Chapter 227: Temporary Freedom
Nagato felt a wave of emotion. A few hours ago, the situation had been heart-pounding, with four Kage gathered in one place. Now, everything was calm again.
When hundreds of rainbow lights appeared on the horizon, no matter who you were, you had to listen carefully to what Kumogakure had to say—even if they didn't speak loudly.
Nagato suddenly felt the power of an organization.
To achieve great things in the ninja world, personal strength was one thing, but the power of an organization was indispensable. You needed a force to back you up.
For example, to achieve his dream.
He couldn't compete with the ninja villages in terms of numbers, so he would have to focus on quality.
Dipping his hands into the cold seawater, the fatigue of a sleepless night was washed away slightly, and Nagato felt much more awake.
His hand brushed against a rock.
Subconsciously, he picked it up, intending to throw it into the sea, as if casting away his troubles.
He raised the rock above his head.
SMACK!
A large hand slapped Nagato's wrist, knocking the rock from his grasp.
"Kids shouldn't pick up random things! It's dirty!"
Still not reassured, Dana kicked the Chakra Metal ore far away into the distance.
Nagato: "..."
Brother, do you not see the muscle groups comprising my biceps, triceps, and trapezius?
I'm a kid?
What? You're 1.96 meters (6'5") tall? Half a meter taller than me? Okay, fine. I guess I haven't grown up yet.
Dana looked at him with disdain. "Why are you still on this island? Have you nowhere else to go? Why aren't you leaving yet?"
Wherever Nagato was, the eyes of White Zetsu and even Madara might follow. Dana didn't want the secret of the Eastern Archipelago to be discovered by them.
If that happened, would the Cloud dig on the surface while White Zetsu dug underground? A race to see who could mine faster?
His "Pulse" Vision could detect White Zetsu inside trees, but underground, his detection range was limited to a few meters.
The time to harvest the fruit (Rinnegan) hadn't arrived yet.
On the surface, Nagato and the Cloud had no intersection.
Right now, in Dana's eyes, Nagato was a plague god. The faster he left, the better.
Although, seeing how far Nagato had strayed from the "original plot," Madara was probably getting anxious.
Nagato retracted his upward gaze, secretly vowing to grow that tall—and be even more muscular than this guy.
"Actually, I wanted to..."
He stopped and looked toward the other side of the beach.
Kayo, who had rushed over, was excitedly talking to Kushina.
Dana interjected, "There's no need to wait here, right? Head west for 100 kilometers. Wait there."
Nagato: "...Isn't that a bit harsh for a kid?"
Dana scoffed. "With those muscles, you don't look like a kid. Running 100 kilometers should be a breeze for you, right?"
On the other side.
"Come back to the Cloud with me!"
Kushina had exited Kurama Link Mode. Her eyes were curved in a smile, and her new short hair made her look much fresher than before.
"Didn't we agree last time?! How can you go back on your word! You're terrible! I even asked Mom to clear out a room for you!"
No matter how Kayo stomped her feet in frustration, Kushina maintained her smiling, calm demeanor.
Because Kurama had told her: Kayo carried pure goodwill. She was a clan member who genuinely wanted the best for her.
Kayo got angrier the more she spoke. eventually, she kicked the sand in frustration and turned to storm off.
Kushina smiled and hugged Kayo from behind. "Don't be angry. I finally got out... I haven't figured out how I want to live my life yet. Maybe I'll visit the Cloud in the future. Who knows? For now, do you want to come see Nagato's house with me?"
Nearby, Dana's mind suddenly spun. Wait, is this cohabitation?
He turned to Nagato. "Hey brat, you don't happen to like Kushina, do you?"
Nagato froze, then looked at Dana like he was an idiot. "Ah, the boring world of adults. In your eyes, just because genders are different, people must be in love? She is both my clan member and my student. I haven't even thought about the question you just asked."
"Hard to say. What about over time?"
"No... Mister, you seem to despise me, yet you're also very interested in me?"
Dana laughed awkwardly. I didn't mean anything by it. Just curious if Naruto Uzumaki can still be born.
Although, based on his feeling, Nagato and Kushina looked more like desperate fugitives in a movie who, after surviving hardships, live happily ever after.
And Minato... he was being squeezed out like a tragic second male lead, relegated to a background character in the heroine's sad past.
Childhood friend loses to the mysterious transfer student!
After a while, a pouting Kayo walked over, with Kushina smilingly comforting her from behind.
Seeing Dana, Kayo said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Dana-Nii-san. Kushina doesn't want to come with me..."
Kushina smiled at Dana. "Sorry to keep you waiting. And thank you again for not capturing me and taking me to the Cloud."
In reality, with the Cloud's power on the island, they could totally have taken Kushina and the Nine-Tails by force. Three top-tier combatants could easily wrestle with her, plus the 300 Spartans.
If that wasn't enough, they could call more.
"Can I say it's because you brought a plague god with you?"
If it were just Kushina alone, Dana would have tried soft and hard tactics to drag her back to the village.
But after this incident, the bond between Kushina and Nagato was likely unbreakable.
Thinking of this, Dana looked at Nagato with disdain again.
Nagato: "???"
Even the Third Raikage knew that forcibly taking her back would only yield a tool or a bomb. It would be a slap in the Cloud's own face and might trigger a chain reaction of unwanted events.
So, after a "negotiation" (read: bullying with overwhelming force), Kushina was temporarily safe. As for whether anyone would target her later, that was hard to say.
It sounds bizarre, but in the original timeline, Roshi (Four-Tails Jinchuriki) of Iwagakure wandered for half his life due to "disagreements," which was essentially no different from defecting. Utakata (Six-Tails Jinchuriki) also defected and lived freely for years, even taking a disciple.
With the Cloud's forceful intervention, the other villages had to temporarily let go. That wasn't hard to understand.
Someone would definitely target Kushina in the future—maybe even the Cloud itself—but for now, temporary freedom was indeed in her hands.
The others had already been dragged off by the Third Raikage to "drink tea" in the Land of Water. To prevent Kushina from being intercepted halfway, they left in two separate groups.
"Kayo must have tried to persuade you, so I won't waste my breath," Dana said. "But if problems arise in the future, it's best not to bring trouble into the Cloud's territory. After all, Tailed Beasts are destructive. If it really comes to that, the 'hospitality' won't be like today."
Kushina nodded quickly.
"Also, the Cloud has been gathering the Uzumaki clan. If you meet other clan members in the ninja world, you can send them to Kumogakure. The village will help them."
Dana didn't say, "You can come too." He wanted his contact with Kushina to be prepared and planned, not a sudden surprise with a huge mess trailing behind her.
Anyway, with Kayo around, finding them later wouldn't be hard. Including Nagato.
This event gave Dana a legitimate reason to contact both of them in the future.
"Alright, get going. Before someone changes their mind. Brat! Yes, I'm talking to you! Without permission, you are not allowed to enter the Land of Lightning, and you are especially forbidden from approaching Kumogakure! Do you hear me?!"
Nagato looked like he had been struck by lightning. "What did I do wrong? Am I that annoying?"
Kayo ran over. "Dana-Nii-san, I want to go with Kushina to see Nagato's house. I'm a bit worried."
Dana had no objection. Kayo was the link between the Cloud, Kushina, and Nagato. This played right into his hands.
"Hiroto, you go too. I'll give you a week's vacation. Stay safe."
"Thank you, Dana-Nii-san!"