Konoha: Gu Master

Once Shizune left, she immediately closed the door, her legs giving out as she slumped backward.

But she didn't hit the ground, Shinho, still hidden with stealth scale gu, caught her.

"That's enough!" Tsunade snapped irritably, "Go buy the dango already!"

"Then stop moving, sensei," Shinho said helplessly as he supported her.

They'd agreed on half an hour, but it had turned into an hour.

It wasn't his fault, though. Tsunade had lost herself completely and forgotten all about the time.

Now Shinho had to stop her.

"Shut up!" Tsunade glared at him.

Several seconds later, she took a deep breath and managed to pull herself upright.

"..."

Shinho shook his head.

This woman only cared about her own satisfaction.

Still, there wasn't time to argue.

After cleansing himself with chakra, he activated Golden Aroura Gu. In under a minute, he returned with the three-color dango.

After breakfast, Tsunade lounged lazily on the sofa, completely relaxed.

The days of longing she had bottled up had been fully vented, leaving her content and at ease.

Afterall, with her Yin Seal unused, she wasn't much stronger than Shizune when it came to endurance.

Shinho glanced at her, then turned and left.

Shizune followed closely behind him.

The two of them headed to the Hokage Office.

…

"Kakashi-sensei and the others hadn't returned yet?" Shinho asked as he sat down in the Hokage's chair and beckoned for Shizune to come closer.

"Not yet," Shizune replied, hesitating before approaching him.

Shinho pulled her into his lap, his hands naturally moving to her soft, stocking-clad legs.

"Don't mess around!" Shizune stiffened instantly, flustered.

"I'm being serious." Shinho coughed lightly, "How's the Transportation Department coming along?"

"We're currently recruiting staff," Shizune replied, glaring at him.

"The're not enough people?" Shinho asked, loosening his grip and simply holding her gently.

"No—, in fact, there are too many applicants."

Shizune sighed and explained, "We'll likely fill the positions within two days."

"Good."

Shinho nodded. "The Transport Department's first task is road construction."

"Road construction?"

Shizune blinked in surprise, "You mean expanding Konoha's streets?"

"Not just the streets."

Shinho smiled mysteriously. "You'll see once Kakashi-sensei is back."

"What should I do now?" Shizune asked softly, leaning against him.

"Mark out a plot of land outside Konoha's perimeter and start building a transport station."

A hint of nostalgia flashed across Shinho's face.

He planned to build a train station—but with airships now available, it would become a multi-purpose transport hub.

"I'll handle it."

Shizune stood up hastily.

Shinho nodded.

The next moment, Shizune bent down and kissed him on the cheek.

Blushing, she turned and left quickly.

Despite wanting to stay by Shinho's side, she prioritized her work.

Shinho smiled softly as he watched her leave.

He picked up a stack of documents and shifted into work mode.

Time passed unnoticed until a knock at the door interrupted him.

"Come in," Shinho called, looking up.

To his surprise, Orochimaru entered.

The sinister aura that surrounded Orochimaru had lessened slightly. He now wore a white research coat, the attire of a scientist.

"Shinho-dono," Orochimaru greeted, his tone calm.

"What brings you here?" Shinho asked curiously.

Since the battle at Otogakure, this was the first time Orochimaru had come to see him.

"I've made progress with my research on White Zetsu."

Orochimaru spread his hands. "I want to perform Living Corpse Reincarnation and Reaper Death Seal: Release to reclaim my hands."

Shinho stroked his chin thoughtfully.

It was true that lacking his hands severely limited Orochimaru's abilities. Reclaiming them would allow him to contribute more effectively to Shinho's goals.

However, the Reaper's stomach didn't just hold Orochimaru's arms. It also contained the souls of Hiruzen Sarutobi, Minato Namikaze, and the Yin Nine-Tails.

In the original timeline, Orochimaru had released the seal and used Edo Tensei to summon all four Hokage. The Yin Nine-Tails had remained sealed within Minato's body.

But without Edo Tensei here, freeing the Reaper would likely release the Yin Nine-Tails immediately.

Shinho decided to wait until Team 7 returned before proceeding.

"We'll proceed In two days," Shinho said after a pause, "I'll find you when it's time."

He also wanted to test whether the Slavery Gu on Orochimaru would remain effective after he transferred to a new body. If it failed, Shinho would reapply it immediately.

"Understood."

Orochimaru nodded without complaint.

…

Two days passed quickly.

Shinho received word of Kakashi and Team 7's return. Leading the Sealing Team, he headed to the village gate.

What greeted him wasn't Kakashi and the others but a large airship descending slowly from the sky.

"It's really modern tech," Shinho muttered as he watched.

The airship landed gently, and its hatch opened to reveal Kakashi, Sasuke, Naruto, and Karin stepping out.

"Shinho-kun!"

Karin ran straight toward him, her vivid red hair bouncing with each step.

"Shinho!" Naruto greeted him energetically.

"Kakashi-sensei," Shinho said, "take the airship to Shizune. She'll handle the arrangements."

Then, turning to Team 7, he added, "You three will have come with me. I have a mission for you."

"What kind of mission?" Naruto asked eagerly, full of energy as always.

Karin, despite being tired, lit up with excitement when it involved Shinho.

"What rank?" Sasuke asked bluntly.

"S-rank," Shinho replied nonchalantly.

"Do we leave now?" Sasuke hesitated briefly. He had wanted to visit home after the long mission in the Land of Snow.

"It won't take long," Shinho reassured him, "Follow me."

…

The four of them headed out of the village toward the location of the Shrine, where the Reaper masks were stored. It was also a shrine of the Uzumaki Clan.

"Hey, Naruto, do you know the Nine-Tails has a name?" Shinho asked as they walked.

"It has a name?!"

Naruto looked astonished.

He and the Nine-Tails hadn't yet reached a point of mutual understanding, so he didn't know about its true name.

"Not only does it have a name, but the Nine-Tails sealed in your body is incomplete," Shinho continued with a smile.

"What do you mean, incomplete?" Naruto scratched his head in confusion.

"The Nine-Tails was split into two parts—Yin and Yang," Shinho explained. "The Yang Nine-Tails is sealed inside you. Now, we're going to release the Yin Nine-Tails."

"Huh? Why?!"

Naruto frowned, clearly not understanding.

"To merge the Yin and Yang Nine-Tails back together," Shinho said, "When that happens, your strength will grow even more."

"Really?!"

Naruto's eyes lit up.

The terms "Yin Nine-Tails" and "Yang Nine-Tails" felt too complicated for him, but the promise of gaining strength, now that was something he could understand.

Sasuke Uchiha's face stiffened.

Again?

Half of the Nine-Tails was already absurdly strong.

What would happen if the entire Nine-Tails was restored?

Sasuke felt a twinge of unease—his Mangekyō Sharingan was already starting to feel insufficient.

First Shinho, now Naruto was about to get another power-up.

What about him? What was he supposed to do?

"It's true," Shinho said with a smile, "Once we release the Yin Nine-Tails, you all just need to restrain it using your techniques."

"No problem!"

Naruto clenched his fists confidently, "I'll use its own power to fight it!"

That's not a bad idea.

Shinho glanced at Karin and Sasuke and suddenly felt a bit of sympathy for the Yin Nine-Tails.

The perfect counters to a Tailed Beast, apart from Wood Release, were all here.

A pity… maybe he should've called Yamato, too.

…

After ten minutes of walking, they arrived at the Uzumaki Shrine.

The most eye-catching feature was the masks hanging at the entrance, three rows of nine, a total of twenty-seven.

Shinho was a bit surprised.

The shrine was overgrown with weeds, completely abandoned and desolate.

But it made sense.

The Shrine, belonging to the Uzumaki Clan, was located outside Konoha. With Uzumaki Kushina's death during the Nine-Tails attack, no one had maintained or even acknowledged its existence.

Naruto himself had never been told about it.

"Shinho-dono."

Orochimaru stepped forward from the shrine's entrance to greet him.

He had arrived ahead of time, needing to prepare for his experiment involving White Zetsu.

"Perform the jutsu outside," Shinho instructed.

The Yin Nine-Tails was enormous. Releasing it inside the shrine would destroy the structure, a shrine belonging to the Uzumaki Clan deserved better respect.

"Yes."

Orochimaru retrieved a Reaper Mask from the wall and carried the unconscious White Zetsu outside to an open clearing.

Shinho followed, observing curiously.

To be honest, he was quite interested in the Shinigami.

From what he understood, the Shinigami likely didn't reside in the Pure Land—that realm was under the control of the Sage of Six Paths. The Sage would never allow the Shinigami to encroach on his territory.

So where exactly did the Shinigami exist?

Standing in the clearing, Orochimaru placed White Zetsu on the ground and donned the Reaper Mask.

He began to form hand seals.

A chilling aura spread through the air.

Behind him, the Shinigami appeared.

It wore flowing robes, its forehead adorned with demonic horns, and in its mouth, it held a dagger.

Of course, only the caster could see the Shinigami.

Shinho, however, sensed an incredibly pure natural energy.

He pondered thoughtfully.

If the Shinigami was a being tied to natural energy, then it was likely an indigenous deity of this world.

Perhaps Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, upon descending, had eradicated most of these native gods, leaving only a few survivors like the Shinigami and Jashin worshipped by Hidan.

A pained scream broke through Shinho's thoughts.

With the Shinigami possessing him, Orochimaru slashed open his stomach.

Shinho winced slightly.

This guy really doesn't hold back.

The spirits of Hiruzen Sarutobi and Minato Namikaze emerged from the rift and drifted toward the Pure Land.

What followed was a vast and endless chakra, that suffocated everything around it with an oppressive force.

"Hahahaha!"

A deep, booming voice laughed with excitement. "I'm finally free!"

The Yin Nine-Tails emerged, its immense chakra spreading across the clearing like a tidal wave.

Its nine tails swayed ominously, darkening the sky as they blotted out the sunlight.

"Damn humans!"

The Yin Nine-Tails roared in fury as its gaze locked onto them. "Is this Konoha?!"

"Move," Shinho instructed calmly.

Karin snorted softly, forming hand seals.

Golden chains shot out from her body.

The Yin Nine-Tails froze for a moment.

These chains… they look familiar.

The next instant, the chains wrapped tightly around it.

"Adamantine Sealing Chains?! You brats—let me go!"

The Yin Nine-Tails thrashed violently, its struggles shaking the earth.

Karin's face paled as the immense force tugged at her. Compared to Uzumaki Kushina in her prime, her strength was still lacking.

"I'll help you!"

Naruto leapt forward, releasing waves of red chakra.

Four tails sprouted from his cloak of Nine-Tails Chakra, flaring ominously.

"What are you doing?!"

The Yin Nine-Tails roared at Naruto, "How can you help these humans?!"

It wasn't yelling at Naruto, it was yelling at the Yang Nine-Tails within him.

The Yang Nine-Tails' thoughts were simple, merging with its other half would double its strength, making it easier to break the seal later on.

Naruto landed on the Yin Nine-Tails' head and delivered two crushing punches.

"Stop whining and behave yourself, you smelly fox!"

The Yin Nine-Tails howled in frustration, only to shudder as a familiar aura reached it.

Its massive eyes turned to Sasuke.

That's… the Mangekyō Sharingan?!

Damn it!

I just escaped, and this is what I have face?

Adamantine Sealing Chains, the Mangekyō Sharingan, and a Nine-Tails Jinchūriki?!

Why not just call in someone with Wood Release too?

Completely overwhelmed, the Yin Nine-Tails slumped onto the ground.

Its movements froze as Sasuke's Sharingan took hold.

"Sealing team," Shinho said, nodding with satisfaction.

As expected, knowing the enemy's weaknesses made everything so much easier.

…

Nearby, Orochimaru completed his ritual.

Having transferred into White Zetsu's body, he severed the connection to the Shinigami, which faded away reluctantly.

Shinho checked with a glance. His Slavery Gu was indeed still intact inside Orochimaru.

Satisfied, he turned to Naruto.

In the original story, the Yin and Yang halves of the Nine-Tails never reunited.

It was possible that after Naruto and Sasuke's battle at the Valley of the End, the two halves merged—but it was never explicitly shown.

It was better not to mention boruto.

In any case, Naruto now possessed the complete Nine-Tails, marking a massive increase in his strength.

At that moment, two lines of text appeared before Shinho:

..

[Achievement Unlocked: "Shinigami Returns" (Orochimaru) — Reward: Nightmare Zombie Gu.]

[Nightmare Zombie Gu: Rank 5 Transformation Gu. Transforms the user into one of the Six Flying Zombies, specifically the Nightmare Zombie.]

..

Shinho paused briefly.

This can count as an achievement?

And the reward was the Nightmare Zombie Gu.

With this, he had now collected all six "Flying Zombies."

Theoretically, he could now execute the Six-Armed Heavenly King Zombie—a Rank 5 killer move.

However, its core component, the Borrow Strength Gu, had to be used with other natural element type Gu's to unleash its full potential.

Before he could reflect further, another notification appeared:

...

[Achievement Unlocked: "Kurama—The Strongest Tailed Beast" — Reward: Malicious Thought Gu.]

[Malicious Thought Gu: Rank 5 Thought Path Gu. Malicious Thought Gu allows a Gu Master to produce malicious thoughts and it used for plotting against others.]

..

Shinho blinked.

Another one?

Clearly, this achievement was triggered by the merging of the Yin and Yang Nine-Tails.

"The Strongest Tailed Beast." 

There was no room for arguments there, as even Hashirama Senju would give that title a thumbs up.

As for the Malicious Thought Gu, it seemed niche but potentially useful.

He'd need to test it later to see how effective it really was.

join my patreon for 155+ advanced chapters: patreon.com/HyppoTL