Though his life still hung in the balance, the first true battle of Shiki's second life was over. It was time for a whole new chapter, pursuing the truth of his inheritance and all it could offer.
While others fussed over him in the real world, the two Shikis reunited in their mindspace.
"So how'd you like the preview?" [Shiki] asked.
"You mean the preview of the ability to turn into a hollow eyed lunatic unfazed by pain and incapable of remorse while tanking jutsu with one's bare body and boasting natural physical abilities that put most chakra enhanced taijutsu to shame?" Shiki asked back.
"I can see my future is bright." He added.
"About that." [Shiki] started.
"Oof! I know that look on my face." Shiki was already cringing at the bad news in his future.
"Afraid so." [Shiki] shrugged, his animated mannerisms creating an odd dissonance with his hollow expression, like an inhuman creature emulating a person but being unable to mimic expressions.
"What I was doing was abusing our tolerance to squeeze out a lot more power than we should rightfully have. Keep fighting like that without properly undergoing clan training and our body will crumble apart."
"You will know the details when the fusion is complete and I'm sure Mito-sama and Tsunade-sama will recognise our precarious state."
"So we'll need a period of recovery before we can proceed towards the proper training that you'll soon inherit all information about. Only after that can we begin to consider repeating the feats I showed with our body but the addition of chakra to our Ryumon techniques might change that."
Shiki then interrupted.
"An issue for our fused self to worry about."
"Indeed major half." [Shiki] replied.
"And right on queue . . ." He trailed off and the mindscape swirled.
The two Shiki's peacefully merged together.
*
The change to Shiki was profound yet not extreme.
He had always been the major half and not with a small difference either, so the change could not be that big.
But he had also been incomplete.
And that missing piece was paradoxically filled by the Hollow void that [Shiki] was.
Still in the depths of his consciousness, the complete Shiki reviewed his bloodline memory, a concept eerily similar to the way Otsutsuki claimed one's knowledge, power and even destiny were all tied to their genetics.
For starters he now fully understood the significance of the void within him.
Through their Crossing of The Dragon's Gate, a clan member took a piece of the void with them, the larger the piece and the more perfectly one melded with it, the greater their potential in the clan's arts.
In every batch of trainees, the most successful clan member was crowned with the title of Hollow.
The Hollows were the most powerful and important members of the Ryumon Clan precisely because of this large void that had become a part of them.
Lesser individuals could remove doubt and hesitation, numb themselves to pain, ignore fear and all manner of other mental abilities, even gaining a degree of mutability that allowed them to master some of the clan's physical arts.
A Hollow however, received a much deeper impact. Their inner void was so potent that they could naturally erase their presence, even to the point of others being unable to tell they were there despite staring directly at them.
A frightening effect. It was as if their targets' minds simply refused to process the existence of the Hollow and even more horrifying, was the ability to reverse that effect.
To force one's targets to acknowledge the Hollow's existence in all its wrongness. It could outright break the minds of lesser individuals.
Just as important, was the increased physical effect the void had on a Hollow.
Their nature of melding into the World through non-existence allowed them to tap into the power of Nature Energy but their innate wrongness also prevented them from using it as it was, no Ryumon could ever become a Sage.
However, the larger degree of mutability afforded by greater integration of the void, allowed a Hollow to metabolize and integrate Nature Energy, even mastering the more esoteric arts of the Ryumon clan.
This degree of mutability allowed for the manifestation of unique abilities that would later be passed down through bloodlines, ensuring the clan grew ever stronger with more powerful, refined and diverse abilities as well as techniques.
It was this part of the Hollow physiology that Shiki believed would make adapting to and integrating the power of Chakra possible.
The countless abilities and techniques of his clan along with their multitude of inhuman training methods filled the boy with countless ideas but it was not all good.
He could feel it.
Why exactly were those like him in the clan called Hollow.
Part of his joy, his love, his hate, all his emotions . . .
Part of them was now gone, muted.
It was not sealed off or blocked.
By accepting the void, a Hollow sacrificed a part of their humanity, one that could neve be returned.
It would not appear to change much in his daily life.
But the Hollow part of him just meant he would never be able to feel as strongly as others, it would likely take double the stimulation for half the effect, at least emotionally speaking.
It was an effect akin to depersonalization, it made one detached from their own thoughts, emotions and even actions, viewing their life in the third person through a barrier, a vague, dreamlike existence that could even wear down one's sense of identity and individuality.
Though Shiki also learned from his inherited memories that once something got through the barrier, it could easily become a source of obsession for the Hollow but also an anchor for them to maintain their self identity and grasp on reality.
So long as he mastered the ability to control the wrongness and nothingness of his presence however, in his normal daily life, all but the most sensitive of individuals would notice nothing off about him.
Another great point of interest was his clan's history, its very, very long history, and what many advantages could be obtained from that hidden knowledge of the ages in a world where deeds of a few decades past were easily forgotten and erased.
But while Shiki immersed himself in his inheritance, reality kept moving.
Yes he processed information quickly but the full inheritance of a clan that existed for millennia combined with the necessary physical adjustment meant it would still take a little while.
Time which meant that iIn the real world too, things were progressing . . .
*
Right after Shiki fell into his self induced coma, Tsunade had caught him and performed a quick first aid and diagnosis of his condition.
Seeing that he could last for a while if the barest of support of medical ninjutsu, the Senju princess swiftly decided the best course of action was to take the boy to a proper facility for dedicated medical attention rather than to try and perform any extra procedure on the field.
And since they were not that far from Konoha and its facilities were the best, it became the most suitable destination.
First however, Tsunade had to decide what to do about the rest of Shiki's Team, sensei included.
After all, if the bad elements were truly irredeemable, they could choose to eliminate the Senju princess and the unconscious Shiki to conceal the evidence of their actions and muddy the situation enough for those truly responsible to avoid punishment.
+++++
Hey, Author here!
Just a reminder that you can read up to a FULL MONTH ahead of this site on pa-treon.
I'm trying to become a full time Author now and I'm not going to be starting any new novels just so I can make sure this one is properly completed.
Find those sweet advanced chapters on pa-treon.com/lusoba without the -