Chapter 137: Kushina—Use Me However You Need, Kazuki!
Beneath a rugged, steep cliff, hidden within an extremely secluded cave...
The unconscious Kushina slowly opened her eyes. Her mind was foggy, and she felt pain throughout her entire body, as if she'd been completely drained.
"Where... am I?" she asked blankly, looking around, seemingly not fully awake yet.
"Land of Lightning, near the Hidden Cloud Village."
A kind and gentle voice pulled Kushina back to reality from her half-conscious state.
Following the voice, she saw a man wearing a white animal mask and black ANBU cloak with short black hair sitting cross-legged near the cave entrance, looking at her sideways.
"This feels so familiar... like I've seen you in a dream." Kushina hesitated slightly, then tentatively asked, "Have we... met before?"
The man looked at her and removed his mask, revealing a youthful, handsome face. "Long time no see, Kushina."
"It's you! Kazuki!"
Kushina's face immediately lit up with excitement. "You're here to save Minato too, aren't you?!"
"Please remove the 'too' from that sentence." Uchiha Kazuki sighed, looking helpless. "Now, can we talk about how you managed to shake off your ANBU guards, escape from Konoha, and even arrive in the Land of Lightning before us, Kushina?"
"I... I..."
The usually fiery Kushina showed a rare hint of embarrassment, blushing as she muttered softly, "I was worried about Minato, and then... I..."
"And then what?"
Uchiha Kazuki pressed.
"It was just an accident, really an accident! I swear!" Kushina sounded uncertain of herself, her index and middle fingers pinched together with a tiny gap between them as she said sheepishly, "I got a little emotional and accidentally injured the ANBU guard, then ran away."
Okay, the answer was clear now.
Seeing her like this, Uchiha Kazuki could probably guess what happened. "You partially transformed into the Tailed Beast, didn't you?"
"I only leaked a tiny bit of the Nine-Tails' power~" Kushina reiterated defensively.
However, looking at her guilty expression, it didn't seem like a mere 'tiny bit' at all.
Besides, given the importance of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and the previous kidnapping incident, the Hokage had specifically assigned three full ANBU squads to protect and guard her.
To escape from three ANBU squads, shake off Konoha's pursuers, and even get ahead of his own team, she must have unleashed at least four or five tails' worth of power.
Combined with the earlier incident where Kushina was surrounded by dozens of Cloud shinobi but never used her Tailed Beast Bomb, Uchiha Kazuki roughly understood and deduced the cause and effect of the entire situation.
Seeing him remain silent for so long, Kushina became even more nervous, shrinking her neck and cautiously asking, "W-what's wrong? You look so serious."
"Kushina, you've caused a massive problem this time."
Uchiha Kazuki frowned, his expression grave, and said in a deep voice, "Do you understand what it means when a Jinchuriki suddenly appears in another nation's territory?"
"I... I was just trying to save Minato!" Kushina's heart trembled, and she bit her lip stubbornly. "Besides, even if there's a mistake, it's the Cloud Village's fault! Why can they invade our Konoha again and again while we have to swallow our anger?!"
"That's a problem the Hokage needs to consider, not me."
Uchiha Kazuki tapped his knuckles against the rock, saying calmly, "My mission is to rescue Minato Namikaze, and your situation is an unexpected complication. Do you understand what I mean, Kushina?"
"So... you're going to send me back, right?"
Kushina asked dejectedly, her head drooping like a scolded kitten.
"Theoretically, yes—that's exactly what I should do."
Uchiha Kazuki pinched the bridge of his nose, looking troubled, and sighed. "But I'm afraid even if I wanted to send you back, Minato doesn't have that much time left."
"No time? What do you mean? What happened to Minato?" Upon hearing about her beloved, Kushina couldn't sit still any longer. She rushed over, grabbed Uchiha Kazuki's shoulders, and shook him violently. "Tell me quickly! What happened to Minato?!"
"Calm down, Kushina!"
Uchiha Kazuki freed himself from her grasp and tried to soothe her emotions.
Otherwise, she might actually shake his head clean off his shoulders in her panic.
"Okay, okay, I'll calm down!"
Kushina took several deep breaths and slowly released her grip, though she was still visibly anxious. "Can you tell me now?"
"We've already wasted an entire day rescuing you."
Uchiha Kazuki raised his eyes slightly, his tone revealing a hint of gravity. "You're a shinobi too, so you should be able to guess what's happening, right?"
"Interrogation..."
Kushina bit her lip tightly, her face showing anguish.
Of course she knew. Once an elite jonin from another village was captured—especially someone like Minato Namikaze, who held such significant political value—they would inevitably be imprisoned and subjected to the most rigorous interrogation, extracting every last piece of information from their mind!
And shinobi interrogation methods were relatively simple and brutal, never involving mere psychological pressure.
They would directly torture the captive on both mental and physical levels until the captive couldn't bear it anymore and, under the influence of drugs, was completely drained of their value!
"That's right."
Uchiha Kazuki nodded. "And judging from the timeline, Minato's interrogation should have already begun, which is why I said there isn't much time left."
"Then what are we waiting for?!"
Kushina, impulsive by nature, became so anxious upon hearing about Minato's situation that she immediately wanted to rush out to rescue him.
"Wait, Kushina! Don't be reckless!"
Uchiha Kazuki stood up, reaching out to stop her, and called out firmly, "You don't even know where Minato is being held—how are you going to rescue him? Besides, the Third Raikage is guarding the Hidden Cloud Village. Rushing in blindly is tantamount to suicide. Not only will you fail to rescue him, but you'll get yourself killed too!"
Startled by his firm tone, Kushina froze, her face turning pale. She stood there helplessly. "Then... what should we do?"
"Ah, you're really putting me in a difficult position, Kushina."
Uchiha Kazuki sighed softly, his face showing helplessness and internal conflict. "From the village's perspective, I should send you directly back to Konoha. After all, you're the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. From any angle, your importance outweighs the current mission."
Kushina clenched her fists, biting her lip as her eyes reddened.
"But sending you back would mean abandoning Minato's life."
Uchiha Kazuki paused, then suddenly chuckled self-deprecatingly, shaking his head and saying softly, "For a qualified shinobi, the village's importance should always come first, but it seems... I can't ignore Minato's life. Perhaps... I'm really not suited to be a shinobi."
From his words, Kushina heard a glimmer of hope. "You mean...?"
"Yes. I've decided to go save Minato."
Uchiha Kazuki smiled gently. "Of course, your strength is indispensable, so please lend me your power, Kushina."
"Yes!"
Kushina's eyes burned with determination. "As long as we can save Minato, use me however you need, Kazuki!"
"I have a plan."
Uchiha Kazuki adjusted his glasses and smiled. "Though you might have to suffer a bit for it."
"No problem! As long as we can save Minato, I can endure any hardship!"
Kushina patted her chest confidently, her red hair flowing as she revealed a determined and beautiful smile.
"That's good. I was worried you wouldn't agree."
Uchiha Kazuki seemed relieved, then patted her shoulder. "Then I'll need you to infiltrate the Hidden Cloud Village, unleash eight tails' worth of power, and cause absolute chaos!"
"Okay, sure! Wait a minute—WHAT?!"
Kushina's eyes widened in complete disbelief.
[End of Chapter 137]
Author's Note
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