At the entrance of Whirlpool Tide Village, Tsunade, having finished her farewells, returned and reunited with Jiraiya, and then left with Nawaki and Kushina.
Kushina reluctantly turned her head back, gazing at the village where she had lived for eight years, her eyes filled with reluctance.
Many clansmen stood at the village entrance, with Uzumaki Qiong Naixiang at the very front, smiling gently, her eyes full of encouragement as she looked at her.
Kushina puffed out her cheeks and waved her small fist rather resolutely, but still frequently turned her head to look into the village, as if searching for something.
Unfortunately, until the village became a small black dot and disappeared at the end of her vision, she did not wait for that person's figure.
She twitched her little nose, her eyes slightly red, but she stubbornly resisted sobbing.
Nawaki noticed her emotions and quickly stepped forward to comfort her, "Kushina, don't worry, you can still come back as long as you miss home."
He pointed to the land in the distance, "Look, the Land of Fire is on the other side of the sea. As long as you cross this sea, you can go home."
Tsunade squatted down in front of Kushina and reached out to touch her little head, "Nawaki is right. After we get to Hidden Leaf Village, I will take care of you. We have the same blood flowing through our veins, and we are also your family."
Kushina nodded, pursing her lips without speaking.
The group walked to the coast, and Jiraiya immediately squatted down, pointing to his back:
"Little Kushina, crossing the sea is still very difficult for novice Ninja, so let me carry you across the sea."
"Thank you, but no need." Kushina shook her head, stretched out her small hand to form a hand seal, and as Chakra gathered along her meridians to her feet, she took the first step, stepping on the undulating sea surface.
The others immediately showed surprised expressions. Amidst Nawaki's exclamation, Kushina walked towards the sea, allowing the waves to surge, yet she still walked on the sea as if it were flat ground, even walking as fast as flying.
"I learned to wade through mountains and rivers when I was six years old." She said, looking back.
Tsunade and Jiraiya exchanged glances, their eyes filled with a hint of surprise.
It seemed that the Uzumaki Clan Head was not dwelling on past grievances and had really sent a highly talented Uzumaki clansman to Hidden Leaf Village.
"I'll go too!"
Nawaki, not wanting to be outdone, stepped on the sea and ran to Kushina's side.
"In that case, let's have a competition to see who reaches the land first!"
"Okay." Kushina nodded lightly.
"If Kushina gets tired, you can rest midway. It would be bad if you accidentally fell into the sea."
"Okay."
Nawaki patted his chest and gently grabbed Kushina's wrist, "But, I will be by your side. Even if Kushina-imouto falls, I will grab you at the first moment!"
Kushina gave a polite smile, "Then thank you, Nawaki-nii."
"Don't worry..." Nawaki paused.
A sea breeze blew, moist and cool.
Kushina was stunned, because Nawaki's eyes suddenly changed, it was an indescribable feeling, the original pure eyes became deep, and the gentleness revealed the majesty of a superior, which could reassure people at a glance.
"Don't worry, I will always be by your side." Nawaki smiled softly.
Kushina was stunned. The familiar sensation came from her fingertip, because "Nawaki" had touched her little finger and gently pinched the pad of her finger.
"This is..." Her eyes widened suddenly, filled with disbelief.
When she was very young, she liked to be spoiled by Shin'yu's side. Whenever Shin'yu came to Whirlpool Tide Village, she was always his designated little padded jacket.
And Shin'yu's favorite thing to do was to gently pinch her smooth and soft little finger like this.
The identity of the person in front of her was naturally beyond doubt!
Kushina's eyes instantly became moist, her small mouth slightly pouting, and she was about to burst into tears in the next second.
"Nawaki" quickly raised a finger and "shushed" at her lips.
"Don't worry."
In an instant, Kushina felt surrounded by a huge joy. This strong emotion filled her completely, leaving no room for the reluctance and disappointment just now.
She felt like she was going to explode with happiness.
The two were back to back, so Tsunade and Jiraiya behind them did not notice the abnormality.
It's just that Tsunade was a little emotional, the feelings of children are simple, and they can quickly heat up in such a short time.
...
At the entrance of Whirlpool Tide Village, Orochimaru, who had completed his mission, walked towards the village.
At this time, among the crowd who came to see Kushina off, a boy of about 4 years old suddenly came out.
Orochimaru noticed his gaze immediately. While surprised, he stopped.
The child had long red hair and a delicate appearance. He just raised his head and stood in front of him with watery eyes.
"Hello, Mr. Orochimaru, my name is Nagato."
Orochimaru squatted down to make their eyes level, and smiled slightly, "Do you have something to do with me?"
He had an impression of this child. He and Shin'yu sent their family back to the Land of Whirlpools from the Rain Country.
"Yes, I... I want..." The boy put his hands behind his back, his face shy, "I want to ask you to teach me how to practice Ninjutsu."
"Practice Ninjutsu?" Orochimaru's expression became strange.
"Yes... Yes!" The boy nodded heavily, "My mother said that I have a good talent and I am already old enough to practice. I was able to extract Chakra a few months ago."
"Actually, I am also very interested in Ninjutsu..." As if worried that Orochimaru would be impatient, little Nagato immediately took out a flat Chakra Paper from his pocket, pinched it with two fingers, and injected his Chakra into it.
"According to the test results, what I am best at..." As he said, the paper in his hand split from the middle with a "cha" sound, and fell leisurely, "is Wind Release."
The boy looked up at Orochimaru, his eyes containing expectation, "I... I just watched Mr. Orochimaru's battle, your Wind Release is superb, I want... to ask you to teach me..."
"You want..." Orochimaru's eyes trembled, and something in his heart was touched, and a different kind of emotion grew, "to become my disciple?"
Nagato exclaimed, "If Mr. Orochimaru is willing, I can become a disciple."
He suddenly muttered in a low voice, "Actually, our family only returned to the village later. Although my mother didn't say it, I know that she always hoped that I could become an excellent Ninja, only in this way can we be worthy of the village's care..."
Orochimaru took a deep breath and slowly stood up, "Sorry, I can't agree to your request now."
Nagato's eyes dimmed, "Is that so? Well, okay, thank you for being willing to listen to me pour out my feelings."
Orochimaru was somewhat surprised, "I clearly rejected you, and you're still thanking me?"
"I know becoming stronger isn't that easy. Dad said that growth is like the pain of unraveling silk from a cocoon." As he spoke, little Nagato touched his chest, "Feeling pain here probably means I'm growing, right? That way, I won't disappoint Mom."
"Silly," Orochimaru suddenly chuckled.
"Huh?" Little Nagato tilted his head.
"I said it's not possible now, but I didn't say it's not possible in the future." Orochimaru put one hand on his hip and looked at the azure sky.
"I rejected you because I haven't even completed my own training yet."
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