Chapter 69

Kushina's series of relentless questions finally broke through Minato's defenses.

He appeared gloomy, lifeless, and somewhat absent-minded.

"Yes, why? Jiraiya-sensei, Kakashi... Why could you watch my child go hungry, watch him dig through garbage for food, and let him be cursed?"

"Hokage, didn't you say you would sacrifice yourself to illuminate future generations?"

"Why doesn't my descendant count as a tender leaf of Konoha?"

"What exactly did I protect?"

As he questioned himself, Minato's figure began to blur.

The chakra that composed his body inexplicably started rapidly dissipating.

"To escape responsibility through death, you are truly cowardly and disgustingly weak."

With these words, Kaze appeared in front of them.

He reached out and pressed his hand against Minato's chest, pure Yang chakra flowing into Minato's body.

The gradually dissipating and ethereal body quickly solidified.

"No, it's not like that. I was just lost for a moment."

Hearing Kaze say that he disliked himself, Minato explained repeatedly.

Then he stared at Kaze, his face filled with regret.

"Actually, I was wrong from the beginning."

"I shouldn't have burdened you with such a heavy load, expecting you to be the prophesied child, trying to make you solve the mystery of the Masked Man."

"I imposed the expectations I couldn't fulfill onto the next generation, and it was even the next generation without parents. I am truly an irresponsible father."

"I'm really sorry. If you want to blame someone, blame me. It was all my decision, it has nothing to do with your mother."

Minato's soliloquy and self-blame also awakened Kushina, who had been affected by those painful memories.

She understood that blaming and regretting each other now was useless.

The main point was what Kaze intended to do and how they could make amends.

With this in mind, Kushina held Minato's hand again.

Her other hand wanted to reach out to Kaze, but it hesitated in mid-air.

"Minato, it's not just you. I'm also at fault. We were both foolish, believing in Hiruzen Sarutobi's lies."

"He clearly said he would treat our child as a hero of the village and give him heroic treatment."

"But in the end, it was all just deception."

"Now I understand. Ever since you became the Fourth Hokage, you were just a puppet in Hiruzen Sarutobi's hands."

"He, who retreated into the shadows, firmly controlled the ANBU, while you only had a few personal bodyguards."

"And you had to report to him and get his approval before doing anything."

"At that time, I thought he was worried about your youth and afraid you would make mistakes."

"Now it seems that he just couldn't bear to give up power and a powerful puppet."

"And after we died, he treated our child the same way he treated you, as the next useful puppet."

Actually, even without Kushina saying it, Minato had already sensed it.

But because he had been brainwashed by the Will of Fire for so long, he pretended to be ignorant and had expectations for Hiruzen Sarutobi.

But in the end, it was clear that his pretense had made him a true fool.

The Nine-Tails, who had been sealed within Kushina all this time, was also well aware of what happened when Minato was Hokage.

It immediately took pleasure in their misfortune and gloated, "I knew back then that you would be played by that Third Hokage to death."

"After all, one was an idiot, and the other was brainwashed by that Will of Fire nonsense."

"Shut up!" Irritated by the Nine-Tails' mockery, Kushina angrily grabbed Minato's ear.

Minato's expression contorted in pain.

But he dared not cry out or resist, allowing

Kushina to vent her frustration.

It wasn't until he felt the grip on his ear loosen that he immediately spoke up to change the subject.

"Kaze, what do you need us to do next?"

"Don't worry, that Fourth Hokage, who lived for the village, is already dead. Now there's only a father named Minato Namikaze."

"Same here!" Kushina immediately chimed in.

"If you want me to help destroy Konoha, I won't even blink!"

After experiencing the suffocating life of darkness, Kushina had no affection left for the village.

But this was a normal reaction for a regular person, unlike Naruto, who was influenced by Asura's chakra and had abnormal thoughts.

"I do need you to do some things, but not now. Just listen to my arrangements for now."

Kaze planned to have the two of them go to the Land of Waves afterward to prepare for the revenge against Konoha.

Of course, this revenge was not simply about killing.

Death was easy and effortless, but living without hope was not.

Only by making the people of Konoha suffer more than death could they alleviate the pain of those past ten years!

"I understand." Minato nodded and then remembered something, speaking up.

"Who between you and Naruto is the dominant personality?"

"And what did you mean by what you said to the Nine-Tails earlier?"

Kushina, by his side, also had an inquisitive look on her face, eagerly awaiting Kaze's response.

"What I said earlier is literal; I am the dominant personality."

Kaze remained composed, looking like he was stating a fact.

The Nine-Tails chimed in, smirking, "Given Kaze's terrifying talent, he indeed perfectly inherited the talents of both of you. As for that one outside, honestly, if it weren't for his personality being somewhat similar to yours, he would really seem like a counterfeit."

Minato nodded, pondering, and then asked, "If you're the dominant personality, why can't you control the body and why are you limited?"

"Because when I was young, I handed over the body, hiding myself and bearing all the pain."

Kaze had long prepared his explanation, the same explanation he would use on Naruto in the future.

"You've experienced those memories, so you should understand how much I hated those people when I was young."

"But no matter how much I hated, there was nothing I could do. Plus, for the sake of the village, that hate was detrimental to my survival."

"So I intentionally created a foolish and innocent personality to deceive people like the Third Hokage and Danzo."

"And I alone endured all the pain, hiding in the shadows until I was strong enough to protect this body."

Listening to Kaze's calm narration, both Minato and Kushina fell into silence.

Indeed, it was just as Kaze said.

If it weren't for Naruto's optimistic and kind-hearted personality, the Third Hokage might not have solely relied on brainwashing with the Will of Fire; there might have been other restrictions as well.

"In that case, can you bring Naruto in and tell him everything?"

"After all, with your current strength, you have nothing to fear from the Third Hokage and Danzo."

Regardless of whether it was the dominant or alter personality, they were both their children.

Especially Kushina, even if she couldn't embrace Kaze, being able to embrace Naruto was still great.

"It's not the right time yet, and besides, there are some special influences on Naruto's personality that I'm trying to eliminate. You don't need to worry about it."

Of course, Kaze wouldn't actually bring Naruto in.

And giving him three powerful external supports, making him independent!

Even if he wanted to know, it would have to wait until the trust and dependency reached 80 and he became the dominant personality.

Suddenly, Kushina's attention shifted to the outside as she exclaimed, "Naruto is actually with that perverted Jiraiya!"

"And it seems like Jiraiya is heavily injured and has passed out!"

***

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