The choice was agonizing.
It wasn't about choosing between a good option and a bad one; selecting the one that was beneficial and advantageous.
Rather, it was about painfully selecting the outcome that was relatively less terrible for oneself from between a very bad one and an exceptionally bad one.
The Senju clan currently had two choices.
One was to cede guardianship of the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki to the village, losing their trump card.
The other was to barely complete the Nine-Tails seal, but face the potential risk of the Nine-Tails going on a rampage due to an imperfect seal.
Senju Rinoki had witnessed the glory of the Senju clan. Even bearing the risk, he would absolutely not relinquish their trump card and influence.
After the Senju shinobi left the clan grounds, Sarutobi Hiruzen followed with four battalions of ANBU.
Yōkō found it somewhat strange; he didn't know where Danzo had gone. Logically, how could Danzo miss such an occasion?
After thinking carefully, he realized he hadn't seen Danzo for quite some time. Danzo had been absent from the ANBU.
Walking through Konoha Village, Yōkō noticed many jōnin standing on rooftops in the distance.
The Uchiha clan, the Ino–Shika–Chō trio clans, the Inuzuka clan, the Hyūga clan, and so on.
The jōnin from these shinobi clans had sensed the Senju clan's unusual movement and came out to watch the Senju clan depart.
The Senju procession carried a faint air of tragic heroism.
At the main gate of Konoha, the guard shinobi opened the gates in the middle of the night, not bothering with exit permits. All the Senju shinobi passed through the gate.
Far from the village, the Senju clan chose a suitable location.
The Valley of the End.
The statues of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara stood tall on either side of the waterfall.
The Valley of the End was the pride of the Senju clan, a symbol of Senju Hashirama ending the Warring States period.
Uzumaki Mito slowly stepped down from the carriage.
Her once red hair was now pale as snow.
She looked towards the distant waterfall, gazing up at the tall statue of Senju Hashirama, a trace of nostalgia appearing on her face.
In this moment, she was no longer the Jinchūriki who had sealed the Nine-Tails for decades for Konoha, no longer the highest-ranking elder in the village, no longer the matriarch of the Senju clan.
It was as if she had returned to over sixty years ago, the day she first met Senju Hashirama, also looking up at him then.
In her memory, Hashirama was in his youth, full of vigor and spirit, leading the young men of the Senju clan into the Uzumaki clan's lands.
The entire Uzumaki clan was stirred by the arrival of the Senju young master; the village was as lively as during a festival.
The Uzumaki clan was hosting the Chūnin Exams, and the Senju young master led a team to participate.
During those Chūnin Exams, Senju Hashirama displayed strength so powerful it was absurd, along with a uniquely unconventional way of thinking.
He stood in the center of the arena and proudly declared:
"Senju clan genin and Uzumaki clan genin, pair up in teams of two. You have half an hour to get used to each other and formulate tactics.
Come at me together. I'm in a hurry, need to go deal with Uchiha Madara."
Her father, the Uzumaki clan head, didn't think Hashirama was being unreasonable. He laughed heartily and demanded that all Senju and Uzumaki shinobi pair up in teams of two.
Uzumaki Mito remembered she was furious at the time. She teamed up with the Senju kunoichi Senju Tōma, swearing to crush Hashirama's arrogant demeanor.
However, she and Tōma together didn't even last five seconds.
That they lasted three or four seconds was only because they were both kunoichi.
How could there be such a powerful shinobi?
After the Chūnin Exams ended, Hashirama became the idol of the Uzumaki clan's youth.
And she, the one he defeated, during the final announcement ceremony of the exams, became Senju Hashirama's fiancée.
She remembered bowing her head, face red, not daring to look at Hashirama.
Now, seeing Hashirama's statue again, Uzumaki Mito thought to herself that after a lifetime with Hashirama, for some reason, she always felt she never truly entered his heart.
Before dying, let her make one more sacrifice for Hashirama.
She held Kushina's hand and said, "Kushina, I hope you meet a heroic shinobi who stands firm between heaven and earth. He will fill your heart, resolve all your confusion, and soothe all your anxieties."
Uzumaki Kushina said stubbornly, "Great Aunt, I will become that heroic shinobi who stands firm between heaven and earth myself. I don't need another man."
"Haha, good, Kushina. With the Nine-Tails' help, you will certainly become a shinobi who stands firm between heaven and earth."
Uzumaki Mito held Kushina's hand and walked towards the center of the Senju shinobi.
Over 900 Senju shinobi formed three concentric circles. On the ground was a circular sealing array made from large sealing scrolls.
The Senju shinobi stood before the unfurled scrolls, which were covered in dense sealing formulae.
The entire combined sealing array was over three hundred meters in diameter.
In the very center were Senju Rinoki and his wife. They each pressed a hand on two large scrolls – the Sealing Scrolls of the Senju and Uzumaki clans.
Senju Rinoki's wife was also from the Uzumaki clan. She murmured sadly, "Aunt..."
Uzumaki Mito grasped the hands of Senju Rinoki and his wife, saying, "From now on, I entrust the Senju clan and Kushina to your care."
Senju Rinoki and his wife nodded repeatedly, promising they would definitely take good care of the Senju clan and Kushina.
Releasing Kushina's hand, Uzumaki Mito and Kushina stood three meters apart.
One old, one young, they simultaneously formed hand seals.
The Nine-Tails Transfer Seal had begun.
Uzumaki Mito and Uzumaki Kushina were in the very center.
Senju Rinoki and his wife were on either side.
Outside them were three circles of over 900 Senju shinobi.
On the outermost perimeter were the four ANBU battalions commanded by Sarutobi Hiruzen.
The ANBU shinobi stood with their hands behind their backs, awaiting the Hokage's orders.
Yōkō saw Uzumaki Mito slowly form seals, after which phantom images of Adamantine Sealing Chains appeared around her body. These chains were tightly wound together like a ball of yarn.
As the seal loosened, the Adamantine Sealing Chains spread outwards. The gaps in the yarn-like ball of chains grew larger. Red Nine-Tails chakra leaked from the gaps.
Until, in an instant, the pupils of the demon fox appeared within the gaps of the chains.
Yōkō felt a chill run through his body and a palpitation in his heart. Despite the great distance, the demon fox's pupils seemed to be staring directly at him.
The Nine-Tails' chakra was filled with hatred, directly affecting everyone's state of mind.
Chakra surged violently around Uzumaki Mito, and ripples appeared on the ground, like stones thrown into water.
That was the massive amount of chakra spreading outwards.
That sinister, cold feeling made everyone's faces stiffen.
Yōkō adjusted his mask slightly, letting air inside; he felt his face had gone numb.
Uzumaki Mito's seal grew progressively weaker until the Adamantine Sealing Chains were completely released, spreading out and blooming like a peacock's tail feathers.
The clothes on Uzumaki Mito's back tore, and the Nine-Tails' chakra burst forth, coalescing in the night sky into a massive demon fox head.
The demon fox immediately lowered its head and roared at Uzumaki Mito on the ground:
"Uzumaki Mito! You sealed me for over thirty years! Over thirty years!"
Chakra burst forth with the demon fox's words, crashing against the ground in waves.
Uzumaki Mito's hair bun came undone, her white hair flying in the wind.
Amidst the gale, Uzumaki Mito said to Kushina:
"Kushina, the rest is up to you.
Restrain the Nine-Tails, protect Konoha, pass on the Uzumaki name.
All my life... everyone around me has died for Konoha.
No one told me, but I suspect... has Tsunade or Nawaki already died?"
(End of Chapter)