On the rooftop, Leo couldn't help but smile as he listened to Kushina's grumbling below.
He had originally planned to go down and greet her, but hearing her continue to mutter to herself, he decided to stay where he was and listen a little longer.
"That guy always walks around with that cold face—like everyone owes him money!"
"And he's always disappearing, showing up out of nowhere! So mysterious!"
"Hmph! When he gets back, I'm definitely gonna give him a good beating!"
"No, no… knowing me, I'll probably get beaten instead!"
Kushina stamped her foot hard, her small face full of frustration.
Up on the roof, Leo was nearly dying of laughter.
It wasn't that he wanted to act cold all the time—life in this world simply left him no choice.
With danger lurking everywhere, one careless moment could turn him into cannon fodder.
Who could live carefree under such pressure?
As for his constant disappearances… that came with the job.
Being an ANBU meant he couldn't just show up in public whenever he wanted.
Still, he'd noticed everything Kushina had done for him and truly appreciated it.
But hearing her talk about "beating him up" left him covered in metaphorical black lines.
Was this girl really that fierce?
Yet the next second, she admitted she'd probably get beaten instead, and Leo couldn't help but chuckle.
His amusement leaked out as a faint breath.
Kushina's sensing ability—something innate to the Uzumaki clan—immediately picked it up.
Her face tensed. "Who's there? Come out!"
She glanced around but saw no one.
"Strange… maybe I imagined it?" she muttered, frowning.
At that point, Leo couldn't hide anymore.
He dropped down from the roof, landing silently behind her.
Kushina spun around on reflex—and froze when she saw Leo standing there.
"Evening," Leo greeted calmly, raising a hand in casual salute.
For a few seconds, Kushina just stood there, staring blankly at him, her brain completely blank.
If he'd been there the whole time… then he'd heard everything she'd said.
A wave of embarrassment and fury surged up in her chest.
Then she eEXPloded. "Leo, you—!"
She charged forward, flailing her arms as if to claw at him.
Leo knew he had, in fact, been eavesdropping—unintentionally, sure, but still.
He didn't even try to dodge. With his current body, her punches were basically harmless.
As long as she wasn't Tsunade-level strong, he'd be fine.
But to his surprise, Kushina didn't swing her fists at all.
Instead, she lunged forward—and hugged him tightly.
Her small hands clenched against his chest, but the strength had drained from them.
"Don't keep disappearing all the time," she said softly, her voice trembling. "And don't do so many dangerous things. Even if you don't care about yourself… you should know that someone else does."
Leo blinked, momentarily stunned. Wait—this script's going in a completely different direction…
Still, his hand moved instinctively, gently resting on her head.
"What's this all of a sudden? Did something happen?" he asked quietly.
"N-no… nothing."
Kushina released him, turning her face away slightly.
But that hesitation—those evasive eyes—told him everything.
There was something wrong.
And more than that, he saw something in her gaze he'd never seen before—fear.
For someone like Kushina, bright and bold to the point of recklessness, fear simply wasn't part of her nature—especially not in front of a friend.
So what could she possibly be afraid of?
Leo's Observation Haki still couldn't read minds, so he had to wait.
And then, her trembling voice gave him the answer.
"Leo-kun… if—if one day I became a monster… what would you think of me?"
The words came out haltingly, fragile and uncertain.
Leo felt the slight tremor of her body in his arms—the fear of a girl who was utterly lost and helpless.
At that moment, she wasn't the fierce "Red Hot-Blooded Habanero."
She was just a frightened child.
Anyone else might've laughed it off as a joke.
But Leo understood instantly.
The Nine-Tails.
Everything stemmed from that beast.
The Uzumaki clan's destiny was to serve as its vessel—the jinchūriki.
But… had Kushina already become the Nine-Tails' host?
As far as Leo knew, the previous jinchūriki—Uzumaki Mito—hadn't yet been reported dead.
And without immense strength, accepting the Nine-Tails would easily lead to being overwhelmed or even going berserk.
Kushina had only just been kidnapped by Cloud shinobi a few days ago—how could the sealing have happened so soon?
Besides, he couldn't sense any of that sinister, chaotic chakra in her at all.
The timeline didn't add up.
Then again, the original story had been vague about this period—leaving only fragments for him to piece together himself.
Still, the path seemed unchanged.
Kushina was destined to become the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki.
The thought made Leo's heart tighten slightly.
But in the end, that didn't matter.
Whether now or in the future, her fate seemed inescapable.
And while he couldn't rewrite it yet, Leo believed it wouldn't be long before he could.
That day wasn't far away.
He smiled faintly and said,
"No matter what happens, or what you become—so long as you're still you, I'll never see you any differently. In my eyes, you'll never be a monster—only the same lively, adorable girl you've always been."
As he spoke, he reached out and gently brushed his fingers along her cheek, his gaze calm, steady, and utterly sincere.
To Leo, being a jinchūriki just meant having an unruly fox living inside you.
If the fox behaved, all the better.
If it didn't—well, he'd just beat the Nine-Tails into submission himself.
Hearing those words, seeing that unshakable honesty in his eyes, all of Kushina's fear melted away.
Her lips curved into a bright smile—pure relief and joy shining through.
"Then it's a promise! For life! No take-backs!" she declared.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on P@treon if you're interested: patreon.com/HorizonStudios0