Nine-Tailed Enchantress Kushina

Early spring, Konoha Year 50.

Naruto could already play in the village on his own.

And he had quite a lot of playmates; almost all the civilian children liked playing with him.

But whenever Kushina came to pick Naruto up, the adults' faces turned rather ugly.

Kushina's identity as the demon fox really did make those adults feel uneasy.

Because of Minato's sacrifice, Kushina had been described as the incarnation of the Nine-Tails to calm the people's anger, while the role of the hero's son was promoted at the same time.

Kushina had been a ninja to begin with and had rarely interacted with civilians, and publicizing her existence also indirectly protected Naruto, so Kushina had not objected to the Third Hokage's decision. Still, she was a little displeased.

As the widow of the Fourth Hokage, the village's subsidies were truly too meager. And because of her identity and combat power as a Jinchuriki, there were sometimes even missions assigned for her to complete.

With Naruto's existence, in the eyes of the Third Hokage, who valued bonds, Kushina was a perfect tool. Some of the more difficult missions were directly led and completed by Kushina.

Konoha truly lacked high-end combat power. With the Three Ninja absent, the Third Hokage not taking action, and Danzo hidden in the shadows, who else in the current Konoha could carry the burden? Rely on Ino-Shika-Cho? Or the Aburame Clan?

They could not possibly let the Uchiha carry the burden, could they? If that happened, Konoha's whole sky would be overturned.

Oh, right, there was also Orochimaru, but the current Orochimaru was so immersed in human experimentation that he could not pull himself away.

So after searching around, it was instead Kushina the Jinchuriki who had taken on such a role.

Do not say Kushina's combat power was no good. Her combat power might be lacking, but who did Kushina have with her?

When Minato Namikaze and the Anju Chakra Clone went out, basically all of Kushina's mission targets delivered themselves to her doorstep for Kushina to complete the job.

So Kushina now had another name: Nine-Tailed Enchantress Kushina.

It was said that she could directly seduce men into disarming and surrendering on their own, while women wept bitterly and begged for mercy.

Her wicked reputation was practically resounding.

"Mikoto, I'm so wronged!" Kushina complained with a face full of bitter resentment to Mikoto Uchiha, who was as graceful as a Yamato nadeshiko.

She truly felt that this Name of the Nine-Tails Demoness had caused many of her companions to tease her.

Mikoto Uchiha helplessly comforted her best friend.

Outside in the courtyard, Sasuke, who had finally managed to cling to his older brother, looked very displeased at Naruto, who was also following by his older brother's side.

Clearly, because the ninja academy was on break, and in order to keep Naruto from having his fun affected by her influence, Kushina had once again gone to the Uchiha Clan Residence to complain to Mikoto Uchiha about how there had been too many missions lately and how her reputation was suffering.

She had originally been practically a nobody, but ever since the few S-Rank missions the Third Hokage had arranged for her were completed with ease, her reputation had also been greatly publicized.

Then came the endless backlog of S-Rank missions, constantly landing on Kushina Uzumaki's head.

Having discovered a new tool, the Third Hokage squeezed Kushina Uzumaki for all she was worth.

And as Kushina Uzumaki completed missions too quickly, in order to suppress Kushina Uzumaki's prestige, Danzo unhesitatingly arranged for Kushina to bear the title of Nine-Tailed Enchantress.

And the Third Hokage, happy to see it happen, had no intention of clearing Kushina's name either.

After all, Kushina was originally the Jinchuriki sealing the Nine-Tails inside her.

At that moment, a little girl about the same age as Itachi Uchiha appeared at the entrance to the courtyard.

"Itachi, you're taking care of your little brother again?"

"Mm, Izumi."

At that moment, Itachi Uchiha turned back and glanced at Uchiha Izumi. His expression did not change much, but the light in his eyes softened a little.

Then, Uchiha Izumi, having noticed Naruto, also showed a gentle side at just the right moment.

"Oh, we have a guest. Nice to meet you. I'm Uchiha Izumi, Itachi's classmate."

"Hello, big sister. I'm Naruto Namikaze!"

"Hm? What is Lord Fourth to you? No, wait, don't tell me you're Lord Fourth's son!" Uchiha Izumi looked at Naruto in some surprise.

"I am! I'm the Hokage's son, you know!"

Hearing yet another person first react sensitively to his surname, he proudly straightened his little body.

And seeing Naruto's proud expression, Sasuke became very unhappy.

(｀皿′) Hmph!!

"It's not like you're the Fourth Hokage. What are you acting so proud for?"

Sasuke's voice was not loud; only Itachi Uchiha heard it, and Itachi offered no opinion.

"Then is the Nine-Tailed Enchantress, Kushina, your mother?"

"Hm? What's a Nine-Tailed Enchantress?"

Kushina and Anju, who had noticed a little resentment in the courtyard, became alert at the same time.

Naruto also sensed a tiny bit of resentment, but Naruto had long since gotten used to it.

"Who's outside?" Kushina glanced into the courtyard, then turned her gaze toward that little girl.

Mikoto Uchiha looked outside and said, "Izumi, you're here. Come have a cup of tea."

At that moment, Uchiha Izumi also saw the red-haired Kushina in the living room.

She also felt a little like she had misspoken, and her attitude returned to how it had been at first. "Aunt Mikoto."

"This is Kushina Uzumaki, Lord Fourth Generation's wife and Naruto's mother."

Mikoto Uchiha introduced Kushina to Izumi.

Izumi became much more respectful as well.

"Hello, Aunt Kushina."

Then she suddenly seemed to think of something and said, "I heard Aunt Kushina is really strong, and that you're known as the Name of the Nine-Tails Demoness. Is that true?"

Kushina drew her head back. "Oh no, Mikoto, what am I going to do? Even Ninja Academy Students already know about me."

"Kushina, isn't it good to have an impressive title?"

"What's good about it? They've made me sound like some kind of demon."

Kushina was very unhappy. Right now, she felt as if her title could stop children from crying.

Uchiha Izumi then left the living room.

Kushina truly gave her an overwhelming feeling of strength, and that put a lot of pressure on her.

Kushina's first impression of Izumi was not good, after all, she held malice toward Naruto.

Although it was weaker than that of most of the villagers, Kushina would not indulge her. If she harbored malice, then that meant Kushina would not treat her kindly either.

So Kushina had not restrained much of her aura toward her.

As soon as Izumi returned to the courtyard, Sasuke and Naruto immediately latched onto her. It was their first time hearing that Kushina had the title of the Nine-Tails Demoness, and they all started questioning Izumi.

Uchiha Izumi was also very happy to share gossip.

It was just that Itachi was not interested in gossip.

The day passed quickly. Kushina also carried the sleeping Naruto home, while Sasuke had fallen asleep in Mikoto's arms.

Itachi, who was walking Izumi home, asked for the first time what she had come to find him for.

Uchiha Izumi very straightforwardly dragged Itachi Uchiha to the Dango Shop.

"I originally planned to invite you to spar with ninja tools, but you were looking after your little brother. By the time your brother finally fell asleep, it was already dark."

"Since you're not free today, I'll treat you to dango instead."

Itachi, holding a skewer of Three-Color Dango, nodded as well. "Thank you."

Mikoto Uchiha had just seen Kushina off when she saw Uchiha Fugaku return.

"Was that Kushina just now?"

"Yes."

"What a pity about Minato. Otherwise, perhaps the Uchiha and the village could have eased tensions faster."

"Did something happen?"

"Someone complained again today that the Military Police Force used excessive force in law enforcement."

"Doesn't that happen all the time?"

"It's different. This time, someone from the Nara Clan was involved too. In the past, no ninja clan ever openly filed a complaint."

"Lord Hokage should handle it impartially."

"I hope so."