Following the source of the voice, Tatsuma's eyes landed on a woman with dark red hair. One look was enough to understand the true meaning of the word "poise."
She needed no introduction. Tatsuma knew exactly who she was: the wife of the First Hokage and the world's first Jinchuriki of the Tailed Beasts—Uzumaki Mito.
Tsunade, catching the stern look on Mito's face, shrunk back, not daring to talk back. Even Jiraiya lowered his head, suddenly stripped of any desire to voice an opinion.
Seeing that Tsunade had been sufficiently cowed, Mito turned her gaze toward Tatsuma and Minato. Her expression softened instantly, becoming warm and grandmotherly. She walked toward them with slow, measured steps.
"Children," she said softly, "I must ask you to go on a journey on this old woman's behalf."
Tatsuma realized she was referring to the mission, though he still had no idea what it actually entailed. Nonetheless, he nodded respectfully. Minato followed suit with a determined expression.
Mito gave a small nod of approval. "Jiraiya tells me you both have a talent for sensory techniques and that you've picked up the Sealing Arts quite quickly. Once this mission is over, if you find yourselves with free time, you are welcome to visit often. Kushina has been studying sensory and sealing techniques lately as well. If you're interested, you can join her lessons."
Tatsuma felt a surge of genuine excitement. He had already "sheared" some sealing talent from Uzumaki Kushina, but because the pickup had been incomplete, he only knew how to use certain Uzumaki seals without truly understanding the underlying theory. He understood the "what," but not the "why."
Furthermore, the seals he knew were mostly low-level basics with limited power. Tatsuma wasn't satisfied with that. He wanted to master the mechanics of the craft, and studying alongside Kushina would give him the perfect opportunity to farm more of her specialized talent, pushing his proficiency to new heights.
The ceiling for Sealing Arts was incredibly high. While some techniques required the power of the Otsutsuki to manifest, the art remained one of the most attractive paths for Tatsuma.
In fact, the only field he didn't particularly crave was Genjutsu. After all... if Orochimaru and Kurenai—both of whom had a "10" in the Genjutsu stat—could be instantly one-shotted by Itachi (who also had a "10"), it was clear: without a Sharingan, a career in Genjutsu was a dead end.
Jiraiya spoke up then. "Lady Mito, we won't intrude any longer. Once the mission is complete, we will return to give you a full report."
"Very well. Go, and stay safe."
Mito watched the trio—one tall, two small—depart. Tsunade glared at Jiraiya's retreating back, fuming that the bastard had taken the chance to escape while she was too intimidated to speak.
Once they were gone, Mito looked at Tsunade, then at the cards scattered on the ground. Her voice was perfectly calm. "That technique I taught you... have you mastered it yet?"
"Not... not yet..."
Tsunade looked away guiltily. She hadn't put much heart into her studies lately; her mind was restless, and when the mind isn't still, knowledge doesn't sink in.
"I see. I assumed you had mastered it already, given how 'leisurely' you were today, playing cards with children."
Sensing the thick layer of sarcasm in her grandmother's words, Tsunade hid her hands behind her back and leaned forward, staring at the dirt. She rubbed her toe against the ground in a nervous circle. "I'll work harder, really. I just wanted to relax for a bit today."
"I should hope so."
Mito turned and walked back toward the inner house, a trace of helplessness crossing her features. How did her granddaughter end up just as flighty as her long-dead husband? At least Hashirama had understood the weight of the village he carried on his shoulders; he wasn't unreliable all the time. But Tsunade... she was still too young.
"Jiraiya-sensei, what exactly is this mission?"
Now that they were clear of the Senju Estate, Tatsuma could no longer suppress his curiosity.
Jiraiya kept his hands tucked in his sleeves. "Nothing too crazy. Someone accidentally found an old Uzumaki scroll that had a strange Ninja Beast sealed inside. They broke the seal, and now the beast is loose. It isn't particularly strong in a fight, but it's incredibly difficult to re-seal. I went to Lady Mito specifically to learn the proper method to contain it."
Jiraiya pulled his hand out of his sleeve and waved a specialized sealing scroll.
His answer didn't satisfy Tatsuma; if anything, it made him more suspicious. What kind of Ninja Beast required the personal advice of Uzumaki Mito to seal, yet could be handled by one Jonin and two fresh Genin? It was a bizarre contradiction.
Minato had realized the same thing. He hesitated, trying to find a polite way to ask, but Jiraiya noticed their confusion and laughed.
"What makes this beast dangerous isn't its combat prowess. It's its 'kindness'."
"Kindness?"
"That's right. Back in the day, the Uzumaki clan targeted this beast not because it was a monster or a threat, but because it 'helped' humans too much."
Minato looked even more bewildered, but Tatsuma's brow furrowed. He noticed that Jiraiya had put a very strange, heavy emphasis on the word "helped."
Once he'd milked the suspense for all it was worth, Jiraiya continued. "Let me tell you a story. Once, there was a Ninja Beast that looked just like a Tanuki. One day, it was injured and hid in the forest. A passing merchant found it and nursed it back to health. Later, the merchant fell on hard times and lost his business.
"It was then that a stranger approached the merchant, led him into the forest, and gave him a shop. The stranger introduced countless customers to him, and the merchant became wealthy once again. That stranger was actually the Tanuki, transformed into a human. Eventually, the Uzumaki clan found out, captured the Tanuki, and sealed it away."
"Wait, what? Why?"
Minato was utterly baffled. He had guessed halfway through that the stranger was the Tanuki, but he never expected the ending. Shouldn't the story go that the merchant's success made others jealous, they tried to destroy him, and the Tanuki was forced to kill them in defense, leading to its accidental sealing? Why was it punished for being a good friend?
Jiraiya chuckled and looked at Tatsuma. "Tatsuma, what do you think?"
Tatsuma thought for a moment. "A shop in the middle of a forest... how could it attract 'countless customers'? Either those customers were also illusions created by the Tanuki, or they were brought there against their will. I'm betting on the latter. The Tanuki likely felt nothing but gratitude for the merchant, but it didn't have a concept of human morality. It was sealed not for helping, but because... to help that one man, it hurt everyone else."
Jiraiya nodded appreciatively. "Exactly. To help the merchant, the Tanuki mind-controlled people from the surrounding areas and lured them into the deep woods. But it never bothered to help them find their way back out. Many of those 'customers' ended up starving to death or being eaten by wild animals."
Minato, who had been ready to defend the poor Tanuki, stood there with his mouth agape. Tatsuma patted his shoulder.
"Human concepts of right and wrong don't apply to other species, Minato. Different species communicate in ways that are often polar opposites—like how a cat and a dog feel very different things when they wag their tails."
"Precisely," Jiraiya added. "Recklessly empathizing with another species only leads to unnecessary harm, for you and for them. As humans, our mission is to stop this Tanuki before its 'kindness' kills anyone else."