Disclaimer: I own nada, if I did, lots of things would have been different.

Note: This took forever to come together. I still feel like it could have gone differently. I even had multiple different scenarios and I had to change them because it just...didn't go?

To one Guest: Sorry I seemed to have confused you? I tried to make it obvious that yes, they were being kidnapped (when Kushina originally was the only one kidnapped), but I may have just thrown it out there. I felt like this was stagnant, not going anywhere and I needed to make something happen, but I didn't mean to confuse. Any suggestions on how to clear it up are welcome. Hopefully things may seem clearer in this chapter? Linked previous actions in this one to make a bit of sense, if this makes any sense, lol!

Thank you ALL for your support and reviews and just sticking with me. I appreciate it so much and I hope this chapter is worth the small wait. Still can't believe I've reached 500 followers! Again, thank you.

Pairing: Kushina(Sakura)X Minato

Flames not welcome, if you've come this far, then please, by all means suggest stuff. I can see what I can do with it, but just flaming wont help your cause. It'll probably just make me continue what I'm doing just to piss you off even further. (Which means I bought a space in your head and won the entire argument right from the start :P ).

ENJOY! Another chapter with 19 pages!

Drifting Blossom Chapter fourteen

O

Sakumo Hatake grinned sheepishly at the woman standing before him, hands on her hips and short blonde hair splayed messily around her face. Her hazel eyes stared him down, making the seasoned shinobi squirm under her sharp gaze. There were times that he just couldn't stand when she gave him that look.

"I'm sorry Airi-chan, I'll buy you some dango to make up for being late last night."

Airi gave Sakumo that look again, her eyes sending him one last warning before she brightened, mood doing a one-eighty. "I expect a full course meal tomorrow evening with dango as dessert."

"Of course, dear." Sakumo grinned, hand coming to rest at her lower back and beginning to lead her back to the house. He was currently visiting home, having been given a short leave from the front lines. Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade had everything under control for Sakumo to visit home for a couple weeks. Those three were terrifying when working together.

Sarutobi trained his three kids well.

They came across the path leading into Konoha park before Sakumo stiffened, his head snapping around in the direction of the winding trail.

Airi paused in her steps, turning to look at her husband. She may not be a shinobi, but she was a sensor and she knew a distressed call when she felt one.

"Go." Was all she needed to say, getting a quick glance from Sakumo before he disappeared. Her hands came to rest upon her slightly protruding belly and Airi looked at the ominous view of the trail leading into the park before making her way home as quickly as possible. She just hoped Sakumo would come home to her after helping the person that was calling for aid.

Sakumo landed in the clearing, eyes quickly taking in the Nara and a blonde academy student before his eyes focused on the destruction and blood filled terrain. Sakumo felt his entire body stiffen as he caught the scent of blood and burning flesh with his sensitive nose. His mouth went dry before he swiftly turned to address the older boy, a genin by the looks of his headband. If he wasn't mistaken, Sakumo believed he was the victor from the Chuunin exams.

"Report!" he barked, right hand grasping his tanto at his waist, body ready to respond to any threat in the immediate area.

Shikaku jolted and Minato flinched at the deeper voice addressing them.

"We went looking for Kushina Uzumaki, Mikoto Uchiha, and Yoshino Nara when they appeared to be running almost an hour late. This is what we found tracing their path." Shikaku stated, voice shaky at the scene they came across and how worried he was for the girls.

Sakumo gritted his teeth, eyes darting around before landing on Minato, who held a good number of red hairs.

If this was a kidnapping, he needed to send word to the Clan heads and Hokage now and set out. The scents were all very recent and any leads would become old if he waited for a response. Biting his thumb, he ran through familiar hand signs and a cloud filled the clearing before five Ninken sat before him.

"Noboru, Riku with me. Sora, go inform the Nara clan that Yoshino Nara has been kidnapped. Hiroki, inform the Uchiha clan that Mikoto Uchiha has been kidnapped. Junichi, tell the Hokage that Kushina Uzumaki, Mikoto Uchiha, and Yoshino Nara have been taken. I'm picking up the trail now and I'll follow it, dismissed!"

Three Ninken bounded away, tails disappearing into the thick foliage. Sakumo turned to the two children still in the clearing.

"Those red hairs…"

Minato's hand clutched around the red hairs even tighter, before one of the small ninken moved in front of him.

"I need to smell that kid, pick up a trail, rescue damsels in distress, become prince charming, you know that type of thing."

Minato tried to hold in the startled sound that he made, but failed. He quickly lowered the red strands to the black and white tuxedo dog, who instantly started taking in the feminine scent.

"Earthy smell… mixed in with an ocean breeze…and is that…Fox?" Noboru muttered to himself, nose flaring at the smell of fox that lingered. She had a distinct scent that he doubted he would ever forget in his lifetime.

"Thanks' kid." And Noboru was off, Sakumo gently grabbing a couple red strands of hair before taking off after him, followed by Riku, a large white dog. Minato just stared after the figures that disappeared before his jaw clenched tight, his teeth grinding against one another.

He knew he was still in the academy, he knew that he needed a lot more training before going after a group of shinobi of all things considered, but his logical mind wasn't taking the situation very well. Shikaku was about to suggest going back to the clan at that exact moment to make sure they got the message from the ninken, but Minato was already on the move. His chakra came easily to him and he focused it around his feet before launching himself forward. He couldn't leave the three girls, especially Kushina. He couldn't lose his first real friend.

Shikaku shouted in surprise, his eyes widening as they registered what the blonde just did before he got his wits gathered and ran after him.

Minato had gotten only a good couple of feet into the surrounding forest before having to lurch himself to the side or land upon the black cloak that came into view. Stumbling in his hurried steps to right himself, Minato found his stomach suddenly rolling at the sight of two masked people, sprawled out upon the ground. They were laying in their own intestines, limbs detached and two white masks were facing the sky from what he could tell.

Blood stained those white masks, giving them a haunted look, eyes boring holes into the dimming sky, black pits that reminded him of an abyss and Minato shivered at that thought.

Shikaku came shooting out of the foliage, he arms catching hold of a tree limb to stop his momentum and land upon the ground a couple of feet behind the blonde. Shikaku tried reaching out to stop the blonde from going any further, but missed as Minato suddenly took off again at an even faster pace. Shikaku tried to avoid looking at the two deceased anbu sprawled across the ground in pieces, but his eyes betrayed him. A scowl formed on his face as he thought about the three girls that had been abducted. Why were anbu near them? Was the enemy after one or all three? Had they been targeted in the first place or had they taken the first clan children that they had come across? They each had clan affiliations so that reason wasn't too far stretched as to why they were kidnapped.

But the thought of anbu following someone around had his gut dropping in worry. The thought of them possibly following Kushina was plausible, seeing that she technically was the last of her clan, but he didn't have enough information. Or were they there because they suspected an enemy had been present in Konoha and had planned on dispatching said enemies?

Launching forward, Shikaku quickly caught up with the blonde. The determination that the blonde was showing had Shikaku realizing that there was no talking the kid out of his decision.

"Minato-san, are we even going in the right direction!?" Shikaku called out, eyebrows furrowed and analytical mind going haywire. They were going to get into so much trouble, especially Shikaku because he was the genin in this situation and Minato wasn't.

"I can sense Sakumo-san's chakra!" he called out to Shikaku and the Nara just barely heard the last part. "And Kushina-san's chakra is burning like a beacon."

Shikaku's eyebrow raised in surprise as he processed those words, lips pressed together in a thin line. So, Minato was a sensor, something that could eventually develop into a great asset in the future.

Minato didn't know how much further they had to go, or how long they have been trailing Sakumo, but he could feel the steady chakra of Kushina Uzumaki growing more pronounced to his senses. It was getting brighter and stronger the longer they ran.

Oooo

Kushina's eyes fluttered open and she found herself before a scowling Kyuubi. She barely registered that fact before a rough wind hit her, sending the girl tumbling backwards and through the water before rolling to a stop.

Her mind was trying to grasp at strings, to understand what had happened and what her current situation was.

The girl struggled to get up, her face twisted into a snarl as she shot the Kyuubi a withering glare. She knew she could have given those shinobi hell. She knew, yet the fear for Mikoto and Yoshino, who were still academy students no matter the amount of training they have been going through, held her back. She couldn't mess this up and get these two killed.

"Where did they come from ttebane?!" she finally spat, her eyes narrowed and anger rolling off of her in waves. The Kyuubi gave a nasty grin and his tails swayed behind him. He was enjoying the anger that was rolling off his jailor.

"You met one in the market, while looking for fish. Shouldn't have antagonized the man with your seal."

Kushina's blood ran cold.

They had been here, in Konoha since then?

That was months ago, over half a year or more, she couldn't recall the exact date that she had come across that man. That shinobi had seriously followed her around for that long?

How was she going to get her friends out of this situation?

How had the Kyuubi even connect these two situations together?

Her mind stalled and Kushina thought back to that day. That man had looked at her oddly, and now that she thought about it, she recognized the way he had looked at her in a way that screamed 'I know exactly who you are' sort of way. He hadn't been at the confrontation, but she had recognized the way they dressed and the man's way of dressing. There was just too much in common to forget about it.

Everything became fuzzy and the world swam before she was pulled away from her mind. The Kyuubi watched in amusement as her image disappeared.

"What will you do girl?" his rough voice followed after her and Kushina cast one last glance at the Kyuubi before she was gone.

Oooo

Yoshino's face was the first thing to greet her and Kushina groaned, her head pounding. It took her mere seconds to remember everything that had happened before she was up, chakra chains fizzing before sputtering out. Trying to mold chakra was almost impossible and Kushina started patting herself down, pulling up sleeves and searching for that seal she knew was there, somewhere.

Chakra never reacted like that unless there was a disrupter in the way, blocking its response.

Yoshino, who knew what she was looking for as soon as the Uzumaki started stripping, grasped the side of her own neck, right below her earlobe.

"They placed them on our necks."

Kushina froze, shirt halfway up and revealing her bare stomach before tugging it back down and pulling the taller girl into the stream of light coming from the cracks in the boarded-up window.

The seal that appeared on the girl's skin was ridiculous.

It was a semi-swirl before tapering off into a loop, a second layer had characters scrawled in odd patterns around the swirl to create this ungodly unbalanced chakra blocking seal and she felt something like horror trickle into the edges of her mind.

Was this seriously a seal that they used on kidnapped victims?

Were they trying to blow their heads off?

Kushina wet her lips with her tongue, eyes tracing the seal like it was about to give at any second, and it wouldn't surprise her if it did. The thing was near unusable.

God, if they seriously thought that this was a good seal, then she needed to find the creator and just end them. This wasn't stable work that should be given out to anybody to utilize. Even Jiraiya would think this was cringe worthy and he had been picking at seals for a while now, trying to figure out how the Uzumaki created them. Even with his inexperience, he would have been able to spot the unstable layers a mile away.

This was something that made her feel repulsed, especially after learning so many seals and the mere basics of sealing, Kushina couldn't help the disgusted scowl that crossed her face.

A groan from the corner of the room had Kushina whirling around, hand looking for a weapon, which had been taken from all of them, before her eyes landed on Mikoto. Relief flooded Kushina's body at seeing her close friend doing alright, though she did look a bit roughed up.

Mikoto's hand snapped to her head, gingerly wiping at her watery eyes. Looking up, Kushina sucked in a deep breath, noticing Mikoto's irritated eyes, which were bright red at the edges.

"They didn't do anything to your eyes, did they?" Kushina couldn't help but ask, voice low and wearily looking around. Mikoto shook her head, rubbing at her eyes even more as tears slid down her cheeks. Yoshino crouched before Mikoto, gently pulling the girls hands away from her face.

"You'll make them worse." She muttered, soothing cool fingers over Mikoto's eyelids and letting them rest there for a couple seconds. Mikoto seemed to sag into the short amount of relief given to her.

The Uchiha then shrugged, shoulders slouched and pulling away with eyes half closed. "They burn." She murmured, hands twitching at the urge to press them to her eyes once again.

Yoshino felt a frown tugging at her lips, eyebrows furrowing before she leaned in close to examine the Uchiha. The fight had been quick, so she wasn't too sure, but it wouldn't surprise her. "Did you activate them?"

Kushina felt her heart throb painfully, wondering what exactly caused Mikoto to activate her bloodline. The girl stilled, eyes suddenly snapping wide open as surprise and excitement was quick to cross her face. It was then swiftly replaced by a fearful expression after their current situation crossed her mind. She had possibly activated her clan bloodline, but the fact that they may know exactly which clan she belonged to, had her instincts screaming at her to get out of there. Nothing good happened to clan children that went missing.

"Do you think they know who we are?" she whispered and Kushina couldn't help but feel something heavy settle in her stomach.

"I think they know exactly who we are." Kushina finally got out, a lump in her throat forming. Yoshino scowled as she rubbed at the seal on her skin.

"Can you remove the seal?" she finally asked and Kushina found her palms becoming clammy and throat suddenly dry. There were many ways to remove a seal from the skin, but not here and not right now. However, she knew a seal that wouldn't remove it, but nullify the effects of said seal. Yet, she didn't know if she should take a risk at the possibility of the current seal reacting with the new seal that she would place on it.

"I can't remove it right now, not without chakra. Too little or too much chakra in the equation of unlocking it can cause the unstable seal to explode. It doesn't help that we can't access chakra to even accomplish that feat." On another note, Kushina would have to work her way through the layers to see how many there were and then start the unlocking process without interruption. The backlash was a terrible feeling.

Mikoto inhaled sharply and fear flickered in her eyes as she looked at Yoshino and Kushina.

"How are we going to get out of here then?" she whispered, voice slightly cracking.

Kushina glanced around the room, her eyes taking in the boarded-up window and the bathroom connected to the room. It held a terrible looking bed, a single dresser, as well as dust, everywhere. It might have been abandoned for quite a while, especially with how there were holes in the wooden furniture from rodents and or bugs.

They must have been laying low, from the looks of it. She wondered why they just didn't keep going, but she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Her eyes strayed to the boards again and then to the closed door to the room. "I don't think we should use explosives…yet. We don't have chakra, so running will get us nowhere." She muttered, walking over to the window and placing her palm on the wooden planks. Kushina's brows furrowed. Explosive seals were easy to make, but that would only draw the Shinobi from outside this room to them like moths to a flame. They wouldn't be able to do anything but climb out that window before they were captured again.

"Can.." Yoshino started to speak, mind whirling with thoughts. "Your seals, is there any that can hide us? Draw in nature chakra to activate it?"

Genjutsu seals suddenly crossed the red heads mind and her face lit up. "Yoshino-san, you're a genius!" she beamed, bringing up a finger and biting the pad of her fingertip with her teeth. Skin split and blood seeped from the deep wound. It would heal many times over before she finished the seal, but it'd be worth it.

Kushina could draw a layered seal, one dedicated to the Genjutsu like it was supposed to be made, and another two that would draw in the chakra that surrounded them and activate it.

As she was drawing it upon the wall, located in the corner of the room near the door, Kushina furrowed her brows as she thought over something that could give them an opening in getting away from these shinobi. Maybe explosive seals were a good idea.

"Yoshino-san, do you think I should draw up an exploding seal and activate it on the boarded-up window? Make them think we ran?" she whispered and Mikoto kept her eyes burrowed in the crook of her sleeve as Yoshino moved her gaze to the light seeping into the room.

"That…we can try it. We'll be hidden by the Genjutsu and free to move at least a couple minutes after they've abandon this place to search for us."

Kushina grimaced, but nodded her head. They needed to try something and not just sit around. It took another five minutes of constantly redrawing blood to her finger and writing on the wall that gave the small Genjutsu seal enough of a radius that would cover them from the enemy.

Mikoto hissed as Yoshino helped her into the corner of the room as Kushina moved to the window, quickly working on the first seal she had mastered in placing down with a simple touch. Now though, she had to scrawl a seal of activation and then the second layer dedicated to a large enough explosion that would leave room for the three girls to fit out of. It had to be convincing that they had somehow managed to get away.

The redhead retreated to her friends, ducking into the range of the Genjutsu seal before huddling close to the ground. The activation seal glowed once it was powered enough and then the explosion seal flashed, followed by a loud, ear splitting sound before wood splinters went everywhere. Dust and debris filled the room and shouting could be heard from outside their door. There was fumbling outside, locks being removed, before the door was blasted off its hinges from impatience with said locks and figures filled the room. Yoshino and Kushina watched through the Genjutsu's range, both holding their breaths and hoping that they wouldn't be found.

As the dust cleared, cursing could be heard from the four that were in the room.

"Shit!" one snarled, a female that hid her face behind a half mask.

Another leaned out of the smoldering hole, trying to see if he could spot their prisoners through the still smoking hole.

"I can't see past this shitty smoke, let's split up and try finding them. They can't have gone far without chakra."

"How the fuck did they even cause this explosion?" the female hissed, eyes narrowed as she stared the escape route down. "Everything should have been removed from them. Never mind their chakra systems being sealed."

"Get your asses moving then!" and two bounded through the small hole while the others raced out of the room. A door slammed somewhere else in the house and they were left in silence. Mikoto's fingers dug harshly into Kushina's and Yoshino's hands, her nails biting, but neither said a word as they waited, hearts drumming wildly against their chests in fear and anxiety.

Not a single sound left them as they waited with bated breath, and after a couple of minutes had passed, Kushina finally had them both moving. They tumbled out of the hole in the wall with no grace, each one tired and thirsty and shaky from their ordeal and looking around with fear clear upon their faces. Both girls helped Mikoto, her eyes watering once more (the smoke not helping) as they started to drag the girl in a random direction.

Kushina ushered the two of them forward, her eyes wide as she looked back towards the abandoned house the enemies has been keeping them in and laying low. With no access to chakra, it left her feeling jumpy and nerves rubbed raw with worry. Yoshino suddenly tripped over a tree root, falling over it and slamming down upon her hands and knees. Mikoto stumbled over her and Kushina had to jerk her body into a half jump to avoid tripping over the two.

"We have to keep going!" Kushina hissed, eyes wide with worry and darting left and right, looking for the enemy. Mikoto whimpered, eyes leaking tears as she rubbed at them again. They were so red and irritated that it made Kushina cringe at the mere sight. Yoshino pushed herself to her feet, helping Mikoto get up as well. The Uzumaki bit her bottom lip at that point, gnawing at the flesh before she found herself thinking of the seal that she thought about back in that room, the one that she could probably try on herself right now.

It must have been this entire situation that was making her so nervous and jittery, that she happened to forget about the seal right after they set up their distraction in the room.

There was a basic Uzumaki Reversal seal that could help break the chakra seals hold. It was the Uzumaki's universal seal to counter most seals, especially ones that didn't run on timers. She just hoped it would work and not backfire when placed upon an unstable seal. It was supposed to balance seals out in the first place, so the chances of a reaction between the two should be very small.

The seal itself revered the effects of many seals, but not all. This seal disables it for as long as the current seal was in effect. Its components are to draw out the chakra that was currently feeding the seal and use it for itself and stabilize the unwanted seal and reverse its abilities. It would give her access to her chakra as long as it was placed over the seal and she would be able to get them out of trouble. Or so she hoped.

Kushina would still have to unravel the unstable seal after, but this was the only option to gain access to her chakra. Biting her pointer, she quickly scrawled the basic Reversal seal upon the side of her neck, over the current seal, swirling an outer ring to complete it. It was difficult not being able to see it, but she had been taught this within the first couple of weeks of learning sealing techniques. No Uzumaki went without learning this seal and knowing it by heart.

She felt something click inside of her before the warmth of chakra started flowing again. Relief rushed through her and settled her nerves as she let chakra chains seep from her palms, making sure that the seal was stable and not about to collapse in on itself. With the chakra from the unstable seal powering the Reversal seal, she finally released her chains and quickly turned to the two others who were watching her with surprised looks on their faces. Biting her finger once more, she swiftly drew the seal on Yoshino, who sighed in relief at the feeling of her own chakra returning to her.

Yoshino clutched Mikoto's arm around her neck, pulling the girl up and holding her steady as Kushina applied the seal onto her as well. With a jolt, Mikoto sluggishly felt herself responding to the chakra suddenly flushing her system. Her eyes still stung, but with a surge of chakra, she was able to dull it a bit and actually function.

Yoshino released her, hands fluttering around the Uchiha in worry before the girl was finally stable enough to stand without the extra support.

"We should start moving now." Kushina breathed, voice low.

Oooo

Sakumo glowered at the two boys before him. He should have realized that they may have decided to follow him, but it hadn't crossed his mind. Of all the people to follow him, a Nara wasn't one at the top of the list.

"What the hell were you two thinking?" he snarled, teeth bared and anger prominent as he stared the two down, making them cower underneath his gaze. Minato's lips pulled down into a scowl, and he looked off to the side. He knew that they should have gone back to the Nara compound, but he just couldn't.

Noboru sat on his haunches, looking between his summoner and the kids. They hadn't picked up their scent since they were traveling downwind without even realizing it. The boys had been lucky (unfortunately) that they hadn't realized they were following them.

Sakumo stiffened, his nose twitching and ears ringing as Noboru and Riku disappeared. His senses were blaring after years of being a shinobi went off. Sakumo was moving in seconds, launching forward and hooking his arms around the two kids before using a quick shunshin to get out of the way as an explosion went off right where they had been.

Landing, Sakumo shoved the two behind him, Shikaku looking ruffled with eyes wide and Minato looking quite pale, blonde hair dirty and face smudged with specks of dirt.

"You two shouldn't have even followed me!" Sakumo snarled, hand clutching his saber tightly. There was a loud howl and Sakumo wrenched to the side, blocking a kunai that was being swung at him. Minato on the other hand lost his breath, white hot pain blinding his senses as a blade slipped past Sakumo's guard and pierced right through his left arm, close to the shoulder. A strangled sound left him, blood seeping from the wound and into his white jacket that he had on. Before Sakumo, stood two enemies, one with the kunai and the other with the sword currently dug into Minato.

The blade itself had just missed the older shinobi, having gone right under his guard and with Minato being right behind him, he had taken the hit.

Blue eyes squinted in pain, right hand trembling as it came up to hover over the weapon lodged into his limb.

Shikaku, who was behind Minato, was crouched and trembling as he held onto the enemy with his clan jutsu. It had been an automatic response, and for once, Shikaku was glad that their sensei pushed his team.

The sword budged slightly, with the struggle between shadow user and enemy, and Minato gritted his teeth against the pain, nausea twisting his stomach. Shikaku then moved, swiftly lurching back and causing the blade to wrench from Minato.

The blonde's breath left him, knees trembling as he dropped to the ground, hand clutching at the bleeding wound. Sweat dripped down his brow and Sakumo was quick to shove one enemy back and direct his two summons to guard the children.

"You alright kid?" he called out, crouching low and keeping all enemies in sight. Minato gasped for air, one eye closed in pain.

"Yah." He responded in a breathy voice, trying to keep the pain from overwhelming him and the nauseous feeling under control.

Oooo

The sound of another explosion that went off, followed by dogs barking drifted to the three girls and Kushina blinked, eyebrows furrowing in concentration. The only ones that had dogs were the Inuzuka clan and the Hatake clan.

Her heart stalled at the thought of Sakumo or any Inuzuka being out here and ambushed by the shinobi they had tricked into thinking the girls had escaped. They had all come to a stop, having been running silently towards a direction that they thought might be safe. Mikoto stared in the direction of metal weapons ringing in the air and Yoshino wrung her hands together in worry. There was snarling from the dogs and a pained whimper followed right after.

Kushina swiftly pulled the hem of her outfit up, flipping it to reveal a seal. With a bit of chakra pressed into it, smoked filled the space and revealed three weapons pouches.

Yoshino made an inquiring sound as Kushina tossed one each to the girls.

"I started carrying these around so if anyone forgot theirs when we wanted to train, there would be extra." Kushina stated. It wasn't her fault she liked to be prepared. She had also stocked it full of paper seals that she had told the two girls and Minato what each one was meant for.

Mikoto latched hers around her leg and then stood up straight. "We'll figure out if these are friendlies, and if not, then we're out of here." She spoke, eyes narrowed in the direction that the fighting was coming from. Kushina nodded her head and Yoshino looked nervous.

They would have continued running without looking, but the thought of it being Konoha ninja was a strong enough reason to tempt them to look. They didn't know where they were and with the possibility of these enemies finding them had them taking the chance of heading for the fight and finding allies.

Kushina launched into the air, latching onto a tree branch and swung herself up, shooting forwards when the others followed.

She had just breached the foliage of the trees when her eyes homed in on the sight before them. Her breath stalled as she spotted Minato, clutching a bleeding wound and Shikaku, standing over him and holding enemy Shinobi back. He was trembling, shadow jerking about to deter the two that were pacing like wolves around them. There were three summons, one staying close to the boys and two with Sakumo. Yoshino made a strange sound and Kushina couldn't stop the girl from dashing into the middle of a battle field. Sakumo, from what she could see, was fighting two out of the six shinobi that had made up the group that kidnapped them. Of course, they were missing two others, one dead and the other missing a leg from their first encounter with the girls.

Kushina locked eyes with Minato in that mere second and his own widened at the sight of her. Her throat felt tight, eyes feeling a pressure building up that indicated the presence of tears. She felt like she hadn't done enough to keep everyone safe and as a result, they were all out here, fighting a fight that she knew might turn out badly. She broke eye contact and launched after Yoshino, worried that the girl might get hurt. Would get hurt if the Shinobi decided that taking only one of them was worth the trouble.

"Kushina-san, watch out!" A shout filled the clearing and Kushina reacted, years of instincts being honed and then enhanced with this new life and addition of a chakra beast.

She ducked, red hair flying and her hand slipped along the underside of the attacking shinobi's own hand, glowing a blueish green and sliding along his forearm, leaving nothing to see on the outside. A howl left the Shinobi's throat at the pain of tendons, ligaments, and blood vessels underneath his skin being severed. Everyone froze, heads snapping to look at the girl that was proving to be more of a problem than any of them thought.

"How the fuck are you using chakra!?" the female being held back by a large white ninken hissed, eyes narrowed and looking at the three that had been taken captive.

"I'm an Uzumaki, plain and simple." Was her response. The female shinobi snarled, anger rolling off her in waves that Kushina could feel. It wasn't her fault that she was an Uzumaki and had been taught since birth.

Mikoto was quick to dash across the clearing, grabbing Yoshino and continued over to the two boys. Letting go of Yoshino, Mikoto was quick to dig through a small stack of seals, finding the ones colored green and quickly slapping on a paper medical seal that Kushina had stocked within the pouches. He grunted, but instantly the seal flashed at the activation chakra Mikoto pushed in and the wound stitched itself back up. It'll still be sore and require medical attention later, but he wouldn't have to worry about bleeding everywhere.

Kushina then launched towards the shinobi that had tried to attack her, chakra chains forming and whirling around, blocking his path to gain distance from her. She was on him before he could even react, fist pulled back before it connected with his face.

Being small always made older shinobi underestimate them and that right there was always a downfall.

Mikoto's sharingan was activated and she found her stomach clenching uncomfortably at the slow-motion scene playing out, how the impact sent the man's head back, chakra being released as soon as her fist connected with the enemy and she watched the over powered attack sink the man's skull into a large cavity. It was so dented, that you couldn't even tell that it had been a skull in the first place.

She could recall the times that Kushina had been startled and the automatic response of her fist clenching, chakra barely visible but there.

Everything sped back up.

One of the female shinobi screamed in rage, lurching forward with a blade and as Kushina's senses screamed at her to turn and block the incoming enemy, she was met with the sight of a blonde figure holding a blade back with a kunai when she turned.

Minato struggled against the taller opponent. He was strong, but he was still growing and developing, where this woman already had him beat with years and experience. With a wince, he brought up his left hand, wound still there but not visible because of Kushina's seal, he formed single hand signs that he's been working on by himself (with the help of Mikoto's mother at times too). The kunoichi's eyes widened before she lurched back, but she was already too late and was sent head over heels as Minato released a wind jutsu that one of Kushina's scrolls held. It was a basic wind technique, one that allowed the user to use a gentle breeze or a strong breeze. It allowed the user the ability to experiment and strengthen their nature affinity without overdoing it.

A comrade of the female shinobi caught her, helping the woman regain her balance where she sent a glower at Minato. Shuriken then came whirling towards the two and Kushina's chakra chains snapped out, blocking the projectiles.

Kushina sent a quick look toward Sakumo, where he was fighting with another kunoichi, who was holding her own ground with slippery maneuvers. Minato suddenly jerked back, bumping into Kushina and watching wide eyed as the kunoichi's blade slammed into the glimmering see through shield that appeared between Kushina's chains.

A chakra beast couldn't even break through this shield. This kunoichi had nothing on the Kyuubi.

The woman howled, her anger getting to her as her comrade suddenly turned and disappeared. Kushina's eyes suddenly widened, her heart lurching as she looked towards the direction that the man had turned towards.

Blood sprayed, arching high into the air and a body was sent rolling across the ground.

Time seemed to still as Kushina's heart jumped and Mikoto's sharingan was spinning wildly as she took a half step towards the sprawled out figure.

Yoshino screamed a heart wrenching scream and Minato watching with wide, blue eyes, his face pale and unable to comprehend that Shikaku was lying face first on the ground and not moving.

The summon that was near the kids lurched forward, driving the enemy back with snapping jaws.

Yoshino and Mikoto rushed to Shikaku, pulling him onto his back. Two jagged slashes crossed the left side of his face and Kushina felt Deja-vu hit her at the sight of those wounds on Shikaku Nara's face.

She knew that he had gotten scars, but she didn't know exactly how he had received them.

"He's okay…" Yoshino choked out, eyes filled with tears and hand hovering over Shikaku's mouth, relief showing when she realized he was still breathing. He was currently out though, unconscious and face bleeding heavily. He may even be out of chakra, from using his clan jutsu so much.

Kushina took in everything. Her eyes wide and her mind racing. She needed to do something right now. She needed this all to just end.

Her chakra swirled heavily within her and Kushina finally decided that she needed to do this. She guided her chakra to a portion of the seal, and with a twist, she unlocked the section that Mito had spent days on. This was the main reason she had wanted a seal that allows the use of the Kyuubi's chakra.

Unlike Mito's seal, which blocked Kyuubi from everything in the outside world, Kushina's seal was meant to utilize his chakra on a level that was safe for her body and allow him a connection with nature, which she knew he appreciated but would never admit it.

Red chakra erupted from the girl, her hair hovering and splitting into nine sections that resembled the chakra beast, defying gravity as it swayed around her. Her chakra chains turned a golden red and the killing intent that filled the air had everyone coming to a standstill.

She lurched forward then, hands coming up into a single sign and multiple clones suddenly appeared. The kunoichi Kushina went after first, didn't stand a chance, chakra chains overwhelming her, coming from multiple directions. Kyuubi enhanced red chakra chains burned the woman, her screams sounding throughout the forest before Kushina slapped a lethargy seal upon her. She dropped, knocked out cold until the seal was removed.

Her attention the shifted towards the man and he slid into a fighting stance.

Sakumo slid underneath the distracted enemies guard and his blade bit into her skin, sinking into her body and twisting it up, he shoved it straight underneath her ribcage and charged it with lightning chakra. She jerked, body convulsing before her eyes rolled back and her legs gave out.

Kushina met the man half way, her chakra chains whipping at him with a corrosive chakra eagerly slipping along the chains to eat at his skin. Landing on the ground in a crouch, she then lurched forward again, fist coming down at him. The earth quaked and then fissures appeared before it erupted, chunks of rock, dirt, and grass flying in all directions. He lost his footing, snarl prominent on his face as he glared at the girl covered in a chakra that only spoke of what she held.

That information had not been given to them at all and the fear that caused his heart to quiver, was stamped down as he forced himself to fight.

Clones then suddenly appeared out of the ground in a flurry of movement and the enemy shinobi jerked back as he was met with three shadow clones. Chains were quick to wrap around him and drag him down, slipping underneath the surface of the earth. One clone popped from a strike before everything went silent.

Another was struck, sending information to its creator.

Then the remaining shadow clone came up from the ground, red glowing eyes locking with her creator before she disappeared, letting memories of a heart being pierced through with a corrosive chain fill her mind.

Kushina deactivated the seal, red chakra seeping away and her body then gave out, knees hitting the ground with a thud. She barely registered the pain in her knees before warm arms wrapped around her, picking her up. She wasn't even close to being proficient in using the Kyuubi's chakra through the seal.

Her head tilted back and her violet blue eyes locked with brilliant blue ones. Blonde hair messily framed his face and Kushina found a smile taking over her face as she flushed. Worry was written in blue eyes and Minato reached out with his left hand, brushing Kushina's bangs out of her face before adjusting his hold to get a better grip.

She could feel his left arm quiver at the stress of holding her legs, but he refused to utter a sound, face set in determination.

"Thank you…Minato." Kushina finally stated, and Minato flushed a brilliant red. She watched with heavy eyelids as a goofy grin appeared on his face.

The last thing she remembered before her vision went dark, was Sakumo coming over to them and staring at the group of small children before him, unsure of how to handle this situation.

Note: Okie, I think I figured out something that was bothering me for a while now, but with how this chapter went, I know exactly what I want and how it'll change a LOT of things. (Or in my mind lol).

Looking forward to any suggestions, comments, just all around anything.