"Naruto is back. The Dragon Veins should be sealed, and now I can return to study it in peace."
Previously, Uchiha Kiyo didn't stay at the Dragon Veins to conduct his research because he feared Naruto might return midway and cause unnecessary complications. Though Kiyo wasn't afraid of Naruto, the presence of the Dragon Veins made any interference risky. If Naruto tampered with anything unknowingly, it could cause irreversible consequences.
Originally, Uchiha Kiyo had intended to leave Konoha and set his plans into motion. He had nearly forgotten about the Dragon Veins until Naruto returned, unintentionally reminding him. Naruto also seemed clueless on how to return to his timeline.
Now walking down a narrow road in the Land of Fire, Uchiha Kiyo was deep in thought, planning his next steps.
"Return to the Dragon Veins, find a method of time travel, and once that's secured, I can operate here without further worries."
From their recent encounter, Uchiha Kiyo could tell Naruto hadn't recognized him, meaning Naruto had never encountered him in his own world. This confirmed that Naruto's time-travel destination was a parallel timeline. The An Lushan he killed years ago was a different version than the one Kiyo needed to eliminate—each tied to different timelines.
Although their worlds mirrored each other, slight variations existed. Naruto killed his An Lushan six years ago. The An Lushan Kiyo sought to destroy was fated to be killed by Naruto after traveling six years into Kiyo's current timeline.
Kiyo wasn't in a rush. He took his time on the road.
Although capturing a Bai Jue was largely a matter of luck, Kiyo remained hopeful. This mysterious species piqued his interest greatly.
The original Bai Jue were biological weapons created by Kaguya after casting the Infinite Tsukuyomi, meant to serve as her army against the Otsutsuki invaders. Later, Uchiha Madara artificially replicated them using Hashirama's cells, creating a legion of lesser Bai Jue with similar properties.
Obito's body, Kiyo speculated, might have been modified directly by Madara. As for whether the original Bai Jue, crafted by Kaguya, held similar potential, Kiyo wasn't sure—and he didn't care to gamble. His focus remained firmly on Madara's artificial Bai Jue.
"The Bai Jue currently roaming the world should be Madara's creations. Kaguya's original army would have been sealed away by now. If they weren't, we'd have seen unexplained activity. Unlike Black Zetsu, regular Bai Jue don't possess immortality and only awaken when conditions are met."
Luck, however, was elusive. Without knowing where to start, Kiyo slowed his pace, hoping someone might detect his movements and send Bai Jue to investigate him. That would be ideal.
He kept his sensory perception active. If any Bai Jue came within a kilometer, he would know instantly.
"Speak of the devil…"
He sensed movement and immediately formed a shadow clone.
Both the clone and his original body moved simultaneously.
"Not good," whispered one Bai Jue to the other, hidden in the thickets to Kiyo's right.
"This is your fault! You insisted on coming together, and now we've been spotted."
Despite not knowing where they went wrong, they blamed each other instinctively.
"Haha, how generous of them to send two," Kiyo smirked.
He moved swiftly. His propulsion technique allowed him to accelerate as he advanced, covering the 500-meter gap in moments.
The real Kiyo and his clone coordinated perfectly one engaging each Bai Jue.
They both coated themselves with a chakra film to prevent spore contact, activated their Sharingan, and unleashed genjutsu. As the Bai Jue grew disoriented, Kiyo struck.
"These things really aren't alive," he muttered after binding the first one.
The shadow clone had already driven a kunai into the second Bai Jue's heart.
The clone dispersed. Kiyo approached the fallen Bai Jue to inspect them.
"They're still active… impressive regenerative traits from the Hashirama cells."
Then, Kiyo unsealed the first Bai Jue he had just captured from a scroll. It lay motionless.
"Is it dead?"
Scrolls can't store living beings without bursting. Kiyo had taken a chance sealing it, and surprisingly, it worked.
From this, he concluded: Bai Jue aren't truly alive. They lack a soul, though they possess consciousness. A contradiction.
He had intended to study it further, but now the Bai Jue seemed unconscious.
"Looks like sealing disrupts their consciousness too."
Though he hadn't begun a full analysis, Kiyo's interest was thoroughly piqued.
If they lacked a soul, where did their awareness stem from?
"Heh… I'll get a complete, functioning Bai Jue next time."
Both corpses remained biologically active. Kiyo didn't perform preservation procedures he simply sealed them up.
Satisfied, Kiyo was in high spirits.
Time to keep fishing.
Unfortunately, after that encounter, it was as if Obito realized Kiyo had discovered Bai Jue's secrets. No more were dispatched.
Five days passed. No catches.
But the ninja world didn't stand still during that time.
Naruto, whom Kiyo once labeled a Tailed Beast vessel, had begun to recover emotionally thanks to Jiraiya and others. Tsunade soon sent him to support Kakashi.
Kakashi had been tasked with tracking the Akatsuki. After Gaara was abducted during an attack on Sunagakure, Konoha responded by sending Kakashi to investigate. He had finally found a lead.
Naruto's mission, however, was less about combat and more about morale Tsunade hoped Kakashi could ease Naruto's burden.
As for danger, Tsunade figured anything was better than Naruto staying in Konoha under the watchful eyes of "Uchiha Yun."
She had noticed whenever Uchiha Yun vanished, he was never truly gone from Konoha.
Kiyo, on the other hand, spent those five days not just traveling, but also changing paths often to avoid being tracked.
Naruto, unlike Kiyo, moved in a straight line.
In just five days, he had reached the Land of Rivers, helped rescue Gaara, and returned to Sunagakure.
At this point, Kiyo finally accepted no more Bai Jue were coming. He headed straight for the Land of Wind.
"Suna may still have the Reanimation Jutsu. Perfect opportunity."
He had long sought that technique. In the original timeline, he had even left a clone undercover in Sunagakure for ten years to co-develop it.
Now, in this future world, he had the chance to acquire it early.
"Ma Jia's effort might be wasted, but that's life. Not everything can be perfect."
Still, Ma Jia's efforts weren't entirely futile his past actions helped during the White Fang incident.
Flying over the desert using his propulsion technique, Kiyo soon reached Sunagakure.
But then he sensed a familiar chakra.
"Nine-Tails…? Why is Kurama's chakra here?"
For a moment, Kiyo doubted himself.
Below, the Suna shinobi preparing to resurrect Gaara sensed his presence and immediately went on alert.
Naruto's reaction was explosive. "Kakashi-sensei, that's him! That's Uchiha Yun!"
Kakashi sighed. He had seen Uchiha Yun's portrait before. No need for reminders.
Kiyo landed just outside the village. The tension was palpable. Gaara lay unconscious on the ground, the process of resurrection already underway.
So the plot had caught up.
Thankfully, he arrived in time. If Chiyo died, Kiyo would have to find another route to the Reanimation scroll, and he didn't want to massacre Suna for it.
He glanced at Kakashi visibly drained.
"In short, the only threats here are Chiyo and Naruto."
Kiyo quickly assessed.
"You in the white robe! Why are you here?" Naruto shouted, his tone completely devoid of respect for the man who once revealed the "truth."
Kiyo grinned.
"Oh? You're calmer now."
Then, his face hardened. "What I said before still stands. Don't be deceived. If you doubt me, ask.. Kakashi was there anything strange about the Fourth Hokage and his wife's death?"
"Stop trying to confuse me! My dad sealed the Nine-Tails with the Reaper Death Seal!"
"Tsk, tsk. You've clearly been fed a narr"