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Chapter 12 — Did I Just Fuse with Konan?!
"Akatsuki… is time really that short?" Konan frowned, anxiety flashing in her amber eyes.
She had long since resolved to spend her entire life to reach her goal if necessary—but from the way Akatsuki spoke, it seemed they didn't have that kind of time.
Alex's upper edge curled slightly, mimicking a nod.
[Obito has been manipulating the Akatsuki's collection of Tailed Beasts. In less than half a year, he's already gathered seven.]
Konan had already learned everything about Obito's identity and background from him.
[He won't wait long for the remaining two—the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails. We must gain the power to fight him before he completes the set.]
The time following Pain's death was critical. The Fourth Great Ninja War was approaching fast—no more than half a year away. Once Obito reclaimed the Rinnegan and created a new Six Paths of Pain using Jinchūriki corpses, his strength would surge beyond imagining.
"There really isn't much time left…" Konan clenched her fists, her face growing grim.
With so little time, learning the Chimera Technique was impossible.
[Don't panic yet,] Alex wrote softly, trying to calm her. [Let me test something I just thought of.]
He drifted toward her chest. [Konan, use Dance of the Shikigami.]
Konan didn't understand but followed without hesitation, transforming her body into thousands of sheets of paper.
If this didn't work, Alex would have to find some other way—maybe delay the war, maybe even… let the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails "die" temporarily to buy them a few years.
He wasn't about to bet his life on Naruto and Sasuke fixing everything. If destiny faltered, he'd rather take matters into his own hands.
When Konan's skin split into fine seams of white paper, Alex moved instantly—slipping like a blade of light through the gap at her collarbone and diving straight into her chest.
[Konan, cancel the paperization.]
Another sheet fluttered before her face, displaying his command.
Konan nodded and released the jutsu.
"Mm?" A strange sensation rose within her chest—something foreign, alive, pulsing right inside her.
Her right hand instinctively pressed over her heart, and waves of warmth rippled outward.
"Akatsuki?" she murmured.
[It's me.]
Her suspicion was confirmed as the two black characters appeared on the hovering page.
Success! It worked! Alex's mind blazed with excitement.
His theory had been right—if every piece of paper was originally her chakra construct, then by returning to her body at the exact moment she released the paper state, he could merge directly with her.
Now, he existed in a state beyond definition—not quite paper, not quite flesh. His consciousness floated in a semi-ethereal form, yet he could feel everything within her: the steady rhythm of her heartbeat, the flow of blood and chakra through intricate networks of pathways.
He could even sense control threads—but when he tried to move them, her natural spiritual defense blocked him.
[Konan, relax your mind. Don't resist.]
Konan stared at the page displaying his words, feeling the alien pulse within her. After a moment of hesitation, she exhaled softly and let her guard down.
She didn't know what Alex intended to do—but she trusted him. He had saved her more than once; he would never harm her.
The instant her spirit relaxed, Alex seized partial control of her body—and activated the Chimera Technique.
Konan's eyes widened in awe. Inside her, chakra began to race through her network in a completely new pattern. Though she couldn't name it, she instinctively recognized it as the prelude to an unknown, high-level jutsu.
Her right hand lifted on its own. Lines of crimson light gathered at her palm until they swelled into a sphere of red energy—glowing like a molten orb.
It was the signature manifestation of the Chimera Technique.
Now all it lacked was a bloodline shinobi. The moment the red aura enveloped them, their essence would merge into her body—and she would gain their Kekkei Genkai.
It worked! Alex's elation surged.
In this state, he and Konan were essentially one being. By channeling his understanding through her body, he could perform the Chimera Technique perfectly.
[Konan, memorize everything—the sensation, the chakra flow, the balance between pathways.]
Even amid excitement, Alex didn't forget the real goal: teaching her. If she could remember this, time would no longer be an obstacle.
Under his guidance, Konan felt every intricate rhythm of the jutsu: the sequence, the pulse, the distribution of chakra—details she never could have grasped by reading theory alone.
Most shinobi had to spend years mastering such an S-rank forbidden technique—dissecting, correcting, experimenting before even achieving a single successful activation.
But Konan had Alex—a living, thinking cheat code.
He could let her skip the learning phase, experience a perfect execution, then study it backward until mastery became inevitable.
To put it simply—Alex was both her teacher and her ninjutsu accelerator.
Realizing this, Konan's heart filled with newfound gratitude. She steadied her breathing and began committing every pattern to memory.
...
By the sixth activation, the red glow in her palm flickered and went out.
Alex blinked. Then realization struck. "Her chakra's gone…"
Even partial use of an S-rank forbidden jutsu drained an enormous amount of chakra. Five full activations—six attempts total—was her absolute limit.
"I'm sorry," Konan said, pale and sweating, her lavender hair clinging to her forehead. "I only remembered about a tenth of it."
Her voice carried a trace of guilt. Compared to Alex, who had learned it in an instant, she felt painfully inadequate.
[Don't be discouraged. You've done remarkably well.]
Alex's tone was warm. He knew better than anyone how complex the human chakra system was. The Chimera Technique's chakra flow had countless variations; memorizing even a fraction after five trials was impressive.
If not for his golden finger, he would have been utterly lost himself.
Gently, he slipped free from her chest as she reactivated her paper form, floating before her once again.
"It seems I'll have to trouble you for more practice," Konan admitted with a faint smile of apology.
[It's fine. Take your time. You'll learn it far faster this way.]
Alex didn't mind. Whether she learned it quickly or not, the biggest obstacle—time—was already gone. Worst case, he could always fuse with her again and cast it for her.
Next, he thought, scanning her from head to toe, I need to refine the Chimera Technique further… and make sure she's not carrying any hidden White Zetsu spores.