After the Uzumaki clan relocated to Konoha, the village granted them the remaining land of the Senju clan for their residence. Following the losses from the War in the Land of Whirlpools and the Uzumaki clan's already dwindling population, their numbers were sparse, but still sufficient to settle there.
At the center of the clan compound was Mito's house, which had also been Kushina's home. As a candidate for a jinchuriki, Kushina had come to live there, and Mito, out of deep affection and care, kept her by her side.
After the graduation ceremony, Kushina went straight home, announced, "I'm home," and carefully removed and arranged her shoes. At that moment, someone came out to greet her: Mito's eldest daughter, Misaki. Since returning to Konoha, their family had lived there. The house was large enough that they didn't disturb Mito, who was recuperating.
"Welcome back, Kushina," Misaki said with a smile. "How was the graduation ceremony?"
"It was alright," Kushina replied. "How is Grandma Mito doing?"
"She's doing okay," Misaki's expression dimmed slightly. Her mother's health had been steadily declining in recent years. Even the best medicine from the Medical Department didn't seem to have much effect. She had a faint premonition that her mother's time to leave this world, just like her father, was not far off.
Composing herself, Misaki told Kushina that Mito had asked to see her as soon as she returned. Hearing this, Kushina's heart tightened. Although Misaki was Mito's daughter, Kushina was, to some extent, Mito's successor, and she knew more—perhaps even more than Misaki—about the decision Mito had recently made.
"I understand," Kushina guessed what Mito wanted to talk about, thinking, "This day was bound to come, but no matter what, I can't accept it."
Misaki led Kushina to Mito's room, gently pushed open the door, and spoke softly inside. In the room, Mito was kneeling and reading. Hearing the sound, she looked up and smiled at Kushina, who was behind Misaki, saying, "You're here. Come in quickly."
"Go on," Misaki turned and said, not entering with her, but choosing to leave. The time that followed belonged solely to Mito and Kushina.
Kushina knelt before Mito, who quietly observed her with a loving gaze, like a mother looking at her daughter. In fact, Mito had transferred all her affection for her third daughter, who had died young due to the Nine-Tails, to Kushina, who was similarly burdened by the Nine-Tails.
"Such interesting clothes, I haven't seen them much," Mito said, curiously looking at Kushina's Konoha school uniform. She rarely went out, and apart from important village affairs, she didn't pay much attention to other matters. Her ideas were still quite traditional, and she didn't have an accurate understanding of the rapidly changing Konoha.
"These are the school uniform," Kushina said. She secretly glanced at Mito, and when their eyes met, she immediately lowered her head and whispered, "Grandma Mito, have you really made your decision?"
"Yes," Mito straightened slightly, a smile still on her face. "I've decided. Anyway, this old woman doesn't have much time left to live. While I still have the strength, it's better to transfer it early. If I wait until I'm on my deathbed, it's unclear whether the transfer can be done properly."
The Nine-Tails' seal on Mito was primarily woven from a sealing jutsu based on the Uzumaki clan's unique ability—the Adamantine Chains. As Mito's own chakra declined, the suppression ability of this sealing jutsu would weaken. It was currently able to maintain the seal mainly because the Uzumaki clan's chakra inherently suppressed Tailed Beasts. However, at the moment of her natural death, Mito's chakra would no longer be able to maintain the seal, and transferring it at that point would be a troublesome matter.
Kushina could understand the decision, but her heart still struggled to accept it. It wasn't just the pain of Mito, who was like her own grandmother, soon passing away,
but also the anxiety of soon receiving the Nine-Tails' seal. Although she had mentally prepared herself for this in the past, facing it now, she felt her heart was still unsettled.
"Grandma Mito…" At this, Kushina felt her voice tremble and couldn't help but lower her head, her eyes feeling a sudden moisture.
Seeing this, Mito gently reached out and hugged Kushina's head, slowly pulling her into her embrace, stroking her soft red hair—this vibrant and lively color had now completely vanished from Mito, turning snow-white, like something about to wither.
"Kushina, are you feeling anxious?" Mito asked gently.
Kushina nodded silently in Mito's embrace, burying her face and mumbling, "I don't want you to leave, Grandma Mito."
"Everyone dies eventually, whether you want to accept it or not," Mito said, looking lovingly at Kushina in her arms. "In the past, I've seen too many people I didn't want to leave, yet they still did. Among them was my husband, the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. I grieved back then, but I quickly recovered because what he left behind still needed my protection. Just by looking at this village, it's as if he never left."
Kushina looked up, staring blankly at Mito's face. She was still very young and lived in a peaceful era. In her life, she had not yet experienced the death of a close person—although her parents had died after the War in the Land of Whirlpools, after many years apart, her feelings had somewhat faded. Because of their parent-child relationship, she still grieved for them, but the shock it brought was nowhere near as great as Mito's impending departure. After all, since she was three years old, Mito had been the one constantly by her side.
"Kushina, although we don't have a true parent-child relationship, in my heart, you are my daughter. Even after I die, some things will always remain with you, and you will be able to feel my presence through them," Mito said slowly. "Even after death, I will watch over you from the Pure Land, watching your life unfold."
"Grandma," hearing Mito's comfort, Kushina felt herself wanting to cry even more.
"If you want to cry, then cry. But, Kushina, I hope you can live strongly from now on. You are not a weak child," Mito gently wiped Kushina's face. "You are a girl who wants to become Hokage, how can you be defeated by such a small hardship?"
Kushina sniffled and nodded softly, indicating she understood. She continued to bury herself in Mito's embrace, murmuring, "Grandma, can I really subdue the Nine-Tails?"
"Subdue? You shouldn't think that way," Mito said, shaking her head with a smile. "The Nine-Tails is not your enemy; it's just an innocent being exploited by us humans. You two will face difficulties together in the future. You shouldn't treat it as an enemy, but as a friend."
"A friend? For a monster?"
"How can you call it a monster? I ask you, Kushina, does the Nine-Tails have intelligence? Can it speak? Is its way of thinking truly so different from ours?" Mito asked.
Kushina was speechless for a moment. After a while, she cautiously said, "According to what Grandma said in the past, the Nine-Tails can speak, and its way of thinking isn't that different from ours; at most, it's a difference in values."
"That's right. Because the Nine-Tails lives eternally, it has lived on this continent for thousands of years, so a difference in values is inevitable. However, in other aspects, the Nine-Tails is not that different from us. Simply put, aside from its massive size and not looking very human, it is almost exactly like humans in other ways," Mito said.
"Grandma, do you mean… I should treat it like making friends with an ordinary person?" Kushina asked.
"Yes," Mito nodded calmly. "The Nine-Tails was bound inside a human body because of our human conflicts, and you are burdened with an undeserved fate because of this. You are both children who share the same plight. How can you hate each other at a time like this? You should learn to understand that your experiences are shared, and your destinies will be intertwined from now on. The last thing you should do is be enemies."
Mito had said these words to the Nine-Tails within her in the past. Now, as she intended to entrust the jinchuriki's fate to Kushina, she said the same words to her. She didn't know if Kushina and the Nine-Tails would reconcile in the future, but she sincerely hoped that her words could provide some guidance on their path to reconciliation. If so, she would be content.
"Grandma, I can't be sure right now if I can truly treat the Nine-Tails as a person. But since our destinies will be interdependent from now on, I will try my best to get along with it amicably," Kushina said after a long while.
Mito smiled slightly and sent a mental greeting into the depths of the seal's cage—*Did you hear that, Nine-Tails? You two must get along well from now on*—Mito had loosened the seal's restrictions from the beginning, allowing the Nine-Tails' consciousness to observe the outside world, and thus hear Kushina's words.
In the sealed cage, the Nine-Tails let out a soft snort. It wouldn't forgive humans so easily. Humans had disregarded its will and sealed it into a human body without permission, and now they were saying such things. But for some reason, the Nine-Tails gradually recalled scenes from a thousand years ago.
At that time, after the Sage of Six Paths had fully entrusted the Ninja Creed to Asura, he divided the Ten-Tails within him into nine Tailed Beasts, conveyed his final wishes to them, and then, due to the extraction of the Tailed Beasts from his body, he lay in bed like a gravely ill old man, unable to move for several months. During that period, besides his family, only the Tailed Beasts could converse with him.
"I am also human, and I love you all very much. If you love me too, I hope you will also love humanity in the future," the Sage of Six Paths said to the Tailed Beasts on his deathbed.
However, after several generations, the Ninja Creed gradually forgot the Sage of Six Paths' teachings, and they grew distant from the Tailed Beasts. Disappointed, the Nine-Tails also chose to distance themselves from human society. Yet, some impudent humans still came to trouble the Tailed Beasts, including descendants of the Six Paths.
Nevertheless, even among such humans, there would occasionally appear individuals who greatly resembled the Sage of Six Paths. However, over a thousand years, such people were truly too few. When such humans died, the Tailed Beasts would once again return to a state where no one wished to be close to them. But at least, during those times, the Tailed Beasts could feel the same joy as when they were with the Sage of Six Paths.
—*So, will this girl be such a person?*
This thought involuntarily arose in the Nine-Tails' mind, but it couldn't be sure. It didn't understand Kushina very well. The glimpses of the outside world from within Mito's body were extremely rare, and one couldn't truly know a person based on appearance alone. Without seeing a person's heart, the Tailed Beast would not grant its approval.
At this moment, Mito said to Kushina, "As long as you have that intention, I can rest assured entrusting the Nine-Tails to you." She then smiled and continued, "Do you think the Sage of Six Paths had the same intention when he subdued the rogue Ten-Tails and divided it into Tailed Beasts in his later years?"
In the Ninja Creed documents discovered in Konoha, there was a record of the Sage of Six Paths subduing the rampaging Ten-Tails and dividing it into nine Tailed Beasts in his later years. In Mito's view, the Sage of Six Paths' actions and her own actions today were remarkably similar, both carrying a beautiful wish.
Kushina had naturally read this story. She didn't give a direct answer, but in her heart, she seemed to have gained a little confidence about how to get along with the Nine-Tails in the future.
"Kushina, get ready. There's no time to lose. Let's hold the Nine-Tails transfer ceremony tomorrow," Mito said.
"So soon?" Kushina was startled.
"The sooner the better. A day's delay could cause problems with the Nine-Tails transfer," Mito slowly gathered the chakra within her and smiled. "My current physical condition is still good. I have some confidence in releasing the Nine-Tails, temporarily suppressing it, and assisting with the sealing. Don't be afraid. Releasing the seal doesn't mean immediate death. With our Uzumaki clan's vitality, even after a Tailed Beast is extracted, we can survive for a period. Of course, not for very long."
Mito's mind was made up. With her state of mind, she had long come to terms with life and death. Even though she knew that transferring the Tailed Beast would hasten her death, she had no reason to hesitate. Now was the right time. So, she then informed Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado. Although they were not entirely comfortable with it, they agreed to the request for the Nine-Tails transfer. This was Mito's personal will, which no one could sway.
The next day, in a location known only to those involved, the Nine-Tails transfer ceremony was about to begin. From this day forward, Kushina would be the new Nine-Tails' jinchuriki.