The warehouse lay silent in the dark, its broken rafters creaking faintly as the wind pressed against them. Raven's Shadow Clone sat cross-legged in the center of the room, masked and motionless. Her Rinnegan shimmered faintly beneath the hood as she looked at Yumi.
Raven's voice slipped into Yumi's mind, calm and steady. "My chakra reserves are low, but this chakra extraction method will replenish them. When my clone dissipates, the gains will return to my true body."
Her breathing slowed, even and precise, each exhale measured. The air shifted around her, faint wisps of unseen energy curling at the edge of perception. Invisible to ordinary eyes, they gathered around her body in slow threads of light. Yumi's golden gaze fixed on them, her tails moving as she leaned forward.
"This is nature's flow," Yumi said, her tone low and sage-like. "The energy of heaven and earth itself. Ordinary shinobi must balance their physical energy, their spiritual energy, and this current to achieve Sage Mode. Too little, and the technique fails. Too much, and they turn to stone."
Her eyes narrowed as she studied the faint currents wrapping around Raven. "But you, Raven… your Rinnegan stabilizes the imbalance. Where others struggle, you breathe freely."
Raven did not answer at first. Her eyes closed, her mind turned inward, she continued to draw the invisible energy into herself. Her voice came soft, focused. "When my clone dissolves, my meditation and training feed back into me. Each cycle builds my reserves higher, like charging a battery that never empties. With enough time, my natural chakra will eclipse anything a normal shinobi can dream of."
The glow around her deepened. The faint ripples pulsed against the warehouse floor, resonating like an unseen tide. Her body remained utterly still, but her presence filled the hollow space with an intensity that seemed to hum against the walls.
Her thoughts shifted, unbidden, to Naruto. Her breath caught slightly, but her voice pressed forward, quiet and solemn. "Naruto… in the future, you'll walk this path too. But your Sage Mode will be incomplete—a fleeting balance. With my Rinnegan, this power will never fade. It will only evolve."
Yumi's tails curled closer, her eyes narrowing as she sensed Raven's thoughts slipping further. Raven's next words carried a darker weight, whispered as though she spoke to herself. "One day, my evolution will take me further. Beyond shinobi, beyond a sage. Towards what Kaguya Ōtsutsuki became… a being of pure chakra."
Yumi's head rose sharply, her voice laced with suspicion. "Why do you speak her name? What business do you have with Kaguya?"
Beneath the mask, Raven's lips curved faintly, her tone evasive but firm. "I have my plans, Yumi. Long-term plans."
The fox's eyes narrowed further, her voice sharpening. "What do you mean?"
Raven's tone gave nothing away. "You'll see in time."
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