What was he doing?
Could it be—he wanted to take the Nine-Tails sealed inside Naruto?
Seeing Heiyan's moves, Yamato and the others couldn't help but suspect the worst.
At this moment, Heiyan's chakra had already entered Naruto's body.
Tappity-tap-tap.
Heiyan walked through darkness and soon saw an all-too-familiar iron-barred cage. Behind it stood a massive orange fox with nine tails, fur bristling as it glared at him angrily.
Seeing its reaction, Heiyan knew immediately—just like Naruto and his friends, this Nine-Tails also didn't recognize him.
His hypothesis gained further confirmation.
Team 7 came from a parallel world; more precisely, that was the original timeline from the Hokage original timeline.
In that world, everything in the shinobi realm had happened exactly according to the original storyline. But here, in this dimension, history had already been permanently altered by Heiyan's interference.
Heiyan couldn't help but wonder—did his coming to this world actually trigger the birth of Parallel Worlds? Was one world dominant over the other, or could either truly be called "real"?
For example, between these two Tsunades from different dimensions—who could be considered the true one, or were both equally real? What would happen if they met face-to-face?
And if Team 7's four members remained in this world, what effects would that have on the shinobi realm?
Alternatively, how would things unfold if Heiyan returned with Naruto and the others to their original timeline?
The more Heiyan dwelled on it, the more convinced he became that too much interaction between individuals from different timelines might cause tremendous chaos. At least for now, with his current power, it was unwise to recklessly tamper with such forbidden unknowns.
Reflecting on this, Heiyan felt even more certain—the Dragon Vein was extremely dangerous. He must keep it under his control and use its power carefully.
As for the Nine-Tails before him…
Heiyan lifted his head, calmly observing the fox. Though he made no move, the beast sensed an enormous threat.
Panicked, it took several steps back, its huge body cowering into a corner, frozen in fear.
After a brief pause, Heiyan finally made his move.
Whoosh!
From his palm shot forth [Celestial Binding Chain], piercing through the chakra-infused bars of the cage, wrapping tightly around the fox in the corner. Ignoring its desperate struggles, he dragged it forward forcefully.
Bang!
With a strong pull, the Nine-Tails crashed heavily to the ground. Its huge head, still behind the bars, met Heiyan's gaze as he stood inches away.
Snarling, the fox bared rows of razor-sharp teeth, its crimson eyes blazing with futile anger at Heiyan.
To the Nine-Tails, every jutsu Heiyan cast had sealing power—it was just too overwhelming for it.
Just when the fox felt hopeless, believing it was about to be enslaved, Heiyan did something completely unexpected.
"Don't move."
He spoke softly, commanding it to stay still.
Then he slipped a hand through the iron bars and etched something onto Nine-Tails' face in one swift motion.
Then, he retracted the Celestial Binding Chain and released Nine-Tails.
"What... what did you write on my face?"
After being freed, Nine-Tails immediately sprang up, glaring at Heiyan with deep suspicion, then rushed to a puddle of water and lowered its head to check its reflection.
There it saw the four characters "Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain."
Being marked by a human in such a way was an unbearable disgrace for the proud Nine-Tails. Without hesitation, it tried releasing chakra to erase those characters.
Yet, much to its despair, no matter what methods it used, the words refused to vanish.
After all, they were part of the Flying Thunder God formula.
Heiyan ultimately chose not to take this Nine-Tails with him—the reason was quite simple.
If he had done so, Naruto, as its jinchuriki, would certainly die. If the Child of Prophecy perished, who would save the world in the original timeline?
Of course, Heiyan had another method—just like how he handled Two-Tails, Six-Tails, and Seven-Tails: extracting half of this Nine-Tails' chakra to forge the strongest living armor.
But he also knew that this particular Nine-Tails already possessed only half its original chakra. According to the storyline of the original timeline, the other half had long been sealed inside the Shinigami's belly by the Fourth, Minato Namikaze.
If this pitiful creature were stripped again, it might end up completely drained.
Therefore, Heiyan refrained from taking further action. Instead, he left a Flying Thunder God formula on its body—just in case there might come a day when he would travel to the original timeline to see it for himself.
After finishing this, Heiyan pulled his chakra back and extracted his presence from Naruto's body.
Naruto awoke dazed and confused, suffering from an intense headache, but soon recalled everything clearly—how even after entering Semi-Tailed Beast Transformation, he had still been utterly crushed by Heiyan.
At this moment, Heiyan gave Tsunade a knowing glance. She nodded in understanding and released Team 7 from Yamato's Wood Release bindings. They rose to their feet with visible unease.
Then Heiyan addressed the members of Team 7:
"You must've figured out by now that this isn't your original world. It was the Dragon Vein's power that brought you here across time and space. You must return as soon as possible, or else a widespread rupture in the timeline could occur—one that would pose danger to both worlds."
Upon hearing these words, all four of them showed shocked expressions.
"But we haven't captured Bazu yet!" Naruto shouted, suddenly jumping to his feet.
"If he did cross over too, I'll handle him."
Heiyan stated flatly.
"But how are we supposed to get back?" Sakura hesitated briefly before asking.
Hearing this, Heiyan signaled them to stay calm. Then he turned around, carefully observing the Dragon Vein using his symbiotic Byakugan while simultaneously channeling his chakra into the crystal, searching within the Dragon Vein.
He found it.
Soon, he detected a special energy radiating from the Dragon Vein—four faint tendrils clearly linked to each member of Team 7.
Those were the tangible form of temporal-spatial power itself.
So Heiyan reached into the Dragon Vein's mouth with one hand, located the source of temporal energy, and inscribed the Four Symbols Seal formula.
"What's going on? My body is disappearing!"
Naruto suddenly exclaimed in shock.
Not just him—the other three members of Team 7 also stared in disbelief at their own bodies, which were gradually turning translucent and fading away.
Before leaving this world,
Sakura looked at Tsunade with a mixture of curiosity and awe. She couldn't help but wonder what expression Tsunade-sama would make if she returned and told Lady Tsunade herself—the Fifth Hokage—that she had met a younger version of her in a parallel world. One who not only wielded powerful Wood Release techniques but also mastered Sage Arts just like the First Hokage.
Captain Yamato repeatedly studied Heiyan, Tsunade, and Pakura, carefully memorizing every detail of their appearances. In particular, Heiyan and Tsunade—both so young yet overwhelmingly strong—left him deeply shaken.
He couldn't help but wonder, are all the ninjas from this parallel universe really this terrifyingly strong?
Thinking further, if someone like Puppet Master Bazu managed to cross over here, he'd surely suffer a miserable fate without even making a ripple.
Sai hesitated for a moment, pondering whether he should report this entire incident to Danzo of Root when he got back.
"Hey, Uzumaki Heiyan!"
Naruto suddenly raised his fist energetically toward Heiyan and shouted, "You're amazing! But when I become stronger, I'll definitely fight you again—and beat you! Are you brave enough to accept my challenge?"
Upon hearing this, Heiyan smiled slightly and stepped forward, facing Naruto as he spoke:
"Give me your Chakra Blade."
He noticed earlier that Team 7 was using weapons far more valuable than regular kunai—Chakra Blades specifically crafted to counter Puppet Master Bazu by easily slicing through the chakra threads controlling his puppets.
After taking the Chakra Blade from Naruto, Heiyan followed the same procedure, writing the four characters Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain onto its hilt before handing it back, reminding him to keep it safe.
"What is this?" Naruto scratched his head curiously.
"It's my [Flying Thunder God Technique] formula," Heiyan replied.
Hearing his words, Team 7 once again felt stunned. This Heiyan actually mastered the legendary [Flying Thunder God Technique]?
"If there's an opportunity later, I will use the Dragon Vein's power to travel to your world and visit Konoha (the Hidden Leaf Village). At that time, you can challenge me again."
Heiyan made this promise to Naruto.
"Really?"
Naruto brightened immediately, then laughed heartily, "Then it's settled! I'm definitely going to train hard after returning, and next time, I absolutely won't lose to you!"
More like training nonstop day and night, right?
Heiyan silently mused.
According to the timeline from the original timeline, shortly after Naruto and others return, the Fourth Great Ninja War will begin. Then, various deities and game-breaking figures will appear, and the Sage of Six Paths himself will even bestow supernatural powers, instantly helping Naruto reach the Six Paths Tier.
Though Heiyan has already reached the Transcendent Kage level, he still has quite a ways to go before reaching the pinnacle of the ninja world—not to mention achieving the Six Paths Tier.
Ever since learning of the existence of Parallel World, he felt as though the future had suddenly become far more interesting.
Thinking about this, Heiyan made up his mind. At the very least, he had to evolve into a perfect Sage Transformation body, possessing Six Paths-tier power or even beyond, before he could return to the original timeline.
However, neither Sakura, Yamato, nor Sai knew what Heiyan was thinking. Upon hearing the agreement between Heiyan and Naruto, they exchanged uneasy glances, showing evident signs of nervousness.
All three felt great concern—if such a powerful individual as Heiyan entered their world, who knew what kind of impact he might have?
Finally.
"Goodbye, Uzumaki Heiyan! Remember my name—I'm Uzumaki Naruto!"
Waving energetically at Heiyan, Team 7's four figures finally faded away completely, pulled back to their own world by the power of time and space.
"Goodbye, Uzumaki Naruto."
Heiyan murmured softly, unable to suppress a sincere smile that crept onto his lips.
Ever since learning of the existence of Parallel World, he felt as though the future had suddenly become far more interesting.
Of course, for now, his top priority was still this world under his feet.
As a transmigrator, Heiyan wouldn't just sit back passively and let events unfold the way they originally did. His plan was simple: keep growing stronger until he reached Six Paths-tier power—or beyond—and then deal decisively with all enemies in this world ahead of schedule.
Uchiha Madara, Kaguya Otsutsuki, Momoshiki Otsutsuki, Kinshiki, Pu Shi... All of them were enemies Heiyan had to face directly.
Heiyan shook off his thoughts and turned to the Queen of Loulan, noticing that shock still lingered on her face. He spoke to her:
"You witnessed everything that just happened firsthand. Based upon the information we have now, the rogue ninja Bazu will return from the future at an unknown time, attempting to seize the Dragon Vein. Even after dealing with him, there may still be many others continually crossing timelines to covet the power of the Dragon Vein."
"T-then... what should we do?" The queen muttered anxiously, casting a pleading look toward Heiyan.
"I'll repeat my offer: hand the Dragon Vein over to me for safekeeping. I'll handle anyone else who crosses through time and space. Of course, I also will pay you one hundred million ryō (a unit of currency) in exchange for purchasing the Dragon Vein. With that sum of money, perhaps the people of Loulan could live much better lives, right?"
Looking straight into the queen's eyes, Heiyan reiterated his proposal.
Tsunade, standing beside him, knew exactly what he was thinking. She pulled out a Storage Scroll and with a rustling sound, revealed a massive pile of golden bars stacked high, gleaming brilliantly.
These gold bars represented the reward payment from Sunagakure, granted in gratitude for Heiyan and Tsunade's contributions to the Oasis Plan.
"One hundred million ryō?!"
The queen, along with her guards, were utterly stunned by the sheer sight of so much wealth—they had never seen such a fortune in their entire lives.
The queen wavered.
This wavering wasn't merely due to Heiyan's financial pressure. More importantly, following what had just occurred, she had finally come to realize—she lacked the power necessary to protect the Dragon Vein herself.
Its mere existence was destined to bring disaster to the ancient Kingdom of Loulan eventually.
Perhaps, when reality could no longer be avoided, letting go was indeed the best choice.
But...
"Our Loulan clan has remained deep in this barren desert for generations solely to protect the Dragon Vein. Now that the Dragon Vein is gone, where should the Loulan nation go?"
The Queen of Loulan murmured, her eyes full of sorrow.
Indeed, the land where Loulan stood had never been suitable for human habitation. Especially in recent years, the weather and environment within the desert had grown increasingly harsh, making life ever more difficult for the people.
Were it not for the secret need to guard the Dragon Vein, the Queen might have already ordered a mass migration to a much more livable place.
Heiyan sensed her confusion.
Feeling compassion for her, he offered another suggestion:
"I know of a newly established Ninja Village that would warmly welcome the Loulan clan. It's quite far from here, requiring a long journey. But I can assure you—it's a beautiful, prosperous, and safe place. Once settled there, your people will surely live peaceful and happy lives."
His words immediately lifted the Queen's mood, her eyes regaining their brightness.
Heiyan, as the leader of the Konoha Sannin and a key driver behind many reforms in Konoha, spoke with undeniable authority.
He made this promise not only for the sake of the Dragon Vein—after all, as an invaluable treasure, even 100 million ryō could hardly compensate for its worth.
More importantly, he genuinely wanted to find a better future for the Loulan clan, who had struggled year after year in the unforgiving desert.
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