"Get out of here immediately! Don't approach the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki again—or we won't be polite!"
Two black-clad figures suddenly dropped in front of Jaxon as he walked through Konoha Village, flanked by two Whirlpool Clan retainers. They were just approaching a detached house when the masked individuals intercepted them without warning.
The black combat uniforms and animal masks made their identities unmistakable: Anbu—Konoha's elite covert operatives.
Their voices were sharp and hostile, brimming with authority.
"Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki?" Jaxon raised an eyebrow, pretending to be confused. "What's that?"
"It's Uzumaki Kushina," the fox-masked Anbu growled, pulling a kunai from his belt and entering a battle stance. "Leave immediately."
Jaxon narrowed his eyes, but before he could speak again, Xuanwo Yunnai stepped forward.
"That's my older sister!" she snapped, her chakra flaring wildly. "I came to find my own sister—what right do you have to stop us? And in your mouths, she doesn't even have a name? Is she just the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki to you?"
Her words were like a blade, cutting straight through their authority. The Anbu didn't back down.
"Enough talk. Come closer, and we will strike," growled the dog-masked operative.
The air tensed even further as four more masked figures appeared behind them—this time wearing gray uniforms, indicating they were from Root.
The difference in uniform didn't matter much—both groups served under Konoha's shadow. But Root agents carried an even colder presence, emotionless and mechanical.
Jaxon sighed loudly, rubbing his temples.
"Why is there always trouble wherever I go?" he muttered under his breath.
He had expected some resistance when approaching Kushina—after all, she was the Nine-Tails' host—but he hadn't imagined this level of hostility.
He clasped his hands behind his head and tilted his gaze toward the sky, speaking in an exaggerated, sarcastic voice:
"How tragic. The old Whirlpool elders thought sending her to Konoha would keep her safe. Well, they were half right—she's alive. But safe? She's just a bird in a cage now. How pathetic."
He wasn't really talking to the Anbu or Root members. His message was aimed at Kushina, whose chakra signature he had already sensed nearby.
As a pure-blooded member of the Uzumaki Clan, trained under Uzumaki Mito, Kushina had incredible perception. She could clearly hear his words.
And Jaxon knew this.
His words were seeds, carefully sown.
Sure enough, one of the Root operatives suddenly growled, "Shut your mouth!"
Another didn't hesitate. With a flick of the wrist, a kunai flew toward Jaxon—aimed to kill.
Clang!
A loud metallic sound rang out as Whirlpool True, one of Jaxon's retainers, intercepted the blade mid-air with his own kunai.
The tension escalated instantly. Anbu and Root members moved to battle stances, their killing intent rising like a wave.
But Jaxon didn't flinch. In fact, he smiled.
He felt a warmth spreading through his body—starting from his core and flowing through his limbs.
That feeling…
Kushina had heard him.
And she was wavering.
The corners of his mouth curled up.
> "The future protagonist's mother is really an amazing tool for triggering mission progression. ✧٩(ˊωˋ)و✧"*
Satisfied, Jaxon casually waved his hand. "Let's go," he said nonchalantly, turning around.
No need to fight. His objective was complete.
But just as he and his group began to leave, a voice rang out.
"Wait!"
Everyone froze.
A tall, red-haired girl appeared in a flash, standing squarely in front of the Anbu and Root squads. Her hair flowed behind her like a flame, and although her body still showed signs of youth, her eyes burned with righteous fury.
Uzumaki Kushina had arrived.
Her eyes were red and puffy—she had clearly been crying—but her voice was firm.
"My sister came to find me," she shouted. "Why are you blocking her?"
The air around her suddenly turned oppressive. A faint red chakra mist began to swirl around her body—dense, volatile, and hot.
The unmistakable aura of the Nine-Tails.
Her Chakra, laced with the beast's power, crackled in the air like lightning. The pressure was enough to make several of the Root agents unconsciously take a step back.
Even the Anbu tensed.
The stories were true.
Unless one had the power of the First Hokage or Uchiha Madara, few could face the Nine-Tails without trembling.
And here it was—manifesting from a teenage girl whose fury was fully justified.
"If you dare stop me again," she hissed through gritted teeth, "I'll kill you."
Her voice was unnaturally deep—almost guttural. It echoed with a distorted reverberation, as if something dark was whispering beneath her skin.
The Nine-Tails was awakening.
The entire street seemed to hold its breath.
Chunin and Jonin from the village began to arrive one after another, sensing the danger from blocks away. Though the war still raged at the borders, an internal crisis like this could not be ignored.
"Kushina—stop!"
The first to arrive was Minato Namikaze, dashing onto the scene with a flash of speed that startled even the seasoned Anbu.
Though he hadn't yet mastered the Flying Thunder God technique, Minato's agility and reaction time were already exceptional.
At only 14, he was already a Special Jonin—a rising star and student of Jiraiya himself.
More importantly, he was the commander of an Anbu squad.
The Anbu and Root operatives all turned toward him, recognizing his authority.
Minato locked eyes with Kushina, his tone urgent.
"Kushina, control your chakra! Don't let the Nine-Tails take over!"
Kushina looked at him, stunned.
Her face crumpled slightly, eyes trembling. "You… You think I'm going to lose control?"
"I—" Minato faltered.
Because the answer was yes.
That's what he, and nearly everyone else in Konoha, had been trained to believe. That Kushina—despite her talent, her lineage, her strength—was ultimately a walking disaster waiting to happen.
She was the Jinchuriki. And Jinchuriki were dangerous.
Kushina's expression twisted, a mixture of grief and rage. "Even you…?"
Tears began to gather again, but she held them back, barely.
"I thought you were different…"
Minato's heart twisted. "No! I didn't mean that! Kushina, listen—!"
But she didn't want to hear it.
Because her eyes, enhanced by her clan's unique sensory prowess and the Nine-Tails' own perception of emotion, could detect what words tried to hide.
She saw the flinch.
The micro-expression of fear.
And it hurt more than a kunai ever could.
---
Jaxon, standing a little distance away, observed the entire exchange.
His arms were folded, a slight smirk on his face.
> "Sometimes, you don't need a fight to win."
In just one morning, he'd triggered a change in Kushina's mindset, revealed the dark underbelly of Konoha's surveillance, and sowed doubt into the one person she had trusted most.
And all it took was a few words.
Words with power.
Words that would ripple outward—and Jaxon knew that ripple would eventually become a wave.
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