"Why won't you let me in? I need to see Lord Hokage!"
"Not today."
"Then when?"
"I don't know. I'll relay your request, but until Lord Hokage summons you, please wait quietly."
The emotionless tone of the Anbu before her made Kushina Uzumaki's fists clench tightly.
After glaring fiercely at the Hokage Building one last time, she turned and stormed off.
As she walked through Konoha's streets, fury burned in her chest.
Yuzuru had been right—Hiruzen Sarutobi really had taken action.
From now on, she wouldn't be able to see Mikoto or Yuzuru again.
"Damn it! Why can't I even have a bit of freedom? What 'Will of Fire'? What 'bonds'? It's all bullshit!"
Fuming, Kushina returned to the Senju compound.
The last remnants of her faith in the village had shattered.
All she wanted now was for Yuzuru's plan to succeed. She couldn't stand living another moment in this gilded cage.
"Kushina, you don't seem to be in a good mood."
Sunbathing in the courtyard, Mito Uzumaki reached out and gently pulled Kushina to sit beside her. "What happened, my child?"
"Grandma Mito, I…"
Seeing her hesitation, Mito rose slowly and led her into the room.
"Kushina, speak freely. No one will overhear us here."
Kushina knelt down beside her. If there was still anyone in Konoha she could trust, it was the woman who had raised her.
"Grandma Mito… if one day I left Konoha, would you blame me?"
Mito froze. "Kushina, why would you ask that?"
"It's nothing. Just… thinking out loud."
Mito smiled softly and brushed a hand over Kushina's red hair. "On the shelf by my bed, there's a scroll. Bring it to me."
"Oh."
Kushina handed it over, and Mito placed the scroll in her hands. "This contains every sealing technique of the Uzumaki clan. From today on, it's yours."
Kushina's eyes widened in disbelief. "Grandma Mito—why are you giving me something so important?"
Mito chuckled. "I was going to leave it to you after I passed away, but I'm afraid one morning I'll wake up and you'll already be gone. Better to give it now."
"Grandma Mito… you won't blame me?" Kushina whispered.
"Silly child," Mito said with a gentle shake of her head. "Why would I blame you? You've made your choice, and I won't stop you."
"I know better than anyone how hard it is to be a jinchūriki."
"Of course, the path you've chosen won't be easy either. No matter where you go, the village won't give up on you easily."
"I'll be careful," Kushina said, then frowned slightly. "Grandma Mito… if your life here has been so difficult, why endure it for so long? With your strength and status, even the Hokage couldn't control you."
Mito sighed. "Hashirama has been gone many years, but as his wife, I wanted to carry on his ideals."
"For the sake of the village, I couldn't act on my own desires. After all these years, I think I've lived up to him."
She paused, her expression distant. "But… I failed the people of Uzushiogakure."
"Kushina, I'm sorry for saying this only now. I hope you won't resent me."
If Kushina hadn't decided to leave, Mito might have carried those words to her grave.
Looking at the frail old woman, Kushina's eyes stung. "I don't blame you, Grandma Mito."
"That's good." Mito smiled and took her hand.
Even someone with Mito's once-great vitality now had hands thin and wrinkled with age.
Rubbing Kushina's soft, pale fingers, she asked curiously, "Kushina, can you tell me what made you decide this?"
Kushina rested her cheek on her palm, the image of that moonlit night rising in her mind.
Her lips curved into a tender smile. "Because I met my hero."
———
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
"Trivial trick."
Fugaku Uchiha snorted coldly, swinging his blade and splitting the massive fireball cleanly in half.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
Dozens of flame-coated shuriken scattered through the air like a storm of fiery blossoms, ricocheting and attacking Fugaku from every angle.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Fugaku formed seals swiftly, his long blade knocking away the incoming shuriken, while his clone handled those attacking from the blind spots behind him.
Clang!
Steel clashed and split apart again in a shower of sparks.
Both Yuzuru Uchiha and Fugaku had their three-tomoe Sharingan spinning furiously.
Their figures flickered across the training ground, movements so fast they blurred into afterimages.
Each strike targeted a vital point—and each was narrowly evaded by the other.
"Yuzuru, this time I'll beat you!" Fugaku declared confidently.
They had agreed not to use any dōjutsu powers, and with pure taijutsu and kenjutsu alone, he believed he had a chance.
Yuzuru didn't reply. He simply answered with sharper, faster strikes.
After a fierce exchange, Fugaku suddenly froze—the cold edge of Yuzuru's blade was resting against his throat.
He had lost.
Even without using their eye techniques, he still wasn't Yuzuru's match.
Yuzuru sheathed his sword slowly. "I don't know what you were hoping for, but this is reality."
Even if he refrained from using his dōjutsu powers, the visual acuity of his Mangekyō Sharingan far surpassed any normal three-tomoe.
And with the enhancements from the system's rewards, he had no weaknesses at all.
To defeat someone with no weaknesses, one needed overwhelming strength—and Fugaku simply didn't have it.
Watching Yuzuru's calm, almost casual expression, Fugaku sighed. "I lost."
"You seem disappointed."
"What do you think?"
He was a recognized prodigy himself, and older than Yuzuru by several years—yet he had been utterly surpassed.
Seeing his expression, Yuzuru consoled him, "You don't need to feel inferior for losing to me. It's like how a butterfly is destined never to cross the ocean, and a firefly need not compete with the bright moon."
Fugaku clenched his fists. "Are you mocking me?"
"No, I'm comforting you."
"Then don't. You have no talent for that."
For once, the usually composed Fugaku nearly ground his teeth to dust.
'Damn it! Why can't someone this infuriating be me?'
Still, he thought, at least he'd have something to dream about tonight.
Just then, Yakumi Uchiha and Inabi Uchiha burst into the courtyard, faces tense.
"Lord Yuzuru, Lord Fugaku—our men have clashed with the Anbu. You'd better come take a look!"
T/n:
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