Miyuki Uzumaki looked at Qianyu with absolute seriousness and told him she was willing to become the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki.
Qianyu's voice was low, hard. "Miyuki, absolutely not. If you want to repay Lady Mito, find another way. Not this. Not by hurting yourself. I will never agree to you becoming a jinchūriki. Never."
Miyuki gently wrapped her arms around him. "It's not for Grandma Mito," she whispered, her voice soft against his chest. "And it's not for the Leaf. It's for you. You've already done so much for me. I don't… I don't want to be a burden anymore."
Qianyu's gaze softened, but his expression remained stern. His tone brooked no argument. "This is not up for discussion, Miyuki. I told you before. You will never be a burden to me. Not in the past, not now, not ever. And I'm not tired. Fighting for you… it gives me energy. Purpose. If you became the jinchūriki, it would mean you don't believe in my feelings for you. It would spit on every single thing I've fought for up to this point." He cupped her face, his thumbs brushing her cheeks. "Just trust me, Miyuki. Leave everything else to me. I know I can handle it. So I need you to believe in me, too."
Miyuki buried her face deeper into his shirt, nodding. "I do trust you, Qianyu. I won't bring it up again. I'm sorry."
A quiet sigh escaped him. He ruffled her hair, his voice dropping to a murmur. "Miyuki… I'm going to leave this village one day. The Leaf holds no good memories for me. The only good thing here… was meeting you. And I will take you with me when I go. This place isn't our home. It's just a temporary stop. Just wait a little longer. Once everything is settled, we'll leave. We'll find a place that's truly ours."
Miyuki looked up, her crimson eyes burning with determination. "I'll follow you. Anywhere. I won't leave your side."
A small, genuine smile touched Qianyu's lips. A deep, profound calm settled in his chest.
…
Qianyu and Miyuki spent the next two days together.
Miyuki took charge of all three meals. And, he had to admit, her cooking was incredible. Every time, he ate until he was stuffed.
After lunch at home, Miyuki had to leave to meet her squad for a mission. Qianyu, meanwhile, headed for the Ninja Academy.
Today was graduation day.
Qianyu needed to go and select a single student to take as his personal disciple. He understood the subtext of Orochimaru's suggestion. The point was to mold this disciple into an ally—a loyal subordinate. Just as Qianyu was now Orochimaru's man.
That meant the disciple couldn't be from a major clan. Problem was, Qianyu didn't know which of the civilian-born kids in this crop had the potential to grow into something remarkable.
Might Guy was one, but Guy was… too specialized. Not a good fit.
Qianyu wracked his brain the whole way and came up empty. He'd have to see who was there and decide on the spot.
If there really was no one suitable… well, he'd just pick someone at random to fill the quota. Easy.
…
At the academy gates, he ran into the annoying blonde problem known as Minato Namikaze.
He'd expected this. Minato had mentioned he'd be leading a three-man cell. Of course he'd be here for the graduation exams.
Qianyu, choosing a single disciple, had the privilege of picking. Minato, assigned a full genin team, did not. Teams were randomly assigned to jōnin sensei; no picking favorites allowed.
Minato spotted him immediately and bounced over, all cheerful familiarity. "Qianyu! You're here! Did you change your mind about leading a team after all?"
Qianyu's lips twitched. "Not a chance. I'm here to pick a disciple. So go do your own thing and stop bothering me."
He brushed past Minato and walked into the academy without a backward glance. Minato, long used to this treatment, just chuckled and followed him in.
The graduation exams were over.
The newly minted genin who had passed and received their forehead protectors stood in neat rows on the training field. The jōnin slated to lead three-man cells stood among the crowd of academy instructors, waiting for the assignments to be announced.
Qianyu did a quick count. About a dozen jōnin.
But with the war ramping up, graduation standards had been relaxed. This year's class was huge. A dozen jōnin couldn't possibly take all of them; they'd only get the cream of the crop. The rest would be dumped on chūnin squad leaders.
His eyes landed on a familiar face. His former academy instructor, Masada Hayabusa.
Hayabusa saw him, and his expression froze solid. This student—the one he'd despised and written off—had somehow been chosen as a disciple by one of the Legendary Three, Orochimaru himself. And now he was a jōnin. A higher rank than Hayabusa would ever hold. Most academy teachers were chūnin, after all.
Qianyu's gaze slid over Hayabusa as if he were a stranger and moved on.
Hayabusa felt his chest tighten. Little bastard. I taught you for years, you know? Was that really necessary?
"Masada-sensei!"
Minato walked over, his smile warm and genuine. "It's been a while! How have you been?"
Hayabusa's face instantly transformed into a blooming sunflower of delight. "Good, good, all is well! Ah, Minato, you were always the best student I ever taught. To make jōnin in just a few years… it really makes an old teacher proud."
Minato scratched his cheek, embarrassed. "I owe a lot of that to your early guidance, sensei."
"Still as humble as ever. Not like some people," Hayabusa said, his voice dripping with pointed displeasure as he glanced sidelong at Qianyu. "No sense of gratitude at all."
As Minato and his old teacher caught up, Qianyu's attention was fixed on one particular figure among the genin. A little shock of white hair.
Kakashi Hatake.
Qianyu was puzzled. Wasn't Kakashi already a chūnin? Why was he standing here with the fresh genin, waiting for a team assignment?
He thought about it for a second and realized it made sense. In the original flow of things, Kakashi, Obito Uchiha, and Rin Nohara would become Minato's team. Obito and Rin had just graduated today. If Kakashi didn't go through this formal assignment process, how else would he end up on Minato's squad?
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