Main World.
Konoha Year 25, summer.
Imperial Palace, Consort Xin's Bedchamber.
Moonlight streamed through the window, casting silvery patches on the floor. Kushina sat before the dressing table, a wooden comb in her hand, slowly combing her long red hair. In the mirror, her face was expressionless, but something indefinable lingered in her eyes-not sorrow, but hesitation.
She had hesitated for a long time.
Ever since Toyotomi Yinglang had told her, "The Uchiha will be wiped out by Uchiha Itachi," she had been hesitating. She was not an Uchiha, and she did not care whether the Uchiha lived or died. But she cared about one person. Someone in Shinobi World No. 1 with whom she had no connection, yet whom she could not put out of her mind.
Uchiha Mikoto.
In Shinobi World No. 1, Mikoto was her close friend. They had attended the Ninja Academy together, carried out missions together, and supported each other through wartime. Kushina remembered Mikoto's smile, her gentle voice, and the hand she had extended when Kushina was at her loneliest.
Those memories had not been erased. Toyotomi Yinglang had not erased her memories.
She remembered.
"Yinglang."
She set down the wooden comb and turned around. Toyotomi Yinglang sat on the edge of the bed, leafing through a dossier in his hands. He wore dark gray loungewear, his long black hair hanging loosely over his shoulders, looking somewhat more relaxed than usual. He raised his head and looked at her.
"What is it?"
"You said before that the Uchiha Clan would be wiped out by Uchiha Itachi."
Toyotomi Yinglang's brows rose slightly.
"Yes, I did."
"In Shinobi World No. 1?"
"Yes, Shinobi World No. 1."
Kushina took a deep breath.
"Then could you save Uchiha Mikoto from Shinobi World No. 1?"
Toyotomi Yinglang set down