Chapter 25
Uzushiogakure.
Inside Kenji's office.
It had been a month since Tsunade left.
Bathed in the soft morning rays, Kenji was currently working at his desk, reviewing village recovery reports and analyzing the latest intelligence.
The soft giggles of a child drifted to his ears. Unconsciously, a warm smile grazed his face as he glanced at the additional presences in his otherwise quiet room.
Kushina was sitting nearby, playing with Haruto, who was comfortably nestled in her lap. Because they were there, a deeply serene atmosphere filled his office. The boy's unique chakra passively radiated through the room, constantly rejuvenating Kenji's tired body as he worked.
"So, is Medori still checking on the progress of her new house?" Kenji asked.
Medori's original home, which had been located at the base of the main compound's mountain, had been completely leveled during the invasion. Because of that, she had been staying with them in the main compound.
Now that most of the village had already been rebuilt—thanks in large part to the relief supplies sent by the Senju and Konoha—Medori was taking the opportunity to upgrade her small house into a proper compound of her own.
"Yes, the structure is almost finished. Right now, Aunty is fortifying the perimeter with a fūinjutsu array," Kushina replied, gently poking Haru's soft, chubby cheeks.
"Hmm…" Kenji nodded and returned his attention to his paperwork.
"By the way, Dad, is the Administration Building still not rebuilt?" Kushina asked.
"Uh…. Are you not happy with me working from home?" he asked, feigning a deeply hurt voice.
The Administration Building was where all of Uzushio's bureaucratic work was handled, much like the Hokage Residence. It had housed Kenji's main office before it was burned to the ground.
Fortunately, Kenji always kept the most critical files secured in his personal office within the main compound, so no sensitive intelligence was lost, but the day-to-day management papers were completely gone.
Until now, Kenji had deliberately postponed rebuilding it, choosing instead to focus all available labor on rebuilding the villagers' homes.
"I—I didn't mean it like that!" Kushina stammered in a panic, waving her hands frantically to deny the accusation.
"Hahaha…. I know, Princess," Kenji laughed, watching Kushina pout before answering her question. "As for the building, it should be fully finished in another week or two."
"You're mean, Dad," Kushina grumbled, still pouting. She went back to playing with Haru, whose bright emerald eyes were looking around the room curiously.
Suddenly, Kushina's violet eyes began to glow with a faint, ethereal light. Her gaze locked onto a strange blob of wind that was floating aimlessly around the room near the ceiling.
"Dad, are you sure you can't see it?" Kushina asked.
It was the fourth time she had asked him that morning. It seemed she was the only one who could perceive this strange thing lingering near Haru.
Kenji frowned. He focused hard, this time actively channeling his own chakra to his eyes to enhance his vision, but the results were exactly the same.
"No, Princess. There is nothing there."
Kushina sighed in frustration, but Kenji continued his thought process aloud.
"It could be a latent ability you've just awakened, or a direct side effect of Haru's chakra flowing into you."
After Kushina had confessed to her father about the strange mutation in her Adamantine Sealing Chains, Kenji and Shōto had investigated. They discovered that some of Haru's incredibly potent chakra had permanently intertwined with her own, granting her chains the terrifying ability to consume foreign chakra. And now, it seemed it had given her this strange, unknown dōjutsu as well.
"Kushina, look at my hand," Kenji instructed smoothly.
Kushina nodded, focusing all of her intent on his palm. Kenji watched closely, noting the faint, distinct violet glow radiating from his daughter's eyes. Slowly, he molded a small concentration of chakra into his hand.
"Notice anything?" he asked.
"Nothing," Kushina replied, squinting.
Kenji shifted the chakra's nature, making it slightly more volatile. "Hmm…. How about now?"
After a few more seconds of intense focus, she shook her head. "Still nothing."
'Hmm… So, her eyes cannot see standard chakra fluctuations,' Kenji noted mentally. 'Or perhaps the dōjutsu simply hasn't matured enough yet.'
"Don't worry about it, Princess. That boy's chakra is beneficial to everyone around him; he's like a walking healing battery," Kenji said, trying to lighten her mood.
But suddenly, a sharp chill ran down his spine.
"Umm… Dad, that thing is now hovering right above your head," Kushina said, squinting her eyes in concentration. "And… is that a tiny sword aimed at you? Or maybe a blue stick?" she asked, genuinely confused.
"Princess, I was joking. Can you please explain that to it?" Kenji asked, his voice tightening with worry.
"Well, it's not attacking you, per se. It's just… looking at you like you're an insect," Kushina tried to explain, describing exactly what she was seeing.
"Oh, great. Now we also have a spirit with a personality," Kenji groaned, burying his face in his hands.
Then, they both heard a soft peal of giggles from Haru, who seemed to be enjoying the entire situation. And as if responding to his happiness, a wave of warm, positive energy radiated throughout the surroundings, washing away all the tension.
"Oh, someone is enjoying himself," Kushina cooed.
Kenji sighed. This was exactly the benefit he had been talking about. In that brief moment, he felt his chakra actively rejuvenate and strengthen. For a fleeting second, he almost felt a fraction of his expended lifespan return to him.
With one last inward sigh, he returned to his work—more specifically, the intelligence report that had just come from Shōto. It had been a month since Konoha and Suna officially started their hostilities.
After reading the scroll through twice, he rubbed his tired eyes. It seemed Konoha was only one wrong move away from a full-blown war with Suna.
Their skirmishes in the Land of Rain had turned increasingly bloody. The only saving grace was that the other hidden villages had not yet interfered.
'It seems they are too busy dealing with the internal economic crises we created for them,' Kenji thought with a spark of dark delight. 'But that will only buy Konoha so much time.'
He was genuinely curious to see how Hiruzen would handle this escalating war.
But what surprised him the most was the intel on Kirigakure. They were already infamous for their harsh, brutal rules, but now the Mizukage had officially initiated a bloody new era for the Mist. The ones who would suffer the most under these cruel policies were Kiri's own Kekkei Genkai clans.
Well, it was not his problem. They could all die for all he cared. They were the ones who had invaded Uzushio; now they would suffer the consequences of their own weakened state.
His eyes then landed on another parchment—the logistical details regarding the orphan retrieval squads. They were scheduled to arrive this evening with the first batch of war orphans.
"Kushina, would you like to help welcome some new children to the village?" he asked.
Kushina looked confused for a moment before she replied, "Sure."
*****
The Land of Fire.
Konohagakure.
There was a strangely heavy atmosphere in the Hidden Leaf Village. The ongoing conflicts with Suna had clearly taken their toll. The villagers' daily lives were not affected much, but they could still feel that something was deeply wrong. It felt like they were sitting on a landmine—one wrong move, and the whole thing would explode in their faces.
Hiruzen was currently busy in his office, reading every report coming from the front lines and directly managing the village's troops and funds.
This war against Suna... if it could even be called that. Neither side had made a formal declaration of war. That was one of his biggest headaches; this whole bloody affair was being treated as a massive border dispute, and the one suffering the most in the crossfire was Amegakure.
What pained him deeply was the increasing number of casualties in this conflict, especially those caused by Chiyo's deadly poisons. To counter it, he had been forced to deploy Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru. It would be a good thing for them to participate and gain battlefield experience, especially for Jiraiya and Orochimaru.
Sakumo Hatake was also making a formidable name for himself, leading the Suna front as a key commander. He had even recently gained the alias of the "White Fang of Konoha." By sending his own students to the front lines, Hiruzen hoped they could also begin to forge reputations of their own.
As he was musing about these matters, his office door was suddenly pushed open.
"You called for me, Hiruzen."
Danzo entered with a serious frown. His right eye was heavily bandaged as usual, though he otherwise looked perfectly fine.
"Yes," Hiruzen said, lacing his fingers together. "I am authorizing your Root forces to mobilize to the Suna front. Furthermore... I am approving your request to recruit personnel from the smaller clans within the village."
"Hmm…. It seems you have finally grown a spine, Hiruzen," Danzo nodded in dark approval. "And it's a wise decision, especially now that the other three hidden villages are busy dealing with their internal crises."
Hiruzen grimaced. That was an entirely different headache.
Uzushio.
Without so much as deploying a single shinobi, they had brought three major hidden villages to their knees through their economic might alone. Heck, they didn't even leave the Daimyos out of it.
The Lightning Daimyo was the one suffering the most from the sudden price manipulation in supply chains.
Because of the sheer financial terror Uzushio was causing, the Fire Daimyo was also on edge; in this month alone, he had come to visit Mito-sama twice just to seek reassurances.
It was also a hidden blessing for Konoha, as the Fire Daimyo was generously funding them even in this escalating conflict.
Furthermore, the letter Tsunade had brought back a month ago, stated that Uzushio wanted to maintain their close relationship with Konoha and would financially compensate them for their relief efforts.
At first, the Konoha clans had been hesitant about sending their own resources. But when they saw the Senju aggressively funneling supplies, the other smaller clans cautiously followed suit. And boy, were they compensated handsomely.
In this month alone, Uzushio's payments had brought more money into the village than their entire standard mission revenue. Naturally, once they smelled the profit, the other big clans eagerly joined the fray.
Hiruzen still couldn't understand why Uzushio was willing to bleed this much money, and it made him deeply wary. If Uzushio could cripple three great nations with economic might alone, then this sudden, massive influx of wealth into Konoha also had to involve some hidden, terrifyingly sharp motive.
"Hiruzen, did you get any more information about Uzushio?" Danzo asked, breaking his train of thought.
"No. They have locked down the entire island. Nobody can enter or leave without them knowing. The hidden ANBU squad we sent to observe them has already been returned to us... along with a warning."
Every other spy sent to Uzushio by the other nations had simply vanished. Konoha's ANBU squad were the only ones spared.
He had also pressed Tsunade about it, hoping for concrete details regarding the invasion and exactly how Uzushio had survived. But he only got a vague reply: Uzushio had supposedly activated an ancient fūinjutsu array left by their ancestors, which caused the massive weather manipulation. That, and Saki Uzumaki single-handedly defeating and killing both the Two-Tails and Four-Tails Jinchūriki.
Now, Uzushio had become an undisputed powerhouse in its own right. The only reason it wasn't officially counted among the Great Five was because of its unique political structure. Uzushio was run directly by its own Daimyo, meaning it acted simultaneously as both a sovereign nation and a hidden village.
Danzo narrowed his single visible eye, noticing Hiruzen getting lost in his thoughts once again.
"Hiruzen. You need to focus on the matter at hand."
"Yes, my apologies. There are simply too many things moving beneath the surface of this whole affair." Hiruzen sighed heavily and rubbed his weary face.
"I will be leading Root to fully participate in this conflict," Danzo stated in a hard, uncompromising tone. "And we should declare formal war already. Suna is weak compared to us. The sooner we crush them, the better."
'And,' Danzo thought to himself, 'I need the achievements if I ever want to become the Fourth Hokage.'
Hiruzen was slightly surprised when he heard Danzo wanted to lead Suna front, then listening to the rest, his eyes narrowed.
"Declaring full-scale war means our casualties would multiply several times over. The economic and resource strain that would cause is another matter entirely," Hiruzen replied firmly.
"So you want to drag out this facade?" Danzo countered sharply. "You know full well this proxy war will only slowly but surely consume our resources and the lives of our shinobi in the long term. Need I remind you, Suna has already rejected your peace proposal. And we are certainly not lacking in funds and resources now. We also have the Daimyo's full support."
They stared into each other's eyes for a few tense moments, the heavy silence broken only by the ticking of the clock.
Then, Hiruzen sighed, the weight of his office suddenly looking very heavy on his shoulders.
"Yes... you are right." Hiruzen nodded. He reached forward and tapped his desk, deactivating the privacy sound barrier—another one of Uzushio's creations. "Call the other two elders."
Just outside the window, a hidden ANBU guard immediately flickered away into the afternoon sun to carry out the Hokage's order.
****
Uzushiogakure.
At the same time, Kushina was walking down the hallway toward her aunt's room with Haruto resting comfortably in her arms. But she decided to take a detour through the compound's garden so he could enjoy the fresh air.
She had observed that Haruto loved the gardens—or more specifically, the deep connection to nature they offered. Because of this, Medori was already making sure to include a massive garden specifically for Haruto in her new compound.
As soon as they stepped into the garden, the surrounding plants and trees began to gently stir, almost as if they were consciously responding to his arrival. A soothing, unnatural breeze grazed Kushina's face.
She smiled unconsciously. This profound peacefulness had become a normal occurrence whenever she was around Haru.
Haruto was also clearly enjoying himself. Before long, birds began to gather on the branches around them, chirping a happy, melodic chorus just for the boy.
After five minutes of this tranquil walk, Kushina decided it was time to head inside to her aunt's room to wait for her.
Suddenly, Haru began to wiggle and struggle in her arms. A second later, Kushina felt another distinct presence enter the garden, and she instantly knew exactly why the baby was acting up.
She turned around, meeting her aunt's calm green eyes and her beautiful small smile.
Haru instantly raised both of his tiny hands toward Medori and babbled—
"Ma…. Ma. Mama. Ma. Ma."
Medori's face blanked. Her whole vibe changed, becoming colder and detached. Kushina was slightly surprised to see her aunt like that.
If Kenji were there, he would instantly recognize that look; it was the same look the old Medori used to have before Kushina was born.
But Haruto didn't show even a hint of surprise or wariness. He just extended his hands once more, his sparkling emerald eyes locked onto hers.
"Mama. Mama."
A single tear slipped down Medori's cold face. As she came out of her shock, her baby had uttered his first words.
She quickly wiped the tear away, and her expression melted into a truly breathtaking smile.
"Yes. Mama is here, baby…. Mama is here."
She stepped forward and gently took Haru from Kushina, pulling him into a loving embrace.
********