Malice—immense, overwhelming malice—surged toward Kushina the instant she released the seal!
That was—
Genjutsu!? No, not Genjutsu. It was merely an incomparably massive wave of negative emotions, instantly drowning Kushina—
Hiroki's expression darkened as he looked at the Nine-Tails.
"You care a lot about that little girl, don't you? Let's make a deal. I can leave her with a large portion of chakra. How about you let me go?" The Nine-Tails bared its fangs, watching Hiroki with utmost caution. "Otherwise—you can just watch that little girl be swallowed by negative emotions and lose herself!"
"..." Hiroki fell silent for a moment and looked at Kushina.
His Firewall had made him overlook the fact that the Nine-Tails came with an immense assault of negative emotions—but—the Firewall was an automatically activated script, so he should be able to copy it directly for Kushina to use as well?
What had happened in Konoha over the past year?
Kushina had never felt as uneasy as she had over the past year.
For Konoha's ordinary villagers, this had probably been a dreamlike year.
When they woke in the morning and went to the market, they could buy Land of Waves prawns that were still lively and fresh, carrying the scent of the sea. They were even cheaper than the grass carp they used to catch from the river.
At the breakfast stalls by the roadside, polished rice that people had previously only been willing to eat during festivals had become the most basic standard fare. You could even get free refills.
The streets had become wider. The bumpy dirt roads had turned into flat, sturdy stone-paved roads. They said they would later be replaced with even stronger concrete or asphalt roads—many scholars had come to Konoha specifically to settle down.
Everything was getting better.