"Damn it! What the hell is going on!?"
Inside the sealed space within Uzumaki Mito's body, the Nine Tails bellowed in disbelief.
For years, it had quietly drained away her life force, waiting for the day she would weaken enough for it to break free. That time was drawing near—or so it had thought.
But just now, everything changed.
Suddenly, Uzumaki Mito's flickering life force surged back to one-third of its former vitality. The abrupt reversal left the Nine Tails seething.
"Damn you, Uzumaki Mito! What did you do!?"
It thrashed within the seal, fangs bared and tails lashing violently, trying to shake off the reinforced chains.
Half a year ago, things had already started changing. Ever since Ren Takashi had made a soul contract with Mito, the Nine Tails' sensory link to the outside world had been periodically blocked. Whenever that happened, it was left blind to the world outside, as if submerged in silence.
Now it was obvious: this too had been part of her plan.
Whatever she'd been hiding all this time, it was working.
"Noisy."
Uzumaki Mito's voice echoed coldly across the seal.
With a sharp gesture, the chains around the Nine Tails grew thicker and tighter. One even wrapped around its mouth, muzzling its fury. It could only let out muffled roars now, eyes burning with hatred, utterly powerless.
Outside the seal, Tsunade watched her grandmother closely. When she saw Mito tremble and her expression twist slightly after drinking the potion, her heart leapt in fear.
"Grandma, are you alright!? Was there something wrong with the potion?"
She was terrified that something had gone wrong with their experimental life potion—that the medicine might be harming her instead of helping.
"No, it's not that." Mito opened her eyes and exhaled softly. "The potion is working beautifully. But the Nine Tails just realized I've recovered a large portion of my vitality—it's panicking."
She smiled slightly, as warmth returned to her cheeks. "That one bottle restored nearly a third of my lost life force."
"If I drink two more, I'll be fully recovered."
Tsunade was stunned, then overjoyed. "That's amazing! Then don't wait—take two more right away!"
"With your vitality restored, even if the Nine Tails keeps draining you, it won't shorten your lifespan anymore."
"Besides," she added, grinning, "we'll be producing more than twenty of these potions per month. We won't run out anytime soon!"
"Alright, alright! I'll drink them now," Mito said, unable to hold back a pleased chuckle. She was just as eager to return to full strength. With her vitality restored, not only could she regain her lifespan, she might even break through into the Dan Jin realm—greatly extending her life and power once more.
All of this was thanks to Ren Takashi.
She downed two more bottles.
Warmth flooded her body. The fire of life within her blazed bright again, and the oppressive aura of death that had clung to her for years was swept away.
Her skin grew luminous, her red hair, usually maintained by her chakra seal, now shimmered with natural brilliance.
The transformation was complete.
"I'm fully recovered now. Take the remaining three bottles with you—don't let them go to waste."
Ren shook his head. "They were part of your share. You or Tsunade can keep them—your call."
Then his tone turned serious.
"But Grandma Mito… if someone like the Third Hokage sees you like this—looking this vibrant—they'll realize you've recovered your vitality. That could impact our plans for the Fourth and Fifth Hokage successions."
Tsunade frowned. "Right. If they realize you've regained your strength, they might stop waiting and act sooner than we're ready."
Ren nodded. "So far, the reason the Third Hokage and Danzo haven't made any big moves is because they're waiting for you to die. Once you're gone, they think they'll have no obstacles left."
"But if they realize you could live for another few decades—longer than them even—everything changes. They might strike early. And I'm not ready for that."
Mito's expression turned solemn. "You're right. Now is not the time to trigger a confrontation."
With a flick of her hand, she formed a series of seals and pressed them to her abdomen.
Golden runes spread across her skin like blooming seals. Instantly, her vibrant aura dimmed, her vitality masked. To any observer, she looked just as frail and dying as before.
Ren and Tsunade both felt the shift in her life force—it had been perfectly suppressed.
"What do you think?" Mito asked with a smile.
"It's perfect," Ren said. "Even I can't detect any flaws. If I didn't know better, I'd be fooled. The Third Hokage certainly will be."
Mito nodded. "Good. We'll keep it hidden until the time is right."
"By the way," she added, "when do you think the Second Ninja World War will start?"
Ren thought for a moment. "Two, maybe three years. Now that the major villages have partial access to Uzumaki sealing techniques, they'll need time to develop jinchūriki. But if someone pushes for war, it could happen sooner."
"I hope it's later," Mito said. "You're still young. You need time to grow."
Ren smiled. "Don't worry, Grandma. I'm pacing myself. I still get plenty of rest. Researching potions isn't just duty—it's something I enjoy."
"Now that the life potion is done, Tsunade and I are planning to start on blood purification potions, medical talismans, ninjutsu seals, and storage talismans—like ninja version storage rings."
Mito raised an eyebrow. "Blood purification potions?"
Ren nodded. "The goal is to refine and enhance bloodline limits. Even those without one can improve their genetics. Eventually, we could give commoners the potential for dojutsu or clan techniques."
"Of course, it's just theory right now. We're short on materials—especially bloodline samples."
Mito's expression turned thoughtful. "If you can pull that off… it'll change the entire structure of the ninja world."
Ren smiled. "That's the idea."
He then added, "Would you be interested in helping with the research, Grandma? Especially with talismans and seals—the work heavily depends on sealing techniques, and Tsunade's not quite there yet."
He explained his vision for medical talismans that could be used for instant healing, ninjutsu talismans that could store powerful techniques, and storage seals for tools or scrolls.
Mito's eyes sparkled with curiosity. "You're bold, boy. But if you can develop those, everything changes."
"With healing talismans, survival rates skyrocket. Ninjas could bring multiple backups into battle."
"Ninjutsu seals? Someone with no chakra could throw a fireball or a wind blade."
"And if production becomes widespread, even civilians could wield ninja power."
"Of course, sealing compatibility will be tricky. You'll need blank seals of various grades for different jutsu levels."
Ren beamed. "That's what I thought too! See, this is why I need you!"
At that moment, Tsunade raised an eyebrow, reached out, and pinched his cheek. "So I'm useless now, huh? When we were working on the life potion, I was your 'sweet genius,' and now I'm just background noise?"
Ren winced. "Teacher, I never said that—"
Tsunade glared. "You meant it!"
"I surrender, I surrender!" Ren raised his hands, laughing.
Truthfully, he'd already surpassed Tsunade in raw skill, mastering her super strength technique and advancing it even further with chakra control so refined he could infuse power into any part of his body at will.
But none of that mattered now.
With the life potion complete, they'd not only bought time—they had the breathing room to reshape the world.
And this time, they would be ready.