As the wide-open gate came into view, even Kurama, who had been acting indifferent, showed a flicker of emotion in its eyes.
Its massive, mountain-like body, which had been lying down, slowly rose to its feet and took a step forward.
"Little brat, you..."
Kurama was about to say something, but before it could finish, before it could even react…
Whoosh-
Clang!
The sound of whipping chains and the sharp clang of metal echoed through the seal space.
Under Naruto's amused gaze and Minato's shocked stare, several metal chains flew out from the shadows behind them, binding Kurama's limbs and mouth.
Both Naruto and Minato turned to look behind them.
There, a green-skirted woman with flowing red hair had appeared in the seal space without warning.
And the chains that bound Kurama extended from behind her.
Her fiery, flowing hair looked like burning flames.
"Kushina..."
Tears streamed down Minato's face as he desperately wanted to rush forward.
"Mmmph?!"
Kurama, who was suddenly bound, could only shake its head helplessly, trying to break free from the chains.
'I hadn't done anything wrong… why was I being tied up?'
Naruto couldn't help but laughed at Kurama's embarrassing appearance.
The red-haired woman noticed the strange looks from the others, and the hair behind her gradually calmed down. She didn't fully understand the situation yet.
Looking at the two blondes, one big, one small, she scratched her head in confusion, her expression serious. "Minato, why are you just standing there?"
"The Nine-Tails is about to escape. Hurry up and stop it!"
Hearing this, the Nine-Tails struggled even harder, 'I wasn't trying to escape… it was that brat who had opened the seal! What did this innocent fox have to do with it?'
But the Adamantine Sealing Chains were indeed a Tailed Beast's bane, and Kurama couldn't break free right away.
Of course, it might also have been because Kurama wasn't putting in much effort. It was afraid that if it used too much force, Kushina might disappear on the spot.
And Naruto seemed to care about her.
Seeing this, Minato quickly ran to Kushina's side to explain.
"It's not the Nine-Tails trying to escape. Naruto was the one who opened the seal."
"Huh?"
Kushina froze in place. Having dealt with Kurama for so many years, she couldn't immediately grasp what Minato was saying.
Seeing Kushina's confused expression, Minato sighed and continued to explain.
"The Nine-Tails has acknowledged Naruto and is willing to lend him its power. That's why Naruto decided to remove the seal."
"Really?!"
Kushina was so excited she nearly jumped. Back in the day, no matter how hard she tried, she could only use a fraction of the Nine-Tails' power, and even that was something she had to forcibly take using the Adamantine Sealing Chains.
'But now, my son had gained the Nine-Tails' acknowledgment? Did that mean he could become a Perfect Jinchuriki?'
Kushina turned to look at Naruto, who was standing behind Minato, watching them.
"Naruto?"
"Naruto! I'm your mom. With the Nine-Tails, you'll definitely become the next Hokage."
Kushina waved at Naruto and started running toward him, eager to see her grown-up child.
But before she could take more than a few steps, Minato grabbed her hand.
Minato knew he had to be the one to explain. If Naruto showed Kushina his memories the way he had shown Minato, Kushina would definitely explode.
After all, she had wanted Minato to stay and take care of Naruto back then...
"What's wrong?"
Kushina looked at Minato with a puzzled look.
Minato forced a bitter smile and began to explain everything that had happened over the years.
"It's like this..."
As Minato spoke, Kushina's expression shifted from excitement to gloom, then to anger...
Her previously calm hair began to rise again, defying all logic.
Naruto watched the couple as they talked and shook his head.
'Uzumaki Kushina was indeed a reckless… no, a free-spirited Ninja.
She hadn't even noticed Kurama, who is still bound and struggling, before giving up and lying down again.
Naruto walked over to Kurama and gently patted its soft fur, offering some comfort.
"Damn it! How dare those old bastards treat Naruto like that!?"
At this time, Kushina had just finished listening to Minato's account of Naruto's childhood struggles, but she was already furious.
A vein popped on her forehead as her red hair began to writhe like angry snakes.
She had thought her child would grow up safe and healthy under Konoha's protection, but instead, he had lived such a harsh life.
"Yeah, I never expected them to..."
After hearing Kushina's outburst, Minato couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness even though it had been so long.
But his sadness was quickly overshadowed by the pain on the top of his head.
Bang!
The next moment, Kushina's furious fist came down on his head.
"Ugh!"
Minato grunted in pain. Kushina hadn't held back at all, and she really wasn't afraid of punching him into oblivion.
Though, to be fair, he could have easily dodged this punch.
But he chose not to dodge, because he knew it would only add fuel to the fire.
Moreover, he bore a significant portion of the responsibility for what had happened to Naruto.
Back then, Kushina had wanted to reseal Kurama into her own body and die with it, leaving Minato to take care of Naruto.
But Minato, wanting to keep Kurama in the village, had chosen to use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, splitting the Nine-Tails' Chakra, with half sealed within himself and the other half within Naruto.
At that time, Kushina had asked him, "If we both die, what will happen to Naruto?"
But Minato had naively believed that the village would take good care of Naruto.
The final outcome, however, made him want to slap himself.
"Kushina, it's all my fault..."
"Of course it's all your fault!"
Before Minato could finish his apology, several more fists rained down on his head, silencing him.
After venting her anger on Minato with a few more punches, Kushina turned to Naruto with a heartbroken expression.
In a flash, she appeared in front of Naruto, tears welling up in her eyes. "Waaah, I'm so sorry, Naruto. It's all because your mom and dad were useless that you were left alone in the village to suffer."
As she spoke, Kushina tried to pull Naruto into a hug, but he dodged with a quick step.
"Naruto?"
Kushina, now holding empty air, looked at Naruto with a pitiful expression.
Naruto ignored her and instead formed a blue Chakra in his hand, which he then infused into Kushina's body.
He then turned to Minato and said, "You explain. I'm leaving."
"Naruto!"
Before Kushina could recover from her surprise, Naruto disappeared from the seal space.
Minato sighed again and walked over to Kushina. "Let me tell you about Naruto's experiences over the years..."
Meanwhile, Kurama, who should have been the center of attention, realized that none of the three family members were paying it any mind.
After letting out a muffled 'Mmmph,' it simply created another small clone, grabbed some snacks, and settled in to watch the drama unfold.