Chapter 152: A Life Deceived

"Shikaku, it should be about the time the Chunin Exams are going to start, right?"

Upon hearing Mirai Uchiha's question, Shikaku Nara nodded in response. "That's right. Probably about two months from now."

"Lord Mirai, do you have something in mind regarding the Chunin Exams?"

"Precisely," Mirai Uchiha replied indifferently. "I want you to contact other ninja villages and ask them to send their ninja to Konoha for the exams."

"I intend to co-host an unprecedented grand Chunin Exam together with other villages."

Compared to Danzo Shimura, Hiruzen Sarutobi was truly the main target.

Making Hiruzen publicly disgraced before all of the ninja world—that had always been the path he had prepared for Hiruzen.

And this joint Chunin Exam with other villages would be a perfect stage.

After hearing Mirai's words, cold sweat immediately streamed down Shikaku Nara's forehead.

As the clan leader of the Nara family, Shikaku's intelligence was already at the pinnacle of the ninja world.

He instantly guessed Mirai's intentions.

The other party must be planning something shady during the Chunin Exams.

Could it be that...

After hesitating slightly, Shikaku finally voiced his inner guess: "Lord Mirai, you wouldn't be planning to wipe out all the village leaders when they come to Konoha, would you?"

Mirai shook his head. "Of course not. I'm inviting them here to watch an excellent show."

"What kind of show?"

"A show where Hiruzen Sarutobi falls into complete disgrace."

"I see..."

Shikaku quietly let out a breath of relief.

Fortunately, Mirai wasn't as crazy as he'd imagined. Though making the Hokage lose face did sound somewhat unbelievable, compared to the previous suspicion of waging war against all the other ninja villages, this idea was relatively acceptable.

What he feared most was Mirai impulsively attacking the leaders of other hidden villages during this opportunity.

If that happened, no matter whether those leaders were killed or not, Konoha would certainly face attacks from all other villages.

Even if Mirai were extremely powerful, there would be no way to survive such a situation...

Just as Shikaku was preparing to say something, Mirai's voice rang again, "As for attacking other ninja villages, let's discuss that after the Chunin Exams wrap up."

Shikaku Nara almost spat out a mouthful of blood in shock.

He knew it all along—this warmonger was still thinking about attacking other ninja villages!

————

Mirai Uchiha stayed in the Hokage's Office until the afternoon before finishing his day's work. After buying some desserts from the most expensive sweet shop in Konoha, Mirai approached a two-story residential house and knocked on the door.

"She's here."

Not long after the words were spoken, a flash of red hair appeared in the doorway.

Seeing Uchiha Mirai, Kushina Uzumaki's face brightened into a smile. "Mirai, it's been a while."

Uchiha Mirai shook the dessert she held in her hand. "Kushina, this is for you."

Kushina grabbed the dessert and pouted. "Annoying brat, why don't you call me 'big sister'?"

"And also...don't you know pregnant women shouldn't eat too many sweets?"

Seeing Kushina's obvious contradiction, Uchiha Mirai ignored her and walked straight into the living room.

As soon as she entered, an inviting aroma filled the air.

Minato Namikaze came out of the kitchen with an apron on. "Mirai, hang on a second. The meal will be ready soon."

"Not in a hurry."

Uchiha Mirai sat down on the sofa and casually turned on the TV.

Kushina grabbed the remote and muted the TV.

Meeting Uchiha Mirai's puzzled gaze, Kushina asked seriously, "Mirai, is it really true that you've imprisoned The Third?"

Uchiha Mirai nodded. "What about it?"

Kushina hesitated slightly before continuing, "What are you planning to do? That old man may be a bit annoying, but actually..."

Mirai interrupted. "Kushina, if you want to plead for him, why not first ask yourself whether you truly understand what Hiruzen Sarutobi has done?"

Kushina let out a bitter smile. "I'm not really trying to plead for him. It's just that I grew up under his care since childhood, so I feel a bit sad about this."

Mirai hummed softly. "Under his care? That's right. Sarutobi always was good at playing that role."

Hearing this, Kushina looked confused. "What exactly do you mean, Mirai?"

Mirai replied indifferently, "If back then Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't chosen to stand by and watch, the Land of Whirlpools wouldn't have fallen into ruin."

Bringing up this topic clearly made Kushina visibly disappointed. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Maybe The Third had some difficulties. I heard it was because the village didn't have enough strength to protect the Land of Whirlpools."

"Do you really believe that excuse?"

Kushina lowered her head.

Back then, the Second Great Ninja War hadn't started yet. Sakumo Hatake, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and others were all at their peak, and there were countless elite ninja within the village.

Everyone knew that insufficient power was just an excuse.

Still, Kushina didn't hold much resentment. The Land of Whirlpools had been an independent country, and during that time it was attacked by multiple nations together. She could understand Konoha's unwillingness to put itself at risk.

Seeing her reaction, Mirai continued, "Also...do you really think someone like Hiruzen Sarutobi would truly care about you out of kindness?"

"The surveillance by Anbu and the lack of personal freedom may seem like Danzo Shimura's idea, but Hiruzen Sarutobi merely went along with it."

"The most important thing is..."

Mirai Uchiha glanced toward Minato Namikaze, who was busy cooking in the kitchen, and whispered, "Do you really think that a few Cloud ninja, easily defeated by Minato as a teenager, could have kidnapped you from Konoha to begin with—when you were a potential jinchuriki for the Nine-Tails?"

Upon hearing Mirai Uchiha's words, Kushina Uzumaki froze in place.

Her most cherished memories rose unbidden to the surface of her mind, and from a completely new angle, revealed things she had never even considered before.

Yes.

Those Cloud ninja weren't particularly strong. So why had they been able to kidnap her so easily from the village?

Why hadn't all those powerful opponents notice anything, while only Minato had been the one to rescue her?

Could all of this really just be a coincidence?

Or perhaps...

Everything had actually been carefully orchestrated by a dark hand pulling the strings from the shadows.

Suddenly, Kushina felt a chill run through her body. A deep, unprecedented rage began spreading rapidly from within.

"Manipulating someone's entire life—that's what makes Hiruzen Sarutobi even more despicable than Danzo Shimura."

"Of course, Minato was definitely unaware of any of this. Both of you are victims here..."

"Kushina, think hard about everything that's happened around you. Never let yourself be deceived by Hiruzen Sarutobi's deceptive kindness."

Mirai Uchiha stopped there, but across from him, Kushina's eyes had already gone hollow and distant.

A dark, violent aura brimming with rage and despair surged forth, and crimson chakra began to slowly coalesce in the air.

The Nine-Tails… [was about to go into a rampage]!

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