After the chaos of the week-long training exercise, sleep came like a warm blanket and refused to let go. The first rays of dawn stretched lazily over Konoha when I finally stirred in bed and opened me; my limbs aching in that good, deeply satisfying way.
I let myself bask in the stillness for a moment... no explosions, no yells, no traps, or clones bickering with each other. Just quiet. Then, with a tired grin, I summoned my Yin Clone in a puff of chakra smoke.
"Ugh," she groaned, rubbing her eyes. "Again?"
"You've had more days off than me," I muttered, pulling on my gear. "You're on errands today. Tell the kids that they can sleep in. They've earned it."
"Fine," she sighed dramatically. "What about Duy?"
"Tell him that the Hokage has his orders; he should report in for his official assignment. And thank him for me."
Yin Clone gave a lazy salute and vanished out the window.
Although I was excited to train my new Lava Release, I wanted a proper breakfast after the long week. I had noticed last night that someone, like at my mother's bidding, had restocked my fridge with fresh food, yet another perk of being the Hokage's daughter. I cooked a nice meal of eggs, bacon, pancakes, and a full pot of coffee, then packed up what was left for the rest of the day.
Around mid-morning, I left my apartment and headed for my personal training ground. The chamber welcomed me with a low hum of chakra. The walls glowed faintly from old fuinjutsu markings, and the floor bore the scuffs of years of secret training. I cracked my knuckles and rolled my neck before I summoned the rest of my clones. It was time to grind.
"Earth and Fire, start working on replicating Lava Release. Wind and Water, try to figure out Ice Release. Lightning and Yang, do what you want training wise, but don't get yourself dispelled; I need to focus," I ordered as I headed over to my Space-Time Clone.
"So, my existence has not been forgotten?" she remarked as she looked up from her training.
"How's your progress?" I asked, ignoring her comment.
"The principles are sound, though I remain locked in the first stages of trial, moving small, marked items to designated points," she sighed.
"Have you tried summoning Hana for help? She has an affinity for Space-Time," I suggested.
"I have not, but perhaps I shall later."
"Just keep working, even your test version of the technique is adding to the progress bar. I know from experience that leveling up helps with understanding more advanced techniques and lowers the chakra cost."
"Then, does chakra cost play into the count?"
"Not that I've noticed over the years. I guess that the brokenness of the system, not that I'm complaining about it," I retorted.
"Mmhmm," she mused, no longer paying attention to me.
She pressed a finger on her right hand into the palm of her left hand and, with a flash of chakra, a black Fuinjutsu marking appeared. She copied her actions to create an identical marking on her right palm then grabbed a pre-marked kunai. With a silver flash of light, the kunai vanished from one hand to the other and then, in another flash, it was back in the original hand.
"Wait... let me check that out," I said excitedly, realizing the potential of what she might have stumbled upon.
I pulled up my system and focused on the Space-Time progression bar then gave her a nod to repeat it.
Space-Time: D 964 / 5,000 → 966 / 5,000
"No freaking way," I chuckled.
I realized the potential that she had just proven. She used a fraction of the amount of chakra that she would need to move if a few meters away, yet the outcome was the same. Thanks to my household, I had been able to study chakra theory through books and scrolls from a young age, so I had used my clones to cycle through everything I knew, despite the chakra cost.
Yes, I was getting more experience with each of the jutsus and refining them, but I had truly noticed a significant difference in my learning speed of jutsu when my rank increased. So, basically, I wondered if I had been wasting time by practicing more complex jutsus when I could have been grinding out my affinities.
"Time flows in many directions, but they all lead forward. Don't worry about what could have been, and focus on what can be done," my Space-Time Clone remarked.
"Yeah... I just wish that I realized that years ago. I'll fix the training later, but I have more pressing matters first."
"Play with your molten earth but never forget that the true path to enlightenment is unraveling the mysteries of the Space and Time."
"I'll worry about enlightenment after Madara and Black Zetsu are handled," I retorted then headed off to an empty section of the chamber. I sat down in a relaxed meditative pose and mused aloud, "Lava Release."
The memory of it still burned in my mind; violent, sudden, and beautiful, but the memory alone was not enough. It had been an accident, not intentional. I needed to control if I wanted to make this power my own.
I closed my eyes and shaped Fire and Earth chakra within me. Pushing them together, they sparked and bucked like two horses yanking at opposite ends of a rope. The fusion failed and the chakra recoiled, dispersing through my limbs in an uncomfortable wave, making them feel hot and heavy.
I tried again. Failure. Again, yet another failure. On the fifth attempt, my palms crackled with misaligned energy, and I had to release it quickly before it burned my hands.
I sighed and muttered, "Okay, I need help." I turned toward the far side of the chamber. "Fire, Earth... could you come here?"
Fire Clone approached with her usual swagger. "Admitting defeat already, Boss?"
"It's not defeat if you know when to ask for help," I said with a faint smile.
Earth Clone followed with her more measured pace. "You want to try again with the same combo we used in the Forest?"
I nodded. "But this time, with a little more control."
We formed a triangle, Fire and Earth behind me, each placing a hand on my shoulders. I could feel their chakras, Fire's heat, Earth's steadiness, pulsing through my body. But this time, I did not try to control them directly. I let them flow into me, cycle with my personal chakra. In a fleeting moment, I felt myself become the crucible.
"That's it," Fire Clone said.
"You're ready," Earth Clone added.
I inhaled deeply, then focused everything inward. I aligned the flows, let them swirl together in my core, and exhaled, pushing the blended chakra through my palms and into the ground. A glob of molten earth bubbled out and splattered against the stone floor with a light hiss. The scent of scorched rock filled the air.
Lava Release: F- 1 / 5
I grinned. "That's it."
We repeated the process four more times, and each time the lava grew more stable; less like accidental sludge and more like purpose. By the final casting, I molded the chakra into a forward wave that rolled nearly a foot before hardening into cracked stone.
Lava Release: Rank F achieved.
Lava Release: F- 0 / 25
I gasped slightly as the flow stabilized inside me. The chakra settled into a new space in my network, not quite Fire or Earth but their fierce, volatile child. With a thought, I could channel my chakra through it to form Lava Release on my own.
I turned to my clones. "Thank you. Both of you. That was exactly what I needed."
Earth Clone gave a proud nod. "You balanced it better than last time."
"You sure you don't want to try it again, but with a bit more flair?" Fire Clone asked, winking. "I've got magma bombs ready in my imagination."
I laughed. "Let's hold off on 'flair' until I know how not to set myself on fire. Back to your own training and see if you can do it without me. I'll take it from here."
They peeled off, heading to their chosen section of the chamber.
Alone, I reached out to the burning chakra still coursing through me and called it forward again. There was no hesitation this time. It came readily, heavier than fire, more fluid than stone. It was Lava... even if it was just a bubbling puddle at my feet currently.
I spent the rest of the day shaping crude jutsu with it. Forming short-lived spears. Spreading puddles and hardening them into traps. Most were no better than a tired genin's first elemental technique. But they were mine and just the beginning.
Before I called it quits for the night, my Lava Release advanced yet again to the F+ rank, but it was solely due to my own efforts. Despite spending the day trying to form another Kekkei Genkai, none of my clones were successful. I knew that it had been a long shot, but it was still sad to realize that I needed to be the one to do it. I had path, an idea of how to move forward, but it would take time... time that I did not have.
After cleaning up the worst of the molten mess, I took a break near the edge of the chamber with a canteen of water and a few leftover pancake scraps. My Fire and Earth Clones were off in their corners attempting to create Lava, while the others were trying to fuse their elements, except for three. Yin was polishing fuinjutsu formulas while Water swirling orbs of chakra in midair with focus and elegance, and Space-Time grinded away as the kunai flashed between her hands repeatedly. I sighed then summoned Earth, Yin, and Water over with a casual wave.
"Meeting of the minds?" Yin asked, settling cross-legged in front of me with her arms resting on her knees.
Water Clone gave a nod. "I assume this is about the Kekkei Genkai."
"Yeah," I said, letting my legs stretch out across the stone. "None of you were able to replicate any, right?"
Earth frowned. "I can't. I tried channeling with Fire, but the chakra just fizzled out."
"I had the same problem with both Wind and Lightning," Water added. "Anytime I introduced a second element into my internal chakra stream, it collapsed. It's like there's a lock that we can't open."
Yin hummed in thought. "It makes sense. We're extensions of you, Akari, but ultimately linked to the system, built from a single elemental template. Our networks are tuned to one frequency. Yours is... the central hub, containing us and allowing us to 'mingle'."
"So, we're capped at solo training our elemental for grinding," Earth said, her voice more thoughtful than disappointed. "No wonder none of us have created one sooner."
"Yeah... I don't really practice with you all, so we have been missing it all these years," I sighed heavily. "I don't have time to work on other combinations for now, but there is no point for you all to keep wasting your time with it. Tomorrow, show the others the principle behind Space-Time's less chakra technique. Maybe if we grind out a few more ranks it will be easier for me to figure out Lava Release... but, like I said, that's for tomorrow. I've got dinner plans."
"Before you show off to Dad, you need to dispel Space-Time. At this rate, you're going to be knocked for a day and a half from the overload," Water warned.
"I know... Fine, I'll make the arrangements with my mother after dinner then dismiss her after I get back to my apartment, but I'll resummon Yin and Yang, despite the future burden. Yin, keep an eye on my mind in the beginning and, if things seem fine, you're in charge of training the team. Before you complain, have Duy take Asuma and Guy out on D-rank missions and stress that he needs to pick something that can exercise the body while you work with Kurenai on genjutsu... Just please remind Yang that her job is to keep an eye on my body while I'm out; I don't need her wondering off," I agreed begrudgingly since I knew that she was right.
"Good," Earth remarked.
"I guess time with Kurenai would not be in vain. Her skill aside, someone needs to enhance our relationship," Yin said casually.
"She's too young for anything like that!" I snapped.
"Your own perversion is what led you to those thoughts; my intentions are pure," she retorted.
"They better be," I muttered.
With that conversation over, I dismissed all of my clones except for Space-Time then left my hidden training grounds. The sun was getting low in the sky, but I had enough time to swing by my apartment and wash up before I headed to my parents' house for dinner. While my father was working late again, unsurprisingly, Asuma was at dinner, so I used the opportunity to tease him about the special assistant that would be leading him and Guy for the next week; the poor boy went to bed excited about it, not realizing the torture ahead of him.
Before I left, I talked to my mother and let her know that I had overused a clone. It was not my first time doing such, so she gave me a familiar lecture about pacing myself and being careful with my training. I nodded my head and agreed, knowing full well that I would do it again if I got obsessed with training a new clone, but I wanted to appease her, at least. She had raised me with love and care, so I was not going to be blatantly rude to her; I truly considered her my mother after all these years.
When I returned home, I got ready for bed and settled onto my futon before I summoned Yin and Yang. Yin would help ease the stress on my mind while Yang would take care of my body until I awoke. Once they were ready, I dispelled my Space-Time Clone and, as predicted, the overload hit like a kunai to the brain.
Even with Yin guiding my chakra flow to help with the strain, the flood of memories from the clone's countless tests and failures knocked me out cold. I had anticipated it, but that did not make it feel any better. Thankfully, I only felt the pain for a moment before darkness claimed me.
I woke up nearly thirty-eight hours later, groggy but intact. There was still a lingering headache, though it was expected. Yang gave me some pain medicine and then I meditated for an hour or so until it went away.
After a light breakfast, I dismissed the Yang clone and regained my headache, though it was as mild as a tooth ache since Yang had just been lounging around the house. I recovered her memories as she disappeared, so I learned a bit about what Yin had been up to while I was out. Aside from conserving her chakra, she had been taking things easy with training my team, leaving most of the heavy lifting to Duy... much to Asuma dismay. For Kurenai, she had focused mostly on lectures and medical theory, again trying to lessen the burden on me when I woke up.
Grabbing another dose of the pain medication, I dispelled my Yin Clone, only to resummon her next to me. I groaned with the rush of memories, but Yin channeled her chakra into my head which relieved a lot of the pressure on my mind. I took the pills with a gulp of water then rubbed my temples in a vain attempt to ease the headache faster.
"Common sense would suggest that you limit your use of clones today. You still haven't recovered yet, even if you are conscious," Yin remarked when she finally pulled her hand away as the headache faded.
"True, but common sense isn't that common, and I missed that part," I retorted with a chuckle.
Yin shook her head and said, "Don't push yourself too far. For now, I'll head back to Kurenai and continue her lessons."
"Tell the group to meet me at five tomorrow morning for a few warm-up drills and maybe some sparring. It's time to teach Kurenai a new technique and for Asuma to realize the potential in Duy's madness. Besides, I need a chance to stretch my body properly after being still so long."
"It will be done," Yin agreed then left through the window; the traditional ninja way.
Instead of resting like I should have been, I headed back to my personal training field after I changed into my normal gear consisting of a jonin flak jacket, a pair of black shorts, fingerless gloves, and traditional sandals. I did not summon more of my clone since my headache was only suppressed with pain killers, but I refused to waste any more time. Only I could grind Lava Release, and I needed to show some results to my father soon if I wanted to join the war.