Naruto walked back up, her smile fixed to her face, until she reached Kiana, who she sat next to. On the ground.

"Why don't you go visit Nagato?" Kiana said. "I'll send a clone if you're needed back here."

"Okay," Naruto nodded.

She got up and walked out.

~:~

Nagato heard the door open, and when he peeked over the fridge, Naruto was standing there, looking a bit pale.

"Used the seal?" he asked by way of greeting.

"Yep," she said, but didn't elaborate. "I'm going to go study."

Nagato shut the fridge door.

"Who?"

"The rest of Hatake Sakumo's life," she said, nabbing a cookie and a biscuit from their respective jars. "It was... Well." She shrugged. "I'm going to my room."

Nagato knew something was wrong.

"Oh, there's a viewing screen in your room for the prelims if you want to see it. Mother had them installed," he told her.

Naruto nodded. "Thanks, Naga-nii!"

She hugged him, then walked out of the kitchen. The raised voices greeting her met Nagato's ears. Zabuza's unique 'hello, shithead' was heard. Another crash and the barrier above him rippled, suggesting that the former Kiri ninja had gotten his punishment. Nagato still didn't want to know how Naruto got a Hyoton user and a former Mist nin to join the clan.

He glanced at the nonexistent ceiling and sighed minutely. Barriers to keep out bugs and the nasty weather were fine and all, but the fact was that Nagato was tired of waking up every morning and seeing a blue sky.

Oh, wait. He could make it rain.

With a mere thought, the sky had darkened, and rain pounded down on everyone.

He heard Naruto groan, but she said nothing.

Oh, that's right! When she was home it sucked her chakra up.

Eh, as long as he didn't let it rain all night, she'd be fine.

With that thought, he went to his own room and laid down to check on Konan.

~:~

Konan glared at the men. This was too much. She had to play 'nanny' to three - Well, four, counting Tobi, if one counted the sentient skin that Obito-san wore - grown men. Well, granted, she was older than all of them, but seriously?

Deva Path entered the room.

Konan had come back after the Wave mission, when Nagato began walking again.

She looked at the Path angrily.

"I can't handle chasing three children around all day!" she yelled at the Path.

"What's wrong?" Deva Path asked, tilting his head.

"THEY'RE GROWN MEN, BUT THEY'RE ACTING LIKE CHILDREN!"

"Oh," Nagato said, falling silent for a moment. "Then why not just clone yourself and get them into shape?" the Uzumaki asked her.

Konan scowled.

She had not thought of that (she wouldn't tell Nagato that.).

Nagato's eyes suddenly widened.

"I am a damn idiot," he said, his purple eyes wide. "I need to go find myself a different body! See you!"

She stared at his retreating back.

"What was that about?"

~:~

In Konoha, the rain ceased to fall on the houses.

~:~

"Rinne Tensei!" were the first words Yahiko heard as he began waking up.

His body felt... Well, in shape, which was kind of weird, since he'd been dead, but he opened his eyes and saw someone with his friend's eyes.

"...Nagato?"

The unfamiliar - oh, wait, he did look familiar, why did he look familiar?! - face smiled.

"It's me," Nagato in a different body said.

"Your hair is orange," Yahiko said flatly.

Nagato winced.

Yahiko sat up.

Four other people with orange hair stood in the room he was in, making him blink. Okay, this was getting a bit too weird.

The door opened.

"Naga-nii, are you done yet? Aunt Kiana's - why does your Path have normal eyes?"

Yahiko looked at the blonde, who had a lot of red streaked through her hair, and then at Nagato, wide-eyed.

And that's when he caught his reflection in a mirror. He mirrored his friend's Paths, all right.

"The hell are all these piercings doing on my face?! And 'Path'?"

"Oh, you must be alive, then," the girl in the doorway said blandly. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto."

"Yahiko," Yahiko said with a swallow. He turned to his friend. "Nagato, you better start explaining."

Nagato sighed.

"You were dead, I made you into a Path of mine - meaning that I used your dead body as a conduit for my powers."

Yahiko felt very violated.

~:~

"Karin lost, Tayuya did, too," Kiana reported.

"I noticed," Naruto nodded. "I was watching the fights. Neither Tayuya or you were trying to win."

"One Uzumaki in the finals is enough," Tayuya claimed. "Oh, and you're going against Neji."

"FUCK!"

"Is that bad?" Yahiko tentatively asked, ignoring Nagato's pathetic puppy eyes.

"Well, considering that his dad and my mom and dad all had a threesome on the night that conceived me, it's going to shock him." Naruto had an 'ah-hah!' moment. "But wait, here's better news! I can just tell him to throw him off guard!"

"In the middle of your fight?" Kiana asked skeptically.

Naruto beamed.

Kiana nodded.

"Sounds like a fantastic plan!" Kiana grinned. "Oh, and I managed to get full custody of you."

She showed everyone several bundles of paper (mainly referring to Tayuya, Karin, and Naruto - after all, they were the only ones whose Uzumaki parents weren't alive. But there was even one for Sasuke, who perked up a bit - he finally had a family again).

Wisely, nobody asked just how Kiana got the papers. Once the woman took charge, she took charge.

"Does that mean that she's my sister now?" Nagato asked with a scowl, glancing at Naruto.

"Oi, I'm not that bad!"

"No, I think he's mainly referring to the fact you can be a huge dumbass," Kiana said dryly. "And clan head you may be, but you still have a lot to learn, young Grasshopper."

Naruto pouted, but then stopped when she noticed Yahiko staring around the table.

Bickering Jenny and Nina, Zabuza and Haku being lovey-dovey, the Paths standing around like guards, Tayuya, Sasuke, and Karin catfighting...

"You haven't been introduced to the insanity that is the reformed Uzumaki Clan, have you?" an amused Naruto asked Yahiko. Said man blinked at her, seeing Kiana and her look at him with identical faces.

"No," he admitted. "But I think I know who is who."

"We didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable," Kiana said gently. "I never fully introduced myself. I am Uzumaki Kiana, Nagato's mother by blood. When Uzu started to Fall I sent him to his aunt in Ame. I'd heard of the war, I went there, but it wasn't until Naruto-chan here that I found him alive."

There was a lull.

"It's nice to meet you," Yahiko said after a moment. "But... One question, Nagato. Is Konan dead?"

Nagato choked on his mashed potatoes (which in itself is almost an impossibility).

"No, she's looking after the Akatsuki base," he said without batting an eye after Naruto pounded on his back.

"Oh, so the Akatsuki are still alive?"

Naruto started to snicker as Nagato looked uncomfortable.

"Well... Ish?" he tried.

"Nagato..."

"Well,Ikindofmadeittowhereweweregoingtohuntdownandextractthebijuufromtheirhosts'causethat'swhatIthoughtpeacewasbutthenmymotherfoundoutsoIhadtonotdothatbecauseNaru-chan'smyclan'sheir," he mumbled.

Yahiko thought hard on interpreting his friend's words.

Well, I kind of made it to where we were going to hunt down and extract the bijuu from their hosts 'cause that's what I thought peace was but then my mother found out so I had to not do that because Naru-chan's my clan's heir.

"YOU DID WHAT?!" Yahiko shrieked, stopping all conversation and lunging at his friend. "You utter idiot!"

Naruto looked at her adopted mother.

"Should I stop him from strangling Naga-nii?"

Kiana nodded. Then, looking at them, shook her head.

"Nah, I wouldn't worry about it."

Naruto pulled them apart anyway.

"He didn't do it, so don't worry," she told Yahiko.