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Chapter 10: The Chimera Technique
1,175 Words
In a forest, Alex flew quickly through the dense branches. He was carrying two paper bowls.
One was full of clean water, the other, wild fruit.
It was evening. The setting sun couldn't penetrate the thick canopy. The forest was dark.
It had been two hours since he fled Amegakure with Konan.
Alex didn't know where he was. He only knew they were out of the Land of Rain.
The distinct line of rain back in the distance was proof.
After the intense battle and near-death experience, both Alex and Konan needed to rest.
They needed to replenish their stamina and chakra.
"I hope Konan... has come to her senses."
Alex flew nervously to a hidden cave.
Konan was sitting at the entrance, hugging her knees, staring blankly in the direction of the Land of Rain.
Her face was etched with grief.
She didn't react to Alex's arrival. She said nothing.
Alex sighed, half in relief.
At least she wasn't attacking him on sight. That was a good start.
He was certain his decision to flee was correct.
But he had forcibly gone against her will.
Some things weren't just about right and wrong.
Emotions, for example.
He could still see her heartbreaking cries.
She knew she was outmatched, but she was willing to die to protect her comrades' bodies.
Alex felt nervous. He floated the fruit and water carefully in front of Konan.
[You should eat something.]
Konan's eyes moved. She suddenly snatched Alex from the air, her grip tight.
"Ah! I'm dead!"
"She can't forgive me!"
"It's over... I'm done for..."
Alex's mind screamed. He closed his 'eyes' and waited for death.
But... the expected "shredded to pieces" ending didn't come.
Huh?
Alex was confused.
He realized the grip on his body was slowly loosening. And a stream of power was flowing into him.
It was familiar. He wanted it. He greedily absorbed it.
It was Konan's chakra.
He had been wrong. She wasn't trying to kill him. She was... recharging him.
Alex 'opened' his eyes, meeting Konan's cold, beautiful face.
The grief was gone, replaced by her usual cold mask.
"Looks like she's thought it through."
Alex relaxed completely.
After the escape, his chakra had been bottomed out.
Now, as his reserves rapidly filled, his mood brightened.
Five percent, ten percent, twenty percent... it stopped at fifty percent.
Konan released Alex, letting him float free.
"My chakra has recovered while you were gone."
"I'm giving you half. From now on, I will transfer my excess chakra to you, as a reserve."
She stood up, took the fruit and water, and walked into the cave.
A barely audible whisper drifted from the depths. "I... don't blame you. Thank you."
Even though, in her rage, she had wanted to tear Alex apart, when she woke up, her reason had returned.
She knew fleeing was the right choice.
She believed Yahiko and Nagato wouldn't have wanted her to die there for nothing.
She didn't blame Alex. In fact, after he had saved her multiple times, she trusted him even more.
Her hatred for "Madara," however, had deepened.
Konan didn't know how to repay Alex. All she could do was give him more of the chakra he seemed to love.
On one hand, it made him happy. On the other, it could be used as an emergency supply, just like today.
Alex was, of course, happy. Fifty percent of Konan's chakra in his 'body.'
It made him feel much safer, and it meant he could use more, and stronger, paper jutsu.
He was feeling smug. He didn't realize that Konan's action had just solidified his role as a "chakra battery."
"Mature women who can reason... so much more attractive."
Alex mused, flying into the cave.
...
Crack. Pop.
The cave was quiet, save for the sound of burning wood.
The firelight danced on Konan and Alex, bringing a lazy warmth.
After meditating, Konan's chakra was fully restored.
Alex floated in front of her. The black text on his paper surface slowly faded.
He had just explained the relationships between bloodlines and the Otsutsuki.
"So... above Kage, there are higher levels. Super Kage, Six Paths, and Ketsuryū Mōra."
Konan processed this secret information, her expression complex.
She used to think Kage was the pinnacle. She thought Nagato was also Kage-level, just at the top because of the Rinnegan.
Now, according to Alex's classification, Nagato was "Super Kage."
"Nagato was only Super Kage?" Konan frowned.
Nagato's power was already terrifying, world-ending. What kind of monsters were the Six Paths and Ketsuryū Mōra levels?
Konan couldn't even imagine it.
[That's right. Even with the Rinnegan, Nagato's power was only at the Super Kage level.] Alex confirmed.
Konan was silent. She had seen the power of the Rinnegan countless times.
The more she understood Nagato's power, the more she understood the gap between them.
She had tried, but she could never catch up. Her own power had hit a ceiling.
She could only rely on more explosive tags to increase her lethality.
"So, what's been holding me back... is my bloodline." Konan whispered.
"Descendants of the Otsutsuki... Uchiha, Senju, Uzumaki, Kaguya, Hyuga..."
She looked up, her gaze sharp.
"To break through, I must have a bloodline related to the Otsutsuki?"
[Yes!] Alex 'nodded.'
The Naruto world was shackled by blood. Kage-level was the limit for normal ninja.
To go further, you needed Otsutsuki blood.
Even Sage Mode could only push a Kage to Super Kage.
To reach the Six Paths... only Otsutsuki blood would do.
Konan didn't despair. She asked, "You said you could help me get stronger quickly. Do you have a way for me to get one of these bloodlines?"
[Yes. We need one jutsu!]
"The Chimera Technique?" Konan said, almost instantly.
[Huh? You know it?]
Konan nodded. "Hiruko was on the Akatsuki's recruitment list. But his location was always unknown."
"By the time we found him, he had already been killed by Konoha ninja."
"I gathered intel on him. I know the basics of the Chimera Technique. It can supposedly merge five bloodlines and grant immortality."
Speaking of this, Konan realized something. "If Hiruko had known about the Otsutsuki, he probably wouldn't have chosen those mediocre bloodlines..."
"He might... actually have achieved immortality."
Alex didn't know about that. But he was in a bad mood.
The plot of the Will of Fire movie had already happened. Hiruko was dead. Where was he supposed to find the Chimera Technique?
Without it, how could Konan get stronger?
If Konan didn't get stronger, how could he find a way to become human again?
But... the jutsu was essential.
[We must find the Chimera Technique. It's the only way for you to grow strong, fast.]
[Let's check Konoha first. Maybe they recovered it.]
Alex was already planning their next move. But Konan wasn't worried. She just took a storage scroll from her pouch.
Poof.
Dozens of scrolls appeared on the ground.
"We don't need to go to Konoha. I have the Chimera Technique right here."