Where Did the Caged Bird Seal on Your Forehead Go?

"It was much better than when Grandma had just passed away. Back then, there was almost no smile on her face.

"If the old man hadn't forbidden it, I would've brought her to the camp so you could keep her company."

Whenever Kushina came up, Tsunade got a headache.

Ever since the Nine-Tails had been transferred, Kushina's emotions had remained unstable.

On top of that, the Nine-Tails was unwilling to be sealed and kept causing trouble, leaving Kushina in a constant state of physical discomfort. Tsunade had been on edge the whole time.

She worried that Kushina would be unable to emerge from her grief, while also worrying that the Nine-Tails would cause something to happen.

The Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu had powerful suppressive effects on Tailed Beasts, but Kushina was still too young.

Moreover, the Nine-Tails was the strongest of all Tailed Beasts. More than once, Kushina had been burned by the Nine-Tails' chakra until she hid beneath the blankets and cried.

"It's good that she's coming through it. She's a strong, determined child. As for the Nine-Tails, once Kushina grows a little older, she'll be able to suppress it completely."

No one could help with something like this. Kushina could only rely on herself.

"By the way, how's the situation in the village?"

"Don't even mention it."

Tsunade rubbed her aching head. "That old hag Utatane Koharu has been jumping around everywhere, constantly hoping the old man will hand over the Medical System's authority to her. After the old man refused, she started trying to clear Danzo's name."

Shimura Danzō was no good, and neither was Utatane Koharu. Every last one of F4 was bad news.

Only Torifu Akimichi, who had stayed out of the mess, was somewhat reliable.

Shimura Danzō was ambitious, ruthless, and dirty-handed.

There was no need to mention the Third Hokage. On the surface, he was the Hero of the Shinobi, but behind the scenes, he had done plenty of shady things.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura were the same. They clung to power and refused to let go, constantly colluding with Shimura Danzō.

Even in the original story, after Konoha had been turned upside down and the Third Hokage had died, those two old fossils still kept clashing with Tsunade for the sake of their own power.

They restricted Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage, at every turn.

Jingyi curled his lip. "Not surprising. Every one of them values power greatly. The Medical System used to be in that old hag's hands, and now that it's in Torifu Akimichi's hands, she definitely isn't happy about it."

"Trying to clear Shimura Danzō's name is just her way of pressuring the Hokage while pulling in an ally."

"You're right."

Tsunade agreed with Jingyi's assessment.

As they spoke, Tsunade suddenly laughed.

"Now that big fatty Torifu Akimichi has been propped up in the Hokage Advisor position, he wants to step down but finds he can't. Even if he gets targeted, he can only cling tightly to the Medical System."

"If he finds out it was you who suggested Grandma put him up there, he'll probably curse you to death."

Anyone else being placed in that position would have been thrilled.

But Torifu Akimichi was different. He was reluctant in every possible way.

Unfortunately, his reluctance was useless. Mito Uzumaki had directly pushed him into the role, along with the Ino-Shika-Cho clans behind him, and sent them toward Tsunade.

In present-day Konoha, Torifu Akimichi sat in the Hokage Advisor position while holding the Medical System's authority, directly causing F4 to begin splitting apart.

"That was Lady Mito's order. It had nothing to do with me!"

Jingyi laughed without the slightest remorse.

He was not taking the blame for that.

"By the way."

Tsunade's expression suddenly turned serious. "The village has decided to send people into the Land of Rain in response to Sunagakure's provocations. A new war may break out in the Shinobi World."

To ensure a smooth transition to the new Jinchūriki, Konoha had tolerated Sunagakure's provocations in the Land of Rivers, placing the Jinchūriki transition above everything else.

But Konoha's patience had made Sunagakure think Konoha was backing down, so its provocations only became worse.

Now that Kushina, the new Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, had stabilized, Konoha could not possibly give Sunagakure another chance to push its luck.

Provocation, was it?

Then Konoha would respond, while conveniently suppressing Amegakure's development.

The Third Hokage would not stop making things difficult for Amegakure just because of a few words from Hanzō. There was no sympathy or tolerance between villages.

There were only interests.

Responding to Sunagakure to defend Konoha while suppressing Amegakure's development was in Konoha's interests. As for whether Amegakure and the Land of Rain were innocent, no one cared.

"They probably won't start fighting that soon."

At this stage, they would at most provoke each other and perhaps have a few minor clashes. They were still far from an actual war.

"At the end of the day, provocations are just provocations. As long as no one crosses the bottom line and neither side is prepared, a major war between two villages won't break out so easily. At most, there'll be small-scale conflicts."

Jingyi did not need to worry about war at all.

Not only was war not something that started just because someone said so, but even if it did begin, given his status and apparent strength, his assignment would definitely be to remain at the camp's Medical Department, treating and caring for the wounded rather than charging onto the battlefield to risk his life against enemies.

Besides, how much money did he make a month? Why would he risk his life on a battlefield?

Jingyi did not care how hard others fought. He certainly would not risk his life for people like the Third Hokage.

"Don't talk about me. You're the one who needs to take it easy. You call yourself a medical ninja, but in reality, you're fiercer than anyone."

Among all the medical ninjas in the Shinobi World, only Tsunade carried the title of medical ninja while being more ferocious than anyone else on the battlefield. Other medical ninjas did not dare act like that. Even when they followed teams into battle, they merely provided support.

Tsunade did the opposite. She turned herself into the main force and made her teammates the support.

"Ahem! Got it."

"What kind of look is that? Am I really that impulsive?"

Seeing Jingyi staring at her with distrust, Tsunade gritted her teeth in irritation. She walked over, bent down, pressed her forehead against his, and said through clenched teeth:

"I could have been like that before, but not now, and I won't be. Grandma is gone. I need to shoulder many responsibilities now, and most importantly, there's you."

"What about me?"

Jingyi raised a hand to test it. What had Tsunade been eating lately? It felt like they had grown quite a bit again.

Wasn't this development a little late?

"Stop fooling around!!"

Tsunade forcefully held down his wandering hands, bumped her forehead against Jingyi's, and said irritably:

"Nawaki and I have very special statuses. No one can do much to us. Kushina is about the same. She's the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki. Once she grows up in a few years, the village will have to think carefully before trying to control her. But you're different."

"Damn the Hyuga Main Family."

Whenever Tsunade thought of the Caged Bird Seal on Jingyi's forehead, she wanted to curse.

No one had needed to tell her before. If there was a war, she would definitely have rushed to the front lines. But now, Tsunade did not dare act like that anymore.

Because behind her were Nawaki, Kushina, the Ino-Shika-Cho clans, and other forces. Most importantly... there was also Jingyi.

The others were fine, but Jingyi could be targeted at any time.

The Caged Bird Seal was too deadly.

Only if Tsunade became strong enough, and the forces behind her grew stronger and stronger, would the Hyuga Clan not dare jump out and cause trouble. Even if the Third Hokage wanted them to cooperate, they would have to remain neutral.

"Yes! Damn the Hyuga Main Family!"

Jingyi burst out laughing.

What the hell was there to laugh about? She was this worried, and he could still laugh?

After teasing Tsunade a little, Jingyi finally stopped laughing when she was about to lose her temper. "Want to play a game?"

"No. I'm not in the mood."

Tsunade stood up and slapped Jingyi's hand away from her chest.

Stop messing around. Cooperate and take this thing off.

Jingyi gestured for Tsunade to remove her forehead protector.

"Other members of the Main House wish they could wrap their foreheads up tight, but you want to show yours off instead?"

After Jingyi hinted at it several times with his eyes, Tsunade finally gave in.

She could only raise her hand and tug off the forehead protector, using a little too much force.

She did not want to see the Caged Bird Seal. It was far too glaring.

There, I took it off. Happy now?

Tsunade was about to toss away the forehead protector in her hand, but the instant she raised her hand, she froze.

Was she seeing things?

She rubbed her eyes, then looked carefully. It did not seem like she was seeing things. There was nothing there.

"The seal on your forehead..."

Where was that huge Caged Bird Seal?

Where had it gone?

Jingyi raised his arms around Tsunade's waist, lifted her onto the table, then leaned closer and gave her a hint.

"Do you remember when we were studying at the hospital, and you asked why I smelled so strongly of paint?"

Had she?

With her thoughts in a mess, Tsunade thought back and recalled that it seemed to have happened.

She had personally asked him, but Jingyi had said he painted at home and had gotten paint on himself. He had even lifted his clothes for Tsunade to see, and there really had been paint stains on them.

Tsunade had not thought much of it and believed him.

"So the Caged Bird Seal on your forehead was painted on?"

Tsunade felt as though her brain was no longer enough. Wasn't the Hyuga Clan's Caged Bird Seal supposed to be incredibly overbearing?

How had it simply disappeared?

"Yes, it was painted on."

"Impossible. Grandpa and Second Grandpa tried to break the Caged Bird Seal when the village was founded, and every attempt failed. The old man tried too."

"How did you do it?"

"Could there be a possibility?"

Jingyi pointed at his eyes. "That these eyes aren't a regression?"

Staring into Jingyi's sapphire-blue eyes, bright as stars, Tsunade fell silent.

If it was not a regression, then it was evolution?

Like the Uchiha's Sharingan?