Chains of the Maelstrom

Intermission

Gekkō Hayate was in the hall leading from the Arena Floor to the medical facilities of the stadium. All of the contestants had decided to take some rest and replenish themselves, while the two Uzumaki bartered over what to do with the one-tail. They had all passed through here to get some food and use the facilities, so for right now, the Tokujo was stood alone, in this dimly lighted corridor, leaning with his back to the wall, going over everything that happened, nine-days-ago.

Flashback: Kaishi

Sensei almost answered, when she suddenly felt a familiar presence, and faded away like a mist. Up on the roof, concealed by a chimney, I wore an astonished face, Sensei is alive, and… wants to kill Naruto, her SON! Anko-chan's little brother, she told me what Naruto did for her. He turned her affliction into one she could control, where all of the benefits were for her and nobody else, were the thoughts cascading through my mind, my shock at this turn of events temporarily overrode my training, which caused me to fail, to remain aware of my surroundings. Sensei faded back into existence, standing directly behind me, "Hayate-kun, it's so good to see you again," she said cheerfully, as I spun around immediately, "so I take it you heard all of that, dattebane?" The horror on my expression told her everything, and I saw the actual, genuine regret come over her face, "then I'm sorry, you will never be able to divulge what you learned to anybody," she said to me, and since she was like a big sister to me, I knew that as she faded out of sight, she was going to kill me.

I had become almost paralyzed with disbelief, and it seemed to petrify me, my mind refused to force my body into action, and Kushina had done nothing to me to cause it. This was a complete, yet temporary, psychological break from reality, I could not understand how she could be alive. I had seen her in the morgue, me, Kurenai, and, Yugao, two of her students and her goddaughter, barely in the Academy, had to identify her body the day after the Kyūbi attack, and it was largely intact, only the huge puncture in her body, given to her by the Beast itself. I had watched, as the flame from her funeral pyre consumed her fleshly prison, so that enemy villages could not enter the village an take her body, as is the fate for all ninja. It is why there are memorial stones with just the names inscribed upon it, ninja, even in death, are not supposed to become a liability to their village. So, how could Kushina Uzumaki, be here?

It seemed fortune and mercy, were smiling upon me that day, because another one of Konoha's ninja had decided to follow, Kabuto. It seems Naruto, had attached a Shadow to the traitor shinobi, it must have been when they shook hands before the Preliminaries, and since the Shadow is impossible to be perceived or physically interacted with, that is we cannot interact with them. They, however, are not so impeded. They are the perfect way to gather information and remain hidden, the only drawback is, that unlike shadow clones, they need to return to their generator (Naruto) to give him what they learned. As soon as Kushina broke off her strategy meeting, the Shadow wondered what caused the distraction, and followed her gaze toward the chimney. When he got there and saw me kneeling, and for all intents and purposes was unable to move, the Shadow knew he needed to help me, Anko-nee-chan, would be devastated if she lost her lover, now. Naruto filled me in on the capabilities and restrictions of the Shadow, as well as what the shadow was thinking, when he returned from training, three-days-ago.

The Shadow could actually see the path his prodigal mother was taking, because shadows cannot exist without light, they have many of the same properties as light, specifically in this instance the ability to perceive events at the speed of light. Thus, while to others she appeared to be flickering in and out of existence, all she was doing was accelerating herself too fast for the human eye to perceive, but nothing is faster than light, and all of her movements were in slow-motion to the Shadow. The Shadow swam to just below me and dragged my carcass into Hengoku, at the same time, Shadow created and henged a reinforced Kage Bunshin, and dropped it down in the building below. They could hear the mad rush for the entrance, the opening of the door, they could not see the strike that ended the clones life, but they heard the whistling of Kushina, as she walked back inside. She actually passed below their hiding spot, and back out into the baths, they heard splashing and then more voices, as they continued with their strategizing.

The Shadow wanted to go back out and listen, but it had put a living being in Limbo, the living were not supposed to stay in that realm for long, or it would destroy their minds. The Shadow moved to the outskirts of the hot spring and opened a portal, and I rose through it. "Ah," I screamed, as the last thing I remembered was my sensei, whom I thought had died thirteen years ago, just tried to kill me, "where am I," I demanded, to thin air? The Shadow pointed towards the hot spring, then to itself, then to my feet, and I nodded, "well, thanks for saving me, but where did you come from?" It seems when one is placed in Limbo, Time, Space, and Awareness, are halted until they come out, and everything resumes as if no time has passed. A few minutes has passed here, imagine being in limbo for a few years, a few decades, centuries, eons?

The Shadow without a mouth decided to just use writing to explain things to me, うずまきナルト, (Uzumaki Naruto), it wrote.

"Naruto, I'm guessing he had some of the same suspicions about, Kabuto, as the Hokage and I did," I assumed?

はい, (Yes), the Shadow affirmed.

"What now, it seems as if the Leaf is going to be under siege soon," I wondered? "I shudder to think what Naruto will do, when he finds out that not only is his mother alive, but she thinks he's the Nine-tails, and her son is dead."

有罪のみが罰せられる、 (Only the guilty will be punished,) the Shadow wrote ominously, (the innocent will be spared.) 無実は免れるでしょう。 After saying that, the Shadow streaked away toward the east, and the ocean, to Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze.

Flashback: Toma

Gekkō was brought out of his musings, when he heard the rumble of the one-tail, he ran to see what was happening, only to get there in time to watch Naruto pulling the parchment off of Gaara's head. He saw Shukaku, tailless, and to Hayate if the tailed-beast could move, he believed it would be writhing on the ground in agony, but all it could do was roar out in great pain. Hayate looked over at Gaara and saw the last of Shukaku's tail disappearing into the Seal on his belly.

Karin had moved to the tailless Biju's side near its ear and seemed to be trying to soothe it. Without the tail, there was no reason for his chain to be there so Naruto retracted it, then walked up to the head of the beast, he spoke to the giant tanuki. "I'm glad you Biju's life force is not connected to your tails, Shukaku, because if you died too soon, it would ruin any chances you have of getting sent to the other realm." Naruto put the parchment back into his coat, then ran through the hand-signs for summoning, and in a puff of smoke, a box manifested itself in the Uzumaki's hands.

He opened it and took out another scroll, this one read, Hidoi-tokage (Terrible Lizard), "I want you to know this, Shukaku, a living being absolutely cannot pass from this realm into another, it was one of the absolute laws, Kami-sama passed at the beginning of time. No power may circumvent that law, only the dead can do that, therefore in order to pass you through to the other world, you must die in this one."

Naruto closed his eyes and opened them, the Rinnegan blazed forth, and Shukaku looked upon him in awe, "you have, Father's eyes," then it dawned on the tanuki what Naruto told her, and her eyes suddenly manifested suspicion, "I knew you were going to double-cross me, filthy ningen," as she tried to wriggle from her bindings, "you just wanted to kill me without killing that boy. All you care about is other garbage humans," she roared, she was still immobile due to Karin's cables, "you filthy, little bastard!"

Naruto just came closer, and Shukaku, not wanting to die without getting some kind of hit on the ningen, spit at Naruto, who deftly moved the contract to shield his face. When he moved the parchment aside, he was smiling as if that was what he wanted all along. Naruto brought his hand up and it glowed, a light shot out and struck the Biju, who flinched, but there was no burn, or impact. Shukaku felt Seal markings being etched into her sandy flesh, and despite her current apprehension, she was curious, "what are you doing, jerk, marking your prey?"

Naruto just grinned, "it's a Power Banishment Seal, you rodent, with this once I kill you, you will never be able to manifest in this realm again, you will be sent to the closest realm that has a physical link to you, and you will never be able to return, unless you are called."

"Don't call me a rodent, meat-sack," Shukaku blustered, "and this is the only realm that I have ever had physical contact, what happens then, bastard?"

"You started calling me names first, Shukaku," Naruto growled as he worked, "and I don't know what happens, maybe it'll actually destroy you, once and for all. And you just forged a physical connection a moment ago, when you spit on the page," Naruto explained.

"Huh," came the tanuki's reply?

Naruto finished the final stroke of the seal, before answering, "this is made from the trees of the realm I am sending you to, Shukaku. Just like the legend of Izanami and Proserpina, who became bonded to the Underworld, after eating something grown in that realm. When you spit on the page, you bonded with the realm of Hidoi-tokage," Naruto patiently explained, "and since I am about to erase your connection to this realm, your power and spirit will have no choice, but to manifest in that realm."

Shukaku was now actually curious, "how are you going to do it, we've all been killed before, ningen," she explained, "and we remember every way that was used to kill us. Even when we were taken by surprise and slain while we slept, it takes a lot to kill us," she elaborated, "so how are you going to do it?"

"I'll do it the way I killed, Kurama," Naruto answered in a subdued voice, "it was painless, well at least she died with a smile on her face." Shukaku saw a tear roll down his face, and that made one thing clear to her, this ningen actually saw her big sister as a friend.

"I'm sorry, ningen," Shukaku offered, then asked, "you can still talk to her, right?"

Naruto nodded, and smiled, "we made a contract like with the other summoning contracts I possess, she seems happy, and says there's not only an abundance of chakra, but natural energy as well, there's an eco-system and everything. Is your honorable self, ready, Shukaku-sama," Naruto asked giving the Biju the respect she demanded, "everything is ready?"

"I am ready, Naruto-san," Shukaku replied with a nod.

A shadow clone shimmered into existence and accepted the box from his creator. Naruto stepped to the side drawing his blade from his back, at first glance, the sword looked just like an O-katana, it had the length and was shaped like one at least, it felt like one to his hand, and he handled it like one. It was, however, as wide as the double-edged blades of In'yōken, the posterior curve had an edge as sharp as the anterior edge. The spine from the hilt to the center of the blade was gently serrated, and acted as the fuller of the blade, the spine was also slightly heavier than the curved edge, and the whole thing tapered to a sharp tip, which was perfect for thrusting and stabbing. Overall, it was an extremely versatile sword, Naruto had given it a name, calling it, Tenchi'wah chowa'en, or Heaven and Earth in Harmony.

Naruto had forged this blade himself, with some help from the likes of Hephaestus and Wayland the Smith, coaching him on the finer points of crafting. The foundation for these masterpieces were two of his chain ends, which lent them unyielding Strength. The power of the Divine permeated these blades, Oblivion, and Infinity, gave everlasting Power. The exaltation of victory, and serenity of defeat; Yami'anken, the Blade of Dark Matter, the Yō-ken, or Body Sword, won from a foe that many have failed to defeat; Anjin, the Dark Edge, sword of illusions, part of the legacy from a defeated clan that cost their victors so much in terms of personnel and equipment, that they lost the war from which they were trying to prevent the Uzumaki from joining; these ingredients surrender unto this blade, iron-willed Resolve. The trust and faith of the father, the hope and courage from the mother; Nentōken, the Formless, the In-ken, Sword of the Mind, which focuses the mind and aids in concentration; Akai Shi, the Red Death, the namesake for his mother, which causes fear to assault the hearts of foes, and bolsters the courage of allies; they have taught him so much of what it meant to be a good man, intelligent hard-work, powerful integrity, cherish life even if you must take them, and the greatest component of them all, unstoppable Love.

The blade's coloration, depending on what angle you looked at it, seemed to be either a golden sunrise, or a scarlet sunset. Naruto readied himself, he wanted the strike to be as quick and painless as he could make, "Karin-chan, will you please release your cable-chains from this most honorable tanuki, I feel she should meet her end in this world with all the dignity she possesses?" Karin wordlessly followed his request, withdrawing her chains, and picked Gaara up from the ground. He was still out cold from Karin's hit. She had assessed him as a medic ninja and found that there would be no permanent damage from her kick. Shukaku stood to her full height, and with great honor awaited her end.

Naruto, without warning charged for the wall closest to the Biju, running straight up it, before rebounding off the wall as high as he could go, and landing near the upper back of the mountain-sized tanuki. He continued running straight up her body and when he reached the neck, jumped high into the air. Describing a graceful arc, Naruto brought his sword up over his head, then down directly into the brain of the great Shukaku. "ROOAAR," came the death cry of a great and ancient being, and as the giant tanuki began to fall, Naruto wrenched his blade from where it had pierced the Biju's head, and leapt straight down. Naruto had Harmony pointed toward the sky even as he landed, the chakra of Shukaku instantly sublimated back into the atmosphere, and some of it was absorbed into the blade. Now, the only remnant of that queen of night scavengers, was that which was in Gaara, and in Harmony, before a practiced move rehomed the blade, and a solemn tear ran down his face.

Lady's Room

Mikoto and Koyuki ducked into the restrooms set aside for them. Mikoto looked around, the only thing she noticed that was different from when she looked at it before the first match, was a spider's web in the far corner, near the ceiling. She watched as the weaver of the web scuttled off and abseiled down into the stall, directly below it.

All of a sudden, the head of a red-head, grew into view and stepped out of the stall. She wore a scarlet forehead protector, with her hair tied up in a high ponytail, and strands at the sides of her face. Her attire consisted of a standard, Konoha flak-jacket, over a black short-sleeved shirt, and black form-fitting pants that reached her calves. She had a slender, but feminine build, fair skin, violet eyes, and the common Uzumaki red hair.

"What was the last thing you said to me, before you left for your seclusion, to give birth to your son," Mikoto asked, as flame enveloped her arm, which seemed to morph into the grotesque mockery of a human hand?

The red-head smiled thinly, "Eat me, princess."

Mikoto's eyes hardened, "no thanks, I don't eat tomatoes." Then tears began to well up in the Hokage's eyes, and she let go of her jutsu, before dashing at the person in front of her, she pulled the other woman into a fierce hug. "Oh, Kushi-nee-chan, I've missed you so much! Oh, my Kushina, I… I…" then Mikoto suddenly stepped back and knelt down before, her sister in all but blood, "I failed you, Kushina-san, I'm so sorry, I couldn't protect the most precious gift you've given to the world, I let him be beaten and neglected, he almost died when he was just a little boy, and almost worse, he had to defend himself and take his first life before he had even entered the Academy. Given all of that, I wouldn't blame you if you struck me down, like the worthless, good for nothing harlot, I am," by this time Mikoto was bawling her eyes out, her robes of office becoming soiled on the floor of the lavatory, the Hokage hat had fallen off when she had rushed to hug Kushina, and now lay forgotten on the same floor.

"Mikoto-chan," came Kushina's gentle voice, and she reached down to her friend and brought Mikoto Uchiha to her feet, then without warning, SLAP, Mikoto reached up and clutched her cheek in surprise, "get the Hell over it, if you're expecting me to blame you for what happened when my son was four, then you damned well deserve it. I do blame you for your part in what happened, and that slap is the full extent of my wrath toward you, you decided to rely on reports to check on your godson's well-being, instead of going and taking a look for yourself. That's it, that is the only thing I blame you for, not the attack, not nearly getting beaten to death, you're only fault is that you were either too busy, or too lazy to do your duty for my son."

Kushina surged forward and brought her sister into another fierce hug, and glued her lips to Mikoto's, the Uchiha and the Daimyo's eyes were wide with surprise. The red-head pulled back and caressed Mikoto's cheek, the one she slapped, and there was a look of unadulterated love and gratitude in Kushina's eyes, "that was for not only being the greatest, godmother to my son, but for treating him as if he was your own flesh and blood. He may not have been your son, but you'd never know it with the way you've treated him. Me and Minato may have lived in his mind, and we could hug him, sort of, but you were there to hug him for real, when I couldn't. You would tuck him in and read to him, you cooked for him, taught him right from wrong, taught many, many of the important things in life when we couldn't, there will never be anything we can do, to ever repay you for everything you've done for our little boy."

Mikoto smiled, as she suddenly felt completely freed from the guilt that had weighed, quite heavily upon her for about nine years. Naruto had forgiven her, and she was grateful for that, but it was not Naruto, to whom she made the promise to watch over him, it was Kushina, she had promised. Mikoto had resigned herself to awaiting for this confrontation after she died, but her son, Naruto – his parents being back in the physical world, did not change her feelings toward the blonde Chunin – had pulled off another miracle, allowing the Uchiha matriarch to be forgiven before she left this mortal realm.

"How is it that you are here, Kushina-san," Koyuki asked?

Kushina looked at the young Daimyo and smiled, "it was another miracle pulled off by Minato, and my beloved son…"

Uzumaki Isle: 10 days ago

It had been about three days since the death of Kurama, and her reincarnation into the Realm of Hidoi-tokage – Naruto has already told you about that – and just a day before we found out about my doppelganger. Once Naruto was reassured the Kurama has been reincarnated in that other realm, he turned his efforts toward freeing me from his mind. Naruto's plan was to use Tobirama's kinjutsu and DNA he found of mine; it was DNA from right before I became pregnant – so I'm in my prime.

Anyway, as you know that jutsu requires a living sacrifice, and Naruto decided to use one of his enemies for that. If you're wondering where Naruto, learned the Edo Tensei or Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation, I'm afraid he got it from the Scroll of Seals last year, when he helped you root out that traitor.

I sure hope you've shorn-up the defenses around that thing, Minato was sorely disappointed with how easy it was for Naruto to steal it, one Jonin, let alone a single Genin, should not be able to lay eyes on the Sacred Scroll of Sealing. It should take an army of Jonin just to get to the thing, excuse me, I'm rambling.

It took him, along with Minato and me, the rest of the year to perfect the jutsu, and remove the flaws in it. The living sacrifice was actually one of the Sound genin they met in the Forest of Death, he was originally supposed to have been left for dead, but Naruto thought of another use for him. His name was Abumi Zaku, he seemed to have a cavalier attitude toward killing and human life in general, so Naruto decided he could be put to use elsewhere, like bringing me back into the world. Naruto stored him within his Suspended Animation Seal, secured him within a storage scroll, and concealed him within his subspace field, like how he transported Orochimaru after capturing him.

We were in the ancient tomb of the Uzumaki clan, below Uzumaki Fortress, when Naruto brought the boy out, and laid him in the center of the room. They felt that it was only fitting for me to take in only the dust and flesh of my clan. "Good evening, Abumi Zaku-san," my boy greeted the sacrifice for my life, "I know you're aware of me, and are probably wondering what is happening?" Zaku, because of Hinata using her Gentle Fist's Kaiten technique with Raiton chakra, had been rendered completely immobile. "Well, I'm gonna tell you, because I want you to understand how you will be spending eternity, or at least the remainder of your life," he may have been paralyzed, but he was completely aware of what was going on, the dilation of Zaku's eyes being the only indication of his emotions, and his pupils were dilated pretty wide at Naruto's declaration. "You see Zaku, I'm going to use you to bring my mother back from the Pure Lands," Naruto was looking into the catatonic shinobi's eyes, and saw the rapid fluctuation of his pupils, "there was a kinjutsu invented by Konoha's own Second Hokage, that was called, Summoning: Worldly Resurrection, and it was brilliant in its simplicity, not so much its execution. He mainly invented it to create an instant army, in situations that called for it, but it was limited in the amount of the dead person's power, that could be resurrected with them. So, me, my father, Minato Namikaze, and my mother, Kushina Uzumaki, spent most of the year since I graduated from the Academy, trying to perfect the Nidaime's kinjutsu, and I'm happy to say that after considerable effort we were successful. We've tested it on animals, from rats to monkeys, with aid from my boss at the Konoha Veterinary clinic, using it on animals she would've been forced to euthanize anyway, to bring back certain, canine bloodlines, within the Inuzuka clan." There was a tear running down Naruto's cheek, but he was smiling gently, "our last test case before coming to this place, was to resurrect my boss's brother's canine partner, Akamaru. I've never seen someone so happy, I honestly thought Kiba, was going to kiss me when his best-friend opened his eyes again," Naruto chuckled at the memory, "but I settled for kisses from Akamaru."

"We confirmed it with the Inuzuka, all of the power and personality of the dogs we brought back were resurrected with them," Naruto told the young man lying on the floor, "not to mention their free-will as living creatures. Their bodies were completely returned, a fresh litter of pups have already been bred, and there doesn't appear to be any abnormalities in their physical or psychological selves. It is wonderful, and unfortunately, for you at least, we were unable to alter how to activate this jutsu," Naruto smiled as he looked into Zaku's eyes, whose pupil dilation had become erratic, it may have dawned on the prone figure what his part was in this whole resurrection idea, "we need the genetic code of the person we want to return to us, smeared on a special scroll," Naruto reached down on the piece of parchment Zaku was laying on, and Zaku heard the sound of a hand smoothing down paper, then Naruto, cupped the other boy's cheeks and brought his lips down to the lips of the other boy. Naruto pulled back from the kiss, there was a finality to the blonde boy's eyes that Zaku, could not mistake. That was not a kiss of love, it was, the Kiss of Death, and Naruto spoke with a gravity nobody had ever heard in his voice, "the other thing we need, to make this jutsu work is a living sacrifice."

As my son, finished telling Zaku, that he was going to die, they heard footsteps approaching them, Naruto looked up in that direction, and into Zaku's view walked another, blonde-haired man. He could've been Naruto's twin, except for the eyes, which were blue, and certain features of the face had slightly different masses and angles, and this face was older and a lot more experienced. The Sound shinobi must've known at whom he was looking, and when the man approached the two boys, he looked between Naruto and Zaku, and said, "It's time, son," and neither young ninja could be sure to whom the Yondaime, was talking to and calling son.

"Right, dad," Naruto agreed with a nod, before standing up, and once on his feet, the Konoha shinobi looked at the Oto shinobi, "I wish there was something I could say, that would help you in this, but I don't really care about you enough to bother. You are an enemy who tried to kill me and two of my precious jewels," Naruto told him, "that is the only reason you're here, so may Kami-sama have mercy upon our souls. I am about to commit my second, cold-blooded murder," Naruto commented, then crossed himself, and solemnly added, "may the King of kings, forgive me."

Minato and Naruto stood tall and steadfast on opposite sides of Zaku, they made the sign of the Ram to help them begin focusing, then synchronized their breathing. "On my mark, Naruto," Minato called!

"Hai, otosan," Naruto replied!

"Three – two – one – Mark," Minato commanded in his Hokage voice, they did not rush, they made sure to form the hand-signs perfectly, Tora Hebi Inu CLAP Neko Taka Shika CLAP Ryū and they dropped to their knees, slamming their palms into the floor, shouting, "Summoning: Resurrection: Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze!" There is a sudden gust of wind that comes from nowhere, the crypts of the Uzumaki opened, and the ancestors of the Uzumaki gave of their mortal remains to return one of their daughters from the pure lands. The dust and ash of the tomb cascaded across the floor of the Uzumaki tomb, enveloping and smothering Abumi Zaku, if he could have, he would have screamed, but he remained, no pun intended, as still as a tomb.

The jutsu begins to mold and shape itself into the shape of a woman, a woman with red-hair, a naked-woman, with red-hair, there is some manner of decay, which immediately heals and rejuvenates. The process of reforming me, takes only a few moments, then my life is returned to me. I take my first breath of my new life and look over and find Minato, looking at me. The Physical me, then turns toward Naruto, and looks confused, "who are you," the recently reincarnated me, asked our son?

Minato was surprised at first, and Naruto looked chagrined, as Minato reached for her and brought her to him in a hug, "It's alright Kushi-chan, he helped me heal you, but he's not finished, there is one more thing he needs to do," he looks at Naruto and nods, "it might feel disorienting at first, but you can trust him, I know I do."

"Okay, Mina-koi," she used the pet name for him, this showed me that she was from the time period right after our marriage, but before we decided to try for children. I relayed this information to Naruto, so he wouldn't be disheartened for not being recognized by her.

Naruto concentrated and stopped all of his chakra flow, as if he was dispelling a powerful genjutsu, then I entered my son's chakra coils. The result was almost instantaneous, I knew what it felt like to be a photon. I entered the motherless Kushina and fused with her, and everything I knew, and everything she knew, became one, we became one…

Lady's Room: Now

"… then for the first time, I don't care what we did in his mind, I hugged my son. I hugged him so tight, and for so long that I lost track of time. I didn't think I would ever stop crying happy tears, and I sure as hell didn't care that I was still naked in front of my son, modesty could wait. I've never seen Naruto so happy, even Minato was crying. I also kinda, sorta, divorced, Minato, I still love him and we're still friends, but regardless of his reasons, I cannot be with a man that would turn his newborn son into a Jinchuriki."

"Are you sure, Kushina," Mikoto asked, she has known her sister for a long time, and the question was only a formality? When Kushina made up her mind, nothing short of Kami-sama's express orders would ever change her mind.

Kushina just nodded, "you know the portion of the vows that read, 'until death do us part," the Hokage and the Daimyo nodded, "well, I've fulfilled that vow, Shinigami, parted us and thus we're no longer married. I don't feel guilty in the slightest, and Minato says that he doesn't feel slighted, I guess Kami-sama recognizes the end of our marriage."

"Are you going to be okay, Kushina-san," Koyuki asked, "you don't hate Minato-san, do you?"

"By the heavens no, I could never hate him, my love for him is eternal, it's just changed from that of a spouse, to something else," Kushina admitted, "as I said we're still friends. I'll even give him sex if he wants it, and I'm not busy," she explained, and somewhere in Konoha placing teleportation seals in certain areas, Minato got a nosebleed, "I plan on spending as much time as I can with my son, and getting to know his betrothed, I know she's good for him, I just want to be a part of Naruto's life."

"Now, your Majesty," Kushina addressed Koyuki formally, "we're going to be making a slight change before we go back out for the next round."

The former Yukie Fujikaze, arched an eyebrow, "what kind of change, Kunoichi-san," she wondered?