Chapter 73 (Patreon)

“Is Kushina at home?”

Hiruzen set down the list of advisor candidates and looked at Flame.

“She went to the Barrier Team.”

Flame’s answer caught him by surprise.

Hiruzen had planned to ask Kushina why she had chosen Hizashi instead of Hiashi when she wanted the Hyūga clan’s support. He had never expected her to visit the Barrier Team.

It was one of Konoha’s least-known departments. Most villagers did not even know it existed.

What could Kushina possibly want from them?

She certainly had no reason to learn barrier ninjutsu. Most of the Barrier Team’s techniques were simplified versions of the Uzumaki clan’s fūinjutsu. There was nothing they could teach her.

Curious about what she was planning, Hiruzen headed straight there.

When he arrived, he found Kushina speaking with several members of the Barrier Team.

“Hokage-sama!”

“Third Hokage-sama!”

Everyone turned toward him.

“What are you discussing?” Hiruzen asked. “Is there a problem with the village’s barrier?”

“There is,” Kushina answered with a nod. “The current barrier has a serious weakness.”

A spherical sensory barrier surrounded all of Konoha.

It had no defensive power, but anyone entering the village from the sky or underground would be detected. The Barrier Team would then alert Konoha’s shinobi and send someone to investigate.

Konoha’s own shinobi knew the correct access formula, so they could enter and leave without setting off the barrier.

The problem was that an outsider who knew that formula could do the same.

It was like locking a door after allowing outsiders to learn the key. What protection could it possibly offer?

From the future Roy remembered, Obito had entered and left Konoha several times without being detected. That could at least be explained by Kamui, an extremely unusual space-time ninjutsu.

Itachi entering the village with Kisame as casually as though he had never left was a different matter.

If Itachi had truly turned against Konoha and returned to assassinate its leaders, someone with his abilities could have killed half of them before anyone realized what was happening.

Konoha had produced many missing-nin over the years. The village had remained safe only because most of them were afraid to return, much less attack it.

The situation was different now.

Danzō had defected, and he knew everything about Konoha’s security.

Roy would not feel safe until they changed the barrier’s access formula. That was why he had asked Kushina to come here.

At the mention of Danzō’s name, the corner of Hiruzen’s mouth twitched.

“Kushina has a point,” he said. “We can never be too careful when dealing with missing-nin.”

He immediately changed the subject.

“Why did you choose Hizashi as an advisor instead of Hiashi?”

Kushina naturally had no intention of revealing their entire plan.

“I want the Hyūga clan’s support, but the main family is difficult to deal with. Choosing someone from the branch family seemed like the better option.”

“I see. You’ve thought this through.”

Hiruzen nodded.

“I’ll speak with Hiashi and the Hyūga elders. Once your appointment as the Fifth Hokage is confirmed, I’ll announce the new advisors.”

After helping the Barrier Team replace the access formula, Kushina returned home without taking a break.

She placed a scroll filled with sealing formulas beside a blank scroll and immediately began working.

The first scroll contained the complete formula for the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal.

Danzō had taken several of his closest followers with him, but the Root shinobi he had left behind were still a hidden threat.

Kushina had previously examined the seal on Yakushi Nonō’s tongue. However, trying to remove it without fully understanding its structure could kill the person carrying it.

She had only been able to place another seal over it, temporarily blocking Danzō’s control over Nonō.

Kushina had planned to study the scroll Roy recovered much sooner, but Hiruzen’s sudden retirement had left her with one task after another.

This kind of delicate work was not something Roy could help with, so he went to look after the children with Kaorui.

The two little ones were only six months old, yet they could already take a few unsteady steps on their own.

Roy could not tell whether Uzumaki children simply developed faster or whether all infants in the shinobi world grew this quickly.

“Roy-sama.”

When Kaorui saw him, she tried to hide the mixture of relief and exhaustion on her face.

Looking after two energetic children was far from easy. Once they started moving, she could not look away for even a moment.

She had to stop them from bumping into things while also making sure they did not grab whatever they found and put it in their mouths.

There was hardly any time to rest.

Roy sat cross-legged behind her and began massaging her shoulders.

“Has it been hard? Why don’t you ask Nonō-san to help?”

“It’s fine. Nonō-san has been busy helping the orphaned children enroll at the Academy these past few days. Compared to her, looking after these two little troublemakers is nothing.”

“Kushina will probably be very busy for a while. You can ask Yugito to help. Since we’re already taking care of her, she can at least lend a hand.”

“But she’s still a shinobi from Kumogakure. What if she...?”

“Don’t worry. She knows what she can and can’t do.”

Roy was not concerned about Yugito taking the children hostage.

If she tried anything, all it would take was a thought for the strength to leave her limbs and force her to her knees.

What had happened during their last accident had also caused Yugito’s reflection to appear within the mirror in Roy’s inner world.

That meant Kyōen had gained another Shikai ability connected to her.

[Kyōka: Flame Prison]

From what Roy understood, it was an ability meant for fighting large groups.

Once activated, every swing of Kyōen would unleash a sea of flames over a wide area.

Roy had not tested it yet, so he did not know how powerful those flames were. Even if they were no stronger than ordinary fire, that range alone would make the ability more than enough against average shinobi.

Roy had also begun to understand the meaning behind the colored borders surrounding the three figures reflected in the mirror.

Kushina’s border had started as pale gold before deepening into gold. Recently, it had even begun showing a faint red color.

Kaorui’s border had changed from pale green to a much deeper green.

Yugito’s border had remained pale red since the moment her reflection first appeared.

Roy suspected that the changing colors were connected either to how far each ability had developed or to how close his bond with that person had become.

“Roy-sama, have you spoken to Kushina-sama about... that yet?”

As Roy’s hands began to wander away from Kaorui’s shoulders, she quickly spoke up to stop him.

It was not that she disliked what he was doing. The two children were simply right in front of them.

Even so, asking that question made her face grow hot.

“Not yet.”

Roy sighed.

“I planned to tell her this morning, but Hiruzen suddenly summoned us. Kushina hasn’t had a chance to rest since then.”

“Kushina-sama is going to become Hokage?”

Kaorui stared at him in surprise.

“Yes. She’ll probably be very busy for a while.”

Roy then changed the subject.

“Kaorui, you know medical ninjutsu, don’t you?”

“Are you injured, Roy-sama?”

“No. Kushina is about to become Hokage, but she still doesn’t have enough people she can fully trust.”

Roy continued massaging her shoulders.

“Once the children are a little older, I’m thinking of arranging a position for you at Konoha Hospital—”

“I’ll follow whatever you decide, Roy-sama.”

Kaorui answered before he could finish, her voice firm.

“There’s no need to rush. For now, focus on the children. You can practice your medical ninjutsu whenever you have some free time.”

As for Yakushi Nonō, Roy planned to arrange a teaching position for her at the Academy.

The hospital and the Academy were two of the best places to earn the villagers’ trust and build support for Kushina.

However, Roy still needed to ask Nonō what she wanted.

If she was not interested, he would not force her.

He could always find other people.

Konoha had no shortage of capable shinobi.