I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 357 You'll never know how happy other people are until you experience it for yourself.

Seeing that Tatsuma had regained consciousness and released Kushina, Minato quickly stepped forward and caught Kushina as she fell to the side, asking, "Is Kushina alright?"

"Don't worry, she's probably communicating with the Nine-Tails."

After Tatsuma finished speaking, he suddenly felt waves of pain throughout his body. The Nine-Tails' chakra was constantly burning his body. He grimaced, clearly feeling the pain and agony.

However, Tatsuma did not immerse himself in the power brought by the Nine-Tails' chakra. Because of the intervention of the Nine-Tails' chakra, Tatsuma felt that his Sage Mode was about to go out of control again. He put his hands together and tried his best to draw on the Nine-Tails' chakra in his body.

Fortunately, the Nine-Tails had been used up a few days ago, so there wasn't much of its chakra left, only about the amount needed for five tails. Tatsuma in Sage Mode could still barely manage to use it.

This is the benefit of having a seal. The sealing seal on Kushina's body has already sealed the Nine-Tails' true form. What appears in the spiritual world, and what can be consumed and extracted, is only the part that has escaped the seal.

Without the sealing seal, Tatsuma would probably have been swatted away by Kurama in a single battle the moment he entered Kushina's mental world.

The significance of the Tail-Sealing Seal is to allow Kushina, who is not yet able to control the Nine-Tails, to suppress it. After all, Kushina was too young when she became a Jinchūriki, and her talent had not yet been realized as immediate combat power.

Like Mito Uzumaki back then, she was fully grown up and her talent had been fully realized. She could suppress the Nine-Tails on her own, so she abandoned those complicated sealing methods and suppressed the Nine-Tails with her will and strength alone.

The advantage of this method is that there is no need to worry about the seal being broken, since there is no seal at all. As long as the compression is successful, the possibility of it going out of control is extremely small.

Mito Uzumaki was still able to control the Nine-Tails until her death. Perhaps in the original work, Kushina, before giving birth to Naruto, also had the power to suppress the Nine-Tails. After all, her body had not yet recovered from pregnancy, and in her weakened state after losing the Nine-Tails, Kushina was still confident that she could perish together with the Nine-Tails.

However, Kushina still cannot do without the Tail-Sealing Seal. But the training plan is already in the works. Tatsuma doesn't know if, after this incident, Kushina, who has let go of her fear of Kurama, will be able to truly interact with Kurama as an equal.

Tatsuma himself was really looking forward to it. After all, if Kushina succeeded, even if she couldn't become the so-called perfect Jinchuriki, she could still completely control the Nine-Tails like Mito Uzumaki. In that case, Tatsuma would have fulfilled one of Mito Uzumaki's requests.

Despite his multitasking, Tatsuma didn't neglect managing the Nine-Tails' chakra. Soon, he concentrated the Nine-Tails' chakra in his left hand, turning his entire arm black and red. Minato, who was not far away, could even smell the burning odor.

Enduring the pain, Tatsuma swung his right hand, making a cut on the inside of his left forearm. Recalling the modified Four Symbols Seal that Mito Uzumaki had drawn when she gave him the Nine-Tails' chakra for the second time, Tatsuma's blood-stained fingers also moved.

The modified Four Symbols Seal he inscribed was not entirely the same as the one inscribed by Mito Uzumaki back then, but the effect was roughly the same. Tatsuma simply chose a sealing technique that he was more familiar with.

Once the technique was completed, the Four Symbols Seal rotated, gathering a continuous stream of chakra and sealing it. When the sealing technique stabilized, Tatsuma used Yin Healing and Destruction.

The charred areas on his arm healed quickly, and the scabs peeled off rapidly. Chenma shook his hand one last time, and his left hand showed almost no trace of the severe burns. In fact, it was even whiter and more tender than the rest of his skin.

This is the benefit of newly generated cells, and also one of the theoretical guidelines for Tatsumana's improved technique of extracting lesions.

When Tatsuma's seal was completed, Kushina also woke up, and as soon as she woke up, a smile appeared on her lips.

She had just experienced the same kind of joy as Tatsuma, which was beating up the Nine-Tails. To be honest, it was really fun, but Kushina was afraid of actually killing the Nine-Tails, so she didn't dare to use her full strength.

But she was still refreshed and felt even more joyful as she realized that her body was no longer affected by the Nine-Tails' chakra.

Seeing Kushina smile, Minato, who had been worried, finally relaxed and asked softly, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine! I've never felt this good."

For the past two years, she had been affected by the Nine-Tails' chakra, and even some skilled sealing techniques were at risk of failure. It took her a long time to overcome this, but now that annoying feeling of stagnation has finally disappeared.

Because of the sluggishness, the growth of her body and the increase of her chakra, which she hadn't been able to feel clearly before, became very clear at this moment. Kushina truly felt that she had never felt so good.

She is much stronger than before she became a Jinchūriki, and she is no longer bound by the constraints and hindrances that came with becoming a Jinchūriki. She feels incredibly powerful now.

"Tatsuma!"

Hearing Kushina's call, Tatsuma looked at her with disbelief, his face full of surprise. Kushina ignored Tatsuma's surprise and said:

"Aren't you guys on a mission? There's bound to be fighting, right? Take me with you! I want to fight!"

"Give up. Although the village hasn't imprisoned you, it's almost impossible for you to leave. If you want to fight, go find my teacher or Jiraiya-sensei."

Furthermore, the mission that Minato and I are going to carry out is top secret, and you have no right to participate.

Tatsuma's harsh words ruined Kushina's initially excellent mood. She glared at him angrily and said, "So what if they're from the Anbu? What's so great about them?!"

"Your boyfriend is also in the ANBU."

"Minato...Minato...he's not like you!"

Kushina glanced at Minato with a slightly guilty look on her face. It seemed she had accidentally hurt her boyfriend, but Minato didn't care and continued to show his sunny, warm smile, like the spring sun.

Chenma spoke up, breaking the pleasant atmosphere, saying, "It is indeed different. I am his class monitor, and I will soon become his squad leader."

"Hmph! What's so great about it? If you're really that great, why don't you become the head of the ANBU? Or are you not qualified? Hahaha~"

Kushina's sarcastic remarks successfully made her laugh, but Minato's smile turned incredibly awkward. After all, Tatsuma was qualified to be the head of the Anbu, but he himself didn't seem very willing.

Kushina should know about this, right? He mentioned it when we were at the ramen shop last time. Could it be that Kushina was under constant mental attack at the time and wasn't paying attention to what others were saying?

Thinking of this, the embarrassment on Minato's face disappeared, replaced by heartache and guilt for not noticing sooner.

Tatsuma rolled his eyes at the two of them and said, "Minato, take Kushina to report to the Third Hokage. I'll stay here to train for a while. You should also prepare for the trip in the next few days. I'll let you know after I've finalized the details."

"it is good."

Minato nodded and looked at Kushina in his arms. Kushina nodded back and naturally reached out to wrap her arms around Minato's neck. The golden flash disappeared, and the two vanished.

Tatsuma sat down cross-legged on the spot, carefully experiencing his Sage Mode which was about to go out of control, and also trying to repair it little by little. Such training was very necessary.

After all, in actual combat, it is impossible for him to maintain absolute energy balance all the time. On-the-spot adjustments must be mastered and practiced to the point of instinct, while finding the threshold range so that he can always keep his hands on the wheel.

In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had just finished lunch and was about to enjoy a leisurely smoke, was interrupted by the sudden arrival of Minato and Kushina.

Upon hearing that Tatsuma had extracted the Nine-Tails' chakra, Hiruzen Sarutobi was so surprised that he kept rubbing his cigarette, completely unaware that the cigarette was breaking apart as he rubbed it.

After the initial shock, Hiruzen Sarutobi hurriedly took the two to the sealing team for examination. The examination revealed that Kushina's meridians and flesh now contained almost no Nine-Tails chakra.

If Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't known that a Jinchuriki would die once they lost their Tailed Beast, he would have suspected that Tatsuma might have also extracted the Nine-Tails' physical form while extracting its chakra.

"In the end, I underestimated Tatsuma. How is he now?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked on with a sigh, then asked with concern. Kushina was about to answer that Tatsuma was alright when Minato interrupted, saying:

"Although I don't understand Tatsuma's methods, he has paid a heavy price and is currently recuperating at Kushina's house. But Hokage, please rest assured, Kushina and I will take good care of Tatsuma."

"I see."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded slightly, seemingly lost in thought. Kushina was puzzled, knowing that Minato had always respected the Third Hokage.

But why would Minato lie to the Third Hokage? Why would he lie about Tatsuma? Kushina didn't show her doubts, and even nodded in perfect agreement with Minato.

Minato knew that Tatsuma had never trusted Hiruzen Sarutobi. Although he didn't know why, he knew that Tatsuma was actually a person who lacked a sense of security, so he found it difficult to trust others and didn't like to tell others the "truth".

This is strange, because Tatsuma is the kind of person who can bring a sense of security to others, but he himself is extremely insecure. However, as one of the very few people trusted by Tatsuma, Minato does not want to betray Tatsuma's trust.

If Tatsuma were here, he would definitely hide some things, or exaggerate the price he paid, and use his past bad deeds to blackmail people.

Minato wouldn't do something like blackmailing Hiruzen Sarutobi, but he would still help Tatsuma, conceal certain things, or mislead others.

After all, these were things that wouldn't harm the village or anyone else's interests, so Minato didn't mind.

Hiruzen Sarutobi finished his thoughts, raised his head, and looked at the two with a kind smile, saying, "Then you two should go back and take care of Tatsuma. I will approve the mission."

"As long as Kushina remains in her current state before you depart, I will not stop you. I hope you understand that the village is not deliberately making things difficult for you; it's simply for the sake of the village's stability."

"Lord Hokage, I understand, and we all understand."

Minato's smile was open and honest, without the slightest hint of guilt after lying. He possessed the most outstanding ninja talent, including the ability to deceive others, but he usually preferred to treat people with sincerity.

"Shall we head back now?"

"Um."

Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand, watching the two disappear, and chuckled as he murmured, "What good children! I was just as eager to serve the village back then."

But some things you only understand when you slow down. These kids are still so young. Don't you think so, Ryūji?

Longjian nodded in agreement, saying, "Yes, a new sapling wants to grow strong as quickly as possible into a sturdy tree that can shelter others from the wind and rain. Isn't that precisely the Will of Fire?"

"Haha~ That's right, this is the Will of Fire."

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled, looking at the setting sun, and said, "We who are beginning to grow old must continue to radiate our last rays, becoming nourishment for the saplings."

(End of this chapter)