With the end of the Third Great Ninja War, Konoha began withdrawing from the Frost Country and Bear Country. These two nations, having become battlegrounds of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, were now left in ruins.
On the Bear Country front, Konoha's forces were packing up for withdrawal, but Uchiha Yuan wasn't in the camp.
He was at the water source where he had first encountered the Ice Release ninja, Qing, waiting for someone.
After more than ten minutes, the ground stirred and a white figure emerged from below.
"You've finally come. What does Uchiha Madara want with me?" Uchiha Yuan asked.
"Uchiha Yuan, you previously agreed to help Lord Madara protect someone. Now that the Third Great Ninja War is over, it's time to fulfill that promise."
"So that's what this is about."
"That's right. Lord Madara asked me to tell you—someone named Danzo from your village is planning to target the one you promised to protect. Lord Madara hopes you will take care of this problem quickly."
"I understand. I'll handle it."
"Good. Oh, and a friendly reminder—a little fly in the woods might have overheard our conversation."
"I know. I already sensed her," Uchiha Yuan replied. Then his figure vanished from the spot.
The next moment, Uchiha Yuan appeared in the woods, pressing a kunai to a woman's throat.
"You're that Ice Release ninja, Qing? Didn't expect to run into you here again," Uchiha Yuan said with interest.
"Our first battle was right here, wasn't it?" Qing calmly pushed aside the kunai and replied.
"Yeah. Back then, the three of us didn't stand a chance against you. Seems like the tables have turned now."
"The war is over. Aren't you afraid of starting another one if you attack me?"
"As long as I kill you without anyone knowing, it's fine." With that, Uchiha Yuan mercilessly thrust the kunai toward Qing's chest.
Crack! The kunai struck an Ice Release shield that appeared out of thin air. Qing quickly made hand signs and used a Substitution Jutsu to confuse Uchiha Yuan before fleeing rapidly.
Uchiha Yuan chuckled. Substitution Jutsu was meaningless before his Mind's Eye. He instantly locked onto Qing's position and teleported again.
"I've been waiting for you. Ice Release: One-Horned White Whale!"
Uchiha Yuan was a little surprised—Qing could now use such a large-scale Ice Release technique. That genuinely impressed him.
Originally, Uchiha Yuan intended to kill Qing and eliminate future threats. But now, he reconsidered—turning her into a puppet might be a better idea.
Previously, Uchiha Yuan wanted to use the Puppet technique on either the future Mizukage Terumi Mei or a member of the Akatsuki.
But during his long stay in the Bear Country, he never encountered Mei, and he had only glimpsed Kakuzu once from afar.
So he had never found a chance to use the technique.
Now, with the war over, it would only get harder to find a target.
But this Qing—an Ice Release kekkei genkai ninja, young yet already at elite jōnin level—could be a good long-term investment. Controlling her and helping her rise to a high-ranking position in Kirigakure wasn't a bad plan.
With that, Uchiha Yuan's kunai transformed into a chokutō (Chinese sword), and his Lightning Release chakra mode burst out, turning the blade purple.
He teleported away from the Ice Release attack and appeared right in front of Qing, slashing down with the sword.
Qing summoned an ice wall in an attempt to block the attack.
But how could a mere ice wall withstand the combined power of Chidori Blade and the chokutō?
Crack! The wall split in two.
Uchiha Yuan slashed again, leaving a gash across Qing's chest.
The raging Lightning Release chakra violently destroyed her cells.
With a scream of agony, Qing fell unconscious.
Uchiha Yuan put away the chokutō and cast the Puppet technique on her.
This technique was similar to Kotoamatsukami—it allowed him to permanently rewrite the subject's will while unconscious or near death, making them his puppet.
And since it wasn't genjutsu, no one would notice it.
Uchiha Yuan didn't erase Qing's self-awareness or tamper much with her memories. He simply implanted a single command in her mind: absolute obedience to Uchiha Yuan.
After completing the technique, he treated her wound.
It's worth noting that the Puppet technique had a cooldown of five years—meaning he couldn't use it again for five years.
About half an hour later, Qing slowly opened her eyes. Her gaze was a bit dazed, but when she saw Uchiha Yuan, an expression of pure adoration appeared on her face.
Qing knelt down and kowtowed, calling out, "Master."
"No need to kneel or call me that when others are around," Uchiha Yuan said.
"Yes, Lord Yuan." Qing immediately stood up.
"Qing, I want you to become your clan's leader and rise to a high-ranking position in Kirigakure. Can you do that?"
"Lord Yuan, I'm not very skilled at those things, but since it's your command, I'll give it my all."
Uchiha Yuan nodded in satisfaction at her attitude.
Then he asked Qing for information about Kirigakure and Ice Release kekkei genkai.
Qing answered in full detail, hiding nothing.
Finally, Uchiha Yuan had her transcribe every secret Ice Release technique she knew, then let her leave.
Truthfully, Uchiha Yuan had quite a bit of interest in Ice Release. He already possessed both water and wind affinities, so he wanted to see if he could learn Ice Release himself.
After tidying up the scene, Uchiha Yuan returned to the Konoha camp.
Three days later, all Konoha ninja withdrew from the Bear Country, while Uchiha Yuan and the other high-level shinobi had already returned to Konoha earlier.
—
Meanwhile, in Orochimaru's lab in Konoha, he held a syringe as he looked at Hyuga Asana lying on the table.
"Asana, are you sure you want to use this on yourself?"
"Teacher Orochimaru, we've already run many tests—on both animals and humans. The success rate is very high now. All we lack is data from someone with strong Yin Release chakra.
In Konoha, only the Hyuga and Uchiha clans have powerful Yin chakra. Now that the war is over, it's unlikely we'll get a Uchiha test subject—so I'm the best candidate."
"Yuan could also do it, right? He's our partner too."
Hearing this, Asana thought to herself, This was originally prepared for Yuan. There's no way I'd let him be the test subject.
So she urged, "Please begin, Orochimaru-sensei."
Seeing her determined expression, Orochimaru directly injected the serum into Asana's arm.
(To Be Continued...)