Before Kushina could return to Nagi Island, there was one more Uzumaki she knew of on the mainland. In the Village Hidden in the Grass.
The land of Kusagakure stretched before her in muted greens and earthen browns. Dense forests wove together like a living wall, their trunks stretching skyward before giving way to groves of bamboo that swayed and creaked like restless sentries. Here and there, massive mushrooms as tall as trees, with caps so broad they looked like umbrellas for giants, rose out of the undergrowth, giving the land an oddly dreamlike quality.
To Kushina, it all seemed too quiet.
Kusa was another minor country, tucked between the giants. Its people had never known true sovereignty. Their land was rich and fertile, yes, but that only made it a battlefield when larger nations clashed. Konoha, Iwa, Kumo… one or another always trampled through, leaving the Grass shinobi to pick up the pieces.
The small countries always suffered the most. That was simply the plight of the weak.
How an Uzumaki managed to survive here for so long was a mystery to Kushina. But ultimately, the reason didn't matter. What mattered was that she was here- and Kushina intended to bring her back into the fold.
When they reached the outskirts of the village, Kushina closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. The air smelled damp, carrying the faint tang of moss and mushrooms. But what she sought lay beyond scents and sounds.
In her mind, the village unfolded like a map. A net of chakra signatures glowed against the darkness behind her eyelids. Flickers of energy pulsed like candle flames- some weak and thin, others brighter and more disciplined. The shinobi of Kusagakure. She could see them all.
This was the Mind's Eye of Kagura.
Since leaving Nagi and Ouza, she had not allowed herself a moment of idleness. Training consumed her, especially training in Fuinjutsu. Every scrap of knowledge she'd torn from Uzushio's ruins, every scroll retrieved from Kumo and Iwa, and all the knowledge of the Uzumaki survivors, she devoured. Seals of all kinds: storage arrays, chakra sealers, imprisonments, barriers, and even techniques designed to bind Tailed Beasts. She'd even stumbled on half-finished, experimental work- dangerous things most shinobi wouldn't dare touch.
But of all her inheritance, the most precious were the secret techniques of the Uzumaki themselves: the Mind's Eye of Kagura, and the Adamantine Sealing Chains. They were useless to Iwa or Kumo, bound as they were by bloodline, but for Kushina, they were a boon.
So far, the Mind's Eye had answered her best. Not only could she sense chakra from extraordinary distances, she could read its quality, its very nature. Combined with her ability to sense malice, Kushina now understood people in a way that terrified her. Lies, hesitation, fear- nothing could hide from her. In many ways, she could read people better than they could read themselves.
No one would ever deceive her again.
Her focus shifted. There- bright and unmistakable. Uzumaki chakra did not blend in. Their vitality burned too strongly, their reserves far too deep. An inferno among embers, especially here in Kusagakure.
Kushina opened her eyes, a sharp smile tugging at her lips. Found you.
This time, she would not announce herself, as she had so brazenly in Takigakure. She had learned her lesson. These small villages were arrogant, proud of their fragile independence. If challenged, they would fight even when hopeless. She had no desire for pointless slaughter.
It was simpler to enter quietly, retrieve her clanswoman, and leave. Whether Kusagakure realized what had been taken hardly mattered to her.
As she drew closer to the chakra signature, a faint sound brushed against her ears: muffled sobbing. Kushina slowed, frowning. She crept to a narrow window of a cramped apartment and peeked inside.
A girl a few years older than her sat curled on her bed, shoulders trembling as she wept.
Kushina hesitated a moment, then knocked firmly on the door. There didn't seem to be any Kusa ninja after her, so she could take her time.
The sobbing stopped. Footsteps shuffled hesitantly across the floor. The door opened a crack, and the girl peered out. She had short crimson hair, not unlike Kushina's, though duller, and eyes of soft violet that widened in surprise at the sight of Kushina's own fiery locks.
"Yes?" she asked.
Kushina stared, as blunt as ever. "I'm Kushina Uzumaki." She was never one to beat around the bush.
The girl blinked, stunned into silence. "...Uzumaki?"
Of course, she recognized it at a glance, but hearing it declared so boldly startled her.
"I'm Aina," she said finally.
Kushina allowed herself a small, warm smile. "I'm here to save you. I'm rebuilding the Uzumaki clan. I've already gathered dozens of our people."
Aina's eyes went wide, disbelief written plain across her face. The words struck her like lightning, but still, hesitation lingered. "I-I don't know…"
Kushina tilted her head, unimpressed. "Isn't coming with me better than rotting away in this tiny village? It must be miserable here."
Aina lowered her gaze. It was. Recently, she'd been ordered to marry one of the village's higher-ups. A union she neither wanted nor could refuse. Compared to that cage, the open road seemed almost merciful. But Aina had never been strong-willed. The thought of stepping into the unknown terrified her as much as staying did.
Kushina clicked her tongue in irritation. She could read her at a glacne. Always one to hesitate, always doubting. She seized Aina's wrist, ready to drag her if she must. If Aina couldn't make a decision now, then she would make it for her. Simple.
But Aina gasped sharply in pain.
Kushina froze, shocked. She hadn't gripped that hard. Her eyes darted to the girl's arm just as Aina rolled up her sleeve, almost reflexively.
Dozens of bite marks marred her pale skin. Some faded with age, others were still raw and red. Kushina's stomach twisted.
She knew exactly what it was.
The vitality of the Uzumaki was legendary. Even their blood carried healing properties. Some had clearly been exploiting Aina for that- using her body as a crude, living medicine.
"Did the village do this to you?" Kushina asked, voice low.
Aina averted her eyes, lips trembling. She didn't answer. She didn't have to. Kushina could feel the truth radiating off her.
Inside, she was fuming. Her nails dug into her palms, but outwardly her face remained calm.
"It's alright," she said softly, forcing warmth into her tone. "I've taken clansmen from Iwa and Kumo already. You don't need to live like this anymore. You don't need protection from weaklings like these."
She extended her hand again.
For a long, fragile moment, Aina's violet eyes wavered. But when they met Kushina's fiery gaze, a flicker of hope appeared. Tentative and fragile, but real.
Aina placed her hand in Kushina's.
Kushina smiled faintly. Relief mixed with pride, and perhaps just a little embarrassment. She'd nearly dragged the girl out by force like some stubborn child. Not exactly dignified for a clan head. She pushed the thought aside. What mattered was that she had chosen.
----
Kushina did not raze Kusagakure to the ground, though every fiber of her being screamed for vengeance. Instead, she led Aina back to the caravan.
The Uzumaki perked up as soon as they saw the two approach. Dozens of pairs of eyes searched Aina's face desperately. Every one of them had lost family. Every one of them still clung to the impossible hope that someone had survived elsewhere.
Most saw disappointment. But one did not.
Akinari Uzumaki, a younger man Kushina had spoken with before, suddenly broke into a sprint. His face lit with joy, tears already brimming in his eyes.
"Aina!" he cried, sweeping her into his arms.
Her own eyes widened, then overflowed. "Y-you're alive? I thought… I thought you…"
"I'm so glad I found you- I had been hoping for years- and now you're here. I finally found you!" He stumbled over his words a bit; he was so happy.
Words failed them both. They clung to each other like children, sobbing openly, their reunion a wound and a healing all at once.
Kushina stood a few steps away, her expression complicated. Joy for their reunion, but bitterness too. They should've never been separated in the first place.
When at last the two pulled apart, Kushina raised her voice. "Everyone! Gather."
The Uzumaki formed rows before her, silent and expectant. She turned her gaze to Aina.
"Show them," Kushina commanded.
Aina hesitated, shame burning in her cheeks. She hated exposing herself like this. But Kushina's tone left no room for refusal. Slowly, she rolled up her sleeves.
Gasps rippled through the crowd. The bite marks told a story uglier than words. Rage flared in every chest, a collective fury. Especially for Akinari.
"This," Kushina said, voice like iron, "is how Kusagakure treated our family."
The crowd growled in anger, eyes burning.
"We cannot allow this insult. If we let them abuse us and say nothing, we are not Uzumaki- we are cowards."
Her arm swung toward the village gates. She uttered only one word:
"Attack."