A/N: Definition of FanFic: FICTION (a non realistic story) made by a FAN (an ardent follower and admirer) of another person's work, using that person's ideas to make an original story. As such, the only thing that the FAN owns is their respective original story and original characters; NOT the object(s) of their FANdom.

A/N: Time for the obligatory prologue.

Kushina Uzumaki sighed to herself as she finished the final stack of paper work on her desk. Even with the power of Kage Bunshin, it was the bane of all office work. With a wave of her hand, the two clones aiding her dispelled themselves. "I'm too old for this shit."

"This coming from a woman who hasn't even hit twenty-five. It's stuff like that which makes us real old folks lose hope in the new generation." Kushina looked up at the man who had just entered and scoffed, "Please, this coming from a man who uses his ninja skills to peep at women in hot springs? It's still hard to believe that you're one of the strongest ninja in the Elemental Nations. At any rate, how did it go? I know you can't give me any specifics, but did you find anything that would be a concern for the people here?"

The man, Jiraiya of the Sanin gave a small nod as he sat down in the chair next to him, "You already know that the compound on Jiro Island was one of Orochimaru's hideouts. After looking around some more, I found another abandoned one on Kikai. I won't say what was going on there, but I'm sure that you can make an educated guess. I've already destroyed both compounds and any traces of Orochimaru's presence on both islands. I looked around Taro Island as well, but didn't find anything that would be a concern. On that note, have you finished your thoughts on how you're going to make this place unique? The whirlpools are an obvious one, but they've been breached before in the past."

Kushina nodded solemnly; the former country of Whirlpool's defenses had indeed been breached in the past, which had led to its destruction. Simply using the same defense as before was out of the question. "I have an idea. It's going to take all of the sealing skills that I possess, but if I can do it, the defenses will be unparalleled. Right now, I'm just waiting for Hizashi and Hitomi to return. Hizashi sent a message that said he might have found the one thing that we need. By the way, thank you for investigating those areas for me, we both know that you didn't have too."

"Don't worry about it. The fact that snake-teme was operating on these islands was more than enough of a reason for me to investigate. It's in Konoha's best interest that anything related to him be either retrieved or destroyed, and I'm sure the old man will be interested in some of the stuff I recovered. Besides, this is where my grand-kid's going to be living. The least I can do is make sure it's a safe place. That, and these islands are perfect for my research!" He began to giggle lecherously, which became a coughing fit upon noticing the expression on Kushina's face. "Anyways, how are the people handling the changes?"

"Surprisingly enough, the people of this country accepted the changes in leadership and direction with open arms. It was just as Jiji said. Before, Sea Country relied Water Country's Hidden Mist for protection, but with the bloodline war there and the rise in bandits here, they realized what the lack of a ninja village for protection really meant. And since this country didn't have an actual leader, when we came and said we were looking for a place to start a hidden village, the people were completely enthralled. After we introduced ourselves, they literally handed us leadership of the country."

"I can see that happening," Jiraiya nodded, "Whirlpool used to be Sea Country's protector after all. Even with it gone, it doesn't change the fact that you're a princess. It would make some sense that they would choose you to be a leader for them, just like sensei thought they would. In fact, sometimes I think he has a better spy network out there than I do."

"It wouldn't surprise me" Kushina agreed, "That's a good thing though. If he wasn't so informed, we might have missed our chance at this." Looking out the window she thought back to that day a year ago.

Flashback-(Konohagakure, one year ago)

The first thing that Kushina felt when she awoke was intense pain. With a small cry, she sat up and immediately looked around as she tried to recall what had happened. She immediately recognized the room she was in by its well furnished interior- a guest room in the Hokage Mansion. Then it hit her. The Kyuubi! The Kyuubi had attacked Konoha while Midori was giving birth, and she had joined in the fight against it!

"I'm glad to see you've awakened, Kushina-chan." Kushina looked over towards the sound of the voice, questions ready to burst from her mouth, only to stare in awe as an old man she knew well entered the room. However, this was not the kind old man that had raised her after she moved to Konoha, not the smiling grandfather that she was used to.

No.

This overbearing force, this aura of unrivaled, raw power... This was the man known as The Professor, the man who had learned thousands of jutsu, and the greatest shinobi alive. This was the man who was the embodiment of the Will of Fire, entrusted to him by Konoha's first two Hokage. This was Hiruzen Sarutobi, Third Hokage; God of Shinobi.

Noticing Kushina's response to his presence, Hiruzen allowed his chakra presence to die down until he saw her visibly relax. "How are you feeling, Kushina? You had us worried for a little while. It would have been an even greater tragedy if we had lost you as well."

Kushina paled at his words, "W-what happened? Where is my child!? What happened to Midori-chan and Minato-kun!? Are they alright!?"

"Midori-san and her newborn child are both fine. In fact, they are currently sleeping in the room next to us. Your child is...healthy. Minato-kun... sacrificed his life in order to try to seal away the nine-tailed fox."

Kushina held herself back from crying. Even if she hadn't quite loved him, she certainly was fond of the man whom she had been married to. At the same time, she was incredibly angry that he had dared to use her child for such a thing... "Wait, he couldn't have! My child is already a few weeks old! Trying to to seal the fox into anyone but a newborn would-!"

Hiruzen held up a hand to stop her from rambling, and she immediately quieted down as he continued, "Normally, you would be right. However, something happened that will greatly effect the future of everyone. Due to Minato-kun's lack of chakra, instead of sealing the beast within your child, the seal fluctuated, and instead it merged the fox with the child, while the Shinigami took away the fox's spirit, along with Minato-kun's soul as payment."

Kushina, despite her pain, managed to move over to Hiruzen, her face flooded with disbelief, "Are you saying he turned my child into an evil demon fox!?"

Gently yet firmly, Hiruzen pried her hands off of his cloak, "No, I'm not. What I am saying is that your child has become a new nine-tails in human form, a hanyou, a child with the potential to become the greatest shinobi since the Sage of the Six Paths himself. And a true Uzumaki Princess. Follow me, and see for yourself if you think your child is evil."

Stunned, Kushina could only hold onto Hiruzen as she followed him through the mansion until they came to another guest room. Standing outside the door was a person whom they both knew well. He was leaning against the wall next to the door lazily, but upon closer inspection one could see that he was tensed, ready to react to anything he deemed a threat, his Byakugan active. As they approached, he looked them over closely. "Hokage-sama, Kushina-san. Good to see you awake."

Hiruzen nodded, while Kushina managed a smile. "Has there been any disturbances, Hizashi?"

"No, Hokage-sama. There was a small disturbance outside of the mansion, but nothing ANBU couldn't handle with ease."

"Good. You're dismissed. I'm sure your wife wants to know what has happened." With a nod, Hiruzen pushed the door open, pulling Kushina in with him. On the large bed, surrounded by pillows was an infant whose red hair was an exact copy of her mother's. Poking out from her hair were the smallest of fox ears the same shade of red. Kushina moved over to the bed and gently picked up the small child, and the moment she did all her doubts were replaced with self-loathing. Looking up at her were an exact copy of her own cerulean eyes, glittering at the sight of her mother of three weeks. They were innocent and pure, filled with the simple curiosity that only an infant possessed. But what proved to Kushina beyond a doubt that her blood still flowed through the child's veins was the fact that the child's eyes were glowing, with a pink ring around the iris'. The small girl had activated the hidden Uzumaki Doujutsu.

Slowly, Kushina raised a finger to the child's forehead and pushed the slightest bit of chakra. Just as slowly, the glowing dimmed and the ring around the child's iris' faded, the doujutse deactivated. Giggling, the baby reached out and grabbed Kushina's finger, and the older woman immediately felt the link that existed between a mother and child's chakra. Tears of relief fell from her eyes as she let the feel of the link wash over her. It was a link that could not be faked, and was directly connected to the mother and child's souls.

"We can't stay here." It was a simple statement, but had a very heavy meaning. "The people of Konoha will not understand; they'll put the blame on my daughter." She knew it was true. She herself had felt that way, even if it was only for the slightest of moments.

"It depends on how the story is told. Since the sealing was done in front of everyone, many people saw little Naruko before I brought her here. However, I have an idea of how we can use this situation to the advantage of both everyone. There will be a council meeting tomorrow morning. Bring your daughter with you. For now, I think you should go see Midori-san. You were unconscious for three days, and I think little Naruko would like to meet her little sister. Both you and Midori-san are staying here for the night. I'll see you in the morning, I still have things that I need to take care of." As the newly reinstated Hokage left the room, Kushina was sure she heard the words 'damn council' and 'too old for this' before the door closed.

Sighing to herself, she stuck her tongue out at the door, "Why everyone insists on calling her that I'll never know. Her name is Kushinada 'Naruko' Uzumaki, dammit. I should never have let Minato and Jiraiya give her that middle name... Well my angel, shall we go meet your little sister?"

As she moved near Midori's door, she could hear talking, "-a little princess, and she's going to be your most important person. You will protect her with your life, and she will- ah, Kushina-chan!" As Kushina entered the room, the black haired woman sitting on the bed smiled warmly, her chocolate eyes sparkling with happiness, "I'm glad you are awake. Although Hokage-sama assured me you would be alright, I couldn't help but worry." Midori moved over on the bed slightly, allowing Kushina to sit down next to her, I want you to meet the newest addition to our little family. Kushina-chan, Kushinada-chan I want you to meet Satsuki Uchiha. Satsuki, meet your sister Kushinada and her mommy Kushina!" Smiling, Kushina reached out and pushed a bit of the child's blond hair out of her face. "She's beautiful, Midori-chan!"

"Yes, although I didn't expect for her to inherit Minato-san's hair. How is Kushinada-chan? Hizashi-kun came by and explained to me what had happened."

"The doctors that Jiji allowed to see her said that she is physically healthy, however he has sent for Tsunade-san to return and do a check-up herself. There will be a council meeting tomorrow. Jiji didn't give any of the details, but he mentioned something about a plan to handle what the other villagers are told about what happened. I am not sure what he has planned, but I trust his judgment."

"A wise decision," a voice from the door said as Hizashi entered the room. His Byakugan was still active, and even as he smiled warmly at the two he never let his guard down. "The third has always been a great and fair leader that looks out for Konoha with the Will of Fire. If there is anyone to put your faith in, it's him."

"Hizashi, what news is there? I'm assuming that since you're in here, there's been an update on what's going to happen tomorrow?"

Hizashi nodded as he leaned against the wall, "The Hokage just finished a meeting with Fugaku and Hiashi, and he came to a decision on what he is going to tell the council, as well as what is going to happen. I wasn't given the details, but I got the important bit."

"Well," Midori asked after a moment of silence, "What did the Hokage decide?"

Hizashi looked at both of them, "It was decided that Kushinada will have to leave Konoha."

The council room was crowded, and much louder than normal. Or, at least it was on the civilian side. The shinobi side had been smart enough to activate a sound dampener around their area the moment they had sat down. But even so, they were just as interested in the subject the Hokage was going to brief them on, although much better at remaining calm. The moment the door opened, everyone fell silent as the sound dampener shattered and Hiruzen Sarutobi entered, chakra flowing off him in streams. The force was so much that even the shinobi side were sweating from the pressure, immediately realizing that their Hokage was not in kind grandfather mode. Following him, Kushina Uzumaki Namikaze entered alongside Hizashi Hyuuga and Midori Uchiha. The moment the civilians saw the small bundle Kushina was carrying, they began to glare and mutter to themselves, before wetting themselves before Kushina's glare. The shinobi side nodded approvingly.

Once they were all seated, the Hokage began. "The reason I have this meeting is to address the rumors concerning the Kyuubi's attack and defeat." Everyone in the room sat up a bit straighter, listening intently as Hiruzen continued, "As you have already heard, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze sacrificed his life fighting the Kyuubi. His original plan was to seal it away into his daughter and Heir, Naruk-"

"Cough."

"-er, Kushinada Uzumaki. This sealing method would seal the Kyuubi away until the child died, but the Kyuubi would eventually reform itself years later. However, he refused to let his daughter suffer from the foolish hatred that would be placed on her, and came up with a different solution using a forbidden technique. Using his own soul as a sacrifice, Minato-kun summoned the Shinigami itself in order to take away the Kyuubi's soul. However, the Kyuubi is a manifestation of the world itself, and could not just be erased from existence. So, using the last of his strength, he used a different seal to separate the Kyuubi's power from its soul, and entrusted that power to his oldest daughter, Kushinada, giving her all of the power and abilities that the former Kyuubi possessed. Because of this, the Shinigami recognized little Kushinada as a completely new Kyuubi no Kitsune and took the old Kyuubi's soul, ending it's reign of terror once and for all."

The Hokage let his words sink in for a moment, then continued before anyone could speak, "Minato-kun gave his life to protect Konoha, but he did not abandon his family. Instead, he gave his daughter power, power that will protect her from her father's enemies, and abilities that are unparalleled. Kushinada-chan's potential as a shinobi is at this point unlimited. Combined with the Uzumaki clan's techniques and her father's own set of jutsu, she will no doubt become the greatest kunoichi to ever live, and perhaps even rival the Rikudo Sennin himself in time."

The entire council could only look on in shock from the Hokage's words. The shinobi side could only imagine the possibilities and how a properly trained Kushinada would greatly increase Konoha's forces. "I don't understand," a voice spoke up. Everyone turned to the pink haired woman, "Are you saying that child is the Kyuubi! Then it should be killed!"

"Troublesome," a different voice spoke as Shikaku Nara lifted his head off of the table slightly, "That's not what he is saying. What he is telling us is that the Kyuubi that attacked Konoha is dead for ever, killed by the Shinigami itself. Kushina's child is a completely different Kyuubi, a fox girl that's just as innocent as any infant is."

There was silence as everyone digested that accurate summary. Then Shikaku spoke again, "However, do we know if there's a chance that some of the former Kyuubi's memories and emotions transferred to the child as well? We don't want the child to inherit such hatred and darkness." Several other clan heads nodded, no one would want their children to influenced by such things.

Sakuno Haruno looked fearfully at the bundle in Kushina's hand, but remained silent as the Hokage raised a hand, "An excellent question. I too wondered about this, and so had Inoichi himself do a light evaluation to check for such things."

With a nod from the Hokage, Inoichi Yamanaka spoke up, "With the Hokage, Jiraiya-sama, and the Hokage's personal doctor in attendance, I used my clan's abilities to look through Kushinada's memories. Upon doing so, I found that she had indeed inherited some of the former Kyuubi's memories." At this, most of the civilians gasped, but Inoichi continued on, "Then, with the Hokage and doctor's permission, I went through and erased all of the memories that were destructive or unfit for the child. The only thing that I left were impressions of abilities that the former Kyuubi were able to use. Fortunately, none of the malice or dark feelings, or even the evil feel of the former Kyuubi's chakra were inherited. Kushinada and her chakra are just as pure as any infant, just like Shikaku stated."

This was what the entire council had wanted to hear, as they all breathed out a sigh of relief. Sakuno especially, as she slowly moved over to Kushina. "Can...can I see her?" Kushina looked at Sakuno for a good moment, before nodding and removing the blanket from around the sleeping infant. Waking up from the movement, little Kushinada yawned, and then blinking looked up at her mother, and then over to Sakuno. Sakuno looked at the child's fox-like ears, her small scarlet tail that was slowly swishing back and forth, and then into her eyes, staring deep into the cerulean that were reminiscent of the child's mother. Smiling slightly, Sakuno reached down and patted the girl on the head, smiling more as the child giggled. "She's a lovely child," Sakuno stated softly, moving back to her seat.

"Indeed," Shibi Aburame stated in a monotone voice, "However a question I have. There are many, over a dozen seals on the child's body All of them seem to be a variant of chakra seals. Why is this?"

"The answer to that is also why were meeting today. The reason there are so many chakra seals on Kushinada-chan is because of the sheer amount of chakra within her body. The amount that she holds within her body is about as much as I have within my own." This declaration was expected, after all the child was a Kyuubi. "However, that's while the chakra seals are active. Without the seals, she has far more chakra flowing through her than her body can handle, and it flows out from her body. Needless to say, this could be a disruption, as well as make it very easy for an enemy to track her." The shinobi side nodded fervently. If an enemy can track you easily, you're as good as dead. "Which leads me to the main topic of today's meeting. Teaching Kushinada to properly control and use her new chakra and abilities is going to be a very long and challenging task for Kushina, especially since Kushinada's chakra is much more potent than normal chakra. As such, I have decided that Kushinada will be raised outside of the village, so that she can be raised without any possibility of accidental damage to the village until she can properly control her power."

This statement caused a huge commotion. Hiruzen let it go on for a minute, before silencing the room. "That is enough. This decision was made for the best of everyone, and Kushina and her child are certainly not being banished from Konoha. Now, everyone who was not instructed to stay, leave: there are other things that I need to handle." Slowly, the room emptied save for a select amount of people. Only the heads of the Uchiha, Hyuuga, Kurama, and Yamanaka clans, Kushina and child, and the Hokage's advisers Koharu and Homura remained in the room. Everyone sat there, waiting as the Hokage sat peacefully puffing on his pipe until finally, Inoichi spoke up, "Hokage-sama, is there someone we are waiting for?"

"He just arrived." Not a second later Jiraiya appeared on a swirl of leaves, carrying an unconscious Tsunade in one arm, and a squirming child in the other. The clan members noted the unusually serious look on the Toad-Sennin's face. "What happened to Tsunade?" Hiruzen asked calmly, to the surprise of everyone save Jiraiya.

"She refused to come back willingly." Jiraiya responded simply as he dropped her on the floor and sat the child down in a chair. Most of the others frowned at the thought that Tsunade would refuse to return after such an attack on her village.

"Wake her up." Nodding, Jiraiya walked over and pushed a pressure point on her body before sitting back down. After a moment, Tsunade stirred, then jumped to her feet, "DAMN YOU JIRAIYA, I'LL-"

"Sit down and be quiet, Tsunade." Her rant was immediately cut off by the sheer force and power laced in the simple statement from the Hokage. Tsunade was not dumb by any means, and she immediately knew that her sensei was very pissed with her. Without a word, she sat. "As of this moment, your free roam privileges are revoked, and you're back on active duty. I don't give a damn what you think, the fact that you refused an order to return to the village is enough for me to have you executed right this moment. Just because I was kind enough to let you travel around does not mean that I am a push over. The only reason that you're still alive at the moment is because I have a mission that needs to be accomplished, and you're one of the people best suited to it."

Now Hiruzen's stern look turned to everyone, "The attack by the former Kyuubi has made it abundantly clear that Konoha has become complacent in these years of peace. The performance of our shinobi was terrible, and we lost far more than we should have. If we were to be attacked right now, we would be hard pressed to fight back, even with our vast number. What we have in quantity, we are lacking in quality when it comes to our chuunin and below. Even retired shinobi need to keep up their skills to be able to teach the newer generation and fight when necessary. Especially now. With the loss of Minato-kun, the other countries will be looking for any sign of weakness."

The faces of everyone, even Tsunade grew grim. If the other nations thought that Konoha had grown weak, that could be the key to another Great Shinobi War. "You are definitely right to be concerned, Hokage-sama," Inoichi spoke, "However I feel that's not the only reason you have called all of us together."

"That's right. Everything spoken from here on is a SSS Secret. Any speak of it to or in front of those not involved will result in the execution of not only you, but your entire clan. Am. I. Understood?"

The room was deathly silent. None of them had ever heard of a SSS-class secret. The meaning of which could only be imagined. Slowly, everyone nodded their acknowledgment. "Good. The reason you are all here today is because, besides Konoha's lax in strength, there is something else that Konoha is severely lacking, something nearly as important as our own strength. A true ally. In the past, Konoha was strong, and the only ally that we had, and were proud to call ourselves allies with was Uzushiogakura- the village hidden by whirlpools. Since its destruction, Konoha has not had any true allies that we can count to have our backs if necessary, and supply us a safe haven if it ever became necessary. This lack of support has gone on long enough."

"So, we're going to ally ourselves with another great shinobi nation?" Tsunade asked, slightly shocked. An alliance with another great nation would shake the shinobi world's power balance.

"No. We cannot trust any of the great nations, and the others are too small or not very militarily inclined. No, we are not going to ally ourselves with a country. We are going to make an allied country. And since we already have a princess of a fallen country here in Konoha, who better to become the leader of this new country?"

It took all of 10 minutes to calm Kushinada down. Luckily, Shizune, the child Jiraiya had brought in with him had taken little Kushinada into her arms a few minutes before hand. Once Kushina had sat down, Inoichi spoke again, "Hokage-sama, you want us to create a whole new country? How is that possible?"

"You don't need to create it from scratch, you will be making use of what's already there. Right now, Sea country is in a quandary. There is no leader of the country, and they rely on Water Country's ninja for protection and other things. However, as of late there's been much unrest in water country, small skirmishes between their own ninja, and they've started neglecting Sea Country. This is an opportunity that doesn't come around often. If Whirlpool's princess were to approach them with a group of powerful shinobi and say that she wished to start a new hidden village there, I wouldn't be surprised if they offered her leadership of the country itself. And that is exactly what you will do."

Hiruzen looked at Kushina with expression more serious than she had ever seen him. "Kushina Uzumaki Namikaze, I am hereby assigning you a SSS-rank mission. This will be your final and greatest mission you have ever carried out. You will leave Konoha under the guise of training your child to use her abundant powers. You will head to Sea Country, where you will find a way to assume leadership and create a strong, new hidden village, one that will become the ally as great and reliable as Whirlpool was. You will be accompanied by a group of people, ranging from orphaned children to members of select clans that may with to accompany you. Tsunade will be accompanying you. Her job will be to start a hospital in the new village and train up new young medics for five years before returning to Konoha. Jiraiya will be accompanying you to protect the caravan, as well as to investigate some rumors that I have been hearing about. Inoichi, I want you to send someone who is well versed in your clan jutsu, and who will not look badly upon Kushinada. We will need someone to give frequent and periodic mental check-ups on her."

"Hm..." Inoichci thought about it for a moment, "...Is it possible to go myself?" This question surprised everyone, as none of them had thought a clan head would go themselves.

"It is," Hiruzen affirmed, "Naturally, you would have to have someone take your place as clan head, but if you really with to go, then I will allow it." He then turned to Unkai, the head of the Kurama clan, "As for the Kurama clan, your clan's request for relocating away from Konoha has been approved. You're going with Kushina's caravan." He then turned to Fugaku and Hiashi, "As for your clans, you are allowed to send up to two people each, three if they have a child. You should choose wisely."

He then looked at all of them and leveled another stern look, "Know that all who accept this mission will be paid for an extended three year S-class mission. All who undertake this, besides Tsunade and Jiraiya of course, will no longer be Konoha shinobi. We cannot have the other nations claiming that Fire country is attempting to take over other nations. However, that said, any children that you may have or already have are eligible to become dual citizens, just as Kushina was both a Whirlpool and Konoha shinobi at the same time in the past."

This set the others at ease. Even if they were starting a new village, they still had ties to Konoha and it was nice to know that their children would have dual citizenship. Seeing their acceptance, the Hokage sat back in his chair, "Good, then are there any questions?" Everyone shook their heads. There a lot of things that they would have to discuss amongst their clans, but they understood what were expected of them. "Then you are dismissed, all except for Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Kushina. I will be expecting your list of candidates by tomorrow morning. This mission will begin three days from now."

After everyone else left the room the Hokage looked over to Tsunade "I want you to do a full examination on Naruko-chan." He ignored the sudden indignant huff from the side, "Oshina-san has already determined that she is in good health, however there may be something that only someone with your careful eyes would notice. You can use my private hospital room. Kushina will escort you there. Jiraiya, come with me."

The room stayed quiet as the Hokage and Jiraiya left until Tsunade finally sighed, "...Well, let's get this show on the road."

"What do you mean, I can't go with her!?" Midori raged at Fugaku as he sat in her hospital room.

Fugaku rubbed his head. They'd been having the same conversation for the past three hours. Finally, Fugaku leveled a glare at her. "Because you do not have the skills necessary to train your daughter to properly protect Kushinada-sama." The blunt response was so sudden that it completely threw off Midori as he continued, "While together you and Hizashi-san were capable of acting as guardians for Kushina-sama, now that she and her daughter are leaving Konoha, the stakes have greatly risen. They will be facing enemy ninja much more often, and Kushinada-sama will prove to be an extremely valuable target for death or capture, even more so if someone were to find out about her doujutsu. And although you are fairly skilled, you have not mastered the true skills of the Uchiha clan, and such skills will be needed to watch over Kushina-sama and her child. You would only be putting yourself and the others in danger if you were to go with them at this point."

Off to the side, Kushina said nothing. Everything that Fugaku had said was completely true, even if she didn't want to admit it. While Kushina herself was high A-class, Midori was a low B-rank, at most. If it came down to a large battle with foreign shinobi, she would be at a much greater risk. And as ninja, they knew better than to take unnecessary risks.

"If you truly want to go, then I will give my permission. However, that is only after I've decided that you've mastered our techniques to a level I deem fit."

"...How long will it take for you to train me?" Midori asked after a long silence.

"If you follow the teacher's instruction, as well as train on your own, you may reach an acceptable in seven years."

"I asked how long it will it take for you to train me?" She restated. She knew what he was doing. If she was going to get to the level that Kushina and Hizashi were at, then she would have to train harder than she had ever trained before, and having the most skilled person in the clan train her was the best step.

Fugaku looked at her, "You wish for me to train you? It will be harder than hard. I will run you to the ground, force you back up, then run you even harder. Everyday. You will train all the time, even when I'm not with you. There will be no reprise, and everyday you will wish for death, yet it will not come. And the moment you complain even once, then I'll quit training you and instruct everyone else in the clan not to train you either. Do you still wish for me to train you?"

Midori just scowled, "I don't need your lame attempts at intimidation, Nii-san, just tell me how long it will take for you to train me already!"

Fugaku grinned slightly. A true Uchiha was willing to do whatever it took to achieve their goals, especially if it was to protect a comrade. And Kushina was Midori's special person. She was going to give it nothing but her best to catch up to them as quickly as possible. "If I were to train you personally...it may be possible in five years."

"Fine, then we'll start tomorrow!" Spinning around, she strode out of the room, not even looking at Kushina as she left.

"Aren't you going to go after her?" Fugaku asked after a moment, to which Kushina just shook her head as she responded, "It's easier this way. It's going to be really hard for us to be apart, so if she can focus on her training then it will make the time go by much faster. Besides..." She smiled softly as she rubbed her arm for a moment, "Our feelings for each other won't fade away."

"Hizashi, can I come in?" Hiashi waited until her herd a response before opening the door. "...I suppose I don't need to ask, then?" Inside was a flurry of motion, Hizashi and his wife Hitomi packing various things into sealing scrolls while a two year old Neji watched from the bed he was sat on.

"Of course not," Hizashi replied as he finished packing a dresser, "We both know that this was the choice I'd make. With the way things are in the clan right now, I think this is the best choice for all of us anyway." Hiashi scowled as he nodded. Recently the clan elders had been pushing towards having Hizashi's family have the caged-bird seal branded on them. However, that was something that Hiashi was not going to allow. Not as long as he was the head of the clan.

"True. This is a good opportunity that the clan elders have no knowledge of. Official word is that your family is being sent to watch over Kushina and her child by order of the Hokage. And since it's actually true it's the perfect misdirection for the bigger picture underneath. That said, this is going to be more trying than the missions you've had before. Make sure to protect our family well, Hizashi. Is there anything that you will be needing?"

Hizashi shook his head, "No, we've got all that we're going to need. Besides, this is our home, too. We can't leave with everything, can we?" Hiashi smiled slightly, the first smile Hizashi had seen him make in a while, and placed two scrolls into his hands. "What are these?"

Hiashi flared his Byakugan for a moment, checking for any near by eavesdroppers, then lowered his voice, "The gentle fist is a style that was created by our clansmen who migrated from Uzushio to help build Konoha. It is a variant of the true Hyuuga style that remained with Uzu until its demise. It is called the Flowing River style, and as its name suggests, is utilized along with water manipulation. With the lack of large bodies of water here in Konoha, our clan gave it up in preference to the Gentle Fist." Hiashi grinned, another first in a while, "I expect that both Neji and Kushinada will be quite adept with, if not hold mastery of it by the time we next meet each other. We both know how exemplary Hitomi is as a teacher. These scrolls are for both the style, and the individual techniques that accompany the style. This is my gift to you and Kushina to make up for my failings as a brother, and a friend."

Hizashi shook his head as he patted his older brother on the back, "No, you were not a failure at all. Kushina and I both know that have been fighting with the elders on many things, and have had to put most of your time and effort into it. You owe no apologies to us, you're my older brother and Kushina's cousin." Then a smirk came to Hizashi's face, "Although I'll accept these scrolls with gratitude. By the time we return to Konoha, the elders will see the force that they gave up, if you haven't gotten rid of the old bats by then." His face turned serious, "That said, be alert, Hiashi. I wouldn't put it past the elders to try something against you if they wanted to especially with your wife in her second month of pregnancy. Have the branch members be your hidden eyes and ears. They respect you because they know you dislike the Caged-Bird Seal. They will be willing to look out for you and your wife."

Hiashi took his brother's words to heart. Hizashi always seemed to know the whispers and glances that were being sent around the Hyuuga clan, and often gave him insight into how the clansmen were faring, and what was bothering them.

"I will be careful. You make sure you bring true glory to our clan in the new country you'll help make."

"I will. You can count on it."

Sitting at the head of the table, Unkai Kurama looked at the other members of the Kurama clan as they digested the news they were just informed of. Their clan had gotten much smaller over the years, and there had been a decline in quality shinobi from them. Now there clan was down to just eight people, and there was only one child, the infant heiress Yakumo. "This is not a bad thing, "Unkai said after a moment, "This is an opportunity to start from scratch in an entirely new place. We had already agreed to place our hopes in Yakumo-chan; we are now being provided a place that we can train her without people looking down on her. And if we were to help Kushina-san and the others build up this new country and hidden village, we would be considered one of the noble clans there. The Hokage left no doubt that Kushida-san would become the leader of that country. Her daughter Kushinada and Yakumo are close to the same age. No doubt they will become friends, and that will also help our standing if we can retain good relations with the Uzumaki-Namikaze clan. We have a chance to finally move forward again. Let's do what we can to make our clan great once again." His speech was met with nods and determined looks, and he smiled.

Things might be alright for them after all.

Kushina sighed to herself as she lay down on her couch. It was the night before they were to head out, and she was restless. Aimlessly, she turned to her side. On the smaller couch next to her, Shizune was playing with Kushinada. She was quite taken with the infant and completely dotted on her. Idly, Kushina thought of adopting the girl; she would be a wonderful older sister for her daughter. That thought stopped as the seals around her house let her know that Midori, Hizashi, and surprisingly Yui Kurama had dropped in. She sat up as they entered the living room, and she was surprised to see that they had Neji, Satsuki, and Yakumo with them. "What wrong? Is one of the children sick?" She asked quickly.

"No, nothing's wrong," Hizashi quickly assured her, "Actually, we're here for a different reason. Midori thought of something that we all decided was a great idea for our children. We want them to have an Eternity Seal placed on them linked to Kushinada."

Kushina was shocked, "Are you serious? Why would you want that? You know that by having that seal placed on you, it starts to define your life from that point on."

Midori shook her head, "No. Just like how Hizashi and I are happy being your bodyguards, I know that Satsuki and Neji will also be. The seal doesn't force us to do anything, it just amplifies the protective feelings we already have. And it will help protect the three of them, due to its ability to give each of the linked people some of the abilities that each other has. Besides..." Midori's voice dropped to a whisper, "This way Satsuki can feel Kushinada, just like I can feel you no matter how far away you are."

Kushina smiled sadly, but she understood. She then turned a questioning look towards Yui, who smiled as well. "Hizashi-san told me about the Eternity Seal. At first, I was appalled, as I thought it was another form of the Caged-bird Seal, however, he quickly squashed that thought. To my understanding, the Eternity Seal is a promise. It guarantees that each person it is applied to will protect each other and most importantly the person they are linked to. And in exchange, their abilities are shared amongst each other, granting them all additional power to protect themselves and each other." Yui thought for a moment before continuing, "Yakumo-chan is the only child the Kurama clan has, and its future rests with her. When we all leave tomorrow, it's like all of will be starting an entirely new family together. This seal will help her to protect the little princess, and will let her be a part of tight-knit group, so she won't be alone. That alone is worth it, knowing that she will have allies that will never abandon her."

Kushina was silent for a long moment. Then finally, "You should know that the Eternity Seal pulls the most abilities from the strongest source first. If your children are linked to Kushinada, it is very possible that they may become at least partial fox demons."

Surprisingly, it was Yui who answered for them, "Then at least Kushinada-sama won't be so alone."

Kushina nodded, "Fine. If that is your decision, then I will not object. Come on, the process isn't long, but it's very complicated."

The process took an hour, and once it was finished, Hizashi and Yui left with their children. Shizune took Kushinada and Satsuki to bed as Kushina and Midori sat together on the couch snuggled into each other. "It's not forever, "Kushina spoke softly, "Once your training is complete you'll be there with me. Until then, you can stay here in our house. I'm leaving a copy of the Minato-kun's techniques for you to teach Satsuki. We're both going to be very busy. Five years will go by before either of us realize it."

Midori mumbled something to herself, then a small smile came to her face, "Remember when Minato-kun asked you out? You told him that he'd have to accept our relationship before the first date. Remember what he said?"

"'This is why I love Konoha! If I don't screw up, I have a chance at a package deal!'" Kushina quoted as she laughed. Minato had been more than accepting of the relationship between her and Midori. 'More fun for the three of them' is what he said. The proof of which was both her and Midori getting pregnant, after Kushina married him. Kushina wanted to say something else, but she noticed that Midori had fallen asleep leaning against her, and opted not to. Instead, she just snuggled closer and went to sleep as well.

The next morning when Midori awoke, Kushina and her entourage had already left.

Present~

Kushina's reflections were stopped as the door to her office opened, and Hizashi and his wife Hitomi entered, both smiling triumphantly. "We found it. It took a while to go through all of the scrolls, but we finally found the jutsu that we needed. All the Seals are set up, and have more than enough power for use."

Kushina smiled in glee, "Perfect! And the people? Have they been alerted?" Hitomi nodded, smiling as well, "Yes, all of the people have been notified and are prepared. All of our work is finally about to pay off!"

Even Hizashi was all grins, "We've tested the jutsu. It's tempered so that even civilians can use it for a short while. Once we integrate it with our country's Loyalty Seal, everyone in our country should be able to use it."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get this show on the road! Jiraiya, you follow Hizashi. Hitomi and I are going to get ready for our part."

"So I finally get to see what you've all been so secretive about for almost a halve a year! This is going to be good, I can feel it." Jiraiya said as they walked.

Hizashi's grin was still there, "It's going to do better than that. I'm willing to bet that this one will completely blow you away!"

"I'll take that bet," Jiraiya countered "What's say you? If it's that good, then you'll be willing to put up something decent, like say, the location of the woman's hot springs?"

Hizashi thought for a minute, before nodding, "Fair enough, then on your side a signed copy of next month's Icha Icha?"

Two hands met each other, and a bet was made. As the two walked, Jiraiya noted that they were going through quite a complex underground route until finally they came to an area with an enormous seal on the wall.

"What is this? It looks to be some kind of activation seal, a one time use one. But it's much more complex than I can imagine. Kushina's design? That girl is the greatest seal master we have."

"That's right. It's a one time use seal that transfers all of the chakra that they have accumulated to a different seal far away, then erases itself. There's currently enough chakra in it to level a small nation. Hitomi should be at the other activation seal about now."

"Hizashi-kun, I'm in position, and Kushina is ready as well. Are you ready?" Hitomi's voice rang over Hizashi's radio. "I'm ready. Let's start."

With that Hizashi began pushing chakra into the giant seal on the wall. For a long moment, nothing happened, but soon the two men could see the seal beginning to change from black to bright blue, then it pulsed, and blew the men back.

Before they could get to their feet, the ground itself began to shake nonstop and it seemed like gravity itself was pressing down on them. All the two men could do was lean against the wall and wait, although Hizashi was much calmer about it than Jiraiya was. Finally after what seemed like an hour, the shaking reduced and the pressure let up quite a bit, although not completely. Getting to their feet, Hizashi motioned for Jiraiya to follow. Once they made it outside, they moved to the edge of the smaller island they were on, and Jiraiya could only stare in awe.

"What...how...this is amazing!" That was all that he could say. Next to him, Hizashi looked on thoughtfully. "Hm, it looks like the genjutsu couldn't hold up to the force of the change and dispelled. So, Jiraiya-san, what do you think? Not bad, huh?"

What Jiraiya was looking at was something that other countries believed to be a myth. In fact, if it wasn't him seeing it happen with his own eyes, he wouldn't believe it himself. The island he was on right now was no longer sea level. Instead, the island was floating high in the sky, and still rising. To his left and right were the other islands that made up Sea Country, all rising at different heights. And directly in the center was the main island, but id didn't look anything like he remembered. It was now a true aqua capitol, waterways and waterfalls flowing throughout the enormous city. The buildings were completely different than before, newly built and beautiful. And, even from as far away as it was, Jiraiya could clearly make out the largest building. It was also the farthest away, but it was evident to anyone who looked at it that it was an aqua palace. Laughing at the expression on his face, Hizashi patted him on the back, "I'll take that as a yes. All of us, have been working ourselves to death for this moment. The Kurama Clan and the people of former Sea Country were especially helpful with the construction of the aquaways. Needless to say, we couldn't let other countries like Water see what was going on, so I'm glad that our genjutsu lasted as long as it did. That giant Island-city that you're looking at is the capital of our new country and our hidden village. The outer areas are civilian areas while the area closer to the palace is known as the inner village, where our shinobi homes and businesses are located. The inner city is called Tenshigakure, the village hidden by Angels. Fitting, as the island is called Angel Island."

Jiraiya could see why. Even now some of the islands were still elevating to the point where they were beginning to reach the clouds. It was truly the most amazing thing he had ever seen, and he'd seen some pretty amazing things, from jutsu that could take out a city to Tsunade's three sizes. "Well, I'll accept this loss of a bet. I'll make sure to bring you my latest edition signed the next time it comes out."

"And I'll make sure to burn it the moment it enters the house." Hizashi paled as Hitomi's voice reverberated around them, before she literally swooped down from the sky. If Jiraiya was amazed before, now he was downright shocked. Sprouting from Hitomi's back were blue wings that Jiraiya could tell were made out of chakra. They were obviously very powerful as she was maintaining her elevation in front of them. "This is the jutsu that makes all of our efforts worthwhile," Hitomi stated proudly, "A jutsu that allows anyone from our country to come and go. It's a jutsu that even civilians can use to move around to any island in our country. It's called 'Tsubasa no Jutsu.' Our shinobi will be able to fly from here to the world below with minimum effort, while providing a defense from enemy spies."

"How is this all possible? The amount of power needed to make this all happen is ridiculous!"

"It's possible thanks to Kushinada. It's her power that sustains this country." Looking up, everyone stepped back as Kushina landed, also clearly using the Tsubasa no Jutsu. However, now she was different, no longer in shinobi standard dress. She was now wearing an expensive dress Kimono that still allowed for quick action, and her hair was tied back into a princess ponytail. She was holding Kushinada in her arms, who was fast asleep. "A percent of the chakra she possesses is being used to sustain the islands that you see before you. Every bit of chakra manipulation you see here is a combination of intricate seals and her chakra. Welcome Jiraiya, to our Queendom, Tenshi no Kuni. The Land of Angels."

A/N: This is my first Naruto fic. Updates will happen when they happen. And when it happens, let it happen.

Let it happen.