"You're going to destroy Tartaros?" Kisame responded with an amused chuckle. "And just what are your plans in achieving that? Tartaros is perhaps the strongest Dark Guild on the continent, or was until the demise of the Seven Princes of Hell. IF you did manage to accomplish such a feat, what could you possibly do to follow it up?"
"Once I rid the world of Tartaros, I will focus one my most important goal. Creating a Fantasia, I will turn this world into a Utopia for everyone." Naruto replied bluntly, his eyes half open. Emotion seemed drained of his body, he assumed it would be because of whatever happened to him in the wasteland that was still affecting him.
Kisame grinned widely, his eyebrow cocking up in interest. "Fantasia? Utopia? These are some bold claims, in order to create them you would need to create a world without lies or deceit, otherwise you'd just be creating the biggest lie ever."
"Then that's what I'll do." Naruto replied without hesitation. "Lies, deceit, pain, suffering, sadness, hopelessness. I will eradicate all of them from the world, leaving nothing but joy, happiness and peace."
Kisame laughed softly, almost unheard to Naruto. "Then I will help you. I have lived a life of lies. My first guild, the guild I grew up in was selling information about other guilds to Dark Guilds, including Tartaros. My best friend and I destroyed our guild and killed our Guild Master, it made me wonder about myself, was I free to call myself anything other than a Dark Mage after committing the act. I want to live in a world without lies, with nothing but the truth."
"And that is what my Fantasia will offer." Naruto responded with a smile. "The first thing we will need to do is locate Tartaros."
"That's easy, Tartaros operate in the Black Kingdom in the country of Joya. Otherwise known as the mountain guarded country." Kisame grinned, taking a map out of his back and opening it, pointing to the country south-east from where they were. The country of Joya was small, literally guarded by a wall of mountains going around it's border. "Tartaros has been situated there for decades. The first thing you will need to do is to collect manpower in order to take down Tartaros and it's members. That's the real task."
"Yes, we'll need mages with no other ties to anything, no guilds, no families. Mages free to travel the world without restraint." A smirk suddenly grew on Naruto's face. "I know someone who we should try to recruit, though they may be hard to find."
"At least let me carry my own bag." Naruto extended his hand towards Kisame, who had sealed away most of the equipment he had into a scroll, which he put into his own bag. On his back were both his and Naruto's bag.
"I don't want to take any chances, I don't want you to carry any unnecessary weight, even something as small as a bag. You could still be weak from earlier. I don't know how long you were passed out in the wasteland for." Kisame replied with a shark-like grin.
Naruto tutted loudly in annoyance. He felt useless, he liked to carry his own weight. "So tell me, where are we going?" He asked curiously, they had been walking east for some time. Their camp spot slowly moving into the distance behind them.
"We're heading East, through Basco, we'll cross into Illa in a couple of days. From there Joya will be directly south from us." Kisame replied, still continuing to grin madly.
"But what happened to recruit members before we enter Joya and the Black Kingdom?" Naruto asked curiously, his eyebrow cocked upwards with a small smirk of his own presented on his face.
"You saw the map. Joya is basically like a giant bar of land, cutting of the Dark Lake from the sea. I suggest we travel right around the lake, going from Illa, into Reberg, east to Bellum, south into Desierto, then straight into the southern side of Joya or stopping in Mins first. We're bound to find a good few mages on the way around." Kisame replied, looking straight east towards their objectives.
"Sounds good, it will give us plenty of time to prepare, come to understand our group members together and formulate battle strategies that compliment each other's strengths well." Naruto nodded in agreement. "Although I want a select team of about seven to ten members so the quicker we find those members the better, I'd rather we rid the world of Tartaros quickly."
"Whatever works. Although I wouldn't say we should destroy Tartaros entirely." Kisame mused, thinking of all the possibilities or ways around Naruto's plan.
"What do you mean?" Naruto frowned darkly, irritation present in his tone. He would destroy Tartaros no matter what. Nothing anyone could say would deter him from this path.
"Something for another time perhaps. Look ahead." Kisame grinned, nodding his head forwards. Gesturing for Naruto's eyes to follow.
Naruto looked to where Kisame had nodded to. A small, albeit it glamorous town lied ahead, despite the light of the bright sun baring down from above, strong neon lights flickered on, a whole variety of colours. However the buildings themselves looked shabby. Some with smashed windows covered by wood, some with the outer painting being cracked. Some with walls having holes in them. "What is this place?" Naruto asked from a distance, they stood hundreds of metres away from the small town, yet everything could be seen clearly.
"It is the town of Loranoms, also known as the town with no morals. A crude, criminal town filled with thieves, thugs and villains, as well as a few other sort of people, including traffickers and dealers." Kisame responded, seemingly amused at the town ahead.
Naruto nodded in understanding, his face turning apathetic when his eyes laid on the small town. "Then we move around the town, I'd rather not associate myself with entering such a sick little town."
"That may not be the best idea." Kisame chuckled again, flashing his sharp teeth. "I sense a very powerful magical aura resonating from that town. It might be worth checking it out. After all, you want to collect your members as fast as possible, right?"
"You're a sensor?" Naruto's blond eyebrow rose again, staring sceptically at the blue haired man next to him.
"One of my magic's; Ampullae of Lorenzini. It allows me to sense even the smallest electromagnetic field from even the smallest movement of muscle from anything, any person, any animal. In a mages case, it also allows me to sense their magical aura, and determine how powerful it is. It's very useful, seeing as nothing can sneak up on me." Kisame grinned madly still, he enjoyed the powers his magic bestowed on him.
"Interesting, it seems you're the perfect person for scouting for the members of my team." Naruto smirked at the blue haired man, before turning to the town of Loranoms. "And you're sure there is a powerful magical aura up ahead?"
Kisame nodded affirmatively. "Definitely, not as strong as yours or my own, but strong than what is considered strong usually. Could be worth checking out, don't you think?"
Naruto sighed loudly, taking a deep breath in afterwards. "Fine. We'll check it out. But let's be quick, I'd rather not get caught in the middle of anything." Naruto responded, his eyes focusing dead ahead onto the town. 'This mage had better be worth it.'
Naruto's face crumpled up in disgust as he stared at the building in front of him. 'Le Bom Bom!'. Loud music with a strong bass could be heard playing within, the building was roughly 5 storeys tall, larger than the average building in this town.
"And your sure this powerful magical aura is being emitted from this place." Naruto turned to the larger blue haired man behind him, silently hoping that that wasn't the case and Kisame had made some small mistake.
"I assure you that it is. I never make a mistake like this." Kisame responded back with his usually shark-like grin plastered across his face.
Naruto sighed loudly again, looking hesitantly at the door."I can't believe this..." He muttered quietly under his breath, opening the door slowly. Stepping cautiously into the building.
Instantly sleaze, scandal and sin overwhelmed his sensed. The air was thick, heavy and musky from smoke. Loud, deep bass music battered against his ears. He looked around, vertical poles attached on the stage, with nearly naked women dancing on them. Men and other women sat in large chairs around the stage, smoking and drinking and laughing whilst watching the dancers. It was sickening.
"Just hurry up and point this mage out so we can get out of here!" Naruto shouted loudly to the blue haired man, unsure if Kisame would have heard him over the loud music had he not.
The lights suddenly dimmed, the current dancers vacating the stage. "Ladies and Gentlemen, it is now time for one of our star performers to come to the stage. So a round of applause for Kami no Tenshi!" A voice resounded over a speaker phone, one single spotlight appeared on the stage. As the applause filled his ears a woman came onto the stage in high blue heels and tight black pants. Her blue shirt hand an angle cut out at the front revealing her stomach and four naval piercings, one on each side of her naval. The shirt was also completely sleeveless, staying on by the tight collar around her neck, another cut went down the front of her shirt, her cleavage being presented to the world, there was also a floral design in a lighter blue on the front of the shirt. Her eyes were a deep amber shade, her lips had a faint red colour to them with another piercing in the center of her lower lip. Finally her blue hair was long, reaching down to the small on her back. She began a provocative dance routine around the pole, bending over against it and twirling around it were just some of her moves.
"She's the one. That is who the magical aura is coming from." Kisame grinned constantly, turning towards the bar to order a drink.
"Are you serious?" Naruto turned to Kisame, who continued to grin and nod in response. Naruto sighed loudly again in annoyance. "How are we supposed to get some private time with her in order to convince her to join us?"
"I think there is your answer..." Naruto turned to Kisame's voice, Kisame was pointing to a small poster at the end of the bar, it was an advertisement. Customers could book a private session with any dancer of their choosing. The session would take place in one of the rooms above the bar, and everything on the dancer would be available to the individual customer.
Naruto smirked at the poster. "Kisame, you wait here. I'll speak to her." Naruto called to the blue haired man, who nodded in return, already chugging down his second drink.
Naruto himself moved over to the bartender, who was currently stood doing nothing, every person's attention seemed to go on the one single dancer. "Excuse me," Naruto got the bartenders attention. "How do I get a private session with Kami no Tenshi?"
"She's very popular, sir." The bartender replied with a cheery tone and smile. "You pay your 5000J now, and your name is put onto a record sheet, we then organise her customers for the day so everyone gets some time, you could be the first, fifth, or her last customer for the day."
Naruto smirked again, he quickly grabbed his bag of Kisame. Moving back over to the bartender, opening his bag he went straight for the bundles of money, notes of Jewels wrapped together by an elastic band. He slapped four wads of Jewels on the table in front of the bartender, who seemed to drool at the cash. "20'000J, make me first on that list." Naruto smiled, the bartender nodded his head hypnotically, almost like a zombie. His eyes never leaving the stack of money.
Naruto sat comfortably in a large chair in an elegant room. The bartender had kept his word. A bar maid approached him, saying that he was called first for his session with Kami no Tenshi and led him up to one of the rooms on the top floor. Naruto sat in the middle of the red, which was painted different shades of red, even the carpet and ceiling, even the windows were tinted red. Streaks of gold ran throughout the room as well, on the curtains and furniture, even on the bed cover on the bed behind him.
The door in front of him suddenly creaked open, revealing the dancer from earlier. Her eyes went wide with a mild surprise when she saw who was her first customer. A boy with deep, ocean blue eyes and blond hair, tinted with streaks of black. He was dressed completely in white, including baggy white pants and a sleeveless white cloak, which hung open loosely off his body. He wore nothing underneath, revealing his lean, muscular body.
"Well this is a surprise, boys my own age usually don't need a place like this, they can get girls easily enough by themselves. Most of my visitors are usually around three times my age." The blue haired girl spoke in a polite, calm voice, a small smile present on her face as she slowly closed the door behind her.
"And how old are you?" Naruto replied quickly, settling more comfortably into the chair. His eyes darted around the room. In the top right hand corner of the room, just above the door was a viewing Lacrima, probably to make sure the 'employees' were doing their 'job'.
The girl looked to him with an eyebrow raised, as if surprised Naruto had asked her the question. "Eighteen."
"The same age as me then." Naruto replied with a smile himself.
"So what is your name?" The girl put a smirk on her face, setting up some last minute décor and drawing the curtains before she began.
Naruto watched her move around the room while he sat still in the chair. "Naruto Uzumaki. And what is your name?"
"You know my name?" The blue haired girl smirked over her shoulder, slowly pulling her shirt down.
"How about your real name?" Naruto responded in an apathetic tone, she moved to him and sat on his lap with her back face him, beginning a dance routine focused around him.
She suddenly stopped, looking to Naruto when he asked the question, looking at him in surprise. "My name is Konan. Konan Ame."
She began dancing again, her long blue hair flicking him in the face, he pushed it out the way in annoyance. Revealing a very interesting tattoo on her back.
It was shaped like angel's wings over her shoulder-blades, but the wings were decrepit and rotten, missing feathers, or the feathers were broken. The wings looked ugly, something that one would not usually associate with angels. "That's an interesting tattoo."
Konan spun around on his lap, facing him directly now, her legs dangled over each side of the chair, she began grinding her body into Naruto's, she put her head over his shoulder. "It's not a tattoo," She whispered quietly, sparking Naruto's interest at how secretive she was being. "It is a seal. The Grim Angel Reaper Seal. If I try to use magic, it will kill me. If I try to leave the building it will paralyse my body. Us dancers have to live in the accommodation above the bar, where we become nothing but toys for their customers."
Naruto stared at the blue haired girl with silent shock. "Konan..-"
"Enough! You talk too much, just like the rest of my customers, but unlike them you don't let me do my job. So just shut up and let me get on with this." Konan replied, stepping off Naruto's lap she began to pull down her tight black pants, kicking off her heeled shoes first.
"Fine if you want to talk about work, then I have a business proposition for you." Naruto smiled in return, smiling wider when he heard Konan's huff of annoyance and frustration.
Konan looked to him with slight anger. "Nothing you say will be any different from anything else I have been offered in the past. I have heard it all before from the people who have come here in the past; money, modelling, a better career. I've heard it all befo-"
She was cut off, in a split second Naruto was in front of her, his body and forehead pressed against hers'. His eyes were wide, completely serious. Konan's own eyes went wide with shock as well.
"I can offer you freedom."
A/N: Yo! Rinne here! Well this chapter was a lot shorter than the previous two so sorry about that. Anyways this recruitment Arc will last a good number of chapters, say 7-12 chapters, although the adventures and recruitment processes will be the reason why they take so long.
Should clear up a few things. 1) Kisame is NOT blue, he will turn blue at the activation of one of his magfics, but usually he is not blue. 2)Naruto is NOT creating Akatsuki, their will be a few Akatsuki members yes, but not all of them 3) I know what Konan looks like, so when I say she has long blue hair thats what I meant, she will get a hair cut soon.
A picture of Konan's attire will be put up on my profile if you want to check it out.
I'll be updating ETL soon so be on the lookout for that.
Well that's pretty much it,
Until Next Time,
Rinne-Kami, Out!
