Naruto: The King Behind the Curtain

Weekend, at Kushina's place.

In the middle of the living room, a dozen people were gathered around.

"Asuma, play this wan! Play this one!"

"Asuma, do you even know how to play?"

"Stop arguing! Didn't Seiki say not to talk when watching someone else play mahjong? It's about manners! Hmph~ I'll discard the five-wan."

"Hū (x3)!"

"Ah!!!"

"This is what Seiki meant by 'Triple Win' right there! Asuma, you're amazing!"

In the hallway.

"Aw, come on, I won't lose! I'm super stable. If he can beat me in one move with those seventeen tiles, I'll tear up the whole deck myself—just like Obito would!"

By the pond.

"The Turtle Catching Tournament has begun, and all methods are allowed... Wait, draining the pond isn't allowed."

In the courtyard, Kushina was busily preparing the barbecue grill.

"Kushina-nee, seriously, thanks for helping out," Seiki said as he washed vegetables nearby.

"How can you call this troublesome?" Kushina glared, if only her hands weren't full, she'd already have made Seiki remember the horror of getting flicked on the forehead.

"It's kinda my fault actually—I just couldn't manage how many people showed up."

"The more, the better! With so many people around, you won't feel like the world's forgotten you!"

As the laughter filled the air, her eyes softened. "Only now do I not feel like... someone without a root (a sense of belonging)."

After a brief silence, Seiki suddenly changed the subject. "Kushina-nee, how's your seal doing lately?"

"Same as always. The Third Hokage's sealing technique leaves a lot to be desired." Kushina scoffed before brushing it off casually. "But don't worry, I'm not the same as before anymore! That old fox will never control me again!"

Seiki exhaled in relief, then hesitated before asking, "Kushina-nee, have you ever considered... coexisting with the monster inside you differently?"

"Differently?" Kushina blinked her big eyes, murmuring to herself, "Beat it up? But I guess I can't really win against it."

"What I mean is winning it over with love!" Saying that, Seiki pulled out a set of playing cards from behind him and placed them in front of Kushina.

"Isn't this the game they're playing over there?" Kushina pointed toward Obito, who was now hopelessly stuffing playing cards into his mouth.

Seiki drew back his gaze. "Just look how happy they're laughing—you'll understand that games are the best way to spread friendship and affection."

"Do you really think the Nine-Tails would enjoy something like this?" Kushina still found it hard to believe. The idea of the mighty Nine-Tails playing a silly card game was just too absurd to imagine.

"How would you know if you don't try?" Seiki sighed as he continued, "Actually, from what I've observed and analyzed, I suspect all these Bijuu might have some serious psychological issues!"

"Eh? Psychological issues?" Kushina's eyes widened.

"Extremely serious ones!" Seiki nodded. "Those monsters must possess intelligence, right? Yet since their birth, they've only been feared because of their monstrous size and overwhelming power. And even among their own kind, whenever they meet, they immediately start fighting for certain reasons."

"So these Bijuu are all lonely creatures. This endless loneliness spanning thousands of years must have filled their empty souls with destruction, right?"

Kushina's thoughts wandered, lost in reflection. Yes, she had already suffered greatly from just a few years of loneliness—what kind of experience must a thousand years of isolation be?

Thinking this, Kushina's gaze toward a certain dog sealed within her took on an additional hint of sympathy.

Seeing Kushina fall into deep thought, Seiki gave a small smile. "Most importantly, trying wouldn't cost you anything, right?"

Kushina nodded firmly, gripping her card tightly as she solemnly declared, "I understand. Watch me reform it right away!"

At the same time, a certain large dog sealed within stirred, its ears twitching indignantly. A rather irate and embarrassed voice echoed within the seal: "Hmph! I'm not ill! Damned human brat!"

"And even if I am sealed for a hundred years, even if boredom drives me mad, I absolutely will not accept your charity!"

...

Outside, Mizuki's arrival caused quite a commotion.

Memories have a tendency to beautify someone's image.

When Mizuki reappeared after a year's absence, everyone had already forgotten those unpleasant incidents from the past. What replaced those memories were concern and expectation.

"Mizuki, I heard you've been training in Taijutsu all last year?"

"My chakra pathways were damaged, so my chakra can't flow properly, but at least basic taijutsu is still possible."

"You're too hard on yourself! You should be resting in the hospital instead of pushing through injuries!"

"Yeah, none of us at the academy work that hard!"

Mizuki didn't respond. His gaze remained icy—except when he stole glances at the courtyard, where his eyes briefly flared with intense emotion.

He certainly hadn't forgotten who it was that argued with someone as significant as Tsunade, giving him hope to crawl out from his abyss. Nor had he forgotten who worked tirelessly to cover his hospital expenses when his relief funds ran dry.

"They don't even realize how much Seiki has given up by sacrificing his chance to graduate early. How dare they continuously waste his goodwill and sacrifices endlessly!"

Mizuki silently moved aside and began training alone. "I am different from you useless slackers. I must work ten or even a hundred times harder to become the most valuable tool in Seiki's hands!"

Meanwhile, on the grassy field nearby.

"Cousin Shuunen, what's wrong?" Obito, who had finished playing cards and sneaked outside, followed Shuunen's gaze. He noticed someone dressed in white hospital clothes training alone. "Wow, this senior's really dedicated. Do you know him, cousin?"

"How could I not know him?" Shuunen let out a bitter chuckle. "He's the one who ended up like this because of me and my former 'companions.'"

Obito was shocked. "Cousin, didn't you say you parted ways with those bad guys last year?"

"He got this injury last year."

"No way it hasn't healed yet after such a long time?"

"Because it's the injury that crushed his dreams of becoming a ninja!"

"This... this..." Obito stared at his cousin, at a loss for words. Whatever the case, this was just too much!

"Feels unfair now, huh?"

"Perhaps sensing Obito's thoughts, Shuunen sighed with a bitter smile, 'That's exactly what I told you back then—no matter how hard you try, some things just can't be fixed!'"

"What? Will I end up just like my cousin?" As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Obito shook it off with forced laughter. "Guy wasn't entirely wrong last time—heh, with talent this bad, I couldn't even make a decent villain! Haha!"

Rin blurted out, "That senior must've had it really rough. Even Tsunade-sama couldn't heal him?"

"I heard Tsunade-sama couldn't personally treat him due to certain special circumstances."

"Huh? Then what should we do?"

At this, Shuunen suddenly grinned. "Do you really think I respect Seiki just because he helped me turn my life around?"

"You're saying Senior Seiki changed Lady Tsunade's decision?"

Shuunen shook his head, speaking with admiration. "Seiki took the blame for my mistakes. He decided to go ahead and operate on Mizuki himself."

Rin's eyes widened in shock. "That's just too—"

Obito asked, puzzled, "What's the big deal, Rin? Didn't you say last time that Senior Seiki has already done a lot of surgeries successfully?"

Nodding slowly, Rin replied, "Yes, but those were all minor procedures with naturally high success rates. This is different—an operation to give someone who'd lost hope of becoming a ninja a second chance. The success rate is extremely low, and the risks are huge."

"Most medical ninjas wouldn't willingly take on such a surgery. One mistake, and they could easily earn a reputation as quack killers. Senior Seiki is basically gambling away his entire professional reputation over this!"

Kakashi, who had been silent until now, suddenly recalled something.

For a while now, there've been rumors in the village about Kakashi's father breaking ninja rules to protect his comrades. Although those missions eventually succeeded thanks to his father's incredible skill, the gossip never fully died down.

He'd once asked Kakashi's father whether it was worth doing all that, but his father had simply smiled and told him he'd understand when he grew up.

Thinking about this, Kakashi suddenly spoke up. "Is it really worth it? Even if he didn't step forward, no one could blame him."

"I don't know," came Seiki's gentle reply.

"You don't know either?" Kakashi looked up abruptly, surprised.

"What I mean is, I can't really put myself in your shoes and decide for you," Seiki said with a slight smile. "This case is different from Shuunen's situation. I could clearly see their bullying behavior was absolutely wrong. But here, right or wrong isn't the issue anymore."

"Therefore, even if I gave you my answer, you might not necessarily agree. The only person who can truly answer that question is yourself."

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