Chapter 177 - Uzumaki Kushina
Although everything Kazane had just said was intriguing, Minato was still most concerned about Kushina's safety. He pressed Kazane again, "But Kazane, how is all of this connected to Kushina?"
Seeing Minato's growing impatience, Kazane shook his head and continued, "Minato, don't rush. What I'm about to say next is the real key point."
"Back during the Battle at the Valley of the End, Madara implanted the Uchiha clan's forbidden technique, Izanagi, into his right eye, and that's how he managed to survive."
Seeing that Minato still didn't seem too interested—he didn't even ask what Izanagi did—Kazane stopped circling the point and kept weaving his tale.
"Izanagi is the Uchiha clan's ultimate ocular technique and also a forbidden jutsu. The moment it's activated, the Sharingan records the user's current physical state. During the jutsu's effective time, any injuries—even death—can be undone, restoring the user to their previously recorded state. However, the cost is the permanent loss of vision in that eye."
"During the battle, Madara bit off a piece of Hashirama's flesh. After faking his death and escaping, he implanted Hashirama's cells into himself and, as a result, awakened the Rinnegan. Due to his own ideals, Madara conceived an extremely selfish plan to achieve peace."
"He wanted to cast the ultimate genjutsu—Infinite Tsukuyomi—on the entire world through the moon, placing everyone in a dream where there would be no war, no sorrow… only eternal peace. He called it the Eye of the Moon Plan."
At this, even Minato—always calm and composed—showed visible surprise. He couldn't help but be shocked by Madara's madness.
"That idea is insane. Genjutsu to hypnotize the entire world? How could he possibly have that much chakra?"
"You know the Uchiha cl—" Kazane started to explain, but then paused, catching the implication in Minato's tone.
It didn't sound like Minato was against Madara's idea?
"Minato… don't you think Madara's plan is fundamentally inhuman? He's taking away humanity's freedom to choose! We're supposed to decide our own lives in the real world, not live in an illusion."
Minato looked at Kazane, confused at first, then sighed and replied with a complicated expression, "Kazane, that's your perspective."
"You were raised in the Hatake clan. You had the right to choose. You were trained through a structured system from a young age. Your father was the renowned White Fang. You reached the peak of the ninja world at a young age—of course you had the power to shape your future. But most people in this world don't have that luxury."
"I come from a civilian family. My parents died in war when I was little. Kushina's homeland was completely destroyed in war. That's why I understand the plight of ordinary people better than anyone. All we want is a simple life—freedom to live, enough food to eat, clothes to wear."
"To those in power, Madara's ideology might seem tyrannical. But to most civilians—and even most shinobi—if Madara's vision could truly be achieved, the fact that it's an illusion might not matter. They'd gladly live inside it."
Hearing this, Kazane's mouth twitched slightly. He felt a bit speechless.
What do you mean I was born into the Hatake clan and had the right to choose?
That was the original owner's life!
I started out in hell—White Fang had just committed suicide, Kakashi was emotionally broken, and this body could barely mold chakra.
I was always dead last in class, sneered at by the villagers every day, constantly afraid I'd expose my secret of being a transmigrator and get dissected for research.
Even the strength I have now came through years of relentless effort.
Even if I didn't have cheats, I would've—no, never mind!
The point is, genjutsu is still genjutsu. It's not reality. And Madara's ideals are just that—ideals.
In the end, Madara was merely a puppet for someone else's dream of "saving Mother."
Even the so-called Infinite Tsukuyomi was just one part of Black Zetsu's larger scheme.
Still, Kazane didn't explain all this to Minato. Some things wouldn't help even if Minato knew—he might not believe them anyway.
And if Minato started doubting the source of all this information, Kazane couldn't just keep blaming Orochimaru.
So instead, Kazane pivoted.
"Exactly, Minato. The key question is: how could Madara possibly possess enough chakra to cast Infinite Tsukuyomi? This ties into another secret of the ninja world. The current Nine Tailed Beasts were originally one creature. That creature was called the Ten-Tails. The Sage of Six Paths was the first Ten-Tails jinchūriki. Now, Madara wants to become the Ten-Tails jinchūriki too, so he can wield infinite chakra and complete his ultimate genjutsu."
Hearing Kazane's serious tone, Minato murmured, "Ten-Tails jinchūriki? Infinite chakra?"
Kazane nodded and confirmed, "Yes. Infinite chakra."
"When the Sage of Six Paths died, he believed the Ten-Tails' power was too great. So he split its chakra into nine parts, creating the Nine Tailed Beasts, and sealed the Ten-Tails' husk into the moon."
"After awakening the Rinnegan, Madara used a summoning technique to call down the Ten-Tails' husk from the moon. Now, he only needs to gather all nine tailed beasts and reverse-transmit their chakra back into the Ten-Tails' body to revive it. Once that's done, he'll become its jinchūriki."
"To do that, he absolutely won't spare the Nine-Tails sealed inside Kushina. Minato, you understand Konoha's strength now."
"You know Orochimaru's ambitions—but why hasn't he started a war despite Konoha's overwhelming power? Are we really afraid of the other four villages?"
"It's not to boast, but purely in terms of raw strength, even combined, the other villages wouldn't be a match for Konoha."
Kazane paused and looked at Minato, waiting for him to connect the dots.
Minato didn't hesitate. "It's because of Uchiha Madara. Orochimaru-sama is concerned about Madara."
Hearing that, Kazane quietly sighed in relief. Finally, Minato was catching on.
He nodded and continued, "That's right. It's all because of Madara."
"You've heard of the Hidden Rain Village, right? After I killed Hanzo, Madara took control of the Akatsuki. They've been eyeing Konoha ever since—but haven't acted because I'm still here."
"Wait, you mean that Akatsuki—the one that's been recruiting S-rank rogue ninja?" Minato exclaimed.
As the acting head of the Anbu, Minato had naturally been keeping tabs on the Akatsuki.
After all, the Land of Fire borders the Land of Rain. And in recent years, Akatsuki had rapidly expanded, taking in numerous S-rank rogues and completing high-risk missions.
They were a powerful organization that would do anything for the right price—even assassinate minor nation daimyō.
Not to mention their mysterious leader, rumored to possess godlike power. After listening to Kazane, Minato realized many of Akatsuki's seemingly contradictory actions now made sense.
For instance, their repeated declarations of wanting to bring peace to the ninja world.
Or their ability to subdue so many powerful S-rank missing-nin.
It all pointed to their leader being none other than Madara himself.
But Kazane quickly shattered that assumption and gave Minato even more reason to fear Akatsuki.
"Yes, that Akatsuki. Madara hides in the shadows, but they also have another mysterious leader. He's not as strong as Madara, but he also possesses the Rinnegan. Apart from me, no one in Konoha could take him on. And look—I was only gone to the Hidden Mist for a few days, and Madara already sent Uchiha Makoto into Konoha."
At this, Kazane sighed in apparent worry.
"Sigh… I originally wanted to ask you to keep an eye on Akatsuki and protect Kushina. But now, it looks like someone else will have to take on that responsibility."
"After all, Minato, you're resigning from Anbu. So be it. You can stay home with Kushina from now on. I'll have someone else monitor the Akatsuki."
Hearing that, how could Minato possibly agree?
Right now, his biggest concern was Kushina's safety—there was no way he'd leave her protection to someone else.
He also understood Kazane's strategy now. But as Kazane had expected, even with doubts, Minato couldn't afford to risk Kushina's life.
"Kazane, stop teasing me. After everything you've told me, how could I possibly leave Anbu now?"
"But Minato, weren't you just saying you supported Madara's Eye of the Moon Plan?" Kazane teased.
Minato straightened his posture, speaking resolutely: "Madara's plan robs us of our right to shape our own lives. I will definitely stop his plot!"
Seeing Minato's firm resolve, Kazane finally relaxed. All his effort hadn't been in vain—Minato was still a man of justice.
Half of what Kazane had said today was fabricated—b*llsh*t, but once Minato checked with Gamamaru, he'd believe everything.
Now that Minato was secured, Kazane remembered the reason he came here in the first place.
"Minato, there's something you may not know: the Nine-Tails signed a summoning contract with Madara."
"So, to ensure Kushina's safety, I want to meet the Nine-Tails—set a seal of my own."
Minato's face changed instantly. Without hesitation, he took Kazane back to his home via Flying Thunder God.
As for the Hokage's office? It could wait—nothing was more important than his wife.
---
At Minato's Home
Kushina was holding Shizune's piglet while chatting with Shizune about Minato's work.
"Shizune, never date a workaholic. Look at Minato—he hasn't come home in three days! I'm pregnant, and he doesn't even care!"
Hearing this, Shizune's cheeks flushed red as she thought of a certain someone. She quickly shook her head to dispel the image—why him of all people?
She then said, "Kushina-nee, I think you're being unfair to Minato. As far as I know, it's all because Kazane dumped his responsibilities on him. That's why Minato's been so busy lately."
Kushina was already just venting. But hearing that Kazane was the culprit made her genuinely angry.
"What? So he's the reason? No way—I'm going to give that little brat a piece of my mind!"
Just as she spoke, Minato and Kazane teleported into the courtyard via Flying Thunder God.
Kazane immediately heard them talking about him.
He knew they had a point—but he wouldn't admit it. He pushed open the door to interrupt Kushina.
Upon entering, his eyes landed on Shizune. He instantly knew who'd been badmouthing him and glared fiercely at her.
Startled by his glare, Shizune instinctively shrank back.
But then, realizing she was being cowardly, she puffed out her barely developed chest, bared her teeth, and glared right back—trying to look fierce.
But she just looked like a puffed-up kitten.
Seeing Kazane bullying Shizune, Kushina immediately stepped in, pulling Shizune behind her and raising her fists.
"You've got some nerve showing up here! And scaring my little sister? You want me to teach you a lesson?"
Emboldened by Kushina's support, Shizune peeked out from behind and shook her tiny fist at Kazane in defiance.
In her eyes, Kazane was a total villain. She had no proof, but her woman's intuition told her he must've bullied Tsunade—that's why she'd always been hostile toward him.