Mito Uzumaki could have been someone of great prestige, but even after removing her bamboo hat, no one except Tanaka recognized her.
Of course, who would think that while Konoha was facing one of its greatest crises in years, Mito Uzumaki would appear in Uzushio?
'Is she here for Kushina?' He narrowed his eyes as he passed by her.
When he walked past, Tanaka noticed her stop and look back.
"Mito-sama?" The ninja beside her called respectfully, seeming confused as to why she had suddenly stopped.
Resuming her walk, Mito calmly said, "It's nothing, let's go."
[9x2=18]
At home, Tanaka called Akane to speak with him in his special room.
"What's with all the suspense, Tanaka-kun?" Akane asked after closing the door.
He got straight to the point: "I just saw Mito Uzumaki. She's heading toward the Uzukage Headquarters."
Akane furrowed her brows: "I understand that's surprising, but..."
"She might be planning to make Kushina-chan the jinchuuriki of the Nine-Tails Fox." Tanaka interrupted.
"It can't be..." Her voice lacked confidence.
Who would know the unique chakra of her daughter better than Akane herself?
The point raised by Tanaka was valid. And the possibility of it happening was high.
"I won't allow it!" Akane declared firmly, her eyes glowing dangerously: "I respect her, but that doesn't mean I'll let her take my daughter to be turned into a caged monster in Konoha."
Only a fool would think that was the best for her daughter. And Akane was not among those fools.
"In that case, I'm relieved," Tanaka said.
[V+X=?]
February 4th, Sunday. Partly cloudy skies with intervals of sunshine. Cold and moderate wind.
When Tanaka woke up to system notifications, he had a slight headache that was eased by the buffs from sleeping.
Yesterday, it was already late, so there was no sign of Mito. But today, will it be the same?
Normally, Tanaka would enter the dungeon, but this time, he washed up, and after taking care of his daily needs, he headed to the special room, but not before leaving a clone in the living room.
[5+10=15]
10 a.m.
While playing with modeling clay with Kushina in the living room, someone knocked on the door.
Akane went to answer: "Coming."
When the door opened, unsurprisingly, it was Mito. But she wasn't alone; Masashi and his two daughters, Shiori and Rias, were with her.
Rias, being Kushina's playmate and only one year older, waved with a smile when she saw Kushina: "Kushina, I'm here~"
Rias, who was a few centimeters taller than Kushina, quickly changed her shoes, entering as if she were at home.
By the way, unlike Shiori and Masashi, she didn't have two purple eyes. She had heterochromia, with her left eye being purple and her right eye a blue-green color.
"Rias~" Kushina was a bit shy around strangers – when she saw someone she didn't know at the door, she held onto Tanaka's shirt sleeve, but when she saw Rias, her expression softened as she waved back.
"Kushina, should we play in your room?" Rias, now close, asked. She then turned and looked at Tanaka: "Ah, Oniichan, long time no see. Good morning~"
"Mm, good morning, Rias-chan." Tanaka replied with a gentle smile.
At the door, Mito also seemed to have finished talking with Akane as she entered with her, followed by Masashi, Shiori, and three Konoha ninjas.
"Rias, shall we?" Kushina finished putting away the modeling clay and called for her.
As the two children left, Tanaka became the center of attention. Mito and the others approached, all eyes on him.
"My eyes weren't mistaken," Mito said with a kind smile as she got closer: "You must be Tanaka Uzumaki, correct?"
"Mm, that's right," Tanaka nodded. "Mito-san."
"As expected, you noticed who I was yesterday, didn't you?" Mito laughed a little. "Don't deny it, I noticed your look yesterday; the way you looked at me said that you recognized me."
"Mito-sama and the others, please, have a seat." Akane offered. "Would you like a cup of tea?"
"Thank you, I'll accept." Mito smiled gently as she looked at her.
"I'll have one too." Masashi said with a chuckle.
As Mito sat down in front of Tanaka, Shiori and Masashi took their seats at the other end. Meanwhile, the three ninjas who came with Mito stood right behind her without moving.
'Why do I feel something strange about all this? Isn't she here to make Kushina the Jinchuuriki of the Nine Tails? Why do I feel like I've become the target?'
Although he thought this, he didn't let it show, remaining calm as he observed Mito and the others.
The room fell silent until Akane returned and served tea to them. After doing so, she sat on Tanaka's left.
Mito cleared her throat and took a sip of tea, then said while looking at Tanaka, raising an eyebrow: "Tanaka-kun, would you like to become the Jinchuuriki of the Nine Tails?"
Tanaka was stunned. "Wait, I don't think I heard that right." Although he had speculated that something like this might happen, was he really right?
After placing the tea on the table, Mito looked calmly at Tanaka. She smiled slightly, as if preparing the ground for what was to come. In a calm voice, she made her direct proposal: "Yes, you heard correctly. I'm asking if you want to become the Jinchuuriki of the Nine Tails – becoming the savior of Konoha and the Shinobi world."
Mito was straightforward; she didn't try a slower approach or attempt to persuade him. That kind of approach would only work with children. For Tanaka, who was already 15 and about to turn 16, it was better to be direct.
Tanaka, although he felt he could control the Kyubi and also knew that in the Naruto anime, Naruto became friends with Kurama, the reality was that the idea of having a being like the Kyubi living inside him was not at all appealing. Not to mention that, even if he believed he wouldn't need to stay in Konoha, he would still end up in a very tedious situation.
Keeping this in mind, he categorically declined: "No, I'm not interested."
"Didn't I say so?" Akane seemed to already expect this, and spoke with a bright smile. Clearly, the idea of making him the Jinchuuriki of the Nine Tails wasn't something she wanted for him either.
With a resigned sigh, Mito said: "Boy, are you sure you don't want to? I know it seems bad from the outside, but it's not that bad. Not to mention you could fill the Kyubi's void with love. By doing so, you could earn its recognition and collaborate with it, gaining extraordinary power capable of changing the world."
Maybe that was her Plan B. Saying something like this would tempt any hot-blooded young person. After all, these words basically implied that he could change the Kyubi and gain power to change the world... Essentially gaining fame and glory wherever he went, something many hot-blooded youths would desire...
But would Tanaka fall for it?
"My answer remains no." Tanaka looked deeply into her eyes. "I have a question, Mito-san."
When she was rejected for the second time, Mito looked disheartened, but upon hearing the second part, she saw some hope: "Oh, go ahead, Tanaka-kun."
"Before Hashirama captured the tailed beasts, what kind of evil did they commit? I mean, I read a lot, but even after reading various books and scrolls about the Shinobi world, apart from the fight between Hashirama and Madara, there's nothing that mentions the tailed beasts being malicious or even destroying a small village. In fact, I even saw records that some of them were worshipped as gods and lived peacefully in their own territories until Hashirama captured them all. Am I correct so far, or have I missed something?"
"That is..." Mito's eyes widened as she lost her composure.
Masashi was shocked. He hadn't expected this turn of events.
As for Shiori, her lips curved into a small, perfect smile as she thought: 'Interesting. So this is what he reads so much...'
She still remembered that during all the free time they had on the mission she went on with him, Tanaka was always reading something.
"Impertinent!" The Leaf ninja who saw this was angry. After all, saying this is like denying Hashirama's achievements.
But was he wrong?
After all, even though the fear of the destructive power that these tailed beasts could manifest led to conflicts, this itself isn't the fault of the tailed beasts, but rather human greed for power. These conflicts were fueled more by the desire to use the immense power of the tailed beasts for war than by any inherent malice of the beasts themselves.
Until then, no one besides Madara had succeeded in using a Tailed Beast. So, was he wrong in saying this, or did Hashirama indeed take the freedom from the Tailed Beasts and hand them over to the major villages, just because he believed they were dangerous?
Of course, Hashirama saw firsthand how powerful a Tailed Beast can be when Madara controlled the Kyubi, but how many Madaras exist in this world?
To Tanaka, this was a simple excuse for a means that led to the beginning of an era where humans finally managed to use the powers of the Tailed Beasts, causing even more destruction to the ninja world. Is he wrong to think this way?
Within Mito's seal, the Kyubi stirred, with a malicious glint in its eyes.
["Heh, Mito, this kid has guts... Hahaha! Finally, someone with common sense. You humans always pointing fingers, calling us monsters. But who really brought the chaos? It wasn't us, it was you. Who is the real villain here, huh? How dare you blame us for your own mistakes?"]
Mito remained silent for a moment. When the Konoha ninja stepped forward, she raised her hand, stopping him with a calm but firm look. She knew intervening against Akane would be a mistake and recognized that the young man in front of her, despite his calmness, had something that stirred unease within her.
"Fuuu..."
With a controlled breath, Mito brought the cup to her lips and took a large sip of tea before finally speaking.
"Yes, you are right." Her voice was serene, but there was an unshakable firmness in her words. "Hashirama was guided by the fear of the chaos that the Tailed Beasts could bring, but he ignored the even greater chaos that humans could cause by using that power as a weapon. But what has been done cannot be undone. And now that humans have mastered the art of becoming Jinchuuriki..."
She paused, observing the faces around her. "That's why a Jinchuuriki of the Nine Tails is necessary. Not to dominate, but to maintain balance."
Everyone's eyes turned to Mito, incredulous. No one expected her to acknowledge the past mistakes so clearly.
"So, do you really believe that love can change anything, or did you just say that to try to convince me to become the Jinchuuriki of the Nine Tails?" Tanaka asked, his voice sharp as a blade. "In the end, isn't it just about saying some pretty words to convince me to become a puppet of Konoha?"
"Enough! I've tolerated enough of your disrespect, insolent boy!" The ninja from before, with black hair and obsidian eyes, erupted in fury.
The moment he tried to move, golden chains emerged from the ground around him, quickly coiling around his body and slamming him to the ground with a loud thud.