(Note: everything is perceived through the inner senses of the MC, still in Kushina’s womb. He cannot respond, but he hears and feels everything.)
Chapter 1 – Part 2: Words from Parents
Note: Everything is perceived through the internal senses of the MC, still inside Kushina’s womb. He cannot respond, but he hears and feels everything.
— "You know you’ve been talking to our baby alone for thirty minutes, right?"
— "Maybe if you talked to him too, he’d end up recognizing your voice, Mister Too-Busy-Hokage."
Kushina — mischievous voice.
Minato — soft voice. Always calm.
He rested his hand on her round belly, a quiet smile on his face.
— "Naruto... do you hear Mommy complaining? Personally, I think she’s exaggerating."
— "I am NOT complaining, I’m stating facts!"
I can feel the laughter in her chest.
She’s alive, vibrant, volcanic. A red sun.
And he — calm, always slightly amused, but attentive.
Their bond is palpable, deep, woven through war, danger, and love.
— "I wonder what he’ll look like," Minato said.
— "Like me, obviously," Kushina replied with a bright laugh.
— "Poor village… they’re not ready for two Kushinas."
She hit his shoulder.
Playfully.
— "Oh, and what if it’s a girl? Ever thought about that?"
— "Kushina… the ultrasound showed—"
— "Machines can be wrong. And if it’s a girl, she’ll be as beautiful as me and as cunning as you."
She laid her head on his knees. He stroked her gently.
— "Then she’ll rule the world."
— "Exactly what I had planned."
Silence. A few seconds.
Then Kushina sighed.
— "Sometimes, I’m scared."
— "I know. So am I."
She lifted her head.
— "You know what I went through with Kyūbi. You know how hard it was… and now, we’re about to pass that burden on to our child. Do we even have the right to do that?"
Minato clenched his jaw, but didn’t look away.
— "That’s why we have to surround him. We have to pass on more than just chakra. More than just jutsu. We have to give him love."
She slowly nodded.
— "Do you think... he’ll love us?"
— "How could he not?"
— "Because he’ll know… that we gave him a demon."
Minato took her hands in his.
— "He won’t carry a demon. He’ll carry our trust. He’ll be our heir. No hatred. No shame."
Kushina closed her eyes.
And at that moment, I felt a wave of warmth.
Her chakra enveloped me gently.
Motherhood. Pain. Pride.
A storm that had learned to become a calm sea.
— "Do you think he’ll have my personality?"
— "That would be unfair to the walls of the house."
— "You mean to your head."
They laughed together. Long and freely.
Another day.
The tone was heavier.
The sky rumbled.
I felt the tension in their chakra.
— "I received a report. The Uchiha are watching us more closely."
Kushina frowned. She was sitting, one hand on her belly.
— "Do you think they suspect something?"
— "No. But they know something is coming."
She looked outside.
— "Do you think it’s because of me?"
— "It’s because of us. Of what we represent. Because you carry Kyūbi. Because I’m the Hokage."
She gripped her robe at her belly.
— "Then our son will be a target… from the moment he’s born."
Minato remained silent for a long moment.
— "That’s why we have to give him more than words. He’ll have to be strong. Too strong to be manipulated. Too strong to be crushed."
— "You mean… he’ll have to grow up like a ninja from the cradle?"
— "No. I mean he’ll have to grow up with a foundation stronger than any ninja."
Kushina lowered her head. She gently caressed her belly.
— "Do you hear that, Naruto? Your father wants you to be a pillar. A rock."
— "And I… I just want you to be alive."
She wept softly.
Not sobbing.
Not in pain.
Just… a mother’s fear.
I felt her sorrow — but also her love.
She already loved me, though she didn’t even know me yet.
And I swore I wouldn’t let her die.
One evening, they lay in bed together.
Kushina spoke more softly.
— "Do you remember our first mission together?"
Minato smiled.
— "The one where you called me a stuck-up blond?"
— "No, no. The one before that. The one where I almost got killed by that ridiculous trap, and you blocked it with a kunai… in your mouth."
— "Ah, right… You called me an idiot."
— "That’s when I knew I loved you."
— "When you insulted me?"
— "Yes."
They laughed again.
— "You were insufferable, you know. Always calm. Always distant."
— "And you, always on fire."
— "Sometimes I think… that it’s that mixture that worked."
Minato took a slow breath.
— "I think our son will have both. Your strength, your fire. And maybe, if he’s lucky, a little of my calm."
— "Or he’ll have your calm and my temper. Poor kid."
— "Do you think we’ll know how to talk to him?"
— "We won’t need to know. We’ll learn with him."
A silence.
Then, more quietly:
— "And what if we don’t have time?"
That sentence chilled me.
— "Then he’ll have to learn to survive on his own… but never without love."
And I keep listening.
Day after day.
Their hopes.
Their jokes.
Their tears.
Sometimes, Kushina sings to me.
Sometimes, Minato whispers to me.
They talk to me about a better world.
About a possible future.
They talk to me as if they’re sure they won’t be part of it.
And that… I refuse.