Naruto: Puppet Master Undercover in Konoha

Because Kushina Uzumaki's status as a Jinchuriki was known only to a few people in Konoha, it was classified information.

Kakashi and the others only knew about this because they were students of Minato Namikaze.

Otherwise, even though Kakashi was now a Tokubetsu Jonin, he wouldn't have been qualified to know that Kushina Uzumaki was a Jinchuriki.

When Jiraiya saw that Rin Nohara had brought some ninja here and realized the danger had already passed, he told them the place had simply been damaged by accident when Minato Namikaze was researching a new jutsu. He ordered them to quickly send the seriously injured Minato Namikaze and Shindai, along with the unconscious Kushina Uzumaki, to the ninja medical center for treatment.

Although Kakashi and Obito had both lost their ability to fight after being directly punched by Kushina Uzumaki who had lost control, their injuries weren't nearly as severe as those of Minato Namikaze and Shindai. After resting for a while, they had already improved significantly and could at least walk on their own. With Rin's support, they immediately headed to the hospital.

After everything was done, there was no one left at the Third Training Ground except Jiraiya.

Looking at the destruction caused by Kushina Uzumaki who had lost control, Jiraiya wiped cold sweat from his forehead and sighed deeply, "Scared me half to death! This happened right after I left. Minato and that brat really have terrible luck. Though Minato was pretty lucky too—he better learned Sealing Technique from Kushina, otherwise it would've been dangerous. Well, whatever, I'll wait before reporting. Let me wait until Minato wakes up first."

After regaining his composure, Jiraiya, still feeling lingering fear, left the Third Training Ground to report the situation to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

...

Three days later.

Minato Namikaze opened his eyes and abruptly sat upright on the hospital bed.

"Kushina!"

Realizing he was no longer at the Third Training Ground, Minato took in his surroundings.

Noticing that Jiraiya, Tsunade, Kushina Uzumaki, Rin Nohara, Kakashi, and Obito were all in the room watching him, Minato let out a surprised "Huh?"

Tears already filling her eyes, Kushina Uzumaki bit her lip, then rushed into Minato Namikaze's arms and tightly hugged him.

"It hurts! It hurts!"

Minato cried out in pain from his entire body's soreness.

Jiraiya laughed and said, "Finally awake, huh? If you slept any longer, Kushina would've worried herself sick."

Minato let his body relax, reached out his hand, and gently patted Kushina Uzumaki's back, saying, "Don't cry, it's okay—you're safe."

Just as Jiraiya and the others were watching the heartwarming moment and couldn't help but smile, a deliberately sarcastic voice cut through the mood:

"As soon as he wakes up, he calls for Kushina, but doesn't even bother calling my name. When *I* woke up, why didn't anyone hug *me*? And where was your 'don't cry, you're okay~'? Wasn't *I* the one who got hurt?"

On the hospital bed next to Minato Namikaze, Shindai, wrapped entirely in bandages, glared at Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze with a resentful gaze.

Seeing Shindai covered in bandages, Minato asked with concern, "Shindai, are you okay?"

Shindai replied in a bitter tone, "You finally remember me? It's too late now! Just keep fussing over your girlfriend. Like I matter at all anyway."

Rin Nohara tried to reason, "Shindai, don't say that. We've been by your side the whole time. And you only woke up five minutes before Minato did. We were concerned about you after you woke up too, weren't we?"

Unable to move his body, Shindai could only turn his head and muttered pettily, "Who knows who you're really keeping watch for—me or Minato!"

Minato spoke sincerely to Shindai, "Sorry, Shindai. Thank you so much this time. If it weren't for you buying me and Kushina some time, I wouldn't have had the chance to redo the seal."

"Tch~"

Minato scratched his head helplessly.

Shindai grumbled alone, "All of this is Kakashi's fault. That day, I wasn't even planning on going out. Then when I did go out, I ran into the troublesome Kakashi and Rin. After that came Kushina, and then BAM—I got a heavy slap on the back of my head.

"I was hoping to see Minato-sama and Kushina-sama kiss, but not only did I miss that kiss, I ended up getting beaten up myself. So unfair!"

Hearing Shindai's complaints, everyone in the room gave each other awkward looks, with dark lines forming on their foreheads.

Obito walked up to Shindai's hospital bed and spread his arms, "Come on, stop whining already. How about a hug, huh?"

Shindai turned his head toward Obito, looking at him as though he were an idiot.

"Even if Rin wanted to hug me, I'd hesitate. You hugging me? Pfft."

Obito instantly flared up, "Hey, what's that supposed to mean, Shindai?! What's wrong with me hugging you?!"

Rin's face looked like she just swallowed a fly.

"What do you mean you'd 'hesitate' if *I* hugged you?! I definitely don't want to hug Shindai!"

Tsunade twitched her eyebrow while muttering, "This kid's still such a pain to listen to."

Jiraiya's eye twitched in agreement. "Tell me about it," he muttered.

Suddenly, Kushina Uzumaki stood up and approached Shindai's hospital bed.

Looking at Kushina, who said nothing and simply stared directly at him, Shindai immediately became nervous—after all, this woman actually would hit people for real.

Shindai forced a faint smile onto his face: "Uh... I was just kidding around, right? You totally got the joke, didn't you? I'm sure you're all super understanding and appreciate stuff like that..."

Tsunade's mouth twitched. "Still shamelessly himself, as always," she muttered.

Jiraiya mirrored Tsunade exactly, lips twitching as he chimed in, "Tell me about it~"

"Thank you, Shindai!"

Kushina Uzumaki gave a deep, formal bow to Shindai.

Shindai was completely stunned. This scene felt strangely familiar.

Oh right, that day Kushina Uzumaki had also apologized to Minato in exactly the same way.

After standing up straight, Kushina looked at Shindai seriously and said, "I'll make sure both of you are well taken care of until Minato and you fully recover and leave the hospital!"

"Ahh, okay."

Shindai shook himself back to reality while ducking his head slightly. That sudden bow almost scared him, making him think he was about to get punched.

But right after that, Shindai cracked a mischievous grin. Hmph, his head wasn't just a free target for anyone to punch, and he wouldn't suffer injuries for no reason either!

Minato exhaled in relief, breaking into a relieved smile.

Even someone as easygoing as him occasionally found Shindai tough to deal with.

Minato asked, "Master Jiraiya, weren't you on a mission? And Lady Tsunade, wasn't she in the Grass Country?"

Jiraiya replied helplessly, "Don't remind me! I had barely left when this incident happened right after I departed. How could I possibly carry out my mission then?"

Minato felt somewhat embarrassed. He hadn't anticipated something like this happening either.

Then Tsunade spoke up, "The situation in the Grass Country has stabilized. With Shikaku and others there, there's no need for me to stay any longer since my role is quite limited and I can't participate in combat. So I came back. When I returned, Jiraiya immediately found me. The treatment for both your injuries and the boy's was carried out under my supervision alongside the medical ninja."

"I see."

Minato glanced at Kushina Uzumaki beside him. It was such a relief that everything had turned out alright.

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