Tsunade stood in her office, eyes skimming over the letter. Her eyes narrowed at the signature, wondering who the heck this Seto Kaiba person was. A knock at her door pulled her out of her thoughts. Shizune stood in the doorway looking exasperated. "Lady Hokage I'm sorry. I can't find Kakashi anywhere. It's like he disappeared again-" she was cut off by a popping sound at the window. Tsunade turned to glare at the silver haired shinobi reclining lazily against her window.
He glanced at her with the one eye visible on his masked face. "I heard you were looking for me?" he drawled.
The Hokage blew up, "Kakashi! I told you to be here an hour ago!"
The copy-nin blinked. "Only an hour? Huh. Thought it was longer." he smiled at the red faced sannin before sobering. "So why did you call me?"
Tsunade sighed. "What do you know about Seto Kaiba?"
Kakashi looked at her, shock gracing his features. "The tycoon? Quite a bit... why?" his suspicion kicked into gear.
Tsunade grimaced. "He's asking for body guards, paid S-rank to get them. Now who is he?"
Kakashi closed his eyes and leaned back against the window again. "Seto Kaiba. CEO and shareholder of Kaiba Corp. an international business; one of the top duelists in the world and host of one of the biggest tournaments for the game; he lives in Domino City in Japan; he is quite intelligent and an orphan with his little brother, Mokuba; his signature card is Blue Eyes White Dragon. That's all I really know." Tsunade nodded before turning and sitting at her desk. She steepled her fingers, touching them to her lips. She looked over the biographies and photos of the people Kaiba wants protected littering her desk. She fingered the silver disk she had received with the package. A beeping sound came from the disk as she held it. An image popped up from it startling the sannin. A man wearing a white jacket with cold blue eyes and brown hair stared at her from the disk.
"You must be Tsunade. I am Seto Kaiba the man requesting your assistance. Against my better judgment, but of course Mokuba is...worried about mine and his other...friends...safety. I assume the money paid was sufficient?" Overcoming her shock the Hokage assured him it was before inquiring into the nature of Mokuba's worry.
Kaiba stiffened slightly before replying, "There have been some suspicious activity, as well as some threats against the other duelists. Some of these threats have come against those closest to duelists, Mokuba included. I don't want anything to happen to those under my tournament name. It would not be good for business or anything else for that matter. So will you help?"
Tsunade nodded once, "Yes we will help. However I do have some questions for you." Kaiba motioned for her to continue. "How would you like them to be protected? In order of strength, efficiency..."
"Actually by personality if possible. It is crucial that they trust each other and if they are similar in a lot of aspects they may be more willing to gave them that trust. Mokuba feels trust is essential in this deal." he sighed and shook his head at his brother's foolishness. Tsunade's eyebrows quirked before she nodded at him.
They ended the conversation and Tsunade turned to face Kakashi. "You thinking the same as me?" he grinned and nodded. "Call in the Konoha 12. They've got a new mission."
Tsunade was faced with the jounin faster than she would've thought. She scanned the group, noticing they weren't just standing with their squads. Sasuke Uchiha was standing of to the side in a low conversation with Neji Hyuuga and Shino Aburame; Sakura Haruno was laughing with Rock Lee and Kiba Inuzuka; Sai was in a deep discussion with Tenten; Ino Yamanaka was glancing at Kiba who returned the glances as she spoke with Hinata Hyuuga who stood quietly in the corner watching Naruto Uzumaki. The strange thing was watching Naruto stand against the door arms folded as he smiled softly at the other shinobi. Usually he'd be louder than Kiba, whose booming laugh echoed in the room. Tsunade smiled as she realized just how much Naruto had matured. She rid her head of those thoughts and called the jounin into a line.
"As you have probably guessed, you have been called here for a mission briefing. And yes, it is for all 11 of you. However you will be accompanied by another shinobi who is running a little behind. None of you will judge him, even if you don't particularly like him. He has wandered for a while, but has decided it would be in his best interest to help us and return home. He's on probation but is still-" Shizune knocked rapidly before entering.
"My lady, he just arrived. Should I bring him in?" Tsunade nodded. All of the jounin turned to see the new recruit and instantly a tension filled the air. Kabuto Yakushi had entered the room, glancing at the jounin apprehensively. The only person not glaring or staring harshly at him was surprisingly Naruto. He was merely looking at the newcomer. Sasuke glared quickly letting a lash of words string at the glasses-wearing medic.
"What are you doing here? You don't belong here kisama." His words were like ice and Kabuto noticeably flinched. Sakura whirled to face her sensei.
"Tsunade-shishou, you can't be serious! He was Orochimaru's right hand man and you're going to let him on this mission? I'm sorry but this doesn't seem like-"
"Sakura." The word was spoken softly by Naruto. His tone was reprimanding and Sakura couldn't help but stare at her blonde friend. The rest of the group glanced at him as he stepped forward. He stood right in front of Kabuto, whose gaze was lowered to the ground. Naruto spoke again; "Look at me Kabuto," the elder man complied. He wished he hadn't as soon as those cerulean eyes pierced his. Naruto continued to look at the man as he questioned, "Do you have any ill will towards this village?" Kabuto shook his head, "Are you making plans to sabotage this mission?" Again he shook his head. "Good. If I find out you were lying to me, I will make sure you do not see the light of day or feel the breath in your lungs again. Do you understand? This is my village, my home. I will not have it threatened." Kabuto gulped and stammered a measly 'yes sir.' Naruto backed away from him and turned again to Tsunade who grinned at him proudly. He noticed the strange looks he was receiving from his fellow shinobi as Kabuto stood next to him.
"What? Did I do something wrong?" they continued to stare, so he shrugged them off. "So Granny Tsunade, what's the mission? Come on tell me!" His eager self appeared and the group instantly relaxed, chuckling at his digression into childhood. She eyed him, noting the look of relief in his eyes.
"Well, there is no need to repeat myself so let's move on." She set the picture of Kaiba down for them all to see. "This is Seto Kaiba. He's the one requesting you as bodyguards."
Sakura interrupted, "Wait. Why would a multi-billionaire, shareholding CEO of the world's largest gaming company need to pay for our assistance?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow at her. "What? The hospital has been all but empty for almost 2 months. I've had plenty of time to read past the shinobi world." Everyone laughed slightly at her bluntness.
"To answer your question Sakura, someone has been threatening the duelists and those important to them. Your job is to befriend them and protect them at all costs. These people are dangerous and not afraid to do anything to succeed in their goals. You need to be as ruthless as they are. Now I've already assigned you to the person you will be protecting. And no Ino, you're not protecting Kaiba." Ino huffed and removed her hand from the picture she was reaching for. Tsunade sighed and shook her head, "Let's get on with this. Tenten, you will be protecting Ishizu Ishtar, Sai you have Marik Ishtar," with each name she handed the said shinobi with a biography and photo, "Neji you have Ryo Bakura, Ino you are with Mai Valentine, Kabuto you're protecting Maximillion Pegasus, Shino you'll be with Mokuba Kaiba, Hinata you're guarding Serenity Wheeler, Lee you have Tristan Taylor, Sakura you're with Téa Gardener, Kiba you will be protecting Joey Wheeler, Sasuke you're with Seto Kaiba and Naruto…" she glanced at him and held to the biography she was handing him, staring him in the eyes with a deeper meaning, "You have Yugi Muto, and I recommend you read his biography immediately and fill in the rest of the group on the double conditions." His eyebrows rose before he scanned the biography. His eyes narrowed and he stared back at Tsunade.
"Would you like them to know the…personal parts of it?" she nodded and he sighed, "I suppose I'll show them on the jet then."
Tsunade nodded, "Speaking of jets… Kakashi!" The copy-nin looked at her, offering a 'yo.' in response, "How long until the jet from Kaiba Corp. arrives?" Kakashi turned and peered at the sky out of the window.
"About half-an-hour. Give or take 10 minutes." He replied. Tsunade motioned for the group to leave and they all nodded.
"Excellent. Now that they're gone…" she reached into a hidden drawer in her desk and pulled out a bottle of sake, "Care for a drink Kakashi?"
An hour later, everyone was relaxing on the jet provided for them. They had all finished reading the biographies given to them and were soaking in the information- all except Naruto. He fidgeted in his seat every few minutes, quickly drawing the annoyance of Sasuke.
"Dobe, stop moving or I will not hesitate to knock you out," he hissed.
Naruto growled, "Easy for you to say teme. You're just protecting a stuck-up rich kid. My charge isn't so simple."
"Care to elaborate Naruto?" Neji inquired. Naruto sighed. He ran his hand through his hair and finally gazed back at the group.
"Alright, but this is gonna sound crazy, but it's also completely true. You know how I'm a jinchuuriki right?" the other shinobi all nodded. "Well this guy I'm protecting Yugi Muto? He has a similar situation, except that his is a pharaoh from ancient Egyptian times who locked his soul in a puzzle. Yugi solved it, so now the pharaoh's soul is residing in Yugi's body. They can switch control of the body at will or separate entirely. Rather like I can…" his voice trailed off towards the end. Sai peered at him, noticing the last part but knowing the others had not.
"Naruto, what do you mean 'rather like you can'?" he tilted his head to the side. Naruto sighed again.
"I was hoping you wouldn't notice that actually." He took a deep breath before explaining, "I can control the nine-tailed fox as you guys probably know. Well, there's actually more to it than that. He and I are two separate people." The group looked at him like he was crazy. "You guys don't believe me do you." He stated, "Well then I guess I'll show you." He closed his blue eyes and began taking deep breaths.
'Kyuubi? I need your help.'
'With what Kit?' he heard Kyuubi ask.
'Convincing them I'm not crazy. Ready to show?'
'Kit, I've only been waiting on you.' He smirked. A blinding light filled the jet and the shinobi covered their eyes. When they looked back another man sat next to Naruto. His hair was slightly darker, and less wild. Both men had their eyes closed, but opened them simultaneously. The group gaped at the stranger's red eyes with black slits, knowing them to be the eyes of the demon. When the man smiled, his slightly larger fangs put a slight dent in his lower lip. He raised a hand to the group, waving it slightly.
His voice was slightly deeper as he spoke, "I am Kyuubi, the spirit of the nine-tailed fox. Don't worry I won't hurt you. Naruto would lock me up in the shadow prison if I tried and that is not a place I enjoy frequenting." He smiled again as Naruto chuckled. The group was in shock as they stared. Lee was the first to speak.
"Welcome Kyuubi! It is a pleasure to have you on this journey with us! I hope in time to consider you a good friend!" Naruto burst into laughter as Lee struck his 'nice-guy' pose, resulting in an uncomfortable look on Kyuubi's face.
"Err, thanks for that…" he replied. The group soon relaxed, treating Kyuubi as a friend and companion. He smiled and laughed as Naruto watched on.
'Huh, seems like this isn't so bad after all. What was I afraid of?' he thought.
Kyuubi locked eyes with him, having heard his thoughts, 'You were scared they wouldn't accept you. You feared their rejection.' He laughed with the group at one of Kiba's jokes, 'They are your friends Kit. They will never leave you. That I can already tell.' He smiled warmly at Naruto who nodded. He walked over to Sasuke and hauled him out of his lone seat. Despite his protests, Naruto sat him down between Kyuubi and himself.
"I wasn't gonna let you be lonely. I'm your friend. It's never gonna happen." he grinned goofily at Sasuke. "Face it. You're stuck with me teme." Sasuke smirked at him.
"Whatever you say. Dobe." Naruto laughed and everyone began to enjoy the flight to Japan, not knowing what was in store.