Naruto : The ultimate Troublemaker

They continued walking, and Shizune added, "Tsunade often talks about you, you know. She doesn't stop praising your skills. I thought you'd come sooner."

Shikai raised an eyebrow but didn't respond, focusing on what lay ahead.

Finally, they reached a sealed door. Shizune performed a series of complex mudras, and a mechanism unlocked.

"Get ready," she said, pushing the door open.

Shikai entered, his eyes immediately falling on the figure lying on the medical bed. His eyebrows raised slightly, surprised.

It was Kushina Uzumaki.

However, she didn't look like the Kushina he knew. Her skin seemed younger, almost luminous, and her features were those of a woman much younger than her actual age. Her fiery red hair was spread across the pillow, and an odd aura emanated from her. It was Kurama's chakra.

"What does this mean?" Shikai murmured, slowly moving closer.

Shizune, standing by his side, seemed just as perplexed as him.

"We don't know," she admitted. "Her body was found in this state. She's stable, but there's a sort of... Kurama's chakra was still present in her even though she's no longer a jinchūriki."

Shikai extended a hand above Kushina, closing his eyes to sense her chakra flow.

"It's not natural," he said after a moment. "Something or someone has interfered with her body."

Shizune nodded, her expression grave.

"Do you think you can do something?" she asked.

Shikai remained silent for a moment, observing Kushina's peaceful yet mysterious face.

"I'll try. But it will take time and... caution."

Shizune nodded.

"I trust you. We're the only ones who can help her."

Shikai leaned against the hospital room wall, looking at Kushina Uzumaki lying on the bed. Her peaceful face contradicted his desire to laugh at the situation. But another part of him, the one that was always curious and eager for challenges, couldn't help but see the immense potential in what he had done.

He stifled a chuckle, feigning surprise in front of Shizune, who was watching him with curiosity.

"It's... unbelievable," he said in a falsely serious tone, filled with sadness.

Shizune placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. She knew how close Minato and his wife were to Shikai. He would probably feel terrible seeing Kushina like this.

In reality, he was holding back a fit of laughter. He knew exactly why Kushina was in this state. He was responsible.

It all started on the night of the Kyūbi attack. At the time, upon regaining all his memories, a crazy idea had crossed his mind: what would happen if someone could use the full chakra of a bijū without being directly linked to it? Without risking losing control, but with all the advantages?

An Uzumaki was the perfect jinchūriki: exceptional vitality and a colossal chakra reservoir. Even after removing their bijū, they could survive. Yet, the compatibility issue between a bijū and its host persisted, with the bijū taking from their chakra when they used their own. Even Naruto, who was friends with Kurama during the Fourth Great War, couldn't use Kurama's full power, and the support of the Rikudo Sennin mode was his greatest source of strength.

Shikai wanted to go further.

He remembered the Baryon Mode, an ultimate technique where the host's chakra and the bijū's chakra completely fused, generating raw and devastating energy. But this mode had a limited lifespan: five minutes, at best. What would happen if someone could use this mode without limits?

It was in this state of mind that, during the Kyūbi attack, he had made an impulsive decision. Having stored 100% of Kurama's chakra in a Stigma seal, Shikai had engraved this seal on the back of the dying Kushina. His idea: to completely merge Kushina's chakra with Kurama's, without the latter being physically present in her.

The result? A disaster.

The process had almost killed her. The massive amount of Kurama's chakra was too overwhelming, even for an Uzumaki. If she hadn't already been a jinchūriki before, she would have died on the spot.

Shikai observed her sleeping face and murmured to himself:

"If you survive, Kushina, you'll be an invaluable weapon. A power capable of overturning mountains."

In a corner of his mind, a brief statistics interface appeared:

[Kushina Uzumaki

Level: 76 (can beat Kinshiki)

Fusion with Kurama's Chakra: 69.105%... 69.106% (Incomplete)]

Shikai smiled inwardly. If the fusion reached 100%, Kushina would be an invaluable asset for his plans of revenge.

Shizune handed him a bulky medical file.

"Here's everything we have on her," she said, sighing. "But frankly, the conclusions are... uncertain. Nothing conclusive."

Shikai nodded, trying to appear focused.

"I'll take a look," he said, opening the file.

He quickly skimmed through the pages, and an irresistible urge to laugh took over him. The Konoha doctors had attributed Kushina's condition to an "unknown fūinjutsu" placed by a masked man.

"Seriously?" he murmured, tapping his temple.

The seal they described was his own work. But he obviously couldn't say that.

He closed the file and turned to Shizune with a confident smile.

"It's definitely the seal. I'll study it in detail."

Shizune seemed relieved.

"You're known as an expert in fūinjutsu, so if anyone can solve this problem, it's you."

In reality, Shikai couldn't do anything, and Kushina could die at any moment in a chakra explosion. All he could do was wait.