The Contract

Chapter 12

"Alright brat, heads up." Jiraiya called out as they walked toward another village. It had been three days since The Vision [as Jiraiya liked to think of it] and they were on the outskirts of another town.

Naruto, who was working on his chakra control by attempting to manipulate chakra strings as the puppeteers of Suna did, looked up. "What's up, Jiraiya-sama?"

Jiraiya gave a little mental cheer at the moniker; though still formal, it was a large step up from the overly formal 'Sennin-sama' that he had been stuck with for over five months and the new title gave him hope that maybe, just maybe, he was heading in the right direction. "The town we're going to, Ikazuchi, isn't gonna be like the last one. My sources told me that an A-rank missing nin has been lurking around with a number of associates; about twenty as at the last count. Now, Konoha has sent in someone to deal with the missing nin but I went over a couple of heads to make a request: you'll be dealing with the threat; the associates will be dealt with by whoever Tsunade sent in."

"O…kay… Um… not to sound lazy or any thing but why not just have whoever Baa-chan sent deal with the problem?"

"First off; there are few ways to say that without sounding lazy and that sure as hell wasn't one of 'em." Jiraiya pointed out before continuing. "As for the second part, well, I called in a favor with Tsunade-"

"You have favors to call in?"

"Ignoring annoying blond sarcasm, I did what I did for you because you need the combat experience." Jiraiya answered.

"Wasn't that the point of all the bandit camp raids?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "On some level, yes. However the main reason Erza and I had you pulling those raids was to get you accustomed to using the skills you'd learned in a fight. It's why we threw in some of those challenges; no ninjutsu, take out the camp without having anyone sound an alarm etcetera.

"Now, though, you're gonna get a taste of what it's like to fight in a high level shinobi fight against a high level opponent." Jiraiya explained. "In terms of sheer combat potential, you're a solid A-rank. However, to break into S-rank status you'll need more than what you've got in your arsenal; you need actual experience fighting in life-or-death battles against A and S-rank threats and since you essentially have twelve S-rank missing nin hunting you down, you need the experience you can get as fast as you can get it."

Naruto mulled it over before nodding. "So, who's the target?"

"You've crossed paths with him, actually. He's a colossal douche…"

‹‹‡››

"... only known as Renga." Tenten muttered as she shimmied into the maroon kimono she had bought earlier in the day. It was quite the revealing outfit with a sleeveless tunic with a plunging neckline and openings on the side that revealed even more skin. It had an eye-catching golden dragon motif that ran from the bottom half of the outfit, circled around the obi and continued up the back of the top until its snout appeared, poking over her right shoulder, a design that she hoped would catch her target's eye; well, Naruto's target. "He's got history with Naruto, having been the leader of the so-called 'Janin' that executed a coup d'etat in the Land of Vegetables. He is a skilled shinobi, potentially a kekkai genkai wielder. Though he is seemingly restricted to a single technique, reports from Uzumaki Naruto show that he is capable of utilizing that single technique to devastating effect, including S-rank level destruction."

She adjusted the kimono to sit well on her shoulders and pulled her hairpins out to let her hair tumble down to rest in the center of her back. "In the two months since his arrival here in Ikazuchi, he has been known to frequent the town's biggest casino, often raking in just enough to make a tidy profit without incurring the overt attention of the house." She applied her make up, opting for more subtle tones than anything overt. "My best bet would be to catch him in the casino tonight, possibly make his acquaintance. Can't rush this, though. He's a cautious guy and the appearance of a beautiful young woman taking a sudden interest in him could rouse suspicion."

She spent a few minutes fitting a pair of innocuous looking bands around her wrists, each band bearing a number of stylized seals that gave her access to a variety of weapons that she could summon in a heartbeat. Then, she leaned on the vanity table as she got into a pair of sturdy kunoichi heels that were durable enough to be worn into combat yet fit the overall image she was going for.

She glanced into the room's full length mirror and tried on a number of smiles and facial expressions before settling for one that she felt was suitably alluring without being excessively flirty.

Cover complete, she sauntered out of the hotel room, heading toward the casino.

She was no longer Tenten, Konoha's weapon mistress.

As far as anyone knew, she was Marikawa Saeko, debutante daughter of a business tycoon from the Land of Bears, and she had stopped over in the town for a quick break before returning home.

That her father, 'Marikawa Takashi', did not exist was a detail only she and the members of Konoha's cryptology division knew about.

‹‹‡››

"My, Naruto-kun, I certainly didn't expect this when you summoned me." Kyuubi murmured as they strolled into the casino. The duo were disguised as they mingled, Naruto appearing as a raven haired, gray eyed aristocrat with slicked back hair in a dapper looking white suit while Kyuubi, hanging off his arm, had deep purple hair with brown eyes, her curvaceous figure switched out for a more lithe form, clothed in a shimmering green evening gown, that did nothing to take away from her innate beauty.

"What, you don't like a nice night out, Saya?" He replied as they made their way over to a blackjack table just as a player stepped away. "Deal me in." He smiled charmingly at the cute redheaded dealer, taking a moment to enjoy her petite form. "Let's begin with, hmm…" He turned from the dealer to 'his fiance' and gently pulled her to stand in front of him. "Saya? What do you think?"

"Um… How about a five hundred for starters?" Kyuubi asked hesitantly, playing her role as the 'casino newbie' perfectly. "Is that okay?"

Naruto laughed as he collected his chips and tossed out the 500. "Let's go for it babe!"

Twenty minutes later, 'Shiro' and his 'fiance' left the table a few hundred ryo richer than when they'd arrived.

Now with a glass of bubbly in hand, they meandered about, seemingly taking in the sights until Naruto lowered his head, presumably to nibble at her earlobe.

"Target's at the roulette table to your ten o'clock."

'Saya' nodded imperceptibly and, after a few more minutes of 'aimless' wandering, they ended up at the table.

They were just about to get close to the action when a brunette in a beautifully designed maroon kimono threw her head back and burst into laughter, swaying about in a manner that showed that she was, quite likely, more than a bit tipsy.

It was as she turned her head to wipe the tears away that Naruto recognized her.

Tenten.

‹‹‡››

Tenten leaned her head back, resting against the bathtub as she let herself soak in the bath she had prepared, her mind running over the bits of information she had obtained.

Renga, it seemed, had let go of his old habits and was simply drifting about from place to place, not particularly caring whoever met him. He played games as a way to maintain his upkeep which was why, he claimed, he never bothered to try for large jackpots.

"Heh, what a load of crap." The brunette scoffed as she reached out to grab a loofah. She had watched him very closely that night and had noticed that, though he seemed to be on the up and up, he had a look in his eyes that she recognized: he was hiding something.

"I would give an arm to have Ino here tonight." She mused; the Yamanaka heiress was the only other kunoichi of her age range that she knew who had experience in seduction-type infiltration missions. The blonde did dabble in I&T but she was in her element during infiltration missions like this and her clan techniques made things easier during preliminary questioning. Plus, the younger girl was good company. "Ah well… I'll think of something."

She was just about to get out of the water when she heard an almost imperceptible creak from just outside the bathroom.

A pair of kunai silently appeared in her hands, summoned from her wrist bands, and she did her best to relax, her eyes fixated on the only way into the bathroom.

"Maybe get out into the town a bit more, check out the sights." She continued, sounding as close to relaxed as she could manage with her nerves strung tight. "There's gotta be something I can-"

A quiet knock came from the other side of the door ad her hands gripped the kunai tightly.

When she didn't say a word, the knock came again, a gentle tapping sound.

"Is somebody there?" She asked, modulating her voice so she sounded apprehensive, like she'd expect a civilian to.

"Miss Marikawa? It's a messenger from Konoha. I just left the Toad Sage to come check up on you."

Her eyes widened slightly. The only person she knew who fit the bill of 'leaving the Toad Sage' was undoubtedly Naruto who had gone on a training trip with the Sage.

Pulling herself out of the water, she wrapped a towel around herself and slowly approached the door.

"Why should I trust you?"

"Because we're going after the same thing; an old… acquaintance of mine from the Land of Vegetables."

That was enough for her to open the door, slowly inching it back until she saw his face.

Blond hair? Check. Blue eyes? Check. Whiskers? Three on each cheek.

"I've got a nightie on the bed. Pass it please?"

"Sure." He shuffled over to the bed, grabbed the plain black gown and brought it back. "Here."

"Thanks." 'Crap! I've got no undies!' She thought as she grabbed the cloth, closed the door and got dressed. 'Let's hope Jiraiya's most legendary feature hasn't been passed on.' She opened the door and walked into the room, one hand busy towelling her hair. "I wasn't expecting you here."

"I guessed as much." He replied from where he sat at the coffee table. "I saw you at the casino earlier."

"Really?" She was surprised; he wasn't someone that was easily missed and she had tried to keep track of everyone that had approached the table. "Can't say the same, I'm afraid."

"You were with Renga at the roulette." He smiled and the kunoichi found her breath hitching. That was quite the charming smile from him. "I've gotta say, you seemed quite comfortable with him."

"Oh Renga's a darling!" She gushed. "He's just such an amazing man!" She held up the slightly ditzy smile for a moment longer before bursting into laughter. "I played it up that well?"

"You were good." He laughed along with her. "Not quite falling for him but certainly comfortable enough to have drinks with him outside the casino."

"Okay, I'll have to lay off the casino tomorrow;" She walked to the mini-fridge. "Need a drink?"

"Nah, I'm good."

"Alright then." She walked back to the table and sat to his right. "So, what do you need?"

"Renga. What do you have on him?"

"Beyond the bare basics from your mission way back when? Next to nothing." Tenten answered. "He's been very cautious of his words and has basically avoided any mention of his past beyond how he was once a shinobi."

"Any associates? Jiraiya told me that his contact made about twenty possible associates of Renga's."

Tenten nodded. "Possible associates, yeah. In the week since I arrived, I watched him meet with half a dozen people; four guys, two girls. They mostly seemed like a bunch of random contacts though, certainly not what I'd think of as 'associates'. Well… except one chick."

"They might just be contacts but we've gotta make sure." Naruto rubbed his chin in thought for a few moments before coming to a decision. "Did you catch any names?"

"Did one better; got two names and their locations." The brunette replied with a grin. "The easiest to hit up would be some slimy git called 'Shido'. He's lodged in a low-life motel in the seediest part of town called the 'Scarlet Obi'. Room 89."

"Scarlet Obi, 89. Got it. And the other?"

"This one's gonna be a more challenging affair; she goes by 'King' in public and get this: she arrived in town about two weeks before Renga and rented out a small building."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "She's almost certainly an 'associate'."

"Well, I guess I know what I'll be doing later tonight." Tenten said right before yawning tiredly.

Naruto, though, seemed taken aback. "Wait. What do you mean?"

Tenten glanced at him with a slightly confused look on her face. "Aren't you going to infiltrate the building to know what's going on?"

"I am. So…?"

"So I'm coming with you."

"Um… no you aren't."

The brunette looked at him with an almost deadpan expression. "Please tell me you have a reason for saying that."

"I do; I'm not going in. My clones will be doing the infiltration."

"Your… clones." She folded her hands beneath her breasts, making them seem even more pronounced in her nightie.

"Shadow clones…? Don't you know what they do, what makes them unique?" When she kept staring at him with the deadpan expression, a lightbulb lit up in his head. "Sorry, I tend to forget that I spam a B-rank forbidden jutsu like it's candy or something." He sighed and then gave a short but detailed explanation of the technique.

As he spoke, Tenten's eyes slowly widened in shock. "Holy… Can I learn that?! God, you have no idea how valuable that would be to those of us working the infiltration jobs."

"You'd have to have really large chakra reserves, Tenten." He shrugged helplessly. "Either that or extremely good chakra control so you can split off a portion of your chakra to create the clone without severely draining you. Otherwise, you gotta have large reserves."

"How much chakra are we talking about here?"

Naruto was a bit taken aback. "Are you serious?"

"Hell yeah I am. How much?"

"I uh… I honestly don't know." Naruto admitted freely. "I was born with about the same amount of chakra as the average chunin and have only grown from there. Heck, in the past couple of months my chakra must have doubled again with all the training Jiraiya's put me through."

Tenten's jaw was practically scraping the ground as she tried to comprehend just how much chakra he had. "Holy shit… Anko was right! No wonder you're such a stamina nut!" Her cheeks grew rosy as she recalled some of the benefits of that stamina that the purple haired Tokubetsu jonin had highlighted.

Naruto was also gaping, though for completely unrelated reasons. "Wait! You know Crazy Snake Lady?!"

"Crazy… I should have known that only you could be that suicidal." Tenten laughed as she recalled how Anko had vowed to get him back for the, as she put it, 'stupid, asinine, ass-backwards, idiotic name!' "Any how, of course I know her; she's in charge of training recruits into S&I as well as overseeing our general upkeep."

"S&I?"

"Seduction and Infiltration." She shrugged before gaining a slightly pissed off look. "Or, as the more idiotic assholes like to say, the 'Slut Brigade.'"

To his credit, Naruto didn't even flinch at the news. "Well, they're fucking morons."

The response caught her off guard. "What do you mean?"

"I mean it's idiots like those that think they've got the biggest dicks around and that every girl should bow down to the power of their cocks. Unfortunately, they're also the same idiots that lose all semblance of control at the sight of the first pair of tits, or dicks if they swing that way, that offer themselves up and end up spilling vital intel. Why do they think brothels and bars are some of the best spots to have informants?"

Tenten could help but be impressed. "Well, apart from the part where you imply that some people like guys with a 'pair of dicks-"

"Ergh!" The blonde seemed ready to puke at the mental image she had conjured. "Not what I meant. Besides, who would go for that?"

"Hey, people are into some really out there stuff so no criticisms." She laughed again and found herself wondering how she had become so comfortable around him in such a little amount of time. "Anyway, I gotta agree with you; Anko even used one of the more vocal guys as an example. He was quiet as a mouse after that."

"Now that must have been hilarious."

"I know right? Anko didn't even fuck him; she literally blue-balled him into talking." The weapons mistress snorted. "Though the funniest part by far was watching Ino take notes. I mean, the rest of us were slack jawed and everything, myself included, and Blondie's all up in Anko's face, asking questions and taking notes!"

Naruto's deep laugh sent rumbles zipping up and down her spine. "Now that I'd pay to see!"

"You're not surprised that Ino's in the Slut Brigade?"

The way he tensed so suddenly caused her to wonder whether she had stepped on a landmine. His next words made her wonder whether or not she it was possible to fall in love in less than an hour. "You're a lot of things, Tenten. A skilled warrior, an unparalleled marksman, an intelligent, caring and dedicated woman and above all, an excellent kunoichi." The quiet conviction in his eyes spoke volumes that his words only hinted at. "You are not and never will be, a slut. Please, don't ever see yourself in such a light."

She couldn't speak; couldn't think. In the end, all she could do was nod.

It was more than enough for him.

"As for Ino, well, I'm dense not blind." He shrugged as he steered the conversation back. "I could tell that she was gonna be a head turner so it's not surprising that she's chosen a path that makes the most of that beauty."

Silently thanking him for the way he'd steered them past what could have led to an uncomfortable moment, she said, "Okay. I can't quite merge the two; you admit that you're dense-"

"I resent that comment."

"You said it yourself." She fired back mercilessly and, within his mindscape, Kyuubi danced a jig at what she saw as his just desserts. "Anyhow, you're dense yet you could tell that she would be a head turner. Explain."

"Tenten, as an Academy student, I created a B-rank pervert killer jutsu that's got an A-rank version." He answered dryly. "Trust me, even as a kid I knew beauty when I saw it."

"Prove it." She stated. When he seemed confused, she explained, "The pervert killer; I wanna see it."

"Tenten, it was ranked by the Third Hokage; I really don't think you should risk it." He warned. It was pointless, though; she just got even more persistent until he gave up and rose to his feet. "I really hope you're not a closet perv or something."

"I'm in S&I." She deadpanned. "We're all tremendous pervs. Go!"

The blond sighed and slapped his hands together. "Oiroke no jutsu!"

In a puff of smoke, the sexy ass blonde known as 'Naruko' appeared.

"Well, what do you think?"

Surprisingly, the kunoichi didn't even seem fazed. In fact, she had an almost clinical look in her eyes. "Not bad but the body language's all wrong." She stood up and walked over. The only time the clinical look vanished was when she touched his breast and he involuntarily shivered. "They're real?"

"In a manner of speaking; the jutsu heightens my sensitivity so…"

"And you did this as a genin?!"

'To be fair, I think you somehow subconsciously drew on my memories to create this.' Kyuubi mused in his mindscape as he shrugged. "Lucky shot?"

Tenten pinched her nose and sighed. "We'll deal with your stupidly absurd transformation later; now, do exactly as I say. Cock your hips just a bit to the left…"

Ten minutes later and a multitudes of embarrassed moans later, the brunette declared her work done.

"Anko might be able to get a bit more in but I'm pretty sure I'd score an eight."

A puff of smoke later and Naruto collapsed into the chair. "Thatwas uncomfortable."

Tenten just smirked. "You should have Anko train you in S your first week in and you'd blush every time you saw a girl."

Naruto, recalling some of his recent experiences [especially his latest with the Queen of Makai and the Succubi Queen], couldn't help but smirk just as confidently in return. "I might fare better than you'd think."

"I suppose miracles happen." She drawled lazily. For the next couple of minutes, they simply enjoyed the comfortable silence between them until she spoke. "Naruto?"

"Yeah?"

"How powerful are you now?"

The blond, sensing the seriousness in her tone, sat up and focused on her. "Jiraiya says I'm A-rank in terms of combat potential."

She nodded, deep in thought. "I'm a B-rank according to Shikamaru's dad."

"What is it?"

"I don't know, I just…" She sighed and stared him dead in the eye. "Something tells me we're in for one hell of a fight."

Well, this chapter got away from me pretty quick.

Ah well. I think I enjoyed myself writing this, honestly.

Please people! I need reviews! They tell me if you're enjoying the work.

Pretty please?

Oh! I can't believe I forgot for so long!

I got a beta!

Honestly, I've had a beta for at least three chapters now and I truly apologize to greenhorn123 for not acknowledging his efforts to help me make this better.

People! Say a big thank you to greenhorn123 for me please!