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"Once Madara Uchiha makes his move, the Seven-Tails from Takigakure goes to old man Kakuzu—he's familiar with it. Uncle Hiruko handles Iwagakure's Four-Tails. Orochimaru gets Kumogakure's Two-Tails."
After leaving the lab, Qianyu made his mental arrangements. Three tools for three tailed beasts. Perfect.
Sure, Orochimaru was a bit weaker currently, but in the original timeline, he'd managed to get a sample of the Eight-Tails' horn. Taking advantage of the coming chaos to collect some Two-Tails chakra shouldn't be a problem.
"Qian—yu—!"
Just as Qianyu was lost in thought, Nonō marched towards him, cheeks puffed out in anger. She looked like she'd been camped outside the lab door for a while.
Crap, ambushed!
Qianyu's expression shifted. He tried to bolt, but Nonō was faster. Her hand shot out.
"You, come with me!"
On her tiptoes, she grabbed his collar, hauled him into an empty break room, shut the door, locked it, and shoved him inside—all in one fluid motion.
"Talk. Why have you been avoiding me? No reasonable explanation, no leaving today!"
"I…"
Faced with her interrogation, Qianyu stammered, words failing him. He'd rather face Madara Uchiha in his prime than the Nonō standing before him.
Tricking someone like Madara? He could do that without a shred of guilt, con the pants right off them. But lying to someone close to him? He couldn't.
Qianyu didn't want to lie to Nonō. The problem was, he couldn't say the truth either. Hence, the avoidance.
"Haah…"
He let out a long breath, gathering his words. "Nonō, what you like… might just be the me in your head. A perfect Qianyu."
"But in reality, I'm not as good as you imagine. I… mmmph!"
Before he could finish, Nonō sealed his lips with hers.
A long moment later, she pulled back, her eyes locked on his. "Qianyu, I never had any illusions about you. I know your ambitions. Your ideals. But I like you anyway."
"I don't love the perfect image you try to present. I love your messy, real heart."
Her tone was dead serious. They'd met when Qianyu was a nobody. She'd watched him grow from an ordinary medic-nin into someone who could sway the entire shinobi world.
She'd been by his side longer than even Tsunade. Of course she knew what kind of man he was.
"And I like that man. Every time I see joy in your eyes, knowing you're happy with me… it makes me happy too."
Nonō traced his cheek, her gaze growing distant. "You've reached a height I can't follow. I might never have your whole heart. But your heart must have me in it."
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The eternity of love lies precisely in its lack of a correct answer. It's the interweaving of reason and impulse. The collision of desire and reality.
Qianyu had ambitions. So did Nonō. She wanted a home for every homeless child. And Qianyu had supported her, silently, providing every resource without asking for anything in return.
Those tiny moments of tenderness had piled up, grain by grain. Enough for Nonō to cast aside reason, just this once, and follow the impulse in her heart.
…
Half an hour later, Qianyu left the break room with a complex expression, stuffing a pair of white stockings into his pocket.
"Guess I'll sort out this tangled mess around me after dealing with Madara for good. Sigh. How did it even come to this?"
He sighed inwardly. After a moment's thought, he decided to go collect some Nine-Tails power first.
Leaving Root headquarters, Qianyu headed to Minato's place, a path he knew well. Since saving Minato last time, they'd been in frequent contact. Their relationship had warmed to Naruto & Sasuke levels.
"Minato, you home?"
Qianyu knocked. Minato, true to his title as the fastest man in the shinobi world, whooshed the door open. An observer might have thought it was automatic.
"Qianyu! Come in, sit!" Minato welcomed him warmly.
"Need a favor. I need to collect some Nine-Tails chakra for an experiment. I'm not that close with Kushina, so I was hoping you could take me."
No pleasantries. Straight to the point. That's how things were between them now.
"Sure, no problem. It's been almost a day since I saw Kushina anyway," Minato agreed with a smile.
"Almost a day? You make it sound like a year."
Qianyu rolled his eyes. This love-struck fool.
"Flying Thunder God Technique!"
Minato placed a hand on Qianyu's shoulder. A flicker, and they stood before Kushina's door. Minato Delivery: Everything, Fast!
"Lord Qianyu."
"Department Head."
Several Root operatives materialized from the shadows, responding to the spatial disturbance. Seeing it was Qianyu, they immediately bowed.
"At ease. Just here to check on the jinchūriki. Dismissed."
"Yes, sir!"
Qianyu gave a casual wave. They vanished.
Indeed, guarding the jinchūriki fell under Root's jurisdiction. That's why Minato had agreed so readily.
It was hardly a case of the guard stealing… ahem, a model of professional dedication, right?
"MINATO!!! Oh, and Qianyu. What brings you two?"
Seeing Minato at the door, Kushina's face lit up with glee, ready to pounce. Then she spotted Qianyu beside him, and her expression instantly soured.
"Kushina, Qianyu needs to extract some Nine-Tails chakra from you for research. Can you help him?"
Once inside, Minato got straight to the point, gesturing to the sheepishly smiling Qianyu beside him.
"Huh? But the Nine-Tails never listens to me… Well, I can try."
Kushina looked troubled, but since Minato asked, she had to give it a shot.
"Hey, Nine-Tails… Huh?"
Kushina focused her consciousness into the seal space. She was surprised to find the Nine-Tails, usually lazing with closed eyes in its cage, now upright and alert, its full attention fixed warily on Qianyu.
"Girl! That one… he reeks of the Five-Tails! And Hashirama Senju's power… No, even Madara Uchiha's stench!"
The Nine-Tails bared its fangs at Qianyu, fur standing on end. Qianyu's composition was too complex. For the first time in a long while, it felt a sliver of threat.
"Hey, Nine-Tails, you're just making this up because you don't want to lend me your power, aren't you?"
Kushina eyed it with suspicion. Five-Tails in Qianyu? Maybe. But Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha?
Those two had been dead for ages. Qianyu was younger than her! How could he be connected to them?
"No good. The Nine-Tails won't help. It was snarling at me."
"First it said Qianyu has the Five-Tails inside him, then it said he carries traces of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha."
Kushina's consciousness returned, and she shook her head helplessly at Qianyu and Minato, repeating the fox's words.
"The Five-Tails?"
Hearing that part, Minato shot a startled look at Qianyu. But the names 'Hashirama' and 'Madara' made him dismiss his suspicion.
"Understandable. Being asked to give away power for free. Refusing, throwing a tantrum… it's only natural."
Qianyu smiled kindly, his gaze seeming to pierce through Kushina's abdomen to the beast within.
"Kushina, I'd like to enter and have a… friendly chat with the Nine-Tails. See if I can persuade it. Would that be alright?"
"DON'T LET HIM IN! I WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH HIM!!!"
Before Kushina could decide, the Nine-Tails' roar echoed in her mind.
Hearing that, Kushina, who had been leaning towards refusal, nodded promptly. "Sure, come on in!"
Minato: "???"
He felt something was off about their exchange, but couldn't pinpoint what. The Flash, dimmed in the darkness…
Shwip!
Qianyu placed a finger lightly on Kushina's abdomen. His chakra, carrying his consciousness, flowed into the seal space within her.
"Long time no see, Nine-Tails. Lend me your power."
Looking up at the massive fox before him, Qianyu wiped a bit of drool from the corner of his mouth and offered a friendly smile.
"STAY AWAY FROM ME!!!"
The colossal Nine-Tails watched the "insect" approaching and recoiled in genuine alarm.
This brat hadn't been this strong before. But now… it sensed a power within Qianyu that shared the same origin as the Old Man (the Sage of Six Paths).
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