Chapter 126 (Patreon)

Kushina quietly studied the three visitors from Kirigakure.

The youngest among them, a beautiful young woman, stood in the center. Her two older companions remained half a step behind her, making it clear that she was the one leading the delegation.

Mei Terumi was also observing the Fifth Hokage seated across from her.

Before coming to Konoha, Mei had deliberately gathered every record she could find concerning Kushina Uzumaki.

She was the widow of the Fourth Hokage, the Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki, and one of the last surviving members of the Uzumaki Clan. According to reports from the battlefield, she had even defeated A of Kumogakure and two other jinchūriki while they were fighting together.

After reading such accounts, Mei had imagined someone imposing and forceful—perhaps a woman like Lady Tsunade of the Legendary Sannin.

The woman before her, however, was nothing like that image.

At first glance, Kushina appeared warm and approachable, more like a gentle older sister than the terrifying shinobi described in those reports.

If anyone who had attended the Academy with Kushina knew what Mei was thinking, it was difficult to imagine what sort of expression they would make.

“I would like to know why members of Kirigakure’s Terumi Clan have come all the way to Konoha.”

When Kushina remained silent, Fugaku was the first to speak.

During both the Second and Third Shinobi World Wars, whenever Konoha faced Kirigakure, the Uchiha Clan had invariably been sent to the front lines.

During the Second War, the previous head of the Uchiha Clan—Fugaku’s father—had been surrounded by Mist shinobi. Although he survived the immediate battle, his injuries had ultimately claimed his life.

Then, during the Third War, Fugaku himself had killed countless Kirigakure shinobi with his own hands.

The hatred between the two sides could never be explained in only a few words.

The moment they noticed the Uchiha crest on Fugaku’s shoulder, the two jōnin accompanying Mei instinctively tensed. Both silently prepared themselves in case Fugaku suddenly attacked.

Mei, however, had been too young to participate in the Third Shinobi World War. She did not share her companions’ deep-seated hatred toward the Uchiha.

Hearing Fugaku’s question, she went directly to the reason for their visit.

“We have no hostile intentions. We came to Konoha because we require your assistance.” Mei looked toward Kushina. “Hokage-sama, I hope you can summon the Konoha shinobi capable of using the Spirit Transformation Jutsu.”

“The Spirit Transformation Jutsu?”

Kushina’s brow furrowed slightly.

“Ever since Dan Katō fell in battle, no one in the village has been capable of using that technique.”

“What? That’s impossible. A year ago, he clearly—”

Mei abruptly stopped herself.

Confusion flashed through her eyes.

Was that not the Spirit Transformation Jutsu? Then what kind of technique was that man using?

For a moment, she hesitated over whether she should reveal the crisis Kirigakure was currently facing.

If her initial assumption was wrong, yet the person who had provided the warning was still a Konoha shinobi, revealing Kirigakure’s internal troubles could prove dangerous.

Would Konoha take advantage of the Mist’s weakness?

Mei had stopped halfway through her sentence, but she had already mentioned the Spirit Transformation Jutsu and an incident from one year ago.

Kushina instinctively glanced toward Roy.

Nii Yugito had once made the same mistake, believing that Roy’s abilities were some variation of the Spirit Transformation Jutsu.

Standing beside Kushina, Roy finally understood what had happened.

He had been wondering how Mei had traced him back to Konoha when he had never revealed his identity during their previous encounter.

It turned out that she had mistaken his abilities for the Spirit Transformation Jutsu.

The fact that Mei had personally come to Konoha meant that Uchiha Obito had probably already made his move against Kirigakure. That would have allowed her to confirm the warning Roy had given her a year ago.

The outside world had yet to receive any news about the Fourth Mizukage taking office. Roy had no way of knowing whether Obito’s plan had succeeded.

He also couldn’t remember whether he had told Kushina about giving Mei information concerning Obito after returning to Konoha.

Just as Roy was about to explain that he was probably the person Mei had come looking for, Kushina cleared her throat.

“Now that I think about it, there is indeed someone who learned the Spirit Transformation Jutsu. Unfortunately, he isn’t in the village at the moment. You can tell me why you need him, and I’ll pass your message along when he returns.”

Suspicion immediately entered Mei’s gaze.

Shikaku and Fugaku also reacted, though for a very different reason.

Shock flickered across both their faces.

Neither of them had ever heard of anyone else in Konoha mastering the Spirit Transformation Jutsu.

Had Kushina secretly trained a trusted subordinate without informing the rest of Konoha’s leadership?

More importantly, how had this mysterious shinobi become involved with someone from Kirigakure?

Kushina understood why Mei was suspicious.

She had just declared that no one in Konoha could use the technique, only to change her answer less than half a minute later. If their positions were reversed, Kushina would have suspected that this was merely a lie intended to draw out Kirigakure’s secrets.

“The person you’re looking for is a man in his early twenties. As for his appearance…”

Following Roy’s quiet prompting, Kushina gave Mei a general description of the man she had encountered a year ago.

The last of Mei’s doubts immediately vanished.

There was no mistake.

It was definitely that infuriating man who had told her she would never be able to find a husband.

“Heh. So Roy has been meeting other women behind your back,” the Nine-Tails remarked, clearly delighted by this unexpected piece of gossip. “Kushina, if I were you, I wouldn’t let him get away with it so easily.”

Kushina had not thought much of the situation at first.

After hearing the Nine-Tails’ words, however, she found herself looking at Mei differently.

Now that she was paying closer attention, Mei possessed exactly the kind of figure Roy seemed to favor. She was also exceptionally beautiful.

The subtle change in Kushina’s gaze did not escape Mei’s notice.

She simply couldn’t understand what that strange look meant. For some reason, it left her feeling as though Kushina could see straight through her.

Still, none of that was important right now.

Kirigakure was waiting for her to return with information about the Masked Man. Of course, Mei also wanted to learn more about the infuriating man who had supposedly used the Spirit Transformation Jutsu.

“What I am about to discuss concerns Kirigakure’s secrets.” Mei glanced toward the ANBU stationed around the room. “Hokage-sama, could you ask the unrelated personnel to leave first?”

She was primarily referring to the surrounding Konoha ANBU.

After all, if the warning about the Masked Man had come from a Konoha shinobi, Mei assumed that the two senior officials accompanying the Hokage must already know about the situation.

In truth, neither Shikaku nor Fugaku knew anything about it.

Fugaku slammed his hand against the table and rose to his feet, glaring at Mei.

“Do not misunderstand your position. You are the ones who came here asking Konoha for—”

“That’s enough, Fugaku-san.”

Kushina raised a hand, calmly stopping him.

“There’s no need to make this so complicated.”

As soon as she finished speaking, a soundproof barrier formed around only Kushina and Mei.

“You can speak freely now. No sound will pass beyond this barrier.”

Mei turned around.

The two clansmen she had brought with her were moving their mouths, evidently asking what had happened, yet she could not hear a single sound from them.

She gave them a reassuring look, silently telling them not to worry, before turning back toward Kushina.

“Hokage-sama, does Konoha possess any further information concerning the Masked Man who intends to take revenge against Kirigakure?”

Roy spoke from beside Kushina, his voice reaching only her.

“I warned her about Uchiha Obito during our previous meeting. Since she has come all the way to Konoha, I assume Obito has already appeared in Kirigakure. However, I only told her about some of his abilities. I never revealed his true identity.”

Kushina finally understood the entire situation.

When she and Roy had discussed Obito in the past, they had also concluded that he would eventually seek revenge against Kirigakure.

With the situation now clear, Kushina parted her lips and answered, “Regarding that Masked Man, we have confirmed that he is not acting alone. He has other accomplices. As for the abilities he personally possesses, I assume you already know most of them.”

“Who exactly is he?”

“That…”

Kushina hesitated.

“In addition to the space–time ninjutsu that allows attacks to pass through him, he also used Wood Style,” Mei continued. “As far as the entire shinobi world knows, only Konoha’s First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, possessed that power.”

Her eyes narrowed as she stared directly at Kushina.

“Is that Masked Man a member of the Senju Clan?”