Chapter Three: More Than A Hokage
Ren read her mother's words, her story and explanation:
"The Uzumaki are not originally from Konoha. We are actually a foreign clan that was destroyed during the Third Great War, our remnants scattered to the winds. We became a clan on a green island surrounded by turbulent seas, Whirlpool Country, near Water Country. We were the kings and founders of our own Hidden Village, Uzu.
"We were on the Konoha side in the Third Great War, but if you've trained extensively in our abilities, you can probably see why we were thought too powerful by the opposing Iwa-Suna forces. We were decimated and destroyed. There may have been other survivors, but it is unclear where they escaped to. It took two foreign armies to kill our clan.
"So what was our connection to Konoha in the first place, you might ask? Why did I, Uzumaki Kushina, end up here?
"I was a refugee, an immigrant, a diplomatic chess piece.
"The Uzumaki are cousins of Konoha's founding clan, Senjuu, the great and natural rivals of Konoha's equally ancient and powerful clan Uchiha. At the time of this writing, the last Senjuu has left Konoha in retirement with no children, so any Uzumaki children I have are also Senjuu heirs. This means we are related to the First and Second Hokage, who in turn mentored the Third.
"You can see a swirl symbol on the back of each and every single dark green Konoha flak vest. That red swirl symbol is the Uzumaki symbol. Konoha and the Senjuu originally put that swirl on their flak vests as a symbol of close friendship with the Uzumaki, their family. This was done back when Uzu was still its own village, and the practice continues today.
"Here was the problem. Konoha had tamed the Tailed Beast, or demon made of chakra, local to their region, the Kyuubi Nine-Tailed Fox, long ago. But it was so powerful they needed a living human being to put it in - a jinchuuriki, that had the demon possessed sealed away inside their body.
"The Uzumaki are uniquely placed to be jinchuuriki. We have incredibly powerful chakra, capable of handling the strain of initial implantation, and we are seal-masters ourselves. Most luckily, we were also often powerful women and popular in arranged marriages.
"I think you see where this is going.
"An Uzumaki was sent to become the First Hokage's wife. This means all Senjuu descendants are related to the Uzumaki even more directly. That includes the famous Tsunade of the Sannin. Uzumaki Mito, her grandmother, became the first Kyuubi jinchuuriki.
"Uzumaki live a long time, it is a gift of our chakra, but when it was time for Mito to die, a new person had to be sent in her place. As a diplomatic gesture to continue goodwill between the two villages. I was sent as a child to become the next Kyuubi jinchuuriki - Uzumaki Kushina. I became a Konoha ninja when I should have become an Uzu ninja. There was no arranged marriage for me.
"It was the Third War and a different time by then.
"I was an immigrant, and then I became a refugee. I got the news from a distance that my childhood family, my clan, was dead. I was… all that's left.
"And so now the Uzumaki are members of Konoha, and even heirs to the great Senjuu line. I write this as I am expecting a child myself. My husband is the Fourth Hokage - Namikaze Minato. Most people know him as the handsome blond man who became known throughout the Elemental Countries during the Third Great War as the lethal Golden Flash.
"I hope to pass this clan history scroll on to my daughter Ren when she is old enough to read it."
Ren sat back at her desk, tears in her eyes and a hand over her mouth. It was as if her parents were speaking back through the years to her; she knew them, could hear their voices.
But there was still so much that she did not understand.
"The Five Point Seal," she whispered to herself, "when put over the hara, would be perfect for containing the Kyuubi demon.
"But why… and how…?"
Ren burst into the Hokage's office the next day and sat down across from him, arms crossed and glaring. He looked up from his paperwork.
"Ren," he said cautiously, "I am busy. What is wrong?"
"My Mom left behind a clan history scroll. I just figured out a lot.
"Here's what I'm thinking," said Ren in growing anger, "that the Five-Point Seal over my hara would be perfect for containing a demon. That I am called 'fox girl' by the adults. That I was both born and orphaned the very day of the Kyuubi attack. That the Fourth died sealing the demon away and most jinchuuriki die from demon extractions, accidental or otherwise. That jinchuuriki seals can theoretically be weakened by labor and birth. That I am an Uzumaki, perfect to become a brand-new demon container if one is needed.
"And that babies formed near yokai sometimes take on half yokai characteristics - like a strange eye appearance, for example. These aren't clan markings at all, are they?"
And Ren just sat there, glaring at the Third.
"My birth destroyed half the village," she finished flatly.
The Third sighed and sat back, closing his eyes and looking old and exhausted. "That… is no one's fault," he said first. "Especially not yours. I… was wondering when you'd figure it out, once I gave you the scrolls.
"You asked that first day about your parents. I told you to keep reading."
"So… the Fourth was a wind elemental?" Ren confirmed.
"Your father, Namikaze - or, 'wave of wind' - Minato, the Golden Flash. Yes," said the Third simply. "He had been appointed as next Hokage by me, for his stunning bravery on the Third War battlefield and extraordinary abilities. He and your mother had married, and decided to have a child in secret. They had so many enemies… almost no one to this day knows about the pregnancy, or why Kushina was suddenly absent from public life during the last several months before her death.
"No one knows your parents even had a child. Almost no one knows you exist. I kept it that way after deaths… for the same reason. To protect you against their many enemies.
"Please don't tell many people, Ren, until you are an older ninja and can defend yourself properly.
"As for the demon… yes. Your parents were taken into the forestry outside the village for the birth, but the worst happened. The demon erupted outward, destroying and killing everything in its path. Your parents died sealing it into you. They asked me… to look after you… as they lay dying.
"Your parents wanted you to be seen as a hero by the village. They loved you, and wanted you badly. Here is the problem.
"The Kyuubi and jinchuuriki situation used to be a top S-class secret inside Konoha. But we couldn't hide you. Your creation had destroyed half the village. So you became the first openly known Kyuubi jinchuuriki, and the adults have feared and hated you, misunderstood you and considered you to be the demon you contain, ever since.
"I passed a decree saying no one is allowed to talk about your jinchuuriki status. It is a law, with strict and severe punishment. So the people your age don't know. You can tell anyone you choose, but you are the only who can. I was hoping the children would not inherit their parents' hatred of you… but groupthink is a strong force.
"Hence the contempt of you by your fellow childhood villagers. You have your work cut out for you. They hate you without knowing why."
The Third finished his story, eyeing Ren hesitantly. She had slowly sat back in startled thought. At last, she nodded, swallowed.
"… It's good," she admitted, oddly shaken. "To know going into the Academy. So… your protection, as well as my mother's clan's strong matriarchal status… that's the reason I don't share the Namikaze surname with my father?"
"Correct," said the Third. "Though… in S-class records, you are called Namikaze Uzumaki Ren. You can carry that name… you don't have to change it if you don't want to, not even in marriage, when you're older and who you are becomes widely known."
"Why… my father… he was a handsome, powerful blond man and a Hokage, but why was he called the Golden Flash?" Ren asked.
"He created many of his own ninjutsu… several wind ninjutsu, and then a teleportation ninjutsu. People thought he was so fast he was a blond blur, disappearing from one place and reappearing in another. He terrified his enemies."
"Can I learn his techniques?" Ren perked up.
The Third Hokage chuckled. "When you are older, his old Sensei Jiraiya of the Sannin has agreed to come back and help train you… ask him then, for everything, for anything you wish."
"Jiraiya - my retired relative Tsunade's teammate, the last Senjuu, her teammate?" said Ren, interested.
"The very same," said the Third, smiling warmly. "I myself taught both of them, you know, during my Hokage term and all. So you were always in good hands.
"Hokage duties can be difficult, but with appropriate time management and cleverness a person can do everything they need to in life, even with the title. Your father knew that, too."
"… I want to be one," said Ren suddenly, looking down wide-eyed and coming to a decision. "A Hokage - the next in a long line."
The Third looked surprised.
"How else," Ren asked, looking up, determined, "am I going to truly prove myself as a human ninja of worth to the people of my village? What better way than to be appointed and voted in as Hokage, the strongest of all in Konoha? That would be the perfect way to gain respect. Take my father's title."
"… That may be a lot of work," said the Third cautiously. "There is so much working against you… and a woman has never been Hokage before."
Ren looked up firmly. "Then I will be the first!" she said in a strong voice.
The Third Hokage paused - and smiled.
"Do you know, Ren," he said, "you are so much like your parents. They were just like you - bright and optimistic and idealistic, energetic, fiery and determined. Like you, they never flagged, never stopped working hard, never gave up. And they became some of the best in the world for it, and some of the most beloved in their own village. Konoha still mourns them. They had that kind of effect, no matter what their enemies fearfully thought of them.
"And they would be so proud of you."
Ren paused… and smiled, tears stinging her eyes.
The last thing Ren did before Academy signup day was get into feminism.
"If I'm going to be the first woman Hokage," she told herself determinedly, slamming the pile of feminist books down amid countless other piles in her eccentric bedroom, "I've gotta read up on the people who believe that should be possible."
Ren discovered her culture's feminism focused mostly on the limitations placed on women because they were forced to be traditional wives, daughters, and mothers. She drank all of it in - the idea that a woman could be a powerful leader, a role usually blocked off to women, and also a wife and mother.
"Like the Third Hokage said: with proper cleverness and time management, a person can have both a personal life and a work life," she whispered to herself softly, still reading.
She drank in every feminist book she could get her hands on, and studied subjects as diverse as revolutionary female artists, and alcoholism and domestic abuse in men. Loving her own sex truly for the first time, she became a fierce defender of women.
She said into her usual recorder one day, "… I've decided that a person can be sexual and flirtatious without feeding into our culture's porn addiction, which demeans women." Her voice was firm. "I've also decided that even thought I'm a weird girl, I've got to be the main character of my own story - not the love interest in somebody else's. I have to stop trying to please dark, brooding guys.
"So there. My first step was deciding I'm worth it on my own merits, that I'll prove everyone wrong about me by becoming a female Hokage and also a wife and mother… and my second step is deciding I'm the main character, not the love interest.
"I'll even be a clan head someday, which means I am allowed multiple husbands. Polygamy is pretty common in our culture, but allowing it in women is a pretty new thing - an act of rebellion on the part of women, who used to usually be stuck with the raw end of the deal.
"In short: I've gotta start being my own person and deciding things for myself. A true feminist.
"Oh, and also… this is embarrassing, but I've discovered I like romantic pop and enka music." Her tone was embarrassed. "I… am not sure how this tallies with my feminism, so maybe I just won't tell anyone."
Then she turned off her recorder, turned on a romantic song on her stereo, and paused and sighed, smiling daydreamily upward and clutching one of her precious books to her chest in her fanciful purple, daydreamy bedroom with its crystals, its glitter decorations, and its butterfly and hummingbird wall stencils. Potted plants littered the space. An avant-garde kimono hung in the open wardrobe door. Her cute little stuffed green frog wallet filled with green tea caramels sat on her bedside table. A calendar hung across the room, the tiny TV with stacked movies in a corner across from her bed.
With her crystal pendant around her neck, her purple sweater dress that matched the purple in her eyes and her black fishnet armor leggings, her long braid of red hair, her countless seal tattoos in butterfly and hummingbird shapes, her fox woman facial features, and her equipment pouches and weapons holsters filled with sealing scrolls, beanie babies, and wild berry pop tarts…
She was ready for the Academy.
Her Uzumaki chest of scrolls had been tucked into a safe and special corner of her bedroom. She had closed it with one of her own special blood seals and a note, in gel pen with cute kanji and hearts: "Family Stuff! Good Luck If You're Not In My Family!" it read cheerfully.
She paused and looked around.
"… Konoha Ninja Academy and all fellow trainees, here I come," she whispered, smiling slowly in excitement.
Uzumaki Ren had somehow, at eight years old, found some modicum of happiness and self-respect at last.