'Hiashi was right about one thing,' the black cat thought, padding down the street. 'Tying the Ninja Cat Fortress to the Uchiha is out of the question. If they have another... incident... everything I've built will go up in smoke.'
He'd just left the Hyuga compound. Hiashi hadn't been serious about an alliance, it was just a probe. All he really cared about was the Eight Gates.
Still...
'The Hyuga won't be getting my help for now, but I'm damn sure not giving it to the Uchiha either.'
On one hand, they were rivals. On the other, the Uchiha were just plain stupid. A single clan thinking they could take on the entire village?
Fools.
"Meow~"
Leaving Hyuga territory, Takeshi wound up on the street where Minato lived. The man had only just gotten back from Mount Myoboku yesterday, and the first thing he had to deal with was Kushina's situation. As luck would have it, Takeshi spotted Minato returning just then, likely from a trip to the Hokage's office.
Time to sort out this sealing jutsu business. Takeshi decided to give them a little nudge and see where things stood.
He leaped down from a rooftop, heading for the house. Before he even reached the door, Kushina sensed him.
*Creek.* The door opened.
"Takeshi, you're here. Come in."
'That combination of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and Uzumaki sensory skills is no joke,' he thought. 'Almost as good as Kanna's Mind's eye of Kagura.'
Inside, his gaze fell on Yugito, who was sitting slumped with a sour, resentful look on her face. Her complexion was pale, she clearly hadn't been having a good time these past few days.
It was to be expected. Living with Kushina, few people besides Minato could stay sane for long, and Yugito wasn't exactly the quiet type. Being managed by Kushina around the clock had left her thoroughly depressed.
"When are you going to let me go outside?" Yugito demanded.
"You're too dangerous," Kushina said, her tone matter-of-fact. "You stay here."
Kushina herself was only allowed to move around Konoha. As a jinchuriki and an outsider, she saw no problem with keeping Yugito confined to the house. What if she wandered off and saw something she shouldn't? Kushina was certain she was doing the right thing.
Takeshi found it ridiculous. 'She makes it sound so reasonable,' he thought, 'as if she isn't dying to get out herself. The oppressed becomes the oppressor, I suppose.'
"Meow~" he chirped, tilting his head. "Did you apply an outing?"
At the mention of an 'outing,' Yugito's eyes, red-rimmed with frustration, shot up and fixed on Minato. Kushina stared at him, too.
"Well..." Minato scratched his head awkwardly. How was he supposed to explain this?
"What did the Third Hokage say, exactly?" Kushina pressed, her patience wearing thin. She was so close to seeing a member of her clan, and Minato was just stalling. It was maddening.
Minato coughed lightly. "Going out isn't impossible, but... the Third said only a Shadow Clone can go."
"He what?!" Kushina looked like she was about to storm the Hokage Building herself. A Shadow Clone was a physical copy, and its experiences would return to her when it dispelled, but was that really the same as going herself? It was just... secondhand living.
Yugito said with a sneer. "Jinchuriki are too dangerous, right? So we have to stay safely in the village. Meanwhile, I can't even leave your house."
She was still young, maybe eleven or twelve. Even with that sarcasm, Kushina couldn't bring herself to actually hit her. At most, she'd get another fuinjutsu seal slapped on her, but she was already sealed to the point where she couldn't even muster her chakra. What difference would one more make?
"Are you looking for a fight?" Kushina's eyebrow twitched. She rolled up her sleeves, a clear "don't mess with me" look on her face.
"A Shadow Clone isn't so bad," Minato mumbled, scratching his head again. He knew why Kushina was so desperate to go, which was why he'd asked the Third in the first place. But if the village said no, his hands were tied. He couldn't just sneak her out. A clone seemed like a decent compromise, didn't it?
"Fine," Kushina huffed, forming the hand signs. A moment later, a perfect copy of her stood in the room.
"I want to go too!" Yugito said immediately, her eyes burning with envy. Why did Kushina get to go out while she was stuck in here?
"Meow~" Takeshi purred, unable to resist. "Can you use the Shadow Clone Jutsu?"
"..."
Yugito fell silent. She couldn't. The jutsu was Tobirama Senju's creation, and few villages outside Konoha had mastered it. Kumo, in particular, favored nin-taijutsu, their clone techniques were weak.
"We're leaving. You stay safe at home now, meow." Takeshi waved a paw at Yugito and the original Kushina, thoroughly irritating both of them.
"Takeshi, that's enough," Minato warned through gritted teeth. The last thing he needed was more trouble. Kumo ninja had already tried to kidnap Kushina once, there was bad blood there. If Takeshi kept poking at her, Kushina might not go berserk, but Yugito would definitely suffer for it.
"Meow!" Takeshi replied, signaling he'd behave.
The clone grinned. "See you later, me! I'll go have fun for both of us!"
After the clone finished speaking, it vanished with a *whoosh*.
The black cat looked up at Minato's angry expression and spread his paws innocently, as if to say, 'Hey, 'Kushina's clone caused that trouble, not me.'
"Let's go," Minato said, not daring to look back. He could feel the original Kushina's resentful gaze boring into his back.
With Minato and the pass he carried, they left Konoha without issue, heading deep into a quiet forest far from the village walls. The scenery was pleasant, and it was well outside the Forest of Death, so they were unlikely to be disturbed.
"This should be a good spot, Takeshi."
The black cat took out a summoning scroll, pressed his paw down, and channeled his chakra. The intricate pattern for the Reverse Summoning Jutsu glowed for a moment.
A second later, a red-haired girl in simple clothes appeared on the scroll. Her hair was a vibrant crimson, a perfect match for Kushina's.
"Meow~ This is Kanna Uzumaki," Takeshi said by way of introduction.
Kanna's eyes widened when she saw Kushina. She bowed deeply, a gesture of profound respect. While Kushina's role as the Nine-Tails jinchuriki wasn't common knowledge, Kanna knew she was the successor to Mito. That alone commanded reverence. But as much as she respected her, Kanna would never agree to move to Konoha.
"You're... you're really from the clan," Kushina whispered, her voice trembling. "Oh, I... I thought..."
Even for a clone, the memories and emotions were real. Seeing a fellow Uzumaki, her eyes instantly filled with tears. Her choked, excited voice was contagious, and Kanna's own eyes began to well up.
Kanna's feelings were more complex. She was thrilled, of course, but unlike Kushina, she had always known her clanswoman was in Konoha. She'd just been too hesitant, too wary to seek her out. But in that moment, as they rushed to embrace each other, all of that melted away.
Takeshi and Minato watched silently from the side for a moment before turning and walking a short distance away to give them space.
This tearful reunion was a little much for him. Besides, Takeshi felt a pang of guilt. Ultimately, he had arranged this because he wanted their clan's fuinjutsu.
"Kushina still has family," Minato murmured, his voice full of emotion. "That's... that's wonderful." As a war orphan himself, he understood the preciousness of family better than anyone. Finding Kanna was a true comfort for her.
Soon, Kushina and Kanna sat down and began to share their stories.
Kushina went first, telling Kanna about her life as a jinchuriki, Mito's teachings, the attempted abduction by Kumo...
Listening to it all, Kanna realized Kushina's life was anything but happy, it was a cage of fear and restriction. Compared to that, her own life since meeting Takeshi felt... freer. At least she didn't have to live in constant fear for her life, or be watched so closely she couldn't even leave the village. Takeshi didn't restrict her freedom. If she wanted to, Kanna could travel around the Land of Fire. She only chose not to, worried her red hair would bring him trouble.
When Kushina finished, she urged Kanna to talk about what happened after she left Uzushio. She had been brought to Konoha early on, so all she knew was that her home had been destroyed. She didn't know the details.
"It started with missing-nin from Kiri and Kumo," Kanna began, her voice soft. "No one paid them much mind at first, but then, gradually..."
She recounted the horrifying past, a story that was a scar on the heart of every Uzumaki survivor. After the fall of their village, red hair became a target. They were hunted wherever they went, forced to wander through small, remote countries, always on the run. After all these years, of the group that had escaped with her, she was the only one left.
She had only told a fraction of her story, but Kushina was already sobbing uncontrollably. She couldn't imagine the desperation Kanna and the others must have felt. Putting herself in their shoes, she doubted she would have survived.
After the two of them had talked for a while longer, Kanna's faint resentment toward Kushina for being in Konoha vanished completely. Life hadn't been easy for either of them. Seeing Kushina's situation now, needing a clone just to leave the village, showed just how trapped she was. In a way, Kanna's heart went out to her. It was a far more miserable existence than her own.
"Kanna," Kushina asked softly, "do you still know any of our clan's ninjutsu?"
Kanna looked stunned for a moment, then shook her head. "We had to flee so suddenly. The clan head never had time to teach us any fuinjutsu. But... Takeshi-sama has taught me a few things to protect myself, and where I live is very safe. I don't have to worry."
"That's good." Kushina's grip on Kanna's hand tightened, her expression resolute. "But the fuinjutsu is our legacy... I'll teach you. I'll teach you everything."
She knew Kanna's blood was true. She would pass it all on. That way, even if she died one day, the Uzumaki clan would live on.
===============
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