The Will of Fire Is a Pile of...?

Yamanaka Kei had no idea about the chaos in Root or Shimura Danzo's fury.

After spending the entire day organizing the information in his mind.

As the sun began to set, Yuhi Kurenai, Might Guy, and Shiranui Genma could finally barely maintain Water Walking Under Seal Condition.

He called out to the three of them and led them back to Konoha.

After once again treating the three of them to dinner and reminding them to bring packed lunches tomorrow, he directly announced that they were dismissed.

He watched as the exhausted Three Little Ones dragged their heavy bodies home.

Yamanaka Kei formed a seal with one hand and quietly used the Yamanaka Clan's sensory secret technique to connect to the Sensory Barrier covering all of Konoha.

He inwardly praised the foresight of the Yamanaka Clan's ancestors in leaving a back door for their clansmen when they established the Sensory Barrier for Konoha.

By distinguishing between Chakra signatures, he quickly located Kushina Uzumaki.

He silently severed his connection to the Sensory Barrier.

At a snack shop on Konoha Tea Street, Yamanaka Kei bought a bag of Sand Dumplings, then strolled toward the Jonin Waiting Station.

He soon arrived at the former Jonin Waiting Station.

The ruins from yesterday had already been cleared of usable items and various documents, while Earth Style had been used to level and tamp down the ground again.

More than twenty workers and several lower-ranking ninjas were methodically transporting various building materials under the craftsmen's direction.

Kushina wore a pure white Safety Helmet and stood seriously on a vacant lot nearby, holding several Architectural Drawings as she supervised the work.

When she saw Yamanaka Kei approaching with snacks, she jogged over to greet him.

She raised her filthy palm, grinning like a little fox that had stolen food, then opened her mouth wide to signal Yamanaka Kei to feed her.

"Ah~"

"What are you looking at the drawings for?"

Yamanaka Kei chuckled, picked up a Sand Dumpling, and stuffed it into Kushina's mouth.

After being fed, Kushina smiled so broadly that her eyes narrowed.

Chewing the soft, glutinous, savory Sand Dumpling, she proudly spread out the drawings in her hands.

"Let me show you~ I designed it. How is it?"

"You designed it? Who drew it?"

"I described it to someone else and had them draw it for me~"

"Lord Hokage agreed to it?"

"I paid for it. Why wouldn't he agree, believe it or not!"

"...That makes sense!"

Yamanaka Kei looked at the building, whose walls resembled the pointed top of an Ice Cream cone and were formed from nine spirals rising upward and converging at a single point.

He tried to imagine what kind of feelings Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi had harbored when he agreed to build it according to these drawings.

Its bright-red color was basically identical to that of the Hokage Building.

Aside from its somewhat unconventional appearance, there seemed to be no major problems at first glance.

But...

If this thing faded even a little, it would look exactly like a pile of shit!

Perhaps Third Hokage had thought—or maybe he had simply imagined—

that it looked somewhat like a ball of flames, perfectly representing the Will of Fire?

Uh... the Will of Fire is a pile of...?

Come to think of it, it really was!

"Give me your evaluation?"

Kushina's sparkling eyes were filled with anticipation.

Faced with such an expression, Yamanaka Kei naturally couldn't say anything mood-killing.

"Well... the symbolism is excellent. From directly above, it should look a lot like the Uzumaki Clan's emblem, right? The nine spirals subtly refer to your name while also showing that you're the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki? It's a very ingenious design, though Nine-Tails is definitely cursing and grumbling inside the Sealing Space!"

Yamanaka Kei seriously analyzed the intentions behind Kushina's design.

While pointing out several of its key features, he also made a small joke.

His main goal was to maximize her emotional satisfaction.

"Hehe~ Kei, you really understand me best!"

Kushina nodded repeatedly and spread the drawings out to their fullest beneath the setting sun.

She wanted to leave behind a mark that belonged to her in Konoha.

Whether it was good or bad in others' eyes, whether they hated it or feared it.

She was herself—Kushina Uzumaki!

The second Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki after Mito Uzumaki!

Yamanaka Kei looked at Kushina, whose gaze shone like the stars and whose smile reflected the evening glow, making her whole body seem to radiate light.

He secretly decided to discuss it with his colleagues in the Logistics Department later and raise the building maintenance budget for the Jonin Waiting Station.

They absolutely, positively couldn't let its color fade.

Otherwise, he was afraid Kushina wouldn't be able to take the blow when she saw it.

Whoosh~

The sound of the Body Flicker Technique tearing through the air rang out.

A masked ninja in standard Anbu combat attire appeared less than two meters beside Yamanaka Kei.

That distance, which was full of threat to a ninja, made him frown slightly.

The Anbu was a special force directly commanded and led by the Hokage. Having passed layer upon layer of selection, its members' loyalty to the village and the Hokage was beyond question.

Precisely because of that, the attitude they displayed while carrying out missions also reflected the Hokage's attitude to a great extent.

In the past, no Anbu member had ever shown him such a threatening posture.

"Yamanaka Kei, Lord Hokage orders you to proceed to the Hokage Office immediately. There is an important mission that requires you to carry it out."

"Understood."

Yamanaka Kei nodded and handed the bag of snacks to Kushina.

"Then I'll go see Lord Hokage first."

"Mm, be careful on the way."

Kushina accepted the bag with a somewhat stiff expression.

After waiting years for her feelings to finally receive a little response, she had only just begun planning how to use the little tricks in love that she had learned from Mikoto.

And then that damned old man, Third Hokage, had come out to ruin everything again!

That bastard—could he really not stand seeing a Jinchuriki enjoy sweet romance?

How infuriating!

She was going to complain to Tsunade-sama!

She would have Tsunade-sama smash that old bastard Third Hokage's office!

"Don't worry. Oh, right, I just took three disciples. I'll leave them in your care for a while."

Seeing that Kushina was in a poor mood, Yamanaka Kei decisively pushed the Three Little Ones forward to help relieve her boredom.

On one side was a powerful Konoha Jonin, who could relax by bullying weaklings—no, by teaching them.

On the other was a Konoha lower-ranking ninja eager to improve his strength and unconcerned about hardship or exhaustion.

Well, they were a perfect match!

"No problem, believe it or not!"

Kushina nodded forcefully, clearly pleased by Yamanaka Kei's trust in her.

Yamanaka Kei smiled and waved, then turned and sped toward the Hokage Building.

The Anbu responsible for delivering the summons waited until he began moving before following along.

This behavior, which was practically surveillance, almost confirmed the unpleasant suspicion that had just arisen in Yamanaka Kei's mind.

When people grew old, did they really become increasingly sensitive?

That shouldn't be the case!

Kushina had only stayed overnight at his place, hadn't she?

They had even slept separately!

They hadn't done anything yet, so why was the reaction so intense?

Wait...

To prevent his clansmen from gossiping with sensory techniques last night, hadn't he kept the Anti-Perception Barrier active the entire time?

Damn!

Could Third Hokage have thought that he and Kushina had already progressed to shaking a giant mushroom?

Yamanaka Kei froze for a moment.

After figuring out the connection, he didn't know whether to blame himself for his carelessness or continue cursing Third Hokage for making a mountain out of a molehill.