The bathroom erupted into a glittery explosion of confetti-like sparkles, swirling like a drunk firework show before condensing into the very shapely silhouette of a woman.
Long, wine-red hair cascaded down her back, dressed in a dark green dress with a white high-collared blouse underneath. A lovely face paired with a gentle demeanor.
It was none other than Naruto's mom—Kushina Uzumaki( aka Konoha's Famous 'Red Hot Blooded Habanero')
The red-haired lady slowly opened her eyes, glancing around in confusion before finally settling her gaze on the young man in front of her. She parted her lips, about to say something.
BAM.
A dull sound echoed as a burst of those glowing papery particles erupted from her body. The clothes covering her completely disintegrated, leaving her stark naked.
"HOLY SH—!"
Yuto's jaw dropped at the sight. Snapping back to reality, he immediately lowered his head.
'WHAT KIND OF BUDGET EDO TENSEI WAS THIS?!'
Since when did edo tensei come with a wardrobe malfunction feature?!
Kushina, too, was stunned for a few seconds before quickly crouching down, arms crossed over her chest.
Upon closer inspection, her current state was nothing like the Edo Tensei in the original series. No cracks on her skin, no clay-like texture, just a semi-transparent, ghostly form.
'She wasn't reanimated. She was practically a full-on spirit!'
"Uh… sorry." Yuto awkwardly apologized. From his lowered gaze, all he could see were Kushina's curled-up toes. They looked… symmetrical.
'Kinda wanna touch 'em.Wait, hold up'
Now's not the time to be admiring toes, dumbass!
[WARNING: You have five seconds to confess your love to the target.]
'Oh, come the hell on!'
'Can you not, you trashy system?! She's naked right now! You want me to confess my love like this?! That's just perverted, dude!'
The system ignored his protests, the countdown mercilessly ticking away.
"Fine. Fine!" Marking this grudge down in the list of grudges.
Taking a deep breath, Yuto kept his head lowered and shouted.
"Kushina-san, I love you!!"
Kushina, still clutching her chest, visibly flinched. Her eyes widened as she stared at the boy like he was some kind of eldritch horror.
First, he summons her out of nowhere, explodes her clothes off, then immediately hits her with a Love confession?!
Kushina couldn't even process this. Since when did kids get so wild?!. If she weren't feeling so floaty and weak, she'd have already punched him into next week.
[Mission complete.]
[Reward obtained: Soul Nurturing Orb.]
'Soul Nurturing Orb? What's that?'
A blood-red sphere materialized in Yuto's hand, pulsing warmly like a heartbeat with an eerie connection to his very being.
After a moment, its purpose became clear:
[Nourishes souls, continuously strengthens spiritual energy, and can merge with the user's flesh and blood.]
'Damn, this thing's legit!'
By all accounts, it was a top-tier treasure. But right now? Completely useless to him. He wasn't a ghost!
"Uh, sorry about that, Kushina-san."
Now that the mission was done, Yuto figured he should spare the poor woman further suffering. "That was just a joke. I'll undo the Edo Tensei and send you back now."
"Huh?"
Kushina's eyes had been locked onto the red orb. Something about it tugged at her instincts. But hearing him dismiss her, she finally relaxed. "That was one hell of a 'joke,' kid!"
"My bad." Yuto genuinely meant it.
Disturbing the dead and pulling this kind of stunt? Yeah, no sugarcoating it that was messed up.
"Just… don't do it again, you know?" Still curled up, Kushina sighed, choosing to forgive him.
Not like she had much choice. In this wispy, powerless state, revenge wasn't an option. At least this nightmare was ending.
"Yuto, what the hell are you doing?"
Naruto's voice suddenly called from outside the door. "Who are you talking to in my bathroom?"
'Wait… someone else's bathroom?!'
Kushina's eye twitched as she stared at Yuto with newfound disdain.
You summoned me in someone else's bathroom , just to play confession games?!
"Ahem. Just… reading manga."Yuto forced a stiff smile. "Reenacting a scene."
"You brought a manga to my house just to read on the toilet?!" Naruto sounded baffled.
"Uh, I'm almost done! Just, uh… wait for me in the living room, Naruto."
"Tch. You really know how to boss me around, huh?" Grumbling, Naruto's footsteps faded away.
Silence. The bathroom was now dead quiet.
Kushina's gaze sharpened like a kunai and her hair was floating like it was about to wrap around his throat "That friend of yours… What was his name again?"
"Na-Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto." Yuto's face burned like a skinned lamb on a grill.
Kushina took a deep breath, looking at Yuto like he was human garbage.
Summoning your friend's dead mother in his own bathroom to confess your love?!Even bandits had standards!
"Kushina-san, I swear there's a reason"
"Oh?" Her eyebrow arched.
"I'm cursed!"
Yuta scrambled to explain, twisting the truth just enough. replacing the system with curse
'And honestly? It might as well be one.'
All he wanted was to laze around as a carefree, pretty-boy NEET. But this damn system ruined everything!
Somehow, he just knew his future was gonna be a train wreck from now on.
If that wasn't a curse, What was ?!
"So… if you hadn't summoned me, Yoshino san (Shikamaru's mom) would've been erased?" Still crouched defensively, Kushina frowned. "That's one weird curse."
Normally, no one would buy such a wild story. But something about Yuto's sincerity made her believe him.
His Edo Tensei was weird, and his panic felt too real to fake.
"Honestly? I'd rather the curse just killed me instead."Yuto sighed. "At least then I wouldn't have to suffer this embarrassment."
"Don't say that! You've got your whole life ahead of you!, you know" With a motherly smile (and one arm still shielding her chest), Kushina patted his head.
"Kushina-san…" touched, Yuto was about to speak—when WHOOSH!
Kushina's spirit zipped straight into the Soul Nurturing Orb.
"???"
Yuto blinked. 'Since when could this thing store people?!'
"Just like you said, this orb really does nurture souls!" Kushina's voice echoed cheerfully from inside. "Looks like I'll be sticking around for a while, Yuto ~"
"Wait, you're not going back?!"
"I want to stay to watch Naruto grow up."Her voice softened.
"But—"
"Hey, kid. Naruto still has some of my chakra in him. You don't want him finding out you saw his mom naked and confessed to her, right?"
Yuto's face contorted.*
"Oh, you sneaky red-haired…"
'Now you're blackmailing me?!'
___
***Bonus Alternate Ending ***
Yuto: "Okay, new plan. I'll date everyone. No one can call me a creep if I'm equally creepy to all"
[ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: Harem Protagonist EX!]
Yuto :"CURSE YOU, SYSTEM!!"
Kushina (from the orb) :"This is the best entertainment I've had since Minato wore the Sexy Jutsu."