Naruto: The Nine-Tails' Legacy

So now...

"Leave this to me, Naruto."

Kushina smiled confidently.

"Let your mom show you how it's done."

Now that she understood the situation, she was completely at ease.

When it came to sealing techniques...

She had every right to be proud.

Even throughout the history of the Uzumaki Clan in Uzushiogakure...

Uzumaki Kushina had been regarded as a prodigy.

Not only was she born with extraordinarily powerful chakra...

She had mastered the Uzumaki Clan's sealing arts while still very young.

In the field of fūinjutsu...

Even the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, had effectively been her student.

Well...

Mostly because she had willingly taught him.

After all...

Minato wasn't the only one who had once dreamed of becoming Hokage.

Kushina herself had aspired to become the first female Hokage.

So during their early years together...

Most of the precious time they spent on dates had been used discussing ninjutsu.

...Granted, Minato was simply too good at sweet-talking her.

But that was beside the point.

In short...

To Minato, Kushina was the greatest sealing master he had ever known.

I'll try to figure out how to...

"Hmph."

Kurama raised his head.

"Leave that part to me."

The next instant...

Naruto reappeared before Minato.

Kushina had vanished.

This was still the technique Kurama was most familiar with.

Now that the seal had been removed...

Switching control had become second nature.

"And you too, Minato."

Kurama reminded him.

"Don't just stand there."

"Can't you see all this chakra lying around?"

Minato blinked.

He looked toward the scattered chakra left behind by Chihi.

It was the chakra released after the Eight Trigrams Seal had been dismantled...

Pure...

Untainted...

His own chakra.

Outside...

With Kushina temporarily controlling Naruto's body...

She curiously examined her son's body.

There's no stiffness at all...

How incredible...

It feels almost like controlling a Shadow Clone.

I wonder if the Yamanaka Clan's Mind Body Switch Technique feels something like this?

However...

She quickly composed herself.

Looking at Sasuke...

Whose face was practically covered with suspicion...

She smiled gently.

"You've grown up too, little Sasuke."

Sasuke had been staring at Naruto the entire time.

The moment he saw that smile...

He froze.

It wasn't because Naruto smiling that way felt strange.

Rather...

For some reason...

That smile instantly reminded him of his own mother.

In his memories...

She had smiled at him exactly like that.

So gentle...

"...We can continue now."

Sasuke shook his head.

Forcefully suppressing the longing that had almost resurfaced.

"...Mm."

Kushina closed her eyes.

She recalled everything Minato had explained while Naruto and Kurama had been talking.

The structure of the Reincarnation Seal...

As well as the preliminary framework Kurama had already completed.

Just like the Eight Trigrams Seal...

Its foundation is still the Uzumaki Clan's Four Symbols Seal.

It's simply been modified a second time...

By incorporating the principle behind the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, separating chakra from the soul.

In that case...

Naruto's hands—now guided by Kushina—began forming seals at astonishing speed.

One sealing formula after another spread throughout the space.

Following the four cardinal directions...

They connected seamlessly with the framework Kurama had already established.

Then...

They continued expanding until they surrounded the entire Tsukiyomi barrier.

Dragon Vein chakra from every direction responded to the seal.

It gathered onto the countless sealing formulas...

Then gradually folded inward...

Like countless flower petals closing together...

Wrapping the entire Tsukiyomi space within them.

Kushina's hands never stopped moving.

She continuously altered the nature of the sealing array.

After all...

This was still a newly developed technique.

Even now...

There was room for refinement.

Time slowly passed.

Before anyone realized it...

More than half an hour had gone by.

Had it been any other shinobi...

Even an elite jōnin...

They would have long since exhausted their chakra and failed.

Only Uzumaki like Naruto and Kushina...

Blessed with naturally monstrous chakra reserves...

Could sustain something like this.

And this...

Was merely a trial version.

A miniature Reincarnation Seal.

The enormous seal outside...

Was dozens of times larger.

Without Kurama supporting it...

Even Naruto's chakra might not be enough to complete it.

Eventually...

The sealing formulas stopped expanding.

Every inch of the surrounding space was now covered in dense black sealing script.

Feeling the feedback flowing through the array...

Kushina knew they were already more than halfway to success.

Everything inside the barrier now lay within her perception.

Suddenly...

She sensed something.

Opening her eyes...

She looked toward the enormous block of ice nearby.

Inside that is...

Izumi noticed her gaze as well.

Realizing Kushina had likely understood what was sealed within the ice...

She hesitated for a moment...

Before quietly raising a finger to her lips.

A silent request.

Please don't say anything.

At that moment...

Sasuke was completely focused on the foreign chakra being sealed into his body.

He noticed none of their exchange.

Looking at the pleading expression on Izumi's face...

Kushina glanced at Sasuke...

Who had kept his eyes closed ever since the sealing process began.

She said nothing.

As the seal entered its final stage...

Kushina placed her palm against Sasuke's abdomen.

Her chakra condensed.

"Reincarnation Seal... Activate!"

Whoosh!

In that instant...

Time itself seemed to stop.

The Dragon Vein chakra that had been flowing moments before...

Together with every black sealing formula...

Froze completely.

Then...

It was as though the drain had suddenly been pulled from an overflowing bathtub.

Every sealing mark...

Along with the Dragon Vein chakra...

And the entire Tsukiyomi space...

Collapsed inward.

Twisting into a gigantic spiral...

They all surged directly into Sasuke's abdomen.

The surrounding scenery changed instantly.

As the black sealing formulas disappeared...

The moonlit sky...

The desert...

And the massive block of ice...

All vanished.

The ancient ruins of Rōran appeared once again.

As the Reincarnation Seal imprint formed upon Sasuke's abdomen...

Kushina withdrew her hand.

She finally let out a long breath.

"...How do you feel?"

Sasuke slowly opened his eyes.

He looked down at himself.

There wasn't the slightest sign of discomfort.

If anything...

He felt unusually invigorated.

"It worked."

Izumi walked over.

"I can still sense the power of my Tsukiyomi barrier inside you."

"But..."

"It's no longer under my control."

"...Then what exactly does this do?"

Sasuke asked.

"Try releasing it."

Izumi smiled.

"Unlike Naruto's seal..."

"The Reincarnation Seal only responds to your own will."

Sasuke nodded.

He motioned for everyone to step back...

Then focused his thoughts.

The empty ground before him suddenly shimmered.

At first...

Nothing seemed to change.

But the moment everyone stepped forward...

The scenery shifted in an instant.

Just as when they had first entered the Tsukiyomi barrier...

The moonlit landscape appeared once again before their eyes.

"Until the Dragon Vein chakra sealed within you is exhausted..."

"The barrier will continue to exist."

Izumi looked genuinely relieved.

"The seal works even better than we expected."

While Sasuke was still wondering what practical use this seal might have...

Kushina had already finished evaluating it from a sealing master's perspective.

She even took the opportunity to examine Sasuke's condition one last time.

After confirming everything was perfect...

She turned toward Izumi.

"Strike while the iron is hot."

"Let's finish the big one outside too."

Izumi blinked.

"...Shouldn't you rest first?"

"Rest?"

Kushina laughed brightly.

"I've already been asleep for who knows how many years."

"I've got more than enough energy!"

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