Desolation of the Caged Bird Chapter 42 - The Answer: The Way

“Chase her!”

“Don’t let her get away!”

Sprinting as quickly as she could through the forest, she cursed and swore as she did. Everything had been going great in her life. As great as it could be, for a while. All she needed to do was let a bunch of men bite her, and they’d be healed from most injuries. 

Sure, there were the occasional men who wanted more than a bite, the ones whose hands roamed, but Fukuro-sama made it clear that it wouldn’t be tolerated. She was too valuable as an asset, and it was likely she would take her own life if she was ‘bespoiled’, so beyond a few roaming hands, a few squeezes, a few threats, she had nothing to worry about.

She had thought that was what her life would entail in Kusagakure no Sato; she believed this was everything that she had to experience in this world. Living imprisoned as a ‘healer’ for the shinobi around her until she died, just as her mother did, giving away too much chakra, being used for her damned bloodline.

At least, until the stupid ghost came.

She lifted the tri-pronged kunai in her hand, the tri-pronged kunai practically painted black with hundreds of thousands of seals that made her unbelievably dizzy, and wanted to curse at it, as she did want to curse at the floating old man that wafted from the kunai. The old ghost, the white-haired man in long white robes with pitch black fingers, had been the one who had turned her life upside down.

The kunai had dropped in her quarters shortly after Namikaze Minato and Orochimaru had paid her a temporary visit, kicking and punching each other, before immediately vanishing. She remembered blinking, wondering as if she had hallucinated the entire thing. For a while, she did believe she had, were it not for this black kunai, this kunai which had been knocked out of the Fourth Hokage’s hand the moment in that brief, tiny window he was there.

She didn’t know what possessed her to keep it. She hadn’t thought much of it. Maybe it could be useful in the future, or maybe she could sell it for a small fortune. Either way, when she heard the news of Namikaze Minato’s death and confirmation that the man had, in fact, been teleporting across the world fighting, she thought maybe this kunai would have even more value.

What she had not expected was for a voice to reach her from the kunai. What she did not expect was for her to sense the presence of a chakra signature emanating from the kunai. The chakra signature of an old geezer claiming to be one of the Legendary Sannin.

“Why did you kill him?! Damn it!”

“I did not.”

“What do you mean you didn't?!”

The kunai floated on its own and stabbed it into the back of the skull of the Jōnin Commander, who had come for a ‘healing session’ and had gotten handsy as usual. No one, absolutely no one, would believe that a kunai had acted on its own imperative, because for whatever reason, no one could see the floating old ghost attached to the kunai, and there were no sensors good enough as she was to be able to detect the chakra within it.

Thus, when the sound of a body hitting the floor had echoed out, it had been to the sight of her holding a kunai, covered in blood, and standing over a dead body.

“Damn it! Damn it! Why me?”

Sprinting as fast as she could, she was cursing under her breath.

“It’s because of your bloodline.”

“What?”

“...I gave that kunai to my student, Minato, after I had made a breakthrough in a difficult problem. I gave it to him in the possibility that when his wife was giving birth, he could use it in my absence.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“It reacts to negative emotions,” the old ghost said. “If Minato is not near it, it senses danger and acts autonomously to protect any Uzumaki in its radius. I did not make it kill that man. It killed him because you’re an Uzumaki.”

“Me?” She froze. “I’m not—”

“You have red hair.”

“There are lots of people with red hair! That doesn’t mean I’m an Uzumaki!” 

“You can sense those shinobi pursuing you. You could also sense their emotions. You can see me. You can see my remnant chakra and soul. That requires a Sensor like no other.”

She stiffened. She gritted her teeth and moved even faster.

“That doesn’t do me any good now. Everyone thinks I killed the Jōnin Commander! I'm dead if I'm caught! Dead!”

“There is an additional protective measure on that Kunai. Drop a bit of blood on it.”

“Why?”

“Listen, girl—”

“It’s Karin.”

“Karin. I need you to return this kunai to Konoha. If you do so, I promise you will be protected.”

“You’re out of your mind, geezer! Journey to Konoha? That’s a death sentence! The roads are—”

“This kunai can take you there instantly. Draw a bit of blood with the kunai, and follow my instructions carefully. Perform seven hand seals in this sequence: Tiger, Ram, Ram, Ox, Hare, Boar, Dragon.”

What? “It… it can?”

“Yes.”

Karin grit her teeth. She could feel her pursuers catching up. She wouldn’t be able to elude them forever. Besides, this was perhaps an opportunity for freedom. If she really was an Uzumaki, then between Konoha and Kusa… there was no doubting which one would treat her more favorably. 

Cursing out the old man as she cut her finger tip with the edge of the Kunai, and rapidly formed the hand seals.

Tiger, Ram, Ram, Ox, Hare, Boar, Dragon—

The next moment, the scenery of the forest vanished completely. She felt a drain of chakra. An absurd drain that almost knocked her unconscious. As she fought back the sheer exhaustion, Karin suddenly realized she was falling. Free-falling, from high, high above the air. 

“YOU BLASTED GHOST!”

The ghost of the kunai fell along with her, stroking his chin. “Something’s not right.”

“YOU THINK?!”

“The Flying Thunder God Network… is it damaged…? It means… Minato used that technique… then the markers… all of them… are dysfunctional. He would never use that unless...”

“I’M GOING TO DIE! GEEZER! IF I DIE, I’LL HAUNT YOU!”

“Calm down. You need to perform the hand seals again.”

Desperately, frantically, Karin performed the seals in sequence. Tiger, Ram, Ram, Ox, Hare, Boar, Dragon—

The scenery changed. Another drain of chakra hit her, and for a moment, she did blackout completely. As she did, she inhaled a mouthful of salty water, which instantly woke her up. Going from falling from the sky to being inside water created such a rapid whiplash that stunned her. Karin did not wait for further instructions as she rapidly performed the hand seals.

Tiger, Ram, Ram, Ox, Hare, Boar, Dragon!

The scenery changed. Land. Sweet, merciful land. She coughed and hacked, vomiting seawater out of her lungs as desperately as she could. She leaned back, flat on the ground, and wheezed, exhaling as she did. Her chakra was spent. Gone. Empty.

Just three uses had drained her to the point she could barely stand and barely move. She was in a forest, somewhere, but what forest, she did not know. All she knew was that she was not going to attempt to try her luck and let that blasted kunai take her to her death.

“I’m sorry. That was a mistake on my part,” he sighed. “I seem to be making a lot of those of late. Foolish mistakes."

The geezer, the ghost of the geezer, sat on a rock beside her, rubbing the back of his head. Karin wanted to curse him out again, but, at this moment, she couldn’t, because she had no strength left, and because the old man had an almost pitiable expression on his face. One that made her feel like he was a wounded puppy. She could also feel his emotions. His sentiments. His apology was genuine. Deep within him, there was guilt, guilt that was drowning, and warring with despair and pain. 

Thinking it over carefully, Karin swallowed her complaints and realized she had just teleported somehow, using the Fourth Hokage’s Technique. That alone made it clear to her that the geezer was no ordinary old man.

“You’re… really… Jiraiya of the Sannin?”

“I am.”

“How… how did you… end up as a ghost?”

“My soul was stored in a creature… Stored by another of my students… but…” The old geezer paused. “It seems… he instructed the creature to let me go if he died. However, my body was already destroyed by the time it did, so my soul had nothing to return to. It wandered randomly searching for something it could inhabit, weakening, and weakening. It would have dissipated entirely… if it didn’t find that kunai.”

“...This,” she weakly lifted the pitch black kunai in her hand. 

“I gave it to my student as a gift years ago… when his wife was pregnant for the second time. It contains my chakra, a lot of my seals, and additions. Due to that faint, lingering chakra signature of mine, my soul felt the familiarity and was drawn to it. It inhabited it and sealed itself inside of it.”

“You can seal a soul inside of an… object?”

“Sealing a creature, a soul, or an entity of chakra into an object or even a person is rather common with fūinjutsu.”

Karin did not know what to say to that.

“My student, Minato, he’s dead… isn’t he?”

“...Yes. I could hear the celebration all the way from my quarters.”

“I see.”

The Sannin Ghost fell quiet.

“I am sorry. It is my fault, you are here, stranded, far away from home.”

“Kusa was never my home,” she denied. “With war waging everywhere… it was just the place I was afraid to leave. But now that I’m far away from it…”

Karin had a momentary thought. 

“If... if you’re really one of the Legendary Sannin, can you teach—”

“No.”

“I’m not asking for much, just—

“I’m sorry. I cannot accept any other students.”

His voice was hoarse.

“You would be better off… with a different teacher.”

Karin fell silent. The Sannin Ghost fell quiet as well.

“You must find shelter, and food, and then… discover where we are. The least I can do is ensure you can survive and return to safety. I will strive to make amends for this."

He said, exhaling.

“If for nothing else… for this, at least… I will strive.”

XXXXX

None truly fathomed the depths of the Karma Desolation Way Codex.

Indeed, no one, not a soul, not even Zi Wuji, understood the depths of the machinations that twisted the nature of the world, the power to invert karma, to commit evil and receive good, and to wash away all karmic debts and accumulations.

For ten years, indeed, it appeared as though the Codex had not been performing any task, as the original was in seclusion, but it was not so. Rather, the Clone still counted as Zi Wuji; thus, the Karma Desolation Way Codex still had to perform the task of bringing fortune towards him and rewarding him for the accumulation of good deeds. Alas, however, with the original in seclusion, the Karma Desolation Way Codex could only affect things subtly, rather than overtly, to bring about the satisfaction of its wielder.

Yes, indeed, from the very moment Zi Wuji awoke as Hyūga Neji, the Karma Desolation Way Codex, which had been slumbering, had been plotting how best to aid Zi Wuji and grant him what it was he sought, so he could sooner acquire proper Qi and return to the Rain World.

The Karma Desolation Way Codex held a secret. Its creator was a Third-Step Cultivator.

The First Step was the realm of Qi Refining Ants to Ascension Realm Level Powerhouses. The Second Step was what lay beyond Ascension, a series of realms to which even Mahayana Realm Cultivators were considered mere cockroaches. 

Indeed, even Ascension Level Cultivators would cross the Absolute Deluge World Barrier and arrive at the Upper Realm, and find that the likes of Nascent Soul and Soul Formation cultivators were mere slaves and servants, and their thousands upon thousands of years of cultivation only enabled them to wash the feet of those born in the Upper Realm.

Then, the Third Step was a level beyond even that.

A Step to which even Ascended Cultivators, Upper Realm Cultivators, sought to reach.

Zi Wuji, who had never even completed the First Step, did not know of the profundities hidden within the Karma Desolation Way Codex. He did not know anything of the Upper Realm, let alone how, once one Ascended, they could choose either Immortal Cultivation or Faith Cultivation. The result of such a choice was important, as it would make one an Immortal Cultivator or a God Cultivator. He knew nothing of that realm, as the difference was between heaven and earth. Thus, how then could he even fathom that the means and methods of beings above even that?

Even in the Codex’s weakened, heavily sealed form, Zi Wuji did not know that even his ability to have found the Codex was a stirring of Karma, because the Codex itself always sought the quickest method to return to its creator. 

Few had, before him, been in possession of the Codex, varying hopefuls, even one or two Immortal Venerables, but none had been able to accomplish that goal, and the Codex’s power had weakened, further and further. As hundreds of thousands of years passed, there were none alive able to recall its true origins, and none alive whose realm was deep enough to grasp its hidden layers.

Thus, Zi Wuji did not know that from the very beginning, had the Codex not sensed that he had the qualifications needed to perform the task of returning it to its creator, he would never have found it. Let alone eighty years, eighty million years would not be enough.

Nor did he know, from the beginning, that the Codex’s influence had been subtly moving things in his favor. It could not control Zi Wuji’s actions; all it could do was manipulate the probability of events becoming more fortuitous.

Zi Wuji would intend one thing, wish to do one thing, but due to the Way Codex, things would change, and those around him would misunderstand. He had once sought to kill his uncle, yet the Codex sensed such an act would create too much negative karma; thus, sentiments were shifted, and the man had surrendered before the bout, and all misunderstood the situation as him putting on a stance of nobility. 

Zi Wuji had sought to reform the clan due to his concerns about Hinata’s abduction, yet his grandfather thought he did it for his cousin’s affection, and the man supported his actions, neither getting in his way nor opposing him.

Zi Wuji had not wished to be assigned a sensei or mentor and refused to have his fate be tied to a mediocre mentor. Many believed his refusal had been out of arrogance; thus, he had been given Might Guy, failed to defeat him, and the man, and Uchiha Itachi became his sworn disciple brother, forming a positive karmic connection.

Indeed, the Codex could not control Zi Wuji’s actions, nor could it manipulate him, nor influence him. All it could do was ensure the chosen actions would bring positive benefits in the future to come, and those benefits were all aiding the goal of returning to the Rain World, and gradually elevating his Cultivation Level.

Some of the ‘benefits’ were more visible than others, and some less. However, all actions were subject to that subtle ripple, and some actions were so subtle that not a single soul could see from where the changes were made.

One such example was in the case of Uzumaki Kushina.

Ten years ago, Kushina had been struck with a berserk Senju Tsunade’s Ranshinshō. The  Body Pathway Derangement technique, which completely disrupted the brain’s electrical signals to the body, creating conflicting signals. At the time, she did not possess the required intellect to rewire her brain’s connection, and  Zi Wuji had reset her body.

That opportunity was what was used to enter her seal and acquire the soul of Uzumaki Mito. There, upon meeting the fox, Kurama, chained and wrathful, Zi Wuji had casually waved his hand, and slackened the chains that held Kurama as a display of power.

It was an event which he paid neither any heed to nor any focus on, and an event he scarcely remembered or considered important. 

Yet, just as it was in the Rain World, where the mere presence of a Mahayana Level Cultivator created waves and ripples, altered weather, changed fates, and rewrote destinies of mortals, so too was it, that even the most casual of his actions had great, far-reaching consequences, which the Codex could see, and which counted as karmic cause with which there would be karmic effects.

That single wave of a hand had fundamentally altered Uzumaki Kushina’s fate, and thus, Minato’s fate, and thus the world’s fate.

Those chains had been the manifestation of Kushina’s seal, one which every change, no matter how seemingly minor, was important. Slackening the chains of Kurama to make the beast more comfortable had meant weakening a portion of the seal, and the portion which was weakened was the one which transferred the creature’s sentiments, its hatred, its malice.

No one, not Namikaze Minato, not Uzumaki Mito, not Zi Wuji, and not Uzumaki Kushina herself, had been aware of that change. Nor would they have been able to sense anything amiss, because Zi Wuji’s methods were beyond the capabilities of the others, and Zi Wuji himself had not paid any attention to it. Thus, none were aware that the fox’s temperament, animosity, and hostility had been bleeding into Uzumaki Kushina for the past ten years.

Uzumaki Mito would have been the one most primed to sense something amiss, due to her ability to sense Negative Emotions, but for her to assume any changes were due to a faulty seal would never occur to her; after all, it was she who made that seal, and it was made without error. Even if she had suspected and sought to check on the seal, her skills would not have been enough to notice any abnormalities.

That wave of the hand was a karmic seed planted that had gradually been accumulating in silence. Due to the loosening of the seal, Uzumaki Kushina’s disagreeability increased. Feeling more hatred, more changes to her emotions, she argued more, spoke more callously, acted more thoughtlessly, and selfishly. She became more stubborn, more hot-tempered, and less likely to forgive slights. Shame would linger longer, embarrassment would hit harder, and negative emotions would be more prominent.

The number of arguments she had gotten in with her husband increased ever since she returned from that Mission, so too did her unwillingness to seek amends, apologize, and to reconcile, or to admit faults.

Uzumaki Kushina had sensed something wrong with herself, but she herself could not explain it. Her act of using Shadow Clones for all tasks was, in fact, the wisest move. Her belief that her Shadow Clones were the ‘truer’ version of her was not wrong, because those Clones, made purely from her chakra, lacked the direct influence of Kurama’s hate and malice, and thus were able to ‘act’ like her better than her.

They were more agreeable, more understanding, more kind, more gracious.

Yet, Kushina missed the forest for the trees. She assumed that the reason was simply that Shadow Clones were better at being oneself due to not having the same worries, rather than realizing the problem lay within her.

Yet, the seeds had long been planted. The die had long been cast.

Under the influence of Kurama’s hatred, she had uttered words that attacked Namikaze Minato’s sense of self and his belief in his own goodness, and drove a wedge between herself and her husband. With a wife beside him who doubted him, condemned him, no matter how much he loved her, and no matter how much he believed her actions would not affect his judgment and reasoning, ultimately, they did.

Uzumaki Kushina had been the only person in the world who could have diverted Namikaze Minato away from the path of destruction. 

Thus, it was that from the get-go, Uzumaki Kushina was removed from the equation. A full ten years ago, the matter had been addressed—

With a casual wave of Zi Wuji’s hand.

For the Codex sensed that conflict with Namikaze Minato was best avoided, as it would only accrue ill karma. That mortal, indeed, was a Favored Son of Heaven. Had he died by Zi Wuji’s hand, there was a chance, great one, that he would be reincarnated in the Rain World. Not only that, such enmity would transcend and follow his next reincarnation, and they would clash again, in the future, and if they did, victory or defeat would not be certain.

Making an enemy of the man directly would also make an enemy of his son, Naruto, who was also, in many ways, another Favored Son of Heaven.

There were too many risks involved. Thus, it was best that Namikaze Minato’s death had, on the surface level, nothing to do with Zi Wuji. Only Cultivators who had Grandmaster Level Attainment in the Divination Path or Wisdom Path would ever be able to suspect or gleam that indeed, the cause of it all was a simple wave of Zi Wuji’s hand.

There were more subtle changes, as well, to Uzumaki Kushina, which not even she was aware. Ten years without feeling the love of her husband, subject to the hatred of a Tailed Beast, had eroded a great amount of that love, such that it made her more amenable to acquiesce to Zi Wuji. Better yet, as the Clone had fully re-inherited the chakra and memories of its past life, the Tailed Beast within would sense it, and there would be no hatred, none whatsoever, directed towards him. Rather…

Towards him, Uzumaki Kushina would have no sense of ‘propriety.’

She would ignore faults, pay no heed to discrepancies, and accept odd requests that to others she would refuse. Wuji Zi had entered her home, saw in a state of near unclothness, wearing nothing but a silk red nightgown, her breasts pressing through the garments, no underwear visible, and yet, it had never occurred to her to cover her modesty, nor had she felt a sense of shame.

He admitted gaining memories of her clones, her intimate secrets, her deepest thoughts and hidden ideas, and yet, there had not been a lick of concern, of worry, of fear, of dread, or embarrassment.

He implied no love for her daughter, his spouse-to-be, hinted at his desire for her, and bantered with her, in spite of the fact that her husband had perished recently, and even then, she had entertained him without complaint. 

Unless perhaps someone were to point it out, she would not notice such discrepancies in her behavior herself. Indeed, certain ‘liberties’ could be taken with her, and it would not occur to her they were improper, but would only feel as the norm.

For the Nine-Tailed Fox, Kurama could not hate the brother of his creator. Just as the Tailed Beasts could be suppressed and controlled by Hashirama’s Wood Release and by a Sharingan, there was an innate bloodline suppression that guaranteed subservience and obedience. All the Tailed Beasts would bow before Hagoromo, unable to disobey him, and unable to revolt against him, all eager to please him, and Hagoromo made sure that they would do the same for his brother.  

As though they were eager pets, gladly awaiting the return of a familiar scent, a familiar master, Uzumaki Kushina herself would never notice that towards Zi Wuji, who had inherited the chakra of his past life… she had no sense of rejection. She put up no guards, and she had no walls.

She would be pliable, willing, eager to please, and willing to obey.

To others, she would be a stubborn fox, but to him, she would be a well-trained pet.

The effects of the Codex, long-reaching, the effects of a wave of a hand, transcending time, had come to fruition in the present.

Such was the terrifying power of the Karma Desolation Way Codex.

Zi Wuji would wish for one thing, and if he did not get it or if there was a delay, he would always find that there was something better awaiting him around the corner.

While he could not be compared to those Favored Sons of Heaven in the Rain World who would pick up rare treasures and find millennia-old herbs or lost, fabled techniques on every outing, his blessings came slowly, came gently, came quietly. 

For the Codex, and thus, by extension, Zi Wuji, contained traces of the most profound Dao:

The essence of Wu-Wei.

Non-Striving.

There, indeed, was the answer to all questions.

In fact, the more he pursued a goal, the more likely it would be that it took longer to attain it. The less he did, suddenly, would he find what it was he desired, calmly, and without effort. 

Wuji Zi was no fool, and thus, with his recent interaction with Uzumaki Kushina, he would seek to find answers as to the woman’s oddities, trace its origins, and this principle, this core concept of non-striving, would become clear.

Indeed, at that very moment, sitting within the Clan Head Secret Cave, closing his eyes in meditation, Wuji Zi had all but laughed. He knew not the depths of the Karma Desolation Way Codex, but the principle of Non-Striving had finally awoken deep within him. 

Ten years of war, ten years of loss, ten years of turmoil… but who can say perhaps, it was not all for the best?

The Sage of Six Paths sought peace, but to bring eternal peace is no better than to bring eternal war…

If this world were truly as peaceful as he wished, were others to set their gaze upon it from afar, just as his own Mother came, would its people not be helpless, then, unable to resist? Would that peace not be their undoing, as they would not have tempered themselves, be too weak to defend their homes and loved ones, and thus be slaughtered to the last?

As is the nature of things, attempting to force one state or the other goes against the Way… 

So, too, does prolonging things beyond their natural lifespan go against the Way…

Such is why to cultivate is called an act that goes against the heavens...

Indeed, allowing things to flow, without seeking to control them, is that not the true mannerism of the Sage?

War arises when human beings resist or disrupt the Dao, the natural Way, the balance of yin and yang…

War is an imbalance, like water forced into a dam until it bursts.

But Peace, too, is an imbalance, like stagnant water, left to rot.

War must come, and peace will follow, flowing, and non-striving, deriving harmony… a cycle of change, and a cycle that must repeat…

Smiling, Wuji Zi looked at the seal on his arm, the Sharingan seal meant to maintain memories, to store them perfectly, and taking a deep breath, smiling fondly, he erased it from him without hesitation. 

To allow what comes to come, to flow like water, neither overindulging, nor suppressing… 

Such is the Way.

At that moment…

Wuji Zi opened his eyes.

There, within his eyes, blue and perfect, the Reincarnation Wheel Eye turned. 

And then, Wuji Zi, in that state of enlightenment, smiled—

And…

Dispersed.

In a hidden room sealed off not far away, a presence stirred within a pool of blood that had been bubbling. A potent source of chakra, unlike anything ever felt before, burst out before being quickly suppressed by the hundreds of thousands of seals set up in preparation.

The eyes of a man covered from head to toe in blood snapped open.

BOOM!

The blood pool evaporated with a hiss of steam, and the cave exploded with the force of a thousand thunders. A man stepped out, covered from head to toe in blood, with pale skin, horns on his head, and a third eye. 

His voice, hoarse from years of silence, croaked out only a dry, raspy laugh.

“HA… HAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHA!”

His hands spread to the side, and his voice, deep, rough, shook the sky.

“THROUGHOUT THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH—”

He cried.

“I, ALONE, AM THE HONORED ONE!”

He—

Zi Wuji—

Had finally exited his seclusion.