I, Naruto Uzumaki, don't need your approval.

Naruto hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not avoid Kushina's embrace. He stood there, stunned, unsure of what to do. He had never had the experience of being with his parents, nor had he ever been a parent himself.

A dozen seconds later, Naruto broke free from Kushina's arms and said in a low voice, "Um, would you like to hear about my experiences over the years? I should know myself better than Kakashi."

Kushina nodded gently, gazing quietly at Naruto, who then began to reminisce.

When Kushina heard that Naruto was being bullied by the villagers as a demon fox, and that the Third Hokage was doing nothing about it, she gritted her teeth in anger and cursed, "That old bastard Third Hokage is a real scoundrel. He promised us he would take care of you, but in the end he just stood by and did nothing."

When Kushina heard that Naruto had offered his help because Hinata had asked for it, she gave a sly smile: "So Naruto, you like gentle girls. I thought you would like a feisty type like me."

Naruto smiled and continued explaining the rest of the story.

As the story reached the Uchiha Night, Kushina sighed softly: "Those old guys still targeted the Uchiha. If it were Minato, he could have resolved the conflict between the village and the Uchiha. It's a pity that Mikoto also died at the hands of Itachi. How could Itachi become such an ingrate?"

"No, Aunt Meiqin is still living in Wochao Village. I rescued her in time."

Hearing this, Kushina looked relieved and didn't care much about what happened next: "Knowing your reason for leaving Konoha is enough. If it weren't for Minato, I would have defected from Konoha long ago. I support your decision."

"But since you've already left, why are you back this time?"

At this point, Kushina seemed to remember something, covered her mouth and laughed, "So you really want to see me and Minato. You've been through so much these past years, it must have been tough for you. But I'm very happy that you're alive and well."

Naruto suddenly said, "I came here to see the Third Hokage get backstabbed by Orochimaru."

Kushina's expression darkened, but she still smiled and said, "Alright, then let's watch together as the Third Hokage gets stabbed in the back by Orochimaru. I've always wanted to see this."

Naruto was speechless for a moment; he could almost tell what kind of person Kushina was.

Kushina is extremely domineering and unreasonable, and very biased, always siding with her family regardless of reason. However, he doesn't dislike Kushina because he is the one who is loved.

Chapter 235 Recognition and Strength

Naruto enjoyed chatting with Kushina; he hadn't felt this way in many years.

He was used to being alone, used to not having any family members around him. As for Ashina and Kurama, they felt more like the old man next door and his best friend with whom he could talk about anything, but they could never replace the presence of family.

However, he still couldn't see Kushina as a mother, but rather as an older sister.

Naruto leaped down from the tree trunk and looked towards Kakashi and Minato Namikaze, a slight smile playing on his lips, anticipating Minato's expression after his conversation with Kakashi.

Seemingly guessing Naruto's thoughts, Kushina quickly said, "I will try my best to persuade Minato. Becoming the guardian of Konoha is his dream, and his thoughts may be different from mine."

"By the way, how are things going with you and Kurama?"

Upon hearing this, Naruto immediately gathered a ball of chakra, from which the phantom of the Nine-Tails appeared, and said fiercely to Kushina, "Naruto is now my little brother, and he treats me much better than you and Mito do."

Upon seeing this, Kushina was taken aback at first, then smiled and said, "Naruto, it seems that your relationship with Kurama is different. When you were with me before, Kurama was much more ferocious than it is now, and it almost devoured my will."

Naruto looked up and smiled, without offering much explanation.

In his view, the malice from the villagers was not much different from the malice from the Nine-Tails.

Not long after, Naruto and Kushina returned to the open space where the ceremony had been held. Minato Namikaze also turned around at this moment, and the two figures, who looked almost identical, looked at each other.

After a moment of silence, Minato Namikaze spoke first: "Naruto, I know more about your situation. You handled the Uchiha matter very well, but wasn't leaving the village a bit too much?"

"As the Fourth Hokage of Konoha, I have a duty to eliminate the rogue ninja of Konoha."

After saying that, Minato Namikaze produced a Flying Thunder God kunai in his hand, casually tossed it around, and appeared on a treetop not far away, his eyes revealing a sharp gaze.

Seeing that the two were about to fight, Kushina frowned and quickly said, "We've only just met as a family, and we're already going to fight? Is the so-called responsibility of being Hokage more important than family?"

Minato Namikaze said without changing his expression, "Kushina, you wanted to become Hokage even more than I did back then."

Kushina was about to explode in anger when Kakashi stopped her. Kakashi didn't offer much explanation, but instead stared at Minato and Naruto not far away and said calmly:

“Kushina, please don’t stop this battle. Minato and Naruto are both leaders of their respective villages. Their battle is more of a clash of ideologies.”

Hearing this, Kushina calmed down. She was very certain that neither Minato nor Naruto were impulsive people.

In the moonlit forest, Naruto and Minato Namikaze, each wielding a weapon, clashed and struck at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, producing a series of crisp metallic sounds.

The next moment, Minato Namikaze disappeared from his spot and appeared behind Naruto using the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Naruto didn't even turn his head. His fist, formed from chakra, automatically went into defense. He turned around and threw a Rasengan behind him, but Minato Namikaze narrowly dodged it.

After creating some distance, Minato Namikaze's eyes showed a newfound appreciation.

Just as they were about to land and counterattack, the ground suddenly turned into sharp spikes, and sharp wind blades swept across like a gentle breeze, cutting through the boulder behind them.

Minato Namikaze's expression changed, and his gaze towards Naruto became extremely solemn. He clasped his hands together and entered Nine-Tails Mode.

The Nine-Tails Mode provides a significant boost, allowing Minato Namikaze to reach a new level of speed and power. Furthermore, due to the characteristics of the Edo Tensei (Impure World Body), the Nine-Tails Mode can be maintained for an extremely long time.

With a loud bang, the two collided again.

After realizing that the sneak attack had failed, the battle turned into a contest between Rasengans. The rapidly spinning chakra balls were like black holes, devouring the surrounding air and producing a radiance brighter than moonlight.

After the two whirlpool shuriken collided, Naruto's chakra arm behind him launched a spiral wheel.

Unable to dodge in time, Minato Namikaze was directly hit by Naruto's Rasengan, his body disintegrating inch by inch, and it took more than ten seconds for him to reform into the shape of Minato Namikaze.

Minato Namikaze put away his seriousness and said to Naruto, "It seems I have lost this battle. Not only have you mastered Sage Mode, but your synergy with Kurama is also higher than mine. You are capable of withstanding the full power of Kurama."

Naruto said calmly, "You don't need to test my strength. I've already been in sync with Kurama for a long time."

Minato Namikaze gently shook his head: "You don't understand the terror of the Nine-Tails. The fully evolved Nine-Tails is a real monster. It is the strongest tailed beast that requires the entire village of ninjas to work together to seal it."

Naruto snorted coldly: "Mind your own business with Kurama. Tailed beasts are much simpler than ninjas."

“You’re right…” Minato Namikaze nodded. “But I still think that leaving Konoha was a mistake. If you think Konoha is bad, you can become Hokage and change Konoha.”

Naruto smiled at the familiar tone: "Your chakra clone that left inside me said the same thing, but in the end I convinced it and even taught it how to counter the Flying Thunder God Technique. Otherwise, our battle would have continued for a long time."

Minato Namikaze frowned and pondered for a moment, then chuckled, "However, you will win no matter what. Before you were resurrected with Edo Tensei, you had already placed Command Seals inside me and Kushina. You cannot lose."

"I need to obtain the other half of the Nine-Tails to take necessary countermeasures."

Naruto looked directly into Minato's eyes: "As for the reform of Konoha that you mentioned, Jiraiya and Tsunade are already working on it, but the results are not good, and they haven't cleared the last obstacle yet."

When Naruto spoke of 'obstacles', he deliberately emphasized it.

"What obstacle are you talking about?" Minato Namikaze quickly realized, "You mean, Jiraiya and the others are planning to deal with the Third Hokage? That's impossible; they can't possibly attack the Third Hokage."

"They are unlikely to attack the Third Hokage, but Orochimaru is a different story."

"Just yesterday, I met Orochimaru while I was taking the Chunin Exams. Orochimaru seems to have colluded with some Konoha ninjas, intending to launch the Konoha Collapse Plan. I'm very curious about who this plan is targeting."

"It's aimed at the Third Hokage..." Minato Namikaze's expression changed, and he could no longer remain calm.

“You want to stop Orochimaru? Neither Kakashi nor I will allow you to go…” Naruto paused, then continued, “You should think about something else right now: how to quell Kushina’s anger.”

Minato Namikaze paused for a moment; this was indeed a problem that urgently needed to be solved.

When Kushina gets angry, she can be quite terrifying.

Chapter 236 It would be great if you weren't the one who used the Corpse Demon Seal.

In front of Kushina, Minato Namikaze showed the perfect side of a ninja, practically a doting husband.

After all, he was a man who could choose to 'die for love' for his lover and the village, and he gained the recognition and following of most of the ninjas in Konoha. However, he was a bit too harsh and had too high expectations for his descendants.

The Nine-Tails is Naruto's greatest advantage, but it is also the curse that caused his tragic childhood.

As long as Naruto's identity as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki remains unchanged, any ninja who knows the truth will subconsciously fear Naruto, who is imprisoning the Tailed Beast. In addition, the Third Hokage's deliberate concealment and exploitation of his identity as the son of a hero led him to choose to leave Konoha.

After comforting Kushina, Minato Namikaze walked over to Naruto and raised his fist.

Naruto also raised his fist, and as the two fists collided, the Yin and Yang Nine-Tails, which had been separated for a long time, merged. Naruto immediately felt that the Nine-Tails' chakra in his body had increased by an order of magnitude.

Hearing the cheerful fox calls in his ear, Naruto's lips twitched slightly.

The image of the Nine-Tails in his mind has changed from its initial aloofness to its current abnormality. Whether this is due to moral decay or the distortion of human nature, it has little to do with him.

Just then, Naruto heard two notification sounds, one from Kushina and the other from Minato, indicating his favorability level.

Kushina's favorability rating was full, she unconditionally trusted him and supported his decisions, while Minato's favorability rating was only approval, which made Naruto glance at Minato a few more times.

It seems that although Minato handed over half of the Nine-Tails, it was still somewhat different from what he had expected.

This is quite normal, after all, he had defected from Konoha and established a new ninja village, and Konoha held a very special place in Minato's heart. After all, the Hokage is a political being who doesn't care about feelings.

As for Kushina's rewards, they are a scarf, cooking tips, and a complete guide to sealing techniques.

Minato Namikaze's reward was the method to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique. These rewards are somewhat useless to Naruto now, as they are either abilities he has already mastered or abilities he can't use at all.

However, the question that had puzzled Naruto for many years was finally answered.

It turns out that the chakra clones were not recognized as human by the system, but the reanimated bodies were.

At that moment, Minato Namikaze suddenly said, "By the way, have you dealt with the masked man who attacked the village twelve years ago?"

Naruto's expression turned cold: "Fourth Hokage, you should ask your student Kakashi instead."

As soon as he finished speaking, Minato and Kushina both looked at Kakashi. Kakashi hesitated before saying, "Minato-sensei, Kushina-sensei-mistress, the ninja who attacked Konoha was Uchiha Obito."

"Obito?" Minato and Kushina exchanged bewildered glances.

Kushina couldn't help but say, "Is there a mistake in your investigation? How could Obito be the masked man? Although he also had Sharingan, he was only a teenager when he sacrificed himself, and his strength could not possibly be a match for Minato."

"Kushina-sensei, I don't want this outcome either, but there is currently a lot of evidence proving that Obito is the masked man."

Kakashi looked somewhat dejected and said, "Do you remember when Rin became the Three-Tails Jinchuriki? If it weren't for Obito, I probably would have died in that mission."

Minato Namikaze fell silent, then looked at Naruto.

Naruto shrugged: "I fought the masked man, which proves that he is the masked man. However, the most crucial evidence is on Kakashi-senpai. His Sharingan should also have space-time abilities, but it hasn't been activated yet."

When all eyes turned to him, Kakashi said with a helpless expression, "I haven't shown any signs of awakening the Mangekyou Sharingan yet, but my Sharingan always throbs whenever the masked man passes through the village."

Faced with the evidence, Minato Namikaze and Kushina had no choice but to admit that Obito was the prime suspect.

However, they couldn't find any motive for Obito's attack on Konoha. Neither of them had ever wronged Obito, and the village had never wronged him. It couldn't possibly be for revenge against the ninja world.

After all, according to Kakashi and Naruto, the subsequent tragedy would not have occurred if it weren't for the Nine-Tails Night.

Of course it's for the Eye of the Moon Plan... Naruto knew perfectly well, but he dismissed the reason Obito gave him, and said dismissively:

"Who knows? I'm not Obito Uchiha, how would I know how he became so ruthless?"

Kushina frowned: "Naruto, after you find Obito... the masked man, what do you plan to do with him? He's a pitiful child, if possible."

To Kushina, Obito was like a nephew or niece, and she always treated him as her own child.

Naruto glanced at Kushina and said slowly, "I won't let Obito die easily. I'll squeeze every last drop of value out of him before he disappears from the ninja world."