Minato could be surprisingly romantic—he even brought souvenirs back for Kushina while away on official duty.
With a beautifully wrapped gift in hand, Takeshi walked shoulder to shoulder with Kakashi—who had unknowingly grown taller than him—along the streets of Konoha.
"Eh? Isn't that Takeshi? Feels like it's been ages since I last saw you. Drop by the shop when you have time!"
As they passed a dango shop, the shopkeeper lady caught sight of Takeshi while cleaning up ingredients in the back kitchen. She immediately tossed aside her work and rushed to the entrance.
"Yeah, definitely. I'll bring Asuma and the others along next time!"
Waving goodbye to the shopkeeper, Takeshi's mood visibly brightened.
He even had the energy to tease the two little tails following behind him.
"Your tracking skills are seriously lacking. What have you even learned during this time~?"
Takeshi's voice clearly reached the ears of the two hiding behind a utility pole, and their bodies instantly went stiff.
After a moment, Yamato, forcing himself to look expressionless, poked his head out and dragged along a flustered Kabuto.
"Takeshi-sama."
The two greeted him obediently.
"Really now, why are you two following me?" Seeing through Yamato's feigned calmness—when in reality he was panicking—Takeshi's playful side flared up. He decided to mess with the little guy a bit.
Yamato began trying to find the right words.
He had sneaked out while Danzō was away, spotted Takeshi by chance, wanted to approach him—but was afraid Takeshi would report him to Danzō—so he ended up tailing him awkwardly from a distance.
That's when he ran into Kabuto, who was also passing by.
And just like that, the two of them gathered under the same utility pole... and got caught red-handed by Takeshi.
Kabuto was just as panicked. He'd only followed Yamato out of curiosity after spotting him acting all sneaky, but never expected to bump into Takeshi—whom he hadn't seen in ages.
What should they say? x2
The two little ones were torn.
Then, Takeshi grabbed them by the cheeks on both sides and gave them his signature greeting:
"Alright, no need to make things up. Let's go together."
Seeing Yamato's pained expression was already worth it.
He tossed the souvenir to Kakashi, then took one of each of the kids' hands and led them in the direction of Minato's house.
Wait, why Minato's house?
"Minato-san and Kushina-san are married already?!"
Takeshi let out a piercing shriek.
"Yeah, what about it? I thought you already knew. Obito and I went to the wedding."
Kakashi, slightly deafened by Takeshi's voice, stuck a finger in his ear.
"R-Really..."
Makes sense, actually. Considering even Mikoto's pregnant, of course Kushinan and Minato must've already gotten married.
Grumbling at his own slightly undercharged brainpower, Takeshi changed the subject:
"Ah, speaking of which, since it's been so long, let's have dinner at Minato-san's place tonight. You two are in for a treat—Kushina-san's cooking is something else."
A perfect excuse to delay meeting his old man.
Flawless plan.
"Kushina-san?"
The two kids tilted their heads, unfamiliar with the name.
They actually preferred Takeshi's cooking. Especially Yamato.
Ever since Takeshi left, all he could eat were the Root's specially assigned meals.
He wasn't Danzō's biological son after all—there was no way he'd ever taste the man's home cooking.
"If we're doing a dinner, why not invite Rin too?"
Takeshi suddenly remembered his other two teammates. Since Obito seemed to be out of the village, that left just Rin.
"You… aren't even going to ask Kushina-san first?"
Kakashi looked at Takeshi, clearly exasperated that he was making decisions on her behalf.
"What's the big deal? Kushina-san loves a full house. Honestly, she'll be thrilled I took the initiative."
Takeshi puffed out his chest, brimming with confidence.
The result—
"Takeshi, you little—!"
With her hair rising like a flurry of crimson chains, Kushina's wrath made Takeshi close his eyes in resignation.
Crap, what did I do to trigger tomato mode?
Just when he thought he'd be turned into pulp, Kushina instead pulled him into a crushing hug.
"You little brat! Leaving the village without telling me—seriously!"
"Uh…"
"'Uh' what? You think that's okay? Don't forget, I'm your sealing jutsu teacher! Geez, and how have you not grown a single centimeter while you were away?"
"Uhh…"
"Umm, Kushina-san, I think Takeshi's rolling his eyes…" Kakashi whispered, seeing she still hadn't let go.
"Oh no, sorry! Got a little too excited."
Noticing Kakashi's reminder, Kushina finally released Takeshi and offered a guilty apology.
"Ugh… I think I saw my mom for a second there."
[Isobu: Same here… felt like I saw the Sage of Six Paths.]
Both man and beast wore expressions of barely surviving a calamity.
...
Inside Kushina's mental realm, the tightly bound Nine-Tails suddenly opened his eyes.
"This feeling... is that Isobu?"
He really wanted to investigate further, but Kushina had tied him up far too tightly—no matter how much he struggled, he couldn't move an inch.
"That damn Kushina… how dare she treat me like this!"
Seeing even his nine tails were neatly wrapped in chains, Kurama was utterly miserable.
He really should have stirred up more trouble when Kushina was still weaker—should've razed all of Konoha while he had the chance!
For decades, Kurama had lived in the shadow of the Uzumaki Clan.
He missed the days before meeting Uchiha Madara—carefree, sleeping and eating without a care in the world.
Then Madara dragged him into a fight against Hashirama, and in the end, he got forcefully sealed by that bastard with the excuse of "Your power is too dangerous."
What the hell, seriously?
That Buddha statue was squeezing me! Me!
Who's really too powerful here?!
But no matter how you sliced it, Hashirama died not long after that battle.
So... was that Madara's fault or Kurama's? Impossible to say.
Though judging by how carefully Mito restrained him...
She probably held quite the grudge.
Recalling all those past events, Kurama's resentment began to take shape, slowly merging into Kushina's chakra.
Sensing the disturbance within her body, Kushina—who was still busy peppering Takeshi with questions—frowned, then closed her eyes and entered her mental realm. Without a word, she smacked Kurama across the face with a massive chakra chain slap.
"Behave yourself, Kurama!"
Kurama: ???
[Isobu: Huh? That's strange… I just sensed Kurama for a second. He feels kind of... wronged?]
[Takeshi: Oh, probably because the person in front of you happens to be Kurama's Jinchūriki.]
[Isobu: Oh… Still, that doesn't make sense. The Nine-Tails that fears nothing and no one—feeling wronged?]
[Takeshi: Tch... Maybe you should ask Kushina-san across from you.]
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo