I was dead tired when I got home. Cernunnos and I had been at it for hours, but I was making progress. That was a good thing. This needed to work. I needed to copy Kakuzu's technique.
I could control Kakuzu's threads, and I was using everything Misaki had shown me over the years about her tailoring craft to start making my own, but I still didn't know the medical aspects of Kakuzu's technique. Aika had ensured my medical training was second to none. I was one of the best medics in the village, probably one of the best in the world, but that didn't automatically make me able to manipulate my internal organs the way Kakuzu could, nor did it make me capable of taking hearts for myself. And the hearts were the entire point.
From birth, my chakra had been horribly imbalanced. I had an overabundance of spiritual chakra from my time spent dead. That disparity made nature transformations difficult for me. It also made it impossible for me to be a sage. If I was able to bolster my physical energy up to where my spiritual energy was…
Cernunnos seemed to think it could work, so much so that he had all but decreed that my every waking moment would be spent attempting to reverse engineer Kakuzu's Earth Grudge fear. For years, he had been searching for a Nara able to learn Sage arts from him. Now, I held the potential to be a prospective student, and at a time where Konoha was under assault. Cernunnos and the deer may have originated from Konoha, but it was their home now, the Nara their family. They wanted Konoha to succeed as much as its nin did.
"Shinto,"
I looked up. Misaki was sitting on the couch, standing up as I entered the house. She came up to me and pulled me into a hug.
I wrapped my arms around her, laying my chin on her shoulder, just grateful for her presence.
After a long while just standing like that, I asked, "Did your meeting with the Hokage go well?"
Misaki pulled back, leading me back to the couch where we sat down. "I… The Hokage has given me a task. He supplied me with materials and notes from the Fourth Hokage as well as a mentor. He has two goals he wishes for me to accomplish, even saying he will provide his own instruction if I deem it necessary."
I blinked, shocked. "That's… Wow, Misaki. Congratulations. Learning from the Hokage himself is…amazing."
Misaki smiled sadly. "Yes, I just wish the circumstances were different. Kakashi returned to the Tower to receive his orders as I was leaving. He told me to tell you goodbye for him. He also asked that we watch after Yugao."
My hand balled into a fist. Misaki's hand covered mine, gently coaxing my fingers open so she could entwine hers with mine.
"We'll visit her. We'll both be busy training, but we will make time." I said firmly.
Misaki nodded in agreement. Her eyebrows furrowed a moment later. "You will be training as well?"
"I… It's probably a clan secret, but you're practically in the clan already and I honestly can't be bothered to care right now. The deer in the Nara Compound have something of a…boss named Cernunnos. He's… I recovered some of the thread from the nin we fought. I can manipulate it."
Misaki's hand tightened around mine. Her eyes were wide.
"I think I might be able to replicate his technique the way you replicated the Raikage's cloak. If I can, Cernunnos has another technique he might be able to teach me. If it all works out… I'll be on the level of kage." I stressed.
Misaki's other hand closed over mine, sandwiching my hand between hers. "Hokage-sama and Genma are teaching me the Flying Thunder God technique, one of the Fourth Hokage's most famous techniques. Hokage-sama said that if I'm able to learn it and successfully create the second seal, the direction the war is heading will shift. Shinto… Hokage-sama said–"
"We're losing." I cut in. Misaki nodded slowly, gauging my reaction.
It did not take a genius to do the math. The Kyuubi attack left us weak years ago. Killer B and Yugito Nii further lowered our numbers in the war with Kumo. Now, We'd lost Fugaku, one of the pillars the village rallied around, and we'd been attacked at home. The other villages would smell blood in the water and start circling. It wouldn't surprise me if Kumo joined the conflict. Rather, it would surprise me if they didn't. We'd be fighting on two fronts.
That wasn't even considering the fact that the Akatski had allied with Iwa for some reason. I'd thought Kakuzu and Orochimaru might have been after the Tailed Beast. I was disabused of that notion when the Hokage told us Sasori was seen in Konoha. The Akatsuki were actively moving against Konoha. On his own, Pein had literally crushed 80% of Konoha in canon. Disregarding the rest of the Akatsuki, he alone was too much for us. Only the Hokage really had a chance against him. Jiraiya tried in canon and was killed for his trouble. Adding the Akatsuki's roster to our enemies…things did not look good for us.
That was why I needed to crack Kakuzu's technique. That was why I needed to learn Sage Mode. I already had an idea that had been swimming at the back of my mind since I was still in the Academy. I had never had the absolutely absurd amount chakra I would require to see it work. Even Misaki's seal would only be able to power a small percentage of it, but with Sage
Mode, I would have the chakra. Add in the innovations I'd made with using my shadows and steam in tandem…I could do it. I just needed to figure out Kakuzu's frustrating ability.
"We might be losing, but we haven't lost." I said with conviction.
Misaki smiled. "No. No we haven't."
"If you need any help from me, just say so. I'm not great with seals, but I'll do whatever I can."
"The same is true for me."
I smiled. "Good. I kind of already ransacked your workshop for supplies. I'll replace everything after we win."
Misaki smiled back at me. "We're partners, Shinto. 'Ransacking' implies stealing. You cannot steal from me when we share each other's possessions and accomplishments."
"Then expect your workshop to having nothing next time you go in there. I'm going to need a lot of trial and error to figure this out, and I don't have the time to take it slow."
Misaki's smile flattened into a determined line. "Then we will both do our best." Misaki's eyes widened suddenly. She let go of my hand and reached into her pouch, pulling out two storage seals. "Hokage-sama gave these to me. They're… See for yourself." With a pop, the seals revealed their contents.
My eyes widened as I saw the items now laying on the coffee table in front of me. Hesitantly, I reached out and ran my fingers over a sleek, slender blade. The hilt was looped. There was a long coil of wire attached to the base of the hilt. Next to that sword were two others, each with hooked blades protruding from them. I recognized these swords. I hadn't seen them since Team Fist was killed. That felt like a lifetime ago.
"Kiba and Nuibari." I said aloud.
Misaki nodded, taking my hand again as we looked at the swords on the table. "Hokage-sama instructed me to give you Nuibari and take Kiba for myself. We are to use them when we next take to the field. Hokage-sama believes that seeing us wield them will help the weakening morale of Konoha's nin."
"It probably doesn't hurt that Kiba suits you perfectly. Have you experimented with using its lightning with your own?"
"Not yet. That is one of the things Hokage-sama said he will work with me on while we research the seals."
"Again, if you need help, let me know. The sooner we both make our respective breakthroughs the better."
"If that is the case, then I suppose the one who finishes their work first is the better ninja."
My eyes narrowed at the mischievous glint in Misaki's eyes. "Alright. You're on."
X
Misaki and I were both completely occupied during the day. I went to the woods to train with Cernunnos and she went to the Tower to train with Genma. We didn't see each other except at night, and by then, we were too tired to do anything other than eat and sleep.
It likely made us bad teammates and worse people, but we didn't have the energy to visit Yugao until three days after we'd gotten back. The only problem was, when we got to the hospital, she wasn't there.
We sent a message to Itachi with Telepathy and he came running. Together, we followed Misaki's lead as she used her eyes to lead us to where Yugao had run off to.
The three of us flickered into a tree, landing on different branches overlooking a small courtyard. We'd been here before. Our team often patrolled this area while on duty in ANBU.
"Yugao?" Misaki said hesitantly, walking along the branch.
Yugao's back was to us. Her purple hair swayed gently in the wind. She wore a simple black tank top, showing the stump of her arm wrapped in white medical tape.
"Seems like forever since we were last here." Yugao said distractedly, not turning to face us. While she didn't have Misaki's byakugan, she was one of the best sensors I'd ever met. She likely felt our approach and knew we were here long before we actually arrived.
"Yugao, I'm sorry we haven't–"
"Don't apologize." Yugao cut Itachi off, no heat or hurt in her voice. "I'm not going to fall apart without any of you around. I get it. You lost your dad. We all lost Yamato. And you all got whisked away to try to salvage this mess of a war. You're needed out there, not babying me."
"Yugao, if you need anything, you know you can come to us, right?" Misaki said, stepping up next to Yugao on the branch she stood on.
"What I need is something to do." Yugao said, frowning. "I know Kakashi was already sent back to the front to take command. I know all of you are under your own orders. I know Hayate is on the northern front. Everyone I care about is contributing. All I'm doing is wasting away, unable to contribute. At least, I was."
A bell rang, drawing our eyes down to the courtyard below us. A group of children ran into the courtyard. They all looked to be around twelve years old – Academy students let out to lpay for a while.
"This is the next graduating class. Their graduation got moved up because we don't have enough nin in the field. We don't have enough jonin to go around." Yugao said, still looking down at the kids as Itachi and I joined her and Misaki on the branch. "Every kid down there that isn't prodigy material will end up in the genin corps. At the rate Iwa's closing in, they'll all be dead by the end of the year."
"So we end the war before the year is over." Itachi said, eyebrows furrowed in determination.
Yugao shook his head. "It's not that simple, and we all know it. No, those kids need a chance. I'm stuck in the village because I'd be a detriment on missions, but I can help them. There's a couple that even show some promise. See that black-haired girl with the buns?" Yugao pointed to a young girl in a white top and red pants. While all the other kids played, she held a wooden practice sword in her hands, attacking a training dummy.
"She doesn't have much chakra, but then again, neither do I. Give me a few months with her and I can whip her into shape. Give me a few years, and she'll be better than I was before the snake."
"You want to teach?" I asked.
Yugao smiled. "Hayate and I talked before the war. We were going to get engaged, but then Iwa attacked and we were deployed to different places. Once this is all over, we'll carry through on that. This'll be practice for when we have kids."
Itachi tilted his head at a strange angle. "You believe teaching Academy students how to kill and survive in a war will be good practice for motherhood?"
Yugao chuckled morosely. "That's the world we live in, Itachi. It isn't pleasant, but it's the truth. Hopefully after the war, everything quiets down so they can live in peace, but I'll make sure they're ready in case that doesn't happen."
"A prudent position." Misaki complimented me.
The corner of Yugao's lip pulled up as, for the first time since we'd arrived, she turned to face us. "Thanks for checking in on me, but I'll be alright. You all need to be doing what you need to
do for the village. I'll petition Hokage-sama to put me in charge of this laughably ineffective Academy and keep myself busy. Once you win the war for us, we'll get back together. We have…a lot we need to do. Thanks to be given. Friends and family to send off. I'll be waiting when you come back successful. Take care of yourselves until then, and stay alive." With a parting smile and nod to each of us, Yugao flickered away.
"I apologize for leaving so soon, but my Clan needs me." Itachi said, a regretful look in his eyes.
"Don't apologize. Do what you need to do, and if you need to talk or…anything, just come find us. Our door is always open." I said.
Itachi smiled sadly. "I will likely take you up on that soon. There is something I need to discuss with you. Could I trouble you to host Sasuke and I for an evening sometime in the near future?"
"You do not need to ask. You're both always welcome." Misaki said.
Itachi nodded gratefully. "Thank you. I will see you later." He flickered away.
Misaki and I headed home soon after. We were both tired, and we had a lot of work to do on our respective projects the next day. The longer we took to complete our work, the longer Konoha's nin to the north and south had to stall, the longer our enemies had to move against us.
X
Cernunnos and I had hit a block. I'd figured out how to make more of Kakuzu's threads. It was actually fairly simple. With the lessons Misaki taught me about tailoring combined with my familiarity with chakra threads, I was able to create an abundance of the material. I could maneuver the threads just fine, but the second I tried to pull them inside myself they started reacting strangely. There was an interaction between biology and the chakra-enhanced threads that I simply wasn't grasping. I didn't know how to progress, so I did the only thing I could think of.
Blood splattered on my face as I tried to hold a Konoha nin's artery closed, healing the nin while simultaneously taking mental notes of his biological functions.
Perhaps volunteering at the hospital and caring for Konoha's wounded wasn't the most efficient method to study the human body, but it gave me a hands-on way to practice while taking notes while also contributing to the war effort. I saw dozens of cases, cataloging how the body reacted or rejected the various things done to it by enemy nin in a book. When I was done for the day, I would return to Cernunnos in the woods and we would try something else. Until I found a better option, this seemed to be my best way forward. I hadn't made much progress in the last couple of weeks, and I felt I needed to make a breakthrough now.
I finished stitching up the nin I was working on and quickly scrubbed my hands clean before going back out into the hall, retrieving my notebook from the seal stitched into my pantleg.
"Shinto?"
"One moment." I said without looking up, hastily scribbling notes into my book on a different way to potentially use the threads. I snapped my book closed and looked up, my breath catching as I did. "Forgive me, Hokage-sama." I said, falling to a knee.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had a small smile on his face as he looked down at me. He was wearing his white Hokage robes, his hands clasped behind his back. "I am sorry for interrupting your work, but Misaki told me you were having trouble with your project."
"That is correct, Hokage-sama. I need further medical expertise to continue. I am hoping to gain it here."
"I believe that will no longer be necessary." the Hokage said, turning to the side. "Shinto, I would like you to meet someone. She has agreed to help you with your project."
I looked up from where I'd bowed my head, my eyes widening in surprise as I saw the woman he was motioning to.
She was tall. Blonde hair was held in two tails that fell down her back. She wore a simple gray top and blue pants. Tsunade Senju's arms were crossed over her chest as she stared down at me appraisingly.
"So this is the brat? Doesn't look like much."
