During his battle with the Nine Tails, Naruto is almost consumed by the tailed beast's hatred when a red-haired woman intervenes. Despite Naruto's assumption that she was illusion, she introduces herself as the chakra imprint of his mother Kushina Uzumaki. Kushina tells her story about how she met Minato Namikaze in the Academy and how she used to hate her red hair because others made of fun of her. Kushina's views of her hair changed when Minato used it to track down Hidden Cloud ninja who kidnapped her because of her special chakra, falling in love with Minato as a result. She then entrusts Naruto that he will fulfill their dreams.