It was almost noon. Naruto had stayed with Gaara until the Hidden Sand Village delegation and the prisoner team completely vanished from sight, officially starting their journey home. Only then did he turn and head back to his small apartment.
Walking down the familiar street, Naruto couldn't help but recall the scattered news he had just overheard from the casual chatter of other Konoha Ninja—it seemed that before his mother came to find him, she had specifically "visited" the Hokage Building, and... beaten up the Third Hokage?
Thinking back to the rage Satsuki had unleashed on the villagers in the street for his sake... a warm current flowed through Naruto's heart. It seemed he truly held a significant place in their hearts.
While Naruto himself hadn't decided how to handle those past grievances, they were already unable to resist sticking up for him... But his mother should know her limits, right? She should hold back and not actually beat the Old Man to death... probably?
But... how did his mother know the specifics of those past events? Did the Third Hokage confess them himself? This possibility made Naruto feel somewhat confused.
Deep in thought, Naruto unconsciously arrived beneath the slightly worn small apartment building where he lived.
Just as he was about to step onto the stairs leading up, he heard a familiar but furious female voice coming from above, clearly suppressing visible anger.
"I'm saying this one last time! Get out! Do you not understand human speech?!"
Immediately following this were several male voices attempting to placate her and offering aggrieved explanations.
"No... Ma'am... who exactly are you? Why are you in Lord Naruto's home?"
"I have no need to explain my identity to you!" The female voice grew even more impatient. "I'm going to count to three—you're going to 'voluntarily' get out, right?"
"If you won't even tell us who you are and just drive us away like this, aren't you being a little too overbearing..."
"Three!" The cold countdown rang out mercilessly.
"Wait, wait, wait! We get it, we're leaving! But just wait a moment, we only wanted to..."
"Two!"
"Don't throw that! That's very expensive!"
"One!"
Hearing this, Naruto quickly moved to the side of the stairs!
Almost the instant he dodged, there was a cacophony of shouts, and four or five well-dressed Konoha villagers were violently tossed down from the top of the stairs like garbage bags, tumbling in a heap onto the landing at the stairwell corner.
"And another thing!" At the top of the stairs, Uzumaki Kushina appeared at the doorway, her face contorted in anger, glaring down at the group.
"Remember to take all this garbage you brought with you, too!"
Before she finished speaking, several exquisitely packaged gift boxes, clearly worth a fortune, were unceremoniously tossed down by her as "garbage," landing precisely on the startled villagers who had just managed to get back up.
Standing at the top of the stairs, radiating an aura that screamed "Keep Out," was Uzumaki Kushina, whose anger had spiked even further after learning the bad news at the Uchiha Clan Compound.
The villagers who had been thrown down the stairs grimaced in pain as they shakily got to their feet. They immediately noticed the beautiful gift boxes discarded on them like trash and quickly picked them up, clutching them carefully to their chests with heartache.
"Th-This isn't for you!" A slightly bolder villager mustered his courage and shouted up at Kushina on the stairs. "These are gifts we intend to give to Lord Naruto! Do you have any idea how valuable these things are..."
Before he could finish, his peripheral vision caught sight of the blond young man standing quietly beside the stairs, and his eyes instantly lit up.
"Naruto... Lord Naruto! You're back! You must be exhausted!" He immediately put on an overly solicitous smile and, along with the others, quickly rushed forward. "Everything that happened before... it was all our fault! This is a small token of our sincerity, please, you absolutely must accept it!"
As if afraid Naruto would refuse, they frantically opened the lids of the gift boxes in their hands, eagerly displaying the "sincerity" inside.
"Look at this!" The first villager held up a crystal-clear sculpture. "This is a Great Master's masterpiece, meticulously carved from crystal by an artisan from the Land of Rainbows! It is incredibly precious! Look, it even refracts rainbow light when held in the sun!"
"And this! These are free meal vouchers for the Land of Fire's most Advanced restaurant! That's a place only important people like nobles and Daimyo are qualified to dine at!"
"Lord Naruto, this is the detailed contact information for all the unmarried young women in Konoha Village who are around your age! I personally asked each one, and they all deeply admire and worship you! If you are interested, you can contact them anytime..."
The villagers introduced the items at a rapid pace, practically forcing these expensive but superficial luxuries into Naruto's arms without waiting for a reply.
"Hey! Don't touch him with your filthy hands!"
Seeing these people surrounding Naruto and attempting to pull at him, Kushina's rage instantly peaked! She darted down the stairs, yanked Naruto firmly behind her to protect him, then grabbed the collar of the most fawning villager—the one holding the list of maidens—effortlessly lifted him up, and violently hurled him outward!
"Waaah—!"
The villager's head hit the nearby wall squarely. His eyes rolled back, and he promptly fell into a peaceful sleep.
Kushina clenched her fists, her knuckles cracking audibly in a chilling sound. Her body emanated palpable Killing Intent as she spoke, cold and deliberate.
"I · am · ask · ing · one · last · time — are you going to leave on your own now, or wait for me to 'help' you leave? Next time, it won't be so 'gentle'."
"B-But..." The remaining villagers paled in terror watching their unconscious companion, yet someone still mumbled unwillingly, "You... what right do you have to be so bossy..."
"Mother, what exactly is going on...?" Naruto asked opportunely from behind Kushina.
Kushina immediately turned her head, the Killing Intent on her face instantly melting away like snow, replaced by an incomparably gentle expression. She softly reassured him, "It's nothing, Naruto, don't look at them. Mother was just cleaning up some garbage blocking the front door, that's all. It will be over soon."
However, the title "Mother" struck the ears of the remaining villagers like a sudden clap of thunder. They instantly froze, all their chatter and complaints ceasing abruptly. Every single one of them widened their eyes and dropped their jaws, their faces filled with extreme shock and disbelief as they struggled to process this explosive piece of information.
Kushina glanced at their dumbfounded state, then turned back, radiating Killing Intent once more. Her eyes clearly conveyed one message—if they didn't leave now, they would end up just like the guy on the wall!
The remaining villagers were completely intimidated by this terrifying Killing Intent. They finally realized that the woman before them was absolutely serious and terrifyingly powerful! They immediately scattered like frightened birds and beasts, hastily fleeing the dangerous area, not forgetting to drag away their unfortunate companion, whom Kushina had "lulled to sleep."
Back in the slightly cramped but warm home, Kogane remained peacefully sprawled on the floor, the tip of its blue tail occasionally twitching gently. Although it internally yearned to go out for a walk or try to develop its innate combat talent.
But as a well-behaved Divine Beast, it chose to wait patiently when no one was leading it. Zacian, whose core mission was "protection," was certainly not lacking in patience.
Naruto, however, was unsure. Was it his imagination? He kept feeling that Kogane's size seemed slightly bigger than when it hatched yesterday?
"Those annoying guys are finally gone!" Kushina let out a long breath, a warm smile reappearing on her face, making her seem completely different from the violent image radiating the "Red Hot-Blooded Habanero" aura just moments ago. "Naruto, Mother is going to prepare lunch now. What do you want to eat? Just tell me!"
"Um... Mother," Naruto looked around, asking confusedly, "Where is Satsuki? Wasn't she with you?"
"Little Satsuki?" Kushina replied while tying her apron. "She still has some matters to take care of over at the Uchiha Clan Compound. But don't worry, she should come over to find you quickly this afternoon."
Kushina couldn't help but smile slightly, recalling her conversation with her friend. She had mentioned the childhood engagement promise, but Mikoto told Kushina that the two children had already secretly agreed to officially start dating once they reached adulthood!
Moreover, the way Little Satsuki looked happy and slightly shy after learning about the engagement promise was absolutely adorable, completely unlike the mostly stern-faced Uchiha that Kushina remembered.
At this moment, inside the mansion on the Uchiha Clan Compound, Uchiha Mikoto and Uchiha Fugaku were indeed having a serious conversation with their daughter Satsuki regarding Naruto's parentage and the complex reasons why all this had been hidden from her in the past.
"Oh, right, Mother," Naruto hesitated, but still asked the other question weighing on his mind. "Did you... go see the Third Hokage again today? How... how is the Third Hokage doing?"
He remembered that Kushina already knew about the near-extermination of the Uchiha in Konoha, even though a few hundred Uchiha Clan members still lived in the Land of Hot Springs.
Kushina knew that Minato's efforts to improve the Uchiha's situation had ultimately been in vain. Given her protective and explosive temper, she wouldn't really, in her fury, have beaten the Third Hokage to... "...I gave those two Old Advisors a serious lecture!" Kushina waved her fist, her tone still carrying residual anger. "Who told them to keep babbling nonsense like 'The Uchiha are a threat' and 'The current outcome is the best possible solution'!"
"...What about the Third Hokage?" Naruto cautiously pressed.
"...I didn't lay a hand on him." Kushina paused, answering with a complicated tone.
"Huh? Why?" Naruto was greatly surprised by this answer. He knew his mother; she would never lie to him about something like this. But she actually let the Third Hokage go, the one who ostensibly bore responsibility for the failed management leading to the Uchiha tragedy? That didn't match her personality.
"Well... oh dear, let's not talk about unpleasant things right now!" Kushina laughed awkwardly, stiffly skipping the topic, and turned toward the kitchen. "Mother is going to cook now! Naruto, have you decided what you want to eat?"
The real reason... Kushina didn't want Naruto to know. Kushina's eyes darkened as her back was turned to her son. She was afraid... that it would affect the relationship between Naruto and Satsuki.
The reason she forcibly suppressed her fury and didn't attack the Third Hokage was because his heavy narrative contained a detail that made her heart pound.
In the radical plan orchestrated by the Uchiha Clan's hardliners for the coup, the first step was to kidnap the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki Uzumaki Naruto, use the power of the Sharingan to control the Nine-Tailed, and use that to launch the coup and overthrow the Konoha government.
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