Aftermath

Baiye climbed through the window into his room. His knees buckled as he landed, and he caught himself against the wall.

The backlash from Transparent Release was still raging. A corrosive sensation welled up from deep in his bone marrow and spread through his meridians to every part of his body, leaving every inch of muscle aching. But over the years, he had often activated Transparent Release deliberately to study the underlying principles of the bloodline disease. He had long since grown used to this level of pain.

What truly troubled him was not his body.

He laid his tachi across his knees and closed his eyes... The overuse of his soul left him feeling as though his brain had been emptied out. Every thought turned with immense difficulty, yet at the same time, his whole body felt feverish.

He closed his eyes and focused on his Zanpakuto. His soul began to settle, and only after a long while did he finally catch his breath.

He began to recall that last strike.

When he concentrated his Reiatsu to track Hatake Sakumo's movements, responding had still been far too difficult, even though he could "see" them.

White Fang's blade was simply too fast.

But at the final moment, his Reiatsu and Chakra had fused in a curious way, allowing him to know the path of the next strike before it came.

It was not sight. It was something more fundamental.

He remembered Aizen's voice.

It had been after a class at the Shin'ō Academy. Baiye had asked a question that had seemed natural at the time.

"Teacher, what's the limit of Reiatsu detection?"

Aizen had not answered immediately. He had adjusted his glasses, that ever-inscrutable smile on his lips.

"The limit? Student Gekko, there is no limit to Reiatsu detection."

"What do you mean?"

"If there truly is a limit," Aizen said, turning to look at the eternal twilight outside the window, "it is control. Your opponent's breathing, heartbeat, the slight tremors of his muscles, the fluctuations of his soul... Even his thoughts, his fear, his next move—"

He paused.

"To be omniscient is to be omnipotent."

"Can you do that?"

"I can't... At least, not yet."

Omniscience and omnipotence were already the domain of gods. Even Yhwach had many limitations and weaknesses.

At the time, he had taken it as nothing more than an impossible theory—until today.

He opened his eyes and looked down at his hands.

Tonight, when he had concentrated his Reiatsu to its limit, he had inadvertently drawn on his Chakra as well.

Chakra seemed to possess a power that connected people, and Reiatsu detection had drawn that power in and fused with it.

When the two operated together, he had briefly touched that boundary.

It was not mind reading. It was more like prediction.

He had known where Sakumo's blade would come from. He had known the path and force of that strike. He had even sensed that trace of hesitation in Sakumo's heart.

It had lasted only an instant, but it had directly decided the outcome.

The price had been tears of blood and a splitting headache.

Baiye took a deep breath and pushed those distracting thoughts aside. He glanced at the system panel.

[Major change in fate detected: Hatake Sakumo (dead → alive).]

[Fate Points +480.]

This was the largest number of Fate Points he had ever earned at once. Treating ordinary ninja at the hospital had earned him only a few or a dozen or so at a time; it had taken him five years to save up just over a thousand. This one reward alone was nearly half that amount.

[Fate Points earned in a single instance exceeded 100. Special reward triggered: Lottery ticket ×1.]

Baiye did not hesitate.

"Use it."

The system panel flickered, and a card slowly turned over before his eyes. Then—the world changed.

Baiye found himself standing in a desolate training ground.

The sky was gray-white, without sun or clouds. The ground was cracked yellow earth, and several battered wooden posts stood in the distance. A strong wind whipped at his clothes.

"Oh?"

A voice came from behind him. Baiye spun around.

A man stood there. He was tall and lean, with smooth, short white hair, pale skin, and a face that wore an ever-present foxlike smile.

Gin Ichimaru.

"I didn't expect to be your first draw." Gin Ichimaru tilted his head and looked at Baiye through narrowed eyes. "You're lucky."

Baiye had not expected the special lottery to involve this.

"What is this place?"

"My training ground." Gin Ichimaru turned and walked toward a wooden post in the distance. "Since you drew my sword, I ought to show you how to use it. Otherwise, you'll go out and swing it around recklessly, and I'll be the one who looks bad."

He reached the post and turned to face Baiye. A short blade had appeared in his hand at some point—his Zanpakuto, Shinsō.

"Watch closely."

Gin Ichimaru drew his blade with his right hand and held it beside his right hip.

"Shoot to kill."

There was no wasted movement. No dramatic windup. In an instant, the blade shot out, extending so fast that Baiye's eyes could not follow it at all. By the time he reacted, the tip had pierced the wooden post and retracted.

It had all happened in a fraction of a second.

"That's Shinsō." Gin Ichimaru put the blade away. "Speed is all it has. It doesn't need fancy techniques or complicated tactics. As long as it's fast enough, that's enough."

He tossed the blade to Baiye.

"Your turn."

Baiye caught the blade and walked up to another wooden post. He took a deep breath and recalled Gin Ichimaru's movements—not "swinging" the blade, but "shooting" it. He concentrated his Reiatsu on the blade, then released it in an instant.

"Shoot to kill."

The blade shot out. It was much slower than Gin Ichimaru's, but still several times faster than Baiye's usual strikes. The tip pierced half an inch into the post, then retracted.

"Passable." Gin Ichimaru's voice came from behind him. "At least your aim wasn't off."

Baiye turned around and found that Gin Ichimaru had already walked more than ten paces away.

"Hey."

Gin Ichimaru stopped without looking back.

"Your sword... You don't want it anymore?"

Gin Ichimaru fell silent for a moment.

He tilted his head, the smile on his lips unchanged. "I don't need it anymore."

He continued walking, his figure gradually fading into the gray-white light.

"A sword isn't meant to be kept in a collection. When it's time to use it, don't hesitate."

His voice faded into the wind. Baiye stood where he was, gripping the blade, and felt a warm current of Reiatsu flow from it into his body—not temporary power, but something more fundamental.

[Soul strength: 413 (+100) (ninth-class spiritual power)]

[Swordsmanship: B (2110/10000) (+2000)]

The world returned to normal.

Baiye sat on his bed, the tachi across his knees. Everything that had just happened seemed like an illusion, but his soul strength really had increased, as had his swordsmanship experience—Gin Ichimaru's gift.

He looked down at the sword in his hands and was silent for a long time.

[Lottery complete. Obtained: Gin Ichimaru · Shinsō (Shikai).]

[Description: The blade can extend to its maximum length in an instant. Its speed is so great that it is difficult to defend against.]

[Uses: 1/1.]

Baiye looked at that line and was silent for a moment.

It was a pity he could only use it once.

[Used 300 Fate Points to obtain healing technique experience.]

[Healing technique: B (0/10000)]

[Fate Points remaining: 218]

Using healing techniques to suppress the corrosion from Transparent Release had become much easier.

The Hokage's office building.

Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind his desk, a report spread out before him. The tobacco in his pipe had gone out, but he did not relight it. He simply stared at the words, motionless.

The door was pushed open.

Danzo entered without knocking and walked straight up to the desk.

"You wanted to see me?"

The Third looked up at his old comrade of several decades. His expression was complicated—there was anger, exhaustion, and an indescribable sorrow.

"You heard about Sakumo?"

Danzo neither denied nor admitted it. He simply looked at the Third, his face expressionless.

"He tried to kill himself." The Third's voice was low. "He nearly died... Even though he survived, he's lost his power as a ninja!"

"I didn't expect him to be so weak." Danzo's tone was flat, as though he were discussing something inconsequential.

The Third's hand clenched into a fist.

"Konoha has lost a top-class ninja!"

"But there's also one less contender for Fourth Hokage," Danzo said. "Isn't that what you've always wanted?"

"..." The Third opened his mouth, but could not muster a forceful rebuttal.

He had always firmly believed that only his three disciples were heirs to the Will of Fire.

"That doesn't mean we could let him die..."

The Third's voice grew quieter.

"Then why didn't you do anything?" Danzo's voice suddenly turned cold.

The Third froze.

"You're the Hokage," Danzo said. "You had the power to stop those rumors. You had the power to clear Sakumo's name. But you did nothing."

The Third's lips moved, but no words came out.

"Because you didn't want to either." Danzo's voice was not loud, but every word was like a nail. "You wanted White Fang to be obedient and remain the blade in your hand... You were afraid he'd return to compete for the position of Fourth Hokage, too."

"I didn't—"

The Third's hands were trembling.

"You just watched," Danzo said. "You watched the rumors spread, watched Sakumo get driven into a corner, then pretended it was all an 'accident.' Now that he's crippled, are you satisfied?"

"Enough!"

The Third stood up, bracing both hands on the desk, his chest heaving.

Danzo did not back down. He stood there, staring coldly at the Third.

After a long time, the Third sat down again. His voice grew quiet.

"...I never wanted him to die."

"Hmph!" Danzo turned and headed for the door.

"Danzo."

Danzo stopped without looking back.

"Did you do all this for Konoha, or for yourself?"

Danzo was silent for a moment.

"I am Konoha's root."

He pulled the door open and walked out.

The door closed.

The Third sat motionless behind his desk. His pipe slipped from his hand and landed on the desk with a soft tap, spilling ash across a report.

He blew the ash away and looked at the report.

Tsunade's handwriting was neat, every word written clearly—

"Hatake Sakumo's Chakra meridians have been severely damaged by poison. He is no longer able to use Chakra. Long-term convalescent care is recommended."

The Third looked at it for a long time, then closed the report and set it aside.

He picked up his pipe and relit it. Smoke curled upward, obscuring his face.

Outside the window, the moon had not yet set.

He suddenly realized that he had grown old.