Chapter 17 (Patreon)

“Danzō, you had better think carefully before you say another word.”

“You are turning your back on Lord Tobirama’s teachings by placing your trust in the Uchiha. Hiruzen, you will regret this!”

“Return to Root. And remember this, Danzō—I am the Hokage. I do not need you to tell me how to lead the village.”

The door to the Hokage’s office slammed shut with enough force to rattle the walls.

After Danzō stormed away, however, Hiruzen Sarutobi’s anger gradually faded, replaced by a trace of doubt.

It was unreasonable to expect the Uchiha shinobi sent to the front lines to capture Kumogakure’s jinchūriki. Even so, so many of them had been deployed, yet the situation on the battlefield had barely changed.

Something about that did not seem right.

Hiruzen was not as hostile toward the Uchiha as Danzō, but neither did he trust the clan completely.

The Hyūga Clan was hardly obedient either, yet he had never treated them with the same suspicion. The difference was simple—the Uchiha had a history that could not be ignored.

Not every Uchiha was like Kagami.

More importantly, it was an undeniable fact that the Nine-Tails had been controlled by the Sharingan.

Could there be an Uchiha hidden in the shadows—someone whose existence had never been discovered by the village?

A cold glint flashed through Hiruzen’s eyes.

“Someone, come in.”

An ANBU shinobi appeared before his desk.

“Bring me the Uchiha Clan’s population records from the past several years, along with every report the ANBU has gathered on them.”

Hiruzen suspected that the Uchiha might have been secretly raising talented shinobi beyond the village’s notice.

For a clan so proficient in genjutsu, manipulating hospital records would not be especially difficult. A pair of twins could be registered as a single child, and if a few births had been concealed during the village census, the deception might never be discovered without a thorough investigation.

Before long, the requested documents were placed before him.

Hiruzen carefully examined both sets of records.

Only after confirming that there were no obvious discrepancies did he release a quiet breath of relief.

But if the Uchiha had not secretly hidden anyone, then where had the Sharingan that controlled the Nine-Tails come from?

The Sharingan of Uchiha shinobi who had died on past battlefields had supposedly been recovered successfully.

Could an Uchiha have given their eyes to an outsider?

Or perhaps…

Danzō.

Hiruzen suddenly remembered that not every recovered Sharingan had been returned to the Uchiha Clan. At the time, Danzō and Orochimaru had requested several pairs for research.

After considering every possibility, his suspicions had somehow led him back to Danzō.

Hiruzen’s expression darkened considerably.

Since the two armies on the front lines remained locked in a stalemate, the war situation was unlikely to change in the immediate future. As a result, some shinobi were permitted to return to the village in rotations to rest and recover.

Among those who returned this time was Minato’s student, Kakashi Hatake.

The first place Kakashi visited after entering Konoha was the cemetery.

He stood quietly before the graves of his two fallen teammates before making his way to Kushina’s home to visit his late teacher’s wife and son.

Kakashi had been worried that Kushina might still be unable to recover from Minato-sensei’s death.

However, when he saw her again, she seemed to be doing far better than he had expected.

“The Uchiha Clan is keeping Kumogakure’s jinchūriki occupied,” Kakashi explained. “As long as that continues, Kumogakure should not pose too great a threat in the immediate future.”

When he mentioned the Uchiha, Kakashi glanced at Kushina with a hint of concern.

During the Nine-Tails’ attack, Kakashi and the other young shinobi of his generation had been kept away from the battlefield.

Afterward, however, he had heard reports that the Nine-Tails’ eyes had displayed the tomoe pattern of the Sharingan.

That could only mean that an Uchiha had been controlling it.

To Kakashi’s surprise, Kushina showed little emotional reaction.

Instead, she sighed regretfully.

“The Uchiha Clan clearly possesses tremendous combat strength, but the village has placed too many restrictions on them. They are afraid to use their full power. Otherwise, even if they could not drive Kumogakure back, they should have gained the advantage by now.”

She then changed the subject.

“Kakashi, you only just returned. Go home and get some rest.”

Kushina was preparing to begin her afternoon training while wearing weights.

She wanted to master the Nine-Tails’ chakra as soon as possible and become a perfect jinchūriki.

Only then would she possess the strength and confidence necessary to change the balance of power within the village.

Kakashi nodded.

“Then I’ll take my leave. I’ll come back to visit you and Naruto again tomorrow.”

After Kakashi left, Roy approached Kushina.

“There was something I did not mention before because you had no one reliable enough to handle it. Now that Kakashi has returned, perhaps we can ask for his help.”

Kushina looked at him in confusion.

“What is it?”

“As far as I know, there is another member of the Uzumaki Clan living in Kusagakure. Even among the Uzumaki, her body possesses an extremely rare constitution.”

The moment Roy finished speaking, Kushina’s expression changed.

Her long red hair began to rise despite the complete absence of wind.

She had clearly understood what kind of constitution he meant.

The Uzumaki Clan was famous throughout the shinobi world for its sealing techniques and extraordinary vitality.

Among them, however, there were individuals born with an even rarer gift.

Their blood and chakra possessed miraculous healing properties.

By biting such an Uzumaki, even someone suffering from life-threatening wounds could recover without medicine.

Once the effects of that constitution became known, it was easy to imagine the kind of treatment that person would be forced to endure.

“How dare a minor village like Kusagakure do such a thing?”

Fury erupted across Kushina’s face, and she immediately prepared to leave and rescue the girl herself.

Roy had expected that reaction.

It was precisely why he had not told her before.

“Calm down. We cannot change what has already happened, but it still may not be too late. We can ask Kakashi to rescue her. Kusagakure should not be capable of stopping him.”

Kakashi was only fourteen or fifteen years old, but he had already been promoted to jōnin several years earlier.

With the A-rank ninjutsu he had created himself, the Chidori, combined with the Sharingan entrusted to him by his fallen comrade, ordinary jōnin were no match for him.

For a minor village like Kusagakure, moreover, the title of jōnin often carried more prestige than actual strength. Most of their shinobi would never meet the standards required to become jōnin in one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

Even if Kakashi attacked them openly, he would likely be able to defeat their forces.

However, this was only a rescue mission. There was no reason for him to confront the entire village head-on.

Roy’s explanation gradually calmed Kushina.

It was certainly inconvenient for her to leave Konoha at the moment.

Of course, if she truly insisted on leaving, there were few people in the village capable of stopping her.

The following day, Kushina brought Kakashi, who had come to visit as promised, to the Hokage’s office.

Seeing the two of them arrive together, Hiruzen paused in surprise.

“Kushina? Kakashi? What brings the two of you here together?”

“Lord Third, while sorting through Lady Mito’s belongings, I discovered records suggesting that members of the Uzumaki Clan once hid something outside the village. I need Kakashi to retrieve it.”

Every shinobi village maintained strict control over the movements of its shinobi.

Anyone who left without permission could be classified as a missing-nin.

Konoha was also currently at war with Kumogakure. A jōnin-level combatant like Kakashi was expected to rest, recover, and return to the battlefield as soon as possible.

Without a convincing reason, he would never be granted permission to leave the village.

That was why Kushina had come personally.

She intended to use the supposed discovery of an Uzumaki Clan relic as justification for Kakashi’s mission.

Hearing her explanation, Hiruzen’s eyes brightened.

“What exactly did you discover?”

“I’m not certain yet. We will only know after it has been recovered.”

“I see.”

Hiruzen turned toward Kakashi.

“Then I will entrust the matter to you. Do you require ANBU assistance?”