“Damn it! Have you still not found the person spreading those rumors?”
Danzo’s expression darkened as he slammed his palm onto the desk, shattering it into splinters.
Several masked Root shinobi knelt before him, their heads lowered in fear.
None of them could give the answer he wanted.
Ever since the Nine-Tails Incident, Danzo had remained hidden inside his underground headquarters.
He feared Kushina would eventually connect him to the mastermind behind the disaster.
However, two days earlier, a new problem had emerged.
Rumors had begun spreading throughout Konoha.
The good news was that none of them mentioned the Nine-Tails Incident.
The bad news…
The rumors claimed that many villagers who had disappeared over the years had actually been abducted for forbidden human experiments.
Even worse, they pointed directly at the defected Orochimaru while implying that someone inside Konoha had secretly been helping him.
Many ordinary villagers didn’t even know why Orochimaru had suddenly left the village.
Some weren’t even aware that he had defected at all.
Danzo immediately suspected Kushina.
He was convinced she had begun taking revenge.
Yet despite sending numerous Root agents to investigate, they found nothing.
Ever since Kushina had forcefully entered the Uchiha compound and spent half a day shopping with Uchiha Mikoto, she hadn’t left her home again.
Nor had she contacted anyone else.
The investigators even considered whether Kushina had secretly passed the information to Mikoto, who then spread it through the Uchiha Clan.
After a thorough investigation, however, they discovered that not a single member of the Uchiha Clan was involved.
“You are all useless!”
Danzo roared.
“Get out there and keep investigating!”
“I don’t care what it takes—find whoever is spreading these rumors.”
“And while you’re at it, find a way to divert everyone’s attention!”
The Root shinobi immediately disappeared.
Danzo wasn’t the only one burdened with worries.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had temporarily resumed the position of Hokage, was facing problems of his own.
Just as expected, Kumogakure had launched an invasion, hoping to take advantage of Minato’s death and Konoha’s unstable leadership.
Fortunately, Konoha’s border forces detected the enemy in time and successfully repelled the first wave of attacks.
Hiruzen immediately appointed Nara Shikaku as the commander of the front lines.
Even so, another problem remained.
Konoha lacked someone capable of facing Kumogakure’s Jinchūriki…
Or even the Fourth Raikage himself.
The constant pressure left Hiruzen so stressed that he felt he was going bald.
He couldn’t help but grumble inwardly.
“Why is the Raikage always charging onto the battlefield himself?”
“Don’t Kage normally stay inside their villages?”
In the past, Minato alone had been enough to keep both the Raikage and the Eight-Tails’ Jinchūriki in check.
Now…
Who could possibly stop them?
No one understood the terror of a Tailed Beast better than Konoha after the recent Nine-Tails attack.
As if that weren’t enough…
Another headache had appeared.
His youngest son, Asuma, had suddenly run away from home without leaving a single word.
Had anyone else done such a thing, they would already have been branded a rogue ninja.
Only because he was the Hokage’s son had no one taken such action.
When Hiruzen learned of Asuma’s disappearance, he nearly fainted from anger.
He suspected the incident was related to the recent death of his wife, Biwako Sarutobi.
Unfortunately, he had neither the time nor the energy to deal with his son.
All he could do was pray Asuma hadn’t headed toward the border.
If Kumogakure captured him…
The consequences would be disastrous.
The entire village was placed on high alert as news of Kumogakure’s invasion spread.
Ironically, the looming war also helped reduce Danzo’s immediate concerns.
While secretly expanding the search for the person behind the rumors, he approached Hiruzen with another proposal.
“I request permission to contact Iwagakure.”
“They’ve been enemies of Kumogakure for years.”
“If we encourage them to attack from behind, Kumogakure will be forced to retreat.”
Hiruzen didn’t even consider the suggestion.
He knew Danzo far too well.
If Danzo acted recklessly and his schemes were exposed, Konoha wouldn’t only be fighting Kumogakure.
They would also gain Iwagakure as another enemy.
The Third Great Ninja War had ended less than a year ago.
Konoha simply couldn’t afford another large-scale conflict.
Elsewhere…
Kushina slowly opened her eyes after being gently poked awake.
A faint blush spread across her cheeks.
Pretending nothing had happened, she quietly climbed out of Sima Ming’s embrace.
Although she always went to bed lying on her side, she somehow rolled over every night in her sleep.
Without fail, she ended up pinning Sima Ming beneath her.
If he hadn’t accidentally bumped into the bedroom door every morning while trying to get free, she might have already become accustomed to sleeping that way.
Inside the bathroom, Kushina glanced at the mirror.
Seeing Sima Ming’s helpless and awkward expression reflected behind her, her face flushed even deeper.
Silently, she apologized to him in her heart.
To distract herself, she softly asked,
“Mr. Sima…”
“What do you think about Kumogakure’s invasion?”
Sima Ming deliberately shifted his attention away from the flowing water before answering.
“This invasion has been carefully planned.”
“On one hand, they’re taking advantage of Minato’s death to recover the losses they suffered during the Third Great Ninja War.”
“On the other hand…”
“It’s the perfect opportunity for the new Raikage to establish his reputation.”
“He’ll almost certainly lead the army himself.”
“He’ll try to crush Konoha’s defenses in one decisive offensive while everyone is still unprepared.”
“But if Konoha can withstand that first assault…”
“And drag the conflict into a prolonged war…”
“Kumogakure will eventually be forced to retreat.”
From what Sima Ming remembered, Kumogakure had indeed invaded Konoha after the Nine-Tails Incident.
However, the original story never explained exactly how Konoha had survived.
Judging from Konoha’s current military strength, he suspected Danzo had secretly played a role.
During the Third Great Ninja War, the previous Raikage had died during a battle against Iwagakure.
The hatred between the two villages ran deep.
If someone successfully manipulated that hostility, Iwagakure would certainly seize the chance to attack Kumogakure’s homeland while its main army was away.
The original story also briefly mentioned that Iwagakure later clashed with Konoha.
Sima Ming suspected the truth had eventually been exposed.
Danzo’s interference had likely been discovered, prompting Iwagakure to retaliate against Konoha instead.
Even without Minato or the Legendary Sannin present, Konoha had somehow managed to survive consecutive invasions.
Its foundations truly were impressive.
The sound of running water echoed softly through the bathroom.
Drip…
Drip…
After a brief silence, Kushina spoke again.
“Then…”
“Do you think I should go to the battlefield?”
“It’s the fastest place to earn prestige.”
“And…”
“You also need soul energy to recover.”
The moment she finished speaking, Sima Ming’s wandering thoughts instantly snapped back.
The proposal was undeniably tempting.
Even so, he immediately rejected it.
“Your highest priority right now is recovering.”
“Konoha isn’t going to collapse overnight.”
“Wait until your body has completely healed.”
“Then…”
“You should try communicating with the Nine-Tails.”
“Konoha’s understanding of Tailed Beasts is far behind that of Kumogakure and Iwagakure.”
Kushina blinked in surprise.
“Communicate… with the Nine-Tails?”
In her eyes, Tailed Beasts were nothing but natural disasters.
Violent.
Cruel.
They hated humanity.
A Jinchūriki existed only to imprison them.
She had personally witnessed the Nine-Tails reduce half of Konoha to ruins.
Could such a monster truly be reasoned with?
Sima Ming nodded confidently.
“Yes.”
“Only by communicating with your Tailed Beast…”
“And earning its trust…”
“Can you become a Perfect Jinchūriki.”
“Only then can you truly wield the full power of a Tailed Beast.”
“The Eight-Tails’ Jinchūriki from Kumogakure has already achieved that.”
“So has the Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure.”
“They succeeded.”
“And I believe you can earn the Nine-Tails’ recognition as well, Kushina.”