Son?
Who was this "Son" the Nine-Tails was talking about? Did the Nine-Tails actually have friends?
Kushina Uzumaki was curious, but she couldn't get an answer from the Nine-Tails' words.
Naruto took down Mizuki and successfully became a Konoha ninja.
"I'm the grandson of the Third Hokage! Go ahead and try hitting me!"
It was Konohamaru!
"What does that have to do with me, idiot!"
Thud!
Naruto's merciless punch reminded Kushina Uzumaki of something from her own memories.
I'm the grandson of the Third Hokage! Go ahead and try hitting me if you dare!
Pfft! I'm the son of the Fourth Hokage! Why should I care who you are?! Your status has nothing to do with me! Why wouldn't I dare hit you?!
"Ahhh!! You really hit me!! But you're different from everyone else! And the Fourth Hokage-sama is my idol, so from today on, you're my big brother!"
From then on, Konohamaru became Naruto's little follower.
It was pretty much the same as the situation now.
"Sexy Jutsu: Harem Technique!!"
Kushina felt her fists harden again.
"What the heck is all this nonsense, dattebane!!!"
Because Obito was "dead," Kakashi became the Jōnin instructor for Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura.
"Obito-nii, you're cheating! As long as you escape into Kamui's Dimension, there's no way we can steal the bells, dattebayo!"
"And," Sasuke stared at their Jōnin instructor, Obito Uchiha, "your Intangibility can make the bells on you intangible too, right?"
"Hiss, you two little brats! I told you to call me Obito-sensei!!" Obito Uchiha, dressed in a Jōnin uniform, rubbed his short black hair. "Why would I need the Mangekyō Sharingan against the three of you? I don't even need the Sharingan, okay?"
To provoke Sasuke, Obito deliberately added, "Of course, if my opponent were your older brother, that would be a different matter. I'd have to handle him carefully."
Naruto said, "Right, right! Sasuke's older brother is super strong! I heard he's Kakashi-san's most capable assistant in the ANBU now."
They were known as the ANBU Twin Blossoms.
Naruto's words were no different from twisting the knife a second time for Sasuke. Since childhood, he had taken his older brother as his goal, so he hated hearing things like this the most. Hearing that Itachi had gotten even stronger did not hurt quite as much as being told he himself had gotten weaker, but his small, childish pride still couldn't quite take it.
Because it meant the distance between him and his older brother was only growing wider.
Especially now. His older brother usually worked with Kakashi in the ANBU, and even on his days off, he would accompany Shisui-san on Uchiha Police Force patrols to help people in need.
It was true that thanks to Shisui-san, his older brother, and Obito, the Uchiha clan's reputation in Konoha had improved a great deal.
But his older brother hadn't trained with him in months!!!
"Naruto, as a ninja, you must never leave your back exposed to the enemy."
That was the Tiger Seal!
Kushina froze. Even if Kakashi had gone from the untouchable ANBU in her memories to this delinquent Chūnin holding a little yellow book, there was no way he would use an enemy ninjutsu with that much killing power on Naruto, right?
"Konoha Secret Finger Jutsu: Taijutsu Ultimate Technique."
"What?!"
A ninjutsu even Kushina had never seen!
"One Thousand Years of Death!!"
Pfft!
"Yaaaaaah!"
Kushina Uzumaki: "…"
What appeared in her field of vision was the scene Naruto saw after he shot forward, traced a parabola through the air, and plunged straight into the river.
["Hmph! Boring. Humans really are stupid as hell!"]
The Nine-Tails blew a snot bubble and went back to sleeping in its cage.
"Kakashi, you've really done it this time, dattebane."
"Maybe because I haven't been around all these years, you've forgotten the reputation of The Red-Hot Habanero, dattebane."
A huge vein bulged on Kushina Uzumaki's forehead, and her fists clenched so tightly they creaked.
"If I hang you at the village gate with Adamantine Sealing Chains, Obito and Rin won't feel sorry for you either, dattebane!!!"
At that moment, Kakashi Hatake still had no idea he was already close to dying.
Kushina's fiery temper even made the Yang Nine-Tails, who had shared the memories with her, break out in a cold sweat.
"Fine, eat. Dead last, don't drag us down again later."
"Huh? But Kakashi-sensei said…"
"He's not here. Besides, if you hold us back again because you're hungry, it'll be a problem."
"Sasuke-kun… Then Naruto, you can eat my portion!!"
"You lot!!!!!"
"It's Kakashi!!"
"Oh no!!"
"Everyone passes."
"Huh?!"
"A ninja must stay calm no matter the situation, judge carefully, and then act. Those who break the Shinobi Rules are trash. But those who don't cherish their comrades are worse than trash."
This line had also appeared in Kushina Uzumaki's memories. ANBU Kakashi had taken it deeply to heart as well, treating it as his own creed and keeping it close to his lips.
On the other hand, Obito, the one who had originally said it, was often left unbearably embarrassed by it.
That was because one time, he secretly overheard Kakashi speaking with his subordinate, Obito's junior, Itachi Uchiha. Itachi said, "Kakashi-senpai is amazing for coming up with such a cool line. The day before yesterday, Shisui and I also swore that we'd never betray each other."
"I'm not the one who said that."
"Huh? Then…?"
"My hero said it."
Obito Uchiha, Konoha's elite Jōnin, had been planning to pick Kakashi up from work on his way, grab a simple meal together, and choose a birthday present for Rin. Instead, he suddenly hid in a dark corner, slid down against the wall, and curled into a ball from sheer embarrassment, his heart racing wildly and his face burning red.
Damn it, stupid Kakashi! What kind of weird stuff was he saying to little Itachi?!
Seriously!!
"Pfft."
Who the hell dared laugh at him?!
He looked up.
"Yo~"
Shisui Uchiha raised a hand in greeting to Obito Uchiha, while making it perfectly clear: I'm the one laughing.
Damn it!
Water and earth don't mix! Water and earth don't mix!!!
Itachi Uchiha said, "Shisui."
Kakashi said, "Obito, why are you here?"
Itachi Uchiha looked perfectly calm when he saw the clan's "water and earth don't mix duo."
By contrast, Kakashi had probably realized that Obito had overheard their conversation, and his gaze was clearly a little evasive.
"I passed by the dango shop and saw there was no line even though the dango had just come out, so I bought some." Shisui Uchiha adjusted the bag in his arms. "It's too cold. If I ate them alone, they'd go cold before I finished."
The young Itachi Uchiha's serious little expression immediately brightened. He greeted his senpai, then ran over to his close friend from the clan with quick little steps.
After the two of them left, Obito Uchiha became awkward and stiff.
"Come with me to pick out a gift for Rin."
They had already agreed on it earlier, and Obito Uchiha was already late.
"Mm. Do you have anything in mind?"
Obito Uchiha, dressed in a thick Jōnin uniform with a green tactical vest over it, glanced at the person beside him.
"Who the hell invented the ANBU uniform?" Even Obito Uchiha, who was dressed warmly, shivered in the cold wind. "Hiss, just looking at you makes me cold."
Afterward, Kakashi didn't think too much of it. But once the two of them had picked out gifts for Rin, Obito also paid for a red scarf.
He scratched his head. "I remember you always wore one of these when you were little, but green doesn't match the ANBU uniform."
He, Obito Uchiha, was a man who stood at the forefront of Ninja World fashion in every parallel world.
Even with nail polish, he had to match it to each person's identity and hair color.
ANBU Kakashi looked at the scarf around his neck, which would definitely drag on the ground if he wore it. Fashion sense? This?
"Same as the Jōnin gift. No returns or exchanges."
...
Fine.
The Land of Waves mission in the Nine-Tails' memories also differed greatly from the Land of Waves mission in Kushina's memories.
Unlike in the Nine-Tails' memories, in Kushina's memories, Haku and Zabuza had not become Missing-nin. Instead, they were highly valued by the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi.
"If you don't tell us the truth, we can't continue this mission."
Obito Uchiha set aside his usual good-natured attitude. Once his face turned stern, the pressure he gave off was far more frightening than Kakashi, Itachi, or Shisui.
After Tazuna gave a long, pitiful explanation, he finally confessed everything about Gatō.
At that point, the enemies hired by Gatō appeared as well.
The two contradictory sets of memories in Kushina Uzumaki's mind seemed to split into two different images.
In the Nine-Tails' memories, they were Haku and Zabuza.
But in Kushina's memories, they were Jūzō Biwa and Kisame Hoshigaki.
"They're Missing-nin from Kirigakure!"
Facing powerful enemies for the first time, Obito Uchiha, as a Jōnin, wanted to give his three students more chances to gain experience.
He deliberately allowed himself to be captured and pretended he couldn't break free from the enemy's water prison, wanting to see how Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura would help him escape.
However…
"Obito-sensei…" Sakura gave him a deadpan stare. "Isn't this… a little too fake?"
It was just a water prison!
Against someone known for Intangibility like Obito, even reinforced concrete wouldn't work, right?!
Obito Uchiha: "…"
He walked out of the water prison with a speechless and extremely embarrassed expression.
"See through it, but don't say it out loud. Got it?"
Naruto laughed and said, "The only person who could trap Obito-san's Intangibility would be Kakashi-san if he'd been hiding in Kamui's Dimension from the very beginning. No one else could possibly do it!!"
"That's why I said this trick isn't interesting at all. Don't drag us into your pranks next time, Obito."
With a thud, Kisame Hoshigaki transformed into ANBU Kakashi.
"So it really was Kakashi-san, dattebayo!"
The same went for Jūzō Biwa. When his face was stern, nothing seemed out of place, but once he smiled faintly, it was obvious no S-rank Missing-nin would have such a gentle smile.
"I was actually looking forward to fighting Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura. Looks like that'll have to wait until next time."
Although his appearance was still Jūzō Biwa, his voice had already returned to normal.
"Older brother?!"
Sasuke looked surprised, with a bit of unexpected excitement and happiness mixed in.
The two Konoha ninja in ANBU uniforms walked toward them. Obito Uchiha used Fire Release to dry the clothes that had been soaked by the water prison.
Naruto and Sakura were naturally happy to run into familiar faces during a mission.
Obito Uchiha asked, "Did your mission go smoothly?"
"Mm. It wasn't anything troublesome, just running an errand for the Fourth Hokage-sama." Kakashi still referred to Minato Namikaze as the Fourth Hokage-sama with complete seriousness.
Naruto said, "Running an errand for Dad?"