Chương 13: Chakra (2)

(A/N: I'm so sorry for the delay on this chapter guys. I promise I'm not dropping this, I just got hit with a case of both Bronchitis and the Flu at the same time and it has had me damn near 6ft deep I'm telling you. Anyway, I'll try to release a couple extra chapters this week to make up for it.)

Haru went to carry Shiran back to his bed, where he could rest for a while, while Haru went back downstairs to talk to Kumiko.

Haru sat down on the couch next to Kumiko, who had Kushina in her lap. He turned to his wife and said something that shocked her.

"Hon, his affinity with water is through the roof, not to mention the fact that it felt like I could touch it with my Mind's Eye. It feels like I'm practically swimming through an ocean when I focus on his chakra," Haru said.

Kumiko's eyes widened upon hearing that. 'To be able to have such an affinity with a certain nature like that is an amazing thing that can help you out in the long run.' Kumiko's immediate thoughts were focused on the future.

"Honestly, I haven't felt anyone's chakra with such an affinity since that one person came to visit our clan. When he and his brother came to visit our clan, before we had set up our village, I used my Mind's Eye on both of the brothers and came away shocked to my core. The utterly destructive yet warm aura coming from Hashirama was enough to shock me," Haru said, seemingly a little nostalgic retelling the tale.

"As I turned my attention to Tobirama, it felt like I was drowning because of the affinity he had with water, while the cold and calculating aura he gave off sent a shiver down my spine. Honestly, the affinity that Shiran has with water reminds me so much of Tobirama; it's shocking."

"Hmmm, well, it's a good thing that there are no shortages of water jutsu around here. You being from the Uzumaki clan and me being from the Amematsu clan."

"That's true. When he gets to be the age where we start teaching him different jutsus and nature-type transformations, then we'll really be able to see how high his affinity with each element is."

---

"Huh? Where am I right now?" I opened my eyes to find myself in a weird ethereal space glowing with a light lavender color.

"Good, you're awake now," said this mysterious voice that seemed to be coming from all around me.

"Yeah, I am, now where am I, and who are you?" I asked, a little confused about my current situation.

'I can still feel my body, so it's not like I've gotten killed again. But what is this thing then? Another dimension?'

"We are actually in your mindscape right now, young Shiran. So there is nothing to worry about. In time, with a little practice, you should be able to control this place like it's another limb."

My eyes lit up just a little bit in recognition of that name.

"So how did I get into this place anyway, and more importantly who or what are you?"

"I'm the collective consciousness of all your ancestors that have unlocked the Mind's Eye. And before you ask, no, I can't teach you every trick that is beheld in this power because I don't have the time to do that. Most are the same, though, such as chakra sensing, emotional perception, and chakra analysis. There is one more that you'll have to find out through training yourself."

"Hmm, ok, I got you, so why are you here talking to me then?"

"Just to make sure you get questions and answers for the length of time I'm here for. This was a deal made by our first ancestor, who unlocked this power, with a being from the reaper's dimension to allow the collective consciousness to gather and help future generations, in case the clan got wiped out and left a few surviving clansmen wandering, without a hint of their heritage."

I nodded my head, thinking that this made sense. Otherwise, how would Karin have been able to learn about the powers of the Mind's Eye so early on in her life? Even if her mother had known about the Mind's Eye, there'd be no reason to pass on knowledge of an ability she may or may not have had.

"Well, I have someone to teach me, so I don't have too much to ask of you, just a quick rundown of each of the 3 abilities and then how I unlock the last ability."

"Let's start with the 3 abilities first. The chakra sensing is a pretty easy one; it helps the user perceive other chakra in great detail, which helps a shinobi in almost every way, be it combat, tracking, or stealth operations," the disembodied voice explained.

"The emotional perception aspect helps you decode chakra fluctuations into what the emotion is automatic."

"And the chakra analysis will help with identifying people's chakra nature as long as their chakra is unlocked. It also gives you a feel for someone's nature as well, such as if someone is very hot-tempered then their chakra will feel like it's boiling, if they're laid back it will feel like a gentle breeze, if they are a genuinely good person it may feel like a ray of sunshine," the voice elaborated.

'The last one could be good especially when paired with the second one,' I thought to myself as the voice came back.

As for unlocking the last ability, it is all up to the user; some of us had a long session of introspection, some trained the ability for years on end, a couple just woke up with the new ability, and some witnessed a big loss to themselves emotionally."

"I see so there's not a set-in-stone way of unlocking it, is there?"

"Nope, so all I can say is good luck and I hope your teacher trains you well," the voice called out before my mindscape began to fade out, and I woke up into the real world.

---

I walked downstairs to our kitchen to find my mom and dad lovingly looking at each other and then turned to look at Kushina who was having the time of her life playing with the cut-up bananas she'd been given for breakfast.

As I shifted my way through the kitchen, my parents snapped back to reality, and my dad spoke up in a serious voice.

"Shiran, I'm going to take you to train your Mind's Eye ability today, okay?"

I smiled broadly at the thought of training a bloodline skill with my dad, thinking that it was going to be a fun day.