Hostile to the Uchiha? Don't regret relocating the whole clan! Chapter 11: You’ll Regret this

Sarutobi looked up and said casually, "Danzō, you didn't knock again."

Shimura Danzō snorted and ignored that. "Hiruzen, Kushina went to the Uchiha district again."

"Letting Uchiha mix with the future Nine-Tails jinchuriki—are you sure about this?"

Hiruzen exhaled a ribbon of smoke, fingers laced under his chin. "She doesn't have the Nine-Tails yet. It's fine."

"Making friends around the village isn't a bad thing."

"The Uchiha are born wicked," Danzō barked. "We can't even monitor what happens inside their compound. If anything happens to the jinchuriki, you'll be responsible!"

'Again, it would end up on …'

Hiruzen rubbed at a headache. "What do you propose?"

"Hand Kushina over to ," Shimura Danzo imdiately said. "My Root will keep her firmly under control."

If he could control the future Nine-Tails jinchuriki, his hopes of becoming Hokage would rise.

Hiruzen gave a soft, derisive hum. "Your thods for controlling subordinates aren't suitable for Kushina. Lady Mito wouldn't allow it."

At the na Uzumaki Mito, Danzō's neck shrank, but he pressed on. "Lady Mito is old. When the Land of Whirlpools fell, we stood by and she didn't even—"

"Enough! I told you not to bring that up!"

Hiruzen's palm cracked down on the desk before Danzō could finish.

Old she might be, but the Nine-Tails was sealed inside her.

And she was the First Hokage's widow.

If she kicked up a storm over Kushina, what would the villagers think of their Hokage?

Where would his face be?

"Danzō," Hiruzen said coldly, "I have my own arrangents for Kushina. I don't need you ddling."

Danzō ground his teeth. "Hiruzen, you'll regret this."

Hiruzen t his eyes, voice cutting each word. "Rember, Danzō—I am the Hokage."

Danzō snorted again.

Bang!

The door slamd under his hand as he left.

Almost imdiately, a masked Anbu stepped in.

"Lord Hokage, Kushina asked to deliver this letter to you."

"A letter from Kushina?"

Hiruzen muttered, taking it. One glance and his eyes narrowed.

"She wants to stop being watched. She wants to take missions like an ordinary shinobi?"

"Freedom?"

He set the pipe back between his teeth, and smoke soon hazed the office.

After a long while, he touched the corner of the letter to a fla.

"Seems it's ti to set the next step in motion."

Firelight hardened his expression. "Kushina, don't bla . It's all for the village."

"Besides, for you… Minato isn't a bad choice, is he?"

People are social, brimming with feeling.

If you want to control soone, the surest way is through emotion.

Family, friendship, love…

The deeper the bonds, the more one will give up the self for the village.

That was his specialty.

—

Konohagakure.

Three-Color Dango Shop.

The place bustled with voices.

A red-haired girl sat there eating dango almost chanically, seemingly oblivious to it all.

Across from her sat a boy with bright blond hair.

Catching her stare drift, he smiled sunny and warm. "Kushina, what are you thinking about?"

Kushina blinked, shaking off a certain lingering silhouette in her mind. "Minato, you know my situation. Living under constant surveillance… it's suffocating."

"It's hard," Namikaze Minato said softly, "but a shinobi endures anything, right?"

Sothing in that rubbed her wrong. "Who told you that?"

"Master Jiraiya." Seeing her flag, Minato gentled his tone. "Kushina, isn't your dream to beco Hokage? Earning everyone's acknowledgnt isn't easy."

Kushina nodded, then asked again. "If the acknowledgnt cos from compromise, does it an anything?"

"Like forcing yourself to do what you hate just to beco Hokage—is that real acknowledgnt?"

Brilliant as he was, Minato's experience was still thin; the only creed he'd been taught was the Will of Fire. Faced with that philosophical knot, he hesitated. After a long think, he said slowly, "Becoming Hokage is the goal I want the most. For that, I'll do anything. Like or dislike doesn't enter into it."

Kushina propped her chin, sighed. "Minato, I an I don't want to be a jinchuriki. I just want a free life."

That part was simple.

"Then I'll go with you to see the Hokage," he said imdiately. "We'll have them choose soone else."

"I can't." She shook her head. "I'm the only one in the village who can suppress the Nine-Tails."

"Ah… I see." He scratched his head, at a loss, and could only smile.

She waved it off. "Forget it. Tell this—if you were Hokage, in a situation like this, would you force soone to be a jinchuriki?"

"Kushina, you're overthinking it. There must be other ways. Becoming a jinchuriki doesn't have to an losing freedom." His eyes fird again. "And the Will of Fire teaches us that, sotis, sacrifice for the village is unavoidable."

"I see. I have so other things to do, I need to go..."

Knowing his nature, Kushina didn't press. She rose and left.

Yuzuru and Minato were her best friends besides Mikoto. Faced with the sa question, they'd given her completely different answers.

Which should she choose?

For the mont, she was more lost than ever.

Maybe Yuzuru was right—answers like this don't co from other people. She'd have to figure it out herself.

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