Recommended Story: 'Hanyou Naruto and his vixens' by Robin(dot)exe, another story based on a challenge from Crossoverpairinglover.
Once again, I want to remind everyone this is not a real crossover. This chapter does contain some elements inspired by other sources, but this is not meant to be a crossover.
Chapter Seven
Over the course of the next day everyone in the group had made a lot of progress in getting away from Konoha, though not as much progress as Tsunade would have preferred. Two things had slowed them down a bit. The first being Moegi, who needed to be carried the whole time which slowed down her ride and thus the group. The second, being the more inconvenient, was someone Kushina had taken an interest in.
"Please tell me why exactly are we dragging her along? And don't give me that 'I'll explain later' crap." Tsunade insisted when they took a break in the evening.
"I was looking for my son and found her in the area. I had no way of knowing if she was an ally or an enemy but the only way to know was to take her with me and find out." Kushina answered.
The person in question was an unconscious woman with red hair wearing a tattered white and purple kimono held together by a thick purple robe acting as a belt. This whole time she had been covered up in medic wrap and carried by Kushina so no one had recognized her until now. Right now she was laying on her back, looking peacefully asleep.
"That woman's the enemy Mom. She works for Orochimaru." Naruto said. "Why did you bring her here?"
"Like I just said Son, I had no way of knowing if she was with Konoha or not. I didn't want to abandon her if she was one of your allies, and I figured if she was an enemy we could get information out of her." Kushina answered.
"Not a bad idea, but she must be close to death if she hasn't woken up yet." Shizune said.
"She was in a lot of pain, so I put her in a forced sleep. Considering half her body was crushed by a tree I'm not surprised." Kushina replied. "I'm not exactly a healer, so I thought maybe you Tsunade could take a look at her."
Tsunade frowned. "If she works for Orochimaru, the only healing I'm doing to to make her coherent enough to answer questions. After that, she can be in agonizing pain till she dies for all I care." Everyone looked at her weirdly for saying it, yet none of them could truly fault her for wanting such a thing.
"I take it you and your old teammate still aren't the best of terms?" Kushina asked.
"If anything things have only gotten worse in your absence. Speaking of which, you've yet to explain anything about that Kushina." The slug sannin stated.
Kushina looked down at Tayuya. "Why don't we wake her up and find out what we need to first?"
Tsunade got in front of the redhead. "No Kushina, enough stalling. I don't know why you're so hesitant to tell us your story, but we're not doing you any favors until you explain yourself."
Kushina sighed. "Fine, but you better sit down. It's a long story and I doubt you're going to believe me anyway."
Everyone sat down and looked at her expectantly, with a little bit of curiosity too in the younger members of the group. "I'm not exactly sure how to explain it, because for you all to truly understand where I was and why, I'd have to tell you something that would completely change your perspective of the world you live in. But that can probably wait, so I'll start with something simpler. Like maybe why Naruto has a tail."
"That would help to know." Ayame said.
"The answer is because Naruto, like me, isn't exactly human. We're a different race."
Naruto immediately paled. "I'm a demon? No, I can't be. I can't be! It's not true! You're lying!"
Hinata immediately hugged him, allowing him to quiet down. "It's okay Naruto-kun, we know you're not a demon."
"She's right Son, you're not. You have no connection to Makai. You're an incubus." Kushina stated.
"Incubus?" Shizune asked. "But... even if those creatures did exist, they're still considered demons."
"Only by human standards. People have gotten rather lazy when classifying the non-human sentients. The denizens of Makai, the Ayakashi, are better suited for being considered demons, though that's still not a completely accurate word. Incubi and succubi don't come from Makai, they come from Alfheim."
"Alfheim?" Everyone asked.
"One of the five realms. Maybe I should explain that part first after all." Kushina answered. When no one objected, she continued. "This world, the world of humans, is actually just one of five worlds. You call it Earth, but it does go by other names too, such as Middle Earth, Human Realm, World of Chakra, and Midgard."
"Midgard? Isn't that what you said to me when I saw you in that vision?" Naruto asked.
Kushina nodded. "Yes. You see, Midgard is considered the 'official' name of this realm to those that live outside it. Here, let me draw you a diagram." Using her finger Kushina drew a picture in the dirt. she drew five squares stacked on top of each other like a stone pillar, with a tree on top that had roots extending to all the squares. after that, she drew an X in the center square. "This is Midgard if one maps the realms in conjunction with the other realms." Kushina pointed out. "Starting from the top, the worlds go Asgard, Alfheim, Midgard, Makai, and Nilfheim, which are all connected by the Yggdrasil tree, which is sort of a realm in it of itself, but different from the others."
"The three central worlds are the mortal realms, the three Earths, where lifeforms like us live and die. The top and bottom realms are the two afterlife realms, where the dead go when they die. It is possible for the living to go there for a time, but it's not easy or recommended, especially if the deities there get offended by what happens."
"You mean those two places are Heaven and Hell?" Shizune asked.
Kushina nodded. "Yes, though it's not quite as simple as what you're picturing. Most Midgardians know little of the other worlds aside from what they hear in legend, which always distort some of the facts. Few Midgardians have ever even been to the other realms. To be honest, I only know of one person who's ever been to all of them."
"Who?" Naruto curiously asked.
"You know him best as the Sage of Six Paths."
"Who?" Naruto asked, looking confused.
Kushina saw he wasn't the only one. In fact, Tsunade looked like she was the only one who knew the title. "Tsunade, you mind explaining that one?"
"The Sage was the man who discovered how to use chakra and thus invited ninjutsu and pretty much the ninja way as it is today. He was said to be a very powerful man and is considered to be the father of the men who would later create the Senju and Uchiha clans. Very little about him as a person is known, but he was said to be a traveler and a peace-loving man." Tsunade told everyone else.
"Why was he called a sage of six paths? What were those paths supposed to be?" Sakura asked.
"The paths in question were based on the six Buddhist paths of reincarnation. These are the paths a reborn soul can taken after they die, based on the accumulated karma of their past life. They are called Deva, Preta, Human, Animal, Naraka, and Asura. Preta and Naraka are considered the hellish paths while Deva and Asura and considered the more heavenly. Human and Animal are the more neutral ones."
"Sounds like this guy wasn't called a Sage for no reason." Naruto said.
Kushina nodded. "True, however that's not the complete reason." Everyone turned back to her. "The story says the Sage traveled extensively. Did it ever say exactly where he went?"
Tsunade thought it over, but drew a blank. "You mean to say he actually went to other realms?" Kushina nodded. "How?"
"Probably the same way I did; by use of Yggdrasil. It's a handy way to get from one world to another despite how hard it is to use. Anyway, what you don't know is that the six paths the Sage referred to were not only Buddhist paths, but the realms too. The Deva Path was Asgard, the Asura Path was Alfheim, the Human Path was Midgard, the Animal Path was Makai, the Naraka Path was Niflheim, and the Preta Path was Yggdrasil."
The others looked surprised but said nothing, allowing Kushina to continue informing them. "The Sage is but one of the few travelers to see all the realms and it is thanks to those like him denizens of the other worlds have knowledge of this as well. Of course, most of them like people here just think this is all made up, but it's not. I myself have only been to two, and that's still more than most people can go without dying first."
"What are these worlds like?" Moegi asked.
Kushina smiled. "I'll start from the top." She pointed to the top square in her dirt diagram. "This is Asgard, AKA Heaven, Olympus, Paradise, Deva Realm, and World of Will. This is where the kami live and all the souls they bless live with them there. From what I understand, there are four areas in Asgard. There's Vanir, where the earth gods live. Aesir, where the sky gods live. Valhalla, where blessed mortal warriors live after death. And Elysium, where blessed mortal civilians live after death. Valhalla and Elysium are what we consider Heaven. Generally speaking, a living mortal like us can only get to Asgard by either invitation or being related to a god, so I'm not exactly sure how the Sage got there."
She now pointed to the second square. "This is Alfheim, AKA Higher Earth, Asura Realm, Fantasia, and World of Mana. While this world is dominated by the humans, Alfheim is dominated by elves. There are multiple sentient creatures there too, collectively regarded as Asurians. You might still call them demons, but these are more of the 'good natured' demons you hear about. If you ever want me to take you there, you'll find it quite similar to this world. The division of the regions are even similar to this world."
"This next one if Midgard, the world you're already familiar with, so I'll skip that and move on to the next one." Kushina then pointed to the fourth square in her diagram. "This is Makai, AKA Lower Earth, Jotenheim, Muspellheim, Animal Realm, and World of Youki. This is the world where the Ayakashi, the 'bad natured' demons would live, though they aren't by nature evil. They just live more primitively than we do and tend to get in fights whenever they encounter someone from another world. Some of them are sentient and have their own cultures, but they're more along the lines of barbarians than what you'd consider truly civilized. All in all, it's mostly an untamed and mostly unmapped world. The dominant race, if I recall correctly, are giants and onis."
"Now the final world here," Kushina said pointing to the bottom square, "is Nilfheim, AKA the Underworld, Hades, Naraka Realm, and World of Reishi. This is where all dead souls originally go if not blessed by an Asgardian first. Most are brought there by Shinigami and then judged to determine where exactly they go. This realm from what I hear is divided into three areas. The first is Seireitei, where ordinary souls go if they can accept death and wait for the chance to be reincarnated. That's also where the Shinigami live. The second is Hueco Mundo, where nasty spirits go when they die and spend their time doing who knows what. The third is Hell, where Shinigami place the worst souls to be punished and tormented."
"The final Path so to speak is Yggdrasil, the Preta Realm, which is and isn't a realm at the same time. It's sort of the glue that holds all the other worlds together. One can enter it, but they cannot stay there for long. Doing so is deadly, for there are ghost-like natives who are quite territorial and vicious, which makes traversing Yggdrasil risky. Every time you enter Yggdrasil, there's a chance you will not exit alive."
"So this... Elfhem is where you've been?" Ayame asked.
"Alfheim, and yes. But please believe me, it wasn't something I wanted." Kushina answered, sounding saddened. "The day Naruto was born, the same day that Kyuubi attacked Konoha, a few Asurians found me and dragged me to Alfheim against my will. I was already weakened from giving birth and fighting against the Kyuubi, so I couldn't put up much of a fight."
"Why would they take you away?" Naruto asked.
"...Because I was born in Alfheim, but raised in Midgard." Kushina admitted, as if fearful of the response.
"Born in Alfheim? What exactly are you?" Hinata asked.
Kushina closed her eyes. From behind her, a tail grew along with a set of bat-like wings. She then opened her eyes. "I am called a succubus."
"Succubus? "Tsunade asked. "The demon that seduces men to have sex with them then kills them?"
"Not exactly. There probably have been unscrupulous ones that have acted like praying mantis's like that, but for the most part we aren't sexual predators." Kushina countered calmly. "The thing about my kind is our power gets out of control often, and only orgasms stabilize it."
"What are orgasms?" Moegi innocently asked.
"Is that part of a girl's time of month?" Naruto asked just as innocently.
Wide-eyed, Kushina shook her head. "I'm not exactly sure how to explain an orgasm to someone, let alone my own son, so I'll let Tsunade handle that." She then smiled deviously at Hinata. "Unless his girlfriend would like to do that?"
Hinata's blush invented a new shade of red before she fainted.
"And since you're a succubus, that makes Naruto an incubus?" Tsunade asked.
"Well, sort of. Naruto could have just as easily been a human like his father. It's mere chance that he took more after me in that extent."
"Who was my father Mom?" Naruto asked.
Kushina was confused. "You weren't told?" Naruto shook his head. "Your father was Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime Hokage."
Naruto stared blankly, then lightly laughed. "No seriously, who was he?"
Kushina lightly jerked back. "Son, that wasn't a joke. He is your father."
"Nice try Mom, but that's impossible. There's no way I could be related to someone as important as the Fourth. If I was I wouldn't have been ignored and insulted my entire life."
Kushina looked surprised to hear this, then turned to Tsunade. "What does he mean by that?"
Tsunade hesitantly sighed and turned to face Naruto. "Naruto, she's not lying. Your father really was the Yondaime."
Naruto looked like a deer in the headlights. "No... that's impossible. It can't be true."
"Why not Son?" Kushina asked, but he didn't answer.
Tsunade turned to the redhead. "Kushina, your son... has been the target of massive negative propaganda. Konoha's population overall can be divided into three parts: those like us who value Naruto, those that can tolerate Naruto, and those that would only give him a grave just so they could dance on it."
"What?" Kushina asked in disbelief. "Why would that happen? We said we wanted Naruto to be seen as a hero."
"Apparently Konoha missed the memo." Ayame stated.
Kushina got comfortable. "Tell me everything."
"You requested us Hiashi-sama?" Shino asked.
"Yes, thank you both for showing up." The Hyuuga head said to his three guests.
"May I ask why you wished to see us?" Ino asked.
"The reason I requested you is I wish you three to perform me a service." Hiashi told them, confusing them both. "The thing is, the Hokage is temporarily out of town handling some business, and I have reason to believe my daughter is with her. This wouldn't be a problem, but I never heard she was invited to accompany the Hokage, nor was any message saying otherwise given to me or any Hyuuga. What I want you two to do is track her down and find out where she is."
"You fear she's in danger?" Shino asked.
"This wouldn't be the first time." Hiashi responded, remembering the Kumo incident.
"But why us? Why not one of your own?" Tenten asked.
"Because I'm currently evaluating my own clansmen to find... something of interest. I chose you two because you Shino can track her down and avoid scaring her once you find her. You Yamanaka-san can ensure she's not under someone's influence while you're at it. And you Tenten-san can fight if the situation requires it." Hiashi told them. "Can you do this for me?"
"We can, but the question is if we should." Shino stated. "This basically qualifies as a mission, and accepting one not issued by the Hokage is tantamount to insubordination. We could get in legal trouble for this."
"Besides, I'm pretty sure I know where Hinata is anyway." Ino added, gaining everyone's attention. "Last time I saw her she was with Naruto and Hokage-sama. So I'd say it's quite likely she's still with them wherever they are so you shouldn't worry."
"True, but under normal circumstances one of them would let me know. Doesn't someone inform your father when you go out of town?" Hiashi asked.
Ino thought it over. "You're right."
"Yet no one informed me about this, giving me reason to believe there's more to this. Maybe Im wrong and there's nothing to worry about, but I'd like you to go confirm what's going on. If anyone tries to punish you for this, I'll take responsibility." Hiashi said.
The three genin looked at each other, trying to decide what to do. "I don't see why not." Tenten said.
Ino shrugged. "I've got to admit I'm curious."
"I'm concerned for my teammate's well-being. So I guess we'll get headed out right away." Shino added.
"Thank you. You will be rewarded when you get back." Hiashi told them with a smile before they left. 'My daughter, wherever you are please be safe.'