Chapter 414: Amaterasu
...But what did this have to do with the flames just now?
Naruto struggled to recover from the massive shock brought by "time manipulation." Although the ability Satsuki awakened could be called earth-shattering—a time-based power, unheard of in all ninja world history, even touching forbidden territory approaching the "divine realm."
But just manipulating object time alone, based on her earlier demonstration, it seemed she only needed to gaze with her Mangekyo to accomplish it. She didn't need Amaterasu flames.
Satsuki detected Naruto's confusion. She tilted her head slightly, fingertips lightly tapping her other eye.
"Just now..."
Her voice remained calm, carrying patient gentleness. "That was my other Mangekyo ocular technique's ability."
"However, it also has clear limitations like [Tokoyo]—"
"Besides lifeless inanimate objects and... 'completely willing' subjects who open their body and mind, the degree to which I can display this ability... also depends on the strength gap between me and the target."
"My other ability is called—"
[Amaterasu Rei].
"First, its main ability is..."
Satsuki raised her hand again, palm upward.
That pitch-black Amaterasu fire manifested from nothing once more. This time, it no longer just burned quietly but demonstrated heart-palpitating "docility" under Satsuki's precise willful control—
Sometimes blazing upward, flame tongues leaping while emitting terrifyingly high heat that warped vision. Other times curling docilely, transforming into a mass with no heat, like a black halo possessing life.
"I can actively control Amaterasu Rei's temperature, and its 'extinguishing' and 'igniting.'"
"This is very powerful Fire Release. If I don't control it and let it burn on instinct... it would probably keep spreading until 'existence' itself that it touched was completely turned to ash."
"..."
Naruto sank into deeper silence.
This sounded like [Amaterasu] and [Kagutsuchi] perfectly combined, didn't it? Even going further, freely adjusting temperature too... That other world's Sasuke had it too rough...
Simultaneously, Naruto also noticed that key word in Satsuki's speech—"main."
She said this was the main ability. This meant...
"And its additional effect..."
Satsuki's voice lowered. "Speaking of it... might be somewhat complex."
"That is—living beings 'stained' and 'marked' by Amaterasu Rei's flames... I can attempt to modify their 'concept.'"
"...So that day with Shisui..." Naruto's throat felt somewhat dry.
"At that time, in battle, I wanted his Susanoo to disappear immediately."
Satsuki admitted frankly. "So I instinctively... used this ability and attempted to modify his current 'concept.'"
"'Uchiha Shisui—does not possess Mangekyo Sharingan.'—Just like that."
"But because of the limitation problem from strength gaps I mentioned earlier... with my current ocular power, I can at most make this modified 'reality' persist on him for about one hour."
"....."
Naruto completely froze in place. He'd trained hard for so many years, even risking traveling through space to absorb stellar power, finally managing to obtain strength surpassing Six Paths with great difficulty.
Yet Satsuki's Mangekyo Sharingan born from extreme love—had already nearly touched the Six Paths threshold!
One must know, even without opening her Mangekyo, Satsuki with her own painstakingly trained exquisite Uchiha-style swordsmanship, lightning-fire dual releases, plus Sage Mode mastered through training at Mount Myoboku, her comprehensive strength had already firmly stood in the realm surpassing Kage-level.
Which meant—facing the vast majority of opponents "below Six Paths level," the "time flow rate" and "existential concepts" she could interfere with would have extremely broad operational space!
Finally, after those long seconds where his brain nearly went blank from information overload, Naruto barely recovered a thread of thinking ability from this series of nuclear-bomb-level cognitive shocks.
He suddenly remembered the key point from earlier—
Satsuki had stored [Amaterasu Rei]'s flames inside his body.
But if he'd been "concept modified," with his perception of his own energy and existential state, it would be impossible not to notice at all.
Although... Naruto didn't reject any form of "mark" from Satsuki.
"Don't worry..."
Satsuki gently grasped his hand, palm slightly cool, yet gaze sincere without any shadow of concealment.
"I didn't use that ability to modify Naruto... I won't do that kind of thing to you."
This was completely truthful.
Of course, she'd tried tentatively, extremely lightly—perhaps just wanting to quietly add some marks belonging only to her into his "concept."
But she perceived with utmost clarity—she couldn't modify even the slightest bit.
With Naruto's "strength," her power couldn't even leave a shallow mark on him.
"Satsuki..."
"I don't need this 'gift,' and I don't need you to use this method to 'protect' or 'mark' me!"
"You now, at this moment, every appearance before me—is already the best, the most perfect."
As he spoke, the vast ocean-like chakra within him had quietly begun operating. The [Star Eye]'s power flowed silently through his meridians, attempting to precisely locate and gently guide out that mass of [Amaterasu Rei] flames sunk into his energy core—he didn't want to passively carry her power in this form, much less let her develop any illusion that she "needed to use this method to maintain or prove something."
However, Satsuki shook her head. "Even if Naruto himself feels it's unnecessary..."
She raised her eyes, Mangekyo deeply wanting to look into the deepest part of his soul. Her eyes churned with sacrificial, scalding infatuation and obsession hot enough to melt reason.
"But... I need it."
"If... I'm saying if..."
She drew closer, warm breath brushing his sensitive ear, yet the content of those words was steeped in an extremity that made one's heart palpitate, yet was also incomparably gentle "offering."
"If one day, Naruto finds any aspect of me... even just the tiniest detail, annoying, tiring, or no longer likes it..."
"I won't resist."
She pressed against his ear, whispering in breathy voice, that sound carrying a kind of broken sweetness.
"Naruto can... freely modify me—"
"Use this power to change me into the form you most love, most obsess over."
"Change me into a form that will forever make your heart flutter, that will never make you feel even a trace of boredom."
"Change me into... from soul to body, from past to future, belonging only to you alone, the one and only, perfect 'Uchiha Satsuki.'"
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