"Is there any way to let the deceased return to the Pure Land?" Jiraiya asked, his voice low.
"No. I only reverse-engineered this technique from the materials Kushina Yuki left behind," Hanabi said. "And fundamentally, once the Chakra is fully depleted, the spirit returns to the Pure Land on its own. There's no special procedure needed. It's only because the vessel itself is the Nine-Tails that this edge case exists."
She paused, then continued: "That said, it's not entirely hopeless. Since the descended spirit's injuries don't transfer back to the actual soul, as long as you kill the spirit—"
"No!" Before Hanabi could finish, Naruto was already shouting in protest.
The rest of it might've gone over his head.
But this part, he understood perfectly.
So this—and only this—was non-negotiable.
"But at this rate, Naruto, you're genuinely going to turn into a girl, you know?" Kakashi said.
"So what?! I can still become Hokage!"
In front of his mom, nothing else mattered.
"It's not actually that serious. As long as he doesn't overuse it, the problem stays manageable. If Naruto hadn't forcibly dragged that power out the way he did, his body wouldn't have changed this much," Hanabi said. "Besides, with another soul wrapped around the Nine-Tails, the fox can't exert much influence on Naruto either. That's arguably a good thing. Alright, Naruto—you can rein the power back in for now."
Naruto blinked—those big, watery eyes looking rather pitiful. Kakashi found the combination of stubbornness and vulnerability slightly unsettling. And in truth, he had zero desire to do anything cruel to his own sensei's wife. If it wasn't going to harm Naruto, then that was fine.
"Maa, nobody's going to make you do something like that." Kakashi lowered his head, conscience thoroughly pricked.
[Nine-Tails: Does nobody care about how I feel?]
[Nine-Tails: I have a few choice words and I'm not sure I should say them]
[Dying laughing—only Naruto's mom even bothers talking to the Nine-Tails]
[Empty-nest Nine]
"Mm."
After pulling Kushina's power back in, Naruto exited "Kushina Sage Limited Mode," and his appearance returned to normal.
Sasuke felt oddly hollow—like something was missing. But the current Naruto… was fine too, right?
"If there's any real issue, it's that Naruto temporarily can't directly access the Nine-Tails' power," Hanabi continued. "But the Nine-Tails actually has another portion—"
"Stop stop stop stop stop!"
Jiraiya called an emergency halt.
Information overload.
He couldn't keep up.
Splitting headache.
"Let me handle this. Just borrowing for a moment—sorry, Naruto."
Kushina stepped forward.
Because every time she thought about the cause of her own death… Kushina felt like she was going to lose it. She didn't even know how to face Minato anymore.
The other half of the Nine-Tails and Minato's soul were both sealed inside the Shinigami's belly. If she wanted to summon the Nine-Tails out, Minato's soul would come with it.
Kushina didn't particularly mourn her own death.
It was the reason behind it that made her want to scream. And it was precisely because of her death that this entire chain of problems existed now.
"Long time no see, Jiraiya-sensei."
Kushina greeted Jiraiya.
"So it really is you."
Seeing that familiar face, Jiraiya let out a sigh.
"Naruto needs to master the Uzumaki clan's power before he can control the Nine-Tails. I believe in him—but please, give him a little more time." Kushina said.
"Ah, leave it to me." Jiraiya said.
"Kakashi." Kushina turned to look at him.
"Yes." Kakashi straightened up.
"You've gone rusty, haven't you? Pick yourself up—it's been long enough."
"…Ah." Kakashi silently adjusted his forehead protector.
"One more thing." Kushina wore a gentle smile.
"What?" Jiraiya was starting to sense something was off.
"Wait—this killing intent! I know it!"
But it was too late.
BOOM—!
Jiraiya was sent flying by a single punch.
Every trace of Kushina's soft, graceful composure vanished. She was bristling from head to toe: "If you EVER let Naruto use that Transformation Technique again and corrupt my boy, I will haunt you as a ghost for the rest of eternity!"
[This—this is what I wanted to see!]
[I've been waiting for this moment. Finally got it]
[Teaching Naruto to turn into a girl right in front of his mom—absolute death wish]
[I'm wheezing]
[Oh my god, I can't, I'm dead]
The audience was in hysterics, while Kakashi and Sasuke both stood there slack-jawed.
But this—this was Kushina's usual self.
"Urgh…"
Jiraiya lay splayed on the ground, unable to speak.
"Honestly, Naruto is only twelve! Stop teaching him weird things!" One punch clearly hadn't been enough to vent Kushina's anger.
But she didn't intend to stay "manifested" any longer.
The more time she spent out, the greater the effect on Naruto.
So Kushina withdrew, leaving behind a thoroughly bewildered Naruto.
He had absolutely no idea what had just happened. Kushina's punch had scared him witless too.
"A-are you okay, Pervy Sage?"
Good lord, that woman was terrifying!
Hundreds of millions of times more terrifying than when she scolded him!
"What about my training?" Naruto was still counting on learning Adamantine Sealing Chains.
"You can't use Adamantine Sealing Chains on your own right now," Hanabi said. "The day you can use them independently is the day the erosion of your body has advanced dramatically. In other words—that's a danger signal."
Hearing this, Naruto swallowed hard.
"Maa, but if you want to learn more jutsu, that's not out of the question," Hanabi said. "That Pervy Sage over there happens to know quite a lot."
"Ohhh!" Naruto perked right back up.
"Maa, since everything's settled, I'll head over to the Third Hokage-sama's. There's still plenty of Sand shinobi business to deal with." Kakashi made his brief cameo and prepared to leave.
"Mm."
Hanabi didn't say anything more.
Because right at that moment, she finally heard the Stage's notification.
The Chūnin Exam arc—at long last—was over.
The Stage's visuals hadn't ended yet, but the curtain was coming down.
[Road to Ninja: Chūnin Exam Arc — Complete]
[Client commission — Complete]
[Client evaluation: Five-star review]
[Performance pay settlement in progress. Please wait.]
[A new work notice has arrived]
"Finally, huh?"
After the pay settled, it was time for rewards.
But as an actress, Hanabi was more interested in the new set.
Before that, though, she had one more thing to take care of.
Hanabi's follower count had now passed 100,000.
In other words—she'd been promoted. From Minor Supporting Role LV1 to LV2.