During the Nine-Tails' rampage, Kushina whom her Tailed Beast already mostly extracted and her life hanging by a thread declared firmly, 'I still have enough chakra to forcibly drag the Nine-Tails back into my body, suppress it, and die together with it.'
…Wait, what?
Is that even humanly possible?
And doesn't the Nine-Tails have any dignity left?
But Kushina wasn't exaggerating. The Adamantine Sealing Chains were simply that overwhelming; a sealing technique so abnormal that even with a tiny amount of chakra, it could bind the Nine-Tails.
It happened on that night sixteen years ago, and it happened again when she appeared inside Naruto's subconscious sixteen years later.
With only a sliver of chakra remaining as she hovered on the edge of death, she still suppressed the Nine-Tails for a long time, long enough to speak with Naruto, sharing the details of that terrible night.
Thinking of this, Uchiha Gen suddenly remembered a certain outrageous fan-fiction he had once read. The story revolved around Naruto and Kushina inside the spiritual space.
Its title? Mom's Red Hair.
The premise went like this; inside Naruto's mind, the Nine-Tails suppressed his consciousness, leaving only his body under control. The beast then threatened Kushina with Naruto's life. To buy time to rescue her son, Kushina had no choice but to lower herself, endure the Nine-Tails' revenge inside the consciousness space, and 'fight' for three hundred rounds straight. In the end, she saved Naruto only after all possible positions had been exhausted. [T/L: Nani? is this for real? can someone confirm lol]
When young Gen stumbled across it, the experience left such a vivid scar that it nearly shattered his worldview on the spot.
Unfortunately, as time passed, that manga website had long since 'evolved' into gentleman-only sites. His precious bookmark… forever gone.
Ahem. Back to the point.
Inside her body, Kushina had the Nine-Tails shackled. Its massive form was nailed down and locked by chains, every tail pinned. With her Uzumaki constitution as the foundation, it would've been child's play for her to seize a large portion of its chakra.
Developing a full Tailed Beast Chakra Mode, like Yugito or Gaara, without actually releasing the Nine-Tails' will? Not difficult at all.
Granted, the Nine-Tails was the hardest of the beasts to subdue. But still not impossible.
After all, Uzumaki Mito hadn't taught Kushina just basic control techniques. She had passed down the key to becoming a perfect jinchūriki.
That key was simple yet profound; As a vessel for a Tailed Beast, one must fill oneself with love.
For the Uzumaki, ordinary control over a Tailed Beast was hardly worth mentioning.
Mito hadn't achieved perfection, but she showed Kushina the path. Kushina didn't achieve it either, but she passed it on to Naruto. And Naruto, finally, succeeded.
Kushina's ability to manipulate the Nine-Tails' chakra was undeniable. During the Fourth Great Ninja War, the Nine-Tails itself admitted, 'Naruto's ability to transmit and attune chakra surpasses even his parents.'
That meant both Minato and Kushina had extremely high levels of chakra manipulation in their lifetimes.
Kushina's ceiling, then, should have been at least equal to Yugito's level as a half-perfect jinchūriki, while her floor was no weaker than Naruto's Golden Chakra Mode.
And honestly? The combo of Golden Mode Kushina plus Adamantine Chains might've been deadlier than Golden Mode Naruto plus Rasenshuriken. Naruto's fundamentals and brains were not exactly his strongest points.
Now that Minato had already split the Nine-Tails in half, controlling just one half should have been even easier for Kushina. Forcing the Nine-Tails into submission, reconciliation, or even domination wasn't something far-fetched.
Even if she couldn't do it right away, she eventually would.
Compared to her, how could Hiruzen Sarutobi possibly measure up? Even in his prime, the old 'Professor' would never be Kushina's opponent.
This, in fact, was one of the reasons Gen hadn't yet revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan; why flaunt strength recklessly when Kushina herself was a force of nature?
Mangekyō plus Homies was still not quite enough to overturn the world…
Kushina had grown up in Konoha, and Minato's influence later deepened her love for the village. Of course, that love, no matter how deep, couldn't surpass the love she held for her child. For a mother, her son always came first; the husband, second.
But while Kushina was mighty, she wasn't without weaknesses. In fact, she had plenty and Naruto was the biggest of them all.
She was fundamentally a kind person, and kind people were easily targeted.
Inside Kushina's sealing space, the Nine-Tails' Yin half raised its massive fox head. It had long been reduced to her nightly punching bag, endlessly suppressed by her chains. Yet tonight, it snorted, "Hmph. This Uchiha brat's got some taste."
Kushina ignored it, lowering the hand that covered her smile. "Don't talk about me," she chuckled. "You're the protagonist today."
"And then?" someone prompted.
"Then the Hidden Mist avoided clashing head-on. They dragged us into a war of attrition. That's when I encountered the true culprit behind the Nine-Tails' release."
His tone darkened. "Fortunately, I sensed something off and called on Orochimaru-sensei. We prevented his plan from succeeding and even managed to recover the Uchiha clan's ancestral war fan."
Mikoto had told her of this before, but to Kurenai and the others, it was all news. They leaned forward eagerly as Gen began recounting the night's events in detail. Everyone listened silently, their meals forgotten.
Even Mikoto hadn't known all the particulars.
"…I don't know why," Gen admitted. "Maybe because I was in contact with that mysterious man for so long. But he gave me a strange feeling—as if I'd seen him somewhere before."
Everyone exchanged uneasy glances.
"Gen," Kushina said, her voice sharp, her long red hair writhing as though alive, "if you ever learn that man's whereabouts, you must tell me."
Her hatred for the masked man was bottomless. Her husband had died because of him; she and her son had nearly followed. Konoha had lost countless lives and resources. Entire families were shattered.
And because of that incident, she and Naruto had been ostracized by their own village. No one confronted them directly, but whispers spread everywhere, neighbors avoided them, and the air was thick with unspoken blame.
Kushina could endure such treatment—she'd been through worse. But she would not allow her son to suffer the same.
"I will," Gen promised.
"After that," he continued, "the Hidden Mist struck again... frontline feints, with ambushes against our rear supply stations. Thirty ninja in total: ten jōnin, five special jōnin, fifteen chūnin. Half of the jōnin were bloodline users or secret technique specialists."
"Fortunately, Orochimaru-sensei and I anticipated their move. We deceived them from the front, then circled behind and struck. The ambushers were wiped out completely. Then we returned to the frontlines and crushed the Mist's forces outright."
"At that point, the Mist were finished. Even with reinforcements, they were forced into a passive position."
He sighed. "But just as victory was within reach, Orochimaru-sensei and I were transferred immediately to the Kumogakure front. The fruits of victory… were handed to Hokage's eldest son, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, and Deputy Commander Nara Shikaku."
Dissatisfaction rippled through the group. Even Itachi and Shisui frowned, while Anko slapped the table, her voice sharp with indignation.
"The Third Hokage really mishandled that!" she said.
Kushina shook her head. "Perhaps. But what can you do? Favoritism runs deep. Sometimes you can't fight a battle you're not meant to win."
Gen chuckled, waving off the gloom. "Enough of that. Today's a happy day. No need to sour it with old grudges."
"I've said plenty already. Your turn. Tell me some stories—missions, funny things, daily life. Who's first?"
He wore a smile, but everyone could see the heaviness beneath it. Their resentment toward the village elders, especially the Third Hokage, deepened. His shining golden image didn't break, but it dimmed. Cracks were visible now.
The real aim had been to sow awareness in Itachi and Shisui. The others' reactions were just a bonus.
"I'll go first!" Anko said eagerly, hand shooting up.
"Good. Anko, you start," Gen encouraged her with a grin.
She puffed her chest. "Two months ago, I had a day off, so I went shopping…"
One by one, they began sharing their stories. The dining hall filled with laughter. Even Big Pillar and Little Pillar chimed in with baby babble, making the scene warm and lively.
An hour later, everyone leaned back full and content. The men and children lounged and chatted while the women tidied up with practiced ease. Soon after, as the little ones clamored for bed, the guests departed one by one.
The cheerful bustle faded, but Gen didn't linger on sentimentality. He washed up quickly, slipped under his blanket, and closed his eyes—ready to greet tomorrow.