Konoha's richest woman

Evening.

Moonlight Ruyun followed Kushina into what had once been the Senju Clan Compound.

He surveyed the scenery inside.

The grounds were vast and imposing, probably a hundred times the size of the Hayate Clan's estate.

Yet most of the houses they passed were empty, silent and deserted.

Kushina led him to a modest courtyard and stopped.

She pushed the door open, and the wind chimes hanging beneath the eaves rang sweetly.

"Grandma Mito, we're here."

He instinctively held his breath.

Mito Uzumaki, the strongest person currently in Konoha.

Her combat power as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, her extraordinary mastery of sealing jutsu, and her ability of Evil Sensing—each one was difficult to contend with.

Her very existence was an immense deterrent.

Forget spies from other hidden villages-even White Zetsu might not dare approach the area where Mito Uzumaki lived.

Evil Sensing...

He relaxed a little.

As everyone knew, he loved Konoha. He had a perfect score on the Will of Fire exam, after all.

Besides, his encounter with Kushina had truly been a coincidence, not some carefully orchestrated scheme.

His conscience was clear.

Soon, Mito Uzumaki emerged, her gaze resting briefly on him.

A kind, gentle smile appeared on her face.

"You must be little Ruyun. Kushina has excellent taste."

As she spoke, she cast Kushina a teasing glance.

Kushina's face instantly flushed crimson. "Come on! Grandma Mito, I'm not talking to you anymore!"

She stamped her foot and ran inside.

"Hahaha!"

Mito Uzumaki chuckled, then turned to him.

She took his hand, her voice gentle. "Let's go inside too. Your teacher has already prepared the food."

His mind went blank for a moment.

He completely forgot to worry about whether Tsunade's cooking was even edible.

Because...

[New equipment material detected]

[Uzushio Village Earrings]

[Estimated quality: blue]

[Crafting cost: 60,000 ryō per attempt]

[Special condition: personally gifted by Mito Uzumaki]

[Condition unmet. Crafting unavailable]

[New equipment material detected]

[Uzumaki Clan Sealing Jutsu Scroll]

[Estimated quality: purple]

[Crafting cost: 120,000 ryō per attempt]

[Special condition: personally gifted by Mito Uzumaki]

[Condition unmet. Crafting unavailable]

[New equipment material detected]

[Nine-Tails Chakra]

[Estimated quality: purple]

[Crafting cost: 120,000 ryō per attempt]

[Special condition: a large quantity of pure chakra stripped of the Nine-Tails' will]

[Condition unmet. Crafting unavailable]

He took a deep breath.

So much for Konoha's richest woman.

Tsunade would have to step aside. Mito Uzumaki was the undisputed choice.

Just the things Mito Uzumaki carried on her person amounted to three pieces of equipment.

Two purple and one blue!

He could not tell what [Uzushio Village Earrings] would do from the name alone, but anything of blue quality had to be pretty good.

[Uzumaki Clan Sealing Jutsu Scroll] clearly had something to do with sealing jutsu.

Sealing jutsu and senjutsu were arguably the Shinobi World's two most broken abilities.

Compared with traditional ninjutsu, sealing jutsu was more like an independent set of rules.

Its upper limit was absurdly high.

It could even seal Princess Kaguya, the Shinobi World's true richest woman, who had eaten a complete Chakra Fruit.

Purple quality... It would probably produce an effect that enhanced sealing jutsu.

He shifted his attention to the final equipment material.

[Nine-Tails Chakra]!

The Nine-Tails...

Thoughts flashed through his mind. All three pieces of equipment were undoubtedly good.

The only question was how to obtain them.

"Eat."

They had barely sat down when Tsunade looked at Nawaki, who was holding his chopsticks without moving, and spoke with a faint, knowing smile.

Nawaki swallowed. "Um, I'm not that hungry yet."

"Really?"

Nawaki nodded frantically. "Really!"

No way. He had fallen into that trap more times than he could count. He absolutely wasn't eating Tsunade's cooking again.

"All right." Tsunade turned to Ruyun. "Are you hungry?"

"..."

Judging by Nawaki's reaction, things did not look promising.

Under Tsunade's gaze, he gathered his courage and took a bite.

Hmm?

To his surprise, it tasted pretty good.

"Is it good?"

He nodded.

Tsunade smiled smugly. Although she had bought the food elsewhere, she had at least reheated it. That counted for something.

Nawaki gaped at Moonlight Ruyun in disbelief.

He swallowed it without so much as a change of expression, and he could even say it was good.

Something was rigged here.

Blink if she's threatening you.

Mito Uzumaki did not expose the truth either. A smile lingered on her lips as she watched the harmonious scene.

Meanwhile, within her mental space...

The Nine-Tails' scarlet chakra surged wildly.

"Mito Uzumaki, let me out!!!"

Before the roar had faded, several dark golden chains abruptly appeared overhead.

As nimble as snakes, the chains instantly bound the Nine-Tails' lower jaw, the side of the neck, the hind legs, and the tails, pinning the beast firmly in place.

The Nine-Tails' entire body hung twisted in midair. The beast struggled, but the chains did not budge.

"Mito Uzumaki!!!"

The only response was:

"Nine-Tails, shut up."

The cozy dinner continued.

They chatted and laughed together.

Naturally, the conversation turned to Ruyun's family.

Mito Uzumaki looked at Tsunade and asked with concern, "How is Ruyun's uncle?"

"It's not serious."

Tsunade recalled the visit she had made earlier that day. Naoto had seemed in fairly good spirits. "He just lost his dominant hand. Once he recovers, he'll need some time to adjust."

There was something she left unsaid: he had been promoted to Special Jōnin on the strength of his specialization in Konoha-Style Swordsmanship.

Having lost his dominant hand, Naoto would be considerably weaker.

Curious, Ruyun asked, "Teacher, what kind of mission was it? Was it dangerous?"

His uncle could not tell him because of mission confidentiality, so he could only ask Tsunade and see whether she would give him an answer.

Tsunade fell silent for a few seconds, then nodded.

Before, she had not wanted them exposed to the world of shinobi too soon.

But now that they had already carried out a mission, giving them a warning would not hurt.

"It was very dangerous. We encountered ANBU teams from Kumogakure and Kirigakure that day... Remember this: you can't completely trust the intelligence the village gives you. Always be careful when carrying out missions."

Nawaki cut in. "Kumogakure and Kirigakure? Aren't they enemies? Why would they work together?"

Tsunade shook her head. "There are no absolute enemies among the hidden villages."

That was what she said, but she was still deeply puzzled by Kirigakure's inexplicable appearance deep within the Land of Lightning that day.

Was war really approaching? Had they joined forces to target Konoha?

Yet according to the Nara Clan's assessment, the major hidden villages had not finished preparing for war. The conflict still needed time to develop and was unlikely to break out anytime soon.

Ruyun had been patiently listening to Tsunade describe the mission when he heard that Kumogakure and Kirigakure had worked together.

A flash of inspiration struck him.

He froze.

He had thought of a major event from the original story: the destruction of Uzushio Village!

Both its timing and the exact course of events were mysteries.

Could Kumogakure and Kirigakure have joined forces this time to target Uzushio Village?

If so, did that mean Uzushio Village's destruction was imminent?