Kakashi crossed his arms over his broad chest. "What do you mean, you and Tenzo are going to Uzushio?"

"Like I said, I'd like you to come, too," Mito swore. "I WANT you to come! Please?!"

"It would be better to do it after we're back from Suna."

Mito sat down, mad as hell about the Suna thing. "I told you, I'm not allowed into Suna. –At least for the Chunin Exams Final."

Kakashi huffed. "Maybe because you ripped that monk apart and sand-dragged him?" Mito winced, looking hurt, and he immediately felt bad. "I'm sorry. I... shouldn't have said that." His problem was that he was jealous and he knew it. But Mito had been hot for Tenzo for years!

"NO," Mito replied sourly, mostly ignoring his apology because she was so damn mad about the rest of it. "I'm not allowed to go because I'm a jinchuuriki, and my father and the teenage Kazekage believe that the fewer of us there, the better. –God, it ticks me off! Even though my students are competing and I'm additionally training Sai, AND there are teams from Kiri, neither Utakata nor I can go." She got up and began to pace, mad as hell. "Because Gaara and another jinchuuriki will be there - well, maybe... that person: I'm not sure if her village leader will allow her to leave - but anyway, neither Utakata nor I are allowed to go because the powers that be think our presence could make Suna even more prime for an Akatsuki attack. I, on the other hand, think that's a good reason for us to go: to draw them out and then liquefy their asses with all kinds of weird demonic shit." Plus Mei and my father will be there! And you and Asuma - and probably Hideki! Who would be stupid enough to attack all that power?

- Someone who would like to destroy Suna is who, she reminded herself.
- Just because she knew that didn't make her okay with the whole thing. Mito wanted to see her students win!
- She also missed Mei and her friends in Kiri.

Kakashi ran his hands through his hair. "Please don't say that."

Mito shrugged her shoulders back, sighing. "I don't know how strong Gaara and the other jinchuuriki are. But Utakata and I are at least A or S-ranks and the ambassadors to each other's villages, both of which are competing in the exams. It ticks me off that suddenly they want us sidelined. Both of us can handle ourselves."

Kakashi hummed unhappily. "You don't know that." No shinobi knew when his or her number would be up.

"Oh really?" Mito asked, getting mad, her hair even splitting into tails and crackling with chakra. "You're not the only one to take out an Akatsuki, Kakashi! And I'm not sure but I think I've gone up against more of them than you have." Kakashi got up to leave, she thought, and Mito dragged her hands through her hair, pulling it down so that it wouldn't reach out and strangle him. "Then come with me now. RIGHT now. We'll find Tenzo and go look at the building together." She sighed, her lips pulling back, and calming herself, pressed her index finger to them, waiting for a second before leaping to surprise a little spy behind a nearby tree. "Konohamaru-chan."

The boy accidentally squealed. Even though she needed to go, Mito couldn't help but smirk as she recognized another chakra signature that had sunshinned in (not bad, kid) behind yet another tree. "What do you think you're doing here?" Rather than let him answer, she picked him up and hugged him, cooing and swinging him back and forth, too tightly for him to respond. What was hilarious was sensing Hinata's sister (her other little spy, although she was probably only spying on Kono-kun again) and Hinabi's frothing anger. That girl was a jealous little thing, often glaring at her for taking her big sister's or Kono's time, although she rarely saw the two of the kids together. –That Kono-kun knew about anyway. "I've missed you!"

Konohamaru rubbed his tender ribs when she put him down. "You were gone a long time, oba-san. –I didn't think you were going to make it to my graduation!"

"Of course I will!" Truthfully, Mito had forgotten about it. Dammit. What a terrible aunt she was. It was hard to believe Asuma's nephew, Hideki's son, was graduating from the Ninja Academy already. "When's the big day?"

Konohamaru grinned, throwing his shoulders back proudly. "At the end of next week!"

"Maa, if you pass the test to graduate, I guess," Kakashi threw in. The kid scowled at him, making him grin behind his mask.

"I'm not talking to YOU!"

Mito snorted: Kami, he was such a brat! "Kono, be nice to Kakashi-sensei. You recall he's my brother's sensei, right? So you know he deserves respect. Plus, he's probably the most powerful shinobi in the village aside from my father."

Konohamaru pursed his lips but eventually gave her a quick nod. Then his eyes began to light up as he, strangely, bared his teeth at Kakashi. "I wanna see him fight Asuma-oji or my dad then."

"Yeah, me, too," Mito grinned at her masked boyfriend who went from possibly preening to sulking. "That would be interesting." Kakashi quietly groaned. "Lazy," she pretended to scold quietly with a smile. He only shrugged.

"I wish Boss would be back by my graduation, too," Konohamaru added, missing Naruto.

"Once he's all ready to come back, Naru will be stronger than ever, Kono." Her nephew sighed but accepted the hair ruffles she gave him. "I wish I could talk more but I have to take care of something right now, okay?"

Konohamaru pouted but accepted it. "Okay. –I'll tell Kaa-chan that you're home!"

"You do that, sweety," Mito smiled. "I want to see your baby sister again." She winked at him and yelled to her other stalker in a sing-song voice. "Hanabi-chaaaan, I'm sure if you want to talk to Kono-kun…"

Red-faced, Hanabi jumped out of her hiding spot and took her clan's opening taijutsu stance. "I challenge you, Konohamaru; you stinky brat!"

Kono bristled like mad and ran at his classmate while Kakashi and Mito snuck away.

.

Tenzo was pissed. He finally got a day off and Mito and his senpai, dressed in beach clothes, no less, dragged his uniformed ass to a foreign country, uninhabited as it was.

Mito smiled at him warmly and handed him a bag. "I bought you some trunks!" She also had sunscreen, holding it up and wiggling it at them.

Glaring at her for a bit, Tenzo eventually, reluctantly, took it and looked inside the bag, closing his eyes when he fumbled through it a bit. "Where did you find Woody Woodpecker swimming…things?" And matching red flip-flops?!

Although it was nice of her - and she included a T-shirt, too.

Kakashi had his eyes narrowed on his girlfriend. "How did you know what size he wears?"

Mito scoffed and rolled her eyes, leaning backward. Was Kakashi JEALOUS? –What an idiot. Then again, if she had REASON to be jealous, she'd probably skin someone at the very least. Mito could be… petty and a little animalistic, she guessed. She'd recently had some very dark thoughts when she saw some women trying to flirt with her boyfriend (who only ignored them.) "I found the trunks in some random port city. They're funny! And I figured you guys are around the same size."

After a beat, Kakashi loudly scoffed and then chuckled obviously, smirking like an ass. Tenzo, suddenly realizing why or what he was trying to imply, shoved him. Mito hid a smile: they could be so silly. Men. "They've got drawstrings and are that baggy style, anyway, Tenzo."

"YA-MA-TO." Tenzo had forgotten to scold her earlier.

Mito didn't argue and handed Kakashi a second bag which she pulled out of her tote. She noticed that he grinned under his mask when he looked inside, though he tried to hide it. His trunks had the word "Doggos!" plastered on them with cute doggo faces, too. They were green and silver with red pops of color.

"Thank you. I'll wear them next time."

"Good," Mito grinned. "And you're welcome."

Tenzo huffed. "When do I get to see senpai surf?" In those ridiculous orange trunks he's wearing, please.

Kakashi gave him a dangerous look. "Never."

"I don't think we have time to surf today," Mito pouted. The sun would be setting within a matter of hours. "Although I guess we could try. Kashi and I have to get back to train the Genins, plus I've gotta check in with Tsunade-shisho and Shizune-nee again, and I'm working with this weird guy on the museum. But he needs A Museum, Tenzo. He wasn't exactly happy when I told him the building was still here."

Tenzo hummed, reminded her of his code name again, and then scratched his chin. "Did you put down a deposit on that landfill?"

"I did," Mito grinned before realizing what he called the future museum's lot. "And it's not a landfill: that property just needs some lovin'."

Tenzo bobbed his head and then raised an eyebrow at Kakashi, wanting to needle his senpai, knowing he and Asuma had gone together to put down a deposit on another spot nearer the mountains on that side of town, wanting to help her fundraise (and make some side-money.) His senior was shaking his head slightly and looking very nervous, though. "Oh, all right. Show me the damn building. But I… want to see that pink sand. –If it's alright."

"Excellent - and of course!" Mito led them to the secured building, listening to their conversations about what they could make out of Uzushio's architecture and a few other things, although both men seemed quietly horrified by the level of destruction, especially on the outer part of the island. Mito always found it impossible to discuss with anyone other than Naruto, and even then, he was so young. "There it is," she directed, pointing to the large, intact, white building. "What do you think?"

Kakashi hummed. "It doesn't look as big as I'd thought it would be."

Mito nodded. "That's because of fuuinjutsu." Tenzo groaned. "Wait right here, and I'll be right out. Feel free to check things out!" She ran inside.

A minute or so later, she paraded out as confidently as she could in a black and white, strapless one-piece with push-up cups, strappy, heeled black sandals, her hair up in a high ponytail, her side-swept fringe flopping down with just a little of them not pulled back. She had her coverup tossed over her shoulder, and a big bag on her arm.

Someone evil made her do it…

Drooling, Kakashi's masked mouth dropped open and when he glanced over at Tenzo, he did a double take. Tenzo had been making the same expression that he was hiding. His hand dropped down and clasped tightly over his junior's shoulder, getting his attention with a none-too-gentle shake. A warning. Tenzo looked a little sheepish although his eyes kept darting back to Mito. Kakashi couldn't blame him.

"What do you think?" Mito asked, hoping for a good reaction, turning around in a circle. In a one-piece, no one could see her scar. Both men were nodding, staring at her boobs or legs or ass.

"~TA-DAH!~ "

Evil Anko's reveal ruined her thunder. Why did she have her clone bring her here early again?

"-Gak," Tenzo managed to get out. "What are YOU doing here, Anko?"

Anko smirked, sauntering forward in a bikini that might be a size too small, a tall man's light blue dress shirt open over it. "I've come for you and your pleasure, Tall, Hot, and Sexy."

Tenzo wondered why any of these people were his friends. "I'm not a lesbian!"

"Oh but you will be, Darling," Anko joked smoothly. "You will be."

Mito had looked anxiously at Kakashi, wondering if he'd ogle her very cute and busty best friend but he was only smiling at her, gazing down at her swimsuit.

"That's nice," he commented, putting it very mildly in front of the others. He was glad she didn't choose to wear his bikini in front of anyone else. "Looks good on you."

Mito grinned at him shyly. "Thank you, Kakashi." She laughed as she was finally forced to pry Anko off poor, stuttering, blushing Tenzo. Anko was such a flirt. "Oh my gosh. Anko! Where did you get my father's shirt?!"

Anko had hoped that Mito wouldn't notice that tiny monogrammed Fire 4. She hadn't noticed the personalization; otherwise, she wouldn't have stolen it. Although I guess that makes it more valuable. Maybe she could sell it on the black market. "I'm sure he won't notice that it's missing."

Mito snorted. "Let's show the guys around, shall we?"

30 minutes later -

"You're going to have to seal it tighter than a drum, Mito," Tenzo said, taking yet another set of measurements on the building to ensure Mito's had been accurate, and then making some paper so that he could write down coordinates showing which way the building would have to face for the water and electricity to be hooked up most easily. "I can build support joints that, after you move it, will lock into place, and then - IF it doesn't collapse - I can build more inside."

Mito winced and then bit her full lips as she considered it more. "That might ruin the aesthetic."

Kakashi had been listening as he walked around exploring. "I didn't think Uzushio buildings would be so modern."

"They weren't. I mean, they were obviously different from Konoha structures but this building's a real oddity."

"I wonder why that is."

.

Mito and her friend's students were the best.

The night before they were to take off to Suna (without her) for their big test, they were helping her clear the landfill plot for the Uzushio museum. "I really can't thank you all enough," she said, bowing. The kids kept up their work, smiling and talking about the upcoming Finals of the Chunin Exam - and sometimes apologizing for no reason, or telling her not to worry about being unable to come. She and her team had engaged in a strange BS conversation about it and Mito was glad they trusted her and knew that she wanted to be there for them because… She didn't think they knew she was a jinchuuriki.

All of the kids were Naruto's former classmates and friends - but would they still be when they found out? People in Konoha were pretty cool but her father had recently told her about a few experiences Naruto had with villagers who believed him to BE the Nine-tailed fox, having easily put together his date of birth and the whisker marks on his face.

That made Mito want to find those people and string them up by their intestines. Having figured that, her father hadn't told her who they were (or whether they still lived. Knowing her father, they probably didn't.)

Even some ninjas didn't properly understand sealing, or couldn't imagine sealing something so insanely large and destructive as Kurama into a person (let alone into a newborn baby) without it changing him or her completely, anyway. How would those people feel about her and Naruto when they found out for sure? With the Akatsuki prowling around and increasing their size and reach, it was only a matter of time before EVERYONE knew.

Would her team forgive her for not telling them earlier? Would they feel hurt, thinking that she didn't trust them?
Her status was a supposed S-class secret but it felt like she should've told Team 8 a long time ago. Tsume knew, and with the Byakugan, the Hyuugas might as well.

Mito bent down to grab some more trash, working, while some of the kids and the future museum's neighbors came up to either help or ask questions.

In the end, Kakashi's earth jutsus wound up taking care of the necessary foundation - well, that and Tenzo's secondary supports, plus Izumo and Kotetsu's interesting concrete and lime jutsus. Mito bowed to all of them. "Thank you. –Thank you all SO MUCH!"

"I can't wait to see the new building, sensei!" Sakura grinned, wiping her hands. The others echoed her sentiments.

Mito nodded, feeling so emotional. "Me, too. –And I know you all will do great in Suna!"

That got a cheer.

0630 the next morning in Uzushio -

Mito and her clones were ready. As Tenzo suggested (and as she'd already planned to do,) Mito had sealed the building inside and out a week ago, from top to bottom. The seals she'd plastered all over it covered or enhanced those that were already placed by another Uzumaki, decades ago. She had repainted the whole thing white after the seals were in place, then got creative and used her calligraphy skills to paint striking, wild blue swirls and loops all over that. Sai needed a break one day but was interested in what she was planning, and wound up helping paint and advising her in her efforts, too.

"Kami-sama, Kaa-chan, ancestors of mine, and any and all gods who might be listening," Mito prayed, her eyes closed and her chains wrapping around the building and into its foundation, supporting (and working into) the seals she'd made. "Help me and my clones do this right, and get this building transported in one piece." She'd practiced with some smaller structures so it SHOULD work but...

Her clones hooped and hollered, all prepared to use other sealing techniques in case of fallout. "On the count of three… One," she breathed shakily, preparing her chakra so that it was just right. "Two," she continued, ensuring that her chains were just so. She glanced over all her clones who were waiting patiently to assist, making eye contact with every one of them. "...Three. –Hiraishin."

Seconds later, she was in front of a group of shinobis, builders, and more of her clones, as the building settled with a huge BOOM in the plot of land she was buying over time. "Did… Did it work?!"

Everyone was silent until more of her clones that were present cheered. "Seriously?!" Mito grinned, beside herself, and afraid to retract her chains. "It worked?!"

Tenzo's support beams had snapped into place and he asked her to let chains go in a specific series. "So far so good, Mito!"

Mito couldn't stop smiling - that is UNTIL she got the memories of a few of her clones back in Uzushio. "Oh my…" She shuddered, wide-eyed and freaking out, before almost throwing up on the roof of the future museum. "Oh, God."

Underneath the building; underneath this building that was so well sealed in Uzushio, were the remains of so many unevacuated Uzushio children. She let out a subdued, pitiful wail, holding her arms over her head as she began to shake and cry.

"Mi-chan," Kakashi's soft voice echoed in her ear. He was holding her and Mito jerked, realizing that she wasn't alone.

She trembled all over. "Oh, Gods, Kashi." She buried her face in his chest, under his Jonin vest, holding on to him tightly. Everything was so loud; it was ALL so fucking loud, bearing down on her very soul

Everything they were thinking; all these negative emotions from all over the village and within herself. It was like she had been bombed with it; with the freezing heat that was at the center of hell.

"Tenzo got us when he realized there was …a problem," he said quietly, handing her a handkerchief. "What happened?"

Mito's blurry eyes looked up into his one visible eye, and then blankly over to the concerned blue eyes of her father. She glanced around; there were too many people present around them to discuss it, even if she could feel either her father's or Kakashi's genjutsu around them.

And what was with her sensing? All the negativity and chaos of everyone's everything was absolutely… overwhelming. It was like being drowned in hate, fear, or anxiety.

"Welcome to my life, Kit," Kurama snarked ominously. Mito didn't understand; all she could think about was what her clones had seen.

She sent two more clones off to Uzushio to direct the others. "Somewhere else." Her father grasped her shoulder, and Kakashi's, and they were teleported to the Hokage's residence.

After a long, half-blithering explanation of what she'd found, Mito accepted a strong drink from her father and took a shaky sip, glad that Kakashi's warmth was around her. Although she wasn't sure she was quite feeling it. She shivered. "I've gotta get back there. I mean, my clones are patrolling and have sealed the area until I get there but I have to see if I can i– iden– identify anyone. Or if there's any way to do that. –I h- have to give rights and do the correct type of burials depending on whether or not they're all Uzumakis or not and…" And there were enormous scrolls down there; artifacts and secrets that had to be sealed away and secured. "F-fuck."

Where could she even do that?!

There had been NO indication that there was some kind of horrible combination… grave and vault down there!

She blanked when a cat walked into the room. She reached out, chains flying from her chains to grab him but the thing got away. "What the fuck is that thing doing in here?" she asked darkly.

Minato gaped at her. "I… took in a cat."

"An Uchiha ninneko," Mito clarified, looking at her father and not believing for a second that he already didn't know that. She slapped privacy seal on the wall, glaring at him.

Minato refused to explain. He tucked a throw over her, purposely not considering how she and Kakashi were wrapped around each other. Aside from the ninneko thing, Mito wasn't letting Kakashi go, although he had to leave for Suna within the hour. The far more important thing was to address her shock, he told himself. God, he could only imagine how Kushina would've reacted to this, although she always suspected and feared something like it. It was one of the reasons she was so furious with Lord Third for forbidding her to go back. His predecessor gave her "good excuses" that left Kushina wondering but… In the end, Kushina had only been a girl attending the Academy when Uzushio was destroyed. "You should lie down, Mito."

"No, I have to leave and take care of this!" She tried to do just that but found that her legs didn't quite support her.

Get your shit together, Mito!

Kurama, thankfully, had done something to her to make the pain she'd experienced earlier bearable.
Now there was no excuse for her weakness.

Those poor children. Those poor parents who had trusted someone to go back for them; to save them. She felt the tears on her cheeks that were intermittently falling, ashamed that she had taken people on tours of that building, above their decaying… everything.

Biting her lips, she let out another little sob, disgusted with herself but wanting so badly to be a good clan head.

To do the right thing now, at least.

"Mito," Minato began, squeezing one of her hands that he pulled slightly away from Kakashi's, trying to get her to look at him. This was tricky but… "Have…" He sighed, trying again. Maybe it wasn't the time but perhaps what she'd described was what people needed to see if there was ever to be peace in the shinobi world. –To stop anything like what happened in Kushina's homeland from ever happening again. "You've heard of the Holocaust Museum." Eventually, he got a nod and then Mito got to her feet, beginning to pace. "And there are others around the world that remind people of their mistakes; of unspeakable tragedies and genocides…"

"Would that be the right thing to do, though?" she asked herself in a whisper, understanding what he meant. "Is it fair to them? To the victims that I've only just now found. Is it what their parents and leaders would've wanted?" There was no telling. "All this time, all I've had was stuff and scrolls, trying to put together what once was, through what Kaa-chan told me and notes recorded on jutsu scrolls and such. Plus pictures and half-destroyed journals - but so much was like it was redacted, except not. No, it was that the citizens of Uzushio made notes of their thoughts on their day-to-day lives and stuff, not knowing that they'd be wiped out! –Just making plans or lists about what happened that day, or goals or diaries…"

Minato and Kakashi glanced at each other as Mito continued a hyper-rant about how little she'd found (although she had previously sealed away a LOT;) of how there hadn't even been any bones to bury until now. –How that had at first made things easier although she'd always been looking around for ghosts - which she sometimes heard(?) Then Mito disappeared altogether, mentioning she was going to look at what she could find of the Holocaust Museum as well as a few other things online.

Kakashi dropped his head back. "Shit," he breathed.

Minato poured himself a drink. "You have to leave with the teams for Suna - as of five minutes ago. I'll be right behind you, meeting the teams at the gate. …And we'll talk about the rest of this when you're all back." It didn't seem so important right now, but it would be.

Kakashi stood up and nodded, feeling like (somewhere in the back of his mind) the cat was out of the bag, but went to Mito's place first.

He could be later. He was known to often be late.

"You should do it."

Mito blinked, finding herself on her side of a now thoroughly thrashed laundry room, otherwise known as half her mindscape. "I should…"

Kurama huffed. "Uzumakis may have sealed me inside themselves or their kind. Uzumakis may have developed the jutsus to seal me and my brethren, but… That wasn't what those seals were first intended for. Not until the original seals were evolved. Furthermore, Uzushio and the island-dwellers surrounding the village always left us alone. –Before that."

Should she be listening to this guy? "I don't want to disrespect the dead." I need a plan.

"The seals under those remains need to be secured immediately!" Crazy Uzumakis: there is no telling what they had under there.

"I know." Mito stood up to leave, gathering a load of sealing supplies. What had she been thinking in delaying anything? How could she freak out so badly? Because I'd already looked for remains when I first went to the island, afraid of what I'd find back then, but there was nothing… Nothing like this… I thought it was safe!

She was in shock.

Her clones were in Uzushio at the site and had secured the area, of course; she'd been getting more memories as time went by. They were doing the right things. Whether it was "right or wrong," long-term, Mito was more worried about the remains of her family than the remaining scrolls.

- More disturbed by the whole thing. God, those poor babies. She didn't want to do something wrong; something that those buried or their immediate, deceased families would find unforgivable or wrong.

"You don't want to move the bodies."

The skeletal remains, you mean, Mito thought, remembering her clones seeing (and now guarding) such little and terribly TINY ones. "Correction. I don't want to in any way disrespect those left behind when I move them." She grabbed her largest sealing scrolls, knowing they weren't anywhere near large enough to hold what she'd seen. Some of the scrolls under the remains were far taller and wider than she was.

And no one from Konoha could see her bring those back. No way; not when one, especially, was labeled with the word FORBIDDEN in three different languages.

Camouflage jutsu it would be then.

And she'd need to devise a new vault or something for what she secured.

"Those under your building have already been quite disrespected, don't you think?"

Mito swallowed down bile again. "They have." She slightly shook her head, pulling at her hair a bit and not knowing how to handle this situation. Her father mentioning the Holocaust museum was insightful - but the Uzumakis were all about LIVING and celebrating life; of death just being a part of it. She needed to research more but there was no time. She made two more clones, asking one to head to her father's office while the other one stayed in her apartment, going through the records she'd unsealed from the seals on her body as soon as she got back. -And to see what she could gain about how people reacted to the Holocaust museum. To see if anyone changed, learned, and grew from what they saw there.

Surely they did, right?

And what about all of the experiences she had dreamed up to get people to come to visit? Mito had always planned for the museum to celebrate Uzushio's accomplishments and people, and do it in a way that made those still living wish the island was still alive and inhabited. She wanted people to want to come back to the museum time and time again, and not because of guilt.

Kakashi showed up at her door minutes later and handed her two cameras, one of them quite large. It seemed as if he agreed with or was at least placating her father. My father was the one who knew my mother best. I should listen this time.

Kakashi's face was grim. It wasn't his place to offer advice, only do what he could. "I'm sorry I can't go with you, Mi."

"Thank you, Kakashi," she said, stepping up and kissing him on his masked cheek. She looked away, having realized that she'd just done that in front of her door, rather than behind it, but couldn't find it in herself to care. "Look after my team and the other cubs, won't you?"

"Of course."

Mito soon disappeared in a flash of yellow and red. She hit the hospital and Tsunade first, asking for assistance.

.

Mito was able to devise concealing tags to put over the immense scrolls but… Recording herself bringing out the remains of those who had perished waiting for a rescue that would never come, sealed in under the building she'd heisted was almost too much. After setting up cameras (along with another camera on a burner phone one of her clones was holding,) but before beginning to record, she henged herself. Plain features and auburn hair would have to do. She didn't want to be the focus here; the children were.

At least the touch of red remaining in her henged hair might soothe the souls of those she carefully moved, whispering soothing words and poems that she remembered.

Bedtime stories. Lullabies. There had been a few very well-loved and dirty stuffed animals in there, after all. Two stuffed teddies; a fox; what she guessed might have been a fish; and several of what she was pretty sure were dolphins.

Her clones kept a silent watch as she continued, eventually helping her with the scrolls; others kept vigil around the secured area to ensure that they weren't disturbed. As far as Mito knew, Obito and the Akatsuki, including that strange plant man, had never managed to infiltrate Uzushio. No, she was the only one who could get in or bring others, she thought - and that was because of her blood and jutsu.

The whole thing took well over a week.

Tsunade had lent her limited testing equipment that might lead to DNA matches, and her summons had carried samples back and forth. All of those she buried at sea were Uzumakis from what she could tell, although one child was more closely related to Tsunade than they were to her mother. Two were very closely related to her and Naruto; they were either her baby cousins or perhaps her nephews.

Her mother had told her she had siblings - although because of her age, Mito guessed, Uzumaki Kushina hadn't told her very much more. Mito hoped to find some photos of them in the scrolls that had been down here. Maybe Tou-san will know something. Her mother had been brought to Konoha with precious little.

Why? And how could they?! Did her mother's family know what was coming? Might her family have been trying to save her, while cursing her at the same time? But if so, why would they not have found another way to save the other little ones?

Too much. It was all too much! But to be a ninja was to persevere, and persevere Mito would, for her family; for her clan.

She'd been quietly praying and nearly begging her ancestors, the ocean, and any spirit willing to listen for answers or a guide for what she was doing, but Mito was only greeted with the sounds of Uzushio. The waves in the distance; the winds that blew through her ancestral home seemed wilder but sad now.

After securing the last huge scroll, she stared into the now empty, deep grave. "We aren't finished," she promised her clan. She once again Hiraishined back, her breath catching this time in dull surprise as she reappeared in her apartment.

Her clones in Uzushio had all been dispelled at once and she arrived in Konoha to what felt like a mild earthquake. "What in the world?"