Strongest Shinobi

Apeeding through empty alleys, unseen by any civilians or shinobu, Izana, Minato and Naruto arrived at one of the deserted training grounds.

It would be difficult to move around the village now without raising any suspicions. Besides, what he was about to do now was better done outside the village than inside.

The amount of chakra needed was immense, so others would definitely sense it when he resurrected Kushina.

"What are we doing here? I'm hungry."

Naruto grumbled, covering his growling stomach.

Izana ignored the question and held out his hand towards Naruto.

"The talisman."

Naruto sighed as he pulled a string from his neck, revealing the worn but still decenet looking charm.

On the side, Minato teared up a bit, as he could feel the familiar chakra contained inside the charm.

"...Kushina..."

Letting the two blondes think their own thoughts, Izana pulled a sealing scroll from his pocket, unsealing the clone of Kushina.

The body was fully clothed, the eyes closed as if she was currently sleeping, which was a good example.

The clone was fully functional, the breathing and bodily functions working as they should. The only thing keeping it from waking up and moving about was the lack of a soul. Right now it was nothing more than a soulless puppet.

Checking everything over once more to insure there weren't any inconsistencies with the clone, Izana nodded to himself once it was determined everything was fine.

"I need you two to stay as quiet as possible, no matter what happens. Don't interrupt me, don't meddle with anything I do, and most importantly. Don't use any chakra near the clone until I say so. Just the smallest amount of foreign chakra can screw this whole thing up."

Minato nodded seriously, while Naruto just nodded while looking confused.

"Simply put, don't do anything till I say so."

Izana said, Naruto nodding in understanding.

Minato and Naruto both stepped backwards, looking on from a little distance away, far enough to not bother him, but close enough to protect him should anything happen.

Letting the two do what they wanted, Izana focussed on the task at hand.

Gathering his chakra, Izana slowly let his chakra flow inside the charm, following a specific pathway to unravel the sealing formula he had put on it all those years ago.

From what he saw, the sealing formula was a bit messy, but that was to be from that many years ago. If he had to do it again, the medium wouldn't even wear down, nor should it take as much time for the chakra to be recharged to speak to the sealed soul.

It would at most be a day before it was recharged, instead of a month. The time they could speak would be a lot longer as well.

Ah well, nothing to do about it.

Letting his chakra fill up the entire charm, Izana broke the seal. Kushina's soul left the charm, surely disspating if he left it like that.

Changing his hands into claws, Izana coated his hands with Yin chakra, grabbing the sould and feeding it with his chakra.

The weak soul of Kushina visibly became sturdier. Once it was at a decent size, Izana slowly pressed the soul into the clone.

The process wasn't easy, as the body was still not the original.

With a lot of perseverance, Izana guided Kushina's soul into it completely, smoothing out the chakra pathways as he let Kushina's chakra flow through them as well.

Once Kushina's chakra was fully funtioning, without any signs of rejecting the body, only then did Izana begin to wake her up. The process was rather easy, as he only needed to invigorate her chakra. Only problem with that is the huge amount that she had. He had a lot more, but it was still massive.

This was one of those times he was glad he was a Jinchuriki.

Izana poured a lot of chakra in, successfully giving her a awakening jolt.

Retrieving his claws from her body, Izana healed the damages and waited for Kushina to open her eyes.

It took a while before Kushina woke up, but the signs were there. Her breathing became quicker, her eyelids twitched and her fingers began to move a bit.

Slowly opening her eyes, Kushina looked up at the familiar sky. It was hard for her to move, her arms and legs feeling heavy, as if they were made of lead. With a lot of effort, Kushina could move her arms and legs a bit, but they didn't exactly move like she wanted to.

Wanting to speak up, the only thing coming from her mouth were incoherent babblings.

Motioning towards Minato and Naruto, they both sped forward, Minato helping Kushina into a sitting position, his c.h.e.s.t supporting her head.

"Kushina! Kushina! You're back, you're really back!"

Minato muttered, tears streaming from his eyes as he burried his head in her neck.

On the side, Naruto grasped Kushina's hand, his own hands trembling.

Tears were also streaming down his face as he for the first time in his life could hold the hand of his mom.

No words were spoken, as Naruto just held her hand, still wondering if he was dreaming or not.

Kushina looked at Naruto and Minato, her lips twitching in the semblance of a smile. Silent tears dripped from her eyes, but she smiled widely at the warmth she was feeling.

Even if she couldn't speak, couldn't move how she wanted and couldn't do the smallest thing, she was so happy to see Minato again. To finally touch Naruto in the flesh. To experience what it is like to be a mother.

Sobs couldn't be suppressed as she leaned back a bit more against Minato's c.h.e.s.t, just hearing his breathing, his heart beat, the fact that he was alive comforted her.

"I will leave the three of you to it. This is a safe house you can stay in for the time being. It is used by Uchiha Shisui, a friend of mine. He isn't in the village at this time, so I'm sure he won't mind."

Izana handed a small piece of paper with the address to Minato, leaving soon after to leave the three of them to it while he went back to the Uchiha manor.

***

Soon after Izana left, Minato picked up Kushina in his arms, her head falling leaning softly against his c.h.e.s.t.

Having gotten a place to stay from Izana for he time being, Minato immediately went to find the place. It would be difficult for him to stay in his previous house, if it was still his.

Walking back into the village, while under a transformation jutsu cast on both himself and Kushina, Minato, Kushina and Naruto arrived at a decently sized house. It looked well taken care of, like the many civilian residences in this street.

Entering, Minato placed Kushina in bed in one of the many rooms. Naruto kept close to Kushina, while Minato went to get some easy to eat food.

In the time that he was gone, Naruto tried to explain what happened as best as he could, in simple layman terms.

Kushina didn't really get it, but she understood the fact that Izana had brought her and Minato back.

She really was grateful to Izana, the child she couldn't help but still see as a child. How much he had grown in the time she was gone!

Minato returned soon after, helping Kushina eat and helping her move her body. He had been throught the same thing and he knew how helpless the feeling was, of being unable to do anything.

Luckily he could help her through this. What had taken him more than a year, he would surely help her regain in a few months, at most.

Smiling down at his helpless wife, Minato vowed he would do the best he could to help her through all the obstacles that would come in the future. He would make sure they could remain a family, remain together and most importantly, that all of them stayed alive and safe.