Wow! Never knew I could type this fast on my cell. But anyways, here's a quick update. And also, several of you guys are complaining that this fic is getting boring in the last chapters, and I admit that there has been second to none action, so I'll try to work on that. And remember that the genre of this fic is Adventure/Romance, so I'll also have to work on the romance department and character development ofcourse (which you find boring and in the future would complain about plot holes being in this fic). So yeah, I'm developing the plot, stating the facts which are gonna be used in the long run.

Do note that I have this fic very FAR planned out, and there's a reason I'm doing these things, which are not exciting I'll admit, but they are important nonetheless and will be the basis for the events happening in the future. And if you want action, don't worry cause when I get to the finals, there would be PLENTY of it. ^_^ But before that, I have to develop & explain several things. So with nothing else to rant about, let's begin with this sucker-

Chapter-20-Partial Ascension!

'Kawai...beautiful', he thought as he saw her unhappy pouty expression.

"What do you mean you're not a child? You're still my baby...and how dare you say that when I was worried so much for you...hmph...meanie, I'm not gonna talk to you", she pouted childishly as she turned her head back, while inwardly she was just relieved that he was alright. Seeing the destruction on that street, she was getting worried sick for him.

"O-Oi...Kaa-san! I was just joking...c'mon, please?", pleaded Naruto while Kushina's eyes widened when she saw four VERY familiar figures staring at her like she was a ghost.

"K-Kushina-nee-chan?", stuttered Yugao while the other three had their jaws flat on the ground, they couldn't believe their eyes!

'Oh my god...he really was speaking the truth...and I thought it was just another one of his pranks', thought Anko as she rubbed her eyes a few times to ensure that it was not a dream.

"Oh my...they grow so fast!", mumbled Kushina to herself, she had just seen them yesterday, all small girls playing around her, calling her nee-chan.

"Kaa-san...I think you should go first", whispered Naruto while the ice queens just stood there in stunned silence.

"Um...what should I do? I only saw them yesterday jumping around your little form when I gave birth to you...they are the ones who are seeing me after thirteen years...shouldn't they do something first?", asked Kushina quietly as if they were discussing battle strategy while Naruto sweatdropped.

'No doubt my genes came from her', he thought.

Meanwhile Kurenai eyes were narrowed as she thought it was some sort of trick.

"Naruto...if this is one of your pranks then I'm seriously gonna castrate you", warned Kurenai with narrowed eyes while other three too were glaring at Naruto, who was inwardly crying anime tears.

'Why is it always me?', he thought before his eyebrows began twitching when he realised that his perverted tenant was still sleeping.

"I'm getting cornered here and your sleeping soundly huh? WAKE THE HELL UP AYUMI OR I'LL KICK YOUR ASS!", he yelled inwardly when he heard her shuffling a bit in his mindscape.

"Huh...yeah...'yawn'...play with my ass Naruto-kun", she almost moaned, her eyes sleepy as she again started to snore lightly while Naruto blushed at her words.

'On a second thought...just go back to sleep', he thought before zooming out.

"Hey! Why are you threatening Naru-kun?...Kurenai-chan...you three, it really is me", Kushina said with a frown.

"Prove it that you're Uzumaki Kushina", said Hana with a suspicious gaze. The village had tried it's million best to atleast find a trace of Kushina thirteen years ago. Naruto's story...it just wasn't logical.

Meanwhile Kushina sighed as she just did a one hand half-ram seal, while Naruto's & ice-queen's eyes widened whey say the light blue outline of chakra bordering her form, her tendrils of red hair getting lifted a bit before a massive circular wall of water formed out of nothing in midair and surrounded the group. All of them were slack-jawed while Naruto had a look of amazement on his face as he gazed at the massive water structure, several meters high which was surrounding them from all directions.

Their forms were shadowed because of the massive circular wall, water drops falling on them, birds flying out of their nests because of the disturbance while Kushina just kept her half-ram seal in position, a smirk on her face, not even looking winded after performing such a feat.

'Holy piece of my shit! I knew she was strong and had godly affinity for water but this is ridiculous! Without handseals and harnessing water out of thin air...and using a jutsu at such massive scale...this is a water wall technique...and she looks to have used shape manipulation on it. Amazing! Will I even be able to ever catch upto her?', thought Naruto in astonishment as he looked at the colossal water wall with wide eyes.

Meanwhile the ice queens too weren't faring any better as they looked around amazed, like they were being enchanted by the mesmerizing water wall surrounding them, sun rays pouring through the liquid obstruction as if being purified by it and falling on their forms

'Wow...I guess...this really is Kushina-nee-chan', thought Anko as few tears streamed down her face before the water wall slowly fell on the ground, dampening the ground with the grass becoming wet.

"So...you believe me now Hana-chan", said Kushina with a smirk before she felt herself being crushed in a four person death hug.

"NEE-CHAN!", they yelled in unison as the five fell to the ground, four of them immediately breaking into uncontrollable sobs as they hugged Kushina tighter to them, tears of unexplainable happiness falling down their faces as Naruto watched the touching scene with a smile on his face.

"We...missed you Kushina-nee-chan! Why did you leave us & Naruto-kun?", said Kurenai as she wrapped her arms around Kushina's waist while trying to control her sobs. Meanwhile Kushina had a sad smile on her face as she hugged all of them tightly, these four were very precious to her. Kushina had always considered them her little sisters and had shared everything with them. They along with Naruto were bundles of joy for her whom she would do anything to protect. Lovingly caressing Kurenai's back, she spoke in her own quivering voice.

"I'm sorry Kurenai-chan...your big sister couldn't be with you four & Naru-kun, but now I'm back and would never leave you", she said as the four of them started to cry harder making her sweatdrop.

'Did I said something wrong', she thought with a silly smile on her face. Lifting up Anko's crying face, she wiped the snake mistress's tears before caressing her cheek.

"Anko-chan...I'm sorry that you got the curse mark and had to suffer so much", said Kushina with few tears welling up in her eyes while Anko just shook her head, her eyes teary.

'Why do women look so cute when they cry with happiness', thought Naruto as he just watched the scene with a smile on his face.

"N-No...I'm just happy that y-you're back N-Nee-chan. As long as I h-have you, Naru-kun a-and my best friends, I would be fine...besides N-Naru-kun suffered much more than me...why did you leave him, he needed you", said Anko, her voice almost getting angry at the last line while Kushina just had a sad look on her face.

"That...Naruto-kun has already explained Anko-chan", said Yugao after getting control over her raging emotions before Anko nodded her head hesitantly as she remembered what Naruto had told them. As ridiculous as it was, Kushina was alive in front of them, so Naruto must be telling the truth.

"I'm proud of you four...becoming jounins at such young age, having created your reputation throughout Konoha. And thanks for atleast trying to take care of Naruto-kun", said Kushina with grateful eyes.

"Naruto-kun is like our brother Nee-chan...we'll be always there for him", said Hana before Kushina grinned an all-knowing grin, making the four of them nervous that she knew everything.

"Brother huh? Is that the only way you feel for Naru-kun...huh Hana-chan, Kurenai-chan, Yugao-chan, Anko-chan?", said Kushina making the four of them blush as they averted their gazes while Naruto had his eyes widened as he had heard with his sensitive hearing.

'I knew that Kurenai-chan liked me...but Anko-chan, Hana-chan & Yugao-chan too? Well I like all four of them...who wouldn't? But do I like them only because of their looks or is there something else? Kurenai-chan...she has this mysterious elegance around her, she's caring, kind...well, only to selected people and when she smiles, it makes me feel like butterflies are squinting around in my stomach. Anko-chan...her personality is so bright, even after suffering so much, she's also kind, cheery, can lift the mood in any situation, she loves pranks just like me! But the most important thing is that I feel this need to embrace her, it's as if her heart is still fragile, she also needs love just like me, but if she too likes me, then I should take the first step. And Yugao & Hana...it's been like six years since I have interacted with them, I just wanna know these two better', thought Naruto, absorbed in his own thoughts as he watched the scene before suddenly an evil grin came across his face.

"SAY CHEESE!", all five of them lifted their heads ( with Kushina looking back over her head), before their vision was filled with a bright flash of light.

"Naruto-kun wha...", trailed Yugao in surprise as she rubbed her eyes to get it to adjust with the normal light. They opened their eyes for them to be widened when they saw Naruto standing there with a large grin on his face.

"Hehe...I wonder how much will remain of your ice queen image if everyone sees this", he said with a devious smile while the four prodigies had looks of horror on their faces.

"You wouldn't dare!", said Kurenai in a shocked tone making Naruto's grin widen, making the four of them gulp nervously.

"Ehehe...you think so?", he said, his mischievous grin looking more threatening than Orochimaru's cackle of madness to them.

"Oh come on Kurenai-chan...can't you see? He's just joking", said Anko with a nervous smile as she patted Kurenai's back.

"Yeah...she's right...you wouldn't do such a thing would you Naruto-kun?", asked Hana with a confident smile while Yugao had a nervous expression on her face.

'Oh Kami...what if he really does it...my precious reputation!', thought the kenjutsu mistress while praying that Naruto was only joking.

"Oh I don't know...I also have a reputation of a great prank master to keep you know", he said while twirling the camera in his hands, grinning widely as their faces paled simultaneously. Kushina had an amused smirk on her face while the four of them slowly released her and stood up as they calmly dusted their clothes, collective sweet smiles on their faces. They looked at each other, eyes closed as they nodded to each other. Naruto immediately leaped on a branch above and started to run when he saw them dash towards him at amazing speeds.

"GIVE THAT BACK NARUTO!", he heard them yell from behind him as his laughter echoed throughout the forest.

"HAHAHA...CATCH ME IF YOU CAN ICE QUEENS!", he yelled back but after a while they quickly caught upto him with their high speeds.

"HA! Give me that!", exclaimed Anko as she snatched the camera off his hands while they had Naruto into a lock as each of them held him tightly to a trunk.

"Hey! C'mon...I was only joking", he said with a pout while they had hid the camera somewhere miraculously.

"Hehe...now who's on the top Naruto-kun?", said Hana with a grin making him sigh in defeat.

"Hn! If it wasn't for my injuries, I had give you guys a run for your money", he said while Yugao's eyes widened when she saw the bandages on his stomach due to his civilian shirt getting crinkled up.

"What's this?", she said with narrowed eyes as she gazed at Naruto, while other's eyes widened too when they saw his whole wrapped up stomach.

"Y-Your stomach too...Naruto-kun, who did this to you?", asked Kurenai while he just averted his eyes making them angry.

"I did this", they turned back to see Kushina standing there with a sad expression on her face.

"Nee-chan? What?", asked Anko with a shocked expression.

"Anko-chan...it was for training...I was just injured", said Naruto before he was silenced by a glare from Kurenai.

"What kind of training is this? Beating him to a bloody pulp?", asked Hana furiously while Kushina just sighed.

"This is mainly to train his naked eye, increase his speed by pushing him to the limit, developing his sixth sense, endurance, pain tolerance...and maybe, when his life is in danger, he could activate the second level of Rinnegan", she said making all of their eyes widen in shock.

"There's a second level to the Rinnegan?", asked Yugao in shock.

"Y-You were aiming for that too?", asked Naruto in astonishment that she had planned so ahead in one night. Although he knew that she must have had some ulterior motives to train him like that, but he never thought that her thoughts had gone this far. Kushina nodded as she continued.

"But this kind of training which I've already planned would happen once in a week, as your body wouldn't be able to keep up with the constant stress", she said with a serious expression while the ice queens nodded.

"Then what will I train in for the rest of the week?", he said as the four of them released him while he tied his shirt back, with Anko having a blush on her face as she stared at his muscled chest making Kurenai roll her eyes at her.

'Geez! You might want to see the situation girl', she thought.

"For the rest of the week Naru-kun...you will learn the art of fuinjutsu", she said with a smirk while the grin on Naruto's face couldn't have been wider.

"Awesome Kaa-san!", he exclaimed while ice queens just stood there dumbfounded.

"Are you sure nee-chan?", said Kurenai with a raised eyebrow.

"Fuinjutsu is a very difficult art to even understand...and he's only thirteen years old", said Yugao with a hesitant expression while Naruto frowned.

"Age doesn't matter in the world of shinobi Yugao-chan...Itachi-sensei became an Anbu captain when he was thirteen", he said in disapproval while Yugao sighed.

"Fine...do whatever you want", she said with a sigh while Naruto put his hand on her shoulder.

"Believe me...I know I can do it!", he said with a wide smirk as he clenched his fist with determination making Kushina smile.

"Baka", whispered Yugao as she shook her head while chuckling to herself.

"Yeah! I know whisker-chan can do it!", said Anko with a grin making Naruto's eyebrows twitch in irritation.

"You're still using that retarded name?", he asked while Anko just pouted.

"Aww...c'mon, it's such a cute name...just like you", she said with a smile while ruffling his hair making him blush which he tried to cover by an expression of irritation making Kushina giggle at his behaviour as the group shared laughter making Naruto further blush in embarrassment.

However their expressions suddenly became serious when they felt another presence among them.

"Come out whoever it is", said Kushina in a cold voice when an Anbu blurred out of a tree and landed in front of her, making her sigh in relief. She had thought it to be an enemy or something.

"K-Kushina-sama...you're really alive...I couldn't believe that Hokage-sama was speaking the truth", exclaimed the Anbu in shock before he quickly composed himself while Naruto had an eyebrow raised.

'I've never seen any Anbu talk with emotion in his/her voice...must be a reaaallllyyyy big shocker for them', he thought as he saw Kushina sigh.

"Hai...now tell me, why have you come here?", she said with a raised eyebrow as she glanced away to see that the her little sisters were back in their 'ice queen mode'.

"Hokage-sama asked for your presence in the jounin's meeting which would be taking place shortly", he said while Kushina nodded before he shunshined out of their vision.

"Seems like we have to go...I guess this meeting was to announce your arrival", said Hana while Kushina nodded with her.

"See you later Naruto-kun", said Kurenai with a smile before kissing him on the cheek making him blush.

"Hey! That's not fair!", yelled Anko before Kurenai winked at her & shunshined out of the forest. Not wanting to be left behind, Anko too kissed him on the cheek lovingly followed by Hana & Yugao, the latter of whom was a bit shy before shunshining out of the arena leaving behind a red tomato which was Naruto's face. Meanwhile Kushina had watched the scene with a smile.

'Those four are definitely gonna make lovely wives for Naru-kun', she thought before walking towards Naruto who looked at her, the blush still on his face.

"See you later Naru-kun", she said with a smile before kissing him lovingly on the forehead.

"And stay out of trouble...also, from now on, I don't want you using Shinra Tensei & Banshou Tenin whenever you feel like...you saw what using one of those techniques in excess did to you earlier. You haven't mastered your gravity element and hence it's untrained usage is dangerous for you...so I advise you to use it only in the extreme case or until you have reached to an appropriate level in gravity nature manipulation. The same goes with your Rinnegan...don't just use it for show-off or to look cool in other's eyes...keep its use low so you can use it as a trump card when you fight. You're doujutsu training too I've thought of, so don't worry about anything just rest for today, ne?", she said with a smile while Naruto just drank in everything she had said. Nobody had guided him in his life, and he was not going to ignore what she had said.

"Thanks Kaa-san", he said with a warm smile making her heart melt, her eyes saddening when she remembered how she beat him today.

"Naru-kun...I'm sorry for this morning, but do remember that it would benefit you in the long run", she said with teary eyes before hugging him tightly, as if reassuring herself that he was still in her embrace, within her arm's reach, that she could still touch him.

"Don't be Kaa-san...after all, it's for the first time in my life that someone has hit me for my own welfare", he said with a chuckle as he hugged her back making her giggle a bit. Then...as if on impulse, as if his body acting on itself, on desire, he suddenly pushed her back with his hands on her shoulders, a confused expression on her face. Quickly leaning in, he kissed her on the lips, almost like a peck as it lasted for a second or two but enough to discharge electric bolts through their forms when their lips touched in a chaste kiss.

Pulling back after the really tantalizing short kiss, he grinned at her before shunshining out himself. Meanwhile Kushina had a dark tomato blush on her face, as she touched her lips, as if she was still entranced by that short but sensual kiss, as if still savoring the feel of his lips on hers, before she broke into a sweet bright smile.

Timeskip: Next Day: 5 AM

"Alright, so listen up Naru-kun...today I want to test your limits against Anko-chan...and from there, I'll decide in what areas you're lacking. Although I've gone through your memories I still want to see how you fair against Anko-chan. Except Ayumi's chakra...everything is allowed", ordered Kushina as now they were standing in the forest of death. Anko had persuaded Kushina yesterday to let her help train Naruto. Although Kurenai, Yugao & Hana too wanted to help him, but Kushina decided that Anko was sufficient enough. Also, Kurenai had to train her team too, Yugao was on a mission whereas Hana was busy with her clan duties.

"Don't hold back Naruto...cause I won't", said Anko with a smirk as she popped her knuckles while a completely healed Naruto stood beside her.

"Huh...you said something?", he said with an innocent expression making a vein pop on Anko's forehead.

'Oh he's so gonna get it from me...and Kakashi, just you wait...I'll kick your ass into the next village for spoiling my Naru-kun', she thought with a devious grin while Kushina had to suppress a giggle at their antics.

"And Anko-chan...try not to use the curse mark here...like I said yesterday, Naru-kun would remove that stain from you today", said Kushina with a serious expression while Anko was restraining the urge to climb the Hokage tower and yell with happiness 'TAKE THAT YOU SNAKE BASTARD!', before she nodded at Kushina's request.

"This area has been surrounded by a seal barrier, so you don't have to worry about anyone sensing your chakra in the village", said Kushina as she leaped on a branch above while Naruto and Anko stared at each with serious expressions, their eyes cold as they prepared to give their all.

'Alright...she's a jounin...a prodigy hailed even by Orochimaru once...so by all standards of logic, her speed & strength should be higher than mine. But I have ninjutsu with tons of chakra to spare along with my lightning fist taijutsu...I'll have to be careful here', he thought as he slipped into a basic stance, his attention full on his opponent as he slipped just a minor amount of youki in his eyes & ears.

"You'll have to do more than just basic taijutsu Naru-kun", said Anko with a smirk, hoping to rile him up while he just stared at her in utter seriousness & concentration.

"Whenever you are ready you two!", yelled Kushina from above, standing on the branch as she waited with anticipation as to how Naruto would handle Anko.

Meanwhile Anko slipped into her own version of snake style. Deciding to begin the show, Naruto immediately threw a kunai in her direction with amazing blurry speed which took Anko with surprise. He was a genin and even if he was much stronger than a genin, she had thought that his strength was on par with chunin level but the speed with which the kunai was thrown was atleast low-jounin.

However she herself was considered an elite one and just as she was about to dodge the kunai easily, her eyes widened when it poofed to reveal Naruto who aimed for a punch at her mid-section which she dodged before striking it with a blurred devastating strike.

'Hm...nice one...his speed is off the charts for someone his age', thought Kushina while Anko's eyes again widened as a punch followed through the dispelled clone's smoke. Using her trained & fast reflexes, she grabbed hold of his arm before flipping him over her shoulder.

'Heh...so he used the clone as a distraction...not bad Naru-kun...atleast better than before when you attacked with your clones head on', thought Anko as she went through a few handseals while Naruto corrected himself in mid-air.

"Katon: Karyuu Endan (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Projectile)",she yelled as she exhaled hot flames from her mouth forming a large dragon which sped towards Naruto whose eyes were widened as he gazed at the deadly jutsu. He could feel the heat even from far away as it approached him with high speed, almost like it was roaring in anger as if it was eager to decimate him.

'Shit! No time for any handseals...gotta do something fast', he thought as he saw, while in midair, the fire dragon closing the distance at astonishing speeds. Suddenly an idea kicking him, he put his hand in front of a large branch which was coming sideways while his body was descending. Just as the branch was in front of him, he released a gravity pulse just like before of enough strength to push his body sideways and hence was barely able to dodge the blazing dragon while his shirt was burnt a bit due to him not being able to completely dodge it. Landing on the ground, he was again surprised when the fire dragon changed its course in mid-air and descended towards him with even greater speed than before due to addition of gravitational force.

'No way! She knows fire shape manipulation...Kakashi-sensei did say that fire was the most difficult element to control', he thought in astonishment before quickly performing agile fast faced handseals before slamming both of his hands on the ground.

"Hyouton: Kōri Enkyanpu no Baria! (Ice Release: Ice Encampment Wall)", he yelled, pushing what would be large amounts of chakra for a chunin. Immediately a wall of ice rose from the grassy ground as it was in front of Naruto protectively just in time to clash with the raging fire dragon. But to Naruto's surprise, the dragon bursted into small batters of flames while his ice wall slowly melted into water due to the heat.

His hands still on the ground, his eyes widened when his youkified ears picked up extremely subtle sounds of someone approaching.

'Behind me!', he thought before, he performed a handstand helicopter kick for it to come in contact with Anko's jaw, who puffed into smoke after hosting the kick.

'Shit! A kage bunshin...', he thought as he jumped off his hands to stand on the wet grass due to the ice melting. Looking around, he saw that it was eerily quiet and that the area was covered in steam due to the water evaporating, thus leaving Anko nowhere to be found. Thrusting his chakra enhanced foot on the water logged soil which resulted in water droplets splashing all around him, he quietly activated his Rinnegan while the droplets were around him in midair before going through another set of handsigns.

"Hyouton: Sensatsu Suishou (Ice Release: Thousand Flying Water Needles)", he whispered to himself when he had located her chakra network due to his Rinnegan. The mid-aired water droplets turned into sharp ice needles before they were hurled with even greater speeds than the previously thrown kunai in the direction of where Anko was standing.

Though his eyes widened when the chakra network disappeared after the needles had hit.

'Another shadow clone?', he thought in confusion before his sensitive ears picked up hissing sounds as he immediately substituted away just in time to avoid a snake, whose poisonous fangs pierced the substituted wood plank.

"That was a close one Naru-kun...you better pay attention next time", said Anko with a grin as the snake retracted back to who knows where inside her sleeve.

'Damn! I'm a close range fighter, there's no use in keeping my distance from her. I'll just engage her in taijutsu', he thought while standing behind a tree trunk before thinking of a tactic.

"Kirigakure no Jutsu (Hidden Mist Technique)", he whispered after going through a short set of handseals. Although this technique was a secret of Kirigakure no Sato, apparently Itachi had copied it during one of his confrontations and had taught it to Naruto as it was a really useful technique, specially for the doujutsu users.

Eventually, the area was covered in mist, though not as heavy as Zabuza as he still wasn't proficient in this technique. Rinnegan activated he looked back besides the trunk before his eyes widened in shock when he saw a huge chakra source coming at him with tremendous speeds.

Immediately diving to the right, he barely avoided being gulfed down by it's wide open mouth. Leaping on a branch he threw several shuriken at the large summon.

'She's using summons...I see , she's using a snake's ability of finding its prey by vibrating it's tongue to find my position...clever indeed Anko-chan', he thought with a smirk before going through another set of handseals.

"Fuuton: Shuriken Kage Bunshin Jutsu! (Wind Release: Shadow Shuriken Clone Technique)", he yelled before the wind natured chakra coated shuriken pierced through the summon easily making it dispell immediately.

"Doton: Earo Boruda (Earth Release: Aero Boulder)", he heard Anko shout out the name of the technique before large boulders of earth were thrown at him.

'Earth Release too? Man she's strong...she's countering my every move and the fact that she's matching me in ninjutsu is really something', he thought after landing on the ground, dodging the thrown chunks of earth. Meanwhile Anko was getting frustrated and wanted to end this game of cat & mouse.

Though she did remember what Kushina had said to her yesterday.

"Anko-chan...when you spar with Naruto, make sure to put him in a life-death situation atleast once. That's the only way to make him stronger in short amount of time...a body will exceed its limits when it is in mortal peril. I know this is not the best way...but there's little of what we can do. I've seen how strong that mysterious masked man was and it's important that we make Naru-kun stronger as fast as possible. It's difficult for me too...but going through Naru-kun's memories I know that he's probably the best survivor in Konoha. I trust in his abilities...and I have my faith in Ayumi-chan too"

'Guess it's time for the most difficult part...I'll just use of those really destructive jutsus', she thought before she started performing extremely fast paced long set of handseals. Meanwhile Naruto's eyes widened when he saw Anko's chakra spiking up to incredible amounts.

'I never knew she had this much chakra', he thought.

"Naruto-kun...be prepared, she's gonna pull something serious out there", warned Ayumi

"HAAAAAAHHHHHHH", screamed Anko as chakra became visible around her while Naruto grew nervous as her chakra levels kept rising, reaching to kage level reserves, her eyes now a glowing shade of blue which were overflowing with chakra.

Meanwhile Kushina's eyes too were widened as she saw Anko's chakra levels rise, though it still dwarfed in comparison to her own & Naruto's, it was stillmind buggling. She wasn't an Uzumaki nor a jinchuriki and Kushina was sure that Anko wasn't using her curse seal chakra.

"KATON: YON BURIZADOFUEI MUDESHIMESHON (Fire Release: Four Blizzard Flame Decimation)", yelled the snake mistress before expelling large amounts of white blazing fire from her mouth. Such was the intensity of the flames that air too seem to be vibrating around it while Naruto's eyes widened in horror as he watched that she just kept releasing fire for like 10-20 seconds. The emitted fire divided into four large flame tendrils in midair before all of them shot towards a stunned Naruto from all four directions.

'Naru-kun...what would you do now...this is an S-rank jutsu...you have to give your all', thought Anko as she kept releasing unending flames while Kushina too had a look of astonishment on her face.

'Naru-kun...give your everything...I trust in you sochi. And Anko-chan...I never imagined that you would get this strong', she thought as she gazed worriedly at Naruto. Though her eyes widened in horror when she saw him standing stunned rooted on the ground, the same expression on his face when he had first fought the demon brothers during the wave mission: fear.

'No...he's scared...he wouldn't make it. This was a wrong decision...I have to save him!', thought Kushina as she dashed towards Naruto with mind buggling speeds.

Meanwhile Naruto had a look of paralysed fear on his face, he tried to move, to do something, anything to save himself but he was just intimidated by those humongous fire tendrils coming his way.

"DAMMIT NARUTO! MOVE OR YOU'LL DIE! WHAT ABOUT YOUR DREAM OF BECOMING HOKAGE! WHAT ABOUT PROTECTING YOUR PRECIOUS ONES? DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH PAIN IT WOULD CAUSE TO EVERYONE IF YOU DIE HERE? KUSHINA HAS PUT SO MUCH FAITH IN YOU! ARE YOU GOING TO DISAPPOINT HER? ARE YOU GOING TO JUST STAND THERE LIKE A COWARD? ARE YOU WEAK NARUTO?", yelled Ayumi as she tried to pull him out of his fear-induced paralysis, trying to provoke him to save himself. And it did, the last line did snapped him.

'No...I'm not weak. I've trained so hard...I'M NOT WEAK!', he thought with widened eyes as he began to go through several handseals, his hands a blur as he too built up insane amounts of chakra, tendrils of white chakra now revolving around him as he continued to do handseals while the white burning flames continued to speed towards him like a raging bull.

Meanwhile Kushina had stopped when she noticed him start to perform handseals at speeds he shouldn't be capable of doing even with all of his training, her eyes widened though when she recognized the jutsu by the handseals he was doing.

'No…..he's performing that technique….but he wasn't able to do it effectively, moreover this is an S-rank technique he's defending against…but….what if he really does it?', she thought as she skidded to a halt just a few metres away from, her chakra already building up in case Naruto wasn't able to stop Anko's technique. She then remembered from his memories of two months training with Itachi about the technique.

Flashback: Itachi's Tsukiyomi Realm: One day before the end of Naruto's training

"Aaah dammit! Why can't I do this idiotic technique…I've done all that this scroll has said, what am I doing wrong?", said a clone Naruto to himself while you could hundreds of other clones trying to perform the same technique but failing to do it effectively.

"Crystal element is next to impossible to even use effectively Naruto-kun, let alone master…you need to have a special bloodline for it to automatically combine water, wind & lightning and form crystal. And although you are somehow forming the crystal element, it is not strong enough to use in a fight effectively. The molecules need to be tightly packed in a crystal for it to be used effectively and possibly justify its myth of being the strongest defence in the world ", said Itachi in a monotone voice while a clone looked at him in confusion.

"Then why is it even stated in the scroll that a Rinnegan user can use Crystal release if it's almost impossible", he said while Itachi sighed as he took a seat on a boulder, in a clearing of a forest which seemed to be a clone of the forest of death.

"What I mean to say is that….right now, Rinnegan is partially doing its work of combining the three elements. It is strong enough to combine two elements effectively…but not three, looks like it will become stronger as you reach closer to attaining the second level, and hence that day, you would be able to use crystal release effectively", said the prodigal Uchiha with a thoughtful expression while Naruto nodded with him, understanding the logic behind his explanation.

"You can think of it this way that right now you have the first level….but the moment when you are able to atleast USE the crystal release effectively, it would probably mean that you've attained a sort of pseudo second level", he finished while the clone sighed in frustration.

"Great! I have to achieve one extra level…..oh well, let's get back to training"

Flashback End

'Could it be?', thought Kushina with widened eyes, her breath bated as she saw him slam his hands on the ground, his chakra levels breaking through the roofs as he yelled.

"SHOTON:BUNSHI HANSHA NO TATE (Crystal Release: Shield of Molecular Reflection)"

'He's using up all of his chakra in this attack', thought Kushina as she too formed a large wall of water behind her, ready to extinguish the raging flames if Naruto's technique fails like before.

'Impossible! Crystal Release? That clan was said to be wiped out! And even with the Rinnegan…..how can he use a tertiary element at this age….he's thirteen years old for Kami's sake. Kushina-nee better throw her technique in or Naruto's gonna be injured VERY badly', thought Anko as she kept controlling her technique, waiting for Kushina to save Naruto. Though she herself could cancel the technique, but Kushina had said not to and if Naruto failed, that she would help him herself.

Though her eyes almost bugged out when suddenly spikes of said crystal pierced through the ground to surround Naruto completely from all directions, forming a perfectly shaped crystal doom.

'Let's see if it's molecular structure is strong enough this time', thought Kushina as she kept herself ready, ready to throw the water wall on the flames immediately. But she was not disappointed when the flames collided with the doom, covering it completely as the area became dimly lit in addition to the sunlight because of the bright flames while Kushina prayed that he was alright in that doom, which was on fire right now. Trees rustled madly due to the wind created by the disturbance while a crater formed on the ground due to the force Anko's technique was applying, the grass surrounding the crystal structure was on fire while Anko released the technique leading the flames bursting in small sparks of fire as they spread in all directions falling on the grass, making it catch fire. Kushina immediately released the water wall which fell on the affected area, the large chakra enhanced liquid wall covering most of the area as steam started to form obstructing their view much to Kushina's & Anko's frustration.

Both of them dashed full speed towards the epicenter of the attacked area, concerned expressions on their faces while Anko was panting heavily due to using such high level technique.

'I hope he's okay…..that was one of the strongest fire attacks known in Konoha, if his defence even had one weak point…..he would be seriously injured and it might take Ayumi three-four days to heal him', thought Anko before her eyes widened to saucers along with Kushina when they saw the shadow image of the crystal creation through the irritating steam.

'It can't be….', thought Kushina with unbelief as the steam slowly cleared out to see the cracked & tattered form of the crystal still standing, which slowly crumbled into tiny pieces. Inside was the heavily panting form of Naruto, on his knees while his eyes were half lidded whereas beads of sweat were rolling down his face. Kushina's & Anko's heart swelled with relief & amazement for this young prodigy. Though the most amazing part was that his half lidded eyes were glowing white, for like three-four seconds before they reverted back to the purple shade of Rinnegan. The only difference this time was that in addition to one concentric circle, there was a second concentric circle, whose black outline was dotted (like this: - - - - - -, signifying the pseudo level) unlike the smooth outline texture of the first ring.

'Oh my fucking sensei….he really did defended himself against it….he stopped one of the strongest S-rank fire attacks in Konoha by himself! And does his Rinnegan look different than before…..Seriously! this doujutsu is even more confusing than Uchiha's gender', thought Anko in frustration as she slipped to her knees in exhaustion of using one jutsu after another, and finally an S-rank one.

'He really did it! He unlocked the second pseudo level of Rinnegan! I knew that putting him in this type of situation would make him tap deeper into his potential…..

"This….really is exhausting…..training this baka is a training in itself", said Anko with a smile as she wiped the sweat of her brows while Kushina ran to the laid exhausted form of Naruto.

"Ramen….ramen…..Ichiraku ramen", he mumbled continuously while laying on the grassy patch which was protected by the crystal structure whereas Kushina sweatdropped at her son, a smile gracing her face as she held his head in her lap.

'This is too exhausting…..not physically but mentally, if we keep this up, my hair will go dry with all the worrying I do over him. But in the end….the results would be worth the pain right now Naru-kun….both for you & me. We all have to stay strong together in this', she thought while Naruto slowly fluttered his eyes open, which were now back to their normal oceanic blue colour.

'I wonder what extra abilities might have been unlocked with this level…..and I never thought….even Itachi wouldn't have thought of the Rinnegan signifying it's pseudo ascension in this way….pretty interesting doujutsu. And I have to develop my Sharingan too…..probably Jiraiya can help me…oh hehe, his face was to laugh upon when he saw me standing in front of him yesterday. And from that….why hasn't that pervert arrived yet?', thought Kushina in irritation as she picked up Naruto on her back, making her blush when she felt his muscled chest.

'Aahh…..so he has finally come, sometimes I really wonder how Tsunade-sama tolerated his legendary perverseness', thought Kushina as she looked up in the direction of where a shadow was descending towards her.

"THE GREAT JIRAIYA-SAMA HAS ARRIVED KUSHI-CHAN!"

So tell me if you liked the chapter? And I bet that none of you saw that pseudo thing coming….and if some of you guys have flames packed to be thrown at me, target a dustbin instead. This is fanfiction, my imagination, and if you don't like it then you can stop reading this if you want to.

So yeah, please review guys, they have been really going scarce in these past chapters and I hope that some of the action in this chapter made up, if only a bit. So thanks for reading, and also, WAIT FOR ALL THE THINGS TO BE EXPLAINED. Yesterday's events in the fic will be described in the next chapter, so yeah, be patient. ^_^

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