The world continues to rotate. The time continues to flow.
Standing in the ever-still darkness, Akashi couldn't feel the flow of time. There was no wind, no plant, nothing—no one but him, trapped in this space.
"The way out..."
Fuinjutsu is a profound field of ninja arts. It has become profound throughout the efforts of many ninjas who tried to improve and minimize the flaws of the fuinjutsu.
If there is one idea about the fuinjutsu that Akashi consider the most important, it would be the concept of give-and-take. Fuinjutsu required to block two ways, as in preventing the escape of the imprisoned being while preventing the forceful expulsion of said being from the outside.
No fuinjutsu is perfect. If the 'preventing the escape of the imprisoned being' is augmented, the 'preventing the forceful expulsion of said being from the outside' is left just as vulnerable.
The absolute darkness of the space meant it is nigh impossible for Akashi to escape from this seal wit his strength alone. At the same time, this meant that it wouldn't be hard for someone to release him from the outside; anyone with chakra should be able to free him.
"...So there is nothing that I can do at the moment, huh?"
Akashi sat down.
Closing his eye, Akashi felt peace. Letting go the slightest bit of worry that he had in him, he breathed in and out, meditating.
"Come to think of it,"
There was nothing more for him to do but trust that Mei would find a way to release him from the outside.
"I haven't trained for a while."
Within this space, Akashi can't feel a hunger. He can't get tired either. It's as if the concept of time doesn't exist in this space; he could, technically, train with a never-running-out reserve of chakra.
Opening his eye, Akashi formed a hand seal.
'It's something that I've been thinking in a theory only, too unrealistic for me to use or think of.'
With a puff, numerous shadow clones, filling over hundreds, appeared within this dark space. It was a feat that he shouldn't be able to do given his chakra reserve, yet he was able to do so in here.
'It may work here—the shadow clone training.'
"Lightning."
One third of the clones held normal pieces of papers, ones that were duplicated along with clones themselves. They channelled chakra into papers, but the vigorous fire manifested instead of lightning. Discarding the ash, they took out other papers and repeated the process.
"Water."
Another one third of the clones were doing the same thing, but trying to achieve the water nature instead of lightning.
"Earth."
The remaining one third of the clones were doing something Akashi hasn't tried once thus far, which is to achieve the nature transformation of earth.
"And as for me..."
Crossing his arms, Akashi recalled back to numerous events he's gone through. Locking into his recent battle against Minato, he then remembered two unique techniques that Minato showcased.
"Flying Thunder God... I can tell that it is extremely complex from a glance, complex enough to consider it the pinnacle of the fuinjutsu."
Akashi decided to focus on the easier technique.
"Rasengan, he said."
It was a blue, swirling orb. What was interesting about this technique was that there was no nature transformation involved in manifesting this technique; it simply relied on chakra control to achieve such lethality.
"First step, obviously, is to achieve the rotation with one's chakra."
It's something that Akashi's been doing for a very long time, except it was usually performed on his swords.
Akashi thought for a while with his palm open, before unsealing Ryuma from his scroll after a long time of its rest.
Grabbing the hilt of his most familiar blade, Akashi encased the blade in blue chakra instead of the usual fire he encased it in.
Then, upon his will, the blue chakra began to rotate around the blade, smoothly. Getting himself used to this feeling, Akashi tried many things, such as raising the speed of the chakra's rotation, changing its direction, trying to manage multiple rotations heading in different direction at the same time, et cetera.
Afterward, Akashi sealed Ryuma back in. Raising his palm, he tried to apply the idea of rotation he practiced with Ryuma.
With a whoosh, the wild rotation of chakra arose, rotating like a miniature tornado that was continuing to disperse as it left Akashi's palm.
"And then, comes pressure."
Rasengan was about managing two different styles of chakra control simultaneously, Akashi realized. In a way, it was as if one was trying to look at left and right at the same time.
However, it was a different story for Akashi. Looking at left and right at the same time—the act of manifesting fire and wind nature on swords simultaneously—was something that he's been doing for years now.
It could be said that when it came to a chakra control, there weren't many in this world who could compete with Akashi.
Watching as the wild storm of rotating chakra continued to disperse atop his palm, Akashi imaged an impenetrable veil containing it. As he coursed chakra onto his palm, slowly, the chaotic rotation of chakra began to reduce its size, until it has become contained in a form of a sphere.
"Rasengan."
It felt like a good chakra controlling routine to Akashi upon mastering its basics.
Maintaining this spiralling sphere, Akashi began to explore it more.
First, he tried to reduce its size while maintaining the same degree of rotation speed. He managed to reduce its size by half, but doing so doubled the chakra requirement.
Second, he tried to accelerate the rotation speed while maintaining the size. Apart from the doubling of the chakra requirement, the amount of focus he was required to put in has become taxing.
Listening the whistling noise of rasengan, Akashi finally concluded,
"...This technique is incomplete."
It was a very inefficient technique. First of all, the range was ridiculously short. Then, due to its noise, one would need to manifest rasengan within a split second to successfully assassinate the target. If only,
"If only this can be thrown,"
its weakness could be covered. Rasengan had a potential to be developed from a close combat technique to a tool of mass destruction... similar to the fabled tailed beast ball.
Then, Akashi had to think, why can't rasengan be thrown?
The answer was simple. It was because the chakra fuelling rasengan hasn't undergone the nature transformation.
Nature transformation is a must-have stage for a chakra to last within the world. After all, its pure, blue colored form often tend to dissolve into the surrounding nature in a split second, for chakra is the source of life.
...And achieving such wasn't something that anyone could do.
Nature transformation was an advanced level of chakra control. If performing rasengan was akin to looking left and right at the same time, adding the nature transformation on top of that was equivalent to performing a continuous back flip while looking at left and right simultaneously.
"Hm..."
However, in Akashi's perspective, it seemed to be an achievable feat if given enough time.
__________
Mei fought until the very end, but there were simply limits to how much she could do against numerous elite Kiri ninjas. In the end, she was neutralized and locked in along with Hidan.
They were in a cell located within a large, sturdy ship. Familiar with sailing, the Kiri ninjas have set the sail and were in process of delivering Mei to Kirigakure, her homeland.
"...I am sorry."
Miserably, Mei said to Hidan.
"If only I knew how this would turn out..."
She sighed,
"...We wouldn't have brought you here."
"It doesn't matter to me."
Hidan looked at Mei lifelessly.
"There is no safe place in this world. War goes on everywhere. If I am to suffer anyway..."
Those words weren't to come out of kids. However, war matured children, which left a bitter taste in Mei's mouth.
"I'd rather choose where to suffer."
"Is that so..."
With a boom, a door outside then slammed open. Two Kiri ninjas made their ways in.
Taking a look at Mei, they viciously licked their lips, before clicking their tongues as they knew they couldn't touch her.
"If only Mizukage-sama didn't order us to bring you as finely as possible..."
Through the gap, they dumped a bare minimum of food required to survive before leaving right away.
Mei's body shook from a humiliation. However, there was nothing she could do at the moment but slam her fists, waiting for the ship to arrive at its destination.
That didn't mean she gave up, however.
'There definitely will be chances.'
Through her red locks, determination could be seen in her eyes.
...
After days of trip over the sea, the cell finally opened. Ninjas came in and forced Mei and Hidan to stand up.
They walked out, out of the ship to the bright outside.
The scene was misty and chilly. Surrounded by water, they entered the land of water's hidden village, Kirigakure.
Mei had to frown however, as she noticed how the place was reeking of the foul scent of blood.
Bloody Mist. Kirigakure truly did live up to its name, and it seems to have gotten worse since Yagura's reign.
"Welcome home, Mei,"
Spoke Terumi Seiji by her side, mockingly.
"..."
In silence, Mei briefly gazed at the blue orb that was held by Seiji's left hand. Then, as a harsh shove came from the back, Mei and Hidan were forced to walk, walking through the street full of civilian watchers.
"M-Mei-sama... you as well..."
Within the crowd, one woman stared at this scene in horror, pale-faced. She then ran away, retreating from the scene.