Hii woke up in his room with a grouchy expression on his face.

‘I couldn’t catch him off guard at all.’

He slowly worked his way up from his covers as the sting of his wounds were still fresh.

“I’ll have to get him next time.”

*Squeak*

“??”

Hii turned to the floor and saw Mochi waving at him.

“Oh? You’re here to wake me up?”

Mochi nodded his head before rushing out of the room back to Yozora.

Hii sat up and slowly made for the bathroom to clean himself up.

Once he was done, he headed to the kitchen and saw Kaya placing plates of food down on the table.

She glanced at him once he walked in and continued to place the plates down.

“You look like crap. Who did you try and fight?”

“…Hayate.”

Di perked up at the name and smiled.

“I see. No wonder you are so beat up. He’s really good at his swordplay.”

“I know. I’ll be able to beat him eventually.”

Di only nodded his head and left it to his grandson.

He knew he would improve the style sooner or later.

Riku smiled as she ate her breakfast.

“A rival can bring you a long way.”

Hii nodded his head as Moya groggily made her way towards her seat while rubbing her eyes.

“Morning,”

“Morning.”

Yozora followed after them with Mochi on his shoulders.

The whole family ate in silence for a while before Kaya took a plate of food back to her bedroom.

The Kurokumo kids looked at each other for a moment before clasping their hands together in prayer.

Dad had it rough again.

**

*Swish Swish*

Hii swung his sword while deep in thought.

‘Hayate’s swings were graceful like moonlight. Mine don’t have such finesse. They really don’t have anything but speed…’

Hii stopped swinging for a moment as he looked at Ame no Tsume.

“Do I need to put that kind of style into my sword?”

Hii thought about Hayate’s movements and his Stormblade.

*Chi Chi Chi*

Sparks flew around his body as he slashed with his Lightning Armor engaged.

His swings were nearly invisible, but they slowly became more and more visible as he slowly put in more of a graceful nature to his attacks.

‘No. This isn’t it.’

Hii suddenly stopped as he looked at his blade in confusion.

[You look lost.]

“Akumu! You’re back.”

Hii turned to the shadows nearby to see Akumu laying down next to a tree with Fuyuki.

“Uh. Is Fuyuki okay? She looks a little down.”

Hii saw Fuyuki covering her eyes as she laid down next to Akumu.

[……]

Akumu looked at Fuyuki for a moment before shaking his head.

[She’s got a lot on her mind. I heard you fought Hayate. How was it?]

Hii sighed as he remembered his fight.

“Yeah. It didn’t go well.”

Akumu nodded his head as his gaze slowly made its way to his shoulders.

[How does your shoulders feel?]

Hii checked his shoulders for a moment.

He noticed his seals were gathering energy slowly from the surroundings, but it didn’t seem to affect him at all.

Hii shook his head.

“I feel fine. I just want to know if this will affect my blade or not.”

Akumu smiled as he could see Hii was still stuck contemplating his bladework.

[How about you fight with me and Fuyuki for a bit? Maybe that will help you find your way.]

Hii smiled and nodded his head as he jumped back and waited for Akumu and Fuyuki to get ready.

Akumu came closer to Fuyuki and nudged her with his paw.

[Hey. If you really want to get those images out of your head, the best way is through a fight.]

{…. Fine.}

Fuyuki rose from the ground and jumped to the space in front of Hii.

Hii readied himself as he pulled out one of his wooden swords to battle with.

{Grrrr!}

Fuyuki was raring to go as she rushed towards Hii as her orange markings began to glow with power!

The two stood still for a moment before darting towards each other!

*Bang Bang Bang*

Fuyuki and Hii struck at each other as her claws bounced of the sword playfully as he dodged and struck against her attacks.

The black seal on his arm suddenly began to glow brightly as it slowly started to spread under his shirt.

Hii could feel a cold sensation in his body.

He ignored for a moment before realizing it was getting hotter and hotter.

[Hmmm?]

Akumu sat up from the ground and looked over at the battle with renewed interest.

He noticed Hii’s swings were becoming more erratic.

[Hii. Try to keep-]

“Grrraah!”

*Bang*

Hii struck Fuyuki hard and sent her flying back!

[Hii!]

“Guhhhh!”

Hii clenched his teeth as the seal covered half of his body in black seals.

{Grrrr!! Now you’ve done it!}

*Swish*

Fuyuki quickly recovered and smashed her paw into Hii’s chest, sending him back this time!

Her markings also blazed brightly as she kept on the attack!

Hii quickly recovered as well and clenched his teeth as he ignored the pain.

“Bring it!”

*Bang Bang Bang Bang*

The two began to no longer practice, but trade blows as the ground began to crack from their force!

{Grrrah!}

“Haaaa!”

Hii’s chakra started to take a sinister chill as the training sword in his hand began to wither!

Fuyuki’s claws began to glow white with energy as she combated the cold, chilly, chakra!

*Bang Bang Crack*

Shortly after the two clashed again, the training sword broke into dust.

Hii wasn’t discouraged and began to punch and claw with his hands!

*Swish*

Akumu quickly dashed between the two, smacking Fuyuki on the head and pressed Hii down with his paw.

[What the hell is wrong with you two?!]

The two suddenly shook as they looked at each other in shock.

“I-I wasn’t supposed to strike that hard?!”

{W-Was I starting to go full power?!}

Hii looked at the receding seal with a vigilant gaze as it went back to normal.

He was about to be relieved until he saw the white seal soon start to spread as a wave of feral anger came over him.

Akumu quickly moved his paw away from him, stopping the seal from spreading once again.

The two wolves looked at Hii in shock as they processed what just happened.

[…I think we need to figure this out first before you continue to train.]

{I agree!}

Hii nodded his head as he looked at his white seal slowly recede back to his shoulder.

‘Maybe…. Mom can guide me on this.’

*

“What do you mean those seals are acting up?!”

“W-Wait, Mom! I can explain!”

Kaya was understandably angry as she looked down at Hii for an explanation.

Hii proceeded to tell Kaya about what happened as he trained today only to be met with silence.

He was surprised he ran into her as he started to leave the training field and decided it was better she

knew what was happening to him right then.

Kaya had a bizarre mix of bitterness and excitement on her face as she seemed to be thinking of what it could be.

After a while, she finally nodded her head and bit her thumb.

*Puchi*

She smeared blood on her hand and weaved a few handsigns.

“Summoning Jutsu!”

*Poof*

She stretched out her hand as a puff of smoke appears in front of her.

A scroll appeared in her hand with the symbol of Turtle on the side of it.

She slowly opens the scroll with a frown as Hii looked over the scroll.

He found Kaya’s name on the scroll along with Guy’s name on it as well.

“Write your name on the scroll with ink. It’ll disappear after we use it once.”

Hii looked confused as he takes a nearby inkbrush and writes his name.

“Wouldn’t you want me to use your Summoning like you do, Mom?”

Kaya shook her head rapidly.

“Nope. Nuh-uh! If I can help it, this will be the one and only time you meet my Summoning.”

Hii nodded his head, still curious as to why she never let any of her kids meet the Summoning before.

She takes a deep breathe and uses some of the leftover blood to recast her Summoning Jutsu.

*Poof* *Thud*

A table sized blue shell appeared in front of the two as it landed on the ground.

“Huh? Is it dinner time already?”

A grey skinned turtle slowly exited from his shell as he looked around in confusion.

“Hey, Old man. Wake up. I need to go see that big bastard.”

The turtle turned towards Kaya and smiled softly.

“Ah. Kaya-chan. It’s been a long time since I last seen you.”

Kaya and Hii wait for a moment as the old turtle slowly turned his shell towards them.

“Now, you said you need to see my son?”

“Yes. You could also help me out as well if you’re free.”

“Sure. What’s the problem?”

Kaya begins to explain to the old turtle about Hii’s seals and the effect they are having on him.

Hii watched as the turtle’s face slowly grew serious as he looks over at him.

“Your situation is a rather familiar one. I see why you would need to talk to my boy for help. Has he signed the scroll?”

Kaya nodded her head with a smirk.

“He won’t be my successor.”

The old turtle shook his head slowly.

“Well, He’s not gonna like that. At least he still has two more chances.”

Kaya scoffed as she looked away from the turtle.

The turtle didn’t say anything further as he turned to Hii.

“Sorry for leaving you waiting. My name is Gendo. I am an old turtle. Nice to meet you, Hii-kun.”

“Nice to meet you as well, Gendo-san.”

Hii could see Gendo smile as Kaya shakes her head.

“Don’t let this turtle’s size fool you. He’s the Sage of the Turtle Marsh. He’s far more dangerous than he looks.”

Hii’s eyes widened as Gendo just chuckled.

“Those days are long gone. I’m just looking after the little ones now.”

Kaya shrugged and decided to leave it be.

“Well then, Let’s take you back to Gameyama so he can assist in helping you gain control of those seals.”

Hii nodded his head as Kaya kneeled next to the turtle.

“Kaya, dear. If you could help me for a moment.”

“Sure, old timer.”

Kaya touched Gendo’s shell and weaved a few handsigns.

“Grab on, son.”

Hii held on to his mother’s arm as Gendo suddenly yelled.

“Reverse Summoning!”

*Shh*

The three disappeared from the fields as Akumu and Fuyuki watched from a distance.

Fuyuki turned to Akumu with worry on her face.

{Do you think this’ll fix him?}

Akumu kept his head facing towards their last location and nodded his head.

[If we’re lucky, he’ll come back much stronger than before.]

Fuyuki nodded her head slowly.

{Well, what should we do now?}

[Train.]

Akumu stood up and gestured for Fuyuki to follow him.

{What are we training for?}

Fuyuki bounded after him as he continued to explain.

[Orochimaru seems to still be attacking the Leaf, but that other guy will be with him as well. We need to find the scope of their attack soon and bring our strategies and power to their optimum levels. We need to be ready for surprises.]

Fuyuki nodded her head as she followed Akumu towards the Forest of Death.

*

Hii opened his eyes as he found himself in a marshland.

“Welcome to the Turtle Marsh. You’ll get sick of seeing it soon enough.”

Kaya brushed Hii’s hair as she took in a deep breath.

Hii looks around and saw lots of water, trees, and large mountains all around.

“This is the Turtle Marsh?”

“Yep. It’s like the Holy land for turtles and tortoises. This is the turtle side though.”

“Then where is the Tortoise side?”

Kaya pointed her finger over to the distant mountains.

“Over there.”

“Past the mountains?”

“No. They are the mountains.”

Hii quickly looked back over towards the mountains in the distance and noticed a small one moving very slowly.

Hii’s mouth dropped as he began to realize the marsh was surrounded by these giant tortoises!

“A-Are the turtles the same size?”

“Some of them. The Turtles who master nature energy control their size. The big ones are either too young to control it, or too old to care anymore.”

Hii nodded his head as he noticed Gendo swimming briskly around with a face of glee.

“Ahh~. This water feels good on my shell.”

Kaya giggles at Gendo’s antics as she walks on the water towards her destination.

Hii quickly followed behind her as Gendo swam around them.

They walked on the water for a good while before finally coming across a hill-sized shell floating in the water.

It was covered in rocks and moss, giving it a natural appearance.

Hii started to notice some turtles that were below the deeper levels of the water slowly starting to rise in the distance. They curiously looked over him and sent nods of welcome to Kaya.

The hill sized shell also started to rise from the water as Kaya’s face began to frown.

“Hii. Don’t listen to anything this old bastard says. It’s all lies.”

Gendo just shook his head as the hill suddenly bursts from the water

*Splash*

The marsh water rolled away from the hill as a large snapping turtle appeared from the water.

His skin was dark brown like wood, just like his shell covered in moss.

Hii saw a plume of white hair covering under his jaw, making him look ancient.

The turtle’s large eyes look down at Hii with curiosity.

“Huh?! When did Kaya turn into a boy?! How long was I asleep?!”

Hii blanked out as Gendo came close to the turtle.

“Look again, boy. This is Kaya’s son, Hii-kun. He needs your help.”

The turtle looks at Hii for a moment, before looking at Kaya with a sinister grin.

“No.”

Kaya immediately answered him, prompting him to laugh.

The volume was a bit grating on the ears for Hii, but he persisted silently.

“Gahahaha! No way am I helping him and not getting anything for my trouble! I expect to at least get 20 fights!”

“No! I don’t want to attack squads again! We got in trouble last time!”

“Bah! That’s just because they were Mist ninjas. You wanted their water Jutsus so bad! It’s funny when I think about it now.”

Kaya puffed up her cheeks as the turtle seems to remember those times fondly.

He snaps out of it quickly as his smile never leaves his face.

“Come on, Kaya! Let’s run wild like we used to!”

“No! And you were the one running wild”

“Pfft! I can’t use the Storm Technique without you, stupid!”

“You’re the one that’s stupid!”

“Nuh-uh!”

The two begin to argue as Hii and Gendo watched on with the crowd of other turtles.

The turtles merely greet one another and Gendo while introducing themselves to Hii with a calming, serene nature.

Hii was shocked with how calm they were as his mom and the large turtle continue to argue louder and louder.

“What do you mean my sons can’t contract with your son?!”

“It can’t work! Haven’t you wondered why I need your help in the first place?!”

The turtle shut up for a moment before turning his attention back to Hii and stares at him.

After a moment, he surprisingly nods his head at her decision.

“You’re right. Those energies would tear my kids apart if they tried to fight together.”

Kaya nods her head before looking a bit worried.

“How bad is it?”

The turtle stared at Hii for a moment before silently looking over at Kaya.

The two stared at each other for a moment before the turtle suddenly grins excitedly.

“You have to finish your training if you want me to help him.”

Kaya’s face grew pale as she started to shake with anger.

“You! You just want to see me fat and bloated again!”

The turtle laughs as he nods his head enthusiastically.

Kaya sighs and nods her head shortly after.

“Fine. I’ll do it.”

“Yes! I, Goro, will finally come back with the Storm! Better than ever!”

“Shut up!”

Kaya screamed at Goro, but he just laughed jubilantly.

Hii smiled seeing his mom so flustered for once.

Goro turned to Hii with the same sinister smile and surprised Hii with his command!

“Now, little Storm. I need you to cut me!”

**

The sun set slowly over the Leaf as Maka watched the leaves on the roof of the Uchiha Estate.

“Haaaa.”

She tapped her fingers on the tiles with the pace of a childhood tune, one she heard from the older members of her family.

Her mind raced with thoughts as she started to realize what was coming.

A fight with her best friend.

“…..”

How was she going to do it?

“..Should I go all out?”

“I would be disappointed if you didn’t.”

“!!!”

Maka turned around quickly and saw Mikoto standing behind her.

“Ah! Mikoto-sa-.”

“Don’t call me that, Maka. You still won’t call me Mom like Sasuke?”

Maka blushed lightly and turned back towards the sunset.

Mikoto shook her head as she walked over and sat next to Maka.

The two watched the sunset in silence as Maka tried to find something to talk to her about.

“Are you ready to fight your friend?”

Mikoto asked her first as Maka opened her mouth to speak, but said nothing.

She shook her head as she tucked her knees to her chest.

“I don’t know.”

“What is it you don’t know? You want to be promoted, right?”

“I do, but I don’t want to drive Shizuka to feel bad about herself again.”

Mikoto smiled tenderly at Maka and rubbed her head.

“You do know what the meaning of being a Ninja is, correct?”

Maka nodded her head.

“It’s to protect our village from threats.”

“Not exactly. It means to endure. We endure the trials and tribulations of our village so that they can live without fear and prosper.”

Maka looked over to Mikoto.

“You and Shizuka are Ninjas. If you two can’t endure the difference between the two of you, how can you endure the hardships of the village?”

Maka was stunned for a moment before falling into deep thought.

Mikoto just brushed her hair lightly as the light slowly began to dim in the horizon.

The light in Maka’s eyes, however, kept shining brightly as she came to a decision.

“Mom.”

Mikoto’s arms quickly latched on to Maka as she pulled her close.

“Ah! Mom! Stop!”

Mikoto, however, didn’t listen and held on to Maka for a few minutes before letting go.

Maka caught her breath for a moment before steeling herself and facing Mikoto.

“Mom, can you please train me?”

“…”

Mikoto looked at Maka with the same smile as before, but Maka could suddenly sense an aura she never felt from Mikoto before.

It was an aura that brought a chill to her neck.

“Of course, Maka-chan. I’ll make sure you’re ready for your battle.”

Maka started to feel unsure about her decision, but the thought was quickly swallowed down as she refused to not give her best to fight.

Especially if it was with a friend.

**

*Bang Bang*

Naruto stood in front of Shizuka’s room with a frown on his face.

‘This is the 3^rd day since Nee-san hasn’t come out of her room.’

Naruto nervously tapped his foot on the floorboards as he waited for his sister to come out.

He stood there for a minute before his patience ran thin.

“Nee-san! Open up!”

“Naruto! What did I say about shouting!?”

Naruto instantly shut up as Kushina’s voice nearly shook the house.

‘You’re yelling louder than me…’

Naruto complained in his heart, but he would never let that thought come out.

*Sssu Bam!*

Naruto planned to knock on the door once again when it suddenly opened!

“NeeeEEEEE?!”

Naruto started to call out to her before his call turned into a shriek.

Shizuka looked like a mess, covered in dust, gunpowder, and ink.

Her hair was smudged with all kinds of marks as she muttered to herself.

“N-N-N-Nee-san?!”

Naruto called out to her, but she ignored him as she slowly walked her way to the kitchen.

Naruto kept in place as he suddenly felt fear in his heart.

He didn’t want to be anywhere near where she was right now.

‘Kurama. Should we get out of the house?’

{….Can you make it out before they meet?}

Before Naruto could give it an honest shot, the house began to rumble!

“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN, YOUNG LADY?!”

“I was training for the exam!”

Naruto shivered as a sinister laugh rang out from the kitchen.

“Hehehehehe! Hahahahahahaha! YOU ARE TOO YOUNG TO THINK YOU CAN RAISE YOUR VOICE AT ME!!”

“Bring it on, Mom! I’m ready to show you what I’m made of!”

[Run, Naruto!]

*Bang Bang Boom*

Naruto booked it out of the nearest window as the sounds of combat rang out from the other side of the house!

“Dad! Dad!”

Naruto called out to his father as he ran as fast as he could to the Hokage office!

**

Minato looked at the giant stack of papers on his desk as he practiced handsigns.

Shikaku looked over at Minato with a tired expression as he knew he would have to figure out what was going on.

“What are you doing, Hokage-sama?”

“I’m testing out a new technique. Hopefully with this...”

Minato’s eyes had a gleam to them as he quickly went through the hand seals.

“Sealing Technique: Supreme Eye Skimming Relevancy Jutsu!”

*Bam*

He slammed his hand on the table as a seal began to crawl over the stack of papers before papers started to move into 4 separate piles on their own.

Shikaku looked at the separate piles for a moment as Minato beamed with glee.

“What…does that Jutsu do exactly?”

“Ah! It separates the papers based on relevancy and need. The pile closest to me will have everything that must be attended to immediately while the other piles are further away due to their needs. This will help me get the important work done faster than usual!”

Minato smiled while Shikaku shook his head lightly.

‘Well, at least he still likes to do the work.’

“Dad!! Dad!!”

Minato’s face grew serious as he homed in on the familiar voice calling him!

“I need to go.”

*Fuu*

Minato quickly disappeared and appeared behind Naruto, grabbing onto his shoulder to calm him down!

“Naruto! Calm down! What’s wrong?”

“They! Mom! Shizuka! They!”

“Naruto. Take a deep breath.”

Naruto quickly took a deep breath and breathed out slowly.

He then made Minato panic as he screamed at him!

“Mom and Shizuka are fighting each other! I heard things getting destroyed when I left!”

Minato quickly grabbed Naruto and teleported outside of their home, only to find it eerily quiet.

The two looked at each other for a moment before Minato opened the front door.

*Creeeeak*

Minato and Naruto began to sweat as the atmosphere of the house felt dire and bleak.

Once the door was opened, they were greeted with the sight of Kushina looming over Shizuka as she kneeled in silence.

A strange seal was writhing and swaying underneath and over her legs as Shizuka tried her best not to cry out.

Kushina’s hair rose nearly to the ceiling as she looked at Shizuka.

“Apologize.”

“…..”

“It’s only going to get worse, Shizuka.”

Shizuka just looked down as Kushina’s eyes bore into her.

Minato slowly raised his hand to get her attention.

“K-Kushina?”

Kushina twitched for a moment before turning to Minato and Naruto with a strained smile.

“Dear. Do you mind leaving us for a bit? Shizuka is just having a moment.”

“…..”

Minato just nodded his head as he slowly closed the door.

He backed away from his house and looked over at Naruto.

Neither knew what to do at this point.

*Grrrrrrrr*

Naruto’s stomach began to rumble in protest.

“Aaah! I’m hungry!”

“…Haaa.”

Minato sighed and decided to leave the situation to his wife. She’ll know what to do.

“Come on, son. Let’s go get some ramen.”

“Really?! Alright!”

The two headed off to Ichiraku as they decided not to interfere with whatever was going on.

**

20 mins later.

Kushina still stood over Shizuka as she watched her face with her nails squeezing into her skin.

Shizuka still hadn’t apologized for her outburst earlier.

‘This is taking too long. That seal causes pain, but it shouldn’t be applied for too long.”

Kushina used the seal to punish Shizuka, but she expected her to give shortly after it was applied.

She didn’t expect her to last nearly 30 minutes without a sound.

‘I can’t keep this going.’

[Softie.]

‘Shut up.’

“Shizuka! Why did you come out of your room looking like a monk?!”

Kushina pressed Shizuka for an answer, but Shizuka just kept silent.

“Tch!”

Kushina quickly released her seal, breaking the circle surrounding Shizuka as she flopped down, exhausted.

Kushina knelt down next to her daughter as she massaged her legs lightly, sending shocks that caused Shizuka’s body to shiver.

“….”

“…..”

The two said nothing as she continued to massage Shizuka’s legs in silence.

*Sniff*

“….rry.”

Kushina looked up to Shizuka’s face and realized she was crying.

“Sorry.”

“….”

Kushina wordlessly grabbed her daughter into a hug and gently patted her head.

“What happened, Shizuka?”

Shizuka didn’t answer her right away as she tried to wipe her eyes of her tears.

“I,I just couldn’t handle the pressure for a moment.”

“Pressure?”

Shizuka nodded her head as she continued.

“I have my first match with Maka-chan. I got excited and started to think of a strategy to fight her, but…”

Shizuka’s right hand grabbed her left arm as she just stared at the floor.

“Nothing worked. I don’t have an answer to her abilities.”

“Sweetie. We all have match-ups we aren’t going to be perfect against.”

“That’s the thing, Mom.”

Shizuka looked up from the ground straight into her eyes.

“I don’t have an answer for most of the people I could be fighting.”

Kushina looked at her seriously as she could see panic coming over Shizuka’s face.

“I don’t have an answer for Maka. I don’t have an answer for Hii. I don’t even have an answer for Naruto and Sasuke if I run into them! Not to mention those Sand kids! Shino is a hard counter for me since his bugs eat Chakra! That’s my whole set-up! I can’t even begin to figure out how to handle Rock Lee before-“

*Bam*

“Gah!!”

Shizuka held her head as she rubbed her sore spot and looked at Kushina.

Her face paled as she noticed Kushina was absolutely livid!

“Why are you psyching yourself out from something that hasn’t happened?!”

*Grind Grind*

“Oww! Oww! Mom! Stop!”

Kushina began to grind her knuckles into her child’s head to make sure she understood how stupid she was being!

After she kneaded her foolish daughter’s head a bit more, she stopped and sighed.

“It’s because of your encounter with that snake bastard that you’re like this.”

“!!”

Shizuka had a fearful expression on her face as Kushina just crossed her arms and shook her head.

“Haa! Don’t think I didn’t notice how you acted after you came back. All it took was one look at Minato and he told me everything!”

Shizuka could only sigh as her Dad let Kushina do whatever as long as it regarded her two kids.

She couldn’t help feeling warmth from her Mom’s care, so she wouldn’t bring it up.

*Bam*

“Agh! What was that for?!”

“That was for a smart little lady who seems to get dumber and dumber as she gets stronger! Who told you had to get ready for your Chuunin Exam alone?”

“…..Ah?”

*Bam*

Shizuka rubbed her head, but didn’t complain this time. She knew she was being silly.

“Naruto must be rubbing off on me.”

Kushina giggled at that thought as she stood up and patted her dress.

“I’ll help you make some seals and moves that will definitely knock Maka’s socks off. I’ll even get your father in on the fun too. We just can’t let him name anything.”

Shizuka laughed and nodded her head. Minato sucked at naming things.

“Don’t feel that you must do everything on your own. You can still get help from those that love you. And trust me, you have a lot of those.”

Shizuka nodded her head slowly as she thought over Kushina’s words.

“Well then, now with that out of the way.”

Kushina picked up Shizuka like a lost kitten.

“It’s time for a bath, little lady.”

“I-I can bathe myself, Mom!”

“Apparently not since you’re covered in grime and dirt. Don’t worry! I’ll get you squeaky clean, just like I used to!”

“Noooo!!”

“Heheheheehhehehehehe!!!”

Shizuka immediately tried to get out of her grasp as Kushina dragged her towards the bath, laughing sinisterly all the way.

When Minato and Naruto came back, Shizuka was sparkly clean and a little dead inside.

Naruto shivered as he remembers the days Kushina would scrub them down after playing.

He could only clap his hands together and pray for her swift recovery.