The question hung in the damp air, sharp enough to cut through the heavy silence of the holding cell.
Hiruzen slowly lowered his pipe, holding Mito's serene, unyielding gaze. He did not flush or raise his voice, nor did he shrink back. He was the Hokage, responsible for the safety of the entire village, but he was also speaking to a woman who had stood beside Hashirama Senju when the very ground beneath them was carved into Konoha.
"Mito-sama," Hiruzen began, his tone calm, measured, and deeply respectful. "I understand your response, but I ask you to consider the circumstances objectively. The boy possesses no documented background. He emerged from deep within the forest with an enormous volume of unmonitored chakra, sensory abilities capable of detecting our operatives through stone walls before they even approach him, and enough raw taijutsu instinct to fight Minato to a standstill without a single day of Academy instruction."
He gestured faintly toward the broken latch on the iron door.
"Furthermore, he was traveling beside Kushina when our operatives encountered him. Under the circumstances, I could not dismiss the security risk. To allow an unregistered variable with these capabilities free movement inside Konoha before a thorough intelligence clearance is performed would be a failure of my duty as Hokage."
Sitting on the floor, Kisuke shifted his weight, his eyes darting between the pipe-smoking leader of the village and the red-haired old woman.
'So this is how the top dogs fight,' Kisuke thought, his mind working quickly. 'No screaming, no throwing kunai, no blowing up walls. Just two old people staring at each other while the scary masked guards pretend to be statues.' He glanced sideways at Hiruzen, then back to Mito, a mischievous thought crossing his mind. 'Is she actually his boss, or is the Hokage just terrified of getting smacked with an Uzumaki cane?'
Mito listened to Hiruzen's points without interrupting, inclining her head slightly in acknowledgment.
"Your concerns are entirely valid, Hiruzen," Mito replied, her voice remaining smooth and tranquil. "A village leader who ignores security risks is a fool, and you are no fool. If an unknown child with such reserves appeared at our gates without explanation, protocol dictates containment and evaluation."
She took a slow step forward, her white-and-red robes sweeping over the flagstones.
"However, protocol was written for standard circumstances. Kisuke is an Uzumaki orphan. Traumatized, isolated, and raised in the woods after the destruction of his clan's homeland. If you treat him as a prisoner before you treat him as a human being, you will guarantee his resentment. You will teach him that Konoha sees him only as a weapon or a threat. And an Uzumaki who resents the Leaf is a danger far greater than an unmonitored nine-year-old."
Hiruzen let out a long, quiet sigh, a trail of pipe smoke drifting toward the stone ceiling. "And what do you propose, Mito-sama? We cannot simply ignore standard registration."
"We adapt it," Mito said firmly. "He will be released from this cell and placed into my personal custody immediately. He will reside at my home under my direct supervision. His movements within the village will be restricted to my property grounds until his identity and history are formally verified. I will personally assess his chakra, evaluate his heritage, and oversee his conduct."
She looked at Hiruzen with an unblinking, calm authority that left no room for compromise.
"If he causes harm, attempts an unauthorized escape, or breaches village security, the responsibility falls entirely on me. Konoha keeps its security, and the Uzumaki clan protects its own."
From his spot against the wall, Kisuke's mouth twitched into a suppressed smirk. 'She didn't even argue him into the ground. She just gave him an answer he couldn't complain about. Sneaky old lady.'
Hiruzen fell silent for several long seconds, weighing the proposition. The silence stretched until he finally sighed, taking a small key from his robes and tossing it toward the nearest ANBU guard.
"Very well," Hiruzen said, his voice dropping into a firm, official register. "His physical confinement ends here. Until our investigation is complete, however, he remains under provisional village restriction and your personal custody." He turned to the guard. "Unbind him."
The guard caught the key, stepped forward with extreme caution, and unlocked the heavy iron cuffs around Kisuke's wrists and ankles. The blue sealing formulas flared once before dimming into useless ink, and the iron fell to the floor with a heavy, metallic clack.
Kisuke immediately pulled his arms back, rubbing his chafed, reddened wrists. He stretched his shoulders, feeling the raw, unsuppressed tide of his own chakra flood back through his pathways with a satisfying warmth.
"Ah, much better," Kisuke declared, standing up and rotating his ankles with a loud pop. He looked directly at Hiruzen with a sharp grin. "I gotta say, Hokage-sama, your luxury basement suite is great, but the service is terrible. Two stars out of five. The iron bracelets were way too tight, and nobody offered me a snack."
Kushina let out a loud, snorting burst of laughter, clapping her hands together in delight. "See!? I told you he was fine, ya know!"
Minato offered a strained, polite smile, while Shikaku buried his face in his hand, letting out a weary groan. "What a drag..."
Hiruzen didn't snap or order him re-arrested. Instead, he adjusted his pipe, meeting Kisuke's sarcastic gaze with restrained, quiet patience.
"I apologize for the heavy-handed containment, Kisuke-kun," Hiruzen said smoothly, his voice dropping into a sincere tone. "However, given the circumstances of your arrival, precautions were necessary. Do not mistake caution for malice."
Kisuke narrowed his eyes slightly, recognizing the diplomatic brush-off for what it was, but he kept his tongue firmly behind his teeth for once. Hiruzen wasn't offering an apology from a fond grandfather; he was offering the formal, measured regret of a world leader who would do the exact same thing again if necessary.
Mito turned away from the Hokage, her calm eyes locking onto Kisuke.
"Come, Kisuke-kun," Mito said softly, gesturing toward the broken doorway. "Until your status and history are fully settled with the village, you will be coming home with me."
Kisuke stiffened, his toes digging into the cool stone floor. His hand instinctively twitched toward the empty spot at his hip where his knife should have been, his gaze flicking toward the corners and open corridor while his sensory awareness spread across every chakra presence nearby.
"Home?" Kisuke repeated suspiciously, his eyes narrowing as he looked at her. "I don't even know you, lady. A place to sleep isn't the same thing as a home."
Mito did not scold him for his coldness, nor did she attempt to force a warm smile. She simply looked at him with steady, enduring patience.
"Then we shall start by giving you a place to sleep," Mito replied evenly, turning to lead the way out of the dungeon. "Follow me."
---
Find early chapters on my patreon
[Patreon.com/tenten100?]