"I'm sorry, Naruto." Kushina's voice turned serious.
She stepped forward, reached out her arms, and pulled Naruto into her embrace.
"Mom is hot-tempered, and I couldn't help but hit you. That's right, I am your mother, Uzumaki Kushina, and you are my, Uzumaki Kushina's, son, Uzumaki Naruto."
Naruto stiffened for a moment. He raised his hand and patted Kushina's back.
"Alright, Mom, I know. You should let go of me first."
Naruto broke free from Kushina's embrace, sniffled, and forcibly suppressed the moisture at the corners of his eyes.
He was a thirty-year-old man, only just learning what it felt like to have a mother.
Kushina took a step back, looking at Naruto, her own eyes reddening. She reached out to touch Naruto's face, but her hand paused in mid-air. The light in her eyes dimmed slightly, and her smile was laced with a deep layer of guilt and sadness.
"Naruto, these years... you've suffered. Leaving you alone in that environment, making you carry the identity of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki since childhood, and letting you be treated like that by so many people..."
"I'm sorry. Mom didn't fulfill her responsibilities as a mother. I'm truly sorry."
Naruto shook his head. "This isn't Mom's fault."
He knew who to settle this score with: Hiruzen, Danzo, and the Konoha higher-ups.
He would settle these debts one by one in the future, not a single one would be missed. But unlike his previous life, in this life, he would not use the identity of some dark vigilante to pass judgment. He would use Konoha's own rules, his own identity and the most upright way possible to make those who should be responsible pay the price.
"Oh, right, Mom..."
Naruto changed the subject, his eyes brightening, "Let me introduce you to someone."
Before Kushina could react, Naruto had already raised his right hand and snapped his fingers in the air.
Snap!
The next moment, the light in the golden space rippled slightly. Not far in front of Kushina, a ball of yellow light condensed out of thin air, slowly outlining a figure.
Blond hair, blue eyes, wearing a white Hokage haori, with a young face, and a gentle smile on the corners of his lips.
Namikaze Minato, the Fourth Hokage of Konoha, the Yellow Flash of the Ninja World.
"How... how am I here?" Minato blinked, his face full of confusion.
According to the settings within the Chakra seal, he should only appear when Naruto drew on Nine-Tails Chakra or when the seal was damaged to a certain extent. Yet, the seal was currently intact, and the cage of Nine-Tails was standing perfectly well in the sewer area.
He had been sleeping soundly within the Chakra seal when he suddenly felt a force lift his entire existence from the depths of the seal and move him here.
Minato lowered his head, and the first thing he saw was Kushina, who was covering her mouth in front of him.
Then, he saw the boy standing next to Kushina, with blond hair, blue eyes, and whisker-like marks on his face.
"You are..." Minato's pupils dilated slightly.
Bang!
"Ugh..."
A fist slammed into his abdomen. To be precise, Naruto had punched him in the stomach.
This punch used a clever technique. The gap between the abdominal muscles and the internal organs was precisely penetrated, dispersing the force throughout the entire abdominal cavity rather than concentrating it on any specific organ. It wouldn't cause substantial injury, but it was extremely painful.
This was something Naruto had analyzed using Absolute Control: how heavy the punch should be, where to hit, and what force and angle to use to ensure it didn't hurt the person but was incredibly painful
He understood Minato's reasons for sealing Nine-Tails inside his body. But understanding aside, this debt couldn't just be settled like that. Some things needed understanding, while others needed to be settled. Only by settling the accounts clearly could everything truly begin anew.
Minato clutched his abdomen, his whole body curled up, a layer of sweat seeping from his forehead.
His knees softened to the point where he almost fell to one knee.
"Naruto?"
Minato struggled to lift his head, his blue eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment.
"This punch is to put an end to these past ten-plus years." Naruto withdrew his fist.
When the original Naruto was hit with rotten vegetables by a vegetable vendor for the first time at the age of three, he didn't quite understand why no one stopped that behavior.
When he was pressed into an alley and beaten by a group of older kids for the first time at the age of five, he didn't understand why the Konoha ninjas passing by all pretended not to see.
When he was kicked out of his apartment by his landlord for the first time at the age of seven, holding only a thin quilt and an Ichiraku Ramen coupon, spending the night on a swing, he still couldn't figure it out.
It wasn't until much later that he learned to stop thinking about it, because he couldn't figure it out.
Every winter in Konoha, his hands and feet would freeze, because no one taught him what kind of thick gloves to buy to keep warm during the winter.
But Naruto wouldn't say these things again. He knew these things, but Minato didn't need to know.
Once this punch was thrown, it was all over. Whatever happened from here on out, it would happen, they would owe each other nothing.
Minato slowly straightened up, clutching his abdomen, which was still aching faintly. He looked at Naruto's slightly reddened knuckles as he withdrew his fist, and then revealed a smile mixed with deep guilt and heartache.
"I'm sorry, Naruto."
"You hit well."
Minato said, "If there is anything else you want to hit, just go ahead..."
"One punch is enough."
Naruto interrupted Minato, not letting him finish his sentence.
"Minato!"
Kushina stepped forward quickly and grabbed Minato's arm.
Kushina told herself that this was something between father and son that had to be resolved, and she shouldn't interfere.
"I'm fine, Kushina."
Minato shook his head to indicate he was fine, then his gaze turned sharp. The habitual thinking of the Fourth Hokage overcame the sentimentality of the reunion within a few seconds.
"Naruto, wait a moment." Minato's tone became serious.
"According to my perception, the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style sealing Nine-Tails inside you has not been damaged, and there are no signs of Nine-Tails rioting. Since the seal is stable, why am I here? Why is your mother here too? What is going on here?"
"That's right, Naruto." Kushina turned to look at Naruto.
Although the joy of reunion still existed, her curiosity had been completely piqued.
"According to the Fuinjutsu plan your father and I set up, my Chakra should only be activated at the critical moment when you try to control Nine-Tails's power, serving as a safeguard mechanism to assist you in suppressing Nine-Tails Chakra."
"But now, the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style is clearly intact, and even the outer seal hasn't been broken, yet you called both of us out. This isn't just unexpected, this is completely outside the plan."
Kushina paused and reached out to touch herself. In her Chakra form, she could still perceive her energy consumption, and a look of worry appeared on her face.
"And I can feel that our Chakra is constantly being consumed. If you called us out just to see us, there isn't much time left."