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Chapter 1

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"God, Tsunade, if you wanted a baby you could have just asked!"

"I didn't want your baby!"

Huddled down beside the sleeping Shizune (though how she's sleeping through this row is beyond her), Kato Uzume presses the sides of the blanket closer to her head, trying to muffle her ears. It's been three hours since Jiraiya, her Mama's teammate, has caught up to them and, before this, there had been nothing but stony silence between the two of them. Even as Mama's teammate had done nothing but coo over her. Which was admittedly very flattering. Uzume still doesn't understand as much as she would like about the world she lives in, but she knows for certain she's ended up on the adorable side. Long, silvery-blue hair and the same bright caramel eyes as her mother; the pouty lips are just the icing on the cake.

That was before she'd known her Mama had done some questionable shit to conceive.

Apparently, her Papa wasn't just dead before she was born, he'd been dead before she was even conceived. According to Mama's loud teammate, Mama had gotten involved with their creepy teammate and his unethical science experiments. A long story short, Uzume had been little more than a science experiment to creepy teammate, one he stops by to check on every six or so months. She's gotten wise to his tests by now, though she still has little idea of what Orochi is talking about when he's asking her to 'pour her energy into the tree'. Nothing ever happens, so she's long since given up understanding creepy-Orochi's ways. Maybe they'll make more sense when she's got more context on the situation.

"Is this really a healthy way to deal with it all?" Mama's loud teammate asks and his voice is really quite soft, tender in a way he's not exhibited so far.

It has Uzume rolling over to look at him, sucking in her pouty bottom lip as she considers this 'Jiraiya'. He's huge, with his back to Uzume and it only makes his broad shoulders that bit more obvious. When they'd been standing up earlier, he'd towered over Mama. Not that Uzume is worries for Mama; she's seen Mama knock down a tree with just a tap of a finger (which had been ridiculously cool; if she's had to be reborn anywhere, she's hella glad it's somewhere with super powers). Jiraiya probably wouldn't stand a chance against her Mama. He's also hopelessly in love with her; it's lovely and quite saddening too. Mama's clearly not over the Papa Uzume's never known, nor ever will.

"You don't get to judge here, Jiraiya. It's different from your little Ame orphans." Whatever that's code for is obviously designed as a verbal attack on Jiraiya; he winces like Mama punched him, shoulders drooping inwards with the motion. Uzume wishes she knew what the underlying problem between the two of them is; though they're talking about her and the very fact she exists, the way they fight indicates this is more than that, the same old argument but rehashed through a different issue.

"Uzume. I know you're awake."

"Eep!" She hastily pulls the blanket up and over her head, but there's little point to it. Once Mama's sighted her doing something she shouldn't, there's no escaping it. Sure enough, two strong hands clamp down on either side of her ribs, hoisting her up for a moment, before she's deposited in Mama's lap as she sits down. It is with great reluctance that Uzume peels the hood of her blanket back.

Jiraiya the mountain of a man stares at her and Uzume stares back, scrunching up her nose and pressing her lips into that cute and a button pout. It's not polite for children to eavesdrop on adults, but then Uzume isn't a child, is she? Well, she is, but she has memories of not being a child too, so there.

"Alright there, Squirt?"

"'M fine," Uzume murmurs, slowly lowering the defence of her blanket from her chin to better expose Jiraiya to the cuteness that is her baby face. "You?"

"Could be better, Squirt, could be better. Wanna see something cool?"

"Uh huh!" Despite the sleep that is begging to be allowed to take over in the corners of her mind, Uzume nods, wiggling about in her Mama's lap until she's in prime position to see whatever it is Jiraiya is about to do. Mama huffs but doesn't shuffle her off to bed. That's practically permission to remain awake, as far as Uzume is concerned.

With a flick of his wrist, Jiraiya unrolls a plain scroll, one of the little ones that Uzume's been practicing her writing on. It's blank only as long as it takes Jiraiya to pull out a brush and ink pot. But he doesn't draw anything and it doesn't come to life. Instead, it's squiggles he puts on the paper, alternating between curves and straight lines. It's not words Uzume can read and she hopes it's not words at all. Otherwise, she's probably a lot worse at this new language then she'd thought she'd be.

Her thought process is completely derailed when, upon finishing and placing his palm to the squiggles, Jiraiya makes the ink light up. It's a beautiful blue colour, shimmering and shining much like a night-light in her old world would.

"Wow!" Scrambling out of her Mama's lap, Uzume crawls over to the paper, lifting it up and tilting it this way and that but there really is no hidden lightbulb. The glow is coming from the paper.

"And that's just a basic light-seal!" Jiraiya states, a wide grin on his face. Like that, the weird red lines on his face add character instead, the wart by his nose disappearing in the shadows of the single light they'd had on in the hotel room before the paper light.

"Light-seal?"

"A type of Fūinjutsu. You know, the ninja arts?"

Ninja arts?

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It should have been obvious from the start. Orochimaru never did anything out of the goodness of his heart, never. But she'd been blinded by the idea, the very thought of having some piece of Dan that she could cling to, never once wondering just what was in it fro Orochimaru.

Sitting with Sensei's office now, Tsunade knows. The evidence is right before her, recovered from Orochimaru's base as he'd fled. There's a file on Uzume, her darling Uzume, stamped with 'failure' and dated two years ago. Apparently, the year Orochimaru had given up on her little girl having the Mokuton and started his experiments to forcibly instil it in orphan children. There's bile in the back of her throat but Tsunade forges on, forces herself to read all of her teammate's (former teammate's) crimes. She's thankful she never agreed to allow Uzume out of her sights, even when Orochimaru was conducting one of his 'check-ups'. God, he could have claimed something had gone wrong, that she'd died from some unforeseen side-effect and then- and then her little girl could have been one of the children they've just pulled out of that underground lair.

"And young Uzume is fine?"

Tsunade lifts her gaze to consider Sensei, taking in the hard age lines that have carved their way into his face in the past year. With Minato dead, with his wife dead, his sudden aging doesn't surprise Tsunade, though it does sadden her.

"She's normal, I've not noticed anything out the ordinary about her." That there's no evidence of Mokuton goes unsaid between them. "When he next shows his face, I'll kill him." Even as she says it though, Tsunade's unsure if she'd actually be able to go through with it. For all that these experiments are crimes against humanity, that violate so many rules of Konoha… that sick genius was once a ten-year-old child who worked for hours alongside her to become a Sanin.

"And where is young Uzume now?" 'Why am I not being introduced to what is practically another grandchild?' Clearly Sensei is attempting to cling to anything that could bring him a mote of joy in these trying times. Well, at the very least, the war is over. He does not have to go against other nations; their key problems at the moment come from within.

In truth, that may perhaps be more stressful than the option of outside agents.

"She's out exploring."

"On her own?"

"Fuck no," Tsunade snaps, rolling her eyes at Sensei tone of surprise. Because she's a ninja who believes in building independence and not an ignorant civilian- "Shizune is watching over her." Stealth training for her apprentice and confidence building for her darling daughter. She wouldn't dare do it anywhere other than the Leaf; here, there are other ninja who would jump in without hesitation to watch over her daughter should she encounter any kind of trouble.

She doesn't admit that, deep down, she wants Uzume to explore the village that Dan loved so much. The one Dan died for.

"Of course, of course." Shuffling the papers about on his desk, Sensei lets out a long, deep sigh before he thoughtful eyes flicker over to her. Oh fuck.

"Seeing as you are planning to stay for a few days, Tsunade-chan, would you put some of the medics through their paces? No blood, of course." Fuckety-fuck-fuck.

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Uzume is nine years old and utterly incapable of deciding where to look first. Shizune and Jiraiya have told her stories about the Leaf Village (more the latter, solely because he'd spent the most time there), but hearing tales and actually walking through the bustling streets are two different matters entirely. People rush and walk back and forth, some quick, some slow, some whistling, some cursing under their breaths. Spice is the variety of life and all that… or is it the other way around? Eh, she can't remember and she doesn't care in the slightest.

A merchant on a stall calls out to her, waving her over and Uzume goes willingly, a pocket full of cash and a tummy lined only with a small breakfast snack.

"Some dango, for the pretty little lady?"

"Oh! Yes please!" Never say no to sweets! Handing over the appropriate amount of cash, Uzume happily accepts the treats in return, one balanced carefully in each hand. She's quick to inhale the first ball, chewing thoughtfully as she begins to meander through the streets once again.

This world she has been reborn in is a strange one, filled with ninjas and samurai. There's magic, power by chakra and called ninjutsu or genjutsu or even fūinjutsu, but it's exactly what she'd have called magic in a past life. She's adored the very concept ever since Jiraiya showed her that first seal, ever since he showed her how to activate her chakra. It no longer mattered how much she bled during training, how tired she became, how exhausted she'd end up after overusing her chakra. All that mattered was that it was something new, something cool, something she'd never done before. And it is incredible, to have this power at her fingertips, to recognise she's a descendant (a direct descendant!) of someone who dreamed of putting a stop to hundreds of years of war and actually did it. All with the power she can now use. Uzume's desperate to help people, to bring joy to their faces like Jiraiya once did to a little girl with a glorified night-light.

Sandaled feet slapping against the hard-packed earth of the turn-off, Uzume follow the street as the shops thin out into a more residential area. She's not really lived in a house before; Mama's always on the move. In her old life, that kind of unstable childhood would've been frown upon. Here, there are many nomads, all travelling about, wary of ninja from other countries but travellers nonetheless. Only, Mama's not wary of anyone because she's one of the strongest ninjas in existence. Not that Uzume's surprised; Mama's a badass. No, because of Mama's travel habits, she's seen so much of the world, has been able to contextualise things she'd never have understood otherwise. The history of this land is rich and deep, full of all sorts of wonderous things that'd have been nothing more than tall tales back in her old life. The kind of things that'd have been made into a movie or best-selling novel. This world is the shit and Uzume is doing her utmost to integrate herself as best she can.

Ripping the last bit of dango free of the stick, Uzume spins them about in her fingers, looking around for a bin. She's well and truly turned around in this place and while she knows Mama will have no problem finding her, Uzume doesn't exactly want to be waiting around for a rescue. She's far from stupid and the independence of a child here isn't based on age but on mentality; Uzume can look after herself. Circulating her chakra down to her feet, she jumps up towards the building nearby, scurrying up the side until she's sitting upon the roof. Up here, she can clearly see the handful of ninjas moving about on the buildings, leaping from one to another, defying the very laws of physics and it's amazing.

"This place is so freaking cool," she whispers, watching one ninja leap over the building next to hers. Taking a running start, Uzume launches herself from her current position to the next building, legs pumping to keep the momentum going. It's parkour dialled up to eleven, all free movement and she'd never have imagined she'd ever be so in control of her limbs before.

"Won't be long until you're graduating, right?"

Zoning in on the voices coming from the street below, Uzume stops her rooftop-hopscotch, leaning over the edge to identify the voice. There're two people, a man and what must be his son, walking below her. The adult wears what Uzume has learnt in Konoha standard uniform, the boy in hard-wearing everyday gear. He's got a bandana on his head, covering most of his hair. She can't quite make out the colour from this distance. His cough, however, is loud and clear.

"Yeah, should be in two weeks," the kid replies, both hands on his pockets and he glances up at his father. "Though it looks like the Uchiha kid will be graduating as well."

"Huh. What is he, eight?"

"Seven, actually."

Uchiha is a name she recognises. Uzume has begged and pleaded with her mother for stories of their family, of grandfather-Hashirama (well, her great-grandfather but details, shmetails) and how the Leaf Village came to be. Uchiha Madara had been the guy he'd built it with, they'd put an end to that long, long war. She'd known that, theoretically, there had to be other Uchihas out and about today. Unlike the Senju, who'd been hunted into near extinction during the wars. According to Mama, the other countries hadn't wanted to run the risk of another Hashirama popping up in their line. Which, fair enough, he'd been strong enough to earn the title of 'God of Shinobi'.

Does Uzume have a bit too much family pride? Maybe so. S'not gonna change her opinion on things.

Back on track, Uzume reminds herself as she clears the gap between the two buildings, following after the father-son duo. Graduating must relate to the ninja academy. She'd never been, only heard stories of it from Shizune, who had attended before Tsunade pulled her out to apprentice under her. Legally, as far as Uzume's aware anyway, she's registered in the Konoha system as an apprentice too; a ninja, but technically not available for missions as she's on a 'training montage'. Only, she doesn't get the cool Rocky background track to her everyday living. Huh, maybe there's a seal for that. She'll have to have a brainstorm with Jiraiya when she next sees him.

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Uzume follows the two until they reach a large, red building. She's relatively sure some part of it is the Hokage Tower she left from but it's not completely familiar. What she can see from this vantage point are the four heads on the mountain. The First (her legendary great-grandfather), the Second (her great, granduncle who was just as incredible but not as well known as his brother), the Third (who she's met) and the Fourth (who died young). She considers the four serious faces that look out over the village they helped build up and, in three of four cases, died for. They'd fought, they'd worked so hard to protect the people of the Leaf and make it a happy place, a place where children could grow up without being thrown onto the battlefield, where families could be safe. This world is so different from her own; the power a person can command is so much great and, as the old saying goes, power corrupts. Just, not everybody. The four faces on that mountain top are the most obvious examples for that.

"Uzume-chan? Are you okay?"

Head tilting back, Uzume grins up at Shizune, happily patting at the section of roof beside her. The teenage sits herself down, adjusting the collar of her kimono so that it's securely together, covering almost all of the fishnet shirt she wears underneath. It's funny, ever since her boobs had come in, the other girl has grown adorably embarrassed of their size. Sure, they're nothing like her Mama's knockers (and oh boy, Uzume cannot wait for the joys puberty is going to bring upon her in the next decade), but they're sizable enough.

If Uzume gets curves like the women in her life, she's going to outright rock them.

"I'm fine, Shizune-nee-chan. I just… this place is great! Knowing the history of it all, that it was the first of its kind, that grandfather Hashirama built the very first house, that it was his and Madara's idea, I'm just super proud!" Leaping up onto her feet, Uzume plants her hands at her hips, back straight and head up. She might look nothing like Hashirama, but her hair is a light enough blue, a pale enough blue, that she could easily claim blood to the Second. You know, if she spiked it up a bit. Only it flows lusciously smooth; she has no intention of messing with what is clearly god's work.

"it is nice, isn't it?" Shizune whispers, still sitting on the rooftop, legs dangling over the edge. She waves to one of the bouncing shinobi who returns the gesture; Uzume wonders if they know each other or if that's just general Konoha citizen friendliness.

"Shizune-nee… Why doesn't Mama stay in the Leaf Village?" It'd been the one thing that Uzume had never dared to ask. Whenever Mama had talked of this place, it'd always been in a detached tone. She'd never offered any opinions on the place, not like Shizune and Jiraiya did. Even creepy Orochimaru before he'd disappeared from her life (gone bad, the Third had said with sad eyes) had said he liked the place.

"Tsunade-sama has lost a lot of thing while fighting in the war; her little brother-"

"Uncle Nawaki," Uzume whispers, receiving a clarifying nod from the older girl.

"-yes, and my uncle, your father, that is. It's painful to be here for her." Oh.

Dropping back onto the rooftop with her legs half-slung off the side, Uzume peers up at the sky, watching a single hawk soar from the Hokage's Tower and out towards the eastern sun that warms the back of her neck.

"Uncle Nawaki and Papa, they wanted to become Hokage, didn't they?" It makes sense now, how Mama had grumbled about the title, had been oddly bitter when news that the Fourth had died reached them. How she had stares at the four faces in the mountain with dead eyes when they had arrived in the early hours of the morning. Uzume hadn't been able to see as clearly, the early morning's sky had been too dark and she too short, unable to improve her eyesight with chakra alone.

"Yes. Their deepest desire was to become strong enough to protect all of the people that live within this village."

Glancing down at all the children that were gathering in the ninja academy's courtyard, some her age, other older or younger, Uzume's brow drops heavy over her eyes, her perfect pout that she prays never leaves her pressing together hard. Her mind spins as she watches the other kids play together, some laughing loud, others showcasing budding taijutsu forms that she recognises as Leaf standard.

"Shizune-nee?"

"Uzume-chan?"

"I'll do it. I'll protect all the people, just like Uncle Nawaki and Papa wanted to. I'll become the Hokage!"

Glass shatters behind them and they both spin around, Uzume with her fists curled ready for action and Shizune armed with kunai.

Mama stares back, a shattered bottle of sake at her feet and the Third Hokage by her side. Words cannot begin to describe the expressions on their faces, though Shizune has a good go.

"Oh shit."

Because I'm really enjoying writing 'A Hundred Winks of Sunshine' and thought, what if that SI had ended up in Naruto instead? (fyi, she's not read the manga, nor seen the anime)

Let me know what you think, pretty please?

Tsume
xxx