"Th-this... what happened here?" Raizen had seen many things in his life, but faced with the scene before him, he could not help but stutter nervously for the first time in a long while.
"You know I use an energy different from chakra, right?" Kushina asked.
"Yes, but... what does that have to do with the current situation?"
"Well, I tried using that energy to replicate tailed beast bombs," Kushina explained.
Both Raizen and anyone who had managed to become a jōnin had a certain level of combat intelligence, so with those words and the current state of the terrain, they could easily deduce what had happened, still, Raizen felt the need to confirm it.
"So... what we felt earlier was your attack?"
Kushina scratched her cheek, embarrassed.
"That's right, I didn't expect it to be so powerful, and for no one to manage to escape."
"Kushina, don't joke around," Raizen said with extreme seriousness. "It was ten thousand men, hundreds of jōnin, two jinchūriki, even the Tsuchikage, and you're saying that... that you defeated all of them with a single attack...?"
Before he could finish, Kushina threw him a sealing scroll.
A normal ninja would not have recognized them, but as a jōnin, how could he fail to recognize Iwa's two jinchūriki and the supposedly invincible Tsuchikage?
"This... is incredible. Kushina..." Raizen said, looking at her seriously and with a bit of suspicion. "It's not that I don't trust you, but these are not ordinary people."
"It's fine, I was surprised too. In fact, the Tsuchikage seemed seriously injured and didn't even try to attack, and the two jinchūriki never used their beasts' chakra, they were only at the level of ordinary jōnin," Kushina explained.
"The Tsuchikage injured and two jinchūriki not using their greatest weapon... if that's the case, it makes sense. Something probably happened in Iwa, that's why they tried a full scale attack to end the war.
Even though we have no proof of that, it makes more sense than the current situation," Raizen theorized.
He did not doubt Kushina, not only because he trusted her after going through life and death situations together, but also because something capable of injuring the Tsuchikage and preventing the jinchūriki from resorting to the Four Tails and Five Tails could not be hidden, surely Konoha's high command already knew about it, so lying would have been pointless.
"Still..." Raizen said, looking at the crater. "I understand about the genin and chūnin, many ninjas can kill them with simple attacks, and if it weren't for the enormous range of this attack, there would already be precedents. But wiping out hundreds of jōnin and even a Tsuchikage, even if he's weakened, with a single attack... that's impossible."
"That's because I don't use chakra," Kushina replied, having prepared an excuse. "The energy I use is more powerful, it doesn't simulate elements, it actually creates them. That not only makes it stronger than chakra, it also damages ninjas more, since they're used to defending only against chakra and have no defenses against mana."
"Also..." she added. "The Tsuchikage didn't die instantly, he survived, and I had to finish him off."
Raizen nodded, it matched the wounds on the corpse.
"And also..."
"What's wrong?" he asked, seeing her look embarrassed and sad at the same time.
"Well... he gave me a name," Kushina said softly. "The Red Haired Demon."
Raizen heard that and let out a laugh.
"Red Haired Demon... yeah, I guess from his point of view, you're a demon who destroyed his entire force.
But for Konoha, you're a heroine who prevented a catastrophe that would have caused thousands of casualties.
Remember, Kushina, even if he wanted to curse you, that's just proof of the fear your strength inspires. Use that strength for the village and carry that name with pride."
"But..."
This time, Raizen did not let her continue. He turned toward the jōnin who were waiting without understanding anything, raised the scroll, and shouted.
"The Red Haired Demon, Kushina, wiped out Iwa's ten thousand men, including the Tsuchikage, with a single attack."
The jōnin fell silent, stunned. Some were still looking around in confusion before Raizen spoke, and although they had imagined many scenarios that could have led to the current situation, this was not one of them.
After a few seconds of silence and disbelief, one of them shouted excitedly.
"Long live the Red Haired Demon!"
"Long live Kushina!"
That ignited everyone.
"The Red Haired Demon!"
"Kushina!"
"She killed two jinchūriki at once!"
"She defeated the Tsuchikage!"
"Praise be...!"
One shout encouraged the others and turned into a group ovation for Kushina.
Meanwhile, when Hiruzen learned that Iwa had sent all its forces, he also gathered an equivalent army, even withdrawing troops from the Kumo front, weakening it temporarily, but enduring it for the greater good.
Two days later, that force arrived at the front against Iwa.
It was worth noting that Kushina, traveling at a normal pace, had taken almost a week, so arriving in a little over two days, including organization time, demonstrated the speed of response and the importance of the operation.
And the formation was no less formidable.
At the front was none other than Shikaku Nara, the war's chief strategist and one of the Third Hokage's most trusted people.
As expected, the rest of the Ino Shika Cho trio was also there, clans under the Hokage's direct command.
Even so, he had the same shocked expression as everyone else.
"We're talking about..."
"An army of ten thousand men, hundreds of jōnin, thousands of chūnin and genin, two jinchūriki, and the Tsuchikage," Raizen completed, repeating it for the umpteenth time in recent days.
Raizen explained everything in detail, including Kushina's observations.
Shikaku listened carefully, analyzing the situation and comparing it with recent information.
"If someone capable of defeating the Tsuchikage in less than ten moves exists, even without intent to kill, it's logical that he would be injured. And if Tasogare intercepted the Five Tails, that fits too. Also, it makes sense that ninjas have no resistance to that energy... even so, even with these advantages, this still places her at the level of a tailed beast or a Kage," Shikaku thought, estimating Kushina's strength.
"The feat was still absurd."
For Shikaku, the village's future already seemed decided.
"I understand, Lord Raizen. We must return and inform the Third Hokage. I'm sorry I can't greet the heroine this time, but the situation is urgent," he said, turning around.
He knew this would completely change the balance, and that Kushina's fame might even surpass that of the Sannin.
But before he could leave, a voice stopped him.
"Lord Shikaku."
"Miss Kushina," Shikaku said, immediately turning and responding respectfully, feeling an invisible pressure when he saw her that he had not felt before. It was not strength, it was simply the importance Kushina now had, something that someone like Shikaku, who always looked to the future, noticed much more clearly than others.
He knew he had to treat Kushina with the utmost respect and be careful with his next words. "First of all, let me thank you for everything you did for the village. You are a heroine to Konoha, and your efforts will definitely be rewarded," he said with a bow. Then, with an expression full of guilt and apology, he continued, "I'm sorry I can't stay, but the situation is very serious and the entire village is under pressure, so conveying the good news is extremely important."
"Don't worry, that's not why," Kushina said with a calm smile.
Then she added,
"Many of these people came from the front against Kumo, right? The situation there must be terrible. Now that everything here is over, I want to go help.
With my strength and speed, I can get there quickly and be useful while reinforcements arrive. Many comrades are there, including Minato, with whom I have a close friendship."
______________________________________
Hey, I just published the first chapters of a new fic: To Love Ru: Chaos.
If you're interested or want to support me, go read it and leave some Power Stones.
But it's literally the complete opposite of this series, so I recommend reading the 'Before You Read' section to see if you'll like it.
+15 chapters in advance on Patreon.
p-atreon.com/IAMME26
(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)