Hello! I hope you'll like this chapter!

Disclaimer: I own the OCs in this fic, the rest is Masashi Kishomoto's. Sorry for any spelling mistakes or any OCCness.

Character age:

Akane, Itachi: 23

Naruto, Sasuke: 17-18

Shisui: 26

Kakashi: 32

"Weapons good, medicine too for Kiri troops. Genin received their orders and chuunins who cannot go to the battlefield for whatever reasons then have will be their direct superiors," I told sensei, my eyes on my papers. "We have retired jounin and chuunin who accepted to temporarily go back to active duty within the village to help the genins as long as we're away."

"Dai?"

"Same for retired doctors and medics aneki. I mean...there are some who won't do surgery, but they can diagnose without any issue. We have seals as well, so we can...allow ourselves to not requisition all medics in the country or in no-shinobi neighboring countries. It's tight, not gonna lie, but it should be okay."

"We can't let small countries like the Land of Waves go without medics if we can help it after what they did for us a few years ago," sensei agreed, her hands crossed in front of her chest. "And Konoha should be able to do the same."

I pursed my lips and shared a look with my teammate.

"Okay, we have to talk about the elephant in the room Mei." When Dai addressed his sister by her first name...it was not to joke around. "People are not happy."

"I am aware, trust me," she replied curtly. "I was met with more than my fair share of people saying we were signing for the end of the peace we've had when I was going around the country."

"Iwa has never been our biggest fan," I muttered under my breath. There were still things that made me...not really want to work closely with Iwa, especially if I ever saw that...shinobi who almost abused me.

Dai ran a distracted hand on his neck, the scar still here. It would never go away, maybe fade a little but…

"Don't get me wrong, I'm far from being their biggest fan either, especially since they thought I was a pig to be killed for food," he said casually, "but there are others who just don't want to...work with them at all, Ganryuu being on top of the list."

"You can't really blame him, can you," I replied quietly.

"You're not helping you know." I shrugged.

"Never tried to." I sighed. "Look, I don't think we can put at ease years of resentment toward the hidden Rock in two weeks Dai, so might as well...work with it."

"Until they rebel and ruin everything? Your plan sucks."

"Then what do you have?" I asked him with a frown.

"Enough!" Sensei cut us off, standing up, her hands flat on her desk. "I agree though. I'll talk to him personally if I see it goes too much south but...other than that, we're comrades, don't go around doubting them, alright?" I shared a look with my teammate.

"Yes," we replied together.

I left the building with Dai and we walked together for a while. Once we reached the hospital, I leaned against the outside wall.

"Is it me or are you strangely tired each time you reach the hospital since you got back?"

"Not an impression. I...think I know what's going on but I really don't have the time to…"

"Come to my office." I shook my head. "Why not?"

"Lots of dead people," I replied under my breath. He opened his mouth before sighing.

"I see where this is going. Let's go to one of our places."

"You live in the apartment below sensei's in the Mizukage's building."

"And there's more ANBU around it since I came back because she's freaked out, good point, yours it is then." I followed him quietly before jumping on roofs.

I laid down in my couch as Dai quickly checked me out.

"Yeah, there's nothing wrong Uzu," he confirmed, sitting down in the armchair. "The only thing that's different about you since you came back is…"

"The mark, I know." I sighed and sat in my couch. "I mean, did I see wandering spirits before? Yes, but because Sasuke got himself a cursed seal from my predecessor and it made him a target for akumas."

"That book you got from the Eastern Continent, you have it on you?" I nodded.

"Whatever I have about Yuureis always stay with me." I went to get it and opened it.

"I wouldn't want to be Sasuke," Dai muttered, reading the page about akumas. "I mean, you get an upgrade, it's more balanced so you feel...more? A lot of people died in the hospital after all."

"It's not just the hospital, it starts there. Like...the more I got toward it and toward the old clans area I just...can't, like my body doesn't want to."

"Probably too many souls not at rest, with violent deaths. It's...sadly common in Kiri Uzu."

"I know but...I don't know, it's like it's...deeper, like it's tearing my guts out or something. I mean, the core of the seal is on my stomach but...I don't know how to describe it."

"Well no offense, but whatever it is we have to deal with it before the war, you'll be in contact with way more dead people there, violent deaths and all." I nodded.

"You're right."

We went through this thick, old book for an hour until the door was brutally opened. Haku appeared, an unconscious Karin in his arms.

"What the hell Haku!?" Dai yelled as I left my couch, Haku putting Karin on it. Dai checked her for injuries.

"I don't know what happened, we were walking and then she passed out!"

"Where were you?"

"We were near the ghost district after going through the lower ones for…"

"Anything out of ordinary? You guys saw something? Someone?" He pursed his lips.

"Well, Karin stopped out of sudden and said there was someone in white going to the ghost district but...I didn't see anybody."

"Karin saw it and not you?" He nodded. "And...which clan exactly was it?"

"I don't know. Why the questions Uzu-nee?"

"No matter the clan, if only Karin saw it and she was targeted and not Haku then…" Dai said, standing up.

"It would explain why I feel it so deeply."

"Is it about your...mark?" I raised a brow at my cousin. "You never told me explicitly, but I put two and two together Uzu-nee." He slapped me behind the head for good measure. "What's going on?"

"Karin probably saw the ghost of Uzu's grandmother." Haku widened his eyes big. I would have laughed if it was not for my guts twisting painfully in my stomach.

"My father told me he knew about Yuureis through his mom," I added. "So maybe, not only did she appear to Karin because of the blood connection, but maybe it's why I feel it so deeply. She knows about it so...she must have felt me around, but maybe doesn't know who I am."

"She was executed, right?" I nodded.

"My grandfather called the Third out on his bullshit, he was executed, and she followed because she tried to stop it."

"Public place?"

"Yeah, wh…" I sighed. "Of course. It's where the new wing of the hospital stands now. Sorry, we're leaving."

"She's going to wake up soon," Dai told Haku as I was already at the door. Once outside, Dai caught up to me. "So, what is the plan?"

"Whatever it is, send her to the Pure Land."

"...We all go to the same place?"

"I've been to Yomi, you don't want to go there," I stated casually.

"Wait, wh…" I ran to the ghost district, heading for the Yuki Clan Compound. "Wait for me!"

"Hurry!" I went through the dilapidated houses and stopped at a small shrine. I felt very, very sick and dropped to my knees "I'm gonna throw up."

"Damn it's cold." I looked up and blinked at the lone figure in white on the steps. She had...long black hair though, not red so…

In the blink of an eye, she was in front of me and sent me in a house.

"Uzu!"

"Stay back!" I yelled to him.

I coughed when she caught me by the throat, lifting me from the ground easily. With her hair in her face, I could only see the scowl on her lips. She kept squeezing, choking me slowly and surely to death.

"Do something!" If I could, I would flip Dai but…

"...stars are...shining bright...the wind is...is on the rise…" I stuttered, remembering the lullaby she used as a seal to seal my nodachi. "...whispering words of lo...long lost lullabies…" Her hold weakened a little. "Oh won't you come with me? Where the moon is made of...gold…" I took a deep breath. "And in the morning sun, we'll be sailing. Oh won't you come with me? Where the ocean meets the sky. And as the cloud rolls by...We'll sing the song of the sea." She let me go, taking a step back, shaking.

I summoned my nodachi.

"You used this lullaby to seal it, remember?" I gulped, massaging my now sore throat. "Your name is Uzumaki Mamiko, isn't it?" She raised her face to me.

Slowly, I stretched out my left hand, my mark heating up, and touched her shoulder.

Immediately, her appearance changed. Her long, straight black hair turned into deep red waves falling on her chest, bangs framing her face. Black eyes were staring at my nodachi.

"Wow, she's a looker," Dai commented.

"You see her now?" He nodded. "I see."

"I didn't...remember my name," she said in a smoothing voice. "It's been...so long since…" There was the bruise made by a rope around her neck.

I see, hung.

"Why do you have this?" She asked me, raising her eyes to me.

"It's a family heirloom, isn't it?" I replied. She frowned.

"I sealed it as per my husband's request for my grandson." I pursed my lips.

"I'm afraid onii-chan died too young to wield it." Grief took over her features for a second.

"Onii-chan?" she repeated. "Are you…"

"My parents are Uzumaki Akiko and Ushio. You died before I was born," I told her gently. She widened her eyes.

"Oh, I see but…" She looked down at my left hand. "There is no way my son would let any of his children become a glorified sacrifice for the clan." I pursed my lips.

"Well...he was not much of a father to me." She furrowed her brows. "Things didn't really take a good turn, that's all." Sadness and guilt seemed to engulf her whole being as she sat on the steps of the shrine. "Why...are you here Grandma?" She pursed her lips.

"I have never left. I have been choking for...a long time now, wandering around the place I died until something changed. People died a lot nearby and suddenly...it changed."

"The hospital...got better."

"I see...but at some point, with all this pain, and sorrow, and anger I forgot who I was. The only thing I knew was any negative emotion I had inside of me was feeding me. Then I felt a...pull, something...attracting me." She pointed at my left hand. "The...Claw you have was attracting me against my will. It...it was stronger than anything."

"...sorry."

"How long has it been…"

"If I'm not wrong...you died twenty-six years ago." She looked up. "I'm...twenty-three."

"And your brother, he…"

"He got sick. He died when he was eight." I should keep to myself the part Dad played in it though.

"Oh Lord…" I sat down on the step below her.

"Grandma, do you know why suddenly, you would be pulled by the Shinigami's energy without me using it?"

"You were not using it?" I shook my head. She frowned. "It does not make sense; I was called by it."

"The most it does without me using it is reacting to stuff but...not act on its own, or at least...maybe it's a new thing too," I muttered, rolling up my sleeve.

"What is this?" Grandma asked me, her eyes staring at my mark.

"The Claw, well its evolution. I made it evolve a few months back, the Shinigami accepted."

"You...upgraded the Shinigami Claw?" I nodded. "That's...shocking. Umiko-sama was supposed to have buried everything related to it as well, how…"

"Things...took another turn."

"Your time...it doesn't seem to be a good one, is it?"

"Well, the Fourth Shinobi War starts in two weeks so…" Dai told her.

"I see...wars are still happening and this place…" She looked around. "It used to be filled with life and laughs…"

"Well Kiri's been through a lot, but now Uzu's been chosen as the Sixth so…"

"You are?" I nodded. "My granddaughter is going to be the Mizukage?" I nodded sheepishly.

A small smile appeared on her face. A cold feeling appeared on my cheek when she put her hand on it. I couldn't feel anything but coldness.

"Your grandfather would be so, so proud of you honey." I nodded slowly. "I don't even know your name."

"Akane." She smiled, her smile warmer now.

"Beautiful."

"I'm...sorry to interrupt but...do you feel like passing obaa-san?" She blinked at Dai. "Like...something accomplished, ready to go to the other side?"

"...no, I still feel very much attached to this realm."

"Huh...maybe there's something else after all."

"When did you become a ghost expert?"

"Hey, spend the night in the morgue and hospital more than once and you take preventive measures at some point!" I raised a brow. "You have no idea how much salt I buy every month."

"Apparently not." I stood up. "Then what is it?" He shrugged.

"There was a voice," Grandma said, standing up as well. "A...a familiar one I think."

"You heard a familiar voice when you were in your endless suffering era?" She narrowed her eyes at me. "Sorry, it's rude. Who would call you?"

"I do not know, but they knew about you."

"...could it be one of your predecessors?" Dai inquired.

"I don…"

"Umiko-sama," my grandmother said with wide eyes. "It must be her."

"You knew her?"

"Yes, of course, she was friends with Father and Aunt Mito. She helped Uncle Hashirama and Tobirama-sama too."

"Wait, you knew them?"

"Of course, why?"

"I...was told the Shodai didn't...stay in touch with your father." Her face soured.

"It is also true. It does not mean he did not know about me though."

I could feel Hashirama being awkward in the back of my mind.

"Do you feel anything obaa-san?"

"It's…" She frowned and took off.

"Well, running away without finishing your sentences runs in the family."

"Shut up Dai," I growled as we ran after her.

As we entered the cemetery of the old clans, the bodies were mainly thrown into a mass grave and just two years ago individual graves were made, Dai passed out. I barely caught him before he touched the ground.

"Dai? Hey man, what…" He snored loudly. I rolled my eyes and left him against a tree.

I found my grandmother quickly, staring at a tombstone. Hers. Next to it was my grandfather's, Yuki Eito. She reached out to his tombstone only for her hand to go through it.

"You know, we met during the First Shinobi War," she started to tell me in a hoarse voice. "I knew there was something different about him, but we were not allied and my father would have killed me if he knew I was friendly with a foreign shinobi. Do you know what he did?" I shook my head and she looked at me above her shoulder. Her smile was...sad, and nostalgic. "He removed his forehead protector and said he was just some guy and I was just some girl and that at the end of the day, it was all that mattered. No shinobi had ever said that to me."

Wasn't it kind of the same thing I told Itachi years ago in a different way?

"Ultimately, he kept finding me when I was away from the village. We were...fighting for some territories in the sea anyway, so we met a lot. Eventually...feelings appeared. I was terrified because I knew he would not be accepted in Uzushio, even if he told me he'd leave Kiri for me. So I...I stood up to my father who...banished me. I was not immediately accepted in Kiri and I was forbidden from any kind of ninjutsu at first...It wasn't until your father was born that I could go back home, with him and not Eito. When Uzushio was destroyed...I was angry, stricken by grief and accused him of plotting against us from the beginning and a lot of awful things. He never got angry, he just...let me spout accusations after accusations about how his village had destroyed mine. He confirmed it, sadly, but swore he never was in favor of it. When they took him to...kill him because he spoke his mind…" There were tears in her eyes. "I wondered if I shouldn't have stayed home in the end, because he wouldn't have spoken up then, him who hated conflicts so much. Maybe our love was cursed after all."

"No offense, but...I wouldn't be here if you had stayed in Uzushio. I doubt Grandpa ever blamed you for anything as well, from how you describe him...he was madly in love with you, he wouldn't have stopped I think."

"How would you know?"

"Well I'm in a relationship with a shinobi from Konoha myself and every time I was doubting where we were heading he was quick to tell me we'd figure it out together and that I was stuck with him."

"...You are our granddaughter, there is no doubt about it." I scratched my neck. "Still, I…"

"In my life, before, I...had twins with my current boyfriend, and he was a criminal and wanted by a lot of people. He died from the same disease that killed Fubuki before I knew I was pregnant. When I told him everything in this life...it took him some time to process but he did and we've been in a relationship since, he wouldn't have it any other way in spite of me doubting myself and us often in the past. Grandpa...even if it was cut short, I'm sure he loved and cherished the time you had together and wouldn't have wanted it any other way either."

"She's right you know." I widened my eyes as my grandmother put her hand against her opened mouth.

The man had short dark brown hair and brown eyes, his clothes old-fashioned compared to today. He walked briskly toward us, walked through me and engulfed grandma in a hug, lifting her from the ground. She hugged him back sobbing, the red fabric of her kimono no longer touching the ground.

Then they kissed. Deeply.

I didn't know what was weirding me out the most, seeing two ghosts making out or seeing my grandparents making out. Probably both thinking about it.

"You have no idea how long I've waited for you to come back to yourself my love," my grandfather told her.

"I'm sorry it took me so long, I'm…"

"Shhh…" Geez was it how Sasuke felt watching his brother and I? It did feel gross, and cheesy.

Ultimately, they stopped making out and my grandfather turned his head to me.

"Who's your friend?"

"The current Yuurei of my clan." I waved at him as his face soured.

"Oh." He eyed the nodachi in my hand. "That's mine."

"Was yours, now it's mine."

"Uzumakis can't wield this weapon, it's a family heirloom." I pursed my lips.

He was not necessarily the sharpest tool in the shed but well, family was family.

"Doesn't she remind you of anyone?" Grandma asked him quietly as she kept snuggling against him.

"Well...Aki-chan a little but...and you, when she frowns like this." I sighed as he widened his eyes. "Wait, are you…"

"Your granddaughter? Yes. Hyouton and Fuinjutsu? Yes. Did I become the best Hiraishin user in history now thanks to the Negative Mode? Probably." I ignored the two Hokages clearing their throats in my mind.

"Her name is Akane, she's going to be the future Mizukage as well." He looked at me in a new light.

"Really?"

"Kiri turned real bad once you died, we were...known as the 'Bloody Mist', and not just for the graduation exam. There was blood in the street everyday." They both pursed their lips. "Most kekkai genkais users were slaughtered. It wasn't pretty."

"What happened?"

"We rebelled. We won. The...one responsible for Kiri is actually the same person who...waged war on the Five Elemental Nations and the Land or Iron a few months ago." My grandfather walked up to me. He now had a serious look on his face.

"I can see you've been through a lot already." He grabbed my shoulders. "But don't you dare join us too soon." I nodded firmly. "Good then."

"I'm still not leaving though." I frowned at Grandma.

Then, they...froze. Actually...everything did. The wind stopped, everything stopped around me.

"I'm sorry, it got really emotional real quick but I had to reach you." I frowned and spun around.

The red hair and green eyes were more familiar this time.

"Umiko?"

"You know me, good."

"I lived your death."

"...true. Anyway, I'm sorry, but I needed a connection to make contact and...the Shinigami's imprint on me is not enough so...when I realized you were Mamiko's granddaughter, I used her."

"...and you wanted to see me for…?"

"Well, to warn you." I blinked as she looked sheepish. "I'm...Madara knew about me and killed me because I caused Izuna's death. He'll feel you're a Yuurei if he's brought back and he'll go for you as soon as he can, I'm sure of it." I swallowed thickly. "And I thought I'd leave you a pres…"

"Why are you helping me? You're long gone." She pursed her lips.

"Well, guilt is a common trait among us. This whole...situation, I could have...prevented it, at least a little but…" She chuckled bitterly. "I got killed and then...so many horrible things happened...just because I decided to be stubborn, go home and was caught by Madara and...I just want to fix the mess I caused and left behind."

"It's not your fault."

"It doesn't matter, I still think it is. Even if Tobirama and Hashirama think I'm wrong as they're listening to us...I still want to help." I put a hand on my stomach.

"How?" In the blink of an eye she was in front of me and was looking at my mark.

"It's beautiful work but you'd need time to fully master it with...what you already know. You don't have time though." She drew a seal in my mark, circling the point where the circle went to a line and then down my hand. I felt a sharp burn for a second. "It should help you...for a while. It will allow you to use your fuinjutsu with senjutsu." I widened my eyes and she winked. "You're not the only one with two lifetimes worth of experience, and I was around Hashirama a lot. I must warn you though, it has its limits. Once reached...it will break and disappear and you'll be back to zero, so don't overuse it during the war." I nodded. "Alright then." She turned to my grandparents. "I will take them to the Pure Land with me. It's still hard to think of what end the heiress me…"

"The what?" She raised a brow at me.

"Mamiko, she was the heiress of the clan. It must have made so much noise when she left."

...so I was from the main…

Never. Fucking. Mind.

"Will they be alright?"

"Yes. Once in the Pure Land...everything will be fine for them, no wandering aimlessly like before." She nodded at me. "Good luck Akane." I nodded back.

Then everything went back to normal, and I was alone among the tombstones. I looked at my left arm.

The seal was there.

"Hashirama, you and I will have a nice, long chat."

"...Sure?"

It was...weird and all but...I don't know how to describe it. It was nice to put faces and names on people I just knew were my grandparents. It made...everything more real, everything my family's been through in Kiri more real.

Just like this, I was on my way to Kumo with sensei. We arrived three days before everyone else, but the Hidden Cloud was already buzzing with activity. I was uncomfortable, not leaving sensei until we reached the Kage building.

"Mizukage-sama," a young woman greeted us. "Welcome to Kumogakure. Please follow me. Uzumaki-san, you have already come here so go to the meeting room on the first floor please."

I nodded and I watched sensei leave with Chojuro. Finding the room was no problem and I was glad to see Kakashi was already there, reading his loyal book. I plopped down next to him without a word.

"How's it going?"

"I saw my grandparents' ghosts," I whispered back to him. He raised his head and slowly turned his eye to me.

"What?" I shrugged.

"Did you know I was from the main line of the Uzumaki clan? Like...the heir line?" He rubbed his eye.

"Five seconds, that's a new record."

"How about you?"

"Huh, like I'm about to go to war."

"Fair."

Kitsuchi came maybe an hour later. I tensed when my eyes met his, Kakashi barely raising his eye from his book. Kitsuchi looked away and sat the furthest possible from us.

Darui then arrived and blinked at the tension. I waved at him weakly and he nodded in return. Honestly, I was hoping it was going more smoothly with the Kage because here...it was kind of frosty.

"So huh...Mifune-san wants to talk to you Akane as the samurais will mainly be in your division," Darui informed me.

"Sure yeah."

The main thing Mifune-san wanted to tell me was that there were still some issues among some samurais about taking part in a shinobi conflict and that they'd respond to his orders better. I told him it was fine, and that his experience on the battlefield was precious, that if I were to go somewhere else then I'd leave him in charge.

The day was finally there. I was looking at my hitai-ate in the mirror, the kanji for 'shinobi' carved in it. It was...nice, just...strange. I knew about them, heard about them but...it had taken some getting used to for me to wear a hitai-ate once more, then a Konoha one and now this one…

The Fourth Shinobi War was there and there was no turning back at this point.

I was pacing furiously as I could hear people outside.

"Stop, you're pissing me off," Kakashi told me, grabbing my shoulder.

"How can you just stand still!?"

"You're pacing enough for the both of us." I furrowed my brows. "Look, it's bad, it's a heavy job that awaits us but it's nothing new." I opened my mouth. "The amount of people is new, but they all know how to fight. The main thing you need to remember is to trust the people under your command, alright?" I pursed my lips and nodded. He smiled at me and patted my hair. "Good, then you know the rest."

We were quickly called on the roof, introducing us to all the divisions. I looked down at mine, the fifth and gulped. It was...so big from there, they all looked so small…

I took a deep breath during Gaara's speech. He knew how to make one, there was no doubt about it, and I smiled to myself listening to him.

I grabbed a kunai and threw it at the end of my division. I heard some people gasp from where I was and teleported to my marker before the rest of my peers were down as well.

"Show off." I raised a brow and looked above my shoulder. Sasuke was there, flack jacket over his regular outfit. Haku was next to him.

I smiled at them.

"Ready?" I asked them. They both nodded. "Good."

Let the war begin then.

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