get-shopping Chapter 313 Farewell
Chapter 313 Farewell
The next morning, warm sunlight streamed into the room through the window, and a steaming breakfast was laid out on the dining table.
"What's wrong, Naruto? Is the taste not to your liking?"
Kushina asked somewhat cautiously, "When Naruto opened his eyes in the morning, he found that his mother had already prepared all of this."
Because her reanimated body doesn't need sleep, Kushina got up almost early in the morning and, with a feeling of making up for her regrets, carefully prepared this breakfast for her son—a duty she hadn't been able to fulfill in her previous life. Now, she was finally able to do it a little bit, which filled her heart with a small sense of satisfaction.
"No, no!" Naruto quickly waved his hands, realizing that his thoughtful look might have caused his mother to misunderstand. "Mom's cooking is delicious! It's really great!"
He quickly bent down and took a big bite of the sandwich in his hand. Kushina's breakfast had a peculiar fusion style, with a Western-style sandwich paired with traditional Japanese miso soup. It tasted quite good, and you could feel her care.
Of course, objectively speaking, it's still a bit lacking compared to Naruto's cooking skills.
Sitting across the table from Naruto, Uchiha Satsuki was also somewhat absent-minded, sipping his soup slowly. Kushina, unable to sleep, had spent almost the entire night by Naruto's side, tenderly gazing at her son's sleeping face.
This intense maternal love was certainly touching, but it also caused Zuo Yue to completely lose the opportunity to carry out some of her original plans, leaving her with a sense of emptiness and regret.
Meanwhile, in Naruto's inner world, within the sealed space, a scene completely different from the warm and peaceful one outside is unfolding.
Minato's consciousness "saw" the outside world through Naruto's perspective, and he was completely stunned when he saw Kushina preparing breakfast for her son.
"Oh, did you see that? Fourth Hokage." Kurama lay comfortably on the grass, mocking with a sharp tongue, "Your wife, Kushina Uzumaki, has been temporarily 'revived' using a forbidden technique. Although her condition is special, she has no intention of resting in peace anytime soon."
"Hmph, think about it. If you had chosen to live back then, maybe your family of three would be reunited and enjoying family life now?"
Kurama's words cannot withstand close scrutiny. The mere assumption that "the Fourth Hokage survives" could trigger countless unpredictable butterfly effects, but Kurama doesn't care about logic at all.
Its only purpose is to make the Fourth Hokage feel bad!
The reason Naruto's thoughts were scattered during breakfast was because of the truth about the nature of his soul that Kurama revealed at the end of last night.
So... reincarnation really exists in this worldview...
He wasn't some otherworldly soul possessing someone else's body; he was Naruto Uzumaki himself? His soul simply carried fragments of memories?
Okay... if we're talking about the standard setup for "time travelers," then maybe I am being a bit... sentimental?
Kurama made it very clear that what it saw was "the memory of the soul." In other words, whether it was the blond boy who grew up alone in Konoha or the consciousness that lived an ordinary life in another peaceful world, the one who experienced all of this was ultimately the same soul.
When he was very young, Naruto felt guilty for a long time because he mistakenly believed that he was a bad person who had "possessed" others.
"By the way, Naruto," Kushina pushed a glass of hot milk towards her son, asking expectantly, "what are your plans for today? Mom is thinking of going to the Uchiha clan's territory with Sasuke later, would you like to come along?"
Of all the people she couldn't let go of before her death, the first on her list was naturally the newborn Naruto, and the second was her close friend—Uchiha Mikoto. When Kushina inquired about her parents' situation with Satsuki and learned that they were both well, her worries eased somewhat.
Going out with my mother...
This was an experience Naruto had never had before. However, unfortunately, he already had plans for this morning.
"I'm sorry... Mom," Naruto said with a hint of apology, "the prisoners of war from Sunagakure are being repatriated to the Land of Wind today, and I have to see one of them off."
Naruto, of course, hadn't forgotten about Gaara.
Upon hearing this, Kushina's eyes flashed with a barely perceptible hint of disappointment, but she quickly smiled again and nodded vigorously to show her understanding. "It's alright, business comes first."
At the same time, she silently apologized to Minato in her heart. She knew she shouldn't remain in the mortal world in this state, but Kushina hadn't chosen to become like this. Before the spell was broken, she wanted to... spend a little more time with her son in this way.
Kushina wanted to go to the Uchiha clan's territory not only to see her friend Mikoto's current situation, but also for two other reasons. First, she wanted to confirm with Mikoto whether the "arranged marriage" they made back then, which was half a joke and half a serious one, still counted.
Secondly, she also wanted to know how the situation of the Uchiha clan in the village, which Minato had been trying to improve during his lifetime, was progressing. This was one of Minato's unfinished tasks, and she hoped to see it for him.
However, perhaps overwhelmed by the joy of reunion and the thoughts of motherhood, Kushina overlooked a crucial detail—she forgot to ask Satsuki in detail about the current state of the Uchiha clan as a whole…
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"Have you heard? The Third Hokage was attacked! He is seriously injured and has been in the hospital for a long time before his life was barely saved."
"What?! Really?! I knew the Third Hokage wouldn't show up at such an important occasion. But who was the attacker? Have they been caught?"
"No, I went to the Hokage Building this morning to deliver mission documents and found that the entire Hokage's office had collapsed. The attacker had long since disappeared. However, according to eyewitness accounts, the attacker seemed to be a red-haired woman."
As Naruto walked towards the gates of Konoha, he had lost count of how many times he had politely declined the villagers who looked guilty and tried to "compensate" him or strike up conversations in various ways.
Just as he was about to reach his destination, the hushed conversation of several Konoha ninjas who were maintaining order reached his keen ears, and the content of it immediately caught his attention.
However, Naruto suppressed these thoughts for the time being, deciding to wait and think about it later, as there were more important things to do right now.
Naruto composed himself and continued towards the gates of Konoha. There, the Sand Village prisoners of war, soon to be repatriated, were gathered, undergoing a final count under the supervision of Konoha ninja. When Naruto came into view, the previously noisy crowd instantly quieted down.
Many Sand Village ninjas, their eyes flashing with undisguised fear and terror, retreated to both sides like a tide.
Naruto ignored them and scanned the crowd. He quickly spotted three familiar figures in a corner of the crowd: Kankuro and Temari, who were staring at their younger brother with strange expressions on their faces, and Gaara, who was sitting quietly to the side with his head down, looking somewhat uneasy and afraid of something.