My Techniques are a bit off

(So this is that "kid" everyone's talking about?)

Tobirama #2 studied the sleepy kid in front of him, who was yawning non stop. His sharp senses told him the boy's vitality was incredibly strong—maybe even surpassing his brother's.

But why was he wearing a mask and hood? Personal preference?

He found himself doubting his own senses, then figured maybe it was because his chakra-based body was messing with his perception.

"You're telling me I should teach him?" His tone was unreadable.

No matter. He'd promised to help, so he wouldn't slack off—but that didn't mean he wouldn't do some probing.

Tobirama #1 nodded. "From here on, I'll leave matters in the Main World to you." He knew that Link would likely just be a figurehead or a deterrent at best—probably wouldn't be able to do much.

As for the actual "teaching," it was simple enough: in this non-resurrected form, where his body was just chakra, they could share knowledge, thoughts, and senses.

Mutated ninjutsu was important, but Link's progress had stalled due to his limited aptitude; he couldn't learn high-difficulty secret or forbidden jutsu, and developing additional chakra nature transformations was just as time-consuming for him as it was for a regular ninja.

But with "deep resonance" between chakras, learning might no longer be an issue. They could even try using mutated ninjutsu in that linked state.

As for what his other self was thinking—who cares? If you plan to use him, you have to share info. That's just how it is.

The two Tobiramas traded looks, expressions neutral.

"Hello," Link greeted them. He didn't realize that in the span of a couple of lines, these two had gone through 180 different thoughts. Still fighting drowsiness, he forced himself to stay awake.

He'd pushed himself to see the New Fourth Ninja War through, hurried to take care of his little "secret," then reincarnated Shukaku and erased its memories. At that point, a surge of hunger had overwhelmed him—no amount of food could quell it—so he devoured a bunch of solidified chakra blocks at once.

Then he sensed instinctively that he'd have to sleep for quite a while—maybe days, a week or two, or even a couple of months. His body had absorbed enough energy, and now his brain, heart, organs, and so on would undergo a major transformation in his sleep.

Maybe I'll get taller!

Eager with that thought, Link had gone to inform people he was about to crash. But Tobirama #1 summoned him over, telling him he had a new undead teacher.

(Mutated ninjutsu, huh…)

Feeling dazed, he was stuck in a half-asleep state. Even his words drifted, like he wasn't totally present. "Tobirama-sensei, can I try Flying Raijin right now?"

Tobirama #2 shot a glance at Tobirama #1. According to their earlier plan, they should start with some other chakra nature transformations, right? He wanted Link to earn his good graces first. And now the kid was jumping straight to Flying Raijin—how rude, no sense of boundaries at all.

"How about you just show it to him once as a kind of 'down payment,' yeah?" Tobirama #1 offered, breaking the awkward pause.

Tobirama #2 didn't have much of a choice. He stepped forward and reached a hand into Link's body.

(So sleepy, so sleepy, so sleepy…)

(Must get taller, must get taller, must get taller…)

The fragments of Link's scattered thoughts irritated Tobirama #2; he forced himself to stay calm and mentally commanded: "Quiet!"

(Grow! Grow!) Link, about to nod off, heard someone shouting in his mind and responded like a child, raising his own "voice" in his head.

Annoying brat.

Tobirama #2 found he couldn't subdue Link's mind at all. He tried to impart the knowledge of Flying Raijin, then share their senses—tried to direct Link's chakra—but it was no use. The sheer density of this kid's chakra was terrifying.

He had no choice but to speak aloud: "Work with me here. We'll cast Flying Raijin together."

"Okay, sure!" Link mumbled blearily, still excited. Suddenly, he took complete control.

At the mental level, it was as if he was using Tobirama #2 as a tool, pouring out a massive amount of chakra by himself. In an instant, a Flying Raijin formula took shape before them—inky-black runes that wriggled together to form a strange space-time pattern.

(Another space-time jutsu?!)

Tobirama #1's eyes widened in alarm. He'd expected something to do with flight or maybe lightning. But this was another space-related mutated jutsu! He reflexively backed away, placing a hand on the wall to raise a barrier, recalling a less-than-pleasant memory from last time.

La!

Space ripped mercilessly open. In the next second, a gigantic steel construct emerged, crossing through the void. It had the face of a demon, a red body, wicked horns, blue hair, a long sword at its waist, and stood 6.45 meters tall, weighing 34 tons. It crashed down.

Boom!

The entire lab shook. Amazingly, the floor didn't cave under this iron behemoth's feet.

"Wow! It's Raijin-gō Majin!" Link exclaimed with delight… then promptly fell asleep.

Having pushed himself too far, as soon as he unleashed such huge amounts of chakra, his body instantly shut down into a hibernation state.

Tobirama #2 was unceremoniously forced out. He and his counterpart exchanged baffled looks.

What on earth is this?

Bang!

Numerous shadows rose around Link, who lay collapsed on the ground, and firmly "escorted" both Tobiramas out the door. Then the boy curled up on himself.

Thump… Thump… Thump…

They could practically hear his heartbeat reverberating through the room. The lab's equipment and barrier were destroyed, but the Raijin-gō Majin remained standing.

"So what now?" Tobirama #2 asked outside the lab, hands spread. How was he supposed to know it'd end like this?

Tobirama #1 looked annoyed. He'd heard Link planned on sleeping for a while—he just hadn't expected it to happen so soon. "What about the Main World?"

"What happened?" Sasuke and Utakata arrived simultaneously, having stayed nearby.

"Link's asleep," Tobirama #1 explained. "And inside, the shadows are blocking anyone else from entering. Uh… yeah, just like that."

He watched as the two slipped in anyway. The shadows in the room pressed themselves to the floor, ceiling, and walls, the once-white interior now painted entirely black by the Shadow Army.

Youthful friendship, huh…

He shook his head. Through the door, he saw Sasuke and Utakata carefully move Link to a bed and tuck him in. He was already sleeping soundly.

"Well, guess I'll let Tsunade handle Main World affairs," Tobirama #1 said with a sigh. "Adding a specialized Edo Tensei body for you… dealing with the four Kage shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Even without Link's power, the Allied Shinobi Forces were more than capable of dispatching people to subdue the Main World villages. With Sage-Mode Tsunade, they had someone firmly at "Super Kage" level. Along with Jiraiya who were still in the Main World… you did the math.

"Hmph." Tobirama #2 stayed expressionless, not even bothering to respond. He turned to leave.

If they didn't trust him, why bring him here in the first place?

Tobirama #1 watched Sasuke and Utakata tuck in Link, fast asleep, and sighed again.

"Seriously… you really know how to give me trouble, passing out at a time like this. But I guess the greatest hero of the Alliance deserves some rest."

At some point, he found himself smiling.

The future would surely be better for them all.

~~~

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