ACADEMY DAYS XI - OLD CLAN, NEW TRICKS

Hidden Leaf Academy

[Crystal Style: Branching Crystal Tree]

Yokumaru slams his hands on the ground, turning everything immediately around him into blue crystals; blades of grass now resembling more glass spikes. From directly in front of him, the crystals extend further into the air, jutting out from different directions, each 'branch' spawning several more in an oddly surreal tree-like shape.

It doesn't really reach that high, definitely nowhere near to what Guren can do, and the formation is currently too slow for it to be used offensively, however that doesn't diminish Yokumaru's progress any.

His classmates stare in awe, still not entirely used to seeing this very unique jutsu, no matter how often they see it.

"Excellent work, Yokumaru." Tenten-sensei applauds him. "You've grown a lot."

Yokumaru bows. "Thank you, sensei."

"Next up," Tenten looks through her list. "Jiriki. Show us what you got."

"Hn." Jiriki walks up to the crystalline tree and looks it over. He can't use the Byakugan just yet but that doesn't mean his eyes are to be underestimated. "Something like this is no match for the Gentle Fist." He takes his stance, focuses his chakra around his palm, and strikes.

[Gentle Fist: Palm Bottom]

The crystal tree doesn't budge. Jiriki himself remains motionless, almost as if waiting for a delayed reaction on the tree's part. Nothing happens.

Jiriki tries to strike again. "Fall, damn you."

Shoto walks over, chuckling. "Well, would you look at that. Guess the Gentle Fist isn't as almighty as your boasting suggests."

Jiriki glares back. "Got something to say, Teshin?"

"I did." Shoto rolls his shoulder and cracks his knuckles. "Watch how it's done."

[Earth Style: Earth Spear]

Shoto's hand turns a muddy brown colour, covering more of his skin that it did before.

"Now watch what the Empty Hand can do." Shoto takes his own stance and strikes at Yokumaru's tree with as much force as he can muster. No response. "It's.. tougher than you might think."

"Is it, niow?" Jiriki crosses his arms.

Yokumaru rubs the back of his head. "Is it really that tough?"

Genzai shakes his head. "No, their skulls are just that thick."

Tenten steps in front of them and lightly nudges them back with the tip of her bo staff. "Only step forward when you're called. And the point of this exercise is to show your own capabilities, not to bring others' down, got it?"

Shoto bows. "My apologies, sensei."

Jiriki bows. "It won't happen again."

'Why do I doubt that?' She sighs in defeat.

They both walk over to their respective spots, trying their best to ignore each other. Of course that's slightly more difficult now as their friend groups hang out more often and they're all standing next to each other at the moment.

Kotori claps as Shoto rejoins. "You guys have really gotten strong."

Shoto rubs his knuckles as his skin returns to its normal colour. "Not strong enough. Your Crystals are way tougher than before."

"Guren's been showing me a whole lot of tricks about it. I made it tough but that's also why it was so slow to grow. I don't know if I can get to her level."

Kotori pats him on the back. "Of course you will!"

Shoto nods. "I'm sure Guren had to train a lot for it, too."

"Alright!" Tenten calls out to bring order to the class. "Kashiwama, you're up next."

Kashiwama steps forward, just barely leaving the cluster his class has formed during the demonstrations.

He flashes a big grin, forms his hand seals, and slams his hands on the ground.

[Earth Style: Earth Pillar]

The ground right under the crystalline tree quakes, causing what was once grass to break apart, revealing the actual earth underneath. A column of stone rises directly beneath Yokumaru's jutsu, causing it to lose balance now that the ground underneath it has been made unstable and fall to its side.

Kashiwama proudly places his hands on his waist, chest puffed out.

Shoto stares for a moment before blinking. "I often forget he's actually pretty good."

Jiriki sighs. "He has that effect."

Tenten facepalms and walks over to the now fallen tree. She sends chakra through her bo staff, causing it to lightly hum with power. She places the end of the staff on the crystal and presses down hard, shattering it with little to no effort.

"Okay, will everyone just… forget about the tree?"

Kashiwama doesn't really let the remark get him down as he goes back with the same proud smile on his face. He turns to Kotori. "How was that? Pretty cool, right?"

Kotori chuckles. "Yeah, it was."

"Yes!" The Senju boy pumps his fist.

"Kotori, you're up." Tenten calls her out.

Kotori breathes in and steps forward, ready to try out something she'd been working on for a while now, something not even Yokumaru and Shoto know about.

[Aviary: Falcon]

She summons two of the bird of prey she learned about in the Hidden Sand, and its colouring shows in the much lighter tone that helps it blend with the sand to hide from larger raptors. Not that the kids have much reason to be familiar with the plumage of birds from different regions.

The two falcons fly around, showing off their speed and grace. They circle around as if gathering momentum while Kotori focuses her chakra to pull off hew new jutsu.

'Focus. Focus.' She psyches herself up. 'Just like the Raikage's book said; the birds can replicate jutsu to enhance their natural abilities. For the falcon, that's speed and the jutsu for speed is… the Body Flicker. Channel my chakra like usual and send it to through the falcons.'

Tenten, seeing that Kotori has something planned, doesn't intervene and lets the girl do what she plans on doing.

'Focus.'

The falcons pick up speed, becoming faster and faster.

[Ninja Art: Aerial Ace]

The falcons disappear from sight.

The classmates gasp and look around to see where the falcons went. They'd been watching with great interest, wanting to see more from the other very unique jutsu aside from Yokumaru's Crystal Style.

A loud crash draws their attention to the training dummies. The fence behind one of them, and the wooden base of another have sustained some damage, and the only trace of what may have caused it are the floating feathers, gently swaying their way toward the ground.

Tenten walks over to take a closer look and whistles in admiration. "Not bad. Even I had to struggle to see them."

Kotori pants, having strained herself more than she realized. "Aim's still off, though."

Tenten looks back with a grin. "If aiming's your problem, then you can count on me."

"Wow." Yokumaru looks in awe. "Since when can you do that?"

Kotori walks back to them with a grin. "Impressed? I think I finally figured out what that book was saying. Only gotten this far, though."

"That's still awesome. It was even faster than a Flicker." Shoto says.

"Faster than our Flickers, maybe." Jiriki points out. "Tenten-sensei could still see them."

Shoto shakes his head. "Man, do you have to-"

Kotori pats Shoto on the shoulder. "No, he's right. This is only the start. I have to work way harder if I want to master this jutsu."

"If anyone can, it's you!" Kashiwama calls out his full support. "With my command of the earth and your command of the skies, we'll be the ultimate power couple!"

"In your dreams." Genzai smacks him on the shoulder.

The group can't contain their laughter for much longer, the humour eventually catching on with the whole class. It takes Tenten a good few minutes to get everyone to focus on the task at hand.

-x-

At the end of the school day, all the kids can't run out fast enough to get back home.

Before they can part ways, Kotori makes an offer to her group. "Hey, you guys wanna go train?"

"Sorry, Kotori." Yokumaru clasps his hands in an apologetic manner. "I got dinner with mom and Teuchi today. Then Guren's gonna show me some more tricks."

"And I have to train some more at the dojo." Shoto explains.

"... Ah, yeah, that's fine." Kotori puts on a smile. "You guys have fun!" She runs off down the street to head. "See you tomorrow."

Yokumaru and Shoto wave farewell and head home, as well.

Kotori looks back as she walks home. 'Must be nice, to have someone teach you your jutsu. Meanwhile I'm here having to figure it out all on my own… Even mom and dad can only help so much...'

Uzumaki clan compound

One task Naruto set for himself and for the Uzumaki clan is to get as many in fighting shape as he can. Years of hiding and being inactive from the life of a shinobi has led either to former skills being forgotten, or skills never being learned out of fear of being discovered.

As sad as it makes some of the older generation, it's a fact that the Hidden Leaf's Uzumaki are not what they once were, so this is where this particular training comes in.

Naruto walks back to the training ground attached to the compound, with Karin and Jugo in tow.

Karin tears off one paper from the clipboard that's seemingly glued to her, seeing as she carries it practically everyone, and hands it over to Naruto. "And that's for tomorrow. A meeting with Lady Tsunade and Lady Fusuma, Lord Hiashi has also requested a meeting, we have a shipment from the Hidden Mist arriving with items that were apparently taken from the Hidden Whirlpool years ago."

"Taken by the Mist?" Jugo asks.

"Unknown." Karin answers. She can assume that's the case but if the Leaf and Mist don't feel it prudent to give details, it's not her place to ask for them.

"So we'll have to sort that information out." Naruto leads through the list.

"Yeah. I've already asked Elder Awaji's son, Akashi, to assist us with those. He's one of the few who was actually taught clan fuinjutsu, so we'll need him every step of the way."

"Thanks, Karin." Naruto folds the paper and places it in an inside pocket of his cloak.

"Don't lose that." Karin warns him.

Naruto waves dismissively. "Don't worry, I won't."

"You say that, but the way you just tossed it in a pocket makes me think you'll definitely lose it."

"I won't."

"I'm not reminding you of anything when you lose it."

"I said I won't, geez!" Naruto huffs.

"That aside," Jugo tries to steer the conversation, "Should I really be here? I'm afraid I'm overstepping."

"You're fine. You're also the one with most experience in this next to me so there's that." Naruto shrugs. "And besides, you're basically an honorary Uzumaki at this point." Naruto looks back to him with a grin.

Jugo smiles. "Thank you."

The three continue walking to the training ground, not needing much time to actually get to it. Clan compound isn't quite that big. On site, they regroup with one of Naruto's Shadow Clones who's overseeing the current training program: Summoning.

With Fukasaku's permission, the Uzumaki clan's more capable shinobi have signed contracts and are in the process of mastering the art. For some, it's easier than for others.

"So, how's it going?" Karin asks the Shadow Clone.

Before he can answer, he disappears in a puff of smoke and the real Naruto answers instead. "Going well as can be."

Karin looks between Naruto and the empty space previously occupied by the Clone. "Yeah, that's always going to be weird."

They turn their focus on the training Uzumaki. Oddly enough, almost half of them are actually Elder Awaji's grandkids.

The eldest, Michi, is actually sitting on the ground with a toad about her size and having an arm-wrestling match. She seems to be handling the bonding process well. Naruto remembers butting heads a lot with the toads he trained with, so she's doing better than he was.

Speaking of butting heads… That's what the second child, and only son, is doing.

Senjo, a man about the same age as Naruto, is in the process of arguing with a toad. "Yeah, well, who needs you!"

The toad croaks. "Dat how it's gon be, huh?" He shoots a stream of water that sends Sen crashing into a nearby tree. The toad keeps walking closer before stopping the torrent to stomp on him with his legs. "If ya don't needs me, why ain't ya winnin? Watch yer mouth, son."

"I'll cook your damn legs!" Senjo threatens but it doesn't carry a lot of weight in his current position.

The third child, Saki, of about 15 years of age, isn't really having that much more luck. She's in the process of being chased by a toad.

"Ew, ew, ew, stay away from meeeee." Saki whines.

"Honey, you wish you could be this fabulous!" The toad lashes out with her toad to wrap around Saki and pull her closer.

"Nooo, it's getting everywhere!" Saki tries to wriggle her way out. "Noooo!"

The youngest, Esuka, is a young girl looking about 12 years old actually has no issues. She and her trainer toad are sitting on the ground, drinking tea.

"I'm sorry for the noise." Esuka sighs as she refills their cups. "Some people have no manners."

"Oh, I understand completely, dear." The toad croaks and sips his tea. "You would not believe what a ruckus it is back home."

Naruto broadly motions to the scene in front of him. "And that's pretty much how it is."

Karin rubs her brow. "Well, at least it's not a total disaster."

Jugo steps forward with a sigh. "Looks like we have our jobs cut out for us."

"Sorry for dragging you into this."

"It's the least I can do for everything you've done."

-x-

Not long after their joining the scene and trying to bring slightly less chaos to chaos, Kotori finds her way to the training ground, knowing of today's scheduled training and wanting to check up on it.

She walks over to Karin to sit with her on the log. "Everyone looks like they're having fun." She giggles at the disarray happening in front of them, most of the Uzumaki still unable to come to an agreement with the summoning toads.

"I guess that's one word for it." Karn laughs. "You going to join them?"

Kotori shakes her head. "I don't know if it's for me. Still not sure about my place in this."

"Still having doubts, huh?" Karin leans back.

"I mean, I'm not a real Uzumaki. Not like you or dad." Kotori brings her knees up to her chest.

"You're still going on about that, huh?"

"It's true." She conjures a feather between her fingers. "I'm something else. No one even knows what."

"Do you want to find out who your birth parents are? Your clan?" Karin asks in a serious tone, knowing how heavy the question is.

"Yes? No." Kotori buries her head in her knees. "I don't know. I really love it here and I love everyone here, but… Everyone has family to teach them their jutsu and I'm here all on my own."

"You're worried you won't grow as a kunoichi?" Karin surmises.

Kotori nods.

"Look, I'm probably not the best person to be giving advice but… you don't have to pick one or the other. You can still do your own thing while also being an Uzumaki. Just because you were adopted doesn't make you any less Naruto's family. He loves you, Hinata loves you, the rest of the Uzumaki do, too. So instead of worrying where you belong, firmly plant your feet in both places."

"I'll… try."

At this point, Esuka notices that Kotori has arrived but is staying on the side. She excuses herself from the small picnic she'd made with her toad and walks over to the young girl.

"Kotori." She calls out to grab her attention. "Do you want to come with us? Gamaton makes really tasty tea."

Kotori smiles and stands up. "Sure!"

Training Ground 3

With newfound vigour, Kotori has set her eyes set higher than ever. No more doubting, no more uncertainty. She's still not sure if toads are really for her, as she has other tricks in her arsenal, many of which she's yet to master, so for now she doesn't need to learn [Summoning].

Right now, she'll focus on what she can do.

[Ninja Art: Aerial Ace]

Her falcons zoom past her, becoming invisible to the untrained eye.

Naruto's trained eye sees them coming but he doesn't actually need to do anything to avoid them, as they miss wide.

Naruto looks back, scratching his head. "I mean, they're fast and strong. It's just…"

Kotori sighs. "I know. They're too fast for me to keep up."

"Nothing a little practice can't fix!" Naruto reassures her. "Still, if the rest of your birds can do stuff like this, you'll be an amazing kunoichi!"

Sasuke hops down from his tree. "I'm inclined to agree. From what Naruto's told me, this [Aviary] of yours has potential. Makes me wonder why I've never heard anything about it."

"Not even Orochimaru had anything about them?" Naruto asks.

"Not that I know of." Sasuke shrugs. "If he did, that intel belongs to the Hidden Mountain."

"What if we ask nicely?" Kotori asks, hopeful.

Sasuke shakes his head. "I doubt that would work. Things are already strained enough as is."

"Actually… why're you even here, Sasuke?"

"I was curious about this jutsu your daughter has."

Kotori gives a nervous laugh. "It's nothing impressive right now. I just barely got the hang of the falcon's ability."

"How'd you do it, actually." Naruto asks. "You said you had trouble figuring it out before, right?"

"Yeah, but I kinda… stumbled into it, I guess? The Raikage's book said the falcons and hawks go really fast so I kinda practiced a lot with the Body Flicker. I think I kinda… used the Body Flicker but on the birds and not on me? I think?"

Naruto scratches his head. "That sounds real complicated."

"It's pretty much what my Rinnegan picked up." Sasuke uncovers his left eye. "You were molding your chakra and channeling it through your birds. You don't always do it, but you can connect yourself to your birds and use jutsu through them. They're like an extension of yourself."

"Woah, really?" Kotori looks at her hands. "Is that how it works?"

"Is it?" Naruto looks confused.

"From what I can see. So you say you were trying to use the Flicker and then you accidentally created this… [Aerial Ace]?"

Kotori nods.

"So that means you just gotta learn a whole bunch of jutsu and use 'em through the birds!" Naruto exclaims.

"An oversimplification but that's the gist of it."

"Kotori, what does the book say about the other birds? What can they do?" Naruto sits down in front of her, seemingly even more excited about this than her.

"Uhh, lemme check." She reaches into her pouch and takes out the booklet given to her, of second-hand and third-hand stories about the Hoyoku clan. "Sooo some bigger birds are so strong they can break rocks. Like the ostrich! And I should be able to look through the eyes of small birds like my sparrows."

"Strong enough to break rocks, huh?" Naruto rubs his chin. "If it's about monstrous strength, we gotta ask Granny or Sakura about that."

"And connecting your senses through them. That sounds like something a Yamanaka can help with."

"You're right! I can ask Ino for… help. Although she already helped me a lot." Naruto grumbles.

"Help with what?" Sasuke raises a brow.

"Ah! Uhh, you know, clan stuff… Anyway, we know how your jutsu works!" Naruto grabs Kotori under her arms and picks her up, partly to bring attention away from what Ino helped him with. "You figured it out!"

Kotori desperately tries to hide her embarrassment. "P-put me down, I'm not a baby." She says but her smile is not actually hidden.

Naruto does as instructed but keeps Kotori in a side hug, his arm petting her head. "Right! We've cracked the secret! Now we gotta learn AAAAALL the jutsu!"

"Wha-?! All of them?" Kotori looks up in shock.

"Yep!"

"Don't exaggerate." Sasuke sighs. "Besides, you don't know what all of your birds should be able to do, right?"

Kotori nods. "Yeah. There's only a few written about."

"So it'll be a game of mixing and matching jutsu, huh?" Naruto rubs his chin. "Too bad the birds can't tell us about it."

"Would be easier if birds could talk." Kotori chuckles.

"Actually, they can." Sasuke states matter-of-factly.

"... They can?" Naruto and Kotori ask in unison.

"They can." Sasuke slightly unsheathes his katana, just enough to make a small cut on his palm. Going through a series of one handed seals, he slams his hand on the ground; jutsu formulae spreading from his palm.

[Ninja Art: Summoning]

A large puff of smoke covers the entire area, but it's quickly blasted away by the mighty wings of a giant hawk. It lets out a large caw and looks over its surroundings.

"We don't seem to be in danger." The hawk states. "What can I help you with, Sasuke?"

"Not me, Gaurda." Sasuke points to Kotori. "Her."

Garuda lowers his head to be level with the stunned Kotori. "Oh?"

"Y-y-you…" Kotori tries to stammer out her words.

"You?" Garuda cocks his head sideways.

"You can talk?!"

Garuda proudly ruffles his feathers. "Of course I can talk. What do you take me for?"

Naruto looks between Sasuke and Garuda. "Oh! I get it!"

"Nice of you to catch on. Kotori, show Garuda what you can do."

Kotori quickly goes through her seals. "Okay…"

[Aviary: Hawk]

A normal sized hawk, in stark contrast to the horse-sized one that Sasuke summoned, materializes as it usually does, flying around Garuda.

The great hawk follows the conjured one with admiration. "This is… the Hoyoku clan? I never thought I'd see it."

"Wait, you know about the Hoyoku clan?" Kotori asks in surprise.

"Naturally! There isn't an avian summoner who doesn't know of them. We thought them long dead."

"You mean there's more?!" Kotori's eyes sparkle.

"Many. Us hawks, the owls, the cranes, the roosters…" Garuda lists off.

"... Roosters?" Kotori furrows a brow. "Like… chicken?"

Garuda nods. "Yes. They're among the mightiest that I know, not just among the avians."

"... Chickens, though?"

"Garuda," Sasuke interrupts, "Am I to understand you're familiar with Kotori's jutsu?"

"I'm not but if this is what you need help with, I can ask the elders of my flock." Garuda caws.

"Would you really do that?" Naruto steps forward. "I know it's a lot to ask for, but-"

Garuda raises a wing. "I'll do it. I've heard many tales of the Hoyoku clan; their name is respected throughout the nesting grounds. I'm sure the others will be eager to help, too."

Kotori hops in place with glee, barely able to contain her excitement. "This is awesome!"

"Now we can really start training!" Naruto grins.

Uzumaki compound training grounds.

"When are we gona stop training?" Sen complains.

He's far too beaten up and soaking wet for any more of this. On the plus side, the toad he'd summoned, Gamachu, is pretty tired out, too.

Awaji laughs as he strokes his beard. "Are you not up for the challenge, Sen?"

"Easy for you to say, geezer." Sen wipes away mud from his face. "You're not here busting your ass."

Gamachu's eye twitches. He leaps forward, sending a massive fist crashing into Sen that's just barely blocked. "Watch yer damn mouth, brat! Respect yer elders, got it?!"

"Argh, you're so annoying!" Sen pushes back. "What's your deal, anyway?!"

"Naruto told us to getcha into shape, so dat's what we's gonna do." Gamachu cracks his neck.

Saki runs around and hides behind her elder brother. "Why do we have to learn [Summoning], anyway?"

Saki's companion toad struts toward her. "Honestly, running around like that isn't cute at all. You'll never find a boyfriend like this."

"This is how we're to bolster out strength. We've lost much of the knowledge we once possessed, so we must make up for it in other ways. The toads of Mount Myoboku have been gracious enough to allow us this opportunity to bolster ourselves. Don't squander it."

"Yeah, feeling real honoured." Sen mocks.

Michi walks over, her and her toad draping an arm over the other's shoulder. "I don't know what your deal is, these guys are great!"

Esuka nods in agreement. "You're simply too hard headed."

Naruto walks over from the spot he'd been observing from. "I mean, you don't have to do this, y'know; it was always voluntary. I don't wanna force anyone into something they don't wanna do."

Another Clone walks to the other half dozen Uzumaki who're also in varying stages of success with their bonding exercises.

"As if I'm gonna give up to a frog." Sen declares.

Gamachu gives a heavy croak. "Frog, huh? I'll show ya a frog, ya monkey!"

Saki slumps her shoulders. "I might be ready to give up. I just don't get toads."

"I believe in you, Saki." Esuka encourages her with a thumbs up.

Saki's eyes burn with a newfound determination. "With Esuka supporting me, there's nothing I can't do."

Sen slowly looks back at his sister. "You're too easy to manipulate..."

Kyodo, who'd organized the Uzumaki in the Hidden Sand, walks up to Awaji, apparently being on good terms with his toad, as well. "It's a new age for the clan, after all. Try as we might to restore what once was, it's easier said than done."

Awaji nods. "It is. I can teach what fuinjutsu I can, as can my son, but it will be a challenging task to rise to even a fraction of what we once were."

"The toads have a lot of knowledge that can help." Naruto states. "It's not what the Uzumaki is known for, but…"

"We can't look to the past forever, Lord Naruto." Kyodo looks to the Uzumaki still training with their toads. "We had a chance once and that took us down a road of isolation. The toads are legendary in their abilities and will help us go to achieve what we can be, not what we were."

"I agree." Awaji pats Naruto on the shoulder. "This is our future. The new Uzumaki clan. Perhaps some of our rank can prove skillful enough to master the sage arts." Awaji takes a glance at the ones currently training. "Or perhaps not."

Naruto chuckles. "I dunno, Gramps. I wasn't really the right type for it, either, but I kept at it. In time, they might all figure it out."

"Perhaps you're right."

At this point, a shinobi Flickers a fair distance behind Naruto. "Sir, Lady Fusuma is here to see you."

"Fusuma? I'll go see her." Naruto walks away from the group, already seeing Fusuma Senju standing in waiting by the edge of the clearing. "You guys keep at it! You're doing great.

"Doesn't feel like it." Sen butts head with Gamachu again.

-x-

"Yo!" Naruto greets Fusuma. "What brings you here."

"Thought I'd stop by to see how it's going." Fusuma nods in the direction of the trainees. "Looks fun."

"It's… going, alright." Naruto chuckles. "Jiraiya got me to learn it by throwing me off a cliff; wonder if that'll work here, too."

The older kunoichi laughs. "I'd advise against it."

Naruto leans against a tree, overlooking the training. "You've been checking up on us a lot. Thanks for being here."

"Well, we're family, after all. Have to make up for the lost years."

"Oh, yeah, the Uzumaki and the Senju are distant relatives, right?"

Fusuma shrugs. "It goes even deeper than that for me. Lady Tsunade told me about grandmother, about how she spent the last years of her life. I never could've imagined…"

"Yeah…" Naruto lowers his head before whipping it back up. "Wait, what grandmother?"

"Mine. Lady Mito." Fusuma states.

Naruto stares blankly. "... What grandmother?"

"Oh?" Fusuma scratches her cheek. "Did I not tell you? I'm the granddaughter of the First Hokage and Lady Mito, Lady Tsunade's cousin."

"WHAT?!" Naruto nearly falls from the shock. "Seriously? Why does no one tell me this stuff? For real, though? You're… really..."

Fusuma laughs again. "You don't have to be so surprised. Look." She smudges the make-up on her cheek, revealing underneath 2 whisker markings. A touch fainter than Naruto's, to the point where they're barely visible, but they're definitely there.

"Those markings… They're just like mine." Naruto almost reaches over to touch them but decides that's crossing a bit too many boundaries.

"Yeah." Fusuma runs her fingers across her whiskers. "They're a sign that one has a bit of Tailed Beast chakra mixed in with their own; a descendant of a jinchuriki."

Kurama gives an inquisitive growls inside Naruto's headspace. "I thought her chakra felt familiar…"

"But, hold on, Granny doesn't have these markings and she's Mito's granddaughter, too." Naruto observes.

"That's right. Lady Tsunade's mother was born before Lady Mito was a jinchuriki, so she has no connection to the Nine Tai- I mean to Kurama's chakra. My father was born after she became a host. He had markings just like yours, but they're very faded on me. Kashiwama doesn't even have any."

"I see… I thought these were because of Kurama, but they're actually 'cause mom was a jinchuriki..." Naruto reaches over to his own markings. "Man, this is a lot to take in…"

"Sorry for dropping it on you. I honestly thought you knew."

"I had no idea… You must be an even more amazing shinobi than I thought!" Naruto grins.

Fusuma lowers her head, allowing her bangs to cover her face. "Nothing of the sort. I'm nowhere even close to Grandfather or Grandmother, or even Lady Tsunade. I'm actually very weak, considering my bloodline." She looks up with a smile, trying to downplay the situation.

Naruto shakes his head. "I don't believe that for a second. Sure, the First was crazy strong but that doesn't make you weak. We all got our own strengths."

"You've a very optimistic person, you know that?"

"I've been told." Naruto laughs.

Fusuma pats him on the shoulder and turns to leave. "We'll talk again. Cousin."

Trivia

Canonically, Tsunade's parent had to have been born before Mito became a jinchuriki. And from Biwako Sarutobi from the flashback of Naruto's birth, we know for a fact that Mito gave birth at least once more after becoming a jinchuriki.

Author's Note

Did I name Kotori's new jutsu after a Pokemon move? Yes, yes I did.