Disclaimer: See First Chapter
XxXxX
Okay! Here comes the next chapter of Naruablo! Two more chapters and I can take a small break from it, the several day long one before this chapter came out notwithstanding, to write something else. Namely, that little project I mentioned last chapter.
Also, I apologize for the wait for this chapter, I realize it may have been longer than the other waits for the previous chapters minus the last one. I really do apologize for it! I got really distracted with other things along the way and kinda couldn't write anything for a few weeks. But then I watched a Naruto movie and got most of this done in about an evening.
So, here's the ninth chapter yo!
XxXxX
Naruto sighed as he sat in his apartment, relaxing on his couch with his mother sat next to him, simply brushing her hair quietly with a small grin on her face. Her son was just sulking, having apparently realized shortly after his last mission that he'd seen her naked and spanked a woman with her. She didn't see what the problem was, they used to bathe together, and it wasn't like he was staring at her tits or anything.
Hearing the boy sigh again, Kushina's grin turned into a small frown, seeing as her son had been doing nothing but for the last ten minutes. Besides his sulking. It was strange, how someone could seem so relaxed while both sulking and sighing repeatedly every few seconds had to be some kind of skill.
After the umpteenth time in another minute that she heard her son sigh, a tic mark appeared on her temple.
"Sigh-urk!"
Kushina had had enough, she reached over and began strangling her son, throttling him and shaking him angrily, "Okay! That's enough sighing, it wasn't like you were blatantly staring or anything! Enough with the damn sighing Dattebane!"
Naruto blushed at being reminded, and quickly pushed his moms hands away from his neck, sucking in deep gulps of air. "Gasp! N-no, it's not that kaa-chan! It's just… W-well, Tsunade said something really weird when I got to the village. That situation on my last mission just reminded me of it, that's all…"
"Ara? What'd she say? Come on, you gotta tell me now, you've got me curious!"
"W-well…"
"Out with it! You can't just catch a girl's curiosity like that and not explain anything!"
Blushing more, Naruto squirmed under his mother's gaze, before shaking his head and slapping his cheeks, turning in his seat to look at her. "W-well… She basically told me… th-that… thatIshouldhavesexwithyou!"
Kushina's eyes squinted, slowly deciphering what her son had just said, though it took her a while since she was a little rusty on her embarrassed little girl speak.
Finally her eyes widened though, and a blush bloomed on her own face. "Oooooh… Well… Is that all?"
Naruto's eyes widened this time, jaw dropping at the nonchalant way his mother just spoke. "Is that all?! The hell do you mean 'is that all?' Dattebayo!?"
"Oh hush! You're father…. W-well, he isn't around anymore… I got needs son, I'm a woman too damn it! Also… We're the last of our clan, chances are we could even get married and no one would really bat an eyelash. Except the civilians, they'd probably give us the stink-eye for a while, but they'd be unable to do anything about it. The Ninja Court would laugh the case away, the Ninja Clan Court wouldn't even look at it before throwing it away, and the Civilian Court isn't allowed to take ninja cases."
Naruto's eyes were wider than before, an incredulous expression on his face as he stared as his mother, who was just staring at him with a small grin. "Aww, is my dear sochi having naughty thoughts about his kaa-chan? Oh~ Why don't you let mommy make you feel better~" She cooed, practically purring as she advanced slowly on her fellow redhead.
"Sorrygottagomeetmyteamloveyoubye!"
Naruto clenched his eyes shut and dashed from the room, leaving his mother laughing on the couch holding her sides and kicking her legs wildly. It was only when Naruto was gone for a few minutes did she sit up and wipe a tear from her eye, laughter settling down as a small frown marred her pretty face.
"Still… Why did he have to bring that up? Ah, now my heart won't calm down…"
XxXxX
Rushing from his apartment Naruto kept his eyes clenched shut as he ran, using other senses to dodge around people and things, at least till he ran straight into a held out arm, clotheslining him.
"Ack!"
Standing next to the boy, still suspended by the neck on his arm, was none other than Jiraiya, who had a grin on his face as he looked down on his godson. "Hey there brat! What you running for? I haven't even told ya the news of the day!"
"Ugh, wh-what the hell are you talking about 'news of the day' ero-sennin?"
"I really wish you'd stop calling me that! Whatever, well the news of the day is… You and that sensei of yours are accompanying me on a little mission outside the village. You didn't come see me in the Hokage's office, so I had to come get you myself."
"What do you mean I didn't come meet you in the Hokage's office? I didn't know I was supposed to meet you there!"
Raising an eyebrow, Jiraiya scoffed, giving a little grin, "That sensei of yours told you to head there today just yesterday, don't tell me you already forgot?"
"Y-You can't blame me for forgetting, I've had stuff on my mind all morning!"
"Oho? What kind of 'stuff' pray tell? Is it somethin I'd approve of? Awww you little scamp, makin your old godfather proud! Gahahaha!"
"Nothing like that you old perv! Now what's this mission about? And why does it need two ninja who are so damn strong? With you and I alone it would kinda be overkill right? Then there's my sensei… Isn't he kinda needed here to train my teammates? Seems kind of unfair that I'll have both of you don't you think?"
"Nah, it's not a problem for this mission. The extra fire power is needed actually, just come on to the Hokage's office to get briefed and we'll leave soon after."
"What the hell kind of mission would require the 'extra fire power' of a damn Sage, a high ranking Jonin, and a low Jonin level Genin Dattebayo?!"
Jiraiya's face got serious then, with a frown marring his face, "Well originally I had something else planned for just me and you. But… Things have changed. We got a report from the border of Frost and Lighting. A dangerous organization is making a move there, and we're needed to stop it. Naruto… It's them."
"The… The Akatsuki…" Naruto's voice was tinged with curiosity and anger at the mention of the group, but a deep breath calmed him. His godfather had told him about the group on his thirteenth birthday, telling him their group name and what they seemed to be after. He was curious cause he wondered why they were moving now, and angry that they could be trying to capture a tailed beast, like the one sealed inside him…
XxXxX
Naruto dug through his belongings in his room back in his apartment, his mother back in her own apartment just to the left of his own. This left him to his privacy as he withdrew something from the chest that sat in his room. Already he had his trusty armor on, a replacement bow slung on his back to replace the one he'd given to his pink haired teammate.
Standing once he had what he needed, Naruto sighed and closed the chest, turning to get one last look around his room to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything. Giving a nod, the redhead closed his eyes, giving a small prayer to the kami's above, before giving a big grin and rushing from his room and indeed his apartment entirely. He didn't bother telling his mother, he didn't need to worry her. Just because he couldn't feel fear didn't mean she couldn't, and she would very likely fear for him if she knew where he was going and what he was going to do.
Heading straight for the North Gate, Naruto practically flew over the rooftops of the village, eyes determined as he went. If the Akatsuki were on the move, he was definitely going to rain all over their parade, as it were. He was going to come down so hard on them, he'd be like water! That stuff was technically solid if you hit it hard enough, right? It'd be like that.
As soon as he arrived at the gate, Naruto was met with Jiraiya and Kakashi, who seemed to have been waiting for him. Nodding to each other, the trio of ninja blurred off away from the village and off towards the Land of Hot Water, and from there they would head towards the Land of Frost. Hopefully they would then meet up with the team of the ANBU operative whom had rushed into the village the other day with urgent news.
Naruto had been briefed on the situation earlier, while Jiraiya had gone to retrieve and brief Kakashi, since time was of the essence. Naruto had simply been the first the man had met, so he had been sent on to be briefed by the Hokage, and given a max of ten minutes to pack and get to the North Gate. Kakashi was an experienced Jonin, and so was always prepared for a last minute mission; Naruto was a Genin, and while having some experience, wasn't as perpetually prepared as his sensei.
Jiraiya was, well, he was Jiraiya. He was always prepared for anything. Cause he was just that awesome.
While the trio ran, Jiraiya and Kakashi talked, Naruto occasionally giving them curious looks, though he didn't interrupt them or try to inject himself into their conversation. He knew it was likely quite serious, given the situation they were currently in, heading very likely towards a difficult battle.
XxXxX
Well, he definitely wasn't wrong about his earlier assessment. The moment they got half way to the border of Frost and Lightning, they had heard the sounds of an obviously pitched battle.
What they arrived to was a freshly scarred, seemingly freshly made clearing. Trees, or at least the remains of them, were scattered all across the cleared space, and moving figures were obvious in the space, fighting fiercely.
Two strange men were dodging and countering the attacks of who Naruto identified as his friends and teachers. A bit behind them were a trio of other figures, two he recognized as a pair of ANBU, the last he recognized, though it took a moment.
It was the woman who'd helped detain him after he blew up the building in Kumo in a fit of rage brought on by the forbidden word.
Immediately Jiraiya motioned for Kakashi and Naruto to take the one with the scythe, while he quickly dashed towards the one with the strange green eyes.
Naruto and Kakashi nodded to each other, before heading towards the opponent Eluvia and Makar were fighting, taking advantage of their armor to help guard against the silver haired man's scythe. Much to said man's frustration. In an instant, the man being distracted by his current opponents, Kakashi went through some hand seals, putting his hands together and concentrating as they ran. What happened next made Naruto's eyes widen.
After performing the hand seals, Kakashi pulled his hands apart, each sparking violently and creating quite a loud sound, quickly drawing attention. "Raikiri: Soraishin!"
Kakashi, despite his technique drawing attention, was able to strike true, his aim dead on as he struck the scythe wielding man in the chest with one wildly sparking hand. What followed was a blatant disregard for the laws of gravity, as Kakashi sent the man air born, following and using the same hand used to send him up to strike him multiple times in a zigzag pattern in the air. Only after the man had been struck seemingly a dozen or so times, did Kakashi finish the technique, cleaving down with his second sparking hand, which pierced the man before sending him down towards the ground. This sent a single electric blue streak through the zigzag streak of the same color that had been made with the first part of the technique.
Landing on the ground with a sigh, Kakashi nonetheless kept his guard up. He'd learned long ago not to disregard even an almost dead enemy, for everyone had ways to surprise you. However, his eyes widened as the dust which had been kicked up with the targets landing began to clear.
Standing there, if a bit shakily, was the man he'd just hit with his technique, a hole in his chest that was bleeding freely, though it didn't seem to bother the man physically one bit.
Naruto, who had been cheering his sensei on for such a 'badass technique' became silent, eyes wide as dinner plates, jaw dropped nearly to the ground. He quickly shook his head and glared at the man, who had begun to laugh almost maniacally.
"Ahaha! That was great! Let's see you try it again!"
Naruto almost guffawed, and Kakashi was both worried and ticked off. That was meant to be a kill shot…
"How are you still alive?" Kakashi asked, seeming just a bit irritated that his technique hadn't worked as intended with this man. He had been lucky enough to pull it off fully on one so dangerous, and asking for it or not, he was iffy on his chances of succeeding with the technique now that he had the man's attention.
"Che! You can't kill me you heathen! I serve the almighty Jashin-sama! He has blessed me with immortality as long as I provide sacrifices, and guess who just made my 'shopping list'!?"
Naruto took this time while the enemy was distracted by his sensei to look over to his two friends who'd been fighting the lunatic, Eluvia and Makar, both of whom had deep scratches on their armor, dents too, which was weird since their armor was supposed to be wicked strong.
"Oi, Makar, Eluvia, what's the situation looking like?"
The two looked at eachother, neither letting their guard down around this deranged man known as Hidan. "This man is dangerous Naruto. My skills can burn him, but they do not seem strong enough to do any lasting harm. It seems what he said about being immortal was true."
"Immortal huh? We'll have to see about that, now won't we?"
Naruto's grin was almost contagious, the only reason the two warriors hadn't grinned back being the severity of the situation. Still, they gave nods to the boy, and focused back on the fight as Hidan dashed towards Kakashi, apparently getting bored of just waiting around.
"Do not let him cut you! He needs your blood for a ritual to transfer any injury that comes to him unto you!"
As soon as Eluvia had shouted that, Kakashi and Naruto's eyes widened, before the former jumped back and away from a wild swing of the madman's scythe.
"Aww, there you go ruining all my fun! Well, no matter, it's not like they have that irritating armor that you two got. Heheh, This is starting to get really fun!"
Gulping, Naruto jumped into the fray with his sensei, helping him against Hidan, though also doing his best not to get hit himself. To this end he simply made a point to push the man's weapon out of the way whenever it got to close to his sensei, or to freeze him in place with a frost nova when they needed to retreat.
Meanwhile, over with Jiraiya, he was quite surprised to find two of his old comrades fighting Kakuzu of all people. He recognized the man from a description given of a man who had fought the Shodaime a long time ago. Yet here he was, and he looked as if he hadn't aged a bit since that time.
Still, it kind of worried him that his old comrades could be here, especially considering what he'd done before leaving them. Still, he was determined to help, and to that end used his element of surprise while entering the battle to smash a Rasengan into one of the mask like faces of one of the mask like creatures the man seemed to be spawning.
To his utter surprise, and that of everyone else who was participating in this particular battle, the mask on the beast shattered and it gave a death knell before disappearing altogether. Immediately Jiraiya's mind went to work, deducing that these masks were the sources of Kakuzu's powers, and not necessarily those creepy black threads.
Grinning, Jiraiya chuckled as he landed beside Aradia and Vortik, both of whom shot him dirty looks for a moment before focusing back on Kakuzu.
"We will deal with you later Jiraiya… For now we must defeat this one, and then aid our comrades in their own fight."
Jiraiya sweatdropped a bit, but gave a nod and turned to glare at Kakuzu, who was glaring right back.
"…. Hidan! We're leaving. The situation is no longer favorable!"
"WHAT?! The hell do you mean not favorable!? None of these heathens can kill me! Hah! I get it, you're scared that they'll break those silly masks of yours right?!"
"Silence Hidan. You cannot die, but there are indeed worse things than death to await you if you continue to babble."
"Urrrgh…. Fine! I wasn't having much fun here anyway!"
Before anyone could move to stop them, except Jiraiya and Kakashi who were both the closest to their respective enemies, the two S-rank criminals turned and ran. Jiraiya and Kakashi followed them, instructing everyone else to flee back to Konoha. Naruto would have disobeyed if one of the ANBU hadn't stopped him, having heard the order clearly.
So Naruto, and everyone else simply watched for a few seconds, listening to the sounds of battle as Jiraiya and Kakashi chased down Kakuzu and Hidan as said men tried to flee the battle.
XxXxX
Naruto grumbled and grumped as the ANBU escorted him, his comrades, and the Kunoichi from Kumo to the village. Said Kunoichi complained a bit that she shouldn't be so far from her village, or even going to a village that hers wasn't exactly on friendly terms with, but for her own protection she was made to go along.
Naruto had been the one to apply the seals to her body, his work having been speedy and efficient, getting the complicated seals needed to seal a person's chakra onto the woman quickly and easily. Of course it had helped that they had promised to get her back to her village as soon as it was safe to do so, however long that would take.
Groaning as they finally crossed the border into the Land of Fire, Naruto looked over the team sent to meet them. It seemed to be three full squads of ANBU, plus Tsunade herself. Ah, no it wasn't just them, Valka was there too, no doubt worried about her companions, and at her side was a tall man with short black hair in a bowl cut, large turtle like eyes, horrid green spandex covering him, and perhaps the most terrifying eyebrows Naruto had ever seen. He swore he saw one wiggle as if alive…
As soon as they entered the area they were posted at the large group had descended upon them, landing in the trees and on the ground. Tsunade was the one who stepped forward, obviously having command of the team. "Were you followed? Was the situation taken care of? Where are Jiraiya and Kakashi?"
All three questions were answered in order, being no they weren't followed, but at the same time the situation wasn't exactly taken care of. "No one has followed us ma'am, we made sure of it. As for the situation, it is technically resolved for now, but we don't exactly know yet if it is truly resolved. The status of the situation ties in to the whereabouts of Sannin Jiraiya and Jonin Kakashi. Soon after the arrival of said parties, target A, Kakuzu, ordered target B, Hidan, to retreat with him. Apparently the favor of the battle had shifted from them. However, as they were fleeing, Jiraiya and Kakashi gave chase, ordering us to retreat immediately. Genin Uzumaki had to be convinced to leave however, and I suggest a stern reprimand if nothing else."
Naruto blinked, and blushed at the attention now on him, turning away so he didn't have to look at all the masks blankly staring at him, nor the surely disappointed look in Tsunade's eyes. Hers was the look he couldn't stand the most…
"Very well. Genin Uzumaki shall be taken care of upon reaching the village, I'll administer his punishment personally, so for now let's move out. Team B, stay here and await Jiraiya and Kakashi, assist them should they not be alone, or if they should be injured when they arrive."
One team of ANBU saluted, before hiding themselves among the trees, making themselves scarce so they could await the arrival of the targets.
Turning to the group once more, Tsunade noticed the blonde woman with the seals painted on her, surrounded on all sides by the strange friends Naruto had made. "I'm assuming this is the one the Akatsuki were after?"
The two ANBU who had arrived with the group gave a nod, the one on the right answering this time, "Yes. This is Nii Yugito, Jonin of Kumo. Genin Uzumaki has applied seals upon her to block her access to her chakra so we could escort her here. She was adamant about returning to her village forthwith, but with those two out there, dogged by Jiraiya and Kakashi or not, it was simply too dangerous. Allowing her to leave, only to possibly be captured anyway once gone, would surely not paint us in a good light to the Raikage. Therefore, it has been decided that she will be placed into custody of Konoha till such a time as Jiraiya and Kakashi return and inform us of the safety of the route."
Tsunade nodded, before motioning with a hand, a group of four ANBU approaching to replace Naruto's four outlander friends as guards for the Kunoichi.
"Let's move out! We'll be back in the village soon enough if we book it, I want the team with the Kumo ninja to move ahead with team A. What's left of team C and I will stay back and escort Genin Uzumaki and his companions. You two! Head back with team A and the escorts!"
The two ANBU, no doubt weary after their earlier encounter, nodded and disappeared after the team escorting the Kumo nin, and the team escorting said team.
This left four ANBU, Tsunade, Naruto, his five companions, and the boyfriend of one aforementioned companions still standing in the small clearing.
"So. What's this I hear about insubordination Naruto?"
Sweating a bit, Naruto gulped and looked everywhere but at his godmother. Who he also happened to have relations with on occasion. "Um… I… Uh…"
Sighing, Tsunade rubbed her temples and shook her head a bit. "ANBU, escort everyone back to the village, I'll take care of Naruto here. It won't be his full punishment, but some lessons need to be taught sooner rather than later."
Getting a nod from the four ANBU operatives, they motioned for the outlanders and the green spandex man to follow them. Coincidentally, they put the man with the spandex in front, possibly so they didn't have to see his eyebrows.
Once they were alone, Tsunade placed her hands on her hips, a stern look on her face as she stared at the red haired young man before her. After only a few moments, Naruto got a little flustered at the silence, but he didn't say anything. Anything he could say would probably only make Tsunade mad, and if she wasn't already, well, fearless did not mean stupid.
"So. What's this I hear about insubordination? You know that stuff is wrong Naruto-kun."
"W-well! I couldn't just let them run off after such dangerous people alone! I could have helped!"
"Naruto!"
Naruto flinched a bit at Tsunade's yell, closing one of his eyes, before the woman across from him continued. "You're one of the people that group is after, Naruto-kun… I hate to say this, but you're not strong enough to take them on by yourself. It would only get you hurt, or worse, captured. Then where would you be, hm?"
Huffing, Tsunade's eyes narrowed at the sound. "Uzumaki Naruto… You must have some kind of death wish. I've heard that you have no fear, but I didn't think you were stupid."
Fidgeting under his godmothers stare, Naruto could do nothing but avert his gaze, unable to meet the woman's eyes. "Naruto, look at me. Now."
Looking up at the woman quickly, he blinked and leaned back a bit as he found her face almost directly in his own, a small blush spreading on his cheeks. "What you did was stupid, and you're lucky you weren't allowed to go after them. I'm going to be having a talk with your mother when we get back, and I expect you to be there and to be quiet while we talk. Do I make myself clear?"
Naruto could only nod, gulping quietly before he found himself pulled into a hug, face trapped against Tsunade's cleavage. "That's good. We'll make sure you understand why your being punished when we find out what your punishment will be. Hopefully we can explain to the Hokage that me and your mother will be taking over your punishment. Insubordination is a crime, Naruto-kun. You will be very lucky if he lets us take over your punishment, and pray that he does or you could find yourself confined to the village for months for this little stunt. You may not think it was very serious, but if you had disobeyed direct orders and ended up captured… If we Did manage to get you back before anything bad happened, you would have been locked up till you were my age."
Letting his eyes close, Naruto sighed against Tsunade's cleavage, wrapping his arms around her and squeezing her tight. "Mm Smmy…" He told her, muffled against her cleavage.
Tsunade gave a small smile and released the boy, before shaking her head and starting to walk away, back towards Konoha. "It's fine for now. But trust me, your punishment will be equal to the crime, no matter who gets to carry it out."
XxXxX
Inside the Hokage's office, a few hours later, the soft laughing of an old man could be heard along with the huffing of a young man. "Ahahaha~ Naruto-kun, did everyone have you concerned about this punishment? Honestly Naruto-kun… You pushed to follow them twice before following orders. It's not as severe as it would have been had you completely disregarded them and followed after those two." Hiruzen spoke, bringing marginal comfort to Naruto, who stood before his desk.
Behind said red head, Tsunade and the ANBU who'd told of the charges quickly passed around high fives, the busty blonde even snickering about leading the poor boy on.
"S-so I'm not going to be court marshalled? Or made to do gate duty for a year? Or do your paperwork till I'm your age?!"
…
In Kumo, a certain Genin had a sudden feeling that someone was trying to steal his mojo…
…
"Heaven's no Naruto-kun! It's certainly not severe enough for the first, the second is only given to Chunin, and the last one would be illegal. For me, not you, to clarify."
Naruto let out a breath, placing a hand to his chest. Just because he didn't feel fear didn't mean he didn't get nervous, there was just no fear behind the nerves. Patting over his poor heart a few more times, Naruto turned a glare at his god mother and the two ANBU, who themselves had been needed to file a report on what had gone down before anyone else had arrived.
"You're all a bunch of jerks Dattebayo!"
With that, Naruto left the office in a huff, leaving his god mother laughing uproariously, while the Hokage merely gave a few light hearted chuckles.
Once the boy was gone, Tsunade gave a small report herself before leaving, choosing to do so through the window for once. It was easy to see why so many people she knew did it, it was really fun! Of course, this left only the two ANBU behind to give their own report.
"Okay you two, tell me, just what happened between sending your teammate off and receiving backup?"
It was the one on the left who stepped forward and answered, standing at stiff attention as he answered his Hokage.
"After we attempted a retreat, we had managed to make it all the way to the border of Lightning and Frost, before we were beset upon again by nuke-nin Kakuzu of Taki, and Hidan of Yuu. Both still bore their headbands upon their foreheads, and both were extremely dangerous as their sections in the Bingo Book would suggest."
"So, it was them… Continue."
"We experienced a pitched battle from the moment of reengagement, and we are sorry to have to admit, but we were forced to leave the battling to Naruto's group of friends, who themselves said they'd handle it while we guarded the priority target. One Kumo Jonin Nii Yugito. The group did an admiral job of defending and attacking, using strange skills we hadn't seen before then. The most dangerous of the group seems to be the black haired female with the strange stick. Sir… She seems to have the ability to create localized black holes."
Hiruzen's eyes widened at this, before a small shudder worked down his back. "This is… Well, suffice to say that for now she is on our side, so I shan't worry about it just yet. I will however have to speak with Naruto about this, to see if he knew and… Kami forbid, if he has the potential to replicate such a feat."
The two ANBU shuddered at that, as they had just met the boy, and if he gained that particular ability… With peoples strange propensity for calling the boy a Tomato, there would likely be large areas affected by that spell the moment he heard that word after learning such a technique.
"I-In any case. It wasn't very long after we arrived somewhere over the border into Frost that we seemed to have them at a stand-still. It was shortly after that that Jiraiya-sama, Kakashi-san, and Naruto-san arrived on the scene. Kakashi-san proceeded to successfully perform a variation of his Lightning Blade technique, however as with everything before it, it proved unsuccessful in actually killing the one known as Hidan."
XxXxX
While the report was being given in the Hokage's office, Tsunade was currently searching about for Naruto, whom had stormed out of the office after being assured that any punishment wouldn't be as severe as people had been making him think. Her included. It wasn't as if she could have helped it, it was entirely too tempting to tease the boy!
It took a while, but she eventually did find him, at a takoyaki stand waiting on an order of the stuff. Smiling, she came up behind him and pulled him into a hug from behind, "Ack! What?! A-ah, Tsunade…" Grinning at the boy, she stroked a hand through his hair, giving it a little tug once she got near the end. "What's going on in that head of yours, Naruto-kun?"
Naruto huffed, and crossed his arms over his chest, which only served to make Tsunade tug again at his hair, getting a little wince from him. "Tell me. Please?" Sighing, Naruto nodded and conceded to Tsunade's request.
"It's just… It really wasn't nice, ya know? Getting me all worked up over a punishment that was never going to be as severe as you all made me think it would be… You jerk…!"
Tsunade giggled and patted the boys head, before ruffling his hair and getting him to squirm in her grip. Letting him go, she smiled as he glanced back at her before turning back to accept his order of takoyaki, paying the man who owned the stall before turning to regard his god mother again.
"So… What are you doing here? Come to tease your god son again?"
"Well, it's certainly quite tempting… But no. I want you to gather all those friends of yours. They've probably got some questions after most of them saw Jiraiya, you said they were looking for him right? Well, now they've found him. And I, for one, want to see what they do to him once they meet up again.~"
"…. Tsunade?"
"Yessum?"
"You're… kinda evil, you know this right?"
"Hah, so I've been told, but only by unruly patients before… Oooh, Or perhaps… Naruto-kun~ Would you like me to be evil for you? I'm sure I could do something for you like that, even if you're not into it yet~"
Naruto blinked, thinking about that for a moment… Before he blushed bright red and straight ran off, "S-sorrygottagobye!"
Tsunade laughed as she watched her god son leave, fleeing with his takoyaki. "Hmmm… Perhaps I'll have a little talk with his mother about those reactions of his. He has to have had other partners after me… No one is that innocent."
XxXxX
Naruto sighed and finally slowed down once he reached a new area of the village, the buildings all looking quite nice and more… well, he wanted to say frivolous, but they weren't, just… bigger and better than what he'd seen since he got to the village. Slowly eating his takoyaki as he walked, Naruto hummed and took in the sights.
As he took the last bite of his food though, he happened to come across a large wall, and as he walked along it, sealing his trash till he could throw it away later, he started seeing large insignias of a red and white fan within dark circles. He had the strangest feeling he'd seen that symbol somewhere before…
"Huh, now where have I seen you before, little red and white fan…?"
"Oi… What are you doing here Naruto?"
"Eh? Satsuki? Ah! That's right, this is your place huh?"
Standing at a gate he'd been unknowingly walking towards while looking at the wall was none other than Uchiha Satsuki, his teammate besides Hinata.
"Yes, this is my house. Wait, did you get lost?! Ugh… You're lucky you're cute or you'd just be way to much…"
"Oi! What do you mean by that huh!?"
"Nothing, now just shut up… You came at a really bad time…"
"Eh? Bad time? What's going on? You in some kinda trouble?"
"Sigh… Not exactly, but… No, you know what, yes. Yes, I am in some kind of trouble. Come with me Naruto, there's something I want you to do for me."
Blinking, but shrugging, Naruto nodded and followed Satsuki in passed the gate, entering into what looked to be an entire other village within Konoha. It was freaky if he were honest, but it was also kind of badass! Who would think? A whole other village within the walls of an already existing village?!
As he followed her, arms behind his head, he noticed that he was getting quite a few stares from passersby as he walked along behind Satsuki. He ignored it at first, but then people practically began to group together to whisper about it or something.
"Uh… Hey Satsuki, what's the deal with all these people? They your family members or something?"
"Yes, these people are all my aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. They are all part of the Uchiha Clan."
"You uh, seem pretty proud of that. Not that there's anything wrong with it, if I had a clan this big I'd be pretty damn proud too. But… Ya know… They're kind of staring… A lot."
"Ignore them Naruto, they're not who you're here to meet. Don't worry, it's nothing too strenuous for a sage like yourself."
"Oi, Ero-sennin says I'm not supposed to go around letting everybody know about that. That time at the school was a slip, a slip I say!"
"Oh come off it. By this time I'm sure there's not a person in this village who doesn't know already. Gossip gets around fast in this village. Thankfully though it always stays in the village, with a little help from my family of course."
"What, you guys the cops or something?"
"Yes. Yes we are."
"… I swear to god, if I'm under arrest…" He left the words hanging, letting Satsuki come to her own conclusions.
"Don't worry, you're not under arrest… At least you shouldn't be."
"Yeah, cause that totally inspires confidence 'Ttebayo!"
Rolling her eyes subtly, Satsuki finally arrived at her destination, a bit of dread pooling in her stomach as she stood before the door of her own house within this little mini village of Uchiha.
Taking a deep breath, she slid the door open and released her breath as she grabbed Naruto's wrist, and pulled him inside with her before closing the door. Naruto himself simply raised an eyebrow, but let the girl pull him along since she was his teammate, and he was supposed to trust her and stuff.
"Okaa-sama, Onii-sama, I've returned from my walk. I have something to tell you that is really quite important."
"Ah, Satsuki-chan, you've finally come back.~ Come come, we have your new suitor ready, you'll really like this one!"
Satsuki almost pouted, but she didn't, cause she was an Uchiha, and besides her mother, they didn't pout damn it. Instead, she gripped Naruto's wrist a bit tighter. She loved her mother, but she didn't understand her tastes at all…
"Yes okaa-sama. But… I need to tell you, I'm not going to be with this suitor, just like the last hundred since I was twelve. For you see…"
Satsuki entered the kitchen, throwing the door open and pulling Naruto up by his wrist, only to wrap an arm around his neck and tug him close. "I've already found someone I wanna be with."
The silence in the place was deafening. Naruto was treated to the sight of three Uchiha members, a male that looked a little older than him and Satsuki, a female who looked quite a bit older yet still young and beautiful, and another male who looked to be in his early twenties. Obviously another Uchiha too.
Huh, so clan's really did marry within themselves a lot…
Then the words Satsuki had spoken got to all of them, and as one, perfectly in sink minus the male that had a facial resemblance to Satsuki, a loud "EEEEEEEEEH?!" Rang out through the kitchen.
XxXxX
My first cliff hanger! Mwahahaha, it's a minor one, but it's one all the same!
I fiiiiiinally got through with this chapter! I am sooooo so sorry it's been so god damn long since the last one! I promise I'll try to not do that anymore. Heh, Hopefully I can get back to pumpin them out like I did when I started the story. And then for my little project… Might take a while, but I'll get there.
Now! Only one more chapter to go before I take a longer break on this and write something else entirely! Hope you're ready for it, I know I am! It'll give me time to think of more stuff for this story, more plot points, more twists, more content! And, while I'm at it, it'll help me think of stuff on the fly as good as I used to.
So get ready! The project, if you haven't already figured it out, will be announced next chapter! That's right, if you don't already know, I'll be telling you straight out! Thanks for all your patience, and reviews so far, and I hope to have many more!
