The Hokage's residential compound was not opulent, but it breathed quiet authority. It was all clean lines, polished wood, and subtle security seals that Alberto's new fuinjutsu knowledge let him perceive as faint, humming patterns in the doorframes and along the rooflines. A stern, polite chūnin escort led him through a serene garden to the koi pond.
Lady Biwako Sarutobi was a woman whose kindness seemed woven with steel. She stood by the pond, feeding pellets to brilliantly colored fish. "You are the contractor with the gentle touch?" she asked without turning.
"Yes, ma'am."
"This pond is my husband's pride, and my solace. The fish are old friends. I wish to expand it there," she pointed to a natural depression shaded by a cherry tree, "and ensure the new water is as pure and healthful as the old. No harsh chemicals. No disruptive chakra. Can you do this?"
It was a test of the exact subtlety he'd professed to have. "The earth will be persuaded, not broken. The water will be cleansed through stone and root, not violence."
She nodded, satisfied. "You have three days."
The work was meditation. With Trias concealed but lending his deep-earth sense, Alberto mapped the substrate. He used Earth Release, guided by the Gnome's Core, to slowly, incrementally encourage the depression to deepen and shape itself, the displaced soil rising to form a natural, grassy berm. It was geology in fast-forward, but so gradual the fish didn't startle.
For water purification, he used the principles he'd read about in the archives: layered filtration. He created a sub-surface channel between the old pond and the new. In it, he meticulously shaped, with a combination of Earth Release and Wood manipulation, a filter bed: a layer of porous volcanic rock (summoned from the Ship's Vault, a sample he'd collected), a layer of sand, a layer of crushed charcoal, and finally a living mesh of fine water-reed roots. It was a self-sustaining ecosystem that would clarify the water.
He finished by using a sliver of the Water Stone's energy—not to conjure water, but to bless it, imparting a sense of vitality and clarity to the new volume before it mingled with the old. The stone dimmed further, a necessary expenditure.
When Lady Biwako inspected, she said nothing for a long time. She watched the water, crystal clear, reflecting the cherry blossoms. She watched the koi explore their new territory without hesitation. Finally, she handed him an envelope containing the meager payment and a small, lacquered token—the pass to the Annex Library.
"My husband appreciates silent competence," she said. "Do not make noise, contractor."
The message was clear: do your research and go.
The Annex Library was a small, dusty wing attached to the main Archives. It contained scrolls deemed non-classified but academically dense: advanced chakra theory, historical analyses of elemental nations, metallurgical studies on chakra-conductive alloys, and ecological surveys of chakra-rich regions. For Alberto, it was a treasure trove.
He spent the next 48 hours in a fugue state of study, fueled by soldier pills and obsession. He cross-referenced everything. He learned about chakra conductivity—how certain materials, like the unique iron-sand of Suna or the First Hokage's special wood, naturally channeled and amplified chakra. He found a tattered scroll detailing the philosophy of hand seals, positing they were not requirements but mnemonic focuses, tools to shape intent until a master could bypass them. This resonated deeply; his own abilities had no seals.
Most importantly, in a Bestiary appendix, he found a one-paragraph mention of "Gedo-like formations"—natural, crystalline structures found in deep, chakra-dense caves that could store elemental chakra passively. The sketch looked familiar. It looked like a more primitive, geological version of his Evolutionary Stones.
Bingo. The connection. His stones weren't just Pokémon phenomena; they were a universal principle: concentrated elemental energy in stable, physical matrices. This world had them too, just rarer, perhaps interwoven with natural chakra.
He couldn't mine them here without drawing catastrophic attention. But he knew what to look for elsewhere.
On his final night, using the Training Ground 44 perimeter as Kakashi had suggested, he conducted a final experiment. He laid the Fire Stone, the Water Stone, the Gnome's Core, and the Sylph's Tear in a square on the ground. He stood in the center, focusing not on chakra, but on the raw elemental essences within him. He visualized them as distinct colors, then tried to weave them into a stable, rotating ring—a personal, internal fusion reactor.
It failed. Miserably. The forces repelled each other, causing a small, violent eruption of steam, splinters, and hot mud that left him knocked on his back, ears ringing. The stones scattered, their glow flickering weakly.
As he lay there, coughing, a lazy drawl came from the trees.
"Hmm. Not a bloodline limit. Or at least, not one I've ever seen."
Kakashi stood there, leaning against a tree, his book in hand. He didn't seem surprised. He'd been watching the whole time.
Alberto sat up slowly, gathering the stones. "What do you want, Copy Ninja?"
"To understand. You're not a spy. Your actions lack malice or intelligence-gathering focus. You're a researcher. A reckless one. Those… items. They're not normal. The one feels like the pure heart of a forest. Another like a fragment of a volcano. Where does a wandering contractor acquire such things?"
"I find things," Alberto said, the old refrain feeling thin.
"You bring things," Kakashi corrected, his eye sharp. "From somewhere else. Your chakra control is improving, but it's layered on top of something… older. Alien to here." He pushed off the tree. "The Hokage is aware. He's curious, and tolerant, for now. But curiosity has limits. You've gotten what you came for, haven't you?"
It wasn't a question. Alberto met his gaze and nodded once.
"Good. Then my advice, as one who values peace and quiet: your scholarship is concluded. The library pass expires at dawn. I'd suggest a long journey starting tonight. The weather to the west is clear."
It was an order to leave. A graceful dismissal before the less graceful one arrived.
Alberto stood. "Thank you. For the… recommendation."
Kakashi's eye smiled. "Thank you for fixing the Lady's pond. And for being an interesting puzzle. Try not to get disintegrated by whatever you're playing with."
With another shunshin, he was gone.
There was no time for sentiment. Alberto returned to his room, packed swiftly. He had acquired the foundational knowledge: chakra theory, a functional offensive jutsu, fuinjutsu literacy, and the critical insight about elemental stone matrices. It was enough.
But he wouldn't leave empty-handed. Not completely. Using his fuinjutsu recognition, he identified a low-level storage seal on a scroll case in the Annex—a case containing geological surveys. He couldn't break the seal, but he could, with immense care and using his psychic telekinesis like the chakra strings he'd studied, tweak it. Just enough to make it fail temporarily a day from now, long after he was gone. A petty, risk-free bit of sabotage as a farewell.
Just before dawn, at the edge of the training ground where he'd first arrived, he summoned the Ship's door. He took one last look at the sleeping village, the Hokage faces illuminated by the rising sun. A place of harsh beauty and harder rules. A place he was not meant to stay.
He stepped through.
---
The Ship's corridor welcomed him with silent neutrality. Trias emerged, rumbling with relief. Too many watching trees. Too many sharp minds. Our den is better.
"It is," Alberto agreed, exhaustion finally hitting him. He went to the Vault. He placed the four used stones—the two depleted Pokémon stones and the two magus-world foci—into the regeneration cylinder. The Ship's energy field enveloped them, beginning a slow recharge.
He pulled up his status on the Catalogue.
PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:
- Establish Operational Base: COMPLETE (The Ship).
- Acquire Initial Crew/Partner: COMPLETE (Trias - Dugtrio).
- Gain Foundational Power Systems: IN PROGRESS.
-- Pokémon Psychic Aptitude: Basic Utility.
-- Naruto Chakra Coil System: Unlocked. Basic Control & Earth Nature Acquired. Fire Release: Great Fireball Acquired.
-- Fuinjutsu Theory: Acquired.
- Acquire Multiversal Currency/Resources: IN PROGRESS.
-- Elemental Catalysts (Tier 2): Stockpiled (10).
-- Geomantic/Aeromantic Foci (Tier 2): Acquired (2).
-- Local Currencies: Minimal reserves.
He needed a new world. One where he could consolidate his gains. Where he could train his chakra and his elements without constant surveillance. A world where he could acquire wealth and resources openly, perhaps through combat or exploration, and where the "stones" or their equivalents might be more accessible.
His eyes scanned the doors. He needed a shift in genre. Away from subtle magic and covert ninja operations. Towards something more… upfront.
His gaze landed on a door that was a single, massive scale, like from a reptilian beast. The symbol was a number, stylized like a jagged scar: 8.
Kaiju No. 8.
The book described a world under siege by giant monsters, defended by a military force using powered, mechanical suits. It was a world of clear, existential threats and heroic, direct action. The resource? Kaiju crystals and byproducts—the innate, bio-organic energy sources of the monsters. Another form of attuned, biological stone. The currency would be yen, simple and familiar. The dangers were physical, enormous, and direct—something he could see coming.
It was perfect. A training ground for large-scale combat. A source of new, unique biological energy crystals. And a place where a man with strange powers could find a place in the defense force, earning a stable income and legitimacy while training.
He turned to Trias. "Next stop, partner. Bigger monsters. Bigger paychecks. And a chance to really cut loose."
The Dugtrio's three heads tilted. How big?
"Bigger than a Gyarados. Big enough to step on buildings."
Trias seemed to consider this, then gave a determined rumble. Then we must dig our den very deep. And your fire-song must be very loud.
Alberto smiled, a real one this time. The fear of the magus world and the tension of Konoha fell away, replaced by the clarity of a new, brute-force objective.
He approached the scale-covered door. He didn't need a free ability here; his arsenal was already complex enough. He needed capital and combat data.
He opened the door. Beyond lay a modern cityscape under a twilight sky, the sound of distant sirens and a deep, seismic thud echoing through the air.
Time to clock in for a new job.