Inside her makeshift office in the shrine, Kushina sat hunched over a rough wooden desk, its surface scarred by years of neglect and weather. The shrine itself was old, its paint peeling, its stones cracked from age and storms, but Kushina had made it hers. Stacks of papers and scroll fragments lay scattered in messy piles, ink stains smudging her fingertips as she worked late into the night. The room smelled faintly of burning wax from the candles and the ink she had ground herself, the quiet punctuated only by the occasional rustle of parchment.
Her crimson hair, loose around her shoulders, shimmered faintly in the dim light as she pored over symbols, diagrams, and dense theoretical passages. Each page demanded patience and concentration, yet the work gave her a quiet comfort. After all, this was her communion with the legacy of her clan.
The notes she now studied were Honoka's inheritance, passed down from her late parents. They were modest compared to the towering archives Uzushiogakure once boasted, barely fragments of a much greater whole. And yet, even fragments of Uzumaki fuinjutsu could rival the most prized techniques of other villages. That was the power of her people.
Still, Kushina couldn't help but feel the gap in her own knowledge. This alone wouldn't be enough.
All the notes she had carefully stored from Lady Mito had been left behind in Konoha, abandoned in her apartment the night she fled. By now, they were probably gone- if not by fire, then by the careful hands of the Hokage's operatives, who wouldn't have left a single scrap unexamined.
A hollow ache filled her chest at the thought, though she buried it quickly under determination.
She had neglected fuinjutsu for too long. Years of training her raw power, her Tailed Beast Form, her ninjutsu, and taijutsu had made her formidable. That was her main purpose, so that she could get out of Konoha and free her people as soon as possible. However, fuinjutsu had always been the soul of her clan. And without mastery of it, she felt incomplete.
Now that she's escaped the village and Madara is dealt with for now, she has a little more breathing room. She can devote this time to studying.
The art of sealing wasn't just another tool for combat; it was an almost universal specialty. A discipline that could bind anything and contain anything. With imagination, it could do almost everything: create barriers, restrain bijuu, seal gods, forge technology, and reshape entire battlefields. Where most shinobi saw limits, the Uzumaki saw possibilities. Not all beings in the Shinobi world can 'die,' but all of them can be sealed.
And yet, mastery required painstaking labor. It demanded study, patience, and precision. A single mistake could render your work useless- or worse, cause backlash. No wonder there were so few true fuinjutsu experts left in the world. Even with Uzumaki knowledge, the other villages struggle to use it.
Kushina leaned back in her chair, eyes narrowing at the sprawl of notes. Her own skills were respectable. She could weave a few barrier techniques, seal or suppress chakra, even extract it from other Shinobi. Useful, but not yet worthy of her name. Not yet worthy of an Uzumaki.
She clenched her fist, striking the table lightly.
"No. This isn't enough," she whispered to herself, her voice low but firm. "I'm not just any Uzumaki… I'm the next leader of my clan. Letting my skills stagnate would be shameful."
Her lips curled into a determined grin.
"I'll become the best fuinjutsu master in the world, dattebane!"
The vow rang out into the empty shrine. For a moment, she almost imagined her parents, her clan, and even the ruins of Uzushio echoing it back to her.
But determination wasn't enough. She needed more than scraps and fragments. She needed the true inheritance of her people. The scrolls and secrets were scattered after her homeland's destruction.
The villages hadn't united to destroy Uzushio out of pure fear. They had been driven by greed. They wanted the Uzumaki's secrets for themselves. And they had succeeded in their theft. Each great village had taken what they could from her people's home. Even Konoha, with its hypocrisy, had scavenged what it could.
Her jaw tightened at the thought. She would reclaim it all. Every scroll, every seal, every piece of her clan's legacy.
But that would come later. For now, she had to start small.
And she knew exactly where.
----
Later that night, Kushina sat alone in her room, legs crossed, hands resting on her knees. The room was still except for the faint crackle of the shrine's torches.
Inside, in the familiar depths of the seal, Kurama's presence stirred.
She reached out. "You've been quiet lately."
The fox appeared before her, still in his human form. Tall, broad-shouldered, with sharp red eyes that glowed like embers. He folded his arms, looking almost contemplative.
"I don't need to comment on every little decision you make," he rumbled.
Kushina smirked. "That's new. Usually, you can't resist telling me how reckless I am."
Kurama gave a small grunt, but didn't deny it. His silence carried a weight that hadn't been there before.
She studied him for a moment, her gaze softening. "You've… changed a little. Since our fight with Madara."
He turned his head sharply toward her, his fox ears twitching like he'd been caught off guard. "Hn. Don't read too much into it. I've just had time to think."
Kushina tilted her head, her smile widening slightly. "That's all? Just thinking?"
Kurama's eyes narrowed, though there was no malice in them. "Don't push your luck, girl."
But Kushina only chuckled, leaning back on her hands. "Mm. Well, whatever it is… I don't mind it."
For a moment, the seal space was quiet. And though Kurama's expression didn't shift, something softer flickered behind his eyes.
----
The following morning, the shrine's inner chamber held the quiet presence of three figures. Kushina stood at the center, arms crossed, her tone brisk and unwavering.
"I'm leaving for a while, on a mission."
Nagato and Honoka, sitting cross-legged across from her, exchanged looks. Honoka blinked first, surprise softening her expression.
"Already?" she asked, her voice tinged with worry.
Nagato remained silent, though his attention was fixed firmly on Kushina. He didn't speak yet, just waited for her to explain.
"Yes," Kushina said. "This is the best time."
She stepped forward, her crimson hair swaying behind her as she moved with restless energy. "No one knows about us yet. But, that won't last. Sooner or later, the villages will discover what we've built here. And when they do, they'll come for us. Only I can defend us from the Kage currently. That's why I need to move now, while I can still move freely."
Nagato's brow furrowed slightly, but he nodded slowly. "Where are you going?"
Kushina's gaze sharpened, and for a moment, the weight of her heritage seemed to press around her.
"To the Land of Whirlpools," she said. "Most of Uzushio was ransacked by the Villages, but there's an important shrine there. I visited it as a child. It holds hidden fuinjutsu knowledge and other Uzumaki artifacts. If I can recover those, it'll give me the foundation I need to grow stronger, and for the rebirth of our clan."
Her fists tightened at her sides. "After that, I'll start rescuing the surviving Uzumaki scattered in the hidden villages."
Honoka frowned, stepping closer. "Rescue them? All of them? Won't that be… too many, too fast?"
"I have to," Kushina replied firmly. "If I do it one at a time, the villages will catch on. They'll scheme or set traps- maybe even hide a few away. I don't have the luxury of stealth, and I can't waste time."
She continued, "I'll make an example out of Kumogakure, so the other villages know not to mess with us. They'll hand over our family, or they'll face annihilation, dattebane!"
Nagato inclined his head slightly, his tone calm but earnest. "Then what do you want us to do while you're gone?"
"Stay here and prepare," Kushina answered without hesitation. "This place will need to shelter the ones I bring back. You can use Earth Release to make temporary shelters until we build something permanent."
The young redhead took a steadying breath, forcing her expression to soften as she looked at the two of them. "That's all I ask. I'll handle the danger. You just keep this place standing."
Honoka hesitated for only a moment before stepping forward. She threw her arms around Kushina, holding her tightly.
"Stay safe out there," she whispered, her voice wavering slightly with worry.
Kushina smirked, her confidence slipping easily back into place as she patted Honoka's back.
"Don't worry. It's the Five Kage who should be scared, dattebane!"
Her words carried a fierce pride, but behind them, her heart thrummed with quiet determination. She would rebuild her clan no matter what.
And nothing- not Madara, not Konoha, not the entire Shinobi world- would stop her.