Chapter 10: Kushina

Author's Note: In this story, devils and fiends exists, and those with a tail, are classified as a tailed devil/fiends, their hierarchy similar to the Bijuu, more tails equals to more power. The nine Bijuu are the only demons in the world inside this story, the Bijuu are the strongest when compared to the devils/fiends.

In reply to the awesome reviewers who reviewed my story:

ThunderNinjaBird: hahas! You will find out soon! XD

ADNGO714: Errm, they will come together in about... 4-5 more chapters time I guess..I'm just doing a rough estimate according to my ideas for the following events. And Naruto won't impregnate her, they are too young in my opinion, even though the ninja law says they can make love when they become a ninja.

Ryuujin: hahas! great review! You have stated many things that I could improve on story, my answer to your question about Naruto knowing the jutsus of the shinobi whose cells he was injected with, he has corpses dead bodies, which he can still get information from, same case as he did for Hanzo's body, he isn't called the most Unpredictable Ninja for no reason ya know! If you get what I mean :p. and tyvm also for reminding me of the term called Yami, I've totally forgotten there was such a word to address EAP Orichi, from now on, I WILL USE YAMI TO REPRESENT EAP ORICHI! (That was in case readers won't understand what I mean in future chapters.)

On another completely unrelated note, can some of you readers out there help me by sharing this story to your readers if you have enjoyed this story so far, and want better updates. Tyvm if you do so. :D

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Sarutobi looked at the doctor he had ordered to analyze a genetic sample from the boy that landed on his desk, expectation clearly visible on his face. He was already completely sure that it was Naruto, but being the Hokage required that one double and/or triple-checked everything. The doctor cleared his throat.

"Before I come to the result of the genetic analysis, I'd like to mention something else, Hokage-sama, namely the enormous difficulty we had in getting genetic material to analyze. The boy has an automatic defense of sorts, consisting of hard, sharp scales that seem to instantly grow from his body whenever there is a threat to his well-being, even to the relatively harmless one of a needle. We didn't do further studies on the boy, as our orders were to merely take a sample and analyze it without inflicting any harm on him, although I would suggest further studies, so we eventually settled on using the boy's saliva for our analysis."

Sarutobi frowned, those scales, was something that made him nervous. What had happened to Naruto? "And the results?" He asked.

The doctor scratched his head. "Honestly? If you handed us the samples without saying anything, I would have come to the conclusion that they belong to a distant relative of Naruto's."

Sarutobi's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

The doctor shrugged. "We found sections that matched with Naruto Uzumaki, but many parts of the DNA don't match with Naruto's DNA-code. Out of sheer bor... curiosity, I ran a check to compare them with other samples we have, mostly of the major clans, and interestingly enough, I got a few matching segments with the DNA of the Uchiha, the greatest similarities with Itachi. There were a number of other segments that didn't belong to Naruto nor Itachi, but I didn't get any further matches, suggesting that, should people that match those large patches exist, they are not native to Konoha. Also, there is no seal on Naruto's stomach, and if a chakra-analysis hadn't detected traces of the Kyuubi's tainted chakra, I would clearly file it as a case of mistaken identity, but like this? I really can't tell you if it is Naruto Uzumaki or not. My suggestion would be to ask questions only the real Naruto could answer, as a mind-probing would be too dangerous for those who try should it really turn out to be Naruto."

Sarutobi nodded, remembering the last time a member of the Yamanaka-clan had tried to use their clan's jutsu on Naruto.

A group of seven had tried to control the boy's body to force him to do something that would give them an excuse to kill him. Seven people had entered his mind, one had managed to return to her body, traumatized and incapable of coherent speech. When she was found, she had been sitting in a corner sobbing for hours, six empty shells around her. Inoichi had personally dived into her mind to find out what happened, and returned gasping for breath. He reported that when the seven had entered Naruto's mind, they had triggered a hidden function of the seal that was meant to protect it and Naruto and landed on the wrong side of the seal, right in the cage with the Kyuubi, who had proceeded to rip six of them to shreds, literally, while letting the woman go to spread the warning. Needless to say, there were no further attempts of that kind.

Sarutobi finally made his decision. "When he wakes, I'll go see him. I'll be accompanied by a squad of ANBU, including Tora. Personally I have no doubt that it is Naruto Uzumaki, but it is better to be on the safe side. The question I really want answered is what happened to him."

Meanwhile, in Naruto's room, one of the doctors stood above the unconscious figure, a look of utter hatred etched on his face. He had a scalpel in his hand.

"You should have stayed in hell demon, but I'll correct that mistake!" He hissed as he brought the blade down. Suddenly, the right arm, now scaled, shot up and swiped the blade out of the doctor's hand.

The doctor hissed in pain and grabbed his hand. The space between pinky and wrist had been stripped of flesh to the point that the naked bone was visible. He used a quick healing-jutsu, before forming chakra-scalpels. "So you want to play rough, demon scum? Have it your way then!" He charged the surprisingly still unconscious boy, when something else happened.

The right arm, still covered in gray scales and suddenly with a shark-teeth filled maw on the palm, shot at him, actually extending and hitting him in the shoulder before he could reach the boy, clawing into his flesh. The doctor felt all strength leave him, the chakra-scalpels fading away, and with his last strength yanked himself free, gaining a large gap in his shoulder.

Being a good enough doctor to understand that he was not only deprived of practically all chakra, but also bleeding badly, retreated into the empty hallway, and from there into the elevator, cursing the entire time. "That little demon was better than I thought. No matter, with a wound like this, not to mention his demonic transformations, I have more than enough to show him for what he truly is, and then he will die."

But the doctor had overlooked a few key-details. While he couldn't be blamed for not noticing that Naruto's right hand that had bit him had been chewing something for hours, as he hadn't seen the palm, not noticing that something had been pumped into him from said mouth was something he as a doctor shouldn't have missed. Also, since he never looked back, he didn't see the scales vanishing back into the arm, while the left arm slowly rose as well, both hands starting to form a single handsign, consisting of extended middle-and index-fingers.

Even though the activation-word was not spoken, the gruesome effect occurred. The doctor's eyes widened as he felt a weird dullness from his shoulder. He turned his head, only to see himself disintegrating. His arm had already fallen to the floor with a THUMB, vanishing faster than he would have thought possible, but that was not his most urgent problem. The problem was that he could see his ribcage, that his right lung had a gaping hole large enough that a football could be placed in it without even scraping against the edges, and that the disintegration had proceeded up his neck and to his nose. The world turned black as his eyes decomposed. 'This can't be happening!' The doctor thought. Then, he didn't think anything.

When the elevator opened, the nurse that was about to enter frowned. Before her was a heap of empty clothing, a doctor's coat with a hole and traces of blood on the shoulder being the most distinctive. She looked around, but deciding that it had to be a prank of sorts, she started to collect the clothes. There was nothing too unusual about the stack, until she took the shoes. One of them was heavier than the other. She looked into the shoe... and screamed. A lone foot was sticking in it, ending just before the ankle, and it was slowing decomposing away to nothingness.

Naruto groaned. The last thing he remembered was jij's face, something he had deeply welcomed after all that Orochimaru had put him through, then blackness. But according to his, admittedly slightly hazy, memory, he had been in the office, and while he was no longer naive enough to believe they would leave him there, he had expected the hospital, or at least a detainment-quarter, and neither of those places were supposed to be this damp. He opened his eyes, or rather eye, seeing that the other one was permanently open, and looked around. His first impression was short. It was dark, it was cold, it was wet. All in all, not where he wanted to be. Then he noticed a light coming from around the corner.

While he moved towards it, a single thought crossed his mind. 'Why do I get the feeling that going towards the light is a bad move?'

He turned around the corner, and was standing in front of a giant cage, a small tag with the kanji for seal on it. In the cage, Naruto could see the biggest fox he had ever and in all likelihood would ever see. Suddenly, the question he had asked himself a second ago was no longer an issue, because he had the answer. 'Oh. Because it is.'

The red eye focused on him, and Naruto thought he saw a glint of amusement in that giant eye. "So this is my vessel? I must say, I like what I see. He has already a darker mindset than most humans that age, and he is very powerful." The word 'human' was spoken with something akin to disgust.

Naruto's brow twitched. "Would the stupid fox mind not talking as if I were not present or unable to understand coherent speech?"

Kyuubi chuckled. "And he has guts too, another plus. So far, the only negative I see is that he's the brat of the one who sealed me in here, but I'm starting to see my imprisonment a lot more relaxed than before."

Naruto blinked, the gears turning in his head. "The one who sealed you? My father? The Yondaime is..."

Kyuubi snorted. "Your father. Of course I can't be completely certain, but I would bet my tails that he is. When he charged me on that toad you in arms, it looked like he was carrying a small clone of himself. The same eyes, the same hair, the same facial structure."

Naruto looked at him. "Who is my mother?"

Kyuubi blinked. "How the hell am I supposed to know? Do recall, I spent less than an hour in your silly barrier that doesn't block anything, and never actually entered that village, so how am I supposed to know anything about your family? It's not like I ever bothered to mingle with your kind." Suddenly Kyuubi seemed to recall something. "Well, there was this one person, but that was different. He had long transcended humanity, even defeating... but that's beside the point. I never cared enough about humanity to bother with names, except the really strong ones. Since we're on the topic, you seem to have transcended humanity in your own way."

Naruto frowned. "It's not like you could mingle with humanity, even if you wanted to. I don't imagine too many humans wanting to talk to a giant fox."

Kyuubi rolled his eyes. "I would be a poor excuse of a demon and a kitsune if I couldn't even turn into a human." With that, the entire cage seemed to vanish in a red whirlpool that shrunk, until it was hardly bigger than Naruto, two heads at most. Then it solidified into a shape, and Naruto's jaw dropped.

"Y-Y-You're a woman?" He stuttered.

Kyuubi's eyes rolled. Her voice was much softer, it had a tone that lulled one into what was definitely a false sense of security. "Yes, I know. And I must say, I like the way the seal is like this much better, although you have to do something about the room. Mind you, the blood is a wonderful touch, but a little comfort is not too much to ask for."

Naruto blinked. "Blood?" Instead of answering, Kyuubi pointed down. What Naruto had believed to be water was really blood! He was standing in a stream of blood! He looked up at Kyuubi, who was suddenly less than two heads taller than him. He blushed.

Kyuubi was, there was no other description, a bombshell. Perfect Hourglass-figure, long blood-red hair going down her back, two fox-ears of the same color twitching on top of her head. Her figure was hardly hidden by the tight red kimono with the fox-pattern that seemed much too short, not only showing off her bust, but also her long, toned legs. Behind her, Naruto could see nine tails swishing around. Her face looked to belong to a goddess, with soft features and crimson, slitted eyes that didn't seem menacing, but gave you the feeling that she was looking down on you with superior amusement. Around her neck was what seemed to be a necklace of black pearls and white magatamas, with a large white orb holding the kanji for SEAL inside of it on the front section, strung between two black pearls on each side. Kyuubi noticed the glance to the necklace.

"Like it? Thanks to all the mutations, I was able to tweak around a bit with the seal. Sadly, its functions remain unchanged and it undamaged, but at least I can move around more freely. Hm? What's wrong?"

Naruto had turned away from her, clutching his right arm as if wanting to rip it out of the body. Kyuubi grabbed him, spun him around and lifted him off the ground by the collar. "Look at me! Why are you turning your head away from me?!" It seemed very disrespectful, and Kyuubi hated disrespect. The only reason she attacked Konoha was that those pests had swarmed and attacked her when she was on one of her travels, and she decided that the quickest way to get rid of the pesky ants was to squash the anthill. In hindsight, it would have been better if she had just got it over with, but she had thought that watching them squirm was kinda funny. Shukaku had told her that her habit to play with her food would one day get her in real trouble. Anyways, Kyuubi's patience with the boy was wearing thin. "Answer me, or I'll strangle you with your own guts!"

Naruto looked to the side. "I'm not supposed to be here."

Kyuubi blinked. "What?" This was his mindscape, if anyone shouldn't be there, it would be her. Not that she wanted to be here. Well, the boy had suddenly become very interesting, but that was beside the point. Speaking of the boy, his face was now amusing to watch, as the deep blush that covered it gave his an interesting tone, due to him blushing with a shade if red that would put a tomato to shame.

Naruto still kept his eyes glued to the side, the left eye that Kyuubi could see was filled with pain. "Look at us." She followed his gaze, and saw their reflection in the blood. "You are perfect." Naruto continued. "A beauty in every sense of the word. I am" He stared at his reflection, at the skin. "a freak. An abomination, a monster. I'm hideous. I don't belong in this world!"

Kyuubi looked at him. "You have a rather unique tan and unusual eyes, that much I'll admit. Still, I honestly don't see a problem."

Naruto stared at her. "Look at me! I'm disgusting, a mockery of human life!"

Kyuubi shrugged. "Human life is vastly overrated. And you don't even have to start about beautiful or ugly, I'm a demon. Your human values of what's beautiful or not is beyond my comprehension. Sure, it's nice if a mate doesn't look too strange and doesn't smell too bad, but for any fiend, devil or demon, that's really just unnecessary decoration. Nice, but it works just as well without it. For our kinds, the most important thing, and really the only thing that will really affect the views of you, is strength. Demons, fiends, devils, we are all the same in that point. Our mate can be uglier than dung in human eyes, his strength is what makes him attractive. Take succubi and incubi as examples. They are, by human standards, probably the most beautiful things you'll ever see, still most of them, there are exceptions, are looked down upon because of their weakness. It's not they feed on humans, many species, like vampires or my good old friend Shukaku, consider humans a delicacy, though personally I never understood why. The problem is that most succubi are reliant on the energy they harvest from humans. You don't understand that yet, but feasting on humans to survive is, by our standards, a step below eating out of a dumpster. You don't do it unless you're weak, or desperate. In the latter case, it's usually temporary, and not something one wants to talk about when stronger. Since we're on the topic, that last shot altered you in a way that allows you to digest raw meat, and it seems that the most energy can be gained out of human flesh."

Naruto paled. "I'm not going to eat people!"

Kyuubi waved him off. "Trust me, it only gets easier after the first time. And I never said you had to eat everyone, although it would be funny, it's merely another option for you, and a great way to freak out enemies. I once knew a vampire that..."

Naruto interrupted her. "I get it. Now let me go!"

Kyuubi grinned. "Make me."

Naruto's scales extended. Kyuubi was surprised that even in his mind, those scales actually drained her youki, although she regenerated the stuff almost as fast as she lost it. When Naruto saw that it wasn't enough, his left arm shot forward, hitting her hard in the shoulder, forcing her to drop him and jump back. In complete disbelief she stared at her shoulder, then behind her. 'I don't believe it! With a single hit, he stripped me of one of my tails! And not just those weak, watered-down cloak-tails, but an actual bijuu-tail! It'll take over an hour to regenerate it! And despite youki being pretty strong stuff, not to mention that since it was involuntarily stripped from me it should have turned into finest malice, he seems to be just fine and hungry for more. Actually, I don't think that there is any amount of energy he would be unable to absorb, only a limit on how much per second, and I'm not even sure on that. Lets see, with a single short, split-second contact, he stripped a tail from me. Assuming that it wasn't the secondary limit, including the difference in concentration of youki in my tails compared to other demons, then doubling the amount since he has two maws that can eat, subtracting a certain percentage since I am trapped inside of him and the seal is designed to give him access, that would mean... Holy shit, if my calculation is correct, he can devour a three-tailed fiend in one go! Still, I'm working with a lot of variables, what-ifs and estimated numbers, so I can't be completely sure until he actually faces one. Still, he just became a lot more attractive as a potential mate.'

Kyuubi walked around him, looking at him from scalp to toe, scratching her chin. Naruto got more nervous, causing his scales to shiver, making a sound not unlike the warning of the rattlesnake, and it probably served the same purpose. "What are you doing?" He asked.

Kyuubi tilted her head. "I'm evaluating your potential as a mate, and so far, you certainly pass the tests to go into the category 'serious consideration'."

Naruto's face seemed to be 50% pink and 50% deep red, as the blush deepened. "W-W-W-What? M-Mate? Me? But I'm..."

Kyuubi roller her eyes. "Don't start with the hideous-story again, I already told you that nobody but humans gives a shit about looks."

Naruto blinked. "Still, what if I like someone else? You can't just decide that on your own!"

Kyuubi raised her hand. "Three things. First of all, sure I can." The index-finger rose "Secondly, since I am in your mind, you can't lie to me that easily. We both know you have nobody that you love, well, at least not sexually." The middle-finger rose, followed by the ring-finger "And finally, even if you found someone who loved you back, who says I have a problem with that?"

Naruto blinked. "Run that by me again, I must have misheard you."

"For demons, fiends and devils, polygamy is not only accepted, but encouraged. You see, much of someone's strength can be measured by the number and strength of his, or her, mates, though most females are too possessive to take more than one mate at a time, but whoever is dominant can get more than one mate. So if someone can keep a number of strong mates, then he or she is very powerful, which in turn reflects well on said mates, for having gained a powerful partner. This goes especially if the mates are completely different species or even natural enemies. Someone who has both an Frostdevil and a Infernofiend as a mate is obviously very powerful, not only because he gained them, but he is able to keep them from killing each other. So I really wouldn't care much if you gained another mate. In fact, there are very fun things that can only be done with another woman, whether just two girls or a three- or moresome. That would actually be the ultimate show of power, to have an orgy with two, or even more, total opposites at the same time, especially if one can get them to play nice, well relatively nice, with each other." Kyuubi explained, her mind wandering to far away times, with a few friends, a bit of one of mankind's only good inventions, concentrated alcohol, and a lot of free time. That alcohol couldn't actually do any harm to them, that there were no hangovers, and that the stupor could be shaken off instantly if necessary were only a few more pluses on the long list of Why it's great to not be human.

Naruto meanwhile had blushed to a impressive shade of crimson, on his face, that it was almost funny to look at. Kyuubi chuckled to herself. It was fun to tease the boy. And it wasn't like she was going to jump him the next second for a 'ride'. It was completely possible she would eventually, but not yet. He showed a lot of strength and even greater potential, but currently, he hadn't quite met the standards that she had. Not that she was surprised, only a single being born human had ever been good enough for a few very great years, before he followed the road of all things mortal, voluntarily no less. Still, it had been fun while it lasted. She looked at Naruto. "Don't get ahead of yourself, you're still far, faaar away from that prize. And since you are obviously too busy, can I redecorate this place? It won't have any effects on your mind, it'll just be a bit more... comfortable for those who spend great amounts of time here, such as myself."

Naruto could only nod, still incapable of speech due to all the information he had received in a short amount of time, not to mention the topic of a good part of said information.

Kyuubi waved dismissively. "That should be enough for a day's worth of revelations, so for now, begone."

Naruto felt himself fade away, as he left his mindscape and reentered the realm of the living.

Kakashi stood before the memorial-stone, once again contemplating his failures. He had lost his comrade, Obito Uchiha, just when he'd learned to like him. He had lost his sensei, Minato Namikaze, when the Kyuubi attacked. And his most recent failure, he had lost Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, his sensei's son that he should have kept an eye on, especially on October 10th, when the sake flowed, the anger rose and the intelligence sunk. Because he had not watched over him, Naruto had vanished, abducted by an unknown perpetrator.

He looked up when he noticed a presence behind him. He turned around to see Tenzo, a colleague and fellow squad-member from his ANBU-days. He raised a hand. "Yo, what's up?"

Tenzo's brow raised. "You mean you haven't heard the rumor senpai?"

Kakashi furrowed his brows. "What rumor?"

Tenzo looked at him disbelievingly, then he remembered that the rumor had only recently spread beyond the ranks of the ANBU, so it was entirely possible Kakashi had missed the news. Almost sad, considering the fact that there was only one person in the village that would be happier with that information. "Like I said, it's just a rumor amongst the ANBU, although it finally seeped through to the general population, but they say that Naruto Uzumaki is back."

For a second, Kakashi stood as if petrified. Then he found his voice. "If this is a joke, you're dead." An instant later, he was gone.

Kushina woke up in the stillness of the Namikaze-compound. The clan had been dying out, and while Minato hadn't been the last one, he had been one of the last, and when the Kyuubi had attacked, they had valiantly fought it at the cost of their own lives.

The last Namikaze, the hope they had fought and died for, had at the time been sleeping under Kushina's heart for almost nine months, before the stress brought her into premature labor. Without Tsunade, who had managed to temporarily beat her hemophobia long enough to bring both mother and child through the process alive, although it had been close for her, she would not have made it. Any other doctor, and she would have died.

Still, on the inside she had died that day, when her child was gone and it was reported that her husband had died. Sarutobi had found her in he weakest moment, nearly maddened by the loss of her beloved and the worry for her child. When Sarutobi had told her that her son was dead, she had fallen apart. As soon as she could walk on her own, she packed her things and left, ignoring all begging not to. She was done with Konoha, which had become nothing more than pain for her. Painful memories of the good times with Minato, and painful images of the times they had planned to spend with their child. How they would bring him to the playground, how they would treat him to his first bowl of the wonderful Ichiraku-ramen, how he eventually would become a shinobi and make her go mad with worry while Minato would have encouraged him, how he would have told them of the missions he did, complain about the blasted cat that they weren't allowed to actually blast and later about how he defeated bandits and helped others. Kushina simply couldn't bare living on, watching mothers with their children that reminded her of what could have been. She had sworn herself to never take a single step into Konoha again.

And she had kept her word, until that fateful day she received a letter from Sarutobi. She had read it, before ripping it to shreds and grabbing her trusted sword and a few other things she sealed into a scroll, and marched towards the village hidden in the leaves. Her meeting with Sarutobi was one the old man was unlikely to forget.

Flashback

Kushina waltzed to the door leading to that old monkey's office. The secretary bravely tried to stop her. "You can't go in there, the Hokage is in a meeting!"

Kushina had looked at her, causing the woman to shrink together into herself. "Do I look like I give a shit?!" The secretary wisely moved out of the way, and stood before the door. She decided to skip the knocking.

Sarutobi had been in a fierce discussion with Hiashi, Inoichi and the elders, when the door flew open, kicked in by a heeled boot. In the doorway, like a dark angel of vengeance, stood Kushina, murder in her eyes.

"Sarutobi, we have to talk. Everybody else, out."

Hiashi was shocked to see one of his old friends, one that he firmly believed would never again show her face in Konoha. "Kushina! What are you doing here?"

Danzo was less amused. "Who do you think you are? You may have been the Yondaime's wife," Nobody bothered to ask how he knew that "but to barge into a meeting like this is highly..."

Kushina interrupted him, barely contained anger rolling off her in waves. "I said out. That includes the ANBU hiding on the ceiling and in the corners. NOW!"

Danzo wisely shut up and left as quickly as he could, the others following his example, said ANBU leaving as well. Even Sarutobi tried to leave, but Kushina grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and unceremoniously threw him against his desk. He cleverly activated the soundproofing-seals before he started to talk.

"Now now Kushina, I know you're displeased with my actions, and probably upset and angry, but..."

Kushina stared at him, her voice dangerously quiet. "Angry? Upset? Displeased?! Sarutobi, I was displeased when Minato didn't show up to one of our dates. I was slightly peeved when you didn't show up to our wedding. I was very peeved when Jiraya did show up to our wedding, crashing the party. I was upset when I learned that Jiraya had based a woman in his smut on me. I was angry when I found scenes from our wedding-night in said book. Right now, I. Am. FURIOUS!"

Sarutobi started to sweat when he saw her hand inching towards her trusted blade. "Kushina, I couldn't tell you about Naruto, you were in no sane condition! In your state, you might have attacked hi...ARGH!" The sword had pierced his shoulder.

Kushina's face was a grimace of rage. "How dare you?! How dare you even suggest I would hurt my child?!"

Sarutobi hissed in pain. The strike had been well-aimed, bypassing everything that might have caused lasting damage and avoiding the bone. "Kushina, take the sword out! I am still a Kage, and while I understand your actions, if you don't pull it out right now, you will be executed!"

Kushina's eyes wavered, and if she didn't have the hope that Naruto was still out there somewhere, she would have doubtlessly pulled until her sword would have left the old man through the other shoulder, but she pulled her blade out. Sarutobi used a healing-jutsu to fix the worst damage, although a scar would remain. "You understand nothing!" She hissed. "How could you understand my pain. I wasn't in sane condition? What would you have been in? My husband dead, my child nowhere to be found and I can't even go look for him because I'm too weak to leave the bed!" Tears were running down her face. "He was all I had Sarutobi, the only family I had left, and he was gone."

Only now did Sarutobi really understand how he had wronged her. "Kushina, I..."

She stared at him, tears running down her face, as she slapped him in the face. "You took him away from me, you lied to me! You left me thinking he was dead, while all this time..." She couldn't talk, he frame shaken by sobs.

Sarutobi felt the strong urge to beat himself to a pulp. "If there is anything I can do..."

Kushina roared as she jumped at him and started to beat on every inch of him he could reach. "What you can do? WHAT YOU CAN DO?! HAVEN'T YOU DONE ENOUGH?! YOU TOLD ME HE WAS DEAD! YOU TOLD TSUNADE, HIS GODMOTHER, HE WAS DEAD! SHE HAD JUST OVERCOME HER FEAR OF BLOOD, AND WHEN YOU TOLD HER HE DIED, IT CAME BACK SINCE SHE THOUGHT THAT SHE WAS DOOMED TO FAIL NO MATTER WHAT! YOU STOLE OUR FUTURE FROM US, SARUTOBI!"

Sarutobi protected his vitals, but nothing else. He felt that he deserved every last hit. Kushina's fists rained on him, and he felt some bones creak, but he couldn't say anything as Kushina went on, only interrupted by numerous sobs. "Because of you Sarutobi, I missed my son's life. I missed his first step, I missed his first word. I missed his first birthday, and all other ones as well! I didn't get to hold him, I didn't get to calm him when he was screaming, I didn't take care of him when he was ill, I never cooked for him. I wasn't there to help him up when he stumbled, I never got to hug him, never kissed him, never got to tell him that I loved him. I missed his first bowl at Ichiraku's, I didn't buy him his first shuriken, I wasn't there when he entered the academy, I never saw him practice, or gave him pointers. I never met his friends, I never got to scold him, never got to praise him, I never got to be his mother. I don't even know his voice!" Her voice, which had been filled with grief and sobs, was suddenly filled with anger once more.

"Because of your lie, I missed six years of my son's life Sarutobi, SIX YEARS! If you want to do something for me, then give me back those six years Sarutobi!" Her hits were getting weaker, as Kushina simply didn't have anymore strength. "Give them back to me. Give me what you took away. Give me back my son! He's all... that I..." She slumped together on the floor, unable to do anything but cower there, wailing and crying her heart out.

Sarutobi looked at her. Once she had been known as Uzu's Crimson death, an S-ranked shinobi that Kumo fled from on sight. Now she was just a broken mother that never truly saw her only child, laying before the one who took that last thing away from her. She had lost her home and her family to a mix of natural disasters and a joint-effort of Kumo and Iwa, lost the love of her life to the Kyuubi, and the last thing she had, her son, because of the arrogance of an old man who thought he knew everything, yet couldn't even recognize a distraught and desperate mother. For the first time in his life, Sarutobi truly felt old. Had she grabbed her sword this instant to cut him down, he would not have tried to block. He would not have dodged. He would have welcomed the blade with open arms, embracing the punishment.

But Kushina didn't draw her sword. She just lay there, sobbing and whispering her child's name. It wasn't his death that she wanted, and Sarutobi's death would not have lessened her pain. No, the only thing that could ease her suffering was the one thing he could not give her. He had had eight years to fix his mistake, to make up for his lie and give Naruto the parent the boy had desperately craved, and he had done nothing. Now it was too late.

He felt a painful sting in his heart when he realized that he, someone who was supposed to be a friend, had hurt her more than any of her enemies had ever managed. They had destroyed her country and killed her family. He had betrayed her trust, and that was something none of her enemies could have ever done. He had lied to her face, he had stolen her only family from her, and he never told her until the child had vanished, leaving Kushina in the terrible knowledge that her child grew up without her, that he wouldn't even know her, and that even now that she knew he was alive, she was unable to be with him, she didn't even get to see him. And all because of him.

Before Kushina could tell herself that her son was in heaven with his father, but now that small solace was stripped from her, replaced by the most horrible thing there is for parents, insecurity.

Was Naruto alright? Was he being driven to madness by his tenant? Was he being trained to become a heartless murderer? Was he sick? Was he hurt? Was he being tortured? Was he dying, calling for his mother that couldn't come to help? Was he even still alive, or had Sarutobi's lie become a prophesy?

Sarutobi wondered if it wouldn't have been better to leave Kushina in the belief her son died after birth. Because he wanted to make himself feel better, he had taken the little peace of mind Kushina still had away from her. He cursed himself for his weakness and his arrogance, that had led to this situation. He couldn't look at Kushina. "I'm sorry." That was all he managed to say.

Twenty minutes later, a secretary holding a stash of paper entered, and was shocked at what he saw.

Kushina had managed to sit up, leaning against the wall, with her face buried in her hands, her eyes seemingly devoid of life as tears flowed.

But what really caught the secretary's attention was Sarutobi, who was in a bad shape. His nose was broken, four ribs cracked, his lip was busted, his left eye was swelling shut, and he was black, blue and bloodied all over. Still, he refused any medical attention, stating that "The only one who gets to heal these wounds is time, and that only because I can't stop it."

He then looked at Kushina, before turning to the secretary. "Kushina here is to be given unlimited access to all information pertaining to Naruto Uzumaki, is that clear?"

The woman nodded and Sarutobi left, only turning around once more. "Kushina, Minato left everything to you." Then he turned around, feeling incredibly tired. He knew that Kushina would send a large number of people to the hospital once she read the files, doctors and nurses included, but for the first time in his life, he couldn't bring himself to care.

End of Flashback

Kushina had indeed gone on a rampage, giving the hospital, or those amongst the employees that didn't land on the list of patients, a lot of work. After that was done, she had returned to Sarutobi and given the old man a beating he would never forget. Eventually she had calmed down somewhat, and moved into Minato's compound. Still, every day became a torture for her, the uncertainty, worry and memories threatening to overwhelm her. She had lost count of the days she cried herself to sleep, driven near madness because the only thing she could do was pray.

She noticed a presence in her garden and looked up. It was Yuugao, on of the girls she had personally taught a few things. "What is it?" She asked.

Yuugao was clearly out of breath. "Kushina-sama, I didn't... want to... bother you before I... made sure, but now I heard it from... an eye-witness."

Kushina frowned, a certain tingle growing in her stomach. "What is it?"

Yuugao looked at her, taking a deep breath. "Naruto is back in Konoha."

There was a strong gust of wind, and Kushina was gone.

As coincident had it, Kushina and Kakashi arrived in front of the Hokage's office at the same time. Kakashi looked at the secretary. "Is the Hokage in his office?"

The secretary, having a feeling of déjà-vu, simply nodded. Kakashi and Kushina looked at each other, before Kakashi made a sidestep. "Ladies first."

Kushina gave him a smile. "Why thank you." She raised her leg, and kicked the door in.

Sarutobi looked up, and sighed. "I've been expecting you two."

Kushina stared at him. "Is it true? Is he back?" She had to restrain herself to not grab the old man by the collar and shake the answer out of him.

Sarutobi sighed again. "That's the problem, we're not sure."

Kakashi summed their thoughts up. "What?"

Sarutobi scratched his head. "You see, the boy literally dropped from the ceiling and onto my desk. Personally I have no doubt that it's Naruto, but to be sure, I ordered a genetic comparison, and the results are... confusing, to say the least."

Kushina looked at him. "How so?"

Sarutobi shrugged. "I can only repeat what the doctor told me, but according to him, the DNA of the boy that landed on my desk has many matches with Naruto's DNA, but there are large patches that don't fit. According to the doctor, one of them seems to belong to Itachi, the others have no matches with anyone in Konoha, so I'm really stumped. Also, while the boy has blue eyes and blond hair, albeit with multicolored strands, there are a few physical characteristics that don't match with the Naruto the vanished from Konoha. There is no seal on the boy's stomach, yet there are traces of Kyuubi's chakra in the boy's chakra system."

"Pardon me Hokage-sama, but the boy has umatching physical characteristics?" Asked Kakashi.

Sarutobi shook his head. "You heard right, and the boy has been reported to have mouths on his palms, and it seems that he can grow hard, sharp scales instantly and let them sink back into his skin."

Kushina's face remained unchanged. "I want to see him."

Sarutobi nodded. "I was just about to head there, won't you accompany me?"

They nodded and signaled him to lead the way.

They wanted to see Naruto.