"Fooled?"
Kushina's expression immediately darkened. In that instant, several possibilities flashed through her mind, but every one of them pointed to the same conclusion—
Minato's plan had failed.
Had the other consciousness gained the upper hand in the fusion?
Although she didn't know why Naruto had appeared, she could hear the resignation in his voice.
It seemed Naruto already knew everything she and Minato had just done.
According to the earlier assessments of Minato and the previous Hokage, Naruto absolutely did not want the Reshape Organization to win a single Shinobi War, so even if she had to fight Minato, she would...
But before Kushina could sort out her thoughts, her hands had already begun to move.
"Adamantine Sealing Chains..."
Golden chains burst from her body and shot straight toward Minato.
Even knowing she was no match for Minato, Kushina still had to carry out her mission.
Yet to Kushina's surprise, Minato offered no resistance to the Adamantine Sealing Chains. Even so, the chains never touched his body.
...Smack.
Because Naruto had intercepted them.
"According to the rules, Mom... Konoha lost this round."
With one hand, Naruto blocked the kunai Minato was trying to use to slice open space. With the other, he gripped the chains bursting from Kushina's body and shook his head with a resigned sigh.
Kushina froze.
She hadn't expected those to be Naruto's first words.
"Naruto, Minato is..."
"Don't worry too much, Mom. He might not be the Dad we know, but he's still Dad."
Naruto reassured her.
Kushina didn't understand.
"I'm sorry, Kushina. Deceiving you was never what I wanted."
Minato spoke up as well.
His words were full of remorse, his tone nothing like it had been moments earlier.
And their contest of strength had already come to an end.
Clearly, the student had