~NRK~
How could a day go by when it came to Naruto without him doing something crazy again?
Like now, seated by the lake within Tokyo Jujutsu High's forest area, his whole friend group stared at his feet on the water and NOT SINKING, WHAT THE HELL?!
Yuta rubbed the back of his head as he took a slightly solid step of his own atop the water while Minato and Kushina walked on it without issue.
"W-What the heck is THIS?!" Maki shouted in disbelief while Panda tapped his lip.
"Nii-chan's being weird again, quick, get the list!" He said to Kuro who pulled out a large rolled-up scroll?
"Guys, what the heck?" Naruto asked with a disbelieving look.
"We write down everything crazy you've done up to now," Kuro smiled as he let it unfurl.
… The fact it went down a few feet was both hilarious and terrifying.
"Hold on, let me see this list," Mai said with a grin as she peeked over Kuro's shoulder before nodding. "Hmm… Yeah, that one definitely belongs on there," she added with a keen eye as Satoru laughed with Iori looking at 'The List'.
"... My goodness, they actually got everything, how in the world have you done so much odd stuff?" The miko asked Naruto in disbelief.
"Um, I, uh," the spiky head looked defeated. "Dammit, I've got 'A List' against me. Look, let's focus on Water Walking, it's more fun."
"Barely," Mai teased as Tsumiki's eyes kept looking at the blonde's feet as she floated on over atop a large turtle-frog's back. "Tsu-chan, like, is the 'frog' thing just something you became a nerd about? What the…?"
"They're cute!" Tsumiki defended.
"Like… A bit but this is getting absurd."
The shikigami-user looked confident in her work. "Now, as for you, Naruto-kun," she turned on the amused blonde. "What?"
"Okay, so, this was a training that we came up with to help Yuta get used to the idea of Positive Energy creation," he explained, surprising them. "This, Water Walking, is done by using two different flows of curse energy. With them on top of each other, that keeps ya up by their friction, it's a thing about cursed energy we learned over the past three years."
"That's kinda sick," Momo said in awe as the whole Kyoto school was there sans one Noritoshi. "Naruto-kun, that's totally relevant information!"
"I know but it's not easy, we had to make sure we knew what we were doing but you can cheat at it," he explained.
Tsumiki considered him before gasping as she looked at her shikigami. "Shikigami, right?!" She realized.
"Like, I'm proud but Tsu-chan is WAY too quick on the uptake, it's terrifying," Momo said in disbelief as Kokichi nodded rapidly.
"That was almost instant, Tsumiki-san," he said as the Fushigoro girl looked sheepish.
"It's not that crazy, I mean, shikigami and talismans are like all I know," she said.
"But those give her a powerful foundation," Kushina said. "It's why I wanted you all to at least know how they work, Maki-chan especially, there's so much to learn from talismans."
"You can apply every concept of Jujutsu to talismans," Minato nodded. "They're just not widely used, which is kind of sad."
"I'll make sure to always use mine," Yuta said. "They help so much with Rika's summonings and skillset."
"It's true," the Special-Grade Curse said as she popped out of the water. "With talismans, he can plant me, I can ambush whoever WHEREVER!"
"... That's scary," Ino said after a moment of terrified thought.
"It's certainly dangerous," Nanako said nervously. 'Good thing to know ahead of time,' no offense meant to Rika nor Yuta.
She just cared for her siblings more than them, it wasn't meant to be harsh.
"So, with shikigami that control the flow or even talismans," Kasumi considered. "T-Then we can do stuff like that?!" She looked so excited.
"... Actually," Kokichi blinked. "M-Mechamaru could probably do it, I already used such rotation on his feet, it'd just be changing the direction," he realized. "Actually, first things first, Naruto-kun?"
"Yo," Naruto responded.
"If possible, could you and Tsumiki help Kasumi-chan with a shikigami?"
"My best techniques require a lot of cursed energy and set-up," the swordswoman said sheepishly. "S-So, I was wondering if you could come up with something that could help with that."
"You just need something to gather energy," Naruto said as Mai's eyes widened at the idea.
"Actually, I had a crazy idea about that, Shikigami Equipment!" She said as her fellow 'romance-rs' perked up. "Like how I have my One-Offs, what if you bound a shikigami to a certain form via talisman work and added a Binding Vow? I don't know where to start but I've been thinking about it."
"That sounds perfect, actually," Kokichi realized. "If I could compose Mechamaru of shikigami parts, t-that'd be so EFFECTIVE!" He said in awe.
"We'll workshop it!" Naruto grinned as Iori beamed while Satoru smirked.
Yaga nodded proudly while Yoshinobu's eyes remained wide.
'Is this what he meant?' The blonde's power to gather people?
Not just 'people' but ideas, feelings, and desires? He truly was capable of pulling together the oddest of individuals for such things.
How incredible.
"That'd be supreme!" Aoi said as Mimiko was left staring for a good bit.
'W-What kind of equipment?' She'd never heard of such a thing before… But didn't that mean this was new territory?
All garnered by some teens who were brought together by one boy who just wanted people to be good friends.
'Nii-chan was right, Naruto-kun really does make you want to be better,' Mimiko thought.
"Wait, I want in on that!" Momo said as she hurried over. "Guys, we're gonna corner the market on good shit!"
"I'm down," most of the teens said without hesitation.
"Alright, let's see about you guys trying this first before we go on to that other thing," Naruto grinned.
That'd led into what was an hour of trying to just make the circulation work.
Within which, five surprising members of the 'teen squad' could make it work.
Kasumi looked pleased as punch.
Momo smiled sheepishly.
Nanako grinned triumphantly.
Tsumiki was thoughtful.
And Mai cupped her chin at her glowing-blue feet. "This is a lot harder than I expected," she said as she put them down on the water.
It swirled in the one direction she'd had going, her eyes narrowing at it as she began to add the conflicting rotation.
It worked for a single second before she jumped as her feet were pushed back by it and splashed the water.
"Geez," Mai blinked at it. "This is kinda hard!"
"Yep, it's not supposed to be easy or else everyone would be doing it," Kushina said with a smile as Satoru laughed in the background behind her. "... Everybody who's NORMAL, that's what I meant," she sweatdropped as Iori chuckled on the shore. "You girls need to practice it on harder material, like the boys right now."
To the side, against a series of trees were all the boys and men. With Naruto, Minato, and Yuta leading the charge, they carved into the wood with nothing but cursed energy.
The puppet-user's eyes narrowed as sweat fell down his brow. 'I understand the concept and I can do it one way,' his energy spiraled clockwise.
That carved further into the wood but doing it counterclockwise was far rougher than he imagined.
"This is difficult," he said as Todou showed lesser progress but had it better in the counter direction. "... Panda?" Kokichi blinked at the Corpse Puppet.
And then the perfect erupting spirals in the wood.
"W-Why aren't you doing the other part?"
"I'm no good at it, you need an active system, I think it has to do with the water in your body," Panda explained. "I'm not fully alive but I'm conscious and growing, those are the portions of my existence."
How solemn yet intriguing.
Naruto, meanwhile, observed Tsumiki's flow as she demonstrated for the others.
Seated on the shore, she had full confidence in just letting her feet rest atop the waters.
Watching the young woman's feet take hold surprised them.
"I-It's kinda like thinking about two things at once," Tsumiki said as Naruto grinned before her. "For me, it's like thinking about two clocks, that's it. It's simple that way," she explained before the Fushigoro girl slowly began to get up onto the water with a shaky smile. "I-It's not the same as when y-you're walking b-but it's about… Focus!"
Naruto caught her as she released a weak giggle at her stumble before blinking at her feet.
"If you're good at it, you can settle someone else, too," the monkey boy said as he held her hand as they took steps out onto the water. "Ya need to have a decent grasp on it, like Tsu-chan, but after that I can help ya get used to the focus part," Naruto said as he let go and Tsumiki took a deep breath before putting one foot in front of the other.
Watching her go, Mai felt empowered to push her feet to the water once more.
'Two clocks,' she thought as she breathed in deeply before focusing on the image.
Two clocks, one going the right way and the other going counterclockwise.
'Focus,' it was like self-hypnotism, she relaxed her body and let her energy flow. 'It's so much easier with that in my head,' Mai thought, never realizing that her years of training had basically prepared her for training like this.
Training where 'control' was the very key to her, specifically, getting FAR stronger, something that would lead her down a road to strength she'd never have grasped without it.
So, when her feet found purchase, Mai grinned unknowingly at years of work.
Mei Mei considered her student intently. 'I wonder if this is her innate talent or our training,' she'd likely see over the coming year.
Mai was a curious case of low talent, impressive potential, and grand focus.
Someone like that was bound to be hit by life and either cave or claw-up to the top without a choice in the matter.
Finishing up another hour of training, they found themselves in a large circle as Naruto and Tsumiki explained his 'Binding Vow' idea.
With the boy's mother beside him with a curious tilt of the head, Satoru with a grin, and Tsumiki with a smile, they explained the idea.
"So, wait, it's gotta be different," Momo considered. "What's that even look like?"
"Don't know, that's what we're here to find out," Naruto chuckled. "From what I know, it's as simple as making conditions and… Yeah."
"It's typically a single step farther but, yeah, that's it," Satoru explained. "For example, let's take your fight from years back, the old man decided to up his cursed energy amount and output by putting on a strict Binding Vow of being able to use almost four times as much if he's fighting 'Naruto Uzumaki'."
"Wait, what do ya mean? Ain't those things the same thing? Output and amount?"
"Huh?" Mai blinked as most of the teens seemed about as surprised.
"We didn't get to that portion of your studies," Iori said while tapping her lip. "For example, Kushina-san is someone with a large amount of cursed energy but her output is basically, at max, only a fourth that amount."
"Think of it like a five-gallon water bottle," Kushina explained. "Ah, Satoru-kun?"
The man smiled before pointing at the space above the group. "Bam," he smirked.
And a ball of Red, his Reversed Curse Technique: Red, formed in the air a good bit away.
The fact it was the size of a small car was rather crazy.
Then, Kushina held out her hands as her hair glowed.
The next second, a red ball of cursed energy the size of a small large child formed.
"This is us using our largest, not-dangerous, outputs," Satoru explained as Iori nodded.
"This is cursed energy output," she explained to their younger members and Riko. "You need to understand that just because someone has a great amount of cursed energy doesn't mean that's the end-all be-all, output can turn a horrid opponent into a manageable sort while making a 'weaker'," she twitched her fingers. "Opponent into a horrid threat."
"So, wait, what about us?" Momo asked.
And that'd led into a curious exercise.
Todou made a cursed energy ball of blue that formed to the size of his torso.
"That makes you similar to Momo," Satoru noted. "So, in aspects…" He wrote it down in the ground.
Best to Worse Curse Output:
1st: Todou - Momo - Naruto - Toge
2nd: Kokichi - Kasumi - Mai - Megumi - Ui Ui - Ino
3rd: Yuta - Panda - Tsumiki - Mimiko - Nanako - Mimiko
Maki Level: Maki
"Glad to be included," Maki said flatly as Satoru snickered before yelping at a hip bump from Iori.
"Ignoring him," she said with a smile while the man pouted on her shoulder, Iori huffing before she pat his cheek and turned that pout into a smile she rolled her eyes at. "Notice the difference between their output and where their amount is."
Naruto eyed the tree he'd brought into existence from his 'output'.
Amount of Cursed Energy:
'Great Amount': 'Naruto' - Yuta - Kokichi
'Decent Amount': 'Everyone Else'
'Average Amount' : Mai - Ui Ui - Mimiko - Tsumiki
"Whoa, that discrepancy is crazy," Maki said in disbelief.
Then Satoru snuck in a 'Maki Level'.
"Gojou!"
"Yes?" Satoru, Naruto, and Kushina asked in unison.
Iori laughed despite herself while Maki smirked.
"Glad to see you guys are on the same wavelength but that's not helping. Go back to the whole 'you have energy I don't' parts of this thing."
"It's not that you don't but you do have the slightest amount," Yuta said helpfully. "That gets in the way, though."
"So, the amount doesn't mean anything about how good your output is," Aoi considered.
"It's a curious phenomenon," Mei Mei said. "One would wonder why this is even the case for some of us but then you consider that cursed energy output could potentially be substituted by another phrase: 'How much can you handle?'."
"It sounds the same but it ain't, huh?" Naruto asked, flanked by his fiancees.
"Yep, though, really, it's just a turn of the phrase, there's no telling if that even means anything."
"... A-Actually, doesn't that also mean how useful a secondary helper would is determined by that?" Kasumi asked with a raised hand from beside Kokichi. "I mean, Yuta-kun already told us that, despite being connected, he and Rika-san have cursed energy."
"... It is weird," the Special Grade Cursed Spirit said with a hum. "I mean, considering everything, does that mean there's a difference between me and Yuta?" She asked.
"Oh, without a doubt," Satoru said. "Your existences are separate but you're bound by a connection. You've cursed him, remember that, but that didn't change anything about him besides small things while you're capable of living within him, his concepts, or just your ring. You've got a larger benefit… Technically."
"I and Rika fight together, we kinda both get that benefit," Yuta said.
"It's a mutual benefit of concept to practicality," Maki added as he perked up. "Her hiding in your shadow is more of your benefit than Rika's."
"I guess."
"These kinds of things help differentiate your skillsets, don't forget that," Satoru said while hugging Iori from behind, his chin atop her noggin. "But I hear that my cuz is on his usual crazy so take it away, cuz."
"Right, so, I'm offering something to you guys," Naruto said to his friends. "Do you all want a custom shikigami to work with?"
That got some curious head tilts, Yoshinobu's the most. "What?" He asked.
"Well, yeah, Kasumi-chan was kinda talking about it and then I wondered if anyone else needed a shikigami pal."
The old man scurried over and observed him from multiple angles.
By the end, he just looked confuse-
"That sounds amazing!" A new voice said as she entered with a cheer and a familiar figure. "Why, I'd call it logical!"
"Yuki-sensei?" Naruto and Aoi asked in unison.
"Sup, my precious students," the blonde woman winked.
Wearing a black shirt, white shorts, and some simple white running shoes, the woman wore a pair of shades atop her noggin as the person at her side waved at them simply.
"Nori!" The entire teen group greeted as Noritoshi blushed before hurrying over with Yuki.
"H-Hello, it's been a day or so," he admitted bashfully.
"I'm guessing things went well," Naruto grinned as Kokichi smiled while Aoi threw him a thumbs-up.
"Wait, what?" Mai blinked along with the girls. "What happened?"
"That's his story to tell," the puppet-user said while Kasumi looked intrigued. "But I believe it went incredibly well, you look far more relaxed than ever, Noritoshi-kun," Kokichi smiled as the blood-user looked pensive… Before smiling.
"I… I know," he admitted softly, coming over as the boys got up.
They pat him him on the back with encouraging nods while the men laughed and the women snorted, the only ones left gawking at this bromance being the girls.
"W-What the what?!" Nanako yelped while Megumi looked amused and Yuta chuckled, Maki nudging him.
"Hey, you guys seem to get it," she said accusationally.
"Kind of? It's a guy thing," he admitted as Ino nodded sagely while Ui Ui tilted his head.
"It is a bit obvious," he said as Maki gawked.
"What?!"
"That's fair!" Kasumi said with a big pout as Kokichi looked sheepish when they welcomed their away friend into their group seat. "Girls, we have to come up with something!"
"What happened while I was gone?" Noritoshi asked Momo who sweatdropped.
"Um…" She grinned.
They explained everything to the young man who demonstrated his own aptitudes.
Adding him to the '1st' and 'Great' lists of their two categories.
"... Odd, I feel so much better at it," Noritoshi looked down at his hands in thought.
"That's because ya got closure, I think," Naruto grinned. "Ya figured something out, ya gotta clear head, and I bet a goal now."
The blood-user's hands clenched together. "You're right. I want to become a great sorcerer to make my family, my actual family, proud. I'm… I-I'm fine whether I'm the clan head or not…" He looked alarmed, looking up in surprise as Aoi shot him a thumbs-up.
"You've found what's truly important, ya tempered yourself, Nori," he said.
"... I see, I've become odd."
"Yep," all his friends agreed this time.
With that fond reunion done, they went back on topic.
"Binding Vows of Positive Energy can do this?" He asked, looking at Riko's transformed state. "Riko-sensei?"
"We're still not sure," she said as Satoru observed her fur with interest. "D-Don't touch me."
"Touchy much?" He smirked.
"You're nothing but trouble."
"So, wait, we can do Riko-sensei things?" Kasumi asked.
"Don't know, it's kinda new for me," Naruto said as his tail curled the weight of one of Megumi's Divine Dogs.
Which meant he curled one of the Divine Dogs, Shirou looking pleased as Nue, a masked winged shikigami, rested at Megumi's side and Hebi extended all around in a demonstration of her skill.
"So, hmm," Megumi pulled out an Escape Rabbit with another one planted by his feet. "Let's see if you can't do something interesting," he offered the blonde a rabbit.
Taking the twitchy-nosed bunny, Naruto sweatdropped at those BIG BLACK EYES looking at him all innocent and the like.
"... I don't think I can do it," he said with a weak chuckle. "Um, maybe we should see what I can do with a blessed spirit."
"Hmm-Oh," Tsumiki considered the idea before a familiar tanuki settled onto her head. "Y-You stayed?" She asked the white raccoon-dog spirit as Naruto sighed in relief, putting the rabbit in his hold atop his noggin where they stayed comfortably.
Bringing the little spirit over, she handed him to Naruto who locked eyes with the tanuki.
"Let's see…" Naruto considered the Blessed Spirit. "Buddy, I'm gonna make a contract with you by making ya bigger, I guess, you can only use positive energy from your tail," he said. "Am I doing it right?" He asked anyone by that point.
"You need to let your energy flow," Tsumiki said, pulling out a small notebook that Mai came over and peeked at. "... Right, it's about the flow of energy and the mental or verbal conditions," she explained as the Zenin nodded.
"Yep, it's a bit different than doing it with an object," she explained, Naruto cupping his chin. "For objects, you gotta let your cursed energy fill them while reciting the conditions."
"That's not all," Satoru said as he & Iori shimmied over. "The thing is, as Uta-chan could tell you, you can also do a ritual," he chimed in as the embraced woman nodded.
"It's true, hmm… Actually, have any of you all done a ritual form of enhancement?" Iori asked and got shakes of the head from all of them sans Nanako & Mimiko. "Ah, you two know some?" She smiled patiently as the girls blushed bashfully.
"Yeah, well, my Technique comes with a few caveats," Nanako explained, pulling out her phone. "I can affect things in photographs and stuff."
"Wait, I always wondered how far that went," Aoi cupped his chin as she smirked at him.
"It's not like your Boogey-Woogey, you weirdo… W-Well, it has a kind of aspect to it," she admitted with a mutter as he looked intrigued. "So, I can do simple stuff like affect my phone's pictures since they're seen as 'temporary', 'virtual' really," Nanako continued while taking a selfie of herself and Todou. "Like this-"
The flash hit before showing them.
She placed her fingers against both her and Todou on the photo as he leaned over her shoulder with interest.
She spun them.
And the next second, he blinked as he held the phone. "What?" Aoi balked as she leaned over his shoulder.
"I can move us certain distances within the photograph or switch places between people within the picture," she explained as he handed her the cellphone. "The part of 'ritual' comes up when it's not from my phone," Nanako groaned as Mimiko nodded.
"Its power increases due to the 'real' element being within the world itself, the flow of cursed energy in a picture, the manifestation of cursed spirits within them, and then some," she filled them in as Megumi's eyes widened at that. "By 'manifestation', I mean making use of them. Really, she can 'manifest' anything within the frame and make them do a few simple things."
"Huh, I wonder," Naruto considered one of his talismans.
"Ya have a bit of one yourself," Kushina smiled, confusing the blond. "The Kage Bunshin only takes one handsign, right?"
His jaw dropped as he considered the talisman. 'Crap, I don't remember all the old handsigns!' Naruto groaned. "Well, I'll figure something out, gotta make use of everything to be ultra-Special-grade."
"Ya can't top this temple," Satoru said with a grin as Iori snorted. "Even if 'Supreme Grade' sounds like a Satoru-level."
"Okay, cuz, we believe you."
"Oi!" He yelped at Naruto's grin while Iori smirked up at him. "I can't deal with him, he's too bright, I can deal with you."
She yelped as he lifted her up and paraded the red-faced woman around.
"Look at what I GOT!"
"SATORU, I WILL MURDER YOU!"
"Ah, there's a good couple," Naruto nodded sagely as Mai snorted while Tsumiki giggled. "Alright, little guy, time to see what you've got," he beamed at the patient tanuki. "Hmmmmm…" He let his positive energy flow around them gently, the Blessed Spirit perking up in his hold as he considered his condition.
Naruto's left eye bore his Mandala as he smiled.
Protect Tsumiki.
The tanuki's eyes glowed.
I'll give you as much power as I need to so your only job is to protect her.
The blonde boy wore a closed-eyed smile as the spirit glowed.
Now, the best way for you to protect her would be to get bigger.
The little spirit hopped out of his hand before going into the water, much to Naruto's amusement.
"Huh?" Mai blinked as Satoru continued to embarrass his lover. "What's it doing?" She asked.
"I think it's getting its element and stuff," Naruto beamed, confusing her and Tsumiki. "Oh, wait," he kneeled down.
He pressed his hand to the water before his hair lightened a shade and the water began to glow white.
The sight stopped the strongest Gojou's parade. "Huh-OW!" He whined before turning around as Iori huffed at him before covering his eyes. "Thanks, hon," Satoru said as he turned around. "... What's happening?"
Sweatdropping, the teacher looked on as the glowing waters released a flow of positive energy. "Hmm? What in the world?" Iori whispered as the others looked on at Naruto's work.
And then a white claw slipped out of the water without disturbing it, a big fluffy body following it before that was followed by three glowing tails with orbs seated at the end of all three that glowed a brilliant blue.
"Hmm," Naruto smiled as that large white tanuki with a shield for a 'hat', pure blue eyes seated within a stylized mandala-logoed mask, a white fluffy body that made it look stubby, and those rings of water on its wrists and ankles tilted its head at him. "Nice ta meetcha, so, Tsu-chan I need ya to bond with this guy," he told his Fushiguro fiancee.
"Eh!?" She looked at him like he was crazy before finding that big fluffy animal spi-
Tsumiki hugged the life out of him with big shiny eyes as Mai snorted before laughing herself into a crouch while Naruto smiled.
"The Condition was for him to only protect Tsumiki," he told the looking-on group. "So, ya know, that's gonna be pretty specific," Naruto explained.
"To only protect one person, that's a decent condition," Megumi said. "Still, why did it go into the water? Did you give it water powers?"
"Not really? I think that's because that's what he was already used to. Likely, when he was a cursed spirit, he was born from a small fear of water."
"A tanuki?" Noritoshi observed. "Cursed spirits can be quite confusing at times."
"When he was just that, though, he didn't look like this," Naruto said, surprising them. "Yep, he was a three-eyed spirit."
"So, their forms change completely?"
"Yep, besides the cursed energy, their forms 'even out' I gue-"
"Tenmi!" Tsumiki beamed at the happy-looking tanuki.
"..." Naruto's head mechanically turned with the others towards the happy young woman. "She didn't just name him 'Angel Ears', did she?"
"Tsu-chan's naming sense isn't that bad," Kasumi pouted. "I-It's cute!"
Kokichi's smile was unsure. "But why not a name that corresponds to, well, anything important about him?" He asked.
"Cute names don't need to worry about that."
"T-They don't?"
Then, Naruto came forward before clapping his hands together.
There was a swirl of gold and silver as his Mandala formed on his forehead.
The next second, a coiling set of symbols, sealing symbols for those of a previous-life persuasion, formed between the girl and tanuki before 'locking' in when the light show ended.
"Alright, I get it a bit more, now," Naruto said with a cupped chin as Tsumiki looked at her wrist in surprise as golden writing formed on it. "So, the Yellow Mandala helps me with more than just controlling positive energy, it also lets me affect things like my Binding Promises," he nodded. "That feels about right."
"Okay, 'Mechanics Time', explain," Nanako said with a flat look. 'This is different, he bound those two, right?' That's what it looked like.
"So, I can 'Bind' two different people or spirits together," Naruto explained, surprising her for a moment. "I can do it in a weird way but, yeah, I can do that. It's sort of like linking their souls and stuff but because I also made him for Tsumiki, it was possible for me to Bind him to me and then to her."
"That's not that complex," Riko said, back to normal. "So, your positive energy can link two beings together," she considered.
"Probably, I mean, Core of All Life might be something we didn't expect," Satoru said as they considered it.
"So, wait, it's something that allows him to affect all living things?" Yuta asked.
"But what's that mean, really?" Maki considered.
"If we use his 'connecting' aspect as the idea, that means he can mesh two individuals, 'people'," Kushina twitched her fingers as Tenmi looked at her with a tilted head. "With positive energy, it allows him an extra 'permission'."
'The more I think about it, damn, Tenzen would have likely thrived with this kid,' Yuki considered with wonder. 'Two Six Eyes appearing in a generation likely means there are different aspects that he was going to benefit from.'
Satoru Gojou, the bearer of the first and actual Six Eyes.
Naruto Gojou Uzumaki, wielded an altered Six Eyes that was changed by his Heavenly Restriction into his Three-Tailed Mandala, a Blessed Technique that allowed him complete and total control over positive energy. It was a grand healing power, one that affected all forms of life, and could rejuvenate vitality.
'He can likely share vitality from himself to another,' she realized. 'It's not just about those he binds but who he binds with himself,' Yuki realized that this was why Naruto was such a wanted commodity.
To be able to form a vow between two other individuals was already massive but then to be able to form what would assumably be a one-sided symbiosis with another, one where he likely fronted all the 'fuel' and 'cost' was too good of a set-up.
Speaking of… "So, we all realize how scary his pacts are, right?" She asked with a smile as Naruto crossed his arms in thought. "You guys didn't fully grasp it."
"I-It's kind of obvious to me," Yuta admitted, confusing Maki.
"Oi, what are you guys talking about? What wasn't obvious?" She asked, prodding his shoulder as he wore a sheepish smile.
"It's the fact that Naruto's the one who's handling all the cost," he said, confusing her while alarming the others. "S-Since he's forming the pact for someone else, they don't have to offer up anything to keep it."
"I am," Naruto realized. "Wow, that's actually super-dangerous," he considered as Kokichi blinked before cupping his chin.
"The best way for you to make use of that skill would be to do it between trusted allies," he said with a thoughtful hum. "But what is the backlash?"
"I just promised a ton of energy, that's about it."
"Wait, you can just promise some energy? That's rather ridiculous."
"Is it?" Mai asked. "Remember, positive energy is already a rare thing, what if a Binding Promise sees it for that?"
"We sadly don't know, none of us wield positive energy like Naruto-kun does," he admitted. "And it's clear that he has a more expansive subset of skills from this bit of information alone. If he can bind an object via positive energy to a normal person, that means you could hypothetically help someone use positive energy, Naruto-kun."
"We don't know, huh?" Naruto nodded. "Then, we should find out," he told them before going to a tree and breaking off a branch that instantly regrew at his behest. "We don't need to just talk about it, in fact," he formed that familiar skill's handsign. "We can test it four times over: Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
There was a familiar puff of smoke before three other clones formed around him.
"Guys, it's time to test some cool stuff out."
~NRK~
That had led into such a fascinating number of trials with positive energy and the like.
Which helped inform them all of Naruto's skills.
"So, it dims the effect of cursed energy," Yuta said as he held that shaped bit of wood, his wooden sword glowing a soft white. "But if you know how to use Reverse Curse Technique, you can enhance it," he considered as Ieiri smiled with one of her own.
And the greater glow over hers, the branch sprouting little branches of its own.
Maki was barely listening as she held a warspear of Naruto's blessing, like literal blessing, and grinned as her senses rose.
Her body felt light.
And her power felt like it'd gone through several changes.
She swung out with that glowing polearm.
And the trail of damage that followed had her looking euphoric.
Nanako & Mimiko paled at all of this new information.
'W-Will the Night of a Hundred work out?' They thought in unified horror as the great expanded their knowledge of positive energy. 'H-He's totally a problem, nii-chan,' and the odd part was they felt unsure of what to do now.
Not just because of their adoptive sibling's wants and needs… But because of their affection for their friends.
They liked these people, they weren't bad people, in fact they were honestly pretty awesome.
So, what did they do now?
~NRK~
Relaying the information came first and foremost that night, the classes of both schools enjoying a night out in the school grounds together.
That's why the twins were seated in Mimiko's room, having told the others they wanted to talk about their personal topics before joining them.
That's how they explained everything to Geto over the line.
-... I see- The man said in an almost nostalgic manner, one that spoke of a past they couldn't have known unless coming here. -He's truly learning how to apply himself, hmm-
"Nii-chan?" Mimiko whispered.
-I know how this feels for you two- He said without a hint of doubt, the shuffle of cloth over the line belying his own state. -I know how this feels, how this will get, and how bad it's going to be. That's why your jobs, amongst all else, are to stay away from everything-
"Nii-chan?!"
-No, I sent you both there for two reasons- He said, confusing them. -One, to keep an eye on things, God knows what the Jujutsu World's up to when it comes to Naruto-kun but the second reason was for you two to find more comrades, to have another place to be in case… In case things go horribly south, honestly, Naruto-kun's effect is too much sometimes- Geto's chuckles were fond and noteworthy. -Likely, had I not known him, had I been so unable to open up before these times, this would have never happened… But I'm thinking ahead, for all of you, for each and every one of you, you all are my family above all else-
They locked eyes before looking worried.
"N-Nii-chan, what exactly is gonna happen if things go either way?" Nanako asked, the more courageous of the two sisters at the moment. "I don't understand how to feel about any of this."
-Hmm, the worst case scenarios of both options aren't great- Geto began. -Us winning? The worst case scenario is I lose you all, you both lose a home, the others lose their anonymity, and even if we win we'll be too weak to fend off whoever's left. Satoru Gojou, alone, you two, is a MONSTER beyond comparison. And he's had over ten years to become a bigger one alongside Naruto-kun, his students, and whoever else is in the schools as you two have told me-
"Like Todou," Nanako nodded, confusing her sister. "His stupid… I-It's some stupid 'switch places' technique," he crossed her arms with a huff.
"I mean, Aoi-san does seem pretty weird," Mimiko said.
"Mimiko, you're giving him too much credit! He's a total loon who'd turn a curse into his best friend if they had the same interests!"
"I mean, he is?"
"And he's totally weird when it comes to keeping his shirt on! Like, we get it, you're hot, stop taking off your shirt!" Nanako complained with crossed arms.
Listening to her sister rave on and on about how weird Aoi was kinda… It sort of weirded Mimiko out.
-... Mimiko, is she… Ahem, really as unattached as I believe?- Geto asked quietly.
"E-Eh?!" Mimiko gawked at the phone. "N-Nii-chan, there's… T-There's no way, right?"
-I'm unsure of how to take that-
"Aoi-kun is really weird."
~NRK~
The next two weeks that passed had been full of fun, training, missinos, and then more experiments.
But that all took a backseat to the mission that arrived on one Sunday morning.
Naruto and Yuta blinked as they stood in the Tokyo Jujutsu High's principal's office.
"Yaga-bro? R-Really?!" Naruto with a grin as Yaga nodded, Yuta smiling for his friend. "Wait, what's the mission? If it's to bump me up to Grade 1, that means it's gonna be pretty rough, huh?"
"Indeed," Yaga said, pulling a folder off his desk before handing to the blonde. "There's a reason both of you are going. This isn't just a mission for you to prove yourself but also one for Yuta Okkotsu, you both are still not great in the Superiors' eyes so they want you two to prove it."
The pair blinked as they looked down at the mission- "No way," they said in disbelief.
"Yes, there's an abandoned town outside of Tokyo on a small island, no one goes there, no one's been there for over forty years, and it's been scouted," he said. "There are over 50 curses on that island, you two," Yaga continued. "And over half of them are of Semi-Grade 1 with ten being Grade 1 themselves."
The two's eyes widened before growing focused.
"Show your merit, you two, you have a week."
"Yes, sir."
~NRK~
That's why Obito & Yuta found themselves traveling with not just Mai and Maki but also an embarrassed Iori & Tsumiki.
"W-Why?" The Fushiguro girl muttered as their Jujutsu Manager smiled at them.
"You wished to keep an eye on things and were intrigued by the Managerial positions, no?" He asked with a smile as Tsumiki hesitated before nodding.
Wearing a pair of white-laced knee-high black boots, some black tights underneath a long white skirt, a sleeveless brown turtleneck, and a navel-length white mantle with elbow-length sleeves, Tsumiki had on a pair of bicep boxes that held her talismans and/or shikigami.
Tenmi sat atop her head, the young woman's hair done-up into a neat bun with chest-length bangs.
"So, this is your first outing," Mai smiled encouragingly at her co-wife. "I get what your feeling, it sucks the first time," she admitted sheepishly as Inazuma smiled beside her.
"This will be our first time cooperatin'," the clearly country shikigami grinned in her, thankfully, thigh-length kimono with black spats beneath it.
Bearing lightning-amped boots that sported arcing bolts off the heels like wings, she seemed ready for combat. Oh, did she forget that Inazuma was clearly a woman now?
Was it weird? Honestly, not really, Sage was the same way after all.
"I want to do my best to h-help out," Tsumiki admitted as Maki grinned in her school uniform.
"Well, I hope we get to kick enough ass that you get more confident," she smirked, looking very excited about it all.
"Be careful, Maki-chan, this is mostly Naruto & Yuta's mission," Iori reminded her.
"I know! But that doesn't mean we won't see any action, there are fifty curses last I checked."
"... Well," the Semi-Grade 1 woman considered her, Mai, and then Tsumiki. "... Perhaps, if you three wish, we can have Tsumiki-chan cast a Curtain to trap one of those curses within."
Mai perked up. "... No," she shook her head, surprising them. "Try and grab two, maybe three," she said, alarming them while Naruto grinned. "It's not just me feeling like I wanna try, ya know? Inazuma-chan is right here and, last I check, she's just like Sage besides being a woman. Sage… Giant tree-throwing Sage."
"Hmm, ta be fair, he's more muscle and handsome," the oni spirit beamed as Mai sweatdropped at her while Naruto laughed. "I'm all demure and fast," Inazuma said happily.
'What the heck have they been doing?' Maki wondered in disbelief. "Hey, this ain't some 'servant follows master' thing, is it?"
"I… Don't know," Mai whispered back while Tsumiki giggled.
They chatted as their car kept going before they got off to go on a hidden dingy.
Looking over the edge of the ship towards that island, the sight of its murky fog, clearly decrepit buildings, and few mountains really set the scene.
"There's no way there isn't a curse the moment we step on land," Maki said with a grin, her Naruto-gifted warspear latched to her back via a new black vest harness that sat over her uniform. 'Might wanna change this, it's kinda stuff,' she thought, fanning her top's collar.
Yuta did his best to not look that way as his cheeks reddened. "S-So, um, we have a week but will it really take that long?" He asked. "All things considered, Naruto's going to know where all of them are."
The Manager's smile froze on his face while Iori giggled a bit.
"I don't think they recognize just how powerful his senses are," the miko said with a smile. "Ijichi, you haven't really been introduced to Naruto-kun yet."
"Y-Yes, erm," their 'senior' Manager adjusted his glasses as he looked at the smiling Gojou. "... Is what Special Grade Sorcerer Yuta said true?" He, Ijichi, asked with a look of surprise.
He was a decently tall thin man with peach skin, neatly-combed black hair, and black eyes that sat behind a pair of rectangular glasses, wearing the usual Jujutsu Manager attire of a black suit, white dress shirt, black tie, and dress shoes, he was an incredibly unremarkable-looking man outside of his nice car.
Kiyotaka Ijichi.
"He's pretty effective," Mai said while looking over her handguns and than a submachine gun that had Inazuma looking excited. "I know, I know, this is your usual kind of crazy," she chuckled as she gave it to the shikigami who looked at-peace with it.
"How fast is she?" Yuta asked while Tsumiki looked at the island ahead of them before holding her hands together, seemingly in prayer.
The space around their ship distorted as a shimmer of 'ice' hid their location and presence.
"You got a lot better at this, huh?" Naruto asked her as they looked out over the waters, Tsumiki nodding as her hands rested at her sides.
"I'd sometimes mess with stuff during class," Tsumiki admitted. "Hiding my pencil, showing some fake notes."
"Fake notes?"
"Your mom taught me a bit about trying to mess with senses," she whispered as his eyes widened. "Genjutsu, she called it. I'm good at doing it, distorting things like sight & energy but that's it, I can't hide sounds, smells, or vibrations."
"Tsu-chan, that's still amazing, that's crazy," he said in awe as she smiled bashfully.
"Well, I hope I can do my utmost to help you all. I had a small idea, a small charm that'd hide one aspect of the wearer completely like, maybe, energy? If you're in a fight, I imagine that the opponent's thinking too much about other things Jujutsu-related than that and… And my dad used to fight like that, right?"
Naruto wore a fond nostalgic grin. "Yep, old man Toji used that to train me a lot by not using my actual sensory skill," he told her. "He's scary fast and I think Maki's on the road to being as fast as him early if I can get that Binding Promise to work right."
Reaching shore maybe ten minutes later, they stepped onto the beach pier on the island and looked around.
Naruto's senses piqued all around him. "Well, Maki-chan's right, we've got maybe five curses in the boathouse or other boats around us," he said.
"Heh," Maki smirked at the idea, nose twitching around. "Thank God curses have a scent or else this would be harder," she said. "So, what's the plan? How strong are these ones?"
"Around Grade 2."
"Aw man."
"Actually, there's something I've been thinking about," Naruto said. "So, positive energy is almost totally toxic to cursed spirits, right? At least, normal positive energy is unlike mine but my stuff still works well enough to cleanse any regular curse, I think I should try an idea I had."
"What kind?" Yuta asked, his sheathed katana held in his right hand.
"It's my way of using Simple Domain," he said as he moved ahead onto the pier, leaving Tsumiki's distorting Curtain but still not upsetting spirits. "Alright," Naruto released a breath before holding up a half-Ram seal. "Nine Raging Beasts."
His mandala in his eye appeared before Yellow Mandala formed atop his noggin.
The air grew thick with positive energy as the others' eyes widened at just the sheer increase.
"There's a full chant?" Yuta realized as Iori smiled.
"We worked on it in between the last two weeks," she said. "Satoru can help him find the words while I help smooth out the ritual basics."
"Two Worlds. Yin-Yang."
The flow in the area concentrated… NO!
"What?" Tsumiki's eyes widened as her cursed energy formed around her almost unconsciously, her eyes going down to her hands. "W-What is he doing?"
"Remember one key fact of Naruto's Blessed Technique," Iori smiled. "It's not just positive of energy-"
"Positive World:-"
"It TURNS cursed energy into positive energy."
"Maximum Output."
~NRK~
Satoru released a long whistle at the feeling.
'Yep,' he grinned as Minato's eyes widened and Kushina gasped, everyone else with a lick of sensory ability freezing at the sheer amount alone. "That's a Special Grade alright."
~NRK~
Geto released a weak grin as he sat up within his cottage.
"What in the world did they do to him?" He thought, a drip of sweat falling down his cheek. "What type of Grade did they give him when he can do THIS?"
~NRK~
Naruto released a relieved breath as his positive energy sprouted return to its full amount within him.
"Damn that's steep," he said, stretching his back.
"H-Hey, uh, what the hell did you do?" Mai asked with a nervous smile while Ijichi froze at the feeling of cursed energy returning to their surroundings at such a slow rate it was like the very world became lighter.
All around the port.
"We thought about it more, ya know?" Naruto grinned as Rika sat in a smaller state in Yuta's arms and startled beyond comparison. "My Blessed Technique isn't just the production of positive energy, remember? It turned, 'exchanged', any cursed energy in my body for a natural flow of positive energy. It wasn't obvious, at first, but it made more sense as time went on. When I used Sage Mode in the past, I turned cursed energy into positive energy but it doesn't do that by me trying."
"It does so on principle," Iori smiled. "That explains why he can still be hit by techniques despite having so much positive energy."
"My body doesn't just deflect it, it has to change it when it hits me so it's not some impossible shield."
"But that means that trait can be used."
"And that's where Yellow's full strength comes into play."
The two smiled as the others wore nervous expressions.
"That's so broken," Maki got it but that didn't lower how terrifying that was. "W-Wait, what about Rika?"
"I know she has enough cursed energy to not be hurt, that's kinda the caveat," Naruto said. "You guys, too, if you have a good amount of cursed energy, better control, or just a strong enough will, you won't be affected too much. Satoru-bro & Uta-nee helped me figure out that it's because my Core of All Life 'respects life'."
"Consciousness is a big part of it," Iori explained simply. "It respects the concept of truly alive things like a human or a curse like Rika, it's a powerful technique but it's not useful at such a level against strong curses."
"Yep but I did get a fourth of the island," Naruto smiled. "So, that's 15 of the curses taken down," he told them with a pleased grin.
"... Eh?" Maki's mind twitched. "I'm sorry, did you just say a fourth of the island?"
"Yep."
"... You magnificent bastard."
Mai's jaw dropped as Inazuma smiled proudly.
"My Creator's no Grade 1," she said with a grin. "Hopefully, the Superiors will get it."
"Yep, h-hope so, too," Mai said with a slow breath. "I guess you have been looking for more ways to get Supreme-Grade, yeah?"
"Yep, I ain't gonna stop at just this," Naruto grinned, fist to his palm. "I'm gonna keep pushing it and find out how to really make this world a better place," he declared.
~NRK~
Geto considered everything that'd just happened as he listened to one of his family's reports.
-Y-Yo, uh, that kid's ridiculous as SHIT- He said nervously over the line.
"I didn't expect it, I should but I didn't," he admitted apologetically. "He used the full method of his Technique, didn't he?"
-Yeah, it's not, like, super short but God is it effective-
"Good, keep analyzing, alright?"
-Yeah-
'Will the Biwa Woman and Juraigumo be enough?' He thought before considering something. '... I'll need to use Uzumaki before December 24th, likely, one week ahead of time and mash together as many strong-willed curses as I can,' if Naruto's words were to be believed? He needed a curse with a strong identity and large amounts of cursed energy.
Ironically, Technique might not be the right way to handle Naruto Uzumaki, who'd have guessed?
~NRK~
Traveling around the island was done via 'rides'.
Naruto nodded to the others as Fujin, Sage, Tenmi, and Rika carried them all as they followed Naruto's senses.
"There's over 20 of them in a single big spot," Naruto explained, riding on Fujin with Iori & Ijichi. "Likely, that's where almost all the higher-grade curses are while there are a few spread out in a fan-like shape around it."
"We'll go and handle those then," Mai said as she & Tsumiki rode atop Tenmi with Inazuma. "How many to the right?"
"Ten of 'em with one Grade 1, there are five or six on the left with two."
"Then, we'll go get the ones on the right," Maki said from within Rika's large form's hold. "Besides, Special Grade here can handle any REAL big troubles like Inazuma can for Mai & Tsumiki."
"She's really into fighting one of those guys," Yuta said with a compliant smile. "That should be fine, I think Naruto showed enough reason for why he should be above Grade 1, I need to show my point of being Special Grade."
Ijichi nodded before forming a shikigami. "Let him watch you," he told them as that flying shikigami, a butterfly, flew towards them before landing on Maki's head. "I can't monitor everyone but Tsumiki-kun is doing her on-the-job training now."
Tsumiki sweatdropped as Mai laughed.
They reached a parting path that went left or right, a large city in the distance straight ahead.
"Meet up by the city ahead when you're done!" Naruto ordered as they split up, Fujin jumping high into the sky before running on his clouds.
"GOT IT!" The others responded in kind.
Time to clear this mission!
~NRK Out~