Kushina looked a little tense.
Back at the Academy, people had called her the "Red-Hot Habanero" for a reason. She'd been famous for her temper.
But standing in a room like this, face to face with so many of Konoha's top brass, was a different kind of pressure.
Minato, on the other hand, looked almost relaxed.
Off to the side, Genma Kurama studied the blond kid out of the corner of his eye, then sighed to himself.
Unreal. What a monster of a brat…
On the way here, he'd heard exactly how Minato had been calming Kushina down.
"Just listen to the Third, okay? He's my teacher's teacher. That makes him yours too, in a way. If he says Konoha is your home, then it is."
That young, and he already knew how to grab the most important piece of Konoha's foundation.
The Hokage.
And in terms of raw combat ability… Genma had heard the same thing everyone else had. The kid was a genius.
Thinking about his own clan only made the tightness in his chest worse.
The Kurama clan's bloodlines were getting weaker with every generation. Fewer and fewer people were awakening their Kekkei Genkai at all.
Still… lately he'd been hearing rumors that the village was pushing reforms hard, putting real weight behind ninjutsu research and development.
If he found the right moment to speak to the Hokage about the Kurama clan's situation, maybe… just maybe they'd get help.
Genma's gaze flicked to Hiruzen Sarutobi's broad, straight-backed figure, and he made a quiet vow in his head.
I've got to stand out today.
"Kushina. Doing all right in Konoha?"
Hiruzen didn't jump straight into seals. His voice was warm, steady.
"I've been busy. I couldn't go see you myself, so I asked Koharu to check on you for me."
He smiled a little. "But if training or day-to-day life ever gets hard, don't bottle it up. Konoha is your home. I may be the Hokage, but I'm also your elder. You don't have to hold yourself stiff over etiquette."
Kushina's eyes stung instantly. She nodded hard, biting down on the emotion in her throat.
To her, the Third Hokage felt like the sun. Warm, strong, impossible to look at for too long.
The way he spoke lit something inside her.
Minato blinked once, then once more.
Huh. Standing in front of his teacher's teacher… I'm the "little sun" now.
"Kushina," Hiruzen continued, and the warmth in his tone sharpened into steel, "we called you here because the village is going to retaliate against Kumogakure. It's for you, but it's not only for you."
"Any enemy that lays a hand on this village will get Konoha's fist in return."
His eyes fixed on her. "The Steel Shell Seal. Have you studied it?"
Kushina's heart gave a hard little jolt.
So this is what it feels like… to be protected by a village.
"Yes, Lord Third," she said quickly. "I do. It can seal an enormous amount of Chakra. The main structure is very solid, but there are flaws in the finer details. Chakra leaks out slowly over time."
Orochimaru gave the smallest nod.
A slow leak. So that was it. That was why the Hidden Cloud's Jinchuriki kept losing control.
"Kushina," Hiruzen said, eyes brightening, "can you break the formula down? The village needs to understand the seal's structure."
If she couldn't, he'd been considering reaching out to Mito Uzumaki early.
But the best outcome was obvious. Deliver results first, then seek her out, and prove the village was making a sincere effort to mend what had been neglected.
"No problem, Lord Third!" Kushina answered without hesitation, then her gaze drifted awkwardly.
…Where was she supposed to do that?
Hiruzen pointed to the tactical board in the center of the room.
"Up there."
"Lord Third," Minato said, raising his hand, "I've got some thoughts on it too."
"Then you'll do it together." Hiruzen nodded once.
Kushina and Minato stepped up to the board.
Kushina drew the core framework, fast and confident, sketching the backbone of the Steel Shell Seal.
Minato filled in the rest, annotating each component with what it did, how it flowed, why it was placed where it was.
In Hiruzen's eyes, sealing jutsu were among the hardest things a shinobi could study.
Complex seal structures felt like ancient joinery, interlocking pieces that had to fit perfectly. One wrong connection and the whole thing collapsed. And then you had to make it real with Chakra, turning theory into something that held.
Rare talent, Hiruzen thought as he watched them work.
Kushina's body and bloodline were exactly what they should be. She had that inheritance.
But Minato Namikaze…
He had something else. A special instinct for it.
His foundation wasn't as deep as Kushina's yet, but he had sharpness, creativity, a kind of natural feel that couldn't be taught.
He needs access to more formulas. He needs to be cultivated properly.
Finding talent was part of a Hokage's duty too.
"That's it," Minato said at last, stepping back.
Kushina nodded, and the two of them bowed slightly to the room.
"Very well explained," Hiruzen said, then turned. "Orochimaru. Any issues?"
Orochimaru's smile curled, amused. "Heh. The village is overflowing with talent these days. They've practically set the answer right in front of me. If I can't understand something at this point…"
He let the thought hang, eyes sliding toward Jiraiya.
"…then maybe Jiraiya's drunken nonsense will come true after all."
He meant that night at Hiruzen's home, when Jiraiya had gotten drunk and slurred out that even if Minato was young, it didn't mean he couldn't become the Fourth Hokage someday.
"...Tch." Jiraiya shot Orochimaru a look and muttered under his breath, "You really hold grudges."
Hiruzen ignored the bickering and turned to Genma.
"Genma. Can your genjutsu work on a Jinchuriki?" His voice stayed even. "No pressure. Just tell the truth."
"If I go all-out," Genma said seriously, "holding a tailed beast back for a short time isn't a problem."
Then his expression tightened. "But if the Jinchuriki can draw on the beast's Chakra, it gets ugly. When those two Chakras mix, they're a nightmare for any interference-type genjutsu."
Danzo Shimura's voice scraped out, dry as sand. "What if the Jinchuriki is poisoned, or controlled by a Curse Mark?"
Genma actually laughed.
"Then it's no problem at all. I'll guarantee it."
So that was the kind of war this was.
"We might not have the reputation we used to," Genma added, voice turning firm again, "but the Kurama clan's techniques aren't empty talk."
Hiruzen rose slowly to his feet.
His gaze swept across the table. He raised one hand, then clenched it tight.
The room went silent.
"Konoha's shinobi stand together," Hiruzen said, each word landing heavy. "And when we do, no enemy in front of us is anything but fragile."
"Danzo. You will lead Anbu. Clear the sentries and open a safe withdrawal route."
"Orochimaru. You will assassinate the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki. Bring the body back."
"Jiraiya. You will take Genma in. Infiltrate, rendezvous with Orochimaru, and keep the situation under control."
Hiruzen's voice lowered, turning cold.
"This time, we make them afraid. Quietly, without a sound, we kill their Jinchuriki."
"We'll write blood for blood across their village with the enemy's own lives."
"We'll throw them into chaos. Into madness."
Inside, Hiruzen smiled, sharp and cruel.
Several of Konoha's strongest shinobi against one immature Eight-Tails Jinchuriki…
Blue B should feel proud, if pride meant anything to the dead.
Kumogakure had always been the village that rubbed everyone raw. Their reputation across the shinobi world was terrible.
An Eight-Tails dying inside their own walls was something every other hidden village would be happy to hear about.
And when the Hidden Cloud was left powerless, all they could do was posture, scream accusations at every suspect they could name.
That was exactly the stage Hiruzen wanted.
It was time for the world to remember Konoha.
Time for the world to remember what a hard Hokage looked like.
"Everyone," Hiruzen said, voice like iron. "Prepare to move."
"Yes, Lord Hokage!"
Outside the window, the sun was setting in a blaze, spilling firelight into the room.
For a moment it looked like it clung to their shoulders, like flame.
And it matched the battle hunger burning in their eyes.
.....
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