Once the agreement had been signed, Sarutobi Hiruzen's face broke into a warm yet utterly cold smile.
"May this agreement truly bring a dawn of peace to every nation and village."
He stood, glanced at the Kumogakure envoy, who looked utterly devastated, then swept his gaze over the other nations' envoys, all of whom looked delighted by his misfortune. Finally, he turned to Uzumaki Qi Luna and gave a slight nod before heading out of the meeting room.
Qi Luna and Minato said nothing. They followed Sarutobi Hiruzen out in silence, their expressions just as calm.
Only after the roiling chakra in the meeting room disappeared from their sight along with him did the envoys from the various nations finally breathe a long sigh of relief and collapse into their chairs, utterly drained.
Dodai was no different. Looking at the agreement in his hands, his eyes held nothing but bitterness and lingering fear.
A staggering ransom of fifty million ryō!
It wasn't just an enormous burden on Kumogakure's finances. It was also a crushing blow to its reputation!
Once the news got out, the entire Ninja World would know:
Kumogakure had suffered a humiliating defeat at Konoha's hands! Not only had its operation failed, leaving its forces battered and depleted, but Konoha had also forced it to sign "humiliating and treasonous" terms in an utterly degrading manner!
Nearly a full year passed after the meeting-room controversy.
Using the last of her life force as a catalyst and drawing on the Uzumaki Clan's secret techniques, Uzumaki Mito finally managed to erase the Cursed Seal Old Man Madara had left on the Rinnegan without harming Nagato in the slightest. She had protected the ill-fated boy, who possessed the Uzumaki Bloodline, so he no longer had to worry that someone might control him and turn him into a puppet one day.
Moreover, the seal Uzumaki Mito placed on him kept the Rinnegan from draining him constantly. Instead, its abilities could be gradually unsealed as Nagato grew stronger, allowing him to adapt to the immense strain of wielding the Rinnegan.
But the price she paid was that, after completing all this, the woman who had once been peerlessly beautiful, and who had protected Konoha for decades with her powerful chakra and Sealing Jutsu—the first Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, wife of the First, Senju Hashirama—Uzumaki Mito—
was nearly spent, standing at the end of her life...
Deep within the Senju Clan Compound stood an ancient shrine.
Countless Barrier Ninjutsu formations layered over one another, enclosing the entire shrine inside and out.
At the center of the altar sat the aged and exhausted Uzumaki Mito. Her face was gaunt, her body withered, like a candle flickering in the wind. Only her jade-green eyes remained as clear and bright as a spring!
Standing solemnly before her was none other than Uzumaki Qi Luna!
A year had passed, and his figure had grown even more upright. His half-tied red hair "burned" behind him like flames, while his jade-green eyes remained as calm as ever. The restless chakra no longer swirled around him, and even his presence had become gentle and warm.
"Xiao Ya... come a little closer..."
Mito's voice was hoarse but clear, warm, yet touched by the weariness of old age.
Qi Luna did as she asked and knelt before her. He could clearly sense the enormous, violent chakra within Uzumaki Mito, straining as if it might break free at any moment—the Nine-Tails Demon Fox!
It seemed to sense Uzumaki Mito's intentions, as well as its own future "fate." It began to grow restless, radiating waves of terrifying pressure!
Uzumaki Mito slowly raised her thin hand and gave Qi Luna's cheek one last caress. Her eyes held a solemn resolve:
"Child, my time is almost up. The 'burden' of protecting Konoha in the future, and the 'duty' of sealing the Nine-Tails, will be yours."
"Grandma knows this isn't fair to you. But though we are vessels for the Nine-Tails, there are ways to find happiness even while living as a Jinchūriki."
"First, you have to fill the vessel with love. That way, you can find happiness even while living as the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki."
"But it's something you'll never find if all you do is wait for it."
"By now, the members of the Uzumaki Clan have scattered far and wide. Though we've lost everything we once had, like whirlpools in nature, we've become part of the Ninja World..."
"We were once a clan renowned throughout the Ninja World for our life force and Sealing Jutsu. Our strength was used in wars, but it also brought peace to the Ninja World..."
"In my eyes, Xiao Ya, you're an excellent shinobi!"
"Like a spiral staircase: a whirlpool is a flat, motionless plane, while a spiral is three-dimensional. They may both look like things that simply spin, but as long as you keep climbing the staircase, the scenery keeps changing!"
"We may indeed be caught at the center of a whirlpool, but if we choose to climb, we'll surely find 'love'! And then, the whirlpool will eventually become a spiral..."
Uzumaki Mito stroked Qi Luna's cheek with her withered hand, her smile still as kind as ever.
"Grandma hopes that one day, Xiao Ya will find a love of his own, too..."
Qi Luna bowed his head deeply and gently clasped the old woman's hand in both of his. Tears streamed from the corners of his eyes.
"Grandma... Xiao Ya knows..."
"Big Sister Tsunade, Big Brother Nawaki, Kushina, Minato, Nagato, Yahiko, Konan, Hayama, and Nonō... All of them care about me. They're the love that belongs to me..."
Hearing Qi Luna's answer, Uzumaki Mito finally smiled with relief...
"Roar!!!"
The Nine-Tails' furious, resentful howl rang out from the void. Within the Four-Symbols Seal, it thrashed wildly, biting at the chains! Its crimson chakra, like molten lava, seared Uzumaki Mito and Qi Luna's minds, along with the Adamantine Chains!
A trickle of blood ran from the corner of Uzumaki Mito's mouth, but her gaze remained as unyielding as stone! Under her absolute control, the nine golden chains didn't snap. Instead, they tightened further and began steadily guiding the Nine-Tails into Qi Luna's body!
"Four-Symbols Seal, seal!"
At that moment, Qi Luna's and Mito's voices seemed to merge into one!
Mito brought her hands together in a seal. Every golden rune on the altar surged toward Qi Luna like a hundred rivers rushing into the sea!
At the same time, guided by Mito and sustained by his own vast chakra, the Four-Symbols Seal on Qi Luna's abdomen suddenly flared to life, forming a spiral-shaped seal encircled by four bands of script.
The flood of crimson chakra was swallowed by the seal in an instant, pouring frantically into the seal on Qi Luna's abdomen! The Nine-Tails' roar and phantom form were forcibly dragged in, compressed, and finally swallowed completely by the newly formed Four-Symbols Seal!
"Damn you, Mito! How dare you seal this old man inside some brat's body? One day, I'll make you all pay for this!"
"Hehe... Nine-Tails, be good to Xiao Ya..."
After completing the final part of the ritual, Uzumaki Mito seemed to lose every last bit of support. Like a candle that had burned itself out, she slowly fell backward.
The wrinkles on her face relaxed. With a smile of relief and profound contentment, she gazed tenderly at Qi Luna:
"Konoha... its future... is in your hands..."
She murmured, her voice barely audible, like a sigh carried away by the wind. The final light in her jade-green eyes faded like a star going dark...
A legend of her generation, the first Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, Uzumaki Mito, passed away.
The remaining runes on the altar sealed her body layer by layer, eventually transforming it into a stone coffin. There, in the shrine, she fell into eternal rest.
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