"Words are the only weapon I have left."

Naruto shook his head. "Yeah, which is why it's not going to work. You don't care about anything she says, you just want to hurt her. And she doesn't care about what you say, because she still doesn't like you."

"That's not-"

"It is true." Naruto interrupted, looking at her for a moment. Kushina shifted back, a surprised expression crossing her face. "I can feel that."

Kurama blinked, and then let out a dark chuckle. "So you gained that ability, did you? Shows the lies for what they are, doesn't it?"

Naruto sighed, and nodded. "Yeah." He looked at Kushina, seemingly seeing through her. "Deep down, you still hate him."

"He tried to kill you." Kushina said, softly. "Tried to spear you when you were a baby..."

"You hated me before that." Kurama accused. "Far before that."

"Why wouldn't I?" Kushina said.

"Because you never tried to understand him. He hurt your family in an attempt to escape, so you hated him, uncaring that he had also been wronged by your family." Naruto answered, and Kushina recoiled as if she had been struck.

"I-"

"I don't blame him for what he tried to do." Naruto continued, heedless. "Because in the end, I know exactly why he did it. I know him better than you do." Naruto blinked, considering that phrase. "I know him better than I know you, even..."

"Naruto..." A tear rolled down her face.

"Just the same, I don't blame you, either. You were young, never in a position to question it, and he really does make it difficult." Naruto sighed. "If not for Drich... then I probably would have been just like you, so I can't say that I hold you responsible for it."

Kurama scowled.

"You played your part, yes, and you hurt him severely, but in the end, the true blame lies at the feet of Madara and Hashirama."

"That doesn't undo it." Kurama growled.

"No." Naruto frowned. "And to say that it does would be unfair to you."

"Oh, my baby boy... When did you get so mature?"

Naruto shrugged. "I used to be pretty bad. Guess I learned from my mistakes."

"Heh-" She let out a little laugh, before wrapping her arms around him. "I wish I was there- Kami, I wish I was there."

"I don't."

"You shut up!" Kushina shouted. "You're the cau-" She stopped herself, breathing out slowly. "You tried to kill my family, so I locked you away in prison I thought you deserved."

"Funny, then, how that came back to bite you, isn't it?"

She growled, her hair beginning to raise. "We're not going to see eye-to-eye."

"No." Kurama, for the first time in his life, agreed with something she had said. "We will not."

"Then I'm not going to talk to you. Naruto -" She turned, hair falling back into place. "- I'm sorry, but I think this is a bad idea."

"I disagree." Naruto said. "I understand your reasons for why you think that, and I don't care."

She winced. "He could kill you any time he wanted to. Do you really trust him that much?"

"Hypocrite."

Kushina ignored him.

"Yes. I do trust him. I honestly, truly trust him."

She sighed, and Naruto could feel the emotions whirling through her. "Then, I'm going to trust you. Trust your judgement..."

Naruto did not point out that he had neither asked nor needed it.

She reached out, and pulled him into one last hug. "Goodbye, Naruto. I hope you're right."

She was still hugging him as she faded away, her form disappearing like smoke in the wind. Naruto put a hand on his chest, a confused expression on his face.

Kurama stared down at him, saying nothing.

"A part of me is glad to have seen her." Naruto said, eventually. "But another part me thinks that it would have been better if she never showed up in the first place."

"Tch." Kurama grimaced. "She... is your mother." It seemed like the words were almost physically painful for him to say. "You have that right."

Naruto released a small laugh, shaking his head. "Comforting doesn't suit you."

Kurama grunted, and then looked around. A frown crossed his face. "Will this cause a problem?"

Naruto shrugged, looking around the place. The grass was gone, ash in its place, the ground cracked and cratered, some parts of it lava, clouds of steam where rivers had been...

But even as he watched, it was turning back, smoothing out, grass reappearing, steam returning the streams.

"Should be fine." Naruto said. "Intent matters in this seal. If you'd been trying to hurt me, you'd have burned out my entire Chakra system from your Bijuudama, but you weren't, so I'm fine. Good thing, that." He said the last part lightly, as if he hadn't been an instant away from dying the entire time.

Kurama glanced at him. "You have no regard for your own safety, do you?"

"Hey, I know exactly what I'm doing." Naruto retorted.

"That wasn't a no." Kurama noted.

Naruto smirked.

Then, with a sigh, he sat down, feeling suddenly exhausted.

Not physically, but emotionally.

Today had been... something else. Really.

And, unfortunately, he couldn't stay here and rest, because his team would worry, and then they'd get the perverted sage, and he'd do something completely unnecessary...

He took a deep breath. "Alright. You ready to go?"

"Who do you think you're talking to?"

Naruto smiled, closed his eyes, and opened them to see the ring of seals he'd made.

"So how'd it go?" Sakura immediately asked, her stare penetrating.

"Things got weird for a bit, but it's good." Naruto answered. He got up, rolling his shoulders, acutely aware of Kurama's Chakra running through his body.

What a feeling that was. Like a blanket that wrapped around him, filling him with energy he didn't even know what to do with.

And Kurama wasn't even trying. This was just the run-off.

"So it worked then?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto smiled.

"Let's see what happens, shall we?"

"Let's find out."

Kurama pushed a bit of his Chakra to Naruto.

Naruto burned, a golden-red cloak of Chakra shrouding his form in an instant. Pure power ran through his veins, through his muscles, through every single cell of his being.

Kurama made a noise of consideration, before his Chakra shifted slightly, and

CONNECTED

with him.

"Oooh." Naruto realized, feeling Kurama's amusement. "So this is Ninshū."

He breathed in, slowly, and breathed out equally slowly. Kurama did so alongside him.

"Yeah." Naruto said, as the red faded completely into gold. "It did."