Mito Uzumaki entered the highest security area of the Torture and Interrogation Unit along with the Third Hokage. Her disguise was automatically removed upon entry by one of the seals she had placed here long ago.
Danzo lay in his cell, forced into an unconscious state from the day he was captured. Hiruzen took out a three-pronged Kunai and threw it to the ground after injecting some of his chakra into it. A moment later, a clone of Minato Namikaze appeared.
"So, how are we doing this?" Minato asked, turning to Danzo.
"I have something to obtain the intel he has," Mito said, "But first I want to hear his excuse. Either way, he will not be leaving this room alive. I want to hear his words before extracting the intel. Release the seal to awaken him, but keep his chakra cut off."
"Got it," Minato knelt down beside the former advisor. He got up after mading some adjustments to Danzo's seal.
"Danzo Shimura. You are being tried for your treason against the village. Do you have something to say?" The Third Hokage's firm voice echoed in the chamber.
Danzo opened his eyes slowly, his eyes widening when he saw Mito and Minato beside Hiruzen.
"It was not a Genjutsu, then," Danzo muttered. "I assume Orochimaru resurrected Lady Mito, which was why he failed. But what of Minato? He is not a reanimation." He asked.
"You are in no position to ask questions," Mito said, her anger becoming more and more apparent as she spoke. "I detected my husband's chakra on you. What did you do with his remains?"
"Everything I did was for Konoha. I have nothing else to say." Danzo said, gazing at his captors. "You will not be able to get anything out of me. It would be best for you to keep me alive, for the information I have with me is far too valuable to the village."
Mito smiled humourlessly. "Do you think that the Yamanaka clan's technique is the only way we can gain intel from you? Then you are mistaken."
"A sealing mistress of your caliber would surely know that my body is covered with a sealing matrix that requires no chakra to activate. If a foreign chakra enters my body against my will, the seals will implode upon themselves and destroy this body. Everything I know will be gone with it."
"Yes, that is if we need to use our chakra to enter your mind," Mito said, producing a few masks. "The Uzumaki clan's methods are… superior to the Yamanaka in that way."
Danzo eyed the masks in Mito's hand with apprehension. "I must admit, the Mask Temple of the Uzumaki always intrigued me. It was a pity that it was inaccessible after Kushina's death. Neither of you shared these treasures with the village."
Mito's eyes hardened. "You, who delayed Konoha's aid to Uzu, have no grounds to complain. Do you expect all clans to divulge their secrets?"
"The village is always above the clan," Danzo replied. "Those are your husband's words, not mine."
"You only remember my husband's words when they are convenient to you. But all of your actions have been against it. His greatest wish was peace with the Uchiha, and you caused the circumstances that led to their alienation and slaughter."
"The Uchiha are a plague that destroys order. They are too emotional to be capable shinobi. I merely brought stability to the village by eliminating them. Lord Hashirama was… too lenient in his judgments."
"That is a mistake I will not repeat," Mito placed one of her masks on Danzo's face. She shared two masks with the Third and Fourth Hokage and wore the final one herself.
"Put these on, and we will be able to access his mind freely. Hiruzen, you will guide his memories to reveal what you want to see."
The three shinobi donned the masks. Mito flashed through some obscure hand signs that ended with a snake sign.
"Uzumaki Style: Mind mirroring mask!"
Abruptly the shinobi felt a pull and their consciousness shifted outside the physical plane.
Several hours later, Hiruzen removed his mask, his face pale and drenched in sweat. Minato was not looking much better, while Mito radiated fury. She glanced at Hiruzen, who made a pained expression but nodded tiredly. She yanked off Danzo's mask and substituted it with another while resisting an urge to choke him.
"Uzumaki Style: Mind subjugation!" She declared, and Danzo's form went still. Slowly, his arms rose up as if to form hand seals.
"Minato, release the chakra seal completely. I now have full control of his body."
Minato nodded and formed a hand seal. As soon as his seal in Danzo's chest pulsed in response, the latter's hands began to move swiftly over a series of hand seals.
"The Reaper Death seal," Minato said, "To prevent someone from reviving him?"
"Yes, that is the only permanent solution I've found so far. The knowledge he has is too dangerous in the wrong hands." Mito grimaced as Danzo's limp body fell to the ground a moment later. She turned him over to inspect the newly formed seal in his stomach and nodded in grim satisfaction.
"I misjudged him greatly. I am no longer fit to be Hokage," Hiruzen said, his voice showing his sorrow. "I never knew any of this. No, it's better to say that I remained wilfully ignorant."
"You did not have confidence in your choices as being the best for the village," Mito said, casting a hard glance at Hiruzen. "This is why you broke the command chain in Konoha by appointing your teammates as your advisors. However, it should have been a temporary arrangement at best."
"I have nothing to say. I have failed my duty to the village,"
"Until you find a successor, work towards redeeming your legacy, Hiruzen," Mito advised, some of her anger dissipating. "Find and remove the unsavory elements and heal the souls corrupted under his influence."
"I will try my best," Hiruzen promised. "I can only hope to redirect their loyalty to the village and integrate them into the regular ANBU cadre."
Minato felt pity for his predecessor. Love and camaraderie had clouded his judgment multiple times, and the village was now paying the price for it. He was still in disbelief over the magnitude of Danzo's crimes.
"He colluded with Hanzo and later controlled him to gain Ame's assistance in overthrowing Lord Third," Minato said, starting to count with his finger, "was involved in killing one of Jiraiya-sensei's students who was advocating peace in Ame, prevented Fugaku and the Uchiha from helping against the Nine-Tails, aided Orochimaru in his experiments by allowing many of Konoha's children to be kidnapped and killed, caused Shisui Uchiha's death while stealing his Sharingan, carried out multiple unauthorized missions that interfered with foreign affairs without the knowledge of the Hokage, attempted to assassinate Lord Third, ordered Itachi Uchiha to slaughter the Uchiha clan, made a deal with the masked man who calls himself Madara, colluded with Orochimaru to depose you by facilitating an invasion," Minato exhaled sharply as he ran out of fingers to count. "Every single one of these crimes amounts to treason. He might be the biggest traitor this village has ever seen. It's good to know that his soul is locked inside the Death God's belly like mine."
Mito didn't tell him that there was an Uzumaki mask that would allow such a soul to be retrieved. She didn't intend to ever use it, and hoped that secret would die with her. She was fascinated by the fact that Minato was still being sustained in the world of the living while lacking a soul. Then again, the soul merely kept the body alive. One's memories and consciousness, which gave a person his personality, could be distilled from the soul as Minato had done. Mito marveled at the genius of the Fourth Hokage, finishing her inscription of a complex seal around Danzo's body.
"Uzumaki Style: Hellfire!" She muttered, and thick black flames erupted around Danzo's body. In moments, the body was consumed, leaving no remnants. The Uzumaki had created this technique to replicate the same flames that powered the ambitiously named Amaterasu of the Uchiha clan. She turned to Hiruzen. "I will do the same with the arm you extracted," she told him. "As for Shisui's eye, it must be kept safe. If Naruto ever suffers from a degraded vision similar to the Mangekyou Sharingan, its chakra could be used to reinforce the Rinnegan."
"Do you think there's such a risk?" Minato asked in alarm.
"The chances are slim," Mito admitted. "Since he contains the Nine-Tails, the amount of chakra he has would insulate him from most of the ill effects. However, as his Rinnegan was formed from the chakra of a single eye, we cannot discount that possibility."
"Thank you for your wisdom, Lady Mito," Minato bowed deeply, grateful for her knowledge.
"There is no need for thanks, Minato. We are family." Mito smiled warmly.
Hiruzen called one of his ANBU beside him. The masked operative handed him a scroll, which Hiruzen then passed to Mito."I will entrust you to keep Shisui's eye safe until it is needed."
Mito nodded, sealing away the scroll that contained Shisui's eye. "Now, which issue should we address first?"
"The other boy with the Rinnegan, Nagato," Minato said thoughtfully, "The intel Danzo received from Hanzo indicated that he killed everyone who were present there after Hanzo caused Yahiko's death. All of Danzo's ROOT operatives present there died, so Hanzo was the sole source of information. Danzo stopped receiving intel from Hanzo about a year after this incident. This means that either Hanzo cut ties with Danzo, or Hanzo died, possibly at the hands of Nagato. If the latter is true, the intel Jiraiya received regarding his students' death may have been false."
"Another Rinnegan wielder…" Mito said with some apprehension, "and one who had time to hone his skills for about three decades… Someone like that would be incomparably strong if he were alive today."
Minato nodded gravely. "The organization that Yahiko founded is called the Akatsuki. Since that organization is still thriving, and can successfully keep so many powerful shinobi under their control, Nagato is likely behind it. The Akatsuki that Yahiko envisioned was always peaceful. Did they change their views after Yahiko was killed at the hands of Hanzo? They may be aware of Danzo's role in this, and if so, Nagato will likely have significant hatred towards us."
"Has this Uchiha Itachi reported anything regarding the Akatsuki?" Mito asked Hiruzen.
Hiruzen shook his head. "I have received no intel from Itachi after he joined that organization. He was likely under heavy surveillance from the masked man since he joined, and has not been able to send a report because of this."
"Who is the true leader of the Akatsuki, then?" Minato wondered. "Is it the masked man who single-handedly wreaked havoc in Konoha thirteen years ago, or is it the Rinnegan wielder who was one of its founding members? Either way, it seems that the current ideology of the Akatsuki is likely shaped by the masked man. Nagato was probably easy to manipulate after Yahiko's death."
"Given what we know of how the Rinnegan is achieved, it is likely that a Uchiha had transferred his ocular chakra to this Nagato when he was young. As an Uzumaki, he may have awakened the Rinnegan in a manner similar to Naruto. What worries me is that the sage did not mention anything about this man." Mito frowned.
"The sage did say that he did not wish to reveal everything and merely wished to guide Naruto with his newfound powers." Minato reasoned. "And according to Jiraiya-sensei, Nagato did not know anything about the Rinnegan when he met him. Perhaps he did not meet the sage like Naruto did."
"Could the masked man be the Uchiha who transferred his chakra to Nagato?" The Third mused.
"It's possible," Minato replied, considering the idea. "He did possess a Mangekyou Sharingan in just one eye. It's conceivable he might have transferred the chakra from his other eye to Nagato, which could have facilitated the creation of the Rinnegan."
"These two shinobi, more than anyone else, are the gravest threats we face today. Even Orochimaru pales in comparison. It is unclear what happened in Amegakure after Hanzo cut ties with Danzo, but if it indeed fell into the hands of the Akatsuki, it might be their base of operations." The Third observed.
"At this time, please don't inform Jiraiya-sensei about his students' fate," Minato requested. "Until we have more information, it would be better not to do anything risky."
The Third hummed in agreement and turned to Mito. "At this time, we must prioritize strengthening the village to guard against the inevitable conflict with the Akatsuki and Orochimaru. Lady Mito, would you accompany Jiraiya to find your granddaughter once he returns from his mission? If Tsunade returns, I intend to make her my successor soon."
"I was planning to find her myself if you hadn't asked." Mito agreed with a smile. "Mayhaps I can take Naruto with me as well, to remind her of her ties to the village even if I pass on one day."
"That can be arranged," The Hokage assured her. "He will be safer with Jiraiya and yourself, and Minato and Kushina can assist if things go south. "As for the other matters, we should continue this discussion in my office. I would like to discuss these revelations with the two of you at length."
As Naruto's clones went for the team meeting and visited Gaara, the original stood in a clearing in the Senju clan compound, facing one of Minato's clones. Another Kushina clone was leaning against a nearby tree, watching the first father-son bonding session with a smile.
"Naruto, I'm sure you're aware of the threat posed by the Akatsuki. I saw Kabuto's memories as well, and they are a dangerous group of individuals. As they seem to target Tailed Beasts, it is likely that the masked man who attacked our village may also be linked to this group. I want you to be able to freely use the full extent of your abilities in combat. When it comes to a life and death situation, there will be no point in keeping your abilities under wraps. To get a feel of your abilities, I want you to try to land a hit on me." Minato said. He took out a dozen Kunai and threw them all over the training ground.
"Piece of cake," Naruto said confidently. "Bansho Ten'in!" He said, pointing his palm towards… an empty space?
"Too slow," Minato said from behind him, patting him on the head. "Try again!"
Naruto whirled around, but Minato was gone once again.
"Well, that's an annoying jutsu. But I have one that's even more annoying!" Naruto declared. "Shadow clone jutsu!"
In an instant, a dozen shadow clones formed and encircled Minato. Not a moment later, they dispersed.
"This is fun." Minato grinned, standing relaxed in his initial position.
"I couldn't see you move!" Naruto exclaimed. "What sort of a hax jutsu is this?!"
"You need to train your brain better. The Rinnegan is probably capable of seeing my movements, but you're not thinking fast enough." Minato explained. "Sharingan users can see me move, although they can't do anything about it. I can't see why it wouldn't be possible with the Rinnegan."
Naruto strained his eyes to watch Minato carefully while channeling more chakra into them. He could already see that Minato's hands had more than a thousand micro-seals inscribed in them, with symbols similar to those that he could see in the kunai littered all over the battlefield. "Uhh... could you do that jutsu again, Dad? A bit slower if possible?"
Minato nodded. "It's not really possible to slow down too much, but I will show the activation sequence. Watch."
Naruto could suddenly see what was happening. One of the innumerable seals in Minato's hands glowed, and another seal in one of the kunai glowed along with it. Around Minato, the air seemed to twist and distort, forming what appeared to Naruto as a swirling vortex. It looked almost like the water swirling down a drain, but it was the very fabric of space that was bending. In the blink of an eye, Minato was pulled into this spiraling distortion. Simultaneously, near the activated kunai seal, another distortion materialized, echoing the first. From this second gateway, Minato emerged just as quickly as he had disappeared, as if he had traveled between the two points through a hidden passage in the air itself.
"I saw it!" Naruto grinned widely. "You have linked seals in your hand and the kunai. You got sucked into that swirly hole that's connected to this one," he pointed to where Minato appeared, "And whoosh! You popped out here!"
Minato exchanged a glance with Kushina, clearly surprised. "You can see the space-time bridge? That's incredible! Do you see something similar when you use your gravity powers?"
"Am I supposed to?" Naruto frowned and started to levitate. To his surprise, he could see the world around him change. As he rose up, he could see that the space around him bent upwards.
"I can see it!" Naruto said excitedly. "It's as if I'm stuck in a well, and I'm just climbing out of it."
"That would be the gravity well of the Earth," Minato said in wonder. "So you can literally see the space-time continuum if you wish it."
"That's awesome!" Kushina had stars in her eyes. "You can understand space-time sealing jutsu a lot better if you can see it like that!"
"You guys need to teach me what you're talking about. I don't know anything about this space-time continuum stuff." Naruto said sheepishly.
"That's fine, Naruto! I'll teach you!" Kushina said happily.
"Naruto," Minato advised. "It would be great if you could see this all the time, or atleast try to do it every so often. You might be able to detect the masked man if he ever enters the village. His space-time ninjutsu is even more advanced than mine, but it will definitely leave a trace that your Rinnegan can detect."
"Got it," Naruto nodded. Activating it always will be challenging and a bit dizzying, but he could get used to it. "You still kicked that guy's ass though," Naruto said with admiration.
"Well, my Hiraishin may be inferior to his, but the speed of my movements certainly isn't!"
"Can you teach me the Hiraishin?" Naruto asked hopefully.
"I was planning to," Minato promised. "Once you know enough about sealing to create your own markers. That is something I cannot do for you, unfortunately. The Hiraishin is one of the pinnaces of space-time jutsu, and you need to be very proficient in Sealing to be able to use it. Additionally, you need to sharpen your reflexes and react quick enough to take advantage of it in battle. The moment anyone hears that you can perform this jutsu, you will have a bigger target on your back than even I did."
"Why is that?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Because you have the Nine-Tails inside you. A jinchuuriki is always classified as an S-rank threat. Coupled with the Hiraishin, the nations would spare no expense at hunting you down even if they didn't know about the Rinnegan. This is why you need to train your reflexes, to utilize it fully."
Naruto nodded with understanding. Speed is the ultimate weapon a shinobi has in his arsenal. No matter how powerful someone was, it would do no good if they died before they could cast a jutsu. Even a supremely powerful bloodline like the Third Tsuchikage's particle release paled compared to what Minato Namikaze could do.
Minato was struck by a sudden inspiration. "Your gravity manipulation is essentially space-time manipulation." He said. "If you can do space-time manipulation with your Rinnegan, it stands to reason that you can imitate the Hiraishin in some form. You might be able to move about the space-time continuum freely if that's the case!"
"Holy shit, you're right!" Kushina exclaimed.
"Naruto, create about a dozen clones and observe my Hiraishin." Minato instructed.
"Shadow clone jutsu!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly. Twelve shadow clones materialized and spread out, forming a wide circle around them. A few of them perched themselves on treetops for a better view.
"Watch carefully!" Minato said, and began to move across the battlefield as slow as he could. From the different angles, Naruto could see the ripples and holes that appeared in this so-called space-time continuum as he saw his father move. It was quite complicated to process it all because of Rinnegan's shared vision, but he was determined to see it through and find a pattern.
"Okay," Minato said after a few minutes. "I'm almost out of chakra. Try dispersing your clones now."
Naruto dispersed his clones and was disoriented from the overload of visual stimuli. He was starting to get a headache as his mind tried to process what he had seen. Although he could see his father from all angles simultaneously, dispelling his clones provided him with their unique perspectives as well.
"I can't make sense out of this," Naruto winced. Although he was able to pick up some patterns, a lot of things didn't make sense to him. He lacked the fundamental knowledge needed to understand this.
"That's fine, maybe I went overboard a bit. You need to understand the principles of space-time in depth before attempting something, anyway. It is extremely dangerous if something goes wrong." Minato consoled him. "We will go over the theory later, and once you grasp it, we can begin experimenting with creating space-time bridges and sending objects or clones through it. For now, accompany me through the Hiraishin once, and try to understand the inside perspective as well."
"Okay!" Naruto was psyched. Minato put his hand on Naruto's shoulder and connected their chakra. Naruto felt a pull as he gazed intently at the swirling vortex that was pulling him in. He felt a sensation akin to falling down, but he reappeared, disoriented, in another location. To his eyes, it was as if he was squished into a tube and he got out at the other end.
"That happened too fast," Naruto said. "But I saw a glimpse of what happens inside. I don't know if I can create something like that yet."
"Once you understand the theory, you may get a better idea of how to proceed," Minato advised. "In the meantime, there was something else I wanted you to try. Can you push some more chakra into my clone, like you did inside your mind?"
"Sure," Naruto said, confused as to where this was going. He placed his palm on Minato's stomach and pushed his modified chakra into Minato's clone.
"Great!" Minato grinned. "Now, take some of that chakra back."
"...What?"
"Just trying something. Just like you pushed out your chakra, pull it inside you."
Carefully, Naruto did as instructed. He felt some of the chakra that he had transferred come back to his system.
"Do you realize what this is?" Minato asked, grinning.
"Chakra absorption ability?" Naruto said, finally realizing the significance. "Like that Yoroi guy who fought Sasuke?"
"Exactly!" Minato smiled. "Although you have pleanty of chakra, it's a good technique to weaken the opponent if you can drain their chakra fast enough."
"Just have to make sure I don't accidentally yank their soul out too," Naruto joked, though he felt sick to his stomach at the thought.
"I'm sure that won't happen unless you specifically want it," Minato said, paling a little at the thought. "This ability might also have another application. Kushina, create some water, please!"
"Sure thing! Water release: Puddle of water!" She slammed her palms to the ground.
Naruto sweat dropped as a miniature puddle of water formed in front of him, wondering what that technique would be used for.
"You can directly drink from it," Minato said, reading his thoughts. "You need to carry less supplies that way. Now, try absorbing that water. It's formed out of chakra."
"Okaaay..." Naruto said, placing his palms on the water. It abruptly sucked the water chakra inside him, leaving the puddle dry.
"Wait... That means!" Kushina exclaimed, realizing the implications.
"I can absorb ninjutsu?!" Naruto said, also arriving at the same conclusion.
"Seems like it!" Minato grinned. "Do you think you can use that fast enough when a technique reaches you?"
"Only one way to find out!" Naruto said, confidently extending his palm while facing Kushina.
"Prepare to get drenched! Water style: Splashdown Tsunami!" Naruto could see Kushina channeling a good chunk of her chakra into the technique. She spat out a huge wave of water that, although quite large, moved slowly and lacked any real force.
Naruto imagined sucking in all of that water-natured chakra while he held out his palm. As the jutsu almost touched him, he latched on to the chakra surrounding the technique and began to absorb it with all his might. The jutsu started to converge around his palm and was absorbed in a few seconds.
"Way to go!" Kushina cheered. "That's awesome! Almost feels like watching the Samaheda in action!"
"That's where I got the idea of absorbing jutsu from," Minato confirmed. "Now we need you to get used to absorbing attacks at a faster pace."
"Alright! Bring it on!" Naruto cheered. He paled when both his parents began to go through hand signs. "H-hold on! That's not fair!"
Soaked to the skin, Naruto trudged into the house for lunch, shooting a glare at his mom who wore a smug grin after splashing him repeatedly during their training. He had quickly become proficient in his chakra absorption skill, now able to intercept most techniques from slow to medium speed, up to and including B-rank jutsu.
"So, what's the plan after lunch?" Naruto asked his dad.
"The Rinnegan has a lot of potential for us to explore," Minato said thoughtfully. "With your ability to copy our chakra and duplicate it perfectly, I believe you may have the ability to copy chakra-based bloodline limits."
"No way!" Kushina exclaimed. "You're a genius, Minato!" She cheered.
"Thanks. I try." Minato grinned.
"Uh… let me get this straight," Naruto said, thinking hard. "I can just copy bloodlines if I imitate their chakra?" He asked with disbelief.
"As you know, almost all bloodlines originated from the Rinnegan," Minato explained his reasoning. "And all chakra-based bloodlines that combine multiple chakra natures, like the lava release or the ice release or even the wood release, originate from the Senju clan or its offshoots. Even your mom's chakra chains, which is a manipulation of pure non-elemental chakra, is one such technique. This flexibility of the Senju clan was why the first Hokage was able to develop his own unique bloodline limit. The Senju were masters of all sorts of nature manipulation. Centuries ago, internal conflicts within the Senju clan had prompted many unique bloodline wielders to leave the clan. This is how many other shinobi clans with bloodlines such as the lava release or ice release originated. While the Uchiha may be the parent clan of most dojutsu, the Senju may be the parent clan of most chakra bloodlines. With your Rinnegan, you can understand exactly what happens to a person's chakra when they manifest their bloodline. So you might just be able to copy their bloodline with enough observation."
Naruto took a moment to process that. "That's seriously overpowered."
"Kushina," Minato turned to his wife, "Post lunch, I want you to demonstrate your chakra chains to Naruto."
"Got it!" Kushina said, before a mischievous twinkle entered her eye. "Why wait?" She asked as chakra chains emerged from her and wrapped around Naruto.
"Oy! Let me go! I'm hungry, y'know!" Naruto said, grumbling. Suddenly, he smirked, and the chains binding him disappeared.
"No fair! You can't get rid of my chains just by absorbing them! That takes all the fun away!" Kushina pouted. Naruto cheekily stuck out his tongue in response.
After lunch, the recently reunited family once again found themselves in the clan training ground.
"Naruto, watch carefully!" Kushina said, getting ready to demonstrate her bloodline.
Naruto watched intently as Kushina's chakra transformed. It surged throughout her body, gathering momentum before forcefully ejecting from her chakra points. As it emerged, the chakra condensed and hardened, taking on a solid form. This chakra then shaped itself into shimmering golden chains. Soon, Kushina was wielding nine shining chains, each crafted from densely compressed chakra.
"Let's see," Naruto said, concentrating. He visualized the chains as he recalled the structure of Kushina's chakra that he had absorbed earlier. Aiming to replicate that structure, he directed his modified chakra to flow out from his chakra points.
Solid chains made out of chakra shot out of Naruto. Unfortunately, instead of stretching into long, fluid links, they emerged only a few meters in length and quickly collapsed to the ground after being released.
Kushina stared. "I've never seen that happen before." She said, examining the chains. "I guess it's because you're mimicking the bloodline rather than it arising naturally."
"...Oh." Naruto flushed, embarrassed. "Guess I should have kept up my concentration. I may have gotten over-excited."
"You'll get it in no time! Even if you didn't inherit the bloodline directly, your chakra still carries the latent tendency. You just need to awaken it." Kushina encouraged.
As the afternoon faded into evening, marked by the deepening colors of the sky, Naruto's persistence finally paid off. Modifying his technique as per his mother's feedback, he successfully formed a couple of long, unbroken chains. He grinned, turning to his father with a newfound confidence. "Dad, you said I could copy any chakra bloodline like this?"
"It should be possible, with enough observation, practice, and effort." Minato nodded. "Although it would be unwise to copy and use them in a way that would expose you."
"I understand," Naruto said. Orochimaru's obsession with bloodlines meant that he had a good grasp of what the different chakra-based bloodlines were. This should help him greatly in replicating bloodlines.
"By the way, Mom," He turned to his mother. "Kabuto had intel on a Kunoichi called Karin, who had participated in the chuunin exams this year from Kusagakure. Uzumaki Karin." He emphasized.
Kushina's eyes widened. "How did I miss that?!" Kushina slapped her head with her palm. While she had been passively aware as Kabuto's memories merged with Naruto, they hadn't assimilated with her on the same level as they did for Naruto. Thus, she had overlooked this vital information until Naruto reminded her of it.
"We'll ask the Hokage if anything can be done regarding her. She is an Uzumaki and one of Konoha's allied clans. Kusagakure may be tempted to hand her over if adequate compensation is offered." Minato said thoughtfully. "The question is, will Lord Hokage be willing to negotiate with them over this matter?"
"Konoha had once started a war for the Uzumaki," Kushina said fiercely. "Kusa had better hand her over."
"I am sure they will be reasonable," Minato pacified her. "However, even if she joins Konoha, it would be a while before the village can take her into confidence. It would be too risky to reveal our existence to her, and the same goes for Lady Mito. Since Naruto is staying here, even he can have only limited contact."
"I understand that, Minato," Kushina said glumly. "I understand how important all this is. But the thought of a relative… Her mother is probably one of my cousins, although I don't know which ones survived the exodus."
Minato patted Kushina's back consolingly. Kushina hurriedly rubbed her tears away and forced a smile for Naruto's sake. "Anyway, it'll be good to meet a relative after such a long time, even if we may only be watching through Naruto's eyes."
"Now, Naruto," Minato said. "I have formulated a training plan for you. You can train with ten clones every day, while your original self will be carrying out missions. For now, two of them can be dedicated to the specific Uzumaki sealing arts that Kushina or Lady Mito shall teach you. One of them can to learn to control the adamantine chains, because that is a bloodline limit comparable to the wood release when it comes to controlling tailed beasts. Two of you shall work with me on improving their reflexes, and five of them can alternate between understanding ninjutsu and improving the chakra absorption technique. Any suggestions?"
Naruto nodded. "Can I have one of them learn chakra control as well? The clone that went to meet Gaara just dispersed, and he had come up with an idea to train chakra control. Since each clone only has a small part of my usual chakra, it will be easier for them to train chakra control."
Minato nodded. "That's a good idea. We can do that by allotting one of the five clones that focusses on ninjutsu to work on it. Tell you what, I'll also teach you a jutsu for improving chakra control." He grinned and opened his palm. Slowly, a swirling ball of chakra formed on top of it.
"Whoa… Is that the Rasengan?" Naruto's eyes widened as he realized exactly what was happening inside that little ball of chakra. "How on earth can you spin chakra so fast?" He exclaimed.
"Like I said, you gotta improve your control," Minato smirked. "Let's see you copy this one. I'll warn you, even the Sharingan failed to copy this."
Naruto held out his palm, accepting the challenge. He expelled chakra from his palm and willed it to form a ball. However, all he achieved was a vortex of unstable and shapeless chakra that spun with a tenth of the actual speed.
"Man, my control sucks." Naruto pouted. "But I'll nail it in no time. Believe it!"
"I do believe it, Naruto." Minato smiled warmly.
"We believe in you." Kushina agreed, ruffling her son's hair affectionately. Naruto felt an unfamiliar warmth bubbling in his chest.
'You guys are so cute!' Naruto suddenly heard a thought that was not his own.
"Who was that?" Naruto jolted, startled.
"Who was what, Naruto?" Kushina asked with concern.
'...I said that out loud, didn't I? Oops.'