My cousin formatted my PC the other day, so all my files were wiped from the hard drive. That's why I'm updating so late this time, I'll be able to get back on track right away. I think I'll also be able to keep my minimum as a constant 5000 from now on, since the last few chapters have been at least that long. I've got to think about some stuff, most of the planning to this part only involves later stuff, so I'm stumped for what to do now.

Disclaimer: with Onemanga closing down, I think we can say goodbye to the accurate scans from Sleepyfans. Still, at least Binktopia from Mangastream makes translations that actually sound like what the characters would say.


The truth is truly an ambiguous thing

The meeting was over, and everyone was setting out to the tasks appointed to them for the moment. Utakata was leaving in a couple of hours to investigate a lead on a small clan of Shinobi that didn't belong to any particular village, intending to seek members willing to join Yoinokuchi's cause. Yagura meanwhile was studying information gathered on what was the former Ta no Kuni. With the village assigned with protecting that land, Otogakure, no longer possessing any structure to fulfil its duty, there was a possibility that a deal could be set up with the Daimyo to get a more stable income. Gaara was taking time to properly consider the terrain of Kaminari no Kuni and coming up with a future strategy, while Fuu trained for her future role of infiltrating that village. Being the only available one then, Naruto had left to collect supplies. Only Han was left, and he had some great things to think about indeed.

Sakura and Hinata had both been led by the giant Shinobi towards the room that was to act as the medical bay. Though it was little more than a cube with a bed and several first aid kits in truth. Neither of the girls had complained about the situation, both had been pretty much forgotten after Hinata's suggestion. But they themselves were still thinking seriously of it, Sakura in particular. "What were you thinking telling them something like that?" she demanded, as soon as she was sure they were alone. Though she felt truly anxious, she leant against the counter behind her to rest her weary body. All the same she watched her team mate closely, and for the first time wondered to just what extent the girl was willing to go. "If they're situated in Hi no Kuni, and invade Kaminari no Kuni, that would only be an excuse for Kumo to do something dangerous!"

Hinata didn't look Sakura in the eye; she knew how she must have looked back there. To most it would be seen as a betrayal of Konoha, to help a group of terrorists like this. Maybe in a sense it was. "They're letting us inform our village, but that may not be for long!" she replied, gripping her hands nervously as she tried to make her explanation sound convincing. "The way things were looking, there wouldn't be very much to tell. This way we can get more out to the Hokage while we still have the chance!"

This time it was Sakura's turn to avert her gaze, though her look wasn't as shameful as Hinata's. She had to admit that was true, but she didn't like it any more because of it. Where Hinata was certain about this situation, Sakura wasn't. "But if you'd kept quiet, then we could have informed Konoha of our location and stop them before they can cause damage!" she said, tightening her grip on the countertop behind her. "With all of them splitting up like this, taking them down will be much more difficult!"

She turned her eyes to Hinata as she finished speaking, hoping her words would get through to her forlorn friend, who seemed to have been deprived of her senses. The shock was hers then, when Hinata suddenly rounded her and met her eyes with a strong, yet angered look. Hinata was obviously displeased with Sakura, her hands clenched into fists and her stance unwavering. "Please don't act so selfishly!" the normally timid girl exclaimed, with more force than Sakura could muster. "We're here because of your decision, so don't place the blame on me!"

Sakura was stunned by Hinata's demand, caught with her mouth open and her eyes wide. Even after she had finished her statement, Hinata continued to look at Sakura in that same manner until she got her response. The initial fright the pink haired girl received dissipated, and was replaced with regret and loss. "You're right… I'm sorry." she said, dropping her gaze ashamedly. She let go of the countertop and gripped her wrist, clenching her hand around it uneasily. "It's my fault this happened, I dragged you into this."

If she expected Hinata to thank her for admitting that, she was sorely mistaken. What she received instead was a sigh and a flick to forehead, something a Hyuuga could easily make painful. She yelped and touched her sore spot, looking like a kicked puppy as she stared at her friend for an answer. "Stop trying to make people feel sorry for you!" Hinata ordered, giving the same strong look as before, but lacking some of the anger she had possessed. "Didn't you train under Hokage-sama so you could be stronger than that?"

The two girls stared into each others eyes, but the looks were completely one sided. Hinata had hit Sakura where it hurt, and the Hyuuga girl was well aware of it. But taking her words to heart, Sakura didn't pity herself. Instead she shook her head lightly, before giving Hinata the same look she was being sent. "You're right, my bad." she said, straightening up to demonstrate whatever pride she had after the wound to her ego. "So what do we do then?"


Just outside the temple, on a hill filled with insurmountably tall trees, Fuu stood tall with her stance of pure focus. The cool breeze and buzzing of passing insects were unknown to her, though the bugs seemed to be giving her a wide berth. She had never once been in contact with an insect, and Yagura had a theory about that. It was that theory which was being tested out now, while Fuu's sensei watched from above.

Fuu had an ability, a kekkei genkai known as "Nikusui". From the experiments Yagura had conducted involving Fuu doing all sorts of things, he had managed to get the gist of the ability's methods. At its most basic state, Fuu's sweat could be absorbed into the flesh of others. There it attacked the nerve cells before consuming them, and turning them into a potent acid. It was a painful technique, but not without its risks. Fuu had to make physical contact of course, and overuse of the technique dehydrated her.

With training however, Fuu had learned to control the conversion of her perspiration. As long as she focused, she could use her fluids to convert other materials into acid, not just nerve cells. She could melt rock, metal and glass, but only to an extent. The more she melted something, the more effort it took. There were still some aspects she couldn't help however, side effects to the Nikusui that had little to do with chakra control. One such effect was that when she became especially agitated, her sweat would turn to vapour and cause her body to steam a little. It was that aspect however, which the others found most fun.

Fuu slipped her hands into the ram seal, her brow furrowing into deep concentration. There was no vapour rising from her body this time, she was controlling her Nikusui in a way that didn't allow any excess of perspiration. Once she had completed the process she needed, she snapped her eyes open wide. "Bunshinjutsu: Deadly Comfort Woman!" she called, causing her perspiration to suddenly rise out of her body. The vapour caused from her sweat drifted to her left, before whirling around at a rapid pace. A few seconds later, it took on the form of a second Fuu, standing in the same pose as the original. Fuu dropped her seal and looked at her work with an excited smile, before whirling on the spot and looking up into the trees. "Yagura-kun! How is it?"

Yagura looked down from the thick pile of papers in his hand, studying the two Fuu's with blank eyes. His student was giving him a look that almost pleaded for praise, but he wasn't the best one for giving it. "Creating the Bunshin is one thing, but it's the dissipation that really matters." he said, as he turned his eyes back the report and lazily turned the page. He could see Fuu's downcast look from his peripheral vision, and knew firsthand how easy it was to make Fuu doubt herself. "If you can make three more without any of them breaking down, you can have that."

Fuu gasped in shock, her eyes suddenly gleaming as she second guessed what it was she had just heard. Childishly she raised her hands to her chest, bunching them up into fists while her Bunshin mimicked her perfectly. "R-really?" she asked, her disbelief plain to see. When Yagura glanced down at her again, and gave a brief nod, she quickly straightened up with her hand flying to her head in a salute and a hasty "Hai!". Then she immediately set to work, turning around and raising her hand in the seal once again.

Yagura tried to get on with reading the file in his hand, but he found himself too distracted. It wasn't the feeling of Fuu's energy that dragged his attention away however, it was something much nearer than that. On the branch above from him, a certain someone had appeared. "… So what is that then?" Utakata asked, slipping his hands into his sleeves and wearing as lazy an expression as his smaller friend. He watched Fuu's rigorous training with interest, taking quiet delight in the name Fuu had chosen for her technique. It was too perfect for him to ignore.

"Who knows?" Yagura replied, with a half hearted kind of shrug. He knew that Fuu had a strange way for naming her techniques, though this one was probably the most controversial yet. A comfort woman was a prostitute who solicited herself to soldiers fighting for their country. Where Fuu learned such a term was worrisome to Yagura, he couldn't help wondering just what the role of women in Takigakure really was. "I just mention a possible reward, and she gets all excited like that. I figure if it gets her to train harder, then that's a pretty good method."

Utakata stared at Yagura with shrunken eyes, even him being taken in by disbelief at the explanation he had just been given. "You know niisan… you have some pretty warped views on women." he said, not possessing the energy to be much more defining with his words. "Actually… I think it may be people in general that you've got warped views about."

Yagura gave Utakata a curious look, wondering what on earth his older friend was talking about. He shrugged it off how ever; there were things that needed to be done. Closing the file and slipping it into a hole in the tree, he swung his legs over to one side and looked down at Fuu. The girl had successfully created a second Bunshin, but was showing signs of struggling with another. "Anyway, let's get it over with." he said, before slipping off of the branch. Utakata let out a sigh, quietly despairing for his niisan's humanity, before hopping down after him.

Landing on the ground with a light thud, the two boys drew the attention of a surprised Fuu. Their sudden approach tilted the balance of her focus in a way she couldn't recover from, and in a cloud of purple mist her two Bunshin broke. Though she was affected to little more than a cough, Yagura and Utakata made sure to keep a wide berth until the mist had fully descended. "You're way too tense to stay stable, you need to relax more." Yagura said, as he walked towards the withering girl in front of him. With a faint sign behind his back for Utakata to start, he used his other hand to gesture that Fuu turn around.

Utakata did as Yagura had asked of him earlier and took out his bubble blowing tool and flask. Quickly dipping the end into his solution, he prepared to take a sample of Fuu's perspiration with the intent to give their new doctor a job that would keep her occupied. Yagura had been curious about learning the fullest extent to Fuu's kekkei genkai, which was the whole purpose for this. "Alright, all set over here." Utakata told himself, as he raised the bubble blower to his lips. "Now what're you going to do?"

Yagura gave instructions for Fuu to take deep breaths, while he glanced over her neck, arms and back. Fuu seemed a little nervous about having Yagura so close to her, since even now she was tensing up uncomfortably. "If you get tense like this in battle, you'll only be doing the enemy's job for them." he said, raising his hands to his chest and cracking his knuckles loudly. "Learn all the Jutsu you want, it won't do you a bit of good if you end up with a bad-"

"AH!"

Yagura cocked his brow and Utakata blanched. Fuu had squeaked loudly from shock as Yagura without warning placed his hands on her hips and squeezed. With a slight smirk on his face, Yagura felt the reaction he was looking for. "Come on, what did I just say?" he said in a teasing voice, as he felt Fuu's skin heat up considerably. He shifted his hands up to her shoulders, arms and the middle of her back, dealing the same squeezes in each place with heightened effects.

"I- I'm sorry!" Fuu stammered in reply, bowing her head to hide her red face. She had never imagined in her wildest thoughts that Yagura would do something like this to her, to touch her without warning. "Well… that's not true." she admitted, succeeding in only embarrassing herself more. Under this situation she was forced to relive perverted thoughts that put her to shame with herself. "Mo-oh, stop thinking things like that!"

After a few more brief checks, Yagura dropped his hands and let out a sigh. Fuu was perspiring a great deal of vapour, and it was no longer safe to touch her. Though there was an ulterior motive to his actions, he couldn't help feeling disappointed that Fuu had been unable to do as he said. Taking a step back, he waited for Fuu to turn and look at him before gesturing back to the temple. "Why don't you go to the spring and cool down?" he suggested, with the same bored look he had worn back in the tree. Fuu glanced behind Yagura to Utakata, who wasn't meeting her gaze. Feeling yet more embarrassment rising as she realised they had had an audience, she was quick to accept that suggestion and run off. When she was gone, Yagura looked behind to Utakata with an expectant expression. "Did you get-"

He stopped his question halfway however, and understandably so. Utakata's hands were clenched so tight he managed to add yet another dent to his bubble blowing device. What was more, he was shaking in quiet anger and releasing a killer intent that Yagura was sure even Naruto could have felt from the village miles away. But before he could enquire as to the reason behind Utakata's anger, the taller boy suddenly threw his hands to the ground and pulled out a rock the size of a chest, holding it high above his head with a look of intense rage.

"BAKAYAROU!"


In the lower levels of the temple, in a dark room with no windows, small candles filled the floor with their weak orange lights. These miniature torches were laid out in an intricate pattern, coinciding with carvings in the stone floor of a circle and other stranger symbols. The air was warm and lifeless, all the oxygen being burnt away by the tiny flames, which failed to reach even the ceiling of this cramped room. But these conditions were just perfect; arid and foreboding.

Gaara sat in the middle of these candles, his legs crossed and his hands on his knees. The dark rings around his closed eyes coincided with the rising light to give him an eerily skeletal look, the low visibility adding by making his hair and the marking on his forehead resemble blood. He had removed his duster for obvious reasons, and placed it beside a small stack of photos bearing images of a mountainous region. In place of his jacket was a white and red pinstriped shirt with an auburn waistcoat over it, looking just as scruffy as the duster. He breathed in deeply, taking in the dry air and feeling the pressure all around him. The room itself was meaningless, aside from adding an extra degree of realism to his work. For behind his eyes lay not a curtain of darkness, but another world altogether.

A vast, vacant desert filled his view from every angle, giant dunes and empty skies were all that was to be seen. He himself sat atop one of the tallest dunes, his eyes still closed as the world remained unformed. He drew in yet another long, deep breath, before releasing it in a wave that changed the very shape of the desert all around him. Holes opened up deep below, sucking the sand down into the depths far beneath. Not all the sand was pulled away however, several choice dunes including the one Gaara was situated on remained in position, instead reforming as sand was corroded away from them. Gaara waited for several long minutes, before finally opening his eyes.

To say he sat in a desert was no longer accurate, even though it had ever really been true in the first place. It would be truer to say that he sat in what was most probably the grandest sandcastle that had ever existed. Placed atop the tallest mountain, he looked down at the village known as Kumogakure, crafted by the photographs he had studied vigorously. From what he could have seen, this was a perfect, if discoloured, rendition of that place. As long as the photos weren't too outdated, this was essentially the same as being present in the Hidden Cloud Village.

Gaara rose to his feet and looked down to the village below, viewing the odd way the buildings were crafted into the very mountains that gave the country its name. The rope bridges intersecting these buildings looked like a hazardous net, but most probably were used only by Shinobi. After all, Kumogakure was a village which still had strong military forces. The civilians and traders stayed in a much lower, much safer place than this. That confirmed a thought of Gaara's, one that he could only realise like this; only Shinobi could ascend to these levels.

As he dropped off the tip of the mountain, and plummeted down several hundred feet, he was met with a guttural roar that exploded from far below. About a mile below from his position, hidden behind a large, circular gate set in the depths of the earth, an immense beast cried out for Gaara's blood. "Silence." Gaara called in reply, waving his hand as he landed in the midst of trees on the roof of a grand building. Though the place down there was out of sight, he could hear the hatred of the Ichibi no Shukaku die away as that place was once again filled with sand. "I have no time for you."

This world was his own, a place he had created for whatever desires he possessed. From the power drawn from the Shukaku, this was entirely possible for him. Though the strategic uses were in themselves invaluable, there were other benefits from this place as well. However, those benefits were for his knowledge alone. There wasn't a single soul alive for whom he would allow to discover what roamed these lands. If anyone were to know these things, their fate would be to die by his hand. Or perhaps not necessarily his own hands.

He stepped out from the small forest and out onto the edge of the largest structure in the village. From the gathered information, this was the building which held the Raikage's office and home, making it the most important building anywhere in a hundred miles. Of course, this was only a sculpture of that place, meaning that Gaara treated it with none of the respect such an area would deserve. Then again, it was unlikely he would give the real place special treatment either.

Stretching his arm out to the left, Gaara looked down the edge of the building. Though he already knew what he would see, it was good to get a proper sense of scale like this. He tightened his hand into a fist, and ignored the shrill scream that pierced the sky. Sand struck his body like blood, and the shuddering noise came to a stop as quick as it started. Wasting no more time, he dropped down below. It was time to begin planning.


"Damn niisan!" Utakata cursed under his breath, as he strode through the halls of the temple with a heated expression. He had always known that Yagura was his total opposite when it came to social manners and etiquette, but he had never in his life imagined that his friend's detached nature was really that bad. To so openly touch a girl with the reason bearing nothing to do with that girl's health or feelings was almost criminal to him. He could easily forgive it if Yagura had done it for the reaction, he himself was guilty of acting to that end on many occasions.

In spite of himself, Utakata couldn't keep a hold of his anger however. He knew that Yagura couldn't easily consider other people's feelings when he felt they were trivial. This wasn't because of some sociopathic aspect of his personality, but rather that he couldn't do that because he himself had never been allowed trivial thoughts. He had been trained all his life against such things, and sadly that training had been successful. Utakata rubbed his temple begrudgingly as he gritted his teeth, actually feeling a little guilty for his own reaction back there. "Rehabilitating him is harder than I thought."

He ascended a set of stairs that rose to a level far from what the main temple reached, the hallway he walked through becoming almost completely enclosed by walls. There he found a particularly large room, and stopped outside it. Like all the others it lacked a door, so he had only one method of politely announcing his presence. "I'm coming in, if that's alright." he said, waiting a moment for reply. When all was silent, he decided to leave things to fate and make his way in. The room inside split off into two smaller rooms, one intended for waiting and the other serving another purpose. As he stepped inside the second room further ahead, he noticed Sakura and Hinata standing rather uncomfortably. "I hope I'm not interrupting you two."

Though he had been sure that neither girl would look at him, he was surprised to see both had his full attention. Judging by the tension in the air, combined with the awkward way the two girls were standing, he had interrupted something very important indeed. He didn't require much to guess what the Kunoichi had been talking about; he certainly knew what would be on his mind if the situation was reversed. Of course he wasn't surprised by this, in fact everyone had been expecting it. That was why he was able to go about his task without showing the slightest sign of disconcertion.

"If you're not busy Sakura-chan, there's a little job you could help us out with." he said, as he stepped into the room. Sakura and Hinata watched him uncertainly as he reached inside his kimono, pulling out a small corked phial containing liquid with a slight purple tint. He lightly shook this phial before handing it over to Sakura, who took it as though it were a diamond… or perhaps an explosive. "Do you think you could analyse this for us? There are tools in here if you need them."

The two girls studied the phial closely, neither sure just what it was the pink girl was holding. There were few liquids that had that colour without being something peculiar, so naturally they were both interested. Being the one with the medical training however, Sakura was naturally inclined to display more curiosity than her less knowledgeable friend. "Um… ok." she said, with a rather blank expression to her face. She looked up over the phial to Utakata, showing him a pair of rather wide eyes that the bubble nin couldn't help find somewhat attractive. Fortunately however, he had more self control than some of the other members of Yoinokuchi, so all Sakura received in return was a casual smile. "… What is it?"

Utakata opened his mouth to answer, but then he hesitated. Thinking about it for a moment, he wondered what exactly he should tell Sakura. After all, there were some things the group didn't want Konoha finding out about, hence the reason they chose Hinata as a liaison in the first place. That way they could control just what Konoha knew about them. "It's a poison I found a while ago." he explained, speaking in half truths as he came up with a solution to the predicament. "I've got a bit of an interest in poisons, but this one is sort of outside my abilities. I'll leave it in your care, so let me know what you find out ok?"

Without waiting for a reply from Yoinokuchi's new doctor, he grinned and waved as he left the room for his mission. When he departed, Sakura and Hinata turned their eyes back to the phial with deep frowns on their faces. They were sure what they had been given was either something important, or something to keep Sakura preoccupied. Whichever the case, there was only one thing for the medic nin to do. She would have to work on this as quickly as possible to either unlock its secrets, or get it out of the way. Understanding this, Hinata nodded to her before taking her leave. She too had things to do, as it was.


Miles away from the temple, on a small path leading away from an out of the way village, Naruto let out a deep and tired yawn. He hadn't been given the opportunity to rest yet before being sent out to gather supplies for the base. Though he didn't have a problem doing with the task itself, his time locked up had greatly hindered his energy levels. It pained him to think it, but the most prominent thing on his mind now was to find somewhere to lie down.

He had sent the dogs on ahead with the gathered supplies, and now took on a leisurely pace as he made his way back to his new home. Even moving at this pace gave him somewhat a chance to recover. He knew that he would have to do some rigorous training and bulk up if he was to truly get back on form. To that end, he had managed to sneak in a few dozen cups of instant ramen in with everything else, and was prepared to fight for the right to them when he got back.

"Man… it's kinda lonely like this." he told himself, as he peaked over a slight hill with his hands behind his head. The zweihaender on his back felt a little heavier than usual, an indicator of his lacking physical strength. But that wasn't the only thing lacking in this situation. His sword was more than a giant blade of steel, it was an entity with intelligence and power. Or at least… that used to be the case. "I hate to say it, but I miss talking with you… Eko."

In spite of his feelings, Naruto couldn't help grinning to himself at that. He supposed it must have been the aspect of his personality that was now in fact the Ekokaeten's mind. A few months ago, when he had journeyed to an island in search of new strength. Though he had gotten what he searched for, he had also gained more… and lost some too. When the Ekokaeten became complete, his personality and Naruto's became one in the blond boy's mind. In short, Naruto changed from that experience, both mentally and physically. But both aspects had paled in comparison to what he learned there. What he had found, was his heritage.

Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato, or more accurately, the Yondaime Hokage and his wife. Those two people were his parents, and one of those was the reason he had become the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Yoko. It was because of that that he had experienced all the pain in his life, the suffering of being hated, and treated as the very thing that had been sealed within him against his will. When he had found out, his anger had been so great it almost paralysed him. But now, for some funny reason, he felt grateful to them. "If I had grown up in that place, with a normal life, would I be just like those people?" he asked himself, thinking of the villagers of Konohagakure. The idea was almost painful, to think that he could have been a person like that. "I guess I owe you one tousan, bet you're glad you-"

He felt a warmth behind him, one that came much stronger than the feelings inside of him. His brow rose in surprise as roaring flames surrounded him from behind, erasing his existence completely from view. The firestorm beat the path like a stampede of hell beasts, scorching the earth and the grass into the kind of blackness representative of the will of someone capable of such a feat. The fires continued to blaze for several long seconds, before fading away almost as quickly as they had come.

About twenty yards behind, a shadow flickered into form. A young boy crouched in the middle of the road, clad in the dark clothes of a martial artist. This boy, with the dark, shaggy ponytail, kept his eyes closed and his hands held together in the tiger seal. Slowly he removed his hands from their grip, spreading them out far to either side. There he let out a deep exhale, relaxing from his completed task. He opened his eyes, revealing black irises that locked onto the target ahead. There, his already pale skin whitened even further.

Naruto stood upright, one hand gripping the hilt of his sword with it still in place on his back. His body was completely unaffected by the flames from before, and to the boy's further shock even the grass at Naruto's feet still bore the droplets of moisture that should have been burned away. As Naruto released the hilt of the blade, he also released the faintest aura of chakra, signifying an action that had been done by his hand.

Terror filled this boy's soul, forcing him to fall back onto his rear as Naruto looked over his shoulder. The expressionless eyes that met his own was far scarier than any glare that could have been given to him. As Naruto turned around to face his attacker, the boy hurriedly switched position from his butt to his knees, his head pressed to the ground and his arms laid out before him. "Please forgive me!" he pleaded, sensing his impending mutilation and fearing it rightfully. "I only attacked you to test your abilities, please believe me!"

His body tensed as he heard Naruto's footsteps, and realised the end was probably upon him. But when the steps grew quieter and quieter, he couldn't help but look up. To his dismay, and more than partial relief, Naruto had turned and was walking away, muttering something that sounded a lot like "waste of my fucking time". Though the boy was infinitely grateful to still be alive, seeing this person ignore him filled him with a different sense of dread. Hurrying to his feet, he ran after Naruto with a worried look, clear desperation on his face. "Please, hear me out!" he cried, running only fast enough to ensure he didn't in fact get any closer to Naruto. "I'm willing to pay, I- gah!"

His eyes shrunk in shock as Naruto suddenly began walking faster, increasing the distance between the two remarkably so. In effort to keep up, the boy hurried along as well, his begs becoming louder and harder to ignore. But Naruto was of course a stubborn one, not the sort to just give up because someone else acted as persistently as he did. And so began a battle of wills, one that could lead to the death of one, or a very annoying situation indeed.

"Ah, money, treasures, servants, anything you- ah- A HAREM, WE HAVE A HAREM!"