"Dad, are you okay? Do you want to go to the hospital?"
Hearing Teuchi's words, Ayame immediately spoke with concern.
"No, it's nothing serious," Teuchi replied, shaking his head.
"I'm just a little tired. I probably didn't sleep well last night, so I don't have much energy today."
"There's no need to go to the hospital—it's too troublesome. I'll just rest for a while. Remember, don't disturb me."
With that, he walked through the inner courtyard of Ichiraku Ramen and headed straight to his room.
"Master Ash, I didn't expect you to come to Konoha,"
As soon as the door closed, Teuchi knelt down respectfully.
"Do you have any task you wish to assign to me?"
"No," Ash replied calmly, already seated on the chair.
"I'm only using this place as a temporary foothold. The main matter has nothing to do with you."
"Just remember this—during the third round of the Chūnin Exams, take Ayame and leave Konoha. Make an excuse if you have to. Go outside the village."
Teuchi's heart jumped.
He hadn't expected Ash to be directly involved with Orochimaru's plans against Konoha.
"I understand," Teuchi said solemnly.
"I'll leave the village for a few days under the pretense of purchasing supplies."
Ash wasn't worried about betrayal.
Even if Teuchi had other thoughts—which he didn't—Ash still had contingency measures prepared.
After receiving Ash's instructions, Teuchi submitted the necessary documents to the village administration, declaring that he needed to travel out of Konoha to restock ingredients.
Merchants entering and leaving the village were required to register, and Teuchi's actions were entirely normal.
Many shop owners preferred to purchase goods themselves rather than wait for trade caravans—it was cheaper, especially during this period.
With the Chūnin Exams approaching, the number of outsiders had increased dramatically. Naturally, businesses wanted to stock up and make a profit.
Teuchi's departure didn't attract any attention.
"Hmph… there's still some time left."
Ash stood within the room, his gaze calm.
"There's also a barrier illusion here. From the outside, nothing looks out of place."
"Let's go see that guy."
When Ash had once traded with Kushina, he hadn't only mastered ninjutsu.
His fuinjutsu was just as formidable.
The sealing techniques of the Uzumaki Clan—he had learned every useful one, including the principles behind the Reaper Death Seal once used by the Fourth Hokage.
Over the years, Ash had also quietly ensured that Naruto received proper care.
Otherwise, relying only on discounted or expired food, Naruto would never have grown up healthy enough to bear the Nine-Tails.
That alone made him worthy of Kushina's trust.
"I haven't seen you in a long time… Nine-Tails."
Ash sat cross-legged on the bed inside the sealed guest room. His hands formed a complex and unfamiliar seal.
In the next instant, his consciousness was pulled into another space.
Inside the Eight Trigrams Seal, the massive figure of the Nine-Tails loomed behind iron bars.
"You again?!"
Kurama roared as Ash's manifested consciousness appeared before him.
"The bastard who dared to control me—so you finally show your face!"
His enormous claws slammed against the cage, the impact echoing violently through the seal.
Ash remained unfazed.
Given his agreement with Kushina, and Naruto's role as the world's central figure, Ash had naturally left several hidden safeguards on Naruto.
These included Sharingan-based genjutsu, similar in nature to those once placed by Minato—allowing Ash to temporarily act through Naruto if necessary.
"You're still as irritable as ever," Ash said indifferently.
"Back then, you weren't exactly calm either."
"And besides…"
He glanced around the seal space.
"Isn't this place far more comfortable than the one inside Kushina?"
Kurama snorted angrily—but he couldn't deny it.
Compared to Kushina's seal, Naruto's was far more stable.
When the Nine-Tails was sealed inside Kushina, its entire body was bound by the Adamantine Sealing Chains, suppressing it completely.
Naruto, although inheriting the blood of the Uzumaki Clan, only awakened their vast chakra reserves. He did not awaken the clan's true bloodline ability—the sealing chains themselves.
Perhaps it was due to diluted blood.
Even so, the sheer quantity of chakra Naruto possessed more than made up for it. At the very least, he would never need to worry about chakra exhaustion.
The Uzumaki bloodline abilities were divided into two stages.
The first stage was the awakening of enormous chakra reserves.
Almost every Uzumaki descendant would naturally awaken this, without exception.
The true difficulty lay in the second stage.
The Adamantine Sealing Chains—a power capable of forcibly suppressing even a tailed beast.
Very few Uzumaki ever awakened this ability.
Otherwise, the Uzumaki Clan would never have needed to send Kushina, a princess of their clan, to Konoha as a Jinchūriki.
Although Konoha and the Uzumaki Clan were allies, alliances alone were never enough in the shinobi world.
The first known Jinchūriki was Mito Uzumaki, wife of the First Hokage and former clan head of the Uzumaki.
At that time, the relationship between Konoha and the Uzumaki Clan was strong.
But after the death of the First Hokage, that support vanished.
Shinobi villages are opportunistic by nature.
Although the Second Hokage was immensely powerful, he could not compare to the First.
More importantly, the Uzumaki Clan did not reside within Konoha. They lived independently.
That made them a target.
A clan renowned for sealing techniques and possessing unparalleled chakra reserves—
the ideal candidates for Jinchūriki.
Even without the sealing chains, an Uzumaki's chakra alone was enough to suppress a tailed beast for a time—
though far inferior to the Adamantine Chains.
To prevent any other village from obtaining Uzumaki blood—
After the death of the Second Hokage, Danzo, the Third Hokage, and the village elders reached a consensus.
They secretly cooperated with other shinobi villages to erase the Uzumaki Clan.
If no one could possess them…
Then no one would.
Konoha agreed—because they had already secured Kushina, an Uzumaki who had awakened the chains, in advance.
Naturally, these matters were concealed.
They were hidden from Mito Uzumaki.
Hidden from Kushina.
And the other villages would never reveal the truth either.
After all, admitting such an act would permanently stain their own names.
So they swallowed the truth.
Swallowed the shame.
And endured that silent, bitter loss.
(End of Chapter)
📝 Limited-Time Discount (Ends Soon): $7 → 20 Chaps
⚡ Pa-treon-com/LordMerlin
😊 Thank You For Your Support!