4 months it took me for this chapter. That's pretty long, and I beg you to forgive me for that. Unlike the other chapters before, this chapter (and future chapters) is written from scratch, thus the time. Though that still does not mean that I am not to blame, for I totally am. Still, I had lots of fun typing this chapter.

Lots of thank you to both my beta reader, the ever awesome Serious Sam and the dude that suggested this idea when he got pissed off at me and unsubscribed for dragging the story too long, which I totally agree myself. Uzushiogakure, you are fucking awesome, and I am sad that you've unsubscribed to me. Nothing I can do to help it though, that's your call.

Also, many thanks to everyone who reviewed. You guys are awesome. Reviews fire me up and get me lit, and you can bet I'll answer every review and PM, no matter what. If there's anything you want to say, please don't leave a guest review. I promise I'll be civil, even if I'm being hit with a sick burn. Besides, you can get good ideas from flames too, no matter what others say.

Right. On to the chapter!

PREVIOUS CHAPTER: Naruto escorted the caravan as he promised, but a bandit ambushed his charges. As his clones went to defend the caravan, he duelled a powerful ronin, one that he cannot look away from. And within the ambush, the friendly boy was hit with a poisonous crossbow bolt, killing him instantly. Naruto's clone saw it, causing Naruto to turn ice cold, unleashing one of the techniques he learned from his stepfather, the Mibu's Mumyou Jinpu Ryuu: Mizuchi, killing the ronin. Yet there was nothing he could do to help the boy who lay cold on the ground. In the father's anger and grief, he blamed Naruto for his misfortune, and Naruto left immediately, making an oath to eliminate all criminal that he found to bring peace to the people.

CHAPTER 20: THE GHOST OF YOU

UPLOADED 3 FEBRUARY 2017

BETAED BY: Serious Sam

-CHAPTER START-

A massive blade pierced through the bandit's body right through his heart, killing him instantly. Yet not a dollop of blood covered the sleek black blade, only the hole on his body seems to bleed, and even then, only a small stain on his worn shirt became the sign that a sword just killed him. Naruto swiftly retracted the blade, causing the bandit to fall on the ground, his support gone.

He watched the bandit's body, the stain on his shirt growing larger with emotionless eyes before quickly turning towards the remaining bandit group. He saw these bandits, attacking a group of travellers as he passed by. He immediately swooped into action, killing the first bandit he caught his eyes on with a swift stab through his heart. Mentally he counted the bandits, registering their armaments and positioning.

And he leapt into action.

The remaining bandits watched with mouth gaping at the death of their comrade from this mysterious person that came out of nowhere. And before they could began their counterattack, the man appeared right in front of them, sword swinging in a blink of an eye, another two bandits died courtesy of two rapid decapitating slashes, his sword only a glimmer within the air as the bandits' head parted from their necks, falling on the ground with small thump.

The last remaining bandit immediately ran towards the family they ambushed, huddled together in fear from both the bandit and their mysterious bloody saviour. He quickly grabbed the woman closest to him and pulled her upwards, ignoring her fearful shriek before holding her in a chokehold, a blade on her neck. Both were trembling in terror as he stared into the dead, emotionless eyes of his attacker. "Don't come closer!" he screamed out, his arm shaking. "She'll di-"

"Mizuchi."

An invisible wave of power roared towards the bandit the instant the words left Naruto's lips, the only sign of its presence was a long trench that tore from its path before hitting the bandit. The wave erupted into a small burst of air, blowing the fallen leaves and clothes, but did nothing more.

Before the bandit could act, a powerful gust of wind blew through the beaten path. A loud buzzing sound echoed within the woods surrounding the path as hundreds upon hundreds of invisible slashes cut the bandit to pieces, his body literally exploding into a shower of gore and flesh, yet leaving the civilians without harm. The gust died as abruptly as it started, causing viscera pieces to rain on the family. They could only look around, traumatized as they felt the warm liquid and pieces of human flesh stick to their body, the hostage falling to the ground as she fainted from the myriad of emotions rushing through her mind, her body nearly covered completely from head to toe with human viscera.

Naruto came towards them, sheathing Tenrou as he did so. And within their eyes were a sight he had seen so many times now: absolute fear. Fear towards him, towards the bandits, and towards the events that happened just now. And he took a step away, swiftly turning around and leaving the entire family to their business, leaping within the woods surrounding the path before disappearing from sight, not a trace of him left behind.

He dashed through the undergrowth, leaving everything behind in his directionless journey. He's seen the look on the family's faces so many times before. It no longer hurts as it does before. Even as he murdered the bandits he encountered, no emotion came to his mind. It was just a regular event, nothing new to him.

He followed his nose, smelling fresh water close by. And not long after, he reached it, a small stream, but good enough for his purposes. He crouched beside it, dipping his face into it and took huge gulps of drinks, thirsty from his fight. Lifting his head out of the water, he shook his head, removing the excess water clinging to him. He wiped a hand on his face, clearing it as he took a look at his reflection.

His blonde hair was messier than ever, no thanks to his favourite haircutting method: grabbing a bunch of hair and ran Tenrou through them before burning the remains. Tenrou protested sometimes, but he ignored him. The face that met him was a face of a man devoid of emotions. Not a single line of thought crossed his face. He took in every single inch of his face, noticing the fact that it had not a single speck of feelings unlike what was displayed by his victims as they screamed their curses and death gurgles, yet he felt nothing about it.

But what's more important was his eyes. His blue eyes had lost their lustre a long time ago, looking like an infinite void where there was no way to come back from, more like a pair of glass eyeballs someone grafted within his eye socket. It was said that the eyes were the gateway to one's soul. And in this case, the soul of the owner was nothing but pure darkness, an endless emptiness that could devour anything that it sees.

And it was the result of three years of non-stop, self-defined and established crusade against those whom he considered as criminals, as undesirables.

Naruto got up, feeling refreshed enough from his quick stop. He leapt away, not wanting to stay at one point for far too long. On and on he trekked, keeping a constant speed that's not too fast nor too slow through the woods. He didn't took stock of how long he travelled, and the next thing he knew, the sun had set beyond the horizon. Night settled around him, the sound of insects and wildlife his only company as he absentmindedly swatted insects that bugged him.

He changed modes as was his routine, immediately scanning the area for a place for him to settle down and sleep for the night. He can continue his aimless journey further and he knew that, but sleep was one of the few times that his body can rest and recover while his mind took a break. It was not long before he found a small patch of clear ground right underneath a tree, giving him spot to lie down on it. He did just that, leaning on the tree and sat cross armed to sleep.

And as he closed his eyes, his consciousness quickly drifted away.

-BREAK-

"Hello Naruto," Kurumi spoke as Naruto's body materialised in front of her cage, something that was all too common nowadays. She laid down, her head on the dank waters of his mindscape to get as close to him as possible. In return, he sat down, his body lying on the massive pillars that was her cage, her call only replied with a small nod, which was good enough for her. She knew he was silent these days, even more so than before. And she could not blame him for it. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Naruto replied. He watched at the corner of his eye the sight of her bushy tail's white tip coming towards his body before wrapping around him. The warmth from her tail quickly filled his body, giving him strength. A small, near imperceptible smile graced his face before he grabbed the massive bundle of fur and quickly laid down on it, the discomfort of his mindscape countered by the gentleness emitting from it. "Thank you."

"It's nothing." They both remained in this position, enjoying each other's presence, something the cold, dank mindscape had not. Naruto knew she was lonely in his mindscape as he focused on travelling and killing bandits, while she knew Naruto didn't have any contact with anyone in the real world thanks to his own nature. A while passed before her voice echoed within the darkened mindscape, darker than it was before. "What are you thinking?"

A long pause, before Naruto replied. "…I don't know," he spoke. And it was true. Three years after he took his oath and went on his crusade, and his actions had taken a toll on him. He saw what manner of atrocities humankind could commit. The cruelty, the brutality, the vileness, everything hits him hard, and hits him often. "I saved them, at least."

A heavy air hung around Naruto as he spoke those words. Both of them knew. Sometimes, despite his haste, he was too late. Uncounted were the numbers of the people he failed to save, reaching the location only to see that the bandits have achieved their objective. He has seen so many faces of the victims die in his hands, his attempts to save them all ended up in vain. Many has he seen the faces of the criminal's victims, all of them catatonic and dead, no life within them despite the obvious signs of life. And many asked him to take their lives, not wanting to live anymore as their family was butchered in front of them or kidnapped as slaves. Some had no way to survive, and a quick death was less torture on them.

"You did good, Naruto."

He just nodded in reply, still holding her soft fur tight within his hands. Time slowly passed wordlessly between them. Naruto could sleep, but he does not feel like it. In fact, he does not feel anything. He has seen too much in his young age, things that would broke others. At first, the sight of innocents dying by his blade tore his heart. His only relief was the butchering of their assaulters. But after a while, their dying scene no longer hurts him, and further along, it was just another routine, another death, another body to his count.

"You've saved so many people in these three years, Naruto," Kurumi spoke to him, softly caressing his face with the tip of her tail. "You should remember that. They may not appreciate it, but you did a good thing. I still cannot believe humans are capable of such atrocities." Her eyes burned with anger as she recalled the sights that she saw through Naruto's eyes.

Their cruelty.

Their brutality.

Their greed.

At first, she was against Naruto's mission. It went against everything that she wanted to prevent. But as Naruto went through with his crusade, she saw the dark side of humanity, one that she never saw even with Kushina or Mito. Thus her reluctance broke down. With every criminal Naruto interrogated, she felt their maliciousness and immorality. With every one of the criminals Naruto brought to the sword, she learned that human's greed was boundless and infinite. And thus she knew that the only way to stop them for good was to end their lives.

At first, Naruto only killed the more terrible ones, allowing some to go free in the pretext of letting them repent. Yet as they found the bandits in different groups, she knew that repentance was never their objective. They only lie and cheat to survive another day, to continue their vile activities later on. And they both learned that the only way to stop them for good was to end them.

"You've grown stronger as well," she said, something that he only replied with a nod. At about half a year into their crusade, the larger criminal empires finally took notice of this mysterious being, one that targets their operations and their multitude of supplies. Bounties were placed on his head, securities were tightened around his targets. It did not do anything but slow him down. With fast, sudden strikes he disabled the guards before coming for his prey. Even missing nin cannot stand against him for long, being utterly annihilated in a short while. He made sure no one saw his face, preventing him from being tracked. Even the bounty posters did not have his face on it, just a black silhouette as placeholder. He was only known to them all as the 'Invisible Death', for no one could find how he looked like.

And they knew he will come for them in the end.

"The lives those criminals had destroyed... They're uncountable. Your actions helped save many others in the future Naruto, never forget that for a second."

"I don't," he replied. He knew that. His crusade was a success, as the amount of criminals he encountered dropped during the years, though it's not yet at zero. He glanced upwards, looking towards Kurumi's large eyes, shining with her customary gentleness. She was the only reason he had not yet went down the deep end. Her encouragements, her calm, soothing words helped keep him grounded on this world, and not on a fast trip down to whatever hellhole he ended up closest to. Only her presence prevented him from going insane, knowing that there's someone with him, always watching, always observing. Yet…

"I'm tired."

"What?"

"I'm tired," he repeated. "I'm just tired," he said again, still grabbing handfuls of her long fur within his hands.

"Tired? Why?" Of course, Kurumi knew that he wasn't physically tired. His Astartes body can go through punishments and exertions no one would consider safe. He was practically built to last. This was a different case altogether, but she cannot pinpoint what the issue was. "You've did a very good job Naruto, freeing the people from those horrible villains."

"I know," he said with a small nod. "But..." He paused. He cannot think of the right way of saying it. He was not physically tired, and he was sure Kurumi knew that. "I don't know," he finally admitted. "My body is not tired, and I can go on for longer. Yet I feel…" He stared at his hand, grasping it firmly a couple times. He saw the slight coating of Mucranoid on it, slightly glistening with the light emanating from the massive bars behind him. He limply lets his hand fell on her fur, feeling the warmth. "I don't know what I feel. Tired… is probably the closest I can say to what I am feeling right now."

"Tired? Of what?"

"I don't know," he said.

"Are you…" There was one possibility, but she would not even entertain this possibility. She can't, for it is not possible. "By any chance, are you tired… of life?"

"No," Came Naruto's quick answer. "I cannot tire of life. I still need to achieve peace." Once again, the face of the boy he failed to save appeared in front of his sights. "I need to annihilate those criminals from this world. They must die. Only when they are gone will we be able to achieve peace." The memories of human's cruelty resurfaced within his eyes, their myriad of last words echoed within his ears, full of hatred and sadness.

Kurumi let out a sigh of relief at Naruto's reply, but she felt as if there was something wrong with his reply. As she pondered this, Naruto stood up, something she realised as the feeling of weight on her tail disappeared. "Where are you going, Naruto?"

"Need to continue." The thought of letting the criminals out in the world unpunished moved his body as the face of the boy he failed to save appeared on his sight once more. He was the only person that can help the innocents whose life were ruined by humans' cruelty as the Hidden Villages and even the countries' governments won't act on them.

Even if the entire world went against him, he will make sure they'll be annihilated, even if he broke in the process.

"Stay, Naruto, please," Kurumi pleaded. "You've been charging straight ahead for five days now with minimal rest. You may be an Astartes, but you still need to take a break every now and then."

"I will," Naruto replied. "When I'm dead."

Horror assailed Kurumi's heart as she heard Naruto's nonchalant response towards her plea. "Naruto! What do you mean by that?!"

"It means what I mean," he simply said. "I cannot stop. I will not stop. As long as I am not dead, I will not stop. As long as I drew breath I will purge these monsters in human skin off the earth."

"Naruto, that is good and all, but you still need a break!"

"I just had mine."

"It was barely long enough, even for you!"

"He's right, kiddo."

A sudden voice appeared out of nowhere within the darkness of the mindscape, cutting Naruto's potential reply instantly. With a thought he summoned Tenrou's physical form into his hand. With another he dashed at blinding speeds, heading towards where his Lyman's Ears pinpointed the source of the voice. The only thing heard within the darkness were the splashes his feet made as he ran towards the source, his Occulobe allowing him to see the body heat of this intruder. It barely took him seconds to close the gap between them, Tenrou rapidly coming into contact with the body of the mysterious invader as he slashed the figure at blinding speeds.

Except he did not.

The liquid around his feet erupted as bluish rays of light shot from them before quickly bending around and wrapped themselves tight around him. The sheer speed of the attack almost stunned him, so fast that he failed to track and counter it. The blue rays – chains made of chakra, now that he got a better look at them – wrapped around him tight and strong, not even budging as he flexed his not-inconsiderable strength to break them, the chains clinking as if they were metal from the strain of holding him. Yet, struggle as he might, he still failed to unravel the chakra chains. What made it worse was that he could feel his strength leaving him as the chains drained his chakra at a rapid rate. He could feel his Linker Core working overtime to recover his strength back, putting the two at a stalemate.

"Wow. You're really strong, aren't you?" the voice questioned. Yet a hint of pride and happiness was there within its tone, something that Kurumi didn't miss. "But you should stop struggling, Naruto," the mysterious voice spoke again. "My chains can even bind a rampaging bijuu. Even if your body can regenerate the chakra you lost, you won't be able to free yourself."

And the owner of the voice revealed herself in front of the two.

Kurumi's eyes opened wide in shock. She already knew the voice, and the chakra chains just confirmed it. Yet, she knew it was impossible. "WHO ARE YOU!?" She roared, her voice echoing within the dark mindscape. Her voice carried with it such power that strong winds buffeted both Naruto and the figure as knee height wave of foetid waters crashed on them both. This was the first time Naruto heard Kurumi get to that level of anger, so much so that he stopped his struggle against the chains. "HOW DID YOU GET HERE?!" her roar echoed once more within the mindscape, her rage nearly palpable from her raised hair and the blood red glow around her, the intensity increasing every second.

"I'm hurt, Kurumi-chan," the mysterious character spoke with a playful tone, almost as if uncaring towards the bijuu's rage that she incited. "Don't you recognize me? I'm your best friend!"

"I DO NOT!" Kurumi roared, fury and disappointment echoed within her voice. And that was the only time she cursed the massive bars that was her cage as she slammed her titanic body on the bars again and again, the ringing sound of flesh meeting metal echoing within the dark mindscape, yet the pillars were as solid as the seals they represent; strong and unyielding. "KUSHINA WAS DEAD!" Her words made the person stumble back, and even Naruto looked startled from the emotions emanating within her voice. "I KILLED HER! MY CLAWS PIERCED HER! I AM THE REASON NARUTO LOST HIS PARENTS! HE MAY FORGIVE ME, BUT I WON'T!" She glared at the intruder as she stood beside Naruto with the fury of a thousand suns, wanting to just make her combust on the spot. "YET YOU DARE APPEAR AND DEFILE HER MEMORY?! I WILL KILL YOU FOR THIS TRANSGRESSION!"

"Kill…?" The voice whispered. "Kurumi-chan, you were not like this before."

"DON'T YOU DARE CALL ME BY THAT NAME! ONLY THOSE CLOSE TO ME CAN CALL ME THAT!"

"KURUMI!" The figure yelled back, completely ignoring the rage of the strongest bijuu she was facing. She disappeared from Naruto's chained side before reappearing right in front of Kurumi's cage, her hand glowing blue from the chakra she poured within it. And as she whipped her arm in front of her, the blue glow extended, morphing into a long chain as large as an arm that shot towards the air above Kurumi, slipping past the massive bars of the cage before immediately smashing into her snout. "CALM DOWN! IT'S ME! UZUMAKI-NAMIKAZE KUSHINA! THE ONE AND ONLY!"

The massive chakra chain smacked her snout, the sound of the steel-like chakra construct meeting her flesh ringing within her ears like thousands of small bells, her rage immediately forgotten from the all too real pain that she was feeling from the hit. "OW!" She cried in pain as she clutched her trembling snout, eyes tight from pain. The pain helped her focus her mind, quickly processing the facts that she knew of this intruder. In the end, she could only reach one conclusion from all the information she gathered. "K…kushina? Is that… is that really you?"

"The one and only," the figure spoke, placing her hands on her slender waist, wearing a smug look on her face. Her waist long hair shone as it always did, with a blood-red colour the Uzumakis were well known of. Her round face – now tight in anger – was unmistakable to Kurumi. It was what made her get mocked when she was young, and what made her one of the beauties of the land when she was older, a beauty caught by none other than the Yondaime. The standard Konoha jounin-ranked ninja flak vest covered her torso with a black shirt underneath, the cookie cutter uniform of jounin from Konoha, with the Konoha head protector with its customary spiral leaf pattern covering her forehead. She glanced downwards, noticing her clothing, something she felt confused about. "Weird, pretty sure I didn't wear this ever since the 3rd Shinobi War. I thought the seal was supposed to get me in my usual clothing."

"How… How did you appear here?" Kurumi questioned, asking the million dollar question. "I killed you! You shouldn't even be here!" Naruto just stood still, the chains still binding him, yet he also wanted to know the answer to this question. How did she – his mother – appeared within his mindscape? Was she still alive out there?

"Regrettably, I'm not alive," she answered, a sad look on her face as tears began pooling at the edge of her bright brown eyes, tears that she quickly wiped off. "I am still dead. This," she spoke, pointing towards herself. "Is just a Shadow Clone that me and Minato planted within the seal."

"What? How?"

"We integrated a part of our chakra into the seal matrix, putting in certain extra lines within the Eight Trigrams Seal to prevent our chakra from conflicting with both yours and Naruto's. It's quite the hard work, but it's worth it." She turned around before walking towards Naruto, still being held by the chains. She stood right in front of Naruto, taking his sight in, just as he did her. In an instant, the chains around Naruto disappeared in a flash of bright blue light. In its place, a different chain prevented him from moving, a chain made of the hands of a person that claimed she was his mother. "You've grown, Naruto," she whispered, burying her face within Naruto's broad chest. 'I could only reach his chest now,' Kushina thought. "I'm sorry I cannot be there with you the whole way."

Naruto's first instinct from the contact was to jerk his body, push her away before swinging Tenrou towards her, yet all those disappeared as he felt the warmth of the body on and around him. This warmth was something that barely registered at the very edge of his mind, something he had almost forgotten, for it felt like an eternity ago: the warmth of a mother. "Mother?" was the only thing that came out of his mouth from this revelation. At first, the only reply he received was a warmth on his chest, right where she placed her head.

"Yes," Kushina replied, letting her tears drench Naruto's shirt, worn out after the myriad of travelling and fighting he did. Yet, unlike the usual times her tears fell, she allowed this to be, her feelings flowing out of her as she took in Naruto's abnormally hot body temperature and the weird vibrations within his body, almost as if he had two hearts. "Yes Naruto, I am your mother."

Naruto had no idea why. He had no reason to trust this intruder, yet his hands automatically rise, wrapping around this person – his mother's – body, absorbing her warmth into his own. A strange feeling, he thought later on, from his mother that he never felt from anyone else before. He cannot understand why, but it almost seemed to him that his body instinctively knew that this was his progenitor, the person that gave birth to him a long while ago. It just felt… right. For a moment he just stayed there, letting his body and mind take in the warmth of his mother, something he never had ever since he was a child.

A small tear fell from Kurumi's face, a smile on her snout as she saw the sight in front of her, a sight that she knew will not stay for long, for she was just a chakra construct, though it was as close as the real thing as can be. Yet there were some serious questions to be asked, and she knew she needed to ask the main one hanging in her mind. "Kushina-chan, why did you appear here? Why now?"

"As you know, a bijuu's seal weakens as the user's emotions become more troubled," Kushina began. "Me and Minato adjusted the seal so that if it weakened enough, one of us would appear, pull Naruto into his mindscape, then try to talk him out of whatever he was feeling at the time."

"Then why didn't you appear when Naruto's adoptive parents were killed?"

"Adoptive parents?" Watching Kurumi's nod, she looked towards Naruto, confusion on her face. Naruto just nodded as well, something that just adds to her confusion. "Alright," she finally announced with a sigh. "I really need to know your life's story, Naruto. Sounds like you've gone through a lot." She walked towards Kurumi's massive cage before sitting cross legged on the dank waters before she turned around and waved towards her son. "Naruto, come here." Naruto acquiesced, pacing towards her. "Lie down here," she continued after Naruto was closer to her, patting her slender yet strong leg. "In my lap."

Naruto nodded before he sat down on the waters of his mindscape before quickly lying down within her lap, both of them ignoring the dirty waters around them. With a sad yet happy smile, Kushina played with Naruto's long, messy hair. "You've grown, Naruto. I wish I would've been beside you along the way."

"It happens," Naruto quickly replied. "I got used to it."

"You shouldn't be," Kushina's reply accompanied with a shake of her head. "I should've been there with you."

"There was nothing you can do. You died after giving birth to me."

"Way to hit me with the facts, son," Kushina mock-groaned, a smile on her face, though only Naruto missed the slight tinge of sadness she had within her playful reply. "Right. That's that. Now I really want to know your story, Naruto."

"It will be quite long though. Are you fine?"

"I'm fine," Kushina replied, waving off Kurumi's concern. "I still have quite the chakra stored, and it's not like I used up my chakra restraining a rampaging bijuu, just an understandably surprised son," she added, her fingers still playing with Naruto's soft, spiky mane. "Now, go ahead and start."

'This won't be pretty…' Kurumi thought. Yet she knew Kushina needed to know what happened to her son. And with a sigh, she began. "It all started after I woke up, having been sealed within Naruto after I was controlled by that masked stranger…" And so, Kurumi told her everything from the start; his life in Konoha, his escape, the Mibus, their deaths, the caravan, and now this, Naruto intercepting at moments he deemed necessary to add to Kurumi's story.

During the entire time, Naruto didn't say a word, only watching the face of his mother, a face he never knew within his life. And within the short while that he did so, he saw her face turn into a myriad of expressions. At first, a horrified look was on her face before it changed into anger, a look that stayed for quite some time, growing ever intense the longer it went. He could even swear there were red chakra hovering all around her at one point. Then it became relief and happiness, and Naruto could see a small shine of sadness the whole time. And then it became anger, and once again, that feeling of dread began hovering around her, almost affecting Naruto. And it just grew stronger as time goes on.

"…And then, after Naruto saved that caravan, he continued his travels before resting, and here we are," Kurumi finally ended her story. And just like Naruto, she also took a good look at Kushina the whole way, and her observations perfectly mirrored his. And even she could feel the icy grip of fear on her heart from the anger palpitating off Kushina like waves, threatening to drown everything around her in a wave of destructive rage.

Most definitely the Red Hot Habanero, Kurumi thought, a small smile on her face.

"…Alright," Kushina finally spoke. Her anger hasn't abated yet, but she had controlled enough of it to speak clearly at least. "So first of all, let me get this straight. My son here," she said, poking Naruto's cheek, an action that Naruto didn't even respond to. "Is nine years old, taller than I am, can see in pitch black and even see chakra like a Sharingan, probably immune to any diseases, heals faster than anyone was able to, had potentially infinite chakra, can breath and drink poison, is able to and actually does eat anything from raw meat to rocks, had metal alloy as bones, spits acid, and had brute force enough to make jounin cry tears from jealousy and is nine years old. Is that right?"

"It is." Now that she put it that way, it actually sounds so ridiculous, Kurumi thought. "And you said nine years old twice."

"….Wow," Kushina replied after a pause. "Just… wow." She looked towards Kurumi and Naruto. "I don't even know what to say. First of all, I don't even know you can do that!" she yelled, levelling an angry finger towards Kurumi.

"To be fair, I didn't too. I just did what I can to have him survive. And modifying his body was the only way to do it that time."

"And that's another thing." The aura of dread that Naruto had felt before came back, now even stronger than before. And being right beside the source, the wave washed full strength over Naruto, and even his long-repressed fight or flight response was triggering as every single senses he had reported danger close by and he had to RUN FLEE GET THE FUCK OUT SCRAMBLE from his mom. But he pushed on those feelings even harder, knowing that she won't do anything to him. Probably.

"Why… In all THE NINE HELLS DOES SARUTOBI DOES NOTHING?!" Kushina roared out, the anger within her voice making Kurumi's rage from a moment ago seemed timid in comparison. The air seemed alight with fire, her rage nearly radiating heat from her, and even Kurumi seemed to be pushed aback from her boundless fury. "HE SHOULD'VE BEEN THERE FOR YOU! Instead, you were left in that hell, alone and abused!" Her rage abated slightly as she glanced towards Kurumi. "If not for Kurumi, you would've died."

"And believe me, I would've rampaged then and there when I'm free," Kurumi added in agreement.

"They got what's coming for them, sure." Kushina placed a hand on her chest as she took deep breaths in trying to calm herself. "And then you ran away from Konoha, saving little Hinata on the way. That's sweet," Kushina cooed, messing with her son's hair on her lap, a smile on her face.

"How so?"

"When I was pregnant with you, her mother was pregnant as well with Hinata whom she already thought the name of a while ago, so I think you're slightly older than her," Kushina explained. "Anyway, after that, you met this guy and worked and lived under him, and he even took you in as a family member, then someone came, attacked the family due to his old history as a member of the Mibu clan." Kushina paused for a while here, trying to think of the name. "The Mibus… That was a name I haven't heard for a long time."

"Did they destroy themselves, like Shiro said?"

"Yeah," Kushina answered with a nod. "Their smithing and swordplay are second to none back then, even before the Hidden Village system came to be. They are a very strong clan, but they did lots of shady things. They're kind of like an entire clan of Orochimaru except less slippery. But their own strength became their downfall as they all went crazy. I never knew there was a survivor from the time when the clan wiped themselves out."

"How do you know all this?" Naruto asked.

"I was not called the 'Princess of Whirlpool' for no reason, you know," Kushina said, flicking Naruto's nose lightly. "I was taught history, and one of them was regarding the Mibus. They were quite well known back then, but for nothing good except for their metalworks and their swordplay. I think if you were to ask someone old enough, they would definitely knew of the name. Hiruzen might," she said, her face sour as the Sandaime's name left her tongue. "I'll make sure he knew what I feel about his actions when I meet him in the Pure World."

"And after that, things happen, and you begin travelling all around, killing bandits and criminals because Hidden Villages don't seem to act on it for 3 years, right?" Kushina asked, getting a nod from both Naruto and Kurumi. "Anyway, despite you being through a lot, I didn't appear until now even though there's probably at least two times that the seal would've loosened enough to let me through and calm you down."

"I've been wondering about that too," Kurumi said in reply, something that Naruto just nodded in agreement. "Do you have any idea why?"

"I do," Kushina replied with a nod. "And it's all because of you," she said, pointing a finger towards Kurumi.

"Me? How so?"

"You may not realise this, but the Eight Trigrams Seal was keyed and integrated with Naruto's chakra system to allow him to use your powers better later on. But you forcing his chakra activation early and pumping loads of your power within his body had damaged the seal's chakra flow functionality, preventing it from properly detecting Naruto's emotional state via his chakra. And when you almost destroyed his chakra system, so does the seal's secondary systems fail in the same way, and everything else was just bypassed when you made the Linker Core, with only the seal's primary task, which was to keep you within Naruto left unharmed," Kushina explained. "To be honest, we didn't put too much of a lock on the seal on you because we trusted you. That trust was repaid, but it was also the reason why some of its functionality was broken, or possibly modified."

"But I have Naruto physically check the seal often. There was no issues with it."

"The seal that both of you saw was the primary layer of the seal, the one meant to hold back Kurumi's power," she explained. "A bijuu's power is not held back that easily, and a huge part of the seal must be dedicated to that task alone. This is the visible part. The secondary systems are located within a smaller part of the seal, which due to seal compression, became the small part at the end of the Uzumaki spiral that connects to your chakra core. That part is harder to check, and probably look fine because your modifications have also modified the chakra pathways that made up the secondary part of the seal, causing them to become inert or bypassing them entirely. That is also probably why I look like this," Kushina said, referring to her combat uniform. "Not my usual more casual clothing, because the seal has warped and changed, but without affecting the primary functions."

"I understand why you didn't appear earlier, but why now? Naruto didn't have any major issues."

"And this is where you're wrong," Kushina replied. "Naruto, what are you doing? Or about to do before I appeared?"

"I want to continue my journey," Naruto replied honestly. "I want to travel the lands, and kill those criminals out there, and bring peace to the world."

"And you?" She asked, looking towards Kurumi. "What are you doing?"

"I want him to take a break for a moment," Kurumi said honestly. "He's been pushing himself too hard recently. His body can last, but…"

"And you support him?"

"Yes!" The bijuu quickly replied. "Why shouldn't I? He took on your dream and wanted to bring peace to the people so that everyone can live happily! Are you telling me to stop him?"

"First of all, doing that won't bring peace to the people, you two," Kushina said, lightly smacking Naruto's head with her finger.

"How so?" Came Naruto's quick reply.

"Alright, now I want you to recall your activities." Watching Naruto's nod, she continued. "Did you see any reduction in crime rates afterwards?"

"Yes."

"Argh, this is so hard to explain," Kurumi hissed, grabbing her head in an exaggerated manner. "Alright, like this. Sure, you probably reduced the crime rates, but have you even seen the people you 'saved'? Are they happy? Are they peaceful?"

"No." That was a question Naruto instinctively knew the answer to. Happiness? Not even relief was on their face most of the time as he saved them. And even less so seeing them in peace. Even among those that he killed, peace was never on their face, only regret, sadness and disappointment, or anger and pain, nothing else.

"Thought so," Kushina replied with a loud sigh. "And this is why, you'll never bring peace that way. And you," Kushina pointed towards Kurumi. "Have some explaining to do. Why did you support him? You should know better after being with me and Mito-sama. Sure, you slept for most of the time, but you should know about peace, and why this won't work in the long term."

Kurumi was puzzled as she heard this. What was wrong with Naruto's mission? Criminals cause crime that disturbs the life of ordinary people. He kills criminals, crime rate drops, life becomes peaceful. "I see no issue with it," She replied, causing Kushina to shake her head in disapproval, something that caused both Naruto and Kurumi to frown at her.

"Kurumi-chan, you disappoint me," Kushina said before looking straight into Naruto's eyes on her lap. And although she noticed this a long while ago, only now did she had a better look at it. "You really had your father's eyes, Naruto," she said with a soft smile, watching the blue eyes that met her own brown unflinchingly. "Yet, they're so different." Where Minato's eyes were lit with the flames of life and had strength beyond strength within the azure eyes, Naruto's eyes held nothing of the sort. His eyes held nothing, no motivation, no strength, no life within them. "You've been pushing yourself hard, haven't you, Naruto?"

"…" Only silence graced Kushina's words from Naruto's lips. Pushed himself hard? He understood the words, but he never felt as if he pushed himself too hard. He took breaks long enough before continuing his journey, to allow his body to rest. He ate well, or at least what can be considered well with his irregular diet. He exercised due to his personal war, and as fit as a person could be.

His face betrayed nothing, but no one can fool their mother, and that includes Naruto. "You plan to kill yourself, do you?" Kushina asked.

"NO!"/"No," Both Naruto and Kurumi replied at the same time. "He's not going to kill himself!"/"I did not plan on getting myself killed," they both continued, each with their own tone and style.

"Are you sure about that?" Kushina asked. "You're pushing yourself despite being tired. And before you asked, I heard that part earlier," she said, a sad smile on her face as she cupped Naruto's face in her lap. "That is not tired, Naruto, Kurumi. You're weary."

"Weary?"

"That's when your spirit is tired," she explained. "And this is to you too, Kurumi-chan. Your body may be fine, but your heart is the one that's weary. Your spirit is crying out for a break to replenish its energy, something you never did."

"But my mind is fine."

"No you're not. No one fine would push themselves into more and more dangerous situation. No matter how noble your goals, how strong your mind may be, there comes a time when one needs to stop and take a break."

"I've had my rest."

"Not that, Naruto," Kushina sighed, yet a smile was on her face. Naruto still had that patented Uzumaki stubbornness to him despite everything that happened, it seemed. "You need to drop this. Stop your witch hunt. Live somewhere without people for a while. This is also why I said that you won't be able to achieve your objective. Have you ever known peace, Naruto?"

"Yes," he spoke, quickly recalling his time with the Mibus as a moment in his life where he was totally free without worries.

"No, Naruto. And I can guess what time was that. It was with the Mibus, am I right?" Naruto nodded in silent agreement, allowing Kushina to continue. "At that time, you have your own worries. You're worried that they know about your bloodline, you worry they knew about you from Konoha, you worry about them knowing about Kurumi within you, and most importantly, you always worry about Konoha finding you. It took you three years to finally gather the courage to tell them everything about you, after which you found out that they had secrets of their own. Am I right?"

Naruto said nothing while Kurumi tried to say something, but upon further inspection, she realised that Kushina was absolutely correct. They did not have worries about life and enjoyed it, but she knew that at the back of their minds, the worries they have remained and were never addressed, just like Kushina said. It became a huge weight on Naruto's mind, which adds to the pain of the tragedy that befallen him.

And now, the pieces clicked for Kurumi. The worries Naruto had were never quenched, and then tragedy struck, both which added to the pain within his mind. Combined with the fact that he inherited his stepfather's skills which became a memory of his loss and him ordering Naruto to use him as sacrifice for the cursed blade Naruto is wielding, it became a huge unreleased pressure. And as he saw more of the world and its dark side, Naruto reached his breaking point without him even knowing. And in the end, he pushed himself further and further, with no care to his own body. Astartes or not, this was a death wish, and both of them failed to realised it, something which horrified Kurumi to no end now. "No…" she whispered slowly, finally understanding.

"And this is why I said that you will not be able to achieve peace," Kushina said, a sad tone within her voice. "It's because you never knew peace. How are you going to achieve peace for the people if you yourself never knew what it meant and how it felt?"

Seeing Naruto's silence, she knew just the medicine. "Naruto, you should stop this crusade of yours. Stop blaming yourself and trying to repent by saving the people. Go take a break."

"How?" A simple question, said without any inflection of feelings whatsoever, as dead as night's silence, yet she could feel the hidden pain within the voice. His life had been nothing but tragedies after another, some even self-inflicted, and a rest was not something that even came across his mind, his guilt eating him up entirely from within in secret. It was not surprising that he pushed himself so hard, what with his life has been. Luckily, Kushina also had an answer to his question.

"I know a way," she replied with a smile. "Go to Whirlpool."

"Whirlpool?"

"Yes, Whirlpool Country, the land of your ancestors," she replied with a nod. "It's completely empty, and after its destruction, no one wanted to live there, as far as I know. They were probably afraid of some top secret Uzumaki final weapon or just ghosts of the war. There's nothing of such there," she said, sadness clear as she did so. She went there once after the war, and only destruction met her. She was sad, but at the same time, she was lucky that she ended up surviving to continue the Uzumaki lineage. And she knew, his ancestor's land was probably the only place where he could rest his tired spirit. "No one lives there anymore, it's so far away from anything that no one would be able to detect you, and done right, you can cross the seas without anyone tracing you. There, you'll be alone, with Kurumi-chan your only friend. You can learn peace, take a spiritual rest and she can find what changed her."

"Changed? Me? What do you mean?" Kurumi asked. She never changed, at least as far as she knew. "You must be wrong about me," she replied, her face taut in confusion.

"You've changed, I'm sure," Kushina quickly countered. "Before, you were not as aggressive and as easy to anger. But on seeing my face, you went crazy. That was not something I expected you to do."

"How can I not be angry?" Kurumi asked. "I saw someone who I'm sure was dead since I'm the one that killed her. I killed my own good friend, and nearly ten years later, I saw her again. How can I not go crazy?"

"You should've realised it's me after I used my chakra chains though," Kushina chastised her, causing Kurumi to have a sheepish smile on her face. "Still, it's a valid reason I guess. Though I still believe you've changed. By what factor, I cannot say for sure. But to me, I believe that you've changed. Im not sure where, but it's just this… feeling I have."

Kurumi just nodded, accepting the advice of her friend. She didn't change, she was sure about that. But Naruto does, and he needs his break. So for now, she just agreed to Kushina's words. And Kushina, upon seeing Kurumi's wordless nod smiled, knowing that her friend would do something about it. She can't tell what too, but there's just this lingering feeling within her that says that she had changed. Hopefully it's nothing, but her feelings were never wrong.

"Now that I think about it, this is probably why I appeared at this moment," Kushina said. "Naruto was at his breaking point, and Kurumi-chan had changed in mysterious ways. This combination was probably what triggered the seal's system and caused me to appear here, and I would say it was just in good time." Once again, she played with Naruto's hair, just watching into those eyes, filled with nothing. "Really, when I first saw you, I thought you were in your twenties. That bloodline is amazing."

"It is."

"It is also an insanely powerful bloodline limit," Kushina added. "I understand that you need to do it to have Naruto survive, but can't you do it more… subtle?"

"It was the only way I could think of at the time," Kurumi replied, sadness in her eyes as she recalled what happened after Naruto's birth. "It was also the first time I used the power in such a way, so I had to brute force a lot of things. The Astartes bloodline is the result."

"I understand, and I thank you." She pinched Naruto's cheek, feeling the leathery tough skin that was her son's, something which Naruto just ignored. "This can be the rise of a new Uzumaki clan, you know? Before, we were only known for our seals and life force, but now, we can also be known for a powerful bloodline as well." She stopped, a frown on her face. "Be careful with it, Naruto. Many people would try to convert you to their cause, for having such a powerful bloodline in their midst can increase their power so much. Make sure to not be involved with shady characters."

"I will not," Naruto replied quickly. He knew better than to follow unscrupulous people, and his experiences with criminal scum would prove helpful in avoiding them. "They can try."

"And they will, make no mistakes," Kushina replied. "You need to hold yourself steady."

"I will."

"Good." Kushina looked back towards Kurumi, noting her confusion. "I am not sure how much you've changed, Kurumi-chan, but I'm pretty sure you do. It's just my feeling."

"Hopefully I can find out what did," Kurumi replied, still confused. "I don't think I changed, but if you say so, it might be true."

Kushina just nodded with a smile at her good friend's words before looking back towards her son, a glimmer of sadness in her eyes. They remained in that position, Kushina sitting on the wet surface of the waters, and Naruto's head on her lap, both of them unbothered by the waters around them as Kurumi watched them both, a smile on her face. "I know I've said this many times now, but I should be there with you. Then you won't have to go through all this crap."

"Don't-"

"Please don't say it again," Kushina intercepted Naruto. "You've said it, I knew it. It's just that… your life has been quite the terrible one."

"It made me grow strong."

"Physically maybe, but not emotionally. I mean, look at you. You barely look like you feel anything now."

"I…" And Naruto's words stopped there.

"Thought so." She looked straight into Naruto's eyes and told him, "Don't worry, son. I know you can come back. You've held on for this long. I think other people can go insane from the life that you went through. Please, don't lose the spark of life you had." Naruto just nodded.

"Can you get up?" Kushina asked, and Naruto acquiesced, shuffling to get up from his mother's lap and saw that she also did the same. But as he did, he saw her feet, or what's left of it, as it became transparent. Kushina also realised this, and looked at Naruto, a sad smile on her face. "It seems that my time here is almost over."

"Kushina…"

"Don't cry, Kurumi-chan," she said, yet her own eyes had tears in them, albeit slight. "I'm already dead, and this was the only thing I can do. At least I managed to meet you and Naruto one last time, even past my death."

"Mother…?"

"Don't worry, Naruto," she replied to his wordless question as she walked towards him, her figure becoming more and more transparent as she did. Reaching Naruto, she placed a hand on her chest, feeling the beating of his twin hearts in tandem. "I guess you really had two hearts, do you?" She spoke in a steady voice, yet even Naruto knew that she was doing her best to prevent her voice from breaking. "I may be dead, but I live on within your hearts. We may only have met once, but please remember me."

"I will," came Naruto's reply, feeling the last of her warmth on her hand as her legs disappeared completely.

Kushina turned towards Kurumi, already crying behind her cage at Kushina's disappearance. "Kurumi-chan, just like Naruto, don't forget me. As long as I'm not dead to the both of you, I will never disappear. I will always live on in your hearts." Kurumi didn't answer, tears falling non-stop from her eyes, just nodding in agreement as she watched Kushina slowly disapear.

"I will," Kurumi whispered between sobs, trying her hardest to not just break down crying hard as she disappeared from waist down.

"Naruto, I have so many things to tell you," she said, facing Naruto again.

"Time is not on our side."

"Yes it isn't." She quickly floated towards Naruto and wrapped her arms around his chest, something Naruto reflexively replied as he returned her hug. "Remember Naruto, love is the key. If you feel that bloodlust or rage, always remember, that love is the key to stop it all, and the key for peace."

"I will." Naruto could feel his chest tighten as his mother's figure finally vanish, her presence no longer there within his mindscape. Yet he could still feel her warmth on his chest, her hands around him, and the soft smile on her face as she disappeared. He just stood there, looking at where Kushina was just now, Kurumi's loud sobs behind him went unheard.

After a while, Kurumi's sobs have slowed down, allowing her to ask Naruto of their next plan of action. "So are you going to Whirlpool?"

"Yes," Naruto said with a nod. "I want to see… to experience that what mother said about peace. And she's… probably right, that I'm worn out. I want to see the lands of my ancestors."

"How?"

"I have no idea," Naruto said truthfully as he began walking away. We'll figure something out." His last words before he disappeared from within the mindscape, leaving a sobbing Kurumi behind.

No one saw the lone drop of tear left behind that fell into the waters as he disappeared from his mindscape.

-CHAPTER END-

Read and review everyone. Thank you.