Nine-Tails

Sarutobi Toru walked out of the Hokage's Office, rubbing his head.

"Grandma Mito... this is really difficult."

The atmosphere in the Hokage's Office had been unbearably heavy just now, and in the end, the two of them could only agree to wait and see.

But Sarutobi Toru knew very well that since Uzumaki Mito had raised it herself, there was basically no suspense left in the matter.

What needed consideration now was who should be chosen as the next Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

There were not many candidates, really. They could either bring in someone from Uzushio Village or choose—Tsunade and Nawaki.

In the original Konoha, they had brought in Uzumaki Kushina. But that might not necessarily happen now.

Tsunade, having used the Perfect Potion, had already awakened the tremendous potential of her Sage Body. She had also cultivated the Human Immortal Martial Way. At eighteen, her Chakra reserves had already completely surpassed Uzumaki Mito's. With Uzumaki blood in her veins and exceptional skill in Sealing Jutsu, becoming a Jinchuriki and suppressing the Nine-Tails would be effortless for her.

Moreover, as a top-tier combatant, she would need the least time to convert the Nine-Tails' power into combat strength. In the current tense Shinobi World, where war could break out at any time, that was undoubtedly invaluable.

As for ten-year-old Nawaki, although the Perfect Potion had also awakened his Senju bloodline, he was far inferior to Tsunade. His Chakra was not even a third of what Tsunade had possessed at his age, and he also lacked talent as a ninja.

It was not that he lacked talent like Rock Lee or Might Duy. Rather, he was like Uzumaki Naruto right after graduation: lacking combat awareness and unable to use complex ninjutsu very well.

Yet Uzumaki Naruto did not truly lack combat awareness. His foundation had simply been poor, and the Nine-Tails had interfered with him, which was why he had performed so badly. Nawaki, on the other hand, truly had the build of a diamond and the skills of an elementary school student, completely wasting his physical talent.

So the most likely candidate to become the Jinchuriki was Tsunade?

If that happened, the future plot would probably become a complete mess. Even the protagonist's original cheat would be gone. Who knew what the story would turn into in the end?

A smile appeared on Sarutobi Toru's face. Who cared how badly the plot fell apart? With me around, it was hard to say whether there would even be any so-called plot in the future! And the Nine-Tails? If it really ended up with Tsunade, why not take it?

Senju Estate.

Tsunade sat quietly in the courtyard, thinking about the proposal her grandmother had just made to her.

"A Jinchuriki? Has Grandma's body already reached its limit?"

The Uzumaki Clan had always been long-lived, but as Uzumaki Mito aged and her Chakra declined, it would become increasingly difficult for her to keep the Nine-Tails sealed. Although Uzumaki Mito could still seal the Nine-Tails now, that might no longer be the case in a few years.

And at present, the person in the village most suited to the role was Princess Tsunade herself.

She could not say she felt any resentment. Konoha Village was the life's work of the Senju Clan, and the entire Senju Clan had become part of Konoha Village. The Nine-Tails had even been captured by her grandfather himself, so passing it on to her now was only natural.

Nor could she say she was terribly saddened. This world had the Pure Land and souls. Sarutobi Toru and Orochimaru had even conducted certain experiments on the matter. From then on, she had accepted the idea that death was a new beginning.

Besides, Grandma Mito had lived to nearly seventy. In the Warring States era, that would have made her a truly blessed elder. Even if she were to go see Grandfather now, it could still be considered a happy funeral.

She felt no nervousness either. It was only the Nine-Tails. Tsunade's Chakra was now monstrously powerful, and she was only one step away from a Sage Body. Across the Shinobi World, she would be hard-pressed to find an equal. Two years ago, the Third Hokage had openly stated that the only gap between Tsunade and himself was experience. Two years later, no one in all of Konoha dared claim to be stronger than her.

Perhaps she was worried about what others would think. Jinchuriki were called monsters. Powerful ninja did not care about such things, but... what would Toru think?

Just as the young girl was wavering in uncertainty, a pair of large hands wrapped around her from behind.

"What is it, Tsunade? Why are you spacing out here?"

At the sound of that familiar voice, Tsunade instantly felt much of her worry melt away.

Sarutobi Toru was somewhat surprised. A ninja of Tsunade's level had actually failed to notice him coming up behind her. Certainly, that was because she was too familiar with his presence and had sensed no hostility, but it still should not have happened.

Tsunade leaned back into Sarutobi Toru's embrace, concern appearing on her face. "Toru, if I might lose control and turn into a monster, would you hate me?"

Sarutobi Toru immediately understood. He asked softly, "A Jinchuriki? Grandma Mito told you already?"

Tsunade was slightly startled, then gave a bitter smile. "Of course. What could happen in the Hokage's Office that you wouldn't know about?"

"Would you hate me?"

Tsunade turned around and looked up at Sarutobi Toru.

Sarutobi Toru smiled. "Don't borrow trouble. No matter what happens, I would never hate you. Besides, it's only a fox. I don't believe you can't handle it!"

Seeing that Sarutobi Toru truly did not mind, Tsunade secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"But I think you should delay becoming a Jinchuriki for now."

Tsunade's heart leaped back into her throat. "Why?"

"Don't forget that our martial arts cultivation has only reached the marrow-cleansing stage. We still have the blood-exchanging stage to pass!"

Over the past six years, more than half of the Yang God Martial Scripture had been deciphered. Only the realm of the Blood-exchanging Martial Saint remained unattained.

Compared to skin, flesh, tendons, and bones, which Might Duy had mastered in just over half a year during the earliest trials with the aid of Chakra and Medical Ninjutsu, the internal organs and bone marrow had held the three of them back for four or five years, even after Tsunade joined them.

As for the final blood-exchanging stage, Might Duy had already failed twice. Fortunately, with Tsunade and Sarutobi Toru, two masters of Medical Ninjutsu, as well as miraculous medicine like Healing Potions, he had remained alive and kicking until now.

But this showed just how perilous the blood-exchanging threshold was.

There were many reasons why progress had become so slow compared to the beginning. On one hand, the higher martial arts cultivation rose, the slower it became. On the other hand, by this point, the Martial Scripture contained almost no specific cultivation methods, only certain cultivation principles—and even those principles had quite a few gaps.

But the primary reason was that the damage caused by cultivation had become extremely severe. After all, injuries to the internal organs and bone marrow were entirely different from injuries to the skin, flesh, tendons, and bones at the beginning.

In truth, the Human Immortal Martial Way cultivated by the three of them now had already diverged enormously from the original Human Immortal Martial Way of the Yang God.

The Chakra unique to the Shinobi World had been incorporated into this new Human Immortal Martial Way, replacing the simple circulation of internal force. Otherwise, there was no way they could have cultivated so quickly, reaching the threshold of the Blood-exchanging Martial Saint in merely six or seven years.