Uzumaki Kushina's voice trembled in the silent night. The pair of blue eyes behind the door crack, like a ship searching for a lighthouse in the deep sea, were filled with unease and anticipation.
Gu Lingxiao on the sofa did not open his eyes, but his mask appeared exceptionally cold under the moonlight.
His silence made Uzumaki Kushina's heart sink bit by bit.
Just when she thought she wouldn't get an answer, that voice belonging solely to her exploded in her mind with an arrogance that bordered on contempt!
"Fate?"
"Should a Jinchuriki be treated as a weapon for the Village and a cage for a Tailed Beast, drained of all value, and then miserably die when the Tailed Beast is extracted?"
"What a load of crap!"
"Since I have arrived, this nonsensical script must be rewritten!"
Boom!
These words did not sound like inner thoughts; they sounded more like a domineering declaration from some supreme existence. Every word carried an irrefutable, majestic power, slamming fiercely into Uzumaki Kushina's heart.
She was completely stunned.
She had anticipated countless answers—pessimistic, realistic, or cruel—but she had never expected such a... wildly arrogant negation.
It was as if so-called "fate" was nothing more than a joke that could be molded at will in his eyes.
This sudden shock sent a strange warmth surging through Uzumaki Kushina's limbs, which had been frozen with fear.
However, this warmth did not last three seconds before Gu Lingxiao's next inner thought poured over her like a bucket of ice water mixed with shards of ice, drenching her from head to toe.
"But then again, Uzumaki Kushina's fate is indeed quite miserable."
"But the most miserable one isn't her; it's her unlucky husband."
"For the sake of a rotten, so-called 'Village,' he couldn't even protect his own wife and child, dying together, and in the end, he was enshrined on the Memorial Stone as a hero to be remembered. He's practically the biggest sucker of the year."
"Unlucky husband..."
These five words were like five poison-tipped ice needles, stabbing fiercely into Uzumaki Kushina's heart.
The warmth that had just surged up dissipated instantly without a trace. A chill, deeper and more biting than before, rushed from the soles of her feet straight to her crown.
The world before her eyes seemed to lose its color at this moment, leaving only the words "unlucky husband" and "dying together" spinning crazily in her mind, slamming against every one of her fragile nerves.
Minato Namikaze...
That man as warm as the sun, that Yellow Flash hailed as the hero of Konoha—in this man's heart, his final ending was merely a "sucker" who couldn't even protect his wife and child?
Fear, unprecedented fear, gripped her throat like an invisible giant hand, making her almost unable to breathe.
Her fingers gripping the door frame turned white from the force, and her complexion turned as pale as paper in an instant.
Gu Lingxiao on the sofa finally noticed something was wrong with her. He opened his eyes and looked at the bloodless face behind the door crack, as well as the blue eyes filled with fear, and couldn't help but frown.
[It stands to reason that it hasn't been long since Uzumaki Kushina became a Jinchuriki, why is she still so scared?]
So, he spoke, using a reassuring tone that carried a hint of taken-for-grantedness: "Your fate is in your own hands. As a member of the Uzumaki Clan, your talent is second only to the First Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Mito. Handling a little fox shouldn't be difficult, right?"
Little fox?
Handling?
Uzumaki Kushina's brain had somewhat crashed due to immense fear and sorrow, and she couldn't understand the meaning of his words for a moment.
How could I handle it? That is the Nine-Tailed! A natural disaster capable of destroying a Village!
Just as she was full of confusion, Gu Lingxiao's inner voice sounded again, solving this doubt for her.
And this time, the content of the inner voice veered in a direction that caught her off guard.
[Kurama is actually just a tsundere, a classic case of having a sharp tongue but a soft heart.]
[If you were just a little nicer to it, softened your attitude, and chatted with it when you had nothing to do, wouldn't that be more pleasant than constantly playing political games with those old foxes like the Third?]
[At least Kurama doesn't have that many dirty, scheming thoughts.]
Ku... rama?
Uzumaki Kushina was stunned.
This strange pronunciation, it sounded... a bit like a name?
The Nine-Tailed's name?
And... tsundere?
What does that mean? It doesn't sound like a bad word.
She subconsciously repeated the word in her heart. Immediately, an absurd image formed in her mind uncontrollably: that ferocious Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, representing disaster and destruction, turning its head away with an awkward expression, saying "Hmph, who wants your concern," but the nine huge tails behind it were wagging happily...
"Pfft—!"
A very light, irrepressible laugh rang out abruptly in the silent night.
Uzumaki Kushina herself was stunned.
She actually... laughed?
[Image]
After experiencing such fear and despair, she actually laughed because of an inexplicable "tsundere"?
This was simply too absurd.
But once that laughter surged up, it couldn't be stopped, and even a few physiological tears welled up in the corners of her eyes, diluting the fear that had been impossible to dissolve earlier.
So... that's how it is?
Nine-Tailed... Kurama, it's just a... tsundere?
Gu Lingxiao was also baffled by her sudden laughter.
He looked at the woman behind the door crack, laughing until she was trembling, and the brow under his mask furrowed even tighter.
[Did I say something funny just now?]
[What is up with this woman? One second she was scared like she saw a ghost, and the next she's laughing like this? Is her mental state that unstable? As expected of a Jinchuriki...]
He muttered in his heart, but his gaze uncontrollably slid down along her shoulders, which were heaving from laughter.
It was late at night, and she was only wearing a thin, cool silk nightdress, with her long fiery red hair draped casually over her shoulders.
Because she was laughing with her head lowered, the loose neckline of her nightdress opened slightly. Under the bright moonlight, it outlined a breathtakingly deep curve.
That expanse of snow-white skin, illuminated by the moonlight, was putting on a magnificent spectacle with her breathing and laughter.
[Hiss...]
Gu Lingxiao's Adam's apple rolled involuntarily.
[This figure... is really against the rules...]
[Did this kid Minato Namikaze save the entire Ninja World?]
This familiar inner voice, filled with the admiration typical of a lecher, caused the complex expression on Uzumaki Kushina's face to freeze instantly.
She raised her head abruptly, and the flush that had just appeared on her cheeks became even hotter.
She glared at the man sitting upright on the sofa, gritted her teeth, and felt ashamed and annoyed in her heart, but she couldn't be bothered to argue about this profanity anymore.
This jerk!
She slammed the door shut with a "bang," isolating that distracting gaze and inner voice.
Behind the door panel, she could still feel her hot cheeks and her wildly beating heart.
However...
Kurama... tsundere...
Uzumaki Kushina leaned against the back of the door, the corners of her mouth curling up uncontrollably again, and in those deep blue eyes, an unprecedented light ignited.
Perhaps... tomorrow she could try greeting it in her heart?