Chapter 63 (Patreon)

“Roy-kun, do you want to join me?”

Kushina reclined in the bathtub with her entire body submerged beneath the water, raising an eyebrow at Roy as he stood beside her.

“I think you could use a little help,” Roy replied with a perfectly serious expression. “Rasengan!”

With his participation, the bathwater began to churn erratically before swirling back and forth.

The flowing water swept across Kushina’s skin, allowing her to experience its every movement firsthand.

His assistance proved surprisingly effective. Although Kushina had yet to complete the Water Release Chakra Mode, she had already mastered a D-rank Water Release ninjutsu through her training.

At this rate, it would not be long before she developed the technique she envisioned—one capable of enhancing her physical abilities.

After wrapping herself in a bath towel, Kushina did not return directly to the bedroom. Instead, she entered Kaorui’s room.

Carrying one child in each arm, she brought the sleeping Naruto and Karin back to the bedroom, then pushed Roy out just as he was preparing to sleep.

The door nearly struck him in the nose.

Roy stood there in stunned silence, staring at the closed door.

“R-Roy-kun...”

A nervous voice came from behind him.

Roy turned around—and froze.

“Why are you wearing Kushina’s clothes?”

Kaorui was dressed in the exact same outfit Kushina had worn earlier: the same shirt, the same skirt, and the same black pantyhose.

The shirt and skirt were Kushina’s, but the pantyhose was clearly brand-new. The reason for that was obvious.

“Kushina-sama said you liked this outfit, so she lent it to me for tonight.”

Everything had happened so suddenly that Kushina had not had time to buy Kaorui a similar outfit. Instead, she had simply offered her own.

The two women were similar in height and build, so there was no concern about the clothes not fitting.

The same outfit, the same long red hair—only their faces were different. However, the nervousness and faint insecurity in Kaorui’s expression gave her a delicate charm of her own.

At that moment, Roy finally understood what the two women had arranged.

When Kushina brought up the subject earlier, he had assumed she was merely testing him. He had never expected her to be serious.

Seeing that Roy remained motionless, Kaorui gathered her courage, approached him, and gently took his hand.

“Kaorui, you...”

“I only hope... you won’t despise me for being incomplete, Roy-kun.”

Like Kushina, Kaorui possessed the Uzumaki clan’s extraordinary vitality. Moreover, after awakening her restorative ability, her so-called health bar was clearly much larger than Kushina’s.

For Roy, it became a grueling battle that lasted nearly two hours. Fortunately, relying on his wealth of experience, he ultimately managed to defeat the man-eating boss.

During the battle, the boss had even helped restore his health.

How was anyone supposed to complain about an opponent like that?

His only concern was whether the two children would wake up hungry the following morning. Given the Uzumaki clan’s vitality, their mothers should recover quickly enough... probably.

“Thank you for your hard work, Kaorui.”

Kaorui did not answer. She merely nestled against him and gently rubbed her cheek against his chest.

Early the following morning, Kaorui emerged from the room looking completely refreshed.

The moment she stepped outside, however, she discovered scorch marks scattered throughout the courtyard. An enormous hole had also been blasted through the wall of Yugito’s room.

Before Kaorui could begin worrying, Kushina walked out of the bedroom carrying the two children.

“What happened?”

Roy had already approached them to ask.

“Someone broke in last night. Fortunately, Yugito-san discovered the intruder.”

“Was it one of Danzō’s men?”

Other than Danzō, Roy could not think of anyone in Konoha who would resort to something like this.

Unexpectedly, Kushina shook her head.

“It didn’t seem like it. He didn’t have the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, and there was something strange about him. I’m not sure how to explain it.”

Yugito had been the first to notice the intruder the previous night. The moment the man entered the courtyard, he launched a Fire Release ninjutsu without hesitation.

Yugito suspected that his intention was to harm Kushina and frame her for the attack, creating a rift between Konoha and Kumogakure.

It was also possible that his true target was the Two-Tails sealed within her.

Naturally, Yugito could not allow him to succeed, so she confronted him herself.

Just as she was about to defeat him, however, the man suddenly stopped moving for no apparent reason. That left him completely exposed, and Yugito’s Fire Release: Mouse Hairball struck him head-on.

“Did you put up a barrier around Kaorui’s room?” Roy asked.

“I was worried we might make too much noise and disturb Yugito-san next door. I never imagined someone would take advantage of the night to attack us.”

Kushina spoke through gritted teeth.

If Yugito had not intervened, Kushina was not sure whether she could have defeated the intruder herself with so little stamina remaining.

Roy walked over to the corpse lying in the courtyard and examined it carefully. Just as Kushina had said, he found no sign of the secret seal used by Root.

“How is it? Did you find anything?” Kushina asked curiously.

“No. But I still think this has something to do with Danzō. Other than him, no one in Konoha would have much reason to do this. Of course, the intruder could also have been a spy from another village trying to destroy the peace between Konoha and Kumogakure.”

Roy suddenly remembered something.

“Wait. This courtyard is protected by a barrier, isn’t it? How did he get inside?”

“That’s what I found strange as well. I checked the barrier earlier, but there were no signs that anyone had forced their way through it.”

“Then there’s no doubt about it. Danzō was behind this.”

Hearing the certainty in his voice, Kaorui asked curiously, “Why are you so sure, Roy-kun?”

“The barrier around this courtyard hasn’t been altered since we moved in, has it? We’re still using the one Lady Mito created.”

Kushina nodded, immediately realizing what he meant.

“Grandma Mito originally created the barrier to keep the courtyard peaceful and secluded. However, Konoha’s senior officials occasionally visited her. Since she didn’t want every visit to become an inconvenience, she taught them how to enter and leave without triggering the barrier.”

In other words, all four members of Konoha’s former leadership knew how to pass through the barrier.

Although Hiruzen and the two advisers could not be ruled out entirely, Danzō was undoubtedly the most suspicious among them.

At that moment, Yugito emerged from her room while stretching her arms.

When she saw Kushina and the others gathered around the corpse, she walked over to join them.

“This man’s Fire Release was extremely powerful,” Yugito said. “An ordinary jōnin wouldn’t have been able to match him.”

An unidentified jōnin-level shinobi who specialized in Fire Release, carried no Root seal, and resembled an ANBU operative...

It was entirely possible that he was a spy Danzō had planted within the ANBU.

Danzō needed people inside the ANBU to keep watch over Hiruzen, so planting his own agents there was almost inevitable. Naturally, he would never place something as conspicuous as the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal on the tongue of a spy operating outside Root.

As for the intruder’s objective, it was most likely either the Tailed Beast or the destruction of the peace between Konoha and Kumogakure.

After all, only another war could give Danzō the opportunity to return to power—and another chance to claim the position of Hokage.

The problem was that the assassin was already dead.

They had no concrete evidence proving that Danzō had sent him. Given Hiruzen’s usual way of handling matters, it was unlikely that he would investigate Danzō based on suspicion alone.

Roy scratched his head as he considered the chances of simply having Kushina seize control of Konoha.

Allowing Danzō to continue acting with impunity was simply infuriating.

However, Roy could only entertain the idea.

If Kushina attempted to seize power through a coup, she would be forced to stand alone. Even the Uchiha clan, despite their good relationship with her, would most likely refuse to support her. The other shinobi clans were even less likely to take her side.

If Kushina had to face the entirety of Konoha, even fully unleashing the Nine-Tails might not be enough.