Sorry for the long wait everyone, my laptop's hard drive is on the fritz and I thought I lost everything. Luckily I saved all my stories on Onedrive and I found them all.

(つ﹏)･ﾟﾟ

Chapter Thirty-Three: Market Smackdown

Ah the market, filled with everything civilian and shinobi alike could ever need. Extending from household items, to tools, clothing, and delicious fresh foods.

Kushina loved to shop in the market, surrounded by her fellow villagers. Sometimes her husband and son would accompany, since Minato was always in his office and Naruto was training outside the village she is either alone or with one of her friends.

(Unless she can bully Kakashi into going with her, but the bastard has gotten better at hiding.)

And today there was a new buzz going around about a merchant who came from a previously unheard of village called: 'The Land of Gold'. It was said that she was selling something that was strangely unique.

"I saw it first!" Kushina's head snapped in the direction of the shout.

A large crowd of people were standing over to her right. "No I did!"

Kushina made her way through the crowd and spotted three women about to throw down in front of a merchant stand.

"What's going on?"

The man next to her answered. "A merchant named Nise has appeared with a very expensive looking ornate hairpin."

"And those three women have started to fight each other for it." Another man said.

"Really?" Kushina frowned. "What hairpin could be so wonderful that people would hurt each other over it, dattebane?"

"Gold things Kushina-sama," Man # 1 sighed. "Gold things."

Kushina huffed irritably. "It still isn't right."

When the first woman, in a purple yukata, body slammed another in a red skirt, Kushina decided to step in. "Oy!"

Setting down her basket she grabbed the arms of the first woman and pulled her away, that's when the third, in an orange dress pounced like a lion and tackled them all to the ground.

"Ahhh! Get off dattebane!"

She shrieked when purple yukata brought her elbow back and hit her nose, that's when everything went black.

. . .

An hour later she found herself in Minato's office with the three women, they were cow toeing deeply. Kushina's nose was bandaged and healing rapidly, scowling at the women on the floor and Minato looked like he was done with the day.

Kushina saw him glance longingly at the window before thinking better of it.

"I hope you ladies have learned your lesson on acting appropriately in a public setting." Minato looked over at her briefly. "And how dangerous it can be for... others nearby."

"I' am terribly sorry Hokage-sama, Kushina-sama!" Purple woman wailed. "I have no clue what came over me! Once I saw that trinket my mind went blank."

"It is the same for me as well, Hokage-sama." Orange woman sniffed causing the woman in red to nod.

"What was it that made you act so... out of character?"

"From what the crowd had said it was over a gold hairpin." Kushina frowned at her nasally voice.

"A gold trinket?" Minato scowled.

"It was like it had a spell on it, my body just couldn't resist it's lure." Orange lady whimpered.

"The woman said that it was a special piece that once belong to a beautiful goddess, I had thought she was telling a tale, but... it was so... beautiful."

"I have a bad feeling about this." Minato rubbed his forehead. "Take them to a holding cell until we can get this all sorted out."

Three young men with animal masks step forward grasping the women by the arm and disappearing before they had the chance to protest.

"Hound, I want you to find this merchant."

"Of course Hokage-sama."