Chapter 360: A Piece of the Puzzle

Chapter 360: Chapter 360: A Piece of the Puzzle

I passed by the Nara compound, and as luck would have it, Shizuru was already there. I asked the guard at the gate not to tell her who was asking for her, and he surprisingly obliged. Although, knowing the Nara clan, I was not entirely sure if he kept my name a secret to play along with the surprise, or if he was simply too lazy and unbothered to deal with a teenage girl freaking out at a friend’s glorious return.

I nodded to myself, highly pleased with the mental praise I had just given my grand entrance. My amusement only grew as I spotted a sleepy, incredibly grumpy Shizuru approaching. She dragged her feet, looking completely disheveled in her standard shinobi uniform.

"Is it another urgent mission?" she groaned, rubbing her eyes. "I swear, if this is another training drill, I will disappear forever into the endless maze of the Nara compound and you will never find me. Just let me rest."

Then she finally looked up and actually saw me.

Her eyes widened, shining with sudden clarity as every trace of sleep instantly vanished. She practically sprinted toward me, a massive smile breaking across her face. "Noa! You are finally awake! I was so worried!"

She threw her arms around me for a quick, tight hug before stepping back to observe me properly. Almost immediately, a look of profound betrayal crossed her features. "Wait, you are taller now. And how is your hair longer and shinier than mine?"

That was when it fully dawned on me. I had been walking all over the village with flowing hair that rivaled Hashirama or the legendary Sannin.

"Do you have a hairband?" I asked sheepishly.

Shizuru nodded, producing one from her storage seal. I took it gratefully, gathering my long hair gently before spinning it and passing the band through, imitating the classic, neat arrangement of Neji Hyuga.

I tilted my head, satisfied with the stability of the tied-back style, before turning my attention back to her. "I am sorry for worrying you, Shizuru. I know I should have told you all the details, but I was afraid that would just make you panic. Or worse, that you would try to stop me completely before I even started the seal process." I extended my arms, showing off the newly forged, powerful muscles and my significantly wider wingspan. "It was a selfish move, I know. But I would say it paid off."

Shizuru clicked her tongue, though her fond smile betrayed her annoyance. "I am just glad that you made it, and I am happy to see you back. I have really missed hanging out with you on our walks."

I nodded. "We will have plenty of time for those over the next couple of days. But for now, I actually need your help with some highly complicated math. Are you up for it?"

Shizuru bumped her shoulder against mine, though given my new height, she barely reached my elbow now. She grinned brightly. "Always am. Honestly, I will just be happy accompanying you."

Looking at her, I realized Shizuru had grown a lot in such a short amount of time. I was incredibly glad to see her this relaxed, no longer consumed by worry over the ever-widening gap in our strength. That gap used to constantly make her doubt herself. I guessed that going through so many grueling missions and surviving numerous dangerous encounters had finally proven something to her. She was actually much stronger than she thought, especially when compared to normal shinobi rather than monstrous prodigies.

She had made peace with that realization, and she had become a vastly better kunoichi for it.

We walked back to my house as I listened to the wild stories and grueling details of the missions she had endured while I was out cold. We laughed continuously along the way, and I even bought us some sweets, deliberately keeping my haggling down to a mere twenty minutes so I would not ruin the mood. I now had to save an ungodly amount of money to pay off my massive medical debt to Ayaka, a financial obligation that loomed over my head like a demonic pact.

Once we reached home, Naruto was already inside. He was busy drawing on the walls, but he paused to give Shizuru a warm welcome. She played with him for a while as I set up the necessary workspace.

Eventually, the energetic blond returned to his wall art, allowing me to explain my goal to an eager Shizuru. Since the exact knowledge of the jutsu was strictly forbidden, I made sure to be very careful about what information I provided.

"I have created a mathematical formula that defines my exact location in space at any given time," I explained. "But I want to expand it to pinpoint the location of my target as well, ensuring both our coordinates are dynamically linked."

Shizuru nodded, catching onto my intention immediately. "So right now, you only have a working concept that defines your own position, right?"

I hummed in agreement.

"We would need to step backward a little," she reasoned. "We can use the core of your location equation as a fixed origin point. From there, we create two variable branches that use this center to run the calculations, establishing two distinct sides. Because the formula recognizes your unique chakra signature, it will automatically assign you as the primary user and track your coordinates. By default, any other marked item or person will then be designated as the target, with the core mathematical function acting as the anchor arranging everything perfectly."

I rubbed my chin in awe. "That is genius."

I showed her my notes, and we both got to work breaking down the formula to create a solid foundation. It was incredibly difficult work, but it felt amazing to spend time immersed in an activity we both deeply enjoyed. I could tell by the bright smile on her face that she was having a great time as our minds wrestled with the complex variables. Luckily, because I had already completed most of the grueling preliminary research by relying on the ingenious notes of the Fourth Hokage, finding a unified solution was no longer entirely impossible.

By nightfall, we had a fully functional formula.

After running a quick test away from Shizuru using the excuse of preparing some tea, I came back absolutely beaming. Having an incredible mind like hers around was truly a blessing, and she was such a great friend to help out for hours without demanding to know the classified details.

Once she finished her sweets and tea, Shizuru finally left to get some much-needed rest following the exhausting mental workout. Naruto was already fast asleep nearby, a snot bubble fighting for its life as it hovered over his nose.

With a single hand sign, I created a shadow clone. It appeared in a puff of smoke and immediately summoned a glowing chakra scalpel. I winced slightly, my body shivering almost subconsciously as I opened my palm.

The clone spoke with a grim tone. "Here we go again."

I did my best to control my breathing and suppress my groans of pain so I would not wake the sleeping boy. The powerful, highly complicated seal for the Flying Thunder God, now integrated with our unified equation, was meticulously carved into the palm of my hand.

Because the invasive Stormdrive seal formation regulated my chakra output perfectly, the entire process was surprisingly quick and smooth.

Once the physical seal was complete, I focused my intent, pushing as much chakra as possible into the freshly etched marks. After eating a quick meal, drinking some water, and meditating for a few hours while continuously feeding the newly etched seal, it finally activated.

The process almost completely drained my newly expanded reserves.

I stood up, deeply exhausted yet too excited to sleep. I had to try something I had been theorizing about for a long time. With a puff of smoke, a wooden puppet appeared in front of me. I pressed my palm onto its surface. Using a chakra scalpel, I etched the Flying Thunder God seal into both of the puppet’s hands. Then, with a single tear running from my left eye, I used a highly specialized and extremely expensive element-resistant chakra ink to fill the etched spaces, officially tagging the puppet with my teleportation formula seal.

I formed a chakra thread, connecting my fingertips to the construct, and walked it across the room as silently as possible. I surged a specific pulse of energy straight through the invisible string. The puppet reached out and gently tapped the sleeping Naruto on the forehead, using my channeled chakra to stamp the seal on him.

It glowed for a moment, utilizing the chakra I had injected earlier to attach itself. The spatial equation did its magic before the seal completely disappeared into his body.

A massive grin stretched across my face as I activated the jutsu.

A flawless link in time and space connected me to the new target. Given the proximity of my tag, the chakra cost was minimal. I sharply tugged my hand, launching the puppet into the air, and instantly teleported to Naruto so fast that I could swear I almost saw myself in two places at the same time.

It was genuinely hard not to laugh out loud. The completely broken concept I had thought about for so long was finally working. This was going to be incredibly fun for me, and overwhelmingly distressing and disorienting for my enemies. I could not help but wear a sinister smirk as I looked up at my puppet, floating gloriously in the moonlight spilling from the window.