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"Hmm? That's weird. Why is it so quiet all of a sudden?"
In the real world, Kushina was chatting with Minato as they waited. Suddenly, she looked confused.
Although she hadn't actively tried to spy on what was happening inside the seal space, she could still hear the sounds from within.
After the Nine-Tails' earlier howl, it had suddenly gone completely silent inside. It left Kushina itching with curiosity. Seriously, what was going on in there?
Whoosh!
A few more minutes passed. Unable to hold back any longer, Kushina finally submerged her consciousness into the seal space.
"Huh?"
Kushina was dumbfounded. She had expected to walk in on a scene of pure chaos—something like "Chang Wei beating up Lai Fu." Instead, the scene was unexpectedly… harmonious.
Qianyu was stroking the Nine-Tails' head, smiling as he spoke to it. Except…
"Why is the Nine-Tails so much smaller all of a sudden?!" Kushina blurted out.
The once colossal, majestic Nine-Tails had shrunk by several sizes. It looked gaunt, emaciated. Its fur had lost its luster, like it was suffering from severe malnutrition.
Kushina's mind went blank. Where was her big, scary Nine-Tails? What was this scrawny thing in front of her? Hey!
"Ahem, well…"
Qianyu also realized he might have drained the fox a bit too enthusiastically. He coughed awkwardly, forcing an explanation.
"The Nine-Tails and I just hit it off so well. It got so excited it voluntarily shared a tiny bit more of its power with me. It was its idea, right, Nine-Tails?"
As he spoke, Qianyu's hand, which had been ruffling the fox's head, slid down to its throat, continuing the "friendly" gesture.
"Y-yes. That's right."
Under Qianyu's not-so-subtle pressure, the Nine-Tails didn't dare utter a single word of refusal. Voluntary? It didn't fucking dare to move!
"Kushina, I'll head out first then. Don't want Minato worrying outside."
After that hasty cover-up, Qianyu quickly vacated the scene of the crime.
"Hey, Nine-Tails. What did he do to you? How did he get you so obedient?"
Glancing at the dejected fox, its tail even drooping, Kushina asked, feeling a bit frustrated.
She had tried so many methods over the years, put in so much effort, and never got the Nine-Tails to listen. How did Qianyu manage it in just a few minutes?
"He… he has Uzumaki blood too! Senju, Uzumaki, Uchiha… He must be the old man's illegitimate child!"
The Nine-Tails didn't answer her. Instead, it began wailing hysterically. It was impossible to tell if it was from joy or agony.
"Tch. Can't be bothered with you. Your stories get wilder by the minute. I'll just ask Qianyu directly!"
Kushina pursed her lips, muttered to herself, and also left the seal space.
"Alright, I've got the Nine-Tails' chakra. I won't disturb you two lovebirds any longer. I'll take my leave."
Kushina opened her eyes. Qianyu patted Minato on the shoulder and made to slip away.
"L-lovebirds?"
Faced with Qianyu's teasing, Minato's face flushed instantly. A little tomato paired with a little pepper—a perfect match.
"Hey, Qianyu! Can you tell me how you tamed the Nine-Tails?"
Stopped by Kushina, Qianyu's heart skipped a beat. But hearing she wasn't there to demand payback, he immediately relaxed.
"Have Minato teach you the Rasengan. Then, use your massive chakra reserves to smack the Nine-Tails in the face with it. If once doesn't work, just keep smacking."
Qianyu was already at the door but suddenly turned back to look at Minato. "Oh, right, Minato. Do you need me to have the nearby Root operatives leave?"
"R-really? Is that possible?" Minato asked, his face lighting up with hope.
Every time he came to see Kushina, several Root squads were stationed outside, on high alert. It made it impossible to discuss anything even slightly sensitive with her.
…Like, say, the current state of the shinobi world. Yeah. That kind of thing!
"Of course. They won't be showing up tonight."
Qianyu shot Minato a meaningful look. Then, under Minato's grateful gaze, he went outside and dismissed the nearby Root ninja. Who said only those standing in the light could be heroes?
"Alright. Next up, the One-Tail's power from the Sand. To be safe, I'd better go there myself."
…
Half a month later. Outside the Sand Village.
Qianyu unfolded his pure white wings in the air. Soon, a golden wave surged up from the desert and flew towards him.
No need to guess. Riding the wave was the "Value King" himself, Rasa. Upon learning of Qianyu's visit, Rasa had dropped everything and rushed over without a second thought.
"Qianyu! You're visiting the Sand and you didn't even give me a heads-up? I could've arranged a proper welcome for you!"
Rasa hugged Qianyu with genuine delight, his tone full of mock complaint.
Now the second-in-command of the Sand Village, Rasa looked spirited and confident. He had never forgotten Qianyu's life-saving grace and the chance he'd given him.
"Hahaha! I wanted to surprise you! You're a busy man now, managing a thousand things a day. Saves you the trouble of preparing," Qianyu joked.
"What kind of talk is that! No matter how busy I am, I can always make time for you!"
Rasa feigned offense, laughing as he bantered with Qianyu.
The two walked and talked, flashing their faces to pass through the Sand Village's gate security, heading straight for the Kazekage building.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Just as they entered a deserted alley, several puppets suddenly shot out. Razor-sharp blades extended, all aiming to pierce Qianyu.
"…Sasori. What are you doing?"
Rasa didn't move. Qianyu looked down at his body, now riddled with holes like a sieve, and spoke with some exasperation.
"Hmph. What do you think?"
Sasori dropped down from a nearby roof beam, his voice cold. "You promised to come find me when you had time. Count it yourself. How long has it been?"
"I—"
"Save it. I don't want to hear it!"
The moment Qianyu tried to explain, Sasori cut him off.
"You know the Flying Thunder God Technique, right? I happen to be free lately and was planning to visit Konoha. Remember to take me with you when you leave."
With that, Sasori turned and walked away, giving Qianyu no chance to refuse.
"Ah? Another one? My place is practically turning into an Akatsuki student dorm." Qianyu thought helplessly.
No exaggeration, Qianyu was almost halfway to gathering the entire future Akatsuki lineup around him. He could open a cram school. Was this some kind of collect-and-raise game?
"Alright, Qianyu. Let me take you to see Lord Jiso first."
Rasa turned to Qianyu, completely ignoring Sasori's presence. The two of them maintained a policy of mutual non-interference.
"Sure."
Led by Rasa, Qianyu arrived at the Kazekage's office.
After the usual pleasantries, Qianyu stated his purpose to Jiso: to exchange an equivalent amount of Nine-Tails chakra for One-Tail chakra, for research.
"Agreed. No problem."
Jiso readily agreed. An equal exchange for the power of the Nine-Tails? Qianyu might not be losing out, but he was definitely getting a huge bargain!
"Oh, by the way, Elder Jiso. Sasori wants to come back to Konoha with me for a while. What do you think…?"
After finalizing the deal, Qianyu asked casually.
"Excellent," Jiso said happily. "If Sasori wants to go, let him. I'll just have to trouble you to look after him, Qianyu."
The Sand Village and Konoha were currently in their honeymoon phase. Jiso also wanted Sasori to have more contact with Qianyu; it would be good for the boy's future development.
After staying in the Sand Village for half a month, Qianyu successfully obtained the scroll containing the One-Tail's power and returned to Konoha with Sasori in tow.
It's worth mentioning that Qianyu also secretly brought back some flesh and blood samples of the Third Kazekage.
In the original timeline, Orochimaru perfected the Impure World Reincarnation (Edo Tensei) by… experimenting with the Third Kazekage.
Qianyu figured if he brought the same materials back for Orochimaru to practice on, to get a feel for it, maybe it would spark some inspiration.
…
Two months later.
Konoha Root, Laboratory.
Qianyu looked at the reanimated test subject before them and shook his head. "Not good enough, Orochimaru. Our progress is still too slow."
After their days and nights of relentless research, they had indeed made significant headway.
At this rate, perhaps in another year or two they could fully perfect the Impure World Reincarnation. That was already much faster than in the original timeline.
But it was still too slow. Madara Uchiha could make his move at any time. Qianyu couldn't afford to wait.
"Qianyu-kun, our speed is already remarkable."
Orochimaru scratched his hair, which had thinned a bit from all the late nights, unable to help but say, "It hasn't been that long, and we can already make the deceased maintain basic intellect, allowing for seamless communication."
"Time waits for no one, Orochimaru." Qianyu shook his head again.
"Qianyu-kun, 'Rome wasn't built in a day.' Research, especially this kind, is the same. You know this. We've reached our limit. We can't go any faster," Orochimaru tried to persuade him patiently.
"…No. There might actually be one way."
Qianyu looked at Orochimaru beside him, his tone taking on a strange, conspiratorial quality. "What if we summoned the creator of the Impure World Reincarnation? Had him assist our research. Do you think that would speed things up?"
Orochimaru: "…Huh?"
"No choice. Time is tight. We have to take an unorthodox path."
Qianyu patted the dumbstruck Orochimaru on the shoulder and sighed. "Prepare, Orochimaru. Let's go reanimate the Second Hokage—Tobirama Senju!"
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