Chapter Six

An Unkind World

With a chilled bottle of sake and a bucket of fried chicken, Kushina approached the front gates of the Senju compound, slow enough to mull over the beating to come. She noticed Shizune and Tonton hurrying down the walkway leading from the main house. The look on the woman's face brought a fresh wave of dread that knotted her stomach and threatened to unleash the contents of her stomach. However, if she was to die, Kushina wanted to do it with dignity.

"How is she?" She winched as Tonton whimpered. The pet pig knew Tsunade's mood better than anyone else. "That bad?"

Shizune adjusted her robe, trying to regain her composure. "Lady Tsunade is sober." She placed a gentle hand on Kushina's shoulder. She offered a pathetic smile before fleeing into the night with Tonton at her heels.

As expected, Tsunade waited for her in the living room with a large medical textbook on the coffee table. She did not look up from the tome as Kushina slank to the couch with the peace offerings nestled close like a holy ward. Instead, her honey-colored eyes danced across the page, her pink lips in a natural frown. A pink notebook with a large, cute fox sticker on the cover contained all the essential information on her most unusual patient: Naruto Uzumaki.

Kushina waited a minute before placing the gifts on the table. "I figured you were hungry and thirsty, Sluggy-chan."

"Hmph. You passed the Trial of Jiraiya by bringing me crap in hopes of comforting me." Tsunade flipped the page and wrote something down in the notebook. "The trial is named after him due to his pitiful attempts to give me flowers after peeping on me. Luckily, you picked something far better." She took a drum leg from the bucket, tearing into it like a wild animal. "Did you know your new student can eat three buckets of this stuff in one sitting?"

"Eh?" She chose to ignore the jab about the trial, fearing the genuine possibility of further angering the Sannin.

Tsunade finished the leg quickly, leaving a clean, picked bone behind. "I took him out to dinner tonight since his father was far too big of a pussy to approach him. Someone should always take a new genin out in celebration of their new life." She yanked a chicken breast from the bucket to continue the feast. "As for Naruto, I figured he would have stopped growing at his size. My current estimates place him at around seven feet four inches within the next year."

Impressive and concerning. Kushina's plan to make him a frontline powerhouse seemed perfect with the results. "I shall keep that in mind. We are going clothing shopping when we reach the first town on our trip."

"Right. Minato mentioned that you were leaving tomorrow morning with him." She discarded the chicken breast but did not reach for another, opting to open the sake. "Before we get to that, let's have a talk!" Her lips widened into a smile that sent a shiver down the redhead's spine. Tsunade sniffed the sake, enjoying the sweet aroma, and walked to the liquor cabinet. She removed a photograph of herself and Kushina at a beach resort. "I remember when you surprised me with reservations at The Golden Coast. They have one hell of a casino."

Kushina nodded slowly, proceeding carefully to avoid setting off any carefully laid traps. "You cried for three hours when I came home with the papers."

"Can you blame me?" Tsunade took out two small cups and returned to her chair. "No one had ever done something like that for me. I believe I told you that I love you for the first time that night."

"First time sober."

"Right." Tsunade filled the cups and slid one toward Kushina. "It is because I love you, my sweet chili pepper, that I am giving you five minutes to explain yourself instead of sending you straight to the stratosphere."

Kushina allowed Tsunade to take the first sip. She felt lucky to be given this chance instead of the pounding (the not-fun type of pounding) that was to be expected.

"The marriage…"

"Don't care." Tsunade waved her hand. "You did that to get at Minato, and I know you're completely loyal to me. This false thing you agreed to can be discussed later with Naruto. But, first, let's focus on your actions of this afternoon along with the torture you put my patient through."

Kushina took a deep breath, trying to find where, to begin with, her reasoning did not make her look like a complete villain. "The world we are forcing him into is based on deception and trickery. What I chose to put him through was no different than the bell tests Minato used for his team."

"No different?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow but kept her anger contained for the moment. "Last time I checked, Minato did not have Rin's parents encourage her to kill her brother to become an heir to the family."

"While my test is harsher, it is within the same spirit. I refuse to train a student who would kill a loved one for power or glory." She sipped the sake as her lover pondered her response. "I do not hate him."

Tsunade snorted and downed the entirety of her cup, switching to the bottle versus a refill. "At least, not anymore, right?"

At one point in the past, Kushina vigorously loathed the child of her former best friend and now ex-husband. Every glimpse of him reminded her of the betrayal destroying everything she had worked so hard for. She gave up her dreams of being Hokage just for Minato, and he repaid her by fucking her best friend. However, the hatred faded on Menma's tenth birthday when the little boy, lonely and seeking a mother figure, asked her about being a pervert. That one innocent interaction changed her world completely. She divorced Minato a few months later and began the travels that gave her clarity about everything.

"You're right. I did hate him for the longest time. Not because of the Fox or his appearance, but because of Tsume." She discarded her cup and stared at Tsunade. "In many ways, I was jealous of Naruto."

"Jealous?"

Kushina chuckled bitterly. "We both suffered so much from the actions of his parents. While I grew to hate the world, it only made him love it more." Violet eyes landed on the notebook containing his personal file. "I hope that he never changes."

Tsunade stared at her lover with heavy eyes. "Such innocence cannot last in our world. Your actions have forced the terrible truth of his existence to the forefront." She paused to take another swig from the bottle. "Jiraiya told him what would have happened had he failed your test."

Kushina raised an eyebrow. "He would have been sent back to the academy, right?"

"Extraction." She stared at Kushina with narrowed eyes. "They would have ripped the fox clean out of him and stuck into another poor sod." An uncomfortable silence fell in the room. "The pervert did not believe Naruto should be made a ninja."

"Minato told me his own reservations," Kushina admitted. "He believed Naruto was not suited for such a life."

"Then why give him your test?"

"It is no secret to anyone in the village that Naruto wants to become Hokage. Not becoming a shinobi ends that dream quickly. With his dream at sake, would he be tempted into actually killing Menma? I did not know. I had suspicions of what he would do, but that was not good enough. I needed to know." She stared at a photo of Tsunade and her in front of a castle. "More importantly, would he follow the orders of his father blindly? The training I will put him through will set him free of the shackles our system has put on him. Naruto is destined for a life of war and death. He'll be called upon to do awful things that will haunt him for the rest of his days. I wanted to know if he could do such things for the right reason."

"If this world was fairer, then such trials would be unnecessary. However, the world he will soon discover is not fair and is not kind. What has happened here will help him in the end. I have forced Minato and his ilk to reveal their true natures to Naruto. Sometimes, the truth is always needed, even if cruel."

Tsunade placed the bottle on the table. "You make it sound like you want him to turn into a cynical asshole like yourself."

"I put him through these things, so he won't turn out like me," Kushina said with regret. "When the fantasy world I constructed shattered around me, I took my hate out on a cursed little boy craving the love of family. Naruto's world has been shattered by the events of today. As his teacher, I must ensure he does not follow the path I did."

"I see." Tsunade cracked her knuckles and stood up. "It has been five minutes, and I've heard enough." Kushina closed her eyes, ready to accept the blows destined for her. She deserved this and so much more. But, instead, she felt something wet on her forehead: a single kiss. "You're a bitter old hag. Good thing I'm not much better."

Kushina remained seated and did not dare look into the honey-colored eyes full of love. "I am a monster."

"Perhaps." Tsunade moved towards the bedroom. "But if you believe that Naruto, labeled a demon by most, can become a hero…why can't you, a monster, not follow suit?" She paused when Kushina did not move. "Are you going to join me?"

"Not tonight. I wish to be alone," the Uzumaki muttered. "Apologies."

Tsunade shrugged, though look disappointed. "When do we leave tomorrow?"

"We?" This caught Kushina's attention.

"As Naruto's doctor and one of the few people he still trusts, I have made it my mission to ensure that he is given a proper education by his new teacher," Tsunade smirked. "I shall join you and him for the first seven months."

Kushina groaned and shook her head. "What of Menma's training? The hospital?"

"I'll do what I've always done: make Shizune take care of it." The Slug Sannin chuckled. "About time she learns to run things without me. We both know I'm not getting any younger."

"Minato will never agre- "

"Already did." She cracked her knuckles. "Didn't leave him much choice anyways." Her delicate yet powerful hands began to undo her top. "If you want a pounding so bad, I'll give you one in here. Last chance unless we can ditch the brat for a few hours during our adventures."

Kushina's feet were already moving before her mind caught up.

And we have our first Kushina focused chapter with a heavy dose of Tsunade. Yes, they are lovers already. No, no one knows about them. I always seen harem or multi-pairing fics where the main hero collects the women like pokemon. This time around, Naruto will join an existing relationship where they were content without him.

Let's talk about Kushina's actions and the nature of her test along. While cruel, I do not believe her actions were completely evil when taken into context of the setting. Naruto's world (both in this story and the anime) shows the deployment (and death) of child-soldiers. From a young age, children are brought up to glorify trained killers. They are expected to take to the battlefield as soldiers, mercenaries, and assassins by the age of twelve or thirteen (in Canon). Itachi, for example, entered active service at the age of SIX with his first kill most likely taking place that same year. The Shinobi World is one of the most brutal settings underneath the cute anime style, rivaling such horrid settings such as Warhammer 40k. Kushina wanted to see if Naruto's idealism could hold up even in a tense, awful situation.

As for Naruto's reaction...last chapter showed his anger. To anyone hoping he'll become a dark avenger, sorry but that is not the path I'm having him take. Naruto, despite all the shitty things that has happened to him, is a good person at heart that refuses to abandon his ideas even in the face of evil. My version of Naruto, while different in certain aspects, still keeps the spirit of the original character who genuinely loves peace and humanity. His love of the humanities, for example, is a representation of his love of people.

Hope you've all enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the next.