Naruto: The Chosen Undead

Chapter no.64 The Forbidden Arts and the Four Heavenly Treasures!

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The warm, colorful glow of the Homeward Miracle faded from Naruto's skin, its soft divine shimmer melting back into the quiet stillness of Lordran. The air here was heavier, yet somehow, it felt… comforting.

Naruto stretched his ar ms overhead, letting out a slow breath. "It's been too long."

Oscar gave a noise which translated perfectly to: We were literally here yesterday.

"Yeah, but we didn't do anything yesterday, other than sit at Firelink Shrine and come up with a lie for Jiraiya and the others."

Oscar tilted his tiny head, chirping again.

"Okay, fine," Naruto said, rolling his eyes. "You did help, if you count watching me brood about Sakumo-san and my clan's destruction as 'help.'"

The crystal lizard gave a sharp, proud squeak, as if saying emotional support counts.

"Yeah, yeah. You're the best emotional support lizard anyone could ask for."

Their lighthearted exchange faded as a gentle, graceful voice drifted down from the staircase above them.

"Sir Naruto. It has been some time since you last came to visit."

Naruto looked up to see the familiar figure of Dusk of Oolacile, seated elegantly on the worn stone steps. "Hey, Princess. Sorry it's been a while. I got caught up with… a lot of stuff back home. You know how it is."

"Indeed. Though, to my understanding, time flows differently where you hail from. It has been nearly a month here in Lordran since your last visit."

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Yeah, that whole time dilation thing's a pain. Good for training but not for being away. Makes me look like a bad friend."

"Perish the thought, good knight. Your return gladdens me nonetheless."

"Your speech, it's… different. Easier to understand, actually."

Dusk looked faintly proud. "Master Andre has been most diligent in correcting my manner of speech. He said my 'idiolect' required refinement."

"Yeah, I'd say so. No offense, but the old-timey talk made me feel like I was reading one of those ancient history scrolls out loud."

Her lips curved into a soft, knowing smile. "I shall take that as a compliment, Sir Naruto."

"Well, I didn't mean it as one, but sure... let's go with that."

Naruto raised an eyebrow as he took in Dusk's new appearance.

Gone was the ivory gown of Oolacile, replaced now by a more humble yet regal ensemble.

Her dress was crafted from a dense, dark brown fabric with a natural, homespun texture, thick enough to stave off Lordran's chill. The long skirt reached her ankles, pooling slightly with weight and sweeping out in structured folds like the petals of a blooming night flower. At her waist, a leather belt cinched the layers together, accentuating her slender figure with both elegance and simplicity.

Underneath the dress, she wore a long-sleeved undershirt of ashen wool, the sleeves snug to her arms and gathered at the wrist. Draped across her shoulders was a short cloak of the same dark brown material, fastened by modest brass buttons at her throat. The high collar framed her neck with dignified warmth, while her boots were ankle-high and laced with sturdy leather, clearly meant for long walks across uneven terrain.

"Master Andre made it for me," Dusk said softly, turning in a slow, graceful spin.

Naruto and Oscar both clapped enthusiastically.

Dusk gave a polite, regal bow in return, one hand placed over her chest, the other extended outward, fingers elegantly spread in the formal gesture of Oolacile grace.

"Man, you look amazing, Dusk. That old blacksmith's got some hidden talent. Didn't think he had a fashion sense buried under all that muscle."

"Master Andre takes pride in all his crafts. He claimed the challenge was… refreshing."

"You know, when I get a bit more time, I might ask him to teach me how to make clothes too."

Oscar tilted his head sharply at that, letting out a questioning chirp that translated to why on earth would you do that?

"A most practical skill, to be sure. Yet… I find myself sharing the wise lizard's confusion."

"Well, recently I got some clothes made for Tsunami, and they were kinda expensive compared to everyone else," Naruto said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Something about my size being more like an adult's. And I figure, I'm probably gonna run into that problem a lot more down the line, so it doesn't hurt to learn, right?"

He puffed his chest a little, trying to sound proud. "That, and I've come to appreciate fashion. Right, Oscar?"

Oscar slowly turned his head toward Naruto, then at the tattered Balder Knight's cape the boy was wearing and gave a very slow, unimpressed shake of his head.

Dusk let out a soft, melodic giggle behind her hand.

"Oh, shut it, you little rock ball! I'll make you clothes too!"

Oscar made a dubious chirp, like he was questioning whether he should be worried.

"I'm thinking… an orange jumpsuit."

The horror was immediate. Oscar froze, gave a strangled squeak, and flopped backward like a fainting noble. He clutched his tiny claws to his chest, squealing in exaggerated despair.

Dusk covered her mouth but couldn't hold back a laugh. "Oh, dear… perhaps something a touch less flamboyant for your noble companion, Sir Naruto."

"Fine, fine. Maybe I'll give him a tiny hat or something. A fashionable knight deserves a good accessory."

Oscar peeked one eye open, still pretending to be offended but intrigued by the idea of a hat.

Naruto chuckled. "See? He's already thinking about color choices."

The laughter between them faded into a soft, comfortable quiet.

Dusk tilted her head gently. "So… what brings you back this time? Sir Siegmeyer says you often come when your heart is heavy."

Naruto's smile softened. "Yeah… I guess I do." He leaned back on his hands, gazing at the bonfire. "I'm in the middle of something big back home. Complicated stuff. But I think you and Andre might actually be able to help me."

"Help you in what manner, Sir Naruto?"

Naruto nodded, rubbing the back of his neck as he thought. "Back when you were teaching me the Hidden Body spell, you mentioned a spell used to mend armor and weapons."

"Ah… the Repair sorcery. A gentle, humble art, yet one of Oolacile's greatest treasures. In our golden age, it was said the sages used that very spell to mend the ruins of a kingdom lost to time into Oolacile."

Naruto's eyes lit up with sudden understanding. "That's it! That's exactly the kind of magic I need to fix the Altar of Beginning!"

"Of course. I shall transcribe the spell for you. Just give me a moment."

"Well, I'll be with Andre if you need me," Naruto said with an easy wave as he headed down the worn stone steps toward the blacksmith's forge.

Dusk followed a few minutes later and found the duo standing over a thick stone slab resting atop the anvil.

"What's going on here?"

Andre let out a booming laugh. "The brat here's got it in his head that a pinch of repair powder can fix a blasted altar. So we're runnin' a little experiment."

"Scientific research," Naruto corrected with a grin.

Andre ignored him and, without warning, slammed his massive palm down on the slab. The stone split with a satisfying crack that echoed through the forge. Then the blacksmith sprinkled a faint shimmer of golden dust across the surface.

Before Dusk's eyes, the broken stone began to knit itself together. The cracks glowed faintly, sealing shut until the surface looked perfectly smooth.

"It worked!" Andre grinned, slapping Naruto on the back with enough force to make the boy stumble forward.

Naruto steadied himself and frowned, focusing chakra into the slab. Seals of faint blue light appeared across the surface like threads of a spiderweb… only for them to flicker and fade out.

"The fuinjutsu didn't repair," he said, shaking his head. "So it's a no-go." Turning to Dusk, he added, "Can I see how your Repair spell works? The real one?"

"Of course," Dusk replied warmly. She gracefully sidestepped Oscar, who was busy chewing on a broken sword handle like a dog with a bone. The little lizard gave an indignant chirp when she passed, as though to say don't judge me.

Lifting her Ivory Catalyst, Dusk's posture straightened, and the air in the forge seemed to still. Soft gold light gathered around her branch, coalescing into motes of luminescence that shimmered like fireflies. When she released the spell, a warm radiance descended upon the broken slab.

"Well, I'll be damned," Andre muttered, stroking his beard. "That's cleaner work than any tool I've ever held. But far as I can tell, it did the same thing as the powder."

"Nope." Naruto popped the p as he crouched beside the slab and pressed his hand flat on it, funneling chakra into the stone.

The response was instant. The fuinjutsu etched into the slab flared to life for a brief second and then the explosive seal activated with a faint boom, sending up a puff of smoke that rolled over everyone's faces.

Dusk jumped with a startled squeak, her hands flying to her chest as the soft explosion sent a faint puff of smoke curling through the forge.

Naruto coughed once and waved the smoke away, glancing at her with an amused look he tried and failed to hide. "Relax, Princess. It's a low-yield explosive seal, not a bomb."

Her cheeks flushed slightly as she composed herself, smoothing her dress. "That… was most unexpected," she murmured.

"So," Andre said, eyeing the singed slab, "mind explainin' what in the blazes just happened here before the next one decides to explode?"

"Okay, so here's the deal. This slab had an explosive seal on it. When we broke it, the seal itself got destroyed. The repair powder fixed the stone but not the seal. What I needed was something that could restore both. That's what Dusk's spell did perfectly."

"Alright, I follow most of that. But what I don't get is why the spell fixed it."

"Because the spell doesn't just fix what's broken. It rewinds time and turns it back to the exact state it was in before it ever cracked."

Naruto looked to the princess. "Right, Princess?"

"Of course. Light is time, and time remembers. Every beam of sunlight carries the echo of a moment long past as it shines upon the present, but it was born in the past. The sorcery of Repair does not command light, it listens to it. It asks the light to remind the world of what once was."

"That's… insane." His voice trembled with realization. "Do you know what that means? This isn't just restoration rather it's reversion! We could literally turn back the clock on an object. What if… what if we applied this to a person?" Naruto's words came faster, his eyes widening with every thought. "Heal someone back from nonexistence… reverse a death… bring back a loved one… what if we reversed a Hollow's mind?"

Andre said, "You're talkin' like a madman, kid."

Oscar clutched his tiny reptilian face with both claws, squeaking dramatically, whether out of horror or excitement was anyone's guess.

"Sir Naruto," Dusk said softly, "your passion does you credit, but I must clarify."

Her expression grew more solemn as she clasped her hands in front of her. "The Repair sorcery, like all magics born of light, has its limits. A novice can mend the durability of a blade. A scholar may restore a broken tool to its former shape. A master… perhaps they could reverse a patch of earth to the way it was a few moments prior. But to touch the flow of life... to turn back the river of time for a soul would be to challenge the very weave of existence."

She looked down. "To manipulate time as you imagine would require mastery beyond that of the Albino Archdragon, beyond the gods themselves. It would demand an understanding so vast, so complete, that even sanity might break beneath its weight."

"So… you're saying I'd need, like, ninety-nine Intelligence."

Andre groaned. "I'm startin' to think you already hit ninety-nine in stupidity."

Naruto ignored the jab, his expression turning serious as he stared down at the restored slab. "Still… even if I can't rewrite time, if I can use this to fix the altar back home, that's worth trying."

He looked up at Dusk, eyes burning with new determination. "Let's get to it."

Dusk's smile was small but proud as she reached into her satchel and withdrew a rolled spell scroll. "Then take this, Sir Naruto. May your light remember what the world has forgotten."

Naruto accepted the scroll with both hands, bowing his head slightly in respect. The parchment pulsed faintly with golden warmth, the magic within almost eager to be understood.

I wonder… what would this spell become if I enhanced it with chakra?

---

[ Item: Repair Spell ]
[ Description: Ancient sorcery of the lost land of Oolacile. Repairs equipped weapons and armor.
This sorcery was part of everyday life in Oolacile. Its effects resemble repair powder. While the effects of this spell are rather subtle, its foundations are a well-guarded secret. Light is time, and the reversal of its effects is a forbidden art. ]

Despite how complex and dangerous reversing time sounded on paper, Naruto had little to no difficulty attuning the Repair sorcery.

Dusk helped refine his control while Andre grumbled about "kids tamperin' with cosmic nonsense" and hammered in the background. A day later, after endless shadow clone trials, explosions, and near-death experiences for the dummies (and once for Naruto), the boy stood ready for the real test.

Andre stood beside him, frowning as he eyed the preparations. A wide barricade of stone and steel surrounded the testing area, with two of Naruto's clones standing inside the ring. In the middle sat a mannequin wearing the shattered remains of a Black Knight armor set.

"So, how likely is it that the whole church collapses on our heads?"

Naruto tilted his head in mock thought. "It's not… uh..." He paused mid-sentence, glanced at the cracked ceiling, then wordlessly handed Homeward Bones to Oscar, Dusk, and Andre.

Andre squinted. "You sure inspire confidence, brat."

"Safety first, old man," Naruto said cheerfully. "Didn't you teach me that?"

Dusk looked deeply unconvinced, her delicate hands clutching her catalyst. "I do not know about this, Sir Naruto. Tampering with time's flow, even in fragments, is not a feat to take lightly."

"Come on, what's the worst that could happen?" He turned and yelled to his clones, "Hey! A little farther back, guys!"

"You are still working with a spell that bends time itself, and your explanation of what chakra does to magic was far from comforting."

Naruto shrugged. "Then you can leave, if you want. I don't mind."

Dusk sighed and gave a small, resigned smile. "Sir Naruto, you are without question the most foolish… and yet the most delightful soul I have ever met."

Then, with sudden earnestness, she stepped forward and hugged him tightly. "Please do not die. I would be most upset."

"Nothing to be scared of, my lady," Andre said, though he was already crouching behind Naruto.

Naruto chuckled, patting Dusk's shoulder. "A bunch of scaredy cats, right, Oscar?"

The little lizard squeaked and bolted up the stairs to higher ground.

"Traitor." Naruto straightened, clapping his hands together. "Alright, clones! Do your thing!"

"Yes, boss!"

Two clones knelt beside the catalyst and began channeling chakra into it. A third raised its hand and began weaving the Repair spell.

Light erupted from the catalyst; not soft and gentle this time, but fierce and radiant, spilling across the ruin like sunlight breaking through a storm. The air shimmered as the energy folded over itself, and time seemed to breathe backward. Cracked pillars straightened, shattered glass mended, and the faint hymn of Oolacile's magic echoed through the hall.

A few minutes later, when the glow faded, the church stood renewed, as if centuries had peeled away in seconds. The mannequin stood perfectly centered, holding the Black Knight armor now polished and whole.

Naruto blinked once, twice, then burst out laughing. "Ha! It worked! You see that?" He jumped up with a grin that could've lit the whole room. "I just got myself a brand-new Black Knight armor set!"

"Your clones are gone," Andre said, peering at the now-empty section of the church.

"Yeah, probably got reverse-timed out of existence or something."

Andre stared at him flatly.

Dusk pointed to the mannequin and said, "The armor has been restored, but the mannequin itself remains untouched. The spell's light did not affect it."

"That's actually a good observation, Princess. I think the Repair spell's light can be blocked. If an object's shadow or surface absorbs the time flow differently, maybe it just… doesn't revert." Naruto sighed, scratching his cheek. "Guess that means I can't use this spell in combat after all."

"Why's that?"

"The activation time's too long. In a shinobi fight, a few seconds can mean death. And if the spell's effect can be blocked, that means a shield, a barrier, or even a jutsu could stop it. Makes it useless for a battlefield."

"You're thinkin' too much like a soldier, brat. A tool don't stop bein' useful just 'cause it ain't a weapon. A hammer builds houses before it breaks. The worth of a tool depends on how wisely the hand uses it, not how deadly it is. I am sure you are smart enough to understand that."

"So you admit I'm smart."

Andre bonked him lightly on the head with a meaty hand. "Don't push your luck, kid."

"Sir Naruto, even though the spell reversed time for the structure, nothing from the previous age appeared. No artifacts, no people or plants."

"That's strange."

Andre squinted up at the pillars. "Aye, but look at the paint. The color on those carvings came back. That's somethin'."

"Hmm…" Naruto muttered. "So maybe the spell needs an anchor, like something physical still tied to that specific point in time. You can't reverse time mid-air and expect something that used to be there to just pop into existence again. The spell can only restore what remembers itself."

Dusk nodded. "A reasonable conclusion."

Oscar chirped in confusion, as if saying, I still don't get it.

Before any of them could continue, a sudden wave of heat flared behind them. Naruto spun around just as the Black Knight armor erupted into fire.

But it wasn't the flame itself that chilled him; rather, it was the feeling it carried. That same twisted energy pulsing beneath the surface: Chaos.

The embers flared violently, consuming the armor before slowly dying down, leaving behind the same shattered, blackened pieces they had started with.

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Great. So I guess I really need to figure out how to deal with the Chaos Flame before I try to fix that thing ever again."

"I don't think we can blame the fire for this one."

"Old man, you saw that, right? It just burst into flames."

Andre gave a knowing grunt. "Don't be so quick to judge what you don't yet understand."

Naruto nodded, peering at the remains. The armor was broken again, yes, but there were no scorch marks. No signs of new damage. Even the restored church around them had reverted back to its original, half-ruined state.

"Alright, fair point. Lesson learned... again." Naruto rubbed his chin, thinking. "But that means a few things could've happened here. Either the Chaos Flames burned through time itself, or…"

He glanced up at the ceiling, expression turning pensive. "…Lordran's weird, messed-up time didn't like me making a time bubble and just snapped it back to normal."

Andre grunted in agreement. "Wouldn't be the first time this place told reality to piss off."

"Or," Naruto added, "maybe the spell just has limited uses, like the world only allows so much time meddling before it hits reset."

Dusk folded her hands, her tone almost reverent. "Perhaps, Sir Naruto, time itself resists those who try to master it. It may allow a moment's grace… before reminding us who truly commands the ages."

Naruto gave a half-smile. "Then I'll just have to ask time to be nice to me for a few minutes longer."

Andre snorted. "Kid, you keep talkin' like that, and you'll have a fistfight with the concept of history itself."

Naruto started walking down the stairs, his voice echoing faintly in the quiet church. "If it means fixing Uzushio… then history better learn to fight back."

"And what are you doin' now, brat?"

Oscar scurried down after Naruto. "Gonna run a few more experiments with the Repair spell," he said. "But while my clones handle the resets, I'm gonna learn how to shapeshift into a bird."

"It better be a chicken! Seems more your speed!"

"You'll see when I'm flying laps over your forge, old man!"

The old blacksmith chuckled and shook his head, watching the kid disappear down the path toward Darkroot Garden. "He's gonna break reality one of these days, I swear it."

Andre tilted his head toward Dusk. "You best go after him, Princess. Make sure he don't turn himself into a featherless, flightless disaster."

"I shall do my best to prevent catastrophe."

"Good luck with that."

Andre chuckled to himself, glancing toward the now-quiet hall. "Heh. Been a long while since this place had kids runnin' through it. Nice change from the endless ring of hammers and ghosts."

Outside, a distant voice echoed faintly through the garden. "No, Sir Naruto, do not jump off a cliff to practice being a bird!"

Andre barked out a laugh, shaking his head. "That's my cue to drink." He grabbed his old mug from beside the forge, filled it with mead, and raised it in salute to the chaos the boy brought with him.

"Cheers, you mad little sunbeam," he said fondly. "Don't die doing somethin' stupid. Neither of us wants to see you go Hollow."

He took a long sip, the smile never leaving his face.

---

Dinner was warm and peaceful, the kind of quiet comfort that had become rare in the Tazuna household.

"Dinner was amazing as always," Tazuna said, patting his stomach.

"I'm glad you liked it, Father," Tsunami replied with a gentle smile as she began collecting the dishes. Her gaze fell on Inari, who was absently poking at the last bits of his rice.

"Something wrong, dear?"

"I… I miss big bro Naruto."

"We all miss him, kid. Those shinobi… they really shook things up around here, made this house feel alive again." The old man took a sip of his drink. "But listen, Inari... people like that come and go. That's just how life works. They show up, teach you something important, and then it's your turn to carry it forward."

Inari looked up, eyes wide at his grandfather's words.

Tazuna smiled faintly. "Besides, there's a big event coming up called the Chunin Exams, right? Maybe we'll go to the Leaf and cheer on Naruto and the others. Wouldn't that be something?"

"Yeah! I wanna go!"

Tsunami laughed softly at their enthusiasm, but the peace didn't last.

Without warning, the door to the living room creaked open as someone barged in. Three screams filled the room. Naruto and Oscar, startled, immediately joined in the screaming.

"WAIT, why are we screaming!?"

Oscar gave a helpless little shrug.

"N-Naruto, boy, is that you!?" Tazuna said, clutching his fork like a weapon.

"Yeah, sorry for the scare," Naruto said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "I used the Homeward Miracle to teleport outside of Uzushiogakure, and this was the closest place I could think of." He glanced around with a smile. "New house looks nice, by the way."

Tsunami blinked, trying to catch up. "Teleport? Why would you...? Are you alright, Naruto-kun?"

"Oh, I'm fine," Naruto said with a casual wave. "But sorry, can't really say why I teleported. Official ninja business." The light caught the Dragon Crest Ring on his hand as he said it, and it gleamed faintly.

"Well, would you like to have some dinner with us?" Tsunami asked. "You could rest a bit or—"

Before she could finish, Naruto's armor shimmered and vanished in a burst of light, leaving him in nothing but the cold night air from the window he'd opened.

Tazuna nearly choked on his drink. "Naruto, I know my daughter's quite the lovely lady, but if you plan on courting her, a slow approach might work better!"

Naruto blinked. "Is he drunk?" he asked Tsunami flatly.

Tsunami was already covering Inari's eyes. "Naruto-kun, please warn us next time you decide to undress in the living room!" she said, doing her best not to look, though her cheeks betrayed her composure.

"Sorry, no time," Naruto said briskly as yellow feathers began to sprout from his back.

All three of them froze, staring.

Then, with a sharp flap of wings, Naruto leapt through the window. In the blink of an eye, his body transformed midair, feathers spreading wide as his form shifted into that of a massive falcon. Oscar dangled comfortably from his talons as they soared into the night sky.

The family stood in stunned silence for a long moment, watching the moonlight glint off the falcon's wings as it vanished into the clouds.

Finally, Tazuna sighed, taking a sip of his drink. "Well… that's Naruto for you. Always leaves you wondering whether you're awake or dreaming."

Tsunami shook her head with a tired smile. "Speaking of dreams; Inari, it's time for bed."

"But big brother just turned into a bird and flew away…"

"Yes," Tsunami said patiently, "we all saw that. Now off to bed before I call him back, and you really don't want to interrupt his hero work, do you?"

Inari shook his head quickly. "No, ma'am." He padded toward his room, still murmuring to himself. "I wonder what it feels like to fly… Maybe next time, he'll take me with him."

"He just might, kid. He just might," Tazuna murmured with a soft grin, watching Inari shuffle off to his room before the door clicked shut.

Silence lingered between him and Tsunami, the kind that only followed something unbelievable—or, more accurately, something that involved Naruto.

Finally, Tazuna leaned back with a long sigh, pouring himself another drink. "You think if that kid can turn into a bird… what else can he turn into?"

Tsunami didn't even look up from clearing the dishes. "No."

"I'm serious! What if he can turn into, say… a girl? Or a supermodel? Hah! Imagine the possibilities!"

"Father, please..."

"I mean, if he ever gets a girlfriend, that relationship's gonna be wild. What if he turns into her just to see what it's like?"

Tsunami froze, then gave her father a flat, dead-eyed stare. "A lot of what you're saying is disgusting."

"What? I'm just being curious! Oh, oh... what if he turns into an octopus! All those arms..."

The bonk of a ladle connecting with his head cut him off.

"OW!"

"Jiraiya's a bad influence on you," Tsunami muttered, rubbing her temples.

Tazuna rubbed the growing bump on his head, chuckling through the pain. "Yeah, but admit it, the kid's gonna live one hell of a life as he grows."

Tsunami sighed but couldn't help smiling a little as she looked toward the open window, where the moonlight still spilled in. "He already is living one hell of a life. Still… it's nice to see him so determined. Wherever he goes, he always makes things feel brighter."

Tazuna raised his cup toward the sky. "To the flying knucklehead. May the world survive him."

"Amen to that."

---

Flying was an experience unlike anything Naruto had ever known.

The wind didn't just rush past him; rather, it sang. It roared in his ears, brushed across his feathers, and carried him with a freedom so pure that it made his chest ache. The air grew colder the higher he climbed, sharp and clean, each gust threading through his wings like a living current. Below him, the ocean stretched endlessly, a vast mirror of silver-blue that shimmered beneath the moonlight. The stars seemed closer up here, scattered like glowing shards of crystal across the black expanse of sky.

Every beat of his wings sent a thrill through his body. Every turn, every dive, every rise through the clouds felt like a conversation with the wind itself.

Naruto channeled wind chakra through his feathers to slice through the air more easily, adjusting the flow to reduce resistance. Chakra reinforced his wings, letting him push faster, glide farther. The world below blurred into streaks of light and shadow.

After half an hour, his muscles burned pleasantly, the fatigue of his chakra catching up with him. Mid-air, he twisted into a roll and shifted back into his human form, landing lightly atop the rolling waves with Oscar clutched in one arm.

The little lizard immediately made a barfing motion.

"You okay, bud?" Naruto asked, amused. He reached into his inventory, pulling out the Grass Crest Shield and slinging it over his back. A faint green aura wrapped around him, rippling like wind through leaves. He could already feel his chakra restoring faster.

Oscar flopped onto Naruto's shoulder, groaning dramatically.

Naruto chuckled, rubbing his belly. "You did good, little guy. But I'm gonna need you at your best once we reach Uzushiogakure's borders. You'll be my eyes, yeah?"

Oscar gave him a pitiful look, blinking up at him as the boy stood barefoot atop the moonlit sea with his long hair swaying with the wind, green chakra glimmering faintly across his skin like foxfire.

"You'll use Soulsight to spot the gaps in the sealing arrays," Naruto explained, "and guide me through."

Oscar tilted his head, uncertain.

"Yeah, I checked. There are holes in the fuinjutsu arrays over Uzushio."

Oscar chirped weakly, still uneasy.

"Don't tell me you're scared of flying again?"

Oscar nodded shamefully.

"Hey, don't be. There's nothing to be afraid of." Naruto crouched and patted him gently. "Tell you what... we've got time before we reach Uzushiogakure. Let's fix that. Ready?"

Oscar hesitated, then gave a small nod.

"Good answer."

With that, Naruto's body shimmered and twisted, feathers bursting from his arms and back as he took on the form of a great falcon once more. He grasped Oscar gently in his talons and leapt into the air.

The lizard immediately squeezed his eyes shut.

Naruto tried to sigh, but the sound that left his throat was a harsh, grating caw that tore through the air. Irritated, he focused, causing the shape of his throat to change, cords of muscle writhing and knitting themselves together where none should exist. His beak split slightly down the middle, bending and reshaping with wet, organic sounds. A row of small, human-like teeth pushed through the edge of his beak, glinting unnaturally in the moonlight.

A sound followed was something halfway between a rasp and a growl.

"Os–car," the bird croaked, his new throat still adjusting to speech. The word came out mangled. He flexed his beak once, testing it, and then said more clearly, "Oscar, open your eyes!"

He slowed his flight, wings spread wide as they drifted above the clouds. "Come on, buddy. The sky's not so scary. There's a whole world waiting for you... you just have to look."

Oscar peeked one eye open… and froze.

The night sky above them was breathtaking as an ocean of stars, their light rippling across the clouds like reflections on water. The moon hung enormous and golden, spilling its glow over the rolling mist. The world below looked like a dream: islands scattered like jewels, the sea glimmering like liquid glass, and the horizon painted in shades of deep blue and violet.

Oscar chirped softly, a sound of awe.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Oscar chirped again, louder this time, his fear forgotten.

"Good. Now that you're seeing straight," Naruto said with a grin, banking through the clouds, "let's start practicing our flight signals. You guide me through traps, I follow your cues. Ready, partner?"

Oscar straightened up proudly and gave a confident chirp.

"Atta boy." Naruto's wings caught the wind again as they soared higher, two specks of light racing through the night sky.

---

It took Naruto several hours of steady flight to finally reach the outer edge of Uzushiogakure's territory.

From this height, the land itself looked like a massive seal carved into the earth, its lines faintly glowing with dormant chakra. Every instinct screamed that one wrong move would tear him apart.

"Alright, buddy," Naruto muttered, his distorted bird-voice soft but firm. "This is it. You're my eyes. Guide me through."

Oscar's Soulsight began flaring. He chirped once while pointing a tiny claw toward a thin ripple in the air.

Naruto flapped his wings once and dove.

The world blurred into streaks of blue and white as he plunged toward the invisible maze that surrounded the ruins.

"Oscar, left or right?"

Oscar's eyes flared again, seeing the spiritual geometry no normal being could. He chirped twice, signalling left, sharp turn.

Naruto banked hard, feeling the edge of a chakra barrier in the red zone scrape against his wingtip. The energy hissed like acid, burning through a few feathers. He winced, feathers molting into ash, but pushed through the pain.

The next layer came fast—an array of spiraling seals floating in the air like glowing mandalas, spinning with slow, deceptive grace.

Oscar chirped frantically, pointing upward.

Naruto shot upward, threading the needle between two glyphs that pulsed with nature energy. The glow chased his shadow, flaring to life as if trying to grab him. The edges brushed his leg, and pain lanced through his body like molten iron.

"Damn it!" Naruto hissed, wings faltering for half a second.

Oscar screeched and pecked at his shoulder as a warning. Naruto refocused, channeling wind chakra to steady himself. He could feel the barrier reacting to his chakra signature, like a living thing sensing prey.

"Alright, we're almost there… three more layers!" Naruto grunted. Sweat—or maybe blood—glistened on his talons as he tucked his wings and dived again.

Oscar guided him through by sound now, his chirps rhythmic, measured. Each one told Naruto where the gaps opened, how the chakra currents shifted, and where he had to fold his wings to slip through before the openings closed again.

One array flared to life behind him, its symbols spinning violently, and suddenly thousands of glowing seals launched forward like shuriken.

"Not good, not good!"

He summoned a gust of wind chakra from his wings, blasting himself forward just in time as the Reverse Tetragram Seals detonated behind him.

Naruto didn't slow down. He pushed through another breach, wings skimming the edges of invisible barriers, until finally the crushing pressure vanished.

They burst into the heart of Uzushiogakure.

Naruto slowly glided down, wings spread wide to soften his descent.

"Any other traps, Oscar?"

The little lizard shook his head.

"Good." Naruto's feathers rippled and folded back into his skin as he shapeshifted midair, landing lightly on the cracked remains of the Altar of Beginning.

He exhaled and reached into his inventory, pulling out a golden Estus Flask. "Man, that flight took more out of me than I thought." He took a long sip, the warmth spreading through his body as the burns on his arms and the singed feathers along his shoulders began to heal.

Looking down, he poured a bit of Estus into his cupped hand for Oscar, who eagerly drank from it like it was the finest nectar in the world.

Naruto let out a low whistle as he surveyed the destruction. "Even though I saw it from a distance, seeing this much damage up close… damn. It's like someone dropped a thousand explosive seals on it."

A familiar voice answered, calm and ancient. "It was done to ensure that no one could claim the Uzumaki's greatest treasure."

The surrounding seals flickered to life in red spirals, and from their glow, Mito Uzumaki's spectral form materialized before him.

"Ah!" Naruto yelped, fumbling for his gear. In a flash of light, his armor equipped itself piece by piece, courtesy of his inventory. He wasn't that shameless to be naked in front of his great-great-grandmother.

"That's a curious little fuinjutsu you've got there. Did you craft it yourself?"

"Oh, this? Nah, not a fuinjutsu. Just something I picked up in Lordran. I only know the basics of sealing—like a few tags, explosive seals, the usual."

"Well," Mito said kindly, "don't be embarrassed by that. Every fuinjutsu master starts somewhere. You're still young, after all."

"Yeah, well… 'young' is relative," Naruto said.

"How old are you now?"

"Twelve," Naruto replied without hesitation.

Mito gasped. "There is no way you're twelve, dattebane!"

"Ha! You've got a verbal tic too! Guess it runs in the family." Naruto tilted his head thoughtfully. "But you might be right. With all the time I've spent in Lordran, I'm probably closer to thirteen."

Oscar gave a small shrug.

"Come on, Oscar," Naruto said with mock sternness. "We gotta give Gran-Gran-Gran-Gran the accurate info."

"You cheeky brat," Mito huffed, placing her hands on her hips. "You added an extra gran just to tease me! If I still had a solid body, I'd bop you on the head right now."

"It was just a joke!" Naruto said quickly, raising his hands defensively. "Besides, it's not like anyone can tell our ages anyway. I don't look twelve, and you... well... you look way too beautiful for your age."

"Hmph. Looks like you inherited your father's silver tongue."

"Guess I got that from both sides of the family."

Naruto glanced around the shattered altar. "So, uh… Gran Gran Gran, I gotta ask... why send me here at all? You didn't know that I barely know any fuinjutsu, you're technically a ghost, and this place looks like it's one strong breeze away from collapsing."

"Oh, I never expected you to actually fix it."

Naruto and Oscar sweatdropped.

"…You didn't?"

"No," Mito said pleasantly, as if this were the most reasonable thing in the world.

Oscar made a tiny squeak of disbelief.

Naruto groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "So let me get this straight... you sent me through enough traps to kill a small army… for something you didn't expect me to fix?"

"Precisely. I needed to see if you were worthy of reaching it first."

Naruto sighed, muttering, "Great. I am not the only Uzumaki that is insane."

Oscar chirped in agreement.

"Well, I expected you to come here with the others," Mito said, giving him a mildly reproachful look. "You were supposed to cooperate, not sneak off alone."

"Well, Kakashi-sensei and Jiraiya know plenty about fuinjutsu. You figured they could help me fix the altar?"

"Oh, heavens no." Mito actually snorted with a surprisingly undignified sound for the First Hokage's wife. "Neither I, nor Kushina, nor even Minato had the skill to repair the Altar of Beginning. The altar was made by the first Uzumaki. It's far beyond anything our later generations could manage."

"Then why send me here?"

"Because, before I died… I sealed something here."

A soft glow shimmered in the air between them. Lines of fuinjutsu spun outward in a spiral before folding in on themselves, forming a small storage seal. With a puff of smoke, something fell into Naruto's waiting hands.

It was a white fox mask, smooth and pristine despite the centuries. Crimson rings circled its narrow eyes, and red sigils curled along its surface like living ink. Its sharp ears rose elegantly, and the faintest trace of chakra shimmered along the seams.

Naruto turned it over in his hands. "It looks like something ANBU would wear. What is it?"

"That is the Uzumaki Mask of Whispers. A jutsu is sealed within it. When you wear it, it will activate and allow you to read the Uzumaki clan's hidden scrolls."

Naruto blinked twice. "Wait, what? Read them? Like, they're in another language or something?"

"Wait, wait... I'm sorry, you lost me. What?"

"All Uzumaki clan scrolls are written in poetic cipher. Without the mask, the words remain nonsense, or worse, misleading. Only those taught directly by another Uzumaki or using that mask can read them correctly."

Naruto whistled low. "So it's basically a safeguard for clan secrets. That's… actually kind of genius."

He grinned, though a hint of mischief crept into his voice. "Still, for something surrounded by a labyrinth of death traps, this feels like a pretty small reward, dattebayo."

"Don't take that tone with me, young man."

"Sorry, Gran Gran Gran," Naruto mumbled quickly, Oscar lowering his head beside him as if in solidarity.

"It's fine, dear. And for what it's worth, this isn't all I meant to give you."

Naruto perked up slightly. "There's more?"

"Yes," Mito said. "But first, let me ask you something important. What has Konoha told you about the Uzumaki clan?"

Naruto hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck. "Technically… nothing. I mean, I'm just a genin, and apparently, you've got to be at least chunin to even hear about the clan. So, I guess I would've learned eventually. Maybe."

He gave a small shrug. "The only reason I even know what I do now is because some mysterious guy gave me Tobirama's journal. And recently, I got Kakashi to spill some the beans on the Uzumaki clan's destruction."

Mito's eyes widened. "Didn't Minato or Kushina teach you anything?"

"They died… the day I was born."

For a long moment, Mito said nothing. Her face fell, hands rising to cover her expression as equal parts grief and guilt.

"Yeah. It's… been that kind of life, ya know?"

When Mito finally spoke again, her tone was quieter, but there was an edge beneath it. "Then what of your legacy, child? What have they told you about that?"

"Legacy? I didn't even know I had one until a few months ago."

Mito's eyes narrowed, her spectral form flickering faintly. "Who is the Hokage of your time?"

"Hiruzen Sarutobi."

The air around Mito flickered like a storm lantern in the wind. Her gentle, grandmotherly expression hardened into pure fury. "That spineless old monkey?!" she hissed, her spiritual form flaring with red light. "He's still alive? That man has decades of explaining to do! When he reaches the Pure Lands, I swear I'll drag him out by his beard and make him answer for every mistake!"

"…Uh, thanks for the enthusiasm, Gran Gran Gran."

Mito crossed her arms, fuming for a moment before regaining her composure. "The second you return to Konoha, you will demand your birthright. With the Mask of Whispers, you'll be able to access the Uzumaki Clan Library that I entrusted to your mother."

"Yes, ma'am!" Naruto said quickly, snapping into a salute with Oscar.

"Good." Mito's voice softened slightly, pride seeping through her stern tone. "Now listen carefully. Hidden in Konoha's outskirts lies the Uzumaki Mask Storage Temple. You must find it. There, among the relics, is the Mask of the Three-Legged Crow. It will only respond to an Uzumaki's chakra. Once you claim it, the mask will lead you to where I sealed away the Nine Divine Masked Beast Jutsu."

"That sounds strong!"

Mito nodded gravely. "It is. To give you a sense of scale, this jutsu is one of the Four Heavenly Treasures of the Uzumaki clan created by Oden Uzumaki himself."

Naruto sucked in a deep breath, feeling his pulse quicken as both hearts hammering in his chest, a thunderous rhythm that filled his ears. "What… what are the Four Heavenly Treasures?"

"The first was the Rune. The second is the Ethereal Shield, known to the outside world as the Yata Mirror. The third, the Sakegari Longsword, more famously called the Sword of Totsuka. And the last… the Nine Divine Masked Beast Jutsu. These four treasures are the greatest creation of our founder, Oden Uzumaki."

Each word hit Naruto like a strike to the chest. He could almost feel his clan behind him, a thousand voices whispering from the depths of time.

He took a shaky breath, his grin wide and uncontainable. "Gran Gran Gran… did my mom ever use it? The Nine Divine Masked Beast Jutsu?"

"No. I never revealed the location of the treasure to anyone. Not even to your mother."

"Why not?"

"Because she never passed my test. I asked her to tame the Nine-Tails. She could borrow its chakra, yes, but she never truly mastered the beast."

Naruto's fists clenched at his sides, voice rising before he could stop himself. "That's ridiculous! Just because of some stupid test, you kept a jutsu from her? A jutsu that could've saved her life?"

Mito's eyes softened, and her voice took on that steady, gentle tone only grandmothers could summon. She reached out, her hand passing faintly through his hair, glowing like sunlight through mist. "This anger... it isn't really you talking, my boy. It's your grief. Your pain. And your confusion."

"Sorry… I just... I don't even know how she died. But I can't help thinking if she'd been stronger… maybe things could've been different."

Mito stepped closer, her spectral arms wrapping him in a ghostly semblance of a hug. "Maybe so. But remember, if your mother had truly tamed the Nine-Tails, she would have been unstoppable already. She wouldn't have needed the Nine Divine Masked Beast Jutsu."

Naruto nodded slowly, trying to take comfort in her words. "Then… why make it rely on the Nine-Tails at all? Why build something that dangerous around something so unstable?"

"The jutsu draws power most easily from the Nine-Tails because of its nature," Mito said. "It's the purest form of chakra. The Nine Divine Masked Beast Jutsu was designed to harness that chaos and turn it into creation."

Naruto tilted his head. "So… why give it to me? I don't have the Nine-Tails anymore. Do you want me to go hunt him down or something?"

"No, my dear. Whatever you decide to do with the Nine-Tails is your own path. The jutsu works best with its power, but it can still be used in other ways."

Naruto grinned, his mood lifting a little. "Well, I'd say coming here was worth it. I got a way to my Uzumaki inheritance and two Heavenly Treasures!"

"Two? Has Konoha found the Yata Mirror or the Sakegari Longsword?"

Naruto shook his head. "Nope. I'm talking about the Rune. The reason I came here in the first place is to fix the Altar."

"Naruto… how could you possibly intend to repair it?"

Naruto smiled in that infuriatingly confident way of his. "With a little help from magic."

Three shadow clones puffed into existence behind him. Together, they began to channel chakra into the catalyst, weaving the chakra-enhanced Repair Spell.

Mito watched in stunned silence as a radiant storm of light cascaded over the shattered altar. The air trembled with the sound of flowing time and singing chakra. The place began to hum again, alive, awake.

When the light finally faded, the Altar of Beginning stood whole once more.

Mito stared at it, her voice trembling. "I… I haven't felt that presence since I was a child."

For the first time, the great Mito Uzumaki looked like she might cry.

The Altar of Beginning was breathtaking in its restored form. A monument of living stone and intricate lines of sealing formulas carved in perfect symmetry, spiraling outward like veins of stone carved into the earth.

But Naruto's gaze wasn't fixed on the array. His eyes rose to the massive ash tree that now stood in the center of the altar. At first, it seemed beautiful until he noticed the rope hanging from one of its highest branches.

A heavy silence fell over him. His throat went dry.
He remembered the story of Oden Uzumaki hanging himself for nine days and nine nights.

"Gran Gran Gran… how exactly am I supposed to get my rune?"

"Just as our founder did, my dear. Every member of the Uzumaki who wishes to bear the Rune must walk the same path. It is our rite of passage."

She turned to face him fully. "Naruto… you must hang yourself."

The world went still.

Naruto blinked twice, slowly turning his head toward Oscar, who just stared back.

"…"

"…"

"I mean, it's not the strangest thing I've done."

Oscar sighed.

---

Author's Note: And next time on Naruto: The Chosen Undead, watch as our boy Naruto literally hangs himself to get a power-up! lol! Anyway, jokes aside, let's move into today's Q&A, because this chapter opens up some important lore stuff that I wanted to expand on a bit.

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Q: Is the Repair Spell canonically related to time?

A: Yep. 100% yes.

And for once, this isn't one of my interpretation-heavy Dark Souls takes where I twist vague lore into headcanon (which I will still do proudly, don't worry). No, the time connection actually exists in canon.

Let's look at the official Repair spell description from Dark Souls III: "Lost sorcery from Oolacile, land of ancient golden sorceries. Repairs equipped weapons and armor, including weapons with exhausted durability. While the effects of this spell are rather subtle, its foundations are a well-guarded secret. Light is time, and the reversal of its effects is a forbidden art."

That one line — "Light is time" — is massive in Dark Souls lore.

In-game, the Repair spell only restores equipment durability, but lore-wise? It's a terrifying, forbidden form of time reversal.

Now… add chakra to that mix.

In this fic's system, Chakra + Soul Sorcery = broken nonsense. Naruto basically learns to bend time, even if only for a moment, but as with everything in this story, it comes with rules.

It's temporary. The reversal doesn't last forever.

It's slow. You can't snap your fingers and rewind a battlefield.

It needs an anchor. The object must still exist in some form, so no summoning extinct dinosaurs or shinobi from history.

---

Fun Fact / My Headcanon:

I've always loved the phrase "Light is time." It actually lines up with real-world physics, as light does carry time information. If you looked at Earth from another galaxy, you'd literally be seeing millions of years in the past. So the Oolacile mages basically weaponized that concept.

In this fic's universe, that same principle applies to Naruto's chakra-enhanced version, as he's manipulating the memory of matter through light.

---

Bonus Question:

Q: If Naruto eventually gains Yin-Yang Senjutsu or learns Truth-Seeking-level arts, would that give him control over time itself?

A: Honestly? I don't know yet. That's probably a Shippuden arc kind of topic. But the idea of Yin Yang release perfectly balancing, maybe even syncing with Oolacile's light-based time sorcery, definitely opens that door.

If you guys have any theories or ideas about what time-based chakra abilities could look like, I'd love to hear them.

---

Q: Is the Yata Mirror and the Sword of Totsuka related to the Uzumaki Clan?

Answer: Canonically? We don't know. The manga and databooks never clearly explain where either weapon came from or who forged them. The only thing we know for sure is that both are spiritual artifacts connected to Itachi's Susanoo, and they're both absurdly broken in terms of power scaling.

Here's what we do know from canon:

The Sword of Totsuka (sometimes referred to as the Sakegari Longsword) is described as a Kusanagi-type blade imbued with an extraordinarily powerful sealing jutsu. Anything pierced by it is absorbed into its gourd and sealed away forever inside a genjutsu realm of eternal drunken dreams. The sword doesn't even have a tangible form, as it's made entirely of spiritual energy, capable of cutting through anything regardless of physical resistance. Orochimaru spent years hunting for it and failed. Itachi somehow obtained it, or possibly inherited it, though how remains completely unexplained.

The Yata Mirror is another spiritual weapon. An ethereal shield capable of repelling any ninjutsu or taijutsu attack, whether physical or spiritual in nature. It achieves this by instantly altering its own properties to perfectly counter whatever it's defending against. If it's hit by fire, it becomes water. It's basically the ultimate defense.

How these two artifacts appear and disappear with Itachi's Susanoo is also a mystery. The most accepted theory is that he's summoning and desummoning them from the spiritual plane, as they're not actually a part of his Susanoo, but tools bound to his spirit.

---

So why connect them to the Uzumaki clan?

There are actually two reasons behind my interpretation.

1. The Sealing Connection

The Sword of Totsuka possesses one of the most powerful sealing techniques in the entire series. A sealing so potent that it can trap an Edo Tensei soul, which is essentially immortal. If that doesn't scream Uzumaki craftsmanship, I don't know what does.

Think about it: every top-grade, overpowered sealing jutsu in the Narutoverse tends to trace its roots back to the Uzumaki in one way or another. Their clan literally built the foundations of sealing jutsu. From the Shinigami contract to the Eight Trigrams Seal, their techniques define the highest forms of spiritual control.

So when I see a blade that can seal, I see the fingerprints of the Uzumaki all over it.

2. The Spiritual Connection

For my version of the Uzumaki clan, I'm leaning heavily into the spiritual and metaphysical side of their legacy.

Runes that can interact with souls. Mito sealing a piece of her soul as a lingering presence. The clan's canon ties to the Shinigami itself.

So when I looked at the Yata Mirror and the Sword of Totsuka—two divine, soul-bound weapons that operate entirely in the spiritual realm—it made perfect sense to tie them to the Uzumaki.

---

Q: What is the Nine Divine Masked Beasts Jutsu?

A: Well… I'm not going to reveal it just yet. But don't worry, as this jutsu isn't some random OC power I cooked up out of nowhere. It's actually based on something canon-adjacent. You'll understand exactly what I mean when it's revealed in-story.

That said, I'll give you guys a small hint.

The Nine Divine Masked Beasts Jutsu is directly connected to the Uzumaki clan's masks.

I'm sure you remember when Orochimaru and his crew broke into the Uzumaki Mask Temple in Konoha and used the Reaper Mask to free the Four Hokage's souls. That whole sequence was one of the most fascinating, creepy, and mystical moments in the series for me.

On my first watch, I loved it. On every rewatch since… I just got more and more annoyed that Kishimoto completely ignored the Uzumaki clan.

---

Quick Rant Time:
Like seriously, Naruto is the main character, one of the last known members of the Uzumaki clan, and the descendant of some of the most legendary seal masters in history. Wouldn't you think… maybe, just maybe… his clan heritage should've been a major part of his growth?

This kid's entire character arc revolves around loneliness, identity, and legacy, and we barely get anything about his family.

Instead, we got endless lore drops about the Uchiha.
Again.

I mean, I love the Uchiha story as much as anyone, but imagine how much more powerful Naruto's journey would've been if he explored his roots as an Uzumaki.

Imagine a parallel between Naruto and Sasuke:
two orphans from clans wiped out due to the shinobi world, both seeking to understand their pasts but walking different paths to healing.

Sasuke learns vengeance. Naruto learns endurance and understanding.

That would've been peak storytelling.

Both inherit their legacies and change the shinobi world rather than the nonsense reincarnation plot line we got in canon.

---

Back to the Question: Anyway, before I spiral into another rant, the Nine Divine Masked Beasts Jutsu is my way of filling in that missing piece of Uzumaki lore.

It ties together the masks of the Uzumaki and the spiritual arts of sealing.

I'm blending what little we know from canon with my own original expansion of the Uzumaki clan's mythology.

---

I hope you guys enjoyed this little dive into my Uzumaki lore expansion, as it's been one of my favorite things to write so far.

Let me know what you think:

Do you like the idea of tying the clan's masks and sealing arts into a grander jutsu?

Do you guys like the idea of the Totsuka Blade and Yata Mirror being Uzumaki clan weapons?

Do you have your own theories about what the Nine Divine Masked Beasts might be?

Next chapter's going to be a wild one, trust me, and Naruto's rite of passage is about to take a dark, mythic turn.

---

That's It… For Now.

And if you can't wait for the next update, the next chapter drops on Nov 5th! You can read ahead to Chapter 106 on Patreon.

As always, I want to thank you all for taking the time to read, comment, and follow along with this story. Your feedback means more than you know, and it helps push me to make each chapter bigger, sharper, and more true to the worlds of Naruto and Dark Souls.

Until next time, Praise the Sun.

—Adam

Chapter no.65 The Dragon, the Reaper, and the Uzumaki Legacy

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"What do you know about the Uzumaki clan's rite of passage?"

Naruto said while pulling out a book. "Most of what I know about the clan's culture comes from this." He flipped it open and showed her the first few pages. "It's Tobirama's journal."

Mito's brows furrowed as she leaned forward.

Naruto turned a few pages for her, and the old matriarch's frown deepened. Her lips pressed into a thin, pale line. "This… this isn't Tobirama's journal."

"Are you sure about that?"

"I'm sure. I knew Tobirama personally. I know how he wrote, how he thought, how he felt about every subject he ever touched. Whoever wrote this imitated him well... frighteningly well, but it's not him."

Naruto felt his chest tighten. The book had been his anchor as the one thing that helped him understand who he was, where he came from, and what he was meant to be. He had trusted it completely. Maybe too completely.

He glanced down at the text description of this item.

[ Item: The History of the Uzumaki Clan ]

[ Description: An aged journal supposedly authored by Tobirama Senju during his stay among the Uzumaki. Records his studies, experiences, and observations of Uzumaki culture. The tone wavers between admiration and calculation, as though every word hides an experiment. Yet one must wonder: why title a personal journal as the history of another clan? Information is the sharpest tool of control. ]

Even the book's system description felt like it was mocking him.

Naruto closed it slowly, his mind racing.

If Mito was right, and he knew she was, then that meant everything he'd learned about the Art of Runes, the Hanged Man, and the supposed pride of the Uzumaki clan had been… lies.

The realization hit him like a cold wave.

The Hawk, who claimed to be a friend of his parents, had lied and manipulated him.

"Gran-Gran-Gran… I think someone's been feeding me half-truths. Someone pretending to be my parents' friend."

Mito's eyes softened. "Unfortunately, that's the world we live in, child. Deception wears many faces, even those of kindness." She glanced back at the journal. "Let me read it again."

Naruto nodded and began flipping through the pages while Mito's glowing form scanned the text, muttering under her breath.

After a few tense minutes, she exhaled sharply. "Yes. I can say with confidence, this is part of some kind of elaborate scheme."

"Hn?"

"A lot of what's written here is a patchwork," Mito said. "Bits and pieces of what outsiders thought they knew about our people, mixed in with fragments of real information... almost like someone had secondhand accounts from Tobirama himself. There's just enough truth to make the lies believable. Whoever created this journal didn't do it to teach you, Naruto. They did it to mold you into something they could control."

"How?"

"First of all," Mito said with a sharp exhale, "the story of the Hanged Man that you read is only half true. And this so-called Art of Runes the book mentioned?" She gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "Utter nonsense. It doesn't exist. The Uzumaki were masters of fuinjutsu. We refined it beyond anything the other villages could comprehend, but there was never any separate branch called the Art of Runes. Whoever wrote that is deliberately lying."

"Is that all..."

Mito went on, her tone sharpening. "And another thing: the journal claims the Uzumaki looked down on Tobirama's Flying Thunder God Technique. That's ridiculous. The Flying Thunder God isn't even fuinjutsu. It's a space-time ninjutsu that utilizes sealing formulas to lock onto a destination. And Tobirama was many things, but he was never arrogant enough to flaunt his power. He kept his cards close, even from allies."

Naruto rubbed his temples as everything clicked together in his head. "So that was the point…" he muttered.

"The point?"

"I get it now. Whoever the Hawk really is wrote this book to make me believe the Uzumaki clan had some unique, secret sealing art that only I could rediscover. Something to dangle in front of me. Then they made it seem like Tobirama was mocked by the clan, like there was some rivalry, to give me a sense of superiority. That way, when the time came, they could use this fake Art of Runes to control me."

"They tried to use your thirst for belonging against you."

Naruto nodded, his expression grim. "Yeah… and it worked for a while, but not anymore."

"Good. I am sure there are plenty of scrolls in both the Uzumaki and Senju clan libraries that describe what our people were truly like. The day-to-day life, the festivals, the teachings… not just the battles or jutsu."

Naruto smiled faintly as he picked up Oscar, who blinked lazily on his palm. "Guess I'll have to hit the books again when I get back to Konoha. Gotta re-educate myself, huh?"

"Indeed," Mito said, her voice carrying a touch of humor. "Then let us begin with the tale of the Hanged Man. The first part was accurate enough. Most clans have some kind of founding legend as half history, half fairy tale. You should hear the Inuzuka clan's story of Princess Momonosuke. It's quite a thing."

"I'll ask Kiba about it next time. Oscar, remind me, alright?"

Oscar shook his head with a chirp that clearly meant no.

Mito laughed softly. "Naturally, most of these stories are seen as folktales, bedtime stories to make the young feel connected to something greater. But over time, many clans have either forgotten or hidden their own myths. The Senju and Uchiha, for instance, no longer remember that their line began with the sons of the Sage of Six Paths."

"Wait, not the Yin and Yang gods?"

"'Gods' is just a title, my boy," Mito said with a light snort. "Power is what gives you that name. Be strong enough, and the weak will worship you. Be clever enough, and they'll write your name in history."

Naruto and Oscar both sweatdropped, quietly wondering if that same rule applied to the so-called gods of Lordran too.

"Now, unlike most clans, the Uzumaki took a different approach. We etched our stories into stone tablets so the truth wouldn't vanish with time. In fact, it was our clan that reintroduced the tale of the Yang 'god' to the Senju, claiming him as a shared ancestor. Which is one reason I believe this 'Hawk' who gave you that false journal might have been someone close to Tobirama."

Her tone grew dark for a moment, and Naruto could almost feel her suspicion hanging in the air.

"Alright then, what's the real story behind Oden?"

Mito's expression softened again. "The truth is simple. Oden was one of the two sons of the Yang spirit. One son founded the Senju, the other became the founder of our Uzumaki clan. He didn't abandon the throne out of peace or wisdom like the journal claimed. No, he fought for it. Tooth and nail. But he was defeated by his brother, who was far stronger. And in that defeat, Oden's pride shattered. He wandered. He searched. He schemed. He traded, stole, and sacrificed for knowledge and power… even when it cost him his own humanity."

Naruto frowned. "That's not what I expected at all. Kinda makes him sound like a madman instead of a hero."

"It should," Mito said firmly. "Because Oden was just a man. Not a god, not a saint. A man who made choices and lived with the weight of them. Our people remembered his brilliance, but also his flaws. He was the one who sought meaning beyond the world, and he paid dearly for it."

Naruto nodded quietly. "Guess that makes him a little more real."

"One of the most famous stories says that Lord Oden sacrificed his own eye to gain the power of Senjutsu," Mito continued.

"Sounds a little… extreme."

Mito gave a sad smile. "Knowledge and madness walk the same path, child. Oden believed knowledge and power were worth any price."

"Alright. So the guy's half genius, half lunatic like me... dattebayo! But what does any of that have to do with the Rune? And the whole… hanging thing?"

"Tell me, Naruto. Do you know what nature energy is?"

"It's that energy that exists everywhere, right? In the air, the earth… basically in all living things?"

"Correct." Mito nodded. "When someone learns to draw that energy into their body and mix it with their own chakra, they create what's called senjutsu chakra. Those who master that balance are known as Sages."

Naruto tilted his head. "You said Oden sacrificed his eye to learn senjutsu. So he was one of those Sages?"

"Yes. But senjutsu is dangerous. The energy of nature is pure and vast. If you can't balance it with your own chakra perfectly, it begins to take over. It turns your body into stone… or something worse."

Naruto gave a small nod. "Right. So Oden tried to master it and what... just went too far?"

"No. Lord Oden wasn't satisfied with understanding the body. He wanted to know how senjutsu affected the soul."

"But that doesn't even make sense. The soul doesn't have a chakra network."

"That's true," Mito replied, folding her hands behind her back. "But the soul reacts to and can be affected with chakra. Oden theorized that if the body could use senjutsu, then the soul could too. And so, he made a plan."

"I'm afraid to ask."

"Oden hanged himself. He sought to bring himself to the edge of death, close enough to draw the Reaper's attention. When the Reaper came to take his soul, Oden made him an offer."

Naruto couldn't help it; he let out a short laugh. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Our founder wasn't one for moderation. He told the Reaper that if he could survive nine days and nine nights without dying, then the Reaper would have to accept a summoning contract with him."

"He challenged the god of death?"

"And he won." Mito's tone was proud but laced with awe. "With the Reaper's aid, Oden Uzumaki learned how to seal senjutsu chakra directly into his soul. The fuinjutsu became known as the Rune."

Naruto and Oscar both made a low sound of amazement. "So… what does it actually do?"

"The Rune stores senjutsu chakra in perfect balance. It slowly releases that power into the soul, awakening what we call an individual's dormant potential."

Naruto sucked in a breath. "That sounds incredible and dangerous. What happens if the chakra isn't balanced right?"

"The soul crystalizes."

Naruto and Oscar exchanged a glance. "That sounds like something straight out of Lordran. But you said it brings out potential, right? I don't get what that means exactly."

"Think of it like this. Every person is born with a certain potential. The body shapes that spark through bloodline, training, and experience. But the soul… the soul decides how brightly it can burn. If your soul is strong, your potential runs deep."

Naruto made a face. "That sounds kind of lame, though. Like you're saying you have to be born special to be special."

Mito's eyes narrowed, and she made a flicking motion toward his forehead out of habit before remembering she couldn't actually touch him. "Naruto, don't twist my words," she scolded. "Potential isn't everything. The world's full of people born ordinary who became extraordinary. A person with little potential might meet the right teacher, find the right reason to fight, or simply refuse to give up. Determination, creativity, and heart can push a person far beyond their limits. That's what separates strength from greatness."

"Yeah, that sounds more like something I can get behind."

"The Rune simply awakens what already lies within. For most Uzumaki, that means a longer life with greater vitality and chakra so dense it feels alive. But in rare cases," she said, her voice dipping low, "the Rune reaches deeper. It stirs something buried in the soul itself. Something that can change a person entirely."

"Like what?"

"They awaken special gifts," Mito said. "Abilities that reshape the world around them. Abilities that others would call kekkei genkai."

Naruto swallowed hard. "Do you have an example?"

"Hashirama Senju!"

Naruto blinked a few times, trying to process everything. "Wait a sec. I know the Senju and Uzumaki are like distant cousins, right? So does that mean the Senju can get a Rune too?"

"No. Only one ever did."

"Huh? Why him?"

"That was Clan Head Ashina's decision. No one really knows why. Even Hashirama himself didn't understand it. He was still a boy when he received his Rune, but it awakened the power of Wood Release."

Naruto frowned. "Yeah, I can't imagine everyone was happy about that."

"You're right," Mito said. "The younger Uzumaki didn't take kindly to the decision. But the elders… they all agreed. It was as if they knew something the rest of us didn't. Whatever the reason, Hashirama's Rune took to him perfectly. His bond with nature was pure and effortless. The world itself seemed to bend toward him."

She smiled faintly. "And yet, for all that strength, he never let it make him arrogant. He never forgot he was human. That humility… that was his real strength."

"You really loved him, didn't you?"

"Of course I did. To everyone else, he was the God of Shinobi. But to me…" Mito let out a light laugh, wiping at a tear that wasn't really there. "To me, he was a reckless fool who could never stop smiling. A fool I was lucky enough to love."

"Sorry, Gran-Gran-Gran. I didn't mean to bring up something painful."

"It's alright, Naruto," Mito said gently. "You're curious. That's nothing to apologize for. He would've liked that about you."

Naruto looked thoughtful for a moment before asking, "Kinda awkward to ask, but how did he really die? The academy only says he died protecting the village, but they never explain it."

Mito's smile dimmed. "You see, one of Hashirama's greatest gifts was his ability to heal himself without a single hand sign. His body would knit itself back together faster than most could blink. It made him nearly unstoppable in battle, as he could fight for hours, even days, and walk away looking untouched."

She paused, her eyes distant, as if watching the memory unfold. "But that kind of power comes with a cost. During his final fight with Madara and the Nine-Tails, Hashirama pushed himself too far. He regenerated again and again, forcing his body beyond what any human should endure. Every heal came at a price, as he shortened his lifespan."

She exhaled softly, a wistful smile touching her lips. "In the end, it wasn't an enemy that claimed him. Hashirama succumbed to the wounds he earned protecting the village."

The silence stretched between them.

Finally, Naruto looked at the rope hanging from the ash tree. "Alright," he said, exhaling. "So… what exactly is this 'astral plane' I'm supposed to visit?"

"The astral plane is a realm between life and death. It's where the soul travels before it moves on to the Pure Lands. Every soul passes through it, but few can return once they've crossed over."

"So I gotta go there… to get my Rune?"

"Precisely," Mito said.

He took a step toward the rope. "And the way to do that is by hanging myself. Great."

He started looping the noose around his neck when Mito suddenly shouted, "Your ankle, you fool!"

Naruto froze mid-motion. "What? My ankle? How in the world does hanging upside down help with anything?"

Mito pinched the bridge of her nose. "Because, my dear boy, the goal is to alter your state of consciousness, not kill you! Hanging by your neck would just make you a ghost I'd have to lecture for eternity."

Oscar made a distressed noise, clearly agreeing with Mito.

"So… upside down," Naruto said, turning the rope in his hand. "You couldn't have started with that?"

"I assumed you had some sense," Mito replied dryly.

"Well, that's your first mistake."

As he tied the rope around his ankle. "So, what now?"

"The fuinjutsu in the altar will release once your body enters an altered state of consciousness. That will project your soul into the astral plane, where you'll face your trial and claim your Rune. Once it's done, the altar will bring you back."

Naruto dangled upside down from the branch, arms crossed, expression unimpressed. "So… am I doing this wrong, or is this thing just broken?"

"It might be working. Eventually."

Naruto frowned. "Can you check?"

She raised an eyebrow and waved her translucent arm through the air. "I would, dear, but as you might've noticed... I'm a ghost."

"That's not an excuse." Naruto pulled a dagger from his inventory and tossed it to her.

Mito caught it on reflex, blinking in surprise as her fingers wrapped solidly around the hilt. "How… how am I touching this?"

"It's a ghost blade," Naruto said casually. "Got it in Lordran after fighting a bunch of ghosts."

Mito just stared at him, her expression flickering between disbelief and exasperation. "If I didn't see it for myself, I'd think you were either lying or completely insane."

"You wouldn't believe half the stuff I've done, Gran-Gran-Gran."

"Try me," she said, turning the dagger curiously in her hand as she prodded at the lines of the altar's fuinjutsu.

Naruto took that as his cue to start bragging. "Well, for starters, I may or may not have accidentally convinced a minor daimyo to give up their title and start a democracy."

Mito froze mid-motion, head snapping up so quickly it was almost comical. "You what?"

Naruto chuckled and kept rambling on about fighting knights, wyverns, demons, arguing with undead, befriending an old blacksmith, a senior knight, and a princess from the past. Mito listened with the patient smile of a grandmother humoring a grandchild's wild imagination, even though she understood maybe one word in ten.

"That's lovely, dear. And Minato and Kushina found this place before you?"

"Yeah," Naruto said with a sigh. "Hopefully I'll get some answers when I go back to Konoha and get their stuff."

Mito nodded, but her gaze lingered on the altar, her brow furrowed.

"Something wrong?"

"That's just it. Everything looks perfect. The seals are stable, the array's intact… I can't find a single flaw."

"Maybe it's because of me? I'm tougher than your average Uzumaki kid. Might take more to trigger it."

"That's… possible," Mito admitted slowly.

"So how did Oden do it? I doubt hanging upside down is going to summon the Reaper."

"Lord Oden hanged himself and impaled himself with his spear."

Naruto nodded thoughtfully.

The sound of tearing flesh broke the silence.

Mito spun around so fast, you could hear her nonexistent bones crack, her eyes wide. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Naruto was still dangling upside down, but now with a spear lodged through his stomach. Blood dripped down in slow, lazy rivulets.

"I think it's working," he said woozily. "Feeling kinda… floaty."

"That's blood loss, you lunatic!" Mito shouted, clutching her head. "You're going to send me to a second death at this rate!"

"Relax, Gran-Gran-Gran," Naruto mumbled, pulling an Estus Flask from his belt and tossing one to Oscar. Another ghost dagger spun through the air and landed neatly in Mito's hand.

"I'm counting on you two to take care of things out here."

Oscar gave a nervous chirp.

Mito nodded.

Naruto gave one last grin, then closed his eyes. His breathing slowed, his pulse softened until finally, his consciousness slipped away, drawn into the unseen pull of the altar.

For a brief moment, Mito and Oscar watched his body sway gently.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure Naruto isn't in any danger," Mito said with a reassuring smile, though her eyes flicked toward the boy's hanging form with growing unease.

Oscar chirped in response.

Mito glanced at it curiously. "So… what exactly is that flask used for?" she asked. Even as a spirit, she could feel a strange warmth radiating from it. Something that soothed her very soul.

"It is used, milady," Oscar began in a dignified tone, "to mend the grievous wound in Master Naruto's belly and restore unto him the vigour of life."

Mito blinked once.

Then twice.

"...YOU CAN TALK?!"

"No," Oscar replied immediately, shaking his head solemnly while still very much speaking.

Before Mito could begin to process that, the air around them shifted violently. A deep crimson light surged from the altar, flooding the ruins in a blinding glow.

Mito turned sharply.

Naruto's body was trembling, his head hanging low as the strange seal on his palm—the eye—snapped open. It rolled wildly, the slit pupil darting like a trapped animal.

"Step back, milady," Oscar warned, spreading his claws as the ground rumbled beneath them. "Summat foul stirreth 'twixt the worlds."

Mito felt her spirit quiver.

The air cracked open, and from the tear between the physical and the astral realms burst a massive dragon claw from Naruto, its black scales gleaming like obsidian, wreathed in ghostly flame.

"What... what is happening? We have to stop it!"

"Aye," Oscar said grimly, his voice steady despite the chaos. "But that be no beast to seal away."

Mito turned toward him, frantic. "What are you talking about? If that thing breaks through, it'll tear a hole between the physical and the astral realm!"

Oscar's beady eyes met hers, calm and certain. "Nay, milady. That creature be no invader."

He pointed one claw toward the writhing form of the boy hanging from a tree.

"That dragon is Naruto Uzumaki."

---

Meanwhile, Jiraiya's eyes snapped open the moment the ground trembled. His instincts screamed before his mind even caught up. In the next instant, he was out of his tent, Kakashi already beside him.

A flash of light split the clouds above Uzushiogakure, followed by a deafening roar. A storm was forming.

Sakura stumbled out of her tent, clutching her kunai. "Sensei? What's happening?"

Before Kakashi could answer, Sasuke was already scanning the horizon, his Sharingan burning red. "The nature energy is being pulled into the storm."

Jiraiya's jaw tightened. "We need to leave this island immediately."

"We can't," Sasuke said sharply, his eyes darting between the storm and the distant ruins. "Naruto's in there."

"What?"

"I can see traces of his chakra in the air, going toward the center."

Sakura paled. "He actually went there? What was he thinking?"

"Knowing Naruto? Probably something insane." Kakashi pressed his palm to the ground.

Earth Style: Sonar!

A pulse of chakra rippled through the soil. Kakashi's mind filled with the shape of the land and then froze as his senses locked onto something. "Found him."

"Well?" Jiraiya barked.

"He's... hanging upside down from a tree. There's a spear in his stomach."

Sakura gasped. Sasuke's hands clenched.

Jiraiya's expression hardened, all humor gone. He slammed his hand into the ground.

Summoning Jutsu!

---

"How is that Naruto?!" Mito practically screamed as the dragon's claw dug into the fabric of reality, the sound of rending space echoing like tearing steel. The seals around the altar flickered, light pulsing as if the fuinjutsu itself was crying out in pain.

"Did he not tell thee that he was a dragon?"

"Yes, but I thought…" Mito faltered, her voice thin, her eyes wide as she watched the claw twist and dig deeper.

"Thou thought it an exaggeration, mayhap? From where I stand, lady, I see a world that calls men gods but crowns them with frailty. Thy husband was a so-called God of Shinobi yet still, merely a man." Oscar's cadence softened, words becoming clearer, easier, more modern. "Naruto's walked through a world of gods and monsters. And in doing so, he became something that isn't bound by the limits you understand. Chaos changed him into that."

Mito's hands trembled as she raised the ghost blade, aiming it toward the rope that held Naruto. "Even more reason to stop him," she whispered.

"Why?" Oscar's voice was calm, but it carried weight. "Because he isn't human anymore? Or because you're afraid of what you don't understand?"

"Yes."

"Tell me, Lady Mito... do you not trust him?"

The words froze Mito.

Oscar continued, "That's still Naruto. The same reckless boy who passed your tests. The same child trying to prove he belongs to his clan, to his name and to you. The boy who just wants to be worthy of the legacy that the world forgot. Don't deny him that. Not like everyone else has."

Mito's eyes softened. Her hand lowered as she looked at Naruto hanging upside down, the spear piercing through him, blood dripping slowly onto the altar below. Yet his face was calm, peaceful.

I'm counting on you two to take care of things out here. Naruto's words echoed through her mind.

"You look so much like your parents," she murmured, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "You stubborn fool."

Then she took a deep breath, straightened her back, and said, "Fine. I'll gamble on you, my boy. Let this old woman win it big."

"Dattebayo!" Oscar declared, the phrase rolling awkwardly but fondly off his tongue.

"You really do spend too much time around him," Mito said as she began carving a complex fuinjutsu array into the altar with the ghost blade.

"How can I assist?"

"Make sure Naruto doesn't tear a hole in the dimension before I'm done."

"Understood," Oscar replied. Chakra flared from the siphon seal engraved into a storage seal. With a puff of smoke, the little guy was covered in battle armour.

Mito paused for just a heartbeat, watching Oscar's armored form as she smiled faintly and went back to etching her seals. "Cute."

A bright flash of soul energy burst from his magic guns, and it struck the dragon's claw dead-on. The impact sent ripples through the air like shattered glass. The claw twitched, halting for a brief second before turning its focus downward.

"Oh, splendid," Oscar muttered dryly. He inhaled sharply, the crystals along his body glowing a pale blue. "Right then… let's hope this blasted trick works."

With a guttural hiss, Oscar released a dense mist of blue-white chakra that shimmered in the air. The fog twisted, pulsed, and then split into two fully formed copies of himself.

Mito glanced up, briefly impressed. "Clones? You can do that?"

"Indeed, milady! My version of the Crystal Clone Jutsu—"

The words barely left his mouth before a wave of telekinetic force from the dragon ripped through the space. The two clones shattered instantly into glittering fragments.

Oscar grimaced. "Milady, please, I implore you to hurry the fuck up!"

"Language," Mito said, her voice firm. The diamond mark on her forehead pulsed as her hands blurred through seals.

Byakugō Seal: Release!

Twenty years of stored chakra burst from her in a wave, flooding the altar, the ruins, the entire air around them. The lines she'd carved into the stone ignited, glowing gold and red, a pattern of spirals and knots spreading outward in intricate perfection.

"Come on, Naruto," Mito said through clenched teeth. "You might be a dragon now… but let me show you the brilliance of your Uzumaki legacy!"

She slammed her hands together.

Adamantine Sealing Chains!

Chains made of chakra erupted toward the heavens, twisting upward into the swirling sky. Each link shimmered with complex seals, fusing into the fuinjutsu that stretched far across Uzushiogakure.

---

Meanwhile, Gamabunta landed heavily on the outskirts of the ruins, the earth cracking beneath his weight.

"Boss Bunta, why are you stopping?!"

The toad boss didn't answer immediately as he stared upward. "Oi, Ero-Sennin… you seein' this?"

Jiraiya looked up, and for once, words failed him as the storm was broken.

The sky above Uzushiogakure was ablaze with light. Massive, spiraling seals glowed across the heavens, intersecting in perfect symmetry.

"Sweet Sage's beard…" Kakashi whispered in awe. "That… that's fuinjutsu on a scale I didn't even think was possible."

Sakura shielded her eyes from the radiance. "It's… beautiful."

Even Sasuke, standing apart from the others, couldn't tear his gaze away.

The sky pulsed one final time, then shattered into color.

Auroras spread across the heavens, painting the storm-torn night in ribbons of blue, green, and gold. The light descended, wrapping around the ruins like threads of silk.

Back at the altar, Naruto's body went still. Then, with a sudden, violent surge, his astral form burst free, his dragon-shaped soul coiling in midair before diving straight into the Altar of Beginning. The moment it vanished, the chains and seals dissolved into streams of color, cascading across the sky.

Silence fell.

Oscar stumbled forward. "...Milady?"

"He made it."

"How in the world did you manage that?"

Mito looked out over the altar. "I noticed that dragon claw was trying to tear open a hole to the astral plane," she said softly. "And I asked myself… why? The altar was already meant to guide him there. Why tear it apart unless the doorway wasn't big enough?" She smiled faintly, pride flickering behind her eyes. "So, I just made the entrance larger. Simple enough, really."

Oscar gave a low hum as he sat beside her, his armor disappearing with a puff of smoke.

"Now what about you? How in the world can you talk all of a sudden?"

Oscar tilted his head. "I know not, truly. Perhaps it is because I stood too near the border of the astral plane. It might have allowed my voice to cross the veil, so to speak."

"That makes absolutely no sense," Mito said flatly.

"And you'd rather spend your last few minutes on this earth trying to deduce how proximity to the realm of souls affects a magical lizard?"

"…Wait. How did you?"

"Your soul, milady. It's… fading."

Mito exhaled, not denying it. "Well, when I split my soul, I used the Byakugō Seal's chakra as an anchor to remain in this world. But those chains…" She looked down at her glowing hands. "They drew upon the last of my stored chakra. What little remained is keeping me here."

Oscar was quiet for a moment before asking softly, "So you took a gamble… on Naruto?"

Mito smiled wistfully. "I did." She sighed and leaned back slightly, eyes drifting toward Naruto. "If I'm going to fade, I'd rather do it knowing I bet everything on that boy."

Oscar moved closer, then gently rested his head in her lap. "Naruto likes it when I do this," he said, adjusting himself carefully. "Besides, I can interact with souls. Perks of being a crystallized one myself."

Mito chuckled quietly, running a hand through the little lizard's scales. "You really are full of surprises, you know that? Plus, I never imagined you sounding this refined."

"I'll have you know, madam, I am a very sophisticated lizard."

"Yes, you are, dear."

---

The Astral Plane was a place beyond the mortal realm as an expanse of endless dark, void of shape or meaning.

And yet, scattered across that nothingness were faint lights of small camps flickering in the void like distant stars. Souls lingered there, whispering softly, bound by regrets, waiting for something… or someone.

Into that stillness came a roar.

Naruto or rather, the dragon that was Naruto as burst through the veil of silence. He hovered there for a moment, eyes gleaming with purpose, before lowering his gaze.

Beneath him, a spiral descended into a great abyss. At its heart was a glowing pool of chakra, swirling like liquid sunlight.

Drawn to it, the dragon descended.

The spiral seemed to pull at him, almost alive, tugging him closer to the pool's center. He landed beside the shimmering water, his enormous claws cracking the ethereal surface, though the ripples moved upward, not out.

Naruto felt something primal stir inside him. He lowered his head, his muzzle brushing the surface, and drank.

The senjutsu chakra surged through him, flooding his scales and crawling up his veins. The dragon's body began to shrink, the gold fading, the wings receding. His scales cracked, splintered, and peeled away like stone, revealing flesh beneath. And then, with a gasp, Naruto Uzumaki was human once more and blinked awake, kneeling beside the glowing pool. His mouth was wet with energy, his reflection rippling back at him like a stranger's face.

"Wha... happened? What's going on? Where am I?"

A voice answered, calm and old, echoing from behind him.

"You stand in the Astral World."

Naruto turned sharply.

An old man stood a few steps away in a hooded cloak, his single remaining eye gleamed.

"Oden Uzumaki?"

The old man didn't answer right away. "Turn around. I must seal the senjutsu chakra before it consumes your soul."

Naruto frowned but obeyed, turning his back to him. "This place is kinda boring," he muttered, glancing around. "You'd think the afterlife would have… I dunno, color."

"It is not afterlife. This is the waiting ground for souls unwilling to move on."

"Is that why you're here, old man?"

Oden didn't answer. Instead, he pressed his palm to Naruto's back. A sudden wave of heat burned through Naruto's skin as lines etched themselves onto his soul.

The pain was sharp, searing, and yet it felt alive.

A geometric diagram took shape of nine circles connected by luminous lines, forming a vertical diamond. A single circle gleamed at the top, several interlinked in the middle like a lattice, and one large circle at the base anchoring the pattern. Each circle bore a kanji, glowing faintly with power.

"So… what's my Rune do?"

The old man studied him, saying nothing for a long moment. His single eye flickered with faint recognition, faint concern. "You have meddled with your soul before."

"Uh… yeah, kind of? Been through some stuff."

"You have strengthened it beyond mortal measure. Your soul is the most tempered I have seen in centuries."

Naruto grinned awkwardly. "Thanks? I guess the training paid off." He remembered his stats, wondering if all that grinding had somehow built up his soul as well.

Oden reached forward, his hand brushing against the faint, root-like markings crawling from Naruto's dragon scale.

The moment his skin made contact, a flame erupted.

A sudden surge of crimson light engulfed the man's arm. The chaos burned through his sleeve, his flesh, and his bone. The old man didn't flinch, but his eye widened. With a sharp motion, he severed his hand at the wrist. The burning limb hit the ground and dissolved into black ash, leaving behind a skeletal hand gleaming faintly with pale fire.

"Holy crap! Are you okay!?"

[ You have acquired: Hand of the Reaper ]

Naruto blinked, his instincts screaming as he took a slow step back. "Wait… you're not Oden Uzumaki, are you?"

"Did I ever say I was?"

Naruto's stomach dropped. He tried to reach into his inventory out of habit, but nothing came. His fingers passed through the void uselessly, unable to grasp anything. Everything was intangible, weightless except for one thing.

His hand brushed against the hilt of the Ghost Blade.

The old man's single eye tracked the movement, then his lips twitched, forming something that might've been a smile. "Interesting. You can touch that here?"

Then his form began to peel away.

The cloak, the flesh, the illusion—all sloughed off like wet paper, falling into the void. What emerged beneath was something far older, far more dreadful.

A towering, translucent spectre loomed above Naruto. Its skin shimmered with sickly violet hues, its gaunt face twisted in a demonic leer. Long, matted white hair hung in uneven strands around two curved, crimson horns. Its eyes glowed faintly gold, half-lidded with eternal exhaustion. A set of prayer beads swung lazily around its neck, each one the size of a human skull.

And in its mouth, clenched between pointed teeth, was a small tantō.

"Names, mortal boy… are masks. But if you insist…"

A faint notification flickered in Naruto's vision:

[ Name: The Shinigami ]
[ HP: 4219 / 4219 ]

"Wait… I can see your stats?"

The Shinigami's grin widened, teeth flashing. "So… you peered into my avatar, did you?"

"Sorry, bad habit. Happens sometimes when I look at people too hard."

"Oh… you're amusing."

Then its gaze dropped to the weapon in Naruto's hand, and its smile vanished. "Where," it said slowly, voice dripping with restrained hunger, "did you get that blade?"

"Oh, this? Got it from killing a bunch of ghosts in some city that drowned ages ago. Real pain, by the way."

The silence stretched between the duo.

Naruto shifted uneasily, then glanced around the empty plane. "Right… so, uh, how do I get out of here? I've got friends waiting for me."

The spectre tilted its head, the beads clinking softly. "There are two ways. Either someone in your world unbinds your body from the altar…" Its single eye gleamed faintly. "Or I send your consciousness back myself."

"Great. Let's do that second one."

"Oh, certainly. I will just need one small thing returned first."

Naruto blinked. "What thing?"

"My hand."

"Oh. That thing." Naruto sighed. "Fine, fine. You get your hand back, I get to go home. Easy trade. On three, yeah?"

The Shinigami's eye glinted with something unreadable. "By all means, mortal. Count away."

"One… two… three!"

Naruto tossed the spectral hand back toward the creature. A rift tore open behind him. Naruto grinned. "Alright! Thanks for the lift, big guy!"

He leapt backward into the portal and nothing, as the portal was fake.

Silence.

Then the Shinigami laughed. A low, bone-shaking sound that echoed across the entire plane. "A change of plans, young mortal."

"Wait... what?"

"You see…" The voice purred, layered with centuries of hunger. "Normally, I seal senjutsu into the souls of your clan as part of my pact with Oden. But you… you're different."

The air grew cold, heavy.

"I cannot even call you human. Your soul burns with chaos, tempered by darkness and stone. You've been reforged, again and again."

"You can't do this! I'm not dead!"

"Oh," the Shinigami whispered, and its many-layered voice echoed like a grin. "But you will be… in a minute."

Naruto's stomach dropped. His thoughts shot to the spear still buried in his abdomen.

"Ah," the Shinigami breathed. "And then, my boy, your soul shall be mine to eat."

"You picked the wrong guy to eat, you bony bastard!"

The Shinigami's tantō slid from its mouth with a wet, deliberate sound. It toyed with the blade between two skeletal fingers and studied Naruto with slow amusement. "And what then? Will you become that dragon you keep pretending to be and fight me?"

"No. I am going to challenge you like Oden did."

"You mean to survive the nine days and bargain for your life by outlasting death itself."

"Before my body dies, I will make you bleed," Naruto replied, steady and blunt.

"You may be stupider than Oden," it said, "but you are the first to speak of such a challenge. Very well. Entertain me. What terms do you propose?"

"If I win, you send me back, and I get three questions," Naruto said.

"If I win, I take your soul, and that Ghost Blade becomes mine."

"You selfish, bony bastard. I'm in," Naruto said. He hurled the Ghost Blade like a kunai.

The weapon sailed through the darkness, a pale sliver. The Shinigami did not so much dodge as allow it to pass, the blade slipping through thin air as if it were a memory. Naruto surged forward with a roundhouse kick.

"You cannot touch death unless I let you."

Naruto grinned anyway, fists flying in a blur. He landed punches and kicks that met nothing but the chill around the spectre. He spun, scanning with sharp, hungry eyes for the Ghost Blade. The Shinigami toyed with it, holding it aloft between those skeletal fingers like a curiosity.

"Looking for this?" it asked. Then it lifted the blade, watching Naruto with a patience older than any village.

Naruto froze. For a beat he sighed, shoulders dropping. "Guess I'm toast. But hang on. How about I offer you something else, Shinigami-sama?"

"You have nothing I want, mortal."

Naruto's fingers dipped into his inventory without ceremony and produced five thousand shimmering soul drops. The Shinigami's gaze snagged on the drops. For a moment, the thing that ate souls looked like a man distracted by a feast. It leaned forward as if to sip the spilled memories.

Gotcha, Naruto thought, and moved.

White light burst from his chest. The force miracle detonated, staggering the Shinigami, a hiss escaping it as the radiant spear of sunlight slammed into its jaw.

[ Name: The Shinigami ]
[ HP: 4218 / 4219 ]

"And just like that, I win the challenge."

"You tricked me?"

"Tricked?" Naruto gasped. "Nah. You just got distracted by a shiny bunch of souls and forgot to dodge a miracle to the face. That's on you, bonehead."

For a moment, the air was silent. Then the Shinigami chuckled. The sound was low, almost amused. "Fascinating. Humanity… has learned to turn their very souls into weapons. Or perhaps," the creature leaned forward, its smile splitting impossibly wide, "it is just you. You are not entirely human, are you?"

"Thanks, I get that a lot. And yeah, probably just me. Still can't believe Plan C actually worked."

"Plan… C?"

"Of course I had other plans," Naruto said, counting off on his fingers. "Plan A was to die and get pulled back to Lordran. Plan B was to use a Homeward Miracle to teleport myself out if things went bad. And Plan C…" He grinned, jabbing a thumb at himself. "Was distract you and kick your ass."

"Each plan… equally foolish."

"Yeah," Naruto said, still smirking, "but Plan C's the one that worked."

The Shinigami stared at him for a long, silent moment, then let out a slow, rasping sigh that might've been laughter. "You are either the luckiest fool to exist… or the most dangerous one. I cannot yet tell which."

"Why not both?"

"Just ask your three questions, and begone from my sight."

"What's the matter? Salty that you lost to two Uzumakis?"

The god's eye twitched, its expression tightening into something between irritation and disbelief. "You have an awful lot of spunk for someone who will be dead in a few seconds."

"Oh really?"

The Shinigami opened his mouth to retort, then stopped. Its eye widened slightly as it sensed the shift. Back in the physical world, Oscar had already uncorked the Estus Flask and poured its shimmering light down Naruto's throat.

The god's jaw worked for a second, then it huffed. "Just ask your questions."

"Fine. First question: Do you know why Hashirama Senju was given his Rune?"

"It was because of Oden's bargain with his father."

Naruto frowned. "And how's that supposed to make sense?"

"Because Oden's father was a fool who started a cycle of reincarnation he could never control."

"Okay, fine, my second question—"

The Shinigami slowly lifted one skeletal finger and wagged it back and forth. "No. Last question."

"You... you should've told me that first, you ugly bastard!"

The Shinigami's grin stretched impossibly wide, radiating smug satisfaction.

"Don't look so proud, you're still ugly."

The death god tilted his head slightly, eyes narrowing into a hollow glare that screamed, Get on with it, boy.

Naruto groaned, muttering under his breath, "Alright, alright, keep your kimono on…" Then he straightened, clearly thinking hard about what to ask next. He could've asked about Oden's father, Oden, but something deeper gnawed at him.

"Do you know about Lordran?"

"…No."

Naruto blinked, utterly dumbfounded. "Wait, what do you mean no? You're the death god! How can you not know that?" He took a step forward, his voice rising with disbelief. "You deal with souls, right? Lordran's full of souls like, literally, the place runs on them! How can that not even ring a bell?"

He kept going, jabbing a finger at the Shinigami. "So what, Lordran's outside your jurisdiction?"

The Shinigami's empty gaze remained unmoved, and Naruto's voice dropped into wary suspicion. "...Or is it that you do know, and you just don't want to say?"

"Goodbye."

It snapped its fingers.

Naruto felt the world tilt. His consciousness was yanked backward, the astral plane folding like paper around him. His lungs filled with air again, and light burned his eyes.

Naruto groaned, sitting up with a wince. "Oh, my back hurts," he muttered as his eyes landed on Oscar, who was staring at him with wide, anxious eyes.

"Hey, hey, I'm alright, buddy. You can stop looking at me like that."

"You gave us quite a scare."

Naruto turned and froze. Her form was fading, edges softening into the air, half-translucent now, like morning mist retreating from sunlight. His heart dropped. "Gran-Gran-Gran?! What's happening to you?"

"Don't worry, child. The piece of my soul I left behind has finally done its part. It's time for me to move on."

"No… you can't!" Naruto blurted, stepping closer as if he could hold her there by sheer will. "You can't just disappear! Who's gonna guide me now? What if I mess something up again? What if I lose control or I do something wrong?"

"Naruto… you don't need me to guide you anymore. You've already become more than I ever could've imagined. You've walked through pain that would've broken the strongest shinobi I knew. You've seen gods and monsters, and yet here you stand, still calling yourself Naruto Uzumaki."

Mito reached out, her hand phasing softly through his hair like a warm breeze. "You've grown into a fine young man. And I know without a shadow of doubt that you will change this world, my boy."

Naruto swallowed hard, his voice trembling. "But… I just… I wanted you to stay. For once, I don't wanna lose anyone again. I just got you in my life."

Mito's expression gentled further, the faintest melancholy tugging at her lips. "We all want things, my dear. I wanted to rebuild our clan, to see Uzushiogakure alive again, filled with laughter and children and hope. I wanted to grow old beside my husband and teach the next generation everything we'd learned. But life… life doesn't always let us have what we want when we want it."

Her voice grew quieter, but not weaker. "Sometimes, we plant a seed we'll never see grow. Sometimes, all we can do is trust that someone else will tend to it. What matters isn't how quickly the dream comes true, Naruto rather it's that you keep believing in it. Keep feeding it. Keep being the person who can carry it."

Naruto clenched his fists, his eyes burning. "Then what if I rebuild it? What if I bring the Uzumaki clan back? Would that… would that make you happy, Gran-Gran-Gran?"

"Oh, Naruto… you've already made me happier than I've been in decades. To see you standing here, strong and stubborn and kind. To know that the Uzumaki spirit burns bright again. It's more than enough for me. I couldn't ask for anything else."

Naruto shook his head, a small but fierce smile forming despite the tears threatening to fall. "It's not about asking anymore. It's about doing. I'm a mosaic, Gran-Gran-Gran. Every lesson, every fight and every person who believed in me... they're all part of me now. A knight, a mage, a paladin, a cleric, a pyromancer, a blacksmith and a shinobi. Every piece of me is built from the people who helped me stand."

He took a step closer, voice firm, conviction burning behind his eyes. "And I'm not done yet. I'm gonna make that mosaic bigger, brighter, and stronger than ever. I'm gonna restore the Uzumaki clan."

Mito smiled, tears welling in her fading eyes. "You speak like a leader already, Naruto. Like someone who understands what it truly means to carry a legacy."

"Guess I picked it up from a few good teachers."

Her form shimmered brighter now, glowing softly like embers before dawn. "Then I leave you with one last thing, my boy."

Her voice grew distant, almost melodic.

"A whirlpool holds its shape, unchanging, like a memory etched in stone. But a spiral breathes and grows, shifting with each turn. What begins as a simple swirl transforms, as the vortex gives way to the spiral ever deeper, ever evolving.

For even if it seems to spin the same, every turn carves a new path. The floor beneath it changes, the air thickens, the scenery shifts. In each twist lies a new truth, and in each descent, a hidden strength.

So too does life move and change. We are not bound to the stillness of fate, but to the living spiral of choice and change.

The Uzumaki walk this spiral; unbroken, and ever-reaching."

"That was my favourite part of Tobirama's journal," Naruto murmured, voice trembling as he looked down.

"It was my favourite part too," Mito said softly, stepping closer. Her fading form shimmered faintly as she wrapped her arms around him. "That hair color suits you better, you know."

"You think so?"

Mito smiled and nodded. "It's the color of life, of fire and of the Uzumaki spirit itself. We've always burned brighter than the world around us."

"You always know what to say, Gran-Gran-Gran."

Mito laughed softly, brushing his cheek with her thumb. "And if I can be selfish enough to ask one more favor…"

"Anything," Naruto said immediately, without hesitation.

"Give Oscar a hot bubble bath every three days," Mito said with absolute seriousness.

Oscar raised a tiny claw and gave Mito a solemn thumbs-up.

Naruto blinked, then burst into a small, choked laugh that cracked through the grief in his chest. "Yeah… don't worry, I will. Promise."

"Good," Mito whispered, her eyes glistening as she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Then I can rest easy knowing you're both in good hands."

Her form began to dissolve, light scattering into the air like petals caught in a breeze.

Naruto stood there in silence, eyes glistening, watching her fade completely. The Altar of Beginning around him began to crumble back into its ruined form, the faint glow of its power flickering out like dying embers as the repair spell began to wear off.

"Even though time's more stable here… I still can't change the past with magic just yet."

The wind swept through the ruins. For a moment, it was as if the night itself had only been a dream.

The knight and the lizard stood quietly for a long while.

Then footsteps echoed.

Jiraiya and Team 7 entered the ruins cautiously, their eyes widening as they took in the sight.

Naruto turned slowly, holding Oscar close against his chest. His expression was calm but wistful, his gaze drifting toward the sky where Mito's light had vanished. But what caught everyone's attention wasn't his expression, rather it was his hair.

Gone were the strands of golden blond that once framed his face. Now his long hair gleamed a deep, brilliant crimson.

The unmistakable color of the Uzumaki clan.

Jiraiya's mouth fell open slightly. "Kid… your hair…"

Naruto blinked, brushing a strand away from his face, then gave a tired but genuine smile. "Guess… I really am an Uzumaki now."

Oscar chirped in agreement.

And as the sunlight bathed the ruins of Uzushiogakure, it wasn't the gold of the sun that shone there anymore, rather it was the red of a legacy reborn.

---

Author Note:

And with that, I leave you with today's chapter. I hope you all liked it. Now for everyone's favorite section: the Q and A!

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Q: Did you retcon the Art of Runes?

Yes, I did. For those of you who remember, way back in the earlier chapters, Naruto received what was supposedly Tobirama's journal from Danzo. That was the first time I introduced the concept of the Art of Runes, which was my own fanfic idea where the Uzumaki clan drew some inspiration from Norse mythology.

Originally, I planned for the runes to be Naruto's unique form of fuinjutsu, something that would blend traditional sealing with Norse runes. It sounded cool on paper and gave me a thematic link between the Uzumaki and Naruto's journey through Lordran.

But as the story developed and the Uzumaki clan's history began to expand more naturally, the idea of the Art of Runes started feeling unnecessary. In my early drafts, it served as a situational gimmick that was honestly not that important compared to other stuff, but it didn't fit well with how I wanted to portray the deeper lore of the Uzumaki and what being an Uzumaki meant to this version of Naruto.

So instead of scrapping it entirely, I decided to rework it into the existing narrative. The "Art of Runes" from the fake journal became a manipulation attempt. A clever trap set by Danzo to control Naruto by feeding him false information about his heritage. That not only fixed the early inconsistency but also made sense within the story since, let's be honest, Danzo would absolutely do that.

Now, runes still exist in my story, but in a much more subtle form. Rather than being a separate branch of fuinjutsu unique to the Uzumaki, they are one of the Four Heavenly Treasures of the Uzumaki Clan.

A Rune, in this context, is a seal placed upon the soul itself that holds senjutsu chakra in perfect balance. It strengthens vitality, lengthens lifespan, and increases chakra reserves. However, in rare cases, a Rune can awaken something far greater depending on the individual.

For example:

Hashirama gained Wood Release from his Rune.

Kushina developed chakra so dense that she could suppress the Nine-Tails' power and had the best endurance of the Uzumaki clan.

Karin inherited the Healer's Body, capable of restoring others who bite her.

And as for Naruto... well, I'm sure many of you can guess what his Rune will awaken. I've been hinting at it for quite some time now. Here is a hint: let's just say it ties directly into the lore of everlasting dragons and mushrooms.

---

Q: Why did you connect Hashirama's Wood Release to the Runes?

Because, let's be honest, in canon, Hashirama is as much a character as he is a plot device. I'm sure I don't need to remind anyone of Kishimoto's favorite fix-it button: Hashirama cells.

Every time the story needed a new power-up or a convenient way to justify something big, the answer was always, "Oh, it's because of Hashirama cells." It became so common that Hashirama's legacy started feeling less like a person's and more like a narrative bandage.

Now, if we actually stop and think about Wood Release, it's an odd kekkei genkai. None of the other Senju clan members had it. Not Tobirama, not Tsunade, not even distant relatives. So it clearly isn't a standard Senju inheritance.

If you want to be technical, you could say Wood Release was a unique genetic mutation that appeared in Hashirama alone. Great, fine, but then none of his direct descendants inherited it, which makes that explanation a little weak.

Some fans (and the anime fillers) try to link it to Ashura Ōtsutsuki, implying it's part of the Ashura reincarnation line. But that theory falls apart when you remember that Naruto, who is Ashura's reincarnation, never gained Wood Release naturally. So that doesn't hold water either.

Now, there is one other character who supposedly has Wood Release: Moegi Kazamatsuri.

If you don't know, she is that orange-haired girl who followed Konohamaru around.

Apparently, according to the Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Databook Volume 4, she's listed as a Wood Release user.

My reaction?

A deep, disappointed sigh.

It's important to take databook info with a grain of salt, especially when it contradicts established lore or adds random power-ups with zero buildup. In Moegi's case, it feels like a tacked-on piece of trivia that doesn't add anything meaningful. She's never shown using Wood Release in the series, and she's not a major character. So as far as I'm concerned, if it hasn't been shown, it doesn't exist.

And honestly, if Tsunade, the granddaughter of Hashirama, doesn't have Wood Release, then no random side character should either. I don't care what Ikemoto or Boruto says, as I'm not following that nonsense.

If I were Kishimoto, I'd have just made Wood Release a Senju clan ability, with Hashirama being its absolute pinnacle. That would've kept things simple, consistent, and still impressive.

But since my fanfic aims to be canon-adjacent—meaning I work within canon's framework but expand or fix what's left vague—I decided to patch that hole by giving Hashirama a Rune, and it solved multiple canon issues at once:

Why did only Hashirama have Wood Release? Because his Rune manifested that ability uniquely within him.

Why didn't his descendants inherit it naturally? Because the Rune was his alone, as it wasn't passed genetically.

Why didn't Naruto have Wood Release despite being Ashura's reincarnation? Because in canon, he never received the Rune.

---

Q: What about Hashirama's Death?

First off, let's get this out of the way: none of this is canon. But that's kind of the fun part of writing fanfiction, right? Filling in the blanks that Kishimoto left behind with ideas that actually make sense or add emotional weight.

So, in my version, I went with the fanon-accepted theory that Hashirama's death was the result of his insane regeneration shortening his lifespan.

Shizune mentioned back in Part 1 that rapid regeneration damages the body's cells and drastically reduces lifespan. That concept fits perfectly with Hashirama as a man whose healing ability was so broken, it basically defied biology. It makes sense that his body would eventually burn itself out.

Now, the second thing I added was when Hashirama died, and this is where things get interesting. In my story, Hashirama dies shortly after the Valley of the End battle against Madara.

I know some people like to imagine that Hashirama lived long after founding Konoha, but I've got a few solid reasons (and bits of canon evidence) that point to his death happening soon after his fight with Madara.

---

Evidence A: Tsunade's Words in the Manga

Tsunade says in canon: "They say both my grandfather and the Second Lord wanted an end to hostilities more than anything... and yet in the end, they died in vain for the village, while still in the midst of pursuing their dreams."

Let's unpack that.

Hashirama's entire dream was to build a village where children didn't have to die in war. That dream culminated with Konoha's founding, but Madara's betrayal shattered it.

So if we take Tsunade's words literally, Hashirama died still chasing that dream, which means his death happened while the village was still young—likely soon after his battle with Madara. He died protecting what he built, just like Madara died trying to destroy it.

---

Evidence B: Hashirama's Edo Tensei Appearance

In canon, Edo Tensei resurrects shinobi in the form they were in when they died.

Look at Edo Hashirama:

He's wearing his battle armor, not Hokage robes.

He looks exactly as he did at the Valley of the End.

That alone heavily implies he died not long after that battle since there's no visual difference between his living and Edo forms.

---

Evidence C: Kurama's Memory

This one's easy to miss, but it's there.

When Kurama remembers Hashirama, he recalls him looking severely wounded, his right eye closed, blood dripping from his mouth and forehead. That scene suggests Hashirama had to fight Kurama directly after his battle with Madara.

Think about that: he'd just fought his lifelong rival to near death and then immediately had to handle the Nine-Tails on top of it. Even with his legendary stamina, that's pushing it.

It's not hard to imagine that the combination of near-fatal injuries and overuse of his healing abilities finally caught up to him.

---

So, that's why I like this headcanon.

Plus, in canon, the rivalry between Hashirama and Madara often feels one-sided.

With this headcanon and making the Valley of the End battle Hashirama's last—it restores balance to their rivalry. Hashirama "won," but at the cost of his life.

So yeah, my headcanon is that Hashirama died shortly after the Valley of the End, succumbing to injuries and the toll of his own regeneration.

Let me know what you guys think and if you prefer this interpretation or have your own theory on how the God of Shinobi met his end.

---

Q: Why is the Shinigami's HP only 4219?

Good catch! The reason is actually twofold.

First off, the Shinigami Naruto fought wasn't the true Death God. It was an avatar, a fragment of the real thing manifesting in the astral plane. Think of it like facing a divine shadow rather than the full deity.

And second because I love sneaky details as the number 4219 isn't random. It's a reference to Japanese numerology.

In Japanese wordplay: 42 (shi-ni) means "to die," and 19 (i-ku) means "to go." Put together, 4219 (shi-ni iku) literally translates to "to go and die."

So yeah, the Shinigami's HP literally spells out death.

---

Q: Why did Naruto's hair turn red?

First off, the simple answer: because red-haired Naruto looks awesome. I've always wanted to see him physically embody his Uzumaki heritage; not just in name or legacy, but in appearance.

Secondly, canon Naruto has always been defined by his father's side. His signature move? Minato's Rasengan. The burden of Kurama? Minato's sealing choice. His title, his comparisons, his image... everything revolves around being Minato's son.

Don't get me wrong, I love that connection, but it always felt like Naruto's maternal heritage, the Uzumaki side, was criminally underexplored.

So in this story, I wanted to fix that imbalance.

My version of Naruto embraces both sides of his legacy.

He gets both the Rasengan and the red hair.

And come on, let's be real; a red-haired knight Naruto just sounds metal as hell.

Funny enough, someone once commented that DS Naruto gives off serious Radahn vibes from Elden Ring, and honestly? They're not wrong. Let's break it down: giant sword? Red hair? Animal companion? Shoots massive arrows? At this point, all that's missing is Naruto becoming gigantic and riding Oscar like a tiny horse.

---

That's it for this Q&A!

Next chapter's gonna dive deep into the aftermath and the Rune's awakening, how Team 7 reacts to what Naruto's become, and maybe… going back to Konoha.

As always, let me know your theories in the comments!

What do you think Naruto's Rune will awaken? And do you like the red hair change?

Until next time... stay strong, stay weird, and never stop walking through your spiral.

---

P.S. I just want to say… thank you.

It's officially been a year since I started writing this story, and honestly, I can't even put into words how much that means to me. A whole year of late nights, 2,000 words a day, and moments where I doubted myself but I kept going because of you. Every comment, every review, every little bit of support you gave me kept me writing when I might've stopped.

You guys made this possible. You helped me find something I love doing.

For this one-year anniversary, I wanted to do something special, so I asked an artist to remake The Chosen Undead cover art—with Naruto having red hair this time. It's a small way of marking how far this story and I have come, thanks to all of you.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading, for believing, and for staying. Here's to a year of stories, and hopefully, many more to come.

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That's It… For Now.

And if you can't wait for the next update, the next chapter drops on Nov 12th! You can read ahead to Chapter 106 on Patreon.

As always, I want to thank you all for taking the time to read, comment, and follow along with this story. Your feedback means more than you know, and it helps push me to make each chapter bigger, sharper, and more true to the worlds of Naruto and Dark Souls.

Until next time, Praise the Sun.

—Adam