-----
-----
The barren wasteland had turned into a raging sea of lightning, arcs of power tearing everything around it apart.
At the heart of that storm, Saeko Busujima was half-kneeling on the ground, her body wracked with pain as violent currents of electricity burst uncontrollably out of her.
"Damn it… this power is way beyond what she can handle."
Not far away, Venom braced himself against the crackling strikes, watching her closely. From what he could see, Saeko had failed to rein in the Thunder Wolf Dragon's blood. The beast's power had thrown her straight into a berserk state.
If this went on, her body wouldn't survive. She'd literally tear herself apart from the inside out.
"Idiot—why didn't you stop and think before doing that?!"
Venom cursed under his breath. Even while shielding himself against the storm, he forced his way step by step toward her.
Saeko curled up on the ground, her body convulsing as she endured the endless torrents of thunder exploding inside her.
"Such a fool…"
Venom finally reached her side, his frustration boiling over. She had downed the blood without a single moment's hesitation—and now she was paying for it.
His form rippled, body dissolving into liquid shadows that slowly spread across Saeko, wrapping around her trembling frame.
Then he began to merge with her, forcing his own power deep inside in a desperate attempt to suppress the violent blood rampaging through her veins.
Her body instantly became a battlefield.
Venom wrestled with the monstrous current, trying to tame it, but it was like grappling with a raging beast—wild, primal, and unwilling to be bound.
It turned into a tug-of-war, a brutal contest of willpower. Neither side could give in first, or Saeko would be lost.
Outside, the lightning finally stopped surging from her body, but the strain on her face only grew worse.
After all, the one suffering the most from this inner war… was her.
The struggle dragged on until at last Venom gained the upper hand. The violent energy settled, for now, into uneasy silence.
With the danger contained, Venom pulled his consciousness back, reforming his body. He cradled Saeko gently in his arms, then carried her away from the battlefield.
By the next morning, in the quiet shelter of a cave, Saeko stirred awake. Blinking at the unfamiliar surroundings, her expression filled with confusion.
"You're up, huh?"
The voice came from the entrance. Venom walked in slowly, carrying a handful of wild fruit he'd gathered.
Saeko instinctively tried to sit up, but pain shot through her whole body, forcing her to collapse back down.
"Don't push it," Venom said, setting the fruit aside and kneeling next to her. "Your body's been torn apart by that lightning. You need time to recover."
The storm she had faced head-on had shattered bones and even damaged her organs. Her condition was far worse than it looked.
Hearing that, Saeko gave up struggling and stayed still on her makeshift bed.
"Listen," Venom added, his tone serious, "that power inside you may be calm for now, but it doesn't mean you've mastered it. Be careful—it could turn on you at any moment."
Saeko simply smiled, nodding lightly as if it were nothing. "Alright, I'll listen."
She didn't seem to be taking the warning too seriously.
Venom sighed, then leaned back. "Actually… there's something I want to talk to you about."
Venom paused at the words, his expression flickering with hesitation.
"What is it?"
Saeko Busujima tilted her head slightly, confusion in her eyes.
"Your body is in ruins. At a normal rate, it would take at least a year for you to recover."
Venom spoke slowly, almost like he was weighing each word.
"But with my abilities, I could restore you to full health in just a few days."
He stopped, then added, "But before that… I have an idea."
"What idea?"
Saeko's gaze sharpened with curiosity.
Venom raised his hand and pulled something from his system space—a massive egg, smooth and faintly glowing.
"What is that?"
Saeko's eyes widened. She couldn't see how this strange egg connected to what he had just said.
"This is a Thunder Dragon egg. Inside it is the dragon's genetic essence. My thought is, while repairing your body, I could also fuse some of its genes into you."
His voice was calm, but his words carried weight. If he succeeded, Saeko would gain the ability to command lightning itself.
The only problem was…
"I don't know if, after that, you could still be considered human."
A human body carrying dragon genes—by definition, that would make her something in between, a half-dragon.
Would Saeko accept that?
"I will."
Without hesitation, she smiled and nodded.
"Why? Why can't you ever stop and think about it for once?"
Venom frowned. Her answer had come too quickly, almost carelessly, and it grated on him.
"…Isn't this what you wanted? I'm just trying to make it real."
Saeko smiled faintly, as if her choice was the simplest thing in the world. Because it was Venom asking, she would always accept—no matter what the request was.
Venom fell silent, then slowly rose to his feet and walked out of the cave without another word.
The next day, he began his plan—repairing Saeko's broken body while carefully weaving in the Thunder Dragon's genes.
He made sure to keep it balanced. Too much dragon blood, and her body would no longer remain human. She would start to transform, piece by piece, until she was nothing but a full-blooded Thunder Dragon.
That was the truth behind "half-dragons." The dragon side always threatened to overtake the human side, steering them toward full transformation.
After that, the two of them spoke less and less.
Day by day, under Venom's guidance, Saeko's body healed. And then, on the fourth day, something unexpected happened—
A glowing lightning sigil appeared on her chest, the mark of complete mastery over thunder.
Venom narrowed his eyes in thought.
Her body had accepted the Thunder Dragon's essence. Dragons stood above all other creatures, and so her inner power had naturally submitted to it.
The hidden dangers inside her had been erased.
By the time a few more days passed, Saeko had fully recovered. Not only could she wield the power of lightning, but her chakra reserves had also exploded, reaching the level of a Kage.
A disaster had turned into a blessing.
"....."