"You do not understand", Kaito denied. "The goal from the very beginning is that there are no ninjas.
Not only will it benefit ninjas, but also civilians, and everyone.
Of course, this will not bring absolute peace, but at least there will not be wars every five years".
"Do you think I care? As far as I am concerned, all ninjas can die in those wars", Kurama roared.
"I understand, I will offer you something better, your freedom. Not only will you be free, but you will never be hunted again, neither you nor the other tailed beasts".
"And why should I believe you? Why would you set us free? Even if you do not, at some point we will have an opportunity and become free, why cooperate with you?"
Kaito smiled. "It is a bit funny, the answer to both questions is the same.
Why would I set you free? Why should you cooperate instead of waiting for an opportunity?"
Kaito raised an arm to the sky and Kurama was lifted into the air, the moment Kaito clenched his fist, Kurama felt his body being crushed.
"Because that opportunity does not exist. No matter how much time passes, you will not defeat me. I can set you free because I am not afraid of you".
Kaito pulled Kurama's massive body closer, and it became smaller as it approached, as if it were an optical illusion.
Suddenly, Kurama's body began to change, alternating between all the forms of the tailed beasts, transforming into different elements, from earth, which Kaito squeezed until it cracked, to water, which dispersed between his fingers.
"I can do whatever I want with you", Kaito smiled. "And you cannot do anything".
Finally, Kaito returned him to his original position with his original body.
"Oh, and by the way", Kaito moved his hand as if pulling something, the Nine Tails' eyes turned blank before something spherical emerged from inside him and flew into Kaito's hand. "Do not think suicide will work, if I destroy your core you will die forever".
Kaito returned the core inside Kurama, and his eyes came back to life.
"Of course, you can kill Kushina and expel me from this world, but once I find a way to return, I promise you something worse than death".
Kaito approached Kurama's massive body and placed a hand on his head.
"I am offering you a future where you are free, Kurama, but above all, I am offering you a future where you remain alive, because if you become an obstacle…" Kaito did not finish the sentence.
"So, do we have a deal?"
The Nine Tails growled defiantly, but in the end he could only agree with resignation.
"Fine".
Kaito nodded with satisfaction. At that moment, a large number of ninjas arrived around them, trying to attack him.
Without looking, Kaito stopped them all in the air, preventing them from doing anything.
"What is that?" Kurama asked, feeling something connecting to his chakra.
"It is just a teleportation mark, Kushina will use it to leave the village unseen in the future", Kaito replied.
"And why does it use my chakra as an energy source?"
"To appear near you, of course. After all, you are the third member of Tasogare".
"Bastard".
"Did you say something?"
"...nothing".
"Then I will deal with these nuisances", Kaito said, turning toward the frozen ninjas around him. From only a few at the start, there were now almost three hundred, so dense that they almost blocked the entire view.
"Then, Konoha", Kaito said, looking toward where the Third Hokage was. "I will take the Nine Tails".
As he said that, Kaito placed a hand on the Nine Tails.
"You cannot do that, the Nine Tails belongs to R... to Konoha", Danzō managed to shout.
Kaito looked at him with a mocking and defiant gaze. "Why do you not try to take it from me?"
Danzō stopped at his words. Although for some reason they could not understand his conversation, they did see the entire process, from the defiant Nine Tails, the ease with which the mysterious man subdued it, his absurd abilities when changing the Nine Tails' form, and even pulling something out of it that everyone could feel due to its immense power, to the end, when the Nine Tails seemed to submit to the stranger.
Seeing Danzō step back, Kaito mocked him. "Coward".
Leaving those words in the air, Kaito and the Nine Tails disappeared from the place.
The moment they vanished, all the ninjas returned to normal, able to move again and use their chakra normally.
However, none of them moved. Even though the pressure emitted by the mysterious being disappeared, the impression it left was etched into their bones.
Finally, the Hokage reacted.
"Check how many injured there are, count the losses, rescue everyone you can", he instructed the ANBU present at the scene.
"Hiruzen, we lost the Nine Tails. This is the greatest loss in Konoha's history. How will you take responsibility?" Danzō said.
"I will deal with that later. For now, let us interrogate Kushina, we must find out what happened".
"Let Root handle it, we will make sure she only tells the truth".
"Kushina!"
At that moment, like a yellow flash, a young blond man appeared beside Kushina and picked her up with concern.
Hiruzen saw this and shook his head. "That will not be necessary, ANBU will handle it as usual".
"Hiruzen, this is unprecedented, we cannot let emotions guide us".
"Enough, Danzō, I am the Hokage".
"Hiruzen, you will regret this". Saying that, Danzō disappeared from the place.
"Lord Hokage, despite the destruction, no fatalities were found, only minor injuries", an ANBU appeared beside Hiruzen to report.
"None?"
"Absolutely none", the ANBU repeated confidently.
"Keep searching. Even if I would like to believe it, such a coincidence is almost impossible".
"Yes", the ANBU nodded and disappeared.
Soon, Hiruzen noticed something he had completely forgotten. Looking nearby, he realized they were extremely close to Hatake Sakumo's house, but the destruction had not allowed him to notice it before.
He frowned when he did not see him around helping.
"Inoichi".
"Yes, Hokage?" an ANBU asked, appearing at Hiruzen's command.
"Check Hatake's house".
"Understood".
After saying that, Hiruzen simply decided to return to his office, waiting for the investigation results.
---
"Kushina, you are awake".
As soon as Kushina opened her eyes, the first thing she heard was Minato calling her, and her brow furrowed into an irritated expression.
"Minato, why are you always around me?" she asked with visible annoyance.
If it had been years earlier, she would have been happy that someone approached her proactively without ill intentions. However, now knowing about the Hokage, and since Minato was part of his faction, Kushina was visibly distrustful of him.
Completely unaware that Minato was simply in love with her, which was the reason he followed her all the time.
"Ah, I..."
"Kushina, you are awake".
"Third Hokage, welcome", Kushina sat upright at the Hokage's arrival.
"There is no need, you are injured, so you can lie down", the Hokage told her.
"Thank you then, I feel weak", she said, lying back down.
Seeing that she actually lay down again, the Third Hokage was slightly annoyed, but endured it before asking.
"Can you tell us what happened yesterday? The Nine Tails, the mysterious thief, the disappearance of Hatake Sakumo".
"Right!" Kushina sat up abruptly, as if she had just remembered.
'You are clearly fine', the Hokage thought, but did not say it out loud.
"Yesterday I went to see Hatake Sakumo. I wanted to express my condolences regarding his situation, since it seemed extremely unfair and sad to me".
The Hokage felt strange seeing Kushina say this while looking directly at him.
'This girl, could she be doing it on purpose? No, even though she was always lively, she was never someone who understood those things'.
"What happened once you were there?"
"I sensed that there was someone strong and unknown inside his house, so I peeked without being seen.
There was Sakumo talking to a stranger.
I did not hear everything, but I heard Sakumo say that he would join his organization, called Tasogare, and betray the village.
Upon hearing that, of course I jumped out wanting to stop him, but the stranger had already seen me.
He said, 'since I came to Konoha, I might as well take a souvenir', then he approached me, and that is the last thing I remember".
"Uzumaki Kushina, stop being evasive. It is impossible that this is all", Danzō said, suddenly emerging from the shadows.
Kushina immediately became defensive.
"Huh? And who are you, old man? I already said everything I know. If you do not believe me, you can ask others".
"You..." Danzō said angrily.
"Enough, Danzō. Kushina, this is Danzō. He is one of the Hokage's advisors, but he usually stays in the shadows, so it is normal that you do not know him.
As for witnesses, there are no others, so we cannot ask anyone else", Hiruzen explained calmly.
"Oh, shadow old man, sorry for the rudeness then".
"You..."
"Danzō, leave. I will handle the rest".
"Fine, Hiruzen, but do not think I will sit idle while the village lost its greatest weapon because of you". Saying that, he slammed the door and left.
'Danzō will push the Uchiha to their limits, perfect for recruiting them. Once that is done, there will be no need for him to remain alive'.
As Kushina recalled this, she smiled brightly.
Hiruzen thought she was simply a lively young woman, and Minato blushed while feeling happy to see the old Kushina again.
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+15 chapters in advance on Patreon.
p-atreon.com/IAMME26
(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)