Yue walked over to the campfire in the cavern and sat down. He casually picked up a branch and drew three circles on the ground.
It was a habit of his: setting priorities for what he planned to do next, ranking everything by importance.
First, the highest priority: save Minato and Kushina.
This wasn't just about gaining two top-tier Kage Level fighters. It was also about continuing to test the deeper rules of the World Correction Force.
If he used Yang Release to heal the couple here, then took them back to Year 51 of Konoha, alive and kicking, what would the will of the world—which had already judged them "dead"—do?
If he really could fool the will of the world and bring them back, then he'd basically have a genuine "resurrection token" in his hands!
So, to save them, he needed the Senju Clan's secret Yang Release techniques and the Uzumaki Clan's most powerful Sealing Jutsu, capable of stabilizing souls.
The branch pointed to the second circle. That was their second priority.
Acquire the secret techniques and knowledge of this era.
Whether it was Hashirama Senju's Sage Mode, the principles of Wood Release, or Madara Uchiha's ultimate mastery of the Sharingan—
All that knowledge, lost to later generations or even elevated to myth, was now "alive and well" in this very land.
The secrets of Yin Release Grandma Chiri had left him had made up for his shortcomings in spirit and ocular power.
If he could complete the "Yang Release" puzzle here...
He would be able to try to reach the threshold of the legendary "All Things in Nature" in this world.
The third priority was more tactical, and something they needed to do right away: gather information.
They needed to figure out exactly which year of the late Warring States Period they were in. Had the Senju and Uchiha already formed an alliance? Had construction on Konoha begun?
Once he'd settled on a plan, Yue called Hikari over.
"You need to scout outside and find out exactly which year of the late Warring States Period we're in. Have the Senju and Uchiha already formed an alliance? Has construction on Konoha begun?"
"Got it. Leave it to me." Hikari nodded earnestly.
"Remember: scout only, no fighting. If you run into a goofy guy with a bowl cut who loves to laugh, or an Uchiha with spiky hair and an arrogant look, retreat immediately. Run as far away as you can."
Yue gave her the warning with utmost seriousness.
He didn't want Hikari's recklessness to bring those two Ninja World Asura—or gods—straight to them, capable of tearing the map apart.
"I know what I'm doing."
Hikari took a ration bar from her Ninja Tool Pouch and handed it to Yue. Then she sat by the campfire with her knees drawn up, her clear black-and-white eyes quietly watching the flames dance.
"Yue, in this era..."
The girl suddenly spoke softly. "Will we... go back to Falling Cherry Valley?"
Yue paused.
Falling Cherry Valley.
The place where Hikari had once faked her death and escaped, the turning point where she'd gone from being a "weapon" to becoming a "person."
It was also where Izumi Uchiha had taught them Yin Release for the last time.
Could this be a continuation of that timeline? Yue found the question intriguing.
Seeing the wistfulness in Hikari's eyes, Yue reached out and gently ruffled her smooth black hair.
"We will. We'll go after a while."
The next morning.
The morning mist of the Warring States Period carried the pungent smell of rust and decaying leaves.
Like a nimble black cat, Uchiha Hikari silently passed through the waterfall outside the cavern and landed lightly beside the campfire.
A little morning dew clung to her red-and-white clothes, but she looked relaxed.
"Yue, I found out what you wanted."
Hikari took a map she'd just "borrowed" from a black-market information broker out of her Ninja Tool Pouch and spread it out in front of Yue.
"This really is the Warring States Period, but things aren't quite the way they were when we were here."
Pointing to the map's patchwork of rival territories, Hikari spoke with a note of confusion. "The Senju and Uchiha are still fighting, but when I hid out among a few small clans and at a market for wandering ninja, the word I heard most often was 'tired.'"
"Neither the civilians nor the lower-ranking ninja want to keep fighting. Apparently, even within the Uchiha Clan, there are plenty of voices opposing this endless bloodshed."
Hikari paused, her expression turning odd. "And the current head of the Senju Clan... seems to be a strange guy. The reports say that whenever he meets the Uchiha on the battlefield, he loudly proclaims that they should form an alliance and build a village where children won't have to go to war."
As Yue listened to Hikari's report, his half-closed right eye slowly opened, a glint flashing in its depths.
"I see. Around two years before the Konoha era..."
He knew this point in time well.
It was the darkest hour before dawn, when Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha's ideals were clashing at their fiercest, just before they were about to come together.
The meat grinder of the centuries-long Warring States Period had worn down the great clans until they were utterly exhausted. The call for peace had reached the point where it could no longer be suppressed.
Yue turned and looked at the two colorless figures lying on the stone bed, their last traces of life sustained only by his Yin Release Chakra.
Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki.
"We can't wait any longer." Yue stood up and rolled his shoulders, stiff from overexertion. "My Yin Release can only 'deceive' death and keep their souls trapped in their bodies. It can't truly repair the physical collapse caused by the Nine-Tails' claws piercing them. If we keep dragging this out, once these bodies start to rot, even the Sage of Six Paths won't be able to help."
"We have to get the most powerful Yang Release techniques right away."
As he spoke, Yue put on his black coat, hiding his blind left eye in the shadow of his mask.
"Hikari, carry them both." Yue gave the order. "We're moving today."
"Where to?" Hikari deftly secured Minato and Kushina to her back with wide strips of cloth, as if she were carrying two weightless sacks.
Yue's lips curled into a confident smile as he said four words:
"The Senju Clan Compound."
"What?!"
Hikari's beautiful eyes flew wide open, as if she'd just heard something unbelievable.
As far as she knew, the Senju Clan were the Uchiha's mortal enemies!
Back in her era, any Uchiha who dared go near Senju territory would be blasted to pieces by countless Wood Release and Water Release techniques! And Yue was still badly injured and half-blind.
"Yue, are you serious? We're Uchiha! Wouldn't going there be like walking into a tiger's den? Besides, you haven't recovered yet..."
Her hand had already instinctively rested on her Short Blade.
"Times have changed, Hikari."
Yue stepped closer and patted her shoulder, soothing her tense nerves.
"At this point in time, we'd die horribly if we went to the Uchiha. Madara Uchiha isn't as easy to fool as Fugaku. The guy's lost his little brother, and as an overprotective brother, he's more volatile than a keg of gunpowder. The Senju, on the other hand..."
Yue's gaze fell on the distinctive scarlet hair of Kushina Uzumaki, carried on Hikari's back.
"The current head of the Senju Clan is the easiest man to fool in this era... Ahem, I mean, the most openhearted man. Besides, the Senju and Uzumaki Clans have been close relatives and staunch allies for generations."
"We're bringing an Uzumaki Clan member who's badly injured and on the brink of death to them for treatment. There's no way that goofy Hashirama Senju would refuse to help. This is not only the perfect 'way in,' but also an excellent excuse to make contact with the Senju."
Before you continue