signingbooks Chapter 321 Transition
Chapter 321 Transition
Fate smiled upon Naruto Uzumaki once again. He succeeded. At least for now, he no longer needed to plot a scheme to steal the Rinnegan.
Kushina Uzumaki has truly come to life at this moment, no longer a cold, impure body driven by forbidden techniques.
However, things in this world rarely go smoothly. Based on "reincarnation" and supplemented by the infusion of life energy from the "Golden Experience," a perfect resurrection miracle ultimately could not be created.
A significant limitation has emerged—time.
Naruto soon discovered that if he simply created a body without a soul, it was like making a lifelike sculpture, and the life energy contained within it was enough to sustain it stably for several years.
But once a real soul takes in and drives the body, the situation changes drastically. All the instinctive activities that sustain the simulated life—heartbeat, breathing, nerve conduction, and even the most subtle emotional fluctuations—continuously and rapidly consume the initially injected life energy.
Roughly estimated, the cycle will take about seven days. After seven days, Kushina will clearly feel that her senses are slowly fading away, just like the receding tide.
First, the sense of taste becomes dulled, then the sense of smell cannot detect odors, the sense of touch gradually becomes blurred, and finally, even the sense of pain will quietly disappear. The neural networks that support perception are silently pulled out one by one, and the body returns to that dusty body that is conscious but trapped in a cage.
Fortunately, as long as Naruto is by your side, that unique life energy can be regarded as an "infinite refill".
He could once again use his power to restore his mother's body to life, turning her back into the flesh-and-blood, able-to-cry-and-laugh Kushina Uzumaki. However, this discovery also definitively proved that relying on "Edo Tensei" and "Gold Experience" to achieve large-scale, permanent resurrection was a dead end.
Knowing that the process would not cause any real damage or side effects to Naruto, Kushina completely let go of her psychological burden and no longer "politely" accepted the energy input from her son's technique, maintaining this hard-won "pseudo-resurrection" state.
She silently apologized to Minato in the other world, but she couldn't suppress her strong desire to be a mother—she sincerely prayed that the Edo Tensei contract could be maintained for a little longer, a little longer... at least, at least let her witness Naruto walking down the aisle.
After all, her child had such a lovely fiancée who loved him deeply, and she wanted to witness this crucial and happy moment in his life.
Naruto finally got his wish and cooked a meal for his mother, a dinner that deliberately avoided all tomato dishes.
However, as Kushina savored her son's cooking, her feelings underwent a subtle shift. Her initial感动 (gǎndòng, moved/touched) at her son's thoughtfulness was quickly replaced by the amazing taste of the dishes, but what followed wasn't pure joy, but rather...disappointment?
Has her son's culinary skills really surpassed her own? Then, wouldn't her desire to make up for her past absences by cooking for him actually make her... a burden?
Sensing his mother's low spirits, Naruto quickly offered words of comfort. "Taste and all that doesn't matter! Mom's cooking is a hundred times better than anything I can cook!"
"Because my mother's cooking has a unique quality that makes me feel at ease, something that no amount of culinary skill can replace."
Naruto said some very cheesy things that he had never had the chance to say before, but Kushina was totally into it.
Hearing her son's overly sensible and considerate words, Kushina's heart, which had been built up for the impending separation, was once again overwhelmed by the tide of reluctance. She hugged her son tightly, greedily breathing in his undeniably warm breath, finding it increasingly difficult to bear the inevitable parting in the future.
Two weeks passed quietly in this hard-won peace and warmth. Naruto, almost with a barely perceptible greed, immersed himself in this precious daily life—the little things about living with his mother and the everyday happiness made up of Satsuki's frequent visits.
Initially, Naruto harbored some concerns, worrying that spending too much time with his mother might arouse Satsuki's jealousy. However, reality unfolded far more harmoniously than he had anticipated.
Needless to say, Kushina, the mother, saw a 99% chance that Satsuki would become her future daughter-in-law. Her heartfelt affection and acceptance naturally made their relationship close.
As for Satsuki's feelings towards Kushina, besides the respect that a junior should have for a senior, Naruto vaguely sensed that the strongest emotional fluctuation in her heart was a deep...gratitude.
Naruto was unaware that he originally thought his mother's trip to the Uchiha clan was just to visit an old friend, but in reality, she was also solemnly confirming the "childhood betrothal" agreement that was half a joke back then.
Kushina also fully demonstrated her maternal consideration. She knew that when there was a girl who deeply loved her son and longed to spend time with Naruto, she couldn't "monopolize" her son too much.
Therefore, she would often find reasons—either to go and chat with Uchiha Mikoto or to tidy up her belongings at home—to cleverly create time for Satsuki and Naruto to have some alone time.
Besides the deep-seated guilt and lingering longing for her husband Minato, Kushina's immense regret at not being able to witness her child's growth before her death is being gradually made up for in this strange "pseudo-resurrection" state, and her former wish is slowly becoming a reality.
For Naruto, this period was exceptionally peaceful. Konoha was still in the post-war recovery phase, and with the Third Hokage still recuperating in the hospital after being "educated" by his mother, the village's ninja mission system was temporarily at a standstill.
Naruto was happy to enjoy this leisurely time, waiting calmly. He guessed that perhaps one day, Jiraiya would suddenly appear, pull him onto the journey to find Tsunade, and persuade her to return to the village to succeed as the Fifth Hokage... The Third Hokage would probably choose to retire, right?
His daily routine became simple yet fulfilling: spending time with his mother, with Satsuki, and, roughly every three days, responding to Gaara's "summons." He would instantly arrive at Sunagakure using the Flying Thunder God Technique, chat with Gaara, catch up on each other's lives, and then, with Gaara's cautious yet unwavering anticipation, be invited to stay for dinner.
Temari and Kankuro are no longer afraid of their younger brother, but they look at Naruto with more awe.
Each of Naruto's unexpected visits inevitably triggered a tense, war-torn atmosphere throughout Sunagakure, as if facing a formidable enemy. However, aside from these harmless little incidents, everything remained calm, and nothing particularly noteworthy occurred.
During breaks in his daily training, Naruto began to keep Zacian with him. Considering the lack of convenient items like Poké Balls, he adopted the common practice in this world—signing a summoning contract with Zacian.
This solves both the carrying problem and fills the gap in his ability to fight when he cannot summon the toads of Mount Myōboku.
Sakura was genuinely surprised when she saw a small blue dog suddenly appear next to Naruto and learned that they had signed a summoning contract. She had thought Naruto was going to follow Kiba's path.
Naruto suggested that Sakura and Hibiki have a simple sparring match. Sakura was somewhat taken aback. Although she knew she was the weakest member of Team 7, having her spar with a puppy... wasn't that a bit too disrespectful?
However, in just one glance, the little blue dog seemingly casually bumped into her—the next second, everything went black before Sakura's eyes, and she completely lost consciousness.
Naruto then realized that he had seriously underestimated the significance of the term "divine beast," let alone the legendary being known as the "King of Swords." To more accurately assess Zacian's strength, he decided to have his shadow clone engage it in a serious battle.
The process is roughly as follows.
[Naruto's shadow clones have issued a challenge!]
Zacian's attack power has been increased!
Naruto Uzumaki used the Rasengan!
However, it missed!
Zacian used Iron Head!
[Excellent results!]
Naruto's shadow clones have disappeared!
[Gained experience points!]
It seems that real combat is indeed an effective way to grow stronger. Naruto could clearly feel that the little rascal was getting stronger at an astonishing rate. Without the help of the Nine-Tails' chakra, he would probably have a hard time subduing this seemingly cute "puppy" in a short time.
Furthermore, the prefix "small" will probably be removed soon. Naruto underestimated the growth rate of this creature.
Just two weeks after its birth, Zaxiang has already grown to nearly half the height of a human. Its original cute cub appearance has faded somewhat, replaced by an increasingly majestic demeanor, and this growth shows no signs of slowing down.
Watching Zacian grow so quickly, Kushina felt a little guilty. She thought it was her fault—after all, she had often given this "puppy" extra treats in her spare time. And Zacian wasn't a picky eater, not to mention that Kushina's cooking skills were indeed quite good.
The puppy kennel we bought earlier is obviously no longer usable; it seems we'll need to prepare a real bed to accommodate Zangxiang's ever-growing body.
While Naruto was quietly waiting for the Third Hokage to be discharged from the hospital, or for Jiraiya to come and find him to search for Tsunade together, something strange caught his attention.
Naruto admitted that he had indeed been intentionally avoiding contact with the villagers recently. Most of those who tried to bother him were stopped in time by Satsuki and Kushina. But surely that didn't justify keeping such important information completely from him?
One morning, Naruto Uzumaki looked towards the Hokage Rock in the distance as usual. His gaze suddenly froze—unbeknownst to him, construction had quietly begun there, and a statue of the Fifth Hokage, whose identity was unknown, was being carved.