"It's not that," Kiyosuke said, shaking his head.
"Konoha's doing fine. But this time... the ninja world is in real trouble."
He went on to explain, "Because of Uchiha Madara's resurrection and his plan to collect the Tailed Beasts to bring about 'peace,' the Fourth Great Ninja War has officially begun. The Five Great Nations have joined forces to form the Allied Shinobi Forces against him. But since someone used Second Hokage-sama's Edo Tensei, we're in desperate need of sealing masters. Mito-sama and Kushina were the first who came to mind, so... I had no choice but to use this method and disturb your rest."
Uzumaki Mito sighed in mild exasperation.
"I always knew there was something off about that Madara fellow. Hashirama was always following him around everywhere, too. Honestly, sometimes I think if either Madara or Hashirama had been a woman, they'd probably have ended up together."
Kiyosuke nodded in agreement.
"If one of them had been a woman, the ninja world might've already found peace."
"Exactly!" Mito laughed softly, then caught herself and cleared her throat.
"Ahem, well, consider that my little complaint. Young shinobi of Konoha, I'm willing to lend you my strength. But... Kushina, to think you passed away so young..."
She still remembered the day she transferred the Nine-Tails into Kushina's body — back then, the girl had been just a child. Now she was grown, while Mito's time had stopped.
Kushina smiled and shook her head.
"It's all right, Mito-sama. I died protecting my child."
She'd given her life for Naruto — and she would never regret it.
"Kiyosuke, how's Naruto doing now?"
If this war had started because Madara was trying to collect the Tailed Beasts, then wasn't Naruto in danger?
Kiyosuke smiled reassuringly.
"Don't worry. Naruto's perfectly safe. I've got an entire squad of elite shinobi guarding him. He's also learning how to control the Nine-Tails' chakra. By now, he's probably mastered it."
Inside Naruto's body were the chakras left behind by Minato and Kushina, ready to help him in moments of crisis. Especially Kushina's chakra — it could suppress the Nine-Tails, allowing Naruto to seize control of its power.
"Oh, right, Kushina — want to meet Naruto's fiancée?"
"Huh? His fiancée?!" Kushina's eyes widened.
"N-Naruto's already old enough to get married?! Whose daughter is she?!"
"The Hyūga clan's eldest daughter!" Kiyosuke said proudly, grinning.
"I arranged Naruto and Hinata's engagement not too long ago. They're betrothed now!"
"I want to see her! I have to see her!" Kushina exclaimed, practically bouncing with excitement.
Mito sighed helplessly.
"Kushina, I understand how you feel, but... something seems off about this camp right now."
"You've noticed too, Mito-sama?" Kiyosuke asked with a knowing smile.
One of the main reasons he'd resurrected Uzumaki Mito through Edo Tensei was her ability to sense malice.
As the very first jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails, she'd gained that power through its influence. Naruto had the same ability too — but only when in his Nine-Tails Mode. Mito's perception, on the other hand, was always active, heightened beyond any ordinary sensor due to the Nine-Tails' chakra that had once been hers.
Mito nodded.
"I wasn't sitting idly. The Nine-Tails might no longer be within me, but that ability seems to have remained. My condition now... it's almost like I'm in my prime again."
She turned toward one of the Kirigakure shinobi in the tent.
"He intends to kill you."
Kiyosuke and Kakashi immediately turned their gazes toward the man, startling him. Without hesitation, Kiyosuke strode forward, grabbed the man by the throat, and twisted sharply — killing him in an instant.
The body shimmered and changed, revealing white skin and a grotesque grin.
A White Zetsu.
"As expected... terrifying," Kiyosuke muttered, frowning.
"Even Kakashi and I couldn't tell he was an impostor. Imagine falling asleep next to someone like that — only to get your throat slit in the middle of the night. Gives me chills."
"Mito-sama, I'll leave this camp in your care."
"Understood," Mito replied calmly.
"By the way, who's Hokage now?"
"Your granddaughter, Tsunade, is the Fifth Hokage of Konoha," Kiyosuke said with a smile.
Mito fell silent for a moment.
"Konoha... it's truly all right?"
"Of course. Tsunade-sama takes her duties seriously — though she does sneak off for a drink now and then, or to the bathhouse... and sometimes she beats up Jiraiya for fun."
"Hah... that girl," Mito murmured, shaking her head with a soft laugh.
"In that case... let's get to work for the night."
"Right."
"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"
In an instant, Mito split into dozens of clones, each dispersing into different tents throughout the camp.
Before anyone could react, she entered tent after tent, slaughtering the Zetsu impostors disguised as shinobi and dragging their corpses out without giving anyone time to process what was happening.
When the soldiers finally realized what had occurred, they broke out in a cold sweat — their comrades had been replaced by White Zetsu without anyone noticing.
If this had happened while they were sleeping... they'd all be dead.
Watching Mito efficiently clean out the entire camp, Kakashi couldn't help but exclaim,
"That's a brilliant idea, Kiyosuke!"
"Naturally. Who do you think I am?" Kiyosuke said smugly.
"Do me a favor — go fetch Hinata."
Normally, someone of Hinata's rank wouldn't be assigned to his unit, but with Kiyosuke's influence, everyone from his squad was nearby, so finding her was easy.
"Kiyosuke-sensei, you called for me?"
Hinata entered the tent, glancing curiously at the red-haired woman beside Kiyosuke.
Why... did that woman's gaze feel so motherly?
Kiyosuke cleared his throat.
"Hinata, this is Naruto's mother."
"N-Naruto's mother?! Then that means—"
Hinata froze in panic, flustered and fidgeting, which made Kushina burst into laughter.
"This girl's so shy!"
Grinning, Kushina grabbed Hinata's hands.
"So tell me — when are you and Naruto getting married? How many kids do you want to have?"
Her barrage of questions came rapid-fire, one after another, until Mito approached them again.
"I sense the Nine-Tails' chakra moving toward us from somewhere nearby," she said.
"There's another Tailed Beast chakra with it... and this last one — it feels like an Uchiha's chakra?"
"Huh?"
It sounded like Naruto, Killer Bee, and Sasuke had all escaped.
Well, "escaped" wasn't the right word — more like Naruto found out about the war and decided to rush to the battlefield together with Killer Bee and Sasuke.
Kiyosuke sighed.
"All right. Where's the communications officer? Contact headquarters — tell them my recommendation is to let Naruto join the fight!"