Kushina's Rage

"Thank you... you! Kushina-senpai, and Minato-sensei!" Kakashi said, unable to help but drift into his memories as he spoke.

The room was filled with a warm yet slightly melancholic atmosphere. Sunlight spilled through the gaps in the window, forming slender beams of light where dust danced gently.

"By the way, Kakashi, could you tell me the story of Naruto and Menma?" Kushina invited Kakashi to sit down with enthusiasm, her eyes full of anticipation.

"No problem, Kushina-senpai. What exactly would you like to know?" Kakashi responded with a smile, his eyes showing deep respect.

"I want to know if Naruto and Menma suffered from the village's cold shoulders, and if they were ostracized?" Kushina's tone seemed calm, yet it carried an underlying, unquestionable authority, as if warning Kakashi that he must tell the truth and not hide a single thing.

"Well, how should I put this? It is true. However, ever since the last time the Nine-Tails went on a rampage, and Menma told everyone they were Minato-sensei's children, things in the village have been much better. At least, I haven't heard those kinds of rumors anymore." Kakashi answered truthfully, detailing the events surrounding the Nine-Tails' rampage for Kushina.

"What is that old man Hiruzen Sarutobi doing, letting Naruto and Menma live like that? They are the sons of a hero, the sons of the Fourth Hokage! What on earth is he thinking? Is it really that hard to suppress a few rumors?" Kushina was instantly furious, her fiery red hair seemingly coming to life as it slowly rose, resembling angry red tails.

Kakashi looked at Kushina with some trepidation; he had seen her lose her temper plenty of times. By now, his back was soaked with sweat, and beads of perspiration had broken out on his forehead.

"So, if it weren't for Menma being smart and tough enough, my two sons might still be living like that." The more Kushina thought about it, the angrier she became. She felt her rage burning in her chest, wishing she could rush to Hiruzen Sarutobi right now and demand an explanation.

"Alright, alright, please calm down, Kushina-senpai." Kakashi hurriedly tried to soothe her, his voice laced with nervousness.

At that moment, the two people soaking in the second-floor bathroom heard Kushina's roar.

"Menma, what do you think Auntie Kushina is so angry about?" Naruto asked curiously, feeling a jolt of fear in his heart. It was a good thing they weren't downstairs, or they surely would have been caught in the crossfire.

"I don't know, I can't hear clearly. Maybe it's because we were out all day," Menma said, though in his heart, he had a rough idea of what Kushina might be discussing.

"Brother, let's go to bed as soon as we're done bathing, or there's no telling if we'll end up getting scolded too," Menma suggested.

"I feel the same way. Auntie Kushina is way too temperamental," Naruto agreed, his eyes filled with worry.

Downstairs, the two continued their conversation.

"Tell me, Kakashi, as Minato's student, why didn't you look after Naruto and Menma more?" Kushina asked, frowning.

What he feared most had finally come. Kakashi didn't know how to answer for a moment. After a long silence, he said, "I'm sorry, senpai. It is indeed my fault for not looking after Naruto and Menma more. I don't want to make excuses." Kakashi apologized with complete sincerity.

"Since it's your birthday today, I won't pursue this further. By the way, Naruto and Menma were attacked by Root members last night. Did you know about this?" Kushina continued, her eyes fixed intently on Kakashi.

"Yes, Menma told me today." With that, Kakashi told Kushina everything that had happened, start to finish.

"Hmph, I'll leave that old man Hiruzen Sarutobi alone for now. I'll wait until after Naruto and Menma's birthday to deal with him," Kushina said huffily.

"Please, Kushina-senpai, don't do anything reckless. It will make us..." Kakashi's words were cut off by Kushina's impatient interruption.

"Kakashi, why are you always siding with outsiders? Minato was good to you, wasn't he? I've been good to you too, haven't I? Why do you always speak up for others?" Kushina's temper flared again. She clenched her fists, looking ready to throw a punch at any moment.

"It's mainly because it would have a negative impact on the village. After all, he is the Hokage," Kakashi explained.

"So what if he's the Hokage? Isn't your teacher the Hokage? Now that the Fourth Hokage's sons have been bullied, shouldn't you, as the Fourth's student, go and demand justice?" Kushina roared in anger, her eyes seemingly spitting fire.

Just as Kakashi was about to argue further, a voice came from above: "Auntie Kushina, Kakashi-sensei, we're going to sleep now. Goodnight." It was Menma; he hoped to stop this argument immediately, as it would be bad if Naruto heard any more.

Kakashi and Kushina exchanged a look upon hearing this, and Kushina spoke first.

"Kakashi, you should head back. We'll talk about some things later. Also, don't tell anyone else about me being brought back by Impure World Reincarnation, especially Naruto," Kushina cautioned.

"I understand, Kushina-senpai." Kakashi turned and left.

Walking alone on the street, the night felt cold and desolate, the dim streetlights casting a pale, sickly glow. His shirt was soaked through with cold sweat; he truly couldn't handle the fiery-tempered Kushina.

"Thank goodness, thank goodness I've been spending time with Naruto and Menma lately," Kakashi let out a long sigh of relief. If Kushina knew he hadn't been taking proper care of them all this time, he felt she really would have torn him to pieces.

"Thank you, Might Guy. You saved my life this time," Kakashi muttered to himself.

Back at Naruto and Menma's house, Kushina walked on tiptoes to Naruto's door, peeked inside, then went to Menma's door to check on him as well. Seeing that both were safe and sound, she smiled with relief before quietly heading back downstairs.

She felt that there was nothing more blissful than being by her two children's side.

Yet, at the thought of this, she remembered Kakashi telling her that Naruto and Menma had complained about her cooking, and she began to doubt herself. After all, she was currently in an Impure World Reincarnation body; she couldn't taste anything, didn't need to rest, and didn't need to eat.

"Looks like I really need to learn how to cook properly." As she thought this, Minato's image appeared in her mind. In the past, Minato always did the cooking while she just helped out.

"Don't worry, Minato. I will stay by our two children's side and take care of them," Kushina whispered to the photo of her and Minato hanging on the wall, along with the group photo of Naruto, Menma, Kakashi, and Might Guy next to it.

They had taken that group photo after finishing their literacy lessons, over a month ago now.

Since her Impure World Reincarnation body didn't require sleep, she diligently picked up a cookbook and began to study it carefully.

Morning arrived quickly, and sunlight streamed through the window into the kitchen, brightening the room. Kushina was busy preparing breakfast.

Menma woke up very early today. After washing up, he yawned and slowly headed downstairs.

Menma reached the dining table and said listlessly, "Good morning, Auntie Kushina."

Suddenly, an aura of killing intent filled the air. "What did you just call me, Menma?" Kushina put down her spatula, rubbing her hands together, looking ready to beat Menma up.

"Oh, Mom, didn't we agree to keep it hidden while Naruto is home?" Menma hurriedly explained, fearing he would be pummeled if he were a second too late.

Kushina's anger subsided. "Naruto isn't around, and besides, I feel like it would be a wonderful surprise to tell him now." Kushina had an impulsive urge to tell Naruto right away that she was his mother.

"Mom, don't be impulsive. There are 24 days left, just 24 more days," Menma urged, knowing her personality all too well. If Naruto knew her identity now, Kushina would stop hiding and would surely drag both brothers to the Hokage Office to confront Hiruzen Sarutobi.

By then, Menma would definitely have to take action against Root, especially Danzo. Although Menma felt that with Kurama's help, taking down Danzo wouldn't be difficult, he didn't want to leave even the slightest possibility of failure.

So, he wanted to use this time to train properly and collect more evidence of Root's crimes, hoping to take down the entire organization in one fell swoop.

"Good morning, Auntie Kushina." Naruto walked down at that moment.

"Good morning, Naruto. Come over and have some breakfast," Kushina called out gently.

Although their faces were etched with resistance upon hearing this, their bodies walked over with complete honesty.

Today's breakfast simply swapped the noodles for two pieces of bread and a slice of bacon.

Seeing the meal, the two let out a sigh of relief; after all, aside from the bacon and eggs that required cooking, everything else was ready to eat.

With trepidation in their hearts, one ate the egg while the other ate the bacon.

As they ate, they felt it wasn't as terrible as yesterday. It was at least barely palatable, and although it was still a little salty, it was far better than the burnt, overwhelmingly salty mess from the day before.

Seeing that their expressions weren't as wretched as yesterday, Kushina knew today's breakfast didn't have any major issues, and she finally felt at ease.

After finishing their meal, the two prepared to head out, mentioning that they had an appointment with Kakashi, who would be guiding their training today.

"Then remember to bring Kakashi back for lunch at noon," Kushina said lightheartedly, but Naruto and Menma were already breaking into a cold sweat at her words.

Since today's breakfast hadn't required much preparation, they couldn't bear to imagine what lunch would be like; they would not only have to suffer through it themselves but also drag Kakashi into the misery.

However, bowing to Kushina's authority, the two had no choice but to agree helplessly, not daring to resist in the slightest.