Kushina, who had just awakened, still didn't understand the situation and hurriedly asked Minato, "Minato, weren't we already dead?"
Namikaze Minato frowned tightly. If his guess was correct, this was the Reanimation Jutsu recorded in the Scroll of Seals.
But his soul should have been sealed together with the Yin Half of the Nine-Tails. Who exactly had managed to undo the Dead Demon Consuming Seal?
At this moment, Kushina noticed Kakashi and Naruto standing nearby. Pointing at Kakashi, she said, "Minato, isn't that Kakashi? Why has he grown so big? Could it be that many years have already passed since we died?"
Minato didn't answer Kushina immediately. His eyes remained fixed on Naruto.
He could sense that this person was extremely dangerous.
The level of danger even surpassed that mysterious masked man who attacked Konoha years ago. Just who exactly was the ninja who had resurrected him and Kushina?
Kushina tried taking a few steps forward and came before Kakashi. "Kakashi, did you revive Minato and me? It's not a good thing to disturb the dead, you know. If someone interrupts my sleep, I'd be very unhappy."
Seeing Kushina's hair starting to rise in anger, Kakashi immediately recalled the terrifying memories of being dominated by her personality and quickly said, "It wasn't me who revived you and Minato-sensei. It was the ninja beside me. His identity is a bit... complicated."
"Identity... complicated?" Kushina looked confused before turning toward Naruto. "Who are you? Why can't I bring myself to hate you...?"
Halfway through her sentence, Kushina froze in place, even more confused than before.
Naruto lowered his head so his expression couldn't be seen and calmly said, "I have many identities. The Daimyo of the Land of Uzumaki, the current clan head of the Uzumaki Clan, and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."
The moment the words "Nine-Tails Jinchuriki" came out, Kushina's mouth slowly opened, her expression turning complicated.
"You're Naruto... Minato's and my child? In the blink of an eye, you've already grown this big."
After a brief pause, Kushina cautiously asked Kakashi, "How long has it been since we died?"
Naruto answered before Kakashi could speak.
"It's already been twelve years since the Night of the Nine-Tails, and Konoha is now under the Fifth Hokage."
Kushina carefully asked, "Who's the Fifth Hokage?"
Naruto calmly replied, "Three years ago, one of the Sannin, Jiraiya, launched a coup, overthrew the Third Hokage's rule, and became the Fifth Hokage."
"Jiraiya-sensei overthrew the Third Hokage?"
Namikaze Minato found it difficult to believe.
He couldn't imagine the usually carefree and irresponsible Jiraiya-sensei becoming Hokage. If Jiraiya had truly wanted the position, he could've become the Fourth Hokage long ago.
Kakashi sighed and said, "People's hearts eventually change. Jiraiya-sama didn't start out on this path either. He was forced into overthrowing the Third Hokage. The Third Hokage made many mistakes over the years."
Hearing this, Namikaze Minato's expression changed.
In only a few sentences, he had already received an overwhelming amount of information.
First, why Naruto possessed so many identities and why the atmosphere between Naruto and Kakashi felt so cold.
Second, just what kind of mistakes had the Third Hokage made?
Would Jiraiya-sensei, someone who had always enjoyed freedom and avoided responsibility, really become Hokage willingly?
As Minato thought to himself, he looked toward Kakashi, wanting answers from his former student. But because Naruto was standing nearby, he had some reservations and could only give Kakashi a meaningful glance.
Kushina immediately understood.
Walking over to Naruto, she gently said, "Naruto, can you come with me for a moment? There's something I want to ask you."
Naruto noticed the exchange of glances between Kushina and Namikaze Minato, but he didn't refuse Kushina's invitation.
Chakra Minato from before had been right.
The Chakra Minato sealed inside him and the revived Minato now did not share memories. When facing the current Minato, Naruto was still looking at Konoha's Fourth Hokage first and foremost.
But Kushina's attitude toward him was something Naruto couldn't predict at all.
Following Kushina to the trunk of a large tree, Kushina patted the tree beside her, looked toward the distant Hokage Rock, and smiled.
"Minato really isn't suited to being Hokage. He's way too serious."
Naruto didn't answer. He simply stared at Kushina quietly, his eyes full of vigilance.
After muttering to herself for a while, Kushina looked at Naruto and revealed a gentle smile.
"Minato asked me to bring you away because he probably wants to ask Kakashi about your situation. Even after dying for the village, he still cares deeply about Konoha."
"But you don't need to worry. As long as I'm here, I won't let Minato attack you. Whether you want to destroy this village or leave it behind, I'll always support you."
"After all, I'm that unreasonable little hot-blooded pepper."
After saying that, Kushina took the initiative and pulled Naruto into a hug.
Naruto hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he didn't dodge Kushina's embrace.
Instead, he froze awkwardly in place, completely unsure what to do.
He had never experienced what it felt like to be with his parents, nor had he ever become a parent himself.
Ten seconds later, Naruto finally broke free from Kushina's embrace and quietly said, "Then... do you want to hear about everything I went through over the years? I probably know my own story better than Kakashi does."
Kushina nodded slightly and quietly listened as Naruto began recounting his memories.
When she heard about Naruto being treated as a demon fox and bullied by the villagers while the Third Hokage stood by doing nothing, Kushina angrily gritted her teeth and cursed:
"That old bastard Third Hokage really is worthless! He promised us he'd take good care of you, and in the end he just sat there doing nothing!"
When she heard that Naruto had helped Hinata because Hinata was the first person brave enough to approach him kindly, Kushina revealed a sly grin.
"So Naruto likes gentle girls, huh? I thought you'd prefer the spicy and fiery type like me."
Naruto smiled helplessly before continuing the story.
When the story reached the Uchiha massacre, Kushina softly sighed.
"So those old bastards still made a move against the Uchiha Clan. If Minato had been alive, he definitely could've handled the conflict between the village and the Uchiha properly."
"It's such a pity... Mikoto also died at Uchiha Itachi's hands. How could that child Itachi turn into such a heartless bastard?"
"That's not true. Aunt Mikoto is still alive in Uzushiogakure. I rescued her in time."
Hearing this, Kushina showed a relieved expression and no longer cared much about the rest of the story.
"It's enough for me to know why you left Konoha. Honestly, if it weren't for Minato, I would've defected from Konoha long ago myself. I support your decision."
"Still, since you already left, why did you come back this time?"
As she said this, Kushina suddenly seemed to think of something and covered her mouth with a smile.
"You wanted to see Minato and me after all, didn't you? You've worked hard all these years, but I'm really happy you managed to live well."
Naruto abruptly replied, "I came back to watch Orochimaru stab the Third Hokage in the back."
Kushina's expression darkened slightly, but she still smiled and said, "Alright then. Let's watch that old Third Hokage get stabbed in the back by Orochimaru together. I've honestly wanted to see that happen for a long time."
Naruto was speechless for a moment.
He could already tell exactly what kind of person Kushina was.
Kushina was arrogant, unreasonable, extremely protective of her own people, and the kind of person who always sided with family no matter what.
But Naruto didn't hate this side of Kushina at all.
Because this time, he was the one being protected and loved.
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