Chapter 27: Kushina, Do You Trust Me?

Although Minato felt a bit down about his team being disbanded, it didn't take long for him to snap out of it.

Why am I even upset? He thought. If Jiraiya-sensei had left him to fend for himself, why not join up with Takuya and the others?

Without wasting any time, Minato invited Takuya, Mikoto Uchiha, and Kushina out for some barbecue. As soon as the topic came up, he didn't hesitate to make his position clear.

"This could actually work out pretty well," he said, a little too eagerly.

Kushina hadn't expected Minato to jump at the opportunity so quickly. Takuya hadn't even said whether he was extending the invite, and yet Minato was already on board.

Is he that desperate? Kushina shook her head in disbelief.

But when she saw the way Minato's expression shifted from a forced smile to one of pure satisfaction, she froze. Did I just imagine that? Or was Minato playing us this whole time?

"You sly fox, Minato!" Takuya teased, giving Minato a playful punch. "Using a get-together as an excuse to recruit, huh?"

Minato laughed as he dodged Takuya's playful jab. "Where else am I supposed to go? Jiraiya-sensei's off to the battlefield, and our team's dissolved. I'm not about to join just any team. I've always wanted to team up with you guys anyway."

If Takuya hadn't kept his plans under wraps, if Jiraiya hadn't already approached Minato, he probably would have defied the village's orders to join up with Takuya.

Spending so much time around Takuya had changed Minato—he was no longer the naive, always-thinking-of-the-village type from the original story.

He was developing his own thoughts, his own way of doing things, no longer entirely influenced by the Will of Fire.

Mikoto simply smiled, having anticipated Minato's plan all along. It was no secret that Minato enjoyed being around Takuya. The only surprise would have been if he didn't want to join their team.

Of the four, Kushina was the only one who had genuinely believed Minato was still upset about his team's disbandment.

She couldn't help but feel a little bad for him. Guess I got that wrong...

"Minato!" Kushina's fiery temper flared up, her red hair lifting as if caught in an invisible breeze. Minato nearly dove under the table in sheer terror.

In the end, he couldn't avoid a good-natured smack from Kushina. Luckily, it didn't land on his eye, or he'd have been sporting a black eye for days.

The more time she spent around Tsunade, the more Kushina seemed to take after her, especially in the way she let loose when someone pushed her buttons.

With Minato's team no longer in the picture, and Jiraiya off to the front lines, he was eager to join up with Takuya's group—something Takuya certainly didn't object to.

"Kushina, how about we go for a walk?" Takuya suggested after they finished their barbecue. He motioned for Mikoto and Minato to head out, indicating that he wanted to walk Kushina home and talk to her alone.

"See you tomorrow," Mikoto said with a smile, waving as she left first.

Minato hesitated, but eventually left without saying anything else.

As Takuya watched Minato's retreating figure, he noticed how Minato's feelings for Kushina seemed to be deepening.

When he glanced back at Kushina, who was now fully focused on him, Takuya couldn't help but wonder if the future of Naruto might be at risk...

"Takuya, let's sit over there in the park," Kushina suggested excitedly, already making her way toward a nearby bench.

Due to the looming threat of war, many outsiders, worried about being caught in the crossfire and deterred by Konoha's strict security, had left the village.

Konoha had grown quieter as a result.

Even during the day, the park was nearly empty.

Because of the war, many ANBU and Root members had been sent to the front lines by Danzo, leaving fewer ninja to watch over Kushina. Only one ANBU member remained, keeping a distant watch.

As they sat on the park bench, Takuya made sure the ANBU was far enough away before turning to Kushina.

"Kushina, do you trust me?" he asked seriously.

"Of course, I do!" Kushina blurted out without hesitation.

"Don't get too worked up—just act normal," Takuya cautioned her, waiting until she calmed down before continuing. "Since you trust me, there's something I need to tell you. I know who you really are—your full identity."

Kushina's smile froze. It felt as if someone had just hit her over the head with a hammer, leaving her mind reeling.

Takuya knows the truth about me? But how? Could it have been Tsunade?

"It's something I figured out on my own—it has nothing to do with Tsunade," Takuya clarified, noticing the worry in her eyes. "Don't worry, I'm not going to distance myself from you just because of that big fox inside you. No matter what, Kushina, you're my friend. That won't ever change."

"I..." Kushina's eyes filled with tears, and she bit her lip to stop herself from crying.

She'd always feared that if Takuya found out who she really was, he'd push her away. So, she'd gone to great lengths to hide it.

Every time the Nine-Tails' chakra corroded the seal, Kushina suffered through the pain alone. She never dared go near Takuya when it happened, afraid he'd discover the truth.

In the end, Takuya had figured it out anyway. But instead of rejecting her, he was accepting her.

"Don't cry. If you do, that ANBU over there will know something's up. He'll report it to the Hokage, and that'll mean trouble for me," Takuya gently reminded her.

"I'm not crying—I'm just happy," Kushina insisted, forcing a smile as she quickly wiped away her tears.

It took a while for her to regain her composure. Once she did, she looked up at Takuya with curiosity. "When did you figure it out?"

"From the start—when you transferred into my class and sat next to me, the smell of that big fox was all over you," Takuya replied with a teasing smile.

"Grrr!! I'm going to eat him! Eat him! That little brat!" came the enraged growl of the Nine-Tails. Whether it was because Kushina was feeling nervous or something else, the seal had loosened slightly, allowing the fox to see what was happening outside. And Takuya's remark had pushed the fox over the edge.