Inside the barrier were Shin Uchiha's real body and Uchiha Mikoto, along with Kushina, who was crouching there with her chin propped on her hands.
Shin Uchiha had, of course, detected the ambushers long ago, so he had quietly brought Mikoto and Kushina aside and set up a barrier, waiting for Kakashi's group to arrive.
Watching Sasuke gasp for breath, Mikoto covered her mouth, her heart aching for him. Still, there was nothing she could do. This was all part of growing up. She, Shin, and Itachi had all gone through this stage, and because of the war, they had experienced such things at a much younger age than Sasuke was now.
Just then, Kushina sprang up from her crouch and called out cheerfully:
"Mikoto, Shin, look! Look! Little Naruto has so much chakra-far more than Kakashi! That's my boy for you, with the blood of the Uzumaki Clan in his veins.
"It feels like no time has passed, but Little Naruto has grown so big in the blink of an eye. It's amazing."
At that, Kushina stood up, grabbed Shin's arm, and hugged it tightly against her chest as she complained:
"You're playing favorites, Shin. You took Little Sasuke as your student, but you never offered to take Naruto too. If you taught him, Little Naruto wouldn't act so silly."
Then Kushina rubbed her cheek against Shin's chest and said:
"Take Little Naruto as your student too, Shin."
Feeling the softness against his arm, Shin Uchiha couldn't bear to pull it away. He reassured her:
"Don't worry, Kushina. Naruto and Sasuke are following different paths. He'll have a teacher who'll be tremendously important to him, and who suits him best.
"Besides, when I was guiding Sasuke's training, I gave Naruto some pointers too.
"It's only his personality that makes