Nindō 0074: Assimilation

Once the sliver of Matatabi's chakra was absorbed by Sarada, the girl was so overwhelmed that she was left unconscious once again, despite Naruto's support. She was drenched in sweat and would twitch every once in a while. The whole process had exhausted her to a whole other degree than her daily training. He had been deep in thought throughout the thirty minutes that Sarada was spasming.

[Naruto?] Kurama called Naruto.

[Yes Kurama?]

[Did you plan this?]

[Of course not. You know better than anyone how much in the dark I am when it comes to the abilities of this mark. I have some clues, but that's all. I did not anticipate this happening. I was counting on the mark's ability to make chakra compatible with the mark holder and would seal that sliver inside Sarada to get her body used to Matatabi's chakra the regular way. This was as much of a surprise to me as it was to you.]

[Matatabi has some questions.]

Kurama pulled Matatabi into their conversation, and now, she could hear and speak to them.

[What exactly happened, Naruto Uzumaki?] The cat asked.

[The gist of it is that I have a technique that allows me to mold and manipulate chakra to any form necessary to make it compatible with anyone. I was going to make that sliver compatible with my disciple before sealing it in and slowly strengthening it as her physique got used to your chakra. Then I would seal you into her. Though, it seems that my technique is a bit too strong.]

[I felt my imprint disappearing from my chakra as if permanently lost. The only thing that I know of to do such a thing is a forbidden technique among us Tailed Beasts, the Baryon.]

[I know of it. And yes, the similarities are not lost on me. I believe what happened is that my ability removed your imprint from your chakra and modified it to be perfectly compatible with Sarada's chakra, hence melding with her so seamlessly.]

[It didn't seem seamless …] Matatabi's eyes held a hint of pity at the girl's state.

[Trust me. It was.] Kurama spoke up. [Her chakra has gotten much denser and stronger, having traces of a Tailed Beast's chakra while still possessing the unique traits of the Uchiha's chakra. Even her physique was minutely strengthened by the chakra assimilation. The special thing is that she didn't lose any lifespan, and the chakra that has integrated into her body isn't going to turn into nothingness in a few minutes. It truly is the effects of the Baryon without any disadvantages.]

[Not quite. The Baryon's enhancement was a bit too ridiculous. Looking at it objectively, Sarada's chakra reserves have doubled, her chakra has grown more condensed than before, and even her physique has been enhanced marginally, but it's nowhere near the Baryon's enhancement. She would be in this position within two weeks if we continued this intense training. As for the enhanced quality, that's a bit more difficult to calculate, but she would be at this level within a month or two. Now, the more pressing concern is the loss of control, she's going to need a week of focused chakra control training alongside some physical training if she wants to keep using Sakura's techniques proficiently.]

[It's the precedent that this sets, Naruto.] Kurama's tone was solemn.

[What kind of tyrant do you think I am? I'm not going to kill Matatabi for this experiment. The chakra she's lost will be naturally recovered within a few days. I can already feel an ethereal energy gathering inside me to condense Matatabi's lost chakra. Tailed Beasts never permanently die, remember?]

[Not with the Baryon. That's permanent. You know that.]

Naruto observed an ethereal energy similar to natural energy moving around him, existing at an entirely different frequency from natural energy. It entered the seal on his abdomen unimpeded and condensed into the pool of Matatabi's chakra. Whatever that energy was, it was creating new chakra, and at the current pace, in three days, Matatabi would get back what she lost.

[Suddenly, I'm not so sure …] Naruto said. [If the world itself wills it, you may be birthed once again even if you die to the Baryon.]

[So you want to use Matatabi as a lab rat, is that it?] Kurama seemed ready to fight him, not paying too much attention to Naruto's particular choice of words.

[Of course not. I have a different—]

[Have you forgotten that I'm still here, Naruto Uzumaki? Kurama?]

The fox snorted while Naruto looked at Matatabi patiently.

[You were saying that you have a different plan in mind. Will you share it?]

[For that, I need you to try some stuff for me.] Naruto told her. [Can you try to reestablish a connection with the chakra inside Sarada?]

[I've tried. It doesn't work. I can't even sense the difference between my chakra and hers now that it's all assimilated.]

[Then I'm going to send another trace of your chakra into her — this time the normal way. See if you can use that to form a connection with your lost chakra.]

[Okay.]

Naruto immediately sent a similarly sized trace of Matatabi's chakra into Sarada's body, allowing the Tailed Beast to attempt to form a connection with her chakra.

[I can connect to it … ] Her voice was a little confused.

[What's wrong?]

[I am recognized as the consciousness of her chakra … and all of her chakra at that. But I have no control over it. If I want, I can establish my consciousness inside her, but I will merely be a support system for her, with no control over my chakra like when I am inside a jinchūriki.]

[Interesting … That means I can continue infusing your chakra into Sarada before you eventually agree to move house and inhabit her body.]

[What about after she dies? Be it because of an exhausted lifespan or something else. Will Matatabi reincarnate?] Kurama asked. [If the chakra infusion is like the Baryon, there is going to be no separation until that girl's death. And after that, it is wholly possible that Matatabi won't be resurrected.]

[I will keep a separate cluster of Matatabi's original chakra in a safe location. In case something like that happens, she can always manifest in her original chakra.]

[It sounds risky.]

[Fufu. When did you become a worrywart older brother, Kurama? I don't mind taking such a risk. It seems like it could be something fun.] Matatabi couldn't help but laugh at Kurama's protective attitude.

The Tsundere fox snorted and looked away.

[It will be a long time before Sarada is ready to house Matatabi's spirit, Kurama. Until then, we can slowly work on improving her strength. With this, she might actually stand a chance in helping me against the Ōtsutsuki.]

With that serious conversation taken care of, Naruto finally turned his focus back to Sarada. His disciple was currently drenched in sweat, turning her pale red dress into a deeper shade as it clung to her. Even her forehead was slick with sweat, causing her bangs to stick to her face.

'Hope she doesn't get dehydrated …' Naruto couldn't get up since Sarada was resting her head on his lap, sleeping in a comfortable position, so he used a Truth Seeker Orb to grab a bottle of water before cooling it with his chakra. He then pried open her lips by squeezing her face and poured a small amount of water into her mouth before using chakra to loosen some muscles in her jaw and throat so that the water would go down without any issues. It was a basic medical ninjutsu trick to help with blocked airways. Only once the bottle was empty did Naruto stop, letting Sarada rest on his lap without any further distractions.

Almost an hour passed before she finally regained consciousness. She moaned uncomfortably as her eyes fluttered open and stretched her sore body. She buried her face in the only source of warmth near her and treated it as a pillow. As she wiggled to move into a better posture, she felt the uncomfortable sensation of her clothes being wet. While her sweat had somewhat dried off in the past hour, without actual drying, she was still very much drenched.

As the situation dawned on the young kunoichi, she felt a blush appearing on her face.

'Again?!' She panicked inwardly, not even wanting to move her face away from her master's stomach. She didn't want to face him in all this embarrassment.

'This is the second time, you dummy. He definitely thinks lowly of me …'

"Stop clinging to me," Naruto pulled her out of her internal panic. "Fix your clothes and dry yourself. I've already prepared your ramen."

Feeling the slight cold on her thighs, Sarada realized just how high her sleeveless dress vest had been pulled when she stretched her body. Blushing even more furiously, she pulled away from Naruto's stomach and climbed over the back of the couch, hiding behind it as she fixed her clothes and cast a basic lifestyle jutsu to dry her clothes.

Still unable to form any words, she was embarrassedly looking down, thinking up all sorts of scenarios in her head about what she should say and what her master would say in response.

"Stop panicking," Naruto looked her in the eye, making her freeze in place.

'He's just casually eating ramen …' She realized that she might have been making a bigger deal out of the situation than it actually was.

"You're my disciple. You shouldn't get so worked up over something so simple. Now, sit beside me so that I can tell you about the new training regime that you will be following from now on."

"O-okay," Naruto's nonchalantness helped Sarada calm down. She walked around the couch and grabbed the cup of ramen from the coffee table beside Naruto before sitting down beside her master.

"Did you feel anything weird when you cast that jutsu just now?" Naruto's question made Sarada think back.

"My chakra has increased a lot more than usual …" She spoke after some thought. "It seems … purer as well."

"Yeah," Naruto nodded with a disappointed sigh. "We need to shift gears and start focusing your training in the direction of chakra control now. I have found a way to integrate Matatabi's chakra into you so that you can quickly receive the benefits. The downside is that you will really lag in chakra control at this pace of improvement."

"Will we do this regularly …" Sarada's voice came out as an embarrassed squeak.

"Once every week. For now, at least. During the rest of the week, I will focus on helping you hone your chakra control instead of improving your chakra capacity."

"C–can you tell me exactly what you did, Master? And what kind of improvements I've just received …"

***

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