On the evening of December 30th, Akaisen found themselves in the Hokage Office, and Tsunade was curiously inspecting the gourd that contained Sanbi.
"Place your hand on it and clear your mind." Enma lightly said, and when she did as he told her, she soon found herself in a dark space with the gigantic Three-Tailed Beast sleepily in front of her.
Sensing the Beast opening its eyes, she opened her eyes as well and took her hand off the gourd.
"It won't escape, right?"
"He can't. Only I can unseal him. If the gourd is destroyed, he will die, and it will take a few years for him to return to life."
"Oh," She nodded her head then effortlessly picked it up, putting it next to her table. "Well done, Akaisen. You have completed your first S-Rank Mission."
The Team smiled at her and watched her take her seat.
She opened the second scroll that Mei had given to Enma, and read through it.
"Terumi Mei proposes that Suna, Konoha, and Kiri jointly hold their next Chunin Exams," she informed them and her Assistant and Advisors, who were also present in the Office.
"We already plan on jointly holding the Chunin Exams in July with Suna. We can invite Kiri, but heading to the Hidden Mist is not safe." Aburame Shibi lightly said, and the Hokage nodded her head.
"Yes," She smiled. "Terumi Mei has also requested us to help Kiri find their Missing-Nin, Utakata, the Jinchuriki of the Six-Tails. He was last seen in the Land of Fire."
"He is living on Mount Katsuragi."
Everyone turned to look at Enma in surprise, and Tsunade raised her brow at him.
"How do you know?"
"On our way back, when we exited the Land of Forests, Shukaku and Sanbi sensed the presence of Rokubi, and I sensed the direction they were looking into and sent my clones to investigate what was going on."
"The Tailed Beasts can communicate with each other?" She frowned.
"Yes. Shukaku and Sanbei were communicating with each other when Gaara was by my side. And Ichibi was very vocal about his dislike for Rokubi after he sensed his presence."
"So that's why Gaara had that ugly expression on his face..." Hana nodded her head as she recalled the time they had exited the Land of Forests, on their way back.
Her Haimaru Brothers had become very restless, and they had told her that Gaara was getting angry.
"Yes."
Tsunade kept thinking for a while and then leaned forward at the table, locking her fingers and placing her elbows on if, covering her mouth.
"Special Units of Kumo and Iwa have infiltrated the Land of Fire."
Her words hung in the air, and Enma raised his brow.
"Their goal?"
"A Kinjutsu in the lands of the Tsuchigumo Clan. The Jutsu was developed by the former Clan Leader, who recently passed away. He had a deal with the Third Hokage, where Konoha promised him and his Village protection in return of declaring the jutsu forbidden. The people of Tsuchigumo Village use a variation of it, but the real Jutsu has stayed with En no Gyoja, who could use it to wipe an entire Village."
At her words, her advisors became very solemn.
"Sorry about it, but you are not getting a New Year's break, Akaisen."
At her words, they all smiled.
"What's our objective?"
"You S-Rank Mission is to either steal that real Kinjutsu or eliminate it so that it does not fall into the hands of the enemies. The Former Clan Leader had been forced out of the Village for creating that Kinjutsu and falling in disagreements with the rest of the Clan. He had since confined himself and his family in their fortress on Mount Tsuchigumo."
"The agreement of the Third?" Shikaku frowned.
"The agreement was to protect the Tsuchigumo Village, and Konoha will continue to do so whenever they seek our help. If En no Gyoja has any family left, we will protect them as well, but we can not allow them to keep that Kinjutsu."
The Nara Clan Head understandingly nodded his head.
"It will be done, Hokage-sama." Enma promised.
Tsunade nodded her head and looked at him.
"Can you bring Utakata to Konoha? Alive and well?"
"it depends on whether he is willing to cooperate or not, but I can bring him here. However, there is no guarantee that he will be in a good condition."
"Just don't kill him or ruin him. We will give him to Kiri when the Mizukage will come to attend the Chunin Exams in July."
"I understand, Hokage-sama. What are your orders regarding the Special Units of Iwa and Kumo?"
"I will leave their fate in your hands. Do as you see fit depending on the circumstances at that time."
"Yes."
"In total, you have three S-Rank Missions. The Kinjutsu, Utakata, and the Protection of the Tsuchigumo Clan and En no Gyoja's family from Iwa and Kumo. Be reminded that failure is not an option for you."
"Yes!"
Tsunade then handed Yugao a scroll.
"This is my formal invitation to the Tsuchigumo Clan to come and make Konoha their home. They are not obliged to accept, but do try to persuade the Chief of Tsuchigumo Village to accept this offer. It's not easy for us to provide them protection when they are situated so far from our Village. The pact they signed with Third Hokage has been revised. In case they refuse our invitation, Konoha will only provide them protection for only four more years."
The members or Akaisen nodded their heads and soon left the office after bowing to their Hokage.
"Gather at the Gate tomorrow morning at 8 am." Enma ordered them, and everyone dispersed, heading to their homes.
Only Izumi and Sasuke stayed by his side as they rushed to the Uzumaki District.
"Are we really going to steal that Kinjutsu for the Village?"
The older Uchiha asked as soon as they entered the forest.
"Depends on how powerful that Kinjutsu truly is and how it works. If it is something beyond our control, I will destroy it." He lightly said, and both of them nodded their heads in understanding.
Akane happened to be standing outside the Uzumaki Taito's Workshop, and she was carrying two swords on her back, and showing one of the two blades to the kids around them.
As soon as she sensed them and looked their way, she rushed at them with the blade in hand.
"Sasuke!" The excited grin on her face terrified the Uchiha because she did not lower the weapon, but thankfully, she did draw it back when she jumped at him, hugging him with one arm.
Izumi's brow twitched when she saw the girl completely ignored her, but she did not ruin her sister's moment.
"Izumi!" Akane then quickly hugged her and also gave Enma a hug, but soon she was chatting with Sasuke again, showing him his Cokuto, which had a 40 inches long blade, and a handle that put its overall length at 52 Inches.
It was quite a long and pure chakra blade, and his eyes gleamed when he looked at it.
Akane's blade was ten inches smaller, and unlike his pure black handle, hers had red highlights in it, a sign of her Uzumaki heritage.
The two of them then quickly rushed towards the Uzumaki Compound to see the Uzumaki Matriarch, who had promised them that she would help them make the two blades very special.
Izumi and Enma did not rush to follow them and kept their pace very leisurely. When they arrived inside the compound, they found the two Uchiha waiting outside the Hall of Sealings.
Kushina happened to open the door exactly when they arrived, and seeing the two swords in their hands, she invited them inside.
The Uzumaki Matriarch picked up two of the scrolls from the shelves and came over to spread them on the altar.
As soon as she activated the seals on them, the entire altar was covered by Fuinjutsu Seals, and she placed the two, half-drawn swords at the centre of them.
Then red chakra chains sprouted from her back and hooked themselves inside the circles marked on the seals, which lit them up.
Kushina performed a series of handseals, and then closed her eyes as she formed the Seal of Confrontation.
Instantly, her Chains brightened, and the then Bijuu Chakra oozed out of them and poured into the seal, which then started bathing the two weapons in it.
"That's the Chakra of the Two Tails," Enma informed the three Uchiha, who were shocked at the sight, and they instantly understood everything.
The four of them stayed watching for hours as the blades kept bathing in Matatabi's Chakra, and when five hours passed by, Kushina switched the Chakra with Shukaku's Chakra, which Karin had absorbed during the Konoha Crush in August.
The process lasted for another one hour, after which she started supplying her own Chakra to the Blades.
It was one more hour later that she opened her eyes, and all the seals on the altar started receding into the two swords.
She smiled as she picked the weapons to with her Chakra Chains, and then curiously inspected the blades.
"Nice." She grinned, and then came over to hand the swords to Akane and Sasuke. "I won't spoil things for you too much, but your blades are deadly sharp now, and they have the ability to regenerate themselves, including the handle and the scabbard. They are conscious blades, so, you will have to form a contract with them, and that way, you will he able to freely carry them inside a seal on your body or send them directly to the seal when you lose them."
"How?" Sasuke asked, his body trembling in excitement, and Kushina ruffled his hair before she taught him how to make the contracts.
In the end, both Akane and he chose to carry the Seal of their Swords on the back of their left hands.
"Also, don't be careless with them. Do not practice with people around if you don't wish to accidentally harm someone."
"Okay."
"Onee-sama, is my blade now more special than the Seven Ninja Swords of Kiri?"
The Uzumaki Matriarch smiled at her question, and as soon as she nodded her head, Akane jumped at her and excitedly hugged her.
"Thank you!"
"You're welcome."
The girl then pulled Sasuke with her and rushed to the Training Ground, not caring if it was evening now.
Izumi and Enma stayed behind and briefed the Uzumaki Matriarch about everything they had been doing over the last three months.
Kushina was not pleased that they were leaving for another mission so soon, but she did not ask them to stay either.
Enma curiously raised his brow at her when he sensed six Hyuga enter the Uzumaki District, heading to their compound.
Izumi stayed with them, and they were soon joined by Hazuki and Himari when they gathered at the Gate of their compound to receive them.
Hyuga Hiashi had come with his two daughters, Hinata and Hanabi, his nephew Neji, and his two trusted servants, Ko and Iroha, who were both Tokubetsu Jonin and Jonin in the Konoha Shinobi Force.
Little Hanabi was trying her best to hide her smile when she saw Enma, and after her father gently patted her head, she grinned and jumped right into the Uzumaki's arms.
"Nii-sama, where is Hiyori?"
"She's mediating inside her room. Come, I will take your to her." Himari took her from Enma's arms and then bowed to Hiashi before walking towards her little daughter's new room.
Once they were gone, the Hyuga followed the Uzumaki Matriarch inside the Hall of Sealings.