"Alright… for the sake of the future, I guess we really do have to find a way to change Naruto."
Kushina hesitated for a moment before finally agreeing.
Just as Kakashi had expected.
If he had tried persuading her with lofty talk about duty and the greater good, Kushina would not have cared in the slightest. If anything, it probably would have backfired.
In fact, when Kakashi was only halfway through his explanation, Kushina had already been preparing to argue.
Fortunately, Kakashi spoke quickly enough to get the rest out before she could interrupt.
The moment he mentioned that Naruto's future son and daughter would both suffer bullying, and that Sasuke's daughter would too, Kushina swallowed every objection that had already reached the tip of her tongue.
The shinobi world's history had changed drastically.
Boruto and Himawari, as they originally existed, were already gone. Even if children with those names eventually appeared in the future, they would be entirely different versions of them.
And considering Naruto and Sasuke's current relationship, it wasn't exactly impossible that the original future would disappear completely.
Kushina understood that much.
But she also knew Orochimaru had already managed to create Sarada for Sasuke without requiring the usual process.
Which meant Naruto having children in the future was hardly impossible either.
And as the saying went, grandparents often spoiled their grandchildren even more than their own children.
Kushina barely had to imagine it before making her choice.
Besides, the more she thought about Kakashi's theory connecting the Will of Bullying with Naruto's personality, the more troubling it became.
If Naruto was the Child of Prophecy, didn't that effectively make him a puppet of Heaven's Will?
Put more harshly, only by changing Naruto and freeing him from the restraints imposed by the Child of Prophecy and Asura's destiny could Naruto truly become her son.
Otherwise, he might as well be Hagoromo's son.
And so, for the sake of restoring Naruto's free will—and to keep her future grandchildren from ever experiencing the same bullying—
Kushina agreed to help Kakashi.
If anything, at this point, her determination to overturn the Will of Bullying was even stronger than Kakashi's or Itachi's.
"Great. That should make persuading the Nine-Tails much easier too."
Kakashi let out a huge sigh of relief.
A good start.
Hopefully that was a sign.
"Persuading the Nine-Tails?"
Kushina glanced toward the Engraved Tsukuyomi equipment.
"Right. If the Nine-Tails interferes, Naruto probably won't even be able to use this properly."
Then she thought for a moment.
"How about this? Tell me everything you want to say to the Nine-Tails first.
"Afterward, I'll make chakra contact with Naruto. His Nine-Tails will be able to receive the message directly without Naruto noticing anything unusual."
"Good idea."
Kakashi considered it and nodded.
There was only one problem.
If they used this method, they would only get one real chance to persuade Kurama.
There would be no second round of debate.
If they needed a second round, they might as well have approached him normally from the beginning.
With no other choice, Kakashi began drafting his argument like someone preparing an important essay.
He wrote version after version.
Yet no matter how he phrased it, he could never feel completely confident that any single argument would definitely convince Kurama.
When he asked Kushina for help, she admitted she had no idea what the temperament of Naruto's half of the Nine-Tails was like these days either.
In the end, Kakashi gave up trying to find one perfect argument.
He simply went for quantity.
He handed Kushina every persuasive angle he could possibly think of.
Surely one of them would work.
Then the two returned to Kirigakure.
Kushina transformed into a popsicle vendor pushing a small ice cart, and together with Kakashi, she entered the undeveloped beach area.
They went around handing frozen treats to everyone.
When it was Naruto's turn, the instant Kushina passed him his popsicle, the Nine-Tails inside him received a massive packet of information.
Strictly speaking, physical contact was unnecessary.
Naruto was already a perfect jinchūriki with no meaningful seal restricting Kurama anymore. At this distance, Kurama could transmit information perfectly well without touching anyone.
There was just so much information this time that direct contact made the transfer faster.
Kurama received the message—
And froze.
He did not read a single word of Kakashi's carefully prepared essays.
Instead, his first thought was:
'Is Kakashi an idiot?'
What kind of persuasion method was this?
Even if Kurama agreed, how exactly was he supposed to tell Kakashi that he had agreed?
Wouldn't he still need to communicate with him afterward anyway?
"Huh?"
Naruto, who had been happily eating his popsicle, suddenly paused.
He scratched his head and looked toward Kakashi.
"Kakashi-sensei, Kurama suddenly told me to tell you something.
"He said he agrees.
"What did he agree to?"
"…"
Kakashi nearly jumped.
That fast?!
Good grief.
Had the very first essay somehow been overwhelmingly effective?
Had Kurama been persuaded instantly?
And Kurama really was as blunt and straightforward as ever.
He'd actually just used Naruto himself as the messenger.
"Oh, it's nothing important."
Kakashi recovered quickly.
"Kurama noticed you wanted ice cream, so he told me what flavors he likes too.
"I brought some for him.
"Since you and Kurama share sensations anyway, I'll leave these to you."
Kakashi reached into the ice cart and pulled out an entire pile of frozen treats, placing them into Naruto's arms.
"Really?!"
Naruto's eyes lit up.
There was such a wonderful thing in the world as helping someone else eat their food?
He hadn't been particularly curious to begin with.
Now that a mountain of popsicles had appeared, whatever tiny suspicion he might have had disappeared completely.
Naruto happily created a shadow clone to act as a porter, handed over part of the pile, and wandered away with an enormous grin.
Watching him leave, Kakashi finally relaxed.
Then he and Kushina—still disguised as the popsicle vendor—pushed the now-empty cart away.
Their excuse was that they needed to go settle the bill.
In reality, they headed somewhere secluded to meet Itachi and discuss how exactly they were going to change Naruto.
"Wait."
Kushina spoke first.
"The Nine-Tails inside Naruto agreed almost immediately, but he actually has a condition."
What had really happened was that after Kurama directly sent his answer through Naruto, he suddenly realized something.
The popsicle vendor who had delivered the message was Kushina.
And Kushina carried his other half.
In that case, why bother with physical contact and indirect messages at all?
Naruto was currently serving as a gathering point for fragments of all nine Tailed Beasts.
He was practically a living signal tower.
They could communicate directly.
As for why Kurama had agreed so quickly—
The truth was that Kurama and the other Tailed Beasts had already been trying to change Naruto themselves.
They too wanted to resist Heaven's Will.
Their goal was to prevent the prophecy from coming true:
The blue-eyed boy who would laugh wildly while calling out the names of all nine beasts.
Kakashi wanted to stop the spread and inheritance of the Will of Bullying, eliminate it, and change Naruto's absolute saintly tendency to forgive everyone no matter what happened.
To Kurama, that made Kakashi and the others natural allies.
Their goals were different on the surface.
But both paths ultimately led to the same destination.
They were all trying to oppose Heaven's Will.
And now Kakashi's side possessed an especially powerful weapon—
Engraved Tsukuyomi.
A fully adjustable illusionary world so realistic it could pass for reality itself.
If Kakashi and the others were willing to help the Tailed Beasts add a few carefully designed scenarios into that world—events specifically intended to change Naruto—
Then wouldn't the Tailed Beasts' own problem be solved at the same time?