DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything from the Naruto universe. HEY, there's a quick Author's Note at the end of this chapter that will confirm something you'll probably guess after reading a certain part of this chapter...
And sorry that it's been so long since I've updated this story.
Y'all take care!

Thinking (+ flashbacks, "Naru speaking to the Kyuubi in her mindscape," etc.)

Emphasis

Bijuu, etc. speaking

Bijuu, etc. thinking

Less than a month later -

"I'm sorry that you had to go through all of that, Gaara-kun," Naru said honestly before pursing her lips and glaring at all of the Suna shinobis who had been locked up. "I was fortunate that I was always guarded and raised by ANBU and just don't GET why ANYONE in Suna would want to screw with a jinchuuriki! –It's just stupid: forcing you to protect yourself like that. …All that hatred when you're protecting them from that raccoon-dog-Lord. And Jiraiya-san said that your seal was a mess…"

"I am much more comfortable now," Gaara interrupted before apologizing. Not that Naru seemed to care about those types of things - although she wasn't ill-mannered. He supposed the best way to describe the blonde would be to say that she was laid-back. "And Shukaku is more… comfortable, as well."

"I'm glad for that."

"He is still so angry," Gaara lamented.

"That's easy to understand," Naru said, hoping that she didn't sound flippant. "We have seals and aren't exactly happy about it. Imagine being held on the other side of one."

"Indeed."

Naru looked over at the little window on the door that led to the cells. Ibiki noticed and seemed to toast her open dialogue with his cup of coffee. She hoped that Konoha wasn't making a huge mistake here. Naru held no love for the village, in theory, but she certainly had more and more people that lived within it that she loved. She didn't want anything to happen to them and after having seen the destruction Shukaku could've been capable of if he'd really gone wild… Yikes.

The Jonin Commander had been acting as Hokage while they either found her crazy, alcohol-loving (hiding) grandmother-figure or Shisui came back and he said that he needed Suna as an ally. Nara Shikaku was smart. Even though he was obviously a dangerous and sneaky ninja, he also believed in real bonds being based on honest dialogue. And Suna, at this point, was Konoha's to do with as they wanted after being so badly manipulated by Orochimaru.

The Suna shinobis already knew that she was the Kyuubi jinchuuriki…

She grinned at the prisoners cheekily. "So! If y'all ever get out of here, who's going to be the new Kazekage?"

Naru couldn't help but laugh. She was sure that Ibiki-san had just face-palmed. –Whatever: Uzumaki Naru was a supposedly 14-year-old newly-appointed Chunin who had received little to no direction in her visits to a damn prison. What the hell was that guy even thinking: putting her in this position?!

.

In another country -

"There is no reason to threaten me, Madara-sama," Itachi said dolefully, despising meeting with the man that was actually Obito.

Obito hummed behind his mask. "I just have so many questions, Itachi-kun!" He either wanted to laugh at the way Itachi's face never showed any emotion or slap him to get a reaction out of the Uchiha heir: that was always so tempting. "You're no fun," he said and then scolded himself. He was Madara right now and not "Tobi."

Itachi inhaled deeply and silently. "You called me for a mission."

"No," Obito drawled, having changed his mind. "Juzo's mission can be handled solo. …Although I will be assigning the two of you something very soon: something to truly test your loyalty." Itachi simply stared at him. Honestly, sometimes Itachi reminded him of a dead fish that still had a superiority complex. Itachi had always been everything that Obito thought he'd wanted to be when he was a child:

*Talented

*Acknowledged

*Connected

*Loved by his family

*Cherished and seen as useful by the remains of his entire despicable clan

That was also true of Shisui, Obito's very own little half-cousin. If Shisui-kun survived Orochimaru, he'd be doing the Akatsuki a favor by killing the rogue whether he deeply resented the Hokage Designate or not.

No one betrays the Akatsuki but… Yare, yare. The things he let the kid in front of him get away with. It's not like Obito had a choice; since the botched massacre and losing his temporary and loathsome partner, Danzo: that sick son-of-a-bitch, Obito required intelligence on Konoha. And that's where Itachi-kun came in: My less-than-loyal double-agent.

The loyalty of the Uchiha Head's family to Konoha had been troublesome and rather unexpected. Seldomly falling to his manipulation - or Danzo's apparently - they had convinced more than half of the Uchihas to stand firm against the coup, knowing that it would eventually lead to the downfall of their clan and Konoha.

Oh, how he hated them…

No: they weren't the ones who fully ruined things. Namikaze ruined everything that night by coming out of nowhere in a demonic cloak to slay that mummified Warhawk bastard and so many others. And wasn't it funny that The Yellow Flash was always too late to save those he cared for while his daughter probably saved the Uchiha clan by downing Danzo?

Naru, er-Naruto… It was a little hard to hate her, with his sensei's and Kushina-nee's constant blathering about his team being his family. And he remembered, back in the "gold old days," Minato-sensei simpering on and on about hoping to one day have a child to add to their little group.

I really fucked that up, didn't I?

No, you didn't! Everything is Bakashi's fault! –He was in charge of the mission to destroy the Kannabi Bridge that crushed me; he was the one who killed Rin; he was the one who eventually betrayed and ignored little Naru-chan.

But none of that would soon matter. As soon as he achieved Madara's dream of a perfect world, he'd have Rin back, Naru would have her parents back, heck: sensei and Kushina-nee could have a houseful of red and blonde-haired brats! …Even Bakashi would have his parents back. –Maybe then that damn Hatake wouldn't be such a dick!

"I need you to track the nine-tails jinchuuriki. …From a distance, however."

Itachi nodded dutifully - or at least pretended to. His Sharingan activated as he sensed a presence coming through the wall. The shinobi with gold eyes and painted skin disappeared again, seeming to blend into the environment, as soon as he saw him. "Who was that?"

Obito clicked his tongue. "My friend. If you ever meet him, keep in mind he refuses to take medicine for bipolar disorder. …He has a good heart," considering he saved me, he continued - with worry almost lacing his tone. He shook his head, remembering the last mess Zetsu had gotten him into. "I think he was harassed as a child for being biracial."

"That's quite unfair," Itachi commented honestly. "His name, Madara-san?" He had a feeling he knew it…

"Zetsu-san. …And Itachi-kun; don't ever fuck with his plants."

Itachi dipped his head slightly. "I can't imagine why I would."

Was it awful that Itachi found this latest piece of intelligence somewhat amusing? From Nara Shikamaru's memories, "Zetsu" had been the real threat and manipulator of nearly everyone behind the scenes in the animated story Shisui had seen.

The real Zetsu wasn't a half-man/half-plant alien, however - although he was apparently a plant-lover. Half-black, half-white in the anime Shisui had observed, the real Zetsu was apparently bi-racial and suffering without treatment from a serious mental disorder. The shinobi had even painted half of his face white; the other half black.

–Itachi didn't plan to let his guard down around this Zetsu character. I'm glad he's human, however.

"Report back in a month," Obito ordered.

"Hai," Itachi said, disappearing in a flock of crows.

"Drama queen. …Zetsu! Get in here, man!"

.

Shisui was FURIOUS with Jiraiya-sama. "You saved him," he growled, his Sharingan spinning wildly as he watched the man receiving medical treatment on the scorched earth from a battle he had been winning. It was all he could do not to use his Mangekyo on the Toad Sage. "I Don't Care if he was your teammate! That man attacked Konoha, Jiraiya; your own SENSEI! …Your sensei might not have found the courage within himself to kill Orochimaru after he EXPERIMENTED ON INNOCENT CHILDREN but I have no such reservations. I THOUGHT you didn't, either."

"Shisui," Jiraiya grimaced, finding it almost too painful to speak. Orochimaru really hadn't gone easy on them and had blown everything to Kingdom Come when he escaped. Jiraiya had gotten between his old teammate and this Uchiha and DAMN. The hit he'd taken from his traitorous Genin teammate had been wicked! "He's got… information. That… Akatsuki he's a part of…"

"Is your information that old?" Shisui sneered. As soon as Jiraiya was healed, he was going to either fireball his elderly ass or punch him!

"Old?" Jiraiya screaked, glaring at the brat from the ground. He tried to get up but the beautiful young ANBU kunoichi healing him held him down. No one insulted his work as the village's spymaster, though! "I've been busy training and guarding YOUR little apprentice for the last few years and doing the best…"

"You mean your goddaughter?" Shisui asked, feeling that Jiraiya had basically abandoned Naru-chan. Maybe he had been under orders to stay away from her; maybe he hadn't: Shisui found he didn't care - and it was information on Naru-chan that he hadn't looked into.

You're going to be the Hokage, Shisui: be careful of what you say. "Why did you intervene, Jiraiya?"

"I was trying to save your ass."

"So then why bring up his information on the Akatsuki?"

Jiraiya sighed, wondering - once again - about his own conscious or unconscious motivations. "You didn't hear what he said? That Naruto had to die - that 'otherwise, it would be too dangerous.' –He's going to go after her!"

Shisui put his hands on his hips and took a deep breath; he hadn't heard what the two Sannin were hissing at each other (one literally) while they were fighting atop their summons. Shisui had not anticipated Jiraiya showing up here at all. And isn't it interesting that he showed up when he did? "We return to Konoha," he ordered his team reluctantly.

"I've got more anti-venom in my scroll," Jiraiya told the medic.

"Tsunade better be back in the village, or I'll declare her a rogue, too."

"Damn, Shisui," Jiraiya said, a little shocked. "You really are going to make a fine Hokage!"

The corners of Shisui's lips twitched. "Damn straight, I will." And you'll be visiting Inoichi-san for a nice, long mind walk, Jiraiya. I want to know what you were thinking.

Shisui planned to escort Jiraiya there and order the Yamanaka jutsu used on the Toad Sage, himself.

No one was fucking with his extended family, Konoha, on his watch.

.

Later that very same night -

"I'll be on my way now," Kakashi said, freshly out of his cast. He'd not-so-accidentally taken an especially long time to heal.

"Wait." Naru bit her lip and then tried to figure out what to say - or how to say what she wanted to ask…

Kakashi hadn't been too much trouble to take care of, surprisingly enough. He mostly read or stared at her until she'd tell him to knock it off. If she tried to look at his leg, he'd have something near a panic attack although all of Naru's senses screamed that he was faking.

"Do you… maybe want to live here?"

"With you?" Kakashi teased, figuring that's not what she meant. She then called him a pervert and he dramatically waved his arms, not having thought of how his statement could be misconstrued. "No, no! I meant platonically, ne?" Naru gave him a quick glare but Kakashi only smiled at her pleasantly, having figured where this was headed. "You said the house is haunted. Why would I want to live here?"

Naru shrugged. "And that's why I normally sleep outside," she said with a heavy sigh. "You could live here instead of me is what I meant."

"No," Kakashi answered, "but thanks for the offer. You really hate it that much?" he asked sadly.

"It's not that I hate it here; it's a lovely home - but how would you feel about having the nursery you never… That you - as a baby - weren't even brought to - at the top of these stairs, almost mocking you or whatever?" Naru felt embarrassed and wished that she hadn't begun talking about all of this but Kakashi obviously loved this place. "And my parents' bedroom is right next to it, which to this day hasn't changed in almost a decade and a half?" She huffed, rubbed her arms, and moved to get some more coffee.

Kakashi only really understood the last thing - how eerie it was to have your dead parents' bedroom in your home, although he supposed the house he grew up in also had a nursery that he avoided even as a boy when he moved from the room at age 2 or 3. "I burned my childhood home to the ground." Naruto's eyebrows rose and rose.

"Oh." She began looking around the home that she'd rarely used and didn't think that was the right answer for her.

"Please don't do that here."

"Yeah. I figured you'd say that." Naru handed the masked shinobi a cup and sat back down. "You regret what you did?"

"Never. But…" Kakashi scratched his masked cheek but didn't continue his thoughts. He became lost inside memories of watching his burning childhood home: it had felt quite cathartic to set it ablaze but Sandaime-sama certainly hadn't been happy with him for doing it.

"I thought about making this place into a museum or something but I don't like the idea of people stomping through here, checking out everything from his clothes to the toilet Yondaime-sama used." She realized how crass that sounded and made an apologetic face.

"Yeah," Kakashi chuckled, "I don't think Kushina-san would have liked that."

"Right," Naru said a little more fondly. She pulled the rust-red throw he'd told her that her mother used to favor blanketing herself in over her legs and curled up more on the couch. "Plus this is a clan compound, as small and empty as it is."

"You could move into one of the other houses," Kakashi said reasonably.

"I haven't been inside most of the others, and have only been downstairs in Lady Ichika's place. Now THAT house would make a good museum!"

Lady Ichika and her on-again, off-again husband, the Second Hokage, had been real collectors and generally weird, a little bit wacky, and interesting people. Naru tapped her chin. "Maybe I could turn the building she left me - the one I used to live in - into a museum. …Put all their stuff into it, ya know? Shisui-shiso has agreed that the Red Light District needs economic and cultural development."

Kakashi shrugged before lifting two of his fingers up. Naru knew what was going to happen; she'd been on the other end of this often enough. Sure enough, he disappeared in a poof of smoke. At least he didn't toss leaves all over this time.

With another sip of her coffee, Naru took one more look around her parents' house and carried her blanket (with a pillow this time) out of the house, heading off to her favored thick tree branch to sleep on. On the way, though, she figured she might as well check out the house next door. For the first time.

Hopefully, she wouldn't get zapped or killed thanks to a weird seal when she tried to enter it.

The doorknob, once again, nicked her and Naru jerked her hand away, jumping off the covered porch. The door - lighting up in seals - opened, though. The blonde closed her eyes and chuckled when she eventually realized whose house this was - or who used to use it, anyway. It must have been difficult for her mother to have lived right next door to it…

Inside the immaculate home were pictures of a very young Kushina with her immediate family. The more she looked around, the more positive Naru was that Kushina's parents MUST have visited her after either sacrificing or giving her away to Konoha. Before the fall of Uzushio. THIS house was where her biological grandparents used to stay. There were pictures of her mother being here.
- Same lovely furniture; same stuff on the walls...

"Man, everything I seem to touch says 'you can't be Rachel anymore.' It's like God's manipulating me."

It wasn't like she was still Rachel anyway, but as the hours wore on and she continued exploring, Naru felt more and more like she really was an Uzumaki. She'd always felt guilty that she'd taken someone else's place.

These people, though, had loved her mother… had wanted their line to continue not only because of clan politics - although those were certainly at play.

"I swear to God, Tsunade," she swore as she realized what her grandparents' NAMES were for the first time. Including my grandmother's maiden name… Turns out Kushina's mother was a Senju and Tsunade had never even said anything!

Ready to barf with conflicting emotions, Naru went to leave the home's library but paused at a title that caught her interest. NO… It wasn't so much the title (which was a doozy) that first made her heart skip. It was the fact that the book had ENGLISH clearly written on it's jacket.

"The Reincarnation of Alana"

She quickly grabbed the book with shaking hands and sat down. "HOLY shit…"
She wasn't the first Uzumaki this had happened to!

.

A/N: You probably caught it. I do NOT plan for a raging battle with some kind of alien rabbit goddess in this story. Get mad at me if you will, but I think Madara (perhaps with or without a "NOT-alien" Zetsu) is a great enough ultimate foe to be forced to fight on his own!