NARUTO SI: A Burdened Soul (Elder Brother to Itachi SI)

Chapter 4

KUSHINA UZUMAKI

Kushina Uzumaki knew very well the pain of losing one's family. She had endured it herself when the accursed Great Nations wiped out her whole village—Uzushio, her home reduced to nothing all because of the fear and greed of the Five Great Nations.

And though to this day she hoped that some of her family still lived in the distance, the truth was that this hope continued to dwindle with every passing year. But then she had gained new hope, new friends, and a new family, and the pain had lessened.

She had found a parent in Mito-sama, a grumpy older sister in Tsunade-san, a friend in Mikoto, a rival and then a lover in Minato, and last of all, a child in the form of one Izuna Uchiha.

Izuna was her best friend's first child, the one she had chosen to carry her dreams. She was just as surprised by the announcement of his birth as the rest of them. She had been there in the hospital, having gotten special permission to bear witness to this. She had held him in her arms and was named his godmother.

They would often visit over the years. With Mikoto retiring from active duty, she would visit her often to keep her company, bringing him with her. It would be in those visits that they would learn of his aptitude for sealing, as a one-year-old Izuna would blow up one of her experimental seals, nearing tearing both their hearts out as he giggled innocently.

And so Kushina Uzumaki had found her second student, another person who would carry on the will of Uzushio apart from Minato and herself. And so Kushina-baa would become Kushina-sensei, and though Izuna would lack much of the talent that Minato and herself possessed he would still learn, going against the wishes of the elders of his clan, who would call it all a waste of time.

The time for the lessons would be cut short, though, with him getting forced to train under those old geezers as well. Much like sealing, he would excel in all that as well, and soon enough, the whole village would learn of the Uchiha genius who was way ahead of his peers.

By the time he did enter the academy, Izuna Uchiha was ahead of his peers and he would break the academy's record graduating within a year with the second highest marks ever recorded in history, and would be put on a team with the only person who could keep up with him, his best friend—Uchiha Shisui.

And as she found him sleeping under the shadow of a tree in the training ground with kunai and shuriken lying all around him, she pitied him for the pain he was forced to bear and the loss he had suffered at such a young age.

But she was hopeful as well, for he was getting better. Slowly but surely, the light that had vanished from his eyes was coming back, and until he was ready, it was her job to help him along the way, both as an aunt and as a sensei.

And as she smiled at seeing him sleeping like a child his age, she pushed chakra into his arm and aimed a punch at his head.

"How many times have I told you not to sleep in the open like this..." as her fist hit his skull, she did not feel the flesh and bones as it pushed through it as her young student's body shifted infront of her eyes transforming into a hoard of crows.

Caw. Caw.

And all the crows flew away, and then came together behind her, as a Izuna appeared right behind her, a frill of hair covering one of his eyes as his growing hair fell down behind him.

"And how many times have I told you to not hit me on the head..." he asked as she smirked, impressed by his improvements as she turned to face him.

"...Kushina-baa san," and those words irked her as she picked up a stone and crushed it in her hands.

"Sensei. Call me sensei, you brat!" and the ground beneath her feet began to crack up as her chakra roared forth. It was time to test him, and so a duel was the best way to go, and with her mind made she smiled and saw him understand her intentions.

From what Minato had told her, the village was going to deploy him soon, believing his growth to be sufficient in the time they had allotted him. So it was best for her to get a measure of it for herself as well.

And he seemed to understand the sentiment as the color of his eyes shifted from raven black to the accursed red of Sharingan as he got into his stance.

"Why don't you make baa-san?" he teased, and with that, he threw a volley of shuriken at her, as she ignored them all and rushed straight at him. The shuriken stuck her arms, and yet her enhanced physique allowed her to ignore the pain as she appeared right infront of him and began trying to overpower him with her taijutsu.

To his credit, he was rather quick, as he evaded blow after blow, knowing full well that even a single blow straight on would be fatal for him given the sheer strength she carried both because of being an Uzumaki and a jinchuriki, and then she felt it happen as those hands lit up, with a green hue, as he blocked one of her punches much to her surprise.

THWACK!

The surprise gave him the opening he was looking for her as he aimed a punch at her neck, which she was forced to parry rather awkwardly as he jumped up and kicked her back, as he gripped her arm, tried to seal away her chakra using a elemental chakra seal.

"Not so fast, you brat," and immediately, she activated her own kekkei genkai, as adamantine chains appeared from her back and pounced on him from all sides.

And as they skewered his body, she saw him gaze into her eyes, as his lips turned up and that body once more dissolved into a pack of cawing crows much to her anger, as she once again turned back and found him standing there, a bit roughed up and huffing but still up and ready.

And suddenly, as she tried to move her arm, she found herself unable to do so and looked and found her arm limp by her side.

"How did you do that?" she asked, for she felt no pain yet was unable to move her arm at all.

And he raised his hand with the green hue still covering it as she understood the unsaid words.

"Iryo-ninjutsu," and he shrugged.

"It is far more useful than people think," he added as he wiped away at the cut on his cheek and she smirked impressed by him. For any genin this would have been enough, such mastery of chakra, and taijutsu was enough for them.

But not for him. Not when their enemies were going to come after him specifically.

"Well, it seems like I must get serious as well," she said the number of adamantine chains increased to six, as her own chakra shifted suddenly as a reddish hue began to cover her as the priodial chakra of the bijuu sealed inside her began to flow through her chakra networks.

"You better be ready...." and with that both of them rushed at each other, as she saw him bring together his hands, as his eyes spun and then in an instant his whole body blurred as dozens or dozens of Izuna appeared right infront of her.

'Clones' she thought as one of them slashed at her with their tanto, and she parried the strike as she tried to skewer it with her chains, which seeming passed right through it, making her frown as another one appeared under her and kicked her, and yet she was lifted off of the ground as another one appeared above her and to her surprise kicked at her forcing her to block it.

"KUKH!" and this one hit her as well, much to her own amazement, as they tried to surround her.

"That is enough!" she screamed as chakra rippled off of her as she swung her chains, and saw them pass through all of them.

And as she landed, she was surrounded by a dozen or so of these projections once more and she looked around unable to discern them, at a glance and smiled before she closed her eyes and reached for her other kekkei genakai.

"There," she attacked the real body, and yet, to her surprise, the adamantine chain flew right through the body. A voice from behind cut through, and she found a tanto pointed at her neck. Izune appeared right behind her.

"I win," he said and that was impressive. Much impressive, and she pushed down the bijuu chakra as those projections vanished.

"Interesting, but are you sure," she suddenly asked as her body vanished in a cloud of smoke, much to his surprise as she gripped her ankles from under the ground and pulled him.

"Doton: Headhunter jutsu," she whispered as she jumped up and smiled at the little head protruding out of the ground as she aimed a kunai at his forehead.

"What do you have to say for yourself now?" she asked and saw his eyes narrow.

"I wouldn't be so sure of your victory just yet," and suddenly she felt a seal activate and looked down and saw a massive sealing formula inscribed into the ground.

"Fuin!" and at that she saw the kanji begin climbing up at her sealing her movements, and chakra as the ground around him blew up as he pushed himself up, as the seal activated and forced her to stop.

"I saw you replace yourself with that clone and knew that you would give me an opening. As long as you had that bijuu chakra activated I knew the seal would not work, and so waited for you to let it go and activated the seal," he elaborated as she smirked impressed by his sealing work.

"You have improved quite a lot Izuna," she complimented, and he had. She would say that he was on par with Minato's little genius.

"But I am still your sensei," but using seals against an Uzumaki was a death sentence, and in one single sweep the seals surrounding her vanished and replaced her with him as the target, and she saw them work as his chakra and movements got sealed as she walked towards him as he struggled to break free from them.

And then she smiled as she punched him straight in the head.

"Call me sensei!" she forced as he screamed in pain under her arm.

"Ouch. Ouch, okay, okay. You win, Kushina-sensei. " She smiled as she removed the seal, and he rubbed his head.

He plopped down on the ground and sighed as she smiled at all his growth and improvement. The seal was enough to stop a chunin-level shinobi and even affect jounin if they were caught off guard, and then all his other techniques. She had only managed to beat it so easily because she was fuinjutsu master herself, and was a jinchuriki and Uzumaki on top of that.

For a regular jounin, it was a death trap. In a way similar to how her boyfriend's Hiraishin tags were. And to even be considered a threat at a similar level to that of Hiraishin was astonishing for anyone, let alone a kid his age.

It was undoubtedly inspired by Hiraishin, for he had always held a fascination for that technique even though he had little aptitude for it.

However, she was even more impressed by his other technique, the one which had involved using projections. It was unlike anything she had ever seen, and was another one of his original creations.

He had improved a lot.

"That technique," she asked, the one which even she was unable to react to, and she saw him nod.

"Where did you get the idea for it," she asked, for she had an inkling just from who it was.

"It was from my friend and teammate," he answered as his eyes fell to the ground.

"Shisui," he named, and she knew of the boy. He was one of his teammates, and his sole best friend. Both of them were joined at the hips, and she was fond of the jolly kid.

"It's a good technique. A bit rough still. But with some work I can see it causing a lot of trouble on the battlefield," she added and he nodded.

"I know," and with that, he stood up.

"Want to go again?" he asked, and just as she was about to answer.

"I believe that is enough for today," and both of them looked to the side at the same time, and saw a blonde standing there with his own three gremlins right behind him.

"Minato!"

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