Chapter 376: Filial Piety Reappears
Naruto had completely let himself go.
By the time Kushina and Rin arrived at the shop, Naruto had already opened his beloved instant noodles, dropped the noodle block into a cup, asked the clerk for some hot water, and even added a bit of medicated oil. He was happily slurping away at this bizarre-tasting concoction.
The shop clerk didn't dare drive him away, worried that Naruto might be mentally unstable.
As everyone knew, in the ninja world, mentally unstable people were often extremely powerful.
For the sake of survival, the clerk could only do their best to satisfy Naruto's requests, while quietly sending another employee to go find help.
Just as that employee hurried out the door, they ran straight into Kushina and Rin, who had just arrived.
The moment the clerk noticed Kushina's distinctive black sclera and cracked skin, clear signs of the Impure World Reincarnation, they immediately reported everything to her.
After helplessly compensating for the damages once again, Kushina walked toward Naruto.
"Um… ma'am, you paid too much. Quite a lot too much."
The clerk looked at the pile of money in their hands and, after counting it, realized something was off.
Why was there so much?
Could it be compensation for emotional distress?
But it didn't take long for her to understand why Kushina had paid extra.
"Naruto!"
Kushina's furious fist came crashing toward Naruto's face.
"Huh?"
Naruto, who had been squinting contentedly while slurping noodles, turned his head in confusion. All he saw was a massive fist filling his vision.
Bang!
"Ow!"
With a single punch, Naruto reverted back to his male form. His entire body was sent flying, smashing straight through the wall before crashing heavily onto the ground.
His skirt flipped up and landed over his face.
The cup of instant noodles flew into the air, then fell back down, landing perfectly on his "Sage Mode activator." Along with the spilled noodles, it at least managed to cover certain areas, sparing passersby from an awkward spectacle.
Kushina cracked her knuckles and stepped out through the hole in the wall.
She didn't actually want to do this.
But just as Rin had said, Naruto currently believed he was inside a genjutsu. Reasoning with him gently would be completely useless, it would only encourage him to act even more recklessly.
She had to stop him with force first, then talk sense into him and make him realize this was reality, not an illusion.
"That hurt… Are you crazy? I'm just enjoying myself in a genjutsu world, what's wrong with going all out? Why do you have to hit me?"
Naruto got up, clutching his head, and looked at Kushina as she approached him angrily. Not only was he unafraid, he even snapped back at her.
Rin, who had followed over, frowned when she heard Naruto say something like that.
People speak their true feelings in a genjutsu world.
This meant that, deep down, Naruto didn't respect his parents.
Why?
Was it because they had abandoned him when he was young, leaving him with resentment?
But Kushina had already explained that last time, hadn't she?
Or could it be that Naruto hadn't inherited his parents' kindness at all? Had he already fallen into darkness? Were these his true inner thoughts?
Rin didn't understand, but as someone of the older generation, she still tried to gently advise him.
"Naruto, don't say things like that. No matter what, Kushina is your mother. And wake up, this isn't a genjutsu world anymore…"
"Trying to trick me again? I'm not falling for that."
Naruto wore an expression as if he had seen through everything. He dusted himself off and smirked proudly.
"The person using genjutsu always loves to lie and say the illusion is reality."
"…"
"…If you really don't believe it, why don't you ask the Nine-Tails inside you? Wait… why hasn't the Nine-Tails helped you break the genjutsu?"
Halfway through speaking, Rin suddenly realized something was wrong.
"…That guy Kurama isn't responding. I've called him countless times, it's no use."
Naruto rubbed his chin, thinking aloud.
"I suspect Sasuke used genjutsu on Kurama too. Otherwise, there's no way he'd just leave me alone like this."
"That's… not impossible."
Facing Kushina's questioning gaze, Rin nodded slightly.
"The previous Three-Tails jinchūriki, Karatachi Yagura, was in a similar state… Kushina-nee, how are we supposed to prove it to him now?"
Proving that the real world wasn't a genjutsu was like trying to prove to someone that they weren't insane.
"No comeback, huh? You two idiots from the genjutsu world."
Naruto clapped his hands smugly, then turned and looked up at the sky.
"So what should I do next? I should head back to Konoha. Heh… In reality, I can't go into the women's bathhouse, but in a genjutsu world, I finally can…"
"?"
Kushina's eyes widened when she heard that.
Sure enough, Jiraiya had completely led Naruto astray.
"Naruto…"
"Hey, hag, don't come any closer! I'm warning you!"
Seeing that Kushina was about to hit him again, Naruto quickly stepped back, raising his guard.
"H-Hag?"
Kushina looked hurt.
Was this really how Naruto saw her deep down?
"Naruto, how can you call your own mother a 'hag'?"
Rin grew irritated. Had this child really grown up without proper guidance? Where was Kakashi? Hadn't he properly taught Minato-sensei's son?
"Naruto, do you even understand what filial piety means?!"
"…!"
Rin's completely ordinary question instantly froze Naruto's arrogant expression. Fear surfaced in his eyes.
All of Naruto's imagination about his parents came from Gaara and his relationship with his own parents.
Especially after learning that his father was the Fourth Hokage, he related to it even more.
Gaara's father was the Fourth Kazekage. His father was the Fourth Hokage.
And then there were those "heartwarming" little stories between Gaara and his father, like: "You're looking more and more like the late Karura", "Do you even understand what filial piety means?"
Statements like those.
Now Rin had accidentally triggered a key phrase.
It immediately brought back unpleasant associations for Naruto.
"N-No… that's not okay."
Naruto panicked, covering himself front and back with his hands in confusion as he staggered backward.
"What's wrong with him?"
Kushina noticed Naruto's abnormal reaction and grew puzzled.
"I don't know either."
Rin shook her head.
Naruto fled in a panic. Just as Kushina was about to chase after him, she was stopped by a three-person team.
The three girls were wearing headbands from the Sunagakure Village.
"And you are…?"
Kushina became even more confused when they suddenly blocked her from pursuing Naruto.
"Do you want to know why the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, Uzumaki Naruto, was so terrified just now?"
"We can tell you."
"Mm-hmm."
The three Sunagakure Village kunoichi, Maki, Matsuri, and Yukata, who had come to the Amegakure Village on a mission, spoke one after another.
"Huh? Really? Then please, tell us."
Kushina thought for a moment. Even if she caught up to Naruto now, she wouldn't be able to immediately make him realize this was reality, nor could she dispel that strange fear within him.
It was better to understand the situation first.
(End of this chapter)