"Any luck?" 

Kakashi will deny to his dying day that he yelped when a dragon god suddenly appeared in his personal space. 

Oji-sama chuckled as Kakashi fought to get his heart rate back down. 

"Oji-sama." Minato-sensei said, bowing best he could in the tree branches. 

"Hmmm. I guess ill use my title today." The god mused, making Minato wonder what his real name was, if Honored Uncle was a title to him. "So, any luck?" 

Minato bit his lip. "We found a possible lab. It's near Wave, around or in an old Uzumaki fort. We've been trying to get to the island but the locals aren't cooperative and seals won't let anyone actively using chakra near the island." 

"And the sharks." Kakashi mumbled. 

Oji-sama chuckled. "I'll help. I put you on this path anyways. Although I admit, I was expecting the Akimichi and Aburame to be here." 

"They are the ones who found the possible lab but their investigation brought suspicion down on them. They remained in Konoha." 

Oji-sama hummed, an inhuman sound that reminded Kakashi of the massive reptiles in the forest of death, but not quite. "I see. I will accompany you to the lab." 

Minato's eyes widened before he bowed again. "We would be honored." 

Oji-sama opened his mouth to say something before he paused. "This is my self imposed quest. You have gotten me this far, but if you wish to return home now and leave it to me, you may." 

Minato inclined his head. "After what I've seen, I want to finish this." 

Kakashi leaned forward, just slightly. "That wood release guy. He acted like he knew me. I want to see how." 

Oji-sama nodded. "Let's go then." 

He jumped down, slower somehow, landing lightly on his feet without even disturbing the leaves on the ground. 

"I'll hide us from the other mortals. Just stick close." 

Minato and Kakashi exchange looks before jumping down and following Isamu to the sea.

True to his word, the villagers didn't even notice, and the Kumo and Kiri Shinobi hidden among them didn't even register their existence like a genjutsu would have caused. 

Oji-sama didn't lead them to the docks, instead taking them right to the shore of the water. "Which island?" 

Minato opened a map, pointing to a small one circled in red. "Just a bit south of here." 

Oji-sama nodded and whistled sharp and clear. 

A moment passed before two shapes blurred into existence, two, very familiar shapes. 

"Shiro and Kuro?" He asked. 

Oji-sama grinned. "You remember! These two are our rides to the island. Kakashi with me on Kuro, and Minato on Shiro." 

"How can horses cross the sea?" Kakashi asked. "Even with chakra the seals will take them out." 

"These aren't ordinary horses but they aren't summons either." Oji-sama explained, as he ushered Kakashi onto the black horse. "These horses were born from grief, from mourning the loss of another. There is power in that, an echo of Other." 

Kakashi looked confused as hell but then Oji-sama swung himself up and snapped his tounge and the teenager was too busy trying to stay on to speak more. 

The horses raced across the waves, Minato-sensei a white streak next to them and having a rough time of it. He had used a rope to tie himself down, and Kakashi wondered just when and more importantly how he had managed to do that. 

They came to the island, the seals activating but unable to stop them. 

Once they hit the shore the two horses came to a stop, Oji-sama sliding off with practiced ease. "There is definitely something here. I can't quite make it out under all of the Uzu wards." He said. "I'm going to be upset if this is a lab." 

"Why is this place so heavily protected by the Uzumaki?" 

Oji-sama looked sad, heartbroken even. "It's a grave." He said, tone stooping all further discussion. "This way. The entrance is over here. Don't say my niece and son's names. I don't want them to see this. " 

Minato and Kakashi exchanged glances. "Yes, Oji-sama." They said, following the god towards the massive cliffs. 

Oji-sama stopped before a suspiciously smooth outcropping. "Minato-kun, take a look at this." 

Minato stepped up besides the god, examining the faint lines. "It's a blood lock." 

"I really don't want to brute force these seals." Oji-sama said. "They're almost as old as I am." 

"These only accept a certain bloodline." 

Oji-sama said a word that Kakashi was pretty sure was a swear, before his eyes widened. "Or we can do this. Brace yourself, Minato." 

He placed a hand on Minato's shoulder, green eyes flashing gold and Kakashi's sensei jolted. 

Minato must have realized what was happening faster than Kakahsi did because the next second he had bitten his thumb and smeared blood on the door. 

Oji-sama released Minato's shoulder as the door rumbled open, seals glowing green. "You okay." 

Minato nodded, trying to catch his breath, one hand on the cliff wall to support himself. "Was that…was that what Kushina lives with everyday?" 

"Kushina-chan has it even worse with Kurama in her gut. But what I gave you was just enough to shove you into the distant Uzumaki relative bracket. Nothing compared to a true Uzumaki." 

"I wish I could have seen Uzu." Minato murmured. 

Oji-sama looked sad again. "It's beautiful, even if all that's left today is shadows and dust." 

With that, the dragon swept inside the tunnel, leading down into the depths of a millenia old grave, a flames sparking to life on his palm, lighting the way.

The tunnel seemed to go down for miles until they came to a cross section, three different paths. Above each arch were several lines of strange symbols. 

"What language is that?" Kakashi asked. 

Oji-sama glanced up and chuckled. "It's my birth tongue." 

"What do they say?" Minato asked. 

Oji-sama held the light up higher. "They're song lyrics. Let's see. This one is a song of battle, and this one is a lullaby and this one is.." He paused, face blank. "And this one is Under the Sea." He said, voice cracking. "It was her favorite. This way." 

He walked into the third tunnel, leaving the two shinobi to play catch up. 

"Oji-sama, whose grave is this?" Minato asked.

Oji-sama took a deep breath. "The first Uzumaki." He said. "She was….important. Incredibly so." 

"We can check to see if the lab is down here while you check the rest of the island." Minato offered. "Cover more ground that way." 

Oji-sama smiled at him. "It's okay. I need to visit her anyways. I haven't been here since the funeral." 

They traveled deeper into the tunnels, following Oji-sama until they came to a massive room. 

Glowing crystals lit up the space, illuminating a mound of clear crystal in the center of the room, blue and yellow flowers covering the floor with the exception of the crystal mound and a short oath from the entrance to the center. 

Inside the crystal was a body, an elderly woman draped in beautiful red and white robes. She had long brown hair framing her face and looked nothing like Kushina. 

"Hey Estelle. I know you're not here, but I haven't quite found them yet. I'm still looking though. I won't stop until I do." 

Minato didn't understand what Oji-sama just said, and neither did Kakashi, but he had spoken to the dead, to Obito and Rin, enough to know the tone of voice. 

Minato removed a storage scroll from his belt. "I'm not an official member of the Uzumaki clan, but would it be okay if I left an offering?" 

Oji-sama jolted. "Uh, yeah. Go ahead." 

"I'll wait out here." Kakashi murmured, stepping back into the hall. 

Minato stepped forward, careful to stay on the path. He didn't have any incense on him, or water to clean the stone, so he was about to make due with the rice cakes in the storage seal when Oji-sama stepped up behind him, a bamboo bucket with water in hand. 

The two of them carefully cleaned the crystal, Oji-sama speaking to the woman in that other language the entire time they worked. 

There was several centuries of grime, but when the pair was done, the crystal resembled glass, the woman within appearing to simply be asleep. 

Oji-sama conjured several sticks of incense, lighting them with a flick of his fingers as Minato set out the rice cakes. 

Oji-Sama poured one last ladle of clear water over the crystal before clapping his hands together to pray. 

Minato did the same, praying to the Uzumaki Matriarch that Kushina and his unborn child would be healthy and safe. 

"The Uzumaki called her Lady Hoshi, Lady of the Stars." Oji-sama said softly after several minutes had passed. "But I called her Estelle." 

"She was family." Minato murmured, just as soft. 

"My sister." Oji-sama said, voice cracking as tears started to form in his eyes. "She grew up without me. One moment she was a child, small enough for me to carry, and the next she was an old woman, with three grandchildren and a village calling her high priestess." 

Minato was silent, well aware that he was probably the first human to learn of Estelle in a long time. 

"I placed her memory in the sky." Oji-sama said. "The constellation, the Matriarch. It's her, but not really." 

Minato did know it. It was a constellation that decorated Uzumaki holy places, that marked them as holy places. There was even an image of it on his mantle, placed there when Kushina moved in. Did she know its significance or was that knowledge lost to time? 

Oji-sama was silent after that, even as tears flowed down his face. 

Please, Estelle, I may not be your blood, but please grant Oji-sama happiness. 

There was no answer, but Oji-sama sat up, wiping his eyes with his sleeve, the incense burned down. "We have more work to do. There are more tunnels than this one." 

Minato nodded and they gathered up the offerings. 

He left the burial chamber first, and pretended he didn't hear a god crying. 

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Hey, everyone. Here's a new chapter. I promise I'm trying, it's just been really hard to do...anything from before the past few months. I haven't really written any PJO stuff. I have been hyperfixating on BNHA though and have a couple fics for that if anyone's interested.
-Your Exhausted Overlord, Iris.