2 Chapter 2: Storm

(Timeskip : 4 years later)

It was September 15, an ordinary night in the village hidden in the leaves. The village had recovered greatly in these last few years. Its military strength was back to its full capacity and the village was economically stable.

People were living their lives peacefully in the village. It was all possible because of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze's efforts.

Tonight, the entire village was a lot more livelier than usual. Many of the people were celebrating, the reason was also very special.

Konoha had achieved victory in the third great ninja war on this day. Also today was the day when the child of their beloved fourth Hokage was going to be born.

Almost the entire village was eager to see the child being born.

On the outskirts of the village stood a lone figure. This person was none other than Kushina Uzumaki.

Kushina's life had changed a lot in these years, if you could say a major part of her had died during these years. She was devastated when Minato married Mikoto, but she did not bore any ill will towards them. She knew that Minato was always attracted to Mikoto, during their time as a team both of them were very close.

She did her duty as a shinobi, but with each passing day a part of her died when she saw Minato and Mikoto together. She had lost faith in the shinobi world and her life after seeing the horrors of the third great ninja war, she just didn't care about anything anymore.

She could still remember the day when Minato had talked with her.

(Flashback)

Kushina Uzumaki was standing in the Hokage's office. She was happy to see Minato after such a long time, she had been away on missions and as such had missed Minato.

Minato gave her a small smile which Kushina reciprocated it with her wide smile.

"How are you Minato-kun? Its been a long time, Dattebayo!" said Kushina happily

Minato felt a little guilty, he was feeling very sad that he would have to break Kushina's heart.

"Kushina, Its good to see you." replied Minato curtly

"Where's Mikoto? I haven't seen her since I've arrived" said Kushina confusedly

"Its because she is making preparations for her marriage." said Minato dropping the bombshell on Kushina.

"WHAT! WHEN, HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? WHO IS THE GUY?" yelled Kushina frantically.

Minato chuckled a little, this was Kushina's typical behavior which he and Mikoto had got used to.

"She was going to tell you, but since you are here I'll tell you. But please calm down." said Minato, he then went towards her and surprisingly hugged her.

Kushina was a little startled by this, but she hugged him too, she felt a lot happy when she was this close to Minato. It was her dream to be with him, to spend her life with him.

"We are getting married, I and Mikoto-chan are getting married." said Minato sadly. He knew it must be very painful for her and was trying his best to convey it to her less painfully.

Kushina was shocked on hearing this, it was as if someone had stabbed her in the back. The man she loved, with whom she wanted to have a family was marrying her best friend.

"This can't be happening..." said Kushina with tears in her eyes. Her voice was becoming more choked with each passing moment.

Minato for his part hugged her more tightly, he knew she must be broken but he had to do this.

"I'm sorry Kushina. I love you, but only as a best friend. We have been through a lot together, you are precious to me but please understand I love Mikoto-chan." begged Minato

"Find someone with whom you can spend the rest of your life. It is possible to live as a Jinchuriki if you fill yourself with love."

Kushina remembered those words, these were said by Mito Uzumaki, the wife of Shodai Hokage who was the previous Jinchuriki. She told Kushina that she could also live a happy life despite being a Jinchuriki.

"I love you Minato...I have loved from the day we became friends, we used to hang out together, fight together, I just can't live without you." begged Kushina and broke the hug so she could look Minato straight in the eyes.

Minato's heart broke into a thousand pieces when he saw how much broken Kushina was, her eyes were full of tears, it was as if she was desperate.

"You deserve someone better than me Kushina. I am not worthy for you." said Minato and averted his eyes from her.

"NO!'

"Kushina.."

"This can't be happening!" yelled Kushina and grabbed Minato by his shoulder.

"Minato, please don't do this, I cannot live without you. You are everything to me." requested Kushina in a broken voice

"Kushina please understand, I love Mikoto, I care about you as my best friend. I cannot pretend to love you, it would mean betraying all of us. Please.." requested Minato in a sad voice

"Mito-sama, you lied to me. I don't have anyone, my life, my pain. Why did this happen to me? What did I ever do to deserve this?" thought Kushina sadly

With these dark thoughts in mind, Kushina went out of the room with a broken heart. Minato just stood there with a sad expression on his face.

(Flashback end)

A lone tear slipped from her eyes. Since that day she couldn't maintain a friendship with Minato and Mikoto. Both of them had tried many times to help her, but whenever she looked at Minato, she couldn't suppress the pain in her heart.

She didn't have much friends and as a result she started to get isolated, she joined the Anbu blackops to escape from her pain, but even after risking her life on dangerous missions her pain didn't went away.

Today was the day when Minato and Mikoto's child was going to be born.

"Today it could have been the birthday of my son." thought Kushina sadly

Another person appeared behind her in a vortex. He was wearing black robes with red clouds on it. His face was covered by an orange mask. He had spiky black her and his sharingan was visible through a hole in his mask.

"Hello Kushina." said the man seriously

Kushina just gave a nod in return, she just couldn't continue to live like this, she had even tried to end her life but was unsuccesful. She just didn't have anything left to live.

"Have you made up your mind yet?'' asked the person calmly

"Yes."

"This world is full of lies and deception Kushina. There can be no peace in this world, people like us who survive are trash. This is a pointless reality where no one can become happy. Join me and we shall create a world full of peace and happiness." offered the man seriously

"Will your plan work? Can we really succeed in creating such world?" asked Kushina seriously

"Yes, in our world, you can be with Minato, have your own family, friends, you can have every happiness you desire. No more wars, no fighting, living in peace. But before that I need to ask you something?" asked the man seriously

"What do you want to ask Madara?" asked Kushina irritatingly

The man named Madara chuckled a little, Kushina was indeed very short tempered.

"Do you feel anything for the people of this world?" asked Madara sternly

Kushina's entire life flashed in her mind, the destruction of her clan and village, the death of her parents, her being brought to Konoha to become a Jinchuriki, Mito's false words, her time with Minato, Mikoto and Jiraya, the war where she saw so many deaths, the pain when Minato married Mikoto, her life full of loneliness and sadness.

Her eyes hardened after remembering all that. Madara saw the look in her eyes and a wide smile cracked behind his mask.

"Things are going better than I planned." thought Madara with a smirk

"This place, This World...I DON'T CARE ABOUT IT ANYMORE!" said Kushina sternly with all emotions leaving from her eyes.

"So it begins!"

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In a secluded room in the hospital, lay a woman. She had jet black hair and dark black eyes. Her face was beautiful but right now she was going through an unbearable pain.

She was none other than Mikoto Namikaze Uchiha, wife of the fourth Hokage and former heiress of the Uchiha clan.

"AHHHH!" screamed Mikoto as she was trying to give birth to her soon to be born child.

By her side was her husband, Minato Namikaze who looked very nervous and worried. He had not been so much frightened in his entire life, but seeing Mikoto in so much pain was unbearable for him.

"Its going to be okay." soothed Minato in Mikoto's ears as she went through another pain. She cletched his hand tightly in order to recieve some more comfort.

"It hurts" said Mikoto as tears rolled from her eyes.

"Please Mikoto-sama, you need to push a little further, you are almost there." said the female head medic.

"You can do this Mikoto, hang in there." said Minato and wiped away her tears and gave her a soft kiss on her forehead.

Despite being exhausted, Mikoto felt a little happy as Minato was there beside her. She too was doing everything she could to bring her first born child into this world. She was escalated when she was told that she was going to become a mother. Her dream was finally becoming a reality, she was just one step away from seeing the face of her beloved child.

With renewed strength and courage, she willed herself to not give up. She started the painful process once again, but this time she went further without stopping.

This process continued for a few more moments until a cry was heard in the entire room. Mikoto was panting heavily, while Minato was having a few tears in his eyes as he saw the medic cut the umbilical cord gently.

Mikoto watched with blurry eyes as the medics washed the blood of her child. The medic then came forward with the baby wrapped up in a bundle of cloth.

"Congratulations Mikoto-sama, its a boy." said the medic happily and gently handed over the baby to Mikoto.

The infant had blonde hair like Minato, but instead of being spiky like Minato they were very silky, the baby had two short blonde locks falling on his small face. He was fair skinned like Mikoto and had almost the same facial structure as her.

Tears were freely flowing from Mikoto's eyes as she felt complete. This was HER child, her own flesh and blood. He was the most beautiful baby for her in the entire world.

The infant then slowly opened his eyes, and Mikoto's breath got caught in her lungs when she saw his innocent black eyes. They were the same as hers, the infant then gave a small smile to Mikoto and this moment would forever be arched in her memory as the most beautiful sight in her life.

"I love you, my sochi." said Mikoto warmly and embraced her son.

"He just looks like you Mikoto-chan. Thank you for being with me and making me a father." said Minato happily and kissed Mikoto softly

He then gently took his son in his arms. The infant was a little hesitant when Minato took him from Mikoto, the boy then looked at Minato in what may appear to be confusion, it was as if his innocent black eyes were observing Minato carefully.

Minato chuckled on seeing this, his son was indeed a very keen observer. On hearing Minato's laugh, the infant also smiled in an innocent manner.

"So what should we name him?" asked Minato happily while holding his son.

"I was thinking we should name him Itachi, but I want you to name him. He is our son, and as a father I think you should name him." said Mikoto with a warm smile

"Thank you Mikoto-chan. I was thinking about the name in Jiraya's sensei's book.." said Minato but was cut off when Mikoto gave him a very stern glare.

"Minato Namikaze, if you are planning to name my son after Jiraya sensei's pervy books, then I'll.." said Mikoto but was cut off when Minato quickly shook his head.

Minato knew Mikoto was a very kind and gentle wife, but when it came to her children she was very protective. The fact that she hated the Icha Icha series was also a point which she had made clear to Minato very gently.

"I meant "The tale of Gutsy Ninja", the name of the main character of that book." said Minato quickly.

The baby laughed when he saw Minato's face, it was as if all of this was funny to him. Mikoto also laughed when he saw that her son was happy.

"You want to name him Naruto?" asked Mikoto softly

"Yeah, he will grow up to be a great man just like the hero of the book." said Minato happily

"I guess it isn't so bad name after all." said a new voice.

Minato and Mikoto turned around and saw Kagami and Shishui standing there. Kagami's eyes were a little moist and was looking at Mikoto lovingly. Shishui quickly came in front of Minato and gently took Naruto in his arms.

"So this is my nephew, he sure looks a lot like you sis." said Shishui with a laugh.

"Why not? He's my son after all." said Mikoto with a warm smile

"Mikoto, I'm really happy for you my child. You have given me every happiness in this world and finally my grandson. I am proud of you." said Kagami with the biggest smile on his face.

"Thank you Tou-san." said Mikoto with a warm smile

"I just can't wait to teach him all my techniques sis. If he awakens the sharingan I'll teach him everything." said Shishui excitedly. Contrary to his clan Shishui was a very lively person, he was the same as his mother.

"Hey, I'm here too you know, I also want to teach my son many things." said Minato excitedly

"Hold your horses!" said Mikoto sternly to both men.

Minato and Shishui looked at Mikoto who was looking at them seriously.

"You may teach him when he grows up, but for now he is my baby and I want to spend time with him. And you're forgetting something, I am his mother, so if anyone has the right to teach him first, its ME!" said Mikoto with a smirk

"Now that's my daughter." said Kagami with a chuckle

Minato and Shihsui both looked at each other and had the same expression on their face.

"Women"

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(Unknown Location)

In a dark room stood nine people in different directions. One thing which all of them had in common was they were wearing black robes with red clouds on it.

The figure standing in the middle had purple eyes and was looking at all the members without any emotions on his face. It was as if he was a corpse.

"Today we welcome a new member to the Akatsuki." said the man stoically

At that moment Kushina stepped forward and made herself more visible to the other members of the group.

Some of the members were quite surprised when they saw Kushina. Her long red hair were now tied in a long ponytail, she had the konoha headband on her head but there was a big slash on it. Her entire body was covered in the Akatsuki robes and she had a sword strapped on her back.

"The "Red Death Of Konoha", you sure have a lot of bounty on your head." said a man with dark green eyes.

"Shut it Kakuza, this one's pretty, maybe I should offer her to Jashin-sama." said a short man with grey hair. He had a long scythe rested on his shoulders.

"Hidan, you and your idiot god are not important. The money is more important than your stupid religion." said Kakazu harshly

"Shut up Kakuza." said Hidan angrily

"I find it rather interesting that someone like you joined the Akatsuki. What are your intentions?" said a scorpian like man, he had his face covered by a mask.

"Its rude to ask a lady a question without introducing yourselves." said Kushina rudely. She didn't give a rat's ass about any of these people, she was joining just because Madara had told her to.

"Sasori of the Red sands. Former shinobi of Sunagakure." said Sasori curtly

"You sure bring interesting members Tobi." said a black plant like person but muttered the last part silently

"Indeed.'' agreed its white counterpart.

"You're a Jinchuriki, aren't you? Samehada can sense your chakra." grinned a shark like man.

"Kisame Hoshigake, former swordsman of the mist. And that bizarre excuse for a sword is shark skin I suppose. That sword is pathetic." said Kushina with a smirk. She was amused when Kisame's eyes hardened and he lifted his sword.

"ENOUGH"

Everyone stopped talking and looked at the man in the center. The only person who had not spoken yet was a woman who was standing beside the man and was looking at all of them without any expression on her face.

"Her reasons are not important. She has special talents which are required for our purpose, just like all of you." said the man sternly

"But Leader-sama, aren't we supposed to catch people like her for our purpose?" asked Hidan dumbly

"Yes, we do need the Kyubi, but she is an Uzumaki and as such she won't die when we extract the Kyubi from her. She has chakra chains that are helpful in subduing Biju." explained the leader neutrally

"Our aim is the same. The five great nations are corrupt and it is time for them to feel pain. But before we can put our plans in motion, we need certain resources and preparations for that." said the woman standing beside the leader for the first time.

"Kakuza, Hidan, you two will work together from now. Kakuza, you will handle our finances." ordered the leader.

"Understood." said Kakauza a little "happily". He sure loved money

"Just don't get in my way Kakuza." barked Hidan but Kakuza just ignored him

"Kisame, you will team up with Kushina. Both of you have certain skills which I need. You will do the missions I give you," said the leader sternly

Kushina just gave a threatening glare to Kisame, saying to be wary of her. Kisame smirked and had a mad smile on his face.

"Sasori, you will work on your own. Your job is to find us new potential recruits. Only take the best." said the leader sternly

"Hai Leader-sama." replied Sasori

"Zetsu, you will keep watch on the five great nations and keep us informed about their activities." ordered the Leader.

"It will be fun." said the black part of Zetsu

"We will get the job done" said Zetsu's white part

"A new era has come and we shall lead this world to a right path." said the leader firmly

All the members just stared at him, Kushina just remained impassive, the only thing she was interested in was her own ambitions, and she would do whatever it takes to fulfill them.

On the top of the cave, stood Madara looking at the members curiously.

''I wonder how things are going to change."

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(Konoha)

Minato was sitting in his office. Last night had been one of the best nights of his life. His son was finally born, he was finally a father. Many people had congratulated him. The entire village had celebrated on Naruto's birthday.

Mikoto was very happy and she was not willing to let go Naruto from her sights.

He was the Hokage so had to assume his duties but that didn't mean his mind couldn't be with his family.

His thoughts then drifted to Kushina, he suddenly felt very sad when he thought about his best friend.

In these years, Kushina had started distancing himself from him and Mikoto. She was present at their wedding but only congratulated them with sad eyes.

Mikoto and him had tried many times to make her happy and get her life back on track, but she refused to have any kind of relationship with them. She had slowly started becoming a lot more depressed.

When Minato had received her request to join Anbu, he had first denied it as he was worried for her safety. But she had insisted quite harshly and Minato had to agree as the Anbu commander readily accepted her proposal. They needed skilled people like her, they had lost many skilled shinobi in the war and as such he had to do what was right as a Hokage, no matter how much it pained his heart.

Since then they had never even heard from Kushina, Mikoto blamed herself for Kushina's misery but Minato had assured her that it wasn't their fault.

Suddenly he was interuppted from his thoughts when an Anbu appeared in front of him.

"Hokage-sama, there is an emergency." said the Anbu seriously

Minato schooled his features, he had to do his duty. Personal problems could wait later.

"What is the situation?" asked Minato strictly in Hokage mode.

"Kushina Uzumaki has been found missing since last night." said the Anbu shocking Minato

"What!" said Minato loudly

"Hokage-sama, she was assigned patrol duty by the Anbu commander last night, but she has not returned to HQ. We had already started searching her, we checked her posts and the entire village but there has been no trace of her." explained the Anbu briefly

"This is bad." thought Minato worriedly. Kushina had the Kyubi sealed in her, and if she was missing then something must have hapened to her, did someone attack her. He had assigned some Anbu to watch over her as she was the Jinchuriki.

"What about the Anbu squad I had assigned to watch her?" questioned Minato strictly

"They are missing too Hokage-sama. Right now we are counting them as MIA (missing in action) with the possibility of them being found KIA (Killed in Action)" explained the Anbu

"Get the best trackers from the Inuzuka, Aburame and Hyuga clans. I want an entire task force of Anbu blackops to search for her in the entire fire country." ordered Minato firmly

"The entire fire country?" asked the shocked Anbu

"Yes, we need to find her quckly. Send me the Anbu commander. This information is top secret and you are not to reveal any of its contents to anyone. The penalty for breaking this order is death." said Minato sternly

"Hai" said the Anbu confidently

"Failure is not an option. Now move!" commanded Minato

"Yes, sir" said the Anbu and shunshined quickly to carry out his orders

Minato went towards the window in his office, he looked at his village. Dark clouds were surrounding the village, the people were living their lives unaware of the trouble the village was in.

"A storm is coming." thought Minato

He was very worried about Kushina. Despite everything she was his childhood friend teammate and best friend. He decided not to tell Mikoto about this for now as she had just given birth and he wanted her to look after Naruto. He would find Kushina himself, and nothing could stop him. He was the Fourth Hokage of Konoha.

"Kushina, where are you?"