After parting ways with his team, Xin found Kushina and reminded her, "I'm leaving the village tomorrow for a special mission. Stay alert while I'm gone and don't wander around. The village uncovered some Hidden Cloud spies, and it seems they're planning to abduct you."
"What?!"
Kushina's eyes flared with anger, her hair even lifting slightly as if on fire. "Those bastards think they can come after this old lady?!"
Seeing Kushina so fired up, Xin couldn't help but think that maybe he should talk to
Tsunade about not using the phrase "this old lady" so often.
Kushina's already picked it up!
And her temper had gotten noticeably worse too. She was starting to resemble Tsunade more and more.
"Don't worry, Xin," Kushina assured him. "I'll stay right here. If those Hidden Cloud fools come looking for trouble, I'll make them regret it!"
Heh heh! That big fox promised me that if anyone tried to harm me, it'd step in and help.
So if they want to die, they're welcome to try.
Although Kushina hadn't earned the Nine-Tails' full approval, the fox had begrudgingly agreed to a few terms after their last incident.
One of those terms was that if she found herself in danger, it would step in to help.
Unfortunately, she only had three chances.
No matter how much Kushina begged, the Nine-Tails refused to grant her anymore.
So if the Hidden Cloud shinobi dared to attack, they might not face Kushina alone, but the fearsome orange chakra of the Nine-Tails itself.
"Alright, as long as you're confident. I won't say more. I'll start preparing; I'm leaving tomorrow," Kushina said confidently, and Xin felt like he should trust her.
With the spy network dismantled, even if the Hidden Cloud Village tried to send people over, there was no guarantee they could even sneak into the village, let alone make a move on Kushina.
Now that they knew about the Hidden Cloud's plan to abduct a jinchuriki, the Third Hokage definitely wouldn't stand by and do nothing.
If Kushina were captured, it wouldn't be the worst thing-they could always get her back. But if the Nine-Tails were released by accident, the entire village could be destroyed.
The Third Hokage knew he couldn't stop the Nine-Tails. After all, he wasn't the First Hokage, who could take on the beast like it was just a pet. If the Nine-Tails were to rampage through the village, it would leave nothing but ruins in its wake.
That's why, despite his usual reluctance, the Third Hokage agreed to Danzo's revenge plan. The Hidden Cloud dared to make a move on Konoha's secret weapon? They had to retaliate.