Naruto: The Sage Body of Konoha

"Heiyan, you're not heading to Shikkotsu Forest alone this time. You'll have someone with you."

Mito Uzumaki smiled as she explained to Heiyan, "But she's far away right now—thousands of miles from here, in my hometown of Uzugakure."

"So I need to ask a favor of you—go bring her here. Then the two of you can go to Shikkotsu Forest together and learn Senjutsu."

"What's her name?"

"Her name is Kushina Uzumaki."

Heiyan had already guessed who it would be when Mito said the name, and he listened as she added with praise, "This girl was born with an enormous amount of chakra—an extreme rarity even among the Uzumaki clan."

So it really is her.

As Mito described Kushina, Heiyan immediately pictured a little girl with long red hair, a round chubby face, and a fiery personality.

Kushina Uzumaki—yes, she was the one who, in the original timeline, became Minato Namikaze's wife—the Fourth Hokage himself—and the mother of Naruto Uzumaki, the Child of the Prophecy.

If I remember right, this was around the time she'd arrive in Konoha.

Heiyan focused his mind and searched his memory for details about Kushina.

"As you can see," Mito continued calmly, "as Konoha's current Nine-Tails jinchuriki, I'm already very old and nearing the end of my life. This child, Kushina, will replace me and become the next jinchuriki."

This matter could be considered Konoha's highest secret. So far, only three people knew—Hiruzen Sarutobi, Mito Uzumaki, and Heiyan himself.

This clearly showed how much Mito trusted him.

However, right after she finished speaking, an intense expression of pain appeared on her aged face.

Thud!

Mito suddenly collapsed onto the ground, her face pale, drenched in cold sweat.

"Princess Mito! What's wrong?!" Heiyan was startled as he rushed forward.

"It... heard what I said—the Nine-Tails inside me." Mito spoke weakly, her voice barely audible between ragged breaths. "It doesn't want to stay sealed anymore... so it... got angry."

Her whole body trembled as she spoke, completely drained of strength—as if death might come at any moment.

This was the tragedy of being a jinchuriki.

As Mito grew older and her chakra dwindled over time, she could no longer keep the Nine-Tails within her under control. These days, she was often tortured by it, both mentally and physically.

"Heiyan!"

Suddenly, Mito tightly grabbed his hand; veins bulged on her wrinkled, aging backhand.

"Go get the Third Hokage now! Bring him and the Sealing Team here—fast! Before I die, we have to extract the Nine-Tails from me and reseal it!"

She blurted out the orders urgently.

The Nine-Tails' intent was clear.

It wanted to kill Mito Uzumaki.

Although when a jinchuriki dies, their tailed beast usually dies along with them too,

after one or two years, it would regenerate unscathed somewhere remote, regaining its freedom again. After all, at its core, a tailed beast was simply a mass of chakra—it couldn't truly be destroyed.

This was the Nine-Tails' diabolical plan—one might even say it almost worked perfectly.

Unfortunately for it, Heiyan happened to witness everything.

Although the situation was dire, Heiyan had no intention of obeying Mito's order to run to the Hokage Tower for help.

Because he himself was the reinforcement.

In the split second before danger escalated, Heiyan's mind snapped into action, forming a clear plan.

"Mito-sama," he said in a calm yet urgent whisper, "given your current condition, we don't have time to wait for Kushina's arrival. Let me become the next jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails instead."

"What?"

Not only Mito but even the Nine-Tails sealed inside her body froze momentarily at Heiyan's shocking declaration.

The very next second, Heiyan proved with concrete action that he was dead serious.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

[Adamantine Sealing Chains] shot from Heiyan's back and began wildly whipping around the room, each radiating powerful chakra waves.

"Mito-sama, please release the Nine-Tails," Heiyan continued as he gripped her hand tightly, locking eyes with her and showing unwavering determination. "I will use the [Adamantine Sealing Chains] to drag it directly into my body."

"No… child… you can't… being a jinchuriki—the beast's human vessel—is living under a curse…"

Mito shook her head weakly while trying to push Heiyan away to stop his reckless act.

"Mito-sama, listen to me," Heiyan interrupted gently, speaking in a calm tone. "Just days ago, the Great Toad Sage from Mount Myoboku dreamed of my death—he foresaw I wouldn't survive the year. Therefore, since I am already a dying man, I decided to temporarily become the vessel to seal the Nine-Tails."

His words delivered a tremendous shock to Mito.

"Please rest assured, although the timing is sudden, I will definitely become a qualified jinchuriki. Should any accident occur, I'll perform our Uzumaki clan's [Dead Demon Consuming Seal] before my death, sealing both myself and the Nine-Tails forever within the Shinigami's belly. From then on, the world will be rid of the Nine-Tails forever."

His tone was sharp, each word hitting like thunderclap!

Throughout his bold speech, he never averted his gaze from Mito, his eyes almost piercing straight through her body toward the Nine-Tails sealed within.

In truth, Heiyan was putting on an act.

Most of what he said was false, part of a ploy meant to intimidate the Nine-Tails and protect Mito.

Yet there was one element of truth—

he genuinely wanted to become the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki.

With his strength, subjugating the Nine-Tails would be far too easy.

His signature move, the [Adamantine Sealing Chains], was naturally a perfect counter to tailed beasts. And his Sage Transformation could fully accommodate the power of the Nine-Tails.

Once he tamed Kurama, Heiyan could fuse Sage Mode with the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, activating [Kurama Sage Mode].

At that point, his strength would grow beyond imagination.

Heiyan had even decided: once becoming the jinchuriki, he'd immediately activate his Sensor abilities to locate Madara Uchiha hiding deep beneath the ground near Konoha.

He intended to strike first—before Madara could awaken the Rinnegan—and eliminate him without hesitation.

Thinking thus, Heiyan's eagerness to become a jinchuriki intensified.

Inside Mito's body,

behind a row of tall iron bars,

Kurama, the nine-tailed fox, wore a look of terror.

Kurama, the strongest among the Nine Tails, possessed a unique ability—an acute perception of malice.

Yes, it sensed the hostility coming from Heiyan.

It had endured millennia of wars, hatred, and betrayals, having experienced every kind of terrifying situation imaginable. But when it heard Heiyan's intention to make a one-for-one exchange—trapping it forever inside the Shinigami's belly—it couldn't help but panic.

Not only did it panic—it nearly lost control of itself in fear.

This kid with white hair was ruthless.

Therefore, it stopped resisting and reached out to Mito mentally, offering peace.

For the Nine-Tails, it would rather obediently remain within Mito's body—and even continue cooperating with the next one after her death—than fall into Heiyan's hands.

After a while, it fell silent.

"Heiyan, thank you."

Mito Uzumaki looked delighted and cast him a grateful glance.

Heiyan then released the Adamantine Sealing Chains and helped her up.

"All along, I've tried to win over the Nine-Tails with love… I guess I was wrong. Perhaps the only way to subdue the Nine-Tails is through strength."

Mito sighed deeply as she spoke to Heiyan. "Child, I will seriously consider your suggestion and discuss it with Konoha's high-ranking elders soon to decide whether we should appoint you as the next Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails."

"If I could become the Jinchuriki, it would be my greatest honor."

Heiyan replied solemnly, once again expressing his firm belief.

That was Heiyan's resolve?

Upon hearing these words, Mito couldn't help but feel moved.

This child truly did inherit Hashirama's Will of Fire—the unyielding spirit of Konoha—as the Third Hokage had said.

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