Back inside the cave...
Kushina closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then slowly activated her modified seal.
At that very moment, a subtle flow of natural energy began to be drawn in and stored within her seal.
However, there was one problem... To accelerate the storage of natural energy, Kurama had to be involved.
"Kurama," Kushina called inwardly, "Come on, help me channel natural energy into this seal."
From within her subconscious, an annoyed snort was heard. "Hmph! Don't act spoiled, foolish human! What do you think I am? A natural energy charger?!"
Kushina giggled. "Ah~ Kurama, don't be mad. You're the only one I can be proud of here... besides my beautiful face, of course."
Kurama shuddered in disgust. "Damn... crazy woman."
Nevertheless, not long after, Kurama moved a little of his chakra to stabilize the energy flow.
"Thanks, Kurama!" Kushina said cheerfully.
Feeling satisfied, Kushina entered her subconscious to 'thank him more deeply'.
As soon as she entered the subconscious corridor, which had now become a vast green park, Kushina ran towards Kurama.
"Don't come ne—"
Before Kurama could dodge, Kushina had already lunged and hugged his thick neck.
"Awww~ Kurama, you get cuter every day!" Kushina exclaimed, rubbing her cheek against Kurama's fur.
"ARGHH!! LET GO! I'LL TEAR YOU APART!!" Kurama shouted in panic, trying to pull himself away.
But Kushina just chuckled, continuing to stroke the large fox's fur lovingly. "Calm down, calm down... just think of it as warmth therapy. You need love too, you know!"
Kurama sighed heavily, exhaling a long breath as if giving up. "If anyone sees this... my reputation as the most feared creature in the ninja world will be ruined..." he muttered in despair.
Kushina just laughed, not caring in the slightest.
After she had her fill of hugging the surrendered Kurama, Kushina stood up, clapping her hands enthusiastically. "Okay, seal project complete! Now all that's left is to train those kids and start accelerating the accumulation of natural energy!"
Kurama just stared with half-dead eyes, as if to say: Please... no more crazy ideas after this.
However, Kushina Uzumaki was Kushina Uzumaki. Who could stop her once she had decided on something?
—-------------------------------------------------
A full month had passed since Kushina began training the two stubborn brats—Hashirama and Madara—and their growth truly surprised her.
"These two... really deserve to be called future gods of shinobi," Kushina muttered to herself with a small smile, watching them train from afar.
That morning, bright sunlight shone on the small river where they usually trained.
Kushina stood on a high rock cliff, her red hair fluttering in the wind. Her eyes narrowed towards the endless expanse of green forest.
"Right below here... Konoha will one day stand," she whispered softly. "And where I'm standing now... will one day be the Hokage Rock."
A nostalgic smile adorned her face. But suddenly, something caught her attention. "Hm?"
From a distance, she saw two familiar figures: Hashirama and Madara. But it wasn't just them. Two other figures were following them, one large and one small.
"Ah... the day has finally come," Kushina sighed, her expression slightly grim.
Down below, Hashirama and Madara exchanged small stones—their secret code.
Their faces changed. They immediately realized... their respective families had set up an ambush.
Before they could move, four figures leaped out almost simultaneously: Senju Butsuma, Tobirama, Uchiha Tajima, and Izuna.
A killing aura filled the air.
Madara gripped his kunai tightly. "Hashirama," he muttered bitterly. "We were too naive."
"Madara..." Hashirama looked at him sadly.
Madara closed his eyes deeply before saying softly, "Senju Hashirama... we are enemies. All our dreams... were just empty hopes."
When his eyes opened, his red Sharingan spun sharply.
Hashirama trembled. 'Madara... has finally chosen this path...'
Above, Kushina watched everything. 'Should I interfere?' she thought, taking a long, deep breath.
'Ahh... forget it. I also want to see for myself how strong the "legends" of this era are. Since I've already decided to change the storyline… let's change it as chaotically as possible~'
With one graceful leap, Kushina descended from the cliff and landed right between the six of them.
THUMP!
The ground trembled slightly.
All eyes widened. Especially the two clan heads, Senju Butsuma and Uchiha Tajima. 'How could someone hide around us without being detected?!' they both thought simultaneously, drenched in cold sweat.
Kushina ignored their surprised gazes, her eyes only on the two boys she had trained. "Hashirama, Madara... I didn't expect you to end up at this point," she said softly, yet full of disappointment.
Madara lowered his head, not daring to look at the woman he had respected all this time.
At that moment, Kushina slowly released all her disguises.
The natural Uzumaki aura—with its immense power and pure chakra—exploded slowly, making the air feel heavy.
Everyone present immediately recognized who she was.
"Hmph! So the mysterious woman was an Uzumaki!" Tajima and Butsuma snarled in unison.
Hearing their unison, Kushina laughed amusedly. "Ara~ I didn't expect two clan heads who are always at odds to be so in sync... how about I also see just how great the 'fathers' of my sweet disciples are?"
Her words contained a subtle mockery that made both clan heads flush red with anger.
"How dare you insult my clan, Uzumaki!" Tajima snapped, his Sharingan eyes blazing with fury.
"The Senju will not allow this insult!" Butsuma retorted, no less furious.
They exchanged glances for a second—and in one fluid motion, both of them leaped to attack Kushina from the left and right.
"Nee-chan! Watch out!!" Hashirama and Madara shouted together.
Their long katana blades launched quickly, sealing off all of Kushina's escape routes.
Seeing that, everyone's faces—including Tobirama and Izuna—tensed. 'It's impossible for her to survive this attack!' everyone thought.
Yet Kushina just stood calmly, smiling faintly.
As the two swords were about to hit her body—
BRANG!!
With a simple movement, Kushina raised both her arms and caught the long swords with her bare hands. Golden chakra light enveloped her hands, easily stopping the deadly slashes.
Butsuma and Tajima's faces changed instantly. "W-what?!"
They tried to pull their swords back, but it felt like they were tied to a giant rock—they didn't budge an inch.
Kushina looked at the two clan heads with eyes narrowed like a mischievous cat. "Alright," she said with a chuckle, "watch closely, my sweet disciples~" Kushina's voice turned slightly playful. "This time... Nee-chan will show you what absolute power means."