April 1.
The Ninja Academy began a new school year once again, and Gojo Yoru's class advanced to fifth grade.
From that day onward, Gojo Yoru and Uzumaki Kushina no longer attended classes in person, merely sending Shadow Clones to school in their place.
Gojo Yoru stopped pretending!
The signal conveyed by the enormous scroll showed that some of his actions had been observed by Sarutobi Hiruzen and Uzumaki Mito.
Using Shadow Clones to take exams in place of himself and Uzumaki Kushina had surely also caught Sarutobi Hiruzen's attention.
There was no need for Gojo Yoru to hide anymore.
Besides, he had an excellent excuse to take Uzumaki Kushina with him to "skip class."
That was to teach Uzumaki Kushina ninjutsu, expand her arsenal, and improve her strength.
Gojo Yoru no longer concealed the Rasengan, either.
Since those important figures had decided to invest in him, he had to let them see a substantial return.
When Sarutobi Hiruzen saw Gojo Yoru perform Ninjutsu without hand seals, he became even more determined to cultivate him.
Such talent for ninjutsu, such Body Flicker Talent, and that hair color and face... Sarutobi Hiruzen seemed to see Teacher Tobirama's reflection in Gojo Yoru.
If it was Gojo Yoru, perhaps he truly could learn the Flying Thunder God Technique, which no one in Konoha had been able to master since Teacher Tobirama.
Once Gojo Yoru mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, Konoha would have another layer of protection. Even if Uzumaki Kushina lost control, he could transfer her out of Konoha's Central Street before she transformed into the Tailed Beast.
However, before teaching the Flying Thunder God Technique to Gojo Yoru, Sarutobi Hiruzen had to place a "brand" on him and ensure that he was one of "their own."
Otherwise, the thought of an out-of-control Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and someone who possessed the Flying Thunder God Technique was terrifying.
The days of training alone with Gojo Yoru completely healed Uzumaki Kushina's heart.
The girl who had once feared sleep and often suffered nightmares reliving the scene of her clan's destruction had gradually stopped waking up from her dreams in fright since the beginning of the year.
Instead, she often wore a sweet smile in her sleep. One look was enough to tell that she was having pleasant dreams.
Uzumaki Mito saw all of these changes, and the old woman felt immensely gratified.
She had originally wanted to take Uzumaki Kushina out for a trip and teach this clanswoman and "junior" a lesson.
Now, it seemed there was no longer any need.
May 10.
A piece of terrible news suddenly spread throughout Konoha, then rapidly across the entire Ninja World, causing countless people to breathe a sigh of relief.
The terrible news was that the First Hokage's wife had passed away.
In the eyes of ordinary people, the First Hokage's wife had simply died of old age. Another iconic figure of the Warring States Period was gone.
But in the eyes of those who knew that Uzumaki Mito was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, a time bomb had been dismantled.
Especially for the nations that had destroyed the Land of Whirlpools, they could finally rest easy.
They had dared to attack the Land of Whirlpools precisely because they knew Uzumaki Mito had grown old, and that if she acted, it would be her final battle.
After destroying the Land of Whirlpools, they had worried that Uzumaki Mito would choose to fight them to the death, randomly select a ninja village, and "self-destruct."
Fortunately, between hatred and Konoha's future, the old woman chose the latter.
Uzumaki Mito's death meant that Konoha had successfully transferred the Nine-Tails.
Thus, every major power began mobilizing its intelligence networks, intending to send spies into Konoha to uncover the identity of the second Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
Sarutobi Hiruzen felt somewhat saddened by Uzumaki Mito's passing, but he was also more relieved than anything else.
Not only was there one less mountain hanging over his head, but an elderly Jinchuriki had actually already lost the ability to suppress a Tailed Beast.
When the Jinchuriki of other ninja villages grew old, they either transferred the Tailed Beast in advance or moved their residence within a barrier.
Only Uzumaki Mito had been able to remain in Konoha's Central Street all along, with no one daring to raise the slightest objection.
Now that Uzumaki Mito had passed away, Sarutobi Hiruzen officially ascended to the peak of power.
The first thing Sarutobi Hiruzen did after taking complete control was fully activate the barrier that had been arranged ever since the day Uzumaki Kushina entered Konoha.
An invisible barrier enveloped all of Konoha's Central Street.
From then on, Uzumaki Kushina's area of activity was also restricted to Konoha's Central Street.
The Anbu responsible for monitoring and protecting Uzumaki Kushina also increased from one to two.
"Yoru, Lady Mito is gone. My last clanswoman is gone too... sob, sob, sob..."
The grand funeral had just ended when Uzumaki Kushina found Gojo Yoru, threw herself into his arms, and burst into tears.
"Everyone who comes into this world will eventually leave it one day. What we must do is live happily through the time we have and leave behind no regrets." Gojo Yoru held Uzumaki Kushina as he spoke words far too mature for his age. "I believe Lady Mito was smiling when she left as well."
"H-How do you know that?"
Uzumaki Kushina forgot to cry for a moment and stared blankly at Gojo Yoru.
"Because Lady Mito had no regrets left," Gojo Yoru said softly. "She saw her granddaughter become a ninja capable of standing on her own, her grandson become an official Genin, and she had you, a clanswoman who inherited her legacy. Her later years were complete."
"Is... is that why Lady Mito chose to transfer the Nine-Tails after her birthday?" Uzumaki Kushina murmured. She was still too young to understand such things.
Gojo Yoru asked with concern, "How are you doing?"
"I'm fine."
Uzumaki Kushina shook her head, placed a hand over her abdomen, and said, "Before she left, Lady Mito sealed her final Chakra inside my body to restrain the Nine-Tails. This Chakra can last for several years."
If Gojo Yoru could enter the mental space where Uzumaki Kushina communicated with the Nine-Tails, he would see that the Nine-Tails was not locked inside an iron cage. Instead, it was nailed to a wall by an enormous black iron spike, its entire body wrapped in chains.
If it had been embedded in a stone sphere rather than nailed to a wall, the Nine-Tails would have looked exactly like Huogong Toutuo from the movie.
"I see."
Gojo Yoru was slightly enlightened. Several doubts from the Original Work could now be explained.
In the Original Work, Uzumaki Kushina must have become the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki before she was captured by the Cloud Ninja.
If Uzumaki Mito had still been alive, Sarutobi Hiruzen would never have dared to scheme against Uzumaki Kushina, much less risk the only vessel capable of containing the Nine-Tails.
Those two Cloud Ninja would have been discovered by Uzumaki Mito, who possessed Good Evil Perception, before they could even infiltrate Hashirama's mansion.
But twelve-year-old Uzumaki Kushina could not even handle two Cloud Ninja. How could she have possessed the ability to suppress the complete Nine-Tails?
Now that he heard Uzumaki Kushina's words, Gojo Yoru finally understood.
Uzumaki Mito had sacrificed herself in advance to buy Uzumaki Kushina several years to grow stronger.
"Then we'll have to work twice as hard over the next few years." Gojo Yoru stroked Uzumaki Kushina's head and smiled.
"Mm!"
Uzumaki Kushina nodded forcefully, her gaze resolute.
Not only for herself, but also for Gojo Yoru, Lady Mito, and this village she had gradually come to like, she would never allow that monster to seize control of her body.
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