At the training ground's edge.
"Stay away from Mikoto?"
Uchiha Yo's lips curled into a mocking smile as he stared at Uzumaki Kushina.
"Honestly, Kushina-san, you should be the one staying rational here. After all, you're the next Nine-Tails jinchuriki."
Boom!
Yo's blunt statement hit Kushina like a thunderbolt. Her pupils shrank, and her greatest fear—something she had been desperately avoiding—was laid bare.
Her expression briefly betrayed a sense of loneliness, but Yo didn't relent. Instead, he offered a calm, almost indifferent smile.
"Relax. The Uchiha possess the strongest power. We don't need to rely on external forces like you."
His tone carried the unmistakable arrogance of an Uchiha. Deep down, however, Yo was strategizing.
Kushina's wariness makes it incredibly difficult to get close to her. Not everyone has Minato Namikaze's plot armor, complete with an entire Konoha-built stage to sweep her off her feet.
Yo couldn't help but recall a key plot hole from the original story.
Somehow, a few Cloud Village ninja infiltrated Konoha, bypassing the police force, the ANBU, the Root division, and the intelligence department to kidnap Kushina. They even managed to enter the Senju Compound and take her out without a hitch.
And what then? The elite Cloud ninja nonchalantly strolled out of the village, completely unaware of the trail of bright red hair they'd left behind. Naturally, they were obliterated by a young Minato—who wasn't even a jonin at the time.
Ridiculous.
"You!"
Kushina's eyes turned red with anger, glaring at Yo as she tried to mask her vulnerability with her fiery temper.
But Yo simply stared back, unfazed.
"Kushina-san, your status may be important, but Mikoto-nee is more than capable of conveying the Uchiha's goodwill through you. You should focus on protecting yourself instead. As the future Nine-Tails jinchuriki, there will be plenty of people watching you—some with sinister motives. Don't let Mikoto get hurt because of you."
Turning her warning back on her, Yo deliberately added another layer of caution to Kushina's already guarded mindset.
If I can't have her trust, I'll make sure no one else does either.
Moreover, Yo was confident that with his prodding, and Tsunade's inherent vigilance, Kushina wouldn't fall prey to the same tricks the original story showcased.
"Hmph! I don't need your advice!"
Kushina snorted, forming a hand seal to dispel the shadow clone.
At the same moment, the real Kushina, chatting with Mikoto in the distance, paused mid-sentence and frowned.
"Kushina? Is something wrong?"
Mikoto's genuine concern brought her back to the present, and Kushina quickly put on a sunny smile.
"Nope, everything's fine!"
Their laughter echoed across the training ground as Yo wisely left the area, unwilling to linger.
---
Time flew by, and over a month had passed since Yo's return from the Rain Country frontlines.
That night, in the Hokage's office.
The lights in the Hokage's building burned brightly against the dark sky. Inside the conference room, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, sat at the head of the table, flanked by Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane. Their imposing presence set the tone for the jonin meeting.
"The situation on the Rain Country battlefield has grown increasingly dire," Sarutobi began, his voice calm but firm. "Officially, the conflict involves the Rain Country, Sand Village, and our Konoha. In truth, all five great ninja villages are involved.
"Cloud Village, Stone Village, and Mist Village are secretly supporting the Rain Country and have dispatched elite teams. Meanwhile, the Sand Village has formally declared war on us."
Sarutobi's sharp gaze swept across the gathered jonin as he detailed the gravity of the situation.
The assembled jonin wore grim expressions. Though the Sand Village was the only one to openly declare war, it was clear that the entire ninja world was on the brink of a full-scale war.
Previously, covert skirmishes had kept the worst of the violence at bay. But now, with open declarations and the involvement of multiple villages, a large-scale ninja war was inevitable.
Tsunade, seated among the jonin, remained calm as she glanced briefly at Jiraiya beside her. She then stood and spoke in a steady voice:
"First, I propose that all four-man teams assigned to prolonged operations behind enemy lines include at least one medical ninja. Doing so would significantly increase survival rates and mission success rates."
Her unwavering tone resonated throughout the room, and many jonin nodded in agreement.
Indeed, having a medical ninja on a team could mean the difference between life and death, significantly boosting operational efficiency.
Tsunade had long been refining her proposal for a comprehensive medical ninja system. While it had remained unfinished, this jonin meeting provided the perfect opportunity to present her ideas in their entirety.
Beyond combat scenarios, she proposed establishing a dedicated medical institution within the village to train and deploy more medical ninjas.
The room buzzed with murmurs of approval as the jonin absorbed her proposals.
Homura and Koharu exchanged wary glances, their expressions heavy as they turned to Sarutobi.
The Third Hokage inhaled deeply before responding in a measured tone.
"Your proposal is valid, Tsunade, but implementing a medical system during wartime would be both time-consuming and costly. The enemy will not wait for us to prepare."
Sarutobi's words hung in the air as Tsunade returned to her seat, her expression unreadable.
Jiraiya, sitting beside her, was visibly puzzled. This uncharacteristic calm wasn't the Tsunade he knew. Even Orochimaru, seated near the front, raised a questioning brow.
Only Tsunade herself remained composed, her mind spinning.
Konoha isn't so strapped for resources that it couldn't implement a scaled-down version of this system. Could it be… the village doesn't want a Senju to rise to power again?
"I support Tsunade's proposal."
A sudden, steady voice broke the tension. It was Kato Dan, a jonin with pale blue hair and a resolute expression.
"I don't want the sacrifices of our fallen comrades to be in vain. We must learn from their losses," he declared.
As his voice echoed through the room, Jiraiya looked on in surprise. Tsunade, however, smiled—a dangerous smile that made Jiraiya's blood run cold.
"Tsunade, I think the old man doesn't completely disagree. It's just the timing—" Jiraiya began, but Tsunade cut him off.
"Shut up."
Her icy tone silenced him immediately. Even Jiraiya knew better than to provoke her further.
Internally, Tsunade seethed.
Fine! So this is the game you're playing? First Nawaki, and now this slimy display from Kato Dan. Everything's a carefully laid trap aimed at me—and the Senju.
Nawaki's death could be written off as an accident. But Kato Dan's sudden appearance and open support? That was no coincidence.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Though her actions seemed casual, Tsunade's decision to summon a creature mid-meeting raised Jiraiya's suspicions.
"What's she up to now?" he muttered.
For anyone else, summoning a creature during such a critical meetin
g would have been a breach of protocol, even a security risk. But Tsunade was a Senju—no one dared question her loyalty to Konoha.