The streets of Konoha were filled with an unprecedented festive atmosphere.
"Have you heard? Lord Minato officially took office today! Our Konoha has finally welcomed the Fourth Hokage!"
"That's great! With the 'Yellow Flash' here, let's see if those bastards from Iwagakure and Kumogakure dare to act arrogant anymore!"
"Lady Kushina is truly blessed. Lord Minato is so gentle and powerful; they are truly a match made in heaven!"
The pedestrians wore heartfelt smiles, and every word was filled with worship and anticipation for the new Hokage.
However, as the center of all this joy, Uzumaki Kushina felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar.
Those cheers and laughter, piercing her ears at this moment, were so grating.
She walked aimlessly down the street, lost in thought. Her fiery red hair was particularly striking in the crowd, but her azure eyes had lost their usual luster, leaving only an unshakable worry and confusion.
Minato... is a puppet?
These four words were like an invisible, dull knife, repeatedly cutting into her heart.
Behind her, Gu Lingxiao followed closely, maintaining the distance expected of a guard. His eyes, hidden beneath a mask, were examining this vivid world of the Hokage with great interest.
[Tsk tsk, is this what paid slacking off is like? Accompanying a beautiful boss shopping without having to spend my own money—this is simply a heavenly job.]
[I just don't know if it includes meals...]
Just as he thought this, Gu Lingxiao's gaze uncontrollably fell upon the graceful figure in front of him.
[But then again, Kushina is truly beautiful... This figure is simply at a foul level!]
[That fiery red hair like a chili pepper, paired with her explosive temper, makes her a true beauty of this world. It's a pity, though; such a good woman, only to die with Minato in the end—what a waste!
[If only... sigh, if I could marry a wife of this caliber, I'd wake up laughing in my dreams. I don't know which bastard has such good fortune, but he must surely spoil her to the heavens.]
"Boom—!"
A series of increasingly off-track, even blasphemous inner thoughts exploded one after another in Kushina's mind!
A wave of scalding heat rushed to her cheeks, spreading all the way to her ears, burning until her head spun!
This bastard!
This lecher!
He... what kind of messy, chaotic things is he thinking about in his head!
Kushina's footsteps came to a sudden halt, her body stumbled, and she almost fell in the street.
She subconsciously clenched her fists, her knuckles turning white from the force, and an unprecedented sense of shame and anger rushed straight to her head.
She really wanted to turn around immediately, punch that annoying mask to pieces, and see what kind of shameless face was underneath!
But... no!
She bit her lip hard, forcing herself to calm down with the pain.
She still needed to explore the truth about Minato and the "Puppet Hokage" from this man's inner thoughts!
She couldn't alert the enemy!
Kushina forced herself to continue walking, but her attention had completely scattered.
Because the thoughts of that guy behind her were still continuing!
[Who is the designer of this Jonin flak jacket? I should really give them an award! Although it's a loose style, when worn on Kushina, the way it looks while walking... tsk tsk, those curves are simply soul-snatching!]
[Is this waist too thin? Tsk, what was drawn in the anime is really true. This isn't a water-snake waist; it's practically the curved blade of a soul reaper.]
[And these legs... full of power, worthy of an Uzumaki Sage Body that can wrestle with a Tailed Beast. If you were locked by these legs on the battlefield, you'd probably suffer a fracture on the spot, but if it were on another kind of 'battlefield'... hiss, I'm afraid I'd be drained dry! It's really cheap for that brat Minato.]
Each and every explicit comment was like a demonic sound piercing her ears, making Kushina's head buzz, and her body started to go weak.
She felt as if her body had been stripped bare by that gaze, from top to bottom, from inside to outside, completely seen through!
This bastard! He wasn't thinking about Minato at all!
He... he had been using those dirty thoughts to blaspheme her!
"Enough!"
Kushina finally reached her limit.
She turned around abruptly, two raging flames of anger burning in her azure eyes, staring fixedly at Gu Lingxiao.
"Lingxiao!"
She squeezed these two words out from between her teeth.
Gu Lingxiao was stunned by her sudden action.
[What's wrong? Why is she getting angry for no reason? Could it be... is it that time of the month? A woman's heart is as elusive as a needle at the bottom of the sea.]
Hearing this inner thought, Kushina nearly lost her breath and had a heart attack on the spot!
That time of the month? You're the one having that time of the month! Your whole family is having that time of the month!
Her chest heaved violently, and she forced herself to swallow the angry curse that had reached her lips, squeezing out a smile that looked worse than crying.
She stared fixedly at Gu Lingxiao and asked word by word: "Lingxiao, what... what do you think about Minato becoming Hokage?"
Ask it!
As long as she could make him speak and think about this matter, she would definitely be able to hear more!
However, Gu Lingxiao just bowed slightly and replied in a calm, formulaic tone: "This is a blessing for Konoha and the expectation of all the villagers. Lord Minato succeeding as Hokage is the wish of the people."
A perfect answer, with not a single flaw to be found.
But at almost the same moment, another cold and contemptuous voice boomed in Kushina's mind!
[What do I think? I'll watch while sitting, watch while lying down, and if that doesn't work, I can even watch while doing a handstand.]
[A tragic hero destined to sacrifice his life for this corrupt Village, unable to even protect his own wife and child—what is there to watch?]
[At the end of the day, whether he's a hero is still up for debate.]
"Wife... child..."
These two words were like two red-hot steel needles, piercing deeply into Kushina's heart, making her forget to breathe for a moment.
It wasn't just the fear of death; a deeper, colder despair gripped her.
She subconsciously touched her lower abdomen; it was still very flat, but a palpitation of blood connection made her whole body feel cold.
My... child... could it be that my fate as a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki will ultimately implicate my child?
He means that Minato... and I... our child... will all...
Before she could recover from this immense fear, that damned inner voice sounded again.
[If you ask me, this Hokage position cannot be sat in. Unless you are heartless, you will definitely not have a good ending.]
Kushina was trembling with anger.
Who cares if you become Hokage! Bastard!
The problem now is Minato! It's our future! What the hell are you thinking about! She wished she could grab his collar and shake him desperately, making him explain himself clearly.
But immediately after, Gu Lingxiao's inner voice took a turn in a direction she was caught off guard by.
[Of course... one cannot be Hokage, but being the man of the Hokage is not necessarily the same...]
[For example, our future Fifth Hokage, hehehe~]
Fifth Hokage?
Kushina was stunned, her full belly of anger and grief instantly extinguished by more than half by this sentence.
The future... Fifth Hokage? Who is that?
This man, why does he know so many things about the future? Who on earth is he?!
The monstrous anger and fear were now firmly suppressed by an intensely uncontrollable curiosity.
She wanted to immediately use Adamantine Sealing Chains to tie this bastard back, pry open his brain, and dig out everything he knew!