Chapter 17

Kushina's sharp gaze scanned Naruto from head to toe before she clicked her tongue in disapproval. "I can see you have no seals on your body. Not a single one. You really should have gone to Tsunade for training instead of that perverted toad. Your weak state is proof of his failure as a teacher."

Naruto blinked at her words. "Wait, what?"

"Even with Minato, that old toad barely did anything," Kushina continued, arms crossed. "I did more for your father's training than he ever did, and I wasn't even his teacher."

"You trained Dad!?" Naruto exclaimed, eyes wide with shock.

"Of course," she said, as if it were obvious. "Where do you think he got that fighting style? It's the Uzumaki style of fuinjutsu, where we use chakra to create seals on contact. I taught him a lot—he incorporated my techniques into his own style and even improved the Second Hokage's teleportation seal."

"I thought the FTG was his original creation?"

Kushina scoffed. "No, Minato did create the second step of the seal, but the first step was already made by the Second Hokage. Unfortunately, by the time Minato started developing it, all of Tobirama's notes had been destroyed. The Second was a very cautious man."

"Wait, didn't he leave forbidden jutsu in the scroll?" Naruto asked, scratching his head.

"Those?" Kushina waved her hand dismissively. "Those aren't that dangerous compared to FTG. That jutsu lets the user appear anywhere instantly. It's the perfect escape and attack technique. The Second must have thought it was too dangerous to leave behind."

"Or… maybe he just forgot to put it in the scroll," Naruto suggested with a grin. "That thing had some really weird jutsu in it—like the Dead Demon Consuming Seal."

"What?" Kushina's expression darkened instantly.

"Yeah, I saw it in there."

"That old bastard," she growled, clenching her fists. "I can't believe he left something that dangerous just lying around!"

Naruto chuckled nervously before shifting the conversation. "So, is fuinjutsu really that good?"

Kushina gave him a look as if he had just asked whether the sky was blue. "Good? It's the best! There is no art higher than fuinjutsu. With it, anything is possible—if you can imagine it clearly, supply the right chakra, and use the proper materials. You can summon the Shinigami with fuinjutsu. You can call souls from the Upper Domain and give them undying bodies. With the right knowledge, you could even achieve immortality!"

Naruto's jaw nearly hit the floor. "Mom… you're the best in the world!"

Kushina smirked and ruffled his hair. "I know. And starting today, I'm teaching you how to be a proper Uzumaki. It's embarrassing to see you running around without a single seal on you."

"I do know some fuinjutsu!" Naruto defended. "I can make storage, explosion, and weight seals."

Kushina raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "That's basic genin-level work. And I bet you only know the first level of each."

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Uh… yeah."

Kushina let out an exaggerated sigh. "What kind of fan are you? Your father specialized in fuinjutsu, and you didn't even try to follow in his footsteps? When I was young, I was a huge fan of Mito Uzumaki, and I made sure to master fuinjutsu. It became my best skill—right alongside swordsmanship and ninjutsu."

"I guess… I was just a bad student," Naruto admitted.

He didn't blame anyone. He could have. Nobody had actually taught him how to learn properly. His education consisted of nothing more than basic reading, writing, and survival knowledge from some unknown caretakers before they dumped him into an apartment alone at six years old.

The world was dark and enormous for a child his age, but no one had guided him through it. The Ichirakus were kind, but they ran a business—they couldn't always be there for him. Even when they offered, he declined. He saw how his presence affected them, how it made customers avoid their shop. He didn't want these kind people to suffer his loneliness.

The academy teachers did their jobs, but children needed mentors, role models—people who cared. Naruto had none. He fell behind in school, his mind too burdened with isolation to focus. And in time, he became a clown, a troublemaker, anything that would earn him a scrap of attention.

Any attention was better than none. Anything was better than the darkness.

Naruto stood firm, his blue eyes burning with an unshakable resolve. The weight of the world's hatred and suffering pressed against him, but he refused to be crushed. His voice rang out, unwavering and filled with conviction.

"I will lift the curse. If any kind of peace exists, I will grab hold of it and never let it go! I refuse to quit!"

Across from him, doubt loomed like a shadow. The voice that challenged him was harsh yet tinged with concern.

"Why are you telling me you're not going to change? You have no idea how much pain you might have to go through," the voice argued. "Not changing… do you really think believing in yourself is going to cut it? Can you really say that? Can you really trust in yourself so thoroughly?"

Naruto clenched his fists, but his heart remained steady. He thought back to Jiraiya, to the dream his master had entrusted to him. He could still hear the old man's laughter, feel the warmth of his presence despite the emptiness left behind.

"If you change the main character, it becomes another story entirely," Naruto declared. "The book my master left behind would become another book. It wouldn't be Naruto! I don't have my master's knack for writing… That's why… I'll keep walking it. No matter how much pain I go through along the way, because that's what Naruto is about."

His voice softened for a brief moment, but the determination in his words never wavered.

"This cycle of hatred… I will break it. I will find an end to it within my time on this world."

The words echoed in his mind, a promise not just to himself but to the world. He remembered saying them to Nagato just days ago, and he knew—most people wouldn't understand. They would think he was naive, foolish even. But Naruto had long since accepted that he might have to walk this path alone.

Still, he was not truly alone. There were others like him, people who believed in something greater, who carried their own burdens but still pressed forward. Yet, despite their numbers, the world remained steeped in violence, in selfishness, in suffering. It was a nightmare for anyone with a heart that could still feel.

A weaker person would have faltered, seeing so many failures before them. A weaker mind would have doubted its own ideals. But Naruto was not weak—not in will, not in heart. Instead of despairing, he chose to learn. He chose to take the mistakes of the past and forge his own way forward.

The difference between him and the others who had tried and failed before was clear—he was not just a hero. He was a leader in the making, a future ruler of a nation, a guiding force for an entire military. Jiraiya had taught him much about people, about the way the world worked, but there was still so much he didn't know. He lacked a full picture of the horrors people inflicted upon one another, the reasons why cruelty thrived.

But he wanted to know.

He wanted to understand—not just from the outside, but from within. To truly comprehend someone's pain, you had to walk in their shoes, to feel their suffering, to experience their loss. Naruto was willing to endure that pain if it meant finding a solution that could heal the world, a solution that could put an end to this endless cycle of hatred.

Of course, he knew the risks. He had learned the hard way that sparing an enemy could mean his own death. His battle with Sasuke had proven that. Naruto had avoided striking to kill, holding back even when Sasuke had every intention of ending his life. He had survived that day by luck alone, and he was fully aware of it.

But even knowing that, he refused to change his path.

Being a guide, a light in the darkness, was never easy. How many before him had tried and failed? How many had started with noble intentions, only to fall to hatred themselves? He didn't know. But he knew one thing—he would not succumb.

He would not let the world break him.

Naruto would touch people's lives personally, like a priest ministering to the lost souls trapped in this cycle. He would show them the truth—the sickness that plagued their societies, the poison that had seeped into the hearts of so many. In every land, in every nation, the disease was the same. People had come to believe that cruelty and selfishness were the keys to success, that kindness was a weakness, that stepping on others was the only way to rise.

That thinking had to end.

Glancing around the base, Naruto took in the luxury and comfort surrounding him. It was unlike anything he had ever known. The polished floors, the grand halls, the lavish accommodations—it was a far cry from the small, empty apartment he had grown up in. But comfort could be dangerous. It could make a person forget the struggles of the outside world.

'I will leave after a month,' Naruto decided.

He needed to stay connected to people, to live among them. If he distanced himself too much, if he allowed himself to be cut off from the struggles of ordinary lives, he might lose sight of the very thing he was fighting for. Indifference was an enemy just as deadly as hatred.

No, he would not let himself become numb.

His training was important, but understanding people was even more so. If he wanted to truly change the world, he had to walk among it, to see its pain firsthand, to never forget why he had chosen this path in the first place.

Naruto took a deep breath, his resolve solidifying even further.

He would not falter.

He would not waver.

No matter what pain he had to endure, no matter how much suffering awaited him, he would walk this path until the very end.

Naruto sat by the crackling fire, the soft sizzle of fish roasting over the flames filling the air. The morning had been grueling—his workout had pushed his body to its limits, and yet, he felt nothing but satisfaction. His breathing was steady, controlled, following the rhythms of Asura's technique, The Path of Asura. The movement exercises and weight training had tested his endurance, but that was exactly what he wanted. His goal wasn't to rely on Sage Mode or Kurama's chakra all the time. He wanted raw, unshakable strength—even in his base form.

The weight seals on his body were proof of his progress. At the moment, he could handle ten tonnes without chakra and ten thousand tonnes with it. Sage Mode could push him even further. But strength wasn't just about numbers—it was about control. That was something his mother had emphasized as she helped him improve his training regime.

Mother…

He glanced at his bare arms, tracing his fingers over the invisible seals Kushina had etched onto his skin the night before. They only became visible when he activated his golden glow, a sign of the vast power locked within. He remembered her words as she carefully guided a clone through the intricate sealing process.

"Naruto, seals are more than just tools. They are extensions of our will. A true master doesn't just use seals; he becomes one with them."

She had spoken with a passion that made Naruto realize just how deeply the Uzumaki blood ran through his veins. As she worked, she explained the philosophy behind the art.

"In Uzushio, our greatest warriors carried countless seals on their bodies—not just for storage or protection, but for resonance. Alone, a seal is powerful. But together, in harmony, they become something more. That's the foundation of the Uzumaki sealing arts."

Naruto had listened intently as she reminisced about legends from their clan's past.

"There was once a warrior," she had said, her voice filled with admiration, "whose seals were so intricate, so perfectly attuned, that with a single thought, he could move the world. Not physically, but through pure will—reshaping reality as if it were clay in his hands."

The idea had fascinated Naruto. He had seen seals used for incredible feats, but to reach such a level? It was something beyond even his wildest dreams.

"What if we could take it even further?" Kushina had mused aloud, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "What if we didn't just apply seals to our skin? What if we inscribed them onto each individual cell? Or even at an atomic level?"

Naruto had blinked, stunned by the sheer scale of such an idea.

"That sounds… impossible," he admitted.

Kushina had laughed. "Of course it does! But sealing was always about defying limitations. We bend space, store energy, link realms—why should there be a limit? If I can refine my technique, I might be able to create a way to engrave seals on the cellular level. Imagine—resilience, adaptability, regeneration—all enhanced beyond natural limits."

She had shaken her head, her enthusiasm momentarily giving way to a thoughtful expression.

"But that's something for the future. First, I need to refresh myself on my old studies. It's been a long time since I practiced sealing at that level. When I return from Veritas, I'll see what I can come up with."

Her words lingered in Naruto's mind as he took a bite of his fish, savoring the taste. He had no doubt that if anyone could break past those limits, it was his mother.

For now, he focused on what was within his reach.

His conversation with Kurama earlier had given him a lot to think about.

"You can be like Father and move on foot everywhere while spreading your words."

Naruto had frowned at that.

"The Sage also experienced this," he had pointed out. "How did it go for him?"

Kurama's deep, rumbling voice had carried both wisdom and regret.

"He learned much about humanity. He traveled the world, helped countless people. But in the end, he could not guide them to peace. That's why he spread chakra—not as a weapon, but as a means of connection. The true purpose of chakra was to allow people to understand one another. When two souls allow their chakra to interact, they can form an unbreakable bond."

Naruto had felt a strange warmth at that idea.

"Like us."

"Yes," Kurama had affirmed. "But there was another reason. Chakra was also meant to be a defense against illusions. It was given to humanity so they could resist those who sought to entrap them in deception."

That had confused Naruto at first.

"But you can still catch people in genjutsu."

Kurama had huffed, amused by the question.

"That's because of my grandmother," he had explained. "She placed the world under an illusion of eternal bliss. Father gave chakra to humanity so they could connect—but also so they could fight back against such illusions if they ever returned."

Naruto had poked at the fire, watching the embers dance in the cool morning air.

"Sadly, that's impossible at the moment," he had admitted. The world was still far from peace.

Still, he wasn't going to stop trying.

There was another issue on his mind.

His summoning contract was gone.

Ever since arriving in this universe, his bond with the toads had been severed. Gamabunta, Fukasaku, Shima—none of them could reach him. That meant one thing: he needed a new summon. Not just any summon, but one strong enough to stand at his side in the battles to come. The toads, for all their wisdom, were no longer enough.

He needed a partner who could match him, challenge him, push him beyond his limits.

As he chewed on his meal, he thought about what kind of beast would be worthy. A dragon? A titan? Something ancient, powerful, and wise?

A smirk played on his lips.

"Guess I'll find out soon enough."

His mother was off with Kara to visit Veritas, preparing for her new body. He wasn't worried—Kushina could handle herself. And once she returned, they'd take his training to the next level.

For now, he would focus on what was in front of him.

Naruto looked up at the sky, the sun beginning its slow ascent.

He had a long way to go.

But he was ready.