บท 30: Genjutsu Trial
"If not for you, I would be fine!" Natsume rolled her eyes. The poison was making her head foggy, and she was losing control of her muscles.
"Hss, you would still fail, with a little more chakra." The snake calmly watched Natsume as her breathing became more labored. No one was free to assist her. Unknowingly, the battle between her and the puppets had led her so far from the camp. However, Natsume wasn't afraid. She closed her eyes and waited to accompany her mother, brother, and Hinako. The snake slithered up her body and hissed directly at her face.
"Hsss! Why? You could have been so delicious. Why do you not fear death!?" The snake became upset. This whole scheme of slowly drawing from her chakra in order to put her in this kind of situation eventually. Sure, the chakra was tasty, but nothing was tastier than the fear of death right at the moment of crossing over. "Impossible, I've never encountered a human like you!"
"Cough, why? Well… everyone will… die eventually… Cough." Although she felt regretful for not being able to fulfill her ambitions and would fail her promise to Madara and the clan, in the face of death, she felt eerily peaceful. It was not a conscious sensation, but rather something deep down within her that no longer feared dying. Perhaps it is because she had inherited the memories of her past life and has already experienced death once.
'Wouldn't I just be reincarnated again? Maybe I won't remember who I am, but my spirit will live on.' Natsume wondered.
A puff of smoke appeared over her body and a scroll unraveled. It was suspended vertically so that Natsume could see the contents of the scroll. When she saw that it was a summoned beast contract with the snake. Natsume saw the name on the scroll and wanted to laugh at herself for not realizing it. However, that fragment of memories was a bit isolated and there was less emotional attachment to them.
"What is… this?" Natsume asked.
"I can save you, if you sign this contract." However, Natsume already saw the stipulations. She was the second party on the contract. Her pride wouldn't allow her to do such a thing. Natsume closed her eyes and let death creep up closer. This time, she was bluffing. Realizing who the snake in front of her was, Natsume had a plan.
"Ah, what a waste… your chakra was tastier before…" The white snake seemed to struggle with the situation.
"I will only sign… cough… if it is… fair." Natsume tried to sound nonchalant despite her difficulty breathing. The snake seemed to be pondering something before it bit her neck. The venom moved rapidly and gave her some relief from her symptoms. Then, the surroundings changed, and she was in a classroom. Natsume felt this place looked familiar, as if it were something from deep within her subconscious.
However, Natsume still had her self-awareness, and due to the memories, she was certain that this was a trial. Soon, people began to enter the classroom. The first was Sahiro. He was wearing a brown coat with elbow patches. He stepped up to the chalkboard and began to write. What he wrote was all the things Natsume failed at. Each one was more painful than the next. And at the very last line, 'Not saving Hinako.'
"How can you save the Uchiha when you've already failed to save all of these people, Natsume?" He spoke in a strict voice.
"I may not be strong enough now, but I will never lose my conviction!"
Sahiro narrowed his eyes and left the room. Next was Tajima. He pointed out her failures in training. And in big letters 'Genjutsu' underlined three times.
"How can you become stronger when you can't even master the Uchiha's signature technique?" Natsume bit her lip. It was true that she put off learning genjutsu because she was bad at it. However, she shook her head and didn't let the doubts flood her mind.
"You're wrong. An Uchiha doesn't need Genjutsu to become powerful. I will prove it!"
Tajima harumphed and left the room. Next was Kono. She walked in holding Madara. She didn't write anything on the board and simply stared at her child. "How can you save Madara when you don't even have the will to save yourself?"
Natsume's eyes widened and she stopped breathing. The long pause and the words that Kono spoke shocked her. She suddenly thought about her complacency to death and realized how hypocritical she was. How could she promise to protect Kono and Madara when she couldn't even protect herself? She wanted to become stronger but gave up and accepted death peacefully. Even in death, Madara fought tooth and nail until he gained enlightenment.
"You're right… then I will not allow myself to die. I will fight to my last breath. I will struggle so that no one else has to." She spoke out her determination and something within her changed. Just as the dream was fading, the room became populated with people she didn't recognize. Then, she turned her head and saw a bright flash of light. The classroom was vaporized in the light, including herself.
The genjutsu abruptly ended and Natsume returned to the battlefield. At some point, the snake had set up a barrier so that they wouldn't be disturbed. However, it also meant that no one would come to her aid. The scroll above her was gone and once she exited from the genjutsu, the snake hissed, and a new contract appeared.
The contract was that Natsume would feed the snake her chakra regularly, and when summoned, the snake would aid her in battle, and then eat the enemies they defeated as payment. Although the terms were slightly in the snakeas favor, Natsume didn't hesitate to bite her finger and place her imprint on the scroll.
She felt a sudden influx of chakra that was expelling the poison. The chakra she felt was very familiar, because it was her own! She felt a bit annoyed that this was considered only 'a small amount.' However, knowing the identity of this little snake made her very proud.
"Tagitsuhime, I look forward to our cooperation."
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