Training ground corner.
"Stay away from Mikoto?"
Uchiha Yoru looked at Uzumaki Kushina and gave a mocking smile.
"Relatively speaking, Kushina, you should be the one keeping a clear head. After all, you're the next Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!"
Boom!
Uchiha Yoru's blunt words made Uzumaki Kushina's pupils contract. The thing she had least wanted to face had been torn open so directly.
Seeing that he seemed to have struck home, and the lonely look that appeared in Uzumaki Kushina's eyes, Uchiha Yoru merely smiled calmly.
"Don't worry. The Uchiha possess the strongest power. We won't rely on an external force like you."
There was a trace of pride between his brows. That was very Uchiha, and Uchiha Yoru muttered to himself inwardly.
He was doing this for his later plans as well. Someone as guarded as Uzumaki Kushina was far too difficult to approach.
Not everyone had Minato Namikaze's opportunity—to have all of Konoha build a stage and put on a grand performance alongside him.
In the original story, just a few Cloud Shinobi had been able to infiltrate Konoha, bypass the Konoha Military Police Force, ANBU, Root, and the Intelligence Department, successfully sneak into the Senju Clan, seize a hostage alive, and even take her out of the village.
Tsk, tsk!
What was even more absurd was that the Cloud Shinobi who had taken someone hostage had strolled along openly and leisurely. Such elite Cloud Shinobi had somehow failed to notice the hair left along the way.
Even more absurdly, they had been crushed by Minato Namikaze, who had yet to learn the Flying Thunder God and was only around chunin level.
"You!"
Uzumaki Kushina's eyes were red as she glared furiously at Uchiha Yoru. To hide the weakness in her heart, hadn't her fiery temper always been a way of concealing that inner vulnerability?
Yet Uchiha Yoru simply watched her calmly.
"Uzumaki Kushina, your identity may be important, but Sister Mikoto is enough to convey the Uchiha Clan's goodwill through you, so you needn't overthink it.
"Instead, you should pay more attention to yourself. As the future Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, many people will be coveting you in secret, and the forces and influence behind them will be considerable. Don't let yourself be used and end up hurting Mikoto."
He had turned the tables on Uzumaki Kushina, but more importantly, he wanted her to become even more vigilant.
As the saying went, if I can't have it, how can I let you have it?
Besides, he believed that with his efforts, Tsunade—who had gained advance awareness of the danger—would guard against Kushina being exploited through the same methods.
"Hmph! I don't need you to tell me!"
Uzumaki Kushina snorted coldly and immediately formed a hand seal. Her Shadow Clone vanished at once, while in the distance, the red-haired figure talking with Mikoto froze.
"Kushina? What's wrong?"
Under Uchiha Mikoto's sincere concern, Uzumaki Kushina came back to herself and revealed a sunny smile.
"It's nothing."
As the two women's laughter echoed out, Uchiha Yoru tactfully left the area.
Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, more than a month had passed since he returned from the Land of Rain front.
Under the night sky, the Hokage's temporary office building was still brightly lit.
Inside the meeting room, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu sat at the head of the room, their faces carrying the imposing authority of those in power as they convened a Jonin meeting.
"The battlefield in the Land of Rain is becoming increasingly tense, and the situation cannot be viewed optimistically. On the surface, it is a war between the Land of Rain, Sunagakure, and our Konoha. In truth, however, it has already drawn in the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
"Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure are secretly supporting the Land of Rain and have dispatched elite squads... Meanwhile, Sunagakure has declared war on us..."
The Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi was in his prime. With a stern expression, his tiger-like eyes swept across the jonin in the meeting room as he laid out the grave situation at the front.
The jonin all revealed grave expressions as well. It seemed that only Sunagakure, one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, had declared war, but the undercurrents involved meant that the Shinobi World War had already begun.
Previously, although the shinobi of each nation had deployed elite forces, they had at least kept them hidden, preventing large-scale shinobi warfare from breaking out.
But now, Sunagakure had declared war, and there was also Amegakure.
A month had passed since Nawaki's death. Tsunade seemed to have accepted reality. During this Jonin meeting, she discreetly glanced at Jiraiya beside her before standing and speaking in a low voice.
"First, regarding missions where four-man squads must operate independently in enemy territory for extended periods: if one Medical Ninja is assigned to each four-man squad, the squad's survival rate and mission success rate can both be greatly increased..."
As Tsunade's resolute voice echoed through the Jonin Meeting Room, quite a few jonin nodded inwardly.
Indeed, if a mission squad had a Medical Ninja, it could greatly increase both its survival rate and success rate.
Tsunade had long possessed this medical plan, though it had not yet been perfected. The Third Hokage and the others knew of it as well. Yet at this Jonin meeting, Tsunade presented a comparatively complete Medical Ninja plan.
It covered not only combat, but also plans to establish medical facilities within the village, train more Medical Ninja, and more.
As Tsunade presented her complete Medical system, the jonin present nodded one after another. However, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, seated at the head of the room, exchanged a look before turning grave expressions toward Hiruzen.
The Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi took a steady breath, nodded, and said in a deep voice.
"Yes, what you say is indeed true. But we are currently at war. Establishing a medical system would not only take too much time, but we are also short on funds, and the enemy will not wait that long for us."
As the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi's steady voice echoed through the room, Tsunade, whose proposal had been rejected, sat back down with a calm expression.
This left even Jiraiya beside her stunned. This did not seem like Tsunade's temperament. Even Orochimaru in the front row frowned.
Only Tsunade remained composed, though suspicion rose in her heart.
Although they were at war, it was not as though they were incapable of launching a medical system. At worst, they could make a small initial investment. Once the war ended, they would already have a foundation and could quickly put it on track.
Konoha was not lacking such a small amount of money. Could it be that the village truly did not want a Hokage from the Senju Clan to emerge!?
"I support Jonin Tsunade's proposal."
Just then, a gentle yet firm voice suddenly rang out. It belonged to Konoha Jonin Dan Katō.
Dan Katō, with his light blue hair, stood at the Jonin meeting and firmly expressed his support for Tsunade's Medical Ninja system proposal.
"I do not want the shinobi who have sacrificed themselves thus far to have died in vain. We should learn from those losses."
As Dan Katō's resolute words echoed through the room, Jiraiya was somewhat stunned. After someone voiced support, Tsunade actually revealed a dangerous smile.
"Tsunade, it's not that the old man disagrees. It's simply because of the current situation on the battlefield."
Jiraiya thought Tsunade was angry because the Third Hokage had not agreed.
But he did not know that the instant Dan Katō stepped forward, Tsunade's heart was filled with raging fury.
Fine! So they really are plotting against me!
First Nawaki, and now this jonin with such an obvious agenda had suddenly appeared. One link after another, all of it was clearly aimed at her—and even at the Senju Clan.
She could find no problem with Nawaki's case; it could be explained as an accident. But what about this Dan Katō now?
"Shut up!"
Facing Jiraiya's concern, Tsunade took a deep breath, then snorted coldly with an icy expression. Jiraiya gave an awkward smile, too afraid to provoke this tigress at a time like this.
While forcefully suppressing her anger, Tsunade also felt a trace of relief. At the very least, the people plotting against her in secret were not her two companions, Jiraiya and Orochimaru.
"Jonin Katō, what you say makes sense, but the village at present..."
The Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi rarely showed such open approval. Before all the jonin, he praised Dan Katō's love for the village, but he could not ignore the problems currently facing it.
Yet in Tsunade's eyes, this scene only further confirmed Dan Katō's identity.
At that moment, in Tsunade's eyes, the three people seated above—once the disciples of her Second Grandfather—looked righteous, but the sight was full of irony.
Summoning Technique!
No one else noticed, but Jiraiya beside her watched with suspicion in his eyes. Why was Tsunade using a Summoning Jutsu at a time like this?
If it were anyone else, they would definitely be thoroughly investigated. Who knew whether they might leak intelligence? But this was Tsunade, so it was different.
Anyone else might betray the village, but how could Tsunade, of the Senju Clan that had founded Konoha Village, possibly leak intelligence?
Before you continue