1,905Author Note
Hello everyone and welcome to another chapter of Cursed Eyes.
Not much to say before, so let's jump in.
Cursed Eyes
Chapter 40 – Legacy
Beta: Scheffinator
As soon as Kurama said that he and Naruto weren't alone in the plane of his mind, Naruto observed the two silhouettes that appeared in front of him.
At first, he really thought the fox wasn't done playing tricks with him when he eyed the very man that entrapped the fox inside his gut close to sixteen years ago. Blond hair, blue eyes, wearing a Jonin outfit beneath a long white cape of sorts…next to him, stood a woman with long red hair and violet eyes, wearing a long white dress beneath a green apron. Both were looking at him exactly like Naruto were looking at them, flabbergasted at being in a completely alien scenario, of course it may be for the fact that the fox was right behind Naruto, completely free and without any kind of restraint whatsoever. The fox for his part couldn't help but snort in derision at the situation, before letting out a chuckle at the look on their faces.
"The look on your faces is quite priceless, indeed, Yondaime…Kushina…" Naruto looked upward to see that the fox was addressing them. "Anyhow, I venture that you three have a long conversation ahead…so…"
As soon as he said so, Naruto, Minato and Kushina were transported into what appeared to be a different reality where the fox was no longer there and they appeared to be in a full orange painting canvas.
"How are you two here?"
Minato and Kushina blinked in surprise once more, both admitting to be caught by surprise at showing up before their time was truly up. The parents then looked up at one another and then at their son. Minato then started, while Kushina seemed to be in a trance of sorts, as she attempted to take a better look at the man her son became. He felt…different than she thought he would be. Minato, for his part, showed a smile as he looked at Naruto up and down, in approval.
"Naruto…I worked it into the seal that entrapped the Kyuubi in you so that I would appear here in case the seal got broken or released for some reason…but to have the privilege of witnessing your growth was quite astounding…astounding indeed. I really did that to avoid the fox taking over, but seeing everything you accomplished thus far has alleviated my concerns. In the end, this mechanism had allowed me to see my son once again as a young man." Naruto was still busy making sense of it all, when he looked at the woman next to the Yondaime about to speak.
"Naruto…is that really you…my son…" Kushina advanced cautiously, with tentative steps and an open arm, but she flinched once he didn't reciprocate, instead he took a step back. Kushina then looked down, but then smiled. "I apologize…Naruto, I know it must be a shock for you to see us...this being no doubt the first time you see us. But you are my son…Naruto." Kushina desperately wanted to hug her son, but she held back with obvious pain in her chest. Minato understood it all, but placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Give him some time, Kushina…his life growing up has given him scars…scars that weren't his, but are at the same time." Kushina looked at Minato in surprise and then at her son's black onyx eyes.
She understood the look of someone guarded…it saddened her that she knew next to nothing about him.
"How do you know what happened to me? You are dead! How could you know what I have been through, growing up!" Minato and Kushina saw the anger and resentment in his tone. At this point, Naruto has felt it pointless to hold himself back. The amount of emotions so far bottled up inside of him. The amount of pain he had to cope, not only his own, but Itachi's and Sasuke's. The never ending nightmares…the look of contempt from the villagers…the lives he took.
Kushina was startled, but Minato took it all in as he saw the emotions come up to the surface. Naruto's body was trembling at this point as he was struggling to simply expel all of his anguish from within.
"Everything that happened to me all started the day you placed the Kyuubi inside of me…I grew up alone, didn't know what was going on…food was hard to come by, so I was searching for trash!"
Minato took it all in with composure, of course as it was expected. It was his ultimate decision in the end to turn Naruto into a Jinchuuriki, so he alone would have to bear the responsibility of his decision.
"Like I said before, Naruto…I placed my chakra into the seal so that I would appear when the time came…because of it, I saw it all…everything. The time you lost your eyes due to Uchiha Itachi's attack…" Kushina looked horrified at that as she looked at her son's black eyes. "When the Sandaime Hokage ordered to implant Uchiha Sasuke's eyes on you to keep you from being blind. The nightmares that came along with the Uchiha DNA…the awakening of the Sharingan in you…I have seen it all." Naruto looked surprised at that, but then managed to relax a little bit. The workings of the seal in his stomach was still a mystery to him, but the Yondaime Hokage was known for his Fuuinjutsu in the end.
"So, you also know about the Akatsuki and the upcoming war, then." Minato nodded.
"I do. And the very same man who attacked the village sixteen years ago is the one behind it, it seems. He is also the one using the Akatsuki for his own agenda, going as far as to pray on others' trauma, like he did with Pein."
Naruto looked at his father in surprise.
"The one with the orange mask and the Sharingan…Madara Uchiha." The Yondaime Hokage nodded, remembering about the Kage Summit he saw in his son's eyes.
"Indeed, Madara Uchiha was a person from history when your mother and I were alive, but there are still a lot of unanswered questions in this mystery." Naruto nodded. "However, it seems that you now are capable of facing the other tailed beasts now that you managed to get free access to half of the fox's chakra." Naruto looked at him strangely and Minato clarified. "When I used the Shiki Fuujin that night, sixteen years ago, I split the fox's chakra in half and sealed half in you. The other half I had taken with me to the grave…the real me that is. I had done that so that when the time came, you could use this power to stop Madara once and for all. I do apologize, however, for doing that to my son, though." The last part Minato said with a smile on his face.
"Well, it was not very nice of you to do that…" A snort came from Naruto as he looked up, this time with a full Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan active. "However, I can't very much complain like a spoiled child, now can I? As you can see, a lot of events happened in my life as a result of what you did…Yon…I mean…Tou-san." Minato smiled as he saw the correction. "It was hard for me to cope with it all…but there were people in my life that made it all better. Kakashi-niisan, Kasumi-neechan…Chouji, Ino, Itsuko-chan…Asuma-sensei, little Misao…" The moment that Naruto said the names, Kushina jumped right in and grabbed Naruto's hands, without him even realizing, even with the EMS activated.
Minato chuckled at the look of surprise from his son at his wife's outburst.
"Come on, spill it, Naruto…tell me about them…I wish to know about your life…specially about this Itsuko you mentioned…is she your girlfriend, is she…I wish to know, ya know!" Naruto was so surprised at the outburst that he let his guard down and now he was face to face with the exuberant and spirited expression from the woman that is his mother. He felt…something different when he looked at her eyes. Something that he had never felt before…"Minato also said you have Mikoto's boys' chakra in you as well. She was my best friend and she loved her boys dearly." The name was quite familiar inside Naruto as he also felt the warmth from Itachi and Sasuke's memories as well from their mother. And right there…perhaps, it was the first time in his life that it happened…
The eyes started watering all of a sudden as he surprised Kushina by hugging her and hugging her tight. He didn't know if it was his happiness alone or if it was the mention of Mikoto as well.
But Kushina soon hugged him just as tight as she cried as well with her son.
"Alright, I will tell you, Kaa-chan…" Kushina smiled deeply at the name. "But how do you know that Itsuko is my girlfriend?"
"Silly, a mother knows…ya know! Now spill it…I wish to know everything. And this Misao…I am a grandmother? You are too young to be a father, Naruto!"
For a moment, Naruto's worries had lifted from his mind as he took a seat on the ground by his mother and father.
===With Itsuko===
Soon came time for the village shinobi's and kunoichi's full deployment.
The units were already formed with five separate battalions, going from short, short-middle and long range fighters. The fifth battalion would be formed from shinobi with varied skills that weren't necessarily linked to the front lines. There were also those who would be responsible for the medical unit and those responsible for the sensor unit. As such, the streets of Konoha were filled with shinobi and kunoichi, as they were about to march towards the allied shinobi force's full rendezvous at Kumogakure.
Itsuko was lined up together with Kotetsu and Izumo. They were under the close-middle battalion that was led by Hatake Kakashi.
She looked around to see everyone gathered and battle ready, at least. She could see her old comrades from ANBU, maskless, who waved back at her. She could also see Kasumi next to Kakashi. The two became more than friends, because of whom they are in a relationship with. The two exchanged a quick greeting as Itsuko felt glad that they would be in the same battalion. Despite Kasumi being a Hyuuga and favoring more in close range, Kakashi had placed her next to him, in order to use her Byakugan and better dictate the pace of his battalion. Of course, it could be said that the man was playing favorites, because of his relationship with her, however Itsuko couldn't fault him for wanting to keep her safe…well, safer at the very least.
Hell, she would do the same with her boyfriend, without question.
'I want to be with you, Naruto…I miss you.'
Kotetsu and Izumo looked at their friend and former teammate, before both placed a hand on each of her shoulders.
"Don't worry Itsuko-chan, he will soon be joining us on the battlefield." She looked at Izumo smiling at her.
"Yeah, in the meantime, let's give those Akatsuki bastards a run for their money while we wait for him to show up." The ANBU smiled deeply at her friends for the confidence boost. Itsuko smiled at them and narrowed her eyes.
"Oh don't worry, I will be counting the number of those bastards for sure after slicing their heads off, you two should do the same or else I will beat you by a mile."
Izumo and Kotetsu both sweat dropped as Itsuko removed her ninjato from her scabbard and ran some drills, as if she was already chopping heads off.
Kasumi merely smiled at her best friend slash sister, while next to Kakashi.
"Itsuko-chan sure is pumped, huh?" Kakashi chuckled as he observed his surrogate sister-in-law.
"She sure is, it's good to pump up the others as well…" Kasumi looked at his introspection. "Convincing the others to give up their lives for this cause has been difficult…at least those from Konoha that is. The other villages are more inclined than us, since they had lost their Jinchuuriki. We need Naruto to join us as soon as possible." Kasumi nodded as her mind went up to her surrogate little brother, wondering how he was doing. She understood from Kakashi that he was to confront the Kyuubi no Kitsune in order to take control of its chakra.
"Knowing him, he won't waste a second before jumping into the fray…" Kakashi looked at the Hyuuga. "In the meantime, we will have to reduce their numbers as best as possible to aid our otouto, Kakashi."
===With Naruto===
Back inside the seal, Naruto had done his best to tell his parents about his life as well as his relationships.
Minato was especially surprised to hear about Kakashi's suffering and how he managed to overcome it in the end. As his sensei and Hokage, his prodigy student's suffering weighed heavily on Minato. What happened to Obito and Rin was something taken out of a horror movie and Minato wasn't even considering Hatake Sakumo's suicide. The Yondaime Hokage was pleasantly surprised to hear that he had managed to move on, albeit slightly. However, the entire conversation revolved around Naruto's relationship with Itsuko.
Of course, Kushina was all over this subject in particular, as the Uzumaki woman was thrilled to hear about her future daughter-in-law, especially to see how smitten her son was when talking about her.
"I am glad to see that you have found love, Naruto-kun…when the fox attacked Konoha, my chest ached at the possibility of you not being able to find love in your life. Like you said, you would have grown up alone, without someone to guide you…to hold you when you cried…to comfort you in moments of pain and anger. I was also alone when I came to Konoha, but I always had Mito-obaachan, the first Jinchuuriki, to help me going forward. I am glad to see that you found love." A small tear escaped from her right eye, followed by a smile. "Even without the situation as a Jinchuuriki, we all need love in order to move forward…it's what gives us the drive to overcome life's obstacles."
"Yes, though, it's also a double-edged sword." Minato and Kushina looked at their son in wonder. "Sometimes, the mind…wanders into dangerous scenarios. The thought of losing her, the anger is almost uncontrollable…to the point that I could get lost in it. And I don't know why…but the feeling grants me more power." Kushina looked at Minato in wonder at that, while the Yondaime Hokage nodded, knowing about it. "…which is why I can't afford to take too long to go back to the battlefield."
"Unfortunately, the Sharingan is responsible for this, Naruto-kun. The trauma of loss is what helps awaken the Sharingan, but the angrier you feel the worse it gets. It's no different than the feeling of the fox's chakra invading your system, which I bet that you are aware of." Naruto nodded. Kushina, for her part, understood as well. There were times when she was consumed by the fox's chakra and needed other's help to escape. Naruto, for his part, went over his memories.
"I do, but when that happened, I was aware of what was going on. With the Sharingan, it's still uncharted territory. Itachi was always collected in his thoughts and emotions and Sasuke was too young to know much."
"In the end, it's like your mother says Naruto-kun…love is the ultimate key. And also, this war will test your resolve." Naruto understood that much…there was too much expectation on his shoulders alone. "However, your mother and I have the utmost faith that you shall prevail in the end. You went through a lot and managed to overcome all possible obstacles." Minato placed a comforting hand on his shoulders, while Kushina smiled. Naruto, however, felt doubt creeping over his physique.
"Not only Madara, but I shall face the other eight tailed beasts…the odds are certainly not in my favor, Tou-san."
"That's not the mentality of the Yellow Flash and Red Hot Habanero's offspring, ya know!" Naruto looked at his mother in wonder. "It was my nickname, growing up."
Naruto managed to smile some, but the doubt was still there.
"Right…I am sorry if the Uzumaki Naruto you wanted to see doesn't exist anymore." Minato and Kushina looked at one another at that, before Minato smiled at his son.
"No matter what happens to you, Naruto, you are always going to be our son…our legacy. The Sharingan is merely a part of you, but it doesn't erase who you are." The Sharingan user looked at his smiling father and mother and felt his shoulder tremble at his comment. Tears started falling easily, just as Minato and Kushina approached to envelop their son in a comfortable hug. Father and Mother felt truly and utterly connected to their son, despite their respective chakras were already stored in the seal.
===With Naruto===
The now reunited family stood in the same position for a while, before Naruto broke off the hug upon turning up with a request of his own.
He already understood somewhat of what happened sixteen years ago that culminated with him being a Jinchuuriki. However, he was at a loss as to what exactly happened…his parents happened to be at the epicenter of the events, therefore it was only logical to hear it from them. Kyuubi had already explained that he was being controlled by the Sharingan at the time, but it's not like he regretted much, even without the accursed Dojutsu's influence. Of course, at the time, he was nothing more than a tool used by others. Also, as his father explained, the same foe from sixteen years ago is the one they shall face yet again, so it stood to reason that the Yondaime Hokage would know firsthand his ability…or rather Madara's ability.
"Tou-san, Kaa-san, I know it's painful for the both of you to remember what happened sixteen years ago, but if I am to face this man, then I need to understand what he's capable of."
Minato and Kushina nodded in full understanding as Kushina started.
"Of course, we were about to do that even before you broached the subject, Naruto-kun." Kushina looked down for a while, before looking straight at her son's eyes.
"It all started when I received the best news a mother could hear…"
From there onwards, Kushina explained what happened. How over the mountain both her and Minato were upon receiving the news of Naruto's birthday, followed by the necessary detail the Sandaime Hokage instilled upon them for the birth to occur. Naruto became aware of the one-time where the Jinchuuriki is most vulnerable, which could allow the beast to escape…throughout the delivery procedure, the seal would weaken, because of the mother's chakra being in disarray. Therefore, Minato would be there to ensure that the fox could not escape.
This was precisely the moment where the masked man chose to appear, seemingly passing through all possible barriers and seals that Konoha conjured.
Naruto was surprised when Minato took over the explanation and told him that the masked man took the baby soon after the birth, after killing the Sandaime's wife Biwako and the head nurse. The masked man had then placed an exploding paper seal on Naruto's blanket, forcing Minato to abandon Kushina in order to use the Hiraishin and save the baby. The masked man took the opportunity of Minato being away to remove the fox from Kushina's stomach, before sending the fox to attack Konoha.
"Once Kushina and you were safe, Naruto, I moved to stop the fox from continuing its rampage, but the enemy appeared behind me and took me away from the Kyuubi to face me in battle. The Sandaime Hokage took over the fight against the fox together with the others, while I battled against him. His ability relied solely on teleportation and space-time Ninjutsu. I couldn't hit him while he was doing it, but he also couldn't touch me. He needed to stop his ability in the mere millimeter of a second so as to be able to use it against me." Naruto narrowed his eyes at this intel.
"Could it be a Mangekyou Sharingan ability? I have a similar one I can use." Minato hummed…knowing about it.
"It's similar, true…but from what I saw of yours, you can't use it on yourself…in a way, your ability is closer to my Hiraishin than Madara's, going through different dimensions and attacking the enemy from different angles. Anyhow, I was faster than him eventually and managed to get close enough to place my seal on him, as well as release the hold he had on the fox. However, by that point, it was clear that the Kyuubi was angry enough to keep on its destructive path unimpeded, even without being controlled by Madara." Naruto nodded, knowing that much, as Minato continued, now looking down in slight shame whereas Kushina kept on her plain look. "Eventually, I realized that a choice would have to be made. My chakra capacity only had enough for one possible path and knowing the possible future, I had decided to take action…" Kushina at this point took over the explanation.
"Unfortunately, the fox caught on to what we were attempting and did the only thing neither of us could let him do." Naruto looked at her in wonder.
"What was it?" Kushina and Minato both looked at him in determination as both spoke almost at the same time.
"He attempted to kill you, Naruto." Naruto's eyes widened at that as Kushina kept on explaining. "Its nails were bigger than a Zanbato and pierced both of our chests, but we managed to stop the fox from killing you." Kushina said so with a raised fist, proud of at least being able to keep her son from being killed. "With that, both our lives were forfeit…the only thing left to do was for Minato to finish what he intended, which was to give you the power of the fox and turn you into a Jinchuuriki. He had also at that point given the seal key to Gerotora and with our last breath, sealed a portion of our chakra into the seal, thus allowing us to now appear before you, Naruto-kun."
Naruto smiled deeply at that, now knowing what truly happened as Minato finished the tale.
"Your mother had some parting words for you, Naruto-kun back then, but I see it fitting for her to be the one to tell them to you once again." He smiled at the blushing Kushina, before seeing a deep smile from his wife.
"Oh…yeah…I suppose it's quite fitting to recite them once more, even though our little boy is no longer little, isn't it?" Minato chuckled and concurred, before Kushina turned to her boy, rapidly imagining him to be a mere baby once more and reciting word for word in between tears. "Naruto…don't be picky…eat lots of food and grow strong…Make sure you bathe every day and stay warm…and don't stay up late, you need lots of sleep after all…and make friends. You don't need a lot of friends, but only those you can trust…" At this point, her throat became dry and tears began to form in her eyes as Kushina remembered that fateful day, but she still persevered. "You know, I wasn't very good at it, but please keep up with your studies and practice your Ninjutsu…and please don't get too depressed if you can't do something well…everyone has strengths and weaknesses…Respect your teachers!"
Naruto looked at his mother and smiled as Kushina went on about the three prohibitions of shinobi and the known fact that the Sannin Jiraiya couldn't be trusted in that regard.
His eyes also watered when this time Kushina's eyes burst into tears as she eyed the crying infant in front of her.
"Naruto…from now on, you're going to face lots of pain and hardship…so please be true to yourself. Have a dream and have the confidence to make that dream come true! There's so much I want to pass on to you…I wish I could stay with you longer…" Kushina wiped the tears from her eyes as Minato enveloped her in a comforting hug. It was something he couldn't do back then, but now there was no one stopping him from holding his wife as she attempted to comfort their son.
Naruto then noticed when both his parent's bodies became more transparent as both smiled sadly since this obviously means that they now had to depart, so these were their last moments with their grown-up son.
"I really wished for this moment to last longer, Naruto-kun…I wanted to hear more about your life and about Itsuko-chan and Kasumi as well…once again I am sorry for what we did to you…sorry for making you a Jinchuuriki."
Naruto then surprised the crying Kushina and helped wipe the tears from her eyes. She looked at him in surprise and saw a smile from her son…
(Naruto OST Soundtrack: Rainy Day)
"You don't need to apologize, Kaa-san. I now understand that you and Tou-san gave your lives for me. How could I possibly be mad at you for that…I am glad to have the opportunity to meet you even if for a short while. You placed your chakra within me, even when everything was going on, back then only for the purpose of this very moment. I grew up not knowing much about parental love, but that was only because you and tou-san weren't around. I just hope…that I get to pass on this love to my children in the future." Kushina was known to be quite attuned to her emotions, so she easily blushed and couldn't contain herself much. However, at this moment, it's precisely what every mother wishes to hear from her son.
"Naruto…" She hugged him for dear life…"Thank you…thank you for being our son…thank you…so very much!" Naruto of course reciprocated the hug, before turning to his father.
"Now I know what I must do, Tou-san…and all thanks to your sacrifice." Minato's eyes were also quite watery at that, but he held himself in check, but not before placing his hand on Naruto's hair.
"Of course you do, and also remember that your mother and I shall always be right by your side, no matter what happens."
Naruto then activated his Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan as he eyed his parents both smiling at him, seconds before vanishing.
The Sharingan may be cursed, but it could also be a blessing…for this is a memory that Naruto shall never want to forget.
===At Mount Myoboku===
Outside Naruto's inside perspective, Jiraiya kept on sitting with his legs crossed and his only remaining arm resting comfortably on top of his right leg's knee.
When they started this plan, Jiraiya was expecting no less than pure mayhem as he would be observing Naruto attempt to cope with the full might of the fox's chakra. He even thought about the worst case scenario when all of the fox's tails would emerge from his back and Naruto would be lost forever. Never in his experienced mind would he imagine that nothing had happened. Ever since Naruto took a seat in front of him and closed his eyes, nothing happened. No spike in chakra…no peak in anger…no feeling whatsoever of the fox's chakra leaking…
Jiraiya then opened his mouth as soon as he saw Naruto's eyes slowly open, but didn't say a word. The perverted Sannin looked troubled, at first believing that the fox could have taken over his body.
"So, how did it go, Naruto?" Jiraiya asked, but no response came from the Sharingan user. His eyes lacked focus as he appeared contemplative for some reason. "Did it work? You managed to secure the fox's chakra?"
It took a couple of minutes for his lack of focus to return full force and for a smile to appear in his mouth, which is odd, since he had never seen such an emotion from the stoic Uzumaki Sharingan user.
"There is no need for concern…I was just busy contemplating what just transpired in there, that's all." Jiraiya had released a sigh in relaxation after hearing it. "Now as to me controlling Kurama's chakra, I am afraid that you are asking the wrong question. For as I did not take its chakra…but rather it was supplied willingly through a formed partnership between tailed beast and Jinchuuriki. Therefore, allow me to present to you the results of our combined efforts."
Jiraiya's eyes widened as he eyed Naruto's new transformation…a golden energy of sorts enveloping his entire body, looking like a full-length haori purely made of energy, finished by black designs of the Uzumaki spiral.
The shock of seeing the new transformation as well as feeling the kid's power literally oozing from his body was only superseded by the surprise of what Naruto had just said moments prior.
"Wow! Wait, did you say you formed a partnership with the Kyuubi!?"
Naruto once again smirked as he also showed his Eternal Mangenkyou Sharingan.
Author Note
Ok, that's it for now.
This chapter was somewhat short, but quite long, considering that it almost revolved around the Namikaze family's interaction. I thought about throwing some of the enemy into the mix, but then decided to leave it to the next chapter.
There will be plenty of different scenes moving forward, after all.
Also, Yes, I will admit something that I am not ashamed of…
I wrote this chapter crying my eyes out. I have watched the Kushina reveal arc a lot to write this chapter. And every time I watched it, I cried. The songs alone already took me down memory lane, but Kushina and Naruto's emotional dialogue was outstanding. Canon Naruto really did inherit her personality as well as her looks. However, now that that's resolved, now truly comes the hard part where I must divulge time and effort into creating a new War Arc, that can accommodate the changes made in this story. No doubt, it's going to be quite challenging, so I shall apologize in advance if the following chapters take a little longer than usual to be updated.
Please give me your insights about this chapter.
Lastly, I have recently created a P-atreon account for those who wish to follow my stories more personally, sending suggestions.
Also for those who wish to make a pledge there, it will be highly appreciated.
P-atreon: Anime-Enthusiast
Next update: Nidaime no Sairin