ShuraZero
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Chapter 35: The Truth Written on the Skin
🕑 Added 2025-09-14 01:01:35 +0000 UTC
Kurenai's intensity made the air feel colder. Naruto swallowed hard; the seriousness of the situation was finally crushing his usual carefree attitude.
"Of course it's serious! It's my super special secret jutsu!"
Naruto's voice burst out, an attempt to break the tension with his usual energy. He stood up straight, placed his fists on his hips, and forced a smile.
"And it's amazing!" he continued, though his enthusiasm sounded a bit hollow under Kurenai's steely gaze. "But it's not something I can explain with boring words! It's something you have to see!"
He turned, searching for his ally with his eyes. Hinata, who had been watching in silence, felt her heart speed up when she saw Naruto's smile directed at her.
"Hinata-chan, it's time! Show them what I'm talking about!"
The request made Hinata jump. Sakura took a step forward, her confusion turning to alarm.
"Wait a minute, what? Hinata? What does she have to do with this, Naruto?"
Naruto winked at her. "Relax! She's the living proof that it works!"
"Living proof?" Kurenai repeated. "What exactly have you done to her, Naruto?"
"Nothing bad!" he defended himself, holding up his hands. "I just... helped her. Like I want to help you, Kurenai-sensei, and Sakura-chan."
Hinata took a deep breath. The air by the lake was cool and clean. She filled her lungs with it and with the trust Naruto had placed in her. She knew that Kurenai-sensei's and Sakura's doubts were logical, but she had felt the change inside her.
I won't fail him, she thought.
With renewed determination, she stood up and took a step forward. She turned, giving her back to Kurenai and Sakura, her heart pounding but her posture straight.
Sakura watched the scene, her analytical mind working nonstop. It's not a perception technique. Kurenai-sensei lied. Or Naruto lied to her. Why do they need Hinata? Is it a jutsu that requires an assistant? A chakra transfer technique? Why is Hinata so calm? She isn't impulsive, she always thinks things through. She must trust Naruto completely to do this...
"For my jutsu to work, to 'update someone's status', I need to touch their back," Naruto explained, his voice a little more serious now as he knelt behind Hinata.
"Touch their back?" Sakura snapped, incredulous. "What kind of ridiculous condition is that? This is sounding more and more like a bad joke, Naruto."
"It's not a joke!" he insisted, frowning. "It's the only way. I don't get why, but that's how it is. Believe me, if I could do it with a high five, it would be a lot easier."
Kurenai said nothing. She leaned forward instinctively, her red eyes fixed on her student's back, her jonin senses on high alert. Her eyes sharpened, activating her dojutsu almost imperceptibly to see what was happening. Sakura also moved closer, her skepticism battling an overwhelming curiosity.
"I'm just going to channel a little bit of chakra," Naruto whispered, more to himself than to the others. "I'm not going to do a full update. It's just so you can see."
He extended his right index finger. For a moment, he hesitated, the memory of the exhaustion, of collapsing in his apartment, fresh in his mind. But Hinata's quiet trust gave him the resolve he needed.
He gently placed his finger on the center of Hinata's back. And he channeled his chakra.
To Sakura, it was a flash. A pulse of orange light, so fast she almost doubted she had seen it. She saw Hinata's jacket light up from within for a fraction of a second. She blinked. Is that it? A simple chakra discharge? It was... insignificant.
But Kurenai saw everything.
Her eyes, trained to unravel the most complex illusions, did not see a simple flash. They saw the truth. And the truth left her cold.
The instant Naruto's chakra touched Hinata, it didn't mix with hers. Instead, a network of intense, wild orange chakra lines spread beneath Hinata's skin. It wasn't a random pattern. It was a seal. A design of a complexity Kurenai had never seen before. It swirled in hypnotic spirals, converging to form an unmistakable image, an image burned into the memory of every Konoha jonin who lived through that day.
A fox. A stylized fox, with nine tails of flowing liquid energy.
The mark glowed with an internal light, bright and terrifying, for no more than a second. And then, the instant Naruto removed his finger, it vanished without a trace.
Kurenai held her breath. A cold sweat ran down her back. The world around her seemed to fall silent.
Nine tails... The thought paralyzed her. That chakra... it isn't Naruto's. Or not just his. It's the Kyuubi's chakra. How is that possible? The Fourth Hokage's seal is supposed to contain it. But this... Naruto isn't using a leak of the fox's chakra. What kind of power have we allowed him to bring on this mission?
Hinata shivered as she felt the familiar tingle of power. She turned, her face flushed but serene, oblivious to her sensei's terrifying vision. Naruto stood up, waiting for the verdict.
"That's it," he said simply.
Sakura broke the silence, her voice a mix of disappointment and academic curiosity.
"That's it?" she asked. "An illumination jutsu? We saw a flash. What exactly is it supposed to do? I didn't see any real change in her chakra system. No increase in reserves, no activation of inner gates... Nothing."
Naruto scratched the back of his neck. "See? This is why I didn't want to explain it with words! It's complicated."
"Try," Sakura demanded. "I'm a ninja. I understand the human body and chakra better than anyone on our team. Explain it to me."
"Okay..." Naruto sighed. "I don't know where it came from," he admitted honestly. "It showed up the day I graduated. I call it 'updating the status'. When I do it, I can see... a person's abilities. Like... numbers. Strength, speed... that stuff."
Sakura stared at him. "Numbers? What kind of numbers? An arbitrary scale you invented?"
"Just numbers!" he insisted, frustrated. "Don't ask me about the science! And the important thing is that I can use my chakra to take a person's experience, their will to improve, all the hard work they've done, and turn it into more power! Into higher numbers!" He paused. "I don't give them anything they didn't already have inside. I just... open the door for their potential to come out."
"I... I felt..." Hinata interjected shyly. "When Naruto used his jutsu on me, I felt much stronger. Everything became... clearer."
Sakura shook her head, her logical mind struggling to accept what she was hearing.
"That's... impossible," she declared. "It goes against every known law of chakra manipulation. Potential growth is determined by genetics and training. You can't just 'unlock' it. Are you saying you can quantify a person's soul, accelerate their growth with your chakra, and the only component is... touching their back? What's the conversion mechanism? This makes no sense!"
"I don't know!" Naruto yelled, exasperated. "I'm not a ninja scientist like you, Sakura-chan, I'm a ninja who does amazing things! And I just know that it works! Look at her! Do you think the Hinata from the academy could have dodged Kiba's attacks like that?"
Naruto's words hit Sakura. It was true. The change in Hinata was undeniable. The only new variable in her life was... him.
Kurenai, who had been silent, processing the image of the nine-tailed fox, finally found her voice. It was quiet, but it carried a weight that silenced both genin.
"I don't think it works on just anyone, Naruto."
Naruto looked at her, confused. "What do you mean?"
"Hinata trusts you," Kurenai continued, her red eyes fixed on him. "Completely. Perhaps more than anyone in the world. Last night, when you asked me to trust you, it was a condition you weren't even aware of, and you sought my trust unintentionally."
The surprised look on Naruto's face was all the confirmation Kurenai needed.
"Perhaps that's the key," she said. "Your jutsu isn't universal. It requires the absolute trust of the recipient." She paused, the image of the Kyuubi seal burning in her mind. "Your chakra, due to its... special nature," she chose the word carefully, "would probably be rejected by anyone else's system. The body would identify it as a poison. But if the person you touch has unshakable faith in you... perhaps that faith prevents their chakra system from rejecting it."
She turned to Naruto, her expression a mixture of awe and a deep, renewed concern.
"Your power... it may be tied to the people around you. It depends on how they see you and what they feel for you."
Kurenai's theory filled the air, and for the first time, Naruto began to understand a deeper piece of his own power. It was about trusting and being worthy of that trust.
Kurenai took a deep breath. The decision she was about to make was, without a doubt, the most dangerous of her career. She looked at Sakura. She saw her student, so brilliant, but also so vulnerable. She saw the fear she tried to hide behind her logical facade. Her duty as a sensei was absolute.
She turned to Sakura, her gaze softening. "Stay here."
Then, she turned back to Naruto, her face a mask of steel resolve.
"Naruto. I understand the risks, you say this power awakens potential. You've seen my abilities. You know my strength lies in genjutsu and my experience as a jonin."
Before the astonished eyes of the three genin, she began to untie the top of her red combat dress.
"Do it on me first."
Naruto's jaw dropped. "W-what? So you really do trust me?!"
Sakura reacted too. "Sensei, you don't have to do this! It's my problem. If I'm going to do it, I'll do it."
"I am a jonin," Kurenai continued, her firm voice cutting through their protests. She lowered the top of her dress, exposing her back to the cool lake breeze. "My chakra system is more mature and robust than any genin's. If there are any adverse side effects from... that mark I saw... I will be better able to withstand it. I want to see this power for myself. I want to understand its scope and its cost firsthand. And only then... only then will we try it with Sakura."
She turned completely, her back to Naruto.
"She is my responsibility," Kurenai said, her voice heavy with authority. "I will not put her in danger without facing the risk myself first."
The offer hung in the air. Hinata and Sakura gasped, staring at their sensei's bare back. Sakura felt a lump in her throat. Her sensei was willing to become a guinea pig for her.
Naruto looked at Kurenai's back, then at the shocked and worried expressions on Sakura's and Hinata's faces.
"Alright, Naruto," Kurenai said, without turning around. "You said you needed trust. I'm giving it to you. Now, show me I'm not making the biggest mistake of my life."
