Konoha, Hokage Tower.
As the advisor to the Hokage, Heiyan also had his own office inside this building.
It was a fifty-square-meter circular office. A semi-circular desk and a leather sofa chair sat in front of a row of large floor-to-ceiling windows. On one wall hung portraits of every former Hokage, while the opposite wall was lined with fully stocked bookshelves. When tired from work, Heiyan would often take breaks by gazing out the window at Konoha's scenery, letting both his eyes and body recover.
In general terms, regarding size, layout, and interior design, this office wasn't exactly identical to the Hokage's office—but it was at least eighty to ninety percent similar.
The only noticeable difference was that instead of stacks upon stacks of paperwork like the Hokage's desk, Heiyan's workspace featured modern digital items such as a laptop computer, Ethernet cables, and even a projector—clearly more in tune with younger generations.
Heiyan noted these high-tech electronic devices were all funded by the Fire Daimyo's estate and manufactured right in the capital city of the Land of Fire.
Come to think of it, within the ninja world, although ninjas wielded Chakra—an incredibly powerful energy—they rarely considered applying Ninjutsu toward productive construction, spending most of their time fighting and killing each other instead.
Therefore, scientific and technological development in this world was mainly driven by civilian scientists and visionary thinkers.
Take the Land of Fire, for example.
Computers, refrigerators, radios, video recorders, trains, airships, skyscrapers, and bridges—all these inventions not only brought great wealth to the nation but had also ushered many towns into an electrified era.
As for the Leaf Village itself—
Though ranked as the leading among the Five Great Ninja Villages, Konoha's presence on the world stage was undeniably strong.
But in reality, Konoha was still just a village—limited in both size and population, no matter how prosperous it seemed.
In the original timeline, the son of the Fire Daimyo once visited Konoha and complained about its shabbiness.
"Perhaps I should push forward some reforms within the village…"
Leaning back halfway in his chair, Heiyan closed his eyes briefly while pondering.
After all, in his previous life, he had been a person from the 21st century—accustomed to modern living and fully aware of the importance of technological advancement.
Now, having accepted the role of Hokage's advisor and wielding the authority to change the village, naturally, he couldn't just go through the motions without accomplishing anything meaningful. He must make a real impact.
For instance, expanding Konoha further to attract more talent, developing and promoting Ninjutsu focused on construction and production, and even researching Ninja-Ware accessible to ordinary people.
However, Heiyan also understood that rushing into grand plans wouldn't do. He needed to take things step by step, advancing progressively.
After all, taking too big a leap could easily lead to trouble.
Shoving those thoughts aside for now, he still had plenty of matters demanding his attention.
He gave it some thought, then pressed a button on his desk.
Soon after, two Anbu ninja quickly entered the room, standing respectfully and waiting for Heiyan's orders.
These two were the same Anbu who had presented Heiyan with the commissioning document and the Semi-Sleeve of the Hokage in the meeting room. One was a man, tall and muscular, and the other a woman, petite and slim, both wearing masks—one in the shape of an elephant, the other a white fox—going by the codenames White Elephant and Azure Fox.
They were personally assigned by Hiruzen Sarutobi to serve under Heiyan.
"Please locate Kushina and bring her here," Heiyan said, tapping lightly on the table.
The two nodded obediently, but before they could leave, Heiyan suddenly remembered something.
"Oh, and Minato Namikaze as well. Bring him too."
"Yes, sir."
Without delay, the pair exited quickly, splitting up to carry out their mission.
While he waited,
Heiyan finally had a moment to himself. He picked up the newspaper lying on the table, flipping through it casually while staying updated on the village's daily affairs.
"Hmm?"
He let out a soft sound of surprise. It was only now that he learned from the paper about the title "Konoha Sannin" [the Legendary Three of Konoha].
In the original timeline, this title was awarded during the Second Great Ninja War, after the semi-god-like figure from the ninja world—Hanzo—defeated Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade in battle at the Amegakure battlefield, bestowing the honor upon them out of admiration for their strength.
Yet now, through unforeseen circumstances, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi had awarded this honor to Heiyan, Fugaku, and Hiashi instead, recognizing their outstanding performance during the battle in Uzugakure.
Heiyan mused with a faint smile, letting the thought drift away with amusement.
Ten minutes later.
White Elephant and Azure Fox proved their worth as elite Anbu, bringing Kushina and Minato to Heiyan's office in no time.
During the year Heiyan had been away from the village, both had graduated early—one becoming the jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, the other heading straight to the battlefield and gaining real combat experience.
Both had certainly changed a lot.
"Big Brother Heiyan!"
As soon as she walked in, Kushina ran up to his side immediately, looking at him with deep admiration in her eyes. Then she pointed at Minato excitedly. "I *almost* beat this guy! Now teach me your sealing technique."
"We graduated at the same time," Minato muttered softly, clearly unconvinced. Kushina hadn't actually beaten him; their match should have ended in a draw.
"Forget about arguing over that," Heiyan chuckled, ruffling Kushina's hair gently. "I'll teach you the sealing technique as promised."
Of course, he didn't neglect Minato. Turning toward the young man, he added that he would also be teaching him the Flying Thunder God Technique. And showing care, he asked Minato to recount his experiences on the battlefield.
After listening carefully to Minato's account, Heiyan praised him warmly, greatly impressed by the calmness and presence Minato had shown in combat.
Praised by his respected senior, Minato awkwardly scratched his head, cheeks warming but heart full of motivation.
"Heiyan, I'm pretty amazing too!" Seeing this exchange, Kushina couldn't help but feel jealous and immediately switched into attention-grabbing mode, vying for affection.
In her eyes, Minato Namikaze was undoubtedly a despicable guy who always stole the spotlight from Uzumaki Heiyan.
Uzumaki Heiyan smiled helplessly and asked Kushina how well she had adapted since becoming the Jinchuriki, and whether she had gotten used to living with the Nine-Tails.
Kushina froze upon hearing this, and the happiness on her face disappeared.
"I... I'm getting along fine with the Nine-Tails. I should be able to control its power soon enough."
She lowered her head, biting her lip, unwilling to show weakness in front of everyone.
However, Uzumaki Heiyan immediately saw through Kushina's hidden grievances and inner turmoil. It was obvious that during the time since she became the Jinchuriki, she must have suffered no small amount of bullying from the Nine-Tails.
Thinking about it, Uzumaki Heiyan's gaze gradually turned cold.
"Kushina, close your eyes."
He said softly, then passed his right hand through the seal on Kushina's abdomen, allowing his chakra to enter her body smoothly.
This was a gloomy and pitch-black space.
Splish-splash...
Uzumaki Heiyan strode through the puddles toward a row of towering iron bars, then lifted his gaze upward.
A savage roar erupted from beyond the bars, creating a gust of foul-smelling wind that battered Uzumaki Heiyan's form.
Unfazed, Uzumaki Heiyan stood still, watching as a fox with nine massive tails emerged from the shadows.
"Uzumaki Heiyan, we finally meet."
The Nine-Tails dipped its monstrous head and slowly advanced toward Uzumaki Heiyan. The moment it finished speaking, the beast bared its blood-red maw, revealing rows of razor-sharp fangs that glimmered menacingly, drool dripping steadily.
There was no doubt—if not for the iron bars separating them, it would have devoured Uzumaki Heiyan's chakra clone without hesitation.
"I'll just get straight to the point."
Rather than being intimidated by the Nine-Tails' aura, Uzumaki Heiyan actually took a step forward and said to it, "Kurama, I want you to help Kushina become a Perfect Jinchuriki."
"On what grounds?"
Kurama narrowed its eyes, asking contemptuously.
It fully understood that Kushina was Uzumaki Heiyan's soft spot, and Kushina's life had already been tied together with its own—what harmed one would inevitably harm the other. Under these circumstances, Kurama doubted Uzumaki Heiyan dared do anything drastic against itself.
Confident in this, Kurama intended to teach this arrogant human brat a proper lesson.
However, this time it was destined for disappointment.
"On this basis."
Facing Kurama's provocative, suicidal moves, Uzumaki Heiyan didn't bother wasting words either. With a flick of his right hand, the Celestial Binding Chain shot forth from his palm.
Whoosh!
Under Kurama's alarmed gaze, this red chakra chain flew at lightning speed, wrapping around its body and causing it to instantly lose balance, crashing heavily onto the ground with a loud bang.
"If you dare hurt me, ultimately it will be Kushina Uzumaki who suffers most! I swear!"
Kurama roared, threatening and intimidating Uzumaki Heiyan.
However, instead of getting Heiyan's response, it felt the chains tightening more and more around its body, nearly suffocating it. Even more terrifying for Kurama was an irresistible suction force coming from the chains, continuously draining its chakra away.
Although Nine-Tails' chakra seemed practically inexhaustible, faced with the Celestial Binding Chain's voracious extraction like a whale gulping seawater, it finally became alarmed.
"Aniki, let's talk! No need for violence!"
In desperation, Nine-Tails roared loudly, its previous arrogance completely gone.
"I know you're trying to blackmail me using Kushina."
Uzumaki Heiyan stated expressionlessly, tightening his grip on the Celestial Binding Chain without slowing its chakra extraction. Then he laid out his plan to Nine-Tails:
"I'll drain nine-tenths of your chakra over one month and permanently apply the Sealing. Afterward, since your original body remains inside Kushina, she won't die. And the small amount of chakra left? She'll definitely be capable of controlling it herself. What do you think about my solution?"
Hearing this, Nine-Tails immediately fell into despair and completely submitted to Uzumaki Heiyan.
Never had it imagined Uzumaki Heiyan could devise such a method — depriving it of power through such cruel means that would make its existence miserable.
"My patience has limits."
Uzumaki Heiyan glanced at Nine-Tails calmly before continuing, "I'll personally check Kushina's progress from time to time. I don't want to hear any more reports about her being bullied or you slacking off. Do we understand each other?"
"I... understand."
Nine-Tails nodded in humiliation. Once again, it deeply realized how different Uzumaki Heiyan was compared to Hashirama Senju.
Though both could completely control it as its nemeses, unlike Hashirama, that kind-hearted fool, Uzumaki Heiyan... was cold and merciless.
Or rather, he treated companions like spring sunshine while dealing with enemies like winter frost.
"Since you understand," Uzumaki Heiyan said, "then I'll give you another chance."
After saying this, he retrieved the Celestial Binding Chain from Nine-Tails and turned away without looking back.
Honestly, Uzumaki Heiyan had really considered draining Nine-Tails' chakra.
Not necessarily taking nine-tenths, but drawing away at least half wouldn't have been an issue. After all, in the original timeline, Naruto had been able to match Sasuke's Eight-and-a-Half Tailed Beast Mode using only half of Nine-Tails' power.
So, cutting Nine-Tails' chakra in half wouldn't change anything.
Still, there remained that same problem: Uzumaki Heiyan no longer possessed living armor.
Plus, he estimated creating living armor capable of containing half Nine-Tails' chakra would probably cost over ten years of his lifespan, completely exhausting his Sage Transformation potential.
That would undoubtedly be counterproductive.
Unless... until his Sage Transformation neared perfection first, then extracting Nine-Tails' chakra would become like adding wings to a tiger, making him nearly invincible.
Inside the office.
"I've already spoken with Nine-Tails. It will obey you from now on."
Uzumaki Heiyan told Kushina, signaling her to open her eyes.
"Really?"
She couldn't believe it at first. However, when she focused inwardly, attempting to mentally communicate with Nine-Tails within her body, she discovered that the previously arrogant Nine-Tails had suddenly become much more obedient.
With this change, she might finally be able to truly harness Nine-Tails' power.
Kushina's heart swelled with joy at the thought. She hugged Heiyan's arm and leaned into him, cooing, "Heiyan-nii is the dearest to me."
Suddenly—
*Knock knock knock!* A sharp series of knocks echoed from outside the door.
"Please come in."
After identifying the visitor with his symbiotic Byakugan, Heiyan slightly furrowed his brows but didn't refuse entry.
[Creak] As the door creaked open, two toads barely reaching knee-height nervously walked in. They were none other than Sage Fukasaku and Lady Shima from Mount Myoboku.
"Whoa…"
Kushina and Minato both gasped in surprise, eyes wide as they stared at the two frog sages.
At this moment, Heiyan instructed his subordinates:
"White Elephant, Azure Fox, take Kushina and Minato outside with you and close the door behind."
"Yes, Lord Heiyan." The two obeyed without hesitation.
In no time, only Heiyan, Sage Fukasaku, and Lady Shima remained inside the office.
"Heiyan, we've come today on behalf of Mount Myoboku to apologize to you,"
Sage Fukasaku stated their purpose directly, speaking sincerely. "The death prophecy Great Elder gave about you back then has proven to be mistaken. We are deeply sorry for the troubles and inconveniences caused to you…"
"That's right. That old fool has really lost his senses lately—always babbling nonsense…"
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