Uzumaki Kushina

[sunshinehistory]

Country/Village: Fire/Whirlpool, Konohagakure
Rank: Jounin, Uzushio Council Member and Founder
Age at Game Start: 39
Birthday: July 10th

Appearance

Look, even her son said she was really pretty. Despite being in her early 40s, she's still looking really good. The Uzumaki clan's longevity really did bless her. Her long hair is still hanging past her waist and bright red like a tomatoooooooo. When her temper peaks, her hair flies out from her head like this. She's got violet-colored eyes, fair skin, 5'4", still on the slim side even after having a kid (keeping up with ninja training and running around on missions helps with that). She's usually found in her mission gear (black cap-sleeve top, black skin-tight capris, standard Konoha-issue Chuunin/Jounin flak vest, Konoha forehead protector/hitai-ate, hair up in a ponytail) when returning to or from Uzushio. Off-time is usually spent in her white blouse and green housedress (around town) or orange shirt and navy capris (at home). She's also got a light blue apron with a pale spiral pattern on the front too if she's been cooking. When she's working in Uzushio, she wears a short-sleeved, pale yellow kimono-style tunic top with a red spiral embroidered on the back (usually hidden by her hair if it's down) and little green leaves embroidered around the edging, a black obi, black skin-tight capris, and lavender shinobi sandals.

Abilities/Powers

Jinchuuriki:
Having had 30* years of practice, she's gained total control over Kurama and been able to make use of his abilities and vast reserves of chakra. Even if their relationship could be described as not fabulous, since she's still not terribly fond of him, and there's no love lost on Kurama's end either. Hell, she still calls him Kyuubi after all these years, but that's more because she never asked his real name and he never bothered telling her.

(*Let's say she was eight when he was sealed in her, they've been together about 30 years at this point. It's a long-term committed relationship by now, okay?)

Her status as the jinchuuriki is mostly secret, kept on a need-to-know basis. Currently, the only ones who are in the know (that she's told willingly or were informed for... reasons) are Minato Namikaze, Naruto Uzumaki, Obito Uchiha, Kakashi Hatake, Rin Nohara, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Biwako Sarutobi, the Uzushio council, and several ANBU under Minato's and Hiruzen's personal control (given none of the aforementioned have kicked the bucket). Kumogakure probably still has her identity on file since they tried (and failed) to kidnap her when she was... let's go with 10. Hey, gotta keep tabs on the new neighbors too, right? And in canon, the Fourth Raikage knew exactly who she was too (by name!) in canon. This is subject to change if anyone happens to witness her using the Kyuubi's abilities in a fight or if it comes up in diplomatic meetings where every country has to share their jinchuuriki or something. TEAL DEER like I said, need-to-know basis (sort of).

Being the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki also comes with the following abilities.

Healing:
As the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki, Kushina has its special healing abilities, meaning she rarely ever gets sick. Even if she does, she's not down for long. Injuries, both minor and major, have a massively reduced healing time. Small cuts fade to nothing within an hour. Injuries that knock most people into the hospital for a week would likely be taken care of within a couple days. Chakra use-related exhaustion is fixed after a long night's sleep.

Bijuu-dama/Tailed Beast Bomb:
Really, where did you think Minato got the idea for the Rasengan? Since it was influenced by the Bijuu-dama, it makes sense that he would've seen a Jinchuuriki using it. And the Jinchuuriki he's closest to? Bingo! His wife. (I subscribe to the headcanon that one day Kushina was like "HEY MINATO CHECK THIS OUT" /BIJUU-DAMA)

Chakra Shroud:
Given the nature of her chakra, it's likely she was able to dip into Kurama's chakra at will. If she wanted, she could drag out enough to intentionally activate the chakra shroud... thing (as displayed by both Naruto and an Edo Tensei Minato during the fight against Obito and Madara). Best part is, she has control over her actions while in this mode. This mode doesn't seem to leave any kind of chakra burns on the skin. Best way I can think to describe it is Super Saiyan Bijuu Mode. This, she doesn't tend to use a lot because she hasn't had the need (currently no huge war going on) or desire to do so.

Ninjutsu:
Since she hasn't died, Kushina's had a lot more practice. But she still kinda sucks at it, when compared to other Jounin. Her chakra's naturally attuned to water, and as is typical of Jounin, she's had practice with other elements and wind became her secondary element. (Very useful for playing with sharp objects.) Also, in exchange for teaching Obito some basic water ninjutsu, he taught (or attempted to teach) her some basic fire ninjutsu, out of which only one of them (the Grand Fireball) stuck.

Even though she's had some patient teachers-- even if she isn't-- for what small handful of techniques she's learned, she usually doesn't bother with ninjutsu if she can help it. But as mentioned above, she (like most other Jounin) has mastered the kage bunshin/shadow clone. Having inherited the Uzumaki Giant Chakra Reserve (TM) and the Kyuubi's chakra to draw on, she (much like her son in canon) can summon up a giant clone army. Or, her true preferred use, have one clone take her place to extend her trips in Konoha. Her assistant knows but doesn't say anything, since it's easier to go along with Kushina's schemes than to argue them. Besides, how can you argue with someone who just wants one more day with her family in a different country?

Yin Release:
Whether or not she's aware of the proper term, she does have abilities based in this release form with the special chakra she was born with. Most notable are her chakra chains which can be used within her subconscious or materialize in the real world to bind opponents, form impenetrable barriers, or do both at the same time.

Fuiinjutsu/Seals:
Just like canon, she's continued teaching Minato her clan's seals. By this point in time, she's been practicing even more and become a master of the art. One she prays he never has to use is the Shiki Fuujin/Dead Demon Consuming Seal. It's also the one seal she adamantly refuses to teach anyone (besides Minato who already knows it) because of the high price attached to it. A scenario where she does teach someone the method to it is extremely rare and highly unlikely to happen in the game unless some dire emergency arises. All other seals, she's more or less willing to teach interested parties on a case-by-case basis. She's also partially responsible for the travel seals. You're welcome.

Weaponry:
She's definitely a force to be reckoned with when it comes to kunai, shuriken, swords, and most hand held weapons available to her. Since her ninjutsu more or less sucks and she'd rather not have to go into bijuu-mode anytime she wants to attack at anything besides close range, she's developed a lot of skill in weapons that can increase her range. Keeping some wires on hand helps too, and she can usually be counted on to carry some explosive notes. However, she hasn't gotten to the point of pulling a Tenten and fighting with a giant arsenal sealed in scrolls. ...Yet. Just some of the big stuff.

Personality

One of Kushina's most lasting traits since she was a kid has been her temper. She has a tendency to fly off the handle when offended or teased heavily. When she was younger, she was teased and called "Tomato" by her new classmates because of her round face and bright red hair. But after she started beating her tormentors half to death, they started calling her the "Red Hot-Blooded Habanero" instead. Even as she grew older and her disposition became a bit calmer, she's still prone to falling victim to her temper as shown when she punches Naruto for accusing her (the second time) of being the Kyuubi in disguise. (This meeting was made possible by her chakra that Minato included in the Eight Sign Seal he performed to seal the Kyuubi inside Naruto.) On this point, it can also be seen that her temper comes with a violent streak too.

As she was dying with Minato, she mentioned that losing the argument to seal half of the Kyuubi's power inside Naruto was the first argument she ever lost. Given that and her fiery temper, it's not far out of the realm of possibility that Kushina's gotten in a fair number of arguments, even as an adult. And it's probably because of her temper that she won so many of them too. Though she does have a bit of stubborn streak, just like her son, which may also attribute to her number of won arguments. Though some may call it strong determination, it's just being downright stubborn and dressing it up in prettier/more positive tones. Beyond that, the databook says her favorite phrase is "Don't give up until the very end", which backs up this particular personality trait. (Not sure about the translation on that since I don't really know Japanese, but it's what her wiki page says, so I'll go with it.)

Despite this and her past as the Kyuubi's host-- or Jinchuuriki, as the host of any tailed beast is called-- she has managed to live a life filled with love. This led her to be a mostly cheerful person when no one's pissing her off. This can be seen in a lot of her interactions with others in the village as an adult, especially Minato. Kushina honestly cares about those closest to her too, especially her family. And with all that care and love comes her defensive side. If those she loves the most are threatened, she won't hesitate to protect them, best seen when she (along with Minato) gets between her newborn son and one of the Kyuubi's longest claws. Granted, she knew she'd be dying soon anyway, but she still used up a lot of her quickly-draining energy to keep Naruto from becoming a tiny shish kabob.

In general, she comes off as brave and fearless. That's not to say Kushina doesn't have concerns, they just don't come out as much in front of other people. Now if her son, husband, or a very close friend vanished without a trace (when they're not noted to be on a mission or something), then she might show some traces of her anxiety. But beyond that, she'll keep that side hidden to those closest to her, but still try and put up that strong front so as not to worry anyone.

She does have a playful side too. She can be a bit of a prankster and a troll, backed up by word from one of the databooks with some canon evidence too. For example, Kushina sees no problem in making her son guess who she is without any real hints beyond one or two subtle-ish ones. Just like with her temper, she has no objection to teasing those close to her. Like Obito, if she catches him outside of his office. And since Uzushio treats outsiders with caution, the locals have a habit of giving vague directions until she catches them at it and steps in. If the messenger looking for her doesn't recognize her, she has a habit of telling them she'll show them where to find Kushina, before bringing them right to her office and asking what they want. A few gullible Genin and Chuunin have likely fallen for this...

Kushina also has a tendency to talk fast and a lot, marking her as a massive chatterbox. As a result, she has a verbal tic like Naruto's. In the original Japanese it comes out as (da)ttebane, and is generally translated to "y'know/ya know" in English. Both turn up at the end of her sentences, but mostly when she's excited, agitated, flustered, or experiencing some other heightened emotion. In her chakra-based meeting with Naruto (in canon), she told Naruto she was trying to cut back on how often she said it, but it doesn't always work.

Under the right circumstances, she can also be a bit selfish too. This really only came up as she was dying and Minato told her of his plan to seal half of the Kyuubi's power in him and the other half inside Naruto. She had been fully prepared to take the whole thing down with her and let her son and husband live on into a future where the Kyuubi could return at some unknown point. Kushina yelled and argued that he should just leave their son as he was right then. Not wanting him to bear the huge burden she had taken on as a child. Not wanting him to be without any parents as he grew up.

On a side note, even though the movie she was in (Road to Ninja) took place in an alternate universe, her personality was mostly intact from her canon version. A few details were off (such as placing more value in protecting her family than the village), but most of the main parts had she and Minato survived still held true. Examples include how she would willingly put herself in harm's way to protect her son (defending those she loves most), getting furious/violent with Naruto when he disobeyed her (her nickname, Red Hot-Blooded Habanero, even stayed the same...), and teasing him about Sakura (her trolling side coming out there). With the second note there in mind, it really isn't much of a stretch to say that she would've been the harder-hitting disciplinarian between her and Minato, had they both lived on.

History

OKAY. So everything remains exactly the same right up until the divergence of Obito not getting squished. Huzzah! Roughly, everything's similar for a while longer with exceptions of no more of Minato's team dying And most importantly (for this particular history), no Kyuubi extraction soon after Naruto was born. Unfortunately, he was still born in a cave... Which sucked. One of several reasons that I won't go into why Naruto's an only child, even though she honestly wouldn't mind at least one more. Over the years, she's insisted that Minato's team were always welcome for dinner, even after Naruto came into the picture. And she would often give them cooking lessons too, especially Obito, because they sure as hell weren't gonna just sit around and wait for dinner to finish if they expected to eat.

Kushina got her wish to watch Naruto grow up... Sort of. She resumed occasional low-rank missions once Naruto could drink out of a bottle and higher-ranked ones when he could eat mushed foods. But between her missions and Minato running the village meant babysitting Naruto became a possible D-Rank mission. There were times Kushina even joked that it should be A or S-rank instead. Some Genin teams who got the job around that time may have been inclined to agree. Especially when Naruto happened to up and vanish on them. Because how do you explain to Yondaime or his terrifying wife that you lost their only son? That's right, you can't.

Kushina also stayed close friends with Mikoto Uchiha, so she's at least known Itachi and Sasuke from when they were tiny. Sasuke she knows slightly better, though. Primarily because since Naruto was born a couple months after Sasuke, she and Mikoto had agreed on play dates. Lots and lots of play dates, hoping the boys would become good friends. Oops.

By the time Naruto was five, she accepted her biggest mission since becoming Konoha's jinchuuriki: a diplomatic envoy to war-torn Amegakure for trade negotiations. Her three-man squad was turned away at the country borders, so she turned them back to report in before declaring she'd go back until they'd let her in. Her teammates had to hold her back from attacking the guard the first time, and on their return home, Minato did plead with her to keep her cool and not start anything next time, to which she agreed. This pattern of demanding entry and going home with no results continued for two years. Finally fed-up with being diplomatic and polite, a very furious Kushina broke off from her teammates and attempted to force her way across the border. Like hell was she going to take an indirect "no" quietly anymore. This went about as well as you can imagine. After a short skirmish, she was quickly outnumbered, overpowered, aprehended and escorted by a group of silent, armed guards to the village leader. Much to her surprise, the village leader that she was brought to bore the signature Uzumaki red hair. Since moving to Konoha, it was her first "holy crap there's actually more Uzumakis alive in the world" moment. It still took another day or two before trade negotiations actually began and a few more before her teammates (who had dithered for a bit before reluctantly returning to report the incident to the Hokage then immediately sent back to retrieve her no matter what... probably the only time almost anyone ever saw him come close to losing his cool) were allowed in after her. But it was definitely worth the wait since this time she had succeeded getting into Amegakure. And her reception was noticeably warmer the next time she met with Nagato. Even now in Uzushio, she sends him the occasional message, asking about his health, how things are going for him, etc.

Another two years of on-and-off negotiations with the leadership proved fruitful in her birthday month when Amegakure finally agreed to open up to outside trade. In the middle of this, it got Kushina to thinking: "Amegakure's building up from being so war-torn, why can't I do the something similar for Uzushiogakure?" She spent a few years thinking about what would be necessary, talking her plan over with Minato, traveling out to the site of the ruins occasionally for inspiration. She even went to around the Land of Fire putting out word for the chance of her scattered clan to be able to reunite in their ancestral homelands. Two months before her 38th birthday, she had gathered up enough clan members, "outside" help, and funding to start. So with the Hokage's approval to take an extended leave of duty, she set off. But a lot of her time was soon spent away from her family.

Sure Minato was busy with Hokage stuff and Naruto had been in the academy at this point, but she missed them terribly. When she made the trek back to Konoha to spend her birthday with her family, Minato told her about an idea that he'd probably been building on since the big five nations had settled a treaty: special seals to enable faster travel between allied villages and lands, not unlike those that allowed him to use his Hiraishin/Flying Thunder God technique. Working together, they managed to create the first functional Travel Seals and had them set up by November of the same year in each of the main five hidden villages. A few more had been set up within the country borders for friendly countries, the Land of Whirlpools among the first. (Being the Hokage's wife meant some deals were easier to make.) Now Kushina could relax knowing she could commute between her family and her new work in about half a day instead of nearly three, allowing her to return to Konoha more frequently. But it was still easier to keep an apartment nearby in case any emergencies cropped up overnight, which sometimes they had. Still, sometimes she likes having the longer trip to give her mind time to shove out all the political stuff and get some exercise in. On those occasions, she'll sometimes send a shadow clone by travel seal a day in advance or leave one behind the day before she's supposed to leave.

She also has an office in Uzushio's new administrative building. The building on the whole sits near the sea, and her office in particular has tall windows with a great view of the water and the ruins of the old village. Sometimes if she doesn't feel like using the stairs, she'll just jump out the window for the next building, much to the council's assistants exasperation. Her office set-up is pretty basic. Bookshelves line two walls, crammed with various books, scrolls, and boxes. On her desk, several framed pictures of her family and both Minato's and Naruto's teams face her seat and trays for incoming and outgoing paperwork sits off to the side. Behind her desk are two small hanging wall scrolls. One with the Uzumaki Clan's signature spiral, the other a unique seal kunai not included. Tacked up between the scrolls is an Uzushio hitai-ate, given to her when they actually had the beginning of a shinobi force. Sure she wasn't raised and trained to be an Uzushio shinobi by their system, but she was the one to start the rebuilding process.

In the months that followed, when teams were being assigned for academy graduates, she half-jokingly suggested Obito get Naruto. He'd already been in and out of the Namikaze-Uzumaki house a lot over the years, why not give Naruto a sensei they knew could handle an Uzumaki? Wouldn't you know it, it actually happened. Obito had Naruto as a student, along with Hinata Hyuuga and Sasuke Uchiha, both of whom Kushina approves of, even if she'd love to get to know Hinata a little better. And since Obito apparently has a tendency to throw Sasuke at some of his friends, he threw Sasuke at Kushina for weapons training a few times. And boy did she ever let him have it. Hardcore training sessions get. She's also extended the invitation to Hinata for when she's in town for more than a couple days.

Her relation with the other council members is rather odd. She gets along with them for the most part, but they stand at one point of contention. Since founding the new village, she has refused to take permanent leadership, despite the council constantly telling her she might as well do it since... she kinda does run the village at the moment. However, she has several reasons for her refusal. One, she still considers herself a Konoha shinobi. It's where she spent most of her life to this point, it's where her son and husband are, it's where a lot of her friends are. She can't just make her family up and relocate to where her clan's originally from. Sure she could probably force or bully them into it, but she loves her family too much to drive such a wedge between them and her. Second, Minato's retirement from the Hokage position the fall after Naruto's graduation to Genin was a sign to her that their generation had to start handing the leadership to the younger generation. And at 43, she's not going to be getting any younger. If she's perfectly honest, she'd love to see Naruto take over in her stead, but something tells her it's not his can of beans, which is a bit disappointing to her. She understands, however, that he doesn't have the same ties to Uzushio that she does. So she's keeping her eyes peeled among the returning Uzumakis, families of those who used to reside in Uzushio, and even new villagers looking to make their living there for someone to take control. She's promised to stay with the council and act as the leader for as long as necessary, but has made it perfectly clear if anyone with the drive, initiative, and desire that proves themselves trustworthy shows up, she will gladly hand over the village's reins. And once they're properly trained up, she intends to return to Konoha and resume normal active duty if she's not needed as a permanent member on the council or so old her reflexes aren't as sharp as they should be.

Despite being on leave, when Minato retired, Kushina returned voluntarily to Konoha for Obito's inauguration to stand with the other jounin as she had at Minato's. And also to renew her request for her long-term leave (because politics suck, especially as a jinchuuriki). It was a pleasant development to come home to after a couple months in the new site of Uzushio, despite the lone fly in the ointment. Despite Obito's promotion to Hokage, she still takes every opportunity to tease him. Poking him if he's asked Rin or some other girl out yet, making sure he hasn't burned down any kitchens recently (even though she knows he's had a lot more practice), etc. A few hours into Obito taking office, Kushina marched up to him and reinstated her request to stay off-duty from Konoha missions and continue living between Uzushio and Konoha. As sad as it makes her to be away from her family, the rebuilding effort requires a lot of her time, energy, and supervision. Still, Minato sometimes comes out to visit when he can get some free time. Even then he usually ends up helping her with making sure the fledgling village runs smoothly since sitting around doing nothing isn't something he can do for too long. Plus it's more time they spend together. So what time she can steal in Konoha, she does. Sometimes visits get cut short if something urgent comes up, but once in a while she puts her foot down because she needs a vacation and time with her friends and family in Konoha. The last time she was in Konoha (by the time this app was written) would've been for Minato's birthday and stayed until the end of the month, and she's gunning for another trip for some time in March.

However, she does try and tour Uzushio once in a while to keep up on new places being built, completed projects, and checking in with whoever's on gate duty for new arrivals and departures. (Sure she could send someone to do it for her, but she needs that short break. And getting familiar with the sights helps a lot.) Besides the administrative building, where Kushina and the rest of the council keep their offices, there's several more buildings. The academy, for training the children in the village the basics of becoming an Uzushio shinobi. Basic skills taught are kunai and shuriken throwing, swordplay, basic survival skills, walking on water, and sealing. If they can't master walking on water, they aren't allowed to touch anything to do with seals. Kushina originally voted for the final exam for academy students to walk across the water to the old village and retrieve an item located within a seal, unseal it, and bring it back. She was voted down by the others, but her idea was shelved in case proving a student could seal a small object or had talent in wielding swords wasn't showing any results when they get sent off on missions (in or out of the village) or even to the Chuunin exams in the future. On a cliff, there's a lighthouse being built. On completion, it will be run by civilians, but shinobi will be based in a small building next door as guards keeping watch in case of any unfriendly advances from the sea. (Can't be too careful.)

About 10 minutes walking distance from the academy, there's the library and Uzumaki clan scroll archives all in one. The building is one of the largest ones and only completed two months before the game started. It was also one of the first in the village to have work started on when plans to rebuild first hit the table. The main room on entering is the biggest. While many spots on the shelves are empty, there are books coming in from all over the world a few at a time. Several reading rooms hold unusual scrolls of varying importance to Uzushio's history or stories of the founding Uzumaki clan. A couple of the rooms, such as those with old sealwork from the village's early days-- and even beyond that-- are under shinobi guard. Sure they may be visible to the public, but only those that have been deciphered by the small code team. There are other rooms underground where a small code team works to restore and decrypt old documents salvaged from the ruins or even old seal texts from the early days of the clan that were either found in the old village or brought in by clan members from other villages as they trickle in. Surrounding the landlocked sides of the village is a wall, only broken by two gates on opposite ends.

After a lot of thought, the Uzumaki Clan's mask storage temple was set to move soon after Uzushio's restoration. Its new location is still under construction, located not too far from the travel seal closest to Uzushio, but within the Land of Whirlpools' border. On its completion in who knows how long, Kushina and the rest of the council will offer a B-Rank (or even A-rank) mission for Uzushio and Konoha shinobi alike to help transport the masks to their new home. The mission gets such a high ranking because one of the masks is related to the dreaded Shiki Fuujin seal (not that she'll allow that particular piece of information to be disclosed to anyone beyond the council, her husband, and the Hokage), and if anything to happens to any of the masks during transport, there will likely be a bunch of furious Uzumaki and one outraged jinchuuriki.

Just on the outskirts of the village, Kushina was granted permission from both the Fourth and Fifth Hokages to borrow (and continue borrowing) some Konoha ANBU to train up a small force of their own. These ANBU-in-training are primarily those who used to live in Uzushio and have sworn their loyalty to the village. She checks in on them every few weeks to see how their training is going. Soon she may start using them to train other newcomers wishing to join up.

Around the village are a few dozen or so apartment buildings, scattered houses, civilian businesses (usually with apartments over them), restaurants, some inns, and fast food carts. More buildings are under construction every day for residences and businesses, so the amount of construction work for both civilians and shinobi seems to be never-ending. In the beginning, Kushina could even be found helping out with some of the heavy lifting too, until administrative duties started monopolizing a vast majority her time.