Disclaimer: Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, all characters that appear in the aforementioned series, and all techniques that appear in the aforementioned series are property of Masashi Kishimoto and any company, organization, or individual he has chosen to sell the rights to. I, MathewXoX, do not claim ownership of any of the aforementioned intellectual or commercial properties.
"Speech."
'Thought'
'Demon Thought'
"Demon Speech"
"Jutsu called"
'Jutsu thought'
Chapter one
They call Konohagakure no Sato the strongest, the top dog of the top dogs, their shinobi army a furious force forged from fire breathing, lightning wielding, kekkei genkai using, leaf ninjas; with an impressive list of shinobi ranging from the ANBU captain Kakashi 'copy-cat' Hatake, or the self-proclaimed green beast Might Guy; two mid A grade ninjas, and that was only 2 of the few A rank ninjas' in the village, excluding the two remaining loyal sennin; the strongest healer in the world, Tsunade of the Senju, and self proclaimed super pervert Jiriya the Toad Sage.
However, just strength wasn't what set the ninja village apart from others, it was the MASSIVE thriving eco-systems that ran daily through-out the village, nobles and merchants alike often taking refuge from the harsh nights in the large woodling country.
The closest money maker compared to them was the Hidden Mist Village, whom brought in only 60% what they did, the other villages doing even less than that!
But, amongst all this greatness, all this 'Good', was one place that over-took even the village's incomes, where crime was committed daily; taxes held by the "boss", not the government.
The Red-light district.
And that's where our story begins.
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Minshi Tanko was a simple man, he worked a 9-5 job in a average shop, where he served his fellow average civilians, before going back home to his average house, whom was occupied by a wife and two children, a boy and a girl.
He had no hobbies, no serious friends, heck he could barely count the number of said amount of friends on his finger tips.
Minshi was in every-way an average civilian man.
So, when this average man finally saw something interesting pop up in his life, the man almost laughed like a maniac as he leapt for it...
Unknowing leaping straight into his current dire situation that is.
"Minshi, Minshi, my good man, I am really disappointed in you." From his knelling position, the brown haired 30 something man couldn't see the person that addressed him: his light, yet firm, tone told him that his captive couldn't be older than 18. "What would Lina think once she hears you tried to steal from me?" Flinching at the name, the married man froze as his brown eyes locked with the glowing violet eyes of his judge, a chill of fear rushing down his spin like a snake.
"I, I," Stuttering out, the man cursed internally from his weakness, but who could blame him, he was knelling before Kitsune, the Boss of the red-light district. "I didn't mean to steal form you, I didn't know!" Bringing up some courage, for death being his motivator, Minshi locked gaze with the fancy dressed man, boss, before him. "I'll tell you whatever I know, but please, just let me live!"
"Ha!" Snapping his black metal cane down besides the pitiful man before him, Kitsune allowed his lips to part way, giving the pleading man a front row view of his overly large canines, their length being similar to that of a fox's. "You know, Mr Tanko, I get alot of people come in through these halls; nobles, shinobi, even the Hokage comes once a month, but not once has anyone asked something of me before first offering something." Tapping his cane gently, the toned hand of the boss tightened around the steel handle to the point that the black metal looked to be bending on the hilt. "How do you think that makes me feel, hmmm?"
"I'm sorry."
"Tsk, tsk, Mr Tanko, I asked you.." With a sickening 'crack', the cane slammed onto the man's hand, easily breaking his bone without effort. "How do you think that makes me feel?"
"Ah-a-Mad!" Crying out, the thieving civilian cried as the cane continued to grind his shattered hand, moving his bone around.
"Correct!" Withdrawing his weapon, Kitsune stepped out from the shadow of the room, his features coming to light: a sharp face with a short stubble, silky red hair styled in a left leaning textured Faux Hawk, and dressed in expensive looking dark silver Lounge Suit. "Now, when I am mad, I have a tendency of killing those whom have made me so," Fire violet eyes glared down at the grovelling man, a look of completely calmness replacing the once menacing smile that just laid there seconds ago. "However, I've already captured, and killed the man behind the attempted theft, so you are free to go... under the condition that you go back to your boring life."
The man practically wept out a 'yes' as he was dragged out, his mind taking in that maybe a boring mundane life was better than a one where he was dead... much better.
Once the slobbering mess of a man was thrown to the curb, the man, whom looked no more older than 17, gestured infront of him, a figure was quick too come from the shadows and knell before him.
"Yes, master?"
"Send in the Hokage, and bring me some Golden Hawk from the sake rake." In an emotionless tone, the red-head snapped his fingers, sending his guard off, turning towards his large red-velvet chair, and glanced out his main window into the thunderous night outside. "It's stormy tonight, I wonder if it's a sign for what's to come." Waving his hand in a ark, lights around the room came to life, bringing a small smile to his face.
"Let us hope you are wrong in that assumption, Kitsune-kun."
Smiling, the boss spun around and sat down calmly, his body posture easily matching that of a noble's. "Please, Hokage-jiji, when we're alone, call me by my name, you've earned the right."
"Right, right, still as kind as ever, -kun." Taking a seat in an equally comfortable arm chair, the elder Kage smiled as he looked at the red-head infront of him. When he first laid eyes on him, Hiruzen Sarutobi never could of guessed that the orphan would become such a massive juggernaut in both the political and finical circles.
Oh how misguided he was back then.
"So, tell me, Hokage-jiji, what brings you here today, our monthly meeting is not for another 14 days." Smiling gently, the young red-head nodded gently to his left as someone appeared, placing a bottle of Golden Hawk and two sauces down on the solid oak table in-between the Hokage and Kitsune. "Thank you Wolf, you may take the rest of the day off, I'll see you in the morning." Waving the man/women off, the teen offered the aged shinobi an already filled saucer, one that was accepted instantly.
"Gato has moved," Almost as if the three words were a bad omni, the smile on the red-head's face slipped off, leaving a calm one in it's stead. "And it would seem he has hired some ronin, and missing ninja from the Mist to assist him in his take over of Land of Waves."
"A predictable shame," He remarked as he tapped his cane on the floor whilst he took a small sip of the sake, a small burning feeling hitting his pit of his stomach. "But there is little I can do at this moment, I have still much to sort out with the new funding coming from the Mist."
"I see that the task you set out to do worked then?" Hiruzen smiled as he joined the teen in his drinking; the red-head child he once shared fish with under the night sky had grown up to become a powerful man, but a fair man none-the-less. "So how goes the treaty between you and the new Mizukage, I heard you helped finance her mission to overthrow the fourth."
"Slow, but beneficial." Kitsune smirked a fanged grin as he summoned a single folder with a flicker of wind. "Here's a single report from just a month ago, my fifth update since the Mizukage came to power."
"Oh, sharing important information with me on a fellow ally, not worried I will use it against you?" Smirking, the Hokage opened the folder as scoffed, already knowing that the folder was too old to be an advantage for the aged shinobi. "A 7% cut?" Humming in thought, Hiruzen glanced over the many different types of incomes, before finally landing on a single name, one that he took interest instantly. "Azure Fang?"
"Ah," Smiling gently, Kitsune tilted his head to the side in thought. "Someone I met on my first trip to the resistance, someone I took... interest in." Thinking on his words, the teen didn't let his smile slip, instead taking another sip of Golden Hawk. "Speaking of which, I have a favour to ask of you."
"Oh, a favour?" Smiling, the Hokage's smirk went from calm to cunning, his caring eyes seemed to gleam matched only by the one coming from Kitsune's eyes. "Would this perhaps be about this listed person, Azure Fang?"
A large chilling smile came to the red-head's face, enough to give the aged shinobi a seconds pause, only for it to disappear as soon as it appeared. "Oh, it does, but then again, I'm doing you a favour... seeing as I'm extending my alliance to you." Pulling out another folder, the boss threw it onto the desk infront of the man, which showed several numbers and shipments for The Hidden Leaf, with a space big enough for the Hokage and Kitsune to sign. "So, what do you say, partners?"
Frowning, the Hokage read through the contract, raising his brow at the shear amount of money that was going to be put into the ninja academy, looking up at the red-head in confusion. "Preparing for a war?"
"Hardly," The red-head scoffed out as he threw another folder to the Hokage, this one being slightly thicker. "This is a list of 8000 shinobi on retirement under the age of 20 alone, with an additional 6500 chūnin under 25 that haven't taken more than 19 missions a year and are claiming income help."
"Truly?" Looking down at the sheets, the man looked down at the costs, shocked at the shear amount of funds taking from other aspects of the village; like from the academy, to fund these men and woman. "So how would increasing funding for the academy help with this epidemic?"
"Easily, I've already privately investigated all of these cases, and found only 200 of the shinobi under 20 need the retirement, and only 130 under 25 chūnin need that income thanks to injuries or family matters." The boss confessed as he pulled out two small folders, and handed them to the old, yet still powerful, shinobi. "So what I propose we do is rebuild our forces, seeing as we've not even 30% from the Third Shinobi War." Kitsune remarked with a frown, the hidden leaf was falling behind the other villages, and if there was another war there was a chance that the village could be wiped out. "We take these units and apply them where they need them, in small villages."
The Hokage frowned at the mention of the smaller villages, he had ignored the cries of the smaller villages because of the lack on shinobi in the roasters... but if they brought back in 14,210 chūnin, it could easily allow him to spread the influence of the hidden leaf. "Yes...yes, this could work out well for us, it might even gain us some more Jōnin." Humming in thought, the Hokage summoned a pen and red stamp before signing the paper, finishing off with the stamp of the Hokage.
"I guess this is the start to the return of the great Land of the Leaf," Kitsune said as he stood up, passing a bag the Hokage's way, and picked up the folders. "That bag is a gift, a bag of Burning Crow, from the land of Water."
"B-burning crow?" Glancing down at the bag in wonder, the Hokage couldn't help but gulp, this bag of tabaco was worth more than enough to create and maintain a small village for atleast a year. "How did you get this?"
"I 'liberated' it from the previous Mizukage's person storage." Smirking, the red-head tapped his cane against the floor in though. "Amongst other things,"
Sighing, the man accepted the bag with a smile, to think the near-adult still thought so high of him still made his heart heat up with warmth. "Thank you, Kitsune-kun." Standing up, he turned around and left, ignoring the 'no problem, jiji' as he walked out; his soul lighter than what's it been in a long time.
A thick silence took over the room as the red-head was left to himself, a large smile on his face as he looked down at the papers infront of him.
"Blue..." A large figure stepped into view, his massive size only more shocking by the fact that he could hide easily in the shadows. "Stage reinforce is ready, please launch operation 'Break'."
"Yes, Kitsune-sama."
Satsuki Uchiha frowned as she looked ahead, her fingers wrapped around themselves as thoughts and feelings stirred inside her; her patience homed in from the past 5 years, ever since her sister murdered all in the people in her clan, except for her and her mother, was being pushed to it's breaking point.
"Where the hell is he?!" One of her fellow two female teammates groaned out in annoyance, her blonde hair, that was shoulder-length and spiky, flapped around as she slammed her forehead into her desk with a small bang. "Kami, I can't wait until he get's here, I'm going to seal a stink bomb to his chest."
"Calm down, baka!" The other side of her team, her long silky pink hair flipped around, shouted back at the blonde, the gleam of her skin revealing she took priority of her appearance over her training; that and she lacked any proper muscle mass; unlike her other female students.
"Narumi, Sakura." Much to the shock of the two female, the last Uchiha finally snapped, her sharp glare levelling the two girls with annoyance. "Shut up."
Narumi, the blonde girl, quickly got over her shock and instead turned her annoyance onto the dark haired teen. "Catch this, you stuck up emo!" Grasping the closest thing to her, that being Sakura, the 13 year old flung 'it' forwards, throwing the poor excuse of a kunoichi like a frisbee.
"Crap!" Satsuki, whom was not expecting to catch the pinkette, was meet face-to-forehead as the screaming girl smashed into her, taking the two to the floor. "What the hell, you blonde dope?!" The dark-haired Uchiha shouted as she held her bloody nose in anger, black eyes narrowed in pure rage.
A soft click, followed by a dull hum stopped the three from starting an all-out Cat-fight.
"Oh, maybe I should come back later." Drawing the attention of the kunoichi, a tall man with tall spiky silver hair stepped into the room, his one uncovered eye glancing around in wonder.
The man's attention however, was quickly diverted from the girls, and instead focused on the eraser being shot towards him, tilting his head to the left to not get hit by it. "You're not going anywhere!" Turning his gaze away from the surprising fast eraser, the sensei of team 7 narrowed his eyes at the blonde of the group, the shot, if it had been a kunai, could of taken him out if he wasn't aware.
"Meet me on the roof."
In a cloud of smoke, the man vanished like a magician, leaving the three highly frustrated team to follow after.
Hitting dead on the 3 minuet mark, the three post-graduate ninja academy students arrived on the top of the roof; each one having an agitated look on their faces.
Seeing this, the teacher of 3 girls, gestured for them to have a seat. "Okay, now that we're all here, let's start off with introducing ourselves, you pinkie, go first." Waving lazy to the left, the man signalled for the dazed girl of the group to go first.
Startled by the sudden attention on her, Sakura blushed in embarrassment before coughing into her hand. "Well, I'm Sakura Haruno, and I'm 13." The girl remarked, smiling as brightly as possible at her teacher, trying to make a good impression.
With a deadpan stare, Kakashi continued to stare at the girl in anticipation, sighing when the girl didn't seem to catch on. "And your likes, dislikes, dream for the future?"
"Oh, oh!" The blush returned full-force as the kunoichi in training, stammering as she tried to regain her professional demeanour. "Well, my like are, I mean the person I admire..." Glancing to her right, the girl's demeanour was cracked open like a hammer to a pine-cone, a blush travelling from her feet to her face. "And I hate Narumi-baka!" Said blush was swapped out to a glare of anger and jealousy, her eyes glancing to the two round lumps on the girl's chest before looking down at her own flat chest.
"Right... okay, you emo, next." Quickly noticing the jealous and fangirl-ish ways of his first female student, the man sighed internally as he quickly moved the focus on the rookie of the year.
"I have no likes, and many dislikes." Satsuki remarked in a bland tone, her eyes unfocused as she glared forwards, her mind wondering. "I don't have a dream, only a goal... To kill a certain somebody." Without saying anything else, the teen ignored the awed/confused looks being sent her way by her team-mates.
"Okay then, finally, you, blondie." Ignoring the glare sent his way, the grey-sensei moved the attention to the his last line of hope; he'd hoped atleast the Uchiha of team was going to be normal-ish... now his only hope was for the blonde of the group.
"Well, my names Narumi Uzumaki, I'm 13. I like Ramen, Fūinjutsu, orange, and my brother! And I dislike ghosts!" Smiling brightly, the calm ball of joy that was Narumi closed her eyes in thought, making her Kakashi blink in surprise; he didn't know the kid this age even knew about the sealing arts. "Oh, and my dream is to be Hokage, and to be with my brother forever."
'Brother complex?' Kakashi thought in surprise, his inner self giggling at the perverted thought. "So who's this brother of yours, a fellow ninja?" The team, including Satsuki, looked at the girl in wonder, she never really spoke of her brother, only passing comments here and there.
"His names Kitsune Uzumaki, but most people call him Shuryō-sama." To Satsuki and Sakura, the title barely moved them, the eyebrows raised in wonder, but to their Sensei it was a massive shock, so much so that he almost, almost, dropped his favourite book in shock.
"Did you just say Kitsune?!" Snapping his bock shut with a loud snap, the teacher pocketed it and focused his one eye on the blonde. "Tell me, what do you know of your brothers... activities?" Humming, the girl nodded her head positive, a small smile on her face, opening her mouth to speak only to be cut off by the sound of a metal hitting on concrete.
Spinning around, the teacher and students was meet by the sight of three people stepping onto the roof, one boy and two girl, followed shortly by a tall red-headed male wearing a jonin vest, presumingly their teacher.
One of the two female group, a petite girl with short wavy blue hair wearing a blue dress, had her back to the team 7, but her soft voice was easily heard.
"So Uzumaki-sensei, how goes training, last time I checked, your combination nature training just started?"
"Pfff as if Fang, he's well past that."
Standing besides the red-head of the team, the dark haired male of the group remarked cockily with a smirk, his red-eyes wide as he lazily placed his hands over his head. "But then again, you wouldn't know that, would you?." The teen remarked with a smirk, only to hissed in annoyance when a cane tapped harshly against his skull.
The owner of the cane sighed as he brought his cane down, shaking his head in disappointment as he gestured to the unspoken girl of the group. "Stop being rude Blaze, you're making a poor first impression."
"Onii-chan!"
Before Blaze could comment back, a yellow blur rammed into the cane wielding jonin, wrapping herself around the boy like a rope.
"Oh, Sensei's sister?" Azure smiled as she watched the petite spiky blonde girl mush her face into her new teacher's chest, trying to pull the green jacket around herself like a blanket. "They sure are close."
"Attached at the hips if you ask me," Blaze whispered to himself, only for a cane to tap against his head again, making him curse in pain. "Damn it sensei, stop hitting me!"
"Ah, Kakashi-taichou, I'm surprised you're still here." The last member of the group, a young teen around 15 with straight, black hair reaching down past her shoulder, black shades covering brown eyes, and a large over-coat covering the majority of her body, stepped forwards with a emotionless expression.
Blinking in surprise, the open pervert gapped when he saw Kimiko of-all people step into his view. "Aburame-chan, I'm surprised you became a student under Kitsune of all people."
"Not by choice mind you," She said with a small frown, her eyes glancing towards the red-head of her group. "Hokage's orders."
"Kitsune..." Whispering to himself, the Jōnin quickly figured out why one strongest genin from last year's units was taken out of action. "The Hokage has really given you a hard assignment this time."
Coughing in his hand, Kitsune smiled sweetly towards his sister whilst ruffling her soft spiky locks with his free hand. "Narumi-chan, I'm glad you are doing well." Much to the nervousness of Kakashi, the red-head's eyes turned from delight to cold indifference when he turned to him. "I do hope your sensei is treating you well."
A nervous felling fell onto the silver haired man, if Narumi sold him out, he was positive that he could cut off his Icha Icha supply.
"Yup, he's doing great!" A devilish smirk came onto the girl's face as she glanced towards Kakashi, a plan quickly coming present in her mind. "But I'll be sure to keep you updated!" Innocent eyes looks towards upwards, clinging tighter against her brother, ignoring the cries of her teammates.
"Narumi-baka, get over here now!" Sakura, finally getting over the shock of seeing the brother of the blonde, the very handsome brother mind you, shouted towards the spiky blonde, shaking her fist towards her. "Stop bugging the new guy!" The girl gusto was quickly taken out form her sails as Narumi glared towards her, the fury behind them enough to stomp out her courage.
"Onii-chan..." A thick silence filled the air as Narumi slowly unwrapped herself from her brother, a glare still linger on her baby face. "Can we get some ramen later?"
Nodding gently, the teen smiled as he patted the small blonde's head before turning towards his new students. "Alright team, how about we should go somewhere else? It'll give us some privacy."
"I see no problem will meeting your new comrades, lets stay." Seeing a way of getting a one up on her old 'sensei', the bug user seated herself between beside the odd 3 female team, gesturing her team to have a seat next to her.
"Now, I'm sure your all ready to speak, but lets have Azure go first." Ignoring the hidden worried glance Kakashi sent him, the man's smile never faltered as his team took seats next to team 7.
"Sure!" Azure, who was seat next to the left of Sakura, smiled lightly as she placed her hands on her lap and started. "My name is Azure Fang, I am 13 years of age, and I have a water element." Clapping her hands together with a smile, the girl looked towards her new team-mates. "My dream for the future is to be the strongest water user in the world."
Kitsune smiled as he looked towards Azure, it was good to know that his student was more focused on becoming a powerful kunionchi rather than being a fan-girl. "Lovely to hear that you're determined, I will be happy to help you in your dream." Seeing the teen nod in thanks, the teacher gestured towards Blaze, gaining a smirk in return.
"The name is Scarlet Blaze, future king of all Fire-style, my likes are creating Fire jutsu, Curry, and Genjutsu. I dislike the colour purple, and sushi... As for my dream," Dark violet eyes flashed with unidentifiable emotions as the ninja-in-training twitched gently. "My dream is too create a fire jutsu that can both heal and damage at my will." A small frown lingered on the teens brow for a single moment, before a smirk replaced it, hiding his emotions well.
"A strong jutsu, no doubt." Scanning the face of the black-haired teen, Kitsune frowned as he went over the dream of the boy; there was something to that story that he knew was going to come up sooner or later. "Now, to you, glasses."
Sitting with the grace of any trained shinobi, the teen let a small smile grace her lips. "Why, how very bold of you, Sensei, to ask me of such thing is quite... bold." Calm brown eyes flashed with a hidden amount of glee, something that didn't go unnoticed by the red-head. "But I will I'll indulged you, my name is Kimiko Aburame, I enjoy green tea, Miso Ramen, and Kidaichū." A sly smile lingered on the cloak covered lips, dropping a small hint that she knew the red-head would pick up on. "I dislike thieves, corruption, and mysteries. As for my future, I wish to make a summoning contract with every bug out-there... oh and get married." Winking towards the calm red-head teacher, the young 15 year old knew she was pushing the line between student and teacher, it was intentional afterall.
Clicking his cane against the floor with a small tap, the noble looking red-head stared down the genin, as if he was tempting her to go continue.
She wisely did not.
"A noble ambition," The red-head male remarked as he glanced towards Kakashi, the dream of the Aburama was expected, she was most probably secretly delighted that she had kitsune as a teacher, if the rumours were to be believed then the self-made Boss of the Red-Light district had some of the rarest, if not the rarest, bugs in the whole of the Leaf; and she was banking on getting close enough to the red-head to get atleast sample some. "Anyway, now that we're introduced, I'll leave you three to connect for today, however tomorrow we'll meet at training ground eleven, 8am sharp."
In a flash of hand signs, the Aburame waved goodbye before disappearing in a Flicker of speed, leaving leaving the rest of team 11 with team 7, off to do some of her own business.
"So, who's up for Ramen!" Narumi shouted as she jumped to her feet, clapping her hands loudly getting the attention of the 5 new genin. "Onii-chan's buying!"
"I'll pass." Blaze and Sakura remarked at the same time, Blaze not really caring to join them; he had training to do afterall.
Sakura, on the other hand, turned towards her role-model and smiled brightly. "Hey, Satsuki, do you want to join me for some food?" The pinkette said with a large smile, hoping to finally connect with the ice-queen now that they're on the same team.
Almost if her words were spoken by a ghost, Satsuki seemingly blanked the girl's words, instead she focused on the only red-head of the roof, an odd sense of recognition washing over her. "Do I know you?" Standing to her feet, the petite girl frowned as her charcoal eyes locked with rich purple, as if searching them for the answers she seek.
Smiling almost tauntingly, the Jonin intertwined his hands over his cane, a knowing look adoring his face. "I wonder," Standing up, wave for his sister to join him as he walked over towards the edge of the roof. "I'll meet you guys at Ramen Ichiraku." Disappearing in a similar manner as Kimiko, the blonde and red-head was gone before the questioning could continue, much to the silent annoyance of Satsuki.
"Ramen Ichiraku?" Azure, being new to the village, asked questionably towards Kakashi, only for the teacher to wave her off, pointing in a random direction as he continued to "read" his book.
"Right," Ignoring the company she had around her, the girl looked off to the side before suddenly jumping down and slinking down one of the drain pipes, channelling a small amount of water chakra to her feet to make her slide down faster. "Nailed it."
"Hmph,"
Turning around, the blue-ette met the gaze of one "Emo-queen", ignorant to the fact that she had caught the interest of the Uchiha. "Err... Can I help you?"
"No," In a sharp tone, the shorter girl stuck up her nose up in arrogance before walking forwards, in the direction of the ramen shop, both their minds on one single person..
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