Summary: He finally managed to kill the bastard who made him into a weapon. He thought he could now feel true freedom, but he discovered something that changed everything. How will he handle his new situation? This is the story of Naruto Namikaze, the Irregular.

"Speech."

'Think.'

Jutsu/Technique

Flashback/Events of the Past

Warning: English isn't my first language.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

The sun was strong over the land of fire. The sunshine made every living being in the land of fire happy and let them spend quality time outside. The sun lit up a certain forest where a certain blond-haired Shinobi was running through with two females over his shoulders.

Naruto Namikaze had already been running for the last 20 hours without any rest. He knew he needed to get away from Konoha as far as possible. Thanks to his extreme training and his results during the last ten years, running for 20 hours straight without any form of rest was possible. He didn't stop to drink, to eat, or even to rest his legs.

He used one of the many things he discovered himself during his training in Root. The one thing that made it even possible to fight on equal terms against other Shinobi with chakra. Without chakra, you are basically only a "human". Superhuman abilities that were only possible through chakra weren't possible without chakra.

Naruto could use the chakra of the Kyūbi, but this would expose him, and he didn't want that. So he searched and searched for an alternative that would give him a chance to survive even without using chakra at all. Even those who couldn't use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu had chakra in their body to enhance their punches, speed, and other physical activities during a fight. He heard of someone named Rock Lee who couldn't use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. It was true that he trained his body to strengthen him, but in the end, he learned a forbidden Jutsu named the Hachimon (Eight Gates). It was a jutsu that made it possible to enhance the chakra output the user could use. Normally, a Shinobi could only use about 20% of its chakra because otherwise, the Shinobi would suffer injuries like bone breaking, muscle fissures, or even trauma.

So, even someone who specialized in Taijutsu used chakra. Naruto couldn't do this. He had to find something else. So when he fortunately came across a concept from an ancient scroll that he found in a temple, he saw a possibility.

The ancient scroll described the life of warriors who used special breathing techniques to enhance their physical abilities to superhuman levels. They even combined those breathing techniques with Kenjutsu (Sword Techniques) to enhance their swordsmanship.

The most fundamental thing someone had to learn was the so-called Zen Shūchū no kokyū (Total Concentration Breathing). It was an ancient breathing technique that involved expanding one's lungs to intake as much air as possible, accelerating one's blood flow and heartbeat while increasing one's inner body temperature, resulting in one's bones and muscles becoming more excited.

Using Total Concentration Breathing essentially enhanced the user's physical traits and capabilities while remaining human. Such traits included superhuman strength, speed, stamina, durability, endurance, and the mental abilities needed to keep up with their superhuman bodies, such as a faster thought process and reaction time. This was Naruto's secret to be able to fight on equal terms with other Shinobi of high ranks.

But it was very hard to learn this ancient breathing technique. Naruto only had a little part of the theory from the technique in the scroll. He had to experiment with how he achieved the right technique. The first time he did the right breathing, he felt like he would die. It was unbelievable how much stress his body was under when he inhaled so much oxygen. The amount of oxygen Naruto inhaled was nothing he ever inhaled before. A normal inhale of air was a little drop of water compared to the amount of air Naruto inhaled through the ancient breathing technique.

His heart almost burst the first time it got this overload of oxygen. Naruto's ears felt like they would explode. Everything inside his body was aching like shit. But Naruto already felt it in this single moment. He felt how his body was different than before. So much more capable than before.

He promised himself he would succeed in mastering this ancient breathing technique. However, the biggest problem came up when he mastered how to use this ancient breathing technique during a punch. He could only use the breathing technique for a few seconds before he would return to his normal breathing. It was enough for a punch combo or a little dash, but nothing more.

In the ancient scroll, a state was described that let the user stay in this breathing technique forever. To make it simple, Naruto needed to learn how to use the ancient breathing technique 24/7 without ever stooping. It had to become his normal breathing, and boy, was this a long and hard way. But after months of training and meditation, he managed to learn the Zen Shūchū Jōchū (Total Concentration: Constant).

He did the impossible and managed to use the total concentration breathing 24/7, or in other words he managed to make the total concentration breathing his normal breathing. There was an immense difference in strength, speed, and stamina between someone who could maintain Total Concentration Breathing at all times and someone who could not. By doing it every minute of the day, one's physical fitness drastically improves. Since he used this breathing technique all the time, his physical abilities improved over time, even when he did nothing. The longer Naruto was alive, the more his physical abilities would improve just because Naruto was in a constant state of total concentration breathing. Even when he would never train again, he would still become stronger every day a little bit even when it would not be noticeable at first.

At a more advanced level, Total Concentration Breathing was also capable of slowing down the circulation of poison in the bloodstream and even clotting wounds from severe injuries. By focusing on every inch of the body and raising the accuracy of one's breathing, one could spread their sensitivity throughout one's body and detect and even heal hidden internal wounds they may have.

This ancient breathing technique was really the best thing Naruto could ever find and learn. This was the reason he could survive this long even when he didn't use chakra like others.

'I should be close,' thought Naruto while he ran through the forest. He became slower when he finally saw his destination in the distance. He saw a rock formation where he set up one of his hideouts. It didn't take him long before he was staying before a rock wall. A tiny opening was visible in the rock wall, and with both women over his shoulders, he slipped through somehow. It became dark around Naruto, but it didn't bother him. He walked about 200 meters before he would come to a dead end. At least, that would think most. Naruto kicked against a certain rock, letting light shine into the dark passage. The rock Naruto kicked away was about the size of an adult male human. Naruto went through the revealed opening and was now standing in a large room that was clearly made by a human.

The floor, the walls, and the ceiling were all decorated with special rocks that shined in the dark. So even when no sunlight came into this room, the otherwise dark room was completely lit up by those special rocks. They looked like diamonds on the ceiling. A single large bed was standing in one corner of the large room. Naruto placed the mother-daughter duo on the bed and turned away from them. He went to a stone table where multiple scrolls and books lay. He sat on a stone that was before the stone table and opened a scroll. He took ink and a brush to write something down on the scroll. His hand was moving swiftly with perfect precision. The characters were drawn in no time. Naruto rolled the scroll up and placed her on a bookshelf he built with some wood he got from the trees in the forest.

He cracked his neck and went to check on the mother-daughter duo. Both were still unconscious, even when Naruto's fast running shook their body during the 20 hours. Naruto pulled his hood from his cloak back and shook his head. He felt how a tight spot in his neck cracked. He sighed in satisfaction and took a futon from the corner of the room. Even when he wasn't tired yet and could still stay away for quite some time, he would do himself a favor with some well-deserved sleep.

Naruto lay down and fell asleep almost immediately.

Naruto didn't know how long he had slept, but when he opened his eyes, everything was as if it had been before he had slept. The mother-daughter duo were on the large bed, and everything else was also in the same spot. Naruto sighed and stood up, rolling up the futon and standing it in the corner again.

He checked on both women, and after he was sure both were okay, he exited the hideout. He needed something to eat. He had water inside his hideout, but food was another matter. He also needed to clear his head. When he stepped out of the little passage into the forest, he could see that it was night.

'I guess I slept at least 12 hours,' thought Naruto. When he came to his hideout, it was in the middle of the day, but now it was in the middle of the night. He walked to a tree and leaned against it. He sighed deeply and thought, 'What am I doing here?'

He wasn't really sure what he was supposed to do now. He freed a former Jinchūriki and the current Jinchūriki from the Kyūbi. He did one of the dumbest things he could do. With those two around, he could never begin his quiet and normal life—something he always wanted.

What should he do when one of the two wakes up? He didn't think this through. This entire situation was his own doing, and he couldn't curse enough his own stupidity. He was never good at talking to other people. A trait he never really trained since he never talked more than four sentences with another person. The person he talked the most with was Danzo, and only when he reported about a finished mission, for example.

Well… it could be said he did it out of the situation he was in back in Konoha. He really needed a good plan for how he would deal with everything. Kasumi Uzumaki was one thing he could somehow manage with enough patients. He could somehow deal with her, no matter her reaction when she woke up. He had known her for many years and could think about what she would do.

But Kushina Uzumaki? The woman was believed dead for the last 12 years. Naruto had no clue how she would react when she would wake up. How was he supposed to explain that the girl beside her on the bed was her daughter? How was he supposed to explain that she had been inside a literal glass container full of liquid for the past 12 years? He couldn't even begin to think about all the ways this would go wrong. Kushina Uzumaki was known for one thing: Her intense temper. She would blow up at the tiniest things and she would beat down everyone in her way.

There would also be the tiny detail that he literally kidnapped her only child. He also attacked Kasumi, which was another great initial situation. He sighed deeply and shook his head. He would deal with it when the time came. Once he ate, he could think more clearly.

Naruto ran into the forest with the intention of hunting an animal. A deer would be good since it would bring him enough food for a few days. This way, he could stay inside his hideout and watch over the two women he brought with him.