If he wished, he could use that mark to do something right now.
But he quickly suppressed the thought.
Kushina was not someone who could be forced.
With her temperament, if he really used coercion, he would probably never be able to win her heart for the rest of his life.
Now that Minato was gone, only Kushina and Naruto remained; an orphaned mother and child.
He could take things slowly from now on.
Thinking this, he withdrew his gaze and made no move.
Kushina, however, did not notice anything unusual about him and suddenly spoke:
"Gento-kun, thank you."
Gento looked at her.
Kushina said earnestly:
"Thank you for resealing the Nine-Tails back into my body. Speaking of it, your seal is really quite stable."
"Before, the Nine-Tails would riot several times every month. It tormented me so much I could hardly bear it."
"But ever since you sealed it, it hasn't caused any disturbances at all."
Gento smiled slightly. His Yin-Attribute Chakra was specifically meant to counter the Nine-Tails' violent chakra's impact on the mind.
It was only natural that the Nine-Tails could no longer leak its violent chakra through the seal.
Thus, he nodded:
"It was nothing more than a small effort."
Kushina suddenly tilted her head, a trace of confusion appearing on her face:
"It's just that this seal's pattern… why does it feel a bit strange?"
"I went through all the Uzumaki clan sealing techniques Granny Mito left me, and I've never seen a pattern like this."
Gento rubbed his nose, his expression calm as he said:
"Mm… it's a ninjutsu I created myself."
"It's my first time, so I don't have much experience. It's normal for the pattern to look a bit strange. As long as it works, that's what matters."
Hearing this, Kushina was immediately a bit surprised. She hadn't expected Gento to also be a genius capable of inventing ninjutsu.
At this moment, Mikoto returned with the discharge papers.
"All done! We can go!"
Kushina picked up Naruto, and the three of them left the hospital together.
Just as they stepped out of the hospital entrance, a silver-haired ninja wearing a fox mask suddenly appeared in front of them.
When Kushina saw him, her gaze flickered a bit. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but said nothing.
The silver-haired ninja spoke, his voice still carrying a hint of youthful immaturity:
"Hokage-sama requests Kushina-sama to come see him after being discharged."
Mikoto and Kushina exchanged a glance, both with confusion in their eyes.
The Hokage was summoning her?
Although they didn't know why Hiruzen wanted to see Kushina, they still followed the silver-haired ninja toward the Hokage's office.
...
Pushing open the door to the Hokage's office.
Hiruzen was sitting behind his desk, holding a pipe.
Seeing them enter, a kindly smile appeared on his face:
"Mm… Kushina has been discharged, I see."
His gaze swept over the group. When it landed on Gento, it paused slightly.
Afterward, his eyes fell on the infant in Kushina's arms.
The child had sparse, soft golden hair, chubby cheeks, and was sleeping soundly with his eyes closed.
Hiruzen slowly stood up, took a few steps closer, and looked down at the child, his expression complicated:
"Minato's child…"
He took a puff from his pipe and slowly exhaled.
As the smoke drifted toward the baby's face, Naruto; who had been sleeping soundly; suddenly frowned, and with a "wah," burst into loud crying.
Kushina quickly turned aside to avoid the smoke, gently patting the child while giving Hiruzen an apologetic smile.
After soothing him for quite a while, Naruto gradually calmed down and fell back asleep.
Mikoto reached out and took the child, freeing Kushina's hands.
Only then did Kushina look at Hiruzen and ask:
"Hokage-sama, you called for me…?"
Hiruzen coughed lightly, a trace of difficulty appearing on his face. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke slowly:
"There's some unfortunate news I need to tell you. The house you and Minato lived in was… destroyed during the Nine-Tails incident."
Kushina froze, the smile on her face stiffening.
"D-Destroyed?"
Mikoto and Gento exchanged a glance but said nothing.
Kushina said blankly:
"Then… what about the things in our home?"
Hiruzen shook his head, sighing with a hint of helplessness in his tone:
"Nothing was left. The disaster was too great; the entire area was reduced to ruins."
Standing to the side, Gento's eyes narrowed slightly.
Nothing was left?
Heh.
He knew very well that before reconstruction began, the Anbu had thoroughly searched beneath all the ruins.
Many valuable items had been taken away… how could it truly be that "nothing was left"?
Kushina's expression dimmed, a trace of loss flashing in her eyes.
That was the place where she and Minato had lived together; it held their shared memories.
Now, those memories didn't even have a place to rest anymore.
She lowered her head to look at Naruto in her arms, then took a deep breath, forcing herself to pull together her spirits and squeeze out a smile:
"Haha… it's fine! Minato and I still have some money saved in the bank. That should be enough to raise Naruto."
Hiruzen took another puff from his pipe.
He remained silent for a moment before carefully choosing his words:
"Kushina… during the Nine-Tails Incident, a large number of civilian homes were destroyed. Reconstruction requires an enormous amount of funds. Even with the Feudal Lord's allocation, there is still a significant shortfall."
He paused, looking at Kushina:
"So I made the decision on my own to put the assets in Minato's account… into Konoha's reconstruction."
Kushina's smile completely froze.
Hiruzen continued, his tone carrying a hint of justification:
"I believe that if Minato were alive, as the Fourth Hokage, he would have done the same."
Kushina's lips trembled. It took her a long time before she managed to force out words:
"But… there was also the property Granny Mito left to me in there!"
Hearing this, Hiruzen's expression darkened a bit. His brows furrowed, and his tone became stern:
"Kushina, as the wife of the Fourth Hokage, you must have the awareness to dedicate yourself to Konoha!"
His voice rose several degrees:
"This money is being used for Konoha's reconstruction, not put into anyone's private pocket."
"This money will allow those orphans who lost their parents in the disaster to live better lives, and give those left homeless a place to shelter from the wind and rain. You should feel happy about this!"
Kushina looked at Naruto in her arms, her eyes gradually reddening:
"But… how will Naruto and I live from now on?"
Hiruzen's expression softened, and his tone became gentler:
"I have already made arrangements for this."
"You and Naruto will move into the rebuilt apartments in the village. Though it's not a standalone house, it will be sufficient for living."
At the side, Gento suddenly let out a cold laugh.
He knew very well that Minato and Kushina's original home had been a standalone house with a yard; complete with a living room, kitchen, and bedroom; clean and warm.
As for the type of apartment Hiruzen was referring to, he had seen it before.
It was the same kind of old apartment building Naruto lived in after growing up.
The rooms were small, furnished with only the most basic necessities.
To put it bluntly, it was public housing prepared by Konoha for orphans and low-income residents.
The gap between the two was more than just a little.
Moreover, as the Fourth Hokage and an elite among Jonin, Minato's income was certainly not low.
And what Kushina inherited was the property of Mito Uzumaki!
Who was Mito Uzumaki?
The wife of the First Hokage, a princess of the Land of Whirlpools who married into Konoha!
Even if it had been a political marriage, the assets prepared for her by the Land of Whirlpools would definitely not have been small.
Even if it wasn't as exaggerated as "an entire street," it was absolutely not a trivial sum!
And now, Hiruzen had taken it all just like that, out in the open?
Gento had originally thought that since he had saved Kushina, Naruto wouldn't end up living as miserably and impoverished as in the original story.
He hadn't expected Hiruzen's shamelessness to far exceed his imagination.
Hiruzen heard that cold laugh, his brows knitting together as he looked at Gento:
"What? Gento, do you have a problem with this?"
Hearing this, Gento stepped forward directly.
He was truly angry.
"Of course I have a problem!"
He looked straight at Hiruzen, his voice neither servile nor overbearing:
"You keep talking about contributing to the village and forcibly donated all of the Fourth Hokage's assets."
"Then as the Third Hokage, shouldn't you be even more obligated to contribute to the village?"
He paused, then continued:
"So may I ask, how much of your own property have you donated to the village?"
Hiruzen was momentarily speechless, a trace of awkwardness flashing across his face before he became angry out of embarrassment:
"You!"
"It's not your place to lecture this old man!"
He took a deep breath, his tone turning forceful:
"Besides, the Nine-Tails Incident happened during Minato's tenure!"
"As the Fourth Hokage, he should bear full responsibility for it!"
...
If you want to support, please consider Patreon, and read advanced chapters! Your support keeps this series going! [Patreon.com/RedZTL]