Gripping the thousand-year-old corpse in his hand, Saiki's mood was abyssal.
The feeling of being mocked by Madara was something he quickly pushed aside; what truly fueled his rage was his own complacency.
Since the Battle of the Valley of the End, Madara had been lurking in the shadows, playing a game of global chess.
The First War happened because Hashirama died, removing the world's ultimate deterrent.
The Second War... who knew how many of Madara's seeds were planted there? Tobirama Senju's death at the hands of the Gold and Silver Brothers was highly suspicious.
Two thugs killing a man with the Flying Raijin? It didn't add up.
The Third War was ostensibly about resources, but Madara's fingerprints were everywhere.
From the manipulation of the Stone and the Mist to the corruption of Obito Uchiha, the entire world was under his lens.
As a transmigrator, Saiki knew all of this. He had been cautious for years.
But after entering the Path through Dual Cultivation with Tsunade, he had gained a "Temporary Six Paths" power-up.
He had grown arrogant. He had stopped viewing the world as a threat.
Looking back now, he realized Madara must have noticed him long ago.
The massacre of Hiruzen, Danzo, and the Elders could never have stayed hidden from Black and White Zetsu.
Saiki was a variable too large to ignore. If he continued to grow, he would jeopardize the Eye of the Moon plan.
Madara had undoubtedly nudged the Uchiha radicals.
Otherwise, the seal on Kushina wouldn't have been so easy to crack.
And Zetsu wouldn't have been so perfectly timed to summon the fox the moment it manifested.
Saiki could have suppressed the release. He could have shoved Kurama back in.
But his arrogance—his desire to "bully" the fox—had created this catastrophe.
Without the Nine-Tails, Kushina was going to die.
His Sage Chakra was a high-tier energy, but it wasn't yet at the level where "One Breath creates Yin and Yang."
He wasn't a god who could restore life with a touch.
Regret and fury boiled in his gut. For a moment, he was paralyzed by the weight of his failure.
Seeing Saiki slash the ground and dive in, Tsunade jumped down after him.
"Saiki! What happened?!"
Saiki stood there for several seconds, his mind replaying the sequence of events in a loop of self-loathing. Finally, he looked at her.
"Sister Tsunade... Madara Uchiha just summoned the Nine-Tails away."
"WHAT?!" Tsunade gasped, her world spinning.
Compared to the fox, Saiki's focus was on the woman.
"The fox doesn't matter. Move! Sensei Kushina doesn't have much time!"
"Kushina is still alive?" Tsunade's focus shifted instantly.
Standard Jinchuriki died the moment their beast was extracted. Tsunade had assumed Kushina was already a corpse, which was why she hadn't rushed to the altar.
The Uzumaki life force was an anomaly. They could survive extraction for a limited window.
In the original timeline, an elderly Mito Uzumaki died instantly because her body was spent.
Kushina, despite the strain of a recent pregnancy in the future, would survive for a long time.
But currently, she was a young, healthy woman; she could hold on.
The two of them scrambled back to the surface.
Immediately, they were surrounded by Uchiha clan members.
"Lady Tsunade! What is the meaning of this? Why was the Nine-Tails in our compound?!"
A young man stepped forward to lead the questioning. He had heavy tear-troughs that looked like stress lines (which Saiki irritably categorized as "premature wrinkles").
The man was Fugaku Uchiha.
"PISS OFF!"
Saiki's killing intent erupted into a physical shockwave, blowing the surrounding dust away in a violent circle.
Facing that raw, concentrated malice, the Uchiha felt their blood turn to ice.
They had just seen Saiki pummel a god-like beast; they knew that if he moved, they would be dead before they could blink.
"But—"
Saiki's pressure was immense, but Fugaku was the future clan head. He felt he had to demand answers for the damage to his district.
Just as Saiki was about to kick the man's head off his shoulders, Tsunade stepped in.
"Go to Kushina. I'll handle the politics."
"Hurry. She's drugged and I can't wake her," Saiki said, dragging the White Zetsu corpse along the ground behind him as he vanished in a Body Flicker.
With Saiki gone, the air felt slightly easier to breathe.
But Tsunade turned a freezing gaze on the Uchiha.
"You are Fugaku Uchiha, correct?"
"I am, Lady Tsunade," Fugaku replied, trying to maintain his Uchiha dignity.
Despite his stoic mask, his palms were sweating.
Tsunade didn't waste time with pleasantries.
"I was under the impression the Uchiha were part of the village. It seems your elders had other plans. Kidnapping the village's Jinchuriki to steal her power is an act of high treason. I suggest you start preparing a very, very convincing explanation for why I shouldn't execute your entire Council tonight."
Tsunade was a conqueror now. Her Senju blood and her status as a Sannin gave her the authority to crush them.
Fugaku's father was the head, but the elders often acted independently.
Fugaku realized his radical and moderate elders had conducted a joint operation without telling his father a single word.
Cold sweat rolled down his forehead. His face went bone-white.
Tsunade didn't wait for his answer. She ordered the Anbu to secure the area and sprinted toward the shrine.
Saiki appeared in the ruined basement of the shrine, where the ceiling had been torn open by Kurama.
His clone had been standing guard over Kushina.
Seeing the original arrive, the clone let out a breath of relief.
"Situation?" Saiki asked, simultaneously punching his own clone.
The clone muttered a curse and dissolved into smoke, its memories of Kushina's declining state flooding into Saiki's mind.
With the fox gone, Kushina was like a shattered bottle. Her life force was leaking out through the hole in her soul.
Fortunately, Saiki's Sage Chakra was acting as a temporary cork, preventing her from hitting zero.
But he was burning through his own reserves at a terrifying rate. The crisis was far from over.
"Sensei Kushina!"
He tossed the Zetsu corpse aside and sat on the edge of the stone altar.
He took her pale, lifeless hand in his and began to slowly cycle his energy into her body.
His face was a mask of grim resolve.
She was unconscious, and his medical knowledge was basic. He didn't dare move her.
He could only sit there, praying for Tsunade to arrive.