The expression on the boy's face was hard to interpret.
It wasn't the burning curiosity of a child seeing something strange, nor was it the condescending pity that often cuts deeper.
It was just a simple, light, vague interest... like someone seeing an injured cat and not knowing whether to help or leave it alone.
The boy hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward.
His footsteps were soft, like treading on the surface of water.
The sandals he wore barely made a sound, yet it was enough to make Kushina straighten her shoulders—a reflex that arises when you know someone is watching you.
With a quick movement, Kushina turned.
Her red hair swayed, framing her wet face.
Kushina's eyes were slightly puffy, the corners still red, and the last tear had just fallen down her cold cheek, brushed by the night wind.
Kushina's gaze was sharp.
Like a knife that hasn't been perfectly sharpened—still capable of hurting, but its form no longer solid.
The anger wasn't directed at the boy... but at the world, fate, and the sense of loss that Kushina had yet to process.
"Who are you?!" Kushina's voice exploded, loud but containing a subtle crack.
Like a windowpane that has just been hit by a small stone—vibrating, but not yet shattered.
The boy—his messy blonde hair tousled by the wind, and his face looking young, perhaps around Kushina's age—looked awkward.
He scratched the back of his head, a nervous gesture too honest to hide.
"Ah? My name is Minato—"
Kushina cut him off immediately.
Her voice was sharp, like a whip impatient to strike.
"I don't care who you are! Why are you here?"
Kushina's gaze pierced through him, but if you were sensitive enough, you could see the cracks behind that anger.
Her eyes, still wet, held more than just a sense of disturbance.
Minato fell silent.
His brow furrowed slightly, his blue eyes shifting from Kushina's face to the ground, as if hoping the answer could be written there.
"Uhh... that... mmhm..." Minato mumbled, uncertain.
His words hung in the air like rain clouds too shy to fall.
Kushina let out a soft huff.
The sound from her nose was sharp and full of sarcasm, then she turned her face away, looking towards the dimly lit empty street illuminated by a lamppost.
The pale yellow light cast a faint shadow on the asphalt.
Kushina didn't want to see the boy anymore.
She didn't want to remember that she was being watched while feeling vulnerable.
But Minato didn't leave.
Instead of stepping back, Minato took a breath and slowly sat down beside Kushina, saying nothing.
Just silence.
As if Minato's presence was enough, and words were merely a distraction in moments like this.
The wind blew gently.
The dry leaves around them rustled, and the sounds of the night slowly returned—the chirping of crickets from the grass, a faint breeze from the trees, and the heartbeat that began to slow after the storm.
Kushina's crying started to subside.
Only occasionally did she wipe her nose with the back of her hand, and her breaths became calmer, though still heavy at times.
She glanced over.
The boy was still there, sitting with his hands on his knees, staring at the ground as if waiting for something that would never come.
"Why are you still here?" Kushina's voice finally came out, tired, flat, almost a whisper.
Minato turned.
A small smile broke on his face—not a confident smile, but something warmer, more sincere.
"Because I don't like seeing people cry alone."
Kushina bit her lower lip.
She lowered her head slightly.
Something about his words touched Kushina's heart, she didn't know what.
"...Fool," Kushina mumbled.
It was quiet.
But this time it wasn't a taunt.
------------------------------
[Announcement: A New Novel Has Been Added!
The Puppet Maker in the World of Naruto
A man who is a scientist, researcher, and expert mechanic in robotics dies in a massive explosion that occurs in his laboratory while developing an advanced robot project. However, instead of experiencing death as he thought, the man awakens in another world—a strange place with vast stretches of desert.
There, the man is surrounded by people who can jump high, calling themselves ninjas. The confusion he initially felt grows as he realizes that this world is not unfamiliar to him. This is the world of Naruto! However, there is one thing that surprises him.
"Isn't this Sunagakure? Why am I not in Konoha? This poorest village... Oh my God, this is serious!"
Now, in the midst of a new life filled with danger and uncertainty, the scientist must find a way to survive in Sunagakure, a harsh place full of limitations. With his robotic knowledge, can the man change his fate in this ninja world, or will he fall along with the village?]
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