Chapter 3 – Itsuwari no Shi

Kushina was enraged. She was on another S ranked mission with some Uchiha teammate and Kakashi. They were on the border of the land of Fire completing yet another mission that deliberately dragged her away from Konoha. She knew that her son's birthday was in two days, and she wanted to hurry up and complete this stupid mission so that she could make it back and protect her son. They were approaching the target destination when they were surrounded by twenty ninjas in black cloaks and blank white masks. Kushina locked eyes with Kakashi and both of them didn't wait for further introductions, they simply attacked the numerically superior force.

Ida Uchiha was assigned to this group to observe and confirm the death of Kushina Uzumaki. Fugaku said that Kakashi would need to live to make the story believable and this would be a test of his loyalty. He simply engaged in a mock fight with the masked shinobi and observed. Unfortunately, Kushina was a force of nature. In the first five minutes of the fight, she killed ten Root shinobi. Kakashi had killed four, so there were five Root shinobi engaging them and the one that was tying up Ida.

Kushina was covered in blood with only a minor slash on her left shoulder blade to show for it. She finished off her three remaining opponents and watched as Kakashi severed the head of his final opponent. The two then turned to watch the fight between Ida and the Root shinobi that had lasted the whole time. With the briefest of eye contact, the two blurred off and knocked out Ida and the remaining Root.

"Kakashi, this is undeniably Danzo and Fugaku. You know that I was not supposed to survive this mission. I am going to alter their memories and you will initiate 'Itsuwari no Shi'. I will go to Tanzaku Guy to meet up with Tsunade, bring him there."

Kakashi nodded and his visible eye that seemed to hold the grief of a thousand losses. "I will see it done, Kushina-Sama. Know that I love you and I will always be loyal to you. You are the mother I never had, and I am going to miss you." Tears started falling freely from his eyes and stained his mask with their sorrowful moisture.

Kushina pulled Kakashi into a motherly embrace and whispered, "Kakashi, find yourself a good girl. Do that for your Ka-Chan. I will stay in touch once we get settled."

Kushina broke the hug and pulled the sealing scroll off of her back and went to work. Memory modification seals were horribly painful things and they required absolute perfection when crafting the seals. Kushina worked with the grace of a fuinjutsu master as she created three seals. When she completed and double checked her work, she used a kunai to cut the seals out of her scroll. She then proceeded to cut Ida a couple times and stabbed his right Sharingan eye. She did worse to the Root ninja but left him alive and crippled. She then applied the memory modification seals to the unconscious ninjas before she turned to Kakashi.

"Okay, Kakashi, once Anko has delivered Naruto to Tanzaku Guy, you will need to apply this seal to the base of your neck. Once you receive my next letter, it will contain a counter seal to undo the effects. I do this because I have no doubt that a Yamanaka will perform a memory dive on you to confirm my death since there will be no body." Kakashi nodded sadly at the thought. "I love you, Kakashi-Chan. I am so happy that Minato was able to adopt you into our family, even if the damned council won't acknowledge it."

Kakashi was a sobbing mess, and he buried his head into Kushina's shoulder. He had lost everyone he ever loved: Minato, Rin, Obito (even though he turned traitor), and now Kushina. "I … I don't know … I don't know if I can hold on without you, Ka-Chan…" Tears flowed freely as the bloody Kushina embraced the twenty year old Kakashi.

Kushina rubbed his back and cooed at him like his real mother. "You are strong, Kakashi-Chan. I believe in you. When Naruto is old enough, we will exact our revenge on that cursed village and I will come for you."

Kakashi let out every tear that his ducts could manufacture before breaking the embrace. He nodded to Kushina and took the stasis scroll that Ida was sealed in. Sadly, the scroll was saving this cursed man's life, but it was needed to sell the story. Kushina departed for Tanzaku Guy to meet up with Tsunade and update her on the whole situation. Kakashi pocketed the scroll and kicked the incapacitated Root ninja for good measure before leaving the clearing. Kakashi raced back to Konoha to complete his part of the mission.

The night of the Kyuubi festival, Kakashi made it back to Konoha and snuck in via an old ANBU route. He went to Anko's house to initiate project 'Itsuwari no Shi' and she was more than happy that the time had finally come. Life for Anko had been miserable in Konoha. After her return as a ten-year-old from Orochimaru's lab, she had been treated as a 'persona non grada' in the hidden leaf village. Her only saving grace was being put on Kushina's team before the Kyuubi attack. Those two years were the best years of her life. A now 15-year-old Anko hopped up and adorned her sneakiest outfit, a far departure from her trench coat and fishnet armor.

Kakashi blurred off to find Naruto while Anko went to the Uzumaki compound to gather up the extraction scrolls that Kushina provided. Anko ran into Chiha when she showed up at the compound. She threw a senbon laced with a slow acting neuro toxin into the pathetic woman's neck. She wished she could stay and play with her, but more important things needed to get done. Anko knew that her former village would declare her a missing ninja after today, but she could give a fuck less. She simply said goodbye to her sensei's house and blurred off in a streak of black to join Kakashi.

Kakashi used Pakun to find Naruto and when he did, he was enraged. A mob had chased the boy out on a training ground and was in the process of pinning him down. A moment later, Anko linked up with Kakashi and a furious visage appeared on her face. After a moment to settle down, a wicked grin adorned her face as she made eye contact with Kakashi. Kakashi and Anko blurred to first incapacitate the watchers before they dealt with the mob.

Two Uchiha jonins were watching the event with disinterested looks on their faces. Their only role was to ensure the kid didn't die. That is why they were surprised when they were knocked unconscious by a poisoned senbon to their necks. If they did not receive treatment in the next hour, they would most likely die. Spoiler, they would not receive treatment in time since Anko always did love her custom poisons.

After the watchers were incapacitated, Anko proceeded to slaughter the onlookers. Naruto watched on in a mix of horror and fascination as his honorary sister saved him from the mob. Kakashi took two civilians aside and put them under a powerful genjutsu. Kakashi made them believe that they actually killed Naruto and then Anko flew into a rage and killed everyone. Anko was taking her time with two chunin ninja that had joined the chase until Kakashi completed his memory modification. After Kakashi completed the genjutsu, he said his goodbyes to his little brother and Anko with tears falling from his lone visible eye.

Anko scooped up Naruto and began stripping the child of his trademark orange jacket. She gave Kakashi the bloodied clothes and wrapped Naruto in a blanket that Kushina provided. The blanket eliminated all scents so that the only scent that could be tracked would be Anko's. That would be if Anko wasn't wearing an outfit that bore the same seals that her sensei crafted for this specific mission. Kushina-Sensei really was a genius when it came to the sealing arts.

Kakashi pulled out a scroll that was prepared for this occasion. Kushina used an Uzumaki ritual to create a blood clone of Naruto. Kakashi put a stabilizing seal on the blood clones body before he killed the Naruto clone and proceeded to make it look like the work of the mob. This was the most difficult and emotionally torturous task that Kakashi ever willingly completed. He kept the thought of his adoptive mother and the safety of his little brother on the forefront of his mind to get through the bloody task. Kakashi took the body and dumped it into the lake that occupied the southern edge of this training ground. Once his job was completed, Kakashi snuck out of the village so that he could seal his memories and report in the next day.

-Flashback, Four Months Ago in the Uzumaki Compound-

Kushina had called a meeting of her students to discuss her plans for the future. She never thought that she would willingly leave Konoha, but things had gotten that bad. It simultaneously broke her heart and filled her with rage when she thought about her husband sacrificing himself to save this accursed village. She would miss her friends, but for the Uzumaki woman it was simple. Family before all.

Her students showed up in the dead of night to meet with their sensei. They had struggled to organize this meeting due to the insane workload that they were forced to complete. Eventually, they were able to find a single night to link up and enjoy each other's company. Each student walked into the room and hugged their former sensei before taking a bottle of sake a piece and sitting down for the discussion.

Kushina led the conversation. "Thank you all for coming. I never thought I would be in the situation where I would ask you to betray Konoha, but I am asking you. What they have done to my sochi is unforgiveable and it is only a matter of time before Fugaku find a mission difficult enough to kill me."

Anko stepped in, her normally playful tone was completely absent. "Sensei, you are essentially my mother. You were the one who saved me after the snake left me for dead. I hold no love in my heart for this village and you need only ask. I will do anything for you."

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck and eye smiled at Kushina. "Well, I will admit that I still hold love for Konoha, but that won't stop me from helping you. You are my mother in all, but blood and I can no longer standby as this village destroys my little brother."

Yugao straightened up in her seat. "Sensei, I am the same as Kakashi. I will help you, but I do not think that I could raise my blade against my fellow Konoha ninja…" Yugao's tone sounded repentant for this small fact.

"It's okay, Yugao-Chan. I would never ask you to do such a thing. I only ask for your assistance watching over Naruto-Kun and maybe a blind eye here or there."

Yugao nodded at that before Kurenai spoke up. "Sensei, has it really come to that?"

"Yes, Kurenai-Chan, it has come to that. This village denied my marriage to Minato, this village is trying to forcefully separate me from my son, this village has turned my vibrant ball of sunshine into a scared child and this village is most definitely trying to kill me. If I do not die due to my mission load, they will make a direct move to remove me from the equation."

All heads fell at that, and silence hovered over the room for a couple minutes. Anko tossed her saucer away in an elaborate motion before taking a swig out of her sake bottle.

"Whatya need us to do, Sensei?"

Kushina smiled at Anko, her most loyal student and kindred spirit. "Well, I have an idea. I know that they will force me out of the village on Naruto's birthday. If my guess is right, that frigid bitch Chiha will just hand him over or force him out of the compound. We will fake his death and I will take him away from this accursed village. I will prepare extraction scrolls with everything we will need and I will show you all how to access them."

Yugao reacted to this. "Where will you go, Sensei?"

Kushina smiled sadly at Yugao. "If you are not coming with, it would be better if you didn't know." Yugao, Kurenai and Kakashi hung their heads at this. "Don't worry, when the time is right, I will let you know. If you ever wish to leave this hellhole, all you need to do is ask."

Kakashi smiled at that thought before asking. "How will we fake his death, sensei?"

"Uzumaki technique, I will create a blood clone. I will develop a seal that makes the body stay after the clone dies. It should hold up to an autopsy since it would fool every medical ninja that isn't on Tsunade's level."

The group stayed to drink and spend the night with their sensei. They filled in gaps in the plan and each of her students would help ensure that Naruto was as protected as possible.

-End of Flashback-

Anko carried Naruto in her arms as she exited the passageway that led out of Konoha. She used every evasive maneuver she could think of to throw people off her trail. She had two shadow clones dress in her old clothes that would run until they ran out of chakra in opposite directions. She used minor applications of earth jutsu to cover her tracks as she made her was to Tanzaku Guy. She knew it wouldn't be too long until the mob and fake body of Naruto were discovered, but she was confident in the head start she had.

Anko ran nonstop through the night and into the midafternoon to Tanzaku Guy. Naruto clung to her, rested his head on her chest and eventually Anko knew that he was asleep in her arms. Kushina was waiting for her on the edge of the city along with Tsunade and Shizune. The two medics had insisted on helping the Uzumaki family in their escape once Kushina told them about her plan. Tsunade firmed her resolve to never step foot in Konoha again, unless she were there to destroy it. It was clear to Tsunade that the will of fire was no longer the operating philosophy of Konoha.

Kushina saw Anko pulling up on Tanzaku Guy and could tell that she was on the verge of collapse. In a blur of Sunkissed blonde hair, Kushina darted to Anko and wrapped her in a supportive hug. Yes, dear reader, Kushina had Tsunade chakra dye her hair to the same color as Naruto's. She did so that she wouldn't be as recognizable. Anko thanked her sensei and handed Naruto to Kushina before she passed out. Tsunade saw the signs of fatigue and demonstrated that she was still a Sanin when she was able to catch Anko before she hit the ground.

Kushina took in the dried blood on Naruto and gasped in despair. Tsunade saw it also and nearly froze, but she pushed through the impulse and guided the group to her hotel suite. She was grateful that she hit four jackpots in a row and then cleared out a five-card stud table two days ago. She knew that always meant something bad was about to happen to her or someone she loved and sure enough Kushina showed up the next day. Waiting for Naruto last night was the longest night Tsunade could remember as the agitated Kushina paced around the hotel suite, ranting about killing Fugaku slowly and slicing Danzo to bits.

As the group entered the hotel suite, Shizune took Anko to her bed and laid the sleeping woman down, clothes and all. Naruto had woken up due to the noise of the town and jumped into his granny Tsunade's arms for the trip to the hotel. She threw the mostly naked Naruto into the hotel bath when they got back to the room. She couldn't get over the fact that her godson looked like a nine-year-old. The growth rate the child went through was insane and she couldn't remember any example from a medical text that explained what was occurring. Kushina told her that it was most likely due to the Kyuubi, so she figured she would just chat with the kid.

"Naruto-Kun, how are you growing so fast, kiddo?"

The child chuckled mischievously. "Well, Ba-Chan, I don't really know. I think the pretty lady with red hair said it was because of her."

Tsunade paled at this. She had caught up with Kushina and neither of them had told Naruto about the Kyuubi yet. "Kushi-Chan, I need your help with Naruto-Kun." Kushina walked to the door of the bathroom and smiled down at the sight of her son grinning in the tub with Tsunade holding a sudsy scrub brush in her hand. "Now, Naruto-Kun, why don't you tell us about this pretty lady with red hair."

-Flashback – After Naruto was taken away from the mob-

Naruto passed out in Anko's arms as his adrenaline crashed and the pain registered throughout his body. The boy woke up to raindrops on his face as he lay in a verdant clearing. Everything around Naruto was supersized and it was framed by the cloudy drizzle. The trees were hundreds of feet tall, the bushes were as big as houses, the flowers were taller than Naruto and the lake next to the clearing looked like a small ocean to the young blonde. Naruto stood to his feet and enjoyed the soft tickles of the grass, the wet comfort of the water drops clinging to the blades of grass and the sweet scent of nature that hung in the air.

He felt drawn to a certain area and his feet carried him subconsciously over massive hill that occupied his forward field of view. Eventually, Naruto made it atop the hill and looked down on a pretty little cottage that rested at the base of the hill and the edge of the massive lake. Naruto listened to the pull and walked down the hill to the cottage. As he got closer, he sensed something powerful, yet familiar, was in the cottage. With a gulp and a firming of his childish resolve, Naruto entered the quaint dwelling.

Inside the cottage was not what Naruto was expecting. What should have been a small building opened up into a large living room joint with what seemed to be a kitchen. The living room had two love seats and a large couch that rested in front of a kind of television that Naruto had never seen before. It was flat unlike most of the fat and clunky televisions he had seen in Konoha. The hallway continued to lead back into the house, but Naruto didn't care about that. All he could focus on was the melodious humming that accompanied a familiar, mouthwatering smell that was coming from the kitchen area.

Kyuubi sensed his presence as soon as he entered the mindscape. She wanted to see how he would react to her domain, and she wanted the first meeting to be a good one. Even if she accelerated his growth, she knew that he still had the mentality of a child and he wouldn't be ready for a serious conversation. Instead, she chose to kick things off on the right foot with her container/potential mate. She made his favorite dish, chicken ramen. It was peculiar to Hikari that chicken would be his favorite meat, but she chalked it up to her yokai's influence on the child. Eventually, she was broken from her musings as she heard the child enter her kitchen followed by a gasp.

Hikari turned around and she would have giggled if it weren't for her image that she needed to uphold. Instead, she smiled regally down upon the small child that was gaping at her. She waited for the child to be broken out of his stupor, and she would have done it for him, except she became stunned when the child whispered, "so pretty…". Of all the things Naruto could have said, that was probably one of the best openings a five year old could pull off. Hikari put the back of her wrist over her mouth and chuckled. Her chuckle held such an alluring beauty that it further stunned Naruto. However, his face fell before he asked his first question.

"Ano… excuse me… are you… are you Kami-Sama? Does that mean I am dead?"

Hikari went from flattered to aghast at the question. This didn't show on her face though, but she decided to see where Naruto wanted to go with this. "No, I am not Kami-Sama and no you are not dead. Why do you ask that, Naruto-Kun?"

"Well, everything outside was so pretty, prettier than ka-chan's garden and prettier than Konoha's forest. I kinda thought it was heaven. And I thought I died because I was being chased and hurt by some mean people from my village again. I thought maybe I died this time."

Hikari tried hard to hide her frown as she knew about the boy's torture by the hands of those filthy humans. She had watched his magnificent light dim over the past year, and it infuriated her. The only thing stopping her from destroying the wretched village was the contract she signed with the boy's father. She reached down and ruffled the Sunkissed blonde hair and gave the boy the reassurance he needed.

"Naruto-Kun, there is a lot you are not ready to hear or understand yet. I know you are a smart boy so I will tell you this. We are inside you Naruto, inside the seal on your tummy. Do you know what I am Naruto?"

The boy pouted for a bit before he paused and looked at the beautiful lady. She had orange and black fox ears that rested atop her head and nine reddish orange tails swished around behind her red yukata. The tails swayed in a mesmerizing pattern that nearly distracted Naruto by their rhythmic beauty. He was smart, for a child, and he finally put two and two together.

"Umm, miss, are you … are you the Kyuubi?" He broke eye contact and looked at the ground as he said this.

Hikari cocked and eyebrow at the boy, crossed her arms and looked down on him. "And what if I were?"

Naruto balled his fists in a nervous fashion over his stomach before he looked up and answered. "Well … well I guess I would want to know why you attacked my village. The villagers say it was me that did it but, but I was just a baby…"

Hikari smiled down on him an placed a comforting hand on his cheek and rubbed his whisker marks with her thumb. "Naruto-Kun, you did not attack the village. I did, but it is a long story. One you should ask your mother for. Let's just say that somebody made me do it for now."

"O-okay. You know, Kyuubi, you don't seem that mean to me. You are nice and I feel … I feel safe with you…"

Hikari nearly swooned at the cuteness. That was a glimpse of the boy, a glimpse of the light that had dimmed over the past year. "Well, thank you, Naruto-Kun. You and I have been together for a long time, so you probably recognized my chakra. Now, let's eat some ramen before I send you back to your mother."

Naruto's contemplative look turned into the radiant face of an exuberant child. Naruto hopped up on the bar stool for the island that separated the kitchen from the living room. He ate the chicken ramen with gusto while Kyuubi just watched on with a smile. This was a good first impression, but she knew there were many difficult conversations to come. Conversations that a child would not be ready for.

-Flashback End-

Kushina, Tsunade and Shizune stood in the bathroom, stunned, with looks of confusion and slight panic on their faces. Tsunade had long since dropped the sponge and was gawking at Naruto. Kushina was concerned about how she would handle the questions Naruto was bound to ask. The she clenched her teeth and said fuck it. Those Konoha bastards could no longer control her life.

"Okay, sochi, it seems like we have a lot to talk about. Why don't you get cleaned up and we will talk over a bowl of ramen?"

Naruto nodded vigorously and resumed washing himself. The blood collected near the drain and the Sunkissed blonde hair made its vibrant appearance again. The smiling, whisker marked face of everyone's favorite blonde looked fully healed and replenished after his bath. Kushina gave him a white T-shirt with a red Uzumaki swirl and a pair of blue athletic shorts to change into. Eventually, the group was sitting at the table in the kitchenette of the hotel suite and Kushina forced herself to proceed with the discussion.

"Okay, sochi, there are some things that mommy needs to tell you." Naruto was sitting in Tsunade's lap and Kushina took his hands in hers. "As you said, you met the Kyuubi. It is because of the Kyuubi's chakra that you grow so fast, and yes she is in a seal on your belly."

Naruto cut her off here. "It was so pretty in there, Ka-Chan. It was … it was like our garden except times a thousand … no a million!" Naruto's excited tone elicited chuckles from the ladies before Kushina continued.

"That sounds lovely, Naruto-Kun. Well, moving on, the Kyuubi used to be in a seal on my tummy. When I gave birth to you, a bad man showed up. That man threatened you and he took the Kyuubi out of me. He then made the Kyuubi attack our village. Your father, Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime Hokage, fought the Kyuubi and then made a deal with her. He sacrificed his life to seal her into you, sochi. In return, she will make you strong and you will protect her. Does that make sense, sochi?"

Tsunade, Shizune and Kushina observed the child process the information. They all knew the revelation about his father would confuse him, and sure enough it did. The boy's face contorted into confusion and sadness with a tinge of anger. "Ka-Chan, why are you telling me about Tu-San now? If my Tu-San was the Yondaime, why did the villagers do all that mean stuff to me? Why couldn't we tell them that he was my Tu-San?"

Kushina offered a pitiful smile in response before squeezing his hands to draw his beautiful azure eyes back up into her. "Well, sochi, let's just say that the village leaders were bad people. They wanted to use you and the Kyuubi for something that I didn't want. That is why we left and since we are not going back I thought I could tell you now."

Naruto frowned at this. It didn't make much sense to him, but he always did trust his mother. "Okay, Ka-Chan. You will have to tell me about Tu-San later. So, what do we do now?"

Tsunade looked at Kushina before she answered. She nestled her chin on Naruto's spiky blonde locks as she spoke. "Your mommy is going to find you a new home while you stay with me, Shizune and Anko."

Naruto looked to his mother for confirmation before she nodded. "Yes, sochi, I am going to find us someplace safe to stay that will be nice to you."

The boy perked up and that as rapidly asked his next question. "Will Tsunade-Ba-Chan and Shizune-Ne-Chan be coming with us?"

Tsunade spoke softly. "Probably not, Naruto-Kun. I will come and visit you though. It would cause a lot of problems for you and your mother if I lived with you. Do you understand?"

Naruto frowned at this. "But, but Ba-Chan, family comes before all, and, and you are family."

Tsunade's heart swelled at that, and a radiant smile adorned her face. "Well, Naruto-Kun, maybe when it is safer, I will come and live with you. Before then, I will try to visit as often as I can, okay?"

"Promise?" Naruto said this as he held a pinky finger up over his head. Tsunade locked his tiny pinky in hers and whispered that she promised.

Shizune took in the whole scene and smiled down on Naruto. She may only be fifteen, but this child was too cute. She also appreciated that her master seemed to be happier in his presence.

"That's right, Naruto-Kun, you will have to get bigger and stronger every time we see you."

Naruto nodded his head enthusiastically at this. The group would finish their dinner and spend the next couple days in each other's company, catching up and just enjoying the fact that they were all safe, for the time being.