Chapter 35 - The Goal: Dual Perfect Jinchūriki! The Death of Yagura Karatachi!!!
After the meeting concluded,
Chiba carefully reviewed every recommended candidate that had been submitted.
In the end, it became clear that the kunoichi recommended by Kisame Hoshigaki,Miru,was the most suitable choice by far.
Thus, Chiba summoned her to the Mizukage's office.
He explained everything to her in full.
Miru, however, showed no sign of surprise.
It was obvious she had already learned of the matter and had prepared herself mentally.
"So," Chiba asked quietly, "what do you think?"
He looked at the kunoichi before him,a woman whose gentleness was so sincere it almost hurt to look at.
Miru simply smiled.
"Mizukage-sama, I accept."
Chiba frowned slightly.
"Are you absolutely certain?"
"This is no small matter. Once you become a Jinchūriki, there is no turning back."
"I know," Miru replied softly.
"But if the previous Mizukage could bear such a fate… why couldn't I?"
"And honestly," she continued, her tone calm, "after hearing the standards you set for choosing a Jinchūriki, I truly believe there is no one more suitable than me."
Chiba let out a slow sigh.
"Taking this path means you'll have to shoulder an enormous burden."
Miru smiled again,gentle, unshaken.
"In this world," she said, "who isn't carrying something heavy?"
"You carry far more than anyone else, Mizukage-sama,the future of Kirigakure, and of the Land of Water itself."
"Compared to that… this is the least I can do."
Chiba felt a deep wave of emotion rise within him.
Miru truly was exactly as he remembered,kindness taken to its absolute extreme.
And as she had said,
She was indeed the most suitable choice.
"Very well," Chiba said solemnly.
"Since you've made your decision, I give you my word."
"You will never become a target of scorn within this village."
"And I will find a way,no matter what it takes,to turn you into a perfect Jinchūriki."
Miru froze briefly, then let out a small laugh.
"…Why are you smiling?" Chiba asked.
"Mizukage-sama," she said gently, "you called me kind,but I think you're the truly gentle one here."
"Me? Gentle?"
Chiba scratched the back of his head and gave a bitter smile.
"Yes," Miru replied.
"Perhaps you simply haven't realized it yourself."
Faced with a woman like this, Chiba found himself at a loss for words.
"…Then thank you for the compliment."
Soon after, the elders' council officially approved the selection of the new Sanbi Jinchūriki.
And then,
Chiba entered the room where Yagura Karatachi was being kept.
Miru walked beside him.
No one else was permitted to follow.
Not elders.
Not ANBU.
Not even the most trusted guards.
This was a decision that belonged to the Mizukage alone.
And once that door closed,
The fate of the former Mizukage,
the Sanbi,
and Kirigakure itself,
Would be decided.
Even members of the Karatachi clan, including Karatachi Izumo, Yagura's own son, were no exception.
Yet none of them objected.
Because everyone understood that allowing Yagura Karatachi to depart at this moment was, in truth, a form of release.
After becoming Mizukage, Chiba had naturally gained access to Kirigakure's most classified forbidden techniques,
sealing arts, secret rituals, and methods for suppressing and extracting a Tailed Beast.
Together with Miru, he entered Yagura Karatachi's room.
The chamber was empty and silent.
Only a single figure lay within.
Looking at that childlike face,
a pitiful man who had been manipulated and controlled for most of his life,
Chiba could only sigh softly.
"May you no longer suffer in your next life."
Then,
Without hesitation, he began the process of extracting the Tailed Beast.
Yagura Karatachi let out agonized screams.
But Chiba did not pause.
At this moment, stopping would only be a greater cruelty.
Soon, blood-red Tailed Beast chakra surged violently from Yagura's body.
Though it was only chakra, it roared and raged wildly, struggling to manifest into the full form of the Sanbi.
Chiba, of course, would not allow that to happen.
He immediately activated a secret sealing technique, forcefully suppressing the rampaging chakra.
And the instant the final trace of Tailed Beast power was torn free,
Yagura Karatachi collapsed.
He released his final breath.
For a fleeting moment, Chiba thought he saw clarity return to Yagura's eyes.
At the corner of his lips,
A faint smile of relief and liberation appeared.
But it vanished in the next heartbeat.
Yagura Karatachi
was gone.
Chiba did not waste a second.
He immediately stabilized the Sanbi' chakra and began sealing it into Miru's body.
"Ah,ahhh!!"
Miru cried out in pain, her expression contorting,
yet she gritted her teeth and endured.
At last, when the violent chakra of the Sanbi was completely sealed,
A sealing formula appeared upon her lower abdomen.
The Sanbi had been successfully sealed.
Miru had become Kirigakure's new Sanbi Jinchūriki.
Chiba silently helped her put her clothes back on.
Then he lifted her gently into his arms, carried her to the next room, and laid her carefully onto the bed.
"Mizukage-sama, I,"
Chiba raised a finger to his lips.
"Don't say anything. Just rest."
Miru gave a tired yet gentle smile and nodded.
"…Mm."
Several days later,
Miru gradually adapted to the power of the Sanbi and began adjusting to her new identity as a Jinchūriki.
Chiba then summoned both Miru and Utakata, the Rokubi Jinchūriki, to the Mizukage's office.
"Utakata. Miru."
"I once promised you that I would find a way for you to become perfect Jinchūriki."
"These are all the secret scrolls I obtained from the previous Mizukage."
"They record the methods Yagura Karatachi used to achieve perfection as a Jinchūriki."
"Of course, none of these methods are flawless, nor can success be guaranteed."
"But the most important point remains the same."
"You must use love to move the Tailed Beast within you,
to make it willingly become your companion and partner."
Miru and Utakata exchanged a glance, then both accepted the scrolls from Chiba's hands.
Utakata looked at them briefly, remained silent for a moment, and then said:
"…Thank you, Mizukage-sama."
Miru, on the other hand, smiled warmly.
"Mizukage-sama, I'll do my best!"
Her smile truly possessed the power to heal hearts.
Chiba couldn't help but smile along with her.