Once in age long divided, there came from the Senju Clan two lovers whose parents had sworn them to others for profit. The lovers chose exile and broke their oaths to honor the marriage contracts. They fled from their families towards the empty lands by the sea to start a simple life. However, a group of horsemen from the spurned clan chased after them to deliver punishment for breaking their oaths. The lovers chose to take their own lives rather than spend a lifetime apart and jumped into the sea. Unbeknownst to either of the lovers, Seiōbo, Queen Mother of the West, heard their lamentations and saw the pureness of their love. She summoned a mighty gust of wind to lift them out of the ocean, causing a powerful whirlpool that swept away their pursuers. The lovers promised to honor her name forever after, and the Queen Mother blessed them with long lives so that they could spend many happy years together. The couple decided to take upon the surname of 'Uzumaki' so that their descendants remembered the goddess that saved them.

The Uzumaki Clan enjoyed much peace in the Land of Whirlpools. Virtue flowed from their kings and queens to the common man, forging a nation that thrived in a world burning with ambition. Every man and woman made offerings to Seiōbo in thanks for her continued protection against invaders. As a result, countless generations passed in prosperity.

All things under heaven united must divide. Greedy men with dark hearts began to battle for control of the wealth of the Uzumaki in the later years of the Warring State Period. Kings, once known for their compassion, became tyrants more concerned about holding onto their power than the nation's state. The light dimmed as people turned against the Queen Mother of the West in favor of gods that promised conquest. Ambition corrupts the future.

Seiōbo, seeing her children lost to darkness, sent a champion to return things justice to the Land of Whirlpools. A boy named Naruto Uzumaki, born of a whore and a drunk lived amongst the commoners for many years until becoming a hero of great renown. He believed the people should be protected and fought for peace instead of greed. Many honorable men and women flocked to his cause to restore the Uzumaki Clan to greatness. His rule of benevolence saw the return of the proper veneration of the Queen-Mother of the West. It became a beacon as bright as the sun in a world slipping into violence. Honorable men and women from across the land flocked to his banner.

Among these heroes was Mito Uzumaki, the daughter of a powerful shinobi destined for greatness. Her great intellect was matched only by her stunning beauty. She forged a reputation of being a scholar among soldiers, mastering the ten thousand seals of the Uzumaki by the age of twenty-three. So impressed by her, Naruto courted her in the spring amid the blossoming cherry blossoms. She accepted his advances gladly, falling deeply in love with the King, and swore to marry him on the first day of summer. Tragedy struck when the Uchiha Clan, bitter enemies of the Senju, launched a surprise attack on the garden city of Uzushiogakure. Naruto charged into battle to defend his people but succumbed to a carefully planned ambush. Mito arrived minutes before death claimed him, promising to reunite with him in the next life.

The death of Naruto Uzumaki ended his dream of saving the Uzumaki and doomed them to a slow decline. Infighting broke out amongst his supporters for the empty throne, and foreign powers claimed large portions of the fertile farmland.

Mito Uzumaki, broken in heart and spirit, bowed down to her father's wishes to marry Hashirama Senju, leader of the Senju Clan and soon-to-be first Hokage, to give much-needed relief to Uzushiogakure. She performed her duties as wife and mother with a stoic demeanor that won her much renown in the early years of Konohagakure. So great was her sense of honor that she chose to become the vessel of the dreaded Nine-Tailed Fox so that another soul would not have to deal with such a burden. Yet, unbeknownst to all, she never forgot the memories of her lost lover and vowed to see him once more outside the mortal realm.

Mito Uzumaki passed away in the eighty-second year of life as the Nine-Tailed Fox was transferred to Kushina Uzumaki.


Mito Uzumaki accepted death with a smile. She lived a long life filled with many good memories of her children and grandchildren. Her new home of Konoha was left in the capable hands of Hiruzen Sarutobi, a man she had nothing but respect for and a far worthier successor to Hashirama than Tobirama. But, of course, she had left some unfinished business. Tsunade, her granddaughter, was on the road to self-destruction due to pain like what she battled in her younger years. Kushina seemed like a solid choice for a jinchūriki despite a hot temper rooted in low self-confidence.

Still, she welcomed death for the chance of seeing him.

Naruto. The sound of his name filled her heart with song. Only Hashirama knew of her slain lover. Her husband, expecting a marriage of love and devotion, was saddened that he could not claim her entire heart but welcomed any affection she gave. Over the decades, she did come to love him but never in the same way she had loved Naruto. She prayed that Hashirama found someone in the next life that was as crazy about him as he was about her. If her theory proved correct, a particular Uchiha male probably sunk his claws into the gentle wallflower that was the First Hokage.

"Any moment now," she muttered as the bright light of death faded into a grey void of nothingness. Then, at least, she thought with a smile, her body returned to an age closer to what Naruto would expect of her. The last thing she needed was to scare him away with her pug face or hear his numerous wrinkle-related puns. "Knowing him, he would say something corny about me still being beautiful."

A black shape took form around her in the void, slowly taking on a humanoid appearance resembling a combination of a corpse and a kabuki actor. Something told her that this was not Naruto due to the distinct lack of orange. Primal fear danced down her spine as two red eyes like hot coals glared at her. A mouth full of dripping fangs curled back into a grin.

"Another Uzumaki? It has been a while since I've tasted such sweet flesh," the creature moaned in pleasure. "Let us see if you're worthy of paradise or rebirth. If not, you shall join the others wiggling in my belly."

Mito refused to be humbled by such a creature. The Uzumaki laughed in the face of death, and she wanted her final moments of being to be looked upon favorably by her ancestors. Despite the fear, she forced the following words: "Tell me your name, oh eater of souls!"

The creature chuckled at her boldness but relented. "I am Sani, a servant of Izanami. Prepare yourself for judgment!" The newly named Sani lunged forward with an extended claw. It tore through her kimono and dug its talon deep within her flesh to dig out her still heart. She fought back the tears as the pain threatened to consume her.

"You, Uzumaki, are resilient." Sani yanked out the heart with a satisfied sigh. It looked it over for a few minutes before consuming the organ. "You were pure of mind and body, Mito Uzumaki. Unfortunately, though, the results of your action have left me with a bitter taste. You swore yourself to your husband but never tried to love him as a wife should. The rift caused much strife in your family."

Mito gasped for breath as the wound on her chest closed. "My love belongs to a single man, slave of death. Hashirama was a good man but not the one I desired to be with."

Sani remained silent at the answer. "You speak of Naruto Uzumaki, yes?" Her silent nod allowed the Shinigami to continue. "I saw him many decades ago but never claimed his soul. Your false idol took his soul seconds before judgment."

"Seiōbo." Mito had not thought about the Queen-Mother of the West since leaving the Land of Whirlpools. Her husband, devoted to the pantheon of Amaterasu, frowned upon anything other than orthodoxy. As a token of goodwill to her new home, she raised her children as devout believers of Amaterasu while never partaking in any rituals. A lifetime of war jaded her against divinity. However, it brought much joy to the heart, knowing that Naruto did not have to suffer at the hands of uncaring gods. "Thank you, Sani, for the news. We swore to meet each other upon death. While I would have liked a final word with him, his fate fills my heart with joy."

Her words meant little to the creature. "You are a treacherous one, Mito Uzumaki. Dutiful but always with bad intentions. I believe you are unfit for heaven or rebirth."

"Very well." Mito lowered herself to the ground and bowed her head. If she was to be consumed by this monster, she would do so with dignity. "Let us be done with it, and may you choke on my bones."

Sani extended the claw once more and wrapped its talons around her throat. The creature's mouth broke and lengthened to swallow her whole like that of a serpent. Thousands of screaming voices echoed from the hellish torment it contained, each pleading for a second chance or mercy never to arrive.

"Hold yourself, slave of savagery!"

A thousand stars banished the grey void in a fountain of color. Mito slipped from Sani's grip and landed upon a bed of soft grass in an orchard of flowering peach trees bathed in twilight's last light. Despair, cynicism, and hopelessness turned into unbridled optimism at the warmth cradling her. Buried memories of being held as an infant surfaced, and Mito felt loved. But, unfortunately, Sani did not share her joy, howling and spitting curses of the blackest kind.

"Be gone! Be gone! This one is mine!" Sani roared in hellish rage at the thought of the prize stolen. "Show yourself, Whore of the West!"

A crown of stars appeared over the largest tree in the orchard. Golden rays radiated from each fruit, dangling from its branches. Mito closed her eyes as the light caressed her cheek, wiping away free-flowing tears. She tried to speak but only managed a joyous sob as promises of salvation were sung into her heart.

Sani crumbled under the light, fleeing into the shadows to glare at the peach tree with uncontrolled malice. "This one is not yours! She belongs to me! You are nothing more than a false idol!"

"Cease your cries, witless worm. A voice like a raging thunderstorm echoed far in the distance. "Mito Uzumaki is yet needed by her clan. Her soul, dimmed by a lifetime of war, requires renewal to see the glories of second spring."

"Dimmed?" Sani glared at Mito with a hungry look. "Her soul is not yet purified. Your protections are limited, oh fleeting goddess."

The voice came closer with increased anger. "Summon your malicious mistress, sniveling Sani. Tell her that I wish to challenge her."

Sani disappeared in a black blaze, leaving Mito alone yet loved in the garden.

"Are you Seiōbo?" Mito dared to stare at the light dancing among the branches of the tree. "Why have you come for me? I have turned my back upon you and your teachings for most of my life."

"Marvelous Mito, I am that who watches over you. You are my child. Lost as you maybe, I will not abandon you." The light grew in intensity to embrace her. "There exists not an Uzumaki beyond my love." Mito remained silent in the presence of the Queen-Mother of the West. Her mind, calm and eased, reflected on the events leading her to this movement.

A new presence entered the orchard as a sickly green light that oozed blight and decay. Once beautiful trees rotted into dry husks barren of fruit or color. The oily stench of excrement hovered around it in the form of a swarm of large flies. It attempted to move upon Mito but withdrew as the golden light flared.

"You are not welcomed on these shores," the voice from the green light sounded like an old woman, cruel and uncaring about the world. "All souls of the Nations belong to me. You've stolen one already from me and dare to take a second."

Seiōbo's light remained untouched by the growing gloom of her rival. "The Uzumaki is my chosen, Izanami. Their victory over you and your ilk draws ever closer."

Izanami hissed at the threat but remained still. "Your children have embraced the way of war, turning their backs against you. Only darkness and doom await that fallen bloodline. The lands of Uzu are not but ruin. Even now, your champion is succumbing to the influence of one of my followers."

"From the ashes of the old, the righteous shall emerge." Seiōbo remained silent for a moment. "You claim that the Uzumaki have turned their back upon my light. I wish to propose a challenge, Mistress of Misery." The light swirled around Mito. "This one seeks to reclaim her lost love from a bygone age. Her lover is forever lost to her if your words are true."

"That he is." Izanami cackled in grotesque glee. "Naruto is wholly under the control of his future wife. Ambition for power blinds him, and her influence shall grant him the title he so craves."

Seiōbo's light flared. "Then, I propose a challenge. Allow Mito Uzumaki to return to the living and claim his heart. Her soul shall be mine if she can accomplish such a task and return him to a virtuous path."

"And if I win?" Izanami purred with pestilence. "What shall I receive?"

"You shall have both her soul and Naruto's soul. Afterward, I shall depart these shores, never to return."

"Three days. She shall have only three days to restore the man that used to be." Izanami disappeared in a swirl of black flame. "At the dawn of the fourth day, I shall devour her!"

Mito relaxed once the evil presence of the Goddess of Death vanished from the orchard. She had never felt such a terrible feeling in her stomach and knew that the memory would stay with her until time itself faded. "What must I do, Queen-Mother of the West?"

Seiōbo shined a single golden ray upon her forehead. Warmth and life filled her lungs once more as the world began to fade around her. "Naruto Uzumaki walks a dangerous path to fulfill his desire to become Hokage, losing himself in the work and drudgery of politics. Seek him out and remind him of the man he used to be. You shall go to Konohagakure to save your clan. If your heart is pure than a lifetime with your true love shall be yours."

Blackness claimed Mito as the words of her goddess echoed within her mind.


"Are you alive?"

Mito Uzumaki felt pain for the first time since death. She struggled to open her eyes due to the glare of the sun staring down at her. Something poked her in the side repeatedly. Finally, a shape blocked out the harsh solar light to give her eyes a moment to adjust. A man with blond hair and brilliant blue eyes peered down at her with a stupid grin.

"You okay, lady?" He poked her with a stick again. "If you're dead, say something."

"That makes…zero sense." Mito groaned as her stomach twisted. She felt the first signs of vomit swelling but forced it down. "Where am I?"

The man tilted his head but withdrew the stick. "Uh…Konoha? How do you not know where you're at?"

"NARUTO!" A shrill voice suddenly jolted Mito back to life. She glanced towards the side to see a pink-haired woman marching over. "What did you do?"


Part one of five of the story finished. I'm trying a few new writing techniques in this one so hope you all enjoy this very simple love story.