"Hinata, I order you to back down!" It was an elder of her clan. But she couldn't care less.
"I'm done taking orders from the clan, and especially from you elders." He didn't get a chance to say more as she impaled him with a spike of wood. She had already planned on finding a good time to murder the elders, well this was the best time given the circumstances. She knew they would always be in her way, so they had to be removed.
Of course it mattered little now that Naru-chan was dead and the demon was escaping. But perhaps this way she could do a favor for her mother and father and sister. Assuming they didn't get in her way. Which they didn't seem to be doing, perhaps because they knew how she was feeling at this moment. She heard a loud crash and felt the presence before she saw it, the demon was here. It had killed someone aiming to kill her. Had Naru-chan protected her even now.
"Naru-chan? Are you still in there?" A roar was all she was met with, and the creature grew its eighth tail. "Guess not." It jumped at her and she erected a barrier of wood that was almost immediately destroyed. But it had stalled long enough for her to move away. "Naru-chan, if you're in there I would really appreciate it if you could stop!"
***
"…I would really appreciate it if you could stop." The girl looked up.
"Did you say that?" It hadn't sounded like the woman, it had sounded familiar, but she couldn't pinpoint why.
"No, that is someone you love, trying to reach you from the outside."
"I have someone I love?"
"Yes, another first between us."
"Between you and me?"
"No between myself and him, though he is a she this time around. Perhaps that is why In—" She could never seem to hear these names, "got along with the two of us in this incarnation. Something about your incarnation is different and it's changed the three of us."
"I don't really understand but okay." She had to try and think of what matters to her, what drives her. It has to do with lavender. The voice seemed to match the color, so it had something to do with that girl. What was her name Homu-chan? No that's not it. Hana-chan? Closer but still wrong. Hama-chan? Even further. Ah yes, it was Hina-chan wasn't it. This Hina-chan is important to her. But why? Right, the woman had said it earlier, she loved her. But she didn't know why, and she didn't know who she even was, just that she loved this girl named Hina-chan and the girl was associated with lavender.
"It looks like you figured something out."
"I'm in love with Hina-chan." The woman nodded.
"Very good, now then you're in love with her, but who are you? Who is to be in love with her?"
"How much time do I have left?"
"Two minutes."
"I am…"
***
"Naru-chan! Go fight someone else!" Naru-chan was slaughtering everyone who got between her and Hinata and it was getting annoying. The redhead that she loved so much had grown the ninth tail and had started to take the shape of the demon. Hinata got the strangest sense that if she grew the tenth tail then she would really truly die. "Come on Naru-chan, I'm Hinata! Don't you remember me! I love you! You were going to be my wife! You were the light of my life. You still are!" The tenth tail was starting to grow.
***
"You have less than thirty seconds."
"I am… I am… I-I don't know who I am."
"Time is up." The world in white darkened instantly and the girl was left alone in the dark. The woman was gone, the swing was gone. And Naruko was all alone. Wait, she remembers now!
"Miss, I remember now. I'm Uzumaki Naruko! Please, I remember now! You have to send me back." But there was nothing. She was dead and had missed her chance to live again. A light appeared in the darkness. Oh hell no. She is not going anywhere towards that. She has to live and see Hina-chan again!
She went the opposite direction, but no matter how far she moved away it was always just as close behind her. "I'm not dying that easily! I'll spend an eternity here if it means seeing Hina-chan again!"
"You will never wake up again, Uzume. This is goodbye before I escape."
"Kaguya?" She turned and saw only that single horrible eye. It had Kaguya's voice but it wasn't her. "You're the Juubi."
"We finally meet, right before I leave you to the Shinigami, Uzume's latest incarnation." All she could see was the eye curve upwards with delight, it's deep hatred for her family and humanity shining through. "It's good to finally be rid of this cursed family. When I escape Asura and Indra will be the first to die. Then truly no one will be able to stand against me."
"Did they reincarnate too?"
"They are your lover and best friend. Now I'll be on my way." The eye started to move away and she could feel the cold creeping in stronger now.
"Wait!" She couldn't let it go. If it truly left then Hina-chan and Sasuke would be killed! She tried to run after it but it was leaving this place faster than she could move. "Dammit!" It was gone, escaping from the seal. Wait… She was in the seal this entire time, then maybe if she can close it somehow she can at least kill that thing with her! But how?
Molding chakra doesn't seem to work here. Could Fuinjutsu work? Maybe. It suddenly got a lot colder and a being stood before her. But before it could do anything it seemed to reach out and take a hold of two arms. Where did these arms come from? She couldn't answer that question. Things only got weirder, The Hokage got pulled in too. "What are you doing here?"
The aged Kage seemed startled by that. He turned and saw his greatest sacrifice and failure staring at him. If only he had done better when he sacrificed her, perhaps if he had inspired more loyalty somehow. Well it matters little now. "How did you get inside the Shinigami's stomach Naruko?"
"I don't think we're in it." She says, pointing to the creature looking down at them. "How did you get here?"
"I used the Shiki Fuujin (Dead Demon Consuming Seal)." The Shinigami finally seemed to act again and grabbed a hold of Hiruzen.
"Show me the hand signs and the sealing formula if you can."
"Why do you need to know?"
"If I'm going to be here for eternity, caught in the boundary between reincarnation and the afterlife then I might as well have something to do." She didn't know if that's what this place truly is, but it seemed to exist in the same space as her seal. Which was made using the Shiki Fuujin. Her gut told her that's the case and for some reason she feels like the Shinigami is trying to show that she's correct.
"Alright then." And so with the limited time he had drawn out the seal and said the hand signs while doing so, not having time to perform both for her. "I never hated you by the way."
"I know, you just loved the village more than anything."
"I wish things didn't have to end the way they did."
"Things always could have ended differently, you just didn't want to risk trying the difficult path."
He gave a laugh. "Perhaps we've all underestimated you, Naruko." And just like that the Shinigami swallowed him and he was gone.
She looked up at the god. "Sorry, but I'm going to have to cheat you this time." The redhead grabbed the arms, having been able to sense the chakra still present in them, and set to work using them while deconstructing the seal. The matrix was complex but she understood it, she could take it apart and reconstruct it. She was sure of it. And most importantly she could use it to reroute the Juubi back into her.