Chapter 7: Senju and Uzumaki

Bolt had learned to sneak out the house a little over a month ago.

On the nights his father would not return back home, He'd patiently wait for the light to turn off in his parents room before carefully pushing out the screen to his window and sneaking out. At the time he wasn't sure what he had been looking for. His excited eyes desperately sought out adventure of the night time world as he wandered down the dimly lite streets. There wasn't a corner of the village (expect that area around the Hokage's Building) he didn't want to see explore.

Of course Bolt not accustomed to being out in the dark, quickly lost his way after he found out he had taken the bus to the wrong station.

Turns out Haikuu Red looks like Haikku Orange at night and Bolt was out of fare and out of a clue on how to fix the mess he had gotten into. Bolt was feeling more emotional than he ever had when someone grabbed his shoulder.

"What do you know? Bolt huh? Never suspected the Hokage son to be a delinquent...are you crying?"

The voice belonged to Inojin and for a long time Bolt was sure Inojin had been a girl. It took that you ever faithful glance of Inojin in the bathroom at school for the point to be driven home to Bolt.

"No! Of course not!" Bolt quickly and efficiently wipes his face as nonchalantly as he could. "What are you doing here?"

"Shhhhhh. Let me show you." He says peeking around the corner. He motioned for Bolt to follow him.

There was a really drunk man lying in alleyway. His face was red and very hairy even for an adult and he was snoring rather loudly. Inojin nodded over to Bolt.

"See that guy?" He ask and Bolt nods his head. " He comes in the flower shop often. He always gives my mom a hard time with his sexist ideology and his misogyny."

Bolt didn't know the meaning of the words, but he concluded it was bad since Inojin was frowning so hard. "Ah. What an asshole?" It was a question, but Inojin nodded his head. "Exactly! You get it Bolt. Shikadai always says to leave well enough alone. That eventually karma will come to those who deserve it. But Justice doesn't wait for anyone!" Inojin pulls out one of his paint brushes with a wicked smile.

Bolt didn't know any of Inojin's fancy words, but he knew a good prank when he saw it.

Slowly Inojin tiptoed to the sleeping man and dipped his paint brush into some of his chakra laced ink and started to draw on the man's face. Besides a few grunts the man never stirs and when Inojin grins down, Bolt was sure he was done. Quietly following Inojin's league Bolt tiptoes over the man and leans over.

There was a moment of quiet awed silence, before Bolt's twisted up in laughter. He was trying to keep back loud gasp. Without much Bolt gives Inojin a thumbs up.

Sprawled across the man's entire face was a pretty vibrant, and detailed penis.

"What a cock." Inojin says nodding at his handiwork effectively making Bolt loose what little composure he had. The man wakes up.

"What...kids? What are you doing?!" He says turning over and out of reflex Inojin and Bolt are running away. They are laughing so hard it's hard to see between their tears.

"That ink...my father developed it...it made for marking ninjas of interest to keep an eye on them... It last for 6 weeks!" Inojin says between gasp of air and laughs after the boys had reached a safe distance away.

Bolt wipes away his tears with a smile on his face. "Why didn't I know you were into pranks?"

"Pranks? No. I made statements!" Inojin says gesturing to the wall behind them. The two boys were under a bridge. Bolt admittedly had no idea where he was, but Inojin seemed very confident at the time. Bolt turns his head to see a huge mural painted into the side of the bridge. There was a woman wearing an apron mixing something in a bowl with the kanji "I am a ninja." Next to it. It was very pretty and much grander than Bolt expected from Inojin.

"My mom is flirty, girly, maybe naggy at times and very domestic." He says "But dad says just like him, she is war hero. It makes me sad that people think of her as just a girl. As a leaf ninja I want to protect our women. After all without girls, we wouldn't be born."

Bolt looked at Inojin as he spoke. He was awed by his resolve and jealous of it. It seems everyone had dreams and conviction. What reason did he have to become a ninja? It was the start of Bolt's twisted outlook on shinobi culture.

"Yeah right. You just like to be around girls you pervert." Bolt says decided the conversation had gotten too heavy.

Inojin laughed. He placed his hand on his head and hip and smiled at Bolt. "You aren't wrong, Bolt."

There was a comfortable silence before Bolt asked if Inojin could take him home.

That had many moons ago. Bolt had been out on some of Inojin's graffiti runs since then, but sneaking out wasn't the same as sneaking in.

Tsunade's retirement complex was large. It was right on a hot springs which was something kakashi specifically indicated for her to have this home in her old age. After all once a princess always a princess. Much to Hanabi's disdain there weren't any guards besides one lazy shinobi that looked like he wasn't even trying to guard anything.

The Aunt wanted to be cool, instead the two ended up just knocking on the finely crafted wooden doors.

"Ehhh...Tsunade-sama?" Hanabi calls.

After a few moments the door swings open and a very tired looking Shizune opens the door. She is trying to work up a smile

"Hanabi-chan...Bolt-kun?...does your father know you are here?"

"He..." Bolt starts, but Hanabi waves her off.

"Of course. I am a responsible adult after all."

Shizune laughs. "How responsible is it to have a little boy out late at night?"

"It's in the name of education!" Hanabi says with a smirk and Bolt copies the expression.

Shizune is a lot less nervous now a days. She tends to let things slide easily enough. No one could ever guess if this attitude adjustment was due to the woman's long term romance with Iruka or with Tsunade's growing drama with her age.

"Come in. But... You shouldn't stay long. Young boys really ought to have proper sleep."

Bolt didn't know who the grey hair woman was in the chair. She was sitting in the rocking chair casually watching the fire that was roaring in the exuberant looking fireplace. The room was cozy with seat cushions everywhere and the TV was humming some sort of horseracing announcement.

Shizune motioned for them to sit and Bolt took time to examine the old lady in the chair. Her skin was drooping, but still looked young since it was virtually flawless. Her hair was all grey and silver and tied into two ponytails. It felt very wrong to eye her breast considering how old this woman was, so instead he focused on her forehead and her quiet snores. That symbol.

He knew that diamond shape in her forehead from Sakura-Sama...and...and...

"The horse 'Hero's Come back' is in dead last. Followed by 'Blue Bird', 'Distance', and in first place 'Go!'!" The TV hummed and suddenly a bone crushing snap vibrated across in the room. With a stunned glance Bolt had found the little wooden stool that the elder had been resting her feet on was cut in half as though a sword sawed in half.

"Tsuande-Hime's heavenly kick of pain has aged like fine wine." Hanabi says with admiration. She was grinning like she was remembering something sweet.

This woman was dead asleep not even two seconds ago.

Bolt's eyes widen a bit. The last time he saw Tsuande she looked as young as his mom!

"Goddamn it!" She grunted. "SHIZUNE!"

"Thats a total of 2500 yin lost, ma'am." Shizune says with a sigh she already had handed her a cup of Sake as though she was prepared. The old woman downed the alcohol without an issue.

"Stupid horses, I was supposed to make back my money tenfold by now." She says before her eyes dragged back down to her feet.

"Hanabi, Naruto? If you coming I would have put on something more appropriate." She says with a sigh. Suddenly and right before Bolt's eyes the old woman began to age in reverse.

"It takes a lot of chakra to maintain your appearance lady Tsuande...maybe you should um..." Shizune quickly stops talking when Tsuande glares at her.

"I'm not old. I'm just as capable as I was 20 years ago. Tell her Naruto."

She eyes at Bolt waiting for back up.

Ehhhh!?

"I'm not...I'm Bolt...BOLLTTTT!"

"Bolt? Who?...ah that's right. The brat had a son." She laughs. "How silly of me."

"Hanabi and Bolt have something they need to ask you. For educational purposes of course." It looks like Shizune is pouring the elder another glass of Sake only she switched the bottle with a bottle of water. Hanabi noted Tsuande really was getting old.

"Spit it out." She says with a grin. Her lipstick outlining her wide smile. She was very pretty which perplexed Bolt.

"Are you old or young?!" He ask and everyone was silent except Tsunade. She chuckled a bit.

"You are very stupid." She says endearingly. "I can't tell you from Naruto at all. Very well! I am 79 years young though I doubt the academy has use for common knowledge. Though never ask a woman about her age, it's rude."

Bolt grimaced. "So hot, but so old." He muttered under his breath. He eyed the broken foot chair and decided to watch his outburst. She would not be so calm next time.

Hanabi sighed and then spoke up. She told Tsunade of their class project about the family tree and how the Senju clan was brought up.

"Yes. Yes. While I was in office I dug into the matter and was able to confirm that although loosely based upon marriage we share blood, little Naruto." Tsunade chuckles. Bolt didn't like that nickname at all. It was hard to concentrate on the hard facts when the lady said such vile things like "Little Naruto" to him!

"Please tell us how, Lady Tsunade!" Hanabi asks all fired up. Since when did she become so interested. Shizune took her place in the kitchen, but promised to be listening.

"Well The Senju and Uzumaki clans are distant blood relatives whom they retained strong connections with the leaf Village. My grandfather, The first Hokage and my grand uncle, the second hokage were directly descended of this clan. Sometime during the war my father met Mito Uzumaki. At the time my grandfather was so focused on diplomacy that it was an arrangement marriage. This was around the time

Uchiha rebellion had gotten very uneasy, so it seemed like a great move. Strengthen the bonds they did have. And with someone with big connections and bigger power. Mito was very sweet even as a jinchūriki, but she was still a woman. A woman who was uneasy and downright against loving my grandfather. Lucky for me, the two eventually did fall in love."

Tsunade pauses and thinks for a moment.

"Naruto could you hand me that blanket?" she asks pointing to the loveseat Bolt was leaning against and Bolt frowns. "I'm Bo-You know what. Sure. Whatever." he grunts. Once Tsunade is properly wrapped in the blanket she continues.

"I can't remember my mother. Hell, I can't remember my father. What I can remember is my grandparents. My grandfather and were inseparable. Although Mito was something different. I loved her sure, but was downright afraid of her. I think I somehow also felt Mito was different.

Until she gave me this." She tapped her forehead. "Mito was an Uzumaki through and through. Her ability to make and use seals were uncanny. One day she sat me down and taught me about chakra control. We started off small and one day she just kind of leaned down and put her hands on my shoulders and said, Tsunade I want you to carry the Will of Fire."

"I'd never seen Mito fully use her Seal of hundred strengths, but Grandfather seemed very nervous to anger her in anyway. She oozed sophistication, So I was sure Grandmother Mito was incapable of anger. I wanted to be like her. So much. Grandmother spent the most time with me-more fond of me that maybe even my brother. I had already been spoiled so I didn't understand what it meant to share."

There was a beat before she continued. "I think I must have been...fourteen...when Kushina Uzumaki came to the village to protage with my Grandmother. At the time I was way too self centered to understand the implications of this. We were still glorifying the war, I was still glorifying myself. To me, She was just a kid my grandmother was taking in. I thought my grandmother felt bad for her since they were from the same village. Here she was, this little ball of red fluff. she was dirty, poor and loud. I didn't like her. I wrote her off. It didn't last too long when I noticed my grandmother would act like they were directly related. Mito spend a long time coming Kushina's hair and the two would take walks around Haikuu- Green….Um or was it Purple? No no maybe they would cross over to Green to get Yellow….?"

"Lady Tsuande." Hanabi giggled hurrying to continue with the story at hand.

"Right! Any matter Grandmother and I didn't take walks. This was still when my younger brother still lived so I was left to look after him while my grandmother showboats about the little tomato. My pride was wounded. I mean, I was me! How dare anyone not pay attention to me!" She laughs at this. "I didn't really care that the entire Whirlpool nation had been leveled. My God, I was heartless at the time. I just wanted this little girl gone. I spent my whole life trying to ignore this girl, but she became harder and harder to overlook. I regret this. I didn't know her well, but I knew Kushina. I knew I was jealous of her. Jealous of her power. Jealous of her looks. Jealous she and Grandmother connected in ways I could not. It irritated the piss out of me when they would sing their little whirlpool folk songs together at lunch time. Grandmother always said it was a possibility that she and Kushina might have been blood related. Kushina's father had been a terrible cheater and had a few children out of wedlock with many girls in the Uzumaki Clan. It was not far fetched to think Kushina's father may have found one of Mito's cousins feeling…. lonely." Tsunade says 'lonely' with a wink at Hanabi. I guess she thought Bolt wouldn't understand. Bolt, thanks to Konohamaru, had one hell of a Sexy no jutsu he was saving up his sleeve. Of course this was something his mother did not have to know, so Bolt pretended to be lost in the exchange between the adults.

"At any rate due to appearance and formalities, both of Kushina's parents decided the truth did not need to be public knowledge. Kushina could have been the daughter of a some merchant's daughter that her father decided to have his wife raise once she was born. It was pretty dicey and Grandmother Mito had me promise to never bring this up to Kushina. She told me she already have a heavy load to bear without the identity crisis.

Some time I would be hit with the hardest time period of my life. I guess I was too jaded to formally understand what kind of portage Kushina was to my grandmother. The jinchūriki process was a life contract. Extracted the ninetails meant the extracted of my grandmother' life. Grandmother Mito had gave me the biggest hug that day. She told me...To never forget my true strength. I thought she was talking about my seal that hadn't been able to use properly. When she passed I vowed to become a better person than Kushina Uzumaki. We had never spoken to each other much, but at Mito's funeral she tried to hold my hand. I pulled back my hand and her her to disappear. My luck must have better back then, because Kushina was kidnapped a week later. By then my brother had passed and I neck deep in regret why we were so in love with war. I lost contact with Kushina for a long while as me Orochimaru, and Jiraiya traveled doing what we could for the war. By the time Dan had passed I had almost forgotten about the Leaf village. I was frustrated so I went out into the world to enjoy what little I could. The war was over. I had Shizune. And crippling debt. A few years later I had heard Jiraiya had found some kid that he thought was the best thing to Grace to leaf village. Minato. I said the name over and over again trying to remember it. Jiraiya had never mentioned his students before, even I heard about the three orphans after the events of their supposed death. Minato was someone Jiraiya had trusted in. When I returned to finally meet this Minato that Jiraiya had fallen so in love with you can imagine my utter and complete surprise to see Kushina, grown and gorgeous, wrapped up in Minato's arms. I had caught the two kissing, but it had been more than that. I got to see first hand what I missed out when Dan, my lover died. I left shortly after. Before Kushina had knew I had saw her. I supposed she died never knowing what happened to me. What a real shame. I could have very well missed out on the family I had alive… So there it is. I may not have detailed information on the Senju Clan itself, but I knew the bond we shared with the Uzumaki's first hand. It's so silly to think that if Kushina had been alive, she would have been my grandmother's cousin. What would that make you to me...Naruto?"

Tsunade eyes Bolt who up until now didn't realize he was holding his breath.

Without much hesitation. Bolt answered the question as honestly as he could. "It would make you precious to me."

Bolt had always been confused to the inbreeding and outbreeding of clans. None more confusing than his mother's clan who despite Hanabi and Hinata knowing every single name was only actually recently related to about %25 of them. But from his story he knew in his heart that Tsunade had something special. We were all connected in ways that either had nothing to do with blood, or everything to do with blood. It still confused the hell out the little boy, but it would be something he would ask his father one day.

Tsunade chuckles. "I agree, Naruto. I bet if your mother was here…." Snores cut off the woman and Hanabi nudges at Bolt.

She is holding up a notebook of notes happily. When did she start? Hanabi truly was the best aunt in the world.

Bolt nods and gives her the thumbs up

"Let's see ourselves out, right?" she saids and She and Bolt quietly slip past Tsuande. Shizune waves to them as the leave the compound.

It was completely dark now. Bolt idly hoped his mother and father would be home. Wait till Himawari hears this story!

Hanabi hums out a tune the entire travel back. The night time aura was surely less adventurous now with his Aunt's gentle tunes and slow pace, but somehow he didn't mind at all.