Naoko said, "I'll see what I can do, though I'm not sure what I can do about the chakra control issues." Then she turned to her daughter and said, "Hey, Noriko, why don't you go and see if you can find your cousin. I'd like to talk to Tsunade for a while."

"Sure thing," Noriko said, walking over to the window before exiting through it, jumping from roof to roof on her way to where she had heard the trees falling on her way to the Hokage Tower.

When Noriko was gone, Tsunade grunted and said, "Can't anyone use the door?" Naoko grinned, much to Tsunade's concern. Tsunade sighed and said, "In any case, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"A few things. But before we get on to them where are Kushina's dyrnwyn?"

Tsunade sighed and looked at Naoko apologetically as she said, "I'm sorry, but I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know? You of all people should know how dangerous they can be."

"Look. After she died, Yūgao looked for them herself, even knowing the dangers. She even ended up dragging the rest of her class into the search. They combed through the entire village, but still couldn't find them."

"Uzumaki have an innate sense of them. You should have been able to..."

"I wasn't here, remember."

Naoko sighed and said, "Oh, right. Anyway, what about Kushina and Minato's house? I'm sure that they would have willed it to Naruto."

"Oh. That," Tsunade said, in a dry tone that told Naoko that she had been hoping that she wouldn't bring that up.

"What is it?" Naoko asked, knowing full well that she wouldn't like the answer.

"Well, after Minato's death, a lot of the businesses that had been drawn to Konoha, along with a great deal of external mission requests, that were drawn in by Minato disappeared. Sending Konoha into a mini-recession. A plan was devised by Sarutobi-sensei's advisors, that involved selling some of the more...well known residences, to get an influx of money that could be used to support the village, along with some temporary caps on both prices and wages."

Naoko drily said, "Let me guess..."

"Yes. Minato and Kushina's house was one of the first to go."

"Bloody hell! Those idiots!"

"Excuse me?"

"I think that it's probably fair to say that Kushina was probably the best seal master that this wretched village has ever seen, and Minato wouldn't have been too far behind." Tsunade nodded half-heartedly."Well, you may not know this, having only limited skill in the art yourself, but all true practitioners, will have a fūinjutsu development room somewhere within their residence. Back in the day, there was one in every house in Uzushiogakure, all of which were sealed with some form of Ketsueki Fūinjutsu, along with some other backup seals for good measure. Which is secure enough to prevent most robberies. But they can be worked around, given time. You need to get that house back, and give it to either me or Naruto."

Tsunade sighed and said, "I have been trying, but no matter what I've offered the person that owns it, doesn't want to sell it to me. If what you say is true, then maybe they know about the room."

"It's possible," Naoko said, biting her thumbnail, which had found its way to her mouth.

"Given what you've told me, I guess I'll have a closer look at the current owner."

"You had better," Naoko said, her tone enough of a threat for Tsunade to think that if she didn't, Naoko would. Tsunade knew enough about Naoko to know that her 'investigation' would be a lot more bloody than anything that Tsunade could countenance.

"I will. Was there anything else that you wanted to talk about?"

"Yes. I was curious about the 'kill me' order that somehow found its way into the mission request."

"Oh, that."

"Yes. You seem to know a bit more about it than you were willing to let on."

"Well, that would be because I happen to know the one that is likely responsible for something like that getting in there."

"Who?"

"There's a man on the advisory council that has...issues, with the way I run things."

"So get rid of him," Naoko casually said.

"Unfortunately, it's not quite that easy."

"Why not? You're the Hokage, they are just advisors."

"Yes, but unfortunately, they were the teammates of Sarutobi-sensei, so they are quite well connected. On top of that, in the time it took for Jiraiya and Naruto to track me down and convince me to become Hokage, they implemented a number of changes into the bylaws of Konoha as regards their positions. There needs to be both evidence of compliance in activities against Konoha's best interests. From there, there must be consensus of the Hokage and the other two councillors in executing procedures for the removal of the third councillor. After that a vote from must be taken from the shinobi council, where eighty percent of the votes must be in favour of the dismissal. Something that is not likely to happen, even in the unlikely event that I manage to convince the other two fossils. So you see, it's more likely that they'll die before I get to replace them."

"Why do you think that this last councillor is the one behind the order?"

Tsunade sighed and said, "Because, neither of the other councillor's have the guts to try and pull something like that, and none of the clan heads on the shinobi council have any real interest in the matter. Besides, they are usually too busy bickering amongst themselves, or consumed by clan affairs, to be have the time."

"So, simple process of elimination then?"

"Basically. So, anything else?"

"Well, if Kushina and Minato's house isn't available, what about accommodation?"

"Ah."

"Can we stay with Naruto?"

"I'm afraid that her apartment isn't going to be large enough for the three of you."

"I see. Well, no matter. Is there any empty blocks of land around here?"

"Well, there's outside the village walls, but...village policy. Sorry."

Naoko sighed and said, "This' why there were no stupid-ass land laws in Uzushio." Tsunade sighed and shrugged, unable to do anything about a policy that had been in place for most of the life of the village. "Well, I guess I'll just have to have a look 'round the village then."

"Be my guest. Though I'd recommend searching the civilian districts first."

"Alright. Thank you," Naoko said, exiting the same way that her daughter had earlier.

Tsunade grumbled, "And now there's another one that refuses to use doors," breaking the pen that was in her hand.

XXXXX

While her mother was speaking with the Hokage, Noriko came upon the training field that the loud sounds had come from and stood behind a tree, peeking around the side at her cousin. Naruto just kept on going up the tree that she was working on, feeling the intrusion, but not caring too much if someone wanted to see her doing an exercise that any ninja should know how to do. So she kept on going, until she broke that tree in half. She walked over to a tree that she had set a bundle down near. She bent down and grabbed a towel and started to wipe the sweat off of her arms and midriff. She sighed and said aloud, "Ya know, I don't really care if you want to watch, but could you at least come out so that I can have a look at you, stalker-san?"

Noriko thought, 'Stalker! That bitch!' and drew her tantō as she ran at her cousin, who drew hers, blocking Noriko's strike as she drew it. Naruto jumped back and slid a bit before coming to a stop. Noriko said, "I'm no stalker!" as she ran at Naruto.

"Well you sure do act like one, hiding in the shadows like that," Naruto said, running at Noriko, shifting her grip on her tantō . They slashed at each other at the same time, causing the ANBU that was watching them almost think that he was watching the one that he was assigned to guard fighting against a shadow clone of herself, if it weren't for the different clothes and the fact that Naruto had her hair in a ponytail. Unable to make a further attack with their feet positioned the way that they were, both girls jumped back. Naruto asked, "So who are you anyway?"

"Uzumaki Noriko."

"Uzumaki? Alright, in that case," Naruto said, returning her tantō to her hip. She drew her dyrnwyn, not that she knew what they were called.

"Oh?" Noriko said, "I didn't think that you knew how to use your dyrnwyn yet."

"My what?" Naruto demanded, streaming water chakra through the dyrnwyn in her left hand and wind in the one in her right, shaping the chakra blades into the forms of swords with three false edges.

Noriko drew her dyrnwyn and brought them together, touching their faces together, which caused the dyrnwyn to merge together before the blades disappear, being replaced by a blade that seemed to be made of pure light. At the same time two white chakra wings sprouted from Noriko's back. She sighed and said, "Ahhah...I really liked this shirt too." The two girls closed on one another, this time though Noriko was moving a lot faster than Naruto, using her new wings to increase both her speed and manoeuvrability. When she was within Naruto's striking range, she flapped her wings at the ground, and shot up, dodging the swing of Naruto's flaming blade and flapped them again, bringing her sword down on her from above. Naruto though, used her other blade to block the attack. It didn't help too much as Noriko slammed one of her wings to into Naruto, knocking her from behind, causing her to tumble head over heels, before using one of her hands to springboard into a flip that left her facing Noriko once again.

Noriko said, "Why are you attacking me?"

"Because, I'm the only Uzumaki left alive in this village. So either you're a really bad spy, or just plain stupid."

"Aarghh!" Noriko screamed as she charged at Naruto, as being called 'stupid', was one of the few things that could really get under her skin. Naruto charged at her unbeknownst cousin. Before they could clash again though, an arrow of light stopped them short, fired just in front of them. Both fighters looked in the direction that the arrows had come from and Noriko at least had the sense to at least appear embarrassed as she exclaimed, "Mum! I...I...uhh..." and hung her head.

Naoko sighed and said, "No, there's no need for that Noriko. I doubt that you'd be wholly at fault in this situation." She looked at Naruto and gasped as she saw the stark resemblance to her sister, though Naruto's face was somewhat sharper than Kushina's. She thought, 'Well, there's no doubt that she's her daughter alright. I mean, facial shape, whiskers and bangs aside, she's the spitting image of her mother.' She sighed and said, "Naruto. I'm sorry if there was some misunderstanding between you and my daughter. I assure you that neither she, nor I, have any ill intent towards you, or Konoha. So if you would care to put away your dyrnwyn, I will explain."

"Sure," Naruto said, shrugging one shoulder, "I guess if you can tell me exactly what a 'dyrnwyn' is."

Naoko nodded at the blades in Naruto's hand as she said, "It's those blades that you are using." She turned to her daughter and said, "You too Noriko."

Naruto said, "Oh!" cutting her chakra from the dyrnwyn as she moved them behind her back, at the same time as Noriko held her sword in front of her and did something that caused them to turn back to normal. Naruto waited for the effects of her chakra to completely disperse before holstering her dyrnwyn. She said, "Okay, "Now what?"

"My daughter and I really are part of the Uzumaki clan, though it's not as...well known...as it has been in the past. As a matter of fact, we're both actually directly related to you."

"What do you mean," Naruto asked, frowning, which made the ANBU watching think just made her more beautiful.

"Your mother was my sister."

"Eh?"

"Do I need to repeat it?"

"There's no way that's true," Naruto said, laughing.

"I assure you, it is."

"No, it's not. If it is, where have you been all of my life? And why am I only just meeting you now?"

Naoko sighed and said, "Apparently it was some plot devised by the Hokage's advisory council on the night that you were born."

"There's no way. They wouldn't have the power to prevent you from looking at my birth certificate or seeking me out after my escapades in the Land of Wave, Vegetable, Birds and Snow."

Naoko sighed and said, "Well, technically I was in hiding. Even now, I still have a rather high bounty on my head. Though probably not as much as you would if your parentage had been made known."

"My...you know who my parents are?"

"Yeah. How could I not. My sister was married to the Yondaime of this wretched village after all."

"The...there's no way!" Naruto said.

"I assure you. You are the offspring of the union of my sister and the Yondaime Hokage. Though I was told that you were stillborn."

"If that were the case, then the villagers wouldn't have treated me so badly when I was growing up. And I wouldn't...wouldn't..." Naruto said as tears started rolling down her face at finding out the truth of her birth, and why she had been given the name that she had.

Naoko sighed and said, "Well, that aside, that was a most novel way of using your dyrnwyn. But I suppose that it only makes sense, all things considered."

"What do you mean, 'novel'?"

"Well, you saw the changes that Noriko underwent during your fight."

"Oh yeah..." Naruto said, turning to her apparent cousin. "How did you make those chakra wing things?"

Naoko answered. "That is the power of her dyrnwyn. As a general rule, there are a few forms that the effects of the dyrnwyn can take. I'll take Noriko's as an example. Hers is a 'form-change' type. It will change the users form somehow. Most female users of that type gain wings, some like Noriko's, that resemble batwings, others are more like angel's wings. There are even some that don't really resemble wings at all, but they still are. Then, there's the 'weapon-change' type, like mine. They turn into a bow if something is stopping me from using mine at the time." At this, she grabbed the bow in her hands by the risers and pulled them apart. The two parts formed the two swords of her dyrnwyn, which she put into the scabbards at her hip and back. She said, "Then there is another, final type. That grants the user some ability, though they all tend to be different and somewhat bizarre."

"So, what type are mine?"

"Who knows? We'll just have to find that out in time. Tsunade brought me here to teach you how to fight with them, though you seem to have found a way without the need."

"No. I didn't stand a chance against...Noriko was it? I'll take all the help that I can get. Besides, if I can use these things," letting her hands rest against the hilts of her dyrnwyn, "properly, maybe, just maybe, I'll actually be able to have a fighting style able to be used in this body."

"What do you mean?" Noriko asked. "You seemed to be plenty good with your tantō ."

"No," Naruto said, a sad look on her face. "I was taught a strength-based, power style of taijutsu, which is ill suited to this form. You see, had I still been in my male body, you wouldn't have stood a chance against me in the tantō fight." She saw the glare that Noriko was levelling against her, so she said, "Granted, in the dyrnwyn fight that followed, even in my male body, you would've basically kicked my arse anyway, so I'd say that makes us about even." Noriko grunted, looking away from Naruto so she didn't see the satisfied look on her face, though her mother saw it, clear as day.

Naoko said, "Well, in any case," glad to see that her daughter would not be holding anything against her niece. "...I'd say that the sooner we start, the better. So..."

Naruto interrupted her, saying, "Uhh...not to bitch or anything, but I really need to get my chakra under control."

"No. You'll be doing that the Uzumaki way."

"The...what do you mean by that?"

"We do things in a reverse order to other, 'normal', shinobi. Because of our immense levels of chakra, we aren't able to control small amounts at a time with any success until we can use large amounts of it perfectly. So, if you really want to focus on chakra control at the moment, start with your summoning jutsu and then work down to the tree-training from there."

"I see," Naruto said, grinning. "It's good to have someone actually teach me something."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, Jiraiya-shishō really only showed me stuff and then said, 'alright, now you do it'. Before him, Kakashi-sensei only taught me the tree-training, though that was just like Jiraiya-shishō's method too come to think of it."

Naoko was getting angrier and angrier as her niece talked, though it wasn't reflected on her face as Noriko's and Naruto's was when they were angry. Right now though, Noriko was only sympathetic. Naoko thought, 'I'm going to have to pay this 'Kakashi' a visit along with Jiraiya.' She said, "Well, that exercise was likely more for the benefit of the other members of your team." Okay, now the two teenagers were pissed, as they both saw what the elder Uzumaki was saying. Naoko said, "Well then, I'll be off for now. Noriko, you stay here with your cousin. I'm sure that you both have a lot to talk about." There was a flash of light and Naoko was gone.