"Tsunade or Nawaki… are they dead?"
Kushina froze. To avoid disturbing Mito's seal, the village and the clans had cut off much of the outside news.
She hadn't expected her grand-aunt to guess the truth anyway.
From Kushina's expression, Uzumaki Mito knew she was right.
"Is it Tsunade, or Nawaki? …It doesn't matter. Tell me. I'm about to die anyway."
"Grand-aunt, it's Cousin Nawaki."
Mito nodded, then turned toward Rinki's wife, whose tears wouldn't stop falling.
"Don't be sad. No matter who dies—me or anyone else—you must not grieve.
This village was Hashirama's dream. It's a long and difficult road… and I can only walk it this far.
But the village still has you. You must keep going, uphold Hashirama's dream, and honor all the sacrifices made for it."
Behind Mito, the Adamantine Sealing Chains suddenly lashed out, striking toward the half-formed Nine-Tails hovering in the air.
All nine tails of the beast unfurled, its chakra body faintly translucent as it hung in the sky.
The chains pierced through each of the nine tails, then twisted midair and shot toward Kushina.
Even now, Mito's powerful chakra prevented the Nine-Tails from rampaging or fully manifesting, keeping it only half-formed.
Mito stepped forward, guiding Kushina's hands to match her seals.
From Kushina's back, new Adamantine Chains erupted, linking with Mito's.
Following the glowing chains, the Nine-Tails' tails were dragged one by one into Kushina's body.
"Uzumaki Mito! You still won't let me go?!"
The beast's roar shook the night as the chains pierced it through.
As the transfer continued, more and more of the Nine-Tails' chakra surged from Mito's body, making its form grow denser and more defined.
"It's starting to struggle! Senju Clan — joint sealing formation, now!" Rinki shouted.
Over nine hundred Senju ninja moved in unison, slamming their palms onto the scrolls beneath their feet.
A network of curse marks spread across the scrolls — intricate symbols forming chain-like patterns that leapt toward the beast and wrapped around its body.
The Nine-Tails' limbs and joints were bound, completely immobilized.
Yagami watched in awe. The Senju's Joint Sealing Formation… it's incredible. Hundreds of ninja linking chakra to bind the Nine-Tails…
With the Senju's help, the beast's chakra continued to flow into Kushina, tail after tail sinking into her body.
When even its hind legs began to vanish into her, everything seemed to be proceeding smoothly — until Yagami noticed figures rushing from afar.
It was Danzo… and two of his aides.
More importantly—Danzo's right eye was covered in bandages.
Yagami's mind flashed back to the corpse of a Shimura youth—eyes gouged out, lids sewn shut, leaving only empty, bloody sockets.
So that's where he went… To Orochimaru, to transplant an eye.
Danzo moved behind Hiruzen Sarutobi, using the Hokage's ceremonial robe and hat to conceal himself.
The Senju couldn't see him, but from the flank, Yagami had a clear view.
Danzo raised a hand to his right eye, pressing two fingers against the bandaged patch.
A sealing formula glimmered faintly — a barrier to block detection.
Then, taking advantage of Hiruzen's shadow, Danzo lifted the edge of his bandage and looked briefly toward the Nine-Tails.
His old teammate, Uchiha Kagami, had once said he would help the village eliminate the threat of the Nine-Tails —
the sword forever hanging over Konoha's head.
The Sharingan is the eye that reflects one's heart, and Kagami's deepest desire had shaped his Mangekyō ability — Armor Susanoo.
In Tobirama's notes, it was praised as the second-best method of controlling the Nine-Tails, surpassed only by Wood Release.
Such power could never be left in Uchiha hands.
Danzo had possessed Kagami's eye for years, too afraid to use it.
Now, with Orochimaru's help, he finally could.
At that moment, the Nine-Tails' eyes flickered.
Bound by chains and seals, the beast slowly turned its gaze toward the distant Valley of the End — toward the towering statue of Madara Uchiha.
An overwhelming wave of ocular power surged forth. Memories flashed within the Nine-Tails —
the battle at the valley, Madara controlling it with his Sharingan, sheathing it in Susanoo's armor to clash against Hashirama's great wooden Buddha.
Now, that same power appeared once more.
Around the Nine-Tails, an ethereal armor materialized — the form of Armor Susanoo.
"It's bad!" Rinki cried out. "Why is there a Susanoo here?!"
He looked around frantically. There was no Uchiha anywhere near them — only the ANBU outside the circle.
The armored Susanoo lasted only a second or two before vanishing,
but in that instant, the Senju's sealing formation and Mito's chains both shattered.
The Nine-Tails roared, regaining freedom.
It opened its jaws wide, a dark sphere of chakra forming within — a Tailed Beast Bomb.
"Stop it! Break the charge!"
All the Senju poured chakra desperately into the broken seals, but the orb only grew larger.
Mito lifted her head, and her clouded eyes suddenly cleared.
She glanced toward the periphery — a burst of thick white smoke rose in the distance.
That was Hiruzen summoning Enma, the Monkey King.
Hiruzen had already discarded his robe and hat, wielding the adamantine staff, striking the forest as if a terrible enemy hid within.
"Find the one who disrupted the seal!" he shouted.
ANBU operatives scattered in confusion.
What an act, Yagami thought grimly. Danzo's right behind your smoke, and you're pretending not to see him.
Mito said hoarsely,
"I'll restrain the Nine-Tails… but the rest of the seal — it's up to you now."
Two more golden chains burst from her back, wrapping around the beast's neck and head, forcing its massive face upward.
The Nine-Tails thrashed violently, the chains clanging under the strain.
Blood dripped from Mito's mouth, but she managed to twist the fox's head at the last moment —
The Tailed Beast Bomb fired skyward, veering away from the ground.
It didn't hit the Senju. Every ninja exhaled in relief.
But the Nine-Tails' final struggle tore the chains from Mito's body, ripping away flesh and blood.
Her back was shredded open, blood spraying across the stone.
She coughed out a mouthful of blood, then dropped to her knees, trembling.
Still, she straightened her frail back one last time and formed a final hand seal.
"Kushina… I'm leaving now. Don't be afraid. Someday, you'll find the one who fills your heart…"
The Nine-Tails' upper body still floated in the air, struggling weakly.
If not for that Susanoo's interference, the seal would have been perfect.
But Mito collapsed before it could be finished.
The eldest of Konoha, the last of the founding generation —
Uzumaki Mito, who once carried the Nine-Tails and helped build the village — fell lifeless to the ground.
An era had ended.
The final light of the village's first generation was gone.
***
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