That Time Ishi Adopted a Child (and it went downhill from there)

Feelings

"I feel like I should have seen this coming," Ishi said suddenly and Sakumo turned his attention from Kaze's dual colored eyes to look at his friend. She looked tired and there was a haunted look in her eyes that spoke more of grief than tears could possibly convey.

Sakumo was aware of the feeling but he didn't think it could come close to what she was going through, an entire village was destroyed, everyone that Ishi had grown up with was either dead or scattered across the Elemental Nations.

Looking around the park, he noticed that a lot of the kids were gone now and it was getting late. Not to mention that there might be listening ears around, they lived in a shinobi village though, it was to be expected that there would be some unwanted ears around.

"How come?" he asked but he felt like he had a vague idea as to why. At the same time, he stood up and grabbed his bag, waiting for her to do the same before making his way back to his house.

He could almost feel her tensing before she relaxed again and made her way next to him so that they were walking side by side. "My clan is renowned for our fūinjutsu and from the letters my sister sent me, they were discovering new techniques to use. Power creates admiration but it also causes fear and I think that's the main reason Uzushio was destroyed. My clan could have created a revolution and those cowards feared that their power would be lost,"

She sounded resigned up until she sounded like she was going to break something. Sakumo risked a quick glance before turning his attention to the road ahead of them. If she hadn't been holding Kireina and Kakashi, he was sure that the road would suffer heavy damage.

Before he could speak though, she continued her rant.

"They all like to preach about equality and things being fair but we all know that they can't handle someone having more power than them. My people were more content to stay in Uzushio than go to the mainland. I hope my family gave them hell though, the Bloody Terror would have taken down as many enemy nin as she could before going down herself. I doubt the rest of the clan didn't take down their own share before our village fell"

There was satisfaction in that tone and Sakumo didn't blame her for it. Konoha citizen or not, Ishi had been from Uzushio first and it had been her home for the majority of her life. In the grand scheme of things, killing the majority of the enemy's military was probably what they deserved compared to the loss of the entirety of Uzushio. He wondered why she would mention the famous (or infamous, it depended on who you asked) name of the kunoichi before remembering that Uzushio hadn't been that big to begin with. The Bloody Terror was an Uzumaki and Ishi had probably known her personally before she came to Konoha.

"What are you going to do now?" he asked, there really wasn't an answer for, well, everything that had just been dumped on him so the best course of action was to move forward.

"What else can I do? I can't exactly take revenge on an entire country but politically, there are some silver linings that I can take advantage of" she answered, though there was mild distaste in her expression as she stared up ahead and nodded at the door.

Rushing to open it, Sakumo let her walk through before settling Kaze down on the mat and then closing the door firmly. Ishi let Kireina down next to her twin before handing Kakashi over to him.

He fussed over the baby before going over to his nursery and settling him down for the night as he made sense of what Ishi had just told him. "Am I right to assume that the Uzumaki clan is going to make a comeback in the near future" it wasn't a question anymore, he could see the woman's conviction in her eyes when she made her statement.

From behind him, Ishi gave a bitter smile before her expression turned neutral "The shinobi would have stayed in Uzushio, I can assure you that the majority of the survivors were probably civilians. As far as I know, Mito has more of a claim to the title of Clan Head than anyone else but she's old now. Tsunade is a Senju though and has more claim to that name than her Uzumaki ancestry. Unless more members of our main royal family survived, I'll take the title until someone fights me for it."

Turning his body to look at her directly, he raised a questioning eyebrow at her. She had practically just confirmed what he had suspected, that she had been a shinobi herself and was probably one of the last Uzumakis left alive now. "Glad to know that I'll be working with you soon then" he offered.

Ishi took it in stride and gave him a feral grin as she made her way out of the nursery and into the guest room. She had practically claimed it the first time she had stayed over, having been heavily pregnant then and her husband had had to go on a business trip for a week.

The room had gradually been filled up with more of her stuff and most of the time, she stayed over when her husband was away. Of course, Sakumo had seen her gradually invade other people's homes in this manner as well. If he remembered correctly, he had seen Ishi around Maito Dai and his own wife, not to mention that she frequented the Uchiha compound from time to time as well. The Hokage's residence wasn't spared either and Sakumo got the distinct feeling that this wasn't even planned. Ishi may have been strong tempered but a manipulative genius she was not. At least, not from what he had seen.

"Just you wait, dog breath, we'll be put on the same squad and everything. Akegata can watch the kids while we kick ass and take names" Sakumo laughed at that but his brain caught up to her words and the meaning behind them. He stopped and stared at her but she paid him no mind as she continued.

"Besides, I'm part royalty myself, the Bloody Terror may have been a fearsome name in battle but Yoake Uzumaki also had some political influence and not just because she was powerful. With some work, I think her daughter will be able to polish her skills. The few surviving Uzumakis are valuable right now and the Elemental Countries are going to want to grab as many as their grubby hands can get. I'm not going to make it easy for them though, it might take me years but I'll make sure that Uzushio is rebuilt even if I'm not alive to see it" she finished. From this light, with the sinking sun shining from the window and hitting her back as she raised her fist, Sakumo couldn't help but think that she looked like she was being engulfed by flames.

Distantly, he wondered if this is how Uzushio ended but stopped the thought before he could finish it. He had to have faith in his friend and trust that she would be able to handle herself. Still, that didn't mean that he would be sitting in the sidelines for all of this, by claiming the right of Clan Head, Ishi would gain a lot of enemies and that meant that her children would be put at risk as well. Not to mention her husband who was still a civilian. Maybe Sakumo couldn't do much but he could certainly visit his friend at her house more often and check up on things, especially when she wasn't around.

Content on his plan of action, he allowed himself to relax slightly before he shook his head and looked at Ishi again, who was entering the room again with her children. She looked at him curiously just as she was settling the kids down on the bed.

"Did you just say that your mother is the Bloody Terror ?" he asked incredulously "and you're a jōnin?" he added just to make sure.

He received an unimpressed look for his dramatics and Sakumo felt the need to defend himself "I knew you were good, I just didn't know the extentalright. How did your husband even manage that? Not only were you from a founding clan but your mother was notorious for being one of the best. Knowing how clans work, I'm surprised they let you two get married just like that."

Ishi rolled her eyes but her expression seemed smug now "The day Akegata got his act together and finally proposed was also the day I got offered a position for the secret police but that's another matter entirely" she waved it off like it was nothing but there was a familiar glint in her eye that appeared whenever she talked about her husband, "My mother wasn't happy at all and my father, although talented, just let my mother handle the situation because out of the two, my mother was the explosive one. I stood my ground though and it was the first time I ever stood up to her, they were looking for a husband for me anyway and I didn't want to marry anyone I didn't choose. I knew that Akegata was the one for me the first time we went on a date and he took me to all my favorite places and I only had eyes for him anyway. In the end, I was allowed to do whatever I wanted but I think that what really saved me was that I had my younger siblings to back me up"

Her expression turned sad then but one look at her children made her straighten up "I'll do what I can to help my clan, my family but I'm going to need your help for that. Can I count on you?" she asked, her expression was hopeful and there was vulnerability there.

Sakumo gave her the best affronted look he could form before replying.

"Of course, I thought that was obvious. When do we begin?"

The relieved sigh he received was the most satisfying sound he had heard in a while.