— — — — — —
"Uh… well…"
Renzo couldn't help but smile wryly and shake his head. "That doesn't really count, does it? Kushina-nee, are you seriously thinking about adding Eevee to your clan too?"
"Quit the nonsense! Hurry up and remove the seal on your body! Don't make me do it myself!"
Kushina was clearly impatient.
"Alright, alright! I'll undo it, okay?"
He never really planned to keep it hidden anyway. Raising his right hand, five different types of Senjutsu chakra glowed at his fingertips. With a press to his stomach, the seal instantly unraveled.
And then, a wave of overwhelming life energy poured out of him.
"…Whoa."
Both Kushina and Minato were stunned the moment they felt that insane surge of vitality.
When they took a closer look at Renzo, their jaws practically hit the floor.
"T-This… this is really what the Uzumaki clan's Sage Body is capable of?"
Kushina's eyes were wide with disbelief.
From what she remembered, no one in the Uzumaki clan had ever possessed life force this insane.
This guy was packing at least a hundred times more life energy than she had!
"Even Granny Mito didn't have ten percent of this! What the hell did you do?! Are you sure you're not the First Hokage reincarnated or something?!"
It took a long pause before Kushina finally looked at Renzo with a dazed expression and asked.
All Minato could do was let out a helpless laugh.
"This kind of life force… this chakra… oh man…"
He had to admit—he was jealous.
Seriously, if he had this kind of vitality and chakra reserves, his strength would probably jump tenfold, easy.
"..."
"Maybe it's because my constitution's a bit… special? Hehe…"
That was about the only explanation Renzo could offer.
But Kushina wasn't buying it. She stared hard at him and said, "Your bloodline purity and Sage Body are way more advanced than mine. So, tell me—can I use it? Can Minato?"
She was very interested.
"If I can use it, then fine! I'll forgive you for messing around with the Uzumaki bloodline and using it on Eevee too! Heck, I'll even let you into the great Uzumaki clan's official records! How about that?"
She batted her eyes at Renzo with a mischievous glint.
"Eh?"
Minato looked just as shocked.
And then turned to Renzo with a hopeful look—he really wanted this.
And deep down, he figured this was probably one of Renzo's goals all along.
"No problem!"
Renzo chuckled and nodded. "This was something I already planned on offering as compensation anyway."
"Not just you and Minato, Kushina-nee— Miss Rena too!"
"Of course, she'll have to wait until after she gives birth to safely inject it. But once that's done, even the baby can receive a dose!"
"That way, the Sage Body and bloodline purity of your Uzumaki lineage will reach near-perfection!"
Now that was a sincere gift.
"Not bad at all!"
Kushina gave Renzo a hearty slap on the shoulder and grinned. "You've got guts, kid! But—I've got one small condition. You promise me this, and I'll completely forgive you. I'll even cover for you if anything comes up!"
"Also, if you ever plan on giving this stuff to other people, don't just hand it out to anyone, alright? You need to be selective!"
"I don't want just anyone getting their hands on our Uzumaki bloodline and Sage Body. Especially not someone I can't stand or flat-out evil people."
"Like the Third Hokage, Danzo, Koharu, or Homura—those geezers are strictly off-limits! Don't even mention it to them!"
As she said that, Kushina shot a glare at Minato and warned, "This part's especially for you! You're absolutely not allowed to tell the Third anything about this—or what happened today. Got it?"
"Y-Yes, yes!"
Minato gave a helpless laugh and nodded quickly. "You think I don't know how to keep things quiet? I didn't even tell the Third about Renzo being the mysterious Uchiha back then! I'm not that dumb."
Honestly, he had his own share of grievances with the Third and the current state of Konoha.
Especially after what happened to Renzo—the way the village buried him in the shadows had really opened Minato's eyes. He'd even gone out of his way to dig up some of the village's darker secrets after that.
And the more he learned, the more disgusted he felt towards Hiruzen and Danzo.
Not that he ever showed it outwardly, of course.
He'd have to be insane to go blabbing about this to Hiruzen.
"That's more like it," Kushina huffed. "Just keep your guard up around those geezers. None of them are good people!"
Being kept locked up in the village, constantly under surveillance? Anyone would have resentment.
Especially when people like Danzo, Koharu, and Homura treated her like a tool instead of a human being.
Honestly, the fact that Kushina hadn't straight-up attacked them already showed incredible restraint.
"I've got no problem with that. Honestly, that's how it should be," Renzo nodded, then added with a hint of guilt, "But I should let you know... I did give one vial to Orochimaru."
"..."
"…Huh?" Kushina stared blankly. "Orochimaru? That creepy snake guy? He's obsessed with research, right? Are you sure he won't figure out how to reverse-engineer your serum? Or worse, spill the secret?"
"Nah, it's fine," Renzo waved it off. "Trust me, Orochimaru can't crack it. And he won't blab either."
"His relationship with Hiruzen and Danzo isn't as close as you'd think."
Uncle Snake was a pragmatic guy. He valued his collaboration with Renzo too much to mess things up by leaking something that wouldn't benefit him.
"In that case, fine," Kushina nodded. Then she shook her hand at Renzo, motioning impatiently. "If that's all, then hurry up and give us the stuff!"
"Oh, and one more thing," she added slyly, "My extra condition is that you give me Uzumaki Eevee. That's not asking too much, right? It's technically my first non-human clanswoman!"
She emphasized the word "clanswoman" like she was making it official.
And she still had Eevee nestled protectively in her arms, refusing to let go.
"Alright, alright," Renzo chuckled, glancing at the little fox that had been nestled in Kushina's arms the whole time.
This little backstabbing furball? Sure, she could keep it.
Yeah... Minato should be grateful that Eevee was female—and not as pervy as that Eevee he knew. Otherwise…
---
With a flick of his wrist, he conjured two vials out of thin air (technically made them on the spot) and handed them over to Kushina and Minato.
"Inject it into your upper arm and sit cross-legged. The first stage of transformation takes around two hours."
"The full integration will take about a month, and that's when your Sage Body and bloodline powers will fully awaken."
"As for developing it further after that... that's up to you."
"Oh, and Kushina—heads up—I'll be giving this to Kurenai too, so don't be surprised later, okay?"
"Oh ho?"
Kushina and Minato both raised their eyebrows and gave Renzo teasing looks.
"Your little girlfriend, huh?"
Renzo sighed.
What about it?
They were a couple too—why act like it was such a big deal?
Kushina nodded thoughtfully. "Alright, got it. But the secrecy part is all on you, got it?"
She knew Kurenai well—a good girl, pretty too. She'd have no problem welcoming her into the great Uzumaki clan.
"Of course," Renzo nodded.
.
.
.