A short while later, inside the Hokage's office—
Namikaze Minato stood near the doorway, gazing at the floor in a meditative stance, as if to say, "This has nothing to do with me."
And in truth, it didn't have much to do with him.
He'd only asked Kyohiko for help thinking of a job for Kushina, hoping to give her something to do so she wouldn't be so bored—and to make his own home life easier.
But somehow…
He ended up helping with her job placement, while Kyohiko had set his sights on the Nine-Tails.
How did it come to this?
To this moment, Minato still had no idea what Kyohiko was really trying to do.
"You want to talk to the Nine-Tails? And what do you expect to get from that?" Tsunade asked, puzzled.
Minato immediately lifted his head.
He was curious too!
Kyohiko thought for a moment and said, "I looked into some intel from the Anbu archives. The Nine-Tails was captured by Uchiha Madara back then, and then sealed by the First Hokage into Mito-sama."
He turned to Tsunade, seeking confirmation.
"The records are accurate, right?"
"Yes, that's correct," Tsunade nodded.
She'd read the same historical records stored in the Anbu intelligence files. There was nothing unusual about them.
Kyohiko continued, "I want to know how Madara managed to capture the Nine-Tails in the first place. How did he make it obey? Was it a Jinchūriki relationship between them?"
"You think the Nine-Tails will tell you that?" Tsunade asked, skeptical but intrigued.
Minato also nodded in agreement.
"The Nine-Tails is volatile. There's almost no chance of meaningful conversation."
"I want to give it a try," Kyohiko insisted. "Maybe I can use genjutsu to calm its emotions—enough to talk. We might uncover secrets buried by time."
Tsunade nodded. "Then give it a shot."
Then she turned to Minato.
"I'll write Kushina a recommendation letter for the sealing arts position at the Academy. Whether she gets the job or not will depend on her own performance."
"Thank you, Hokage-sama."
Minato was pleasantly surprised.
Tsunade smiled but said nothing more.
Given Kushina's talent, if she was willing to teach at the Academy, Tsunade would be more than happy. There was no reason to refuse.
At Minato's Home
Kyohiko came along. Just before they reached the door, a question popped into his mind.
"Minato, did you buy your house?"
"Of course. My old family home was way out on the edge of the village—it collapsed a long time ago," Minato replied with a nod.
Kyohiko gave a dry cough and asked in a low voice, "Did you pay off the mortgage?"
Minato turned his head abruptly, eyes half-lidded.
"Kyohiko, could we not bring up such a depressing topic?"
"…Got it," Kyohiko chuckled softly.
Minato sighed, a little envious.
"Your place saves you years of struggle. Me? I've been paying this off for ages—finally getting close to done."
"Keep it up. I'll help when I can—maybe convince Big Sis to assign you a few more S-rank missions," Kyohiko said seriously.
That said…
Looks like the housing market wasn't too bad right now—Minato only needed a few years to pay it off.
Compared to poor Sakura in the future, who'd be stuck with twelve years of payments…
All things considered, Kyohiko had definitely come out ahead.
He stifled a grin.
Minato replied, "I'd love that. A few more S-rank missions and I'll be done in no time."
Still, he clearly didn't take it too seriously. He casually pulled out his keys, opened the door, and stepped inside.
"Kushina, Kyohiko's here to visit."
"Huh?" came a woman's voice from within.
Moments later, a rustling could be heard. But clearly—
Kushina hadn't had time to clean up.
As they entered, she greeted them with a flushed face and a sheepish smile.
"Sorry, I didn't expect a surprise visit… I didn't really tidy up."
"I dropped by on impulse," Kyohiko replied, shooting Minato a wink.
Minato nodded and handed Kushina the recommendation letter.
"If you're interested in teaching, you can start preparing. Head to the Academy later to report in."
"The Academy?" Kushina's eyes lit up immediately. She snatched the letter from his hand, then hesitated shyly. "Do you think I can do it?"
"You've heard about the Academy offering elective tracks in the later years, right? Hokage-sama recommended you for sealing arts," Minato explained.
Kushina relaxed slightly upon hearing the specialization.
She did have a decent grasp of sealing techniques.
"Thank you, Minato. And… Kyohiko-kun."
She knew.
Minato had gone to see Kyohiko this morning, and now came back with a recommendation letter—plus Kyohiko himself. Clearly, he had something to do with it.
"There's one more thing," Kyohiko said. "I'd like to talk to the Nine-Tails…"
Kushina froze for a moment, then scratched her head.
"I mean, I can let you try… but I don't know how you'd communicate. That's not something I understand."
"I'll give it a try. Where's the seal located?"
"Here…" she pointed to her abdomen.
Kyohiko brought his hand close, and chakra flowed from his body, taking the shape of a vine that gently wrapped around Kushina.
Moments later, the chakra extended into the seal.
Chakra is made of physical and spiritual energy—once connected, it could serve as a medium for communication.
It could even lead—
To the "water prison" space where the tailed beasts resided.
His chakra infiltrated deeper.
Minute by minute, time passed. Minato and Kushina were visibly tense, while Kyohiko seemed increasingly at ease.
An ominous chakra full of malice repeatedly surged against the seal—
The Nine-Tails' chakra!
When the two chakra signatures collided, Kyohiko's vision blurred. In an instant, he found himself in a dark and oppressive space, with the faint sound of dripping water echoing around him.
He took a few steps forward—
And suddenly, a furious roar thundered through the darkness.
"ROAR!"
"Come on, Nine-Tails-senpai. That's way too loud," Kyohiko said, plugging his ears. "I'm the first outsider to visit you in years. Isn't this kind of a rude welcome?"
"You think I should be grateful to you? Damn Wood Release brat—Hashirama Senju was the one who sealed me!"
The Nine-Tails' crimson eyes glared through the bars of its cage.
Kyohiko replied, "Think carefully. Hashirama wasn't the first to go after you—Uchiha Madara captured you first. He used you to fight Hashirama, and that's what led to your sealing."
"So what? That doesn't make it any less his fault!"
The Nine-Tails' malice surged, pressing hard against the seal.
Kyohiko had no doubt that if the cage were to open right now, the Nine-Tails would tear him to shreds in an instant.
Still—
He remained calm, reaching out as chakra burst from his palm.
The Nine-Tails lunged with another roar, trying to bite him.
In the blink of an eye, Kyohiko's hand dodged. His chakra passed through the materialized bars of the seal and landed on the Nine-Tails' forehead.
A genjutsu gently settled in, soothing its rage slightly.
"Senpai, I think we can have a calm conversation. For example—think back. What exactly did Madara do to you? Did he use the Sharingan to control you?"
"…The Sharingan…"
The Nine-Tails' malice and fury dimmed a little, its emotions slightly stabilizing. Though its eyes still flickered with inner struggle, it slowly muttered:
"The Sharingan alone couldn't control me. There was also… a contract."
"A summoning contract?"
Kyohiko let out a breath.
He smiled and said, "Then think about it—what if one day, you finally break through the seal, only for a descendant of Madara to summon you again through the summoning contract, and use your eyes to control you once more…"
The Nine-Tails had still been resisting Kyohiko's genjutsu suppression, but upon hearing this, it fell completely silent. Its emotional fluctuations grew even more intense than before.
In the end, it slumped to the ground, wordless.
It had been emotionally breached.
"Senpai?"
"Nine-Tails-senpai? Are you alright?"
"Say something."
Kyohiko kept provoking it.
The Nine-Tails lifted its head impatiently. "Brat, you're annoying. I don't want to talk to you!"
"Just two more questions. First—was Madara's Sharingan just an ordinary three-tomoe Sharingan? Second—if we could seal the summoning contract on you, would you be willing to cooperate temporarily?"
Kyohiko asked.
The Nine-Tails opened its eyes and lifted its head, its gaze filled with confusion and surprise. Then it sneered coldly. "You think you can suppress me?"
"Of course not right now. But if we ever get the chance in the future, we can help seal that contract. It would be a win-win. And we'll never go back on our word."
Kyohiko added with a soft chuckle, "Once the summoning contract is sealed, if an Uchiha ever releases you again, maybe you'll finally get the chance to claw your revenge into them."
The Nine-Tails was silent for a long time before replying, "Madara's eyes weren't just ordinary three-tomoe patterns. I don't know exactly what they were."
With that, it lay down on the water's surface and said nothing more.
…
In the room, Kyohiko opened his eyes as the vines slowly retracted.
Minato Namikaze let out a sigh of relief.
Kyohiko was safe, and Kushina was unharmed.
When it came to matters involving the Nine-Tails, nothing was more important than safety.
But Kushina was far more impatient.
"Well? How did it go?"
"It was a partial success. I made a deal with the Nine-Tails and learned a few things from its own mouth about what happened back then."
Kyohiko recounted the entire conversation between him and the Nine-Tails in meticulous detail.
After listening, Minato and Kushina exchanged glances. Kushina then gently touched her belly, her expression complex, and whispered, "Before Granny Mito passed away, she told me to fill my heart with love to resist the Nine-Tails' corruption…"
"I don't know much about the other Tailed Beasts, but it's obvious the Nine-Tails didn't originally bear hatred toward humans. Its appearance and the sealing of it stemmed from Madara and the First Hokage's battle."
Kyohiko said, "That may be the source of its hatred."
Kushina fell silent.
She thought of herself.
Back then, she had been inexplicably brought from Uzushio to Konoha. At a very young age, she was made into a Jinchūriki and imprisoned under Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo's watchful eyes in a cage called "Konoha."
If not for Minato, she wouldn't have known happiness. She might have been swallowed by hatred and eventually become a pawn of the Nine-Tails.
But now…
After hearing Kyohiko's "history," she suddenly felt a twinge of empathy toward the Nine-Tails and didn't know what to say.
Minato frowned slightly and glanced at her with concern. Then he walked over to Kyohiko and asked quietly, "What exactly did you promise?"
"To help the Nine-Tails seal away the summoning contract it made with Madara."
Kyohiko replied. "Even though Madara is dead, what if an Uchiha with a strong Sharingan finds a way to tap into that contract and tries to release and summon the Nine-Tails again?"
"Hmm…"
Minato frowned.
He could sense that Kyohiko was wary of the Uchiha.
"Do you share Danzo's view of the Uchiha?"
"No. I agree more with the Second Hokage."
Kyohiko answered calmly.
Minato looked surprised. "The Second?"
"To study Flying Thunder God, I read a lot of the Second Hokage's notes. I think his stance toward the Uchiha was fundamentally different from that of the Third or Danzo."
Kyohiko said.
Minato went quiet in thought.
He didn't understand these political struggles and had no interest in them.
But this involved Kushina…
He thought for a while. "Kyohiko, I don't care what your stance is on the Uchiha. I just want to know—could there still be a connection between them and Madara?"
"I don't know. That's what I'll be investigating next."
Kyohiko replied.
Minato gave a small nod, then looked at Kyohiko with gratitude.
"Thank you, Kyohiko."
"No need. We're teammates, and both disciples of the same master. That makes you like a big brother to me. Who else would I help, if not you?"
Kyohiko said, half out of pragmatism, but mostly from sincerity.
Minato, for all his occasional delays at critical moments, was someone who would go all out for his friends and loved ones.
Being friends with him meant you'd never be stabbed in the back.
Minato pressed his lips together slightly.
"Mm."
He collected his thoughts, then said after a pause, "Kushina and I will look into sealing the summoning contract. In the meantime, please help me probe the Uchiha…"
"If you ever need me to act, just say the word."
Minato added sincerely.
Kyohiko shook his head. "Not for now. If you can get the Flying Thunder Formation operational, that'll already be a huge contribution."
"Alright."
"Then I'll head out. I need to report everything to the other side."
"Okay."
Minato rose to see him off.
At the doorway, he paused for a while, then closed the door and turned back. Looking at Kushina on the sofa, a trace of gratitude passed through his eyes.
The summoning contract, that special Sharingan…
If anyone in the Uchiha clan learned of this and harbored hatred toward Konoha, they might try to release the Nine-Tails and use it to destroy the village.
The Uchiha…
He pressed his lips together again, then forced a smile.
"Kushina, what do you want for lunch?"
"Minato, we really need to thank Kyohiko."
Kushina said, "He helped me realize something—maybe the way we've been treating the Nine-Tails has been wrong from the start…"
Minato nodded.
Yes.
Communicating with a Tailed Beast was already a dangerous thing—let alone for Kyohiko, who had awakened the Wood Release kekkei genkai. That might make the Nine-Tails resent him even more than others.
Kyohiko had the courage to go in and talk with it. That alone was impressive.
Minato smiled. "I'm going to be busy researching the Flying Thunder Formation for a while. I might not have time to keep you company."
"Hey, what are you saying? I need to start learning how to be a proper teacher too!"
…
Hokage's Office.
Tsunade listened to Kyohiko's report. At first, she stayed composed, but by the end, she couldn't even focus on work. With a whoosh, she stood up from her seat.
"Isn't it possible the Nine-Tails was lying to you?"
"I don't think so. And with the Nine-Tails' personality, without a summoning contract and a special Sharingan, would it really have submitted to Madara so willingly?"
Kyohiko replied with a question of his own.
Tsunade fell silent, then frowned. "So you're saying… we really need to probe into the Uchiha?"
"Leave that to me. You don't have to worry."
"You…"
Tsunade looked at Kyohiko, worried.
"Relax. I'm not Danzo, and I'm not the Third either. I agree more with the Second Hokage. The Uchiha should be watched—but not hated. I found out Kagami-senpai has a descendant, and he's about the right age to start the Academy soon."