Only a handful of people knew the jinchūriki had left the village. Besides Minato, Jiraiya, and the team directly on the mission, the secret was limited to the Third Hokage, Shinichi's family, and a very small circle.
Even Naruto didn't know what his mother was doing — Minato and Kushina had only told him she was on a secret assignment and would be away for a while. They asked him to behave and focus on school.
Naruto felt the change. Since birth, he'd never been separated from his mother for so long. He wasn't clingy, but a child misses his parents.
The school and his friends filled much of the gap, and Minato made an effort to pick him up when he could. Still, Minato's duties left gaps on weekends.
To solve that, Minato planned to hire a tutor to look after Naruto during the holidays. Before he could finalize someone, Hinata's wife Hanako (Dayo?) stepped in with an offer the Namikaze couldn't refuse: she asked Naruto to spend Saturdays and Sundays at the Hyūga household. She also invited Shikamaru and Choji's families to let their boys come along. Hanako organized everything, and the other parents agreed.
It was a small thing — children with company on free days — but politically it bound families together: Hyūga, Nara, Akimichi, and the Namikaze all growing closer.
Even the Third, retired as he was, couldn't help but notice. The Hyūga had once again placed a useful favor on Minato's ledger, and the village's faction lines stirred.
Out at the lake, Jiraiya and the others kept watch while Kushina trained in the center. After half a month of conditioning, Kushina's ability to sit in meditation had improved drastically. She could now enter a calm, meditative state even while channeling three tails' worth of chakra. That was a major step.
Today, they would push further. Everyone tightened as Kushina prepared to call more of the Nine-Tails' chakra.
"Brace yourselves — she's coming up," Jiraiya warned.
Kushina stood in the lake, wrapped in chakra, three red tails whipping behind her. Her chakra density rose rapidly; in moments, a fourth tail began to form. Pain and hatred surged through her mind — far stronger than before — and her will faltered. The Nine-Tails within mocked the watchers and slammed its paw against the seal. The "cage" shook.
Dark red chakra washed over Kushina's form. The woman dissolved into a foxlike, four-tailed beast. A white exoskeletal shell covered her head and forearms; the newly formed fourth tail thrashed, and a shockwave pulsed outward.
"It's bad — Kushina's lost control!" someone shouted.
"Yamato!"
Everything unfolded faster than anyone expected. Jiraiya's face tightened; the four-tailed form's aura was brutal and bestial. Yamato moved — but the tailed-form was faster than the young Wood-style user expected.
Yamato's wooden stakes shot up from the shoreline and aimed for the beast, but Kushina vanished and reappeared before they struck. She closed on Yamato in a blur; claws slashed downward. The ferocity froze the boy — even his breath staggered under that pressure.
At that instant, Shinichi Hyūga materialized beside Yamato, pressed a hand to Yamato's hip, and the two vanished. An instant later, a thunderous impact split the earth where the claws had missed.
Shisui (Uchiha) hurled shuriken laced with wire. Kushina only snarled — the shockwave blew them away. At the same time, she began to condense Yin-Yang chakra rapidly; a tailed-beast sphere formed.
Jiraiya prepared to move, but Shinichi's voice came to him quietly: "I'll use Hiraishin to get you to Kushina. When you're there, seize the chance."
Jiraiya understood and nodded. Shinichi placed his hand on Jiraiya's waist — then the veteran suddenly appeared above Kushina's head and slammed a sealing talisman onto her brow. The prearranged seal activated; the tailed-beast chakra receded like a tide. The foxly shell dissolved, human skin returned, and Kushina collapsed, exhausted.
Jiraiya landed before her and kept a careful distance. Kushina lay motionless; her arms bore severe burns that were already healing. The four-tailed state had not only almost swallowed her will but had physically damaged her — the fourth tail's power intensifies both the psychological and bodily toll.
Kushina groaned, clutched her head, then slowly sat up. Seeing everyone alive, she breathed with relief. She was ashamed she'd endangered them. Jiraiya comforted her: "Don't blame yourself. Those forces are stronger than we thought. Don't carry the burden alone."
Jiraiya praised Shinichi's timing and cool head. Without his Hiraishin, the seal might not have been applied in time. Even the legendary Jiraiya looked at Shinichi with new respect — the boy's mastery of the Flying Thunder God technique was on another level.
Shinichi then reviewed the battle with Yamato and Shisui. Yamato had overrelied on Wood release and nearly died. Shisui's Sharingan — his genjutsu — hadn't had an effect.
"Did you try genjutsu?" Shinichi asked.
"My eye techniques need eye contact to trigger," Shisui answered. "It happened too fast."
Shinichi nodded. He'd seen with his Byakugan that Kushina had never once looked Shisui in the face while berserk. A tailed beast in animal form simply won't meet a genjutsu user's gaze, so Sharingan tricks can fail — especially against a highly mobile, instinct-driven tailed-beast form. In short, the Sharingan's power is less reliable here. Shisui accepted that frankly.
Shinichi suggested that next time, Shisui should rely on Shinichi's Hiraishin to position him so that eye contact is possible; otherwise, the Sharingan would continue to be ineffective in such split-second scenarios.
If you want to read more, join my Patreon/kazama677
I will drop 1 bonus chapter for every 50 Power Stones