Hello fellow Naruto fans :)it's been a while since I've posted in the Naruto archive (still gotta update my SasuSaku story). I've had this idea in my head for weeks now and it demanded to be typed up. I'm a huge fan of the Warring States era of Naruto. I'm an absolute history nerd. And the way Hashirama and Madara's lives were portrayed in pre-Konoha was fascinating.

I'm also a die hard MinaKushi fan. For me, they were the best ship in the entire manga (rivaled only by my love for SasuSaku), and the way they loved each other and died together was painfully beautiful. I've always wanted to read an AU where they lived in the warring states era, and since I didn't find any, I decided to try my hand at it :)

I'm not terribly experienced with their characters, so please be lenient. They may be a little ooc from time to time, but please remember this is an AU. Minato will still be a powerful and calm ninja with strong ideals. We don't really know if the Namikaze were a prominent clan or not, but this is the era of warring clans. So for the sake of the story and his connection to the Uzumaki, I'm going to make Minato a Senju. He's going to be basically a cousin of Hashirama and Tobirama.

Kushina is still of course an Uzumaki only here she will be the daughter of the Uzumaki clan leader. She is not a Jinchuriki, considering the setting of the story. She is also related to Mito Uzumaki (Hashirama's wife), rather than being mentored by her like in the manga. Kushina will still be the fierce spitfire we know and love.

The characters from the warring states will appear including Madara. Also I don't exactly know how long the story will be, but if there's anything you guys would like to see in it later on feel free to let me know :)

Ok moving on to the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. That honor belongs to Kishimoto.

Dark violet eyes stared out the glass pane window. The rain clouds were forming and it seemed quite a storm was headed towards the village. This would be the third storm this week. It was already gloomy outside and the air, even inside the compound, was dense and smelled musky.

Seems to match my mood, thought the young woman to herself bitterly.

Kushina wrapped the blanket more securely around herself, attempting to shield herself from the cold draft that seemed to make it passed the warmth being given by the crackling fire in the nearby hearth.

Even though winter was slowly melting into spring, there was still a cold chill late at night and in the early morning on the island of Uzushiogakure. The ocean breeze brought in the coldness from the mainland and the constant storms did nothing more than add to the dreary atmosphere of a never ending winter. Even if it could never snow on the island, the constant bitter cold and downpours were more than enough.

Kushina turned her attention away from the gloom of the weather. She didn't want spring to come, no matter how much she hated the cold. If spring came, that meant summer would come just as quickly, and then the autumn. And once autumn rolled and went by just as fast and the new year came, that meant that life as she knew it would end.

The young Uzumaki was not just any Uzumaki; she was the second daughter and youngest child of the clan head, Lord Jiro Uzumaki. And as such, she was a kunoichi of important status and connections. And while she was also well known for her incredible chakra reserves, as well as her impressive stamina in battle, none of that mattered in determining her future.

Lord Jiro would do with her as he had done with his eldest daughter, and as all clan heads and nobles did with their daughters in this world of war and power; marry her off in order to gain alliances and connections that would benefit their clan. Daughters to them were mere political opportunities.

The red head closed her eyes, willing the tears away. She knew she had to be strong. Her older sister, Mito, had also had her marriage arranged by their father to the leader of a powerful clan and was to be wed this summer.

Kushina admired her sister greatly; Mito did not cry, pout nor show any emotion when she'd been informed of her upcoming nuptials. Instead, she had gracefully bowed to their father like a true kunoichi and said she would do whatever was best for their clan. And that was the reason Mito was Jiro's favorite child.

Whereas when he'd informed his youngest daughter of her arrangement with a rich lord from the mainland, she'd instantly lashed out in anger and screaming at him how he could put her through that.

Although the conversation was more than four months ago, she still remembered it like it was yesterday.

Kushina had been sitting in the court yard with her mother and sister for some tea and "bonding time" as Mother called it.

They were dressed in the finest silk kimonos and sitting under an umbrella as their mother's handmaiden served them their afternoon tea and biscuits. It was a crisp clear afternoon with a slight December chill.

The youngest red head was extremely bored. This tea every afternoon at the same time was a mundane activity and all with pointless small talk or occasional gossip Mother had about some prominent lady in the village.

Kushina was itching to go back to training. Her sister had been training her with more complicated seals for fuinjutsu and Kushina much preferred learning the sealing arts than wearing tight kimonos and sipping tea all day like her mother.

Mito and Kushina were trained kunoichis and had fought quite a few times in the past to ward off intruders on the island; Jiro had claimed that although he was not fortunate enough to have any sons, he would make sure his daughters were well trained and would reach their potential in order to defend the village if the need ever arised.

Along the way of their training, Jiro had quickly realized his girls were prodigies, each in their own right. Mito was a master at fuinjutsu; in fact, she was renowned as the greatest fuinjutsu specialist the Uzumaki clan had seen in generations. She was also a skilled hand to hand combatant and was a force to be reckoned with when it came to close range fighting. She had once taken down over twenty Sarutobi shinobi when they'd attempted to take over the island a few years back.

Kushina, while not as skilled at fuinjutsu, was also renowned. They had discovered early on in the girls' training that Kushina had the largest charka stores in the entire clan. That coupled with amazing stamina, she was a warrior that could last for hours in battle. Her fiery attitude and rebellious nature towards tradition and proper etiquette prompted the other young people of her generation to dub her as the "Red Hot Habanero" of Uzu.

Anyway, Kushina was bored and wanted to get back to learning the seals. But instead she was forced to endure another two hours of her mother's rambling.

Midori Uzumaki was the Uzumaki matriarch, wife of Jiro and mother of Mito and Kushina. She was a tall and elegant woman, with beautiful alabaster skin, deep red hair that fell to her shoulders and deep violet eyes, the same ones Kushina had inherited. Midori had no wrinkles, despite being in her late forties. Her Uzumaki genes kept her looking youthful but with a look of experience.

Kushina was the spitting image of her mother. But their similarities ended there. Her fiery spirit was from her father.

Mito, who looked more like Father with her lighter red shade of hair, serious demeanor and piercing green eyes. The older sister had their mother's quiet and graceful nature. Although Mito also shared their father's fighting spirit.

In this sense, Midori was vastly different from her daughters. She was a prim, proper woman who'd never been in combat. She was trained in fuinjutsu and how to manipulate chakra, but nothing more. She had been born as the only daughter of a rich noble on the island; her upbringing had been mostly to marry her off to the clan heir at the time, Jiro. Although Midori had never agreed with Jiro's extensive training of their daughters and sending them into battle, she knew better than to defy her husband's wishes.

Kushina found herself dozing off at Midori's retelling of some affair an Uzumaki noblemen had with his wife's handmaiden.

"I never thought Arata-sama would be capable of such a scandal!" the older woman exclaimed as she sipped at her ceramic tea cup gingerly. "He always seemed like such a proper man. I can't imagine how his poor wife must feel. To do such a thing and with a handmaiden no less!"

Mito gracefully sat up straight as she pretended to care about her mother's gossip. She had more training in masking her enotions and did so to not hurt her mother's feelings. Looking to the side, however, she couldn't say the same about her younger sister. Kushina has her head resting on her palm, her eyes glossy and eye lids drooping as if threatening to shut at any moment.

"Yes Mother, it's a terrible thing indeed. What are the ladies in town saying on it?" questioned Mito with feigned interest, while reaching under the table slapping her sister's knee in order to wake her. They didn't need another lecture from their mother about paying attention for the third time in the month thanks to Kushina always falling asleep during tea time.

"Well, they are as shocked as I am!" the mother said, lifting her tea cup and having a servant come at once to refill it to the brim with her favorite jasmine tea.

Kushina was startled awake and looked at her mother, who was too distracted going on and on about the gossip to notice her small slip up. She turned her head in her sister's direction, who had a playful smirk on her pretty face with a raised eye brow that said, "You owe me, again."

The younger sister flashed the older a smile of gratitude before sipping from her cup.

A moment later, the women heard Jiro's strong voice calling them into the house, a subtle amount of satisfaction in it.

"Kushina, Mito, Midori, come in at once! I have a good bit of news to share with you three."

Puzzled by the sudden summoning, the three Uzumaki women abandoned their tea cups to be cleaned up by the servants and rushed into the main house of the compound. There, they saw the clan head sitting crossed legged on a tatami mat at the low hanging table of the main dining room.

Jiro was a ruggedly handsome man, his long red hair that had some gray streaks in it tied in a low pony tail and his sharp features were long, with a mustache and a short beard. His piercing green eyes looked tired but content. While he was not an overly expressive man, he did allow his family to read emotions in his eyes.

Instead of his standard battle armor, Jiro was wearing a fine tunic and silk pants instead of standard shinobi pants. It seemed as if he'd just come back from an important meeting.

The three women greeted him properly and sat down, awaiting his announcement.

"Welcome, my darlings," Jiro greeted warmly, obviously in a good mood. "I apologize for interrupting your afternoon. However, I have a very important announcement to make. As you know, I met today with Lord Kazuko Ota, a prominent lord from the nearby mainland. In case you were not already aware, my daughters, his lands are rich in steel and gold, as well as other resources that could greatly benefit our village and help upgrade the protection of it, as well as the quality of our weapons and armor. I went to discuss an alliance with him and his people. We would teach his people some seals that would make production of his mining more effective as well as offer our protection should his lands ever be attacked by rogues. In return, he would supply us with his resources and allow us access to imports of it. He drove a hard bargain, as he is very protective of his goods. But we were able to strike a deal." He finished with a small smile.

Midori told her husband what a wonderful diplomat he was, Mito simply smiled proudly at her father, while Kushina stood up, rejoicing.

"That's awesome, Dad, ya know! We need to better protect the village and our people, dattebane!" she yelled triumphantly.

Mito hid an amused smile while Midori scowled. "Kushina, do not speak out of turn! Your father has not finished. I taught you better than to make a fool of yourself, especially when a man is speaking! Apologize to your father at once!"

A little embarrassed but overall irritated at her mother, Kushina sat down and respectfully bowed her head to the head of the household. "My apologies, Father."

Jiro sighed. He was used to his youngest daughter's outbursts. "Rise, daughter. its alright. Simply wait for me to finish, then you may speak."

The young Uzumaki nodded, though with a small frown. She felt a comforting hand on hers under the table and looked to her right where Mito gave her a meaningful look and a light comforting squeeze.

Kushina smiled inwardly. Whenever she was yelled at or called an embarrassment, Mito was always there to soothe her worries and reassure her. Mito was a mother to her in ways Midori never was. She gave a light squeeze back as they listened to their father continue.

The father cleared his throat.

"As I was saying," Jiro continued. "We were able to reach a deal for an alliance that would benefit both of our respective villages. Kazuko-sama will supply us with the listed resources, sending it here on a ship once a month. We will also have access to the mines and his crop fields whenever we are in need. In return, our army will be at his disposal should his village ever be attacked. Also, our best sealing experts will teach his miners some effective sealing techniques to aid them in carrying their large loads. Mito, I expect you will aid them," he turned his attention to his eldest daughter, who merely nodded. He gave a curt nod of thanks before turning his attention back to the three women. "However, considering the world we live in, we needed a way to ensure that our sealing techniques will not be sold out to enemy clans of the mainland, and Kazuko-sama needed a form of reassurance that we will not betray his trust and ransack his mines, nor leave his village vulnerable. We reached another agreement, one that will instill the loyalty of both sides to this contract and one that will secure a long and lasting alliance between our people."

"What agreement?" questioned Midori, although she could already sense where her husband was heading with his line of wording.

Mito seemed to catch on as well, as she directed a worry filled look at Kushina, who seemed to not understand just yet.

The clan head smiled a little as he looked directly at his youngest daughter, satisfaction and even a little pride coloring his tone as he spoke. "As we reached an agreement to truly cement the alliance, we needed something lasting. That's when Lord Kazuko mentioned that his only son, Daisuke-san, was of marrying age. He informed me that he was searching for a suitable bride for his son, one that would be of some noble blood and status, as well as of a noble clan. He asked of Mito, and he was disappointed when I informed him that my eldest was already betrothed to the head of the Senju clan. However, I then mentioned that you, Kushina, my youngest daughter, was still unmarried, not yet promised to anyone, and of age as well."

Kushina's eyes widened and she felt her heart drop into her stomach. Nothing seemed to pull her back to reality now that she knew where her father was going with this, not even the second squeeze Mito gave her hand under the table.

Oblivious to his daughter's struggle, Jiro contently continued, stroking his beard with his right hand. "This arrangement worked to our mutual advantage, my darling daughter. Our agreement will continue for years to come, and the permanent alliance will be cemented by your marriage to Daisuke-san in a year's time. He is your age and I saw a portrait of him, Kushina, he is a handsome young man with a good social standing-"

Kushina could not bear to listen to another word. She ripped her hand from Mito's and quickly jumped to her feet, bearing her teeth as she glared at her father with disdain, anger, shock, and sadness.

Everyone was caught off guard by this and silently watched the youngest member of the family with surprise.

Kushina balled her hands into fists and yelled. "You arranged me to marry a lord's son?! A man I've never even met? How could you! I do not wish to be tied down to a lord' son who will restrict me for the rest of my life, dattebane! I am an Uzumaki kunoichi. My duty is to protect my village, not play doll for some spoiled noble's son who does not even appreciate-"

A painful slap across the face cut Kushina's fury fueled rant short as she stumbled back in surprise and did not fall to the ground only thanks to her quick reflexes, balancing herself back on her feet.

Kushina touched her throbbing cheek, now feeling tears come to her eyes as she looked at the culprit. Her father stood there, his hand still in the air, his strong chest heaving with impatience and anger as he eyed her with disdain.

"Why-"

"I've had enough of your childish behavior, Kushina! I've tolerated it for years because I love you and my are my child. However, I will not allow you to disrespect Lord Kazuko or his son. Nor will I allow you to question my authority as clan leader and your father! In a year's time, you will be wed to Daisuke-san for the good of this clan. I had considered speaking with Kazuko-sama about a courtship so you may become more comfortable with your betrothed, but you've tried my patience for the last time. As a part of your punishment, you will meet your betrothed a month before the marriage is to take place. Not before and there will be no courtship. You will do your duty as my daughter and as you say yourself, a kunoichi of this village who must do whatever it takes to protect it. You should follow your sister's example. She too is to be married off for the sake of an alliance and she handled it with the grace and strength of a true clan head's daughter. A true kunoichi who will fulfill her duty to her clan."

Kushina regained a bit of her composure, removing her hand from her cheek that was now sporting an angry red mark and rubbed the tears from her face with her wrist as she regarded her father. He'd never physically disciplined her until now. Well she wouldn't call it discipline exactly.

"Father," she said in a deadly serious tone that stunned them all. This was not the Kushina they knew. Jiro had expected her to lash out more like the spitfire she was, cry or even run away. "I am not Mito. I wish you would finally realize that. I know she has always been your favorite daughter and I look up to her very much; however, I am not her. Also, at least she is arranged to marry a shinobi who will allow her to continue being a kunoichi and he is a kind man from a clan that has close ties with us. I am to marry a feudal lord's son who will have me as a pretty caged bird for the rest of my days. But I am wiling to do anything for my clan. If there's anything I don't ever want, it'd for you to question my loyalty to this clan. Now I will excuse myself for the night."

Kushina calmly left the room, leaving her family in shock.

Mito shook her head at her parents before following her sister to their chambers.

As she came back to the present moment, the red head touched the same cheek her dear father had struck.

It had taken months of suffering and acceptance, as well as many talks with Mito, but Kushina had finally accepted her fate.

She would marry this Daisuke and sacrifice her happiness for the sake of her clan.

I am the clan head's daughter and I am a kunoichi of Uzushiogakure, she repeated as a mantra in her mind for moments such as this when she felt weak. I am trained to protect my clan and my people no matter what; to be a shinobi is to know self sacrifice for the greater good. Even if that means giving up my freedom and my life. I will do anything for my village, even give up my heart.

Kushina heard the rooster sing to the coming dawn, despite there being no rising sun visible in the storm clouds, and sighed. She knew she had to go draw a bath and get ready for a clan meeting being held at seven sharp.

The young woman once again looked to the storm clouds and the first droplets of never ending rain began to pour down in the court yard outside her window.

It seem that the weather matched the storm that was raging inside her perfectly.

With one last heavy sigh, Kushina arose from bed and began to prepare for her day, knowing she would never know freedom ever again. She was a prisoner in her own home until the year ended, and after that she would be the pretty caged wife of a noble.

She came to the conclusion that she had to harden her heart; that was the only way to block out any emotions and fulfill her duty. She would never find any happiness beyond this situation anyway.

Little did she know, the one who just may have the key to her happiness was across the ocean and thousands of miles away on the mainland, in the middle of battle.

So there's the first chapter. It was kind of a filler to introduce Kushina and her family as well as her situation. We'll see Minato next chapter ;)

Expect an update in a few weeks' time.

Thank you for reading guys and please leave a review it would make my day!

~Foreveralways