-"You are not male or female, but a plan deep-set within the heart of man."

~ Marianne Moore, Complete Poems

Prologue

"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

The anguished bellows echoed throughout the entire castle; bouncing off walls and making all those at close proximity cringe as their eardrums were stabbed by the screeching that continued for hours on end.

Still, those outside of the castle were lying in bed, sleeping peacefully as the screams went on within walls that made it impossible for the sound to filter through.

Now if only the Empress of Amazon Lily, Tsunade Uzumaki, had the pleasure of being away from these screams.

"Come on, just a little more!"

"Damn it, Tsunade, get this thing out of me!"

"What do you think I'm trying to do you little brat!?"

They had been in the room for hours, and all three occupants were becoming extremely irritated the longer the child stubbornly refused to leave her mother's womb.

"Shizune!" Tsunade called from her position at the end of the future-mother's legs, "Bring me more towels!"

The young assistant and doctor-in-training, Shizune, nodded and quickly ran out the door, glad to be away from the suffocating room for at least a few minutes.

Childbirth was not an easy process. The pain that came with the experience was unbearable and it made Tsunade glad that she had never even considered having a child of her own. And the woman in front of her was a perfect example of the reason why.

A woman that was not supposed to be pregnant in the first place.

Indeed, Tsunade's irritation with the entire episode, wasn't just because of the fact that the child was so blatantly refusing to leave her mother's belly, making the entire procedure even more frustrating for the three women. Tsunade's irritation stemmed from the fact that this wasn't even supposed to have happened in the first place.

It was supposed to be a simple voyage; in order to train the one who would succeed Tsunade's throne, she would be sent out on a trip in order to learn of the outside world in preparation for her future as the Empress of Amazon Lily.

But, one thing led to another, and by the time the successor came back from the trip, she came back with a large belly that didn't result from a binge eating contest. One night stand and four months later, and Tsunade's ideal future retirement was ruined by stupid hormonal urges that the last heir of the Uzumaki clan couldn't control.

And because of that, Tsunade's anger towards Kushina Uzumaki was one that could not be placed into words.

"Gaaaaahhhhh! Come out already you little piece of shit!"

Tsunade sweatdropped at the woman's choice of words for her daughter, but couldn't exactly find it in herself to blame the young woman for her ire with her child.

Now, one might ask, why does Tsunade know that the child will be a girl? Why not a boy? Well the answer to that is simple:

Amazon Lily is an island strictly inhabited by women. Never has a male surfaced from a woman's womb in this Empire, for those of the male sex are not allowed to even come near proximity to the island.

The child that are birthed in the island are always female. Always.

So, of course the child Kushina Uzumaki will bring into the kingdom will be a female. It always is. There's never been a doubt in Tsunade's mind from the years that she's helped deliver children in the Amazon Lily Empire that a child will not turn out female.

"Come on, just push some more!"

"I'm trying! You bitch!"

"Watch your tone with me you whore!"

Both women were so caught up in the situation, they didn't notice Shizune had come back, carrying a pile of towels that were almost falling off her arms. She placed them on the table standing right next to Tsunade, who felt a sense of relief when she finally saw something that brought some joy out of the entire circumstance.

"I can see the head!" she called out with a soft smile, "come on, Kushina, just one final push."

Kushina could feel her entire body splitting in two. The pain was unbearable and she swore she could almost hear her bones grinding against each other as something-a living thing-continued to pass through them like some sort of tunnel. She had never regretted many decisions in the past, but by Kami, she hoped she didn't regret this one.

"Kkkkkk-Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!"

"Wwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Tsunade's smile widened when Kushina's screams were replaced by the bawling of a newborn that she gripped tightly in her hands covered in a white towel that began to be stained with specks of blood. She quickly grabbed the scissors from the table and cut the cord that connected the child to her mother before wrapping her tightly in the towel.

She allowed herself to release a loud sigh of relief. "It's done. She's out."

Kushina lay panting loudly on the bed, her body completely lax as it finally got a moment to rest from the painful experience it just went through. Tsunade's words reached her ears and a small smile graced her lips.

"Let me... see.. her," she pleaded breathlessly, her hands already reaching out to hold the bundle she had spent nine months preparing for to welcome into this world.

Tsunade moved towards Kushina's vision, holding the small lump that continued to screech and writhe like no tomorrow; yearning for the comfort of her mother's womb that she had been forced to leave behind.

The older woman placed the child on her mother's tired arms and took a step back to admire a scene that she never grew tired of. Her assistant and student stood right by her side, smiling softly as she saw for the first time, the miracle of birth.

Kushina could feel the warmth of her child as she began to calm down from her fit. Her cries began to quiet down before becoming almost nonexistant. She chuckled softly, "You look just like your father."

The small patch of spiky blond hair and slightly tanned skin, that was his. That much she could tell. The round face and whisker marks on his face were definitely from her side, despite the fact that she had none on her own cheeks.

And when she opened her eyes, Kushina nearly gasped at the beautiful blue orbs that greeted her with so much brightness, so much life it made her heart melt. This child was hers. Hers to raise and nurture and comfort. Hers to protect.

Those beautiful pair of sapphires greeted her before fluttering close. The rise and fall of a steady small chest told her that the daughter in her arms was just as tired as the mother from the excruciating experience that they had just gone through.

"What will you name her?"

Kushina's eyelids began to flutter as exhaustion started to take over her entire being. Tsunade stood close by in case the new mother drifted away and let go of the child.

"Natsumi," she whispered, barely audibly. "Natsumi Uzumaki."

The small smile fell and Tsunade took the child from the now-unconcious woman's arms, and smiled as she looked at sleeping bundle in her arms and glanced towards the sleeping mother. This would be a beautiful family indeed.

"Let's get her cleaned up," she stated as she moved towards the table with the child still sleeping in her arms. "Bring me a bowl of water, Shizune."

"Hai," the assistant nodded and walked out the door once again.

Tsunade removed all utensils from the table that sat next to Kushina's sleeping form, and placed the wrapped child on top of it. She took another towel as she began to unwrap the child from the bloody one she had been placed in, ready to begin cleaning the blood that specked the child's small body...

...Only to stop when her eyes landed on something that should definitely not be there.

The towel fell from her limp hands, landing silently on the beautiful tiled floor. Her entire frame began to shake as she slowly took the child and raised it up in the air, staring at the dreaded object that had caught her attention.

Her eyes bulged out of their sockets, her mouth gaped open widely and she struggled to form any coherent words to express her thoughts right at this moment. Thoughts that were running around her mind, seeking for an explanation or a miracle that this was not real. That this was an illusion or a horrible nightmare. This could not be real. This was... this was...

"Tsunade-sama, is everything al-"

There was a loud clatter and the sloshing of water spilling on to the floor and reaching Tsunade's sandled feet, but she couldn't process the wetness that appeared at the soles of her feet. Couldn't process her assistant standing right next to her with a similar reaction to her own, as she stared and stared and stared...

No. Her brain was too busy processing the reality of the situation they had somehow managed to land themselves in. And out of all the thousand thoughts and screams that ran across her brain, there was only one that was coherent enough for her to grasp onto...

'Damn you, Minato.'

"W-w-w..." Shizune could not form any words. Couldn't ask the question Tsunade knew she would dread the answer to. But someone had to say it. Someone had to say the dreaded statement that caused fear and irrational anger to grip her heart.

"I-i-i-i-it..." Her shaky mouth stuttered with the words. Her voice was too soft to the point that it was barely even a whisper.

"It's a boy."

There. She said it. And saying it certainly didn't make the situation any better. In fact, it just made it worse.

"What?"

Both women flinched in surprise when they heard the familiar soft voice. They turned slowly to find Kushina, awake and well, sitting up on the bed and staring at them with the widest eyes they had ever seen. Her entire body was shaking, not from exhaustion, but from the shock Tsunade's words had created.

"It's a boy," Tsunade responded. And saying it a second time was so much worse, because it made her realize that this was not a nightmare, this was reality.

During her many travels away from her home of Amazon Lily, Tsunade had only come across that extra extremity when she crossed the path of a couple of likable characters of the opposite sex. As much as she wanted to deny it, she couldn't. The proof was dangling right there inbetween the sleeping infant's legs.

This child was not a her... it was a him.

Kushina Uzumaki, the future heir to the throne of Amazon Lily and one of the only two remaining descendants of the Uzumaki clan, gave birth to a healthy baby boy.

A baby boy that decided to wake up at that moment, and begin to cry the loudest he possibly could, only to have no woman react to his loud bawling as they stood back, unable to get over the shock of their lives.

Amazon Lily was an island inhabited only by those of the female gender. Women lived in prosperity due to the absence of those of the male gender. But, because of the lack of men, women had to leave the island in order to conceive children. Those children always turned out to be girls. Always.

But, on this day, for the first time ever, a Kuja warrior brought a baby boy into the world.

And that baby boy, was Naruto Uzumaki.

Prologue End

A/N: Oh, no. What have I done? Another story? Now? Of all times when I have many other stories in the works? Enigma, you fool. What were you thinking?

This story had been pestering me at the edge of my brain for a long time and I just had to write it, that's what I was thinking.

So, yeah, I don't know if this idea has been done before but it came to me one summer day while watching an episode of Supernatural. Now, I don't remember what episode it was that could bring such an idea to fruition, but, oh well, here it is.

And I don't regret anything. I mean, come on, it's a cool idea right? Naruto, a boy who was born in Amazon Lily, a kingdom that detests men.

I hope the prologue was ok. I know my writing skills need some improvement but I do hope this chapter was not so bad.

Some of you may have some questions like: Why is Tsunade's last name Uzumaki? What will happen to Naruto?

Rest assured, all will be answered with due time.

Anyway, for those of you who read my other stories, Partners will be updated hopefully some time in the next two weeks. I was hoping to updaet by this week but I have lots of homework and I really wanted to get the prologue to this story done, at least. Arc of Fairies will be updated in about three weeks, and Brother's Grief will resume sometime at the end of December or beginnings of January.

Ok, that is all. I guess I shall leave you with a small preview as to what's to come in the future, so, here it is!

Preview

"It's too dangerous for us to remain within the empire."

"What do you suggest?"

"What's your name?"

"Marguerite. Yours?"

"Uzumaki Naruto! Nice to meet you!"

"Blegh! That tasted so gross!"

Alright, I must get going. Please do review if you enjoyed the beginning to this story! It really motivates me to update faster! :)