Chapter 7 – Wasn't one encounter enough…
Yugito waited until the Konoha teams had crested one of the far dunes before she began to crack. She began to laugh nearly uncontrollably. Gaara looked at the woman, while a smirk crossed his face. "We did get Sakura-san rather well didn't we?" he asked. He then smirked and said, "Naruto would be proud."
Yugito finally got herself under control after a few minutes and said, "Yeah, while we shared a bed naked, she even believes that we had sex. The kissing was fun, but I'm not ready for a relationship especially with a Kage, just yet. Now back to negotiations and yes I know that I might be in the contract as a possible political marriage, but for now let's discuss the other points."
With a nod Gaara led the assembled mass back into Suna and then spent a long day with Yugito in negotiations.
Naruto and Fuu were smiling at each other, until Naruto's face went pale. "What is it Naruto-kun?" Fuu asked.
"I feel a couple of chakra sources heading this way," Naruto said.
Kakashi let his senses extend out and he then said, "I agree. Let's check it out."
The eight nodded agreement and headed in that direction.
Neji spoke up and said, "I see two people in cloaks with… clouds… Akatsuki."
"Great we get one group finished off and now we have another," Naruto said sarcastically, while Fuu was putting on her Aburame disguise. This caused several eyebrows to rise, and Naruto to ask, "What, her abilities are like theirs, but it also keeps her identity secret. They all know me so why hide?"
Neji had just deactivated his Byakugan and said, "I concur."
"Well there is no cave to drop on them and we really don't have any back up. What do you think Gai?" Kakashi asked.
Naruto interrupted when he said, "I've already sent a clone to let Gaara and Yugito-san, so that they will know about this."
"Uzumaki-dono, why have you returned?" the guard asked.
"I'm a clone and tell Gaara more Akatsuki are on the way, we might need backup to deal with them," the Naruto clone explained.
"Very well," he replied and then turned to another guard. He then said, "Let Kazekage-sama know we have more trouble." The clone disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"But I'm not ready for marriage, and the reason we have political marriages are to insure that the agreements won't be broken within a generation," Gaara explained.
"I understand that Kazekage-sama, but…" Yugito said in her attempt to counter his point, but was interrupted by a knock at the door.
"I'm in an important meeting. What is it?" Gaara asked sternly.
The door opened and chuunin entered, bowed and said, "Uzumaki-sama sent a clone to tell us that some more Akatsuki have arrived. They are asking for backup," the man explained.
Gaara shared a look with Yugito, as both got out of their seats and headed to the door.
Fuu gasped at the sight of one of the members of Akatsuki. Naruto noticed her turning pale, while she stuttered out, "That… that can't be… that is… Kakuzu… he can't still be alive… he fought your first Hokage…"
Everyone looked at her like she was crazy. "How could he be that person and how could he be alive?" Sakura asked.
The teams looked to Fuu for an answer, but she began to back away and stumble back down the dune. Naruto quickly caught up with her and held her close. "What's wrong Fuu-chan?"
He saw the fear in her eyes and could feel her shaking. "He is experimented with forbidden techniques to live longer. One was to take the heart of another to live, but he left after killing several of our shinobi. He hasn't been seen since," she explained.
Naruto growled and then created several clones. "You know what to do," he said angrily. The ten clones took off in different directions.
"Hey, Tweedledee and Tweedledum," Naruto yelled, as he crested a dune.
"If it isn't the jinchuuriki of the Nine-tail… We could just get you and piss of Itachi," Hidan said happily.
"Don't underestimate him or you might die, Hidan," Kakuzu explained.
Naruto wore a look of surprise and asked, "You're not Hidan, of the Hotsprings village, are you? And servant of the idiot, so called god, Jashin, are you?"
Hidan wore a look of anger on his face. He charged Naruto with a grin on his face. "You dare insult the great god Jashin?" Hindan asked almost happily.
"Don't go into a fight too quickly you idiot, you'll die," Kakuzu said in an annoyed tone.
"We're both immortal, we can't die," Hidan sang happily.
Naruto jumped back over the dune, just as Hidan crossed the crest of the dune and said quietly, "Boom…"
Hidan wore a look of confusion until the dune below him erupted in an explosion of sand. Hidan flew back past Kakuzu, who just shook his head. "I told you to be careful, but you didn't listen. Foxes are known for their trickery," he explained to the smoking Hidan behind him.
"I don't care if the leader gets mad at me… I'm… going… to kill him!" Hidan exclaimed, while he readjusted his dislocated joints and then stood up.
"I thought you guys wanted me alive!" Naruto yelled from behind the pair. He then smiled, waved and said a word that put fear into both men, "Boom!"
Both men looked around them to see hundreds of kunai with explosive tags around them explode.
Kakashi looked at Naruto and sweat dropped. "Don't you think you're going a little overboard with explosive tags?" he asked Naruto, as the boy cradled the lime haired girl on their team.
Naruto scratched the back of his head and said, "Well, they are easy to make and they are cheap, so I use them to help out with taking care of those people I figure are above my level."
Everyone looked at Naruto, dumbfounded by his explanation. He then continued, "With Shadow clones and them to softening up the enemy, I use less chakra and can more easily beat an enemy." A look of surprise came over his face. He then said, "Dang. This is going to be longer than I thought. That guy, Kakuzu, took out three of my clones. Fighting him close range is out of the question. He seems hurt, but not that bad. Neji can you give me an examination of him?"
Neji nodded and said, "Byakugan." A moment later, he gasped and said, "That man had five hearts inside of his body. Also he seems to be made of a weird string material that also seems to be a part of him. He is stitched together like an experiment. Three of the hearts seem to no longer be functioning."
Naruto nodded and looked around. He then pointed at Hidan and said, "I would avoid any follower of Jashin. They use the blood of others to transfer damage from themselves to the other person, like a transfer."
"How do you know that, Naruto?" Kakashi asked.
"You think that I was doing nothing on the training mission with Ero-sennin?" Naruto asked, but then continued, "We went to the land of Hot Springs and found a weird religion of death. Those who had done as much as they could to destroy it kept meticulous records on it. I found it interesting in a morbid way. The followers would link themselves with their target, by tasting the victim's blood. Do not and I repeat, do not allow him to get any of your blood."
"That would appear to be a prudent decision," Gaara said, much to the surprise of the two teams. He then asked, "Would you like some help?"
"I don't know, but we have to worry about both of them. Fuu-chan is worried about Kakuzu," Naruto explained.
"Then I will take care of Hidan since he can't touch anybody. He will not touch me," Gaara said authoritatively.
"I'll help you take on this Kakuzu person," Yugito said happily.
"You little shit, that hurt!" Hidan said. He finally stood and then threw his scythe at the blonde, who popped in a cloud of smoke. Hidan growled at the other blondes and asked, "Which one is the real one, so that I can give you as a sacrifice to the great god Jashin?"
"Well, it's not me, but I'm glad you didn't move too far. Bye, bye, dead guy," a clone said happily, as it disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Hidan growled, but failed to notice that sand had wrapped around his legs. He finally noticed when he saw a red head step in front of him. "I'm honored that the Ichibi jinchuuriki has graced us with your presence, but you will also fall to Jashin."
Gaara lifted his arm and smirked, while saying, "I think not." He then closed his hand into a fist and said, "Sand burial… Sand Coffin. For a man like you, Rain of blood."
Gaara could swear that he heard a sarcastic laugh and the idiot saying that 'he couldn't die.' The sand compacted and twisted in such a way that it turned red and then began to grind against itself, throwing off blood in a small area around the sand that was swirling, where Hindan had been standing.
"I told him that if he wasn't careful he would die," Kakuzu said without emotion.
"Your turn, mummy," Naruto said, as he charged the ancient shinobi from Taki.
"A frontal assault will not work against me," Kakuzu said confidently.
The Rasengan failed, as Kakuzu's arm was through Naruto, but he couldn't understand why the boy was smiling, until the boy said a simple word, "Boom."
The explosion rocked the area and sent sand flying from the epicenter. Kakuzu staggered, but appeared to have taken no damage from the explosion. "That was inventive gaki, but I can take both of you jinchuuriki by myself," he explained.
"Static bolt," Yugito said, as she pointed her hand at Kakuzu. The man doubled over in pain, but stood up shakily.
"So it is actually three on one?" Kakuzu asked, while blood seeped from the hole in his chest and out of his mouth.
"No, it's four on one," Fuu, exclaimed in her three tail form. She was above him and slammed her fist into the man leaving a crater that went down thirty feet, all the way down to the bedrock, leaving a large spider web crack in it. She then exclaimed, "Earth Spikes." Suddenly a spire of earth came up through Kakuzu and then spikes came out of the man in several locations.
"So there you are…" Kakuzu said and then coughed up blood. He then continued, "I give you credit for besting me, little Fuu-chan, my great-granddaughter. I'm proud that you are safe, but also sorry that you couldn't become part of the greater plan…" The man finally stopped breathing and sagged on the stone pyre that was his death.
Naruto grabbed Fuu and took her into his arms, where she wept. He then turned to Gaara and Yugito and said, "Thanks for the help."
"Anytime, since you are my friend, Naruto," Gaara said with a smirk on his face.
"You take good care of her, cutie. I expect great things from you Blondie," Yugito said with a smirk.
Naruto smiled at the other blonde and said, "I will… I will."
Gaara, Yugito and several Suna jounin headed back to Suna after bidding farewell to Konoha shinobi. The teams headed back to Konoha at a reasonable pace. The travel was somewhat quiet most of the way home. Sakura would growl and Fuu would stick out her tongue at her in retaliation for the growl. Naruto noticed an occasional tear from the pink haired girl.
When they got to the gates they were ushered straight into the Hokage's office rather quickly. Tsunade, Shizune, Homura, and Koharu were all in the office.
Koharu scowled at the team, but specifically at Naruto. "So our alliance with Suna is still good?" she asked in an annoyed tone.
"Luckily Naruto-baka didn't screw it up, but yes it should be fine," Sakura replied, her voice laced with venom.
Tsunade noticed the friction between the two team members and asked, "Did something happen?"
Sakura growled, pointed at Fuu and said angrily, "Yeah, that bitch tried to screw Naruto at every opportunity."
Tsunade raised an eyebrow, while Shizune blushed and the elders scowled. Homura turned to Tsunade and said, "I know he is the apprentice of Jiraiya-chan, but he should not be fraternizing with team members on a mission." The man blushed, but continued, "After the mission is over, it is his own business."
Fuu stepped forward and angrily replied, "Naruto-kun did nothing wrong, so what that we had a little fun while recuperating in the hospital." She turned to Kakashi and asked, "Did the hospital complain about us as patients?"
Kakashi smiled warmly and replied, "There was one complaint that had to do with you guys, but it was a complaint about Sakura bothering people about what you were doing in the room with the Kazekage present. Gaara told me himself that he didn't care and that there were no problems. So, basically no, there were no complaints about you two." He then turned to Sakura and said, "Your teammates are allowed to do what they want on their own time. So far as a relationship, that is between Naruto and Fuu, unless you want to get involved with them."
Sakura made a 'humph' sound before she said, "Master, we also have information about a contact that Sasori had within Orochimaru's organization, they were supposed to meet him in seven days at the Tenchi bridge in River country."
Tsunade glared at her apprentice, but said, "I will take this information under consideration and do what we need to do. Now on to the mission report."
The next hour was filled with an explanation of how the mission went. Tsunade was surprised somewhat that Naruto was getting so used to using explosive tags. She also was worried about the release of Gobi and what it might do to the countryside. She was also disturbed by there being two teams of Akatsuki that had gone to Suna, but that also meant less Akatsuki to deal with later on.
Homura chuckled lightly at the excessive use of explosive tags, but Koharu seemed livid and even said, "You could have hurt your teammates or Kazekage-dono with your little techno light show and flagrant use of explosive notes."
Naruto began to seethe, but held his tongue. Fuu and Tsunade watched this and were impressed with Naruto's not retaliating.
Homura then smirked and said, "While releasing the Gobi was bad. It is better that we were able to save the Kazekage and the Kumo jinchuuriki. This is a political boon for us. Now young lady, I would like to try to persuade you to not fraternize on missions."
"Unthinkable! You will cease your relations with Uzumaki Naruto and submit yourself to assignment to another team," Koharu said angrily. She smiled in a way that caused Naruto and Fuu to shudder and she continued, "We already have a new teammate for your team and he should be a good fit."
Naruto walked up to the woman and laughed in her face. "Ha! Like I would accept a new teammate, I like the ones I have now, so go take a flying leap and don't let your old bones break when you land," Naruto said angrily.
"You will control your temper boy or you will be confined to the village for your own safety," Koharu said to the genin authoritatively.
Naruto gave a sidelong glance at Tsunade who only shrugged, but then he said, "Shut it you old prune. You may be on the advisory council, but you don't give me orders, she does." He then pointed at Tsunade who just smirked at Naruto's acknowledgement of her authority. He then continued, "So if you have an order, send it through the proper channels and leave me out of your little games. Are we done, Hokage-sama?"
Tsunade blinked at what Naruto had just done. He had just given her, her proper title, but did it in such a way as to annoy her advisors. "You are now dismiss, Team Kakashi. I'm going to take the mission to capture the spy for Akatsuki under advisement and I will get back to you."
Naruto, Fu and Kakashi left the room with Naruto less than pleased. Fuu sensing his displeasure guided him off to find Hinata. They finally found a person leaning against a tree and Naruto perked up. "You know, Shino… If you change your look people who haven't been around in a long time they won't recognize you and tell your mother thanks for the spare clothes. They helped Fuu-chan out," Naruto explained.
"I am glad you recognized me, Naruto. My mother said that you stopped by and borrowed some clothes for a friend who was also bug user. Is this that person?" Shino asked.
Naruto nodded his head and said, "Fuu-chan, this is Aburame Shino of the Aburame clan. Shino, this is Fuu-chan, formerly of Taki and now part of my team."
Shino nodded his head when a couple of bugs landed on his cowl and he looked at them curiously. "They are not the same insects as my clan. How did you come about having them?" he asked.
She moved to his side and whispered into his ear, "I hold the Shichibi, a beetle in its own right. I have had a natural affinity towards insects and as such some have mutated and began to live with me and within me. I can talk to them like I can speak with yours."
A raised eyebrow was all she could see from the information she had given him, but then he asked, "It is an honor to meet you Fuu-san. I would like to invite you to our clan compound, if it is alright with you Naruto. You are of course invited to come along if you like, but I am waiting for my teammate to go on a mission. They should be along shortly."
Naruto turned just as a large dog and a passenger landed. "Hey dog-face!" he exclaimed.
The male on the dog looked confused at Naruto, but then it registered who it was. "Naruto? Is that you?" Kiba asked confused.
"So you got big Akamaru?" Naruto asked and was rewarded with a deep bark. He smiled, but then noticed the look on Kiba's face.
"Down boy," Fuu said authoritatively.
Naruto looked confused until he was tackled from behind, with a scream of, "Naruto-kun!" Naruto rolled forward and turned just, so that his attacker was now on top of him.
Hinata blushed profusely at the position she was in now. She was straddling Naruto, but with clothes on. "Naruto-kun, I would love to play, but we have a mission to go on. We should be back within a week," she explained.
"Dang, Fuu-chan and I wanted to go out," Naruto said in a disappointed tone.
Hinata leaned down and kissed him gently, turning bright red while doing this, but then whispered, "We can make it up when I get back. If you're not on a mission…" She stood and helped him to his feet, while she said, "My father has approved of it. We can discuss it later, Naruto-kun, Fuu-chan."
Shino shook his head, while Kiba stood there with his mouth agape. Kiba was almost left behind when the three other members of Team Kurenai headed to meet their jounin sensei. Kiba finally got a hold of his senses and hurried off to catch his teammates.
Naruto turned serious and looked at Fuu. "You know we might meet up with teme on this new mission. Also I'm worried about who they might want to put on our team…" Naruto said, while thinking out loud.
Fuu sighed heavily and then replied, "I know, Naruto-kun, but we will deal with it as best as we can." She gave him a light kiss and they headed off.
Naruto and Fuu found themselves standing in front of the Chuunin exam committee's door, when Shikamaru left the building. "Hey Shika… I'm going to be allowed to enter the Chuunin exams again," Naruto explained.
"Great, now my life has become more troublesome. So she finally wants you to try to become a chuunin finally?" Shikamaru asked.
"Well, since I'm the only one left from our age group that hasn't been promoted and I'm pretty sure that I'm stronger than most chuunin, I should be given a chance to be promoted," Naruto replied.
"You know that there is more to being a chuunin than just being strong, right Naruto?" Shikamaru asked.
"Yeah, there is more responsibility and I will have to do some leading of Genin, so what's your point?" Naruto asked in response.
"Well so long as you understand that it doesn't truly have to deal only with strength then you should be fine," Shikamaru replied.
"So our 'Unpredictable shinobi' is going to try to be a Chuunin?" a voice asked from behind Naruto and Fuu. The voice turned out to be Chouji and he continued, "Hey Shika, your mother asked me to deliver this lunch to you."
Suddenly all four became aware of a presence on top of the building down the street. Naruto jumped at Fuu and both ended up on the building, while Shikamaru dived in front of Chouji. Chouji hand increased the size of his right arm and hit a lion that appeared to be made of ink right in the face. The lion turned into a splash of ink. Naruto threw a kunai that turned a second lion to ink, just before it hit Shikamaru.
"Who is he? He's wearing a Konoha headband…" Naruto exclaimed.
"I have no idea, but that attack came out of nowhere. He has to be captured," Shikamaru explained.
Suddenly dozens of Narutos appeared in the area. The boy on the building eyes widened considerably. The boy then put pen to paper and made about a dozen lions and exclaimed, "Ninja art: Great beast, false image."
Fuu pointed her hands and a swarm of insects flew from her arms towards the boy on the roof. Chouji and Shikamaru looked up at Fuu in amazement. She looked at them and asked, "What? Never seen a bug user before?"
Shikamaru shook it off, as his shadow approached the building. The lions were punctured by both Shikamaru's 'Threading needles' technique and a few kunai a piece. Naruto appeared behind the boy and asked, "Just who the hell are you?"
Naruto attempted to grab the boy and place a kunai to his throat, but was blocked by the boy's tonto. The boy exclaimed, "You're fairly weak, so what's between your legs?"
The boy then looked surprised and heard a voice in his ear, "A larger version of what you will be missing, if you don't stop now."
He turned to see Fuu standing next to him with a sword made of stone and was holding to the boy's crotch. The boy jumped and said in parting, "We will meet again, Naruto-kun." He then disappeared in a swirl of ink and was gone.
Chouji and Shikamaru looked up in awe at an angry Naruto and a befuddled Fuu. They both turned when they heard Ino's voice. "For crying out loud! Azuma-sensei's angry that you still haven't shown up!" she exclaimed.
Chouji sighed and then replied, "Sorry Ino. Some weird guy just started attacking us."
Ino strained to look at the building where Naruto and Fuu were standing. "Weird guy? A weird guy… isn't that Naruto? And who's the girl with him?"
"The weird guy isn't Naruto…" Chouji tried to explain.
Ino began to wave and then yelled, "Naruto! Been a while! Who's the girl?"
Shikamaru shook his head and said, "Don't worry about it Chouji. It will be too troublesome to explain."
The next twenty minutes were spent introducing Fuu to the other team. Ino of course wanted all the juicy details about what Fuu's relationship was with Naruto, how they met and anything else she could get from the two. Naruto and Fuu agreed that if they met that boy again they would teach him a lesson, hopefully it would work.
A/N: Sorry for the delay on my stories. Summer, unemployment, injuries, sickness and some cabin fever have put a damper on my writing, along with working on my novel. It won't be out anytime soon, but is in the process of being written, I have about 20k words for it and it is doing rather well in my opinion.
I was in a bicycle wreck, with the front wheel coming off and crashing, hitting my head, bruising my ribs and tearing my shoulder up. The change in weather along with spring finally arriving has set off a sinus infection that moved to bronchitis, the ribs help it along.
I'm working on some of my other stories too, Avatar is going to be a slow one, it is dealing with the episode 'Great divide'. Truth is coming along, but not sure where it is going just yet for the chapter. Chewee Cookies and another reader have issued challenges, and I'm slowly working on those, very side projects. The other stories have had periodic checks and some text added, but not enough to qualify as a chapter. Missing Hokage, Fox, Goblin, and Reflections are also in the slow process of being written.
To those who are demanding updates, sorry, I'm on my own schedule. Sorry for the inconvenience, but when I update a story I also reread the story, so that I try to have some consistency in the story.