Naruto - A Cursed System

That same night, Nagato and Yukio were alone at the hut.

Yahiko and Konan had just left. They decided to go on a quick patrol around the hut as Yukio had told them about the shinobi battle he had witnessed while coming back home. As they were leaving, Yukio and Nagato could see Konan's face mildly blushing.

Nagato and Yukio were silently eating dinner that Yukio had prepared.

"Yukio..." Nagato suddenly said when he finished his meal.

"Yes, Nagato?"

"... What are those things?"

Yukio stopped eating and calmly looked at his brother. He had been waiting for this moment, "They are simply manifestations of humanity's darkness."

"You're not going to even try to lie?"

Yukio shook his head, "I have long prepared myself for the moment you will ask me about beings. Besides, I always speak the truth and nothing but the truth. I'm a truther."

"Truther? Nevermind. You expected me to ask you? Why?"

"You're eyes. They're special, aren't they? And I've noticed the way you stare at Hex whenever it was around."

"Hex? Is that what had wrapped around Jiraiya sensei when he came to pick you up?"

"Yup. We thought you guys were intruders."

Yukio continued to explain to Nagato what cursed spirits were and what they meant. Of course, Yukio added some lies here and there, which Nagato believed, thanks to [Intermediate Persuasion].

He had told him that the moment his mother disappeared, Yukio discovered that he could make use of the surrounding negativity to manifest these curses. He didn't go into detail about what the process was, but Nagato ȧssumed that it had to do something with plants.

The first cursed spirit he created was Hex, a centipede with several pairs of wings. It was only today did he try to make three more spirits.

Eventually, Nagato ȧssumed that Yukio's ability was similar to a kekkei genkai, despite not using chakra at all.

"Yukio, you mustn't tell anyone about your kekkei genkai. From the way you described it, these cursed spirits can harm others, but cannot be harmed by others. If people were to discover this ability of yours, you will be targeted and possibly killed or captured for research."

"I understand. How about we make a pinky promise? What if people somehow make you talk? A pinky promise will resolve everything."

Nagato raised his brows at Yukio's strange words but didn't look further into it, he agreed in the end.

When they interlocked their pinkies, Yukio began to use [Intermediate Persuasion] and attempted to create a binding vow.

"Nagato, do you vow to never tell a soul about my ability to manifest cursed spirits?"

"I vow," said Nagato. He had a mȧturė look in his eyes despite believing how childish this was.

"In return, I shall work alongside you to accomplish your dream."

[Binding Vow 'Our Little Secret' has been established between Yukio D. Sumihara and Nagato Uzumaki]

Yukio inwardly smiled as he saw the system notification.

Nagato sighed, "You don't need to do that, Yukio. Konan, Yahiko, and I will be happy if you are happy."

"Maybe. But I think a peaceful world will still make me happy in the end."

After their conversation, Yukio and Nagato cleaned up the table and went to bed. While they were sleeping, Yahiko and Konan had returned home with dark expressions. They silently woke up Nagato who had noticed their expressions.

"What happened? Are we in danger?"

"No, no, we aren't. However, we noticed traces of a few groups of ninjas heading to Amegakure. We don't know what is happening, but Amegakure might become a battleground for the five great shinobi villages just like the previous war. We returned home to warn you and get some sleep. Tomorrow, we plan on heading to Amegakure to gather some intel about the situation."

"I'll go with you."

Yahiko agreed with Nagato's choice, "Okay! You're the strongest out of all of us, your help will be needed."

Konan interjected and brought up a question, "What about Yukio, then? Should we bring him?"

Yahiko shook his head and disagreed, "Yukio still needs to continue practicing. He still needs to continue training. He only knows three E-rank jutsu. Although he could rely on his stealth capabilities, I think it would be safer for him if he learned how to cast a jutsu from all five of the nature transformations."

"I agree," Nagato said, "From what I know, Yukio is still trying to learn more about his Yin and Yang chakra affinities. I don't think he has successfully created a genjutsu technique yet. Besides, it's not like we haven't prepared for this. We wrote down our experiences and several jutsus in scrolls and gave it to him to read and study from time to time."

"Yeah, it's unfortunate that Jiraiya sensei isn't here to guide him. Let's hope that we are enough to teach him." Konan sighed.

"It's decided. Yukio will stay here to continue his training. We will go to Amegakure to figure out more of the situation. Let's get some sleep.. I'm tired."