"You're leaving already, Hikari?"
Bulma stood at the doorway, a touch reluctant to see Uchiha Hikari go. She handed over a neatly packed box. "Take this set of *Hoi-Poi Capsules*. I put together something special for you—has a bit more than what you'd find on the market. Stay safe out there, and let me know when you arrive, okay?"
"Thanks, I will."
Hikari took the box from Bulma's hands.
Come to think of it, the last time she was in the *Dragon Ball* world, she'd asked Bulma if she could buy a set of capsules on credit. Who would've thought it'd take this long to finally make it happen?
"Well then, see you later."
After one last goodbye, Hikari tossed out a small aircraft, fumbled with the controls to take off, and headed toward the address Kame-Sennin had given her.
…
Two days later.
The Sacred Land of Karin.
Hikari stopped at the base of the towering, cloud-piercing Karin Tower, craning her neck to gaze skyward.
"Young lady, are you sure you want to climb this tower? Plenty of martial artists have tried challenging it before you, but most of them failed. If you run out of stamina and fall from up there, you might not make it."
Bora, the Native American standing nearby, tried to dissuade her.
But Hikari just smiled, leapt upward, and began scaling the tower vertically, sticking to its surface.
She'd initially considered flying partway up to save time.
But to show her "sincerity" as a potential student and make a good impression on Karin-Sennin, she decided to follow tradition.
Climbing a tree, right? Just the most basic form of chakra control training.
This "tree" was just… a little taller than usual.
And so it went.
Hikari climbed for six or seven hours straight.
Thanks to her powerful regeneration, she didn't have to worry about muscle tears from overexertion. She only paused midway to sip some water and munch on a couple of chocolate bars for energy before pressing on.
When her chakra was nearly depleted for the third time, Hikari finally spotted the flattened, spherical top of the tower above the clouds, coming into view.
"I made it!"
Gathering her strength, Hikari surged onto the tower's platform.
Climbing a few steps up the inner staircase, she entered a wide-open space filled with jars and pots lining the walls. In the center stood a large white cat holding a staff, clearly aware of her arrival.
"You must be Karin-Sennin, right?"
Hikari's tone was polite and respectful.
"That's me."
Karin-Sennin licked its paw, squinting at her. "I gotta say, I didn't expect a young girl like you to climb Karin Tower in such a short time… You here for the *Ultra Divine Water*, little lady?"
"No, I came to ask you how to train in *ki*, Karin-Sennin."
Hikari answered honestly.
This unassuming cat was over 800 years old and had something akin to mind-reading abilities. Playing tricks or scheming in front of it would be pointless. Being sincere, on the other hand, might earn her some favor.
But Hikari was curious about one thing—
Could Karin-Sennin tell she was from another world?
On the other side, Karin-Sennin paused, studying Hikari closely. After a moment, it spoke. "You really haven't trained in *ki* before, have you? But there's another kind of energy flowing through you… similar to *ki*, but not quite. You're not from this world, are you?"
"?"
It could actually tell??
"Of course. I'm an immortal cat. I can see a person's past."
Karin-Sennin wiped its whiskers. "For you, little lady, I only saw glimpses of the past few weeks—something about you all searching for the *Dragon Balls*. Before that, it's a complete blank. Even someone who's lost their memories or comes from another planet would leave *some* trace. Unless… you don't belong to this world at all."
"…You're right. I come from a ninja world, but I mean no harm to this place. If this planet ever faces an attack from villains in the future, I'd be willing to lend a hand."
Hikari fell silent for a moment before explaining her origins.
—Of course, she left out a lot of details, but everything she said was true.
The air grew quiet for a beat.
After a while, Karin-Sennin broke the silence. "*Ki* isn't anything special, really. It's just the energy within everyone's body. It's not fundamentally different from the power you already have. With a calm mind and focused awareness, you can sense its presence and learn to guide it…"
"I'm not great at teaching, though. If you want to gain strength from me, start by trying to snatch the *Ultra Divine Water*."
That was as good as giving her the green light.
Hikari smiled slightly. "Alright!"
…
A month passed in the blink of an eye.
During this time, Hikari stayed at Karin Tower. Every morning, she'd dive into training to snatch the *Ultra Divine Water*. During breaks, she'd ask Karin-Sennin about *ki* and practice meditation. At night, she'd chat with Namikaze Minato in the group chat, exchanging insights on ninjutsu and learning "modern ninjutsu" like *Kage Bunshin* (Shadow Clone Technique).
Her days were packed to the brim.
At one point, Hikari shared Karin-Sennin's explanation of *ki* training with Minato, curious if he had any thoughts.
According to Minato, the calm and focused mindset required for *ki* training was somewhat similar to the mental training he underwent for *Senjutsu* (Sage Arts) at Mount Myoboku. But due to certain restrictions, he could only offer a few general tips from his own experience.
[**Eien-ni-Tsuma**: Sorry, because of a contract, I can't say too much about *Senjutsu*. But if you ever meet Jiraiya-sensei and earn his approval, he might take you to Mount Myoboku to train in *Senjutsu*.]
[**Nameless**: No worries. I'm already grateful you shared this much.]
The information from Minato gave Hikari a fresh burst of motivation.
If *ki* training shared similarities with *Senjutsu*, then everything she was doing now could lay the groundwork for learning *Senjutsu* later. Once she returned to the *Naruto* world and got the chance to explore *Senjutsu*, it might yield twice the results with half the effort.
As for the *Senjutsu* Hikari herself was interested in… compared to Mount Myoboku, where Minato trained, she was actually more intrigued by the other two sacred sites—especially Shikkotsu Forest, tied to the Senju clan.
She was curious about one thing—
If she combined her current regenerative ability with Shikkotsu Forest's healing techniques… could she use a pupil technique like *Izanagi* without any cost?
*Oh, and a small addition to the setting: the group chat's sign-in points now have a function to exchange for extra time in other members' worlds (1:1 ratio, 1 day of sign-in equals 1-50 days of stay, with minimal impact on the plot).*
*(End of Chapter)*