"No, that's not right! You're not a stranger!"
After his expression shifted a few times, Naruto suddenly seemed to realize something.
He stared at Kushina with burning, accusatory eyes.
"Of course I'm not a stranger, Naruto! So you finally felt the connection? I told you already, I'm—"
Kushina looked like she wanted to cry, though sadly, an Edo Tensei vessel possessed no tears to shed.
"You're an accomplice of that blonde dude from last time who tried to drill my ass!" Naruto pointed directly at Kushina with a look that confidently said, 'I have seen through your entire evil plot!'
That's right—Naruto really had remembered something.
But it wasn't a repressed memory from when he was a baby.
What he remembered was the bizarre incident that had happened a while ago inside his mindscape.
At the time, Naruto had been using Wind Style: Rasengan One Thousand Years of Death to punish that strange blonde man who claimed to be his father.
Then, this exact red-haired woman had suddenly appeared.
Just like the blonde man, this red-haired woman had immediately tried to seal the Nine-Tails back up as soon as she manifested.
Obviously, they were both on the bad guys' side!
Back then, the only reason Naruto had been able to resist Kimimaro's bone drill in the outside world was because of the Nine-Tails' power.
There was no way those two maniacs could really be his parents.
Just think about it—what kind of loving parents show up for the very first time and immediately arrange for their own son to get drilled in the ass?!
Impossible!
Those two were natural-born evil.
The exact moment they appeared, they started laying violent hands on his beloved family, his sworn brother, Kurama.
They had even tied him up in heavy chains!
Naruto himself hadn't even played bondage games with Kurama before!
It was a total shame that back then, he had only taught the blonde guy a painful lesson and hadn't managed to teach this woman a lesson too.
"Wait... don't tell me you're actually Makoto-nii using the Transformation Jutsu?!"
Just as Naruto was about to throw a punch, another brilliant possibility suddenly occurred to his hyper-active brain.
After being rigorously coached by Kurama in battle analysis for so long, Naruto genuinely felt that he had become somewhat wise.
He even felt he possessed the tactical qualifications to become one of Konoha's elite military strategists, right up there with Shikamaru.
"Transformation Jutsu?! Of course I'm the real me! Naruto, you—"
Kushina couldn't understand how a perfectly normal tearful mother-son reunion had derailed into this.
She was now in the absurd position of having to systematically prove her own existence!
"Let me tap your forehead first, and I'll believe half of it," Naruto cut her off and made his demand.
If he wanted to confirm whether she was really Makoto in disguise trying to win the sparring bet, all he had to do was touch her forehead.
If she really was Makoto transformed, then she definitely wouldn't agree, because once he touched her, Makoto would officially lose the match.
"All right then, go ahead—"
Kushina sighed helplessly.
Even though it felt a bit improper for a son to test his mother like this, she was still prepared to humor him.
But halfway through stepping forward, Kushina suddenly remembered exactly what Naruto had just been using his right hand for all day in the desert.
Her pale face changed instantly.
When Naruto reached his hand toward her forehead, Kushina hurriedly took a disgusted step backward.
"AS EXPECTED—YOU'RE A BAD GUY!"
Seeing her dodge exactly as he had predicted, Naruto immediately pointed at Kushina, flashing a triumphant I-knew-it grin.
"...Wash your hands in the sand first, and then I'll let you touch me," Kushina took a deep breath, trying her best to continue explaining patiently.
[Naruto, this damn woman is tricking you! She's telling you to wash your hands in the middle of a barren desert—isn't that obviously mocking you?! Do not believe her!] Kurama's "kindly" reminder rang out in Naruto's mindscape.
"Kurama, you don't even need to warn me. As the official brains of Team Seven, I already saw through her disguise! She's no good!" Naruto nodded firmly.
He slapped his hands together and smoothly erupted into his blazing golden Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
[Wait, Naruto. Watch her eyes. She is currently in an Edo Tensei, so ordinary physical attacks won't work on her.] Kurama continued, helpfully offering top-tier tactical advice.
"Huh? So she's not Makoto-nii using the Transformation Jutsu? Then why did she dodge just now?" Naruto was utterly puzzled.
[Of course not. If Makoto wanted to deal with you, he wouldn't bother using a low-level academy jutsu like Transformation. This is definitely a real person. But she is NOT a good person—that much is certain! Trust me!]
"Of course I trust you, Kurama! You're the partner of Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha!" Naruto patted his glowing chest confidently, then quickly asked.
"So how do I deal with an Edo Tensei? Do you have any good ideas?"
'Weren't you just bragging about being the brains of Team Seven?' Kurama grumbled inwardly, but he immediately fed the boy a flawless battle plan.
[If you want to subdue an Edo Tensei ninja, you need high-level sealing jutsu. Unfortunately, Naruto, you are an idiot and don't know any.]
[As for ordinary ninjutsu, no matter how much explosive damage you do, the Edo Tensei ash will regenerate automatically. And they don't feel pain, either...]
"So there's really nothing I can do to her?!" Naruto grew anxious.
[Don't panic, kid! Even if you cannot cause physical damage, you can still inflict massive MENTAL DAMAGE on her!]
"Mental damage?! But I don't know any Genjutsu!" Naruto was completely lost.
Standing perfectly still in the physical world, he hurriedly pressed Kurama for more details in the mental space.
But Naruto had a very strange feeling.
For some inexplicable reason, the more Kurama talked, the more excited the giant fox seemed.
Why? Was it because the opponent was a powerful Edo Tensei ninja, so Kurama's battle lust was getting fired up too?
Or was it because this natural-born evil woman had used golden chains to tie Kurama up in the mental space last time, and now the petty fox wanted revenge?
[What a pity. You can't enter Sage Mode again right now to boost it,] Kurama sighed dramatically.
"But I already am in Sage Mode?" Naruto had no idea what Kurama found so regrettable.
Kurama curled his massive lip into a sinister grin and didn't bother explaining further.
What he wanted, of course, wasn't the result.
It was the hilarious process.
[Naruto, your opponent is a powerful, veteran kunoichi. Do you remember that specific secret technique you trained the longest and mastered the best?] Kurama began his well-meaning, utterly demonic guidance.
"Kurama... you mean—?!" Naruto's glowing eyes suddenly lit up with profound realization. He remembered!
That technique—the stronger and more serious the ninja, the more devastatingly effective it was!
So when Kurama said 'mental damage,' this was exactly what he meant!
'I get it now!'
"MULTIPLE SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" Naruto grinned confidently and formed the cross-shaped hand seal.
"So we're really doing this? Fine. I'll just treat this as a practical sparring lesson for him," Kushina let out a helpless sigh, cracking her knuckles.
After all, she was in an immortal Edo Tensei body.
Even if she got hit, she would recover instantly. It might be better to just fight it out first.
Maybe as they exchanged blows, Naruto would finally notice how similar their fighting styles and temperaments were and figure it out.
And if not, she could always beat the explanation into him after the fight.
As for Makoto, who was watching the battle from the sky above? Kushina felt that if she called him down for backup over something as silly as an unruly teenager, that would make her look way too incompetent as a mother!
She could handle her own son.
"UZUMAKI NARUTO SECRET ART..."
Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof!
The army of Shadow Clones all executed the Transformation Jutsu at the exact same time, filling the barren desert with massive clouds of drifting white smoke.
When the thick smoke finally cleared, the figures standing inside became visible.
Their important parts were still covered by lingering wisps of smoke, but...
As Naruto himself had confidently stated, this was the specific technique he had researched, developed, and practiced the longest.
In order to scientifically perfect the jutsu's psychological damage, Naruto had even conducted covert "public opinion surveys" during the Chūnin Exams and in whatever spare time he had.
He had secretly slipped several pictures of male ninjas into a questionnaire and asked passing female ninjas which one they liked best.
Naruto had even confidently included a picture of himself!
But the survey results all came back with a landslide victory for Makoto.
The only exception was the one questionnaire Naruto himself had filled out, where he stubbornly chose Sasuke.
As for Sakura, Naruto didn't dared to give her the survey at all.
He was terrified of getting punched through a wall.
So this time, every single transformed target in the massive harem was... Makoto.
"NARUTO!!!!"
Kushina froze in place for a full second, her jaw dropping before she hurriedly averted her eyes, her face burning crimson.
When the sheer absurdity of what her son had just done finally registered, the nine ethereal tails of the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero materialized behind her.
Her red hair shot straight upward into the sky in rage as she charged directly into the smoke with her fists swinging wildly.
It could only be said that the lingering white smoke was the only thing that had saved Naruto's life.
Otherwise, Kushina might not have settled for merely beating him half to death!
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