Kushina's voice was high-pitched, her movements stiff.
Kushina's face looked like it was about to explode.
"Are you sure?" Reiji teased Kushina. "That boy's friends are no problem, you know..."
"I already told you no!!" Kushina said loudly.
Reiji chuckled softly, then looked at Kushina more gently. "If that boy is good, I don't mind. But if he's a troublemaker—just beat him up until he regrets it."
"I know! I'll take down anyone who causes trouble with me!" Kushina replied proudly, clenching her small fists.
Reiji grinned, then his voice turned a bit more serious. "Good. But if they call their parents... you can also call Lady Mito. Or Tsunade. Understand?"
Kushina nodded quickly. "Got it! I understand, Brother Reiji!"
Reiji leaned back, smiling more relaxed. "Oh, by the way... are you really sure you don't have any boy friends?"
"I'VE ALREADY TOLD YOU NO!!!" Kushina hurriedly ended the call, her face now as red as her own hair.
Silence.
The wind blew again, and leaves fell slowly onto Minato's shoulders.
"...Um..." the boy mumbled with an awkward smile, trying to hold back laughter.
Kushina slowly turned. Her gaze was sharp. Very sharp.
"You didn't see anything. You didn't hear anything. Got it?"
Minato raised his hand, his expression a mix of fear and amusement. "I understand! I understand!"
...
...
...
Night crept down slowly, like a heavy blanket being pulled by invisible hands, swallowing the sky little by little.
Stars disappeared one by one, replaced by rolling dark clouds hanging low, pressing the air with an unexplainable weight.
Half of the moon's face was hidden behind a gray mist, appearing like an eye staring unblinkingly from afar—cold, probing, full of judgment.
Waves hit the shores of Uzushio with a lazy rhythm that was almost hypnotic.
But tonight, the ocean did not sing a lullaby.
There was tension in its movements, like a body writhing in a nightmare.
Ripples appeared, not from the wind, not from the tide... but from something rising from the depths.
First, one head emerged to the surface, slowly, as if tasting the air.
Then two.
Then many more.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
They appeared silently, splitting the surface of the sea without a splash, like ghosts who had forgotten how to breathe.
They stood on the water's surface, silent and upright, their bodies almost merging with the night.
Water dripped from their forehead protectors, from their hardened chins, from the weapons held in silence.
Their eyes, the only thing shining in the darkness, swept across the land of Uzushiogakure without hesitation.
That gaze was not just hatred.
It was determination.
It was death walking.
From the west, the water trembled softly—not from an earthquake, but from the emergence of the Iwagakure forces.
They appeared with large bodies clad in armor that was cracked here and there from past wars.
Their faces were hard, jaws clenched like mountains reluctant to speak.
Their leader stood taller than the others, on a large rock that had risen from the seabed.
The leader of the Iwagakure village looked like a living stone sculpture—sleeveless jacket revealing arms as thick as tree trunks, and on the man's head, a red bandana glowed faintly under the moonlight.
The Iwagakure emblem was on the bandana.
The man took a deep breath, and the world seemed to hold its breath with him.
"It's time to begin," the man said.
His voice was heavy.
From the northeast, fog began to roll in like a cold breath descending from the sky.
The windy fog touched the skin, obscured vision, and wrapped the world in silence.
Within the fog, slender silhouettes emerged, light steps that barely left a trace.
The Kirigakure forces had arrived.
They did not speak.
And from behind that white curtain, their leader appeared—a cold-eyed woman, her silver hair neatly braided cascading down to her chest.
------------------------------
[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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