Chapter Four :

Mercenary For Hire

"Welcome back nii-san."

Madara gave his little brother, Izuna, a tired smile, "I'm back little brother."

Izuna returned his older brother's smile with his own bright smile, "I take it the mission was a success," he noted as the two began walking towards their house, "Nothing less expected from you nii-san," he added.

It was a commonly known fact in the clan that Izuna Uchiha idolized his older brother Madara Uchiha.

"The others did help too," Madara pointed out to his little brother, despite his ego being lifted up with the praise.

"I'm sure you did most of the work," but as usual Izuna refused to see his older brother as anything but amazing.

"Hn," and as usual Madara's ego was getting higher.

"Has anything new happen while I was away?"

Izuna's face morphed into a thoughtful one, "A few more clansmen were killed because of the Senju clan, father has received an offer from the Hagoromo clan to wed the leader's daughter with one of us," Izuna's face had a scowl at this point "And a few missions of ours were failed because of that damned mercenary."

"Mercenary?" Madara repeated.

"Hn, a solo mercenary for hire going by the nickname reaper, hasn't failed any missions he's given and is gaining a reputation as the Orange Flash," Izuna listed off, "Of course father hasn't really looked into the reaper yet, but some of our clansmen kept their ears out and heard some things about this reaper. Apparently no one knows how he looks like because of his orange cloak that somehow covers any distinguished features, the reaper stays away from any jobs that has to do with killing the members of the Senju or our clan. For some reason the reaper also stays away from the Uzumaki clan, but then again most do that. Also the reaper frequently delivers orphans to orphanages making sure to give those orphanages a hefty sum."

"Nothing else?" Madara asked.

"Well he's rumored to be a blond and has a high-pitched voice, almost like a girl."

Madara couldn't help but think about Naruto. Blonde hair and high-pitched tone. But that was impossible, this mercenary couldn't be Naruto, right? Even if Naruto was skilled Madara was sure she couldn't be that skilled, but then again Naruto did say she mastered three affinities...

"I don't have a clan or anything fancy like that. I'm what one would call an orphan, or a wandering mercenary."

It would explain why the mercenary would look out for other orphans, so maybe it was Naruto?

"Nii-san!"

Madara looked at Izuna, "Yes?"

"You weren't listening, I knew it," Izuna pouted.

"I'm sorry, I was just wondering about N...the reaper."

"You can probably take him on, nii-san!" Izuna proudly said, he was then taken aback by Madara's knowing look.

"I can't, the mercenary will wipe the floor with me."

What followed next was a long speech about how strong Madara was and how it was impossible for him to lose against the mercenary.

"Tobirama!"

Tobirama turned towards his father, his face as stoic as usual as he replied, "Yes?"

Butsuma met his son on with a stoic face as well, "Stop playing with your food," he sternly ordered watching as his son glanced down at the almost uneaten food before glancing at Hana Senju, the wife of Butsuma whom had an apologetic look.

"Forgive me," Tobirama simply said.

"What are you thinking about nii-san?" Kawarama Senju, the youngest of the four Senju siblings asked.

"Nothing," Tobirama answered.

"I can sense you lying, you know?" Kawarama had a smirk, despite being young his sensory skills were prodigious.

Tobirama sighed feeling all eyes on him, "The Orange Flash."

"Oh, the reaper, huh? Yeah, he's rather infamous right now," Hashirama joined in the conversation.

"I heard he took down ten members of the Kaguya clan on his own," Itama added.

Tobirama resisted the urge to correct them, the mercenary was a she not a he, but since he wasn't sure that the mercenary really was Namikaze. It would be bad for him if he gave information without evidence.

"Achoo!" Naruto sneezed loudly giving away her position to the enemy, "Damn it, somebody was talking about me. Probably my awesomeness," she smirked to herself, leaping away before a sword could stab her in the eye.

Oh, well. She had already stolen the scrolls needed.

So, she could just reap some souls, it wasn't like these men in front of her were worth much. They would have probably died anyways, what sort of idiots planned to kidnap the heiress of the Hagoromo clan anyways? It would have probably failed and ended in their deaths.

Summoning her scythe Naruto pointed it at them, "Time to reap."

In the blink of an eye four heads were on the ground, the bodies were burning with something that seemed like black flames.

"Amaterasu-sama doesn't appreciate those who tries to sabotage the clan she favors nor their possible allies," a whisper echoed in a mocking tone to those who angers the deities. Especially one as ruthless as Amaterasu, the sun Goddess.

"Where am I?"

"You're in the after life."

"Ah...am I dead?"

"No, you're a special case Naruto Uzumaki."

"Naruto? Is that my name?"

"Yes child, you don't remember?"

"No? Should I?"

"It's not uncommon for one to forget their identity. Rest assured your memories will return once you've almost completed your mission."

"My mission?"

"Before coming here you made a deal with your clan's deity, the Shinigami in order to save the life of your precious friend."

Naruto woke up feeling a cold metal on her neck, "Madara?"

"Hn."

Ah, he was still alive. That's a relief, but...

"This isn't how you wake someone up, you're supposed to shake them gently and if he or she is your lover you should kiss him or her," she chided lightly despite not understanding the words she spoke.

"Dobe."

She smiled tiredly, "Teme."

"You seem tired," Madara noted with a tint of surprise, after all Naruto always seemed like she ran on solar energy.

Naruto sat up with a yawn, "The last job was tiring, I had to stay quiet and be all stealthy. Boring."

"You're the Orange Flash." It didn't sound like a question, it was a statement.

"Oh? You heard of me then? Do I send shivers down people's spine?" Naruto teasingly asked.

"More like annoyance," Madara snorted.

"How rude, you're just jealous that I have a name and you don't," Naruto taunted.

"Not having a name is better than having one," Madara informed Naruto.

"Mn, not really. Having a name gives you more authority."

Madara thought back to his father, "Hn," he could just feel Naruto grinning in triumph.

"So, how was your mission?" Naruto asked.

"Just had to deliver some weapons, some bandits attacked but I took care of them," Madara shortly explained.

"That's my son, go get 'em!" Naruto joked trying to imitate a father.

Madara snorted at the poor attempt, already used to Naruto's antics, "More like, 'Hn', my father is a stoic man."

"How boring," Naruto bluntly stated losing her balance briefly, she closed her eyes as she fell on her back with a thud. "My stomach feels like crap, I feel like shit and there's a hole in my wallet thanks to how expensive things are."

Madara just sat down crossed-legged next to Naruto, "Maybe idiots really can get sick."

"I've never gotten sick before, so that's not it. It was probably because of ramen."

"Ramen?"

"Yeah, I might have made a town go rich by eating every and any ramen I could find."

"Dobe."

"I deserve that one."

"Hn."

"At least I have a mission to get rid of that hole in my wallet."

"Mission?"

"Probably going to be a boring one, I'm supposed to assassinate the heir of the Tengu clan."

Madara paused, the Tengu clan were a clan mostly known for the misfortune that follows one after coming into contact with one of their members. They were known for using ninjutsu in combination with their summoning crows and their mastery of the element of lightning. Simply put they were some dangerous folks, not more dangerous than the Senju or Uchiha, but dangerous nonetheless.

And why would Naruto tell him the exact content of her mission?

Was Naruto really that foolish? The dobe.

"Don't die."

"I can't."

Madara frowned at Naruto's knowing and bitter smile.