Chapter 222

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"Thank you, Yoichi-kun. This must be the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode you mentioned. It feels so different," Kushina said as she gently activated the vast amount of Nine-Tails chakra stored within her. Instantly, her entire body was enveloped in a golden cloak of chakra.

The golden chakra cloak was adorned with nine tomoe, and even square-shaped whisker marks appeared on Kushina's face.

"I feel like I'm several times stronger than before."

Yoichi thought for a moment before saying, "This mode grants many abilities, including sensing malice and overall enhancement. You should try testing your speed. Use the Body Flicker Technique to go there and then come back."

"The Body Flicker Technique? Let me give it a try."

Kushina nodded at Yoichi's suggestion, trusting his experience with the Nine-Tails chakra since he had more of it than she did.

Swish!

Bang!

A golden blur vanished instantly, and before Mina could react, a loud crash echoed through the room.

When she turned her head, she saw that Kushina, clad in her golden chakra cloak, was now standing embedded in the wall.

"So fast!"

Mina was astonished. Kushina's strength had previously been below hers, but now, just with speed alone, she could barely keep up.

However, before Mina could continue praising her, she heard Kushina cry out in pain.

"Ahhh! My foot's broken, and I can't pull it out... Mina, help me!"

Kushina, after attempting to free her foot from the wall, was struck by intense pain and quickly called out to Mina for help.

Meanwhile, Yoichi couldn't help but smile in satisfaction, though he quickly hid it.

Typical Uzumaki foolishness, he thought. There aren't many smart ones among them!

After Mina healed Kushina's foot and brought her back, Kushina didn't dare use the Body Flicker Technique again. She returned with a face full of resentment, glaring at Yoichi.

But Yoichi calmly remarked, "You couldn't even control the Body Flicker Technique. Even if you activate the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, you'd only be able to bully jonin-level opponents at best. If you encounter a stronger ninja, you won't stand a chance."

At her current level, Kushina wasn't even as skilled as Naruto when he first acquired the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.

At least Naruto had been constantly fighting, mastering Shadow Clones and the Rasengan. Kushina, on the other hand, had been resting for nearly two years and hadn't seen much combat outside the village.

Kushina fell silent for a moment, then replied, "...I understand."

"You still want revenge, don't you? Earlier, when you absorbed the negative emotions from the Nine-Tails' chakra, you were almost entirely consumed by them without any resistance—worse than last time."

Yoichi could see through Kushina's thoughts and said, "I'm not trying to dissuade you, but if you recklessly get yourself killed, Mina will likely be the one raising Naruto. Just think carefully about what you want."

This time, the amount of Nine-Tails chakra Yoichi obtained wasn't small. If used for training, it could last several months, and he wouldn't need to feed it to Godzilla anymore.

Repeated use of Tailed Beast chakra seemed only to help Godzilla accumulate power, but it was difficult to make it evolve further.

Yoichi speculated that he would need to feed Godzilla the chakra of other Tailed Beasts. Perhaps after feeding it the chakra of all nine Tailed Beasts, Godzilla would be able to continue evolving.

After the three of them returned to the house, Yoichi picked up Karin and played with her for a bit, hoping that his eldest daughter wouldn't be as foolish as the rest of the Uzumaki clan. But since she carried the Uchiha name, the odds of that were probably low.

After a while, Karin finally started crying loudly due to Yoichi's playful teasing. Panicking, he quickly handed her back to Mina and said, "Mina, I'm going to continue my research on refining pills."

"Honestly, Yoichi-sama, you've made Karin cry again!"

Mina complained as she took her daughter back. Karin was usually well-behaved, but after being teased by Yoichi, she couldn't help but cry.

"Yoichi-kun, please wait a moment. There's something I want to ask you."

Just as Yoichi was about to leave, Kushina called out to him. With a puzzled expression, he turned to her as she asked, "Yoichi-kun... is it possible to resurrect the dead?"

Hearing this, Yoichi narrowed his eyes and then asked, "Did Jiraiya tell you this?"

"...No, it was after I saw Nawaki that Jiraiya-sensei mentioned some things to me. He said Nawaki's resurrection was related to you."

"Kushina, are you thinking of reviving Minato?"

Yoichi continued, "First, that's impossible. You don't even have Minato's body. Second, the cost is too high, and I don't want to do it. Don't dwell on this. Either focus on your training and seek revenge, or raise Naruto well."

With that, Yoichi left the room.

After he left, Mina turned to Kushina and said, "Kushina, you should have discussed this with me beforehand."

"Mina..."

Kushina felt a bit touched and said, "I'm sorry, Mina. I should have talked to you first. Maybe then Yoichi-kun wouldn't have refused."

"No, I would have refused you right away!"

Mina declared, which caused Kushina to freeze and look even more upset.

"That's Yoichi-sama's dōjutsu. But the stronger the person being revived, the greater the cost. Reviving Nawaki alone made it so that Yoichi-sama couldn't use his Sharingan for over a year! So if I had known your intentions, I would have definitely refused, as I'm Yoichi-sama's wife."

Mina stated this matter-of-factly. Though she was Kushina's friend and clanmate, her loyalty ultimately lay with Yoichi, her husband.

"Is the cost really that high? I'm sorry, Mina. I didn't know," Kushina sighed. She felt deeply troubled, seeing her last hope dashed, and was at a loss for what to do next.

Reviving Minato was nearly impossible, and the idea of training to avenge him seemed too far-fetched. Raising Naruto seemed like her only option now, but no matter how much Kushina thought about it, she couldn't help feeling dissatisfied.

Kushina didn't even realize it, but the negative energy from the Nine-Tails chakra had already taken root deep in her heart. Even Naruto, influenced by Asura's chakra, couldn't avoid the darkness, let alone an Uzumaki with a unique chakra.

Without Asura's chakra to counterbalance it, the negative emotions from the Nine-Tails chakra would soon take hold and amplify within Kushina's heart.

The chunin exams were primarily a peaceful exchange, meant to demonstrate Konoha's strength to the smaller nations. However, they were courteous to the participating Suna genin.

By the time the third round of individual matches began, the daimyo of the Land of Fire and several smaller nations had arrived, along with many nobles and merchants eager to watch.

The popularity of ninja games had sparked a widespread desire among civilians to watch real ninja battles rather than just video game characters.

Yoichi had arranged for two commentators, though they wouldn't explain the secret techniques of the ninjas. Instead, they would provide a few seconds' delay before describing the results of what they saw, ensuring that the audience could understand the battles without disrupting the fights.

Though Yoichi was an advisor to the Hokage, he didn't sit with the daimyo. Instead, he found a private box to watch the matches with Mikoto and Mina.

In the box with them were Itachi, Haku, and Kimimaro. After watching the matches for a while, Itachi couldn't resist picking up Sasuke. While holding Sasuke, he noticed Karin nearby and decided to pick her up as well.

"Father, Mother, Aunt Mina, I'll let Karin and Sasuke watch the matches too."

"Alright, thank you, Itachi."

Yoichi said, approving of Itachi's actions. Karin was now over a year old and beginning to form memories. At the age of three, she would be ready to start training, learning basic knowledge, and practicing taijutsu, which usually began at that age.

The matches continued one after another, each more exciting than the last.

But the most impressive genin of the day was Yugito. Even without using the power of the Two-Tails, she was stronger than many chunin.

And this was without the enhancements Yoichi could provide, such as Hashirama's cells or the Sage Seal. If she had those, Yugito's strength would likely rival that of a jonin.

After the third round of individual matches concluded, the chunin exams came to an end.

Yugito emerged as the undisputed champion, earning the rank of chunin.

Out of the sixteen participants in the third round, twelve were promoted to chunin, while the remaining four were deemed not strong enough.

The matches left everyone thoroughly entertained, especially the betting houses. Since Yoichi had instructed Yugito not to reveal her true strength, many people failed to recognize her full potential during the matches, allowing Yoichi to make a substantial profit from the betting. Two minor daimyo left Konoha cursing their luck.

Finally, when it was time to see off the Fire Country's daimyo, Yoichi accompanied them.

"Sakumo-kun, Clan Leader Yoichi, Konoha has become so prosperous in such a short time. I'm truly impressed by your governance," the daimyo remarked.

Hearing this, Sakumo quickly shook his head and said, "Your Excellency, this has nothing to do with me. All the village's administrative reforms have been handled by Yoichi-kun."

He mostly dealt with assigning confidential missions, and if he weren't afraid that Yoichi would get upset and quit, he would have handed over even that responsibility to him.

"I'm only using the Uchiha Trading Company to slowly bring prosperity to Konoha. But, Your Excellency, we'll need the support of the daimyo's office for our upcoming plans regarding the Land of Wind. I believe it won't take more than two or three years to annex Sunagakure."

Yoichi spoke to the Fire Country's daimyo. They were on a road outside Konoha, surrounded only by people from the daimyo's office and Konoha, so they could discuss openly.

The daimyo's eyes lit up. "You've already begun?"

"Pakura has already defected to us. The next step is to greatly support her reputation and influence. She will lead Sunagakure to join us. Once Sunagakure is gone, the Land of Wind will become history."

Yoichi smiled and continued, "But this requires the cooperation of the daimyo's office. We need to block the Land of Wind's access to resources, allowing Pakura to build her authority through these means."

"I understand. I'll have Masanori coordinate with you, Clan Leader Yoichi."

The Fire Country's daimyo smiled. There wasn't a ruler who didn't want to expand their power. His grandfather had recognized the potential of Hashirama and Madara's alliance and proactively sought them out, providing the resources to build Konoha.

This allowed the Land of Fire to rapidly expand from a small nation to one of the Five Great Nations.

But later, the other four nations caught on and quickly supported the establishment of their own ninja villages, consolidating the power of the shinobi.

Back then, the daimyo's grandfather believed Konoha could eliminate the other villages and continue expanding the Land of Fire, but Hashirama didn't share that vision. Even when the Land of Fire offered full support, Hashirama refused.

Neither the Second Hokage nor the Third Hokage pursued such a plan afterward. Although they initiated wars, the outcome was always the same—signing peace treaties, wasting national resources, and gaining only a few years of peace.

Now, the Fire Country's daimyo finally saw hope for expanding the nation's territory.

After bidding farewell, the Fire Country's daimyo and his entourage headed back to the capital.

Sakumo and Yoichi also walked back toward the village. On the way, Sakumo asked, "Yoichi-kun, are you confident about Sunagakure?"

Yoichi nodded. "Absolutely. Sunagakure is too weak. Their country is so impoverished that they can't even support themselves. If all goes well, we should be able to annex Sunagakure in three to four years."

"In that case, Yoichi-kun, why don't you become the Hokage?"

Sakumo sighed after saying this and continued, "Yoichi-kun, hear me out. You've probably noticed by now that while I can handle administrative duties, I'm not suited to be Hokage. I don't know what the village should do next. That's why I refused the Hokage position."

"Sakumo-senpai, don't make excuses. I can assist you from the sidelines."

"..."

Sakumo's face darkened. He had carefully thought out his emotional appeal, only for it to be interrupted. After a few seconds of silence, he continued, "Yoichi-kun, you're just one office away from becoming Hokage. Everyone in the village knows you're the most suitable candidate, so stop refusing."

Yoichi studied Sakumo for a moment and realized he genuinely didn't want to be Hokage. He then said, "I'm almost there. Let me earn one more merit, like capturing members of the Akatsuki. Have we received any intel on them recently?"

"No, the Anbu and the Rain Village's ninjas captured all the remaining Akatsuki members, except for Nagato and Konan. They must be hiding in another country,"

Sakumo replied, his attention shifting as he continued, "They're likely in a small nation with few ninjas. I've already sent the Anbu and hired teams to investigate. If we find anything, you'll be the first to know."

"By the way, Yoichi-kun, Jiraiya has been taking on missions frequently and completing them at a high rate. You might not have noticed, so I'm telling you now."

(End of Chapter)