In the underground stone chamber, as the Nine-Tailed transfer finally came to an end, the suffocating pressure that had filled the space slowly dissipated.
Hiroki bent forward, hands braced on his knees, taking several deep breaths to steady himself and calm his mind.
No one had ever told him that watching a Nine-Tailed transfer came with the risk of getting infected by the Nine-Tailed itself.
"Hiroki, are you alright? Just now—" Hiruzen Sarutobi appeared beside him almost instantly, reaching out to support his slightly unsteady body, concern written clearly across his face.
"I'm fine," Hiroki said, waving him off. "It's just… I used up a lot of Chakra earlier fighting Rasa."
There was no way he could tell the Third Hokage the truth—that he had just fought several hundred rounds with a self-aware virus named Kurama inside his consciousness, and had only subdued it by threatening to "End Process" and "Format" it into oblivion.
The old man would probably think he'd finally lost his mind.
Hiruzen studied Hiroki's pale face, then glanced at Kushina, who was sleeping peacefully on the altar—so peacefully, in fact, that she even smacked her lips in her sleep. His expression slowly filled with confusion.
Something about this situation didn't add up.
Logically speaking, during a Tailed Beast transfer, both the old and new Jinchuriki should suffer extreme pain. The Tailed Beast's Chakra should rage violently, and the Barrier Squad should be thrown into complete chaos.
Yet this time… everything had been far too calm.
Still, the Seal was functioning stably, and there was no visible problem. Hiruzen couldn't very well voice suspicions without evidence.
After all, Konoha had only performed a Jinchuriki transfer once before. All those worst-case scenarios—the Chakra riots, barrier collapse, uncontrollable backlash—were ultimately just his own deductions.
Perhaps transferring a Tailed Beast really was this peaceful.
Perhaps the Nine-Tailed had simply been asleep.
Even so, a faint suspicion lingered in Hiruzen's heart.
Could Hiroki have something to do with this?
As the legacy of the Second Hokage, maybe he had prepared some contingency plan for the Nine-Tailed transfer?
Muttering quietly to himself, Hiruzen felt both his caution and expectations toward Hiroki rise to a new level.
At the same time, inside Hiroki's consciousness space—
He was studying his newly acquired "cheat" with undisguised interest.
On the vast, empty System Desktop, the chibi Nine-Tailed icon lay sprawled out lazily, scratching the ground with its pixelated paws out of sheer boredom.
From time to time, a pixelated dialogue box popped up above its head.
Kurama: [Hey, hey, hey, what were you thinking? Why is your spiritual world so flat? There's nothing here—how boring!]
Kurama: [Kid! I can teach you how to remodel your spiritual world. How about making a wide-open wilderness for me?]
Kurama: [Hey! Kid! Are you listening?! There's not even an echo in this damn place! If you don't show up soon, I'm eating your files!]
Hiroki remained completely expressionless.
His consciousness shifted, transforming once again into a cursor, and he calmly opened the Task Manager.
The Nine-Tailed icon instantly stiffened, then switched to an exaggeratedly fawning expression.
Kurama: [Cough—cough! Just kidding! Just trying to liven things up!]
Kurama: [Don't take it seriously, kid! If you ever need to use my Chakra, just say the word.]
Kurama: [But let me make this clear first—I'm only a projection right now. The Chakra I can provide is limited. Once it's used up, you'll have to find my main body—that little girl—and place your hand on the Seal so it can recharge. This isn't infinite Chakra, got it?]
As it spoke, a small battery icon suddenly appeared beneath the Nine-Tailed's pixelated backside, flashing the words:
[Charging]
Hiroki silently clicked.
In the next instant, a faint yet astonishingly pure and warm stream of Chakra flowed into his body, like sipping a cup of hot coffee. The mental fatigue he had accumulated earlier was immediately eased.
Good stuff.
He disconnected without hesitation.
It really was like an extra Chakra power bank. He just didn't know how much charge it actually held.
Still, this kind of resource had to be used sparingly. But with it, he might finally be able to attempt Ninjutsu that required Chakra natures he didn't naturally possess.
Meanwhile—
Nine-Tailed Icon (pitiful): [Hey, kid! We've already made a deal! At least let me see what's going on outside! That old woman Mito wouldn't even let me take a single look!]
Nine-Tailed Icon (tearful): [Hey—hey!! What's wrong with my image?! Why do I look this stupid?!]
Nine-Tailed Icon (wailing): [Damn it! I'm not crying out of desperation! Hurry up and grant me camera and speaker permissions! I want to see the outside world!]
Hiroki glanced at it coldly and snorted internally.
So this is the mighty Nine-Tailed, huh…
He calmly opened his System's [Control Panel].
A window popped up, and he smoothly navigated to [Privacy Settings].
Under [App Permissions], only a single program was listed:
[Kurama.sys]
The Microphone permission was already enabled—otherwise Hiroki wouldn't be hearing this nonstop whining—but both Camera and Speaker were marked with glaring red "Forbidden" warnings.
His cursor moved to the Camera toggle.
Nine-Tailed Icon (excited): [Yes, yes, yes! That's it! Hurry up and turn it on!]
Instead of enabling it outright, Hiroki selected the dropdown option beneath it:
"Allow only while using this app."
This meant Kurama could only see when Hiroki explicitly allowed it.
He did the same for the Speaker permission.
Nine-Tailed Icon (impatient): [Are you done yet?! You're way too slow, kid!]
Ignoring it, Hiroki closed the Privacy settings, moved the cursor over the Nine-Tailed icon, and right-clicked.
This time, the fox didn't dodge.
In the menu that appeared—alongside the ever-threatening "Format" option—two new entries were listed at the bottom:
[Enable Visual Sharing][Enable Sound Sharing]
Hiroki's cursor hovered between the two, but he didn't click.
Instead, he asked calmly, "Mr. Nine-Tailed—how do you address me?"
The icon instantly switched to a bright, flattering smile.
Kurama: [I must say—you are truly a wise and valiant individual!]
"No need for that," Hiroki replied evenly. "Just call me Hiroki."
Kurama: [Good, good, good! Hiroki kid, hurry up and let me see the outside!]
Without further commentary, Hiroki clicked both options.
Click.
It felt as if a switch had been flipped.
The pixelated eyes of the Nine-Tailed icon suddenly lit up.
A moment later, a small floating window appeared beside it, displaying exactly what Hiroki was seeing through his own eyes—the underground stone chamber, Hiruzen Sarutobi's concerned face, and the unconscious Kushina in the distance.
At the same time, Hiroki realized that his hearing was being shared as well.
"Ohhh! Yes, yes, that's it!" Kurama exclaimed excitedly. "That Sandaime brat really has gotten old!"
Soon after, Kushina and Lady Mito's remains were escorted back to the tower. Hiruzen informed Hiroki that he could either rest there or return home.
After giving a few brief instructions, the Third Hokage departed swiftly. As Hokage, there was no shortage of matters demanding his attention.
—
In the Hokage Office, thick smoke curled through the air, and the atmosphere was heavy.
The moment Hiruzen returned, he was met by an agitated Danzo.
Leaning on his cane, Danzo paced back and forth like a trapped wolf. "Hiruzen! What are you waiting for?! The Kazekage is dead! The Hidden Sand Village is an empty shell! Now is the perfect time to send troops and settle the Land of Wind once and for all!"
Utatane Koharu pushed up her glasses, her voice icy. "Danzo, are you obsessed with war? Look at the state of our village! Reparations, reconstruction, casualties—where do you think the money and manpower will come from? Do you think war is a dinner party?"
Homura Mitokado nodded in agreement. "Exactly. Iwagakure and Kumogakure are both watching us closely. If we exhaust ourselves fighting the Sand—"
"—then who do you think benefits the most?" he finished.
"And we haven't even buried our fallen ninja yet," Koharu added. "We don't have the luxury for a war of annihilation."
"A bunch of cowards!" Danzo snapped, murderous intent flashing across his face.
"Enough." Hiruzen exhaled a long plume of smoke and tapped his pipe against the ashtray. "Danzo, restrain yourself. This isn't about whose fist is harder—it's about who calculates better."
He turned toward the door. "What about the Hidden Sand? It's been half a day—no response?"
An ANBU wearing a cat mask appeared silently, kneeling on one knee. "Hokage-sama. Envoys from the Hidden Sand have arrived. The leader is their elder—Chiyo."
"Oh?" Hiruzen smiled faintly. "They came quickly. Let them in."
Danzo snorted but said nothing more.
Negotiations always came before war.
Chiyo entered the Hokage Office, supported by several Sand Jonin who kept their heads lowered, not daring to meet Konoha's gaze.
"Third Hokage," Chiyo said hoarsely, as if her voice had been ground down by endless sandstorms. She sighed deeply.
There was no hatred in her eyes—only numb grief.
She looked straight at Hiruzen.
Why could Konoha produce monsters of talent generation after generation?
Hashirama. Tobirama. Hiruzen.
And now—
That ten-year-old child who had killed Rasa head-on.
Ten years old.
If that child survived to adulthood… if he became Hokage…
Would anyone in the entire shinobi world be able to stop him?
The thought alone made Chiyo shudder.
"We have come for peace," she said quietly. "Name your terms. There is no one left in the Hidden Sand Village who can oppose Konoha."