Cambrian
patreon
Swirling Chaos Ch. 3 (Naruto)
🕑 Added 2023-02-07 15:40:29 +0000 UTCA/N: Meet the parents. Well, a parent and a half.
-x-X-x-
The Eight Trigrams Sealing Style. Also known as the Eight Sign Seal and the Eight Trigram Divination Seal Spell Formula. It was a derivation of the Four Symbols Seal, specifically a stacking of two different Four Symbols Seal to allow for the sealed entity’s chakra to merge with the person they’ve been sealed within. It was a Fuuinjutsu created by the Uzumaki Clan, intended to encourage tailed beasts to aid their jinchuriki, as the more chakra they provided, the weaker the seal would become, thus bettering their chance at freedom.
This one specifically was one applied to Naruto on the day of his birth by his father, Minato Namikaze. Thankfully, it was essentially identical to the one his older self had dealt with in the alternate timeline. The only difference was his mother’s missing chakra imprint, so modifying it was actually quite easy. All he and Kurama had to do was feed their chakra into it, weakening the seal even as it was also strengthened.
Naruto didn’t want to let Kurama out… luckily, she didn’t want to be let out either. They, the two of them, had been through a lot together. To separate now… it was unthinkable. Instead, Naruto reworks the seal into something stronger, something… better. At least for them anyways. It wasn’t the kind of thing that Naruto would suggest for every tailed beast and jinchuriki pair, not by a long shot. But for him and Kurama? It was perfect.
Now, technically Minato’s chakra imprint was supposed to trigger the first time Kurama got close to ‘tricking’ Naruto into removing the seal. Technically, what he was doing right now would have counted if he were going about things in a more ham-fisted manner. As it is, he’s not that stupid or that reckless. He’s more than capable of modifying his father’s seal without ever summoning the shade of his father designed to stop him from going too far.
Which is probably why Kurama lets out a noise of irritation, confusion, and disbelief when Naruto triggers the imprint anyways after he’s done.
“… Foolish brat…”
Naruto just smiles softly, turning as Minato appears behind him. Except, it’s not really his father. The Fourth Hokage is gone and nothing short of some seriously dark shit was bringing Minato back to this world. In this case, this is just a chakra imprint. Limited in scope. Not made for much beyond his purpose. He has a kind, warm smile on his face as he places a hand on Naruto’s shoulder.
“Naruto. You’ve-!”
And then the chakra imprint derails itself and just stares at Naruto for a moment in blatant confusion. In response, the most unpredictable ninja in all of Konoha offers a sheepish smile in response.
“Hang on! You’re older than me!”
This was indeed the case. In this inner world, Naruto shows his true chronological age. He’s not silly enough to necessarily claim that his two selves’ ages stack on top of each other. While there were tons of moments where their experiences split, at the end of the day, they were still versions of the same person. But his father, Minato Namikaze… had died at the tender age of twenty-four.
Naruto wished that he could say that was unusual, but the truth was, it wasn’t at all surprising. Their world was a treacherous one, and someone like the Third Hokage lasting as long as he had was far more unusual compared to Minato dying young. By comparison, Naruto reaching three decades was also rather surprising, especially considering what the world had been dealing with by the end of it all.
Rather than answer the incredulous chakra imprint, Naruto leans forward and hugs his father close. It’s not really his father, and he has no true desire to search for the limits of the fragment’s capacity for conversation. In the end, Naruto was being selfish here, so it was best to keep this short.
“You don’t have to worry dad. Everything is going to be okay. I’m not going to fail this time around, no matter how different this world might be.”
Without the proper information, one might call Naruto crazy for what he’d just said. But the chakra imprint betrays its inhumanity by ignoring the insanity of his words and instead turning its attention to the seal.
“Naruto, what have you done?”
This was its purpose. To protect him from Kurama. But he didn’t need that protection anymore. And so, Naruto lets out an exhale… and then inhales. The fragment doesn’t feel anything, of course. One moment, the chakra imprint is being hugged. The next, Naruto has assimilated his father’s chakra into himself. It’s much easier to do so then the assimilation that’s still ongoing between his two selves, though that’s rapidly nearing completion as well. At the same time… it’s not easy. Saying goodbye again.
“Tch. You know that wasn’t actually him, right? I don’t know why you torture yourself like that?”
Shaking his head, Naruto gives Kurama a watery smile.
“I know. And… because I had to. To remind myself what’s at stake. What we’re fighting for.”
Between the two of them, the massive bars of Kurama’s cage have begun morphing. Right before his eyes, they transform into something smaller. Naruto can’t help but smile as Kurama’s cage becomes a copy of their little hut together on that beach in his older self’s last timeline. The door opens and Kurama steps out in all of her foxy glory, stalking forward with visible intent.
Naruto’s smile morphs into a grin, and he spreads his arms wide, fully intending to welcome her… only for both of them to pause as they sense something at the exact same time. Kurama rolls her eyes, even as Naruto furrows his brow.
“Rain check.”
With that, he finds himself pushed out of his inner world a moment later, opening his eyes back in the real world just in time for the door to his bedroom to burst open and admit the natural disaster that he and Kurama had each felt rapidly approaching his location in the real world. It’s immediately obvious what happened. Kushina Uzumaki, like many of the Uzumaki Clan, was a natural Chakra Sensor. More than that, she was very in tune with both her son’s chakra… AND the chakra of the tailed beast she’d carried herself for a good solid portion of her life.
That doesn’t stop Naruto from freezing up at the sight of his mother, standing there looking both furious and panicked while wearing the full regalia of Konoha’s Hokage. His mom, the Fifth Hokage, had clearly rushed all the way from her tower to their compound, no doubt sensing that someone was messing with Naruto’s seal.
“N-Naruto. You-!”
Of course, when she arrives to find JUST Naruto sitting there on his bed and no one else around, the red head visibly starts to calm down. That’s surprising to his older self, who learned from friends that Kushina was once known as the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero. Of course, his younger self is used to a more… measured Kushina. A Kushina who has matured and is capable of holding back her legendary temper in all but the most extreme cases.
Naturally, just because she’s not about to fly off the handle, doesn’t mean Kushina is fully calmed down. Rather, the moment she ascertains beyond a shadow of a doubt that there’s no enemy ninja in the room with him, the Fifth Hokage rushes up to him, landing on the bed and yanking his sleep top up to show off his belly.
“Sorry sweetie, but mama needs to check on this. She felt fluctuations from halfway across the village in the seal!”
Naruto remains frozen in silence, even as his mom frantically summons the seal into being and begins looking it over. After all, Minato might have been the one to apply it, but it was still Fuuinjutsu belonging to the Uzumaki Clan at the end of the day. Kushina was no slouch when it came to sealing, as one half of his memories was quick to provide evidence for.
Honestly, he shouldn’t be this shocked by her appearance. It’s not like this is the first time Naruto has seen Kushina in the flesh, nor is it the first time he’s seen her in her Hokage Hat and Robe. His younger self has gotten an entire life of memories with his mother, and Naruto can call upon those memories at a moment’s notice, as well as feel the deep and everlasting love he has for his mom welling up inside of him.
But at the same time, the assimilation was not yet complete. And not only had his older self never gotten to know his mother properly, he also hadn’t had any human contact in… quite some time. Sexual activity? Sure, with Kurama of course. But human touch? Human interaction? Older Naruto was woefully starved of those things.
“What the… how did this… what the fuck happened?”
Meanwhile, poor Kushina is looking over the modifications he’s made to his seal with increasing bafflement. She understands what he’s done immediately of course, but what she doesn’t comprehend is the purpose of the changes, not at first anyways. But then to be fair, the first time around, when his older self had altered his original seal in the previous timeline, Naruto hadn’t even known what was going to happen. He’d been flying by the seat of his pants then, and he only knew what the end result would be now because of that original trial and error.
“It’s stable. But… to what end?”
Thus, it was perfectly understandable why Kushina didn’t get what was going on. Understanding and comprehending were two different things, and sometimes you needed to see it with your own eyes before you could truly comprehend what was right in front of your face. Naruto had every intention of easing his mother into things slowly. But you know what they say about intentions.
“To this end, girl.”
Standing in the doorway to his bedroom, leaning against the frame, Kurama cackles as Kushina whips around in shock at the sound of her voice and her sudden appearance. But then to be fair, to a chakra sensor like Kushina, it would be shocking. Kurama wasn’t ‘there’ in the normal sense that a chakra sensor could see. She was still bound to Naruto after all, and his own chakra completely overshadowed hers, even as they mixed together, a perfect mixture of ying and yang.
Naruto opens his mouth to explain, when his mother surprises him.
“You!”
In an instant, Kushina’s Chakra Chains, her signature ability, are out. At the same time, the Fifth Hokage’s Killing Intent fills the room. Naruto can’t help the way his eyes widen. He’s alarmed and impressed in equal measure. His mom’s strength was one thing. But her ability to see underneath the underneath, to look past HIS chakra and recognize Kurama for who she really was… THAT was impressive.
Kurama, meanwhile, just flashes her pearly white teeth and leans forward a bit, her canines all but gnashing together.
“Me.”
The sexy kitsune isn’t going to start the fight, but she’s ready for one. Kushina, meanwhile, has clearly reached the end of her rope. Before she can attack however, Naruto intercedes, grabbing his mom by her wrists.
“Mom… please, it’s okay.”
The look of wide-eyed shock that Kushina gives him causes Naruto to wince.
“O-Okay? Naruto, the Nine-Tailed Fox is outside of the seal! I don’t care what form it’s taken, the last time this happened, Konoha suffered greatly and your father gave his life to stop it! I nearly lost mine in the process too!”
Naruto just shakes his head.
“That wasn’t Kurama’s fault. She was controlled. We’ve been talking… and we’ve worked things out. I modified dad’s seal myself. Everything is okay, you yourself said it’s stable, right?”
Eyes flicking down to his stomach, Kushina lets out a strangled noise as he throws her own words back at her. For a long moment, Kushina seems to struggle with herself, but Naruto refuses to release her wrists. He’s not crushing them in his grasp or anything like that, but at the same time, he doesn’t want her to do anything she’ll regret.
To Kurama’s credit, she also backs off as soon as Naruto has Kushina’s attention on him. The MILFy Kitsune leans back and drops her aggressive posture, crossing her arms over her chest and watching carefully. For a long moment, Kushina is quiet. Finally though, she asks the question Naruto has been expecting her to ask.
“How? How did you manage to modify the seal all on your own, Naruto? You’ve never shown interest for the Sealing Arts before…”
Naruto winces a little at that, reinterpreting ‘interest’ as ‘aptitude’. His younger self HAD tried to get into Fuuinjutsu a couple of times, but it had never worked out. He was as much of a hyperactive knucklehead in this world as he was in the last, regardless of his early life being much happier and filled with love and affection.
That said, Naruto was going to have to lie to his mother. There was no other way.
“I snuck into your study, mom. I used your notes as well as dad’s and I came up with it myself.”
Technically, the lie even had the benefit of being partially true. After all, this timeline’s Naruto HAD snuck into Kushina’s study all the time. And from the unsurprised look on his mother’s face, she was well aware of that ‘sneaking’ too. However, the impressed look in her eyes makes it clear that Kushina didn’t actually expect Naruto to be able to make heads or tails of what he’d gotten his hands on. Not without her help anyways.
She was right… until now. Before his older self had shown up and the two had begun mixing together, his younger self hadn’t understood most of what he’d read in Kushina’s study. Things were different now though. Things were very different.
“… I see. So you went behind my back and performed a dangerous modification to your own seal, Naruto.”
The warning tone in Kushina’s voice makes him blanch a little. Maybe he’d be seeing the return of the Red Hot Habanero after all, heh. However, before she can truly blow up, the Fifth Hokage suddenly looks distracted.
“… Is this why you’ve been denying all of your offers for apprenticeship and insisting on staying at the Academy to do things normally? Is it because you wanted the free time to work on this?”
Naruto blinks at his mother’s question, quickly noting both the hope in her voice and what she was talking about. Namely, his younger self had refused to take any of the easier paths in front of him, and had instead stuck with the Academy despite not just Kushina but also Auntie Mikoto offering him an apprenticeship under them.
It seemed Kushina thought that the reason he’d done this wasn’t because he wanted to make his own path, but because he wanted to skulk around behind her back. And now she was semi-offering that apprenticeship again in a tentative fashion in the hopes that he might be interested after all.
The assimilation must almost be complete, because Naruto only has to think about it for a moment. Then, he opens his mouth to answer her.
Comments
Shadeymankey
A year late, still on my first read of this I am glad he goes this route. The academy would waste his time.
Marcus
All those things can be true! Even if one IS more true than the others.
Kejmur
Mei Terumi asking for arranged marriage from the get go, instantly charmed by Naruto-kun would be amusing. In those diplomatic trips I look forward Suna, especially hoping for still alive Pakura Kazekage. She's hot.
Cambrian
That's technically true, but not exactly an example of a Clan Head becoming a Jonin Instructor xD
Drakeulous
I think Asuma Sarutobi was head of his clan after his fathers' death and he was a sensei.
Dr.Scribe
I side with the Mikoto being main apprenticeship too almost gives the author free rein on making her character what he wants and still bringing in the other aspects and characters when fun
Dr.Scribe
interesting thought. If it is with his Hokage Mom that also opens up traveling for diplomatic missions and bringing in other village ninja...including the mists Mizukage Mei Terumi. I think she might have a fun competitive streak over a man hehehe hijinks.
Cambrian
Hmm, but that was 'back in the day' wasn't it? Do we get any 'modern' examples of Clan Heads taking on Genin Teams? It feels like by the time Naruto and his class graduate, it's not really the 'done' thing anymore. Like even with Minato, he was a Jonin Instructor and then a Hokage. For the 1st and 2nd Hokage, they were literally trying to make their dream a reality. For the 3rd Hokage, I'm not sure if he was Hokage yet when he took on his Genin Team. By the current time period, Konoha isn't nearly so desperate as it was back then, and there are enough things going on that most Clan Heads seem too busy.
SylverIron
Just cause the MILFs are on the table does not mean that they'll be unavailable later ya horny b------.
SylverIron
Now that's just smart thinking with clones.
Kat1017
The third Hokage was the head of the Sarutobi clan and he took a genin team, same with the first and second Hokages.
Cambrian
Its not quite like that in this case, this is more like Jiraiya/Naruto's three-year trip as an apprenticeship, though instead of taking place after Naruto had his time with Team Seven it takes its place
SpectralTime
Y'all're a buncha Oedicons. Is that the word? If it's not then I'm coining it now. Oedicons. Not least 'cause no matter what, Naruto will have a close relationship with his mom by virtue of her being his mom, and this is abandoning a perfectly good opportunity to get in good with the Lady Uchihas and/or the kids in class.
Kingtombs456
I'm looking at the apprenticeship stuff like I would a clan thing, like Shikamaru, Ino, Or Shino. They still have to go to the academy and have a team...but most of their training will be through the clan/apprenticeship.
Malthus
I mean, outside of Moegi and Hanabi, what other females his “age” would he be able to woo in the academy? MILF apprenticeship ftw.
Malthus
Learning the Rasengan via Shadow Clone training wheels support until mid-Shippuden.
V01D
Because Biju takeover - means it’s effectively Kurama’s Shadow Clone
Cambrian
She's a Clan Head, she's not going to take on a Genin Team heh. Offering Naruto an apprenticeship was actually Kushina's idea for Mikoto to do when Naruto originally turned down her offer for one, though obviously Naruto doesn't know that.
Cambrian
Honestly gonna probably be winging it, but definitely OP
Kat1017
Not if you make Mikoto his team sensei when he graduates from the academy
Kejmur
I still think that GenJutsu idea could be a fun way to completely do something different with Naruto. With Kitsune (Kurama here) being natural tricksters, and illusion specialists.
Dr.Scribe
I wonder what areas of skill this Naruto had branched out to. Fuiinjutsu, rasengun, combat, sage etc...but are we going fully skilled OP time reversal, or Really good at what he was good at and working on the areas he didn't have time or patience enough to learn before? ie what level of wool over the eyes is he going to be doing while being back here and almost resetting his foundations?
Dr.Scribe
It is still a hard decision any way you slice it. you have the being with peers, or being with either on or both of the mother figures that would have been denied due to death previously (I think Mikoto and Kushina were friends so you know she would have wanted to adopt Naruto if there were no coup and Hiruzane had let her) Both are also quite busy with being head of clan and police force as well as Hokage... My two cents, if either apprenticeship is chosen the other helps take up the slack so work can be done in their day jobs and also allows for guest lecturers and team mission compositions that an academy ninja might not get...Kurenai Yuhi could get him better at genjutsu which probably still wasn't in his wheelhouse in the timeline he came from. Also criminally under represented in the fiction world in my opinon
V01D
Training with Kushina is definitely going to involve more Kurama than the other two options - for one, she’s ALREADY seen her but also because Kushina is the one who is most skilled/knowledgeable to handle her. Kushina could even create an excuse to let Kurama be able to show up publicly.
Kejmur
Well, it could be a pretty fun way to tease Naruto in a lewd way, with some mean masturbation techniques she does on the side, to 'encourage' him to spend more 'time' with her.
Cambrian
Option 3 is sort of already this choice. Naruto will have plenty of interactions with Kushina and Mikoto is he sticks to his guns. However, it wouldn't exactly be fair for him to have two official apprenticeships AND a place on a proper Genin Team at the same time. Option 3 would make any training he did with Kushina and Mikoto on the side more unofficial, basically.
Cambrian
I hadn't actually thought about the mechanics of it, but yes, that sounds sort of right lol. Except Naruto doesn't get her memories when she pops, so I dunno.
Kat1017
Couldn't you take a fourth route and do all three options at once he continues the academy but also becomes the apprentice to both his mother and Mikoto, seeing as Kushina is the Hokage she is quite busy managing the village.
Kejmur
Not a female Uchiha, one of the named ones, like I speculated? Where Kushina would do it as a sign of trust towards the clan. Unless of course it's still a surprise and only a partial reveal ;). Also, Kurenai wasn't a thing, although Genjutsu specialist with Naruto is a unique choice. Also, I read a few GenJutsu Naruto stories in the past (I think 3-4), but GenJutsu Naruto is very rare for lots of reasons. It would be an interesting path, not gonna lie. Most likely 'encouraged' by a foxy trickster like Kurama.
V01D
Kurama is totally using a combination of Shadow Clone & Biju Takeover, isn’t she? After all, a Shadow Clone is a lot closer in makeup to a Biju, being a Chakra Construct - meaning it’s easier to reshape to the appropriate form. (I have an idea for a Warring Clans era SI - rather than join up with a clan I’d focus on the biggest victims of Zetsu’s manipulations; the Biju. Also, the reaction everyone would have to referring to ‘the Kyubii’ as Fluffy-sama would be priceless. The reasoning is to respect how Knowing Kurama’s Name Is Special, while still not using his title - making people acknowledge him as a person. Kurama would have a Little Version he’d, who people think is a Summon, helped along by ACTUAL Fox summons.)
Cambrian
Hanabi is definitely one of your teammates if you go with the Academy Option, and then one of the female Jonin like Kurenai or Anko would probably be your squad leader. Likely Kurenai since I don't remember if she showed up in The Rise of Uzumaki or not.
Kejmur
Sticking with Academy. I agree that Kushina's apprenticeship doesn't fit Naruto's character at all. He doesn't go with the 'easy way out'. Also, academy option would deny us potential teammates like Hanabi, and I'm VERY curious about who we would end up with.
KOS 1100
Hmmmmm okay those are hard choices. 🤔
Cambrian
Can't speak for those voting, because I'm sure their reasons mostly boil down to "more time with MILF" but my personal take on why Naruto might change his mind now is that there's no real chance of him getting the Team Seven from his past timeline back together, so he might as well avoid team dynamics altogether. Plus apprenticeship might give him more freedom to do his own thing.
SylverIron
Doesn't feel right, taking an apprenticeship. I mean, this is Naruto we're talking about here, when has he taken an easy path?
