Hey all.
Sorry for the long wait, as I said my laptop got stolen and all that…and in the meantime I had been on a pair of camps.
I rushed one of the arcs as I didn't know what to change in it…
My first take was something along the lines of leaving Tatsumi to the mercy of Esdeath, then have him rescue him whilst he, Esdeath and the Jaegers were having lunch. And then having Esdeath swap her targeting system onto him…
This wouldn't work for several reasons: first, then chakra would have to be revealed, thereby making both the Empire and the Revolutionary Army try to recruit them or destroy them because of Paranoia. Another thing would be that up until that point, Naruto, Hinata and Sakura were only using Chakra in secret.
The second take started out with both Naruto and Tatsumi entering the tournament, with Esdeath initially gunning for Tatsumi, until Naruto thrashed him in the next round…then Hinata coming in guns blazing and the city being destroyed in the ensuing catfight…yeah…too extreme…
Take three was only Naruto entering the tournament, Esdeath kidnapping him and so forth…same as the final (take four), only for Naruto to kill her in the night and then fighting his way out past the other Jaegers. The problem here is a) Naruto doesn't kill in cold blood (Unless it is a Zetsu clone who stole his Ramen), and I think that fighting the Jaegers would require him to reveal the Chakra element to the Empire.
Take four…well…its after the Responses to Reviews bit below.
Responses to Reviews:
Anko4Life: Appreciate the response…for a while I thought you'd be the only person to respond and thanks for the ongoing support.
Master-of-Mythology: Ah, Esdeaths criteria…Hinata is sooooo going to not like this…
On to the Story…
Chapter 7: Enter the Ice-Queen
Naruto sighed in relief as he and Hinata arrived home after a long journey on foot.
The relief coming in as they no longer had to hear the continuous whining from three girls they were escorting.
"This sun is killing my hair…"
"I have lost all feeling in my legs…"
"I am tired…"
"It's too hot…"
…you get the idea.
And the only thing stopping Naruto from turning on them and telling them to shut up was Hinata's rather evil idea…of having Lee be their caretaker.
Even Naruto shivered at the thought…and agreed with her…
Now they were walking across the bridge, at which the girls also wouldn't shut up…
"""WOOOW!""" all three of them said in awe…until far below them one of the monsters roared, making them go…
"""WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?"""
"That was one of our watchdogs." Naruto idly commented.
"You should probably try and pet them someday." Hinata added sweetly.
"Or you could shut up and follow us." Naruto added, to which the three girls, now as pale as white paper, nodded rapidly.
Once they arrived at the other end of the bridge, Naruto breathed in…
Hinata quickly put her hands to her ears and motioned the girls to do the same.
…and shouted at the top of his volume, "I'M BACK!"
"Troublesome…" the response came immediately as out of the tunnel walked a lazy and tired looking Shikamaru. "Did you have to shout when we were about to come and greet you, Naruto?"
"Yup. Had to make sure you were awake and not sleepwalking." Naruto smirked.
Shikamaru grumbled something about that being Temari's job but returned the smirk and clasped hands with Naruto and Hinata.
Said female blonde appeared from the shadows and whacked him on the head with her fan, before greeting them as though nothing had just happened.
Slowly more and more of the surviving shinobi arrived to greet their leader who was back.
Air, Luna and Fal were more surprised to see so many children younger than them there than there being around 250 people in this village alone, which is a pretty big number for a village by their standards.
"…and since you were away, some of the younger children have started getting nightmares and homesick. Troublesome." The three of them heard Shikamaru tell Naruto.
"Why is that?" Naruto asked.
"Probably because since the war you carry with you an air of protection and safety." Temari said. Naruto and Hinata looked at the ex-Suna Kunoichi. "They all see you as their new Father figure, or as a big brother, and look up to you as a role model."
Naruto couldn't help but smile bashfully at the comment.
"Me? A role model?" he asked. His answer was being swarmed by the latest arrivals: the younger children.
"Naruto-niisan!" they all squeaked and squealed.
"Naruto told us that he is the leader of a village of survivors…but this is ridiculous…" Fal commented.
"Why aren't there more adults?" Air added.
Luna just agreed with both of them.
"Because we live by a code…a creed if you will." A blonde girl told them. She introduced herself as Ino before explaining the Will of Fire to them, including the part where the younger generation is the most important thing to them.
Later
"…and that is what lead me and Hinata to returning early." Naruto finished his story.
"And what about Sakura?" Ino asked.
"Just before we left she told us about setting up a safehouse or something in the Capital. Not sure what she is up to though." Hinata said.
Everyone in the room who was in the village nodded in understanding.
It was Konohamaru who turned to the three refugees.
"We understand the situation, however, before we reveal our village secrets to you three, you will have to agree to certain conditions…" he began.
"We know you are busy rebuilding, and I at least am willing to pull my weight." Luna said. Fal and Air agreed after thinking about it.
"Are you sure you'd be able to carry a secret that will mean your death if you reveal it?" Konohamaru asked darkly.
This made the girls freeze. They had no idea that the village held secrets that high.
"Yes." They eventually said.
"In that case, Kon, why don't you fill them in?" Naruto asked him. "I am sure that you, Moegi and Udon would like something else to do other than running gauntlets and building structures."
"HELL YES!" came three different voices, two of them from a hiding spot inside the wall.
"Good guys." Naruto said with a smile. He turned back to Shikamaru. "I will head over to Tenten's forge and get a fresh supply of Kunai and Shuriken for myself, Hinata and Sakura."
"You'd better do that." Shikamaru agreed. "Also, make a few clones and help out with the construction while you are at it, will ya."
"Hm? Clones?" Luna asked. "What are those?"
"This." Naruto said, crossing his fingers and creating a bunch of shadow clones, royally freaking the girls out as there were now more of him.
Hinata giggled, unable to stop herself upon seeing their faces.
"Want to see something awesome?" the real Naruto asked the girls, who hesitantly nodded.
Shortly afterwards
Luna, Air and Fal were rubbing their eyes to make sure that they were seeing things properly…
Rank upon rank of Narutos marched out of the small cave they were in in neat rows of 5 clones, each row splitting off heading towards a different part of the village where they would get to work building the village.
"Ok…I'll admit…this is cool." Fal eventually said and every single clone and shinobi smirked.
Naruto and Hinata stayed longer than they had planned due to a violent thunderstorm that suddenly struck the day they wanted to leave. Naruto spent the time teaching the youngest survivors about the usage of chakra, how to feel it, flow it through their limbs, more often than not relying on either Shikamaru and/or Hinata to explain the more complicated things as he never fully paid attention to Iruka's classes. Shikamaru found it troublesome until Temari smacked some sense into him whilst Hinata just smiled, before blushing at the thought of children with Naruto (and teaching them…).
Half a week later
Naruto and Hinata returned to the hideout as the sun was setting, sighing in relief as they had basically been running non-stop since leaving the village in order to catch up on lost time.
Inside they encountered Sakura who was in the kitchen, talking to Mine of all people. Naruto theorised it was because they were both lacking in sex-appeal, though he was surprised that Sakura wasn't angry at Mine for being bigger than her in the chest.
Must have been countered by the fact that Sakura was taller than the other pinkette…
Anyway…he was surprised to see Sakura in the kitchen in the first place as she was a notoriously dangerous chef. Not because of the tools of a chef's trade, but because of what she creates…
Bulat as usual was training in the field with a Bo-staff, which was as always reeking of sweat…Naruto wondered how on earth the Empire hadn't smelled them out yet.
With him at the training field was Tatsumi who was swinging a sword that reminded Naruto of Zabuza's sword.
Lubb was being a perv and was spying on Sheele who was bathing in the hot spring, blissfully unaware that Lubbock was only 30 feet in front of her…that is until Leone jumped on him and used him as a sitting log…whilst holding a barrel of beer in her hand.
Najenda was having a smoke as always.
Akame was probably out hunting for meat…or raiding the pantry.
"I think that we have missed nothing important." Naruto said to Hinata.
"I think so too." The answer held the same deadpan tone as the question.
Meanwhile
In a land far, far away where one is always freezing his/her ass off, the most Elite army in the Empire was waging a crusade to defeat a mighty King whose armies had already slaughtered a number of Imperial Armies…until this one came along.
The king of the northern tribes spent close to 5 years to expand his territory, defeating the Imperial Garrison within a month, and gaining territory with each subsequent victory.
Now, within 2 weeks, he was forced back to his Fortress in the frozen mountains of the northern lands by this newest army led by one of the most feared generals in Imperial History, if not THE most feared general.
Seriously…this bitch has a heart colder than dry Ice…fitting if you think about it. Esdeath has the power to control Ice and freeze anything from someone's ass to an entire city.
What made her army so powerful though was that she actually cared for her men, providing the best equipment, whilst killing the people who try to sell her cheap gear.
Still doesn't mean she isn't a bitch.
Now said bitch is besieging the fortress after smashing through any attempt the king had made to delay her advance in order to get his people to safety.
The only thing that gave him and his people hope was that the Fortress was designed to withstand any siege.
The next day the King was lying at the feet of General Esdeath, utterly defeated, his army defeated on the walls as Esdeath created ramps up to the battlements.
The Fortress became a tomb within a day.
Now Esdeath was reading a missive from the Capital, recalling her to the city in order to aid with defeating Night Raid.
"Well…the fighting has been rather dull up here…" she said. She gave the order to her men to prepare to return to the Capital within the week, giving her soldiers time to rest.
She is still a bitch though.
TImeskip
The next few weeks passed quickly for Naruto and Night Raid. Naruto was busy training the three newest recruits, Cloud, Rain and Storm, in the arts of silently gathering Information, via various different techniques.
Cloud Decided to work in a Pub near one of the Imperial Garrisons. Naruto mainly focused on her multi-hearing skills with the help of the others in Night Raid. He also taught her how to use her own charm to bring in the cash for the Tavern owner, ensuring that he wouldn't fire her so easily.
Rain decided to work in the market, selling farm produce from a Farmer who is secretly supporting the Resistance. She would be stationed at one of the Market places. She was taught to keep her eyes open for anything unusual. The additional skill that was taught to her was how to effectively market her goods…in the end, Sakura rated that she'd be a demon on the market.
Storm made a risky choice…she decided to work in a brothel. Naruto taught her techniques on how to subtly extract small amounts of information out of her clients, not too much otherwise she'd blow her cover. Sakura and Hinata taught her some skills they also learned in the seduction classes back during the Academy. Hinata also taught her about certain nerve clusters/pressure points through which she could completely relax her target, making him more susceptible to giving out information…or be wrapped around her finger.
And where did Hinata learn these skills? Well, she knew about the nerve clusters/pressure points from the academy, but only perfected their usage when she and Naruto became a couple.
Naruto still hadn't found out how she always makes him talk so much about his day…
In addition to these specialized skills, the three also learned the basics of what the other two learned. Added to the self-defence lessons Naruto was giving them, they went to bed each day tired to the bone, only to wake up the next day, sore to the core and wet from the water bucket Naruto would use to wake them up.
Cloud had once tried to sneak into Naruto's room, only to open the door to come face to face with Hinata's sweet smile. The next thing she remembered, she was naked and hanging by her feet above a pond filled with hungry piranhas.
Since then she stayed away from Naruto as much as possible, not wanting to piss Hinata off once more…
In the last week however, Night Raid was hit hard.
It started out with several of their supporters being killed by someone impersonating Night Raid. Then they were deployed to a) find out who is responsible and b) defend their surviving allies. Tatsumi and Bulat were the ones who engaged those responsible. They managed to defeat the three people responsible, but in the process, Bulat fell to a poison that was injected into him by one of the three people.
His Teigu, Incursio, passed on to Tatsumi, who used it to basically one-hit kill the last member.
And whilst on another mission, Sheele fell as well, taking out an entire battalion of Imperial guards until a guard with a pet Teigu arrived…
Her Teigu was captured by the Empire…
It was still a dark day for Night Raid…Bulat had been their strongest member, at least as far as the assassins knew, and Sheele was a friend to all of them.
Following this event, Naruto entered the City to make the final preparations for the beginning of his own Spy network. One that will one day spread out across the Empire and all surrounding lands.
Once in the City, he created a small army of clones, henge'd into some random people he saw back in the Revolutionary Army…of whom 50% were apparently former soldiers of the Empire, and the Naruto clones decided to give the Imperial Soldiers a bit of a goose chase around the capital, whilst the rest went about gathering informants.
One does not live three years with the worlds biggest pervert and greatest spy-master without learning how that is done after all.
And him being an expert at catching the attention of pretty much every single person in the Village back in the day and being able to outrun them…well, had he added in the paint bombs he had back in the elemental nations, he would have burned this day into the memories of each and every Imperial citizen for decades to come…
By the end of the week, Naruto had numerous agents loyal to him feeding him information on any unusual movements amongst the Imperial Guards…even inside the Imperial Army itself, with his highest-ranking informant being a Captain in charge of a section in the Harbour district.
Naruto recruited him after bringing in Sakura to heal his daughter and wife, both of whom were poisoned by a corrupt doctor who was in the pocket of a local crime-lord with whom the captain had had trouble with quite a lot of the time.
Both the Doctor and the Crime Lord were later found bound and tied up in front of his office, together with a mountain of paper evidence, enough to warrant him arresting them for life without a trial.
And on his desk Naruto left him a letter, detailing that if he wanted to help do good for the people…basically he was to meet him somewhere. There they reached an agreement, he became an informant and Naruto would help him out whenever he needed some…unorthodox methods.
On a side note, Naruto also got a bit into gambling. With his luck he quickly raised a fortune…especially since he hit at least 10 Casino's at the same time…
There were other hiccups though.
Whilst on a date, Naruto and Hinata encountered a very corrupt merchant who wanted to buy Hinata from Naruto, offering a 12 digit number for her.
Naruto's response to that was turning to Hinata and saying, "A bit of a low price there, don't you think?"
Hinata giggled and nodded.
"Sorry, but I wouldn't trade her for all the gold in the world." Naruto told the merchant.
"How about this then." The merchant said, snapping his fingers. "You hand her over and I will let you leave here alive." As he said this, dozens of thugs surrounded Naruto and Hinata.
"Shall we dance, Milady?" Naruto asked Hinata with as much of a gentlemanly voice as he could muster.
"Of course, my good sir." Hinata responded very lady-like and the two began dancing in the street…whilst simultaneously kicking every thugs ass without breaking a sweat.
The Imperial guards who arrived to see what the commotion was about didn't know whether to applaud the couple for the dance or for their ability to completely dominate the fight whilst dancing.
Another hiccup happened when Naruto's greatest fear happened: The Ramen store he found and frequented in the city was closed down after some Noble blamed the owner for serving crap food and bribing the officials to have the joint closed.
That very night Naruto infiltrated the Noble's home, raided his office, found evidence for the unjust action. He also left a nasty surprise for the bastard for when he would wake up…
The poor man ran out of his house the next day, covered in paint and feathers, with a long pink dildo glued to his hand and another one stuck up his backside with additional feather glued to it to make it look like a rooster's tail.
When Najenda heard about this, she wondered if killing the nobility was really the worst thing that could be done…
Chapter 8, the 'Oh Crap' Tournament
A few days later
"So have any of you heard? General Esdeath has been recalled to the Capital." Lubbock said over Breakfast.
"Esdeath…isn't that…" Naruto began.
"…the general who wields that Ice Teigu. Yes." Hinata confirmed.
"What can you tell me about her?" Naruto asked.
"She's a bitch." Najenda immediately answered. "A respectable, blood thirty, warmongering, honourable bitch."
"That is not a group of words I expected to hear about her." Naruto said.
"I respect her prowess as a general and strategist. She is a blood knight in the closest sense of the name, her reason for existing is none other than to be in war…However, she never breaks a promise, she cares dearly for those under her command, thereby gaining their trust and loyalty. Either way…she is a bitch who will do ANYTHING to achieve her goals."
"Take away the honourable part, and she'd be a perfect match for Orochimaru." Naruto muttered.
"No shit. Glad that guy is dead." Sakura agreed. Hinata just nodded.
"Who is Orochimaru?" Bulat asked.
"A scientist who turned into a traitor to our village decades ago…guy was a fucking psycho scientist, as well as a certified lunatic." Naruto growled.
"He specialized in Human modification and/or augmentation, trying to find the secret to eternal life." Hinata continued. "He experimented on children…with his experiments having a 99% mortality rate…"
"Add to that, he founded his own village and had his lackeys wage a skirmish war on us." Sakura said. "The only reason why we weren't able to find and kill that fucker for years is because we didn't know where his village was located." She clenched her fist.
"Sounds like you have…personal issues with this guy." Najenda said, pulling on her cigarette…the second since the conversation began.
"Our, as in Sakura and my teammate was brainwashed and seduced with the promise of power by him. it took us 3 years to get him back." Naruto said darkly. "After he returned, he and Sakura became…well, they would have been married by now had he not died when…" Naruto also clenched his fist, with Hinata and Sakura all shedding tears at the memories of their lost comrades.
Lubbock, reading the atmosphere, decided to change the subject…or rather get back to the original subject.
"Ok…back to what we were discussing earlier…" he said, clapping his hands. "Apparently Esdeath is hosting a tournament, with the winner being granted a wish of his or her choice, as long as it is hers to give."
"Sounds interesting." Naruto and Tatsumi said.
"Naruto?" Sakura asked.
"Think about it, Sakura. If I win that tournament, I will be able to acquire all the tools and resources our new village needs. Free of charge." He told her, no anger, no teasing, just serious.
Sakura sighed, seeing that he had a point.
"Damn…and here I was thinking I could get some cash for my own village." Tatsumi grumbled.
"Oh, I am sure Hinata, Sakura and myself can go and 'visit' some of the nobles and merchants." Naruto said with a smirk. "How much do you need?"
By the next day, Naruto had been registered for the tournament and Tatsumi was busy sending a chest full of coins to his village.
Some days later
"Be safe, alright." Hinata told Naruto. Whilst he, Lubbock, Leone and Tatsumi were heading out to go to the Tournament, she and Sakura were heading out to visit one of the taverns near the harbours land gate.
The Tavern was one of Naruto's recent 'investments'…and in less than a week, it had become one of the most popular taverns in the district, selling Mead and Beer, as well as having hot barmaids who are more scary than housewives…probably the reason only the most drunk of people dare to grope them…only to sober up really quickly curtesy of a slap in the face…and a glare.
These 'Barmaids' are actually street orphans that Naruto rescued and is training in order for them to make a living.
Hinata and Sakura were just heading there because apparently a street gang has been causing problems for the Tavern when it started becoming successful.
"I will, Hinata." Naruto said, gently rubbing her back.
"I get the feeling that to those two, everyone else is considered the third wheel." Rain grumbled, having taken a leaf from the old Cloud's book and gotten envious of the pair.
"Get used to it." Sakura told her. She was used to this already.
"Easy for you to say." Storm growled at her.
Timeskip
The arena where the tournament was packed. Leone, Tatsumi and Lubbock had almost not gotten a seat.
Those that didn't had to crowd around the projectors that were set up around the arena. Ironically those people had to pay more than the rest.
Naruto meanwhile was meditating in the contestants' lounge, ignoring the other fighters who were arguing with each other or sharpening their weapons, some of which looked outright ridiculous.
He had applied as a close quarter combat specialist, and when he showed one of his Kunai, which he stated was his weapon, the dark blue haired dude who smelled of fish commented that that was nothing but a tooth pick.
The fact that the person behind Naruto was a huge brute wielding a sword that was at least a foot wide at the hilt and as long as he was, did not help Naruto's case.
Now, as he was meditating, he felt a presence sit down next to him. It was the brute with the humongous sword, who merely nodded at him before beginning to meditate as well…or was he praying?
Either way, Naruto sensed that this guy knew that to fight effectively one needed to be calm. And therefore he had earned Naruto's respect.
Soon pairs of contestants were called out into the arena, only to return a few minutes later, some with scrapes and bruises, others without.
"Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto opened his eyes once more at the sound of his name being called. "You're up."
Naruto followed the guard until they arrived at a gate leading into the arena, where the guard beckoned him to wait until he is announced.
"From the east gate, we have the mighty Warrior of the eastern Tribes. A mighty mercenary with dozens of battles under his belt…" Naruto dozed off at this point, but the cheering of the crowd snapped him out of the stupor. "From the west gate, facing him, comes a wet behind the ears close quarter combatant…" Naruto's eye twitched at the 'wet behind the ears' part, "…someone, whom I have never heard off at all." Laughter followed this. At the guards signal, Naruto began walking into the arena. "He comes from a small village somewhere in the south, please welcome, Uzumaki Fishcake…"
"MY NAME MEANS MAELSTROM, YOU DUMBASS! LEARN YOUR WORDS!" Naruto roared as he walked out of the door, pissed off, though he pseudo meditated to calm himself.
In the stands his companions were looking at each other.
"I thought his name meant Fishcake…" Tatsumi said.
"Same here…" the other two nodded.
Many were shocked at Naruto's entrance, though many began laughing…as this guy wasn't scary at all.
All impressions were proven wrong when Naruto, in three strikes, defeated the mercenary in a brutal fashion. The first strike was a punch THROUGH the man's sword, shattering it, into his stomach, making him bend over without any air in his lungs.
The second strike was a devastating left uppercut into the mans face, nearly making the man flip over backwards, had Naruto not followed up with a vicious kick that sent the merc flying through the air out of the fighting area.
Shock echoed through the arena. Even Esdeath cocked an eyebrow. This guy was different from the rest of the fighters.
She watched him walk back through the door where he came from, before letting out a chuckle.
"That one sure caught everyone by surprise." She commented. "What do you know about him?"
"Not much, only the details we got from when he applied. Wave-kun spoke to him and from what he was told by Naruto-san, he is about 18 years old and fights with, quote: 'toothpicks for knives'." Run said.
"What, there actually is someone who wields weapons that small?" Seryu asked.
"That isn't stylish at all." Dr. Stylish said.
Only Kurome and Bols remained silent. The latter because he was more focused on his tea whilst the latter was wondering what style Naruto used.
Wave, who was proctoring the matches, meanwhile was confessing to himself that he had underestimated this guy.
The tournament continued and the next time that Naruto appeared, they cheered instead of laughed and they weren't disappointed in him, but in the fight. Naruto's opponent this time was a female wearing a dancer's kimono whilst wielding a metal fan with which she tried to slice Naruto. He merely grabbed her wrists on the first strike and headbutted her once, and she was KO.
"Hey, Proctor." Naruto turned to the judge. "Is there a rule that allows me to challenge every remaining contestant here?"
The man spoke into a radio for a moment, before getting a response, switching channels and speaking again.
"Uzumaki Naruto has challenged every remaining challenger into a one on many, and our gracious host, General Esdeath, has agreed to it." He announced loudly as challengers walked out of every gate. Some 30-odd people of all ages and both genders looked ready to beat Naruto into a bloody pulp.
Wave began the fight and Naruto immediately got into a stance, drawing his Kunai.
The crowd looked on in shock once more, whilst Esdeaths' smile grew wider and she started fantasising, as Naruto began picking off opponents one after another with great speed and devastating punches.
Within minutes he was the last man standing…and both Run and Wave were feeling sorry for the man standing in the arena.
The cheering went on, until it abruptly ended when Esdeath placed a collar around Naruto's neck and proceeded to drag him away.
"W-w-w-what just happened?" Lubbock asked.
"Did Esdeath just kidnap Naruto?" Tatsumi asked, shocked at the turn of events.
"I am more worried about what Hinata will do to us when she finds out…" Leone said. The two boys paled in realization.
If given the choice between fighting Najenda, or facing an angry Hinata, none of them knew what choice to make.
Next day
After Naruto had been informally inducted into the Jaegers, where he was introduced to the pyromaniac tea brewing gentleman, Bols, the rather chilled yet psychopathic Seryu, the creepy Orochimaru-stand-in scientist Dr. Stylish (whom Naruto had to consciously hold himself back from slugging), the quiet gluttonous Kurome, whose hunger reminded him of Akame more than the hair and face, the kind and understanding teacher Run, who gave Naruto the same Vibe as Iruka had, and then there was the guy who called Naruto's weapons Toothpicks, Wave…with whom Naruto quickly formed a small friendship…with both of them having women problems…
And don't even get started on Esdeath, who made it clear right from the start that she had chosen him as her 'mate'…and only Run and Wave felt sympathetic to Esdeath.
Now it was morning and Wave was brewing Coffee in the kitchen when Naruto walked in.
"Morning Naruto, how was your…" he took one look at Naruto and spontaneously change the sentence, "…night which didn't go so well, did it?"
"I could not get a single second of sleep…" Naruto said. "Not with her using me as a body pillow and humping me in her sleep…"
Wave shuddered at the thought.
"I am more worried what will happen when Hi…when my girlfriend finds out about this." Naruto said, accepting the cup of coffee Wave handed him.
"Wait…you have a girlfriend?" Wave asked.
"I had been planning to propose to her once I got the winnings from the tournament, which it seems turned out to be a bluff, wasn't it?" Naruto asked, taking a sip of the brew.
"Unfortunately it was. Why don't you tell Esdeath?" Wave asked.
"Dude…she is trying to make me part of her territory. What do you think will happen if she finds out that I am already marked by someone else?" Naruto asked him.
"I see your point." Wave said. Neither of them had noticed that some of the other Jaegers had entered the room, including Esdeath, who was listening in on the conversation with great interest…how dare some bitch lay claim to her future husband.
"How long have you been together?" Wave asked.
"For just over a year now." Naruto answered.
"That long?"
"Yeah. We have known each other since childhood though." Naruto looked down at the cup in his hand, remembering the old days with a smile. Esdeath felt her heart sink and becoming very jealous, her skin turning green with envy.
She cleared her throat, making both boys look at her in surprise.
"I will want to hear more about this, Naruto-kun." Esdeath told him.
"Forget it." Naruto immediately said, continuing with his coffee.
"Oh come on, Naruto. Don't be like that…" Esdeath said, being strangely seductive at the moment…however, Naruto could smell the pheromones wafting from her, and knew EXACTLY what she wanted.
"Not interested." Naruto's answer made everyone turn to him with a 'are you crazy' expression. "As you guys have already heard, I already have a girlfriend, and I choose to be true to her."
"Such a shame. I'll just have to find out who she is then." Esdeath said aloud.
Naruto began fearing for Hianta's life, hoping that the two of them didn't encounter each other.
Meanwhile
"Say WHAT?!" Hinata shouted. In the room with her, all but Sakura, Akame, Bulat and Najenda were hiding behind the furniture.
Well, to quote Shikamaru, it would be too troublesome to explain what happens next. The reason being that even Akame decided to hide behind a table because of what happened next…
And Najenda quickly decided to head over to the Revolutionary Army HQ to deliver the captures Teigu's and to get any reinforcements in case Mt. Hinata erupted.
A few weeks later
Naruto sighed in relief as he finally managed to get the hell out of, well, Hell. However, by now he had learnt a lot about the individuals of the Jaegers, including a little fact that nearly sent him on a murder spree, that being that the 'good' doctor regularly experiments on children.
Anyway, within a week of his kidnapping, Esdeath had the jaegers clear out a large group of bandits from a mountain stronghold, where Naruto got to see some of their Teigu's in action, the only exceptions being Wave and Kurome.
Anyway, as mentioned earlier, Bols was a true pyromaniac, not sparing a microsecond before incinerating his opponent. At least he didn't spout crap like 'It's BBQ time!'.
Run gave them the option of giving up. Those that didn't, well, they were feathered with holes. His Teigu also was quite broken, in Naruto's mind…I mean, how many people could fly for Kami's sake?
Dr. Stylish doesn't fight per se, but has his minions do the fighting for him. Naruto saw around three different types of people that Stylish modified: those who had been augmented strength wise punched a hole in the enemies defences, enabling those who had their legs modded for speed got through the gap and did flanking manoeuvres. The third type seem to have only super senses and are not useful for actual combat.
Seryu…apparently had convinced Stylish to modify her own body…not she is a walking armory with her Teigu Coro holding all of the heavy weaponry, including but not limited to, something akin to a 150 mm Howitzer, according to her own admission afterwards. Otherwise she has near solid metal arms that have quite the momentum behind them.
Kurome didn't use her Teigu, however Naruto guessed that it had to do with dolls or puppets, considering he heard her say something about playing with the corpses later, referring to them as 'dolls'.
Wave…Naruto wasn't really sure what to think of him. He seemed like a nice guy, and while he was a bit of a dumbass, when fighting, he displayed skill waaay above what Naruto had expected of him. He gave no hints whatsoever about his Teigu.
And then there was Esdeath…oh boy. Whilst watching the entire spectacle, she was acting like a shy blushing schoolgirl, clutching Naruto's hand, preventing Naruto from escaping…just as he was about to try and get the hell out of there.
A few days later the Jaegers were reassigned into the mountains to the north where a large group of high level beasts had been sighted.
On the first day Naruto was lying on the grass, watching the clouds whilst Esdeath, who had assigned herself as his partner for the day, dealt with the 'minor disturbances'.
'Well, now I know why Shikamaru likes watching the clouds all day…' he thought.
The next day he was assigned to Wave, with whom Naruto spoke most of the time, until Naruto seemingly engaged him, only to start cutting beast Trees into pieces.
Soon Wave was occupied with his own group, Naruto quickly finished his lot before making his escape.
2 minutes later Wave turned around after killing off the last tree, only to see a huge pile of wood, but no Naruto.
"Oh…shit…" he said, before running around like a headless chicken.
For Naruto, the week of no sleep was catching up to him, because as he was running, he found himself growing ever more tired, and soon he was out of the mountain range.
Just as he was crossing a river, his legs gave out, forcing him to swim the rest of the way.
When he reached the opposite bank, he was almost falling asleep…and of course something happened that made him curse his life.
A high-level danger beast walked out of the forest right in front of him, and this guy was hungry…
Fortunately for Naruto, he wasn't the only person in the area…and the danger beast soon learned what it is like to be in the cross hairs of a very pissed off human girl…
The danger beast was later turned into Akame's midday snack.
For now, Hinata helped Naruto back onto his feet, only for him to fall over on her, completely passed out. His last words were, "I missed you."
As he was sleeping on top of a blushing Hinata, she couldn't help but answer, "Welcome back, Naruto-kun."
Lubbock couldn't help it…he pulled out a camera and took a few pictures.
Chapter 9, Assault
"How is he?" Leone asked Hinata as she walked out of their shared quarters. It had been 2 days since Hinata and Lubbock brought Naruto back, and he had been sleeping the entire time.
"Still sleeping." Hinata answered. "I have never seen him this tired before."
"But the way he fell asleep was one of a kind." Lubbock said, showing a few pictures. Hinata, instead of blushing, just smiled as she took the pictures.
"Naruto is not going to believe that he fell on top of me until I show him these." She said.
"Wait…you are not embarrassed?" Sakura asked in wonder.
"Should I be embarrassed to have my sleeping boyfriend on top of me?" Hinata asked, before blushing at the slight insinuation.
"Wow…so bold…" even Mine couldn't help but laugh at Akame's comment.
"It…It isn't like that…" Hinata stuttered.
"It's alright, Hinata." Sakura said, calming her down. "Just tell us if you need some privacy."
In Naruto's mindscape
Naruto was busy conversing with Kurama about what to do about Esdeath, when they heard Hinata scream "SAKURA!".
"What was that about?" Naruto asked.
"The banshee probably crossed some line for Hinata…" Kurama commented. "Anyway…" they went back to the subject they were talking about.
That evening
On a cliff over looking the Base, a tall man wearing a lab coat and a pair of strange gloves pushed up his spectacles.
"I just knew that that man was suspicious from the moment I first laid eyes on him." Dr. Stylish said. Next to him were three other humans…or more precisely, humans he had modded the crap out of.
One of them had an elongated nose and was smelling the ground like a hound.
Another one has modded eyes that allow him to see vast distances, something like telescopic vision.
The third person was a female with huge bat-like ears.
"…so I put a tracking tag on him that will allow one of my minions to track him anywhere." Stylish continued.
"That is so damn smart of you, Stylish-sama." The modded eyes guy, praised. The other two also voiced their praise.
Soon they came into view of a huge fortified base built into a huge cliff.
"Bingo…we have found their hideout." Stylish said, before ordering his army of minions to begin their attack. But first he sent in his modded assassins to disable any traps, only for one of them to immediately get impaled on a set of spikes that rose from the ground. None of them had seen anything that resembles a trigger mechanism.
"Ok…Plan B it is…" Stylish said, having the assassins circle around the area and open canisters of paralysis poison upwind from the base.
30 minutes later
Naruto woke up to the sound of battle far below him.
"Hey Naruto…someone is releasing a nerve gas into the area…I am already purging your body of it, so how about going and saving your soon to be fiancée?" Kurama suggested.
Naruto quickly got dressed…and made his appearance in the typical Naruto way…
Outside
Everyone else, minus Tatsumi, was lying on the floor, paralysed.
"This is…poison." Akame gasped.
"What? Poison?" Tatsumi asked, looking at her. He was feeling fine.
"That armour of yours must have a filter in it. Do NOT take it off." Sakura said.
Hinata meanwhile was lying a bit apart from everyone, as she had been fighting hand to hand against the aggressors who had no defence against her fighting style.
"Hey, do you think that Stylish-sama will let have some fun with that dark haired one?" one of the modded humans asked. "I mean, she has been handing us our asses the entire time, I am sure we could use hers."
The others happily agreed with him, and before Tatsumi could move in to get her to safety, several heavily muscled men intercepted him, keeping him at bay.
The others and Hinata could only look on in horror as the men surrounding her begin to undo their belts.
'Naruto-kun…save me…' Hianta prayed, closing her eyes.
Time seemed to slow down for everyone as far above them the window and the wall exploded outward. Everyone looked up, only to see something jump out of the hole that appeared…something orange and…pissed.
"Uhm…who is that?" Mine asked.
Both Hinata and Sakura sighed in relief.
"NARUTO! DON'T HOLD BACK!" the two of them shouted, much to the confusion of the others.
Naruto crashed into the ground, creating a large cloud of dust. Before the dust even had the chance to cease it's upward motion, Naruto came charging out, sword in hand.
What followed proved to be a one sided massacre of the modded humans, who rushed Naruto, trying to overwhelm him, not knowing a few important things:
1. Naruto is immune to the paralysis poison in the air.
2. He was pissed and was not holding back one bit.
3. They threatened someone dear to his heart.
In short, none of them stood a chance. His brutal assault was momentarily ended when a huge man appeared in his way, wielding a very familiar pair of scissors…
Naruto cut off his limbs, saying that Mine can use him as target practise later.
Within minutes every assailant had either been crippled or was dead, and then a huge flying danger beast appeared.
Meanwhile on the cliff
Stylish was not believing what he was hearing…
"Are you saying that Naruto is actually resisting the Poison?" he asked the guy whose eyes he modded…let's call him Eyes.
"Yes, in fact, it appears as though he is not affected by it at all." Eyes said.
"That is impossible. That gas is strong enough to immobilize a Ultra class danger beast with ease." Stylish said. "And he showed no signs of wielding a Teigu himself."
"Could it be that his Teigu is a internal one like General Esdeath's?" Nose asked.
"Impossible. Hers is the only integration type Teigu in existence. The others have all been confirmed to be destroyed centuries ago…oh well, second wave, try to capture him. I wish to find out more about his body."
"OOOH!" an even larger group of modded humans swarmed past them…until suddenly ears looked up.
"Something's coming." She said.
Just as every one of them looked up, a Huge flying Manta flew over them…and something casually hopped off.
Back with the others
"Now what?" Naruto sighed. "Wait, is that Najenda standing on top of that thing."
Hinata, who was holding him close, activated her Byakugan, then smiled. Mine, Lubbock and Leone were freaked out at the sudden appearance of the veins surrounding her eyes.
"It sure is. And it looks like she has brought some backup." She said.
"Wait just a minute…what is that?" Mine asked.
"We'll explain later." Sakura said, suddenly standing up. "Geez, whatever that poison was, it is potent as hell. I just managed to purge it from my system."
Everyone from Night Raid stared at her in shock…and had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. They then looked at Hinata, only to blink as they saw an orange aura surrounding her and Naruto.
"As she said, we'll explain everything later." Naruto said, holding Hinata close. She held him back, feeling comfortable right now…comfortable and safe.
"Some…thing just jumped of that giant flying fish." Hinata suddenly said. "It looks like a human, but isn't human. And it is laying waste to the next wave…damn, Naruto, he may be a contender for you, when you aren't fighting with Kurama…"
"Sounds interesting…" Naruto said, wanting to let go of Hinata.
"You stay here. You are required for some overdue hugs, mister." Hinata said, wrapping her arms around him. "Also, there is still some poison in my system…deal with it."
Any complaints were silenced by her glare.
Timelapse
What happened next could be considered a big mess.
Basically, the newcomer turned the assailants into mincemeat with his weaponized mincer. Then, Stylish, deciding to use his last resort, turned himself into a enormous humanoid creature that had a very powerful regeneration ability.
The newcomer's weapon barely scratched his skin.
Naruto, going all "Fuck this, will explain later.", decided to allow Kurama to stretch his legs for a bit.
In short, it was a titan sized psyco doctor against a titan sized grumpy Fox with a bad case of rock joint.
And whilst the one could recover from basically any damage it sustained, the other could tank hits like nobody's business…actually, Kurama eventually just stayed still because Stylish's punches helped him get rid of the cramps in his muscles…at least according the large fox.
Off to the side, Hinata, despite having been healed fully, continued to remain latched onto the real Naruto whilst his clone took care of the doctor. Naruto and Lubbock put the explanation as her being a female and therefore it was too much trouble to understand why she isn't letting go.
Eventually they all heard Stylish shouting.
"Why are you not dead yet? This is so un-Stylish."
"Doc, meet Kurama, my little friend." Naruto's clone said.
"So, you had a hidden Teigu the entire time. How very interesting." Stylish said. "Why didn't you reveal it to Esdeath?"
"Because if I did, then my entire village would be in jeopardy." Naruto answered. He then prepared a Bijudama to blow the dude to hell.
"Naruto, wait." Sakura shouted. "If you blow him up there, we'll be caught up int the explosion."
"Hmm? Oh, right…I forgot about that…" Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, then thought of a plan that would probably get him killed in the end…he reached over with a chakra arm and picked Akame up. "Your sword kills with only one good hit, right?" he asked.
When she nodded, unsure on what he was planning, he gave a shit eating grin.
Suddenly Akame found herself moving at high speed towards Stylish's main body.
"Happy cutting." Naruto called over, using his chakra tails to keep the titan immobile as he threw her.
Fortunately Akame adapted quickly to the predicament she was in and managed to get a good hit on Stylish.
What followed afterwards…well she expected Naruto to catch her, since she was still kinda paralyzed…
"Uhm…Naruto, aren't you going to catch her?" Tatsumi asked.
"Hmm? There is no need for that." Naruto said. "She'll be fine."
"YOU IDIOT!" everyone else shouted at Naruto, when suddenly a tall man wearing a white robe leapt over the trees and caught her.
"See, I told you so." Naruto said smugly.
Next the he knew, something smashed into the side of his face, sending him tumbling across the ground…and over the cliff some distance away.
"Tell us before you pull shit like that, Baka!" Sakura screeched, paining everyone's ears…and finally they believed what Hinata and Naruto had said that Sakura used to be considered a banshee back when she was younger…that scream was even worse than Mine's.
Pretty soon, Najenda landed the flying beast and she and a hooded person got off.
"I see things have become busy whilst I was away…tell me…has Hinata-san calmed down yet?" she asked.
"Yes she has, Boss." Leone said, pointing a thumb over at the couple, where Hinata had fallen asleep in Naruto's arms…honestly, it was a cute sight…if not enough to piss some people off due to jealousy…namely the three trainees who were peeking at the entire scene from their hiding spot at the top of the base.
Shortly afterwards
Shortly after Naruto returned from his tumble down the cliff, Najenda introduced them to the 2 new recruits: Susanno and Chelsea.
Susanno was a tall humanoid Teigu who had an OCD streak the size of a mountain, as indicated when he first smoothed Mine's ruffled hair, then did the same for everyone else. When he got to Naruto…well, he has been busy trying to tame Naruto's hair ever since then…
He was a tall person, easily as tall as Bulat, and from what Naruto had seen from his arms, he was just as muscular. His long Navy Blue hair was neat…yet strangely messy, making Naruto wonder why the heck he was trying to comb his hair into oblivion.
Chelsea on the other hand gave Naruto, Hinata and Sakura the impression of a troublemaker…one skilled in infiltration and silent assassination. She had long ginger hair and had a lollipop in her mouth. Naruto heard Kurama mutter something about the Lolli smelling like grape…
She and Mine immediately hit it off perfectly…in the complete opposite sense of the word.
Another thing with Chelsea…she knows how to get most people to accept her, as seen when she bribed Akame with a treat, asked Lubbock if she should take of her top when he was eying her bust, gave Leone a voucher for an all-you-can-drink special at her favorite Bar…and gave the three trainees some tips on clothing…which got their seal of approval.
When she turned to Naruto, Hinata and Sakura, well…
"Hmm…I don't know what to give you three…you guys seem as though you are all extremely specific on what you like." She said. "For the gentleman…he appears to be a sweets person like me, though not the Lollipop type…what a shame."
Naruto felt a vein bulge on his forehead…sure he liked sweets, but only in moderation…the most he ever had in one go was worth 2 teaspoons of sugar.
"This one…Hmm…you seem to be the type who likes to garden…is that lavender I am smelling?" Chelsea said, looking at Hinata. "You must be a weak wife to blondie there. Otherwise you wouldn't be here…"
Hinata was tempted to Juken her ass into the ground…pretty hard punishment for a gentle touching fighting style…
"And Pinky here…needs the same thing as the other Pinky…Breast pads." Chelsea said the last words for the day…Sakura sent her flying through several trees and a boulder.
"So…I guess that you guys have some questions." Naruto said as he, Hinata and Sakura were the center of attention.
"Damn right you do." Mine screeched, and then spoke like a normal person when Naruto and Hinata glared at her. "I mean, you yourself said that you'd explain things to us later."
The three shinobi sighed.
"That we did." Naruto agreed. "Firstly, the three of us, whilst we have different abilities, all have the same type of power that we were born with…a genetic Teigu if you will." The others' faces told him they didn't believe him.
"With this power, Chakra as it is known to my people, we are capable of doing superhuman things, such as walk on walls and strengthening our bodies muscular and skeletal structure." Sakura said.
"It does however come with the downside of Chakra being created from our very lifeforce, meaning that if we run out of chakra…chances that we will die are extremely high." Hinata finished.
Lubb opened his mouth to speak, but was silenced by Naruto raiding his hand.
"Each of us three has an…advanced Mutation of chakra if you will, that empowers one aspect of our capabilities." Naruto said, closing his eyes. Hinata and Sakura sat up straighter. "I won't say what those are, only that mine has to do with my eyes…" he slightly opened his eyes, shocking everyone other than the other shinobi at the blood red colour. Moments later he closed his eyes again. When they opened once more, they were back to their black color.
"What the…" Mine swore. Even Najenda and Susanno were unnerved by those red eyes.
"Let's just say that these eyes and my sword come from the same person…I won't go into any details however I will tell you that I have far superior reflexes thanks to training with these eyes and have near Eidetic memory." Naruto said.
"My mutation also lies in the eyes." Hinata said, activating her byakugan. "Though mine gives me increased ocular abilities, such as telescopic vision or microscopic vision."
"Mine is one that enhances all of my abilities." Sakura said, pointing at the diamond on her forehead, "With it, I am capable of lifting dozens of tons as well as heal most fatal injuries."
"As for that giant fox you guys saw me, or rather my clone, fight with earlier…well to put it simply, think of me as a prison…and he is the prisoner inside it." Naruto said. "However, the two of us have come to an understanding and formed a strong friendship."
"Hypothetically…If we were to believe you…just how strong is this beast you are talking about?" Najenda asked.
"Watch it…he is a sentient being who is millennia old." Naruto warned. "And as for his strength…he could destroy the Imperial Capital with ease. He is easily capable of killing Esdeath, unless she is able to survive a explosion that has the diameter of several kilometers."
For a moment there is silence. Then…
"Bullshit." Lubb's one word perfectly described the thoughts of all non-shinobi.
…
AND DONE!
So, I know that these chapter were a bit fast paced, and I am sorry for that. There just wasn't enough feedback with ideas for me to work with, actually there wasn't any TBH.
Also, for those of you who think that I had Naruto and co reveal chakra to Night Raid too soon, remember that they technically reveal it in Chapter 9.
And as to why there was no epic fight between Tatsumi (in armor) and Wave (in armor), sorry, but they get to slug it out later.
And also, the mystery about Naruto's eyes from way back in the prolog and the first chapter is revealed.
And finally, Naruto is far more mature than in Canon…because he is technically a year older here than during the canon 4th shinobi war…please keep the flaming to a minimum (aka. Zilch, zero, nothing…)
So, if you like this story and wish to contribute/help, feel free to Review with your Idea(s) or PM me with comments if you don't want your Idea to be saved on the Review page…or don't want me to make a public response to it.
Also, a big shout-out to one of my biggest fans, Anko4Life, who ever since he started reading my work, without fail reviewed each and every chapter/upload I posted.
We have had several conversations on future content and has helped me come up with ideas in most of my currently active stories.