I Have an Electromagnetic Tree

Even in daylight, the dim lighting made the place feel gloomy and sinister.

In the solemn air, masked ninjas could vaguely be seen moving about, emotionless as machines.

The Medical Ninja tremblingly removed the bandages from Danzo's face. Loop after loop of white bandages came undone and fell to the floor.

Throughout the process, Danzo's sinister face remained utterly expressionless, chilling to behold.

Finally.

All the wrapped bandages had been removed.

"My lord..."

The Medical Ninja took out a mirror. His throat was dry, and the hand holding it out to Danzo was somewhat unsteady.

He did not know how Danzo would react upon seeing what he looked like now.

As his gaze fell upon the offered mirror, a familiar yet unfamiliar face was reflected within it.

Three hideous, centipede-like scars ran across his sinister face, stretching from beneath the left side of his nose all the way to his temple, covering most of his face.

The socket of his left eye was also covered by scars. Even his eyebrow had been cut through by them, with a large section missing.

That dark brown eyeball looked especially strange against such a face.

Danzo's hand gripping the mirror frame trembled faintly.

His teeth had already clenched uncontrollably.

Scarlet blood vessels burst across his eyeball.

If he had not transplanted a civilian's eyeball, his left eye would have lost its sight completely.

His face twisted further and further.

Crash!

The mirror in his hand was hurled away viciously!

The shattered glass burst against the wall. Every fragment seemed to reflect his ugly, distorted face.

"Namikaze Mirai! You will regret this!"

Tap tap tap! A kitchen knife skillfully sliced the cucumber on the cutting board. Every slice was perfectly even, with almost no variation in thickness.

Such exquisite knife work would have put any chef to shame.

Yet no one held the knife's handle.

It seemed to hover in midair, dancing freely over the cutting board.

The same scene was unfolding elsewhere as well.

A small knife precisely peeled the skin from an onion, a cleaver rhythmically chopped through chunks of meat, and a metal faucet turned on by itself, washing the vegetables in a basket.

"As expected, cooking with electromagnetic force is so convenient!"

Standing in the middle of the kitchen, Namikaze Mirai smiled in satisfaction at the sight.

Besides letting him cosplay Magneto, electromagnetic force could also make him a master chef.

Naturally, he himself was not idle either.

Behind his back, magnetic fluid had condensed into four Metal Arms. One stirred a wooden spoon, while the others lit the fire and stir-fried dishes, dividing the work and cooperating seamlessly.

This astonishing sight looked exactly like Doctor Octopus from the Spider-Man movies.

With his electromagnetic force at LV4, Namikaze Mirai could multitask. Using electromagnetic force to accomplish something of this level was not difficult for him.

Within his mind resided an Electromagnetic Tree that blotted out the sky.

This tree was not a tree in the conventional sense. It was more like...

A great tree formed from streams of data gathering within the quantum realm.

Whenever Namikaze Mirai developed a new ability for electromagnetic force, this great tree would grow a new leaf and become even more luxuriant.

However, that luxuriance had its limits.

Within any given level, there was also a limit to the number of electromagnetic force abilities Namikaze Mirai could develop.

For instance, at electromagnetic force LV1, Namikaze Mirai could only master basic abilities such as discharging electricity and magnetization.

Even using it as a basic version of Lightning Release, or as a weakened Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai, was quite a struggle.

By LV2, his abilities to discharge electricity and magnetize had been strengthened tremendously. With a casual flick, he could fire an Electromagnetic Cannon.

High-voltage currents were even easier to wield. During the Third Great Ninja War, who knew how many ninjas he had given electrotherapy to.

At LV3, he had developed countless abilities: eddy currents, Electromagnetic Cannons, Simple Gundams, Current Propulsion...

During the Third Great Ninja War, he had earned the name Blue Flash, and together with Minato's Yellow Flash, They were known as Konoha's Dual-Colored Flash!

In his battle against Magnet Release Rasa, Namikaze Mirai had reverse-controlled Rasa's gold dust and beaten him so badly that Rasa questioned his entire life, even suspecting that he had cultivated a fake Magnet Release.

Three years ago, shortly after Minato became Hokage and the village had stabilized, he went to the Land of Wind to absorb the Dragon Vein, unaware of what would happen afterward.

At the time, he had estimated that it would take only three months to finish absorbing it—enough time to make it back for Naruto's birth.

Unexpectedly, the Dragon Vein possessed the power to disrupt time.

However, during those three years he had been missing, his Electromagnetic Force had successfully risen to LV4, further enhancing his abilities.

He could break metal down into nanoscale Magnetic Fluid, achieving certain incredible effects.

As for reaching LV5, Namikaze Mirai had two ideas.

One was the Natural Energy of the Ninja World.

It was an immense, terrifying source of energy.

Minato's teacher, Jiraiya, had mastered Sage Mode, so he was no stranger to Natural Energy.

He simply had never had the opportunity to learn it.

If he could absorb the Ninja World's Natural Energy in the future and use it to supply the Electromagnetic Tree, it might be able to reach LV5.

The second was the Tailed Beasts.

Every Tailed Beast contained an enormous amount of Chakra.

If he could absorb the energy of the Tailed Beasts, perhaps the Electromagnetic Tree could also level up.

However, Namikaze Mirai had yet to try that method.

With the divine assistance of Electromagnetic Force, the meal was soon ready.

Looking at the table full of dishes that were pleasing to the eye, nose, and palate, Namikaze Mirai wiped his hands on his apron in satisfaction.

"Now we just have to wait for Naruto to come back. That kid went looking for Sasuke. By my estimate, he should be back soon."

Sure enough, a few minutes later, the door was pushed open. Naruto had returned.

Just as Namikaze Mirai was about to call Naruto over for dinner, he noticed that Naruto seemed somewhat downcast. His head hung low, and he looked utterly lost.

"Uncle, I'm not hungry. I'm going upstairs to rest first."

The smile on Namikaze Mirai's face froze.

Ever since he had returned to the village, it had been a long time since he had seen Naruto this dejected.

It was as though all the energy had been drained from his body.

Like a walking corpse.

He had seen Naruto like that before, when he had first returned to the village and Naruto had suffered abuse from the entire village.

But ever since he had come back, Naruto's condition had improved greatly.

That lifeless, lost expression had not appeared in a long time.

What had happened to cause such a drastic change in Naruto's state?

Namikaze Mirai narrowed his eyes slightly.

He felt that something was not right.

He pushed open the door and stepped into the courtyard outside.

Facing the crooked tree in the yard, he called out, "Kakashi."

The branches and leaves of the tree rustled a few times, and a white-haired figure wearing a cat-face mask sprang out.

"Brother Mirai, you were looking for me?"

It was Kakashi.

Under Sarutobi Hiruzen's orders, he had been keeping watch over Naruto.

Namikaze Mirai knew this perfectly well, but for Minato's sake, he had simply turned a blind eye.

"Something's wrong with Naruto. You've been watching him in secret all this time. Have you noticed any problems?"

Namikaze Mirai voiced the question in his heart.

Upon hearing Namikaze Mirai's words, Kakashi's expression suddenly turned grave.

His gray-brown eyes dimmed as well.

As expected...

Namikaze Mirai's heart tightened.

He knew something had happened.

Kakashi hesitated, then finally let out a sigh.

"Brother Mirai, perhaps you should go take a look around the village."