As Hiruko slept, he was once again visited by the original Hiruko in the infinite darkness.
The original Hiruko touching him again caused Hiruko's light to darken even more slightly before he whispered something no one could hear.
—
Hiruko woke up, his whole body aching; the sun outside was barely peeking through the darkness of night.
As Hiruko placed a hand on his ringing head, he heard a familiar voice sound in his head.
"Hiruko, come to the living room." The voice of Mito said,
Hiruko, confused but listening, got up, albeit slowly due to his aching body. As he walked into the living room, he was met with Mito sitting at the family kotatsu.
Smiling, Mito beckoned for Hiruko to sit, which he did; after he did, looking up, his eyes met hers, and in her eyes was confusion.
"What's wrong?" Hiruko asked, genuinely confused.
"Your body is way stronger than it was before; all your physical attributes are around Jonin level now. You've had jumps in strength before, but not like this." Mito said, confused.
'Could it be the sage body?' She couldn't help but think before quickly realizing it wasn't.
'I've checked; Hiruko's family has no connection to any clan. Not only that, but his vitality has increased a lot, but it's more unnatural, not having the same natural aspect as the Senju.' Mito thought internally, confirming her speculation that this wasn't the same body, but that also opened up so many other questions.
Hiruko, on the other hand, was trying his best to mask his emotions in hopes Mito wouldn't sense them.
'She's never said anything before about this,' but then Hiruko quickly remembered why most of his rewards lately have been techniques with nothing physical.
The only time she would have seen him go through a physical change is when he installed those three devil fruits, but for any number of reasons, she didn't question it.
'Damn, I need to be more careful and come up with explanations if I install anything physical from now on.' Hiruko planned internally.
Mito, coming out of her conspiracies, looked at Hiruko immediately, thinking, 'He's trying real hard to be calm.' Mito thought, sighing.
It seemed Hiruko had some idea for his change but didn't want to tell her, so Mito decided to shelve it for now and trust her son.
"Anyway, Hiruko, I need to talk to you; what you did was dangerous. Yuri talked to you about the repercussions if your abilities were to get out. Ken, kept the fact that he was healed from the greater populace of Konoha just to keep you hidden. And despite this, you healed that child, putting yourself in danger physically. What if his injuries were too severe and drew out too much of your energy, huh? Or-"
And just like that, Hiruko got a verbal beating from Mito for the next 10 minutes.
Hiruko, looking slightly solemn, felt bad he put everyone through so much worry; this was his family, and since taking him in, they have done so much for him.
Yet he assumed they had the power to fix his actions and took them without consideration.
Mito, sensing her son's reflection, smiled slightly. "Now, all that said, I'm proud of you; saving someone you didn't have to at the cost of your abilities getting exposed was noble. And though I know you say you don't care about the village that much, still make sure to keep that humanity and care for others in you," Mito said, poking Hiruko's chest where his heart was located.
Hiruko hearing this smiled slightly.
Remembering something, Hiruko realized this was the perfect time to get a little help from one of the best at sensing and Chakra control, though he'd need to be careful.
"So Mom, don't be mad." Hiruko started putting on his cutest face.
Mito, seeing this, couldn't help but frown; she hasn't heard those words nor seen that face since Arata was 10.
"What is it?" Mito said, trying not to be drawn in.
"So I would like some help on a jutsu I've nearly mastered." Hiruko said, batting his long eyelashes a little.
Mito, still skeptical, said, "Okay, what's the jutsu?"
Hiruko, still smiling cutely, made the hand signs for the Shadow Clone Jutsu, and an exact copy of himself appeared.
Watching this, Mito was slightly taken aback, but before she could say anything, Hiruko said,
"Show her." Hearing this, the clone opened its mouth, and this time out came a hand, and on that hand was an extra ear.
"Wait, where's your mouth?" Hiruko asked confused, but when the clone glanced at its backside, Hiruko, understanding its intent, quickly said,
"Never mind, never mind; I don't want to know." Hiruko said, profusely shaking his head.
Mito, watching all this, couldn't help but snicker and burst out laughing, remembering a young Tobirama coming to her for help when creating this jutsu for this exact reason.
Seeing his mother's laughter, Hiruko couldn't help but simply frown.
Mito, after a few moments, said, whipping her tears, "Sorry, sorry, but you deserve this for learning a B-rank Jutsu without my knowledge, but I'll let it go this time since Arata has started giving Tsunade extra lessons on Jutsu."
'Wait, he's teaching her extra stuff like Jutsu and B-rank at that?' Hiruko thought somewhat jealous.
"Anyway, your problem is much like your uncle Tobirama's. This jutsu requires you to picture your form so it provides an exact copy. But if your mind isn't completely clear when casting the jutsu, some unnecessary and intrusive thoughts can affect the jutsu." Mito said simply,
"So what do I do?" Hiruko asked, confused.
"Well, how Tobirama did it was to imagine all your thoughts as a cursed flame and imagine yourself exterminating them and then cast the jutsu." Mito said with a small smile on her face as she began to be lost in her memories of the past.
Hiruko, hearing this, his eyes twitching somewhat, couldn't help but think, 'This has to be racism, right?' Though despite his reservations about the intentions behind the technique, he still decided to try it.
And weirdly it worked and was therapeutic in Hiruko's mind; flames the same red as the Sharingan burned intently, holding various thoughts.
Such as 'I want Ramen,' 'Orochimaru,' 'I miss Sakumo and Duy,' 'Damn Uchiha,' and so much more, and Hiruko stood close to them, stomping them out with a slight smile.
After doing this for a couple of minutes, Hiruko tried to perform the jutsu again, making the hand signs; his already low chakra dropped even more, nearing depletion. An exact clone of himself appeared beside him with a puff.
Looking at Himself Hiruko, with slight reservations, cautiously asked, "Hi me."
The clone with a slight smile replied, "Hi me," back, the inside of its mouth slightly visible, and inside of it there were no extra appendages.
The clone looked… perfect.
Mito, seeing this, couldn't help but smile to herself; seeing her son succeed was rewarding. "I'm glad it worked out, Hiriuko, but you must be responsible. The mental feedback from the clones could overwhelm you, causing severe mental damage, so be careful."
Hiruko and his clone, hearing Mito's words, both nodded at the same time.
Hiruko leaned in and whispering to his clone, said, "Go practice our new strength in the Senju training grounds. I want to know what and just how much my attributes have increased. Disperse yourself after an hour."
The clone, nodding slightly to Hiruko, got up and headed to complete his task, though Mito could hear their conversation if she wanted; she decided not to out of respect for her child.
"By the way, Hiruko, you should visit Ikki." Mito said, remembering something she needed to bring up.
"Who?" Hiruko responded, confused; he didn't remember anyone by that name.
Mito seeing this could only sigh at her son; either he didn't bother to get the boy's name, or he forgot it; both were unacceptable.
"The Hyuga child you saved at the cost of outing your abilities—you didn't even bother to ask his name." Mito said, dumbfounded at her son's lack of courtesy, that he needed some etiquette training.
Hiruko, frowning slightly at this remark, couldn't help but mumble, "He was dying. You want me to be like, 'Oh, hey, I'm going to save you, but first, what's your name?'"
Mito, hearing this, took on a slightly fierce glare. "What did you say?" she said.
Hiruko, feeling danger from his mom for the first time, raised his hands in mock surrender. "Nothing, nothing. I'll visit him once I get back from my C-rank mission in a few days."
Mito hearing this took on a slightly solemn look. "Hiruko, please protect Tsunade and yourself; once you're outside this village, I won't be able to protect you as closely as I do now. Prioritize yourselves above even the mission." Mito said a knot of worry in her heart, just like Arata years ago, Hiruko was going out on his first mission outside.
He would be exposed to both the beauty and horror of this world, and Mito knew even if that mission went perfectly well, her beautiful son and granddaughter wouldn't be the same innocent and carefree children they were.
Hearing this, Hiruko could only smile, one that reminded Mito of her late husband.
"Don't worry, Mom. As your son, I have to come back, don't I? So don't worry, I'll come back and we can go eat. Ramen "
"Don't worry, Mito. As your husband, I have to come back, don't I? So don't worry, I'll come back and we can go eat ramen."
The words of Hiruko and Hashirama overlapped in her mind—the same words Hashirama said before his battle with Madara, Hiruko was saying to her.
A single tear streamed down her face. Hiruko, watching this, immediately went to check on his mother.
"What's wrong, Mom?" he said, his voice full of worry.
"Nothing, child, just memories." Mito said, smiling slightly.