"Old Man Sarutobi, what exactly do you mean? Before, you said you restricted me to prevent the Nine-Tails from going berserk. What about now? We even have Wood Release. What are you still afraid of?"
Furious, Kushina ignored Minato's attempts to stop her. She simply could not hold back, like someone in the darkness who had found a glimmer of light and would cling tightly to it, never letting go.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked thoroughly embarrassed when Kushina appeared. He had not expected her to be right outside the door, let alone to have overheard his conversation with Minato.
For a moment, he even felt a little resentful toward Minato for not giving him a hint. If he had known Kushina was outside, he would at least have spoken a little more discreetly.
"Kushina, you're here too," Hiruzen Sarutobi could only say awkwardly.
"Of course I am. If I weren't, I'd never have known how much you wanted to keep me from going out, Old Man Sarutobi. You really are a rotten old man."
Kushina showed Hiruzen Sarutobi no respect whatsoever, even though he was the Third Hokage. In her eyes, Old Man Sarutobi was simply a villain standing in the way of her freedom.
Hiruzen Sarutobi did not get angry at her words. He had to speak gently to Kushina.
First, a Jinchūriki's emotions affected the stability of the Tailed Beast inside her. Second, Mito Uzumaki, the wife of the First Hokage whom he revered, had entrusted Kushina to him on her deathbed. Third, Kushina was also his student's student's girlfriend.
All those connections left him completely unconcerned by Kushina's rudeness. But with her looking so furious, he had to do something to soothe her.
"Kushina, you know we're at war with Sunagakure now. Even if you went out now, where could you go? Besides, if anything unexpected happens on the battlefield, we'll need your help."
"But I promise you, once the war is over, no one will restrict where you want to go. Of course, Minato must accompany you."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's gentle words eased Kushina's anger a little. Minato had told her over their meal that Konoha and Sunagakure had already gone to war, and this really was not a good time for her to run around.
But she was not stupid either. Who could say what would happen in the future? Once the war ended, Old Man Sarutobi might find some other excuse to keep her from leaving the village.
She could stay put during the war, but she had to get a promise of freedom.
"Old Man Sarutobi, I can agree not to leave the village right now, but you must promise not to restrict my freedom from now on. You have to put it in writing and guarantee you'll keep your word."
Faced with Kushina's distrustful expression, Hiruzen Sarutobi cheerfully said it was no problem.
He promptly wrote out his guarantee on a sheet of blank paper at the side of his desk and stamped it with the Hokage's exclusive seal.
He could not help chuckling smugly to himself. Kushina, you're still too naive.
Everything Kushina said was within his expectations. Hiruzen Sarutobi already had a plan in mind. As he saw it, by the time the war ended, he would be about ready to step down from the Hokage position, and either Jiraiya or Minato would succeed him.
Jiraiya was too flighty to be suited to becoming Hokage, and he would not compete with his own student either, leaving only Minato to succeed him.
Once Minato became Hokage, he would certainly be too busy with official duties to go anywhere, which meant Kushina, as his wife, would not be able to go anywhere either.
Unless Minato, who would then be Hokage, allowed his wife to run around wherever she pleased.
But in Hiruzen Sarutobi's view, once Minato became Hokage, Kushina herself would abandon the idea of leaving the village. As the Hokage's wife, surely she would not embarrass Minato like that.
It had to be said that Hiruzen Sarutobi had played this beautifully. Once the war ended, Kushina would have no way to back out even if she wanted to, leaving her firmly under his thumb.
Although his thoughts were rather dark, Hiruzen Sarutobi wore a smile that said all that mattered was her satisfaction.
If Kushina could have understood what Hiruzen Sarutobi was thinking, smashing the door probably would not have been enough. She would have smashed the Hokage's office too.
Still, although Kushina could not hear Hiruzen Sarutobi's thoughts, she sensed malice in his smiling expression. She kept feeling that something was wrong, but she could not put it into words.
After turning it over and over without finding any answers, she could only say fiercely to Hiruzen Sarutobi, "Old Man Sarutobi, I'm warning you, don't try any tricks. If I catch you playing tricks, I won't be so polite next time."
Faced with Kushina's threat, Hiruzen Sarutobi merely looked at her with a smile. This was an open scheme. What tricks were there? At most, he was taking advantage of Kushina's lack of foresight.
"Why would I? I won't lie to you. Besides, hasn't Minato here raised no objections?"
From the moment Kushina entered until Hiruzen Sarutobi wrote out the guarantee, Minato had stood to the side without voicing a single objection.
Mostly, that was because he felt Kushina had done nothing wrong, and he strongly agreed with her desire for freedom.
He simply had not expected Hiruzen Sarutobi to think so highly of him that he intended to hand the Hokage position over to him.
At present, he had not thought that far ahead. Only in the future, after he succeeded as Hokage and faced Kushina's angry expression when she came asking for a mission outside the village and was refused, would he recognize Hiruzen Sarutobi's scheme today.
Seeing Kushina's questioning look, Minato nodded. He had not noticed anything wrong either.
After receiving Minato's confirmation, Kushina finally calmed her anger. Although she still sensed something amiss, the current situation already met her wishes, so she did not pursue it any further.
"Minato, let's go." Thoroughly satisfied, Kushina took Minato's hand and made to leave.
But Minato still remembered his manners and apologized to Hiruzen Sarutobi. "I'm sorry, Lord Hokage. Kushina was a little impatient. I hope you can forgive her."
"Hehe, it's fine. She wouldn't be Kushina if she didn't act like this." Hiruzen Sarutobi had long known what Kushina's personality was like and did not mind at all.
"Then we'll be leaving now, Lord Hokage." After receiving Hiruzen Sarutobi's reply, Minato followed Kushina out of the office.
As Hiruzen Sarutobi watched Minato and Kushina leave, he faintly heard Kushina saying disparaging things about him to Minato. He could only shake his head helplessly and resume his work with a smile.
Having left the Hokage building, Minato and Kushina walked home, chatting as they went.
"Minato, what sort of person is that Kōki you mentioned earlier?"
Hearing Kushina's question, Minato thought for a moment before asking in return.
"Do you want to know, Kushina?"
"Mm. After all, I'm a member of the Uzumaki Clan, so I'm a little curious about someone who awakened the Senju Clan's Wood Release." Kushina had not been interested earlier, but now that her mood had improved, she wanted to learn more about the wielder of Wood Release.
"I see. Then let's go see Kōki tomorrow. I happen to have a few things I want to say to him too." Minato also happened to want to get to know Kōki better.
After getting Minato's agreement, Kushina nodded happily and threw herself into his arms with a smile.
"Minato, it's settled, then."