Questioning, Reviving Eternal Sister and Kushina

"Any questions can wait. This isn't the place to talk."

Eternal Sister narrowed his eyes and glanced behind the Gate of Sealing.

Hmm???

That was... the Nine-Tails?

On the beach, the Nine-Tails narrowed his eyes, his lips curling into a savage grin.

"Eternal Sister~!"

The Nine-Tails was still incapable of letting bygones be bygones with the person who had torn him apart.

"Alright, Kurama. He's just a dead man now."

"Once the Chakra sustaining this remnant consciousness is exhausted, it'll return to the Death God's stomach."

Minato Namikaze froze.

At Naruto's command to stop, the Nine-Tails had actually obediently stopped.

Though he still gave him a tsundere glance and snorted coldly.

There was not the slightest trace of the aggression a Tailed Beast ought to possess.

And... the Death God's stomach?

Naruto... what exactly had you learned?

Well, now it was the opposite of the original story. Eternal Sister was the one full of questions.

"Yo, ol—forget it. I can't really bring myself to call you that."

Under Minato Namikaze's puzzled gaze, Naruto mentally prepared himself for quite a while.

Only then did he speak. "Yo, Eternal Sister, my dead, bargain-bin dad."

"Uh... Naruto, what exactly happened?"

He looked at the Nine-Tails, who had returned to his beach chair, then at his son with the same golden long hair as him.

"This is completely different from what I imagined."

"This seal... wasn't torn open because the Nine-Tails tempted you?"

"Hahaha~"

The moment Minato Namikaze finished speaking, the Nine-Tails doubled over with laughter.

"I tempted him?"

"Eternal Sister, can't you sense what's happening outside?"

"This is killing me. I tempted him... this brat has tempted me who knows how many times."

Ignoring the Nine-Tails' resentful glare, Naruto smiled.

"Can you really not sense anything at all?"

There was an imperceptible chill in Naruto's smile.

If he dared deny it, then he could stay in the Death God's stomach forever.

The Nine-Tails' laughter abruptly stopped.

Eternal Sister immediately sensed that something was off.

He vaguely felt that this question was not so simple.

But since he was facing his own son, he did not think much of it and honestly responded, "I can... but only for brief periods. I don't have much Chakra left, and I spend most of the time asleep."

"As for your circumstances, Naruto, I could only see fragments."

"From the look of things now... you seem to know a great deal already."

"You... must hate me very much, right?"

By the end, Eternal Sister's face was filled with deep helplessness and bitterness.

Naruto shook his head. "Maybe I did at first. But the Nine-Tails really was our chance to turn things around."

"I can understand what you were thinking, but... you couldn't even escape the Third Hokage's control yourself. Why did you think I could?"

The Nine-Tails also said coldly, "Naruto, don't put it like that. This man inherited that old geezer's Will of Fire to the fullest. He was the Fourth Hokage, you know~"

Eternal Sister's eyes widened. For a moment, he could not process it.

He had imagined it countless times and considered every possible ending.

This was the one possibility he had never considered.

Naruto placed a hand on the Sealing Paper, then suddenly turned and asked, "There's something I'm curious about. I won't say it in front of Mom."

"When Mom was brought back back then, Konoha deliberately kept her, right?"

Eternal Sister frowned.

Naruto explained, "What I mean is, Mom survived the disaster when all the nations carved up the Land of Whirlpools because of her exceptional bloodline, right?"

Eternal Sister fell silent, not knowing what to say for the moment.

Naruto did not care and continued, "Tsunade brought her back to Konoha. Then she met the First Hokage's wife, Mito Uzumaki, within the Senju clan grounds, where it was confirmed that she would become Kurama's next Jinchuriki."

"That identity should have been pretty obvious."

"Yet Kumogakure's people managed to enter the village and abduct her."

"I was thinking, Konoha shouldn't have been weak during that period, right?"

"Was the Konoha White Fang around?"

"Also, was Mom already a Jinchuriki then?"

"Kumogakure shinobi infiltrated Konoha and abducted Mom without causing even the slightest disturbance?"

"And if I remember correctly, she left behind plenty of red hairs, didn't she?"

"Why were you the one who arrived in the end? And why were those shinobi, who could easily infiltrate Konoha while taking Mom with them, dealt with by you in just two or three moves?"

Eternal Sister had no answer. He truly had no idea how to explain it.

"If I remember correctly, Orochimaru wasn't a rogue shinobi at the time either."

That one sentence was a killing blow.

The Fourth Hokage position should originally have belonged to Orochimaru.

Unfortunately, Sarutobi Hiruzen had been unwilling to step down at the time.

After setbacks on the front lines, the self-proclaimed God of Shinobi could only retire temporarily to weather the storm.

And the Fourth Hokage became Minato Namikaze.

The husband of the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki.

After becoming the Fourth Hokage, the Anbu were not his.

To issue any order or make any decision, he had to consult the previous Hokage.

Under the banner of—well, that word was hard to say.

After a long while, Eternal Sister gave a bitter smile.

"I investigated this matter afterward as well."

"How should I put it... no matter how much I say, it doesn't really mean much anymore."

"You need to understand, Naruto, I'm already dead."

After saying that, Eternal Sister looked as though all his strength had drained away.

"I placed everything on you."

Slurp—

At that moment, an ill-timed sound rang out.

The two men turned to see the Nine-Tails using Mental Power to conjure milk tea and a plate of sunflower seeds.

"Go on. Don't mind me. I'm just a harmless little Tailed Beast."

Eternal Sister shook his head with a smile. "Naruto, about this... don't tell your mother, alright?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Kurama."

"Yes!"

"When Blood Red Pepper comes out later and asks how I've been all these years, will you tell her?"

"Heh, if she tells me to talk, I'll talk."

Only then did Eternal Sister breathe a sigh of relief. "It's fine, as long as you don't mention what happened back then."

The moment he finished speaking, the Nine-Tails added, "I'll definitely bring it up myself. Adamantine Sealing Chains don't feel good at all."

Eternal Sister's eyes widened.

"Minato?"

"Nine-Tails?"

"Y-you're Naruto?"

Three sentences, and all three left everyone stunned.

A red-haired woman appeared before the two men and one Tailed Beast.

It was Kushina Uzumaki, who could forcibly restrain the Nine-Tails even while barely alive.

"Did something happen?"

Faced with Kushina's question, Eternal Sister could not explain it clearly.

But Kushina had merely asked him casually. She soon turned around, her beautiful eyes fixed on Naruto.

After looking him over from left to right, she abruptly hugged her son.

"Narudo~"

This damn suffocating feeling... should I be like in the original story and say you're the Nine-Tails' true form?

No. The Iron Fist of Love still hurt too much.

After showering him with affection for a while, Kushina suddenly turned around.

Looking at the popcorn-munching Nine-Tails, she said coldly, "Nine-Tails, it seems you've forgotten my power."

"You actually dared tempt my son?"

Great, here we go again.

The Nine-Tails rolled his eyes.

He repeated what he had just said to Eternal Sister.

Kushina looked toward Eternal Sister.

Eternal Sister gave a slight nod.

"Kushina, Naruto and Ku... Kurama are friends now."

"Kurama?"

"Pfft—"

"Hahaha~"

Kushina clutched her stomach and laughed heartily.

"Kurama?"

"What a strange name~"

The Nine-Tails' face turned red. "You foolish woman, you... as long as you're happy~"

Seeing how quickly Kushina changed expressions, and how she could unleash Adamantine Sealing Chains the moment she said she would, the Nine-Tails yielded from the heart.

They were no longer enemies. If he really took Kushina's Adamantine Sealing Chains head-on, it would be utterly humiliating.

"Hmph~"

"I left this Chakra behind so I could see my son."

"The remaining amount of Chakra is also enough to help him control your Chakra."

"Alright, Kurama, you don't need to be controlled anymore. Such a good boy~"

"I have more time to talk with my son now."

Kushina clapped her hands, showing the Nine-Tails absolutely no courtesy.

That was an Uzumaki Clan woman for you.

"Naruto, since you've already reconciled with the Nine-Tails, this seal really can be undone."

"Mom has so much she wants to tell you."

"I'm sorry... that I couldn't stay by your side and watch you grow up..."

Kushina, who had just been all smiles, started shedding Little Pearls the instant she said it.

Only then did Naruto realize what made Kushina different from other women.

A woman's heart was as unfathomable as the ocean floor.

The corner of his eye twitched as he glanced at Eternal Sister beside him.

Eternal Sister wore a gentle smile.

Right. No wonder he could keep Blood Red Pepper in line.

It had to be you, Eternal Sister.

Bang—

In the next instant, Kushina appeared before Naruto and brought down an Iron Fist of Love.

Naruto could sense it, and he could have dodged, but... he decided to let it happen.

"Naruto!"

"Why aren't you even a little happy to see Mom?"

"Mom missed you so much she cried, and you won't even comfort me?"

Then she pulled Naruto into her embrace again and sobbed.

I'm just a housewife. I don't understand any of this. Go ask my son.

"Alright, Kushina, stop making a fuss. Our Chakra is almost depleted."

"Say a few last words to our son."

Eternal Sister was still that gentle Little Sun.

"Yes, Naruto. From now on, Mom and Dad..."

Naruto raised a hand, interrupting the technique.

"Wait. If it's Chakra... I can replenish it for you."

With that, Naruto held out his hand.

A pale green ball of light appeared.

"This ball of Chakra contains Mental Power, as well as natural Chakra without any attribute."

"You only need to place your hands inside it to replenish your depleted Mental Power and Chakra."

"Huh?"

"Is that so?"

While Eternal Sister was still shocked and confused, Kushina had already bitten her finger and reached out to touch the pale green ball of light.

Eternal Sister: "..."

Then she also reached out and touched the ball of light.

The next instant.

Their bodies began to emit waves of white light.

Then, their gradually transparent bodies became more and more solid.

"I can keep creating these balls of light."

"So you don't need to blurt everything out all at once now, right?"

Kushina widened her beautiful eyes and curiously examined her son.

"Naruto, have you already grown up?"

???

Little question mark, do you have many friends?

"Damn it! It must have been that damned Jiraiya!"

"The next time I see him, I'll beat him to a pulp!"

When the true Kurama Jinchuriki got angry, even her hair became nine tails.

Eternal Sister smiled awkwardly and grabbed Kushina, who was about to go vent her anger on Kurama.

"Hmph, Kushina. If you dare hit me, I'll never tell you what kind of life Naruto has lived all these years!"

In an instant, Kushina calmed down. Kurama's tone reminded her of Naruto's identity as a Jinchuriki.

Thinking of what she had gone through back then... this child, from the moment he was born, had already...

She flung Eternal Sister's hand away.

"I told you long ago... I told you long ago!"

"How could that Old Man possibly be so kind?!"

"You pig-brained idiot with nothing but the Will of Fire in your head!"

But then she turned around and threw herself into Eternal Sister's arms.

"Whatever it is, we'll talk later. Let's handle the important matter first."

Naruto's head was already starting to hurt.

When Kushina had left behind her Chakra back then, her emotions had been too complicated.

And all those emotions had been contained within the Chakra.

That was why Kushina, who had appeared ahead of time, was experiencing such rapid emotional changes.

Actually, if they had waited another two and a half years, after more Chakra had been consumed, one emotion would have emerged to dominate the Chakra.

Naruto reached out, inserted his hand into the Eight Trigrams Seal, then twisted sharply.

Crack—

The seal was undone.

Both the Four Symbols Seal and the Eight Trigrams Seal had been undone.

As for the so-called key?

He had absorbed so many Nutrients, including quite a few memories related to sealing techniques.

Figuring out the "key" had been easy.

"Since that's the case, let's change locations!"

Kushina suddenly said.

Kurama hurriedly refused. "No. This place was shaped by Naruto using Mental Power. I think it's great."

"I see... Sorry, Kurama... But you can't blame me entirely either. Who knew you were so easy to talk to?"

"If you'd talked properly back then, I wouldn't have nailed you down for so long."

Kurama: "..."

"It really is time to change locations."

Facing the confusion of the two people and one tailed beast, Naruto smiled.

"Of course, we're moving to the Real World. It'll also be a good chance for you to get used to your new bodies."

Kushina: "???"

Eternal Sister: "???"

"What new bodies?"

"Naruto... do you have a way to revive us?"

"If I remember correctly... the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, had a ninjutsu that could summon the dead from the Pure Land back to the Real World."

"No, not Impure World Reincarnation. I'm giving you new bodies."

"With your current consciousness as the dominant force."

"Your soul is in the Death God's stomach, and I also happen to need to release Kurama's Yin Half-Body."

"As for Mom, I'll need to summon her with Impure World Reincarnation, then merge her soul with the bodies I've prepared for you."

"Strictly speaking, it's called Borrowing Corpse to Return Soul... no, that's not right either. Anyway, it's revival."

Kushina and Eternal Sister were already stunned.

They understood every word Naruto said.

But when put together, they no longer understood.

"Don't resist. Next, I'll absorb you, then inject you into your new bodies in the Real World."