At a secret outpost established by the Anbu outside Konoha Ninja Village, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu arrived with Kushina after quietly leaving the village without drawing anyone's attention. More than twenty elite Anbu guarded the outpost, watching their surroundings vigilantly and keeping anyone suspicious from approaching.
Kushina followed the two senior officials. The outpost was a cave carved into the rock, carefully arranged to serve as an ideal location for transferring the Nine-Tails. A heavy silence hung over them. Neither Mitokado Homura nor Utatane Koharu was particularly talkative to begin with, and their expressions were even more solemn now, leaving her afraid to speak.
Kushina was normally a bold girl, but she could not manage a single word now. Looking at the passage stretching ahead, she felt as though it were the maw of some enormous beast, and she was slowly walking into it. A chill ran through her. She rubbed her hands together and breathed into them, hoping to warm herself a little.
At last, the three reached their destination. There were no unnecessary furnishings here, only special jutsu formulas written on the floor in Special Ink and a stone platform in the center. Several people in Anbu uniforms stood around it. Without exception, they all had vivid red hair, just like Kushina's.
They were the Uzumaki Clan members who had accompanied Kushina to Konoha Ninja Village when she was young. After graduating from the Ninja Academy, they had all been recruited into the Anbu and organized into a Sealing Squad. Besides their other assignments, they were tasked with protecting Kushina, the prospective jinchūriki. Now that the Nine-Tails was about to be transferred into her, they would assist Mito in carrying out the transfer.
Mito was sitting on the stone platform, talking with Kazemori Masaki. He had approved