Naruto stared at her. "Gato the First, huh?" he began to rub the back of his head. "Sorry, I've never heard of him."
Matsuri frowned and looked angry.
"I think I may have." Naruto and everyone else turned their heads towards the newly married Narayamanaka Shikamaru. Since joining the village Shikamaru had gone on a great many trading expeditions, acting as a negotiator as well as guard. Surprisingly enough, with his knowledge and tactical sense he'd proved very good at it. He had done a good bit of traveling and tried to learn as much as possible about new nations.
"I believe he is in control of Wave country." Shikamaru said.
"All of it?" Naruto asked. Wave country was a small land. But the way the world had fractured it would now be considered a massive kingdom. It would certainly be several times larger than the territory under the control of his village.
"That's right," Matsuri spoke up. "However, the land ruled by the emperor is now known as the empire of Gato." She seemed to stand just a little taller.
"Wow, this guy sounds really humble." Naruto smiled. Matsuri did not seem amused.
Hinata gently put a hand on her husband's arm and leaned in to whisper to him. "Naruto-kun, she's come all this way to meet with you. Please be nice and show some respect."
Naruto sighed and nodded. He had plenty of experience dealing with the Assembly and the Council. But he was sadly lacking in experience dealing with foreign diplomats. But Hinata was right, he needed to be just a bit more formal and behave more like he did with the other leaders of his village. He put on his, 'Kage' face.
He gave her a small apologetic bow. "Sorry, now what can I do for your emperor?"
She nodded, glad that he was at least taking her seriously. "I was sent here to hire all the ninja of this village." She looked around nervously. "Of course I wasn't expecting more than four or five of you at most." There were other ninja villages in the world, but none of them had more than a handful. In all the world she had guessed there might be a hundred ninja left. "How many ninja reside in this village?"
Naruto was about to tell her they had seventy eight ninja not including the academy students.
Hinata jumped in ahead of her husband. "Oh I am sorry, but you can't expect us to share such vital information with you."
Naruto looked to Hinata a bit surprised, but nodded.
"Well, even though there are many more of you than expected my emperor's command remains the same." She reached into a pocket in her cloak and pulled out a small leather pouch and offered it to Naruto. "Please accept this as a small token of the emperor's generosity."
Naruto took the small pouch and opened it idly. What he saw made him gasp. Gold coins! He pulled one out to have a closer look. It looked just a bit bigger and heavier than the ones he was used to. On one side was the visage of a squat middle aged man with the title, 'Emperor Gato the First' written underneath. On the other side was the image of a shark. Naruto didn't like those images, but there was no denying the value of gold. "Just how many are in here?" He asked quietly.
Matsuri gave him a reassuring smile. "One hundred, and should you accept the emperor's offer you will be paid in gold." With that everyone around them began to buzz with excitement.
Naruto really couldn't blame them. Gold had only become even more precious as it was one of the few constants left in a world filled with disorder. The gold coins in his purse were each worth 20,000 in paper currency. And that was a conservative rate of exchange. The pouch in his hand was worth, at the very least, two million ryu.
"Well, I have to admit, it's a damn good gift." Naruto put the one coin back in and tied up the pouch again. "Shikamaru!" He tossed the pouch over to him. Despite his share of beer Shika caught it with ease. "As treasurer you hold on to those, they go into the village treasury." It was important for people to see that the gold belonged to the village and not to him.
He turned back to his guest, now much more interested than he had been just a moment before. The more gold they could bring into the village coffers the better. "Well, while most of our ninja work as the local military protecting our citizens some do still take on missions for paying customers. I am sure we can work something out."
She nodded. "Then you may select up to three representatives to accompany me back to the empire of Gato. There you will be permitted to speak to the emperor himself and negotiate a contract to enter his most noble service."
"And exactly what sort of service does your emperor require?" Naruto asked quietly.
"That is for the emperor alone to speak of." Matsuri replied.
"I see."
"And if it is all right with you. I would like to leave as soon as possible tomorrow morning." Matsuri said.
"Tomorrow?" Naruto asked in surprise. "Wave country is at least a week from here. Wouldn't you at least like to rest for a few days? We have an Inn and you would be welcome to enjoy a few days as our guest."
She shook her head. "I would be happy to accept a room and a meal, but I would still like to leave as early tomorrow as possible. I have many other duties and I need to return to the empire as soon as I can." There was something else that urged her to leave, but she knew better than to reveal it.
"Very well, we'll leave shortly after sunrise." Naruto answered.
"We?" Matsuri questioned.
Naruto nodded. "That's right I'll be one of the three who accompany you." He grinned a bit. I'm looking forward to meeting this emperor."
XXXXXXXXXX
Matsuri was escorted to the Inn while Naruto gather the Council together for an impromptu meeting back in his home. Fortunately, almost the entire Council was present for the reception and thanks to Hinata they were soon all sober.
XXXXXXXXXX
This was not the first time he had ever called a meeting of the Council in his dining room. Minato was the size of a small town and there was a familiarity between all of them. So after Hinata had put their kids to bed she had gotten them all some milk and then stood beside her husband. Technically she had no right to attend a meeting of the council, but they were all friends and no one was going to try and make it an issue.
Naruto looked at the seven members of the Council. There was Neji, head of the Hyuga clan. One of the tiny bright spots that had come of Konoha's end was the end of the caged bird seal and the split within Hyuga. Neji wore the caged seal, but no one else ever would. There was Chouji, head of the Akimichi clan munching on some wedding cake. There was a very unhappy Ino and a bored looking Shikamaru. There was Inuzuka Hana, matriarch of the Inuzuka clan. She had married and her ninja husband had agreed to change his name to preserve that of her clan. There was Haku, who along with him and Hinata were the original founders of the village. The three of them were also the only ones to know a terrible secret that could easily tear the village apart. And at the end of the table was the most senior ninja in the village.
"Yosh!" Guy said with his usual enthusiasm. "Kage–sama who will be going on this mission?"
Naruto shut his eyes, knowing he was going to get an argument. "Me, Shikamaru, and Neji will go. As usual, you Haku will be in charge in my absence."
Haku nodded. He was absolutely devoted to Naruto for saving his life. And would do anything for him or for his family.
"What?!" Ino got to her feet and screeched. Naruto had known this was coming. "You want to take Shika from me the day after we get married? You want him to miss the birth of our child?"
"I'm sorry Ino, I don't want to do this but the needs of the village have to come first. I am going to need Shikamaru's intelligence and negotiating skills with me to get us the best contract possible. I don't want to be away from my family for weeks either." He reached out and gently took his wife's hand. "But I have to go. For something this important I have to be there to make the final decision."
Ino inhaled to start shouting when she felt Shikamaru's soothing touch on her arm. "Ino," He said quietly. "Don't yell at Naruto for doing what you know he has to. I don't want to leave; I know it will be troublesome. But I'll be back with presents for you and the baby."
She looked at him and was clearly struggling not to cry. "I don't want presents! I want you there with me. I can't do this alone."
"You won't be alone Ino-chan," Chouji spoke up. "I'll be there with you. I have two of my own so I know what to expect."
"I'll be there too Ino-chan," Hinata said with a warm smile. "You won't be alone."
Shikamaru stood up and wrapped his arms around his wife. "You know that I have to go." He spoke to her with a tenderness usually reserved for when they were alone. "But I'll be back as soon as I can and I'll be thinking of you the whole time."
She pressed her head against his neck and sobbed a bit, but did not argue any further.
After that the rest of the meeting went fairly smoothly.
XXXXXXXXXX
As was her habit Matsuri had eaten and was ready to travel well before the sun had risen. She had been informed that she would meet with the Kage and his party at the commons. Following a guide she made her way there in the predawn. Once there she saw the area was dominated by a large bronze statue. Naturally curious she went over to it and as the sky lightened read the plaque.
Finding out who it was she took a step back and carefully looked around. She had the entire park to herself. With a grim smile she spat onto the statue.
XXXXXXXXXX
"When will you be back daddy?" Hanabi asked him.
He smiled and gave his little girl a kiss on the cheek. "Probably not for at least a couple weeks, but more likely three or longer."
She looked up at him with those big lavender eyes. "I'm going to miss you daddy."
He hugged his little girl and gave her some more kisses. "I'll miss you too honey."
"Are you going to be fighting any bandits or enemy ninja?" His son Minato asked eagerly. Both his boys were convinced their father was invincible.
Naruto laughed a bit. Like most boys around that age his sons thought fighting enemies to be a wonderful and glorious thing. He had tried telling them it wasn't. They still believed the stories though. Well they would learn better one day. "Sorry kids, but there shouldn't be any of that. This should be a nice peaceful mission."
Both boys were terribly disappointed to hear that.
"Come on everyone let's eat before your father has to go." Hinata said in a cheerful voice. Her words and her demeanor let the children know that this was just an ordinary day and that dad would be home soon.
When breakfast was done though she followed her husband out the door for a bit. As soon as the door was shut and the children were no longer watching she squeezed on tight to him. She was five months pregnant so she was a bit awkward getting close enough to really hug him tight.
"I hate it when you leave." Hinata cried quietly so that only he could hear it. "I don't want you to go."
He put his arms around her. "Hinata-chan you know I have to do this." He said gently.
"I know," she nodded and looked lovingly into his blue eyes. "But I still hate it."
He gave her a long sweet kiss goodbye, and then regretfully left the warmth of her arms.
XXXXXXXXXX
When they met at the commons Matsuri was there and eager to go. "So can we go now?"
"In a minute." Naruto replied. He walked over about twenty feet to the large statue and stood there just looking at it for a moment.
"What is he doing?" Matsuri asked in an annoyed tone.
"He is honoring the will of fire by remembering his ancestor." Neji spoke proudly.
Matsuri's head snapped around. "His ancestor?"
"Yeah," Shikamaru answered lazily. "Naruto's clan name is Namikaze. He is the only son of Konoha's Yellow Flash."
"I see." Matsuri replied in an indifferent voice.
Neji was a master of reading body language. He noticed the way she stiffened and would have bet that had his byakugan been active he would have seen a sudden rise in her heartbeat. Interesting, why such a strong reaction? Neji of course gave away no hint that he had noticed anything.
Before long Naruto had rejoined them. He had on the same eager smile he always had when he was about to go on a mission. "Are you ready to go?"
Matsuri quickly nodded. "Yes, let's go."
XXXXXXXXXX
The four of them departed and began the long journey to the coast.