Kushina, Do You Trust Me?

Although the team had been forced to disband, Minato felt somewhat upset.

But once he calmed down and thought about it, why the hell am I upset?

Since Jiraiya-sensei had abandoned me, why shouldn't I team up with Chiyue?

So Minato invited Chiyue, Uchiha Mikoto, and Kushina out for barbecue. Once the matter came up, he immediately stated his position.

"That actually sounds pretty good."

Kushina hadn't expected Minato to be so impatient.

Chiyue hadn't even said whether he would invite him, yet Minato was already eager to say that he wanted in.

Was that really necessary?

Kushina couldn't help shaking her head.

But when she saw Minato's bitter smile turn into a smug grin, her gaze went blank.

Were my eyes playing tricks on me?

Or was Minato doing this on purpose?

"You bushy-browed, big-eyed Minato, you actually used this dinner as a chance to recruit people for your team."

Chiyue punched Minato irritably.

Minato dodged with a smile.

"If I don't join your team, where else can I go?"

"Jiraiya-sensei has gone to the battlefield, and the team has disbanded. I can't just randomly join another team!

I'd rather be with you. Besides, I've wanted to team up with you guys for a long time."

If Chiyue hadn't concealed the news, and if Jiraiya hadn't already spoken to Minato—

Minato would definitely have rejected the village's arrangements and come running to follow Chiyue.

Under Chiyue's constant influence, Minato was no longer the guy from the original story who considered the village in everything he did.

He had developed his own private thoughts and principles for doing things. He was no longer swayed by the Will of Fire.

Uchiha Mikoto merely smiled without speaking. She had known from the beginning that Minato would definitely have this idea.

After all, Minato loved following Chiyue around.

It would have been strange if he didn't want to join their team.

Among them, only Kushina foolishly thought that Minato was still upset over his team's disbandment.

She had even sympathized with him a little.

In the end, she had wasted her sympathy.

"Minato!!"

A certain red-haired girl exploded. Her long red hair danced and floated in the air, frightening Minato so badly that he nearly crawled beneath the table.

In the end, Minato still got a beating. Fortunately, Kushina's punch hadn't landed on his eye, or he would have been left with a black eye.

The longer Kushina spent around Tsunade, the more her personality resembled Tsunade's.

At least when it came to exploding in anger and hitting people, they were quite alike.

Minato's team was gone, and so was his teacher. Since he wanted to join Chiyue's team, Chiyue naturally wouldn't refuse.

"Kushina, let's take a walk."

After finishing the barbecue, Chiyue signaled for Uchiha Mikoto and Minato to leave first. He would walk Kushina home himself and had something to tell her.

"See you tomorrow, then."

Uchiha Mikoto waved with a smile and left first.

Minato hesitated for a moment before finally lowering his head and leaving.

Watching Minato's departing figure, Chiyue knew that Minato's feelings for Kushina seemed to be deepening.

Then he looked back at the little chili pepper, whose attention was entirely on him, and felt that Naruto might disappear in the future...

"Chiyue, let's sit in the park for a while."

Kushina happily ran toward the park.

With the war's arrival, many outsiders had left Konoha, worried about being caught up in the fighting and deterred by Konoha's strict security.

As a result, Konoha had become much quieter.

There were barely any people in the park even in broad daylight.

Because of the war, many Anbu and Root ninja had also been transferred away by Danzo, the commander-in-chief at the front, steadily reducing the number of Anbu ninja following Kushina.

Only one remained, trailing them from afar.

The two sat on a bench in the park. After confirming that the Anbu ninja was hidden in the distant woods, Chiyue finally said to Kushina,

"Kushina, do you trust me?"

"Of course I do!"

Kushina blurted it out.

"Don't get worked up. Just act as usual."

Chiyue hinted for Kushina not to get excited. Once he had calmed her down, he continued,

"Since you trust me, I won't hide some things from you anymore. I know your identity—your entire identity."

"..."

The smile on Kushina's face suddenly froze. It felt as though a massive hammer had struck her head, leaving it buzzing.

Chiyue knows my true identity?

That shouldn't be possible. Was it Tsunade?

"I noticed it myself. It has nothing to do with Tsunade."

Noticing that Kushina looked rather pale, Chiyue reassured her.

"Don't panic. I won't stay away from you because of the Great Fox inside you. No matter what, you, Kushina, are the friend of Yagami Chiyue. That is beyond doubt."

"I..."

Kushina's eyes immediately reddened. Her lips trembled, and she felt the urge to burst into tears.

She had always worried that Chiyue would distance himself from her once he learned her true identity, so she had hidden it and avoided him in every possible way.

Whenever the Nine-Tails used its Chakra to erode the seal, Kushina suffered terribly.

But she didn't dare approach Chiyue at those times.

Because she was afraid he would notice.

In the end, Chiyue had still found out. Yet he hadn't distanced himself because she was a Jinchuriki. Instead, he still accepted her.

"Don't cry. If you cry, the person following you will notice something is wrong. He'll report it to Lord Hokage, and that will cause me some trouble."

"I'm not crying. I'm very happy."

Kushina forced herself to smile, lowered her head, and vigorously wiped away the tears in her eyes.

It took a while for Kushina's emotions to settle. Then she blinked her large eyes curiously and looked at Chiyue.

"When did you find out?"

"From the very beginning—when you became a transfer student and sat beside me. A certain Great Fox had quite a strong smell."

Chiyue smiled and made a joke.

"Roar!! I'll eat him!! Eat him!! That damned brat."

Perhaps because Kushina was nervous, the Nine-Tails' confinement loosened slightly.

That allowed it to see the scene outside. Upon hearing Chiyue's words, the Nine-Tails flew into a rage.