The night air of Mount Myōboku shimmered with an otherworldly vibrancy. Towering bronze-barked trees stretched toward a starlit sky, their leaves glowing with an emerald sheen that seemed to pulse with life. Crystal-clear rivers wound through the landscape, their waters sparkling with golden fish.
In the distance, a mountain rose, its slopes piercing the heavens, crowned by wisps of cloud that danced in the gentle breeze. The natural energy here was dense, suffusing every leaf and stone with an air of fantasy, as if the planet itself declared this a sacred location. To Kushina, it eclipsed even the field of blue roses near Akagakure, a sight she'd once thought unmatched in beauty.
She stood rooted, her blue eyes wide with awe, her tattered black shinobi uniform- bearing the crimson Uzumaki swirl- clinging to her sweat-soaked skin. Her wild red hair was matted with blood and dirt. She was entranced, her mind momentarily escaping the weight of her recent battles with the Five Kage and Madara.
"Snap out of it," Kurama called out with his usual rumbling voice in her mind. His tone was gruff, but beneath it laid fondness- something she had come to recognize over the years. "Your clansmen are waiting, and we don't have time for you to gawk like a kid."
Kushina shook her head, blinking rapidly, her lips twitching with a mix of irritation and amusement. "You're right, you old fox," she muttered, her voice hoarse from exhaustion. "Just… give me a second to take this in, dattebane."
The reason they had sought out one of the Three Sage Regions, Mount Myōboku, was simple: refuge. Here, far away from Madara's grasp, they could breathe, even if only for a while. It was necessity. Now that Madara had been revived, wielding the full power of the Rinnegan and Sage Mode, she and Kurama needed time- time to build their strength, to learn, and to survive.
It pained her to admit, but they were not his match right now. No matter how much fire burned in her heart, she simply couldn't match Madara's brilliance for battle or his decades of experience, not when their levels of raw power had equalized.
The realization grated on her pride deeply. Ever since she had left Konoha as a rogue ninja, it had been she who crushed others underfoot, she who had wielded power so ruthlessly that no one could stand against her. Looking back now, she realized she had never truly fought a life-or-death battle outside of her clashes with Madara. Even their first encounter had been different- the odds tilted in her favor, with his old body and his reliance on the Gedo Statue. But now...
Her fast growth hadn't been without its downsides. She had become powerful quickly, but power without struggle lacked depth. The Ghost of the Uchiha had been forged in the fires of endless war and tempered by countless battles against the Senju, including his eternal rival, Hashirama.
Kushina, by contrast, had been raised in the relative safety of Konoha, her battles limited to sparring against teachers or Kurama inside the seal. Even her missions, while officially dangerous for Chunin (which she was at the time), were too insignificant to truly test her mettle. She had never been thrown into the crucible that had made Madara into what he was.
Although she had worked tirelessly over the years, she now understood that her path had been smoother, and therefore incomplete.
Not to mention Kurama. He couldn't even step beyond the seal with Madara's Rinnegan watching. Now that Kurama had absorbed both the Seven-Tails and the Zero-Tails, he was more powerful, but it wasn't enough. Perhaps he could resist Madara if he only used the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, but with the eyes of the Sage... there was no chance.
"Kushina…" Kurama's voice cut through again, tinged with irritation. "You're lost in your thoughts again. Stop brooding and move."
She blinked, rubbing the back of her neck, heat blooming in her cheeks. "Sorry, sorry," she mumbled, her voice softer.
Her hand drifted down to her sleeve, tugging it up to reveal the seal on her arm. It was shaped like the Uzumaki spiral but traced with golden highlights woven into the crimson. The design pulsed faintly, as if alive.
This was the key to her clansmen's survival. It was inspired by the seal that bound Kurama.
If the seal could contain the Nine-Tails, then surely it could contain weaker and smaller beings like the Uzumaki. At least, that had been her idea.
But in practice, the theory had been far more complicated. Tailed Beast seals were made with their peculiar nature in mind- entities made entirely of chakra. To mold such a design to fit humans had been difficult beyond words.
And more than that, she had created the ability to seal them from a distance, like a signal stretching out invisibly. A feat that had seemed impossible... until she and Renji, one of the clan's most skilled seal masters, had achieved it. With her chakra as the anchor, she had sent the call from the tower in Akagakure, wrapping her people in golden light and carrying them away.
Kurama covered her in a layer of his chakra, which formed clothing similar to what she had worn before: a black cheongsum with red Uzumaki swirls. It wouldn't be appropriate to appear in front of her clan with tattered clothing- even if it had still preserved her modesty.
Kushina activated the seal again, letting it flare to life. It glowed bright gold, burning against her skin before vanishing in a shimmer. All around her, the light began to gather.
In motes of radiant gold, her clansmen appeared. More than one hundred Uzumaki stood where moments before there had been nothing. Families huddled together, parents clutching their children, and warriors blinking as their hands instinctively reached for weapons. Confusion rippled through the crowd, and their murmurs rose into a din.
One second, they had been in their homes, in the familiar streets of Akagakure. The next, they were here, in some strange and exotic land.
"Lady Kushina!"
The voice cut through the noise. Akinari pushed through the crowd, his arms carrying the weight of an unconscious Nagato. He set the ashen boy down gently before kneeling before her. His eyes were sharp and worried. "What happened? Are you alright?"
Kushina straightened, forcing strength into her voice. "Yes, Akinari. We escaped Madara successfully, along with the clan." Her tone was steady, but her blue eyes flickered with guilt.
Akinari nodded solemnly. "I saw… parts of it. If I'd been closer, I'd be dead." He swallowed, then stood. "What are your orders?"
"Gather the advisors and organize the clansmen," she said, her voice firm despite the ache in her chest. "I'll speak to them shortly."
"Yes, Lady Kushina." Akinari moved swiftly, barking orders to the advisors, who began herding the dazed Uzumaki into orderly lines, much like the assemblies in Akagakure.
Kushina remained still at the center of it all. The Uzumaki around her glanced at her with hope and fear tangled together, but none approached. Out of respect, they waited.
For the first time in her life, she felt truly defeated. In her childhood, when Uzushio fell, she had been powerless and too young to blame herself. But now? After years of swearing vengeance, of vowing to strike down every enemy that dared threaten her clan... she had failed again.
She had promised her people they would be safe under her rule. She had promised Kurama she would never run, least of all to Madara Uchiha. And yet, here they were, fleeing, again.
Her chest tightened painfully.
"Kushina." Kurama's voice broke through, low and steady. "You haven't failed yet."
"But I-" she began, her thoughts raw with self-doubt.
"Let me speak," he snapped, sharp enough to silence her. "You did all you could, and in the end, you succeeded."
Her eyes widened. "What!?"
"Hn." His growl carried no malice. "Your goal wasn't to defeat Madara. Your goal was to protect the clan. To protect our way of life. In that, you succeeded. The buildings, the roads, and the lands of Akagakure- none of that matters. What matters is that you saved your clansmen and yourself."
Kushina blinked, stunned. But she didn't miss the chance to tease him.
"And you..." she said softly, a mischievous edge creeping into her voice.
"Silence!" Kurama barked, but there was no real heat in it. If anything, her ability to joke told him she was beginning to recover.
Nothing had ever angered him more than being helpless against Madara again, but he forced that fury down. Kushina needed him steady, not raging.
"With you, with me, and with the Uzumaki... we can rebuild. A clan is not stone or soil. A clan is people. As long as they remain, hope is not lost."
Kushina's lips parted, taken aback. Those weren't words she ever expected from this cynical fox. Yet they lifted something heavy from her shoulders. Slowly, a smile curved her lips. "Thanks, Kurama... I needed that."
"Hn," he grunted, his voice warming. "Don't get used to it. Now speak to your people. They need their Akakage, not a sulking girl."
Kushina nodded, her resolve hardening. The advisors, led by Akinari, had formed the clansmen into neat rows, their faces a mix of fear and confusion.
Kushina stepped forward. Her heart still ached, but Kurama's words anchored her. She raised her voice so all could hear, and she spoke. She told them of Madara, of the battle, of their losses. She did not hide the truth. Akagakure was gone.
Gasps and cries rippled through the clan. Some clutched their children, others dropped their heads in grief. But before despair could spread, she raised her hand.
She reminded them of what they had always known- that the Uzumaki were survivors. That they had endured Uzushio's fall, and now they would endure this too. She repeated Kurama's words: that a clan was not buildings or land, but a people. And as long as the people remained, their future could not be stolen.
As she spoke, she felt the weight on her chest begin to lighten. The loss still hurt, but now it was no longer crushing. Kurama was right. With him beside her, with her clan still breathing, she could rebuild. Always.
And so, she promised them: this was not the end, but a new beginning.
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A/N: I had to reupload these last two chapters because they were in the wrong volume. For some reason, WebNovel doesn't let you move them around.