-The next day-
A room with walls made of tree branches was slightly illuminated by the carefully lit candles. There were dozens of scrolls lying on the floor, which were crumpled and battered, as if they were discarded ideas. In the midst of all this, there was Toru. His Rinnegan was active and he was writing on a scroll at an overwhelming speed.
"It's not like that, it's not like that. Something is missing, I need to try again" He took the scroll, crushed it with his hand and threw it backwards. Now he used a new scroll and began to write and draw what appeared to be hand seals, to form a jutsu. 'To deal out a specific amount of chakra into a shadow clone I need to better understand the chakra system in my body. If I manage to do this before noon, then I will have time left to try that other jutsu. I will need Okamitsuki's help, but if I succeed, I am sure I will be able to defeat Madara.'
With this in mind, Toru continued writing on the scroll.
***
"Okay. I already have a jutsu from the three hypotheses I made."
Spreading out a specific amount of chakra into different shadow clones, so no matter how many shadow clones Toru creates, he can choose how much power to give them, thus saving chakra and he could even do some cheating with that.
With that finished, Toru took the scroll with the jutsu on it and walked out of the lab, up the stairs and found himself inside one of the tree houses he created. Once there, he took off his cloak and scarf, staying in his normal clothes. It had been three days since he and Konan left Amegakure, both of them were still preparing to fight Madara.
Yesterday afternoon, Toru came up with three hypothetical jutsus. One of those was to distribute a specific amount of chakra among the shadow clones, the next one was....
[Okamitsuki, I need your help] With that strange wave pattern in his eyes, he narrowed his eyes and spoke to the wolf leader using the telepathy the Rinnegan granted him.
She was quick to respond.
[Brat, you just scared the hell out of me. If you're going to get inside my mind to talk to me, at least let me know before you do so]
[Sorry, don't take that into account]
[It doesn't matter anymore. Then what do you need me for?]
[Uh. Yes. Regarding that...] He grabbed a scroll from his pockets and opened it. He looked at it reading it in less than a second and then continued. [It was you who taught me how to use Senjutsu, so I didn't question the teaching methods you used, but yesterday I was searching for information within my memories and discovered something interesting. During my fight against Jiraiya, I saw that those two elderly toads were on his shoulders. I deduced that the toads stood still on Jiraiya's shoulders to gather chakra from nature while he was in charge of fighting. Based on this I wondered, can I do that too? I mean, have someone else draw nature chakra while I fight, will I be able to do something like that]
[Hm... I see, so that's what it's all about. Listen, brat. The Senjutsu we wolves wield is different from that of the toads. I think I heard from old Okamikase that, to train a future toad Senjutsu user, the toads themselves use a special oil that makes it easier for the student in question to sense nature's chakra. We wolves do not teach like this. Using pain as a means, we make the student's body and mind surrender to nature, thus giving him an opportunity to feel the nature chakra. I think you can already figure out where this is going]
[I understand. In short, doing what toads do is not possible for wolves, because of the methods in which they both managed to use Senjutsu chakra]
[That's right. Also, the structure of our bodies prevents us from doing something similar to the toads. They merge with the user and gather chakra. Toads stick to surfaces, some are small, so that's also an advantage. So, sorry to tell you this, but no wolf can replicate what toads do].
[I completely understand. I had already planned for it.]
[...] Wherever Okamitsuki is, right now she's shaking her head sarcastically. [And if you already knew that, what the hell are you asking for?]
[Because I have another method and this is where you come in, the strongest Ōkami. I've already got it all set up. At the moment it's somewhat experimental, but if we manage to perfect it many of our problems will be solved. So where are you now? I'll come and get you]
[Well, right now I'm on the other side of the mountain. This place has some giant wild boars whose meat is the most delicious thing I've ever tasted in my life. They are juicy, slightly salty and, if the boar runs long enough, its meat softens and the blood comes out warm. Being a human, I don't think you can enjoy such a delicacy. I've already married three wild boars in an hour]
[Good. Then I'm going to the other side of the mountain. You always make your chakra blend in with the surroundings, it's hard to find you if you do that]
[That just shows you still have a lot to learn. Maybe if I have a few more tricks to teach you]
With that said, Toru stopped listening to Okamitsuki's voice in his mind. He closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them, he was outside the house. His body slowly rose into the air and flew to the place where Okamitsuki was.
***
"There you are..." With predator eyes, Okamitsuki was stealthy as she spotted her prey. Due to the size of her body, she had to make herself smaller by using Henge no Jutsu. In front of her, a few meters away, a rather large and appetizing dark-skinned boar was quietly munching on herbs.
She sharpened her gaze and then....
Splash! The boar's moan of pain could not be heard, as Okamitsuki killed it with one bite.
"With this we can have a feast in the evening. Let's celebrate that we have a new home!" she licked the boar's blood from her tusks and charged the beast with her jaw. 'Well, the brat is supposed to have an idea for Senjutsu fusion. If that's possible, then he could finally perfect his Senjutsu. It just remains to be seen how to do that. hm...?" She sensed a chakra nearby.
"Okamitsuki..."
And that boy's voice echoed in the cold forest.
"You got here fast, brat" She looked up and there she saw Toru. "And you're flying, huh. Looks like you're pretty excited having those eyes."
"You think so? I think, the more I use these eyes, the more I can find out. I must find all the advantages and disadvantages of the Rinnegan. Only then can I become stronger and defeat Madara."
"You have always been one to take things very seriously. I give you my respects and, now that you are here, tell me, what is your brilliant plan? If you want to carry out a Senjutsu fusion between a wolf and a human, you should keep in mind that it's impossible!"
Toru descended and touched the ground with his feet. "I will make it possible. I've taken the Jinchūriki as a reference, so this should work 100%, I have no doubt about that. All that's left for me to do is try."
"Well done, I guess. Also, your eyes look brighter than usual, as if you feel a little more peace in your heart"
"Peace? I honestly don't understand what you're saying. If you mean my Shigan, it has changed since I got the Rinnegan" The sound of metal being dragged against the stone floor rang out faintly. Then Toru's eyes changed.
"I wasn't talking about the Shigan, brat. Although I must say, those eyes do look different. It's a nice color."
"I know" Toru put his hand to his face and sighed. If the Shigan is blue and the Kodō Shigan is blue with red, then what is this? His eyes, with the strange organic X slowly rotating inside the iris, were now a dark rainbow color, rainbow in which the color blue predominated . His eyes also seemed to glow in the dark . "It seems that the Shigan's powers were enhanced when I obtained the Rinnegan . The Kodō Shigan should be the equivalent of the Mangekyo Sharingan, but now this itself has changed."
By transplanting the Mangekyo from one Uchiha to another Uchiha with the Mangekyo, it evolves into a superior version, the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. Toru was about to implant Shisui's eyes, but that could not be done. So, his having awakened the Rinnegan also implied a mutation in the Kodō Shigan. In other words, Toru now possesses the Eternal Kodō Shigan, the equivalent of the Eternal Mangekyo. That's why he was able to regain his ability to see.
"I see. That can explain a lot of things. For the moment let's put that aside and see how you'll manage to surprise me this time. What's that wonderful plan you have in your claws?"
"Uh, yes" Toru sat down on the floor and took out a scroll. He spread it out on the ground and pointed to the center of the paper. "I'm going to use this jutsu..."
When Okamitsuki read the jutsu on the scroll, her eyes widened in shock.
"Brat, this jutsu is..."
"Yes... it's the Shiki Fujin. I'll use the Shiro Zetsu that was spying on me earlier as a sacrifice. So the time has come to put this hypothetical jutsu to the test."
-From the other side of the mountains-
Boom! Three explosions detonated near her, knocking her back. However, she received no damage as she had such a sturdy body.
"You need to be faster! If this is all you can reach, you have failed as a kunoichi!" The she-wolf shouted, hitting the ground and causing rocks to rise from the ground like sharp swords that sought to pierce Konan.
At the same time, Konan turned her entire body into paper and took damage from the swords to a lesser extent. Okaminaru was not only fast, but she was extremely strong and agile. She even knew how to use ninjutsu and senjutsu, which made her even more dangerous when it came to fighting.
Spreading her paper wings, Konan launched hundreds of blades that impacted against Okaminaru, but they only bounced off the she-wolf's body, as she herself used senjutsu to avoid damage, stiffening her entire body in the process.
"No, no and no! You have so much left to learn! You're supposed to be an adult, you're as much of an adult as me and Toru-dono put together! I can't understand how you can be so pathetic being someone with experience in life!"
"Hah... hah..." She breathed heavily. She use too much chakra in such a short time fighting Okaminaru. Both of them were training, as they both wanted to become stronger and kick the guy who left Toru on the verge of death. "I do what I can. This is all I can do."
Both of them had been in the same situation for about two hours. In part, Okaminaru's cruel words were because she felt angry with Konan. After seeing Toru half dead, she felt a deep pain in her chest. This quickly led her to look for a culprit, Konan being the only option. However, Konan did feel guilty about this, which made Okaminaru's words come to affect her. She tried to use all the powerful jutsu at hand, but it was as if Okaminaru's body was indestructible.
Is this the true power of senjutsu? Konan thought, which made her rethink her thoughts towards Toru.
"If that's all you can do, it's obvious why Toru-dono had to risk her life to save you from dying. If you can't save yourself, how are you supposed to protect Toru-dono? From the moment he started to get close to you, I had that bad feeling. Because of you he has changed, because of those who called themselves Akatsuki."
"I..."
"It's obvious you can't answer because you know it's true. If you guys hadn't forced him to stay in that organization, he would be..." Okaminaru's eyes widened as she remembered the Toru of three years ago. At that moment, Toru looked downcast, blinded by a desire that dwelt deep in his heart. He was alone, with that expression that never changed, always remained the same. Alone and broken inside, that was the Toru of three years ago. It was then that, remembering this, Okaminaru realized that she was blaming Konan for nothing. Her anger blinded her and she couldn't control herself until now. "Ha~..." she sighed and shook her head. "Let me teach you some jutsus that can be of use to you. We'll also work on your taijutsu, a shinobi who can't fight melee is just a coward who fights at a distance."
Konan was confused by Okaminaru's sudden change of attitude, but took this action as an improvement for both of them.
"I'm sorry and... thank you."
"Don't thank me at all. Toru-dono brought you here. If you are Toru-dono's friend, then we have to be nice to you. Otherwise, Toru-dono will be disappointed in me."
"It's okay, I understand."
Okaminaru took a relaxed breath and prepared to teach Konan some elemental jutsu. However...
"...Something's wrong..." Okaminaru looked in a specific direction and frowned.
Konan was puzzled by this, so she looked in the same direction and then....
...
...
Flash!
...
To be continue...