"Energy is not energy, and space is not space. This answer, which took me seventeen years after coming to this world to find, is so plain and simple."
"I complained, cried, and resented everything after coming to this world. It took me a full seventeen years to finally find a cheat ability of my own. That was far too long. It wore down my spirit."
"It was only then that I could finally calm down, observe this world, and accept other people's feelings."
"Quietly observing all things, I found contentment in each; the delights of the four seasons, I shared with others. Ha! I can't believe I still remember that."
Hui watched these memories, his heart heavy. Had his father really had such a rough past?
Chuanhe pointed at the "paper" on the ground. "Dust Release was the key that set all of this in motion."
The "paper" (mouth) on the ground had a square-shaped section missing (enclosure), just as he had demonstrated earlier. That missing section floated slowly up from the "paper," right in front of Hui, and finally stopped in midair, parallel to the "paper" below.
"If we compare the paper below to our three-dimensional world, then Dust Release has peeled off a part of it, and that part has left our three-dimensional world."
"That was when I finally realized that chakra itself wasn't matter from this three-dimensional world. Hahahahaha! Dimensions, dimensions! Chakra's ultimate destination is clearly to ascend to a higher dimension. Why didn't I think of that?"
"I should have realized it sooner. The existence of things like spatial rings already hinted that this world was at least four-dimensional."
"Oh, right, Hui. The fourth dimension I'm talking about isn't time. I mean a fourth dimension in terms of direction."
Hui's inspiration burst open like a bomb. It felt as if all the answers to his earlier questions had finally appeared. Even the obscure art of Sealing Technique seemed, in that moment, mostly clear to him.
Before Hui could think further, the memories Chuanhe had sent came flooding urgently into his mind.
"Hui, whether chakra is three-dimensional or four-dimensional matter isn't important to you right now. What you need to understand is that shinobi can sense chakra—a substance that doesn't belong to this three-dimensional world—and manipulate it, too. That fact alone is extremely important."
"It means that all creatures capable of manipulating chakra are born with the potential to become four-dimensional beings. Those Otsutsuki took the wrong path. Gradual accumulation leading to a qualitative change is one way, but it's the stupidest way."
"The more chakra you have, the more it obscures your four-dimensional perception."
"Hmm, how do I explain this phenomenon?"
"I've got it. It's like listening to music in a noisy place. The more intently you listen, the less you can hear, until all that's left is the music."
"That's how it is with chakra. The stronger your ability to sense and control chakra, the weaker your ability to sense and control other substances. Everything is relative."
"Come, Hui. I'll let you experience what true four-dimensional perception is like."
His father reached out to him once more.
Hui slowly lost sight of everything. He couldn't see himself or his father. The chakra he'd still been able to sense disappeared without a trace. Something seemed wrong with the entire "dark" world.
Outside the "illusion world," Hui's bright eyes gradually grew unfocused. His brain trembled, his heart raced, his blood boiled, and sweat poured from his body like rain. Even his breathing was no longer under his control.
Countless negative sensations seemed to be tearing Hui apart. Then, suddenly, he felt something familiar. His back! The tattoo on his back.
The tattoo appeared like a drop of water falling into a still lake. Starting from the tattoo, "color" slowly spread. He "saw" a bizarre-looking "self?" and countless strange points drifting through the air, moving in all manner of ways.
The "color" continued to spread until he "saw" his familiar father. His father was still the same as ever. Before, he hadn't been able to "see" his expression at all, but now he could make it out clearly. His father wore a faint smile and looked at him with loving eyes. His right hand was still resting on his "head?"
"How does it feel?" Chuanhe asked with a smile.
"Zhee, gah, jee, ss..." Hui made meaningless noises.
Sound? I see. Is this the four-dimensional world? Is sound four-dimensional, too?
"Try it. This isn't the world you know anymore. You'll have to learn how to speak, wave, walk, and everything else all over again, like a baby."
"We have time. Let's start with babbling."
Meaningless sounds kept coming from Hui's "mouth?" Was time passing the same way here as before? Hui had no idea, because he'd lost his sense of time. Apart from being able to "see," he had no other sensations.
I see. Can I actually manipulate all the matter in this world? What an incredible feeling. When I think about it, it's all matter. Aside from chakra, why shouldn't I be able to manipulate other substances? The difficulty is just so different. It's even greater than the difference between an E-rank jutsu and an S-rank jutsu.
Manipulating matter to produce precise sounds was far too difficult for Hui at the moment. He could only "write" to show his father that he understood.
"I understand." Hui formed these characters in front of himself. They were extremely abstract, but Chuanhe understood.
"Not bad, not bad. Keep it up. It took you a full seven months to learn how to walk, and even then, you were quite gifted compared to the other kids around here." Chuanhe teased him.
Hui gave up. Forming those few characters had nearly used up all his strength, and now he just wanted to sleep. He felt like his "head?" was about to explode.
"Oh, I almost forgot. I still need to explain what the Otsutsuki are. Looking at you, I'd better block your four-dimensional perception first. It really is uncomfortable the first time." Chuanhe's voice grew fainter and fainter, until it became a memory.
The bizarre world slowly turned back into the familiar darkness. Hui, panting heavily, suddenly found the darkness so comforting. This time, he realized he could move.
So this is four-dimensional perception? My head is splitting, but I can feel more inspiration bursting forth inside me.
He now had a clear idea of how to develop the Rasengan, Rotation, and Water Mirror Technique, all of which he'd been unable to use before. His desire to develop new techniques swelled without end, and he felt more restless than ever.
"Feeling better, Hui?"
"For a first try, you did far better than I did."
"I'm still just as ordinary as ever. Ha. But watching you grow makes your father proud."
"The Otsutsuki are a group of extraterrestrial beings with enormous amounts of chakra. They're the people I told you about before—the ones with high-level chakra."
"That's right. They've invaded this planet before, too. Everyone who has chakra now is their descendant."
"They're the most terrifying enemy we'll have to face in the future."
"Even at my current level, I can't guarantee that I could defeat every one of them."
"We still have time, but not all that much. Before you turn eighteen, we'll face our first challenge. Of course, that challenge will be yours."
"Haha, Hui, get ready to face the feeling of challenging your own ancestors."
Hui gulped down the memories, too exhausted to think about them.
"All right, all right. That's enough for today. If we keep going, your old man won't be able to hold on, either."
The darkness gradually faded, and Hui returned once more to the familiar world. Still dazed, he slowly regained feeling in his body.
Hui's clothes were soaked with sweat, clinging to him as if he'd just been pulled out of the water.
His heartbeat gradually slowed. His body felt light, as if it had been emptied out, and fatigue weighed down every part of him.
His brain still throbbed with pain, but his attention was no longer on himself.
Chuanhe sat slumped on the floor, his right hand braced firmly against the ground. He covered his mouth with his left hand and coughed violently. Blood kept spilling through his fingers.
"F-Father? W-what happened? Don't scare me. Please don't scare me. Right, a doctor... Where can I find a doctor? Yes, Sister Chiyuki. Father, I'll go find Sister Chiyuki right now."
Hui limped over to Chuanhe and supported his body with his own thin shoulders. He leaned him against the wall, then scrambled to his feet and ran toward the door in a strange, awkward posture.
"W-wait, Hui, come back. Your old man's tough as nails. I'm not going to die that easily. I used to be a medical shinobi." Chuanhe shouted after Hui, panting.
Hui had just opened the door, but he hurried back, scrambling along on his hands and feet. He hadn't realized that his Sharingan had opened involuntarily, its tomoe spinning rapidly. One tomoe had slowly become two, and seemed on the verge of becoming three.
"Your ninja tool pouch. Where did you put it? Right, the workshop—it must be in the workshop!" Hui supported Chuanhe again and asked urgently.
"Cough, cough." Chuanhe coughed up another mouthful of blood.
"It's... it's not that complicated. Put... put my right hand on my ch... chest." Chuanhe struggled to catch his breath as he spoke.
Hui did as he was told. A faint green light shone from Chuanhe's right hand.
"Meow, what are you two doing making all that noise in the middle of the night? Meow! Lord Chuanhe, Lord Chuanhe, what happened to you?"
Amber came out, rubbing her eyes with her right paw. When she opened them, she suddenly saw Chuanhe covered in blood. The drowsiness vanished from her expression. The entire cat's aura changed abruptly, becoming fiercely menacing. It was as if the air itself were filled with her scent of blood.
"Cough, cough. Don't worry, Amber. This is because I used that illusion. You know what to do. Go." Chuanhe lay half-reclined in Hui's young arms, treating himself with the Mystical Palm Technique as he spoke.
After hearing Chuanhe's answer, Amber returned to the familiar Amber.
"Oh, I see. All right, meow. I'll go now."
Then Amber vanished into thin air, without the smoke that usually accompanied the Summoning Technique.
Seeing Amber like that, Hui felt a little reassured, too. At the moment, he had no time to pay attention to how strange it was.
Half an hour later.
"Hui, I told you, your old man's tough as nails. I'm not going to die that easily." Chuanhe spoke calmly.
Hui suddenly wrapped his arms tightly around Chuanhe and buried his face against his chest. "I... I thought I was going to lose you. Please don't do that again, okay? If I have to, I'll stop training and go back to learning ninjutsu."
Chuanhe patted Hui's head, a faint smile on his face.
"This wasn't because of 'that.' It was because of the illusion. I'll explain it another time. Hui, I can't believe you've already awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. Thank goodness I made thorough preparations. Otherwise, you might have developed the Bloodline Disease this time."
The intense shock he'd just experienced had also shattered the barrier to the Two-Tomoe stage, overwhelmed by a flood of emotion.
Hui jolted and instinctively tried to cover his eyes. Then his hand stopped, and he lowered it.
With a tearful voice, he said, "I... I just didn't want you to worry. I wasn't... wasn't trying to hide it from you."
"The Sharingan is said to be a cursed eye, but I don't believe that. Only sincere love can truly make it evolve. I accept your feelings, Hui. I'm not angry with you. Your father's still doing just fine, isn't he?" Chuanhe said, looking at Hui's Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
"Look, what beautiful eyes. I see no hatred in them, only your concern for me."
"It's late. It's already two in the morning, and you have to get up for school in five hours. Go to bed. Your old man needs a good rest, too."
"Really? You're sure you're okay?" Hui looked up, his voice still choked with tears, tearstains still on his face.
"When has your old man ever lied to you? All right, all right, go to bed. If you don't, you'll have to skip class tomorrow."
Chuanhe kept pushing Hui along until he reached his room. Then Chuanhe thoughtfully closed the door for him.
After that, he returned to his workshop and spat out another mouthful of blood. He muttered, "This damn thing is perfect in every other way, but it damages a body when it exists alongside chakra. No matter how extravagant you are, you can't keep using up bodies like this."
Amber appeared out of thin air. She had grown as big as a tiger, and carried a black cloth bag in her mouth, with a shape inside that was vaguely human.
"Meow, Lord Chuanhe! You're running low on the clones you made last time. Remember to make more!" The enormous Amber spoke in a voice that didn't match her size at all.
Chuanhe, who had been standing, seemed to lose consciousness and fell straight to the ground. A naked Chuanhe unzipped the black bag and climbed out.
He took a deep breath and said, "Orochimaru said a month last time. By my count, it should be about twenty days from now. At the rate I'm using them, I could make a few hundred years' worth last—as long as I don't use this thing."
Chuanhe put his body from the floor into the black cloth bag and zipped it up again.
He patted Amber's now-enormous head. "I'm counting on you, Amber."
"Of course, Lord Chuanhe. I want grilled fish. And sauce!"
"Ha, you little glutton. You're always craving that. All right, I promise this time." Chuanhe laughed.
He patted Amber's head to signal that she could go.
Amber carried the black cloth bag in her mouth and vanished from the room.
Chuanhe stretched his body and muttered to himself, "Now I've told you the theory with the greatest 'destructive power.' Hui, what kind of new techniques will you develop? I'm really looking forward to it."
Before you continue