Split the Clouds

Two boys who seemed to be around the age of eleven or twelve were currently seated on a bench at one of the many Uzumaki clan's training grounds, while an additional girl was swinging a sword around a few meters away from them. Unlike the girl, the boys weren't training and were opening small plastic packages containing cards.

"This time, I'll be getting something good. I know it, Inrito!"

"Yeah, yeah, sure, Yuno."

Inrito, the son of Naruto and Ino, looked rather similar to a younger version of Naruto, but his blonde her leaned more towards Ino's hair color, while his eyes looked exactly like his mother's. Moments later, Yuno had freed the cards from their package, and after reaching the spot where the rare card was, his eyes bulged as he almost tossed the cards into the air.

"WHY DO I ALWAYS DRAW MOTHER'S CARD!!!"

The card he was staring at had a picture of Yuna smirking at the observer on it. In the top right corner of the card, the letter "SSR" were printed, showing that it was a card of the highest rarity.

"Well, you said you wanted something good, and that certainly is a good card."

Yuno almost ripped his hair out when he heard Inrito's words.

"BUT I ALREADY HAVE IT THREE TIMES!!! IT'S USELESS FOR ME!!!"

"Geez, why are you making such a ruckus, brother? Shouldn't you be training instead of playing around?"

"Leave me alone, sis; today is a free day."

As he said that, he started fiddling with Yuna's card and reading its description.

"War hero, huh? Honestly, I can barely believe that my goofy mother is a war hero."

Natto couldn't help but chuckle when she heard her brother's words. Frankly, she thought the same. Although Yuna could be strict, most of the time, she was very laid back.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. It feels really weird to see so many people looking at my father in awe while I simply think of him as a kind goofball."

Unlike in the original, Naruto wasn't chained to the Hokage seat, so he had a lot of time to bond with his children, resulting in a significantly better relationship.

Yuno nodded his head as he continued fiddling with the card he was holding.

"But man, they really overdid it with after-war propaganda, didn't they? Blocking small meteors, cutting through hills, and changing the terrain of large areas into a tundra, yeah, right. Couldn't they have toned it down a little to make it less obvious?"

Inrito shrugged his shoulders at that.

"Well, she IS the leader of Konoha's strongest clan, so I think it's pretty normal that people want to exaggerate her achievements. I just wonder why my father got the same treatment?"

An awkward expression appeared on Natto's face as the two boys were talking. The duo noticed that something was wrong, so Yuno immediately got concerned for his sister.

"Is something wrong, sis?"

Natto awkwardly scratched her head before she started talking.

"Well, I was curious about that as well, so I asked uncle Z... err Zabuza-sensei about it."

Yuno and Inrito's eyes shone when they heard that. Zabuza was the Uzumaki clan's combat instructor for a long time now, and he pretty much had trained every Uzumaki who was currently on active duty at some point in time, garnering him a lot of respect.

"Quickly, tell us what he had to say about this!"

Natto smiled wryly and answered Yuno's question.

"He told me the actual scale of the battle was even bigger as it is described in the current history books. People thought no one would believe the books are real when they described what had actually happened during the war."

The two boys looked at Natto in disbelief as their chins hit the ground.

"S-Seriously?"

"A-Are you joking to mess with us?"

Natto shook her head and resumed talking.

"For example, the history books describe the destruction of a hill due to a clash of two powerful attacks, but Zabuza-sense told me that every single clash had at the very least that much power."

The duo couldn't help but be dumbfounded when they heard that.

"I-Is that really true, Natto?"

"There is no way such a level of power is really possible, right?"

"Ara, ara~ am I being doubted by my children and nephew?"

"Mum!"

"Mother!"

"Auntie!"

Without the trio noticing, Yuna had appeared behind the bench Yuno and Inrito were sitting on.

Natto immediately ran up to her and hugged her while the two boys looked at her with stars in their eyes.

"Is what sis said true, mum?"

"Yeah, is it true? Are you really that strong?"

Yuna chuckled in amusement as she patted her daughter's head.

"How could that be?"

The shoulders of the two boys immediately fell when Yuna denied their question, causing her to laugh a little.

"That was like 15 years ago; I'm obviously much stronger now."

""WHAT!?""

Yuna made a grabbing motion, and suddenly a sword handle materialized in her hand that quickly started growing into a giant sword that Yuna casually rested on her shoulder.

"Pay attention, Natto. I will show you what kind of feats are possible using nothing but swordsmanship."

Natto eagerly nodded her head, while the two boys became excited as well. Yuna moved her sword and slashed from the ground diagonally upwards, and then...

"Well, that should be sufficient."

... made the sword vanish and started walking away.

"Ehh!? No, fair, you tricked us!"

"Come on, auntie, show us something cool!"

While the two boys were pestering Yuna, Natto dazedly stared into the sky, where two clouds were hovering.

"She split that cloud."

Still, in a daze, Natto picked up her sword again and slashed it from the ground diagonally upward, copying Yuna's movement.

'Far from enough.'

She did it again.

'Wrong.'

Again.

'I can do better.'

Slowly, the daze was lifted from her eyes as her fire of ambition was ignited.

'For now, this will be my goal.'

Again and again, she repeated the same movement, and every time she did, she felt her slash be a little better. A little stronger, a little faster, and a little more profound.

'I want to split the clouds~'