Being Honest with Kushina

Mid-December, Saturday morning.

Ninja Academy, dense forest on the Back Mountain.

"Phew... phew... Kushina! Wait a second, let's take a break."

Shiraha panted as he braced himself against a tree trunk, then slowly collapsed onto the grass.

Seeing this, Kushina did not continue her attack.

After spending so much time together, she knew that Shiraha absolutely would not want to continue in this state.

Still, Kushina felt inexplicably restless. She came over and sat on the grass as well, picked up the water flask beside her, and tipped her head back to gulp it down boldly.

After resting for a while, Shiraha silently recited an incantation and activated Sensory Enhancement, followed by the Innate Spell, Sixth Sense.

Just as I thought! Shiraha's heart stirred. Just as he had observed, the Anbu Ninja secretly monitoring Kushina had already left.

On the eve of Kushina becoming the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki, there had been four ninja secretly watching her, along with the Third Hokage using the Telescope Technique.

After Kushina became the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki, the number of ninja monitoring her had dropped to two. Shiraha had not understood why at first, but now he did.

Recently, small units could occasionally be seen gathering near the village entrance. It seemed the other villages had not truly admitted defeat and still wanted to settle the score with Konoha.

On one hand, the village was likely short on manpower and could not afford to leave high-level combat forces like Jōnin behind to watch Kushina.

On the other hand, Kushina had shown no unusual reactions, and they were probably extremely confident in the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu.

Otherwise, they would not have allowed Kushina, a Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki, to attend school.

Recently, the village's surveillance of Kushina had changed from round-the-clock monitoring to a shift system.

However, the Third Hokage still basically took time every day to observe Kushina.

Shiraha had roughly figured out the Anbu Ninja's shift schedule.

No Anbu would appear from now until noon.

Of course, the Anbu's shift schedule was not fixed. It generally changed once or twice every month.

"Kushina, is something bothering you?"

Seeing that Kushina was not in high spirits, Shiraha could not help asking. She had been like this for quite some time.

At his words, Kushina opened her mouth, looking as though she wanted to say something but stopped herself. In the end, she only shook her head. "It's nothing."

"With the relationship we have now, is there still something you can't tell me? Don't you consider me your friend?"

"No, it's not that. It's just... I can't say it!"

Kushina shook her head repeatedly.

Shiraha suddenly leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Don't worry. Everyone monitoring you has already withdrawn. No third person will know anything you say. I promise I'll keep it secret for you!"

"Y-you know someone was monitoring—" Kushina blurted out instinctively, then immediately realized what she had said and covered her mouth.

Mito had left a powerful seal and a portion of her Chakra inside Kushina. Using Mito's Chakra, she could exert a little control over some of Kurama's power.

That included Kurama's sensory abilities. However, since she could not yet use Nine-Tails Chakra proficiently, the ability worked only intermittently.

But the few times it had succeeded had allowed Kushina to discover the Third Hokage's surveillance.

Kushina had originally had some things she wanted to ask Shiraha, but after discovering the Third Hokage's surveillance, she had not dared to speak carelessly.

She had not expected Shiraha to notice what was weighing on her mind.

"I have a special sensory ability. I can detect Chakra fluctuations around me and can even sense the Third Hokage's Telescope Technique spying on me," Shiraha said slowly.

"Shiraha..."

Kushina stared at him in surprise. She had never known that he possessed such powerful sensory abilities.

"I've told you such a huge secret. Don't you have something to tell me too?" Shiraha said with a smile.

He had not wanted to expose Kushina's identity as the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki to her face, but she was always so troubled and kept putting his little body through the wringer. It felt like he had no choice but to say it.

"I... I..." Kushina did not know how to begin. Was she supposed to directly tell Shiraha that she was Kurama's Jinchuriki?!

"I told you, no matter what you become, you'll always be Kushina. Even if you're a Jinchuriki, it changes nothing." Seeing her hesitate, Shiraha decided to get straight to the point.

Kushina's eyes widened, her face filled with disbelief. Looking at Shiraha's sincere expression, she could not help lowering her head as tears gathered in her eyes. "I'm sorry! I'm not..."

She had always feared that her identity as a Jinchuriki would be exposed. She feared having an abnormal reaction and losing Shiraha as a friend!

Even though Shiraha had reassured her again and again, she still did not dare take the risk.

"It's painful to bear everything alone. I'm willing to bear it with you." Seeing Kushina on the verge of tears, Shiraha gently wiped them away. "We're friends, no matter what. Whether you're a Jinchuriki or not makes no difference to me. You are the one and only Kushina."

"Really?"

"When have I ever lied to you?"

"Last year, you promised to go shopping with me, but that afternoon you went to train with Brother Nawaki instead." Kushina tilted her head and thought for a moment before answering.

"..." The smile froze on Shiraha's face. "That doesn't count. Nawaki dragged me there by force!"

"Then if you're forced in the future, will you lie to me?" Kushina pressed.

"Absolutely not! I swear!" Shiraha answered without hesitation.

"Then I believe you!" Kushina wiped away her tears.

Shiraha smiled. "Now you can tell me without worrying, right?"

"Actually, I—"

"Wait."

Kushina was about to speak when Shiraha interrupted her.

"Before that, we need to establish a code."

"A code?"

"When we're discussing private matters in the future, if I sense the Anbu or the Third Hokage, I'll make this gesture. You need to stop immediately, understand?" Shiraha rubbed his earlobe between the thumb and index finger of his right hand.

"Understood."

"We'll change the code every so often," Shiraha added.

"Mm!"

"Shiraha, the reason I've been training so desperately lately is because I want to become stronger and suppress the Tailed Beast better. But even with Grandma Mito's seal, Kurama keeps interfering with my Chakra gathering and affecting my training progress. And before Grandma Mito passed away, she told me some things that made me feel uneasy," Kushina continued.

"What did Lady Mito say?"

"She told me to be careful of the Third Hokage."

"Was it because of Uzushiogakure's destruction?" Shiraha immediately connected it to that incident.

"Y-you thought of that?" Kushina was slightly stunned. Mito had not said it outright before her death, but her attitude had been thought-provoking. Especially after spending so much time with Shiraha, Kushina had gradually developed the habit of calmly thinking things through and asking Shiraha whenever she did not understand something.

At that, Shiraha said, "Let me offer a few assumptions. They may not be right, so think about them yourself.

Before Uzushiogakure was destroyed, Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Konoha were fighting in the Land of Rain, and the scale of the war was gradually expanding.

The Uzumaki Clan's elite had gone to the Land of Rain to support Konoha. At that time, the only ones capable of destroying Uzushiogakure would have been Kumogakure and Kirigakure taking the lead and bringing other villages with them.

Then Konoha had only the following possible responses—"

"First, send elite troops to the Land of Whirlpools to help the Uzumaki Clan fight the enemy. But the outcome would be uncertain, and they could very well fail.

Even if they successfully repelled the enemy, the losses would certainly be severe, affecting the outcome of the war in the Land of Rain. It might even cause Kumogakure and Kirigakure to join the war together, leaving Konoha in the desperate situation of being besieged on four sides."

"Second, stand by and let Uzushiogakure fend for itself. But then the Uzumaki clansmen still fighting on the front lines would definitely be affected.

Konoha and the Uzumaki Clan had been friends for generations. Such behavior would certainly be condemned and damage Konoha's reputation."

"Third, send a small advance unit first, with the main force following behind. By the time the vanguard arrived, it might already be too late—or it might arrive just in time, but lack sufficient strength.

By the time the main force was close to arriving, the war would already be over, and the Uzumaki Clan would have been wiped out.

Knowing that reinforcements were coming, the Uzumaki Clan would certainly hold their ground and wait for aid, fighting to the very last moment. By then, the invaders would surely have suffered considerable casualties as well."

"How could this happen? The Uzumaki Clan and Konoha are allies! How many clansmen did they sacrifice for Konoha during the First Shinobi World War and the wars afterward? Why?!" Kushina became emotional in an instant.

She remembered the Anbu Jōnin who had escorted her to Konoha. If the reinforcements sent to aid the Uzumaki Clan had all been Jōnin of that caliber, her clan would not have been destroyed.

If Konoha and the Uzumaki Clan had merely been ordinary allies, then so be it.

But how many elites had the Uzumaki Clan lost for Konoha?!

PS: The chapter order was not posted incorrectly. Chapter 23 was blocked and has only just been restored, so it is being adjusted now.