Kushina stared blankly at the obedient Nine-tails.
This dangerous creature wrapped in malevolence could actually be communicated with?
Aomi touched the claw of the Nine-tails.
Strangely enough, the fox's fur is quite smooth...
Not only is the fur smooth, it's a beautiful fox, and its heart seems quite soft.
[From the line target Nine-tails: You have received a small amount of Nine-tailed Chakra!]
Aomi didn't think he had done anything, just touched fists, and the Nine-tails generously sent a portion of chakra into his body.
Senju Tobirama, silently observing, sighed at this scene.
Here it goes again, another new guest in Aomi's body, even the Nine-tails is joining in...
If one day the Six Paths Sage entered Aomi's body, Senju Tobirama wouldn't even be that surprised.
"Come on, show your power..."
The Nine-tails squinted its eyes as the violent red Tailed Beast Chakra erupted, surging like a tide through the gap in the seal!
Kushina pressed her lips tightly together, watching the scene warily.
If the Nine-tails were to break out, at least she could make some preparations.
The Nine-tails glanced disdainfully at Kushina, showing the gap between the vessel and Aomi!
And in the real world, the sudden appearance of a large amount of Nine-tailed Chakra caused the entire Konoha Village to stir, as ninjas turned their heads to look towards the Senju Ancestral Mansion.
At that moment, Konoha Root, according to rehearsed plans, wore anxious and worried expressions as they rushed over from all directions.
The ninjas emerging from the Forest of Death looked at this scene in surprise, their hearts thoughtful.
The Four-tails and Five-tails Jinchuriki of the Hidden Rock Village had already reached a usable stage, and the Hidden Cloud had mastered the techniques of perfect Jinchuriki. The ninjas of these two villages were quite familiar with Tailed Beast Chakra.
Connecting the hasty actions of these Root ninjas with the violent and rampant chakra...
The Hidden Rock Jonin Kakou muttered to himself: "Indeed, after Uzumaki Mito's death, Konoha has no one to fully control the Nine-tails!"
Omoi nodded:
"To control the Eight-tails, we in the Hidden Cloud expended countless efforts, lost so many comrades over the years, just to find one in a million candidates..."
"And for the more powerful Nine-tails, in such a short time after switching Jinchuriki, there's no way Konoha can master the Nine-tails' power..."
Higashi Shibito sneered, "The Nine-tails may be the strongest Tailed Beast, but so what?"
"Our Four-tails and Five-tails of the Hidden Rock may not be as powerful as the Nine-tails, but they can be utilized by the village."
"The First Hokage left the Nine-tails for Konoha, but didn't consider that this overwhelmingly powerful weapon couldn't be inherited. It's supposed to be a battlefield weapon, but comes with side effects..."
The Nine-tails was such a contradictory existence in Konoha.
As the strongest Tailed Beast, a beast distributed to Konoha by the First Hokage, Konoha couldn't afford to give up such an important war resource.
But the problem is, merely keeping the Nine-tails requires wasting a highly potential ninja as a vessel.
Even then, there's still the risk of it going berserk.
The Nine-tails is like a nuclear bomb without a trigger, Konoha is searching for a way to control this weapon while also guarding against it self-destructing within the village.
Extensive resources were consumed internally even before its power could be unleashed.
Other villages' Tailed Beasts might not be as powerful as the Nine-tails, but they could be used on the battlefield, making them economical and practical.
At the venue of the peace agreement.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had just signed his name on the scrap of paper with Chiyo, Suikazan Fuguki, Kitsuchi, and Dodai.
The various sly old-timers maintained false smiles on the surface, celebrating the so-called arrival of peace.
"The Ninja World's first joint peace agreement, a day worth commemorating, everyone..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a cheerful smile, "It's truly moving."
Kitsuchi, Dodai, and Chiyo, the three high-ranking officials within their villages, still did the surface work and echoed Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Only Suikazan Fuguki from the Hidden Mist Anbu glinted with a fierce light in his eyes, as if he no longer wanted to pretend.
Just as he was about to speak, a massive surge of Nine-tailed Chakra erupted from the center of Konoha at the Senju Ancestral Mansion!
Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart raced, and he swiftly adopted a stern expression, saying in a deep voice:
"Gentlemen, please return to your villages, something unexpected has occurred in Konoha!"
Finished speaking, Sarutobi Hiruzen used the Instant Body Jutsu to quickly rush over.
After he left, dozens of Anbu arrived, led by Sarutobi Shinnosuke who coldly said, "This way, please."
The leading Jonin from various Hidden Villages watched this scene, barely suppressing their laughter.
This trip to Konoha provided ample intelligence.
The real strength of Genin was being concealed, denoting a talent gap; the Uchiha and Konoha high-level conflict indicated internal instability; the Nine-tails losing control and rampaging suggested this village was doomed...
Under the escort, or rather forced expulsion, of the Anbu, the leading Jonin from various villages felt at ease.
No matter what issues lay within their villages...
Whether population pressure or economic collapse, as long as they could take a slice of the Konoha giant, all could be perfectly resolved.
Back at the Senju Ancestral Mansion.
Aomi and the Nine-tails continued their exchange.
"Alright, Nine-tails, this much will do..."
Aomi smiled and walked beyond the sealing bars, waving goodbye to the fox, "Look forward to our next cooperation."
Aomi closed the door, completing the Four Symbols Seal.
Though the Nine-tails remained locked within Kushina, it was unburdened by chains and restraints, feeling much more comfortable.
The Nine-tails gazed at Aomi with a complex look.
It knew that with Aomi's ocular power, forcefully extracting its chakra wouldn't be difficult.
Yet, he risked collaborating with it, even shook hands, showing goodwill, as if just finding an excuse to make it a bit more comfortable...
Why is this happening?
The Nine-tails' not-too-bright brain was now filled with questions.
The bloodline aura akin to the Six Paths' descendants, the pupil power suspected to belong to Indra, and a way of doing things somewhat similar to Asura's...
What exactly is Aomi's identity?
After Aomi left, Kushina cautiously looked at the Nine-tails, trying to communicate with the fox:
"Nine-tails, you seem to have noticed something special about Aomi?"
"Could it be that you also know the story of the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama..."
The Nine-tails frowned, who was that person again?
Seemed like a white-haired guy, who was often scolded furiously by Uzumaki Mito and Senju Hashirama, and then retorted with a stubborn face like a brat.
Such an individual was average at best, and supposedly knew some Kinjutsu, but was incomparable to Aomi's level of bloodline.
Uzumaki Kushina, this vessel, must have misunderstood something, but the Nine-tails was too lazy to explain to her.
"You wouldn't understand, vessel."
The Nine-tails comfortably lay on the ground, freely turned over, looking at the ceiling of the sealed space, and muttered to itself:
"This isn't the secret of Konoha you speak of, but the secret of this Ninja World, this world..."
A question mark popped up above Uzumaki Kushina's head.
Was the Second Hokage really that destructive?
Outside the room.
Sarutobi Hiruzen and Aomi met, and the two conversed about intelligence concerning the joint Chunin Exams.
"Is everything as usual?"
Aomi said softly:
"If there are no major errors, the war will probably start within a month. In the event of a suspected Tailed Beast rampage, they won't give us time to breathe."
Sarutobi Hiruzen responded gravely, "Everything is within the plan, no issues have arisen."
Aomi nodded knowingly:
"In that case, I'll go to Root to mobilize personnel. Konoha's forces and the ninjas that need to be dispatched should be retracted back home..."
After Aomi left.
Sarutobi Hiruzen took out a scroll and used a special method to contact Jiraiya and Namikaze Minato, who were still on Mount Myoboku—
"War is coming, return quickly!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen gazed at the distant Hokage Rock, his heart stirring like a boy's.
This is Konoha against the entire Ninja World!
But reassuringly, this was a long-contemplated war to contend for supremacy in the Ninja World, planned by Senju Tobirama after decades of preparation upon his return!
It felt as if he had returned to that passionate age...
"Danzo, give it your all. I hope you can show something in the upcoming war and survive..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed, somewhat sentimentally:
"Perhaps it was my leniency that made you arrogant, but I never intended to punish you like this. None of us expected that sensei would return to Konoha in this way."
"This is fate, I suppose..."
#
And on the journey back to the village, some Jonin were joyful while others were worried.
Chiyo looked at her grandson, whose hands were severed by Aomi, and the fury in her eyes was almost tangible...
But what worried her more was that Sasori was manically laughing all the way, reciting his puppet transformation plan.
Chiyo was extremely anxious.
Human Puppet technology, although it can indeed enhance combat power, also erases humanity, which is why it's classified as a Kinjutsu.
But given the current situation, Chiyo couldn't persuade Sasori to stop his mad ideas.
After all, the belief that sustained Sasori staying in The Hidden Sand Village was avenging his family by his own hand.
Helpless, Chiyo could only hold onto this anger and repay Konoha a hundred or a thousand times in the future war...
Compared to Chiyo, who was burning with rage yet sentimental.
The Hidden Mist squads were more direct.
During a break in their journey, Suikazan Fuguki stared disapprovingly at Kisame.
The mission had failed!
Although Suikazan Fuguki believed that Konoha Ninja indeed couldn't threaten Kaguya Kimijiro and Terumi Mei, making it difficult to find an opportunity to strike, failure was still failure...
Punishment was necessary!
But as he was considering this,
The Bone Blade, Acid Mist, and two fierce Ninja Blades pierced through his body from four directions...
Suikazan Fuguki hadn't even drawn his Shark Skin before he collapsed powerlessly, his eyes wide open, looking aggrieved in death.
He could not fathom how the Hidden Mist Anbu and the Bloodline Ninja Clan had united...
And how they dared to strike at him?
This was on the way back to report to the Third Mizukage. Did they not fear being held accountable after returning!
"Now, we have all done enough to be considered traitors..."
Kaguya Kimijiro smiled as he retracted the Bone Blade and said softly, "So, what do you plan for your future?"
"Will you continue to serve under the Third Mizukage, or, like me, try to be changed by that man, and experience the peace and beauty of life?"
Kisame, Zabuza, and Terumi Mei exchanged glances.
This question wasn't easy to answer...