Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, likewise I don't own any other anime I use elements of in my story.

Break Here

Hey guys and gals! I'm back finally! Here comes the third installment of Tale of an Immortal: The Ninja Lands! Sorry I took so long, two whole years by the look of it... Had a real bad experience where the laptop I used to write on previously was stolen, with over fifty unfinished works! Well, I guess that just teaches me to work on less stories at a time... So from now on, I'll be working on fewer, and trying to complete chapters more.

Mostly, I'll be working on the following: Tale of an Immortal: The Ninja Lands, Incubus no Konoha, Incubus in Youkai Academy, Naruto's Pokemon Journey, and Merchant of Konoha.

Another thing though, concerning my Incubus Stories. I would like to direct all the anti-yaoi readers to Incubus in Youkai Academy, which should hold no yaoi. This is due to me no longer caring wether or not people think Incubi go after males too or not. I've recently read several things where an Incubus is portrayed as not caring the gender of their partner.

Break Here

Sighing as she sat inside the small gate house built into the Main Gate, one Naruko Uzumaki was almost asleep at the desk as she served the one thing all Chuunin level ninja dreaded. Gate Guard Duty; it sent a shudder down her spine each time she thought of it, but even someone as awesome as her was sentenced to such a thing. Old man Hokage was evil sometimes…

This was her punishment for one of her pranks gone wrong, something that was enormously rare. She had meant to prank Hiruzen's student Jiraiya, but instead the old codger hadn't shown up, and she accidentally blew up the wall between the men and women's side of the hot spring, revealing a group of Jounin mothers and their Genin daughters. Suffice to say several male Chuunin and Jounin, plus one off duty ANBU were almost killed, before she stepped in personally to stop it all.

So now here she was, posted on guard duty, totally bored out of her skull and close to banging it against the desk. Next to her, simply grinning at the girl was an Akimichi Chuunin, a girl she'd told was named Amy. She was quite thin for an Akamichi though, only being pleasantly plump, as any Akamichi called fat would angrily tell you.

Well, there was the fact that she wasn't stuffing her face with chips constantly, and that in itself was quite a surprise, as the clan as a whole seemed to have a love for the crunchy snack food. Maybe she was married into the clan?

While she was busy studying her partner for gate duty, she herself was being studied with as much focus as she was giving the other. The Akamichi clan had heard of Naruko's exploits, heard how she was friends with the Hyuuga clan in general, specially the head of the family's daughter and wife. The head too, but he had appearances to hold up, so in public he gave her simple politeness. In any case it was quite interesting, and she'd have at least something to tell her friends after gate duty was over.

Speaking of which, it was several long, long hours before their shift indeed was over, and by then it was just after midday. Letting their relief take over for them, Naruko and Amy jumped off, roof traveling further into the village. Naruko was just following Amy 'cause she really had nothing better to do, and she thought the woman was interesting, so there was that.

"So is there something you wanted?" The Akamichi woman asked, wondering why Naruko was following her. Not that she was complaining mind you, but it was a little curious at least. "Hm… well, I was bored during Gate Guard Duty, so I was thinking almost the whole time. Wanna get something to eat and wind down from such a boring thing? I'd call it an activity, but you gotta be active for something to qualify as that."

Blushing a little, Amy gave a smile and nodded, "Sure~ But just something to eat. I have a lover you know~" She teased, making Naruko blush herself, giggling a bit nervously. "Well, I certainly wouldn't wanna anger any lovers. So, anywhere in particular you had in mind? I'm set on money for the moment, so I'll pay." She offered, making Amy raise an eyebrow. "My my, you are as brave as the stories about you say. I know a nice little place down by the Academy. They sell seasonal Mochi, and I think they're still doing their fall mochi. Well, that's not all it sells, but it's their specialty."

Nodding, Naruko hummed and stretched a bit while roof jumping, "Sure thing. I've never had mochi, I hope it's good." Amy look almost affronted at that, and grabbed Naruko's hand, tugging her along a little faster towards the shop she mentioned. Getting there, Naruko saw it was called Moon Kiss, a nice little shop that had a very nice smell coming from it.

"So this is the place?" She asked, sniffing at the air, smelling sweet things and other tasty things. Oh my~. "It smells delicious~" She tells honestly, walking in with Amy as the Akamichi does the same, leading the smaller girl. Once inside the shop, they found it to be lightly air conditioned, so not too much cooler than it was outside, but noticeably so.

Being greeted at the door, Naruko couldn't help but blush, since there was seldom times where she was greeted in any shop within the leaf. This was definitely new, and she couldn't say she minded really. It was new, but with a grin, she got used to it quickly and was back to being awesome.

Before she knew it, Naruko was sitting at a table with Amy across from her, a small plate of mochi in front of either of them. The stuff was orange, shaped like little oval shapes, like drops of water on a smooth surface. "So this is mochi? It's cute." She speaks, poking at one of the little treats, finding them soft to the touch. "Of course it's cute, it's mochi, now taste one." Amy tells, making Naruko gulp and pick up one of the squishy little oval orbs.

Placing it towards her face, she sniffed at it directly and sighed in delight, before nibbling at it curiously. "Holy cheese this is delicious!" She exclaims, popping the whole thing in her mouth and chewing happily on it. Amy just grinned and nodded her head, "Good, we have a slightly bigger serving coming to us after our meal." She told, getting a nod from the blonde across from her, who was already eating a second of the tasty treats.

Break Here

After their meal, Naruko and Amy went their separate ways, Naruko heading towards her apartment, wanting to take a little nap before going to see if the Hokage had anything for her to do. Well, that was before she found herself facing an ANBU with a blank mask, standing there all stoic like. "Naruko Uzumaki. Danzo-sama and the Hokage wish to speak to you. Please report to the Hokage Tower." Nodding, the ANBU disappeared via Shunshin, leaving Naruko to stretch and sigh. "Well, better get going myself." She spoke to herself, before disappearing in a Shunshin herself.

Appearing in the Hokage's office in a big puff of smoke, she came out of it coughing, and waving away the smoke, "Jeeze, I gotta work on that more…" She worked out, trying to not breathe in any smoke. "Ahahah, Naruko-chan, indeed, you should continue working on your Shunshin." Spoke Hiruzen, laughing good naturedly at the excess of smoke generated by Naruko's jutsu.

"Yeah yeah… Old man, what did you need?" She asked, noticing the man that must have been 'Danzo' standing before the old Hokage's desk. The man was old, visibly, with a scar on his chin, and a bandage over his right eye, one arm in a sling, and a cane. He had a dark sense about him, and an aura of power much like the old man.

Sighing and twining his fingers, Hiruzen nodded once and gestured to the man before his desk. "Naruko-chan. This is Danzo, and he wants you to be part of a team he wishes to send to Kirigakure. We've received a plea for help from the Bloodline Faction in the civil war. Now, we can't openly send help, but that's where Danzo comes in. His ROOT are a secret sect of ANBU, loyal to him. He has agreed to send a unit to help, but his conditions are that you go with them." He tells, making Naruko raise an eyebrow.

"Aaaand he wants me why?" She asks, getting the man to clear his throat and tap his cane on the floor. "If I may. I know very well of your abilities, and I believe your ocular ability would be most useful on this mission. And, those tails and ears of yours would be quite a nice intimidation tactic." He tells, only to get a blush from the girl. "Ah, about that… I don't think me going on this mission for that reason will be a very good idea…" She admits, making both men look at her curiously.

"Why is that Naruko-chan?" Hiruzen asked, giving a tilt of his head as curiosity gripped him. Naruko sighed and replied as the old man was taking a hit of his pipe. "I'm losing both my abilities and my features." She admitted truthfully, if uneasily.

This made Hiruzen start coughing, pounding at his chest to stop the coughing as he hastily put out his pipe. "What?! Naruko-chan, what do you mean?" He asked, concerned, getting a sigh from the girl as she shook her head. "It's just as I said. I'm losing them, and for a while after, I'll be almost harmless until my body settles from the loss. Of course, there is about a fifty-fifty chance of them returning permanently, and better than before, but I won't ever have my eye ability again." She told truthfully and a little regrettably.

Sighing and humming, Hiruzen looked to Danzo, who also sighed and tapped his cane twice. An ANBU with a blank mask appeared before the man, kneeling, "Please find and inform Jiraiya-dono that he is needed here in the Hokage's Office." He spoke calmly, only for a voice to interrupt him.

"That won't be needed Danzo. I just arrived." He spoke, tone serious, sensing the situation. "Ah, Jiraiya-kun. It's good that you're here, it seems Danzo here would like to ask something of you." Spoke Hiruzen, nodding to Jiraiya. Clearing his throat, the bandaged man, Danzo, nodded his head and dismissed the ROOT ANBU he had called. "Yes, Jiraiya-dono. We have just been informed of some troubling information about our little Naruko here. Therefore, I would like you to also accompany the unit I will be sending to Kiri. I have requested Naruko here go with them, and I won't withdraw my request due to this new information. Instead I am now requesting you go with them."

Raising an eyebrow, Jiraiya shrugged and then nodded. "Sure, but what is this information?" He asked, curious as to why he would need to go with now. Telling the man quickly, Hiruzen explained Naruko's little problem. "Ah, well, sure, why not." He spoke, crossing his arms and nodding his head in agreement. "After all, it's about time I spent at least a little time with the squirt." He tells, grinning and nodding again.

Laughing softly, Naruko approached Jiraiya and smacked his leg. "Hey old man, who's this guy?" She asked, leaning to look passed Jiraiya at Hiruzen. Sighing and giving a small smile, Jiraiya put a hand on the girls head and ruffled her hair. "Well, My name is Jiraiya, kid. And I'm you're godfather." He told her.

Of course, this seemed the wrong thing to say, as after a moment of counting something on her fingers, Naruko glared up at him. Faster than the man could react, specially to a thing like righteous female fury, Naruko struck. "Thunder Knuckle!" "EEEEeeeeee!" A sharp cry rang out just after the cry of Naruko's attack, and Jiraiya went down, clutching his crotch as Naruko glared at him, shaking the electricity from her sparking hand.

"That's for not being here for seven years!" She yelled, kicking the man in the ribs before turning with a huff. Hiruzen was sweatdropping at this, before coughing against his fist and clearing his throat, "Well, er, Naruko-chan, I will ask that you please work with Jiraiya on the mission. This is a one time thing, after all. After this, you will not be taking any more missions with ROOT."

Nodding her head, Naruko huffed and then shook her head, "I'm good now, old man. I just wanted to get a little pay back for seven years of negligence. Needed or not. He probably had some all important duty while he was away, right? Well, I'm all set after that, so I'll work with him now. Just had to get that out, ya know?" She told, arms crossed again.

Nodding, Hiruzen smiled and chuckled as Jiraiya slowly began to stand back up, still clutching his junk, which had taken a hefty hit from the small blonde girl that was his goddaughter. "Brat… Ugh… Guess I deserved that…" He spoke, voice a little higher than earlier due to the recent hit to his junk. That had really hurt!

Clearing his throat, Jiraiya guarded his crotch as he looked at Naruko. "If I'm going to go with you, there's something I wanna teach you while we're on this mission." He spoke, voice quickly returning to normal, showing the man's amazing recovery ability when it came to damage dealt by female wrath. Amazing, truly.

"Sure, teach me something while we travel. I'll need it when my traits go away, and I lose my eye ability. I'll be really vulnerable during that time, so I'll also need you to guard me! If I have the proper supplies, I can get through it in a day or two, but otherwise, I'll need a good guard for about a week." She admitted, looking just a little nervous.

"What supplies would you need? If it is within reason, I can send it with one of Danzo's ROOT, or even Jiraiya." Hiruzen spoke, looking a little worried for Naruko, rightfully so, as the girl was like a surrogate granddaughter to him, who had only a son. "Well, about six soldier pills, and three Akamichi issue ration bars." Naruko listed, counting them off on her fingers. "I will also need a gag or something that completely blocks sound, cause losing my tails will be very, Very painful." She admitted with a small look of fear in her eyes.

Jiraiya placed his big hand upon the small girls shoulder, making her actually jump a bit as she looked up at him curiously, surprised. "Don't worry brat. I can gather that in a day, so there's no need to worry about that old man. I'll gather the pills and bars, and I'll guard her the whole time she needs it.

This brought a grin to Naruko's face, and a soft smile on Hiruzen's. "Maybe you'll do just fine as a godfather old guy." She told him, drawing a likewise grin to said old guy's face.

Raising a hand, Hiruzen called forth a single ANBU, a cat mask adorning her face, framed lightly by long purple hair. "Cat, please go to Naruko's place and pack a bag for her. Pack for two weeks of supplies, the travel to Kirigakure is a long one." Hiruzen spoke, voice firm. With nary a nod, the ANBU left in a swirl of leafs.

Break Here

On the way to Kiri, and then to Kirigakure, Jiraiya was talking to Naruko while they hopped through the trees, closely following the ROOT leading them. Hopes were that Naruko would retain her eye skill long enough for it to be useful in the mission. Thankfully so far Naruko hadn't felt any fluxes in her body or chakra, so it was fine for now. Sadly, it seemed that her body was slowly unbalancing, giving her maybe a week or so left.

She didn't let it get her down, and continued talking to Jiraiya, practicing with him when they stopped, and finally, a day before they would get to the port where they would steal a ship to Kiri, Jiraiya began to teach Naruto something that she would use for the rest of her days. The Rasengan. It was a very powerful jutsu, and it was apparently the Fourth's own move. That was awesome, a jutsu used by her hero! Jutsu such as that were rarely taught so freely!

So far, she was having very little luck with it though, and she was still on the first step! Grunting as she concentrated hard enough to make the veins in her neck visible, chakra began to swirl about violently in her hand. Pain spread through her palm as she tried to hold it, rotating faster and faster in several directions at once. It was painful, surprisingly so even, but she refused to give up. Naruko was determined to get the jutsu down before they got to Kiri.

As they were waiting for a boat they could steal to show up, Jiraiya was watching Naruko fail at the first stage of the Rasengan, unable to even poke a hole in the water balloon he'd given her to practice the first step with. Well, he'd given her a whole bag, but she was still on the first one. Oh well, if she got it soon, she'd just have a bunch of water balloons to dick around with.

"Hmm… Naruko. Come here for a second, yeah?" He asked suddenly, getting the blonde girls attention. They were only waiting for their ROOT teammates to return from scouting anyway. The five man squad they were sent with would be hidden for the whole of the mission, though Jiraiya and her were under no such restriction. Hence the open training. Anyway, she made her way over to Jiraiya, grumbling over the unpopped water balloon in her hand.

Jiraiya gave a small grin, before holding out his hand, "Here, give me your dominant hand squirt." He told, voice soft and friendly. Giving a small look of hesitance, she did as asked, holding the water balloon with her other hand now. Taking the girls hand, Jiraiya took out a small brush and an ink well. Dipping the brush, he drew a dot in the center of the girls palm. Staring at him, Naruko glanced at the dot on her hand curiously.

"It's a focus point." He spoke, making the girls eyes widen. That was it! "So you're saying what I've been missing is focus?" She asked, getting a small smile and a nod from the man. Grinning, Naruko decided to try again, holding the water balloon in her dominant hand again, she held it firmly and began to concentrate her chakra. Grinning, she watched as the ball swirled and swirled, moving about and gaining bumps all over. Unfortunately, it didn't work, and she gave an unfeminine grunt.

"What the hell ya old geezer!" She cried, glaring at him, before gasping, making Jiraiya raise an eyebrow. Dropping the ball completely, she took a better look at her left hand, before smiling and messing with the fresh ink dot still there. Using her thumb, Naruko twisted it about a bit, licking her lips, before smiling and looking at her finished handiwork.

Now sitting there in the center of her palm, Naruko smiled at the fresh new Leaf Emblem she had formed from the original ink dot. "There. I think… That's much better, right?" She asked, glancing up at Jiraiya with a grin, before leaning down to pick the water balloon back up, giving it a squeeze. Taking a deep breath, Naruko concentrated again, gritting her teeth as the ball immediately started to swirl and bulge, grunting, before finally, with a loud sound, the water balloon popped.

Entirely surprised, but just as proud of his goddaughter, Jiraiya smiled at the girl, "Good work, Naruko. You've successfully completed the first step of the Rasengan. Rotation."

Break Here

It had been a day since Naruko had completed the first step of the Rasengan, and they had successfully stolen a ship, a simple one small enough to be manned by the ROOT and a few clones. Of course, Naruko had taken some liberties and commandeered the captains room, but that was beside the point.

Naruko was currently on deck working on the second step of the Rasengan, using a rubber ball filled with air. It was basically the same as the first step, but with more power. That was the second step of the Rasengan, Power. She had to keep up rotation, but make it strong enough to completely burst the rubber ball. It was much harder than it sounded!

Jiraiya was still overseeing her training, but now he was wearing different clothing, as were the ROOT and Naruko. They were wearing civilian clothing, a little ragged and somewhat flashy. They were playing pirates, after all.

A little rundown, Naruko was wearing a white blouse under a black leather vest, with surprisingly comfy cloth pants held at her waist with a simple cloth belt. On her feet were some shin high black boots with multiple straps, and a slot for a dagger, while at her right hip was a simple cutlass.

Jiraiya was wearing a white button up shirt under a red coat, with red pants and large brown boots. Across his back, instead of his usual scroll, was an old but sturdy looking daikatana, and atop his head was a large wide brimmed hat with a feather in it.

The two male ROOT were wearing black cloth pants, white button up shirts, black pirate-y hats, and while one was wearing a black vest, the other was wearing a black coat. Both had simple sabers at their backs, and each had a dagger in one of their boots.

The two female ROOT members had dresses that dropped down to their shins, purple in color, with dull white blouses and blue vest coats. Across their backs they had a cutlass each, on different sides making them visible opposites.

All in all, Naruko was unimpressed with the ROOT members, but she guessed they weren't picked for their looks. They weren't ugly, per say, simply bland. But again, that was beside the point.

"You have to put more power into it brat. Keep the rotation, and add more power!" Jiraiya instructed, sitting in a chair backwards, arms folded on the head of it, just looking on as Naruko tried to do just that. So far all she was managing was a small hole in it that would release all the air and chakra in a huge gust of wind that blew things all about. She was concentrating as much as she could, but that didn't seem to be helping much.

Of course, it probably didn't help that she had been feeling just a little seasick. She hadn't puked yet, but was feeling nauseous, and that was messing up her concentration. It was also serving to piss her off, and she was getting ready to toss Jiraiya off the boat. He was the only one that got close enough to her for her to have such thoughts. She knew he was trying to be there for her, but it was so frustrating.

So it was only so nice for her when they were found by another pirate ship, flying a flag with a stereotypical Jolly Rodger on it. That would be interesting to take home, and it would help her release some tension from all her training. And ooooh did she need to release some tension.

"Okay! I've learned the water walking exercise, and we're still a ways off from Kiri… Please go ahead and leave this one to me~" She told, licking her lips in anticipation of a good fight. It would also really help her with her frustration at the lack of progress she was making with the Rasengan's second step.

Jumping ship and landing firmly atop the water, Naruko smirked and dashed at the ship heading towards them, dead set on causing some mayhem among its crew. Maybe she'd even scuttle the thing, release some pent up aggression. Hey, she was a young kunoichi, and a Jinchuuriki, she was bound to have some issues with pent up something or other. She wasn't supposed to retaliate to villager stupidity after all.

Break Here

On the other ship, there was a man up in the crows nest of the ship, peering through a telescope out at the ship they were heading towards. They planned to pillage her and scuttle her after taking whatever she had to offer. Well, that was the plan anyway, as they surely didn't expect for a small blond girl to jump ship and start running at them over the water. Lowering his telescope, he leaned over the edge of the crows nest, yelling down at the others of the crew, "Captain! We got somethin real strange happenin!"

A grunt was his reply, "We can see that! What is it?!" The captain yelled back. The captain was a tall man with shaggy brown hair, brown pirate-y clothes. He also had a large blade across his back, starting out small at the hilt, given extra support with the guard, and widening outwards. At the end, instead of a point, was a flat top about a foot across. It was a strange looking sword, but an affective slashing one.

The rest of the crew, about fourteen people, including the guy in the crows nest, were wearing general pirate wear, each with a dagger, cutlass, or some strange weapon shaped like the letter Y but rounded, with a material of some kind hung between the arch.

With a crashing sound and a sudden rocking motion in the ship, Naruko arrived on the deck, denting the floor where she landed, leaving cracks in the wood. The pirates stepped back and glared at where Naruko stood, grinning at them all, cutlass in hand as she took a step forward. "Well now, what have we here?" She asked, resting her cutlass against her shoulder.

Stepping forward, the captain of the ship brandished his sword against Naruko, drawing her attention to him personally. "We be heading for the vessel there girl. If ye be part of it's crew, surrender and we will show ye mercy due to yer age. We're pirates, not complete scum. Any of age gals are fair game though. We're still pirates." He spoke, getting nods from his crew.

Naruko smiled and shook her head, sighing softly, "Well, I'm happy to say that you'll all be able to retire from this job early and safely. Unfortunately that will be after your bones finish healing. I'm gonna break yer legs~!" She told them, grinning and dropping her cutlass.

Now, against trained enemies, perhaps someone that wasn't a simple pirate with no special abilities, Naruko would have had to be lots more careful about doing what she was doing. Fortunately for her, the pirates she was now beating up on were not very tough at all. Unfortunate for them, but hey, you can't win'em all. Fortunately for them, Naruko kept to what she said and only broke their bones and stuff, none of them would die. She left a few of them healthy to take care of the rest of the crew till they got to a port to heal up.

That was another thing however, so we'll stay with Naruko and the beating she gave the pirates.

Now that the enemy was successfully neutralized, Naruko took a look at some of those strange things some of the crew had. She had broken one in the fight, and its owner had lamented the loss of his 'slingshot', as it were. It looked weird, but it had sent projectiles at her pretty quickly, mostly pellets of some kind. Liberating a few from their unconscious owners, she pocketed them, "To the victor goes the spoils, boys~."

Break Here

Back on the ship with the ROOT and Jiraiya, they each had been watching Naruko as their ship drew closer to the one Naruko was fighting on, and as they approached, Jiraiya hopped over to the other ship with his blonde goddaughter. Whistling, he smiled at the work she'd done, "Well, you did good squirt. This was a good job." He told her, congratulating her on her fight.

Huffing, Naruko gave a grin and crossed her arms over her chest. "Of course, just who the hell do you think I am?" She asked, raising an eyebrow after asking, looking at Jiraiya expectantly.

"You're Naruko Uzumaki, and you're my goddaughter." He told her, making her face flush as she looked away suddenly. "That's right…!" She huffed, before stalking off to see what she could find on the ship, leaving Jiraiya to have a laugh at the girls apparent and sudden dere dere. So Tsun. "Hah, brat's already givin me ideas." He told, taking out a notebook and writing in it with a snicker, pocketing it quickly and safely after finishing what he was writing.

Meanwhile, down in the ship, Naruko was looking over things that the pirates had, most likely stuff which was stolen, but hey, they were playing pirates themselves, it was only fair they get something out of it to bring back to the village. It would only be better if that stuff was useful, like money or something. There was money, of course, and she was sure to pocket a bit of it, but what she was really interested in was a room filled with people, chained to the wall. The brig it seemed. Or the hold, she always got those confused, they may have even been the same thing.

Sighing, Naruko scratched one of her whiskered cheeks, and entered the room fully, closing the door after herself. This room was disgusting, looking like something out of a hentai magazine she had seen once. The floor was dirty and covered in white stuff, and there were women against the wall of varying ages, all visibly pregnant, and yet dripping with thick white stuff. All but one of them seemed broken, and even though she was blindfolded like most of the other women, she seemed to be glaring daggers in Naruko's general direction.

"Come to take more of my pride you bastards? Just try it, I'll never break!" She yelled, giving a yank at her chains at the last part. The wood creaked at the pull, but it seemed to have been reinforced to hold against such things. She had been there long enough for them to realize she needed her restraints reinforced. "You're baby… Is it theirs…?" Naruko finally managed to ask.

As a girl, and a ninja, this happened to be a very real possibility for her if she was ever caught and was unable to escape or be rescued. In fact, this sight would haunt her for years, and she was sure it wasn't the worst thing she'd ever see, either.

The woman stopped doing anything, almost completely, taking a deep, sharp breath. "You… You aren't one of them?" The woman spoke, voice questioning, hopeful. Giving a shake of her head, Naruko drew her cutlass, the woman stiffening as she heard the steel rasping from it's sheath. "Hold still." The blonde spoke, and with a grunt, she sliced the chains holding the woman, letting her arms fall down and almost instinctively cover herself.

"Who are you?" The woman spoke, before Naruko walked forward and reached for her. To her credit, the woman only flinched a little as Naruko's fingers touched her face, unfastening and lifting the blindfold from her eyes. The first thing she noticed as the woman opened her eyes, was that they were a magnificent green, if a little dulled from her time on this ship.

"My name is unimportant till we get you out of here. Now answer my question." Shaking her head, the woman gave blinked to readjust her eyes to light. "No. The baby is mine, though when they caught me I wasn't showing." She told, gaining a little grin, "I was able to fool them into thinking they were the ones who did it…" She told, tears finally beginning to fall down her cheeks, "It's the only thing I could save…" She spoke.

Sighing, Naruko licked her suddenly dry lips and looked to the other women in the room. "These others…. They're already broken, aren't they." Naruko asked, knowing the answer already, and shaking a little at the sight of it. Sniffing a bit and reaching to rub at her eyes, the woman cleared her throat and began shakily trying to stand up, Naruko moving quickly to help her as much as she'd be allowed. "Yes… They all broke before I could escape and help them…"

Shaking her own head, Naruko held the woman up as she finally helped the woman stand fully, getting a good look at her now that her eyes had adjusted better to the darkness of the room. The woman's hair seemed to be a dirty brown, but again, it was dark, and the woman's hair was really dirty. It could be green or something for all she knew.

The door opening signaled Jiraiya's entrance, and he paused at the sight of the room, a look of pure, genuine anger appearing on his face as he looked at the rooms occupants. "Did they do this?" He asked, and Naruko nodded, making the man growl. As soon as Jiraiya had entered, the woman Naruko had freed had ducked down behind the girl, seeming to lose her nerve at the sight of him.

"There are others!" She spoke suddenly, "Other rooms, maybe three more, and they each have someone from my home village…. Please, if they live, you must see to them as well!" Spoke the woman, still hiding behind Naruko. Looking to Jiraiya, our blonde heroine gave a nod, and the tall white haired man sighed. "Very well. I'll go check on them. You get her some clothes and see what you can do about the women still chained to the wall… I'll… Send a summon to the slug realm to see if I can get in contact with my old teammate." He spoke, leaving the room afterwards.

Looking to the woman as Jiraiya left, Naruko rolled up her right sleeve, revealing a seal on her forearm, between her wrist and elbow. Pulsing a bit of chakra to it, she drew out her spare blanket, which she always kept on her after the first month long mission she'd had had forced her to abandon her old mission blanket, and she'd been forced to go without.

Quickly wrapping the woman in her blanket, she brought her with her from the room, an arm around her waist as she helped the woman walk. She was recovering from broken legs too, it seemed, and they hadn't healed right, so she was walking with a limp, and ugly bruises marring her otherwise pretty legs. Plus she was dirty, so she'd definitely want and need a bath, or shower, whatever. Feeling a hand on her shoulder, Naruko looked up at the woman curiously, finding her pointing to a room by the stairs leading back up to the deck.

"That's where they put my stuff. Please take me there?" She asked, Naruko smiling and leading the woman there quietly and quickly, opening the door and leading the woman in. Leaving the door open this time, Naruko brought the woman forward, and the first thing the woman reached for was a barrel filled with swords. Reaching into it, she pulled out a length of smooth wood, a silver bell on a red string wrapped around one end.

The woman seemed to give a sigh of relief as soon as she tugged the blade about half an inch from the sheath, before she pushed it back in and hugged it to her chest, Naruko still helping her stand. "I take it that blade is important to you?" She asked, and the woman nodded. "Yes… My name is Edel Winters, from Tetsu no Kuni, the Land of Iron. I am the head of the Winters clan, and perhaps the last of it as well… Pirates captured everyone…"

Naruko gave a sad look, before shaking her head, "Maybe someone besides you held out! And even if…. You know… There's always something to be done. I don't mean to offend, but for them, if they aren't like you, there are always ways to terminate safely." She spoke, seeming a little solemn as she spoke. She'd always wanted a family, so talking about something of that nature was a little difficult. But she was open minded, and When they got help for the women on this ship, they would each have that option readily available.

Getting the rest of Edel's things, the armor she'd been wearing when she was caught and a small pendant containing a picture of her husband, Naruko led the woman back up on deck, where upon seeing the captain, she kicked him in the balls as hard as she could, Naruko having to hold her as Edel immediately began to feel the pain herself. "Worth it!" She had cried, even as Naruko carried her off and to her ship with the ROOT, who had stayed to man the ship.

Break Here

With all the women from the genuine pirate ship on their ship, and all things of value taken as well, Naruko stood next to Jiraiya, speaking softly over what to do with the pirate ship, the pirates all tied up on it's deck. They had found no more who had held out from the Pirate's attentions, but there were some that were less broken than the others, so that was something.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

Slapping his palm down on the deck of the ship, Jiraiya called his technique, creating a big poof of smoke, before a big toad was suddenly on the deck as well, an orange one with blue splotches all over. "Let's do it!" He spoke, going through hand seals as the toad's throat bulged. Landing on the last seal, Jiraiya expelled a big ball of flame as the toad he was sitting on let out a large torrent of toad oil, a brownish color, light and such.

"Fire Style: Toad Oil Flame Bullet Jutsu!"

The oil bathed over the ship, bringing screams as it caught fire and began to burn the ship, along with the pirates it belonged to. It was their screams that Edel relished, closing her eyes and listening to them as they burned.

Looking to Naruko, who was once more holding her about the hips to help her stand, Edel gingerly moved to her knees, and hugged the girl, making her blink. "You have saved my life this day, and for that I will forever be in your debt. Young girl, I vow here and now, to protect you for the rest of my life." Naruko blushed at that, since it appeared she just got herself a life protector. "You mean like, a vessel of something?" She asked, only for Jiraiya to drop a hand onto her shoulder. "The word you're looking for is Vassal, squirt."

Break!

In Konoha

Standing before the Hokage, wearing a brown top over fishnet shinobi armor, with dark red pants and a tan sash holding a large sandy brown gourd to her back, Gaara stood next to her father, the Kazekage. Raising an eyebrow, Hiruzen took a hit from his pipe, catching an idle look of longing in the Kazekage's eyes for a moment, before it was gone, and he went back to looking at the both of them.

"What brings you here, old friend?" Hiruzen asked, voice kind as he looked at them. Sighing, the Kazekage placed a careful hand atop Gaara's head, before speaking himself. "Hokage-sama. My daughter here has expressed a wish to be with someone in your village, someone you sent to me a while ago, offering help to my village in a time of need. In light of that, I am requesting that you allow me to leave my daughter in your care." He spoke.

This made Hiruzen's eyes widen, and he blinked several times, before putting a pinky in his ear and twisting it a bit, trying to clean it out a little. "I believe I must have misheard you. Did you just say you wish to leave Gaara here with me?" Giving a nod of his head, the Kazekage responded, "Yes. Not only that, however, She wishes to change her name."

Sweatdropping a bit, Hiruzen gave a nod to that, "Yes, that I can understand. Gaara is a strange name for a girl. No offense, miss." He offered, nodding in Gaara's direction with his last statement. "Might I ask why she has her current name?" He asked raising an eyebrow curiously, "When she was born, the sand of her… Bloodline, was so strong, it covered her almost completely. It cleared a little, but we were completely unable to tell her gender for the first few years of her life, until she learned to control it and we gave her a proper checkup."

Nodding his head, Hiruzen took another hit from his pipe, before sighing softly and bringing a paper from his desk, handing it to the two. "This will let her change her name. Simply fill out where indicated, and you will officially have a new name. As for being left here… As one of my old friends, I would be happy to take in one of your children. I only hope that her siblings will be able to visit, should they wish." He spoke, hiding a question in there, a raised eyebrow hinting at it enough for the Kazekage to understand.

"Yes, they may visit when they wish, when they are not on missions, that is. Otherwise they are free to visit. I trust you will have some form of papers drawn up for them?" He asked, and Hiruzen nodded, "Yes, I will have papers drawn up before you leave. For now, why don't I allow your daughter here to think of a new name for herself and get settled?" He asked, only to get a shake of the head from the girl.

"No. I have already thought of a name for myself…" She spoke, voice still showing a hint of emotionlessness. She had indeed been saved by Naruko, but that didn't just miraculously fix the issues she had had beforehand. "I wish to be called Karura… After my mother…" She spoke, looking up to her father, as if for permission.

The man was silent, before he gave a nod. "That… is alright. I will accept that as your new name." He spoke, prompting his daughter to give what was surely her first true smile.

End of Chapter!

Wow! I finally got back into the swing of things with this chapter, and man is it a doozy. 7k+ words! Ever since my old laptop got stolen, I've had trouble doing even 2k words, but Here, I did a thousand more than I used to! I'm so proud of myself! Now, to address some people.

I am finally continuing this story, and a few others. Not in any particular order, but these stories will take priority.

Tale of an Immortal: The Ninja Lands

Naruto's Pokemon Journey

Incubus no Konoha

Incubus in Youkai Academy

Kagome the Badlands Miko V1

And there is something I would like to inform everyone about while I'm at this. I want everyone who dislikes yaoi, and is against my Incubus Naruto being attracted to, and perhaps going after, male partners, to look to Incubus in Youkai Academy instead of Incubus no Konoha. There will be no yaoi or such in the former, while the latter… I no longer care. I've read things since I wrote the first chapter of it that hint that Incubi don't only go purely for females. Or at least not the kind of Incubus I wanna make that Naruto. If you've no idea what I could mean by that, you don't read enough manga. Or, you know, maybe not the right manga.

Anyway! I will be rewriting the following stories.

Love Hina 2.0 (Will be renamed simply Love Hina Version 2)

A New Life

I will be putting Mahou Naru Negima up for adoption.