Huh? For this?
The two red swollen bumps atop Chiba's head, stacked like a pair of dumplings, steamed with wisps of white smoke. His already tearless face took on another layer of tearlessness, leaving him both unable to cry and unsure whether to laugh or cry.
Looking at the angry red-haired beauty whose hair was still floating about, Chiba did not know what to say for a moment.
There was only one reason Kushina had given for beating him up.
Unbelievably...
There was only one! It was because he had gone to see Minato Namikaze first instead of her.
Yes, you heard that right.
Kushina's words made her position clear: as her most beloved and proud disciple, after returning alive from a near-death experience, he had not come to see her, his teacher, first. Instead, he had gone to see the Fourth Hokage.
Chiba felt terribly wronged.
Logically speaking, he had been away for half a year and had just returned, so of course he needed to report to the Fourth Hokage. After all, anyone who had been away from the village for a certain period of time, regardless of the reason, had to report what they had done during that time upon returning—especially any intelligence that benefited the village. Besides, this time, Minato Namikaze had sent the Hokage Assistant to bring him over. How could he not go?
But that was only logical.
To his teacher—especially his angry teacher—logic did not exist.
"Yes, I was wrong, Teacher Kushina."
With two bumps on his head, Chiba slowly rose to his feet and apologized as though resigned to his fate.
At a time like this, Chiba knew perfectly well that he could not defend himself no matter what. The best approach was to apologize.
Right or wrong, apologizing first was always