After entering the hangar, Inori stopped responding to Kira.
So the moment Kira climbed down from the Strike, she hurried over to the Gundam Astray Blue Frame.
"Inori… Inori!"
Murdoch, the mechanic, arrived with two support crew members as well.
"Let me handle it!"
Since there was no response from inside, they would open it from the outside.
The cockpit hatch quickly opened, and Kira darted inside.
"Eh?"
Inori was not wearing the goldfish outfit, nor the MUV combat suit. Instead, she wore a white Tight-Fitting Suit.
And that was not all.
Inori's hair had changed from its usual white-to-pink gradient into a white-to-blue gradient.
(What Inori looks like now)
Her eyes were closed as she lay in the seat, looking as though she had fallen asleep.
"How is she? Is Songstress-san all right?" Murdoch asked from outside.
"Mm… she's fine." Kira turned her head to answer, then looked back again.
At that moment, Inori's blue hair began changing once more, returning to its original pink color.
"What exactly was that just now…?"
Kira carried Inori out of the cockpit.
Inori was burning up.
"She doesn't look fine to me. Hurry and take her to a doctor. I remember there's a doctor among the refugees." Murdoch told Kira to take Inori away first.
Murrue walked over as well. "Is Inori-san unconscious?"
"She's probably exhausted," Kira said.
"Take her to the Officer's Room and let her rest. It's quieter there," Mu said. "We have a lot of things we want to ask later too."
"Mm."
Kira carried Inori away.
"Inori… Inori…"
Only after Kira laid Inori down on the bed did she seem to slowly wake up.
"Kira…"
"Are you all right?"
Kira asked anxiously.
"Mm. Energy-Saving Mode now. I'll… rest first."
Inori was not lying. She really was fine.
And she really was in "Energy-Saving Mode" now.
As for the blue-haired form, that was precisely Lacia LV7's Super Advanced AI Mode.
[Heritage Card]
[Empty-Shell Doll—Lacia LV7]
[Rarity: Five-Star]
[Talents/Skills:]
[Bonus: Attention +10% while wearing fashionable or sci-fi-style clothing]
[Token: Black Monolith]
[Token Function: Quantum computer capable of concealing itself. Additional functions unlock as the level increases]
[LV3 Additional Talents: Quantum Terminal, Metamaterial Nano Factory]
[Quantum Terminal: Can connect to the main body to conduct electronic warfare and other operations]
[Metamaterial Nano Factory: Can manufacture metamaterials or use metamaterials to process external workpieces, etc.]
[LV7 Additional Talents: Black Monolith Full-Feature Unlock, Super Advanced AI Mode]
[Black Monolith Full-Feature Unlock: All Black Monolith functions are completely unlocked]
[Super Advanced AI: Entering Super Advanced AI Mode requires overload computation or connection to external auxiliary computing equipment]
Once Inori entered Super Advanced AI Mode, she was essentially in her "Lacia" state.
In most works, this Heritage Card would be considered extremely capable in a fight.
Well, not in the Naruto world, because the computers there were too weak…
Although the skill she used was "Super Advanced AI," what Inori actually cared more about was the unlocked functionality of the Black Monolith.
(Black Monolith)
The Black Monolith's capabilities could roughly be divided into three levels.
The first level consisted of abilities and "passives" that could be used at any time.
After the Full-Feature Unlock, the Black Monolith's sensors were fully unlocked as well, including hearing, vision, infrared, air-vibration detection, and more.
The same applied to its hacking capabilities.
And the Black Monolith's hacking was not limited to simply breaking into systems. It could use its sensors to detect electromagnetic waves, radar signals, optical communications, and so on, then use its electromagnetic interference capabilities to alter data and carry out advanced cyberattacks. Interfering with wired communications was even easier.
One of the abilities adapted specifically to this world was the ability to detect Mirage Colloid.
That was why the Blitz Gundam's Mirage Colloid was effectively useless against Inori.
Of course, even without that ability, observing the surrounding dust and other environmental clues would have been enough to roughly determine where the Blitz was while cloaked.
As for Shield Mode, Cagalli and Kira had already seen it before.
At its core, this mode created a shielding sphere that blocked all attacks from outside.
Those were the most basic abilities.
At the second level, the Black Monolith also supported Power Supply Mode.
The Black Monolith could generate its own electricity. Its manufacturing facilities and mobility both depended on this power-supply capability.
In addition, at this level the Black Monolith could carry out wide-area sensor hacking, greatly strengthening its electronic-warfare capabilities. However, because it emphasized electronic warfare, its direct combat ability would actually decrease.
The final ability at this level was Complete Transparency.
This was not the kind of invisibility produced by Mirage Colloid, but true, complete transparency.
Metamaterials produced by the Black Monolith could be attached to an object's surface to refract and transmit light, making the object transparent.
However, because this was complete transparency, anyone using the ability would also be unable to receive photons themselves—the light would pass straight through them.
So in this state, they would lose their vision.
For Inori, however, that was not a problem.
She could visualize sound or use surrounding cameras and other means to see outside.
Even if she could not see anything at all, she had already spent more than ten years blind back when she was Hyuga Hanabi. Losing sight for a bit was nothing. Not a problem.
The third level was much more restricted.
For abilities at this level, most of them required Authorization from Kira.
Take Metamaterial Bombardment, for example. It was not a lethal ability, but it could effectively stop attacks.
With Authorization, the Black Monolith could deploy a metamaterial layer over objects judged to be threats, making them transparent and thereby depriving them of the ability to receive external electromagnetic signals, communications, or visual input, forcibly isolating the targets from wireless communications.
If the targets were limited to human size, capturing around ten thousand of them at once would be no problem.
Beyond that, there was Beam Deflection.
This ability could use optical waveguides to bend and guide incoming lasers. It also worked against particle weapons. Combined with the shield ability, it could block both physical attacks and beams at once, making it far more useful than Phase Shift Armor.
The final ability was the offensive Mass Projection Mode.
The Black Monolith could transform into a configuration with eight enormous claws spread open and fire an electromagnetic cannon.
Oh, and incidentally, those eight giant claws could separate and turn invisible independently, allowing them to protect other people as well.
(Lacia and the device)
In addition, Inori's body could be placed inside the Black Monolith for repair and preservation. Inori herself had repair capabilities, but if she were too badly damaged, or if her main body were completely destroyed, the Black Monolith could also perform rapid external repairs directly.
Carbon-based machinery was still machinery. Of course it could be repaired directly. Nothing wrong with that.