The atmosphere inside the Hokage's Office was so heavy it felt almost tangible.
Kushina stood before the desk, her eyes burning with a terrifying fury, like a sea holding back thunder before a storm.
Her chest heaved, her long red hair stirred without a breeze, and the chakra radiating from her body made the air shimmer.
In one hand, she held someone up as though he were a disobedient little chick.
That someone was the Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The elderly Third's graying beard trembled, and the wrinkles on his face deepened with shock and a trace of embarrassment.
He seemed to want to say something, but before Kushina's almost tangible rage, every explanation felt utterly feeble.
At that moment, the six-foot-three Jiraiya wished he really were a little frog, curled up in a corner and not daring to make a sound.
He was terrified that Kushina's fist might land on him.
"You damned old man!"
Kushina's voice was not particularly shrill, but it carried an icy anger that could freeze the marrow. Every word seemed to squeeze out between her clenched teeth.
"You actually dared to hide something this important from me? From everyone!"
Just moments earlier, Kushina had finally learned from the Third the truth buried beneath layers of concealment,
the one who had ordered the purge of the Uchiha Clan
was none other than Shimura Danzō, who had only just been declared a rogue ninja but had long held sway over Konoha's Root.
And even if the Third and the others had not directly masterminded it, they could not escape responsibility for tacitly approving it, allowing it, and even covering it up afterward!
The news was a spark in a powder keg, instantly blowing away every shred of Kushina's restraint.
She remembered how, just yesterday, she had misunderstood