[Rather than being mentally prepared, Kushina was forcing herself to accept reality.]
[Fantasy is, after all, fantasy.]
[The moment Minato Namikaze committed suicide, she had already foreseen this day.]
[It's just... she didn't expect it to be so soon.]
[For her, it might have only been a few seconds.]
[It should be said, for her in this state.]
[But Kushina knew that these few seconds... there was a significant chance that even these few seconds wouldn't exist.]
[If there were... then, these few seconds of waiting time would be an extremely arduous and long period of growth for Naruto.]
[In fact, Naruto's current appearance greatly surprised Kushina.]
[She had thought... Naruto would be very short, very thin, and very small.]
[Who would have thought that her son had not only grown up but was also quite large, without any signs of malnutrition.]
[Leaving aside his strength (Chakra) for now, his mental state doesn't seem to have been corrupted by the Will of Fire.]
[To achieve all this... it must have been very, very hard and tiring.]
[Being so close, Naruto could sense Kushina's emotional changes almost immediately.]
[He sighed inwardly.]
['Never mind.']
[His fingers moved slightly.]
[Then, outside the golden orb (Kushina's Sealing Space).]
[Minato Namikaze, who had been restrained, suddenly trembled all over.]
[His body became increasingly solid.]
[Of course, Minato Namikaze didn't notice any of this. At this moment, his eyes were vacant, staring at the golden orb, lost in thought.]
"I'm sorry... Naruto, Mama can't always be by your side, watching you grow up... can't always protect you..."
Before Naruto could speak, Kushina couldn't help but start talking again.
Tears streamed down her face.
"Let's not talk about that for now... We should first open the Nine-Tailed's seal."
Kushina wiped away her tears.
Naruto: "..."
[Is her mind jumping quickly?]
[Or... is it a test?]
[If he were truly swayed by the Great Fox, then after opening the sealing gate, the Great Fox would definitely be unable to resist, and he himself would reveal a flaw.]
[Judging by Mama's current Chakra amount... if combined with Sealing Jutsu, it should be enough to reseal the Great Fox.]
[And Minato Namikaze is still outside; if such an unexpected situation occurs, he can immediately modify the 'key' of the Inner Four Symbols Seal.]
"Okay."
Cutting off his thoughts, Naruto nodded in agreement.
Seeing this, Kushina happily linked her arm with Naruto's.
She walked a few steps forward with Naruto, and then the golden world shattered directly, entering Naruto's Sealing Space.
[The appearing location was very particular.]
[In their line of sight, there was no sign of Minato Namikaze.]
Kushina came before the sealing gate, looking at the 'Four Symbols Seal Lock' with the sealing tag torn off, and pondered for a while.
"So that's it, it's not difficult..." Saying this, Kushina formed a few hand seals and pressed her hand on the 'lock'.
[After a few breaths.]
[The Four Symbols Seal Lock opened by itself.]
Clang—
[The two massive iron gates opened on their own.]
Naruto felt the changes within his body.
[The Great Fox's Chakra, the moment the Inner Four Symbols Seal was released, seemed to merge with his own Chakra.]
[There was no longer that faint damping sensation.]
[Moreover... Naruto felt that the Chakra the Great Fox could transmit had undergone a qualitative change.]
[He seemed to have unlocked the New Nine-Tailed Chakra Mode.]
"All done~"
Kushina turned around, her back to the Great Fox, facing Naruto, with a faint smile on her lips.
[As expected, there was still a hint of testing.]
Naruto's heart warmed.
Indeed, calling her 'Mama' was not wrong.
"Don't worry, Mama, the Great Fox and I are already one."
Hearing this, Kushina nodded, "I know, my son is the best~"
Naruto had heard many compliments, but this kind of praise was the first time.
He was a little unaccustomed to it.
However, he would get used to it later.
[Seeing the hesitation deep in Kushina's eyes.]
[Naruto felt that he should be more proactive and cut through the mess quickly.]
Immediately, Naruto raised his hand, "Mama, the School."
"Also... don't resist in a moment."
"Everything you want to know will be there."
"Furthermore... for the other decision, you don't need to ask me; just make the decision for me."
Buzz—
As his words fell, Minato Namikaze appeared before the two of them.
['Is this the power after unlocking the Inner Four Symbols Seal?']
[Naruto merely tested it lightly, unexpectedly teleporting Minato Namikaze over.]
Kushina was stunned, and then, her gaze towards Naruto became even gentler.
However, she did not spare a glance for Minato Namikaze who was now in front of them.
"Okay."
Tap—
Kushina's fist and Naruto's fist met.
At the same time, Minato Namikaze's hand was also raised by Naruto's Chakra, clenching into a fist, and meeting theirs.
"Alright, let's begin." The Great Fox saw that Minato Namikaze had also fist-bumped with Naruto, and its Byakugan rolled really fast.
And Minato Namikaze, after the fist bump, regained his composure.
He was about to speak.
"Don't resist," Naruto said.
[Although they were destined not to resist the moment they entered the School, Naruto still reminded them.]
Hearing this, both of them closed their mouths.
[A moment later.]
Naruto placed Kushina and Minato Namikaze aside.
The Great Fox pouted and said, "Kushina, fine, but why are you keeping that guy?"
"Alright, I think we should leave the decision to Mama."
"Remember to keep an eye on their condition and replenish their Chakra if it's lacking."
Since he had said so, the Great Fox could only express its dissatisfaction by pouting.
Naruto shook his head with a smile, then looked at Kushina.
At this moment, Kushina and Minato Namikaze were both trapped in a Genjutsu World.
Anything they wanted to say or ask, they could find answers within.
[He slightly immersed his mind and entered the Genjutsu World.]
[With just one glance, Naruto saw Kushina whose Chakra had become violent due to anger.]
[This was just the beginning, that is, the day Naruto was chased out of the Sarutobi Clan's territory not long after he began to remember things...]
[He did not stay too long, nor did he let Kushina and Minato Namikaze discover him.]
Orochimaru: "Kushina will definitely break down."
Orochimaru: "It's already so severe through the screen, let alone watching it firsthand and being powerless?"
Kurotsuchi: "Place your bets, place your bets~!"
Kurotsuchi: "Will Minato Namikaze be left behind?"
Kurotsuchi: "No more changes once you've placed your bet~!"
The atmosphere, which had been somewhat serious, immediately changed when Kurotsuchi suddenly popped up.
Uzumaki Naruto: "I bet... Mama will keep him."
Uzumaki Naruto: "However, he definitely won't have an easy time. Maybe... he'll be even worse off than the future Second Hokage."