Chapter 313: Farewell
The next morning, warm sunlight spilled through the window into the room. Steaming hot breakfast was laid out on the dining table.
"What's wrong, Naruto? Doesn't it suit your taste?"
Kushina Uzumaki asked somewhat cautiously. When Naruto opened his eyes that morning, he'd discovered his mother had already prepared all this.
The Impure World Reincarnation body's characteristic of not needing sleep meant Kushina had gotten up early, preparing this breakfast for her son with a heart full of making up for regrets—this was a duty she'd been unable to fulfill while alive. Being able to practice it even a little bit now filled her heart with small satisfaction.
"No, no!" Naruto hurriedly waved his hands, realizing his earlier pensive appearance might have caused his mother to misunderstand. "Mom's cooking is really good! It's really great!"
He quickly lowered his head and took a big bite of the sandwich in his hand. The breakfast Kushina prepared had a wonderfully combined style—Western-style sandwiches paired with traditional Japanese miso soup. The taste was indeed quite good, showing her care.
Of course, objectively speaking, compared to Naruto's cooking skills, it was still slightly lacking.
Sitting across the table, Uchiha Satsuki was also somewhat distracted, sipping her soup in small mouthfuls. Because Kushina couldn't sleep, she'd spent almost the entire night staying by Naruto's side, tenderly gazing at her son's sleeping face.
Though this intense maternal love was certainly moving, it had completely eliminated opportunities for certain actions in Satsuki's original plans, leaving her heart feeling emptily regretful.
Within Naruto's inner world, inside the seal space, a scene completely different from the warm exterior was currently playing out.
Minato Namikaze's consciousness body "watched" the outside scene through Naruto's perspective. Especially seeing that Kushina preparing breakfast for their son, he completely froze.
"Yo, see that, Fourth?" The Nine-Tails lay contentedly on the grassland, mockingly snarking. "Your wife, Kushina Uzumaki, has been temporarily 'revived' through forbidden jutsu. Though her state is special, she has not the slightest intention of immediately resting in peace."
"Hmph, think about it—if you'd chosen the path of staying alive back then, maybe now your family of three could be reunited, enjoying domestic bliss?"
The Nine-Tails' words couldn't withstand careful scrutiny. Just the hypothesis of "Fourth staying alive" alone would trigger countless unpredictable butterfly effects, but the Nine-Tails didn't care about logic at all.
It had only one goal—make the Fourth Hokage's heart uncomfortable!
The reason Naruto's thoughts were wandering during breakfast was precisely because of that truth about his soul's nature the Nine-Tails had finally revealed last night.
So... reincarnation in this worldview actually truly existed...
He wasn't some soul from another world occupying someone else's body—he was Uzumaki Naruto himself? Just a soul carrying memory fragments?
Well... if measured by standard "transmigrator" configurations, he seemed indeed to be a bit... too softhearted?
The Nine-Tails had explained clearly—what it saw was "soul memory." In other words, whether the blonde youth who grew up lonely in Konoha or that consciousness that spent an ordinary life in another peaceful world, ultimately experiencing all this was the same soul.
When very young, because he'd mistakenly thought himself some "soul-seizer" who'd taken over another's body, Naruto had secretly felt guilty for quite a long time.
"By the way, Naruto," Kushina pushed a cup of hot milk before her son, asking expectantly, "Do you have any plans today? Mom's planning to visit the Uchiha compound with Satsuki in a bit. Want to come along?"
Among those she couldn't let go of while alive, first place naturally belonged to the just-born Naruto, while second was that good friend—Mikoto Uchiha. When previously asking Satsuki about her parents' current state and learning they were both well, Kushina's anxious heart had finally eased somewhat.
Going out with Mother...
This was an experience Naruto had never had before. However, unfortunately, he'd already made arrangements for this morning.
"Sorry... Mom," some apology appeared on Naruto's face. "The Sand Village prisoners are being repatriated to the Land of Wind today. I must see someone off."
Naruto certainly hadn't forgotten about Gaara's matter.
Hearing this, barely perceptible disappointment flashed through Kushina's eyes, but she quickly showed her smile again, nodding forcefully to show understanding. "It's fine. Important matters come first."
Simultaneously, she also silently apologized to Minato in her heart. She knew she shouldn't remain in the present world in this state, but Kushina hadn't willingly become like this either. Before the jutsu was undone, just let herself... in this manner, accompany their son a little more.
The reason Kushina wanted to visit the Uchiha compound—besides personally confirming her friend Mikoto's current state—actually had two other intentions. First, she wanted to confirm with Mikoto whether that half-joking, half-serious "childhood betrothal" agreement from back then still counted now.
Second, she also wanted to understand how the Uchiha clan's situation within the village—which Minato had worked hard to improve while alive—had progressed. This was one of Minato's unfinished endeavors. She hoped to see for him.
However, perhaps the joy of reunion and thoughts as a mother occupied too much of her mind, Kushina overlooked one critical detail—she forgot to carefully ask Satsuki again about exactly what the Uchiha clan's overall current state was...
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"Did you hear? Lord Third Hokage was attacked! Now seriously injured—they barely managed to save his life after working for ages at the hospital."
"What? Really?! I was wondering why Lord Third wouldn't appear at such an important occasion. But who was the attacker? Were they caught?"
"No. When I went to the Hokage Building this morning to deliver mission documents, I discovered the entire Hokage office had collapsed. The attacker disappeared long ago. However, according to eyewitness descriptions, the attacker seemed to be a red-haired woman."
Walking along the road toward Konoha's gates, Naruto had already lost count of how many times he'd politely declined villagers showing guilty expressions, trying to "compensate" or strike up conversation in various ways.
Just as he was about to reach his destination, low conversation among several Konoha ninja maintaining order reached his keen ears. The content immediately caught his attention.
However, Naruto temporarily suppressed this thought. He'd think about this matter after waiting a bit. There were more important things at hand right now.
Naruto collected his thoughts, continuing toward Konoha's gates. The Sand prisoners about to be repatriated had already gathered there, undergoing final headcount under Konoha ninja supervision. When Naruto's figure appeared in view, the originally somewhat noisy crowd instantly quieted considerably.
Many Sand ninja showed undisguised fear in their eyes, retreating to both sides like tides.
Naruto paid no attention. His gaze swept around, quickly discovering those three familiar figures in a corner of the crowd—Kankuro and Temari with extremely strange expressions staring at their brother, plus Gaara sitting quietly to the side with lowered head, looking somewhat uneasy, as though afraid of something.