AN: Well, anything's better than two years! Thanks for your continued support! x


Shimura Danzō hadn't been able to douse his ire about the appointed Godaime Hokage one iota since the Daimyo had announced it. Every waking moment, he was haunted by flashes of flaming red hair and disdainful violet eyes. Disdain! That little brat had the nerve to look him in the face with such an expression, as though he were nothing more than the mud under her feet.

He seethed, sitting alone in his hidden Root headquarters. Uzumaki was but a child, inexperienced in politics and in running a village. She had no idea what she was doing, and Danzō had no doubt that there would be plenty of opportunities to show the Daimyo what a mistake he made. And if the fool continued to support her… Well.

It wouldn't be too hard to clear the way for someone more appropriate.


Kushina's first week as the Godaime Hokage was… hard. Not so much the work itself; that was boring and tiring, but not too hard (yet). No, it was her emotions that were all over the place. She was still grieving the death of her husband, and sitting behind his desk, in his chair, hurt her heart more than she could ever have imagined. Not to mention all the funerals and such that were still going on.

Luckily, Mikoto was around more often than not, thanks to Kushina officially hiring the ex-jōnin as her personal assistant. The shitty council hadn't been too pleased that an Uchiha had been given such a prestigious position (personally, Kushina didn't see what was so prestigious about being a glorified errand-woman, but. Old people.), and nor had a lot of the civilians, to be quite honest. But Kushina didn't give a shit. Mikoto was her best friend. The Uchiha Clan, arrogant and disgruntled though they were, were still a part of Konoha, one of their founding clans, and Kushina trusted them.

More importantly, Minato had trusted them.

And so Kushina had her way, Mikoto got a new job, and the Hokage Tower became a partial day-care for two infants, because Kushina was definitely not leaving Naruto with some nanny (she was perfectly capable of raising a baby and running a village at the same time, thank you very much you old fucks). Sasuke came along too, because why not. Naruto needed a friend, and Mikoto didn't have to separate from her baby. Everybody won.

"Excuse me, Godaime-sama? The advisory council have arrived, shall I let them in?"

Kushina's sweet little secretary, a kunoichi fresh out of the ANBU, poked her head in inquiringly. The redhead was tempted to tell her no, but a reproving glance from Mikoto made her roll her eyes and call out an impatient "Yeah, whatever, send 'em in." She supposed it was only good manners, when she had been the one to summon them in the first place.

Once the three dinosaurs had filed in and lined up in front of her desk, faces disapproving and expectant, Kushina blew out a gusty breath. She had already temporarily dismissed her ANBU guards, so all she could do now was continue. "I'm sure the three of you have other things you'd rather be doing, but I did actually call you here for a reason."

Homura frowned. "We never thought otherwise, Godaime."

Kushina could clearly see the 'speak for yourself' expression on Danzō's crabby old face, but decided that this probably wasn't the time to say something. Instead, she sighed. "I really considered not telling you three what I'm about to tell you, 'ttebane. I thought about keeping it a secret from everybody. But it's important, so here we are." She looked intently into each of their faces, hoping to impress upon them how seriously she was taking this.

If she was being one hundred per-cent honest, Kushina wasn't sure she had made the right call. These three were old school, had lived through both of the Shinobi World Wars, and they had the mind-set to prove it. They wanted Konoha to be the strongest, to stand at the top, where nobody could ever touch them. And they wouldn't hesitate to use her baby boy as a human weapon in order to do that. If she let them.

She wouldn't let them.

If the council knew that Naruto was a jinchūriki, they would protect his life from outside threats, as an important asset to the village (and as a weapon that must be kept out of the other village's hands). But it would be up to Kushina to protect the quality of Naruto's life, from inside threats, and people who would seek to use him. So, she would be keeping an especially close eye on Homura and Koharu, and an extra extra close eye on Danzō.

"What is it, Godaime?" Koharu asked, looking unusually concerned. Kushina wasn't sure whether to take that as a good sign or not.

"It's about the Kyūbi." She said, watching each of them sit instantly at attention. "I know everybody assumed that Minato and Sandaime-sama managed to disperse it before they died, yes?" As chakra constructs, none of the bijū could be killed.

The three of them nodded. "Are we to understand, then, that that is not what actually happened?" Homura asked. Beside him, Danzō's one eye gleamed unsettlingly.

No going back now. "No," Kushina said slowly, deliberately. "It isn't. Minato had been working on a new seal before he died, one that could contain such a massive amount of power, while being even tighter than mine. If the Kyūbi were to get free, or if I were to die, the next container wouldn't have had my chakra chains, or even the Uzumaki vitality that helped Mito-sama and myself to hold it. The seal was nowhere near perfected when I went into labour – the price was far too high – but there wasn't much of a choice. Neither Minato or Sandaime-sama hesitated to do what needed to be done, and their sacrifice powered the seal that saved us." She paused, watching the realisation dawn on the three faces before her.

"There is a jinchūriki." Danzō spoke with certainty. "Konoha still has possession of the Kyūbi."

"Who is it?" Koharu inquired, curiosity lining her wrinkled visage. "They obviously didn't reseal it into you, Godaime, if they used Minato's imperfect seal."

Although she had been the one to first use the term, Kushina couldn't help but feel a flash of aggravation. Minato's seal worked perfectly. It was just the sacrifice part he had been working on.

She stood up, smiling gently into Naruto's sleeping face as she picked him up out of his crib. "It's him." She kept her eyes on her baby. "The new jinchūriki of the Kyūbi no Yōko is my son."

In the silence that followed, Kushina lifted her gaze, pinning Danzō, and the greed he was unable to hide, with the most challenging glare she could muster. "And you're not touching him. My baby, my village, my rules."


Watching Kushina stare the Advisory Council down filled Mikoto with a fierce kind of pride. Not a lot of people would have had the courage to be so blatant, but Mikoto thought it was a good move on Kushina's part. She didn't have to worry about alienating Shimura Danzō, being that they had never been on good terms in the first place. Asserting herself from the start would only piss him off, but neither Kushina or Mikoto were concerned about that. If it pushed him into acting against her, it would be everything Kushina needed to be rid of him for good. They would have to be vigilant, to stay on guard against the old bastard, but Kushina was fully prepared to keep herself and her son safe, and Mikoto had absolute faith in her.

The meeting didn't last much longer after that. Danzō sat there fuming in silence while Koharu and Homura asked their questions, and then was the first to stalk out of the room like an offended cat. Kushina poked her tongue out at his retreating back in a display of extreme maturity.

Mikoto smiled. "That went as well as could be expected, don't you think, Kushina-chan?"

"Bleh." Kushina kissed Naruto's little forehead and placed him back in his crib, before throwing herself heavily into her seat. "I hated that. My poor baby, starting his life under such a heavy weight. I wish I could take the damn thing back from him."

The redhead had ranted about the unfairness of the situation to Mikoto earlier in the week; as far as she understood, with Kushina being so weak from childbirth and the extraction, resealing the Kyūbi back into her definitely would have cost her life, as well as Minato and the Sandaime's. Choosing to leave Naruto with at least one parent, Minato had turned his new-born son into a jinchūriki instead. Trying to extract the Kyūbi from an infant who had held it from literally day one, when Minato's seal allowed for the monster's chakra to leak into Naruto's own undeveloped coils, would kill him instantly. No matter how much Kushina longed to take her old burden back on and release her son, it could never happen.

The Hokage sighed and slapped herself on the cheeks.

"Wha-!" Startled, Mikoto jumped closer, about to ask what on earth she was doing – but. Kushina was grinning at her, cheeks red and eyes shining with fierce determination. "What's done is done, Miko-chan. We can't do anything about what happened that night, but we can do something about what's to come. No more dwelling – we've got shit to do."

Mikoto grinned back, sure that her eyes had been lit with the same fire as her best friend's. Kushina was right; they couldn't change what had already transpired. All they could do was move on, fighting to make the best of what they had been given. Pride, and something like certainty filled Mikoto from head to toe. She would follow this woman anywhere. As much experience as Sarutobi had had, as much as she had respected Minato; this woman right here, Uzumaki Kushina, was the only person that Uchiha Mikoto could truly call her Hokage.

It was humbling, in a way, finding your cause. Mikoto would never forget that moment for as long as she lived, insignificant though it was in the grand scheme of things. For the village, for their children – the two of them would do whatever it took to keep them safe.


Kushina had been staring into her ANBU Commander's pale blue eyes for going on twelve minutes now. This was the first time she had ever seen the man with his mask off – the first time either of them had had the time for a face to face, one on one meeting.

He was unassuming in appearance; slightly spiky light brown hair, average height, and a not particularly striking face. The only thing that stood out were his eyes, such a pale shade of blue that Kushina had initially wondered if they were coloured at all. Neither of them had said a word beyond "Good evening, Hokage-sama", as Kushina had stepped into his personal space the moment the mask left his face. He hadn't done a thing to question her actions, simply returning her gaze with his own steady one, expression absolutely neutral.

Giving herself another moment to make certain, Kushina finally smiled, breaking their eye contact to return to her chair. "I like you," she informed the Commander. "Sit down, we need to talk."

He didn't smile, but his pale eyes warmed a little. "Yes, Hokage-sama." He sat opposite her, expectant.

"First of all, what's your name?"

He did smile then, just a small thing turning up the corners of his mouth. "I am Maki Riku, Hokage-sama. My designation, as you can see by my mask, is Ryū. It's nice to officially meet you."

She grinned back. "Nice to meet you! Am I allowed to call you by name, or are you Ryū-san?"

"It is up to you, Hokage-sama. Although I would request that you only call me by name when we have meetings like this. As of this moment, you are the only person who knows my identity." His expression was serious again, and Kushina nodded solemnly in agreement.

"I thought as much, but I just wanted to ask, dattebane. And now on to business." She leaned forward, fingers forming a steeple in front of her. "I am assuming here, but you were aware of my former status, right?"

Riku inclined his head. "I was. Sarutobi-sama informed me the day I became ANBU Commander."

Kushina had suspected as much. Minato hadn't said anything when he'd had the hat, but it was just common sense. She knew that Nara Shikaku knew, as the Jōnin Commander, but she hadn't had any extended personal contact with the ANBU in general, so she couldn't ascertain what any of them knew. The Commander was fairly obvious, but other than him, she wasn't sure.

"That makes this a little easier, then." She paused, grey-violet locking with blue once again. "Konohagakure still has a jinchūriki, Riku-san. Minato and Sarutobi-sama sacrificed their lives sealing the Kyūbi no Yōko into my son."

There was no outward reaction but for the slight widening of his eyes. There was a beat of silence before- "Not even a month in this world, and little man is already a hero, huh?"

Kushina wanted to smile at the dropping of the formalities, but she was a little busy trying to see through the damn water that had somehow collected in her eyes. She blinked, sending the build-up cascading down her cheeks, and caught the look of regard that Riku was giving the crib next to her desk. More water accumulated, somehow, which she dashed away, beaming at the man in front of her. With such a simple sentence, he had solidified the confidence that she hadn't even been aware was wavering.

Konoha was her home, was her boy's home. He would be accepted by her people, just as she had been when she was nothing but the loudmouth foreigner from Uzushio. Kushina would accept nothing less.


AN: Thoughts always welcome!

- Kelly