"Y-You… let go!"
Kushina's whole body trembled as she lowered her voice in a furious hiss.
o(▼皿▼メ;)o
Had this man lost his mind?!
Anko was still outside!
"What's wrong, big sister? Did you forget what we talked about?"
Evan tightened his hold around her from behind, voice low and lazy.
"I'm the only one who can save your family. Why the cold face?"
His palms slid slowly up her rounded belly.
Then he buried his face into her crimson hair and inhaled deeply.
(╯▽╰) So sweet…
Kushina struggled twice—
But just like last time, her chakra pathways were sealed.
Her strength was gone. She couldn't break free at all.
She bit her lip hard, forced a breath…
And let him hold her.
"You bastard… If Minato finds out, he'll never forgive you."
Her breathing grew uneven.
That same numbing warmth crept along her spine again.
Evan held her like a greedy beast, savoring her scent, her helpless trembling.
"Will you tell Minato, though?"
His voice curled like smoke against her ear.
"If not… maybe I should kill him first. Then no one would interrupt us."
A wicked smile touched his lips.
[Ding! Hatred Value from Uzumaki Kushina +10,000]
"You—! You wouldn't dare!"
Kushina's voice cracked with emotion.
"If you touch Minato… even as a ghost, I'll haunt you forever!"
She wanted to slap him.
But her limbs refused to obey.
"Look at you, getting anxious again."
Evan brushed the bridge of his nose against her pale neck, tone unbearably gentle.
Kushina forced herself to remain calm.
"What do you want? What will it take for you to help? Or—are you lying to me?"
She tried to suppress her emotions, but the strange sensation he stirred in her only made everything worse.
"If you think I'm lying," Evan said carelessly, "then sure, I'm lying. You're the one who dies, not me."
"You—!"
(╬◣д◢)
These past days had been torture.
The closer her due date crept, the worse her mind spiraled.
Some nights she jolted awake, sweating and shaking.
If not for her Uzumaki vitality, she might've already collapsed.
Death wasn't scary.
Waiting for it was.
She couldn't endure it anymore.
That's why she had sent Anko to fetch Evan—she needed answers.
She wanted to believe he was deceiving her.
She desperately wished it was all fake.
"You're lying… right?" Kushina whispered, pleading without meaning to.
Evan sighed. "If you don't believe me… then see for yourself."
He pulled one hand free and snapped his fingers in front of her.
Snap.
Kyōka Suigetsu — Perfect Hypnosis.
Kushina felt a ripple sweep across her vision—
And suddenly, a scene began to form.
"This is…"
Her eyes widened.
Flames flickered across a vast cavern.
She saw Minato.
She saw Lady Biwako.
She saw herself—drenched in sweat, lying on a birthing bed.
Of course—
This was the day Naruto would be born.
She watched Naruto's tiny form appear…
Everything seemed peaceful at first.
But her heart clenched painfully.
Something was wrong.
And then—
A man in an orange spiraled mask appeared.
"No!"
Kushina screamed and jerked awake.
She gasped violently, chest heaving, hands trembling.
She slumped helplessly against Evan's chest, legs weak.
"T-This isn't real…" Her lips quivered.
Her final memory was of her and Minato—
Both pierced like skewered meat by the Nine-Tails.
Outside, Anko's voice called with concern:
"Senpai? Are you okay?"
Kushina swallowed hard.
"I… I'm fine!"
Evan looked down at the trembling pregnant woman in his arms, a satisfied smile tugging at his lips.
He had used Kyōka Suigetsu to paint fragments of a future he already knew—
And the illusion worked beautifully.
"Big sister," he said softly, "I still have scenes of little Naruto growing up alone… hated by everyone. Want to see?"
"No…" Kushina recoiled instinctively.
Seeing her own death was already unbearable.
If she saw Naruto's miserable childhood—
She truly might break.
Evan didn't push.
He simply held her until her breathing steadied.
After a long silence, Kushina whispered, "What… what did I just see?"
"Come now." Evan laughed quietly.
"You already know the answer."
He nibbled lightly at her ear.
"That was the future I saw."
At those words—
Something inside Kushina collapsed completely.
Tears gathered in her eyes, spilling down her cheeks.
Their future…
Was it really doomed to be so cruel?
Why?
Why did she suffer as a child…
Only for her own son to suffer even worse?
╥﹏╥
"Look at you, crying again."
Evan wiped her tears with surprising gentleness.
Kushina sniffed—
Just as she felt a faint warmth from him—
"Crying won't fix anything, you know."
"You—!"
[Hatred Value from Uzumaki Kushina +10,000]
"But I can help you," Evan said simply.
He turned her around to face him, lifting her chin.
"I can save Minato.
I can save you.
And I can keep Naruto from suffering that horrible future."
His voice wove into her heart like a devil's whisper.
Kushina bit her lip, hope flickering amid despair.
Yes…
If he was willing…
"Please," she begged, all pride falling away.
"Help me. Help Minato. Help my baby."
"I can," Evan said lightly.
"But big sister… aren't you forgetting something? I deserve a reward, don't I? Why should I help for free?"
Kushina froze.
"What… what reward do you want?"
"You've forgotten what I told you last time?"
"You— you dream! I won't agree!"
"Then just wait.
Wait for the Nine-Tails to burst free.
Wait for Minato to die in front of you.
Wait for your son to be hated by the whole village."
Kushina went still.
Who else in the Leaf could stop the Nine-Tails?
Hiruzen?
But in the illusion… he had barely done anything.
And that masked man…
Maybe—
Just maybe—
Evan was the only person she could rely on.
He was a monster like Minato—
A prodigy who rose from the battlefield drenched in blood.
"Why should I trust you?" Kushina whispered.
Evan leaned close, forehead almost touching hers.
"Because you have no one else to trust.
Unless big sister has another solution?"
Silence flooded the room.
After a long time, Kushina's trembling voice finally rose again.
"…If everything ends safely—
If Minato and my child live…
Then whatever you want…
I'll obey."
…
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