AN Alright, I've had this idea rattling in my head for so long that I needed to get it out 'cause it was the only thing that I could really think about writing. Again, this story is going to be Naruhina, but expect some Minato/Kushina as well. It's an AU and most of it will be set in the modern world.

Chapter One

A Familiar Face

Jiraiya Myoboku, retired intelligence officer and all round pervert, was watching the Saturday night news on television, swirling a half empty glass of bourbon in his hand as he did so. It was not something that he usually did, watching the news, but somehow, he knew that if he started watching pay per view again, Tsunade would know. Somehow, she always knew. But this time, he was actually interested in what the news program was covering. Apparently, they President had authorized the logging of the Konoha Jungle.

The Konoha Jungle was one of the last true wild frontiers. It acted as a buffer zone between the two warring states of the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth, a great impassable forest filled with dangerous animals and wondrous sights. Even in this age of Science, with all the power that it gave to the men who wielded it, Konoha stood firm. But not through the lack of men trying to conquer it.

Twenty years ago, there had been a war, between Fire and Earth. Headed by a man named Madara, the vastly superior numbers of Earth assaulted the forces of Fire. But they were outmatched when it came to Sea warfare and the jungles of Konoha were too vast for even their longest ranged bomber to return safely. There was, however, one way for their forces to meet in battle. Running like a great scar through the center of the Konoha forest, was a path: a wide, desolate gorge where once a powerful and mighty river must have flowed. At its shallowest point, it is at a depth of three thousand and twenty seven feet. Most of it was so deep that the only time sunlight filtered down to light your way was when the sun was directly over your head.

The lady on the TV was telling a story about the gorge, one that had, from what Jiraiya could tell, had been gained by a man who had a friend who's cousin's best friends sister's son had spoken to a Native of Konoha…yes, there had never been that much contact with the Natives…

The lady took a deep breath before speaking once more. Jiraiya gave an appreciative grin as the breath caused all sorts of…interesting things to happen.

"The natives of this area call this gorge the Kiero no Kyuubi, or path of the Kyuubi. Supposedly, their legends go, many hundreds of years ago, a giant Demon Fox with nine tails gouged out the canyon in the middle of a rampage, after a god of Pain had attacked his home, killing many of his people." At this point, it became rather obvious that the lady was reading from a script.

"Despite this, he at first fought with the cunning of the Fox, not with the rage of the Demon, for as the Demon he could not fully control himself. But then, the god of Pain killed his mate in front of him, and the Fox gave in to the Demon. The Demon ran through almost the entire land, causing much destruction, and the god of Pain fled before him. He raised the moon into the sky, trapping the Demon within it. Yet the Demon broke free, creating the craters that we see in the moon this day. But it was here that the Demon became the Fox once more, for those who were precious to him and his Father, the God of Thunder, believed in the Fox, not the Demon. Finally, the Fox cornered the god of Pain and his angel inside a great tree. However, when the Nine Tails could have killed him with ease, he instead chose mercy, despite the hatred that he felt towards the god of Pain. The Fox spoke of the peace he wished for, a peace that all in the world would share in, a peace that their master, the man who had raised both of them, had believed in. His words touched the broken heart of the god of Pain and so, with the last of his strength, he bestowed a gift upon the Fox and took away the Pain in his heart, raising his people back from the dead, thus entering that dark realm himself as payment. The angel made peace with the Fox and the Fox returned home, to his people and his mate, having made one more step towards the goal of peace."

Once she had finished speaking, she gave a disbelieving snort. "A fanciful tale to be sure. However, what we do know is that the "Kiero no Kyuubi" runs almost all the way through the Konoha Jungle…"

Jiraiya tuned out again, going back to his memories. What was left of that forest, after the Kyuubi no Kiero all eight hundred feet of it, was quickly blown to pieces.

It was through this pass, that the armies of the Land of Earth had marched to battle. The war had lasted three years, and by the end of it, every single inch of that dark, dank, forsaken place had been soaked in blood. By the end of the war, the "Kiero no Kyuubi" was known by another name, a name known, feared and hated by all the fighting forces. Death Row. And yet, despite all the death and destruction, Madara would not be placated. He gathered all of his remaining forces for one last huge toss of the dice and marched them directly into Konoha. They did not even bother hiding it from the spies that had managed to infiltrate the Land of Earth. Jiraiya's adoptive son, Minato's unit, was one of the ones sent to oppose them.

Brutal jungle fighting erupted for the first time. Never one to lead his men from behind, Minato had been in the heavy thick of it. At first, all was well. But it was not to last. After a seemingly routine scouting mission, Minato was heavily wounded. So much so that the overworked and overtired medic pronounced him KIA. It was only when they had thrown him onto the pile of the dead that, by chance, one of the men who he had trained by the name of Kakashi, heard his small mew of pain and was held back from shooting the incompetent medic by Obito, his best friend and squad mate, while the final member of their squad tended his wounds, holding at bay by gunpoint any other "incompetent" until after she had stabilized their "teacher," as they fondly called him.

But by then several hours had past and it was too late for one Kushina Namikaze. Minato's childhood sweetheart and wife of a single year, Kushina Namikaze, once Uzumaki, had volunteered for a suicide mission, believing that she had nothing left to live for. She and her entire unit were eventually marked down as MIA. That was the news that Minato had to face after he woke up from a coma that lasted for three weeks. He got the news on his twentieth birthday.

The next day was when the natives finally decided to show themselves. For a long time, they had been watching these men destroy their home and, desperately, they tried to put a stop to it. A single man came underneath a white flag to Minato, who was, by then, the highest ranking surviving officer and tried to find a peaceful solution. Surprisingly, the Sage spoke English fluently. Weary of the fighting and aching at the loss of his wife, Minato agreed to try. Wreathed with smiles, the Sage of Six Paths tried the same thing with those from the land of earth. Kakko, their General, agreed. The two leaders came under a white flag bearing no arms. Well, one of them bore no arms. Kakko betrayed them, and gunned down two of Minato's squad, Obito and Rin. It was only by the Sage of Six Paths sacrificing his own life and the help of one of his tribesmen that Minato and Kakashi were able to escape.

That night, moral was at an all time low. The men who had fought under Minato had honestly thought that there was a chance that they might live to go home, to see their loved ones. That chance had just been brutally shot down, as had their best medic and a man who was a friend to all. It was with heavy hearts that they faced the night.

Dawn, however, had a rather grisly sight in store for them. Out in the clearing that had been made by their artillery and constant fire, were stakes thrust into the ground, hundreds of them. Out of the thousands of Earth citizens that had entered Konoha, eighty-eight men and women survived, the prisoners of war. The remnants of the Land of Earth's mighty army were the heads impaled on the stakes set before them. The natives had had their revenge for the betrayal of their leader. And none of the sentries had heard a single sound.

After that day, Madara sent two more forces into Konoha. They both met the same fate before they even reached their enemy. It was soon after that hostilities ceased. A large number of fortifications now reside within Death Row. Minato and every surviving fighter from that battle had been sworn to secrecy. Jiraiya's son had been promoted to General, getting closer to his father's position of Chief of Intelligence.

The years had passed, Jiraiya retired from his position and Minato never stopped mourning his departed wife. And now, Jiraiya was sitting in his son's apartment, on the anniversary of his son's birth and his daughter-in-law's death, as his son tried to drown himself in alcohol once again. This was the only day that Minato allowed himself to remember and the grief he felt was all too often overwhelming. And now president Hashirama, after much pressuring from far too many sources, had authorized some gung ho lumberjacks to, as Minato put it, "desecrate the place of his wife's grave." Jiraiya grimaced.

Naturally though, there were some people who would speak out against this destruction of the environment.

"And we now go live, to where the native people of Konoha, the Shie-noo-bee?" she pronounced uncertainly, "have apparently got a spokesperson to protest of these actions."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at that. The Shinobi were very quiet people. Most of the time, they kept themselves to themselves. It would be a rare sight to see one live on television. Settling himself down for the show, Jiraiya took a long draught of bourbon…only to spew it all out in a fine mist as the "Shinobi" came on screen.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Minato rolled over in a drunken haze and groaned at the loud banging coming from his locked bedroom door. Clutching his aching head, he glared blearily at the entryway. It was probably Tsunade again, coming to tell him to get over himself. Hypocrite. All these years and the famous doctor still got drunker than he ever did on the day of Uncle Dan's death. Why was it that she wouldn't just leave him alone?

"Minato! Get up!"

Minato blinked. "What do you want, you old lecher?" he asked irritably, his voice slurred.

"You have to see this!"

He debated the option for a minute, he really did, before just shrugging and laying himself back down into the cushiony softness of their quilt. He only ever took it out of the cupboard one day a year and even now, he could still pretend that her scent still lingered on within it.

"NOW MINATO!"

"…Piss off, old man."

WHAM!

Jiraiya stalked through the splintered remains of the once locked door, stomping on and over said door as he moved towards his son's shocked form.

"I forgot you were getting touchy about your age," Minato slurred sourily.

Paying no mind to him, Jiraiya pulled him up to eye level. "There's something that you need to see on T.V."

If he had not been so plastered, then Minato would have seen the look of shock, urgency and amazement that glinted within Jiraiya's eyes. As it was though…

"This better not be another advertisement for an escort service," Minato muttered.

Giving up, Jiraiya simply dragged him through the apartment at top speed, ignoring his cries of pain as he bashed against the corners and edges of passing objects.

Getting to the lounge once more, Jiraiya threw Minato on the floor. "LOOK!" he shouted.

But Minato, with the stubbornness of a drunk, had closed his eyes.

"Kid," Jiraiya said seriously. "If you don't look now, then I promise you, you will regret it for the rest of your life."

Minato sighed resentfully. Jiraiya never broke a promise. If he had to, he would make him regret it for the rest of his life. So, begrudgingly, he opened his bloodshot eyes and took a look at the TV. His eyes widened, even against the glare. Suddenly, his face was pressed right against the screen as he clutched at it with both hands the way a drowning man would clutch to a lifeline.

Bright, violet eyes, pale skin, a perfect nose, and perfect lips, perfect everything and that long, flowing red hair that reached below her waist. And that voice, that passion filled voice that had been in his thoughts for seventeen years. It was just as he had remembered it.

"Kushina," he whispered, his voice filled with awe and love.

Jiraiya nodded. "Pack your things son, we're going to be going on a little getaway," he said with a grin.

Minato nodded, his fingers tracing out his wife's familiar face on the screen.

"The first plane, dad, the very first plane. I don't care what it is, or how we have to do it. If it's going to crash land there in flames, I want to be on it."

Author's Note And that's the first chapter of A Different Jungle. Updates will be sporadic with this story, as I am mostly going to be focusing on This Time as a Namikaze. So, tell me what you think of it. Should I continue or no? Please note that I am in no way putting This Time…on hiatus, just wanted to try something new. As I have before said, this will be heavily AU and I suppose you could say that it is a bit of a crossover with the movie Jungle to Jungle. So, you guys no the drill by now. Read and Review, but most of all, enjoy! I'd really like some feedback on this one, so could you give a guy a hand? Thanks!

TwiceMarked out.