Earlier, in the Hokage's office.
"Come on, old man, switch to Qianyu! Why are you still watching Minato and the others?"
Tsunade pointed at the crystal ball on the desk, displeased. "I'm telling you, Qianyu will definitely pass this test."
"Tsunade, if I were you, I wouldn't be so sure," Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head.
Unlike Minato, who had already grown into his power, Qianyu had only just shown his talent in medical arts. His combat strength hadn't caught up yet. If he fell here during this exam…
At Tsunade's insistence, Hiruzen adjusted the crystal ball, shifting the view to Qianyu's location.
Homura Mitokado watched from the side, a frown on his face, but he said nothing.
"Huh? Why's it all yellow? I can't see anything," Tsunade said, puzzled. "Old man, has your crystal ball been tainted by your dirty thoughts?"
"No, wait, this is…!!"
A second later, Tsunade realized. She grabbed Hiruzen's collar and yelled, "Old man! Qianyu's in danger! Do something!"
Hiruzen sighed. "It's too late, Tsunade. Qianyu can only rely on himself now."
…
Inside the Forest of Death.
Facing the sky-darkening wave of gold dust, Qianyu took a deep breath. "Dance of the Shikigami—Full Release!"
A pair of pure white paper wings unfurled from his back. His entire body seemed bathed in a holy, white glow.
This guy…
Scorpion stared, stunned by the sudden transformation. For some reason, he felt a strange sense of déjà vu, as if past and present had overlapped.
"What are you standing around for? Grab on!"
"…Huh?"
The crushing wave of gold dust descended. Qianyu wrapped his arms around the confused Scorpion and shot upwards, aiming for the thinnest edge of the golden tide.
"Dance of the Shikigami—Paper Rain!"
His wings snapped open. In that split second, countless paper shards shot forward.
The dense swarm of paper spun like a thousand arrows, forming an impenetrable white shield that slammed into the falling gold dust.
KLANG! KLANG! KLANG!
Infused with Qianyu's chakra, each paper sheet was as hard as a blade's edge. They screeched against the gold, the sound of grinding metal filling the air as they tore a narrow breach in the thick wall of sand.
WHOOSH!
The next instant, before the breach could close, Qianyu flashed through the opening, Scorpion in his arms.
"Damn it!"
Rasa's face darkened. His instincts had been right. This guy who came out of nowhere was no simple matter. Not only could he break free from the Gold Dust Imperial Funeral, he could also fly!
"Magnet Style: Gold Dust Wave!"
Rasa released his clasped hands, dispersing the incomplete Imperial Funeral. He raised his arms, commanding the vast sea of gold dust to churn and gather once more, forming a monstrous maw that surged towards the two escapees.
"Hmph. Dance of the Shikigami: Multi-Layered Paper Wheels!"
Qianyu snorted. The paper shards he'd fired earlier first flowed back into his wings, then shot out again. This time, they transformed into massive, spinning wheels that interwove as they sliced towards the oncoming golden wave.
KLANG! SCREECH! KLANG!
The onslaught of paper wheels slowed the gold wave's advance. Seizing the opening, Qianyu soared clear of the attack's range with Scorpion.
"Had enough, Rasa?" Qianyu's voice was icy as he hovered in the air, glaring. He didn't flee further. "You keep coming at me. You think I'm an easy target?"
As he spoke, the thousands of paper sheets swirling behind him began vibrating at an insane frequency, humming with latent power, as if brewing something terrifying.
In his arms, Scorpion was speechless with shock.
He'd just wanted someone to share the heat. Who knew Qianyu would be this monstrous? Not only did he neutralize Rasa's strongest attack, but he actually had the power to fight back!
This Qianyu isn't much older than me. Amazing medical skills, and now this kind of strength…
It was strange. But right now, held in Qianyu's arms, Scorpion felt a sudden sense of safety. Like being held by his parents…
"Scorpion, keep your head down. My next move has a wide area of effect. Don't want you getting caught in it."
Qianyu gave the boy in his arms a quick warning, then locked eyes with Rasa again. "Those last two techniques burned a lot of your chakra, didn't they, Rasa? Let's see you handle this one!"
His wings beat rapidly. The humming of the paper cloud intensified, a palpable tension in the air. They seemed ready to unleash hell at any moment.
Rasa's expression turned grave.
He'd already witnessed the cutting power of Qianyu's paper. With this many gathered together, it was a genuine threat.
"Magnet Style: Gold Dust Shield!"
Rasa brought his hands together. The sea of gold dust rushed back before him, coalescing into the vague, solid form of a massive shield.
His eyes were fixed, his posture defensive. He was ready to block Qianyu's next strike with everything he had.
WHOOSH!
But just as Rasa focused all his attention, Qianyu gave his wings a powerful flap, turned around, and… ran.
He ran.
Rasa froze. Petrified. For a moment, his brain stalled.
He'd put his damn shield up! And Qianyu just… ran?!
"Aren't we attacking? Why are we running?" Scorpion peeked out from Qianyu's hold, confused.
He'd been thinking if Qianyu could kill Rasa, he'd turn the body into a puppet right then and there!
"Attack my ass! Time to go!" Qianyu shot back, annoyed.
Sure, Rasa had used up a lot of chakra. But after his own consecutive fights, Qianyu's reserves weren't exactly full either. A head-on fight would likely be a stalemate. No one would win.
He'd already bagged the "reward package" that was Scorpion. Why stick around? Wait for Rasa to give him a gold medal?
"I wanna fly~ so far I'll never get tired~~"
Qianyu didn't even look back. He left his back exposed to Rasa, flying forward with bold, confident strokes.
They were both flying, but his agile paper wings were far faster than Rasa's heavy gold dust. The chakra consumption wasn't even in the same league. They were safe now.
"You damned bastard! I'll remember you! You'd better hope I never see you again!"
Watching Qianyu's figure disappear into the distance, Rasa stood there, shaking with pure, undiluted rage.
…
"YES!!!"
Back in the Hokage's office, the moment she saw Qianyu burst free from the gold dust and take to the sky, Tsunade slammed her fist down in excitement.
BOOM!
She punched a hole clean through Hiruzen's desk.
Hiruzen didn't even bother scolding her. He shot to his feet, his chair clattering to the floor unnoticed, his eyes glued to the crystal ball.
"This child…!"
Back in the Warring States Period, all sorts of strange and wondrous kekkei genkai had bloomed briefly. Those users who managed to survive and grow… without exception, they all became legendary powerhouses.
The First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, was one of them!
And Qianyu… he now had the potential to join their ranks!
"It seems this child has been hiding his true abilities," Hiruzen murmured, taking a deep pull from his pipe. He looked at Tsunade. "Talent without arrogance… He's a genius on par with Minato. The future of the Leaf is secure…"
"Tsunade, putting a child like this in charge of a minor project is a waste. We'll find someone else. I intend to place Qianyu in a much more important position."
Hiruzen was already scheming how to bring Qianyu under his wing, how to properly instill the Will of Fire in such a prodigy.
"You're right, old man," Tsunade said, for once not arguing back. She and the Hokage were in rare agreement.
As for Homura Mitokado beside them, he remained silent, fiddling with his fingers, deep in thought.
…
Forest of Death.
After shaking off Rasa, Qianyu quickly retracted his wings. With Scorpion in tow, he changed locations multiple times, thoroughly hiding their trail.
Once they reached a secure spot, the two boys faced each other, each with their own ulterior motives.
If I couldn't get a reward from you, I'd have tossed you, you little trap-setter, right back there.
If you hadn't saved my parents, just for that unique jutsu of yours, I'd definitely turn you into a puppet.
"Ahem," Qianyu cleared his throat. "You're pretty badly hurt, Scorpion. I'm a medical-nin. Let me treat you."
He was confident in Kosuke's abilities. Plus, he wasn't in top shape himself. Best to recover first and secure the reward.
"Alright." Scorpion naturally didn't refuse. He nodded immediately.
All the commotion had reopened several of his wounds. Leaning against a large tree with Qianyu's support, he let the older boy work.
"I read your file. Thank you for saving my parents," Scorpion said suddenly, watching Qianyu focus on treating his injuries.
His parents were everything to him. In the original story, it was his longing for the embrace of "Mother" and "Father" that led to his death at Chiyo's hands. When they were on the battlefield, he thought of them every day, waiting eagerly for their return. When news came that they were grievously wounded, possibly dead… he felt like his own heart had died.
When Scorpion learned it was Qianyu who had saved his parents, giving him back his happy family, he had carved that name deep into his memory.
"So that's how you knew me."
Qianyu's tone wasn't surprised. He'd already guessed as much. He asked casually, "By the way, how did you keep tracking my location?"
Scorpion gave a mischievous grin. "That's a secret. Next time I'll still… Hiss! Take it easy, you bastard! Was that on purpose or by accident?"
"It was purposely accidental."
Qianyu shot him a sidelong glance. As if I can't handle a brat who's obsessed with action figures.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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