Turning to Sleep Koharu stared at Ryoma with a terrified expression, as if she were seeing a ghost. She kept backing away.
"Don't come any closer!"
"Help!"
"Where are the ANBU?!"
Her screams were quickly answered—masked ANBU appeared one by one beside Sakumo Hatake and Minato Namikaze.
"Lord Sakumo, Lord Minato, what's going on?" one of them asked.
Both Sakumo and Minato held high-ranking ANBU positions, and with the village leader absent, the ANBU naturally took their orders from them.
But when they saw Koharu's miserable state, all of them froze.
This was Elder Koharu of the Konoha Council? One of the village's top administrators?
And that young man standing there—wasn't it Ryoma?
The scene was so shocking that the ANBU didn't dare act rashly.
Minato frowned. "Ryoma, listen to me. Don't do anything reckless."
"Shut up!"
Ryoma's cold gaze fell on Minato as he grabbed Koharu.
Koharu quickly tried to form hand seals, but roots burst from the ground and bound her arms.
Sakumo stepped forward. "Ryoma, whatever it is, wait until Lord Hokage returns. Don't act rashly."
"Impulsive?" Ryoma sneered. "White Fang, what would you do if your son Kakashi was captured and forced into becoming the Two-Tails' jinchūriki?"
Sakumo sighed. "Even so, you cannot take justice into your own hands."
"Justice?" Ryoma smirked. "I wouldn't call this justice. People like them don't deserve that word."
With that, Ryoma hurled Koharu in front of the Two-Tails, Matatabi.
Koharu looked up, her face pale as she met the beast's massive, glowing eyes. She froze in terror.
Even Matatabi hesitated, glancing warily at Ryoma, unwilling to make a move.
Meanwhile, Danzo Shimura and Homura Mitokado, who had been preparing to intervene, were suddenly blocked by Ryoma's clones.
"Ryoma, what do you think you're doing?!" Danzo roared. "Don't act recklessly! We only followed Lady Mito's advice when we activated the Four Purple Flame Formation to protect Konoha!"
Homura added quickly, "That's right, Ryoma. You're going too far. Yes, Elder Koharu may have made mistakes, but this isn't the way—"
Ryoma simply raised a hand. Homura fell silent immediately, his body stiff as if anticipating the worst.
Behind them, several ninjas from the Mitokado and Utatane clans gathered protectively.
But Ryoma only chuckled. He scratched his head casually and said, "No need to get so nervous. I just want to ask you two—how exactly did you seal the Two-Tails and bring it here?"
Danzo studied Ryoma quietly, suspicion flickering in his eyes.
Ryoma's tone hardened. "Will you come here willingly, or do I have to make you?"
"Watch your tone, boy!" one of the council's loyal shinobi snapped.
"Silence."
Roots shot up and wrapped around the man, binding him tightly like a cocoon. His eyes were left uncovered, filled with panic as he struggled uselessly.
On Kushina's side, Matatabi lowered its head and tried to sneak away, hoping Ryoma's attention was elsewhere.
But the moment it turned, its limbs were ensnared by more roots and vines.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Matatabi groaned.
Kushina quickly reinforced the bindings with her Adamantine Sealing Chains, restraining the beast once again.
"Lord Sakumo, what should we do?" an ANBU whispered.
Minato looked to Sakumo. "Senior?"
Sakumo's expression darkened. "We wait. Ryoma still seems rational—he hasn't killed them."
After a heavy silence, Danzo and Homura relented, following Ryoma toward the restrained Two-Tails.
Uzumaki Mito let out a cold snort. "Danzo. Homura. Koharu. You've really outdone yourselves."
Danzo bowed his head. "Lady Mito, what do you mean? Everything we've done was with your consent."
"You're lying!" Kushina snapped angrily.
Danzo glanced at her with disdain. "Is that so?"
Ryoma suddenly smiled. "You addressed her as Lady Mito, which means you admit it. Now that I've subdued the Two-Tails, didn't you say just moments ago that Kushina would make a perfect host?"
Danzo paled. "I don't know anything about that."
"Yes, Ryoma, you're mistaken," Homura added quickly. "Whatever Lady Mito chooses to do, that's her decision. We had nothing to do with it."
Koharu, still trembling on the ground, echoed them desperately, "Yes! Yes, it was all Lady Mito's will!"
Uzumaki Mito's gaze grew icy as she looked down at them.
Kushina's chest heaved with anger as he jabbed a finger at the three. "You lot are really calculating!"
Ryoma cut him off and fixed them with a cold look. "Tell me—would any of you make good hosts for the Two-Tails?"
The three froze as if someone had punched the wind out of them. Faces drained of color. Sakumo, Minato, even Uzumaki Mito looked stunned.
They understood what Ryoma was implying: jinchūriki.
A chill passed through the room.
Becoming a jinchūriki wasn't just a mark of strength — it was a sentence. Their families would never look at them the same way; they would no longer be wholly human, forever bound to a beast. Sooner or later the tailed beast could overwhelm them, and they would be devoured from within.
And being turned into the Two-Tails' jinchūriki wasn't an honor in Konoha — it was being stripped of freedom, turned into a living weapon, monitored and used by the village until you had no life of your own. Political careers, personal plans, any chance at a normal future — all gone. Who would want that?
Ryoma didn't actually intend to kill them.
His point was darker and simpler: forcing someone into the Two-Tails was like planting a bomb under their life. The bomb wouldn't harm him — but when it went off, it would blow them to pieces and make them pay for crossing him.
...
TN:
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