A/N: Depending on when I upload this chapter, it may be late, and the main reason for that would be me returning to physical lessons. I apologize for that in advance.
Q&A Section (As well as other responses)
Archangel Xireon Chaos God: Not sure if it is mentioned yet in the anime, so spoilers ahead if the manga has not been read! Beast Breathing is the breathing form Inosuke created. Again, I cannot thank you enough for the compliment, and I sincerely hope you continue to enjoy this story. Also, Kushina will be making an appearance, as for when... That remains to be seen, doesn't it?
Silber D. Wolf: Thanks a lot!
LavenderRug9960: Thanks for the compliment, I will address your questions immediately. One, unfortunately, Kyojuro will not be related to Tanjiro in any way. Second, also, unfortunately, Naruto will not be discovering Beast Breathing, and will instead be using an original form derived from Flame Breathing. Third, Naruto's relationship with Tamayo. Without spoiling too much, they will share a relationship close to Naruto and Gaara's in Shippuden, as in they both understand each other, unfortunately, she will not be paired with Naruto.
SolSparda369: Close, but not exactly. Kudos to you for trying regardless though.
volcarison30: Respectfully, without spoiling what happens, I will safely say that Susamaru will not be paired with Naruto, nor will she have any sort of relationship with Naruto beyond Demon Slayer and Demon. Mitsuri will be the single pairing for Naruto, and as for the breathing style, Naruto will be using a form derived from Flame Breathing.
Guest: Well, I have no planned explanation for that, but let's just say they were the only ones in Naruto's mind... Besides Kushina of course.
With that all out of the way, the show goes on.
"Talking"
'Thinking'
"'Kyuubi or Naruto(berserk) talking or thinking'"
-Rengoku Household [Naruto's Training(Night 1)]-
Naruto dropped his bokken onto the ground, before he fell to his knees in pure exhaustion, his white kimono lent to him by Kyojuro being stained by his perspiration as puddles of sweat dripped down from his face.
"I-" Naruto began to say in between greedy breathes for air, "Kyojuro-sensei, I did it!"
"That's good to hear," Kyojuro congratulated, "Now do it a thousand more times."
Naruto's jaw dropped, but not wanting to disappoint his new teacher, he picked himself up again. As Naruto picked up his bokken again, Kyojuro made a single hand gesture.
"I was messing with you, Young Uzumaki," Kyojuro revealed with a laugh. "You did well... Naruto, let's have a five-minute break."
"But, Kyojuro-sensei, I can still go on!" Naruto yelled.
Kyojuro smiled slightly, before shaking his head. 'He does remind me a lot of myself when I was his age...' Kyojuro placed his right arm on Naruto's shoulder, "Look, Naruto, you don't mind if I call you that, right?" Kyojuro asked before Naruto nodded in confirmation. "It's great that you're showing this much enthusiasm, but you should never over-exert yourself, no matter if you're in training or actual combat, got it?"
"Alright then, Kyojuro-sensei," Naruto replied, accepting the break.
Naruto sat on the wooden floor next to Kyojuro, looking at his reflection in his cup of tea. Noticing Naruto's visible discomfort, Kyojuro looked up at his student.
"Anything the matter, Naruto?" Kyojuro asked.
Naruto stayed silent, drawing Kyojuro's attention more. Noticing Kyojuro's persistence, Naruto replied.
"I'm alright," Naruto replied.
"You sure?" Kyojuro asked once more.
"Yeah, I'm sure," Naruto stated.
"You don't look alright," Kyojuro replied, "So I'll ask you again, are you alright?"
"I-" Naruto began to say, only to cut himself off as tears began to slowly stream down his face. "You know when- Like how- Like-"
"Relax, Naruto," Kyojuro encouraged.
Naruto took a deep breath, before beginning to explain again. "Do you know what it feels like... To, like, look up to someone you never really knew, and then when you finally meet that person, that person becomes an important part of your life... And then he just, like, disappears? As in, like, leaves your life?"
"I," Kyojuro began, only to realize he has no actual answer. "I don't know..."
"My father, the Fourth Hokage..." Naruto began to explain, "I never knew him in person, only in my conscience, I suppose... He was always the man my village looked up to and was a hero to his laugh breath... My father's greatest gift? His greatest gift was to give me life and to make me feel valued. In his own words... If I can do something, for others, especially if it was a good thing, I have a moral obligation to do them. But... Could I do it? I failed to save my village's leader during an invasion, I failed to save my best friend..."
"And you will continue to fail," Kyojuro suddenly stated, causing Naruto to further frown. "That, however... Is not necessarily a bad thing. I have failed plenty of times before, there have been many people, innocent people at that, that I have failed to save... But mistakes... Are just that, a missed-take, it's what proves that we are human, humans are flawed, humans stumble, but importantly, humans learn. Ultimately, you will fail, but that's alright, there's nothing wrong with that... One day, you'll understand that too..."
"But, what if- What if I'm not strong enough to make a difference?" Naruto asked.
"It's not our power, that matters, Naruto, it never was, and it never will," Kyojuro explained, "It is our choices, Naruto, that define us as people, far more than our actual abilities. Always remember that..." Kyojuro looked up to the sky, staring at the thousands of stars littered across the ceaseless night. "Long ago... My mother once told me that my purpose to be born is to protect others... And with her death, she had taught me one final lesson, one about mortality and the eventuality of death... In the end, all flesh is grass. I won't be here forever... And I do not want to burden my younger brother with my responsibilities, so..." Kyojuro turned to Naruto, "... I hope that... When I eventually fall, you harness your full potential, and fill the void that my death will leave behind."
Kyojruo stood up again, picking up a gourd before passing it to Naruto.
"Next up, we'll be beginning your breathing training," Kyojruo stated, pointing towards a large tank of water. "I want you to dip your head inside that tank, and hold it for at least four minutes."
"That's not that hard, right?" Naruto asked, looking into the tank, "Also, how do I know when the four minutes are up?"
"Well... I guess I'll teach you the way my father had once taught me," Kyojuro declared.
Before Naruto was able to ask about the method, Kyojuro held onto the back of Naruto's head, before pushing Naruto face-down into the tank full of water, holding him down with exceptional strength.
"Naruto should be fine..." Kyojuro assured himself. "Right?"
'Alright, gotta just not open my mouth,' Naruto thought while underwater. Half a minute later, Naruto's right eye began to start closing slightly. 'I'm getting kinda dizzy...'
"You stupid kit," The Kyuubi suddenly stated, "Ever thought of asking me for help?"
'Be quiet,' Naruto demanded, 'I'll get this done myself.'
"Suit yourself, kit," Kyuubi replied. "But why?"
'There are no shortcuts to success, Kyuubi,' Naruto thought.
"That's true," Kyuubi acknowledged, "But there are things that you just can't do alone."
'Case in point?' Naruto asked.
"Your father knew better than to fight alone-" Kyuubi began to say, only for Naruto to abruptly leave their conversation short.
'Focus, Naruto,' Naruto thought to himself, trying to rile himself up. 'You can do this.'
Outside of the water, Mitsuri walked up to both Naruto and Kyojuro.
"Umm, Kyojuro-san..." Mitsuri began to ask, "What are you two doing?"
"Oh?" Kyojuro asked, "I was trying to teach Young Naruto to control his breathing."
"What was the time limit you set?" Mitsuri asked.
"Four minutes," Kyojuro replied casually.
"But, aren't the standards for beginners two minutes?" Mitsuri asked with a sense of worry.
"Well, it's been three minutes, and there are no bubbles yet, so he isn't drowning just yet," Kyojuro explained, "So it should be fine."
Suddenly, the ground began to shake slightly, as Mitsuri turned towards Naruto.
"Umm, Kyojuro-san..." Mitsuri stated, pointing towards Naruto with his head in the water tank. "Is Naruto-kun supposed to be glowing orange?"
Kyojuro turned towards Naruto, only to notice what Mitsuri had been referring to. An orange aura circulated Naruto, as the water in the tank began to ripple more and more.
'He's in this state again...' Kyojuro thought, rethinking their confrontation with the Shizuoka Seven the night prior. 'If anything... He should be able to survive this without any issues now...'
'This orange light around Naruto-Kun...' Mitsuri thought, 'It's strangely beautiful in a way...'
Suddenly, bubbles arose from under the water, as the tank began to shake slightly.
"Young Naruto, are you alright?" Kyojuro asked, only for Naruto to raise a thumbs-up, shocking Kyojuro. "No way..."
"What is it, Kyojuro-san?" Mitsuri asked.
"Normally when you see the bubbles, it means that someone's drowning..." Kyojuro began to explain, "But Young Naruto is still well conscious and alive, and isn't struggling... That would only mean... He's breathing underwater..."
Before long, the entire tank shattered from its base, the water overflowing from the broken tank. Naruto lifted his head upon Kyojuro's loosening of his grip, looking up at both his sensei and Mitsuri.
'Incredible...' Kyojuro thought, 'He held his breath for six minutes... No, he managed to breathe underwater...'
"So, how did I do?" Naruto asked with a smirk, the orange aura vanishing from sight.
-An Unknown Location-
Standing in front of a bookshelf, Muzan slammed his book shut, as his eyes widened.
"He's returned..." Muzan said to himself, smashing the book into the bookshelf, crushing it under the weight of his strength. Muzan sighed, before taking a seat on an armchair in the room, placing his fingers on his temple.
All around Japan, the Upper Moons and Lower Moons alike froze in their tracks, before all thinking of the same thing. 'Our master calls... Something is going on...'
-The Next Morning-
"So, Young Naruto," Kyojuro began to ask, "Do you know what you have to do in regards to your training today?"
"I- I don't," Naruto replied.
"That's because I haven't told you yet," Kyojuro replied, as a crow suddenly flew overhead and began to caw continuously. "Unfortunately... It seems your training will have to be placed on hold today... I have a Hashira meeting to attend to."
"Aw, that's too bad then..." Naruto replied, "Then, I guess I'll just practice Ninjutsu."
"I see..." Kyojuro stated, picking up his sword. "I take it there are still techniques of which you deem useful?"
"Yeah," Naruto replied.
Just as Kyojuro turned to leave, Mitsuri ran into the room.
"Wait!" Mitsuri yelled, catching the attention of both Naruto and Kyojuro. "Take Naruto-kun with you, Uzui-san wants to meet him!"
"Ah, well then..." Kyojuro began, "Looks like you will have something to do then, that's good. Be careful of Sanemi-san, though, he kicked me in the head the first time we met."
'This is gonna be rough, isn't it?' Naruto thought.
-Omake(Naruto and Kurama's conversation after Minato's goodbye)-
"It's my mind," Naruto replied. "Thank you, thank you for watching over me... Thank you for saving me... Thank you for showing me all this."
The Kyuubi stayed silent for a bit, before looking to the side. "Look, kit, I know you've locked me away for years at this point... I know I scare you. What I've done, what I am, and what I represent..."
Naruto looked at the Kyuubi, wiping the tears from his eyes.
"But before anyone else, I was always there for you, protecting you," Kyuubi stated, "And I'll always protect you, always remember that."
Naruto walked towards the Kyuubi's cage.
"... 'Cause I love you, you stupid kit," Kyuubi stated with a rare chuckle, "Somebody had to."
"... Thank you Kyuubi..." Naruto replied as the Kyuubi began to fade from view. "All this time... I resented you, but... I never truly understood... The sheer extent to which you had cared for me..."
"No problem, kit," Came the Kyuubi's voice. "Always remember, that I'll back you up, no matter what."
A/N 2: Sorry for the shorter chapter, but I had been running on a time limit since I'm returning to physical lessons. That said, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and the little surprise at the end.