Chapter 42
Uzushiogakure.
Kushina was in her home having breakfast with her father, Kenji. It had been a few days since Haru had shown his transformation, which sparked another wave of speculations.
They still couldn't find a trace of the Two-Tails' chakra after his transformation. Now, they had no idea what had happened to the Two-Tails. Was Haruto now the Two-Tails' jinchūriki, or had he devoured the beast, erasing it from existence?
She ate absentmindedly as she mulled over these thoughts. She knew the implications of this situation, thanks to her father teaching her about global politics. From what she was told, other villages were wary of Uzushio, especially after they defeated three villages' combined forces and two of the Nine-Tailed beasts invasions.
But it was not enough. Her father had told her about their delicate condition; they had recovered, yes, however they were the weakest in terms of manpower compared to the Big Five villages. They couldn't survive another invasion of that scale. Even with adopted orphans, they would ensure the future, not the present.
This was the reason why the village wanted to keep a low profile, and even her sensei had to stay in the village as a deterrent to other villages.
Kushina wanted to be strong, as strong as her sensei—no, much stronger than her, so her name would be enough that others would never even think of attacking.
From across the table, Kenji saw the various emotions pass through his daughter's face.
"Kushina," Kenji said gently.
"Hmn?"
"Finish your breakfast first."
"Oh-h," she murmured. She didn't even realize she had been staring at her food for the last minute.
"Sigh. Kushina, I teach you things so that you will be aware of them, understand how this world works, so when you take my seat you will know how to lead this clan…" Kenji gave a small smile. "But I also want you to enjoy your childhood, make friends, and have people you could trust with your back. So, don't think about complicated stuff; I am here for that."
Kushina also returned the smile; yeah, her father was here with her. The same father who, despite already having so much work, would still make time to at least have one meal together with her.
"Yeah, dad, you are right. I should not overthink things."
****
At noon.
Kenji sat at his desk. In front of him sat Shōto and Saki.
"So, what are your thoughts about sending Kushina and Haruto to Konoha? More specifically, to my sister?" Kenji asked.
"Why the unexpected question?" Shōto inquired.
"Sigh. Here." Kenji handed him the letter Hiyuki had delivered a few days ago.
After reading the contents, both of them fell silent.
"Akamitsu-san is dead, huh," Saki murmured with a hint of sadness.
"And Mito wants to pass on her legacy," Shōto completed the thought. He looked up. "Is this the reason you called us here?"
The decision was undoubtedly important, but Shōto failed to see why he was being consulted. Ultimately, this choice belonged to Kenji and Medori as the children's parents.
"No, I just wanted your opinions before I discuss the matter with Medori," Kenji replied, shaking his head.
"Why the need to send Haruto there, though? You know it could easily turn into a disaster," Saki interjected.
"Sigh. I wouldn't have included him, but given his recent actions, we don't know if there are any lasting side effects from swallowing a Tailed Beast. Mito, being a Jinchuriki herself, would be better equipped to understand his condition. Besides, the boy needs some outside exposure; we have cradled him enough. With our current alliance with Konoha, he should be perfectly safe there. And don't forget, the boy himself is far from defenseless," Kenji argued, listing his reasons.
Saki and Shōto nodded in understanding. They both recognized it as a difficult but necessary step.
"Sigh. I have no opinions on this matter; it's your and Medori's decision to make as the parents of both kids. But… Haruto right now is like clay with infinite possibilities and can easily be swayed by others," Shōto said, speaking his piece. He might have had some grievances about the child not wanting to become a ninja, but he did not strongly oppose it.
It was the boy's choice; besides, that child had already helped this village by giving them three people whose potential far surpassed Kage level.
"You should discuss this with Medori, Kenji. Haruto might be strong for someone his age, but he is a glass cannon and still young," Saki added.
She was not overly worried about Kushina, but Haruto was a different matter; his unique nature, which they had done their best to hide, would be exposed to the world.
She had trained him enough to suppress his unique aura from a vast ocean to a gentle breeze, but the uniqueness was still present—drastically reduced, but still there. Any master sensor would be able to detect it.
She was sure Medori would not agree to send Haruto to Konoha. She might not show it, but Medori was very protective of Haruto.
"Alright, I got it. You both were very helpful," he said sarcastically at their non-answers before his expression turned serious. "Now, let's focus on what I called you both here for: the mission in the Land of Water has provided results."
Hearing this, both of them perked up.
The Land of Water mission was operated by the Anbu, and Sakuko was leading the squad; it had been going on for years now. The Anbu had infiltrated the Mist Village a few years back and established a small hidden base there, from which they had relayed crucial intel.
"We have reliable information that the Mist Village clans are preparing to launch a coup, and in that chaos, we will eliminate those factions who supported the invasion. We are already supporting them logistically, though their chances of succeeding are slim. So, you two have to be prepared; we have to eliminate their Kage and help the clans supporting us appoint the next Mizukage."
Uzushio was providing supplies to a few small, struggling clans; then these small clans supplied them to the big clans. That was how the clans in the Mist were amassing their strength for a coup, while Uzushio remained hidden and fanned the flames from the sidelines and eliminated their targets directly or indirectly.
"Ho. Now that is important. So, what's happening there?" Shōto asked.
Kenji pulled out a scroll and handed it to them.
"So they finally decided to act?" Saki asked.
"Honestly, I am surprised. They don't have enough forces for this coup, unless they have something that could balance the odds. Whatever their reasons may be, we have the perfect moment for a decisive strike." Kenji said.
Then they began detailing their strategy, supply lines, and the exact number of shinobi required for the mission.
****
Shōto walked out of Kenji's office after a few hours of tactical discussion. They had planned out every part. The moment the clans launched their civil war, Uzushio's elite forces would swoop in, eliminate their primary targets, and then systematically take down the Mizukage.
As he navigated the corridors, numerous shinobi greeted him with deep respect. Upon reaching the building's exit, he came face-to-face with Medori, who had just stepped inside.
"Ah, Shōto-san! It's good to see you here," Medori said sincerely, offering a warm smile. "I wanted to thank you for looking after Akira and Sora. They both truly look up to you."
Shōto raised an eyebrow. "Why the sudden gratitude? I've been training those two for quite a while now."
"Well, they told me you were taking them somewhere out of the village for a few weeks, and they were very excited about it. Honestly, I realize I've never properly thanked you for everything you've done for them."
"There's no need to thank me for that. I am simply training the next generation so that, one day, one of them might step up to succeed me and let these old bones finally rest," Shōto said with some exhaustion. "As for the trip I planned, I'm afraid I'll have to postpone it for a few weeks. Some urgent, unforeseen matters require my immediate involvement. I'll inform them about the delay tomorrow when they arrive for their lessons, or you can pass the message along if you'd like."
"I understand. I'll let them know," Medori replied politely. "And thank you once more. Whatever your motives might be, it doesn't change the impact your guidance has had on those boys. For that, I will always be grateful. Now, I must head up for my meeting with Kenji-san and Iori-san." With a parting nod, she walked past him toward the stairs.
Shōto watched her departing back for a brief moment. 'It seems she doesn't know about Kenji's offer to send the kids away yet,' he thought, silently wishing Kenji the best of luck before exiting the Administration Building.
As he walked down the street, a random thought crossed his mind. 'She was working on portable radios or something similar, right? I wonder if she's made any actual breakthroughs.'
The village's current communication radios were far too bulky and unstable for active stealth missions. If Medori managed to solve the interference and size limitations, it would mark a massive leap forward for Uzushio's logistics and military coordination.
****
Inside the office.
After his meeting with his friends concluded, Kenji sat back down to go through various documents, signing some for approval and rejecting others.
He glanced to the side of his desk at the small stack of papers that still required his attention. 'From morning until now, and there is still this much paperwork left,' he thought bitterly. He had never imagined his greatest arch-nemesis would end up being administrative work.
Knock. Knock.
A sudden knock sounded at the door. Kenji checked the time and concluded that Medori had arrived. Apparently, she had made a breakthrough in her research and needed his formal approval, so he had invited her to his office for a further discussion.
"Come in," he called out calmly.
Just as he expected, Medori walked inside, accompanied by Iori.
"Come, sit. I've been waiting for you. So, what new thing have you invented now?" Kenji asked with a light smile, gesturing toward the chairs in front of his desk.
Medori and Iori both nodded, taking their seats. Medori then retrieved a scroll from her pouch and unrolled it across the desk. Drawn upon the parchment was a large fūinjutsu array constructed out of intricate, micro-script kanji characters, flanked by two smaller arrays crafted in the exact same manner.
As Kenji examined the formulas, he instantly realized the primary seal functioned as a central medium for the two smaller ones.
"Don't tell me you replaced the entire physical machine with seals?" Kenji praised, taking the scroll for a closer look. "That's incredible. You truly have improved leaps and bounds since your first invention."
"It is nothing compared to your expertise, Kenji-sama. You still managed to discern their exact functions at a single glance," Medori replied modestly. "Besides, the radio you provided was a massive help."
Kenji nodded, rolling the scroll slightly. "So, tell me more about how it works."
"Currently, these are prototypes. As you can see, the large array acts as a relay medium, connecting both of the smaller seals. This essentially eliminates the bulky equipment entirely, and by my calculations, it should function seamlessly within a five-kilometer radius of the central seal." Medori then began explaining the mechanics—how the seals linked, their energy consumption, and the deployment requirements.
Once she finished her explanation, both Kenji and Iori showed varying degrees of surprise. Iori in particular was stunned; she had been dragged into the meeting straight from her office and had no idea Medori was working on something like this.
"A five-kilometer radius… That is a significant distance, considering standard radios only cover one to two kilometers under normal conditions," Kenji noted, emphasizing the baseline performance. "And since it's a seal, it can be engraved and easily carried into the field. So, what are the drawbacks?"
Kenji knew every invention had its pros and cons, and he wanted to know the limitations of this one.
"About that… It suffers from none of the traditional interference issues of a mechanical radio, but during testing, I noticed minor latency delays whenever the surrounding environmental chakra became unstable. As I said, it is still just a prototype that requires further refinement."
"So, what do you need from me? And why bring Iori along?" Kenji asked with a faint smile, glancing at the Iori.
"I need more field data to refine the seal matrices," Medori explained. "Eventually, I want to integrate the village's primary barrier as the central medium for these seals. That would allow them to cover the entire island without needing a standalone relay station. Furthermore, I need individuals to test them outside the island—preferably across different foreign nations."
"Hmm. You want permission to tie these prototype seals directly into our primary defense barrier," Kenji said, pondering the request. It wasn't an impossible task, but modifying the barrier matrix was no small matter.
"And to conduct these long-range field tests, you want to equip our active shinobi—" Iori began thoughtfully, before her eyes widened as the realization struck her. "—No, you want our covert merchant convoys to carry them."
Medori looked at her and shook her head slightly.
"Yes and no. I want only Mei's specific merchant group to handle them for now. That will prevent any potential information leaks."
After considering the variables, Kenji chimed in.
"Here is how I think we should proceed: why don't you first deploy these on the ground level among local patrols? Gather more user feedback and refine the formulas. Once the design is finalized, we can integrate it directly into the primary barrier matrix, eliminating the need to make repeated modifications to the village's main defense array."
"...Yes, of course. I didn't consider the inconvenience of repeatedly altering the village barrier arrays," Medori conceded, nodding to herself.
"Great. Iori, when is Mei's caravan scheduled to return to Uzushio?" Kenji asked.
"In about two or three weeks, give or take."
"Good. Send her to my office the moment she arrives. And Medori, engrave a few more of these seal pairs onto portable mediums; I will hand them out to a select few active squads for preliminary testing."
"Understood, Kenji-sama," Medori replied curtly.
Iori stood up to take her leave, and Medori was about to follow when Kenji spoke up.
"Medori, stay for a moment. I have something personal to discuss with you."
Medori blinked in confusion before settling back into her chair.
Once Iori had closed the door behind her, Kenji cleared his throat.
"Ahem. I was… thinking of sending Kushina and Haruto to stay with my sister in Konoha for training."
The moment the words left Kenji's mouth, the ambient temperature in the office plummeted a few degrees.
"...Excuse me?" Medori asked with a small smile, but there was a chilling edge in her voice. "I think I misheard you, Kenji-sama."
A cold sweat immediately broke out down Kenji's back.
****