Chapter 53: An Audacious Ambition
"Such a powerful pupil technique must have a massive chakra cost, right?" Shinra asked, bringing the conversation back to practical matters.
Mikoto nodded softly. "Yes. With my current chakra and ocular power, I can only use it a maximum of two times a day."
"Is that so? If you could use it indefinitely, you'd be practically invincible!" Kushina exclaimed, her imagination running wild.
"Is this the true power of the Sharingan?" Tsunade murmured, a newfound respect in her voice. "It's... overwhelming. I'm starting to understand how my grandfather had such a difficult time against Uchiha Madara."
'Hah,' Shinra thought to himself, 'if you had seen the First Hokage's Sage Art: True Several Thousand Hands, you'd be marveling at how Uchiha Madara managed to fight him at all.' The sheer scale of that jutsu was enough to make anyone despair. The fact that Madara could stand against it, even with the Nine-Tails as his summon, was a testament to his own monstrous power.
"Tsunade," Shinra said, his tone shifting abruptly. "Do you know when the Nine-Tails will be transferred?"
The question landed like a bomb in the quiet training ground.
Tsunade's eyes widened. "How do you know about that?!" she demanded, her voice sharp with surprise and suspicion. The transfer of a Tailed Beast was one of Konoha's most closely guarded secrets. If not for being Uzumaki Mito's granddaughter, she wouldn't have been privy to the information herself.
Shinra merely offered a mysterious smile. "There aren't many things in the shinobi world that I don't know."
He could feel the subtle shift in the atmosphere. Mikoto and Kushina had fallen completely silent, their eyes darting between him and Tsunade, sensing the sudden gravity in the air.
"Fine, I know you won't tell me how you found out," Tsunade said, her expression turning stern and serious. "But why are you asking? You need to be clear with me."
Shinra saw no reason to hide his intent. "I'm planning to take a portion of the Nine-Tails' chakra. It's very important to me."
"Absolutely not!" Tsunade's refusal was immediate and fierce. "Attacking the Nine-Tails within Konoha? Have you lost your mind?! My grandmother is the current Jinchuriki! This is completely, utterly impossible!"
"Sister Tsunade," Shinra said, his voice calm but unyielding, "I'm sorry, but I must have the Nine-Tails' chakra."
His goal was the Sage of Six Paths Mode. The only path he could see to achieving it was to gather the chakra of all nine Tailed Beasts—or the chakra of the Ten-Tails itself—and fuse it with the Six Paths power already latent within his Tenseigan. If he could acquire the Ten-Tails' chakra, he was confident he could fully awaken a true Six Paths Mode, transcending the pseudo-Six Paths state of his Tenseigan Chakra Mode. The Nine-Tails' power was a non-negotiable piece of that puzzle.
"Shinra, let this go," Tsunade pleaded, her voice softening with genuine concern. "If your designs on the Nine-Tails are discovered, even I won't be able to protect you. The Nine-Tails isn't some docile sheep; it's a cataclysm made flesh."
"Don't worry, Sister Tsunade. I won't put you in a difficult position. If the sealing is successful, I'll withdraw immediately. But if the seal fails... would it be so wrong for me to try and contain the fallout?" he proposed, his logic dangerously smooth.
Tsunade studied his face, seeing the iron resolve in his eyes. She knew this boy. Once his mind was set, no force in the world could deter him. Fighting him would be useless.
"Fine," she relented with a heavy sigh. "I can agree to that. But you have to prove to me you have the strength for it. I won't stand by and watch you march to your death."
"Mikoto can treat the Nine-Tails as a pet now. Do you really think I, who is stronger than her, would do something I'm not sure of?" Shinra replied with a confident chuckle.
"The location is the Konoha Back Mountain. It will happen in ten days. Most of Konoha's high-level combatants will be present, so you must be careful." Having accepted the inevitable, Tsunade could only offer a warning.
"And you must not cause trouble," she added, her voice hardening into a command. "If you hurt my grandmother in any way, I will never forgive you." She was deadly serious. She knew her grandmother's time was near, but she could not bear it if her death was in any way connected to Shinra.
"Don't worry. Unless the Nine-Tails breaks free, I won't make a move," Shinra promised.
He wasn't desperate. If this opportunity didn't pan out, there would be others. With his Tenseigan's sensory abilities, he could have secretly monitored the event without ever telling Tsunade. But he had chosen to be open because he valued his relationship with her. It was better to be honest now than to have her discover his intentions later and feel betrayed.
"Please, do not be reckless. Konoha's strength runs deep. I don't want to see you captured. I wouldn't even know how to begin saving you then."
"There are many who might be able to defeat me in a fight," Shinra admitted, his confidence unshaken. "But there are almost none who can outrun me. If I can't win, I can always escape. You have my word." With his space-time abilities and the speed of light at his disposal, his escape skills were second to none.
"But why?" Tsunade asked, the core question finally spilling out. "Why do you need the Nine-Tails' chakra so badly? Do you want to become a Jinchuriki?"
"That... is a secret for now," Shinra said, a cryptic smile playing on his lips. "And it's not just the Nine-Tails I'm after. I intend to seek out the chakra of all the Tailed Beasts."
His eyes shone with a terrifying, ambitious light.
"You... you truly dare to think it!" Tsunade was aghast. "Do you have any idea what the Tailed Beasts represent?!" In her eyes, he was courting death on a global scale. The Tailed Beasts were the foundational pillars of the Great Villages. To target them was to declare war on the entire shinobi world.
Seeing the unshakable determination in his gaze, Tsunade knew any further argument was futile. She could only let out a long, weary sigh.
"Team... dismissed for today," she announced, her voice heavy. "You're free to train on your own for the next while. With the regional conflicts starting, there are no missions available."
As a Jōnin sensei, her role was to teach her students. But after their earlier spar, it was clear that Kushina and Mikoto's combat skills were already highly refined. And Shinra... he was in a league of his own, far beyond any instruction she could offer.
The shadow of war was lengthening. While full-scale conflict hadn't yet erupted, the villages were on high alert, and every capable Jōnin was being mobilized. It was an unlucky time to graduate; their sensei simply didn't have the time to give them the guidance new genin typically received.
None of this seemed to bother Shinra. With a cheerful demeanor that contrasted sharply with the grim conversation, he took Mikoto and Kushina by the hand and led them home. He had long since moved out of the Hyuga compound. Using his winnings from Tsunade's casino and funds from the wealthy Mikoto, he had purchased a large, comfortable estate on the outskirts of the village. It was a peaceful sanctuary, far removed from the coming storm he himself was preparing to chase.