Springtime Shinobi 58 (Patreon)

With Tobirama's second scroll delving into enhancing one's Sensory abilities using Natural Energy, Seikun wasn't too surprised when the third and fourth expanded on the topic and started branching into his theories on sealing, hand seals, and something he referred to as Imaginary Space, the concept around which space-time Jutsu revolved.

According to Tobirama, everything within creation, including people, flora, fauna, the planet, and even concepts such as nature transformations, had a polarized state that existed as an inverse of what people perceived as reality. He believed that, while it couldn't be perceived using conventional methods, a plane existed opposite of reality where time flowed backward, and entropy was reversed. What he found most fascinating about this was that each individual was connected to this plane entirely independently of one another, and that what people referred to as spirit energy, the polarity of natural energy, was a form of potential energy that accumulated as the disparity between a person's point of origin(birth) increased in relation to their experiences, knowledge, and everything else they accumulated until throughout their life. When this energy reached a critical level, exceeding the limits of a person's body and life force to contain, their life would end, and the resultant release of spiritual energy would create a throughway to this Imaginary Space, in effect causing them to relive the same life but in reverse order. This was why when a person experienced near death or was brought back to life, they felt as though their life was flashing before their eyes, starting from recent events, transitioning to recollections from their youth, and then a sensation of moving through a dark tunnel toward a distant light source.

Separating Imaginary Space from reality was a functionally nonexistent plane Tobirama had taken to calling the Imaginary Axis. It wasn't a valid description, as there was no actual space, but he defined it as a place in which concepts such as time, space, matter, and everything that could be were not. However, as it was the nonexistent medium through which spirit energy traveled to the Imaginary Space and nature energy cycled back to the real world, resulting in new life, it was a realm of boundless potential.

Since Chakra was the result of mixing physical energy with spirit energy, water, earth, fire, and lightning produced by it typically fizzled out as if it had never existed. But there was always at least a minuscule amount left behind, the result of natural energy integrating with the Chakra as it was molded and the Jutsu as it was released. Tobirama hypothesized that as a person accumulated spirit energy throughout their life, they became more attuned to the Imaginary Axis. This increased their Chakra and made their Jutsu more powerful, but it also made accessing the Imaginary Axis much easier.

By purposefully tapping into this potential, Tobirama hypothesized and eventually confirmed that a person could create an individualized space within the Imaginary Axis. This space was similar to the sub-dimensions created via Fuijutsu, but unlike Fuijutsu, it could expand inwards on itself infinitely. Much more importantly, he postulated that if you could make a tether between two points in reality and run it through the Imaginary Axis, where time, space, and concepts such as distance didn't exist, you could send information or move from one point to another in absolutely no time at all. And if you could tap into the Imaginary Plane itself, you could even send things backward through time, but the amount of energy required to send something forward through reverse time was so immense, Tobirama suspected the only thing you could send were memories and experiences themselves...

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After decoding the third and fourth scrolls, Seikun couldn't help feeling a little uneasy. He refused to believe Hiruzen had somehow figured him out, but the information recorded in the scroll was so pertinent to his situation that it felt deliberate. He also knew that much of Tobirama's theories were likely to be correct as the latter wouldn't have been able to develop Jutsu like the Flying Raijin or Edo Tensei if his research had reached a dead end.

'If only I had the remaining scrolls...' thought Seikun, his expression more serious than it had ever been. It was frustrating that there were no actual Jutsu contained within the scrolls, but the more he decoded and at least thought he understood, the closer he got to the core concepts that made developing virtually any Jutsu possible.

Rising from his desk, Seikun took a moment to massage his weary eyes before checking the time. There was no way it was only 4:37 PM, so he assumed the date had already changed, making it 4:37 AM on May 30th. That gave him a little more than fifty hours to recuperate and check on a few things before reporting to Anko and the scheduled start of the Chunin Exams.

Opening the door to his study, Seikun couldn't help smiling when he found a food cart with cloche-covered dishes waiting for him. The food had long since grown cold, but since he had neglected lunch and dinner, he stuffed himself full before making his way up to his room. Hinata had all but made it her own at that point, but since they were affianced, Seikun didn't mind in the slightest as he made his way over and snuggled up to her, sleeping in his usual spot in one of his t-shirts and a pair of his boxers. For reasons he could imagine but never understand, she and the other girls really liked wearing his clothes, particularly as sleepwear...

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"You're going out...?" asked Hinata, genuinely surprised as, except for training or when they asked him to accompany them, Seikun rarely left the house of his own accord. He couldn't be called a shut-in, but he was the type who needed a reason to leave.

"I want to investigate the Shinobi who will be participating in the Chunin Exams from outside the village," explained Seikun, pausing to slurp up a mouthful of noodles from his sixth bowl of ramen before adding, "A lot of people I care about are participating this time, so I want to see what the competition is like."

"You're not planning on intimidating them, are you...?" questioned Hinata, finding the notion amusing enough to smile as she leaned forward with elbows on the table, palms supporting her chin, and fingers cupping her face. She behaved like a proper lady when others were present, but when they were alone, Hinata didn't mind her manners and liked to stare at him like she was admiring a piece of art. Fortunately, Seikun had gotten used to Hyugas seldom blinking, so he found it more endearing than unnerving.

"No, but if I find anyone suspicious or powerful, I can at least warn the rest of you," answered Seikun, raising his bowl to his mouth and downing the soup stock in several large gulps. Doing so made his stomach feel full, but only briefly as his body nutrients and broke down just about anything he ate within seconds, particularly when he was low on Chakra. The fact he and the girls almost never pooped was a testament to how monstrous their metabolisms and GI tracts were. 

"Then, why don't we go together...?" proposed Hinata. "We haven't gone on any dates since your return, and the weather outside is perfect for an outing."

Exhaling a chuckle, Seikun responded, "If I dared to refuse an invitation from my beautiful fiancee, my karma would inverse, and then I'd have to watch out for lightning in the middle of the day."

"That's the correct answer," hummed Hinata, tilting her head slightly and narrowing her eyes into a loving smile. Then, as she was still wearing his clothes and a pair of blue-green flipflops, she got up from the table and said, "I'm going to go pick my outfit. Draw a bath, and I'll join you in a few minutes."

Without waiting for Seikun's response, Hinata turned and departed for her room. As she went, Seikun couldn't help lowering his gaze, marveling at how she filled out his boxers even better than he did, particularly around the back. Hinata noticed this thanks to her Byakugan, so halfway through her casual strut, she adjusted them, pulling the hem up to her belly button to provide him an even better view...

'This girl has me wrapped around her finger...' thought Seikun, finding the notion more amusing than concerning. Any inhibitions he had about being intimate with the girls had faded long ago, so while there was still a third of a large pot of ramen waiting to be devoured, he promptly got from the table and followed after the lavender-eyed heiress to help her change out of her clothes and pick a new outfit...

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'This is strange...' thought Seikun, walking hand in hand with Hinata near the embassy and ward reserved for delegations from Sunagakure. There were definitely people inside, but most were ordinary civilians, with only a few possessing Chakra. In other words, only those who lived and worked there were present.

Though it was possible that Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro were wandering around to get a feel for Konoha's layout, there should be at least a handful of stragglers hanging back to hold down the fort. In his previous loop, the one before his most recent death, dozens of Genin, several Chunin, and a handful of Jonin had arrived alongside the trio. Seikun hadn't gone out of his way to check the embassy in the past, but since there were a lot more participants from Suna, Ame, and Kusa than usual, he remembered things being really tense around the village.

Contrasting Seikun's expectations, the people of Konoha were business as usual, happily chatting away and moving to and fro, ostensibly without a care in the world. It definitely didn't feel like they were on the verge of breaking into an all-out war at the drop of a hat.

"Are you interested in the Sunagakure Embassy...?" asked Hinata, paying close attention to Seikun's every action. "When I spoke with my father, he didn't mention anything about them participating this time. Hokage-sama, as usual, extended an invitation to the other Great Shinobi Villages to take part, but none accepted."

'So the Konoha Crush got delayed...?' Seikun asked himself, feeling more concerned than relieved. He had nothing against Hiruzen, but if the man didn't face off against Orochimaru and seal his arms, it wasn't difficult to imagine the snakey creep showing up with an entire army of Edo Tensei. Either that, or he could resurrect the First and Second Hokage outside and have them infiltrate the village through Root's sewer tunnels, enabling them to cause tremendous damage to Konoha's core infrastructure before anyone knew what was going on...

"Is everything alright...?" asked Hinata, her expression and tone full of concern as she reassuringly squeezed Seikun's hand. She didn't know what had shaken him, but she could tell it was serious based on how his eyes widened in realization and how his palm suddenly started sweating.

Shaking his head, Seikun explained, "I just experienced a weird feeling of foreboding...like something major was going to happen, but I don't know what or when it will occur..."

"Is there anything I can do...?" asked Hinata, leaning her head against Seikun's arm and shoulder to physically reinforce her desire to support him.

Regaining a smile, Seikun used his right hand to caress Hinata's face, kissing her head before assuring, "We just need to keep doing our best to get stronger. So long as we're strong, it doesn't matter what happens. We can overcome it together..."

'And if we can't...I just have to pray this ability of mine doesn't have finite uses...' thought Seikun. He still didn't know how his ability worked, but if it were truly Return by Death or something similar, he swore in his heart that he would repeat things a thousand times if it were required to protect the people, places, and things he had come to cherish far more than his own life...

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(A/N: For those who are curious, this is the template for Seikun's future self.)