NARUTO: THE STRONGEST UZUMAKI

Night, Uzukage's office.

"So, you're back." Masashi smiled.

"Although I'd like to say I returned because I missed home, the truth is that something big is about to happen..." Tanaka then began to explain everything he knew about the movements of the other villages.

After hearing this, Masashi took some time to process while remaining silent.

"I understand your concern, but..." Masashi tapped his fingers on the desk as he gravely said, "The ones who might actually be in danger are Konoha, not us."

Tanaka raised an eyebrow. He quickly thought and reached the same conclusion that led Masashi to think this way.

"Makes sense..." He touched his chin, murmuring, "If it were me, I'd also prefer to take out Konoha while they were partially weak without a leader rather than recklessly going against us."

"You're right about that." Masashi added, "If what Fusato tried to do, by killing me and the ninjas who were in this room that day, maybe I'd agree with your speculation. But, it would be foolish to attack us now. Even if they manage to get here, as long as we - the holders of the Adamantine Sealing Chains - exist, Uzushio will be safe."

He wasn't being arrogant or anything like that. It was just reality. The barrier created by the Adamantine Sealing Chains can even withstand attacks from the Bijuu. Not to mention that even without it, as long as there are ninjas with large chakra reserves, it would be easy to create the Four Red Yang Formation.

Although it is said to be a powerful barrier formation, noted for being used only by Kage-level shinobi... This is because only Kage-level shinobi possess a chakra amount that can rival that of the Uzumaki clan members.

Of course, there's also the second reason, which is the great mastery the Uzumaki possessed in Fuuinjutsu.

"However, just as a precaution, I'll take note of this and we'll remain on alert." Masashi said after thinking for a bit, "Your concerns aren't unfounded, after all, we don't know if there's another traitor among us. If, by any chance, someone manages to harm us from within, the story changes completely. Without time to raise a barrier, the worst could happen."

Masashi felt that Tanaka wasn't saying everything. He sensed that he knew something, or more precisely, seemed to foresee that something very bad was going to happen to the village. This worried him greatly, so he decided to take Tanaka's warning seriously.

After talking a bit more, Tanaka said, "By the way, I managed to create something new, would you be interested? It might even be possible to find potential traitors."

"Where is it?" Naturally, this piqued Masashi's interest. How could it not?

"I'm using it right now. It's something similar to this." He pointed with his thumb to his forehead protector. Then he added, "Though mine is a bit better, it has a similar function. Watch."

In the next moment, he said, "Activate." A golden aura formed, creating a cloak similar to a chakra cloak. The transformation even changed the appearance of his clothing, creating swirling patterns and black stripes that stood out, making him look quite imposing.

"As you can see, this is similar to the Raikage's Lightning Release Chakra Mode. The glaring difference is that it doesn't have an element linked to it and is created from a certain percentage of the user's chakra. Oh yes, I should mention that it only uses the user's chakra as a base, it doesn't mean it will consume X amount of the user's chakra, but of course, the Chakra Mode only lasts for 30 minutes and has a 2-hour recharge interval and can be used up to 20 times before the item loses its durability."

"That's interesting, but how exactly would this detect a traitor?" Masashi asked.

"Easy," Tanaka replied confidently, "The version I created has something similar to the Kagura's Mind Eye linked to it; the moment the user activates it by saying the following words: 'I am loyal to Uzushio – Activate!' if he or she is lying... it should be able to see through the lie, causing a red aura to appear."

"So, you chose to make it a forehead protector because..."

"Obviously, because it has a higher chance of working. And, it's also important to mention that it will only work if used as a forehead protector," Tanaka explained.

After hearing this, it was easy to understand.

Although he was surprised by the ingenuity and mannerism Tanaka had in creating such a thing, he partially believed him. After all, there was no way he could believe 100% without testing it.

"How many of these do you have?" Masashi asked.

"At the moment, 50," Tanaka said, "It's not easy to create, so that's the most I could make for now."

"Mm, that's good enough." Masashi narrowed his eyes, "How much do you want for each one?"

"Not much. 500 thousand per unit is fine," Tanaka said. He really wasn't charging much. It was almost at cost price.

Smiling, Masashi said, "Very well, even if it's not possible to detect a traitor with this, the simple fact that it creates a Chakra Mode is worth the price."

[4+20=XXIV]

When Tanaka left the Uzukage's office, the sky had already darkened long ago. He walked along the dirt road, deep in thought.

The truth was that if he wanted, he could have simply taken out the 50 forehead protectors on the spot. But, that would reveal the existence of his inventory dimension. Of course, he didn't need to be as guarded as before; with his current strength, he was confident he could escape, even if he couldn't win.

However, some secrets needed to remain secrets. The fact that even Akane knew very little about his abilities is an example of this. Perhaps the only ones who knew more about his secrets were Hanako and Tatsumaki. However, he allowed them to know more about him because the moment they became part of his organization, their loyalty was guaranteed.

'Should I try to bring Akane into my organization?' Tanaka pondered.

At some point, he did intend to do so. But, for now, that plan was on hold.

As for Kushina... Well, she was too young. There was no reason to involve her in something like this yet.

While he walked, he didn't forget to look around him and focus on the map and Kagura's Mind Eye. He wanted not only to improve the ability but also to see if he could find a potential traitor. But as he did so, passing over a high bridge with a river below where rowboats passed, he saw an elderly woman coming from the opposite direction with incredibly high chakra. But that wasn't all; he also sensed with Kagura's Mind Eye the presence of a being full of hatred inside her.

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<????>

LV?? Mito ???? 

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'Mito... When did she arrive here?' Tanaka was obviously surprised by her presence in the village.

And, seeing that she was heading in his direction, he understood her intention to go to the Uzukage, Masashi, possibly to talk about the new host for the Kyuubi.

As for why he presumed that? Well, he could clearly see how much she seemed to have aged. Although he hadn't seen her many times, he had seen her a few days ago... and she didn't seem so old then. Considering everything that had happened, he understood why she had deteriorated so much.

Beside Mito, there were three ninjas with Konoha's forehead protectors – Two men and one woman. Each with quite significant chakra.

||- Note -||

• Chapter 87 is already released on Patreon!
• patreon.com/Tozoku