Chapter 302: Past
"I'm a bit disappointed," Kushina said with a somewhat coquettish complaining tone, though her eyes were full of tenderness. "Compared to me, your personality is more like Minato's, you know."
Though Kushina's personality was somewhat more lively and animated than Naruto's, that strange verbal tic that emerged made the two extremely similar.
Kushina carefully listened to Naruto recounting these years' experiences while silently noting things mentally. Naruto's team leader is Kakashi, huh.
That child... hopefully won't be as unreliable as Jiraiya-sensei and that old geezer Third, neglecting Naruto, right? She secretly hoped, planning to ask about it tomorrow or the day after.
"Really?" Hearing his mother say he resembled his father, Naruto instead showed a warm smile. "But I feel my facial features actually really resemble Mom. Also, Mom's hair color is especially beautiful—like flames."
Listening to Naruto's gentle response, watching him work hard to find common ground, Kushina's heart inexplicably felt a sense of déjà vu—as though talking with young Minato, who'd always worked hard to appear mature and sensible.
This consideration and maturity beyond his years made her feel incomparably heartbroken. At the same time, when Naruto recounted the past, he deliberately selected only those warm, beautiful memories, hiding away all the darkness and pain.
Then her gaze swept across the dining table. This taste... Kushina looked at the various tomato preparations dominating the table, her mood somewhat complex.
Though her own hair color was as vivid as ripe tomatoes, she herself actually greatly disliked eating tomatoes.
However, in her Impure World Reincarnation state, she not only didn't need to eat at all, but had even lost such basic sensory pleasures as tasting flavors and smelling aromas.
Unable to share a dinner her son had carefully prepared—this regret made her feel hollow. But thinking she could now prepare lunch boxes for her son revived her spirits.
Sitting to the side, Satsuki naturally hadn't missed that slightly strange and complex gaze Kushina directed toward the dining table. Her heart tightened suddenly. What if Naruto's mother learned these dishes on the table were actually all specially made by Naruto according to her own tastes... would she think her a willful, troublesome person?
Recalling her earlier questioning and dissatisfied attitude toward Kushina, Satsuki immediately grew extremely nervous, heart full of regret.
However, despite inner anxiety, she still had some questions urgently wanting answers. She mustered courage, asking in a much more respectful tone than before:
"Um... Kushina-san... may I ask... that 'thing' sealed inside Naruto's body... what exactly is that about?" Regarding this true source causing Naruto's childhood isolation, Satsuki remained very concerned.
Then she continued asking: "Also... that 'Minato' you mentioned earlier... is?"
In the history and knowledge Satsuki had studied, she indeed knew of someone named "Minato." Was it coincidence? Or...
"...Minato is Naruto's father," Kushina's voice carried a trace of pride and sorrow, "and also Konoha's Fourth Hokage."
"What?!"
Satsuki suddenly stood up, the chair scraping against the floor with a harsh sound. Knowing the possibility and personally hearing the truth were two different things. This fact gave her tremendous impact, making it difficult to digest momentarily.
"Wait... Naruto... is the Fourth Hokage's son?! That—the heroic Hokage's son who sacrificed himself protecting Konoha?!"
Her voice rose from shock, mind instantly flashing through villagers' various vicious words toward Naruto over the years. An absurd yet furious emotion rushed straight to her head.
"Then... they?! All these years... they actually treated the child of the hero who protected them all like this...?!" Satsuki's voice trembled from agitation. This absurd reality of repaying kindness with enmity made her clench her fists tightly.
Kushina watched Satsuki's agitated appearance, heart feeling both comforted and sour. She didn't plan to hide any truth... even if she'd be resented or blamed for it, she accepted it.
"Because..." Kushina's voice lowered. "It was Naruto's father... who personally sealed the Nine-Tails inside the just-born Naruto."
"...?! Why..." Satsuki's eyes widened, completely unable to understand this decision.
"Because of this! Naruto has suffered so much all these years!" Satsuki's emotions grew even more agitated, almost accusing. "Almost everyone looked at him like a monster! Why... why place such a burden..."
"Satsuki."
Naruto gently interrupted Satsuki's agitated words. Under Satsuki's confused and puzzled gaze, Naruto turned toward his mother, asking a key question.
"Mom, the reason everyone so fears and hates the Nine-Tails is because of that 'Nine-Tails Calamity' over ten years ago... which was the day of my birth, right?"
Kushina didn't know why Naruto suddenly asked this, but she merely nodded with deep guilt.
"Then," Naruto continued asking, "the Third Hokage told me that day, an unidentified mysterious ninja controlled the Nine-Tails—that was the fundamental reason causing the Nine-Tails to rampage and attack the village."
"Dad—to prevent that mysterious ninja from continuing to use and control the Nine-Tails' power, he chose to seal it inside my body. Is that right?"
"..."
Kushina was momentarily speechless, instead finding it difficult to answer directly. Because the actual situation then had been more complex—Minato indeed had considerations about stopping the masked man from continuing to control the Nine-Tails, but the more important deciding factor was his judgment that Konoha needed to retain the Nine-Tails as strategic power, therefore choosing to sacrifice himself and Naruto.
He sealed half the Nine-Tails inside Naruto, ensuring the jinchuriki remained in Konoha. At that time, Kushina could have chosen mutual destruction with the Nine-Tails, and Minato could have accompanied Naruto growing up, but Minato had abandoned that option... Though this decision preserved the Tailed Beast for Konoha, the price was Naruto losing the father who could have survived, and Naruto bearing the infamy of "demon fox."
If she revealed the complete truth... Kushina felt somewhat afraid—afraid Naruto would consequently resent his father, that man who deeply loved them yet made difficult choices.
Seeing his mother show such troubled and pained expression, Naruto immediately changed his phrasing, trying to reduce his mother's psychological burden.
"...How about this, Mom. On that day, both Dad and Mom ultimately sacrificed because of that true culprit, that mysterious person controlling the Nine-Tails, right? The Nine-Tails itself was actually just a tool used by that person—is that correct?"
Wanting to know the truth of his parents' sacrifice suddenly became... a question defending the Nine-Tails? This turn stunned both Kushina and Satsuki momentarily.
But thinking carefully, Kushina realized what Naruto said was indeed correct. If not for that masked man who'd destroyed all her happiness forcibly controlling and releasing the Nine-Tails with the Sharingan, the Nine-Tails wouldn't have broken the seal at all, and the tragedy wouldn't have occurred.
Thinking this, Kushina nodded forcefully, deep hatred for that mysterious masked man burning in her eyes.
Seeing his mother's affirmative response, Naruto's face showed a relieved smile.
"That's good then." His voice became lighter. "Actually, I've always wanted to tell you something. Satsuki, and everyone in the village, always treat Kurama... which is the Nine-Tails, as the symbol of all calamity, or the source of all my misfortune..."
His gaze became gentle as he continued: "But when I was small, after you appeared Satsuki, what truly accompanied me through many lonely times..."
"Was precisely this 'gift' you and Dad left me. Though its personality is stubborn, not honest at all, and sometimes its temper is quite explosive, when I was very young, Kurama and I already became partners who could talk about anything and understand each other!"
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