It had already been a month since he returned to Konoha Village.
During this time, Kushina completed the transfer of the Nine-Tailed, becoming the new Jinchuriki.
At the same time, her Grandmother Mito, as expected, passed away.
Once a Tailed Beast is extracted, the Jinchuriki is almost certain to die.
Although Mito was from the Uzumaki Clan and possessed tenacious vitality, she was ultimately too old, her life force long since depleted.
Naturally, she could not continue to live.
However, before her death, Kushina still managed to meet Mito.
Mito caressed her red hair and gave Kushina many instructions, hoping she would live a happy life, but also knowing the fate of a Jinchuriki, where many things are not within one's control.
Kushina felt no resentment or regret about this; the moment she chose to become a Jinchuriki, she had accepted everything.
For Grandmother Mito, she felt more gratitude and appreciation.
Without her companionship and favoritism, Kushina might not have integrated into Konoha so quickly.
And now, after Mito's passing, the Senju Clan Grounds were left with only Kushina.
"Big fox, why aren't Takeshi and the others back yet?"
Kushina, after lying bored on the table for a while, got up and walked around the room.
"It's already been a month..."
She muttered softly, then sat back down on the chair, stretched, revealing her lovely figure.
It was a pity this beautiful sight of the human world had no one to appreciate it.
At this moment, the Nine-Tailed, confined in the sealing space, was completely numb.
It had initially thought it could escape from that old woman Mito, but unexpectedly, it was sealed within another little one.
Moreover, this little one was not only unafraid of it but also constantly bothered it.
She would always say a few words in its ear, whether there was anything to say or not; she was simply a chatterbox.
Being a chatterbox was one thing, but the content of her words was always similar, always mentioning the name Takeshi.
Its fox ears were starting to get calloused from listening.
It no longer cared who this Takeshi was; it just hoped this person would return quickly.
Otherwise, it would really be annoyed to death!
Kushina pulled open the drawer, and an array of colorful lollipops, neatly arranged, came into view.
These were given to her by Takeshi; every time they met, he would always prepare some, saying that eating them would make her happy.
But he had prepared too much of this happiness; she couldn't finish them all, so she had saved them.
Her gaze fell on one particular lollipop.
This was given to her by Takeshi to cheer her up after he saved her on the day she was almost kidnapped by Sunagakure Ninja.
At this moment, that figure seemed to reappear before her eyes.
Holding her in his arms,
Reaching out to caress her fiery red long hair,
His gentle gaze looking down,
Softly speaking that sentence.
—"With me here, no one can harm you."
"Ah, no, no... why did I ask such a question then!"
Kushina curled up in her chair, burying her flushed face in her arms.
Whenever she thought of these things, she felt hot all over, and a strange thrill always stirred within her.
It had never been like this before.
But ever since returning to the Village, the longer she stayed here, the stronger that inexplicable impulse became.
She suddenly remembered what Grandmother Mito had said to her then: I hope you can fall in love with this Village and meet the person you love.
"The person I love?"
For some reason, Takeshi's image in her mind became increasingly clear.
Kushina felt warm all over.
She reached out her small hand, picked out that lollipop, unwrapped it, and put it in her mouth.
"So sweet~"
A look of happiness immediately appeared on Kushina's face.
"Teacher, are you finally going to teach me?"
"..."
Orochimaru couldn't help but twitch his lips as he looked at Nawaki, who was full of excitement.
If he hadn't known that this child's personality was very similar to Tsunade's, both being straightforward and outspoken, he would have really thought that this was a veiled accusation, subtly implying that he, as a teacher, was incompetent.
"Heh heh, Nawaki, you're full of spirit, aren't you?"
Orochimaru chuckled sinisterly a few times.
Actually, he wasn't doing it on purpose; he was currently the chief of staff for the Land of Rain battlefield, dealing with a vast amount of intelligence and documents daily, with no time to teach Nawaki.
He felt guilty about this.
That's why today, he specifically brought Nawaki along while on a reconnaissance mission, intending to teach the child some real skills.
"Of course, Teacher, I've been waiting for this day for too long!"
Nawaki gesticulated wildly, saying excitedly.
It must be said that when it came to providing emotional value, Nawaki was definitely a genius.
"I heard you've been on the battlefield for a while with Uchiha Takeshi and the others?"
Orochimaru couldn't help but stick out his forked tongue, his voice deep and hoarse, betraying no emotion.
"Yes."
Nawaki nodded and said, "However, I still want to become stronger!"
"Very good."
Orochimaru grinned lightly and said, "Then let me see where your limits lie!"
Immediately after, several figures dressed in Konoha Ninja uniforms darted through the forest.
One small figure appeared somewhat disheveled, his hands behind his back, adopting the signature Hokage-style running posture.
"Nawaki, your spirit is already crushed!"
At this moment, Orochimaru, who was in the lead, said with a sinister laugh.
Upon hearing this, Nawaki's face immediately turned red.
He had only just managed to receive guidance from Teacher Orochimaru; he absolutely could not be looked down upon.
Thinking this, he gritted his teeth, immediately sped up, swung his arms, and chased with a roar, his two legs almost a blur.
But even so, he still couldn't run as fast as the other Ninja.
This couldn't entirely be blamed on his lack of effort; it was simply because these Ninja were adults, who inherently had an advantage in height and physical ability, so Nawaki naturally couldn't keep up with them.
"Stop!"
Just then, a Ninja dressed in Amegakure attire suddenly appeared ahead.
"Konoha Ninja?!"
Upon seeing their attire, his face immediately changed dramatically.
"Heh heh... Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Just as the Amegakure Ninja was about to pull out a kunai to fight, Orochimaru directly extended his hand, summoning multiple large snakes from it.
Immediately after, to his horror, several large snakes instantly attacked his vital points.
A scream immediately erupted.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
At the same time, several figures streaked past Orochimaru; these were the Konoha squad Ninja he led.
Nawaki, seeing Orochimaru stop, his eyes immediately lit up, seizing the opportunity, his legs a blur, he pedaled furiously, finally surpassing Orochimaru.
Then, to showcase his strength even more impressively before his teacher, he did not slow down at all when passing a hillside.
With a powerful push of one foot, he leaped into the air, gracefully jumping directly onto another small slope.
And so, the next second.
Boom
Under Orochimaru's horrified gaze, Nawaki directly exploded...