"Little Brother Chen, Mikoto, how did I come back to life?" Kushina asked hesitantly. Uchiha Chen was just about to answer when Mikoto interrupted him.
"Chen, let me explain this. Kushina, come with me first." Mikoto took Kushina by the hand without giving her a chance to object and kept walking until they were far enough from Uchiha Chen that he couldn't hear them.
Uchiha Chen stood where he was, scratching his head as he watched Mikoto lead Kushina away in astonishment. He had no idea why Mikoto was doing this, but since she didn't want him to hear, he decided to wait patiently where he was.
Once she had taken Kushina some distance away, Mikoto glanced at Uchiha Chen, who was turning aimlessly in place out of boredom, with an affectionate look. She waited until she was sure he couldn't hear her, then turned back to Kushina. Her voice brimmed with gratitude and guilt toward Uchiha Chen. "Kushina, you were only able to come back to life thanks to Chen!"
Mikoto then told Kushina what had happened, spinning a carefully considered tale she had worked out outside the Kamui Dimension. It was half true, half false, and filled with details she had added for her own purposes.
As Kushina listened, her expression shifted again and again: first astonishment, then shock, then silence, and finally outright resistance.
Uchiha Chen couldn't make out what the two were discussing from a distance. The more emotional they became, gesturing wildly as they spoke, the more confused he felt.
After all, in his eyes, the amount of ocular power consumed by using Izanagi was negligible. He couldn't imagine what Mikoto had said to make Kushina so agitated.
He had completely forgotten how gravely he had described Izanagi to Mikoto and Izumi before, even using it to win their favor.
Uchiha Chen couldn't make head or tail of it, but in the end, he decided to trust Mikoto. He pretended not to notice what was happening and kept quiet.
Meanwhile, Kushina seemed to have heard something unbelievable from Mikoto and began arguing with her heatedly.
But after only a few words from Mikoto, Kushina fell silent, though her face still showed unmistakable resistance.
According to Mikoto, a few years earlier, on her way back from a confidential mission, Kushina had stumbled upon a Uchiha who had been ambushed by a Rock Ninja infiltrator and left gravely wounded, on the brink of death.
The situation had been urgent, and Kushina had just finished her mission. Without hesitation, she rushed to help and used Adamantine Sealing Chains to save him.
Afterward, Kushina had quietly left without lingering. But her gallant bearing and nimble movements had been forever etched in the heart of the orphaned Uchiha she had rescued, and he had fallen for her at first sight.
Later, when he returned to the village and learned that Kushina had given her heart to someone else, he silently buried his feelings and never spoke of them again.
That person was Uchiha Chen.
Of course, it was true that Kushina had saved someone, and the boy she rescued really had been an orphan from the Uchiha Clan. Unfortunately, he hadn't been Uchiha Chen.
In truth, the child Kushina had saved had no special talent. While his parents were alive, they had been ordinary Chunin, with little advantage over Genin in terms of strength. They were often little more than cannon fodder, swept aside in battle.
Even if the man knew the truth now, there was no way he would come forward to expose the lie.
After all, he was an utterly unremarkable orphan, and his parents had been equally mediocre in life.
Lacking talent, he had died on a mission not long after being rescued. Mikoto had attached this story to Uchiha Chen solely to lay the groundwork for persuading Kushina later.
Mikoto then told Kushina that after the group had met the day before, Uchiha Chen had displayed a jumble of complicated emotions on his way home.
Only after questioning him at length had Mikoto finally gotten him to tell her the truth.
At the time, Mikoto hadn't understood what Uchiha Chen truly felt. She had kept pressing him until she heard him say with his own lips that he would never come between Kushina and Minato, because he simply couldn't bring himself to do it.
That was why he had said he had put his feelings for Kushina behind him.
At this point, Mikoto held tightly onto the silent Kushina and patted her chest, her ample bosom nearly bouncing free.
"I was actually pretty relieved at the time. I thought Chen could face this unrequited love so calmly and would soon get over it. But who could have expected what happened next?"
As she spoke, Mikoto's face paled slightly. She put on a shaken expression and tightened her grip on Kushina's hand, as if reliving the previous night. She didn't come back to herself until Kushina squeezed her hand in return, as though offering her strength.
Then she continued, "That night, no one could have expected that something would happen to you, Kushina.
"When the Nine-Tails appeared, I was so panicked that I accidentally called out your name, and Chen happened to hear me.
"Kushina, once, when you and I were spending time together in private, you accidentally let slip that you were a Jinchūriki. You smiled and brushed it off afterward, but I could still see the sadness behind your smile.
"After saying goodbye to you and returning to the clan, I went out of my way to look up the relevant information. That was when I learned that the fates of the Tailed Beasts and their Jinchūriki were inextricably linked, and that their lives were bound together as well.
"After that, I kept it buried deep inside so you wouldn't become suspicious.
"But last night, when he asked me what had happened, I couldn't hide it from him any longer, so I told him the truth.
"I told him that you and the Nine-Tails coexisted as Jinchūriki and Tailed Beast, but now that the Nine-Tails had suddenly run wild, you might... lose your life!"
At this, Mikoto looked at Kushina. She only shook her head without replying, so Mikoto spoke again. "Do you know how he answered me?"
Kushina remained silent. Mikoto sighed and continued, "He said with complete certainty that as long as he was there, he would make sure you survived."
"Do you know what I saw then?" Kushina shook her head in confusion. Mikoto's face was heavy with pain as she said, "I saw Chen... awaken his Mangekyo Sharingan for you."
As she said this, Mikoto's voice caught in her throat, as though the memory had caused her unbearable pain.
As if she didn't want Kushina to see her expression, Mikoto raised a hand and slowly covered her eyes, seemingly unable to bear thinking about that moment again.
But through the gaps between her fingers, she secretly watched Kushina, observing her reaction.
When she saw the emotion on Kushina's face, Mikoto knew her plan had gotten off to a successful start.
After all, Mikoto had once discussed the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan in detail with Kushina during a casual conversation. She had also told her what it took to awaken it.
After learning all that, what woman could possibly resist a man who had awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan in a fit of rage for her?