Watching Kushina push herself so relentlessly, Kaorui couldn’t help but feel moved.
Kushina was living comfortably in Konoha, one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
She was safe here and faced no immediate danger.
So why did she continue to train so desperately?
The only explanation Kaorui could think of was the Tailed Beast sealed within her.
Back when the Land of Whirlpools still existed, she had heard the adults speak about how Konoha would choose suitable women from the Uzumaki Clan to become vessels for the Tailed Beasts.
Combined with the terrifying presence she had sensed inside Kushina, Kaorui believed she had found the answer.
Perhaps…
If the vessel wasn’t strong enough, the Tailed Beast could break free.
She had also heard that Konoha had somehow split the Nine-Tails into two parts, sealing one half inside Kushina and the other inside Naruto.
Maybe…
They feared Kushina alone couldn’t contain the complete Nine-Tails.
As these thoughts crossed her mind, Kaorui looked at Kushina with newfound sympathy.
It turned out that although Kushina appeared fortunate on the surface…
She was carrying an equally tragic burden.
Of course, Kushina had no idea that Kaorui had imagined an entirely different story.
After becoming a Jinchūriki, Kushina had never considered her life miserable.
She had once been cherished by Minato.
Now she had Sima Ming quietly accompanying her every day.
Compared to many other surviving members of the Uzumaki Clan, her life had been far kinder.
Her goal now was simple.
Become stronger as quickly as possible.
Master the Nine-Tails’ power.
Then transform Konoha into a village that was truly peaceful and welcoming.
Thanks to the incredible vitality of the Uzumaki Clan, Kushina gradually adapted to the one hundred pounds of additional weight.
Previously, every morning’s training had left her completely exhausted.
She would barely be able to move afterward and needed plenty of food and rest before recovering.
Now…
After training for an entire morning…
She still felt as though she had energy to spare.
Naturally, that meant the training was no longer as effective.
Without hesitation, she increased the weight by another thirty pounds that very afternoon.
Meanwhile…
Another innocent victim appeared inside the Hokage’s office.
This time…
It was Hiruzen’s desk.
A classified report from the front lines had just arrived.
Commander Nara Shikaku reported that suspicious members of Root had been discovered near the battlefield.
When they were cornered by fellow Konoha shinobi…
Instead of surrendering…
They immediately committed suicide by taking poison.
Their actions clearly showed that they hadn’t come to assist Konoha.
“Danzo…”
“What exactly are you trying to do?”
“Are you really helping Kumogakure pressure me just to force me into handing over that Uzumaki woman?”
A trace of killing intent flashed across Hiruzen’s eyes.
At the front lines…
Konoha had recently completed a strategic adjustment to its defensive positions.
Acting on false intelligence, Kumogakure forces quietly infiltrated the locations where Konoha’s previous defenses had once stood.
They found nothing.
Instead…
They walked straight into a carefully prepared ambush by Konoha’s main force.
The Fourth Raikage immediately realized the truth.
The information hadn’t come from one of Kumogakure’s spies.
Someone from Konoha had deliberately disguised themselves as a Kumogakure informant and fed them false intelligence.
“Damn those Konoha bastards!”
“All they know are these underhanded tricks!”
Another unfortunate tree became the victim of the Raikage’s anger.
Tutai stepped forward after allowing the Raikage enough time to vent.
“Lord Raikage.”
“We learn from our mistakes.”
“Fortunately, our losses remain within acceptable limits.”
When the intelligence had first arrived, Tutai had advised caution.
Unfortunately…
The newly appointed Raikage had been completely confident in the abilities of Kumogakure’s intelligence network.
Ignoring Tutai’s concerns, he had ordered surprise attacks against the locations listed in the report.
Now that those attacks had failed, Tutai hoped the setback would make the Raikage less impulsive in the future.
Although several shinobi had lost their lives…
If their sacrifice helped their Kage mature…
Then it hadn’t been in vain.
After a long silence, the Raikage nodded.
“You’re right.”
“I was wrong.”
“When we return…”
“I’ll personally visit every family who lost someone and apologize.”
“But until then…”
“Konoha will bear my anger.”
At the same time…
A high-level meeting was also underway in Sunagakure.
Although the Hidden Sand Village had rejected Ōnoki’s proposal to attack Konoha together…
They also recognized an excellent opportunity.
Konoha was already locked in a difficult war against Kumogakure.
The reinstated Third Hokage certainly wouldn’t want to face another enemy at the same time.
Knowing Hiruzen’s personality, they believed he would rather make concessions than fight a war on two fronts.
The purpose of the meeting was simple.
Determine what demands they could make that would maximize Sunagakure’s benefits…
Without pushing Konoha into outright war.
Among the Five Great Shinobi Villages…
Only Kirigakure remained strangely quiet.
After rejecting Ōnoki’s previous proposal…
The Hidden Mist Village had made no significant moves whatsoever.
Its shinobi rarely left the village.
They even refused many requests from the Land of Water itself.
As a result…
None of the other great villages knew what was happening inside Kirigakure.
Even their spies found it almost impossible to send information back.
Although Hiruzen strongly suspected Danzo of secretly working against Konoha’s interests…
He also knew how difficult it would be to gather concrete evidence.
Without proof…
Danzo could simply claim that the Root operatives had been conducting reconnaissance against Kumogakure.
A few poisoned corpses proved nothing.
More importantly…
If he cornered Danzo now…
There was no telling what drastic actions Danzo might take.
Internal conflict at such a critical moment would only benefit Kumogakure.
Once again…
Hiruzen chose compromise.
He personally visited Root’s underground headquarters.
After severely reprimanding Danzo for deploying operatives without authorization, he ordered the ANBU to monitor Root more closely.
Just like before…
The matter was quietly buried.
When no further orders arrived from the Hokage…
Shikaku understood the situation immediately.
It had unfolded exactly as he expected.
Whenever Danzo was involved…
The Third Hokage always chose to downplay major issues and quietly dismiss the smaller ones.
Fortunately…
This time, Konoha had anticipated the situation.
Not only had they suffered no casualties…
They had successfully deceived Kumogakure instead.
That was enough.
“If only Minato were still alive…”
Shikaku sighed quietly as he rubbed his aching temples.
“Things wouldn’t have come to this.”
Another month passed in the blink of an eye.
The war between Konoha and Kumogakure remained deadlocked.
Then…
A shocking piece of news spread throughout the entire ninja world.
A spy had escaped from Kirigakure carrying highly confidential intelligence.
According to the report…
The Hidden Mist Village had begun enforcing what became known as the Bloody Mist Policy.
At the same time, the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, had started systematically suppressing and purging Kirigakure’s Kekkei Genkai clans.
That was the true reason the Hidden Mist Village had isolated itself from the outside world.
As for why the Mizukage was persecuting his own people…
No one knew.
Some believed the Kekkei Genkai clans had attempted a coup.
Others believed Yagura feared their growing influence and had chosen to eliminate them before they became a threat.
When Tsuchikage Ōnoki heard the news…
He immediately cursed the Mizukage for his stupidity.
“If there are internal conflicts…”
“Why not redirect them toward an external war?”
“If he had accepted my proposal to attack Konoha and Kumogakure together…”
“He could have openly weakened those clans on the battlefield.”
“Serves Kirigakure right for throwing away such a perfect opportunity.”