Chapter 98 Uzumaki Kushina

Chapter 98 - Uzumaki Kushina

Recap of the previous chapter:

Max finds Mikoto, where she was staying. Mikoto asks Max where he had been, as she thought he had left her. Max only approaches Mikoto but does nothing, as he didn't want to beg anyone. Mikoto becomes afraid as she feels Max pulling away. In her desperation, Mikoto throws herself into Max's arms and apologizes, saying she didn't want to lose him. She explains that she just needed time to think and never intended to leave him. After hearing Mikoto's words, Max accepts and they reconcile. Mikoto and Max sleep together for the first time. The next day, Max heads to the meeting place with Kushina and waits for her. When Kushina arrives, her hair is a bit disheveled, and Max asks her what happened. Kushina tells him that some bastards were bothering her, and she had given them what they deserved. Max and Kushina head to where the group that had bothered Kushina was, and discover they were on a mission to bother her. Max and Kushina plan revenge, and Max teaches her a secret to defeat any man. They agree to meet at the same place every day. Max goes home and stays with Mikoto. Several days pass.

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Continuation...

[November 9th, 14 A.N.N.]

Time passed swiftly, and unconsciously, a week had gone by.

Today, the Uchiha Clan was going to move territories, and since it's a significant day, all Uchiha were summoned to be present.

Uchiha who were on a mission or outside the village, all were called, as the Hokage had given his permission, not wanting to be seen as the villain.

At this moment, I was in the living room, sitting on the couch, meditating with my eyes closed, and I thought, 'At noon... it will be time... for the transfer of the entire Uchiha Clan.'

As I was thinking, I started to remember what I had done during all this time.

During this time, I had stayed at home with Mikoto, and I met with Kushina every day.

Regarding Mikoto, our relationship grew closer, and she shared many secrets of her life, things she liked and disliked.

In the Uchiha Clan, they had noticed Mikoto's change, as she had the glow of a young woman in love, and she always seemed happy. No one said anything because she was the daughter of the clan patriarch, and besides, she had told them to keep the secret.

Makoto found out about our relationship and supported it, but he warned me not to hurt his daughter, or face serious consequences. During that meeting with Makoto, I promised him that Mikoto would be in good hands, and I would always protect her. However, I told Makoto that I wouldn't treat him with respect and would still call him "Old Man"!

Additionally, during this week, I told Makoto that I secretly investigated all the deaths of the Uchiha, as we didn't want to attract attention. After some time, when Makoto managed to gather all the information about the Uchiha deaths, it became clear that all the deaths followed a pattern and it was concluded that they were all murdered.

The work of the assassins was so meticulous and detailed; If we hadn't known about the suspicions and information, it wouldn't have been easy to uncover. The clear example was the Senju Clan, and also the future of the Uchiha Clan from another universe because in this universe, I wasn't going to allow the Uchiha Clan to be massacred.

Makoto knew about this and was calmer since every decision had to be made with a cool head. Because of this behavior, he earned my respect because from the moment we met, he was a direct and cautious person, and he only trusts his family. Now that we are family, he has more confidence in me.

Mikoto didn't take it very well, as her mother's name was on the list. Mikoto's mother had died during a mission where they were ambushed by a large number of enemies, and Konoha had to sacrifice many civilian ninjas. With this, no one would suspect it was planned. Mikoto was the most affected by this news, and I stayed by her side, consoling her.

Makoto also blamed himself for not realizing it, but he had to be strong for his daughter and his Clan because Konoha's true objective was the extermination of their entire family (Clan). He tried to hide it, but I could see the frustration on his face for being weak because with strength, he would have sought revenge. But he knew that if he did that, he would condemn his entire Clan.

Since that date, Makoto trusted me because he could have hope for the future of his Clan and be more at ease. Additionally, and most importantly, Makoto trusted in my strength, and that was his greatest assurance.

As for Kushina, since I met with her every day, she told me everything that happened to her, and I received a lot of information from her.

Kushina had told me that the day after she found out about the mission, a group had cornered her and started bothering her, and she used the destructive technique to defeat the men. In the academy and in the village, Kushina was feared because many children and young people would never be able to have descendants again since their reproductive organs were destroyed.

I also received this news in the Uchiha Clan, and I just smiled at Kushina's behavior because it was quite amusing. I didn't care what happened to strangers; I only cared that she was safe. Since Kushina started using this attack, many men didn't dare to bother her, and she was calmer. Moreover, she seemed happy because she had discovered a definitive technique.

When I talked with Kushina, she told me what she liked to do and the things she hated. During the conversation, I could feel that Kushina was hiding a fear, but she didn't want to tell me the reason, and I didn't insist because I could deduce that it must be the great responsibility of becoming a Jinchuriki.

I used to meet with Kushina to watch the sunsets, as during that time, she could escape from her house, and so far, no one had discovered her. I was very cautious during this time, checking if anyone was following Kushina or anything similar, but I didn't find anything.

During this time, I was planning a method to leave Konoha without attracting attention and being cautious when I left Konoha with Mikoto. In these days, I traveled around Konoha, carefully observing the walls and the entrance gates, where Tobi had told me it was a safe place to leave Konoha without being discovered.

Many Anbu and ninjas came out of that place, so I was very careful to investigate, and it was good that it was a safe place to escape because there weren't many guards. Still, I had to go to other places because I needed a backup plan if something happened.

For this reason, I had visited almost all the gates of Konoha, memorizing the pattern of the guards guarding the gate, and I was very cautious because I didn't want to raise suspicions. I had to leave Konoha before December because it would be very difficult to leave afterward since the war was getting closer every day.

I had the option of using Kamui, and it would be very easy to leave Konoha, but I still wanted to keep my secret. Besides, I couldn't just disappear without a trace because there would be many suspicions in the Uchiha Clan.

I stopped reminiscing as at this moment, I felt soft arms wrap around my neck and hug me.

I was sitting, and from behind the couch, she hugged me and rested her head on my shoulder. "Are you okay?... What are you thinking about?" - Mikoto said with a soft and concerned voice, still holding me. The reason I hadn't noticed her presence was that I didn't consider her a threat. Besides, if Mikoto had wanted to harm me, my senses would have alerted me immediately, and she wouldn't stand a chance. Most importantly, I trusted Mikoto.

At this moment, I opened my eyes, looked at her, and spoke - "Yes, just a little tired."

Mikoto looked at me, and then she hopped and gently sat on my lap while looking at me, wanting to know why I was so pensive. 'Kunoichi are very light and flexible...' I thought, and I hugged her waist with my left hand, while I began to stroke her face with my right hand.

In these days, Mikoto had discovered a characteristic of mine: when I sit down and close my eyes, it's when I'm thinking about something important. "You can trust me," Mikoto said as she rested her head on my chest and hugged me.

'It's better to tell her about my thoughts... after all, she's my wife,' I thought. After all, it wasn't any important information. "I was thinking about a way to leave Konoha... a method that no one would notice..." I spoke calmly.

"Uhmm..." Mikoto remained pensive and said wistfully, "I would like to stay in this house with you and just be together, without going anywhere."

I just smiled at her words, knowing it wasn't possible, and she knew it too. With my right hand, I stroked her cheek and tucked her hair behind her ear. "I would like that too, but we don't have much time," I spoke slowly, feeling truly calm in Konoha because I didn't do much else besides training, being with Mikoto and Kushina.

Mikoto looked a little sad, but she cheered up immediately because we would be together when we were out of Konoha. "So, will you help me plan?" I asked, wanting Mikoto by my side to help me.

"Yes!" - Mikoto exclaimed, nodding eagerly, showing me a big happy smile.

"Alright," I spoke, and I began to plan with Mikoto how our departure from Konoha would be without being noticed. After some time, we were able to devise a very simple and effective plan, one where no one would find out about us, and when we were out of Konoha, no one would come looking for us.

Throughout this time, Mikoto remained seated on my lap while I hugged her, and she leaned against my chest, looking happy as we both planned our escape from Konoha. Mikoto remarked that this felt like a romantic story, where two lovers escape from the village to be together, and I agreed, saying it was almost similar because that's exactly what we were doing.

As we were conversing, the doorbell rang, and we realized we had lost track of time.

Knock, knock, knock.

"It seems they've arrived," I spoke calmly, looking at Mikoto.

"Yes!... Will you wait for me?" Mikoto asked softly, as she hadn't changed her clothes to go out.

"Of course, I'll wait for you," I replied, as Mikoto was dressed in clothes she only wore at home when I was present.

Mikoto nodded, and I let her get up and go change. As I looked at Mikoto's back, I could see her splendid figure, and she noticed my gaze. She turned around, smiled proudly at me, and went upstairs.

After a while, Mikoto came downstairs, dressed in a conservative outfit, and approached me, kissing me. "Thank you for waiting for me... Let's go!" she said, looking very happy.

"Let's go," I replied, stepping back a bit to use the transformation technique.

Mikoto looked away, as she didn't like it when I used this technique, but she knew I had to hide my identity. When we went outside, Yemon was waiting calmly, not looking upset. He hadn't bothered us all this time because he knew about our relationship. The three of us started making our way to where all the Uchiha were going to gather.

After a while, we arrived at the meeting place. During the journey, we remained silent, only observing the empty streets.

When we arrived at the location, it was crowded with people, mostly young ones and children, many of whom were orphans. Makoto was at the front of the group, waiting for everyone from his Clan to arrive, and apparently, the three of us were the last ones.

All the Uchiha stared at us without saying a word. One figure, in particular, caught our attention: Uchiha Fugaku. He glanced briefly at Mikoto and then at me, quickly averting his gaze when he saw me looking back at him. He couldn't do much because he was much older than her, and he was just a young man with not much authority due to his age at this time.

'Fugaku... he likes younger women, as he is seven years older than Mikoto...' I thought, glancing at Fugaku, and then I continued 'I'm sorry, I have no hatred towards you, but I won't give her to you,' I stopped looking at him and turned to Mikoto, and then to Makoto, as he was about to begin speaking.

At this moment, Makoto began to speak, and we approached his side as he started his speech. Makoto's speech was related to the great loss of lives in the previous mission and how the Uchiha Clan had weakened, necessitating a change. That's why he was relocating the lands of his Clan to a more distant place.

The Uchiha only nodded, not questioning their patriarch, as they knew Makoto's character very well. During the speech, I felt the presence of several insects and people spying in secret. I let them be since there was no information that would make them suspicious.

Makoto was aware of their presence, thanks to me informing him during his speech. He continued without stopping, as he wasn't revealing any secrets. After the speech, all the Uchiha began to pack their belongings to change territory, and everything happened very quickly, as they had known about this information from the beginning.

Many Uchiha were creating Shadow Clones to facilitate the work, and Makoto had hired many civilians to help in this task. During this time, I had told Makoto to support the civilians, as they were the majority and could be hired at a low price. Most importantly, there wasn't much employment in Konoha, and the majority were unemployed.

The civilians who were hired were screened to see if they were spies or not. A large part of them was hired to spy, and I immediately discarded them, as they were unnecessary. As the Shinobi World War was about to begin, things had become more expensive, and scarcity was affecting Konoha. Many preferred to hoard their products as a precaution, while others sold them at a higher price. This had caused many people to look for work, as they needed money to buy essentials.

After a long time, the entire Uchiha Clan's move was completed, as everyone from the Clan had helped. The old territory of the Uchiha Clan had been closed off entirely, as a future shopping center was going to be built there. The majority of workers for the shopping center would be the unemployed civilians, who would work in construction and in the future stores.

The owner of the shopping center in the light was the Uchiha Clan, but the real owner was me, as I had invested the money, and the Uchiha Clan was just renting me their lands, and Makoto was only going to administer it until my return.

The new territory of the Uchiha Clan had started to be built before the move, and a large sum of money had been invested, as this place was going to be their main territory. During the move, I had met all the newborns and got to know little Obito, who was only a couple of months old at the time, and I learned about his origin.

Uchiha Obito's mother was Naori Uchiha, the woman who demonstrated Izanami. She died when Obito was born, and the information about Obito's father is unknown, as Naori never said who her son's father was.

When I first saw Obito, I didn't do anything to change his future, as I didn't know what consequences it could bring if I changed anything. Besides, I could detect the seals on Obito's body, but I didn't do anything. After that encounter, I never saw him again.

When the relocation was completed, Makoto summoned everyone to gather, wanting to detect possible traitors within his Clan. Yemon was in charge of reviewing and scanning everyone, with the help of my crystals. In the end, everyone came out clean. After the interrogation, Makoto chose people he trusted more to disclose the information about Konoha, without mentioning anything about me, and they accepted.

Among the chosen ones, I recognized most of them, including the two elders from the orphanage. We gathered in a secure location, where Makoto shared all the information he had. The Uchiha couldn't believe what they heard and many became serious or even furious upon learning about Konoha's betrayal and the death of their friends.

Makoto reassured them, warning them about the danger of acting impulsively and risking their families if Konoha became suspicious. He then explained his plan to keep a low profile for a while, as they didn't have the power to openly confront Konoha, and they all agreed.

If Makoto hadn't been present, they might have made the mistake of seeking revenge against Konoha, which would have been catastrophic. I observed everyone during the conversation and noticed that they all had some relative in the Clan, so they were determined to follow the plan. Family was their priority.

When the meeting ended, the Uchiha left and the four of us remained. This time, Mikoto sat beside me while Makoto and Yemon were together.

"Old man," I began seriously, "You must be cautious, especially with the Nara Clan. They are dangerous due to their intelligence. Also, I will soon be leaving Konoha. This is the plan..."

After explaining the plan, Makoto looked at me and then at his daughter, asking if I was sure. I confirmed that I had already planned it with Mikoto and he agreed to help.

Makoto then addressed his daughter, urging her to take care of herself and to become strong. Afterwards, I asked Makoto to find more trusted people in the Clan and gradually disclose the truth about what was happening.

Finally, I went home with Mikoto to talk to Kushina. I arrived at the meeting place eager to discuss how everything would end and whether Kushina would follow me or not. When she appeared, we greeted each other and I got straight to the point, aware that my time was running out.

"Future wife, I'm going to leave Konoha," I spoke calmly as I looked at her.

When Kushina heard my words, her smile began to fade from her face, and she looked at me, initially thinking I was joking. However, as she realized I was serious, her brows furrowed.

"Why?" she asked in a low voice, but she seemed upset. She continued, "Is it because of me?"

"My time is running out, and I have to leave Konoha," I explained calmly. "It's not because of you. I want you to accompany me when I leave."

Kushina fell silent, her eyes turning red with the weight of her responsibilities, knowing she couldn't leave Konoha.

She stood up, giving me one last look, on the verge of running away. But she halted when she heard my voice.

"Kushina!" I called out. "I'll come back in five days. If you don't show up, I'll understand that's the decision you've made."

Kushina didn't turn around. She muttered softly, "I'm sorry," before running off and disappearing from my sight.

As Kushina vanished, I remained alone, watching the sunset. I pondered, 'Perhaps we're not meant to be together.' Nevertheless, I decided I would return to this place; I found solace here.

When the sunset faded away, I made my way to where Mikoto was. As I arrived, I stayed by her side, knowing that soon we would carry out our plan.

To be continued...