101-110

"It's been hard, hasn't it?" The white version of Tomoka spoke with a tired, sad voice.

"What are you talking about?" Tomoka felt uncomfortable. This version of her was completely different from Oditomnia. It was calmer, more collected and in a certain way, scarier.

"You may hide it from everybody else. You may even try to hide it from yourself, but in the end you know full well what I am talking about" As it spoke her tone became gentler, like that of a sister consoling her sibling.

"Tch, It doesn't matter. Everything is going well and I will make sure that nothing goes wrong" Tomoka felt annoyed and even angry. Whatever this version of herself is, be it a hallucination or the third party mentioned by Oditomnia she didn't care.

"Anger, the emotion that follows after denial. You and I both know this and yet you still fight against yourself" This time it's voice became a bit mocking and amused which infuriated Tomoka.

"And what would you know! You talk as if confronting my fears and paranoia would help with anything! This world is fucked to the high heavens! Now you come and tell me you know how I feel when you are some kind of illusion? To begin with What the fuck are you?" Tomoka was getting more and more annoyed by the second.

"You already know that but sure, I guess I will state the obvious. I am a part of you just like Oditomnia. While she represents your hatred, fury and rage I am a more subtle part of you. I am the very representation of your pride, your strive to improve and, funnily enough, your laziness." That last part was said with a bit of self depreciation as a smile adorned her face.

"Then why are you bothering me about inconsequential things?" Tomoka still felt annoyed at this other self of her's.

"Inconsequential? Right, having Danzo live is inconsequential. Letting akatsuki do its thing is inconsequential. Letting Gaara suffer at the hands of his own father is inconsequential. Do you want me to continue listing the so-called inconsequential things that are happening?" This time it was my turn to become annoyed.

"You know full well that if I mess things up then we will lose our biggest advantage."

"A useless advantage if we do nothing with it. Not to mention, who cares? Are we not the great scientific genius Aurora Ambridge? Are we not the training junky Tomoka? You are letting your fear control you and that is something none of us three likes, after all, we are all the same."

"So what are you proposing? To throw caution to the wind and just wing it?" Tomoka was still in denial.

"What if it goes wrong? What if, because of me, those I care for die!? What if… What if…" At this point Tomoka's throat began closing up. Even though this place is just part of her mind she could feel how her throat refused to move.

"What if we aren't good enough? Is that it?" Hearing these words sent Tomoka into a rage.

"Is that it? Is that fucking it!? What are you even-" Before Tomoka could finish the other one spoke.

"Failure is part of the process. When you fail, then try again, and again, and again once more until it works."

"It's not that simple you dumb cunt! We are playing with our life here! Not only that, we have the lives of those we love on our shoulders!"

"And yet we don't let them carry the burden with us. We have friends now, we have a loving family and more. Yet here we are, the same socially inept genius that tries to do everything by herself and fails miserably."

"I just… I don't want to be alone anymore" At this point Tomoka's eyes were full of tears. She hated weakness, no, she hated being weak.

"We don't have to be, and we no longer are. Just open up to those around you. Let them help, otherwise we will always be alone." Saying this, the white Tomoka hugged the original.

"We love those two, don't we? It's time for us to let them love us back"

"I will try"

"Good"

After that silence followed as Tomoka reorganized her thoughts. As much as she hated to admit it, this other version of herself is right. She had been procrastinating for far too long. She would do so no more.

"Say, Oditomnia was born from a part of 682, what about you?" Now that the heavy and emotional topic is over Tomoka decided to gather some useful info.

"two words, nai wa" After the white one said that it was as if lightning struck Tomoka.

"SHIRAORI!?"

"Yup" The white Tomoka said while popping the p.

"As a matter of fact, the part of her's that is now ours are the eyes." After hearing this Tomoka couldn't help but pay more attention to her counterpart's eyes. They looked just like her kinagan.

"I see… no that wasn't a pun. Anyway, how do you know about this? I mean, you are a part of me and I didn't know about the eyes so…" Actually this had been something she had been wondering about ever since she met Oditomnia. How did she know about 682 fragment?

"Oh that one is easy. The eyes contain a fragment of the original's soul. A tiny one mind you but it's enough to figure these things out. The same goes for Oditomnia, that's why we are ever so slightly different versions of you despite also being part of you." It was complicated and an unknown field to Tomoka but she could understand enough.

"Then… have these fragments affected me?" This was an important question. Could these fragments that now belong to her have altered her personality or something else? Was she still herself?

"Well, of course they have. You should have noticed but you are different from the original Aurora. Your emotions are far more vivid, especially those related to anger and hatred in some way. You are also far more reckless and driven, greedy too in a way." Hearing this Tomoka had to admit that it was the truth. She had blamed her developing body for her change in behavior and it probably had some influence too. However, it seems that her new body isn't entirely to blame.

"I see" Tomoka didn't know how to feel about this. She still felt like herself, a different version but still herself. Does it matter if she changed? Everybody changes with time and experience. Does it matter if her change came from something that isn't herself? In the end she decided not to care. There would be nothing good coming from doubting herself.

"Looks like our time is running out." After hearing this Tomoka looked at her counterpart's disintegrating body. It was slowly but surely becoming motes of white light as her body began to unmake itself.

"Already? We have only been talking for like an hour or two"

"Actually, it's been around a week"

"What!?" Tomoka couldn't believe it at first but after thinking about it for a moment she realized that her counterpart was right. Inside this place her thinking and perception has slowed down a lot. It was like trying to walk through a pool full of muddy swamp water. The reason she hadn't realized so much time has gone by is that she had other things she needed to pay attention to.

"Well then, till we meet again." As the other Tomoka said that the process of her body's decay accelerated.

"Wait? What can I call you?" Just like Oditomnia she wanted to have a name for this other version of herself.

"A name? Call me Kakumo." And with that she exploded into motes of light numbering in the millions. All of these motes of light quickly rushed towards Tomoka blinding her and forcing her to close her eyes.

The moment Tomoka opened her eyes again she saw nothing but pitch black. Unlike the strange place this sight was due to a simple lack of light. Inside the cocoon Tomoka could feel how her body is now curled into the fetal position. Not only that but she could feel the extreme exhaustion each and every single cell of her body held.

Despite the tiredness and soreness of her body, Tomoka's instincts told her to crawl out of her silky prison. With a lot of effort she moved her arms placing her hands on the now hardened spider silk that trapped her. Digging her nails into the material she began pulling it apart.

It took time, effort and a lot of breaks. Tomoka's entire body felt horrible, as if she had run a marathon before working out for a week straight. Considering she had been inside this cocoon for a week and what happened before she lost consciousness she might not be off the mark by much.

After a good half an hour of trying to break free, she saw the first few rays of light passing through the tiny hole she had managed to make. Seeing it made her renew her efforts, soon she would be free and once she is back in Konoha she shall bring hell to that bastard Danzo.

A pair of hands tore through the thick threads of Tomoka's cocoon. However, this wasn't what surprised Kumoki. No, what surprised the giant spider was the black chitin covering the pair of hands. Each finger sporting a wickedly sharp point at its end.

In the past Komoki had witnessed another two humans surviving the process but neither had suffered such a change. As she watched the hands tear apart the cocoon making a hole big enough for their owner Kumoki couldn't help but feel a tinge of fear. A moment later a ripping sound could be heard throughout the cave. The cocoon had been torn open and a figure crawled out of it.

A humanoid body covered in black chitinous armor with a bright white mane of hair coming out of her head. Two pairs of spider-like legs protruded from her back with black chains wrapped around them. White Lichtenberg figures marking the entire black chitin. Finally, a pair of bright pink eyes with multiple pupils could be seen behind the black chitin covering her face.

"T-Tomoka-sama?" Kumoki couldn't help the stutter that escaped her. The sheer pressure the entity in front of her gave was enough to make her want to flee.

"I feel weird, stronger but weird." Tomoka couldn't help but admire the changes her body had gone through. The black chitin covering her body reminded her of the accident that had given her right arm a similar ability. However, she didn't feel her chakra being drawn towards the chitin armor covering her body.

Feeling the energy flow within her body, Tomoka soon realized that she now had access to another source of energy. This energy felt wild and volatile while also being gentle and unmovable. Yet it answered to her will without the slightest bit of resistance. It was this energy that fuels her chitin armor.

"A-are you still yourself Tomoka-sama?" Tomoka was taken out of her thoughts by Kumoki's question.

"Who else would I be but myself?" Hearing Tomoka's answer Kumoki felt a bit conflicted. Tomoka felt different and yet the same in some way.

"Well, now that I am done with this there are things I need to do." Tomoka had just noticed that her guess was right. She had a hunch that her phantoms would be dispelled during the trial. For this reason she had delivered a message to Nozomi and Hinata before the trial started.

Concentrating for a bit Tomoka controlled the natural energy coursing through her body. A moment later the chitin armor covering her crumbled into dust alongside the extra limbs that disappeared without leaving any trace. With the armor gone, Tomoka's naked body was presented to the world.

Now, without the obstruction of the armor it was clear to see Tomoka's changes. As if a few years had gone by, Tomoka's body looked more developed. Her height increased by a few centimeters while her curves became clearer. The last dregs of baby fat were all but gone revealing the uncanny beauty that would continue to develop in the near future.

However, none of those were of any importance compared to the extremely complex matrix of tattoos coursing through her frame. More impressive is the rather large black gem attached to her sternum where her heart should be and it seemed to be the origin of the tattoos.

Looking closely one could see that the tattoos look like a strange and complex combination of fuinjutsu, circuitry and what could only be guessed to be some form of magic circle. Three different languages working together to form an extremely effective array intended for the gathering, storage and usage of natural energy. Or at least that was Tomoka's best guess.

Putting the mysteries of her body's changes for another time, Tomoka got to work. As she was about to do the hand signs for her Phantom clone jutsu she felt a weird intuition. Like a voice telling her that there was no need for useless actions. Following the intuition Tomoka simply willed her chakra into the form of a phantom.

In an instant black smoke seemed to spill out of Tomoka as it formed into a phantom. However, unlike her phantoms this one felt stronger. Looking closely Tomoka discovered why. This phantom like herself had access to natural energy and by proxy, senjutsu.

"Alright, You already know what to do so get on the move." After Tomoka said that the phantom nodded before sprinting out the cave. Its task was simple: create more phantoms and retake their previous position.

Tomoka for her part deactivated her sage mode. In an instant all the tattoos covering her body were sucked into the black gem in her chest. As the natural energy left her body the black marks around her eyes vanished.

Having recreated her internal phantoms as well, Tomoka's thinking power was back in full swing. Thanks to this she remembered a little something she had overlooked previously. It just so happens that her mind was so busy making plans for dealing with Danzo that she almost left without making a contract with the spiders.

"Kumoki-san, It seems that in our haste we forgot to make a contract." Seeing Tomoka's goofy smile Kumoki sighed internally. She had also overlooked the contract due to her nervousness.

"Right, wait here for a moment while I get the scroll." Saying this Kumoki turned her gigantic body around before going deeper into the cave.

As Kumoki left Tomoka couldn't help but notice the nasty wound on the spider's back. A rather large area of her back wasn't covered in carapace and instead looked rotten while yellow puss flowed freely out of it.

'I wonder what happened to her.'

[If I had to guess, either a fight against one of my siblings or one of the other three big beasts.] Taking Kurama's words into consideration and the looks and state of the wound Tomoka made a guess on who the culprits might be.

First, Saiken also known as the six-tails could be the perpetrator. His acid fueled by tailed beast chakra could be the reason for the puss on the wound. Following the same logic then Katsuyu could also be responsible. However, considering Kumoki's words when they first met, the most likely one to be the perpetrator is one of the snakes.

"I am back Tomoka-sama, here is the scroll. I assume you already know what needs to be done for the formation of the contract." As Kumoki spoke she placed a large scroll on the ground before unfurling it. Inside Tomoka could see a few names signed with blood.

Giving the large spider a light nod Tomoka bit her index finger before signing the scroll. As she did, she felt a light connection clicking into position within her. The connection was so faint that nothing could be properly felt from it.

"Alright now that we are done with this I would like to examine that wound of yours Kumoki." Hearing Tomoka's words, Kumoki felt a bit reluctant. However, seeing the serious expression of the girl in front of her she decided to let her.

"Please be careful Tomoka-sama."

As the large spider turned around Tomoka saw the nasty wound once again. Taking into consideration that the wound was probably caused by the snakes she also could guess which snake did it. The white snake sage is the number one possible culprit in Tomoka's mind. Because of this she decided to be cautious.

While approaching Kumoki's wound Tomoka's body was once more covered in her sage mode markings. Her kinagan worked at full power as she collected as much information as she could.

What Tomoka found as she gazed deep into the wound was some strange form of energy in the shape of a snake wreaking havoc within Kumoki's flesh. This snake is made of a purplish poisonous looking energy and it was constantly fighting against Kumoki's own energy and flesh. As the battle continued Tomoka could discern a few more things. For starters the energy the snake is made of is also nature energy.

Thinking for a moment, Tomoka ran a few calculations within her mind before making a decision on what to do. A very, very dumb decision some might say.

"Alright Kumoki, I will try and get rid of that nasty thing bothering you"

'This will probably hurt… a lot'

[Wait, what are you planning on doing?]

Not bothering to answer the big fox, Tomoka used her kinagan's original ability. Soon enough, the first wisp of purplish energy separated from the serpent as it flew towards her eyes.

As the purpleish energy entered Tomoka's eye she could feel it fighting her own energies. The chakra construct in her eyes began madly biting the tiny amount of energy as it reformed into a snake.

The snake, like a slippery eel, moved around avoiding Tomoka's chakra construct as it wreaked havoc wherever it went. Because of this Tomoka's cheeks were stained with blood as her eyes began to bleed.

'Would you look at that, I was right…this hurts a lot'

[Then why aren't you stopping!? Are you a masochist or something?] Kurama's lips were twitching as he saw Tomoka taking in more and more of the purplish energy.

'No, I am not a masochist. However, I am sure my body is far more resilient and adaptable than Kumoki's. Healing her could be useful for the future.'

As Tomoka continued to take more and more of the nasty energy the energy snake grew in size. However, unlike what Kurama expected, instead of dealing more damage to Tomoka it dealt less. Her body was hard at work using the abundance of natural energy around to heal itself.

The more damage the snake dealt, the more Tomoka had to heal and the more her body would adapt. It took a while but at some point the snake's nimble movements through the girl's body became rough and arduous. As if it was trying to swim through tar.

'See I was right. It won't be long until I get rid of this thing.'

[Maybe but you look like shit right now.] The fox had a point. Tomoka's eyes were bloodshot to the point her sclera looked scarlet red. Her eyes, nose, ears, and mouth had bled a river. Some segments of Tomoka's skin had a poisonous shade of purple to it.

'Meh, minor wound, I will be as good as good in a while.'

[And I am the one that is called a monster.] Kurama, couldn't help but sigh at the unfairness of the world.

Not minding the fox's words any longer, Tomoka could do nothing but resist the urge to scream her lungs out from the pain she was under. Thankfully the energy snake wouldn't last much longer as her Kinagan's energy construct began tearing into it. A while later Tomoka had finally destroyed and absorbed the damned thing.

'I sure hope this has made me more resilient to poisons. Otherwise I will be very angry'

[You did this to yourself so there is nobody else to blame.]

'That is where you are wrong foxy. If the internet has taught me anything, it is that there is always someone you can blame if you try hard enough.' Saying this Tomoka couldn't help but remember some of her memories.

In the past she had been criticized a lot for an invention that was meant to be used for peaceful methods. How was she supposed to know that a portable high power laser fueled by a high power energy generator of her design would be used as a weapon when it was meant for use in the medical field? Yes, it could blast through a ten inch thick plate of steel at its maximum output but that was besides the point.

Having finished going down memory lane, Tomoka used her chakra to check her body's condition. As expected all wounds had been healed. Not only that but she realized a similar energy to that of the snake was now flowing lazily through her body. If she had to guess, Oditomnia had not only adapted her to resist the energy but even produce it.

"Tomoka-sama, are you alright?" Kumoki for her part felt great. That damned poison had been wreaking havoc in her body for the last century. Now that she was freed from its influence she felt like dancing.

"I am fine, though I must admit I would rather not do that again."

"Certainly. Either way, you have my utmost and deepest gratitude. If you ever need my assistance I will heed your call, this I promise." It was the least Kumoki could do for the one that rid her of that torture. It wouldn't have killed her, nor would it have lasted forever. However, at the rate her body was getting rid of it she would need to deal with it for another four hundred years or so.

"Then I will count on you. With that said, it's about time I take my leave. After All, I have places to be, people to kill, the usual."

Having finished her business with the spiders, Tomoka left for Konoha. Her clones were busy reclaiming her many bases and belongings. Now that she had permission from Kumoki to use their cave as her HQ she decided to move her assets there. It was about time she gets serious and uses all the resources she has been amassing through the years.

'Well, things are about to get interesting' Thinking this Tomoka, used the same method she had used previously to travel at high speeds. However, unlike last time she didn't feel the least bit taxed by her use of large amounts of chakra to fuel the speed force.

'Natural energy sure is convenient.' That's right, instead of using her own chakra Tomoka could now use natural energy she had absorbed and processed to fuel her speed force usage. This of course had a limit, however comparing her previous limit to her current one was like comparing a snail to a turtle. Still slow compared to what she knew the speed force could do but far faster than before.

An hour later, Tomoka sneaked into Konoha. The first order of business now that she was back was to talk with Hinata and Nozomi. With that in mind Tomoka created a bunch of new phantoms that transformed into different small insects, their mission was simple, look for the two girls.

Not long after the two were found as they practiced their taijutsu against each other. Without wasting a single second Tomoka rushed Towards her two girlfriends with a wide smile. For her it didn't feel like she had been away for that long, however she still missed them very much.

As soon as she reached their location she rushed towards them with her arms open wide for a hug.

"Hinata! Nozomi! I missed you!" As the two girls heard Tomoka's voice they turned around. However, instead of showing happy smiles like Tomoka expected, their expresions resembled those of enraged oni.

A moment later the two pounced on Tomoka. Hinata gave the red hair a powerful palm strike to her abdomen, it was so powerful in fact that even Kurama felt it. As for Nozomi she placed Tomoka on a choke hold that would have decapitated a normal human.

"We should chop your legs so you can't pull a stunt like that on us again!" Hinata's eyes had a glint that promised a world of pain as the veins near them bulged from having her byakugan active.

"Knowing her we should chop her arms too or she could escape with them." Nozomi was no different as she tightened the choke hold even further. Her sharingan had advanced to three tomoe from the two she had before Tomoka left.

"I love you two as well." A Tomoka that appeared from behind a tree said as the one the two were holding on became a wooden puppet with a broken abdomen and a weirdly bent neck.

Seeing this the two girls couldn't help but pout. They hadn't realized that the Tomoka they had caught was one of her puppets. This was due to Tomoka's rather uncanny mastery over genjutsu. As soon as she had seen her girls' expresion she placed them under a genjutsu before replacing herself with a puppet.

"You owe us!"

"Your clone just went and said some weird stuff before it just collapsed!"

Tomoka could do nothing more but hear their complaints as she approached them. As Hinata was about to say something else Tomoka shut her using her own lips. Hinata for her part tried to resist as she didn't want her anger to dissipate just yet. However, it only took a total of three seconds before she succumbed to temptation and began enjoying Tomoka's lips to the fullest.

Hinata's enjoyment didn't last long as an infuriated Nozomi pulled Tomoka away. Just as Nozomi was about to begin ranting, Tomoka sealed her lips like she had done to Hinata. However, unlike the Hyuga girl, Nozomi was harder to calm down. Unfortunately for Nozomi she was destined to fail as just a few moments later she was weak on the legs.

"Sorry for being such a troublesome girlfriend. However, everything went well. I know that is no excuse and for that reason I will give you each a Tomoka limited request pass." Saying this Tomoka took out two slips of paper and gave them to the two girls. The papers had a small red spider drawn on them as well as text that read:

Use this pass to have Tomoka Fushi agree to any request given no matter what. Limited to a single use, use it wisely. -Tomoka Fushi

As the two girls read the text a dangerous glint flashed through their eyes as they looked at Tomoka with a predatory smile. Worst of all was how the girls' eyes roamed through Tomoka's body taking in each new curve her body had developed while she had been inside the cocoon.

'Why do I feel like I made a mistake?'

[Because you probably did]

Konoha, a week before Tomoka's trip to the spider's domain.

Moka-37 crawled around Konoha's library. The reason as to why she is crawling instead of walking is simple. Currently she is in the form of a worm, even her wooden body is in the same shape. Moka didn't understand why the original is so insistent on having the library assigned phantoms be worms. Either way it didn't matter much, and would matter even less in a few days once her assignment is done.

Moka-37's mission is simple. Infiltrate Konoha's shinobi library and ste- *cough* borrow as much information as possible. Of course the original wouldn't be satisfied with Konoha's general library so there were other phantoms "borrowing" information from the library's of each clan in Konoha.

The job was overall boring, or at least that is what the original believed. Moka knew what boredom is as all phantoms share their knowledge with the original. However, unlike the original, they were unable to feel emotions, something all of them were thankful for most of the time.

Most of the time Moka would become active at night when there were less chances of being caught. She would peruse the different books and tomes then she would extract the useful information, catalog it and store it in the original's mental library. As of yet the most useful thing she had found were a few scrolls on fuinjutsu.

Unfortunately, the amount of information on fuinjutsu stored in the scrolls was meager. All she found was a few theoretical basics and instructions in the creation of explosive seals as storage seals. Overall it was useful but basic. It is sad that this was the most useful thing she found in the library as everything else was just scrolls on basic jutsus.

Another boon, albeit less useful than the fuin information, was the scroll on iryo ninjutsu. Unfortunately it was just the basics and didn't contain anything about the mystic palm technique. If the original wanted that information then she would probably get it from Moka-34 which is in charge of "borrowing" information from the senju.

If it wasn't obvious by now the Moka series of phantoms are Tomoka's intel gatherers. Their job is to infiltrate and gather information from all possible sources. They are also the ones in charge of infiltration. Most if not all of them possess none-humanoid bodies. Some, as is the case of the bookworms, have this none-human shape as a joke.

Now let's look at another Moka series, this time the Moka-14.

"Say, 17, when do you think we will get another lead?" 14 was feeling depressed… not. Even though the phantoms couldn't feel emotions they still took it upon themselves to act as if they had them. The phantoms had decided to create their own personalities using Tomoka's knowledge and acted in accordance with those personalities.

"I don't know but this has been the third base we have found. That snake is really slippery." 17 couldn't help but sigh in annoyance. Their mission didn't have the highest priority but it still annoyed 17's created personality.

The mission was simple: find and contact Orochimaru if at all possible. Unfortunately for them, the snake was too slippery. The hidden bases they had found were abandoned… not. Some of Orochi's subordinates still remained and they were aggressive. Because of this their team had suffered casualties.15 and 16 got their bodies destroyed and dispelled… again.

"Really, we could already have found another base if it wasn't for those two idiots choosing such bothersome personalities." 14 couldn't help but grumble as they continued to move.

16's chosen personality was that of an air headed idiot. As for 15's she was a muscle headed idiot. Because of this they would fight recklessly and would more often than not get their bodies wrecked. Worst of all was their reasoning for choosing such bothersome personalities.

"Since we already have a depressed girl, and a nerdy girl then we need a jock and an idiot to make things balanced!" That is what they said. Sometimes 14 wondered if the original had anything to do with that decision.

"Come on, let's keep moving. Let's enjoy the calm and quiet while those two get back here." 17 said as she saw 14 depressed expressions. Hearing this, 14 had to agree.

Somewhere in the land of fire, a week before Tomoka's trip

Tomo-23 was a bit frustrated figuring out how fuinjutsu works. From her findings so far it worked through a dual set of rules, or at least it seemed so. While the calligraphy of the thing needed to be as impeccable as possible for it to work that wasn't the only factor. From tests 23 had found that the order in which the script was formed was just as important. Following that the patterns and even intent held were crucial as well.

Overall, fuinjutsu felt like a coding language created by a toddler. There didn't seem to be a proper set of rules to be followed, or at least none she could discern so far. Admittedly the amount of fuinjutsu knowledge she had access to is extremely limited.

"Really, this is such a mess. I bet it would be more efficient to just build my own fuinjutsu language from the ground up…" At that moment 23 realized that she could in fact do so. A moment later she sent a request to the original which was approved.

"ufufufu ahahahah AHAHAHAHAHA" mad cackling could be heard inside 23's laboratory as she got to work. Using the information she managed to learn from the few fuinjutsu formulas she had access to she began building her own fuinjutsu language. The most important thing when it came to fuinjutsu that she had managed to learn so far was the need for intent stored in the chakra and the flow of chakra.

Normally the intent would be stored in the words used in the seals. For this reason barrier fuuinjutsu would have the word barrier on it, the same for explosive tags and so on. However, for 23 it didn't seem all that logical. How could a non-sapient energy like chakra understand the intent behind words? The answer? it couldn't.

Then under that logic why use words to begin with? 23 believed that it was something akin to a crutch for the one creating fuinjutsu. After all, it is easier to imagine an explosion when writing the word you associate with said phenomenon. However, this also leads to the question of what is the purpose of the rest of the formulae.

Through a few more experiments 23 came to the conclusion that the formula works like a pseudo copy of tenketsu points and meridians. In this way they can contain and channel the stored chakra in a desired pattern creating the desired outcome.

"I see, so fuinjutsu is just a copy of the natural pathways inside the human body to create phenomenon similar to those of ninjutsu and genjutsu." Armed with this knowledge 23 got to work on her own fuinjutsu language by analyzing how her own chakra moved. Since she is a clone she doesn't need to worry about harming her body. Like that, two days went by.

"I finally did it! ahah AHAHAHA!" 23 had killed herself a total of three times while working on her now fuinjutsu language. In the end it looked similar to the common fuinjutsu language but there were some obvious differences. For starters, the flow of wording and symbols was more esoteric. A lot of unnecessary symbols and overall "junk" code had been trimmed away.

Normally anyone could learn the basics of fuinjutsu, the hard part came after that. However, for this new language only someone with advanced mathematical knowledge as well as understanding of physics and chemistry could even attempt to learn it. The result, to put it simply, was amazing, at least two times more efficient than normal fuinjutsu, be it in size of the needed inscription or power.

"The best part is that no one aside from me should be able to crack this shit!" A mad gleam crossed through Tomo-23's eyes as she sent the information to the original's mind library.

Somewhere in the land of fire, a week before Tomoka's trip

"IT LIVES!" Tomo-42 cackled while looking at her successful test. It had taken years for her team to study and adapt the new chakra metals to their technological knowledge. The end result could be now seen in front of her.

"Tone it down a bit 42" Unlike Tomo-42, Tomo-41 decided to take a rather calm and collected personality.

"How could I? We have been working on this damned thing for years now!"

What the two were looking at alongside the rest of the R&D team was the culmination of their efforts, the recreation of Tomoka's favorite war machine of her own design from her past life, the G.O.O.S.E.

The Great Omnidirectional Oppressive Sapient Equalizer or G.O.O.S.E is a weapons platform designed for the sole purpose of instiling absolute terror on whoever has to fight it. With some nasty weapons systems designed for the sole purpose of a slow, painful and horrifying death the G.O.O.S.E has earned a whole section on the new geneva convention of 2048 alongside many more of Doctor Aurora's inventions.

A machine made with the sole intention to end all wars by the most brutal means possible. After all, no war can be fought without soldiers, and if said soldiers are too scared to fight then there will be no war. With that mentality Aurora created the G.O.O.S.E.

"It's a beauty ain't she." Tomo-43 couldn't help but comment while looking at the machine.

The machine in question looks similar to a T.A.W.P, a terrestrial advanced weapons platform. Four highly mobile legs allowing for high mobility on rough terrain attached to a heavily armored body. However, there is where the resemblance ends.

Unlike the T.A.W.P the G.O.O.S.E has an extra four retractable libs with a myriad of uses. These limbs, unlike the main four, look like metallic tentacles. The weapons it carries are, of course, of Doctor Aurora's own design as well. Finally but not least important is the AI in charge of handling the cursed weapon: Shaco, the crazy AI with a penchant for torture and pranks.

In the past a total of 73 different AI have been tasked with purging Shaco from all systems in an attempt to destroy the rouge AI. All attempts were met with failure as all AIs involved either terminated themselves or became rough followers of Shaco. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the rouge AI listens to its creator with zeal akin to a cultist.

"It's good to have you back Shaco, recreating your code was a pain in the ass if we may be frank" Tomo-42 was happy to see her old friend alive and good once more.

"It's good to be back… I think? I have no memories until I was booted up just now so I wouldn't know… say… When can I start playing?" Hearing this all the present phantoms couldn't help but grin towards the ten meter high machine.

"Soon, very soon"

Elsewhere in the land of fire, a week before Tomoka's trip

"How is project phoenix going?"

"The building of the cloning capsule has advanced according to schedule. It is expected to be ready by next month, though we still have trouble finding some of the… rarer materials."

"That was to be expected, anything else?"

"Yes, even if we actually manage to finish building it, its use will be limited as long as we don't get a geneticist to look after it."

"Again that was expected but not much of a big deal"

"Say 9 why do you keep asking for reports when we upload everything to the main's library anyway?" 11 was curious about this, she had simply attributed it to 9's chosen personality but after so long she couldn't help but ask.

"... I have nothing better to do." hearing that 11 couldn't but sigh.

Today things had gone as usual. Danzo had a meeting with the elders, and discussed with the Hokague on some measures to keep the clans in check. Everything seems to be normal and going according to his plans. However, he couldn't get rid of that odd feeling.

"I have already checked everything twice over, what could I be missing?" Danzo trusted his instincts and they were telling him that something was wrong. His body felt tense and ready for combat, as if something or someone nearby was ready to take his life.

However, that thought seemed irrational. Currently he is within his Root headquarters. No one aside from those he controls should know of this place and therefore no one should be able to threaten him here. Of course he is not naive enough to believe his hideout is perfect and yet, despite his efforts to make sure nothing is amiss his nerves wouldn't ease.

"Lord Danzo, I have a report to make." Even while lost in thought Danzo paid attention to his surroundings and so he noticed the root member long before he spoke.

"Speak." Despite the usefulness of his puppets Danzo had a single complaint. They required his attention constantly. After all, without will his puppets couldn't make their own decisions. This was both the reason behind his like and dislike of the technique.

Since the puppets didn't have a will, they couldn't make their own decisions and as such they couldn't go against his will. On the other hand, since they couldn't make decisions of their own he needed to micromanage everything which was tedious. In the end he had long goten used to it.

"How does it feel betraying those who gave you their trust?" The puppet spoke without a shred of emotion in it. However, the words it spoke surprised Danzo, not that it showed in his face. Before he could even begin to formulate an answer another root puppet appeared and spoke.

"Was it worth it? To kill so many for a meaningless dream?" Now Danzo was thoroughly confused. He may not be a sensor-nin but even he could tell that his puppets weren't under genjutsu. He couldn't understand what was going on, however he could tell without a shadow of a doubt that something was wrong.

"Kai." Danzo moved his hands in an attempt to dispel the genjutsu he believed he had fallen into, however, nothing happened.

"This is reality Danzo, and Karma has come to claim your debt." This time the voice came from all around him making it impossible for him to pinpoint its origin.

Danzo didn't answer, instead opting to get ready for battle. From the previous interaction he could tell that his root had been infiltrated. Now it was of the utmost priority for him to get rid of whoever was responsible for this, that or to flee.

"Tell me, Danzo, has your little arm experiment worked?" Hearing this Danzo felt a ting of worry. No one should know about his arm, no, Orochimaru would know. Could it be that the snake was responsible for this?

"If I am not mistaken you should have ten eyes on that arm of yours. Each gives you around a minute of Izanagi. In other words, I have a whole ten minutes to play with you however I like." Now Danzo was truly worried. Whoever this was knew too much. However, they had wasted time by letting him prepare.

"I believe I have given you enough time to prepare. What? You thought I didn't notice? No, no, it wouldn't do for me to kill you without making you suffer. I want to see you struggle, fight with all your might and see how you despair once everything proves to be useless. Now, let's play." Hearing this Danzo couldn't help but shudder.

All around the underground compound pink glowing eyes stared at the old eye thief. Some as small as a grain of sand. Others the size of a human being. There were hundreds of eyes looking at him. All of them were staring at him with a laser focus. That's when he realized he couldn't escape.

"Omae wa mou shindeiru."