[At Aoba's House]
Kushina sat on the sofa, arms folded, breathing fast.
Naruto was holding his head on the other side, with a not-too-small bump on his head.
Tsunade and Aoba and the others were on the side watching the show, eating popcorn.
Kushina really couldn't control herself, first day they met and she'd already laid a hand on her son.
She regretted it a little, but she was furious now, really furious.
She found that her child's head seemed full of nothing but boys, and as a mother that naturally made her a bit scared.
If this had happened to someone else she would have chosen to respect them, just like when she learned Aoba had a few girlfriends. If it's consenting adults, she'd respect it. But this happened to Naruto.
She only hoped Naruto was still young and could be saved.
So now there was the tableau of mother and son facing off.
"Naruto, although I'm already dead, I still want to see my grandchildren," Kushina said with a serious expression.
"Huh?"
Naruto froze, a little puzzled. He didn't understand why she suddenly wanted grandchildren.
Seeing Naruto's blank look, Kushina felt her fist stiffen again, but she controlled herself and patiently explained.
"What Mom means is, I hope you'll find a girl you like to marry in the future, and then have a little baby."
'Not be thinking about other boys all the time!'
"Eh? Why?"
Naruto looked totally baffled and added, "Girls seem like a hassle, and kids are even more trouble."
He'd seen Aoba spending time playing with Ino and Sakura every day, losing both training and game time.
And the Third Hokage's grandson, Konohamaru, was also a handful.
Sasuke was more interesting, whenever they met they'd spar, then train, then spar while training.
"Naruto!", Kushina was almost fuming. Her fists tightened again.
Naruto shrank holding his head.
Seeing his mom turning into a blood-red chili pepper, he didn't understand what he'd said wrong.
She'd been so gentle at first, hugging him.
That punch really hurt.
Still, he didn't hate Kushina for it. On the contrary, it felt more like a real mom.
Because Shikamaru and Kiba's moms were like that too.
Seeing Naruto like this, Kushina's hair that had lifted earlier settled back down and she spoke earnestly.
"In short, Naruto, from now on you can't just play with boys. You must spend more time with girls too…"
"Who's that girl? Why does she call herself that little yellow-haired kid's mom?"
The onlooker Yugito finally couldn't hold back and whispered into Aoba's ear.
Temari on the other side also pricked up her ears, clearly curious.
"Because she's Naruto's mother," Aoba said with a smile.
"Huh?", Yugito looked surprised, "Isn't he the Fourth Hokage's son? His mother should've died long ago, right?"
Naruto's identity had long been announced in Konoha; of course she knew that intel.
"Because I used a secret technique to revive her," Aoba's tone was calm.
"What?", Yugito exclaimed, immediately drawing others' attention.
She realized that and quickly clapped her hand over her mouth, pretending nothing had happened.
But when everyone's attention returned to Kushina and Naruto, they leaned over to Aoba again.
"There's really such a secret technique?"
"Of course."
Aoba nodded, then warned, "But don't spread this. Right now only a few high-ups in Konoha know, it's important intel."
Yugito froze, then exchanged a stunned look with Temari beside her and asked, "Then why did you tell me such important info?"
"Because I trust you," Aoba said frankly.
Yugito's face flushed lightly and she snorted, "Hmph! Even if I said it no one would believe me anyway."
"To bring the dead back to life? That really is a miraculous jutsu."
Temari watched Kushina lecturing Naruto and murmured, slipping into memories of her own. Unlike Kankuro and Gaara, she had had a mother with her when she was little.
"Is there someone you want to see, Temari?", Aoba asked.
Temari snapped back to the moment, shook her head, and said coyly, "No."
But Aoba already read her thoughts and took her hand, "No need to hide it from me. If there's someone you want to see, tell me."
The Reanimation jutsu was meant to fulfill wishes.
"Mm."
Temari didn't answer directly, just replied softly.
Kushina had been quietly observing Aoba's conversation with Yugito and Temari.
She found that in just a few sentences Aoba could make that apparently difficult girl blush and her heart race.
She was astonished.
Thinking about how Naruto spent so much time with him, she guessed Naruto was mostly just playing rather than learning anything serious.
Clearly he'd lacked a mother's guidance. She decided she would correct Naruto's thinking from now on.
"Alright, Kushina, stop scolding Naruto."
Tsunade finally interrupted the lecture, "After showing Nohara Rin her residence, I still have to go back to work."
"Alright."
Kushina relented, but she still reached out and tapped Naruto's head, "When we get home Mom will tell you properly."
"Do I have to listen at home too?", Naruto's face soured.
"You have an issue with that?", Kushina glared at him.
"No!", For the first time Naruto felt what a bothersome kind of happiness was.
A few of them went out the door to the nearby house.
While Tsunade was showing Nohara Rin the place, Kushina sidled up to Aoba.
"Little Aoba, sister needs a favor." [T/N: 'Little' is an endearing prefix prevalent in China that elders use for young ones.]
Kushina called Aoba "little Aoba" very familiarly.
"Uh, Kushina-nee, what is it?"
That old-fashioned nickname made Aoba a little uncomfortable.
"Sister hopes you can teach Naruto how to get along with girls," Kushina whispered, pleading.
Aoba blinked.
Wasn't this asking him to break up Ashura and Indra? Was that reasonable?
"Ahem! I'll try my best to help."
"I can't thank you enough; you're such a sensible child."
Kushina beamed and reached out to pat his head.