Kurama! I'll Come See You Again in a Couple of Days

"Kushina, do you want to come up and rest for a while too?"

Seeing Kushina's exhausted face and eyes reddened by Kurenai, Mirai Uzumaki invited her over.

Kushina's face instantly took on the color of Kurenai, even the tips of her ears faintly burning...

Mirai was inviting her to lie in the same bed with him?

Th-this-this, that wasn't okay!

They were still so young; they couldn't have a baby this early!

Steam started rising from Kushina's head.

Mirai Uzumaki looked at her strangely. What was this girl thinking about again? Her brain was about to overload!

"Don't overthink it. Get some sleep!" Mirai forcefully carried Kushina onto the bed and tucked her in.

"O-oh—" Kushina obediently curled up in his arms, feeling nothing but warmth and comfort.

Forget it, she wouldn't think about it anymore. At worst, she would just have a child for Mirai.

Held in Mirai's arms, Kushina let her thoughts run wild and soon fell into a deep sleep.

Mirai took a careful look at her. Her delicate little face bore a faint trace of sorrow, with tears clinging to her lashes...

Even in her dreams, she did not seem at peace.

Sleep well. Everything will pass. He gently patted Kushina's back, as though soothing a child to sleep.

Soon, Kushina's furrowed brows relaxed, and her expression eased considerably.

The next day, Mirai completed his discharge procedures.

Kushina stayed by his side, never leaving him for even a step.

Tsunade came to pick them up. Seeing that his complexion had improved considerably, she said nothing and simply reached out to vigorously rub his head.

"Let's go home." Tsunade's voice was a little hoarse. "Tomorrow is Grandma's funeral."

Mirai's expression froze for a moment.

The agonizing pain he had thought had passed still lingered, impossible to erase completely.

But the dead were gone, and the living still had to keep moving forward.

Mirai took a deep breath and walked out of Konoha Hospital.

Sunlight fell across his shoulders, as if driving away a trace of darkness.

It drizzled on the day of the funeral. The rain was fine and unending, and the sky was gray, as though it too were shedding tears for someone.

The village's upper ranks all came.

Hiruzen Sarutobi wore a black formal suit. His pipe was tucked into his chest pocket, unlit, and his hat was pulled low.

Behind him stood officials of every rank, along with the heads of the major clans.

They stood neatly in the back row, their expressions solemn.

Nearly all of the younger generation had come as well.

Tsunade stood at the very front of the family section, dressed in black, her eyes a frightening Kurenai-red.

The two children, Nawaki and Kushina, wailed loudly. Mirai was doing a little better, standing silently to the side as rain ran down his cheeks, making it impossible to tell whether it was rainwater or something else.

Behind them were Konoha's elite shinobi, such as Jiraiya and Orochimaru...

The dead had passed on, but the living still had to live well!

The day after the funeral, Mirai returned to school.

When he and Kushina entered the classroom, the chatter fell silent for a moment, and everyone's eyes turned toward them.

The transfer of the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki was a secret and would not be made public.

But news of Mito Uzumaki's funeral had already spread through the village.

No one dared ask too much. Even the troublemakers who had once been hit by his Adamantine Sealing Chains sat obediently at their desks, lowering their heads when they saw him enter.

"Mirai!" Minato Namikaze was the first to stand, striding quickly over to him.

The blond boy's face was full of sincere concern as he looked Mirai over. "Are you... okay? I heard that Lady Mito..."

"Yeah." Mirai nodded. "It's fine. I've already sorted myself out."

Minato opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing. He simply patted Mirai's shoulder firmly, conveying a silent I'm here.

Izumi Uchiha also walked over. She stood before Mirai in silence for several seconds, then turned her face away and said so quietly it was almost inaudible, "My condolences."

Mirai glanced at her. "Thank you."

The tips of Izumi's ears took on a slight Kurenai hue, and she quickly returned to her seat, pretending nothing had happened.

The atmosphere in the class was somewhat awkward. Several girls wanted to come over and comfort him, but seeing Mirai's expression, they eventually abandoned the idea.

Mirai sat down, then turned to Minato in the row ahead and said, "I plan to graduate early."

Minato froze. "Huh?"

"There's nothing left to learn at the Ninja Academy." Mirai leaned back in his chair, his gaze calm. "I've learned everything I need to. Staying in the greenhouse any longer would just be wasting time."

When he said that, he was thinking of something else: Nawaki would die this year.

He remembered it clearly. In the original story, Nawaki died during a mission because of an Explosive Tag trap.

That was when Tsunade completely broke down. Combined with Dan Katō's later death, it caused her to develop hemophobia and sink into despair for half her life.

He wanted to change this, not for some grand cause. He simply did not want to see the carefree Tsunade he knew become like that. He did not want to see her gamble away her fortune or become too afraid to hold a scalpel again.

That was why he had to graduate early. Only then would he have a chance to prevent that death.

Minato Namikaze looked at Mirai, a hint of gravity in his azure eyes.

He felt as if something about Mirai had changed, as though something that had long been suppressed was about to break free completely!

"Then I want to graduate early too." A voice came from beside them.

Mirai turned and saw Kushina standing before him. Her Kurenai-red hair was still somewhat messy, and the Kurenai-colored swelling around her eyes had not fully faded, but her expression was exceptionally serious.

"If you graduate early, I will too," she repeated, clenching her fists. "I won't slack off anymore."

Mirai looked at her for a long while, then smiled. "All right."

"Count me in too." Minato scratched his head, revealing his signature sunshine smile. "I mastered the Three Body Technique a long time ago anyway. I still want to keep chasing after your footsteps, Mirai!"

He then looked toward the black-haired girl in the corner, who had remained silent all this time. "What about you, Izumi?"

Izumi Uchiha had been leaning against the window reading. When she heard Minato call her name, she turned a page without even looking up. "It's only graduation. I was already planning to do it early this year. If you're all going together, I have no objections."

Kushina muttered softly, "Why does she have to do everything with us..."

Izumi seemed not to hear her, but the finger turning the page paused for less than half a second.

"Then it's settled." Mirai stood and looked at the clear sky outside after the rain. "Tomorrow, we'll apply to Kishimoto CC for the early graduation assessment."

"Yeah!"

During class, Mirai appeared to be daydreaming, but in truth, he had immersed himself in his inner world and stood outside the Nine-Tails' sealed cage.

"Hey, Kurama. Have you thought about assisting me in becoming a Perfect Jinchuriki?"

The Nine-Tails stared at Mirai as though facing a formidable enemy.

"Evil Uzumaki brat, I will never submit!"

A wicked smile curled at Mirai's lips. "Is that so? Perfect. I haven't been in a very good mood lately, and you've delivered yourself right to me!"

"Wait a second! What are you going to do?!"

"God Tree, drain him!"

An invisible root once again locked onto the Nine-Tails, leaving him unable to struggle in the slightest.

The next moment, the Nine-Tails' miserable screams rang out again. "Ah—Uzumaki brat! The Chakra you drained from me last time hasn't even recovered yet! Stop right now!"

Mirai remained expressionless, utterly indifferent to the Nine-Tails' wails.

Only after draining another tenth of the Nine-Tails' Chakra did he finally reveal a satisfied smile.

Not bad. The God Tree had grown a great deal taller again!

But to the Nine-Tails, that smile looked a little deranged.

"Kurama, work hard on recovering your Chakra. I'll come see you again in a couple of days!"

"Don't come near me!" The Nine-Tails' face was full of despair.