“You helped me again.”
Kushina Uzumaki twisted a strand of her hair around her finger, her eyes sparkling brightly.
Gekko Ryun replied casually, “No need to thank me.”
Kushina studied his black hair for a moment, then asked curiously, “What was that guy’s name?
Did he mock you like that too?”
The teacher was saying something at the front of the classroom, but neither of them was paying attention.
He thought for a moment, somewhat uncertain.
“I think his name was Hayato or something.
He mocked everyone when we first started the academy.”
“Huh?
Everyone?” Kushina’s mouth fell open in surprise.
He nodded.
Konoha was a peculiar place, like a large psychiatric hospital.
It was hard to imagine a first-year brat, fresh into the academy, mocking every single person equally.
The reasons were varied—hair color, favorite foods, disliked foods, appearance, speech habits, dreams—he could always find something to mock.
She felt a bit dizzy just thinking about it.
In the Land of Whirlpools, a child with such a terrible personality would have been strung up and whipped with Adamantine Sealing Chains.
“Didn’t anyone teach him a lesson?”
He pointed at himself, then pursed his lips, gesturing for her to look toward the front row.
“See that blond-haired kid?
He was the second one to take action.”
Kushina blinked, then smiled knowingly, shaking her head as she looked at the yellow back of his head.
“He doesn’t look the type.”
Minato Namikaze seemed to sense something and glanced back.
Seeing Gekko Ryun and Kushina Uzumaki chatting and laughing, he froze for a moment before turning back around, his expression blank.
Kushina quickly moved on from the topic, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
“That…
my hair…
do you still have it?”
Gekko Ryun glanced at the girl who was pretending not to care, though her voice trembled slightly.
He reached into the Ninja Tool Pouch at his waist and pulled out a small sachet, which carried a faint, pleasant fragrance.
Kushina reached out and took it.
The sachet was blue-green, not very well-sewn, with somewhat messy stitching.
The opening was tied with a thin cord knotted into a small loop, the end of which was adorned with a red bead the size of a grain of rice.
Inside was only a single strand of hair.
The red hair had been carefully coiled into a circle, lying quietly at the bottom of the sachet.
Kushina’s eyes softened, and her voice grew very quiet.
“This is…”
“I didn’t know where to put it, so I made this.
The craftsmanship is nothing special, sorry about that.”
That was a lie.
This had originally been intended as a birthday gift for his aunt.
Just before leaving home this morning, he had a sudden idea and placed the remaining red hair from yesterday into the sachet, carrying it with him.
“It’s…
it’s very pretty…”
Kushina’s ears were already flushed bright red.
….
Hokage Building.
Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the scene in the crystal ball, taking out his pipe and puffing on it a couple of times.
Wispy smoke curled upward.
BANG!
At that moment, the office door was flung open, slamming against the wall with a dull thud.
Danzo Shimura, draped in a dark coat with his right half-face wrapped in bandages, strode into the Hokage’s office without ceremony.
He walked up to the desk, fixing Hiruzen with a one-eyed stare.
“You sent Kushina Uzumaki to the ninja academy?”
Hiruzen waved a hand toward the Anbu standing outside the door, who silently withdrew.
Once the door closed, he looked up at his old comrade and gestured to the chair opposite him.
“Sit.”
Danzo Shimura remained motionless.
“Why won’t you hand her over to me?”
Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed on his pipe, smoke curling lazily upward as he spoke in a calm tone.
“She’s a nine-year-old child.
How do you plan to train her?”
“By having her join Root, of course.
I will cultivate her with all my strength.”
Hiruzen chuckled softly.
“Danzo, Kushina is only nine.”
“What does being nine matter?
She is the next Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
What she needs is the most rigorous training and discipline, not to play those childish ninja games at the Ninja Academy.”
After finishing this statement in one breath, Danzo paused for two seconds, his tone resolute.
“Hiruzen, hand her over to me.
Only I can train her into a qualified weapon!”
“Kushina is not a weapon.”
Hearing Hiruzen’s dismissive words, Danzo Shimura felt his blood pressure rise.
“If she’s not a weapon, then what is she?
You understand the power of the Nine-Tails better than I do.
Allowing her to attend school like an ordinary child is a disgraceful waste!”
Through the haze of smoke, Hiruzen observed Danzo’s furious expression, his tone still composed.
“This is Lady Mito’s wish.”
Danzo’s expression stiffened, and he cursed inwardly.
In the current Konoha, he, the leader of Root, seemed to be subordinate to only “one person.”
But there was one prerequisite: it must not involve Mito Uzumaki.
That individual, despite holding no official position, could not be underestimated—whether due to her status as the widow of the First Hokage or her strength as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
The decisions she made were to be treated with utmost seriousness, even by the Third Hokage.
“Hiruzen, you are the Hokage!”
Danzo said through gritted teeth.
“Lady Mito Uzumaki is old and has lost her ninja spirit.
You are the Hokage now.
Only you can decide matters regarding Kushina Uzumaki.”
Hiruzen choked on the smoke, coughing heavily several times before gently tapping his pipe against the edge of the ashtray.
“Such words…
do not say them again.
I share Lady Mito’s opinion.
The Ninja Academy is suitable for Kushina’s growth.”
Danzo took a deep breath, his eyes almost blazing with fire.
“Keeping that child at the Ninja Academy will only make her weak.
I’m doing this for the village!”
“Danzo, Kushina needs to form bonds.
Root is not the place for her.”
“Hiruzen, you are too naive.
A weak personality is unfit to control the Nine-Tails.
When the Nine-Tails goes on a rampage, what will that child use to stop it?
Those laughable bonds?”
Hiruzen’s narrowed eyes suddenly widened.
He leaned forward, his broad shoulders straightening like a towering, unshakable mountain.
“I will stop it.”
Just three words, yet they carried immense weight.
The aura of the Hokage poured forth without restraint.
Danzo’s heart seemed to skip a beat.
Forcing himself to remain calm, he felt both envy and anger.
“I understand you are acting for the village’s sake, but the matter of Kushina Uzumaki ends here.
You are not to interfere.”
“Hiruzen, you are too domineering.
What if the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki volunteers to join Root?”
“No.”
“…Hmph.
I believe in the resolve of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
Root is the only place she should be.”
Unwilling to continue the argument, Hiruzen slammed his hand heavily on the table.
“Enough, Danzo.
I am the Hokage!”
Hearing these words, Danzo Shimura felt as if his throat had been gripped.
His face flushed red, and he was left speechless.
Knock, knock, knock!
He tapped his cane heavily on the ground several times, then turned and left with a flick of his sleeve.
The office door was kicked open once more.
“Bang!”
Only the lingering echo of his words remained: “Hiruzen, you will regret this!”
A few minutes later.
“Whoosh!”
An Anbu appeared in the Hokage’s office, kneeling on one knee and retrieving a scroll from his robes.
“Hokage-sama, this is from Gekko Ryun…”