"Alright! Kurama, quiet down!"
"Howling like that won't change anything. I've completely recovered!"
"For the next few decades, it's still this old lady keeping you company. You should be thrilled!"
Mito Uzumaki's spiritual form appeared in the seal space, smiling calmly as she looked at the Nine-Tails.
Kurama: "….."
"I'm freaking—"
Before he could finish, the Nine-Tails erupted into a stream of curses, roaring insults at Mito, vile and furious.
Her mood soured immediately.
"Shut your mouth!"
With a wave of her hand, golden chains wrapped tightly around Kurama's mouth, physically silencing him.
No matter how much he struggled, he couldn't break free.
At that moment, Kurama felt utterly defeated:
"She's the real demon…"
After forcing the Nine-Tails into silence, Mito's spiritual body slowly faded.
Back in the real world, Mito Uzumaki slowly opened her eyes and flexed her limbs.
She felt incredible.
She even disabled the cosmetic effect of her Yin Seal, revealing her natural state.
To her surprise, she didn't return to an elderly appearance—her aura was simply more mature, with no trace of her former frailty.
"Heh… it works wonderfully. I'm very satisfied!"
Mito's face lit up with joy. She looked at Genqing with a warm gaze.
"He's a little treasure."
"Maybe I should arrange for him to spend more time with Kushina?"
"If something happens between them, maybe I'll be able to mooch life elixirs for free in the future!"
If Tsunade weren't so much older, she might have considered pushing her granddaughter toward Genqing too.
"Jealous. I'm actually jealous of the Uchiha… of Chiri."
She chuckled internally.
Meanwhile, Tsunade suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. She looked around, puzzled.
"Weird… why do I feel like something bad's eyeing me?"
Elsewhere in the village…
Kushina, out shopping with Mikoto, suddenly sneezed multiple times.
"What the heck? Who's badmouthing me?"
"Huh? Kushina, are you okay?" Mikoto asked, concerned.
"I think I'm fine… probably that sissy Minato badmouthing me again! Hmph! I'm gonna teach him a lesson at school tomorrow!"
At that very moment, Minato, passing by in the distance, witnessed the whole thing and sighed internally.
"Why does it always end up like this…?"
"Every time I try to be nice, Kushina thinks I'm being mean."
"It's like there's this wall between us—a wall made of differing worldviews."
Back at the Senju compound…
"So? Fully recovered?"
Chiri looked at Mito with a knowing smile. She didn't even need to ask—her sensory abilities already confirmed the surge of life force emanating from Mito.
"We're probably evenly matched now," she mused.
"Yes." Mito nodded, eyes glowing with joy. "Fully restored. The elixir works exactly as promised."
"Thank you. With this, I've bought myself decades more time."
Time to guide the Senju and Uzumaki clans back to strength—time to raise Tsunade and Nawaki into capable successors.
"No need to thank me," Chiri waved it off. "This was just a transaction."
"Besides, your survival benefits the Uchiha greatly."
"With you holding back the Sarutobi faction, and the Senju at the front lines, we Uchiha can breathe a little easier."
Just imagining Hiruzen and his clique being suppressed by Mito for decades put Chiri in a fantastic mood.
"Hey now, don't forget—we're allies now! We said we'd stand together!"
Mito chuckled.
Then she added more seriously:
"Also, if possible, I'd prefer that Hiruzen and the others not learn that I'm fully recovered."
"Let's tell them your treatment only helped me buy a few extra years."
"Give them some hope—just enough that they don't go crazy and act out. Desperate people make rash choices."
"Wouldn't you agree?"
There was no need to back them into a corner.
No one wanted a destabilized Leaf Village, especially with another Ninja World War possibly on the horizon.
"Sure," Chiri agreed after a moment. "We're not ready for all-out confrontation yet."
"But you'll need to conceal your life force better—nobody's going to believe you're dying when you're radiating energy like the sun."
"No problem."
Mito smiled, pressed a hand to her abdomen, and activated a seal.
Instantly, her overflowing vitality dimmed, stabilizing at roughly double what it used to be.
"Let's formalize the alliance then," Mito suggested. "Feels like a formality, but still worth doing."
"Alright," Chiri nodded. "Let's do it."
"Give me a moment to prepare the documents."
Mito stood up and left the room.
"Tsunade, entertain our guests in the meantime."
"Got it."
Once Mito left, Tsunade poured more tea and turned to Genqing:
"Little Genqing, could we talk about your medical techniques? Want to exchange notes?"
"Sure."
Genqing didn't mind.
As the discussion began, Tsunade quickly realized that Genqing's knowledge was far beyond ordinary.
Just a few minutes in, she felt like she was being taught by someone superior.
His methods were completely different from conventional ninja medical arts.
"It's like he's working from an entirely separate system…"
Tsunade was deeply intrigued.
If this weren't such a formal setting, she might've asked Genqing directly where he learned all this.
It was truly mind-blowing.
—
About twenty minutes later, Mito returned with:
The alliance contract
Ink and writing brushes
A scroll with the Flying Thunder God technique
Tobirama's advanced Water Style jutsu
And an oversized sealing scroll filled with Uzumaki sealing techniques.
She was surprised to see Tsunade still enraptured by her conversation with Genqing.
Most of the discussion was one-sided—Genqing was doing the explaining.
And every time Tsunade posed a theory, Genqing would absorb it, process it, and expand on it with ease.
His learning ability left both Tsunade and Mito astonished.