Kushina forcibly suppressed the surging anger and suspicion in her heart. Looking at the masked man before her, she felt for the first time what it meant to be helpless.
She couldn't fight him, couldn't scold him, and couldn't even question him.
That supreme rule from the netherworld was like a sword hanging over her soul, making her afraid to even entertain the slightest thought of leaking the secret of the "Inner Voice."
The only thing she could do now was to keep this walking "intelligence source," this damned lecher, firmly bound by her side!
"Gu Lingxiao." Kushina's voice turned cold, shedding its anger and leaving only a pure command, "From now on, escort me home."
Gu Lingxiao bowed slightly, his posture respectful: "Yes, Lady Kushina."
[Home? Perfect, I also want to see what the Fourth Hokage's home is like, and while I'm at it, learn the way so I might be able to visit often in the future.]
Hearing this inner voice, Kushina stumbled, nearly losing her balance from anger again.
Visit often? What else do you want to do at my house!
Gritting her back teeth, she turned around without a word, took a step, and walked in the direction of home.
The setting sun stretched her shadow long, and her fiery red hair now seemed to burn with a flame called "suppressed frustration."
The road home, which she was clearly familiar with, now seemed incomparably long.
Kushina deliberately slowed her pace, focusing all her attention on her hearing. She perked up her ears like a vigilant rabbit, catching any slight disturbance in the mind of the man behind her.
She had to know more—about Minato, about the "puppets," and about that damned future where "both wife and child will die"!
As for the Fifth Hokage... that was too far off; she couldn't concern herself with it right now.
However, Gu Lingxiao's thoughts were clearly not in sync with hers.
He was happily calculating the things he hadn't finished thinking about earlier.
[The future Fifth Hokage... tsk, although that woman has slightly unusual hobbies, her figure and background are top-tier in the entire Ninja World.]
[It's a pity, her temper is as fiery as her figure, and she has that deadly Hemophobia; otherwise, she would definitely be a god of slaughter on the battlefield.]
[To get her to give up her carefree life outside and return to the Village to take over the mess of being Hokage, unless that old man Third Hokage kicks the bucket himself, no one can invite this great Buddha.]
[Speaking of which, in the future, it will still have to rely on that guy named Naruto, who was brainwashed by a bunch of people, to step up and use his peerless Talk-no-Jutsu to persuade this great beauty to come back.]
A series of unheard-of terms exploded one after another in Kushina's mind like heavy bombs.
The Fifth Hokage... is a woman?
Unusual hobbies? Hemophobia?
She will only return after the Third Hokage dies?
And the one brainwashed by a bunch of people... Naruto?
This name, like a faint electric current, instantly struck the softest part of Kushina's heart.
She didn't even know why, but just hearing the pronunciation, an indescribable sense of intimacy and palpitation welled up.
Naruto...
She subconsciously reached out and gently stroked her flat lower abdomen.
It was empty there, but her heartbeat accelerated uncontrollably, and an illusion of a blood connection made her feel both warm and panicked.
Could it be... my child?
He is called Naruto?
But what does "brainwashed by a bunch of people" mean? Just thinking about it made Kushina feel cold all over.
Once this thought appeared, it could no longer be suppressed, winding around her heart like a vine.
If it really is her own child, then how will he use "Talk-no-Jutsu" in the future to persuade a woman with Hemophobia and a bad temper to become Hokage? What on earth is this all about!
Kushina felt like her head was about to explode; countless clues and mysteries wove into an airtight web in her mind, making it hard for her to breathe.
Just in this state of distress, the outline of her home appeared at the street corner.
It was a cozy two-story building, the love nest that she and Minato had decorated with their own hands.
But now, looking at it, Kushina felt cold inside.
She stopped, turned around, and looked at Gu Lingxiao, her voice filled with unconcealable exhaustion: "You stay outside the door and keep watch; you are not allowed to leave without my orders."
She needed space to herself; she needed to immediately organize this massive amount of information that was enough to overturn her life.
"Yes." Gu Lingxiao remained as calm as ever.
After calming her emotions, Kushina pushed open the door and went inside.
The house was empty; Minato was clearly still at the Hokage Office handling official business.
In the past, she would have found this quietness comfortable, but today, this empty room made her feel a chill from the bottom of her heart.
She walked to the desk in the living room, feeling lost, and looking at the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone placed on it, a thought uncontrollably popped up.
She couldn't say it, couldn't ask... what about writing it down?
As long as she wrote it down, put the words "Inner Voice," and told Minato all the intelligence she had heard, he was so smart that he would definitely understand what had happened!
This thought was like a straw to clutch at, reigniting a glimmer of hope in Kushina's eyes.
She reached out and tremblingly picked up the high-quality wolf-hair brush on the table. She refused to believe it; she didn't believe she would be completely trapped by an inexplicable rule!
She concentrated her mind, raised the brush, and wrote heavily onto the snow-white rice paper!
She wanted to write the words "Inner Voice"!
However, just at the moment the tip of the brush was about to touch the paper—
"Pfft."
A slight, faint sound.
The wolf-hair brush, made by a famous craftsman and worth a fortune, along with the hope that had just ignited in her heart, instantly and silently turned into a handful of black ashes, sliding down from between her fingers.
At the same time, a sharp, needle-like pain came from her fingertips, rushing straight to her brain!
"Ah!"
Kushina cried out in pain, jerked her hand back, and looked in horror at her uninjured fingers and the cold pile of ashes on the table.
A chill that seeped into her bones instantly swept over her whole body.
She understood.
That rule was absolute.
Cannot speak, cannot ask, and... cannot write!
She was completely isolated.
This huge secret could only be borne by her alone.
Huge despair submerged her like a tide.
The night grew darker, and a soft sound of a key turning came from the entrance.
Minato Namikaze had returned.
He took off his new Hokage haori, changed into casual home clothes, his golden hair still dazzling under the light, and his handsome face carried some fatigue, but more so, an excitement and satisfaction from the bottom of his heart.
"I'm home, Kushina."
His voice was gentle, carrying a sun-like warmth, as he gently hugged Kushina, who was sitting blankly on the sofa, from behind, resting his chin in the crook of her shoulder.
"Today was... really busy, but I also feel full of energy!" Minato's voice was full of longing, "Lord Third Hokage handed over everything to me clearly; he has really given so much for the Village. Now, it's my turn to protect this Village."
His words were full of gratitude and reverence for Hiruzen Sarutobi's "selfless assistance."