Bab 179: Chapter 179: Mito's Intentions
"Tatsuma, do you know what a Tailed Beast is?"
In the study, Mito asked Tatsuma. Tatsuma nodded, and seeing this, Mito continued, "According to legend, with the birth of Chakra, nine Tailed Beasts also came into existence in this world.
A thousand years ago, in that desolate age, humans had no interaction with the Tailed Beasts. But as humans began to expand and explore, conflicts between humans and Tailed Beasts emerged.
Humans and Tailed Beasts fought continuously for hundreds of years. Time and again, the Tailed Beasts proved their strength to humans, and in every era, countless fearless warriors challenged the Tailed Beasts.
Some sought fame, some desired the power of the Tailed Beasts, and some even wanted to enslave the Tailed Beasts for their own purposes."
Mito paused here, looked at Tatsuma, and asked, "You should know who founded this village, right?"
"Senju Hashirama-sama."
Tatsuma gave the standard answer for Konoha. Mito nodded, then shook her head, and said, "There was another person at that time, named Uchiha Madara, the strongest ninja to ever come from the Uchiha Clan.
He and my husband together founded this village. But later, their friendship broke down, and Uchiha Madara left the village. Eventually, he came back with the strongest Tailed Beast—the Nine-Tails.
Uchiha Madara failed. He died in a great battle with his best friend, leaving behind the rampaging Nine-Tails.
Unlike Uchiha Madara, who saw the Tailed Beasts as slaves and pets, my husband proposed the idea of coexistence between humans and Tailed Beasts. He scoured ancient texts and consulted everyone who had ever interacted with a Tailed Beast.
He even communicated face-to-face with the Tailed Beasts and finally found a method— The Jinchuriki—to seal the Tailed Beasts within human bodies."
Mito paused, placing her hands gently on her lap, and lightly pressed her abdomen, as if soothing a baby.
Then, Mito looked back at Tatsuma and asked, "Do you know who the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki is?"
Tatsuma did not answer, merely looking at Mito. Mito nodded and said, "Perhaps you have already guessed it, ever since you used that power.
I am the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki, the first Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki, and the first Tailed Beast Jinchuriki."
Of course, Tatsuma could not reveal that he had known this from a past life, so he just waited for Mito to continue. Mito shook her head and said, "But I have not lived in harmony with the Nine-Tails.
Controlled by Uchiha Madara and then sealed by my husband, the Nine-Tails, which was eventually transferred to me, could not communicate with me. This is one aspect.
On the other hand, I have also resisted the Nine-Tails. The Nine-Tails did not want to communicate with me, and I never tried to connect with it sincerely. Over the years, I have merely used my power to suppress it, preventing it from causing trouble."
During this conversation, Mito spoke in a very personal tone. She even reverted to referring to herself as "I," dropping her usual dignified demeanor. She expressed her worries and sighed openly.
Faced with this side of Mito, Tatsuma did not know how to respond and could only listen quietly.
After a moment of silence, Mito spoke again, "I cannot live forever. In fact, I might have less than four years left. Beyond that, I won't be able to maintain the seal on the Nine-Tails within me.
For the sake of the village and the ninja world, there must be a second Jinchuriki. But I am afraid.
I am afraid the next Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki will not be able to suppress its power, and even more so, I fear the next Jinchuriki will follow my path—spending their life battling the Tailed Beast without ever opening their hearts to each other.
Tatsuma, can you answer a question for me?"
Tatsuma nodded, and Mito also nodded in response before asking, "What do you think the Tailed Beasts are?"
"...I think the Tailed Beasts are extremely dangerous. Using a person's entire life to gamble on whether or not they can coexist peacefully with a Tailed Beast, or even more uncertainly, connect with them heart to heart, is too unfair for a Jinchuriki."
After pondering for a long time, Tatsuma finally expressed his honest opinion. He then looked earnestly at Mito and asked, "Grandma Mito, if there were no Tailed Beasts, how long could you live?"
"Child, the value of life isn't measured by its length."
Mito said this, but seeing Tatsuma's serious expression, she averted her gaze, unwilling to answer the question directly. She only added, "There are always some responsibilities that certain people must bear."
Despite her words, Mito's eyes grew dim, as Tatsuma's stance meant he wouldn't choose to coexist peacefully with the Tailed Beasts, not even to try.
Tatsuma could treat her and others equally, but he couldn't see the Tailed Beasts as being on the same level as humans.
In fact, Mito had long been aware of this. When Tatsuma went with Jiraiya to carry out the mission of sealing the Tanuki, Kincho, it was clearly evident in his report.
At that time, Mito didn't pay much attention to it. First, Tatsuma hadn't shown the potential to become the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki. Second, people's perspectives always change over time.
But now she saw that, unlike his peers, Tatsuma's understanding and beliefs were much more developed and steadfast, making them difficult to change.
If Tatsuma were forced to become the second Jinchuriki, it would likely be another decades-long mistake.
Mito felt some regret and disappointment, but she wasn't angry or upset. She refocused her gaze on Tatsuma and asked, "Are you confident in this upcoming battle?"
"Who can say for sure on the battlefield? All we can do is our best."
Seeing Mito shift the topic, Tatsuma went along with it. Mito then asked, "Would you be willing to give the Nine-Tails another chance?"
Tatsuma was taken aback, then pursed his lips and asked, "That feeling of being controlled by emotions last time still bothers me."
He was a rational person, both in his past life and this one, rarely allowing emotions to dictate his actions, whether in childhood or adulthood.
Even when extremely angry or heartbroken, he could regain his composure with something as simple as a deep breath. He always experienced emotions lightly, never deeply immersing himself in them.
Therefore, the state induced by the Nine-Tails' Chakra made Tatsuma very uncomfortable, or rather resistant. Although it provided greater power, he always felt it wasn't worth it.
"Experiences on the battlefield temper one's character the most. Perhaps now you might be able to control that power freely?"
Mito didn't give up. Seeing her ask a second time, Tatsuma couldn't refuse and simply nodded.
Seeing this, Mito extended her hand, palm up, indicating for Tatsuma to place his hand on hers. With the experience from last time, Tatsuma did not need Mito to say more and placed his left hand on Mito's right hand.
Gently squeezing the arm that had gained some muscle since last year, Mito's face showed the joy and satisfaction that every grandmother feels when seeing a village child grow up.
Holding Tatsuma's left hand lightly with her right hand, Mito's left fingertips grazed the inside of Tatsuma's arm. Although her fingernails were rounded and smooth, they cut through Tatsuma's skin like a blade slicing through iron.
In the next moment, fiery red Chakra surged from Mito's body and entered Tatsuma's wound.
"Sss~"
As the Chakra was injected, the edges of Tatsuma's wound turned slightly blackened, and a wisp of white smoke rose, as if the flesh were being seared on a hot iron plate.
Tatsuma bit down hard, his face flushing instantly. This time, the Nine-Tails' Chakra was much more intense than the last.
His hand instinctively tried to pull back, but Mito's right hand, which had been gently holding his arm, tightened its grip to hold him in place.
Tatsuma's feeling was not mistaken; the Nine-Tails' Chakra that Mito injected this time was much more than before. The Chakra even began to overflow from Tatsuma's body.
Fiery red Chakra covered his skin, and something resembling horns or ears emerged from his forehead. Chakra tails appeared behind him—one, two...
Just as the third tail emerged, Mito stopped injecting Chakra. Her left hand, stained with Tatsuma's blood, quickly inscribed a Sealing Jutsu on his arm.
As the inscription was completed, the seal glowed, and the Chakra on Tatsuma's body was drawn back inside, then concentrated towards his left hand. The cut on his skin began to heal rapidly.
"Hu~"
Feeling as though he had just undergone torture, Tatsuma collapsed to the ground. Mito released his hand, and Tatsuma touched his left hand.
The charred area flaked off at a touch, leaving no sign of burns on the ground. However, the heavy sensation in his left hand was something Tatsuma found very uncomfortable.
"Unlike the previous seal, this one is the Four Symbols Seal. You can release it whenever you need to," Mito said, looking at the exhausted Tatsuma. He nodded and tried to stand up, but his left hand felt so heavy that he involuntarily stood with a slight tilt, looking at his left hand with some disdain.
Mito's face took on an inexplicable expression as she then said, "The Nine-Tails spoke up. It said you are the fourth most annoying person it's ever met, even more detestable than those who have previously devoured it."
"Huh?"
Tatsuma was bewildered. How had he offended the Nine-Tails? It was clearly Mito who forcibly infused him with the Nine-Tails' Chakra!
"Are you disparaging it... no, are you disparaging me?"
As Mito's tone suddenly changed, Tatsuma was reminded of the night four months ago when Mito had hung Tsunade up and beaten her.
"Gulp~"
Tatsuma unconsciously swallowed, but in an instant, Mito's face softened into an indulgent expression as she said, "Just kidding. I value you, and you will never be treated differently from others by me."
But Tatsuma still dared not relax. Mito waved her hand and said, "Go have fun. Don't forget to come back for dinner."
"Yes."
After leaving Mito's study, Tatsuma headed towards his own study, or rather Tobirama's study, but found Minato there. He was transcribing the scroll of the Fire Dragon Flame Bullet.
Seeing Tatsuma approach, Minato smiled and said, "Tatsuma, I've finished transcribing a copy. Take a look first. Once you're done, I'll return the scroll to Hokage-sama."
"Okay."
Tatsuma nodded and said, "No wonder Kushina gave me a glare when I came over. It turns out you left her behind to transcribe the scroll."
Hearing Tatsuma's jest, Minato, who had been puzzled by Tatsuma's odd behavior, forgot to inquire further. He scratched his head, chuckled foolishly, wanting to deny it, yet enjoying the banter.
Seeing Minato's attention diverted, Tatsuma prepared to speak again, intending to completely distract Minato from his earlier behavior.
"Minato, did you succeed in mastering the Rasengan?"
At the mention of it, Minato stopped his foolish grin, adopting a shy smile instead, and said, "I've barely managed to learn it. I'm still not very skilled."
With that, he spread his hands, and a brightly glowing Chakra sphere hovered above his palm.
Tatsuma twitched his eye corner. Wow, he's really putting on a show, isn't he?!
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Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
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