"From now on… everything is in your hands, child…"
Uzumaki Mito pulled Kyusei tightly into her embrace, tears of reluctance sliding from the corners of her eyes.
Aside from Tsunade, this child was her last remaining family.
If she could help him—how could she not?
Now that the Nine-Tails was no longer a hidden danger and Kyusei had gained power great enough to stand on his own, there was no longer any need for her to remain as a counterbalance.
She was nothing more than a body of chakra now.
Rather than clinging to existence in this state, it was better to leave everything she had behind—to him.
"Mito… Grandma…"
Her body dissolved into countless white motes of light, surging into Kyusei's chest.
This was her final gift.
In that instant, an immense amount of sealing knowledge flooded into Kyusei's mind—vast, profound, quietly waiting for him to comprehend it in the future.
Kyusei slowly opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was the familiar, wrinkled face of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Hiruzen looked at the boy bathed in golden chakra, emotions surging within him.
Back then, when the Uzumaki clan had sent this child to Konoha, his intention had been simple—use him as a contingency, a living tool. At the time, Konoha didn't truly need the Nine-Tails' power.
Later, with the rise of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina, he finally remembered to properly cultivate the boy, placing him under Hatake Sakumo.
And now—
In just a single night, Kyusei had achieved what countless jinchūriki never could.
A perfect jinchūriki.
A genius… no—something beyond that.
At this moment, nearly every notable powerhouse still in Konoha had gathered here.
Hatake Sakumo.
Jiraiya.
Tsunade.
Shimura Danzō.
Even Kakashi, Kaoru, Naori, and Naruto—no, Naruko—were present.
The disturbance caused by Kyusei entering Kurama Mode for the first time had been far too great. It was impossible to ignore.
They had thought the Nine-Tails had broken free and gone berserk again.
Instead, what they witnessed was the most critical step in a jinchūriki's evolution—completed before their very eyes.
Kyusei's status as the Nine-Tails' host was now effectively public among them.
But Hiruzen didn't mind.
Everyone here was family—at least for now.
"Kyusei,"
Hiruzen said slowly,
"you did very well."
He wanted to pat the boy on the shoulder—but hesitated when he saw the golden chakra flickering like living flame around him.
"Heh, old man Hokage,"
Kyusei grinned shamelessly,
"at this point, you might not even be my match. How about letting me sit in the Fourth Hokage's chair for a while?"
The moment the words left his mouth—
A heavy hand landed on his shoulder.
"So,"
Tsunade said with a smile that clearly hid danger,
"you want to be the Fourth Hokage that badly, huh?"
She had been planning to praise him.
But that one sentence flipped her mood instantly.
Kyusei broke out in a cold sweat.
Old trauma from his early days in Konoha surged back all at once.
"I—uh—what's wrong with having ambition?"
he said, eyes darting as he subtly edged away from her.
"Tch. You really aim high, don't you?"
Tsunade snorted, then roughly rubbed his hair—now dyed gold by Kurama Mode.
Only a few people caught the double meaning in Kyusei's words.
Hiruzen.
Sakumo.
Kakashi.
Kaoru.
And Naruko.
Kaoru's face flushed faintly.
This idiot… honestly…
Naruko looked at Kyusei standing at the center of the crowd, a trace of envy in her eyes. She subconsciously touched her own abdomen.
There was a Nine-Tails inside her too.
"Hey—wait—white-haired old man!"
Kyusei suddenly burst out of the crowd and grabbed Jiraiya, who was clearly trying to slip away.
"H-Hey, Kyusei, what is it?"
Jiraiya said with an awkward laugh.
"I'm really busy right now, you know?"
"I just started working with Kurama,"
Kyusei said seriously.
"I'm still not used to it."
"So I need a really strong ninja to be my sparring partner."
Jiraiya stared at him.
This brat… does he want to beat me to death?
Kyusei's chakra was so overwhelming it was visible to the naked eye.
Anyone with even a shred of sensing ability could feel it—vast, deep, like an endless ocean.
Sparring?
This was straight-up assault.
"It's not that I'm scared of you,"
Jiraiya said solemnly.
"I just genuinely have urgent business."
"Next time, I swear!"
Kyusei looked at him with utter disbelief.
Urgent business?
You mean peeping and collecting 'material,' right?
Watching the two of them argue, Hiruzen rubbed his temples helplessly.
He had a feeling—
As long as these two existed, Konoha would never truly know peace.
"Enough,"
Hiruzen said.
"Everyone, go back."
"And keep this confidential."
"Externally, we'll say the village successfully developed a new technique."
Once the crowd dispersed, Kyusei released Kurama Mode.
In an instant—
That overwhelming, almost intoxicating sense of omnipotence vanished.
A strange hollowness flooded his heart, like a tide washing everything away.
Unease crept in.
He subconsciously pressed a hand to his abdomen, momentarily dazed.
The power… is gone.
"Kyusei?"
Kaoru asked gently, concern in her voice.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine,"
he said, shaking his head.
Kurama's power was still Kurama's.
True strength had to come from himself.
Looks like… he'd have to train properly from now on.
Hmph. Brat…
Inside the sealing space, Kurama stretched lazily, sensing Kyusei's thoughts and snorting softly.
Power that came too easily only fueled his competitiveness, huh?
—
Somewhere deep within the cracks of the shinobi world—
An elderly man with snow-white hair listened to the report brought by a strange creature that had emerged from the ground.
His expression darkened.
That Nine-Tails brat… became a perfect jinchūriki?
That information genuinely surprised him.
How many years had it even been?
And he'd already reached that level?
The old man rose slowly, leaning on his cane, his gaze drifting toward the gunbai fan resting against the stone wall.
His eyes deepened.
Then—
He smiled.
Compared to this, Uzumaki Mito truly was useless.
Decades spent, yet never fully mastering the Nine-Tails.
And this child—
Just six years.
Interesting.
Looks like his plans needed to move faster.
"White Zetsu,"
he said calmly,
"begin preparations."
"Find an opportunity. Bring that boy Nagato to me."
"Yes, Madara-sama."
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