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### Barrier Division
The space was covered in dense black sealing formulas, crawling like geckos across every surface. Rows of metal pillars stood on the mottled floor, each topped with silver disks etched with intricate patterns.
At the base of the pillars, a crimson chakra membrane pulsed with a blood-like glow, casting eerie reflections that intertwined with the cursed seals on the walls and ceiling, amplifying the room's sinister atmosphere.
Beep!
A pale, delicate hand—one that could crush steel into pulp—pressed against one of the silver disks.
A shrill noise pierced the air as violet energy traced a path across a gray disk, slowly solidifying into a pattern representing the interplay of Yin-Yang and water.
Hum!
As the final stroke of the seal was completed, the purple light dimmed.
Seeing the pattern stabilize, Aburame Ryōma swiftly formed hand signs, transferring the chakra imprint from the disk into the barrier's core. Hikari could clearly sense a strand of her chakra merging with the barrier.
Barrier: Mimicry Concealment Gate Formation.
A B-rank barrier technique used in all Root and ANBU bases. Its effects included masking the interior, simulating the external environment, and verifying intruders by cross-referencing their chakra signature with pre-registered imprints.
A match granted passage. A mismatch triggered lockdown—and an alarm.
This was an all-purpose ninjutsu. The barrier at her training ground in the Forest of Death was derived from it.
"Now you can pass freely."
Ryōma swiftly sealed the disk away and politely gestured for Hikari to exit the Barrier Division.
---
### The Hidden Faces of Root
This place was rarely open to outsiders. The Barrier Division had only three members: Aburame Ryōma (Chief), Chō, and Yamanaka Fū.
Unsurprising.
Sensor-types were rare in any faction. Even Root, with its vast resources, had only a handful.
The Barrier Division had another name—Sensory Barrier Squad. Had Hikari not joined the Experimental Division, this would've been her most likely assignment.
Her objective complete, she felt Samehada on her shoulder squirming like a child denied dinner. With a wave, she prepared to bid Ryōma farewell.
"Wait."
Ryōma suddenly stopped her, tapping his sunglass-covered right eye meaningfully.
"Be careful."
His warning was earnest.
Knowing Danzo's right eye housed Kotoamatsukami, she immediately understood. Nodding in acknowledgment, she dashed toward the Experimental Division, Samehada in tow.
Whatever friction existed between Ryōma and Danzo could wait. Business came first.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Her footsteps accelerated like a storm through the dim corridors. The petite figure carrying a door-sized blade vanished in an instant.
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### The Laboratory of Shadows
The Experimental Division's door creaked open, releasing a wave of chilled air.
To preserve live specimens, the temperature here was kept low—enough to prevent decay but not enough to freeze.
Inside, the usually bright Honeycomb Lab was pitch black.
Pale-faced test subjects lay strapped to beds. Surgical tools gleamed in sterile cabinets. The silence was oppressive.
She had arrived in Konoha at dusk. Discussions with her main body about Reverse Eight Gates and negotiations with Danzo had dragged into nightfall.
Now, alone, it was the perfect time to test Samehada's abilities.
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### The Forbidden Depths
At the hidden basement entrance, Hikari took a deep breath and pressed her palm against the pale-red barrier.
Chakra surged.
The barrier flickered, comparing her imprint to the stored data. A match. The seal dissolved, swallowing a fraction of her chakra as fuel for maintenance.
Creak—
The rusted iron door groaned, revealing a lightless abyss.
Her Byakugan pierced the darkness, locking onto a radiant green glow below. Without hesitation, she descended.
The barrier resealed behind her.
Silence reclaimed the lab.
---
### The Thousand-Hand God Tree
At the bottom of the stairs, her vision was cut off by the barrier. But before her stood a colossal tree encased in a glass pillar.
Its lush canopy blotted out the ceiling like an emerald storm. The gnarled trunk bore human faces frozen in agony.
Beneath it, fused bodies formed a grotesque pedestal—limbs tangled like melted wax, flesh gray and slick with mucus-like film.
A brown-yellow solution bubbled around the roots, filling the air with a sour stench.
Gulp.
Samehada thrashed in excitement, sensing the ocean of chakra within.
This was no ordinary tree.
It was a monstrosity—grown from hundreds of Hashirama-cell-infused test subjects, fed decades of sacrifices. Its chakra reserves dwarfed even a Tailed Beast.
The last time she'd felt something this vast was Kurama inside Naruto.
Rustle!
Samehada shredded its bandages, jaws splitting open like a blooming flower.
"Careful. This thing is… unnatural."
She patted its spiny hide, unsure if the warning was for it—or herself.
Though stabilized by seals, the tree's erosion effect was lethal. A Four Symbols Seal beneath ensured its destruction if it ever went berserk.
Danzo's insurance.
But for Samehada, a living creature, the risk was higher.
---
### Feast of the Devourer
Climbing the glass pillar, she unsealed the top hatch.
A rotten, acidic stench blasted out—like pickled corpses. Her shadow clone nearly dispelled from the assault.
Gritting her teeth, she shoved Samehada inside, letting it block the opening with its bulk.
Gulp! Gulp!
Samehada chomped into the foliage, devouring the dense chakra. Branches trembled as green energy swirled into its maw.
Hikari watched closely, ready to yank it back at the first sign of distress.
But Samehada feasted without issue, gulping down the chakra like a starved beast.
---
### Link to the Main Body
As energy surged into her, she channeled it through the spiral chains connecting her to her true self.
Two seconds later—
"This helps… a lot."
Her main body's voice was exhausted.
Eight Gates' strain, shadow clone feedback, and Reverse Eight Gates research had pushed her to the brink.
"Don't die in that cave," she muttered. "If Reverse Eight Gates fails, we'll find another way."
"But it's working!"
The reply was fatigued but exhilarated—almost manic.
"Already?!"
"Sixty-six clones training nonstop. Three hours for you… but 25 days of work for me."
"…Don't compare yourself to Naruto, you idiot."
"I'll rest soon. We have six months with this tree—no need to rush."
The link cut off.
Her duty now was simple: keep feeding chakra.
---
### Crisis
Screeeeech—!
Samehada convulsed, spines jamming the hatch.
"What's wrong?!"
She yanked it free, but its swollen belly pulsed with dark-green chakra—a tumor of unstable energy.
Medical Ninjutsu: Chakra Scalpel.
She prepared to cut it out—
Click.
The basement door opened.
A black-clad figure stood in the doorway, eyes cold and hollow.
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