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Konoha, the strongest military force of the Land of Fire, one of the Five Great Nations. Konoha's founding purpose was peace, but today, many years later, Konoha has become something akin to a professional soldier's barracks, its greatest role being to deter the military forces of other nations.

When war comes, Konoha is the Land of Fire's vanguard. The village that once aspired to be a ninja paradise seems to have already deviated from the original goals of the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara when they established it.

"Finally here!"

Accompanied by several whooshing sounds, Tsunade and Jiraiya successfully brought Kushina and her brother to the gates of Konoha. The nearly ten-meter-tall double doors looked incredibly imposing in Kushina's eyes.

"This... is Konoha, huh. It feels so familiar, yet so strange."

Uzumaki Kyomei had already woken from his slumber the moment everyone arrived at Konoha. He could now control his body, turning and twisting his head with ease. However, an infant's spine and bones had not yet hardened, so his movements could not be too large.

Uzumaki Kyomei slightly turned his little head, observing the entire entrance to Konoha. The first impression the massive double doors gave was one of shock. He had rarely seen such enormous gates; aside from these two before him, he had only seen them in the ancient cities of his previous life. But those had been proper castle gates, while this was a village!

Looking at the gates of Konoha, Uzumaki Kyomei felt a mix of emotions in his heart—sadness, excitement, anticipation, and fear—all surging up at once.

"Tsunade, go report to the old man first."

Jiraiya said to Tsunade with a smile. The Konoha ninja guarding the gate recognized Jiraiya and Tsunade and did not stop them from entering, only paying extra attention when they saw Kushina and her brother. Someone had already slipped away in secret to report.

"You report to the old man directly. I'll take these two siblings first."

Tsunade had still been holding Kushina's hand. After speaking, she crouched down, lifted Kushina into her arms, and swiftly vanished from the spot. Tsunade's sudden departure left Jiraiya completely dumbfounded. He could not figure out why she had abruptly taken the children and left.

After a brief moment of thought, Jiraiya quickly headed toward the Hokage Tower.

"Is that so? Tsunade has already taken the Uzumaki Clan children away?"

In the Hokage's office, after listening to Jiraiya's animated recounting of everything, the Third Hokage took a puff from his pipe, lightly tapped the pipe's head against the desk to pack the tobacco tighter, and spoke in a deep voice.

The Third was in his prime. Though his face showed some traces of age, he still looked very young, and when speaking with Jiraiya, he carried an imposing presence.

In front of the Third Hokage, besides Jiraiya, there was another person wearing a mask, kneeling on one knee. He had already received word of the matters Jiraiya spoke of, and even knew where Tsunade had taken the children.

"This matter ends here. Jiraiya, you did well."

"Immediately take several Anbu to support Orochimaru. The only ninja forces capable of breaking through our escort team in this world belong to those few ninja villages."

"While supporting Orochimaru, investigate who it was. Konoha is not a soft persimmon to be bullied at will."

"Go."

After the Third finished speaking and took another puff from his pipe, he also dismissed the Anbu who had reported earlier once Jiraiya left on his orders. After the two departed, the Third stood up and looked out the window, watching Jiraiya leave.

"Sazumo, investigate internally. Who leaked the information? For such a confidential matter to be discovered and ambushed in advance, there must be a problem within our ranks."

The Third took puff after puff from his pipe, the smoke obscuring his expression. Behind him, a masked figure with a small white braid knelt on one knee, responded with a "Yes," and vanished.

The Hokage's office returned to silence. After the Third Hokage sat down to handle some affairs, he found himself unable to focus and decided to go see the two Uzumaki Clan children.

Konoha's first jinchuriki, the wife of the First Hokage, Mito of the Uzumaki Clan, had sensed long ago that her end was near. The reason the Third Hokage sent people to Uzushio Village to borrow someone was precisely because Mito's lifespan was approaching its limit.

Although there were still some years left before Mito's time ran out, the matter of the second jinchuriki was no small thing. He would not feel at ease without seeing for himself.

Under the bright sun, in a courtyard less than five kilometers from the Hokage Rock, Tsunade sat on the tatami holding Uzumaki Kyomei, attentively listening as Kushina recounted the hardships of their journey to the young woman before them.

The young woman seated in the main position, like Kushina, had bright red hair and a deep blue diamond-shaped mark on her forehead.

Her long hair was styled into two buns, with a complex topknot left at the back of her head. Two earrings etched with intricate seals hung from her ears—Mito of the Uzumaki Clan, wife of the First Hokage, Tsunade's grandmother, the first Nine-Tails jinchuriki, and one who had perfectly mastered the power of the tailed beast.

Upon seeing Mito after arriving in Konoha, Kushina lowered her guard. Once she learned Tsunade was her granddaughter, she even allowed Tsunade to hold her younger brother.

"Kushina, I no longer have many relatives left in Konoha. Tsunade has already grown up, and that child Nawaki is never home these days."

"You siblings are my family now. From now on, just call me Grandma."

Mito of the Uzumaki Clan gently patted Kushina's head, then took Kyomei from Tsunade's arms, teasing his little face with her hand, a gentle smile appearing on her face.

"Okay, Grandma Mito."

For the first time since leaving the Land of Whirlpools, Kushina felt a sense of security. Mito exuded a natural closeness that made Kushina feel very comfortable. In Mito's presence, Kushina truly felt the warmth of family.

This was the first time Uzumaki Kyomei had seen Mito in person. It was hard to imagine that such a youthful face belonged to Tsunade's grandmother. The blue mark on her forehead was extremely deep in color, vastly different from the one he had seen on Tsunade before.

"This child truly has remarkable talent."

Mito looked at the child in her arms staring at her with wide eyes and smiled even more happily. Elders all loved to tease children, and she was no exception. The liveliness in Kyomei's eyes made him even more endearing.

Using the innate abilities of the Uzumaki Clan, Mito could clearly sense the astonishing chakra contained within the child in her arms.

Of course, this astonishing chakra was only in comparison to children of the same age. While held in Mito's arms, Kyomei could clearly feel his chakra beginning to flow faster unconsciously. The specks of white light entwined around the blue chakra started to flicker. The tingling sensation spreading through his body soon lulled Kyomei into sleep.

"My body tires too easily. Who knows when it'll stop."

"When held by Mito of the Uzumaki Clan, the chakra flow sped up. I wonder why."

"But it should be a good thing."

Though Uzumaki Kyomei's body had fallen asleep, his consciousness remained quite clear. Returning to his mindscape, Kyomei began carefully observing the changes in his body.

"Lord Mito, the Third has arrived." Shortly after, a female ninja entered from outside, kneeling on one knee to report to Mito.

"Hiruzen? Send him back. From now on, I will take care of Kushina and her brother. No need for him to trouble himself."

"Also notify the Ninja Academy that my granddaughter will be joining a class. She's still young, so start her in the first year."

Hiruzen Sarutobi had not expected to be shut out right before arriving at Mito's residence; after hearing the reply, he peered inside the gate before turning away with a helpless expression. There was nowhere in the entire Konoha that Hiruzen Sarutobi could not go, yet this particular residence was not a place he could enter just because he wished to.

If Mito did not want to see him, he truly had no way to force the issue.

"Lady Mito told me she wishes for Kushina to attend the Ninja Academy."

The female ninja who served Mito Uzumaki was, after all, a Konoha ninja, and she still felt a sense of trepidation when facing the Hokage, speaking to Hiruzen Sarutobi in a low voice.

"Mm, I understand."

Hiruzen had originally felt a bit of resentment, but upon hearing this news, he immediately brightened. The Ninja Academy could be considered one of his spheres of influence; although he had held the position of Hokage for some time, his control over the entirety of Konoha was still not absolute.

The members of the Uzumaki Clan were sent to the village as the second generation of jinchuriki, and Mito allowing Kushina to attend the Ninja Academy meant that he, the Third Hokage, had gained her approval. Once the second jinchuriki was sent to the academy, the Third Hokage would have sufficient time and reason to propagate the Will of Fire to Kushina, ensuring that she, coming from an outside village, would remain loyal to the Hokage and the village.

Over these years, Hiruzen Sarutobi had found his tenure as Hokage to be quite arduous, but with the arrival of the new jinchuriki, his situation had finally encountered a turning point.

In the vast Konoha Ninja Village, the areas where Hiruzen Sarutobi could exert his influence were actually quite limited; to say nothing of the rest, he had been unable to fully grasp the two Kekkei Genkai clans within Konoha: the Uchiha and the Hyuga.

And while the Senju Clan, with Mito Uzumaki at its helm, had declined, the influence he could exert over them was also limited.

Even within the Anbu, the Hokage's direct forces, some personnel had been poached by Danzo, and whenever internal meetings were held, his other two old comrades would still argue with him.

The reason Hiruzen Sarutobi's position as Hokage remained stable at present was not only due to the Second Hokage's deathbed appointment, nor was his personal strength the only factor among many; in truth, the primary factor was the result of a balance of power between the various clans.

With Hiruzen Sarutobi in power, the conflicts between the various clans had been mediated to a certain extent, and the political situation in Konoha had reached an equilibrium. However, if he, Hiruzen Sarutobi, could control the jinchuriki, then the landscape of Konoha would undergo a massive transformation.