Pfft…
The moment Senju Haruto heard Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, he nearly burst out laughing.
Trust me—once you meet Jiraiya's student, you'll regret it.
He kept that thought to himself, though. No point saying it aloud. Even someone as wise as Hiruzen probably wouldn't be ready to accept what happened to Nagato—and Jiraiya certainly wouldn't.
"By the way…"
Haruto's brow furrowed as a sudden thought struck him.
Yahiko's death… hadn't it happened because Danzō learned about the Akatsuki and decided to crush it before it could grow? That led him to conspire with Hanzo the Salamander to betray both Nagato and Yahiko.
Figures… in the Naruto world, you can pin most disasters squarely on Danzō.
"What's wrong?" Hiruzen noticed Haruto's sudden silence and asked.
"Nothing," Haruto said, pulling himself back to the present. He cast Hiruzen a sidelong glance, steering the conversation back to the matter at hand.
"So, the Land of Earth won't be an issue. But the Sand Village in the Land of Wind… that's another story."
Although Sunagakure and Konohagakure were allied, the Sand's environment was notoriously harsh.
Even though the Fourth Kazekage could extract gold dust from the sand to trade with other nations, it did little to improve life there. Water scarcity had always plagued the village.
If they ever saw a genuine opportunity to strike at the Leaf, the alliance agreement would crumble like brittle parchment.
In fact, the Fourth Kazekage himself had always entertained the idea of attacking the Leaf.
"True," Hiruzen nodded, recognizing the danger.
Because of its central position among the Five Great Nations, the Land of Fire was always at the crossroads of conflict. Mismanaging these relationships could easily leave Konoha surrounded by enemies on all sides.
"Let's head back to the village first," Hiruzen decided after a moment's thought. The Sand problem was better handled with the input of the village's senior leadership.
Besides, they had a far more urgent matter: the Uchiha clan's brewing coup.
Of course, Hiruzen wouldn't bring that up here—not with Yamanaka Kaze present, and certainly not with Yugito Nii, the Two-Tails' jinchūriki, in their custody.
Even if Yugito seemed unconscious, she might simply be feigning it, waiting for a chance to break free. With her bijū's chakra, she could easily have woken already and just be biding her time.
If she learned about the Uchiha situation, the political fallout could be disastrous.
Haruto understood without being told.
"In any case, let me handle this," Haruto said—deliberately vague, yet pointed in meaning.
The next stop on his sign-in missions was already marked: the Naka Shrine. If he played this right, he could deal with the Uchiha matter and complete his objective at the same time.
Hiruzen studied him for a moment, then agreed. Still, he warned Haruto not to walk down Danzō's path.
Hiruzen cared deeply about the Uchiha. If the situation could be resolved at its roots, that would be ideal.
"I know," Haruto said, though he wasn't naïve.
A large portion of the clan already harbored deep resentment toward the village. Rekindling their sense of belonging wouldn't be easy.
His Kotoamatsukami eye—his trump card for such matters—had already been used by Danzō. Without Hashirama's cells, it would take years to recharge.
Itachi's Kotoamatsukami was probably in the same state; otherwise, he wouldn't have slaughtered his own clan.
Haruto's plan was simple: get a list of which Uchiha members had completely severed their trust in the village.
To do that, I'll need Fugaku's cooperation, Haruto thought.
Itachi's standing in the clan had suffered ever since he joined the ANBU—too many saw him as a traitor. Convincing them through him was unlikely.
Better to talk directly to Fugaku.
I wonder if Itachi's already confronted him. If Fugaku's on our side, that would make things much easier.
"You…"
The thought was cut short when Haruto noticed Yugito slowly opening her eyes.
She looked around and found herself slung over Yamanaka Kaze's back in an awkward position, while Hiruzen and Haruto ran alongside at full speed.
A, Bee, and Darui—her usual comrades—were nowhere in sight. She couldn't even sense their chakra.
Combined with the unfamiliar surroundings, she quickly deduced they had left the Land of Iron.
"Where are you taking me?" Yugito asked, first trying to catch Haruto off guard with a sudden strike—only to realize her limbs wouldn't move.
She couldn't access her bijū's chakra either. It felt as though her connection to Matatabi, the Two-Tails, had been cut off entirely.
"No point struggling," Haruto told her. "My Wood Release has a sealing property—it can suppress a tailed beast's chakra."
It was one of the unique traits of Wood Release. Even Yamato could suppress the Nine-Tails' chakra to some extent.
Compared to that, restraining the Two-Tails was trivial.
"As for where we're taking you… what do you think? Of course, to Konoha," Haruto said lightly. "Your Hidden Cloud kidnapped our Hinata. As compensation, you're coming with us."
"Heh…"
Yugito gave a cold, knowing smile.
She had already suspected as much after piecing her memories back together.
But she also knew this was a foolish move on Haruto's part. She wasn't like other shinobi—she was a jinchūriki.
If she stopped holding back Matatabi's power, she could fully transform into the Two-Tails. Ordinary facilities couldn't hold her.
If that happened, the Leaf could find itself facing another "Night of the Tailed Beast."
"I don't know where you got the courage to compare yourself to the Nine-Tails," Haruto said dryly, "but in your current state, you can't even mold chakra."
"There's always a chance," Yugito replied evenly, locking eyes with him before pausing a moment. "So tell me… does this mean the Leaf is declaring war on my village?"
"That depends on the Fourth Raikage," Haruto said. "We're more than willing to renew our alliance—if the Cloud shows enough sincerity."
Even as he spoke, a new idea began to take shape in his mind.
Yugito's true nature wasn't malicious. On the contrary, she was gentle and kind—and she was also a perfect jinchūriki.
If she met Naruto early… it could change a lot.
If Naruto could learn to tap into the Nine-Tails' power sooner, it would be a huge advantage for the village.