Path Of War-Chapter 332: Overwhelming Sensation I

It wasn't long until everyone pulled out more chairs and sat down.

Minato began, "After the Nine-Tails attack, we awakened near the edge of the village. I know it sounds confusing, but someone brought us back, and they restored our chakra and memories."

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"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"For starters," Minato continued, "we didn't want to alarm the village or anyone in it in case we were being manipulated. So I had to find out what had happened."

"That's when they came into my office," Tsunade finished.

"Yes," he continued. "When we got there, Tsunade was just as shocked as we were. She called the other elders for advice since something like this had never happened before."

'I knew I should have trained yesterday instead,' Alice thought to herself.

"Since Hiromu and Koharu were away," Hiruzen addressed, "I was the only one to confirm it was really you two."

"I assume you guys conducted several tests," Alice said.

Kushina confirmed, making a hint at Alice's perceptiveness.

All the tests came back clear. Their chakra levels were stable, there weren't any signs of genjutsu or seals on them, and neither were there any wounds on their bodies that signified their deaths thirteen years ago.

Kushina then leaned in closely to her son and said, "We were worried about you, which is why we wanted to see how you were doing."

Who could blame the two parents when their last moments involved them holding their newborn son behind a monstrous devil fox?

"I'm actually fine," Naruto said, hoping this wasn't a dream. "It's just a lot to take in, is all."

Minato continued, "We wanted to find out who was behind this. Because if someone could bring the dead back, it's alarming, and we can't ignore that. For all we know, us being here might not last."

Alice sat silently in contemplation, piecing everything together in her mind.

'Could Arthur be responsible for this?' she wondered. 'Or is it because of what we've been doing?'

She held back her assumptions; it felt unlikely that Orochimaru orchestrated such resurrection schemes. The Sannin was notorious for the Reanimation technique, but even he wouldn't—or rather couldn't—resurrect Kushina and Minato, let alone fully bring them back from the dead.

A feat like that would require extreme measures, like using the Rinnegan. Yet there was currently only one pair of Rinnegan in existence, and they belonged to Nagato.

Even if the leader of the Akatsuki wanted to resurrect someone, he wouldn't have targeted these two and then brought them back to their village. That simply wouldn't make sense.

This had to be Arthur's work.

'I think I should contact Jada...'

Tsunade's tone shifted as she addressed the group. "We need to conduct more research before informing the village about your return."

"I agree," Minato firmly stated. "It's best we first understand what's happened if someone has the power to do this. Let's investigate the village for any chakra anomalies; that might lead us to the source."

Alice and Tsunade couldn't help but be impressed at Minato's clarity. It was almost as if he were the Hokage at this moment. Hiruzen himself was used to the man he selected acting so commanding.

Truth be told, Alice had only heard of Minato's feats from the other players. Many admired him as a hero and read countless stories of his exploits.

Meeting him in person, however, was a surreal experience. He was undeniably charismatic, but what struck her most was the sharpness of his mind.

"But what if you guys are back here for good?" Naruto interjected.

Hinata could tell that he was in denial, but she didn't want to burden him after seeing him cry.

Kushina laughed as her mirth settled in him. "Naruto, you don't need to worry. Even if this doesn't last, we're just happy to see that you've grown into a fine young man."

At that moment, Naruto felt several different emotions: pride, sadness, and a sense of joy. His mother's words reaffirmed his journey that was filled with many challenges. Yes, his early years had been tough, but this experience was nothing like he'd ever faced.

Hinata watched the exchanges with a gentle smile as they discussed their next steps. She liked witnessing Naruto's love for his family and knowing that such bonds could be incredibly strong.

"Can you believe it, Hinata?" Naruto said, holding her hand.

Seeing this brought a mischievous smile to Kushina's eyes. "Wait—are you seeing my son?"

Startled and momentarily flustered, Hinata's face flushed red, having not properly introduced herself yet.

"Um, yes! I—I'm Hinata," she stuttered, feeling unexpectedly bashful. "I think Naruto is great and that you two would have raised him well."

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Kushina beamed. "Knowing my son found someone makes me happy."

Minato laughed, smirking at Naruto. This made the two couples feel embarrassed as they turned beet red.

Alice observed the affectionate exchanges with a puzzled expression of her own. Apart from Arthur, to think the only non-Naruto fan in this world was the one to experience this momentous event.

At that moment, Naruto was overwhelmed with hope as he looked around at the faces of Alice, Hinata, and his parents. No matter how short everyone thought this would be, he had love, friends, and his family back.

It was more than he had ever dreamed, and he was ready to make it last.

An hour later.

The room was quiet now, save for the clatter of dishes. Tsunade had ordered that several Anbu keep watch around the surrounding area.

While the details of their assignment lacked the mention of the fourth Hokage and his wife being present, their task was to ensure no one came in or out of the apartment complex.

Hiruzen himself was going to have the rest of his years being chastised for certain.

Seated at the table, Naruto was forced to wait while his parents cooked dinner.

As she stirred the miso soup, Kushina turned off the burner and furrowed her brow slightly. Minato was equally absorbed while carefully chopping vegetables.

Their son felt happy and hopeful when he saw them like this—a family cooking a straightforward meal. He wondered what William was going to think of this.

"Can I please help?" he said in a joyous tone. "I can cook now, just so ya know!"

"Sit down and wait!" Kushina answered without arguing in her tone.

With his heart pounding, Naruto complied. She had spoken with the same authority as when they had first met some months ago in his subconscious.

At that moment, he was pulled into his seal. Lying behind its cage with a devilish smile was the Nine-Tails.

"Do you really think it is them?" it asked.

"Of course I do!" Naruto grimaced.

"When they disappear again, what will you do?"

Fighting that evil thought, Naruto clenched his fists. He angrily retorted, "Don't think I'll fall for that." He was aware that the Nine-Tails was just trying to make him feel bad. "I'll treasure every moment with them, even if it is only for tonight."

The beast laughed. It did not want Naruto to be overly at ease. However, it secretly liked the idea that the boy's parents had suddenly returned.

Naruto's attention was brought back to the here and now. He paused to enjoy the alluring scents filling the air. The previously tense atmosphere was broken by Minato's small but sincere smile as he settled into the chair next to him.

That's when Kushina put the plates down to reveal luscious food decorations that brought Naruto a sense of delight he had never experienced in his culinary experiments.

Their plates were adorned with rice, grilled fish, and miso soup—simple food that conveyed a sense of tradition and care.

With sincere appreciation, he said, "Thank you for the food."

His tongue was flooded with flavours from the first bite. It was home, cozy and enlightening, and he relished every moment.

"Is my cooking really that good?" Kushina teased.

As the meal continued, he was overcome with the happiness of their company, and his eyes began to well up with tears. The moment seemed too flimsy, as if someone read his tale and knew exactly what he truly wanted.

When memories of both happy and painful times came flooding back, he couldn't stop crying.

Minato and Kushina were concerned as they looked at one another. So they stood and approached him without a word. They wrapped their arms around him and pulled him in, a gentle embrace eclipsing the tumultuous feelings.

With a calm yet firm voice, Minato said, "Hey, it's okay."

"We're here, Naruto," Kushina whispered as she drew him in. "We don't plan on leaving you alone again."

With their love all around him, he couldn't resist leaning into them. The outside world seemed far away in that tightly wound moment.

Naruto said, his voice muffled against his mother's shoulder, "I never imagined it could come true every time I dreamed of this."

Kushina lightly chuckled, "Well, this isn't a dream, Naruto."

Minato gave him a gentle back rub and admitted, "If I haven't already said this to you before, I'm proud of the way you matured."

Naruto was rooted in this moment, despite the fact that a variety of emotions fought for acceptance deep within him.

As night crept slowly past, Jada paced the edge of the apartment complex. Alice was with her as the Anbu patrolled in silence.

Jada had tried to see the Uzumaki family in person, but they refused to let her and Alice in. And to be fair, Alice didn't want her to see them right now.

"Why can't I see them?" Jada frustratingly asked.

Alice had calmly and unwaveringly responded, "Because we still don't know what's going on."

Jada could feel the coil of tension inside her. She wanted to demand answers by flashing into the apartment with the Flying raijin. But if she did that and didn't heed Alice's warning, she might cause something to trigger, assuming this was all a trap.

Her eyes darted back to the apartment, which was now softly lit, with a window that let in brief sounds of laughter that were both familiar and strange. She was estranged, acutely conscious of what this could mean.

Alexander, Margaret, and Jasper—people who ought to be here during these uncertain times—were all away from the village.

The most Jada could do was use her Flying raijin mark in Naruto's seal to sense what the group was discussing. Alice also kept her senses up in case something went wrong.

So far, there wasn't anything suspicious; Naruto was surrounded by warmth.

"Let's at least talk about the others," Alice suggested.

"You mean Shikamaru and Ino?"

"Yes, did you run tests on those two?"

Jada confirmed that there was nothing abnormal about those two characters either. Just like Minato and Kushina, they didn't have any external chakra laced on them, no seals, and no other signs that suggested techniques were at play here.

"Whoever brought them back," Alice deduced, "it has to be the same person.'

"I think you're right," Jada confirmed.

"Where are they now?"

"They're en route with Asuma, Kakashi, Kurenai, and Guy-sensei," she revealed. "I'm keeping a close watch on them, too."

The idea that fallen characters had returned was appealing. Yet not knowing how it was possible that they returned was a nagging feeling.

Why was it that all these characters had returned, but not certain ones, like Kiba Inuzuka and Iruka Umino?

Whoever was responsible for this, they were about to get the attention of the whole world.