The forest lay cloaked in an eerie silence. The night air was heavy with stillness. No birds chirped, and no cicadas hummed. Not even the soft sounds of animals crossing through the underbrush could be heard. It was as if the world held its breath.
That was, except for one thing.
A young woman with wild, bright red hair dashed through the canopy. Her movements were swift but uneven, her form wavering as if weighed down by invisible chains.
Her shinobi uniform, black and tattered, bore the crimson Uzumaki swirl. But now it was frayed and bloodied, sliced clean through the center, yet miraculously covering her through the use of chakra. The fabric clung to her sweat-soaked skin.
Kushina leaped from branch to branch, her blue eyes narrowed in focus, despite the exhaustion building up. The forest canopy above filtered the moonlight into ghostly slivers, casting dappled shadows across her path.
"Kushina! We need to retreat there, right now!" A deep, gruff voice barked inside her mind.
Her lips curled in irritation, though her steps didn't falter. "I know, I know! Don't you think I've been trying? Why is this damn place so hard to find?!"
"I know, I know! Why is this damn place so hard to find?!" she snapped back, her voice a mix of frustration and exhaustion.
Her body swayed, not from physical fatigue- her own vitality, along with Kurama's, meant she could run for days- but from the mental toll of the day.
The slaughter of the Kages, her battle against Madara, the invisible fist through her chest, Nagato's desperate revival with Tokotachi- it had left her mind frayed and her spirit battered.
Kurama snorted, his tone sharp but laced with a begrudging fondness. "That's exactly why it's the best place to hide. Somewhere even he will never find us. This sanctuary's been hidden for centuries."
Kushina's expression soured at the mention of that man. Her pace faltered just slightly, anger bubbling up inside her chest. "Tch. I only need a few months, dattebane. Just a few months, and I'll beat him." She muttered, her voice low but fierce, defiance burning through her weariness. "He caught me off guard this time, but next time, I'll rip that smug look off his face."
Kurama didn't argue, though she could feel the weight of his silence. Finally, he grunted. "Hn."
"You're too stubborn for your own good. I've got plans- some required some inspiration, and others I've made on my own. We'll make you stronger, but you've got to stop rushing in like a bull." He paused, his voice softening slightly. "For now, we need to find that entrance. Focus."
He was referencing the original future of this world, one where he worked with Naruto Uzumaki. He could use that for reference, but they walked a different path from what he witnessed. Kushina never faced her inner evil, but rather embraced it.
She came to a stop on a thick branch, swaying slightly; her breathing shallow, from the mental strain. The fight against the Five Kage, the battle against Madara Uchiha, the sensation of her body being split in two and stitched back together… The memory alone made her chest tighten.
She exhaled, forcing herself to keep calm. Now, she had been running for hours, searching desperately. This place Kurama spoke of felt mystical.
Her gaze settled on a distinctive tree marked with yellow moss and a deep claw scratch. It was the third time she'd seen it in the past half hour.
Kushina's lips twisted into a small smile. She wasn't the brightest, but she wasn't a fool either. Even she could recognize she'd been running in a loop.
Although normally, genjutsu wouldn't have any effect on her.
"It's not Genjutsu, but a secret Sage Art," Kurama spoke, seemingly reading her mind.
A lesser shinobi might have despaired, but Kushina's lips curved into a determined smirk. "A loop, huh? Someone's trying hard to keep this place hidden. That means we're close, Kurama."
Her eyes closed briefly. She pushed her senses outward, calling on both her Mind's Eye of Kagura and the malice-sensing ability. They didn't perfectly overlap; they weren't a single sight, but two different lenses layered over the same world.
Yet the forest revealed nothing. No flicker of chakra or malice, just silence.
"Smart for once," Kurama teased, his gruff voice carrying a hint of pride. "Try Sage Mode. This place is cloaked in natural energy- those lousy frogs were decent at that, at least."
Kushina nodded, clapping her hands together. Red markings bloomed around her eyes like eyeliner, her blue irises shifting to crimson with slitted pupils. Her face took on fox-like features- sharp cheekbones and whiskers- reminiscent of Kurama's form.
A faint aura of ethereal crimson light wrapped around her body.
This was their unique Sage Mode, born from Kurama's refined natural energy and his Nine-Tails chakra, distinct from the arts of Mount Myoboku, Ryuchi Cave, or Shikkotsu Forest. It activated in seconds, a testament to their unique bond.
But even as her senses expanded, her face twisted bitterly. "Hn. Didn't do much against Madara…"
Kurama caught the thought and rumbled low in disapproval. "You're still alive, aren't you? That means it worked. Don't start sulking now, brat. Madara is just a freak of nature, and he has the Rinnegan."
She huffed, but let the words settle in her chest. Maybe he was right. "Fine, fox. But you're one to talk about wasting energy- lecturing me like a child."
She sensed outward, the natural energy sharpening her perception. The forest shifted in her mind's eye, revealing a subtle distortion- a portal-like barrier shimmering with natural energy, invisible to normal senses. It felt alien, a boundary between worlds, unlike any seal she'd encountered.
Her heart leapt. "That's it!"
"Right," Kurama confirmed, his voice steady with recognition. "Just like I remember it, nearly a thousand years ago. Hidden by those ancient sages."
Kushina blinked. "A thousand years?!"
A pause. "...What of it?"
Her eyes widened, then narrowed slyly. "You're so old."
Kurama snorted, tails thumping inside the seal. "And you're still wet behind the ears, brat. Did you just now notice I've been around since the Sage of the Six Paths?"
She giggled, the sound breaking out unbidden, surprising even herself. It was the first moment of levity in hours. "Sometimes I forget. You don't act like an old man at all- you're too headstrong and loud for that."
"Are you calling me youthful or rash?" he shot back, his tone caught between offense and mirth. "Is that a compliment or an insult, you little menace?"
Kushina's smile widened, a rare softness in her eyes. "Take it as both, you big fox." She refocused on the barrier, her amusement fading into determination. "Now help me break this thing."
"Demanding little human," Kurama muttered, but his voice held a warmth that belied his gruffness. "Fine. Channel my chakra- hit it hard, but with precision. This barrier's old, but it's stubborn, like you."
"Hey!" she protested, but her hands were already moving, drawing on Kurama's chakra. The black-red energy surged through her, her golden-lined tails flickering into view.
She punched the air, her fist wrapped in Kurama's chakra, and the barrier rippled, cracking like glass. A faint hum filled the air as the portal opened, revealing a dark, misty void beyond.
Kurama's presence stirred in the seal, a slight smile in his voice. "Good. You didn't screw it up."
"Keep talking, and I'll seal you away, old man," Kushina teased, stepping toward the portal. Her heart raced- not from fear, but from the excitement of what lay ahead. Even though they were in dark times, this was a mythical place. This sanctuary, known only to Kurama among the living, was their last hope to regroup, to grow stronger, and to face Madara again.
Kurama sighed, the sound heavy but fond. "You're impossible, brat. Get us in there before I regret picking you as my partner."
"Partner, huh?" Kushina's voice softened, her steps steadying as she crossed the threshold. "Guess I'm stuck with you, too, Kurama."
The portal closed behind her, the forest's silence swallowing the area again.
What greeted her on the other side made her stop short.
The air was thick with life- vivid, almost overwhelming compared to the dead stillness she had just left. Towering trees with bark the color of burnished bronze stretched toward the heavens, their leaves glowing with a green so rich it almost looked painted.
The canopy above shimmered faintly, sunlight spilling through in dapples that seemed almost too perfect. Each ray carried warmth that seeped into her tired muscles, easing some of the tension she hadn't realized she was holding.
A crystalline river wound through the landscape, its waters so clear she could see the smallest pebbles gleaming at the bottom. Fish of brilliant gold darted beneath the surface, their scales flashing like sunlight.
The steady and gentle sound of the river was the first natural noise she had heard in hours, and it made her heart ache with an unexpected kind of relief.
And there, rising in the distance, was a mountain. Its slopes climbed impossibly high, crowned in wisps of cloud. The stone gleamed faintly with an ethereal light, a mountain that was carved from legend. For a moment, Kushina wondered if she had stumbled into a fairytale.
Her lips parted as she whispered, "Mount… Myōboku."