Chapter 111: It's the Nine-Horn!

Shindai and Minato Namikaze were recovering in the ninja hospital.

Jiraiya left on a mission the same day Minato woke up.

Kushina Uzumaki, true to her word, had started caring for Shindai and Minato.

Kakashi, Obito, and Rin Nohara also visited Shindai and Minato at the ninja hospital every single day.

Curious, Shindai asked about the Rasengan technique—[Dual-Swirl Spiral Energy Technique]—which Minato still used an awkward name for.

Minato straightforwardly explained how to train this technique without holding anything back.

After obtaining the training method for the Rasengan, Shindai planned to try learning it on his way back.

As Kushina was peeling fruit for Minato and Shindai, Obito sat on a chair and curiously asked Shindai, "Shindai, what exactly did you mean when you mentioned Kurama the other day? After you said that, Lady Kushina suddenly stopped her fist mid-punch toward Sensei's head."

Kakashi recalled and added, "Come to think of it, yeah, it really was like what Obito said. Back then, Lady Kushina was covered in dark red chakra—we shouldn't have been able to see her eyes. But for a moment, I saw an expression filled with disbelief."

Minato began pondering as well. "That's right. If Kushina hadn't paused just then, my head might've really been smashed off. And clearly, during that moment, the creature inside Kushina lost focus, giving me the chance to resonate with Kushina's chakra and enter her consciousness space."

Kushina frowned slightly and said, "If that's the case… back then, inside my consciousness space, I could clearly see the Nine-Tails' fox face—it looked extremely shocked."

Hearing their discussion, Shindai had already guiltily buried his head under the blanket, not daring to say a word.

Kushina yanked the blanket covering Shindai's face away. "Hey, Shindai! Since you brought it up, you must know the reason behind it, right?"

Everyone's gaze in the hospital room turned toward Shindai—five people in total, six pairs of eyes.

Why six pairs of eyes? Well, because there was another pair hidden within Kushina herself.

Once again firmly sealed, the Nine-Tails glared at Shindai from within Kushina. More than anyone else, it wanted to know how Shindai knew its name.

Realizing he couldn't escape, Shindai simply leaned into his specialty and started spinning a tale.

"Haiya, you guys sure have imaginations. You must've misheard me. What I actually shouted was 'horn,' not 'lama.' The tailed beast inside Lady Kushina is the Nine-Tails, right? When it roars, it's really noisy and unpleasant—just like a horn. So I just yelled out 'Nine-Horn!'

Besides, that was my very first time meeting Lady Kushina, and I didn't even know she housed the Nine-Tails back then. How would I know the real reason? Maybe the Nine-Tails just got mad because I compared its voice to a horn, so it shot me a furious glare."

Minato Namikaze and the others felt that Shindai's explanation seemed reasonable.

After all, just as Shindai had said, that day was indeed the first time Shindai had ever met Kushina Uzumaki, and also the first time he learned about the Nine-Tails. There was no reason for him to know anything beforehand.

Viewed this way, it was possible they had simply misheard.

However, the Nine-Tails, viewing the scene through its connection with Kushina, fixed its gaze sharply on Shindai.

The Nine-Tails was certain—it hadn't misheard, nor had Minato and the others. Shindai had definitely said "Kurama," not "Nine-Horn!"

Suddenly,

A sentence surfaced in the Nine-Tails' mind.

"The blue-eyed boy who laughs while summoning the nine-headed beast."

The Nine-Tails observed Shindai carefully. Well, he was a teenager, but his eyes were black, not blue—something didn't match.

The Nine-Tails was feeling extremely uneasy now and wanted nothing more than to smash Shindai down with one paw and demand answers—why he knew its name, and whether he knew the names of other Tailed Beasts too.

...

Time passed quickly, and a week had already gone by.

This was one of the advantages of being a ninja. No matter how severe the injuries, as long as one survived, recovery tended to be quite fast.

Shindai and Minato's wounds had mostly healed already.

Shindai felt as if he were living in heaven these past seven days.

He stayed in bed all day, being pampered by Kushina Uzumaki without having to lift a finger.

As usual, Kakashi, Obito, and Rin Nohara visited Shindai and Minato at the ninja hospital before heading out to train.

"Kushina-sama, why does today's food taste so bland!"

"Kushina-sama! I'm so thirsty—I want water!"

"Kushina-sama, please get that scroll on my bedside table and lay it out in front of me!"

"Kushina-sama..."

At her breaking point, Kushina finally snapped: "You little brat! Don't push your luck! I said I'd take care of you, not become your servant! And don't think I don't know your injuries are practically healed already, so knock it off already!"

Shindai answered pitifully: "Okay, okay… truly, my life has been so miserable~ betrayed by my own village, then intercepted by Lord Minato before officially joining Konoha, living day-to-day in dangerous battlefields facing life-threatening situations multiple times.

Finally joined Konoha, thought I was safe once I got here—only to almost die again! But hey, I don't blame anyone. Just my rotten luck, sigh. Kushina-sama, please don't get me wrong—I'm just venting a little!"

A couple of thick veins bulged on Kushina's forehead, and Minato also wore an expression full of helplessness.

Kushina snarled through gritted teeth: "Thirsty, huh? Want that scroll opened in front of you, huh? Just wait!"

Soon after, Kushina prepared the water and handed it to Shindai.

Kushina Uzumaki forced a smile and asked, "Need me to feed you?"

"Eh, that would be so embarrassing! Thank you very much, Lady Kushina!"

Kushina practically hissed through gritted teeth, "You're welcome. Drink well now. Feel free to make more requests too!"

Kushina picked up the cup and began feeding Shindai some water.

Minato Namikaze watched from the side, uneasy, afraid that Kushina might smash the cup right over Shindai's head.

Minato looked at Shindai, who was clearly enjoying himself, completely speechless. Even he wouldn't dare boss Kushina Uzumaki around like that. What nerve! Real courage!

Outside the door, Kakashi, Obito, and Rin Nohara had heard everything. They also saw the entire scene unfold through the window glass.

Rin Nohara opened her eyes wide in disbelief and asked, "That guy Shindai... doesn't he want to live anymore?"

Even Kakashi was shocked by Shindai's audacity. "Who knows? Maybe Shindai just wants to live out the next few days?"

Obito broke out in a cold sweat as he worried about Shindai. "I have a feeling, after Shindai leaves the hospital, he might immediately come back here."

Kakashi's dead-fish stare focused through the window on Shindai inside the hospital room. "Forget 'might.' If he keeps acting like this, he'll definitely come back here soon."

Obito, Kakashi, and Rin were all extremely shocked that Shindai dared to boss around Kushina Uzumaki.

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