Kakuzu knelt on the ground, half-collapsed. His bare torso was slick with crimson, drenched in more blood than he'd spilled since his so-called "divine technique's completion."
Defeat wasn't the scary part. The scary part was that Kakuzu had no idea how he'd lost. In the blink of an eye, he was on his knees.
Faced with that yawning, impossible chasm in power, the choice was simple—anything, anything but death.
In truth, a fight between Yūshin and Kakuzu would have ended the same, regardless of the era. No matter how powerful Kakuzu or his secret arts were, that power remained within the bounds of the conventional. It didn't even brush the ceiling of imagination.
Yūshin didn't kill him. Instead, he reset Kakuzu to factory settings in an instant. Even Kakuzu understood the terrifying degree of casual ease that implied.
"So, the deal is struck. Any objections?"
Yūshin's reaction was muted. Fighting Kakuzu offered neither challenge nor amusement. This battle was a relic, a version of combat he'd left behind before turning sixteen. Nothing more.
"I understand."
Kakuzu lowered his head in resignation. He was a proud shinobi, but pride had its time, place, and target.
Yūshin's demand was simple: obey his commands when necessary, for necessary matters. Compared to losing his life, it was nothing.
He didn't even place any binding restrictions on Kakuzu after securing his agreement. He simply turned and walked away, as if a verbal pact held some unbreakable force.
In truth, it was just a stray move on the board. Best if Kakuzu obeyed. If he didn't, Yūshin lost nothing. There were no real consequences. If Kakuzu broke his word, Yūshin wouldn't go out of his way to hunt him down. He'd just kill him if their paths happened to cross again.
Such magnanimity was rare in the Shinobi World.
Only after Yūshin had left did Kakuzu belatedly press a hand to his chest. The slow, steady thump confirmed he was alive. Then, an uncontrollable wave of fear made that heart pound faster and faster.
He couldn't be blamed for choosing pragmatism. Four of his five hearts had been plucked out. If he hadn't been "wise to the times," his life would have been rounded down to zero.
...
"The stars shift. Inertia takes over. Nothing particularly noteworthy seems to be on the horizon."
Elsewhere, after a fight that couldn't even be considered a warm-up, Yūshin walked alone through the night.
He tallied things up mentally; at this moment, there seemed to be nothing urgent requiring his attention. He activated his Mangekyō Sharingan, took a brief look at the flows of fate, and confirmed the immediate future was indeed calm.
So, he decided to give the "Divine Tree" a little nudge toward maturity.
Come to think of it, since reclaiming Nanami's Mangekyō Sharingan, he hadn't personally activated the most primordial version of "Umashikami."
There was no reason to hesitate. He acted. In the next moment, Yūshin stepped into a corridor of distorted space-time.
He reappeared in Konoha—specifically, within the Uzumaki residential district.
As he entered a courtyard, a frail old woman on her deathbed, her senses honed over a lifetime, immediately sensed his Chakra.
"Lord Yūshin…?"
Uzumaki Mito lay flat on her bedding. She strained to open her eyes but could barely see.
"It's me. Your body is nearing its limit."
Yūshin gently helped her sit up slightly, placing a pillow behind her back.
"Birth, age, sickness, death… the way of all things. If anything, I was slow to realize it. Only at this stage of life do I truly grasp the hardship you've endured, Lord Yūshin."
Humans were creatures of experience. Some things couldn't be understood without living through them.
"I've merely lived a little longer. Hardly what I'd call hardship."
They exchanged a few pleasantries. Yūshin then casually asked, "Mito, do you have any regrets in your life?"
"Regrets? As a shinobi, my life was fortunate, I think. Though in later years, surrounded by happiness… one could still feel a certain loneliness."
"Is that so? Good, then."
That kind of personal feeling was hard to resolve. Even with children and grandchildren around, the essence of an "empty nest" remained.
They spoke a few more words. Mito drifted into an exhausted sleep. Yūshin quietly left.
He had another place to visit, but the atmosphere there would be entirely different.
Uzumaki Mito had an older "sister," whose physical state was no better than her own. And while Mito was a "granddaughter by bond," this one was closer to a "granddaughter by blood."
Uzumaki Ruri's veins truly did carry Yūshin's blood.
"Ruri, do you have any regrets in your life?"
The same question, but compared to Mito's serene acceptance at life's end, Uzumaki Ruri's reaction was different. To be precise, Yūshin's question was almost redundant.
Uzumaki Ruri clung to Yūshin's shoulders, weeping uncontrollably.
"Ancestor! I never married in my entire life! What do you think? How could my life not have regrets?!"
Her mental state was that of someone who hadn't lived nearly enough.
"You, a little old lady, crying this hard… I really don't think it's necessary."
That only made her wail louder.
Yūshin surrendered. A subtle mental suggestion was necessary.
"Stop crying. Crying counts as time, too. What I mean is, sleep. Sleep, and when you wake, everything will be better."
"S-sleep?"
Ruri didn't understand what sleep could change. Reincarnation?
"Remember, if you wish to remain in Konoha, you'll need a new name, a new identity. Something like the secret daughter of Uzumaki Ruri's secret daughter."
Before slipping into unconsciousness, Ruri firmly imprinted Yūshin's suggestion in her mind.
Yūshin took a step. Seven years vanished in an instant.
It was now the tail end of Konoha Year 55.
The Great Shinobi War raged. This was the era where the "Yellow Flash" shook the world.
Theoretically, it was also when Uzumaki Naruto was supposed to be born.
Another crucial, unknown piece of information: Uchiha Madara was about to die, leaving behind a tangled web of convoluted plans.
Furthermore, without interference, the so-called "Kannabi Bridge Mission" was destined to occur. It was Madara's final act of "hospice care." He wouldn't die peacefully without securing the executors of his plan.
With that battle as the premise, subsequent events would also unfold. At this point in time, the mastermind behind the curtain would reveal himself.
Besides wanting to see the dying Uchiha Madara, Yūshin wanted to see the expressions on their faces when their meticulously laid plans met an unexpected variable.
His stop in Konoha was brief. Yūshin then headed east, towards the ocean, where the fierce battles between Konoha and Kirigakure continued.
Two days later, on a certain battlefield, a necessary and critically important battle unfolded according to the script written by the mastermind.
Hatake Kakashi, only fourteen, was already demonstrating the fine qualities of a dedicated reader of the Icha Icha series. He launched a shameless "chest grab" on his good friend, Nohara Rin.
But Kakashi was too agitated, and his hand was charged with lightning. The chest grab instantly became a backstab. The risqué story turned into a horror story.
The mastermind's script had some clever layers, involving multiple parties. Kiri-nin had temporarily sealed the Three-Tails into Rin. If this time bomb returned to Konoha, the consequences would be unthinkable.
Kakashi naturally didn't want to kill his teammate. But Rin had more resolve. When it mattered, men couldn't be relied on. A girl had to take the initiative herself.
Rin offered her heart—literally. The watching Kiri-nin couldn't tolerate it. Their plan for Konoha to implode from within had failed. Furious, they decided to eliminate these two useless Leaf shinobi.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Obito, cloaked in "Tobi," was an actor strictly following the script. He witnessed Kakashi kill Rin with his own eyes. His not-so-bright mind underwent the intended transformation—his Sharingan evolved instantly to the Mangekyō level.
His intelligence was simply too excellent. No wonder Madara and Black Zetsu could manipulate him so thoroughly.
But just as Obito was about to launch into a rage-filled massacre, everything before him seemed to freeze. Even that overwhelming fury was doused in an instant, leaving him chilled to the bone.
A figure with white hair and white robes appeared abruptly beside Kakashi and Rin.
Yūshin glanced at Kakashi and said calmly, "Pull your hand out. Haven't you groped enough?"
Kakashi's mind was still clear. Both eyes in his sockets were original equipment, so though the thread of his sanity was stretched taut, it hadn't snapped yet. Even so, his brain struggled to parse Yūshin's words.
"I mean, step aside. Don't get in the way of me saving her. I am the world-renowned Divine Physician, Quē Tuó. Never heard of me?"
Yin-Yang Release couldn't bring back the truly dead, but Rin still had a sliver of life left.
Kakashi stared, dumbfounded. Yūshin ignored him and placed a hand directly on Rin's shoulder.
Kakashi's wrist was pushed out by warm, soft flesh.
Simultaneously, the flimsy, makeshift seal on Rin's body—like a thatched hut—was instantly reinforced into a machine-gun fortress. In a flash, she became a true Jinchūriki.
"D-divine Physician…"
Kakashi went from one kind of daze to another. He hadn't expected someone with a hole in their chest could be saved.
"The Divine Physician can't cure stupidity. Next time, use your brain. A problem easily solved by reinforcing a seal—why resort to killing?"
Since Kakashi was a bona fide Firefly ninja, Yūshin, following the principle of favoring his own, criticized a brain not much better than a certain someone's.
"I… I don't know sealing jutsu."
For some reason, Kakashi felt no urge to resist this stranger. It was a normal reaction. His subconscious didn't want a slap.
"You don't know? Can't you learn? Strive to be a new shinobi for a new era. Don't end up like your brooding, tragic old man, who knew nothing but how to cut people down."
Yūshin had a soft spot for cute, dumb creatures. He drew out the Chakra-conducting blade and pressed it into Kakashi's hand.
"A little toy for you. You're done here. Return to Konoha."
Then, Yūshin looked at Rin, who had been brought back from death's door but was still mentally trapped in her moment of sacrificial resolve.
"You can withdraw."
"Divine Physician… thank you for your help."
Kakashi finally regained his wariness. He scanned the surroundings and saw the numerous Kiri-nin had turned into ice sculptures. Realizing the immediate danger was over, he wasted no more words, grabbed Rin, and bolted at top speed.
Konoha made a victorious escape. The Kiri-nin lost their lives. But the White Zetsu observing everything from the shadows were far more bewildered than Kakashi.
This wasn't in the script. Not at all. What now? The manuscript said nothing about this.
Where was the "tears hidden by divine power" moment?
Having sent the burdens away, Yūshin shifted his gaze, locking onto Uchiha Obito hiding a short distance away.
"Obito, run!"
The special White Zetsu "Tobi," acting as an exoskeleton fused to Obito, couldn't read its host's mental state, but it could assess combat power disparity.
"Run? Why? That person is a good guy. He saved Rin. The enemies are dealt with. Shouldn't I go after Kakashi and Rin now?"
With the storyline derailed, Obito's "intelligent" IQ reclaimed its throne.
Rin wasn't dead. So Obito was still the Obito who helped old ladies cross the street. Konoha was home. He should go home. Calming down, he could reason that Kakashi stabbing Rin was strange, implying hidden circumstances worth investigating.
Yūshin paid no mind to the other White Zetsu. He walked toward Tobi, step by step.
Tobi saw him coming and, ignoring Obito's will, immediately turned and sprinted.
"Running? Better run fast. If you're not fast enough, how will you lead me to Uchiha Madara?"
Yūshin pursued at a leisurely pace. Tobi trying to outrun him on foot was impossible.
No, once Yūshin had his eyes on you, there was no escape. No method would work.
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