Prologue

Spring was blossoming and the garden was blooming under its influence. A garden in the village of Konohagakure was a spectacle in itself during springtime. The sunlight fluttered down and soaked the garden with a marvelous golden glow that converted scattered pollen into pixie dust. Songbirds were hosting their orchestra in a manner one could hope to influence the people around them. At the very least, that is what Hiruzen Sarutobi hoped for the people of Konohagakure, and beyond. But right now, the Third Hokage was not fascinated by the beauty of the garden itself, rather he was interested in the infant staring out at it, her bright blue eyes lit up in a shade of green from swaying trees outside.

Hiruzen was sat in the room, pacing back and forth as he glanced at the baby girl that was laid out on a futon on the ground. There was a mass of white hair on tiny head and barely covering the small horns protruding from it. But Hiruzen's mind was miles away, trying to imagine how to reintroduce the girl to the village of Konohagakure.

What name, what identity, what family .. Hiruzen had no idea what he must do for the girl and for the village. It was not lost on the village, and beyond, that Konohagakure had acquired another Jinchuriki one while year ago. It was not lost on the village, and beyond, that Konohagakure had raised the descendant of the Rabbit Goddess for one whole year ago.

It was not lost on the village, and beyond, that Konohagakure had given shelter to a child of a demon for one whole year.

When Jiraiya had brought a white-haired and blue-eyed baby to the Third Hokage, Hiruzen had thought that the girl was Jiraiya's own daughter from an unknown woman. But then Jiraiya dictated to his teacher about how he had found the child on his travels following the end of the Third Great Shinobi War.

Jiraiya had come across an unnaturally large lily flower, that blossomed when he touched it, absorbing a major portion of his Chakra (something that took him days to recover from) and revealed to be hosting a baby girl. Hiruzen had been skeptical of this tale, citing Jiraiya's drinking and womanising habits.

However, once he had observed Jiraiya's condition and the child was checked by a nurse, Hiruzen was shocked to learn of the girl's origins. While it was true the girl was born of human parents, her lineage was connected to Konohagakure itself.

And within days, six Magatama had appeared over her collarbones and the Yin and Yang symbols on her hands. Hiruzen could not understand the girl's arrival and could not see what it meant for the future. Especially since the nurse that had been assigned to take care of the girl and had explicitly and furtively swore to the Hokage that she had seen the girl's blue eyes switch into Byakugan and Sharingan.

It was something no one had seen before and Hiruzen had kept the secret within the two of them. Such events, caused Hiruzen to hide the girl from the people of Konohagakure, and the rest of the Shinobi world. He could still not understand where the girl, who they had named Shirayuki (named by Jiraiya), had come from, or more so, he feared that he had an idea. And within the first month of her arrival, during the full moon, a seal glowed on her forehead. It took several days to decipher what the intricate and medieval seal held, and Hiruzen was not pleased when he found out that the creature within the girl was the Okuninushi, which could mean only one thing: The creature had returned and had sealed itself in the girl, something only a non-human, a member of the Otsutsuki Clan could bear.

Then, Shirayuki was given a full name: Otsutsuki Shirayuki, a name Asuna thought was only fitting of such a child. Hiruzen knew that Asuna, who did not have a child, was excited to take care of the girl but Hiruzen's consciousness was pulling at him as to what to do with the girl and whether to keep her a secret from everyone.

Somehow, some way, the information about such a girl reached the ears of his own student, Orochimaru, who tried to kidnap the girl. Asuna was killed in the attack and thus left Hiruzen to take care of Shirayuki on his own. It took him a lot of time before he revealed to the village and other Kages that there was another Jinchuriki in Konohagakure.

The news of the girl came as an icy shock to the whole of the Shinobi world. If a descendant was born of the Rabbit Goddess, then the child must be killed, the others reasoned, for she would only grow up to wage more wars like her ancestor. Hiruzen could understand their fears.

Shirayuki was the first child to be born with those symbols, and symbolized Rabbit Goddess, a demonic woman, and there was nothing to assure that Shirayuki was peaceful. It was especially hard to handle the news of this arrival as the war had barely ended - and the Rabbit Goddess had herself arrived in such times in the past. But his promise to the woman kept Hiruzen's heart torn.

Ultimately, he decided against giving the girl up and decided to raise her separately from the village (who had begun to fear her) and hope that little Shirayuki would not grow up to become someone like her ancestor.

"Come in," Hiruzen said as soon as he heard the knock on the door.

The door to the room slid open quietly and Jiraiya stepped inside, closing it behind himself. His eyes fell upon the child on the ground and he halted.

"Sensei," Jiraiya said as he kept his dark eyes on the child, noticing the horns on her head.

"Who is this? Oh, it's Shirayuki? "Hiruzen sighed as he stopped pacing around and locked his arms behind his back.

Jiraiya noted that he looked rather weary.

" Right.? "

" Yes, this child is the infamous Otsutsuki Shirayuki, "Hiruzen said, somewhat bitter.

"I'm sure you've heard rumors about her all over the village, ever since you brought her here," Jiraiya let out a nervous laugh as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Of course, I have heard a lot. "Jiraiya muttered as he knelt down next to the child and held out his finger to the one-year-old.

" I couldn't have just left a child out in the wild, could I? "Shirayuki immediately grabbed his finger , giggling in a way that blossomed a smile across Jiraiya's lips.

"What a beautiful child ..."

"She certainly is ... One could say that she mirrors the Rabbit Goddess perfectly, except for the eyes," Hiruzen replied.

"But that is also what I fear: that she may mirror her ancestor too much," Jiraiya looked at him curiously.

"The beast inside her, Okuninushi, has told me many things about this girl, and what she may be capable of doing in the future,"

"What do you want to do with her?" Jiraiya questioned as he carefully gathered the girl into his arms. It was the first time he had held the girl since he brought her to Konohagakure.

"Could there be a way that we can prevent that from happening?"

"The girl is different from Naruto," Hiruzen continued by himself.

"She's rather quiet and friendly to strangers. But. The girl is too particular. Her last caretaker swore that the girl possessed the Byakugan and Sharingan, and Okuninushi admitted that she could use his Crystal Style and the elusive Wood Style,"

"But, How could this be possible?" Jiraiya demanded, shocked.

He looked back down at the smiling baby in his arms, saw the six magatama on her neck, and remembered he was holding the descendant of the Rabbit Goddess.

"Her last caretaker was Asuna-San, wasn't she? And she was killed by. Orochimaru."

"You realize how much of a grave danger this girl is in, Jiraiya," Hiruzen said.

"And ever since that attack, news of this girl and her possible powers has spread all over the world - something I wanted to prevent for as long as possible, but alas.

"It is crucial for us that the child is grown with love and attention. To make sure that neither Shirayuki nor Naruto would grow up isolated and that Shirayuki would, I'm afraid, not turn out to be like the Rabbit Goddess," Jiraiya continued to stare at the white-haired girl in his arms and wondered what fate this girl would grow up with, to have enemies the moment she was born. Maybe because he had been the one to rescue her, but Jiraiya felt rather worried.

"Okuninushi is still mistrustful of us, but he has hinted some very curious things," Hiruzen admitted.

"The girl is the granddaughter of one of the three founders of Konohagakure: Senju Hashirama, Uchiha Madara or Kambayashi Nikki. I'm inclined to believe that it is Nikki-Sama and Tobirama Sensei's granddaughter, "

" If it's their granddaughter, then it has to be Maria child, hasn't it? "Jiraiya asked, remembering the woman whose face had barely faded from his memory over the last few years.

"But Maria passed away during the war, it has been so many years since then ..."

"The child was placed in that flower by a descendant of Otsutsuki Clan, and I do believe that this child would've been born years earlier .. "Hiruzen said, eyebrows furrowed.

" I wouldn't be surprised if Maria deliberately hid the child away for the fear of what she would bring to the war-torn world ... Maria-Chan had always such a thoughtful child ... "Hiruzen let out a heavy sigh as he remembered his first apprentice, the child of his own Sensei.

The girl's sacrifice for the village was still a deep wound on his heart. He felt rather frustrated that Maria did not think selfishly and save herself and the child.The loss of a student was very similar to the loss of an offspring.

"Then who is the father?" Jiraiya asked.

"Do you have any idea? Maria was always so secretive ... Do you think Tsunade would have an idea? "Hiruzen thought about it. Maria and Tsunade - the aunt-niece were very close due to their close age.

" She used to be close to Minato-Kun's older brother, "" Yusuke? "Hiruzen asked.

Jiraiya nodded in response as he looked down at the child in his arms, trying to think whether his old teammate had been the mother of this child. They certainly had the same hair and pale blue eyes.

"I suppose it could be ..."

"If it is Maria-Chan's daughter, then it would be only fair to name her Myra," Jiraiya spoke up, staring at the child in his arms.

Okuninushi insists on us keeping her surname "Otsutsuki '," Hiruzen said, sounding rather annoyed.

"Which reminds me, in addition to the abilities of her celestial clan, the girl has inherited a curse of the Rabbit Goddess."

For the next six years, Hiruzen kept an eye on Myra from afar as she grew up, worried about the girl inheriting her ancestor's anger and hate for the world. But it didn't take Hiruzen long to be assured that Myra wouldn't: the girl was a quiet and peace-loving person since the day she spoke. In fact, 'Heiwa' or 'Peace' was the first word Myra spoke, and Hiruzen tried to assure himself that the girl will definitely become a better person.

The Hokage was sure that Myra would not be like the Rabbit Goddess. Hiruzen hoped desperately for that.

"Myra," Hiruzen said as he knocked on Myra apartment door. He had protected this place with as many protective measures as he could. And there had been several occasions where the Konoha ANBU had to personally interfere and save the white-haired girl from assassins.

"Hokage-Sama," Myra said as the seven-year-old girl opened the door, dressed in a plain blue shirt with the Kanji for Love 'and black shorts. Hiruzen wondered if she really stood by the word on her shirt.

" We're going to the Academy today! "

" Are you ready to go? " Hiruzen asked.

Myra nodded as she grabbed her school bag and quickly pulled on her shoes. Her long white hair was pulled into twin tails. It was when she stepped outside the apartment that she realized there was someone else with him.

"Hello, my name is Uzumaki Naruto!" The blond eight-year-old greeted Myra. The girl immediately grinned in response and shook his hand.

"Hello! My name is Otsutsuki Myra, "Myra introduced herself. Hiruzen eyed the interaction between the two Jinchuriki and cousins, wondering what their beasts were thinking.

" Are you also going to the Academy? "

" Yes, it's my first day, too, dattebayo ! "Naruto said.

Myra continued to grin as the two of them followed Hiruzen down the building and toward the street that would lead them to their Konoha Academy.

"That girl and boy ..."

"Hokage-Sama couldn't have allowed, could he ...?"

"I thought they would be kept away."

"Why are they being put around our children ..?"

"Goodness, both of them out in the open.?" Hiruzen continued to watch the blond boy and the white-haired girl walk in front of him, chatting rather fast as they mused over what would happen in the Academy and what kind of Jutsus they wanted to learn the most.

He debated whether he should tell them about their familial relations. Quite honestly, Hiruzen had expected such words from the villagers but he had hoped that the nonchalant entrance of the two children would not spark such a bad response. But it was inevitable that Myra and Naruto would have to face their heritages and classification as Jinchuriki. Naruto was shielded by the name of Uzumaki, his father's enemies would not recognize him. But as for Otsutsuki Myra.

One could only imagine what an enemy of the village or any greedy Shinobi would do to get their hands on the girl. The last of Otsutsuki, a girl who could use the Wood Style and Crystal Style, a girl who had the ability of Shikotsumyaku, a girl who was a prodigy when it came to poisons and medicines, a girl who was not entirely human and could withstand otherwise fatal experiments. And not to mention, a girl who possibly possessed the Byakugan and Sharingan. It was still a mystery to Hiruzen. Sharingan could be activated, and it was obvious that Myra had not activated it (regardless of what Asuna-San claimed) but a non-activated Byakugan? Hiruzen had never heard of such a thing before. Only time would tell.

"Hokage-Same!" Umino Iruka said as he came rushing over and bowing.

Myra and Naruto eyed him. Hiruzen nodded at Iruka, who had already had a talk about the two children.

"You guys must be Naruto-Kun and Myra-Chan," He smiled at the kids.

"Yes, they are," Hiruzen said.

"Naruto can be a little handful at times, but he usually means well. As for Myra, she's younger than the other students, but I believe she will fit right in with everyone, "He looked at the kids.

" Greet your new Iruka Sensei, "

" Hello, Iruka Sensei, "Myra said, bowing properly, pulling Naruto down with herself before straightening up. Naruto grumbled about his back hurting but was distracted once he started to look around the place.

"Come on, Myra-Chan, Naruto-Kun, the other students have already arrived," Iruka said, smiling kindly at her and held his hand out to her.

Myra's eyes widened, genuinely surprised by his behavior in contrast to the others, and took his hand quickly, blushing slightly in the excitement.

"I hope she's not that easily impressible." Hiruzen muttered, noticing the blush on the white-haired girl's cheeks. He waved goodbye to the two children until they had vanished off into the Konoha Academy with Iruka.

"It's just like Maria-Chan ..." Hiruzen sighed.