MSIN: Chapter 17

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The Hokage, with four ANBU, swiftly apprehended the main culprit, Kushina, and her accomplice, Shiraishi Haori.

They were facing serious charges, including destruction of Konoha's green environment, ecological balance, and water cycle. The most serious charge was damaging Konoha's protective barrier.

Kushina was a dangerous species that threatened the entire biodiversity of Konoha. She wasn't new to this kind of thing. But changing the landscape on this scale was a first.

If these two charges were upheld, even though they wouldn't be convicted of crimes like treason, they faced a prison sentence of three months.

The Third Hokage was now playing the role of Konoha's Supreme Judge.

In the Konoha court, no ninja had the right to remain silent, but anything they said could be used as evidence in court.

In the Hokage's office, Kushina and Haori were sitting on small stools, one each, quietly under the Hokage's desk, facing the Third Hokage's stern gaze.

Kushina could tell the difference between right and wrong. During wartime, damaging Konoha's barrier was a very serious matter. This was probably the biggest trouble she had caused in a year. So, even the Red Hot Habanero had to accept the Hokage's teachings.

If enemy ninjas had invaded Konoha through the damaged barrier, the damage and consequences would have been unimaginable. So, this was a big blunder.

Of course, she didn't know yet that her record for troublemaking, both in frequency and severity, would be broken in a few days.

Right now, she was just thinking that she had to give the Hokage enough face when necessary, or it wouldn't be fun if the old man couldn't save face.

Only when the Hokage had vented his anger would he be able to take it easy and pardon Kushina and Haori. After all, ultimately, it was just a careless mistake. Strictly speaking, they were contributors to the development of the Inner Four-Symbols Sealing Technique.

Well, no matter what others said, both the teacher and student thought they were contributors, and they had made no mistakes of principle, even if they had accidentally caused a little trouble.

Besides digging a big hole in the ground, the little trouble they caused was: the complete collapse of the 500-meter range of the Konoha barrier, and damage of varying degrees in the 1000 to 2000-meter range.

Well, that was the consequence of the first test of the Inner Four-Symbols Sealing Technique.

At this time, five seal teams were repairing the Konoha barrier with the seriousness of soldiers engaged in a rescue operation.

Sitting in front, the Third Hokage, after smoking eight packs of cigarettes, finally calmed down.

"Alright, Kushina, what did you do this time? How was the landscape changed? How was the barrier destroyed?"

"The reconnaissance team didn't find any signs of combat there, but they detected a large amount of chakra residue, and it all belonged to you. If it wasn't…"

The Hokage was about to say that he didn't sense any Nine-Tails chakra, and he was going to think that the Nine-Tails had gone berserk. But considering that Shiraishi Haori, a student who knew nothing about this, was present, Hokage-sama swallowed his words.

The Hokage also had to watch his mouth and not easily reveal important information.

It couldn't be helped. The secrecy level of the Nine-Tails was that high. It was like a nuclear missile silo, the location definitely could not be exposed.

"Third Hokage, although I usually make trouble and cause some bad consequences, this time really wasn't intentional. I was doing a seal technique experiment there," Kushina said in a slightly aggrieved tone.

The Third Hokage was silent on the surface, but his heart was roaring!

Do you really think I'm not going to criticize you? You actually know that you're making trouble? And you know that you've caused some bad consequences. But can you really sum up those consequences with the word "bad?!"

Kushina secretly glanced at the Hokage. Seeing that he was still silent, she thought that he wanted her to continue. So, she said, "We tested the S-rank sealing technique, the Inner Four-Symbols Sealing Technique, which we just finished developing. So, we deliberately chose an uninhabited place to test it, but considering that I can't leave Konoha, we conducted the test right on the edge of the barrier..."

"But you didn't expect it to damage the barrier…"

The Third Hokage interrupted Kushina. As Hokage, he was also very concerned about the development of S-rank forbidden jutsu. After hearing that Kushina was only testing the forbidden jutsu and not intentionally damaging the barrier, the Hokage's mood improved somewhat.

He was also very interested in the results of the test.

"Did you fail?"

The Hokage naturally hoped that Kushina would succeed. However, considering that the damage at the site resembled what might have happened if the seal technique had gone out of control, and despite the fact that the Inner Four-Symbols Sealing Technique was based on the Four-Symbols Sealing Technique, it had completely different effects and uses compared to the former. The development of S-rank forbidden jutsu wasn't so simple. So he thought Kushina might have failed.

"Ah? Fail? No, our experiment was a success. It completely met the design requirements of the seal, and it even had a longer range. The only drawback is that this technique consumes a large amount of chakra. Ordinary ninjas might not be able to handle it." Kushina seemed a little annoyed by the Hokage's questioning, but considering her current status as a criminal, she had no chance to explode. She could only explain with a sigh.

"Well, it did fail after all. That's fine, just keep trying. To be honest, I'm very satisfied with your current progress. If you keep at it, you can…," At this point, the Hokage realized that Kushina had said it was successful.

"What? You said it was successful? Did I hear you wrong?"

"No, we did succeed."

"This technique was designed by you alone. Your efficiency is even higher than that of several seal technique development teams. How is that possible?" The Hokage was puzzled.

"Who said it was just me? My student and I completed this technique together. I was responsible for the design, and he was responsible for the calculations. If you look at his computing ability, he's much more efficient than any ninja team." Kushina said. Someone with her personality wouldn't hide her student's contribution to this matter.

At this moment, the Third Hokage's gaze finally shifted to Haori.

This meant that Haori's strategy of being invisible had failed. After being "invited" here, he had been trying to blend into the background. But Kushina had betrayed him so quickly.

Haori's original plan was not to interact with Konoha's upper management. The reason was simple. It wasn't because he was hiding a secret, or because he disliked Konoha's upper management. He just wanted to live a happy life as a humble Genin, quietly and freely.

Of course, he'd already realized that this wish was a luxury once he became Kushina's student.

He just didn't expect it to be revealed so quickly.

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