Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled. "Uchiha Madara was Uchiha Madara. You are you. I won't let the mistakes of the past carry on into the present."
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked toward the Uchiha gathered there. They were all gazing at him with reverence.
"Right now, sealing the Nine-Tails is the most important matter. We have to make sure everything goes smoothly, and the Uchiha's strength is essential!"
"They trust me as their Hokage. Naturally, I can't let them down."
There was a deeper meaning to Sarutobi Hiruzen's words.
Uchiha Chonhua considered them for a moment. He understood.
These people, like him, were extremely devoted to Konoha and the Hokage.
In other words, he and these people were on the same side.
Uchiha Chonhua gave them a friendly smile.
They had known for a long time that Lord Hokage valued and favored Uchiha Chonhua. But since he was close to Uchiha Ryutai and the others, they had rarely interacted with him.
Now that Lord Hokage had brought Uchiha Chonhua here himself, he had clearly vouched for him. That meant Uchiha Chonhua could be trusted.
Thinking this, they returned Uchiha Chonhua's friendly smile.
Sarutobi Hiruzen patted Uchiha Chonhua on the shoulder. "You should get to know each other better."
"And there's the Uzumaki Clan, too."
Sarutobi Hiruzen gestured for Uchiha Chonhua to look in another direction. Some members of the Uzumaki Clan were gathered there, golden chains waving and swaying behind them.
The fighting in the Land of Whirlpools was still ongoing, but anyone with eyes could see that Cloud Village and Mist Village's plan to attack the Land of Whirlpools had failed. Their desire to press the attack had diminished considerably.
With the war in the Land of Whirlpools going poorly, the fighting on the northern front had slackened as well.
The elderly, women, and children of the Uzumaki Clan had already finished relocating. A while ago, with the pressure of the war in the Land of Whirlpools easing, the Uzumaki Clan Head and Hatake Sakumo had decided to send some of the clan's able-bodied young adults away from the front lines and to Konoha.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had summoned them here to help with the sealing of the Nine-Tails.
He nodded to the two Uzumaki Clan members standing by the entrance.
The two Uzumaki Clan members led Konoha's Sealing Squad inside.
The Nine-Tails sealing transfer ceremony began.
The Uzumaki Clan, renowned throughout the Ninja World for their sealing expertise, had moved to Konoha. Sarutobi Hiruzen had immediately reorganized Konoha's Sealing Squad, granting the clan benefits and assigning them official positions.
Let the experts handle expert work.
With those two Uzumaki Clan members overseeing the transfer ceremony, the chance of the Nine-Tails breaking free was reduced to a minimum.
"Lady Mito can suppress the Nine-Tails on her own, so the sealing transfer ceremony shouldn't run into any problems..."
That was how it should have been. But Mito Uzumaki's life was nearing its end. She was frail and gaunt, and no one could be sure how much strength she had left.
Sealing the Nine-Tails was a major matter, so Sarutobi Hiruzen kept adding safeguards, striving to leave nothing to chance.
They had made every preparation they could. Now, all that remained was to see the result.
Sarutobi Hiruzen lowered his Hokage hat and smoked his pipe in silence. Smoke curled around him, obscuring his expression.
"Grandma!"
Uchiha Chonhua turned around and saw Nawaki rushing over, panting, his eyes red as he shouted.
Tsunade caught hold of him, her expression sorrowful.
Nawaki panted heavily. The moment he received word from home, he had rushed back as fast as he could.
But in the end, he hadn't made it in time to see Mito Uzumaki one last time.
"Nawaki, sob..."
Seeing her younger brother return, Tsunade finally couldn't hold back. She pulled him into a tight embrace, and the siblings clung to each other and wept at the entrance.
Uchiha Chonhua sighed and shook his head. Moved by the siblings, his own eyes grew red.
Little by little, time passed. Nawaki and Tsunade stopped crying and sat there in despair. They didn't even have the strength to stand.
"Roar—! Damn you, Mito!! Are you going to seal me inside this little brat?!
"No! I absolutely refuse to be sealed again!"
Boom!
Uchiha Chonhua suddenly felt a weight press down on him. Chakra, thick with malice, swept through the area with a roar, making it hard to breathe.
This chakra was dark and evil, and it was viscous, too.
Uchiha Chonhua looked up and saw red chakra gathering into the shape of a fox, howling at the sky.
The Uchiha and Uzumaki Clan members immediately readied themselves. If the Nine-Tails broke free, they would have to suppress it. They absolutely couldn't let it escape the seal!
Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned. It was only chakra leaking out; things hadn't reached a critical point yet.
"Nine-Tails, accept the seal quietly! Adamantine Sealing Chains!"
Mito Uzumaki's voice rang out, surprising Uchiha Chonhua. It sounded strong and clear, with none of the frailty of old age.
"Damn it! You wretched humans!!!"
The chakra fox roared in fury, but the chakra leaking out began to slowly dissipate.
The head of the fox formed from red chakra disappeared, too.
Everything returned to how it had been before, as if nothing had happened.
Whoosh.
The seal at the entrance dispersed, and an Uzumaki Clan member walked out, his expression heavy.
"The sealing transfer ceremony is complete. Lady Mito..."
The Uzumaki Clan member closed his eyes and sighed. "She's gone."
"Grandma!"
Nawaki and Tsunade hurried into the sealing chamber. Uchiha Chonhua followed, then stopped in surprise.
The person lying there was no old woman.
Her vivid, fiery-red hair spilled around her, and a diamond-shaped mark rested on her forehead. Her face was as lovely as a flower emerging from the water, her expression peaceful.
Her eyes were closed, and her hands, soft as silk, rested crossed before her. Her red lips curved into a slight smile. The serene beauty had entered her eternal sleep.
This was Mito Uzumaki, frozen in the most beautiful moment of her life.
It was the final burst of life from Mito Uzumaki.
Thinking of that clear, powerful voice from moments ago, Uchiha Chonhua, who was in a sense also part of the Uzumaki Clan, understood.
He bowed to Mito Uzumaki three times.
Farewell, Grandma Mito.
He would leave this place to Tsunade and Nawaki, who were grieving. Uchiha Chonhua went to Kushina Uzumaki.
He saw her brows tightly furrowed, her teeth clenched, and sweat running down her face.
Uchiha Chonhua quickly clasped both hands around Kushina's hand beside the bed.
"Kushina, I'm here."
His voice was deep and steady, conveying a sense of safety and reassurance to Kushina Uzumaki.
Perhaps she had heard Uchiha Chonhua's voice. Kushina Uzumaki's brows suddenly relaxed, and her expression slowly eased.
"Aaaaaah!!!"
Kushina Uzumaki clutched her head and yelled, her little face puffed up with anger.
"Can't that stupid fox just talk normally?! It keeps calling me 'brat' this and 'brat' that! I have a name, you know!!"
Kushina Uzumaki rubbed her stomach, thinking of her meeting with the Nine-Tails, and ground her teeth.
"Chonhua, are you sure I can communicate with the Nine-Tails?"
Hearing Kushina Uzumaki, Uchiha Chonhua smiled. "You can understand what it says, and it can react to what you say. That means you can communicate."
"But the big fox has such a bad temper. We can't have a proper conversation."
Kushina Uzumaki frowned. Every time she went to talk with the big fox, she came out furious and full of pent-up frustration.
"It can't escape anyway, so just keep going to talk with it, Kushina. Give it time, and the big fox will gradually come to accept you."
Uchiha Chonhua blinked. "Grandma Mito said that if a Jinchuriki can earn a Tailed Beast's acceptance, they can work together and reach the level of a Perfect Jinchuriki."
"When that happens, not only will your strength make a huge leap, you won't have to be constantly on edge, worrying that the Tailed Beast will break through the seal."
Once they reached the point of opening their hearts to each other and sharing their feelings, the seal would be unnecessary.
"This is something even Grandma Mito couldn't accomplish. I really believe you can do it, Kushina."
Mito Uzumaki had come to understand this in her later years. Unfortunately, for most of her life, she had kept the Nine-Tails on a tight leash. Her Adamantine Sealing Chains had bound it so firmly that it couldn't move.
The Nine-Tails had spewed insults at her, but hot-tempered Mito Uzumaki had hurled even more right back. She had treated the Nine-Tails like livestock.
She had taken whatever she wanted from its power without asking for its consent!
Damn humans!!
That had driven the Nine-Tails half mad with rage. It had roared again and again, its fury mounting.
Uchiha Madara was the person the Nine-Tails hated most. Mito Uzumaki, with whom it had spent so much time, came second. Senju Hashirama was last by comparison. That showed just how much Mito Uzumaki had infuriated the Nine-Tails.
When she was young, Mito Uzumaki had been satisfied with the power of the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode. Only in her later years did she realize she had traded away something far more valuable and missed out on the more perfect Tailed Beast Mode.
By then, trying to get along with the Nine-Tails was like trying to force two needles together. Everything about each other rubbed them the wrong way.
Mito Uzumaki regretted it deeply. Fortunately, she had realized that Perfect Jinchuriki were possible and passed that knowledge on to Kushina Uzumaki.
Kushina Uzumaki didn't really want to deal with the Nine-Tails. As for the power of Perfect Jinchuriki Mode, honestly, she wasn't all that eager to get stronger. She couldn't really imagine what having such great power would be like, and whether she had it or not didn't matter much to her.
Still, since it was Grandma Mito's wish, she would do her best.
More importantly... Kushina Uzumaki sneaked a glance at Uchiha Chonhua.
Chonhua hoped she could become a Perfect Jinchuriki, too.
"Phew—okay!" Kushina Uzumaki let out a long breath and clenched her little fist to encourage herself.
"Stupid fox, I'll go bother you every day. Let's see if you can keep refusing to talk properly after a while!"
[Roar! You brat, I ought to tear you to shreds and swallow you whole!!]
The Nine-Tails' roar rang in her ears. Kushina Uzumaki frowned and picked at her ear. What a noisy stupid fox.
"For now, just keep talking with the Nine-Tails."
Uchiha Chonhua stroked Kushina's little head. "Kushina, study Sealing Jutsu properly. Then you can give the Nine-Tails a more comfortable place to stay."
It was pinned to a huge rock and bound by Adamantine Sealing Chains, just as it had been with Mito Uzumaki. The Nine-Tails couldn't move at all.
It had no freedom to move its body. No matter how much they talked, even if the Nine-Tails wavered, remembering its predicament would immediately make its anger surge again.
Kushina Uzumaki felt a little embarrassed. She simply wasn't skilled enough yet.
Mito Uzumaki had sealed the Nine-Tails that way out of habit. Kushina Uzumaki had carried on Mito Uzumaki's sealing method because she didn't have the ability to do anything else.
Kushina Uzumaki nodded. "I'll work hard at learning Sealing Jutsu. Hmph, then I'll give the big fox a comfy little den."
[Brat, do you know how to talk? What do you mean, 'den'?! Do you take me for a pet?!]
"Well, you were the one who couldn't talk properly first. I'm not a brat!"
Kushina Uzumaki and the Nine-Tails started another argument.
Uchiha Chonhua shook his head and looked up at the cloudless sky. The breeze brushed over him, and the sunlight warmed his whole body.
It was a beautiful day.
Time flew by, and the seasons changed.
The New Year passed, and Cloud Village and Mist Village finally decided they didn't want to keep fighting.
Before you continue