Hey people!

Just a couple of chapters left from this side. Let's finish this part soon.

Before that, here's the disclaimer. I'm don't any of the characters, they belong to Masashi Kishimoto; just this single plot going on is from my imagination.

Now, let's get to the story.

Chapter 14: Where is Naruto?

Konohakure no Sato

Before any of the Jōnin could answer the question, Sasuke budged in.

"She finally did it, didn't she? After all these years….", he stated.

"Did what?", asked Kiba interjected.

"Mendokusē. Isn't it obvious? She left the village. That's why we haven't seen her", said Shikamaru.

"Hm", Tsunade nodded in agreement. "She left the village with the kids right after the Kyūbi regrew back her hand."

"WHAT?", exclaimed Kiba. "But why would she leave, Hokage-sama?", questioned Choji at the same time.

"Even though she was accepted. It had passed the time that she was willing to give to gain acceptance, wasn't it?", said Shino.

"Yes. She tried so hard to forgive the villagers even after what happened the first time. She kept giving chances. But they still couldn't change. They couldn't see her as she was until she saved them from Pein's attack. But she had already given up on them by then. The last string was the hospital incident. Half of them incited the incident, the rest of them stood by, looked and acted as nothing had happened. It broke her beyond imagination. It took her weeks to trust us. Those of us in this room. She just distanced herself from all of us. It took us until war to get back her trust." Tsunade answered sadly.

"But Shishou, where did she go?", asked Sakura.

"Uzu…", whispered Sasuke.

"Yes. She went to Uzushiogakure", answered Tsunade.

Most looked confused except Shino and Shikamaru. "Tsunade-sama, wasn't Uzushio destroyed during the Second Shinobi War almost forty years ago?", questioned Shino.

"Yes, it was destroyed during the Second Shinobi War by unknown forces. We assumed it to be either Kumo or Iwa but no one could confirm. Uzushio was one of the strongest villages even though it was a very small village in comparison to the rest of the major five." Explained Tsunade. "But they were the ones who inspired and helped for the formation of Konohagakure. In fact, Uzushio and Konoha had a real close relation that even now we wear the symbol on our Shinobi clothing, the red whirl, the symbol of the Uzumaki clan".

Those who didn't know gasped in shock. Not many of the younger generation knew about the Uzumaki clan. Especially after the council forced the removal of Uzumaki clan's history from the academic portions and half of the history books in the library.

"How were we not told of any of these things?", asked Ino.

"You weren't informed of any of these as the council out-voted sensei and forcefully removed all of it so that it was no more common knowledge to anyone inside the village right after the Kyūbi attack", replied Tsunade. "We even tried to get it back in once I became Hokage as it was my right as a descendant, but they wouldn't agree and so I was again out-voted."

"Y-you a-are an U-Uzumaki?", whispered Hinata.

"Yes, only partly. Once Konoha was built, Konoha and Uzushio made an alliance. At that time, Uzushio was known for its longevity and world-renowned seal makers. The Uzumaki clan which was the major clan had the best seal makers ever known. That is why they were targeted and annihilated during the Second Shinobi War. But back to the story, when the Kyūbi who stayed in these forests at that time threatened to destroy the village, Jī-san asked for help from Uzu. The ruler at that time sent his daughter here, Mito Uzumaki who sealed the Kyūbi inside of her and intern protected the village. She then married Jī-san, the Shodaime Hokage. She continued being the Jinchūriki for the Kyūbi until forty years back when she was too old to continue. So she asked her nephew, the ruler of Uzu at that time to send his daughter to Konoha so that she could become the next Jinchūriki. When she arrived, Kushina was made into the second Jinchūriki in secret by Mito-bā-san herself before she passed away." Many of the Rookies were again shocked as they knew the name of Naruto's mother.

Tsunade continued. "Soon after, even Uzushio was destroyed and the people and clans who survived decided to hide under disguise in other lands and villages. Some like the Umino clan and few members of Takana clan and Saito clan also came along with a handful of other Uzumakis. Most Uzumakis were hidden and given a new name here other than Kushina as she was from the royal clan. But she was under the protection of the Senju clan and Konohagakure. So none of the other villages could threaten her. Another thing was that she was living with me as a last wish from Bā-san."

"Life went on fine for Kushina as she attended the academy and became a Kunoichi and even got happily married to Minato. Not many knew about her being the Jinchūriki. So she was treated normally. But things changed on the night of her delivery. It is always risky for a Jinchūriki to give birth as the seal is at its weakest during the time of childbirth. Everything started off fine that night and Kushina had just given birth to Naruto. But they were suddenly attacked by Obito who released the seal and let the Kyūbi out. Minato had no choice but to reseal the Kyūbi and Kushina was in no state to take him back. So they had to make the hard decision and seal him inside Naruto."

"But this time, many had seen the Kyūbi being sealed. So sensei tried to hide her somewhere before someone else got their hands on her. Fugaku and Mikoto, being really close friends with Minato and Kushina, offered to take her in and keep her away from the eyes of the rest of the villagers. We had successfully kept her hidden until she was three when Danzo somehow got to know of her location and forced her out of their care."

"The removal of Naruto from the clan and forbidding them from even going close to her pushed the Uchiha Clan, even more, to prepare for a Coup d'état against the village. Since the clan as a whole considered her a part of their family and since they were being shunned by the villagers as suspects for the Kyūbi attack. That's what caused this whole set of events starting from forcing Itachi to murder his own clan and then all the occurrences with Naruto", Tsunade explained with a lot of shame towards her own village.

In fact, everyone felt ashamed for what their own village had done to their own members. They knew that they had screwed up big time and had no way to ask Naruto and Sasuke for forgiveness as the village was the one to cause that pain.

Yup. That's the chapter. What do you all think? About Uzu? Any idea about the story on the other side?

Do let me know in the comments or PM me!

I'll be back with the next chapter soon! Bye!