Kushina's POV

My eyes gazed upon what remained of the Land of Whirlpool. Only a small portion of the main island, Aoijima, remained.

"So, this is what remains of the once great Land of Whirlpools..." Kitsune commented sadly as my son and I dismounted.

"Whoa... What happened?" Naruto asked.

"What happened?" Kitsune scoffed. "Humans happened, that's what! Foolish... Arrogant... Power flows! It must not be forced! When forced it boils over to the point where it gets out of control! Power-!"

"Kitsune... I think you're confusing him." I cut Kitsune off in the middle of his rant. I had heard it all before. Humans take more than they should have, blah, blah, blah. Power is a life force all its own, yada, yada, yada. But he was right never the less.

"Okay..." Naruto stared at Kitsune and me. "Why are we here anyway? To just look at a bunch of stupid ruins?"

I whacked him upside his head in anger.

"What was that for?" Naruto whined holding his head.

"This is what remains of the Land of Whirlpool! Show some respect!" I snapped.

"The what?" Naruto blinked in confusion.

"Told you the runt never paid attention in school." Kitsune muttered.

I sighed in annoyance. "I was born here."

"Really?" Naruto looked around. "What a place to grow up."

"It didn't always look like this runt. It used to be quite a well off place at one time, actually..." Kitsune sounded like he was getting lost in memory. "But then-"

"Yes, Kitsune. I know. Humans got greedy." I sighed.

Naruto looked like he was having trouble comprehending.

How in the world are we going to get him to understand something like this in less than twenty-four hours?

"I think-"

"Kitsune if this is your 'Humans and Power' speech again-"

"I was going to say I think we should start small. With Shimakaze Isle for instance. Or what's left of it anyway..."

I nodded and we mounted Kitsune again. We raced through what was left of Uzushiogakure. From what I could see of the passing blur not even an eighth of Aoijima was left and a quarter of the Village was gone. We were through the steep hills and back onto open water again in less than ten seconds thanks to Kitsune's astounding speed. Before I could blink we were on Shimakaze Isle.

My heart fell to my feet as I saw all that remained of the Shimakaze Isle. The once towering archway was now a crumbled ruin. Most of Shimakaze Isle wasn't even there, just a few hills protruding out of shallow waters, the devastated homes that were once the size of small manors now resembled shacks.

"What... What is this place...?" Naruto asked.

"This is the old Uzumaki Compound." I said. "I was a little kid last time I was here."

"Wow... This is cool and all but..." Naruto looked up at me in confusion. "Why are you guys telling me all this and why are we here?"

"A proper man knows where he wants to go but also he must know where he comes from. You know where you want to go. To not only follow your in father's, grandmother's, great-great-grandfather' and great-great-granduncle's footsteps, but to also surpass them. To become the greatest Hokage ever but you must know what are your origins. To fully master the power provided by Kitsune you must obtain this. Listen to me Naruto, I will give you this knowledge. This is my gift to you and hopefully the most useful one."

It looked like things were finally starting to sink into his thick skull. I sighed.

Kitsune, this was your idea so how's about a little help here? I have no idea where to start! The origin of the Clan? How we got stuck with a crabby fur ball like you? Help. Me. Out!

Fine- Kitsune

"Come on. If I'm right the Sanctuary should still be intact."

"Sanctuary?" This confused even me.

Kitsune chuckled. "That's right. You were too young to remember." Kitsune flicked his tails as he walked away.

Naruto looked at me and we both shrugged.

It seems Naruto's not the only one who is going to learn something today...

"Man... Is there anything left in this place?" Naruto asked.

"If you were listening, Runt, you would have heard me say that the Sanctuary should still be intact. I'll be damned if it is in rubble. Considering where it is anyway."

"Where is it?" I pressed.

"Underground. Deep underground"

"Hey Fur Ball, notice what we're walking on?" Naruto asked annoyed

"Water."

"Right and what's left of the land here was never very high above sea level. Right?"

"Yep."

"So... How in the heck is this Sanctuary deep underground?" Naruto exclaimed.

Kitsune chuckled. "Runt, you really do have a lot to learn about not only your Clan but geography as well."

"Huh?"

"He means underwater caves." I told my thick headed son.

"Too bad you didn't get your mother and father's brains, Runt." Kitsune chuckled.

"Actually, I just remember playing in them before I moved to Konoha..." I rubbed the back of my head, blushing.

"Even so." Kitsune said.

"Wow, there must have been a lot of us." Naruto said looking around at the many devastated buildings.

"That there were, Runt." Kitsune said. "At the peak of their power they were the largest Clan in the world, but that soon changed."

"So... How many members are we talking about? That are left?" Naruto asked.

"I'm not exactly sure, Runt." Kitsune thought a moment. "There's Tsunade by her grandmother Mito, who was my Jinchuriki before your mother and you. You, Nozomi and your mother, obviously. About ten of them escaped to Shizuka Na Jikan No Yama. As far as I know that it all that have survived. Well, I'm pretty sure I met another one once but I'm not completely sure, don't even know it he's still alive." Kitsune shrugged as he disappeared into the brush.

"Uh... Kitsune?" I asked.

"Well, are you coming or not?" Kitsune poked his head out of the brush then darted back in.

"We have to climb down a fox hole?" Naruto exclaimed.

"Duh." Kitsune said as the tips of his tails disappeared into the hole.

Naruto and I followed him on our hands and knees only to realize that it was unnecessary. The fox hole had immediately opened into a large cavern.

"Cool.." Naruto's voice echoed around the cave.

"Come on." Kitsune's voice echoed as we squeezed down a narrow passageway.

"I never knew the caves were this big..." I whispered, amazingly my voice still reverberated off the cave walls.

"You have no idea." Kitsune's chuckle bounced off the walls in an eerie way.

Naruto and I gasped when the tight tunnel opened into an enormous grotto.

"Naruto... Kushina... Welcome to your Clan's most hallowed place. Welcome to the Sanctuary of the Whirling Tides."