Naruto: Naruto's Uchiha girlfriend is too arrogant

Chapter 435 Reunion and Farewell

Time seemed to stand still for several seconds at the entrance.

Kushina stood frozen in the doorway, one hand unconsciously resting on the doorframe, the other lingering in mid-air.

For a moment, she lost the ability to organize her thoughts, and just stared intently at the water gate, confirming that this was not an illusion or some other trick.

Finally, she managed to squeeze out a sentence from her dry throat, extremely slowly and in an unreal tone.

"You...you've been resurrected?...Just like me?"

Minato's heart clenched at the sight of his wife. He nodded, his gaze gentle yet heavy.

"Yes, it was Naruto who made it..."

Kushina's eyes flickered violently upon hearing the answer. She seemed to have had a premonition, yet also seemed unable to accept it.

She lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes concealing the tears that welled up instantly. When she looked up again, she had forcibly suppressed some of her emotions, leaving only a stiff, businesslike calm.

"I see... He still did it..."

She repeated the sentence in a low voice, then turned aside, stepping aside from the doorway, her gaze no longer fixed on the water gate, but fixed on the floor of the entryway.

"You...come in first."

The voice was dry and lacked warmth, completely out of place with the bright sunshine outside the door and the joy that a reunion should have.

Upon hearing this, Minato felt a slight sense of relief, even a touch of humble relief.

He wasn't locked out... he wasn't immediately scolded and driven away... this was much better than the worst-case scenarios he had envisioned.

He knew Kushina well, and knew the turbulent emotional storm raging beneath her current "calm." Her willingness to let him in meant... at least there was still a chance to communicate.

"Thanks."

He spoke softly, then took a step and cautiously entered this somewhat unfamiliar "home".

Kushina closed the door behind him. A soft "click" shut out the sunlight and noise from outside, and the light inside seemed to dim slightly, making the atmosphere even more stagnant.

The two walked silently toward the living room, one after the other.

Zacian had already wisely gotten up, silently walked to the sliding door of the courtyard, and lay down, leaving them with only a quiet back view.

Kushina walked to the head of the sofa and sat down, her posture somewhat stiff. Minato hesitated for a moment, then chose the single sofa opposite her and slowly sat down.

The two were separated by a low table, not far apart.

They've been married for a long time, but now they act like complete strangers meeting for the first time, or even worse.

The air was so heavy it was hard to breathe. Dust particles floated slowly within the beams of light.

Kushina placed her hands on her knees, her eyes lowered, not looking at Minato or anything else, but staring at the smooth lacquered surface of the low table.

In the end, it was she who broke the silence first.

"I thought..." her voice rang out, still carrying that deliberately stiff and indifferent tone, "that you would resolutely refuse to resurrect yourself."

She understood Minato. She understood his sense of responsibility as Hokage, and his sometimes stubborn "principle"—that he could sacrifice his personal happiness and life for the greater good.

"...I'm no longer the Hokage."

Minato answered softly, "So... we can stop thinking about it too much for now..."

"……sorry."

Kushina's body stiffened almost imperceptibly for a moment. She didn't respond immediately, and a few seconds of silence lingered between them.

"oh,"

She finally spoke, but her tone was even colder. "Not the Naruto..."

She repeated the sentence, as if pondering its meaning. So, just because she's no longer the Hokage, she can "temporarily" stop thinking about those grand principles? But what about when she made that decision in the first place? Was it simply because she was "the Hokage" that she could take it for granted...?

Minato sensed the coldness in her tone, and his guilt deepened.

"Mmm," he replied again, his voice even lower, "I'm so sorry... for making you wait so long alone..."

"Shouldn't you apologize to me?!"

Kushina suddenly raised her head!

All the emotions that had been forcibly suppressed erupted at this moment! His voice suddenly rose, and his eyes were no longer calm or cold, but burning with a raging fire mixed with pain and anger!

She stared intently at the water gate, her previously clenched fingers now tightly forming a fist.

"The person you should apologize to... is me?! Huh?!"

Faced with his wife's sudden outburst, Minato showed no surprise, only a resigned calm and sorrow. He sat there quietly, head slightly bowed, eyes downcast, waiting for his wife to unleash all her pent-up pain, grievances, and anger upon him.

------

Rain-Hidden Village, the edge of a damaged platform outside the tower.

Naruto and Satsuki have put their masks back on, reverting to their "Jin" organization member attire, and stand side by side, ready to leave.

Opposite them were Men and Xiaonan, who had just experienced the biggest ups and downs of their lives and whose expressions were still somewhat dazed but filled with new hope.

"It's all over."

Naruto spoke first, "Then, let's leave now."

"Also... I'm sorry. I promised my subordinates that I would take away 'something' you buried here."

He was referring to Konan's ocean of three hundred billion explosive tags. Satsuki had already removed the conceptual alterations previously applied to Konan.

Konan's memories returned to normal, and she naturally remembered her ultimate trump card, which was enough to flatten Amegakure and even the surrounding seas countless times.

However, those explosive tags have now been sealed by Naruto and stored in a storage scroll.

Upon hearing Naruto's words, Konan simply shook her head slightly, a smile appearing on her face.

"Those things mean nothing to me anymore."

Her gaze gently fell upon Nagato beside her, then turned back to the tower, where Yahiko remained, still somewhat bewildered and lost.

"To me, Nagato and Yahiko are my everything. I would sacrifice everything for their well-being."

Her gaze returned to Naruto. "So... really, thank you so much for everything you've done."

Nagato stood to the side, listening to Konan's words, feeling the long-lost health and strength within him, his heart filled with mixed emotions. He had regained his health, Yahiko had been reborn, and Konan had been relieved of her heavy burden…

All of this is thanks to the powerful "junior brother" in front of him.

Naruto nodded slightly, accepting Konan's gratitude. He understood this feeling of placing one's beloved above everything else.

"That's good." His tone softened somewhat. "By the way, about the remaining members of Akatsuki..."

He was referring to Juzo Biwa, Raiga Kurosuki, and Hidan, who were captured by the [Jin] organization and imprisoned in a special way.

"Since there is no need for us to continue fighting, as the former leaders of Akatsuki, you may wish for their return. I will send them back to Amegakure and leave them to your disposal."

"However, I hope you can understand... when you recruited members, you may have valued their abilities and their agreement with the 'plan' more, without thoroughly examining its true nature."

"Some people... absolutely cannot be left out."

Take Hidan, for example. Naruto doesn't believe that Hidan, a pure villain who spreads cults, enjoys killing and suffering, and acts recklessly because he is immortal, has the right to live and continue to harm humanity.

This has nothing to do with stance; it's a matter of principle.

Upon hearing this, Nagato immediately nodded, showing no displeasure or objection on his face.

"Yes, I understand."

His voice regained its composure befitting a leader, "I will remain here to manage Amegakure. As for those people... I will handle them appropriately. A peaceful world..."

He looked at Naruto, his eyes serious. "...I'm counting on you."

Naruto nodded solemnly as well. "Yes. I will make it happen."

"A world without pointless wars, conspiracies and lies, and false peace."

After he finished speaking, a brief silence descended once more.

At that moment, Konan stepped forward. She stretched out her hands, palms facing upward, and her chakra pulsated slightly.

Tiny, white pieces of paper silently flew out from her sleeves and into the air, fluttering and swirling lightly above her palm.

All the paper pieces were perfectly combined to form a lifelike, pristine white paper flower.

Konan held out the exquisite bouquet of paper flowers to Naruto. "To fulfill Jiraiya-sensei's dream, to fulfill the dream that Nagato and Yahiko pursued...?"

"I hope you can become a flower of hope that never fades."

Naruto looked at the bouquet of paper flowers before him, which now seemed to carry a blessing, and remained silent for a moment. Then, he reached out and took it.

"Thanks."

He responded simply and carefully put away the special bouquet of paper flowers.

Beside Naruto, Uchiha Sazuki watched this scene quietly the whole time.

Konan's gesture of handing flowers to Naruto elicited no special reaction from her; she simply maintained her usual aloofness and silence in front of "outsiders."

Only those dark eyes, faintly visible through the holes in the mask, would occasionally gleam with a gentle light when their gaze swept over Naruto.