Kushina's Admonition

"Hehe, it's nothing particularly important, Naruto. You don't need to be so solemn. Mom just hopes that no matter what choices you make, you must protect yourself well. Don't let down the companions who believe in you, and that girl named Hinata—although Mom hasn't met her, I can tell she is deeply attached to you. If you can, do your best to protect her. That's a promise a good boy should make, right?"

Kushina Uzumaki ruffled Naruto's golden hair, which looked infinitely like his father Namikaze Minato's, and spoke in the gentlest of tones.

Hearing the words so full of his mother's concern, Naruto felt a lump form in his throat. He forced his emotions under control and, meeting Kushina's warm gaze, nodded heavily.

"Yes, Mom! I know! I will definitely protect myself well, and I will certainly live up to the expectations of my friends. Hinata... Mom, she will definitely be your daughter-in-law!"

"Mm! That's the way a son of Kushina Uzumaki should be!"

A look of extreme pride appeared on Kushina's face as she said this.

"Time is running out, so we should talk about important matters now. Naruto, your father must have talked to you about what happened 12 years ago, right? Or perhaps I should ask, how much have you learned? Naruto?"

The warmest and happiest times were, in the end, fleeting.

Whether it was Minato or Kushina, the amount of chakra they could store within Naruto before their deaths could not be very large. After talking for so long, Kushina could feel that her residual chakra was reaching its limit. Before she vanished for good, she naturally needed to discuss the most important issues with her son. This was key information concerning her son's future.

Naruto, vaguely sensing this, felt a surge of reluctance in