Hello again.

I'm currently in my zone so I'm trying to pump out as much of this story as I can before I lose my steam.

I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter. I've been analyzing it and getting feedback to figure out how I'd like to progress from here.

One thing I'd really like to address before starting is that this is not a bashing fic. There are going to be instances of characters making poor decisions and/or being jerks. This INCLUDES Naruto! Right now as of Chapter 1, Naruto is looking at his circumstances and the people in his life from the lens of somebody who has suffered a great deal for the majority of it. Of course he's going to be pissed and of course he's going to assume the worst of people, especially when they fail him. This is valid, but I don't want you guys to think this fic is going to be endlessly bashing people for screwing up. People make mistakes and context is important...

This does NOT mean that forgiveness will always come easily. You'll see more as we progress, but I promise I have some really cool stuff in store for certain characters.

Sorry for rambling. Please enjoy.


Naruto's chain-cocooned body had been deposited onto a hospital bed, where it had seemingly taken root, seeming plant and metal in equal parts. More of the ghostly material had sprouted from the mass, wrapping around the bed and digging into the walls, ceiling, and floor for support. From there, it began hissing -yes, hissing- at anyone who got too close. Anyone foolish enough to try touching it had been warded off rather aggressively; the one attempt to cut any of the support lines currently ingrained into every surface had... Well, it had not ended well for the poor nurse who had tried. Needless to say that the situation had evolved into quite the mess; that mess was the scene that the third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, walked into, accompanied by a nail-biting Jiraiya.

The Hokage's piercing brown eyes swiveled to each chain as if calculating something, then ultimately settled on the now-beating mass of chains in the center. They remained affixed to it for a moment before shifting to meet the anxious stare of his pupil, Jiraiya.

"Explain yourself," was all the man said. His cold glare left no room for disobedience. Jiraiya knew to tread lightly with the man. The Hokage's patience was typically great, near infallible, even. However it was clear that he had quickly reached his limits with his old student now that Naruto's health had become a topic of concern.

Jiraiya raised a finger, mouth slightly ajar as if to begin the story. Then he dropped it, his shoulders following through as he sighed. "I have no excuses. I fucked up, plain and simple."

The Hokage said nothing, and his student took the silence as a sign to continue. "I was trying to teach him the summoning jutsu… I thought it'd be a perfect moment to get him familiar with harnessing the Kyubi's chakra."

He knew he'd find judgment in the stare of his mentor. Thus, he didn't even bother looking up at the man, instead pushing forward. "He told me that all of his experiences with its chakra had been in life or death situations, so I thought a repeat of that would help him reach the beast."

"And he failed…"

"No," Jiraiya cut in. "No-no-no, I failed him." Jiraiya bit back the urge to shout. "I didn't take the precautions I should have to make sure he'd be safe." Frustrated, his fingers curled through his long mane of white hair, pulling at it painfully. "Old man, I swear to god that it was an accident. I was so sure he'd succeed that I-" Jiraiya's words failed him then and there. Really, there was nothing else to say. He had failed the kid in every way imaginable; now his student's son lay broken before them, a pulsating, hissing, metal mummy.

Hiruzen's eyes softened a touch at his student's guilt-ridden expression. There was no need to dig any deeper to see the regret in the man. "Be grateful then Jiraiya, that you will have a chance to offer your apologies. He will survive," he simply added, instead.

"You're certain?" The hope in Jiraiya's tone was palpable, and Hiruzen nodded, affirming for them both.

"I've had him looked at by my Hyuga medics." From the sleeve of his robe, the Hokage procured a rather chunky scroll and placed it into Jiraiya's hastily raised palm. "His wounds are quite terrible: one-hundred and forty three broken bones; his left eye ruptured to a bloody pulp and both orbital bones crushed; his diaphragm has collapsed." Hiruzen sighed. "His left arm… His ulna was shattered; the fragments scattered from the impact. It may need to be amputated. We're not sure yet."

"Oh my god." Jiraiya pressed his temples, forcing back a sob. "Oh my god, Minato. Your baby boy, I-"

"He'll survive," Hiruzen firmly repeated for his student. "But whether he'll be able to remain a ninja is an entirely different story." That was an understatement. Ninja endured injuries all the time, but it was rare that one was able to bounce back from wounds of this depth. Still, there was a certain factor that most ninja did not possess.

Most ninja, young and old, were not the jinchuriki of the Kyubi.


Everything?

Naruto blanched. "What does that even mean?"

"It means exactly what I said, X'omaa." Kushina chuckled. "Everything. Our lives, our legacy, even our bodies and chakra… Well, sort of." That last part, Kushina tacked on with a shrug.

"Everything we have, everything we are; all of it is yours. Such is the nature of the Legacy Seal." Still sensing his confusion, Kushina ran her hands through her hair, searching through her mind for the best place to start her explanation. "Okay, bear with me for a moment while I try to explain this… Think of a bee."

"You've already lost me," Naruto deadpanned.

"Oh dear… Bees pass down their genetic memory to their next generation... You understand that much, yes?"

"Now I do."

"... Certain animals, like bees, pass down important information with each generation. Evolution demands that most living things pass down their genetics to our young; over time, flaws in our 'programming' are filtered out, leaving only the best qualities to survive the test of time. Bees are a bit different in that the things they pass down are not simply limited to their basic biology. They pass down memories, knowledge, Naruto. This helps them to process left-behind tasks and continue their work as their lifespans reach their natural end."

"So… We're bees?"

"Yes! Well, no- but yes! For the sake of this lesson, you can think of us like bees." With a huff, Naruto's mother continued her explanation. "Ok, phew... Many generations ago, our clan discovered a means by which to essentially 'upload' information for the future. Through the Legacy Seal, we created a network of feelings, knowledge, and experiences for our people to use. 'With this, every generation should have all of the tools necessary to guaranteeably be greater than the last', was the expectation… Does that make sense?"

Naruto frowned. "I think so. So it's like leaving behind a notebook with all of your life's work for your kids to pick up?" His mother preened at his analogy.

"Yes, that's exactly right! Every generation of Uzumaki leaves behind their own notebook, which the next generation takes and adds to before passing on to the next. This notebook is a nexus of everything that we are, so that our children have it easier and can go farther in life than we did."

"That doesn't make any sense though." Naruto interjected, confused. "I don't know much about seals, but even I know that seals can't do stuff like that. You use seals to 'seal' objects; sealing is literally in the name! How do you take that and turn it into freaking genetic reprogramming?"

Kushina raised an eyebrow. "It sounds to me like your education was steaming hot garbage. What has the Third been teaching you, if that's all you understand about seals?"

"Uh..." Naruto floundered for a moment. "He didn't really teach me...anything." There was something dark that passed over Kushina's face. It barely lasted a second, but Naruto meekly squeaked out an apology, all the same.

"I'm not mad at you, my love. I'm just understanding more and more that my trust in that man was misplaced." Kushina plopped down onto the ground, patting her lap in a clear invitation. As her son anxiously joined her, resting his head, the redhead began to idly braid a few stray blonde locks.

Taking a moment, Kushina decided to switch gears. "I'll continue my explanation of the Legacy Seal in just a moment. Bear with me as we take a quick crash course in sealing." Her son nodded, and so Kushina continued. "You'll learn the nuances as you go, so I'll keep it brief. Sealing is less of a ninja technique and more of an esoteric language. Even among those who practice it, only a few really understand the true potential of sealing; even less actually understand how it truly works." A pause occurred as Kushina gathered another few locks of hair. "You compared sealing to programming earlier. Unintentionally or not, you're actually right on the money. Sealing, or fuinjutsu, is simply the art of programming by 'sealing' or 'unsealing' elements to produce desired effects. That's where it gets its name, by the way."

"I don't get it," Naruto whined. "So you're basically shaping reality by locking away things you don't want to happen and keeping the stuff that you do?"

"Pffft" Kushina began to lightly chuckle. "It sounds to me like you understand, perfectly!" Picking another few strays, she added, "You're already beginning to understand how this all works. You just need a few more clues, is all... Tell me, how would you go about making an explosive tag?"

"Ah, well I guess you could mix some volatile chemicals and seal them all away."

"How would you get those volatile chemicals to ignite?"

"Seal a spark..." Naruto sensed Kushina's gaze urging him to continue, so after a moment he added, "I guess you could seal a spark and overlay it with the first seal that you made to hold the chemicals. If you activate them at once, you suddenly have a bunch of volatile chemicals and a spark." He was startled when his mom began to suddenly clap.

"Very good, son! That's a perfectly valid way to make an explosive." She laid a kiss on the crown of his head, smiling as her baby boy nearly purred in contentment. "But that's not the only way to do it, and that's kind've the point. Why not just light an explosive and seal it in stasis right before it goes off? It'd be a lot simpler, wouldn't it?"

"Well I yeah, I guess..." Naruto was beginning to understand. Just one more push.

"Or how about instead of having to buy and mix chemical compounds manually, why not just use separate seals to individually mix the atomic compounds to create the necessary elements themselves?" Kushina grinned at the boy's wide-eyed expression. "Or what about connecting those seals containing those compounds with a seal designed to trigger mitosis in cells? You could then deliberately remove or alter the time dilation process we typically associate with a seal. What would you get?"

"A fucking farm." Naruto jumped up from his mother's lap. "You could make a fucking bomb farm!"

"Language, but yes! And if you combine all of those just right, what happens?"

"You could make like- an entire ocean of infinitely replicating paper bombs!?" Giddy, Naruto was near-bouncing up and down. "What kind of unhinged psychopath would do something like that? I want to meet them!"

"And there it is!" Kushina cheered, jumping to her feet and gathering her cackling son into her arms. Spinning him around in the air, she yelled to the heavens: "Seals can do anything if you're crazy enough!"

"So we're crazy, then!?"

"The craziest, Naruto! That's our superpower!" Kushina cackled alongside her blonde-haired little monster. God, how she loved him! "And that brings us back to the Legacy Seal. Tell me, baby, how would you take entire lifetimes of experience and pass them along to somebody else?"

He paused, sticking his tongue out and squinting his eyes in concentration. "Well first, you need to get the information. So... I'd make a jutsu that passively scans brain waves or records moments in time."

"And then?"

"Then I'd need another seal that could convert all of that into something that another person could process. That'd probably end up being another seal, in of itself." Naruto no longer needed any further prompting; he began rattling off ideas at rapid speed. "Then you'd need to make it something that can be passed down. So you'd need to isolate a common factor that is present in all of our specific biology and seal all of that into there. It'd need to be able to replicate itself and pass down its updated version to each new generation, but I don't see why that would be the thing that stops a person, by that point."

Naruto paused again, suddenly looking annoyed. "But how does the seal know what information is important? It can't possibly just record EVERYTHING that you ever experience in your life; it would all just become this big mass of useless information polluting the good stuff." He paused, for a moment. "How do I know all of this? I'm not smart."

Kushina laughed. "You're far smarter than you know, X'omaa, and that's an excellent observation. To answer your question though, Uzumaki are taught from their youth to manually allocate information based on certain qualifying factors. So to go back to that notebook analogy, you can think of it like journaling everyday with stuff you'll want your kids to know. It doesn't quite record memories, so much as it records relevant information associated with memories."

At this, Naruto frowned. "If that's the case, and I've just got this super repository of information left behind by generations of dead family members, then why have I never experienced it, before?" He received a mischievous grin as his response.

"Naruto, my love... What makes you think you haven't experienced it?"

"I'm really not trying to be rude," Naruto started, pinching the bridge of his nose. "But I think I would know if I was suddenly being bombarded with foreign memories and skills from someone else."

"Naruto, the legacy seal is a passive boon that responds most strongly to a need, not a desire. You lack the experience necessary to just reach for information and procure it out of nowhere. But even still, there are plenty of experiences you've had in your life that I'm sure you can attribute, at least partly, to what I'm describing." Kushina prodded him in the chest, then pointed outward. Naruto's eyes followed her gesture, his eyes widening as their surroundings shifted.

A little blonde boy was grumbling over a ratty scroll with smudged ink.

"That's me." Naruto didn't expect a response from Kushina, far too transfixed with the sight before him. "Is this my memory?"

"Argh! This is so stupid! I can't believe Mizuki-sensei didn't have any better scrolls on the transformation jutsu! This is such bullshit!

"And yet, you were able to pull it off flawlessly, when the time came to demonstrate it." Kushina's words rang true. Naruto remembered. Mizuki's shocked face stood out especially, with the knowledge the boy had now, of the man.

"You've been using it since we started talking about seals. You've already made egregious use of our shape changing jutsu for that perverted transformation of yours!"

Naruto winced, trying to pretend that he wasn't in trouble. "To my credit, I make for a very pretty lady?" Catching the full meaning of her words, he frowned. "Wait, shape changing jutsu? I've just been using the regular transformation jutsu."

"Hardly," Kushina shot his explanation down, mercilessly. "The standard transformation jutsu is little more than an illusory trick, laid over your own body. It has no physical elements to it. You wouldn't be able to use it to physically interact with anything and still maintain the illusion. You sure as heck couldn't transform into a fully functional giant shuriken, and you most definitely would not have been able to pull off that conglomerate transformation to absorb your fall; certainly not by using baby's first transformation jutsu." Taking in her son's wide-eyed expression, Kushina laughed. "That jutsu you've been using was a creation of your great grandfather's. He had a penchant for changing his form and weaponizing it for battle. They called him 'Kaido the Shapeshifter'."

That… Well, that changed things. Naruto had developed his sexy jutsu when he was only eight. If his mother was right -and he had no reason thus far not to believe her- then he'd been using this seal to scrape by for ages, now! "So I've been using a highly advanced shapeshifting jutsu all this time and no one told me?"

"I'd be surprised if they did. It's not like most people even fully understand the limitations of their jutsu -a bad habit to get into, by the way. It's not like you would've been going around touching people, since you also would've been taught that the change wasn't truly solid. Anyone who would have recognized the jutsu would not have wanted to bring further attention to you by pointing it out."

The Third Hokage flashed to the forefront of his mind. "Right…" A thought occurred to him, then. "Wait, I learned the Shadow-clone technique super fast, because I really needed to pass the Genin exam. Is that-"

"Now you're really getting it, love." Once more, the scene bled into focus around them both.

"Gaaahh! These instructions make like- zero sense! I'm never going to master this jutsu in time!" Naruto took a breath, absently adjusting the goggles on his head. "Okay, clearly reading isn't my strong suit. I'm more of a doer, anyways! I'll just start trying stuff until it works! Forging the technique's iconic 'cross-shaped hand seal', Naruto shouted, "Shadow-clone jutsu!"

"The point of the seal is to provide you with supplementary resources to help you thrive in circumstances where you most need the help. You needed to learn the jutsu ASAP so you unconsciously drew on existing information to help you make it happen. It doesn't discount the work ethic needed to even learn a technique that advanced, but yes… You may not have succeeded in learning the Shadow-clone jutsu so swiftly without it.

"Is that why I have so much chakra?" At Kushina's raised eyebrow, Naruto hastened to explain himself. "You said this seal of ours gives mind, body, and chakra... Sorta. We've established that the mind isn't in question, so what about my chakra? I've got a crazy amount and I-" Naruto paused, realizing all of a sudden just how lightheaded he was getting. "Sorry, I think I forgot to breathe." He allowed his mother to cuddle him yet again as he regained his breath.

He didn't think he'd ever get tired of hugs.

"To answer your question, kind of?" Kushina fumbled, trying to put her explanation into proper words. "It's likely that your reserves would've been huge already between natural genetics and your unique circumstances. I was the Kyubi's host before you, you see." Bulldozing past that particular reveal with little more than a 'later', Kushina added, "You were pretty much a neighbor to the Kyubi my entire pregnancy, then it was sealed inside of you, to boot. Your reserves were always going to be some combination of silly, wacky, and goofy because of that. The Legacy Seal just adds another layer to that. It works by essentially stockpiling chakra from previous generations, taking imprints of our chakra systems and progressively building this massive network that is… Well for lack of a better word, implanted into you as you develop. Add 'absolutely bonkers' to those earlier adjectives and you've got your chakra system."

Naruto really wanted to address the whole "Previous host to the Kyubi" detail, but opted to let it slide for now, for the sake of addressing the other elephant in the room. He'd remember to ask, later. "So I've got like, multiple chakra networks. Is that why my chakra control is hot garbage?"

Kushina offered him a sympathetic look. "The opposite, really. As complex as your chakra system is, you should be able to effortlessly control all of that power inside of you. The seal was designed by our great, great, great ancestors explicitly with the sheer quantity in mind as a potential drawback. The reason you can't can be blamed on the Kyubi actively interfering with your chakra control. Also, you don't so much have multiple chakra networks as you do have one massively complex one, which is composed of many smaller, micro-networks."

"Sounds like multiple chakra networks to me." Naruto cheekily ignored his mother's mock glare. "So how do I get the fox to stop bullying my chakra control? Do I gotta beat it up, first?"

"The stronger you get, the more effective you'll become at suppressing the Kyubi's influence. As you grow, it'll have less impact on your control and you'll be able to benefit more from what you've got" Taking pity on his frustrated shout, Kushina sighed. "Luckily for you, you seem to have inherited my chains earlier than I would've expected. I was nearly fifteen when I first manifested my adamantine chains."

"What exactly are adamantine chains?" Naruto was honestly getting pretty tired of having one question replaced with like, ten more. "Wait, nevermind. I know… Huh."

"Legacy seal," Kushina sang. "It can be a bit confusing at first, but we'll whip you into shape just fine, X'omaa."

Naruto matched her grin. He'd always felt jealous of his peers for having unique abilities of their own. Shikamaru had his cool shadow techniques; Sasuke had his sharingan; hell, even Kiba got a cool dog that he could talk to. This 'legacy seal' that his mother was talking about… "Is this my blood limit?" He knew that his fellow Genin all descended from fairly prestigious clans, barring Sakura. They all had inherited unique abilities that were seemingly exclusive to their clans. Maybe this was his. His mother didn't respond, for she knew that he didn't need her to, this time.

Yeah, there'd been enough questions about this, for now. "So how do I use this to absolutely bully Neji in the Chūnin exams?"

Kushina grinned. "I'll show you."


"Any sign of improvement?"

The medic-nin assigned to Naruto's care shortly bowed to Jiraiya, considering his question. "A bit, Jiraiya-sama. We're sure now that we'll be able to save Naruto-kun's arm, though he may have chronic pain in it even after it has fully recovered."

That was good. Well, not amazing; the pain was bad. But it was better than losing an arm in its entirety. "He'll be glad to hear that. Anything else?"

The medic, Kobito or something -Jiraiya hadn't been paying attention- adjusted his glasses, looking over the boy's chart. "Not much, though that's probably for the best, if I may. There is a world of difference between now and when you first brought him in nine days ago. Working through all those chains is proving to be quite challenging. Still, he's recovering well all the same. His bones are mostly on the mend. We were unable to salvage his eye at first, but whatever is going on inside that cocoon of his seems to be doing its own work, as well. We're optimistic, if a bit uncertain, that the issue may sort itself out, at this rate.

At his final words, Jiraiya let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you for your service, young man."

The young man in question blushed at his thanks. "Oh please, sir. It's no trouble at all. It's my job!" He laughed, as if at a joke that Jiraiya must have missed. "Besides, much to my shame, those chains of his seem to actually be doing most of the work for us. They're siphoning excess chakra from his surroundings as well as the... Well, you know. A-and they're using it to heal him from inside!"

Not wanting to speak any further on the matter, he began to make a hasty departure. "In any case, I'll leave you with him. I still have other patients to take care of… Please let somebody know immediately if he wakes!" At Jiraiya's nod, Kobito left, dumping a pair of shredded gloves into a wastebasket as he departed.

Jiraiya waited a few moments, making sure the young man was well and truly gone before taking a seat in a simple folding chair, taking care to avoid the still-writhing chains as he did so.

"Heya kiddo," He started, wringing his hands as he did so. He knew better than to touch anything, by now. The still-raw scars on his hands and forearms told him that he still wasn't exactly welcome here, as far as the boy's chakra seemed to be concerned.

"I see you're still pissed… That's fair. I deserve it, one-hundred and ten percent. Look, I'm really sorry about… I'm really sorry I let you down like I did. I know you probably won't want anything to do with me after all of this and that's totally fair, but right now I just want to know that you'll be okay."

Jiraiya gripped his forearm, admiring the scars that the boy's chains had left on him, days prior. "I'm really impressed, by the way. Those chains of yours are scary as hell, far scarier than your mother's were at that age. The doctor had to reattach my whole pinky, after you were done mauling my dumb ass. Not mad, by the way!" He deserved that, and more. Of that, he had no question. "Ah, you probably don't want to hear this old man ramble. Get well soon, buddy."

Knowing better than to overstay his welcome, Jiraiya left before those chains decided to lash out. At least he was making progress; the first few days, he'd been unable to even get a word in without the Third being present. The kid would probably never forgive him, but he'd at least do whatever was needed to make things right between them.

As he left, he nearly bumped into a young girl. "Whoops, my bad!" Plastering a cheerful expression onto his face, Jiraiya patted her blue hair as he walked around her, grinning to himself as she ducked her head down and blushed.


Naruto stared out past the coastline, watching the waves dance. The hidden village of Uzushiogakure didn't really seem like much of a village, he had told Kushina. The closest thing he could compare it to would've been a large, tropical island. Oh, it had the infrastructure to be one But that just felt like it was missing the mark entirely; it was calling Uzu less than what it actually was! Why be a village when you could simply be more? There were expansive beaches and crazy, lush-green jungles in equal measures! Massive trees loitered about, teeming with vibrant greenery and succulent fruits. They swayed in the wind as if dancing to a beat that the boy was truly starting to feel in his very bones. God, He just wanted to pluck a mango from one of those stems! If only he could...

The sun had settled lazily above, bathing the island in its warm rays. Naruto wondered how his mother's skin remained so pale, what with the constant exposure. A question for another time.

To his knowledge, it was early in the afternoon, which meant that classes were still in session at his mother's academy.

A hand took his own shaking him out of his stupor. "Come." Kushina gently urged him along, and he followed. "You'll want to see this." Steering him forward, the pair continued on a slightly overgrown path, which Naruto knew by now led to the central square where trading was often done. He could see dozens of men and women, sporting all shades of reddish hair. Idly, he tugged at his own, wondering if he should dye it. The thought left him as he spotted the tiniest flecks of red at the tips of his braids. Catching his mother's eye, he could tell that she, too had noticed.

"Come, X'omaa. That is a conversation for later."

Dutifully, her son obeyed, following his mother along the largest path, which he now knew led to one of several academies; each of them allegedly held major significance in their culture.

"The Uzumaki are artists, craftsmen, and academics." Kushina's emphasis on the present tense did not escape the boy. "We have warriors and ninjas (there is a difference!) but it's not really what our clan was known for, son. We gain our reputation as revolutionaries by doing just that. We take that which is old and refine it into something greater; we take that which is unknown and make it our own.

"Which means I'm going back to school." Naruto sighed.

"Give it a chance?" Kushina pleaded, and he knew that he would. He was glad he did.

The Uzumaki Academy of Motion was their first stop. It was massive, and structured more like a dojo than a proper school as he knew them. Children, just a bit younger than he, were hard at work on the floor, sectioned off into pairs.

"What are they doing?" Naruto couldn't take their eyes off the rapid movements of the children before him.

"Dancing." It sure as heck didn't seem like any dance that he had ever seen. They were fast and fluid, like water. Then they were weightless and free, like the wind. One moment they pranced about in all manners of grace. Then another, someone was flying across the room in a crumpled heap. From the masses, one child, years his junior, dropped down low, twirling on the balls of her bare feet and whipping her arms about like a snake. Crimson hair flared out as she did so, coating the ground in coils, reminiscent of the animal she was copying. Then, she did a sharp cartwheel from her low position, holding her arms before her like a mantis' claws and swaying unnaturally.

"This looks like taijutsu, though?" Surely he wasn't mistaken, right? That girl looked like she could kill him, and easily, at that!

"In our culture, there really is no difference." Kushina bore his confusion with a chuckle, ruffling his hair. "Every Uzumaki child learns the dances of our people, and the many forms that come along with them. Each dance is based on an elemental alignment, and their forms are based on ideas that embody that alignment. I want you to learn them all, you understand me? Watch."

Naruto did so. He watched the girl wade through dozens of other peers, all a fair bit older than her. She easily subdued them all, flipping over a boy in his late teens and planting her index finger into the base of his neck.

"Snake's bite," Kushina muttered to her son as the small girl landed, then landing into a neat roll as the boy fell, unmoving. Planting her foot into the ground there was an audible crack in the air as the girl rushed a pair of older girls with a single bound.

"Leafhopper's bound." Tensing both of her legs together, the girl squatted low and spun like a top to avoid a palm strike and high kick from each, respectively; she twirled underneath and past them. In an instant, she was now fully behind them. The younger girl easily leapt over a sweeping kick that attempted to ward her off, flipping parallel to the ground and brutally smashing a foot each into each girl's head.

"Zebra's kick", she muttered. One fell and did not rise, but the other was tougher. The older girl snapped back to attention, keeping her footing as she tried to snatch her foe's left leg. Naruto watched as the young girl planted her palm into the ground for leverage, her right leg snapping up and then down for a hook kick that finally grounded the opponent for good.

"What's that one?" Naruto leaned forward, awestricken by the girl's performance.

"Oh, that's just a regular hook kick."

Snorting, Naruto watched as the little, crimson-haired ball of fury mowed through her competition, taking down a dozen other students in the span of half a minute. Her amethyst-colored eyes flashed around, taking in her surroundings with intense focus, disrupted only by the mirthful grin on her face.

"Is that you?"

Kushina laughed. "Oh heavens, no. This was your grand-auntie, Mito Uzumaki."

Blanching, the boy hurried to confirm: "The one who married the Shodaime Hokage?"

"The very same," Kushina confirmed. "She really was in a league of her own. I was good, but never that good."

"I thought the point of the next generation was to surpass the previous one?" It really wasn't meant as a jab, but Naruto winced, all the same.

Kushina only snorted. "Listen, darling. Mommy invested all of her skill points into mastering her super ultra turbo chains so that the big bad fox monster wouldn't break free and eat all her friends."

Naruto snorted right back, matching her banter. "From what you told me, she held the Kyubi even before you did. Sounds to me like you just didn't have hands."

"Oh I had hands, darling." The scenery shifted with her words, and Naruto recognized that they were now in Konoha. A red-haired girl, this time only slightly younger and far angrier than he, was absolutely throttling a boy. The leaf nin forehead protector on the boy's head clattered to the ground as she broke his nose with a vicious stomp. Then the girl snatched it off the ground and punted it overhead for good measure, letting it fall into the grasp of a looming tree.

"Is that you, bullying a fresh Genin?" Naruto raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

"As an academy student!" Kushina practically sang, with pride. Her son chuckled, back.

"I beat a Chūnin as an academy student."

"And I'm very proud of you, my sweet, handsome angel boy who can do no wrong." With a 'humph', Kushina crossed her arms above her chest and turned her nose upwards, a ghost of a smile on her face. But I definitely had hands."

"I'm just saying it sounds to me like beating up a Genin is like- the bare minimum that you should be accomplishing when us other two holders are clearing that bar, easily."

"Hey, she only got the Kyubi to screw with her when she was already an adult," Kushina interjected. "I was just a kid when I got that giant fuzzy jerk."

Naruto simply fixed the woman with a deadpan stare, willing her to remember who she was trying to justify herself to.

"I-in any case! Moving back to Auntie Mito." The scene shifted yet again, once more showing him the sight of his Grand-aunt beating up a bunch of students as a tiny child. "Just because you can access her experiences doesn't mean you can suddenly throw down like she could. If only it were that easy." Kushina cackled. "If you want to do what she could, you'll need to take all that she left for us and make it your own."

Blinking, Naruto cupped his chin in thought. "And how do I do that?" He didn't think he could mimic Mito's movements in a thousand years, and she was nearly half his age in this memory!

"Put yourself in her shoes, Naruto. Become her." A pause. "Then, ascend her."

The explanation was pretty cryptic, but he understood -or at least, he thought he did. The memory had stilled with his intent. Naruto approached the girl, her glittering eyes now mirrored by his own. With a deep breath, he stepped into her space, melding with the memory. The scene was replayed, except now it was him who was blitzing about, taking down his seniors with ease. Or was he her? It was disorienting. A migraine built up in her sinuses and Mito felt like his brain was going to burst out of their skull! Everything felt heavy and he began to choke, drowning in a sea of thoughts and memories and experiences and- and within just a few moments, he was violently ejected from it all. Naruto tried to roll to his feet but found no strength in any of his limbs. The pain in his head boiled over and he violently began to gag, vomiting so hard that he began to cry.

His nose burned. His throat burned. Why did everything always have to burn? He missed Haku.

Kushina's lips brushed his forehead. "No luck?" She helped her son unsteadily reach his feet.

"I feel like I'm dying." Once again, Naruto fell on his butt, suppressing the urge to curse. "It was like trying to swim through mud, backwards, but a fat guy was sitting on my chest and fondling my brain through my nose with a whole soldering iron."

"That's what I said!" Gathering her son into her embrace, Kushina planted another kiss onto the crown of his head. As you can see, drawing from memories is one thing. Making those memories your own is a completely different beast, and that's kind've the main hurdle that comes with the seal. I was never able to last longer than a few moments. It doesn't really get easier, so much as you just learn to grit your teeth and bare it."

Her son was cradling his head in his hands, lightly whimpering; Kushina's heart broke all over again at his pain. "I'm sorry, X'omaa. We can stop, for now."

"No."

Kushina paused, at that one-word response, courtesy of her son. His eyes were completely bloodshot, two thick lines of blood eking out from each nostril. Still, his voice was firm; his mother knew that he would not stop until he succeeded.

Kushina gestured to the girl before them, who had once again paused. This time, she almost seemed as though she were staring directly at the duo. Directly at Naruto. "Show me what you've got."

"I'll master this in record time. Believe it." Naruto's eyes met Mito's and once more took on an amethyst hue.


And that's chapter two! I hope you enjoyed it; the pleasant comments really sparked my eagerness to update as quickly as possible.

One thing I'd like to clear up, since I did get a question or two about this from proofreaders that I thought was worth addressing:

The Legacy Seal as I've described it sort of implies that a holder essentially gets everything that a previous generation had, before them. This is both accurate in its most literal sense, but also not quite so in practice.

I look at the Legacy Seal sort of like a poor man's My Hero's One for All or Avatar State from Avatar. The assets that it offers are all there, in full. However just because you have access to something doesn't necessarily mean it's a good idea to use it. I wanted to use the Legacy Seal as a narrative choice to help begin a turn in Naruto as a character. However I don't want this to override the essence of who Naruto is. Nor do I want it to feel like some easy cheat code that leads to a boring, overpowered character. Make no mistake, Naruto is not suddenly Chad Thundercock. Don't expect him to just walk around smacking anyone who even looks at him wrong. I plan for his progression to be tied pretty closely with the story, with his use of the seal serving as a supplement in the same way clone training did, but without overtaking the story as a whole. (He will be strong as shit, though... I just want it to feel earned, I guess.)

I'm outlining this all because as readers, you guys are as good a judge as any as to whether I hit or miss the mark, here. Please afford me the trust to try to make something interesting here. But also let me know if you feel like things are losing focus or becoming dull. That's what reviews are for!

One last thing: I mentioned in Chapter 1 that I want to tackle the Uzumaki clan as more of a mysterious, esoteric clan of craftsmen and academics who could throw down, but only when absolutely needed. I want the Uzumaki clan to feel very different from other clans or even other villages entirely, and that's another thing that I could genuinely use some informed advice and suggestions for.