Naruto: Starting as the Third Hokage with Tears in His Eyes

Chapter 308 He called my name.

Hi.

A crisp greeting suddenly rang out in the library, where the only sound was the turning of pages.

The voice wasn't loud, but it was enough to make the blond boy, who was engrossed in his book, look up.

Time, at this moment, is stretched out infinitely.

Kushina Uzumaki felt as if her heart was about to jump out of her throat.

She saw it; sunlight streamed in through the huge glass window, falling precisely on Minato Namikaze, giving his soft blond hair a warm glow.

Minato slightly turned his head, his extreme focus interrupted, and his thoughts pulled away from the theory of the technique.

The afternoon sunlight was partially blocked by the girl's figure, outlining a hazy and warm golden halo around the edge of her fiery red hair.

It's Kushina Uzumaki.

She stood right beside him, holding a heavy scroll in her arms, her fingers twisting together somewhat awkwardly, her face showing a forced composure.

Minato Namikaze didn't speak, but just looked at her quietly, as if waiting for her to continue.

It was during this wait that Kushina's mind went completely blank.

"..."

It’s over.

What was I thinking about? Oh, right, say hello. And then what?

What should I say next? Why did I have to walk over on my own?

Is it too late to turn around and run away now? Wouldn't that seem strange? But standing here is even stranger!

Countless thoughts raced through Kushina's mind, causing her already flushed cheeks to heat up even further.

The girl clutched the scroll about the Land of Whirlpools in her arms, her fingers unconsciously tightening, her knuckles gripping tightly.

"that……"

Kushina's lips moved, she managed to squeeze out two dry words, and then she couldn't utter another syllable.

She could hear her own heartbeat pounding in her ears.

Minato Namikaze blinked, his gaze shifting from her flushed face to the scroll in his arms.

The familiar red spiral emblem on it made him instantly understand something, and he immediately broke the suffocating silence.

Are you looking at history about your hometown?

The voice was clean and clear, like a mountain stream, flowing naturally and instantly washing away all of Kushina's anxiety and panic.

"Huh? Hmm!"

Kushina nodded instinctively, as if grasping at a lifeline. "Y-yes! I...I found this!"

She proudly presented the scroll in her arms, pushing it forward slightly with such a large movement that it even stirred up a breeze.

"very nice."

Minato looked intently at the scroll and said sincerely, "It's a very happy thing to see a record of my hometown here."

His words were utterly sincere, without a trace of perfunctoriness, and that genuine understanding made Kushina's heart suddenly relax.

My shoulders, which had been tense from nervousness, relaxed unconsciously.

"And...and what about you?"

Kushina's curiosity finally overcame her nervousness, and she peeked at the scroll that Minato had spread out on his lap. "What are you looking at? It looks really difficult."

"It's about sealing techniques."

Minato calmly showed her the scroll's title: an analysis of the sealing technique's formation structure and chakra flow.

A series of complicated and tongue-twisting terms made Kushina's head start spinning again.

But the words "sealing technique" felt incredibly familiar to her.

"Sealing technique?"

She leaned closer, a few strands of her long red hair playfully falling down. "You like sealing techniques too? That's what we Uzumaki clan excel at!"

When talking about what her family was most proud of, Kushina straightened her back considerably, and her face regained its radiance. The pride that belonged to the Uzumaki clan made her shine.

"Yes, I like it very much."

Minato's answer remained gentle and affirmative: "I think sealing techniques are a remarkable art; they are used to establish order. This power is very gentle."

gentle?

Kushina was stunned.

From a young age, she listened to her clan elders recount the power of sealing techniques, how they could seal tailed beasts and imprison enemies, and how they were the sword and shield upon which the Uzumaki clan relied for survival.

But I've never heard anyone use the word "gentle" to describe it.

"you……"

Kushina opened her mouth, but suddenly didn't know how to respond to this unique insight.

"Oh, right."

Minato seemed to sense her embarrassment and changed the subject. He pointed to the empty seat next to him, "Would you like to sit down and watch with me? The sunlight here is lovely."

The moment the invitation was sent, Minato himself seemed to realize that it was a bit abrupt, and a slight blush appeared on the tips of his ears.

Kushina nodded heavily almost without thinking.

"good!"

After she finished speaking, she realized that her voice was a bit too loud, so she quickly covered her mouth, looked around nervously, and breathed a sigh of relief when she found that no one was paying attention to her.

The girl carefully sat down next to Minato, with a fist's distance between them.

She spread the scrolls she was holding out to the ground, the warm sunlight shining on her, and the scent of paper and wood in the air bringing her peace of mind.

For a moment, no one spoke.

A quiet atmosphere spread again, but this time, it was no longer awkward, but a strange, comfortable tranquility.

Kushina secretly glanced at the boy beside her out of the corner of her eye.

He had refocused his attention on the difficult sealing technique scroll, his long eyelashes drooping, his focused expression suggesting that the whole world consisted only of him and the knowledge in his hands.

Even when she's focused, she looks so beautiful...

Kushina muttered to herself, her cheeks starting to burn uncontrollably again. She quickly lowered her head, pretending to look intently at the scroll in front of her.

The familiar words and illustrations on the scroll now seem to have become meaningless symbols.

My entire being was drawn to the quiet presence beside me.

Kushina could smell his fragrance.

You can hear the rustling sound of the reel turning.

You could even feel the warmth emanating from him.

"This symbol," a voice suddenly rang in my ears.

Kushina jolted awake and looked up abruptly, only to find that Minato had somehow gotten close to her and was pointing at a pattern on her scroll.

It's the emblem of the Land of Whirlpools, that spiral symbol.

"I've also seen many similar structures in the scrolls of sealing techniques."

Minato's fingertip hovered above the spiral pattern, not touching it. "These seem to be the most fundamental core of all sealing techniques. Is the emblem of the Land of Whirlpools also derived from this?"

ahhh-

His profile was very close.

! ! ! !

Kushina could even see the fine downy hairs on his skin and her own small reflection in his azure eyes.

The girl's breathing gradually slowed down.

"Yes...yes."

She tried to keep her voice steady, "Our people believe that the spiral is the most primal form of life force, representing cycle and endless life. Therefore, the core of our sealing technique is not imprisonment, but guidance and... and..."

Kushina suddenly got stuck, unsure of what words to use to describe it.

"Construction," Minato continued, picking up where she left off.

"Yes! It's about construction!"

Kushina's eyes lit up, and she nodded vigorously, "To establish a new balance!"

"So that's how it is."

Minato nodded thoughtfully, his azure eyes gleaming with a thirst for knowledge. "To guide the raging power and construct a new, stable cycle for it. This idea is truly... remarkable."

He smiled happily and praised earnestly, "Your Uzumaki clan is truly amazing."

With a loud bang.

Kushina felt as if a grand fireworks display was exploding in her mind.

That joy, mixed with an indescribable sweetness, instantly filled my chest.

Looking into Minato's clear eyes, there was no flattery in them, only admiration for knowledge and respect for the Uzumaki clan.

An impulse welled up in my heart.

Kushina suddenly felt a strong urge to tell the person in front of her everything she knew—about her hometown, about sealing techniques.

So, that afternoon, in a sun-drenched corner on the second floor of the library, a red-haired girl held a scroll that recorded the history of her hometown.

With a clear, slightly proud voice, she told the story of a distant island to the blond boy beside her.

She talked about the unique architecture of the Whirlpool Country, the salty wind by the sea, the hearty laughter of her people, and the whirlpool fish cakes she had eaten since childhood.

The blond boy listened quietly the whole time.

He didn't interrupt or show any impatience, only occasionally asking a question or two when the girl paused, his eyes always carrying a gentle smile and focused light.

The sunlight moved slowly, casting their shadows longer and longer on the wooden floor.

Until the school bell, symbolizing the end of the school term, rang out softly in the schoolyard.

The sound of bells broke the tranquility of this small world.

Kushina's story came to an abrupt end, and she was surprised to realize that they had been talking for so long without her noticing.

"Ah, school's over," she said, sounding somewhat reluctant to leave.

"Um."

Minato nodded and carefully rolled up the scroll of the sealing technique. "Thank you for today."

"Thank me?"

Kushina tilted her head in confusion.

"Um,"

Minato stood up, his backlighting making his soft features appear somewhat unreal. "You've given me a completely new understanding of sealing techniques and the Land of Whirlpools. Thank you, Kushina."

He called my name.

It wasn't Uzumaki-kun, but Kushina.

Kushina sat there blankly, watching the boy put the scroll back on the bookshelf, feeling completely dizzy.

The warm sunlight enveloped her completely.

The girl's cheeks were burning hot, and her heart was pounding irrationally in her chest.

Kushina.

He was calling out, "Kushina."