Chapter 2

It was a clear day in Hi no Kuni. There wasn't a cloud in sky and the wind blew cool, making the day comfortable. It was the perfect weather to take a stroll in. It was a stroll that a young man was enjoying right at this minute. He was walking on the road, a pack strapped to his back. His spiky blond hair whipped a little in the wind. His blue eyes just looked ahead and were focused. He was wearing a pair of baggy black pants, a black undershirt and an orange happi jacket with black trim. The symbol of the Uzumaki clan was stitched on the back.

He walked along the path until he got to a hill. He looked ahead to see something that made him smile. It was a village, one that he hadn't seen in two years. It was the village of his birth, Konohagakure no Sato and he was Namikaze Naruto. The fifteen and a half shinobi was happy to return home. His two year contract with Toshiyuki-sama was up and it was time to return home. Seeing that his home was just some steps away, Naruto continued on his way.

As he walked, Naruto thought back to the two years away from the village. He had done a lot of good as Toshiyuki-sama's personal shinobi. His main duties were to deal with dangers that threatened Hi no Kuni. That meant he had to deal with those threats and end them. It earned him the name 'Tomaranai-ryoku' due to his Oto no Kazeken. He ended a lot of lives with his personal jutsu. While it made him feel a certain way, Naruto knew that he was doing good work as it protected those he cared about.

Still, he longed for the comforting words of his mother. She always had a way to make him feel better. If it wasn't for the encouraging words in her letters, he probably wouldn't have made it. He couldn't wait to see her and his bratty sister. He wondered what had changed in his home village.

XXX

The group were huffing a puffing as they ran around the Konoha academy. They had been at it since morning due to the fact that someone decided to say the words that no one should have said, especially to her. They all groaned as they did their fifth lap around the school. They were so tired and a few stopped to rest. That's when a loud voice was heard.

"Did I tell you to stop running?!" the voice shouted. They quickly continued, not wanting to face her wrath. The wrath that they did not wish to face was that of Namikaze-Uzumaki Kushina. The now instructor was wearing a blue hitai-ate with her hair tied up in a high ponytail and strands at the sides of her face. She also wore a standard Konoha flak jacket over a black short-sleeved shirt and black form-fitting pants that reached her calves. Her eyes glared at her students as they continued to run.

"Call me a tomato will they? I'll run them into the ground." Kushina muttered.

"You know, when you show them that still gets to you, it only makes them do it more right?" a voice said. Kushina stood still after hearing that voice. It was a voice that she had not heard in two years. She slowly turned to face the voice and saw that person she so wanted to see again.

"Naruto?" Kushina asked softly.

"Hey mom, I'm home." Naruto said. Kushina just vanished from her spot and ensnared her son in a bone-crushing hug. Naruto winced a little but embraced his mother in a very touching scene. The students who watched the scene were curious about it while others saw this as their chance to escape. They got about two steps before several chains burst out of Kushina's back and ensnared them. Kushina did not release her son and Naruto just chuckled amused.

XXX

Mother and son sat in a secluded spot as they conversed. Kushina shared her lunch with her son as they talk. Kushina looked at her son and showed a little concern.

"Are you sure that you're alright? I know talking through letters doesn't compare to face to face conversation." Kushina said.

"Yeah, I'm doing alright. Your letters and you sending Ero-oji did help a lot. Truth is, I just think about dad and what he would say to me." Naruto said. Kushina smiled and put a caring hand on his cheek.

"He would be very proud of you. You have become a very splendid ninja. I am also very proud of you. My son, in the bingo book, the 'Tomaranai-ryoku'." Kushina stated, making him blush. Naruto then looked at his mother.

"So, how did you become an instructor? From what I was told, you're not just an instructor but you are the instructor of the advance class? Did things go back to the original system?" Naruto asked.

"Not that they had a choice in the matter. It started when I confronted a chunin instructor name Mizuki…"

***Flashback***

"So, do you get why I am concerned?" Kushina asked. She was sitting across from Naruko's instructor, Mizuki. She was concerned because of the tests that Naruko had been hiding from her. She found them and confronted her daughter. Naruko was flippant about it and Kushina grounded her. After calming herself, she noticed that there were marks on her papers. It was as if someone erased her answers. She spoke with her daughter who would admit that she was being sabotaged. Kushina decided to get to the bottom of it.

"I understand your concern but I don't really think that Naruko is being sabotaged. She has been saying that for quite a while. She's excellent when it comes to jutsu and combat but she just isn't that intelligent when it comes to tests." Mizuki explained.

"Perhaps you are right but I believe that her thoughts are correct. I observed the tests. It looked like someone erased her answers after she took them. She pressed so hard on the paper that that even the eraser could not erase the original answer. Someone is trying to sabotage my daughter." Kushina stated.

"Is that so? Well, if you give me the tests, I will talk with the headmaster and my fellow instructor about this. If Naruko is indeed being sabotaged, we will not allow that to stand." Mizuki said with a smile.

"Thank you very much," Kushina said with a smile. "but that won't be necessary." Mizuki suddenly got very confused and Kushina got very serious."You see, I've already showed this to the headmaster and your colleague, Umino Iruka. In fact, he seemed really surprised that I made such an accusation considering that he graded Naruko's papers. He then told me that he handed those graded papers to you." Kushina could see the change in Mizuki's demeanor instantly. "So tell me, how long have you hated my daughter?" Kushina demanded. Mizuki flipped the table and reached for a kunai but Kushina smashed the table to splinters and pierced Mizuki's shoulder joints and knee caps with her Kongō Fūsa. Mizuki screamed in pain as the door opened to reveal three jonin. Mizuki turned to Kushina and sneered.

"Your monster child shouldn't even be a shinobi." he spat.

"That's original. Well, too bad for you she's going to keep on being a shinobi while you're going to rot in jail." Kushina said. She let Mizuki fall and disengaged her Kongō Fūsa. She didn't even look back as the jonin collected him.

***Present***

"After that, a council meeting was called. Hiruzen did an investigation into the academy and found things that made him sick. He decided to do a total overhaul of the academy due to the corruption. The civilian council attempted to fight it but I shut them down with help of the shinobi council. I offered my services to instructor and got them to change how the academy works. We already got results." Kushina said.

"Yeah, I heard about that in the last Chunin Exams. Three teams from Konoha all became chunin after the exams. You guys must have really prepared those guys for the exams. Old man Tsuchikage wasn't exactly happy. It probably didn't help that I mocked Kurotsuchi a little." Naruto said with a chuckle. Kushina joined in as she had run in with the mouthy little brat. That's when Naruto got serious.

"So, I heard about Naruko. Want to tell me about that?" he asked. Kushina just sighed.

XXX

A young girl walked towards her home after the academy. Her blue eyes kept forward because if she looked at any of the villagers, she would get their dirty looks. She didn't really care what they thought about her anymore. In her mind, they should all be thanking her for keeping their fear at bay. They should also be thankful because she was the daughter of the Yondaime Hokage. She was Namikaze Naruko, the Kyuubi jinchuuriki.

The red-haired ten year old was wearing a short-sleeved, dark blue kimono-like blouse with a dark embroidered border, held closed with a black obi, a dark blue short skirt and black stockings that stopped at her thighs. She just continued on to her home, ignoring everyone's gaze. As she arrived home, she entered the home and noticed a pack she never seen before. She also heard her mother talking with someone. She made her way toward the kitchen where she saw someone talking to her mother.

"Naruto?" Naruko asked. The older teen looked at her and gave her a small smile.

"Well, it looks like you grew a little since I've been gone." Naruto said. Naruko walked up to the two.

"When did you get back from the capitol?" Naruko asked.

"Got back today. I went to visit mom at the academy. We talked, ate lunch and I waited for her so that we could walk home." Naruto answered.

"And neither of you waited for me?" Naruko asked with a tone. Naruto just sighed while Kushina gave her daughter a disapproving look.

"Considering the fact that I have attempted to walk home with you on several occasions and you have disregarded me, you have no room to complain. If you want me to be honest, I thought you meet with your 'oji' after class like always." Kushina explained with a hard edge. Naruko had the decency to look ashamed at that. Naruto just sighed and stood up.

"I'm going to home to get some sleep. I'll visit the old man tomorrow." Naruto said and began to make his exit.

"Hey wait a minute, you're just going to go home and not even talk to me?" Naruko asked.

"Yes and I'll tell you why. One, I am tired and I need to just pass out on my bed. Two, I know that you will just nag me about teaching you my move. No doubt you 'oji' gave you a bingo book and you read my profile. The final reason, I'm not in the mood to argue with you or speak with you after what I heard." Naruto explained. With that said, Naruto walked out of the house and closed the door. Naruko turned to look at her mother and just saw her disappointed look before she got up to make dinner. Naruko huffed in annoyance before making her way to her room. She had practice to get to.

XXX

Naruto opened the door to his place and turned on the lights. He saw that his place was cleaned and mentally thanked his mother. He made his way to his bed and fell onto it. He let out a groan of relief as he got comfortable. He laid there for a while before he turned to look at his nightstand. He had a couple of pictures on it that made him smile. There were a lot of them, memories that he didn't want to forget. From his birth to his time in the military police, there were just so many happy memories. There were also sad ones as friends that he lost were also on his night stand.

He turned away from the pictures and looked up at the ceiling. Naruto was just thinking about what was next for him. When he was a genin, he wanted to be like his father. When he joined up with the military police, he wanted to protect the villagers. When he was under the employ of Toshiyuki-sama, he wanted to protect Hi no Kuni. He had done those things but now what was there for him to do now. He was not really an ambitious person. Unlike his parents, he had very lofty goals in life. He really just wanted to be a ninja, marry someone he loved, have some kids and teach them how to be ninja. Simple but it was what he wanted out of life.

Still, he wondered what he could do until that time. There was the ANBU but that wasn't something he was interested in. He could reform the military police but that just didn't feel right. With a sigh, Naruto just closed his eyes and allowed sleep to take him.

XXXXX

Authors' Notes

Well, here's a new chapter. I hope you enjoy it.