Making choices is painful.
The choice is not between a good and a bad one, to choose the good, beneficial one.
Rather, it is a difficult choice between a very bad and a particularly bad one, to choose the outcome that is relatively less bad for oneself.
The Senju Clan currently had two choices.
One was to surrender the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki's guardianship to the Village, thereby losing their trump card.
The other was to barely complete the Nine-Tailed sealing, but face the possibility of the Nine-Tailed's rampage if the sealing failed.
Senju Rinmu had witnessed the glory of the Senju Clan, and even if it meant taking risks, he would never give up their trump card and influence.
After the Senju Ninja left their clan grounds, Hiruzen Sarutobi followed them with four ANBU Squads.
Night Light was a bit puzzled, wondering where Danzo had gone; logically, how could Danzo miss such an occasion?
After thinking carefully, he realized he hadn't seen Danzo for some time; Danzo hadn't been in Anbu.
Walking through Konoha Village, Night Light noticed many Jonin standing on distant rooftops.
The Uchiha Clan, the Ino–Shika–Chō three clans, the Inuzuka Clan, the Hyuga Clan, and so on.
These Ninja Clan's Jonin sensed the Senju Clan's abnormality and came out to see the Senju Clan off.
The Senju Clan's procession had a faint, tragic air.
At the Konoha Gate, the guard Ninja opened the gate in the middle of the night, not bothering with permission to leave the Village, and all Senju Ninja passed through the gate.
Far from the Village, the Senju Clan chose a good location.
The Valley of the End.
The statues of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara stood on either side of the waterfall.
The Valley of the End was the pride of the Senju Clan, a symbol of Senju Hashirama ending the chaotic era.
Uzumaki Mito slowly stepped out of the carriage.
Her red hair had long since turned as white as snow.
She looked towards the distant waterfall, gazing up at the tall statue of Senju Hashirama, a hint of nostalgia appearing on her face.
At this moment, she was no longer the Jinchuriki who had sealed the Nine-Tailed for Konoha for decades, no longer the highest-ranking Ninja in the Village, no longer the Senju Clan's old matriarch.
She seemed to return to over sixty years ago, the day she first met Senju Hashirama, also gazing up at him.
In her memory, Senju Hashirama was a young man, full of vigor, leading the young men of the Senju Clan into the Vortex Clan grounds.
The entire Vortex Clan was abuzz with the arrival of the young Senju Clan Leader, as if the Village were celebrating a festival.
The Vortex Clan held the Chunin Exams, and the young Senju Clan Leader led a team to participate.
In that Chunin Exams, Senju Hashirama displayed incredibly powerful strength and an unconventional way of thinking.
He stood in the center of the arena and proudly declared:
"Genin of the Senju Clan and Genin of the Vortex Clan, pair up. You have half an hour to adapt to each other and devise tactics.
Come at me together, I'm in a hurry, eager to deal with Uchiha Madara."
Her father, the Whirlpool Clan Leader, did not think Senju Hashirama was being absurd, and cheerfully requested all Senju Ninja and Vortex Ninja to team up in pairs.
Uzumaki Mito remembered being very angry at the time, teaming up with the female Senju Ninja, Senju Toma, and vowing to strike down Senju Hashirama's arrogant demeanor.
However, she and Toma, two people, couldn't even last five seconds.
They managed to last three or four seconds only because they were both female Ninja.
How could there be such a strong Ninja?
After the Chunin Exams ended, Hashirama became an idol for the young people of the Vortex Clan.
And she, his defeated opponent, became Senju Hashirama's fiancée at the final announcement ceremony of the exam.
She lowered her head at the time, blushing, not daring to look at Senju Hashirama.
Now, looking at Hashirama's statue again, Uzumaki Mito thought to herself that after a lifetime with Hashirama, for some reason, she always felt she hadn't truly entered Hashirama's heart.
Before she dies, she would make one more sacrifice for Hashirama.
She held Kushina's hand and said, "Kushina, I hope you meet a magnificent hero Ninja in the future; he will fill your heart, resolve all your confusion, and soothe all your anxieties."
Vortex Kushina stubbornly said, "Great-aunt, I will become a magnificent hero Ninja myself, I don't need another man."
"Haha, good, Kushina, with Kurama's help, you will surely become a magnificent Ninja in the future."
Uzumaki Mito led Kushina towards the center of the Senju Ninja.
Over 900 Senju Ninja formed three circles, inner and outer, with a circular sealing array laid out on the ground, made of large sealing scrolls.
The Senju Ninja stood in front of the unrolled scrolls, which were densely covered with sealing spell patterns.
The entire combined sealing array had a diameter of over three hundred meters.
In the very center were Senju Rinmu and his wife, both pressing their hands on two large scrolls, which were the Senju Clan's and Vortex Clan's Books of Sealing.
Senju Rinmu's wife also came from the Vortex Clan; she sadly murmured, "Cousin..."
Uzumaki Mito held Senju Rinmu's and her daughter-in-law's hands, saying, "From now on, the Senju Clan and Kushina are entrusted to you."
Senju Rinmu and his wife nodded repeatedly, saying they would definitely take good care of the Senju Clan and Kushina.
Releasing Kushina's hand, Uzumaki Mito and Kushina stood three meters apart.
The old and the young, both formed hand signs simultaneously.
The Nine-Tailed transfer seal began.
Uzumaki Mito and Vortex Kushina were in the very center.
Senju Rinmu and his wife were on both sides.
Outside were three circles of over 900 Senju Ninja.
On the outermost perimeter were the four ANBU Squads commanded by Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The Anbu Ninja stood with their hands behind their backs, awaiting the Hokage's command.
Night Light saw that after Uzumaki Mito slowly formed hand signs, phantom Adamantine Chains appeared around her, like tangled balls of yarn, tightly intertwined.
As the seal loosened, the Adamantine Chains spread outwards. The gaps in the yarn-like Adamantine Chains grew wider and wider. Red Nine-Tailed Chakra leaked out from the gaps.
Until, at a certain moment, the demon fox's pupils appeared within the gaps of the chains.
Night Light felt a chill throughout his body, a pang in his heart; even from such a distance, the demon fox's pupils seemed to be staring at him.
The Nine-Tailed's Chakra was filled with resentment, directly affecting everyone's minds.
Chakra surged around Uzumaki Mito, and ripples appeared on the ground, like stones dropped into water.
That was a large amount of Chakra spreading outwards.
That chilling sensation made everyone's faces stiffen.
Night Light adjusted his mask, letting air in; he felt his face was numb.
Uzumaki Mito's seal grew weaker and weaker, until the Adamantine Chains completely released, spreading out like the tail feathers of a peacock.
The clothes on Uzumaki Mito's back tore, and the Nine-Tailed's Chakra burst forth, condensing in the night sky, forming a massive demon fox head.
The demon fox immediately lowered its head and roared at Uzumaki Mito on the ground:
"Uzumaki Mito! You sealed me for over thirty years! Thirty years!"
Chakra surged forth with the demon fox's words, wave after wave pounding the ground.
Uzumaki Mito's hair bun was blown apart, her white hair fluttering.
In the strong wind, Uzumaki Mito said to Kushina:
"Kushina, it's up to you now.
Restrain the Nine-Tailed, protect Konoha, and carry on the Vortex surname.
In my lifetime, everyone around me has died for Konoha.
No one told me, but I guess Tsunade or Nawaki, have they already died?"