7

Summary:

Kushina's relationship with Kurama continues to improve, and new players are introduced...

Notes:

Heya here's another one for you all! Thanks all for the support, it really means a lot! I've got another very long multi-chapter fic for this fandom that I'm almost ready to start posting, so if you are enjoying my writing for this fandom keep an eye out for that <3 When I can manage it really like waiting until I've finished most all of a fic to start posting, because it's sooooo much easier write coherent story. But was apprehensive about writing for new fandom so posted what had this. feel more comfortable now, thanks everyone that :) In return being awesome offer regular posting schedule once uploading!< p>

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

"Ugh, and do you want to know what he said next?" 

Kurama gave her a flat look. "No, but I'm sure you will tell me anyway." 

Kushina ignored the fox's attitude. "He said, 'oh I would definitely not abandon your perfect, precious, orphaned son to run around the world and write porn!'"

"I'm sure it was phrased just like that." Kurama rolled his eyes. 

The fox sat comfortably under a massive tree that cast dappled shadows onto his orange fur. It still amazed Kushina that they'd been able to alter the seal to create such a realistic setting. The sunlight felt real, and warm, and the mountain peaks that lined the backdrop were obscured by clouds. Even the grass seemed to be covered in a light morning dew, even though the time of day never actually changed here. Kurama seemed more content, even if he refused to acknowledge it. 

"Ok, maybe I exaggerated a bit," Kushina admitted with a shrug, "but he might as well have said it that way!" She frowned as she realized Kurama wasn't even looking at her, instead staring off toward the mountain range. "Hey! Are you even listening to me?" 

"I'm trying very hard not to," Kurama replied dryly, " but unfortunately your voice is very shrill." 

Kushina scoffed at the fox's reply. "Naruto," she turned toward her son, who was busy trying to climb the giant tree, "would you please tell Kurama he is being very rude?" 

The boy grinned and abandoned his climbing efforts, instead clapping his hands gleefully. "Ku-ra rude! Ku-ra rude!" 

Now that Naruto's vocabulary and understanding were expanding, she was taking the time to teach him a few useful words and phrases. He, of course, already knew how to ask for Ichiraku (want ich-ku!) and complain about being told to eat his vegetables (no ege-bles!). It was difficult to believe that he was almost two ! 

Kurama scoffed at both of them. "Hey, runt. Here's some new words for you; can you say, 'fuck off'?" 

To Kushina's horror, and Kurama's amusement, Naruto did indeed try to repeat the words. "Uck off! Uck off!" 

Later, when Minato was putting their son to bed and asking for a goodnight kiss, Kushina would have a very hard time explaining why their toddler was cheerfully cursing at him in response. 

"You know," Kushina huffed in response, "for a centuries old being of unimaginable power and rage, you're actually incredibly immature." 

Kurama glowered at her, but the gesture was much less threatening than it used to be. Their relationship had come a long way since Kurama saved Naruto's life. Their interactions were generally civil, even pleasant most of the time. They still bickered and butted heads, but it was a huge improvement from where they'd started. Kushina no longer questioned Kurama's motives, and trusted him completely to have Naruto's best interests at heart. 

That didn't mean all of her wariness was gone, and she knew Kurama felt the same about her. Still, they'd definitely reached the point of begrudging acceptance, and many nights she found herself in the mindscape almost enjoying the fox's company. 

"And how did the Toad Sage react to the information you passed to him?" Kurama asked, gently flicking Naruto away as the boy started tugging on one of his tails.

"He took it surprisingly well," she responded, shaking her head fondly as her son just giggled at the fox's attempts to shoo him away. 

All things considered, Jiraiya had accepted the truth of Kurama's journey through time with very few protests. He'd been around long enough, and seen enough of the world, to understand that time travel was not the strangest thing out there. He'd taken the information in stride, and he'd been more concerned about whether they were positive Kurama was being truthful about his intentions, rather than if he was being truthful about the time travel itself. Kushina had been resolute in her insistence that yes, she was placing her trust in the Kyuubi, despite the obvious reluctance from her husband. He told his former master that he trusted Kushina's instincts, but the way he pursed his lips made it obvious that he was barely convincing himself of that fact. He didn't trust the Kyuubi, which Kushina could appreciate. What she didn't appreciate was that he didn't trust her , despite what he said to Jiraiya. He still seemed convinced that Kurama was tricking her, or that she was missing something in the fox's intentions. Bah, and they called her the stubborn one!

Minato was still convinced that Kurama was deliberately feeding them false information to weaken the Uchiha clan. Kushina tried to explain that yes, Kurama was not shy about his distaste for the clan, but no he wasn't really a threat to them at the moment. Her husband didn't buy it. Kurama's devotion to Naruto was unyielding, to the point that his protection extended to the most important figures in Naruto's life. Hence why he'd saved Kakashi, and probably Sasuke and Itachi too, even if she didn't know if that had been intentional. So as long as Naruto remained fond of Mikoto's boys, Kushina knew in her gut that Kurama wouldn't harm the clan. Not after the memories he'd shown her, with how far Naruto had gone for Sasuke. 

So even on the days when she found herself wondering if she was in fact insane for trusting the demon fox, she still trusted that Kurama would never do anything to hurt Naruto. And apparently that included protecting his precious people. Who knew the Kyuubi was such a sentimental creature? 

Kurama sighed in defeat as he failed to dissuade Naruto from yanking on his fur. "And what does he plan to do now?" The fox asked. 

"He went to Amegakure to speak to them in person," Kushina replied. "He felt that a letter would be too impersonal, and probably ineffective." 

The fox hummed in response, no longer reacting as Naruto played with his tails. "His logic is sound." 

Kushina sighed. "I just wish we could have been able to save the third one. That's what kind of caused them to go off the rails, right?" 

"That is one way to put it," Kurama grumbled. 

The Kyuubi didn't share her sentiment, but he at least agreed that it would have saved them a lot of trouble. Unfortunately, the remaining member of their group had apparently been killed before Naruto was born, which meant that it was before Kurama traveled through time. There was nothing they could do to prevent it at this point, but Kurama assured them that the remaining two should be amenable to changing their plans. If Naruto had been able to change their hearts after a decade or two of scheming, hopefully their old master would fare equally as well now that the group was just in its infancy. Particularly since Kurama agreed to let the duo know the truth about "Madara's" intentions, and an abridged version of how they came upon the information. They weren't planning on telling any more "disgusting humans" (Kurama's words) that the Kyuubi was their source, but they weren't going to lie about the time travel bit. The theory was that Jiraiya would have enough information to convince them he was telling the truth. 

"He's going to look for Lady Tsunade too," Kushina added. "I've been wondering, why her, anyway?"

Kurama's expression remained neutral. "She has surprising moments of competence." 

"Wow," Kushina replied sarcastically, "high praise from the mighty Kyuubi." 

The fox scoffed at her. "You asked me who could be trusted to know the truth and her name was the first that popped into my head. It's not like I remember most of you useless creatures anyway." 

After nearly two years following Kurama's time travel adventure, Kushina liked to think she was starting to get better at reading between the lines. For whatever reason, Kurama seemed to have at least some level of respect for the slug Sannin. She wasn't a bad choice, just a surprising one. And according to Kurama, she had taken the mantle of Hokage following her mentor's death. It was hard to picture, considering the last time she remembered seeing Lady Tsunade she was drunk off her ass and screaming about how only an idiot would ever want to become Hokage. Apparently the future changed more than just Kurama's heart. 

"Whatever you say, you mangy old fox," Kushina finally replied with a shrug. 

Kurma bared his teeth. "I used to eat humans for speaking to me so disrespectfully, Tomato Head." 

There was a distinctive sensation of a wave of force pressing against Kushina's consciousness. Kurama was kicking her out of the mindscape. She used to be able to fight him, in her own mind, but here it was more difficult. Not only was their connection more tenuous, their relationship was completely different. As much as Kushina did in fact enjoy pushing the fox's buttons, she was making a real effort to honor his wishes. That meant leaving his presence when he got tired of her, even if she did want to push back on principle alone. But she didn't, because Kurama had changed, so she was making an effort to change too. 

Kushina let herself be evicted from the mindscape, blinking back into consciousness and finding herself on the living room floor. Naruto was curled up beside her, snoring softly. She'd forgotten that they'd fallen asleep here, spread out on a soft blanket and playing a game that apparently exhausted both of them enough to take a nap.

Naruto was still asleep, and that wasn't a surprise at all. Kurama rarely kicked him out. For all of the fox's complaining, it was obvious he didn't actually mind the toddler's attention. He did draw the line at anything related to bodily functions, following a very comical incident with a dirty diaper. Kushina had laughed and reminded the fox that nothing in the mindscape was real, but he'd just snarled something about his "sensitive nose" and complained about how disgusting humans are. 

Kushina stretched contently, smiling softly as she watched her son's peaceful expression. Sometimes her heart still sped up as she recalled his near kidnapping a few months ago. His expression had been eerily still, rather than peaceful like it was now. Fortunately he didn't seem to have any residual complications from the incident. 

Really, the only one that did was Kakashi. Both of Mikoto's boys had recovered perfectly fine, although Itachi had ended up with a pretty nasty concussion. Physically, Kakashi had healed completely. But mentally? He still blamed himself for the entire event. No matter how many times they told him it wasn't his fault, the teen refused to listen. He seemed determined to shoulder the blame for everything that happened that day.

The second Kakashi was released from the hospital (after Minato had dragged him back twice when he tried to leave too early), Kakashi was more serious about his guard duty than ever. Kushina appreciated how much he cared for their family, but she hated seeing how the guilt was weighing on him. The only upside was that he'd finally relented and moved into their spare room, claiming that it would let him do his job better. She was seriously starting to worry about Minato's only remaining student. She very much appreciated having someone else who would protect Naruto as fiercely as she herself would, but she knew the way he was doing it wasn't healthy. Kushina wanted to talk to Minato about him, to perhaps discuss other options for the teen. Afterall, he'd been Naruto's jounin instructor in the other future. Even if it was laughable to think about Kakashi with a genin team, something obviously changed for him. Maybe it would be worth trying to push him toward that future here and now. Really, anything to get him to stop holding onto every bad thing that ever happened to him.

Case in point, said teen was lazily sprawled out on the couch behind her, casually flipping a dagger in his hand like it wasn't a deadly instrument. He tossed it above his head, catching it with ease, before noticing Kushina's gaze on him. His eye crinkled as he announced, "Yo." 

Kushina rolled her eyes, sitting up and rubbing the last of her tiredness from her eyes. "What, were you just watching us sleep? Creep," she teased. "Got nothing better to do?" 

Kakashi shrugged in response, sitting up to mirror her. "You know I don't. Besides," he reminded her, "you're the one that wanted me to live here. Can't a man relax in his own home?" 

Snorting, Kushina shot him a glare. "'Relax'. Yeah right." The day she actually found Kakashi relaxing would be more monumental than the Kyuubi traveling through time. 

Kakashi didn't rise to the bait, humming thoughtfully. "Nice nap?" He shifted around a bit awkwardly. "How is…Kurama?" 

"Kurama is as cranky as ever," she reported. 

Ever since Kurama saved Kakashi (for Naruto's sake), the teen had been understandably curious about the fox. He was less wary than Minato and Kushina had been, probably since he didn't have the same history with the Kyuubi. She wondered if the Kakashi from Kurama's timeline had been equally as accepting, or if her and Minato's death had made it too difficult for him to forgive and forget. She tried not to think about it. 

Kakashi was smart enough to not press for details about the future. As much as they were already messing with time, they all knew they needed to be careful. Still, it was hard to not wonder at least a little bit about the time traveling chakra demon, particularly since Kushina let it slip that Kakashi ended up with a genin team. She didn't say Naruto was part of it, but it wasn't exactly difficult to put the pieces together. 

"Any new nuggets of wisdom?" Kakashi asked.

"No, just a few new colorful words that I definitely did not want Naruto to learn," she grumbled. "I wonder how much a nice Kyuubi throw rug would go for?" Kushina mused, making Kakashi chuckle at her empty threat. 

Beside her, Naruto started to stir. His eyes blinked open, looking a little dazed. Kushina felt her heart swell just looking at him. She wondered if she'd ever be able to look at her son without thinking about how fragile the peace in their lives really was. He'd almost grown up without them, and then they'd almost lost him before he was even two years old. 

Kushina leaned over to brush a strand of blond hair from her son's face, making him grin in response. She wondered if he had any concept that their visits to the Kyuubi were real, and not a dream. Probably not. He probably didn't even have a concept of what a dream was at this point. To him, falling asleep meant visiting his friend Ku-ra, and nothing else. 

Naruto mumbled something sleepily, in that distinctive toddler voice that was somewhere between gibberish and actual conversation. Half the time he talked too fast to understand what he was saying regardless. In this timeline he might have been given her husband's last name, but he was still an Uzumaki through and through, and he'd definitely inherited her impressive fast-talk. 

As usual, Naruto's face lit up when he noticed Kakashi. "Kashi!" He squealed, scrambling over to the couch to turn his excited babbling on the teen. 

Kakashi nodded along, though his expression made it clear he was only catching every other word. It appeared to be some story about Kurama, which was Naruto's favorite subject. Really, the fox had been his favorite subject since he started talking. It had taken her an embarrassingly long time to realize that Naruto's first word was in fact the Kyuubi's name. When she'd realized it she confronted Kurama, who looked far too smug for her liking. Bastard fox. At least "mama" had been his second word, but barely. 

At the time, she'd been so excited thinking that "mama" was his first word, not comprehending that he'd been babbling "Ku-ra" for longer. She wasn't sure if Minato or Kakashi had even realized it now, and she wasn't going to tell them. They'd had a little bit of friendly competition going over whose name Naruto would say first, and Kushina wasn't about to admit that she'd been shown up by the damn Kyuubi. They already laughed at her enough, considering less than 10 seconds after saying "mama" it became clear that Naruto only wanted her attention to ask to see Sasuke. She'd been basking in the glow of her baby's "first" word, when he'd pointed vaguely in the direction of the Uchiha district and asked, "Sas?" Then he'd asked for him about half a dozen more times. 

After that was "dada" and "Kashi", then of course, "ramen". Then it became hard to keep track of all the new words Naruto learned. He was a little chatterbox, and very well attuned to every conversation around him. They had to be careful now about talking about anything potentially classified or sensitive. Kushina swore sometimes that Naruto must have the fox's hearing, because all of a sudden he'd be repeating half-understood ramblings of topics that he was definitely not supposed to know about. 

From where Naruto was hanging off Kakashi, there was an audible gurgling sound. Naruto put a hand on his stomach and asked, "Din?" 

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, probably about to make a housewife joke (he'd tried it once and learned his lesson), but he wisely thought better of it and kept his mouth shut. It was still a bit of a sore subject for Kushina. She felt a little bit suffocated, being stuck on the sidelines, but she'd been too anxious to go on missions again since Naruto's attempted abduction. She'd barely just gotten back into the swing of things and now her nerves were shot all over again. Hopefully she could regain some semblance of independence before Naruto started at the academy. She didn't want him to be the kid whose parents never let him do anything or go anywhere without them. She was supposed to be the cool mom, dammit! 

"There's some leftovers in the fridge," Kushina replied, even though the toddler probably didn't understand all of her words. 

"Ramen?" Naruto asked hopefully. 

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "If there was ever any question that he's your son, his unhealthy obsession with ramen would clear up any suspicion." 

Kushina shot him a half-hearted glare. "Very funny." Her expression softened as she turned toward her son. "No ramen tonight, Naruto." 

The boy pouted, but as usual, he returned to his usual cheery self quite quickly. Nothing seemed to keep him down for too long. Naruto's expression brightened even more as their front door opened and a familiar voice called out a greeting. Naruto was already making a beeline for the door, his tiny feet scrambling to keep up with his enthusiasm. 

"Dada!" He launched himself at his father, who barely had time to close the door behind him before a blond bundle of energy was crashing into him. 

Minato caught his son, lifting him into the air and spinning him in a circle. Naruto giggled happily, his bright smile practically lighting up the room. "Hey, kiddo." His voice was soft and fond, but Kushina didn't miss the wariness in his tone, or the tension in his shoulders. 

Kushina stood up from her spot on the floor, groaning as she cracked her back. Since when did sleeping on the floor leave her feeling so achy? Naruto clearly had no qualms about it, seeing as how kids his age were basically made of nothing but pudgy, cushioned baby fat. 

"Welcome home," Kushina offered as she dusted herself off. She frowned as she noticed the bags under her husband's eyes. He'd left before she was up this morning, which was unlike him. Did she need to worry that he wasn't sleeping?

Kakashi also waved a hand in greeting. He started to tense as well, reading the apprehension on his sensei's face. 

To his credit, Minato tried to relax as he held Naruto, who was chattering happily in his ear. Unfortunately, he couldn't hide his worried expression. 

"What is it?" Kushina asked, wondering the reason for her husband's sour expression.

Minato sighed, pulling a folded piece of paper out of his pocket. "It's from Master Jiraiya," he explained. "He met with his former students, and they're willing to listen." 

Kushina frowned. "Ok…? That doesn't sound like a bad thing." 

"No," Minato shook his head. "That's not the issue. The issue is that they want proof." 

"Proof?" 

"Yeah. Proof that everything they've been told is true," he clarified. 

Now she understood why Minato looked so concerned. "I'm guessing this involves Kurama, and Naruto by extension?" 

Nodding, Minato responded, "Exactly. They want to meet our 'informant'. Which means…" 

"Absolutely not," Kushina insisted. "Kurama showed me what they did in the future. They targeted the jinchuuriki! Naruto had way more training before he took them on, and even then it was a close call. He's defenseless right now!" 

Naruto hummed happily when he heard the Kyuubi's name. He chanted giddily, "Ku-ra! Ku-ra!" 

"I agree," Minato confirmed, smiling softly at his son, despite the seriousness of the conversation. "It's too risky. I just don't know what the alternative is." 

Kushina nodded in agreement. Even if they changed in the future, or even if Jiraiya might be able to change them now, they had no proof. They couldn't risk letting Naruto and Kurama fall into their clutches. This could easily be a trick. 

"Couldn't Kurama just give us some information to pass on to them?" Kakashi interjected. "Something that should be impossible for him to know in this timeline?" 

Minato sighed. "We tried that. Apparently they want to hear it directly from the source." 

"I don't like it," Kushina replied. "We don't have any reason to trust them. They could be trying to find out who our informant is to silence them." 

"My concerns exactly," Minato agreed. 

"Well, then I guess we just write back and tell them our concerns," Kushina sighed. "Hopefully we can come up with an alternative." 

—------------------------------

As it turned out, it didn't take long for an alternative to present itself. 

It wasn't often that she was summoned to the Hokage's office. Asked, yes, but not summoned. This was something official from the Yondaime, not a request from her husband. She was both curious and nervous. 

Kushina made her way to the tower and up to the office. She was let in with a polite nod from the ANBU stationed in front of the door. Minato was at his desk, frowning at a piece of paper and tapping his fingers in a way that Kushina knew meant he was feeling anxious. She wondered if it was about whatever he had summoned her for, or thanks to his two visitors. 

They were instantly recognizable, of course, and both of them made Kushina want to punch something, though for very different reasons. Thanks in part to how busy she'd been raising Naruto, and also partly due to a big helping of misogyny, Kushina had been fairly absent from most of the official meetings that the Hokage had to deal with since their son's birth. Politics were never her forte to begin with, but she did her best to be there for her husband. Minato didn't care about any of the protests from the more old-fashioned officials, citing that Kushina was functionally their last link to Uzushio and the (former) jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi anyway. Still, she knew that her presence wasn't exactly desired at any of those stuffy meetings, and that many of those old farts hadn't been sad about her absence. Not that she'd been particularly sad either. Playing political games was not really in her nature, and it had been nice to not see certain faces anyway. 

Still, she knew the role she needed to play. Kushina inclined her head politely. "Lord Third. Lord Danzo." 

Ever since Kurama had shown her how miserably the Sandaime had failed her son, she'd been actively avoiding him. Not for her sake, but for Minato's. She was pissed . She wanted to scream, and to tell the old man off, but that would reflect poorly on Minato, and it would open the door for some very uncomfortable questions that Kushina couldn't answer. Namely, why she was so angry at him. Kurama had been very clear on not wanting to involve the old man in their plans, and she could understand why. 

Minato had remained a little more level headed about his predecessor's poor choices, and she understood, even if she didn't agree. She didn't miss how his facial muscles twitched ever so subtly when the old man was brought up in conversation, but it was probably barely perceptible to people that didn't know him. He was just as disappointed in the Third Hokage as she was, but he wasn't in a position to let his distaste be known. Kushina did wonder if he would be able to remain so even-tempered if he saw the visions that Kurama had shared with Kushina. It was one thing to hear about the neglect Naruto had faced, but it was something else completely to see memories of her son, an innocent child, remaining undefended and alone. Even if the Sandaime claimed it was in Naruto's best interest to keep his parentage a secret, there was no reason for him to be so alone or to not be told that he was at least wanted . The poor boy didn't even know that he was loved! She would never forgive the Sandaime for that, regardless of which timeline it happened in. If he made those choices once, he could easily do so again. She couldn't trust him. 

And then there was Lord Danzo. Kushina had never liked him, or trusted him, but now she felt a burning hatred on behalf of her best friend's clan, who would (hopefully) never experience the worst of cruelty and distrust. There were many gaps in Naruto's knowledge about Danzo, which meant that there were many gaps in Kurama's. However, she saw enough to realize how much of a threat he was. Plus, she knew that there were people Naruto would come to care about that were probably already in Danzo's clutches. The wood-style user, who seemed to be friends with Kakashi, and the boy that eventually joined Naruto's team. Did Danzo already have them? Had Kakashi met the wood-style user yet? She wanted to help them, but Minato warned her not to go after Danzo without proof. So as much as she hated it, she was biding her time, waiting for any excuse to bring the old creep down. 

"Ah, Kushina, it has been too long," Hiruzen greeted her with a polite smile. "How is Naruto?" 

Kushina forced a polite smile of her own. "Oh, you know. Growing like a weed, causing trouble." 

The old man laughed at that. "I believe it. I'll have to come by and visit some time. I haven't seen him since he started talking and I hear he's quite the little chatterbox now!" 

This is why she hated playing politics. Keeping her face neutral was impossible, and she knew she was slipping up. Danzo was narrowing his eyes in suspicion, and even the Sandaime was looking at her curiously. She was trying to smile, but it probably looked more like a grimace. 

"Of course," Kushina responded through gritted teeth, "you are welcome anytime." 

Welcome to a swift punch in the gut anytime, maybe. Hm, it was probably treasonous to have violent thoughts about the former Hokage, but thinking about a little retribution for her son's neglect did brighten her expression a bit so no one had to know. The old man was lucky he technically hadn't done anything in this timeline to warrant her wrath, otherwise she would have chewed him out ages ago, consequences be damned. 

Maybe someday, if they ended up revealing the truth about Kurama, they could tell the old man how much he'd messed up. Then he could beg for Naruto's forgiveness. Then, and only then, Kushina could let her grudge go. She had a feeling that Naruto wouldn't hesitate to forgive him, if he turned out anything like the version of her son that Kurama knew. Oh, she hoped he would. Part of her feared that Kurama's cruel words during their argument had been right, and that the influence of his parents would prevent him from becoming the heroic young man she'd seen in the fox's memories. Not that she'd love him any less, of course. 

Minato caught her eye, offering a small but supportive smile. She returned the gesture, feeling herself relax ever so slightly. "You summoned me, Lord Fourth?" 

Rolling his eyes, Minato didn't respond to the teasing. "Yes. We're just finishing up here, and then I have something to talk to you about." 

From the otherside of the Hokage's desk, Danzo's eyes narrowed. "I do not believe we have come to an understanding, Lord Hokage ." Unlike Kushina's teasing, the man's words carried an undertone of distaste. 

Minato remained calm, a placating smile on his face. "I've given you my decision, Lord Danzo. I am not authorizing covert surveillance on my own citizens. What you're suggesting would be a complete breach of privacy and trust." 

"The Uchiha–" 

"Have done nothing to warrant your suspicion," the Yondaime interrupted. "I personally looked into your concerns after the Kyuubi attack and found no evidence that it was orchestrated by anyone other than a rogue criminal. Seeing as how the clan formally renounced this rogue individual and offered their full cooperation with our investigation, I have no reason to distrust them."

Minato's face looked worn, like he'd had a similar conversation many times. Kushina didn't bother to hide her distasteful scowl. "If you still have concerns, Lord Danzo, perhaps you would like me to arrange a meeting between you and Fugaku Uchiha to discuss the matter directly?" The smile returned, but it was dangerously sharp. 

Danzo didn't outwardly react, although Kushina didn't miss the way his finger's twitched in barely concealed rage. "I fear that the biases of those close to you may be clouding your judgment, Lord Hokage." His eyes flicked over to Kushina as he all but spat the title. 

Oh, she was going to pulverize him. Consequences be damned! If that fucker was going to imply that Minato couldn't do his job because of her friendship with Mikoto Uchiha she'd shove his cane right up his–

A hand grabbed her arm and squeezed gently. She hadn't even seen Minato move from his spot behind the desk, but he was the Yellow Flash for a reason, wasn't he? Their eyes found each other, and Minato shook his head ever so slightly. She knew none of the anger on his face was directed at her, because there was a softness in his eyes that wasn't present when he was looking at the room's other occupants just moments before. 

With a huff, Kushina forced herself to relax, but she continued to glare at Danzo. Minato let out a relieved sigh when the tension did not continue to escalate. He was awkwardly leaning over his desk, and only backed up when he seemed sure that Kushina wasn't going to throw any punches. He did, however, remain standing. 

"Lord Danzo," Minato fought to keep his voice even, "your many years of service and commitment to the village are appreciated, but you are overstepping. Your input has been acknowledged, and you are dismissed." 

Ah, he was using his "Hokage voice" now. It was still weird for Kushina to experience, because her husband was generally not one to pull rank, but the effect was always obvious when he did it. Even though Danzo was surely not one to be intimidated by such a thing, he wouldn't miss the obvious change in demeanor. Minato didn't lead by intimidation, because he didn't need to. On the occasions that he did need to be a bit more stern, she'd seen the effect enough on Kakashi to know that most shinobi fell in line without question. Still, everyone in the room knew how much power Danzo actually had, even if their proof was nothing more than suspicious whispers and the word of a reformed chakra demon. This wouldn't be the end of this altercation, no doubt about it. 

To his credit, the Sandaime at least looked exasperated and apologetic about his former teammate's behavior. He placed a hand on the other man's shoulder. "My friend, I believe it is time we place our faith in the younger generation. I, for one, am enjoying my retirement." 

Danzo's face was contorted like he'd smelled something foul. Although that was always kind of what his face looked like, Kushina realized. He was, at least, smart enough to know how to pick his battles. He inclined his head respectfully, or rather, he pretended to be respectful. The old creep said nothing else as he turned and hobbled his way out of the room, instantly finding himself flanked by a pair of ANBU. 

The Sandaime sighed, rubbing his temples. "I am sorry, Minato, I had no idea Lord Danzo was planning on picking at old wounds today." 

"I know," Minato replied. "I appreciate you coming by, even if the conversation did get a little…derailed." 

"For what it's worth," the former Hokage continued, "you seem to have handled the situation with the Uchiha quite well. It's been a long time since I've seen tensions between the clan and the rest of the village this low. You've done a better job than I would have, I'm sure." 

It took all of Kushina's willpower to not say something very unkind about how he was absolutely correct in that assumption. Maybe in addition to revealing the truth about what happened to Naruto in the other future, someday, she would also share the fate of the Uchiha clan in that timeline. Really rub salt into the wound. 

Minato nodded respectfully at his predecessor. "Thank you, Lord Third. Your input is always appreciated. If you could look over those documents when you have a chance, I would be grateful." 

"Of course," the old man responded. "I have nothing but time now." He sighed happily. "I was not lying about enjoying my retirement, you know." 

The statement caused Minato to huff with amusement. "Oh, I believe it. Say hello to your family, would you?" 

"Absolutely." He offered a genuine smile. "Good day, Minato. Kushina." 

Kushina mumbled something half-hearted in return, waiting until the old man had left the office to roll her eyes. "Ugh, stuffy old farts." 

Minato chuckled and shook his head fondly at her, but his face was still tense. "The Sandaime isn't bad, but I could have done without Lord Danzo's pestering today," he groaned. 

"Psh, 'not bad'", she mocked. "He's lucky I don't let Kurama turn him into a chew toy, for what he did in the other future, y'know?" 

"That hasn't happened in this reality, though," he reminded her, "and it won't." 

Kushina shrugged. "Doesn't matter. It still happened, which means it could've happened again. We are the ones that changed things, us and Kurama. Not him. I don't trust that he wouldn't make the same mistakes without us intervening." 

Minato fell back into his chair heavily, leaning back with a pained groan. "Kushinaaaaa," he whined, "we can't go around blaming people for things that happened in the other timeline, not when they're innocent in this one!" 

"Maybe we can't, but I absolutely can. And I will," Kushina retorted. She waved flippantly. "Don't worry, though. I'm not actually gonna do anything about it. Yet…" 

"Kushina." 

"I'm kidding!" Well, mostly she was. It wasn't like she'd do something drastic, but there was no way in hell she'd forget what had happened in the other future. "What did you summon me here for, anyway? Something to do with why the old farts were visiting?" 

"No," he responded, returning to a more neutral sitting position. "That was a meeting that ran long." Minato sighed. "I was just going over some logistics with the Sandaime about security and the upcoming Chunin Exams, since this will be the first time Konoha hosts with me as Hokage. Danzo was the one that derailed the whole conversation with his concerns ," he grumbled. 

"I see you're finally taking Kurama's advice to heart," she pressed. 

Minato gave her a flat look. "No, definitely not. I still don't trust that old fox to have the Uchiha clan's best interests in mind." He shook his head. "I don't need the Kyuubi to tell me that spying on the entire clan is a bad idea." 

Kushina winced at the thought. "Yeah, that definitely seems like it would backfire." No wonder the clan had been so fed up in the other timeline. "So…?" She prompted. 

"So," Minato responded with an amused huff, "I summoned you because I think I have a solution to our problem." 

"Our problem?" 

"The one concerning our informant ," Mintao said carefully. Even if the office should be warded against eavesdroppers, neither of them were foolish enough to trust that the previous visitors couldn't have changed something. 

"Oh. Oh!" Kushina looked at him curiously. "What is the solution?" 

Looking apologetic, Minato explained, "Well, they agreed to talk to a representative instead. So I thought maybe you could…?" He put on his best "I'm too charming to be mad at" smile. Damn him. 

"Seriously? She groaned. "I'm not a diplomat!" Plus, she was still far too anxious to leave Naruto for an extended period of time. And he knew that better than anyone. 

"I know, I know," he placated. "But we don't exactly have a lot of other options, and our mutual friend did seem to think it was important to pursue this course of action." 

That much was true. Kurama insisted that taking care of the two pseudo-leaders of the Akatsuki was of utmost importance. To be fair, he suggested killing them, but he eventually admitted that they could be swayed, and that would likely be sufficient to change the future. Either way, the fox seemed to hold the opinion that the Akatsuki needed to be taken care of before they could rise to power and start getting ahold of the jinchuuriki. Kushina found herself agreeing with that opinion. 

"So," she replied bitterly, "when would I have to leave on this super special diplomatic mission?" 

Minato rubbed the back of his head. "Er, the day after tomorrow?" 

"Minato!" 

"Sorry!" 

Kushina groaned, rubbing her hands over her face. "We don't have any other options, do we?" 

His shoulders sagging, Minato replied, "None that I can come up with that don't involve a risk that neither of us are willing to take." He smiled apologetically. "I know how you feel about leaving Naruto again, but I really can't see another option. But I didn't say who they would be meeting so I can figure something else out if it's too much–" 

"No," Kushina interrupted with a sigh. "It's not too much. I need to do my part." She really didn't want to go, but Minato was right that they were lacking other options. 

"You won't be going alone," Minato assured her. "I'm sending Kakashi with you." 

Kushina nodded. "Have you told him?" 

"Not yet," he admitted. "I wanted to make sure you were willing to go first." 

With her hands on her hips, Kushina replied, "I don't think I have much of a choice." 

Minato smiled apologetically. "Sorry…" 

"Some fearsome Hokage you are, apologizing to your subordinates," she teased. 

"Well," he chuckled, "most of my subordinates aren't as cute as you." 

Kushina rolled her eyes. "Flattery will get you nowhere, Lord Fourth. " 

"Hm, how about diaper duty for a week?" 

"The fact that I will be gone on a mission where I won't be able to appreciate such a selfless gesture has nothing to do with your offer, right?" she snorted. 

Grinning, Minato responded, "No, of course not!" 

—------------------------------

She and Kakashi had left the village after only a slight delay, which was remarkable considering how reluctant Kushina was to leave Naruto. She kept coming up with excuses as to why she needed to go back into the house to give him another kiss goodbye. Kakashi ended up having to drag her out by her arm. 

Kushina knew she was being overdramatic, but she didn't particularly care. Her son had almost been kidnapped a few months ago! Her precious baby! It was well within reason for her to be anxious about leaving him. Still, their mission was important, and Minato had been right about there not really being any other options. She just had to remind herself that she was doing this for Naruto. For her baby, and for the brave young man she'd never get to know in another timeline. 

Kakashi didn't comment on their unnecessarily fast pace after they set out. It wasn't like they had a particular deadline to meet, so it was obvious that the only reason they were moving so fast was because Kushina wanted to get back as quickly as possible. She had a feeling Kakashi shared her sentiments. Both of them shared similar anxieties about leaving their precious people, even if their experiences weren't the same. It wasn't that she thought her husband was an incompetent father or anything, not by any means, she just hated not feeling in control of a situation. Every time she left Naruto, she couldn't help but think about every possible worst case scenario. She had a feeling Kakashi had similar fears, so it was not surprising at all that he had no complaints about pushing to get their mission done quickly. 

The journey to Ame, at least, was calm, so she had plenty of time to think. The downside of that was all of the extra time she had to think up everything that could go wrong while she was gone. So to keep herself occupied, instead she tried to focus on the task at hand. She wouldn't deny she was curious about the two people they were meeting. Two people who had been trained by Master Jiraiya, just like Minato. Two people who, in the other timeline, had hunted jinchuuriki. But they were also two people who, according to Kurama's memories, ultimately wanted peace and were able to see the error of their ways. Naruto liked them, and had been obviously saddened by their deaths. Maybe in this timeline they would get the chance to know each other, once they proved they could be trusted. Kurama said that one of them, the one who called himself Pain, had some Uzumaki blood. With so few of them left, that alone made her want to hope for the best. 

When the two of them reached a small village after a few days of rainy camping, both of them were all too happy to splurge a little on a warm shower and a hot meal. It wasn't like there were any stipulations that they had to sleep outside! Plus, she was getting older, and the ground was kind of hard on her back. Kakashi was just a teenager, he couldn't understand such a thing. She told him as much, and took his lazy shrug as acceptance of her woes. 

Fortunately, even though the town was small, there was an inn and tavern that seemed to have plenty of open rooms. It was a little drab, not that either of them particularly cared, and decorated with all manner of dead animal mounts and skins. A hunting town, most likely. The locals didn't seem too bothered by the presence of shinobi, and many of them had a sort of rugged, outdoorsy look to them. They probably traded with shinobi villages, or maybe they were a common waypoint for shinobi on missions, since there weren't a lot of towns out this way. 

The tavern was packed full of drunken revelry and hearty laughter. A couple of musicians played an upbeat tune in the corner, surrounded by a few drunk locals that were hooting and clapping along. Kakashi seemed to be eyeing the commotion disdainfully, the damn shut-in that he was. If they hadn't been so anxious about getting home, she might have tried to push him into talking to people, just to annoy him. 

They were just about to take a seat at the bar when Kushina's eyes widened as she heard a peal of very familiar, boisterous laughter. She peeked around the people milling about to find the source. Sure enough, she spotted the distinctive mane of light hair and cheeky grin on the other side of the room. There was another familiar-yet-surprising presence next to him, in the form of a very drunk, cackling blonde. Kakashi seemed to spot them at the same time, and he shared a confused glance with Kushina before following her lead and heading directly for the table where two of the Legendary Sannin were making fools of themselves. 

There was a mountain of empty glasses and bottles between Jiraiya and Tsunade, which accounted for their loud laughter and animated gestures. There was a third person that Kushina didn't recognize sitting beside Tsunade, looking completely exasperated. Kushina couldn't blame her. The two Sannin were making quite the scene as they reminisced about some old war story.

"And then–" A drunk hiccup from Jiraiya interrupted his story, "–d'you remember when the three of us had to share that tiny tent?" He took another swig of his drink. "I swear I thought–oh!" He blinked owlishly as he spotted Kushina and Kakashi, before his face broke out into a sloppy grin. 

"Well, lookit who's here!" The Toad Sage raised his glass in greeting. "What brings th' two of you out this way?" 

"Eh, who'sis?" Tsunade's eyes were narrowed in thought as she appraised the new arrivals. Her companion gave them both an apologetic smile. 

Jiraiya's grin widened. "Y'know my student? Minato? This is his–" he waved his hand around as words seemed to escape him, "–his wife Kushina and, ehm, which one are you again?" 

Kakashi remained remarkably neutral. "Kakashi Hatake," he responded lazily.

Jiraiya snapped a finger as he put the pieces together. "Ah! Yes! Th' son of th' White Fang!" 

Kakashi grimaced at that, prompting Kushina to squeeze his arm supportively. She was about to ask what the hell they were doing here, getting drunk in this random tavern, but Jiraiya apparently wasn't done. He gestured excitedly toward his former teammate, still grinning widely.

"'Ey, lookit who else I found! Two birds, one stone, eh?" 

Tsunade grumbled something unkind under her breath, before downing the drink in her hand. She belched loudly as she finished the drink, motioning for their server to bring her another. "I was in th' middle of a winning streak!" she whined. "Was gonna win it big!" 

Her companion made a face that indicated she clearly was not, in fact, about to "win it big". Tsunade either didn't notice, or didn't care about the other woman's indifference. She was staring past all of them with a look of longing on her face. 

Kushina took the brief pause in conversation as an opportunity to ask her own questions. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be on a mission ?" She said the word carefully, knowing there could be listening ears and wandering eyes anywhere. 

Jiraiya continued to grin at her. "I was!" He took a large swig of his drink. "Now 'm celebrating!" 

"Celebrating?" Kushina repeated with a confused frown. 

"Yeah!" The Toad Sage replied jovially. "Gotta celebrate our success!" 

She and Kakashi exchanged a quick glance. Neither of them understood what the man was talking about. If he'd been successful, she and Kakashi wouldn't be here. So what the hell was happening? "What are you celebrating?" she asked. 

Jiraiya stared at her like she was the one not making sense. "What d'ya think?" He gestured vaguely around them. 

Thankfully, Tsunade's companion realized that the conversation was going in circles and decided to step in. "Master Jiraiya happened upon myself and Lady Tsunade on his return trip from Ame and asked us to accompany him back to Konoha. I was not privy to the full conversation, but the information he shared must have been quite important if it so easily convinced my Mistress to return." She held out her hand to shake both Kushina's and Kakashi's in greeting. "My name is Shizune, by the way." 

Kushina nodded gratefully. That at least cleared up some things, but it did leave a whole other mess of questions. "Thanks for clarifying." She turned back to the pair of drunken Sannin. "I'm glad to see you found Lady Tsunade, seeing how our mutual friend specifically named her–" 

The woman in question cut her off with a scoff. "Psh. Mutual friend. Sounds more like a mutual pain in th' ass." 

Kakashi hid a snort of laughter behind a cough, and Kushina didn't bother to hide her amusement. "You have no idea how right you are," she chuckled. "But that still doesn't explain why you left Ame, Master Jiraiya." 

Ugh, this is why she hated playing the diplomat. All she wanted to do was grab both of these drunken idiots by their shoulders and shake some answers out of them. This method was far more tedious, but she didn't want to cause a scene. There would already be enough attention on the group as it was. Two of the Legendary Sannin, one former jinchuuriki, and a genius prodigy. They had to tread carefully, especially with the two drunkards at risk of spilling details that should very much remain secret. What were these idiots doing getting drunk at a pub, anyway? That seemed like a bad idea all around. 

"It was raining," Jiraiya replied matter-of-factly. 

"Well, it's not called the village hidden in the sunny-beach-paradise," Kushina snapped. "Of course it was raining!" 

"I think she's mad at you," Tsunade snorted in amusement. 

Kushina sent the slug Sannin a very impressive glare. "Are you telling me," she turned back to her husband's former master, "you abandoned your mission because it was raining?! " Kakashi had to squeeze her arm to keep her from yelling, or throwing some chairs.

"I didn't abandon anything!" Jiraiya insisted, suddenly sounding remarkably coherent. "Didn't you read my letters? I assumed Minato would have shared them with you." 

Kushina frowned. "What are you talking about?" 

"What are you talking about?" he countered. 

This was certainly answering some questions about why her husband could be so stubborn and irritating sometimes. Kushina had never spent much time with his former master, and certainly never without Minato as a buffer. "I read your letters," she replied flatly. 

"Then what's the problem?" He shook his head in confusion. "I thought y'd be happy I resolved everything so fast," he grunted, returning to his previous slurred speech. 

Kakashi grabbed her arm again to get her attention. His visible eye was wide, and the grip on her arm was tight. She understood his concern. Swallowing hard, Kushina looked back at the Toad Sage, who was now frowning at his drink deep in thought. He said he was celebrating. He said everything was "resolved", even though that directly contradicted the entire purpose of the mission they were on. Something wasn't adding up, and it was making her heart race with anxiety. 

"Tell me," Kushina said quickly, "what was in the last letter you sent?" 

Jiraiya blinked at her in confusion. "Thought you said y'd read it?" 

She grit her teeth, pushing away her frustration as much as she could. "Just give me an abridged version, alright?" 

With a shrug, Jiraiya responded, "I said that my, ehm, friends were recep–recept've," he hiccuped his words, "to our concerns. They said they'd rethink their," another hiccup, "motivations." 

"And they believed what you had to say?" Kushina pressed. 

"Well, yeah," the Toad Sage confirmed. "I had some pretty convincing information. Stuff I shouldn't know, but I do because," he winked conspiratorially, "y'know, our mutual friend told me some juicy secrets."

Kakashi inhaled sharply beside her, and Kushina felt all the blood drain from her face. "And," she fought to keep her voice level, despite the rising dread, "you believed them? That their intentions are good?" 

"Mhm," he responded. "I d'nt wanna put it in a letter because, y'know," he waved a hand vaguely, "secrets 'n all that. But they made a few, uh, changes to some stuff as a show of good faith." 

Suddenly, it felt like all of the noise of the room was far away, and her muscles had turned into jelly. For all she knew, Kakashi was the only thing holding her up. Maybe he was. She couldn't really focus on him, or anything around them. Her mind was whirring to catch up to the information. Jiraiya claimed he'd sent letters telling them he'd been successful in relaying Kurama's warnings about the future to his former students. He made no mention of them needing further proof, or wanting to meet their "informant". Except, she'd read the letter Minato had received. It was Jiraiya's handwriting, and it contained the stupid code system Minato made up. So either Jiraiya was lying, or…

"We need to go back to the village. Now." 

Kushina didn't wait for Kakashi's response, nor did she reply to the confused mumbling from the trio she left behind. Kakashi fell into step beside her, the teen looking a combination of concerned and curious. He hadn't seen the letters himself, only hearing the contents secondhand, but he was a smart kid. There was no way he wasn't putting the pieces together. 

As they exited the tavern, they wasted no time heading back toward Konoha at top speed. Kakashi kept pace beside her and asked over the wind, "What do I need to know?" Pragmatic as always, that kid. 

Kushina carefully explained her concerns, giving as much detail as possible about the letters she'd read. The implications of her concerns were frightening, to say the least. If her theory was right, someone had not only intercepted the letters Jiraiya sent without anyone noticing, they managed to perfectly replicate his handwriting and the code that should've keyed Minato in that it wasn't his mentor he was speaking with. Handwriting was like a fingerprint, which made it very difficult to copy perfectly. Even highly skilled shinobi had trouble pulling something like that off, and it was rarely a truly perfect copy. Minato would have noticed any discrepancies in the handwriting, which meant that the letters he received were a perfect copy. And then there was his own code. There were very few people who knew the key well enough to write a coherent letter. So they were dealing with someone who could perfectly copy someone's unique signature, and apparently had no difficulty deciphering Minato's personal encryption. This wasn't even the code he used in his official communications as Hokage, this should only be known by a small handful of people close to him, and it wasn't easy to decipher. 

When she really thought about it, there was an answer that made sense, but she really didn't like it. If she assumed that the person who wrote the letters knew the code rather than assuming they'd deciphered it, that pointed to someone who knew Minato well. And when she thought about the ability to perfectly copy something that should be unique to an individual, well…

No, that damn fox was in her head…right? She didn't have time to think anymore about what all of the pieces coming together might mean. A shudder ran through her whole body as she got the sudden and very distinct feeling that they were no longer alone. 

"So, you're the ones disrupting my perfectly laid plans." 

Both Kakashi and Kushina nearly stumbled as they were addressed. How had neither of them noticed someone approaching? It was almost as if the voice had come out of nowhere. They both stopped in their tracks, crouched on a thick tree branch next to each other, ready to strike or run depending on what the situation called for. 

The timbre of the voice was familiar, from dreams of memories that could be better described as nightmares. The swirl of a faceless mask, the flash of a crimson eye, and a ripple of killing intent so strong it almost made her gag. The masked man had indeed appeared before them, seemingly out of thin air. He sat lazily on a branch, legs dangling in front of him as he regarded the two of them like a cat that had a mouse in its claws. 

Kushina felt herself gripping the branch under her hands so hard her knuckles turned white. This was the man that tried to kill them, and had succeeded in another life. He helped slaughter the Uchiha clan and kidnapped the jinchuuriki. He tormented Naruto, and his friends. And he caused the end of the world. 

Kushina still couldn't believe Kurama's visions of the man's identity. Or rather, she didn't want to believe it. But in that moment, as she faced down the monster that haunted her dreams, she couldn't help it when the name slipped out. 

"Obito?"

Notes:

Things are probably gonna move at a much quicker pace now! It took a while to establish everything but now we're kind of chugging along. We're getting close-ish to the endgame too! I don't know exactly how many more chapters but I know how I want to end things and we're getting there.

A reminder that I am not interested in criticism/critique at this time :) I don't find criticism from strangers helpful, just stressful, so please refrain from making those particular comments <3< p>