The withered hand contained tremendous strength, gripping Ryun's shoulders so tightly that it caused some pain.
"Grandma Mito, the Nine-Tails' power is starting to leak out..." Ryun stared at her and spoke calmly.
As his words fell, a trace of clarity flashed through Mito Uzumaki's beast-like pupils. Chakra immediately surged from her forehead, instantly suppressing the Nine-Tails' chakra back into the seal.
"You damn old hag, serves you right to have no descendants left..."
Inside the seal, the Nine-Tails bared its teeth and growled.
The next moment, multiple Myōjinmon gates weighing thousands of tons crashed down from above the seal. The Nine-Tailed Fox only had time to let out a miserable scream before its entire body was pressed firmly to the ground.
"Tell me, who is the murderer behind Nawaki's death... who is it really!"
Inside the room, Mito Uzumaki had calmed down, no longer at risk of losing control. However, she seemed to have lost most of her vitality, as if she had aged over a decade in an instant.
"I really don't know, would you believe me..." Ryun forced a bitter smile.
"You just don't want to say it, right?" Mito Uzumaki stared at him sharply.
If she hadn't understood that Ryun had good intentions in actively reminding her, Mito Uzumaki truly would have wanted to have him arrested and tortured for information.
"Then let me ask differently, was it Sarutobi Hiruzen, or the Konoha higher-ups... who secretly did it?"
As soon as Mito Uzumaki asked this question, Ryun's pupils contracted sharply.
In his past life, many Naruto fans had analyzed this possibility, leaning toward conspiracy theories. Ryun had thought there was some merit to it, but not much...
But now that Mito Uzumaki was asking this, it made him somewhat suspicious...
'Does she know something?'
Ryun began to speculate silently.
'Right, the fall of the Land of Whirlpools and the Uzumaki clan's tragedy occurred during Sarutobi Hiruzen's rule... It's impossible for her not to hold resentment...'
As an ally of Konoha and a powerful clan renowned in the ninja world, Uzushiogakure was wiped out just like that. Konoha, as the strongest village in the ninja world, acted like blind and deaf people, not receiving any advance news of such a major event?
Several countries joining forces to destroy another country—how could Konoha not know about such a large-scale operation? It was even possible that Konoha secretly participated...
When the Senju were in charge, treating the Uzumaki as relatives and allies made sense. But now that the Sarutobi were in charge, who still considered them relatives? As for allies? Not stabbing them in the back was already giving them face...
Which country didn't have spies from enemy nations? If the ANBU and Root couldn't even detect such a large-scale military operation in advance, then these people were truly useless...
Would they even fail to react if the Daimyō's palace in the Land of Fire were slaughtered overnight?
The Konoha higher-ups clearly knew but allowed Uzushiogakure to be destroyed. This alone made it impossible for Mito Uzumaki not to resent them.
But this elderly woman still deeply loved Konoha. Her husband, Hashirama Senju, valued the village more than his own life. She didn't want to cause turmoil in Konoha and only hated the higher-ups for betraying their trust.
Now that Nawaki's incident had occurred, it was reasonable for her to suspect the Konoha higher-ups, especially since Ryun had previously mentioned:
'Nawaki is the direct bloodline of the First Hokage. Someone doesn't want him to grow up.'
Based on these points, Mito Uzumaki suspected Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others.
"No!"
After a long silence, Ryun shook his head and gave a firm denial.
In truth, he couldn't completely dismiss that possibility. But to ease the old woman's pain and let her live a little longer, he ultimately shook his head firmly.
Hearing the certainty in Ryun's tone, Mito Uzumaki subconsciously relaxed.
"If it's not the Konoha higher-ups, then is it the Uchiha clan..." Mito Uzumaki asked again.
As the former rivals of the Senju clan, Mito Uzumaki had reason to suspect them.
Hearing this question, Ryun's face once again showed a stunned expression.
'The Uchiha clan in the village... With those scheming Uchiha running around, who would dare plan something like this...'
'Uchiha Madara certainly had the ability, but he probably wouldn't stoop to targeting a child, right...'
'Wait, that's not certain either... After all, Nawaki's death could greatly escalate the war between nations. A war-torn Land of Rain would benefit his plans to train Nagato.'
'Even if it wasn't him, Black Zetsu was also a possibility... That shady bastard would love nothing more than to plunge the world into chaos...'
In truth, Nawaki's death might have just been an accident... But things had become complicated because of his well-intentioned warning.
His mind was in chaos, and he remained silent for a long time.
Mito Uzumaki, however, surprisingly didn't disturb him, because she truly needed an answer.
She no longer believed it was an accident. From the moment Ryun warned her, the idea of an "accident" no longer existed in her mind.
Ryun also knew this, which was why he didn't dare tell her it was an accident...
"It's not the Uchiha in the village, but it doesn't rule out the Uchiha outside..."
Ryun said something Mito Uzumaki hadn't expected.
"What do you mean by that?" Mito Uzumaki pressed urgently.
"Uchiha Madara... isn't dead yet."
Ryun decided to pin the blame on Uchiha Madara. Otherwise, this matter couldn't be explained clearly...
"What! Impossible!!!"
Mito Uzumaki instinctively exclaimed.
She was certain Uchiha Madara had been killed by her husband. She had even seen the corpse with her own eyes. How could Uchiha Madara still be alive?
In all of Konoha, perhaps only Tobirama Senju might have doubted Uchiha Madara's death, since he was the one who secretly hid the body.
Of course, it was also possible that he thought the body had been stolen rather than Madara "reviving" and leaving... After all, when he took the body, he must have confirmed Madara's death.
"There's nothing impossible. Certain ninjutsu, certain forbidden techniques, can reverse life and death."
"Impossible, what kind of technique could do that? You're just a brat who..."
As she spoke, Mito Uzumaki suddenly realized something. Just how many secrets did this child, Ryun, know?
From his confident tone, it sounded as if he had personally witnessed the events of the past...
He said her grandson would likely die in the Land of Rain. She didn't believe him, but what was the result?
"If you don't believe me, have someone dig up Uchiha Madara's grave. I assume you know where he's buried..."
Hearing this, Mito Uzumaki's pupils shrank sharply.
Ryun didn't seem to be spouting nonsense. She was starting to believe that Uchiha Madara had truly reversed life and death.
"Whether Uchiha Madara is alive or dead, I will send someone to investigate..."
After a long silence, Mito Uzumaki spoke solemnly.
"But before that, I want to know how you know so much. You knew I had the Nine-Tails. Do you also know about Kushina's other identity?"
"And... did you deliberately approach Kushina?"