A Master at Passing the Blame

Was she looking at me?

Uchiha Yi had keen senses, and after absorbing Indra's Chakra, they had grown sharper still.

He could clearly tell that Kushina Uzumaki was paying particular attention to him. Fortunately, she did not stare for long and soon looked away.

A possibility occurred to him: perhaps Mito Uzumaki had warned Kushina to stay away from the Uchiha Clan. She might be scouting the classroom for Uchiha so she would know whom to avoid.

"All right, Kushina, introduce yourself to the class!" Sarutobi Seiichiro said in the friendliest tone he could manage.

As a Special Jōnin of the Sarutobi Clan and Hiruzen Sarutobi's nephew, he had not come to the Ninja Academy merely to teach. Hiruzen had already told him who Kushina was. She had to feel the warmth of a home here, but they could not help her too much. They also needed to put her through a few tests to gauge her character.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Kushina Uzumaki. It's nice to meet you. I hope we'll get along." Kushina took a deep breath and mustered the courage to introduce herself.

But her introduction drew neither support nor welcome. Instead, the little brats began whispering about her without even trying to hide it.

"Look, she has red hair!"

"That's so weird. How can anyone have red hair?"

"No one in Konoha has red hair. Is she some kind of red-haired demon?"

"She looks like a chili pepper. That's the color of one."

Their taunts filled Kushina with unease. Not long ago, she had lost her home when an unknown force destroyed Uzushio Village.

A powerful shinobi from Konoha had happened to rescue her, and Konoha had paid a heavy price to save her.

Her eyes drifted toward Uchiha Yi. Would this boy protect her the way that man had?

Yi caught her pleading look and froze.

Kushina Uzumaki, why are you looking at me? I don't want to get mixed up with you!

Still, Yi spoke up, his voice quiet. "The Uzumaki Clan is the family of the First's wife. As far as I know, Lady Mito has red hair too.

"When you talk about red-haired people like that, aren't you insulting the First's wife?

"Besides, there are plenty of red-haired people in Konoha. Quite a few members of the Akimichi Clan have red hair."

Yi's words stunned everyone. No one had expected him to bring Lady Mito into it.

She was an important figure whose name appeared in their textbooks. If anyone took their insults seriously, wouldn't calling red hair ugly mean they were calling Lady Mito's hair ugly too?

The brats who had mocked Kushina began to tremble.

Damn it, we never said anything bad about Lady Mito!

Even Sarutobi Seiichiro was speechless. Yi really knew how to invoke someone else's authority.

He had dragged Lady Mito into the matter outright. After this, hardly anyone at school would dare bother Kushina.

Speechless or not, Seiichiro turned to Kushina. "Kushina, find an empty seat."

"Thank you!" Kushina looked around the classroom again. Her classmates' gazes no longer seemed as distant as before, and she breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Then she walked toward Yi and sat down not far from him.

Yi raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Kushina had only taken a seat nearby; there was nothing for him to complain about.

It was not as if he could forbid her from sitting near him.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others had watched the whole exchange, and the four of them looked at one another.

"That child seems to have taken a bit of a liking to Yi," Hiruzen observed after a long silence.

At the same time, he glanced toward Shimura Danzō.

This was a matter for Danzo to weigh in on. After all, he was the one who had brought Kushina to Konoha.

As for Mitokado Homura, he could offer advice, but he would never take it upon himself to act. Keeping his hands clean was what mattered most to him.

Danzo studied Yi's image in the crystal ball. His gaze deepened, and then he chuckled. "Kagami rescued Kushina Uzumaki and shielded her from several deadly attacks. It's only natural that she feels grateful to Kagami.

"She started attending the Ninja Academy earlier than expected. She probably heard about Uchiha Yi from Lady Mito."

"But she's meant to be the future vessel for the Nine-Tails!" Homura frowned. Even if Yi was on their side, he was still an Uchiha.

Even if they decided Yi could be trusted, they could not allow him a chance to come into contact with the Nine-Tails.

That battle had simply been too terrifying.

"Making Kushina the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki is only something we've proposed.

"Lady Mito hasn't approved it.

"Whether Kushina becomes the next Nine-Tails Jinchūriki is not for you, me, or Monkey to decide. Only Lady Mito can make that decision." Danzo glanced at Hiruzen and continued slowly, "Until Lady Mito decides to replace the Jinchūriki, none of us can press the matter.

"None of us could bear the responsibility if we did.

"And while Kushina is the best candidate to become a Jinchūriki, she isn't the only one."

Hiruzen nodded silently. Mito Uzumaki rarely went out; she practically never left her home.

Yet Hiruzen respected her deeply and, under normal circumstances, would not go against her wishes.

His feelings toward Mito were complicated. She was his greatest safeguard: as long as she lived, Konoha would not descend into chaos.

But what Hokage would enjoy having someone above him pulling the strings?

"Actually, it doesn't have to be Kushina Uzumaki!" Danzo said suddenly, his voice tempting everyone present like a devil's whisper.