Chapter 157 157: Kyūsei’s Protective Instinct
The wind was gentle. The moon hung bright and full.
After the violent cleansing of that final Tailed Beast Bomb, the sky was unnaturally clear. Even at night, every corner of the heavens seemed visible.
Menma lay weakly on the ocean's surface.
His once-dead eyes stared blankly upward.
For reasons unknown, his black hair had reverted to gold. Even his pupils had turned a clear, tranquil blue—
Exactly like Kaoru 's.
"Go on… kill me."
His voice was hollow as he looked at the two figures standing beside him.
"I won't kill you," Kaoru said, shaking her head softly. "No matter what, you are the counterpart of our future child."
Menma gave a cold, mocking laugh.
"If you won't kill me, what? Planning to lock me up?"
Kyūsei looked down at him.
At that face—
So identical to Naruto's.
"Tell me," Kyūsei said quietly, "why do you hate Kushina and Minato so much?"
During the battle, Menma's killing intent had been real.
Solid. Undeniable.
Kyūsei couldn't understand what Minato and Kushina could possibly have done to earn such hatred.
"And who do you think you are?" Menma sneered. "Just that stupid woman's counterpart."
Even with his life no longer in his own hands, his mouth was as stubborn as ever.
Kyūsei sighed.
Golden chains burst from his palm.
They wrapped Menma tightly, binding him completely.
Then Kyūsei layered two Four Symbols Seals on top of him. The moment they merged into a combined formation, they transformed into an Eight Trigrams Seal. On top of that, he added a Five Elements Seal for good measure.
Menma was the counterpart of his future son.
Kyūsei would never kill him.
But Menma was also a perfect Jinchūriki.
Once he recovered, someone with his personality would absolutely start causing chaos again.
So Kyūsei had no choice but to seal both the Nine-Tails inside him and his own chakra—for now.
Throughout the entire process, Menma only stared coldly at him.
The malice in his eyes never faded.
Kyūsei grabbed him by the collar and hauled him up from the water.
"Let's go back," he said to Kaoru . "I'll inform the old man. For now, we'll keep an eye on him ourselves."
No matter what—
From a bloodline perspective—
Menma was Kushina's son.
Which meant he was, in a way, theirs.
And Kyūsei was fiercely protective of his own.
If they handed Menma over to Hiruzen—
Who knew how he would be treated?
As for extracting the Nine-Faced Suvahā technique from his memories?
That thought had disappeared the moment Kyūsei saw him in person.
Blood was blood.
No matter how troublesome—
This idiot was still his foolish son.
"Okay."
Kaoru let out a small breath of relief.
No matter what—
This was her silly son, too.
She gave Menma a complicated look, then placed her hand on Kyūsei's shoulder.
Flying Thunder God—activate.
The familiar scenery shifted.
Instead of bringing Menma straight to the Hokage's office, Kaoru brought him home.
Menma sat on the floor silently, saying nothing.
"I'll go inform the old man," Kyūsei said. "You watch him."
"Mm…"
Kaoru glanced at Menma uneasily.
He had just blown up Sunagakure.
The war had only just ended.
No one wanted another conflict.
Akatsuki definitely wouldn't let this go easily. Even if Hiruzen was being firm now—
Human hearts were unpredictable.
Kyūsei moved through the night unimpeded and entered the Hokage Tower.
ANBU hidden in the shadows did not stop him.
Over the years, he had come and gone from this building as he pleased.
He reached Hiruzen's office and saw the light still on.
Without hesitation, he pushed the door open.
"Old man, I—"
He stopped mid-sentence.
Inside were the remaining members of Konoha's F3.
He gave an awkward smile.
"Did I come at a bad time?"
Hiruzen rubbed his aching temples.
Akatsuki had been harassing him nonstop these past two days.
"No," Hiruzen said. "You came at the right time."
Koharu Utatane looked at Kyūsei sharply.
"Kyūsei. How did the task we assigned you go?"
She meant the capture of Menma.
"I was just about to report that."
Kyūsei frowned slightly, then hesitated.
He glanced briefly at Koharu and Homura Mitokado.
Finally, his eyes returned to Hiruzen.
"Speak freely," Hiruzen said. "There are no outsiders here."
Hiruzen had raised Kyūsei for eleven years.
He could tell what the boy ate for dinner just by the way he breathed.
That hesitant look meant trouble.
Koharu, however, bristled at the obvious caution.
She approved of the strong bond between Hokage and Jinchūriki.
But being treated like someone untrustworthy irritated her deeply.
She was still a Hokage advisor.
"Alright, old man."
Kyūsei glanced at Koharu's dark expression and shrugged.
"You remember Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina, right?"
Hiruzen nodded slowly.
Those two had been the alternate-world counterparts of Kyūsei and Kaoru .
Their impact had been profound.
"The mysterious man… is their son."
"His name is Uzumaki Menma."
"I caught him."
"He's at my house."
Hiruzen's hand froze mid-motion as he reached for his pipe.
Uzumaki Menma.
Minato and Kushina's son.
His gaze shifted slowly to Kyūsei.
Which meant—
Menma was the counterpart of Kyūsei's own future son.
And with Kyūsei's fiercely protective personality…
This would be difficult.
"So?" Koharu cut in sharply before Hiruzen could speak. "Are you planning to protect him?"
"Uzumaki Kyūsei, do you understand how much trouble he has caused us?"
Her eyes were cold and piercing as she stared at the tall Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.
The room grew heavy with tension.
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