We Go to See Senju

Yue walked over to the campfire in the limestone cave and sat down, picking up a branch to draw three circles on the ground.

This was his habit: prioritizing his upcoming tasks based on their level of importance.

First, the highest priority: saving Minato and his wife.

This was not only to gain two top-tier Kage-level combatants but also to further verify the underlying rules of the "World Correction Force."

If he used Yin Release to heal the couple here and then brought them, alive and kicking, back to the 51st year of Konoha.

How would the World Will, which had originally determined them to be "dead," react?

If he could truly deceive the World Will and bring them back, it would be equivalent to mastering a genuine "respawn coin"!

Therefore, to save them, he needed the Yang Release secrets of the Senju Clan and the top-tier sealing techniques of the Uzumaki Clan that could stabilize the soul.

Thus, the branch pointed to the second circle; this was their second priority.

Plundering the secret arts of this era.

Whether it was Hashirama Senju's Sage Mode, the principles of Wood Release, or Madara's ultimate application of the Sharingan.

These pieces of knowledge, which had been lost or even mythologized in later generations, were all "alive" and present on this land right now.

The Yin Release secrets left behind by Grandma Izumi had allowed him to patch the shortcomings in his spirit and ocular power.

If he could complete the puzzle of "Yang Release" here...

He might be able to attempt to touch the threshold of the legendary "All Things in Nature" in this world.

The third priority was tactical and something that needed to be addressed immediately: gathering intelligence.

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?

After confirming his goals, Yue called for Hikari.

"You need to go out and scout, find out exactly what year of the late Warring States Period we are in, whether the Senju and Uchiha have allied, and if construction on Konoha has begun."

"Alright. Leave it to me." Hikari nodded earnestly.

"Remember, only scout, do not engage. If you encounter a bowl-cut fool who loves to laugh, or an Uchiha with a hedgehog hairstyle and a cocky look in their eyes, retreat immediately and run as far as you can."

Yue instructed with extreme solemnity.

He did not want Hikari's recklessness to directly attract these two Asuras/Gods of the Ninja World who could tear the map apart.

"I know my limits."

Hikari took a piece of dry ration from her ninja tool pouch and handed it to Yue, then sat by the campfire with her knees hugged, her clear black-and-white eyes watching the flames dance.

"Yue, in this era..."

The young girl suddenly spoke softly, "Will we... go back to Falling Cherry Valley to take a look?"

Yue was slightly stunned.

Falling Cherry Valley.

The turning point where Hikari had once faked her death to escape, transforming from a "weapon" into a "person."

It was also the place where Izumi Uchiha... had taught them Yin Release for the last time.

Would it be a continuation of that space-time? Yue was somewhat interested in this question.

Looking at the nostalgia in Hikari's eyes, Yue reached out and gently ruffled her soft black hair.

"We will go. In a while."

The next morning.

The morning mist of the Warring States Period carried a pungent scent of rust and rotting leaves.

Uchiha Hikari, like an agile black cat, passed silently through the waterfall curtain outside the limestone cave and landed steadily by the campfire.

Her red and white casual clothes were stained with a bit of morning dew, but her expression was relaxed.

"Yue, I've found out."

Hikari took a map she had just "borrowed" from a black-market intelligence dealer out of her pouch and spread it out before Yue.

"This is indeed the Warring States Period, but the situation is different from when we were here."

Hikari pointed to the interlocking distribution of forces on the map, a hint of confusion in her voice. "Although the Senju and Uchiha are still fighting, the word I heard most while lurking in the markets of small clans and wandering ninja was 'weary'."

"Whether it's civilians or low-level ninja, no one wants to keep fighting. It's said that even within the Uchiha Clan, there are many voices opposing the continuation of this endless bloodbath."

Hikari paused, her expression turning strange. "Moreover, the current head of the Senju Clan... seems to be a weirdo. The intelligence says that every time he encounters the Uchiha on the battlefield, he shouts loudly about forming an alliance and building a village where children don't have to go to war."

Listening to the intelligence Hikari brought back, Yue slowly opened his previously half-closed right eye, a sharp glint flashing in his pupils.

"I see, about two years before the Konoha era..."

He was familiar with this time node.

This was the darkest moment before dawn, and the eve of the collision between the philosophies of Hashirama Senju and Madara, leading toward their eventual fusion.

The meat grinder of the centuries-long Warring States period had ground every major clan to exhaustion, and the call for peace had reached a critical point that could no longer be suppressed.

Yue turned his head to look at the two bloodless "corpses" on the stone bed, whose last threads of life were held together only by his Yin Release chakra.

Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki.

"I cannot wait any longer." Yue stood up, working his shoulders, which had grown stiff from excessive exertion. "My Yin Release can only 'deceive' death by locking their souls within their bodies, but it cannot truly repair the physical collapse caused by the Nine-Tails' claws. If I keep draining myself like this, once these shells begin to rot, even the Sage of Six Paths would be powerless."

"We must obtain the highest-level Yang Release secret technique immediately."

As he spoke, Yue draped his black windbreaker over his shoulders, hiding his blinded left eye beneath the shadow of his mask.

"Hikari, strap them both to your back." Yue issued the command. "We are moving today."

"Where to?" Hikari skillfully used wide strips of cloth to bind Minato and Kushina to her back, as if they were weightless sacks.

A curve of certain victory tugged at the corner of Yue's mouth as he uttered four words:

"The Senju clan grounds."

"What?!"

Hikari's beautiful eyes widened instantly, as if she had heard something utterly absurd.

In her understanding, the Senju Clan were the mortal enemies of the Uchiha!

In that era, if any Uchiha dared to approach Senju territory, they would undoubtedly be blasted into dust by countless Wood Release and Water Release techniques! Not to mention that Yue was currently in a state of severe injury and partial blindness.

"Yue, are you serious? We are of Uchiha blood! Isn't going there walking straight into the tiger's den? Besides, you haven't recovered yet..."

The girl's hand had already instinctively moved to the hilt of her short blade.

"The times have changed, Hikari."

Yue stepped forward and patted her shoulder, soothing her taut nerves.

"At this point in time, we would die a miserable death if we went to the Uchiha. The current Madara Uchiha is not as easy to fool as Fugaku; that brother-obsessed man who lost his sibling has a temper more explosive than a powder keg right now. On the contrary..."

Yue's gaze fell upon the iconic, vibrant red hair of Kushina Uzumaki on Hikari's back.

"The current head of the Senju Clan is the most easily deceived—ahem, the most broad-minded man of this era. Furthermore, the Senju and Uzumaki clans are distant relatives and ironclad allies who have been on good terms for generations."

"We are bringing a critically injured member of the Uzumaki clan to seek medical help; that simpleton Hashirama Senju would never stand by and watch someone die. This is not only the best 'stepping stone,' but also the perfect excuse for us to make contact with the Senju."