Mito Uzumaki is a vague character that is barely mentioned in the manga and the anime, but plays the big part of marrying the First Hokage and becoming the kyuubi's first jinchuriki.

I want to write a story about her, centering on her relationships to Hashirama and Madara, her growth in becoming a powerful shinobi able of holding Kurama through childbirth, and a powerful person becoming a strong figure in Konoha.

I start off slowly, but just to add in effect.

I don't own Naruto.

Thank you for taking your time to read! :)

"Come, child. Come sit next to me."

The soft, patient voice of the old woman soothed Kushina's crazed nerves. Kushina breathed in deeply, trying to calm down her beating heart. She was just brought into this strange room by a couple shinobi, and they left her with this old woman after closing the doors behind them. What is going to happen to me? Why is this happening to me?

"Kushina, my dear. It's alright." The kind, old woman said, making the young girl look up at the older woman's reassuring smile. Kushina slowly walked over to the bed the woman was sitting on, the room a nice temperature with the afternoon sun shining through the window and the fresh scent of the flowers sitting on the desk casting the bedroom into a comfortable setting. The older woman smiled again at Kushina, her smile deep and sincere and her kind, wrinkly eyes emitting a profound calmness that helped her settle down.

"Who are you?" Kushina asked the woman as she sat down on the soft sheets next to her.

"I am Mito. Mito Uzumaki," she replied, and Kushina's eyes rose. Uzumaki? Like me? The older woman seemed to read her expression and replied.

"Yes, we come from the same clan, Kushina. We have many similar powers and strengths, and that is why you are here with me today."

Kushina watched the older woman with wide eyes, not believing she was meeting someone from her family.

"But why am I here, Mito-san?" Kushina inquired, desperate to know why she was taken from her house and brought here before this stranger. She watched the older woman close her eyes and her expression take on a thoughtful tone before opening them again to smile down at her.

"Just call me Mito. And well, I have spent the majority of my life serving our village in a unique way. I carry a burden, and it is a burden only one person can carry at a time." She looked out the window at the trees being swayed by the wind and the sun catching on the leaves, her eyes seeing something beyond the trees and the clouds. "I am getting old, however, and the time has come for me to pass this duty on to a younger shinobi."

Kushina blinked at Mito, realizing she would be the one to have to carry this burden.

"And I have to take on this burden?" Kushina's brows came together, her worry displaying itself on her face. Mito looked back at her and focused her old eyes on her, her expression full of understanding.

"Burdens are always heavy for the individual having to carry it. However, I believe this burden has done more good for me than bad. I have learned more from this duty than any sensei could teach me," Mito told the young girl, and Kushina looked up at her with surprise at the old woman's strong resolve. Kushina saw a strength in the old woman's eyes, but also something else, something that seemed to balance and soften it. Mito continued.

"I was entrusted with this burden by my husband, the First Hokage, many, many years ago. This duty has been a way for me to serve our village, our home." She lightly placed her hand on Kushina's cheek, her smile genuine and her face content. "Believe it or not my dear, I am happy I was able to take this burden."

Kushina smiled slightly at the calm old woman, not really understanding what she meant but knowing Mito spoke with honesty. How would she be happy to take on a burden for so long?

"Mito, why would you be happy to have a burden?" Kushina spoke her mind, and Mito looked off into the distance again. She sighed deeply, but it wasn't a tired sigh like older people usually have, but rather a thoughtful sigh, one that encompassed decades of feelings and emotions and experiences that no one younger than her could completely comprehend. She looked down at Kushina, the older woman's dark eyes holding a younger energy.

"I can tell you, but it's a bit of a long story. I'm quite old, dear." Kushina smiled, taking a liking to this woman. She nodded and settled next to her old relative, Mito's expression showing excitement.

"Well, I will start from the beginning."

Mito Uzumaki, former lady of Uzushiogakure, leaned against a tree to catch her breath. The sun was setting; the millions of leaves on the trees in this area causing a loud wave of rustling that reminded her of the waves back home. The dying sunlight was barely offering her any light, the multitude of trees in this never-ending forest acting like a wall and blocking the rays of light from the sun near the horizon. Mito looked up into the sky, catching glimpses of the clear, cloudless darkening blue through the openings in the trees' moving canopy. She sighed in relief, a slight tension in her stomach dispersing.

Good. It won't rain tonight.

Mito bent down to grab the dead rabbit she had caught an hour or so ago, silently measuring its size and determining how much meat she could get off of it. She felt around the dead carcass, her small fingers brushing against the soft brown fur.

Should be enough for a meal. I also have some berries I found this morning back by that lake.

Mito looked to the sky once more to gauge how long before it was dark enough for a fire. Knowing she had about half an hour left of this dim light, she began looking around for dry sticks and branches to keep a fire. The area she was in was surrounded closely by these tall trees and would offer her a cover for her to sleep in tonight.

Before long, she had accumulated enough branches to have a fire last for a while, and she set up a spit where she could cook the rabbit with practiced hands. She paused and looked at her hands for a moment, seeing and feeling the newly formed calluses and scars she had earned from her time away from home. Her once pale, slim hands had gained a certain roughness from her survival lifestyle, and the rest of her body had changed like this as well.

Well it wasn't like my fairness and my beauty would feed me when I got hungry.

Mito took out her knife and fit it into the center of the rabbit's chest, preparing to skin the animal. Her fingers moved with ease, these actions now regular to her after so long living in this manner. She smiled slightly.

What would my father say now?

Her thoughts went back to her previous life as her hands continued skinning the animal on their own accord, no longer needing any assistance. Her mind was filled with images of her beautiful village, the sun shining a thousand sparkles on the waves and the water lapping along the houses in a lazy way. She saw herself, her long red hair tied in her two buns, her poise dignified and proud of her powerful family. She used to wear such beautiful clothing, the fabrics brought from foreign lands and the patterns so colorful, always earning her compliments from the other villagers.

I don't even want to know what I look like now.

Mito sighed at her vanity, blaming her past and how she was brought up to put so much care into her appearance. The first month of her travel was painful; having to subject herself to a much harder and scarier lifestyle than the one she had left. She had had to learn to deal with dirt and grime getting everywhere and sleeping on the ground, and killing animals and cleaning them to be able to fill her always empty stomach. The ninja skills that had been passed down to her had helped immensely in survival and had helped keep her from having much trouble with other people.

These times were hard. So many people had died from the war, including people from her clan. The war was technically over now, but that really didn't mean anything. Everyone was still against each other, and Mito had to watch her back since the day she had left her village.

She finished cleaning the animal and she fixed it over the fire pit to cook. With a small fire jutsu, she lit the fire and soon had it blazing. She stuck her hand in her bag to fish out a small scroll that she kept her cooking materials in. She unrolled the scroll a bit and found the sign that had her spices sealed. After building up a small bit of chakra, she released them from their scroll in a puff of smoke, feeling the almost negligible cost of chakra from the summoning.

My clan's fuinjutsu sure has been handy.

Mito used her spices and herbs to flavor the cooking meat, the smell making her mouth water and her empty stomach rumble. She unrolled her scroll some more to reveal the seal that held her bedroll, and she set up the sheets next to a tree, close to the fire. She settled on the sheets to wait for the meat to cook, leaning against the rough bark of the tree, and began to think about what she would do in the morning.

I am a few hours away from the village said to be hidden in the trees.

Mito ran her hand through her soft hair, feeling how short and light it was. A couple weeks ago, she had had an encounter at a small inn she was staying at. The innkeepers were a kind old couple, trying to make a living by renting out rooms in their large cottage and cooking meals for their guests. After getting to know them, Mito had found out their children had all died fighting in the war. Their situation was much like many old couples' throughout the land, but where there are good people, there also exists bad people.

A group of three men were staying in a room at the same time Mito was renting one. She could tell from the moment she laid her eyes on them that they were nasty men, horrible people. They gave the innkeepers trouble, and even went so far as to demand a large discount because they were 'soldiers' returning home from the war. When they saw her, they looked at her like she was a piece of meat, their narrow eyes glinting with malice. She naively thought they would leave her alone since she was only staying for one more night, and she was rarely bothered by people of a lower class and status than her.

She awoke in the middle of the night from a rough hand shoving a gag into her mouth and another heavy hand grabbing her neck roughly, holding her down. She had screamed a muffled cry when another man had cut her dress and her underwear apart with a sharp knife, cutting her along the way and leaving her with scars she still had along her stomach, hips, and thighs. She had felt so exposed, so vulnerable, and so dirty under the evil hands of the men. She remembered the smell of her blood mixing with the dirty, masculine scent of her attackers, their evil eyes watching her with a sick sense of enjoyment as she struggled under their hold. One man had grabbed a fistful of her hair, his other hand chopping a large portion off with his own knife after mentioning how much money they could get from selling a redhead. He then had ripped open her travel bags, in search of the money nobles always had with them.

She barely remembered cutting one of her attacker's throats with a quick slice of medical ninjutsu, the muscles and veins slicing apart under her hand in her hasty instinct to defend herself. She remembered everything being covered in blood, and she used her free hand to grab a kunai from under her pillow and throw it towards the other man with the knife, hitting him in the chest and making him fall back. She remembered her heart beating frantically in fear, her breath coming faster than ever before as she watched the third man flee from the room.

That was her first time killing anyone, and it had shocked her hard. After the innkeepers had apologized a hundred times and had cleaned up the mess in the room, she had stayed with them for another week or so to recover from her shock. The old woman had burned her ruined dress and had given her some pants and shorts that had belonged to her late sons. The old man had suggested wearing a disguise to hide her wealthy and fair appearance to avoid any more occurrences of this matter. Mito had at first dismissed the idea, her pride too strong to lessen her appearance, even for her own safety. She had told the old couple about her situation, how she had left her wealthy family under certain circumstances. They convinced her that she no longer had her wealthy status to hide behind, and she eventually learned how to walk around without make-up and her ruined hair unstyled, and she learned how to wear boy's clothes. Having a wealthy appearance without the money or security that usually comes with it is a dangerous lifestyle.

Mito was having a hard time sleeping after the incident, and she realized she never wanted to experience that again. She hated conflict like that, and she had experienced this abuse a couple of times back home as well as in the cottage. Abuse from a man was the reason she had left her home and her status. She eventually decided to cut off all of her hair and take on the appearance of a boy. She had recently turned of age, 18, but with her new appearance, she resembled a 15 or 16 year old boy.

Cutting off her long and beautiful hair and completely abandoning her blossoming, womanly figure had been extremely hard for her. The old woman had understood, but she convinced her that hair always grows back and for the time being, it was more logical for her to appear as the status she was now; common and poor. Mito had abandoned her shallow pride when she had held a kunai to her scalp to replace it with a new hope of a new future where she didn't have to live under the pressure of being beautiful.

Mito sighed as she continued to play with her shaggy hair, the once inch short strands all gaining a couple inches over time where her bangs hung in her face and the rest of her hair stuck up in a messy style worn by a boy. She had refrained from grooming it, knowing her longer bangs would help cover her feminine eyes and the violet diamond in the center of her forehead that held her strength of a hundred seal.

At least it's still as soft as it was when it was long. Mito twirled her finger on a strand to the side of her right eye, the nervous tick becoming a habit whenever she tried to stop fussing over her appearance.

I'm living as a boy now. All I want is to find a little job and live somewhere alone, peacefully.

Mito closed her eyes and smiled at the thought, of being able to pursue her art hobbies alone, without the pressure of a clan or the pressure of being a shinobi or the pressure of being married.

And not just married, but married to whomever your father damn well pleases at the moment.

Mito glared at the fire, trying to stop her thinking right then and there, knowing this track only led to her anger. She instead breathed in deeply and listened to the crackling of the fire, the flames dancing in the dark to their unique music of crackles and pops. The flames were forever moving, never resting in the same position, and it made her think of herself. The thought was oddly comforting, and she smiled at herself as she got up to see if the meat was done.

She ate quickly, wanting to get to sleep early so she would have an early start in finding the Hidden Village. She was lucky that she was talented in sensing others' chakras from far away and with a certain degree of clarity. She should be able to sense an entire village from a few hours away.

The meat was filling, and the sweet berries she had found balanced out the meal and left her feeling satisfied, her stomach no longer rumbling. She clenched the fire and threw dirt over the pit, the world now completely dark and ominous, making Mito feel alone. She snuggled into her sheets and closed her eyes, calming her mind and convincing herself she needed to sleep now.

Tomorrow, I will start a new life.

Stop fussing. That's not what a boy would do.

Mito forced her hands to stop fussing with her messy hair and breathed in deeply as she stood on a cliff overlooking a large collection of buildings, in the shadow of a large mountain. Everywhere was covered in green, from the dark leaves of the old trees to the bright green of the top leaves shining under the sun. It was a cloudless sky, the warm heat feeling comfortable with the slight breeze that caressed her body. She could imagine setting up an easel here and spending hours painting the beautiful landscape.

Soon. First, I need to find a job and find somewhere to rent.

She set off downhill towards the clump of buildings, wondering where to start. From her little knowledge of this new village, the government system was new and unfinished and the process of finding a job was private. She would have to approach private business owners personally and ask for a job.

With my status now, a parentless, clanless, moneyless young boy, I would only be able to apply for the lowest of jobs.

Mito cringed at the thought of cleaning dishes or serving others and referring to them as Lord or Lady or sir and ma'am. She grew up never having to cook a meal or clean her room, but she knew now that that lifestyle had only led to dependence on others and an unappreciation for life. She clenched her hands as she approached a group of buildings and mentally smacked herself.

I am in no place to be picky. I chose to leave the life of luxury, now I must accept this life and play by the rules. I'm starting low, but I will build myself up.

She nodded to herself from her determination. This life will be better than the last. I will make it better.

She entered the clump of buildings and walked among the people here, noting the relaxed style of dress among the villagers that matched their easy-going expressions. People would talk lightly next to shops, and vendors would call out to people walking by to tell them of their sales. Mito entered a sort of market and she stopped short as a group of young children ran past, their smiles wide and their young eyes filled with energy and delight. The parents close by would call to their kids to be careful and then turn back to their friends, everyone in the area completely at ease with their neighbors. The sight and feeling made Mito smile, the rumors of peace that was said about this newly formed village holding true and releasing some tension from her tense stomach.

Mito looked around for a while, and quickly analyzed the structure of the market. The more established restaurants and stores are grouped closer to the mountain bordering the village, and the smaller businesses are scattered along the edge. She could tell this by watching the people who entered and left from the buildings, how they talked to each other and how they would regard her, a small, dirty, and travel-worn boy. Mito felt that she wouldn't have much luck at the cleaner and bigger stores, so she set off away from the stone mountain in search for 'hiring' signs on windows of some smaller stores.

I can improve my appearance once I have a place to live. Then I can use the money I will gain from one of these small jobs to work my way higher.

Mito spent the next few hours scouring the countryside, visiting all of the little stores and asking if they had a position to hire. She quickly found her problem was the shop owners couldn't afford to hire another worker. Almost all of them needed more workers, but the economy of these smaller businesses was suffering.

It seems that these people are the ones indirectly paying for this newly found peace. Peace among hundreds of people is wonderful to achieve, but it always comes at a price.

Mito at last found one small bar on the outer edge of the village, the small and run-down place barely holding up next to a local cemetery. The shopkeeper was a single old man, his squinted eyes bloodshot from too much alcohol and his beer belly assaulting his belt. The man had a stench that you could smell from ten feet away, and his judgmental eyes would bore into yours in search for something he could take and use to better his own life.

He was a dirty man, but he was a hiring dirty man. Seeing the state that the poorer people of the village were in made Mito want to approach whoever was running this village and give them a stern but polite complaint.

Not yet. I need to establish a life here first to have any credit.

The man had taken one look at the small boy that Mito lived as and his eyes filled with a plotting light.

"Sir, I see you have a hiring sign. I would like to apply for whatever job you are offering," Mito said politely, letting her voice lower a degree to sound less feminine. She met the bloodshot eyes of the dirty man and watched as his expression turned sour into a scowl.

"I am, boy. I need a server to bring out food and clean the tables." He looked down on Mito with his judging eyes, eyeing her ragged clothing with a sense of ironic distaste. Mito looked back at him, and that act alone of keeping eye contact with who she was speaking to turned a switch in him and let out a nasty side.

"Who do you think you are, looking at me like that? Know your place, fool."

Mito blinked at him and his uncalled for offense, understanding quickly that keeping eye contact of someone of a higher status than you is seen as offensive or outright inconsiderate.

The maids and the butlers back home would never keep eye contact with me longer than a few seconds, as a sign of respect. I guess that is what is expected of me here.

Mito blinked again and bowed her head, realizing this was another rule to the game she was playing. She bowed slightly to the dirty man, knowing that this was the first job opportunity to pop up in hours and that this was the first step to setting up a new life.

"I am sorry, sir. I am quite hungry. I am very willing and eager to work whatever job you could offer." Mito kept her eyes down, the feeling uncommon, and unpleasant.

This path I have chosen to lead is tough.

Mito waited with her head bowed for the man to respond.

This path doesn't require me to hurt others, though.

This path, the path of a civilian and not of a shinobi, is rough and unfair, but I will never be asked to fight someone. I will never be asked to hurt someone.

The thought relaxed her nerves a bit, the relief of not having to hurt another person strengthening her resolve to live out this low path to see if it better suited her.

Because the life of a ninja, the life where she would have to hurt others and potentially end others' lives, the life where her high social status required her to plot against other people and devise plans to injure other nations to better her own, that life did not suit her.

She kept her position as the man responded to her apology.

"Hungry dogs are irritating. But hungry dogs will work hard for food." The man said in his growling voice, and Mito glanced up at him to read his expression. He nodded his head once, his angry eyes still glaring, and he turned to return back into the bar through the side door that led to the kitchen. Mito straightened up and followed the man slowly into the dark and gloomy confinement, trying not to breath in the foul stench too deeply. The man stopped near the sink and laid a heavy hand on the shoulder of a young girl, looking to be around ten. The small girl was just as grimy as the man, her apron dirty and her plain brown hair greasy, but her eyes shone an innocence and a kindness that heavily contrasted to him. The girl noticed Mito and her expression took in some fear from the strange boy. Mito smiled slightly at her, trying to ease some of her fear, and she watched the old man tighten his hold on the girl's shoulder.

"This is my daughter, Mina. I'm Ryota, this is my bar, and we serve the folk who visit the near-by cemetery." He glared down at Mito, and she remembered to nod slightly after looking down. "What are you called, dog?" He asked in his rough voice, the question hard but his insult not seeming personal. Mito guessed he treated anyone lower than him like this, and the thought that he wasn't personally offending her both pleased her and displeased her.

Mito is a semi-feminine name.

Mito quickly thought on the spot, and responded with her humble tone.

"I'm Mituo, Ryota-san." She looked down after seeing him nod, and he addressed the younger girl, his daughter.

"Mina, show him around and tell him what he will be doing. We have customers coming from the cemetery," he said to Mina, and she nodded after wiping her hands on a towel. Ryota looked out the window to the side to see a few people walking forlornly from the cemetery, and he glared over at Mito one last time before he entered the bar to serve the customers.

Mito looked at the young girl slightly shaking, her limbs too skinny and her eyes full of fear. Mito frowned slightly at the sight, but she smiled kindly over to the frightened girl.

"Hi Mina, I'm Mituo. It's a pleasure to meet you." The girl blinked at her and swallowed, her small and bony hands wringing themselves. Mina's eyes were swarming with thoughts, and suddenly, she broke down crying right there in the kitchen.

"P-Please don't steal from my father, or h-he'll beat you too…" she sobbed quietly, and Mito shook herself from her shock. She slowly approached the crying girl, touching her softly on the shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. Mina looked up at Mito with tear stained cheeks, and she continued.

"F-Father caught Nori stealing from the money box, and h-he beat him so badly he d-died a couple days later…" Mina shook as her arms came to hug her skinny chest, her heart visibly aching. Mito watched with wide eyes as this girl told her how her immediately recent employer had beaten a boy to death. I'm probably filling in the position he left. Mito's own mind was swarming with thoughts, and she felt herself back away from the girl and from this bar. Mina looked up at Mito's cautious and shocked expression, and her tone changed to a pleading one.

"F-Father didn't mean to though! He has just been so angry ever since mother died, but he didn't want to kill Nori!" Mina continued to sob, but her eyes were full of a desperation, a need to explain this to Mito. "Nori just stole all of the money we had, and Father got angrier…"

Mito stopped her retreat when she looked into the girl's eyes to see her truth, her honesty, and her pain.

This small family is suffering. And they probably aren't the only ones.

Mina sniffled as she stopped her crying, and she looked back into Mito's eyes with a strong determination.

"That is why you shouldn't steal from Father, if that's why you are taking this job. I miss Nori, and I don't want to see it happen again…" She looked down, her shoulders slumping with sadness. Mito's brows came together, her heart hurting at the sight of this poor girl growing up in this horrible environment. Her mother dead, her father distressed and abusive, and her lifestyle in ruins. It seemed like most of their problems revolved around money, if these people result in violence.

This economy needs to change.

Mito lightly rubbed the girl's shoulder, her thoughts swirling in her mind as she tried to figure out what to do. The girl looked up at her, her eyes wide and slightly cautious, and Mito remembered she was a guy. She took her hand away and smiled slightly, deciding she would stay here for now. Not only to earn some small money, but to watch out for this girl. Mito didn't worry about herself; she knew she could protect herself and this girl with her old ninja skills if she needed to.

"I will never steal, not from anyone. Don't worry about me." Mito told her lightly, convincing her with a smile. She smiled slightly back, but her eyes still held a fear. It looked like this fear was constant; always lurking in the back of her mind and forever marking her expression with the hardships she faced in her life, every day.

This village, it looks promising and beautiful from the outside. It has the promise of peace, but the peace is only held by some with enough money and status.

Mito closed her eyes, the things she had just experienced humbling her to a degree.

I never thought I would get to live in a village from this point of view. I never would have known the hardships of these people if I had entered this village with my old status and wealth.

Mito opened her eyes and looked at Mina, at her ragged apron and her bony shoulders, her fearful expression and her hopeless eyes.

I will live this life. I will experience these hardships, I will feel the pain of these people, and I will work my way up the chain to a place where I can change this.

Next chapter will have our wonderful Hashirama and Madara in it :).

I would love it if you let me know what you think. Other people's opinions and suggestions are the key to improving your writing, and I want to get better.

Thank you so much for reading. :)