DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything from the Naruto universe.

Thinking (+ flashbacks, "Naruto speaking to Kurama in her mindscape," etc.)

Emphasis

Bijuu, etc. speaking

Bijuu, etc. thinking

Kushina's eyes welled up with tears when she saw the latest person to be resurrected, reanimated, or whatever this Kabuto monster was calling it.

Sensei, she internally whimpered.

Fisting her hands, she steeled herself to escape soon and fast. She'd tried before but at least she'd learned what not to do…

Although Kabuto wouldn't tell her what day (or even what year, her mind whispered traitorously) it was, Kushina hadn't seen her sensei in a long, long time. Seeing him dead, in a coffin, and ready to be used like this was terrible.

Kabuto had also reanimated his own mother! She was as horrified as Kushina was but Yakushi Nono told her that she wouldn't leave her son again. She was determined to talk him out of his insane plans.

Plans that she won't share with anyone.

- A sweet woman or not, that makes her a traitor!
- And Kabuto doesn't listen to anyone!

When she saw her sensei's head rise once the jutsu was complete, she sucked in a breath. Even with the cracked skin and the nearly entirely dark eyes, he looks pissed!

Good.

Now she might have an ally.

"Kushina-chan?" he asked after a beat, knowing that he'd been dead; remembering exactly how he'd…

The woman nodded; the Kushina he remembered was just a teenager. Apparently, some years had passed since he was last in the world of the living. He sucked in a deep, slow breath and it was confirmed that he was, indeed, at least partially alive again.

The room smelled as much like a morgue as it did a lab. And a snake…

His eyes roved over everyone else in the room as he mentally evaluated his physical condition and studied the shadows and looked for possible exits. "What's the meaning of this?"

.

Meanwhile, in Konoha -

The time was right and Naru couldn't put it off any longer.

Oh, the heartache!
Oh, the suspense and drama!

How could her poor heart take it?

Really, Naru had to pretend this was some kind of joyous celebration and play around about it or she might cry or even fall apart.

"Oye, oye," Naru announced grandly with a sweeping gesture and both arms opening wide. "For those that dare to dream - and dream to dare, accept my four-legged progeny into your bosoms!"

"Ehh?" Sai asked while Tenzo was blunter with a "What are you talkin' about, Naruto?"

"Jazu," Naru barked with a clap of her hands. She clapped twice again. "What was once mine is yours, and what is yours was once mine and hers."

"What?"

*BARK BARK!*

"I couldn't have said it any better myself, Jazu! Chashu, go," she ordered, pointing at Tenzo. Tenzo was knocked over at the weight (and chakra) of a giant golden retriever pooch jumping on him. "Kimchi; you're with Sai."

*Ruff Ruff!*

Kimchi, the smaller puppy, wagged her long orangish tail and proceeded to begin walking partially up Sai using chakra. "Good girl," Naruto praised.

"Does this mean what I think it means, Naruto?" Sai softly asked, using her name since he was so stunned (and didn't want to tick her off. Naruto had been reeeeally hormonal lately.)

"It does. Jazu and I have finally chosen the perfect partners for her puppies!"

"Thanks, Naru," Sai smiled, getting down on the ground and accepting the pup's smelly kisses when its chakra slipped. Thank goodness he'd caught her.

"Now hang on just a minute," Tenzo said worriedly. Then again, he had been given his favorite puppy: Jazu's little clone. "Is senpai okay with this?" And what about Shizune?

She'll accept her, right?

"Heck, yeah! Kakashi's been after me to do this for a while but Jazu and I had a lot to think about before we did. –There were lots of things to consider, ya know?"

"I… Can I ask Shizune what she thinks of this first?" Tenzo asked fairly. The young one licking his face didn't seem like it was going anywhere, though.

"No!" Naru turned on her heel - trying not to cry in front of them: my babies are leaving me! - and began waddling away from them, a long line of unrelated-looking young ninkens following her. If Jazu could handle this, so could she. "We have people to see and things to do!"

"Where are we going?" Tenzo eventually asked.

"Senju Compound."

Tenzo blanched but then realized he could stop by the house and see if Shizune was okay with this. She liked dogs too but he wasn't too sure about how she felt about ninkens. Really, he felt honored that his senpai was sharing a part of his pack with him. I am part of that pack now, though, aren't I? He smiled more and more as he absorbed that (maybe that means I can get back at Kakashi!) and listened to his kawaii new partner try to talk to him now and then as they walked through the village. Chashu was a real talker - only not in the human tongue. "Oi, Naruto," he addressed her in sudden alarm, "are you sure you can walk that far?"

"Yes," Naruto drawled in discomfort. She could definitely do it; today was a big day (plus a nurse had told her that walking was one of a myriad of things she'd listed off that could help her start or speed labor) and she was wearing her ever-present pregnancy belt around her huge abdomen. She even had another, larger one high on her shoulders that helped hold the twins up.

Naruto didn't like to admit it but she was awfully small to be having twins. "Petite" women could have twins, no problem, but it wasn't like it was easy. And if Kakashi says that a twin birth is efficient one more time, I'm going to scream.

.

"Attention, Senjus! Your hour of power is nigh," Naru bellowed once outside of the Senju compound into their intercom. A little (and very old) speaker activated in retaliation, sounding staticky. Naruto knocked on it a few times, grinning back at her guards/friends who were following behind, highly distracted by their new plus-ones. "Moshi, Moshi?" she trilled into it.

Nawaki eventually came lumbering out to the gate. It was early and he was trying to be semi-retired so he was in a yukata that covered his PJs. "Why didn't you just come in?"

Naruto threw her thumb behind her toward Sai and all the ninkens. "I brought guests."

"You're family, Naruto, you can come in whenever you want" he yawned. "Oiiiiiii," Nawaki grumbled upon seeing Tenzo, who happened to live in the compound now. "Why the hell did you make me get up? I was sleeping!"

Tenzo whitened. "I uh… Didn't realize we were here!"

Nawaki's scarred face screwed up. "Cat! You're her guard, you ass! And you live here! What do you mean you didn't know where you were?!"

"Oh, God! Please don't tell senpai," Tenzo cried. "I'm sorry, Naruto."

"It's fine," she assured him/them. "Stop being so worried about Kakashi! If someone could really sneak up on the three of us and all of these ninkens, we'd be in trouble anyway." She turned back toward her great uncle, and bowed as much as she could, which wasn't much. "Nawaki-oji-ojii! I present to you, with great fanfare, your honored partner - I hope - Rameno!"

Nawaki's eyebrows climbed into and up behind his very bad bedhead. "For me? Really?"

"Is that okay?" Naruto asked. She'd seen her great uncle loving on the whitish-beige ninken the most.

Nawaki bent down and accepted the licks he received before he and the other ninkens began sniffing around the property. The dog's tail was wagging wildly. He was going to be knocking crap everywhere with that tail. "Sure, why not! Wait: did you name him after ramen? –I hadn't given that much thought."

"I did," Naruto grinned proudly.

"Good name," Nawaki praised. The ninken was the same color as Teuchi's noodles. "I know he just started using chakra, right?"

"Yep, a little while ago. The pups are talented," more so than Jazu, their mother, Naruto thought. Maybe her own human pups would be more talented than her, too. She sure hoped so! Considering Kakashi was their father, they'd definitely be alright. If they'd only get here. At least the twins had moved in the right direction. "Look! Rameno made a clone!" She pointed to the large "puppy" who were now puppies.

"Oh, Kami," Nawaki lamented. One dog was fine (great, actually) but a dog that could multiply? Very scary. "Thanks, Naru. Tell Kakashi-kun thanks for me, too, alright?"

"Sure thing." Naru looked up and grinned at the rest of the Senjus, minus her father who was at work, who had all heard the commotion out front. These people were her family. How amazing was that?! Tenzo was quickly re-introducing his new wife to his ninken and she wondered why Shizune suddenly looked so angry.

Kakashi swore she was pregnant and as Shizune stalked toward her, Naruto felt fear.

"Naruto did you give us 'CHASHU?'" Shizune bitched. Her hormones and temper were running hot. "What is Tonton supposed to think of that?" Her eyes watered and she found it hard to talk. She didn't notice Tonton and Chashu sniffing each other without issue. "What are you thinking?"

Naruto's eyes teared up and she shuddered all over before beginning to sob. "But that's why I gave you two Chashu or named her that! I thought Chashu and Tonton could be friends!" She inhaled a deep breath and wailed. "I am so tired of being pregnant! And you don't appreciate being given the ninken pup your husband clearly loves so much?" She collapsed on some nearby steps and then felt bad because she was going to have to be hoisted up by the others.

The walk to the compound seemed especially long today. Tenzo had been right, not that she'd ever say that.

Naruto wiped her eyes, hiccuping with shame and anger. "Shame on you, Shizune!"

"Oh, Tenzo, I'm so sorry! Chashu's a good girl." Shizune was crying.

Naruto wiped her face on her haori, refusing to listen to those two. Shizune was apparently overly hormonal, the blonde thought like the hypocrite she sometimes was. Naruto was busy not having twins: what could Shizune know about anything? "Where's my goddamn apology?"

She uncovered her face again as soon as she calmed down to see Jiraiya and Tsunade - and all of the ninkens - standing over her. "I- I'm sorry if I overreacted." But Shizune was being a bitch!

"Now we have to haul your ass off the ground, Naruto," Tsunade complained. "Jiraiya?"

"Yes, ma'am." He helped Naruto up. His overly round granddaughter nearly collapsed against him. "You alright, kid?"

"Yeah," Naru sniffed. "I brought you a puppy. Bonito, honey? C'mere." The gray pup trotted over and sat down like the good boy he was. "Bonito: Jiraiya and Tsunade are your new masters now, okay?" Bonito scooted closer to her and Naruto started crying again. "My babies!"

All the ninkens began howling alongside her.

"Kakashi-kun created a monster," Tsunade mumbled. Her granddaughter heard and threw her a vicious glare as tears ran down her cute face. "C'mere, darling." She held out her arms and although Naruto hesitated, she eventually fell into her.

"I don't want to let them go," Naru admitted. Why couldn't she and Kakashi just continue keeping 17 occasionally multiplying ninkens in the house along with Kurama, his occasional visiting siblings, and the toads and foxes? It wasn't that hard or that expensive!

Yes, it was!

Tsunade smiled down at Jiraiya who was baby-talking the gray dog. He'd always been an animal lover. "You can always come to visit them, Naru-chan."

"Right. You're right," Naru shuddered, settling down. She ran her hand over her large belly and sniffed, pulling out some tissues. "I sure wish these babies would get here. I'm ready to be myself again, ya know?"

"It won't be long," Tsunade assured her, feeling VERY excited about the babies - much more so than having a dog in the house. Bonito didn't seem like much of a warrior to her; maybe they could just treat him like a pet. They'd have to see. She hadn't had a pet since she was a little kid! She grinned at her brother who was talking to his new whitish puppy, trying to get them to admit which dog was real. "We'll induce at the end of the week," she assured her.

.

On the way to the Tower, they met Gai who was presented with the biggest pup, Benishoga. Naruto had put a bright green scarf on him before they left the house this morning. Gai broke into tears as soon as he saw him and the genjutsu that followed had been AMAZING!

By the time she made it to the Tower, Naruto was exhausted. WHY she had chosen the long way around the village was beyond her now.

"Have you chosen who the other pups will go to?" Tenzo asked.

"Yeah, I have," Naruto said sadly. She was in pain. Since the twins had dropped, she couldn't walk normally and they stuck SO far out in front of her. "Let's get this over with, hm? Take me to my father?" Tenzo nodded, sunshinning them, and oddly enough, found him behind the Missions Desk with the freaking Daimyo. They were having a tense conversation but stopped when they noticed her.

"Ah! Daimyo-sama, you remember my daughter?"

"Of course," he bowed, looking even more upset somehow. "Naruto-hime."

"Daimyo-sama." Naruto did her best to bow to him, too. She turned to leave, seeing that it was a bad time but her father flashed to her.

"You came to see me?"

"It can wait," she assured him.

Minato could see that Naru was in pain. "It cannot." Naruto was definitely about to pop and she'd been very emotional lately.

"Alright then," the younger blonde said with a sigh. "Menma, Hokage-sama's your new master now, okay?"

"I beg your pardon?"

Naruto's blue eyes narrowed at her surprised father. "You said it was a good time," she hissed.

Minato's hands reflexively flew up to surrender himself. Pregnant Uzumaki women could be terrifying. "It is! Um…" He looked down at the half-pug(?) "Thank you?"

"You're welcome," she cheered happily, pulling a 180.

Menma gave both of them a bored look. "Min- Nato."

"Aww," Naruto cooed, "he's been trying to say your name better!" She grinned more when her father picked the little guy up and smiled down at the pup, rocking him back and forth just a little. Menma looked a little irritated by it. "He's such a smarty-pants."

Minato's smile turned watery. Having a companion was going to be nice. No matter how much he worked, sometimes he got really lonely. He was actually considering moving into the Senju Compound so he might be able to sense someone around, close by, who he could trust in the next few months.

Naruto had recently gone into a nesting frenzy and Kakashi said she ordered or inherited three entire bedroom suites and some other furniture, knocked down a wall between two of their bedrooms, getting things set up for guests. As a man who wished to be a near-recluse, Kakashi didn't like it but Naru was sure that he and their friends would want to stay over sometimes so they could help out or spend more time with the babies. Kakashi had reluctantly put together a room for him but Minato knew he wouldn't want to stay there too long, no matter how cute his grandkids were. He didn't want to impose. "Does Menma dispel or…"

"I don't think so; at least he hasn't so far. They take after their mother that way."

Menma was the smallest of the puppies and definitely the most intelligent. He was the only one who could talk although he didn't say much right now. He definitely had a lot on his mind all of the time. He also had a little corkscrew tale. He looked a lot like a cuter version of Pakkun although which ninken was really the father of Jazu's puppies was still a mystery.

Kakashi said that he was sure Menma was fully grown. Really, the pups were old enough not to be called "puppies" anymore but they had so much to learn and not all of them were fully grown, physically, yet. She wiped her wet eyes again after her father gave her a side hug, thanking her when he had to go back to the Daimyo.

She needed a break from all this emotional crap! Plus her legs were killing her. Keep going, Naruto! There are only a couple more stops and then I will have succeeded.

Close to Shikaku's office, the group made a beeline to him and dropped off Umeboshi who immediately lay down and went to sleep in his office. Glad that the two could be lazy together, Naruto reopened the door when he had to take a private call. On the way to take a nap somewhere (anywhere,) Naruto felt Shikamaru with Temari in an upstairs office. Tenzo and Sai nearly carried her there.

She knocked on the door. "Ohayo, you two! I'm gonna open the door so if you're naked…"

Shikamaru quickly opened the door giving her a very dry, aggravated look.

"Why hello there! Uh, fuck it: I'm too tired for this. Waffles! Go to Shika, please." The ninken that really looked like Bisuke jumped on him. That one had way too much energy, in Naruto's opinion - which was saying something! Surely he would balance out a Nara's natural laziness, right? "Shika's your boss now, okay?"

"Wait, Naruto!" Shikamaru freaked out: he'd never had a pet or a summons! "You should ask before…"

"Awwwwwww," Temari drawled, gushing all over herself as she pushed him aside. "Shikamaru! You didn't tell me you were getting a puppy! Awww! I've always wanted a puppy!" She looked more severe after bending down to pet Waffles and gave Naruto a dirty look. "This is a puppy, right?"

"Absolutely," Naruto nodded, ready to say it was an armadillo if that would make her happy. "I need to lay down." She must have looked bad or desperate because she felt Shikamaru pick her up bridal style (the only way she could be picked up, she guessed) before she realized what was happening.

"And now you thank me, Aniki," she whispered after he excused himself from Temari for a minute.

"Did you know that Temari liked dogs?" he asked quietly, giving her a piercing look as he walked toward the ANBU HQ so that he could lay her down/dump Naru in Kakashi's office.

Naruto grinned up at him so hard her eyes shut. "Mayyyyybe!"

She had not known! But everything she'd hoped for had worked out. Today was a great day.

Sad but great.

.

"This is so fu- I mean, messed up."

Kushina laughed mirthlessly, agreeing with her sensei. "Nono-san, can you tell us any more about the jutsu?" Kushina had never heard of the Edo Tensei.

Nono shook her head miserably. If what Kabuto said was true, she needed answers from the Hokage. The way to get those answers was through his wife. She pushed up her glasses - well, they were very much like her old ones (the ones that Kabuto now wore) but weren't quite the same - and regretted deceiving her fellow Konoha nins. "I don't. I know my son made changes to Lord Second's jutsu but have no information about it."

Kushina looked up to her sensei who didn't seem to buy that, either.

"Kabuto has to meet with his master tonight. If you want to make a run for it, that's the time."

"I wonder what kind of range the jutsu has," Kushina began but as was usual for the man she remembered, her sensei was already on it.

"I'm unsure of how he controls it but would imagine that the more people he tries to control, the less control he has."

"What are you saying?" Nono asked.

"I'm saying that if we leave, we should ALL leave and you're coming with us." But that's what you want, isn't it?

Nono pretended to blanch - and had a feeling that this shinobi knew that she was acting. He was dangerous. So was the poor kunoichi who was so desperate to see her infant daughter. She could be dangerous, too, however. "I - I agree."

"You said you were staying with Kabuto; that you wouldn't leave your kid," Kushina reminded her, getting angry. This bitch was jerking them around!

"You were right, Uzumaki-san," Nono said sadly. "Kabuto… refuses to see reason."

That was the truth.

.

Just like Kabuto advised, they escaped that night before Orochimaru could get his hands on Uzumaki Kushina.

Kabuto loved to watch the mice scurry as he caused chaos.

.

Kakashi ran his hands over Naruto's ass and spanked it, getting a little howl and a giggle. "Maa, I don't like doing this because we have to," he mostly lied.

Naruto turned toward him more, trying to hide her giant self. "I'm sorry. You're right. I'll just get dressed and go…" She knew he was lying.

"Now hang on a minute! What are you going to do about this?" He pointed to his erection, looking cocky - which was an especially good word for his expression at the moment.

"Meh," she said, acting as if she was willing to leave things as they were. "It'll probably go away."

He grabbed his wife and pulled her against him again and began sucking and biting her neck. Working his way down to her breast, he palmed the other with one hand and was moving his hand down her belly when her knees gave out on her. "I know how to make it go away," he whispered in her ear.

Naru let out a moan as he nibbled her ear and nearly held her up by her ass. "You wanna hide it?"

"I do!"

"Let's go back to our room."

"Maa, Naru-chan. You're the one who brought these beds into the house. We have to break all of them in." Working his fingers into her heat, he pulled her back on his lap and laid her on top of him. "This position okay?"

"I can't do anything!" She felt like she was going to fall and also be crushed by her own stomach. And crush him!

"Let me take care of you, baby."

Sadly, a few minutes later, his little wife was laughing at him because he couldn't do much in that position, either. He couldn't get his arm around her. She looked back at him and awkwardly moved away, then reached back and ran her nails through his hair. Kakashi enjoyed it but was too turned on to back down if that was okay with her. And since she was trying to crawl under the covers, he pounced.

Later, all wrapped up in his strong arms, Naru ran her fingers up and down the muscles of his chest and abdomen. "I can't wait until the twins are here." And I can't wait until I'm not pregnant anymore! Kakashi kissed her forehead and when he pulled her into his chest and leaned back into his pillow, she saw that he was smirking. "Let me guess. You're thinking about when I'll be able to have normal sex again."

Kakashi wiggled his eyebrows at her and laughed when she tried to tickle him. "We never have 'normal sex,' Naru-chan. And I might have been thinking about it… About how long it will be before I can taste your milk."

"Ew."

"Not 'ew,' silly." He let out a sing-song sigh. "Women's bodies are amazing. And your body's especially amazing." Although true, he felt he'd better add that last thing.

Naruto grimaced. "I don't know if you'll be thinking that when the time's finally here."

"Guess we'll have to see. I can't wait."

Kakashi bit his lip the next day when Naru brought him a bento. She couldn't eat. "Have you um… been having any of those contractions?"

"Same as always," Naru said as she tried to clean up his office a little. Kakashi was a neat person for the most part but his subordinates were all over the place. Plus, they usually came in filthy and bloody to report to him when coming back from missions. She leaned against the wall when a particularly nasty contraction hit, gritting her teeth and nearly seeing black, even when she reopened her eyes. Gradually her vision cleared and she felt so guilty at seeing how Kakashi was staring at her, holding his breath. She smiled at him sadly and shrugged her shoulders. "I think we may be stuck waiting until Monday, Kash."

Monday morning, Tsunade would be inducing her if nothing happened before then.

Kakashi let out the breath he'd been holding. "You have to eat something."

Naruto shook her head. "I'm very tired but very… hyper."

"Nervous?"

She had to think about it. "Maybe? Yes, in general, of course, I am but I'm more eager to get this show on the road than worried anymore." She looked down at her stomach and patted it. "Stop being so comfortable in there!" She jumped when a light flashed and looked up to see Kakashi holding his camera. Again. "Kakashi!"

"Hmm? Maa, you agreed that we'd take lots of pictures, Naru."

"Not of me!"

Kakashi only hummed and went back to work as he ate his lunch, analyzing plans and where to put resources. He did start timing those contractions his little wife was having, though, and decided to keep her in the office with him until it was time for them to go home.

It wasn't until the next evening that a couple of things happened, though. Naru gasped repeatedly and pointed rudely. Not as rudely as what he was doing, though! "Pakkun, you fucker!" Pakkun was doing Jazu! If Jazu got pregnant again… Her blue eyes went wide and suddenly she didn't care about the dogs having sex in the back of the house at all. She began backing away trying to will it to stop. "Oh, shit. –Gross."

Kakashi looked up from his book for a sec as his wife slowly shuffled backward through the kitchen. "Naru? You alright?" And does she really not realize that those contractions have been coming regularly at closer and closer intervals for nearly 24 hours? He checked the clock on the end table near his big recliner; sure enough: right on time.

Naru disappeared into the bathroom and then seconds later, stuck her head out of the door. "I'm not sure what to wear; I don't know how I didn't consider it earlier. My water just broke and AH!" Kakashi had jumped across two rooms and into her face! "Get out of here!"

"What do you mean you don't know what to wear?" Kakashi nearly shouted before getting his act together. He made clones to tell Minato and Tsunade - and while he did, Nauto locked him out of the bathroom, irritating him to no end. "Open this door right now!"

"No! I… I think I have to go to the bathroom. Don't be gross! Go away!"

"You'd better not be having our puppies in the toilet!"

"WHAT- WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? I'll be out when I'm out!"

When she (finally) did come out, she ignored Kakashi's rants and went upstairs to change clothes, came downstairs, and found Tsunade laughing about it. Tsunade forced her into that scary ex-storage room Naru had been avoiding for the most part. She gave her some stuff to change into and helped her get it on. "This is… different."

The soft cotton blend was in pieces and had baby fawns and clouds on them, meaning they came from the Naras. The first thing she put on was almost like a crop top with elastic sewn into the bottom. Then she put on a more traditionally styled, very light, hospital gown backward. After it was on, she realized it was more like a coat.

"That's to cover your ass in case you need to walk around to pick up the pace of things."

"Ah." Naruto hadn't thought of that. With her father and Jiraiya soon arriving (or anyone really,) she certainly didn't want her ass hanging out. Tsunade helped her step into a wide, slitted skirt. "This is the stupidest-looking thing I've ever seen. How is this even practical?" A contraction hit and she groaned, shuddering. Thank God her grandmother was so strong because Naru had accidentally grabbed onto Tsunade's hand. "Sorry! Are you okay?"

Tsunade rubbed her hand and allowed the men into the room. She waited for Naru to cool off at her husband who had just taken a picture of her in her comical outfit, with her whole tan belly hanging out. "Alright, Naru; up on the table."

Kakashi helped her get up on the cushioned table that she'd be giving birth on so that Tsunade could see how things were going. Two of the many frightening things sticking up from and around the bottom of the table were used to drape a curtain over. She winced. "So embarrassing." It didn't matter that her grandmother had been doing this so frequently; Naru couldn't and would not get used to it. And it was uncomfortable as hell!

"How long have you been in labor?"

Kakashi answered for her. "24-29 hours."

"WHAT?!"

He huffed at the old hag. "You saw her this morning, shouldn't you know that?" Naruto looked away, looking guilty, he noted. "Naru?"

"I canceled my appointment. Since you were busy, Gai kinda… challenged me."

"That's it," Kakashi said, hitting the bar too hard. "He's not godfather anymore."

"No! Gai and Shika will be the best godfathers!"

Tsunade was used to her granddaughter and her baka husband falling into their own world but this wasn't the time for it. "29 hours: explain."

"I don't think that's right," Naru noted. Another contraction hit hard and when she could finally see straight again, she looked at the clock wondering why it began so soon. She laid back, cursing her back which had started to hurt really badly. Kakashi was in the middle of dutifully reporting to Tsunade in a pained voice and she let go of his hand again. "Sorry."

"There it is," Minato said almost happily upon seeing her seal show up.

"There what is?" Naru asked.

"Your seal. Oh. I guess you can't see it from this angle." Naru sat up but the seal had disappeared again. "Where's Kurama?"

"With Isobu. Hang on." Turning inward, Naru explained to Kurama that her water had broken. Kurama explained that he'd seen human females give birth and had no need to see it again. Naru was pissed! She thought he'd be here for her!

Kurama decided to make his way back to Konoha despite what he'd said. It was true that he did not want to see Naru in the pain childbirth seemed to require but he did want first look at the brats' brats.

If they have tails, they'd better be orange.

.

Nono admitted that she was a sensory ninja, a former med-nin and spy for Konoha when she'd been alive. Kushina was horrified that the woman had died after being manipulated to attack her own son. No wonder the boy - well, the man - was so screwed up now.

It was all Danzo's fault, Nono said. Neither Kushina nor her sensei found that hard to believe. Danzo was an ass. At least he was supposedly dead now.

Before they escaped, the plan Kushina and (mostly) her sensei had was to blow Nono to Kingdom Come in order to at least slow her down so that they could get into Konoha and to whoever the current Hokage was. To get to my daughter. She had to see if Naruto-chan was okay!

Now, Kushina wasn't so sure about doing something so heinous to Nono-san. They didn't talk much as they quickly made their way to Konoha (no need to stop and recharge; they had no need for food, etc.,) but what they learned in those moments they did speak to each other was way past concerning.

Kushina shook her head as she sailed through the trees behind her quiet sensei. When she told him about all that his son had been through following his passing, it was clear that he wanted to check on him as badly as Kushina wanted to see Naruto. Her sensei still didn't believe that his comrade, Orochimaru, had turned on Konoha or had attacked it.

He was extremely suspicious of Nono-san who had told them this.

"If we blow her up, it'll only slow her down, Kushi. It's not like we can 're-kill' her!"

"How do you know that?"

"Maa, I may have put an explosive note on Ringo-san to see what would happen."

Kushina's mouth fell open. "Do you have a… Never mind."

She'd almost asked her dead sensei who had committed suicide if he had a death wish.

.

The trio stopped just north of Konoha. It had taken a long time to get here because they were avoiding not only ninjas but also civilians since they looked so "strange." Nono-san's abilities had come in terribly handy. "From here on, I'll let you lead the way, Kushi."

Kushina knew the barriers in and around Konoha well; she'd run the barrier division up until her death. She tapped her chin, thinking of how they could immediately get to the Hokage again (hopefully Naru was with him) without causing harm. "Okay. I think I know where we can begin. I can at least get us to a spot where we can better observe the village." Sensei nodded and made a clone.

Kushina gasped when her sensei, true to his earlier words, grabbed Nono-san before his original grabbed her and sunshinning away.

"Boom," he said with a slanted grin. They heard the clone blow up. "Let's go, Kushi!"

"You… You jerk! You used my exploding clone jutsu on Nono-san!"

"NOW, Kushina: let's go!" His former student nodded at him, her expression morphing into one set with determination as she took off, leading the way.

"I'm pretty sure I know a way in, 'ttebane. Maybe the new Hokage's living there. –There are only a few who can get in and my chakra was in it from the start!"

.

"I see the head!" Tsunade cried. "Keep pushing! You're about to give birth to an old man!"

"What?" Naru panted and then looked apologetically at Kakashi again before soon cursing his very existence, creatively. She gritted her teeth and took a deep breath before she tried to push again. She was exhausted, covered in sweat, and shaking all over.

Kakashi wasn't bothered by Naru's frequent, damning curses in the least. Fortunately, Tsunade had been regularly healing his broken hand but that was the last thing he was thinking about now.

"I see silver hair, that's what I mean," Tsunade explained slyly. She grinned more when she saw how Kakashi's mouth fell open. Kakashi was very, very cute, especially looking so awestruck as he was now. Naruto had torn his mask off a few hours ago, raging after he asked her to be quieter because of his "sensitive ears." Baka. She could only imagine what he'd look like when he finally saw his sons. So handsome.

Naruto did quiet down, though, after he requested that. "Keep it up, Naru! The head's out!"

Two more desperately hard pushes, a few silent seconds, and then a little cry. Naruto broke down in tears. Shizune took her son away to clean him up but Naru was terrified: he looked so small and pale. How could a baby that cooked for 10 months be that small?! How could a baby be alive and be that pale?! "Is he okay?" She groaned again when her father and Jiraiya finally let up on her seal. Their fingers had been digging into her abdomen so hard, Naru was sure she had bruises.

And then, moments later, Kakashi was holding their son and he turned to her, smiling with tears running down his face. All Naru could see of her son was a bit of silver hair sticking out of a baby blue blanket.

"He's perfect, my love." Kakashi bent over to let her see, sniffling more and not thinking a thing about it as his perfect wife kissed their son's head and then nose. He bent over her, pushing his son - my heir: oh Kami - into his wife's hair, hoping that he'd scent her even as he slept and kissed her tenderly.

How his boy went to sleep after all of that, Kakashi couldn't imagine. He must be exhausted.

"I want to hold him!"

"You have more work to do, Naru," Tsunade said firmly. "And so do I. Is your back still hurting?"

"Like crazy," Naru admitted, not taking her eyes off of her tiny, tiny son. He yawned and she let out a choked giggle, grinning widely. "He doesn't look like me at all."

"Maa, he's got your whisker marks and probably your nose. He's definitely got your little ears," Kakashi was positive. He stepped back when Naru cried out, grabbing the handles on the table she was on.

"I'm sorry, kid. I've gotta turn this one around."

"He's breach?" Kakashi asked about the twin they were waiting for. Tsunade nodded. From everything he'd read, it was no wonder Naru's back had been hurting so badly. "Is he okay?!"

"I think so," Tsunade answered as she ran a diagnostic.

That answer sent Kakashi's anxiety spiking further. "When's he coming out then? He needs to get outta there."

"Calm down, Kakashi," Minato ordered, fearful that Kakashi was about to start spilling KI: something a baby should never be exposed to - and tried to take his grandson. Grandson! "Oh Kami, he's so pretty!"

"He's handsome," Kakashi countered, turning slightly away. Naruto laughed at him, looking so beautiful even in her worn out, thrashed state as she lay back and took a few deep breaths that he was glad he had hidden cameras in the room that got all the action from almost every angle. Naruto would probably kill him when she found out. Then she was hissing again at whatever Tsunade was doing on the other side of the curtain and he wasn't sure what to do.

Genma came crashing in and Kakashi moved to, as much as he could, try to protect his wife and child - I should have put him down! - but groaned when he realized that his old friend was chasing a chibi nightmare. "Kurama. How nice of you to join us," he said dryly.

"Look at you! You got a kid," Genma said with a broad smile. "Let me see," he said along with that damn fox at the same time. Fortunately for all involved, he thought, Kakashi sighed and allowed Genma to see first. Naruto had introduced him to the fox in case something like this happened but when the fox and his inappropriately gigantic chakra signature crossed the property's border, most of his men patrolling it had completely lost their shit.

"He looks like both of you, I think." Genma's expression turned cocky as the fox complained about the kid not having a tail. "You look good without the mask." Kakashi, naturally, freaked out and brought up a genjutsu. He pushed Naru's sweaty bangs away from her face and patted her head. "Lucky you," he winked, looking at Kakashi again. Kakashi growled at him.

Naru nodded. "I am. I'm the most lucky!"

She cried out when Tsunade did something unspeakable to her insides. "What the FU- heck, baa-chan!" She couldn't curse anymore but man did she want to!

"I can't get him to turn. Let's give it a few minutes; give him time to turn on his own, now that he has some room."

"Some room?" Naruto didn't want to ask. How much room was still in there?! She looked down at her stomach and guessed that her eagerly anticipated second son had lots of room to do whatever he wanted to in there. "What do we do?"

"We keep trying. If we can't position him better, we'll have to open you up."

Naruto whimpered. "After all this work?"

Half an hour later, the baby was determined to be in distress. Naruto grimaced, knowing that she wasn't fully numbed, and cried out when Tsunade used a chakra scalpel to cut into her. She grabbed the handles, telling herself that this would all be over soon; that everything would be okay…

Despite the barriers and shields, incoming chakra from outside hit her hard.

"COMING IN HOT," she gasped. A second passed and Naruto let out a long, pained grunt and tried not to crawl away from Tsunade because of what felt like being ripped apart when she reached inside of her. Not being properly anesthetized, she finally screamed. "We're under attack!" Her father flashed away and the seal started unraveling. Kurama had gone running off through the house, too.

She heard Kakashi yelling something as he harshly slammed his hands down into her belly, pushing his chakra in as he and Jiraiya tried to stop the seal. Everything went black.

"Stay back! Leave them to me!" Minato ordered his men.

Minato was fighting his deceased but furious wife and Hatake Sakumo with all his might, at the same time SHOUTING at them that they were being controlled. Kurama flew off the roof and his precious Kushina had to have some sense of self because she immediately went after him.

"What are you doing out, you fucker?!" she screamed before hauling ass after the fox. Minato got a break - Kushina's chains were a nightmare to go against and she'd just retracted them - when Sakumo stopped to gape at her and the fox for a split second. Minato slapped him with a gravity seal, not knowing how long it would keep the man down.

Back in the day, Hatake Sakumo was said to be the strongest and best shinobi next to Hiruzen. People assumed he would be the next Hokage before that one mission.

"Where's my daughter?!" Kushina screamed at the fox. Small or not, if the bastard fox was out, that meant Naruto-chan was... dead. NO!

"She's inside the house and hurting, you fucking psycho bitch!" Kurama dodged a blow from her chains that had reappeared, not knowing what would happen if they got hold of him. Realizing that she could seal him, he ran for it, straight at Naruto.

The wall exploded and Naruto regained consciousness with a fox jumping on and then sinking into her stomach. Chains flew out of her and she didn't give a single fuck what Kakashi was yelling, she would use every bit of her remaining chakra to protect her family. "Kakashi, think! What would…" God, she was dizzy. The chains started to fade and she took her babies from Kakashi and Tsunade as her mother - her MOTHER - stared down at her from behind them.

- They were protecting them.
- No.
- How did I get on the floor? Fucking Kurama!

"Go AWaY."

Edo Tensei. Someone had used the Edo Tensei on her mother!

"Father?" Kakashi asked, horrified and angry as Hatake Sakumo stalked toward them. He side-eyed his wife who was in bad shape. He didn't have much time to seal him. Without thinking, he pulled out kunai and slipped on a mask. His father's eyes snapped to him as if he suddenly recognized him.

"N-Naruto?" Kushina asked. It was impossible! This… this woman had obviously just given birth! But she had chains, and Minato was here - and alive?! In their house? And Kakashi-kun was here - and grown - and Tsunade and Jiraiya were here…

"I guess it's a cycle, eh, Kaa-chan?" Naruto asked in just over a whisper - although she couldn't look at her. Tears were running down her cheeks but Edo Tenseis were controlled. Her mother might look like she was in her right mind right now, but that didn't mean things would remain that way.

In her last life, Naruto had fought those who'd been brought back from the dead and had been controlled. Kabuto, you snake! She'd fought alongside her father but as far as she knew, he'd still been at the mercy of Orochimaru, who had brought him back from the dead. Had Orochimaru decided to use the Hokages against the Alliance, they would've been wiped out.

She bared her teeth, something cold and nasty bubbling up within her. Naru was determined to stay conscious and protect her babies: one of whom she'd never even truly laid eyes on. She pushed more chakra into the strange feeling in her back: her chains, and gazed down at her crying babies. Puppies, she thought in sad amusement: that's how Kakashi always referred to children and she would certainly refer to her own, too. "You're perfect."

Her "incision" was hissing as Kurama, she guessed, tried to heal her. The chains that originally felt like they came out of nowhere again, were apparently activated by fear.

Fear can help keep you alive, Naruto. Don't fight it.

Her babies were perfect. Her second-born's nose looked a little less squished than her first, now that she could compare them but otherwise they really looked just the same. "Pretty, pretty puppy." He was still messy and wasn't even properly swaddled. Tsunade had just handed him to her when everything went crazy. "Pretty puppies."

The chains that were almost gone came back to life but were flickering now.

Naruto smiled a little more, her heart feeling full despite everything happening - an attack she had feared that was coming (only Naru thought it would be Zetsu) - when she caught a brief glimpse of blue eyes as they cried and tried to look around. "Shhh… It's okay. I'm sorry I scared you - and for all of this. Okaa-san will do everything in her power to keep you safe. I love you both."

They have my eyes - at least right now. If that was the last thing Naruto saw, she decided she'd be happy.

"Naruto, stop," Kushina begged. "You're hurting yourself!"

"I won't let anyone hurt you."

A blink of silver startled her. Naruto gaped up at the huge silver wolf that was now standing over her and growling. She turned on her side, trying to hold the twins above the blood around her and save them from him.

"Kushina, listen to me," Minato quickly begged in desperation. He glanced at Sakumo and the freaking huge WOLF Kakashi had henged (or turned into?) It sure didn't seem like a henge.

The Hatakes had seemed to have been having a stare-off until the wolf was suddenly in front of his daughter and grandbabies. Sakumo's head dropped and he slowly drew an arm over his face. He was crying, meaning they'd both regained control for now. "There are only two ways to overcome this jutsu and I don't want to seal you!"

"I'm listening."

Naru closed her eyes as she heard shouting begin outside.