"I said! Get out of my way! I'm only looking for that Old Man!"
Inside the Hokage Building, chaos reigned. Anbu and Konoha Ninja looked on in terror at the aggressive red-haired woman. On the surface, it appeared she was there to harm the Hokage, and in reality, she absolutely intended to harm the Hokage.
A young Anbu Ninja reached for his Ninja tool pouch, preparing to take down this lunatic who dared to cause a public disturbance in the Hokage Building. However, his Anbu Captain suddenly reached out and firmly stopped his movement.
"Stop! Don't move!" the Captain hissed in a low voice. "Until Hokage-sama arrives! We only need to stop her, we absolutely must not harm her!"
"Huh? Captain? Why?" the young Anbu asked, puzzled. In the interval of their conversation, two thuds came from the front. Two Konoha Ninja who had tried to block Kushina were directly sent flying by her two punches, landing on the ground and entering a baby-like sleep.
"That person... you might not have seen her... but! She is...?!" The Anbu Captain's voice carried an undisguised horror; he felt like he was seeing a ghost in broad daylight.
As a veteran who had served in the Anbu since the time of the Fourth Hokage, he clearly remembered this face—the red-haired woman who often burst into the Hokage's office with a bright smile or in a rage, looking for the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze... she was the Fourth Hokage's wife, Uzumaki Kushina!
But... wasn't she sacrificed along with the Fourth Hokage on that catastrophic night more than ten years ago?! How could someone who was confirmed dead...
"Alright! Stop! Everyone, no one is to move! This person is not an enemy!"
Finally, the Third Hokage's steady voice came from the end of the corridor. Hiruzen Sarutobi walked quickly, followed closely by a Jiraiya with a complex expression. The Third Hokage looked at the furiously raging Kushina before him, her vibrant red hair moving without wind due to her anger, floating in the air.
This scene, it had truly been a long time... The Third Hokage couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion. Behind him, Jiraiya's eyes flickered, not daring to meet Kushina's gaze.
"You Old Man, you finally came out..." Kushina's voice carried a storm. "Don't you have anything to say to me?"
The Third Hokage knew Kushina's temper all too well; he had seen this "Red Hot-Blooded Habanero" in a rage many times. But like today, with anger mixed with sadness, it was truly rare.
"Kushina... how... did you get out? Did an intruder help you..."
"That's none of your business." Kushina interrupted him unceremoniously. "I broke free myself. As for how I did it, I don't think I need to explain the principles of Sealing Jutsu to you, do I?"
The Third Hokage was silent for a moment, his aged eyes meeting Kushina's. "...Is it because of Naruto?"
Kushina nodded. At this moment, no matter how the Third Hokage would explain or appease her, she had already made up her mind: today, she absolutely would not let him leave this Hokage Building unscathed!
"I understand." The Third Hokage took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Let's talk in my office."
Then, he turned around, facing all the Konoha Ninja and Anbu members who were ready for battle yet full of questions, and issued a command with an unquestionable Hokage authority.
"Listen carefully! She is not an intruder, nor is she an enemy! Next, a secret discussion will take place in the Hokage's office! No matter what sounds you hear, or what happens, no one is allowed to enter without my direct command! This is an order!"
— — — — — —
"Boom—!"
After the Third Hokage explained everything, using the same explanation he had given Naruto, only adding that the source of the "Nine-Tails" rumor came from Danzo's instigation... When Kushina learned that Danzo, the culprit who spread the rumors, had already been executed, her pent-up anger could no longer be suppressed. She slammed her fist, instantly shattering the desk in front of the Third Hokage, which had accompanied him for over a decade!
Wood chips flew. The Third Hokage did not have Raikage's hobby of destroying desks; this old desk was completely ruined, but he had no time to feel bad about it now.
"You Old Man..." Kushina's voice trembled with extreme anger, her eyes fixed on the Third Hokage. "What about our promise?! You clearly promised me... that you would take good care of Naruto for me!"
She knew, of course, that a child becoming a Jinchuriki was destined to endure strange looks and ostracism. But the difficulties she had imagined were completely different from the bloody reality she had heard from Satsuki! She finally asked the heartbreaking question.
"Why did my child... Minato's child... the Fourth Hokage's child... become a 'Nine-Tails' that everyone reviled?! He is clearly the child of a hero! The son of the hero who saved the Village!!"
Her voice grew louder. "As the Hokage, can't you even stop a malicious rumor?! Does that child need to risk his life to save Konoha just to earn a little bit of delayed kindness?!"
Did the Third Hokage do anything? He certainly did. He had issued orders prohibiting public discussion of the "Nine-Tails" matter, forbidding overt discrimination against Naruto, and even mandating that shops must sell things to the child... But he underestimated the deep-seated prejudice and indifference in human nature. Those measures were like scratching an itch through a boot, and even imprisoning a few talkative villagers only made the passive aggression inflicted on Naruto more hidden and more hurtful.
"Yes, everything you said is correct." The Third Hokage did not try to justify his helplessness and indecisiveness in the slightest. "This is indeed all my fault, my dereliction of duty, my responsibility. If I had been more resolute in restraining Danzo earlier, if my methods had been more decisive and forceful... Naruto might... not have been so lonely."
"I'm sorry..." He slowly stood up and bowed deeply to the angry mother. "This is a mistake and regret that I can never make up for in my life. I'm sorry to you, and even more so to Minato, and I have failed your trust."
The Third Hokage's straightforward admission of all his faults and solemn apology left Kushina, who had prepared a belly full of fierce words, momentarily speechless. Her burning anger was like hitting cotton, and the fury could only transform into more suppressed breathing.
"Then..." Kushina's gaze turned to Jiraiya, who had been trying to minimize his presence. "...What about Jiraiya-sensei?"
"Huh? This... I..." The topic suddenly shifted to him, and Jiraiya immediately became incoherent, stammering, his face filled with embarrassment and guilt.
"Jiraiya left the Village immediately after returning to attend your and your husband's funeral," the Third Hokage spoke the cruel truth for his embarrassed disciple. "He only returned to Konoha a month ago."
Hearing this extremely disappointing answer, Jiraiya seemed to have all his strength drained, and he completely deflated, lowering his head, not daring to meet Kushina's eyes.
"Is that so..." Kushina said in a low, terrifyingly subdued voice.
The next second!
"Bang—!"
A heavy thud! Jiraiya didn't even see the movement; he was suddenly sent flying upwards, his back of the head hitting the ceiling hard, causing spiderweb-like cracks in the solid stone!
Then he fell heavily to the ground, a large bump visibly swelling on his head, his eyes rolled back, and he passed out... Fortunately, there was still a faint rise and fall in his chest.
However, after this intense physical pain, the heavy guilt that had almost crushed Jiraiya's heart strangely dissipated a little.
"You Old Man..." Kushina slowly turned her head, cracking her finger joints with a "snap," her gaze refocusing on the Third Hokage. "You know what I'm going to do next, don't you..."
The Third Hokage silently glanced at the unconscious Jiraiya on the floor... Compared to Jiraiya, what he had to bear was far more than what a single punch could offset.
He took a deep breath, then responded in a low voice. "...I understand."
— — — — — —
"What's going on?! An earthquake?!"
"No! The shaking is coming from upstairs! It's from the direction of the Hokage's office!"
"Hokage-sama... Captain! Are we really not going in to check?!" A young Anbu listened to the loud noises and vibrations coming from upstairs, anxiously looking at his Captain.
The Anbu Captain clenched his fist, but he still growled decisively. "Obey orders! Without Hokage-sama's direct instruction, no one is allowed to approach! This is a death order!"
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