Chapter 87: Uzumaki Kushina
A, from the original story, was a man of principle and stubborn honesty. Right or wrong, he adhered to his own code. Kumogakure was different from other villages in this regard. Among the rogue ninja of the Akatsuki, you could find top-tier defectors from almost every major village—except Kumo. Liumu glanced sideways at A. This likely had something to do with the village's leadership.
Look at the Jinchūriki across the lands: Konoha's Nine-Tails vessel, Suna's One-Tails vessel, even Iwa's Four-Tails who chose to leave his village… Among all the tailed beast hosts, only Yugito Nii and Killer B of Kumo seemed to have lived the most… normal, if not sunny, childhoods. And Killer B was specifically chosen by A as his sworn brother.
Jinchūriki were a village's absolute wartime weapons, yet they were ostracized as monsters by the very people they protected. Liumu didn't believe humans were inherently good. If they were, the concept of "evil" wouldn't exist. What you couldn't see was terrifying, but was what you saw always the truth?
The last major defection from Kumo could be traced back to the Gold and Silver Brothers during the First Shinobi World War—over a decade ago.
A had no reason to lie. He knew that as Konoha ninja, they would always harbor suspicion. The delicate balance of the current shinobi world couldn't tolerate even a tremor. The death of a single ninja could implicate every village. As the Raikage-designate, A was acutely aware of the risks.
Looking toward Minato, Liumu said to A, "This is already the border of the Land of Fire. You should leave. Now."
With that, he walked over to Minato. The two exchanged a look and left the area without another word.
On the way back, Liumu briefed Minato on his encounter with the Kirigakure ninja.
"What about Kakashi and the others?" Minato asked immediately. The Kiri-nin had appeared close to where Team 7 was supposed to be searching.
"Don't worry. I left a shadow clone with them before I left."
Minato had no doubt about Liumu's strength, but the simultaneous appearance of Kumo and Kiri ninja in Fire Country territory darkened his mood further. The situation was deteriorating.
"Senior Brother Minato…" Liumu suddenly stopped walking and looked up at the older ninja.
"What is it?" Minato was puzzled. He'd never seen such a contemplative expression on Liumu's face.
"I have a question… I want to ask you."
Minato gestured for him to continue.
Liumu hesitated briefly, then asked, "If you were to become Hokage… do you think the current Konoha is truly… healthy?"
He shared his observations about Kumogakure, especially the relationship between the village and its tailed beast hosts. He held nothing back, waiting for Minato's response.
To his surprise, after a moment of silence, Minato smiled. "In my eyes, a Jinchūriki is no different from any other villager. And besides…" His smile turned a little wry. "To be honest, my wife is a Jinchūriki."
"???"
"Wife?"
Liumu was stunned. How old was Minato now? Already married? The original timeline offered no details about Minato's personal life before his death, so this was entirely new information.
"That's right. Her name is Kushina. Uzumaki Kushina. The Nine-Tails Jinchūriki." As he spoke her name, a genuinely happy smile spread across Minato's face. "She was my classmate at the Academy, just like you and Rin. Though Kushina's temper is much fiercer than Rin's. We used to call her the 'Red Hot Habanero'!" He chuckled, then quickly added, "Oh! When you meet her, you absolutely cannot mention that nickname. Hahaha!"
Seriously? Liumu thought, bemused. We're discussing heavy topics and I get force-fed dog food out of nowhere.
"But…" Minato's expression grew serious again. "It's impossible for everything in the shinobi world to develop as we hope. Konoha has many clans. Even the Hokage cannot impose restrictions on all of them. A good system requires a harmonious model of coexistence, but…" He looked at Liumu. "What do you think 'harmony' really is?"
Before Liumu could answer, Minato continued, "Harmony is easy to say, incredibly difficult to achieve. With the current distribution of interests, it's impossible to please everyone. Take missions: the major clans monopolize most of the high-value assignments. Ordinary ninja can only pick up the scraps. Of course," he added with a lighter tone, "this is just private talk between senior brother and junior brother. Don't take it too seriously, but don't dismiss it either. It's just… a realistic observation."
"So, if it were you, what would you do?" Liumu pressed, eager to hear Minato's thoughts now. Based on the timeline, the Third Great War was approaching, and Minato would rise to power in its aftermath.
"If it were me…" Minato met Liumu's gaze. He pulled a small photo from inside his flak jacket—a picture of a vibrant, red-haired woman. "My stance remains the same. A Jinchūriki is a person, a villager. There is no difference. As for the aspects that are less than ideal… they require something to balance them. But that point of balance is very hard to find."
Liumu knew what "imbalance" Minato referred to without asking. Among the major clans, the Uchiha were the most troublesome. Fortunately, Liumu also knew the current Uchiha clan head, Fugaku, wasn't a power-hungry schemer. Otherwise…
"Oh, right!" Liumu suddenly asked, "That… Kushina… sister-in-law. She's from the Uzumaki clan. Does she… know of any other surviving Uzumaki clan members?"
Minato shook his head. "The Uzumaki clan was scattered across the world long ago. Kushina was sent to Konoha specifically to become the Nine-Tails' vessel. That's how we met. As for other Uzumaki…" He shook his head again. "Come back to my place. I'll introduce you to Kushina."
They returned to the woods where Team 7 was searching. Watching the three still diligently combing the area for the missing dog, Liumu quietly dispelled his shadow clone.
Minato called out to them, "It's getting late. Let's head back to the village."
"But the mission…" Rin and Obito protested, clearly unwilling. Failing their very first team mission was a bitter pill to swallow.
Seeing the question in Kakashi's eyes, Liumu gave a slight, confirming nod.
Upon returning to the village, Minato led Team 7 to "Grandpa Bajie's" house, intending to report their mission failure.
Before they could even speak, a sudden, excited bark! came from a drainage pipe on the roof.
Obito: "..."
Following the sound, they removed a section of the pipe. Out squeezed a tearful-looking little Shiba Inu, who immediately scampered straight into old man Bajie's waiting arms.
(End of Chapter)
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