Chapter 352: Do You Like the Nine-Tails That Much?
Naruto's single line, "Don't insult Kurama", left Kushina stunned, and the Nine-Tails stunned as well. Only Shiromo seemed relieved.
Hearing that sentence in the ninja world was like hearing Guan Yu's theme song in 'Shin Sangokumusou' (New Three Kingdoms).
Kushina hadn't expected Naruto to be so… generous? So broad-minded?
But why were these "good qualities" of Naruto always used against her?
Meeting Naruto and confirming both his strength and personality should have been two joyful things. So how had it turned into this?
The Nine-Tails, on the other hand, was also conflicted.
Even after learning the whole story, Naruto was still speaking up for it.
This completely ruined the Nine-Tails' original plan.
Wasn't it supposed to provoke Kushina, get exposed, and create a rift between them?
But instead, Naruto not only didn't blame it, he even stopped Kushina from criticizing it.
That made the Nine-Tails feel a bit touched.
After feeling touched, it became a little wary, this must not develop into the Great Toad Sage's prophecy! It had to avoid that seriously!
But after becoming wary, it couldn't help feeling touched again.
And after being touched, it grew wary again.
"Naruto, do you really like the Nine-Tails that much?"
Shiromo asked on Kushina's behalf.
"Of course."
Naruto nodded without hesitation.
"The Nine-Tails has been watching me since I was born, watching me grow up. It's just like my mother…"
Kushina: ?
Kushina suddenly felt like using a clown emoji.
Inside Naruto, the conflicted Nine-Tails' eyes lit up when it heard this.
Mother? Being a mother was great.
It could maintain a close relationship with Naruto, avoid the prophecy, and also irritate Kushina.
Just… Why a mother?
Did it really look that much like a woman?
Wait. A woman?
The well-traveled Nine-Tails suddenly realized what it should do in this situation.
["Naruto, don't say that. Kushina is your real mother."]
["Back then, it was all my fault. I was controlled by Uchiha Madara and ended up killing your parents."]
["It's only natural that Kushina hates me now."]
["Naruto, let Kushina come in and beat me up to vent her anger, and then the two of you can reconcile as mother and son."]
["Please don't let a beast like me ruin your relationship…"]
The Nine-Tails' voice rang out directly.
Not just inside Naruto's mind, but as if it were speaking aloud after taking over his body.
Tailed beasts didn't need to move their mouths to speak, it was like ventriloquism.
So no one saw Naruto's lips move, yet they heard the Nine-Tails' voice clearly.
"Y-you?! Nine-Tails, do you have any shame at all? I didn't expect you to actually become like the Nine-Tails in the 'Limited Tsukuyomi', a naturally promiscuous demon fox?!"
Kushina was completely shocked.
The Nine-Tails could actually say something this manipulative.
Has the Limited Tsukuyomi already started affecting the real ninja world?
Even Shiromo almost lost his composure upon hearing that.
What exactly had Kushina done to the Nine-Tails back then to make it hate her this much?
It was willing to act effeminate and say things completely out of character just to irritate her.
All Shiromo knew about was the "binding", what else had she done?
"What do you mean 'promiscuous'? I don't understand the Nine-Tails' past, and I don't need to. No matter what it was like before, it has already changed now."
"It's no longer a promiscuous demon fox…"
"Stop, stop, stop, stop!"
Kushina hurriedly interrupted Naruto's "speech", afraid he might actually start quoting lines from the Limited Tsukuyomi.
"Alright, Naruto. I won't stop you from forming any kind of relationship with the Nine-Tails."
Kushina sighed and made her promise.
Alert.
The Nine-Tails, which had been happily celebrating its small victory over Kushina, suddenly became alert.
What did she mean by "any kind of relationship"?
"Thank you, Mom. I'll get along well with Kurama. You can… you can rest in peace."
Naruto wiped his tears, moved.
"?"
Kushina slowly formed a question mark in her mind.
Rest in peace?
Go where?
Why did it sound like she was about to die?
Wasn't she already dead?
"Brother Shiromo, a bet is a bet. I lost, so my mom is yours. Next time, I definitely won't lose again."
Naruto looked at Shiromo, clenching his fist with renewed determination.
"?"
Kushina was even more confused.
Her gaze shifted back and forth between Shiromo and Naruto.
What did that mean?
Why did it sound like Naruto had bet her away to Shiromo?
Wasn't this the kind of plot that only appeared in Jiraiya's little adult novels?
Losing your own mother in a bet…
"Don't misunderstand. I made a bet with Naruto earlier, if he won, I would revive you first."
Shiromo explained.
"Oh, I see. That's good."
Kushina let out a sigh of relief.
Wait… no.
She hadn't said anything just now, so what exactly was Shiromo telling her not to misunderstand?
"Brother Shiromo, is Kakashi-sensei alright?"
Naruto asked carefully.
"He's fine. Oh, right, do you want to see Sasuke?"
"Sasuke? Where is he?"
As expected.
The moment Sasuke was mentioned, Naruto immediately forgot about Kakashi.
In the original story, during the confrontation between the masked man and Sasuke against Kakashi, Naruto, and spectator Sakura. When Naruto and Sasuke exchanged "talk-no-jutsu", Naruto said something like, "If I can't even save my friend, how can I become Hokage?"
At that moment, the masked man felt incredibly fortunate to be wearing a mask, otherwise people would have seen the grin on his face.
You little brat, if you can talk, then keep talking. Kakashi, did you hear that?
Just like that, Shiromo summoned the Flying Thunder God squad, sent Naruto back to Konoha, and handed him over outside the village to Itachi, who was taking care of Sasuke.
Yes.
Naruto would soon be needed on Sasuke's side, so it was best to let them start interacting and get used to each other.
"…"
Kushina, who had followed along, looked completely lost.
This wasn't how she had imagined a mother-son reunion.
But she was fairly optimistic. On second thought, Naruto had never met her growing up, why would he have any deep emotional attachment to her? Just because of blood?
In the ninja world, it wasn't unheard of for parents to hate their own children or even try to kill them.
Blood ties were just that, blood ties. They didn't inherently carry emotions.
With that reasoning, Kushina convinced herself that the current situation was normal.
And in a way, she was half right.
During the Chūnin Exams, Naruto had learned about the complicated relationship between Gaara and his father, Rasa. He came to understand that sharing blood didn't mean sharing feelings.
Parents could hate their children. They could treat them as tools.
Parents themselves weren't inherently great, rather, great people happened to become parents.
In other words, vile and despicable people could also become parents.
From that moment on, Naruto had already shed any naive idealization of parental love.
So his current attitude… was completely normal.
(End of this chapter)