Naruto: I am Uchiha Shirou

Inside the tent.

"Sister Tsunade."

Usually loud and even a bit brash, Uzumaki Kushina now wore a strained smile. Tsunade, noticing her expression, responded with a gentle, comforting smile as she stepped forward to lightly ruffle the red-haired girl's hair.

"Kushina, I believe you will become as strong as Grandma Mito."

Encouraged by Tsunade's words, Kushina, though visibly downcast, forced a smile and nodded.

"Sister Tsunade, don't worry! I'm determined to become a kunoichi worthy of the Hokage title."

However, the proclamation carried a hint of forced optimism, as if she was trying to convince herself.

After Kushina left, Jiraiya appeared, his expression turning solemn.

"Tsunade, could it be that Kushina has already been sealed?"

Hearing this, Tsunade sighed and nodded helplessly.

"On her last mission back to the village to deliver supplies, Kushina had part of the Nine-Tails' chakra sealed within her. This is her fate, after all. Sooner or later, she must adapt to it."

The most reliable way to seal a Tailed Beast was to first introduce a portion of its chakra into the host's body, allowing them to acclimate gradually. This method also provided a safeguard in case something went wrong.

But Jiraiya frowned.

"Tsunade, she's just a kid. Wasn't the plan to wait until she was an adult?"

Jiraiya felt uneasy about the apparent rush. Even if she needed to adapt, the process should be gradual and cautious.

Tsunade, however, let out a barely audible sigh, her gaze tinged with sadness.

"Jiraiya, Grandma Mito hopes to see Kushina fully embrace her role as a Jinchuriki before she passes away."

This statement left Jiraiya silent.

Jinchuriki.

That word was synonymous with being a living weapon in the five great ninja villages. Yet, a Jinchuriki was still a person.

"Tsunade, let's treat this mission as an opportunity for Kushina to clear her mind."

"Understood."

As Jiraiya departed, Tsunade's sorrowful lips curled into a faint smirk, the grief in her eyes dissipating.

It had to be said: a ninja's essence is deception. A female ninja? Even more so—deception incarnate.

"Even Jiraiya thinks it's too soon. What about the stubborn elders back in the village?"

Left alone, Tsunade glanced in Konoha's direction, her lips curving into a smile.

After everything—Nawaki and other tragedies—she and the Senju clan had developed a defensive mindset.

The Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki must be Uzumaki Kushina!

In Konoha's current weakened state, the Senju couldn't afford the loss of the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki. If they let this opportunity slip, who would protect them from being trampled?

...

In the forest outside the camp.

The Konoha ninja squad was ready for action. When Jiraiya arrived and raised his arm, the group dispersed instantly, their figures vanishing into the woods.

Among them, Shirou, clad in sturdy, silver-gray armor, leaped swiftly from tree to tree. Half of the group carried heavy sealing scrolls, while the rest formed a defensive formation to protect them.

Sealing scrolls were invaluable, used sparingly even for delivering supplies to Orochimaru's front line of fewer than a hundred elite ninjas. Large-scale ninja armies, numbering over a thousand, could never afford such extravagance due to the prohibitive cost of the scrolls. Losing or destroying one could cripple even the five great ninja villages, let alone smaller ones.

Some smaller villages had never even seen a sealing scroll in their entire existence.

"Kushina, are you okay?"

Amid the trees, Namikaze Minato looked at Uzumaki Kushina with concern. Since the start of the mission, her behavior had been unusually subdued. The typically fiery Kushina surprised even her comrades with her calm, firm reply.

"Stay alert."

Nara Shikaku, observing from the group, furrowed his brows. The clever strategist seemed to sense something and cautiously whispered to his teammate.

"Choza, stay vigilant."

While subtly increasing his distance from Kushina, Shikaku's wary demeanor made it clear he had figured something out. He was genuinely concerned—an unstable Jinchuriki was a dangerous prospect.

Nearby, Shirou, who was running alongside Hyuga Hizashi, noticed Shikaku's actions with a smirk.

Seriously? Acting like we're on the same page, then pulling this move behind my back.

Kushina's partial Nine-Tails chakra sealing was something Tsunade had already informed him about, with instructions for Jiraiya to keep it secret.

But, of course, Jiraiya and Tsunade had their strategies.

Jiraiya had told his student Minato, knowing that it wasn't a breach of secrecy—it was common knowledge that Kushina was the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki candidate.

At the center of the formation, Jiraiya muttered to himself as he observed.

"Did Tsunade not tell Uchiha Shirou this time? How uncharacteristically honest of her."

The thought left Jiraiya baffled. He had assumed Tsunade, unpredictable as ever, would break the rules. Yet it seemed she hadn't.

...

Back at the camp.

Standing on a tree and gazing in Kushina's direction, Tsunade's expression was grim. A masked ANBU operative appeared in the shadows behind her.

"Lady Tsunade, the rogue ninjas from the Land of Lightning have received the intel and are within range."

Hearing the report, Tsunade nodded gravely.

"Good. Proceed as planned and relay orders to Uchiha Fugaku—the camp is temporarily under his command."

"Understood."

Once the ANBU disappeared, Tsunade took a deep breath, her face hardening with a cold smile of killing intent.

The Uzushiogakure(Uzumaki Village) incident—time to settle the score.

The rogue ninja group operating under the guise of mercenaries in the Land of Lightning was an open secret. Known as "Wave Ninja," they were effectively a shadow army of the Hidden Cloud Village, tasked with looting and pillaging. They had gained significantly during the fall of the Uzumaki clan, obtaining sealing techniques that later solidified the Hidden Cloud's mastery over Tailed Beast seals.

"Grow stronger quickly, Kushina," Tsunade whispered in her heart. The accelerated timeline was not what she wanted, but the constant targeting of the Senju clan left her no choice.

This mission was both a trial for Kushina and a step toward resolving the burdens weighing on her shoulders.