After listening to Uzumaki Masahiko, Tian CunZairo was deeply tempted—extremely tempted.
From the old man's words, it was clear that the Yang Seal served the same function as the Yin Seal: storing chakra. This was exactly what Tian CunZairo lacked the most.
Although his chakra capacity talent was painfully poor, his chakra refinement speed was not slow at all. In non-combat situations, he could steadily refine small amounts of chakra and store them away, then unleash them all at once in battle. That alone would compensate for his greatest weakness to a significant extent.
And judging from the old man's tone, the Yang Seal was clearly something that someone with Tian CunZairo's chakra level could use—it was practically tailor-made for him.
However, obtaining the Yang Seal would obviously require offering something Uzumaki Masahiko found valuable.
So… what could he possibly offer?
Putting on a conflicted expression, Tian CunZairo finally gritted his teeth and said:
"I can give the Uzumaki clan the method to cultivate Sage Arts. It won't be as powerful as Hashirama's, but it can still multiply one's strength several times over.
"But in exchange, you must temporarily entrust all of UzUzushiogakure's archives, inheritances, and resources to me. We will copy every single text.
"The situation in the Land of Whirlpools is far worse than you imagine. The odds of UzUzushiogakure holding out are less than one in ten.
"By temporarily placing everything in our care, we can later use it to rebuild the Uzumaki clan as quickly as possible."
Uzumaki Masahiko fell silent.
After a long while, he finally spoke.
"Do you know how the word shameless is written?"
In his entire life, he had never seen someone this brazen.
Even empty-handed wolf-snaring didn't quite capture the audacity of this move.
"With Grandma Mito around, are you really afraid I'll embezzle the Uzumaki clan's heritage?" Tian CunZairo shot back, rolling his eyes.
"If it weren't for the fact that the Uzumaki and Senju clans have been bound by marriage for generations, do you think I'd even bother risking my life to come here?"
And with that, he invoked Uzumaki Mito's name.
Since his identity as Senju Zairo, a direct descendant of the Senju clan, had already been confirmed, he might as well exploit it to the fullest.
Those words plunged Uzumaki Masahiko into deep thought.
As shameless as the boy's proposal was, with his sister in the Senju clan, this kid probably wouldn't dare cheat them outright.
"There's more to this war in the Land of Whirlpools, isn't there?"
Uzumaki Masahiko asked. He sensed that the boy was implying something deeper.
Putting on a grave and serious expression, Tian CunZairo continued his deception:
"Uchiha Madara is not dead.
A perfect Nine-Tails jinchūriki is currently the only existence capable of making him feel threatened."
He didn't elaborate—he merely dropped the name Uchiha Madara and left the rest to the old man's imagination.
For someone who had lived since the Warring States period, that name carried immense weight.
Sure enough, Uzumaki Masahiko's expression changed drastically.
This was disastrous news.
With his brother-in-law long dead, Madara was synonymous with invincibility. It now seemed that UzUzushiogakure truly faced unavoidable calamity.
"Wait here,"
Uzumaki Masahiko said after a long, turbulent silence, then turned and left briskly.
Tian CunZairo finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He then turned his gaze to the Shinigami masks displayed in the hall. After some thought, he pulled out a blank sealing scroll from his backpack, removed all the masks from the wall, bundled them together, and sealed them away.
He had prepared plenty of blank sealing scrolls—originally for collecting corpses on the battlefield. Using them for other items worked just fine.
Unfortunately, the sealing inscriptions inside his armor plates weren't advanced enough to stack sealing scrolls inside them. Otherwise, he could've turned himself into a walking armory.
Not long after, Uzumaki Masahiko returned, carrying two enormous sealing scrolls on his back. Seeing the now-empty racks, the corners of his eyes twitched uncontrollably.
"Take them and get lost,"
he snapped, throwing the two massive scrolls at the boy.
"Seeing you irritates me."
"Is this the person you chose?" Tian CunZairo asked while slinging the scrolls onto his back, then glanced at the tall red-haired girl behind Uzumaki Masahiko.
"She doesn't look very smart."
The big girl's eyes were red, filled with reluctance and sorrow.
"You're the idiot!"
she shouted angrily, glaring at the white-haired boy.
"See? Not very smart,"
Tian CunZairo sighed.
Then, under Uzumaki Masahiko's stunned gaze, he strode forward and chopped the girl unconscious with a clean hand strike, slung her over his shoulder, and casually brushed his hair—using a transformation technique to turn it back into a black slicked-back style.
"I'm taking her with me. I hope to see you in Konoha one day. Otherwise, she and Grandma Mito will be heartbroken for a long time."
With a wave of his hand, Tian CunZairo walked out decisively, leaving behind an Uzumaki Masahiko with a forehead full of veins and black lines.
"…I hope we can endure it,"
Uzumaki Masahiko finally sighed, deeply worried.
Facing the combined forces of four great ninja villages was already grim enough. Add a Madara lurking in the shadows, and there was no hope to be seen at all.
That was why he had agreed to such a ridiculous demand—packing up the clan's accumulated heritage and letting it be taken away. At the very least, it left the Uzumaki clan with a path of retreat.
Outside, the three Cloud Village ANBU watching everything unfold were utterly baffled. They had no idea what had happened inside.
"Let's go,"
Tian CunZairo said simply, striding away.
The three ANBU had no choice but to follow.
Meanwhile, on the other side…
Tutai had met with the Uzumaki clan's Great Elder.
"Young man, which clan are you from?"
Uzumaki Ashina asked as he studied the youth before him.
He could tell that this person was almost certainly not from Konoha. Otherwise, he would've gone to the clan head instead of visiting an old man who openly despised Konoha.
"This junior is Tutai, assistant to the Raikage of the Cloud Village,"
Tutai replied respectfully.
"This is the joint operational plan for the four great villages' assault on UzUzushiogakure. I ask that you review it, senior."
He deliberately kept his posture humble and handed over a prepared scroll.
The four great villages had long maintained covert contact regarding the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques. Though they hadn't formally allied, they had agreed not to interfere with one another—what each village obtained would depend on its own methods.
The scroll contained their rough joint battle plan.
Uzumaki Ashina was momentarily stunned, then unrolled the scroll. His expression darkened instantly.
"Are you threatening me?"
he demanded coldly, staring at Tutai.
Did they really think the Uzumaki clan would fear the four great villages?
"This is not a threat," Tutai said sincerely.
"It is a genuine invitation for the Uzumaki clan to join the Cloud Village. That invitation remains open."
He truly meant it.
Both the split-tailed-beast jinchūriki project and the development and mass production of firearms required the Uzumaki clan's support. With their help, the Cloud Village could grow at an explosive pace.
Uzumaki Ashina stared at Tutai for a long time. Eventually, his expression softened, and his gaze returned to the scroll.
"The Cloud Village does not seem like our best option."
Calming himself, he wanted to see just how much sincerity this young man—and the Cloud Village—were willing to offer.
The joint battle plan was a decent show of goodwill—but not enough.
After all, what the Cloud Village wanted was the Uzumaki clan itself, not merely a single sealing technique.
This could be negotiated.
But only with far greater sincerity.
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