Chapter 80

"Moreover, soon I'll have to go to the front lines myself," continued Hīruzen, drawing a deep breath. "Having an extra kunoichi of the ES class in the village won't hurt us. Just in case the enemy manages to break through our defense and we don't have time to patch the hole."

"Without the help of the Senju on the front lines, we don't have a significant advantage over Stone and Sand, so it's not surprising that everything led to this," Shimura shook his head.

"True, their dominance over the academy is already bearing fruit — the mortality rate among graduates has decreased threefold, and some of the best become excellent chunin within a year. If this continues, in three years, we'll have substantial reinforcements unlike our opponents."

"We still need to live to that point, not letting disappointment crush the hopeful genin, as your people do and as Iwa tries to do. Besides, I'm worried about Ame — recently, a whole squad disappeared right on the border with them, as if Hanzo didn't stir up trouble," Hīruzen added.

"It's reliably known that all Suna and Iwa shinobi who set foot on their land were annihilated. For now, only small squads, but soon the patience of the Kazekage and Tsuchikage will run out, and significant forces will come from their side, which Hanzo won't be able to contain. We'll have to respond, and again, the Land of Rain will become the battlefield with all the ensuing consequences — Salamander is too big a threat to simply ignore, as practice has shown," Shimura explained.

"We'll cross that river when the time comes, no sooner," Sarutobi replied. "For now, you know what to do."

"As you command, Hokage-sama," Shimura bowed formally and left the office of his longtime friend and rival.

***

The day of the ritual had come. The day when the question of how much longer she had to live would be decided, and whether little Kushina would become an orphan in Konoha.

Uzumaki Mito took a deep breath and suppressed the internal tremor, which manifested only thanks to decades of experience as an active kunoichi. Uzumaki were never experts in medicine, as their kekkei genkai coped better than any iryō-nin, and if assistance was needed, it was for a mortal wound that only the best could heal, of which there were none among the clan for obvious reasons. Therefore, jinchuriki had to rely only on the assumptions of a smart child, common sense, and a small hope that everything would go as planned.

No one had yet investigated the peculiarities of the Uzumaki in this way due to the uniqueness of the situation, and few knew about the fact of the chakra-based kekkei genkai in the clan, paying more attention to their mastery in fuinjutsu, so the chance was relatively decent — about thirty percent. And even if expectations were not completely met, she would have at least a couple of years ahead of her, instead of a pathetic couple of months. Although living out the long life allotted to every Uzumaki would be nice.

Mito sighed again, adjusted her simple white kimono, worn specifically for this day, and knocked on the door of her young ward.

"Kushina-chan, it's time."

Soft footsteps were heard, and the door opened slightly, allowing a tired girl to be seen, dressed almost the same, except for the bunch of red hair gathered at the nape instead of the two gray tufts that were on the head of the older woman.

"Didn't sleep well?" the elder asked sympathetically as the little girl leaned against her legs, hugging her.

"Not at all," she mumbled.

"Don't worry, it won't hurt," Mito tried to reassure Kushina as she began to tremble slightly.

"And you?"

"Well... maybe a little," the woman grimaced at the thought of the chakra canals scorched by the Kyubi's power.

"Are you sure everything will be okay with you?" lifting her head, the girl stared at the elderly kunoichi with huge blue eyes full of uncertainty and fear.

"Of course! Ryo-chan and I took care of it!" Sitting down, Mito hugged her and patted her head. "But let's not waste any time."

Taking the somewhat calmed Kushina by the hand, the woman descended into the basement, making sure beforehand that the full protection of the house was activated and the inconspicuous door downstairs was securely closed, cutting off the outside world with a powerful barrier through which no one could quickly penetrate, even if they overcame the outer perimeter — Mito left nothing to chance.

For a moment, she remembered Ryo's question about spatial techniques. Perhaps there was something alarming in the tone of the question, but the next day, she updated the seals, adding several more layers of barriers to the already existing ones solely to prevent spatial displacement by any techniques. It was better to be safe than sorry.

"Kushina-chan, lie down in the small circle," Mito ordered in a stern voice and then reassured the trembling girl. "And don't be afraid — everything will be fine."

"O-okay."

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