Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works; all other characters and worlds belong to their respective owners. I'm just playing with them.
Betad by Priapus, Beans, Mike God of Lore, Marethyu
The Warlord
Chapter 21: Ameyuri
– Tenten –
She'd known this day was coming, in truth. Hei didn't really respect any legendary weapon aside from the Dragon Blade, and even that fell into a strange situation where he cared more that it was his sensei's weapon than he did that it was perhaps the most famous and storied blade in history.
She was never going to be allowed to keep Nuibari. Not unless the entirety of the Hidden Mist was destroyed and probably not even then. So, when she saw a Mist ninja approaching her training ground, she knew that the time had come for her to lose her new favourite toy… but holy shit that was Ameyuri Ringo, the only Kunoichi in the Seven Swordsmen!
"You are Tenten, right?" Ameyuri said, and holy shit a member of the Seven Swordsmen knew her name!
"I- I am! And you're Ameyuri Ringo, the Lightning Fang! And that's Kiba!" Tenten squealed, unable to stop herself. Ameyuri paused for a moment, before laughing quietly. As Tenten looked at one of her idols, she couldn't help but notice how… weak she seemed. Not in an insulting way, but even the act of laughing seemed to exhaust her. "You're here for Nuibari, right?"
"Yeah. Did you replace the wires?" Ameyuri asked, looking at it in amusement. "Huh, Nuibari the capture tool. I can feel Kushimaru rolling in his grave."
"Erm, sorry?" Tenten said, realising that her modification was probably rather insulting.
"Don't be. If he didn't want it changed, he shouldn't have died to a genin. Mei will probably prefer it that way anyway," Ameyuri shrugged. "Honestly, you do good work. Not many could alter one of our swords."
She really tried not to preen at being complimented by Ameyuri. She'd hoped to keep Nuibari for longer, but with a civil war going on, she supposed it just wasn't going to happen.
"Anyway, the brat who beat Zabuza said we could have it back if we traded something of equal value. Catch," Ameyuri said, tossing something at Tenten which she grabbed immediately. A… hilt without a blade? "Oh right. Zabuza didn't bother grabbing the scroll showing how to use it. The crazy bastard worked it out by brute force. He might be an idiot but he's an idiot who knows his swords."
Ameyuri approached, taking it away again and focused. Tenten couldn't really see what she was doing, but after a moment the hilt ignited, a blade of pure lightning forming from it with a quiet hum, increasing in volume as Ameyuri expertly spun it around. She might seem weak, but there was no doubt that this woman was laughably better than her with blades.
"Wait… that's the Second Hokage's blade!" Tenten realised, gasping in realisation. Holy shit she was standing next to the Sword of the Thunder God and Kiba while holding Nuibari. Had she died and gone to sword heaven?
"Nah, it's yours. A fair trade, right? One village's legendary blade for another," Ameyuri scoffed, tossing it over to her as the blade vanished.
"I- I can't take this! It belongs to the Senju-"
"The Hokage said it was yours if you agreed to the trade, so did Tsunade who is the only Senju still around as far as I know. Take the damn blade and give me back Nuibari," Ameyuri ordered, and Tenten couldn't rush to obey fast enough.
"How do I use it?" Tenten asked, gingerly holding the incredibly famous blade. Nobody had really used it after Lord Tobirama's death, so it wasn't as famous as the Dragon Blade, but still… the Sword of the Thunder God, in her hands. Ameyuri paused, and Tenten could tell that she was moments away from telling her to fuck off and work it out herself before she stopped herself.
"Fine, I guess I've got some time to kill," Ameyuri said, placing Nuibari into a sheath that was clearly designed for it. Had she brought that from Mist with her? "Time to see why the Dragon Ninja thought you were deserving of Nuibari."
As Ameyuri drew Kiba, Tenten's eyes widened in both fear and excitement at the idea of even a short training session by such an infamous woman. As ill as she seemed, Tenten had the distinct feeling she was about to get her ass handed to her on a silver platter… so why was she so excited for it?
Getting a quick tutorial on how to activate the blade, she barely had time to admire the lighting before Kiba was swinging toward her at incredible speeds.
– Ameyuri Ringo –
With one of her goals sorted, she headed back to the Hokage's office. Tenten was… admittedly very good with weapons. She'd struggled with the Sword of the Thunder God at first, unused to fighting with a weightless blade, but she learnt fast. If she'd been born in the Mist, she'd have been handpicked to join the Swordsmen when one of them died.
Tenten beamed at being told that, unaware that it would have led to brutal and often fatal training with the Seven Swordmen. Her fellow Swordsmen were not good people, nor was she, and having their attention rarely ended well for the possible recruit.
Coughing up some blood into a cloth, she hunched over, well aware that Katara was going to whine at her later for the physical exertion she had put herself through. In truth, Katara had only come along with the trip to Konoha because there was every chance that Ameyuri wouldn't survive it without a medical-nin babysitting her. It was humiliating for someone who had once been so feared. She'd played around with a genin and she felt like her lungs were dying on her from what shouldn't have even been a warm-up.
She'd even had a checkup from the legendary sucker herself, as part of the new friendship between the Mist Rebellion and Konoha. Tsunade had taken one look at her and bluntly asked how she was even still alive. The answer was pure stubbornness. She wasn't going to die to illness, even if it meant she had to grab her sword and go commit suicide by Mizukage. It was too pathetic to even consider. She had killed tens of thousands, the idea that some chronic sickness would be the thing to do her in was more insulting than any other fate.
It was why she was willing to take any chance to get her health back. If she died tomorrow with her sword in her hand, so be it, but dying in bed? Or worse, just coughing up some blood and then falling dead? There was nothing she wouldn't do to avoid meeting such a humiliating fate.
Being let back into the Hokage's office, the room went quiet at her arrival before Katara rushed over, frowning deeply. The healer had enough tact to not lecture her like a child in front of the Hokage and the man they were here to see, and she worked to relieve the pain in Ameyuri's chest. Her eyes met Hei Nara's, examining the man who'd bested two of the Seven Swordsmen.
Zabuza had good things to say about him, and bad things to say about Kushimaru. Ameyuri agreed that the sadist had almost certainly dragged the fight out and finally gotten himself killed, but Kushi had stopped fighting to torture jonin without anyone being able to turn the tides on him. Sure, Kushimaru probably could have won if he'd fought seriously but that didn't make it less impressive that Hei had slain him.
"So, you're the new Dragon Ninja?" Ameyuri asked plainly, giving him a once over. "You've got big boots to fill, brat."
Katara gave her a warning look, which she ignored. Mei knew better than to assume she'd be all sunshine and rainbows.
"The biggest," Hei agreed simply. Something was… amusing him, but she couldn't work out what. Maybe he liked the sight of the third member of the Seven Swordsmen he was going to be impaling.
"You've arrived just in time, as I have finished explaining the situation to Hei," the Hokage said calmly. "I will leave the rest to you, Hei."
"Understood, Lord Hokage," Hei said with a respectful nod. Ha, it was a nice change of pace for it to be a shinobi being pimped out rather than a kunoichi being sent on some seduction mission. Not that she ever got missions like that. For some strange reason most guys thought putting their cocks near her jagged teeth was a bad idea.
"So, how does this work?" Ameyuri asked, shrugging Katara's fussing off.
"I take it you are already aware of how the… process works?" Hei asked as he guided them out of the room. Katara's face flushed, caramel cheeks growing darker but Ameyuri just shrugged.
"You're going to fuck good health and a power into me," Ameyuri agreed easily. Katara might be a blushing virgin but she was certainly not. The idea of a sex-based bloodline just amused her, and she was dying anyway, so what did she have to lose?
"Pretty much. The healing is guaranteed, but the additional boon is rather unpredictable. It often empowers what the girl already has, rather than granting anything new," Hei explained as he led them to the Hayabusa Compound. She hadn't forgotten the one sided ass whopping Ryu Hayabusa had given her and the others, and here she was, about to get fucked in Ryu's old bed by his successor. Maybe the Seven Swordsmen were cursed to be stuck dealing with Dragon Ninjas. It would explain how Hei had run into two back-to-back only to come home and find her waiting for him. "Will it just be you?" He asked, "I can't help but notice your entire group is female."
Katara's blush only deepened, the virgin, looking down at the floor nervously.
"If it works on me, and I haven't been conned into leaving the Mist just to let some Leaf pretty boy bend me over, then yeah. We've got a war to win, and frankly we need every advantage we can get. Yagura might be a mad bastard but damn if he doesn't know how to fight, and his loyalists are as mad as he is," Ameyuri snorted, more to remind Katara that they were here for a reason other than for Hei's sake. She'd volunteered for this, knowing what it would entail. Ameyuri wasn't going to let the girl change her mind after making the trip.
"And if it all goes well, I'll be heading to the Mist myself soon enough," Hei agreed, getting a nod from her.
"Mei almost came herself… heh, but she can't afford to be away from the frontlines for even a single day or there won't be a rebellion to come back to. Things are a little less dire with Zabuza back, at least, but it's still a brutal war," Ameyuri explained.
Their conversation halted as they entered the main building, a cute girl in a light blue kimono waiting for them.
"Lord Hei, are these our guests?" she asked.
"Yeah. Haku, these are Ameyuri and Katara, they'll be staying with us for tonight at least. Ameyuri, this is Haku, Zabuza's adopted daughter," Hei introduced. Haku smiled at the title he gave her, and Ameyuri just snorted.
"Ah, the Yuki girl. Mei damn near strangled Zabuza for sending you to Konoha. Lemme guess, Hei's already knocked you up?" Ameyuri laughed. Haku paused, before giving an entirely too smug smile.
"It's entirely possible, yes," Haku agreed. "Perhaps Lord Zabuza shouldn't have just sent me away if he didn't want such an obvious thing to happen."
Ah, teenage rebellion. She was going to enjoy poking fun at Zabuza later. 'She's not my daughter, she's just a tool' immediately followed by 'wait, Hei is going to seduce her? I'll fucking kill him for touching her'. Dumbass.
"Mei wanted me to let you know that you, and the Yuki clan, will always have a place in the Mist, but I ain't getting involved in this shit. Ain't my business," Ameyuri said, delivering her message. "Oh, and Zabuza told me to make sure you were being treated right but I told him to go fuck himself. I don't take orders from him."
"...I see. I am being treated perfectly. Hei is a very attentive host, ensuring all my needs are met. Sometimes several times a day," Haku agreed pleasantly, an entirely too innocent smile on her face.
"Heh. Mei will like you. Oi, Katara. Chat with Zabuza's brat while I get dicked down," Ameyuri ordered shamelessly, seeing no reason to pussyfoot around. She was here to get fucked, why call it anything else as she pulled her shirt off and tossed it aside. "Come on, brat. Time to see if you've got a good enough sword to be the Dragon Ninja."
"I've had no complaints yet," Hei drawled, chuckling as she pushed her bottoms and underwear down in a single move, stepping out of them as Katara sighed and gathered her clothes. "This way."
Leading her to his bedroom, he followed her example and stripped the moment they entered, tossing his fancy clothes aside. Her eyes flickered down to his cock, already hard. Heh, guess the dragon ninja did have a worthy blade after all. Bigger than that limp dicked Ryu's, anyway. Yes, she had no way of actually knowing that Ryu had a small dick but why else would he have no children?
"So, how do you want to do this? Given your sickness-"
"If you even suggest we be gentle, I'll bite your cock off," Ameyuri warned, getting a cocky smirk.
"I'm sure you'd try, but I've already beaten two of the Seven, and they were at their full strength. I'm hardly in danger from one who can barely handle a spar without spewing blood," Hei pointed out, a smug smirk on his lips.
Oh, so that was how it was gonna be?
Lunging at him, she couldn't deny that she was already getting a little wet from his arrogance. At the very least, she wasn't going to make this easy for him. They collided, and Hei let her momentum push him back onto the waiting bed, before he made his own move, spinning them around so she'd be falling first, face down into the sheets. One leg kicked out at him, but Hei got the idea real quick as he gripped her thighs and forced them apart despite her 'struggles'.
Her biggest regret when facing down the last Dragon Ninja was that he'd just slapped her aside and moved on like she was just some nobody. It would have been far less humiliating if he'd either claimed her or put her down, but to this day she was convinced he didn't even know they were the Seven Swordsmen. Just some trash he put down in seconds. Jinin hadn't even been able to finish drawing Kabutowari. Fucking Hayabusa.
If anyone was strong enough to beat her, of course she'd want to fuck them, or get fucked by them. She wasn't convinced she couldn't beat Hei in a proper fight when she was fully healed, but for now she'd make him work for this as she tried to kick back at him, snarling as a strong hand forced her head into the sheets as the other lined himself up and, with zero preparation or care, sheathed himself inside her cunt. She thrashed, and he responded by grabbing her hands and pulling them behind her back, gripping them with a single hand as the other went back to her head, gripping her hair roughly.
With her waning strength, she knew she had no real chance of breaking free as he began to pound into her from behind. She couldn't deny the truth. She fucking loved it. This was the most excitement she'd had in years, left wasting away in a hospital bed while a fucking war waged around her. She'd not had a proper fight or a proper fuck in far too long, and the feeling of Hei's cock splitting her open was far too good for her to put up any real fight.
His hand released her head to roughly spank her ass, making it jiggle with each blow. It actually made her self-conscious because she was well aware that she'd put some pounds on since her forced retirement. And as a kunoichi of the Mist, she dealt with embarrassment in the same way all good kunoichi should. With violence.
Her struggles intensified, kicking and struggling as she moved her ass back to meet his thrusts. Hei just snorted, shocking her as he pulled out. She began to curse him, but before she could, he flipped her onto her back, and flew through some one handed-seals, making her gasp as the shadows rose and lashed out, binding her arms and legs and spreading them wide. She'd fought Naras before, but these shadows were thick and strong, unable to be budged as he mounted her again, reclaiming her cunt, his hands mauling her tits.
Leaning down, he kissed her roughly, barely able to move backwards fast enough to avoid being bitten. With a smirk, he backhanded her across the face for her resistance, hard enough to make her head swim for a moment before his lips were on hers again. It took a brave or foolish man to push his tongue into a mouth full of shark teeth, but he seemed too damn quick for her to bite him.
"Not going to cooperate?" Hei asked with a drawl, a smirk on his lips. "So be it. I haven't tried this with any of my girls, but a disobedient bitch like you seems like a good test subject."
She went to respond, but that was her first mistake as a thick tendril of shadow forced its way into her mouth, and no teeth were sharp enough to damage it as it gagged her, stretching her lips around it as it pumped into her mouth, violating her throat. Smaller tendrils of inky-black moved to her chest, lightly whipping her tits and teasing her nipples as she moaned into the gag. Well, she had said not to be gentle. Be careful what you wished for and all that shit.
His hands gripped her hips tightly, hammering into her with zero restraint as she screamed and moaned in pleasure, the pain only making things more fun. She was still going to fight him the moment she was healed, she needed to protect the reputation of the Seven Swordsmen, but this Dragon Ninja was more fun than the last fucker.
She didn't stop fighting, even if it was mostly futile, cumming around his cock three times before he finally sheathed himself inside her and let out a grunt of pleasure, his seed flooding her womb. Instantly, she felt his weird chakra flooding her body, years of wasting away undone in seconds. Her chakra soared, the weakness she'd grown used to disappearing and leaving her feeling strong as lighting coursed through her and banished the shadows, her grin growing bloody.
"Fight me," Ameyuri demanded, making him blink before he chuckled.
"You're welcome, and sure. I'm down to beat a third of the Seven Swordsmen," Hei taunted, giving her tits one last grope as he pulled out of her. "But I think the medical-nins might just kill us both if we run off to spar before you get looked over."
"Ugh," Ameyuri groaned, realising he was right. "Fine, but I will avenge our reputation."
"Sure. You just needed my power to do it," Hei taunted back, as she froze. Oh fuck. It was a lose-lose. If she won, she won with his chakra. If she lost, she lost despite him giving her his power to begin with.
Damn it!
– Sakura Haruno – Next Day –
Arriving at the Hayabusa compound, she and Ino walked in and followed Hei's directions to the training ground.
"Err, Hei… where's your arm?" Ino asked as they spotted him speaking to Kurenai-sensei and Anko.
"...I don't want to talk about it," Hei sighed, looking down at his missing left arm.
"I said I was sorry," a girl she didn't recognise shouted from where she was sparring with Tenten.
"No, you laughed at me. Right before I beat your ass into the ground," Hei corrected. "Which puts me three for three on beating Seven Swordsmen."
"I didn't think you'd keep fighting after losing an arm!" the woman shouted back, looking embarrassed.
"Yeah, neither did Kushimaru," Hei taunted back, making the woman go to respond before sighing.
"Fair point. Crazy fucking dragon ninjas," she mumbled, turning back to Tenten.
"Anyway, my arm is fine, it'll grow back soon," Hei reassured them. "Did your senseis tell you why you are here?"
"Something to do with special training. I know Kakashi has been busy lately," Sakura admitted with a grateful smile.
"Asuma told me more or less the same. Picked out for some special training with you. I was hoping it was an innuendo," Ino admitted shamelessly.
"Not quite. I've picked you two to learn my new Toxin style, a jutsu style that relies on poisons," Hei explained. "Sakura, in your place, while you're starting to learn Medical-ninjutsu, something I can give you a hand with, you're still the weak link in combat prowess. Toxin style will give you a good chance to gain a fighting style of your own, and it requires good chakra control which you already have. Sasuki is training with Cat, and Naruko is training with Fox, so I'm taking you under my wing until Kakashi is free."
She didn't really know who Cat and Fox were, beyond it having been confirmed that Fox was apparently an Uzumaki survivor. She had noticed that Sasuki was in a much better mood lately, but she couldn't tell her why. It made her feel left out as Naruko seemed to know who Cat was, and Sasuki seemed to know who Fox was.
"Thank you, Hei-sensei," Sakura said with a respectful bow. She really was grateful that he was helping her keep up with her two powerful teammates.
"So, why'd I get picked?" Ino asked.
"Pure nepotism, mostly. Also to give you an edge in the Chunin Exams," Hei admitted with a grin, ruffling Ino's hair. "You won't always be fighting with your team, and your current style relies on Choji and Shikamaru too much. Giving you a way to hold your own is just good logic."
"Thank you, Hei-sensei," Ino purred, putting way more suggestiveness in her words than Sakura had. "I promise to be a good student… and I learn best with a hands-on teacher."
Giggling to herself, Ino straightened up.
"Seriously, thanks Hei. Surprised you aren't bringing Shikamaru in as well," Ino admitted.
"Ugh. I suggested it and he literally ran away. I'm going to catch him eventually, because I've made some new Nara style jutsu that I need to teach him, but the lazy fucker is averse to anything that requires effort," Hei groaned, getting Ino to roll her eyes. "Luckily, he's smart enough to already have a pretty well-rounded skillset so it's not the worst case. And I can set mom on him when the exams get closer. I've already taught the new techniques to dad, and he'll teach them to some other Nara, so Maru might get grabbed in that group despite his best efforts."
"He's the only person I know who doesn't seem to want to be promoted," Ino sighed.
"It's exactly that. He's convinced he's exactly good enough to meet the bare-minimum of Chunin at the moment, and if he gets any better he's guaranteed a promotion. He's worried that if he does too well he'll end up slapped with new responsibilities the moment he's out of the genin pool," Hei agreed with a snort. "I put good money on him forfeiting to try and get out of a promotion."
"I swear if I fail because Shikamaru is scared of being given an actual job, I'll strangle him," Ino threatened.
"Not that I'd know how the Chunin exams are going to go, but I suspect the last round is going to be a set of individual fights, rather than anything team-based. He'll last that long, at least," Hei said with a grin. "Anyway, you're here to learn Toxin style, along with Anko. Kurenai is here to learn my Dread style genjutsu as well. Given that genjutsu also requires good chakra control, you might be learning it alongside her once we see how hard it's going to be for you to learn Toxin style."
"What are Shika and Choji doing while I'm here?" Ino asked curiously.
"Choji is training with his dad, Shikamaru is hiding from responsibility. Jokes on him, Asuma is going to put him through some physical training as his stamina and strength leave a lot to be desired," Hei admitted. Ino clearly enjoyed the idea of Shikamaru being forced to exercise, her lips twitching into an evil grin. "Sasuki and Naruko are training on the Hayabusa grounds as well, so you might see them around, but Cat and Fox are better suited for training them than I am."
Sakura tried not to react to the fact that the rest of Team Seven had gone off to do something without her, she really did. Clearly it didn't work, as Hei paused.
"Ino, go and join Anko and Kurenai. I'll be with you in a moment," Hei ordered, getting a look from Ino before she nodded and gave them a wave.
"Yeah, yeah. But I swear you better not fuck Sakura before me," Ino complained, making Sakura's face go bright red. Before she could even respond, Ino had run off ahead, and something about the way she was talking to Anko made a shiver run up Sakura's spine. She wasn't exactly what anyone would call a positive role model… but then, Ino had spent the past weeks scheming a way to get laid so maybe it was too late.
…not that Sakura wasn't scheming the same for admittedly different reasons. Hearing that Sasuki was probably pregnant had solidified that the only way to get the girl she wanted was through Hei.
"Feeling left out?" Hei asked with a knowing smile. It was times like this that she remembered that he was very much a big brother. She'd heard Shikamaru complain about him during their academy days but he always seemed happy to see Hei regardless.
"A little. I just don't know what's going on, and why I seem to be the only one who doesn't," Sakura admitted.
"I figured as much, and I talked to the others about it. I can tell you, but not before you sign a contract. It's a chakra-infused contract that binds you to the terms, to ensure that this remains secret," Hei explained, a cold sweat coming over her as she realised just how serious this actually was. She hesitated, and Hei gave her a knowing grin. "I know. But this is a major village secret, by the order of the Hokage. Trust me, Naruko and Sasuki want to talk about it but they physically cannot."
Well, that did make her feel better about them not talking to her… but that meant that if she didn't sign it, she was dooming herself to have this distance between her and her team. Shaking her head, she took a deep breath.
"I'll sign it," Sakura decided, getting a nod as he ruffled her hair and led her into the building for some privacy. The signing was relatively painless, a slight tug on her chakra that she could barely detect. The moment Hei rolled the contract up, she couldn't resist. "Who are they? Cat and Fox, I mean."
Why was there all this secrecy?
"Mikoto Uchiha and Kushina Uzumaki, respectively. The mothers of Sasuki and Naruko, returned from the dead by my technique," Hei answered plainly, and instantly everything suddenly made sense again. Why her team were so happy, why there was so much secrecy around them. Honestly, she kinda wished she hadn't asked, the weight of such a big secret already weighing down on her shoulders. "Don't worry, you won't have to keep it a secret forever. Something this big was never going to remain hidden for long. The reason they're training away from the others is because we don't want to give our Mist 'allies' any hint that this is something I can do, for now."
"For now?" Sakura asked.
"Well, the ability to return their best fighters from the dead is one hell of a carrot to ensure they stay our allies once they win," Hei explained. "The Mist have lost close to half of their military force since the Mizukage started his purge, they've never been weaker and never needed help more. We could use a reliable ally to the east."
Her admittedly shaky world knowledge reminded her that the Land of Water was south of the Land of Lightning. Was the Hokage worried about Kumo? This was all starting to feel like stuff she really shouldn't know, as a mere genin.
"Still, you'll be able to talk with your team once Ameyuri returns to the Land of Water," Hei said, shaking her out of her thoughts. "For now, consider this some independent training. Kushina is trying to teach Naruko how to use Uzumaki Sealing arts, and Mikoto is training Sasuki in how to properly use the Sharingan. Your team will be stronger, and grow closer, once the training is complete."
"I- I don't want to fall behind them. They're both… annoyingly amazing. Even Naruko, as dumb as she can act sometimes, feels like she's skyrocketing past me," Sakura admitted, a little ashamed of herself. "I… can you give me your boon? I know there's a lot of women who want it but-"
"Sakura, relax," Hei said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "If you want it, you're welcome to it as one of my students, but I don't think you're ready for it… and Ino might actually kill us both if we did it now, anyway."
Sakura paused, before giggling to herself. Yeah, she just might. Her face was bright red as she smiled at Hei, giving herself a pat on the back.
"Now, come on. We've got some training to do," Hei said easily. "We can talk about any boons afterwards, if you're sure."
Flushing, she nodded quietly as she followed him back out to the training yard.
— Bonus Scene — Orochimaru
Losing the Dragon Sword had been far more of a setback than expected. It was the last key between him and the yokai realm. His… sponsor was less than pleased to realise that while the Dragon Ninja was dead, his blade and legacy lived on.
Orochimaru had lied about the exact details, because admitting he'd gotten tricked by a child was an embarrassment that he could not afford when dealing with these creatures. It was a sign of weakness that he couldn't afford.
Still, perhaps it was for the best that Hei had escaped him. His old sensei had tried so hard to keep Hei's powers from leaking, eliminating Kabuto to keep him from learning about them, but Konoha remained a sieve when it came to secrets.
As he went over what he had learnt, he frowned to himself thoughtfully. While Hei's unique chakra granting immortality was certainly very interesting, it was not everything. Of that he was sure. Firstly, he'd need a female host but things wouldn't be so simple. His traitorous student and old sensei would be watching closely and he didn't know how his mark would interact with Hei's chakra. It would be embarrassing if he found himself dead because the chakra violently purged him from whoever he was wearing.
He needed more data before he tried anything like that. Still, little Hei was proving rather interesting. The Chunin exams would prove a perfect chance to get the data he needed but Kabuto's death left him with little intel on how they would play out. The Old Goat had become more ruthless. He was impressed.
Smiling to himself, he considered what the recent connections with Mist meant for his long term plans. If Hei could empower women he bedded, and the Mist were sending a small collection of kunoichi to Konoha, then Hiruzen was weaponising Hei to ensure the rebels won the civil war.
Interfering there was not something he cared for, having no desire to aid or fight the Mizukage, but if he knew Hiruzen, soon Hei would be going to Mist to empower the rest and their leader, Mei Terumi. Yes, he could work with that.
Going to his lab, he smiled as he looked into a vat. His projects were coming along nicely, and it would be kind of him to reunite Hei with an old friend. After all, Hei had been so ruthless as to leave her behind to save a sword instead.