Uzumaki Mito's Deterrence

"Hey, Shimura Saburo, no cheating!" Murashita Ryukawa shouted in dissatisfaction.

"Exactly!" Kushina also pulled the girls to cheer for Sen.

Shimura Saburo hid even more securely: "Teacher, you said the target would move, aren't we allowed to find cover?"

"This..."

Just as Murashita Ryukawa hesitated, Sen, standing beside him, spoke calmly.

"It's fine, it's all the same."

Before his voice even fell, a kunai in his hand had already sliced through the air, flying high into the sky, its target not Shimura Saburo at all.

Just as everyone thought he was about to give up, a second kunai was released at an even faster speed!

"Ding!"

The second kunai precisely struck the tail of the first in mid-air, altering its trajectory.

The first kunai, like a precision-guided missile, dropped vertically and, with a "thud," hit Shimura Saburo's helmet dead center!

"Damn it!" Shimura Saburo cursed under his breath. Just as he was about to flee, he found that Sen's shuriken had already been thrown.

But this shuriken took a bizarre arc, flying behind the three of them.

"It's a steel wire!" Shimura Saburo exclaimed, seeing the shuriken's strange path, then turned to flee.

Just as the three were preparing to split up, the shuriken had already circled around behind them.

Suddenly, the shuriken, as if pulled by something, tightened rapidly, binding the three of them securely.

Shimura Saburo struggled his body in vain: "Damn it! How does he know this shuriken jutsu! I've only seen it used by Jonin!"

At the same time, the shuriken that had just flown out continued to wrap around.

When the last loop was completed, the remaining length of the steel wire precisely hit Shimura Saburo's head again, making a "ding" metallic collision sound.

The entire operation was fluid and swift to the extreme!

The entire training ground, including the teacher, everyone was stunned.

Was this truly something a nine-year-old student could do?!

"That's too exaggerated, right? That control..."

"I suspect his shuriken is specially made, otherwise, how could it curve?"

"It's the Uchiha clan's throwing technique!" A Nara clan student blurted out.

Sen ignored the praise from the crowd and threw three more shuriken. The shuriken drew three beautiful arcs in the air, then precisely hit Shimura Saburo's helmet, right between the eyebrows!

Murashita Ryukawa, uncharacteristically, showed a rare smile today, writing full marks on the report card. Originally, Sen had wasted a kunai to knock away another one.

But for the maneuver just now, he privately gave him full marks.

He looked at Sen, and beside him, Minato and Kushina, finally feeling some comfort:

With the impending war, at least these few would survive, right?

Afternoon, after school.

In front of the school gate, Sen took out three Soldier Pills, ate one himself, handed one to Minato, and finally placed his hand with the remaining one in front of Kushina, asking:

"Choose the red pill, go to the small woods for extra practice? Or go straight home?"

Kushina's body ached all over from the afternoon's sparring, and she had a few bruises.

But this time, she didn't back down.

She snatched the Soldier Pill, swallowed it, her eyes determined: "Hmph, no one's stopping me from training today!"

Sen and Minato exchanged a knowing glance with smiles, then walked with Kushina towards the forest behind the school.

Accompanied by the rising moonlight, they began another round of arduous training.

As the night deepened, in another part of the village, their fate was being discussed.

At Sarutobi Hiruzen's home.

"Monkey!" Shimura Danzo burst in angrily, "I saw the graduation squad assignment list! How could you put the Jinchuriki and the Uchiha brat together? What are you thinking?!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen wore a calm, self-assured smile as he leisurely took a sip of tea:

"Danzō, is there a problem with that?"

"There's a huge problem!" Shimura Danzo walked up to him and shouted, "You still have time to drink tea? Do you know the importance of a Jinchuriki? She's the village's most crucial weapon, how can you be so careless?"

He noticed the smile on the other's face and questioned, "What are you smiling about?"

"Perhaps it's because I'm here that he can smile?" a frail yet gentle female voice came from behind the screen.

Shimura Danzo's heart leaped, and he finally noticed that there was someone behind the screen.

When he saw who had arrived, his attitude did a complete 180-degree turn, and he quickly bowed and saluted: "Lady Mito! I am terribly sorry, I didn't know you were here!"

At this moment, Shimura Danzo was as meek as a quail.

After all, the other party was Uzumaki Mito, the wife of the First Hokage. Her every word and action could influence Konoha's decisions!

"Danzō, you truly are disregarding me more and more," Uzumaki Mito's aged voice held a questioning tone.

"Back in the day, when you, the Monkey, Kotetsu, and the others had conflicts, wasn't it always me who helped mediate?"

Shimura Danzo was so oppressed by the invisible pressure that he couldn't lift his head, and at the same time, he cursed Sarutobi Hiruzen countless times in his heart.

At this point, how could he not know that he had been set up by that damned monkey again?

He knelt on the ground and said, "Lady Mito, I am very sorry. I didn't know you arranged this. What brings you here today?"

Uzumaki Mito extended her hand, allowing a servant to help her up, and then said, "It's not that my words weren't effective. They insisted I come in person before the Hokage would agree to change the team assignments."

Sarutobi Hiruzen, hearing her address him as Hokage, quickly stood up and respectfully said, "Lady Mito, everything has been arranged according to your wishes. Please don't tease me anymore. You can just call me Monkey."

Uzumaki Mito, supported by her attendants to the doorway, said indifferently, "Monkey, you and the other higher-ups must treat Kushina well from now on. In a few years, she will be the true Jinchuriki.

At that time, I'm afraid she, like me, won't be able to leave the village for over a decade.

Now that she isn't the Jinchuriki yet, you should give her more care, which will also help her accept Konoha sooner."

"Yes, Lady Mito, we understand," the two quickly replied.

Listening to Mito's footsteps recede, Shimura Danzo finally stood up and angrily said to Sarutobi Hiruzen, "Monkey! You set me up again, come on, let's spar!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen chuckled, "Spar? When have you ever won against me?"

His words choked Shimura Danzo, leaving him flushed with embarrassment.

Sarutobi Hiruzen then sat down and leisurely explained, "I had already made arrangements. Didn't you notice? The other person on their team is Namikaze Minato."

He leisurely sipped his tea, "You're already forty years old, why haven't your temper improved? What's the rush?"

"That kid comes from a commoner background, possesses extraordinary talent, and more importantly," the Will of Fire's philosophy is already deeply ingrained in Namikaze Minato's heart. With him by Kushina's side, it's like giving the Nine-Tails a double layer of insurance.

Moreover, they are still young now, and we have plenty of opportunities to bring them together. This way, whether it's Kushina or the Nine-Tails, they will be firmly under the village's control."

Shimura Danzo finally understood, sighing at Sarutobi Hiruzen's cunning foresight.

However, he still stubbornly retorted, "The plan is good, but it's still a bit lacking. At the very least, arranging a 'hero saves the beauty' scenario would make it perfect."

Sarutobi Hiruzen remained noncommittal, "Whatever you wish. Let's first see if he can survive this war.

As for Kushina, I have already instructed my disciple to protect the Jinchuriki. This is the most important mission I have given him."