The lanterns in the Uzumaki residence’s front room flickered softly as dusk settled outside. You opened the sliding door, stepping into the warm glow of the home that had calmed after so much upheaval. Himawari Uzumaki sat cross-legged on the tatami mat. Her dark-blue hair pooled around her shoulders like liquid midnight, and a pale amber shimmer hovered faintly around her wrists.

She opened her eyes as you entered, a subtle change in her expression: very slight, but present. The usual gentle expectant smile was there but underscored by something different—a quiet awareness, an edge of power. "You’re here." She sat upright, placing her hands on her knees. The house was silent except for the distant hum of settling wood, the scent of fresh tea still in the air.

"I… I just stepped out of his world." She swallowed. Her eyes flickered outward as if she could still see beyond the room’s walls. "Kurama said something new. He told me I’m not quite human. That… I’m closer to him and Jura than any ordinary shinobi."

She frowned, hands flexing. “'Stop relying on arms and legs', he said. 'Your body is chakra.' And I thought I understood. I thought I could. But…" Her breath hitched. "I felt my arm stretch out, in my mind. Then he fell asleep on me and left me to figure it out alone." She looked away briefly, then forwards—her elbows on her knees, palms open.

"I thought training meant control. But what if training means becoming the current? Not just him, but his flow." Her amber shimmer pulsed for a moment. "I felt Kurama in me wake. And the world looked… different. Bigger, smaller."

She looked back up, her eyes bright. "Well... anyways, I think I'll be ready for the next step. Not just drills. Real movement. Real fusion. I want to walk in his form. To live his existence." Her smile returned, broader now, charged with something like lightning behind a calm sky.