"Minato?" Kiyoshi appropriately showed a hint of confusion.
For a guileless woman like Kushina, Kiyoshi's acting was effortless.
He only needed to be much more careful when facing Jōnin like Mikoto or Nonō.
Even in a glance or a small action, Kiyoshi would aim to perform with an air of "sincerity."
Of course, in most cases, acting wasn't needed; his emotions were quite natural.
"Is that the blonde, popular older brother over there?" Kiyoshi pointed to Minato, who was surrounded by a crowd and being praised by other female ninjas.
Those female ninjas looked excited to see Minato Namikaze and were discussing with their companions whether they should ask Minato-kun out and whether he would accept their invitations.
"Yes… that's Minato." Kushina nodded lightly.
"He looks quite handsome." Kiyoshi expressed understanding.
Minato Namikaze was currently a talented, sunny, and handsome young man, so it was perfectly normal for him to be pursued by female peers.
Or rather, anyone with those qualities would be popular wherever they went.
"Kushina, why don't you go over there?" Kiyoshi asked, though he knew the answer.
This spot was actually the edge of the sealing barrier. Walking a few more meters would take her completely out of it.
Leaving the barrier was an absolutely forbidden option for Kushina; the Anbu assigned to monitor her would stop her immediately.
"I… I don't like going too far." Kushina hesitated and didn't tell Kiyoshi the reason.
Her possession of a monster like the Nine-Tails was a top-level secret in the Hidden Leaf.
Only a handful of high-ranking officials knew about it; not even the Sannin were privy to this information.
"I see. Then how about I give you this to pass the time?" Kiyoshi took a sealing scroll from his waist.
He currently had two sealing scrolls on him. One was acquired from the Cat Granny by Mikoto, and the other was a complimentary scroll Hazuki Uchiha gave along with the ten sets of chainmail.
The former was used to seal Kiyoshi's ninja blade, a five-foot-long sword. It was quite long for him right now, and carrying a 10-kilogram weapon at all times would be too heavy. Therefore, Kiyoshi stored it in the sealing scroll unless he was fighting.
In the latter, Kiyoshi stored all the chainmail at home, using the remaining space to copy three movie videotapes, a small VCR, and a monitor to play them.
"What… is this?" Kushina looked at the sealing scroll Kiyoshi suddenly produced, from which he took out something resembling a magnetic tape.
"This is a videotape. Kushina, have you ever seen a movie?"
"I have, I have! I've seen those things. They're where people move around inside, right?" Kushina's previously dull tone recovered somewhat.
For her past self, going to the cinema to see those rare sights was a precious experience.
Unfortunately, after she became a Jinchūriki, she had never been to those places again.
"That's right. Last time you came to the bookstore looking for books and said you were bored, I thought you might be living a monotonous life. I got busy afterward and didn't see you, but I managed to earn a bit of money and planned to set up a machine at my place to pass the time. It's a coincidence I ran into you."
"But… going to your house would be a bit…" Kushina lowered her eyes.
Her bright red hair was simply tied up with a single hairpin, and a strand fell across her forehead.
Even if Kiyoshi had movies at home, she couldn't go; it was too far.
"No, Kushina, I want to give this to you." Kiyoshi shook his head, put the videotape into the sealing scroll, and handed it to Kushina, saying:
"It also has a VCR. You can play it at home."
Kiyoshi's tone was calm.
Although his house was dilapidated, it was quite large.
He was happy to have Kushina over to play and even sleep there if she got tired. That was fine.
However, even without the sealing barrier, it was impossible for Kushina to freely enter and exit the Uchiha compound.
The fact that Kiyoshi could talk to Kushina without being immediately chased away was already quite good.
The free movement of the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki into a major clan area was an extremely sensitive issue.
"Huh." Kushina pursed her attractive and full lips, surprised that Kiyoshi was so kind.
She had only mentioned being bored once, yet Kiyoshi had remembered it so clearly.
"But I don't know how to use it." Kushina politely declined Kiyoshi's kindness, knowing she wouldn't be able to use it even if she took it.
"That's simple. I'll come over and help you set it up." Kiyoshi probed.
This sentence wasn't really meant for Kushina, but for the two Anbu lurking somewhere.
In the plot, even Obito could access Kushina, and Kushina had delivered food to Obito and others many times.
This implied that the Uchiha were not strictly forbidden from contacting the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.
After all, very few people currently knew Kushina was a Jinchūriki. If they prevented too many people from contacting her, it would only raise more suspicion.
"Okay!" Kushina quickly agreed.
One movie took one or two hours. Countless movies had been released over the years, which was more than enough for her to pass the time.
She started leading the way, calling for Kiyoshi to follow.
Kiyoshi hesitated for a step. Seeing that no one came to stop him, a slight curve appeared on his lips, and he quickly followed.
Kushina's house was not considered a secret place because the true secrets were all held at the Hokage's Residence.
It was likely that the Uzumaki clan's ancestral hall was empty, and the Uzumaki sealing techniques were stored at the Hokage's Residence.
According to the Book of Soldiers (*Tō no Sho*) setting, the Hokage's Residence was the village chief's house, passed down since the First Hokage, where many forbidden Ninjutsu scrolls and confidential documents were kept.
The Forbidden Scroll Naruto stole at the beginning was also stolen from this location.
Soon, Kiyoshi arrived at Kushina's house.
This place was where Mito Uzumaki had lived, and after her death, Kushina lived here alone.
The architectural style here was completely different from the surrounding buildings, resembling a tower with a sphere at the top.
In other words, this place was a "Demon Sealing Tower" used for confinement and sealing.
Inside this building, there was a layer of Uzumaki clan sealing arrays that constantly resonated with the Jinchūriki seal, forming a double seal to enhance the sealing power.
"Excuse the intrusion." Kiyoshi politely changed his shoes at the entrance. Thankfully, Kushina had extra shoes.
He silently observed the room's decor and structure.
The entire building seemed to be divided into three floors.
The first floor held basic facilities like the kitchen, bathroom, and living room. The second floor was Kushina's resting and sleeping quarters.
The top floor was a spiral, open room, which was the Uzumaki clan's ancestral hall, etched with the clan's sealing arrays.
Whether Kushina was sleeping or going about her day, she was constantly subjected to the power of this seal.
In the Hidden Leaf, there was another Uzumaki clan Mask Storage Temple, where deities were enshrined.
Orochimaru obtained the Reaper Mask from there, which allowed him to use the Reaper Death Seal: Release to summon the souls from the Reaper's stomach, including the souls of his own hands.
"This thing needs a larger space." Kiyoshi said.
"Then follow me." Hearing this, Kushina led Kiyoshi toward a more interior room.
"This place was used to store clutter before, but it's been cleaned out and is now empty."
"Good, that's perfect." Kiyoshi unrolled the sealing scroll and summoned the items inside.
He hammered a few nails into the wall to secure the monitor and connected the VCR with wires.
After Kiyoshi's efforts, the previously empty storage room suddenly had a movie-watching setup.
While Kiyoshi was installing it, he could feel someone watching him with veiled eyes.
It was the Anbu.
"All done." Kiyoshi announced, inviting Kushina to take a look.
Kushina walked in and saw that it was set up quite nicely; all it lacked was a comfortable chair to lie on.
"You really went to a lot of trouble, Kiyoshi. How much does this cost, by the way?" Kushina asked, intending to pay Kiyoshi, but Kiyoshi immediately refused.
"We are friends; why be so formal? Don't you consider me a 'friend,' Kushina?" Kiyoshi subtly upgraded their relationship from semi-familiar acquaintances to friends.
"Hmm… then you are my third friend." Kushina felt a surge of happiness knowing Kiyoshi considered her a friend.
When she was young, because of her red hair, only Minato Namikaze approached her.
As she grew older, others had their established social circles, and Kushina couldn't integrate into them alone.
Only her relationship with Mikoto was quite good.
Now she could add Kiyoshi.
He was one of the few people who actively showed her kindness.
"That's right, we are friends." Kiyoshi smiled faintly.
In the ninja world, "friend" was synonymous with "bond".
It was a word full of magic.
Just as Naruto recognized Sasuke and considered them friends, he would bring Sasuke back even if he had to break his arms and legs—a display full of the Hidden Leaf style of "bonds."
"By the way, that Hyūga girl came looking for me earlier." Kushina suddenly brought this up, telling Kiyoshi.
The first time she met Kiyoshi was in a dark alley with a broken streetlamp, and when she walked out with Kiyoshi, she heard some unfriendly comments.
That girl came to see her today and said that the person who spoke those words had recognized their mistake.
"Natsu Hyūga, huh…" A flicker of understanding crossed Kiyoshi's eyes.
It seemed that this person had bad luck; she always came looking for him just as he was leaving.
Kiyoshi knew Natsu Hyūga was definitely here about Ginna Hyūga.
This meant his Dōjutsu power had another chance to increase.
"I'll head back for today. You can come find me once you finish the movies." Kiyoshi said.
He could afford to take things slow with Kushina for now. He had already established contact with her, and all that remained was the subsequent development.
What better excuse to visit than to exchange videotapes?
He would have more time to interact with Kushina, and going to her house was perfectly legitimate.
It was just to exchange videotapes, after all.
He was curious to know if interacting with Kushina more would trigger another Trait.
The last time he encountered Kushina at the bookstore, he had gained the [Trait: Legendary Nine-Tails (White)].
Boosting the vitality of physical cells increases chakra's ability to heal injuries by 5%.
***
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