Edo Tensei Kushina

Menma unrolled the scroll and muttered, "Release!" Suddenly, with a "poof," a lump of what looked like some kind of tissue appeared on it.

Some time earlier, when Menma and Naruto had visited Minato and Kushina's graves during the day, Menma had secretly left a Flying Thunder God Mark behind, planning to make his move that night.

It was a dark, windy night. Cold moonlight spilled over Konoha's cemetery. The surroundings were so quiet that the only sound was the rustling of grass in the wind.

After the guards had finished their patrol, Menma used the Flying Thunder God Technique to appear in front of Kushina's gravestone. He took a tiny piece of her tissue.

After all, who would expect a child to go grave robbing in the middle of the night? And not just any grave—his own biological parents' graves.

Although Menma's soul belonged to someone who had been reincarnated, there was no doubt that his body was the child of Kushina and Minato. During the time he had spent living with Naruto, he had gradually come to accept that Kushina and Minato were his real parents.

Menma picked up the scroll and placed it beside Yamanaka Fu. Then he began forming Hand Seals, his hands moving rapidly through the signs. Finally, he clapped his hands together and called out, "Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu!"

A mysterious force slowly wrapped itself tightly around Yamanaka Fu. He regained consciousness, but could no longer fight back. With a scream, the surroundings fell silent again. Menma stood motionless, watching it all unfold.

Then a red-haired woman wearing maternity clothes appeared in front of Menma.

Menma said softly, "Release!" and undid the restraints. The woman before him immediately regained consciousness.

"Wasn't I dead? How did..." She stared at her hands in shock, then looked around.

Menma and Kushina met each other's gaze, staring into one another's eyes.

"You... are you... Naruto? Or Menma?" Kushina looked at the child before her and recognized him at a glance as one of her two sons.

"M-Mom, it's me, Menma." Tears streamed down Menma's face before he even realized it. He stood rooted to the spot.

Seeing this, Kushina softened at once. She walked up to Menma and gently stroked his head.

"When I closed my eyes, you were still such tiny babies. Then I opened them, and you'd grown so much. How have you and Naruto been getting along all these years without us? Have you been eating well? Have you been picky? Have you been going to bed on time..." Kushina rambled on.

Menma couldn't hold back any longer. He threw himself into Kushina's arms and burst into tears.

In his previous life, his mother had died young in a car accident. Now, seeing Kushina again, he felt that long-lost maternal love once more.

Kushina looked at Menma sobbing in her arms. Her heart ached, and a few tears slipped down her cheeks.

People often said that those brought back by Impure World Reincarnation couldn't cry. But his father could. In truth, his mother could, too.

"You and Naruto must have been so lonely all these years without your mom and dad by your side. I'm sorry, Menma. We made you suffer so much. We were wrong as parents. I hope you can forgive me and your dad." After saying this, Kushina wiped away her tears, crouched down, and gently wiped Menma's tears with her hand.

"You silly boy, why are you crying the moment we meet? You're making me want to cry, too. Shouldn't we be smiling when we see each other? Come on, cheer up and give me a smile." Kushina spoke gently.

"All these years, I've thought about you every day. Every night, when I went to sleep, I hoped I'd dream of you. I never thought you'd be gone so soon... I... I missed you so much, Mom." Menma looked at Kushina through his tears. The face he remembered gradually merged with the Kushina before him.

Kushina hugged Menma tightly. "I'm sorry, Menma... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry to you both." She stopped holding back and wept as she spoke to him.

After a long while, Kushina wiped her tears and looked at Menma. "Menma, where's your older brother, Naruto?"

"Big brother's asleep at home. Tonight, some Root members sneaked into our house to try to take him away, but luckily I noticed something was wrong. So Naruto wouldn't realize anything was up, I had my Shadow Clone sleep beside him while I waited for them in his room. I knew my brother had to be their target because they can't beat me—or, more accurately, they can't beat Kurama..."

Menma told her everything that had happened that night, including his plan to revive Kushina with Impure World Reincarnation and the Nine-Tails' rampage. He recounted all the events of the past few days in detail.

Kushina listened quietly as Menma spoke, without interrupting him.

"Mom, let me take you to see my brother. You can only see him for now, though. It's still too soon for you to meet properly. In 25 days, my brother and I will turn four. I want you to show up then and surprise him." Menma explained his plan.

"Our fourth birthday? So, in 25 days," Kushina said with a sigh. She didn't want to mention that it was also the anniversary of her and Minato's deaths; otherwise, Menma would only be even sadder.

"Tomorrow is Kakashi-sensei's eighteenth birthday. After everyone's gone tomorrow night, I'd like you to talk with Kakashi-sensei," Menma continued.

"If there's nothing else, Mom, stay at Kakashi-sensei's house for now. Don't come out unless you have to. We can't let my brother find out. If you miss us, come back and see us at night." Menma handed Kushina a kunai bearing his Flying Thunder God Mark.

"As long as you put chakra into it, I'll sense it. Then I can use the Flying Thunder God Technique to bring you back," Menma added.

"But you have to promise me, Mom—absolutely, absolutely don't let my brother see you, or my birthday surprise will be ruined." Menma repeated himself several times.

"Okay, okay, I understand. Let's go home first. I really want to see Naruto now," Kushina said.

"Mm." Menma took Kushina's hand and activated the Flying Thunder God Technique. The two of them returned directly to Menma's room.

Menma walked over to the bed and sat down, then took off his dirty socks.

"Remember, we can't let my brother find out. If he wakes up, Mom, hide in the storage room on the third floor. He hardly ever goes up there," Menma repeated.

Then Menma lay down beside Naruto. The sleeping Naruto didn't notice what was happening.

Kushina came to the bedside and gazed at Naruto affectionately, reaching out to gently stroke his head.

Then she got up and came over to Menma. "Menma, go to sleep. You must be exhausted today. Get some rest." Kushina gently patted Menma's back, just as if she were soothing a baby to sleep.

The next morning, sunlight streamed through the window and filled the room. Dust motes danced in the light. Naruto woke up, stretched, and rubbed his sleepy eyes as he looked at Menma, who was still asleep.

"Hey, Menma, get up. The sun's been up for ages." Naruto shook Menma, trying to wake him.

"You're so noisy." Menma didn't even open his eyes. He buried his head under the blanket and went back to sleep.

"I can't do anything with you," Naruto said as he got dressed.

"You two are awake. Come have breakfast." A woman Naruto didn't recognize opened the door and spoke.

Menma jolted upright, staring at her in shock. Of course, it was Kushina, but she had used the Transformation Technique. That way, she could stay with Naruto and Menma without ruining the birthday surprise Menma had planned.

"Um... Auntie, who are you? What are you doing in our house?" Naruto asked.

"Oh! Lord Hokage arranged for me to look after you. You can call me Auntie Ku," Kushina said.

"Oh, I see," Naruto said thoughtfully.

Menma continued staring blankly at the woman he'd never seen before, though he knew it was Kushina using the Transformation Technique.

"Come on, get downstairs and eat," Kushina urged them.

Menma quickly got dressed. While changing, he noticed that the dirty socks he'd taken off the night before were no longer on the floor. He took a clean pair from the cabinet, put them on, washed up, and went downstairs with Naruto.

The two of them sat down at the table. Breakfast was simple: a glass of milk, a bowl of noodles, and a fried egg. The table was by the window, and the sunlight made the food look delicious.

"That looks so good. Let's eat," Naruto said.

"I'll eat, too," Menma said.

They both took a big mouthful of noodles, then suddenly stopped at the same time.

"What's wrong? Doesn't it taste good?" Kushina asked, looking at them in confusion.

Menma shook his head, his face twisted in pain, and kept eating the noodles in big mouthfuls. He knew about the Red Hot Habanero. He didn't even want to imagine the terrifying scene if she suddenly flew into a rage.

Naruto, on the other hand, hadn't given it much thought. "It's not just bad, it's awful. The noodles are overcooked, and there's way too much salt in them. They're really salty. And this egg..." Naruto listed every problem with the breakfast.

Without even lifting his head, Menma quickly finished everything, stuffing his mouth until his cheeks were full. Then he picked up the milk and drank it. He did it all in one quick, smooth motion.

Naruto and Kushina stared at Menma strangely.

"I'm done. I'm heading out."

With that, Menma dashed outside without looking back, leaving Kushina and Naruto standing there in stunned silence.

"What's with Menma? Honestly." Just then, Naruto suddenly felt a murderous aura behind him.

"Was it really that bad? Then why was Menma eating it so enthusiastically? You're just a picky eater." Kushina spoke in a perfectly calm voice and expression, but the murderous aura told Naruto that if he didn't finish breakfast, he might get a beating.

At the thought, Naruto swallowed hard and decided to tough it out. He also wolfed down the noodles, then finished the egg and drank the milk before hurriedly running outside just like Menma.

"That's more like it. You shouldn't be picky. Tell Menma to remember to come home for lunch," Kushina said as Naruto headed out.

"Y-yes, Auntie Ku," Naruto replied, then went outside.

"They went out so early. What are they going to do? I really want to know." Kushina said this as she started clearing the table.

Outside, Naruto hadn't gone far before he spotted Menma.

"Hey, Menma! How could you just leave me behind?" Naruto called as he ran over.

When he got closer, Naruto realized Menma had thrown up all his breakfast.

"So you threw it all up! If I'd known, I wouldn't have swallowed mine," Naruto complained.

"You managed to swallow that stuff? You're amazing." Menma gave Naruto a thumbs-up while throwing up.

"No way. I need to eat something to get rid of that taste." Menma headed toward Konoha's main street.

"Um, Menma, Auntie Ku said we have to come home for lunch today," Naruto said miserably.

"What? We have to come home for lunch, too? I need to go back and explain things to her. I'll tell her we're eating out all day, because it's Kakashi-sensei's eighteenth birthday. Yeah, that's what I'll say." With that, Menma ran back toward home.

"Menma, you rascal! Wait for me!" Naruto shouted as he chased after Menma.