Scarlet Justice: Full Blossom – ep. 64
"Supero Omnia"
I've been reading Jiraiya's book during my time off.
And unfortunately, it's very easy to see why it didn't sell much.
The book is a lot like Icha Icha in that it's a thinly veiled autobiography. The three main characters, Naruto, Tsuyu, and Renge, are very clearly representations of Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru. Maybe Tsunade's export is better hidden since her chest is supposedly flat in the book, but otherwise the similarities jump off the page right away.
Another unfortunate thing is that, from what I've learned of Minato Namikaze, he would be the type to get so easily sucked in by this type of junk. No wonder he named his son after the character in the book. Jiraiya was clearly staring at food when he came up with the name. Not that I hate it or anything, it's just...annoying to think about, those origins. Well, I'm already over it.
I can tell from the language and flourishes that this was written quite a while ago. Maybe twenty or thirty years before my birth, back when Jiraiya was a young man himself. There's an unmissable reference to the crowning of the Three Shinobi by Salamander Hanzo. More than that, I can see Jiraiya's navigation of what felt like an uneasy world at the time. How he felt about his comrades, his village, and the ones surrounding his on all sides. The location names are very simple, with little imagination to them, but they get things across quickly enough.
The Naruto in the book is a lot like my Naruto. It makes sense why Jiraiya would look after him so closely, they're very much alike in far too many ways. Renge contains a lot of traits that resemble Orochimaru and Sasuke, who nearly followed his path years ago. Maybe a Sasuke who can wander the world freely might gain something from it. There's a filter over Renge that isn't present in Sasuke...a thought that he was bigger than the village and everyone in it. Sasuke is much more composed than that, and self-aware. Hm. Never thought I would say something like that. Tsuyu is...a wish. Or a dream, perhaps. She reminds me more of Sakura than Tsunade, though she ends up as neither, as she eventually forgets about her crush on the missing-nin Renge, and returns Naruto's feelings. I suppose back then there was some hope for Jiraiya in that regard, but that's long gone by now.
Lots of small details, things from Jiraiya's life that made it onto the page. Write what you know is the advice people like to give, isn't it? I suppose it's not terrible advice, but you need a steady hand to weave those sorts of things into a story.
The one thing that stands out the most is Naruto's attitude, his view on life in the book. Never give up. Over, and over, and over again. A tenacity that allows him to rise from the dirt as many times as he can will himself to. It was that determination that gave Jiraiya the strength to walk down his own path, and my Naruto realized the same truth in his journey. The kind of spirit needed to break the cycle of darkness that covers the world.
"Give up...on making me give up."
Words to heat the soul? Right...
"..."
The book comes with a happy ending, of sorts. The epilogue is titled 'Someday, Surely'. A promise that peace will come as long as we keep walking the path, and never give up on our dreams. It's what will unite the world.
An ending without a closing. Maybe that's right. Maybe it's fair.
It's not something I care for.
Hope is a beautiful thing that will lead us into the future, and has given me a great amount of strength. Hope is a necessity. And hope is something that we cannot lean on if we want to advance beyond what we are now. Are we simply supposed to fight the good fight, struggling against the darkness of the world while simply hoping that enough people will come to understand the merits of peace? Conditions and circumstances change people. Asking people to believe in things and outcomes that they can't even see is a hard thing to ask, and might even be unfair to ask in the first place. Poverty, violence, abuse, trauma...so many things that add to human suffering and alter how people think.
And then there are those who cannot be convinced at all, and must be removed without hesitation.
The world is slow to change, and even a single misstep on the long road to a peaceful world will reset everything back to the beginning. How long are we going to ask people to persevere? What about when they lose their family, their friends, their lovers? What about when they watch countless people die, helpless to do anything but watch? There is no instant solution to the suffering that exists in the world, and sometimes bad things happen to good people for reasons that are beyond our understanding. But we can do more than simply hope and believe. We can do more than that, if we have the resolve to.
Is that too much to ask?
"..."
Reading this book has given me a lot of clarity. And it has further convinced me that my chosen path is the right one. There is one curious thing, though. The book's dedication is to someone named Nagato. Was this person part of the reason this novel came to be? Perhaps they influenced the Naruto in the novel as well.
I really wonder what that person is like, and what they might be doing now.
Today I want to get some more work done on a new technique I've been planning out. There has been enough progress made, but I have a feeling that there will be a significant breakthrough this time.
On my way to the training field, I spot Jiraiya in the street and make my way over to him. It's a good enough time to return his book.
"Oh, fancy meeting you here." He waves to a trio of giggling women as they leave. In the middle of his patented research, I suppose. Whatever.
"I thought this was a good time to return your novel to you. Fio read it as well," I say as I reach into my pocket for it.
"You can keep it, actually. I've got a bunch of them lying around still, so it's no big loss."
"I see."
"So, what's the verdict?"
"A good enough first effort, but flat as far as I was concerned. Fio liked it a lot more than I did."
"Flat, huh." He sighs. "Well, I guess that review could have been a lot worse."
"Yes, you're right about that. It was nothing terrible and it did have its charming parts. But it didn't reach very far into me. I'm sure that if you released it again in this era, there would be more of an appetite for it among the masses."
"You think so, huh."
"With your vast resources, setting something up to that effect should be trivial."
"That's funny coming from the kid who's extorting me."
"Your pocketbook is hardly seeing a scratch as a result of our partnership," I say to him. "But I suppose if you want to have your balls ripped from your body instead, then I can-"
"Cut it out."
"Then you should stop being ungrateful for once. I have things to do, so until the next time."
"You read the book, but you also understood it, didn't you?"
I stop and turn back towards him.
"I see a lot of hope in Naruto. Just as I did in Nagato. He gave me the push I needed to finish writing," he says.
"That's why you dedicated it to him."
He nods.
"Where is Nagato now? Who was he to you?"
"An old student of mine. As for where he is right now...I wouldn't know. He could be alive somewhere, but I doubt it. Really good kid, with a lot of talent. His memory is part of why I can keep going."
"And you don't think that this is proof?"
"Proof? Of what, exactly?"
"That maybe hard work and belief are enough to preserve the world, but not save it. That maybe Naruto had the right kind of heart, but Renge had the right kind of drive," I say to Jiraiya. "That maybe you need more than guts to make a real difference."
"..."
"It's entirely possible that this world is beyond salvation. At least...this version of it. Shinobi aren't the only forces that shift the world's movement. They're not even the most powerful, even as they carry the ability to raze forests in a single breath."
"Lilith...what you're saying is dangerous. Renge didn't have a good point."
"As you wrote him. As you understood the one standing across from you. But you tell me, Jiraiya...did you have the courage to inherit the dreams of those you called enemies? Could you absorb their essence, even for a moment? Did Naruto do that with Renge? Or did he just hope they could reach an understanding as brothers?"
"..."
"I wonder if you could ever understand such a thing. It wouldn't help you sell any more books, because it's something too advanced for most people to even grasp. But something like that colours your view of the world. Maybe you should try it sometime." I flip some of my hair over my shoulder. "Your lack of understanding leads you to see one narrow path for me. A descent into darkness and monstrous tyranny. That much is fine...you'll learn your place soon enough."
"I at least expected you to empathize with the story."
"I do, Jiraiya. I know those feelings. I put myself in those places, those positions in time and space. I felt those things, and I understood them. That is what I meant by absorbing the essence of those who stand opposed to me. And it's because I felt those things, because I know and understand those things, that I reject your view of the world. If knowing the feelings of another only to still turn away from them makes me a villain, then let it be so. After all, it's far more than you or anyone else could do."
"You're talking about things you don't understand. Again. Just get out of here," he says dismissively. "I appreciate that you gave the book a read. Hopefully you give it another flip through so that you can get those dumb ideas out of your head. No matter how much strength you gain, you're just going to end up like him in the end."
"Who do you mean? Orochimaru? Renge? Perhaps Hanzo?" I ask.
"Lilith..."
"The old man has realized how far my strength reaches, and has given me his blessing. It's all I need to make something of this existence as a shinobi."
"And what if all of that gets pulled away from you?" he asks forcefully. "What then, Lilith?"
"Then terror won't even begin to describe what comes next." I start to walk past him. "The next time you find yourself at a shrine, you should thank the kami profusely for your good fortune in having me as an ally."
"Goodbye, Lilith."
I leave Jiraiya and go through my memories briefly. Her chakra signature should be...there.
"Alright, let's see if she's in a talkative mood today."
The training field can wait a bit longer, since I want to get at this information while it's still fresh.
My favourite alcoholic is easily found at one of her regular bars, taking her time off to indulge in the Leaf's finest wares. Or something to that effect. Thankfully she's in a good enough mood today, complaining about fool patients and meddling by the hospital administration, so on and so forth. I get myself a non-alcoholic beverage and cover her existing tab while settling in for her illuminating rants.
"Somehow it could have been a worse week. I'm already over it." She knocks back a mug of beer and signals for another.
"I did have something to ask you, if you were in the mood. It's regarding our gentleman friend, Jiraiya."
"Gentleman. Good one."
"One must keep their sense of humour sharp in these trying times. Have you read his first attempt at a novel, by chance?"
"Yeah. Boring as hell. I know it was supposed to be based off of stuff we already experienced, but I didn't really care for it. It's sitting on one of my shelves somewhere. What, did he give you a copy?"
"In order to help bridge the gap towards our ideologies, yes. This was after I had a meeting regarding Naruto."
"You told the kid about his parents. Sounds like he took it well, so good for him. Kushina and Minato were good people from what I knew. Total weirdos, but given what they had to put up with all the time and the skills they had, you're allowed a half dozen quirks like that if you want. Sounds a lot like you, in fact."
"That's a little much."
"Is it?"
"Yes. But I'm going to take the compliment anyways," I say with a flip of my hair.
"You're getting better about this praise thing. I was thinking that I might have to knock some sense into you about being overly modest. Jiraiya, huh...hm."
"He also dedicated the book to a former student, named Nagato. Did you know that person?"
"Nagato? Never met them. You're gonna have to give me a moment to flip through my memories, unless you have something else to put me on the trail faster." She takes the new mug of beer and starts to sip from it.
"This Nagato was likely present at the time that Jiraiya was writing his novel. Perhaps that narrows things down?"
"Mm." She nods. "Yeah, that makes sense. Jiraiya peeled off from us a little after our big campaign against Hanzo, near the Hidden Rain. We were heading back on foot through the country when a couple of kids started following us around. We gave them some food and expected them to buzz off, but they didn't. They wanted something else."
"Revenge?" I ask.
"Training. The scamps wanted to learn ninjutsu. All of them were orphans. Jiraiya acts tough but he's real soft on the inside, and it must have been some guilt over the war or something that convinced him to stay and train those kids. He was out there for about three years, maybe four if I'm remembering things right."
"He never talked to you about it?"
"Never got the chance. After I lost Dan during the tail end of the war, I skipped town with Shizune and started drinking and gambling my life away. We never got to chat too much about that time, but I'm guessing that those kids, whoever they were, are six feet under by now. It was real rough where they were, you know?"
"Yes, I see. So this Nagato person might not be alive in this time."
"Real shame. It seems like he really cared about those kids if he was with them for so long. Funny that Orochimaru just wanted to put them out of their misery then and there. Guy never had an eye for talent, not really. Jiraiya, though? Hell of a teacher. No clue how he does it, but he does it. That Minato kid is all the proof you need, what with him becoming the Fourth and all."
"That much is undeniable, as boorish as he is," I say.
"Yeah. Though you might not want to get too spicy with him too quickly. You're a real firestorm in a cup, but strength has its limits."
"You're thinking of your grandfather."
"And granduncle Tobirama. Both of 'em got offed before the first shinobi war could end. Aside from that, politics is a real bitch. You'd know that better than anyone after the Wonder Boy retrieval mission."
"Yes. Though I do have something in mind when I bare my fangs at Jiraiya like this, so you don't have to worry about me going overboard just yet."
"Yeah? Well, I won't doubt you then." She finishes the rest of her beer and taps the counter for another. The bartender gives me a glance, and I nod to assure him things are fine money wise. Tsunade for her part doesn't look to be feeling any effects yet.
"Humour me a bit more?" I ask.
"Sure. What's up?"
"Do you recall anything about those orphans? Like for instance, which one of them was the Nagato mentioned in the book?"
"Couldn't tell you. Nagato isn't a strictly gendered name, is it...could have been any of them, but most likely one of the two boys. There was a loud mouthed kid with orange hair, reminded me a lot of Jiraiya at the time. Took on being the leader of the group. Then there was some frail looking kid with red hair that covered the front of his face, I think. Quiet little guy, wouldn't be surprised if he were the one to die off first."
"A little bit harsh, no?"
"Yeah. That's life sometimes." Tsunade receives her newly filled mug and sips from it. "Ah, yeah. That's the stuff. The last member of their little group was a girl, guessing she was the team mom of sorts. Short blue hair and liked making origami. Made us something out of those hardtack wrappers. Too bad she was stuck in that hellhole, she'd have a good job by now."
"Blue hair...origami." It couldn't be the case, could it? "Tsunade...do you know a woman by the name of Konan?"
"Konan? Never heard of her. Why?"
"When Sasuke took one of his lively jaunts into Tanzaku Quarter a few years ago, I came upon her speaking to Kisame Hoshigaki. This woman is a member of Akatsuki and assists the group's leader, Pain, with all manner of machinations."
"Hm, I see."
"What I'm saying is that she matches the description you gave me. Someone who makes use of a jutsu that allows her to create and control paper constructs, and has short blue hair herself. I highly doubt that this is a coincidence."
"Okay, that's a pretty big discovery. So...you're saying that this Konan woman is likely to be the same little girl that Jiraiya trained all of that time ago?"
"It would line up with everything we've discussed. Someone who was a child during the second great war would be...mid thirties or early forties at the latest," I say. "Maybe Jiraiya was quiet about it because he wanted to meet with her first, and discern her reasons for joining Akatsuki. He lied about not knowing her when I asked before."
"Sounds just like him. I don't have any advice on what to do...personally, I'm gonna leave him to it. Even if it is annoying, he probably has his reasons for wanting to look for her himself."
"I suppose so."
"What are you gonna do?" she asks me.
"What, indeed. I'm most likely to take your advice, even as this development bothers me. Jiraiya is a bleeding heart, but he is also an elite shinobi. I'm not going to disparage his skill for infiltration and espionage, and if anything does go wrong, I'll silently back him up."
"That's a good plan."
"Wanting answers and closure is only natural, especially for someone like him. I'd tell him to get over himself, but I don't mind him wallowing in his own misery for a while longer."
"Still salty about him pawing your butt, huh."
I give Tsunade a look. "You know, for someone so skilled at delicate operations, you lack awareness at very odd times."
"What?"
"I'm saying that the woman who nearly murdered her teammate over a glimpse of her bare flesh, glorious as it must have been, should not be making comments on the alleged elevation of my sodium levels."
"I was a young and impulsive maiden. Give me a break."
"Past tense, then? With your habits now, it's hard to tell."
"Shut up."
"Yes, of course. I will leave you to start a new tab, since the old one will be cleared upon my departure."
"I appreciate that. Glad I could help tickle your brain a bit, kiddo."
"Thank you as always for your help. I'll see you soon, Tsunade." I step down from the bar stool and shake out my hair.
"Yeah, see you. Don't do anything too reckless."
"No promises."
She chuckles and raises her mug to me before emptying it. Alright. Now I can really start training today.
Jutsu creation is both complicated and involved. In theory, there is an infinite number of possibilities when it comes to techniques that can be created with chakra. In practice, it is much different. There are numerous things to consider, starting from chakra consumption and continuing through to technique speed, effectiveness, duration, area of effect, and many other things. Countless projects have been shelved, for reasons like being nonviable, or simply that the technique creator has become incapacitated or killed. Sometimes people just forget what they were doing. Sometimes there's a falling out with collaborators. Some things get lost or mixed up in translation.
Anything and everything can go wrong.
One of the easier things to do, as a result, is to take inspiration from existing techniques. Derivative? Perhaps. Effective? It's proven to be the case, time and time again. True geniuses who can think in three dimensional space can create new and exciting arts, like Tobirama Senju did in days of old. Others with slightly less intellect imitate the shapes seen in artistic endeavours, lore, or nature. This seems to be what Hashirama Senju did best. Concepts can be taken from one place to another, as seen in the translation of Rasengan to Chidori – two techniques that share the common thread of raw, overwhelming power to devastate opponents in a single blow. Kakashi used his elite skill in nature transformation, while Minato focused on an incredible amount of shape transformation.
Combining offensive techniques and concepts is an easier thing to do when it comes to creation or modification. With defensive techniques, it's more difficult. And supplementary techniques rarely get this treatment, with modifications in activation happening at best. Today, I will be focusing on supplementary arts. Speed, awareness, and reaction are my strongest areas, more than any jutsu I might have. Mobius is my beloved signature technique, but my goal is and always has been to reach a level beyond any reliance on it. Naruto and Jiraiya can centre their styles around the Rasengan, Kakashi and Sasuke around the Chidori, Tsunade and Sakura around their chakra enhanced strength when they get involved in any battle. Hina and Shino fall into even deeper extremes, with Hina's output revolving around her bloodline limit and fighting style, and Shino's around his clan's secret arts.
I have to get beyond that sphere, somehow. And so, this strange experiment is what I've come up with over the past year.
"Here we are. Nice and quiet."
I set down my bag and go into my routine. Stretching and meditation, then breathing exercises to make sure my chakra is circulating well. I surge lightning chakra through my limbs and direct it back and forth to make sure I have good control, which I always do. A few more minutes of visualization, and then it's time to begin.
Step one is to activate my tracking technique in full.
"Crimson Depths, activate."
Crimson Depths, the evolution of the technique that Midori taught to me long ago. Indomitable Special Tracking Technique: The Eye of Jacobson. Or, Jacobson's Eye for convenience. Crimson Depths improves upon Jacobson's Eye by increasing the technique range, strengthening the connections made with smell and taste information, and adding increased pain tolerance while turning my bloodlust into strong focus. As I use the technique, it grows more powerful. And indeed, to this point I have gained greatly improved senses and the ability to track targets at short ranges without having the technique running at full power. Though it's trivial to turn it on and off in an instant by now.
This technique relies on my senses of smell and taste, both picked up by the tongue and mouth. It allows me to 'smell' by tasting the air.
Step two involves activating my other sensing technique. I must remain still for it to be truly effective.
This technique is called Negative Vibration. It works by using my chakra to help feel for vibrations through different mediums, like air, water, and earth. Objects can then be deciphered through the feedback I get. It's immediate and gives me an extra sight that is invaluable in situations where stealth is required. That said, if there is a lot of movement or a great amount of bodies in an area, it takes more effort to distinguish one target from another. It asks for great skill and refinement from the user as it is, but once mastered, it can allow me or any group that I'm with to get ahead of the opposition. One way to improve the technique is to decrease the amount of time it takes for vibrations to return and be properly deciphered.
So now in addition to smell and taste to track targets, I can discern many other features about them, such as height, weight, and build from the vibrations I read.
"Next step."
Step three involves enhancing the two techniques while they are active, Crimson Depths and Negative Vibration. This is achieved using one of my favoured techniques, one recommended to me by Kakashi.
"Lightning Release Chakra Mode, Third Stage. Full Boost, activate."
Full Boost is the ascendant level of power that I need for this experiment. The other levels work well enough for enhancement, but this is what I need for a significant boost and change in technique properties. Holding this form results in several things happening.
Crimson Depths is enhanced. All of the information that I receive from it arrives much faster than before, and the first time I did this it was hard to handle. Negative Vibration is also enhanced. The details that flow in from the vibrations become complete at a much faster pace, and I can learn about things like the speed, size, and weight of nearby birds flying through the air rapidly. The images come in clearly even as one flies behind me through the sky.
Here is the first obstacle. Volume. There is so much information coming through to make sense of, and at times it leaves me to focus on one thing while letting everything else fall to the wayside. Because of the usual routines I go through, I'm only ever using one technique at a time, especially enhanced. I favour Crimson Depths because I can easily and reflexively use it while on the move, whether in the air, water, or perhaps even below ground when those situations arise. I don't have to worry about too much traffic, or weather conditions, or anything like that. I can therefore handle it better when enhanced. Two sensor type techniques at once is different, and it's a lot. It feels like my brain can't keep up entirely.
But then, I have a great solution to all of that.
Crimson Depths has a child technique that was forcibly developed in the midst of my trauma. The technique called Void Heart. What it does is completely calm my mind, allowing me to focus to a greater extent than most humans could hope to do. I don't feel emotion. I don't feel much of anything, and it makes me...machine-like, in a way. I can see everything with the greatest clarity, and it improves everything I do. I can be as precise as I want, I can figure out exactly how much chakra I have, how much I use on techniques and how much I need to use on techniques. I can focus on my tasks and shut out any possible distractions for a time. Of course, I don't remain sealed away forever...Void Heart keeps pain and distractions from reaching me, but it does not destroy them. Instead, everything sits just out of reach until the 'barrier' disappears with the termination of Void Heart. And everything, every stray thought, every anxiety, every feeling, floods right back into me without mercy. The more work I'm doing or stress I'm under before Void Heart is turned on, the worse it is amplified later.
I suppose to put it into words that Auntie Tsuna would use: it fucks me up something fierce. I don't use it much out of low stress environments for that reason.
"Void Heart...activate."
But it fits in perfectly for something like this. Now I can parse all of the information I'm getting quickly and efficiently. It's all very easy...like I can see the entire world around me, in vivid colour. Things that I shouldn't normally be seeing, much like the Hyuuga and their abnormal eyesight with the Byakugan. I can see in a complete circle with or without my eyes opened. But with them opened...
Needless to say, it's an incredible development. Which leads me directly into the next problem. Void Heart allows me to figure out very quickly what works and what doesn't, and the details of said failure.
"Ugh...!"
Which is why I knew that this backlash was coming. I fall back onto the grass and hold my head with one hand.
I wouldn't be shocked if there was steam flowing from my ears. My head is burning hot. And I feel like my energy has been sucked up through a straw. I'm...just a bit drowsy now.
"Always unpleasant..."
This recent test run has revealed the totality of the problem, now that I've managed to get the techniques flowing together. One, two, three, four jutsu stacked on top of each other simultaneously. I tried looking into the activation order, and this one seems like the best option. First Crimson Depths, then Negative Vibration on top of it. Full Boost to push all of my senses to a higher level, then Void Heart to bundle everything together. But the chakra consumption that comes from activating them all at once is incredibly heavy. I think even Naruto, as boundless as his energy is, would have a problem with something like this.
"Okay, so...what do I do about this problem?"
A proper jutsu has all of its components working at the same time. The Rasengan has several different steps that I practised in real time, and they all come together into one form. All of the techniques I've used play nice enough with each other. The tracking techniques cover different spots, the chakra mode boosts my perception and processing speed, the mental sealing makes every stream of information quickly and easily digestible. Maybe my second sight? I don't know if that would make a difference at all. Probably not.
No, the issues are...the weight of multiple techniques at once, and the energy consumption that comes with them. I can't reliably use other techniques like this.
"A different source. It would have to be much stronger. If I can induce more energy to come from the atmosphere...stepping down one or two levels with the chakra mode means that things aren't the same. I don't get the right balance like that."
Out of all of the components...three are the most important. I can get by without the chakra mode, I think. But I really want that perception boost so that my body can make use of the information that I receive. It's just that it pushes the energy requirements for everything up so high that...
"Stabilization?"
That came to mind just now. Why? The other day I was...yes, I was alluding something to Naruto. I've done this before, I think. Reinforcement. A potentially infinite supply of power on top of it.
"Are you well enough to try again, body of mine?" I rub my bare stomach and do a quick check. One more time should be alright. And then no matter what the outcome, I have to get something to eat before resting.
Okay, start again. My tongue reaches out to taste the air, and I can feel the signatures of the living things around me as I concentrate. Remaining perfectly still, I gain clarity of their shapes and movements as the vibrations reach me. This time, I was definitely overthinking things. The answer was inside of me all along...remaining still for one technique is a boon for another. Chakra mode, on. The red shroud bursts into being around me, and everything is steady.
There's a fork for this next step. No, dammit. I wasn't thinking correctly. I haven't been thinking correctly for a while. Stupid, stupid, stupid on my part.
"Start over, Lili," I mumble to myself. All of the jutsu are deactivated at my will, and I take a breath in before gathering the necessary energy. Remaining perfectly still, I let the energies of nature flow into my mortal shell, empowering me beyond all normal limits. My body is being filled with strength and serenity at the same time...I can feel the breath that comes from the Earth itself. The fatigue and lingering drowsiness from my last few attempts disappears immediately.
I really was being foolish earlier. This is the right way to go about it.
"Start with the proper base, then mix everything into it. That makes a lot more sense than anything else. Let's start from the top."
The power of my tracking technique almost seems redundant while in Sage Mode, but what I'm after more than anything is the activation of my senses. Next, detection by way of vibration. I can feel everything in such a brilliant way compared to before. For most people, these enhancements might be enough. But I think I'm onto something here, something incredible.
"Chakra Mode...about here?"
I push the output to about what it was before, and the red aura appears around me with glittering gold trails of light coming from it. A pretty little effect that I noticed a while ago. I really like it. As predicted, all of the information coming into my head has increased in speed and density. It's not as much of a blur as it was in my normal state, but it's still a bit tricky to parse, especially compared to the usual enhanced senses that come standard with Sage Mode. So now comes the last step, which as it is starts the energy consumption that usually leads to my ruin.
But this...will be drawing from a greater power. The power of nature itself.
"Here we go."
I focus and flow senjutsu chakra towards my head, then start my final routines.
"Void Heart...activate."
A click sounds in my head, and everything is...immediate. It's all together now.
Everything is one.
My perception of the world has changed completely. A rabbit hops into my vision, and I can see it move in ways that I could never have done before. Images, shadows, numbers and letters arranged in strange yet perfect ways to tell me exactly what is happening, what has happened...and what will happen.
I really can't believe it. But I have to try.
I start towards the spot exactly four meters, fifty six centimetres ahead of me, where the percentage chance continues to increase as the rabbit hops on, away from my position. I stretch my hand out, and the future is confirmed in my sight as the rabbit follows the meandering trail of white light set out for it, and aligns with its shadow in my palm, returning in a wide arc as it assumes it will avoid me.
And I gently catch it.
The child is frozen in my hands, utterly confused by my appearance. I let them go, watching with fascination as my strange new vision tells me they will exit to the right. And they do, along the path of white light, at the speed that I predicted. Or...the speed that I knew was coming.
I really can't believe this. This power...it's not just predicting what will happen. It's far more than that. I...
While I'm in this form, for just a few minutes...I can see the future itself.
"Wow..."
As long as I keep still, I can gather energy and potentially keep this up forever. Right now, though...it's still a test run, and it seems like it cuts my time in Sage Mode by half if I'm constantly moving about. I slowly relax and bring myself out of the new power, then Sage Mode altogether.
"That was...I don't know what that was."
I take a seat on the grass before lying backwards, looking up at the clear blue sky.
"A new frontier. Once I master that kind of power, then...but it's not quite ready yet. I have to keep working on it. But I can really see into the future like this. So exciting..."
It was all so clear. All of the information from my senses, coming together in perfect unison and enhanced by the lightning chakra boosting my central nervous system. Then it was all brought together by a tool of supreme optimization, powered by the purest and most potent supply of energy available which also replenishes itself in the right conditions. If I focus, then maybe I can also optimize the speed and efficiency with which I gather senjutsu chakra in the first place...
"It's a lot...so much to explore." I giggle. "Working on this will be so much fun!"
Ah, and the most important thing. What will I call this new breakthrough in supplementary shinobi technique? It has to be something fantastic, something fanciful. I have a reputation to maintain, after all...
"So it's called...Zonal Extreme Regulation and Optimization System."
"Yes."
After a long enough day, I return to my hotel room and have dinner with Fio. We take a bath together before getting into our night clothes, and finally the time comes for me to reveal my new discovery. I stand up in my nightgown while Fio sits on the bed in her pyjamas and gives me all of her attention, as she always does.
There's just something about these moments, where she looks so eager to listen to whatever silly things I go on forever about. They always make me happy in a way that I cherish, but can't explain too well. But maybe explaining it doesn't matter.
"Sounds fancy. And pretty cool. So you take the first letter of each thing. Z...E...R...O. Zero! It's called the ZERO System. You know, there's definitely a cool factor whenever you use your old language to describe things." She gives me a thumbs up. "Sick, yo~!"
I flash a peace sign at her. "Stylish~, desu."
"Hehe. So, you used a bunch of different jutsu to make a new one. Is that something most people can do?"
"It's a matter of good fortune," I say. "I ended up with a great deal of supplementary techniques that didn't have much overlap and didn't immediately interfere with each other. There are a lot of techniques that steal energy and focus from each other. These ones just increased how much energy I consumed at once, which made it possible to work out a solution."
"I see. And your Sage Mode was the key."
"It was. I already needed to stand still in order to properly use my technique that sensed for vibrations, so I would have a head start in gathering natural energy to create senjutsu chakra. That enhanced energy provides two important benefits, which are physical enhancements to reduce the strain on my body, and an abundant energy source to power the technique itself."
"The whole jutsu sounds complicated, so help me understand it again. You...pump up all of your senses with the sensing techniques and the chakra mode. So you can see things better, and hear them better, you can pick up people by smell and get a sense of what they're like by taste, and then feel where they are all the time with the vibrations in the air. And then you can sense a bunch of other stuff because of Sage Mode."
"You're getting it."
She nods. "Okay. So you got all that information coming in, super super fast because the chakra mode is boosting your brain a bit, too."
"Mm-hm."
"So the next thing you gotta do is...use the power of darkness so that your mind is freed from mortal limitations. That's how you say it, right?"
"Yes, that's correct," I say proudly.
"And then that means that all of the info comes in easier, so that you can understand everything at once. The problem before was that it used way too much chakra at once, so when you use Sage Mode, you've got more juice and less strain."
"Perfect."
"But how does it work exactly?"
"I remembered alluding to Naruto at one point that he could try to stabilize his enhanced version of Wind Release: Rasengan-"
"The Rasenshuriken!"
"Yes...that. What you said."
She laughs at that. "You're so silly sometimes, Lili. It's not that bad."
"It's awful. Tragic."
"I think it's cute. But let's continue with what you were saying."
"Right. By forming and shaping the technique with senjutsu chakra instead of just normal chakra, not only would it become more powerful, but more stable. Natural energy when added to techniques enhances and stabilizes them, improving the quality and overall integrity. So I used the improved versions of all the techniques that would form the core of this new one, then enhanced Void Heart at the end, and it all clicked together at once."
"Hm, okay. I still don't get exactly how everything works together, though."
"I think I know what you're getting at, so this will be a deeper dive. What the Zero System does is multiple things at the speed of light, to facilitate both combat analysis and tactical suggestions. All of the information goes directly to my mind, and multiple possible responses are created. As you might guess, this can be truly overwhelming for any person, and Void Heart rushes to manage that strain. However, this also increases the amount of energy that is consumed at one time, and leads to everything shorting out and causing backlash. While in Sage Mode, however, Void Heart gains another executive function. Instead of simply feeding information into my body, it also processes information in the other direction."
"Oh...oh! So you mean that your body and your brain are talking to each other. But that's how it usually works, isn't it? I guess this is like, supercharged or something different."
"Normally there's communication from one side to the other with the brain dictating many things, but not a complete exchange of information like this. It creates a loop, and so between these two streams of information...I can get visions of what I am about to do, with the results, before I perform them."
Fio's eyes widen. "No way. So you can see the future?!"
"Nothing is fixed, and all determinations are based on my physical and mental state at the time. It means that, more than anything that is happening outside of my body, it is my power and will that affects the predictions and their outcomes. For example, if I am injured but still determined to make it through, then the Zero System will do everything it can to show me the path forward. If I want to fight, I will be able to analyze the best ways to fight. If I want to escape, then I will be shown the escape routes with the highest amount of success."
"Does it take you towards them, like automatically?"
"No. That has to be something that I do myself, at least for now. I can easily take a different or visibly incorrect path, and though I will have many warnings in front of me, Zero System will constantly adjust to give me the best chances of success once I enter that situation. Conversely, if I am perfectly healthy in body, but convinced in mind that I cannot succeed, then all of the results in front of my eyes will reflect failure. This can be a problem if I, for whatever reason, were to end up in a fragile mental state. With all of that said, Void Heart operates on a level that should eliminate that risk, or at the least reduce it, for as long as the technique is active."
"Hm. You think you can use it without your dark power?"
"It's possible in a different configuration, and it might even result in stronger gains since my mind would not be so heavily regulated...the boost from Sage Mode could be enough to offset the issues with processing so much information at once. But it also exposes me to being dragged into a dark spiral if things should go wrong."
"Got it. That makes sense," Fio says.
"This looks to be the best possible version of the technique, and something that I will continue to work on until I think it's ready to use on the battlefield. It should have applications in regular work, too."
"You could be the ultimate general! What if you got, like, some people from the Yamanaka to scout ahead in the field, and then beam stuff directly to your brain while you had Zero System on?"
"Oh...that's really good. That would be fantastic."
"Right? You'd know what the bad guys are doing before they did! You could choose to fight, or just sneak past them and steal stuff if you want. Or maybe knock them all out and capture them before they know what's happening."
"Not just deterrence, but a means of eliminating conflicts altogether. That is brilliant, Fio."
"Hehe. I have my moments," she says with a smile.
"There is an incredible amount of possibility here. It's too bad that the technique is so complicated. It might be unique to me."
"Yeah, true. But that could be good enough, right? One day we won't have a need for so much fancy stuff to fight with."
"That much is true," I say with a nod.
"You did amazing work today, Lili! I'm super proud of you, congratulations!" she says while clapping.
I bow my head and hold the edges of my gown, then curtsy for her. "Thank you, love. I appreciate your praise very much."
"You're welcome. Now it's time for my super genius girlfriend to come to bed, and rest after all her hard work."
"And give you snuggles."
"And give me snuggles!"
"As you wish." I slide into bed, and Fio puts her arms around me while burying her face in my chest. "We're eager tonight, hmhm."
"Yeah...my favourite place in the whole world..." And with that, she's already asleep.
"And I'm always happy to have you here," I say as I hug her.
Today I managed to get to a special place. Seeing into the future, with my own eyes. Each step forward was meant to be, and always was.
"I don't think...this is enough. As arrogant as it would sound to anyone else. To look into time itself is only...the first step."
I close my eyes, with that thought in my head, and Fio's warmth against my body. Yes, I've come a very long way. There's still some distance to go, but I know one thing now, more than ever.
I will get to my destination, and the whole world is going to bear witness to that moment.