Chapter 23: Chapter 22 – The Culprit

Dawn was approaching. The first rays of the sun reddened the gray sky, giving the village of Konoha a rather unnatural atmosphere.

Dozing on her son's hospital bed, Mikoto slowly opened her eyes. She saw a red lock in front of her.

“Ah, it's you, Kushina…” she yawned.

Kushina gave her a shy smile.

“It brings back memories…” Mikoto continued, stretching.

Kushina raised her eyebrows, not understanding.

“The last time, I was a bit upset against Hiashi…” Mikoto said.

Kushina frowned.

She knows! The Uzumaki panicked. Minato, you told me she was sleeping... You told me she didn't know anything!

“Do you remember that, Kushina? Hey Kushina? Why are you so silent?”

“What are you talking about?” Kushina asked, worried.

“You do not remember? Mikoto answered. “Shortly after the birth of little Hinata?”

Kushina panicked and bit her tongue involuntarily.

“Ouch!”

“What is happening to you, Kushina?”

“I bit my tongue…” Kushina muttered.

Mikoto laughed.

“Ah, these memories…” Mikoto said, looking nostalgic.

Kushina frowned, really not understanding where Mikoto was coming from.

“But what are you talking about, Mikoto?”

“To wake up on a hospital bed,” Mikoto answered. “And to see, when I wake up... A red hot habanero above my head!”

Kushina, relieved, realized that she didn’t know anything. She let out a sigh, then her expression suddenly changed.

“What did you say?!”

“Red Hot habanero! Kushina the tomato!” Mikoto chuckled.

“Do you know what happened to the last person who called that?” Kushina shouted threateningly.

"Yeah, poor thing," Mikoto whispered. “I remember, during the war... The poor guy from Kumo recognized you and warned his comrades... The Red Hot Habanero... It's Konoha's Red Habanero; run away! Hahaha... Poor guy, he must have thought that nickname was a title, a bit like the Yellow Flash... If only he had known…”

“Still, I was disgusted that the other countries take up this rotten nickname of the academy to call me... They could have inquired a little! Besides, it's not as if I belong to a completely unknown clan!”

“Don't complain, at least you had a title!”

“What about what happened with you then? You stayed warm for most of the war with your son, and you still got one that day!” Kushina muttered.

“Ah yeah... What was it again? The Madwoman?”

Kushina burst out laughing.

“They weren't wrong…”

Mikoto’s eyes sparkling with memories, looked down at Sasuke.

“Kumo's duo was facing Minato and his team on a flank,” Mikoto recalled.

“Yeah, and the jonin had drawn attention to another flank,” Kushina continued. “With Hiashi, we fought well against everyone…”

“And some Chuunins had approached Konoha…” Mikoto muttered. “A low threat in appearance, next to the others. And one of their kunoichis had gone unnoticed. She was discreet, agile, fast... A perfect scout... and she has a Bijuu that could have hurt Konoha very badly.”

Kushina frowned.

“Even the Raikage took part in this diversion... Do you remember?”

“Yeah, Minato wanted to have the luxury of taking care of it himself, but with the two lads he was facing…”

“Yes, all that to pull most of our forces away from the village,” Mikoto whispered, whose emotions were now visible in his eyes.

Still staring at his son, Mikoto felt uncontrollable tears welling up and blurring her sight. Kushina took her in her arms gently. Mikoto pulled herself together.

“I still remember the two advisers who came knocking at my door,” Mikoto continued, wiping her eyes with the back of her arm. That day, they were very happy that an Uchiha stayed at home…”

“The village owes you that… You protected it.”

“It was my responsibility. Although I was no longer Shinobi, I was still a mother. I couldn't let this threat come near my son. I had to protect Itachi.”

Fixing Sasuke with his sparkling gaze, Mikoto sighed.

“You, at least, you won’t experience that, Sasuke…”

“Naruto and Sasuke are lucky…”

“It's true, but at least it will make memories for us to tell our little ones when my Sharingan will be all wrinkled and your hair all white.”

Kushina burst out laughing.

“I just wish Itachi's childhood wasn't sacrificed for these memories…”

Kushina looked her friend in the eyes, but she didn't take her eyes off little Sasuke.

“Hey... Hey, Mikoto! Look at me.”

She finally looked up at Kushina.

“You're not responsible for this. It is not your fault.”

“Having a child during a war... How irresponsible we were! The war gives you the impression that you can lose everything overnight, so you speed up everything... You get married, have children... And in the end, you ruin everything... I should have listened to you, Minato, and you…”

“Mikoto, you are absolutely not to blame. You, like your son, had the misfortune to live in bad times.”

Mikoto was about to answer.

“Stop, shut up, don't say anything else.” Kushina interrupted her.

Mikoto burst out laughing.

“Kushina, you really are a great friend!”

“Don't say that. You will make me turn red like…”

“A tomato!”

Kushina pouted. Mikoto sighed.

“At least you, I know I can trust you…”

Kushina smiled at her with an embarrassed air.

“By the way,” Mikoto said. “What happened when I was asleep?”

“Oh…uh…”

Memories flooded into the Uzumaki’s head. She saw Minato come back, annoyed. She remembered his request. She had to go immediately to the hospital and join Mikoto there, who didn't know anything. She remembered her own fear. She remembered asking Minato if she should hide the truth from her. And she remembered Minato's answer...

"Do as you feel like. Only you will know how to talk to her... I have faith in you, Kushina...”

She closed her eyes. She had already made her decision a while ago.

“Mikoto, I need to talk to you…”

I finally found you! Jiraiya thought.

“You're not bad. But I have a natural talent for tracking…” Jiraiya said.

“In that case, you should have noticed that the hunted was you,” a child's voice said behind him.

Jiraiya barely had time to turn around when the kid was already running away. The Sannin ran off. He was joined by two ANBUs.

“You are quick,” Jiraiya said. “I just found him…”

“We've been following him longer than you,” one of the ANBU replied. “We spent the night tracking him, on orders from the Yondaime.”

“Longer than me?” Jiraiya wondered, pursuing the kid into the forest. “I left the very moment we learned about little Sasuke…”

“The Yondaime Hokage knew that a hostile individual was wandering in the village,” the second ANBU explained. “Apparently, he tried to go after his son.”

“What? But... I thought it was Shi…” Jiraiya almost revealed.

He suddenly stopped.

"I see..." he whispered.

Shisui Uchiha didn't want to attack Naruto. He thought.

He spotted the boy through the trees.

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Actually... He saved his life. Jiraiya continued for himself.

The boy stopped abruptly and turned around.

Minato surely figured it out, one way or another. The Sannin concluded in his mind.

The boy's eyes, pure white, were surrounded by bulging veins that gave his face a rather disturbing appearance.

Jiraiya and the two ANBUs kept their distance. The child before them hadn’t even reached ten years of age. However, his pupil and the circumstances surrounding his arrival gave the Konoha shinobis a reason to remain vigilant.

It could be a trap. Jiraiya was aware of this, but what about the two ANBUs?
Mikoto, frowning, looked at Kushina with a piercing gaze.

“I see... So a little boy who possesses the Byakugan attacked Sasuke last night.”

“Yes.”

Mikoto stood up. But an arm held her back.

“Kushina…”

“Mother!”

“Sasuke?!”

“Mother... Don't fight…”

Mikoto stared at Sasuke in astonishment.

“Why… Why do you say that?”

“They... forced me to talk. And when they asked me if he had a ninja headband, I told them no. And when they asked me... if he had a mark on his forehead…”

Mikoto frowned. The mark in question was a very powerful seal that subjected the members of the branch family to the will of the main family.

“I told them no…”

Kushina closed her eyes, worried.

“And... They used their Sharingan…”

Mikoto lowered herself towards her son and kissed him on the forehead.

“Mother... I'm scared…”

“Don't worry, Sasuke,” she said, activating her Sharingan. “I’m here.”

The boy fell back on his pillow. She had put him to sleep with just a glance. Mikoto walked towards the door.

“Where are you going?” Kushina asked.

“To see an old friend.”
“Hiashi?”

Mikoto nodded.

“I am coming with you.”

“No!”

“But…”

“Kushina, you heard Sasuke. The Uchihas learned that the attacker had the Byakugan and had no mark on his forehead. It doesn’t leave a lot of possibilities…”

Mikoto turned around, staring at Kushina with her Sharingan.

“But the Uchihas will only see the most obvious. The tensions between the Uchihas and the Hyugas will only get worse, Kushina…”

Mikoto opened the door.

“We are heading straight for a civil war, between the two most powerful clans of Konoha. Such a war would involve the entire village and make us extremely vulnerable…”

Mikoto stepped through the doorway.

“Kushina, you are the jinchuriki of Kyubi. You represent stability, the balance of powers. And you are the Yondaime Hokage's wife. Keep an eye on Sasuke for me.”

“Mikoto, wait!”

The Uchiha stopped.

“So... You don't blame the Hyugas?”

“You know as well as I do that other forces are in play. Minato knows that too, I'm sure of it.”

Kushina opened her eyes wide.

“He would never have thought that you would react so wisely... You acted like him just now…”

“He always underestimated me, like everyone in this village, except you and Jiraiya-sensei. In everyone's eyes, I was just the Yellow Flash's comrade…”

“Mikoto…”

"I will put an end to this conflict! I failed once, and my clan managed to cast me aside. But this time, I'll succeed. I will take back the head of my clan! And I will protect Sasuke.” She added and left.

Kushina watched her walk away. She turned to the little Sasuke, asleep.

“You're lucky to have a mother like that…”

She spotted a barely visible mark on his pillow. Minato, while watching over the village and his own son, had also put things in place to be able to protect Sasuke instantly.

"Minato, you really are a Hokage worthy of the name..." Kushina whispered. "I must become stronger.”

She suddenly ran off. This conflict should not turn into a war…

In the forest near the village, Neji, the Byakugan activated, stood motionless in front of his pursuers.

“You are strong,” he said. You don’t have the Byakugan, but you still track me down without any issues. I must say it’s impressive.”

"Are you surrendering?" An ANBU asked. “Did you realize you couldn't go anywhere, kid?”

“It's true. I can't go anywhere as long as you’re following me…”

He took a step closer.

"So I'm going to exterminate you.”

“That's enough, Neji.”

An individual, hidden behind a tree, appeared and put a hand on the little boy's shoulder.

“Orochimaru.”

Jiraiya frowned. The ANBU members froze.

“Go, Neji.”

The little boy, with calculating eyes, turned around and disappeared into the forest. A big smile appeared on Orochimaru's lips.

“It's been a long time, Jiraiya.”

“You haven't changed at all,” Jiraiya replied with a determined smile. “Those wild eyes…”

Jiraiya, with a quick gesture of his arms, patted the ANBUs on the back while injecting them with some chakra. The two men regained their mobility.

“Stay on your guard. This kind of Genjutsu could have been fatal to you…”

Orochimaru licked his lips.

“Thank you,” one of the ANBU said. “We’re staying by your side.”

“Absolutely not,” The Sannin replied. “Do you know who is in front of us?”

“I had a good sensei,” The young ANBU replied, revealing a red eye behind his mask.

Orochimaru opened his eyes wide.

“That's enough, Kakashi. This opponent is too strong for you.”

Jiraiya looked at Orochimaru with an intense gaze.

“I’ll take care of him.”

“But…”

“Don't argue. It's an order.”

Orochimaru took a step forward.

“Kakashi Hatake.”

Kakashi remained on his guard.

“You're lucky. You've got your hands on it... The Sharingan…” Orochimaru said with a smirk.

“Run away, Kakashi,” Jiraiya ordered. “Both of you… go back to the village and tell them what’s happening!”

Kakashi made the other ANBU understand with a nod that they had to obey. The identity of the attacker had to be revealed to the village…as soon as possible.

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