Chapter 223: A Loser
"Everyone! Can you give this old man some face?!"
The Hokage, Tsuchikage, and Mizukage all fell silent.
Good lord. On this tiny island, four Kage had gathered. Enough for a full table of Mahjong.
The situation was growing increasingly complex. Sakumo Hatake couldn't help but feel that retrieving the Nine-Tails was becoming an impossible task.
While his old man, the Third Raikage, drew everyone's attention, Dana quickly scanned the surroundings.
This island was one of the uninhabited islets confirmed to have Chakra Metal ore deposits. The reserves weren't massive, but Dana had no idea what kind of battle had taken place here earlier to churn up the buried ore like this.
Accurately speaking, the place was a wreck. Saying it had been plowed over wouldn't be an exaggeration. A small portion of the island was unrecognizable, and occasionally, raw ore could be seen mixed in with the shattered rocks and broken trees.
Did these guys have a rave here or something?
Perhaps because raw Chakra Metal ore looked rather ordinary—Dana himself hadn't recognized it the first time he saw it—and most ninja only ever saw the refined product, no one had noticed yet that they were standing on a fortune that the ninja world would kill for.
Dana stepped forward. "Hokage-dono, first you entered the Land of Hot Water without notification, and then you engaged in a running battle all the way into the Land of Water's territorial waters. We really can't pretend we didn't see this. The Daimyo of the Land of Hot Water commissioned us to investigate. Since we are close to the Land of Water, why don't we find a place there to sit down and discuss this openly?"
The "commission from the Daimyo" was obviously nonsense, but since the Land of Hot Water was firmly under Kumogakure's thumb, making the lie a reality would be trivial.
Sakumo shook his head. "We will only consider other matters after retrieving the Nine-Tails. Once the Nine-Tails is secure, Konoha will give Kirigakure and Kumogakure an explanation."
An explanation? Yeah, right. probably just a polite letter saying "Oops."
Dana thought to himself: If capturing the Nine-Tails was that easy, you would have done it already. You've chased it all the way here—God knows how much longer you'll be fighting. It's not like you expect the Cloud to help you catch it, do you?
Although... his old man had been shouting about wanting to test his new "Storm Axe" technique to see what it felt like to split a Tailed Beast's skull...
Dana's stance was simple: whether they fought or talked, the Cloud wasn't afraid.
As long as these people got off this damn island immediately!
Thinking of this, Dana activated his "Pulse" Vision to locate the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
"Eh? Just on the other side of the island? And there's more than one person."
Just as Dana was about to say something, a thunderous roar erupted from the other side of the island.
"ROAR!!"
A colossal red body slowly rose into view. Even the small mountain in the middle of the island couldn't hide the crimson monster.
It was no longer the restricted ten-meter form or a partial transformation. This was the full, nearly hundred-meter-tall behemoth.
"Is that... a Tailed Beast rampage?"
Everyone turned to look. Moments later, unable to hold back, they all rushed toward the source of the roar.
Dana wanted to stop them, but on second thought, maybe this was better. At least the ground on that side of the island was still intact and hadn't been plowed up yet.
10 Minutes Earlier.
"Kushina, can you still hold on?"
Kushina stood up, trembling. Since last night, she hadn't had a drop of water, and the fighting hadn't stopped for a second.
Her body was already in terrible condition from long-term torture. Although she had improved slightly in recent days, the constant strain had weakened her further. Now, she was mentally dazed, teetering on the edge of consciousness.
Last night, every second she used the Nine-Tails' power, it eroded her life force at the fundamental level.
She was running on fumes...
"I'm fine, Kurama. You take control of the body. We have to save Nagato-kun. He just threw me over here without asking..."
In her mindscape, the Nine-Tails fell silent.
Kushina braced her hands on her knees, forcing herself to stay upright. "Kurama... huff! huff! I know what you're worried about. But it's okay. I am... cough! cough! I am an Uzumaki... Kurama, let's go..."
"Kushina... we..."
"Kurama! Listen to me!" Kushina suddenly shouted.
The Nine-Tails shut its mouth.
"Kurama, listen... Since I was little... I've never accomplished anything. When Uzushiogakure fell, I was powerless. When my parents died... I was powerless. Later, I had nowhere to go and ended up in Konoha... Once, I even wanted to become Hokage, but I realized later that was just a joke. Growing up, I didn't want to be a Jinchuriki, but no one cared what I thought. When I was captured and experimented on underground, no one cared what I thought..."
"Kushina... stop..."
"I finally... finally escaped. I finally... could live the life I wanted. I finally saw hope. I just wanted to live without worries..."
Tears streamed down her face. "So I will absolutely not allow myself to live the rest of my life in regret and shame for abandoning someone who helped me! Kurama, I absolutely will not die! I will grit my teeth and hold on! Just like I did during that year underground! I will hold on until we save Nagato and leave this place! Until then, I absolutely will not fall!!"
In the sealed space, the Nine-Tails was speechless. Suddenly, it felt a wave of disgust toward its own chakra.
It had accepted Kushina. It genuinely wanted to help her. But why did its power have to manifest as this crimson poison that eroded the Jinchuriki's life...?
"Kushina..." the fox said softly. "Let's go back."
"Right! Let's go save Nagato!"
"No... Let's go back to Konoha... temporarily. We can find another chance later."
Kushina froze, clutching the tree beside her.
The Nine-Tails gritted its teeth, forcing the words out. "Nagato will be safe too... if we make our return to Konoha the condition."
Kushina bit her lip until it bled, tears falling like rain. "But... if we do that, won't I just become... a complete loser again? It's all because I'm too weak... unable to save Nagato with my own strength."
The Nine-Tails hated it too. But inside Kushina, it could clearly feel that her body had reached its limit.
Just as the Nine-Tails wanted to say more, a rustling sound came from the bushes nearby. A figure walked out.
Mikoto Uchiha.
The Nine-Tails alertly scanned her. It sensed no malice, so it relaxed slightly. However, it didn't sense any goodwill either...
Kushina propped herself up. "Mikoto?! Why are you here?"
Mikoto didn't say a word. She simply walked slowly toward Kushina.
"Mikoto... are you here to capture me? ...I'm sorry, Mikoto... I have reasons I can't give up."
"Kushina," Mikoto finally spoke. "Let me help you up."
Saying this, Mikoto stepped forward, gesturing to support her. Kushina hesitated briefly but, trusting her friendship with Mikoto and the Nine-Tails' lack of malice warning, didn't resist.
"I've caused you trouble again, Mikoto-chan. Whether inside the village or outside."
However, the moment Mikoto touched Kushina, the Nine-Tails suddenly sensed something.
This person smelled heavily of Sealing Formulas.
And the scent... was identical to the seal that had once been planted on Kushina!
"KUSHINA! LOOK OUT!"