Cemetery.
Mito Uzumaki's funeral had taken place three days ago. Although the ceremony was led by the Third Hokage, in terms of attendance, it hadn't been particularly grand.
But over these past few days, many members of the Uzumaki clan had come one after another to bid their final farewells at her tombstone, so much so that this area of the cemetery had almost been buried beneath bundles of flowers.
Even a child like Kushina Uzumaki could finally grasp what had happened—that Mito Uzumaki was truly gone forever.
Once people understand exactly what death means, or once their grief has found an outlet, emotions no longer overflow as wildly and uncontrollably as they did at first…
Instead, they become quieter and more enduring.
A solemnly dressed Tsunade in black stood before Mito Uzumaki's gravestone… Naturally, since this was a shared tomb, it also belonged to the First Hokage.
Haseo stood beside Tsunade.
Throughout Mito Uzumaki's funeral, he had remained constantly by her side. From beginning to end, he had been someone capable of offering warmth and comfort to Tsunade—a rare display of emotional sensitivity on Haseo's part.
You could say the moments when he truly cared were few—and those where he didn't care much were far more common.
"Tsunade, let's go back. By now, you should've started feeling better."
Haseo naturally wasn't heartless; he certainly felt sorrow over Mito Uzumaki's passing. Yet ultimately, he leaned toward resilience. Besides, things were different from Sansho's death—Sansho had been far too young, but Mito could be said to have "passed away peacefully in old age."
Moreover, according to the original timeline, Mito should've died years ago. Now, her death had been postponed for so long that it coincided with Kushina's delayed becoming a jinchuriki, and even the survival of the entire Uzumaki clan had been ensured. In such circumstances, Haseo thought everything had turned out quite favorably.
Therefore, he came to terms with it quite easily. Life was meant to be like this...
We come from the cosmos, we return to the cosmos.
The mortal world is drawing near its end.
We are born from the sea, we return to the earth.
Our bodies are but temporary lodging for our souls during this journey.
But getting the meaning across was enough—the singing part could wait. Otherwise, Haseo feared he might get punched.
"Mm, let's head back."
Tsunade answered after a while.
At heart, she was essentially a tender person. Fortunately, time had calmed her down. The two left the cemetery and made their way down the empty paths toward Konoha's busy streets.
"What exactly is going on with Orochimaru? Why did he return to the village twice alongside me? I could ignore the first time, but his timing on the second return always felt suspicious. And Haseo… you weren't immediately there by my side either," Tsunade suddenly remarked as they walked.
Considering Mito Uzumaki's passing, Orochimaru's movements indeed made her somewhat uneasy.
Haseo: "..."
Well, his so-called "competence" was just pure delusions of grandeur.
So why hadn't he shown up immediately?
Tsunade still needed a bit of nudging, but it couldn't be too obvious, or it'd backfire. At this moment, the best method was to distract her with something else—either getting her involved in some beneficial physical activities, or telling her something shocking enough to make her jaw drop.
After brief consideration, Haseo decided to tell Tsunade about the Nine-Tails situation. Anyway, once a secret had already been partially exposed, it could no longer be considered top-secret.
"This isn't the place to talk. Let's discuss it at home."
Still, Haseo remained cautious—he knew he couldn't just speak freely outside. Who knew where a spy might suddenly sprout from?
Haseo's house had now been turned completely upside down by Tsunade. He had absolutely no idea where she might've stashed her stuff—clothes, shoes, or other personal items were basically scattered everywhere. Fortunately, Haseo himself didn't own much stuff; otherwise, there'd definitely be space issues inside the house.
"I've never asked you before—how come you ended up settling here?"
As they entered the house, Tsunade suddenly asked.
"Eh... When I first arrived in Konoha, this area wasn't yet the city center, so land prices and housing costs were very cheap."
"Is that so? I thought you were probably just like Jiraiya."
"Haha, how could that be? Trust me, I'm not like him at all."
Indeed, absolutely impossible. Although it couldn't be said that every man was exactly like Jiraiya, saying 99% of them fit that description was quite reasonable. As for Haseo—he was definitely part of that remaining 1%.
In order to prevent Tsunade from obsessing over this matter further, Haseo quickly brought up the serious topic—this was truly a classic distraction tactic.
Haseo sat on a chair, while Tsunade perched herself on the edge of the bed opposite him. Thus began their serious conversation.
"It all started several years ago... Based on two primary issues—the first being the relocation and integration of the Uzumaki clan within Konoha, and the second concerning Konoha's effective control and utilization of the Nine-Tails after Lady Mito Uzumaki passed away. To resolve these problems, a secret plan quietly emerged within the village. It was known as the 'Nine-Tails Splitting Plan.'"
Tsunade: "...Huh?"
She hadn't understood.
Haseo then proceeded to explain the plan in detail, sticking roughly to the actual facts—but carefully omitting the fact that he himself had proposed and led that plan.
After listening to this revelation, Tsunade first fell silent, then said, "Such significant events occurred within the village without my knowledge..."
Well, actually, Tsunade's immediate reaction was about her "spy" failing to function properly. After all, everything happened in Shikkotsu Forest, yet Katsuyu didn't leak a word about it... Suddenly, Tsunade felt a little jealous.
It should've been me first… Wait, no, actually Haseo was the one who gave me Katsuyu's Contract Scroll.
Alright, never mind then.
"So, right now Kushina and Orochimaru each have one Nine-Tails sealed within them, while the remaining six are preserved inside Shikkotsu Forest?
That's also why you dared to use the Self-Sealing technique to resolve the problem of self-erosion—because you can channel the Nine-Tails' chakra from Shikkotsu Forest. I was worried about your physical condition all along for nothing."
Various clues were slowly starting to connect.
What Tsunade hadn't expected was that Haseo had hidden so many secrets. So... it seemed he was always meant to sleep on the floor.
"Exactly. Therefore, before properly handling the remaining Nine-Tails, I hope you won't hand over Katsuyu to Nawaki just yet... for security and confidentiality reasons." Haseo included this explanation as part of the reason he chose to reveal everything to Tsunade.
"I understand."
Tsunade herself would never disclose such intelligence to either her younger brother or Orochimaru anyway. Still, since Katsuyu originally belonged to the Senju clan, Haseo couldn't simply occupy its summoning scroll unlawfully. Therefore, Tsunade did have the grounds to hand the Contract Scroll over to Nawaki. One reason Haseo temporarily stopped her was related to the Nine-Tails stored within Shikkotsu Forest, but another key factor was his ongoing observation of Nawaki—he hadn't completed evaluating him yet.
Katsuyu held far too many secrets; thus, when introducing new summoners, they needed to proceed with great care.
Actually, Tsunade hadn't intended to hand the scroll over to Nawaki so soon either. Her reasoning was quite straightforward: currently, Shikkotsu Forest had become somewhat of a "two-person world," and she didn't want to disrupt this harmony just yet.
Besides, Nawaki was staying in Konoha at the moment, not heading to any battlefield, so his safety could be guaranteed.
Upon hearing such shocking news, Tsunade conversed with Haseo briefly to fully digest what she'd learned before taking her leave... Lately, she had been pretty concerned about her younger brother.
Luckily for him, Haseo finally didn't have to sleep on the floor anymore and could rest wherever he liked.
Except... after comforting Tsunade, restoring her spirit and moods, Haseo found himself becoming the emotional support tool once again, helping her comfort her younger brother… It really felt like he'd become the go-to guy again… Well, seems like Haseo had eventually returned to being everyone's walking tool.
...
The next day, at the Kagenami Base.
After concluding the matter concerning Uzumaki Mito, Haseo finally had time to focus on the mental and physical health of the newly formed jinchūriki—meaning, specifically, how Kushina was holding up.
Work at the Kagenami base had resumed normalcy, though the vast underground third floor remained idle, uncertain when it might serve another purpose again.
Haseo and Kushina walked through this expansive and rather gloomy subterranean space. The recent scene involving the transfer of the Nine-Tails still felt vividly fresh in their minds.
"Kushina, are you afraid?" After walking silently for some time, Haseo paused mid-step, then turned around to ask Kushina directly.
Kushina understood exactly what Haseo was asking, so she chose not to hide her feelings. "Sometimes I am. That big fox... sometimes I dream about it—it looks really terrifying."
Even though she felt a bit ashamed of being scared, she didn't think it was something she needed to hide. Lord Haseo was very gentle, except… well, except for that time he hung her upside down.
Dreaming about it? That might be because the Nine-Tails left such a strong impression on Kushina, or maybe due to the influence of the Nine-Tails' chakra.
Lord Haseo smiled and said, "Take my hand."
Kushina didn't quite understand, but still reached out and placed her hand in his.
A gentle flow of chakra began moving up her arm. Moments later, Kushina suddenly saw the scenery around her shift—they had instantly arrived somewhere else.
Holding hands was fine, right? I mean, Kushina was still a kid—sure, he couldn't just start poking at her stomach without explaining…
Even if he did explain, he still couldn't just poke at her stomach!
"Let's go."
Kushina felt her hand slip free, then followed Lord Haseo into the pitch-black void.
There was a shallow layer of water beneath their feet. The only sound was the soft splash of their steps echoing through the silence.
"Lord Haseo, where is this place?" Kushina couldn't help but ask.
"This place? This is the 'cage' that holds the Nine-Tails. Normally my consciousness wouldn't reach here, but Lady Mito's Bagua (Eight Trigrams) Sealing Style incorporates some of my chakra, which has heightened my awareness here."
Sure enough, as they spoke, the two approached a massive "cage."
Inside was completely dark, as if it were empty.
Haseo stepped forward slightly, then crept closer carefully.
No reaction? Get even closer.
Suddenly, three sharp claws shot out from inside the cage. Accompanied by a powerful gust of wind, they slashed downward like a guillotine straight at Haseo without hesitation.
This sudden attack startled Kushina, but Haseo wasn't surprised at all. He simply straightened his chest and pulled in his stomach—the claws nearly grazed his nose as they came down, but didn't harm his consciousness form at all.
Within the dark cage, a giant shadow slowly emerged.
That's when Kushina finally realized—they were standing inside [her body].
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