Eroninja - Chapter 95

Chapter 95: Revenge Arc: Operation: Kill Konan Aftermath Part III




Matsuri was sliding through a tight passage and could almost feel the pressure being exerted on her from the tons of rock surrounding her. The imaginary pressure instantly evaporated as she slipped from the crack in the rock face into a wide open cavern, and although she wanted to gasp at the sight waiting for her, finding it just as amazing as the first time she was there, she refrained as she didn’t want to clue her travel companions in to what was awaiting them. She spun to greet the first one, but was disappointed as rather than eyes opening in wonder as the person sliding through the passage emerged, she was greeted by the blank face of a puppet. But her disappointment didn’t last long as Yukata’s puppet went stiff and its knees pulled into its chest so the cloak it wore could wrap around it, while Yukata emerged right behind it.

Yukata’s eyes did grow wide as she stepped free of passage, her floating puppet all but forgotten for a moment as she drank in the sight before her. She looked to her friend, and fellow Family member to mouth the word, “Wow.”

Matsuri nodded her head enthusiastically in agreement, but her attention shifted to the passage as she heard the last member of their party nearing the end of it. She felt a few twinges of nervousness creeping up that the sight that would await him wouldn’t prove to be worth the effort, particularly as Naruto’s voice called out from the tight crevice, “These weren’t the tight, deep passages that I expected to be exploring today when you asked me and Yukata to join you on a date.”

Matsuri frowned at his tone, but was forced to admit that as some of the passages were a tight fit even for her and Yukata, many had required Naruto to contort himself into some rather unique shapes to get through them and sometimes not without cost. As he struggled to pull himself free of the latest, she tried not to laugh as the underground caverns that they were exploring required another payment for his passage, this time in the form of his jacket, which snagged on a sharp rock as he suddenly escaped the hold of the gap in the cavern wall, and was followed by a loud tearing sound. Naruto rather than focusing on his surroundings sent an evil eye towards the crevice from which a large piece of his jacket was now hanging. “That’s just great…” he began to say as he began to spin to see how big the hole was, but trailed off as he noticed the underground lake which seemed to glow with its own light.

“Wow, this is something,” he said in amazement as he began drinking in all the details of the cavern, such as how the lake was being fed by several lightly falling waterfalls.

“Isn’t it,” Matsuri said happily, “There are even several other chambers that are linked to this one, and just as open.”

“How did you even find this place?” Naruto asked in wonderment forgetting about his torn jacket.

“Oh, it was a part of my last mission,” Matsuri replied, “While you were recovering after Ame, I accepted a job from my uncle to scout out a new water source. Apparently there are plans to build a new town and before it can begin in earnest, they wanted to secure a local source of water for it. Both my parents had an affinity to water jutsu, but in the desert it was probably about as useful as matches in a paper factory when it came to fighting. Since even though there are some strong shinobi that can create water of their own to use in jutsu, how much chakra is required tends to depend on how much is available around them. So, they didn’t really last long as shinobi before deciding to use their talents to find water sources in the desert.”

Naruto nodded, but asked, “What about you? It seems you’ve inherited their talents.”

Matsuri nodded a little disappointed by that, but said, “Well, I have some hope that I can refine my skills to the point that I could create water jutsu from the molecules in the air, even in such arid environments. Women like Tier show me that it is possible, I’m just hoping it isn’t predicated solely on being a chakra behemoth since even if I succeed, limiting myself to one or two shots before chakra exhaustion wouldn’t make the effort worthwhile. Besides, there are other ways to excel that don’t rely on the type of elemental jutsu you use. I think the Suna system kind of failed my folks as it considered Water jutsu relatively useless when compared to Earth, Wind, Fire and Lightning.”

Naruto nodded in understanding, before saying, “Still, considering the pain it was to get down here. I imagine your family’s company is going to have its work cut out for it.”

Shaking her head, Matsuri said, “Oh, they aren’t going to be pumping it from here.” She pointed to several of the waterfalls as she explained, “This is just a place that I found as I was mapping the flow of some underground rivers. But it is much too deep, and far from the build site for it to be consider an ideal collection location. The water pools here from several sources before filtering through the limestone bottom as it continues on its way. It passes relatively close to the surface at another point that will make it easier to pump. Although, still a little off from where we would need to deliver it, which is why my uncle met with Kiyomi.”

“Ah, I understand,” Naruto said with a nod, “Having such large quantities of water moving to the build site would make a rather inviting target for bandits. Not to mention, maintaining the supply line would be important for a settlement just getting on its feet.”

“Yes,” Matsuri agreed, “Which is why he was hoping to negotiate some sort of deal for protection. Even though the water itself would be worth its weight in gold, we cannot ignore that some bandits might just target the shipments, or even the pump site itself as they may see another new town coming to life as another section of the Land of Wind as becoming civilized, and thus making it harder for them to operate.”

Naruto nodded, understanding all too well, thanks in part to his lovers Seramu and Sara that tribes such as theirs moved from oasis to oasis primarily because the areas they traveled through couldn’t support prolonged overuse by either the people or animals of the tribe. As such, they would gather what supplies they needed, while also trading with whatever other tribes were in the area, before then moving onto the next location. As was to be expected, such a lifestyle could experience many pitfalls, such as arriving at a much-needed oasis only to find it had run dry since last visited, which could lead to a tribe’s destruction as they tried to make it to the next one. Which is what made permanent settlements along their routes such a blessing as not only did they offer a little more reliability when it came to gathering supplies. But with them also came security, in the sense that the town mere presence tended to drive bandits out of whatever areas they were located, generally due to their having more resources to hire shinobi or the Daimyo assigning magistrates to the more prominent ones. As many bandits would primarily target the nomadic tribes of Wind Country, since they tended to make easier targets then walled off settlements, these bandit groups would often target these settlements when they were at their weakest so as to prevent them from ever truly taking off.

Yet, after a moment, a frown began to appear as Naruto asked, “Why wouldn’t your uncle just ask Gaara for help? I mean, if it is just a matter of coin, then considering that while I’ve been in Suna every bottle of water that I’ve seen has been marked with a Sparkling River Springs label, I imagine he has a few to spare.”

Matsuri sighed, as she responded, “I don’t really get to see the financial side of things in the company. But if I had to guess at his reasoning then it would be that as this is a rather large undertaking for the company. He’s concerned that asking Suna would come with too many strings attached.” Seeing that her lover was a little confused, she explained, “As I’m sure you’ve learned from just watching Karin run the Great Tree Shipping Company, when you hear about the profit that a company makes, it tends obscure the fact that profit may or may not cover the expenses that were required to make it. Some companies can survive for a while like that, but pile up enough losses over the years and you’re out of business.”

“Are you saying that’s the case here?” Naruto asked with a hint of concern, although he knew Matsuri really had no desire to quit being a kunoichi so probably wouldn’t be too badly effected should that be the case, outside of perhaps the sadness she would feel from watching something her parents had started come to an end.

His brown-haired lover shook her head, but stated, “No, but bringing a well on line is one of those situations where you expend a lot of capital up front, and if it goes poorly you lose just about everything that was sunk into the project.” Naruto nodded, but raised an eyebrow as she said snidely, “Unless, you have friends in the government who will bail you out.” Seeing her comment had raised a question in the Uzumaki she explained, “When my parents were just starting out, they faced some stiff competition, and couldn’t secure any loans since the banks were all buddy-buddy with their rivals, and so they had to invest all of their savings. A few of those competitors failed, but because they had the right connections in the government they were bailed out, while tax-payers footed the bill. But, if my parents failed, I imagine that they wouldn’t have been reimbursed, but treated as just another startup which had failed.” Matsuri shook off the annoyance she felt, as she remembered those happy early years with her parents as they had setup their first well. Focusing on Naruto she continued, “Anyway, as it is probably a project that will take a few years, and require quite a bit of security, not to mention has a high risk of failure. I imagine my uncle fears negotiating a contract with Suna might result in the village demanding more of a percentage of the water that is produced as tribute, and so would much rather deal with a company that would work exclusively for money.”

Naruto inclined his head, as he began to worry that with how things currently stood between him and Gaara, it might make matters worse if such a high-profile contract ended up going to Kiyomi’s company considering his ties to it. However, he suspected that if it came to a bidding war of sorts, which might be another tactic that Matsuri’s uncle could be putting into place, Suna could easily win it as they would have far more resources to call on, and as water was far more valuable than money, it could all be a ploy to make sure that when the Sand Village came to the table, it wouldn’t demand an increased percentage of the water that was produced. He frowned though, as he tried to see what Kiyomi would get from the bargain since if such a ploy was obvious to him, in the hindsight of Matsuri’s explanation, then he was sure the Bijuu that he once hosted would certainly have seen it on the front end. Aware that she wouldn’t be agreeable to a bad faith negotiation on Matsuri Uncle’s part, and likely would recognize that her company couldn’t pledge the resources to such a long-term project without other aspects of her company suffering, Naruto couldn’t help feeling concerned about what Kiyomi may have planned. Not because his lover had enacted some scheme without consulting him, but because he feared that if she had agreed to accept a role in forcing Suna to negotiate for less than it would have desired from such a contract, it would validate the concerns Gaara currently had over the influence his Family had in his Village.

However, Naruto let the matter fade from his concerns as while he didn’t want to see tension between him and Gaara growing worse. He trusted that although Kiyomi could be indelicate at times, she wouldn’t agree to a plan that may aggravate the situation, unless she felt the pros would outweigh the cons in regards to advancing the Family’s ambitions. Trusting in his Foxy lover’s judgement, he focused on the one currently standing before him as he stated, “I see. Speaking of ulterior motives, just why have you lured me down here today?”

Matsuri gave a soft smile as she closed with Naruto, and placing her hands on his chest asked innocently, “Can’t a girl just share her enjoyment of her spelunking hobby with her lover without there being some hidden motive behind it?”

Naruto chuckled, as he replied teasingly, “I’m sure she could, but I’m getting the feeling that isn’t exactly what is going on here.”

The brown-haired kunoichi tried to maintain her innocent expression, but in the face of Naruto’s probing eyes, she sighed before admitting, “You’re right.” Stepping away from him, she approached the lake’s edge and dipping her toe in it smiled as the water although it seemed a little on the chilly side, nevertheless believed it would make for an enjoyable swim. Facing her lover once more, she explained, “My really reason for bringing you down here, especially after it became apparent you weren’t enjoying yourself was because I want to turn this place into a Den of our own.”

Naruto frowned afraid he may have been neglecting his lovers from Suna more than he originally thought, as he asked, “What do you mean? Why would you want a place of your own?”

Matsuri shrugged unsure herself, as she hadn’t really talked it over with anyone since the idea had only really occurred to her upon finding the cavern, so tried to put her feelings into words for the first time, “Well… recently we’ve lost access to the Women’s Bathing Association. I mean, sure we can still go…but it would be a three-day trip even if we ran all the way there. Plus, now its populated with… the uninitiated.” She could see her words were somewhat concerning for her lover, but shifting her gaze to Yukata, she believed the puppet-user was understanding where she was coming from, even though she hadn’t really expressed her feelings yet. Trying to clarify, she continued, “And while I know that currently effects all your lovers, and we still technically have the Den. Visiting you there still feels kind of like…”

“We’re just guests,” Yukata said after a moment seeing Matsuri struggling to put their feelings into words, “Like we don’t have a place to call our own with you. That’s why when Matsuri told me about this place, it seemed really natural for us to use it to replace the Grotto.”

Matsuri could see that Naruto’s concern spiked as it appeared like they wanted to break into factions. So, she quickly closed the distance and pressing herself against him as she said, “We are not saying that we are no longer happy to share you. But, these past few weeks of having you here with us in Suna showed us that even when we’re in the Den… it still feels like we’re on Konoha’s turf. It probably feels even more acute since we have lost access to the Grotto, which although it isn’t with you, our fellow Family members of Konoha can still visit without it raising a million questions.”

Naruto nodded, as his worry that cracks were appearing in his Family began to abate. Thinking the matter over, he began to understand why losing the Grotto, and stumbling along an underground paradise so soon after would have awakened such a desire in Matsuri and Yukata. Since for his Suna lovers, the pools and springs it had contained were almost unheard of in their home, and had been an indulgence that they could enjoy anytime they wanted, thanks in part to the teleportation seals located within the Den. He could also see why the fact that although his Konoha lovers were not free to be with him while visiting the Grotto either, their still having access to the grounds whenever they wanted, would be more acutely felt by those who called the deserts of Wind Country home. He noticed that Matsuri and Yukata were growing nervous, and suspected that they were growing fearful that they may have upset him with their request. Due to Yukata having kept her distance, he surprised Matsuri though as he suddenly spun her to face the water, which was crystal clear, allowing her to see several cave entrances that were under the surface, and asked, “So, provided we can make it more habitable. Have you come up with a name for it?”

Matsuri’s eyes widened as Naruto hugged her from behind, and smiling she said, “I was thinking of keeping it simple and just calling it, The Cavern.”

“I like it,” he stated, while she turned her face to kiss him.

“Well with that settled,” Yukata chimed in causing Naruto and Matsuri kiss to end as they focused on her and saw that she hadn’t been idle as she had divested herself of her clothes in order to stand beneath one of the waterfalls feeding the lake near the water’s edge, “why don’t you two join me.”

Matsuri could feel something beginning to poke her from behind, not that she could blame her lover as Yukata was sending them a sultry gaze via her brown eyes as she stood under the softly falling water, and wetted her black hair. Feeling herself also growing aroused at the sight, she kissed Naruto’s cheek and replied, “I’ll be along in a moment.” Slipping free of her lover’s arms she added, “Go keep Yukata company while I make a few preparations.”

The blond Uzumaki gave her a quick nod, before quickly making straight for the kunoichi as he removed his clothes, and tossed them away like a man being burned by their touch. Matsuri watched with half an eye as Naruto reached the puppeteer, and pulled her close to him to deliver a kiss which she felt should have converted the water now coating them into steam. Reaching into her pouch, while Naruto reached up to cup one of Yukata’s breasts so his fingers could roll and pinch her nipple, Matsuri produced a small emergency blanket which although small and thin enough to fold up like a napkin, revealed that it was much larger as she unfurled it to lay it on the ground.

With the task completed, Matsuri focused on the pair as they continued make-out while she removed her clothes. As she worked on removing her Suna vest, she squeezed her thighs together due to her imagining the pleasure that she would feel from having the rod that Yukata was softly stroking buried inside her. When she finally pulled her vest off, it actually felt like she had removed one made of lead, a feeling which she attributed to her growing desire to join the two, and it feeling like it was taking her forever. Fighting against the temptation, to mirror Naruto’s earlier behavior to just run towards them and toss her clothes wherever, she nevertheless did find things going smoother once her armguards joined her vest on the ground as there weren’t as many buckles.

Matsuri, soon found herself in just her bra and panties, which soon hit the ground allowing her to finally make her way to the two currently enjoying each other under the cascading water. Stepping into the water, she shivered as it took a little getting used to, but wasn’t a discomfort that a couple of warm bodies pressed against her flesh couldn’t fix. Particularly as the water she was wading through only reached up to around her mid-thigh.

Reaching the two, she let out a surprised, but happy squeal, as they suddenly separated and grabbing her wrists pulled her between them under the falling water. She shivered again, although this time with desire as Naruto pulled her flush up against him, and sealed his lips to hers, while Yukata came up behind her to sandwich her between them. Matsuri moaned into Naruto’s mouth as their tongues danced, while the pointy nubs of Yukata’s breasts rubbed against her back.

Matsuri wasn’t the only thing trapped between two wet bodies, as she could feel the heat of his dick searing the flesh of her stomach as it seemed to get hotter and hotter. Pulling her lips from Naruto’s, she turned her face towards Yukata’s and found her tongue once more engaged as her friend pulled her into another kiss. A kiss which grew more enflamed as Naruto stepped back in order to lean in and grip one of her breasts and suck it into his mouth, while his other hand reached between her legs. She tensed against her friend’s body as Naruto’s tongue painted her tit with his saliva, while he rubbed up and down her slit with his index and middle fingers.

Matsuri was moaning loudly, but still desired more so using Yukata as support raised one of her legs which she hooked around Naruto’s hip, and tried to urge him forward. Naruto straightened up and chuckled as he got the hint. So, grabbing ahold of her hips, he lifted them up as Yukata supported her upper body, and plunged his almost steel like rod into her in a single thrust. Matsuri cried out in a mixture of pleasure and discomfort as although being his lover for years had helped her acclimate to his size, she was still one of his tighter lovers, and would often orgasm just from his entering her. The present was no exception as she stared up at his face with hooded eyes due to the pleasure that she had experienced as she stated, “That’s cheating.”

“Oh,” Naruto replied as he began slowly pumping his rod within her, “And here I thought it was my job to make my ladies cry out in pleasure. But, if you’re not satisfied with my service, I’m sure Yukata would like…”

“Don’t even say it,” Matsuri said wrapping her legs possessively around his hips.

Yukata laughed softly as she said, “I guess I know where the boundaries of our friendship end at.”

“S…sorry…not sorry,” Matsuri said between moans, “He just feels so good inside me.”

“Oh, I know it,” Yukata said giving her lover a wink as she began to tease her friend’s nipples while continuing to support her upper body.

Matsuri’s cries took on a different tone as the extra stimulation caused her pussy to clamp down on Naruto’s pistoning rod, prompting him to groan as his pace became more sluggish due to the increased resistance he was experiencing. Something he combated by wrapping his arms around Matsuri’s back, and pulled her from Yukata’s grip until she was flush against him. Matsuri wrapped her arms around Naruto’s neck, and clung tightly to him as he began ferociously pounding himself into her.

Naruto didn’t think that Matsuri’s grip on his body, or his cock could get much tighter. But, as she began panting, “I’m going to cum…I’m going to cum,” over and over again, she proved him wrong. Especially as she began to near climax, and her arms and legs tightened around him to the point that he feared something would snap, which was doubly worrying as her pussy coiled around his shaft in much the same manner as he drove it home. Finding himself almost unable to withdraw from her pussy’s now milking grip, Naruto surrendered to his own desire for release and began painting her womb in his seed. This caused the building tension in Matsuri’s to explode forth like a coiled spring, as she may have shot off of Naruto, if he hadn’t had his own grip on her.

Arching her back in spasmatic ecstasy, Matsuri cried out, “I’m cumming!!!”

Naruto rode the wave of his pleasure, as he tried to remain standing, having to fight against the sudden weakness in his knees as Matsuri’s cunt squeezed out every drop of his semen that it could. Which was made all the harder as she became practically dead weight in his arms. Pulling her up against his chest to make it easier to hold her, he smiled as Matsuri nuzzled her face against his shoulder while sleepily stating, “Mmm, it’s so warm inside me.”

The Uzumaki smiled contently, but quickly began looking around as he realized that he had been somewhat neglectful to his other lover. However, she didn’t seem to upset by that judging from the wave she sent his way as he spotted her sitting on the blanket Matsuri had laid out earlier. Naruto made his way towards it, and set down Matsuri down beside her friend. He thensat back allowing his still hard cock to slip free of her, but just as he was about to focus his attention on Yukata, she grabbed him from behind forcing him to sit down.

Naruto basked in her warmth as her naked flesh was pressed into his back as he said, “Sorry I neglected you there for a bit.”

He could hear the smile that she wore on her face in her voice as she said, “It’s okay. You know what they say, three’s a crowd.”

“I hope you didn’t feel that was the case,” Naruto said turning to look over his shoulder.

Yet, he didn’t need to be worried as he could only see contentment in Yukata’s brown eyes. Smiling at him she said, “No, but I wanted a moment alone with you, so figured the best way to get it was to let you focus all your energies on Matsuri.”

Turning to face her, he asked, “Why? There’s…”

The rest of his statement was cut off as Yukata kissed him lovingly, before pulling back to say, “Thank you!”

“For what?” Naruto asked confused.

“For coming to me when I called,” she answered referencing his reappearance in her life, after her time as a member of the Training Force, and encounters with the Ghost. “For cheering me on as I pursued my dream of being a puppeteer. But, most recently, for listening to what you could easily just have dismissed as silly concerns about having a swimming hole with everything else you have going on, and being supportive of it.”

“They weren’t silly to you,” Naruto replied as he reached out to cup her face, “I have asked a great deal of all my lovers, and my recent time here in Suna has showed me that I have been too laxed in spreading myself around evenly. If you and Matsuri say turning this cave into a place for our Family to use will help balance those scales, then I’ll do everything in my power to make it a desert hide away befitting of you all.”

Yukata knew her lover was quite genuine and as a result felt something shift within her which filled her with warmth, and prompted her to state, “I love you!”

Naruto pulled her face towards his as he responded with a kiss that curled her toes, and turned the leaking spigot between her legs back on. Still, as much as she looked forward to have him in her pussy, she decided to commentate the moment with something special as she pulled away to get on all fours. Looking over her shoulder, she gave him an amused smile as she said, “While it appeared that you weren’t enjoying yourself as we made our way down here.” She let the silence linger for a moment before reaching behind her and pulling one of her ass cheeks away to show Naruto her puckered asshole as she said, “But perhaps exploring this tight, and cramped passage would be more to your enjoyment.”

Naruto got to his feet, as he fisted his cock which was still slick from Matsuri and his release, before crouching behind her to state, “Now that is something I can definitely get behind.”

Yukata tensed since she wasn’t sure what to expect having not really experienced any assplay, but it only served to heighten her pleasure as Naruto slid his middle and index finger into her pussy. Figuring her lover knew what he was doing, she basked in the pleasure his fingers were stirring up within her. Her arms began to grow weak as the pleasure grew stronger, so she lowered her torso to rest on her forearms as Naruto continued to fingering her pussy which grew wetter with every passing moment. She momentarily raised up to moan loudly as Naruto replaced his fingers with his cock, which he slammed into her fully causing her to experience a small orgasm as it smashed against her womb.

Yukata basked in the familiar sensations of having her pussy plowed by her lover’s kunoichi tamer, but felt something new being introduced as his middle finger began rubbing around the rim of her back passage. Her moans grew a little louder as the digit used the natural lubrication coating it to make slipping past the tight ring of her anus easier, which he began working back and forth. The nerves within her pussy flared to life as the invading digit exerted extra pressure on the flesh separating it from the dick plunging back and forth within her in a similar manner.

“Oh gods,” Yukata moaned, due to just as she was getting used to the strange but pleasant feeling of having something moving about in her back passage, it almost doubled in size as Naruto added his index finger. “Fuck,” she groaned out due to his not just concentrating on sliding them within her, but began spreading them and by extension her, while he did so.

Yukata felt her body nearing its completion, and felt her lover must have done a fantastic job of prepping her since she was almost disappointed to experience it through such a traditional method as she had wanted to feel his big cock in her ass. Her disappointment evaporated almost instantly though as he suddenly withdrew from her, and quickly leapt up to his feet where he hunched behind her in order to angle his cock for its new flesh sleeve.

Her recently stretched ring didn’t offer much resistance to his cockhead as Naruto slid into her almost without missing a beat. However, he did begin to slow his push into her as he slid past the portion his fingers had just explored. Yukata wasn’t quite sure how to the describe the sensation of her ass being filled. But she found that as Naruto bottomed out within her, while not pleasurable in the same way it was when he was similarly buried in her pussy, it nevertheless was unique and could easily morph into something she could call pleasant. Morph it soon did, as Naruto gripped her hips and slowly began to withdraw and a more familiar feeling of relief swept through her body. It didn’t last as Naruto soon plunged back in, and she almost immediately understood why many of his lovers had already given their anal cherries to him. Naruto soon began drilling his rod within her at full steam, and she found that even the sensation of his balls slapping against her pussy was contributing to the pleasure building within her.

“Oh yes…I can’t believe how good this actually feels,” Yukata moaned as she anticipated that soon she would be experiencing her first anal orgasm.

But Naruto had other ideas as he suddenly pulled out, and flipped her so that she was on her back. Dropping to his knees, he hooked her legs with his arms as he leaned forward to spread her open and angled her hips so that he could slid into her ass once more. He did so slowly while he lowered his face to hers, and said, “Believe it!” He then kissed her hungrily, which she returned with just as much fire. After several moments primarily due to the flesh rod within her being docile, she began to tightened her ass around it, prompting Naruto to pull back to state, “Your ass is squeezing me so tightly. Are you that hungry to cum this way?”

“Yes!” Yukata cried out as her lover leaned back to begin plowing her passage once more.

“Does it really feel that good?” another voice called towards them as Matsuri rejoined them in the present.

“It’s…It’s strange…” Yukata moaned before gasping as Naruto gripped both her breasts and began rolling her nipples between his thumb and index fingers. As the spike of pleasure faded, she continued, “But, it also really amazing.”

Matsuri decided to join in the fun as she slid in beside her friend to kiss her. Yukata opened her mouth and accepted her fellow kunoichi’s tongue which danced around with hers, until she arched her head back as Matsuri’s hand reached her quim and she began rubbing it vigorously. “Oh gods…” Yukata moaned deeply as Matsuri slipped two of her fingers inside the puppeteer, “It’s so fucking good.”

“I think I need to get a better view,” Matsuri stated as she moved so that she was straddling her friend chest while facing towards Naruto. She spared a moment to enjoy the sight of her lover’s sweat covered body as he held Yukata’s ankles to keep her legs apart while he continued to slam his dick into her rectum. A sight she leaned forward to enjoy while she continued to work her fingers inside Yukata’s dripping cunt. Matsuri was rather mesmerized by the sight of her friend’s asshole being stretched out by their shared lover’s cock, and began to wonder how it would feel inside her. However, her focused was pulled away, as suddenly she felt a pair of fingers enter her, and looked back to see her friend was stirring up her pussy in a similar manner as she was doing. Matsuri began softly moaning, which grew louder as after a few moments Yukata replaced her fingers with her tongue. Matsuri began to push her hips back to let the puppeteer drink more deeply of her. When her eyes suddenly opened widely as she felt the cum and pussy slickened digit of Yukata’s index finger begin rubbing around her backdoor. After tracing around her puckered ring a few times, Yukata pushed it inside causing Matsuri to moan out. Much as her friend had stated, she found the feeling a little strange, but could imagine how pleasurable it would be if she was stuffed with something noticeably larger.

She sat back against her friend’s face, to bask in the new sensation with her eyes closed, but soon found a hand possessively grabbing her by the back of the head as Naruto suddenly pulled her into a hungry kiss. After several moments, he pulled away to ask, “So, are you enjoying Yukata’s finger back there. Want me to replace it with something bigger?”

Matsuri bit her lip, partially in thought, but also because she could feel another climax approaching, and although tempted, replied, “Maybe…but I think I would like to save that particular…mmm…milestone for whatever opening ceremony we have down here.” Feeling Yukata’s inner muscles begin to contracting around the fingers she had diddling her, she added, “Besides… oh shit… it’s a long way back to the surface…and…”

“I’m cumming!!!” Yukata suddenly shouted as she pulled her mouth from Matsuri pussy.

Naruto groaned as Yukata’s ass became almost vice-like, prompting him to bury his rod as deep as he could into her and flooding her back passage with his seed.

Matsuri felt a little left out, at least until Yukata after screaming her release, clamped her mouth back in place and pressed on her clit. Matsuri sat back, as her climaxed exploded within her, causing her to flood Yukata’s mouth with her release, while she buried her hands in her hair as she rode the wave of pleasure her fellow Suna-nin’s tongue and finger had created.

As her climax faded into recent memory, Yukata moaned softly in loss as Naruto sat back allowing his dick to slip from her, while Matsuri rolled off of her to lay beside her. Raising up to her elbows, Yukata smiled towards her lover, and friend as she said, “I think you two are going to have to carry me out of here. I don’t think my legs are going to support me after that reaming.”

“Don’t look at me,” Matsuri said with a smile as she continued to pant, “That’s the second time I’ve had my strength taken from me.”

Both kunoichi zeroed their gazes on him, so Naruto simply laid back on the blanket as he said, “How about we just lay here, and hope Kiyomi comes looking for us if we don’t show up for a while?”

Matsuri and Yukata shared a smile as they both found the strength to climb towards him and lay alongside him, with Matsuri asking, “And what if she doesn’t? We left most of our rations up at the surface.”

Yukata giggled in amusement, as she said, “Oh, I wouldn’t worry too much about that Matsuri.” She gripped Naruto’s still semi-hard cock as she said, “We still have plenty of protein available to us. Whether, he makes it back or not might be another story.”

Matsuri snickered, as Naruto also chuckled in amusement before he replied, “Well, if that is how I’m to meet my end. I can at least know that I’ll die with a smile on my face.”

Yukata could feel Naruto’s dick returning to its previous steel like state so she stated, “Looks like we might just have to go with the wait for Kiyomi plan. There’s no way you’ll be sliding your way out of here with this thing sticking out so proudly.”

Matsuri sat up and surprised Yukata as she sat up and wrapped her lips around their lover’s cock, especially considering where it had been. But, if Matsuri found it off-putting, she didn’t let it show as she let it pop free of her lips to state, “Especially, when there are already a few nooks and crannies that were made to receive it.”

Naruto for his part simply groaned as Yukata’s lips wrapped around the head of his cock as she continued to stroke his shaft, while Matsuri moved to begin sucking on his balls. Folding his arms behind his head, he briefly imagined his two lovers exiting the underground network of tunnels leaving behind a smiling mummy due to his being sucked dry by them. Although the image amused him, he did begin directing some of his thoughts towards Kiyomi to pick them up, and although he could tell she had heard his call due to her mark, the reply he received made him feel that it might be a while before she could. Having insured that he wouldn’t meet the end his imagination had conjured for him, he sat up and began teasing both kunoichi’s quims as he planned to be the last one standing when his former Bijuu arrived.

********

“Honestly, I’m not a rickshaw to be called because you three have tired yourselves out,” Kiyomi thought to herself as she could feel the two women with Naruto beginning to again fill the fox mark network with pleasant vibrations. Still, she was curious as to what they were up to particularly as she had felt a large shift in Yukata’s feelings towards Naruto, making her believe the kunoichi’s chakra was no longer green. So, although not genuinely upset, she had felt the call had come at an ill opportune time, particularly as she was currently entertaining a guest of her own.

One, who seemed to pick up on the fact that the prolonged silence that their conversation had lapsed into wasn’t entirely natural as she asked, “Is everything alright?”

“Yes,” Kiyomi replied refocusing her attention solely on Sari. “But it seems that Yukata and Matsuri are going to be indisposed for the remainder of the evening.”

“I kind of figured that might be the case when you said who they were with,” Sari replied as a little color entered into her cheeks as she likely correctly guessed why. Although, she tried to direct her thoughts along another path as she added, “Matsuri really enjoys exploring some of the local caves, and probably wanted to share her hobby with Naruto since he plans to stay in Suna because the First Exam is scheduled to take place here.”

Kiyomi smiled politely as she could tell that ever since she had answered the door of the Hidden Oasis Inn to find the Kazekage’s lover on the other side, that there was something the young woman had wanted to discuss with her friends. Suspecting it might be related to her relationship with the man that ran Suna, Kiyomi decided to probe a little by stating, “Yes, well I suspect what will be keeping them is that she and Yukata are having their caves being explored at the moment.”

Sari’s blush almost instantly ratcheted up from a light red to crimson, but she managed to calm herself after a moment before she smiled politely as she said, “Then I should probably get going. Thank you for your time.”

Kiyomi watched as Sari finished the glass of water that she had brought her, before standing to leave. The human Bijuu allowed her to turn away before asking, “If there is something you wish to get off your chest. I would be willing to lend an ear.”

“Thank you, but it isn’t something that I feel comfortable sharing with…”

“A Bijuu,” Kiyomi suggested, and internally smirked as Sari looked like she wanted to state that wasn’t the case out of reflex. The red-head didn’t let her as she quickly added, “Or, perhaps it is because I’m one of Naruto’s lovers.” She knew that obviously wasn’t entirely the case either, since the women that she had sought out also were, but wanted to make a production of showing her arrival at the right answer for her guest’s benefit as she continued, “No that would obviously not be the case, considering who both women are likely currently entwined with at the moment. In fact, it is much more likely that it is because of their relationship with him that you wished to speak with them.”

Sari’s eyes grew wide, but she retook her seat as she said, “Yes, but how…”

The Suna kunoichi trailed off, as she again looked like she was about to excuse herself, but stopped as Kiyomi answered her unfinished question, “I’m obviously well aware about the current philosophical differences that exist between our respective lovers in regards to what should be sacrificed in the pursuit of the peace that they both seem to value. Differences which seem to be bleeding into how supportive Gaara plans to be in Naruto’s pursuit of that goal. At least if the rejection that I received from his office on creating a W.B.A. here in Suna is any indication.”

“Can you blame him?” Sari asked as she quickly leapt to her lover’s defense, “Naruto was willing to throw the entire alliance into chaos just because one of his lover’s asked him to.”

“She didn’t ask,” Kiyomi replied sounding amused as she sucked the wind from the sails of Sari’s argument causing the woman to sink back into the chair. “In fact, Yugito was willing to stay in Kumo. She didn’t broach the subject with Naruto, but had instead been speaking to someone else at the time. Yet, once it was out in the open, he felt he had to act on it.”

“Why,” Sari asked growing upset at the Bijuu’s tone, “If she was willing to stay in Kumo, why upset everything?”

Kiyomi responded with an amused smile which she could tell stoked some of the simmering anger Sari seemed to be carrying. She suspected that if Sari had met with her friends, that she would have likely listed her complaints in regards to Naruto’s actions, and would have been somewhat mollified by the pair in a noncommittal fashion. Thus, allowing their friend to vent, but also allowing both of them to not really claim either side was right or wrong. Kiyomi though felt the whole ordeal would just be an exercise in futility, since what was truly bothering the young woman wouldn’t have been addressed. Moreover, even if her friends had pushed back some in regards to the Yugito question as Kiyomi thought of it, she imagined Sari would just claim it was naturally for them to take Naruto’s side, while ignoring the fact that she was essentially doing the same thing.

Judging from the darkened gaze that she was the receipt of, Kiyomi guessed that Yukata and Matsuri likely went the mollifying route if they had heard their friend’s complaints on the matter before. As such, she decided to ignore the question in favor of asking a question of her own, “Why should Yugito have remained in Kumo for your benefit?”

Sari looked confused as she stated, “I didn’t say that…”

“Of course, you did,” the red-headed Bijuu interrupted creating a sudden silence as Sari showed that she wasn’t used to such pushback. Taking advantage of it, she explained, “You were undoubtedly about to state that should the extraction from Kumo have gone poorly, the dissolution of the Alliance that followed could or would have likely led to countless innocent people’s deaths. You wouldn’t be wrong in stating that as a possible outcome either. Yet, currently the one with a Kumo target on his back is my lover. A target that I can’t help but feel was placed there by yours due to the vote he cast in Grass. So, tell me, why should Yugito have remained in Kumo for your benefit?”

Sari frowned as she suddenly felt adrift as she had vented similarly to both Matsuri and Yukata in the past. But, while they hadn’t really sided with her, they had let her say her piece without much pushback, and so felt that a sudden storm had sprung up in what was typically calm waters, at least as far as such arguments could be. Trying to regain control she stated, “According to Naruto, it was an outcome that he was more than willing to accept. Why should Gaara have allowed the disbandment of the Alliance over an outcome you all were planning on?”

“I didn’t say that he should,” Kiyomi responded enjoying Sari’s confusion as her attempt to turn the conversation failed. “I merely alluded to the fact that I feel that your lover had a hand in creating the situation mine now faces. Granted, my own shares the brunt of it, but since the Raikage likely sought Grass’s aid in remaining within the Alliance, it at the very least shows that at present, even if Naruto’s role in Yugito’s defection was discovered, he likely wouldn’t have gone to war over it. His one Jinchuriki would have been hard pressed to defeat three, not to mention the combined forces of the remaining members.”

Sari crossed her hands across her chest as she countered defiantly, “That’s all just hypothetical.”

“Yes, it is,” Kiyomi replied letting a predatory smile appear, “Which begs the question, why should your hypothetical what if’s matter in the face of the reality we are currently in, where my lover is the one who has to bear the brunt of the Raikage’s ire? A position as you stated yourself, my lover put himself in for the sake of Yugito. So, returning to my original question, why should Yugito have remained in Kumo for your benefit?”

Sari seemed to wilt like a balloon that had the air let out of it suddenly. Kiyomi could tell the young woman wanted to cling to the notion that based on the numbers of who benefit, Gaara’s was the more virtuous position to take. But, faced with the reality that as things stood, those numbers weren’t being threatened, and more importantly the one currently in danger had accepted such being the case as the best outcome from his actions. Granted, Kiyomi understood that philosophical debates such as the one that existed between Naruto and Gaara were primarily waged in what if scenarios. With both sides often making arguments which used details they cherry picked to make their argument better. Yet, Kiyomi had maneuvered Sari’s argument to a point where she could no longer retreat to it, with the hope that it would force the woman to ask herself some hard questions. Namely, was she happy with her current relationship, and her perceived status within it.

Kiyomi felt a little nervous since she suspected that if Naruto did learn that she was meddling in his friend’s relationship, he would be upset with her. However, although she hadn’t formed the plan until just after answering the door of the Hidden Oasis Inn to find Sari on the other side, she felt it was an opportunity too good to pass up. Primarily, as Kiyomi believed that in Gaara’s quest to prove himself right in the disagreement that he found himself having with Naruto, by being a good and virtuous Kage who valued peace above all else, would inevitably position himself into a place where he needed to oppose Naruto out of principle, if nothing else.

The problem Kiyomi had with such a scenario is that Naruto likely wouldn’t see it coming or even if he did, would wait to act until it was too late. Of course, she was more than aware of the irony that she was acting on her own what if scenario. Yet, having heard Naruto defend Gaara against Temari’s criticisms, most recently about his reactivating the Hollow Army project, Kiyomi knew her lover would continue to see the best of intentions in most of his friend’s actions, particularly if he continued to cover them in the rhetoric that it was for the defense of Suna, right up until said new defenses were repurposed to stop him from acting in a manner that the Kazekage didn’t like.

To that end, Kiyomi hoped that if she could perhaps get Sari to demand more from her lover, by showing her that she was not as accepting of being a sacrificial pawn in Gaara’s quest to prove his way of thinking was solely the right one. It might just get Gaara to question his viewpoint more, thus preventing him from cementing those views, and as a result, create just enough doubt that he wouldn’t delve down any dark paths in order to protect Suna from the threat that he would increasingly see Naruto as. Particularly as her lover’s sphere of influence grew, which is why she suspected the Kazekage had truly denied her attempt to build a Women’s Bathing Association within Suna. As while the official reason his office had given was to deny her zoning request due to water being such a precious resource in Suna that seeing it used in such a frivolous manner would counterman their conservation efforts, Kiyomi much as she suspected Temari would interpreted it, had little doubt it was because Gaara no longer viewed Naruto as the best vessel to make peace in the Shinobi World a reality.

Still, while Kiyomi knew she should probably let the matter drop for the time being as she could in all likelihood build a W.B.A. facility anywhere else in Wind Country, and in some of those spots, such as the capital, it might attract far more influential women. She wanted to make it clear to the Kazekage that while for the moment his actions might not be enough to be considered openly hostile, there would be those among Naruto’s lovers that were watching, and more importantly willing to push back should they become such.

But, hoping to avoid reaching such a state where she may earn lover’s ire in order to protect him from himself, she refocused on the task at hand as she asked the still silent Sari, “Could it be you don’t have an answer?”

“I don’t understand the question,” Sari fired back, “I didn’t stand to gain or lose anything by her defection.”

“Oh,” Kiyomi replied in mock surprise, “Where is that much vaunted concern for the people of Suna?”

Sari glared angrily as she responded, “You already forced me to concede that arguing about hypotheticals is pointless. Even if I did so, you’d just call me a hypocrite.”

Kiyomi’s smile shifted to amusement as she said, “I’m afraid I already consider you to be that.”

“What! Why!” Sari demanded as she stood from her chair. But rather than sticking around for an answer she stated, “I don’t need to sit here and take this from you.”

“There’s the door,” Kiyomi stated with a dismissive wave of her hand. As Sari turned away though, she called after her, “Tell me, what brought you here today? Wasn’t it so you could unburden yourself on a pair of sympathetic ears, that even as you told them that their lover was in the wrong, would nod their heads while keeping their comments to a minimum?”

Sari paused as she looked back to ask, “Is that something they’ve told you I’ve done?”

“I assure you,” Kiyomi responded, “You’ve never been a topic of conversation that I’ve had with either of them. But, as they are your friends, and considering what I imagine are your current frustrations with your relationship, they would be the only ones you could confide in. Without betraying some the secrets that you are currently privy to, that is. I also imagine that it is why they allow you to unburden yourself in such a manner. It probably isn’t the first time either.”

Sari half-heartedly responded, “I’m not frustrated with my relationship.”

Kiyomi sighed as she said, “And there is why I would call you a hypocrite.” The Bijuu gave the brown-haired woman some credit though as her previous reaction to being called such didn’t materialize. She figured it was because she now saw the pattern of their exchange up to that moment, but just in case explained, “You’ve demonstrated that your previous complaints about what could have happened during the defection were just you shouting what if this or that had happened. But, when I theory crafted in kind, you dismissed it quite easily. Not exactly the action of someone truly committed to such a line of thinking. Your lover by extension is someone who I imagine would have taken my point, and simply replied that the potential threat of a war still necessitated that Naruto do nothing. Finally…”

“Finally,” Sari cut in causing a flash of annoyance in the Bijuu, at least until she continued, “I acknowledged the fact that currently Naruto is the one in the most danger, and it was even by his design.” Although she had sounded dejected as she spoke, the kunoichi fastened a fiery gaze on Kiyomi as she asked, “What is the point of this then?”

“Merely to force you to admit the truth,” Kiyomi replied. “I believe your friends think they are doing you a service by being your relief valve. However, my own experiences have taught me that sometimes you need to be confronted with the white lies that we tell ourselves and others. As those can at times be hiding the harshest of truths which we want to avoid.”

“What’s that?” Sari asked suspiciously, “That I don’t love Gaara or should ditch him for Naruto.”

“Not at all,” Kiyomi replied somewhat surprised by the bitterness she heard in the other woman’s voice, “But, perhaps that Gaara does not care for you in the manner that you believed, or feel you deserve.” Taking on a more sympathetic tone she continued, “The reason I asked you why you would feel that Yugito should have stayed in Kumo for your benefit, is because those are questions that you probably wouldn’t even be asking yourself if she had.”

Sari’s eyes grew wide in surprise as she could suddenly see why she would look like a hypocrite to the Bijuu. Still, she tried to blind herself of the sudden insight as she responded weakly, “Gaara is the Kazekage, and I knew that came with certain responsibilities when I started my relationship with him.”

“And what rule is it that states your relationship with him means that it is okay to be a pawn in his current disagreement with Naruto?”

“I’m not a pawn,” Sari stated quickly.

“No,” Kiyomi asked with a raised eyebrow, “From my understanding, when confronted with a question that involved you, he made it quite clear that he would sacrifice you in order to save Suna.”

“That’s because he is the Kazekage and…”

Kiyomi cut the excuse off as she asked, “Tell me, would you die for your village?”

Sari frowned as she stated, “Of course! I swore…”

“Why?”

Sari frowned as she had been about to qualify her reasoning. But, guessed the red-head had guessed what she was about to state, so not accepting of it was demanding a different reason. Not sure what it would be, and hoping to end what was beginning to feel like an interrogation she asked accusingly, “What about you? Would you sacrifice yourself for Naruto’s grand ambition?”

“No,” Kiyomi replied matter of factly earning her an opened mouth stare from the woman, which caused her to giggle in amusement. Explaining herself, the Bijuu stated, “I fully intend to live forever with him by my side. More to the point, I find myself wondering if this quest is even worth it, but will continue to provide my support because I do love him and wish to see him happy. But, if he were to tell me that he wanted to abandon it tomorrow or even to build a new world through blood and steel, I would be equally content to lend him my support.”

“Do all of you feel that way?”

“Of course not,” Kiyomi replied with a hint of amusement, “Many of his lovers believe in his vision of a Shinobi world at peace as fervently as he does. They would undoubtedly be disappointed in him, particularly if he changed to someone willing to adopt a desire to establish peace through force. However, I am not one of them, and it is truthfully because I don’t believe the majority of you humans are worth the effort. Your Gaara in particular.” Kiyomi paused a moment as she admitted that she was surprised that her statement didn’t earn her a rebuke, but pressed on stating, “This current Alliance is more Naruto’s doing then his, and yet, he will use its existence to demand that my lover turn his back on someone he cares for. All the while ignoring how Naruto was willing to potentially doom his ambitions for his benefit.”

“The stakes were hardly the same,” Sari stated trying to push back some, “besides, Gaara didn’t even want him to interfere.”

“And yet Naruto did anyway,” Kiyomi countered as she met the other woman’s gaze, “Much as he did for Yugito. Her life may not have hung in the balance, but she was just as willing to sacrifice herself for the same perceived greater good as Gaara. Who I might add conveniently overlooks how your Daimyo could just have easily demanded blood to be spilled in order to satisfy his will being thwarted by someone from the Leaf, if we want to spin a worst case scenario that is. Yet, I imagine your Kazekage was still rather pleased to find his wishes had been ignored.” Sari looked away first, so Kiyomi sighed as she said, “Look, if you are truly happy with your relationship and if you wish to be a sacrifice on the altar of the greater good then be my guest. But, have the basic courtesy to suffer nobly and more important silently. Do not come into this home that Naruto built with his lovers and continue to tarnish his name, because unlike your friends, I will not let such slights go. Primarily as I am definitely one that sees people as either being with us or against us, and I assure that you do not wish to be in the latter camp. You may share that sentiment with your lover if you wish.”

Sari frowned as she asked, “How do you expect Gaara not to perceive you as a threat by throwing around a statement such as that?”

“I very clearly want him to see me as one,” Kiyomi responded throwing caution to the wind, as she decided to make her opinion known as to where she would stand should the current philosophical debate resulted in the two friends coming to blows. “My lover may be willing to buy into the lie that Gaara is selling about his reactivating projects such as this Hollow Army. But, not all of us are willing to and while Naruto will continue to believe the best about his friend, right up to the point when he plunges a dagger into his back. I’m sad to say that he may even try to assign the best justifications as to why Gaara would. Yet, I assure you, I will make it my personal mission to extract terrible vengeance upon any who would betray him in such a manner.”

“Why,” Sari asked confused, “Wouldn’t you be afraid you’d lose him by becoming such a monster?”

“Of course,” Kiyomi replied with a sad smile, “But, your lover has shown me one thing about myself. I used to concern myself with whether or not I was a monster. But whether I am or not, Naruto accepted me, and told me that it didn’t matter what labels others applied to me. Only the ones that I applied to myself truly have meaning. Yet, I find that isn’t truly the case, because I want him to continue to look at me the way he currently does, so I keep my more monstrous desires in check. However, I find a world in which Naruto is no longer in it unacceptable. Yet, a world that still has him, even one where he also views me as a monster, is something I can live with. Make sure that is something your lover understands before he ever decides to stand up and be counted among Naruto’s enemies.” Letting the hard edge that had entered her tone fade away, she said, “Actually, it would probably be best if Gaara heard that from me. I do apologize for that last bit. I meant ever word mind you, but I shouldn’t have burdened you with it. You have your own issues to work out I imagine.”

Sari felt more than a little unbalanced by the sudden shift in tone, considering the heavy aura the Bijuu had been giving off that had almost made it hard to breath. Nodding in agreement, she stood as she stated, “I’m sorry for taking up your time.”

“Not at all,” Kiyomi replied chipperly as if she hadn’t just issued a threat towards the other woman’s lover, “As I just demonstrated, sometimes it feels good to unburden one’s self. If you ever feel the need to do so again, and are perhaps looking for more than just someone to nod along to the beats, please feel free to give me a call. Yet, keep in mind that I will push back if you tarnish my lover’s good name.”

Again, Sari nodded, although truthfully couldn’t really see herself ever taking the Bijuu up on the offer. Still, after being seen out the door, and as she made her way home, couldn’t help feeling that perhaps things between her and Gaara weren’t as perfect as she would normally act that they were. However, still not sure what to do with such feelings, as much as she had stated to the Bijuu, she had known exactly who it was that she was getting into bed with. She in the ended decided for the time being to do nothing, since she wanted a little time to think on the matter as one thing Kiyomi had also made clear was that she was willing to do anything to protect Naruto from what she perceived as threats, and was quite sure that would also include riling her up and unleashing her on Gaara in order to distract him.

********

Konohamaru was walking through his home village without a particular destination in mind having just read the most recent letter that Naho had sent him. Primarily as he really didn’t want to go anywhere, but had felt staying at his apartment by himself to sulk over how concerning he had found it would be too depressing. Not that he found moving as he did so that much of an improvement. “I bet Naruto doesn’t have this problem,” he thought with more than a little bitterness as he found his path had taken him by the training fields. Particularly as the retinue of women Naruto could turn to in order to distract himself from his problems flashed before his eyes, before settling on Moegi. Who along with Naruto, normally would have been someone whom Konohamaru could turn to in order to discuss his current issues in regards to his relationship with Naho, but she was currently in Suna “training,” which he felt was simply a euphemism for fucking said Uzumaki.

Truthfully. Konohamaru was somewhat surprised to find that the bitterness he had just felt return and intensify as he pictured Moegi and Naruto together. He couldn’t exactly qualify why for a moment, as in all honesty, he had never seen Moegi in that way before, since to him, she had always just been one of the guys. Yet, he quickly realized that was perhaps why her becoming another one of Naruto’s lovers did bother him, as it demonstrated to him another way in which his rival had bested him. After all, Konohamaru was under no delusion that Moegi and Naruto were taking it slow, and had likely already engaged in the carnal multiple times, while the best he had achieved over the course of a few years was touching his girlfriend’s boob, through multiple layers of clothes.

Which brought him back to what had him wandering the village aimlessly, namely that minor sexual achievement would probably be the extent to which he and Naho would get physical together. In all honesty, that wasn’t normally something which would bother him, as he knew that among the ruling class the perceived purity of young noble women was something which was strongly considered when arranging political marriages and the like. So, he had taken Naho’s allowing him to touch her in such a way, even when clothed as a sign of how strong their feelings were. Yet, more recently it seemed as if Naho was distancing herself from him. Which he supposed was always a strong possibility due to the majority of their relationship consisting of the letters that they sent to one another. As even when he visited the capital of Fire Country to see her, he needed to sneak into the palace. Yet still, even with such hardships, he had been confident their feelings would carry them through until he became Hokage, and had the political power to make their relationship public.

However, the last few letters he had received made him wonder if perhaps her feelings for him were weakening. He couldn’t quite place his finger on why he was feeling that way as her letters still spoke of how she missed him, and longed to see him again. But the words felt somewhat hollow to him, as if they had not been written from the heart as they had previously been. He attributed this feeling to how her earlier letters, had often had slight errors or parts where a word would be crossed out as she immediately would seize on one that was better. Yet, her more recent ones were almost pristine, making him believe that they had been subjected to multiple drafts, and so although the words used had remained the same. It felt as if it had lost the heart they had been meant to convey in the redrafting process.

He knew it was probably silly of him to feel that way, since for all he knew she had been reprimanded by a tutor stating it wasn’t wise for royalty to send out letters in anything but a perfect state. Yet, he couldn’t shake the feeling that Naho was holding something back from him. Again, he knew it could just be a case of his imagination conjuring up concerns where none truly existed. In his more paranoid moments, he even had feared Naruto seeing the benefit of having someone close to the Daimyo had decided to seduce her, and her current letters were just meant to string him along until she could find a more diplomatic means of dumping him. His imagination took the opportunity to show him a scene of a naked Naruto laying in Naho’s bed with an equally naked Moegi pressed against his side, while Naho, although still dressed, had her lips wrapped around the blond’s cock as the Uzumaki mockingly read her a letter that he had sent. As the jinchuriki finished it, he would crumple it up as he called him a failure as a rival at which point Naho would agree as she sat up and began disrobing to be taken.

Konohamaru forced the waking dream to stop, primarily as he didn’t want to see it play out further. But also, because he knew it was disrespectful to all those it had featured. Yet even as he felt that way as he knew Naruto would never sabotage a friend in such a manner. He would admit that he was more concerned with how Naho would react if she found herself the recipient of such attention, as even though he wanted to believe her feelings for him were as strong as his for her. He had to admit some of the strength of them, had likely been created due to his saving her, particularly as she had been so infatuated with Sasuke at the time. Which due to the long-distance nature of the relationship that they had formed afterwards, she now found the strength of those feelings fading as some other young man at court began wooing her.

He liked to believe if that was the case, she would have told him. But, had to admit that there were elements of her world that he didn’t truly understand. But whatever the case may be, he knew that he couldn’t afford to just wait around and hope things worked out for the best. If he truly intended to win Naho’s heart, the first thing he needed to do was to make a serious name for himself. One that would make it so that when it came time to choose a new Hokage, his was the one that was put forth. Since if he was truly going to pursue her, then he would likely need to have some political power as well, since he could only see the Daimyo giving her to a man that he respected as an equal. But he would never give his blessing for her to be with a chunin without any significant achievements to his name.

Konohamaru frowned as even with a goal in mind, he found himself lacking in the means for how to go about achieving it. Since, without meaning to be so, Naruto functioned as a rather spectacular hurdle to overcome when it became time to choose a Hokage, as the blond would be the first choice for many, not to mention he had a long list of achievements already. While if he was being honest with himself, Konohamaru knew that to most he came off as a cheap knockoff of the Uzumaki. Especially considering the two best jutsu in his arsenal had been taught to him by Naruto, and so felt that if he was going to tackle this hurdle, that he would need to do so alone.

Figuring that while he may need to tackle the problem alone, it didn’t mean that he couldn’t turn to the wisdom of others. He began to head to the Sarutobi Clan’s meeting hall, which primarily served as a place where members of the clan could meet and discuss issues important to the clan. Which, from the meetings that he had attended since inheriting the position of Clan Head, was just an excuse to get together to drink. Still, as the clan was scattered all over the village it also served as a localized place to store items and writings from the clan’s most prestigious members. Turning to head to the Hokage District since that was where his Grandfather had decided to build it, feeling its centralized location was the best means to protect what was located within, Konohamaru was beginning to feel confident that something he would discover within his own heritage would help him be able to meet his rival one day as an equal.

Yet, a moment later, he found himself sidetracked as a voice that sounded strangely familiar called out, “Konohamaru, is that you?”

He turned to gaze at the speaker, but was caught off-guard since whoever it had been that called out to him, apparently didn’t need to wait for his confirmation of his identity as he suddenly found himself the recipient of a powerful hug. Not that he minded, due to the feeling of twin soft pillows squishing themselves into his chest.

Konohamaru was rather confused by the overly familiar greeting, at least until the hug lessened and the young woman stepped back giving him a chance to look at her. For a moment, he still struggled with who she was but found the teal hair and eyes she possessed to be familiar. Even the clothes she wore seemed vaguely familiar which consisted of a pink blouse similar to the one he had seen Ino wear when he had joined her and Naruto for some training. The young woman was also wearing a loose-fitting skirt, which wouldn’t hinder her movements, so imagined she would be wearing some sort of form fitting shorts underneath. With her name on the tip of his tongue, he suddenly imagined her shrunk down so that the blouse and skirt were on piece, and with an undershirt under the blouse which covered most of her arms in loose sleeves, at which pointed he was virtually certain the young woman was, “Kaede.”

Kaede Yoshino smiled happily at being remembered, before wrapping her arms around him in another hug. This time Konohamaru returned it, as he asked, “What are you doing here?”

Kaede stepped back as she asked playfully, “Now Konohamaru, is that any way to greet an old friend?”

Chuckling in response, he wasn’t sure why he felt so nervous suddenly which he felt he was displaying due to the hand that he raised to the back of his head as he added, “No, I suppose not.” Trying to tap down on it he stated, “It’s good to see you, are you just visiting or back for good?”

“Back for good,” Kaede answered happily. “Daddy feels being ambassador to Suna has lost some of its pizazz due to the Alliance, so has requested reassignment. I’m guessing the Hokage agreed since she sent a relatively green diplomat as a replacement. I imagine she thinks it will give his successor some experience in an environment that he isn’t too likely to screw up, and she can keep Daddy close at hand in order to send him out to places needing a more experienced hand to guide them.”

Konohamaru held back a frown, as he found Kaede’s way of speaking of her father a little annoying. He wasn’t entirely sure why that was, but suspected it might be due to some lingering feelings that he had for the teal haired woman, and felt her obviously affectionate way of addressing her father might be causing him to see the man as a rival of sorts. He shook such thoughts from his head, since he already had a girlfriend and despite her rather exuberant greeting, it didn’t mean she had any romantic inclinations towards him.

“Have you been back long?”

“A few months,” Kaede replied quickly. Konohamaru was surprised by how much disappointment he felt from her answer, which he easily attributed to it being a sign that their meeting was more a stroke of fate, then any desire Kaede had at reconnecting with him. She surprised him though as she seemed to be able to read his thoughts as she quickly added, “I really am glad that we ran into each other today. I wanted to seek you out as soon as we returned to the village, but kept putting it off because I was afraid you wouldn’t remember or be happy to see me.” Konohamaru felt suddenly flushed as Kaede seemed to grow a little nervous, as she folded her hands behind her back, and asked with a coy smile and a slightly demure tone, “You are happy to see me, aren’t you Konohamaru?”

“Y-yes,” he croaked out through his suddenly dry throat.

Kaede smiled brightly at him, as she gave him another hug before stepping away with some disappointment in her voice as she said, “I wish we could spend more time catching up. But I have to head to the Hokage district to register as an active shinobi. I just passed my finally remedial exam, which just between you and me, I didn’t need. I received a pretty decent education while I lived in Wind Country, but because it was at one of Suna’s satellite Academies, they wouldn’t recognize me as a full-fledged kunoichi until I completed a few courses here.”

“A satellite Academy,” Konohamaru said confused, “I thought your family moved to Suna. Why wouldn’t you just attend the Suna’s primary Academy”

Kaede gave him a slightly pained smile, indicating something troubling had happened as she explained, “We were supposed to…but as it was right before the Sand-Sound Invasion… the Kazekage wasn’t too receptive towards Konoha sending us. So, he used some loophole to send us to a place called Wind-Gate Village which had sprung up around the base they had monitoring the Earth Corridor. Things got pretty dicey for a while, but thanks to Daddy making some allies of the local shinobi, we managed to pull through without being executed like the Fourth Kazekage had ordered. Thanks in part to them, we grew to love Wind-Gate Village so much that we decided to stay even after the selection of the Fifth Kazekage and he invited us to live in Suna.”

Konohamaru was rather surprised by the revelation, but was glad to see that it appeared things had turned out okay in the end. Giving her a warm smile, he said, “I’m glad everything worked out. As it so happens, I have some business in the Hokage District myself, would you mind if I accompanied you and we could catch up some more?”

Kaede quickly wrapped her arms around one of his as she said, “Lead the way.”

Konohamaru found himself blushing again, as he found her nearness almost intoxicating. But, managed to maintain his wits enough to begin guiding them towards their destination. As they walked, he found himself beginning to feel rather guilty, since he had a girlfriend, who he often had wanted to escort through his village in such a manner. But he silenced it by reminding himself that they were just a couple of old friends reconnecting after years apart, and in many ways, they would need to discover who each of them was in the present. After all, he had a hard time picturing the old Kaede being as free with physical signs of affection as the present one seemed to be. Still, he couldn’t exactly say that he didn’t exactly mind the change, but considering his mounting frustrations with the lack of physical intimacy with Naho, he couldn’t help feeling that his old crush’s sudden return was some test sent by the gods.

Again, he began to feel guilty, as he felt that even the thought that Kaede was meant to test him was a sign that he wanted her to desire him. Trying to distract himself from any further thoughts on the matter, he asked, “So, do you miss the Wind-Gate Village.”

Kaede gave the matter some thought before answering, “Not as much as I thought that I would. Mainly, because I think you’ll find that we brought back the best that village had to offer with us.” Konohamaru was rather confused by her response since he felt it didn’t really match up with what she had stated just a few moments ago. Yet, such concerns immediately slipped from his mind as she followed up by stating, “But mostly because I get to reconnect with you. The idea of forming an even deeper connection with you then the one we had when I left, excites me.”

Konohamaru wasn’t sure why, since he felt on the surface, she hadn’t said anything too flirtatious. But, suspected his pervious feelings of guilt were now trying to make him see danger signs were none existed so he was reacting to a less innocent connotation of her words. Which showed him that although he was also excited at the prospect of rediscovering the young woman named Kaede Yoshino, he also suspected that doing so was going to test the bond that currently existed between him and Naho. Still, he wasn’t going to allow that to stop him, since he felt it would be rather weak of him to deny Kaede’s friendship because he couldn’t get his emotions under control. Besides which, for all he knew Naho was finding herself being tempted by some man at court, and if so, he felt having a female friend which whom he could speak, and wasn’t a part of some massive sex cult such as Moegi was now a part of, would only help increase his chances of retaining the current focus of his affections. Thinking along those lines caused much of the guilt and confliction that Kaede’s sudden appearance had caused to settle down. But it didn’t remain that way for long as they began to enter the village proper, and he noticed a few people looking at them, with his stock rising in the eyes of the men who obviously grew jealousy at the beauty hanging off of his arm. As a result, he couldn’t help his enjoyment of the moment, or that it wasn’t something happening in his imagination.

*******

“Oh gods,” Moegi moaned as the figurative sex god that she was bound to, continued to finger her snatch, much as he was doing for her current teammate Yakumo. Both kunoichi were sitting on a coach in one of the common areas within the Hidden Oasis Inn, with their heels resting on the cushion edge as Naruto knelt between them on the floor and fingered their dripping quims. For Moegi, the whole scene was still a little surreal, particularly since Tenten was also present, but her focus was on the sword Sasuke had wielded during Naruto’s fight with him, which made the orange haired kunoichi feel even more content with her current situation since it meant the pleasure the women of the Family basked in was so abundant, that for Tenten what was happening on the couch was just another day.

Moegi shifted her gaze from Tenten to the blond man, whose fingers were still stirring up her honeypot as he moved his face between her spread thighs. She let out a loud moan when her blond lover’s mouth clamped over her clit, which he sucked on for a moment before then flicking it with his tongue. “Oh… shit,” she groaned as she fought against climaxing since she wanted to enjoy the current moment that much longer, plus there was a small wager between her and Yakumo as to who could last the longest. A bet that Moegi felt she was on the verge of losing, but luckily for her, Naruto was aware of the contest, so was making sure to give each of their pussies an equal amount of time under the lashes of his tongue. Having been counting down the seconds, she had just reached zero when Naruto switched back to Yakumo whose body tensed as a moan escaped from her, while her toes began to curl. Still, although no longer the primary focus of their shared lover, Moegi wasn’t out of danger of losing their bet as the fingers buried in her snatch prevented her from relaxing too much. Her mental countdown was once again reaching zero, so Moegi focused on the Kurama clan heiress’s face and from the way she was biting her lower lip and struggling to keep her thighs open, knew she was close. Moegi knowing she likely wouldn’t survive another round, so did her best to will her opponent into giving in like a Yamanaka, and was surprised when it looked like it worked as Yakumo’s head rocked back as she moaned agreeably, “Cumming!!!”

Yakumo pushed her mound firmly against her lover’s face as she rode the wave of her climax, before bonelessly slumping into the couch to bask in the aftermath of her defeat. For a moment, Moegi almost wished she was the one who had lost due the contentment that was being displayed in Yakumo’s face. However, the feeling didn’t last long as after enjoying Yakumo’s liquid offering, it was soon her turn as she became the sole focus of Naruto godlike tongue and hands. Removing the fingers that had been stirring up her insides, Naruto replaced them with his tongue as he moved both hands up to play with her tits. Moegi cried out as Naruto’s hands began to tease her hardened nubs, with her prize secure and wanting to make it even stiffer, she grabbed the hand which he had used to keep Yakumo’s pussy engaged while his tongue had been focused on her, and brought it up towards her face. Naruto stared up excitedly from her mound as she licked her lips and then began to suck the fingers clean of her fellow kunoichi’s juices. She smirked internally as she could practically feel the desire and lust pulsing off the Uzumaki. But so focused was she on ratcheting up his lust, she was blindsided when he disappeared from her vision due to her world suddenly turning white once Naruto pulled his tongue from her snatch and then gave her clit a suck.

When her vision returned to normal, she was greeted by the pleased smile of the man that she was now bound to whose face she had coated in her release. Naruto stood, and Moegi felt a sense of amusement due to how her lover tied the light robe that he wore so that it exposed his chest. But it quickly turned to lust once he stood fully erect, and she saw that his chest wasn’t the only thing exposed and standing out proudly. He then sat down between her and Yakumo, who quickly covered his cock with her mouth causing him to groan.

Although, Moegi had won the right to ride it first, she didn’t mind Yakumo’s quickly gobbling it down as her pussy was still pleasantly tingling. But also because she had another need that she wanted satisfied first, so asked, “Boss, do you mind if I ask you something?”

“Hmm, what’s on your mind,” Naruto replied naturally being somewhat distracted.

Moegi felt a flash of annoyance at the Kurama heir as the woman stopped her suck to interrupt her and ask, “What I want to know is how Tenten can be so taken with that sword? Especially, when there is a legendary kunoichi slayer that needs servicing.”

The flash of annoyance turned into amusement as Naruto put his hand on the back of Yakumo’s head and wordlessly guided her mouth back to the task. Still, Tenten, who was wearing a similar robe as Naruto stood as she replied, “Perhaps because the two of you had already agreed on the terms of your contest before inviting me.” Moegi wondered if they had perhaps offended the Bun haired girl by excluding her, which could prove troublesome for her as she also had a favor to ask the older kunoichi. But this proved to not be the case as she produced a scroll from the pocket of her robe, which upon her activating one of the seals, revealed a large orange dildo attached to a harness as she stated, “Besides, with Naruto being on the injured reserve list and being unable to produce clones, I figured I could entertain myself with the loser of your bet until it was my turn.”

Tenten licked and sucked the large rubber phallus before slipping the harness over her shapely legs, and after pulling it into place, disrobed and then began to fist the cock to spread her saliva over it as she said, “I hope your ready Yakumo, it may be an imitation of the real kunoichi slayer, but I’ll prove that even it can be just as devastating.”

“Speaking of imitations,” Naruto said between groans due to Yakumo being in the process of sucking on one of his balls. “You called that sword a Grasscutter. But I thought Orochimaru wield it, and the one Nel and I took from Sasuke looks completely different from the one he had.”

Tenten always up for talking about weapons, knelt behind the Kurama heir as she answered, “That’s because the Grasscutter blade isn’t one particular sword, but a series of them.” The only present chunin then licked from the palm of her hand, to the tip of her middle finger before reaching down behind Yakumo. Teasing the kneeling woman’s pussy and finding it drenched, Tenten then grabbed her rubber cock to aim it and the plunged into Yakumo, causing the woman to raise her head and moan, before returning to slobber over their shared lover’s knob once again. Focusing, on said man as she pumped her hips into Yakumo’s backside she continued, “In this case, it is referring to the village that it was forged in. It…mmm… was located within Grass Country, and had a family of smiths that were renowned for the weapons they made. T…They say that the founder of the family sacrificed his wife to his forge in order to create the first legendary blade in order to defeat some monster or demon. The blade was powerful, but apparently the monster couldn’t be defeated through physical means so they ended up sealing it. However, as a result of the sacrifice used, all the swords produced by the forge proved to be incredible works that contained unique abilities, although each subsequent work was said to be weaker than the previous. Orochimaru’s Grasscutter due to its appearance would likely be an earlier work, perhaps even the first as the village’s name was changed to Grasscutter after its forging. The one you took off of the bastard was probably one of the last.”

Tenten noticed Naruto’s face crinkle in distaste, which although she felt it could be attributed to the mention of two of Konoha’s worst traitors, actually believed it was that the story of the weapon’ss forging mirrored his and his mother’s, to a certain degree. For a moment, she regretted providing the explanation during such an intimate moment, but it disappeared to be replaced with contentment as soon as he focused on Moegi as she asked, “What do you plan to do with the sword, Boss?”

“I don’t know,” Naruto answered, “Since Nel brought it back, I figured she would keep it once she returned to her adult form. But, since it seems that she is stuck in her child one again, would you want to keep it Tenten.”

“N…no,” Tenten said as she shifted her focus from pleasuring Yakumo back to her lover, “Considering who it belonged to… I don’t think it would be wise to attract his ire. At least… not yet. Besides, I still have the Melk Blades you bought for me.”

Naruto nodded in agreement with her overall point, so said, “I guess I’ll hold onto it then. At least until Nel decides she wants it.”

Tenten smiled at what her lover said, since it showed how selfless he could be. Although, she wondered if that would still be case if she told him how much the sword would be worth. Which, although she knew her lover could be greedy when it came to money, she attributed it to the fact that he had lived alone for the majority of his life, and thus knew just how difficult it could be to take care of oneself without it. A lesson she had also learned when she had been forced out of her home in order to pursue her dreams. Feeling some of her own sad memories returning, she pushed them aside in order to focus on the moment, and reaching down to grab Yakumo by the throat, she pulled the kunoichi away from Naruto’s cock that she hadn’t stopped pleasuring during their conversation to say, “But enough about that. Are you really going to let my challenge go unanswered?”

Naruto smirked as he responded, “I just wanted to let you have a head start, since a lousy plastic imitation is no match for the real thing.”

Moegi let out a giggle as Naruto pulled her into his lap which turned into a moan as she lowered herself onto his living steel rod. Gripping her hips, he bounced her in his lap causing her to cry out towards the ceiling as his cock rammed itself into her womb over and over again. Moegi was shocked to find that within moments, she felt like she was on the verge of cumming. Which apparently while Naruto was eager to prove his mettle to the weapon using kunoichi, he wasn’t willing to cut her time with him short to achieve it as he stopped her bouncing. Moegi got the hint, and with him buried deeply inside her, began grinding her hips against him. Beginning to settle down some, she was nevertheless still lost in the pleasure that she was feeling, which was why she was surprised when he asked, “What did you want to ask me?”

“Huh?” Moegi replied since at the moment she felt the only thing that mattered was the dick currently nestled within her. But, after a moment of searching through her pleasure hazed mind, she leaned forward to whisper into his ear, “I…I wanted to k…know if you would train me during the mmmmonth period before the final round of the exammmmms…more s-s-specifically in how to create a Rasengan.”

Leaning into her ear to nibble it, Naruto asked, “Why?”

“Fuck!” Moegi cried out as she leaned back to place her hands on her lover’s knees as she began to raise and lower herself on his cock. Although she tried to answer, her words failed her due to Naruto following her forward to suck on one of her tits. Once she grew somewhat accustomed, she replied, “I…I’ve been told that I have excellent chakra control.” She suddenly bit her lip as Naruto switched his focus to her other tit before continuing, “But…although Ebisu-sensei recommmmended that I join mmmedic program. I’d rather find mmmy own path, and feel learning that jutsu would be instrummmmental, since it is the pinnacle of… gods I love how good you feel inside me…shape and mmmmanipulation control. I also wanted to ask Tenten to help train mmmeee in creating…s-sseals.”

Naruto smiled around the nipple that he was currently teasing as he could feel Moegi’s pussy contracting around his cock letting him know how close she was. Although, he found the request strange, he got the sense that Moegi had something rather specific in mind, and wondered what learning seals and the Rasengan together would achieve. But, after a moment he realized her reasoning showed it wasn’t really the Rasengan that she was interested in, but what mastering it could achieve in terms of controlling and shaping her chakra. Which coupled with various seals, made him believe that Moegi was looking to perhaps be the first of a new class of shinobi, namely a support class. Which didn’t necessarily mean she was looking to sit in the backrow, so much as be adaptable no matter the team that she was assigned to with the seals allowing her to carry extra items relevant to her teammates, such as extra weapons for a fighter like Tenten, to medical supplies for someone like Sakura. While if she was able to master the Rasengan, it would likely be a large step in eventually mastering collaborative jutsu.

Naruto was about to agree, but was beat to the punch as Tenten said, “Well, if you want my help then you’re going to hold off on cumming until after Yakumo again.” Looking over, he chuckled as he saw Tenten was now sitting against the opposite side of the couch fondling one of Yakumo’s breasts, while the Kurama Clan Head was kneeling between her spread legs as she slammed herself down on the toy.

Wrapping his arms around Meogi’s lower back, Naruto stood while stating, “Looks like you’re falling behind if you have to resort to such a desperate measure.” He then spun to face the couch which he set Moegi down on, and then pushed on the back of her knees until they rested against her shoulders. When Moegi took over holding them in place, Naruto gripped the back of the couch and began slamming himself into her, Moegi cried out loudly as her lover relentlessly drove himself into her over and over again. The pressure to climax rapidly began to grow despite her efforts to stave it off both to secure Tenten’s training, but so she could make the pleasure coursing through her nerves last that much longer. But, with his cock battering her womb time after time, it wasn’t long until she cried out, “Oh shit! Cumming!!!”

Her climax seemed to intensify as she was rewarded with Naruto’s cum which filled her womb to the point of overflowing, causing some to quickly leak out onto the cushions of the couch as he withdrew from her. Letting go of her legs, which weakly fell to the ground as she sighed in contentment even as she said, “Sorry, he was too much for me.”

Naruto chuckled as he approached the other end of the couch where Yakumo was still meeting the weapon user’s thrusts. Looking back towards Moegi, he brought his cum coated cock near Tenten’s face as he said, “I wouldn’t worry about it. Tenten will still agree to train you. Right?”

Tenten stared hungrily at the still hard creamcile hanging a few inches from her face, and could hear in her lover’s teasing voice there was only one answer that would give her what she desired, so quickly replied, “Of course I will.” At which point she opened her mouth and received her reward. She moaned as she enjoyed the combined flavor of her lover, and the woman who she would be teaching the sealing arts too. Which due to his seed causing a jolt of pleasure to pass through the nerves of her tongue all the way to her pussy that was being stimulated from the force of Yakumo’s thrust, she found herself being the one propelled into an orgasmic bliss. She sucked hungrily on the dick her lips were wrapped around as she moaned in pleasure while soaking the harness in her release.

Yakumo looked back when she felt Tenten’s grip on her hips slacken and smirked as she saw her nursing on the dick in her mouth like a baby with a bottle. She looked over towards Moegi to see that she was still in her own blissed out state, so crawling forward until the toy slipped out of her said, “Looks like I’m the last one standing.”

“Looks that way,” Naruto said in amusement as Yakumo stood and stretched her arms over her heads. “Although, technically it would be more accurate to say that you were just the first one to recover.”

“Details, details,” Yakumo replied matching his amused tone, “The point is, I’m standing now, and since it looks like you’ll be giving Moegi some special training if we reach the final round. I think it would only be fair if you give me some special training of my own.”

“Oh,” Naruto said wondering if she was being serious. “What did you have in mind?”

Yakumo moved towards the end of the couch to stand beside him. She then bent over to place her hands on the arm of it, she looked back over her right shoulder towards him while she reached back with one of her hands to pull her asscheek to the side and exposed her rosebud as she answered, “I think it’s time I start training this hole in how to be a proper flesh sheath for your Kunoichi Slayer.”

Naruto pulled his dick from Tenten’s mouth, as she had continued to suck him despite having collected all of the seed coating it. Due to her still reeling from her climax, she couldn’t do much but let out a soft mew of disappointment, while Yakumo let out a moan of pleasure due to Naruto’s fingers entering her once more. She panted in desire, as he expertly teased her body so that she soon was standing on the tip of her toes as she became more and more tense from the enjoyable sensations building within her. Which suddenly disappeared as he removed his fingers, and it was replaced with an unfamiliar tingling as he pressed his middle finger that was coated in her pussy’s wetness against her anus. Due to the lube she had coated it with, he easily slipped inside causing her to tense up due to the unfamiliar feeling.

Chiding her tenseness, he said, “You need to relax if you’re going to take my cock.”

“I’ll try,” Yakumo panted in reply, “It just feels strange.”

“Most new experiences do,” Naruto replied as he added another finger, “Don’t worry, by the time the Chunin Exams, you’ll be an old pro at it.”

Finding the strange feelings were morphing into a different if overall familiar sense of pleasure, Yakumo moaned more gutturally as she replied, “I hope you’re right.”

“Trust me,” Naruto said with a smile as Yakumo’s head lowered showing him that she was becoming more relaxed, as did the stretching of her asshole when he spread his index and middle finger apart. Withdrawing them, he pressed his dick against the entrance of her rear passage, and slowly pushed forward. As the head of his cock slipped in, Yakumo moaned, but raised up to her toes again as she began to tense up. Naruto came to a stop and moved his hands to her hanging tits and began to tease them while she grew accustomed to the feeling, so she began to relax and even began pushing back against him. Naruto let her set the pace as she slowly slid back and forth causing a little more of his dick to disappear inside her every time that she moved towards him. She moaned loudly when the cheeks of her butt finally came to a stop against him. At which point, Naruto gave her a few seconds to adjust before sliding his hands down towards her hips. Taking ahold of them, he began pulling his cock free of her, causing her to try and follow, but found herself held firmly in place. She groaned as the full feeling she had enjoyed began to disappear inch by inch, but then cried out as Naruto slammed into her again.

Yakumo wasn’t quite sure how to describe what she was feeling, eventually settling on it was just like sex, only a whole new set of nerves were activating to tell her how good it felt. She was somewhat surprised by just how good she felt, but supposed that she shouldn’t be when considering who her partner was, and just how much practice he got. She nearly collapsed though, as her legs went weak-kneed when Naruto began to rub her pussy, causing her entire body to feel as if it was being stimulated.

“More,” she moaned, although Naruto found it difficult to comply due to his need to keep her upright.

Naruto looked around for a place move her, but as the room only had a large couch that was facing a television, which was current occupied by Tenten and Moegi, and the coffee table they had pushed towards the t.v. and upon which rested the sword Tenten had been admiring earlier, he found his options to be rather limited. However, he smiled as he found the perfect spot, so grabbing Yakumo’s wrists, he guided them up to grip the back of his neck and then reached down to grab her by the inside of her thighs. Yakumo moaned as she squirmed on Naruto’s cock while he carried her to the front of the couch, and then placed her down on Tenten’s lap causing the orange phallus to disappear into her snatch. She shivered in ecstasy as both of her holes were filled, while Tenten let out a soft moan from the strap-on’s harness rubbing into her.

Tenten smiled as although she had heard the moans still taking place, had let her mind drift to enjoy her own post-orgasmic bliss. Now finding herself an active participant again, she leaned forward to suck on one of Yakumo’s nipples while enjoying how her pussy was teased as the harness attached to the dildo now buried inside the Kurama Clan head rubbed into her from Naruto’s pounding of said kunoichi’s ass. Eventually, she began to move her hips slightly to increase the pleasure she felt, while trying to match Naruto’s thrusts. It had the added bonus of Yakumo crying out, before she pulled her nub from between Tenten’s lips, which she replaced with her own as her tongue quickly slipped into the chunin’s mouth.

Naruto enjoyed the sight as Tenten threw herself into the kiss, as she began responding as passionately as Yakumo. His attention shifted off of the pair as he noticed a foot coming to a rest on the back of the couch above Tenten’s head. He smiled as he followed the leg down to who it was attached to find Moegi had also recovered and was now stirring up the cum that he had deposited inside her. He reached over to take over for her, allowing her to moan as she began fondling her breasts. Naruto basked in the sight of the young woman writhing about in pleasure from his fingers, but was pulled away as Yakumo ended her kiss with Tenten to rest her head on his shoulder. He could tell that she was close as much from the wild look in her eyes, as from the way her ass was beginning to squeeze him. It nearly became unbearably tight when Tenten surged forward to capture Yakumo’s other tit with her mouth, feeling his own need for release reaching its apex, he fought against her clenching backside to bury his full length inside her in order to deliver his cum deep into her bowels. Yakumo screamed out in pleasure, which was followed by Tenten as the toy inside the Kurama came to a sudden stop setting her off, while Naruto set Moegi off by giving her clit a quick rub with his thumb.

It was Naruto’s turn to feel weak as Yakumo’s ass seemed to drain him of his strength as rope after rope of his cum poured into her. As a result, he rested his arms on the back of the couch while both Yakumo and Tenten panted beneath him. After a few moments, he felt confident that he would be able to stand long enough to at least sit at the end of the couch so extracted himself. He took a moment to watch as his cum began leaking from Yakumo’s just abused rear, and then moved to sit beside Moegi’s head to continue to catch his breath.

Moegi caused him to laugh as she said, “You weren’t kidding when you told me this new training would be rigorous.”

“It’s not the training,” Tenten said, “It’s the cleanup afterwards. I don’t know up you three, but I just want to lay here and nap.”

Yakumo nodded and let out a soft moan from the movement due to her still riding the toy attached to Tenten as she said, “I guess it’s a good thing we all showered together earlier. Otherwise, I’m sure that we would hear some complaints about taking another one so soon.”

Naruto smiled as he said, “Well, we might still hear them since we weren’t exactly focused on cleaning up. So, how about you three go on ahead, while I take care of putting our training field back in order.”

“Deal,” the three women said almost as one while suddenly finding the strength to disentangle themselves to make themselves scarce in order to miss out on the cleanup.

Naruto smiled, although it turned into a sigh as he noticed the mess was no longer contained to the entertainment room that they had been using due to a pair of cum trails that were following after two of his lovers. Shaking his head in amusement, he moved to a nearby cabinet to collect the cleaning supplies he would need while reflecting on just how amazing his life was, despite the many obstacles that he and his Family still faced.

*****

“Come on, grow dammit!” Yet, despite her harsh words, the large pot of soil that Tsunade was standing in front of in a similar stance she had seen her grandfather assume when using his techniques remained frustratingly barren. Tsunade felt her anger begin to well up, as she was tempted to kick the pot with every ounce of her strength. But, as the room she was currently occupying was located on the ground floor of the new Konoha Administration Building, and was set aside for Konoha-nin to practice some of the less destructive arts. She figured it would probably be pretty frowned on if she followed through on the impulse.

She sighed in disappointment, and was glad that the large room was empty since she imagined it wouldn’t fill her shinobi with much confidence in her if they saw her standing over a pot straining for an hour, only for nothing to happen. She sighed, as she prepared to drag it off to a corner so she could return to her office, but felt her spine stiffen as a voice suddenly said, “My, my… you’re still quite the tenacious student. I probably would have given up over forty minutes ago.”

Despite it being apparent the owner of the voice had probably observed her for almost the entire length of time she had been attempting to use her Grandfather’s Wood Style. A part of Tsunade wanted to try and hide the pot, calling back to when she was just a child, where she would go off to be alone so she could practice various things that she learned so as to give off the air that they came easily to her. She wasn’t entirely sure why, but assumed whatever the reason it was also why rather than growing old gracefully, she had hidden her appearance behind a henge. Which was that she wished to present the image that she was perfect. Granted, she accepted that she was flawed, as were most people, but would still prefer that as many as possible remained ignorant to just how much work and effort she had applied to earn the title of genius that people had labeled her with.

Something, which she felt doubly applied to the woman that had spoken, particularly as she was her grandmother. Yet, she ignored the impulse try and block the pot from her view like a child that had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar, particularly as she had seen her in some rather shameful states considering they shared the same lover. Still, she felt some heat enter her voice as she said, “You could have said something sooner.”

“Indeed,” Mito replied with a hint of amusement. But, seeing her granddaughter wasn’t in a jovial mood, she explained, “I kept my arrival quiet as we both know how anxious you get when people watch you as you try puzzle your way through some problem.”

“I don’t get anxious,” Tsunade said with a huff, as she crossed her arms across her chest.

Mito laughed softly as she replied, “Come now child. Do you remember what happened on your first day at the academy?” Tsunade frowned as she had an idea of what her grandmother was about to say, and was rather glad it was just the two of them as she was proven correct when the red-head continued, “Probably because it was still a new concept to have all the kids learn the same curriculum, your teacher wanted to see what everyone knew, and despite only one of the children knowing how to do a henge. You took your inability to perform it so personally, you locked yourself in your room and practiced it until morning and made a point to show your instructor the next day.”

Tsunade couldn’t stop herself from defending her actions as she said a little childlike, “That’s because it wasn’t right for the Granddaughter of the First Hokage to be unable to do such a simple technique.”

Mito sighed, as she said, “You were the only one that thought that way.”

Although she recognized her grandmother was likely right, a little annoyance could be picked up in her tone as she asked, “Is there a particular reason you sought me out, or did you just stop by to tease me?”

Her grandmother flashed her a bright smile as she replied, “Can’t it be both?”

Despite all the boundaries the two of them had crossed together, Tsunade still had a little trouble reconciling with the idea that the playful woman before her, was the same noble and proper grandmother that she had grown up with. But she supposed that much as Tsunade had tried to present herself in the image of the perfect heir to the Senju name in her youth, her grandmother had also been forced to hide some of her true self from the public to give them the noble woman that they imagined their Hokage would marry.

At the moment, Tsunade wasn’t sure which she would have preferred, which she believed her grandmother picked up on as she grew somewhat serious as she stated, “I suppose what had me seek you out today, was the lack of some rumors about a new Wood Style user reaching my ears in the aftermath of the battle.” Tsunade looked embarrassed at what she perceived to be her failure, but her grandmother quickly said, “I had at first assumed, that perhaps your experiment had failed. But, seeing how hard you were just practicing, I have to assume that the issue lies elsewhere.”

Tsunade nodded, before explaining, “It does indeed look like the dormant cells my injections targeted have been activated.” She turned away to face the pot that came up to around her waist as she said in disappointment, “But, so far I haven’t even made grass grow in this pot. I’ve tried researching the Senju archives, but if Grandfather left any scrolls behind, I haven’t been able to find them.”

Mito nodded, as she stated, “Yes, I don’t think Hashirama would leave anything like that behind. He didn’t see much point in it.”

“Why not?” Tsunade asked feeling no small amount of confusion on the matter, “I thought part of the reason that you gave him so many children were in hopes of passing it along.”

Mito gave a teasing smile as she said, “That is why the Senju clan wanted him to produce as many children as possible. I did it because I loved him, and well, I really liked having sex, as you’ve undoubtedly learned about me by now.” Tsunade mirrored her grandmother’s smile, but it faded after a moment as she said sadly, “So many lives we brought into this world, and yet here you stand as the only branch of our union that is still living.” A brief mask of pain flashed across her grandmother’s beautiful face, which revealed to her that even the pain that she felt as she remembered her lost loved ones must have paled in comparison to her grandmother’s, who had outlived almost all of her children and even grandchildren. Yet, she quickly composed herself to state, “But, since none of our children ever showed signs that they inherited his wood style, I doubt he would have left scrolls about it.”

Tsunade easily picked up the large stone pot and after placing it in a corner said, “Of course he wouldn’t, that would just make it too easy.”

Mito smiled in the face of her granddaughter’s frustration, earning her a slight scowl from the blonde woman as she asked, “Wasn’t there a shinobi in Konoha who was granted the Wood Release through Orochimaru’s experiements? Couldn’t you just ask him?”

“Yes,” Tsunade said with a brisk nod as she made to leave in order to head to her office. Glad the halls were empty due in part to the early hour that she had chosen for her training, she stated, “Yamato is the man you are referring to. I’ve consider reaching out to him, but even though he copies some of grandfather’s techniques and mannerisms, his wood release is nowhere as powerful. I believe it is more in line with the abilities that Taji inherited. Moreover, Danzou left some rather detailed notes on his abilities from interviews, and nothing I’ve learned from those notes has proven useful.”

Mito sighed, causing her granddaughter to send an annoyed look towards her prompting the red-head to say, “There are things that you can’t learn from books you know.”

“Like what,” Tsunade asked sounding a little dismissive as she opened her office door.

“Like how it feels,” Mito stated causing her granddaughter to look back towards her in confusion.

“Huh?” Tsunade replied not sure how else to respond.

Mito shook her head somewhat disappointedly, as she said, “Tsunade, you’ve learned the benefit of allowing others to support you when you are weak. But, not the benefits of allowing other people to help you grow through their experiences that can’t always be captured in some book.” Seeing her granddaughter still wasn’t sure what she was saying, she explained, “Among our new Family there are several women that were born with Kekkei Genkai. One of whom discovered her abilities quite through accident since her mother didn’t want her to display them.”

“You’re talking about Haku,” Tsunade stated sounding somewhat defensive as she added, “I’ve heard her speak about her past a few times. I imagine that it is a painful subject for her so don’t think it is a good idea to go dredging it up.”

“You’re missing the point,” Mito quickly countered, “This was a young woman who was actively discouraged from learning about her abilities. Yet, she has mastered them. Why do you think that is?”

“I don’t know,” Tsunade stated fiercely showing the mounting frustration that the current hurdle she was facing was causing too well up inside her. “If I did, I wouldn’t be hovering over a damned pot for hours on end.”

Mito nodded, as she replied calmly, “True, but you aren’t putting that amazing intellect that you possess to truly trying to understand.” She could see that some of her words had penetrated through her granddaughter’s pigheadedness, so elaborated, “Haku was able to not only learn she possessed a Kekkei Genkai, but to master it despite living in a land that was doing everything in its power to destroy all those that possessed such abilities. You have to assume that would include any scrolls which contained knowledge of their techniques. Not to mention, your grandfather was the first and last Senju that we know of who possessed the Wood Release. Meaning there wasn’t exactly a wealth of knowledge for him to go off of either.”

Tsunade began to see the point her grandmother was driving towards, so said, “You’re saying that I’m getting ahead of myself.”

“Precisely,” Mito replied with a warm smile, “Your grandfather had chakra affinities primarily with Water and Earth. If I’m not mistaken, your own primary affinity was lightning.”

“Yes,” Tsunade stated. “But I never spent much time developing it. I’ve only learned a few tricks using it.”

“Indeed,” Mito said proudly, “As one might imagine would be the case when she’s busy developing an entire new school of healing via chakra.”

Tsunade felt herself swell with pride at her grandmother’s praise of her accomplishments, before asking, “What you’re saying is that first, I need to learn how to use the Earth and Water affinities that I’ve inherited?”

“Not so much using them,” Mito replied, “But getting a true feeling for them. I’ve talked with several of our Family that have been gifted with bloodlines on your behalf recently. If you listen to their tales, they didn’t suddenly start out creating jutsu based on their bloodlines, but found they had a strong affinity for one element or another first. At some point they quickly found a strength in a second one, which eventually lead to them naturally calling on both. Haku first learned of her strong ties to water, and in time found she had an affinity to air as she could even cause it to float. Without even meaning too, she began to traverse down the path which would inevitably lead to her mastery of the Ice Release.”

Tsunade felt a little foolish as she said, “It seems rather obvious now that you’ve pointed out, that it isn’t just a matter of clapping your hands together.”

Mito smiled, but stated, “You’re a product of the system that you were born in.”

“What do you mean?” Tsunade asked with a raised eyebrow indicating her confusion.

“I don’t mean it as an insult,” Mito replied quickly. “I merely meant that for most Konoha-nin, there is a system that teaches you form and structure is the way to mastering the techniques that you’ve learned. This can even be said about those that hail from Clans. Yet, in my opinion this can also lead to stagnation in a way, as people put their faith in the forms, and techniques handed to them from previous generations. Even you, who developed the majority of what we know as medical ninjutsu today, quickly gave that hard-won knowledge structure allowing you to pass it on. Therefore, is it any wonder that you would in turn seek guidance from a previous generation which possessed said abilities you hope to master, and finding it in short supply, hope to stumble your way into the knowledge by copying his form and mannerisms?”

Tsunade smiled although she only partially felt relieved, as while her grandmother’s insight that she likely wouldn’t master the Wood Release that her grandfather was known for by just copying him did give her a new place to start. She also found that the road ahead would likely be extremely long and tedious, which considering she had already traveled it once, made her dread the journey all the more. Still, a quick mental image of her lover flashed before her eyes, as she recalled watching a younger version of him standing before a tree slamming his half-formed rasengan into it only to be disappointed by the results, but would then simply move to an unmarked section of it to try again. She smiled at the memory, and felt her resolve to travel down such a difficult path herself again become reinvigorated as she had a new legend to write upon the pages of history. One which wouldn’t see her regulated as a minor footnote in the legend her lover inevitable would carve upon the world as he changed it for the better.

Focusing on her grandmother, she smiled as she said, “Thank you. You were right, I should have reached out sooner instead of trying to tackle it on my own.” Mito smiled in return as she nodded while Tsunade moved to sit behind her desk to get started on tackling the mountain of paperwork sitting on her desk. Grabbing the first one, she was about to begin reading it, yet noticed that her grandmother seemed a little hesitant to leave so asked, “Was there something else that you wanted to discuss?”

Mito sighed before taking a seat in one of the two chairs Tsunade had in front of her desk as she admitted, “Not really. Truthfully, I’m sort of at a loss about what to do with myself. With Karin still in Ame, and Kiyomi in Suna, I’m kind of stuck in my role as Mito.”

“How horrible for you,” Tsunade said with some amusement.

It was her grandmother’s turn to frown as she explained, “Of course it is! I’m stuck as a bodyguard, with no one to guard. At least normally I get to be the face of the company, even though Karin does most of the actual work.”

“While you get to play the little socialite,” Tsunade stated as she began to focus on the paper again since she quickly surmised what the problem was.

Which her grandmother put into words just in case she was having trouble as she sat up, and pushing the paper down forced her granddaughter to make eye contact as she said in a childish manner, “I’m bored!”

Tsunade sighed as she said, “Well then why don’t you just teleport to Suna and switch back with Kiyomi.”

“I already suggested that to her, but she wants to be the face right now,” Mito said with a huff of annoyance. “Normally, she’s the one that can’t wait to switch back. It’s probably because Naruto’s still there as well.”

The blonde Senju nodded in agreement, suspecting that it may be a factor in why the Bijuu was still in Suna. Although, with her ability to teleport a close proximity to Naruto wasn’t exactly necessary, so assumed it was something else entirely which kept her from stepping back into the shadows to assume the “Mito” role. She felt a small headache coming on, and feared it was a portent of some future issue the Nine Tails was currently instigating, particularly as she had already received reports from the J.A.I.N. and her own village’s intelligence department of Suna reactivating several mothballed projects. Which while, they were reporting that Sand Village’s doing so was in response to Sasuke starting a ninja village of his own, Tsunade suspected it was also tied to the riff growing between Naruto and Gaara. After all, while Tsunade knew the Shinobi of Ame did their fair share of the fighting, it was the forces that the Family contributed to the endeavor which truly had tilted the scales of the battle. A factor she imagined that wasn’t being lost on the Kazekage, particularly as Naruto still planned to grow his influence further. Meaning that if he truly had lost faith in Naruto’s ability to bring about peace, then Gaara would need to grow a support base of his own that he could truly rely on. Or, in failing to do that, at least make himself someone that Naruto couldn’t just ignore the next time they differed on how best to proceed with building the peace that they both desired.

Tsunade sighed, since if such a potential outcome was apparent to her, she imagined that it was apparent to most of the more tactically minded women of The Family, which included Kiyomi. Who the Senju suspected was still in Suna to make it known to the Kazekage that while Naruto may not be willing to plot against him in turn, that restriction wasn’t something they all would abide by. A sentiment that Tsunade shared, since she was of the opinion that if something happened to her lover due to some plot or project orchestrated by the Kazekage, it would be a race to see who reached him first. So, she would agree that she felt it was best to put him on notice that Naruto’s continued existence would thereby guarantee his own.

However, before she could continue to give the matter much further thought, she had her attention refocused on her grandmother who was now almost nose to nose with her as she said, “Didn’t you hear me, I said I’m bored.”

“Well go bother someone else,” Tsunade replied, “Some of us have work to do. Including you by the way. Or, have you finished coming up with a counter to the Caged Bird seal?”

Mito slumped back down in the chair as she said, “I worked on it all day yesterday to no avail. I need a break.”

Tsunade sighed, but as her mind again began to return to the previous subject of potential future issues, she decided it had been quite a while since she played hooky so said, “Fine, let’s go hit some casinos.”

“Now you’re talking,” her grandmother said sounding pleased as she sat up eagerly.

Tsunade nodded, but began moving to the door in a stealthy manner. Slowly opening it, she called back to her grandmother, “Alright the coast is clear. Let’s go before Shizune arrives.”

“Why,” Mito asked sounding confused.

“Trust me, you’ll understand once she realizes I’m up to my old tricks again,” Tsunade replied as she slipped through the door with her grandmother following suit. She knew that she would probably regret it in the morning, particularly as the work would still be there waiting for her. But, ultimately decided it was worth it to pretend the problems that her Family faced were gone, even if it was only until Shizune inevitably tracked them down.

*****

Nel backpedaled as the sword that collided with hers easily overpowered her defense. She tried to get ready for the next attack, but found her opponent had disappeared and let out a yelp of surprise when her feet were kicked out from beneath her. Landing roughly, she let go of her blade which skidded a few feet away from her. Panting heavily, she stared up at the ceiling of the training room that was located within Akatsuki’s headquarters, and frowned at just how poorly she had done. Yet, she wasn’t allowed to for long as a hand was placed before her, and after grabbing hold of it, was then pulled to her feet by the woman that had knocked her down in the first place.

“Thank you,” Nel said quickly before moving to pick up the sword that she had borrowed. She frowned as she tried to assume a ready stance, but found doing so difficult as unlike her fight with Sasuke, she found that she couldn’t really recall the proper form. Still, she was determined to carry on, so focusing on the masked figure of Haku, said, “I’m ready.”

Haku removed her mask, before giving a soft smile as she said, “I don’t think I can help you get better as you currently are.”

“Why not,” Nel asked, while sounding desperate as she held a white glove covered hand to her chest, “I came to you because you would be one of the only people who could help me master the sword.”

Haku studied the Three-Tailed Bijuu, who was currently wearing a form fitting long sleeve white shirt, with light shoulder pads, while around her waist were two black sashes, one of which was connected to the scabbard of the sword that she had borrowed. The bottom of her shirt emerged from beneath the sashes as it puffed out into three wider layers. Beneath which lay the white pants that she wore to cover her legs. While on her feet were black tabi, which contrasted with the white raised sandals that she wore. After a moment, the wielder of the Executioner’s blade replied, “I know you felt that you may have picked up techniques from the Land of Water because of your former hosts. But I am seeing no sign of it”

“I didn’t imagine it,” Nel said quickly, “I was able to fight Sasuke after all.”

Haku inclined her head at the point the Bijuu had made, even as she refuted her by stating, “Yet, where has that skill gone?”

“I…I don’t know,” Nel replied disappointed, “When I was fighting him, if just felt like I knew exactly how and where to move my blade. But now, I don’t feel anything of the sort. I felt I may have absorbed some techniques from my former hosts since their skill and movements seemed to flash before my eyes. But, nothing of the sort has happened since my coming here.”

Giving a playful smile, Haku said, “I know, I’ve been here.”

Nel smiled a little herself at Haku’s tone, but it faded as she asked, “Still, even if I can no longer recall those techniques. Surely, you can help me learn the sword.”

“I could,” Haku replied with a short nod, “if that is what you were truly interested in doing.”

“I don’t understand,” the Bijuu replied letting quite a bit of the frustration that she felt at the failure she had experienced since returning to Ame color her voice.

“What I mean,” Haku began to explain, “Is that since we have begun sparring, you have thrown yourself desperately at me, hoping to recreate the skill that you had manifested during your battle with Sasuke. Yet, you have made no attempt to actually improve. I fear that if this continues much longer, you will truly regress in ability.” The former missing-nin could see Nel still wasn’t sure of the point that she was making, so continued, “In many ways, your younger form was vastly stronger than you are now.”

“That’s not true,” Nel snapped, “I wouldn’t have lasted five seconds against Sasuke in that form.”

“Perhaps,” Haku replied calmly, “But, I tend to believe it was because while trapped in that form, you wouldn’t have been mentally prepared. Yet, despite how child-like your mental capabilities were, you had excellent control of the abilities that you did possess. This is because that version of you was able to develop your skills naturally, without the desperate fervor you currently feel.”

Nel felt tears gathering in her eyes, so looked away as she said, “What good does that do me? That version of me wasn’t able to protect him any better than I can now.”

“But you did protect him,” Haku said placing a comforting hand on Nel’s shoulder. “You don’t need to force yourself to grow strong while denying what you want. Why not speak to him? I imagine knowing the truth of how he feels would be better than leaving the phantoms of your supposed failure to linger and continue to haunt you.”

Nel inclined her head, but weakly asked, “But, then what can I do about getting stronger?”

Haku smiled brightly, as she answered, “I think you’ll find the path to strength will be far easier to traverse if you can focus on what is in front of you as opposed to the what is already behind you.”

Accepting the wisdom of Haku’s words, Nel sheathed her sword and began mentally preparing herself for the meeting she was both looking forward to and dreading.

*******

Fuyou was following after Konan through the halls of Akatsuki’s Headquarters after having announced to Ame’s leader that a prisoner she had been expecting had arrived from Suna. Having some reservation in regards to what she suspected her leader was planning, she opened her mouth several times to voice them, but found nothing would come out. She mentally sighed, guessing her concerns would remain unstated, and so was caught off-guard when the blue-haired woman suddenly stopped walking in order to face her and ask, “Is there something troubling you, Fuyou?”

Finding it easier to speak now, she replied, “Yes milady. I know you haven’t stated anything of the sort, but when I consider how insistent you were that Suna turn this prisoner over. I suspect that you plan to offer her the same immunity that you gave to the majority of the Salamander Resistance members.”

“That is mostly correct, I suppose,” Konan replied with a nod.

Fuyou although having expected as much, still felt that if it was physically possible, she’d be picking her jaw off of the floor. Not sure why exactly, she found herself getting angry as she said, “Permission to speak candidly?”

“You never need mince words with me,” Konan replied.

Yet, she was still rather surprised as Fuyou asked, “Have you lost your mind?”

Almost immediately a look of horror appeared on her face as she hadn’t meant to be quite so blunt. However, Konan gave her a reassuring smile while stating as calmly as ever, “No, I do not believe so.”

“B…but she is a foreign ninja that tried to destroy the entire village,” Fuyou said with a mixture of confusion and anger. At least until she added, “There are people from Amegakure sitting in cells awaiting transfer to Hozuki Castle that didn’t intend nearly as much destruction.”

Konan smiled softly in understanding, making Fuyou suspect the current leader of Amegakure and the Land of Rain had known what had prompted her outburst before even she did. “I do understand where you are coming from,” the blue-haired kunoichi replied, “However, Suiren and the others may not have intended as much death and destruction in a single act. Yet succeeded on multiple occasions whereas Hotaru only tried.”

“And was only stopped because of…”

“Naruto,” Konan finished in a voice that contained the numerous emotions she felt for the blond man as Fuyou trailed off due to her not wanting to attribute the deed that had saved her village to the man that had also killed Lord Pein. Fuyou gave her an unsure look as she no doubt could tell her leader had strong feelings for the Leaf shinobi, but was struggling the process the exact depth of them. Konan didn’t give her the chance as she continued, “Yet she was indeed stopped, leaving me in a position to be lenient.”

“She may have been stopped, but she still has the intent…”

“Yet no longer the means,” Konan interjected. Seeing the young woman was still struggling, blue-haired kunoichi asked, “You still carry a grudge against Naruto don’t you?”

“Of course,” Fuyou replied not understanding why the woman would even need to ask. “It’s because of him that the Salamander Resistance even formed in the first place.”

“Perhaps that is true,” Konan conceded, “Or it is more accurate to assume that it is only because Nagato wasn’t in charge that they were allowed to become as big of a threat as they did. He would have utterly crushed the group the second he heard even a whisper of it existed.”

“Maybe, but…”

“Wasn’t Suiren’s grudge against Nagato?” Konan asked cutting the dark-haired woman off, “It is entirely likely that she joined early on, and then in turn, would have been killed by him.” Fuyou frowned as she wasn’t entirely ignorant of the possibility, although she would purposefully imagine scenario’s where Suiren wasn’t given a choice. Yet, Konan kept pushing as she continued, “But, even if not. In time, her grudge against him likely would have only continued to grow until she either defected, or decided to form a group to oppose him herself. Either scenario ends equally as grimly.”

“What’s your point?” Fuyou snapped as she tired of Konan’s logic destroying the comforting scenarios that she had crafted to hold onto her grudge against the Uzumaki.

Rather than being upset, Konan gave her an understanding smile as she asked, “Would you still feel the same way about Nagato or even Ame, if Suiren’s blood was on his hands?”

Fuyou almost felt as if she had been punched as the question seemed to shatter everything that she had held to be true up to that moment. Forcing her to admit, “I don’t know.”

“Good,” Konan stated earning her disbelieving look from her subordinate causing her to add, “I would have been disappointed if you fired off an answer.” Konan gave her a moment to think before pressing on as she said, “Let us focus on how you would feel about Ame should that have happened. Do you think it likely, maybe even probable that you would hold Ame responsible should you have formed a grudge against Nagato?”

Fuyou considered the question for a moment, and felt since most people in the village had worshipped Lord Pein as a god, if she had truly come to despise him, could imagine that most of the village would share in the guilt of the crime that he had committed against her. Particularly as it meant they supported him in his actions.

Receiving a slow nod in reply to the question, Konan stated, “Then perhaps now you can understand why an angry young woman with a jutsu capable of destroying a village would act in the manner that she did after losing someone she cared deeply for.” She could see that Fuyou had made the connection, and was even beginning to sympathize a little. Yet, still wasn’t quite ready to give up on her desire to see Hotaru punished, who Konan felt was the current placeholder for the grudge that Fuyou held against Naruto for his defeat of Nagato, and thus who she felt was ultimately at fault for the danger her home had been in. Interjecting before Fuyou could push for why she felt Hotaru deserved to be punished, she continued, “The reason I wish to give Hotaru a second chance is because I also understand where she is coming from. Nagato and my actions for the better part of two decades were born from a similar desire. You may see some of our actions as being for the greater good. But there are many…many people like Hotaru who bear grudges against us.”

“Then why risk it,” Fuyou asked plaintively, “Just execute her or imprison her and be done with it.”

Konan let a slight melancholic smile appear as she stated, “Because, it rarely ends as simply as that. If I lock her away then chances are that she will only become even more hardened against me. And, if I just kill her, then new enemies may just crop up somewhere else looking to avenge her, just as she did in response to the death of the man that she called Master.” She could see her reasoning had taken hold in Fuyou, but pressed on hoping to make her fully supportive of the endeavor as she said, “If we are going to make a future that doesn’t continue to succumb when old hatreds resurface or new ones being born when we try to avenge old ones, then we are going to need to take inspiration from strong individuals of character that have shown us the way how.”

“Like Naruto,” Fuyou stated rather derisively.

Konan did feel her hackles rise some from the insult to her lover, but trying to live by example she simply responded, “Yes, although he wasn’t who I had in mind. Rather, I was going to mention the Nara that so many are currently calling the Defender of Ame.”

“Shikamaru,” Fuyou stated in surprise, “What does he have to do with anything? I mean, I understand why so many are calling him that but I don’t see…”

“Because Nagato killed his father when he attacked Konohagakure,” Konan stated softly.

She watched Fuyou look confused at first as if she was struggling to process what she had been told, but then her face began to drain of color, which was followed by, “He…he never… I mean I knew he might have not have held…oh gods, he must hate me now with how I kept praising Lord…Pein.”

“I don’t think that is the case,” Konan said kindly as she placed a hand of Fuyou’s shoulder. “You two worked quite well together during the defense of the village.”

“But…he just was doing his duty,” Fuyou said not understanding entirely why she felt on the verge of tears which she tried to hide from Konan.

“Perhaps,” Konan admitted, before moving her hand to raise Fuyou’s chin as she suddenly found the floor incredibly interesting. Swiping the unshed tears away, she said, “But, I believe a man only doing his duty wouldn’t have earned the respect of the people he led. He probably didn’t appreciate hearing your praise of Nagato, but I like to believe he may at least be understanding of it. It is from that understanding, that even if we disagree, or have hurt each other, we can still try to work together for the betterment of the world around us. I hope to show Hotaru this by making her understand that there are people like me who let their anger lead them down a dark path, and hopefully help her avoid her traveling a similar one. The members of the Salamander Resistance who terrorized our people will be given a similar chance, but first they have to pay for the actions that they have already committed. I hope you can at the very least understand where I’m coming from, even if you don’t agree.”

“I…I think I do milady,” Fuyou said after a moment, “D…Do you think I can be excused?”

Having a good idea of where the young woman wanted to go, Konan nodded as she said, “Of course.”

******

Hotaru found herself alone in an almost mind-numbing featureless white room, with the only two things of note having been a stool that had resided in the middle, and the large pane of one-way reflective glass which had been built into one of the walls. The stool currently laid in on its side a few feet in front of the mirror since almost as soon as the guards had closed the door after her, Hotaru had rushed towards the stool and thrown it at the mirror. Although, not surprised that it hadn’t shattered the glass, she was somewhat disappointed that it hadn’t even so much as cracked it. Not that she had expected much of anything to come of it, if it had, as she was sure there had been numerous shinobi ready to subdue her on the other side.

Now though, she didn’t know what to think as almost an hour had passed since she had been placed in the room and thus far, she had received no indication that anyone was even observing her. Although, if she was honest, she found the change of pace rather refreshing since almost as soon as she had arrived in Suna, she had been poked and prodded by its jutsu experts as they had tried to figure out what had happened to the forbidden technique: Fury which had been sealed into her back. Although obviously not surprised the jutsu was no longer active, due to it being the definition of a jutsu that could only be used once, Hotaru was still somewhat surprised her grandfather had the presence of mind to insure the jutsu’s seal formula would erase itself since she figured that he would have assumed there would be nothing left of the individual that had activated it. Still, she supposed that she should be glad that he did as she imagined otherwise, she’d still be in a Suna being studied like a captive animal.

Not that she imagined her transfer to Amegakure was an improvement of her situation, even if she would describe the apparent lack of interest by her new captors had in her as a modest step up. Still, as she moved to sit beneath the mirror so that if someone was observing her, they wouldn’t have the pleasure of seeing her breakdown as she had needed to keep her guard up almost the entire time that she had been in Suna. Raising her knees up to her chest, she wrapped her arms around them as she lowered her face to hide it should some enter through the door that she was now facing. Confident, that all Ame had in store for her was a quick show trial, and summary execution she pictured a grave stone with her name on it with an epitaph that read, “Here lies Hotaru, she couldn’t even blow herself up correctly.” The though nearly brought her to tears, as she whispered softly, “I’m so sorry Master. I couldn’t even avenge you correctly.”

“Perhaps that is true” a voice called out, “But, probably not in the way that you mean.”

Hotaru quickly shot to her feet, as she turned to face the mirror as she cursed herself for her momentary weakness. Still, she felt something was off as while she had no doubt the room had hidden microphones or speakers; the voice hadn’t sounded like it had come from an electronic source, despite it having appeared to come from within the room. She heard the sound of paper flapping behind her, and spinning saw that from the white walls and ceiling, paper butterflies that had blended in seamlessly were beginning to pull away. They began to gather in the center of the room, and began to take the shape of a women that although it was the first time seeing her in person was a face she knew almost as well as her own considering the number of times that she had stared at her picture since learning of what happed to her master.

“You bitch,” Hotaru shouted as she picked up the stool, and charged the woman who was still in the midst of slowly reforming. Upon reaching her, Hotaru swung with all her might, but the butterflies scattered in an instant and having not struck anything of substance, she found herself spinning out of control until she began to topple over. Yet, her momentum was halted as a strong hand clamped down on her shoulder. Looking at the owner of it, she snarled as she tried to spin around again to hit the blue haired kunoichi with the stool.

Konan gracefully leapt back, as Hotaru fell onto her back once gravity reasserted its hold on her. Hotaru moved to a sitting position as she asked, “Are you enjoying humiliating me?”

Konan raised an eyebrow, as she replied, “If you are feeling humiliated, perhaps you should focus on changing your behavior.”

Hotaru gave off another shout of anger as she surged to her feet and charged Konan this time holding the stool over her head by two of its legs. Konan threw out her hand towards the charging woman and although Hotaru believed something had appeared from it, couldn’t say she had actually seen anything but a blur of motion. Yet, she heard a thunking sound as something imbedded itself into the wall behind her. Fearing she had already been killed, but hadn’t yet felt the blow, Hotaru carried on towards the kunoichi and put all of her might into the blow. However, to her shock despite Konan not moving, she whiffed as most of the stool remained airborne behind her.

Time then seemed to slow down for Hotaru as Konan easily spun out of her path as her momentum carried her forward. The blonde would be kunoichi tried to follow the Akatsuki member’s movements and succeeded to a point although she tripped during her attempt to spin after her. Time sped up as Hotaru crashed into the ground, while Konan had caught the still airborne stool and although now much shorter placed it beneath her so that by the time Hotaru sat up, she was sitting gracefully upon it with her legs crossed. Hotaru stared at the woman somewhat in disbelief before sending a look towards the section of the legs that she still held onto, and found they had been sliced through just above the bar the four feet were welded to. Her eyes then traveled to the opposite wall to find a wide sheet of paper embedded there towards the ceiling.

Amazed the woman had timed her throw so that it allowed her to cut the legs off almost evenly, she got to her knees as she admitted defeat and said, “Stop toying with me, and just kill me already.”

Remaining stoic, Konan replied, “If I desired your death. You would be dead already.”

“Then what do you want?”

“Your life,” Konan answered causing the woman to look confused for a moment.

However, it quickly blossomed into anger as Hotaru shouted, “Then take it!!!”

Konan stood quickly as she said, “Very well.” Hotaru closed her eyes, expecting to not even feel the finishing blow, yet after a a handful of moments with nothing happening. She opened her eyes to find Konan standing in front of a now open door at which point the blue-haired woman said, “Follow me please.”

Hotaru was extremely confused, which was why despite listening to the woman being that last thing that she wanted to do, she nevertheless found herself falling into step behind her. “I’ve arranged a room for you within Akatsuki headquarters. While there, your mornings will consist of training with me, followed by whatever daily tasks you are assigned. If I’m not available to train you, I will find a suitable replacement takes my place.”

Hearing that snapped Hotaru out of the daze she had been causing her to come to a stop. Konan did as well, before turning to face her at which point the would be kunoichi snapped, “You honestly expect me to learn from you. In case it has escaped your notice, I want you fucking dead.”

Arching her eyebrow again, Konan replied, “Did you not give me your life?”

“I meant that you should kill me,” Hotaru yelled as she prepared to attack the woman again.

Seeing this, Konan sighed as the woman charged her. The blue-haired woman effortless sidestepped the weak punch the blonde threw, before bringing her knee up into the woman’s midsection. Which while she did hold back some, she made sure the younger woman felt it. Hotaru wrapped her arms around her stomach as she fought the urge to hurl. But she then cried out in surprise as Konan lightly kicked the back of her knee causing her to collapse to the floor, where she continued to hold her midsection while wondering if she had ever been hit so hard before. Nearly folding over in pain, Hotaru could barely listen while Konan said, “If you still want to die, then at least have the courage to do it yourself. I will not be your executioner.”

Glaring up at the woman, Hotaru said, “Then I’m going to be yours.”

“If that is what you ultimately decide to do with the skills you are taught,” Konan replied dispassionately, “Then so be it. But, until such a time, your life belongs to me.”

“You’re going to regret this,” Hotaru said getting to her feet so she could feed her hate into the blue-haired woman’s soul via the windows of her eyes.

Yet if Konan was impressed, or even if she wasn’t there was no sign as she calmly replied, “Time will tell.” Turning away, the blue-haired woman said, “However, while you don’t appear to regret your actions. There are plenty of people who are feeling the repercussions of them.”

“What do I care, the people of Rain deserve it as far as I’m concerned.”

“I wasn’t referring to them,” Konan countered. “Your actions carried quite a few negative ramifications for the people of the Tsuchigumo Clan.”

“What?!” Hotaru snapped, “What have you done to them? I swear if you hurt them, I will…”

Konan cut Hotaru’s threat short as she spun and tossed a piece of paper at her which covered her mouth. The blue-haired kunoichi watched calmly for a few moments as Hotaru struggled to pull it away, but then sighed before stating, “Save your threats until you at least have the means of fulfilling them.” Turning away, Konan explained, “It wasn’t me who threatened your clan. But, when word spread that Fury was no longer around to act as a deterrent against old enemies, those old enemies decided to get what they felt was some long overdue payback. Your clan found itself in quite the nasty situation as it didn’t have many defenders coming to its aid since it had broken quite a few treaties when they didn’t immediately notify everyone that you had disappeared.” Konan paused to look back and saw tears gathering in Hotaru’s eyes, so putting her at ease stated, “Fortunately for the people of your clan, they were in the midst of negotiating with a few of my representatives when some of those old enemies showed up. I imagine they were quite surprised to find themselves squaring off with a Uchiha and Uzumaki. But they quickly decided to let bygones be bygones. Your clan quickly came around to the idea of becoming a protectorate of Amegakure, particularly when they learned what it would cost them.”

Konan heard some mumbling behind her, and so snapped her fingers allowing Hotaru to pull the piece of paper free. She then asked, “What price was that?”

“The life of one kunoichi,” Konan answered as she came to a stop in front of a door. She opened it as she explained, “This will be your room while you are with us. Furthermore, the treaty between Amegakure and the Tsuchigumo clan will remain in effect for as long as you continue to remain here. Now I imagine that you would like some time alone. Morning training will begin around eight in the morning, I will come get you then. There is a small kitchen area located on this floor if you grow hungry.”

Konan turned to begin walking away, but stopped as Hotaru said, “Wait!”

Facing the young woman, Konan could see a bevy of differing emotions warring for supremacy within her, with curiosity winning out as she asked, “Why are you doing this? Why help me get stronger? I want you dead. Why would you even bother helping the Tsuchigumo clan after what I tried to do?”

“I helped your clan because while they didn’t handle the crisis of your disappearance correctly. They likely did so because they were afraid of what fate would befall you if word got out you had run away,” Konan answered. “As to why I want to help you, well it’s because you’ve been given a precious gift and I want to see you make the most of it.”

“A gift?” Hotaru said, “I had my heart’s desire snatched away from me by some interloping blond bastard. If I had gotten my way, you, me, and this entire village would be nothing by ash.”

Konan gave a sad smile before replying, “And your clan likely would have soon followed us into the afterlife.” Hotaru gasped softly as if struck, but in her anger struggled to fire off a retort. However, Konan beat her to it as she said, “So, as you can see, that alone is but one small gift that you have been given.”

“Gift,” Hotaru spat now arguing just for the sake of it, “I’m earning that by becoming an indentured servant.”

Konan inclined her head, but turned away as she said, “That is one way of looking at it I suppose. Only time will tell if you continue to feel that way about it, or if you will continue to feel so sure about many of your more recent actions.”

Hotaru glared at the woman’s back and vowed that she would make the blue-haired Kunoitchi sorry that she hadn’t finished her off when she had the chance. But first, she would quietly bide her time, since it had been made painfully clear to her that she lacked the means. Still, despite the anger that she felt would always be a part of her, almost as soon as she closed the door behind her, she felt it get swallowed up and be replaced by guilt as learning how her clan had almost suffered for her actions filled her with a pain that felt just as intense as what she had experienced when she learned Utakata had died. Sliding down the back of the door, she allowed the pain she felt to unleash the tears she had earlier tried to hide as a very large part of her wished Konan would have just been satisfied with killing her.

****

Kiyomi was sitting in a large conference room located within the Kazekage compound, she only listened with half an ear as one of the other occupants of the room, a Councilor named Baki was reciting off the resources that Suna was willing to pledge towards the Sparkling River Springs Company’s newest project. She focused once more on his words as he began to finish up so she could make sure she heard what Suna would charge for the men it was pledging to the project. When he rattled off a number, Kiyomi scoffed due to it being well north of the figure that Matsuri’s uncle and her had discussed, and for far less commitment of man power to boot. She received several annoyed glances from the men sitting next to Baki as he retook his seat, and although Gaara’s face remained blank, she noticed a tightening of his eyes. While just behind him, his lover and assistant Sari stood and seemed to be a little nervous which Kiyomi assumed was tied to the conversation they had shared together a few days earlier.

Kiyomi kept her own face impassive, although it was difficult as Temari was also present and was leaning against a wall with her arms crossed, which although she wore a stoic expression there were glints of amusement in her eyes. Addressing the men from Suna, Kiyomi said, “I can see why President Kinzo would want there to be some competitive bidding for this job if that is the best offer that you’re willing to make. He would only get a handful of Chunin and Genin to guard both the site and shipments, and yet you’d charge him S-class monthly payments, and demanding an increase in his company’s water tariffs.”

“You’re welcome to make a counter offer,” a councilor named Goza said snidely, which didn’t surprise Kiyomi as she recognized him as one of the leaders of the Hardliner faction.

“Very well,” Kiyomi said with a hint of amusement which grew as she said, “I pledge two of my guards, one for the site and one for any shipments which need to be guarded.”

“What!” Gouza said angrily as he rose to his feet, “You dare to mock our men and women by countering with such a pathetic force.”

Kiyomi arched an eyebrow at the outburst, but simply smirked as she countered, “I assure you, any one of the women that I pledge to this assignment would be worth far more in terms of manpower then what you pledged. I could arrange a demonstration if it suits you.”

“I don’t believe that would be necessary,” Matsuri’s uncle stated diplomatically, “I’m quite well versed in how skilled your guards are.”

“Very well,” Kiyomi replied sounding a little disappoint, “I’m willing to take this job on for let’s say, a third of the monthly price Suna asked for, with the caveat that there will be a hazard bonus for any actual combat. Of course, I have no need for the water so we will not bother to ask for a percentage of that.”

“A tempting offer,” Kinzo said thoughtfully.

Kiyomi held back a frown of unease as Suna’s councilors leaned in to huddle in front of Gaara as they discussed amending their original bid. The reason for the feeling was because she wondered if in her desire to poke said Kazekage, she may have been a little too aggressive in her offer, which would leave her trapped with a job that she truly didn’t wish to win. Namely as losing two of her sisters to it, would be a harsh blow to the Great Tree Shipping Company’s business model. Particularly as she wasn’t sure if it was already going to be a woman down due to her concerns about her sister Kukaku.

Kiyomi hadn’t been able to speak with her sister directly, as Kukaku had not responded to any of her attempts to speak telepathically. However, her other sisters had voiced their concerns, primarily as although Tsunade had kept Kukaku in isolation before the Hokage had left for Grass. Her Four Tailed Sibling had not used the opportunity to repair the limb that she had lost, and now that Sakura, who had taken over as the medic in charge, had been forced to move her sister out of the isolation ward to make room for more grievously injured shinobi. The fact that Kukaku was missing an arm was now a part of the public record. Granted, even missing an arm, Kiyomi was rather confident that Kukaku would remain more than a match for most opponents she would potentially face. Yet, what truly concerned the red-headed Bijuu was the mental trauma that her sister might be carrying which compelled her to keep the wounds that she had sustained. Mostly because she wasn’t confident that her sister had an extensive support network to help her through whatever burden the battle had left her with, and although her fellow Bijuu were trying to be there for her. Kiyomi suspected that due to most of them being tied to the same man, it may cause Kukaku to reject them in favor of seeking comfort from other sources.

The red-head put her concerns on hold for a moment, as she noticed the Suna councilors seemed to have reached a consensus on a counter to her bid. Baki stood once more as he stated, “We’ll pledge a total of 6 genin teams, each with a Jounin leader. For a monthly C ranked fee per a team, in addition to a hazard bonus for any combat that is seen.”

“How will the bonus be determined?” Matsuri’s uncle asked, as although the current bid would be far less costly on the front end, and would likely allow his company to make multiple smaller shipments. He could see the costs quickly spiral out of control if Suna decided any combat would require an A or S-ranked bonus.

Kiyomi smiled softly as it was clear that the Suna delegates hadn’t really considered the matter themselves, and had instead been copying her bid to a certain extent. For the Bijuu, it was just further evidence the world was changing, and also highlighted why not everyone would be okay with it doing so. Primarily due to the fact that in the past, it would be two shinobi villages bidding against each other, leaving the potential customer in a take it or leave it position. Which, while in the past the villages would compete against each other for jobs, they also would do so in a manner which didn’t create an environment that would significantly deflate the pricing the villages had set. An example being when Suna had been bound by its old peace treaty, which had allowed Konoha access to many of the same markets that had previously been considered exclusively the Sand Village’s. Konoha had been able to undercut Suna with many of its previous customers having emerged from the Second Shinobi War stronger than the Sand village, but Suna hadn’t really responded by dropping its prices further because it didn’t want to see an across the board drop. The mentality being that a few higher paying jobs, were worth more than multiple lower paying ones like Konoha was accepting. A mentality that hadn’t exactly worked out as expected, but by the time they had considered changing course, The Leaf Village had already expanded its customer base and grown accustomed to keeping its prices lower. Faced with trying to compete or crushing the competition through force, Suna had decided on the latter, at which point it had aligned with Orochimaru.

She took it as a good sign that history wouldn’t exactly be repeating itself, since it was clear the Suna delegation was trying to compete with her rather than adopting a take it or leave it mentality. Thus, she interjected, “Perhaps I may make a suggestion.”

“By all means,” Baki replied giving her a guarded smile.

“Well, I assume Suna would have knowledge of the various bandit groups that operate within Wind Country, and there could be an agreed upon price assigned to facing each of those groups or particularly dangerous members of them. At least that would be how I plan to structure the hazard pay bonus should I win the bidding for this assignment,” Kiyomi explained while fighting back a smile.

Naturally, some were skeptical of her motives as Councilor Gouza asked, “What prompts you to be so accommodating? Especially, considering you’re at this very moment bidding against us.”

Kiyomi shrugged dismissively as she replied, “Establishing a payment structure that both of us can abide by would only be beneficial to us should we find ourselves at the negotiation table again. I see no harm in helping that process along, as it will only make it easier to know what each of us is bringing to the table. Particularly as we still need to hear the rest of your current bid.”

“Indeed,” Baki stated before adding, “In regards to increasing your water tariff. We’ll drop the percentage increase to two above your current requirement.”

Kiyomi could tell President Kinzo was relatively pleased with Suna’s offer, although he likely would have preferred to keep the water tariff from raising at all. Thus, addressing her, he asked, “Would you like to make a counter offer Lady Kiyomi?”

The Bijuu appeared to give the matter some further thought, after which she stated, “I will match the Suna delegate’s monthly fee, while adding an additional two teams picked from our Silver ranked protectors for shipments. In terms of the water tariff, I suppose we’ll take one percent, but only on any new production from the site.”

Kinzo didn’t frown outright, but Kiyomi detected that he was struggling to keep the corners of his mouth from moving. She suspected that in that moment he was wondering if she was perhaps double-crossing him, but the feeling faded as Gouza quickly said, “We’ll match that with an additional two teams thrown in.”

This time Kinzo had to keep from smiling, since by agreeing that the percentage would be linked to the new site it would vastly decrease what Suna could expect from the bargain, particularly if it was a bust. Still, he asked the Bijuu, “Would you like to make a counter offer Lady Kiyomi?”

“I’m afraid not. I’m sorry to say that currently I just don’t have the resources to pledge to a project of this magnitude” Kiyomi replied, while trying not to sound smug in her defeat.

Kinzo nodded as he said, “Very well.” Turning to address the Suna delegation he said, “Gentlemen, if you are so inclined, I have taken the liberty of scheduling a reservation at the restaurant Disappearing Cuisine while the contracts are drawn up. It is a rather new addition to the Entertainment District, but it is headed by a cooking-nin of some repute. I believe you’ve hired her in the past Lady Kiyomi.”

“I see, then you must be speaking of Chef Chiru,” Kiyomi replied, “Although, it was actually the manager of the Whirling Tides Manor who hired her. Her cuisine really made the Grand Opening something to remember. To be honest, I’m surprised that she would head a restaurant that such extinguish members of Suna as yourselves would frequent. She seemed more interested in providing food for those in need, more so then for the wealthy.”

“That would still appear to be the case,” Kinzo replied, “Yet, despite it almost charging ramen like prices, it is some of the highest quality gourmet food that I have ever eaten. It would seem most of Suna’s populace is aware of just how good it is, as I had to make the reservations a week ago to secure a table. It doesn’t cater to exclusive clients, but maintains it classiness by asking that you dine with proper etiquette and respect towards the food. Would you like to join us?”

“Another time perhaps,” Kiyomi stated as she prepared to take her leave.

Yet, she paused as Gaara said, “I am afraid that I will need to pass on the invitation as well. I have other business to attend to. Lady Kiyomi, I would like to speak with you for a moment…alone.”

Kiyomi inclined her head as she remained seated, while most of the room’s occupants headed to the door. Temari, however remained motionless, and while Sari had intended to leave with the others. Instead, after the last of the men had left she closed the door while remaining inside the room. Gaara appeared somewhat surprised at his lover’s actions, but focusing on his sister said, “That includes you Temari.”

Temari looked like she was about to fire off a retort, but Kiyomi interceded as she said, “Anything you wish to discuss with me, you can discuss with those that remain present. It will just save me from having to tell her later.”

Gaara didn’t let his annoyance show, but his stoic demeanor nearly crack, especially once Temari moved to stand beside Kiyomi and crossed her arms defiantly. He took some solace as Sari moved to stand behind him, so instead focused on the Bijuu as he said, “I would like an explanation for why you just subjected us to that farce.”

Kiyomi allowed a brief self-satisfied smile to appear as she said, “I will not insult your intelligence by asking you what you mean. There were several reasons for my being the hammer to help President Kinzo achieve the price point he desired for your services. The primary reason is that he sold us one of his old water storage facilities. Which I will be converting into the local W.B.A. facility.”

Gaara narrowed his eyes as he said, “My office already…”

“Forbade me from purchasing a plot of land and converting it into a spring,” Kiyomi said cutting the Kage off, “and did so while giving me a ridiculous reason about conservation. Yet, it did get me to thinking that perhaps a spring in a desert would be a tad wasteful, especially in replenishing the water. Luckily, the facility we’ve purchased is equipment with several floors of powerful refrigerators. Tell me, don’t you think the ladies of Suna would find it a pleasant and unique experience to spend time in an artic wonderland.”

“My office was not made aware of any such requests,” Gaara replied, but felt a spike of anger as he saw Temari break into a grin.

“Oh, they did receive the request,” Temari replied smugly, “They just approved it because they received it under Pakura’s mandate for expanding the boundaries of the Entertainment district in order to repurpose or destroy some of the more dilapidated warehouses nearby. Of course, this is all in preparation for the influx of visitors we’ll be receiving for the Chunin Exams.”

Gaara for the first time since his loss to Naruto during the Sound Invasion, felt like exploding in anger. However, he kept it in check as he instead asked, “Why?”

“Because, while I could have just accepted your decision to deny us a W.B.A. location here,” Kiyomi said as she stood from the chair, “That you insulted my intelligence with your office’s reasoning… well let’s just say that I felt provoked into getting my way.”

Gaara did snap at that as he shot to his feet to angrily retort, “So, you decided to disrespect my authority by implementing Naruto’s will in my village despite it being apparent I was against it.”

“Oh,” Kiyomi replied mockingly as she noticed Temari step back in surprise at the angry outburst, as she also began to shiver a little likely recalling the results when Gaara had lost his temper in the past. “Did you make it apparent, or did you hide your thinly veiled attempt to stop me behind a smokescreen of some bureaucratic nonsense? Yet more to the point, you are mistaken in one regard. I was not implementing Naruto’s will. I was asserting my own.”

“What do you mean?

“It should be easy enough to understand,” Kiyomi stated as she moved to stand before the Kazekage and as her eyes shifted from green to red, and began to pump the full extent of her killer intent into him. “If nothing else, this meager attempt to thwart the W.B.A.’s expansion, and your activating an old mothballed weapons project has shown me that you’ve lost faith in Naruto’s ambition.” Gaara looked as if he was about to defend himself despite his finding it hard to breathe, but she cut him off, “Please, save your petty reasoning for someone who cares. I do not. Truth be told, I do not care if you are with us or against us. Today, was merely a lesson that not all of us are as trusting as Naruto and will not be taking you at your word. If you ever decide to turn these weapons against us, I will cut a path of destruction straight to you and personally separate your head from your shoulders. How long and destructive that path is will be up to you, and since you love sacrificing so much, I fully expect to see you waiting for me at the gates of Suna to offer your neck to me rather than hiding behind legions of your shinobi.”

Kiyomi let the killing pressure end, and Gaara suddenly felt clammy as a cold sweat had broken out across his skin. As Kiyomi made her way towards the room’s exit, Gaara asked weakly, “So this is Naruto’s response. You are either with me or against me.”

“Again, Lord Gaara,” Kiyomi replied snidely, “This was MY response. Naruto trusts me, as he does you, and so I felt no need to consult him before enacting any of this. Be sure to factor that into any of the little countermeasures that you decide to put into motion against us.” Deciding to punctuate her point, Kiyomi disappeared into a burst of flame.

Gaara stared at the spot for several moments before addressing the other woman present that was bound to Naruto, “And where do you stand Temari?”

“Don’t make me choose between you two,” Temari said as she moved to take her leave as well. She paused at the door, and looked back towards her brother and although he covered it well, suspected that he was rather shaken at the prospect of what an enraged Bijuu could do, and for the first time probably truly understood what some of his past victims had. Turning away, she said, “This divide between you doesn’t need to grow any larger. I know you feel you are acting in Suna’s best interests, and Naruto feels that he is as well for us. Let that be something that unites you, and perhaps next time your paths diverge, a better solution can be arrived at together. He was your first friend… is that really worth throwing away because you differ on what it will take to bring about a more peaceful world?”

******

Gaara didn’t have a response, so his sister stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her. For Gaara, it felt a little metaphorical as although his sister didn’t answer him directly, he believed that he had already received it via her actions. Sighing, he felt Sari place a comforting hand on his shoulder as she said, “Perhaps we could try inviting him out for a meal. Sure, the last time was a disaster, but now that some time has passed, we can tr…”

“No,” Gaara said taking comfort from his lover’s attempt to play peacemaker. “Whether Naruto gave his approval or not, his influence is what I’m up against. That is what I need to combat by insuring I maintain enough leverage to be taken seriously.”

“Even if his influence is keeping a Bijuu from killing you outright,” Sari said with a note of disbelief. “Are you that hellbent on being right?”

“What,” Gaara asked sounding confused, “This is not about being right or wrong. It is about insuring the well-being of the…”

“Village,” Sari interjected almost spitting the word out, “That doesn’t entirely appear to be the case. Kiyomi was right, it was petty of you to block her bid to build a WBA facility here. You’re even restarting a project that you were morally against before because it turned children into weapons. Don’t you find it the least bit troubling that if Joseki were still around, it is likely you would be in alignment on more topics now.”

Gaara glared at her as he said, “I am nothing like him. He was arrested for using people as puppets against their will, not because he desired for Suna to be strong.”

Sari matched her lover’s glare as she said, “The actions he took were born from that desire. He simply adopted to the idea that the ends justified the means in achieving his goals. Are you sure that you aren’t doing the same thing?”

“I am not,” Gaara said rising to his feet as he allowed the anger that he felt from the suggestion to color his voice, “I am simply not allowing myself to be deluded by Naruto’s high-minded ideals any longer. You just witnessed that I was threatened by a Bijuu, and while she claims Naruto did not send her. Does it truly matter if he did or not? There are nine more beings like her enthralled to him. I even gave my mother over to him because I too was captivated by his promises. Yet, he is willing to throw it all away on a whim.”

“It wasn’t a whim, they had a plan and acted on it” Sari replied heatedly back, before adding, “Yes, you helped drive your mother into his arms because you believed it would lead to peace. But, shouldn’t it make you happy to know that he isn’t treating her or your sister as just pawns, that he truly values them for who they are? Would you really have been able give your mother over to him if you felt he was capable of forcing her into a miserable existence simply because it kept the peace?”

“That is not the point,” Gaara replied quickly.

Yet, before he could elaborate on what the point he had been trying to make was, Sari snapped at full volume, “Well maybe it fucking should be!!!”

The room felt unnaturally quiet in the aftermath of her outburst, since both of them were surprised by it. After a moment when it was clear neither of them was going to fill the silence with anything of substance, Sari said, “I’m sorry. I… I should get back to work.”

Gaara simply nodded, as although he could sense Sari likely wanted him to stop her in order to talk on the subject more. He wasn’t exactly comfortable with what further debating on the topic may lead to, so allowed her to leave the room. Dropping back into his chair, he felt a nagging concern that he had just made a grave mistake. Yet, he pushed it aside in favor of focusing on the larger picture. He accepted that it had likely been a mistake to reject Kiyomi’s request on such flimsy grounds, as it would also cast a dim shadow on his reactivating the Hollow Army Project. However, while his reasons for doing so primarily had been to increase Suna’s strength due to the appearance of the new threat that a Sasuke led village presented. He would admit that any weapon that he could aim at Sasuke, could just as easily be pointed at Naruto. Yet, as Kiyomi had just demonstrated, his focus had been too narrow, believing the matter to be just a clash of wills between the Uzumaki and him on what would be required to make peace a reality, and as such, he hadn’t considered the true threat posed by the women tied to him.

Gaara now saw that while it appeared all the women tied to Naruto were working to the same ends. There were varying levels of commitment to that goal, as he had little doubt Kiyomi would reduce the whole of Suna to ash if she felt it would remove a threat to her lover. In truth, the realization made Gaara feel somewhat helpless, as he wasn’t confident there was a way to reestablish control of the situation. He had little doubt Naruto’s influence would continue to spread, which he would admit on the whole he would take as a positive normally. However, the true issue would arise if there was ever a moment were a difficult decisions needed to be made to ensure the most peaceful outcome, a point in time that Naruto had already demonstrated how he was incapable of making them, and Gaara had little doubt that depending on what sacrifices were required, may even actively fight against those trying to implement them, such as opposing the assassination of a leader completely opposed to peace. Which, did force Gaara to consider the question of would he be able to, and as he had in a sense already sacrificed his mother when she had presented a roadblock to that goal, he felt he had already answered that particular question much as Naruto had displayed the opposite resolve.

As Gaara was quite certain that he now faced a losing battle when it came to combating the influence Naruto would continue to gain and exert on the Shinobi World. He knew that he needed to shift his primary focus from containment, to simply making sure that should Naruto ever become an obstacle to peace, he could be opposed. Standing, Gaara decided that the time for half measures were over, and as such the first order of business would be to find a means to neutralize the Bijuu. Already formulating the list of contacts that he would need to reach out to, he felt a renewed sense of purpose similar to the one that he had when first deciding to become the Kazekage. Taking it as a sign that he was walking the correct path, he knew some would potentially see it as a betrayal of the man that had first inspired him to take the position that he now held and whom he claimed was a friend. Yet, he now felt that his blindly trusting Naruto had been the far greater betrayal, one committed against all the people that had put their hopes in him as their Kazekage and whom Naruto had shown no allegiance towards with his actions on Yugito’s behalf. Confident he still had time to right that wrong, he resolved that the next time Naruto decided to gamble with the peace that Suna currently enjoyed, the Uzumaki would learn that he couldn’t just brush off a Kazekage’s concerns simply because he had the Bijuu at his beck and call.

******

Naruto was laying on his bed within the room that he had at the Hidden Oasis Inn, and which for the first time in a while since awakening was devoid of the company of one of his lovers. He couldn’t exactly say that he was enjoying the time to himself as he stared up at the ceiling. Primarily since the time alone was leaving him with his thoughts and concerns. Which, currently were focused on what he would consider the disastrous meeting Kiyomi had with Gaara several days previous. Although, considering the actions his Bijuu lover had taken before it, he would guess that she considered it rather successful. At first, upon hearing the details of it from Temari, he had been angry since he had been hoping to let things settle for a while before trying to broach the subject again. Yet, he had soon calmed since he knew that although Temari had been angry at her brother, and that emotion had been why she took some satisfaction in aiding Kiyomi with her plans. She didn’t exactly relish being in a position where she had to act against Gaara. Moreover, Naruto felt that his Suna lover may have been a little shaken by what had transpired.

Still, he would be lying if he said that there wasn’t some annoyance lingering within him at Kiyomi and the other’s actions. But he felt that may just be ego at play at not being consulted first. Particularly, as acting without his permission may have been the greater point Kiyomi was trying to make. Still, even if he accepted that reasoning as valid, what was really bothering him was that he had to guess at what her motives were since she had yet to speak with him since the meeting. It wasn’t that she seemed to be going out of her way to avoid him, only whatever was keeping her busy had her out to well after he was asleep, and she would be gone by the crack of dawn if she had even returned. Naruto closed his eyes to check on his Bijuu lover’s location and to his surprise, she appeared to be returning from her errands early.

Naruto almost instantly felt his earlier annoyance get replaced with a sense of unease since the conversation he had wanted to have appeared to be about to happen. He sat up on the bed and moving to get out of it, he set his feet on the floor, and contemplated if he should get dressed as he was currently only wearing a pair of loose-fitting orange shorts. He figured that he might as well, since he wanted have an earnest discussion over her actions, so felt his current state of dress would undercut that desire.

However, his attention was pulled to the door as he noticed it opening slowly. “Nel,” he said in surprise as the child-like Bijuu was revealed once the door opened wide enough. He gave her a wide smile, as his previous concerns were forgotten. Standing, he said, “I’m glad to see you. Kiyomi told me you…” He trailed off as he noticed her wearing a nervous expression. Not sure why, he said, “Hey, what’s wrong? I’m really glad you finally stopped by. I was worried that you were upset with me.” Nel’s expression changed to surprise, so he continued, “I really wanted to thank you for saving me. I wouldn’t be standing here now if not for you.”

Nel found her voice as she suddenly yelled, “Naruto!” before charging towards the blond Uzumaki.

Naruto smiled as he moved to drop down to give her a hug. But he began to wonder if his eyes were playing tricks on him as she seemed to grow larger. Or more accurately, older as she closed the distance between them. Naruto tried to straighten up as the distance between them shrank at an increasing rapid pace, and although he managed to do so, was still unable to meet the charge as his breath was knocked out of him when Nel collided with him sending them both back onto the bed. Stunned by the grown Nel’s beauty as much as from the collision, Naruto remained motionless beneath her as the Bijuu said, “I could never be upset with you. I was afraid you would be angry with me because of what happened to you in Ame. If not for me, I’m sure that you wouldn’t have been injured.”

Shaking his head, Naruto reached up to cup her face, and used his thumbs to wipe away the tears that had gathered in her eyes. “I’ve gone over that fight a hundred times in my head Nel. I’m telling you the truth when I say that I’m only here now because of you. I was too dependent on the Hiraishin, while only having one seal in play during the fight. Sasuke never lost track of it, so made me pay when he survived after taking that Wind Clone Bomb. Because my strategy revolved around hitting him with it, I ultimately end up in the same place as soon as he escaped. That is, if I didn’t want to flee from the fight. So, you see, I owe you my life. Thank you.”

Meeting Naruto’s thankful and earnest gaze, Nel felt her face flush with emotion. “You’re welcome,” she replied feeling somewhat conflicted since while she was pleased that it appeared her fears were unwarranted. She now felt as if Naruto was giving her too much credit, so hoping to attain a balance said, “Now we are even for when you saved me from that woman, when she and her friends attacked the mansion.”

Naruto smiled as he said, “I hope you didn’t save me because you just wanted to balance the record between us.”

Nel was afraid her words may have been insulting, but knew that wasn’t the case as he chuckled a few moments later. She giggled herself, as she felt all of the tension that she had carried since Ame bleed away. Its vacancy was soon filled with desire as she said, “Do you remember what I said to you after you saved me?”

Naruto thought for a moment, before responding with a little confusion, “Something about jumping on a bed, but…”

Nel surged forward to kiss the Uzumaki, who reacted in surprise at first, but soon returned it in earnest. Nel felt a warmth begin to build in her stomach, which soon spread throughout her being. They rolled about on the bed as their tongues danced about in a similar manner. Once they settled down and the need to breathe became too much, Nel pulled her face away, and stated, “I want to become one with you.” However, a look of regret appeared in Naruto’s face which quickly prompted her to ask, “Don’t you feel the same? I could understand why you held back when I was trapped in my previous form, but I thought you cared for me as strongly as I do for you.”

Naruto gave her a reassuring smile, as he replied “Your being poked in the belly currently should be all the confirmation that you need I feel the same.” Nel became cognizant of the rod of iron that was doing just as Naruto stated, and brought her hand down to it and gripped his dick through his shorts.

Naruto groaned, which caused Nel’s own desire to grow prompting her to ask, “Then I don’t understand why you appear hesitant to act on those feelings.”

“I really wish I could,” Naruto said as he grabbed Nel’s wrist since she was beginning to stroke him. “But, due to my still recovering from absorbing and releasing Fury, I’m not sure it would be good for our health.” Reading the frown that appeared on Nel’s face as her not understanding what he meant he explained, “Recently we learned that when I take a new lover, I experience an increase in Chakra. The size of the increase seems to be proportional to the strength of the woman. Which, combined with how I’m currently forbidden from using chakra to give my coils time to heal means there is some concern that becoming too intimate might literally have me exploding inside you.”

“I see,” Nel replied feeling a sense of disappointment.

“The night doesn’t have to end here,” Naruto said quickly, “But, for both our sakes, it would probably be best to wait until I get a clean bill of health.”

Nel nodded. Yet, stood from the bed, although she found it difficult to do so, almost like fighting against a magnetic pull. Straightening out her green skirt and shirt, she said, “I think I would like to wait until then. I feel it would be more torturous for me to continue only to stop short of what I truly desire, then it would be to wait.”

Naruto nodded in understanding, so standing said, “Would you prefer us go out for a bit?”

Nel shook her head, and giving a happy smile said, “This night is already special enough. I came here expecting you to berate me, but recognize I was just berating myself. I believe I understand what Haku was telling me now. So I’m going to return to Ame to continue training.”

“Okay,” Naruto responded, “But, at least let me walk with you to transportation seal.” Nel nodded, so Naruto was about to take her hand, but stopped and moved towards a chest at the foot of his bed. Opening it, he produced the Grasscutter blade she had used to defend him as he said, “Oh, but speaking of training. Do you wish to use this sword?”

Nel held out a hand as if to take it, but let it drop as she said, “No, I think you should use it.” She could see Naruto was about to refuse, so explained, “I can’t be sure, but I believe that blade was somehow aiding me while I defended you. Almost like it was responding to my desire.”

“Wouldn’t that be all the more reason for you to take it?”

Nel shook her head as she replied, “I think it would be detrimental to my training to become too reliant on a special blade from the onset. I think it would be better for me and it, if it were to end up in the hands of a worthy master.”

“If that is what you wish.” Naruto said placing the blade down on his bed.

“It is,” Nel said feeling as a smile spread across her face when Naruto took her hand.

Naruto pulled her close, and kissed her passionately until he had taken her breath away, at which pointed he asked, “Then I will accept your gift, if you would do me the honor of allowing me to escorting you to Ame.”

“By that you mean to the teleportation seal in the basement,” Nel said wryly.

“Yes, but if I said let me escort you to the basement, it wouldn’t sound romantic and in fact, probably sounds a little creepy,” Naruto replied causing Nel to snicker.

“Perhaps a little,” Nel said enjoying the feeling of being in his arms, “But, I would follow you all the same.”

“Well then, off to the basement with you,” Naruto said, arching his eyebrows as he spoke.

“Hmm, perhaps not,” Nel replied causing them both to laugh as they left his room arm in arm.

****

Kiyomi stared up at the moon as she enjoyed the cool desert night from the balcony outside of her room. She had felt her sister’s arrival earlier in the evening, and judging from her lover’s subsequent feelings of emotion, guessed that she had been there to speak with Naruto over her concerns. Although, somewhat surprised her three-tailed sibling hadn’t become bound to the Uzumaki, she was nevertheless pleased that things appeared to be progressing in that direction.

Her attention momentarily shifted away from her moon gazing, to focus on the door leading back to her bedroom as she felt Nel’s presence disappear for a moment before reappearing in the direction of Ame. Guessing her sister was only taking a momentary break from her studies, her gaze returned to the stars. She lost herself in the beauty of them, as they seemed to shine far brighter in Suna. However, after a while she noticed her lover’s presence approaching, and would admit that she began to feel a little uneasy. Primarily as while she hadn’t exactly been avoiding her lover in the days following her confrontation with Gaara, she had made it a point to try not to be alone with him. A task made relatively easy due to her having to handle the purchase of Sparkling River Springs warehouse that she would be converting into a Women’s Bathing Association facility. While, normally she would have described the seemingly endless meetings with lawyers, and architects that lasted from dawn until well after the sun set as unfortunate. They had at least provided her with an excuse as to why she hadn’t been around.

As she heard the knob of the door which connected the balcony to her room begin to turn, she contemplated simply teleporting away. But quickly squashed it, as she would accept the consequences of her actions so instead activated a privacy seal which would obstruct the view of anyone how may have been watching her in the darkness. She kept her eyes skyward as her lover joined her on the balcony and simply said, “Nice night.”

“Indeed,” Kiyomi said turning to gaze upon him. She felt her desire for him grow as he was wearing just a pair of pants, along some indoor slippers. “Especially for you it would seem. Did you and Nel enjoy yourselves?”

“Not as much as either of us would have liked,” Naruto replied giving her a playful smile as he sat in one of the heavy stone chairs that surrounded the matching table. “But, what has you so interested in the stars tonight?”

“I think I’ll be leaving soon, so wanted to take a little time to enjoy the night sky,” she answered somewhat surprised by his seemingly playful demeanor, and for a moment, she considered sending Nel a thank you gift as she wondered if whatever her and Naruto had done had made him forget about what she had.

She learned this wasn’t the case as he said, “That is probably wise… considering you threatened to kill the Kazekage.”

“I didn’t threaten to kill him,” Kiyomi replied defensively. “I promised to, if certain conditions were met.” To her surprise, her lover chuckled causing her to ask, “You’re not mad.”

“I’m not happy about it,” Naruto corrected, causing a look of worry to appear on his lover’s beautiful face so added, “But, I’ve said it before, I can’t really get too terribly upset when the action that is undertaken is because of the feelings one of my lovers has for me. Still, I would like an explanation. Are you trying to make Gaara into an enemy?”

“If that is what he wants to be,” Kiyomi answered causing her lover to frown. Hoping to elaborate, she explained, “I know you want to believe only the best about your friend and his recent decisions, and I even want you to be right. But I fear that you are blinding yourself to just how dangerous a foe he may become.”

“Especially if we go around threatening him,” Naruto said quickly.

“I threatened him,” Kiyomi countered causing her lover to look exasperated.

Kiyomi feared that she was on the verge of angering her former host, but couldn’t really think of a means to make her actions more acceptable to him. She felt a flash of annoyance at that, as she had practiced this conversation in her head thousands of times, only to find her words failing her in the moment she needed them most.

Naruto stared at her for several more moments before calmly asking, “Why?”

Finding her lover’s calmness, somewhat perplexing, it nevertheless allowed her to collect her thoughts allowing her to explain, “Because I didn’t want Gaara to see the Family as just you. When you first started out, you told Ino that you would need the advice and input of the women that you gathered to help make your ambition a reality. I feel what I did was in line with that belief, because I want you to be able to continue to believe the best about Gaara without worry. Because you have lovers who are not that…”

“Naïve,” Naruto interjected.

“Yes,” Kiyomi replied causing her lover to smile due to her frankness, “But, I want you to be able to trust people almost blindingly, because you know you have women like me with you to deal with them when they let you down. Today, was merely a warning issued to Gaara not to.”

Nodding, and touched his lover was willing to be his shield from the harshness of reality, he nevertheless stated, “But, what if all you succeeded in doing was guarantee that he would see us as an enemy?”

“Truthfully, I would prefer that to be the case,” Kiyomi stated causing her lover to flash through several emotions. Glad, he didn’t settle on anger, but may easily slide towards it, she explained, “The recent revelations about his actions show that whether consciously or not, he has been influenced by certain inadequacies in his alliance with us.”

“You’re talking about Ameno,” Naruto stated.

“Yes, for starters,” Kiyomi replied, “Her preferring women makes it rather obvious that Gaara nominating her was meant to blunt your means of gaining more influence on the council. Of the eleven current members on the council, we only control three seats. While it is true the hardliners also only control three seats as well. That leaves four seats minus Gaara’s which we can’t accurately predict which way they will fall on any initiatives that we push through. If he was truly with us, wouldn’t he have nominated someone he was sure you would be able to seduce.”

“He might not have known,” Naruto said, although to Kiyomi it sounded like her lover didn’t really believe it himself.

Still, not aiming to force him to accept her point of view, she stated, “Yet, his office’s attempt to block my plans to open a W.B.A. location here was a clear sign that he is now consciously trying to block you from gaining more influence. The problem is that it is only a stopgap measure at best and eventually he would realize that.”

“What do you mean?” Naruto asked with a clear note of concern written on his face.

“Simply that even if he managed to succeed in blocking you from gaining any further influence in Suna,” Kiyomi explained, “His voice in the Shinobi Alliance as a whole would only continue grow weaker and weaker as you gained influence in the other shinobi villages. In the end, he would face the same issue that his nominating Ameno, or blocking our WBA expansion was meant to curtail, except on a grander scale.”

Naruto sat back in the chair, and seemed to wilt a little as he said, “I don’t understand why letting Yugito live as she wanted has led us here.”

Kiyomi grew upset at herself seeing the distress her words were causing her lover, but believing she held the answer pressed on, “It’s because it made him question whether or not he was a partner or an ally.”

“What’s the difference?” Naruto asked.

“Well, it is a subtle distinction that ends up making a world of difference,” Kiyomi answered, and received an annoyed look from her lover letting her know he wasn’t in the mood for vague riddles. “What I mean is that early on he felt he was a partner, and as such it was the two of you against a world marred by hate and war. Together, you each brought something to the table, and success required you both to work together. Yet, at some point he began to feel less like a partner and more like an ally, most likely this was cemented when you decided to aid Yugito against his wishes. But, Ameno’s elevation to the council would suggest he was beginning to feel concerns even before. An ally however is just someone whose goals align with yours, and so is useful up to a point, and when that point is reached, well they tend to end up like Obito Uchiha.”

“I would never…”

“I know,” Kiyomi said cutting her lover’s protest off, “However, whether you meant to or not. Your decision in regards to Yugito showed Gaara that you were not in fact equal partners, and more to the point, that when you decided to act against his wishes, he lacked the means to stop you.”

“I…I need to fix this…if I explain…”

“It’s too late,” Kiyomi said causing her lover to look at her dejectedly, “You already tried, remember? The only way you could convince him now would be if another situation came about where even if you felt acting as he wished would compromise your beliefs, you would need to. But, even then, now that he is cognizant of the power imbalance between you, he would still feel the need to close it. Just in case you ever decided to act against his wishes again.” Leaning forward, Kiyomi reached out to cup her lover’s cheek, and felt some measure of happiness that he took comfort in the action when he covered her hand with his. Giving him a soft smile that he struggled to return, she added, “But, even if you would compromise your beliefs, that doesn’t solve the imbalance as you would be surrendering yours to his whims.”

“How do I fix this?” Naruto asked almost pleadingly.

“I don’t know if you can,” Kiyomi admitted feeling tears enter her eyes at the pain she heard in her lover’s tone. “That is why I acted as I did. If he is going to become our enemy, then it is best he chose to now. At the very least, the sooner he commits to acting against us directly, rather than hiding behind half-measures that can serve the same purpose at some future date. The greater the odds will be that we are able to get word of it and confirm his intentions.”

“There has to be a better way,” her lover replied.

If Kiyomi felt any regret from her actions it was in the pain that was contained in her lover’s voice at the prospect of another friend becoming a potential enemy. Knowing it was a direct result of her actions, she nevertheless took some solace from the belief that it was better to open his eyes to the possibility now, then to wait until Gaara revealed himself to be one. With that in mind, she replied, “I don’t know if there is. Although if anyone could find it, I believe it would be you.” Seeing her lover wasn’t in the mood for platitudes she continued, “I believe that in many regards Gaara is a mirrored reflection of you.”

“I’m tired of that analogy,” Naruto snapped due to the numerous emotions swirling about inside him, “I’ve heard the same thing mentioned in regards to Sasuke.”

“You’ve been guilty of making that comparison,” Kiyomi stated causing Naruto to look both annoyed and guilty. She smiled softly at her lover as she said, “It’s simply because it is an easy enough analogy to make between two individuals of worth. Put them on a pedestal, pick a few traits they share, and then highlight the differences. Wasn’t that the case when you saw Gaara’s struggles as the darker reflection of your own?” Receiving a nod from Naruto, she felt a hint of amusement at his sulking slightly as he began to look off into the distance so she added, “In some respects, I can understand why Gaara would now feel cautious of you.” Her lover looked at her in surprise causing her to explain, “You’ve always been headstrong, and have managed to convince others to act against their better judgement from time to time. The handling of Sasuke being a perfect example. Your personal attachment to him to colored how he was treated after he defected due to your pleading, and while Tsunade ultimately made the decision, it was her fondness for you which led to him not being branded as a missing-nin.”

“I know,” Naruto replied, “But, he was as much a victim in the beginning…”

“So what,” Kiyomi cut her lover off, “He defected from the village, and that comes with certain punishments. The point is he escaped them because of you, and your influence. I’m aware I can make that same case for several of the women now bound to you, myself included.”

“Then what is the point you are trying to make,” Naruto asked rather heatedly, although he recognized that it was because some of his failings were being called out, since he had yet to hear the true thrust of his Bijuu lover’s argument. As such, he tried to calm himself.

Kiyomi smiled as she felt his steadying himself was a sign of how her former host had matured since becoming the head of his Family. “My point is that some would say it is wise for Gaara to take precautions against you, so that should the two of you truly diverge on how best to proceed to your stated goal. He wouldn’t have to just accept whatever you decide because he has no influence. Much as how some have said that because you insisted Sasuke be treated differently than any other missing-nin because of your personal investment in him, now means you hold some responsibility for his actions.”

“That’s because I do,” Naruto answered, “I know there is no guarantee that it meant he would have been dealt with. But…”

Kiyomi sighed, before reaching out her hand towards him and caused a chakra claw to stretch out from it, which flicked her lover on the head. Receiving a confused look as it was apparent that he thought that was the point she was trying to make, she said, “No, you don’t. The one who is at fault is Sasuke. After all, a few failed attempts by Konoha-nin to eliminate him, could have hardened him just as readily as learning the leadership of Konoha plotted his Family’s destruction with Itachi’s help. It could just as easily be said that Sasuke learning of how passionately you argued for him not to be marked as a missing-nin might have made him come back. Yes, it turned out to be a bad decision for him not to be treated as any other defector. But that doesn’t mean the reverse would have been a good one. More importantly, look at the number of people that have been made better by your decisions in how to treat them.”

Naruto smiled softly at her words, but it was replaced by a look of confusion as her lover stated, “Okay then, I’m lost. If you saying Gaara has good reason to want…”

“I said that I understood it,” Kiyomi calmly corrected her lover, “not that it was good.” Seeing Naruto still wasn’t sure what she meant, she explained, “On a tactical level it makes sense. My concern is that much like how you vested a personal interest in Sasuke’s return blinded you to the greater ramifications to your choices, Gaara has a personal stake in achieving peace which may similarly blind him. What I mean is, let us say you succeeded in returning Sasuke during your retrieval mission. Would you expect things would just have gone back to normal?”

“I did,” Naruto answered, “But I recognize now it probably wasn’t realistic.”

“Agreed,” Kiyomi stated, “Let’s advance the timeline a bit. How about after he kidnapped Gyuki’s host? By then he had assaulted a Shinobi that knew of the eight-tailed jinchuriki’s location, and even some shinobi that tried to tail him back to where he was taking Bee. Would you still have fought for your friend’s forgiveness as you were before opening that scroll?” Receiving a small nod, she smiled at her lover’s honesty before stating, “Even though there would have been people in Kumo that demanded retribution for the innocent lives Sasuke took in pursuit of his revenge.”

“I… I don’t know,” Naruto admitted, “A part of me sees it as a possible, but I’m not that man anymore.”

Nodding in agreement, Kiyomi replied, “I know. The point I was moving towards, is that if you had, it could have resulted in a war of wills between Kumo and Konoha that had affected everyone, all in the pursuit of your desire to save your friend. Well, unless it was a story with a hastily constructed ending in which everyone simply forgets about their grievances simply because you asked.”

“Are you saying, Gaara has a point then?” Naruto asked, “That is the argument he was making in regards to my helping Yugito defect.”

“No,” Kiyomi answered, “I’m saying the potential you that would just have forgiven Sasuke because you viewed him as a friend, and expect everyone else to fall in line because you desired it is someone that is worth opposing. I know that regardless of how well you planned Yugito’s defection, if it had failed, you would have accepted the responsibility, and taken the necessary steps to mitigate the results. That isn’t someone caught up in his own wants and desires. I don’t know that I can say that about Gaara.”

Kiyomi felt a fresh sense of frustration as Naruto quickly rode in to his friend’s defense as he said, “Gaara is only worried about what is best for Suna.”

“That is what he claims anyway, and I even feel that he believes it to be the case,” Kiyomi responded calmly, accepting that it is her lover’s inclination to see the best in people he cares for. “Getting back to his being a reflection of you, back then you saw the loneliness and having experienced it yourself came to empathize with him. However, Gaara unlike you didn’t resort to harmless pranks in his acting out, but hurt or murdered people who even looked at him funny.”

“Most of the people that you say he murdered, were actually assassins trying to kill him,” Naruto countered quickly.

“True,” Kiyomi replied, “Yet, there were cases of people he hurt here in Suna that simply crossed his path on the wrong day, and while most of the village has forgiven and even accepted him. I don’t know that you can say he has forgiven himself. Which is why creating a world at peace is so important to him, and why I believe he will pursue it in the same manner you once did Sasuke’s return.”

Frowning Naruto said, “But, how can he believe building peace on the sacrifices of others is worth having?”

“I don’t know if he sees it that way, or if it is just a matter of the goal being so great it justifies the costs,” Kiyomi replied with a shrug. “But I am saying that he sees it in the same manner as you once saw returning Sasuke. Single-mindedly, with the goal’s achievement being the primary thing of value, regardless of the ramifications and costs.” Giving her lover a soft smile, she continued, “Opening that scroll did change you. For the better in my opinion. By opening yourself to others, it showed you real relationships, not just ones based on a shared misery. That’s why although I imagine you still hate Obito, you can show him mercy. It is why you could let go of Sasuke, someone who if the old you would have successfully retrieved him, would have forced everyone else with reasons to desire justice to simply let go of their anger towards him. Not because it was right, but because you got your friend back so wished that to be the case.”

Naruto sighed tiredly, before admitting, “I don’t know if I’ve changed as much as you think. I acted for Yugito because of my feelings for her.”

Kiyomi nodded, but nevertheless claimed, “Yet, didn’t you originally recruit her because it would have made attaining peace easier. Instead, your actions on her behalf have only made attaining it all the more complex. Moreover, I know that if you had failed that you personally would have been willing to pay any cost required in order to mitigate the suffering your acting on her behalf created. You wouldn’t just shrug and say the goal was worth taking the risk.”

Hearing Kiyomi’s belief in his character caused a warm smile to appear on his face. Yet it soon fell as he said, “I don’t see a way to correct this unforeseen result of my actions.”

“I know,” Kiyomi said softly, before stating genuinely, “But, just keep going forward doing your best, because if anyone can find it, it will be you. So, continue to work towards that end, and know I will be rooting for you. But also, that I will be here to protect you should he live down to my expectations.”

Naruto nodded gratefully and stood, but before heading inside held out his hand towards her as he stated, “I don’t want to be alone tonight. Would you spend it with me?”

Kiyomi nodded as she accepted it and said lovingly, “I will always accept your hand whenever you reach out to me.”

Naruto smiled hearing his words to her being repeated back to him, and suddenly found that although still worried about what the future would hold, it wouldn’t be insurmountable so long as he had his lovers at his side. Pulling Kiyomi into a kiss he poured his passion and love for her into it and after it ended, he said, “I know my lovely fox. Still, it is always polite to ask.”

“You don’t need to be polite with me,” Kiyomi replied playfully as she stepped into her room as her lover held the door open for her. Undoing her robe once inside, she allowed it to hit the floor.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Naruto said pulling the door closed after him as the sight of his naked lover caused the concerns raised that night to fade from his mind, so that he could concentrate on the more immediate task of making sure that he sent Kiyomi off in the morning with a smile on her face.

*********

Gaara stood over a naked Sari as she slept seemingly blissfully in the aftermath of their lovemaking. He frowned as although it was more passionate then usual, likely fueled by the fight that they had a few days earlier, and the desire to move past it. His own dreams in the aftermath had been a recreation of their union, only it had been another man causing her to call out his name in pleasure. Gaara had quickly awoken to find her still in bed with him, but couldn’t really say the warmth of her skin against his gave him any relief. He suspected the reason was that in truth their making up hadn’t really seemed to fix anything. But instead had been an acknowledgement that enough time had passed that remaining angry was taking more effort then moving on. Granted, they had apologized to each other before letting their bodies do most of the talking. Yet neither of them had discussed what had prompted their argument in the first place.

For Gaara, the source was apparent, and the person he felt was responsible owned the name the dream Sari had moaned over and over again, Naruto. He felt he was perhaps being a tad unfair to conflate his disagreement with the Uzumaki’s actions in Kumo to his own with Sari. But, as he felt Sari was being corrupted by Naruto’s romantic notions, even if the Uzumaki wasn’t directly trying, it just further highlighted what he was up against.

Gaara turned away from her in the darkened room as he quickly donned some clothes and silently slipped out of the Kazekage building to meet with someone that may help him even the odds. In a strange way, he was almost grateful for experiencing the nightmare again as it helped convince him to go through with the meeting. It hadn’t been an easy decision to make, since the man although officially a known dealer in enchanted items and weapons, was believed to attain them through less then legal means. Moreover, he was said to have numerous contacts throughout the shinobi world. One of those contacts had been his father, which was how Gaara had learned of him as he had consulted his father records when he had tried to compile a list of people that may prove useful to his goal of gaining a means to bring Naruto to heel if the need arrived.

Thinking of his father, Gaara didn’t feel the same old hatred as he was coming to understand that perhaps his father had not been as wrong as he originally believed. Particularly, as he was beginning to appreciate why he had acted in the manner that he had, both with sealing the One Tails in him, as well as his alliance with Orochimaru. Mainly, because he could see how his father viewed Konoha as this ever-growing force which would eventually consume his home just by its continued existence. Thus, in order to try and combat its expanding influence, sacrifices had to be made, with one of them being his youngest son and subsequently his wife. Gaara was beginning to see that although he still took issue with many of his father’s actions, ultimately, he was right. After all, even though many would say his alliance with Orochimaru had been a folly on his part, in the end, it had weakened Konoha’s influence allowing Suna to make gains. And while the original treaty between the villages had been reestablished in the immediate aftermath of the attack, by showing Konoha that they wouldn’t just meekly disappear, they had been able to secure better terms in the following years. Although, Gaara would admit that their achieving parity with Konoha was primarily due to Naruto’s influence in the Leaf Village. Still, his father’s actions showed him that he had been willing to sacrifice everything for the protection and betterment of his village. Which was why The Fourth Kazekage was still a beloved figure in Suna.

Yet, even with all that being the case, Gaara had felt a sense of unease when the man had responded to his request to meet. He couldn’t exactly explain what, but if he had to put it into words felt it was akin to coming across two doors that both contained equally undesirable ends. With the only difference between opening them being what was lost. In many regards, Gaara felt he was now at that moment where he would have to decide which door he needed to open, and felt that by just meeting with his father’s old contact he would have effectively chosen. Then again, he felt his dream showed him that by doing nothing, he would effectively be choosing the other door, which inevitably ended with Naruto influence completely taking over until even Sari ended up consumed by it.

Deciding that much like his father, doing something was better than waiting around for the inevitable. Gaara felt some of the concerns he had about this late-night meeting begin to fade away. At least until he actually arrived at the location he had been directed to in the man’s response, to find the building appeared abandoned and in fact were some of those scheduled to be demolished for the expansion of the Entertainment District. For a moment, he feared Kiyomi had somehow found out about his reaching out to such shady men, and had determined it proved he had become an enemy so planned to carry out her promise. But it faded as a light turned on in one of the warehouse’s upper floors and cast the silhouette of a small pudgy man on the window.

Proceeding inside, Gaara’s sense of uneasy began to rise again due to it appearing that the building had only been home to rats for quite some time. But he figured it was too late to back out, not to mention that doing so would mean to accept being a bit player in his own village. Reaching the manager’s office, he pushed it open to find the small pudgy man sitting behind a desk. Despite the dreadful condition of the rest of the building, the room appeared to be well maintained. The man upon sizing him up gave a warm smile as he said, “My, aren’t you the spitting image of Rasa. So, what exactly is it that has our esteemed Kazekage searching me out?”

Gaara responded by throwing a ball of sand at him, which caught the man square in the face and blew out the back of his skull. Yet, rather then coating the wall behind him in gore, nothing but a few shatter bones emerged from the wound. Gaara went on guard as despite the fatal wound the body remained standing as if nothing had happened. From out of the shadows an amused and familiar voice said, “My, that was certainly a rude greeting. Especially since you were the one that reached out to him.”

“Kabuto,” Gaara growled as he searched the room for the man, “What game are you playing?”

“Me,” Kabuto responded while this time sounding as if he was out in the warehouse. “I think that is a question better put to you.”

Gaara appeared from the room, and heard the body hit the floor behind him as Kabuto ended the jutsu that had allowed him to manipulated the well-preserved corpse. He spotted a robe figure on the walkway opposite him and prepared to attack him, but paused as he said, “Come now Gaara, do we really have to do this?”

“How you can ask that after everything you have done?” Gaara said while slowly closing the distance between them, “I don’t understand.”

“Well, I admit I can understand why you would wish to fight me,” Kabuto replied while removing his hood. “But, not before first at least explaining why you reached out to me.”

Gaara came to a stop, and looking back towards the room frowned as it dawned on him, “That man was an alias for you. Then that means…”

“That I used him as a corpse puppet to help broker the alliance between Sound and Sand,” Kabuto finished with a self-satisfied smirk. “You weren’t the first Kazekage that came to him looking for an edge against a superior opponent. Which begs the question, who are you looking for an edge against?”

“None of your concern,” Gaara said preparing to attack again.

But he felt the fight leave him when the bespectacled man stated, “I wonder how Naruto would take it if he learned that you were looking for artifacts or weapons that could be used against him. Luckily for you, I happen to know the location of one that contains a beast that could give even the nine-tails a run for its money.”

“What makes you believe I would turn it loose against Naruto,” Gaara responded calmly, but guardedly. “It could be something that I wish to use against Sasuke.”

Shaking his head disappointedly, Kabuto said, “Come now Gaara. You shouldn’t try to misdirect someone when you have so little talent for lying. But if it would make you feel better, I suppose I can explain why it is so easy to see through your misdirection to you. It is rather simple after all as wouldn’t the best weapon that you could direct at Sasuke be a certain blond-haired fool.” Gaara narrowed his eyes, but if Kabuto felt threatened, he didn’t show it as he continued to explain, “More to the point, why would you reach out to such shady characters looking for a leg up on the competition if everything was all rainbows and unicorns between you two. Surely, the J.A.I.N. or even Suna’s own intelligence network would be better suited to such tasks, unless you didn’t want word getting back to certain parties.”

Gaara recognized that he was somewhat trapped now, since he had almost zero hope of keeping matters quiet if Kabuto decided to fight him seriously. Not to mention, he was unsure if he would even be able to beat him. Moreover, even if he did end up victorious, his only recourse would be to kill the former lieutenant of Orochimaru to ensure his silence. Yet, considering Kiyomi was already suspicious of him, there would be no guarantee that she would believe whatever story that he presented as to why they would have crossed paths in the dead of night. Deciding that it wouldn’t hurt to see what Kabuto was offering, he crossed his arms across his chest before calmly stating, “Alright then, lets hear what you are offering. But be warned, I will not aid you in harming Naruto.”

“I don’t wish to harm him,” Kabuto replied causing Gaara to frown as he was about to point out how that didn’t exactly appear to be the case. He paused as the robed man sensing his disbelief added, “The would be akin to killing the golden goose after all. The truth is, I already believe I know exactly how I will be able to get what I want from him. But I need to confirm certain facts before I can be sure it will work.”

Gaara felt a measure of confusion as he said, “Shouldn’t you have more then enough of his chakra if you desire to resurrect Orochimaru?”

“Unfortunately, the device that I used to capture his chakra was damaged, and only a fraction of what would be needed for a frown adult is left,” Kabuto replied. “That release of energy is what brought your mother back after all.”

“If you already have a plan, then why are you offering to aid me? Particularly, if you believe I mean Naruto harm,” Gaara asked.

“Call it curiosity,” Kabuto replied with some amusement. “I’ve long suspected that some force was working behind the scenes towards Shinobi unification. Although I couldn’t be sure who, recent events have made it clear to me that Naruto has a hand in it. After all, of the six women his chakra has currently revived, two of them have taken up posts in the Great Tree Shipping company. The supposed bodyguard simply named Mito, who is in actuality is Mito Uzumaki, and Fuka, who is now the head of a splinter company. The other four are currently working with Konan in Akatsuki, them being Mikoto Uchiha, Kushina Uzumaki, a Kiri-nin named Haku and I don’t think I need to waste my breath telling you who the last one is. These two distinct organizations combined forces to protect Ame, and well, the common factor between them is none other than Naruto.” Gaara although concerned by just how much Kabuto knew, did take some solace that it appeared he was capable of making mistakes, since he had been wrong about Mikoto Uchiha being one of the women Naruto resurrected. Remaining silent, he allowed the man to continue boast about how much he knew, “At first, I though perhaps whatever group was behind the push had just recruited him. But you, Gaara, have shown me that he might very well be the one calling the shots.”

“How so?” Gaara asked while sounding dispassionate, although it masked the concern and guilt he felt.

“How could I draw any other conclusion with you standing here before me?” Kabuto replied enjoying how Gaara was masking his shame at meeting with him. “Especially after how passionate the two of you were about working together to bring the villages together when you faced your predecessors. Yet, here you now stand looking for a weapon that can match the Bijuu that he carries. Let me guess, you are finding yourself falling out of influence as he continues to make more and more allies. I can certainly understand that, especially since his little endeavor in Kumo could easily have gone sidewise and damaged the peace that you’ve worked so hard to build already.”

“Hearing you speak of peace is almost sickening,” Gaara said snidely, earning him a chuckle from the robed man. “Now tell me what you are offering. What is the weapon that you are promising?”

“I’m not offering the weapon itself,” Kabuto corrected, “I’m merely giving you an opportunity to get a man close to it. You see, the truth is before I enact my plan for Naruto, I have a certain test that I want to perform. Just to ensure that he’ll move as I expect when the time comes.”

“Get to the point,” Gaara said beginning to lose his patience.

“Very well,” Kabuto replied, “I’m going to set certain events in motion, which will likely have the side effect of causing a member of your council to lose face. If you play your cards right when this happens, then you’ll end up with a man on the inside of the location where the artifact is being kept. From there, you can come up with some plan to deprive its current owners of it. You’ll want to hurry, as it seems they are setting up plots of their own to open it and release the beast inside. So, tell me, Gaara. Is one colleague’s reputation too high of a price to pay for an artifact that was said to give its user the power to conquer the world?”

“I take it you don’t really need my permission to enact your test,” Gaara said before asking, “Yet, what is stopping me from exposing you to Naruto?”

“Nothing I suppose,” Kabuto replied with a shrug. “But your colleague’s reputation would still be in tatters and you gain nothing from it. Naturally, you could try to kill me now, but I assure you it won’t be easy, and it is in both of our interests that this little meeting remains between us. So, tell me, are you in… or out?”

Gaara didn’t sigh, but certainly felt like it as he regretted not staying in bed with Sari. However, despite that he said, “You expect me to agree after hearing nothing but a vague outline of what you are planning. Now give me the exact details, or slink off back to beneath the rock you crawled out from.”

Kabuto gave a pleased smile as he said, “With pleasure…”

Next Chapter: Letting Go!

Author’s Note: Hello everyone, to begin let me again thank those that take the time to review the chapters. They truly are the fuel that keep me going. I hope this chapter proves to have been worth the wait. Despite it being almost 40K in length, I still ended up pushing a few scenes I had planned to the next chapter.

Just to updated everyone, on what I plan to release next. I’m going to stick on Eroninja for at least one more chapter, primarily as I want to bring one of the longer running arcs to an end. Afterwards, I’ll be releasing the Mabui Limelight chapter, followed by an LBB chapter whose topic I’ll hold off on revealing at the moment. I’ll then return to the Pride at least until the Nation Building arc is finished, and then a chapter or two of the Promise. I expect that will be keeping me busy for the remainder of the year. At which point I’ll return to Eroninja for the Chunin Exam arc.

So, until next time, take care! Sincerely, The Lemon Sage.