I DO NOT OWN NARUTO.
I OWN ALL THE OCs in this story.
This work is my own work and cannot be published by someone else without my consent.
CHAPTER 7
THE TIMES SPENT
4 years after the arrival…
The crimson haired boy stood on top of the Sandaime's head in the Hokage monument. It had become a habit for him to come here most evenings and admire the view. He had to admit, the view was breathtakingly beautiful, but it was still nowhere near as beautiful as the sunsets of Uzushio.
Uzushio…
It had been almost 4 years since his homeland was destroyed. Since that time, he had devoted his entire life to only two things, taking care of his family and getting stronger for revenge.
His Rinnegan flared when he thought of revenge. His eyes now had 3 tomoes on the innermost ring. Ever since he killed those mountain bandits who tried to take Kushina from him, he realized something very important.
His Rinnegan FEEDS on negative emotions. His eyes were far from being 'the most noble dojutsu', these eyes fester his hatred, and everytime he advances with his eyes, he feels as though he is sinking deeper into the hollow depths of his darkness.
He quickly banished these thoughts, 'This is no longer just for revenge, these eyes only awaken in the ones who are destined to change the world. It is clear what I must do. This world has gone lax and thinks that they can avoid consequences for their actions. They think they can avoid justice….
I will be their justice. I will have my justice. Its time the world remembers that every actions have consequences, and for Kumo, Kiri, and Iwa, I WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCE.'
Shifting from that line of thought, Naruto ponders on all the things that had shaped him in these past years…
—X—X—X—
The war had come to an end around 2 months after the Kumo incident. Turned out that Iwa actually had a bit of a fight left in them, facing against Taki and Konoha along with their newest allies, Kusagakure.
No one really knew why Kusa and Iwa had such a sudden alliance, but it didn't matter anymore as a month later, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo themselves entered the fray. They cemented Konoha's position as the strongest once again, when they themselves removed Kusa from the equation before wiping out entire battalions of Iwa shinobi.
But in the end, the result was just as Naruto predicted, Iwa and Konoha settled for some peace treaty, with Iwa reducing its borders and militarization for the next five years, along with owing Konoha and Taki huge amounts of money.
Soon, all the heroes of war returned, except Jiraiya of the 'Sannin', who decided to stay in Ame for whatsoever purposes.
—X—X—X—
Flashback
One month after the destruction of Uzu…
Naruto was currently walking at a leisurely pace through the village. Reflecting on the events of the past month, a smile appeared on his face. Ever since he beat up her bullies, Kushina seemed to be happier, and a happy Kushina meant a happy Naruto. He even found a good rival and maybe a better friend in Minato.
But that doesn't mean he forgot the first bond he had ever made in Konoha, and his other little sister.
After a few minutes of walking, Naruto finally reached his destination, the Hayuri residence.
He knocked on the door, and waited eagerly for the response. And the response he had been waiting for soon arrived as a little black haired girl soon smashed into Naruto.
"Onii-chan, you came!" she exclaimed out loud, with literal stars in her eyes.
'I swear it should be illegal to be this cute.'
Naruto chuckled and said, "I promised didn't I, Kimiko-chan, and an older brother never breaks his promise to his beloved sister."
"uhuh, come on in, nii-chan…" she said grabbing his hand and leading him inside.
'I am just one month in and I am already wrapped around the little finger of a little girl, totally not what I expected from Konoha…'
He entered the house, and was soon greeted by her parents.
"Haru-san, Yakumo-san, its a pleasure to meet you." He greeted them with a formal bow.
Yakumo smiled before nodding her head, "No need to be so formal, Naruto-kun, and the pleasure is all ours. Thank you so much for taking care of Kimiko-chan while we are out on a mission."
Naruto shook his head, "No need to thank me Yakumo-san, I am extremely delighted to spend the day with my little sister."
Haru let out a content sigh, he knew that his daughter was a bit of a handful sometimes, and how she always wanted a sibling. Being constantly on duty during these war times, it would not be feasible to conceive another child, but Naruto fit the role perfectly. He was the kind, caring brother who Kimiko always wanted. And Naruto had no qualms about her hyperactive personality.
All in all, it was a win-win.
Soon after, Naruto was walking throughout the village, with a true smile on his face. On his shoulders was perched Kimiko, who was grabbing on his hair and excitedly babbling about everything she would see.
And of course, whatever she wanted, she would have it by the next minute.
Naruto then treated her to some ramen, as the little food monster had a massive appetite for ramen, which far surpassed his own, but was still nowhere near Kushina's.
Soon, the time for their training session arrived, and Naruto introduced Kimiko to Minato and Kushina as his little sister. Needless to say, Naruto's sister, was their sister.
By the end of the day, Kimiko was overjoyed at having one more big brother and even a big sister. She had come to idolize Kushina as they were similar in a lot of ways. They both admired Naruto, they wanted to be respected and admired, and Kimiko was absolutely fascinated by Kushina's strength.
But she soon got bored so she interrupted their training, and used her cuteness to get them to abandon their training and instead spend the complete evening playing with her.
This soon became a habit, as Kimiko would join them once every month, when Naruto would babysit her for the day. It was with no doubt that the little girl had made 'the trio's' training sessions more lively.
Soon, sunset soon rolled in, and Minato and Kushina had gone off to rest. Naruto was sitting with Kimiko on a bench, both of them tired but happy for the day.
"Ne, ne, nii-chan?"
"Hmm, what is it, imouto?"
"That day I told you my dream, to be a respected and loved ninja, but you never told me yours. So what is your dream?"
Naruto froze. He was completely sure and confident in his dream of the annihilation of the rival villages, but could he tell that to Kimiko? He, who planned to kill those villages to the last infant… How could he say such a thing to Kimiko and ruin her precious innocence.
If he could not, then why did he have such a dream that he couldn't be proud of?
'She is just innocent, that is all, she doesn't know pain like me…' a part of his mind whispered and for once in his life, Naruto listened to it.
"Hmm, my dream you say, well I wanna bring justice in this world." He replied with a faraway look in his eyes.
"Ehh? Justice? But tou-san says that we have a council to bring jutsice." Kimiko replied, her innocence showing itself in her speech.
Naruto chuckled, "You will understand when you are older, Kimiko."
"Hmmphh! I am older. I am this many." She exclaimed, holding up five fingers to show she was five years old.
'She is just too precious.' thought Naruto, as he stood up and picked Kimiko up.
"Yes, yes you are my sweet little sister. Come on, your parents must be home by now." Saying this, Naruto settled her on his back. Having become exhausted from the day's adventures, she quickly fell asleep.
flashback end
—X—X—X—
Still, the question haunts Naruto in the back of his mind, 'Should I be proud of my dream? Minato and Kushina will understand, but what will Kimiko think if she knew I plan to kill even innocents? Will she understand my pain?'
But deep inside, he knew the answer, just like when he saw those Kumo ninja, he knew that his hatred ran much deeper, and that he would lose himself in it. But did he really mind that?
No, he did not. He still did not regret brutally killing those Kumo scum even when he could have subdued them with seals.
He knew that he and these disgusting eyes of his only thrived for power, while he favored his family, power was still a close second.
Speaking of power, Naruto couldn't help but be both impressed and disappointed by his growth in the past three years.
He had developed the most with his eyes. His Rinnegan had even morphed three tomoes on them. It turns out that when he desperately needs something, or when his eyes have matured enough, his Rinnegan would flood his mind with information and the workings of a completely new technique, just like when he unlocked Amenotejikara that day.
He found out that every Rinnegan wielder has to walk through six paths and one more complimentary path. However, he could only gain the knowledge and abilities of the next path when his eyes mature or he is in a pinch.
He discovered that when he fully walks through one path, or fully masters its abilities, his eyes manifest a tomoe, signifying his control over that path.
Currently, he has completed three of those paths, which was a solid testament to his prodigy, having completely mastered the abilities of the Tendo, Shurado and the Ningendo path.
The Tendo was the god path, and the strongest among the six paths. It gave him complete control over gravity, to the point of influencing the gravity around himself and his enemies, giving him control over their movements, though it only worked on opponents slower than him. He could use gravitational push and pull through his own body and even create miniature moons of his own, though he never tried that. But the strongest jutsu of Tendo, he did not even dare mention it. It was so strong and otherworldly, that even after walking down the path of Tendo, he knew he would die of exhaustion if he ever used that jutsu.
The Shurado was a much more stable and convenient path. It gave him the ability to mechanize his body and create live unknown weapons from it. Those weapons would include bullets, long projectiles that would explode on contact, rocket like explosives, powerful energy beams and many more. He remembered the first time when he used Shurado, Kushina was so horrified that she even unlocked her chakra chains. Kushina is still not comfortable with Shurado and made him promise not to use that path in front of her. Even Minato was uncomfortable at the sight of him splitting his head open to launch energy beams.
The third path was Ningendo, the human path of memories and soul. Ningendo gave him access to the memories of whoever he wanted, provided that he could overpower his target's chakra. If he could successfully push his chakra into them, then he could access their memories, and the most horrifying ability…
…to access their soul.
Naruto was extremely delighted at the prospect of having access to souls. If he had access to souls, then if he could push it back into the body, maybe his ka-chan could be revived. However his hopes came crashing down when he discovered that a soul, once pulled out, could not be pushed back in. To push back a soul, he would need extreme regenerative capability to make the dead body capable of holding a soul again. But even with his numerous experiments on seals, exploiting his full knowledge of fuinjustsu, he could not do it.
It was the law of the universe, what is dead, stays dead.
—X—X—X—
With the help of Minato, he had improved a lot in his ninjutsu. The Rinnegan gave him access to all five nature releases, and he blatantly abused that fact. He could also channel chakra of all five natures through his weapons.
He was, though, disappointed in his progress on mastering those nature releases. In the three years, he had only managed to get full control of Raiton and Suiton. His Fuuton, Doton, and Katon were subpar, to say the least. He was still putting the finishing touches on his Suiton manipulation. In Fuuton and Doton, he could only use low level jutsu, while he had very poor control on Katon. He figured that Suiton was probably his original affinity with Raition being his secondary one. That would explain his poor control on Katon and quick progress on Suiton.
But he was determined in mastering all five nature releases. He wanted to make a name for himself first. So that his enemies would know that he was coming for them, making his revenge all the more enjoyable.
In the physical arts of Taijustsu and Kenjutsu, Naruto had reached the limit for his body. He knew that he could only advance further when his body grew. However, Minato and Kushina had no such restrictions, Kushina with her jinchuuriki abilities and Minato with Seikakuna Kanpeki, soon surpassed Naruto in taijutsu, though he could still put up a decent fight.
His taijutsu was currently mid-chunin level, while Minato and Kushina were at high-chunin level of taijutsu. But he still beat up the occasional retard who tried to bully Kushina.
In Kenjutsu, he was proud to say he was unmatched. He was around low jonin level in the art. Sparring with Kushina pushed him above and beyond his usual limits. All his katas were performed perfectly, and all his moves were done with grace. Or as Kushina would like to say, each of his stab, parry or strike would be like an elegant dance of death. However, the true credit to his growth in kenjutsu would go to 'The White Fang' Hatake Sakumo, who would sometimes spar with him and give him occasional tips.
However, all of that paled in comparison to his favorite ninja art, fuinjutsu. He was extremely proud of his advancement in the field. He would always get filled up with childlike excitement whenever he thought about it. He had completed level 10 of fuinjustu, making him a level 10 GRANDMASTER. He was currently the youngest recorded person in shinobi history to become a grandmaster. Needless to say, the Uzumaki name was still alive and kicking.
Among everything he trained for, the most disappointing field was genjutsu. Even after hours of practicing and practically forcing his eyes to do something useful, he still could not perform genjutsu. Turns out that his Uzumaki quirk of no genjutsu talent has beaten the Rinnegan's adept abilities.
—X—X—X—
Minato and Kushina were also not so far behind.
Minato had reached high-chunin level of Ninjutsu, his Raiton being on par with Naruto and Fuuton superior to his. His Seikakuna Kanpeki had developed to such an extent that he could move and react so fast that his speeds already exceeded that of an average Jonin. He could augment his physical strength and speed so well that Naruto could never manipulate the gravity around him. Even high powered gravity seals failed to hold him down and the Uzumaki paralysis seals could BARELY hold him down.
However, where Minato truly shined was fuinjutsu, he had just completed level 8 together with Kushina. With Naruto's help, he also find out the jutsu that would make him the fastest man alive…
…The Hiraishin.
That jutsu of the second hokage could easily be used along with Seikakuna Kanpeki, and the heights Minato could reach with that jutsu was truly frightening.
He has just started with the space time section and Naruto had promised him to help him recreate the Hiraishin.
Kushina too had shown extreme talents in the Uzumaki arts. Her taijutsu was the most refined among them, her kenjutsu was already high chunin level, and she was still improving at it. Naruto planned to give her the Uzukage's famed sword once she becomes chunin and clan head. Her affinity was Suiton and Katon, much to his surprise. She had already mastered both of these elements much faster than Minato and Naruto. The reason…..
….Shadow clones. Ever since Minato taught her that, she had abused this jutsu to the max, cutting short her training time by years. It was now not even surprising to find a few dozen Kushinas running around, much to Naruto's ire.
And then there was the fact that she had chakra chains. Naruto was right in his assumption that her chakra would take a physical form, so he was not even surprised that she had awakened Uzumaki Mito's ability, as he was busy dodging those chains because apparently, Kushina didn't like Shurado. He was also secretly glad that she could use it to hold down the Kyuubi should something happen.
Not that he would ever let that happen.
After the quick assessment of his abilities, Naruto let a small smile appear on his face as he thought of his most cherished memories.
—X—X—X—
Naruto and Kushina also made their own yearly ritual. Every year, at the anniversary of Uzu's destruction, Naruto would 'escort' Lady Kushina, the Uzumaki heiress to Tanzaku Gai, for their yearly festival. It was so much alike to the annual Uzushio festival that the redhead pair were lost in memories. Needless to say, they would visit the festival every year and have a lot of fun.
The anniversary of Uzu's destruction was truly a sad memory for the both of them, and neither wanted to see the other drowning in grief, so they made sure to enjoy the festival to the fullest.
Kushina would always love acting like a princess, as it had always been a fantasy for her, and Naruto would enjoy serving his 'Lady Kushina'.
All in all, they were some of the best moments in their life.
—X—X—X—
Naruto finally got up from the Third's head, prepared to face the future head on. He jumped off the head, feeling the wind flowing against his hair.
His dreams and ambitions will start to come to fruition starting tomorrow.
Why of course, tomorrow was his graduation exam.
