AN: Wow, this got a lot more attention than I was expecting! Thank you so much to everybody who reviewed/faved/followed! Y'all had my email notifications sounding like crazy. I hope you enjoy this chapter, which is kinda filler, but kinda not.


Jiraiya had to admit, of all the possible candidates he'd had in mind for Godaime, Uzumaki Kushina had not been one of them. Of course, thinking on it, the Daimyo had been right on the mark with this decision.

Kushina-chan was strong, possibly the strongest kunoichi in Konoha's current forces bar Tsunade, and everybody in the village knew the fiery redhead didn't take anybody's shit. Actually, he was fairly sure everybody in every village knew of the Akai Chishio no Habanero (Red Hot Blooded Habanero). She was clever, far more so than her explosive persona let on, and she never missed a trick. Her reputation was just as fearsome and widespread as her husband's; Konoha's Habanero was almost as legendary as the Yellow Flash.

Jiraiya chuckled to himself. Just the thought of his dearly departed student's wife being in charge made him kind of want to stick around. The chaos that she was sure to bring!

However, as much as the Gama-Sennin wanted to stay and celebrate with the new Hokage, he had a job to do. He had a duty to ensure that none of the other villages caught wind of just how bad Konohagakure's situation was, and find out if any of them planned to take advantage of this sudden misfortune.

He smirked, dark eyes glimmering with hidden mischief. It would just be a shame that he wouldn't be able to see how those wrinkled old know-it-alls on the council reacted when Kushina-chan put them in their place. Jiraiya had been wanting to do exactly that for years. Maybe he could hang around for just a few more days…

No. Sucky as it was, Jiraiya was the only person with a network wide enough, and the ability to get information back quick enough to be useful in this instance. He would simply have to come back home ASAP and see exactly what changes Uzumaki Kushina had wrought in his absence. He wondered how the villagers would cope with their somewhat crazy new leader.


Orochimaru seethed. He paced in his hidden laboratory and fumed, imagining all the ways that he could kill that insufferable little Daimyo, and all the experiments that he could do using Uzumaki Kushina's body.

Having his sensei pass him over for that young blond bastard was one thing; even Orochimaru could acknowledge that after the Kiroii Senko won them the war, it only made sense to give him the hat, much as he loathed it. But this! Orochimaru had always hated Hi no Kuni's fool Daimyo, and this decision only cemented it. Once again being denied the hat, being denied the acknowledgement of his skills and prowess, being denied the seat only for it to be given to the little Uzushio no Hime… It was enough to make his blood boil in his veins.

That redheaded brat would feel his wrath.

Oh yes, Orochimaru nodded to himself in satisfaction. Uzumaki Kushina would feel the full extent of his rage… One day.


"Repeat that again, Mikoto, I don't think I heard you correctly."

Uchiha Mikoto giggled. "Kushina," Fugaku nodded. He had heard that part. "Has been made," yes, that part too. "The Godaime Hokage of Konoha." See, that part there, that was where Fugaku was having trouble understanding.

Uzumaki Kushina – Hokage? He shuddered. The kind of carnage that she would impart on the village if she was left to run things! What was the Daimyo thinking?!

His wife must have read his thoughts, because she tapped his nose reprovingly. "Kushina-chan will make a wonderful Hokage." she told him.

Fugaku stared at her. Was Mikoto insane? Had she been spending too much time with the Habanero? Did she even realize what she was saying?

When Mikoto's pretty porcelain features frowned at him, Fugaku gathered that he must have voiced these thoughts aloud. "You may not personally like her, Fugaku, but you know very well that Kushina-chan is an extremely capable kunoichi, and an excellent leader. She is our new Godaime, and she has one-hundred percent earned that position." Mikoto told him sternly.

That, more than anything, was what made Fugaku really sit back and think about it. Mikoto rarely spoke to him in such a way, so he always paid attention when she did.

So. Uzumaki Kushina. Aside from being loud, impatient, and notoriously short-tempered, what else did he really know about his wife's best friend?

She was one of the few survivors of Uzushiogakure. That Fugaku knew for sure, as Kushina had come running for Mikoto the minute she got the news. And she was indirectly related to the Shodai's wife, so bloodline wasn't a problem (not that that was supposed to be an issue in a shinobi village). She had been married to the Yondaime (a closely kept secret), so she had to have some idea of what the job entailed. The widespread awe and fear of her within the shinobi forces wasn't without cause; her power surpassed even her legendary temper, and she always delivered when she promised someone an asskicking.

Okay, so maybe she qualified on the power spectrum. Uzumaki Kushina was one of the biggest kunoichi powerhouses that Fugaku had ever heard of. But a Hokage had to have more than power. They had to be clever, and cunning, and ruthless. Diplomatic. Patient. All sorts of things that Uzumaki most certainly was not. And no matter what Mikoto said, Fugaku was going to have to see it to believe it in regards to the Habanero's status as Godaime.


"You have to help me, Kakashi-kun. I don't think I can do this without you and Mikoto-chan."

Kakashi's head was spinning. The young jōnin held his sensei's baby boy on his lap (awkwardly, because he was so terrifyingly small and fragile), and gazed into his sensei's wife's wide violet eyes. Godaime. Minato-sensei's widowed wife was going to be his successor.

"'Kashi-kun?" Kushina questioned worriedly when the cycloptic teen remained silent. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Kakashi blushed under the woman's scrutiny. "Oh yes, I'm fine, Kushina-neesama. I was just shocked. And, ano…" He trailed off uncertainly.

"Come on, 'Kashi-kun, you know you can talk to me." Kushina coaxed him.

"Ano, I'm not sure if I should say congratulations or not." Kakashi admitted shamefully.

She laughed, beautifully bright red hair flying as she tossed her head back. Kakashi could definitely see why his amazing sensei had fallen for Uzumaki Kushina. She was life personified. "Oh, Kakashi-kun. You think too hard. Would you mean it?" At his confused, one-eyed squint, Kushina clarified. "If you said it, would you mean it?"

Kakashi barely took a moment to think before he nodded. Of course he would mean it. Kushina-neesama had definitely earned the position, Yondaime's wife or not.

She smiled at him. "Then say it."

For the first time since he had heard of Minato-sensei's passing, Hatake Kakashi gave a genuine smile. "Congratulations, Godaime-sama."


Homura and Koharu were worried. Uzumaki Kushina wouldn't have been their first choice for the position of Godaime. She had potential, no doubt about it, but she didn't have quite the same leadership quality that Minato had possessed, which made them so accepting when Sarutobi chose the youngster as his successor.

There was also the fact that she was even more foolishly idealistic than Minato and Hiruzen put together. They were not certain that she presently had what it took to run a shinobi village, especially considering they had been at war only a year ago. Kushina was bullheaded and hot-tempered; not exactly the first qualities that one would look for in a Hokage.

Utatane Koharu shook her head slightly, sipping on her tea. "She will not accept advice from us, you realize."

Mitokado Homura inclined his head, frowning pensively. "She had accused us of meddling often enough." Truly, the girl had no sense of tact or diplomacy. "But surely even Uzumaki Kushina would not be foolish enough to think she can run a village on her own?"

"No, I think not," Koharu replied assuredly. "It is not that she will not listen to advice; it is that she will not listen if it comes from us."

Homura hummed thoughtfully. "So who will she listen to?"

"The Jōnin-Commander, certainly. Nara Shikaku has always had a good relationship with her."

"At least he has some sense in his head," Homura sniffed. "Who else?"

"I think Jiraiya and Tsunade go without saying," Koharu told him. "Although they were always just as bad as Hiruzen, at least before Tsunade lost herself." She added disapprovingly.

Homura's lips thinned in displeasure. He could understand the anguish that Tsunade must have felt, losing both her brother and her lover so close together, but that was no excuse for her to abandon her village in their time of need; namely, the Third Shinobi World War, and even now, after the Kyūbi attack. Hiruzen had been far too soft on Tsunade-hime.

"What of the ANBU Commander?" He questioned.

Koharu took another sip of her tea. "She is unaware of his identity at the moment, but that will soon change. I do not think they have had much contact thus far, so it will all depend of her first impression of him. Uzumaki Kushina relies on those, I've noticed." Koharu's distaste was clear.

"Could he be our voice, do you think?" Homura asked doubtfully. The ANBU Commander was an independent man; he would likely not be at all cooperative.

"Doubtful," Homura's female counterpart echoed his thoughts. "Although with luck, he might steer her in the right direction of his own accord."

The old man let out a tired sigh. "We will have our work cut out for us with this one."


Shimura Danzō didn't think he had ever been quite so infuriated. Namikaze Minato was one thing; he was an idealistic fool, but at least he was somewhat sensible, and able to listen to reason.

His foreigner wife, on the other hand… he didn't know what that senile diplomat was thinking, making the Habanero Hokage! She was a menace! A disgrace! She would run Konohagakure into the ground, trying to be friends with everyone and spreading her desire for peace and harmony.

Danzō scoffed. There was no such thing as harmony in the shinobi world. The girl would learn, one way or another. He would not allow her to weaken Konoha. If that meant leaving the shadows and taking charge of the Great Tree itself, then so be it. His village would remain the strongest, whatever it took.


AN: So, so, let me know what you thought! I hope it wasn't too disappointing after y'all liked the first chapter so much. You know, one reviewer asked how this idea had never been done before, and I was just like "I KNOW RIGHT?!" I had this idea way back when, and between then and publishing the first chapter, still nobody else had written it. It's mindblowing to me.

- Kelly