Naruto closed his eyes and covered his head with his hands, bracing himself for a beating. Instead, Kushina soon pulled him into a tight embrace and stroked his head.
As far back as Naruto could remember, no one had ever held him like this, not even the older ninja boys and girls who treated him so well.
Yet now, held by the stranger who had abducted him, he felt no disgust at all. Instead, he felt warmth and a closeness he had never known before.
He struggled free of her embrace and looked at Kushina, still bewildered.
"Who are you, anyway?"
Kushina saw the confusion in Naruto's eyes, and her heart ached for him. If she hadn't felt so sorry for her son, she would have raised hell over that nickname, even if the old Third himself had called her that.
After a moment's hesitation, Kushina said slowly, "I was the previous Nine-Tails Jinchuriki... and I'm also your mother."
"The previous Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? You mean that guy in my stomach?"
When the second half of her words sank in, Naruto froze. He took half a step back and laughed. "Stop joking. I'm an orphan. I've never met my parents. The older boys and girls all say my parents are away on a mission... but what mission takes more than ten years? They're just trying to comfort me. My parents must have died a long time ago."
As he spoke, Naruto lowered his head, his expression growing ever more downcast. Then he suddenly looked up at Kushina. "But now you're telling me you aren't dead. Where have you been all these years, then?"
Although he couldn't remember what his parents looked like, Naruto could feel the resonance of their shared blood. He was certain that the red-haired woman before him was