Ichiraku Ramen -
Walking into the small ramen restaurant, Kakashi waves as he catches sight of Kurenai and Anko.
"Yoo."
The two blink as the cycloptic jonin says no more, taking a seat beside the young blonde following him.
"Truly a man of many words, how's it been, Kakashi? And who's the brat?"
Anko asked with a smirk, no real heat when addressing Naruto as a 'brat', and already knowing his identity, this was her way of being polite.
Kakashi patted Naruto's head.
"This is Naruto Uzumaki. Naruto, the purple-haired kunoichi, is Anko Mitarashi, and the one with black hair is Kurenai Yuhi."
"Nice to meet you both."
Naruto greeted politely, his time with Kakashi having influenced his personality and manners.
Both kunoichi were visibly stunned, exchanging a brief, skeptical glance as they recalled the tales circulating in the village—stories painting Naruto as an unruly troublemaker entirely devoid of respect for his elders. However, they internally shrugged it off, brushing the rumors aside, recognizing that such biased gossip likely originated from the close-minded villagers who had always treated the boy with unfair contempt.
While the two wanted to ask why or how Naruto was with Kakashi, considering his status, they ultimately went back to their own conversation, a little more hushed now that they didn't have the small stand to themselves anymore.
Once Naruto and Kakashi got their bowls, it was as if it were a race; both shoveled the food down as a stranded, dehydrated man would when given water.
Kakashi finished his bowl 3 seconds before Naruto, smiling behind his mask as his young student pouted.
Kurenai deadpanned as she noticed the visual genjutsu over Kakashi's face.
'Using genjustu is such a way.'
She couldn't help but be a bit envious, having not noticed Kakashi use hand seals to activate the technique.
Kakashi paid for the two bowls. The light snack was a reward for Naruto's improvement over the months and his learning of the shadow clone jutsu.
Waving goodbye to the two kunoichi, Kakashi led Naruto to a ninja supply shop, where they bought a stack of chakra paper, as the shop didn't sell single strips of the paper.
Kakashi continued browsing the shop, picking up a few mesh undershirts for Naruto—a small oversight finally corrected from six months ago. Watching him, Kakashi felt a quiet satisfaction in having bought the clothes oversized; those once-baggy outfits now fit Naruto perfectly, a testament to his growth.
Once Kakashi paid for the items, he escorted Naruto to training ground seven.
Picking out a piece of chakra paper, Kakashi handed it to the confused boy before he began to explain.
"This is chakra paper. When the chakra is applied, it can react in five ways. Burning(fire), cutting in half(wind), dampening(water), crumbiling(earth), and wrinkiling(lightning)."
Naruto took all this in before channeling his chakra into the paper, watching as it split in half.
"Wind.... Is that good?"
Kakashi nodded
"Wind Release is arguably the most versatile and convenient nature transformation compared to Earth or Water. While Water and Earth users are often restricted by their environment—struggling to find water in a desert or earth while on a vast body of water—Wind users can generate their element anywhere. Producing Water or Earth without a natural source requires a significant expenditure of chakra to convert internal energy into physical material. In contrast, Wind techniques are often more efficient and focus on manipulating existing air currents, reducing the need for high chakra reserves to initiate a technique. So, yes, it's good."
Naruto's eyes shone, feeling like he had the best nature, but Kakashi quickly spoke up once more.
"Yes, wind is a very good nature, but the others are not inherently worse by any means. It's about the user's strength in the techniques, hand seal speed, their mastery over their element or elements, and the truly proficient can reduce hand seals for techniques."
Crouching low, Kakashi traced a diagram in the earth, using his finger to map out the complex cycle of the five elemental chakra natures and their natural, opposing weaknesses.
"Fire is strong against wind, but weak against water. Wind is strong against lightning, but weak against fire. Lightning is strong against earth, but weak against wind. Earth is strong against water, but weak against lightning. Water is strong against fire, but weak against earth."
Kakashi watched Naruto's eyes go over the written diagram. Before he nodded after a few moments, having absorbed all the information about the elements.
"Kakashi-sensei, what about lord first? His element was wood."
Kakashi began drawing another diagram on the earth, finishing and gesturing to it.
"Lord First was renowned for his great strength, his wood release built this village, and he even managed to capture most of the tailed beasts using it. The sand already had possession of the one-tailed shukaku at that time. Wood release is widely believed to be the combination of water and earth, creating wood. A kekkei genkai."
Kakashi looked up and, seeing that Naruto was following along, continued.
"Wood release, much like the Uzumaki sealings chains, can suppress the chakra of even the tailed beasts."
'I, however, believe it has nothing to do with kekkei genkai and everything to do with what Hashirama and Naruto are, the reincarnations of Asura. If wood release is truly a bloodline limit, then it'd surely have manifested in the children or even grandchildren of Hashirama. I would guess that wood release is a kekkei tota exclusive to the reincarnations of Asura. Yamato, Obito, and Madara can use it due to Hashirama's cells. Madara, being the most proficient, likely has something to do with his being the reincarnation of Indra, Ashura's brother. Water-Earth-Yang. That's my guess, but I could be wrong.'
"Uzumaki.... clan?"
Kakashi gave a slow nod, recalling that the Uzumaki clan was treated as a footnote in history—an inconvenient truth hidden from academy students, likely scrubbed away by political maneuvering or simple, callous negligence.
"The Uzumaki clan was world-renowned for their use of fuinjutsu, chakra reserves, and fiery red hair. They lived on an island called Uzushiogakure."
"Lived?"
Naruto's hope was crushed, catching the past tense and knowing the Uzumaki must have all died somehow.
Kakashi sighed, turning to show the spiral symbol in the middle of his jonin flak jacket.
"This red symbol is the clan symbol of the Uzumaki. They were our greatest ally before their destruction. Their very own princess married Lord First, solidifying our alliance and strengthening our understanding of fuinjutsu."
Before diving into the darker details, Kakashi tempered the conversation with a positive story.
"A combined force of Kumo and Kiri, along with other smaller nations allied with them, destroyed Uzushiogakure near the end of the Second Great Ninja War. Despite their destruction, the people of Uzushio fought hard, crippiling the armies that invaded them for years. Some of the lesser villages even had their whole armies destroyed."
Naruto sat down, taking it all in with a hard-to-read expression.
"Why?"
The question was quiet, almost too quiet to hear, almost.
"They.... They were the foremost masters of fuinjutsu, and fuinjutsu was scarily deadly in their hands. Other villages wanted that knowledge so much that they were willing to slaughter every last Uzumaki to get it. But based on what Konoha could gather from the investigation, they were unsuccessful. The Uzumaki seals were recovered and brought back to Konoha, to Lady Mito."
"But how? If the invading armies were unable to get the seals, then how did Konoha?"
Kakashi locked eyes with him, silently wondering if he should reveal something, deciding a few moments later that it was Naruto's right to know.
"Because the Konoha Ninja had the help of an Uzumaki. Your mother, Kushina Uzumaki."
'And father'
Kakashi mentally added, not sure if Naruto was ready to hear that yet, wanting to see how he'd react to this revelation before he decided.
"M-My mom...."
Naruto murmured, his voice trailing off as a whirlwind of emotions surged across his features. He felt a sharp sting of resentment toward the Third Hokage for the years of hollow answers, quickly followed by a heavy, crushing sadness. He found himself wondering if his mother was truly gone—or if she had simply walked away from him. Other flickers of emotion crossed his face, too fast to name, leaving him looking raw and unsettled.
A hand placed on his shoulder breaks Naruto from his swirling spiral, looking up into Kakashi's lone eye.
"Your mother's love for you began long before you were born. She was thrilled to be a parent, and she would've been the greatest mother imaginable if she were still here. Her love is undeniable—she gave her life to protect you and our home. Her only wish was for you to grow up strong, make lasting friendships, and eventually find someone to love. She wanted that more than anything. Given the choice, she would sacrifice herself for you again in a heartbeat."
Naruto could no longer control the tears, silently crying as Kakashi kept his hand on his shoulder in silent comfort.
"What was she like? Can you tell me stories?"
Kakashi's eye crinkled into a soft, crescent-moon shape—a genuine smile that radiated nostalgia, unmistakable even through the fabric of his mask. Sitting cross-legged on the grass, he began to weave a tapestry of memories for the boy beside him. He spoke of Kushina's fiery spirit and her infamous red hair, describing the way her laugh could fill an entire room and the peculiar little quirks that made her unique. Naruto sat in a heavy silence, his gaze fixed on Kakashi as if he were trying to memorize every word, desperate to catch even the smallest fragment of the mother he had never met.
-Chapter end-