The She-Devil

by Kourtney Uzu Yato

My own take on the Neglected Naruto trope, all I can say is that this Naruko has a chip in her shoulder and a large ax to grind. Let's see where the story takes us.

3. Chapter III: A Devil Has Many Layers

Chapter III - A Devil Has Many Layers

---

Naruko rose from her bathtub, drying herself off with a warm towel as she tied her hair up into a knot, she put on a pair of fuzzy slippers as she changed into a comfortable set of pajamas, collected her book, and made to prepare a large meal. She cut up a large chicken and fried the pieces before drenching them in sauce, made a large bowl of rice, poured a cup of tea, and saved two vanilla cupcakes for dessert.

She crackled her knuckles and dug in, cherishing the silence and peace of her first meal of many in her new home.

When she finished, she cleaned up all her dirty plates and placed them back in their cabinets, but as she cleaned up her kitchen, the thought of Obito's current state made her frown, 'I should have held myself back. Now he's in the hospital and I put an even bigger spotlight on myself. Regardless, it's not like it matters. They'll soon discover that I removed myself from their beloved home and tender care and come looking for me, although they won't be able to get past the defenses without losing a leg. No matter, they are not my concern, I'll think about it later.'

She made to boil some hot water for tea before taking it outside to watch the day pass in private before she summoned a shadow clone and set up her outfit for tomorrow before dispelling it.

However, a knock on the door made her frown as she stood up, stretched, and opened the door only to find Iruka who was carrying a paper bag.

"Iruka..."

"Hello."

"How did you find me?"

He clicked his tongue twice, making her pout, "Damn dolphin," making him laugh.

"May I come in or are you busy?"

She stepped aside, "You may as well come in."

He slightly bowed and entered, taking in the sight of the living room with an appreciative whistle.

"Wow...How long did it take?"

"A while, but it was worth it, now that I have my headband, I'm considered an adult and I no longer have to be anywhere near them."

He placed the bag on her table as she shut the door and plopped down on the couch as he took a loveseat.

Iruka gave her a sad smile, making Naruko sigh, "Don't do that Iruka. It's not your fault."

"I know, it's just sad, I wish I could have gotten you that solo genin rank, I know how much you loathe...well, everyone else and rightfully so, it's just he was so hellbent on getting you on a team, especially after seeing your scores in the classroom. I just managed to persuade him to place you under Obito, heavens forbid you were placed with your siblings or were placed under Kakashi or Kurenai. It would be too much of a headache."

"You will have my eternal appreciation for trying, but try not to push your luck, I don't want you to get in trouble because of me."

"Very well, but fair warning, due to the fact that you put Obito out of commission until he recovers you will be under both Lady Kushina and Kakashi."

Naruko gave a disgusted grimace before she let out a deep sigh before she turned the conversation in a more pleasant direction.

"What's in the bag?"

"Ah, I got you a couple of your favorite fruits, I know how much you love pomegranates and apples."

She grinned and plucked a shiny red apple from the bag and took a big bite, "Always welcome, but you usually don't bring me fruit for no reason, tell me, do you want a pomegranate cream pie?"

He gave a nervous grin as he rubbed the back of his head, "If you could?"

"I had a feeling, not that I mind. I'll bring it to you tomorrow."

"Thank you."

"No. Thank you, now, I have to wonder whether I should put fruit trees in the back of my house."

"You'd probably eat all the fruit before they could be made into pies anyway."

"True."

They made to have a comfortable conversation before Iruka wished a good night and went back home. Naruko watched until he disappeared over the horizon and she made to turn in herself.

---

[Uzumaki-Namikaze Household]

Kushina came home after a long day, only to find Memna sharpening his kunai while Mito was maintaining her ninja wire and once she opened the door they looked up to see her.

"Hey, mom," Menma said.

Mito smiled before looking down at her ninja wire, "Hi, mom."

"Hello kids, have you seen Naruko?"

"Nope."

"Nah."

Kushina frowned and made her way upstairs, going past each door, trying to recall the last time she cleaned Naruko's room or what it even looked like, only to come up with nothing, the fact that she could recall Menma and Mito's room within seconds only made her sad. She clenched her fists, taking a deep breath, the situation from last night of her refusing to spend any time with them burned behind her eyes as she recalled it with unfortunate clarity.

She inwardly swore, 'I'll make it up to you, Naruko. Even if it takes a decade to millennia, I wouldn't be an Uzumaki if I gave up.'

"Didn't you forfeit that when you left your daughter out in the cold?"

She shivered, rubbing her arms from the chill, and shook her head, "No. I will make it up for my mistakes and we will be a whole family."

She soon found what she was looking for, Naruko's room, a plain white door with a dark brown doorknob. Kushina swallowed and knocked three times, "Naruko?"

No answer...

"Naruko, I know we haven't seen eye to eye, but I would like for you to come down and join your siblings as I make dinner so we can all eat when your father comes home."

No answer...

"Naruko?" She knocked three more times only to receive nothing.

She tried the doorknob expecting it to be locked only for it to give way and open showing a clean, empty room.

Naruko wasn't here.

'Did I get the wrong door?'

She shut the door and looked around the house, every other empty room was either dusty or locked, the first room she picked was the only empty room that was clean and bare.

She felt a stone fall to the pit of her stomach, "Naruko..."

She rushed downstairs, "Mito! Menma! Where's your sister?"

"Probably out, who knows where that loser spends her time," Menma shrugged

"Menma! I will not have you badmouth Naruko, she is your sister and you will treat her with respect."

"But mom, she's just a loser and-" Mito trailed off when she saw the tight-lipped smile on her mother's face and her hair slowly split into nine parts, showing she still had her fearsome temper that made both allies and enemies flee in droves.

"It seems you didn't hear me before so allow me to repeat it, Naruko is your sister and you will treat her with respect. I don't care what problems are between you three but they will be fixed soon enough. I expect you to treat her with respect as she along with her two other teammates will be joining us in training tomorrow. Do either of you have any more complaints?"

They both shook their heads, "No."

Her smile relaxed a bit as she calmed herself, "Good. Now, dinner will be ready in a little bit and your father will be home soon. Please, think about what I said."

She summoned a shadow clone to find Naruko and bring her back home.

However, when Minato came home, that was when her shadow clone triggered a trap near Naruko's home ending in an explosion, dispelling it, sending the information back to the original Kushina who shrieked as she stumbled, dropping the pot of ramen and collapsing as Minato caught her and moved away from the boiling hot ramen noodles and broth that spilled on the floor.

"Kushina!"

She shuddered as she clutched her left leg as if she was trying to push away her shadow clone's memory of getting it blown off.

"Kushina, hey, Kushina!"

Kushina slowly looked at the worried face of her husband as he carried her away from the kitchen as he had a shadow clone take care of the spilled food.

"What happened?" He pressed himself against her, trying to get her to focus on him.

It took a moment before Kushina could speak, "I was looking for Naruko."

"Shouldn't she be in her room?" He glanced at the entrance leading to the second floor.

She shook her head, "I checked, it's empty. It's cleared of everything. I checked all the spare rooms of the house, they are either locked for storage or empty and covered in dust. That room at the end of the hall is Naruko's and it's scrubbed clean."

Minato rubbed her back, "Okay, but let's think. Even if she moved out when could she have done that?"

Kushina made to think before hitting her, "When all the teams who passed the genin exam and were told to gather at Yakiniku Q, but she didn't show up. Satsuki said she had something to do. She must have done it then, but I don't know where she went."

Minato sighed, "You don't think-"

"No. No way, not after getting her headband, but it's well-known that when you are given your headband you are considered an adult. She probably packed everything and left but I don't know where."

He kissed her forehead, "Kushina, it will be fine. She's probably still in the village, but we will find her soon enough and she will be back. Remember, you are going to be training her team tomorrow. If not tonight, then you can see her tomorrow morning."

She sniffled, "Okay. But can you-"

"Of course, love. Go take the kids to Ichiraku, I'll join you soon enough. I'll have your wonderful cooking when you are in a better mood."

"Thank you."

She cleaned herself up and kissed his cheek as she took the kids to their favorite restaurant, although the mood was soured, Kushina hoped that soon enough, all three of her children would join her and her husband, like it should have been before.

Minato made his way out of the house after locking up and summoned three ANBU with a snap of his fingers.

"Tiger, Cat, Bear."

They instantly appeared and knelt before him, "Lord Hokage, what can we do for you?"

"Follow me."

He then vanished, with them trailing after him in mere seconds, before he stopped near the outskirts of the village.

"I need you three to find my daughter, she has not left the village, but she must have a house close in this area. Be very careful. All you have to do is find the house, if you cannot get closer then report back to me."

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

They then vanished as Minato continued his own search, he could feel it as he walked, forcing chakra into the ground as he walked through the brush.

'Seals. She imprinted seals into the ground,' A smile fell on his lips, he didn't need the Byakugan to see it. He could feel it well enough.

The sad frown replaced his proud smile, 'How much have I missed?'

Then his ANBU came to kneel before him, "Report?"

Cat kept her head lowered, "We have located your daughter's house, but it is surrounded by various traps embedded hidden underneath the ground, they cannot be removed and if one is triggered, the rest will be and alert the homeowner."

"It's fine. Thank you for your services, keep this a secret, Cat, Bear, Tiger."

"At your will, Lord Hokage."

"Dismissed."

Once they all left, he gave a sad look at the house, hidden by the thick greenery of the trees 'Another roadblock, you really are your mother's daughter. If you don't want to talk or be near someone you'll move mountains to make it happen. I'll make it up to you soon enough, Naruko, and I only hope you'll give your family one more chance.'

He then joined Kushina and the rest of his children in a somber mood.

---

[Konoha Hospital]

Obito was staring up at the ceiling bored out of his mind, only to get a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Fugaku with his wife, Mikoto along with all their three children came into the room, as they got all settled around his bed, Obito smiled.

"Hey, guys."

Mikoto smiled at him, "How are you feeling?"

He sat up in his bed, "I've been better. I felt like I got run over by ten wagons when I woke up."

Itachi leaned against the wall, taking in everything about Obito's prone form.

Satsuki sat at the edge of his bed, "What did she do to you?"

"Well-" He shuffled into a more comfortable position, "We were going at it, sparring and all, before she tossed her kunai in the air, I thought she would use a technique, but then she blitzed me. I swore I heard something like that of a clap before I went down. It's like being struck by lightning but worse, I could barely breathe when I woke up and I found myself on her lap. She was using a healing technique on me. She said it was an accident and looked real apologetic for doing so, probably got too into the moment. God knows I do the same."

"She knows healing techniques?" Fugaku stated with his arms crossed

"Yeah, she does and she knows it to such an extent that it would make battle medics jealous. When we were sparring, when she kicked me I grabbed her leg, she twisted her body entirely breaking and snapping the tendons, muscles, and bones in her leg to kick me away from her. She didn't even flinch resetting it. The same thing with her arm when I snapped her elbow backward, again she didn't flinch. I could only wonder what the hell she was doing in her spare time in the academy. She was completely calm and relaxed, she doesn't fight like a genin if anything she fights like a special jonin with lots of combat experience."

"You think so?" Itachi softly commented

"I can say for sure, she has combat experience and her hits are heavy," He undid his bandages showing the dark bruises, several of which still had some swelling.

Mikoto's eyes widened, "Wow."

"No wonder Iruka said no genin lasted against her, hell, I'm pretty sure she was holding back because she was just trying for the test. I have no idea about her genjutsu, ninjutsu, or anything else. I'm pretty sure she has a lot more in her pocket than just taijutsu and medical techniques. I can only imagine her going all out with everything at her disposal."

Satsuki snorted, "She's just a dead last, Obito."

He sighed, giving her a pitful glance, "Where the hell did you get that anyway?"

She stood up, looking at the ground, "Well, it's true isn't it?"

He shook his head, "No it's not. If anything she could have been kunoichi of the year, she just skipped classes. That supposed dead last managed to put up a fight, knock me unconscious, and get the bells for you and Yakumo to keep your headband, does that sound like a dead last to you?"

She huffed and turned away.

"Obito, if I spared against her, who do you think would win? Me or her?"

Without hesitation, Obito stated, "Naruko."

Satsuki snapped, "Obito!"

Sasuke gave a look that was a mix of betrayed and irritated.

Itachi only raised an eyebrow at the assured tone, Obito said it with.

A tired sigh escaped him, "I'm not saying this to hurt either of you. However, the fight against Naruko has taught me two things, one is that she is not to be estimated and two, she really doesn't like you two and the rest of the genin in her age group and I would really like to know why."

"What do you mean by that?" Mikoto asked

"It was strange because after I put Satsuki into the ground with the head hunter technique, I went to find Naruko only to find her in the midst of a nap before she woke up when I came towards her, I told her she was supposed to help her teammates, she snorted and stated, they would never accept my help even if I did offer it. Too many times I have tried only to be ignored at best or spat on or jeered at the worst, I have no reason to relive that. Along with her attitude on the rooftop, tells me her behavior isn't due to some childish squabble."

"How are you sure she isn't just holding a grudge?" Fugaku commented

"Because if it was just a grudge, I could fix it, however, there was loathing in her eyes. The type of loathing is reversed for enemies. That type of loathing Minato-sensei barely ever used that Iwa feared in their worst nightmares. No one has eyes like that without a damn good reason I don't know what happened in the Academy, if there is anything you two would like to say to me, now would be the time. Or I can search for the information myself when I get out of here."

Satsuki and Sasuke remained silent.

"Sasuke, Satsuki, " Itachi stated in a flat tone, which made them wince.

"I didn't do anything to her," Satsuki said, looking at anywhere but the eyes of her parents, Obito, and Itachi.

"I just want to beat her in a spar, is that too much to ask?"

Soon after that, the conversation ended, Itachi, Mikoto, and Fugaku said goodbye and they would visit him later while Sasuke and Satsuki left without saying goodbye, leaving them to be scolded by their mother, as Obito was left with his own thoughts. Before he knew it, he fell asleep, as his blonde-haired student drifted out of his mind as dreams swallowed up his consciousness.

---

[Morning]

Kushina had just placed the last plate on the table as she watched her family dig in, but as she fixed her plate, she glanced at an empty space on the table, where Naruko should have been. A sigh escaped her as she made to eat, something the rest of her family noticed.

Mito took a bite of her meal, the taste souring when she felt her mother's sadness pierce through her.

'That damn bitch ruining this family. She should have been grateful that mom and dad haven't kicked her out yet. I swear I'm gonna drag her back here by her hair, even if I have to break all the bones in her body to do it.'

Menma finished his meal, noting Kushina's sad gaze, and shook his head at Naruko, knowing it was time to put her in her place.

Minato just gave her a reassuring look that things would be alright, making her give half a smile in return.

Once everyone finished, she made to clean up to center herself as Minato hugged her, his silent, but warm presence calmed her raging torrent of emotions, something she needed. After she put everything in their proper place, he kissed her cheek and made his way to the office, she turned to Mito and Menma, "Wait by the door, please. I need to do one little thing."

They did as she asked as Kushina went upstairs, a clean bedroom that was nearly 1.5 times larger than her previous one was near Menma's bedroom and close to the rest of the family, she rested her forehead against it, "Soon, you will be closer to the rest of us, we will make it up to you and become a whole family once more."

---

[With Naruko]

"Achoo! Ah, fuck!" She wiped her nose before she scratched her head, 'Damn superstitions.'

She made to wash her hands before she wrapped her own breakfast and got dressed, putting on a pair of black shinobi pants with a matching sleeveless dark t-shirt under a fur-laced leather jacket that hung over her shoulders, she wrapped bandages from bicep to fingertips, wrapped her hair into its' usual braid. She walked into her closet and unsealed three wooden blocks that are all covered in a large number of seals connected by a rope made out of heartstrings covered in a sealant to prevent them from rotting but having the ability to be manipulated through the use of chakra. She forced chakra into the robe which merged the wood into the robe, changing it into a heavy whip. She wrapped it around her waist thrice, put on her shuriken and kunai pouches, then she wrapped the pie she made earlier before she left her house.

She yawned as she traveled via rooftop to the Academy, slipping in unnoticed as she made to drop this off at his office until she remembered that he always kept his office door locked when he wasn't using it. As she made her way towards his classroom, she heard his classic, "SHUT UP YOU BRATS!"

Her lips curled up and she knocked on his classroom door, which cut through the beginning of his lecture as he said, "Come in!"

The door opened as Naruko strolled past all the desks with students who either whispered about her or glared at her due to their parents being victims of her violence.

"Naruko?! What are you doing here, shouldn't you be at your training ground?"

"I should, but I wanted to drop off your gift as a thank you for the fruits you gave me last night."

"Ah, but you could have just left it in my office."

"You always keep your office locked, remember?"

He chuckled, "That's right I do."

She placed the pie on his desk and waved him goodbye, "Take care, Iruka, don't forget to stop by."

"I'll make sure to ring first."

"Please do. Take care, Iruka," She then flashed out in a flurry of multi-colored flower petals, much to the shock of his students who now couldn't stop talking.

A sigh escaped him, he allowed them a little moment to converse as he made to place his pie in his mini-fridge, and locked it tight in his office before he made to continue his lecture.

---

[Training Ground #25]

Kushina arrived with her children only to find Satsuki and Yakumo in the middle of their discussion that trailed off when they came on the scene.

"Good morning, you two."

"Good morning, Kushina-sensei."

"Where's Naruko?"

Yakumo said, "She's-"

"Right here," Naruko quipped, stepping into the scene with her hands stuffed in her pockets.

"Naruko-chan!" Kushina beamed, only to get a cold scowl in return.

Kushina then coughed into her fist, "Very well, now, since we are all together, we should get to know each other."

Yakumo raised her hand, "But sensei, don't we know each other already?"

"Well, not all of us know each other quite as well as the other and I would like to fix that."

Naruko gave her a cold look, 'Basically, you are using it as a front to know more about me.'

Satsuki glanced at Naruko before going back to Kushina, "So, what's first?"

She clapped, "The best way to know someone is through battle. We are going to spar, against each other and to see where you all I stand. I know where Mito and Menma stand, but I don't know about you three so we will start with a spar, 1-on-1."

"Who's going first?" Yakumo asked

Satsuki immediately stepped up, "I am and I'm challenging Naruko to a spar."

She scoffed, "If you want to get smacked around like your brother, so be it."

"I won't be as easy as him," She sneered

Naruto quipped, "But you'll be just as pathetic, with you on the ground, unconscious. Let's get this farce over with."

She grits her teeth, clenching her fists.

"Now, Naruko that's not a nice thing to say."

"Believe me when I say I could do a lot worse. Where?"

She frowned before she motioned her head and led them to a clearing on the training ground, with plenty of space to spar.

Naruko and Satsuki stood before each other with Kushina between them, "Remember the rules of a spar, no killing or crippling blows. Understood?"

"Yes."

"Fine."

"Ready? Go!"

Satsuki immediately went on the offense but Naruko avoided her strikes, she could note that she was quicker than Sasuke, but her attacks were at a snail's pace compared to her.

Left, then right, left again. Naruko made to avoid each punch before Satsuki made to unleash a front snap kick, only for Naruko to quickly sweep her planted leg off the ground, sending her tumbling down. She followed up with a strong right to her face, sending her into a daze before Naruko followed up with a kick to the face that sent her spinning away from her, unconscious with a bloody nose.

She crossed her arms under her chest, "Hmph."

Kushina's face twisted in a variety of emotions, "Naruko..."

"What is it?"

"How did you-" "Mom, we're finished over here!" Mito exclaimed

The older woman turned towards them, Yakumo had a bruise on her face, touching it with a wince.

"Ah, Mito."

She grinned before it fell off at the look of boredom look of Naruko, "Did you get your ass kicked?"

"Not even in your dreams."

Then Kushina's shadow clone dispersed as she recalled the memories of their spar, "Nice try, Yakumo but you need to work on how to hold your ground. Mito is a tough opponent but you and I will be visiting another jonin named Guy who is a taijutsu expert and we will go to Akichimi's restaurant to improve your diet, we need to bulk you up more."

She smiled at that before the fear set in over Ido making Kushina rest her hands on her shoulders, "Don't worry about Ido, even if the stress takes a toll on your body, we are going to build up strength both physically and mentally to the point that it won't matter. Then Ido won't be a problem either."

Yakumo nodded, "Of course. I'll do my best."

"I know you can. Mito, while you did great, you left yourself open. Do not rely on your healing factor to pull you through. Your spin kick was well executed, but you left your side open, what did I say before?"

"Defend your sides at all costs."

"Exactly, I lost many good kunoichi and shinobi through side shots, especially since they are so crippling."

"Sorry mom, I understand."

"Please call me, Kushina-sensei when we are together like this."

Mito nodded as Kushina made to wake up Satsuki who groaned, "Fuck."

When she stood up, Kushina smiled at her, "You put up a good fight, but lost to Naruko."

"You lost to the dead last?! That's hilarious."

"Mito, what did I say yesterday!"

She squeaked and put her head down, she looked at Naruko, "I'm so sorry for her behavior."

Naruko shook her head, "Don't bother, this has been going on for years with no consequence, it's not gonna change just because you scold her once, Lady Kushina."

She tried to wince at the empty tone Naruko spoke with as she sighed, "Well, I'll just have to work harder then."

Naruko huffed as she turned away from her as Kushina bandaged Satsuki's nose before leading her to the rest of the group, "Now, Satsuki, while your punches were good, you left yourself open. Do you know what you did wrong?"

She rubbed the bridge of her nose, "When I went for that front kick?"

"Yes, that front kick could have gotten you in a compromised position or led to you being crippled as Naruko could have grabbed it and pulled you down and crippled both your legs once you were on the ground. Or she could have forced your knee backward, rendering it useless to walk on."

"I understand, Kushina-sensei."

"Good, now, Naruko, I know you used the bare amount of movement, but you are really stiff. Why didn't you get into a stance?"

"Because the fight is not worth it."

"Do you think every one of us isn't worth getting into a stance?" Mito spat

"That and the fact that if I took Satsuki seriously and I hit her without restraining myself, I'd punch through her and I'd rather not have to explain why the Uchiha family is down a member."

Satsuki felt a tick bulge through her forehead, "And the kick?"

"To be thorough."

"And you think a kick to the head is necessary?" Yakumo commented softly

"Of course, any two-bit shinobi should be thorough when putting down an enemy, in spar they should be unconscious, against enemies, they should be dead. Or in rare circumstances crippled, then dead."

Kushina looked worried, "Where did you get these ideas?"

Naruko snorted, "Where do you think? The lovely, peaceful village of Konoha."

"I-"

"Don't bother, you didn't believe me before, I don't give a shit if you do now. It's far too late for that. If you want any information, search for it yourself. Now, are we done?"

Kushina took in a deep breath, "We still have some more to go through. Mito since you won against Yakumo, you will be sparring against Naruko."

Mito cracked her knuckles, "Prepare to eat dirt, Naru~!"

"Don't give me such a revolting nickname with that accursed voice of yours," Naruko spat

"Well, well, it seems your sister loathes you almost as much as I do. Such a shame I'm not with her instead of you and your shit of a brother."

'Shut up fox, I'll crush her.'

"Who are you fooling, yourself or me?"

Mito snarled as she pushed the fox's mocking taunts to the back of her mind as she made to stand before Naruko and got into a stance.

"Well, get into your stance!"

"Don't feel like it. Let's get this farce over with."

"Why, you-" Mito made to attack her, lashing out at her with a flurry of punches and kicks while Naruko avoided them before she caught her fist in her left hand, "Hmph. Are you done flailing around yet?"

"How did-" Naruko pulled her close and landed a harsh punch to her face, sending her back.

"Bitch!" She kept her guard up as Naruko pressed forward and flicked her forehead, forcing her into unconsciousness as she landed several feet away.

The last thing Mito felt was a blinding pain as she was sent into the dark world of unconsciousness.

Mito groaned as she found herself lying in the murky water of a familiar cell with a paper seal before it.

An amused chuckle filled the area, causing ripples in the water as Mito felt her eyes open, but the stinging pain from what Naruko did to her made her groan.

"Brought down by a finger flick of all things. Now that's fucking funny."

Mito groaned as she sat back up, rubbing her forehead with a wince, "Fucking hell."

"How does it feel to be brought down by the one person you thought of as a weakling?"

"It was a fluke!" She spat

"Sure it was, but you know that she wasn't even trying. I can feel it, even from here. Her disdain for you, her hatred of you..."

"She doesn't hate me. She's too weak to hate anyone."

"Weak? That's funny. You who has inherited a prized Uzumaki staple of emotional processing, yet you can't get a read on your own sister."

Mito had nothing to say as the Kyuubi continued to speak, "Is that why you've been pranking her non-stop? You wanted to know what she was really thinking but you could never get it. You just kept poking and poking and poking but it never worked."

"She never reacted, so what?"

"You know exactly what, you little shit. You couldn't get what you wanted, you wanted her to break to lash out to show you something because you couldn't read her. But, I know why you prod at her constantly along with your brat of a brother. It's a habit, it can't be broken so easily."

She whispered, "I just wanted a sister."

"No, you wanted a reactive punching bag. But she wouldn't give you that. Along those lines, you were afraid of when she would actually show her true emotions for you. When it would finally spill out, you wouldn't be able to stop it, all that rage, the hatred for you and the rest of your wretched family would spill out. I remember, too, your nightmares of her killing you and your brother over and over again."

"Stop it."

"Why should I? It's not so fun when you're on the other side is it?"

"Fuck off, I'll get stronger and I'll never have to worry about her ever again."

"At least try to be more convincing for yourself. Not that it matters...You'll get yours soon enough."

Mito collected herself and forced her way out of her mindscape, away from the Kyuubi's words as she snapped awake with a groan of pain.

"Fuck, my head."

Then she heard a scoff from off to her left, away from her, Naruko said, "Too fucking easy."

Menma cracked his knuckles with a grin, "Don't think just because you brought down Satsuki and Mito, I'll be easy."

"Of course, it would be."

"Excuse you?" He scowled

"You heard me, or do you need to clean out your ears?"

"I was going to go easy on you, but I think its' time to put you in your place."

"If you must, but you won't."

Kushina clapped her hands gathering their attention, "Before you start, Naruko, what did you do to Mito?"

"I simply flicked her forehead with a bit of my own strength, why?"

"Well, why didn't try to fight with her? Or at least punch her?"

"Because if I did, she wouldn't be laying on your lap recovering from her headache, she'd be rushed to the hospital. My taijutsu isn't for sparring, it's for maiming and killing and if I did punch her, it'd make her head explode."

Menma snorted before laughing, "Yeah right, you loser! Thinking you cause her head to explode."

Naruko wasn't smiling as she was dead serious, something that Satsuki and Kushina noticed.

"Ready...Go!"

Naruko didn't give Menma a chance, she used her forefinger this time and smashed him to the ground, knocking him unconscious.

"Fitting, you, unconscious on the ground."

Kushina was shocked as she had Satsuki and Yakumo watch over Mito as she made her way over, helping Menma over her shoulder as she stared at her wayward daughter.

"How did you-"

"Kick their asses? Simple, I trained until I bled, until my muscles tore and my bones broke."

"Why would you keep it a secret? Why didn't you tell us, or show us?"

"That, Lady Kushina would have only given me more pain and I have no desire for more pain outside of battle. I had more than my fair share of it from you and everyone else."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I think you know exactly what I mean. Remember, aren't I the troublemaker? The blight on your beloved family? Well, you now get your perfect family without me. I'm leaving first. There's nothing left to do and my patience has worn thin."

"Wait! Naruko-!"

Naruko vanished in a flash of flames as Kushina groaned before taking the two to the hospital to be checked out.

---

[With Naruko]

Appeared near the entrance of the Forest of Death and sighed in relief as she stretched, "Finally, away from them all."

She slipped inside and took off into a run as she passed through the various greenery the forest had to offer, skipping over roots, branches, or remains of a creature's meal. Soon enough, her shoes met with the crunching sound of rocks and dirt, making her way down the path before settling underneath the shade of a large tree.

After a moment, she pulled out a scroll to unseal a basket with a pair of gloves to protect her hands and materials to harvest supplies she double-checked that she had everything she needed before packing them neatly in her basket and went off to explore the forest.

Making her way towards, the more light-deprived areas of the forest, she quickly found what she was looking for, black fungus.

Said fungus grows in abundance from where blood pools and settles into the ground and bark of various trees where the sunlight doesn't reach.

After collecting all she could, into a jar, she sealed it and made her way to her next item, corpse mushrooms.

Corpse mushrooms are born from long-dead corpses, they are dark grey in color with black veins that shine red in the sunlight. She found at least twenty, fully grown from head to toe, as she pulled out another jar with a pair of pliers and a knife. She started to hum as she harvested all the fully grown mushrooms.

Once she finished, she packed up and cleaned off her supplies before sealing all her harvested mushrooms into the jar and placing them back in her basket.

Then she stood up, brushed herself off, and gave a short bow to the corpse before leaving the body to return to nature.

She made to move towards the damp section of the forest to find massive centipedes several of which were as two times the height of a regular adult.

Naruko refused to shudder, "Damn. No matter how many times I see them, it's still unnerving."

The centipede nearest to her let out a hiss, making her snort in turn, "Well, fuck you too."

She walked further into their territory, avoiding swipes and stepping over the various centipedes that seemed to grow the more in number the further she walked, she took note of all the various colors each centipede seemed to have, dark-brown, rusty-red, black, navy blue, and dark gray.

Mentally taking note of where they resided and their behavior, she moved forward until she found what she was looking for, the pure black centipedes.

When she stepped on their territory, they let out a violent hiss to deter her, but she simply smiled and lashed out with her right hand, sending out a blade of wind chakra towards one of the centipedes to behead it, causing the rest of its' body to collapse on the forest floor.

Several other centipedes made to attack her only for her to unleash killing intent, causing most of them to disperse as she made to kill two more with two air bullets and gathered their corpses before making her way out of that accursed section to find something else.

She followed the path of light peeking through to find an abundance of blue beetles that were the size of her palm. She made to gather as many as she could, their luminous bodies were perfect as they were versatile, and she could make at least six poisons with various components from their bodies alone. Their insides were a different matter altogether, she could use it for salves and her blood clotting powder.

After gathering as many as she could, she made her way out of the forest but found herself staring down a group of massive spiders that were a variety of dark colors. At the very least, there were twenty of them.

She pressed her hands together, gathering a collection of chakra, and fashioned a whole spool of chakra wire before wrapping them around each and every spider, capturing them before they could move, which then made them screech and thrash. She tightened her grip around them, forcing them in place before ripping off their limbs, rendering them all immobile as they screeched in agony.

A groan escaped her before she could hold it in as she made to quickly silence all of them before sealing them in a scroll. However, the screeching of the spiders attracted the attention of the Queen of them, as the massive roar echoed throughout the forest.

"Goddammit. Fuck it. Let's end this quickly."

She could feel the Queen rushing towards her location, tearing up everything in the spider's path to kill her as Naruko made to jump through the trees to lead the spider queen to the location she wanted. When the spider got her in their sights, it spat a thick dark navy blue poison that ate away at everything it touched.

'So that's the Queen spider's unique poison.'

She made to unseal a blade and raced back to the Queen as the massive insect roared in rage before it turned into a squeal of pain when she sliced through half of the Queen's face, destroying two of its eyes. The massive spider gave a growl at glared at her, only for Naruko to respond with a kick to its' head, disorienting it.

"The fuck are you glaring at, fugly?"

A hissing growl replied to her statement as the beast made to kill her with its front limbs, before it could attempt to spew out its' poison again, she jumped and landed a harsh blow laced with lightning chakra to its' face causing the giant spider to collapse and spasm before finally falling still.

She blew out a sigh of relief.

She summoned a shadow clone to get her bigger harvesting kit as she had a big haul with multiple containers.

Her clone nodded and made to do as she asked as she sealed her basket and cracked her knuckles, "At least I got a good haul, today."

---

[With Kushina]

She had finished training after making sure all her students were cleared at the hospital, Satsuki, Mito, and Menma were all okay, although Satsuki had to have her nose bandaged for the rest of the day due to Naruko busting it with her kick. Mito and Menma just got away with bruises which soon faded after they woke up.

Menma wanted nothing more than to stomp Naruko into the dirt, what she did enrage him to the point of madness with Mito was fairing no better. She barely held back the rage that wanted to appear on her face as she clenched her fists so tight it nearly broke the skin.

'That fucking bitch.'

Satsuki was on the same wavelength, wanting to repay Naruko a hundredfold, while Yakumo wanted to know what Naruko wasn't willing to show off.

'She's a lot stronger than she appears. She's unbeaten in taijutsu, that's a given, but it looks like she's not even trying. What did she even do in the Academy to get so strong to smack around, Mito, Menma, and Satsuki like a jounin against an academy student? Just what is she hiding?'

After they all went home, Kushina made her way to her husband's office, knocking twice.

"Come in."

Once she did, he smiled at her, "Kushina, how was training?"

She rubbed the back of her head, "It was a complete disaster. Naruko was completely cold, but that's not all, she's a lot stronger than shown. From reading the Academy reports, she's strong, but it's well beyond what the reports say. She didn't try to fight against Satsuki, Mito, and Menma. When asked why, she said, for fighting style is for killing and maiming. She just avoided their attacks like it was nothing before putting them down. After she finished with Menma she just left, despite me telling her to wait. I-I just don't know what to do, Minato. Did you manage to find out where she was staying?"

He gestured for her to come closer to him as he pulled her into a hug, something she needed as she nuzzled into his neck, taking in his scent and his warmth that soothed her racing heart and stormy emotions.

Minato curled a finger around a strand of her red hair, for a long moment before he said, "She's staying in a house on the outskirts of the village."

Before she could stand, he pulled her down into his lap, "I know you want to go there immediately, but you can't. It's outfitted with traps that are rigged to go off if anyone goes near it."

She suddenly recalled the memory of her shadow clone getting her leg blown off, which made her tear up before she took a deep breath, holding it back as she leaned against her husband, "I want her back, Minato. I want my baby back."

He turned her to face him, kissing her cheek, "We will get her back, love. We will. Besides, she gets her stubbornness from both of us, right?"

She sniffled, a small smile creeping up on her lips, "Yes."

He rubbed a thumb over her knuckles, "Then we will get her forgiveness, we will fix what we broke, doesn't matter how long it will take. We will be a whole family once more."

She gave him a big smile, something that made his heart flutter from the moment he saw it as an Academy student, "Right!"

After a moment of them cuddling, he pulled out a crystal ball.

"The third Hokage's crystal ball. Didn't he use it for peeping?"

Minato snorted, "You know, I always wondered if he did use it for that. I know he forbade Jiraya from ever using it."

"I can assume you don't use it for the same methods?"

He kissed her cheek, "Love, I have the most beautiful woman as my wife who carries my heart whether she's on a mission or at home. I gain nothing from peeping on other women. Besides, why would do that, when I get to see a glorious woman from sunrise to sunset in my own house?"

Her cheeks flushed, "Smooth talker, you."

"Oh that's right, your nightie came in," He quipped, handing her a brown package.

"How did you know it was a nightie?"

"The shop gave it away."

"Oh," She sealed it away for later as they looked at the crystal ball and found Naruko harvesting a massive spider with a neutral look on her face.

Minato found himself leaning closer to see his daughter working, 'Has she done that before?'

"A Queen spider?" Kushina whispered

"It looks like it, she even has a bag of supplies with her, is she harvesting the spider for something?"

"I really wish I knew, she's just full of surprises."

The pair just watched Naruko work in silence, finding a sliver of what Naruko did under their noses.

---

[The next day]

Naruko yawned as she woke up, rubbing her eyes as she got out of bed, she created a shadow clone who greeted her, "Hey Boss."

"Hey, can you run my bath and get breakfast ready? I'll set out my clothes and items for today."

"On it!"

As the clone went off to complete her orders, she made her way to her closet, she pulled out a pair of dark baggy leggings lined with pockets with a scarlet red t-shirt with fishnet underneath with a pair of kunoichi boots. She decided to grab her spaded tail whip to wear as a belt today and made to soak her crafted weapon in a bucket of liquified chakra to retain its' malleability.

Then she grabbed a towel and made her way to her bathroom to wash up and mentally steel herself for what the day will bring.

Soon enough, she had enough, dried herself off, and got dressed as she made to eat and organize her tools, pack them along with her scrolls before locking down her house, and made to walk to the training grounds.

However, once she made it a certain distance, she heard a puff of smoke. She immediately drew out a kunai only to find a small blue toad staring back at her.

She didn't lower her guard as she said, "Were you sent by Jiraiya or Minato?"

"That's not a way to speak about your father."

'He hasn't been a father to me for far too long to ever hear that title from me.'

"Regardless, what do you want? I'm sure he didn't send you to meet me here for no reason or does he require me to meet him in his office?"

"No, he wishes to inform you that you are to go to Training ground #7 as your team will be training under Kakashi and to have a good day."

"Tell him, his message has been received," She then disappeared into a pillar of flames.

The toad sighed, crossing their arms, 'He wasn't kidding when he said, Naruko was icy. I hope she warms up to her family soon.' He then poofed away himself.

[Training Ground #7]

Naruko arrived as the rest were waiting for Kakashi who would be late.

Sakura screamed at her, "You're late!"

"Fuck off, pinky," Naruko spat

She then walked up the nearest tree and settled among the branches to wait, however, Sakura would not let it go as she made to scold her, but to Naruko all her words mashed together into nothing more than a mindless annoying buzzing in her ear, like that of a miserable gnat.

After too long a moment, Naruko slowly turned her attention to the pink-haired genin and said, "Are you done?"

Sakura spluttered, "Wha-"

"I said are you fucking done? Your nagging is vile and annoying. I'm an inch away from getting up, breaking your arms and legs, and tossing you in the forest of death to watch you get eaten by wild beasts. I have no desire to listen to your so-called berating to make yourself look good for your miserable crush. If you keep pushing, I'll give you something to really scream about, now get the fuck away from me!"

Sakura immediately took her words to heart and hid beside Sasuke as Naruko closed her eyes.

'Fucking peace. Let it last.'

Sasuke couldn't help himself but be interested in the eldest Uzumaki-Namikaze, she wasn't like any other girl, he smacked Sakura's hand away from his arm as he kept his gaze on her. He knew she was strong, he wanted to see how strong she was and finally beat her and possibly court her, he tore his gaze from her to look at his sister, who was sulking across from him. Her eyes were mainly on Naruko, wanting nothing more than to peel her like an onion.

She rubbed the bridge of her nose, recalling the fight in detail, along with previous matches of her against her brother and how she always won, she never looked at anyone as if they were a threat or even a rival, just an annoyance she had to deal with.

'I will find out all your secrets, Naruko. You can count on that.'

Yakumo found herself trying to recall any moment with Naruko, but none ever came up, all she could remember was that she was a loner who was unbeaten in taijutsu.

'Maybe, I should try reaching out? But where to start?'

Sai just took note of everything to report back to Danzo, he was given specific orders to not upset Naruko but observe her and report back anything of interest.

Soon enough, Kakashi arrived hiding among the shadows reading his book, but immediately took in his surroundings as he served his own team, but quickly noticed Sakura kept to herself and was not chatting Sasuke's ear off. Sasuke had Naruko in his sights along with Sai. With Team 13, Satsuki was sulking while Yakumo was in deep thought, Naruko however was resting in the tree, her gaze lined up in his direction, her eyes half-lidded from boredom.

Kakashi decided that he made them wait long enough and made his appearance.

"Kakashi-sensei."

"You're late!" Sakura screamed as she stood only to fall on her face paralyzed from a senbon sticking out of her neck.

Naruko jumped out of the tree, stuffed her hands in her pockets, and made her way toward the group.

"Ah, the glorious art of senbons, just one little prick, and you're fucked. Tell me, pinky, how would you feel if I tossed you in the red light district at sunset?"

"Now, Naruko, that's no way to treat your teammate. Release her."

"Tch, fine."

She did exactly that and burned the senbon to ashes, "Her body is temporarily frozen and will be like that for the next ten minutes. Her voice will come back in an hour so peace will reign through this training ground until then."

He gave her a scolding tut, "That's a dangerous way to use senbon, Naruko. You can have easily killed her."

Naruko rolled her eyes in turn, "Believe me, Jounin Hakate, if I wanted to kill her, it wouldn't be painless nor quick."

Sakura despite being paralyzed wanted to wince, her tone was simple and neutral as if talking about sending her to the degenerates or killing her was as normal as the sun setting over the horizon.

"People have lost their headbands for such a statement."

"Does mean I can give you my headband and never have to see your miserable face again? Because I'd like that."

Kakashi gave her a cheerful look, "Sadly, I'm made of sterner stuff and because I'm such a good person, I will give you a warning..."

"And it's such a shame, Jounin Hakate."

"You could call me sensei and my first name, Naruko."

"I'm calling you by your appropriate title, you haven't taught me anything so sensei doesn't suit you nor am I close enough to you in any aspect to rever to you through your first name and I'd rather not call you such. Now, what are we going to do?"

Kakashi stared at Naruko for a long moment, 'You've completely closed yourself off. No matter for what reason, I will see to it that you are a kunoichi Minato will be proud of.'

He finally said, "Teamwork exercises."

Her face twisted into dismay for a split second, before it shifted into a firm scowl, "Fuck off."

Yakumo winced, "Naruko!"

"What? Am I supposed to be happy that I have to waste my time?"

"Well, teamwork exercises are kind of like training, it can help us grow closer and I want to get to know you better. I-"

Naruko sighed with a shake of her head, "I don't know nor do I care what kind of sick plan Mito or Menma put you up to, but I have no desire to know you at any level. There's nothing to know about me that will affect your training nor do I have any desire to bond with you, nor the rest of them."

"But, I just want to get to know you! I know we haven't gotten along in the Academy, but I'd like to start fresh and be your friend as we are teammates."

"Don't make me laugh. Take your offer of friendship and shove it, Kurama."

Yakumo stepped back into Satsuki, the cold look in Naruko's eyes and the venom dripping from her words made her want to curl into a ball.

"Naruko, you will apologize immediately!"

"Or what? Will you send me to run laps? Will you scold me as you do after every imprisonment over how not to pick fights and be more like Mito or Menma?"

"Regardless, what you said, was distasteful, if you will not apologize, then you will spend the day doing D-ranks and I will be informing your parents."

"Be my guest, better than staying with you louts all day."

She then vanished in a pillar of flames without being dismissed as Kakashi made to soothe his headache before making them run laps, once they were out of sight, he took a hint of his frustration out on the nearest training log, slicing it in half.

He then picked up Sakura and took her to the hospital before sending her to sprint with the rest of them.

[Hokage's Office]

Minato was working through his amounts of paperwork as Shizune was organizing and making small talk with him as she worked.

Soon enough, there were three knocks on the door.

Minato looked up from his paperwork, "Come in."

The door opened to reveal Naruko who gently closed the door behind her as she looked to see him surprised.

'Probably the only time I've been here out of my own accord that wasn't for a massive scolding.'

"Naruko, what are you doing here?"

"I came for twenty D-rank missions to do by myself."

"But, aren't you supposed to be learning under Kakashi today?"

"Let's start from the beginning, when I arrived, Haruno in an apparent show to impress Sasuke made to scold me, I told her to fuck off and made to wait in the tree for Kakashi, she continued to annoy me so I told her she would be fed to the beasts of the Forest of Death with broken limbs if she continued to test me. After cowering beside her crush, Jounin Hakate arrived, Sakura screamed, 'You're late!' to which I respond by paralyzing her with a senbon, preventing her from moving or speaking, after he scolded me for it, I removed it. He explained that we would be doing teamwork exercises. I told him to fuck off, Kurama decided to play we are teammates card, I told her to piss off, and Hakate scolded me once again. He explained that I have to apologize. I challenged him on that, he told me to do D-ranks to which then I left. He will probably come to you three hours after he finishes his supposed training or sooner depending on how he feels. So, about those D-ranks-"

Shizune interjected, "But, teamwork is required for all genin to learn."

"To which, I am fully aware."

"And you will not be participating?" Minato added

"Consider it a well-deserved punishment that will take up most of the day. I will also be skipping your wife's training tomorrow as well to focus on D-ranks and training."

Minato took in a deep breath, "Naruko, you can't keep doing this, from yesterday when you left Kushina without being dismissed and your attitude today. I am aware that we haven't been kind to you, but you have to meet us halfway here."

Naruko felt her blood boil, 'Now! You choose fucking now to meet me halfway! You son of a bitch!'

A harsh sigh escaped her, "Halfway, huh? You are aware now, huh? Tell me, Lord Hokage, after all these years of being ignorant towards my very presence outside of scolding me for crimes I didn't commit or defending myself. Now, after getting my headband, you finally recognize me as a person worthy of being met halfway?"

"Naruko-"

She shook her head, "No. You don't get to have it your way, I won't meet you halfway, I won't meet you at all. I've long given up meeting you halfway when you couldn't look at the facts. When you decided rumors and hearsay to be facts. I'm not your daughter, I'm a blight, a disappointment to your name, something you made clear years ago. When you gave heirship to Mito and Menma at 7, I could forgive that, but what I couldn't forgive was you banning me from every store in Konoha including the main hospital of Konoha."

Minato stood up in shock, "What?! I would never-"

Naruko took out the scroll with that specific announcement and placed a finger on his own signature in place.

"Don't you dare lie to my face! You don't get to act all indignant after you had this placed all over Konoha, every front window and door had this on them, most of them had both! Tsunade had one of her slugs deliver hers to me personally with her signature and had it stashed behind her front desk."

Minato felt like he was going to be sick, he wanted to do nothing more than kneel and plea for forgiveness as he softly said, "Naruko, please I-"

She shook her head, she refused to cry, not in front of him, not in this accursed place, "I don't care. It's all behind both of us, I'm taking my missions and I'll be training on my own until Obito-sensei is better. Just leave me alone. You have a wife and two children, not three. You've left me alone for years, what're decades more?"

Shizune tried to stop her, but Naruko ignored her gathered twenty D-rank scrolls, and left without a word.

The older woman didn't know Naruko personally, only through reputation and Tsunade's drunken rambling that was more of a blur than anything else, but this was a whole different thing than what she was used to. She looked down at Minato's desk and read the scroll that was given.

By the power invested in the Council and the Elders and approved by the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, Naruko Uzumaki-Namikaze is forbidden from entering civilian shops and restaurants along with shinobi shops under threat of punishment due to the continuous abuse of multiple Konoha residents unprovoked. Due to the abuse of multiple Konoha civilians, Naruko Uzumaki-Namikaze is forbidden from being admitted to Konoha Hospital due to being a waste of hospital resources.

Signed by All Civilian Council Members, Danzo Shimura, Homura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane, Minato Namikaze, & Tsunade Senju

Shizune felt sick as she didn't expect this, 'Tsunade-sama what did you do?'

Minato felt like he was going to puke, 'How am I going to explain this to Kushina! What the fuck have I missed over these past years. What have I done to my poor baby?!'

He scowled before he forced his emotions down as he said, "Shizune."

Shizune remained frozen her eyes glued to the scroll before her.

"Shizune!" He voiced louder, snapping her out of her shock.

"Yes! Yes, Lord Hokage!"

Minato took in a deep breath, "Listen to me. I need you to leave for an hour, please. I need to be alone right now."

She stiffly bowed and left through the door as Minato took in several deep breaths to calm himself and get his head on straight before he took a pen and a spare paper and wrote in before gesturing towards one of his ANBU who immediately came forward as Minato handed him the folded paper and said, "Bring this to Itachi and have him watch over who I had noted, understand?"

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

The ANBU then vanished as Minato made to bask in silence and his own dismay over what happened due to his negligence.

---

[Uchiha Training Grounds]

Itachi was practicing his kunai throwing, hitting each target, dead center. As he made to collect them, a Bear-masked ANBU came forward, making him stop and turn to them.

"Yes?"

They lifted up a folded piece of paper, pressing it into his hand, "From Lord Hokage."

"At his will."

"Of course."

Then the ANBU returned to his previous position in the Hokage's office as Itachi unfolded the paper.

Itachi, this is both an order and personal request from me, I need to watch over my eldest daughter, Naruko for the rest of the day and report back once she completes her tasks for today. Once she finished her tasks, tell her to appear in the Council room in the Hokage Tower at 9 o'clock sharp.

Itachi whispered, "It will be done, Lord Hokage."

He then burnt the note to ashes and left to fulfill Minato's order/request as he made to get changed.

Mikoto greeted him, "Back from training already?"

"I had to cut training short, the Hokage requested something of me and I have to change."

"Oh, of course."

Within thirty seconds, he was already in a different outfit and Mikoto waved him goodbye, "Be safe."

He smiled and waved back before heading into town to find the elusive Uzumaki-Namikaze.

As he traveled via rooftops, he saw various teams in motion, Team 7 was doing their training on their training ground, Team 8 was walking the Inuzuka dogs, Team 10 was pulling out weeds, while Team 9 was going through Guy's usual round of training.

But, still no sign of Naruko.

He frowned and made to expand his search to the outskirts of Konoha to where he found what he was looking for. Naruko was doing her D-ranks as expected, but when he came upon her, she stopped walking and tilted her head in his direction for a moment too long, telling him that she knew he was there.

'Is she a sensor?'

She then continued to move throughout her day, she cleaned garbage with a low-level wind jutsu, crushed it into a dense ball, and packaged them in garbage bags before tossing them into the dumpster.

Then after pulling out a list, she ran a line through one of the D-ranks listed before she jumped to the next D-rank, which was digging ditches for irrigation for a new series of crops, it was menial labor, long, tedious, and was usually a team effort as it promoted hard work and increased arm strength and endurance.

But, instead of getting the materials from the shed, she walked until she reached the middle of the field and planted her heels into the ground, pressed her hands together as she gathered chakra before she slowly stretched out her hands, focusing under Itachi's watchful eye.

Itachi found himself a bit lost over what he saw her doing before he activated his dojutsu and saw she was manipulating her chakra, gathering it to surround her before she placed her hands on the soil forcing it into the Earth as it was covering the entire length of the field then, making a perfect layout of irrigation system for water to reach all the plants.

He continued to watch as she repeated this for the next five fields before she did something he hasn't seen before, she gathered her chakra back, as if she was ripping a fresh blanket off a dying line. She cracked her neck, stretched out her back, and made to move on to the next D-rank.

Itachi shut off his dojustu and made to follow after her, as she continued to work her way through all her D-ranks, many of which required a full team or at most two teams. But Naruko did them with ease, especially since they were on the outskirts of Konoha. He watched her converse and work with associates outside of Konoha's populace.

Her voice wasn't harsh or cold from what he had been told by either Satsuki or Sasuke, it was soft and neutral yet it had a firm edge to her words that grabbed your attention.

He shook his head, 'I'm not surprised why you fell for her little brother, even if you won't admit it, but what makes her hate you so much is the real question.'

Soon enough, she finished all her D-ranks, dusted herself off, and made to get her pay stub for her work.

A yawn escaped her as she made to walk staying out of sight, but what made Itachi frown was that she took a long way back, instead of cutting through the main roads of Konoha.

'Why is she such a long way back?'

That was quickly answered when he noted the glares the populace gave her, some of which had weapons before she growled once, crippling their bravado and forcing them to retreat into the shadows.

"Worthless maggots," She muttered

However, one stepped out of the shadows. An older adult with a beer gut stood with only one eye, one ear was torn off with a mutilated face, and he was carrying a blunt weapon with rusty nails sticking out of it.

Naruko just glanced at him from the side, not really paying him her full attention, "Ah, you're still alive? Shame."

"Tell me, you little slut, how does it feel to starve?" He snarked with a vile leer.

"It's a horrible feeling, but not as much of a pain as it to see that ugly mug of yours. Did your marriage last?"

His face twisted in rage as she tutted, "I guess not."

"I'll ruin you just like you ruined me."

"Why? Mad that you look just as ugly on the outside as you do on the inside? Well, not that you were much of a looker at the start, tho."

"At least, you'll always be hated, the poisonous blight of our precious Hokage. He will soon see reason and kick you out -"

Naruko had enough and punched his lights out, sending him flying into a group of trash cans, causing a symphony of ear-ringing. She made a show of taking out a black handkerchief and wiped her right hand, "Revolting."

She then folded the cloth and put it back in her pocket as she continued on her way, Itachi was silent as he made to observe, before leaving a shadow clone to observe the scene of what he had just witnessed. As the rest of the populace took him inside and he saw that she caved his face in, he was unconscious, but it was such a unique way of how he ended up.

'Did she have to deal with this type of behavior continuously? Is it so common and prevalent that she has to take the backroads?'

Naruko was then confronted by Danzo's ROOT ninja but before Itachi could move to interfere Naruko made short work of him, stabbing him through his head with significant ease. Something that made his eyes widen.

Naruko ripped her arm out of the ROOT ninja's head and flicked off most of the blood and brain matter as she glanced down at the now cooling corpse.

"Danzo, you would think after all your dead soldiers you'd give up already?"

Naruko then set him alight until there was nothing but ashes before she continued to move until she moved to the rooftops.

'Okay, Obito, I can see why you immediately said Naruko would win. She has no hesitation to kill along with the strength to shoulder it. No wonder Iruka wanted to give her a solo genin rank, chakra manipulation, endurance, and the ability to kill without blinking. What else can you do?'

Soon enough, she stopped and said, "If you are another one of Danzo's miserable ROOT ninjas, I'm going to skin you alive, lay your flesh on his office door and feed your still alive remains to the beasts in the Forest of Death until nothing remains of you on the Earth."

Itachi stepped out into the open with his hands raised in a surrender motion, "I'm not here to fight you."

He tried not to show any measure of discomfort, he knew from her tone that she was fully willing to go through it, 'She's just like her mother and has the firm commanding tone of her father, what a horrible threat.'

Naruko stared at him for a moment before she slightly relaxed her stance, but she was still guarded.

"Why is the eldest son of the Uchiha clan head here? Or were you sent by your Hokage?"

He lowered his hands to his side as he questioned, "Don't you mean your father?"

"He hasn't been one to me for years, regardless, it doesn't matter. I'm only going to get my payment and go home. I can assume whatever observation you have done on me is finished?"

She made to walk only to find him still following her, "Why are you following me, Uchiha-san?"

"First, your father wanted me to tell you that you are to report to the council room for a meeting about your behavior as of late at 9 AM sharp."

"Understood, but I can see there's another reason?"

"Curiosity, why do you despise my siblings so much?"

"Curiosity for yourself or your Hokage?"

"Both, but as an older sibling, I would like to know."

"There's nothing to know, I loathe them both simply because I do. I have no desire to befriend either of them. Your brother wants nothing more than a measuring stick he can use to finally measure up to you. However, you can't measure millimeters with a meterstick. No matter how much he trains, he won't measure up to me and I have no desire to baby him either. Your sister made her choice of being Mito's subordinate and I have no desire to associate with either of them. I already know of Sasuke's interest in me, but tell him I'd rather drown in toxic sludge than give him an opportunity for that, first impressions are a wonderful thing you know?"

"First impression..."

"Yes. Tell him to recall the beginning of the Academy and say, why the hell would I want to befriend a loser like you? Better yet, if you get down on your hands and knees and lick my shoes, I may consider letting you be my punching bag."

She then vanished as Itachi shook his head.

'Damn it, Sasuke. Of all people to say that crap too, you say it to the daughter of an Uzumaki, one of the worst grudge holders among all the clans in the Nations? No wonder she wants nothing to do with you.'

He made his way to Hokage Tower to report his findings, shedding some light on the mysterious eldest child of the Uzumaki-Namikaze family.

[Minato's Office]

He trying to keep his mind from wandering back to the scene of Naruko repeating without reprieve. It hurt him deeply, but he knew it didn't compare to what Naruko had to experience, he just didn't know how much, even if had an inkling.

He knew demanding her to explain everything would destroy any chance of salvaging any hint of a relationship he could muster from her. The fact she hadn't fled the village meant something, but it sure as hell didn't mean she wanted to connect with her family. Her moving out immediately after passing the genin exam spoke volumes about that.

Soon enough there was a knock on the door, he stated, "Who is it?"

"Itachi Uchiha, Lord Hokage, is it a bad time?"

"Come in, please."

He did as he ordered and Minato dismissed all the ANBU in the room, before he glanced up, to which Itachi quickly snatched the offending ROOT ninja and snapped their neck before he had one of his chunin take him to the T&I building.

After that, Minato sealed the room and gestured for Itachi to take a seat.

Once he did, he asked, "So, how was it?"

He took a deep breath and said, "I first saw her performing her D-ranks on the outskirts of Konoha and beyond."

'Is she more comfortable on the outskirts?'

Itachi continued, "I saw her going through the motions, but what was interesting was how she does them. When she was collecting garbage, she used a lower wind jutsu to collect and crush the debris before throwing it away. Another one was her digging the irrigation system for six fields using nothing but chakra manipulation. Usually, genin use shovels and have the jounin keep them on the task due to it being tedious but she just planted her hands on the ground and manipulated the Earth and created the ditches from that. Her other D-ranks were hard labor that usually required two teams. But she did them all without complaint, she didn't even look that tired at the end of it as if she had been doing it for years."

'Well, that gives substance to her having over a thousand D-ranks.'

"Continue."

"Here's where I got confused, as I was following her, she did not take the main roads, she used the back roads and took a longer way back. I questioned why until I saw the civilians glaring at her, several of them had weapons."

He trailed off when he felt Minato's killing intent seeping out of him with a frozen look of neutrality, Itachi couldn't help but draw comparisons to Naruko and waited until Minato collected himself before he continued.

"Naruko wasn't hurt or even bothered by the fact they had weapons, she was very aware of them but before they could do anything, she growled, like that of a beast, it made all but one of them retreat into the shadows."

"And who is that one?"

"He is a civilian around the age of 48 - 52, balding, a beer gut, with a soiled and ripped kimono, his face was mutilated, he's missing one eye and had one ear torn off. He was carrying a weapon and apparently knows your daughter, but their relationship is an antagonistic one. They exchanged words, but what caught my attention was when he said, How does it feel to starve?"

Minato felt a stone settle at the bottom of his stomach, Obito's observation about her attitude and her eating enough to out feast an Akimichi.

"What happened next?"

"He told her soon the Hokage would soon kick her out of Konoha and that a blight like her would finally be, I would assume he would have said, removed but she punched him into a gathering of trash cans, cleaned her hands, and walked away. From the shadow clone I left behind to observe the scene, his face was caved in like that of a sinkhole."

A smile settled on Minato's face at that, 'That's the same thing Kushina did when an arrogant ass called her a slutty foreigner on our first date. After breaking his legs.'

"Then there is another confrontation, but much to my dismay, Lord Hokage, it seems that Danzo has set his sights on Naruko."

Killing intent filled the room for a moment before he put a lid on it.

After a long moment, "My apologies, Danzo truly gets under my skin."

"It's understandable, Lord Hokage. After she dealt with the man, she continued to walk before she took out to the ROOT ninja who made to confront her, as she thrust her hand through his head with ease."

"She killed him?"

"Without blinking. She just removed her arm, flicked her arm clean, and continued on after burning the corpse. Before I continue, sir, are you aware that Naruko is a sensor?"

"No, I was not aware. Did she spot you?"

"She didn't spot me per se but rather gestured her head in my direction."

"I see, anything else to add?"

"Before she left, she called out to me with an interesting threat."

"A threat?"

"Yes, she threatened if I was one of Danzo's men she would skin me, lay my flesh on his office door, and feed me to the beasts in the Forest of Death until nothing remained of me on this Earth. I decided it was best to show I was not hostile to her as she looked to make good on her words."

A chibi of Minato was cooing, "That's just like my Kushina!"

He crushed the chibi and said, "I see, the more I learn of her, the more she's like Kushina only with my temperament. What did you say to her?"

"First, I told her about the meeting about her behavior, although she referred to you as the Hokage instead of by father or dad which was strange."

Minato felt like he got sucker-punched when he heard that and gestured for him to continue.

"After that, I have to admit, I grew curious over the hours of watching her today and I asked, why does she hate both Sasuke and Satsuki. She explained in more icy terms that Sasuke would use her as a measuring stick to level up to me and that Satsuki is Mito's subordinate. Along with something that may have shed some light on her behavior."

"Which would be?"

"She said, first impressions are a wonderful thing and to tell Sasuke to remember the beginning of the Academy and say, why the hell would I want to befriend a loser like you? Better yet, if you get down on your hands and knees and lick my shoes, I may consider letting you be my punching bag. I know it may mean very little but I sincerely apologize for the actions of my little brother."

Minato was silent for a long moment, "Thank you, Itachi. You may go."

He deeply bowed and made his leave through the door, leaving Minato alone with his thoughts.

Itachi made to return home with new insight, 'If what Naruko told me about Sasuke is true and how did the rest of them treat her. If it's the same, then no wonder she's so cold, it's not out of maliciousness, it's out of self-preservation.'

[With Naruko]

She appeared at the front doors of the Hokage Tower and entered as she made her way to the payment desk and gave them the completed scrolls she took with them being signed.

The civilian woman quickly gave her the payment required as the last time she tried to shaft Naruko ended up with her needing a new change of pants and reoccurring nightmares for the next five months.

After making sure she got everything that was deserved of her, she left without a word, passing by Team 8 and Team 10 as she made to do some late afternoon training in her backyard.

She summoned 400 shadow clones, she had one hundred perform chakra exercises from leaf sticking to pure chakra manipulation, one hundred practiced different nin-taijutsu katas, and the last two hundred were made to practice elemental manipulation. While she herself made to do some light training with 100 push-ups, sit-ups, crunches, and jumping jacks and made to do ten laps around the village before returning to mediation, focusing on her breathing. However, once it struck 10:00, she started to dispel each shadow clone in intervals of ten each. She was finished by around 11 o'clock.

Then Naruko got out of her meditative position, cracked her back, and went inside her house to show, eat something light and turn in for a good night's sleep.

[Elsewhere]

"Are you all ready?"

A series of loud cheers and exclamations rang out, much to the leader's grinning, "Good. Let's get our greatest mark and paycheck. That arrogant little bitch. Naruko Uzumaki-Namikaze."

---

I think I'll leave it here! Ending the chapter! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I'm happy you all are enjoying the previous two chapters. I'm so sorry for the long wait, I've been studying for the MCAT since September, then I felt I couldn't handle it for March was when I was supposed to take it and pushed it back to August. So I'm gonna be offline. I created this before I got stuck doing notes and homework and I couldn't just leave it so I decided fuck it, I'm gonna release it today. Just to show that I'm still alive over here. Hope you all are doing okay, in spite of the way the world is turning to shit, seriously first a pandemic now a war. If zombies are next, I'm gonna kick someone's teeth in.

I'm planning on making a tier list, instead of the usual genin to Kage-level, which will be usual for cannon settings, I want a bunch of monster-level characters for a certain something in the future of this story. Tell me in the reviews if you have any other tier titles and where they would fit.

Tornado (weakest)

Tsunami

Hurricane (mid)

Earthquake

Earth-shaker

Dimension-Splitters (strongest)

These are just placeholders of the tier list, but I plan on keeping Dimension-Splitters as the highest for a reason, you'll see a reason for that later on.

Thank you for the reviews!

Guest#1 - Hey, sorry for the long wait for an update, I've been really busy, but I'm glad you enjoyed my story so far and I hope you will enjoy this one. Well, Kurama is sulking over not having the better sibling.

zero fullbuster - Thank you for the compliment, and I'm working on it, I have several others in need of a good update first.

Librarian111900 - I have plans for her in the future, but I can't honor having Gaara as her love interest, friends, siblings even but not lovers. I have someone else in mind as her lover though.

aelaryn - I'm glad I got you hooked on this story, I can only hope you continued to read until the end.

Natzo - I'm aware of it, Natzo. The world is massive, Naruto along with several big action animes spent a lot more time on character battles than world-building. But, I'm grateful. Naruko took down the bandit syndicate on her own at 10, destroying it and disrupting their trading, which is basically an A-rank mission on its own, it was upgraded to an SS-rank mission due to her saving the Daiymo's nephew, a high priority target worth a lot of money if he fell into the wrong hands. The Daiymo kept a secret to protect his family and Naruko because you need to remember about Danzo who wants Minato's spot. If he found out when she was younger it would blow the horn on her keeping her strength and training a secret to protect herself and interference from multiple third parties - AKA Kumo & Iwa. Along with the fact, now that she's a registered genin, which translates to adult in their line of work, she can protect herself without repercussions. Along with any enemies of both Kushina and Minato who have their eye on their children. If the fact that the eldest saved the Daiymo's nephew, that would open a whole new can of worms. The Daiymo trumps the Hokage, remember, that. The Daiymo controls the land while the Kage controls the village. The landowner wins every time. I hope you can understand.

Perseus12 - Oh, you have no idea. That part is gonna be fun to write, it makes me wonder how you will react to the next chapter.

ParadoxTheory374 - They will show their true colors later on, but Naruko not even trying in putting them down, lands a harsh blow on their pride along with Satsuki. I never liked it when protagonists give away info about their skills when they are demanded. Believe me, when I say any pairing, it won't be from Konoha, he will be someone that can stand by Naruko on the battlefield and intellectually. Naruko's ideal partner is someone that has to stand by her on even ground, no one in Konoha in her age range has that ability. And well, wait for the story, no spoilers for you yet. I'm just gonna say she's gonna have fun when I write certain scenes and leave it at that.

Phoenix Warehouse Productions - I'm glad you enjoyed my fanfics and the Daiymo shows up due to him being grateful to her for saving his nephew. You'll see him soon enough. Konoha ain't ready to see Naruko go apeshit, especially if she ever snapped, something Iruka will warn them about. Whether they take it, is on them.

darkangelflame - They'll get their licks soon enough.

Reedz22 - I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Red Mage of Balance - Maybe, who knows...

raw666 - It's true neglected stories go either the MC leaving or staying with something to tie them down, but this story is different. As I said, Naruko was hiding her strength and like your mentioned, Konoha had no problem getting rid of potential problems. However, I plan on having her leave, just not in the way you would expect, as you see spoiling it for you doesn't benefit me. You'll see it make sense throughout upcoming chapters. After all, the Daiymo plans to reward all her hard work, the main staple of reward in a ninja's line of work is promotion and protection along with reputation. Take care.

917brat - I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter and I hope you will enjoy this chapter, Minato and Kushina will gain more insight into their eldest daughter in this chapter and the next. They are starting to become less tone-deaf in how they speak to her, but Naruko thinks they are too late for it to have any actual effect from them trying to reprimand them.

Skull Flame - Oh yes, she did. Naruko has a bunch of fighting styles she learned and created from studying history, battle tactics, and war guidelines from the previous three wars and supplemented them into her fighting. Due to her unpredictability, which Naruto/Naruko is known for, I wanted to give her lots of variety in how she fights instead of just one or two fighting styles. Her appetite comes in handy, she makes fair use of the energy it brings, and she despises feeling hungry as it was the closest she had ever been to killing herself, or rather her first and last attempt at killing herself. You'll see more on that later. Whether or not they believe, has yet to be seen, Naruko will not give two shits, as long as they leave her be, she couldn't care less. Believe me, Naruko ain't happy about training under either and will make it known. Her smacking around Mito, Menma, and Satsuki like newborns is something that will burn them greatly. Not to mention, Naruko's disdain for Kakashi is something Iruka will highlight. I'm glad you like it so far, I hope that will stay until the end.

SephirothTrueHeartlessAngel - You will see the rest soon enough.

Blacklace12 - I'm glad you enjoyed the story.

Nomadic Chaos - Now, now, Chaos, that would be too easy and it's been done before. Why do that, when surprising you is so much better? Regardless, I plan on having her be rewarded for what she's doing in this chapter and the next chapter. Stories are written for entertainment and that's simply what I am here for to entertain you. Why should I give you such an obvious answer when reading it for yourself is much better.

Crio Yaroi - Believe me, Naruko isn't the forgiving type, first impressions are an important thing for her, Sasuke being a prime example after he attempted to humiliate her after she wanted to be friends with him at the start of the Academy. Iruka will underline this along with her little meeting with Itachi. Naruko doesn't isolate herself and is absolutely cold towards her peers for no reason. Mito confused Naruko's silence and apathy for fear that will bite her badly. Neither her, her brother, and especially the rookies know how deep Naruko loathes them. Well, what do you expect, it's Konoha, right?

GhostWarriror1289 - Cruelty is my specialty and I'm pleased. I hope you will enjoy this chapter and the future ones coming soon enough.

Shadow Walker of Fire - I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Guest - I will!

Guest - Her main elements are fire, lightning, and water, but she has lower affinities for wind and earth.

jaune rose arc - I fully plan on doing so.

kmf1234 - I plan on doing so, sorry for the long wait!

Guest - Soon enough she will be, after all, Naruko left no witness other than corpses and the dead can't speak.

New Elements92 - Which I plan on doing, don't worry.

jack3160 - I hope you enjoy this update, I just can't wait for the next update.

~Kourtney Uzu Yato!