"Strange… the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki should live within a specific barrier. Why can she go out freely? I haven't sensed any trace of a barrier around here all these days."
And who would set a barrier restricting the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki right in a commercial street?
Kaede Tsukasa's first reaction was that something was wrong. Then he realized.
Being restricted to a special barrier was something Kushina experienced during the first few years after becoming the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
But now? Mito Uzumaki was far too formidable; there was absolutely no need to set up any barrier for "protection"!
Kaede Tsukasa thought that the strongest person in Konoha at present was undoubtedly Mito Uzumaki, and no one dared provoke her.
Mastering Shikifuujin, capable of forcibly seizing the Nine-Tails' chakra, able to sense the goodness or evil in a person's heart—and at seventy-six, with limited time left—her ability to maintain tight control over the Nine-Tails relied entirely on the Uzumaki clan's powerful constitution.
A being like this—anyone who provoked her would die, and the best outcome would be mutual destruction.
Thus, Mito Uzumaki could walk freely with her successor without a single observer nearby—any watcher would be immediately detected by her perception.
"You're chaotic, both in mind and in chakra."
Mito Uzumaki looked at Kaede Tsukasa, who was about to casually pass by, and rasped, "Even Shimura Danzo isn't as complicated as you."
Kaede Tsukasa halted. "Is that so? It seems you know Lord Danzo well, but you may be mistaken—I am not his direct subordinate."
"I didn't say that. But your minds are similar in many ways… rather, every person with deep thoughts will have similar aspects in their psyche," Mito Uzumaki said.
Kushina stared at Kaede Tsukasa in astonishment, then looked up at Mito Uzumaki, her face full of disbelief.
Her grandmother, who never spoke to strangers, why suddenly talk about such a strange topic with a young ninja?
Complicated? A complicated mind is understandable, but what does complicated chakra mean?
Kaede Tsukasa, however, understood what Mito Uzumaki meant—and knew exactly why she mentioned Danzo.
Because Danzo must have already had a Sharingan transplanted into him; an organ that did not belong to him. The chakra flowing through that organ clashed with his own body, naturally undetectable only to anyone other than someone of Mito Uzumaki's perception level.
A transplanted organ was nothing, really—Kaede Tsukasa's own body was far more complex than Danzo's by countless magnitudes.
"Is that so? It seems you possess an extraordinary perception. Then… am I fortunate to appear before you intentionally, or is this merely coincidental?"
"No, no—it's purely accidental. Compared to others, you are very special." Mito Uzumaki glanced at Kaede Tsukasa up close for two seconds, then lost interest, taking Kushina into the barbecue shop.
Kushina remained obedient, not saying a word.
Kaede Tsukasa pondered for a moment, suspecting that Mito Uzumaki was referring to his body—a non-native ninja body. Even though his chakra covered it, in front of a perception master like Mito Uzumaki, it was hard to conceal the truth.
But it didn't matter; Kaede Tsukasa didn't care. He was still far from Mito Uzumaki's level.
Without sufficient strength, it was better to keep distance from the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Minato Namikaze may have wanted to get close to Kushina, but Kaede Tsukasa had no interest.
His silhouette gradually faded into the distance.
Inside the barbecue shop, the two were having a conversation.
"Grandma, why did you speak to that person just now?"
"From now on, stay away from that person. He is different from ordinary people—completely different, in both mind and jutsu."
"Then why not report him to the village? Someone like that must be a problem, right? The Hokage wouldn't just stand by—he must know how special your perception is." Kushina couldn't understand Mito Uzumaki's approach.
A problem? Just report him, right? Surely the elders who uphold the Will of Fire would find a way to eliminate the darkness… wouldn't they?
Mito Uzumaki ran her hand over Kushina's hair. After a long moment, she spoke slowly: "Your hair is beautiful. Take good care of it. It's a symbol of both your identity and your strength."
"…? Then can I also have your perception ability? To sense the goodness or evil in people's hearts?"
"That's very difficult, but not impossible. It depends on how you interact with that big fox."
…
Kaede Tsukasa truly had no interest in this kind of interlude; he found it more of a nuisance.
It also made him lose the desire to continue wandering the village, so he turned back to the corpse disposal area.
Over these many days, the three assistants continued methodically handling the corpses, adding new memorial tablets to the cemetery.
Since Kaede Tsukasa had 'swallowed' all the corpses for his own training, no new bodies had been added to the cemetery for a long time. Not to mention disguising them as Konoha ninjas to claim hefty compensation from the Land of Fire.
Only after his training ended did this profitable business resume.
"Lord Kaede Tsukasa, here is the list of new additions over the past week."
An assistant handed him a document. Kaede Tsukasa opened it, skimmed through, and signed his name at the end: "Generated another 3,520,000 ryo for the village. Not bad. Anything else?"
"There is one more thing. Lord Danzo has assigned you an A-Rank mission," the assistant said respectfully.
Kaede Tsukasa didn't even lift his head, tossing the document back casually, showing no surprise—as if he had anticipated it all along.
"Next time something like this happens, you should mention the important matters first, not the other way around," Kaede Tsukasa said.
"You're not surprised?"
"Should I be surprised? One of you three must be from the Root. Such simple matters don't need to be deliberately mentioned, because whether revealed or not, it doesn't affect reality," Kaede Tsukasa said. "Give me the mission scroll."
The assistant handed over a scroll.
Kaede Tsukasa pressed his palm on it, dispelling the sealing jutsu, and unfurled the scroll to read its contents.
"This… really? The frontline is already this difficult, and they want me to do this?"
A look of astonishment flashed across Kaede Tsukasa's eyes.
The mission scroll clearly stated that he was to travel to the Land of Rain and locate Jiraiya, who had been missing for over two years!
This A-Rank mission was far more than simply infiltrating the Land of Rain; the real difficulty was not just in "finding Jiraiya"!
The assistant dropped his formal mask of emotion and stated matter-of-factly: "The frontline situation seems to have become more complicated. Lord Orochimaru's offensive has not made the expected progress. Even with Lady Tsunade leading a support force, there have been no decisive results."