Coming down to the first floor, Saiki saw Kushina standing in the center of the living room. Her hands were on her hips, and her signature blood-red hair was literally floating around her head, lifted by the sheer intensity of her anger.
"Saiki! Where is Lady Tsunade?!" Kushina demanded loudly the moment she saw him.
Seeing her in such a frantic state, Saiki felt a wave of helplessness. He tried to calm her down. "Sensei Kushina, please, don't yell. Sister Tsunade has been working non-stop for two days. She didn't get home until late last night, and she just woke up. Give her a minute."
Fortunately, while Kushina had a volcanic temper, she held immense respect for Tsunade. Hearing Saiki's explanation, she forced herself to suppress her explosive aura.
Seeing her calm down, Saiki let out a sigh of relief.
Compared to Kushina, Saiki was usually much more ruthless—he had, after all, murdered the Hokage. But Kushina was someone very important to him; he couldn't unleash his own "bad mood" on her.
Shizune, who had been standing nearby looking terrified and unable to calm Kushina down herself, also let out a massive sigh of relief.
Although she had suppressed her rage, Kushina's face was still etched with deep anxiety. She looked at Saiki and asked, "Saiki, what is going on? So much has happened in the village over the past two days! Lord Third... how could he suddenly fall ill? Where is he?"
Despite being a foreigner, Kushina was fundamentally different from Saiki. She was incredibly naive and pure-hearted. Even though the Hidden Leaf had played a questionable role in the destruction of the Uzumaki homeland (the Land of Whirlpools), upon arriving in Konoha, Kushina had adopted the village as her true home. She dreamed of becoming Hokage to protect it.
Hearing that the Third Hokage was incapacitated, that Tsunade was acting Hokage, and finding herself placed under even stricter guard detail... someone with her volcanic personality couldn't just sit still.
Looking at her frantic state, Saiki knew exactly what had happened: she had knocked out her Anbu guards and bolted straight here.
It was a good thing the news of Hiruzen's assassination hadn't gone public. If Kushina knew the truth, she might have tried to fight Saiki on the spot.
Faced with her anxiety, Saiki decided to spin a comforting lie. "Sensei Kushina, don't panic. This is what happened..."
Saiki began his fabricated tale. "The night before last, Sister Tsunade and I went out, and we were ambushed by Anbu. After the fight, we discovered those Anbu had been dispatched by the Third Hokage."
Kushina's brow furrowed tightly. She was naive, but not stupid. The Anbu answered only to the Hokage. They couldn't move without his direct command.
Saiki continued, "After we defeated them, we uncovered a massive conspiracy. It seems the Third Hokage and Danzo were plotting against Sister Tsunade."
Kushina's eyes widened in sheer disbelief. Her ultimate goal was to become Hokage, and Hiruzen Sarutobi had always been a figure of immense respect and moral authority in her mind. She couldn't believe he would do something so treacherous.
Watching her reaction, Saiki pushed the lie further. "I know it's hard to believe, but it's the truth. Yesterday morning, when we went to confront him, Lord Third suddenly claimed he was unwell. Knowing he could no longer hide his actions, he faked an illness and refused to see anyone. He handed the village over to Sister Tsunade as a way of apologizing."
Hearing this, the hot-tempered Kushina was consumed by righteous fury. She never imagined the man she looked up to could be so despicable.
Seeing her anger directed at Hiruzen, Saiki felt a pang of guilt for lying to her.
But the core of his story wasn't entirely false. Hiruzen and his cronies weren't the paragons of virtue they pretended to be. If they had truly decided to eliminate Tsunade, they wouldn't have "stepped down" as an apology; they would have just killed her.
As for them coming after Saiki and getting killed? They had brought that upon themselves.
It wasn't just Kushina. Even Shizune—who thought she knew the truth—looked absolutely shocked. She had no idea the "kindly" old Hokage was capable of such darkness.
Because Kushina was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, she was isolated from village politics. Shizune was similarly sheltered, living entirely within Tsunade's orbit. If this lie kept them safely in the dark for the rest of their lives, Saiki considered it a win.
Saiki concluded, "So, Sensei, please don't worry. Sister Tsunade has taken over as Acting Hokage and is sorting out the village's affairs. With her in charge, the village will be fine."
Hearing Saiki's explanation, Kushina felt something was slightly off, but her inherent trust in him led her to accept the story. Her fiery anger cooled, replaced by a heavy, melancholic silence.
At that moment, footsteps sounded on the stairs. Tsunade had finished her breakfast and was walking down.
Seeing Tsunade, Kushina rushed forward. "Lady Tsunade! What happened? Lord Third... he..."
Tsunade looked at Kushina's distressed face. She patted the younger woman's shoulder and spoke with a heavy, somber tone. "Kushina, do not worry. The crisis has been resolved. Right now, the most important thing is stabilizing the village. We need your strength."
Hearing Tsunade validate the story, a chill settled in Kushina's heart. She nodded quietly. "I understand, Lady Tsunade. I will do whatever I can."
Watching the usually vibrant Kushina fall into silence, Tsunade felt a pang of guilt as well. Saiki had lied to her, but the actual truth of the Leaf's darkness was far more horrifying than the sanitized version Saiki had spun. That was why Tsunade had played along with the lie.
Having pacified Kushina, Tsunade shot Saiki a sharp glare. Saiki just offered an innocent smile in return.
Tsunade's focus returned to Kushina. As the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Kushina was a vital military asset, and her support was crucial for Tsunade to solidify her position as Hokage during this chaotic transition.
"Kushina, go home and rest for now. The village is dealing with a lot of internal restructuring. As the Jinchuriki, your primary duty is to keep the Nine-Tails calm. We cannot afford any incidents," Tsunade instructed gently.
Kushina nodded. Although her mind was still swirling with a thousand questions, she knew this wasn't the time to demand answers. She turned and walked toward the door.
Compared to the fiery tornado that had burst into the house, she looked utterly deflated as she left.
Once Kushina was gone, Saiki turned to Tsunade. "Sister Tsunade, do you need my help with anything here? If not, I think I should shadow Sensei Kushina for the next few days. Alternatively, I can just bring her to live here with us."
Tsunade frowned at the suggestion. She knew exactly how important Kushina was, which was why she had doubled the Anbu guard around her yesterday.
But seeing how easily Kushina had bypassed those guards today proved they were useless for actual protection.
The village was a powder keg right now. Tsunade might appear to be in control, but the major clans were swimming in the dark currents, many of them coveting the Hokage seat for themselves.
After a moment of tense silence, Tsunade looked at Saiki, her expression serious. "I have things handled here. Go watch over her."
"Got it," Saiki nodded, turning to follow Kushina out the door.
Shizune, still struggling to process the morning's revelations, watched Saiki leave with a pang of sadness. "He just got back, and now he's leaving again," she thought miserably.