[Read up to Chapter - 122 on P atreon at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]
.
.
.
.
"Did I make such a promise? Sorry, I don't seem to be able to recall," said Kanzou, shaking his head with an amused smile.
"You… you're going back on your word?" Kushina snapped, her eyes blazing with fury.
If Kanzou didn't release Minato, then everything Kushina had endured for the past hour would've been for nothing!
"Think carefully, what did I actually say back then?" Kanzou asked with a smirk.
"You said you'd release Minato-kun after this…" replied Kushina.
Kanzou shook his head, "No… that's not what I said… you clearly didn't pay attention, did you?" and said, "I said I'd consider letting Namikaze Minato go if I was satisfied. For one… I didn't promise I'd absolutely release him… for two… you haven't satisfied me at all… Yeah, you've hardly reached a level that satisfies me. You don't even know how to cooperate properly, and you don't even call me Daddy, at all… Not only am I unsatisfied, but I'm actually quite displeased. So why should I let Namikaze Minato go?"
The rewards Kanzou had gained stirred his greed; he fully intended to keep exploiting the situation.
Whether it was despicable or not didn't matter to him. To Kushina, he was already a loathsome villain; after all, he had assaulted her twice. This was simply more of the same.
"Think of this as a warm-up. Let's see how you perform next time. And yeah… keep in mind that from now on, you are to call me Daddy when it's just the two of us… Otherwise, Namikaze Minato might just lose his ability to become a Father…"
With that, Kanzou gave her naked bubbly ass another spank, causing more droplets of cum to leak out of her vagina, and got up, beginning to dress himself with unhurried precision while Kushina glared at him, hatred burning behind her eyes.
As he adjusted his pants, Kanzou reached into his pocket, pulled out a small bottle, and tossed it onto the bed beside Kushina. "Here," he said casually. "You might want to keep this with you from now on."
Kushina's eyes flicked to the small bottle that had landed beside her. "What is this?" she asked warily.
"Contraceptive Pills," Kanzou said casually. "They will ensure that you don't get pregnant..." Then, turning to face her with a faint smile, he added, "Unless, of course, you'd prefer bearing my child?"
Her answer came cold and sharp. "I'd rather die."
Bear his child? She can't wait to kill him. Why would she ever want to carry his child? The thought alone made her stomach twist.
In fact, she had even gone to the Konoha Library earlier, searching through shelves of medical scrolls and books for any information that could help her prevent pregnancy after what had happened. There was no way she'd ever allow herself to carry his child.
"Fufu… is that so? Well, that's unfortunate, I suppose," Kanzou chuckled, clearly unconcerned. "In that case, you'd better start taking those pills. The prescription details are inside the bottle."
Kushina clenched her teeth but still reached out and took the bottle in silence.
For better or worse, now that he had given her those pills, she probably wouldn't need to look elsewhere for ways to prevent pregnancy.
And although Kushina saw Uchiha Kanzou as a loathsome man who only knew how to take advantage of her, she didn't believe he was deceiving her this time.
After all, as the Patriarch of the Uchiha Clan and a married man, Kanzou wouldn't want to risk a scandal. If he were to father a child outside of his marriage, it would completely destroy his standing, so even he likely wished to avoid such complications.
Which made her believe that, at the very least, she could trust the authenticity and working of these contraceptive pills.
'Though… what if I don't take them?' For a fleeting moment, Kushina had considered defying him, doing something drastic out of spite to expose his true nature to everyone, to Mikoto.
But the thought faded quickly, 'No… I can't bear to do it.'
Bearing the child of the man who first took advantage of her drunken state, and later coerced her into prostituting herself to him, death was better than that for her. The emotional toll alone would be unbearable, and she knew that Kanzou was the type who might even twist such a situation to his advantage, turning her pain into his victory by framing her as a vixen who seduced him.
She couldn't give him that satisfaction.
Not to mention, as a Jinchūriki, having a child wasn't something she could simply decide on her own. She would need the Hokage's permission, since pregnancy could affect the Nine-Tails' seal, and obtaining that permission would mean exposing everything she wanted to keep hidden.
And above all, she didn't want to bring a child born out of fear and hatred into the world, a child she knew she could never truly love.
So, even if she wanted to expose Kanzou's true nature to Mikoto and everyone, she still decided not to do it by getting pregnant with his child.
Satisfied with her silent acceptance, Kanzou continued getting dressed while Kushina glared at him, her eyes burning with the desire to slit his throat. He, however, paid her no mind.
When he was nearly done, he glanced over his shoulder and said casually, "By the way… You should also spend some time coming up with a story."
"A story?" Kushina frowned. "What kind of story… and for what reason?"
"For Sarutobi Hiruzen," Kanzou replied evenly. "You'll likely be questioned about why I was inside your house. And unless you plan to tell them the truth about what you were doing with me, I suggest you come up with something believable."
"This…!" Kushina froze, panic spreading across her face. In her tension and confusion, she had completely forgotten about the ANBU who secretly shadowed her at all times.
That meant they must have already seen Kanzou enter her home and stay for over an hour. No, it was worse than that. They would also know she had spent the previous night at the Uchiha Compound in Kanzou's house.
The last night could still be explained somehow… since Mikoto was also there… But this? Alone in her own house, with Kanzou, for more than an hour? There was no easy way to justify that.
Her heart pounded as the realization sank in. It was only a matter of time before the Hokage heard about it… No, perhaps he already knew and would summon her for questioning. And she had no idea what to say.
"Hey—" she turned toward Kanzou in a panic, but he was already gone.
The soft click of the closing door was the only answer she received.
"Uchiha Kanzou, you damned bastard… I swear I'll kill you!" she spat, fury flashing in her eyes.
But no matter how loudly she shouted, no one was there to hear her.
Now, alone in her bedroom, she felt hollow and exhausted from what had happened, but there was no time to nurse that numbness. Panic was settling in behind the anger. She had to invent a believable story—fast.
And it wasn't just her story she had to worry about, she also needed to clean herself up, along with the bedroom that still carried the lingering stench of what had happened.
After all, what if, instead of summoning her to the Hokage Building, Sarutobi Hiruzen decided to come to her house directly? What would she do then?
"Damn it…" she hissed through clenched teeth, forcing herself to stand despite the unrelenting pain. Clutching the bottle of contraceptive pills in her hand, she made her way toward the bathroom.
…
Soon after Kanzou left Kushina's house, news of his visit, since he hadn't bothered to conceal it this time, was immediately relayed to the Hokage.
Of course, a few details were altered; for instance, instead of claiming he had stayed for over an hour, the report stated that he had only been there for two or three minutes before leaving.
And the one who received the information… it wasn't just the Hokage, but also Shimura Danzō.
Although the identity of the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki was a tightly held secret, the top brass of Konoha knew the truth.
Without any surprises, when Danzō heard that the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki had come into contact with Uchiha Kanzou, even taking him to her home, there was no way he could stay holed up in his den.
He headed straight for the Hokage Building, pushed open the door to Sarutobi Hiruzen's office, and walked in without hesitation, speaking bluntly.
"Hiruzen," Danzō said coldly, "I demand custody of the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki. She must be placed under Root's protection. Uchiha Kanzou already has his eyes on her. We cannot allow him to gain control of the Nine Tails." Adding, "As I've said multiple times already, Uzumaki Kushina must not be allowed to remain outside Root."
Hiruzen frowned at Danzō's words and immediately rejected the proposal. "I've already told you, Uzumaki Kushina will not be handed over to Root."
He didn't trust Danzō, not with something as dangerous and important as the Nine Tails' Jinchūriki.
Danzō had made this request many times before, but Hiruzen had consistently refused.
"What I don't understand," Hiruzen muttered, "is how Uchiha Kanzou even knows that Uzumaki Kushina is the Nine Tails' Jinchūriki."
That detail troubled him deeply.
"Humph… must be the incompetence of one of your subordinates or something…" snorted Danzō.
Hiruzen really didn't know what to say… because what Danzō said is quite likely to be the case.
Seeing Hiruzen not denying, Danzō mocked the Hokage further, "When I suggested wiping out the Uchiha clan together, you didn't agree. Regret it now?"
Hiruzen closed his eyes, letting out a long breath.
No… he didn't regret not attacking the Uchiha clan back then.
If they had taken that path, the outcome might've been far worse than what they were dealing with now.
"Uchiha Kanzou has approached the Nine Tails' Jinchūriki. Your own disciple, Jiraiya, and his favored disciple, Namikaze Minato, have been arrested and imprisoned by him. So tell me, Hiruzen, what are you planning to do?"
Danzō still didn't know that not only Minato, but the other two members of Team 6 had also been locked up in the Police Station.
But then again, those two are sort of unimportant, so even if he knew, he wouldn't care.
Regardless, his question left Hiruzen momentarily speechless.
Uchiha Kanzou was like a hedgehog, covered in barbs, impossible to touch without injury. Any action taken against him would likely cause just as much harm to the village itself.
"I propose we unite all of Konoha's strength and wipe out the Uchiha clan once and for all," Danzō declared.
His obsession with destroying the Uchiha hadn't wavered in the slightest.
"Can you handle the Uchiha clan's two Mangekyō Sharingan users?" Hiruzen asked flatly.
There was no way he could agree to Danzō's reckless suggestion.
Starting a civil war now, with the other great shinobi villages watching Konoha like hawks, would be a disaster.
Even if Hiruzen suspected that Kanzou was deliberately trying to spark the Third Great Shinobi War, he couldn't afford to completely turn against him. Not yet.
Hiruzen had known ever since Kanzou's Tsukuyomi struck his mind that Kanzou could no longer be underestimated.
Now, with his condition still unrecovered, how could he possibly engage in a battle against the Uchiha? Danzō was simply being reckless.
"This is all your fault, Hiruzen, for doing nothing when it mattered," Danzō snapped, shifting the blame onto him.
But the truth was, Danzō himself was intimidated by the sheer threat posed by two Mangekyō Sharingan awakeners.
Without Hiruzen's support to launch a joint assault on the Uchiha, Danzō wouldn't dare make a move on his own.
When Hiruzen once again refused to ally with him against the Uchiha clan, Danzō stormed out in frustration, "Still indecisive as ever… you'd regret this indecisiveness more and more in the future…!"
As for the idea of placing the Nine Tails' Jinchūriki under Root's control, he didn't even bother bringing it up again.
He knew full well that Hiruzen would never entrust the Jinchūriki to him.
Hiruzen watched as Danzō left in frustration, the door slamming shut behind him, but he said nothing.
If not for the poor state of his spirit at the moment, he might have seriously considered Danzō's proposal. But as things stood, agreeing now would be nothing short of suicide.
Sighing lightly, he lit his smoking pipe, then glanced towards the window… the direction in which he looked at… It's the same area where Kushina's house is located.
'I… will have to check up on Kushina…' he thought.
Although Uchiha Kanzou had only stayed at Kushina's house for two to three minutes… he, who knows of Kanzou's Mangekyō Sharingan Ocular Jutsu having personally experienced its power, knows that for Kanzou, an instant is enough to defeat almost anyone…
Therefore, his concern wasn't just for Kushina; it was for the Nine-Tails itself.
He didn't want Uchiha Kanzou to have done anything to the Nine-tails.
'I hope nothing's happened…' he thought, pushing himself up from his chair and deciding to head to her house immediately.
But just as he rose to his feet, a sudden wave of blinding pain struck him in the head, draining his strength and forcing him to collapse back into his seat.
"Hokage-sama!"
The ANBU hidden around the office panicked as they saw the Hokage begin to collapse. They immediately appeared at his side, supporting him before he could hit the ground.
"I… haaah… haaah… I'm all right… haaah…" Hiruzen said weakly, waving a hand as he steadied himself with both arms taking support of the table.
"Hokage-sama… you need to rest…" the ANBU said, worried about Hiruzen's condition.
"I need… haaah… Tsunade here… haaah… quickly," Hiruzen managed between heavy breaths. He didn't have the luxury of rest—not with Uchiha Kanzou running rampant through Konoha and the other Kage watching for any sign of weakness to strike.
"We're working on it, Hokage-sama," one of the ANBU replied.
"Then work faster," Hiruzen said, wiping away the thin trail of blood starting to trickle from his nose. Straightening himself with effort, he added, "I need to check on Kushina."
"We can summon her here instead," the ANBU suggested, clearly worried. "It would be better for you to rest, Hokage-sama."
"No… I have to go there personally," Hiruzen said, shaking his head. Kanzou could have left something behind at Kushina's home, a seal, perhaps, or something else that could later be used to manipulate or contain the Nine-Tails. He needed to make sure the tailed beast was truly secure within Kushina.
With that, he said nothing more and walked out, despite the throbbing in his head and the dizziness that made it hard to focus on anything.
…
Kanzou had no idea that Danzō had approached Hiruzen with a proposal to wipe out the Uchiha clan.
If Kanzou had known, he wouldn't have hesitated to lead the Uchiha clan in annihilating the Root organization first. And he was confident that even if he destroyed Root, Hiruzen wouldn't dare to retaliate… especially not in his current condition.
Even if Hiruzen wanted to retaliate and classify him and his Uchiha Clan as traitors, Kanzou still wasn't afraid…
The side effects of using the Mangekyō Sharingan have completely disappeared after acquiring the Sage Body of the Uzumaki clan, not to mention, his visual prowess had significantly increased, and the chakra consumption of his Mangekyō had decreased.
With the way he is now… he can be as reckless as possible with his Mangekyō Sharingan alone.
Additionally, the boost in his chakra reserves allowed him to maintain Ryūjin Jakka's Shikai for longer durations.
At this point, Kanzou could go toe-to-toe with the entire Konoha, just with the Uchiha clan at his back.
Not caring about any of these things, Kanzou had already returned to the Police Station.
As soon as Kanzou returned, Souta and Shin entered his office with their reports.
Souta spoke first, handing over a file. "Kanzou-sama, we've imprisoned these two individuals. They're squadmates of Namikaze Minato and were caught snooping around the Police Station around the time Uzumaki Kushina came to visit."
"Oh?" Kanzou murmured as he opened the file, glancing at the photos inside. "Minamoto Dekai… and Irie Naoki."
In Kanzou's opinion, these two are insignificant individuals and don't care much about them.
He closed the file and said indifferently, "Hmm… it doesn't matter. They're unimportant. Keep them imprisoned for now."
Of course, just because they were unimportant didn't mean Kanzou would let them off for trying to snoop around the Police Station. They'd remain imprisoned for a while.
Since Kanzou showed no further interest in the two, Souta fell silent, allowing Shin to step forward.
"Patriarch," Shin began, "I managed to get something out of Namikaze Minato."
Kanzou raised an eyebrow. "Got something out of him? What do you mean?"
"A hint that Namikaze Minato might possess a powerful jutsu," Shin said with a grin.
"Oh…" Kanzou muttered, his interest waning immediately.
Seeing his lack of enthusiasm, Shin hurried to elaborate. "Patriarch, Namikaze Minato is Jiraiya's most favored disciple. The jutsu he might have, it might be something from the Scroll of Seals."
Shin believed that mentioning the Scroll of Seals would make Kanzou grasp the gravity of the situation. After all, the Scroll contained many of the most powerful, significant, and forbidden jutsu in Konoha. It was unfortunate that the Uchiha clan had never been granted access to it—if they had, they certainly would have tried to learn from its contents.
Kanzou nodded. "I know. And I also know the jutsu Namikaze Minato possesses. Don't concern yourself over it—I've already acquired it. There's nothing to worry about."
"Huh?" Shin was taken aback, a flicker of disappointment crossing his face. He had planned to extract the jutsu from Minato himself, but if Kanzou already had it, then the information he'd uncovered was worthless.
After a brief pause, Shin only shrugged and forced a smile. "As expected of you, Patriarch."
"Fufu~," Kanzou chuckled softly.
The jutsu Shin had hinted at was, of course, the Flying Raijin.
Once, Kanzou might have been eager to pursue it—he had even intended to use this very situation to make Minato reveal its secrets. But now, there was no need. He had already obtained it through Kushina, and there was probably nothing else Minato possessed that could possibly interest him.
'Ah… come to think of… There is something, or rather someone… Uzumaki Kushina herself. But not anymore, I guess… Fufu~'
.
.
.
.
Drop Power Stonessssssssss!
[Read up to Chapter - 122 on P atreon at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]