The butterfly effect?

Qingyun went to the Ninja Hospital and found Nara Tengzhi, who managed the medicinal supplies. "Uncle Nara, could I have some medicinal herbs for research?"

Nara Tengzhi paused at the request and looked down at the small figure. Of course he knew Qingyun. The boy had treated many wounded people lately, including plenty of ninja who had been injured on missions rather than on the battlefield.

Qingyun was highly skilled in Medical Ninjutsu, and he was also Tsunade's disciple. After considering it for a moment, Nara Tengzhi looked at him and said, "Yes, but not too many. If you need a large quantity, I'll need Lord Hokage's signature before I can give them to you."

Qingyun nodded. "Uncle Nara, I only need some herbs for an experiment, not a lot. Please help me find them!"

"They're Purple Gold Grass, Night-Bright Flower, Fire-Blaze Lingzhi, and Calming Spirit Grass."

As he spoke, he listed the herbs needed for Buddha's Smile Wine.

A trace of puzzlement flashed through Nara Tengzhi's eyes when he finished listening. The Nara Clan was Konoha's largest supplier of medicinal herbs, and as one of its elders, he was naturally familiar with their effects.

Apart from Calming Spirit Grass, all the herbs Qingyun wanted enhanced chakra. What sort of experiment was he planning?

Still, Konoha placed great importance on Medical Ninja. Every Medical Ninja received an annual allotment of herbs specifically so they could research different medicinal formulas.

Although Qingyun was not a Medical Ninja, his proficiency in Medical Ninjutsu was no worse than that of an ordinary Medical Ninja. Besides, he was Tsunade's disciple. As long as he did not need a large quantity of herbs, Nara Tengzhi could make things a little easier for him.

Without deliberating much longer, Nara Tengzhi turned, opened the herb storeroom, and took out what Qingyun needed.

"Thank you, Uncle Nara."

Qingyun accepted the herbs Nara Tengzhi handed him, thanked him, and headed for the market.

Before long, Qingyun had bought some rice, yeast, and wine jars and returned to his home in the Forest of Death.

Then, following the method for making Buddha's Smile Wine, he crushed the rice to prepare the fermentation starter. Next, he boiled a pot of water, washed the crushed rice, and began steaming it.

The brewing process was extremely complicated. Qingyun could have bought ready-made wine, but Japanese sake generally had a low alcohol content. On top of that, the Naruto world's technological development had taken a very strange path. Many modern processes did not exist, and things like wine were made entirely by hand.

There were no distilled spirits either. Qingyun had never gotten used to drinking this kind of wine, so he simply decided to brew his own.

Time slowly passed. After nine rounds of steaming, he spread out the mushy rice to cool.

Only when the sky began to darken did Qingyun divide the cooled rice among the wine jars and add the yeast.

Then, following the recipe for Buddha's Smile Wine, he crushed the herbs and distributed them evenly among the jars.

"Big brother, what are you doing?"

After returning from school, Minato Namikaze looked curiously at the wine jars scattered across the ground outside and asked.

"Brewing wine. Minato, you're just in time. Help me dig a hole."

Qingyun looked at Minato Namikaze and smiled. There was a perfectly good source of free labor here; why let it go to waste?

Minato scratched his head. Had Qingyun gone mad from drinking? Now he was even brewing his own wine.

But seeing Qingyun's confident expression, Minato Namikaze did as he was told and began digging.

The two got to work. Before long, they had dug a pit ten meters deep. Qingyun placed the wine jars inside, then carefully began filling it in.

Once everything was done, Qingyun wiped the sweat from his forehead and plopped down on the ground.

"Big brother, will your wine actually be drinkable?"

Minato Namikaze still could not believe Qingyun knew how to brew wine.

Qingyun gave him a mysterious look. "Minato, don't doubt me. This wine I'm making will be absolutely peerless. It'll be a tremendous help when we mold Chakra."

Minato Namikaze stared at Qingyun with wide eyes, then asked excitedly, "Really?"

Qingyun looked at the excited Minato Namikaze in puzzlement. Minato had always trained diligently, but he had never been this eager before. What had happened?

Noticing Qingyun's strange look, Minato Namikaze immediately realized he had lost his composure. He scratched the back of his head and said quietly, "I want to get stronger quickly. Then I can do my part for Konoha, just like you, big brother."

Only then did Qingyun understand. He had inspired Minato Namikaze himself. He patted Minato's shoulder. "Minato, don't rush. We're both still young, and our strength is growing rapidly. If you get too impatient, it might backfire. Keep a level head."

Minato Namikaze nodded to show he understood.

Seeing that Minato Namikaze had sorted out his thoughts, Qingyun finally relaxed. Practicing an internal cultivation method was different from molding Chakra. An unsettled mind could easily lead to cultivation deviation, and Qingyun did not want anything to happen to him.

After chatting for a while, Minato Namikaze sat down to practice the Primordial Chaos Technique, while Qingyun lay down on his bed to sleep.

He needed to be in peak condition to convert the Internal Force of the Primordial Chaos Technique into Nine Yang Internal Force.

The night passed uneventfully. Early the next morning, Qingyun rose and practiced his various Martial Arts as usual. He had intended to cultivate the Nine Yang Divine Skill afterward, but Minato Namikaze's words forced him to put it off.

"Big brother, Teacher Iruka told me to tell you there's a test today. If you have time, you should go take it!"

Seeing that Qingyun had no intention of going to the Ninja Academy, Minato Namikaze suddenly slapped his forehead and relayed what Iruka had told him the day before.

Qingyun nodded without saying anything and followed Minato Namikaze toward the Ninja Academy.

Since it was still early, neither of them hurried. They strolled along Konoha's streets.

Suddenly, Qingyun's gaze sharpened. There was a small clump of something resembling red hair on the ground. He stopped, picked it up, and examined it closely.

Holding the strands of red hair, he sniffed them, then turned to Minato Namikaze with a grim expression. "Minato, hurry to the Ninja Academy and see whether Kushina is there."

Seeing Qingyun's serious expression, Minato Namikaze immediately knew something was wrong. He nodded and used the Golden Wild Goose Technique at full power, racing toward the Ninja Academy.

Meanwhile, Qingyun's mind raced. He had already suspected that the red strands on the ground were Kushina's hair. But in his memories, Kushina had been kidnapped after graduating from the Ninja Academy. A spy from Kumogakure had happened to notice her unusual Chakra and decided to abduct her, taking her back to Kumogakure for a reward. Minato Namikaze had then discovered the kidnapping by chance and rescued her.

There were still three years until graduation from the Ninja Academy. How could Kushina have been kidnapped already?

Could this be the Butterfly Effect caused by my arrival in this world?

Qingyun did not dare dwell on it. He was now certain that Kushina had been kidnapped. He had sent Minato Namikaze to the Ninja Academy for two reasons. First, Minato could spread the news of Kushina's disappearance. Second, Minato's current strength was only comparable to a genin's, though his burst speed might surpass that of an ordinary chunin.

But the enemy's strength was unknown, and Qingyun did not dare bring Minato Namikaze along and put him at risk. Alone, he might still be able to escape unscathed even if he could not defeat the enemy. With Minato Namikaze there, things would be different.

That was also the main reason Qingyun had sent Minato Namikaze away.

Putting those thoughts aside, he continued searching in the direction the red strands led. Sure enough, another lock of hair appeared a short distance away. Qingyun quickened his pace, following the trail.

Time slowly passed. Qingyun did not know how far he had traveled, only that the surroundings were growing increasingly remote. An uneasy suspicion stirred in his heart. It seemed the enemy was deliberately luring him here.

This road did not lead out of the village. If someone had kidnapped Kushina, they had to be a spy from another country. After succeeding, they would not linger in Konoha; they would leave the village as quickly as possible.

Yet instead of leaving, the enemy was heading deeper into Konoha. They were probably using Kushina as bait.

Who could it be? Qingyun pondered as he hurried onward. Was it Danzo, that rat lurking in the gutter?

He had been in Konoha for quite some time, but he had never seen Danzo. Had Danzo discovered his talent and decided to make him join Root?

Then Qingyun shook his head. If it were Danzo, there would be no need to go to so much trouble to lure him here. He could simply send someone to summon him. Why kidnap Kushina to draw him out?

Putting those thoughts aside, Qingyun continued following the red hair at full speed, though he was now a little more vigilant.

Suddenly, as he raced forward, Qingyun's hand darted to his waist. The Azure Edge Sword flashed out of its sheath, blocking in front of his face.

Clang!

A shuriken struck the Azure Edge Sword and fell to the ground. Qingyun stopped, his eyes warily scanning his surroundings.