After handing the ninja sword over to ANBU for a custom sheath, Yu Ye returned to the surface.
He didn't wander around the village, didn't take on any new missions, and had no interest in getting tangled up with the Uchiha clan again. Instead, he went straight home.
Yu Ye's residence was no longer the old, shabby hut from before. He had moved closer to the center of Konoha.
After all, he was now an ANBU candidate.
Some full ANBU members even lived directly within ANBU facilities so they could respond at a moment's notice.
Back home, Yu Ye made some plans and decided to intensify his training.
This trip outside the village—and the battles he had gone through—had greatly improved his mastery over his power. His next objective was clear: further strengthening his body.
The sky was already growing dark. There was clearly no time to train today, so Yu Ye decided to resume proper training starting tomorrow.
In truth, even while carrying out missions with Might Dai, Yu Ye had never stopped training.
Running long distances strengthened his body.
Sneaking, hiding, and tracking enemies refined his bodily control and chakra control.
"Tonight, I'll just rest properly."
Stretching lazily, Yu Ye stepped out of the house, leapt up, and landed on the rooftop, quietly admiring the scenery of Konoha.
The sun was just about to set. The final rays of sunset brushed across the Hokage Rock, making the three carved faces seem to radiate a faint aura—an imposing presence that felt as if it ruled over the entire shinobi world.
Yu Ye appeared almost to blend into that aura. Though he faced the three Hokage, it felt as though he was standing among them—perhaps even above one.
The sun did not linger.
Soon, it dipped fully below the horizon, and darkness fell.
At that moment, Yu Ye casually glanced downward—and paused in mild surprise when he noticed a familiar figure.
A girl stood below.
Yu Ye's eyes flickered with surprise, but after thinking about it, it didn't seem unexpected at all.
At the Door of Yu Ye's Home
Kushina Uzumaki came to Yu Ye's place every day.
Yu Ye and Might Dai had left the village in a hurry to carry out a mission and hadn't told her. Still, with a little asking around, she had been able to find out.
She came every day.
And every day, the place was empty.
While worrying about Yu Ye, she also felt an inexplicable sense of loneliness.
"Honestly, that idiot left the village without even telling me," Kushina muttered, stamping her foot in front of the door.
"And at a time like this! Doesn't he care about his own safety at all?!"
Her worry and loneliness quickly turned into irritation.
"When he comes back, I'm definitely going to beat him up!"
That sentence nearly made Yu Ye stumble straight off the roof.
The first half filled him with warmth—and guilt.
The second half instantly gave him a headache.
"Eh… wait a second."
Just as Kushina's expression softened again and she was about to leave, her eyes suddenly flickered.
"Why does it feel like someone's been inside?"
She stepped closer to the door and took a careful look.
"Cough."
At this point, Yu Ye had no way to keep hiding. He jumped down from the roof and appeared behind her.
"Good evening," he said calmly.
"..."
Kushina turned around and stared blankly at him.
Then—
She exploded.
"You think this is a good evening?!"
She lunged at Yu Ye, claws out.
"Cough—!"
Yu Ye did feel apologetic for leaving the village without a word. But as Kushina pounced, he reflexively reached out and caught her slender wrist.
"Let go of me!"
She struggled twice but couldn't break free, glaring at him threateningly.
Unfortunately, her threats were completely ineffective against Yu Ye.
"Not letting go," he said. "Unless you calm down."
Kushina ground her teeth, but she couldn't overpower him. In the end, she had no choice but to give in.
"Don't ever disappear like that again, okay…" she said angrily.
"Even if you don't care about yourself, at least think about other people!"
Her chest rose and fell slightly after she spoke.
But Yu Ye caught something off in her eyes.
And her tone—uncharacteristically soft—was completely different from her usual fiery personality.
"Did something happen?" Yu Ye asked.
"N-no. Nothing happened."
Kushina's gaze shifted away.
Which only confirmed that something had happened.
Yu Ye also caught a hint of fear in her eyes.
What was she afraid of?
He was still confused—
Until Kushina spoke again, hesitantly, her voice trembling slightly.
"Yu Ye… if—if I turned into a monster… what would you think of me?"
When she asked that, her heart trembled.
At this moment, she wasn't the fiery "Red-Hot Habanero."
She was just a frightened girl, filled with fear and uncertainty.
If it had been anyone else, they would have thought she was joking.
But Yu Ye understood immediately.
The Nine-Tails.
Had Kushina already become the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki?
But there had been no news of Mito Uzumaki, the previous Nine-Tails jinchūriki, passing away.
Even if it had been kept secret, Yu Ye couldn't sense anything unusual from Kushina.
Was it because the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques were that powerful?
No… something didn't quite add up.
The timeline here was vague even in the original canon. The exact details of this period were unclear, meaning Yu Ye would have to experience it firsthand to truly understand.
Still, it seemed the general direction hadn't changed.
Yu Ye shook his head slightly.
In truth, none of that mattered.
Whether now or in the future, Kushina was almost destined to become the Nine-Tails jinchūriki.
And right now, Yu Ye didn't yet have the power to change that.
But—
He would.
Soon enough.
"No matter what you become," Yu Ye said softly,
"as long as you're still you, that's all that matters."
To Yu Ye, being a Nine-Tails jinchūriki was nothing special.
It just meant there was an unruly fox living inside her.
And when he was strong enough, he'd beat that fox into behaving—with his fists.
If one punch wasn't enough, then two.
If two weren't enough, then he'd keep punching.
Hearing Yu Ye's words—completely sincere, without even a hint of pretense—the fear in Kushina's eyes slowly faded.
"Really?" she asked quietly.
"Of course," Yu Ye replied.
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