"You! Who are you?!"
The two men who suddenly leapt out startled Kushina.
It was not that she, as a ninja, lacked vigilance.
It was just that one moment, she had still been humming a little tune while cooking at home, and the next, she had suddenly appeared on this beach?
Being questioned so warily about who she was gave her the strange feeling that she, the stranger, had suddenly barged into someone else's home. She quickly raised the spoon in her hand to show that she was not anyone suspicious.
At the same time, once Kushina Uzumaki calmed down, she began doing her best to gather whatever information she could.
Beneath her feet was soft, fine sand, and she was still wearing the pink slippers she used at home.
Nearby, wave after wave washed against the shore, while farther out, the sea struck the reefs with a steady crash.
The two men watching her warily were dressed as ninjas, with swords at their waists. The pouches behind them were definitely ninja tool pouches.
Aside from that, there were two things that kept Kushina's little hot temper from immediately flaring up.
First, the hair of these two male ninjas.
Hair as red as blood.
One had short hair, with a small braid left at one sideburn.
The other had long hair tied into a slightly high ponytail.
Second, the chakra of these two male ninjas.
A familiar, intimate scent.
Just like this place's geography, it reminded her of the homeland she had almost forgotten.
The two male ninjas exchanged a glance.
Because of the woman's long red hair and the chakra unique to the Uzumaki Clan, they also did not drive her away or take any other action.
But the Land of Whirlpools was not large. If there were a girl of this age, how could two unmarried, single older bachelors like them not know about her?!
Especially since this woman's chakra reserves were enormous, which clearly showed her bloodline was pure.
She was also beautiful.
Mm.
The two male ninjas from the Uzumaki Clan of the Warring States Period exchanged another look, as if they had read what the other wanted to say from each other's eyes.
There were only two things they could not explain.
First, where had this girl of their clan, whom neither of them knew, come from? How had she suddenly appeared on their patrol route?
Second, the clothes she was wearing...
They really were a little strange.
If Kushina knew what they were thinking, she would definitely tell them, dattebane, that these were just her most ordinary home clothes. What was strange about them, dattebane?!
"What's your name...?"
After the exchange of glances, one of the two young Uzumaki men spoke first.
Kushina examined the two of them for a long time, nearly making both men blush, but she could not find any symbol from any ninja village on them.
They were not from Konoha, nor were they from Iwa, Suna, Kumo, or Kiri.
Since they were not enemies, Kushina gave her name for the time being.
"Kushina."
"Kushina Uzumaki."
The moment she finished speaking, the two red-haired young ninjas opposite her brightened.
"She really is a member of the Uzumaki Clan!"
"Could she be a lost clanswoman returning to recognize her roots?"
"I'll stay here with her. You hurry and notify the Clan Head!"
"Got it!"
The young Uzumaki man with the small braid at one sideburn had just agreed and was about to turn around when he suddenly felt something was not quite right.
"Why can't I stay here with her while you notify the Clan Head?"
"Tsk, you actually noticed!"
"What happened to being brothers in hardship for life?! You actually tried to scheme against me! Come on! Let's fight!"
"As if you can beat me. Make your move! I'll give you three Fūinjutsu moves!"
"Don't go too far! The Fūinjutsu I just learned recently will definitely knock you down in one move!"
This style of arguing was truly characteristic of the Uzumaki Clan...
That red hair and short-tempered, easily angered personality...
Kushina Uzumaki: "..." Her face was full of confusion and speechlessness.
She seemed to understand something.
But when she looked at the two fair, slender young ninjas opposite her...
They looked even more girlish than Minato.
Even prettier than Minato's junior brother, Nagato, one of the few remaining members of her clan.
This explosive, easily ignited temper really was not much like Nagato's. Now that she thought about it, which side had the gentle, soft-spoken Nagato taken after?
"I said, you two should stop arguing first, dattebane."
The two fair and pretty young Uzumaki men were no longer arguing. They had already started fighting, and they were even using Fūinjutsu.
Kushina: Oh, this little temper of mine!
"I. Said. You. Two. Stop. Right. Now!!"
The Blood-Red Hot Habanero successfully came online.
Her chakra surged upward, and her long red hair flared and swayed like the tails of the Nine-Tails.
In particular, with the Uzumaki Clan's extremely strong perception, the two sensed her restless Adamantine Sealing Chains, that special Kekkei Genkai that, most of the time, only female Uzumaki clansmen could inherit.
The two young men who had been competing with Fūinjutsu instantly wilted, hugging each other tightly in fright.
That was right! She was a female ninja of the Uzumaki Clan!
That level of temper! That overwhelming power! She might even possess the Adamantine Sealing Chains Kekkei Genkai!
Kushina Uzumaki said, "I. Am. Going. Home. Now. To. Cook. For. My. Husband. And. Son! Can. You. Tell. Me. How. To. Get. Home?!"
Huh?!
The two young single male Uzumaki ninjas, inwardly crying, felt a wave of regret.
The ponytailed man weakly raised his hand. "If you're a ninja of the Uzumaki Clan, shouldn't you stay in our Land of Whirlpools? Or are you actually from the Senju Clan?"
The Land of Whirlpools?
The Senju Clan?
"Wait! Where exactly is this? No, that's not right! What era is this?! What year of Konoha is it right now?!"
"It's the Warring States Period right now."
"Wait, you said Konoha?!"
The two young men of the Uzumaki Clan turned grave. Just over ten minutes ago, they had heard that name several times from the footage in the sky.
"You couldn't be... from Konoha, could you?!"
At this exact moment.
Before Kushina Uzumaki could even process how they could have heard of Konoha Ninja Village if this really was the legendary Warring States Period, the footage that everyone had thought was over suddenly lit up again.
At this moment, Team Minato, Team Kakashi, Madara Uchiha, Izuna, and Tajima, who had been revived by the mission scroll, as well as Hashirama Senju, Tobirama, Butsuma, Obito Ōtsutsuki, and the others, were all standing at the entrance of the largest gambling house in the Land of Fire.
They had thought the footage would end there.
Who would have thought that after more than ten minutes of silence, a new public execution would come?
When he saw that the scene was the Five Kage Summit, Obito Ōtsutsuki nearly died on the spot.
Thinking back to the old days, the very first piece of footage in their Quiz World had been the Five Kage Summit!!!
Damn it! Forget this! He was done! He was not playing anymore!
"Oh, right! I suddenly remembered that tomorrow, I have to go with Kakashi and take those three little ancestors to the Land of Snow on a mission. Calculating the time, I really should leave. Ah, no! I'm going to be late!"
After saying that, he opened a black spatial cross-section and tactically retreated right in front of Adult Obito.
Leaving Young Obito and Adult Obito to continue enduring all this...
The footage showed a sealed room. At a glance, it was clear that several important figures were holding confidential talks inside.
"Why is it here again? How long is this thing going to keep existing?"
Inside the Land of Whirlpools, an Uzumaki Clan ninja complained.
Kushina Uzumaki, who had just arrived in this world, was completely stunned.
Fire, Wind, Water, Earth, Lightning.
The large characters written on the silk banners hanging from the second floor represented the five great ninja nations of the Ninja World.
Below them were six tables.
Aside from Mifune of the Land of Iron, Kushina Uzumaki knew everyone else.
Representing the Land of Lightning was the Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure, A.
Representing the Land of Earth was the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, Ōnoki of Both Scales.
Representing the Land of Water was...
At this point, Kushina froze.
In her memory, the one serving as the Mizukage of the Land of Water's Kirigakure should have been the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi. So why was there a female ninja wearing the Mizukage's hat?
And the Kazekage of the Land of Wind's Sunagakure was Gaara?!
But considering that child's excellence, it would not be impossible for his father, the Fourth Kazekage Rasa, to abdicate in his favor a few years later.
Of course, what nearly made Kushina Uzumaki explode the most was...
The Hokage was...
"Danzō Shimura?!!!!"
That shocked cry startled the two young Uzumaki men from the Warring States Period.
"What exactly is going on here, dattebane?"
The footage in the sky rotated once, and Mifune, the host, spoke.
["I am Mifune, responsible for this Five Kage Summit. Then let us get straight to the point."]
["Very well. I'll begin."]
The one speaking was the Fifth Kazekage, Gaara.
["I was once a Jinchūriki as well. I was captured by the Akatsuki, and Shukaku was extracted from me. I nearly died. Several times, I requested that the other Kage remain cautious of the Akatsuki, and ideally join forces to eliminate them, but aside from the previous Hokage, who is now unconscious, I received no response from anyone."]
["Now, Akatsuki has already obtained almost all the Tailed Beasts. To be honest, by the time we try to huddle together for warmth now, it is already too late."]
Those words made Kushina's brows lock together.
Akatsuki.
Wasn't that Nagato and his friends' organization?!
Just last week, the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire had a cross-border mission, and Yahiko had asked Minato, his senior brother, for help. Minato had even specially sent Obito and the others to assist them.
By rights, they should have returned today. She had even specially made a big meal to welcome Naruto home, dattebane!
What was the meaning of suddenly coming to this baffling world?!
And Gaara said the previous Hokage was unconscious? Kushina clearly remembered that Minato had used the Flying Thunder God Technique to come home for lunch at noon, rested for a while, and then left. How had he suddenly become unconscious?!
Was it food poisoning?!
No way?!
Kushina Uzumaki had never been especially good at thinking things through, and now all this information was truly making her head feel twice as big.
During the meeting, that old Tsuchikage kept making things difficult for Gaara, the new Kazekage.
Danzō Shimura, acting in place of the Hokage, dragged things out and never got to the point. He looked more like a troublemaker stirring the pot.
Kushina's short temper was about to snap.
But the one who could hold back even less than her was the Fourth Raikage, A.
With one punch, he smashed the conference table in front of him. The guards behind each Kage all appeared in a flash, forming a multi-sided standoff as they restrained one another.
What Kushina noticed was that the ones who jumped out behind Danzō Shimura were Torune Aburame of the Aburame Clan and Fū Yamanaka of the Yamanaka Clan.
If Minato had gone to attend the Five Kage Summit, the people he would most likely have brought were that brat Obito and Kakashi. If one of those two had been busy, he might have replaced them with Shikaku Nara-senpai, who was always muttering that everything was such a pain.
Thinking of Shikaku Nara, Kushina really wished she had a super brain like his right now.
She listened to the footage in the sky talk about how Akatsuki was a terrorist organization made up of super-class Missing-nin from various nations, how the ninja villages of various countries had actually hired Akatsuki before, and how many ninja villages had suffered terrible losses while Akatsuki was collecting the Tailed Beasts...
"Konoha was razed to the ground?! Post-war reconstruction?!!"
Kushina Uzumaki went completely numb.
At this moment, she was still wearing home clothes, holding a spoon in her hand, pressing her forehead and wondering whether she had fallen asleep while cooking. Maybe this situation was just a dream she had yet to wake from.
["In fact, we have long suspected that the Fourth Mizukage was also under someone's control, pushing Kirigakure, already known as the Bloody Mist Village, into even more extreme tyranny and causing the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist to die or defect one after another."]
Kushina froze. The person speaking in the footage in the sky was a beauty dressed in aqua-blue.
Yagura Karatachi had been controlled by someone?!
No matter what, that baby-faced man was still the Fourth Mizukage! How could he have been controlled, while Kirigakure's ninjas could only suspect it even now?
Compared with Kushina's confusion at this moment...
Or rather, compared with her tilted head and blank face as her brain had already stopped thinking...
In another place in the Warring States Period, Adult Obito Uchiha was crouched in a corner, clutching his head.
...
Kushina is the Kushina from the mission scroll world.
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