Her Fox, Her Flower

by AreYouFrikkenSerious

When Naruko was running from a Mob one night, her way of thinking changed drastically. Strong!Naruko (Not OP) VeryDense!Naruko (At first). Rated M for (some) swearing and to be safe. NarukoIno. Review if you wish. other pairings added throughout the series.

10. Chapter 25 - Chapter 27

Reminder: I do not own Naruto

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I was trying to find a way to incorporate my ideas into the story in a way that chronologically would make sense. I just feel that a story must make sense, otherwise people just get the WTH (What the Hell) or WTF (Need I explain?) reactions. Also this will be my second to last update for this story, but I am going to start on either a Dog Days/Naruto fanfic, Fairy Tail/Naruto fanfic or a Akame ga Kill/Naruto fanfic…Still have to choose, so if you like my sories, don't worry, there is more stuff coming. :)

"Greetings…" Normal speaking

'Moron…' Normal thinking

"Kage Bunshin no jutsu" Jutsu

Chapter 25

Konoha Outskirts

A patrol of Leaf shinobi was gathering around a small building in the trees, preparing to go on another circuit.

"Man, I wish we were in the Village now." One of them said. Several others nodded in agreement.

"You mean you want to go and be reminded on how lonely your life is." another one teased, making the first growl while the others laughed.

"No. It is just that Uzumaki-sama is getting married and theoretically the entire Village is invited." The first growled.

"I also heard that Naruko complained this morning about the sheer scale of the event." A third person said.

"Well, I heard Ino-chan fainted when she heard about how big the event will be…right in the middle of the Hokage's office." The sole female in the group of 4 said.

"That would explain why one could hear Naruko-sama scream her name this morning…I was at the Main Gate and I heard it." The first said.

"And they call that Haruno girl a Banshee…" the female muttered. The group enjoyed a laugh at that, before they were beset upon by men wearing black cloaks with red clouds. They didn't last long against Pain.

Out of the forest emerged a army of mercs, numbering easily in the tens of thousands. The lead Pain raised his arm and spoke.

"Today, Konoha will know the true meaning of Pain." His arm flew down, sending the mercs charging towards Konoha

Konoha Radar room

A man in white clothes was sitting before a large orb of Water.

"Intruders. We are under attack." He called out, giving the shinobi nearby a set of coordinates. Said Shinobi quickly dispersed, some heading for the Barracks to warn the shinobi stationed there while the others heading over to the Hokage office to warn Tsunade. The man sitting before the orb channeled chakra into a seal on the floor to his right.

The seal sent a signal through the shinobi wire to various locations in Konoha, setting of the alarm sirens. Soon Civilians were in a state of panic while Shinobi were rushing across the rooftops to their designated defensive positions. The place where most of the Civilians and shinobi were surrently gathered: the wedding venue, where the ceremony had been nearing its end. (A/N: Think about when the pastor says "You may kiss the bride"…the ceremony had just reached this point. Karma is a Bitch, isn't it?)

"WHY NOW OF ALL TIMES?" an enraged Naruko and Ino screamed, making their way to the small building where they had placed all their gear…you know, for a change in clothes…

By now the mercs had reached the gates which were being closed. The sheer momentum of hundreds of men and women stopped the heavy Gates from closing completely, allowing some of the mercs to enter the village…and right into the blades of the two eternal Chunin who were stationed there.

"I think they wanted to join the party." Kotetsu joked.

"More like they brought the party to us." Izumo answered.

Both of them managed to stem the advancing mercs for a while, but were eventually forced back due to the sheer numbers.

On the outside the mercs were shooting arrows and crossbow bolts at the top of the walls, giving cover to the mercs who were scaling them with grappling hooks and lines.

35 seconds after the main gate was breached…

"Double Dynamic Entry" Two green spandex clad figures barreled into the advancing group of mercenaries, having raced there after the alarm had gone off. The mercs were sent flying in all directions as the two Taijutsu training-obsessed shinobi proceeded to wreck havoc amongst their lines. Unfortunately they didn't stop the tide. Soon, other Shinobi joined the fight, a few at first then gradually becoming more and more as Konoha began responding to the attack. Unfortunately the Mercs had gained access to a large part of Konoha that the fighting almost became a free for all (A/N: think there are opponents and allies spread out across an area, effectively preventing help from others as they themselves are busy fighting…). It was to such a display that the Gonin arrived (plus three Kitsune's)…two of whom weren't angry at all. They really weren't angry…they were Fury incarnate.

"YOU…SON'S…OF…BITCHES…" Naruko roared, sending her KI hurtling into the Melee….followed shortly by Naruko herself…alongside Ino…followed shortly by the rest of their Team…who kept a safe distance…just to be safe.

The Leaf Shinobi heard her and immediately way way, forming a trench of sorts along the centre of the road. The unfortunate mercs who were trapped inside the 'trench'…well, they were truly unfortunate as they were hacked to pieces by two certain Females.

"Taju Kage Bunshin no jutsu" Naruko growled, forming her own army of clones, sending them into the fray.

"Katon,…" Naruko shouted.

"Futon,…" Ino shouted.

"Kistune-ebi/Bōryoku" they shouted in unison as Naruko spat out a large torrent of blue fox fire while Ino created a massive surge of wind, which empowered the fox fire to new heights. The mercs…and buildings…that were caught in the torrent of flames were reduced to dust by the intensity of the flames. The mercs who had managed to dodge to attack soon wished they hadn't as Naruko and Ino charged in again, their aura's literally screaming 'Death'.

A another location with fighting

Kakashi and Shizune were currently fighting back to back, the former taking out enemies with Taijutsu and small scale ninjutsu while the latter supported him mostly with her senbon launchers and poison ninjutsu.

A different location

The Mercs who ran towards the clan residential district found themselves faced with the majority of the Hyuuga Clan and the Uchiha clan.

"Hey Hyuugas." Fugaku Uchiha called out. "Friendly competition on who comes out of here with the highest count. Losers pay for Naruko-san's Wedding." He said. Muttering arose from both clans.

Hiashi called back. "You Uchiha think you can survive having to pay the bills?...especially the Ramen bills…" Before the situation could escalate, Fugaku shouted out in agreement, as both he and Hiashi charged into the enemy, followed closely by their respective clans. The mayhem was comparable to the aftermath of Naruko's Prank on their clans.

Yet another location

The original Ino-Shika-Cho trio were actually managing to force the enemy back, with Inoichi using his mind-messing jutsus to make several mercs attack their own allies while Shikaku caught other mers, before impaling them with his Kagenui no jutsu. Choza was keeping the mercs away from his two friends, having increased his size to several times that of normal. Nearby, their son's were using their own variant of the Ino-Shiko-Cho…rather Shiro-Shika-Cho in this case…Shiro was using his sensing abilities to sense all the enemies in the area while Choji used his Hari sensha, attached to Shikamaru's shadow. This formation was aptly called their Yo-yo formation: Shiro was the eyes, Shiakamaru was the hand and string that controlled the Yo-yo, in this case Choji, around. Numerous mercs were flattened by the…chubby…Akamichi.

In some of the alleyways

Some of the mercs who were trying to flank the defending shinobi suddenly found themselves being overrun by swarms of beetles, curtesy of the Aburame clan. Some of the mercs, particularily the female ones, didn't need to be attacked: they first turned blue by the sight of the bugs, then fainted when they saw their allies running around covered in said bugs.

"Good thing they are unconscious." Shino said as he sent his bugs to remove any and all weapons from the females…that meant searching underneath the clothes as well. Let's just say that Shino was glad that most of his face was covered and hid the nosebleed when his bugs reported back on what the females were wearing underneath…

On the far right flank

The mercs here found themselves hitting a rock wall…literally…before being shredded by fast moving tornado's. the Inuzuka clan with the Aid of several Doton users had devised an ambush: the Doton users would create a wall, stopping the mercs from advancing while the Inuzukas and their ninken partners would attack from the side. One particular Inuzuka stood out.

Inuzuka Tsume was bark…laughing with glee as she and Kuromaru (Her partner, not Kino's) fought side by side against the mercs. Kiba and Kino, who were standing in as backup, both sweat dropped before saying in unison,

"And people wonder why Dad ran away…"

On the Walls

The mercs who had scaled the walls had finally managed to kill the shinobi stationed there at great cost. 7 out of 8 of them died at the hands of the Leaf shinobi.

"Get those gates open." One of them shouted, before falling over the edge and plummeting down towards the fighting below, kunai sticking out of the back of his skull. Leaf ANBU began swarming the mercs, working in perfect teamwork to recapture the walls and destroying the grappling hooks, preventing more mercs from scaling the walls. A loud groan caught their attention and underneath their masks their eyes widened in horror as the gates began opening.

With Guy and Lee

The scene was a complete mess. Numerous dead mercs were lying scattered, but even more mercs were lying unconscious on top of them, looks of extreme horror on their faces.

Flashback, 30 seconds earlier

"Lee, let's get many of them with our ultimate technique." Guy told his pupil as he sent a merc flying with a punch.

"Hai, Guy-sensei." Lee answered. All around them, the mercs who had heard them took a few steps back, preparing themselves for the physical onslaught they thought would come.

"Lee!"

"Guy-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Guy-sensei!"

…

The two carried on for a moment before embracing each other, a sunset appearing behind them.

The watching mercs were so horrified that their minds shut down literally.

Flashback end

A pale Iruka appeared behind them. His will was considerably stronger than most shinobi's due to him having to live with a) Anko and b) small children in his classroom.

"Please don't use that technique when friendlies are nearby." He asked the two, indicating the bunch of unconscious leaf shinobi behind him.

Guy and Lee were about to appologize when a new wave of mercs charged in…and right into a storm of kunai and shuriken courtesy of Tenten and a new Taijutsu barrage, courtesy of Neji.

With Naruko and co.

The fighting at Naruko's location was the fiercest. Lee and Guy, who had been fighting closer to the gate had gone to fight on one of the major roads connecting to the main road, where the 8 figures fought in a line.

"They are just 8 females…" a male merc shouted out. A female merc shouted back.

"Those 8 females are kicking our ass." She shouted, a hint of pride in her voice at the fact that FEMALES were doing all the damage.

"Why are the two beauties in the centre so angry?" another male asked, having been sent plying by one of Naruko's rasengan.

"Did you insult them?" another one asked. The answer came in the form of a sonic blast.

"You interrupted our wedding." Naruko and Ino roared in unison, flooding their voices with chakra.

Mercs, earth and debris were sent flying as the shockwave passed.

Meanwhile, at the centre of Konoha

Tsunade was sitting at the centre of a sealing matrix with a large slug…ahem…mini Katsuya…on her shoulder. The old woman had summoned her Slug partner to help defend Konoha i.e. heal all the wounded during Battle. It was then that the lead Pain arrived. (A/N: the conversation between the two is basically the same as in the anime minus the parts where Pain asks for Naruto's location, Naruko in this case. Here he knows where his 'prey' is)

1 conversation later

"It was nice seeing you again. Do not worry. You will see Jiraya-sensei soon enough." The Pain said as he began floating upwards.

"Hold on, Pain. What are you planning to do?" Tsunade shouted, only to be ignored. Suddenly a horn blared from outside of Konoha and the mercs that were still able to move made haste to get out of the village, or at least to a safe area.

3 minutes later, with the floating Pain

"This Village will be the first of many to fall in the name of peace. They will now know the true meaning of Pain." He said. On the ground, those shinobi who were skilled in sensing chakra buildups suddenly looked towards felt an enormous amount of chakra being gathered.

"Shinra Tensei" the Pain called before a massive crater began forming in the centre of Konoha, increasing in size until it covered almost the entire village. From high up, Pain could see the survivors crawling out of the debris, although he could see that there were far fewer alive now than there were earlier.

With Team Guy

A dome of metal retracted, revealing all members of Team Guy.

"Guy-sensei, what the hell happened?" Lee asked.

"No idea Lee. Neji, what do you see?" Guy asked. The Hyuuga prodigy activated his Byakugan, before gaining an expression of Horror.

"Konoha…it's…destroyed…" he forced out.

"What?" Tenten asked, feeling faint.

"Konoha…It has become a crater…" Neji said, tears forming at his eyes.

With Shino

In a small cavern underneath the rubble large bundles of bugs dispersed, revealing the members of the Aburame clan, who immediately sent their bugs to create an exit or sent to see what the damage is. Shino found he had a broken arm and a bruised leg, coming out at the top of the "most hurt Aburame" list…not that it exists…

With the Inuzuka clan and co

The group had been lucky. When Pain began accumulating chakra, the Doton users created a thick strong dome of Granite, although most of the Doton users collapsed after removing the dome due to lack of chakra.

Kiba and Kino were trying to remove a concrete pillar out of the way so survivors could get out. Tsume was cursing so loud her voice could be heard from 30 yards away, where the wounded were being gathered.

With the Ino/Shiro-Shika-Cho trios

Shikamaru, to the great surprise of everyone in hearing distance, was muttering a mixture of his favorite word with some colorful swearwords…albeit 50% swearwords and 50% troublesome…

Choji and Choza and used their large and durable bodies to form a protective shield around their friends. Unfortunately some debris managed to get through the shield, hitting Shikamaru in the leg and breaking it. Shikaku was tending to his son while Inoichi, Shiro and Choji were treating Choza, who took the brunt of the attack.

"Who…who could have done this?" Shikamaru asked, his face showing that his brain was working at full capacity.

"My guess would be Akatsuki. No other group could amass such a large army on its own." Shikaku said. Both Father and Son came to the same conclusion microseconds later.

"They are here for Naruko…" they said.

With the Hyuuga and Uchiha

The two great clans of Konoha suffered great casualties as neither knew any defensive large scale ninjutsu. This caused great chaos amongst them. In the end, they lost over half their groups.

With Naruko and the Gonin

A large ball of red/blonde fur shriveled as Naruko shortened her tails which she had wrapped around herself and Ino. Nearby the three Kitsune girls were crying over the unmoving bodies of their lovers. Shaken at the loss, Naruko felt a great rage build up inside of her as her Uzumaki blood began to boil.

"Those bastards." she screamed. Before Ino could grab a hold on her Naruko jumped away, in the direction of the crater. What Ino saw and Naruko didn't was that Naruko's 7th tail had grown.

In the crater

As the Lead Pain landed, he was greeted with the utterly worn out figure of Tsunade and her equally worn out ANBU guards.

"How dare you trample on the pride and joy of my forefathers?!" she said, breathing heavily.

"It seems you understand a little bit of pain now." Pain said. Moments later the other 5 Pains arrived.

"Last chance. Hand over Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruko. Do so and we will leave this Village." Pain said. One of Tsunade's guards, Neko, growled.

"Go to Hell." She stepped between Tsunade and the group of Pains, followed shortly by the other three ANBU.

"So be it. Unfortunately I don't have business with you…" the bald Pain shot forwards faster than the ANBU could react. "My business is…"

A figure swooped in at immense speed, faster than even Pain could register with his Rinnegan, delivering a completely devastating blow to the cyborg, destroying him utterly.

"…with me." Naruko finished of Pain's sentence. Tsunade and her ANBU stared at the now 7 tailed Biju heiress.

"Naruko, you…" Tsunade began but was interrupted by Naruko.

"Go sip some Tea, have a cracker and play shogi with Shikamaru or something. You are worn out as it is and need to rest." Naruko told her. She then summoned Shirayuri, who came in a…decent…state, her tails covering all the needed bits…mostly.

"Shirayuri, take Baa-chan and get to a safe distance. Keep her safe please." Naruko told the White Kitsune, who nodded before disapearing with Tsunade in her arms. The ANBU followed her. Naruko meanwhile turned her attention back to the group of Pains.

"Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruko. Have you come to surrender yourself?" the lead Pain asked. Naruko told him to shut up. In her hand she began forming a rasengan, which began changing shape and color, taking on a pink-white hue and resembling a giant shuriken.

At the tip of the crater

One of the Hyuuga who weren't with their clan looked on through his byakugan.

"What is that Jutsu?" he asked out loud. Ino, who was nearby, looked at him and asked him to describe it.

"Naruko's chakra…its forming something like a shuriken…" the Hyuuga said.

"Shakuton: Rasenshuriken" Ino cried out in horror, immediately turning her attention back to the fight before her.

All over at the edge of the crater, people were gathering to watch the spectacle. Only a few recognized one of Naruko's most powerful jutsu.

With Naruko

Pain was busy giving Naruko the 'Fellow pupil of Jiraya' speech when Naruko shouted at them.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" with that she threw the mass of chakra. Most of the Pains managed to dodge the shuriken, but two of them were caught in the ensuing explosion…which was several times larger than the one she had used on Kakuzo months earlier.

With Ino the moment Naruko threw the Rasenshuriken

"She threw it?" Ino screamed in disbelief, remembering the time when Naruko first used the move. If the fact that Naruko threw it shocked her, the resulting explosion floored her.

"You have got to be joking…" Ino shouted. The Hyuuga and those near her looked at her questioningly.

"That Jutsu has been labeled a Kinjutsu because of its destructive nature. A few months ago it left a 40 meter crater…this one…" everyone looked at the battlefield, eyes widening when they saw the crater Naruko had left behind.

"I think Kinjutsu is not a suitable description for this jutsu…" one of the newcomers said. Nobody could disagree as they stared at the 150 meter diameter crater left behind by the explosion.

With Pain

'I couldn't absorb it all in time…' Pain thought, irritated at the fact that his Ningen path and his Preta path (A/N: the one who got destroyed by Naruto's rasenshuriken in the anime and the one who can absorb chakra respectively) were both destroyed by the jutsu, though he was surprised that the Preta path couldn't absorb the jutsu fast enough. 'What was that Jutsu?' Pain thought.

Unfortunately for Naruko, the destruction of two Pains reduced the cooldown time of Deva path (The one who used Shinra Tensei). Suddenly Naruko found herself being pulled forward as though by Gravity. Before she could react, she was grabbed by the neck and slammed into the ground, followed closely by having black rods thrust through her hands, legs, body and tails. Screaming out in pain, Naruko felt foreign chakra enter her body, trying to immobilize her.

At the edge of the crater

"What the heck just happened?" one of the spectators asked. Nobody knew what to say.

"Wait, where it Ino-sama?" the Hyuuga from earlier called out, realizing that the blonde wasn't with him anymore. "She couldn't have…"

On the Battlefield

Pain's Animal path (animal summoning one) and the Naraka path (the one who summons the giant odd-looking head that revives the other pains) suddenly felt their falling of their bodies. Through their eyes Pain saw the person who 'killed' them.

"Ino-koi. No. Run." Naruko screamed at her Fiancée (A/N: technically the marriage ceremony wasn't finished, so they are not yet married…officially).

"No." Ino retorted. "We made a vow: we will stay together till the end." With that she sprung her sword at the last Pain, who materialized a black rod and parried her. "You will not take her away from me!" she snarled at Pain.

"This is to bring about real peace…" Pain said, before having to block another strike from Ino, only to suddenly find himself being struck in the stomach by Ino's knee, sending him sliding backwards.

"Commendable. You are the first in a long time to be able to land a strike on me." He praised her. "However this is as far as you go." Ino charged at him again.

"INOOOO!" Naruko called out to her.

"Shinra Tensei" Pain said with raised hand.

Ino suddenly felt herself being lifted several meters into the air, then be dropped heavily onto her back, no more than 2 feet away from Naruko. The Impact cracked the floor beneath her and making her cough blood.

"INO!" Naruko screamed, trying to break free from her restraints. The foreign chakra has been completely purged from her body, but she couldn't break the black rods that held her to the ground.

Coughing and spluttering, Ino forced herself onto her knees and began crawling towards Naruko, inch by painful inch. All the while Pain walked closer.

"Naru-koi." Ino said when they were close enough to kiss. "I l…" she was interrupted by Pain wh drove his black rod through her body, shocking Naruko to the core.

"INO" she screamed as orange/red chakra began leaking out of her entire body, the corrosive nature of the chakra having an almost immediate effect on the black rods holding her down: the chakra dissolved the rods like strong acid eats through metal.

"INOO" Naruko screamed again as her body was racked by intense pain. Again she screamed her Fiancée's name, before feeling a new Tail. Flicking the tail unconsciously, Naruko shattered the weakened rods pinning her other tails, freeing them in the process. Next she shattered the rods holding her legs and hands, followed shortly by those in her torso. All this in the time it took Pain to materialize a new black rod.

Said man was sent flying by a Sonic roar from Naruko, who pulled the black rod from Ino's body and began one of her healing techniques.

"Ino, wake up. Please don't die on me." Naruko pleaded, forcing as much chakra as she could into the technique. "Come on, please wake up."

"It is no use. She won't wake up." Pain said as he got up. "And it is because of you…" he was interrupted by Naruko punching him in the face.

"NO. YOU KILLED HER." Naruko screamed. "WORLD PEACE MY ASS. YOU JUST MURDER ANYONE WHO STANDS IN YOUR WAY TO BECOMING A TYRANT. WELL I HAVE GOT NEWS FOR YOU. AS LONG AS I LIVE, I WILL CONTINUE FIGHTING YOU." Naruko could be heard by every living man, woman and child in Konoha and surrounding areas.

With the mercs

"I am not going in there now. It feels like two massive monsters are fighting…" one of the mercs said when Konan told them they would resume their assault. He was promptly peppered by numerous paper shuriken.

Gulping, the highest ranking mercenary there gave the command. "Forward."

With the Shinobi of Konoha

Naruko's speech had a positive effect on the Leaf Shinobi, who felt their courage and strength returning. As quickly as they could, they made their way to the remains of the main gate, where they saw the approaching army.

At the forefront stood those of the Konoha 14 who could still stand: Sakura, who was battered and scratched, but otherwise ok; Kino, who along with (her) Kuromaru and Kiba and Akamaru was relatively unharmed; Shiro, who had a vertical cut across one eye that had been patched up by his father; Choji, who seems to have found a packet of chips somewhere; Hinata, who was bleeding from a wound on her arm; Neji, Tenten and Lee, exhausted as they were, stood there, determined to fight to the bitter end. The three redheads, Suzume, Kuroka and Umi had lost their lives protecting the three Kitsune siblings and Ino…well…no need to explain.

The mercs clearly didn't expect the Leaf Shinobi to have rallied that fast. Their advance slowed a bit, but didn't stop.

All the while more and more Shinobi arrived and stood alongside their brethren.

Back in the crater

A surprised Pain stared at Naruko, whose chakra and condensing into a new form of chakra armor. (A/N: I cannot really describe it, but the armor is similar in appearance to Erza from the Fairy Tail anime: Take the silver armor (the Knight I think it is called) that enables Erza to manifest hundreds of swords and send them attacking her enemy…just take away the wings and you get the general idea of what Naruko's new armor looks like…)

"Where?" Naruko asked out of the blue. Pain's eyes narrowed.

"Where is the real you?" Naruko asked him. Pain's eyes widened at the question.

"No point in telling you." He said, materializing another rod. "Because you cannot defy the will of God."

"I already am." Naruko said as she charged, channeling chakra into her sword. Pain sent her flying with his Shinra Tensei, only for it to have a far lesser effect on her than he had expected. "That push of yours isn't going to work anymore." She screamed as she launched herself at Pain again. This time Pain blocked Naruko's strike with his rod, but due to the chakra in the sword, it cut through the rod. A Splinter flew into Naruko's hand and she suddenly felt herself drawn to a certain location in the forest.

With Nagato

"She found me by reverse tracking my chakra?" the sickly man said, before coughing. Konan, who was standing beside him, asked him if he was ok, only to find him stunned. "She defeated him…" he murmured, making her eyes go wide. "She is on her way."

15 minutes later

Naruko was standing before the two of them showing none of the fatigue she was beginning to feel.

"So this is the real you…I never expected you to be an Uzumaki." Naruko told him, making both Konan and Nagato widen their eyes.

"Why are you here?" Nagato asked.

(A/N: Those who have watched the Pain arc from the anime will know what happens next. Those who didn't, It is advised to watch it. The discussion between the two Uzumaki's is the same…except for one of their voices…which is female.)

Timeskip, evening

Naruko was staggering back towards Konoha. The Fatigue she was feeling had started in earnest after she built the memorial to her godfather, Jiraya. Now she was finding herself increasingly difficult to move her limbs. Her armor was also beginning to fall apart. She was about to fall over when she found herself lying on the shoulder of her adopted mother, Anko.

"Hi, mom…" Naruko managed before drifting into unconsciousness. She didn't hear Anko calling out to her.

10 minutes later, ruins of Konoha

A large crowd of people have gathered, awaiting the return of their hero. What they got instead was Anko carrying said hero, screaming for help.

"Medic. I need a…" Anko was interrupted by a loud snapping and tearing sound, one she immediately recognized. Faster than most could see, she wrapped her cloak around her daughter while Iruka was glad he had gotten her to start wearing T-shirts.

The fact that their Hero was now only wearing a oversized cloak didn't get picked up by the crowd as they realized that something was terribly wrong with Naruko…and no one was more terrified than Ino, who had to be forcefully held back in order for the medics to begin their checkup on Naruko. All thoughts of the Battle earlier were forgotten as everyone looked down at the unmoving form of their hero.

Flashback, the final battle

The advancing army had reached the gate when the counter attack began. Many Shinobi were hurling whatever Kunai and Shuriken they had left or could find into the approaching masses. Tenten, with compliments of Naruko, was sending hers deep into their ranks with a little extra joy in it. She had managed to purchase a deck of Naruko's Kibaku Fuda, only to begin internally sweating when she saw the complexity of the sealing array on it.

'Yeah, there goes the idea of copying them…' she had thought. Now however, she was tearing large holes in the enemy ranks as she sent her tagged Kunai flying into them, smoke from the ignition fuses leaving trails behind the Kunai. When the Kunai and Shuriken ran out, some shinobi began throwing Rocks and debris at the approaching mercs. Although the defending Shinobi caused great casualties amongst the mercs, there were still too many to win against in a straight out fight.

"To the bitter end?" Kino asked Sakura, who gave her a kiss, not caring the looks they were receiving.

"To the bitter end." Sakura said. The spectacle only further encouraged the shinobi, while Kiba growled into Sakura's ear.

"Break her heart and there will be no place far enough away for you to be safe." Sakura merely smiled at his threat, before taking Kino's hand in hers. Suddenly, out of the trees behind the mercs, 50 figures emerged and ran straight towards the mercs at high speed. Each one of them wore ancient shinobi armor and was wielding a sword of some type. With a warcry, the 50 figures crashed into the mercs, carving bloody paths right through their ranks, all the way to the other side, where they leapt and bound across the rubble, reforming into a straight line facing the mercs. None of the shinobi recognized the armor, but most of them recognized the symbol that was on their backs.

That last assault broke the moral of the mercs. They began routing. No one followed them.

5 minutes later

When it was clear that the mercs wouldn't be returning, the newly arrived shinobi came together, revealing their features. Each and every one of them had crimson Hair of different shades.

One of them, a man with white hair and beard, stepped forward.

"My name if Uzumaki Kongō, Leader of the survivors of Uzushiogakure, head of the Uzumaki Branch Family. We come to ask Konoha for allowance to join their clans." The old man said. No one from Konoha dared reply.

"You will have to wait for a while about that and speak to the last member of the main family, the current head of the Uzumaki Family, about that…" Sakura told him. "And she is currently…" a loud explosion interrupted her. "…fighting the one who killed her Fiancée." Sakura finished.

Kongō looked astonished. "A member of the main family? Who? Where?" he asked, joy and doubt evident in his voice. Sakura pointed towards the crater.

"She is fighting for all of us right now." Sakura told him as they made their way over to the edge of the crater.

At the bottom they saw Naruko trading blows with the last Pain, until Pain's weapon was suddenly shattered.

"That Hair, that skill with the sword, that amount of chakra…you sure she is an Uzumaki?" Kongō asked.

"She has a few perks that are not normal for Uzumaki, but she definitely is one. She can use Fuinjutsu like no one's business." Kino said, remembering the times Sakura was shut up by the silence seals.

"Here is an example of her seals." Tenten came forward, showing him both the Uzumaki storage seal and the explosive tags.

"…I am convinced." One of the Uzumaki said, seeing the seals.

"So, who the hell is she anyway?" Kongō asked.

Flashback end

Chapter 26

"She definitely has hair that would make her fit in…even though it has two colors." Kongō said, before he noticed 4 females approaching them…he thought he heard a wolf whistle from behind him.

"I thought that we had gathered all the remaining Uzumaki left in the world, yet here we find not one but four more Uzumaki…" he was interrupted by Ino who held up 5 fingers.

"I am Yamanaka Ino, and I am hopefully soon to be married into the Uzumaki Clan…fucking akatsuki…" Ino whispered the last part. Umi placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Who could have known that Konoha would be attacked today?" she tried to comfort her friend.

"Ok, what is going on?" one of the Uzumaki females stepped forward.

"Naruko and Ino's wedding was today, but Akatsuki clearly strongly objected, seeing as they attacked Konoha just before they were to seal the deal…" Kuroka said.

"Holy shit…" one of the medics shouted. She had begun using the mystic palm jutsu to scan Naruko. Her shout focused all attention on her.

"She needs to be moved into ICU. She has got…" (A/N: the medic mentions a long list of medical terms that I don't know or cannot spell. Putting it short, almost every muscle in Naruko's body was heavily damaged, minus the heart, her chakra network show signs of being forced beyond their limits, her bones were fracture and/or splintered and her internal organs show signs of fatigue)

"We don't have one…" another medic said before a large puff of smoke interrupted them. Kongo had unsealed a small hospital from one of his scrolls.

"Will this work? It has three rooms: reception, resting and Operation room…" he was interrupted when the medics and doctors placed Naruko on a stretcher and rushed her into the mini hospital.

"Is it just me, or do Uzumaki clan members always carry entire buildings around with them?" Uchiha Raiga asked. The members of TFH laughed at that as they nodded in agreement.

"What does Naaruko carry with her?" Tenten asked. Suzume got out a scroll and began writing…a lot.

"If memory serves me correctly, she has:

'A fully equipped smithy, including metal ingots.'

'A 2 story building which acts as her mobile sealing centre.'

'A armory the size of her old apartment.'

Is there anything I forgot?" Suzume asked.

"Yes. A 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 1 kitchen, 1 storeroom house." Ino told her.

Kongō shook his head. 'Definitely Uzumaki main family.' He thought

3 days later, tent near the Castle

Ino and the rest of the Konoha 14 were sitting around the unconscious form of their friend. The medics had forbidden her being taken to the Castle and Ino ended up housing 300 of the Civilian population in there…after having Kongō seal the restricted areas and the master bedroom, where she and the other Gonin slept.

Ino looked like she hadn't slept in days…all of them looked like that. The recently arrived Uzumaki weren't much better. They kept a persistent watch over the immediate area, rotating shifts only once every 24 hours. They also had pretty much announced that Naruko and Ino were married. Not a single soul in Konoha disagreed. There were several moans from the Uzumaki, which got the guilty members glares until the reasons became clear. All their complaints could be interpreted as:

"Why are to pretty ones always taken?"

Thus the marriage between Ino and Naruko was made Official, needing only Ino and Naruko's signatures in the register.

"Sakura, I think the 13 of us will need some KO meds…" Kino whispered into Sakura's ear, who shook her head.

"We have none. Our entire stockpile of medicine was destroyed during the attack." She whispered back. She knew that Tsunade had already sent requests for Aid to several countries…but it would still be several days before anything arrived.

"Halt, state your business." Came the shout from outside. Everyone but Ino, who was too focused on Naruko, looked up at the commotion.

"There is a group from Nami no Kuni with some evil looking character here to visit Naruko-sama." One of the self-proclaimed guards told them. At the mention of Nami no Kuni Ino lifter her head.

"Does the evil looking guy have a massive sword on his back that looks like a butchers cleaver? And is half his face covered in bandages?" she asked. Sakura and Kino brightened somewhat when they heard the guard saying yes to both the questions.

"Let them in." They said in unison and looked at each other.

"They are friends of ours. I can vouch for them." Ino said.

"Of course, Ino-sama." the guard said and left. Moments later a person stepped through the entrance.

"Oh beautiful lady, would you please go out with me." Was the first thing Lee said, making Teams & and 11 laugh while the rest just stared at him.

"Lee, not to burst your bubble, but Haku is a guy." Kuroka giggled. Lee immediately entered a depressed state.

"And he is already taken…so fucking get lost." Tayuya pushed her way through and stood next to Haku. Next to enter was Mr. Evil looking.

"It has been a while, Zabuza." Umi greeted him. Seconds later the conscious members of the Gonin and Team 7 were swarmed by the Genin from Nami no Kuni.

Plenty greetings, inumerous hugs, some chatting and 2 hours later

"…and since then Naruko has been in a comatose state. Growing two tails within minutes of another has put a severe strain on her body. The medics are unsure if she will ever wake up." Suzume finished while Ino choked on the last bit. Zabuza, Haku and Tayuya had genuine looks of sympathy on their faces. At that moment a groan came from Naruko. Ino almost broke the sound barrier, disappearing from where she was talking to Zabuza and Haku and reappearing net to Naruko.

"Naru-koi?" she asked. Naruko looked at her blankly.

"Who are you?" she asked, making Ino's heart stop. What Ino didn't see, but the others did, was that Naruko had her fingers crossed indicating that she was playing with Ino. When Ino couldn't find any words, Naruko and everyone else began laughing.

"Yamanaka Ino at a loss for words. Your face was to die for, Ino-koi." Naruko chuckled, before being glomped by the Blonde.

"Baka. You had me so worried and the first thing you do after being in a Coma for 3 days is nearly give me a heart attack?" she cried into Naruko's shoulder. Naruko reached up and patted her shoulder.

"3 days? Did you remove the resistance seals?" Naruko asked. Everyone's heads turned to her so fast that she could have sworn she heard something snap.

"You still have them on you?" Haku looked at her incredulously.

"Not the ones you remember…but yeah, I have still got 'em." Naruko said, moving to scratch the back of her head only to be met with bare skin. Feeling her head all over, just to be sure, she paled slightly when she realized her hair had been shaved of completely. Putting on an all-too-sweet smile that unsurprisingly made the Genin from Nami wet themselves and everyone else take a few steps back, minus Lee, who was still sulking, Ino who knew what was going to happen and knew she was safe, and Zabuza, who just smiled under his mask.

"And they called him Mr. Scary…" he heard Inari whisper to Nozomi.

"You realize that only now?" she whispered back. "Remember what happened during the time she was training us to use our chakra natures?"

"What do you mean? She wasn't sending us through the Uzumaki Boot Camp Mk. 1. The only problems there was…the…puniSHIT…I getting out of here!" Inari screamed. "I AM NOT STAYING HERE TO SEE WHAT HAPPENED NEXT…"He paused at the entrance. "Who cut her hair anyway?"

With that he was gone. Before anyone else managed to move, Naruko had run through some handsigns.

"Ninpo: Hari Jizo" she said, making her Hair grow back at high speed, only this time it went all the way to the floor, not just below her knees.

Outside the tent

Uzumaki Kongo was currently heading towards the tent when Inari stormed past him, pure terror on his face. Seconds later he heard a fearful scream as well as a jutsu being called in a voice that made even him take a step back.

"Ninpo: Harijigoku"

…followed by the sides of the tent becoming massive pincushions as long, sharp needles pierced them.

"I think she noticed that someone gave her a haircut." He told the pale clanswoman standing next to him.

"That brown haired brat, Kiba I think it was, is in for a day in hell once she finds out." She said.

In the tent

Kiba, who was standing closest to the entrance, heard the two Uzumaki speaking and unfortunately for him so too did Naruko…who pointed her all-too-sweet smile at the guy.

"Ninpo: Hari" she said. (A/N: This time Hari means acupuncture)

…even Zabuza covered his eyes at the punishment Naruko installed on the poor boy.

…needless to say Kiba would keep a looooooooong distance from woman with long hair except for Hinata.

On the plus side, all the muscles that were tensed up without him knowing had calmed down…that included the muscles that prevent the bladder continuously emptying.

Fortunately for Naruko, the last bit only took effect AFTER Kiba had returned home.

Outside the tent…

"I am beginning to regret having accepted her as a clan head…I mean, yes she has our short temper and all…BUT THIS IS RIDICULOUS!" Kongo shouted…having entered the tent AFTER Kiba got his…*ahem*…acupuncture session.

"Wait, so it is easier to identify an Uzumaki by his/her temper than it is by their insane chakra reserves or their red hair?" Kino asked. Kiba had by then almost reached the area designated as the new Inuzuka compound.

"If that is true, why wasn't Konoha destroyed before 3 days ago?" Sakura asked, taking Kino's hand in her own.

"Point taken."

"I am just glad I wasn't like my predecessor." Zabuza said. Everyone turned towards him. "He fought the person who was for a long time believed to have been the last Uzumaki…actually more like he wanted to defeat her."

"That doesn't explain much." Ino deadpanned.

"I am like him in that he wanted a challenge in kenjutsu…but I was there when they fought…and I know what mistake he made." Zabuza shook his head. "He told her that he was going to defeat her and turn her into his personal breeding bitch."

"How long did he last?" Kongo asked.

"If my memory serves me correctly, about 5 seconds before his sword was shattered and 3 seconds before she decapitated him." Zabuza answered.

"8 seconds, not bad. The average swordsman lasts about 7 seconds against an Uzumaki." Kongo said, praise evident in his voice.

"Are you saying that my master was an average swordsman?" Zabuza growled.

"Oh, I forgot to say add something. The average JONIN swordsman lasts about 7 seconds against an average Uzumaki swordsman, give or take half a second. Kushina was a prodigy at kenjutsu and fuinjutsu." Kongo informed them.

"How would you know?" Zabuza asked, having overcome his previous anger.

"I taught her." Came the simple answer.

Timeskip, a few days later

Naruko and Ino were now officially Wife and…Wife. Tsunade and several members of the council had come to her tent the day after she woke up in order for them to sign the register…after the "You may kiss" stuff and all. Present were Kongo and some of the eldest Uzumaki, who gave the two rings with seals of various types on them…including a homing seal that allowed them to find each other again if seperated.

Now they were sitting at Tsunade's desk…well her new one…in her "Office" tent.

"So, where are the two of you going for your honeymoon?" Tsunade smirked behind her hands. Naruko and Ino looked at each other.

"Not telling. We don't want you interrupting it." Naruko said.

"In other words, you will be out causing trouble…" Tsunade guessed.

"For you maybe. Now that Naruko has mastered her new jutsu, collateral damage may be unavoidable." Ino grinned. Tsunade felt like killing herself. It was true, now that Naruko could throw the Futon: Rasenshuriken, she was forced to remove her ban on the technique, although it was now officially a S-rank jutsu in the scroll of Seals.

"Don't worry. We will know if Konoha is in trouble." Naruko told her as she rose from her chair followed shortly by Ino. "We will be gone for a few weeks, but with more of my clan here at the Uzumaki estate, you should be able to manage most issues."

Tsunade bit her lower lip, but relented as what she had said was true.

"Just don't let the council try to make my clan a part of Konoha…" Naruko warned her, knowing about the plans the Civilian council had. Due to recent events the civilian council had been granted limited control over shinobi affairs and vica versa in helping rebuild Konoha. It was clear they wanted the Uzumaki clan to join Konoha. Naruko decided to prank them when she returns.

"See you soon, Baa-chan." Naruko said as she and Ino left.

"I hope I can stop the council from assimilating the Uzumaki clan." Tsunade said after the two had left. Shizune brought enlightenment.

"But doesn't the Clan head have the final word whether or not his/her clan will join the village?" she asked…and became scared when Tsunade got a this-is-going-to-be-fun expression.

4 days later

Naruko and Ino had been travelling west for the last 4 days with Naruko having removed her restriction seals and carrying Ino most of the way. Her new power-up had granted her even more chakra as well as greatly enhancing her physical abilities. They had reached the border of Kaze no Kuni on the first day travelling and reached the mountains on the far side two days later, travelling mostly at night. Stories would remain about a wall of sand that arose from the desert floor and reached high into the sky.

"Shall we begin our honeymoon?" Naruko asked her wife, who nodded. The two began undressing and sealed their clothes in storage scrolls that Naruko carried.

Their Honeymoon lasted for 2 weeks and hunter and explorers would return to their homes with stories about naked Amazonians hunting and mating deep in the western mountains. When these stories reached Konoha, Tsunade felt a migraine starting. They had indeed gone and caused trouble.

2 weeks…and another 4 days…later

A certain pair of eternal Chunin were on Gate duty…as usual…when the two Uzumakis returned.

"Uzumaki Naruko and Uzumaki-Yamanaka Ino returning from vacation." Ino told them.

"It is about time the two of you returned. Report to the Hokage ASAP. Ther…" Kotetsu didn't finish before he realized that the two were already gone. Izumo sighed.

"I think it is better not to tell them about what the council has been trying to do. We may not be able to find anything of them after she is done with them." He said. Kotetsu just nodded.

"I was actually becoming bored of the quiet. I hope she will pull a prank soon."

"I doubt it." Oh how wrong could those two have been.

In the Hokage office

"About time you two got back." Tsunade sighed almost in relief. "How was your honeymoon?"

"You mean you haven't heard the stories?" Naruko smirked while Ino got a light blush remembering their…activities.

"Apparently there were some Amazonians in the mountains west of Kaze no Kuni…they wouldn't have been you right?" Tsunade asked, before smirking when she saw Ino blushing more deeply than before. She had got their answer.

"Anyhow, the council has been pushing hard to have your clan join Konoha. I have managed to stop the proceedings due to the fact that it will be your choice whether or not to join the village…" Tsunade was interrupted by Naruko.

"Request permission to know where the responsible ones live." She said with a smile that spoke of causing trouble.

"I am afraid I cannot speak to you about that." Tsunade said as she took out a scroll and began writing. "I however need you to go back to your estate. There have been some issues amongst the refugees there. Some of them have tried to access restricted areas." With that she handed the scroll to Naruko who read it.

Naruko smiled at what she read there. The first part was indeed a mission writing, but the second part listed the addresses.

30 minutes later, the Castle

"For the last time you are not allowed to enter this room." Umi told the Civilians who were trying to enter the "Blood Adoption Room".

"I am the Son of one of the Council members. I can have you arrested if you so much as touch me. You Uzumaki are already part of Konoha. You…" the man suddenly found himself flung down the stairs followed shortly by his goons.

"How dare you…" he began only to end up with a sword pointing at his face.

"I dare, because MY clan isn't a clan of Konoha. The civilian council may have some control over Shinobi, but that doesn't give them the right to forcefully integrate anyone." Naruko told him from the other end of Himiko. "I have offered my estate to house those who don't have a home in good faith, and you are repaying it by trying to force yourself into a room containing one of my clans' greatest secrets." Actually the room they were guarding was a dummy room. The real room was moved to the top of the castle where the recent arrivals of the Uzumaki Clan took up residence. What was in the room now was a stasis trap.

Ino was watching the ordeal from the far corner. The look on her Wife's face told her that she was going to show no mercy. She began feeling pity on Naruko's victims tonight.

The next day

The Son had already risen and Konoha was bustling with activity when the blood curdling screams of 5 civilian council members broke the peace and quiet. Several ANBU appeared at each of their homes, only to find the council members tied to their beds with their spouces. Their blanket was removed and it looked like they had been disemboweled. To make matters worse for the council members, the ANBU found torture equipment in their homes, some of which had unconscious animals strapped to them. A Tora look alike was even found in one of the councilors homes'. Upon closer inspection however, the ANBU found that the Council members were safe and not hurt…someone had just glued sausage strings to their stomachs and covered them with tomato-paste.

Of course the first suspect was Naruko, but almost everyone at the Castle confirmed that she was there, having a communal dinner with the temporary and permanent residents. For that reason, she was removed from the suspect list, especially when she moaned that someone got to them before she could. Well, she was speaking the truth. She was the real Naruko. She just sent her shadow clones to pull the stunts. The animals were ones she had killed while on their honeymoon because they either attacked them or interrupted them. (A/N: So there you have it dear readers. I did not torture any animal. I forgot to mention that each of the councilors' homes had a boar roasting on a spit. Hey, Breakfast at home…) In fact, the only ones who knew that it was Naruko who pulled the prank were the members of the Uzumaki Clan, her mother Anko, Iruka, Tsunade and the three Kitsune sisters. The investigation reached a dead end on everything they tried.

Later that morning

Ino smiled humorously at the scene in front of her while idly chatting with, and feeling jealous of, a blond kunoichi from Kumogakure no Sato (A/N: Village hidden in the clouds). Well the jealousy was from the fact that she had breasts that rivaled Hinata's, who was larger in that area than Naruko.

"I am sorry for destroying your village…" Karui, the girl clinging at Naruko, apologized for the uncountableth time. "…Omoi shouldn't have dodges that rock…" Naruko just didn't know how to handle this situation…until Karui made a big mistake.

"Why don't you marry Omoi and teach him not to anger a female…" Karui stopped when she felt KI from somewhere. Samui even took a few steps away from Ino who was glaring at Karui with glowing eyes and floating hair. This caused Karui to hug Naruko as a small child would hug its mother when scared. Realization dawned upon the three from Kumo when Naruko showed them her ring. She was already married. When they saw the symbol on the ring however, both Karui and Omoi turned as pale as Samui. They had read about the very clan that symbol belonged to…and how their village had taken part in its destruction.

"Ahem, y-yo-you a-are n-n-not an…" Omoi began, before Ino stopped her releasing KI and walked up next to Naruko, showing them her own ring.

"We are both Uzumaki." They said in unison.

"However, no-one can change the past and I wasn't there at Uzushiogakure. I am however the clan head, so…do you want to continue using me as an eye-cloth?" Naruko said. Karui turned even whiter before trying to make a run for it, only to run into none other than Uzumaki Kongo. She had a split second to see an Uzumaki spiral before crashing into the man.

"And now you run right into one of my elders." Naruko mock complained. By this time Ino had told Samui that Naruko didn't mind actually, but was a prankster. Both blonds were giggling at the sight of Karui being lectured by two members of what is definitely the scariest clan in the history of the five elemental nations.

10 minutes of hilarious lecturing later

Karui excused herself in order to change her soiled undergarments while Samui told them the reason they were here: Sasuke had attacked and kidnapped a member of their village.

"We are here to request access to his personal files. We understand that he already has a bounty on his head, but the bingo book didn't go into details." She told them.

"Let's see. Desertion, Rape, Brutalization and Murder are the main accusations." Naruko said.

"How would you know?" Omoi asked. Naruko's mood turned dark.

"After leaving Konoha, the two of us fought at the valley of the end. He placed a powerful Genjutsu on me, then raped me whilst cutting into me with a kunai." She growled. Samui felt a some of sympathy: she had a friend who went through similar eperiences.

"If you want to see Sasuke's files, you will have to go to the Hokage first." Ino told them. "I have to go and calm Naruko down before the situation becomes out of hand."

Timeskip, Noon, Council chamber

The discussion of the day was about the Uzumaki clan joining Konoha.

"The nerve." Ino whispered to Kongo, who nodded.

"Let me get this straight," they heard Naruko say. "You try to go behind my back and control a clan that does not fall under your jurisdiction, then you act as though the Uzumaki clan has been part of Konoha all along, sending people to try and steal our clan secrets and then threaten my clan-mates. And now you try to impose your will upon me…have any of you read the treaty between the Uzumaki clan and Konoha?" Tsunade had to forcefully suppress a giggle seeing the council members being verbally thrashed by Naruko…as did several of the shinobi council. To make things even more hilarious, the ones responsible were still recovering from the events that morning. Word about what had been found had spread like wildfire through Konoha and when the news that it wasn't Naruko (apparently) who pulled the prank, the people began fearing that a second prank master was in the village.

"And when I return from my honeymoon, I hear news that you lot have been committing acts of…" Naruko was interrupted by the arrival of a messenger.

"Hokage-sama. You are summoned to a Kage-summit concerning the recent mercenary attacks. The Summit will be held in Tetsu no Kuni (Land of Iron)." The messenger said.

Tsunade turned to Naruko.

"When did you want to rebuild your village?" she asked.

1 week later, bridge connecting Uzu no Kuni (Land of Whirlpools)

Naruko was standing at the entrance to a large bridge that was built by her ancestors, and it lead right into the heart of her soon to be new home. Next to her stood Ino. Behind them stood the 70 odd other Uzumaki (Naruko had performed the Blood Adoption Ritual on some civilians who wished to join her clan), as well as an army of artisans who would help rebuilding the village. Amongst them was Tsunami who had recently gotten into a relationship with Zabuza.

"Asking her out on a date was more difficult than having to live on the run." He had said. Tsunami had decided to take that as a compliment.

Tazuna also decided to help, planning to use his expertise at building large structures to good use. There were also a group of orphans from all over the land of fire that were given the choice of joining the Uzumaki clan, and these were the only ones who accepted. Behind them came three carts filled with scrolls containing supplies and tools. Several Daimyos and lesser Kage have sent word that they would send people to help with the reconstruction as well in return for trade agreements. Naruko answered that they set up a trading district on the mainland near the bridge for the time being as well as having 20 of their merchants, each, receive licenses that exempt them from any trading tax that they may have at Uzushio. She also sent requests for masonry and timber needed for the repairs. Tools were relatively easy to come by, seeing as she carried a smithy almost everywhere she went…

Taking in a deep breath, Naruko began walking towards the ruins of her new home. Ino came with her. Behind them they heard the rest of their convoy begin walking as well. Naruko was overwhelmed by a feeling of homecoming as she took her first steps of the bridge and onto the Island that help the once famous village of the Uzumaki clan.

Chapter 27

12 days later

Tsunade had called for the entire council as well as every clan head in Konoha for an important meeting. While she was at the Kage Summit, she had learnt that Akatsuki had managed to gain possession of 7 1/2 of the 9 Biju (well they didn't extract Shukaku fully, which is why Gaara survived) (A/N: Yes, I am leaving Killer Bee out of this story. If you don't understand why, remember that in this story there are already 2 biju that havn't been fully captured by Akatsuki) and were gathering their full might for an all out attack against a yet unknown target. Naruko had sent Umi, Kuroka and Suzume with Tsunade to ensure the Tsuchikage, Raikage and Mizukage that the Uzumaki clan didn't hold any grudge against them for past events. Towards the end of the Summit, where Danzo made an appearance with only two of his followers (A/N: he was later killed on a certain bridge during his fight with Sasuke…watch the anime or read the manga how that went). He offered to help them, saying that while his methods to them might have been questionable, he was doing what he believed to be the best course of action. Surprisingly it was the Raikage, A, who spoke up for him, saying that although he didn't trust the old man, he did respect him for his will to fight for his beliefs. Due to this, Danzo was allowed to help in the war on the condition that his men stay away from the hidden villages as much as possible.

Konoha

Tsunade explained the results of the Summit and called for the mobilization of Konoha's armed forces. She did, as expected, meet some opposition from the narrow minded councilors, but they were soon convinced. The Leaf Task Forces, of which there were four now (Hashirama, Tobirama, Hiruzen, Minato), were on constant alert in case word of an Akatsuki attack reached Konoha and the targets required Aid. The blacksmiths were working overtime to provide the arming forces with the needed tools and equipment while the training fields saw more activity than they had for a very long time.

Meanwhile, with Naruko

Naruko was watching the workers clear the rubble from the ruins in the western sectors. Behind her she could hear the 2000 or so shadow clones working to clear out the rubble on that side (They were halfway finished with their area already). The reason for this distribution was that the eastern side held the most rubble as that is where the majority of the Uzumaki had made their last stand. The western side was also more of a civilian complex. The other shinobi were either out on patrol duty or were helping the workers when the three redheads returned from the Kage Summit. Upon hearing the news, Naruko created an additional 500 shadow clones to help the workers whilst also spreading the news amongst the shinobi.

"Kongo-san, see if you can fortify the bridge. I'll start up my smithy and workshop for weapon and defense production. Also see if you can get someone to make a list of everything we need." She told the elder Uzumaki. She then turned and looked towards the west, wondering when and where the attack will land.

Timeskip, 2 days later, Amegakure

The Village hidden in the Rain was currently in mourning as their Leader's, Nagato, funeral was underway. The procession was being led by Konan, as she was sort of forced into the position of Village leader (Practically everyone wanted her to lead them). The procession continued through the entire village until it reached the tomb that had been created for the two of them, a tomb where every leader of the village was interred.

"He had a dream, that of peace." Konan began her memorial speech. "For the first few years of his life Nagato lived the life of an orphan on the street. He then met a man who taught him, Yahiko and myself how to survive, how to defend ourselves, what it means to be strong." Konan paused, letting her words sink in. "After leaving him, we began working towards our dream of bringing peace to this war-torn continent. Unfortunately, whilst fighting to fulfill his dream, he encountered someone who shared his dream. After battling him, both Nagato and Yahiko realized that what they were doing was wrong, as they recognized that they had been blinded by the pain of the loss of several of our friends. When this person approached them during their last confrontation, instead of attacking them, she chose to speak with them, asking us for our story." Konan paused again. "She tried to understand us, our point of view. Sadly she also saw something in Nagato that few knew about. Nagato was suffering from a fatal disease. Therefore as an act of reconciliation, Nagato, with the help of Yahiko, gave their lives in order to resurrect everyone who had died during the recent battle with Konoha. Afterwards, this female promised me that she didn't believe that our village had anything to do with the attack as Nagato and Yahiko attacked with our mercenaries, not shinobi, therefore she hold no grudge against us. I know that many of you will wish for revenge, but ask yourself this: will revenge bring peace?" both coffins were lowered into the tomb. "Revenge will bring forth pain, which will bring forth anger, which will bring forth death which will bring forth revenge again. If peace is to be fulfilled, that cycle must be broken." A loud murmur of approval echoed through the village.

"I know that our village has suffered much at the hands of Konoha's shinobi during the last great war, but the past cannot be changed. My first step to creating peace for us is to begin trade negotiations with the neighboring nations." There were mutters of disproval, mainly because of the mentality of the resident shinobi. Amegakure has been isolating itself ever since Nagato took over leadership from Hanzo the Salamander.

At that moment, 20 miles away from Amegakure

(A/N: I am going to reveal the true force behind the Akatsuki in this AU soon. As the key driving forces behind the Akatsuki in the original timeline are not present, I decided to add a different item to the storyline in their place.)

Unknown to both Konan and the residents of Amegakure, a massive army of foreign soldiers was slowly marching towards the village. Most of them were armed in near identical equipment: heavy chainmail hauberk; a riveted bucket helmet with a 'T' cut in so the person can see and breath; a long white coat over their armor; metal gauntlets and shin guards and thick leather boots. They were in groups, with each group carrying a different Logo/Symbol. Most of them carried a straight, 1m long two sided sword made from forged steel, though some carried maces or axes. (A/N: for those who haven't noticed, I am describing an army during the crusades, specifically one of the early european armies, just without the knights, templars, horsemen, monks, cross's,…just the general Men-at-Arms and/or swordsmen.)

Behind that army came another army equipped with much lighter leather armor, leather helmet, leather gauntlets and boots. They were armed with a long spear, a round shield 0.5m in diameter and a short sword strapped to their sides. (A/N: continuing from earlier, these are basically conscripts or cannon fodder as they were sometimes called. They received minimal training and acted like a buffer when a fight broke out…poor chaps…)

Lastly came the baggage train…(A/N: Shikamaru, If you please…(Shikamaru): Troublesome. This will take to long. Just google it… (Temari): How did I fall in love with such a Lazy man? (Author): His cloud watching hobby? (Temari): I guess…it is rather relaxing…)

At the Head of this large army was a man in a dark brown cloak with a grey falcon on it.

"Furutaka-sama. We are roughly 20 miles away from the Village hidden in the rain." A black and white (literally) being said as it rose from the ground.

"Zetsu, what is the situation in the village?" Furutaka (Old Falcon) asked.

"Konan has taken over the mantle of leadership and is planning on opening up the village to the outside world. She has the full support of most of the shinobi and civilians." Zetsu said.

"Then we will just have to purge them, won't we?" Furutaka said, grinning evilly. He ordered his army to resume the march towards the Village.

Although there were numerous symbols adorning the shields of the soldiers, the battle standard all were the same: a red cloud on a black background.

The next day, evening, Uzushiogakure

The ruins of Uzushiogakure had changed considerably. The bridge was covered in defensive structures meaning material and supplies had to be brought into the village itself via scroll-mail: on the mainland the supplies are sealed into scrolls which are then taken by one of the Uzumaki shinobi (Naruko also took turns at this) across the water whilst dodging the whirlpools that formed a natural impenetrable defense against ships. Once on land the contents were unsealed and distributed to their destinations. The system was more effort, but at the same time more efficient as large amounts of material could be sealed inside the scrolls and each shinobi could carry numerous scrolls at any given time. The only issue was when more people came to help with the reconstruction. They had to climb ladders over the defensive structures with ladders and the occasional staircase. The Village itself has been nearly flattened as the ruins of the previous buildings were starting to crumble, meaning they had to be torn down anyway. The rubble was turned to dust with a few ninjutsu and used to make new bricks for the new houses. Whilst clearing the areas the workers came across several hidden supply caches buried in the ground. Inside each cache was, to most peoples' surprise, not things like food or hunting equipment, neat stacks of metal ingots of different types: Silver ingots, Iron Ingots divided into various types (Soft, Mild, Forged…), Several types of Steel, Copper, Brass, Magnesium (A/N: why not? The Uzumaki are a mysterious clan, so why not add more stuff into the mixture?), several types of Alloy and, now this surprised the people who had some training in blacksmithing, a large pile of Tamahagane blocks. (A/N: For those of you who don't know what Tamahagane is let me give the general background to it. Tamahagane is best known as the metal that Japanese swords are made of. It requires a large furnace, called a Tatara (For those who know that word is written, please forgive me) where Iron sand and Charcoal are fed into for three days and nights. The Iron Sand doesn't melt entirely, but instead bonds with the other iron sand particles while most of the impurities sink to the bottom of the furnace. This already makes it considerably stronger than smelted steel (Don't ask me for the reasons…I am not a metallurgist). The Art of making Tamahagane in the traditional way is still practiced today in at least one location in Japan, but essentially it is a lost art as these days most people go for the cheaper mass produced stuff. Only the traditional Japanese swordsmiths use Tamahagane, and there are few of them left.)

"There is enough metal here to make weapons for an army." One of the workers muttered. Kongo shok his head.

"We only use the Tamahagane for weapons. The rest we used for other things." The workers looked at him oddly.

"What do you use them for?" they asked.

"Almost everything that isn't a weapon." Came the simple reply.

10 minutes later, inside the cache

Some of the workers who had entered the rather spacious room stared in wonder at the complex seals on the walls while the rest were trying to move one of the steel ingots. Between 6 of them they barely managed to lift it of the pile.

"What were the Uzumaki thinking, forging their metal into ingots of this size?" one of them asked. The Ingots were about 1.5m long, about a foot wide at the base and 2/3 foot at the top. Naruko was the one who answered the question.

"We made them that big so they wouldn't be stolen that easily." She pulled out a storage scroll. "Let me handle the ingots. Please take the Tamahagane block over to the workshops." She told them and began sealing the ingots one at a time in sealing matrices in the scroll, leaving the bewildered workers to look at the 2m high pyramid of metal blocks. Thankfully for them, these blocks were the size of normal bricks and dispite being still heavy, they managed to create a chain to move the blocks towards the workshops which had been set up outside the village. Naruko meanwhile had just finished with the first stack of Ingots and was moving over to the next before realizing that she was out of empty storage scrolls.

"I'll be back…" she grumbled and went to the workshops where she unsealed the ingots in a neat stack, then went to her temporary residence and took as many scrolls as she had pockets on her vest and belt.

Meanwhile with Ino

Ino was busy training with some of the younger Uzumaki, practicing her Taijutsu, Ninjutsu and Kenjutsu, the latter with an enthusiastic Uzumaki kid who was slightly arrogant and made the horrifying mistake of annoying Ino whilst she had her sword drawn. (A/N: I am NOT putting up a poll as to whether or not the guy learned the famous lesson about truly angering a woman who has something in her hand, be it a rolling pin, frying pan…) The boy was later found hanging by his privates from a tree near the training ground. Fortunately he was unconscious and Ino didn't use ninja wire to suspend him (She didn't have any on her at that time).

That night, Naruko and Ino's bedroom

The two lov…the married couple were lying in their bed holding each other close.

"Ne, Ino-koi, do you think I am ready?" the fire-ette asked. The blond turned her head to look at her wife.

"What do you mean?" Ino asked. They had left the curtains open so the moonlight shone into the room. By this light Ino could see the uncertainty in Naruko's eyes.

"Am I ready to truly take up the mantle of leadership?" Naruko asked. Ino got up on all fours and looked down at Naruko.

"I am sure that you would make an excellent Leader. I mean, you already have the support of every person in the Uzumaki clan. Why wouldn't they follow you?" Ino told her.

"Because I am not Human." Naruko answered, tears welling up in her eyes. "I am a Biju, a monster capable of great destruction. I am only one tail away from unleashing my full power. Who is to say that I won't lose control? I…" Naruko was interrupted by Ino pulling her into a loving kiss.

"Does it matter whether or not you are human? You are still the Naruko that everyone here knows and accepts, and also the Person Whom I have given more than my heart." She told the fire-ette. She kissed her again as she lowered herself onto Naruko. Soon both of them drifted into a deep sleep…well one fo them did. The other could still be woken up by throwing a balloon into the room…

Timeskip, 3 days later, shortly before dawn, Konoha

Tsunade was taking a shower when the message arrived in the form of an ANBU kneeling outside her bathroom door.

"Hokage-sama. Dire news." The ANBU said.

"Is that you Tori?" Tsunade asked. "What is the message?" inside her head Tsunade was visualizing her making Tori live up to his Name's sake.

"The remnants of Danzo's Root have sent a message stating that Amegakure has fallen to an invading force of unknown origin." Tori reported, unaware about Tsunade's thoughts. Tsunade nearly burst through the door at the news. Instead she forced herself back into the shower, turned it off, wrapped herself in a towel and then left the bathroom.

30 minutes later, Hokage Office

"So…" Tsunade said, speaking to Tori. "Report everything that the message said."

"Hai. The agent reported the army to number roughly 100,000 strong…" Tsunade paled at the news.

"About 2/5 of the army carried heavy chainmail armor and wielded a shield and sword. Another 2/5 wore leather armor and spears with shorter swords as their side arm. The rest carried long bows with which they sent arrows over great distances. Those arrows cut through the armor of the ame-nin like paper. The battle was nothing short of a slaughter. The invading army spared no-one, be it man, woman or child. Those few who managed to escape have gone into hiding." He reported. He handed the original message to Tsunade.

After reading the message, Tsunade's eyes widened.

"Kunai and Shuriken, unless imbued with either wind or lightning chakra, are incapable of piercing the armor and shields of this enemy? Swords find it difficult to cut through the armor?" she gasped. She had never heard of such armor before. (A/N: please remember that shinobi are trained to be silent and swift. Thus they wore very light chain mail under their vests. These pseudo crusaders wore armor that can stop an arrow from an arabian bow at 30 yards…well, those wearing chainmail at least.)

Tori nodded. "The agent himself barely managed to escape undetected."

"Send this to every hidden village. Tell them that the threat this army poses if far greater than anticipated. Also send word to Uzushiogakure. They need to know as well." Tsunade shouted. Meanwhile she sent for every Jonin in Konoha…one of whom she threatened to burn his smutty books if he didn't report in immediately…

10 minutes later

"I want our forces to mobilize as soon as possible. Gather every available shinobi and have them prepare for War. There is a foreign army bearing the Akatsuki standard threatening our lands wearing armor that is superior to ours…" Tsunade spent the next 10 minutes explaining the situation.

"I want you all to assemble at training ground 22 at first light tomorrow. Dismissed." With that the Jonin dispersed, leaving Tsunade and Shizune alone on the roof of the recently finished new Hokage Tower. "Shizune, we are going as well. See if you can find any shinobi gear that fits you." The busty blond told her aide.

Uzushiogakure, that evening

Naruko was currently checking the defenses on the bridge when the messenger from Konoha arrived.

"Naruko-san. Akatsuki has made their move." The ANBU said.

"Hebi, what do you mean?" the fire-ette asked. Hebi told her about the army and it's equipment. After listening to the ANBU, Naruko thanked her and told her to tell Tsunade that she would come by with some of her 'toys'.

15 minutes later 10,000 of Naruko's clones were sitting all over Uzushio, creating explosive tags in vast numbers.

Another 10 minutes later the original Naruko sorted 10,000 Uzumaki grade explosive tags into packs of 50…with the help of some clones, while another set of 10,000 made more tags.

1 hour later

It was one of those rare cases where Naruko was actually tired. She has made close to 800 decks of explosive tags and had sealed them into special scrolls that would keep them inert, meaning they needed to be charged when unsealed. Once she had everything sealed and ready, she turned to Kongo.

"Take care of things here until I return. I am just going to deliver these to Konoha's army. They are going to need them." She told him. Soon she was speeding towards Konoha with Ino, Suzume, Kuroka and Umi as 'Bodyguards'. Kongo had been very adamant about that. (A/N: does she even need any?)

The next day, Konoha, Training field 22

Tsunade had finished briefing the Shinobi about what was going on and was about to give the order to move out when Naruko arrived.

"Before you go…" Naruko said between gasps of breath, "I have something that will help you in the upcoming battles." She turned to her 'bodyguards'. "Hand these out will you. I am a bit low on chakra at the moment." She told them handing each of them 4 scrolls, each containing 50 decks of explosive tags. The 4 kunoichi went to each team and handed over one of the decks. When they were finished, Naruko spoke up.

"Currently those tags won't explode. They first need to be charged with chakra until the green symbol at the bottom disappears. After that you can treat them like normal explosives. Just make sure you are at least 30 feet away from where they will explode…or you may not be able to see the next day." The looks of horror made her mentally giggle. "If what I heard is true, you will need them. Unfortunately I cannot leave my Village as there are too few of us to spare anyone. May the Will of Fire guide you!"

1 hour later, the Castle

Naruko had decided to rest at the Castle and return to Uzushiogakure the next day. Right now they were resting in the shade of the trees…well the redheads were snoozing, wondering how Ino could sleep with Naruko using her chest as a pillow whilst at the same time snoring like a saw. It was to this sight that Iruka arrived. He smiled when he saw the 5 girls, sleeping as though there wasn't a war going on.

"Ahh, Iruka-san." Kuroka spoke up when she opened her eyes. Suzume, Umi and even Ino woke up, though the blond was immediately pushed back to the ground with Naruko cuddling closer, hugging Ino like a large stuffed toy. Iruka took pity on the blond and signaled her and the redheads to be quiet for a while as he quickly went and got a thermos flask and a cup of instant ramen. Minutes later Naruko had been woken by the method that had a 100% success rate, the "Naruko, your Ramen is getting Cold" method. (A/N: I think I explained this method back in my first upload. The third Hokage used it to wake her up)

While she ate, Naruko got an idea on who to ask in order to help in the war against these new invaders.

This chapter-package is finally done. Once again, I am sorry for the long time it took. Those of you who write AUs would probably understand when I say this, but the closer you get to the ending, the more difficult it gets to write your story. Some of you may wonder why Naruko, who usually doesn't hand out her 'toys' to just anyone, had created such a vast amount of tags for Konoha, everything will be made clear in my next, and last, upload of this story.

Add on, additional comedy…information about who Naruko was thinking about

Northern part of Hi no Kuni, Main stronghold of the Followers of the Flame

Kenjustune looked out over the fortifications that were being built around the small village. This was his home, the place where he was born and grew up in. It was situated at the foot of a small mountain, making it easily defendable.

He smiled. The Followers of the Flame, or simply Flamers as the men started calling themselves, had grown into a vast organization that even received the support of the Daimyo of Hi no Kuni. Their campaign against Bandits and Marauders had brought them to the point where the entire country was nearly devoid of them. Their ranks had also swelled and they have unofficially become Hi no Kuni's standing army, numbering close to 20,000. Most citizens and even many shinobi saw their name and thought they fought for their country…which was somewhat true. They did fight for their country, but they didn't name themselves after their country.

"It had been a while, hasn't it?" a voice snapped Kenjutsune out of his thoughts. He turned around to see the ones who had changed his life together with a scary looking, purple haired woman.

"My lady." Kenjutsune said in surprise, falling to one knee and bowing to Naruko.

"I see you have been busy. Well done." Naruko told him. Nearby several soldiers saw the scene. Most didn't know what was going on and who the hot chicks were, while a few recognized the one standing before their leader. They hit the ground in a bow so fast that whatever they were carrying remained in the air for a heartbeat before falling to the ground. This of course bewildered the others to no end.

"Honō no Joō." The bowing figures spoke in unison. Naruko blushed slightly at being called "Flame Queen". Those not bowing just got more confused.

1 hour, uncountable nosebleeds from flipping skirts, 3 'lectures' and a army of bowing men later

"Followers of the Flame, I, no, the elemental Nations have need of your help…" Naruko began but a person in the ranks before her interrupted her.

"You need not request our help. We are your followers in the first place." The man said.

As Naruko continued her speech, Kenjutsune was approached by his second in command (A/N: the Bandit leader from the previous Omake).

"You were right. She definitely is worth it. She is scarier than my mother…" the man said. Naruko, having heard him, decided to prank him for speaking behind her back. Channeling wind chakra into her legs, she made it seem like a breeze was lifting up her skirt. The result could only be described as a bloodbath as EVERYONE fell unconscious from blood-loss due to nose-bleeding.

Kenjutsune was the only one not to get a nose-bleed as he had his eyes closed while thinking about a course of action at the time. He only opened them when he heard the girls speak amongst themselves.

"You have got to teach me how you did that." Anko smirked.

"Watch and learn." Naruko told her, turning to Kenjutsune. The poor man never knew what hit him as he saw Naruko lift her skirt all the way up, revealing her lower lips, sending him flying.

"It only works on those without a strong mind. Nor does it work on those who aren't perverts or are super perverts…like Ero-Sennin was.

Somewhere in Heaven

A white haired man was peek…doing research…when he sneezed. Unfortunately for him he didn't realize that Konoha's 'Red Hot Habanero' was in the hot spring behind a boulder, so he didn't see her.

With the ruler of Heaven

Kami was busy finishing up his own paperwork when he heard a loud scream of pain. He immediately sent his angles to investigate. 10 minutes later they returned.

"THE Pervert has been caught by Kushina-sama peeking on the hot spring, though the man claims he was there for his "research"." They said, trying not to laugh.

Kami meanwhile was bemoaning the fact that there wasn't a higher entity than him whom he could ask why things were so problematic.