Chapter 310 – News About Kushina
"So strong…" Naruto stared ahead, his eyes wide with pure shock.
"Could it be… that his seal has been released?" Tsunade asked, her expression just as stunned.
"Seal?" Uzumaki Mito frowned. From the very first time she had met Yusuke, she had felt something deeply unnatural about him.
"Yes. That man felt his own power was too overwhelming—so overwhelming that fighting had lost all meaning to him. That's why he sealed most of his own strength away," Tsunade explained.
Naruto, Toneri, and Sasuke all froze, their faces filled with disbelief. Even Senju Hashirama was rendered speechless by how absurd the logic sounded.
It was even more outrageous than his own famous line—"The Nine-Tails is too strong, so I'll just seal it," followed by casually grabbing the Kyuubi with one hand. Compared to that, Yusuke's level of "grandeur" was on an entirely different plane.
"Seal…?" Senju Tobirama narrowed his eyes. The concept felt strangely familiar, as if he had heard of something like this before.
"That would be the Yin–Yang Blood Seal," Mito said suddenly.
"So that's it…" Tobirama murmured in realization. "No wonder even a being like that could be sealed."
He understood Yusuke's power better than most. A normal sealing technique would have been completely useless against someone like him.
"Why have I never heard of this sealing technique before?" Tsunade asked, turning to Mito.
"The Yin–Yang Blood Seal is incredibly powerful," Tobirama replied, "but at the same time, it's extremely dangerous. It's an ancient technique that uses the user's own blood and vitality as its power source. Because of how extreme and impractical it is, it was never included in the standard sealing systems."
"Dangerous? Impractical?" Tsunade echoed, confused.
"Correct," Mito said, nodding. "The technique combines the user's blood with the power of Yin–Yang Release to perform the seal. Even the Yin Seal I use was developed based on this technique."
She took a breath before continuing.
"At its core, this jutsu requires an enormous amount of vitality and chakra with Yin–Yang attributes. It can permanently seal more than ninety percent of the target's chakra—though not in an absolute sense. But at the same time, the user's own chakra is sealed as well. The moment the user releases their seal, the seal on the other party will also be undone."
Hearing that, Tsunade slowly nodded.
Just possessing Yin–Yang chakra was already incredibly rare.
Being able to actually use it? That alone was at least Jōnin-level. In any village, a Jōnin was considered top-tier combat power.
On top of that, the user and the target were bound together. If one side suffered, the other would share the consequences. And in most cases, the price paid by the user was even greater than the one being sealed.
It was a powerful technique, yes—but undeniably impractical.
"Still… I don't understand," Mito said, frowning. "Who would even have the ability to seal their own power like that?"
"Himself," Kakashi answered quietly.
"Himself…" Mito fell silent for a moment, then slowly nodded.
No sane person would ever use a technique like that on themselves.
But when you thought about it—if even in a sealed state, that man could still be called unrivaled… then there was really nothing left to question.
"Wait a second. Even I've never heard of this technique," Tsunade said. "Where did he learn something like that?"
"Th-this…" Kakashi trailed off, sinking into thought.
He knew better than anyone that aside from a few special techniques, his older brother had never been interested in learning Ninjutsu. Even with the Summoning Technique, he often messed up the hand signs.
Learning a sealing jutsu of this level of difficulty should have been impossible for him.
"…Maybe from Kushina," Minato said hesitantly. "She might be the only one in Konoha who knows this technique."
"Kushina?"
"Sensei's wife?" Tsunade and Kakashi blurted out at the same time.
"Isn't she dead?" Tsunade asked in shock.
"I don't think so," Minato replied.
"During the Nine-Tails Incident, Yusuke appeared at the very last moment. Even though Kushina lost the Nine-Tails and her vitality was completely drained, as a member of the Uzumaki Clan, she wouldn't have died immediately. Most likely, he saved her."
He paused, his expression darkening.
"At the time, I used the Reaper Death Seal. I had no way to save myself."
"So… Kushina is still alive? Like Rin Nohara?" Tsunade looked even more confused now.
"Then what is that man's real goal?" Tobirama asked.
"I think… I understand part of Nii-san's intentions," Kakashi said slowly. "And I also have a rough idea of where Kushina-nee might be."
"What do you mean?" Tsunade's eyes narrowed sharply.
The moment Kakashi saw her expression, cold sweat broke out across his forehead.
In the Hatake family, who was the best at talking?
Not Hatake Sakumo.
It was Tsunade.
Once she got angry, even Sakumo wouldn't be spared—let alone someone at the very bottom of the family hierarchy like him.
"Th-that is… Sister-in-law," Kakashi said nervously, "I'm just speculating."
"Then start talking," Tsunade ordered firmly.
"O-Okay. I think he's known about the revival of the Ten-Tails and the Fourth Great Ninja War for a long time. He might have even been helping from behind the scenes," Kakashi said.
"What proof do you have?" Tsunade demanded, staring him down.
What Kakashi said matched her own feelings. That man always seemed like he knew everything.
"If we're talking about proof… then it's Rin," Kakashi answered.
"Rin Nohara…" Tsunade and Minato both understood instantly.
As their former student's teacher, Minato knew exactly how much Rin meant to Obito. Even in the middle of battle, Obito had repeatedly said he wanted to create a world where Rin still existed.
The true trigger for the Fourth Great Ninja War only became clear after the war had already begun—when Yusuke brought Rin back to Konoha.
Even Obito himself hadn't known Rin was still alive.
There was no way Yusuke had healed her wounds after all those years had passed.
Which meant there was only one possible answer.
Yusuke had been involved in that plan from the very beginning.
"But… why would he do that?" Tobirama asked.
"As for that…" Kakashi scratched his head awkwardly.
But in Tsunade's heart, the answer was already painfully clear.
After seeing everything that man had done on the battlefield, there was no doubt about it.
He just wanted to fight someone strong.
"A complete battle maniac," Uzumaki Mito said helplessly.
She had investigated Yusuke and even spent a long time talking with him. She understood his personality better than most.
Hearing that, Tsunade's expression darkened even further.
She had worked herself to the bone as the Supreme Commander, while that man hadn't helped at all—and instead kept creating more problems for her to clean up.
"Then, Kakashi," Minato asked, "where is Kushina now?"
"To be honest, I don't know her exact location," Kakashi admitted. "But I believe she's in a place called the Kara Organization."
"The Kara Organization?"
"Yes. Sister-in-law should also know that Itachi isn't dead. When I retrieved Uchiha Shisui's eye, Nii-san asked me to hand it over to Itachi. Itachi also mentioned that there's an Elder there, and told me not to worry," Kakashi explained.
Hearing that, Minato felt certain.
The "Elder" Itachi referred to had to be Kushina.
Back when he was the Fourth Hokage, in order to maintain good relations with the Uchiha Clan, he had been quite close to Uchiha Fugaku. Because of that, Kushina and Mikoto had become close friends.
Naturally, Kushina had always treated Itachi like her own nephew.
There were many people who Uchiha Itachi might call "senpai."
But after the Uchiha Clan was wiped out, the only person truly worthy of being called an "Elder" was almost certainly—
Uzumaki Kushina.
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