Kushina Uzumaki (うずまきクシナ, Uzumaki Kushina) was a Konohagakure kunoichi who originated from Uzushiogakure's Uzumaki clan and the second jinchūriki of Kurama, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.

At some point in time, Kushina was kidnapped by Kumogakure ninja who wanted to make use of her special chakra in order to gain control of the Nine-Tails.As they escorted her to Kumo, she secretly plucked and left behind strands of her red hair to mark her trail in the hopes that someone would find her. Minato Namikaze, one of her former classmates that Kushina believed to be a wimp, was the only one to pick up on this. After rescuing her, he informed her that he had always admired her red hair. Since Minato proved himself to be anything but a "wimp" and liked the one thing she hated about herself, Kushina fell in love with him, now considering her red hair as the "red thread of fate" (運命の赤い糸, unmei no akai ito) that had brought them together.

As she grew up, Kushina became renowned for her beauty and unique ninjutsu style, including the fūinjutsu of her clan. At some point, Kushina married Minato and they conceived a son. During her ten-month jinchūriki-influenced pregnancy, they decided to name him "Naruto" after the main character of Jiraiya's first book. When Jiraiya asked if they were sure, stating that it was a name he had just came up with whilst eating a bowl of ramen one day, Kushina said that it was a beautiful name. They even approved of Jiraiya to be Naruto's godfather. Kushina also hoped that her son and her best friend Mikoto Uchiha's youngest son Sasuke would become friends in the future.

As this would also mean Minato's death, and consequently give Naruto a horrible and lonely life, Kushina naturally objected. Minato convinced her that it was for the best, and that doing this would also allow Kushina to see Naruto when he was older. When the Nine-Tails realised their intentions, it tried to kill Naruto, but both Minato and Kushina used their bodies to shield him. As Minato performed the sealing, and already at the point of death, Kushina told Naruto how much she loved him and gave him her best advice for the future; her final act in this world was to fill her son with as much of her love as possible. Minato then sealed the rest of their remaining chakra into Naruto, ending their lives.Her family name was then given to Naruto by the Third Hokage, in hopes that nobody else would discover the connection between Naruto and Minato.

Naruto meets Kushina.

Kushina thanks her son before fading into the afterlife.