Friends

The last time Baiye took part in the Nine-Tails Incident, he earned eighty Fate Points.

It wasn't much. After all, he hadn't changed the course of fate very much—Minato and Kushina weren't going to die in the first place. He had only brought things to an end a little sooner and stopped Minato's bleeding while he was at it. Eighty points was fair compensation for the effort.

Baiye glanced at his system panel and put the Fate Points aside, in no hurry to use them.

Over the past few days, he had visited the hospital as usual. Minato's injuries were healing faster than he had expected, and Kushina's condition had stabilized too. He hadn't asked how the higher-ups were handling the incident, nor was he interested in finding out.

That morning, Baiye entered Minato's hospital room as usual.

When he pushed open the door, he found quite a few people there.

Tsunade sat in a chair by the window, her arms folded, her long blond hair dazzling in the morning light. Jiraiya leaned against the wall. For once, he wasn't wearing his red outer robe, only a dark set of everyday clothes. Kushina sat beside Minato's bed—she had probably been brought here under Jiraiya's guarantee. After all, a Jinchūriki couldn't go out at will, but with Jiraiya vouching for her, the Third probably wouldn't object.

Tsunade was the first to notice him.

"You're here?" Her tone was flat, as though she were asking whether he'd eaten today.

Baiye nodded, his gaze sweeping over Minato, who was still unconscious in the hospital bed.

"Is he about to wake up?"

"Yes, it should be today," Tsunade said.

Jiraiya walked over from the wall and looked Baiye up and down. He wasn't wearing his usual cheeky grin; his expression was a little more serious.

"I didn't get a chance to thank you properly that day." Jiraiya's voice was a little lower than usual. "The old man told me about it. You used a bloodline ability with severe side effects to get close to Minato and the others, right?"

Baiye shook his head.

"No need to thank me. Minato-senpai and I are pretty close too."

Jiraiya stared at him, stunned for a moment, then smiled. There was nothing perfunctory about it; his smile held genuine appreciation.

"Haha, I quite like your personality." Jiraiya patted Baiye on the shoulder, leaned a little closer, and lowered his voice. "One of these days, let's go to Peach Blossom Street together—"

"Hmm?" Tsunade's voice drifted over from the side, light but deadly.

Jiraiya's smile froze on his face, and he quickly changed his tune. "—and get some barbecue together. My treat."

Tsunade looked away without exposing him.

Jiraiya cleared his throat twice and pulled Kushina over.

"Come on, Kushina. You passed out right away that day, so you probably didn't see Baiye. If it weren't for him, Minato would've..." He saw Kushina's expression turn guilty again and quickly stopped himself. "Ahem, anyway, you should thank him properly."

Baiye noticed that Kushina's expression grew a little complicated for an instant, but he said nothing.

Of course Kushina had seen Baiye. In the mental world, she hadn't yet lost consciousness when he walked in. But she didn't seem to have told anyone else that Baiye had entered the mental world too.

She might have seemed carefree, but she was a clever girl.

"Hello, my name is Kushina Uzumaki." She walked up to Baiye and bowed slightly. "Thank you for saving Minato."

"Hello, I'm Gekkō Byakuya." Baiye returned the bow.

Neither of them said much more. Kushina's gaze lingered on him for a moment before she looked away. Baiye knew she had recognized him.

But she also knew that some things couldn't be said.

Minato murmured from the bed.

"Mm..."

Everyone turned to look at him.

Minato's eyelids fluttered, and his fingers moved slightly.

Kushina covered her mouth, her eyes reddening at once.

"Minato..."

Minato opened his eyes.

He stared blankly at the ceiling for a couple of seconds, then slowly turned his head. When he saw Kushina's face, then Tsunade and Jiraiya, his bewilderment gave way to a smile.

Before he could say anything, Kushina threw herself at him and hugged him so hard that his expression changed instantly.

"Ow, ow, ow—"

"Sob... Minato..."

Kushina was immersed in the joy of their reunion, Tsunade was examining Minato's wounds, and Jiraiya was talking to Tsunade.

No one noticed the Nine-Tails open his eyes inside Kushina.

Inside the Zanpakuto, the red energy stirred. Unlike its usual slow, waterlike flow, it became very active.

Then a voice rang out in his mind.

"You're that brat from last time?"

Baiye's body stiffened. He looked around and found that no one was watching him.

No one had heard the voice—it hadn't come from outside, but from the Zanpakuto.

It was the Nine-Tails.

The energy inside the Zanpakuto that carried the Nine-Tails' "scent" became active, like a hibernating snake startled awake. Through that energy, the Nine-Tails bypassed the seal and sent his voice directly into Baiye's consciousness.

No one around him noticed a thing. Not even Kushina, the Jinchūriki herself.

Baiye took a deep breath and responded in his mind.

Hello, Kurama.

Don't call me that!... Brat, who exactly are you?

The Nine-Tails' voice was deep and hoarse, carrying undisguised scrutiny. What did you mean by what you said last time? Do you know the Sage of Six Paths?

I don't know Hagoromo Otsutsuki.

The Nine-Tails fell silent.

Then his voice rang out again, tinged with indignation.

Are you mocking me? Who still knows the Sage of Six Paths' name now?

The Nine-Tails' Chakra churned inside the seal, and Kushina's body trembled slightly. Fortunately, she was already emotional and didn't notice anything wrong.

If you go berserk now, your Jinchūriki can look forward to being imprisoned permanently. Then you'll have even less chance to ask what I know.

The Nine-Tails' voice turned cold.

Are you threatening me?

Yes.

The Nine-Tails fell silent again. He hadn't felt this aggrieved in a long time.

Those few seconds of silence felt like an eternity.

Baiye could feel the red energy surging inside the blade, like magma trapped behind a blockage, trying to burst out but unable to.

Then the Nine-Tails' voice rang out again, much calmer this time.

...You'd better not fall into my hands.

Don't worry, we'll have another chance to talk, Baiye said.

In the hospital room, Kushina finally let go of Minato.

Her eyes were red, but she was smiling.

Jiraiya said from the side, "All right, all right, he's awake, so stop crying." Tsunade examined Minato's wounds, muttering, "They're healing nicely."

Baiye stood by the door. No one noticed that he had just had an "encrypted call" with the Nine-Tails.

He hadn't expected to make contact with the Nine-Tails again so soon.

The good news: he now had an encrypted line of communication with the Nine-Tails. From now on, he wouldn't have to wait for Kushina to go berserk to talk to him—though it wasn't much use for the moment.

The bad news: twenty percent Shikai progress was the limit the Nine-Tails could provide. The Nine-Tails' Chakra hadn't made the number on the panel change again, which meant the twenty percent hadn't been reached through the amount of Chakra.

He needed to make contact with more Tailed Beasts.

Baiye scratched his head. At least he had ruled out one possibility, which counted as a gain.

Kushina couldn't stay long, so Jiraiya and Tsunade took her away first, leaving only Minato and Baiye in the hospital room.

Minato leaned against the headboard, looking out the window. Sunlight fell on his face, making his blond hair shine. He was still a little pale, but he looked much better than he had a few days ago.

Baiye sat in the chair by the bed and didn't rush him.

After a moment of silence, Minato spoke.

"So, when did you find out that Kushina—my lover—was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?"

Baiye didn't answer immediately.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because you weren't surprised at all at the time." Minato turned to look at Baiye. "And you got there too quickly."

Baiye was silent for a moment, then smiled.

"You really are perceptive."

"I don't think you were trying to hide it, either."

Minato's tone was calm. He wasn't interrogating Baiye, merely stating a fact.

"I did find out about Kushina-senpai a long time ago."

Baiye didn't say how long ago.

For a moment, the air itself seemed to go still.

"Are you... another safeguard the village arranged for Kushina?"

It was clear that the question was difficult for Minato to ask.

If his friend had been sent by Konoha's higher-ups to deliberately get close to him, Minato would be heartbroken.

Fortunately, Baiye shook his head.

"You're perceptive, but you still can't match Kushina-senpai's intuition."

"Huh?"

"She didn't report what happened with me at the time."

Minato froze for a moment. He knew Kushina well. As the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, her ability to sense malice was unmatched.

"You mean you..."

"I'm just me," Baiye said. "I don't take orders from anyone."

Minato was silent for a moment, then smiled.

"That's good."

"No more questions?" Baiye asked.

"No more." Minato looked at him, his gaze clear and open. "Whatever other secrets you have, you were willing to expose yourself to save us. That's enough."

Baiye looked at him in silence for a few seconds.

"You're awfully trusting."

Another silence fell over the room, but the atmosphere was much lighter.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."