Chapter 378: Minato & Naruto, Rasa & Gaara
"Does the Fourth Kazekage really play that wild?"
Kushina and Rin were both stunned.
They were both Fourth Generation Kage, so how could the difference be this huge?
"Well, you can't entirely blame Fourth Kazekage Rasa-sama for this. The Fifth Kazekage and his siblings can criticize him all they want, but ordinary ninja like us don't have that right."
Yukata shook her head as she explained.
"Rasa-sama did it for the sake of the village, to ensure there would be a suitable jinchūriki for Shukaku. That's why he had his wife continuously bear children without rest, which ultimately led to her dying from complications while giving birth to Gaara-sama."
Maki and Matsuri both nodded in agreement.
Gossip was one thing, but they still acknowledged the Fourth Kazekage's contributions to the village.
Of course, it was clear that Maki still didn't know that her sensei, Pakura, had been betrayed by Rasa and handed over to Kirigakure, leading to her death.
"It's hard to say."
Kushina clicked her tongue.
Everyone present besides her were still naive girls.
They were still clinging to the idea that Rasa had no choice but to sacrifice his wife for the sake of the village.
But if Rasa could harbor such thoughts toward his own son, then his morals had probably already sunk to the bottom.
Who knew? Maybe he just liked Gaara's "summoning animation" and that was why Karura ended up dying.
"It's true~"
"Actually, there's another rumor."
"Legend says that the reason the Land of Wind is covered in desert is because, in ancient times, there was a fusion of tailed beasts, the Ten-Tails, also known as the God Tree, rooted in that land."
"When the Sage of Six Paths destroyed the Ten-Tails God Tree, part of it remained embedded in the earth. Later, a passing hero accidentally made things worse by sealing it improperly…"
"Go on, why did you stop?"
Kushina had been listening intently when she suddenly noticed the three girls looking at each other, hesitating.
"This is just what the story says, okay? Not something I made up…"
"The story says it's like the Ten-Tails left a… 'part' buried in the earth's… core…"
"In ancient times, people worshiped gods and fertility, so the Land of Wind developed certain… tendencies…"
"And it's also said that the Sage of Six Paths' two sons had an improper relationship. They even created a reincarnation bond so they could keep meeting each other in future lives."
"Although their descendants later went to Konoha, the Land of Wind was originally where the Sage of Six Paths lived. So if Konoha has this kind of 'tradition,' the Sunagakure Village would have it too…"
In the end, the gossip duo managed to piece the story together, one sentence at a time.
Kushina listened with black lines forming across her face.
Thankfully, she understood the general idea.
In short, Rasa had inappropriate thoughts about Gaara. And because Gaara and Naruto were close friends, Naruto had learned about Gaara's past.
So when Naruto faced his own parents, he couldn't help but project Gaara's situation onto them.
The moment "filial piety" was mentioned, it triggered those associations.
A complete misunderstanding.
Wait… was it really a misunderstanding?
Having heard so many stories, Kushina couldn't help but feel a bit doubtful.
Back then, perhaps… maybe… Minato didn't actually have to die?
She had her tailed beast extracted, that was certain death. She had only held on for a short time due to the Uzumaki clan's strong life force.
But Minato was different. If he hadn't used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, he might not have died.
As for that technique?
Why not let her, the one who was already going to die, use it instead?
If things had gone that way, Naruto would at least have grown up with his father, living as the son of the Hokage, the son of a hero.
It had always been a beautiful fantasy.
But after hearing this whole story about Rasa from the Sunagakure trio, that fantasy shattered.
If Minato had lived on with Naruto after losing his wife, wouldn't that be exactly the same as Rasa living with Gaara after losing Karura?
Even more unsettling,
Naruto had the same verbal tic as her.
One said "dattebane", the other "dattebayo."
An image formed in Kushina's mind:
Minato gently patting Naruto's head, smiling warmly, saying, "Naruto, you're looking more and more like your mother."
Naruto was already showing certain… tendencies just living alone. He had even used medicated oil earlier.
If things had turned out like Rasa and Gaara…
Gaara at least knew to hate and resist. But Naruto, such a good child, might have actually gone along with "filial piety."
What?
You're saying Naruto and Kushina don't even have the same hair color?
So what?
Didn't Gaara and Karura also have different hair colors?
Karura had blonde hair. If we're talking resemblance, then Temari, with her hair down, would resemble her more. Why would it be red-haired Gaara instead?
So clearly, the resemblance wasn't just about appearance.
It might be something abstract, like chakra.
And Naruto, as the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, would definitely give Minato a similar feeling in terms of chakra.
Thinking of this, Kushina suddenly remembered Minato and Menma from the Limited Tsukuyomi world.
Both of them were obsessed with the "fiery furry Nine-Tails."
Menma could at least interact with the Nine-Tails in his mental space.
But what about Minato?
If Minato wanted the Nine-Tails, he would have to make Menma transform into a tailed beast to experience it.
That was terrifying.
Fortunately, in that Limited Tsukuyomi world, the two of them had been taken out early by Shiromo and Uchiha Hikari.
Otherwise, those scenes wouldn't just exist in imagination, they would have actually played out before everyone.
"So… you young people are quick-witted and full of ideas. Could you help me think of a way to make Naruto realize that he's not in a genjutsu world?"
After finishing the story, Kushina asked for help.
They thought it over for quite a while, but couldn't come up with any practical solution.
In the end, they could only offer a very straightforward suggestion,
"I think… if you beat him until he's on the brink of death, he'll eventually snap out of it."
"…"
"Well, that works. I'll give it a try. Rin, let's go."
Kushina accepted the idea and stood up to leave.
"Um, wait a moment."
Maki called out to them a bit shyly, pulling out a small notebook.
"Could you sign this? Just to prove that the three of us assisted you."
"Huh? What's this?"
Kushina was confused.
"This is a 'benefit activity' provided by the Amegakure Village to other ninja villages. You can accumulate contribution points and exchange them for rewards. For example, you could ask Orochimaru to use Impure World Reincarnation to bring back a deceased loved one for a brief reunion."
Rin knew about it and explained.
"There's something like that? What about us?"
Kushina was surprised.
"We're already designated targets within the plan for Impure World Reincarnation, so we don't need it."
"I see."
Kushina signed the notebook that was handed to her.
As for who they might want to revive or bring back, that had nothing to do with her.
After all, in the ninja world, whose family hadn't lost someone? It wasn't anything unusual.
(End of this chapter)