The public library of Kumo was enormous, second in size only to the Raikage's office. Located close to the centre of the village, the building was easily recognizable for obvious reasons - one of them being the two majestic panthers made of black marble which guarded the entrance. The other was the large sign carved above the ornate mahogany doors.
Knowledge Is Power
If knowledge really was an indication of power, Kumogakure had outdone itself. Ideally, Kaiho would've spent countless hours marvelling at the countless tomes crammed in the bookshelves. However, she was currently sitting at a table across from Ryuujin, poring over the last few pages of Blue Veins. Compiled by the top medical shinobi in the world, the information it provided cleared many doubts she had about the chakra system and medical ninjutsu.
"What healer would need to read Blue Veins?" Ryuujin asked. His insistence to accompany her wherever she'd gone had been equal parts annoying and endearing. Nonetheless, his presence helped evade scrutiny; she hadn't been asked for any documentation since her first day at the main hospital.
"I didn't grow up in a ninja village. It's not like this information is available everywhere."
"Who taught you then?"
Peering over the edges of the worn book, Kaiho awkwardly shuffled her feet. "My caretaker."
Ryuujin cocked his head. "Civilians wouldn't know any ninja techniques."
"She was a retired ninja," she lied. Under his sharp, hooded gaze, she took some relief in the fact that Hoshiyo's scrolls were now ashes. "Guess she saw some potential."
"Hmph, glad Hoshiyo found you. You'd be much more useful here. Not-"
Kaiho buried her face deeper into the pages, her heart sinking. She'd strived for years to hear those words. She had wanted to belong somewhere, as long as it meant she wouldn't be alone. Before she'd met Sasuke and Suigetsu, hadn't she dreamt of joining Kumo?
Inwardly, she cursed Sasuke for having ever spoken to her.
"-Surely you don't need to read the basics, Kaiho. Even a genin could tell the difference between vital and usable chakra."
"Uh, of course," Kaiho nodded. "But some of these theories are new to me. This one, for example." She pointed to a labelled diagram marked in white and blue. "I'd have never thought that vital chakra could mingle and render usable chakra inaccessible." She flipped a page to reveal the final chapter, Modern Hypotheses. "I'm sure the ninjutsu and genjutsu books here would be just as detailed."
"Naturally, but you won't find it in the public section."
"Why?"
"Because anyone can access it?" His gravelly voice bore a hint of incredulity.
Kaiho shrugged. "So? This is a public library."
He fished a piece of paper from the pocket of his flak jacket. "Catch." Kaiho plucked it between her fingers mid-air, turning it soggy.
"Water chakra, nice! See, I can tell you that." Ryuujin pushed his chair back. "But I can't teach you how to fight with it." He stood up. "Unlike certain other villages, we take great pride in our strength - our tailed beasts and our clans. So we have to exercise caution."
"I see." Kaiho tossed the damp scrap into a nearby bin. Tailed beasts? Clans? At this rate, the library would become a second home.
"But if you registered as a ninja here, you could enrol in our academy and learn everything you want." He clapped her on the back, making her wince. The remaining bruises from her match with Karin still stung, lying out of reach to heal effectively.
"I'll think about it."
Stealth Walkers - A case of narrow coils?
The chakra system consists of a supple set of coils which only carry vital chakra in infancy. Training expands these coils to allow the flow of excess chakra (what we now call - usable chakra). By the time a child reaches the age of ten, their coils will have fully matured, allowing for very little expansion. Albeit obscure, it is on this basis that humans are classified into two categories - ninja and civilian.
Tsunade Senju has proposed a new explanation regarding the fabled Stealth Walkers. The famous medic stated that it is possible for a human who abandons training at a young age to develop a case of partially expanded coils. In theory, such people would be unable to maximize their chakra reserves or store foreign chakra. Attempts to do so could impact vital chakra, prolonging the natural healing period of the affected person. Needless to say, it would be impossible for them to master senjutsu or become a jinchuriki. In addition, their under-developed system would restrict them to using only one chakra type.
Despite the surmised ill effects, the low reserves and channel-like coil system might explain the superior chakra control of Stealth Walkers. They could possibly exercise the ability to transfer chakra or even completely suppress their vital chakra, unlike the average shinobi. This would make the user fully resistant to all genjutsu, although extended use at a given time would prove fatal. While the description of some of these abilities certainly fit the Stealth Walkers, their weaknesses are still unknown, making this hypothesis* impossible to prove.
Stories of Stealth Walkers, describing them as 'the ultimate spy', first originated from remote regions and places of catastrophe and death. Only five known Stealth Walkers are known to have existed till today. The appearance of these men and women over the centuries has led to villages seeking more power, to the point where children were tested to replicate their abilities. Such experiments have always ended with disastrous results.
Tsunade slams all those who continue to toy with the lives of children, including her former colleague, Orochimaru. "Loyalty to the village should not extend to this level. Being a ninja is hard enough," she signs off.
*This hypothesis is not to be passed on as a concrete fact or used in studies dealing with medical conditions or the chakra system.
Kaiho closed the book. She pressed her hands against the table, staring at the blue leather cover. "Hey Ryuujin?" She cringed at how shrill she sounded. "Silly thought, but if a person began training at fourteen, there's no way they'd be able to use their chakra, right?"
"You tell me, Miss Medic. Do you think ninja academies take in kids for fun?" He chuckled. "Anyways, I have a mission, and your place is on my way. Shall we go?"
The cool evening air did little to soothe Kaiho as they walked to the guest house. Her mind was awash with everything she'd read, blending with past memories of her childhood, training and her time on team Hebi. A kind, wrinkled face came to the forefront - a vague image of the only person she'd ever thought of as 'family'. She blinked rapidly, battling the tears that pricked her eyes. While Granny Kana had been Kaiho's lifeline, her caring company had also rationalized the experience of being alone in a forest. She had never once thought to ask how she'd ended up there.
With Kana gone and Hoshiyo missing, there were no visible leads left.
"Join us, and you could have the power you desire."
Karin pressed herself against the cave wall, paying no heed to the protrusions that dug into her shoulder blades. It didn't matter that Suigetsu and Jugo thought she was a fatuous stalker. She'd take any level of mockery over leaving Sasuke alone with an Akatsuki member. Although the masked man had bandaged Sasuke in the aftermath of his violent clash with Itachi, she didn't like that he'd isolated him in his injured state.
"What do you want?" Ah, there was the unshakeable confidence and intelligence she adored.
"Capture the Eight-Tails and we'll split the power between us. I'll give you time to think about it."
Karin held her breath. The man's chakra potency was greater than anyone on their squad, so why did he want them? Besides, hadn't Sasuke already achieved his goal? She leaned towards the voices, waiting for his response - a 'no', a question, the smallest sound of objection to indicate he wasn't interested.
"I don't need time." She stood still in the darkness, sensing the chakra signature she'd fallen for flicker. The chakra swelled and swirled in tumultuous waves, briefly unveiling a presence that made her skin crawl. The minuscule change was disquieting, enough for her to question whether evading the Konoha platoon had been the right course of action.
"All I want is to destroy Konoha."
