"Relax, relax~ I'd never treat you like that again!"
Kushina gave Kei Yamanaka's hand a gentle but firmer squeeze.
Her beautiful face radiated hope and longing for a bright future together.
A soft evening breeze blew, causing the girl's bright red hair to flutter. Her radiant smile nearly made Kei lose himself.
Though the world itself was far from perfect, there were always some beautiful people who would shine warmly and brilliantly in this dark world.
Kei Yamanaka's lips curled into a faint smile as he returned the squeeze of Kushina's left hand.
Side by side under the setting sun, they walked home together.
But from a place where Kushina couldn't see,
Kei furrowed his brow slightly.
He was certain of his feelings for Kushina—and just as sure she had chosen him too.
Then...
Why hadn't the system notified him of any change in Kushina's fate?
...
Name: Kushina Uzumaki
Occupation: Konoha Ninja
Skill Listings: [Nine-Tails Jinchuriki] (Red), [Abundant Energy] (Purple), [Sealing Mastery] (Blue), [Multi-talented Beauty] (Blue)
...
Originally, Kushina had seven skills: one Red, one Purple, three Blue, one Green, and one Gray.
Now, only five remained.
The ones that disappeared, if Kei remembered correctly, were the Blue skill [Unyielding], the Green skill [Outburst], and the Gray skill [Lonely and Helpless].
The sudden emergence of a second Purple-tier skill far outclassed the three combined.
Gone now were the negative effects previously imposed by [Lonely and Helpless].
[In The Name Of Love] (Purple): A flood of passionate love washes away all loneliness and uncertainty. Significantly boosts mental resilience, spiritual growth, and sheer willpower. When protecting loved ones or cherished things, all abilities receive significant boosts.
The detailed description already explained everything.
Compared to the Green skill [Mutual Devotion] Honoka gained after starting a relationship with Minato, [In The Name Of Love] was clearly superior!
Just considering its effect—"when protecting loved ones or cherished things, all abilities receive significant boosts"—in Kei's eyes, it was already absurdly overpowered.
Protecting those you cherish isn't just about combat.
Any action done with the intent of protecting someone beloved—
whether training to enhance strength, or studying new knowledge and abilities—would receive massive enhancements.
This effect was practically an epic-level boost for Kushina.
Yet even so, the system still showed no sign of Kushina's fate shifting.
That left only one possible explanation remaining: the Nine-Tails!
Back in the Warring States era, tailed beasts were regarded as living natural disasters.
Among the nine, the Nine-Tails stood as the strongest, possessing an enormous, terrifying chakra reserve and devastating destructive power.
Even after being forcibly split into two halves by Minato Namikaze later on,
Naruto thrived during the Fourth Great Ninja War with just the Yang Half of the Nine-Tails.
Having a full Nine-Tails alone justified a Red-tier skill—no exaggeration.
Since the Nine-Tails is a crucial piece of the Ten-Tails, neither Madara Uchiha nor Black Zetsu—who was secretly pulling strings from the shadows—could possibly overlook this matter.
Moreover, as a true-blooded member of the Uzumaki clan, Kushina already has the innate potential to become a perfect jinchuriki!
Thanks to Kei Yamanaka's guidance in recent years, she has grown increasingly dedicated to mastering sealing techniques.
Even without making peace with the Nine-Tails, she forcibly extracted a large amount of chakra from it.
Becoming a perfect jinchuriki is only a matter of time.
Unless Madara and Black Zetsu are complete fools, they'll likely try to eliminate this potential threat before Kushina reaches full strength.
After all, if Kushina grows to Mito Uzumaki's level,
even Madara would find her dangerous.
[Release-Tailed Beast Seal Technique], [Summoning Pact].
Kei Yamanaka narrowed his eyes slightly, recalling the tactics Obito used in the original storyline.
By all logic,
Madara Uchiha is now old and frail. To advance the Moon's Eye Plan, he probably won't appear in person.
So, Madara's top priority now is to choose and groom a worthy successor within the Uchiha clan.
Even a strong successor like Obito still falls far short of Madara's power.
Even brainwashed by Madara and eager to attack Konoha directly, his strength alone wouldn't allow him to challenge Konoha head-on.
The only viable plan would be to take advantage of the weakened seal during Kushina's childbirth, using the Release-Tailed Beast Seal Technique for a surprise assault and forcibly summoning the Nine-Tails.
"Kushina, how's the Nine-Tails been lately?"
"Huh? It's fine, I guess. Other than cursing everyone it knows all day, then cursing the frogs and other tailed beasts, the rest of the time it either sleeps or senses what's happening outside."
Upon hearing Kei Yamanaka's words, Kushina turned around with confusion.
"??? Where did it learn to swear like that?"
"Uh... Well, when it senses the outside world, it overhears stuff. Over time, naturally... Okay fine—it curses me, so I curse it right back. We just grew into that routine."
"...Number six."
Kei bit his lip, momentarily unsure how to respond.
Back when Kushina first became the jinchuriki,
the Nine-Tails overflowed with resentment, constantly acting up.
At that time, Kushina didn't yet have her current strength. Even with the seal left behind by Mito Uzumaki, she couldn't suppress the full power of the Nine-Tails, making her condition extremely unstable.
So for the village's safety, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other Konoha leaders kept her isolated inside a barrier.
As Kushina's close friend, during one visit, Kei used the powerful mental enhancement provided by the red skill listing [World Traveler] to enter the seal space and met the Nine-Tails once.
It took him a tremendous effort to finally talk the beast into staying quiet temporarily inside the seal.
Kushina was thus able to break free early from a life like a caged bird.
I originally thought that over time, their relationship would improve significantly compared to the original storyline.
But instead... they started exchanging curses?
Kushina ah!
You really gave Big Bro a wake-up call—like a tiny blade straight up the butt!
Just thinking about the Nine-Tails, originally it had sharp fangs and a fierce look,
then suddenly started cursing like someone with multiple personalities, blasting curses all over the place—
it made him feel like something was seriously wrong with the world.
"Ahem," Kei Yamanaka coughed uncomfortably. "Kei, you're also someone the smelly fox knows, so..."
Kushina gently reminded him, hesitating slightly.
"??? Wait, why is it even cursing at me?"
"Well... maybe... or perhaps... it just wants to show affection to everyone equally?"
"...Damn!"
Kei Yamanaka took a long pause before muttering just one word.
Seeing Kushina's uneasy smile,
he could only sigh helplessly.
This girl sure knew how to throw a curveball to his mind every time!
After all this rambling, he'd almost forgotten why he mentioned the Nine-Tails in the first place.
"I'll go check on the Nine-Tails in the Seal Space once we get back."
"Then let's hurry home! I'm going with you! It's been forever since I've seen it get annoyed!"
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