But Kōki remembered that they were still at war. He had neither the time nor the energy to research those things, so he could only wait until the war ended.
And so Kōki returned home. He had been through so much that day and was mentally exhausted. As soon as he lay down on his bed, he drifted off to sleep.
Meanwhile, Minato Namikaze returned home holding three photographs. The moment he stepped inside, he saw Kushina busy in the kitchen. Seeing his beloved hard at work, Minato gave a warm smile.
"Oh, you're home, Minato. Dinner will be ready soon. Just wait a little."
Busy in the kitchen, Kushina heard the door open. She turned around, saw Minato standing in the doorway, and immediately spoke.
Minato was in no hurry either and reassured her, "It's fine, Kushina. Take your time."
Despite Minato's reassurance, Kushina still felt a little embarrassed.
She should have started cooking long ago, but boredom had made her drowsy that day, and she had ended up oversleeping. By the time she woke up, mealtime had already passed.
There was nothing she could do. Kushina had nowhere else to go and could only wander around Konoha. Although the village was not small, she had been looking at it for over a decade. Seeing the same things every day had long since grown tiresome.
So after walking around in the morning, she had come home to rest that afternoon. Every day was just as routine and boring.
"Sorry, Minato. I was so bored today that I ended up oversleeping, so I started dinner a little late," Kushina told him with an embarrassed expression.
"It's all right. As long as you're doing well, Kushina, it doesn't matter when you cook."
Kushina's words warmed Minato's heart, but they also made it ache. He knew that, as a Jinchūriki, Kushina was effectively confined to Konoha and could not leave until she could safely control the Nine-Tails' power.
For Kushina, who had come all the way from the Land of Whirlpools, this was terribly painful.
He knew that since Kushina had come to Konoha, the number of times she had left the village could be counted on one hand. Those few missions outside the village had all thrilled her. Back then, her smile would bloom for an entire day.
As Kushina gradually grew older, missions outside the village had all but disappeared. She used to visit Lord Hokage often to ask him to assign her missions outside the village, but after being refused time and again, she rarely went to see him anymore.
But Minato knew that Kushina had always wanted to see the world outside, to see the changes in the Shinobi World and experience the customs of other countries.
He thought there might now be an opportunity to let Kushina leave.
Ever since seeing Kōki's Wood Release that day, Minato had had an idea: he would ask Hiruzen Sarutobi to lift the order restricting Kushina from leaving the village.
If the previous concern had been that the Nine-Tails' power might run out of control once Kushina left the village, leaving them unable to contain it, now Wood Release could effectively restrain the Nine-Tails if he went on a rampage. After all, Wood Release was the Kekkei Genkai best suited to suppressing Tailed Beasts.
At that thought, Minato looked at Kushina, who was humming as she cooked. For the first time, he disobeyed Hiruzen Sarutobi's order to keep the news of Wood Release secret. He said to Kushina, "Kushina, I have some good news to tell you today."
"Good news? What good news?" Hearing Minato's words, Kushina turned toward him.
But before Minato could answer, she spotted the three photographs in his hand and snatched them away. After taking a look, she said happily, "Minato, you're going to be a team leader?"
"Not bad. This little girl is so cute. This brat with the goggles looks a little silly. Ah, and this white-haired one looks so full of himself. So cocky."
Watching Kushina pass judgment on his future team members, Minato smiled awkwardly. That was not what he had meant to tell her.
"No, Kushina. Though becoming a team leader does count as one piece of good news."
"Huh? You have more good news, Minato?" Kushina held the photographs, looking a little puzzled.
But rather than answering Kushina directly, Minato asked her a question instead. "Kushina, do you still want to leave the village?"
"Of course I do. Unfortunately, that damned Stinky Old Man Sarutobi keeps refusing. There's no point in wanting it." When Kushina mentioned Hiruzen Sarutobi, her face was filled with resentment, as though he were an utterly irredeemable villain in her eyes.
But then she remembered what Minato had said earlier and immediately made the connection.
"Minato, is your good news that I can leave the village?"
"I can't say for certain yet." Minato could not be sure whether Hiruzen Sarutobi would agree, but at least this was an opportunity.
"You can't say for certain? What does that mean?" Minato had left Kushina confused.
Seeing Kushina's puzzled expression, Minato slowly explained it to her.
"I received a support mission today. By the time I arrived, I discovered that the mission target had already saved himself and didn't need me to intervene."
"But at the scene, I discovered that the target of this mission was actually a ninja who could use Wood Release."
"Kushina, do you know what that means?" Minato asked her excitedly. But the thickheaded Kushina completely failed to grasp the deeper meaning of his words.
"So what if it's Wood Release?"
Hearing Kushina's words, Minato looked crestfallen. He had thought that, as a member of the Uzumaki Clan, Kushina should have been even more excited than he was to hear about Wood Release. Why did she look so indifferent? It left him deeply embarrassed, to the point that he began to wonder whether the supposed close relationship between the Uzumaki Clan and the Senju Clan was false.
"Kushina, have you forgotten that Hashirama Senju, the leader of the Senju Clan, distant relatives of the Uzumaki Clan, and also our Konoha's First Hokage, possessed the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai?"
"So what if he had Wood Release? What does that have to do with me?" Kushina said indifferently. What did Hashirama Senju having Wood Release have to do with her? She had the Nine-Tails herself.
Seeing that Kushina still did not understand what he meant, Minato could only spell it out. "Kushina, have you forgotten that your Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu isn't the only means of suppressing Tailed Beasts? There's also the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai. And the Wood Release Technique is even more effective at suppressing Tailed Beasts."
Only then did Kushina understand what Minato was trying to say.
"You mean using Wood Release to keep the Nine-Tails inside me under control if he goes berserk, so I can leave the village freely? Is that what you mean?"
Seeing that Kushina finally understood him, Minato breathed a sigh of relief. He could not help worrying that his and Kushina's future child might inherit her thickheadedness.
Once Kushina, standing opposite Minato, figured it out, she immediately threw herself at him, hugging him and jumping for joy.
"Minato, I can finally leave the village!" For a long time, Kushina had hated the restrictions placed on her. Only having her beloved beside her had kept her emotions from erupting. Now that she could change this situation, she was naturally overjoyed.
"But Kushina, don't get too excited yet. Lord Hokage might not agree." Although Minato also dearly hoped that Kushina could have her freedom, Hiruzen Sarutobi had yet to approve it, so he could only dampen her enthusiasm first.
"Come on, Old Man Sarutobi has no reason to restrict me this time. If he refuses again, I'll go straight to the Hokage's office and raise hell." An opportunity like this had finally appeared, and she would not let it slip away so easily.
"Minato, you have to help me."
With Kushina's shining eyes fixed on him, Minato did not dare say no. He could only silently hope, I hope Lord Hokage agrees. Otherwise, Kushina really will lose her temper.
Remembering what Kushina was like when she lost her temper, Minato could not help shuddering.
Just then, the smell of something burning drifted through the air. The moment Kushina smelled it, she realized that the food in her pot had burned.
"Oh no, the food in my pot!"
Watching Kushina rush about, Minato could only smile awkwardly. "Kushina, how about we eat out tonight?"
"Okay."
Kushina gave Minato a great big smile.
Looking at Kushina's smiling face, the guilt Minato felt deep down over leaking information vanished in an instant. Sorry, Lord Third. I really can't bear to see Kushina sad after all.