The rooftop of the school building was huge, and it was a top-tier bento spot for many students.
To give students a comfortable place to eat, the rooftop not only had plenty of long benches, but also rows of small trees.
"What's wrong—did someone bully you?"
After bringing Uzumaki Kushina to sit on a bench, Gojo Yoru continued treating the swelling under her eyes while asking softly.
"No."
Kushina shook her head, staring at her legs, not daring to meet Yoru's eyes.
Yoru lifted his other hand, gently smoothing the hair he'd mussed, and smiled. "You've basically written your worries on your forehead. Do you think I'd believe that?"
At those words, Kushina's nose stung and her tears fell even harder.
This time she looked straight at Yoru, voice choking. "Yoru… if—if one day I become a monster… will you hate me?"
"So that's what tortured you all night?"
Yoru finally couldn't help it. He cupped her small face, wiped her tears with his thumbs, and looked into her eyes as he smiled. "You were afraid I'd hate you and leave you. That's why you were too scared to sleep and kept spiraling in your head, right?"
"…Yeah!"
It was the first time Kushina had ever seen Yoru do something so intimate—so gentle, eyes full of warmth. Her mind went completely blank, and she even forgot to cry for a second.
But she still nodded instinctively.
"Even though I don't know what you mean by 'becoming a monster'…"
The corner of Yoru's mouth lifted into a crooked grin, the kind of disdainful smile he wore so well. "You're not afraid of becoming a monster, but you're afraid I'll hate you and leave you? Then why would I be afraid of you becoming a monster? Tomato-na, you're seriously underestimating me, Gojo Yoru."
Pinching her cute round cheeks with one hand, Yoru leaned in close and said viciously, "So you don't keep overthinking in the future, I'll answer you right now: unless after you become a monster your memories, personality, and soul die completely—unless you're no longer the Uzumaki Kushina I know—then I will never hate you."
He raised a fist and waved it in front of her face. "And if you just become a monster that temporarily loses its mind, I'll do what I always do—beat you until you're conscious again, then heal you."
Then Yoru couldn't help baring his teeth in a grin—one identical to Gojo Satoru's—as he delivered the classic line:
"I'm the strongest!"
Kushina stared at him in a daze.
The 8 a.m. sunlight filtered through the leaves and landed right behind his head, and to Kushina, Yoru looked like he was glowing—driving away the gloom and fear inside her.
"Yoru… w-wahhh…"
Kushina, who hadn't been able to sleep all night, finally lost control. She threw herself into Yoru's arms and burst into loud sobs.
"That's more like it. If you're going to cry, you should cry like this—loud," Yoru said, holding her and gently patting her back.
"Jerk—are you saying I'm not ladylike?"
"Pfft—hey, take it easy, you brute-strength girl! Do you even know how strong you are?"
Kushina punched him in the chest from inside his arms, and Yoru instantly winced, baring his teeth.
"Didn't you say you'd beat me back into shape? If you can't take a hit, what's the point?"
"…Can I take back what I said?"
"Too late. I already memorized it. Even if I turn into a monster, I'll instinctively come looking for you."
"Then I'm doomed. That sounds worse than a nightmare."
"Heh-heh… scared now, huh?"
After some playful scuffling, Kushina—who was cheerful by nature—returned to normal almost immediately.
Just like Yoru said, what had kept her up all night wasn't becoming the Nine-Tails jinchūriki.
It was the fear that once she became a "monster," Yoru would be afraid of her… and leave her.
Aside from Mito, Tsunade, and Nawaki, Kushina only knew one person in Konoha: Gojo Yoru.
And compared to the Uzumaki Mito household, she liked Yoru even more and felt more at ease in Yoru's home.
Since Yoru wasn't afraid… then she wouldn't be afraid either.
Yoru wrapped an arm around her shoulders and asked, "Now can you tell me about this 'monster' thing?"
"Lady Mito told me… there are nine demonic beasts in the shinobi world, as powerful as natural disasters…"
Leaning into Yoru's embrace, Kushina repeated everything Mito had taught her about tailed beasts.
Hidden in the shadows, an Anbu member watching them looked utterly conflicted.
If Kushina could see under that mask, she would realize this was the very ninja who had escorted her from Uzushio to Konoha.
A jinchūriki was Konoha's highest-level secret.
Aside from Uzumaki Mito and Konoha's upper leadership, only this Anbu knew that Kushina was the next Nine-Tails jinchūriki.
Even the future Sannin—still only elite jōnin—didn't know Kushina was the next host.
And now Kushina was telling that top secret to Gojo Yoru.
If it were anyone else, the Anbu would have jumped out, stopped it, and taken Yoru away immediately.
But now he could only watch—he didn't dare act on his own.
"I see."
After listening, Yoru deliberately put on an enlightened expression and sighed, "The world outside the village is unbelievable… so things like tailed beasts really exist."
"Yeah," Kushina nodded, then looked up at Yoru again, still a little uneasy. "Yoru… are you really not scared?"
"Daijōbu (it's fine). I'm the strongest!"
Yoru couldn't help repeating the line, grinning arrogantly. "You can't beat me right now. Even if you turn into a monster, you still won't be my opponent."
"Hmph, bold words. Who was it that almost got their breath knocked out by my punch earlier?"
"Tch… even with a brain you can't catch me. If you turn into a mindless monster, it'll be even worse. I'll walk you like a dog."
"Who are you calling a dog?!"
"Whoever's always baring their teeth, that's who."
"Stinky-mouth Yoru—eat my fist!"
"You can't hit me, Tomato-na."
"Gaaaah! Stop dodging! One punch and I'm sending you straight to the infirmary!"
A boy and a girl chased each other across the rooftop, a hilarious contrast to the serious exam rooms below.
Watching the two of them—mouths sharp, faces full of smiles—Sarutobi Hiruzen, observing through the Crystal Ball Telescope Technique, also wore a satisfied smile. Full of admiration for Mito's methods, he murmured:
"Filling and binding the vessel with love… Lady Mito truly is something. Her eye for people is spot on."
Hiruzen had never dared to interfere in the relationship between Gojo Yoru and Uzumaki Kushina, because above his head sat a living Buddha: Uzumaki Mito.
Konoha had failed to respond in time during the Land of Whirlpools disaster, and he already felt indebted to the old woman.
If the village dared to lay hands on her last clanswoman while Mito still lived, it could trigger a chain reaction—causing the Nine-Tails transfer to fail, or even losing the Nine-Tails entirely.
And Hiruzen trusted the judgment of the First Hokage's wife.
Because Tobirama-sensei had said: his sister-in-law's sensing rivaled his, and she possessed the ability to sense good and evil—able to see darkness in a person at a glance.
If Gojo Yoru had any issues, there was no need for Hiruzen to send tests. Mito could see through him at home.
Over these years, Mito hadn't stopped Kushina from getting close to Yoru. She even allowed Kushina to tell Yoru about being a jinchūriki—meaning Mito had already approved of Yoru's character and believed this boy would not abandon Kushina.
Or perhaps… Mito had told Kushina to reveal it precisely as the final test.
And now, Gojo Yoru had clearly passed.
With that confirmed, Hiruzen made a decision.
He would cultivate this civilian genius.
Not for any lofty reason—simply to stabilize the Nine-Tails jinchūriki. He needed Gojo Yoru's strength to rise to the level where he could contain, or at least survive and escape, a tailed-beast transformation.
He would be the chain that bound the Nine-Tails jinchūriki—
Konoha's "Adamantine Sealing Chains."
~~~
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