Chapter 354
Kushina, not quite alike
A few words jolted her awake.
Still a little dazed, Kushina snapped to her senses at the woman's cry.
Feeling Kōrei Uzumaki clinging to her, utterly unguarded and sobbing, Kushina lowered her head slightly. Hesitantly, she raised a hand and lifted the hair of the woman in her arms before her eyes.
The hair before her was practically identical to her own-the same fiery red, brimming with a vibrant hue that symbolized vitality. Beneath its softness, it felt slightly prickly. Kushina immediately recognized it: this woman must have been a surviving orphan of the Uzumaki Clan, just like her.
When Kushina had first arrived in Konoha, even the protection of Mito Uzumaki, the First's widow, had not kept those malicious brats in line. They had mocked Kushina as a tomato because of the red hair unique to the Uzumaki Clan.
Later, when Kushina had been abducted, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, had found her by following the hair she had left behind. Her red hair held a special meaning for her, and seeing that same hair on Kōrei Uzumaki left Kushina absolutely certain that this woman belonged to the Uzumaki Clan.
Then Kushina recalled what the woman had just said to her. Xiangling, Xiangling, Kōrei Uzumaki.
As the name came together, memories Kushina had long forgotten resurfaced, vivid and clear. That voice, that face, that smile-she had treasured them in the deepest recesses of her memory.
She had not forgotten after all. She had deliberately hidden those memories away to keep herself from being hurt.
Kushina Uzumaki finally realized something. Her hands trembled as she hugged the woman in her arms tightly, yet her question came out hesitantly. "Xiangling, are you Xiangling? Kōrei Uzumaki? Uncle Tie's Little Maruko?"
Kushina's voice trembled and was a