Naruto: Journey to Reach You-Chapter 28

The next morning...

Naruto got ready to leave the village. As he stepped out of the inn, he said,

"Alright, I'll go get the scroll from her... and I want to see her one last time before I leave."

He went to Kushina's place and knocked on the door. He waited a long time, but no one answered. He slowly pushed the door open and entered... only to be shocked to find her unconscious on the floor in front of the table.

He immediately picked her up and rushed to the hospital. When he met the doctor who was assigned to treat her, she arrogantly said,

"I will not treat her."

Naruto, outraged: "What do you mean you won't treat her?!"

Doctor: "Just as you heard. It's better if that girl dies—it'll bring peace to her and to us all. I will not treat that murderer."

As soon as Naruto heard that, he looked at her angrily and was about to snap at her when a nurse called for the doctor. She went to the nurse and said,

"What is it? Why are you calling me?"

The nurse, panting and whispering: "That person... the one standing over there..."

The doctor looked at the man the nurse was pointing at and asked, "What about him?!"

Nurse: "He's Uzumaki Naruto."

The doctor went silent for a moment, then said,

"The Hokage of Konoha?!"

Nurse: "Yes. And it's not in our best interest to deny him anything he asks."

After a pause, the doctor said, "Alright. You can go now."

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She went to Naruto and said reluctantly,

"Alright... I will treat her."

Naruto looked at her, surprised at her sudden change of heart. She left and entered the room to treat Kushina. When she came out, she said curtly,

"She was poisoned, but we extracted the poison. She's fine now. There, I've treated her as you requested. You can take her now."

And she left.

Naruto entered the room where Kushina was sleeping and sat next to her, waiting for her to open her eyes. After a while, she opened them slowly and looked at him weakly. Then she turned her face away and said sadly,

"Why did you do this?... Why did you save me?"

Naruto: "Why would I let you die?! ... And what was that? You ate poisoned food?!"

Kushina: "It was brought to me by one of the hotel staff, saying it was my lunch. After I ate it, everything went dark."

Naruto: "And why would this person want to kill you?!"

Kushina, with sadness: "Because everyone wants that... they all wish for my death... so why not just give them what they want?"

Naruto: "Because they're wrong. I listened to everything you told me last night... you didn't kill anyone, Kushina."

Kushina interrupted: "True... but because of my father's invention... most of that village's people died. Some lost fathers, others lost sons or wives... many died. And because I'm the daughter of the man responsible for all that, to them I'm the murderer of their families.

And I still carry the weapon that could bring destruction again... So of course they hate me and want to kill me... They all want revenge for those they lost."

Naruto: "Revenge won't bring anything back... and you're not the one they should be blaming. Not your father either. It was they who came to steal the scroll, and that's what caused the explosion.

Your father didn't create it for destruction—it was meant as a weapon to protect your clan. No one has the right to treat you this way."

Kushina, bitterly: "How would you know what I feel?"

Naruto: "I know exactly how you feel... no one can understand your pain better than I can. I've been through everything you have."

Kushina: "You?! How?"

He looked at her for a while and then said with a smile,

"It doesn't matter. I proved to them that they were wrong about me... and that's what I want you to do too."

She smiled at him, then after a pause said with sadness,

"Even you... it seemed like you were going to leave me once you realized how much trouble I'd bring you..."

Naruto: "That's not it at all... it's true that I was planning to take the scroll and leave, but only because staying would put you in more danger—not because I wanted to run away from you. But don't worry... I'm not going to leave you now."

She smiled softly. Suddenly, he stood up and picked her up in his arms.

Kushina: "What?!"

Naruto: "The doctor said I could take you now... and since you're still tired, hold on tight."

He carried her and leapt out the window onto the rooftops. He continued jumping from one roof to another while she clung tightly to him. She thought to herself,

"It feels like I'm flying... I've never felt this happy before."

When they reached the door of the inn Naruto was staying at, the innkeeper from Kushina's place saw them and whispered to the man who poisoned her,

"Looks like she's under the protection of the Uzumaki now... our plan failed... we should have done it while he was gone."

Naruto took her into his room, which was a simple but spacious bedroom. As he closed the door, she asked,

"Why did you bring me here?! My room is at the other inn!"

Naruto: "After what happened, I'm afraid to leave you there—they might kill you. You're safer here with me."

He gently laid her on the bed and pulled the covers over her.

"Rest until you've fully recovered."

Kushina: "And you... where will you sleep?"

He looked at her for a moment and teased,

"Well, since there's only one bed, I guess I'll be sleeping—"

She stared at him with a mix of fear and embarrassment, pulling the blanket up to hide half her face. He laughed and said,

"Don't worry... I'm just kidding. I'll sleep on the couch over there."

She lowered her head shyly with a smile.

He said, "Good night."

Kushina softly: "You too."

He turned off the lights and went to sleep on the couch. Kushina stayed awake for a while, lying comfortably in bed.

"So this is a water bed... I've heard about them but never tried one. It's so comfortable..."

She turned on her side and hugged the pillow, catching a faint scent.

"This smell... It's his scent... So fragrant... He must've been sleeping on this side of the bed... I finally found him after four years of searching... I'm so happy... He exceeded everything I imagined.

I always wondered what he'd be like... how he'd treat me... and whether he'd accept me or not... He answered all of that so easily... All my hopes rest on him now... I don't know what I'd do if he left me."

Eventually, she drifted off to sleep from exhaustion.