Recommended story: 'A Den of Foxes' by JAYSEN

Chapter Forty-eight

Morning came, and Naruto was undergoing surgery right away. Tsunade and Shizune were right in the midst of it, and the hospital had insisted that everyone who didn't have to be there leave. Kushina was still reluctant, but with Tsunade and Shizune involved she felt better about leaving her son.

"So what now?" Tayuya asked.

"I'm going to find my old home and set it up so Naruto can move in with me. And anyone who doesn't like it had better repent their sins while they can."

"What if someone already lives there?" Isaribi asked.

"It's clan property, so unless Konoha decided to stop acknowledging the Uzumaki entirely just to spite my son, it has to be vacant."

Ino and Hinata looked uncomfortable hearing that.

"Maybe they did. I genuinely never heard of any Uzumaki clan before all this." Hinata pointed out.

"Ditto. Honestly, I always heard that 'Uzumaki' was a placeholder name for any orphan that needed one, and after Naruto started gaining his reputation everyone who had it legally dropped it as soon as they could." Ino added.

Kushina frowned at hearing this and began to march towards a sector of the village.

The colossal devil had put up a hell of a fight, no pun intended, against that village of people, but at some point they actually turned the tide against him. He had been genuinely surprised, attributing it to merely a fluke or them being smart enough to go for the eyes, but the onslaught continued. These people were actually holding their own against a devil, something he wasn't sure was possible. He had been persistent and killed quite a few while destroying many buildings, but the outcome was not guaranteed in his favor. So he had to do something he really didn't want to do.

He retreated.

In one of the many forests of the Land of Fire, the devil came to a stop and shrank down to human size and form. Doing so released Moegi from his binds and she ran off as soon as she could, and he didn't bother to follow her. Instead he stood there panting and leaned against a tree, bleeding from wound and looking haggard.

"I... I can't believe it. Since... when... could humans fight... like that?"

He coughed aggressively, covering his mouth, only to see blood on his palm. This made him growl like an animal and clench a fist.

"Damn those humans! I didn't go through all that trouble to become one of the strongest devils in Hell only to fall at the hands of some mere mortals! Again!" He rued, memories of his former life as a human being flashing in his mind. Memories of weakness and failure, of getting his hands dirty in order to survive. Memories of all the sins he had committed in life in order to live one more day. And the memory of the time he finally died, and found himself directly in the pits of Hell. Fighting all over again to once again not die.

"I will not die again! First, I need to get some new eyes, then go get those escapees, and get back to Hell even stronger than when I left it! And kill anyone who gets in my way!"

Moegi meanwhile ran like a fox being hunted, not caring where she was going so long as it was away from that creature.

'I have to get to Konoha and fast! But... which way do I go?'

She looked around but there were no notable landmarks in sight she could use for a reference, and the stars weren't out anymore so she couldn't even tell which way was north.

"Guess I have no choice but to pick a direction and follow it until it takes me somewhere I can recognize or get help in." She said, pausing to look at her transformed hands. "But who would help me when I look like this?"

'Boss wouldn't let that stop her.' Her own thoughts told her.

Feeling bolder, Moegi made a fist then resumed running, determined to find her way home no matter how hard it was going to be.

Kushina got to another part of Konoha on the east side, seeing nothing she recognized. This made her angry.

"Tell me, was this part of Konoha destroyed at any time?" She asked through gritted teeth.

"No idea. It might have taken some damage during the recent attack, but I was more focused on my own home at that time." Ino answered.

"Same." Hinata added, sounding more apologetic.

"This was where the Uzumaki clan used to reside." Kushina told them, seeing her old home replaced with apartments and shops. It was kind of a slap in the face to her. It would be one thing if this happened after the Kyuubi attack, but that required this particular part of the village to be heavily destroyed in the attack. Sure that was possible if Kyuubi was responsible, but surely something from the Uzumaki remained. Right?

"What if your old home is already occupied?" Hinata asked.

"Then it won't be for much longer." She said, and it didn't make the genin girls feel that confident.

The roads were still laid out essentially the same as she remembered, so she took the path she remembered. After some time, she arrived at a large piece of property surrounded by a wall with a gate that was tied shut. A sign on it indicated this to be the old home of the Yondaime Hokage, and listed as a historical monument.

"Good, it's still here." Kushina said, smiling.

"You used to live here?" Ursha asked.

Kushina nodded. "After I got married, yes."

"I don't think people are going to be okay with you just going in there and settling in." Hinata warned.

Kushina went up to the rope tying the gate together and tore it apart before tossing it away. The gate was still locked but it was by a seal, so she bit her thumb and smeared some blood on it. The seal glowed and the gate unlocked and parted for her.

"If anyone has a problem with it, let them try and stop me." Kushina said to the white-eyed girl before strolling it.

"That's my sister." Tayuya said proudly, then proceeded to follow her inside. Hinata did too, as did Ino, but the latter was doing it more out of curiosity. Isaribi and Ursha of course went all as well.

The front door to the house itself was unlocked in the same way and Kushina looked inside. All the furniture was still there, just the way she remembered it, except covered in a thick layer of dust. Everyone coughed due to how stale the air was, prompting them to go back outside.

"Let's let it air out for a bit first." She suggested, sitting on the front porch. Everyone followed. "Aren't you girls going to go home at some point?"

"Are we bothering you?" Hinata asked.

"No, I just know that at some point you're both going to want to see your families and maybe sleep in your own beds."

"That does sound good. But I've got all day. I figured I'd at least see where Naruto's going to live now so I can stop by later." Ino claimed.

"How often do you plan to do that?" Kushina asked, though her eyes gave away that she already knew.

"As often as he'll let me. Oh, that reminds me. I should go look for some new clothes for my new body."

"Why? You can just make your own now." Hinata pointed out.

Ino nodded. "Yeah, but I could still use some ideas on what to make."

"That sounds like fun." Ursha exclaimed, smiling.

"I never really had a chance to do something like that before. How is shopping supposed to be fun?" Isaribi asked.

"Oh, I'll show you." Ino replied.

"Bah! As long as it covers everything it's supposed to cover who the fuck cares? Clothes are clothes." Tayuya griped.

"Let me guess, you were never the pretty one in class, were you?" Ino asked.

"No one messed with me and that's all that mattered." Tayuya replied.

"What about you Hinata? How often do you plan on coming over?" Kushina asked to avoid a fight starting up.

Hinata blushed but smiled. "After I talk to Father, I'm hoping I never have to leave."

Kushina smiled and wrapped an arm around the young girl. "Me too."

Moegi kept running, surprising herself with her speed and stamina. She had no idea where she was going, but her body was not having a problem with keeping up.

'I gotta say, if there's one perk to all this, it's this part. Not that I don't want to be human again, I still do. But wow I'd be the best kunoichi in class if I could keep this speed when I'm normal.'

A part of her memory reminded her that the devil told her this couldn't be reversed. He said she was stuck this way forever. But then again he was a literal devil, so why would she take him seriously?

A scent hit her nose that stopped her because it was familiar. Another plus from this transformation was the senses, but frankly she hadn't really had the chance to indulge in them yet.

'What is that? It smells... alive. An animal? People? Is someone nearby?'

She turned her head in several different directions, and she found that like hearing, the scent was stronger in one particular direction. So she followed, feeling a lot like an animal in doing so. The trail took her towards a dirt road, which made her feel a lot better.

'This should take me at least to a village if not Konoha, but which way?' She asked herself, sniffing the air again. There were several, indicating that this road wasn't exactly unused more than used, but she couldn't pinpoint which direction most tended to go. Recalling some tracking lessons from the Academy, she tried to figure out which direction was which, so she started by looking for the sun.

'Okay, the sun's over there and it's usually in the eastern portion of the sky in the morning. So that direction is general east if not direct east. That gives me at least a basis to go off of for the other directions. I think Mom said the hotel was north of Konoha, so I need to go south. Not sure if I need to go southwest or southeast, but I suppose I can figure that part out as I go.'

With that, she went down the road that was heading in the direction that was most south from her estimation, hoping it would lead her to a better clue.

After leaving the Uzumaki household, Ino and Hinata headed to their homes, for the first time since they left Konoha when all this started. Before she got home. Ino made sure to make herself look normal again, and made sure to create a new set of clothes.

"Mom? Dad? I'm back." She called out when she entered her house.

Inoichi came out and quickly hugged his daughter. Ino hugged him back, grateful for the affection.

"Your mother is in the shop right now. What happened to you Ino?" He asked.

"Oh, for starters Hokage-sama sort of held me captive to make sure I wouldn't risk blabbing my mouth back here."

"Yeah, I was told that part already. But where were you taken and why did it take so long to come back?" Inoichi added.

Ino hesitated, then relaxed. "So much happened, that you'd never believe me. But I got a new skill while I was out. Want to see?"

Inoichi raised an eyebrow then nodded.

Ino grinned and then morphed into an exact replica of him. Well, not exactly exact. She stayed her normal size as to avoid damaging her clothes. But they did feel a little uncomfortable now. Inoichi was confused, then she transformed into Sakura, then Naruto, then Tsunade. Her height didn't change, but in that last one her top was very tight against her breasts. That prompted her to return to normal.

"That wasn't a genjutsu. I can actually shapeshift now." She explained.

"That's..." Inoichi was speechless. "How?"

"Partly Naruto, but mostly Sakura. I was... attacked. By a vampire." She started, and of course she could tell he didn't believe her. "Yes, I said vampire. He bit me and Naruto fought him off before taking me to Hokage-sama. Sakura then used a special power she now has and well, instead of becoming a vampire, I can now become whatever I want instead."

"And what is this special power Sakura now has?" Inoichi asked.

"Basically whatever she says, happens. But it has its limits. She's in the hospital now from overusing it, and Naruto's in the hospital because some creep ripped his eyes out."

Inoichi did not like the sound of that.

"Dad, now that I'm back, I plan on spending more time with Naruto and his family. I... he's saved my life so many times. I want to be his friend, not just a comrade." Ino told her.

"That's not a big deal. Wait, his family? Who are they?"

"You might want to see them for yourself to get that answer."

"Welcome home Hinata." Hiashi greeted his daughter when she came back. He was smiling, but he did nothing else other than let her enter the premises.

"Hello Father." She greeted back. He noticed that she didn't look or sound particularly happy to be here, more like she was here out of obligation than a sense of being home again. She looked around as if expecting others to be there.

"Oh hi." A girl Hinata had never seen before was there in the room seated at a low table, wearing formal clothes and seated properly. "You must be Neji's cousin. I've been anxious to finally meet you."

Hinata raised an eyebrow and didn't know what to say for a bit. "Uhh... who are you?"

"My name is Rin Kiohen, and I am Neji's fiancee."

Hinata's eyes widened quite a bit. "Fi... fian... cee?"

"Yes, I am here to see how well we get along. I hope you and I can get along as well."

Hinata was speechless. This was not what she had been expecting to come back to.

"Where have you been?" Hiashi asked, getting the reunion back on track.

Hinata cleared her throat. "Keeping Naruto-kun safe from the horrible people in this village. I do not apologize for that."

"Nor would I expect you to. And from what I've learned this excursion you were on was beneficial to the village." Hiashi claimed.

"Did you say Naruto?" Rin asked. "I heard a few things about him from Neji. He seems to have a lot of respect for him."

Hinata felt a bit territorial right then, a part of her wondering if this new girl was sniffing around where she wasn't welcome. Sure, she had agreed to share Naruto for his own good, but that didn't mean every girl who got interested was going to be given an opportunity. At the very least, Hinata had to know more than just their name.

'Relax Hinata, she's just being polite. She's not saying she wants to go on a date with Naruto-kun.' The white-eyed heiress told herself.

"Is something wrong, daughter?" Hiashi asked.

Hinata took another breath. "Father, I did not come here to stay. I intend to reside with the Uzumaki from now on."

"Moving in already?" Rin asked, and she sounded impressed more than concerned.

Hiashi raised en eyebrow. "Assuming that I actually agreed to this, what do you envision the consequences of this change?"

"I get what I want and the elders will get what they want. I will live with the Uzumaki in peace and the elders won't have to deal with me embarrassing them anymore. In all honesty, other than the ability to control or demean me, I cannot imagine what the elders will lose from my absence."

Hiashi looked a little hurt. "And what will your sister and I lose?"

"Nothing. We can still interact. I fail to see how this will be different than having me be gone on missions in the past."

"Back then you would still come home." Hiashi told her.

"But this isn't my home anymore. My home is with the Uzumaki." Hinata corrected.

"What exactly happened on this excursion that would result in this?" Hiashi asked.

"You should ask Naruto's mother for the full details if you truly need them. But the important thing is that Naruto-kun and I are engaged."

Hiashi's eyes widened, and before he could say more his daughter removed her jacket and showed off the ring emblem on her left arm.

"Wow, that's one way to get a ring from a guy." Rin joked.

Hiashi took a deep breath of his own. "I cannot accept this. You are too young and he did not show any respect to our clan by ignoring my right to input."

"You can talk with Ms Uzumaki about it if you want, but right now she's got bigger problems to focus on. Like whoever in this village will be targeting her son for no good reason, and that devil that's headed this way."

"Wait, did you say devil? Rin asked, getting up. "Now, do you mean a metaphorical devil, or a literal legit creature from Hell devil?"

Hinata looked confused. "Why would it matter to you? No offense."

"Because if there's an actual legit devil walking around this world, I need to get ahold of my village and tell them to hunt it down."

Now Hinata and Hiashi looked confused.

"My village isn't a ninja village, it's a devil hunter village. You protect people from other people, we protect people from monsters. And if an actual monster is coming here, I'm the only one who can help you guys fight it off." Rin clarified.

"You've dealt with actual devils before?" Hinata pressed, and Rin nodded. "Tell me, how many eyes does a devil have?"

"As many as they can steal. Eyes are to them what tails are to the demons in this realm."

"Come with me. You need to speak with the hokage right away."