The moment Kyūsei stepped into the courtyard, he immediately noticed how well the plants were maintained.
Every potted plant and flowerbed was arranged neatly.
Everything looked carefully trimmed and orderly.
Didn't expect Orochimaru to be into gardening…
Kyūsei thought to himself.
Just as that thought crossed his mind, Orochimaru stepped out of the house.
His long black hair hung loosely down his back. He wore a simple black set of loose home clothes.
But what stood out most—
Was the white lab coat draped over his shoulders.
He looked less like a ninja and more like a research scientist.
Seeing that outfit made Kyūsei's expression change slightly.
Orochimaru was a complicated person.
An orphan with extraordinary talent.
When he was young, he was deeply favored by Hiruzen Sarutobi.
His talent surpassed that of his two longtime companions—
Jiraiya and Tsunade.
But he had also witnessed far too much death.
His parents' deaths.
The loss of his students.
And the fragility of life during war.
Gradually—
His thinking became extreme.
He began pursuing immortality.
And once he started down that path, there was no turning back.
Eventually—
He even killed his own teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Giving him what he considered the most perfect funeral.
Looking at Orochimaru now, Kyūsei frowned slightly.
Has he already started pursuing immortality…?
"Kyūsei."
"What brings you here?"
Orochimaru spoke with visible fatigue.
The exhaustion in his eyes was impossible to hide.
It was obvious he hadn't rested properly for a long time.
Kyūsei quickly explained everything—
From the Akatsuki situation, to Yin–Yang Release, to the Dragon Vein plan.
"Yin–Yang Release… huh?"
Orochimaru's eyes lit up with interest.
He understood the significance of Yin and Yang Release perfectly.
Even someone like him—
Had never fully mastered both.
And certainly couldn't combine them into a barrier capable of sealing the Flying Thunder God Technique.
And the creator of Flying Thunder God—
The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju—
Was Orochimaru's idol.
A man who had created countless forbidden techniques.
Orochimaru was essentially Tobirama's biggest fan.
"Alright."
"I'll join."
"Just let me know when you leave."
He agreed almost instantly.
"By the way… there's something else."
Kyūsei continued.
"Oh?"
"What else?"
Orochimaru looked curious.
Despite Kyūsei's reputation for being erratic and unpredictable—
Orochimaru preferred to judge people himself.
From the few times they had worked together—
Kyūsei had proven to be an excellent combat partner.
Not to mention—
During the raid on the Sand Village, Kyūsei had helped pull Orochimaru out from thousands of enemy ninjas.
That was a favor.
And Orochimaru hated owing favors.
Now Kyūsei needed his help to seize the Dragon Vein.
And the enemy possessed Yin–Yang Release.
That alone had sparked his interest.
In his mind—
This was simply an equal exchange.
"Kaoru needs to develop Paper Release."
"Jiraiya has already returned to Konoha."
"If you help as well, the development process will go much faster."
Kyūsei explained his idea directly.
"Paper Release… combined with Namikaze Kaoru ?"
Orochimaru frowned slightly and began thinking.
"What if you add Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags?"
"Or combine Wind Release and Fire Release nature transformations with it?"
Orochimaru suggested casually.
Kyūsei's eyes lit up.
Paper Release combined with Fire Release could turn paper into explosive tags.
But Wind Release—
He had never considered that.
Wind Release's cutting property could transform a storm of paper sheets into countless shredding blades.
And Wind + Fire combinations were already powerful.
Let's see:
Physical immunity
Aerial mobility
Instant teleportation
Explosive fire attacks
Wind blade cutting storms
Large-scale battlefield control
Nearly unbeatable dueling ability
Infinite point-detonation with Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags
Kaoru would be unstoppable.
"Then I'll leave that to you."
Kyūsei nodded seriously.
At Kaoru 's current development trajectory—
Surpassing Tobirama Senju wouldn't even be impossible.
After that, the only remaining step would be increasing her chakra reserves.
But that was easy.
Didn't Tsunade have the Byakugō Seal?
Kyūsei didn't even consider how long it would take Kaoru to master all of this.
In his mind—
With Kaoru 's talent, learning these things should be easy.
After saying goodbye to Orochimaru, Kyūsei headed to his next destination.
So far, his team would include:
Himself
Kaoru
Orochimaru
Uchiha Sasuke
But to crush Akatsuki completely this time—
He needed one more person.
—
Uzumaki Residence
Kyūsei returned home.
Yes.
The final person he had in mind was—
Uzumaki Menma.
The second perfect Nine-Tails jinchūriki.
But whether Menma would agree to help—
That was uncertain.
Menma was the type who:
Never acted without benefit
Had a violent temper
Was extremely ambitious
Still—
Kyūsei had a way to deal with him.
He pulled out his key and was about to unlock the door—
But suddenly it opened.
A beautiful woman stepped out.
"Hmm?"
"Kushina… where are you going?"
Kyūsei asked in surprise.
"Huh?"
"When did you get back?"
"Is Kaoru being taken care of?"
"I was actually about to go visit her."
Kushina looked surprised.
"Oh."
"I came back to take care of something."
"If you want to visit Kaoru , go ahead."
"Jiraiya is with her right now."
Kyūsei deliberately avoided explaining his real purpose.
He wanted to send Kushina away first.
If she heard his conversation with Menma—
She would definitely object.
"Alright."
"I'll head over then."
"There's leftover lunch in the kitchen."
"If you're hungry, heat it up."
Kushina smiled and gently rubbed his head.
"Got it."
"I'll eat later."
Kyūsei smiled warmly.
Because they were counterparts—
He felt naturally close to Kushina.
Almost like family.
"Okay, I'm off then."
"Bye~~"
Watching Kushina leave, Kyūsei waved.
Then he headed straight to the study.
Pushing open the door—
He saw Uzumaki Menma sitting at the desk.
Head lowered.
Reading sealing technique scrolls.
He didn't even look up.
Kyūsei calmly sat across from him.
Silently watching Kushina's troublesome son.
Time passed.
Eventually, Menma stretched lazily and spoke without even looking up.
"So."
"What do you want?"
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