Scarlet Justice: Full Blossom – ep. 36
"Second Light"
[Spiral Ahead, Part 4]
"What you're about to do next, Naruto, is not easy. I'm sure you've heard it enough, but I know how difficult it is first hand."
Day nine has arrived. Naruto is fully rested from the intense bout of training the day before, and we're about to go into the final stage of this program. It's time to combine Naruto's wind nature with the Rasengan, in order to create a new and even more powerful technique.
"What do you mean by that, Kakashi-sensei?" he asks.
"As I mentioned a few days before, I ended up copying the Rasengan from my teacher, who you know as the Fourth Hokage."
"Yeah, I remember that. So, I mean, what gives?"
"What gives?" Kakashi repeats.
"He means to ask why you don't use it in battle, seeing as it's such a highly regarded jutsu," I explain.
"Ah. That, I can answer. Naruto, you're gifted with a lot of chakra. So much so that you don't even notice the effects of splitting it up over several hundred clones at once. For most shinobi, that would be an extreme effort and something of a last resort to distract enemies, perhaps. Using Shadow Clones in battle like that would be suicidal for anyone else. The Rasengan, believe it or not, is quite weighty in terms of chakra cost. People like yourself and Jiraiya can use it without much strain because of your large reserves. Lili can also say the same, now that she's learned it. However, one boon is that after using chakra to create the technique, it's self sustaining. So there's a bit of efficiency to be found..."
"So you don't use it because it wastes a lot of energy?" he asks.
"No, that's not really it. It's because I tried to make more out of the jutsu on my own, and failed completely. Just as the Fourth did. Adding my lightning nature to the Rasengan didn't go anywhere, and for the overall cost it didn't seem worth it. So that's when I came up with a new idea."
"Yeah? What was it?"
"You've seen it before." Kakashi raises his hand, and as chakra gathers we can hear the characteristic chirping of his jutsu before it finally appears.
"Chidori! Wait...so you created Chidori because you couldn't put your lightning chakra into the Rasengan?"
"That's right. I went ahead and created a technique that could take full advantage of my lightning nature, and was also highly effective at close range. Of course, unlike the Rasengan, it requires more of a head of steam and some extra flexibility. In exchange, the chakra control requirements aren't as steep, and once mastered it can be formed into different shapes easily. Remember your scuffle the other day with Lili's team?"
"Yeah, hard to forget," he pouts.
"Sasuke made use of shape transformation to add range to Chidori. He can also do plenty of other things with it. It's a more flexible technique than the Rasengan, albeit less powerful. But I wanted to tell you that story because of what we're about to do next. It's not something that can be taught, it has to be felt. And if this doesn't work out somehow, you'll probably have other ideas form in your head that you can use later. So don't worry about looking bad, or being a failure, or anything like that. Whatever is meant to be will be. All that said...we think that you're going to figure this out quickly enough."
"Yes," I say. "You won't fail, and that's the truth."
"Okay." He takes a deep breath in before exhaling. "Then...we can get started."
"Hina?"
"Ready," she replies, her Byakugan activated.
"Yamato?"
"Ready, senpai." He's seated in between those ten pillars, hand held up in front of him.
"It's your turn, my love. Do your best, and we'll be waiting for you on the other side," I say to Naruto.
He nods and makes that familiar cross with his fingers.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
"Go for it!"
"Gah!"
I watch another pair of clones create a Rasengan. The chakra is heavier than normal this time, and tinged with something I don't like. Hina is ready with one knee on the ground.
"Come on! Shit!"
She takes off. Slicing through the crowd of clones, she delivers four precise strikes in a flash and the fox's aura disappears from around her target, before he bursts into smoke and disappears.
"Hinata! Help!" one clone yells.
"I'm here!" She flickers towards another clone that is covered in the fox's chakra and blocks his pressure points as well. "Captain Yamato!"
"Senpai, I'll need your guidance!" he calls to me. The fox chakra is appearing on clones all over the area.
"Right there!" I throw a kunai at the feet of the real Naruto, who has shifted to three tails already.
"Got it!" Yamato slams his hand into the ground and the dragon head pillars extend before shooting forward. They bite down on the visible chakra around Naruto and pin him to the ground, absorbing it quickly.
All of the clones explode into smoke.
"..."
Jiraiya. Managing to piss me off even when he's so far away...irresponsible fucking nitwit.
"I don't like this. He's shifting too quickly," Yamato says. "I know you guys are tough, but there are too many clones at once getting exhausted. That puts them at risk of influence..."
"Ugh..."
Naruto stands up as the pillars retract to their former heights. He dusts himself off and goes to make more clones before Hina stays his hand.
"You're too angry. We're stopping for today."
"I can't do that. I have to keep going-"
"We. Are. Stopping. Do you hear me?" she says sternly. "We will resume this tomorrow, Naruto. You are not well right now."
"I..."
"Naruto. We are stopping for today," Hina says while squeezing his hand. "You've done enough. It's time to rest."
"...yeah."
She hugs him tightly and pats his back. "Today was just the beginning. One step at a time. Trust us...don't be afraid to call for help. We love you. I love you. Don't forget that, okay? Don't forget what you're fighting for."
"I'm sorry, Hinata. I just...wasn't feeling good. All day and no progress, just me losing control. It sucks. I know it has to suck for you, running around everywhere..."
"You're the love of my life. If I can't stick by you through this...then I wouldn't be worth anything as a woman."
"You don't have to go that far, seriously. You're enough woman as you are!"
She blushes and he has a confused look.
"Uh...what'd I say?"
"Nothing. Thank you, Naruto. You always know what to say...somehow. Even if it's weird."
He rubs the back of his head and smiles. "Thanks. I hope I can keep doing that, then."
"You will. It's why I fell in love with you in the first place, after all..."
"Young love, eh." Yamato sighs and rests his hand. "Well, at least today will end on a good note."
"Indeed." I roll my neck back and forth a few times before breathing out. "Now I just have to make sure he's not trying to train while we sleep."
"Hadn't considered that angle," Kakashi says. "That would be just like him, yes."
"Like I said, I'll take care of it. He's nervous, which is normal. But he hasn't lost his way yet."
"By the way, senpai...you mentioned that you had your own contingency for this session," Yamato says.
"Mm." Well, this might be a good time to demonstrate it. "Hina, turn our boy this way for me."
She does so, and he blinks at me a few times.
"Odd over even seals, right?" I gather glowing violet chakra to my fingertips on one hand. "If he does wake up in the middle of the night, he won't be able to train. Good work, kouhai. I'll find a way to reward you later."
"Great. Can't wait," Yamato says flatly.
I use a body flicker to reach Naruto, raise his jacket and shirt, then jab my fingers into his stomach.
"What the-!"
His eyes roll upwards before he faints, Hina catching him.
"Five Elements Seal," I say casually. "Two Four Symbols Seals make the Eight Trigrams Seal. In either case, those are even numbered seals. Applying an odd numbered seal on top of it disrupts the flow of chakra between Naruto and the Nine Tails, due to the imbalance created. And because their chakras are so closely linked now, it will also make it difficult for him to use his own. It will allow his body some time to clear the Nine Tails' influence, and prevent him from doing stupid things like training in the middle of the night, since I'm the only one here who knows how to undo it." I look over at Kakashi. "I'm assuming so, at least."
"Not something in my toolkit yet," he says.
"Well, I wouldn't worry if you did. Just wondering." I put my hands into my pockets. "I'm going to wander off somewhere now...don't worry about me too much, I'll be able to smell dinner once it's ready."
Dinner is quieter than usual today, which is understandable. There was lots of tension earlier. Since it's late, we go to sleep shortly after.
The next morning comes, we wake up and have a light breakfast, then start again. On account of the heat I've unzipped my sweater, and everyone else has their jackets and outer layers off. At this rate, it will rain later on while we're still out here. Annoying, but nothing we can't manage.
"Let's begin again," I say while gathering chakra to my fingertips. It's a bright blue this time, the visible presence of the Five Elements Unseal technique that removes its counterpart from a target. "Shirt up."
Naruto grumbles and lifts his shirt so that I can see his stomach. The Eight Trigrams Seal with the Dead Demon Consuming Seal inside of it, holding the Nine Tails in place. And on the edges of the Eight Trigrams Seal, we have my seal from yesterday.
"Don't jerk around too much. This will sting a bit."
"Yeah..."
I jab my fingers into his stomach, over top of the previous markings. They disappear immediately.
"Do your stretches and get the chakra flowing properly again. You're good to go, but I want you focused."
"Right." He goes through some exercises with Hina for a few minutes. Yamato gets himself ready, creating the ten pillars he needs for his suppression technique. Kakashi is reading his usual book while standing by.
"Okay. It's time to begin."
He calls out about two hundred shadow clones this time, far less than the last time. Good, he's learning quickly. Setting to work, I watch as he creates a Rasengan in the usual manner before trying to mix the wind chakra into it. The sphere explodes and sends a group of Narutos flying in every direction.
"Again! What is it that I'm doing wrong...gotta be something I can do..."
We break for lunch with little in the way of progress, then Naruto goes right back to it as soon as he can. The exhaustion is apparent as he wipes dirt away from his face and tries again.
"Lili? Did you have any ideas on how to proceed?" Hina asks me as I watch.
"A few. I won't be handing them out."
"I see."
"This is something he has to figure out on his own," I say to her. "It seems harsh, but that's how it has to be. The technique that will result from this will be his and his alone."
"I don't think he would mind being helped along..."
"It's not that, Hina. The new jutsu will be unique to him in just about every way. Whoever learns it after him, if possible, will carry their own strengths and weaknesses into the finished product. It's just the same as when Naruto learned the Rasengan himself. Challenges that have to be met, adjustments that have to be made...they change from person to person. Legacy and pride are part of it, yes. But strength and efficiency are important, too. By bringing this together on his own, he'll be able to improve and master it later on."
"Without your help," she says.
"Beyond it."
I watch another Rasengan explode in a clone's hands.
"The Rasengan isn't my jutsu and wind chakra isn't my domain. Maybe one day. For now...it has to be him. He'll get there. Just as he got over the last challenge." I turn my head towards Hina. "I know you're not doubting it, or my methods. It's a heavy thing he's doing right now...these hours of training pile on quickly thanks to the clone method."
"How many hours, do you think?"
"For this part? Over nine thousand."
"Nine thousand?" She frowns. "That can't be right..."
"A baseline of two hundred at twenty four hours. All time counts as training time."
"Hm. In that case, it makes sense. So today would be four thousand eight hundred hours alone...two hundred days. Over half a year by itself. He...really is more remarkable than I could comprehend sometimes."
"Mm-hm. You're marrying that."
"I am, yes." She sighs. "Hard to be anything but happy about it."
"It's what I love to hear."
"What the hell is it I'm missing?!" one of the Narutos yells.
"Oi, chill out."
"Yeah, come on. If we keep going all Nine Tails like this, we won't get anything done."
"Lili's gonna put that seal thing on us again if we keep acting up."
"She'll do it anyways. So that we don't go training at night, and junk."
"Eh? She doesn't trust us?"
"Would you?"
"He's got a point there..."
"We'll probably go out later tonight, so that some of the pressure can come off," I say to Hina.
"That sounds good."
"What do you think about ending training a bit early today, then? You could use the extra time together."
"You won't mind?"
"Of course not. Training isn't nearly as important as your relationship. If you want us to stop completely for a while, just say the word."
"Right, I'll remember...but spending some time with him alone should be enough. Thank you, Lili."
"Think nothing of it."
Naruto jumps to his feet after another tumble. "Tch...alright, let's-whoa!"
"We've got another one going rogue!" a clone yells.
"I've got it!" Hina yells before running into the crowd.
"Kakashi? I was hoping we could have a little chat during this downtime."
With Naruto and Hina spending some well needed time together, training is suspended until tomorrow morning. The promised rain hasn't come yet, which serves me well enough. I wanted to see to this at some point.
Kakashi is lying on his back in the grass, reading as usual. "Sure. I have a feeling that I know what it's about."
"That will save us some time," I say. "Yamato, your senpais are going out for a bit. Could you watch over our couple for a while?"
"No problem," he says from his seat. "You two take your time."
"Thank you, darling."
Kakashi gets up and puts away his book. "Well. Shall we, Lady Kobayashi?"
"Yes. I have a place for us to talk in isolation."
We head towards the tree line and into the nearby forest, then through it towards a stream with clear, sparkling water. I splash some of it over my face and let the chill sink into me a bit. Refreshing in this heat.
"It's about Obito, I assume."
I stand up and run my hands through my hair before nodding. "Yes. I wanted to know if you had made any progress towards obtaining the strength that he possessed."
"I did. While you were gone, I obtained that forbidden power of the Uchiha...the Mangekyo Sharingan."
I look at him sadly. "What brought you towards it?"
"Memories of them both. Of Obito, as he was in the past...and Rin, who I couldn't protect. I remember...my hand going through her heart. I remember that day so clearly now. All of the pain...and I could feel the change, like it had happened before, somewhere. Maybe it was like what happened to Sasuke...the Sharingan's power appearing, then disappearing for a while. Sleeping below the surface." He lifts his headband. "But now, it's awakened for good. Even though I'm not an Uchiha..."
I watch his Sharingan change, the tomoe rotating and changing in that sea of crimson. A formation of three triangles wrapping themselves around a single point, creating a dark pinwheel.
"I know that you worry about my health, and so do plenty of other people. Tsunade has made more than a few threats to my person regarding this Sharingan."
"That much is only fair," I say.
"You would agree, yes. Well, let's make sure I only have to do this once, then. For your sake."
"What do you need from me?"
"The tree straight ahead...we'll use that one. Throw a kunai towards it at your usual speed. I should be able to track it...if not, we can try again."
"You assume I would let you," I say.
"You really are stubborn when you want to be."
I ready a kunai. "Tell me when."
"Go."
I throw the kunai towards the tree. A sharp activation of chakra reaches my senses, and I watch with amazement at what is happening. The air itself ripples before swirling in a clockwise motion, spiralling towards what looks like a moving dark hole.
The kunai disappears, and the warp in space along with it. Kakashi closes his left eye.
"It takes a lot of chakra to do that," I conclude. "Are you okay? Let me see your eye."
He opens it, and I can see that it is already bloodshot.
"Should be fine in a few minutes. Did you get all that?"
"I did. You won't have to do that again. Are you sure you're okay?" I ask.
He chuckles and pulls down his headband again. "I'm fine, seriously. Just a little winded, maybe. You're right, it does take quite a bit of chakra to perform as I am now. I also have to gather the chakra to use it beforehand, and then there's the strain of not being an Uchiha on top of the Mangekyo being an advanced technique...well, you don't have to worry about all of that."
I glare at him.
"But you will anyways." He rubs my head. "Lili. I'm fine."
"...alright."
"Good. So, you're our biggest reference point at the moment, since you've spent the most time out of all of us clashing with Obito. I guess I should explain some of the technique to you first, though. It's called Kamui."
"Pompous. But what else could an Uchiha technique be?" I mutter.
"Indeed. From what Itachi has told me, quite a few Uchiha unlock abilities with the Mangekyo that have multiple versions of the same function. Separation into worlds of light and dark, as he wields, are rarities. You've confirmed that Obito also has a space-time art, which means that this left eye contains half of his true power."
"Obito's power affected himself mainly, from what I could tell."
"So the right eye is a shorter range version." Kakashi nods. "I see. Which means that I have the longer range version. This left eye's Kamui allows me to look at a target and create a barrier space around it. I determine its size, and as you could probably deduce, the larger it is, the more chakra it requires and the more strain it puts on my eye. When the barrier space is established, I concentrate and pull anything within the barrier towards its middle. The target or targets are then pulled into another dimension."
"Another dimension...that must have been where Obito wanted to take me back then."
"It seems so. That's where your kunai is now. I've been working to get it up to the point where I can focus and teleport moving objects, like you saw just now. I can also focus on parts of targets, which...well, you get the idea."
"Instant decapitation, then."
"Among other things, yes. As a pinpoint attack, it requires plenty of time and focus. In exchange, it can't be blocked."
"And that's not something Obito can do as he is," I say. "His ability allows him to slip through objects and people. It means that he can't be attacked conventionally...not without a great amount of speed involved."
"You got a bit of his hair the last time. Human reaction time has a limit, and you reached his as a younger girl. Now, you could probably overwhelm him easily enough."
"Something which he is almost certainly aware of by now. Hm..." I put my hands on my hips and think. There has to be something else. Maybe we could pick at the similarities between the two techniques. They're branches from the same tree...dimensions.
"My other observation is that since they're half of the same ability...Obito might be able to shut my Kamui down, and I could do the same to him."
"I see. That would be quite useful if we met him again. You said something about a different dimension earlier...?"
"I tested it with Shino the other day," he says from beside me.
"The properties of the kikaichu. Once they track a target, they always move towards it. High speed movement draws them in the direction of travel. It would be same for known forms of space-time migration, since position is merely transposed."
"That's right. Shino had them identify a fruit, and then I used Kamui on it. When he tried to get them to track the fruit, they couldn't. I knew well enough what had happened each time, but this was visual confirmation that the object wasn't anywhere nearby, let alone in this world. There's a possibility that the objects are on the other side of the country, or maybe the planet...but I doubt that."
"Did you talk to Master Aburame?"
"I did. He lent further credence to my initial thoughts, as he observed similar phenomenon with Sensei."
"Hiraishin, then. That makes sense," I say. "So the objects targeted by Kamui end up in another dimension. Transported by way of a barrier space..." I tap my foot slowly. "Obito...warped himself towards his right eye. And in order to move me, he had to place his hands on me. So it affects those he's in contact with as well. He can also appear wherever he wants, and leave in the same fashion. There is another ability."
"The intangibility," Kakashi says.
"Yes. But if what you said is true...then that doesn't make sense as an ability of Kamui. Making yourself intangible? What does that have to do with space-time migration?"
"Go back to what you said earlier."
I turn to face him again. "Transportation? Contact?"
"Contact. Now obviously, I'm just guessing here..."
"Go on."
"He can't transport you while apparently phased out of existence. Right?"
"That's correct. I took advantage of that fact...he couldn't take me away with him while we were overlapping. It would have been the perfect opportunity to do so, you would think."
"Right. What if I told you that he couldn't use Kamui on you in those moments...because he was already using Kamui?"
I stare at Kakashi before directing my attention to the stream.
What...the hell.
"Please explain," I say as I look at him again.
"Kamui moves objects from one dimension to another. Kamui can move a person from one dimension to another if they target themselves, meaning that if I improve my Kamui, I can teleport myself to that place and back again. If Obito's version of Kamui is short range and can move him from one dimension to another...what if his second ability is using Kamui to selectively target and move parts of himself?"
"There is no way," I say with disbelief. "He's moving parts of himself into a dimensional space? Is that what you think?"
"You could still feel his chakra when he passed through you, isn't that right?"
"Yes...I could. And if I could, then...it meant that at least some part of him was still in our dimension. When he left me alone, he was completely gone..."
"From what you've said, and what we've experienced ourselves in Tanzaku Quarter, it seems like it's a defensive ability. It activates once an object is about to collide with him...and any part of him that overlaps with it is moved temporarily into a dimensional space. It creates the illusion of objects passing right through him. He's not letting them pass through...he's erasing the targeted areas by moving them out of our world."
I nod slowly, trying to take the new information in. So Kakashi and Obito's abilities are definitively linked. Obito moves himself into another dimension for defence and transport, and Kakashi can transport objects from a distance into that same dimension. If Obito's endgame is to capture and trap me in his dimension, then my endgame should be...
"Making him regret that decision," I say quietly.
"Lili?"
"The contingency should be obvious," I continue. "You would use your Sharingan to enter that other space if I were to go missing because of Obito. But in trapping me, he would make himself vulnerable...due to his various parts manifesting in said space. It would make him easy prey. But if he's aware of that, he might simply try to wait me out. In the worst case, your eye might be damaged or destroyed...in which case..."
"You'd trap yourself in there?" he asks.
"That's at the bottom of the list." I tap my belt without looking. "There's one on the reverse side, and I carry a copy of the formula with me always in one place or another. I'm going to get get it stitched inside my sweater, too..."
"The formula?"
"Hiraishin's seal. It's so that Genma and the others can fly to me in case..."
"Right, right. I forgot about that."
"In the Kamui space-time dimension I should be able to..."
"Uh, Lili?"
"Hm?"
"Sorry, I'm just a little behind on what you're thinking right now..."
"Yes, of course. My apologies, I was just wrapped up in my thoughts." I let out a breath. "Alright, properly now. As I was saying to myself...Obito's ultimate goal is to capture or eliminate me. To do that, he could use the other dimension that you and he share to attempt to wear me down through isolation and related means."
"Right, I'm with you so far."
"The first means of egress would be by way of your Sharingan. You could enter and exit that world at will, once you get a better handle on Kamui. Obito could also forcibly eject me, though I have plenty of tools that would thwart most anything he could think of. If those don't happen for any reason, the Hokage's Guard would be available at some point to reach me with Hiraishin and extract me. And in the absolute worst case scenario...I would put all of my efforts into destroying Obito's Sharingan eye, so that all paths in and out of the dimension would be sealed forever. Eventually, both of us would meet our ends there."
"I see...that sounds grim."
"I don't expect it to get that far in the first place. But one should always be prepared...expect the worst, and strive for the best."
"You were about to say something else before I interrupted."
"I was...oh, yes. The final thing, and why I feel confident. You said earlier that I was already able to reach him as a young girl, years before. Did you notice the difference in speed between the two abilities?"
"Hm." He thinks on it for a moment. "Now that you mention it...though he's obviously much better due to experience and lineage, there was a difference between the speed in his phasing and migration abilities."
"I noticed it too. My thoughts are thus...Obito should not be able to shift parts of his body while inside the other dimension. His only means of egress would therefore be..."
"Normal space time migration. Which he can't use while phasing, and is slower. Ah..." He looks at me with realization. "Your plan is to use your speed to make it so that he can't finish using Kamui. He wouldn't be able to leave. He would be forced to fight you."
"Yes."
"Though I guess he would be aware of that, too."
"I guessed as much myself. He won't want to reveal himself to me again until he thinks he has the advantage. Perhaps he has a few pets that he can send after me to wear me down."
"It sounds like something reasonable."
"Well. In any case...we have an idea of what we're up against now. And we should be fine, as long as we don't do anything foolish."
"By we, you mean me."
"Astute as always."
He shakes his head.
"You're going to have a family to look after soon enough. That child should have a father to raise them properly."
"You sound very sure about that, Ruki and I having a child."
I scoff. "As if you could resist that woman for any longer."
"Yamato's right. There's such a thing as saying too much, even if you are sincere about it." He pats my shoulder before starting back towards our camp. "Let's go and rest for a while. We've done enough thinking for today."
"I suppose so."
I follow behind him and put my hands in my pockets.
"Though...I think about it a lot...trying to rescue him from himself."
"..."
"Having all of this time to myself has helped solidify what I need to do. The Obito of the past is the person who made me what I am today. He helped me realize my father's vision of the world, and why he fought. Why the weight of shame was able to crush him in the end. I realize that my purpose is to protect that Obito's dream. I see a lot of him in Naruto, a pure hearted person who is always striving to do better, to treat people right, and to get back up every time they stumble and fall. Letting the current Obito take that away, take this world away...I can't let it happen. Even so..."
"Even so," I repeat softly.
"If I can't reach him...or if you do first. I've already accepted the fact that as he is now, he must be stopped. Perhaps not even that alone...his death might be the only way we'll move into the future. To lose my friend again would be painful. But to lose everything he fought and died for once before would be even worse."
"..."
He looks back at me, and I can see that he's smiling underneath his mask.
"You all mean a lot to me. No matter how hard it might get...I won't betray you for the sake of a memory. Whatever it takes, I'll protect our future."
"Hmph. That's a lot of talk for someone past their prime."
"Is that so..."
"It is so." I smile back at him, haughty and confident. "The only hero this world will need from here on...is me."