Beneath jagged cliffs, inside a well-hidden cave—
Kushina slowly opened her eyes.
Her mind was foggy. Every inch of her body ached, like something had hollowed her out.
"Where… am I?"
She looked around, still not fully awake.
"The Land of Lightning. Near Kumogakure."
That gentle, familiar voice yanked her out of her haze and back into reality.
She followed the sound.
At the cave entrance sat a man cross-legged—white beast mask, black cloak, short black hair—turning his head to look at her.
He felt… strangely familiar.
Like she'd seen him in a dream.
Kushina hesitated, then asked carefully, "Have we… met before?"
The man stared at her for a moment.
Then he removed the mask.
A young, handsome face—still carrying a hint of youth—was revealed.
"It's been a long time, Kushina."
"It's you! Sogetsu!"
Kushina's face lit up instantly, joy bursting out of her.
"You're here to save Minato too, right?!"
"Please remove the word 'too.'"
Sogetsu pressed a hand to his forehead with a weary sigh.
"Now… can we talk about how you ditched your ANBU escort, ran out of Konoha, and still managed to reach the Land of Lightning ahead of us?"
Kushina went red.
For once, the normally fiery girl looked shy. She mumbled, "I-I…"
"And?"
Sogetsu's eyes narrowed slightly.
"W-well… I was worried about Minato, so… so…"
"So what?"
She shrank a little, then blurted out, defensive and embarrassed:
"I… I didn't mean to! I swear! Really, it was an accident!"
She pinched her fingers together, leaving a tiny gap.
"I just got a little emotional… and I hurt the ANBU uncles… and then I ran."
Alright.
The answer was obvious.
Sogetsu watched her expression and exhaled once.
"You… entered tailed-beast transformation."
"Only a tiny bit of the Nine-Tails' power leaked out!" Kushina insisted again.
But with that guilty look on her face, it didn't matter how she tried to sell it—nobody would believe it was only "a tiny bit."
And considering Kushina's importance as the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki—and the fact that there had already been kidnapping incidents—Konoha had specifically assigned three ANBU squads to guard and monitor her.
To escape three ANBU squads, shake pursuit, and reach the Land of Lightning ahead of Sogetsu's team…
She had to have pushed it to at least four tails.
And earlier, even while surrounded by dozens of Cloud ninja, she still hadn't used the technique called the Void Hound Cannon…
Sogetsu could roughly reconstruct the entire chain of events.
Seeing him silent, Kushina grew even more nervous.
"W-what is it? Why do you look so serious?"
"Kushina."
Sogetsu's brows drew together. His voice turned heavy.
"This time… you've caused a disaster."
He looked straight at her.
"Do you understand what it means when a jinchūriki suddenly appears inside another nation's borders?"
"I… I only came to save Minato!"
Kushina's heart trembled. She bit her lip, stubborn.
"Besides, even if there's fault, it's Kumogakure! Why are they allowed to invade Konoha again and again—while we're supposed to swallow it and endure?"
"That is a question for the Hokage to consider—not me."
Sogetsu tapped his knuckles lightly against the rock.
"My mission is to rescue Namikaze Minato."
His gaze sharpened.
"And you… are an unexpected variable. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"…So you're going to send me back. Right?"
Kushina drooped like a scolded cat, head down, voice small.
"In theory, yes."
Sogetsu rubbed his brow as if the headache was physical.
"But even if I wanted to send you back… Minato may not have that much time left."
Kushina snapped upright.
"Not enough time? What do you mean?! What happened to Minato?!"
She lunged forward, grabbed Sogetsu by the shoulders, and shook him hard.
"Tell me! What happened to him?!"
"Kushina—calm down."
Sogetsu freed himself and smoothed her emotions down with a practiced steadiness.
Otherwise, he genuinely suspected she might shake his head clean off his neck.
"O-okay. I'm calm."
Kushina forced deep breaths, slowly releasing him—but her eyes stayed frantic.
"Now tell me!"
"To rescue you, we lost an entire day."
Sogetsu's eyes lifted. His tone turned grim.
"You're a shinobi. You should be able to guess."
"…Interrogation."
Kushina clenched her teeth. Pain flickered across her face.
She knew exactly what happened when a village captured an elite jōnin—especially someone with enormous political weight like Namikaze Minato.
They would be imprisoned.
And then they would be interrogated under the strictest conditions, stripping every scrap of intelligence from his mind.
Shinobi interrogation wasn't about "psychological pressure."
It was simpler. More brutal.
They would torture body and spirit—pushing until the prisoner broke—then use drugs to squeeze out the last remaining value.
"Correct."
Sogetsu nodded.
"And judging by the timeline… Minato's interrogation has likely already started. That's why I said we don't have time."
"Then what are we waiting for?!"
Kushina's impulsive nature flared instantly—she spun like she was about to charge out of the cave and into Kumogakure alone.
"Stop, Kushina—don't be reckless!"
Sogetsu stood and blocked her with one arm, voice sharp.
"You don't even know where they're holding Minato—how are you going to rescue him? And Kumogakure still has the Third Raikage guarding it. If you rush in like this, you'll die. You won't save him—and you'll throw your own life away too."
The shout hit Kushina like a physical blow.
Her face went pale.
She froze, stiff and helpless, staring at him with wide eyes.
"T-then… what do we do?"
Sogetsu let out a low sigh.
"Kushina, you're really making this difficult for me."
His face was full of conflicted frustration.
"From the village's perspective, I should send you back to Konoha immediately. You're the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki—no matter how you look at it, your value outweighs the mission."
Kushina clenched her fists. Her lips trembled. Her eyes reddened.
"But if I send you back… that means abandoning Minato's life."
Sogetsu gave a self-mocking chuckle and shook his head.
"For a qualified shinobi, the village should come first… but it seems I can't ignore Minato's life."
His voice softened.
"Maybe… I'm not fit to be a shinobi."
Kushina heard the opening in those words.
Hope surged in her chest.
"Then you mean—"
"Yes."
Sogetsu smiled faintly.
"I'm still going to save Minato."
Then, calm and decisive:
"And your strength is indispensable. So… help me, Kushina."
"Okay!"
Kushina's eyes hardened with resolve.
"As long as we can save Minato… use me as much as you need, Sogetsu!"
"I have a plan."
Sogetsu adjusted his glasses and smiled.
"When the time comes, you might have to suffer a little."
"No problem!"
Kushina slapped her chest, red hair flying, her smile bright and fearless.
"As long as Minato is saved, I can take any 'suffering'!"
"Good."
Sogetsu looked almost relieved.
"I was worried you'd refuse."
Then he patted her shoulder and delivered the plan in one neat sentence:
"Then work hard for me—sneak into Kumogakure, release eight tails, and cause total chaos."
"Mm! Okay—wait, what?!"
Kushina's eyes went wide in disbelief.
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