"Ahhhh, Natsuhiko, don't look over here!"
Kushina quickly realised what had happened and let out an ear-piercing scream.
She never expected that she would accidentally expose her embarrassing past to Natsuhiko!
Overcome with shame and anger, she instinctively rushed in front of Natsuhiko, waving her hands to block his view.
But her efforts were ultimately in vain.
When Natsuhiko, trying to suppress his laughter, pointed behind her, Kushina turned around to find that her chubby shadow clones had all disappeared without a trace!
At the same time, a series of messy footsteps echoed in the hallway outside...
"Hey—where are you all running off to!?"
Kushina was on the verge of going crazy. She shrieked and hurriedly chased after them.
Only Natsuhiko and the three little ones were left in the study. They exchanged puzzled glances before simultaneously spreading their hands and shaking their heads in resignation.
"Wow, this room suddenly feels so big!"
"So this is what the world looked like when we were little. It's so amazing!"
"Haha, those chubby girls over there look so funny—wait, no, that's a mirror!"
Outside the study, five little red-haired chubby girls were running around curiously, exploring the surroundings with a child's perspective and chattering excitedly.
But Kushina soon rushed out of the study, abruptly interrupting their discussion.
"You little brats, wait for me!"
"The old lady's coming! Everybody run!"
The five little Kushinas let out sharp giggles, scattering in all directions and playing hide-and-seek with their original self!
"Who are you calling an old lady?!"
"You're all just me!"
Kushina was so angry that her hair started to float, and she furiously chased after them, determined to give them a spanking once she caught them!
In her exasperation, she didn't realise that the unlucky one here was actually herself...
Meanwhile, Natsuhiko, who was watching from the doorway of the study, had the impression that Kushina seemed to be enjoying herself as well.
Playing hide-and-seek with shadow clones was somewhat similar to Naruto playing cards with his shadow clones.
But Natsuhiko wasn't just a bystander; he was also analysing the situation.
From their earlier behaviour, these shadow clones seemed to be affected by the same shrinking phenomenon as Natsuhiko's three little ones, leading to psychological regression and making them behave like unruly children.
That bug that caused deviations in the shadow clones' personalities was almost entirely fixed by Natsuhiko, who had a deep understanding of the Shadow Clone Technique's principles.
However, as an Easter egg, Natsuhiko left that bug in one of the sealed orbs, adding a bit of fun to Kushina's future interactions with her shadow clones.
After all, even though Natsuhiko often appeared annoyed with the three little ones, he never seriously considered fixing the bug, even though he could.
The three little ones, representing different aspects of his personality, always managed to inspire Natsuhiko from various angles.
Without them, Natsuhiko felt his life would be much less colourful.
At that moment, a little Kushina, who had been hiding nearby all along, quietly crawled out from under a table.
She perked up her ears, confirmed that the original wasn't around, and then tiptoed over to Natsuhiko.
She looked up at him with big, wide eyes, her chubby cheeks inexplicably tinged with a rosy blush.
This reminded Natsuhiko of those New Year's prints of chubby-cheeked children, making her look incredibly festive.
"What's wrong, cute little sister?"
Natsuhiko asked with a smile while secretly resisting the urge to pinch her chubby cheeks.
"I'm not a little sister!"
Little Kushina puffed up angrily; then her expression became a bit shy.
She tugged at her clothes for a moment before finally making up her mind, beckoning Natsuhiko closer with a childish voice:
"Natsuhiko, Natsuhiko, I have a big secret to tell you!"
"Oh?"
Natsuhiko was also curious about what this little Kushina wanted to say, so he squatted down and leaned in to listen.
Little Kushina looked around, saw that the original hadn't returned yet, took a deep breath, and her gaze became even more determined.
Since the original keeps dragging her feet, and who knows when she'll ever tell Natsuhiko how she feels, I'll just reveal it for her!
Original, this is as far as I can help you...
Yosh!
Little Kushina silently cheered herself on, brought her little face close to Natsuhiko's ear, and whispered:
"Natsuhiko, I'm telling you, the original has always..."
Poof!
Just as she was getting to the critical part, she suddenly disappeared in a puff of white smoke, and at the same time, a wooden orb dropped to the ground, rolling to Natsuhiko's feet...
It was just like something out of a "cliffhanger writing" workshop!
Moments later, Kushina appeared again, cradling four sealed orbs like a victorious general, and smugly declared:
"I'm so silly; how could I forget that I can just dispel the shadow clones?"
"You still have twelve years to go before you can outsmart me!"
Meanwhile, Natsuhiko, with a strange expression, picked up the sealed orb and handed it to Kushina.
Although that little Kushina didn't finish her sentence, Natsuhiko could already guess what she was going to say.
That Kushina was clearly a shadow clone, yet she was overly proactive.
It was evident that this was the "Easter egg" shadow clone with a personality deviation that Natsuhiko had left for Kushina.
However, Natsuhiko couldn't control the direction of the personality deviation, so he was also surprised by this shadow clone's behaviour.
He never expected it to be so bold and assertive.
Is this some kind of "My Shadow Clone Wants to Confess for Me" storyline?
"Oh, so the last one was here. Thanks, Natsuhiko."
Kushina freed up her hands and took the sealed orb from Natsuhiko, utterly unaware that her shadow clone had almost confessed to Natsuhiko on her behalf.
Because the sealed orbs had been upgraded, they could now automatically seal the chakra after a shadow clone disappeared.
So that memory hadn't yet returned to Kushina's mind along with the chakra.
Additionally, the sealed orbs had mechanisms that allowed them to control the speed of chakra release and whether or not to release the chakra at all.
Considering that Kushina had already experienced several socially embarrassing moments today, Natsuhiko ultimately decided to end the test and suggested she release the chakra in the sealed orbs after returning home.
This was Natsuhiko's way of showing a bit of care for Kushina.
But imagining Kushina's reaction when she finally recovered that memory, Natsuhiko couldn't help but smile mischievously...
...
A moment later, the two returned to the study.
"Alright, now that the Shadow Clone Technique has been tested, let's move on to the second main topic of the day."
Natsuhiko walked to the desk, took out a scroll, and spread it out on the table.
Kushina leaned in and quickly recognised the contents as the Uzumaki Clan's secret sealing technique, the Yin Seal, which she had recently been relearning.
(End of this chapter)
P.S.: There is a promotion on my Patreon rn, The fanfic will only be available as a collection, not in any tiers(besides the Emperor one cuz all my subs are in it) just for 15$. Anyone who buys it till I reach chapter 236 of novel on Patreon will have free access to the Chapters and continuation of the fanfic I'll do myself in a few months, so don't miss out the opportunity guys! Thank you.
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