The Zero Tails Jinchuriki #18

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Hokage Tower, Konoha, Land of Fire

–Hiruzen “The Professor” Sarutobi–

He sat in his office, silent, thoughts racing as he, along with Jiraiya, waited for Kenta to come. It was late in the night, past midnight, and yet, he did not feel a lick of sleep, not after the stunt that Kenta had pulled.

After safely escorting the Daimyo and assuring him that this fight would not change the power dynamics within the village, too much, he had a brief talk with Shikaku before coming back here, in his office.

Tsunade was fine, that much was clear from the beginning. None of them were going at it with the intention to kill or seriously injure each other. Even then, Kenta’s ability to not only go toe to toe with Tsunade but defeat her, however close it might have been, raised Kenta’s threat rating in his mind.

“He did something." He looked up at Jiraiya, who was standing by the window, looking at the village. Jiraiya turned around and, at his questioning look, clarified, “For the entire fight, he was doing something else, other than fighting. He felt distracted, which was odd because Sage Mode grants an unrivalled clarity.”

“You think he cheated?” He asked, already feeling the telltale signs of a headache. When Tsunade woke up, she was not going to be all too happy and as Kenta was to leave with the Daimyo first thing in the morning, the onus to bear the brunt of her anger fell on him.

Surprisingly, Jiraiya shook his head, “To win the fight? No. I think he was doing something else and I am sure he will tell us all about it. If he used his Jinchuriki abilities, Tsuande would have lost in the first exchange alone. The ability to bring forth negative emotions to disorient even the strongest of shinobi? I will never stop marvelling at that kind of ability,” Jiraiya remarked with a level of awe usually reserved for forbidden techniques or S-class ones like the Flying Thunder God.

He hummed at that, agreeing with the assessment. It was one of the reasons why he felt so confident sending Kenta after Orochimaru. If not defeat, then Kenta could at least force Orochimaru to flee. After all, even a momentary lapse in concentration in a fight of their level would mean the difference between life and death.

Both of them perked up as they felt Kenta walking up the Hokage Tower. With a heavy sigh, Jiraiya came to stand behind him, as the door opened and Kenta walked in.

He raised an eyebrow at the lack of any visible injuries, but then again, the common advantages of being the Jinchuiki of any tailed beasts were fairly widespread so it was not odd to see Kenta without any injury, only the speed at which he was healed made it odd.

“Hokage-sama. Jiraiya-san,”

“What was that, Kenta-kun?” He asked, exasperated. Tonight did not go the way he was hoping it would. The promise of additional funding, along with emergency supplies from the Capital, was a happy occasion and yet, a single fight had almost derailed it all.

Kenta stood in front of him and had the gall to say, “I only had to do it because you refused to.”

“What?” His eyes narrowed dangerously at the statement.

Kenta, unphased, continued, “You, both of you, coddled her too much, even going so far as to ignore her obvious mental illnesses."

“It’s not like we didn’t try! Hime just–” Jiraiya tried to justify his reasoning but they felt weak, even to him.

“Let me guess, she refused? And you let her? Let me remind you, that a Kage’s word is final in Konoha, no matter the veneer of democracy that we maintain. If you had ordered her to mandatory Mental Counseling sessions, she would have been in a much better position.”

“And that ties in to you beating her in a spar, how?” He deflected the unasked question, because he was not the one who had gotten the Daimyo to question the Hokage’s control over his own forces. That had really stung, especially since there was a kernel of truth in them.

Not everyone liked the fact that he had taken the reins of the village once more. After all, while he was most certainly tired and wished to retire back then, there were also his failings in the court of public opinion that had pushed him to abdicate his seat to Minato.

“My abilities,” Kenta said, prompting him to gesture at him to continue explaining his reasoning.

“I have an ability, borne from the Zero Tails, allowing me to siphon off negative emotions.”

“Yes, we are aware of that. It can disorient enemies, allowing you to blitz them with ease.”

To their surprise, Kenta shook his head. Had he hidden something from them? 

“This is different. I can use that ability offensively. This one, is something much more delicate. It is something I can only do in Sage Mode because of the heightened control I get during that period of time.”

Kenta then continued, “I can sense emotions, and Tsunade had such a tightly wound ball of negative emotions that it almost physically staggered me. I have never been exposed to such a depressed individual in my life, certainly not someone who was this strong. I believe that, without any meaningful intervention, Tsunade would have taken her life in less than a decade.”

The statement rang in his ears, as the memories of that cheerful girl who acted as the haughty princess of the village came to the forefront of his mind. He shook his head, trying to get himself past the cobwebs of the past as the present came into focus.

His eyebrows rose as he tensed, seeing Jiraiya holding onto Kenta’s collar, whispering dangerously at the man, “Nonsense. Do not lie to me!”\

Kenta, not even phased a little by being threatened by arguably the strongest shinobi of Konoha, calmly removed Jiraiya’s hand, and took a file from his back, throwing it lightly on his desk.

“In that, I have reported my findings, along with some answers from Shizune as well. Take that to any Yamanaka you can find to see if they say anything different. For Kami’s sake, Tsunade has been relying on Shizune for food! That is not the mind of a remotely healthy shinobi.”

He winced, not having the strength to open that folder, afraid that it would just confirm Kenta’s words, which would just…. 

He would just not be able to take that.

“As for the fight,” Kenta said, prompting Jiraiya to back off, his chakra tightly wound in his body but he had known Jiraiya long enough to realise that the man was equal parts afraid as he was angry, which was understandable.

“I did not have time, or the authority to convince her to take therapy. As a member of the Senju Clan, I could not do anything but as the Head of the Senju clan, I most certainly can do something.”

“You intend to force her to remain within the village?” Jiriaya asked Kenta, his expression unreadable.

Kenta nodded, slowly, “Among other things, yes. Shizune, Tsunade’s disciple deserves much better as well, certainly not gallivanting around the Land of Fire, taking care of a person who could be called a cripple of the mind.”

“She will rebel,” he commented, not opposed to the idea but intimately aware of the tendencies of his student, “The first opportunity she will get, she will leave the village, with force if need be.”

Kenta looked at him with a blank look in his eyes for a minute before sighing, “Fine, if that happens, then, as the formal Head of the Senju Clan, I will have to take some steps so she does not further squander the good name of the founder of Konoha.”

His eyes widened in shock at the insinuation, “You will go so far?”

To remove Tsunade from her clan, well, he knew no other way of setting her off. “She will kill you,” Jiriaya commented and he found himself nodding.

Kenta snorted, “She can try.”

“Look, I’ve already done the heavy lifting. I’ve lifted the emotional fog at the forefront of her mind. She should be resistant but not to the point she was up until yesterday. The threat of losing the Senju name, coupled with your coercion, should make her stay.”

He exhaled, and looked at Jiraiya for opinion, who nodded, “It is worth a try. She has been alone for far too long.”

He sighed, resigned to yet another emotionally draining conversation, “Fine. I will see what I can do but I still think this could have been handled more delicately.”

“You mean when she would have been in the middle of nowhere, or when she would finally become willing to withstand what is, by all means, a mental attack to become better?” The blunt rebuttal made him wince.

Why couldn’t things remain simple for just one day?