After the Council Meeting, which lasted for three hours, Hiruzen visited the Sarutobi Compound and chose the members of his Clan for the Police Force.
He also ordered one of his Anbu, who belonged to his Clan, to leave the Black Ops order and join the Police Force as the Senior Officer representing his Clan, to keep an eye on everyone for the Hokage.
After he had lunch with his family and returned to the office in the evening, a white-haired man was waiting for him, leaning against the wall as he gazed out of the window, looking at the village.
"The seat of the Hokage is still open to you, Jiraiya. Give my old bones some rest now."
His student smirked at his words and shook his head.
"I am not fit to be Hokage, Old Man. Besides, I have to keep an eye on Akatsuki now. And then there's my research..."
"Oh, when is your new book coming out?" the old man asked with interest.
"Very soon."
"I see. Have you found Tsunade?" Hiruzen saw his student's eyes suddenly turn serious.
"No. It's almost as if she has disappeared from the world. I have never known her to be this cautious in hiding her traces." He frowned.
"Is she alive?"
"Yes," the man nodded with confidence. "I found some clues. She treated a little boy at a village in the Land of Tea, about six months ago. Dan Katō's niece was with her."
"I see." Hiruzen sighed and then walked over to take his seat. "Did you find any seals on Anko's body?"
"There are two more seals around the Cursed Mark that Orochimaru gave her."
"Oh?"
"One of the seals is working as an opposite force to neutralise the Cursed Mark, and the ringed seal around the mark is acting as a fail-safe, preventing the girl from losing her mind. Orochimaru's trace is gone. Completely gone. And the Cursed Mark can also no longer be forcibly activated."
"I see."
"The Uzumaki and their Sealing Arts are second to none. I have never seen something so intricate and thoughtful before."
Hiruzen remained silent at his words and then called in the man who was waiting outside the office.
It was an Anbu from the Yamanaka Clan, who was wearing the mask of a horse.
"Yes, Uma?"
"Mitarashi Anko's mind has been scanned, Hokage-sama. Nothing foul has been found."
"Tell me about her conversations with Uzumaki Kushina."
"They did not have many conversations after the first one, where the Uzumaki inquired about her history and made her talk in detail about her time with Orochimaru and the sensations she felt from the Cursed Mark and her experiences during the times it was activated... The last conversation they had was today before they came here. It was mostly her being informed about the seals that had been planted on her to contain the Cursed Mark and how she could extract power from them in times of need. The Uzumaki repeatedly warned her that though she was safe from losing her mind, her body would experience a lot of pain if she used the Cursed Seal and its powers. The Cursed Seal can no longer be forcibly activated, and Anko is in complete control of it..."
Both Jiraiya and Hiruzen listened to the Anbu's report, and the Hokage remained silent as he thought through things.
To be able to use the power of the Cursed Seal without losing her mind made Anko a very valuable asset to the Village. She was already a very capable kunoichi, who would have been a Jonin if he had not held back her promotion.
"Is she loyal to Konoha?" he asked, and the Anbu nodded her head.
"Yes, Hokage-sama. There have never been any thoughts in her mind about betraying the village, and even though she used to be fiercely loyal to her sensei, she now hates him to the core of her being and wants nothing more than to kill him. She expressed these thoughts to Lady Uzumaki as well."
Hiruzen nodded and then took a deep puff from his pipe.
"Mitarashi Anko will be joining the Anbu Force and working under you from this day onwards, Uma. Her codename will be Hebi."
"Yes!"
"Keep a close eye on her."
"As you command, Hokage-sama." The man bowed and took his leave.
"You still don't trust the Uzumaki, Old Man?"
The Hokage took another puff from his pipe.
"Tell me, Jiraiya, what do you think about the Uzumaki Clan?"
Jiraiya raised his brow at those words.
"They are valuable, loyal to their friends, and get along very well with everyone in the village. They are one of the most respected clans of Konoha, and they have helped the Village since its establishment. They have always been our greatest ally, and now, they are part of the Village. No help we have ever required and asked for has ever been denied, and they have also helped with the development of the Village after the Great Wars. They have never given us any reason to doubt them."
"Are they loyal to Konoha?"
He looked confusedly at his sensei.
"Why would they not be?"
Hiruzen took another puff and then put the pipe down.
"Don't you find them way too secretive?" he meaningfully asked.
"All clans guard their secrets, Old Man. Especially those with unique powers such as theirs."
Hiruzen thought over his words and then sighed.
In all honesty, ever since the Uzumaki came to their Village, they had never given any reason to him to doubt them. In fact, Konoha owed them a lot, and he owed them even more.
Unfortunately, he could not trust them in all these years because he was the one responsible for the destruction of their Village, and some part of his heart had always been uneasy ever since Uzumaki Kazuma led the survivors of his Clan to Konoha.
The man was dangerous, very dangerous, and he was even stronger than him.
On the night of the Uchiha Massacre, he even turned out to be capable of using Sage Mode...
But now he was gone, and the Uzumaki truly seemed to consider themselves a part of Konoha.
Kazuma's kids had a lot of friends at the Academy, and he had observed them playing around and getting along with the people of the Village just like the other kids around their age.
And if the late Uzumaki really knew the truth about Konoha's involvement in the destruction of his Village, why did he let his children join the Academy and encourage them to become the shinobi of Konoha?
Perhaps, Kazuma really did not know about Konoha's involvement...
"I suppose you are right." He sighed and decided to set his thoughts aside.
Hiruzen pinched his brows and sighed again.
Danzo had really rubbed off a lot on him, and it was time he tightened his reins around that madman. The Clans were already very suspicious of him now, and his ambition would end up disrupting the peace of the Village if left unchecked any longer.
"Find Tsunade if you don't want this hat. I am too old for this job now."
Jiraiya laughed at his words and nodded.
"I will try my best," said his student before he opened the window and jumped out.
On the other side, inside the Uzumaki Compound, four kids, and a thirteen-year-old girl were gathered in the courtyard, in front of Uchiha Hazuki and Uzumaki Kushina.
"Well, who wants to test out their Chakra Nature?" the Uzumaki Matriarch brightly asked, and Izumi, Akane, Sasuke, and Karin curiously looked at her.
Enma too perked up his ears, seemingly very interested in finding out what his Chakra Natures were.
"I already know my Chakra Natures," Izumi, who had turned cold as ice since the Uchiha Massacre and the betrayal of someone she used to love, lightly said.
"We will test them again." Kushina did not care if she knew about it or not and handed her a Chakra Paper just like the rest of them.
She, however, did not give one to Enma, and when Karin tried offering him her paper, she stopped her.
"Enma will not get one, not until he apologises to me." She shook her head.
"For what?" the boy coldly asked her, and she ignored him.
Everyone could sense that they were not on good terms right now, so they wisely kept quiet.
As much as Enma wanted to just leave, he stayed because his sister was present there, and he knew she would be sad if he left right now.
"This is a longer paper." Izumi curiously looked at the Chakra Paper that she had been handed.
It was not just long but also had faint seals on it.
"Yes. They are very expensive too." Kushina smiled. "And these are not your usual Chakra Induction Papers. These not only show you your Primary Affinity but also a Secondary Affinity if you have one. It's extremely rare for people to possess two Primary Affinities, as they are only present in people who have a Kekkei Genkai. However, this paper can sense two Primary Elements as well."
The Uchiha girl looked at her in surprise and finally understood why Kushina insisted that she take the test again.
"I just have to infuse my chakra into it, right?" Izumi asked, and the Uzumaki nodded her head.
"Just don't stop pouring your chakra into it. Not even when it starts showing results."
The girl gave a nod then carefully infused her chakra into the paper, and for a while, nothing happened. And when she filled the paper completely with her chakra, the seals on it broke apart, and it finally showed changes.
From the other end, the paper suddenly ignited and started turning to ash, but soon after it crossed the halfway mark, it also split into two before both sides ended up turning into ash as well.
"Your Primary Element is Fire, and the Secondary Element is Wind." Kushina smiled at her, and despite herself, a very small smile appeared on Izumi's face too.
She knew that Wind was her father's Primary Element, and it made her feel warm that she had inherited one more thing from him.
"I will try next." Akane, who looked a lot like her sister, brightly said and started pouring her chakra into the test paper.
The girl grew excited when she saw the same result as her sister, and she happily hugged Sasuke, who was right next to her, making the boy pout and even blush a little.
"Your turn, Grumpy-kun."
"Hey..." Sasuke wanted to retort, but wisely kept the words in his heart as he knew how scary the Uzumaki Matriarch was.
His heart excitedly started racing as he poured his chakra into the paper, and his eyes widened when the seals broke and it quickly started to wrinkle from the other end.
After crossing the halfway mark, it suddenly ignited and soon turned to ash.
"Your Primary Element is Lightning, and the Secondary Element is Fire. Do not look for other Elemental Jutsu until you have mastered both of your elements. It will hinder your growth."
Sasuke obediently nodded his head to her and then bowed to her.
"Thank you."
Kushina smiled at him before she turned to look at her niece, who was impatiently waiting for her turn.
Karin grinned and then took a deep breath before she poured her chakra into the paper.
All the seals on the paper lit up, and unlike what had happened in the case of others, the change was abrupt.
The chakra paper in her hand instantly turned muddy and fell, dirtying her hand.
"Ew..." she scrunched up her nose, and Akane did the same.
Sasuke and Izumi were curiously looking at her, but Kushina and Hazuki's eyes were wide in surprise.
"You have Earth and Water." The Uzumaki Matriarch calmly said and then gently patted her niece's head. "Both Primary."
Enma's ears perked up at those words as he had heard about Hashirama Senju's secret of Wood Release from his father.
"I am awesome." Karin grinned.
"Yes, and if you make a promise to me. All of you. Then I will teach you a new and very useful Jutsu."
"Yes?" She cutely looked at her aunt.
"You will not share it with anyone else. Not even your friends at the Academy, and you must not let anyone discover that you know this Jutsu until the time is right. Understood?" She said seriously.
"Why the secrecy?" Sasuke furrowed his brows.
"Because it is a Jutsu that only Jonin and very few Chunin are supposed to know about. It's classified as B-Rank, but it can be made an A-Rank, and even an S-Rank Jutsu."
Their eyes widened at her words, and their excitement grew.
"Teach us!"
"The promise?"
"We promise!" Karin, Akane, and Sasuke nodded their heads.
Kushina smiled at them and then showed them hand seals.
"Onee-sama, we already know Clone Jutsu..." Karin cutely tilted her head, but then curiously watched as Kushina used a new hand seal.
She made a cross with the index and middle fingers of both her hands.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu."
With a pop, a perfect clone of Kushina appeared before their eyes, and Karin's mouth cutely dropped open when the clone picked her up in her arms.
"You are not real!"
"But I am." Her fake aunt smiled before the real Kushina accepted her in her arms.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu creates a perfect copy of you by splitting your Chakra. No one can tell them apart, not even the Hyuga or Uchiha with their Dōjutsu, and it is because the clones possess the same chakra nature." Her words surprised them. "However..." She then punched her clone, who exploded instantly. "Their durability depends on the amount of Chakra used. At first, you will only be able to split your chakra in half, but as you master this technique, you can make your clone create more clones, who will be weaker. Or if you become as efficient as I am with this technique, you will be able to control the amount of Chakra at will."
They all intently listened to her.
"Do not, and I repeat, do not, try to create multiple copies of yourself. This technique splits your Chakra, so, there's a risk that you will die after you run out of all of it." She warned them, and they nervously nodded their heads. "Only imagine creating one copy of yourself before flaring your chakra. Understood?"
"Yes," they nodded their heads and then watched each other create the Shadow Clones.
Karin told her brother what the last hand sign was, and only created her own clone after he successfully created one.
"Good. Now, Clones, step forward and come with me."
Kushina walked away with their clones and then huddled together as she whispered something in each of their ears. And then, to their disbelief, she started punching them, making them all explode.
They were amazed when their Chakra returned to their bodies, and then Izumi's eyes widened in surprise.
It was the same for the rest of them, and their bodies started shaking in excitement.
"Happy?"
"Yes!"
"Good. Karin, come with me. I need to speak to you."
Hearing how serious her Aunt sounded, the girl tensed up and obediently followed her to the Hall of Sealings.