A Mother's Love

"What? You little brat actually dared to say I'm long-winded? Looks like you're asking for a beating, aren't you?" Kushina said to Xuan Ye, slightly angered.

As she spoke, she reached out with her fair little hand and grabbed my ear. Not only did she grab it, she gave it a full one-hundred-and-eighty-degree twist, turning and turning.

When Xuan Ye saw his mother Kushina's slender hand, he instinctively wanted to dodge. But when I tried to evade, I realized there was nowhere for me to hide.

That hand seemed to have locked my entire body in place. I simply could not dodge, and I even had the feeling that no matter how I tried, I would be unable to escape. It was an extremely unpleasant feeling. If this had been a battlefield, that single move would have been enough to kill Xuan Ye.

But this was not a battlefield. This was home, and the person before him was his beloved mother, Kushina. There was not the slightest danger, so I did not feel any fear. My ear just hurt a little.

Before long, Xuan Ye's ear visibly turned red. It had been reddened by his mother, Kushina Uzumaki, pinching it, and Xuan Ye immediately cried out.

"Ah! It hurts, it hurts! Mom, go easier, go easier! It really hurts!" Xuan Ye shouted at his mother, Kushina.

Kushina had been pinching away enthusiastically, but seeing her son cry out in pain, she felt a little distressed. That was only natural. Xuan Ye was the child she had carried for ten months before giving birth to him with great hardship. He could be said to be a piece of flesh that had fallen from Kushina's body, so of course she would feel distressed when he cried out in pain.

But distressed as she was, she could not let her dignity as a mother weaken. She could only pretend to be fierce as she said to Xuan Ye, "Oh? So you know pain after all! If I don't teach you a proper lesson today, you won't know how formidable I am as your mother."

"You dared to tease me and call me long-winded. Do you still dare to tease me now? Do you still dare to say your mother is long-winded?" After saying that, Kushina Uzumaki glared fiercely at her son, Xuan Ye.

Kushina Uzumaki might have thought that expression looked very fierce, but in Xuan Ye's eyes, it was incredibly adorable and charming. No wonder his father, Minato Namikaze, liked Kushina Uzumaki.

"Mom, Mom, dear Mom, you're my wonderful mother. It was my fault, all my fault. I'll never dare tease you again. I'll never dare call you long-winded again. Never again."

"Mom, please let me off for the sake of your son! I'll behave from now on. I definitely won't make you angry again. How about that?" Xuan Ye said quickly, his tone somewhat anxious.

This also showed just how much the pinching had hurt Xuan Ye. His ear was now bright red, as vivid as though it had been stained with a layer of blood.

Kushina Uzumaki had long since felt sorry for her son. Seeing his ear so red, her heart began to ache a little as well. She merely wanted an excuse to step down while preserving her dignity as a mother.

Now that Xuan Ye had given her that excuse, Kushina Uzumaki could calmly take it, so she let go of me.

After releasing Xuan Ye, Kushina Uzumaki looked at my crimson ear, her eyes full of concern. She reached out again, extending her hand toward my ear.

Just as I saw my mother Kushina release my ear and was about to breathe a sigh of relief, I suddenly saw her stretch out that little hand again toward Xuan Ye's ear.

It frightened me so much that I hurriedly tried to dodge.

Mother Kushina Uzumaki saw me trying to evade and gently said to me, "Don't move!"

Hearing Mother Kushina's words, I froze for a moment and stopped dodging. The person before me was my mother, Kushina Uzumaki. What was there for me to fear? What did I need to fear?

Soon, Mother Kushina's hand reached my ear. She only gently rubbed it and did not pinch it hard again.

My mother's hand rubbed gently, and it felt very comfortable. At that moment, I could feel my mother's love for me. That love radiated intensely, as if even the pain in my ear had disappeared. I could no longer feel any pain at all.

But what Mother Kushina said next made Xuan Ye's face darken with endless helplessness.

Mother Kushina rubbed my ear and said, "Xiao Ye, look how careless you were. You even let me pinch your ear red. Does it hurt a lot?"

"W-What? What do you mean, I was careless? You were obviously the one who pinched my ear red, okay? And now you're blaming it on me being careless?" Xuan Ye was stunned by what his mother Kushina had just said.

But he could only think those words in secret. In reality, Xuan Ye did not dare say them, because I was afraid that if I voiced what was in my heart, Mother would punish me harshly again.

What had just happened constantly reminded me to keep my mouth shut.

Just now, I had merely called Mother Kushina long-winded. Just that one sentence had earned me a harsh lesson. If I said what was really in my heart now, I figured I would not escape another beating.

Though many thoughts passed through his mind, it only took an instant in reality. Xuan Ye quickly came to his senses and answered his mother, Kushina Uzumaki, "Mom, it doesn't hurt anymore. It doesn't hurt at all. After you rubbed my ear, it stopped hurting completely. Really."

"Really? It doesn't hurt at all anymore?" Mother Kushina Uzumaki seemed somewhat unconvinced, so she asked Xuan Ye again.

"It doesn't hurt. It really doesn't hurt at all. Besides, Mom, you didn't use much force just now. How could a grown man like me be afraid of such a tiny bit of pain?" Xuan Ye promptly replied to Mother Kushina.

"You call yourself a grown man? You're only a four-year-old little boy, yet you're talking about being a grown man." Mother Kushina said with a smile.

Mother Kushina's attention was quickly diverted by Xuan Ye, and she no longer focused on what had just happened.

"Oh, right, Xiao Ye, what did we come to the study for again? Why can't I remember?" As she spoke, Mother placed a finger against her chin and thought for a while.

She couldn't remember? Xuan Ye broke into a cold sweat. She had already forgotten after such a short while. What am I supposed to say about you, Mom? That you're too silly, or too adorable? Forget it, I'd better tell her.

Xuan Ye raised his head and said to Mother Kushina, "Mom, we came to the study to get some ninjutsu and taijutsu scrolls. I want to train in ninjutsu and taijutsu, because I think it's time for me to start practicing them."

"Oh, right, that's exactly what Xiao Ye said. Let me see where the ninjutsu and taijutsu Xiao Ye needs are."

As Kushina spoke, she looked over the bookshelf filled with scrolls. Then her eyes suddenly lit up.