Kushina was surprisingly receptive to Roy’s advice.
Following his instructions, she refrained from using chakra and sealed an additional ten to fifteen kilograms of weight onto her body before beginning her training in the courtyard.
After all, Kushina possessed the strength of a jōnin.
Although taijutsu was not her specialty, that amount of weight barely inconvenienced her.
As a result, she increased it directly to fifty kilograms.
Ordinarily, weighted training equipment of that level would need to be specially made.
Kushina, however, simply used fūinjutsu to alter the weight of her existing gear.
In the shinobi world, sealing techniques were extraordinarily versatile.
With sufficient mastery, fūinjutsu could be adapted to assist with almost anything.
Although the additional weight did not make it difficult for Kushina to move, she was drenched in sweat after only a few minutes of intense exercise.
Her clothes quickly clung to her body.
When Nonō Yakushi returned from taking Naruto for a walk, she stopped in surprise at the sight of Kushina training so fiercely.
Throughout Konoha, the only people she had ever known to train their bodies with such reckless dedication were Might Duy and his son, Might Guy.
Now, only the son remained.
During the Third Shinobi World War, Might Duy—a man who had remained a genin for his entire career—had unleashed the Eight Gates and killed four members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
Could Lady Kushina also be attempting to practise that legendary taijutsu?
Nonō did not dare ask.
She merely glanced at the heavily panting Kushina before carrying the sleeping Naruto back into his room.
Kushina had already been on the verge of collapsing, but the moment she saw Naruto return, strength surged through her body once again.
The sight left Roy genuinely surprised by her willpower.
Perhaps this was the strength of a mother.
However, the price of pushing herself too far during her first training session became clear at dinner.
Kushina could not even hold her chopsticks properly.
Whenever she managed to lift her arms, her hands trembled uncontrollably.
By coincidence, Nonō had already soothed Naruto to sleep and helped prepare dinner before returning to the Konoha Orphanage.
She would not be back for at least another two or three hours.
“Let me help you,” Roy offered.
Kushina hesitated for several seconds.
Every cell in her body seemed to be crying out for food.
Eventually, a faint blush appeared on her face as she whispered, “I’m sorry to trouble you, Roy-kun.” After receiving her permission, Roy moved close behind her.
He reached his right arm beneath hers and picked up the chopsticks.
As Kushina ate, the food rapidly replenished her depleted strength, and the extraordinary vitality of the Uzumaki clan began to take effect.
The weakness in her limbs gradually faded.
Her trembling hands soon steadied as well.
However, because they were pressed so closely together, Roy’s vision was completely blocked by Kushina’s bright red hair.
He failed to notice that she had already recovered much of her strength.
For some reason, Kushina did not tell him.
“That’s enough, Roy-kun.
I’m full.” Hearing that, Roy placed the chopsticks down and withdrew his arm.
Later, inside the bathroom, Kushina stared longingly at the nearby bathtub.
In the end, she suppressed the urge to soak and chose to take a shower as usual.
Not far away, Roy held up a blanket to block his view.
However, when Kushina was halfway through washing and preparing to rinse the soap from her body, her foot suddenly slipped.
Her body had not yet completely recovered from the intense training, and she was unable to regain her balance.
With a startled gasp, she fell backward.
The pain she expected never came.
Roy’s spiritual body had moved beneath her and caught her fall.
Roy had no improper thoughts at that moment.
Forced onto his back by the sudden impact, he instinctively reached out and grabbed whatever he could to steady her.
The two of them, who should have been gasping after the fall, abruptly became silent.
An awkward stillness filled the bathroom.
“R-Roy-kun…
Your hands…” “I’m sorry.
I didn’t mean to.” Roy released her immediately.
He stood as soon as Kushina regained her footing, hurriedly put some distance between them and raised the blanket once more.
Even so, the image of her pale skin remained vivid in his mind.
He could not forget the smooth sensation left by the soap against his palms.
It had certainly felt different from touching her through her clothes.
Without saying anything, Kushina turned the hot water down and let the cooler stream wash away the heat spreading across her body, along with the handprints visible in the soap covering her skin.
She finished rinsing, changed into her nightclothes and returned silently to the bedroom.
Roy followed behind her with an awkward expression.
Accidents were called accidents precisely because they could not be anticipated.
Although Roy’s companionship over the past several days had caused Kushina to develop some affection for him, he feared that the incident in the bathroom might have destroyed it completely.
“Kushina, I—” “It wasn’t your fault,” Kushina interrupted.
“I was the one who lost my balance.
If you hadn’t caught me, I might have been hurt.” Her words allowed Roy to breathe a quiet sigh of relief.
What happened next, however, caught him completely off guard.
Kushina did not lie on her side as she usually did.
Although she often rolled over in her sleep and eventually woke up lying against him, this was the first time she had deliberately lain flat on her back from the beginning.
Roy, who had effectively become her cushion, had no idea how to react.
His arms remained stiffly pressed against his sides.
He did not dare wrap them around her waist as he sometimes unconsciously did while asleep.
Kushina might forgive something done without awareness, but embracing her deliberately would carry an entirely different meaning.
Roy was confused, but Kushina was even more nervous.
Her entire body had become tense.
She woke every morning lying against him, gently held in his arms, but those were merely unconscious movements made while they slept.
She could not explain why she had suddenly gathered the courage to lie against him willingly.
Was it because his companionship over the past several days had already begun to touch her heart?
Or had the accident in the bathroom caused her to stop resisting the inevitable closeness between them?
Her thoughts were in chaos.
On one side was Minato, the man she had loved more than anyone.
On the other was Roy, who had remained beside her and treated her with endless patience and consideration.
For perhaps the first time, the normally cheerful and outspoken Kushina found herself completely unable to understand her own feelings.
Her husband had sacrificed his life for her and their child only a little over a month ago.
Accepting another man so soon felt like a betrayal of Minato.
Furthermore, Roy had not chosen his present circumstances.
He had been forcibly trapped behind her, unable to leave.
Kushina did not know whether he could truly accept a woman who had already been married, had a child and still could not forget her late husband.
Would Roy also wonder whether a woman capable of turning away from Minato could one day betray him as well?
Yet if she did nothing to free Roy from his position behind her, accidents like the one in the bathroom would inevitably happen again.
If they entered a genuine relationship, then even if something similar occurred in the future, it would no longer feel forbidden.
At the very least, she would not be forced to endure the same crushing guilt.
“Roy-san…” “I’m here!” Hearing her switch from the affectionate “Roy-kun” to the more distant “Roy-san,” Roy immediately tensed.
“I…” Kushina hesitated for a long time, unable to force the words from her mouth.
Sensing the confusion and unease within her, Roy realised that he needed to be the one to take the first step.
He wrapped his arms firmly around her.
“I’ll always stay by your side,” he said with unwavering conviction.
Kushina lowered her gaze.
“But I can’t forget Minato.
That would be unfair to you.” “Why would you need to forget him?” Roy’s answer came without hesitation.
“Minato isn’t only Naruto’s father.
He is also an important part of your past.
If you erased that past, you would no longer be the same Kushina.” His embrace tightened slightly.
“I don’t want you to become someone who could forget the person she once loved.”
two chapters are still better than one!