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Little Temari squeezed Lady Chiyo's withered hand tightly, as if trying to transfer her own youthful strength into the old woman. Feeling the girl's concern, the wrinkles on Chiyo's face softened, and her eyes filled with a weary comfort.
"Good children... you are all good children," she murmured. "There must be hope for the future."
Kakashi watched the interaction from the corner of his eye but remained silent. He didn't harbor much hatred toward the Sand. As for their current plight, beyond a detached sense of pity, he felt little else. In this shinobi world, he had seen far worse during his missions. Small hidden villages were often wiped off the map in a single night; compared to them, the Hidden Sand—one of the Great Five—was still a "lean camel larger than a horse." They would survive.
Soon, the group arrived at the Hokage building.
"I will report to the Hokage. Please wait a moment," Kakashi said.
Before long, Chiyo, Temari, and Maki were ushered into a private meeting with Minato Namikaze. The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sat beside him. Kakashi and the other guards withdrew, sensing that this discussion was strictly confidential.
Minato looked at Temari with a hint of confusion. Is she here as the Kazekage's eldest daughter to represent him? Probably, he mused. He didn't dwell on it, though he noted the girl was quite adorable. She had naturally fair skin and a raw, untamed spark in her eyes that set her apart from the kunoichi of the Leaf.
Minato gently ruffled the little girl's hair and handed her a bottle of "Huhaha"—a premium carbonated drink from Hiruko's factories—and told her to play in the corner. Then, the real talk began.
This wasn't Minato's first time meeting Chiyo; the two had even crossed paths on the battlefield. By shinobi standards, Chiyo was ancient. She wore a soft cap and a scarf, her eyes squinted as if she were a harmless grandmother. But Minato knew better. This woman held immense power. Even decades from now, she would be capable of performing a life-for-life reincarnation jutsu. She was not an opponent to be underestimated.
The atmosphere started pleasantly. Following Hiruzen's lead, both sides spent the first thirty minutes bonding over their shared hatred of Danzō. Once the cursing was out of the way, the conversation flowed much more smoothly.
Chiyo's intent was clear: an alliance. While the Stone and Cloud were courting each other, the Sand had chosen the Leaf. It was a surprising move, but the why mattered less to Minato than the what. Konoha wouldn't reject a strategic ally, but Chiyo was stubborn—she refused to be the one to beg for it.
Hiruzen caught Minato's eye and blew a plume of smoke, leaving the heavy lifting to the younger Hokage. Minato smiled understandingly. Appearances had to be maintained. Rather than being seen as a desperate village forced into a corner, the Sand wanted to be seen as a respected power "invited" by the Leaf. With the Land of Wind slashing their budget, the Sand's morale was at rock bottom; they needed a win to bring home.
Minato understood their pride, but as Hokage, he had to prioritize Konoha's bottom line. The two began a dance of pressure and counter-pressure, testing each other's limits. Eventually, Chiyo stopped pretending.
"I won't hide it from you," she said bluntly. "The Hidden Sand is in a difficult position. If Konoha can provide some... material support, it would go a long way."
It was a shameless request for a handout, but Chiyo didn't care about "face" anymore. She just wanted resources. Konoha was wealthy; they could afford to share a little, right?
Minato felt the request was reasonable. With the threat of a Cloud-Stone alliance, having a neighbor defect to their side was worth a price. But how much was the sticking point. The negotiations hit an impasse—after all, it was only the first day.
As Chiyo prepared to leave with Temari and Maki, she paused. "Fourth Hokage, would it be possible for me to pay a visit to Hiruko?"
Minato blinked, then nodded with a smile. "Of course. No problem at all."
While the village leaders entered emergency sessions to debate the cost of an ally, Hiruko was buried in his lab, mesmerized by a breakthrough.
He stared at a strange lump of flesh suspended in a nutrient solution, his brow furrowed in deep concentration. Finally, he pulled out a sample—a biological construct he had grown using the cellular data of the Kurama clan.
"So that's how it is," Hiruko whispered to himself, his voice trembling with a mix of surprise and elation. "I made a fundamental error."
He held up a vial of silver liquid. Originally, he had developed this drug based on protease that activates cellular totipotency. He wanted a powerful, temporary recovery serum—not a dangerous one like the Hashirama cell transplants, but something purely for healing.
In theory, he had created a "Panacea" or Universal Serum. This liquid could activate latent possibilities within a cell. As long as a subject was alive, it offered a chance for Atavism—the awakening of ancient, ancestral powers.
Hiruko realized he had ignored a major principle of genetics: the balance of dominant and recessive traits. Genetic chains aren't entirely active; many traits are suppressed over millions of years of evolution. These "hidden" genes are often the most vital, containing the blueprints of what the species once was before it was "pruned" by environmental selection.
If he could control this "Genetic Backsliding," he wouldn't just be healing people—he would be unlocking the primal power of the sages themselves.
🌟 The story is already written… waiting to be unleashed. Claim early access on Patreon: [email protected]/c/wildsparkstudios
🔓 You hold the keys to bonus chapters:💬 10 reviews ignite 1 bonus chapter🔷 100 Power Stones summon another
🔥 Your power determines how fast the tale unfolds.