Konoha's Tag-System Ninja

"But I definitely can't sit around waiting for Nagato and his people to come for the Nine-Tails."

"Fighting in Konoha would only hold me back."

Once his wound healed, Shūichi stepped to the mouth of the cave, gazing toward the misty, rain-soaked village of Amegakure in the distance.

"With the Seventh Gate open, Nagato wouldn't stand a chance."

After the recent exchange, Shūichi was certain that at full strength, Nagato couldn't be a true match.

Under the Seventh Gate, his power surpasses that of the Nine-Tails, allowing him to counter Nagato's strongest Shinra Tensei head-on.

As for Chibaku Tensei, it wouldn't pose much threat either.

He wouldn't even have to wait for Nagato to strike—his speed alone would allow him to bring Nagato down.

And that's in a one-on-one battle.

Even if Black Zetsu, White Zetsu, and Uchiha Obito were to join in, splitting his forces with Shadow Clones to keep them occupied, the outcome would likely remain unchanged.

"Yet I'm still not strong enough to crush the entire shinobi world."

"And right now, I don't have a way to completely destroy Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. Even capturing Black Zetsu is difficult."

Shūichi sighed to himself, "Without Black Zetsu gone, its 'Rescue Mother Plan' will never end."

"So, letting Nagato gather the Tailed Beasts, stirring up the four Great Ninja Villages, reviving Uchiha Madara to lure out Kaguya Ōtsutsuki—that's the safest approach."

"In the meantime, I need to disrupt Nagato's progress in collecting the Tailed Beasts, depending on my own improvements."

"So, my next move is to intimidate Nagato's forces, forcing them to acknowledge my power and stay away from Konoha, targeting the other four Ninja Villages instead."

Shūichi's thoughts flowed and eventually solidified: "Wait a bit longer… until my techniques are fully developed, to be sure."

"As for Kamui Sharingan... White Zetsu!"

He'd left a Flying Thunder God mark on Obito, but to seize a Kamui eye, the best target would still be White Zetsu in the mask.

In terms of strength, it shouldn't be too difficult.

The key is Izanagi.

That's why he hadn't acted sooner.

"But even if it means sacrificing one Kamui, I'll reduce some of their threats!"

Having made his decision, Shūichi left a Shadow Clone to continue watching Amegakure, then vanished with the Flying Thunder God Technique.

...

In Amegakure, inside a tall tower—

Nagato was reflecting on the recent battle, thinking, "He doesn't need hand signs to activate his jutsu—such a technique is almost on par with the Rinnegan's ocular abilities."

"The Six Paths Puppets are indeed necessary."

"But ordinary methods still can't subdue him; such troublesome space-time jutsu."

Nagato frowned.

Given the current situation, he thought that even Chibaku Tensei might not be able to seal Shūichi in one move.

"Unless the battlefield is Konoha… where he would have no reason to escape."

Nagato's gaze turned cold.

...

In the Hokage Office, Konoha Village

Seeing Kushina Uzumaki looking a bit uneasy, Minato Namikaze reassured her, "Don't worry. Shūichi has a good sense of things—he won't act recklessly."

Truthfully, he was a bit concerned himself but didn't let it show.

Kushina sighed. "That guy… even if he went to gather intel, he should've taken Shisui and the others with him!"

Minato knew that Shūichi's so-called "intel gathering" likely meant a direct confrontation—a battle to learn more about the Rinnegan through firsthand experience. Taking others along would just make retreat more difficult.

When comforting her didn't help, Minato turned back to his work. He knew that if nothing went wrong, his student would return soon enough.

Sure enough, in less than two hours, Shūichi appeared in the Hokage office.

"Shūichi, you're back!" Kushina exclaimed, her voice filled with relief.

Minato looked up, and, upon seeing Shūichi safe and sound, a smile spread across his face as well. But then his gaze focused sharply on the torn fabric on Shūichi's shoulder.

Kushina noticed as well, gasping, "Were you hurt?"

"A minor injury," Shūichi replied nonchalantly. "Obito's eye technique is indeed formidable."

Kushina's eyes widened. "Obito… how is he?"

Not wanting to worry them, Shūichi said, "It seems he's gained a measure of trust from the enemy, though he still lacks freedom."

"His left eye's ability can activate from a distance, distorting space-time to teleport an enemy—or a part of them."

"And with both eyes, the technique's speed increases."

"The right eye has a similar ability, but it appears to work at close range for similar spatial attacks."

Minato murmured, "This sounds far more troublesome than expected."

Shūichi nodded. "Which is why, next time, I plan to seize one of those Sharingan."

"Even if I can't, I'll force them to use Izanagi to consume one."

Kushina was taken aback, "But what about Obito…"

Minato made a decisive call, "If it's possible, then do it. I believe Obito would understand."

Kushina nodded reluctantly. Emotionally, her loyalty leaned toward Shūichi, standing right here with them.

Minato then turned to Shūichi, "What about the Rinnegan?"

Shūichi explained, "So far, I've observed three abilities."

"The first is a repulsive force that can repel anything—ninjutsu, weapons, you name it."

"The second is an attractive force that can draw in enemies."

"The third ability involves physical transformation, creating a third arm with mechanisms capable of firing tracking missiles."

Kushina gasped, "So no ninjutsu works against him?"

Shūichi chuckled. "There's no such thing as a perfect ability. If too much force is released at once, there's a cooldown."

"For now, this cooldown seems to be around three seconds."

Minato's expression turned serious. "Three seconds isn't much of a window."

Shūichi continued, "The repulsive force is so strong that even a Sage Art Wind Release: Rasenshuriken wouldn't get close."

"Going forward, I'll continue testing the Rinnegan's capabilities through battles, then deliver a single overwhelming blow to keep Nagato in check."

"At the very least, I can't allow him to make trouble when the Nine-Tails' seal weakens."

Kushina paused, "The seal weakening?"

"Hmm, does the Eight Trigrams Seal weaken over time?"

Shūichi grinned. "Sensei knows about that."

"That's all for now—I'll head out."

"Oh, by the way, Sensei, Nagato has taken control of Amegakure. Hanzo is likely… gone."

With that, Shūichi slipped out of the office.

...

In the days that followed, Shūichi's routine returned to normal, filled with training, experiments, and research. Unlike before, though, he now made monthly trips to the Land of Rain to clash with Nagato.

Both sides probed each other's abilities, gathering intelligence. Time passed quickly, and soon the end of December arrived—the eve of Konoha's 48th year.

That day, Shūichi activated "Flash of Insight" once again.

The ten-minute duration felt increasingly insufficient, as if even a year's accumulation wasn't quite enough.

Thankfully, his "cheats" were strong enough to make those ten minutes worthwhile.

"Yang Release has improved again, now on par with Hashirama's cells. It's just that I still need more data to fully understand Asuka's unique physique..."

Sensing the highly activated cells within his body and his vast vitality, Shūichi felt an unusual hunger.

It wasn't true hunger, but a primal urge arising from his highly activated cells, brimming with life.

After taking a moment to adjust, Shūichi brought his hands together. The star seal on his forehead flared with dazzling light, and the curse mark spread across his entire body.

The tadpole-like symbols writhed, shifting subtly.

The star seal had evolved once again.

This time, it didn't just enhance Yin and Lightning techniques but also connected with Shūichi's Yin Seal, fusing natural energy with the Yin Seal's chakra, creating Sage Chakra that permeated every cell in his body through the Strength of a Hundred Seal.

Of course, this was only possible because he possessed the Yin Seal.

Without it, the mark would draw from his own chakra to synthesize Sage Chakra, as it stored natural energy.

This modification was something Shūichi had crafted specifically for Guy to counter the Eight Gates' harmful side effects.

Unfortunately, his understanding of Yang Release wasn't yet advanced enough to ensure survival if all Eight Gates were fully opened.

"Combining this with Asuka's Yang Release could make it feasible…" Shūichi speculated.

Once the mark was fully altered, the Sage Chakra quietly nourished every cell in his body.

"This feels amazing!" Shūichi couldn't help but smile.

This subtle chakra regulation was similar to Tsunade's state at present.

But Shūichi wasn't after eternal youth—he aimed to sustain a continuous Sage Mode, striving toward the standards of the Sages from the Three Great Sanctuaries.

By allowing his cells to be immersed in Sage Chakra over an extended period, he hoped to gradually transform his body.

The added characteristic of the Tailed Beasts' nature was especially noticeable, and Shūichi could feel the difference.

"At this rate, I may not need to become a Tailed Beast. I could absorb natural energy directly, like they do."

"Or perhaps if I fully merge with all Nine Tailed Beasts…"

Shūichi felt a faint intuition.

If he achieved that, he'd become a true human Tailed Beast.

...

After completing the modification of the Curse Seal, Shūichi got up and headed to where Guy was training.

Under the waterfall, Guy was practicing as usual, with Might Duy cheering him on nearby.

Shūichi walked over with a smile, and Duy noticed him, greeting him cheerfully, "Shūichi, are you here to train too?"

"No, I came specifically to find Guy and Uncle Duy," Shūichi replied with a grin.

Duy was taken aback and immediately asked, "Is there a mission?"

Given Shūichi's status, Duy assumed he must have an important task for them.

Hearing the voices, Guy jumped out from under the waterfall with anticipation. "Shūichi, did the Fourth Hokage approve my application to join the Anbu?" he asked eagerly.

Shūichi couldn't help but laugh. Guy had applied to join the Anbu several times to team up with Kakashi, but his overly passionate personality kept holding him back—nobody dared let him into Anbu!

Actually, Guy wasn't the only one applying to Anbu lately. The root of this surge in interest was the impressive strength that Genma Shiranui and his squad had unintentionally displayed in a sparring session with Ebisu's team.

Almost everyone in Root had shown remarkable progress, but Genma and his two teammates had improved the most, especially Genma's Wind Release techniques and Raidō's newly acquired sword, the Executioner's Blade.

"It's not about Anbu," Shūichi explained. "It's something to do with the Eight Gates. I've created a special Curse Seal that helps restore your body after using the Eight Gates."

"Think of it as my New Year's gift for you and Uncle Duy," he added with a smile.

This was also a way to show his appreciation for Guy teaching him the Eight Gates so selflessly.

Guy's eyes widened. "Shūichi, you're amazing! You even managed to figure this out!"

Duy immediately bowed deeply. "Thank you so much, Shūichi!"

Shūichi sidestepped politely and smiled, "No need to be so formal, Uncle Duy. Guy taught me a lot about training, and we even developed some new taijutsu moves together."

"Alright, let's test out the Curse Seal," he said.

Guy quickly asked, "So, what do I need to do?"

Shūichi replied, "Just stay still. It might hurt a bit, but I'll handle the rest."

Guy nodded seriously, standing as still as a statue.

Shūichi placed his hand on Guy's bare chest.

Sizzle~

With a faint sizzling sound, Shūichi's Sage Chakra seeped into Guy's body. The Curse Seal pattern unfurled from his heart and spread throughout his body.

When the seal was fully formed, Shūichi withdrew his hand. Now, a purple lotus pattern rested over Guy's heart.

Guy could feel his body changing and exclaimed, "It's absorbing my chakra!"

Shūichi nodded. "That's right. This Curse Seal absorbs some of your unused chakra and combines it with natural energy to form Sage Chakra. When you open the Eight Gates, especially the Seventh Gate, you can activate this seal to recover your stamina."

"It can also be used to heal injuries if needed. I call it the Seal of Life!"

Although it wasn't yet perfected, Shūichi was confident he could refine it to the point that even with all Eight Gates opened, it could help save a life. Not only was it meant for Guy, but also for himself.

Guy was fired up. "I'm opening the Seventh Gate to test it out!"

Duy gasped. "Guy, that's pushing yourself too far right now."

But Guy grinned, showing his determination. "I trust Shūichi!"

Shūichi also felt confident. "While it won't eliminate all damage from the Eight Gates, it should be fine for the Seventh Gate. Don't worry, Uncle Duy."

Reassured, Duy nodded.

Guy clenched his fists, lowered his stance, and began. "Open!"

One by one, the internal gates released, and with a boom, green energy enveloped his body.

But he didn't stop there. After catching his breath briefly, he crouched down and braced himself. "Seventh Gate—open!"

Boom!

The ground cracked as blue energy exploded around Guy's body.

But after just a few moments, Guy had to close the gate and collapsed, panting heavily, his face contorted in pain.

"Guy! Use your mind to connect with the Curse Seal to activate it!" Shūichi shouted.

"Got it!" Guy replied, his voice weak. He immediately activated the seal.

In an instant, purple patterns spread from his heart, unfurling like a blooming lotus across his body. A warm energy flooded him, quickly washing away his fatigue and pain, and he leaped to his feet with renewed energy.

"This is incredible!" he shouted, unable to hide his excitement, bouncing around energetically.

Shūichi chuckled, "The longer you let the seal accumulate, the better it will work."

Duy watched, deeply moved, and bowed to Shūichi once more. "Thank you, Shūichi. With this seal, Guy will be able to go further—far beyond anything I could achieve. Thank you!"

(End of Chapter)