"Ah—"
A neatly sliced piece of apple was carefully brought to Setsuna's mouth by the blonde girl.
Wrapped head to toe in bandages, Setsuna accepted the offering without the slightest bit of shame, thoroughly enjoying Kaoru's attentive care.
"Kid, that's enough."
Tsunade stood nearby with her arms crossed, brows knit tightly as she looked at Setsuna's carefree grin.
When she'd first heard that Setsuna had gone into a Nine-Tails rampage, she'd been completely stunned. In her memory, this brat might have been mischievous and troublesome, but he had always been obedient about staying within the barrier's limits. He'd never crossed the line.
Inside the sealing barrier personally constructed by her grandmother, Uzumaki Mito, the Nine-Tails should have been absolutely incapable of influencing him.
So in the end… was this still because of those people from another world?
Tsunade's thoughts drifted.
To be honest, she really didn't like these so-called "otherworlders."
The first one—Hyūga Hinata—had shown up with a foul temper and an arrogant attitude.
Now two more had arrived, and they'd directly caused Setsuna to lose control.
What did they think Konoha was?
A place they could come and go from as they pleased?
"Tsuu~na~de~ sa~ma~"
Setsuna looked up at her with pitiful, watery eyes.
Ugh—
There he goes again.
Setsuna was a menace to everyone else because he knew no one could really do anything to him. But with Tsunade, he suddenly turned sickeningly sweet—for one simple reason.
She would actually beat him.
Those slaps could knock him straight into an existential crisis.
Nine-Tails or not, Tsunade didn't care. If he deserved it, she'd hit him.
Seeing that face of his, Tsunade felt goosebumps crawl up her arms.
"Tsuu~na~de~ onee—mmph!"
Before he could finish, Tsunade clamped a hand firmly over his mouth.
Setsuna blinked innocently at her with his gray-brown eyes.
"Try being that disgusting again," Tsunade growled,
"and see what happens."
Setsuna nodded furiously.
He'd just survived a combo beatdown from Namikaze Minato and Hatake Sakumo. If he pissed Tsunade off too, he really wouldn't survive.
Only after seeing him behave did Tsunade finally release him. She shot him a sideways glance and said,
"You're fine, mostly. Just extensive burns from the Nine-Tails' chakra."
"With your constitution, you'll be fully recovered in a day or two."
A trace of tenderness flickered through her brown eyes—gone in an instant.
People were biased by nature.
And Tsunade, who carried a quarter of Uzumaki blood herself, had lost her younger brother Nawaki to war not long after Setsuna arrived in Konoha.
Chosen by her grandmother Uzumaki Mito to become the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, this boy was nothing like Nawaki in personality—but without realizing it, Tsunade had placed some of her grief and attachment onto him.
Now that Setsuna had suffered like this because of outsiders, how could she not feel pain?
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The door to the hospital room was gently tapped. A red-haired woman entered, followed by a blond man.
Uzumaki Kushina took in the room—and then saw Setsuna, wrapped in bandages. Guilt immediately surfaced on her face.
"I'm truly sorry. This is all my fault."
Before she could say more, the man beside her bowed deeply toward Setsuna.
"I apologize sincerely," Namikaze Minato said.
"If I hadn't suddenly used Flying Thunder God, you wouldn't have been pulled out of the sealing barrier."
"I'm deeply sorry."
Minato had already learned the full story from Sarutobi Hiruzen.
In this world, Uzumaki Mito hadn't lived as long as she had in his. The Nine-Tails had been transferred early—and the best candidate at the time had been Kushina's counterpart: Uzumaki Setsuna.
Because Setsuna's chakra was identical to Kushina's, Minato had mistakenly locked onto it as well, transferring him together with her and causing this entire disaster.
Intentional or not, a mistake was still a mistake.
"There's no need—it's okay," Setsuna said awkwardly.
"You didn't mean to."
Seeing Minato take it so seriously left him unsure how to respond.
Tsunade narrowed her eyes at the true culprit and spoke evenly:
"Then how do you plan to compensate him?"
"We'll reinforce Setsuna's seal," Minato replied.
"Upgrade the Four Symbols Seal into a full Eight Trigrams Seal."
"And we'll also help him master Adamantine Sealing Chains."
"That way, he won't have to stay confined inside the barrier forever."
—You bastard!!!
Inside Setsuna, the Nine-Tails completely lost it.
"I have no reason to trust you," Tsunade said coldly.
"You're the one who caused the Nine-Tails to rampage in the first place."
"I trust him."
Setsuna suddenly spoke up.
"Kid—"
Tsunade turned sharply toward him, about to scold him—
Then she realized Setsuna wasn't even looking at Minato.
His eyes were fixed on Kushina.
This woman really was his counterpart…
Do counterparts share some kind of instinctive bond?
"I can feel it," Setsuna said calmly.
"Kushina would never hurt me. And she believes in Minato completely."
"If I trust Kushina… then I trust Minato too."
"I—I can feel it too!" Kaoru suddenly blurted out.
"I can feel how sincere Minato is!"
"He would never hurt Setsuna!"
Just like Setsuna sensed Kushina's intent, Kaoru sensed Minato's.
These kids…
"…Fine," Tsunade said irritably, waving her hand.
"I'll believe you. But I'm supervising everything."
What the hell—
She was doing this for Setsuna's sake, so why did it feel like she was the villain?
Minato straightened and looked at Tsunade—so different from the version in his memories.
"If possible," he said,
"I'd like to ask something of you on Setsuna's behalf."
"What is it?"
"The First Hokage's necklace."
Minato said it without hesitation, his gaze drifting—quite naturally—toward Tsunade's chest.
"That necklace contains the chakra of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama."
"His chakra is extremely effective at suppressing tailed beasts."
"If Setsuna wears it, his control over the Nine-Tails will be much stronger."
Tsunade stared blankly at the necklace hanging around her neck.
She had no idea her grandfather's keepsake had that kind of function.
Meanwhile, Setsuna's face turned completely green.
No—wait—bro…
Are you trying to get me killed faster or what…?
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