Walking down the street, Kushina quickly shook off her melancholy, her fiery temper flaring back to life. Her blood-red hair literally lifted into the air like a mane of flames. The moniker "Red Hot Habanero" was entirely accurate.
Seeing her radiating such raw fury—looking like a volcano about to erupt—the civilians on the street hurriedly cleared a path for her.
Saiki trailed silently behind her, keeping a close eye on the people watching her.
Because of her explosive personality, Kushina was infamous in Konoha. The common folk were used to her outbursts.
But Saiki was looking for malicious intent, and he found it easily.
In the short walk from Tsunade's compound to Kushina's house, Saiki detected no less than five distinct, hostile gazes locked onto her. Members of the Uchiha and Hyuga clans—using their status as elite police forces—were openly assessing her.
Saiki also noticed several unidentified ninja tracking her from the shadows.
He sighed inwardly. The number of factions coveting the power of the Nine-Tails was staggering. It was a clear indicator of how desperately they wanted the Hokage seat.
Tsunade's path to securing her rule was going to be bathed in blood.
Fortunately, in broad daylight, none of these factions were bold enough to attempt a direct kidnapping.
The battle for the Hokage's hat was a game of shadows and politics; even the mighty Uchiha and Hyuga wouldn't dare snatch the village's nuclear deterrent in plain sight.
Saiki followed Kushina all the way back to her small house, cataloging every hidden watcher along the way.
There were no guards around her house. They were likely at the Hokage Building, reporting to Tsunade that their charge had escaped.
Saiki watched Kushina go inside. He didn't follow immediately. He spent a few minutes sweeping the perimeter, ensuring there were no traps or ambushes waiting for her, before quietly approaching the house.
Peeking through a gap in the window, Saiki saw Kushina sitting at her table. She was resting her chin in her hands, staring blankly out the window.
Her red hair cascaded over her shoulders. The rage and fire from the street were gone; she looked incredibly quiet and fragile.
Saiki knew that despite her hair-trigger temper and her tendency to solve problems with her fists, Kushina wasn't a violent person at heart.
As the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, she lived under a crushing weight of pressure and isolation.
Now, with Hiruzen dead, the village in turmoil, and the "truth" she had just learned, she was experiencing an unprecedented crisis of faith.
Saiki let out a soft sigh. He decided to go inside and keep her company.
He pushed the door open and stepped in.
Hearing the door, Kushina turned around. Seeing Saiki, a flicker of surprise crossed her face.
"Saiki? What are you doing here?"
"Am I not allowed to visit my teacher?" Saiki replied with an exaggerated sigh.
Saiki's sudden appearance successfully distracted Kushina from her downward spiral of existential dread.
Seeing his exasperated expression, Kushina's temper flared again. "Did I say you weren't allowed?! You brat, can't you stop sneaking around like a ghost? Haven't you ever heard of knocking?!"
Saiki immediately threw his hands up in mock surrender, smiling brightly. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry, Sensei! I promise I'll knock next time."
Kushina glared at him, huffed, and turned her head away, ignoring him.
Saiki didn't mind. He pulled out a chair and sat across from her. "Sensei, don't be mad. Didn't I just promise to do better?"
Kushina turned back to look at him, her eyes clouded with confusion and vulnerability. "Saiki... tell me the truth. Am I really just useless? I can't do anything right, and all I ever do is cause trouble for the village."
"Huh?" Saiki was caught completely off guard. He never expected her to ask something so bleak. This wasn't the Kushina he knew.
He recovered quickly and offered a warm smile. "Sensei Kushina, why would you ever think that? You're the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki! You are the ultimate protector of the Leaf."
Kushina lowered her head, her voice dropping to a miserable whisper. "But... I'm always so angry. I can't even control my own power. I can't help anyone, and I'm just a burden to everyone around me."
Looking at her like this, Saiki seriously wondered if it was "that time of the month." Why else would she be so incredibly depressed?
It wasn't her period. It was simply that Kushina couldn't reconcile the image of the "kindly" Third Hokage plotting against Tsunade. Her worldview was shattering.
Though he wasn't a therapist or a natural "nice guy," Saiki pushed his own cynicism aside and looked at her earnestly. "Sensei, don't say that. Your power is vital to the village. And your temper isn't everything. You have a deeply kind and gentle heart."
Hearing Saiki praise her "gentleness"—a word no one had ever applied to her—Kushina's face suddenly flushed red. She crossed her arms defensively. "What are you talking about, you brat?! Of course I'm gentle! I've always been gentle!"
Her sudden shift to classic tsundere made Saiki laugh. He hadn't realized Kushina could be this adorable.
He shook his head with a grin. "Yes, yes, of course. Sensei Kushina is the gentlest person I know. But seriously, Sensei, you don't need to blame yourself. The Nine-Tails is the strongest of all the Tailed Beasts. It's completely normal that you haven't mastered it yet. Even Lady Mito took a very long time to barely control that power."
At the mention of Mito Uzumaki, Kushina's confusion deepened. She unconsciously rested a hand over her abdomen.
Mito Uzumaki was the previous Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. As she aged, Kushina had been brought to Konoha specifically to replace her.
Being a Jinchuriki meant carrying a mountain of responsibility, isolation, and pressure.
But seeing what Hiruzen had supposedly done to Tsunade... Kushina knew the village had its dark side, but if even the Hokage was this corrupt, who was she supposed to fight for?
Her dream was to become Hokage. Hiruzen's actions were a betrayal of everything that title stood for. Wasn't the Hokage supposed to protect the village and its people?
Why was the position stained with such filth?
Seeing the lost, hollow look return to Kushina's eyes, Saiki knew she was spiraling again. He scratched his head in frustration.
With his Divine Sense, Saiki could technically read her surface thoughts. But Kushina was important to him; he refused to violate her privacy by rummaging through her mind.
Even without reading her mind, his empathy let him guess what was tearing her apart.
Truthfully, Saiki didn't want to discuss the reality of the Hokage with her. She was too pure and kind; exposing her to the abyss of Konoha's political darkness would only break her heart further.
But seeing her look so utterly lost, he knew someone had to guide her through the storm.