The Gardens of Tsukihana shimmered with soft evening mist. Lanterns danced over koi-filled ponds. Jiren stood calmly, arms behind his back, listening to Fu chatter about sweets. It was serene. Peaceful. I decided to wait until the young woman was not around to act.
When she left, it was time to take action.
Lanterns flickered. Wind stilled. A silver light began to form across the koi pond.
I stepped forward, under the visage of the Silver Lady, the High Priestess of the Moon Cult. My silver hair flowed like moonlight, eyes glowing with divine luminance. My kimono shimmered with sigils from another world. Behind me walked Kaito, now in his face he wore a mask polished like starlight, his presence a calm storm. Below me I have used a Genjutsu to alter the image reflected in the lake, for something transcendental.
While I was in the silver stage I felt much closer to the silver world, even so with each step I took closer to Jiren something in me roared, and I knew it was—Shikashi's presence the silver world was looking forward to reacting as its antithesis.
A jōnin cried out.
Senbon and Kunai flew. Fire Jutsu danced across the sky.
Kaito moved. Mist unfurled from his breath, swallowing every threat. Not a single attack touched me. Each step I took felt like I was folding reality under my feet. Every attack that Kaito's ability passed to stop was anticipated by its intent, clear to see thanks to the now evolved World of Intent, and dodged gracefully even before it reached me.
My now powerful body combined with Boost gave the impression to all the watching eyes that I was teleporting with each step, until I was a few steps away from Jiren.
Jiren turned. Calm. Ready.
He threw a capsule—Soul-Destroying Poison.
It enveloped me in darkness.
I walked through it as if through a veil of mist. It's not the first time I've encountered this poison and my spirit has already adapted to it. I covered my body with silver threads, I gave them matter with my physical energy and the poison could not touch me.
"I have come," I said, my voice clear. "for your judgment. As it was for Tenshō, so it shall be for all those in Takigakure who defiled the Iron Lands. Learn well from this mercy."
Jiren's eyes widened. Now next to him, the aura that protected him from my influence could do nothing... a combination of Shikashi's influence and Jiren's own genius, even so my silver threads forced their way through his aura.
In this moment, I hoped to use all my power that the silver state to bypass Jiren's mental defenses and put him to sleep, but before even carrying out my attack as I finished my words the silver world reacted on its own using me as a conduit, dragging Jiren towards the white space.
Then—he collapsed, leaving me completely stunned.
<<<< o >>>>
A scream tore the heavens.
"JIREN!"
Fu.
Chakra exploded around her like wildfire. Green and crimson arcs of raw, unstable energy. The beast within her—roused by rage.
When I saw her expression, I knew the plan had to change. I could feel Kuro's summoning tug, but I couldn't go. Leaving now would mean leaving Fu uncontrolled—and innocents would pay the price.
"My first knight," I said, voice steady, "handle the interlopers. The Jinchūriki is mine."
Kaito moved like mist, already intercepting the shinobi who surged forward. Cloaked in fog, he weaved between attacks like a ghost, striking pressure points with surgical precision—incapacitating, never killing. Every time a shinobi fell, serpents of light coiled around them, pulling them gently from the battlefield.
My hand found Mitsue, still clinging to my waist. "Get the civilians out. Then leave. I'll follow once this is over."
She hesitated, her coils tightening, unwilling. But then she obeyed—disappearing into radiant light.
Moments later, dozens of Mitsue's clones flickered across the battlefield, appearing as snakes covered in solid light of every size, gliding through debris and chakra storms to rescue civilians and injured ninja alike. And I turned to face Fu.
She was unrecognizable. Two tails whipped behind her. Her chakra roared like a tidal wave. Her form flickered with the outlines of the Seven-Tails—half-girl, half-monster. Her eyes were wild. Consumed.
I attacked her with Genjutsu, but the chaos in her chakra rendered it useless. My power was insignificant before the scorching flame that was a Bijuu. Their fury combined made her immune.
So I met her head-on.
With Microboost enhancing my reflexes, and the World of Intent painting her next moves like lights in the air, I danced around her strikes. I pressed in close, forcing the fight where she couldn't unleash wide-scale devastation.
All my instincts screamed at me that a mistake here would mean death. All my focus was invested in experiencing the world of intent, to anticipate her.
Claws made of Bijuu chakra and anger flew everywhere at impossible angles trying to hit me as I danced between them.
Fu grew more feral. When the third tail sprouted. Her strikes were faster now, crushing—devastating. I parried, redirected, absorbed. To the spectators, it was as though the Silver Lady wove between death itself…. Hinata's inner self wasn't that excited.
But I couldn't bring her to the Silver World. Not alone… Jiren! That's it!
<<<< o >>>>
A white void stretched into eternity. At its heart, a small floating island hovered, an oasis of tranquility in the endless nothingness. A tree of immense age stood rooted there, its silver leaves shimmering like starlight frozen mid-fall. Around it, crystalline lakes reflected the pale glow of the space above—silent, skyless, sacred.
Jiren stood at the edge of the lake, still and silent.
Before him appeared the being who had brought him to this place: the silver-haired lady. Her presence defied logic—beautiful beyond comprehension, with the aura of something ancient and untouchable. She appeared not like a ninja or even a human, but like an immortal cultivator torn from myth.
"This isn't how I planned for us to meet," she said, her voice ringing like chimes across the void. "But tell me—how much does young Fū mean to you?"
Jiren blinked. The name struck a chord. "What... What happened to her?"
The Silver Lady answered quickly, urgency shadowing her voice. "She's losing control of the Bijū. She's about to destroy the city of Tsukihana."
The images formed in Jiren's mind instantly. Panic flickered in his eyes. "How many tails?"
"Three... no—four."
Jiren inhaled sharply, calculating. "That's already more than my mystic formation could restrain."
She gave a short nod. "Then we improvise. Will you help me stop her—before she takes innocent lives?"
There was no hesitation. The answer came to him before thought could form. But before he could speak it, she moved—
A cascade of silver threads surged toward him. They wrapped around his spirit, not to restrain, but to empower. In that instant, Jiren felt something he hadn't felt in years: the total connection to another life.
The web of souls extended before him, infinite and overwhelming. One thread pulsed hotter than the others—burning, pained, familiar.
Fū.
Driven by instinct and something deeper than reason, he reached toward that thread. The silver cords responded to his will, guiding his intent like a current.
And then—
Fū appeared.
Right before him, in the space between worlds, surrounded by raging energy. Her cloak shimmered red and green, four tails dancing in chaos, and the fifth just beginning to form. The Silver Lady beside them had dimmed, her light flickering as though the toll of bridging souls and space had drained her. But her gaze remained steady.
<<<< o >>>>
In the real world, as Hinata faced Jiren in the realm of spirit, chaos erupted around her.
Hinata continued her desperate evasions, her blade a silver arc through the air. Each slash met strong resistance—Fu, lost in her fury, ignored every wound, her mind consumed by rage and pain. The fourth tail erupted from her back with a feral roar, and her speed doubled instantly. A hard, chitinous armor began to form around her body, reminiscent of an insect's shell, each plate glinting with malevolent energy.
The ground trembled beneath their feet. Buildings cracked. Shockwaves split the cobblestone paths. With every wild strike Fu unleashed, her tails lashed out like whips of raw destruction. The air itself seemed to warp around her. The people of the town had begun to flee, screams everywhere. But it was clear—if something wasn't done soon, the town would be reduced to ash.
Hinata gritted her teeth, her breath ragged, eyes flashing between silver and white.
She pushed her power to its limits—one side reaching out to Fu, the other reaching to Jiren in the spiritual plane. It was a desperate gamble.
"Please," she whispered, voice shaking. "Let their bond be true. Let her hear his call."
And then—silence.
Instead of the beast, a little girl now stood, Fu was damaged by the beast's devastating chakra within her. She too fell, as Jiren had done mere moments before.
Hinata fell to one knee, sweat trailing down her brow.
The town was still intact.
But the Silver Lady, for a moment, looked simply like a girl who had carried too much for far too long.
Mitsue was already gone too—summoned by Kuro. Far from the town, they called for me.
Kaito stood atop the battlefield, he was as perfect as when the fight began, behind him there were the four ninjas with several superficial wounds but healthy. The mist peeled away around him as he looked to the heavens.
The last words I left behind rang clear:
"Care for the fallen, here and in Takigakure. They will return... in one month."
And then I too vanished, dissolving into radiant silver. Now I allowed myself to accept the call, my silver stage gone thanks to the impossible effort.
Who says that Love doesn't help you win some...
In the town of Tsukihana only the shinobi remained—awestruck, speechless, and forever changed.
<<<< o >>>>
Meanwhile the White Space
Jiren stood motionless, suspended in the stillness of this sanctified space. And then—Fu appeared.
She crashed into the island in her full tailed beast form, snarling and seething with confusion and rage. The raw energy of the Seven-Tails coiled around her like a storm—but it faltered. This realm, this divine domain, absorbed her fury without harm. It pressed gently upon her, cradling her fury until it collapsed into confusion.
From the mists walked the Silver Lady—Hinata. Even in her normal state. Her presence bent the rules of the world. With every step she took, the beast's rage dimmed, its confusion softened, and Fu's eyes slowly cleared.
Then, with a motion both tender and powerful, Hinata frees Jiren from his bonds and gently throws him towards Fu's side. The girl dropped to her knees. Her eyes welled with tears.
"Jiren… you're alive…" she whispered.
His eyes fluttered open. "Fu…?"
She embraced him without hesitation, sobbing with joy.
Hinata approached. "Jiren. You know the name Shikashi."
Jiren tensed. "You're one of his agents, aren't you?"
"You're wrong," she said, her voice like wind on still water. "It's you who's been working for him—unknowingly."
Fu's expression hardened. "I don't know what's happening, but I won't let you hurt him!"
"You're safe here. No harm will come to either of you," Hinata said, gently raising her hand.
From Jiren's chest, an oily shadow began to rise—a coiling mass shaped like a serpent, composed of fragmented, suffering souls. It writhed, resisting exposure.
"This is what Shikashi left in you. A parasite. It whispered into your decisions. Bent your will."
Jiren's face twisted. "I thought I was resisting him… I thought I was building power to stop him… but all along, I was drinking poison." He let out a bitter laugh. "What a fool I've been."
Hinata's gaze softened, but her tone remained firm. "You are responsible for your actions. But I will grant you clarity. In this space, Shikashi cannot touch you. And when your sentence of one month ends, you will sense his whispers—and choose for yourself whether to obey."
"That's… more mercy than I deserve," Jiren murmured.
"I've seen others fall to his influence. I hope you'll be the last."
He turned to Fu, taking her hand protectively. "She had nothing to do with any of this."
"She lost control when she saw you fall," Hinata said gently. "I brought her here to protect others. She will return to the world shortly. But during your time here, she'll be able to visit you in dreams."
Then, without a word, she vanished.
The scene shifted. Jiren and Fu now stood on a new floating island, alone. Around them, others dotted the sky—each one the penance of another soul.
Below, the Silver World shimmered in lunar brilliance.
Fu remained until her body vanished. Her spirit returned to the world. Jiren waited. Time passed.
He was used to long silences, but this… this felt eternal.
Then, at last, Fu returned.
And life stirred again.