Rebellious Alchemy

The Thousand-Armed Guanyin, a fusion of Sage Art Wood Release and Susanoo, struck with a thunderous roar.

The battle felt more like a demolition project.

Urashiki's golden light was as brittle as glass beneath the sky-obscuring wooden palms. After a series of earth-shaking, rumbling crashes, he was swatted away by the immense force, vanishing into the eastern horizon and leaving behind only the fading echoes of snapping trees and crumbling rock.

A few seconds later, a massive boom erupted in the distance.

Qianyu stood atop the head of the slowly dissipating wooden Buddha, leaning forward to peer at the rising dust and mist in the east. He raised an eyebrow. "Yo, quite the commotion. Judging by that sound... did he hit water? Could he have created a hot spring? Tsk, consider it a new tourist attraction for the hometown."

Beside him, Sasuke Uchiha's brow was furrowed so tightly a fly could have been crushed between them. His Rinnegan was locked onto the black-haired youth, his expression a mix of shock and suspicion that screamed, Who the hell is this? Where did he come from? Since when can Wood Release be played like this?! This power and this posture were completely outside his database of knowledge.

Below, the younger Qianyu, shielded by Tsunade, felt his heart hammering against his ribs. "Optimus Prime," "Gundam"... and that Wood Release, which originated from the same source as his own yet was terrifyingly more powerful.

Confirmed. I love you, my older self.

"It's not over yet," Sasuke said coldly, his Rinnegan fixed on the east. That cold, chilling chakra belonging to the Otsutsuki still radiated a dying, frantic madness.

"I know, I know." The older Qianyu dug at his ear, looking annoyed. "These Otsutsuki are like cockroaches—tenacious vitality, always trying to kick one last time before they die."

The moment he finished speaking, both figures vanished.

At the edge of the freshly minted hot spring crater, Urashiki sat in the water, his clothes in tatters and his body covered in cracks. His golden Rinnegan was dim, yet it burned with a final, venomous malice. Seeing them arrive, he let out a strange, rattling sound from his throat.

"Boring struggle." The older Qianyu curled his lip, too lazy to even weave hand signs, and simply pointed a finger.

Countless wooden tentacles erupted from the bottom and sides of the crater, binding Urashiki into a tight bundle and snuffing out the dangerous red light that had just begun to glow at his fingertips.

Urashiki's eyes were filled with resentment and hatred. He stared fixedly at the younger Qianyu, his lips trembling.

In that very instant—

Urashiki's figure suddenly blurred, as if he were dissolving into the air.

"Tsk, I knew it." The older Qianyu sighed, as if he had expected this all along. He splayed his fingers, aiming them at the location of Urashiki's afterimage.

An indescribable suction force erupted! It was not a standard ninjutsu.

"Forbidden Technique: Reverse Pill Refinement."

He whispered the words. Urashiki's fading afterimage jerked violently, as if it had been forcibly "plucked" out of the cracks in space-time by an invisible hand! For the first time, a look of near-terror appeared on his face, his body trembling uncontrollably as it began to shrink.

The Karma mark that was meant to be branded onto the younger Qianyu twisted and shifted in the air, eventually being forcibly condensed and compressed as Urashiki's body shriveled.

"That stuff Orochimaru tinkered with is actually quite useful," the older Qianyu remarked casually.

Under the stunned gazes of everyone present, the arrogant Otsutsuki Urashiki, along with his final curse and power, was forcibly compressed and refined.

Within a few breaths, all that remained in his place was a pill the size of a longan fruit, dark red in color with a faint, swirling luster.

Sasuke's Rinnegan widened. This actually works?

The older Qianyu reached out, and the red pill drifted lightly into his palm. He held it up to the light, nodding in satisfaction.

Dismissing the wooden Buddha and the Susanoo, he strolled back toward the group. His gaze landed directly on the younger Qianyu, who was hiding behind Tsunade with a complicated expression.

"Hey, kid over there." He crooked a finger, his tone playful. "Come here and eat this."

The younger Qianyu's mouth twitched. "..." Eat? Eat this thing refined from Urashiki? Is my future self a bit too unrefined?!

Tsunade instinctively shielded the younger Qianyu behind her, her eyes full of vigilance. This youth was absurdly strong and his methods were bizarre; although he had saved them, his origins were unknown and his motives were a mystery. However, as her gaze swept over the youth's chest, it suddenly froze.

There, peeking out from his slightly open collar, was a familiar dark-colored cord.

The very one she had personally placed around the younger Qianyu's neck!

Tsunade's pupils contracted. She looked at the necklace on the youth's chest, then jerked her head down to look at the neck of the boy behind her.

Shock hit her like a tidal wave. Combined with the fact that his Wood Release was of the same origin as her grandfather's yet even more profound, and his strangely familiar attitude toward the younger Qianyu...

An absurd, yet the only logical, explanation forced its way into her mind.

She opened her mouth, looking at the youth's handsome face—a face that was startlingly similar to Madara Uchiha's yet distinct in its own way—and at the reflection of her own youthful face in his black eyes... Finally, she slowly loosened her grip on the younger Qianyu. Her expression shifted into a complex mix of shock, realization, and a certain "so that's how it is."

"You..." Tsunade's voice was dry.

The older Qianyu winked at her, the playful smile on his lips deepening.

He didn't offer further explanation, simply shaking the red pill in his hand again as he looked at the resistant younger Qianyu.

"What are you stalling for? It's a super-supplement; it'll do you good. Don't worry, it's not poisonous. At most... it tastes a bit weird."

The atmosphere was delicate. The younger Qianyu's face was written with resistance.

Just as the younger Qianyu steeled himself, frowning and preparing to shove the pill into his mouth—

A sudden change occurred!

From the shadow of a broken wall behind them that had been ravaged by Wood Release, a long-planned dark figure lunged out like a lurking viper! The target was clear, the movement ghost-like, aiming straight for the pill in the younger Qianyu's hand! The cold, gloomy chakra was something none of the powerful figures present were unfamiliar with!

"Old man, you've watched enough of the show; now you want to pick up the scraps?" The older Qianyu sneered, seemingly not surprised at all. He didn't even turn around, simply opening his palm.

Whoosh!

A black rod of Yin-Yang Release materialized out of thin air and shot forward!

Splat!

It pierced the dark figure's shoulder with pinpoint accuracy, pinning him firmly to the ground! The force was so great that the figure let out a muffled groan, unable to move, as the kunai in his hand clattered to the floor.