The next morning at the Third Training Ground, Yamanaka Tohru took the initiative and challenged Kushina. After she had figured out his ninjutsu and attack patterns, he lasted only one minute this time.
After their "morning training," Kushina and Yamanaka Tohru complained about Namikaze Minato and the Third Hokage.
Through her Good-Evil Perception, Kushina could tell that Yamanaka Tohru meant her no harm, and she didn't feel guarded around him, either.
Most of Konoha's ninja treated Kushina with awe. Her reputation as the Blood Red Pepper had left her with few friends she could talk to, so Yamanaka Tohru's arrival gave her someone to confide in.
Although they had only known each other for a day, Yamanaka Tohru was as kindhearted as Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Mito, and Kushina found it easy to trust him.
"That old geezer, the Hokage, won't even let me leave the village on missions. So what if I'm a Jinchuriki? I can use the Nine-Tails Chakra now!"
Kushina accidentally let slip that she was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Though she was carefree and a bit thoughtless, she still knew there were things she should keep to herself. And Yamanaka Tohru was one of the few people who meant her well. What if he got scared of the Nine-Tails?
"Um, Kushina, shouldn't the fact that you're the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki be a secret?"
Yamanaka Tohru's reaction put Kushina at ease. Her Good-Evil Perception showed that his feelings hadn't changed, so she relaxed and patted him on the shoulder. "It's no big deal. It's not like you're going to tell anyone."
Yamanaka Tohru was left speechless by her words. They'd only known each other for a day—where had all this trust come from?
"Tohru, aren't you surprised to hear I'm the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?"
"I figured it out yesterday when tails appeared behind you, Kushina. I read about Jinchuriki in a book at the Konoha Library. That was a Tailed Beast Cloak, right?"
The book really did exist in the Konoha Library. Yamanaka Tohru had stumbled upon it two years ago while studying Medical Ninjutsu.
"Th-then aren't you afraid?" Kushina's voice suddenly grew faint. She lowered her head, not daring to look at him.
"Of course not! Jinchuriki are people, too. And Tailed Beasts aren't scary, either. Uncle Sakumo told me that Kumogakure's new Eight-Tails Jinchuriki became friends with the Eight-Tails! I'm sure you can become friends with the Nine-Tails, too, Kushina!"
Yamanaka Tohru knew what the Nine-Tails was really like. Knowing it was just a proud, foxy old beast, he couldn't bring himself to be afraid of it.
Kushina fell silent for a long while. She didn't hate the Nine-Tails, either. She often chatted with it, even if it was always one-sided.
With so few friends, the Nine-Tails was one of the rare people Kushina could confide in. It never responded, but she still thought of it as half a friend. She didn't know what it thought of her, but whenever she needed Chakra, it never refused.
Yamanaka Tohru's words had struck a chord with Kushina. Maybe humans and Tailed Beasts really could live together in peace!
"Tohru, do you think there'll ever be a day when humans and Tailed Beasts can live together in peace?"
"That day will definitely come." Yamanaka Tohru had seen the ending of Naruto, after all. Naruto had made peace between humans and Tailed Beasts a reality.
"Kushina, how much of the Nine-Tails' power can you use at most?"
"About three tails' worth. When I reach four tails, my mind gets a little muddled."
"Kushina, I want to see the Nine-Tails' three-tail form."
"Sure!" As Kushina spoke, Tailed Beast Chakra began to seep from her body. One tail, two tails, three! Wrapped in the Tailed Beast Cloak, she sent three tails whipping through the air behind her.
The sheer presence of Kushina's three-tail Tailed Beast Cloak left Yamanaka Tohru drenched in sweat. In that form, Kushina definitely had the strength of a Kage!
In the original story, Naruto had only half the Nine-Tails, yet he had seriously injured Jiraiya in his four-tail form. With the whole Nine-Tails, Kushina's three-tail form probably wasn't much weaker than Naruto's four-tail form.
"Ku-Kushina, run from here to the entrance of the training ground as fast as you can."
Kushina nodded. Yamanaka Tohru activated his Sharingan and stared intently at her. Even so, he couldn't catch sight of her.
"And that's only three tails! That's terrifying!" The anime had described the Nine-Tails as possessing the power to govern the world. Yamanaka Tohru had never believed it before, but now that he'd seen what Kushina could do with only three tails, he fell silent.
In the original story, Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha could easily suppress the Nine-Tails. In their hands, such a powerful beast was like a toy. Yamanaka Tohru felt the weight of the challenge ahead.
"Tohru, aren't you from the Yamanaka Clan? Why do you have the Sharingan?" Only after Kushina dispelled her Tailed Beast Cloak did she notice his scarlet eyes.
"My father was from the Uchiha Clan. Kushina, please don't tell anyone about this."
"No wonder you have black hair! That explains it! Don't worry, I can keep a secret!"
"Who was it just now that let slip she was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?" Looking at Kushina's carefree, thoughtless face, Yamanaka Tohru felt he'd trusted the wrong person.
Over the next few days, Yamanaka Tohru kept sparring with Kushina, and he managed to last longer and longer against her. As he felt his strength gradually improve, his earlier anxiety slowly faded.
It was Year 40 of Konoha, twenty years before the story began and twenty-two years before the Fourth Shinobi World War. Twenty-two years was plenty of time for Yamanaka Tohru to grow stronger.
During their sparring sessions over the past few days, Yamanaka Tohru had realized that Kushina's fighting style was too limited. She didn't know many ninjutsu and couldn't use genjutsu. She relied on Taijutsu and Sealing Jutsu. Kushina had a massive amount of Chakra, and Yamanaka Tohru thought they ought to change up her fighting style. Leaving all that Chakra unused was a waste.
"Kushina, can you use Multiple Shadow Clone?"
"Multiple Shadow Clone? Sure!"
"How many Shadow Clones can you make?"
"I don't know. Let me try."
Kushina formed Hand Seals. "Poof, poof, poof, poof, poof, poof." A few seconds later, the entire Third Training Ground was packed with her Shadow Clones.
"Whoa, that many?"
"Is that a lot? I can make more. These are only a thousand!"
A thousand, and that was only a thousand! The Uzumaki Clan! At that moment, Yamanaka Tohru wished more than anything that he'd been born into the Uzumaki Clan. With that much Chakra, he could create a world of ice where no one could do a thing to him—or at the very least, no one could catch him.
Yamanaka Tohru stared at Kushina's red hair, practically drooling. The way he looked at her made Kushina's skin crawl, and she smacked him hard on the back of the head.
"Ow! What was that for, Kushina?" Yamanaka Tohru glared at her, annoyed that his fantasy had been interrupted.
"I should be asking you that! Why'd you make me create so many Shadow Clones?"
"Kushina, I just thought of a jutsu! One that's perfect for you!" Yamanaka Tohru's sinister grin sent a chill down her spine.
But when Yamanaka Tohru explained his idea for the jutsu, Kushina grinned, too—just as sinister, and just as unsettling.
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