The moment I released the technique, I knew I'd gone too far.
Pain ripped through me like molten fire. My chakra network screamed in protest, every cell in my body burning as if I'd been struck by divine lightning. I barely had time to think before my legs gave out, and I hit the cold stone floor of the cave hard.
"Ah… dammit…" I hissed through clenched teeth. "Guess… Creation of All Things… isn't a free trick."
My vision blurred. The shadows swam around me. For a moment, I swore I could see Black Zetsu watching me from the edge of the cave — silent, unmoving, a reflection of the monster I'd just birthed. Then even that faded, swallowed by the black.
I could feel my heartbeat slowing, my breathing shallow. The chakra within me was unstable, flickering like a dying flame. Every muscle screamed for rest, but I knew that if I let go completely, I might never wake again.
And then… warmth.
A tide of raw, burning chakra surged through me — hot, alive, furious. I felt Kurama's energy flood into my system, stitching together the torn fragments of my life force.
"You idiot," Kurama's voice growled inside my head, half anger, half concern. "You really thought you could use a god-level technique without killing yourself?"
"...Worth… the risk…" I mumbled, barely conscious.
"Tch. You're lucky I'm sealed inside you, or you'd be a corpse right now."
I wanted to answer, but my body wouldn't move. The pain dulled into emptiness as I drifted between consciousness and darkness, my body completely still on the cave floor.
Two days. That's how long I lay there.Two days where I couldn't lift a finger, couldn't move, couldn't even open my eyes for more than a few seconds.
Kurama's chakra worked tirelessly, mending me piece by piece, forcing my body to recover faster than it ever should have been able to. Even so, it felt like dying and being reborn over and over again.
When I finally managed to sit up, the first breath I took felt like inhaling life itself. My body still trembled from exhaustion, but I was alive — barely.
"Note to self," I muttered weakly, "don't… ever… do that again."
I looked toward the corner of the cave where Black Zetsu had once stood. He was gone — already out there, expanding the network. Good. At least something had come from nearly killing myself.
I leaned back against the cave wall, staring up at the faint trickle of light from above.
"Kurama," I said quietly, "remind me never to overestimate myself again."
"Hmph," he snorted. "You'll forget in a week. You humans always do."
I couldn't help but laugh, even though it hurt. He wasn't wrong.
Still, despite the pain, despite how close I'd come to death — a small, stubborn spark of satisfaction burned inside me. I'd done it. I'd created life from nothing.
And that meant one thing:
"If I can do that once… I can do it again," I whispered.
My strength might fail me for now — but my ambition wouldn't.