Uzumaki Mito felt deeply tired.
Shiranui Riku was an exceptionally clever child.
He had clearly realized that she had seen through his emotional disguise. His demeanor had changed completely, but his words remained perfectly measured—flawless, even.
Uzumaki Mito sighed and said, a touch of helplessness in her voice, "Riku, can't we talk openly? No one else will ever hear what's said between us today. If you bear resentment toward me because of what's happening with Kushina, then tell me honestly. Right now, I'm not speaking to you as someone from Konoha. I'm just Kushina's guardian... and your elder."
Riku tilted his head slightly and looked at her calmly.
"Mito-sama, as Kushina's elder, did you ever ask if she wanted to become a Jinchūriki? If her opinion didn't matter... then why would mine?"
He paused, voice steady and cold.
"No matter how I feel, Kushina is still going to replace you and become the next Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, isn't she? So... does anything I say really matter?"
Uzumaki Mito's gaze dimmed.
He was right. No matter what Riku thought, no matter how Kushina felt, it was all already decided. Kushina's fate had been sealed long ago.
Still...
Uzumaki Mito met Riku's gaze, her eyes burning with sincerity.
"It does matter—because your thoughts mean something to Kushina."
Riku stared at her for a long time, his silence filled with tension. Finally, he said quietly, "I want Kushina to always be happy."
His answer was clear.
Becoming a Jinchūriki came with a life full of pain and isolation. Mito had survived it because she was the wife of the First Hokage and had mastered powerful sealing techniques. She'd kept the Nine-Tails under control.
But most Jinchūriki weren't so lucky. In other villages, Jinchūriki lived lives of constant suffering, warring endlessly with the tailed beast inside them. The process was brutal and agonizing. If a Jinchūriki lost control, innocent people often paid the price. The more destruction they caused, the more the world came to fear and hate them.
And then there was the worst fate of all—the extraction.
If the beast was ever pulled out of them, the Jinchūriki would die. And the process of having a Tailed Beast extracted was unimaginably painful. A soul-rending agony.
Riku's wish for Kushina to be "happy" was as close as he could come to saying he was against all of that. Against her fate.
Mito exhaled, her voice softening. "But... becoming a Jinchūriki is her destiny…"
Riku's expression darkened.
"That's just the excuse people use when someone has no choice. Because Kushina is weak—because she has no say—it's called her fate. But I think Mito-sama knows better than anyone... fate is just a decision forced onto Kushina. Please don't talk to me about fate."
Uzumaki Mito stared at him, then asked gently, "Since you want Kushina to be happy... do you want to change her future?"
Riku lowered his eyes.
"I'm just a low-ranking ninja in Konoha. These decisions are way above me. Lord Hokage and the village elders will handle it. It's not my place."
Mito pressed a hand to her forehead.
There it was again—his calculated, guarded language. Could they not have just one honest conversation?
But she understood. As long as Kushina was destined to become the next Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, Riku would never fully trust her. He wouldn't trust anyone from Konoha.
He wouldn't even open his heart to the village.
Maybe... one day, he'd become its enemy.
Mito's voice was quiet as she asked, "Riku... is Konoha important to you?"
Riku didn't answer right away. Instead, he asked in return, "Mito-sama... is Kushina important to you?"
Mito's expression turned somber.
Was Kushina important to her?
Of course she was.
But more important than Konoha?
...No.
Konoha mattered more.
And that answer—spoken or not—was all Riku needed.
He had things more important to him than the village. That much was clear.
In his eyes, Mito had already chosen Konoha over Kushina. And because of that, to Riku, the village meant nothing.
Uzumaki Mito looked tired now, her voice quiet but sincere. "Riku, I do love Kushina. Whether you believe that or not, I truly hope you can live a good life in Konoha."
Riku bowed respectfully.
"Mito-sama, of course I believe you love Kushina. You're her only family, after all. And please don't worry—I'm doing well here in Konoha. I've always been grateful to the village."
Uzumaki Mito gave a weary wave of her hand. "That's good to hear. Go ahead—Kushina's been waiting for you. She's been looking forward to seeing you every day while you were away. I won't keep you."
Riku turned and left the room.
When the door closed behind him, Mito let out a long sigh.
He was just a child, and yet he spoke like a seasoned shinobi—sharp, evasive, unshakable. Apart from the one moment his emotions slipped—when he said "becoming a Jinchūriki is her destiny"—he'd been flawless.
"What a little fox..." Mito muttered with a bitter smile.
It was equal parts irritation... and admiration.
Outside, Riku spotted Uzumaki Kushina crouching near the doorway, staring at something on the ground.
He approached and knelt beside her, smiling. "What are you looking at? You're so focused."
Kushina pointed to the ground between the stone tiles.
A tiny wildflower was growing in the crack.
"Riku, look! A flower bloomed in a place like this. Isn't it way prettier than all the other flowers?"
Riku stared at the delicate bloom pushing through the stone, his eyes flickering.
"Yeah… it's amazing. It's got such strong will to live. To bloom in a place like this... of course it's beautiful."
Just as he was lost in thought, Kushina suddenly climbed onto his back, throwing her arms around his shoulders and pointing down the road.
"But this isn't the time to admire flowers! Time waits for no one—let's go!"
Riku laughed and adjusted her weight on his back, tightening his hold around her legs.
"Alright, alright! Let's go! You always treated me to food before, but I just finished my first mission today. I got paid, so it's my turn to treat you to something delicious!"
Normally, Genin had to split mission pay with their instructor.
But Orochimaru hadn't taken a single ryo. He'd let Riku keep the entire reward from the C-rank mission.
Sixty thousand taels. All his.
From behind him, Kushina raised a triumphant little fist.
"Then I'm gonna eat so much!"
"No problem!"
With laughter and light hearts, Riku carried Kushina on his back, walking away from Uzumaki Mito's mansion as the sun dipped lower on the horizon.
Their steps were full of energy, warmth, and a fragile happiness they both clung to.