Chapter Two: Welcome to Kuni Shinai
Deep within the Hayabusa clan's compound, Jô Hayabusa was practicing the kata for the Clan's Style Ninjutsu in the in the Clan Compound's private Dojo. Just because his son was to become head of the clan soon, didn't mean that he couldn't keep in shape. Even as he practiced his kata, the forty-eight year old Hayabusa clan head was thinking of another young man that he had come to view as family.
Naruto had come a long way since the day they found him badly injured after he defeated Izaya alongside an unconscious Sakura and an extremely shaken Natsu. At first, many in the village believed him to be a spy from a rival clan or village, but after he told them his entire life story without showing any signs of lying, any notions like that were quickly dropped. Jô knew that the life of a Jinchūriki was a difficult one as he had seen how Natsu was treated by many of the people in the village because she held the demon that had once took control of a high ranking Fu-Ma ninja within her. Still what Konohagakure did to Naruto was just plain barbaric as not even the Black Spider Ninja clan wouldn't have done something that horrible to a child.
Jô smiled to himself as he thought about how far the young blonde former Jinchūriki had come in just a few years. The training Ryū had put Naruto through had made the young man into a stronger individual, both mentally and physically. His iron will and determination had greatly impressed everyone in the village, and showing them what it truly means to be a ninja. Thanks to that extremely useful Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu of his, he had been able to absorb all of the information that was presented to him like a sponge, what would've taken decades to learn and mastered, were instead mastered in a few short months. All the while, Momiji was teaching the former Konoha ninja, academics. At first, Naruto had been extremely shy around the protégé of Ryū because of her beauty and caring nature, but eventually, he managed to overcome that.
Then one night, a few weeks after the Black Spider Ninja attack, when Naruto was nearing the end of his training, Jô was visited by one of the Ryūjin in a dream. The divine dragon explained how Naruto had the blood of the Ryūjin within his veins, which meant that he too was a descendent of the Ryūjin like the Hayabusa clan. Which would explain why he had been able to wield the Hiryūken without any negative side effects, as the sword was the rumored sister sword to the Ryūken. That was when Jô remembered reading from a scroll that had been written by a scout about a clan in the elemental nations that had been supposedly blessed by one of the Ryūjin. That clan's name had been Uzumaki.
The divine being told him of a prophecy about a person who was blessed with having dragon blood within the, and had lived a hard life, who would come from the East, and bring peace to the West. The dragon went on to explained how Ryū and Kakure village would play an important part of the prophecy. Jô wanting to aid in anyway, asked the great being what he must do in order for the prophecy to come to past. The Dragon God advised that Naruto must take the Dragon Ninja trials.
Jô quickly began making the necessary arrangements as discreetly as possible for Naruto to take the trials, and he passed with flying colors. When he had completed the trials, Naruto explained to him and his fellow clan leaders about everything that had happened during them. From his first trial all the way to when he defeated the Yami Naruto and Tobi. The newly christened Master Ninja even went so far as to tell them about his reunion with his deceased parents. To say that Jô had been absolutely astounded was a vast understatement, he had been rendered speechless.
Then, there was Naruto's one-year quest to find the Legendary Dragon Summoning Contract scroll, after deciding to follow the advice given to him by the mysterious rōnin Tendoka. He told Jô how he felt that the name that the mystery samurai warrior had given him wasn't his real name, and the Hayabusa Clan head completely agreed with him. When he returned from his year long journey, he did so by riding on the back of a colossal dragon that was larger than any other dragon that Jô had ever seen in his life. The appearance of the mighty dragon had nearly started a panic in the village, thankfully however, by the time it landed its rider had been quickly confirmed to be Naruto.
After the village had been formally introduced to Draco by said blonde, the dragon quickly disappeared to return home and inform the other dragons of their new summoner. Since then he had been training with the Dragon Clan in the Dragon Sage arts. When questioned about the training, Naruto would only comment that it was far more brutal than the training that he did with toads. However, in the end he managed to pull through and succeed as he always does.
Jô could honestly say one thing about Naruto. Like his son Ryū, he simply made the impossible happen.
However, before he could continue his trip down memory lane, the veteran ninja heard a slight tapping noise to his right and turned as he saw a messenger hawk by one of the windows of the dojo. He recognized it as the personal Hawk of an allied Warlord, who had been a close personal friend of his since their younger days. Stopping his training to see what his old friend wanted, he walked up to the window and opened it for the hawk as it perched itself on his arm. He opened the carrying case on its back and took out a folded piece of paper. His eyes scanned the message and immediately frowned at what he was reading.
"Mako! Salmon!" He called out as he turned to the shadows.
As if by magic, two ninja clad in the traditional shōzoku uniform of Kakure emerged out of the shadows, only in different colors. One was dressed in an Ice white uniform, while the other was in an Earth brown uniform. The white clad shinobi carried a Kusari-gama at his side, while the brown clad one had a pair of sai that were as long as a tantō blade.
"Get me Naruto, Ryū, and Momiji, as soon as possible. Tell them it's urgent." He said to the two ninja.
He just hoped the two greater ninja didn't walk in on Naruto and Momiji doing a certain strenuous activity. The last person that had walked in on them was still currently seeing a therapist and several doctors for the mental scaring and bodily injuries that the two inflicted on them for interrupting their alone time.
"Hai, Jô-sama!" they said at the same time in perfect unison before sinking back into the shadows once more.
About ten minutes later, the three mentioned ninja appeared before Jô. Naruto was in his standard Shōzoku uniform, Ryū was in his Black Falcon suit, and Momiji was wearing her signature outfit. All three of them were geared up and ready to go.
"What it is, father?" Ryū asked with some concern before being handed the message.
He briefly read it over, raising his eyebrows in surprise. Naruto instantly became curious at the cause of his surrogate brother's expression.
"What is it, Ryū?" he asked with some concern at Ryū's sudden display of emotion.
Very few things could surprise Ryū, the last time he had been surprised had been when Naruto showed up in the village riding a giant dragon. Granted, everyone in the village had been surprised to see a friendly dragon appear in their beloved village, but still it was one the few times that the ultimate ninja had been taken by surprise.
"This...this is a message from General Todoh." Ryū answered, surprising Momiji and making Naruto raise his own eyebrows in confusion.
Seeing Naruto's confusion, Ryū started to explain just who General Todoh was.
"He's a former Warlord who's in charge of defending the only significant port and city in the Western Lands, Kuni Shinai." He said making Naruto's eyes widen in recognition.
The blonde ninja knew that he had heard that name from somewhere before, in some form of significances. However, the Todoh was somewhat common name here, so it was understandable that he didn't recognize whom they were talking about right away.
"You mean the same Samurai General, who currently has a seat on the Republic City Council, and is also in charge of the Police Swordsmen Corps?" he asked trying to get confirmation if he was correct on his information.
Jô, Ryū, and Momiji nodded their heads signifying that what he had said had been correct.
"That's right, Naruto. He's a skilled swordsman also a military genius of the highest caliber, but more importantly he's been a vital ally to Kakure ever since Ryū saved his daughter a while back from a group of slavers." the Kunoichi Shrine maiden responded as she smiled at Naruto for remembering such details about an important ally.
Naruto returned her smile with an eye smile, which confused both Jô and Ryū, as they could never figure out how he manages to do that. Suddenly somebody let out a small feminine cough, catching everyone's attention. They turned around to find Fu-Ma Master ninja Taki standing in the doorway with a slightly irritated expression.
"H-H-Hey there, Taki-Chan. What are you doing here?" Naruto asked slightly frightened at sudden appearance of the Fu-Ma Kunoichi, who didn't look to happy about the amount of attention that he had been showing Momiji.
Taki was easily the most skilled and accomplished Kunoichi that Fu-Ma clan had ever produced. It was she that had killed the clan's previous lead Toki, when he had become possessed by the demon known as Gel-o-Fury. She also had a healthy infatuation for Naruto when he had saved her life during the Black Spider Ninja Clan invasion wasn't lost on anybody especially Momiji, Ayane, and Kasumi who were already competing with each other for his attention. It didn't help that Taki was more than willing to show off her body by wearing that skin-tight Navy blue suit that showed off her womanly assets and body. The fact that Natsu was helping her in the unspoken competition wasn't winning her love from her rivals in the manner.
I came here on the behalf of Lady Chie to talk to Lord Hayabusa about a situation that has developed in Kuni Shinai. So imagine my surprise, when I find you and Miss Dragon Shrine Maiden over there practically eye humping each other!" Taki coldly stated as she unleashed her full might of her female fury onto them, causing the all the men in the room to start trembling in fear of her.
They may be feared ninja or in the case of Ryū a super ninja, but even they were no match for a woman who believed that something of hers was being taken away by another woman. The only one didn't seem afraid was Momiji, who was glaring at Taki with reptilian silted eyes. Ryū and Jô couldn't help, but feel sorry for Naruto for being caught in the middle of the inevitable catfight that would occur between two of the most sought after Kunoichi in the village.
"What Naruto-kun and I do in our free time is none of your business, Taki. Besides, I don't help from a little girl in order to get a man." Momiji angrily retorted as she grabbed Naruto's right hand to emphasis her point.
Now it was Taki's turn to glare, and to further drive home the point that she was more than ready to fight, she began reaching for her Kodachi that was tied to the back of her waist. Momiji responded by grabbing her Heavenly Dragon Naginata that was resting on her back showing that she wasn't going to back down. Jô sensing that the two women were about to fight each other and possibly level most of the compound, quickly intervened to prevent the needless destruction of his home.
"That's enough, you two! I will not have the two of you fight within my household, there is still the important matter of General Todoh's message to be deal with." Jô ordered with great authority within his voice making it perfectly clear to everyone in the room that he wasn't going to tolerate any violence in his presence.
Both women reluctantly stood down, knowing better than to defy the current head of the Hayabusa clan.
"Anyways, he's requesting for our best shinobi to meet him at Kuni Shinai, and that he will explain why after you arrive. Todoh is not the type of man who would request for our very best unless he believes he needs them, so that's why I will be sending you three to see what he needs." Jô spoke in a calm and collected manner, while he continued to stare down Momiji and Taki to make sure that they didn't do something incredibly stupid.
Everyone nodded their heads in understanding, save for Taki who looked ready to speak out as she really did have mission in Kuni Shinai that involved several rumors that the former Fu-Ma clan head Toki was still alive and was currently heading several illegal operations ranging from drug dealing to child prostitution. Hence, why she came to speak with Jô in the first place, as busting criminal enterprises was more of their specialty.
"Master Jô, I to have a mission in Kuni Shinai and humbly request permission to join your son's team on their journey." Taki humbly spoke as she started to plead her case to the unofficial leader of the village.
Everyone looked at her with some surprise, as they had never seen her act this way towards anyone.
"May I ask why you wish to join this team?" Jô asked somewhat suspicious of the Fu-Ma Kunoichi's motives for wanting to be a part of this mission.
Taki swallowed a small amount of saliva that had gathered in her mouth.
"Recently, I have been hearing rumors that Master Toki is still alive and is currently running a Yakuza criminal empire within Kuni Shinai. There is reason to believe that Gel-o-Fury has taken on his form and is using it until he can find a new host to inhabit." Taki truthfully answered, leaving out a more personal reason as to why she needed to go.
Jô nodded his head in understanding at what Taki had said. He knew that his former friend had practically been like a father to her after her parents died from the plague when she was little, and felt that it was her duty to ensure that his name wasn't tainted even further.
"Very well then Taki, I shall allow you to accompany the team to Kuni Shinai provided that both you and Momiji don't allow your personal feelings to get in the way of the primary mission." Jô firmly spoke leaving the unspoken warning and possible punishments that went with it perfectly clear to the two women.
The two women silently nodded their heads in agreement. Jô took a deep breath as he quickly gathered his previous train of thoughts before Taki had shown up and started this entire episode of drama with Momiji.
"Anyway, General Todoh is requesting for our very best shinobi to meet with him at his mansion in Kuni Shinai, there he will be explaining what your mission is. He is not the type of man who would make such a request like this unless he seriously believes that they'll be needed." Jô spoke as he looked at the gathered group of ninja in the room.
The four mentioned shinobi nodded their heads in affirmative at that before leaving to prepare for their mission, thus leaving Jô alone in the Dojo. The elder Hayabusa sighed; he had a gut feeling that something important will happen on the mission. And for some reason, he just knew that it will involve Naruto in some way.
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Meanwhile, somewhere in the Western Lands
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A certain white-haired super pervert was busy nursing the wounds he had received during the vicious beating from every woman in the Konoha Ninja Team sent to retrieve Naruto. Normally, the toad sennin would be trying to milk his injuries for all their worth with some women in attempt to get them to treat him, but right now he had more important things to think about than his next possible score. Besides none of the women currently with him would fall for his sob story seeing how they were the ones that inflicted the injuries in the first place.
"That's the last time I'll ever "accidentally" grope Tenten or Hinata when Anko is around to see me do it." Jiraiya thought to himself as he struggled to catch up with the small taskforce that had been sent out to hunt down Naruto.
Currently, he was worrying about a recent prophecy that Lady Shion had made about the fate of the Hidden Leaf village. Normally, Jiraiya would simply ignore Shion's predications as Naruto had proven that on numerous occasions that there was no such thing as fate. But he then remembered that Naruto often tended to pull off the impossible on regular bases. There was also the fact that like most people he would purposely ignore human-made prophecies as they tended to be inaccurate to the highest degree compared to prophecies made by animal summoning. However, when it was made by a priestess from the Land of Demons then he tended to be keener on listening as prophecies from them were valued more than gold.
Then there was the growing religious movement within the village that was making him extremely concerned. This religious cult for a lack of a better word for it had suddenly sprung up a few months ago and had already taken several powerful members of the Konoha government into its fold. He had investigated the movement's teachings and much to his horror found something extremely disturbing about them. They apparently worshipped two ancient beings called the Archfiends. With that information in mind, he visited the great toad sage to learn more about these creatures and what he learned terrified him to the point that he immediately went to Tsunade to warn her about the cult only to find that he was too late.
"Is something the matter Jiraiya-sama?" A somewhat lazy voice asked with some concern causing the toad sage to turn his head to find Kakashi looking at him with some concern.
In the last four years since Naruto's banishment, Kakashi had changed very little. He still wore his standard Jōnin uniform and flak jacket, the only major difference being that his left eye no longer hidden by his forehead protector. This was due Jiraiya discovering and modifying a seal that had been created by Mito Uzumaki to help the Hyūga clan conceal their Byakugan while they were out in the field. Besides that small difference, his flak jacket and uniform no longer had the infamous spiral of the deceased Uzumaki clan due to the Fire Daimyō ordering the symbol removal from everything in the village after the banishment of the last true Uzumaki.
Of course, Tsunade openly protested the decree saying that she was a member of the Uzumaki clan, due to her grandmother being one thus only she had the authority to have the spiral removed. Only to be rebuffed by the Fire Daimyō, who retorted that Mito had left the Uzumaki clan to marry into the Senju clan. Therefore she wasn't a member of the Uzumaki clan by any means. The Slug Sannin didn't take this response very well, and had to be physically restrained by Jiraiya and several other Jōnin that acted like her bodyguards to prevent her from making the situation even worse for the village.
"It's nothing Kakashi. I just have things on my mind that concern me at the moment." The toad sage commented truthfully but not telling the silver haired Jōnin the entire story.
Kakashi simply nodded his head in understanding, as he too had a lot of things on his mind for the last several months. The problem at the forefront of his mind being Sasuke's and Sakura's recent joining the Vigoorian cult, after an incident where Rock Lee accused the two ninja of placing their own needs ahead of that of the village's. Of course, the moment that two students of the legendary Sennin joined the cult, said cult experienced a sudden surge of converts. This in turn caused the two neo-Sennin to completely disregard any orders that he gave them, citing that they didn't take orders from a nonbeliever like him regardless of his higher military rank.
However before he could think about the problem any further, Tenten spoke out in surprise at a sign in front them. The sign in question simply read in simply Kanji that even the most illiterate peasant could understand, for those about to cross the serpent's path, abandon all hope of survival.
"So… uh...we have to walk through this place here to get to Kuni Shinai?" asked Tenten with a bit of skepticism in her voice.
And rightfully so, since the sign posted at the start of the winding naturally occurring dam that titled "Serpent's Path" was basically telling just about everyone that wanted to cross it that they would survive the attempt. It wasn't exactly the most encouraging things to have written in front of the means to get from one end to the next in order for their mission to be complete. The Leaf village desperately needed Naruto back to help stop Orochimaru from launching an all out assault on Konoha, and get their former allies back to help them combat this new threat.
"That's what the map says." Jiraiya answered quickly, while leaving out some key facts about the map he had with him.
Or rather the map that he didn't have with him, thanks to a gust of wind removing it from his hands when no one was looking.
"Yoshi! We have a mission to complete. I say we go forth and our Spring Time of Youth will help us with overcoming this challenge!" exclaimed Lee with several or rather almost everyone in the group was groaning.
The only person who seemed to approve of Lee's attitude was Might Gai, who seemed determined to only encourage Lee's motivation. Shikamaru turned to face Tenten who looked absolutely annoyed by her former teammate's disregard for the sign's warning.
"Can't we just knock Lee out and throw him into the water? No one will know that we killed him." whispered Shikamaru to her, hoping that she'll go for his idea of getting rid of such a troublesome person.
Tenten let out a sigh knowing the answer to that question wouldn't be one that the Nara was going to enjoy. Everyone from the group save for Lee and Gai who were busy shouting about the flames of Youth quickly began to listen in on their conversation in the hopes that Tenten would give them an answer that would allow them to do something about their annoying companions.
"One, Gai-sensei would never allow it. Two, Tsunade would never believe it. And reason number three...me and Neji had actually tried that once, but Gai-sensei arrived for our team meeting so he was saved at the last moment." Tenten whispered back causing Shikamaru to let out a small string of curses.
Everyone else mentally agreed with the newly appointed Jōnin Nara at the fact that they simply couldn't get rid of the two most annoying people in the entire world. Not even Naruto was this annoying, when he was younger despite all the pranks he would pull on his fellow the villagers. In fact, some like Yūgao advocated the idea that his constant pranks had kept the ninja on guard duty on their toes and on high alert in case they were needed to chase after him. When asked for evidence to back up her claim, she would simply point out the amount of foreign ninjas and spies that security had captured, during his reign as the prank king of Konoha. And as much as the Village Council and Tsunade hated to admit it, Yūgao had raised a valid point which only made the need for Naruto's return to the village that more pressing.
As the group made their way through the narrow rocky path with water on both sides going far as the eye can see in what was possibly the biggest lake ever, many within the group were thinking about Naruto, and how things had gotten so far out of hand. They all had been united in the common goal of defeating Obito and Madara Uchiha who were using the Edo Tensei with his army of White and black Zetsu to conquer the Elemental Nations. After that mess was officially over, the only thing remaining to do was bring Sasuke Uchiha back to Konoha despite the calls of the other shinobi villages for him to be put to death for his crimes. And Naruto did just that despite everything he had already gone through!
And how did they repay him? They repaid him with neglect and hatred. Sakura had been the only one to physically hurt him, but the fact she did it anyway no doubt had a psychological effect on Naruto's mind. He was no doubt, scarred from the first of many betrayals by his so called friends. No one had hit Naruto physically since then, but many in the group would be lying if they said the idea hadn't crossed their minds on numerous occasions. Among them, the only ones that didn't think along those lines were Anko, Hinata, Tenten, and Yūgao as they never once saw Naruto in the same way that the others did.
Anko knew what it was like to get screwed by the village for something that wasn't your fault and saw Naruto endure everything to prove Konoha wrong for their past abuse. She had done the same with her own past connection with Orochimaru being her teacher growing up, but sadly both of them could now claim that neither one of them were able to convince the Leaf that they were not the monsters that people said they were. While both Hinata and Tenten had known all about Naruto's burden since they were small children, and didn't care about the Kyūbi being sealed inside him. They had seen Naruto putting up with the Leaf's abuse time and time again while never letting it get to him no matter what! As for Yūgao, she was like the older protective sister of Naruto, who helped him out when needed during her days as ANBU Captain, and watching over him to prevent the village from abusing or in some cases killing their future savior.
But Hinata knew that deep down that her being forbidden to be with Naruto on the orders of the Clan Head that happened to be her father Hiashi Hyūga had been a major blow to his heart, and to the Hyūga Heiress herself. Hinata had long since hated her Father for his actions, but never stopped loving Naruto despite the policy in place to have her become the wife of some blueblood nobleman for political gain, and she would have been married off to one too if not ironically for the political backlash that followed when Naruto was banished. No half-descent nobleman wanted to be married to a member of Konoha's so called "noble clans" due to that action, which would be considered by most as a means to committing political suicide, and would take years to regain even some form of influence.
The only way to reverse it would be to get Naruto back to Konoha and use him to help counter the village's current state of decline.
"But do I want him to return? Just so he can be used again for someone else's benefit and then be killed once his usefulness is over? No! I won't. Naruto would never let that happen to himself again after everything the village has put him through. If it comes to choosing between Konoha and Naruto...I choose Naruto! I don't care if I am executed for treason if it comes down to it. The village doesn't deserve my loyalty anymore than it does Naruto's." Hinata thought to herself as she thought about the blonde and wondered how much he has changed since they last saw each other.
However, unbeknownst to Hinata, her former teacher Kurenai Yuhi was silently glaring at her former charge with seething hatred. Their once mother-daughter like relationship had fade away when the Hyūga heiress had decided to side with the village demon over her and the villagers. The former lover of Asuma Sarutobi was determined to make sure that the team barely bought that demon brat back to the village and once he was done being useful, she would personally kill him to avenge Asuma's needless death.
As they walked, a tremor was felt by everyone, and instantly the group was on high alert with Hinata's Byakugan Eyes being active with the others getting ready for a fight in their own way. What they saw was shocking, as a giant sea serpent shot out from the water's murky depths, and it looked VERY hungry. It was absolutely massive! It was bigger than one of the late Snake Boss Manda's fully grown offspring and looked just as mean looking too.
"Jiraiya-sama, do something!" Kakashi exclaimed, while the little ground they stood on was breaking up from the mighty roar the creature let out.
Jiraiya looked at his late first student's apprentice with a what the fuck look adorning his face. Kakashi seriously didn't expect him to know what do about this creature as he doubted that even the toads knew about the serpent.
"Just because I'm a Sannin with vast knowledge of worldly things doesn't mean I know how to deal with this!" Jiraiya shot back as he dodged the serpent who tried to eat him while he was distracted.
Only to have Kurenai grab him by his coat and giving him one of her death glares that usually made even the most prideful man cave into doing whatever she wanted with a "Yes, ma'am!" coming out of their mouth in a squeaky voice.
"You better think of something right now, Jiraiya or so Kami help me, I'll turn you into a woman with a rusty and dull kunai!" Kurenai threatened with a near psychotic glean in her eyes, showing the she had long since leaped off the deep end of mental stability.
Jiraiya began to laugh nervously before he looked up at the hungry looking serpent towering over the group.
"Well when you put it like that uh...I know!" Jiraiya answered before picking up Anko and lifting her up over his head taking a page out of several old myths about sacrificing a virgin and nubile woman to a giant sea creature in order for a larger group of people to survive.
Surely it would work in real life, right?
"Hey! Put me down you dumb fucking pervert!" Anko exclaimed in alarmed at what Jiraiya was trying to do.
Jiraiya simply ignored her and proceed to try and sacrifice her for the greater good of the group. Besides out of the entire taskforce, Anko was considered the most expendable in the eyes of the village.
"Oh mighty sea serpent of the lake, I humbly offer you this virgin sacrifice in my hands, as well as any other you may desire here in exchange for letting the rest of our group pass by alive, and mercifully unharmed." said Jiraiya while everyone looked at him in shock.
Well...most of them were shocked while Anko looked pissed off!
"Oh, you are so DEAD!" Anko yelled out before she managed to get free from Jiraiya's firm grip.
She quickly proceeded to beat up the toad sage for trying to sacrifice her. The Sannin immediately began crying out for mercy, while the group tried to remind the Special Jōnin that there was a hungry sea serpent behind her.
"Now is not the time for this, Anko!" Kurenai called out before the sea serpent let out a mighty roar causing Anko to stop her vicious attack against Jiraiya.
The creature did not look one bit amused by what it was seeing. It didn't want to see one of them beat another up. It wanted to eat all of them.
"Your ass is so mine, if we make it out of this alive!" Anko called out to Jiraiya who was currently running ahead of the group despite the injuries that she had given him, while the rest of the group was running and screaming for their lives.
So for the next two hours the Naruto retrieval taskforce ran, screamed, fought, struggled to survive, and nearly died numerous times before escaping the mighty sea serpent trying to devour them whole. When they finally made it to the other side the group was soaking wet. Their clothes were torn in numerous places, and their muscles ached from the amount of running that they done in the last two hours. And more importantly, every single woman in the group was giving Jiraiya an angry look for what he did earlier.
Oh yeah, he was getting beaten up no matter what.
"Care to explain your actions earlier, Jiraiya-sama?" Yūgao asked in a calm but furious manner as she saw Jiraiya back up with his hands up, while laughing nervously.
The toad sage knew that all of the women in the group would be out for his blood. So he did the one thing that came naturally to him.
"Come on, you know I would never do that to you ladies! It was just to put the serpent under a false sense of security before I used by abilities that make me a Sannin and defeat it with ease." Jiraiya boasted in his usual tone he normally used to make the ladies swoon.
Though if Jiraiya remembered anything from his times doing such boasting, he would have recalled that the ladies were paid to swoon. As it stood with the women in front of him, they weren't buying what he was saying for one second. They briefly looked at the Sannin then at each other before starting a silent conversation. They turned to look at Jiraiya again then back at themselves, before looking at the Sannin one more time, and then finally themselves before giving the man a cold hard look.
"GET HIM!" Anko yelled angrily before the women were on him within seconds and began beating the life out of the man.
Jiraiya quickly let out a high pitched scream as if he was a little girl that was seeing a spider for the first time. The rest of the group watched in horror as the women ruthlessly beat the man who had tried to sacrifice one of their female colleagues to the giant sea serpent.
"I said once and I'll say it again. Women are troublesome when angry." Shikamaru whispered to his friend choji, while the sounds of Jiraiya being beaten mercilessly by the Kunoichi of their group could be heard from a distance.
He briefly winced at the sight of a kick aimed at somewhere no man wanted to be hit. Then again, Jiraiya did kinda of deserved it as he had pissed off every single woman during their journey with his stupidity and his lecherous actions.
"You don't have to say it. I'm watching it," Choji whispered back as he watched Ino landed a solid right hook to Jiraiya's face.
The vicious beating continued for a solid fifteen minutes before the women finally let up and allowed Jiraiya to crawl away to a nearby rock.
"I feel so much better!" Anko calmly exclaimed as she truly felt better after beating up the Sannin for his stupid action that nearly got her eaten, and risked the mission of being a failure.
Granted, the mission was already at risk of being a failure due to the reckless actions of Sasuke and Sakura, when they had first arrived in the western lands. The two decided that the uninformed people of the west needed to hear the "good" teachings of the Vigoorian cult. This had the unintentional side effect of having angry mobs chase after them until they left the town. So now the group was running desperately low on vital supplies such as edible food and drinkable water.
"What I want to know is why it's so difficult to get around to the other side using that one thin road to get across? That sea serpent makes traveling to the west extremely difficult. So how is it that the limited trade being conducted isn't hampered when heading in this general direction?" Yūgao asked to no one in particular as they saw some traveling couple coming along a road nearby looking all happy and joyful, with a spring in their step.
The rest of the group said nothing as they thought about what she had said. It was true that the few trade reports that Konoha had managed to acquire didn't mention any real difficulty on the part of the merchants save for the occasional bandit attacks.
"Let's asked those people over there, perhaps they can tell us." Kakashi suggested as he waved the newly arriving travelers over.
Unlike his two students, the silver-haired jōnin understood that the mission needed to maintain some level of secrecy and subtly. However, at the same time he didn't want to risk losing Naruto to the sea serpent on the way back to the village.
"Hello, can we help you?" the woman asked with some concern as she knew that the area was a hotspot for bandit activity despite the local government's attempts to pacify it.
In her arms was a healthy baby boy that wasn't even a week old. It was clear to the group that she had just given birth, and loved every second of holding the child in her arms.
"Yes, well. My group and I just traveled through Serpent's Pass. Can you tell us about the roads here?" Kakashi asked before Sasuke or Sakura could start spouting off about their religious cult.
Jiraiya began to nervously twitch as he eavesdropped on Kakashi's conversation from the rock that he was sitting on. The Toad Sage knew that he was only mere seconds away from having his secret being leaked out by the traveling couple. The traveling couple looked at each other as soon as the words Serpent's pass.
"What on Kami's green earth posse you to do that? That path has been closed for ages! In fact, it was deemed so dangerous by a local warlord that used to ruled this region that a road be made that takes you around the lake, and basically takes you directly here without being harmed by the Unagi." the husband of the woman answered as he scratched his head at the strange group's action.
The Konoha group looked at the traveling couple with wide eyes and mouths gaping at the news of another route. Even Sasuke and Sakura, who had been ready to launch a tirade about the greatness that was Vigoor, were stunned about the news.
"Are you serious? Why didn't you pick that up on the map?" Kurenai asked Jiraiya, slightly peeved that she had been needlessly placed in danger because didn't catch an alternate route on the map.
The sannin began to laugh nervously again, and saw the angry looks that everyone around him were now giving him.
"Uh...this might be a bad time to tell you I kind of...lost the map a few days before we got to Serpent's Pass and I didn't exactly look over that area. Sorry!" Jiraiya quickly answered with a nervous chuckle before he shivered at the killer intent being thrown at him by the entire group.
The traveling couple simply shook their heads at the sight that was unfolding in front of them. They knew that the group was no doubt from the elemental nations as most people from the west knew better than to use Serpent's pass unless they had a death wish.
"You should probably leave. It wouldn't be good for you or the baby to witness the death of our group member for his stupidity." Anko warned the couple in an overly sweet voice that was matched by a sadistic bloodthirsty smile.
The woman just nodding along with her husband before they left in a hurry, not wanting to see what would happen to the Sannin.
"Wait! Wait! It's not my fault! The wind took the map from me!" Jiraiya exclaimed, while he tried to back away from the group that was now slowly surrounding him.
Even as he was being backed into Serpent's pass, the Toad sage was able to read everyone's emotions with relative ease. The kunoichi in the group were giving him evil looks that told him that they were going to enjoy pummeling him again. The men however, were much more difficult to decipher as they were simply taking out kunai knifes and not looking at him in the face.
"That's actually kind of funny in an ironic kind of way, since the wind will take your ashes after we have beaten you to death and then burn your remains until there is nothing left." Anko replied in almost insane voice that told Jiraiya that he was going to hurt and she was really going to enjoy it.
Jiraiya gulped as he glanced around to see that the men in the group were sharing the same thoughts as Anko.
"Wait! Wait! Mercy! Mercy!" Jiraiya cried out as he was surrounded on all sides with his leaf ninja surrounding him on three sides, while the Unagi patiently waited somewhere within the eastern lake behind him. None of them were in a mercy giving mood.
His pleas for mercy seemed to only spur everyone to move in closer.
"I'm sorry Jiraiya-sama, but it seems we're all OUT of mercy. Fortunately, we are well stocked in terms of knuckle sandwiches, and ass kickings ready to be dished out for you to receive...free of charge!" Ino exclaimed before the group started to wail on Jiraiya again, causing the Sannin screamed like a little girl in the process…Again.
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Twenty Minutes Later
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"I've just taken two horrible beatings in a span of less than five minutes from each other. That's got to be some kind of record." Jiraiya thought to himself while limping after the rest of the group to their destination.
Meanwhile, Hinata was thinking of way she could possibly help Naruto and possibly stay with him wherever he might be. Though deep down, she was afraid. She was afraid that Naruto might hate her as much as he might hate the rest of Konoha, or worse he may have moved onto someone else. Just the very thought of that possibility made Hinata greatly worry, as she stroked one of her fingerless gloves on her hands, which hid the storage seal on her palm.
Just four months ago, a mysterious old man came to her, while she was out on patrol duty, alone. The Hyūga clan heiress could just tell that even though he looked harmless, the old man was anything but helpless. The old man quickly explained to her that his name was Muramasa. She immediately recognized the name as there were rumors that he owned stores across the world, and that he was attempting to set up a few stores in the elemental nations. Muramasa was able to confirm that rumor before explaining that after Konoha had lost favor of most of the Elemental Nations that he decided moves on to greener pastures. But not before making personal visits to each of the few individuals in Konoha who still cared about Naruto, and gave them all swords as thanks for staying loyal to the boy.
"You have a pure heart, Miss Hyūga. You just need to keep your chin up and one day you'll be reunited with the one that you loved, I just know it." Muramasa told her as he handed her a beautifully crafted Katana before heading off to find Anko.
Those few words of encouragement from the old man had kept her hopes up ever since.
"Naruto-kun, I know your dream of becoming Hokage is nothing but a pipe dream because of the village's betrayal. But, I hope you will still love me as much I still love you." she thought as witness several buildings appear over the horizon.
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Kuni Shinai
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Naruto stood in absolute awe of the city that was laid out in front of him. The city of Kuni Shinai was a marvel of achievement that could not be found anywhere else in the Western Lands, or even in the elemental nations. The city itself had been built over one and half centuries ago by a Warlord who had lost all of his heirs to the constant warfare raging in the western nations. Wanting to leave a powerful legacy behind, he gather forty-seven like minded warlords who had grown tired of the constant fighting and pooled their resources together to build a place of peace for many who want to escape the constant warfare. Despite the many conflicts between Warlords and other ninja clans, the city was mostly avoided, mostly due to the defenses that protect the city, and the Police Swordsmen Corps that not only acted like the military police but also acted as the military, due to having hostile neighbors on all sides.
After checking in at the city's main gate, the four Kakure ninjas walked through one of the streets towards the city council building where they were supposed to meet with General Todoh. Naruto let out a whistle as he looked up at the skyscrapers.
"Man, I can't believe a port city like this can be still standing, let alone it being this big with all of the constant fighting going around it." the exiled Uzumaki commented as they moved towards the government building.
Momiji smiled as they continued walking. It always amazed her as to how surprised Naruto was by how differences between the west and the Elemental Nations. Granted, the elemental nations only experience brief periods of warfare so it was only natural that things be done differently than in the western nations.
"It's been like this for almost thirteen decades, Naruto-kun. Of course, there have been attacks in the past, but they always were thwarted at the walls that protected the city and by the Samurai who vowed to protect it from danger at all cost." she said as she shot a chilling look at Taki, who was giving her a nasty glare.
Ryū, who saw this simply shook his head in amusement. It often took him by surprised at how dense Naruto was when it came to the feelings of the women around him. Then again, Naruto had openly admitted that when he had been a part of the hidden leaf village that he had oblivious to the feelings to two of his female comrades.
"That's right, Naruto. You have to give credit to the Samurai when they built this city. They know how to make things last." Ryū commented as he led the group towards their destination.
The rest of the group nodded their heads in agreement and the three shinobi and the one Dragon Shrine Maiden proceed onwards. It took them an hour to find the Council building, and after informing the Samurai guards of the message Todoh sent them, they were politely instructed to wait in the lobby while a messenger was sent out to inform the General. As the group waited, Naruto got a good look at the Military Police for himself. Their silver armor with a black body suit underneath it reminded him of the armor that was used by the Samurai of Tetsu no Kuni, only it was slightly different. The traditional menpō had modified to have red eye lenses covering the eyes and a rebreather to allow the Samurai to continue fighting even if the enemy used a poison fog against them.
The weapons they possessed were the typical daishō two sword set, a Naginata pole-arm, or a Yari Spear, and finally modern Yumi bows with a quiver full of arrows on their backs. He could also see a tantō knife tucked away in their boots.
"They're well armed for a police force, even if they're a military police, don't you think?" Naruto whispered to Ryū who nodded his head in agreement.
The few times that he had been to the city, he never truly felt comfortable knowing that these heavy armed men were waiting on standby in case of the regular Ashigaru policemen couldn't handle a situation. Granted, Ryū simply figure that his uneasiness around the samurai warriors was due mostly to the traditional samurai-ninja rivalry or his bad experiences with the Greater Fiend Samurai known as Dōku.
"Even though Kuni Shinai is a neutral zone, the Council is not willing to taking any chances if they are attacked by one of the other factions. As the old saying goes, it's best to hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst." the super ninja commented with his eyes closed as he patiently waited for General Todoh to appear.
It was then the doors to the lobby opened, and a Samurai wearing custom silver and blue trimmed armor stepped in to lobby. The man was no doubt a traditionalist as his hair was cut in the typical chonmage style
The man scowled at the sight of several ninja being in his presence.
"The General may see you now. Please follow me." The man ordered before turning around and walking away.
Nodding, the three followed the Samurai out of the lobby, as they headed to where the General resided. A few minutes later, the group of four along with their Samurai guide arrived at the door to the General's office. The door itself was pretty average looking compared to some of the other doors in the hallway. The only ornate features about it were the brass hinges and door handle that had a seventeen petal Chrysanthemum flower seal engraved on it. The Samurai guide turned to them raised his hand signaling them to stop before he opened the door and stuck his head in to see if the General was in or in the middle of a meeting.
"Lord Todoh iswaiting inside for you. Please go on in." the samurai guide spoke as he opened the door all the way to allow the ninja into the office.
The four ninja nodded their heads before stepping inside the office. The General's office was rather large, but not too large that it would be considered impractical. It was filled with different artifacts, all in different colors from gold, bronze, and jade. Sitting at the end of the room, behind the desk, and with his back to the only window to the room was a man who looked to be in his late forties. The man's head was completely shaven, but from the man's neatly trimmed eyebrows and his graying goatee that he had dark brown hair. He was wearing the standard silver samurai military police armor but with red trimmings. They could also see strapped to his side was a katana sword that had a rusty brown hand grip, and a dark saya. The man currently had his eyes closed as if he was meditating.
"I haven't seen you since you were 13 years old, Ryū. It's good to see you again." the man said as he opened his eyelids to revel a pair of steel grey eyes.
Ryū quickly bowed out of respect, with Naruto, Momiji, and Taki following suit shortly after.
"Lord Todoh, it is wonderful to see you again." The Hayabusa clan heir commented as he lifted his head up.
The man gave a barely noticeable smile.
"And you as well, Ryū. Please, take a seat we have much to talk." Todoh spoke in a friendly manner as he gestured for ninja to sit down.
Ryū nodded and he mentioned for the others to take a seat in front of the desk. Todoh briefly looked over at Momiji and at Taki before nodding his head in approval.
"Hello there, Momiji-chan. I see you've grown up into a beautiful woman." The general complemented the dragon shrine maiden.
Momiji quickly blushed at the complement that she had been given.
"Arigatō, I'm actually surprised that you'd remember me since I was just a little girl at the time." Momiji politely responded as she bowed in recognition that had been bestowed upon her.
The man gave a joyful laugh at what he had heard. It was true the last time he had been outside of the city had been almost eighteen years ago and that was to go to the Kakure no Sato to sign a treaty of friendship between the two groups.
"True, but you resemble your mother so much." Todoh spoke in flamboyant manner, causing Momiji to sadly nod her head in agreement.
Momiji didn't really have that many memories of her mother, as the woman had contracted an extremely rare disease when she had been four years old. However, it brought Momiji great comfort when people that knew her mother told her that she looked like her.
"I'm glad to see that the Fu-ma clan has taken an interest in this situation." The samurai general spoke as he turned his attention to the only non-dragon ninja in the group.
Like Momiji, Taki simply bowed her head as a show of respect towards Kakure's long time ally.
"It's honor to meet you as well, Todoh-dono." Taki calmly spoke as she lifted her head.
Like many of her fellow Fu-ma ninja comrades, she didn't really enjoy talking with people who weren't really connected with the clan. The only exceptions to that rule being the Hayabusa clan, Mugen Tenshin, and Naruto. The general almost sensing Taki's reluctance from engaging in further conversation turned his head towards Naruto, who was standing in the back of the group. Naruto realizing that he had better introduce himself to the general took off his ninja hood and mask.
"Minato-kun?" Todoh spoke in a surprised and shocked voice.
The four ninja were surprised when the famed Samurai General suddenly stated the name of Naruto's Father. However, none were more surprised than Naruto himself.
"E-excuse me?" Naruto asked, a bit shocked that someone this far out west would have heard about his father let alone think that he was his father.
The general realizing his mistake quickly tried to recover from his sudden lapse of civility.
"Ah, my apologies for that slip up. You...reminded me of an old friend of mine from many years ago." Todoh spoke as he began to recall the days of his youth back in the Elemental Nations.
Naruto wanting to know why the leader of one of the most powerful militaries in the Western territories decided to speak out of turn rather than leaving it Ryū.
"You wouldn't happen to mean Minato Namikaze, would you?" he asked as he leaned forward a bit causing the Samurai's eyes to widen.
Never did Todoh think that he would ever hear that name spoke in front of him.
"You know of him?" He asked thinking that he could probably get some information on how his old friend was doing.
Naruto nodded, though somewhat sadly.
"Yes...he is or was my father." He solemnly answered causing the Samurai General to chuckle.
Todoh took a couple seconds to calm himself.
"So the dense idiot finally married that red-head woman from the Uzumaki Clan about bloody time." he said as smiled as he remembered the few times he met Kushina Uzumaki.
She was by far the scariest thing that he had the pleasure of sparing against. Her mastery of the Kenjutsu easily rivaled that of a master Samurai's. Ryū surprised by this sudden turned of events decided to ask the question that was on everyone's mind.
"General Todoh, but how do you know about Naruto's parents?" he said as he didn't really think that it was possible for Naruto's father to be that famous.
Heck, the only reason why Ryū had ever heard about Minato Namikaze was from his time in the Vigoorian Empire. Some of the soldiers that he fought hailed from the village of Iwagakure. They often compared him to the infamous yellow flash when he moved at high speeds to avoid their attacks. What surprised him the most was the way they talked about the deceased man gave him the impression that the yellow flash would suddenly rise out of the grave at any second.
"I met them when I was still a young rōnin still trying to find my place in the world." The general answered as he continued to look at Naruto with much interest.
He could easily tell that Naruto had inherited his looks from Minato save for the six whisker like scars that adored his cheeks, no doubt a side effect of being the offspring of the second Kyūbi Jinchūriki. However, unlike Minato who had allowed his hair to grow Naruto had buzzed off most of his hair so it wouldn't get in the way of his ninja hood.
"So did he become the Hokage, yet?" Todoh asked with honest curiosity at what his friend had been doing since the last he saw him.
Naruto look down sadly indicating that something bad had happened to the man that had inspired so much fear into the hearts of Konoha's enemies.
"Yeah...he did but it was only for a year. He died the night I was born, along with my mother." Naruto plainly spoke as he had long since given up on crying over the past.
Todoh's eyes widen at that piece of information, but then a somber look crossed his features.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear about that. Your father was a good man, a bit stupid but a good man none the less." he said and Naruto shook his head saying it was alright.
Taki looked at Naruto with eyes for sadness. She too knew what it was like to grow up without any parents as her immediate family had died from an unknown sickness. However, unlike her though Naruto didn't have any one looking after him until he joined Konoha's ninja academy. From an early age, he had to learn how to be self-sufficient as possible and frugal with the limited amount of money that he had. Granted, those two skills were a necessity for all ninja, but no three-year-old should have to learn how to be like that. It was an almost common fact amongst Kakure that Naruto had suffered greatly during his time in Konoha, and it disgusted them all to no end about how the supposed ninja superpower of the east would treat one of their own.
"Your father was my friend. Even thought he is no longer with us, you can consider me you friend as well." General Todoh said as he offered his condolences.
Naruto nodded his head sadly. With that being done with Todoh decided it was time for him to finish off the pleasantries and focus on the task at hand. He'll mourn for Minato's passing, later.
"Now, let's discuss the mission that I requested you four for." he said as he opened a desk drawer and pulled out a folder out and handed it over to the four ninja.
In it was a picture of a bald man with terrible burn scars on the right side of his face. The man's right eye was a lightish grey due to him being blind in that eye, while his other eye was dark chocolate brown.
"Kazundo Gouda?" Naruto said as he looked at the picture and couldn't help but be reminded of Danzō.
Todoh simply nodded his head in affirmative.
"Yes, he's a member on the council. More importantly, he's a starched militarist that constantly advocating that Kuni Shinai should expand its borders and "share" the city's prosperity with the rest of Western territories." the Samurai General said with a low growl.
Ryū looked at the infamous samurai and felt some sympathy for him. It was a well-known fact that the former Warlord hated lord Gouda's guts to no end. However, Naruto was curious about the situation and decided to ask about why was this man so important.
"So what has this guy done, that's got you on edge?" he asked causing the General to look at the blonde.
Ryū let out a sigh of annoyance at Naruto's action. He knew that he shouldn't judge the blonde for asking that question as he didn't really know all of the important political players in the western territories like the other did, but still the dragon clan heir really wished that he would think a lot more before he spoke.
"Ever heard of a man named Gatō?" Todoh commented as he looked back at the picture and continued trying to get it to burst into flames.
Naruto's eyes widen in alarm, as memories of the arrogant midget shipping tycoon turned crime lord came back to him.
"Yeah, I knew him. I was there when Zabuza Momochi of the mists sliced his head off in Nami back when I was still a Genin of Konoha. What's Gouda got to do with him?" He commented as his voice turned cold as ice.
Ryū looked at Naruto with surprised, not at the fact that he could turn so cold at the drop of a hat. That was expected from the ninja of Kakure no Sato, a reputation that even the infamous black spider ninja clan could testify was all too real. No, it was the fact that Naruto had personally seen the demise of Gatō who had earned a reputation for being one of the most ruthless and treacherous crime lords in the world. The man had gone so far as to spark an uncontrolled gang war with the five most powerful Yakuza crime families of Kuni Shinai for no other reason as to weaken them.
"After Gatō's demise, Gouda quickly moved in and bought out his shipping business. When he took control though, he focused more on weapons running and smuggling alongside several criminal organizations. However, He still operates Gatō's old drug dealings and slave trade operations, but they're not his main focus at the moment." the General explained as he pulled out several tax forms that showed how much money that Gouda was estimated to be making from his various illegal operations.
The General then stood up, and turned around as he looked out the window of his office that lined up perfectly for him to see Samurai island. The island itself was a small eight meters long by eighty meters wide, but what made the island special was forty six meter tall statue of a fully armored Samurai wielding his Katana in the air while his horse was rearing in a controlled manner. To many people within the city, the statue was a symbol of Freedom and Liberty from the constant warfare surrounding the city. However, to the leaders of the rest of the western territories and even the elemental nations the statue was a symbol of defiance against the traditional values that allowed them to have power in the first place.
"Just recently, I've discovered he has also founded an underworld gladiator fighting ring, where some of the worst scum of the earth compete against one another. Murderers, traitors, Rapist, and the list goes on as to who participates in these games." he continued to explain why he needed their help in this manner.
He then went into detail of the games and the reactions of the four Kakure ninja varied. Momiji was horrified, Naruto was gritting his teeth, and though Ryū's expression didn't show anything, his fists clenched. Taki however, remained passive until Todoh mentioned on several occasions that his men had found several dead bodies of children with numerous amounts of broken bones and bruises.
"And you haven't done anything about this until now, why?" Taki angrily said causing Todoh to sigh in defeat.
No doubt, she was imaging Natsu being placed in a similar situation, if it hadn't been for her taking the young Jinchūriki under her wing.
"I need hardcore evidence in order to do anything and every undercover officer I've sent in has either disappeared, or has been found dead in a gutter. I only managed to find out about the Gladiator Games, until the officer who reported it to me was found dead in his apartment two days later. That's why I sent the message to your father, asking for help. I need you three to help me find enough evidence to bust Gouda." he then turned to face them or more specifically to face Ryū.
Ryū looked at the file again for a few minutes, and then looked at General Todoh. The Dragon ninja knew that by even receiving the good Samurai's message, they had in avertedly marked themselves as targets of this Councilman.
"Lord Todoh, on behalf of the Hayabusa Clan, and of Kakure, we will do what we can to help you take care of this situation." The super ninja spoke with his three fellow Kakure ninja comrades nodding in agreement.
The Samurai General bowed his head in gratitude.
"Thank you, all of you." Todoh quietly spoke as he lifted his head up.
With that the meeting was over and Todoh summoned one of his Samurai and ordered them to show the four ninja to the hotel where they would be staying for the duration of their mission. He then sat back down on his desk and looked at the file on his desk and glared at Gouda's picture.
"You've managed to slip through my fingers many times Gouda, but this time. I will bust you if it's the last thing that I do, that's a promise!" he growled mentally before he shifted his attention to other important matters that needed his attention.
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Later in a Hotel Room
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Naruto looked around at the room that would be his home for now. The hotel room has one large bed, with a nightstand with a lamp and a clock on it. There was also a small bathroom, a kitchen, and a closet. Oddly enough, the room reminded Naruto of his old apartment back from Konoha, only that it was a cleaner and better kept. Shaking his head to forget about his former home, he didn't realize someone sneaking up behind him, until a pair of warm arms wrapped around him from behind in a hug.
"Something on your mind, Naru-Kun?" an extremely familiar feminine voice asked.
Naruto smiled as he recognized the voice, and turned his head to see Momiji behind him
"Ah, it's nothing." He calmly said as he turned fully around to find that her hair was out of its usual pony-tail.
He embraced the Dragon Shrine Maiden in a loving embrace and then proceeded to kiss her on the lips. After a few minutes the two separated for air.
"Did I ever tell you how beautiful and cute you look?" he asked and Momiji giggled as she traced a finger on Naruto's chest.
"Many times," she said huskily, and Naruto then kissed her passionately again before picking her up bridal-style and carrying over her to the bed. He laid her down gently and then the two began to make love to one another.
((Unfortunately, I'm a terrible lemon writer, so until I can improve my writing skills there will be no lemons in the story unless I get someone who is willing to write them for me. But I assure you that there will be a lemon in this chapter later on.))
Momiji gave a loud lustful moan as she and Naruto reached their respective climax. Their naked bodies were covered in sweat as the young woman collapsed on her lover's chest, while Naruto held her close.
"The others are gonna freak when they realizes we did this without them." Naruto commented as Momiji rose up to look at the blonde's blue eyes.
It was an almost unkempt secret that he was sleeping with four of the most skilled kunoichi in the village much to the irritation of the shinobi that had their eyes on them. He was also aware of the joke that was going around the village about if he was about to have sex with one of the girls then the other three would sense it and rush over to his location and join in the activity.
"True, but just being the two of us makes it better." Momiji said with a husky smile before the two kissed softly.
Naruto then gave a smirk, and then rolled the two of them over causing Momiji to squeak in surprise as she found herself on the bottom.
"Ready for Round Two?" he asked seductively, and the two continued with their lovemaking for 2 more hours.
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With the Retrieval Team
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Jiraiya was once more leading the team again as he had healed enough, however unlike last time he was behaving himself with Anko, and every female warning him that if he did anything funny like he did at Serpent's Pass, they cut his genitals off. They stopped at a town, and got a new map of the Western Lands, and so as to make sure 'they' did not lose it again, the map was given to Yūgao.
As they were on the road, the so-called Super Pervert felt his "Pervy Senses" go wild, as a big perverted grin formed on his face.
"Someone I know just scored himself a hot babe...and is playing the mating dance!" Sannin thought to himself.
Anko saw the grin and was about to beat him up when a purple blur went passed at a super fast speed, catching the Konoha Ninja off-guard and knocking several of them onto the ground.
"Whoa!" Shouted Kiba shouted, "What the hell was that?"
Before anyone could answer him, they heard a distinct female voice shouting about how a couple of Baka had forgotten about her coming from the direction that the blur went.
"What the hell was that?" Yūgao asked out loud as she helped Tenten up off of the ground.
Never had she seen something move that fast before in her life. Not even might guy and Lee were capable of moving that fast.
"Hey! You wouldn't have seen a purple blur run past here?" A male voice called out from behind him.
The Konoha ninjas turned around two people standing behind them with a puzzled look adorning their faces. The first was a ginger haired man with brown eyes, who was standing at five feet eleven inches. He had a square chin and low brow that gave him a mature look that suited some one of his age, his hair was cut in a way that it reached his jawline. The lower half of his face was covered by a black mask that was similar to Kakashi, while a silver head band rested on his forehead. He was wearing a traditional black shinobi shōzoku with a pair of black Jika-tabi boots. For added protection he wore a silver chest plate with brown trimming along with silver gauntlets. His shins were protected by a pair of samurai suneate shin guards. Around his waist was a leather belt held in place by a two pieces of rope that were tied together. Konoha ninja could see from their position that he was armed with an eighteen inch wakizashi short sword that was strapped to the back of his belt horizontally, while a katana was on his back with the handle peeking over his right shoulder.
The second person was what really caught all of the males in the retrieval team's attention. It was a young woman with ginger red hair that was tied into a high pony-tail. She was around five feet two inches and had bright warm brown eyes. She was wearing a bright blue kunoichi with white trimming, while a white sash was wrapped around her waist to keep her dress from opening and exposing her body to the world. On the skirt portion of the dress was an intricate design involving a white phoenix, while a pair of blue side-ties kept the two skirts from flapping upwards when she moved. On her hands and legs she wore blue and white leg guards and arm-guards. On her legs she was wearing mid thigh stockings with low heeled sandals. Like the man, she too had a wakizashi strapped to her back horizontally.
Jiraiya immediately had to suppress the urge to let out a perverted giggle, as the kunoichi in his team were close by and were more than willing to beat the ever living crap out of him.
"She would make a perfect addition to the Make-out paradise series. Good thing, I can remember almost any detail about a woman once I see them." The toad sage thought to himself as he continued to resist the urge to pull out his notebook and write down her features.
That was one of the many benefits of the Western lands being in constant warfare, people had more pressing issues than going after an author who used their likeness in an erotic book. Besides even if she did ever find out that he had used her in one of his books, what could she do about it. He was a legendary Sannin and she was just some no name kunoichi, she should feel honored that he used her in his books.
"You wouldn't happen to see a purple blur come through her recently, have you?" the man spoke with a little bit of annoyance in his voice.
It seemed that this happened quite often and he was somewhat used to it happening.
"Uh yeah, it went that way." Kurenai answered as she pointed in the direction that the purple blur went.
The man nodded his head in thanks and was about to leave, when the young woman grabbed him by the arm. She was squinting at them or more specifically their headbands.
"You're all Konoha ninja." The woman spoke as if it were fact rather than a question in a voice that was angelic to the males in the group.
The leaf ninja instantly were taken back as the two unknown ninjas became tense and began reaching for their weapons.
"Why do I feel we're about to get our asses handed to us?" Jiraiya thought to himself as he got into a fighting stance in preparation of the battle that was about to ensue.