Refill

"Boy! The bread! Get the bread!"

"On it!"

"The bread's going to burn!"

"I'm on it, it's fine."

"It's burning!"

"I'm on it old man! I said I'm on it so just relax! My clan specializes in fire, I can control something like this."

"...Tell me... What color is the bread?"

"It's dark brown, nothing wrong with some dark bread right?"

"Boy, that's black! That's burnt! Quickly put new trays in and throw those out!"

"It's not that bad, you just need to look at it in the right light."

Walking by the bakery, I wave at the nervous Tanaka. Was he always that tan? I guess that's a classic example of afterburn. Ducking as he chucks a burnt loaf at me, I chuckle. Seeing the baker smack his head with another loaf, I grin. At least it looks like he's getting along with the baker.

Quickly walking to Kushina's house, I watch several shinobi rush across the rooftops. It must be a military drill. Sometimes you forget that everything you do is to put someone else two meters under your feet. Picking up my pace, I cringe as screaming ensues in the direction the ninjas were headed to. Quickly dashing through the streets and ignoring the distant explosions and screams, I enter the Uzumaki compound. Well, it's more like an area inside the Senju compound. It's not like it's marked but the only notable ninja in the compound is Kushina and Mito. Tsunade lives somewhere else right now. The Senju have shinobi troops, but they don't make the cut when I think about people to pay attention to.

Walking toward a familiar villa with an orange swirl on its door, I hold my notebook tighter. I'm not terrible when it comes to communication, but there comes a time when you realize the opposing party scares you. It's simple, they intimidate you with their posture. Their bearing. Their demeanor. Just the way Mito Uzumaki carries herself screams superior. I guess that's why manners and conventions were made. They make you look sophisticated.

Swallowing the pooling saliva in my mouth, I gently knock on the door. She'll open the door, and I'll say I had a few questions and Tsunade sent me here to ask you. Waiting a few moments, I sigh. It was too light.

Breathing in, I knock again, harder. Maybe she'll open it just a crack. I'll say Tsunade said she could answer my questions. Seconds pass by as no one opens the door.

Licking my lips, I position my fist before the wooden door. One more time, if she doesn't answer I'll just come back another time. Breathing out slowly, I forcefully knock in the middle of the swirl painted on the door. If she opens the door, I'll just say Tsunade couldn't answer my questions so she said to ask her.

Hearing the wind whistle past me, I sigh. No one is home. Feeling shoulders droop in relief I turn around. Stiffening as someone coughs, I find Mito watching me from around the corner. Slightly bowing towards her, I cough into my fist, "Sorry to bother you, I was just talking to Tsunade sempai and she told me to ask you since you might know the answers to my questions."

Walking out from behind the corner, she brings a watering can with her. She was gardening, that's why no one opened the door. Noticing her clean appearance, I watch as she slowly makes her way to the door. No digging in the soil today I guess. Entering the villa she motions me to follow. Quickly following, I take my sandals off and place them next to hers before entering the kitchen behind her.

"Fill that pot with water will you?" she asks while pointing to a plain clay pot. Grabbing it and holding it in the sink, I turn the faucet on. Peering into the closet she disappeared in, I find her rummaging through ceramic bottles. Setting the pot aside, I hear her from the closet, "Push some of your chakra into the pot will you dear? Would you like something strong or light?"

Scrutinizing the pot, I reply "Strong please." There is absolutely nothing on this pot. Placing my hand on it, I push some chakra into it slowly. Getting no reaction, I push a bit more before it starts vibrating. Quickly closing the lid, I hold the pot and lid together. Hearing her, leave the closet behind me, I stiffen as she stops behind me. "Decent chakra control, that's what it takes to operate the pot. Don't worry, all it does is purify the water" she whispers into my ear. Hearing her shuffle away, I sigh. She really doesn't have to make noise when moving for me.

Feeling the pot still, I slide away as she brings a teapot over. Flipping her hand over the plain pot, she hands me the lid before molding some chakra and creating a small jet of flame. She's heating the water. Watching her do nature transformation easily, I feel my eyebrows scrunch together. It's not even on my to-do list yet. Just how far does the rabbit hole go? Gently caressing the ornate teapot, she gently washes it in a more tame, almost lazy handful of flames. "Nature transformation isn't that hard, It's just understanding that most people lack. Once they've gotten it down, they forget all about the basics. Practicing the basics of nature transformation allows you to freely create new and more flexible uses for jutsu" she murmurs while maintaining two different flames simultaneously.

Glancing at my face, she sighs. Quickly touching my own face, I look at her nervously. I'm doing absolutely nothing. Stopping both flames, she adds a vibrant colored mixture to the teapot before adding the heated water, "Judging by your completely blank face, you didn't come for nature transformation." Putting the plain pot away, she covers the ornate teapot, "I thought for sure that dunce would throw you at me for something she showed no interest in." After scrutinizing the teapot for a few moments, she turns to me with her arms on her hips, "Well? What didn't Tsunade know? I swear I tried to give that girl a proper education, but she just kept trying to learn card counting instead."

Snorting, Mito adds, "She failed spectacularly at that too." Smiling, I lean on the counter, "I had two questions, if you could give me some direction on either, I would be grateful." Watching her unmoving, wrinkleless face stare back at my own, I start fidgeting. I really hate asking others. It's just so awkward. Blinking slowly, she turns and gets two teacups out, "Just spit it out. I'm sure I can solve at least one of them."

Pulling at the counter, I stare as a table extends out. Laying the cups down, she pulls herself a chair. Motioning me to do the same, she goes back to the teapot. Pulling a chair over, I ask, "Do you know how sensors can sense other creatures?" Giving me a surprised look, she lays two coasters under the cups and brings the teapot over. Tapping the center of the table, a small hotplate appears. Does she have storage seals everywhere?

Pouring some tea into the cups, she takes a seat. Bringing her fist up, she clears her throat, "Now I know why she told you to find me. So young yet so much farther ahead in what I tried teaching her." Taking a sip, she slowly exhales, "I can't give you a definite answer, but I can tell you how you can find it." Feeling the disappointment creeping in, I lick my lips. She can at least get me started. "Sensing has almost nothing to do with the chakra you use. Think of it in terms of physical energy and spiritual energy. What sensors innately do is feel the anomaly that is life and its effect on the mana environment."

Blinking slowly, I try taking in what she said. Seeing my frown, she smirks, "Think of it like a fabric, if I place an object the fabric will form a depression around it. What sensors do is detect that depression and analyze it." Quickly opening my notebook, I start scrawling down notes. Taking another sip, she clears her throat again, "The biggest difference is what subcomponent of chakra you want to use. Tobirama, my brother-in-law focused on physical energy and used the ground as a medium to analyze it. Others can use spiritual energy, but this is much harder. Not only does it give more detailed information, but it can also even detect malice" she instructs.

"Of course, this is all dependent on talent and practice. No competent sensor was born competent" she adds. Finishing my notes, I off-handedly bring the teacup to my mouth. Feeling a jolt of chakra rush into my mouth, I barely keep the teacup stable as I jerk it away. Hearing Mito chuckle, I glance at her in surprise. "I was waiting for that," she says while smirking. Breaking into a hearty laugh, she gasps, "No one ever expects chakra in the tea. That is a special tea made to help recuperate chakra. Obviously, it isn't too potent, but it does take the edge off chakra exhaustion."

Taking another sip, she motions for me to continue sipping. "Now what's the second question? I can't help you more than that with developing a way to mimic sensors since it's ultimately up to how you best understand the concept. If I tell you my own method, you may only get mediocre results." Gingerly sipping the tea again, I enjoy the vaguely earthy, but sweat flavor spreading in my mouth. Placing the tea down, I flip to a new page, "My other question is how the storage scroll works in regards to moving in the fourth dimension."

"Well..." she starts before trailing off. Glancing at her, I find her leaning back in her seat and looking out the window. "That's probably an easier question to answer, but a harder concept to visualize" she murmurs. Opening a drawer, she retrieves a small bag. pinching some nutmeg-colored powder from the bag, she sprinkles it in my tea. Grabbing a spoon, she stirs it thoroughly. Gesturing for me to drink, she sits back down in her chair.

Glaring at the mixture in front of me, I lick my teeth. She's not answering so this has to be part of the answer. Can this help me feel movement in the fourth dimension? Is this a simple change in flavor or something more complicated? Slowly bringing the cup to my lips, I glance at her. Leisurely refilling her cup, she smiles at me. Taking a sip, I frown at the hardly noticeable difference. Seeing Mito didn't have anything to say, I take another sip. "Just sit back and relax, very soon the drug will start giving you double vision. Nothing fancy or harmful, but useful in my explanation" she soothes.

Sitting back, I place my teacup down and grab my armrests. Slowly seeing everything shift sideways, I stiffen as everything starts moving. It's like overlapping two identical pictures, but not properly aligned. "That's it. Nice and easy. This isn't a hard concept once you understand that you don't need to conceptualize how objects move in the fourth dimension. All you need to understand is that our reality is superimposed on top of infinitely many copies that are negligibly thick and most likely empty. We cannot comprehend the fourth dimension normally so we should just accept it and substitute a verb for movement in an arbitrary 4th-dimensional direction. With me so far?"

Feeling my brain slowly sift through the nonsense my eyes feed it, I give her a goofy smile, "I think so. Basically, we push objects into 3d units in space that can store an unfathomable amount of mass while assuming that unit in space is empty." Nodding in satisfaction, she takes out another bag from the drawer, "Perfectly understood. As long as you know that, you can slowly understand more complex rules like how to keep part of the object visible while the rest is hidden. Again, it's up to how you comprehend it and how those rules fit in your system. Now, is there anything else I can help you with?"

Seeing her sprinkle another powder into my drink and stir, I quickly finish the tea in the cup. Bracing myself as the world shifts again, my vision starts darkening. Giving it a few moments, I find myself back to normal. She drugged me! Seeing her calmly sipping her tea, I slouch in the chair, "Can I have a refill?"