Naruko stepped outside and inhaled the icy winter air, a bright smile on her face. She glanced back and noticed Haku, team 7, the director, and a still-stunned Koyuki step out behind her. She grinned and went through hand seals saying "Xenomorph Striders. Two" and in a puff of smoke two Xenomorphs stood in front of them, they were the size of horses, their black, muscular bodies parallel to the ground, strong front and hind legs supporting them, long smooth heads similar to the Drones but with minor differences, such as three spike-like protrusions on each side of the head, flowing from the front to the back making six in total, their tails shorter than the Drones ending in three spikes looking like the fourth Hokage's signature kunai.
The people behind her who had never seen this breed of Xenomorph were staring in awe. Kakashi was the first to break from his revelry, he turned to Naruko "There's only two, that certainly isn't enough for all of us to ride."
Naruko snorted in an unlady-like way "Of course not, you and your team are not coming."
Kakashi narrowed his one visible eye "What do you mean?"
"What I said." She deadpanned.
"Why can't we come? Sakura asked.
Naruko gazed at her, clearly annoyed with the question "There's a couple reasons, the first is that I said so, the second is that none of you have any idea how to ride a Strider, the third is that it's none of your business."
"Who are you to tell us that's is none of our business? I'm an Uchiha elite!" Sasuke said arrogantly.
Naruko turned an icy glare to the boy, causing him to unconsciously take a half step back. She walked up to him and looked him in the eyes "I am the Snow Daimyo, the ruler of the country you're in, with a snap of my fingers I could have you and your whole team back on your ship and out of the country. So use that minuscule brain in that empty skull of yours before you say something stupid again."
Sasuke growled and made to pull out a kunai, only to have a sword pressed against his throat. It was a black Ninjato, with a golden hilt with crimson wrapping, the guard was the shape of Kagemi's head, biting the blade. Sasuke gulped and looked at Naruko.
"Take that Kunai out and you'll lose more than just your head." She said in a voice devoid of emotions, even though her eyes burned with fury.
Kakashi coughed, gaining her attention "Now, Now, no need for violence. I have a question."
"Ask." Naruko demanded, her blade still at Sasuke's throat.
"You mentioned you planned to take Koyuki with you to her father's machine, I was just wondering where she's gonna ride?"
"With me of course. Haku knows how to ride one." Naruko said as if it was completely obvious, still holding the blade to Sasuke's throat.
Koyuki's eyes widened upon hearing this "What?" She asked nervously.
"Is that a problem?" Naruko asked.
Koyuki shook her head "No, no, it's just I've never rode a horse, much less something like… that." She said while gesturing at the Striders, who were having their heads rubbed by Haku.
"Don't worry, they don't bite." She grinned mischievously "...much"
Koyuki gulped and slowly approached one of the Striders, while Haku hopped on the other, Naruko finally removed her sword from the Uchiha's throat and hopped on the Strider Koyuki had approached.
"Where do I ri-" She was cut off by Naruko grabbing her hand and throwing her onto the back of the Strider, Koyuki reflexively wrapping her arms around her waist.
"You can ride behind me!" Naruko chirped happily. She looked back at Kakashi and his team, scowling at Sasuke and Sakura "You better be on your best behavior while I'm away, or you'll regret it."
Kakashi waved his hand dismissively "They'll behave, I'll make sure of it."
"I'll hold you to that…" Naruko shot him a toothy grin.
She then faced forward and gave the Strider the command to go, Haku doing the same, the two Xeno Striders dashed off in the direction they were told, causing Koyuki to let out a scream from the speed. Making the group they left behind sweatdrop.
"Will the princess be okay?" Sakura asked.
Kakashi just shrugged "No idea… Now, let's explore the town and get something to eat."
Sasuke grunted, obviously pissed about being shown up by Naruko, who he deemed lower than him.
xxx With Naruko xxx
They had arrived at the location of the machine, and Naruko got off her Strider, helping the terrified Koyuki off it. The ride across the country wasn't a bumpy one per se, but riding on a creature like the Strider scared her to no end.
"Alright, hand me the key." She outstretched her hand expectantly.
Koyuki looked hesitant, and Naruko began to grow impatient the longer her hand was outstretched. "Please hand me the key…." Naruko repeated herself.
"First tell me why…" Koyuki whispered.
"I told you why earlier…" Naruko said, annoyance clear in her tone.
Koyuki looked startled at that "You did?" She asked.
"Yes, I told you we were going to satiate my curiosity."
Koyuki blinked "That's all?" She asked incredulously "No alternative motives?"
Naruko looked offended. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Koyuki took a step back at the outrage from the younger girl "I… I…" she stammered before dropping her head "I'm sorry, it's just… this key has been a bane in my life…" she whispered.
The piercing gaze Naurko had been giving the woman softened after hearing that, she sighed "I'm sorry too, I had no right demanding something from you."
After a moment of silence, Naruko spoke again. "Will you let me use the key on your father's machine, I truly am only curious and if it is a machine of destruction I'd only use it to protect Snow Country."
Koyuki looked into Naruko's eyes for any sign of deception, finding none she sighed and pulled the necklace from her neck and handed it to her "Just do it…"
Naruko happily snatched the necklace from her hands and in the next second it was inserted into the machine. The machine roared to life and began emitting heat, causing the nearby snow to melt. Naruko, Koyuki, and Haku looked on in awe as multiple generators fired up and began transforming the usual snow-covered Snow Country into a lush mountain range of green.
"Huh…" Naruko placed her hands on her hips and admired the change in scenery "Guess I can't call it Snow Country anymore…" the two women behind her sweatdropped at the blunt statement.
"So…" Naruko started again after the awkward pause her last statement left. "What do we call it now?" No one answered her so she took a thinking pause and asked internally 'Hey, Kurami, you got any ideas?'
Kurami mused over the question for a bit before going with short and blunt since it fit with both of their natures 'Why don't you call it Spring Country?'
Naruko face-planted at that, leaving the two women confused at the action, she shot to her feet 'That's a really blunt name.'
Kurami shrugged 'Yeah, but we both tend to be rather blunt, so it's fine right?'
Naruko sighed, before turning her attention externally "How about Spring Country?"
Haku and Koyuki face-planted at this just like she had, causing her to chuckle "That was my reaction."
Koyuki picked herself up. "I mean it works…"
"Yeah…" Haku murmured after getting to her feet.
Naruko let out a content sigh "I can safely say that my curiosity has been satiated." She turned back towards her Strider. "Shall we head back?"
xxx Naruko's Throne Room xxx
Haku, Koyuki, and Naruko had arrived back at her castle, and entered the throne room to see that team 7 was still there. She noticed a new face amongst the team, a boy with pale skin, ink-colored hair, and an obviously fake smile spread across his face.
She approached them and asked, "Is there a reason you're still in my throne room?"
Kakashi only eye-smiled at her and said calmly "Well, we went out to eat to wait for you to return so we could get our pay for the escort mission."
Naruko glanced at Koyuki, who shrugged, implying that she didn't have the cash. Sighing, Naruko asked, "How much did the mission cost?"
This question slightly caught Kakashi off-guard, not expecting her to pay for the mission "You're going to pay?"
Naruko scoffed. "Of course I am, Koyuki here doesn't have the cash and who knows where the director scurried off to, so it's just easier to pay you myself."
"Well, the base cost is 30 thousand Ryo, and since we didn't encounter any enemies the price doesn't change that much…" he paused, seemingly doing calculations in his head "I think the total price comes up to 45 thousand Ryo."
Naruko querked an eyebrow "45 thousand Ryo? What caused the price to jump up 15 thousand?" She asked genuinely intrigued.
"Well, it went up 10 thousand because of the total time the mission took." He continued when he saw Naruko's inquisitive gaze. "Each hour of travel adds 1 thousand Ryo to the base price."
"That makes sense…" she then paused in thought "That still doesn't explain the extra 5 thousand."
Kakashi looked sheepish at the question, and he also looked hesitant to respond "Erm…" he rubbed the back of his head "Our meal cost 5 thousand…"
Naruko stared at the man like he grew a second head. "You want me to pay for your meals?" She asked.
"Erm… Yeah, kinda…" Kakashi said hesitantly.
Naruko looked angry for a while, but then she remembered how this man had bought her clothes and groceries when she was young. If it wasn't for him her already bad childhood would have been worse. She felt the sudden need to express her gratitude since she didn't get a chance before now.
She approached Kakashi, which caused the man to become nervous, as she got within a foot of him, she surprised him by hugging him. "Thank you…" she whispered.
Kakashi was dumbstruck by this action so he asked "erm... For what?"
She looked up at him "Sorry for hugging you out of the blue like this…" she stepped back, looking a little embarrassed. "It's just that I remembered how you'd buy me groceries and stuff when I was a kid…"
Kakashi just smiled and placed a hand on her head "For a while there I thought you hated me."
Naruko shook her head furiously "I never could hate you… I was mad at you for not searching for me after I fell off that bridge."
Kakashi once again looked ashamed "I'm sorry… I regretted it after. But by that time it would have been too late."
"It's fine… What happened, happened. There's no point dwelling on it." Naruko said, a hint of sadness in her voice. She then took a deep breath and walked up to her throne and sat down, and coughed to regain the dignity she lost when she showed weakness in front of team 7. "Anyway… I don't know how much you spent on me as a child, but as the Daimyo of the newly named Spring Country, I will pay for your meals, and pay you 4 million Ryo in the hopes it will be enough to pay back at least a little of the debt I owe you from my childhood."
Kakashi and the rest of team 7's eyes widened "4 million Ryo?" Kakashi asked since the man didn't even pay that much in total when she was a kid.
"That's equivalent to 4 S-ranks…" Sakura muttered in shock.
"Yes, and it goes solely to Kakashi along with the 5 thousand for your meals since I'm sure Kakashi paid out of his own pocket. The 40 thousand will go to Konoha like usual." She snapped her fingers and 2 shinobi appeared, each with a briefcase. "The small one on the left has the 40 thousand Ryo and the large one on the right has the 4 million Ryo."
The shinobi handed both to Kakashi and then left in a burst of wind. "I… uh…" Kakashi began but was stopped when Naruko raised her hand.
"Don't think about it, just accept it along with my full thanks." She smiled warmly at him, which was the first true smile they'd seen on her face since they got here.
xxx The Next Day xxx
Team 7 had left that morning after staying the night in guest rooms since the events of yesterday took the rest of the afternoon. Now, she was sitting at the desk she used to do the paperwork when one of her shinobi came in."
"Lady Naruko, our spies in Rice Country have confirmed that Orochimaru is planning something for the Chunin exams, but we are not sure what it is yet."
Naruko hummed in thought "Interesting… looks like I'll need to be on guard when I arrive in Konoha."
"One more thing, my Lady. We've discovered something disturbing inside one of his bases and you'll want to know what it is."
Naruko raised a delicate eyebrow "...and what is that?"
"It's actually two things, my Lady. The first is a girl named Karin Uzumaki, she seems to be working for Orochimaru against her will thanks to the curse mark."
Naruko unconsciously clenched the edge of her desk in anger. "What else?"
The shinobi looked worried if not scared to mention this next thing "We… We believe he has your mother and elder sister as well…" The room fell deathly silent for a long moment, before a resounding "What!" echoed throughout the castle causing everyone to wince in pain.
The shinobi who had delivered the news recoiled in fear, knowing that when Naruko was pissed you only had one option. Pack your bags, move to a different country, and pray to whatever God you believe in that she doesn't find you.
Naruko didn't notice the fear on her shinobi's face, because she was ranting and making promises about making a snake wallet. All the while Kurami tried to get her to calm down, telling her that she'd have to be calm in order to plan a rescue mission to save them.
It took her roughly 20 minutes to calm down and began planning an attack on the base that held her mother, and sister. She'd have to spend time searching for her cousin after.
xxx One Week Later Hidden Otto Base xxx
These last 13 years were hell for Kushina Uzumaki, after the 9-tails attack she had been captured by Orochimaru, along with her eldest daughter Fuka, leaving her youngest daughter, Naruko, Fuka's younger fraternal twin, behind.
The pair had been used in multiple experiments by Orochimaru and they despised the man for it. Fuka clung to her mother in their shared cell, the one mercy the Snake Sannin gave them. As they sat there an explosion erupted in the hallway outside the cell.
Kushina instinctively pulled Fuka closer to her chest, after a moment of tense silence a shadow approached the door to their cell, it reached its hand towards the keyhole and unlocked the door, which creaked open before hitting the wall with an audible clang.
The shadow stepped into the cell and approached the pair. "Stay back…" Kushina whimpered out in fear, to her relief and confusion the shadow did just that. It then fell to its knees a few feet in front of them and Kushina could hear what sounded like water dripping, straining her ears to hear the source. She was shocked to learn that it was coming from the shadow in front of them.
"M-Mom? It whispered, causing Kushina to freeze in place. There's no way she heard that right? Did this stranger call her mom? Gathering her courage she asked, "Did you just call me mom?"
The shadow seemed to nod its head, unable to speak an answer. "What's your name?" Kushina asked, skeptical of this unknown stranger calling her mom.
The shadow seemed to lose what strength it had left because it collapsed onto its hands and knees, the sounds of sobbing growing louder.
Kushina, still confused and untrusting of the stranger in her cell, asked again. "What's your name?"
Her answer came in a feminine voice "Na-Naruko…" the figure began, but seemed unable to finish her sentence. However, that was enough to shock Kushina.
"Naruko? Are you really Naruko?" Her answer came when another shadow appeared behind the first and seemed to go through hand seals, causing flames to erupt from their mouth at the nearby torch on the wall, illuminating the cell in an orange glow. However, it was enough for Kushina to see the face of what had to be her daughter.
Long Sun-kissed blonde hair done in a high pony-tail, with two jaw-length bands framing her beautiful face that reminded her of Minato's own bangs, puffy azure l eyes that had clearly seen a lot, she was wearing what looked like ANBU gear, though instead of the usual black and gray combo, she wore a dark orange long-sleeved muscle shirt that showed off her toned body, with a black ANBU combat vest over it, black fingerless shinobi gloves with dark orange arm guards, black skin-tight shinobi pants that were tucked into black shinobi boots with dark orange shin guards. She wasn't wearing a headband of any kind so she didn't know if she came from a village, but she'd assume it was Konoha.
"Naruko… is… is that really you?" Kushina asked in a whisper."
The blonde only nodded, before crashing into Kushina's chest and sobbing "I thought you were dead!" She cried.
Kushina shushed her daughter, her motherly instincts telling her to comfort her. The pair were broken from their moment by a soft voice "Mom? Who's this?"
The girl didn't get an answer, but she did, however, find herself being hugged by the blonde girl who her mom called Naruko. Fuka knew she'd heard that name before, but she couldn't remember where. Her question was finally answered when the blonde whispered into her ear "I finally found you, sister."
Her eyes widened, finally recognizing the name from her mother's story about the 9-tails attack, she began crying as well, clinging to her long-lost sister as if she would disappear.
Kushina, watching her daughter's reunion, smiled and joined the hug. Meanwhile, Haku was standing guard outside the cell with a few Drones in the shadows to aid her.
After a long moment, Haku decided to tell her leader that it was time to go, knowing that the faster they got home the faster they could recover from this ordeal.
"Lady Naruko, I'm sorry to interrupt your reunion, but we must leave before reinforcements show up."
Naruko glanced at her second in command and nodded, meanwhile, Kushina internally questioned the way the shinobi addressed her daughter, she decided to voice her question "Excuse me, but why do you address my daughter as Lady?"
Haku smiled at the woman "For multiple reasons, but the main two are. 1, she saved me from a life of imprisonment, or death, and 2, she's the Daimyo of Spring Country."
This caused Kushina's eyes to bug out of her head, her baby girl was the leader of a whole country, but she'd never heard of Spring Country. "Where's Spring Country?"
"Do you remember Snow Country?" Haku asked, getting a nod. "Well, recently, Lady Naruko had to change its name since it's no longer a snowy place."
Kushina nodded "Is that where we're going?" She asked.
"Yes..." Haku looked at Naruko then Kushina and Fuka. "Lady Naruko, shouldn't you inform your mother and sister of them?"
Naruko looked at Haku and chuckled sheepishly "Sorry, I was caught up in the moment." She snapped her fingers and a drone dropped from the ceiling and landed in front of them, causing Kushina to gasp and put Fuka behind her. "Calm down, mom. It's okay." Naruko then explained about Xenomorphs, what they were, and the different variants of them.
Kushina was amazed and scared at the same time, to think that the Uzumaki clan had a contract with this powerful species. She decided to ask questions later, since she was tired and wanted a hot shower and to sleep in an actual bed.
Naruko, Haku, Kushina, and Fuka left Orochimaru's base and Naruko flew through hand seals summoning two Striders, one for Haku and Kushina, the other for Naruko and Fuka. They were flanked on either side by multiple drones, warriors, and Brutes as they made their way to Naruko's castle.
Once they got back, Kushina and Fuka took baths and decided to sleep in the same bed as Naruko for the night, bright smiles across all of their faces
I know… I know… it's late, but you see it wasn't my fault. I was walking back to my laptop when a black cat crossed my path so I had to take the long route, only to find a old lady stuck in a tree, I of course helped her down, then I encountered the same black cat from earlier and had to go the longer way around, after that I got lost on the road of life.