AN: I AM SO FREAKIN' SORRY! It's been almost two years, what the fuck. My Naruto fics have seriously been neglected, but NEVER abandoned! I've just had other plot bunnies taking over. Thanks so much to the people still reading/following/favouriting, despite the time since my last update. Please enjoy the chapter!


Kushina stared down at the people of Konoha – her people – and felt warmth rushing through her veins. They had finished gaping at her, and were now cheering, whooping and laughing. There were a few faces Kushina spotted sporting expressions that said they were expecting certain doom, but she didn't mind. They were probably right. Things would definitely be changing around here, and every single person in the village would have to accept it – even if Kushina had to drag them kicking and screaming into her vision of peace.

"Alright, alright!" She called out laughingly. A hush gradually settled over the gathered crowd, and Kushina was once again struck by how much power she held over these people. It was a little terrifying, to be completely honest. "I'm sure most of you never even considered me as the Godaime, and I'm not going to lie, neither did I. However," Kushina let her smile fade, a more solemn expression taking its place. "Just because it was unexpected will not stop me from doing everything I can to be the leader that Konohagakure deserves. I will keep our village safe, and I will keep my people happy – that's a promise, dattebane!"

The village roared. A storm of applause and cheering rose up from the crowd, causing Kushina's smile to come back at full force. It was indescribably amazing, to be the focus of that much positive attention. "Maa," she laughed, gesturing for everybody to calm down. "Thank you all for supporting and having faith in me," Kushina hoped her sincerity was reaching them all. "And I hope that I am deserving of that faith." With that, she turned and walked to where the three Elders were watching her, cocking her head questioningly.

"Good enough for you?" She asked cheekily.

The old bat sighed. "I know that you know we only want what is best for Konohagakure, Godaime."

Kushina narrowed her eyes. "I also know that we have different ideas about what really is best for the village." Seeing the old bastard Danzō open his mouth, no doubt to spout some form of bullshit, Kushina went on. "But let's not get into that yet! It's my first day, I think I've got more important things to do than to argue with you lot." Snickering as three wrinkled faces tightened in reaction to her implied slight, Kushina sailed back inside the tower, heading straight for her new office, where Mikoto was waiting with her baby boy.


Nara Shikaku was amused. Appointing the Habanero to be Hokage possibly wasn't the wisest decision, but he supported it anyway. Although younger, Kushina and Minato were both people that he had always got along well with, and he was also one of the few people who were aware that the two had married.

He slightly pitied the poor girl, for having to take on the job that had killed her husband, but Shikaku knew she would never accept it. Uzumaki Kushina was a strong kunoichi – woman – and she would do her damnedest to continue what Minato had started.

He knocked on the door to the Hokage's office, grinning despite himself when a cheery voice called for him to enter. Letting himself in, Shikaku wasn't surprised at all to find Uchihas Mikoto, Itachi, and Sasuke also present. Coming to a halt in front of the desk that Kushina was perched on instead of behind, Shikaku dipped into a low bow.

"Congratulations, Godaime-sama."

She laughed, waving him off with a pleased grin. "Thank you, Shikaku-san." The bundle in her arms gurgled and waved its fists around just outside of the blanket, as though it was replying too.

Noticing where his attention had focused, Kushina laughed again. "Would you like to hold him, Shikaku-san?"

Shikaku knew full well that when a woman voluntarily offered up her child for a hold, it was not an offer. He obligingly held his arms out for Kushina to deposit her offspring in, inwardly praying that he wouldn't drop the infant. His own son, Shikamaru, wasn't a very fidgety baby; in fact, Shikaku occasionally found himself checking to make sure the boy was still breathing.

The first thing Shikaku took notice of when Kushina placed her son in the cradle of his arms was the head of tufty blond hair. "He really is Minato's son, isn't he?" Shikaku said when bright blue eyes blinked up at him. There would be no hiding the fact that the Yellow Flash had procreated.

"Mm-hm!" Kushina hummed in agreement. "Even if he didn't look like Minato, I wouldn't have hidden it. They both deserve more than that."

"Not that I don't agree, Godaime-sama-"

"Stop, stop," Kushina interrupted, waving her hands in his face. Mikoto giggled in the background. "Titles only in formal situations. Call me Kushina, Shikaku-san."

He nodded, a wry smile pulling at his lips. "Kushina, then. Are you not worried about Iwagakure's reaction to their most hated enemy's progeny?"

Violet eyes narrowed at him. Shikaku couldn't quite figure out what she was thinking; she wasn't displeased with him (he had a lot of practice reading that expression from Yoshino), but it was rather more intense than he was used to seeing from the lighthearted kunoichi. It was more like… she was examining him?

That was it, Shikaku realized. Kushina was trying to decide if she could trust him or not, which likely meant that he was missing something, a piece of the puzzle. Mikoto, holding baby Sasuke and hovering quietly in the background, obviously already knew what it was.

"We can take care of Iwa, should they try anything," Kushina suddenly stated, apparently having come to a decision. "Those bastards will be the least of my baby's problems."

Iwa was never the least of anybody's problems, in Shikaku's opinion, but whatever Kushina's secret was, it was…

Huge.

Or, more accurately, it was ginormous, nine-tailed, and made entirely of chakra.

Shikaku stared, wide-eyed at the infant in his arms. A jinchūriki. Minato had sealed the Kyūbi into his own son.

"I see you've realized," Kushina said, smiling sadly at her son. "As expected from Shikaku-san."

Shikaku wasn't sure what to say? Like mother, like son? Somehow, he didn't think that would go over too well.

"Does anybody else know?" Was what ended up coming out of his mouth.

Kushina shook her head. "Only Mikoto, Kakashi-kun, and Jiraiya-sensei."

"Are you going to tell anybody else?" The advisory council would be relieved to still have a jinchūriki, Shikaku was certain. Even if he was an infant. But the shinobi… He couldn't predict for certain how the masses would react, should they find out. Glancing at the bundle in his arms, Shikaku felt pity. To be subjected to this kind of life, right from the start – it was beyond cruel.

Then again, Shikaku thought, darting his gaze to Kushina's loving eyes for a split second, maybe it wouldn't be too bad.

Kushina huffed out a breath, moving to sit behind the desk. "I'm still unsure. That's why I called you here. The only people I'm going to tell for sure are the ANBU Commander and our guards, and those stupid old farts on the council. I won't risk them undermining me if they ever found out that I'd kept it from them." She was glowering at one spot on her desk, violet-grey eyes practically burning a hole through the wood.

There was a rustle, and a quiet murmur from behind him, and Shikaku resisted the urge to turn around and see what Mikoto was doing. As it turned out, he didn't need to, because little Itachi had come wandering into sight, far more gracefully than a five year old had any right to be. The Uchiha heir came to a halt in front of the Hokage, staring up at her with large black eyes, and Shikaku had the errant thought that Uchiha Fugaku's child was also far more solemn than he had a right to be. This child, tiny and young as he was, couldn't truly be called a child.

"Kushina-bachan, up."

Shikaku's lips tilted up in an involuntary smile. The kid was pretty cute, and (no doubt taught by Mikoto) knew just how to use that cuteness. Kushina squealed loudly, hands sneaking under the boy's uplifted arms to latch onto his waist, lifting him into her lap. There was no doubt that the five year old was far too intelligent and independent to be using demands often heard from toddlers, but there was also no doubt that it had worked; some of the tension had leaked from Kushina's shoulders as she cuddled the kid.

Now that she was feeling more relaxed, Kushina once again met Shikaku's eyes, smiling wryly. "So aside from those senile old fossils and my ANBU, who else do you think I could tell, Shikaku-san? Or should tell, I guess."

It was a weighty pressure, the Jōnin Commander realized, to be entrusted with such a decision. Having the information was one thing; choosing who to distribute it to was another entirely. "I think you should tell the entire ANBU Corps, Godaime-sama," he spoke slowly, opposing the way his thoughts were racing. "They'll need to be extra alert in his protection, and it's something they'll need to know should any threats to him or the village appear."

Kushina nodded, one corner of her mouth quirking up slightly. "I figured I would have to," she said. "It's going to be different for my poor baby, than it was for Mito-sama and me. We were grown, and understood what we were taking on; it was nobody's business but ours, and whoever else we chose. Besides the Hokage, of course," she added, chuckling lightly. "But for Naruto…"

Shikaku saw her arms tighten momentarily around the child in her lap. He resisted the urge to do the same with Naruto; infants were terrifyingly delicate and he had no idea how to handle them.

"As for the rest of the shinobi, I think that's up to you, Kushina. As the Hokage and his mother, it's your decision if you want people to know his status." Shikaku gently stroked a finger down Naruto's soft cheek and watched crystal blue eyes blink sleepily up at him. "They don't need to know, and it won't change anything if they don't. But it might be a good idea to tell them anyway."

The redhead nodded, absently smoothing Itachi's hair back from his face. "Jinchūriki are, as a rule, not well-treated by the general populace, but if I tell them that I held the Kyūbi before this, they won't really have a leg to stand on, will they? And he's my son; he's genetically predisposed to holding the stupid thing." Kushina shook her head, forcing her unusually bitter expression into something more upbeat. "At least he'll always have us, right, Itachi-chan? My baby won't ever have to be alone."

Itachi inclined his little head. "I'll take care of him, Kushina-bachan."

Both Kushina and Mikoto cooed at the child, and even Shikaku had to admit his heart melted a little. The kid was way too cute to be Fugaku's son.

"Thank you so much, Itachi-chan." Kushina smiled down at the boy she was holding. "No pressure though. You've already got little Sasuke-chan to help look after, after all." And the weight of being the Uchiha clan's heir. Shikaku didn't envy the poor boy; being the head of the Nara clan was exhausting enough and they didn't even do anything.

Mikoto came forward then, moving to stand at Kushina's side. "Could you limit it to just the jōnin, Kushina-chan? And maybe the tokujō as well?"

Nodding thoughtfully, Shikaku elaborated before the Hokage had a chance to answer. "It's a good idea, Mikoto-san. Even if they don't like it, most of our current jōnin forces are professional enough to accept the information without protest. They all know you and Minato as well, so they will have more trust in what you say." It also helped that most of them were scared shitless of the Habanero. They wouldn't dare say a word against her son, for fear of incurring her wrath.

Kushina must have read it in his face, because she laughed lightly. "Okay then; the council, the ANBU, the jōnin, and the tokujō. An S-Rank secret to be kept from anybody outside of those ranks, especially the civilians. They didn't know about me, they don't need to know about Naruto either." She paused, looking down at Itachi once again. "Itachi-chan, I'm sorry to keep asking things of you, but you can't tell anybody about anything we've said here, okay? I know you don't quite get it, but it's what we have to do to keep Naruto-chan safe." Her violet eyes had dimmed a bit, and Shikaku could easily see that she was beating herself up for having this discussion in front of him. He wished she wouldn't; there were two other experienced shinobi here who should also have known better.

"It's okay, Kushina-bachan," Itachi said, turning to gaze straight into Kushina's eyes. "I won't say anything. I'll keep him safe."

None of the adult present realized at that point just how seriously he meant those words.


AN: Okay, so probably not worth a two-year wait, but it's something, right? I pinky promise I won't let another two go by before I update again; I've been on a roll lately with my writing, so hopefully it won't be too long. Don't expect miracles though - I have about a dozen other currently published fics that I'm also trying to work on, as well as a bajillion unpublished ones. Anyway, feedback always welcome! Thanks for reading :).

- Kelly