October 10th, 26th year of the Age of Hidden Villages
The Elemental Nations have an honor roll of legendary heroes and villains, some living, some fallen. Who were the heroes and who were the villains tend to change a bit based on who you talked to but not always. Some were so utterly heinous that they were universally regarded as villains. But the truly sad, bitter, ugly truth is that for every ninja who is famous, who is remembered and written about, there was a whole litany worth who should have been. Who knows how many B, A, and even S rank ninja have been footnoted or overlooked from history.
Truthfully this problem got worse after the founding of the villages, not better. Before, a young shinobi merely had to remember a few family members and clan heroes. But now? Now they were lectured on hundreds of shinobi, famous village ninja, kage from every village, famous missions, common and uncommon techniques, dangerous enemy ninja, hundreds of famous clans… it was simply too much for a seven year academic program that was designed for children between the ages of five and twelve. Some ninja had to be…politely omitted from the standard courses and reduced to topics of interest for ninja history nerds.
Uzumaki Mito was one such ninja. If her name appeared on any academy exam (even now a mere 26 years after the village was founded) most students would be baffled. Even the handful of ninja who did recognize the name would most likely only be able to put down that she was the 1st Hokage's wife. They'd always say was, simply assuming she was dead. (She isn't, or at least isn't yet. The way this intro's going it may take a few thousand more words for me to get a chance to kill her off.)
If you asked her family about her they'd say remarkably little. Perhaps they would mutter she'd aged remarkably well and then quickly change the topic. However if you got one of them really drunk they would probably begin telling horror stories of her shrewish ways. A half sane harridan who'd run roughshod over the 1st Hokage and after he'd died (to get away from the witch, most likely) she'd sunk her claws into his brother Tobirama (an action which surely factored into his decision to stay behind and die against Kumo's elite years later. He did it just to get out of her vile clutches, they'd claim. Then they'd whisper that he'd appointed Hiruzen over Danzo just to spite the woman). The family lived in… not fear exactly… perhaps dreadful resignation of the woman who showed up at family gatherings (or sometimes randomly just to make them suffer) and constantly lectured her children and grandchildren about her expectations for them, and how they were all dismally failing her standards. Why just the other day (this mysterious relative would continue) she sent poor Tsunade crying through the street with a mortified Dan (her boyfriend, they'd say if you asked) chasing after her. At his introduction to the family…well they couldn't bring out the specifics but suffice to say dreams were crushed, ambitions laughed at, relationship approval was firmly denied, lineages were frowned upon (and by 'frowned' they mean mocked, belittled, and outright besmirched) and the wicked old harpy even took the time to painfully point out each of Tsunade's numerous flaws at length, especially her poor taste in men. Poor Dan was so devastated by the wretched woman that he died on his next mission. Didn't even try to dodge the attack that killed him his teammates swore up and down.
There were two things you would never find out no matter how much they talked. First how utterly important she was in the founding of the village. Years ago, before the village was founded, Uzumaki Mito was the most beautiful woman Senju Hashirama ever encountered. Her hair the color of pure midnight, so black it seemed to devour the light. Her eyes endless voids that one found impossible to escape. Her bosom was so full that only her granddaughter Tsunade would eventually match it, and to Tsunade's shame Uzumaki longevity also meant Uzumaki immunity to sag. Anyhow, Hashirama was smitten on first sight. Now she'd ignored him completely in their first meeting (meeting is too strong a word, she pretty much just walked past him) but he had a plan. Unlike today where men are required to woo women with charm, time, gifts, and listening while they talk, in his time there existed a convenient shortcut. He petitioned her father for the girl's hand and to his surprise he received a truly mind boggling dowry (for the curious a dowry is basically payment from the girls family to help deal with the costs of having a new wife. The size of a dowry was determined by two things, first how much money the family had, and how badly they wanted you to take the girl off their hands. That's right not only did the guy get a wife, he got paid for his trouble.) At first Hashirama was staggered by the amount. Then after the wedding (her father insisted the two meet only after) when he actually met the bit… his wife he realized the old man was really that desperate to get rid of her. The dowry was so large that not only did it fund most of the initial construction of Konoha, it provided ample financial incentive to several clans who were hesitant to join the fledgling village, and there was still plenty left over to carve his face on the mountain at the heart of the new village.
The second fact that they would never tell you, is that Uzumaki Mito was (still is actually) the deadliest ninja ever to walk the earth. Not deadliest kunoichi, deadliest ninja. Hashirama, the so called god of all ninja, learned this to his embarrassment when she beat his ass like a drum every time they ever sparred. Uchiha Madara was horrified to discover this after he went rogue and returned with the Kyuubi in tow to challenge Hashirama. The legendary Uchiha roared with laughter when the 1st Hokage arrived on the field with only his wife as support. Madara had dominated the most powerful beast in all creation and the only support the Senju could muster was his wife? It stopped being funny when she sealed the nearly omnipotent beast into herself and then she and her husband proceeded to beat him like a piñata. (Truly he only survived because his old friend was trying to redeem him and the woman stopped the fight to lecture the man on his pointless tree humping morality, giving Madara plenty of time to escape.)
Uzumaki Mito missed most of the 1st Great Shinobi War (Sometimes called the One Year War) because she was busy having kids. Her only notable encounter was with an assassin named Kakuzu. He'd come to try and kill the Shodaime but never got the chance when he accidently stumbled on Uzumaki Mito. She killed him 4 times and dumped his body in a ditch by her garden. He laid there for three days to be absolutely sure she wasn't looking before he disappeared to be a missing-nin (there are rumors that he didn't have the Jiongu until after he failed his assassination mission, rumors he started, but he actually received it for the mission.)
After the first Hokage died ("useless tree hugging hippie" his wife said, thankfully she didn't bother going to the public funeral) she shacked up with his brother and had a few more kids. I'll briefly mention her children now because she found all of them terrible disappointments. Over the course of her life Uzumaki Mito bore twelve (about to be thirteen) children.
Senju Hashirama sired eight children. After each was born Uzumaki Mito considered them carefully and gave them an appropriate name.
Her first born, a son, was named Useless. (Father of Tsunade and Nawaki.)
Her second born, a girl, was named Epic Fail.
Her third born, a girl, was named Worthless As Her Father.
Her fourth born, a girl, was named Flat as a Board (she never broke the A-cup barrier in a family where C cups were on the small side)
Her fifth born, a girl, was named Critical Fail.
Her sixth, a girl, was named Big Disappointment.
Her seventh, a girl was named Really Stupid. (And she was)
Her eighth, another girl, was named Wide Load.
Senju Tobirama sired four (maybe five) children.
Her ninth, a girl named Little Bitch. (You may recognize her nickname- Tsume)
Her tenth, a girl named Completely Irrelevant. (Nickname- Mebuki)
Her eleventh, a girl named Fucking Worthless. (Nickname- Yoshino)
Her twelfth, a girl named Wasted Space.
Their fathers, thankfully, gave their children far more normal nicknames that were quasi-adopted as their official names. But these are the names Uzumaki Mito called her children and the ones on all their official documents. I mention her twelve children because today, the 10th of October, is a day that would go down as one of the most important days in Konoha's history. It was the day of the Battle of 4 Shadows, which occurred practically on the village's doorstep. It was the day the 2nd Great Shinobi War unofficially ended (some treaties just needed ink once it was over, a process that would drag out another month and a half). It was the day the Kyuubi attacked the village. It was the day Uzumaki Mito would give birth to her thirteenth child and final child.
The child would be born in an empty field over a dozen miles from Konoha. She had no midwives and no helpers; no one even knew she was pregnant. Her bump had been nearly invisible and when Uzumaki Mito disappears for two months her family didn't worry, they celebrated. Besides who really expects a fifty some odd year old woman to get knocked up? Even if she still looks younger than thirty.
Her choice of birthplaces was based entirely on practicality. Ever since she sealed the Kyuubi in herself it had tried to escape every time she had a child. So she needed plenty of space to reseal it when it got out. That's right, Uzumaki Mito is so insanely powerful that she regards the Kyuubi ripping itself out of her chakra system during childbirth as just another annoying part of the having children process. Perhaps it would have been that simple if Uchiha Madara didn't intend to make an appearance.
After his last defeat the legendary Uchiha spent nearly two decades plotting to destroy Konoha, destroy all the hidden villages, and enact his ultimate peace initiative (an extremely early draft of what would become his Eye of the Moon Plan). He had, very carefully begun to gather suitable allies. Some agreed with his plans, others he tricked.
Today that witch Uzumaki Mito would be at her weakest (how he discovered this remains a mystery), the Kyuubi would be his weapon once more, and the armies of Konoha, Iwa, Kiri, and Kumo were locked in a four way death match mere miles away. In a single stroke Madara was poised to clear the entire board and leave himself entirely unopposed.
The birth of her 13th child, her second son, took several hours. The Kyuubi waited until the perfect moment just seconds after the babe was born. It ripped through the weakened seals. Its roar shook the forest, the earth quaked and splintered, the air turned dry as a desert, and killer intent that could freeze even elite ninja in their tracks surged forth. The colossal biju glared down at its container and prepared to fight for its freedom. She stood, baby cradled in one arm, and prepared to seal the biju once more.
It was at this moment that Madara arrived with his eight allies. A group composed of some of the most powerful beings in the world; all ready to defeat the woman and claim their nine tailed prize. They showed no fear. Why should they? Each was powerful on their own, all nine at once was a nearly unbeatable force. The woman was almost an after thought. According to Madara she had some skill, but neglible compared to themselves or their target. The biju was a truly formidable creature but even it would fall before this, the first Akatsuki.
Gol D Roger, a man who laughed at the world order and chose to live his life according to his own dreams and rules.
Ifurita, a being from an age far in the past, called a Demon God by some. A part woman part machine being that had devastated entire cities.
Cell, an organic android and all that remained of the once world spanning Red Ribbon army.
Aizen, a criminal from the land of Iron who dreamed of becoming a god.
Herb, a warrior prince from an island of beastmen bloodlines who claimed to have the powers of the ancient dragon race.
Tetsuo, a mad criminal with vast mental powers.
Bison, a would be conqueror who had mastered the strange chakra he called psycho power.
Celestine, whose powers can barely be described and who's history is shrouded in secrecy.
Vash the Stampede, the Humanoid Typhoon, the man who had the largest bounty in the elemental nations. A being part man and part plant, he agreed to join Madara hoping the Uchiha's plan would bring lasting peace to the world.
Madara began, as he began most things, with a long speech. Or at least he started one. The Kyuubi hoping its former container was distracted began the fight in the most surprising way possible. It turned tail and ran. It shut its eyes, picked a random direction, and hauled its chakra laden ass as fast as it could go. Not from Akatsuki. It hated Madara more than life itself but Kyuubi wasn't afraid of him, merely wary. It also had no idea who any of the others were. It ran because it had a chance to escape Mito. After being re-captured in its last ten escape attempts it didn't see the point of fighting when escape was a reasonable plan.
There are no surviving accounts in the shinobi records of the fight that happened in the clearing; the only mention of the area in any Konoha files is that Kyuubi began its rampage there. The records have no idea how it got there or why it tore the area apart before rampaging through Konoha and joining the Battle of 4 Shadows.
Even off the record only five beings survived the fight in the clearing to give any kind of account. Uchiha Madara (if he ever described this fight to anyone; which he never did) could only describe the first minute of combat. He had to use Izanagi to save himself from Mito's opening attack and then again when he realized the attack was part of a combo. He isn't even sure how he managed to get his blind ass out of the field to scheme for another day. (He also didn't realize all the effects the last attack had on him until he got away, and once he found out… well… it didn't end well for the person who told him.)
Ifurita technically survived, but her broken body was blasted so deep into the earth that the shinobi who found the hole thought it was bottomless. It would take 15,000 years for someone to find the body and reactivate her.
Celestine could have given one of the most complete accounts. He was the second to last member of Akatsuki in the fight after all. But he got sealed into the moon. Oddly enough it would take him 15,005 years to be released.
Uzumaki Mito left the clearing with the full account but wouldn't have a chance to brief anyone about anything. She also left bereft an eye, sporting organ damage, dozens of minor wounds, a considerable chunk of chakra spent, and missing her favorite hair ornament. Her unnamed child had not a scratch but being a newborn would never provide an account of the fight.
It's officially recorded that the Kyuubi attacked Konoha. That's incorrect. It really just ran through it. Then ran through the currently raging battle of 4 shadows, got turned around a bit, ran back through the battle, and generally made everyone's life miserable. Or over. It killed plenty of ninja and soldiers as it stomped around the battlefield.
If anyone was particularly observant they may have spied Uzumaki Mito arrive back in Konoha almost ten minutes after the Kyuubi barreled through it. Now most women (or rational human beings) would have immediately found anyone to hand their infant off to before chasing after the enraged 9 Tailed Fox through the largest, messiest, battle of the 2nd Great Shinobi War. Uzumaki Mito barely paused before resuming the chase.
Now we (finally) come to what the history books do record, in numerous exhausting and contradictory accounts. The Battle of 4 Shadows or as it's called in Suna the Battle of 5 Shadows. Almost twenty thousand ninja would be on the field, supported by over a hundred thousand non-shinobi soldiers (read cannon fodder... or maybe kunai fodder. Or perhaps just fodder?), almost every country in the elemental nations had something on the field. Of course trying to put any kind of full account to the battle would probably be a book in itself. Instead we shall briefly cover the three sides on the field, their goals, and take a quick glance at the battlefield.
The largest force on the field was commanded by Sarutobi Hiruzen the new Hokage. He had supporting Grass, River, even Rain-Nin, and almost sixty thousand Fire Country soldiers. But his real strength was his own Leaf-Nin; virtually Konoha's entire shinobi population was on the field today. All three Sanin, Danzo, Koharu, Hmura, even the White Fang. Their goal was the simplest of everyone; they wanted to save their village from annihilation there would be no retreat or surrender.
The second force was lead by Mu, the second Tsuchikage. He'd brought the full might of his village, his heir designate Onoki, even his villages surviving jinchuriki (one of the five on the field today) Roshi. A dozen allied minor villages supplemented his forces and better than forty thousand Earth Country soldiers. His goal was to wipe Konoha off the map.
The smallest group was lead by the 2nd Mizukage and 3rd Raikage. It contained no supporting forces, only Anbu and elite shinobi. The two planned to catch Iwa and Konoha after the battle and kill off their enemies in one stroke. They brought three jinchuriki, 7 year old Yagura, teenage Utakata, and the nibi container.
Suna ninja were present, but not in any kind of order, nor were they united in any fashion. The 2nd Kazekage died almost three years before the battle, and Suna still hadn't gotten its act together. Sasori of the Red Sands (though he didn't have that nickname yet) and his grandmother were fighting for Kiri. The man who would become the 3rd Kazekage was fighting for Iwa. Nobody is sure who the Ichibi container was fighting for, the container gave in to a full possession early in the battle and then it didn't really matter. (Years later Suna historians would often claim devious plans, or classified conspiracies as the reason Suna-Nin were fighting for every side. In reality it's because Suna is a shithole that's government makes the United States Legislature look like an organization of educated, efficient, and competent individuals. Remember when civilization falls apart- Suna was there first.)
The battlefield itself was the heavy forest that surrounds Konoha, broken occasionally by small clearings, gentle streams, and in the southwest the Village of Konoha. The Fire Country forces began the battle in the southwest. The Iwa forces to the north. Kiri and Kumo were somewhere eastward.
When we think of battles, we like to think of lines of battle, of forces being 'here' and the enemy 'there'. Shinobi rarely fight such clean battles. Still majority of historians widely agree that those were the starting positions for the bulk of each side's forces. They also, nearly unanimously, agree on the opening moves.
Kiri and Kumo scouts, somehow, came to believe the battle was starting. Never willing to waste an opportunity the Raikage and Mizukage attacked immediately… and found their very, very, elite and very, very small army directly between the two armies just before the battle started.
By the third hour of fighting- there were no more lines. Twelve giant summons, five raging jinchuriki, seventeen S-Rank Ninja's and eventually a wild Kyuubi made sure that any large group was more a suicide target than a practical fighting force. The terrain didn't help, the forest was so thick that keeping track of anything outside twenty or thirty feet was almost impossible. The 'lines' were so intermingled that even twenty years later scholars were still pitching fits trying to bring order to the madness. The Kyuubi for instance. Most accounts state that it arrived at about the 7th hour of fighting, however there are plenty of texts that place it arriving as early as three and a half hours and a handful that have it arriving in the last half hour.
Whenever the Kyuubi arrived, we know that Uzumaki Mito was about 10 minutes behind it. She followed its trail right through the front gates of Konoha into what had been one of the Leaf-nin staging points earlier in the day. She was met by Mu and twenty or so of his honor guard who in one of those freakish coincidences of war, had passed largely untouched through Kiri's, Kumo's, and Konoha's forces without encountering anyone important and were largely unscathed. Mere moments after Mito and Mu arrived they were joined by the Mizukage and his groupies, who were actually looking for the Hokage.
Historians would unanimously record that the Mizukage, Tsuchikage, and all their guards massacred each other to a man. It was a particularly famous event, movies, books, history teachers, even fanfiction all dramatically retold the event. Every recreation of the battle had to depict it. Uzumaki Mito appears in none of those accounts. They don't even have a character that looks like her. But whatever happened, Uzumaki Mito was one of two survivors. It cost her one of her arms, far too much blood, and injured one of her legs so badly that she'd spend the rest of the battle trying to catch the Kyuubi. (How long that took largely depends on which version of the battle is your favorite or which historian you believe. But according to most accounts the battle lasted 9 hours and ended it when the kyuubi died. So call it an hour and forty five minutes.) Her babe had nary a scratch.
In that time (again however long you think it took) the Kyuubi would chase the third Raikage off the field, ending his 10,000 kill streak, kill the rampaging Shukaku, interrupt the duel between Hiruzen and Onoki allowing both ninja to retreat, nearly kill Orochimaru, and sent Manda, Gamabunta, and Katsuyu back to their realms, kill both of Umino Iruka's parents, and cartloads of other ninja and soldiers, unintentionally save a crippled Danzo by stepping on the Kiri-Nin about to kill him, and slay three of the 7 swordsmen of the mist.
Uzumaki Mito was little better than a corpse when she finally caught up to the beast, she'd also added another 70 or so ninja to her kill count. She then exploited the fact the Kyuubi was as big as a small village to sneak up on it. Realizing she was pretty much done for, the woman scarcely thought about it before sealing the beast into her (still unnamed babe). There were no witnesses. Records simply state that the beast died, marking the end of the battle as survivors began to drag themselves off the field. (Sometimes historians cry a little if you press them for details of why or how it died)
(Now for the first and only actual scene of the prologue!)
The Sandaime had set up a temporary headquarters in a small clearing where he was desperately trying to organize what was left of his forces.
"What do we have left?" He asked his current aide. He didn't know her name, she was his 4th aide of the battle and all he knew about her was that she was a Nara.
"What do we have left? Or what are we actually able to confirm?" She asked.
"Both." His aide, slowly, turned to look across the clearing at the assembled shinobi and regular soldiers and made a show of counting.
"Over all no idea" Nara Four said. "I can confirm you, Tsunade, Bull, Chicken, Dog-2, Squid, that Grass-Nin, a blonde academy student, twenty fod…twenty regular soldiers, and about 40 ninja who need to get to the hospital A.S.A.P. I really think Squid's going to die even though he's standing and moving around. Danzo, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Whitefang, and the rest of the army are MIA."
"And the enemy?" Sarutobi asked.
"I haven't seen anything big since the kyuubi disappeared five minutes ago. We all watched Shukaku die, all the big summons have left or been killed. As for actual enemy forces they're so entangled with ours I don't know what's left. We can assume Onoki is still alive." The Hokage grunted.
"I think our best option is to order a regroup."
"That could be dangerous." Sarutobi glanced over at Tsunade and his aide practically jumped. The girl had crossed the clearing and gotten right next to him without him, or his aide, noticing. If that wasn't a sign of fatigue he didn't now what was.
"Moving in this deathtrap could get a lot of shinobi killed. Much less the soldiers. We'll also give our position away." The blonde continued.
"To be blunt," Nara Four said, "our intelligence extends exactly as far as our eyes can see. We don't know what we have left. We don't know what the enemy has left. The only feasible way to find anything out is to gather at least some of our own allies."
"Do it." Sarutobi said cutting his student off. The blonde scowled at being interrupted. Nara four nodded, pulled out a special crimson flare, and launched it. Konoha had hundreds of signals, hand signs, codes, and messages but crimson flares were special. Only Hokage aides could carry them. Crimson meant Hokage, and a crimson flare had only two meanings. The most common meant, "Hokage advancing all forces attack", the second meant "Hokage Location all ninja rally to defense". Or really they meant the same thing, "Go to crimson flare."
"Now what?" Tsunade asked.
"We wait." Nara Four said.
It was a tense few minutes waiting and the shinobi were expecting anything. The Kyuubi to re-appear, Mu and his entire bodyguard, or perhaps even friendlies to show up. Jiraiya with a big grin, the enigmatic Anbu Commander, everyone in the clearing had friends, clan mates, family, teammates, acquaintances they hoped were all right and would show up.
No one was expecting who did arrive.
"You!" Tsunade shouted her eyes locked on something behind Hiruzen. Even as he turned around, the Kage's brain, perhaps the finest in the elemental nations, was firing into overdrive at Tsunade's odd yell. He knew his old student. Arguably he knew her better than anyone. Her yell and expression were…odd. It was a strange mix of surprise, rage, concern, and perhaps even a little horrified. In reality Tsunade was a simple woman. If an enemy arrived, she'd have been enraged. If an ally she'd have been relieved. If she wasn't sure, suspicious. If Jiraiya had shown up she'd have acted surprised and annoyed but been relieved. Sarutobi had no idea… 'oh' he thought as his body finally turned the distance and he recognized the woman standing there.
Every family had its own quirks. The Senju were no exception. Hiruzen had practically been adopted by the 1st and 2nd Hokages; he was as much a part of that family as you could get without actually being in it. No one in the family called Uzumaki Mito (always Uzumaki never Senju) 'mother', 'mom', 'granny' or anything affectionate. She was 'the old lady', 'that woman', and a host of less flattering names. Even to her face it was always 'ma'am' or 'Lady Uzumaki'.
He was also one of the few people in the world who knew just how ungodly powerful she was. And even if they never admitted it, the woman's unrivaled might was one of the bedrocks upon which her family was built. Even he was horrified to see the woman in such a state and he'd only sparred with her a handful of times. But to Tsunade? Uzumaki Mito was a force of nature. Was the force of nature. Even the previous two Hokage's had scarcely dared cross the woman and the few times they had they'd gotten manhandled for their efforts. For Tsunade seeing the woman in such a state must be like discovering the sun wasn't planning to rise tomorrow.
And what a state the woman was in. Her left arm was missing entirely. Her clothes reduced to bloody rags. Her right eye was covered in a bandage. An arrow protruded from her chest. Even her moon pale skin had taken a coppery color. And… there was a baby in her arm.
"Boy." She said blood flowing from her mouth. Hiruzen honestly didn't know if she knew his actual name. Tsunade seemed to snap out of her shock and leapt forward. Mito frowned as the medic began a probing technique. "Not much use at this point." The woman said pushing the babe into her granddaughter's arms. It was Sarutobi who asked the question that burned in both his and Tsunade's minds.
"Lady Mito, who is the baby?" With anyone else he would have assumed they'd found it on the battlefield and didn't have the heart to leave it. If Mito found an infant on the battlefield she'd have crushed it under her heeled boots to put it out of its misery.
"Mine. I'll need you to see after it Boy." Tsunade immediately started…sucking air? Her eyes were wide, her mouth was moving, but no words came out. Sarutobi imagined he looked just as bad.
"I see," he finally said "and the baby's name?" He asked.
Mito looked confused for a moment, then for the first time that night, she really looked at her child, her thirteenth born, her second son. Tsunade flinched, she knew what was coming.
"Well now…" Mito said, "I think you may have been worth the wait….Uzumaki Naruto." Very slowly, very carefully, she traced a seal over little Naruto's forehead. Tsunade nearly dropped the babe in shock and went back to her gaping mouth routine.
"Not a Senju?" Sarutobi tentatively asked.
"He needs those deadbeats like he needs an anchor around his neck. No, he's an Uzumaki. Make sure he gets my things." Her seal finished, Mito straightened and gave a small sigh feeling death, finally, begin to set in. As she prepared to, finally, succumb to her wounds, she realized there was one more thing left to do. One more thing she had to say.
"Boy. You. Need to know." She said. Perhaps she tried to hard, or subconsciously used some of her remaining chakra, for her voice boomed across the clearing, her words carried to every ninja and halted every other sound in the clearing. "The 9 Tailed Fox is sealed in him." And then her task complete Uzumaki Mito, finally, died. Her remaining eye shut, her head lowered, and life left her. She did not fall. Even in death, even after death, Uzumaki Mito was too badass to fall to the ground. She died on her feet, and there her corpse remained.
"Wait! Damnit Mito what did you do!" the Sandaime yelled.
Now none of the Ninja in the clearing knew who the woman talking to the Hokage was. Even Nara Four had no idea. But they all heard her final words and as Sarutobi turned around he realized exactly how many Leaf-Nin had responded to his flare while he was distracted. There were over a hundred in the clearing, not counting the seriously wounded, and each of them looked…nervous.
"All of you! That information is classified! I better not hear anything about a Demon Fox!" He yelled.
And that's how Uzumaki Mito, the most powerful ninja of the age, possibly ever, who would scarcely be remembered by history died.
But more importantly, that's how Uzumaki Naruto was born.