Chapter 79

- "What about the seal?"

- "I've modified it slightly and already applied it," nodded Mito, exposing her stomach with that experimental seal.

Since she was wearing a long skirt and a simple white shirt, it was quite easy to do.

- "Now we just need to fill it with chakra, and all the necessary preparations will be completed."

- "I suppose my full supply will be enough to start the process," I muttered.

- "Most likely, half of it will suffice, but it's better to be safe," agreed Mito.

- "What are you talking about?" Kushina suddenly reminded us of her presence.

- "Hmm, Ryo proposed a method that might allow me to live longer after the extraction of the Nine-Tails than I had previously thought," the elder explained to her.

- "And how much longer?!" the huge blue eyes stared at me hopefully.

- "Uh, at least the seal should ensure a couple of years, that's in the worst case scenario," I shrugged, "in the best case scenario, ba-chan will become relatively young again, around thirty-five, as it should be for an Uzumaki of her strength."

- "Wow!" the amazed little one could only squeeze out.

- "By the way, just in case I forgot," taking out a packet of pills from my pocket, I tossed it to the elder Uzumaki.

- "What's this?" she looked at it in surprise.

- "Extract of my blood, treated with medical chakra and some additives from Akamichi food pills. You should take at least three before and as many after the entire process — it will help your body recover much easier if my assumptions are correct."

- "Hmm, I hadn't thought of that, then all that's left is to fill the seal."

- "I'm ready, so I don't see a problem," I shrugged.

Unlike the original seal, which took about twenty minutes, this one will take no less than three to four hours, especially considering the huge amount of chakra I have compared to kids my age. I would say, at the level of an experienced chunin or even a special jonin. So ahead are plenty of boring hours that I'll spend quite boringly.

* * *

- "Hokage-sama?"

Taking his eyes off the documents, Hiruzen Sarutobi gestured for his visitor to sit down.

- "This morning, Uzumaki Mito came to me and informed that the process of transferring the bijuu to a new vessel will take place tomorrow," the village head reported, after he had lit his favorite pipe and took a few puffs. "So, your four best men will stand guard with two ANBU squads, starting from this evening and ending tomorrow evening."

- "But what about..."

- "I've already made an arrangement with Uzumaki," the head of the "Root" interrupted the Hokage.

- "So, soon we'll get rid of one of the main obstacles for our plans?" Shimura rejoiced. "She has too much influence in the village council, especially with the Senju's support."

Receiving a meaningful silence in response, Danzo frowned.

- "Hiruzen, what's going on?"

- "Mito-sama didn't seem at all ready to leave this world," the Hokage replied, "and even when I asked her who she bequeathed her belongings to, she answered quite unequivocally."

- "Unequivocally?"

- "I won't have to worry about that anytime soon," were her exact words.

- "But how? She's already over a hundred years old, and after the extraction of the Nine-Tails, the vessel shouldn't last long, even if it possesses unique chakra!" Shimura gritted through his teeth, already practically feeling the priceless fuinjutsu library in his hands.

- "Don't forget that she's a pure-blooded Uzumaki from the ruling family, and they are known for their resilience and longevity," Sarutobi blew smoke rings.

"Besides, while jinchuriki surviving after the extraction of the bijuu are still unknown, and Kurama has never been sealed before, we need to consider all possibilities."

- "Prepare for her destruction? In her weakened state, she won't be able to resist my best shinobi," Danzo suggested.

- "It's not worth it, there's no guarantee of success," Hiruzen waved off, "she was called the strongest kunoichi of Konoha for a reason, capable of giving a hard time to both the Hokage and his brother. I don't think her strength has diminished enough to not resist attackers in her own home."

- "We can ambush her outside the house."

- "And start a high-level shinobi battle right in the middle of the village?!" the Hokage exclaimed. "It seems like your last escapade didn't pass unnoticed!"

He hinted at the massacre arranged by the "Root" fighters against the remnants of Kirigakure and Kumogakure forces, in which the head of the ANBU's shadow division received several unpleasant wounds to his right side. Despite the obvious numerical superiority, enemy shinobi simply didn't have time to organize a worthy resistance to the unexpected attack.

Together with the large number of casualties from Uzumaki's trap, it was enough for a victory. Only a few hundred managed to escape, while almost ten thousand remaining fighters fell, taking only one opponent for every ten of them. Given the two thousand under Danzo's command — an excellent exchange and a full guarantee of non-interference in the ongoing war from the two remaining great villages.