Naruto: The Rise of Kurama

Chapter 80 80: Message

The toad arrived at dawn.

Kushina was training with Nagato when she sensed it- a small chakra signature appearing at the edge of Mount Myōboku's barrier, distinct from the native toads. She paused mid-strike, her practice scythe hovering inches from Nagato's guard.

"Something's here."

Nagato lowered his stance, his Mangekyō flickering to life. The tomoe spun lazily as he scanned the distance. "A messenger toad. It's carrying a scroll."

"From who?"

"I can't tell from here. But it's not hostile."

Kushina dismissed her scythe and started walking toward the barrier's edge. Nagato fell into step beside her, though she waved him off after a few paces. "Stay with the clan. I'll handle this."

He hesitated, clearly wanting to argue, but the seal pulsed faintly- a reminder of who gave orders and who followed them. He bowed and turned back toward the training grounds.

Kushina continued alone, her bare feet silent on the mossy ground. The natural energy of Mount Myōboku hummed around her, thick and warm, but her focus was elsewhere. A messenger toad that wasn't from the mountain meant someone outside was trying to reach her. And the list of people who knew she was here was very short.

She found the toad waiting at the base of a massive tree, its orange-and-brown markings unfamiliar. It was small- barely larger than her fist- and it watched her approach with nervous, bulging eyes.

"Lady Kushina Uzumaki?" it croaked.

"Who's asking?"

The toad produced a scroll from somewhere beneath its belly, holding it out with both front legs. "I carry a message from Konohagakure- from the Fifth Hokage."

Kushina's expression didn't change, but her hand twitched toward the seal on her wrist where her scythe was stored. "Konoha has a new Hokage already? Jiraiya's corpse is barely cold."

"Lord Minato Namikaze was named Fifth Hokage three days ago." The toad's voice wavered. "He requests an audience with you, Lady Kushina. To discuss matters of mutual concern."

Minato.

The name hit her like a splash of cold water. She hadn't thought about him in years- hadn't let herself think about him. He was part of a past she'd buried, a life that belonged to someone else. The quiet boy who'd tried so hard to be her friend. The teammate who'd looked at her with those earnest blue eyes, never understanding why she kept pushing him away.

She'd assumed he was dead. Most of Konoha's strong had been at the Summit.

But of course Minato had survived. He was too quick to die, and too clever to be caught in someone else's trap. She should have known.

"Give me the scroll."

The toad extended it further, and Kushina snatched it from its grasp. She broke the seal- Konoha's leaf symbol, stamped in red wax- and unrolled the message.

The handwriting was precise, each character formed with careful attention. She recognized it immediately. Minato had always written like that, like he was afraid of making mistakes even on paper.

Kushina,

I know we have no reason to trust each other. I know what Konoha did to you, and I know what you've done in return. I'm not writing to relitigate the past or demand answers you don't owe me.

Madara Uchiha has emerged. He possesses the Rinnegan and is trying to collect the tailed beasts. Our intelligence suggests he's preparing something catastrophic- a technique that requires all nine. You're the most important piece he needs.

I'm not asking you to save Konoha. I'm not asking you to forgive us. I'm asking for a conversation. You faced Madara and survived. I have resources and techniques that might be useful to you. Perhaps we can help each other.

If you're willing to meet, send word through the toad network. I'll come to Mount Myōboku alone, on whatever terms you set.

Minato Namikaze

Fifth Hokage

Kushina read the message twice. Then she crumpled it in her fist.

"Konoha has some nerve," Kurama growled in her mind. His presence stirred, warm and vast, settling around her consciousness like a cloak. "Sending their new puppet to beg for scraps after everything they did to you."

"He's not wrong about Madara," she said aloud, not caring if the messenger toad heard. "We both know what happens if that man gets his hands on you."

"I'm aware. But that doesn't mean we need Konoha's help. We don't need anyone's help."

"Don't we?" Kushina stared at the crumpled scroll in her hand. "Madara cut me in half, Kurama. If Nagato hadn't been there with Tokotachi, I'd be dead. We're not ready to face him again."

Kurama's silence was telling. He didn't like admitting weakness any more than she did.

"What could Konoha possibly offer us?" he said finally. "Their village is broken and their strongest are dead. The boy is talented, but he's not in our league."

"The Flying Thunder God."

Another pause. Kushina could feel Kurama turning the idea over, examining it from angles she hadn't considered.

"...Go on."

"Minato's teleportation technique. Instant movement across any distance, as long as he has a marker in place. In a battle with Madara, that could mean repositioning me mid-fight- creating openings. Extracting me if things go wrong." She unclenched her fist, smoothing out the scroll. "You said it yourself- Madara's skill exceeds mine. I can't match him in direct combat. But if I had someone who could move me around the battlefield faster than he can react..."

"It's not a terrible idea," Kurama admitted grudgingly. "The technique is potent."

"He was always talented."

"Talent doesn't mean trustworthy. Konoha will betray you the moment it's convenient. They always have."

"I know." Kushina folded the scroll and tucked it into her belt. "But Madara is hunting us right now. Konoha's betrayal is a future problem. Madara is an immediate one."

The messenger toad was still watching her, its throat pulsing nervously. She'd almost forgotten it was there.

"Tell your Hokage I'll hear him out," she said. "He can come to Mount Myōboku. Alone, like he offered. If I sense anyone else with him, or any trap, I'll kill him before he finishes materializing. Make sure he understands that."

The toad bobbed its head rapidly. "Yes, Lady Kushina. I'll relay your message exactly."

"Good. Now get out of my sight."

It vanished in a puff of smoke.

Kushina watched the mist curl through the trees. Konoha. After everything, Konoha was reaching out to her. The village that had sealed a demon in an eight-year-old orphan and called it protection. The village that had tried to kill her when she stopped being useful.

And now they wanted her help.

"You're thinking too loudly," Kurama said. "I can feel your anger from here."

"I'm not angry."

"Liar."

She exhaled slowly. "Fine. I'm angry. But that doesn't change the calculus. Minato's technique could be the difference between winning and dying. I'm not going to let pride cost us everything."

"There's the brat I raised." Kurama's voice carried something that might have been approval. "Practical to the end."

"I learned from the best."

She turned and walked back toward the clan's settlement, leaving the forest edge behind. The mist swallowed her footprints almost immediately, as if she'd never been there at all.

Minato was coming. Her former teammate, and her former almost-friend. He was Hokage now, carrying the weight of a broken village, and he thought she might be able to save him.

He was wrong about that. She wasn't here to save anyone except her own.

But if using him meant surviving Madara, she'd use him without hesitation.

That was who she was now. That was who Kurama had made her.

And she wouldn't apologize for it.