The Hokage and four Anbu moved with lightning speed to apprehend the suspects: the primary offender, Kushina, and her accomplice, Kamishiro Hagoromo.
Currently, they were facing serious charges of environmental destruction, disturbing the ecological balance, and sabotaging the village's water cycle. Even more severe, however, was the charge of malicious damage to Konoha's protective barrier.
Kushina was a dangerous individual capable of threatening the entire biodiversity of the village. While she had a history of such incidents, this was the first time she had gone so far as to physically rewrite the geography.
If these charges stuck, while they wouldn't be branded as traitors, they were looking at up to three months of "re-education" time.
The Third Hokage had now stepped into his role and sat in judgment.
Before the Hokage, no shinobi has the right to remain silent—but every word they say can and will be used as evidence against them.
Inside the Hokage's office, Kushina and Hagoromo were each sat on a small stool, sitting dutifully below the Hokage's desk and enduring the weight of the Old Man's stern gaze.
Kushina knew when to read the room. During a world war, breaking the village barrier was an incredibly grave matter. This was likely the biggest mess she had caused all year, so even the Red-Hot Habanero sat quietly to accept her lecture.
If an enemy shinobi had happened to infiltrate through that hole, the consequences would have been unthinkable. It was a disaster.
Of course, at this moment, she had no idea that she would break her own record for causing trouble within a matter of days.
For now, she just focused on giving the Hokage enough "face." You couldn't just let the old man lose his dignity in front of the kids; that wasn't how things worked.
Only after the Hokage finished venting his anger would he ultimately let them off lightly. After all, when it came down to it, this had been an unintentional accident. Strictly speaking, they were actually heroes who had successfully developed the Reverse Four Symbols Seal.
Well, regardless of what others thought, this master-disciple duo firmly believed they were heroes who had done nothing wrong in principle—aside from a few minor "unintended side effects."
Aside from digging a massive hole in the ground, those minor side effects could be described as: the total collapse of the barrier within a 500-meter radius, and varying degrees of damage stretching out to 2,000 meters... approximately.
Yes, such were the consequences of the Reverse Four Symbols Seal's first trial run.
Outside, five Sealing Teams were currently working with the frantic energy of a disaster relief squad to repair the structural integrity of the barrier.
Sitting behind his desk, the Third Hokage finally managed to calm his nerves after smoking through eight bowls of tobacco.
"Speak, Kushina. What did you do this time? How was the landscape altered like that? And how did the barrier get destroyed?"
"The sensor teams found no signs of combat, but they detected massive chakra residues. All of it belonged to you. If it weren't for..."
The Hokage stopped himself. He had almost said that if he hadn't sensed the Nine-Tails' chakra remained stable, he would have assumed the beast had gone on a rampage. But considering there was a "clueless" Genin like Hagoromo present, the Hokage swallowed his words.
Even the Hokage had to guard his tongue; some information was too sensitive to leak. The secrecy level regarding the Nine-Tails was treated as the village's highest-level classified information—its status was strictly confidential.
"Hokage-sama, I know I usually cause trouble, but this really wasn't on purpose. I was just conducting a sealing experiment," Kushina said, her voice tinged with a hint of grievance.
The Third Hokage remained silent on the outside, but his inner monologue was screaming.
Do you really think this old man can't see through you?! You actually have the nerve to admit you 'usually' cause trouble? You call these consequences 'unpleasant'? Is that even a strong enough word?!
Kushina stole a glance at the Hokage. Seeing his silence, she assumed he wanted her to continue.
"We were testing the newly developed S-rank Forbidden Jutsu: the Reverse Four Symbols Seal. We specifically looked for a secluded spot for the trial, but since I'm not allowed to leave the village, we had to do it right against the edge of the perimeter..."
"But we never expected the barrier would be collateral damage..."
The Hokage interrupted her. As the leader of the village, he was naturally very interested in the development of S-rank techniques. Hearing that this was a legitimate experiment rather than intentional sabotage made him feel significantly better.
He was also very curious about the results.
"So, you failed?"
The Hokage naturally hoped for success, but considering the site looked like a sealing technique had spiraled out of control, he had his doubts. Even with the Four Symbols Seal as a base, the Reverse version was a completely different beast in terms of effect and application. Developing an S-rank Forbidden Jutsu was never supposed to be easy, so he assumed Kushina had hit a wall.
"Huh? Failed? No, the experiment was a total success. It met every design requirement perfectly—honestly, the effective range was even greater than expected. The only drawback is the massive chakra consumption; a normal shinobi probably couldn't pull it off."
Kushina seemed a bit annoyed by the Hokage's doubt, but considering her current status as a "defendant," she didn't explode. She could only swallow her pride and explain.
"I see. So it failed... wait, that's fine. You just have to keep trying. To be honest, I'm satisfied with the progress you've—" The Hokage stopped mid-sentence as his brain finally caught up.
"What? You said it was a success? Did I hear that right?"
"No, we really did succeed."
"You did this alone? Your efficiency was higher than several dedicated Sealing Development Teams combined... How is that possible?" The Hokage was genuinely perplexed.
"Who said I was alone? My disciple and I finished it together. I handled the design, and he handled the calculations. With his computational skills, he's far more efficient than any Sealing Team," Kushina said. With her personality, she was never one to hide her student's contributions.
At that moment, the Third Hokage's gaze finally shifted toward Hagoromo.
This meant Hagoromo's strategy of "acting like background furniture" had officially failed. Ever since being "invited" over, he had tried his best to blend into the scenery, but he hadn't expected Kushina to sell him out so quickly.
Hagoromo's original plan was to stay as far away from the village's upper management as possible. It wasn't because he had dark secrets or a grudge against the elders; he just wanted to live a quiet, free life as a low-level shinobi...
Of course, he had realized long ago that once he became Kushina's student, such a life was a pipe dream.
He just hadn't expected to be exposed this early.