Scarlet Justice: Full Blossom – ep. 35
"Great Breakthrough"
[Spiral Ahead, Part 3]
A day of work is followed by a night of rest. We start again in the morning, and Naruto makes more clones, then has them pick up the leaves in place from the day before.
"I think we're done!" one of them says after a few minutes.
"So you've got it, then?" I ask him.
"Just watch!" he says with a smile. All at once, they start to slice through the leaves in their hands. Each copy of Naruto holds up their split leaves as soon as they finish.
"Very good. Step one is complete," I say with a nod.
"Yes!" A loud cheer comes from all of the Narutos present.
"Time to rest for a few minutes. I'll have my breakfast in the meantime."
Naruto disperses all of his clones before sitting down, and then falling backwards onto the grass. Hina hands out breakfast to everyone, he wakes up a few minutes later, and starts to shovel down his food before Hina stops him.
"Slow down, Naruto. We have all the time we need, remember."
"Sorry."
"It's okay. I know you're excited for the next part," she says while rubbing his back. "Just remember to eat properly. You're going to need your energy."
"Right. Thanks, Hinata."
"It's no trouble. I'll get you some more rice."
We enjoy Hina's home cooked meal and finish up with some warm tea. A bit of rest to let the food settle, some stretching, and then it's back to work again. I hand Naruto a sheet of paper and he puts it in between his palms.
"Hup!"
With a smile, he holds up the two cleanly cut pieces for me to see.
"You've completed the first step. Well done, my darling. Now, we move onto the next one. Since you're a visual learner, I am going to show you the great importance of what we're about to do next." I call one of Murakumo to my hand. "Recognize this?"
"That's one of your special chakra knives."
"Yes. Asuma uses something similar, a pair of specially designed trench knives that are worn like brass knuckles. They fit in very well with his close range style of combat. They are also made of a unique metal that allows him to quickly and easily imbue his chakra nature into them. It's faster and more efficient than using a kunai, or a normal sort of sword, for example. Murakumo is much the same. Its superiority comes from the fact that it is made with Red Iron, which is harder to work with and more expensive, but gives even greater returns."
I twirl the knife in my hand before handing it to him by the blade.
"Channel your wind nature chakra through that, love."
"Okay." He focuses and does so. The shape flowing around the blade is lumpy and uneven.
"Do you see how your chakra looks?"
"Yeah. I don't think that's right...guess I don't have good enough control yet."
"Control is a different issue. It's something else that you lack currently. Hina?"
"Yes." She gently takes the blade from Naruto's hand as he looks on in confusion. I drop a good distance back and flare up my chakra mode.
"Begin."
Hina runs forward before anyone can react, and draws back her hand with the wind infused blade in it. She slashes across my stomach, the two chakras flaring up and making loud crackling noises as they clash. Eventually the blade bounces off, and Hina takes a step back.
"Dramatic," Kakashi quips.
"Senpai, seriously?" Yamato complains. "Did you have to do that?"
"Impactful demonstrations are better for the student. Not to mention quite entertaining and stimulating. That did get the point across, no?" I ask him.
He puts a hand to his face.
"Uh..." Naruto blinks a few times. "You...I mean, yeah. That was kinda surprising, but...the chakra thing."
"Take your time," I say. Hina hands me back Murakumo, and I wave away the smoke flowing from the blade.
"Yeah. Okay, so...that should have cut you...I mean, that's how the element thing works. Right?"
"When two jutsu of equal strength meet, it is their chakra nature that determines which one wins," I explain. "A wind jutsu and a lightning jutsu will have the wind jutsu win out, when all things are considered equal. That demonstration you just saw was to show you what happens when things are not equal. The Lightning Release Chakra Mode covers multiple roles depending on the situation. It can be offensive, allowing the user to imbue their attacks with lightning nature and gain advantageous properties. It can be supplementary, allowing the user to increase not only their speed, but perception of reality and reaction time. And it can be defensive, blunting the damage of attacks and protecting the user from fatal blows. For that demonstration, it was far stronger than the wind chakra you put into Murakumo. The point is to show you that having an advantage in type means nothing if the level of chakra is weak and unrefined. An Uchiha's fire technique can swallow up the average water jutsu. One swing of Temari's fan can erase flames from existence. A strong enough water jutsu can punch through a wall of earth."
I have Murakumo disappear from my hand.
"And so, we will complete your wind nature training with this next session. The idea is to have you generate more power than before, so that you can use it practically in battles from now on. And with it being battle ready..."
"...it means I can add it to the Rasengan," he finishes.
"That's correct. Yamato, shall we begin?"
"Got it."
I jump over to the designated spot in the middle of the field. Yamato makes seals and claps his hands, creating a large, circular basin around me. About five feet or so high, just as we planned. Another set of seals, and he creates a wooden ring on the inside that serves as a platform and resting place. And for myself, a nice and sturdy chair raised into the air.
"Thank you. Now the rest is up to me."
I weave my own seals and spit out a great deal of water, enough to fill up the basin quickly. Walking on top of the surface, I dip my toes beneath it and gently make circles using my foot. The currents move clockwise at my urging, picking up speed. I stop and lift my foot from the water once I am satisfied.
"Here is your next task, Naruto." I hop backwards and float into my seat. "You are going to use your wind nature to carve a path through the water, and reach this throne that I sit in. There should be room enough for more than a few copies of yourself. All you need is one to reach the goal, and you will have all you need for your first true chakra nature."
"You want me to...cut the water?"
"Mm-hm. However you might like. Just take this advice with you...unlike the previous exercise, more clones does not equal mean greater success. Understand how your technique works, darling."
"That's it?"
"That's all for now. Ask me again in a few hours...I'll know if you're struggling or not."
"Hrm...alright. Guess I've got no choice but to go for it, then." He pulls off his jacket and shirt before dropping into the water. "Wow, it's deep...cold, too..."
Mm. Always nice to get a good look at that body of his. He's really been working these past few years, huh. Hina's lucky to have locked him up early.
"I can see you, Lili."
"I know, dear," I say to her. "I'll just be ogling your boyfriend for a few minutes longer. That should be okay, right?"
"Senpai...there's such a thing as being too honest, you realize that?" Yamato says with a wry smile.
"As if I could believe in such a thing. There's nothing wrong with obeying one's urges when the time is right. Especially harmless ones like this."
"You seem to think you're safe up there."
"I have no reason to think otherwise."
"Not wise to play games you have no chance of winning," Kakashi says while turning a page. "That's why you're still a kouhai, Tenzo."
"Oi..."
Hina sighs. "I'll get started on lunch. Something to occupy my thoughts aside from strangling my sister up there..."
Naruto hops back onto the wooden platform and catches his breath.
"Alright, nothing's happening yet...so we'll try with more people. Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
"Dammit! How are we supposed to do this?"
"We gotta use more power, somehow. I got a little bit of progress before."
"Still not enough. We've all gotta do it at once, or else it won't work out."
"Maybe we try and boost each other?"
"Some of us on the other side tried it. Didn't work very well."
Icha Icha Garden didn't end as well as it should have, but it was a decent read on the whole. Too bad the author seemed to have lost their touch...actually, it felt like they had gained some contempt for the main character for whatever reason, and revelled in their suffering from time to time. Disturbing to think about, considering...
I put it away and reach for a more pleasant read, one of my beloved, trashy little novels that I've read a few dozen times by now. Looking down at the many Narutos in the water, I see that they've made a little bit of progress towards their shared goal. Of course, I won't tell them how well they're actually doing, and neither will anyone else. Not yet, at least.
"Lunch will be ready to eat in a half hour," Hina calls to us. That's our cue to stop for now.
"Naruto, time to rest," I say.
"You sure?"
"Yes. I want you to eat and take a proper break. You've been at this all morning."
"Alright..." He starts to disperse the clones and my eyes widen.
"Don't do that while you're still in the water-!"
"What?" The clones disappear. "What are...you..."
I jump down and fish him from the water before he completely falls in. I love him, but he definitely has rocks rolling around in that head of his. Carrying him to our lunch site, I set him down on a blanket and put a towel over him so that he can dry off a little.
Hina looks at him wearily, then to me.
"You're marrying this," I say.
"You are exhausting sometimes."
"Mm."
"Maybe you shouldn't bully the person preparing your food," Yamato says as he sits. "Or any of the people helping to ensure your safety, for that matter."
"Not everyone leads as boring a life as you, my dear."
Yamato looks at Kakashi and sighs, then to Hina. They seem to be sharing a moment.
"Now you understand," she says.
"Completely," he replies.
Always nice to bond over something, I suppose.
From afternoon, to evening, to night. Progress has seemingly stalled.
A bit of frustration bubbles to the surface as morning comes around again, but with only brief flarings of the Nine Tails' chakra, it's nothing to worry about. I sit on my chair and alternate between reading, daydreaming, and napping as Naruto works away below me. Yamato is monitoring faithfully while Hina and Kakashi rest in the shade of a tree.
It's supposed to be hot tomorrow. Hina is going on a supply run, so I'll ask her to pick up sunscreen.
The fifth day.
"Oi, Lili!"
I readjust my sunglasses and rotate in my chair to properly sit. "Did you need something, love?"
"Some help would be great, honestly. Seriously, I'm so stumped!" he calls from below. "There's gotta be something!"
"Thinking about shortcuts? Unfortunately, there are none here. You have to generate the necessary power for your wind nature, or you won't succeed," I reply.
"Is that seriously it?"
"Yes. Very similar to your water walking and tree climbing exercises. Just chakra and power adjustments. There is a hint I can give you for this stage, though."
"What is it?"
"Your Shadow Clones. Think about how many you actually need for your progress. I designed this training method in this manner for a reason. Adjust your strategy, and think about how your chakra is spread out. Two is half. Three is one third. Ten is one tenth. Do you understand?"
"Yeah...think I get it now."
"Find your balance. If you're still struggling after today, I will have Yamato make an adjustment for us. Is that fair?" I ask.
"Yeah. Lili...do you seriously think I can do this?"
"I've said this to you before. I don't think anything," I say firmly. He smiles and nods before going back to the edge of the pool.
He's at work again. With his palms, he's able to generate enough wind chakra to push away the water in front of him, despite the rotating current. He's able to take a few steps forward, before his strength begins to fade and the water washes over him. So it is for the other clones.
Kakashi and Yamato had another exercise in mind...whatever it was, I think it would have been a lower difficulty than this. That won't do at all. More than just a new form of the Rasengan, I want Naruto to be able to learn other useful jutsu that complement his creativity and skill. Clones and a close range chakra sphere aren't enough. We can't take chances against Akatsuki. Right now, Naruto is doing something in days that it would take others months to work up to.
He can do this. I know he can.
Eight days.
With the number of clones used, and near continuous training...we've neared about fifty thousand hours of work already for Naruto. Somewhere between three and five years of effort in a week and a bit. The kind of training that, as said, is only possible because of who he is. A naturally large reserve of chakra, the strength of being a jinchuuriki, and incredible fortitude from a heart that doesn't know the meaning of giving up.
Now, with all of that together...we'll see the end of this part of the journey.
"All right, let's get this done! This is the one, guys!" one Naruto calls out.
"Yeah!"
"Let's do it!"
"Hell yeah! I can smell the win from here!"
"Remember the plan and stick to it! Ready!"
"Set!"
"Go!"
And so they start. I sit up in my chair, bathing in the sun's heat while watching my beloved friend move mountains with his will. He and his clones move forward, taking heavy steps towards the platform where my chair sits. Then, they start the next part of the sequence. Every other clone moves sideways, while the others remain in place, holding themselves steady against the water. Now they're paired up.
A few more steps forward. Moving sideways again, but with more strength on their side in pairs. Meeting up and making groups of four that operate in a square. Two at the front pushing back the water, two in the back aiming both in front and on an angle to the sides, helping keep pressure off the others.
Forward, sideways. The groups grow. The formation changes again, and now they're starting to spread out slowly again, pushing forward against the swirling water. They've gone past halfway. More than three quarters.
"Come on!"
And slowly, they near. Converging on the goal...until one Naruto reaches up and puts his hand on the leg of my tall chair.
"All...done!"
"Whoa!"
The current eventually becomes too much as they become exhausted, and are swept away towards the edges of the pool once more.
I step from my perch and float towards the water, picking up the real Naruto and setting him down on the outside of our makeshift pool.
"I...got it. Right?"
"You certainly did, my love. Well done...I'm so very proud of you." I hold him in my arms and kiss him on the forehead. "Now take your very well deserved rest. I'll be right here when you wake up."
"Yeah...sounds good." He makes a seal and has his clones disperse. A moment later, his eyes close and he's still against my body.
"I have to hand it to you, Lili...your faith in Naruto is nothing short of amazing," Kakashi says. "The training that Yamato and I had worked out wasn't much compared to this. I was worried that we were going to be here a month or two at the least, but...Naruto pulled it off. Just like you thought he would."
"I can't figure out where he gets all of that...everything from," Yamato says.
"Love is the strongest thing in this world," Hina says to him. "It was what saved my life, and what changed Naruto's. When people are loved earnestly by others, it allows them to do things that most would consider impossible. Now that Naruto has overcome this, he can become the strong shinobi he's always dreamed of being. And with our love, he'll be able to do the things that people say can't be done."
Hina kneels next to me, and I pass Naruto to her. She smiles and gently strokes his cheek as he sleeps.
"But this...is more than a simple love. This strength to move the mountains themselves can only come from the affections of an angel. A woman who is called goddess in this shinobi world," she says as she looks at me.
"And it is with that affection that he will be carried into, and through, this final stage," I say.
Naruto wakes up after a few minutes, still drained and dizzy.
"The second and final part of your wind nature training is complete," I say to him. "Now you will be able to use it properly in battle."
"Heh...not bad for a few days' work..."
"Indeed. The remainder of this day will be dedicated to refreshment and rest. For what is coming next will be difficult, and unavoidable. This is new territory for you...the creation of a new ultimate technique. A brand new Rasengan, one beyond what the Fourth Hokage could create."
He smiles and nods.
"Tomorrow is a new day. Take pride in what you have done today...and be ready to put it out of your mind in the next."
"Yes, ma'am."
"I'll cook for us tonight," I say to Hina. "A little extra treat for our efforts shouldn't hurt."
"Wonder what we're eating. Can't wait," Kakashi says.
"That good, huh," Yamato replies.
"As much of a handful as she can be, Lili can cook like nobody else. I always look forward to her meals," Hina says.
"Yeah, same!" Naruto adds in.
"Ah, it's always nice to be recognized for my work," I say happily. "It will be just a while, so hold tight." I go through my bag and find the spices I packed earlier. Perfect. They won't know what hit them, hmhm.