Chapter Four
Rinnegan
Today was the day.
Itachi was ready, Obito was ready, and Zetsu was ready. The procedure was to happen in Orochimaru's base, as he had a setup with advanced medical equipment. Zetsu was scornful of such things, but Itachi couldn't fault erring on the side of caution.
Obito was waiting in the common room of the underground complex where they had stayed. There was no need to hide, for the moment, as Zetsu knew and approved of the current plan. He was the only other person that was a part of this complex, and Itachi could understand why they stayed here - it was a useful space, if small, and clearly where Obito spent most of his time.
He took them through Kamui to the same room, where Orochimaru and Zetsu waited, both looking eager, though in different ways. Orochimaru had that bright, eager gleam of intellect in his eyes, while Zetsu just looked hungry. He was holding a long, thin package, wrapped in cloth.
"You haven't eaten anything in the last twelve hours, correct?" Orochimaru asked.
"No," Itachi said.
"Good," he rasped. "Let us begin." He led them through a few corridors, into a dark operating theater. Itachi activated her Mangekyo, and scanned the room - it was clean, sterile, and free from outside chakra.
Zetsu deposited his package, which turned out to be a tube of fluids, with a bunch of flesh floating inside. It looked gross, but the chakra signatures - five of them - were all powerful. She could see Hashirama's bright and clear like summer, and an oily one that must be the sage chakra enzyme. Two more were bright and sharp, like ice, and a third was oddly clear.
"The organ that produces sage chakra will need a clever bit of fuuinjutsu that I designed. Normally I push my own chakra into it, allowing the subject a measure of control, but I sense that would not be acceptable," Orochimaru explained.
"However, if it works as intended, this procedure will change your chakra signature. Thus, the seal cannot be applied, currently. I will need to take a sample, once the new signature settles, to apply the seal that will allow you to control the transformation."
"That is acceptable," she said, coolly.
"As I thought. A post-op checkup may be necessary, once you are feeling up to it. I assume your… caretaker can handle that."
"I can," Obito said, in his deep voice.
"Excellent. Disrobe, and lay down on the table," he ordered. "I imagine the procedure will be almost unimaginably painful. Thus, I would strongly advise a sedative."
"Of course," she agreed, undressing. She kept her eyes carefully away from the rest of the group, as they stood and watched her disrobe.
Once she was naked, she turned, and laid down on the table, staring at the ceiling above her. "I'm ready," she said, happy that her voice did not waver.
"Interesting," Orochimaru murmured, but he made no further comment.
Obito leaned over, and brushed her hair behind her, comfortingly. "The sedative?" he asked.
Orochimaru fed an IV into her arm, and murmured, "We will have to give her a larger dose, I expect."
"Done," Obito said, and Itachi felt the soothing pressure take her away.
When she woke, she was disoriented, like she'd had weird dreams. She felt stiff, and ached all over.
She made to get out of bed, but a sharp ache, centered around her thighs and belly roared up, and she stopped.
"Hey, hey," Obito said, in his normal voice. "You're alright."
"Obito?" she asked, confused. "Where am I?"
"Still in Orochimaru's lab," he said. "How do you feel?"
"Stiff," she protested. "Sore."
"Well, you're more than half goo, now. I expect some pain happened. And you got most of your musculature replaced," he pointed out. "Any sharp pains?"
"No."
"Well, that's good. Do you feel hungry, at all?"
"A little," she said.
"Well, eat something," he said, spooning her some rice. Her arms felt weak, moving sluggishly, so he hand-fed her. Which was embarrassing, but not the end of the world.
"You haven't asked yet," she said between mouthfuls.
"I am curious," he admitted. "But it may not have happened yet. Zetsu said it took time for Madara's to develop."
"I don't feel any-" And then it happened: a rushing of cool, soothing chakra rose up from her navel, through her throat, choking her, and then, and then it was in her eyes, and she had to blink, brightly, painfully.
They watered, and everything was blurry for the longest moment. And then, blessedly, it cleared, and her head stretched to accommodate all the new colors she could see - each thing she could see had at least two: grey, stone walls now had brown and blue hues, echoing through them, and the light was white, yellow and green, somehow.
But Obito was the most beautiful - she could see his half-and-half skin tone, the red of his eyes, the black of his hair, but she could also see the pale green of the Hashirama cells, the inky purple-black of the Mangekyo, and the blue in his hair. He was a hundred colors at once, almost dizzying to look at.
"Wow," he said. "I guess that answers that."
"Yeah," she murmured, still transfixed. She felt strong beyond measure, like power lurked under her skin, and the possibilities pawed at her, like attention-seeking puppies. She knew now, what she could do, and there was so much of it.
"Well, congratulations." He grinned. "As far as I know, you're the second person since the Sage of Six Paths to develop the Rinnegan."
"That's nice," she informed him. "Can I have more drugs now? Everything hurts."
"Once you drink some water," he told her, reaching over and pulling her up, and holding a glass of water to her lips. She gulped a few mouthfuls, and he let her rest.
She was asleep within seconds.
Orochimaru hummed, slightly, as he stood, in the new body. He found it was strong, resilient, and responsive to touch. If he flexed a certain tendon in his wrist, he could see the gentle swell of venom in his fingertips, on his nails. It was exquisite. And his adaptation of Juugo's anatomy seemed to be working fine. He had no need to apply the curse seal to himself, but perhaps Madara would miss it, if he slipped a bit into little Itachi…
He had no intentions of truly sabotaging their experiment, but as powerful a body as that, he could not resist.
Just in case he needed somewhere to flee to, or the time came when she was totally spent, and not protecting herself against his chakra enough. He was nothing if not prepared, although the power of the Uchiha was not to be underestimated. The power of the Rinnegan, too, was spoken of only in whispers.
He, however, had powerful tools of his own. This body might not have been born with the Sharingan it held, but he only had to think, and the power of the Uchiha's famous dojutsu was his.
It was a kingly gift, and, not for the first time, he wondered just why Madara wanted all of this power for his allies, and none of it for himself. He had to have something over Uchiha Itachi, something big.
Orochimaru was no fool, and he'd looked up the girl the second they'd left him, that first time. He had not been in Konoha for years, but he still had agents working there. More than one of them worked for Shimura Danzou, and though he'd lost one informant, he learned that Uchiha Itachi was considered a wanted criminal for killing forty-one people, including Danzou himself, and her own father.
A little bit more digging, and he learned that she had fled after eliminating a secret black ops division that wasn't supposed to have existed. Small wonder. Konoha proved, yet again, that the Hatake boy was the exception, and they did not have a good track record with their geniuses.
It was a shame that Madara had snatched her up so quickly. He would have loved for the chance to possess such a worthy creature.
He continued his self-examination. It was a powerful vessel. He was not displeased, and the nature of the cells allowed for a large degree of regeneration - the creature, Zetsu, had explained that he would likely not have the need for new hosts, not after moving to this one.
He could only hope that was true.
He moved through a set of exercises, as was his custom after a new body. He ran, he jumped, he ran through hand signs, and he put it through its paces. It was exceptional - none of his previous attempts came close to this.
And the Sharingan - it was sublime. With it, he could copy any jutsu, and his combat abilities would be increased. With it, he would be unstoppable.
He turned, and swept from the room. It was time, to check on his patient. He was between useful assistants at the moment - the last one had been a fool. He had gotten himself killed. Orochimaru felt a small, thin pang of longing for Anko.
He tossed that aside, however. He had made the choice to abandon her long ago. She should not have to suffer for his mistakes any more.
He stepped through the door to the subject's room, stepping through.
The girl lay in the bed, looking bored, while the pale creature that was called Zetsu leaned down, and whispered in her ear. She was eyeing him, languidly, occasionally commenting but not engaging fully.
Orochimaru approached. The creature looked up, and smiled wickedly, knowingly, at him. He ignored it, even as the likely planes of attack flicked into view, from the Sharingan.
"May I have a word with the patient?" he asked.
"No," Zetsu grunted.
"I wish to examine her," Orochimaru pointed out. "The genitals are the most susceptible to infection."
"It's fine, Zetsu," the girl said. The creature eyed her, as if she was insane, but slowly stood. "I'll be fine."
He nodded, slowly, and stood. "As you wish." Zetsu then sunk into the ground, throwing up dirt.
"I do wish he wouldn't do that," he said, mildly. "It is hard to keep a place like this sterile."
"Are you actually going to examine me?" she questioned, eyeing him.
"I ought to," he said. "But you would likely be in intense pain if you were suffering from infection."
"If you must," she agreed.
He nodded, surprised, and peeled back the covers, and she opened the loose robe. The flesh was healing nicely, and she stared resolutely away as he prodded, and poked.
"The sensation?" he asked, clinically.
"Tender," she said, quietly. "Of course, I don't really know how it's supposed to feel, but it feels tender."
"As long as it is not sharply painful," he said, hoping to reassure her. "You may cover up. I had wondered, about that. I know it's impolite to ask, but I couldn't help but notice that your previous genitals did not match the ones that you had replace them."
She stared at him, challengingly, as she swept the covers back over herself. "I was born male, but I am not," she declared. "As far as I see it, I was always a girl, and my body was defective. Now, it is not."
"I see," he said, coolly. "I had wondered…" He paused, considering how to put it. "I do not believe that I am a man. Nor do I believe that I am a woman. To me, they are nothing more than cloaks, to be donned and doffed at leisure. I can say this because I have spent time in female bodies, as well as male. "
"Kakashi-san said something similar." She shifted forward, eyes eager. "That you were neither."
"I believe so, yes," he said, settling at the end of her bed. "Not that it matters. When did you know?"
"I was a child. Since I was old enough to know that men and women were different, I have known."
"It took me much longer," he admitted. "But I am not disturbed by my shape. It would not disturb me to have a female one."
"I suppose you're luckier than me, then."
"How did you achieve your appearance?"
She paused, and leaned back, stretching out. "My clan is blessed with soft looks, for the most part. My father was different, but I would have had good bone structure, even as a man. I removed my testicles at eight years old, and I used a genjutsu to fool a doctor into thinking I was female, so I was injected with birth control that simulated a female puberty."
"That's very impressive," he allowed. "And this was satisfactory?"
"It was. I am happier now, of course, but I no longer felt the things that caused me to castrate myself and cauterize the wound."
Had he been a lesser being, he might have winced.
"Then I am lucky, if I never felt the need to do that," he asserted, gently.
"Do you never want to change what you are?" she asked, softly.
"I have tried it, but a reputation is such a useful thing."
She nodded, understanding. "But if you wanted to be divorced from the reputation," she said. "It could be a different kind of useful thing."
"Something to consider," he agreed.
Her lips twitched, and she said, "I could probably convince Zetsu to give you a female body, in case you wanted it."
"I do not need that, dear," he reassured her. "I have long been modifying my body, since I was younger than you. If I need this body to be female, I can do it myself."
Itachi nodded.
"I really must thank you, you know," he murmured, softly. "I had been researching a forbidden technique called the Edo Tensei for the Hokage, my sensei, when he found me in my lab, and told me that he was completely disgusted by everything I had done, for him. I had no idea why, of course. As far as I understood it, I had been supplied the labs and the corpses, on order of the Hokage himself.
"Who had supplied them? Why, Shimura Danzou, of course. He offered me funding, an underground lab, all the fresh subjects I could want. I succeeded, naturally, as I wanted nothing more than to make my sensei proud. I also succeeded at developing the cure for mortality, but my sensei called me a monster, an abomination. He was blind to anything else, blind to the fact that I had only wanted to serve him, despite the work being… distasteful, to him." He paused, and regarded her. She was not stupid. She understood. "I assume this sounds familiar?"
"Less so than you'd think," she said, amused, thin, snake-like fangs shining in the darkness. He felt a small thrill of pleasure at the sight. "I killed my clan for the Hokage, and he locked me away. When Shimura Danzou rewarded me by kidnapping me from the cell, and brought me before him, I wanted nothing more than revenge. I did not do it to defend myself, I did not want anything but to feel his flesh before my hands, and ruin everything he had built. You might have been justified, but I killed him in cold blood, and fled the village a criminal."
"Oh? And he did nothing to provoke you?"
"He attempted to steal my cousin's dojutsu. I imagine he might have tried to take mine, if I hadn't killed him immediately," she admitted, dark eyes bright.
"It is self-defense, then," he said, decisively. "If anyone truly believes that he had no intention of stealing your dojutsu, as well, then they are a hapless idiot."
"Thank you," she said, warily. "I appreciate you telling me this."
"Indeed. We have more in common than you'd think. I still have half a mind to steal you from Madara, you know."
She smiled, a thin, tight thing. "He went through all this effort. I can't betray him right away. Would just be bad form."
"Indeed," he smiled back at her. "But if the day comes when you need it, you can always find shelter with me," he declared. "For now, we should get you walking."
"Walking?" she asked, quickly, before she recovered and said, "Thank you, Orochimaru-san. I may yet take you up on that offer."
"Yes, dear." He offered her a hand, and she took it. Her muscles were responding well, and as she pushed herself up, she showed no sign of what must be discomfort on her face. He leaned forward, and half-lifted her off the bed, gently putting pressure on unsteady legs.
She winced, and tried to stand under her own power, but as he relaxed, she grabbed his arm, tightly.
"It's alright," he said, soothingly. "The muscles are there, and strong. They just haven't been used, yet."
She nodded, carefully, and tried to step. It was only his arm, and her tenuous grip on it, that kept her upright. As unsteady as she was, as she stepped next to him, she grew more steady, until she was walking, slowly, but carefully, beside him.
"Excellent," he said. "Do you need to use the restroom?"
"No," she blurted, half-confused. "It's been… a few days? Five? How did I not notice?"
"It's not unusual," he informed her. "I do not believe that this form creates waste the same way a human body does."
"Oh. Oh. That makes sense. Well, it could be worse. Zetsu might be a part of that, too. He's been helping me heal."
"Oh?" he asked, part politeness and part curiosity.
"He does this thing where he sits inside of me, and accelerates my healing. It's weird."
Orochimaru smiled. "I cannot imagine why you would think so."
She laughed, a strange sound. "Well, wow. Walking already. I feel better. I can probably be fine, soon."
"How does your chakra feel?"
"Icy," she said, sounding bewildered. "Must be the bits of Madara, I guess. Hashirama's chakra always felt like summer."
"Perhaps the donor found for the cells in your reproductive system was also an Uchiha?"
"Maybe. I don't actually know. That might be weird, in the future, if I ever have kids," she remarked. "What if he pops out with the Byakugan, and I just never knew?"
He found himself chuckling, despite himself. "Then you'd better brush up on the Gentle Fist."
"I suppose so, yeah." Itachi gave a tiny smile, at the thought. Orochimaru did not want to have a child of his body, ever. He would clone one, if he ever felt the need for it.
"Now that you're up and walking, you should be able to exercise more regularly. If you chakra feels whole, and consistent, then I can apply the curse mark that will allow you to harness the enzyme that gathers sage chakra into a useful form," he offered. They were alone, now, and it was as good a time as any.
"I think," she replied, slowly. "I have some familiarity with sage chakra, you see. So I think I may attempt to harness it on my own. If I become enraged, or unable to control it, then I would love a curse mark."
"Understandable," he agreed. And it was true - it did not fit into his plans, but he could admire the desire to master a new technique through willpower. His curse mark was for lesser beings, anyway, and whatever this Uchiha Itachi was, she was not lesser.
"I should also warn you that your hands contain two different venoms. If you wish the poisoning to be fatal, use your right hand. Non-fatal, your left. Your fangs can transmit either, depending on the relaxation or tightening of the muscles on the roof of your mouth. Your mouth is actually quite sophisticated. I'm rather proud of it, I must admit. Your saliva can be used as a carrier for an antidote to any of the venoms, and thus, will enable you to partake in relations. There is a gland, in the back of your throat, that will distribute the antidote. However," he explained, smiling. "Unfortunately, biting during sex will be difficult, unless you wish to poison your partner every time."
She eyed him, something wide in her gaze. "Okay. Thanks for telling me, at least."
"Let me get you back to bed, then."
"Ah, fun fun," she muttered.
"In another day, you should attempt to do some real exercise," he told her. "And in another few days, you will be in proper shape."
"That's excellent," she said. "I should not be this tired."
He chuckled, as she sat down on the bed. "Your body is healing. It needs time to do that. Rest."
She nodded, sleepy already. "Fine."
"If I see your Zetsu, I shall tell him to return."
"Mmmkay."
He left.
She stared at herself, again in the mirror. It was probably due to all this time spent underground, but she was even paler than before. Her skin was white, so pale the veins were all clearly outlined, and her hair was even longer. Unbound, it went all the way down to the backs of her knees. She had thin scars where Orochimaru had made incisions, but they would heal by the end of the day, she was told.
It was almost frightening, how she looked. It certainly wasn't how she expected to look. She was so white. She wasn't even a particularly vain person, but there was something weird about skin the shade of bone. Or snow.
Itachi felt better than ever, however, so she didn't know how to complain. And Obito had reported that Orochimaru had not tried anything - the organs were from Zetsu, and they'd followed the plans exactly.
She couldn't fault the results, even if her looks were a bit strange. Maybe she just needed sun. She was so incredibly pale. Her nails had even grown a bit long, thin, inch and a half long shards of black, hard and shining like dark glass. Thanks to Orochimaru, she could poison them, as well.
Her teeth, too, were different. The fangs were new, and turned her smile wolfish and sinister. Her new body was strange, but none of it was particularly unwelcome. If nothing else, there was the large benefit of increased combat abilities - both the physical ones, and the power of the Rinnegan.
The eyes themselves had a distinct otherness to them, as well. The Sharingan and the Mangekyo both were different, but they still both had an eye's normal structure - pupil, iris, sclera. The Rinnegan did not. It was just concentric circles, over pale lavender. No iris, no sclera, just a thin dot that might have been a pupil.
They sat, powerful and menacing, in her face. She'd never had a strong opinion on eyes as an intimidation factor - her Sharingan was a tool, a powerful one, but it was so because of what it did, not because of how it looked.
Itachi believed that the Rinnegan was menacing because of how it looked. She blinked away that thought. It was hers now.
The other thing that was finally hers now was between her legs. It was small, smooth and somehow beautiful. Not to brag, but it was one of those vaginas that looked like it had been drawn - the outer lips were the perfect size to make it just a cute little cleft.
She sort of wondered if hair would grow. So far, she hadn't seen hair grow on any parts that were Hashirama cells, but didn't Zetsu have hair on his head? And Obito did too, obviously, but that might have been there before.
Still, that paleness - it had to be sunlight or something, because it did not seem right. She clamped down on that, though. Now was a time to put this body through its paces.
She covered up before she left the bathroom, slipping on new undergarments, which was a trip - no more unsightly bumps! Smooth front Itachi, they might as well call her. She finished with a new hoodie and thigh highs combination, this time in dark red, courtesy of Obito's guy.
Itachi smiled, as she walked into the throne room, letting her face break into an uncharacteristic wide grin. "I'm so ready to kick your ass," she promised.
"Not gonna happen," he replied, mask cocked. He had switched to a different version, a pale white one with Rinnegan-like pattern of concentric circles, because he needed to be able to see through both Sharingan.
"Let's go fight. Orochimaru-san might get stroppy if we destroy his throne room. How else will he contemplate villainous plots in silence?"
"There's a nice clearing few miles out," Zetsu piped up.
"I do not use this room for that," Orochimaru muttered.
She raised her eyebrows meaningfully at Obito.
"Fine. Does your fancy new dojutsu let you teleport, Itachi-chan?"
"...No."
"Well, then, looks like you still need me," he pronounced, smugly. He turned to Orochimaru. "Would you like to witness the fruits of your labors, as well?"
"I believe that I may, yes."
"Take my hand," he ordered. "And let's go."
Orochimaru, amused, stepped forward and did so. A swirl of color later, and they were in a large field, left fallow. The woods encircled it, and a thin road ran along one side. This seemed as good a place as any, to Itachi.
She stepped away from them both, and let her eyes ease into the Rinnegan. She was more used to its strange vision, but it made the sunlight strange. It flickered oddly. Itachi tried to see the web, and it flickered into focus.
She turned, and asked, "Is the Rinnegan still on?"
"Yes," Zetsu called back. Fun. That meant that there was no point in using the Mangekyo, when she had the Rinnegan. Which was a little sad, because maybe she was biased, but her Mangekyo was sick-looking.
But hey, no changing forms necessary. That meant that she didn't have to deactivate the Rinnegan to use one of her most useful abilities, the web. She was pleased. Finally, a chance to stretch her legs!
"Don't kill me," Obito commanded, from across the field. "No Human Path, or Naraka Path, for that matter."
"I don't know those names," she called back.
"No stealing my soul, or summoning the Shinigami."
"Well, that does seem a little bit unfair," she pointed out. "Fine."
"Orochimaru," she said, tugging back her hood, and letting her long, braided hair flow free. "Call go!"
He smiled, and held up his hand. Itachi regarded Obito, and smiled.
Orochimaru dropped his hand, and she dug into both her Mangekyo powers - the web, and the senjutsu. They had finally chosen names - a strange process, but the names came from the eyes, themselves, after they had settled, a little. Omoikane, the ability to see senjutsu, and tell the intentions of the world around her, and Tenjin, the eye that gathered the senjutsu into a useable form.
They both dashed forward, and Itachi found herself pleased to be on the same wavelength. This was a spar, after all. She led with a strong right hook, but her nails got in the way. They were too long. The web told her he was going to dodge left, so she moved that way.
Obito neatly ducked under the punch, and kicked out at her, forcing her to dodge away. A false positive, so in terms of senjutsu perception, they were evenly matched. Unlike when she'd fought him weeks ago, in the outskirts of the Uchiha Clan District, she was suddenly not outmatched by him. She was just as fast, or faster, and she rolled away and came back swinging.
He ducked around her first blow, and used his reach to swipe at her head. She ducked down, jumping up with a kick that only barely missed, and he punished her with another kick, that sent her flying. It didn't even register - she was back, in his face, a second later.
She was hindered by the inability to form a proper fist. It was such a small thing, but her nails were too long, and too strong - even when she bit, she could not tear them.
So she improvised - she used long, clawlike slashes, instead of direct strikes. It was awkward, given her Uchiha-taught taijutsu, so she found herself beaten back once, or twice. He was also a grown-ass man, and she was still much shorter than him. So while they were matched, in strength and speed, he had the advantage.
He flashed forward in a double bicycle kick, and she found her forearms blocked it. She had the strength to block him, at least. A quick open backhand to the chest, and she scored her first real hit - he flew backwards in an explosion of dirt, before he bounded up, and came back with a flurry of high, smooth kicks to her head.
She ducked from the first, and hit the second with a block that sent him stumbling. She followed up with an elbow, but he glanced it off his shoulder, and jabbed her in the ribs. She punched back. He clocked her around the head, and rattled her enough to punch her away again.
She stood, angry, and ducked out of the way of another punishing kick, slashing with her right hand, this time scoring a line across his leg. He stumbled, almost immediately, and collapsed.
A tear in his pants had opened, and the wound was black underneath it.
She hacked up a ball of yellowish spit, which she smeared on the wound. Obito twisted around, his face in a rictus of pain.
"That stuff has quite a kick," he said, sheepishly. "No wonder Orochimaru was so excited."
"I tried not to cut you," she told him. "But I can't actually make a fist. I need to relearn my fighting style."
"Wouldn't it be easier, to, you know, cut your nails?" he asked.
"You'd think so," she agreed. "But I can't cut them with my teeth. Hold on." She drew a kunai, from her pouch, and tried to saw off a bit of nail. It scratched the kunai, actually. Her teeth found no purchase, and she could think of no harder substance, without serious thought. "No, doesn't work. They're really claws. Poisoned claws, actually."
"While useful, those are not really nonlethal, huh?" he asked.
"No, not really. I suppose this means we should try something else."
"Yeah, fine. Let's play genjutsu. I want to see how you are without the Mangekyo advantage."
"But I have a Rinnegan advantage," she pointed out, holding out a hand. He stood up.
"Not fair, I guess. Ninjutsu?"
She nodded. "Fine with me."
"Good," he said, and clapped his hands together. Roots erupted from the ground.
Itachi had barely a second to react, but, "Shinra Tensei." She said the words without thinking, without consciously trying to do so.
The grasping roots were shattered, like twigs, and Obito was blown off his feet. Itachi flexed a hand, just to be sure. One of her Rinnegan's powers. How interesting. Gravity, in its purest form. Her senjutsu eye - Tenjin, was refilling her reserves already.
"Alright," Obito said, flipping back up onto his feet. "No more going easy, if you're going to start with that crap."
"It was automatic," she said, almost confused.
"It's one of the Rinnegan's most powerful abilities," he returned. He flashed through handsigns. Itachi returned them - White Pillar was such a useful jutsu. Her handsigns felt slightly awkward, actually, with her longer nails. Another thing to get used to.
Obito, predictably, turned to the Mokuton. The roots, dark green, surged forward, and the bright blue threads of light flashed across them, from her hands.
The roots were stopped, but Obito clapped his hands, and they surged again. Itachi was calm, this time, as she reached out to stop them with all four hands. She had four hands now. Two more than she'd started with, but they felt like she'd had them all her life. The Rinnegan was a strange beast - it was not something she had to think about, to learn, not like the Mangekyo. It wanted to be used.
Thus, when her arms split, and suddenly she had two forearms coming from each elbow, it was not terribly confusing. The roots strained at her strength, but it was simple enough to absorb the chakra from them.
It flowed, like hot, wet, fudge, into her. It was delicious. Orgasmic, even, not that she was one to use that term lightly. Like the sweetest treat she'd ever tasted. She almost staggered, with how it felt, knees weak. She might have actually orgasmed - she hadn't quite had time yet to take that part of herself for a spin.
The roots crumbled to ash under her hands, and she found herself practically buzzing with power.
She raised a hand.
"Shinra Tensei."
The entire wreckage of the roots, and thirty meters of dirt were blown into the air. Obito was still, unbothered by it, but Itachi was relatively pleased with the amount of destruction she'd wrought.
"Is that what you've got?" he asked.
"I thought we were here to test my new abilities," she said. "I still have some." Her four arms opened up, her hands coming off, exposing a link of projectiles in a glimmering, black metal, like a skeleton, in between the flesh.
The missiles launched, propelled by small jets, and sought out Obito with an unerring persistence. He raised a shield of roots, for one, and ducked through two more, and dove away from the rest.
"The fuck is that?"
The Rinnegan just hummed, happily, in her mind. It wanted to be used. She felt like she could add another pair of arms, and more heads, and transform herself entirely into a being of metal and savagery. But she didn't - instead, she tamped down on that, and her flesh sealed itself.
"Good enough?" she asked.
He huffed, slapping one last missile away. "It's a strange power, to be sure. Do you have a good feeling for it?"
"Mostly," she acknowledged. She had one last technique, as a thin spike of black metal slid seamlessly from her palm. She examined it. It was slightly pointed, just as she wanted. She wanted to dig it into flesh. That was what it wanted, somehow.
"Those metal things, Pein's bodies have them all over," Obito said.
"Huh," she thought. "It wants to be used for stabbing people."
"Well," he laughed, a little. "That's not a concerning statement at all."
"The Rinnegan is odd," she said, instead of addressing what he said. "I think I'm satisfied, though."
"Good," he replied. "I want to get away from here. One or two of the locals have already noticed us. We'll have more time to test out your abilities, in the future."
"I would like to," she admitted.
"Yes. I would also not like to reveal all of our abilities to Orochimaru."
"I'm fine with that."
"Good," he said. They turned, and walked back. Zetsu was eyeing her speculatively, like he was proud. Orochimaru was implacable, as usual.
"We must return," Obito commanded in that deep voice of his. "I do not wish to call attention to your base, Orochimaru-san."
"As you wish," he agreed.
Zetsu vanished into the ground, and Itachi took Obito's outstretched hand.
a/n: Hi! If you'd like to talk about this story, I made a discord. Feel free to bug me on there, if you have questions or want to leave feedback more personally. Here's the link: discord . gg / brR55CP
