A/N:Â My right shoulder bone is broken after a motorcycle accident. Luckily, I can still type using my left hand, so new chapters will continue to come.
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Disclaimer: Naruto and all of its character belong to Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I make.
Chapter 19: Grief
---Lie Exposed---
In the original timeline, Hiruzen knew about Danzo had involved in destroying Uzumaki Clan after a month the Uzushiogakure was destroyed.
During that time, he launched an investigation and tried to find out why they didn't notice anything, 4 village vs 1 small village, he himself feel absurd about it. It was not until the investigation showed signs of Root's meddling, further investigation also shown that Danzo had held a large collection of fuinjutsu probably are being taken from Uzumaki Clan.
Danzo himself knows that he will be exposed and didn't even to try to hide it. The matter is too big to hide, so Hiruzen finally found the person who are responsible it was Danzo.
No wonder he didn't even visit Lady Mito, she had a unique ability, which was Mind Eyes, and also the ability to sense malice. So Danzo didn't dare to meet her because he was afraid that his evil action would be exposed.
But after Hiruzen found out what Danzo did, he buried it and kept it secret. Danzo knew well the weakness of Hiruzen, he wanted to be fair Hokage but politic is still politic. Hiruzen needs him as much as Danzo need his support.
But in this timeline where Raiken as Transmigrator, Hiruzen are not yet launched his investigation. He noticed Danzo unusual behavior.
"Danzo, did you do anything to Uzushiogakure?" asked Hiruzen, unlike those two people Hiruzen knows well about Danzo, so how could he not noticed it was him who are the one trying to destroy Uzushiogakure.
Danzo stopped upon hearing this question, and when he looked at them. For the first time they noticed something unusual about him.
It clicked on their mind and make their eyes widened.
"You're stupid, Danzo! Tell us, why are you targeting our ally? What benefit do you gain from it?" asked Hiruzen angrily.
Even the other two were fuming with anger.
Danzo looked at his friends and could only say,
"It was necessary for Konoha. The Uzumaki Clan had long rejected becoming a part of us. When they realized the danger, they would have come to Konoha."
"Danzo, you're delusional. What's wrong with the Uzumaki coming and becoming Konoha villagers?" denied Koharu.
"What's wrong? Do you think your positions would be maintained if all the Uzumaki came and became villagers?" replied Danzo. "Before Kagami died, you all secretly sent your clan members to do the easiest tasks with the highest pay. Then after Kagami died, you started to embezzle money."
They fell silent.
"You know what would happen if they came here? The Senju Clan would become more powerful than before. Luckily, only around 500 people managed to come here. If all of them came, the other Senju might also gather to reform the Senju Clan again. Your positions would not last long, and you would be fired," said Danzo.
---Kushina POV---
This year was the year of her graduation, yet her life in Konoha felt incredibly lonely. The civilians didn't want to be her friend, and worse, she was bullied and even nicknamed Red Hot Habanero.
Luckily, she eventually made some friends. The first was Uchiha Mikoto, and afterward, she also became close with members of the Inuzuka and Aburame clans.
These two clans were more welcoming—Inuzuka, because they admired her courage to stand up for herself and decided to befriend her. As for the Aburame, their quiet and introverted nature made them appreciate someone who paid them attention, so they, too, warmed up to her.
Minato, meanwhile, only watched from afar. He did nothing when other students at the academy bullied her. This wasn't yet the moment when Minato saved Kushina and made her fall in love with him by saying her hair was beautiful. He hadn't yet told her that, while he couldn't fight the villagers, he would fight enemies from other villages for her. That thing happen after she become a genin.
Then, three days ago, she received devastating news, her clan, the Uzumaki, had been destroyed and her only brother, Uzumaki Raiken, had perished. She and Raiken were orphans from Uzushiogakure, which is why she had been easily chosen as the Nine Tails' jinchūriki candidate.
Her brother had tried to stop the clan decision, but was rejected. Left with no choice, Kushina had been sent to Konoha. Raiken had promised he would come to visit her once he became an elite jĹŤnin.
But now… her brother was gone. She no longer had anyone she could call family.
She cried non-stop for a whole days and eventually fell sick for two whole days. But when her body finally recovered, something unbelievable happened, her brother appeared in front of her.
"Hi, Kushina," Raiken greeted her with a smile.
"Brother? Is that really you?" Kushina asked, rubbing her eyes, trying to confirm it wasn't a dream.
"Yes, it's me," Raiken replied while pinching her cheek.
Kushina felt pain from the pinch, and that confirmed it—this wasn't a dream. Her tears, which had dried up before, started to fall again.
"Brother!" Kushina cried out as she hugged him tightly. "You're alive! I knew you were still alive, dattebane!"
Raiken hugged her back. Even though he wasn't truly the original Raiken—or perhaps he was, just with someone else's memories—he had long considered Kushina his true sister.
"Yes, I'm alive. And even your friend Maruku is still alive. Do you remember Maruku?"
Uzumaki Maruku had been one of Kushina's best friends back in Uzushiogakure.
"Maruku?" Kushina smiled as her tears stopped. "But wait, brother… I heard Uzushiogakure was destroyed."
"You're right," Raiken nodded. "I'll tell you everything."
He then shared the full story—how they had escaped Uzushiogakure, how many survivors there were, their time living with toads on Mount Myōboku, the offer from the Hokage, and even his suspicions about Konoha.
"I knew it, brother! That man… Danzo! I know him, dattebane," said Kushina.
"How do you know about him?" Raiken asked.
"He's the one who tried to turn me into a weapon," said Kushina. She explained everything she'd endured since arriving in Konoha—from the bullying to her grief over the past three years. She finally revealed that Danzo had once approached her and tried to train her to become a jinchūriki, only to be stopped by the furious Lady Mito and Lady Tsunade.
Raiken's veins bulged in anger. He wanted to punch that Root leader.
"Don't worry, Kushina. You won't become a jinchūriki. I promise you," said Raiken.
"Really?" she asked, looking hopeful.
"Yes. I couldn't stop the clan from sending you to this village before. But this time, I've been chosen as the Uzukage, so they can't make that decision anymore," Raiken said with a smile.
"Yatta! Dattebane!" Kushina cheered, but then her smile faded. "But if I'm not the one… won't they choose another girl?"
"Don't worry. I won't choose a girl," Raiken said firmly. "In fact, I believe it's more suitable for a man to become a jinchūriki."
"Why? Are you saying women are weak, brother?" Kushina frowned.
"No, Kushina. It's because women can get pregnant. It's not suitable for a jinchūriki to go through pregnancy. That's why it's better for a man to bear the burden," Raiken explained gently.
Author Notes: Dattebane is the words Kushina always use, Naruto will use Dattebayo and Boruto will use Dattebasa.
Ok why this time Hiruzen didn't betray Uzumaki Clan is because according to research and AI searching, there is not a single evidence that said Konoha had betrayed Uzushiogakure. So I tried to reason with Chat GPT and found out that maybe the perpetrator is Danzo. Because in one of the episode, Danzo had come to Uzushiogakure.
I also found, that it is impossible for Hiruzen to betray Uzumaki Clan, the clan is strong and even willing to share some fuinjutsu to them.