix had freed him and he could now move again but he was so intrigued with the story.
"However, most humans we selected were incompatible with our power and would die a painful death when trying to use it too much, or they wouldn't inherit our abilities and would need to rely on us too much.
After centuries of failing in finding a host, we gave up and hid from the world with a technique that allows us to shapeshift with no signs of our true identity.
I was left alone to find a perfect host, and I didn't believe it was possible until I met you and your brother.
My wife suffered a fate worse than death, you see, when a Phoenix doesn't find a host they do what we call "burning out", meaning they burn internally.
Much like the descendants of Hagoromo, for one to be a host, there are conditions.
There must be an immense rush of emotions, but unlike the Sharingan, which needs any potent emotion, be it sadness, anger, or happiness, the only way to unlock Phoenix Flame is by having three things.
Overwhelming anger and hatred, overwhelming devotion, and the last one which is the least likely to happen.
Inheriting it from your parents, your father didn't have it if that's your next question." Ryuu nodded.
"You said that it requires both overwhelming anger and overwhelming devotion, but I was never angry. I had no reason to be, not at the moment I got your power."
The Phoenix shook its head.
"You're wrong.
Compared to all other humans you have the most anger, you hide it deep inside yourself and you're also incredibly devoted to achieving peace, the day your brother became compatible with Phoenix Flame, his anger was the only thing keeping him alive.
And the day the third Raikage tortured and attacked your friend, your rage was at its highest.
It's the reason you wouldn't stop pounding his head in, I have to say; I was most pleased seeing you like that.
Anyway, as you know, the Uchiha feel the most, and the Uzumaki have the hottest temper, now imagine what happens if you add a hot temper to an emotionally unstable boy."
"Fanning the flame."
The Phoenix nodded.
"Exactly, The Uzumaki clan is known for its fuinjutsu and long longevity.
But those who've met Uzumaki's know how dangerous their tempers can be when played with.
Your friend Kushina, you've seen how easy it is to anger her, and you've seen what happens to those who infuriate her, first hand and second hand."
Ryuu nodded.
He rubbed his head as he remembered the beatings he's taken from Kushina.
"Unfortunately, your brother wasn't fully devoted to killing your father, as soon as he saw you, he froze.
With those two things, you were able to become the perfect host for a Phoenix.
We hold high standards when looking for a host, but even with those standards, you surpassed them by far and that's the reason I will not allow you to go near that tree.
You're the perfect host and with that, no one can remove Phoenix Flame from you, and that's a bad thing because the fire of a Phoenix burns forever and if you get caught inside that tree, you will be an eternal fuel to it.
Feeding it, chakra, and all sorts of energy, you'll become a valuable asset to Kaguya's revival."
"You said that you leave the planet after finding the perfect host and you leave an egg." It nodded.
"That's right, my egg has already hatched, a new Phoenix is born, however…"
"What's wrong?"
"Throughout my time on this planet I've seen many events and I've discreetly traveled to many places but I've also felt lonely, I've seen through the eyes of the previous Phoenix's and I've felt what they felt, that pain it never goes away and I don't want my son to feel the same.
I've spent time with you even when we don't talk and I enjoyed that time, but I want you to promise me something. Think of it as a favor."
Ryuu nodded.
"Anything." He nodded.
"Never leave my son's side don't let him be as lonely as I was." Ryuu nodded.
"You have my word." Ryuu held his fist high.
The Phoenix was confused but returned the fist bump.
"I have to warn you that my son won't be as small as you'd think, even I'm not this small. I just made myself look like this to make you somewhat comfortable, my actual body is too large to show you."
Ryuu nodded.
"Anyway, I better get going now, Minato expects me to be back."
"Wait."
"What is it?" Ryuu asked.
"I understand what I am about to say will be difficult for you to understand, but it's the only way this will work the way they're supposed to."
Ryuu tilted his head in confusion.
"What do you mean?" The Phoenix looked away.
"From now on you won't be able to call upon my power, I'm leaving and I won't come back." Ryuu's eyes widened.
"What?! But we just met, you can't leave me after telling me all these things!"
He shook his head.
"I'm sorry I have to say this on such short notice, but if I don't leave, you will never reach your full potential, I have foreseen it."
"But-"
"Just listen!" Ryuu swallowed what he wanted to say.
"I must go and until you find my son you won't be able to use Phoenix flame, you will still be able to learn all Senjutsu and you will still have access to the Impure World but you won't be able to recover chakra as fast as you do and you won't heal from all types of injuries."
Ryuu frowned.
"I'm sorry for this, but when you find my son, give him this."
A large feather came from a spiral of white flame that landed in front of Ryuu.
Ryuu took it and sealed it in a scroll.
"Listen, when you get my son, you must make sure of a couple of things.
1. The first face he sees must be yours.
2. Phoenix's are naturally peaceful and highly intelligent creatures, but if provoked, we are nasty killers who love fighting and can be easily influenced by anger, so be careful what you do.
3. last, only when you both reach an agreement will you be able to combine forces with him and do what we call a complete transformation, all this is after he learns how to control his power.
It will take time for him to understand and control his powers, so be careful with him.
Now that we're done here, it's time for me to go."
Ryuu's eyes widened.
"Wait, you still haven't told me where to find him!"
A small smile appeared on the Phoenix's face.
"You already know, but just remember, when the time comes, don't be afraid."
Ryuu nodded.
When he closed his eyes, everything went back to normal, he opened his eyes and even his leg was healed.
'It all felt like a dream…
I have to go.' Ryuu teleported back to Konoha.