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Chapter 14 — Rest and Replicating Jutsu
"Welcome, guest. Would you like a room for the night?"
The sleepy innkeeper, a middle-aged woman, quickly straightened when she saw a young man step through the door.
"One room," he said flatly.
It was Konan—disguised with a Transformation Jutsu.
It was already past midnight. This small town lay nearest to Takigakure, and after the battles, the flight across a thousand miles, and the tension of pursuit, her body and mind were both exhausted. She needed a night's rest.
"Of course, right this way!"
Following the landlady upstairs, Konan entered a modest but tidy room—barely twenty square meters, but with a private bath.
"Is the room to your liking?"
She ignored the question, scanning every corner for traps or seals. Finding nothing amiss, she handed over some money. "Keep the change—and make sure no one disturbs me."
The woman's eyes gleamed as she clutched the bills. "Of course! You won't be bothered tonight."
Once she left, Konan locked the door, exhaled softly, and released her disguise with a faint poof.
"Akatsuki?"
At her call, Alex emerged from her chest, floating lazily before her.
[You must be exhausted. Take a bath and rest. We'll head for Takigakure in the morning.]
Konan lifted him gently in her palm, her voice softening. "Do you need to eat? Or drink?"
Alex lay comfortably in her hand—warm, weightless, almost alive.
[No. Your chakra is my nourishment. It's what keeps me alive.]
He still held two parts of her chakra within him—enough for now.
"Good." Konan nodded in relief, then carried him toward the bath.
One layer of clothing after another slipped soundlessly to the floor.
'Wait—this is—hold on—'
Alex only realized the situation after they stepped into the steamy bathroom.
Konan was bare—her pale skin luminous even in the dim light, like ivory catching a soft glow. Two words carved themselves into his mind: white… and perfect.
Then—warm fingers touched him, water rippling gently over his body.
'She's… washing me?'
Alex felt as if he were floating in a dream—her delicate fingers moving carefully, tracing along his paper surface, soft yet deliberate.
By the time he stumbled out of the bathroom—a single sheet wobbling drunkenly in the air—his mind was hazy.
A cool breeze through the open window cleared his thoughts.
'The White Tiger of Akatsuki really lives up to her name… and apparently, the only hair she has is on her head.'
Shaking off the distraction, he drifted over to the wooden table where Konan's ninja pouch rested.
He nudged it open and selected the sealing scroll he needed.
Following her earlier instructions, he pressed chakra into the scroll.
Poof!
In a cloud of smoke, dozens of scrolls appeared, covering the table.
Some contained Akatsuki's intelligence records; others were jutsu scrolls Konan had collected over the years.
He opened one at random.
Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique.
'Fire Style? Konan doesn't even use fire…' Alex muttered internally.
Her chakra nature was Wind, Water, Earth, and Yin—no Fire. As her chakra construct, he shared the same limitations.
'Oh well. I'll copy it anyway. Might be useful later.'
He spread his body across the parchment and activated his golden finger—Replication!
In an instant, the scroll's content burned into his mind. He now understood the Great Fireball Technique completely.
All he needed was Fire chakra to perform it.
'Next!'
He tossed the used scroll aside and unfurled another.
"Ah, Wind Style!"
Delighted, he repeated the process.
Replication complete.
Wind Style: Blade of the Gale.
It was, for now, the most powerful offensive jutsu he possessed besides Paper Release and the Chimera Technique—and it matched his chakra attributes perfectly.
'Let's test it.'
Channeling chakra, Alex invoked the technique.
Hummmm—
A razor-thin, nearly invisible blade of wind hovered above him, humming sharply.
Swish!
The wind blade shot forward, slicing through the thick wall like butter and vanishing into the night.
'Not bad at all.'
Bang! The bathroom door burst open.
"Akatsuki!" Konan appeared instantly, seizing him and pressing him protectively against her chest.
Her eyes swept the room, alert and ready to fight—until she noticed the neat, circular hole in the wall. The clean cut told the story: Wind Release.
"I heard a jutsu sound and thought…" she began, then stopped herself. Her damp hair clung to her cheeks, a few drops rolling down her pale skin. She had thrown on only a short top in her rush—her long white legs bare beneath.
[Relax. Obito didn't find us. I was just testing the jutsu.]
Konan exhaled in relief, the tension melting from her shoulders. "Be careful. Don't hurt yourself."
Satisfied he was safe, she turned and slipped quietly back to the bath.
'Heh… traveling with Konan isn't so bad after all,' Alex mused. 'If I'd ended up with Orochimaru, I'd probably be dissected on day one.'
Shuddering at the thought, he returned to work—replicating scroll after scroll.
Fire, Water, Earth, Lightning—he copied them all, even those he couldn't use yet. Chakra affinities could come later; knowledge was forever.
By the end, he'd replicated more than fifty jutsu—standard elemental arts of every kind.
No illusions, seals, or medical ninjutsu, unfortunately—a small regret.
He also copied every Akatsuki intelligence document, storing them neatly in his mental "library."
By the time he finished, it was deep into the night.
Konan emerged quietly from the bath, sitting nearby as he worked.
When he finally stopped, she asked, her tone gentle but still cool, "All done?"
[All done. Get some rest.]
She nodded, placed him against her chest, and lay down.
Wrapped in warmth, Alex closed his eyes and drifted into sleep.
…
"Up ahead—that's Takigakure."
The next morning, Konan hovered high above the clouds, Alex floating beside her. Below them lay the hidden village encircled by towering waterfalls, mist rising in silver plumes.
"Let's go," she said, gripping him lightly as they dove toward the village below.