Inside the wooden house.
White Star's words fell one after another, yet Uzumaki Mito—seated formally on the tatami—showed no change in expression.
In the silence, wisps of white steam rose from the warm tea in Mito's cup.
"I know that somewhere in all of this, something must have gone wrong," she said slowly.
"But I… am powerless to do anything about it."
White Star glanced at Uzumaki Mito as she finished speaking and lifted her teacup to drink.
"If you don't even try," he said lightly, "how will you know?"
After finishing the tea, the youthful-looking old woman set the cup down with a bit more force than before, producing a faint creak.
"For the sake of the village," she said.
"This is the only choice I have."
Her words fell, and the room returned to silence.
After a moment, Uzumaki Mito looked at White Star with a serious expression.
"The incident last time… that was you who intervened, wasn't it?"
White Star did not answer.
"Thank you. If you hadn't acted, my grandson might have died on that mission."
"As repayment—what do you want?"
"..."
"You didn't come to me today merely as a 'Konoha ninja' to question me about the Uzumaki clan, did you?"
White Star tilted his head slightly.
"What if I'm not a Konoha ninja?"
"Then it depends on whether you would endanger Konoha," Uzumaki Mito replied, a flash of cold light crossing her eyes.
"If you dare to threaten the village—no matter who you are—I will kill you before that happens."
"Wow, how cruel~ Is that really how you treat someone who saved your grandson?"
White Star chuckled, unfazed by the threat, his tone turning deliberately provocative as he met her gaze head-on.
"If Tsunade or Nawaki were to endanger the village… would you kill them too?"
"For the sake of Konoha—"
"..."
"—I believe those two children would never betray the village."
"So you didn't completely inherit your husband's will after all, huh."
The moment those words left his mouth, Uzumaki Mito's aura exploded outward.
The room shook violently; walls and floor trembled, dust falling as the structure quivered.
At the same time, the ANBU and Root outside seemed to sense the disturbance and immediately went on alert—yet no one dared to enter rashly.
It was obvious: Lady Mito was furious.
"Are you… seeking death?" she said coldly.
"My, my~ How scary~"
White Star spread his arms casually.
"Truly worthy of Konoha's perfect Nine-Tails jinchūriki, the wife of the First Hokage—Lady Uzumaki Mito~!"
Even as the walls shook behind him, dust rained down from above, and the floor beneath his feet grew unstable, White Star's eyes showed not the slightest trace of fear.
"Your power may still be overwhelming," he said calmly.
"But your heart—"
"—has long since stopped being strong."
As his words fell, White Star tossed a tightly bound intelligence scroll toward her.
Mito reached out and caught it, lowering her gaze briefly.
"What is this?"
"Kirigakure's plan."
"Of course, it's intelligence I gathered personally while leaving the village recently."
"I can't guarantee one hundred percent accuracy—but I can guarantee the outcome will unfold exactly as described."
"So then, Lady Mito…"
"As someone pulling the strings from behind the scenes, I'm very much looking forward to whether the fate of the Land of Whirlpools will still come to pass as I 'foretold.'"
White Star activated Earth Release. His body gradually sank into the ground, no longer bothering to conceal himself from outside attention.
After all, Mito's chakra flare was more than enough to mislead anyone's judgment.
"Ka na."
One minute later, White Star vanished from the room entirely, and the chakra Mito had released finally settled.
Whether she was deliberately covering for him—or merely hiding the fear and weakness of her now-aging heart—no one knew.
Clatter—
Two squads arrived almost simultaneously—one from Root, one from ANBU—four people in total, standing in the corridor.
One of them hurriedly slid open the shōji door and bowed deeply.
"Lady Mito, may we ask what just happened?"
As he spoke, the four of them scanned the room. When they noticed that part of the tatami had been lifted—and that a bound intelligence scroll lay on Mito's desk—their pupils shrank in shock.
Could it be… that the Senju clan still had an unregistered jōnin?!
Someone had entered from outside without alerting any of the four of them. That level of skill was, at minimum, elite-class.
Mito continued sipping her tea, her head turning slightly as she glanced back.
In an instant—
The crushing pressure of a perfect Nine-Tails jinchūriki, a super–Kage-level existence, flooded their senses.
It was as if a ferocious, gigantic Nine-Tailed Fox had appeared before them, staring them down mercilessly.
After a long moment, that terrifying pressure finally eased.
By then, all four were drenched in sweat, their minds completely blank.
"Leave," Mito said calmly.
"Here—
no one can harm me."
The ANBU who had opened the door trembled as he backed away and bowed again.
"Yes!"
—
Once she sensed that the four had departed, Uzumaki Mito slowly unwrapped the intelligence scroll White Star had given her.
"Old hag, you're not afraid there might be a trap inside?"
Inside her body, the massive Nine-Tails—still bound tightly by adamantine chains—snorted in displeasure.
Mito had forcibly drawn on its chakra just now to put on a show, yet hadn't killed a single person. Truly just like Senju Hashirama—a soft-hearted powerhouse.
Exactly the kind it hated most.
Ignoring the Nine-Tails' nagging, Mito quietly read through the contents.
Until she reached the final "prediction"—
The destruction of the Land of Whirlpools.
Konoha would send only a small team, rescuing a single young Uzumaki survivor, who would inherit her Nine-Tails and become the next jinchūriki.
And at the end, a line dripping with mockery made Mito chuckle softly.
"A Nine-Tails jinchūriki weapon belonging exclusively to the village."
"Weapon…"
"What an apt word."
Hearing the anger in Mito's tone, the Nine-Tails thought its chance had come.
"That's right, that's right!" it said eagerly.
"Come on—let's destroy this damn village together!"
Mito raised an eyebrow.
Within her mental space, the enormous boulder even larger than the Nine-Tails itself tightened as the silver-white chains constricted further.
"Ggh—!"
"Mi-Mito, you old hag! What do you mean by this?!"
"No special meaning," Mito replied coolly.
"I just feel you may have misunderstood something."
"Even after staying inside my body for so long, you still can't let go of your hatred for humans."
"My life…"
"has it not been a failure as well?"
The Nine-Tails didn't care about any of that.
Once you die, I'll destroy Konoha, it snarled inwardly. I'll ruin the thing you treasure most.
"Then try it," Mito said calmly. "Nine-Tails."
She stood up.
By now, she had essentially finished reading the scroll. The situation in the Land of Whirlpools was, in truth, very simple—
Kirigakure needed sealing techniques for the Three-Tails. Uzushio refused. Thus, they framed Konoha, frightening the Uzumaki into withholding support.
In reality, White Star had guessed all of this.
He believed that as long as the Hokage sent a trustworthy team to verify whether Danzo's claims were true, the conflict between the two nations could be resolved.
He hadn't expected his wild guess to hit the mark so perfectly.
Kirigakure's overall plan, their later coordination with Kumogakure—everything was written in the scroll.
It even stated that the Third Mizukage would personally lead the forces, launching a blitzkrieg.
—
Back at his own home, White Star finally let out a long breath.
He relaxed his mind and activated his own sensory abilities, confirming that no one was following him and no stray gazes lingered nearby.
Only then did he relax completely.
Shrinking his mask and clothing away, White Star suddenly remembered—
It seemed Mito had been about to give him a sealing technique.
"…Damn it. I missed out on free sealing techniques."
"And the Palm Sage Technique scroll had way too many words—I didn't memorize it either."
"Taking today off… guess I worked for nothing."
He collapsed onto the couch like a completely useless salted fish, his eyes drifting toward the instant noodles on the shelf as his stomach let out a small growl.
"Whatever. Midnight snack first."
—
Village streets.
Mito wasted no time, heading straight for the Hokage Tower.
When ANBU and Root learned of this, they immediately reported it to their respective superiors.
Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi was shocked upon hearing from ANBU that the Senju clan might still have an unregistered jōnin.
He immediately ordered that the matter not be publicized and waited in his office for Mito's arrival.
When she arrived, she simply tossed the scroll onto his desk and left without a single word of explanation.
The Third Hokage, who had just stood up, was left staring in utter confusion.
Only after reading the scroll—
"Danzo's intelligence is false,"
"He failed to obtain Uzumaki clansmen,"
"Recommend dispatching trustworthy ninja again,"
and more—
did Hiruzen's face stiffen with fury.
"Very good. Very good," he muttered.
"So Danzo… you used Konoha's usual tricks on the Uzumaki clan, did you."
—Threats and inducements.
"No wonder you said you were wronged, claiming you were driven out by Uzushiogakure's ninja."
"So that's what really happened…"
Author's Notes (Setting Clarification):
In the original manga/anime, there is no explicit depiction of Danzo having Root openly abduct people by force. His methods are generally threats, coercion, and inducements under the banner of "cultivating talent."
Many fan works alter this for drama, but on closer inspection it lacks logic: most ninja are usually within the village or their clans outside of missions. Open kidnappings would be noticed by ANBU, clan ninja, civilians, and even the Uchiha Police Force—making secrecy impossible.
Examples of canon behavior:
Danzo personally approached Aburame Shibi, who clearly refused him. Aburame Torune later volunteered due to loneliness caused by his physique.Danzo threatened to cut off funding to Nono Yakushi's orphanage, forcing her to comply. Kabuto volunteered himself as a hostage.
The "hostage" served both to prevent betrayal and to cultivate successors—Root members had to be able to kill comrades to be considered qualified (Sai arc).
Original Uzushio Timeline Without the Protagonist:
Without White Star's intervention, Uzushio's misunderstanding with Konoha deepened.
Yūhi Kurenai's uncle failed to protect his team, plunging him into endless guilt.
Yūhi Tsukiko fell gravely ill after losing her only daughter and soon passed away.
Yūhi Saki, already emotionally vulnerable after childbirth, became despondent and later died, leaving young Yūhi Kurenai orphaned.
Yūhi Shinku, having lost multiple family members, fell into despair and took a long leave to raise Kurenai alone, vowing to carry the Yūhi clan name by himself.
Uzushio severed all economic ties with the Land of Fire, allowing Kirigakure and Kumogakure to act freely.
With Konoha plagued by internal and external troubles, manpower shortages, and heavy casualties, even Hiruzen could not force clans to send aid. Delays piled up.
By the time Konoha realized Uzushio was under joint attack, it was too late. When border forces arrived, the land was already a battlefield, and landing would have been suicide.
The war lasted two days and one night. The attackers took what they wanted and withdrew.
Mito arrived too late.
Only afterward were Uzumaki masks and artifacts—including the Shinigami Seal—recovered, along with the unconscious Kushina.
Some Uzumaki children were secretly smuggled away during the chaos (e.g., Karin's mother).
As for Danzo—
At the time, he was absent, filling a critical vacancy after an Uchiha support unit was wiped out on the Rain front.
Thus ended the original fate of the Land of Whirlpools—
a history rewritten only because the protagonist existed.
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