"I just want to ask, where did Kumogakure get the guts to come to Konoha and try to snatch a backup Jinchuriki?"
"And I ask again, how could three Jonin sneak into Konoha, abduct someone, and no one notice?"
"Wasn't there even an Anbu member near Kushina? She was living in the Senju Clan's territory!"
"Even if all of this was a coincidence, why didn't these Kumogakure Ninja run immediately after capturing Kushina? They even tied her with a rope and led her away? Weren't they afraid of being chased? It's as if they were afraid she wouldn't be rescued."
"Also, those three Jonin who came to abduct her, they didn't even notice the hair Kushina was dropping along the way?"
"The most outrageous thing is that among Konoha's many experts, it was Minato Namikaze, who had only recently graduated, who found her, and those experienced Jonin couldn't even defeat him."
"Speaking of which, is Minato Namikaze the type of person to act impulsively?"
"Think about it again, Minato Namikaze is Jiraiya's disciple, and Hiruzen Sarutobi's grand-disciple."
"Was all of this really just a coincidence?"
"Haha, I'd be crazy to believe you! (with a serious expression)"
The women: "..."
Uzumaki Kushina: "..."
"Minato Namikaze liked Kushina, that much I truly believe."
"With her red hair, warm and cheerful personality, and clear likes and dislikes, who wouldn't like a girl like that?"
"But how much calculation and self-interest was in that liking, only he himself knows."
"The whole incident was clearly a meticulously planned scheme by Hiruzen Sarutobi to deal with the Jinchuriki, and only he could arrange for 'Kumogakure Ninja' to abduct Kushina without alarming the village's strong Ninja, and then have Minato Namikaze rescue her."
"As for whether Minato Namikaze knew about this, no one knows."
"Who in the Ninja World doesn't know his reputation as a genius?"
Boom!
Kushina felt a 'buzz' in her head, as if she had been struck by lightning.
Her body trembled uncontrollably, tears streamed down her face, and her heart ached terribly.
It turned out everything was a calculation, from her heart, to her becoming a Jinchuriki, to her dedicating her life to Konoha, it had all been under the Hokage's control.
Now she understood, Naruto was just another extension of her.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, you Old Monkey, you must die.
Speaking of Minato Namikaze—
"Thump!"
Kushina threw a Shadow Clone to distract Naruto, and she instantly returned to the Sealing Space to find Minato Namikaze again.
"Kushina!" Minato Namikaze's eyes lit up like light bulbs when he saw her, and his lips trembled as he tried to speak.
But Kushina didn't give him a chance, directly asking him point-blank: "Minato Namikaze, I ask you, that time the Hidden Cloud Village Ninja captured me, and you rescued me, did you already know that was Hiruzen Sarutobi's trick?!"
Minato Namikaze's heart skipped a beat when he heard that!
At this moment, inside Naruto's stomach, in the small world of the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style, at the end of the sewer, the Nine-Tailed was hiding behind a door, one eye squinted into a slit, looking out, and its ears perked up like antennas, clearly eavesdropping on Kushina and Minato Namikaze's whispered conversation.
Although Minato Namikaze was a soul condensed from Chakra, sweat beaded on his forehead at this moment, and he felt extremely uneasy.
"Kushina, you..."
Minato Namikaze originally wanted to ask her why she suddenly brought this up.
But seeing her serious eyes and increasingly cold expression, he swallowed the words he was about to say.
After a long while, he forced a smile, his voice hoarse: "Kushina, I remember when you first transferred schools, the first time I saw you, I was captivated by you, I couldn't forget you."
Kushina's gaze shifted slightly, but the coldness in her expression hadn't receded.
"You're asking if I knew about Hiruzen Sarutobi's scheme when the Hidden Cloud Village captured you that time."
"I'm telling you, I truly didn't know!"
Minato Namikaze patted his chest, looking sincere: "Your Kagura Mind's Eye can sense the truth through Chakra, I'll release my Chakra now, you can check as much as you want."
"I swear, I didn't lie to you!"
Kushina's eyes softened a little when she heard this.
In fact, she had used her Kagura Mind's Eye as soon as she arrived.
The Kagura Mind's Eye is powerful, but it doesn't always work, depending on the opponent's strength, whether they have any special techniques, and so on.
Some people are very cunning and can evade the Kagura Mind's Eye's detection, like Lin Mo; Kushina couldn't read his thoughts, only sense how strong his Chakra was.
Minato Namikaze's Chakra, in her eyes, was completely insignificant now, so he naturally couldn't deceive her.
"But you realized something was wrong later, didn't you?" Kushina asked.
"Yes." Minato Namikaze nodded, a bitter smile on his face: "I felt something was off after I returned to the village, that it might have been a trap set by the Third Hokage."
"At that time, I had just become a disciple of Jiraiya-sensei, so I was also a grand-disciple of the Third Hokage."
"Uzumaki Mito-sama was already failing then, and it was clear she was about to pass on the Jinchuriki position to you."
"His move was meant to make you change your opinion of me, and even fall in love with me."
"The purpose, of course, was to keep the Jinchuriki firmly in the hands of Konoha's higher-ups."
"No, it was to keep it in Hiruzen Sarutobi's hands!" Kushina corrected coldly.
Minato Namikaze's expression suddenly changed, then he nodded slightly.
Yes, to be honest, the control was less in Konoha's hands and more in the personal hands of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
After all, Jiraiya and he himself had always disliked Danzo and his faction, but they both respected and feared Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"So, what you're saying is, our relationship from the very beginning was a plan targeting the Jinchuriki, right?" Kushina asked for confirmation.
"Kushina, I have no problem with that." Minato Namikaze seemed to have a premonition, and his speech quickened.
"But you were the beneficiary of this plan." Kushina said seriously, "From your perspective, you got the woman you loved, and I became your helper after becoming a Jinchuriki, which made the Old Monkey value you more, even choosing you as the Fourth Hokage."
"Orochimaru once told me that the Old Monkey suffered heavy losses in the Third Great Ninja War and had to step down, but he couldn't bear to give up his power, so he chose you as Hokage because Orochimaru was difficult to control, and you were more suitable to be a puppet."
"I didn't believe it then, thinking it was just the grumbling of a failure."
"Now that I think about it, and look at Naruto's situation."
"I think Orochimaru was right."
Minato Namikaze opened his mouth, but couldn't say a single word.
He himself knew that he was a puppet, and he was even willing to become Hokage in that capacity.
Because he was young, Hiruzen Sarutobi would definitely pass away before him, and when Hiruzen Sarutobi's strength failed, he would naturally gain power, there was no need to contend with Hiruzen Sarutobi.
But now, it seemed that this sensibility had become weakness in the eyes of others.
"Forget it, there's no need to argue about these things."
Kushina waved her hand listlessly, her expression calm as she said: "Minato, you know my personality, you should understand what I'm going to say next, right?"
Minato Namikaze's face instantly turned pale, and he forced a smile: "Can you forgive me? My concealment was entirely for your own good."
That was true.
Minato Namikaze had indeed only learned about the incident afterwards.
If he had told Kushina at the time, given Kushina's personality, she would only have had an issue with Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Although the hero-saving-the-damsel act wasn't entirely pure, they were both genuinely devoted to each other at the time.
"Minato, you know, what I can't stand the most is hypocrisy."
"Feelings built on lies will ultimately not last."
"I don't blame you, you didn't do anything wrong."
"If you could have deceived me for a lifetime, I would have accepted it."
"But the problem is, I know now."
"I hate calculations, I hate being used, I hate betrayal."
"Let's part ways amicably."
With that, Kushina immediately turned and walked away without looking back.
Originally, she only had an issue with Minato Namikaze because of Naruto, feeling that their philosophies didn't align.
But she wouldn't deny their past feelings, nor would she do anything to betray him.
However, now that she knew everything in the past was fake, she felt that nothing was worth cherishing anymore.
She had her own bottom line and principles.
"You are already dead, I will no longer consider how to resurrect you."
"Once I find a way to save your life, I will send you to the underworld to enjoy your blessings."
"May you have a good reincarnation in your next life."
Before her voice faded, Kushina's voice was no longer heard, no matter how Minato Namikaze called out.
Seeing this, the Nine-Tailed immediately scoffed: "Fourth Hokage, look at your unlucky life."
"Your son lost his mother from a young age, and the Third Hokage used you as a tool."
"What good is it that your wife died with you? She's resurrected but won't take you with her, she dumped you."
"Tsk tsk!"
Whoosh!
Minato Namikaze suddenly turned his head, his eyes practically spitting fire.
The Nine-Tailed, however, was unconcerned and continued to babble on.
It loved seeing Minato Namikaze angry and helpless.
Just then, a strange power permeated the surroundings.
Minato Namikaze, along with the Chakra within him, was completely devoured by this power, vanishing without a trace.
Even if Naruto were to unleash the Nine-Tailed's power in the future, Minato Namikaze would no longer appear.
At the same time, this power also made the Nine-Tailed shut its mouth.
"One more word, and I won't be polite to you!"
Kushina's voice came through.
The Nine-Tailed immediately fell silent; it knew it couldn't afford to provoke this woman, and it wouldn't do anything to bring trouble upon itself.
Meanwhile, Lin Mo had just returned to his apartment.
He had no idea that a few nonsensical sentences in his diary had completely broken up Kushina and Minato Namikaze, sending them off to new lives.
He poured two cups of tea, placing one on the table, and said: "Kakashi, you've escorted me all the way here, aren't you going to show yourself?"
"Who exactly are you?!"
From the shadows, Kakashi emerged, not holding his icha icha paradise, his expression serious.
"According to my investigation, Lin Mo at most would only become a Chunin in this lifetime."
"But you are clearly not, your sensory abilities are extraordinary."
"Moreover, I feel a fatal threat from you."
If these words got out, it would probably make a lot of people's jaws drop.
For Kakashi to feel danger meant that the other party's abilities were superior to his.
And Lin Mo was just an eighteen-year-old kid!
"Who exactly are you, what kind of divine being?"
Lin Mo had intended to scare Kakashi with Obito's matter to send him away.
Anyway, Kakashi was tight-lipped, so telling him the information wouldn't hurt.
Ever since he learned that the contents of his diary would leak in some way, he decided to stop hiding things and just do as he pleased.
However, hearing Kakashi's question, he suddenly wanted to tease him and came up with a better idea.
"Whoosh!"
Lin Mo threw a kunai at Kakashi.
Its speed was astonishing, and its angle was extremely tricky.
"Whoosh!"
Just at this critical moment, Kakashi, relying on the alertness he had honed through over forty S-rank missions, sharply tilted his head, dodging the kunai's attack, but a lock of his hair was sliced off.
He was about to counterattack when he realized Lin Mo had vanished without a trace.
He couldn't even tell how the other party had moved or in which direction he had slipped away.
Just then, a buzzing sound, like something spinning, came from behind him.
"Rasengan!"
"Whoosh—"
A small whirlwind brushed past Kakashi's ear.
He swallowed, saying with a shocked expression: "Flying Thunder God Technique, and Rasengan?"
"How do you know these two Ninjutsu?"
"Why wouldn't I? I just know them." Lin Mo smiled faintly, "Kakashi, can you still not guess who I am?"
"Could it be... you're Sensei?" Kakashi asked, his face full of disbelief.
Rasengan was a Ninjutsu created by Minato Namikaze that didn't require hand signs; it was difficult to learn and very precious, but not a small number of Ninja in the Ninja World knew it.
Jiraiya and Hiruzen Sarutobi, for example, both knew it, and Kakashi did too.
But the Flying Thunder God Technique, ever since Senju Tobirama, only Minato Namikaze had completely mastered it; even the Sannin and Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't learned it.
With these two Ninjutsu appearing on one person simultaneously, Kakashi easily connected it to Minato Namikaze.
"Alright, it's really you, Hatake · Farsighted · Kakashi."
Lin Mo was laughing internally, but his face remained serious: "Yes, it's me."
"If you are Sensei, how did you become like this?" Kakashi asked.
"It's all because of that damned Shinigami." Lin Mo frowned.
"Shinigami?"
"You must have heard of the Reaper Death Seal, it's a super powerful Sealing Jutsu of the Uzumaki Clan, Kushina taught it to me. After performing it, you can summon the Shinigami, who sucks souls into its stomach, at the cost of the caster's soul." Lin Mo explained: "I was originally trapped in the Shinigami's stomach, but something went wrong during my resurrection, and I ended up taking over this body."
At this point, Lin Mo imitated Minato Namikaze's tone and said: "Because of this, Kushina doesn't think much of me now."
"Spiritually and mentally, I'm still her husband, but this body..."
"So she sent me here."
Kakashi immediately understood.
No wonder Kushina was so trusting of this person she had only met once.
He had initially thought it was because of Naruto and the Kagura Mind's Eye's detection, but it always felt a bit far-fetched.
Now, it seemed it was because Lin Mo's true identity was Minato Namikaze, which was indeed reliable.
That's right, if it weren't Minato, why would Lin Mo be so good to Naruto?
Everything made sense now.
However, as a Ninja, caution was fundamental, so Kakashi probed: "Do you have any way to prove it?"
"You can ask Kushina." Lin Mo said calmly, with a hint of helplessness.
Kakashi sobered up a bit, but still kept his eyes fixed on Lin Mo.