The wall lamps cast a harsh glare, making the glass columns shimmer like fractured rainbows.
The sea of emerald leaves rippled as Samehada clamped its jagged maw around a thick branch. A wet, slurping noise echoed through the sealed chamber—like a starved man devouring noodles. The viscous green chakra surged into its gullet, thick as porridge.
CRACK!
Before Samehada could finish its meal, Hikari yanked it free, leaping down from the tree. Dust billowed as her feet hit the stone floor.
"What?! What happened?!" Tsubaki, dozing against the glass column, jolted awake.
"Sorry. Emergency. Go back to sleep." Hikari waved dismissively, already sprinting for the exit, Samehada slung over her shoulder. If not for the barrier seals, she'd have blasted through the walls.
"How am I supposed to sleep NOW?!" Tsubaki's shout chased after her, more exasperated than angry.
Over the past weeks, they'd grown familiar enough that Tsubaki knew—Hikari wouldn't bolt like this without reason.
But her nap was ruined.
WHOOSH—
The barrier's intricate patterns dissolved at her approach. Hikari vaulted up the stairs, bursting into the lab. Nurses and researchers scrambled aside, their whispers trailing her:
"Is it true Lord Danzō's retiring?"
"They say she's taking over Root…"
Rumors. Convenient rumors.
Muta had worked fast.
While Danzō secluded himself to master his new arm, Muta had been quietly reshaping Root's narrative. Hikari as heir. Not just a lie—a foundation. When Danzō fell, legitimacy would matter.
She blew past the guards, through twisting corridors, and finally—sunlight.
Blinking against the glare, Hikari hesitated.
Too bright.
Root's eternal darkness had made her a creature of shadows. Her skin prickled, instincts screaming to retreat underground. But she forced herself forward, orienting by the sun's position.
North. To the Forest of Death.
CRACKLE—
Lightning cloaked her body. The world blurred as she tore through the forest, trees shattering in her wake.
Half a year.
That's how long she'd been in this world.
From a hunted Kaguya orphan to the shadow ruler of Konoha's underbelly. From a dying girl to the architect of her own immortality.
And now—
"Finally."
Her lips curled. The wind howled, but it couldn't drown the thunder of her pulse.
The Forest of Death – Core Zone
The stench hit first.
Rot. Thick, cloying, wrong.
Hikari slowed, Byakugan activating. The forest ahead was a graveyard.
Dozens—no, hundreds—of animal corpses littered the ground. Boars with snake fangs jutting from their jaws. Wolves with antlers piercing their spines. A stag, its eye sockets blooming with needle-leaved vines, petals half-purple, half-crimson.
Chimera horrors.
All dead.
All failed experiments.
The further she went, the worse it got. The outer forest thrived—prey fleeing inward had overcrowded it. The middle zone was a feast for scavengers—crows fat as chickens, beetles gleaming like oil.
But the core?
Silence.
Brittle grass crunched underfoot. Trees stood skeletal, bark sloughing off in gray sheets. No insects. No birds. Just fungus—pale, spongy growths devouring the deadwood.
"You made a wasteland."
Her main body sat atop a boulder, bathed in waterfall mist.
Silver hair—longer now—streamed like liquid mercury. Skin luminous, veins tracing faint emerald paths beneath. And her eyes—
Dead gray. Yet brighter than the sun.
"Needed test subjects." The main body shrugged. "Humans would've been better. But animals… sufficed."
The Reverse Eight Gates demanded life. Extract it. Filter it. Inject it. Repeat. Failures died—either drained dry or twisted by impurities.
"Results?" the clone pressed.
A smile. Slow. Hungry.
"Perfect."
She flexed her fingers. "The Sharingan's ocular power simulates Hashirama's cells—a synthetic Yin-Yang construct. The 'Gates' funnel pure life force. Every day, I grow stronger."
Her voice dropped, giddy.
"Teeth reforged. Hair regrown. Chakra seeds sprouting like saplings. Even the Byakugan… evolves."
The clone stiffened. "Evolves? Into what?"
"Not the Tenseigan." The main body chuckled. "This body's still far from Ōtsutsuki purity. But…"
She tapped her temple. "Why do you think our eyes are gray?"
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