By then, Kushina Uzumaki had already noticed them.
Her eyes seemed to blaze with fire, her flowing red hair rose even higher, and she strode toward them with an intimidating expression.
“Minato Namikaze!”
She roared before continuing:
“You finally decided to show up!”
Her overwhelming aura caused both Minato and Rin to break out in a cold sweat.
Minato was especially frightened.
He involuntarily took a small step backward and raised his hands defensively in front of his chest.
“Kushina, I… I didn’t forget on purpose.”
By then, Kushina had already reached him.
Without another word, she punched him in the face and shouted, “Would that somehow make it better? How could you forget something this important?”
A black eye immediately appeared on Minato’s handsome face.
Rin trembled beside them.
Minato-sensei’s girlfriend was far more violent than he had described, and Rin was beginning to fear that she might be punched as well.
Kushina suddenly pointed at Rin and demanded, “And who is this little girl?”
Minato sheepishly replied, “Kushina, Rin is my new student.”
After saying that, Minato immediately gave Rin a pleading look.
“Rin, hurry and introduce yourself to Kushina.”
Despite her fear, Rin maintained her manners.
She bowed and said, “It’s nice to meet you, Miss Kushina. My name is Rin Nohara. Minato-sensei accepted me as his student, which is why he was late. Please don’t be too angry with him.”
Kushina froze, and her floating hair finally settled as she emerged from her Red Hot-Blooded Habanero state.
She looked at Minato in surprise and asked, “Minato, you’re still so young, yet you’ve already accepted a student?”
Kushina knew that Minato would probably follow his teacher Jiraiya’s example when choosing students.
His standards would be extremely high, and he wouldn’t accept someone casually.
Seeing Kushina return to normal, Minato breathed a sigh of relief and gave Rin another grateful look before turning toward Kushina.
“Yes, I’ve accepted a student. Rin possesses an extraordinary aptitude for space-time ninjutsu. Allowing such talent to go to waste would have been a terrible shame.”
Kushina was stunned again.
In her opinion, Minato’s talent was already unmatched, yet he was giving his new student such extraordinary praise.
Just how talented was this little girl?
Her expression immediately softened into a smile.
She crouched down and reached out to pat Rin on the head.
“So you’re Rin? I didn’t expect Minato to accept a student. He’s never taught anyone before, so you’re his very first.”
“You can come and visit me whenever you want. I live right over there. Also, if you ever run into trouble, just mention my name. I’ll protect you.”
When Kushina reached toward her, Rin’s body stiffened.
She didn’t dare move, believing that she was about to be hit.
Unexpectedly, Kushina merely patted her head.
Rin didn’t particularly like people touching her head, but compared to being punched, she greatly preferred this.
She hadn’t expected Kushina to be so fierce with Minato-sensei yet so gentle with her.
Rin breathed a sigh of relief, relaxed slightly, and replied:
“O-okay, Miss Kushina.”
Kushina smiled.
“Rin, don’t call me Miss Kushina. That sounds far too formal and makes me feel old. Just call me Kushina.”
“I’ll take you out for plenty of delicious food, and I promise I won’t let anyone bully you.”
Rin felt an indescribable sense of security.
Still, was it really appropriate to address Minato-sensei’s girlfriend so casually?
In the end, she obediently said, “Kushina.”
Kushina smiled, stood up, and patted Rin’s head again.
“Rin, now that we’ve met, I hope we’ll see each other often. However, I need to discuss something confidential with Minato. Can you come and visit another time?”
Rin immediately nodded.
In truth, she found the surrounding environment somewhat oppressive and didn’t want to remain there.
More importantly…
although Kushina’s attitude toward her was gentle, Rin could vaguely sense a violent emotion suppressed deep within her, like a volcano ready to erupt at any moment.
Rin didn’t understand what it was, but she instinctively felt afraid and wanted to get away.
She turned toward Minato.
“Then, Minato-sensei, Kushina… I’ll be leaving now.”
Minato gave her another grateful look, as though saying, “Thank you, Rin. You really helped me this time.”
However, all he said aloud was, “All right, Rin. I’ll see you next time.”
Rin responded with a quick hum and hurried back the way she had come.
Along the way, the shinobi responsible for security silently watched her until…
she finally left the Senju clan’s territory and could no longer feel their gazes.
Rin breathed a sigh of relief.
She wondered how Kushina endured living in such an environment.
She looked up at the sky.
Although it was already dark, it wasn’t particularly late.
Therefore…
she would go to the small forest and continue practicing with Obito.
With that thought, Rin headed toward the forest…
Meanwhile, as soon as she left, Kushina’s expression became serious.
She looked at Minato and said, “Minato, it… is becoming increasingly difficult to control. It has even started acting up from time to time.”
“Even its negative emotions are affecting me. Sometimes, they influence my thoughts and make me behave more aggressively.”
“Minato… I don’t know how much longer I can suppress it. I’m afraid that one day, I’ll hurt you.”
Before she could finish speaking, Minato tightly embraced her.
Minato smiled, leaned close to her ear, and said, “It’s all right, Kushina. I’ll always remain by your side and support you.”
Kushina felt an enormous warmth, and the destructive emotions within her receded slightly.
She tightly returned Minato’s embrace.
“Don’t leave me. Please don’t be late again. I… I’m scared.”
Minato’s eyes became firm.
“Never again, Kushina. I’ll remember this. Today was the last time.”
…Meanwhile, after Rin left, an ANBU operative quickly departed.
He repeatedly used the Body Flicker Technique as he hurried toward the Third Hokage’s residence.
He soon reached Lord Hokage’s residence and waited outside.
A servant immediately went inside to report his arrival.
Before long, Hiruzen Sarutobi emerged in his ceremonial Hokage robes, his expression serious and dignified.
When the ANBU operative saw him, he immediately knelt on one knee.
“Lord Hokage, I have an urgent matter to report.”
Hiruzen’s heart tightened.
This operative was one of his trusted subordinates and had been assigned to constantly monitor the Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki.
Had something happened to Kushina?
That would be catastrophic for Konoha!
He cautiously ordered, “Be brief.”
The ANBU operative said, “Lord Hokage, Minato Namikaze met with the Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki again today.”
“And… this time, he brought someone else with him—a little girl.”