During the eight years preceding the battle with Susanoo-Arashi, there wasn't much the humans hadn't attempted to send into the kami's domain, through Sakura's ability.

These things ranged from people she wanted to dispose of to the most powerful weapons at humanity's disposal — tools more than powerful enough to destroy worlds.

Unfortunately, none of them quite seemed to do the trick.


THE OCEAN


Karin's senses were on fire.

It wasn't because of the absurd layers of mind jutsu Ino had layered upon them, from focus enhancements to thought acceleration, multi-threading… to the hive mind she was currently maintaining only between the nine of them.

No, it didn't come from that. This sort of thing, Ino could make work smoothly, by now, avoiding overflow nearly entirely. They could take common decisions within a split instant; they could move with extreme coordination, like a single entity.

Against that kami, Karin wasn't sure whether even that much would be enough.

The air was charged with a static tension that felt dangerous to her. It was like standing in the eye of a hurricane, knowing that the slightest misstep could result in death.

Susanoo-Arashi's partial form towered above. Karin took in its, no, his, massive form. The kami had chosen a shape that, while distinctly humanoid, dwarfed any mortal being by a factor of twenty at least. It was a deliberate choice, she realized; the strongest kami they had encountered could shift between states of being, but Susanoo-Arashi's decision to assume a human-like form seemed laced with contempt.

Had it been mockery from the very first time Sakura and Yoisen had encountered it? A reflection of how the kami viewed their 'divine' aspirations, maybe? Karin wondered.

Susanoo-Arashi's partial form shimmered before them, a manifestation of the storm's wrath. The kami's 'skin' crackled with the electric charge of lightning, its glow casting eerie shadows on the ground below.

His eyes, deep purple and ominous, were a tempest at sea, fixed on Naruto specifically, with an intensity that felt like Karin was being pulled underwater, into a bottomless oceanic abyss. Dark, hungry sparks licked at the kami's shoulder. More of the clouds seemed to manifest high above, alive with the energy of the storms he commanded, painting a picture of untamed nature's fury. They drew the outline of something that could be called a terrifying beard, sparking with frost and thunder.

Towering over the landscape, seemingly reaching up to the heavens, seemingly close to the black boundary domain around them, Susanoo-Arashi embodied the wildest of kami. Around him, transient, ethereal lights flickered.

There was a chaotic beauty in that colossal figure, Karin realized as she gazed up.

The swirling mass of storm cloud that was his skin was a tempest in itself, and the howling winds that accompanied him rippled with its strength. There was intelligence in the kami's gaze, and perhaps it was as dangerous as its sword was.

Barely a moment had passed.

Susanoo-Arashi didn't move.

He was giving them the initiative, it seemed, so sure he was in his victory. The fact that the most powerful Celestial Strike they had ever released had done nothing to it told Karin one thing: there was no point in merely trying to overpower it by throwing world-breaking power at him. As expected.

THRASH UPON THE WATERS, UZUMAKI NARUTO. Susanoo-Arashi said, with dark glee. A FRAGILE REED IN THE VAST, SACRED RIVERS OF THE HEAVENS.

"A reed?" Naruto asked coldly. When Karin glanced at him, his composure betrayed nothing of his relayed thoughts. "And I suppose you sever such reeds, no matter how tall they grow?"

PRECISELY.

"There's no merit in that." Naruto countered with a calm swiftness. "We have a Kusanagi of our own."

When it answered, the kami sounded as though he were rejoicing already.

A MERE IMITATION WILL NEVER ECLIPSE THE SPLENDOR OF THE ORIGINAL.

Naruto nodded, with a grim smile. "I thought you'd say something like that."

It was pretty clear to both of them just what it was that the kami meant. And Karin wondered what the kami thought of the absence of their army, too. Did Susanoo-Arashi believe that they had realized that more people would only be a hindrance? One that an army would die much too soon to be of any use?

Or did he not wonder about it at all?

Only silence answered her.

Silence, in the heavy air, filled with the scent of ozone, as though the world held its collective breath. No one moved, and that included Susanoo-Arashi. It was like one of these stand-offs in the movies that Karin enjoyed inflicting upon the others. Aside from Yūshirō. Yūshirō understood.

Lightning danced across the sky, and the wind howled.

All this was caused by Susanoo-Arashi's mere presence: the natural-born cataclysm...

There!

So fast that she might have missed it. Something that she knew nearly anyone else but them would have missed. It wasn't pride. That was part of the reason they hadn't brought their armies. The main one, however…

Of the bolts that arced through the sky in unnatural ways, one changed course abruptly.

Naruto's sword was an extension of his will, something that was as much part of him as his arm was. A conduit for near-boundless power. When he wielded it, he did so with a grace that echoed the divine, something as natural as the arc of lightning that was coming for them, a blur that could hardly be followed by mortal eyes.

But Karin didn't have to look to know, because she had utter faith in him, in the others. Naruto's hand didn't move from the hilt of his mortal sword.

As if summoned to answer the heavens' challenge, a bolt of dark light burst forth from the void before Naruto, with a soundless crack. Reaching towards the divine bolt of Susanoo-Arashi.

The two forces collided in a cataclysmic explosion; light, shadow.

Karin stood alongside her companions, the same way Susanoo-Arashi did. Unmoved.

"A party trick." Toru said, his confidence in Naruto's ability matching Karin's, in spite of the shit he usually gave him. Ah, and there it was. "Do you have a penchant for theatrics, too?"

Hanabi rolled her eyes. Sakura, though, Sakura was entirely silent, even through their shared Mind. Karin still thought it had been too early for her to come face the kami, even though her wife had argued and insisted against it.

In answer, the sky flashed with bright colors: Susanoo-Arashi's answer. Setting the heavens ablaze with a tempest of purple lightning, a divine retort to the challenge below.

RAIJIN-KAMINARI, THEN?

Without a gesture, Naruto's chakra surged forth again, bright as the sun, and summoning forth an arsenal of dark thunder to meet the celestial onslaught. Each bolt, guided by his will, clashed against the purple fury.

AMUSING. YOU NOW STAND APART FROM MORTAL KIN, THIEF. AND ALL THAT, FROM STOLEN VALOR.

Calling Naruto a thief of divinity wasn't much of a compliment, and it still seemed like it was the most flattering Susanoo-Arashi thing had ever said of a mortal.

"You're wrong on that." Naruto's retort was swift. "Each of us here is on the same level. Mortals are not nearly as weak as you believe them to be."

A fleeting amusement, something akin to a smile, teased the edges of Susanoo-Arashi's expression, full of condescension.

I SHALL SEVER YOUR PATH TO NARAKA, FIRST. NO DECEPTION TWICE.

"Was the King of Hell too much for you?" Naruto asked, walking, slowly pacing himself on nothing but the air they were all standing on, like a lion facing another. Sasuke and Toru walked in the other direction, counterclockwise, and the latter shook his hands to warm his wrists. "And if we're counting the times you've been deceived… let's make it thrice."

Hanabi and Sakura began pacing, too. Keeping their eyes on Susanoo-Arashi.

OH, UZUMAKI NARUTO. The god laughed. I WILL TAKE GREAT PLEASURE IN STRIPPING YOU AWAY LIKE SAKAKI PETALS, PIECE BY PIECE.

"Bold words, beast." Naruto threw one of his swords down and forward, into the ruined ground far below, into the abyss, the first part of one of his jutsu. "That is exactly what we intend to do to you."

The time for words quickly passed.

Because as he had said, Susanoo-Arashi wasn't using his sword. And perhaps it wasn't just out of contempt.

"There might be a delay in between Susanoo-Arashi's sword strikes." Yoisen said. "If that is the truest manifestation of its power."

Sakura nodded, arms folded. "The first time we met him, at least, that thing definitely had the time to ramp it up."

"I would say the same about the time I summoned it." Naruto said, after a beat of silence. "I chalked it up to the kami's arrogance at the time. That it would want me to know how badly I messed up, but perhaps…" He paused. "The same thing went for Enma."

"What do you mean?" Karin asked.

"He realized there was a delay between uses of my Shinjutsu."

"So?" Toru asked. "That doesn't necessarily mean much about a kami. Enma might just have been assuming."

"Maybe it doesn't." Orochimaru acknowledged. "But it is worth noting."

"I know, I was just playing the devil's advocate."

"Very clever." Orochimaru said with a small grin.

"And in that case?" Sasuke asked.

Toru shrugged. "The Umi special. We jump him."

Naruto groaned. "How about an actual plan?"

'Long-range didn't work out.' Orochimaru pointed out. 'And that means…'

Toru did the mental equivalent of a nod.

'We go in.' Hanabi said, ignoring him. 'Carefully.'

'I'll keep track of Susanoo.' Ino sent.

'In that case…'

With deliberate intent, Naruto positioned his fists beside his waist. Karin, just like the others, followed suit.

The air beneath them trembled, and then fractured.

They delved into the depths of their being. Karin sought out the core of her strength, her chakra, drawing it forth with a precision born of unyielding will.

It was like the birth of a miniature star.

As their power surged, it wrapped around them, like light manifest. Nine flame-like shrouds a kaleidoscope of power, bursting forth from them all. Nuances of red, blue, green, bronze painted the battlefield. A chromatic spectrum of resolve.

Toru and Hanabi burst forward before a single beat passed; teal and lilac points of light that left searing trails behind them. Seven layers of illusion; a single sphere of dark light. He went left, she went right, and together they blurred past the sword's effective range.

Orochimaru and Sasuke weaved signs in unison. The first infernal blaze to come wrapped around them all, filling the War Domain. Conjured beasts of dark flame rose with horrible shrieks; their heat, much like the inferno they were born from, didn't touch any of the Nine.

Karin went low, staying behind, white and gold light gathering in her hands and extending in a flash; Sakura went high, and her unfurled wings were painted pale blue from her light — they accelerated her fall.

Ino and Naruto channeled their chakra together, Lightning and Yin, just as Yoisen deepened the barriers around all of them, rendering them nearly impervious to all.

They went for Susanoo's metaphorical jugular, of course.

Fully expecting the kami to make use of his Heavenly Sword, and as ready for it as one could be. Keeping their eyes on both the weapon and the god wielding it. However…

Susanoo-Arashi smiled.

I BOW TO NO EDICT BUT MY OWN.

Karin's thoughts extended to the others. 'He's gathering shinsei—'

Faster than they had seen any kami do. Here in Takamagahara, it also seemed more cloying than it had ever been on Earth, Karin sensed it through Naruto's thoughts.

Ino made the call. 'Back away!'

The four nearest people to Susanoo reversed course, but it changed nothing. Some things were inevitable. Susanoo's power filled the entire War Domain.

Reality collapsed.

For an instant, Karin thought it was mere dread, shared through their linked consciousness and multiplied, that made the air they were standing on feel like it had disappeared under them entirely.

It wasn't.

The distance between the nine of them became too short in an instant, and they all tumbled into each other, before they were forcefully separated, with a sound like shattering.

Susanoo-Arashi's power extended, faster than thought, and with it, his domain.

It all happened nearly instantaneously. Arcs of lightning and wind and ice slamming into them from every direction, forcing them to defend. Something pressing down on their ability to use chakra. Their shared Mind split. At the same time, Karin felt herself falling through and into a bottomless abyss, like a wounded bird, and just as unable to fly. From the surprised fury in Sakura's cry, she hadn't experienced the latter part yet.

This was entirely new, then.

Their ability to open gateways was out of reach, too, within the expanding divine domain. All nine of them directed what little chakra they could to guard them instead of attacking, now on the back-foot. One soul was reaching toward Naruto, faster than thought, and Naruto extended his own in answer, just as fast. Sasuke's suppressed chakra twisted. He needed less than the barest spark to trigger his technique, and if anything could ever stop it from working, they hadn't found it yet.

Was chakra reinforcement really worth it here? Karin tried to reach for more of it, wondering if she had the time to compound it after all—

The others' presences had disappeared nearly entirely now, and without Ino's influence, Karin's mind was forced to work at a near-normal pace again, which felt all too terribly sluggish in comparison.

They fell faster, all of them, as though dragged by an impossible, immutable force. It felt like the fall lasted for an epoch, too, a notion of time in flux, constantly shrinking and expanding.

Karin cursed as she continued to fall, and the encroaching darkness wrapped around her, too.

And then, with a dreadful sound, she hit waters colder than frost like an arrow borne by a divine arm. She was sinking, fast.

Into the sea of storms that was Susanoo-Arashi's domain.


Karin thrashed from the lightning essence coursing through the heavy waters.

It was different from what Sakura had described. Of course.

A realm in which a Jūbi jinchūriki fared about as well as an aluminum can in the deep sea. Because of course the kami would. Without her constant Earth reinforcement, Karin would have been crushed already. That was the sort of thing they were facing, then?

And something in the water was trying to dispel her inner barrier, as well. Each and every layer of it, that she had painstakingly woven into herself and the others in the last months. Layers that were even stronger within her than without, and were supposed to have made her the sturdiest of them all, when it came to pure physical resistance…

Oh, that was bad. She had to get out, and get out fast.

Karin turned, or perhaps it was more accurate to say that she tried to turn. She felt shapeless, and losing herself quickly.

Her body seemed to begin and end with the pain. She was writhing, trembling, falling upward, downward. Her chakra, the very essence of her being, was slipping away, lost in the cold depths that threatened to consume her whole.

This was the sort of hell Sakura had endured, a trial by water — and lightning within the waters, now — that tested the limits of one's resilience. The respect Karin held for Sakura's tenacity swelled within her, even as she herself drowned.

Buffeted by the merciless currents, Karin felt her actual armor, also enhanced with Earth, breaking apart. It was being torn asunder, piece by piece, by a relentless force that left nothing untouched, nothing unchallenged. Swimming was impossible too, yet another difference from what Sakura had said. Karin was sinking ever deeper, reaching up towards a light that grew ever more distant, dimmer.

Her hands felt too stiff to answer her, too; her chakra, distant.

And she couldn't sense any of the others.

'Fuck!'

That was bad. Susanoo-Arashi had likely separated them entirely. In the very moment he had wrapped all of them into his Domain. She wasn't aware he could even do that, either.

With shinsei — the divine essence that powered the kami acting as a jammer, Ino would be unable to maintain the connection between them, either. Which meant no way to teleport to each other. Karin tried to reach for her chakra again, but now… her body wasn't answering her at all.

'Well… that's pretty bad. Even by my standards.'

It was Death, coming for her again.

The pressure rose abruptly, and unknowable darkness enclosed her.

"Yūshirō told me that there was news from Sector R23."

Karin blinked, glancing up from her notes. Her daughter Yuriko was standing in the doorway. She was a sweet young woman, much like her namesake had once been. Naruto's only daughter, and he would never even meet her. She was strong, too, although in will rather than body.

All of them had to be, times being as they were.

"Good news?" Karin asked.

"Not really."

Karin's small smile faded. "What did he tell you?" She asked.

"That there is heightened kami activity there. It's shaping up to be a full-blown battle."

'As we thought.'

"Where is he?" Karin asked grumpily. "I think it's about time I talk to him about his expeditions. Yugito would never"

"He stayed there. To help with the fight."

'Of course he would.' The same familiar spike of worry went through Karin's gut. "Again?"

It wasn't that she doubted his abilities. Yūshirō was the strongest of his generation, by far. Perhaps he had a chip on his shoulder, and perhaps he felt as though he had something to prove, but that much, at least, was undeniable. He and Boruto were brothers in all but name, but when it came to it, Yūshirō was slowly proving to be the more talented one. And that was saying something, considering Boruto of the Tenseigan was a legend himself.

No, it wasn't that Karin doubted his abilities. But fighting kami… well.

She knew damn well how terribly that sort of thing could go, and her soul, just as her body, still bore the scars for it.

The others hadn't been so lucky.

Karin was the only one to survive the battle in Takamagahara, and she had only lived through the battle because the amused Susanoo-Arashi had wanted her to spread his message.

"Are you alright, Mom?"

Ah. She had been spacing out, then. "I am."

Yuriko cared too much. She really did, even though she should worry more about herself, about her fragile condition.

And right now, Karin's daughter did seem terribly pale. And… was she sweating?

"…Yuriko?" Karin asked worriedly, standing to come next to her.

"No, it's nothing." Yuriko said. "I just need a bit of fresh air."

It wasn't nothing. More sweat was pouring down her brow, and she was breathing raggedly already.

"Yuriko!"

Karin, just like her daughter, could never stand still while someone she cared about hurt. Chakra gathered to her hand, as she readied herself to help her daughter—

She stopped herself.

"Mom?" Yuriko asked, panting. "Mom? Ah, my head…"

"Be gone." Karin hissed.

"It hurts, Mom!"

"I said, be gone."

Yuriko stopped panting right away. Instead, she stared right at Karin, wondering why she wasn't helping—

Karin let her chakra break through this reality.

She came out of it older, wearier.

The war with the kami had gone on for far too long. For each one they managed to kill, they lost a thousand warriors.

Karin jerked forward in her chair as Sarada came into the room.

There was a dark, haunted expression on her scarred face. She reached forward toward the table, for something to hold onto, with her only remaining arm. Karin knew the words she would say before she said them. It wasn't the first time she had seen such an expression on Sakura's student's face: Boruto had been the first one to die, of course. Years ago. Then, Mitsuki.

Sarada had been sent with Yūshirō, this time.

She came back alone.

"Be gone!"

Reality shattered again.

Where was she…?

"Naruto?" She heard herself call.

"Let me go." Naruto hissed back, face twisted. "I need to… think."

Ah. She knew instantly where she was.

Hanabi stepped in between them. "I don't think you should be left alone, right now." She said.

"Come with us." Karin pleaded. "Please."

"Why won't you just let me go?!" A sword was shaping itself in his hand; a sword of light and thunder that she had only seen directed at their enemies before.

"What are you doing?" Karin heard Hanabi say.

Hanabi stepped in between them, as she would, of course she would, even back then.

No.

The sword made a terrible sound as it cracked through Hanabi's ribs, splattering Karin's face with blood. Hanabi only made a choked sound as she fell.

When Naruto's eyes turned to meet Karin's, she was unsure whether their purple color was truly his or the kami's—

"I said… be gone!"

Karin closed her eyes, reached deep within, for something that went beyond the body. She reached for her chakra, which had faded from a shroud of bronze to what felt like a distant ember, and shaped it in the needed patterns, with only her soul. She had Ino to thank for that.

"Ninshū: Sealing Field."

A simple technique: an area in which her abilities were enhanced. One that she manifested right around herself, like a cloak. It was not exactly a domain, unlike Susanoo-Arashi's all powerful realm, but it was close enough.

Enough for her to be able to see slightly through the darkness again—

Karin's jutsu broke.

The power that sustained Susanoo-Arashi's domain was unbelievable. And the horrible visions assaulted her again…

Something slammed into her.

Something that would likely have killed her instantly, just a few years ago, and Karin didn't have the time to brace herself. It felt like hitting a wall at full speed, and the impact dragged her deeper, where the Domain's power felt even thicker.

Karin rolled off, kickstarting her healing process and trying to extend her senses through the murky darkness, reinforcing her body at the same time. Her diamond-reinforced skin had the disadvantage of dragging her down quicker, but between more of the Dread that came from the depths and instant death, she chose the former. Karin reached deep within her soul again, for an ember of chakra, shaping a quick Sealing Field, then another...

She gathered her hands together, creating light.

Or rather, Water, Fire, Earth, and Wind. It was too short notice for her to make an attempt at adding Lightning, which to her, always felt slightly too volatile. Especially now, after that vision, and inside here. In all honesty, she had never truly understood how Naruto managed to make it his.

Water provided the fluid base, adaptable and ever-changing, Fire added its ferocity, a dance of flames within the sphere, its heat causing the water's essence to vaporize and expand. Earth lent its unyielding force, giving substance and weight to the burgeoning vortex. Wind, the final touch, spiraled around the orb, its sharp howls intensifying the rotation within to a blur.

The water around her became brighter for an instant, and she tried to see what it was that hit her before.

But even in the light of four elements gathered, and wisps of incinerating power arcing off into the water, she didn't get the chance.

Karin's instincts howled, and she was hit again.

This time, however, she managed to slam a Four Elements Rasengan into that thing. The deadly jutsu carried it off, and the shell of chakra that held the elements together burst into the distance, unleashing a true cataclysm.

And then, there was light.

Water roared as it expanded, Fire engulfed the space in searing flames, Earth shattered with the force of a thousand hammers, and Wind tore through the area with the ferocity of a hurricane. The explosion of elemental power lit up the underwater world and she caught a true glance at what it was she was facing.

Then, impossibly, the creature seized the elements she had thrown at him.

It was undoubtedly a live being — Karin realized that much, right before it disappeared again. Nothing mortal could tank a Four Elements Rasengan, but that thing had.

Which was bad enough on its own.

Perhaps once, it would have been enough to make her cower. Perhaps once, the visions of a very plausible future, of a painful past, or the sweet promise of an easier future that would undoubtedly have followed, would have been enough to slow her down. Whether that Dread was something the kami had shaped on purpose or just a dreadful passive thing that his domain seemed to exert on her, she didn't know, although she was nearly sure it was the latter.

What Karin did know was that she wouldn't succumb to such a thing. Nor to a mere monster that happened to wield the elements. Not before, not now.

Karin grasped her power firmly, initiating a compounding — a chakra multiplication process. As it slowly commenced, she felt it scorching her from within. Karin bared her teeth.

"Ninshū: Void Seal Grounds."

This Art was based upon the Sealing Field technique as well. In the sense that it was an inversion of the concept.

An incomplete domain — one deliberately crafted to be so. A strategic void designed to absorb Susanoo-Arashi's power until saturation.

Karin extended the technique she and Yoisen had developed. For all that the woman believed about being too old for true creativity, the innovative spark in her had not faded at all.

Karin weaved the technique several times more in preparation, keeping the iterations of the jutsu ready to deploy in her mind, on autopilot. As though queuing them. One of the nifty tricks Orochimaru and Ino had developed. An approach that allowed her to conserve her mental resources, crucial for the task at hand, as pushing against the oppressive force without such a reprieve seemed futile.

Karin extended her chakra senses in a flash, trying to find the others through the murky haze of shinsei. Her sensing ability scanned the stormy seas, spanning hundreds and kilometers in an instant, and then more.

And still, she found no sign of the others.

On the other hand, however, what she did feel were massive concentrations of shinsei. An overwhelming presence, not just from the Domain itself, but something far more profound, lurking beneath the surface. It was there, down below.

But the beast reared its ugly heads again. From every direction came the attack.

The sea stirred. Karin roared, whirling around as a great weight seemed to rise from under her.

Defend! Liquid metal surged around her right away, shaping itself into a nearly seamless sphere. An unseen force struck Karin's technique, one time, two times, eight times, sending her spinning within her metallic prison. Disoriented, she struggled to regain her bearings, her mind racing as much as her body tumbled.

Amidst the chaos, a realization began to dawn on Karin. The energy she felt, the force that had slammed into her, that beast — it bore Susanoo's touch, certainly. It also bore something else.

As the sphere ceased its spinning and the liquid metal receded like a great tide, Karin, whose senses were clear again, and extended, found herself face to face with a manifestation of myth itself. Before her, deep into the sea and beneath the waves, was the hydra. Its eight heads were towering, each set of eyes burning with primordial fire.

Yamata-no-Orochi. Or a recreation of it, perhaps, made out of Susanoo-Arashi's power. If such a thing was even possible. The eight heads ascended from the dark depths, and the seas churned with them.

As one of its heads, a mass of malice and hunger, lunged at her with its maw wide open, revealing rows of gleaming, razor-sharp teeth, Karin's dodge was swift.

A head that had extended behind her came back at her from her supposed blind spot.

Her arm, sheathed in layers of inner and outer steel forged from her own chakra, met the attack head-on.

Simultaneously, her other hand crafted a lance of molten rock, hurling it into the creature's eye with deadly precision.

The hydra retaliated with a bolt of lightning from another of its heads. Despite raising a shield of liquid metal, the force of the attack sent Karin hurtling into the shadowy depths below. The darkness held unknown dangers, but Karin — Karin wanted no part in uncovering them. And Hanabi would have an easier time locating her outside of the waters, she knew it.

Even in the gloom, the hydra's eyes followed.

Each maw channeled a different element. She felt all of them: fire, lightning, ice, wind, earth, water, light, and darkness.

It was a strong creature, Karin knew. With enough raw power to stand as a threat to any who dared challenge it, mortal or divine. But it was not divine itself; Karin could sense the mortal — or nearly mortal — flesh that composed its being.

Yamata-no-Orochi was said to have been slain by Susanoo-Arashi.

This time, it would die by mortal hands. And if that creature was looking for a red-haired maiden, as legend had it, it was shit out of luck.

The compounding rose higher, one step at a time, becoming exponentially stronger with each passing moment.

Karin felt aflame when she drew upon her reservoirs. Each draw felt deeper than the last, until her very skin was nearly glowing with bronze. Straining, she drew even more, accelerating the chakra multiplication process because of the sudden void to fill. There was liquid gold in her veins, something that nearly made her shake.

Karin decided to waste no time, to leave nothing out when powering her techniques. Hand seals. Chants.

"Realm of boundless void."

The water around her evaporated instantly from her superheated chakra, surreal mist under the sea.

In the monster's mouths, more shinsei gathered.

Which wouldn't do. Karin directed her focus on it. The monstrous Yamata-no-Orochi, readying its attack, became a focal point for an uncontrollable surge of energy.

And so, from Yamata-no-Orochi it came, her power manifested.

Earth, drawn from the monster's blood — the iron in it. Causing its body to undergo a catastrophic transformation.

Yamata-no-Orochi thrashed and quivered in agony, just as Karin's hand closed.

And then, without warning, the beast imploded, filling the dark waters with ichor as an island of rock thrice as big as it had been in life coalesced from its torn remains. Karin wasted no time, pulling the island to herself until she could stand on it. Then directing it upwards with a forceful shove.

It didn't work. If anything, Karin and the rock sunk faster.

There was no time to waste by trying to figure out whether or not these depths truly were bottomless. Karin chose the simple solution: fighting the heavy force within Susanoo-Arashi's domain, the one that could be called gravity — if deliberate in its intent.

"—essence of the feathered weight."

First, she extended her hands, palms outstretched towards the rock, her chakra pulsing with intent. The dense mass shimmered briefly, and the rock's density diminished, lightening under her touch as if shedding an invisible weight.

"—breath of the skies."

Not content with mere manipulation, Karin wove her heightened chakra deeper into the fabric of the island. The rock responded, glowing faintly as buoyant forces awakened within its core.

"—between here and beyond."

The gravity within Susanoo-Arashi's domain was rising. It seemed a constant pressure that sought to crush hope the same way it sought to crush both she and the island. Unfazed, Karin's fingers danced through the water, tracing burning sigils that stayed there even as she fell. Space around the island warped, a bubble of reality where the rules were rewritten, where her own gravity field primed.

"—emerge and entwine."

She summoned forth energy constructs, chakra chains that wrapped around the rock, and then she bound them to fly upward. Once the island was stopped, she drafted several more gravity fields around the frozen island. Karin then gave the island mass again, before directing it downward.

In a final act of manipulation, Karin linked an additional gravity field to the existing ones. This created a tension within the fields, a potential energy waiting to be unleashed. With a calculated release, she harnessed this tension, propelling the island upwards with a force that defied the natural laws of the realm.

A slingshot, if a rather dangerous one, playing with divine forces.

Her hands, unwavering in the Tiger seal, became the focal point of her ascent, as she soared through the water with the speed of a meteor.

...

Breaking the surface with a terrible sound, Karin emerged into a frigid night that bore no stars, only the watchful eye of a solitary, gargantuan full moon casting its cold light upon her.

And there were only raging seas below, stretching into the horizon, Karin noted as she reached the apex of her jump.

The island she was holding onto fell back into the waters with a crash, and Karin, nearly absent-mindedly, changed its properties to allow it to float for a while longer.

Most of her focus went on halting the transformation process in her chakra, however, before it burned her entirely. She released it with a pained breath, and waited for her chakra network to restore itself to work with normal levels, slowly. Part of her network was damaged already.

'What now?'

She needed to find the others. Her faith in their abilities was unshaken; if she could escape the abyss's clutches, so too could they. Even without her armor—

Karin ducked under a wild strike that flattened all sound and thought when it shattered part of her island.

A humanoid figure. Thunder, in a vague humanoid shape, becoming more defined with each moment.

Strange.

That Susanoo-Arashi would take a humanlike appearance to mock them was one thing. That he would bother summoning creatures to finish mortals he had no interest in was another. He wouldn't bother to summon men, however. Even to mock them. That much, she had been nearly sure of.

Nearly.

An in spite of this conviction, there it was, deep within something that was saturated in the kami's power, she felt it. That storm-shaped warrior had been a man, once. It was nothing more than a husk, now.

A vessel: a transformed conduit to the kami's power, it might have been a devoted follower, once. It fought with graceful patterns, as though it had been a warrior in life as well. A high-level one, too.

When Karin crushed his head, crushed his body, and crushed his remains just to be sure, she felt an inkling of pity for the thing.

Her sight blurred for a second as purple trails of light warped the air.

Karin smiled. White and gold chakra swirled around her, and with nothing but a thought, chains wrapped around the creatures instantly, flinging them into an impossible distance in less time than it took for her to fully picture it.

The rain was evaporating around her from the strength of her chakra. And still, she knew all too well that her output hadn't fully recovered from that earlier chakra compounding.

That was fine, she thought as she looked at the dark horizon. Arcs of thunder ripped through the air and slammed against an automatic shield of steel that redirected them into the sea. 'I should be able to manage that much.'

But she knew things wouldn't stay so. Not for long, at least.

As the presence of Susanoo-Arashi slowly — dreadfully slowly — grew more oppressive, Karin braced for what might come next. Was he going to manifest himself in his domain, the way Hachiman-Yumi had to Sakura and Yoisen?

Karin weaved hand signs, shaping Earth by extracting minerals from the surrounding water. They coalesced and crystallized, forming a solid structure at her command that she used to expand the solid ground, even as she altered its properties to stay afloat.

She would have thought such a thing impossible, once. It felt as natural as breathing, now.

Right after, Karin began flaring her chakra high, hoping that the others would take notice before Susanoo-Arashi decided to end her.

Then, slicing through the tension, a teleportation jutsu shattered the stillness — something supposed to be an impossibility within this domain. But of course, she could make the impossible work.

The user, propelled with such force that she seemed a divine spear cast from the heavens, made her entry with a violent splash. She had been going fast when she teleported, then.

There was no waiting — there rarely was, with her. The sea itself parted in response to her arrival, a dome of wind cleaving through the waters with surgical precision. Even after she disappeared underwater, the invisible winds continued to cut the sea, over and over again, leaving a massive hole where waves had been.

Emerging from the abyss, Hanabi harnessed the momentum, gliding upon the sheer edges of the waves with a grace that belied the ferocity of her ascent.

With a leap that looked as heavy as it must have been, she emerged again, soaring through the air. Karin held out a chain to her, anticipating her ascent, in order to pull her up.

Hanabi's armor seamlessly integrated into her aura of lilac, and it seemed like a manifestation of her very essence — a living hurricane that danced around her form with a life of its own. An ethereal shroud, a delicate but fearsome fusion of power and grace.

"There you are." Hanabi's voice broke through the silence, heavy with exhaustion as she let go of her Chakra Mode, keeping only her advanced Byakugan active. "I never thought it could be this hard to see through something."

"I can only imagine." Karin's glib response came with a hint of concern shadowing her expression. "Have you found the others?"

"Not yet." The frustration in Hanabi's admission was palpable, her piercing gaze scanning realms beyond Karin's comprehension. The veins around her eyes were apparent, once more, a clear sign that she was straining herself. "You're the first I've come across."

She didn't say the word 'only', but Karin's worry still spiked. She suppressed it forcefully.

They had to be fine, all of them. And hopefully Sakura could manage facing what could only be a traumatic place.

Catching Karin's silent turmoil, Hanabi spoke again. "I know what's going through your mind."

Karin remained silent.

"I am worried too." Hanabi admitted, and her vulnerability was as rare as it was raw. "For them."

"We can't do anything for them right now—"

The shadows deepened at Hanabi's feet, and Ino emerged without a sound, with eyes like sharpened steel.

"What kind of foolish talk is that, Karin?" Ino's voice was sharp, cutting through the despair. "There's one thing we can do for them."

The pauldron on Ino's left shoulder had exploded into a burst of molten matter at some point, and bits of smoke trailed through the air as it reformed, much like Karin's own armor had. Ino's flesh was exposed to the air, but aside from dried blood running down her face and sticking to her hair, she seemed mostly unharmed. Undeterred.

But that was Ino. Self-reprogramming her mind to ignore the fear... fighting off mere visions was child's play to her.

"Believe in them, is that it?" Karin met Ino's gaze squarely.

"No." Ino said, staring at them in turn. "Though it's part of it. If Naruto says he's going to do something… he'll do it, consequences be damned. And both Forehead and our hag can manage anything the kami will throw at them. Toru, Sasuke… Orochimaru, too."

"…Very well." Karin pressed, the weight of their situation bearing down on them. "What's our course of action?"

Hanabi moved in front of them, then paused. "The clouds — Something is coming. I mean it quite literally."

'A perfectly bad storm, then.' Karin thought with trepidation.

The moment Ino reestablished the Tether, she and Karin saw it too, through Hanabi's eyes — a comet, slowly descending from the outer reaches of space, tracing a path into the atmosphere from afar. Karin, who couldn't see all that Hanabi could, even then, idly wondered how large this realm was, how large this thing headed for them was.

"It changes nothing." Ino said after a pause. "We'll just have to move faster." Her thoughts, now that they were out of the waters, were clear to the others.

"You mean to do it, with the three of us?" Hanabi asked.

"Of course not. All four of us, if not five. As soon as Forehead gives us the signal." Ino said. "Are you hesitating?"

"Not really, no." Hanabi said, and then paused, just as Karin felt it, too. "The moment Sakura initiates the jutsu, then."

Karin slowly nodded. "…Hold that thought, for now."

A powerful presence was rising. Sakura did not appear, however.

"Well, that's a fine mess." Hanabi's remark was seemingly casual, but her focus was already shifting towards the looming challenge.

"It seems that we're going to have a little setback." Ino said in answer, as the great waves on the horizon began to shape themselves into a towering figure.

"Let's go, Karin, Hanabi. Hopefully Forehead doesn't take too long."


lensdump:

i/phxJV0 : Oceanic Drive

...

Chakra Compounding: Seemingly enhances chakra output by repeatedly multiplying it, causing its potency and effects to increase exponentially over time, at a significant cost. What exactly is this cost...?

Chakra Queuing: Prepares jutsu iterations in advance for mental resource efficiency. A technique by Orochimaru and Ino.

Chakra Reinforcement: Strengthens the body by infusing it with chakra for enhanced toughness and resilience.

Divine Territory: Susanoo-Arashi: Creates a domain with a seemingly infinite horizon of a raging sea, invoking intense visions in those falling into the waters. A phenomenon that might have happened before...

Ninshū: Sealing Field: Boosts abilities within a self-manifested area, similar to a divine domain but not nearly as expansive. An old, nearly forgotten Art.

Ninshū: Void Seal Grounds Forms an incomplete domain intended to absorb and neutralize another domain's power until full saturation. A technique by Karin and Yoisen.

Ninshū: Soul Resonance Combines focus enhancements, thought acceleration, and multi-threading into a hive mind maintained among users for superior decision-making and coordination, simulating a single entity's operation. A technique by Ino.

Shinsei: The divine essence powering the kami.

...

AN: My bad for the late chapter, FFnet was being kinda uncooperative. Here's a glossary of things, anyway. I still can't believe this is about to be 100 chapters long...

Huh..? What was that? You can't either...?

Next chapter: Wind and Flame