Kaede Tsukasa appeared at this moment, somewhat unexpectedly for those present.
Especially for the Nine-Tails—it was furious. From the start, it hadn't taken Kaede Tsukasa seriously, yet just as it was about to kill these two and regain its freedom, Kaede Tsukasa intervened.
"You brat, ooooooh!!"
"Sorry, Nine-Tails, your strength is too great. I can't just let you achieve your wish… As for the current Konoha, if you killed Lord Mito and broke free from your seal, no one could stop you."
Kaede Tsukasa spoke to the Nine-Tails calmly, but it was precisely this calmness that made the beast even angrier.
Why so calm? Why so composed? Because Kaede Tsukasa felt no fear toward the Nine-Tails, and that was why he could maintain such a demeanor.
Of course, Kaede Tsukasa also knew that if he tried to fight the Nine-Tails one-on-one, he would definitely lose; attrition wouldn't work either, and he would ultimately have to retreat in embarrassment.
But the Nine-Tails could not kill Kaede Tsukasa either. Despite its incredibly strong perception, it was no match for the speed of Kaede Tsukasa's Kūkai technique.
"Mito is about to die. Once she dies, Konoha cannot stop me either. I will kill you all—this is the price for imprisoning me!"
The Nine-Tails roared.
Kaede Tsukasa stopped talking to the Nine-Tails and instead looked at Mito. "It's so noisy, Lord Mito. Do you still have the strength to take this guy back?"
"I can't. Right now, I can only restrain it; resealing it back into my body is impossible."
Mito panted and glanced at Kaede Tsukasa. "I didn't expect you to risk coming here."
The sealing technique she originally used to restrain the Nine-Tails was the Eight Trigrams Seal, stronger than the Four Symbols Seal or the Iron Armor Seal, but its difficulty was extremely high.
Actually, she could have used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to seal the Nine-Tails as well, but then the Nine-Tails would have entered the Shinigami along with her. Konoha would have lost the Nine-Tails, and she could not do that.
In the original timeline, Minato Namikaze faced the same dilemma: when he used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to restrain the Nine-Tails, he could not bring it into the Shinigami, because losing the Nine-Tails would drastically weaken Konoha and disrupt the balance with other villages.
Yet trying to use the Eight Trigrams Seal to put the whole Nine-Tails into Naruto was unrealistic; he had just been born and couldn't contain such immense chakra.
So a compromise was made: the Dead Demon Consuming Seal split the Nine-Tails into Yin and Yang halves. The Yang Nine-Tails was sealed into Naruto with the Eight Trigrams Seal, while the Yin Nine-Tails was taken into the Shinigami by the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
Kaede Tsukasa pondered, "That's right. I am a ninja of Konoha. Since I brought you to the Land of Rain, I also bear the responsibility to return you. You even left me a portion of Nine-Tails' chakra… The unused chakra I've sealed—maybe it will save my life at a critical moment."
"Your reasoning seems flawless, but I sense that your mind is incredibly complex, far from the righteous image you present."
"No one is purely innocent; I am no different. At most, my thoughts are a little tangled," Kaede Tsukasa said with a smile.
He suddenly thought of a good idea for sealing tailed beasts—not just the Nine-Tails, but all of them—using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to solve the problem.
Being sealed inside the Shinigami is not true death. For humans, it might be death, because without a soul the body decays. That is death.
But for immortal tailed beasts, this is not death—just a change of residence. Unless unexpected circumstances arise, what would have been a fixed-term sentence becomes a life sentence: the Jinchūriki ages and dies, but the Shinigami does not.
Kaede Tsukasa knew the method to break the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. After Mito dies, he might be the only one in the ninja world who knows this method for a long time.
Perhaps, he could use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to send the tailed beasts into the Shinigami, making it impossible for the world to obtain them again. Reviving the tailed beasts would also be impossible.
The Shinigami could not only cut enemies' souls but also serve as a storage container…
Kaede Tsukasa stared intently at the position of the Shinigami, even though he couldn't see anything at the moment.
"Perfect. I'll take this chance to experiment and see just how many Shinigami exist in this world."
Kaede Tsukasa summoned a zombie and, after touching it, had it perform the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
Sure enough, the summoning called forth the Shinigami behind Mito—there was no other Shinigami or Shinigami clone.
Kaede Tsukasa also noticed that the Shinigami glanced at him, ignored him, and then resumed waiting for Madara and Mito to drool.
"As expected, there is only one Shinigami, and at the same time, only one person can perform the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. If another tries, the summoning will fail."
Kaede Tsukasa was not surprised. Such a terrifying super-spiritual entity, a god-level presence below the Six Paths—there couldn't be multiple in the ninja world.
"I see. I'd heard from Danzo before, but seeing it myself is still shocking. The potential of Zombie Release is immense; even the Dead Demon Consuming Seal can be controlled in a special way."
Mito immediately understood how Kaede Tsukasa had repeatedly used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal—truly a genius-level innovation. With this, the technique had a worthy successor.
If this had occurred during the Warring States period, a top-tier clan technique learned by an outsider would have sparked a full-scale revolt. The clan would risk countless lives to eliminate someone like Kaede Tsukasa.
But in the age of ninja villages, such restrictions were greatly relaxed. Talented individuals could learn rare techniques submitted by other clans from their villages.
However, how far Kaede Tsukasa would grow in the future, and to what heights he would advance the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, Mito could not foresee.
Kaede Tsukasa politely replied, "That's thanks to you contributing the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to the village. Otherwise, I probably would have chosen to multiply the Exploding Tags from the Book of Seals, or at worst, used the Inner Four Symbols Seal."
Madara glanced at Kaede Tsukasa. "I didn't expect to see two people perform the Dead Demon Consuming Seal in a single day. Fascinating. No wonder someone like Hanzo was scared off by you. But since you used it to protect Nagato, I'll give you some credit."
"Seems a lot has happened," Kaede Tsukasa remarked.
"Indeed. Danzo ordered me to kill Jiraiya, and Jiraiya told me not to. I had to make a choice. After thinking it through, I prioritized protecting Nagato. After all, the Rinnegan appeared in this era—its significance to the world could be enormous," Kaede Tsukasa said calmly.
There was no need for clumsy lies; he had stood with Jiraiya in the Land of Rain and protected the Rinnegan. That was a solid fact.
Though Mito appeared exhausted from using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, she could simultaneously pull on Madara's soul and restrain the Nine-Tails—a truly ruthless feat.
If she had tried to give the final bit of her strength to Kaede Tsukasa, he would have had no choice but to flee.
"Madara, Jiraiya, you, Nagato…"
Mito sensed too much complex information in the situation. But she couldn't blame Kaede Tsukasa. Just because Madara stood in the way of anyone approaching Nagato, could she conclude that Kaede Tsukasa had sided with Madara?
No—Jiraiya, the Hokage's student, was doing the same thing, preventing anyone from approaching Nagato.
Nagato, with the Rinnegan, posed an even bigger problem. The most suspicious question: where did the Rinnegan come from? The previous Rinnegan wielder had been the Sage of Six Paths over a thousand years ago.
"Madara, you've had your eye on the Rinnegan for a long time, haven't you? Could it be that you…" Mito said.
"With your intelligence, it's natural to have suspicions. I wouldn't reveal that I protect someone unrelated to me without reason. He and his eyes are extremely important to me. If Nagato weren't too young to protect himself properly, and given other factors, I would have already killed myself," Madara said coldly.
"You shouldn't have come to the Land of Rain. Then we wouldn't have met, and you could have lived longer."
"I'm not afraid of death, and I hope you aren't either. Both of us, from the old era, will eventually leave this world. As for Nagato, I can't worry about him—you also shouldn't interfere. Let him grow on his own."
Mito felt that this was enough. With Jiraiya as Nagato's teacher, it should maximize the chances of his safe growth… right?
It didn't go smoothly, but there was nothing she could do. She increased her strength and finally pulled Madara's soul out.
"Your soul is too heavy, but it's all over now."
Madara's soul opened its mouth wide, as if letting out a silent howl, and was dragged by the spiritual hand into Mito's abdomen, entering the Shinigami's stomach.
Gurgle!
The Shinigami swallowed, feeling immense satisfaction.
This was a super-shadow-level soul, awakened with the Rinnegan and mastered in Yin-Yang Release, already surpassing the strongest soul below the Six Paths of Senju Hashirama.
In its life, the Shinigami had never consumed such a delicious and abundant soul!
And soon, another slightly lesser, but equally tasty soul would be ready to devour.
"What a greedy Shinigami…"
Mito's expression hardened. She turned to Kaede Tsukasa: "Return to the village immediately, and bring Uzumaki Kushina to me."
"Is this your final order for me?"
"No, this is my final request."
"Understood, Lord Mito. No matter what, I will fulfill it. The Nine-Tails must remain in Konoha, or the ninja world will descend into chaos…"
Kaede Tsukasa looked at Madara's fallen body, then nodded solemnly.
This was the best choice. If the Nine-Tails wasn't kept in Konoha, should it be released back into nature?
The Nine-Tails wasn't like the Three-Tails, relatively docile—it was extremely violent and petty. Once free, it would certainly head to the Land of Fire and greet Konoha with a few Tailed Beast Balls.
Kaede Tsukasa counted the current strong shinobi in Konoha on his fingers. Aside from Mito, the strongest was probably the Third Hokage, but the Third Hokage could not decisively defeat the Nine-Tails.
Considering that Mito had only recently shared the Dead Demon Consuming Seal with the village, the Third Hokage likely hadn't learned this mutually-destructive technique. Facing a complete Nine-Tails, Konoha was truly at a disadvantage, with no good options.
If Konoha were destroyed, many of Kaede Tsukasa's plans would be disrupted, at least significantly delaying his body-swapping plan, with no clear timeline for execution.
"Take this."
Mito struggled to remove a red magatama from her wrist and handed it to Kaede Tsukasa. "This can break the barrier jutsu I set up. When Kushina sees this, she will trust you."
"Good. Having a token makes things much easier."
Kaede Tsukasa immediately recognized it: this red magatama was the same accessory that Uzumaki Kushina wore in the original timeline.
Swish!
Holding the magatama, Kaede Tsukasa instantly disappeared and returned to Konoha.
The Nine-Tails sneered: "You actually trust someone you don't trust yourself. Mito, you've never felt so powerless in your life."
"You don't understand anything."
Mito did her best to maintain her physical condition, delaying the Shinigami from consuming her soul. Coldly, she said, "I said he's complex, not just because of his inner thoughts. But now is not the time to explain to you. Your fate is to enter Kushina's body and continue serving the village."
The Nine-Tails struggled violently, but Mito still maintained control. However, facing both the Shinigami and the Nine-Tails, she could not hold out much longer.
Before coming to the Land of Rain, Mito had never imagined things would turn out like this. She had only planned to bring back a descendant of the Uzumaki. Even if obstacles arose, she could handle them with absolute strength—but who would have expected to run into Uchiha Madara?
Now, she could only rely on Kaede Tsukasa. Hopefully, this complex man would be trustworthy enough to truly bring Kushina back as she hoped.
…
Konoha.
For Kaede Tsukasa, taking Kushina away was far from a simple task. He had to withstand the pressure coming from Konoha.
The village's strong shinobi were not fools, especially the Third Hokage, who often observed everything using the Crystal Ball Technique.
When Kaede Tsukasa returned to Konoha and appeared at his new residence, the first person he saw was Sakumo.
"Lord Sakumo, it seems the village has already noticed?" Kaede Tsukasa was not surprised at all.
Although the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki was Mito, a super-strong shinobi, the Nine-Tails could not possibly go out of control before her death, and enemies could do little against her. So the village hadn't been closely monitoring them.
But that didn't mean the village completely ignored the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki. At the very least, they would still keep an eye on the next-generation Jinchūriki, Uzumaki Kushina.
Not only monitoring her physical safety, but also her psychological state—every meal she ate, every word she could hear or that could be recorded—was analyzed to ensure she didn't develop any resentment toward the village.
"Indeed, the matter is too serious. ANBU shinobi discovered they couldn't even approach Kushina; Lord Mito's barrier jutsu kept them outside. This has never happened before," Sakumo said, leaning against the wall, calm and unarmed, simply reporting the situation.
"Moreover, the massive disturbance to the northwest could not be concealed. Explosions of that magnitude, occurring multiple times, were enough to alert the village."
"I thought you'd strike the moment you saw me," Kaede Tsukasa smiled. "The situation is urgent. I am acting under Lord Mito's orders to find Kushina as quickly as possible."
"The Hokage is already with the ANBU, protecting Kushina, just waiting for you."
Sakumo opened the door, and the two moved quickly, one after the other.
Outside, a squad of vigilant ANBU shinobi closely followed them.
In postwar Konoha, this marked the first time such a high-level alert had been issued.
Along the way, other trustworthy shinobi were scattered across the streets, appearing casual but actually prepared for combat.
Some recognized Kaede Tsukasa and gave him a slight nod.
The disappearance of the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki was an extremely serious matter.
Sakumo followed behind Kaede Tsukasa. "If we hadn't seen the living corpse in your room, confirming that it was Lord Mito who asked you to use the space-time ninjutsu, the village would have been even more tense than it is now."
"I had no choice. Lord Mito gave me orders, and I have no right to refuse—I must carry them out," Kaede Tsukasa said.
Soon, the group arrived at the outskirts of the Senju clan territory, where a seemingly ordinary house served as the residence of Mito and Kushina.
At this time, it was heavily guarded, with three layers of security. The Third Hokage personally sat in command, accompanied by Danzo Shimura and the ANBU protecting Kushina's safety.
Further away, Tsunade and others also kept watch, though not solely for fear of the Nine-Tails losing control.
"Tsukasa, what exactly happened? The northwest—is Lord Mito fighting some enemy?" The Third Hokage, clad in battle attire, asked seriously.
"The specifics, Lord Danzo probably knows better than I do. He was the one visiting Lord Mito. My orders from her were simply to bring Uzumaki Kushina to her."
Kaede Tsukasa produced the red magatama given by Mito, instantly triggering a response from the barrier, the runes wriggling rapidly.
The Third Hokage silently watched Kaede Tsukasa. Everyone present remained still; the moment the Hokage gave the command, they would act immediately.
It couldn't be helped. After all, it involved the Nine-Tails. Anyone could die, but the Nine-Tails must remain under the village's control.
"Hokage, every second is precious. Once things reach an irreversible point, it will be too late to act. I will never let the village lose the Nine-Tails. This is also Lord Mito's will," Kaede Tsukasa said calmly.
Danzo frowned, his heart skipping a beat. Why take Kushina away? The situation was already obvious—Mito was about to die!
And she was already too weak to return to the village, so Kaede Tsukasa had to take Kushina away?
What exactly happened? How did it come to this? It was just supposed to be retrieving the Rinnegan. The Land of Rain was hardly a threat—who could bring Mito to the brink of death?
Jiraiya? Or someone else? Kaede Tsukasa was certainly not capable of such a thing.
"This is serious. If Lord Mito can let you take her away, why not let you bring her back? No matter what difficulties arise, the village is everyone's backing. We would help solve any problem," the Third Hokage said after a pause.
He still didn't fully trust Kaede Tsukasa. In such matters, he hardly trusted anyone, even his own disciples. Kaede Tsukasa was no exception.
"Due to certain reasons, she is in a special state and cannot come. I must take Kushina away quickly. Please understand—Lord Mito cannot hold out much longer," Kaede Tsukasa said.
"Then all the more reason to trust the village's strength! Is she fighting an enemy? The disturbances from the northwest must be caused by her. Tsukasa, take me there immediately. I will also fight to assist Lord Mito against the enemy."
The Third Hokage hoisted the Adamantine Staff, ready to follow Kaede Tsukasa to the Land of Rain.
But Kaede Tsukasa paused, shaking his head. "Lord Mito instructed me to do this; she must have her reasons."
Mito didn't necessarily fully trust the Third Hokage either. When it came to replacing the Nine-Tails' vessel, she wanted to minimize all variables.
"Hokage, at a time like this, one should trust the judgment of comrades. If Lord Mito ordered Kaede Tsukasa, there must be a reason," Sakumo spoke up in the tense silence. He had no obligation to intervene, yet he did.
Kaede Tsukasa glanced at Sakumo and silently admired him. This man deeply believed in the Will of Fire, valuing the lives of comrades over the mission. It wasn't entirely out of step with the era, but it did create a conflict.
Standing up to vouch for Kaede Tsukasa was hardly politically correct.
"Very well, I'll leave it to you. I trust you won't disappoint the village," the Third Hokage said, stepping aside.
Kaede Tsukasa approached, touching the barrier with the red magatama. The barrier immediately collapsed, and he reached out to the stunned Uzumaki Kushina.
"This… this is Grandma Mito's magatama…"
"Since you recognize it, quickly grab my hand and come with me. Lord Mito needs you."
In front of everyone, Kaede Tsukasa took away the incredibly important Kushina.
Every person's face showed anxiety. They wanted to know what exactly happened with Mito and why Kaede Tsukasa had to take Kushina away.
And the Nine-Tails… it shouldn't be a problem, right? If the strongest Tailed Beast broke free, it would become the village's nightmare. Everyone would live under the threat of the Nine-Tails.
In this era, Konoha no longer had super-strong shinobi like Senju Hashirama or Mito capable of forcibly restraining a Tailed Beast…
"Danzo, you'd better give a proper explanation. The village needs it. Even if Kaede Tsukasa successfully brings Kushina back, you cannot escape responsibility!"
This time, the Third Hokage was truly angry.
He had led Konoha to victory in the Second Great Ninja War, ushering in explosive growth in economy and military. But losing the Nine-Tails would overshadow all these achievements. Even defeat in the war would be preferable to losing the Nine-Tails.
Danzo remained silent, his mind racing, calculating what should or shouldn't be said. For now, all he could do was wait for Kaede Tsukasa to return.
…
From Kushina's perspective, the scene shifted instantly. They appeared in an unfamiliar environment.
A strange forest lay in disarray. Even the trees that were intact had incredibly abnormal growth patterns, nothing like natural growth.
In the sky, dark clouds were visibly gathering from all directions, and a heavy rain was about to fall.
Everything here was too strange, until Kushina froze in shock at the sight before her: the towering, unmoving Senju Buddha statue; the Nine-Tails lying atop it, bound by countless chains; and at the very top of the statue, Mito.
"Grandma Mito!!"
Kushina screamed, charging forward without hesitation, unable to believe her eyes: a fallen white-haired old man, and Mito kneeling, coughing up blood.
"You're here. It seems I have to break the promise I made to you earlier… this is the first time I've ever gone back on my word," Mito said, a grim smile on her pale face. Before Kushina could ask anything, she interrupted herself: "I don't have much time. I will seal the Nine-Tails into your body. From today on, you will be the new jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails."
As before, she reached out and gently touched Kushina's head. "From now on, you must walk your own path. It will be difficult, but do not worry too much. Remember what I taught you?"
"I remember… 'Fill your heart with love to control the Nine-Tails.' That's what you always told me… Grandma Mito, I don't fully understand what's happening, but please, do it. I will inherit your will and firmly control the Nine-Tails, becoming a strength for the village!"
Kushina trembled all over, tears streaming down her face. "I… I will definitely succeed! In the future, I will surpass you. Please watch my progress from another world!"
"Good child… good child… Whatever happens here, do not tell the village. Let us, the remnants of the old era, be quietly buried," Mito said.
Her hands trembled as she formed the seals. One hand grabbed the chains of the Vajra binding, while the other pressed against Kushina's abdomen.
The Eight Trigrams Seal!
The enormous Nine-Tails was forcibly drawn into Kushina's body by the pull of that power.
It was the familiar cage, and again the mark of the Eight Trigrams Seal that had driven it to fury and madness appeared. Everything seemed to return to the way it had been; all its previous efforts were wasted. Who knew how many years would pass before it had another chance.
"I will not give up so easily, Kushina! You must never show weakness. At the first opportunity, I will kill you, destroy everything you hold dear, and crush your ideals and beliefs completely!!"
The Nine-Tails struggled, then lay down again, gritting its teeth. Its violent, furious eyes stared beyond the cage, as if imprinting every move Kushina made in its memory.
After executing the Eight Trigrams Seal, Mito's life reached its absolute end. The last bit of vitality she had maintained faded away.
Her mouth still carried a smile, but tinged with pity and helplessness.
Kushina held her body, wailing in grief. The person the village cherished most had passed away.
"How pitiful…"
Kaede Tsukasa lifted his head to the sky. The gathering clouds blocked the last rays of sunlight, which visibly shrank to a pinpoint before vanishing completely.
It seemed to signal that the old era had reached a stage of closure—or at least, that's how the world would perceive it.
Kaede Tsukasa removed his sacred robe and draped it over Kushina's shoulders.
"It's cold here; you should wear this… Illness might barely affect you, but this is all I can do," he said calmly.
He lowered his gaze to meet Kushina's tear-filled eyes, but only for a moment, before shamelessly starting to inspect her body.
To Kushina, this behavior was extremely rude.
But in Kaede Tsukasa's mind, he was thinking of something else—what a perfect body, brimming with immeasurable life force. If he could turn her into a zombie, it would last a long time.
He knew all too well the painful lessons of the past few years, spent trying to avoid illness. At that time, his greatest desire had been to obtain a healthy, strong body.
"What are you looking at!"
"Nothing… I was just envious of you. Something you were born with, but something I could never obtain no matter how hard I tried." Kaede Tsukasa withdrew his gaze.
He no longer needed to covet such a body—simply put, he had no interest anymore.
"I'll take you back to Konoha Village. Grandma Mito's body needs to be handed over to the village for proper handling."
Kaede Tsukasa casually produced a summoning scroll and conjured a coffin, placing Mito's body inside.
"Waaah… Grandma Mito…"
"Stop crying. Crying won't solve anything."
Next, he sealed the Wood Release Buddha beneath him into another scroll—something he might find useful in the future.
As for Afei… Kaede Tsukasa glanced over and saw the guy had already taken the opportunity to escape. He nodded to himself quietly; Afei's mind was quick, at least smarter than White Zetsu.
Then came the main task: Uchiha Madara's body. Kaede Tsukasa also sealed it without hesitation—he appeared to be methodically cleaning up the battlefield.
"Who was the enemy? Grandma Mito wouldn't let me tell the village, so I don't have to explain, but I still need to know!"
"I'm sorry, but I don't know either. I'm just the messenger; I don't have the capability to participate in a battle of this scale," Kaede Tsukasa replied. "I have nothing to report. Perhaps Lord Danzo knows more."
Leave all the blame to Danzo; let him figure out how to explain things to the village.
Come to think of it, this whole mess stemmed from Danzo's whim—he wanted to see the results of Kaede Tsukasa's five months of training, sending him to find Jiraiya.
If Danzo ever spilled everything about the Rain Country, the village might try to hold Kaede Tsukasa accountable…
But according to the Third Hokage, as long as nothing catastrophic happened, the village would handle it lightly. The biggest loss for Konoha was Mito's death, which, under other circumstances, she wouldn't have survived much longer anyway.
Once Kaede Tsukasa returned the new Nine-Tails jinchuriki, Kushina, many problems ceased to exist.
Either way, Kaede Tsukasa was helping Danzo obtain the Rinnegan or helping Jiraiya stop Danzo—both choices were justified.
And if worse came to worst, he could just defect.
"Get ready. I'm taking you back to Konoha Village. As the new Nine-Tails jinchuriki, transporting you is exponentially more difficult than before. The effort I must exert will increase manifold, but fortunately, I have Grandma Mito's gift."
Kaede Tsukasa unsealed another scroll, entering the Tailed Beast Cloak mode, a red, semi-transparent tail swaying gently behind him.
"Kushina's chakra? It seems Grandma Mito really trusted you, though she did say before that you're very… complicated," Kushina said, wiping her tears, surprised.
"'Complicated' and 'irredeemable' are two different concepts. But that's irrelevant now… I used some of my extra chakra reserves for you. Once you can control the Nine-Tails well, remember to replenish the chakra I've expended."
Kaede Tsukasa formed the seals and activated the technique, taking Kushina back to Konoha Village.
Before long, a tall figure appeared where they had left.
"They're gone? Looks like I was a step too late."
Jiraiya maintained Sage Mode, with two old toads perched on his shoulders.
"Little Jiraiya, what was that just now? I sensed the Nine-Tails' chakra from both of them. Did Little Mito split the Nine-Tails into two?"
"Unbelievable… Little Mito is dead, yet what kind of fight was she even in?"
The two old toads chattered incessantly.
"That's exactly what I want to know. I've only been away from the ninja world's mainstream view for a little over two years, and so many unknowns have appeared. There will likely be times in the future when I'll need to ask the two of you for help again."
Jiraiya felt a heavy weight in his heart. He knew he needed to accelerate Nagato's training. Even now, if Nagato were thrown recklessly into a battle like this, it would be nearly impossible for him to come out unscathed.
Moreover, he had a feeling that this massive battle had erupted over the Rinnegan, and Mito had intervened to stop some mysterious, powerful enemy.
"Kaede Tsukasa… what role did he play in all this? If he could access the Nine-Tails' chakra, that means he's on Mito-sama's side, not the enemy… right?"
Jiraiya felt a headache coming on, his mind tangled with countless thoughts.
"Hey, little Jiraiya, what about the Rinnegan wielder you mentioned?"
"Yeah, yeah, I also want to see what a Sage Eye looks like. I heard the old man might have seen the Six Paths Sage in his youth, but who knows if that's true. Maybe he was dreaming or confused, his memory's faulty."
"Hey, old lady, don't badmouth the old man in front of little Jiraiya. It'll leave a bad impression on the kid."
The two old toads bickered, but regarding meeting Nagato, they came to a consensus—Jiraiya wasn't going to let them see him no matter what!
Jiraiya gave a wry smile. What could he say? The reason he was training Nagato in the Rain Country, the reason he didn't inform the village or Myoboku, was to minimize outside influence.
The child of prophecy, the one who would bring change to the ninja world, had his own path to walk. Outside interference was the last thing he needed.
Unfortunately, everything had gone awry. He could no longer predict how the village would react, and now he couldn't keep Myoboku in the dark either.
"If I had known this battle would end like this, and Nagato's safety wasn't threatened, I shouldn't have entered Sage Mode!"
Jiraiya was extremely frustrated, hoping that letting the two toads interact with Nagato wouldn't have any negative consequences…
Konoha Village
"What happened? Did the enemy invade? Otherwise, why is the entire village under lockdown?"
"If it's the enemy, we need to protect the village!"
A group of ten-something-year-old youngsters glared at the ninja blocking their way, displeased.
"This situation is rather complicated. Due to confidentiality, I cannot tell you what exactly has happened," a leading Anbu ninja said calmly. "You are the village's future. If you're not needed right now, don't get involved."
Being the son of the Third Hokage, he already knew most of the village's secrets. He was an important hand through which the Third Hokage controlled the Anbu.
Precisely because he knew, he couldn't allow these youngsters to interfere. The matter involved the Nine-Tails—if things went wrong, these next-generation ninjas would be powerless against it. One encounter could mean death for all of them.
He scanned the group of excited young ninjas:
Choza Akimichi, Tsume Inuzuka, Shinku Yuuhi…
These were the village's future.
At that moment, one young ninja spoke up: "Then can I participate? If something happens, I can use the Flying Thunder God Technique to transport any teammates in danger."
Minato Namikaze took out his specially made kunai. "There are few ninjas like me. I'll be useful to the village."
"No need. Kaede Tsukasa has already gone; he's also a space-time ninja."
"Oh…"
Minato fell silent for a moment, then smiled. "His Void jutsu is very unique. He'll definitely help the village. That's great."
At that moment, a cheer rang out from afar.
Anbu ninjas continued to move quickly, relaying the Third Hokage's orders: "By order of the Hokage, lift the lockdown!"
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Though many had no idea what had happened, the lifting of the lockdown signaled that the crisis was over.
Minato Namikaze looked up, but saw nothing—surely everything must have gone smoothly, but what exactly had happened?
On the other side, Kaede Tsukasa didn't know what Minato was thinking, nor did he care. He had brought back Kushina, proving his loyalty to the village through action.
The Third Hokage smiled, and others relaxed. In fact, most had mentally prepared for the worst, but fortunately, everything had gone smoothly.
All eyes soon turned toward Kaede Tsukasa, staring in astonishment at the red chakra surrounding him.
"Is that a tailed beast cloak?"
"That must be Nine-Tails' chakra! Could it be that Kaede Tsukasa has become a Jinchuriki? But that…"
"Don't speculate recklessly. As long as he shows no sign of losing control, we must remain on alert."
Those present alongside the Third Hokage were undoubtedly the village's elite, many aware of some of Mito's situation.
"Ah, thanks to Mito-sama's trust, I have indeed received some of the chakra she bestowed from the Nine-Tails. But I am not the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki—Mito-sama's true successor is Uzumaki Kushina."
Kaede Tsukasa stepped aside, revealing the red-haired girl behind him.