After returning to the temporary residence, Kushina stayed silent for a very long time.
She felt as if everything she had done while she was alive had lost all meaning. She and her husband had given so much for Konoha, yet what they received in return was their own son being cursed and insulted as a demon fox.
An disappointment that could not be dispelled filled her heart.
Was this the place they had protected with their lives?
Minato… was what we did really worth it?
Through the window, Kushina looked toward the stone face of the Fourth Hokage and sighed deeply.
A Konoha like this felt unbearably unfamiliar to her.
Even the orphaned child of a hero was treated like that. She smelled the stench of decay.
The roots had already rotted. Konoha was no longer the Konoha of the past. Everything had changed.
"Why did you show me this?" Kushina asked in a complicated tone, looking at Koji and the others in confusion.
Was it to make her angry, and then have her take revenge on Konoha?
Honestly, if that was their goal, they had achieved it.
Right now, she really was extremely dissatisfied with Konoha. She wanted to cause a huge scene and vent her anger for her child.
Especially those who had insulted her son.
As a mother, she would not let a single one of them go.
As for the Third Hokage, who had done nothing—or rather, had helped enable this situation—she would definitely demand an explanation from him.
She might even take action personally.
"We don't have any grudge against Konoha. As for bringing you back with Edo Tensei, just think of it as something we did because we were bored. Watching a mother vent her anger for her son sounds pretty good too," Koji said calmly.
Kushina fell silent.
She could tell that this person was purely here to watch the show. He really did not have any ill intent.
"So, after seeing Naruto's current living situation, what do you think?" Koji asked.
"Anger. Heartache. Unwillingness."
Kushina was different from Minato. She did not love Konoha that much. This place was not her hometown either. She only had some sense of belonging here because her family was here.
If Minato saw this, he might think that it was some unavoidable decision.
A woman might be gentle by nature, but a mother became strong for her child.
Besides, she had never been weak in the first place. Her temper was as fiery as a hot pepper.
"Can I ask you to bring Minato back with Edo Tensei too?"
As Naruto's father, he also had the right to know about this.
"Minato, huh? You know, he loves this village very much. Can you convince him?"
"I can. And if I can't, my fists carry a bit of weight too," Kushina said with a faint smile.
Koji smiled as well.
That was true.
Kushina definitely was not as gentle as she looked. Even toward her own family, she could still throw heavy punches.
"[Edo Tensei: Enhanced]!"
"Clap!"
Koji brought his hands together.
Kushina scratched her head.
Was that the Edo Tensei technique?
Why was there no living vessel? And he had not even formed hand seals.
He just clapped his hands, shouted, and got whatever he wanted.
She could not help but think of the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju, whom Grandma Mito had once mentioned. According to the rumors, that legendary person did not really form hand seals much either.
The strange thing was, she had never heard of anyone called Koji in the ninja world.
At the same time, in the space where the Shinigami resided.
Because Minato had used the forbidden sealing technique Shiki Fūjin to seal half of the Nine-Tails, his soul had been taken by the Shinigami.
For a normal Edo Tensei, that sealing technique would first have to be undone before the dead person's soul could be summoned back.
But Koji's enhanced Edo Tensei did not need that step at all.
It could directly snatch the soul meant for Edo Tensei right out of the Shinigami's stomach.
"?"
The Shinigami was a little stunned.
It could sense that one soul was missing from its stomach.
After existing for so many years, this was the first time someone had stolen something from it.
"Get lost!"
A voice that shook the soul suddenly rang beside its ear.
It could sense a kind of suppression at the level of existence itself, and immediately did not dare to look any further.
It could not afford to provoke this person.
Just from hearing the voice, it could tell he was terrifyingly powerful.
If anyone were looking at the Shinigami right now, they would see an aggrieved, pitiful expression on that face.
Minato's Edo Tensei succeeded.
Even though he now had the deathly aura of an Edo Tensei body, one could still feel a little sunlight from him. The nickname "little sun" really did suit him.
"Edo Tensei… Kushina, were you also brought back with Edo Tensei?"
Minato instantly understood his own state. His expression became complicated.
Aside from people like Tobirama Senju, most people would not like a forbidden technique like Edo Tensei, which toyed with life and death.
"Minato, my consciousness isn't being controlled," Kushina said, shaking her head.
Then she gently hugged her husband.
Minato froze slightly, and guilt flashed across his face.
Inside the Shinigami's stomach, he had still been able to think.
If he had not become Hokage back then, would his family have avoided all of this?
Would they have been able to live a safe and peaceful life?
As the ninja with the highest mission completion rate, he had a lot of money. So much that he basically could not spend it all.
"I'm sorry," Minato said softly.
Kushina's body trembled.
Those words should not have been said to her.
They should have been said to Naruto.
"Oh, right, Kushina. If I remember correctly, since I used Shiki Fūjin, my soul should have been inside the Shinigami's stomach, shouldn't it?" Minato asked.
Kushina nodded.
As a member of the Uzumaki clan, she naturally understood that sealing technique very well. The sealing techniques Minato knew had all been taught to him by her.
The caster's soul would not enter the Pure Land, but would instead be taken away by the Shinigami.
In that situation, even if someone used Edo Tensei, the soul would still be detained by the Shinigami.
"You'll have to ask the caster about that," Kushina said with a shrug, pointing at Koji.
"It's simple. I'm stronger than the Shinigami," Koji said with a smile.
Minato: "…"
Such a plain and unadorned answer.
Although he was clearly showing off, this caster seemed to have the qualifications to show off.
"Then why did you bring me back with Edo Tensei? If it's to destroy Konoha, I won't do it," Minato said.
"You're a spirit brought back with Edo Tensei. Do you have the right to say that?" Koji asked in a strange tone.
Aside from someone like Madara, who knew how to undo the technique, or someone whose strength was overwhelmingly powerful—like the chakra monster Hashirama—other dead people summoned back had no power to resist at all.
And with Koji's enhanced Edo Tensei, even Madara would not be able to undo it.
He could only obediently listen to Koji's commands.
That was how domineering it was.
"Uh…"
Minato thought about it.
That did seem to be true.
Someone brought back with Edo Tensei really could not resist the caster's orders.
If he had known earlier, he should have studied this forbidden technique that desecrated the dead.
Even if he never used it, he should at least have known how to undo it.
(End of Chapter)
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