XXXXXX-Ay's POV
"Lariat!" he roared as they smashed into each other. For the first time in a long while, their strengths were equal. Bee wasn't holding back—he was giving it his all, no longer restraining himself to avoid harming his big brother.
Ay smiled. It was brief, fleeting—but it was there.
Then, in one decisive motion, Bee overpowered him. Completely.
Ay was sent flying, crashing hard into the steps of Unraikyo. Gritting his teeth, he got back on his feet, words already forming on his tongue—until he saw them.
The tails.
Six of them.
He'd finally pushed Bee to six tails.
"Well done, Big Bro," Bee said, momentarily abandoning his ridiculous rapping to acknowledge the milestone.
Ay wanted to puff up with pride, but he held back. Six was still a long way from Eight. Worse, this was only the Version 1 cloak. The second version was exponentially stronger—faster, deadlier, and laced with toxicity.
"It's not enough, Bee. I need to get stronger. Faster. Better. And I need to do it fast."
"There's no rush, Big Bro. Don't rush. Fool ya fool."
"Who're you calling a fool, Bee? Better not be me!"
Bee made a sound that was definitely not a whimper before turning on his heels to flee.
"No running from the Iron Claw, Bee!" Ay roared, cracking his knuckles. "Come face your punishment like a man!"
XXXXXXX-Mei Terumi's POV
She stared at the report.
For the first time in her life, she had no idea what to do.
Two years ago, it was rare for her to come across a problem she couldn't solve. Now, it happened every other day.
Ao was dead.
His Byakugan was gone.
Somewhere between retrieving Mangetsu's body and bringing it back, the Byakugan had disappeared.
Gone.
That was two irreplaceable assets lost.
And then there was the Six-Tails. Taken by a group of men in black and red cloaks—Akatsuki.
No Jinchūriki. No Byakugan. A dead former ANBU commander.
This was a disaster.
To make matters worse, her operatives in Cloud had just sent in their latest report.
The village was militarizing.
Kumo was always prepared for war, but this? This was beyond standard wartime mobilization. This was a prelude to something inevitable.
They were going to attack.
And they were going to do it soon.
Her best analysts had already crunched the numbers—Cloud had at most a few months before they'd be forced to declare war.
If she were a more hopeful woman, she might have deluded herself into thinking that Cloud had a different target in mind.
But Mei Terumi wasn't hopeful.
Hope was expensive in the shinobi world.
She had to be realistic.
If she were in the Raikage's position, there would be no other target but Kirigakure.
Iwa? Stripped bare after the Kazekage's ruthless attack. The Raikage was too prideful to pick at another Kage's leftovers.
Konoha? Too strong. Actively expanding their military, preparing for war against Suna.
Suna? A village ruled by a man named after the desert itself. Only a fool would think of attacking Suna.
That left only Kiri.
And if she was being honest, Kiri was barely better off than during Yagura's madness. She was trying, but things took time.
Time they didn't have.
Mei ran the scenarios in her head.
How would Cloud attack?
By sea.
They had the largest fleet and would use it to land shinobi at her doorstep.
She could probably force them to land in Nagasaki, but beyond that?
She had no chance.
If the Raikage was arrogant, he'd rush straight for Kiri's heart.
Big mistake.
Kiri wasn't like the other villages. Even if the Kage Tower fell, they still wouldn't own the village.
Power lay in the islands.
If Ay rushed in recklessly, Kiri could bleed him dry. Cut off his supply lines. Sink his fleet. Starve his army to death.
But she couldn't assume Ay would make that mistake.
The Raikage wasn't stupid.
If he played it smart, he'd take the islands one by one. Slowly. Methodically.
And if he did that?
Kiri was finished.
She needed an alliance.
Someone strong enough to stand with her.
Someone who could give Kiri the illusion of strength, enough to ward off their enemies.
Konoha?
Danzo Shimura was the last person she would ever trust.
Ao's words echoed in her mind.
"He is the Darkness of the Shinobi World. Let him in, and he will never leave."
That wasn't an option.
She'd rather surrender to Ay than Danzo Shimura.
Iwa?
Two weakened villages joining forces to form one strong one. Not a bad idea.
But…
It might only make the Raikage even more eager to attack. Two villages for the price of one.
Fifty-fifty odds.
Good for fighting.
Useless for deterring.
That left only one real option.
Suna.
A village on the rise.
Her spies all said the same thing—Suna was growing stronger.
Gaara of the Desert had somehow become a Fuinjutsu master without peer.
His shinobi were equipped with weapons she could barely comprehend.
An alliance with that power?
That might just be what she needed.
But…
He'd destroyed an island.
A minor one, sure. But still, a whole island.
He was part of Kiri's weakness.
Could she really trust him?
"Between Danzo Shimura and Gaara of the Desert, there's only one choice."
But then—
A whisper of doubt.
Was there?
Was there only one choice?
Her mind betrayed her with the thought.
There was another option.
One she hadn't even considered.
Akatsuki.
A group of S-rank missing-nin.
They'd taken the Six-Tails, sure.
But, if she was being honest, there was no guarantee Utakata would have ever truly fought for Kiri.
Perhaps the source of her problems…
Could also be the solution.
And unlike Konoha or Suna, Akatsuki wasn't a major power of its own.
An alliance with them could be equal.
A partnership.
Kisame Hoshigaki was among them. Returning the most powerful of the Seven Swordsmen to Kiri was a benefit she couldn't ignore.
It had to be done.
Mei Terumi never noticed the shadowy corner of the room.
Nor the single, blood-red eye watching her.
Spinning.
Smiling.
And then—
Gone.
XXXXXXXX-Gaara POV
"How do you want to approach this?" I asked the two S-ranked shinobi sitting in my office, my gaze fixed on the glass window overlooking Sunagakure in all its newfound glory.
"We have an associate who will lead an attack on Konoha's walls to draw out as much of the village as possible. Jiraiya will get us through the barrier, and we eliminate whatever forces Danzo has prepared before severing his head from the rest of his body."
"Associate?" I repeated, leveling them with a hard stare. Did they really think I wouldn't demand specifics?
"Yes, an associate of ours—"
"Orochimaru, you mean. My father's killer," I interrupted, feigning outrage. If Orochimaru hadn't killed Rasa, I might have been forced to do the job myself.
"Our teammate, yes," Jiraiya confirmed, unbothered. "We trust there won't be a problem."
"A problem?" I let the sarcasm drip from my voice. "You mean with working alongside the man who assassinated the Fourth Kazekage—my own father? Why would that possibly be an issue?"
"Well, you're going to have to stomach it. That's the nature of alliances," Jiraiya said bluntly.
I bristled at his tone, shifting slightly. He matched my movement, tension thickening the air, until Tsunade placed a calming hand on his arm.
"Nobody is killing anyone—at least, not yet," she said firmly. "We ask you to set aside your grievance with Orochimaru, just as Konoha is choosing to ignore the eye spinning beneath that hair of yours."
Her meaning was clear. They knew.
My fingers twitched, but I kept my expression neutral.
"We're aware of when Kakashi was killed," she continued. "It happened during our alliance. Yet we are willing to overlook your... actions in exchange for a similar courtesy."
"Rasa was a Kazekage. My father. The two situations are not the same," I countered.
"Fine," she conceded. "Then we ask for a temporary truce. Hold off on any vengeance against Orochimaru until after Konoha is free from Danzo's rule. Once that's done, the three of you can settle things however you like."
She was playing her cards well. She thought that if I challenged both Jiraiya and Orochimaru, I would lose. I could see how she might believe that, but she had no idea what I had become. I wasn't the same man I was before infusing my Sharingan. I wasn't even the same as I had been when I used it to hypnotize the Nine-Tails.
Controlling a tailed beast completely was an equalizer like no other.
"Fine," I said, my voice calm. "We leave at dawn tomorrow."
Jiraiya and Tsunade exchanged looks before walking out of my office.
Without another word, I dissolved into sand.
XXXXXXXXX
The seal was an intriguing thing. The endless hours of meticulous work, refining the design, incorporating insights from the Eight Trigrams Seal—it had all been a pleasure. This was the kind of deep, intellectual challenge I could truly sink my teeth into. It was perfect.
What wasn't perfect was the agonizing process of removing my old seal and replacing it with the new one. Inscribing a seal onto oneself was no simple feat, and using a clone barely made it easier. The chakra networks being virtually identical introduced all sorts of unpredictable anomalies.
Fuinjutsu was like that sometimes. The best metaphor I'd found was that it was akin to programming—except you were coding reality itself, and every so often, the laws of mathematics would shift beneath you. The key was recognizing when and how the rules changed. Those who failed? Well… there was a reason so few Fuinjutsu masters existed. Anyone talented enough had a fair chance of killing themselves before they reached true mastery. As an Uzumaki—even if only half—I had the rare luck of instinctively knowing what would work and what wouldn't.
It was almost like genetic memory. It told me that anything less than sixty-four prongs in this seal wouldn't function. Fuinjutsu wasn't purely logic-based; it carried deep symbolic elements. The Five Elements Seal worked because it had five prongs—one for each element. The Eight Trigrams Seal worked because of its eight prongs—one for each gate. This seal? It had to have sixty-four, aligning with every major tenketsu in the human body. The prongs would center on the gates, allowing the seal to function far beyond the complexity of the Eight Trigrams Seal.
And what would it do?
Everything.
First, it would finally shut out the Ichibi from my mind. From now on, he would hear only what I wanted him to hear. Complete control.
Second, it would give me unrestricted access to his chakra whenever I desired. Even better, I had designed two distinct outlets for its release:
Tailed Beast Chakra – Pure, unfiltered power. This would allow me to enter Version 1 and 2 states, though as the jinchūriki of the weakest Tailed Beast, it wasn't much of a force multiplier. But when used to amplify my ninjutsu? It meant I could unleash techniques on an unprecedented scale with zero risk of running out of chakra. It also opened the door to Tailed Beast Bombs—a theory I hadn't yet tested, but soon would.
Natural Chakra – Yes. Sage Mode. The Tailed Beasts knew about nature energy, and rifling through Shukaku's mind—while he was locked under my genjutsu—was almost too easy. He already knew how to gather and stabilize nature energy. The second outlet would funnel that stabilized natural chakra directly into my system. That meant constant Sage Mode. Free Sage Mode. Unlimited Sage Mode. I saw no reason to grant Shukaku more freedom, and as long as he remained under my genjutsu, he would simply be an infinite source of power.
The third function of the seal—and the most difficult to integrate—was linking it to my Blessed Seal of Theótita. This meant that both Tailed Beast and human chakra would fuel my personalized version of the Byakugō Seal. Tailed Beast chakra already had immense regenerative properties, so with careful adjustments, I could achieve more with less.
All these functions in a single seal… and yet, there was one final safeguard I had built in.
The Byakugō Seal was partitioned—half for regeneration, half for storage. This half would accumulate as much Tailed Beast chakra as possible. But more importantly, it had a failsafe:
If I ever went more than two minutes without a drop of Ichibi's chakra in my system, the seal would forcibly inject it back into me.
A contingency for the worst-case scenario—capture. If the Akatsuki ever managed to rip Shukaku from my body, I would not die. They could try. I would be back on my feet within minutes, ready to return the favor.
Unlikely? Extremely. I was certain I was the strongest shinobi in the world unless Madara suddenly got resurrected.
But this world had already proven it was no longer bound by the timeline I once believed in. Danzo's Kage rule—secured with an army of Edo Tensei shinobi—was proof enough of that. So if the rules had changed?
I would simply change faster.
With the last brushstroke, the intricate design was finally complete, drawn onto my bare skin. My clone stepped back, and Inasa, head of the Seal Corps, moved forward.
This was the easy part. All he had to do was spark the engine.
He pressed his palm against my stomach, inhaled, and roared:
"Fūin!"
With that single word—
Everything changed.
XXXXXX-Tsunade's POV
In the shadows of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, they stood. Watching. Waiting.
Orochimaru had promised to help them in this Uprising.
She still couldn't believe she was trusting him, even now. After everything he had done, after everything he had become… she was still relying on him.
Insanity.
But that was what it meant to be a teammate, wasn't it?
For six years of her childhood, she had been surrounded by him and Jiraiya. They were family—as much as Nawaki had been. And wasn't that just one hell of a mindfuck?
"Any second now."
Jiraiya's voice came from seemingly nowhere. He was cloaked with the Meisaigakure no Jutsu, a technique he had always claimed to be the best user of in the world. She was starting to believe it. His invisibility was so seamless that even knowing he was there, she had to strain to perceive him.
Naruto stood at her side, his own version of the technique still inferior—but good enough. No one who could spot them would be in this area anyway. This was an intentional blind spot in Konoha's defenses.
One left by Hiruzen Sarutobi himself.
A sudden, earth-shaking crash rang through the village.
The signal.
Jiraiya rushed to the wall, his hands weaving a flurry of seals—twelve in total—disabling the sensing barrier around their section of the perimeter.
Tsunade launched herself over Konoha's towering walls, Naruto under her arm, landing in a crouch.
Gaara followed, effortlessly shifting into sand, reforming beside her as they touched down.
She eyed him for a moment.
He had changed.
There was a confidence in him now, something that hadn't been there when he first greeted them at the border.
Good.
He would need it.
Danzo would not go down without a fight.
XXXXXX-Karin Uzumaki's POV
"Is she outside, Konan?"
A weak voice drifted through the room. Karin stood at the threshold, her spine tingling. The presence within was unlike anything she had ever felt. It was raw, immense—stronger than even Orochimaru-sama at his peak. And that terrified her.
Konan alone was frightening enough, a woman whose mere presence commanded respect. But the fact that she answered to someone even stronger made Karin's mind reel. She could feel it—dark and menacing, yet layered with something else. It was resolute, unshakable, driven by a purpose so intense that it burned. Whoever this person was, they wanted something. Badly. Badly enough to give up everything for it.
And yet... the chakra was familiar. It felt like home. She had only encountered something like this twice before: once with her mother, and once with that blonde kid from Sasuke-kun's team. Both had been good people. Trustworthy. She clung to that hope, because what else could she do?
When Konan had first appeared at the hideout, Karin had nearly collapsed from the sheer weight of her chakra. She had slaughtered the cursed-seal abominations Orochimaru had created with a terrifying ease. Paper shuriken sliced through flesh that should have been as hard as stone like it was nothing.
After that display, when Konan told her to come, Karin had no choice.
Konan had pretended there was a choice, but her chakra said otherwise. Karin would have been brought here whether she liked it or not.
She had adapted, just as she always had.
Like when the Kusa-nin killed her mother and made her take her place.Like when Orochimaru-sama "saved" her and then used her in much the same way.Only, this time… she prayed it was another step up.
"Send her in," the weak voice commanded.
Konan appeared at the doorway in an instant.
"Go on in," she said with a smile. A sharp, deceptive smile. It was meant to disarm. It had the opposite effect.
Karin could feel the tension in Konan's chakra. She didn't want her to go in. Konan was on edge, ready to kill her if she made one wrong move.
"Come in, cousin," the voice called again.
Karin stiffened. Cousin?
Hesitantly, she stepped inside— and nearly recoiled.
A man sat before her, emaciated, skeletal, with rods protruding from his back, connected to some strange device. Karin's breath hitched. The rods were acting as chakra transmitters, sending out waves of energy. She could feel them.
"Uzumaki Karin. That is your name, right?"
She nodded. Who was this man?
"Good. I am Uzumaki Nagato. Your cousin."
Her mind shattered.
That wasn't possible. The Uzumaki were dead.
Her mother had told her a million times—there was no one left.No one had come when Kusa took them.No one had come when her mother screamed in agony.No one had come when they dragged her away, leaving Karin to wonder if she'd ever see her again.
She had prayed for an Uzumaki to save her. But none had come.
"You're lying," she hissed, anger burning away the shock. Her hair rose with her chakra.
"You're a liar."
"Never," he said simply.
He lifted a bony, shaking hand from the machine and stretched it toward her.
His chakra told the truth.
Chakra never lied.
Her breath caught. Her throat tightened. "C-Cousin?"
Nagato gave a solemn nod.
"I have searched for decades," he murmured. "For someone who shared my blood. I found a few... but none like me. None like us. A pureblooded Uzumaki is a rare thing these days. I am happy to meet you."
"Where were you all this time, then?" she demanded, her voice shaking. Where were you when my mother died?
"Kusa hid your existence well," Nagato said. "It was only after Orochimaru's death, when we dismantled his operations, that we found any mention of you. If I had known sooner, I would have moved the heavens to set you free. An Uzumaki alone in this world is a terrible thing."
Truth.
The words unraveled her.
A sob wrenched itself from her throat. She collapsed inward, arms wrapped around herself, shaking with relief, grief, everything.
She had family.
She wasn't alone.
And then—arms encircled her. Weak, bony arms, but warm.Real.
Nagato's chakra wrapped around her like a shield, like a home she had long since forgotten.
She sank into it.
And for the first time in her life… she felt safe.
A Week Later
She had expected him to use her.
Everyone else had. Kusa had. Orochimaru had. Even Sasuke had.
And Nagato… had every reason to.
She had seen his body. He was dying. His chakra, as immense as it was, was stretched too thin—keeping him alive rather than healing him.
And yet, he never asked.
He spoke of her ability like an academic curiosity, fascinated more by their bloodline than the fact that she could save him.
Why?
The question ate at her until she finally voiced it.
"Why haven't you asked me to heal you?"
Nagato's puppet, the one watching over her in the library, turned to face her. His Rinnegan eyes felt heavy, like they saw too much.
"I don't need you to," he said.
She stared.
"What?"
"I have seven years left, at best," he said. "By then, I will have accomplished my goal."
She gaped. "You're joking."
"I am not."
The conversation ended.
XXXXXXXXXX
It took her a week to track down Konan.
She had gone from fearing being used, to realizing that the one person who didn't see her as a tool was willingly throwing his life away.
When she told Konan, the woman's reaction shocked her.
Fury.
Sharp, burning rage.
Konan had questioned her over and over, making sure—absolutely sure—that Karin could heal him.
And then, without another word, Konan dissolved into paper and disappeared.
That night, Nagato's Paths were gone. Konan was gone. For an entire week.
Then—Konan returned.
"Follow me," she said, her voice tight. "Nagato has seen the error of his ways."
Relief slammed into Karin.
She followed, heart pounding.
When they reached the basement, she froze.
Nagato looked... tired. More so than ever. His eyes, once sharp, looked through her rather than at her.
Konan turned to her, voice firm. "Help him. Please."
Nagato said nothing.
Even so, when she held out her wrist, he obeyed.
His teeth sank into her skin, and the drain was immediate. Her vision blurred. Her body weakened. But—
His hair darkened.His skeletal frame filled out.His once gray skin flushed with life.
And then—darkness took her.
The last thing she heard was his voice, stronger than ever.
Calling her name.
She smiled.
And let the darkness take her.
A/N; End of the chapter. Yeah, Nagato is getting a massive buff. He's going to need it. I think it's really funny how I have done no clarification on the timeline at all and I just have like a dozen things going on on different timelines. Hopefully, everything makes sense.