Chapter Thirty-Two: Kushina III

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July 8th, Year 70, Namikaze Residence

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With a sigh, I glanced back at Minato, his head resting wearily on the table. Naru-chan sat nearby, watching his father with distress.

Minato had been overworked these past few weeks. Reports of clandestine dealings between nations and Kumo's relentless pressure on our borders kept him busy.

I turned down the stove and wiped my hands before joining my husband. Shooting Naru-chan a reassuring smile, which he tentatively returned, I ran my fingers gently through Minato's unruly hair. "Everything alright?" I asked.

He practically purred at my touch. If it relaxed him, all the better. After a few moments of peaceful silence, he grasped my hand and pressed it to his cheek, gifting me with a tender smile that brought heat to my face.

"Sorry for worrying you, Kushina," he said softly. "Just exhausted from preparations and reports. Today we received disturbing news from Taki, courtesy of Jiraiya-sensei's network. And then there's always Kuro..." He smiled cryptically.

Apprehension stirred within me about the threat of war, but seeing Minato's expression, I knew Kuro must have done something to buy us time or tip the scales in our favor.

Curious, I asked, "What's my brat done now?"

Amusement flickered in Minato's eyes. "Your brat? My, you may make Yoshino jealous with talk like that." He teased.

I puffed out my chest proudly. "That boy is as much mine as Yoshino's, and everyone knows it! But we're getting off track. What has he done? Will I need to whip him when he gets back?" I added with mock threat.

Minato just rolled his eyes. "If you must. During the exams, Kuro did something quite...unorthodox." A glint of mischief entered his gaze.

I looked at Minato expectantly until he indulged my curiosity. "Remember how I was to go to Taki in 15 days for the third part of the exams?"

I nodded, recalling the village leaders were invited to observe the spectacle. Nobles and merchants seeking potential investments attended as well.

Minato continued, "Well, I don't have to go to Taki anymore. Kuro is returning to the village as we speak. He will likely arrive the day after tomorrow, afternoon."

Naru-chan perked up at Minato's words. "Nii-chan is coming back? Yatta! He promised to take me to Ichiraku's when he got home!" Naru-chan said excitedly.

I smiled sweetly at Naru-chan's enthusiasm. I am glad he has someone like Kuro-chan as a sibling figure. Minato and I had tried for another baby to give Naru-chan a companion, but sadly I was unable to get pregnant again.

I sadly touched my belly where my womb was, mourning my inability to have more children. Sensing my shift in mood, Minato gave my other hand a gentle, comforting squeeze and gifted me with an understanding smile.

The fox's grating voice echoed in my mind. ||Tsk. You bringing one little kit is enough. No one needs more of those things running around.|| I completely ignored the fox's words, long used to tuning out his provocations.

Wanting to distract myself from those fruitless thoughts, I prompted Minato to continue his story about Kuro. I knew for a fact that Kuro-chan hadn't failed the exam, so he must have done something drastic or "unorthodox" as Minato described earlier.

Minato chuckled and replied, "Well, Kuro first decided to humiliate Taki, as we had reports that they were in talks with Kumo to join them in an alliance. So what Kuro did was put seals on the Jonin that escorted the Taki team, where he learned that Taki's Genin team would cheat for the first exam. The first exam was basically a puzzle to find the location of the second exam, and the Taki ninjas decided to leave notes for their Genins with the location and some codes."

I smirked, "Let me guess. Kuro-chan changed the notes with something on the opposite side but still believable? But why didn't the Taki Ninjas just tell them the location normally?" I asked curiously.

"Well, even if they are cheating, the Taki don't want incompetent Chunins, now do they?" Minato explained. "So they didn't really make it that clear. The Genin had to actually locate the note, which was hidden inside their room, and the real location was in a riddle. But, well...Kuro was just better at it than them."

I laughed at hearing how Kuro had outsmarted them, and Naru-chan not really understanding why just laughed along, happy to see us amused.

"Mama, did Nii-chan do good in his exam?" Naru-chan asked excitedly.

I smiled and patted his head affectionately. "Yes, yes he did, honey."

"Yatta! Nii-chan is the best!" Naru-chan cheered happily. Both Minato and I smiled at his enthusiasm.

"So he basically took the Taki teams out of the running before the exam even started?" I asked Minato with a grin.

"Apparently so," Minato replied, looking amused. "After that...he went on about the second exam, where he found a hidden cavern, carefully guarded, which was filled with 'Stranger's Touch' mushrooms - one of the precious hallucinogens and poisons of Taki. And as the exam had an underlying rule of finding this precious resource, with competitors only allowed to take one mushroom each...but as there was no condition limiting the total number one person could find and take, Kuro decided to rob them of all their mushrooms."

Hearing this, I laughed out loud again. That was such a clever and audacious thing for Kuro to do!

Minato went on, "Which is another reason for my current paperwork...Taki sent an official complaint and demanded we return the resources. Thankfully they didn't attack Kuro's team directly, as they don't want to be the ones to start a war."

I chuckled proudly. That was my brat alright! I fully believe it was his idea to undermine Taki in this way. What an ingenious boy!

Calming my laughter, I asked, "But how did Kuro find this hidden, secured cavern in the first place?"

"That's just it - the heavy security itself gave it away," Minato explained. "According to Anzo, the path to the cavern had far more advanced traps, cameras, and sensors compared to the other areas. So Kuro deduced this must be important and, with his intellect, easily bypassed the traps to reach the hidden chamber - making Taki look incompetent again."

I struggled to contain my amusement as Minato chuckled along. "What did he do next, dattebane?!" I asked eagerly, not even caring about my verbal tic in my excitement over Kuro's antics.

Minato smiled indulgently at my enthusiasm before continuing, "Well, after raiding the mushrooms, he got out of the cavern system - part of the test - and was supposed to climb the great waterfall of Takigakure. But instead of climbing up as intended, he made camp with his teammates and waited for the other teams to arrive."

I already knew where this was headed. "He crushed all the other teams, didn't he?" I stated matter-of-factly.

"He crushed them all," Minato confirmed with an approving nod.

"So with only one team left, there was no point in even having the third test?" I concluded.

Minato nodded again in confirmation.

"THAT'S MY BRAT! DATTABANE!" I pumped my fist triumphantly, Naru-chan echoing "Dattabay! Dattabay!" beside me.

I'd have to curb that habit of his. Didn't need the verbal tick spreading.

As we calmed down, Minato grew serious, no doubt ready to share the more sobering parts of the report. But seeing Naru-chan's attention, he smiled gently instead. "Let's have dinner first," he suggested softly.

We could always discuss afterwards. I agreed, and we moved our conversation to lighter topics for the meal. My chest swelled with pride for my ingenious little brat! What an impressive showing at the exams!

…

…

Minato and I got ready for bed as he hugged me from behind, holding me tightly... Almost as if seeking comfort.

"That bad?" I asked, concerned.

He groaned into my hair before replying, "Could've been worse, actually..."

I stayed silent, knowing he would continue.

"Kuro's little stunt made it impossible for the other Kage to meet under the excuse of attending the Chunin exams, which I believe was their plan all along. Taki is a strategic location for all four villages to gather, except Kiri... It shares borders with us and Iwa, and is a prime spot to garrison troops, like Rain..." Minato paused a bit to gather his thoughts.

"Taki had been an ally to Konoha, and Suna, but with our recent rise in power, they also believe the balance has shifted towards Konoha, and needs resetting... So, Taki organizing a Chunin exam, which was already odd, made it more suspicious..." He sounded tired.

I comforted him, "You think someone is guiding all this?"

"The council and I discussed this, and it seems the most likely conclusion... And the culprit is probably Kumo..." he replied.

I stayed quiet, letting him continue.

"But as I said, Kuro's stunt made it impossible for the Kages to meet without suspicion... But that doesn't mean they can't meet under other excuses... With their higher ranked Jonins present, they can negotiate on their Kages' behalf. And that's where Kuro's improved seals are helping." There was a hint of pride in Minato's tone.

"Did we get any new information?" I asked curiously feeling proud as well.

"We did, and we'll get more... That listening seal you and Kuro designed is really effective... Unless someone is a master of Fuinjutsu and looks specifically for it, they won't even notice it. Because of that, many plots have come to light."

Minato went silent before continuing somberly, "Kumo sent both their Jinchuriki to Taki. They mainly planned to assert dominance in negotiations with the other villages... but now they have a new plan."

My heartbeat stopped for some reason. I had a bad feeling.

Sensing my stress, Minato hugged me tighter. "It's alright, everything will be fine."

"They want to do something to Kuro-chan, don't they?" I said quietly, my eyes seeing red.

Minato hugged me tighter, replying calmly, "Be calm, my love... Yes, they plan to eliminate the sapling before it grows into a tree. After witnessing Kuro's team's potential firsthand, they want to target him, even without knowing his true prowess... He still attracted the wrong attention as we feared."

I almost shouted at my husband's words, "Targeted? TARGETED? He's being HUNTED by two monsters in human skin!" I growled out. Also feeling self-pity at the thought, as I was one myself…

Minato scolded quickly, "Kushina! You're leaking its chakra! Calm yourself! And you aren't a monster!" He knew exactly how I was feeling… he always does.

Taking deep breaths I tried to calm myseklf, as I noticed the fox was feeding on my anger, fueling it with its intent and chakra.

Curse that fox!

I forced myself to calm down, thinking of my Naru-chan helped...

Finally calmed, I asked menacingly, "We sent people to intercept, right?"

Minato nodded grimly. "Sensei is already near them, and Kuro has my Flying Thunder God kunai, not to mention he himself can use the technique if he desired." His voice sounded amused.

It finally hit me... Of course... Kuro-chan knew the Flying Thunder God, plus he could use his shadow teleportation... He was basically an escape specialist...

I completely forgot in my apprehension...

I smiled after knowing that Kuro-chan would be safe, but then another thought struck me. "Why are you just... you told them to set a trap?" I asked incredulously.

Minato looked offended. "You think I would let someone Kuro's age do something so dangerous? Even if Anzo and Sensei is there?"

He was right, Minato wasn't a power-hungry idiot to do something so drastic.

"Kuro requested it himself, and asked for support to kill or capture them." Minato said seriously, though his tightened embrace showed he didn't like it.

"But if Kuro kills or captures one or both Jinchurikis... won't it start the war we're trying to avoid?" I asked sadly... Another war... More and more bloodshed…

Minato sighed. "It most likely will... But we do not have the time or benevolence to wait and hope for peace… Konoha has done enough of that and we have paid for it as well…" Minato sounded serious as he continued,

"The other villages haven't fully recovered from the last war, not even 7 years have passed... But if they all gang up on us, who knows what they could do... That was the only reason the council and I decided to support Kuro's plan to kill or capture them while framing other nations, potentially creating a hole between the nations and reducing their firepower."

"We're going for subterfuge then?" I asked, understanding the underlying meaning of all this.

"Yes. We'll do anything to ensure our nation's safety. If we have to make enemies kill each other, so be it." Minato said sadly.

He hated war like the next man... But as a Kage, his people came first. And if he needed to start a war to keep them safe in the long run, he would do his duty, throwing his love for peace.

That was one of the reasons I loved this man.

"Will Kuro's plan work?" I asked softly.

Minato chuckled. "Since when has it not?" Amusement dripped from his tone.

Well, wasn't that a thought.

I smiled back before giving him a chaste kiss, looking at my husband lovingly. "Well, ya know... if war starts... you'll be busy... we might not have-"

Minato didn't need to hear the rest to understand my invitation. We came together, enjoying each other's warmth which might be the last for a while if war started... And maybe, just maybe, Naru-chan would get a new baby sibling out of it.

…

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A looming war casts its shadow on the horizon, raising questions about Konoha's role as either aggressor or defender. Will the desires of other nations prevail?

In the next chapter, Kuro's name finds its place within the pages of the bounty books!

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