A week after the funeral, the pre-war situation was discussed within the Uzushiogakure Council, and Konoha was alerted by one of the carrier pigeons that Uzushio would be sending an envoy in the next few days to discuss the details.

The envoys selected to go were obviously the Uzumaki Arashi, now the Yondaime Uzukage after a short ceremony a few days after Mito-sama's funeral, Naruto, and a few other Uzumaki councilmen.

After some discussion, it was decided for the best that, in order not to alert Iwa or Kumo, Konoha reinforcements would be sent using a special seal: a seal which caused a massive portal, to be exact. It was the creation of Naruto, Arashi and Jiraiya working together, and was perfected enough for usage, the only downside being that it caused nausea.

The seal also required a lot of chakra to use, so much, that if a dozen average Jounin in tried to support it, they would only last a quarter of a minute before they would completely be sucked out of chakra and be sent to the hospital for chakra exhaustion.

This was why there were more Uzumaki going as envoys than usual: ten of them, not counting Naruto and Arashi. This way, they would have enough chakra to support the seal for around half an hour, enough for the Konoha forces to reach the other side. After that, some Uzumaki from the other side would go to Konoha, and the portal would always be kept open for the duration of the war by rotation.

It was a sound plan, which met the expectations as the ones that had created it were the Kage Level ninja, two of which knowing the responsibilities of a Kage firsthand, and the other having a Kage as a teacher.

And so, the envoy took off, travelling for two days and two nights non-stop, before finally reaching the large gates of Konohagakure.

Naruto's eyes sparkled as she gazed at the place before her: she had come home! It wasn't her Konoha anymore, the three Hokage heads proof of that, but it was and would always be the place she had spent her childhood in.

Her heart clenched as she thought of all the friends she had lost, all those who had been her closest, her family, and none of which sue could save in the end. Before she could succumb to depression and sadness, she felt a knowing glance sent her way, and composed herself, turning to grin at Arashi, as if telling him she was fine.

Naruto then sent a side glance to Jiraiya, but the man was too caught up in ogling a woman with large breasts to notice, so she jabbed her elbow into his side, making him groan in pain, and successfully capturing his attention.

"That hurt, you brat!" He said with a glare, and Naruto stuck out her tongue in response, simultaneously pulling down her left lower eyelid as well.

"Bleugh, you old man, aren't you a Kage level ninja? Does a nudge from a kid really hurt that much? Have you grown weak as you aged, dattebayo?"

Jiraiya swatted down at her head in response, irked at being called old when he was only in his mid-twenties, and the girl, already having anticipated it, grinned cheekily as she dodged, hopping on top of the man's head with a single effortless jump, and crouching down mockingly.

"You really have grown old, haven't you? If not, why are you so slow?" With another swat her way, she jumped down gracefully, then stuck out her tongue once again, Arashi chuckling at her antics.

"Alright Naruto-chan, we have come here as representatives of Uzushiogakure, so please mind your behaviour a bit more." he lightly scolded the blonde, making her pout slightly.

"Fine, fine!" she agreed after a few seconds, raising her hands in defeat. "But I really want to eat now, dattebayo!" She then nudged Jiraiya again. "Oi, Ero-Sennin, does Ichiraku's exist right now? 'Cause I could really do some ramen right now, dattebayo!"

The man finally managed to slap a hand on the girl's head, and pressed down, making the girl squirm in discomfort.

"Wait until after the meeting, brat. We don't have much time until it's scheduled time."

Naruto nodded in defeat, then went back to surveying the village, excitement visible in every cell of her body as she looked at stalls, guessed people's ages and clans, and created a game of pointing out the ANBU Black Ops members who had been following them since their entrance of the village.

The last one was quite fun, because every time she pointed at one of them and waved while shouting 'Goog morning, ANBU-san!', the ninja would disappear from their spot and appear at somewhere else, which she proceeded to point out as well.

Her actions earned her amused looks and a fist to the head after she started to agitate the ANBU, one of which already succumbing to negativity after being discovered by a mete child dozens of times. Their chakra was overflowing with depression, Naruto had sensed.

"Oi, brat, if you don't stop that, the village will have no ANBU left, you know? All their self-esteem has already been lost, give them a break!" The white-haired Sannin grumbled, but internally, he was also amused. Naruto had always been a natural chakra sensor, and a powerful one at that, even managing to sense one's emotions, a feat only few could do, from miles away without even needing to concentrate. Too bad she chose to demonstrate that by pranking people, though.

A five-minute walk later, they arrived at the Hokage tower, entering after greeting the guards in front of the doors, and walking down the familiar path Naruto had walked down thousands of times.

Reaching the Hokage's office, the assistant in front of it was startled, and he scrambled to knock on the door and inform the Hokage of the Uzushio citizens' arrival.

A minute later, two Chuunin exited the room, bowing in respect towards the mass of redheads and walking away hurriedly, though shooting awed glances at them during the way.

Naruto snickered at their actions.

"Never seen so many redheads in their lives, have they?" she commented. Jiraiya let out a hum of agreement, also looking amused by the attention the Uzumaki received.

The assistant bowed down professionally, having overcome her surprise in the minutes of waiting the group's arrival had brought.

"Hokage-sama awaits you inside, Uzukage-sama, Jiraiya-sama, Uzumaki-samas."

The group of thirteen people walked inside, Naruto giving the assistant a wide grin and startling her successfully, then gaining an awkward one in return as she did so. After their entrance, the door was closed behind them, and Naruto looked around in wonder.

The Hokage's office was just how she remembered it to be: simple, but effective. Two ANBU guards were situated in the corners of the room and in places effective enough to protect the Hokage in case of a threat arising.

And then her eyes met the figure stirring behind the desk, and her eyes flashed with memories.

Jiji. She had missed him so much! It had been fourteen years since she had last seen him, and yet here he was, younger than she ever remembered. His eyes weren't soft like in his later years, a hard streak in them, and he looked every bit of the God of Shinobi title he had been awarded.

Within seconds, her emotions were once again sealed inside of her, and she locked them inside several mental cages to avoid their influence, deciding to go over them later. Now was not the time to be reminiscing. They had come here for more important reasons.

Arashi smiled as he stepped forward, Hiruzen also standing up and shaking his hand in greeting.

"Welcome, Uzukage-dono. Congratulations on becoming a Kage." Arashi chuckled lightly.

"Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here, Hokage-dono," he replied politely.

The Sandaime Hokage gestures for the seat in front of the desk, sitting down himself on his own chair. He nodded at the other envoys in greeting, though his gaze lingered on Naruto for a bit, probably having not expected a child to come.

"So, tell me about the upcoming war."

And so they did.