Chatting with Kushina had been pleasant. Naruto had not felt this way in many years.
He had grown used to loneliness, used to having no family by his side. As for Ashina Uzumaki and the Nine-Tails, they felt more like the kindly old man next door and a best friend he could tell anything to. They could never replace family.
Still, he could not see Kushina as his mother. He saw her more as an older sister.
Leaping down from the tree trunk, Naruto looked toward Kakashi and Minato Namikaze, the corner of his lips curling up slightly as he anticipated Minato Namikaze's expression after speaking with Kakashi.
As if she had guessed Naruto's thoughts, Kushina hurriedly said, "I'll do my best to persuade Minato. Protecting Konoha Village is his dream, so his thoughts may differ from ours."
"By the way, how are you getting along with the Nine-Tails?"
Hearing that, Naruto directly gathered a mass of Chakra. The phantom of the Nine-Tails appeared above it and snarled viciously at Kushina, "Naruto is this old man's lackey now. He treats this old man far better than you and Mito ever did."
Kushina froze at the sight, then smiled. "Naruto, it seems you get along with the Nine-Tails differently. When it was with me before, the Nine-Tails was much fiercer than it is now. It nearly swallowed my will."
Naruto looked up and smiled without offering much explanation.
In his view, the malice from the villagers was not much different from the malice of the Nine-Tails.
Before long, Naruto and Kushina returned to the clearing where the ritual had been held. At that moment, Minato Namikaze turned around, and the two figures with nearly identical faces looked at each other.
After a moment of silence, Minato Namikaze spoke first. "Naruto, I