Chapter 391: The Namikaze Household
"Waaah... it's real... they're really kissing... so cute! I can't take it anymore... thank you, Mikoto... really, thank you..."
Not far from Minato's former residence, atop a utility pole, a red figure crouched in what could be described less as "stealthy" and more as "blatantly excited."
Uzumaki Kushina held binoculars in her hands, her gaze piercing through the not-quite-closed curtain gap, taking in every bit of the young couple's shy yet sweet interactions inside.
Her face had long since flushed with two patches of excited red. Her eyes were even somewhat moist, and her lips curved upward completely beyond control—she simply couldn't suppress them.
Kushina would bet that if a mirror appeared before her right now, she'd definitely be startled by her own undignified, stalker-like expression. But she didn't care at all.
She'd done it. Witnessed with her own eyes Naruto growing from a boy to the young man he was today. And now, her most beloved son, together with Satsuki whom she likewise cherished as her own and watched grow up, were crossing that most important threshold on his first night of adulthood!
"Uu... they... they went inside?! Is it, is it starting?!"
The scene change in her binoculars made Kushina's heartbeat instantly spike even higher. She covered her mouth to prevent herself from making overly excited sounds. "Am I... am I about to become a grandmother?! No, wait! Calm down, Kushina! Thinking about that is too early! Naruto's definitely sensible... uwah! But I'm really so excited, what do I do?!"
A mixture of "my son has finally grown up" sentimentality and "my ship came true" ecstasy surged through her heart as an intense impulse to tightly embrace something to vent her emotions.
She nimbly leaped down from the utility pole. Below, the giant blue dog Zacian—whom she'd forcibly "dragged" along as company and who now lay on the ground boredly yawning—lifted its eyelids, glancing at her with an exasperated look.
Kushina didn't care about that. She rushed forward in one swift motion, spreading her arms wide to give Zacian a huge hug, even burying her flushed face in its soft, smooth blue fur, rubbing back and forth.
"This is wonderful... really wonderful... to be able to live again... this is really wonderful..."
Zacian's throat emitted a slight rumbling sound resembling a sigh, but it ultimately didn't push away this overly emotional "temporary master." It simply let her embrace it, tail swaying gently.
"Phew..." After quite a while, Kushina finally raised her head, releasing a long breath. The blush on her face hadn't faded, her eyes sparkled brightly. She patted the dust off herself, showing Zacian an extraordinarily brilliant smile.
"Alright! Tonight we'll completely leave the place to those two young people. We absolutely can't be intrusive third wheels!" She energetically declared, then bent down to rub Zacian's head. "Let's go, little Zacian! We're going to 'stay overnight' at Mikoto's place!"
Humming an off-key tune, bringing along the somewhat tired-looking Zacian who'd been woken from sleep but still silently followed, one person and one dog stepped through the moonlight toward the Uchiha clan head's residence, walking with elated spirits.
---
Naruto's inner world.
Namikaze Minato was experiencing a complex mood mixing embarrassment, excitement, relief, and bewilderment.
Just moments ago, through Naruto's senses, he'd clearly "seen" the first kiss between his son and Fugaku's daughter.
That scene was so pure and beautiful it made even this old father's face heat up. Immediately after, when Satsuki said "let's go to your room," Naruto instantly, without hesitation, employed sealing techniques to completely isolate the inner world's visual sharing and sound transmission from the outside.
What would happen next outside, Minato as a mature adult naturally understood perfectly well.
He felt genuinely happy and blessed about this, but this kind of "important major event" was entirely another matter for the two other "tenants" of the inner world.
The Nine-Tails, previously awakened by the commotion and lazily sprawled out, merely lifted its eyelids. Through their spiritual connection, vaguely sensing that "that Uchiha brat" had arrived outside, it immediately lost interest and closed its eyes again.
And Otsutsuki Urashiki, sealed in a corner, who'd been meditating with closed eyes—or rather, forced into contemplation—also only took an extremely brief glance before the shielding occurred, showing no reaction whatsoever.
For the Nine-Tails as a chakra aggregate and Urashiki as an alien lifeform, this kind of intimate human behavior based on hormones and emotions truly offered no point worth attention or resonance.
Of course, as the only "resident" here retaining complete human emotions and ethical concepts, Minato himself would absolutely never "peep."
Rather, if Naruto hadn't proactively shielded, he would've immediately sought ways to cut off perception. Personally witnessing his son's "that kind of" private moment? Just imagining it made Minato feel utterly mortified, let alone potentially being observed by outsiders... an outside fox and an alien.
After shielding, everything around fell silent. Unable to see or hear anything, yet the turmoil in Minato's heart couldn't settle for a long time.
Relief, excitement... and a hint of clumsy bewilderment.
"Which means... I might... have the opportunity to personally witness my grandchild's birth?"
This thought stirred ripples upon ripples. The last time he'd felt such intense yet flustered anticipation was years ago when learning Kushina was pregnant with Naruto.
Time flowed, fate circled. He could actually welcome the possibility of new life in the family this way.
This sudden joy and anticipation transcending life, death, and space-time made Minato unconsciously begin pacing across the empty grassland. His mind uncontrollably started rehearsing distant yet incredibly vivid scenarios.
"Hello, nice to meet you. I'm your grandfather, Namikaze Minato, and also Konoha Village's Fourth Hokage. I hope we can protect this land together in the future.—No, no, too formal. That'll frighten a child."
"Little one, I'm Minato, your father's father. Very happy to meet you.—Mm, slightly better, but seems too ordinary. Lacks ceremonial feeling."
"Yo! Future little hero! I'm your super handsome grandpa Minato! How about Grandpa teaches you amazing jutsu later? Uh... seems a bit too narcissistic and frivolous. Plus what if the child's personality is mature and quiet like Naruto?"
"Being able to meet you like this makes Grandpa truly happy. Your father is a very remarkable person. Grandpa believes you'll definitely become someone your family is proud of too.—Would that be too heavy? Saying this at first meeting..."
"SO NOISY! Fourth Hokage! What are you muttering and going crazy about alone in the middle of the night?! Are you going to let people sleep or not?!"
The Nine-Tails' unbearable roar suddenly rang out. Immediately after, a chunk of grass and dirt the size of a tabletop that it had swatted flew howling toward the pacing Minato!
Minato instantly snapped from his fantasies. Seeing the incoming "dirt cannonball," the embarrassment and daydreaming on his face were immediately replaced by helplessness. In an instant, a trident-shaped Flying Thunder God kunai had already appeared in his hand.
---