Good news folks: My new shift has a bit more freetime in the evenings so I'm getting a bit more writing done. Should be more regular updates for the rest of the year.
Naruto and Hinata could feel the stares of the maids in the restaurant observing and evaluating them. Naruto estimated that none of the maids were over Chūnin level, but since there were so many of them in such an enclosed area, it would be a bad place for a fight.
Additionally, at this range he could smell that several of the maids were not in costume and were either yokai or monster girls. But even more unnerving was the scent that was growing stronger as they were led towards the back of the establishment to a more secluded room.
Of all the cousins Naruto had encountered thus far, Chiyo was the closest in scent to his mother, meaning she had trained long and hard to reach her current level of power. The other cousins save for Hanzo either hid behind minions; were nowhere as strong as his mother; or had underestimated him.
Chiyo was aiming a light killing intent at Naruto and Hinata, not enough to overwhelm them, but enough to let them know she was aware of them and wasn't taking them lightly. It reminded Naruto of the killing intent Zabuza and Kakashi had unleashed in Wave during the opening stages of their first fight. The fact Hinata's grip on his hand had tightened reassured Naruto, that he wasn't the only one nervous about this meeting. A glance at Hinata showed her Byakugan was activated, causing several of the maids they passed to shiver slightly as her gaze passed over them.
Their hostess slid open the door to the private room and revealed Chiyo kneeling at the table. The vixen was dressed in a black kimono with a purple lotus blossom pattern and was calmly tapping the bowl of a kiseru out into an ash tray. Chiyo had done her black hair up in an elaborate geisha-like hairdo and Naruto could tell the ornaments sticking out of the bun were actually throwing or stabbing knives and the tessen resting in her obi was bladed.
"Naruto-san, it is a pleasure to meet you face-to-face," said Chiyo with a predatory smile. It faltered a little as Hinata swept her gaze around the room and walked over to tap the wall behind the places set for the two Konoha ninja, causing a yelp as a young cat girl in a purple battle kimono, armored bodysuit, and brown hair fell out from behind a false wall. The girl's brown cat ears folded down as her tail dropped in sadness over being caught, but she really cringed when Chiyo's eyes narrowed and focused on her. "Iris-chan, what are you doing here?" asked Chiyo in an exasperated tone.
"Gomen Nasai Chiyo-sama, but you did tell me to watch your back and practice my sneaking skills," said the cat girl, only to be swept up in Hinata's arms.
"Oohh, aren't you just adorable," cooed Hinata as she rubbed the girl's kitten ears, causing her tail to start wagging as she leaned into the ear scratches.
Naruto caught a glimpse of a smile on Chiyo's face that was quickly hidden, but he mentally added the fact she cared for her girls to his assessment of her. "I wanted you to come in wearing civilian clothes and observe these talks, while seeing if you could remain undetected," said Chiyo as she tried to glare at the cat girl, but found it hard to do as Hinata's ministrations made the little girl let out adorable sounds that robbed most of the heat from her sensei's looks. "Naruto-san, Hinata-san, meet my ward, Iris. Her mother is on a long term mission for me and I owed her a favor, but I was not expecting her to cash it in by having Iris become my live-in apprentice."
Naruto nodded before raising one hand and beckoning for a maid with bunny ears and a fluffy tail that was passing by to approach. Seeing Chiyo's nod, the girl stepped up to the table and gave a half bow. "Is there anything I can get for you kistune-dono?" she asked.
"Did any of you notice this little girl sneak into the restaurant and build the fake wall she was hiding behind?" asked Naruto, causing the bunny maid's ears to stiffen, as well as several of the other maids throughout the cafe. Chiyo's eyes widened slightly as she took in the reactions before focusing back in Iris.
"Iris, did any of them see you at all?" asked the vixen. Iris simply smirked and shook her head, causing Chiyo to sigh. "It seems I'll need to be stricter with the next evaluation exam," she muttered before sinking down to kneel at the table. Iris slipped out of Hinata's arms and took the spot to Chiyo's left while Naruto and Hinata took the spots across from the elder kitsune. "I admit to feeling flattered at your letter describing my legacy in the Elemental Nations. As I said in my reply, my latest batch of girls have finished their training and needs an evaluation. Normally I'd have cross-trained them with Mejiro to test both our forces at the same time, but you crushed her and had me stumped over what to do until your letter arrived. Your terms are acceptable, putting limits on my trainees will let me see which ones think outside the box best and are better suited for advancement."
Naruto nodded and mentally let out a sigh of relief. He had not been looking forward to dealing with the memory integration of enough clones to watch over the entire Nerima ward so he could keep the civilians safe. "I'm glad to hear it, the last thing I need right now are distractions as I study for the big math test and then a history project." Seeing Chiyo's surprised expression, Naruto rolled his eyes. "I've been trained to figure out where my kunai and shuriken will go on the fly using things like my arm strength, the area they're traveling through, weather, and other stuff, but calculus and trigonometry are driving me crazy. Add in all the history I've had to cram in starting with the Meiji era... Hinata-chan will tell you it was very easy for me to make myself the dead last in my class even with Sasuke and her helping tutor me on the pure academic stuff."
Chiyo couldn't help but smile at the disgusted look on Naruto's face. "You sound like some of my trainees when they learn they have to take normal school in addition to ninja school."
"But in Ninja school you're allowed to sneak into the teacher's house and steal the answer sheet for the tests," countered Naruto, causing Iris to giggle and Chiyo to chuckle.
"Very true," said Chiyo before one of the maids came up and placed a bento box in front of each member of the group. "I recommend the dumplings, they're an old recipe we've been working on since the Warring States period and they've gotten better each century."
Naruto picked up one of the dumplings with his chopsticks and sniffed it, unconsciously emitting a small whine as the smell tickled his taste buds. A quick glance at Hinata confirmed no traces of poison showed up on her Byakugan and the fox boy bit into the dumpling. His eyes widened and Hinata started to look a little worried before Naruto swallowed his current mouthful and said, "There is a party in my mouth and these dumplings are all invited!" before shoving the rest of the partly eaten dumpling into his mouth in a bite that would have had his mother smacking his hands with a wooden spoon. Hinata and Iris both giggled as Naruto made exaggerated noises of delight while chewing before lifting another dumpling to the sacrificial altar of his tongue.
"Any chance I could get the recipie for these dumplings?" asked Hinata with a smile before she bit into one of her own and smiled at the taste.
"I suppose we can share the recipie once all this is over," said Chiyo. "In exchange, tell me about the Elemental Nations and the shinobi villages."
(0o0o0)
"Fascinating, truly fascinating what humans can accomplish," said Chiyo two hours later after a long explanation of the Elemental Nations and Hidden Villages. Naruto and Hinata had explained the various countries, villages, ninja ranks, types of jutsu, and other things they took for common knowledge but were fascinating to an outsider. Iris and Chiyo could barely believe their ears as Naruto and Hinata had relayed tales of the Sannin, the more famous Kage, and some of Konoha's more illustrious figures. Their eyes also constantly darted to the stack of plates as Naruto kept on ordering more of the dumplings, wondering where all of the food went.
"Your home sounds awesome!" Iris summed up from where she had slipped back into Hinata's arms for more ear scratches.
"Glad you think so, Iris, but right now Hinata and I need to start heading back so I can finish some homework before going to school tomorrow," said Naruto with a pout that had Chiyo, Iris, and Hinata all laughing. "I'll expect to see your girls try to start killing me tomorrow, Chiyo-sama?" asked Naruto.
"Yes, though if you feel like giving them any pointers about why they failed to eliminate you if you catch them please do," said the elder kitsune with a smirk that Naruto returned.
As Iris skipped forward to open the door to the cafe, Naruto and Chiyo both froze for a split second as their senses screamed at them before Chiyo lunged forward to grab Iris by the back of her uniform and yank the cat girl back from the doorway even as Naruto charged forward with Nenshousaiga in a battojutsu grip as he shoulder tackled the doors open.
Twin crescents of sickly green yoki were streaking towards the front of the cafe, sending the various shoppers crying out in surprise and scattering out of the attack's path.
Naruto planted his feet and crouched for a split second before leaping up with Nenshousaiga sheathed in fire, wind, and lightning. "Odori Kitsune (Leaping Kitsune)!" growled Naruto as his attack sent the poison crescents flying up into the air where they exploded like fireworks.
Gathering wind chakra at his feet, Naruto seemed to hover in midair for a second before sending himself rocketing towards the roof of the building across the street where he could sense the origin of the attack. He spotted a young woman in the same uniform as Iris, only her arms were the sickle-like arms of a praying mantis. Her face would normally be fairly pretty if she wasn't scowling at him like she wanted to rip his guts out.
"Doku Kama Arashi (Poison Sickle Storm)!" screeched the kunoichi, who Naruto's nose told him was definitely a praying mantis yokai, before she leapt into the air, spun like a top, and flung a flurry of her poison crescents at Naruto.
Naruto's eyes widened at the wide area of the attack and he barely had enough time to throw his arms up to guard his face before the first poison crescent reached him. Iris and Hinata both winced as the poison cut into Naruto, but Chiyo's face was furious as she stormed out of the cafe with Hinata behind her, Iris being held back by some of the maids visible behind them. Green fox fire flared around Chiyo before she grabbed her tessen and swung it from left to right with a cry of, "Kitsune Bi Shīrudo-ha (Fox Fire Shield Wave)!" and created a massive wave of green flame that intercepted all the poison crescents that got past Naruto. Hinata charged out from behind the remains of the clashing attacks, blitzing past Naruto as he landed, and ran up the side of the building towards.
The now falling mantis girl's eyes widened as Hinata leapt up even with her, flipping in midair as she gathered chakra in her palm before slamming it into the girl's back. "Hakke Hasangeki (Eight Trigrams Mountain Crusher)!" yelled the Hyūga princess,. The normal long range attack focused into a small area and sent the mantis kunoichi rocketing towards the ground face first.
The mantis girl let out a scream as she slammed into the ground, a large impact crater forming around her. She struggled to push herself to her knees, only to gulp as she saw Chiyo's geta-clad feet in front of her face. Looking up, her face paled as she saw Chiyo glaring down at her. "Sangurīn (Acid Green), what is the meaning of this? I gave orders that nobody was to attack my cousin until tomorrow. Today was purely for gathering information." Naruto walked over beside his cousin, sending a few shadow clones to help fix up the cafe.
"You always taught us to attack when the target least expects it," gasped the mantis girl as her arms morphed from mantis to human and she lowered her head.
"Unless I tell you otherwise!" hissed Chiyo. "And your attack could have hit Iris-chan as well as destroy most of the cafe!"
Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly as Sangurīn's eyes darted towards Iris for a second as a scowl formed on her face that was blocked from Chiyo's view by her hair. "Gomen, Chiyo-sama, I let my enthusiasm bring dishonor to you," said Sangurīn.
"Yes, now get out of my sight, I will decide on your punishment later," said Chiyo, her voice cold as ice. Sangurīn bowed her head before vanishing in a burst of speed. Chiyo turned and bowed to Naruto. "Forgive me, Naruto,. Sangurīn is one of the girls I will be testing, and as the best of her class she often gets overzealous to keep that title."
"Meh, not the first time I've been attacked unexpectedly," said Naruto. "Compared to Zabuza's tactic of flinging his giant sword out of the mist, this was tame."
"Still, you have my word no more of my girls will be coming after you today after that display," said Chiyo. Seeing Hinata once again hugging Iris, she grimaced slightly. "If you would be so kind to return my student to me, Hinata-san?"
Hinata pouted but relinquished her hold on the adorable little cat girl that set off all her big sister instincts from being away from Hanabi. "If I catch Iris-chan sneaking around, I am going to hug her into submission," threatened the Hyuuga princess, causing Iris to grin.
"Fair enough," said Chiyo before taking Iris's hand and vanishing in a cloud of smoke.
Naruto and Hinata made their way through the diminishing crowd, the cafe maids having been circulating among them and spreading a story about filming for a movie to calm the pedestrians. As they entered the train station, they both glanced up as Akira, Ranko, Miyuki, and Ryeka dropped down to walk beside them. The older teens had been watching from the roof tops waiting for a prearranged signal to jump in if needed. A shimmer of light revealed Cinnamon and Thyme stepping out of an invisibility spell as they rejoined their friends.
"Not a bad bunch," said Akira casually. "She had a girl on every rooftop around the cafe, but they didn't seem to notice us since we were just observing."
"And not enough tech for my scanners.," said Ryeka. "I doubt you'll have to worry about guns, though bombs might be a problem."
"Excellent," said Naruto with a grin. "Let the games begin!"
(0o0o0)
At a minute past midnight, six girls landed on the street outside the walls surrounding Kitsune Sou. The group consisted of a Jorōgumo, a Hari-onago, a young adult vampiress, a nagalike Nure-onna, a Yuki-onna, and a Kejōrō all dressed in purple kunoichi combat outfits over mesh bodysuits like Anko wore, each of them carrying a kodachi sheathed on their backs as well as a belt with several supply pouches. "I know Chiyo-sama said he was strong, but until we got this close I didn't fully grasp what she meant," said the Vampiress while rubbing her arms. "The old guys are pumping out enough aura to make me worried, but the kid... he's definitely related to Chiyo-sama and way beyond any of our human seniors, maybe even some of the more experienced immortals like us."
The Nure-onna's tongue flicked out a few times, sampling the air around the house. "I agree, Rachel. The two old men could slaughter us in the blink of an eye. I'd say the only hope we have of taking any of them out is to catch them while they're sleeping. Or if we managed to drug them or get them drunk."
"You weren't in the cafe Salmissra, you didn't see the way the girl's eyes could see through things up close like I did," countered the Jorōgumo. "She could tell the food was safe to eat and he didn't try anything without her confirming it. And I've seen Chiyo-sama shrug off Iocaine powder, we can't know what kind of poison resistance her cousin might have."
"Maybe you could lasso him through the window with your thread Charlotte?" suggested the Kejōrō.
"Only if his window is open Sayuri, and I think he'd feel my thread coming," countered Charlotte. "Same thing for Yura's hair."
"You know, the whole point of being a ninja is to do silent assassinations," growled Naruto as he peeked over the wall, causing all six girls to let out yelps of surprise. "You six are loud enough I was able to hear you, so you fail. Go back to your base and let me sleep!"
The girls scattered, not wanting to annoy Naruto to the point he started hunting them down, leaving Naruto to grumble and slip back into the house to grab a glass of water before returning to bed. "Noiser than a pack of fangirls stalking Sasuke!" groaned Naruto as he slipped back inside.
(0o0o0)
"Nerima suddenly seems to have had a population boom of teenage girls," said Naruto the next morning as the group was walking to Furinkan. Everywhere the eye looked, young ladies could be seen doing part time jobs, only to suddenly hurl shuriken and kunai at Naruto as soon as they had a clear shot. Naruto had made it a point to walk ahead of his friends, catching most of the weapons thrown at him and returning them to their owners. More embarrassing were the notes he attached to the returned weapons telling the girls how to improve their aim and throwing stances. This continued until they reached the entrance to the school, where a red-haired oni teen stood leaning against a large Kanabō as tall as she was. Seeing she was wearing the same outfit as the kunoichi from the previous night, Naruto sighed and walked forward. "I'm pretty sure I made it clear nothing was supposed to happen during school hours," said Naruto, his hand drifting near Nenshousaiga's hilt.
The oni girl nodded, taking a bite out of an apple in her hand. "True, and I got special permission from Chiyo-sama to come and issue a challenge to you for AFTER school is out. The name is Kei, I'm not good at the stealthy stuff, so I'm here to see how my skills fare in a fight with you."
Naruto relaxed from his quick draw stance, though anyone near him could see his feet were still dug into the dirt of the school yard ready to push off at a moment's notice if he was attacked. "Okay, it might help me relax and study more easily if I burn up a ton of energy after school," said Naruto with a grin.
Kei grinned back, grabbing her massive iron club with one hand and swinging it up to rest on her shoulder. "Great, see you after classes end!" she said while walking over to one of the trees dotting the yard to take a seat in the shade and read an action manga.
Naruto chuckled and walked towards the door of the school, only to have to leap back from a barrage of poison green blades. Kei leapt to her feet as well with a scowl on her face. "Damn it, Sangurīn! Chiyo-sama is already pissed off at you for attacking him outside the cafe, now you're attacking him in one of the places she said not to?" roared the oni girl, her muscles tensing as she prepared to charge the mantis girl as she landed between Naruto and the school doors.
Sangurīn hissed at Kei and prepared to charge at Naruto, both her sickle arms raised for slashing attacks, only to slam face down into the ground as a bokken hit her on the back of the head.
"Normally I let my students handle their own affairs, but it is clear you are here to cause trouble and disrupt classes," said Principal Kuno as he stood over the mantis girl. "Leave or I will use force to eject you."
Sangurīn screeched in anger at being talked down by a mere human, spinning to rip through Kuno's stomach with her scythe arms and spill his guts on the ground. She was unprepared for Kuno to leap straight up into the air over her attack and bring his bokken down on her head with enough force to snap the wooden sword and embed her face down in the dirt. Her attempts to climb to her feet came to a halt as Naruto slapped a sealing tag on her back, halting the flow of yoki through her system and causing her to revert to her human form.
"You really should have listened to Chiyo-sama and kept to the rules," said Naruto as he pulled out a giant permanent marker with his prankster smirk in full force.
(0o0o0)
Kei looked up from her manga as the school bell rang, signaling the end of the day and that her sparring match with Naruto would soon begin. Yawning and stretching her arms, the oni girl gave Sangurīn a light spin as the still disabled mantis girl hung from a sturdy branch of the tree Kei had been sitting under. Naruto had tied her up in an excellent Hojōjutsu bind that still left all the insulting words he'd written on her in permanent marker visible to everyone passing by. Naruto had originally left the mantis girl's mouth free, but a half an hour of screamed insults had him diving out of his third story classroom window to add a mouth gag so the students could concentrate on school.
Kei's face gained a grin as Naruto and his friends exited the school, chatting happily together as they made their way towards the Oni girl. "Glad you managed to survive a day of having knowledge crammed into your head," said Kei. Naruto chuckled and rubbed his head, leading the oni girl to the soccer field behind the school where they would have more room.
"So, how are we going to do this?" asked Kei as she stretched to get a kink out of her back.
"Best out of three rounds, get healed by medics between rounds. First to disable or force a submission wins the round," said Naruto as he rotated his shoulders.
"Any restrictions on techniques?" asked Kei twirling her Kanabō around her before resting the end on the ground.
"Nothing damaging anything beyond the field," said Naruto, shifting from one foot to another while crouching.
"Sounds good," said Kei, taking a ready stance like a baseball batter waiting for a pitch as Naruto stood opposite her in a battojutsu stance.
Akira looked between the two combatants and raised his hand. "Combatants ready?" Seeing both nod, he slashed his hand down with a cry of "Fight!" and leapt back to the edge of the field.
Kei opened up with a dash forward in an attempt to ram Naruto with her shoulder, only hitting an afterimage as Naruto made use of his speed to dodge and go for an overhead attack. Kei let her Kanabō take the blow, Nenshousaiga's blade bouncing off the iron club. Naruto used the force of the recoil to leap back and get some room, only to find Kei charging and swinging her Kanabō towards him in a blur before he could land.
The watching students all winced as it seemed Naruto took a hit to the gut, only to see he had performed a kawarimi with a log that shattered into pieces from the force of the blow. Kei raised an arm to shield her face from the resulting splinters, only to feel the blade of Nenshousaiga resting against her throat and a kunai pressed against her chest ready to slide right under her ribs and puncture something. "I yield!" gasped Kei.
"Round one winner: Naruto!" yelled Akira.
Naruto lowered his weapons and leapt back from Kei, allowing Hinata to rush up and heal him, while a blue haired oni girl rushed up to Kei and started softly scolding at her as she checked her over for wounds. "Ah yeah, this is my sister Yuri," said Kei with a sheepish grin. Yuri smacked her sister over the head, glaring at her to hold still and stay quiet.
Naruto couldn't help but grin as Yuri scolded Kei, it was similar to several times Haku or Tayuya had caught him training when he should have been resting and used their big sister privileges to get him to stop and rest.
Yuri finished tying some bandages where the splinters from Naruto's destroyed substitution log had cut Kei. Naruto was suddenly hit with the memory of how Haku had fussed over injuries she gave him in a sparring match after she was adopted into the Uzumaki family or how he'd seen her tend to Akemi's injuries after the battle in Wave. "Just be careful and don't play around, Sis!" warned Yuri, moving to the side or the field with Hinata.
Naruto and Kei both resumed their ready stances, grinning at one another. Akira once again took his position between the two of them and raised his arm. "Fighters ready? Fight!" yelled Akira as he leapt back once again.
Naruto braced himself for another charge, only to blink as Kei raised her Kanabō into the air before slamming the tip down into the ground. His eyes widened as a wave of ice crystals erupted from the point of impact and rushed towards him. Naruto was forced to leap over several waves of ice, wincing as the last one tagged one of his tails and sent a chill through his whole body.
Kei grinned as Naruto tried to avoid the ice, suddenly swinging her Kanabō like a golf club to send a swarm of ice shards at Naruto. Naruto countered with a wave of fox fire that melted the ice in a cloud of steam, only for his eyes to widen as Kei was no longer where she had been. A rush of air behind him was Naruto's only warning as he felt Kei's hand grab the back of his head and slam his face into the ground before her foot stomped down on his leg to pin it and her free hand twisted his right arm into a shoulder lock. Winded and lacking any leverage, Naruto gasped out, "I give!"
"Winner, Kei!" said Akira, wincing as little as Kei carefully released Naruto into Hinata's hands, stepping back and letting Yuri fuss over her.
"Ouch, fast and strong, you got me good," said Naruto. "I was not expecting ice from a passionate fighter like you!" Naruto once again couldn't help but remember Haku and how dangerous her ice jutsu could be.
"Yeah, everyone makes that mistake, it's Yuri that has the flame attacks," said Kei with a grin, causing Yuri to blush as attention shifted to her.
"Nee-san!" whined the blue-haired oni, not liking to be put in the spotlight. Kei chuckled and flexed her arms, watching as Hinata finished tending to Naruto. With one win each, the two combatants once against stood opposite one another.
"Final round, fighters ready? Fight!" yelled Akira as he leapt back for the third time.
Kei didn't even have a chance to move before she was surrounded by afterimages of Naruto circling around her. The Oni girl unleashed a wall of ice surrounding her, trying to block any possible attack, grinning as the sound of multiple impacts against the wall showed that she'd reacted in time to block Naruto's high speed attacks. Her eyes widened as a small smoke bomb fell in front of her face, releasing thick clouds of gas that caused her eyes to sting and her throat to itch.
Leaping out of the gas, she swung at a disturbance in the air, hitting Nenshousaiga by blind luck. Naruto skidded back away from the ice shield as Kei landed, coughing and rubbing her right eye to try to clear it. Before she could regain herself, Naruto was underneath Kei with his foot lashing upwards with a kick to the chin that sent her rocketing up into the air.
Kei had a brief second to experience a floating sensation before Naruto appeared above her and delivered a double overhead hammer fist to her stomach, sending her crashing into the ground back first. The resulting smoke cloud masked the damage, but it quickly faded to show Kei gasping for breath on her back as Naruto knelt beside her, Nenshousaiga stabbed into the ground beside her neck.
"Winner, Naruto!" yelled Akira and Hinata and Yuri both rushed up and started healing Kei after Hinata took a glance at Naruto and determined he was only winded.
"My whole world is pain!" gasped Kei, prompting Yuri to smack her on the head. "Ow, see what I mean? My own sister beats me when I'm suffering."
"Just for that, I'm telling Chiyo-sama you need to undergo more strength and speed training," growled Yuri.
"Some people," said Hinata, casting an aside glance at Naruto, "suddenly find themselves with a sense of humor when injured that others do not appreciate." Naruto winced, remembering one time he'd managed to get into a patch of poison oak while swimming. A worried Hinata had been the first of his friends to enter his room at the hospital to find him wrapped up in medicated bandages like a mummy and moaning about his skin being melted off. Being six, she had believed him and nearly had a heart attack until his mother had calmed her down and smacked some sense into him for scaring Hinata.
"I'm the one with fire powers, she's the ice user, but she's the hot blooded one, so what choice did I have but to learn how to patch her up when she gets injured?" asked Yuri as she took some ointment Hinata passed her and started rubbing it on Kei's wounds.
"Try having two almost brothers who egg each other on and constantly over train to the point they need to be carried home," Hinata commiserated.
"Never stopping due to injuries," said Yuri as she tightened a bandage.
Hinata rolled her eyes as she healed a bone fracture so fast Kei didn't feel a thing. "Not telling us about said injuries.""Training at all hours," the two blue-haired girls continued as one, causing Naruto and Kei to both wince. "Never knowing when they've bitten off too much." Yuri and Hinata both paused and glanced at one another before giggling at the looks of fear they could see on Kei and Naruto. "And we always have to be there to put them back in their place!" chorused the two medics with a grin and giggles.
"So..." said Naruto, not wanting to draw any blue-haired wrath to himself. "Any idea why Sangurīn is attacking me so blindly despite Chiyo's explicit orders of where NOT to attack me?"
Kei and Yuri both stiffened a second before glancing around, Yuri motioning Naruto over to her free side by Kei's head. "This is only speculation, but since we're in the bodyguard unit, we're trained to look out for possible threats," said the medic oni barely above a whisper. "Sangurīn was the top of the assault and assassination class for the 100 year group... at least until Iris-chan joined us two years ago. She's a natural at infiltration and sabotage, often killing the target in simulations before anyone else can get to them, earning her the top class ranking. Sangurīn hates being upstaged and deprived of Chiyo-sama's attention and special training as the top of the assault class."
"That's in addition to the personal training Iris-chan gets from Chiyo-sama as her guardian while her mom is away on her mission," muttered Kei. "There have been several close calls from her attacks going in Iris-chan's direction..." Naruto and Hinata's eyes both narrowed, remembering Sangurīn's first attack. "But she always had a good excuse. Her attack on you today was the first time Iris-chan wasn't around... and you have been the focus on Chiyo-sama's attention for the last week..."
"Great, an attention-craving kunoichi assassin thinks an adorable little girl and I are stealing her spotlight," groaned Naruto.
Standing up, he made his way to the front of the school, only to curse as Sangurīn had managed to wear the ropes holding her down and get free, leaving the ropes and seal placed on her torn apart on the ground. "She got loose," said Naruto as he reappeared at the field with a body flicker. "Hinata-chan, keep an extra eye out for Iris, if she's in the school, Sangurīn will probably make a move."
Hinata nodded, already scanning the area with her Byakugan for the adorable cat girl. Seeing no trace of Iris, Hinata shook her head.
Naruto took a deep breath and formed the sign for his favorite technique. "Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" A cloud of smoke quickly cleared to reveal a hundred clones of Naruto standing on every bit of the field, several trees, and school walls. "Spread out, find her, track!" ordered Naruto, causing all the clones to salute before vanishing in a body flicker.
A few moments later, Naruto's posture relaxed. "Iris is at the Nekohanten. Shampoo already chased off Sangurīn and is keeping Iris there as a mascot." Seeing the oni sisters breathe sighs of relief, Naruto couldn't help but grin. "Now, what's this about a 100 year class you mentioned?"
Yuri smiled as she finished tending to her sister. "The 100 year class is for all the nonhuman girls Chiyo-sama rescues or get sent to her by their families when they show skill as bodyguards, assassins, or spies. The human girls go through an intense training regimen until they turn 18, but for girls like us who age more slowly, Chiyo-sama developed a series of ten year long courses to help us reach our maximum potential."
Naruto nodded in understanding, a grimace growing on his face as he realized he still had to study for his test now that the spar was over.
(0o0o0)
"I swear, if I ever have to use trigonometry in real life I am going to scream bloody murder and massacre the cause," said Naruto as he slammed his text book shut.
Hinata looked up from where she was brushing out Iris's hair, the cat girl had made a sneak attack on Naruto as he went to get a rice ball during a study break and been captured by Hinata and was going to be spending the night with them. "Even if it was your mother?" asked Hinata with a grin.
"Hinata, my mother can probably calculate stuff like this on the fly but doesn't know all the terms this textbook uses. She's over nine hundred years old and I've seen her mix up medicine and cook recipes in a hurry with pinches, sprinkles, and chunks of stuff as opposed to measured amounts," countered Naruto, rubbing his head.
"Math makes my brain hurt too, Naruto-san," said Iris as she patted his elbow.
"Thanks, Iris," said Naruto. "But I'm going to turn in early for tonight!"
(0o0o0)
For the second night in a row, the same six kunoichi landed in front of the Kitsune-sou. Not wasting time on talk, all six leapt over the wall and made their way into the house interior. The first to emerge was Salmissra, who slithered out and exited the property as fast as possible, looking back nervously until she had reached the roof of the building across the street. Charlotte and Yura were both carried out by clones of Naruto, each tied up in the threads of the other. "Nice try, but the sound of spider legs was a dead giveaway. The idea of combining your threads to tie me up might have worked if not for that," advised one of the clones as the two were placed on the roof next to Salmissra before vanishing in puffs of smoke. A bat flew down next to Salmissra, transforming back into Rachel while rubbing her head.
"What happened?" asked the naga-like kunoichi with concern.
"Thought I'd try controlling him in his sleep to let me into his room," explained the vampiress. "I got into his mind fairly easily, but he's got some strong mental defenses once someone gets in. It's set up like a feudal town around a castle, tons of guards, traps, and even samurai in the town, getting into the castle I found myself facing what's either a split personality or a defense in the form of a female version of him that is a very dirty fighter."
Salmissra winced as she started cutting Yura free of the spider silk binding her. "How bad was it?"
"I felt like a first year stepping into combat class for the first time," groaned Rachel. "Now where are the others? We can't exactly leave without them..."
(0o0o0)
After an hour of working to get Charlotte and Yura untangled, the four kunoichi were growing annoyed as the Yuki-onna and Sayuri still hadn't returned. "I'll spin a tent, we can take turns keeping watch," groaned Charlotte. "I still can't believe he was able to grab my thread without getting it stuck on him and make us bind one another up Yura."
Yura winced and ran a comb through her hair. "I'm just lucky he didn't yank my hair out to make a point."
(0o0o0)
Morning saw the four kunoichi still waiting for their two team members and grimacing when Naruto hopped up onto the wall surrounding Kitsune-sou. The blond made a circling motion with his hand and pointed inside the house, signaling for the girls to come inside. They found extra place sets at the breakfast table for them, while Hoshika, Hinata, and Iris were all bringing the food to the table. "Hinata-chan caught Iris sneaking around, so she's out, but I wanted to go over your efforts from last night," said Naruto. "As I said, spider legs are a big tip off, it was pure luck I caught both of you at the same time. Trying to invade my mind was smart... if I hadn't had mental defenses erected before coming to Japan to help keep village secrets safe from mind readers. Now, who put the poison on my toothbrush and in my toothpaste?"
Salmissra raised her hand, surprised to see Naruto grinning. "What gave it away?" she asked, her snake body drooping slightly.
"My nose caught the scent of the two different agents reacting just as I was about to put it in my mouth," explained Naruto before shuddering. "Damn scary to think I was that close to shoving poison into my mouth. Now where are the other two?"
At that moment, the door to the dining area slid open to reveal a grinning Yuki-onna hugging Roshi. "Ohayo!" she chirped, only to gulp as her four teammates all glared at her.
"We waited all night for the two of you to get back and you've spent the whole night with a guy?" hissed Salmissra angrily.
The Yuki-onna cringed and hid behind Roshi, who looked amused. "Don't blame her, I bumped into her as I was coming out of the bathroom, apparently you've never encountered anyone with elemental chakra because she looked confused as she tried to suck all the heat out of me," said the red headed ninja with a smirk as he draped an arm over the Yuki-onna protectively. Naruto couldn't help but grin at the blush staining her cheeks as Roshi hugged her while her friends were starting to smirk at said blush. "One thing led to another and we just got up."
"Ok, that's one down, now where's..." Charlotte's voice trailed off as she heard the sound of footsteps and the door opened to reveal a panting Sayuri as she slammed it shut behind her.
"Your sensei is a freak!" she yelled at Naruto before diving behind Charlotte as the door opened to reveal Jiraiya.
"Says the lady who invaded my mind and tried to wrap me up in sexy fun time illusions," said Jiraiya.
"He was too much a perv for you?" asked Yura with a raised eyebrow.
"Nobody should be able to endure my illusions that long and then take control of them!" exclaimed the Kejōrō. "I may not be a succubus, but no pervert has ever been able to escape my control! Chiyo-sama herself trained me once she figured out where my abilities lie!"
"That's because I'm not a pervert... I'm a SUPER PERVERT!" declared Jiraiya while striking a pose, only to be smacked over the head with a ladle by Hoshika.
"I'm so glad Kyuubi-sama never left you in his care when you were young and impressionable, Naruto-sama," said the kitsune maid.
"Yeah, it was always Baa-chan, Rin-sensei, Kurenai-sensei, or Gai-sensei watching me so I wouldn't pick up bad habits," replied Naruto. "I think the first time they left me alone with Kakashi-sensei was once I was five, and Ero-sennin at seven."
"And weren't you already stealing Asuma-sensei's cigarette packs at four and burying them since the tobacco hurt your nose?" asked Hinata, causing Naruto to nod and grin.
(0o0o0)
"Iris-chan, can you help Hoshika with the dishes?" asked Hinata once everyone had finished eating their western style breakfast. Iris nodded, helping Hoshika gather up the various dishes and made her way to the kitchen. As soon as the door to the dining are closed., Naruto slapped a seal onto the table and released a dome of chakra that spread to the walls of the room and made them glow.
"Ok, this is a sound proof barrier, it's come to my attention we have an issue," said Naruto as he looked at the six kunoichi. "Sangurīn is targeting Iris-chan. When she attacked me at the cafe, Iris was about to open the door and step out into her attack. She also tried again after escaping during my spar with Kei; she got driven off and Iris apparently didn't realize she was ever after her. So, I need the six of you to keep an eye on Iris. If Sangurīn tries to make another attempt on Iris's life, we need evidence to show Chiyo-san." All six of the girls nodded, fists clenching. Iris was much beloved, even if she was a prodigy since she was cheerful and friendly to all. "All six of you have potential, against normal humans you're more than deadly. Heck, you got in and Roshi didn't realize you were here until he bumped into one of you." The former Iwa shinobi nodded, squeezing the Yuki-onna gently and making her blush all over again. "I want the six of you following me to and from the school, make some attacks, but keep an eye out for Sangurīn." All six yokai kunoichi nodded in agreement, so Naruto removed the barrier seal just in time for Iris to skip through the door to pass out bento boxes to everyone for lunch. Naruto made a big deal of sniffing everything in his box after accepting it, causing Iris to giggle, but he was delighted to see more of the cafe's dumplings included. Each of the yokai kunoichi made it a point to give Iris a hug for bringing them their lunch before they made their way outside, the yuki-onna pausing just long enough to pass Roshi a piece of paper with a kiss of the cheek.
"How did you get her number but I get nothing?" demanded Jiraiya.
"Gee, maybe because he's not a Super Pervert?" suggested Naruto as he put the bento in his school bag and darted out of the room before Jiraiya could retaliate.
(0o0o0)
"Okay, that's the math test done... now that history project," muttered Naruto as he exited the math class.
"How do you think you did?" asked Kimiko, slumping slightly as she shuffled along beside him. The only ones of the group who seemed to not be worn out were the two acknowledged brains of the group, Cinnamon and Ryeka.
"Enough to pass," muttered Naruto before shaking his head. "And I swear kami has it out for me... making me give a report on Oda Nobunaga aka the ninja destroyer and the reason the ninja fled Japan for the Elemental countries. Why couldn't I get Takeda Shingen? I'd love to get first hand stuff about him from Chiyo-san. Or Hattori Hanzo? His name is still respected back home! But NOOOOO, I get the jerk who ordered a mass slaughter of everyone in one of the two main provinces that produced ninja!"
"Yeah, well I got Takemaru of Setsuna, the bloody bastard who caused my grandpa's death and nearly killed my dad!" countered Kimiko. "I'm tempted to just say, 'He was an enemy of my great great grandpa and a massive dick who killed my great great grandma when she chose GG Grandpa over him!' if it wasn't for the fact I'd get a failing grade and my mouth washed out by mom."
Shuffling outside for lunch, Naruto sent a clone to grab some freshly made ramen as the group sat down to eat. The moment Naruto opened his bento and the scent of the cafe dumplings hit the group, Kimiko and Miyuki's ears both perked up as their noses twitched, while the rest of the group couldn't help but lick their lips. "Uhmmm, Iris-chan, if you're around, we could really use a huge order of dumplings from the cafe," said Naruto as he slowly backed away from his hungry friends, mentally cursing his use of seals on the bentos to keep the food warm and smelling freshly cooked. Naruto breathed a sigh of relief as Iris appeared, passing a large take out box to each member of the group. Naruto let out a sigh of relief, only to groan as Iris handed him a large bill of sale with his box.
(0o0o0)
The next week was not fun for most of the teens as they spent a large amount of time in the library doing research and combing the internet for facts. Iris apparently put in a request to Chiyo and brought over several scrolls detailing several historical figures she had known or gathered information on back in the Warring States era. Naruto did get a bit of a laugh making a list of all the video games and anime that featured Nobunaga as a villain and watching videos online of him getting defeated as well as the ninja sniper assassination attempt on him by Sugitani Zenjubo. While Naruto didn't think he would ever be able to use a gun himself, he admired the way the ninja rifleman had prepared his ambush and how close he came to killing Nobunaga. He had laughed as Inuyasha and Kagome told him about meeting one of his relatives who had confirmed a young Nobunaga had been an idiot.
Chiyo's kunoichi started making more progress, the human girls growing better at suppressing their killing intent while in disguise and the yokai girls becoming sneakier. Several times Naruto barely caught poison on his cup, a bit of tainted food in his bento boxes at lunch, and several poison vapors in his room. Each failed attempt made the kunoichi more determined, and Naruto was starting to enjoy himself. He thought he might have a bit of a grasp on why Iruka had enjoyed teaching so much when he gave the kunoichi a breakdown on why they failed and how they could improve. Seeing the girls grow more skilled from his advice and the thrill as they started combining his suggestions into effective tactics had Naruto wondering how he would fare with being a Jonin sensei. He'd also noticed that Iris always had one of the older yokai girls shadowing her and whenever he spotted Sangurīn she had an expression like she just it into a lemon stuck on her face.
Jiraiya's face also had a sullen expression since Roshi was still getting visited each night by the Yuki-onna, who introduced herself as Yuna. Even better in Naruto's mind was that the second night she brought her Tsurara-onna cousin, Rikku, as well. The grin on Roshi's face and the pout on Jiraiya's the next morning had Naruto rolling on his back in laughter and he was even more delighted when Rikku managed to create an ice spike that could have skewered him if he hadn't accidently elbowed it and knocked it over before he could roll onto it. The two cousins had pretty much removed themselves from the attempts on Naruto after that, much preferring to spend the nights with Roshi and avoid any shenanigans their comrades would try to pull.
(0o0o0)
Finally, the projects had been turned in and the teens were all heading to the Nekohanten to celebrate. Even better was the news one of the local shrines was celebrating its 300 year anniversary and the whole district was happy to have an excuse to throw a large festival. Chiyo had specifically sent word to all her girls to take the night of the festival off and have fun.
"Good ramen, no homework, and a festival to boot!" exclaimed Naruto while casually parrying a ninjato strike from a kunoichi dressed as a sushi delivery girl with a Hiraishin kunai. The girl used the force of the parry to launch herself at a wall, rebounding for a flying kick that had Naruto bringing up his other arm to block and deflect the blow. "Very nice, no wasted movement or energy," said Naruto to the girl as he used one of the grabs Ranma had taught him on the girl's foot and introduced her face to the concrete. After waiting a second to make sure she was staying down and not trying for a sneak attack, Naruto stepped back to let Hinata and Kimiko heal the kunoichi up. The girl slowly got to her feet before bowing to Naruto and hurried off to continue her delivery. After Naruto proved he was not your average assassination target, the girls had started being more creative. Dripping poison down strings either into his mouth while asleep or towards his cup at meal times, blow guns and darts being fired from cover, attacks from man holes, a few of the older kunoichi even attempted a honey pot routine, only to be victim of Naruto practicing his Suiton affinity and dousing them in freezing cold water.
(0o0o0)
In Kyoto, a small figure giggled as it landed on top of a train heading to Nerima. "Hehehehe, a swarm of pretty ladies is just the thing I need," said the figure as it leered at the newspaper it clutched that showed several of the kunoichi who had been seen around the district for the last week and a headline, "Kunoichi Descend on Nerima!"
(0o0o0)
The day of the festival was perfect. Just the right temperature to let everyone relax, but not too hot so people could run around. The usual game booths were set up and the local restaurants and food carts were doing business so fast that orders were in danger of being mixed up. Naruto and his friends were enjoying the break from school work, especially since Hanzo had sent word his family was going to be attending. Naruto and Hinata were both dressed in simple kimono, Hinata wearing a light pink one with a cloud pattern, while Naruto's was a dark blue with whirlpools. Jiraiya was off trying to charm the local girls and failing miserably while Roshi was escorting Yuna and Rikku around, mostly to the various crushed ice stands so they could enjoy the flavored ice.
"The only thing this is missing is some Ichiraku and Mom's triple meat teriyaki skewers," said Naruto as he handed Hinata a skewer of dango while also taking one for himself.
"And my mother's homemade cinnamon buns," added Hinata with a giggle.
"Man, I'm going to be missing Haruki and Haruko's first festivals," said Naruto with a sigh. "Some big brother missing the first three years of their lives..."
Hinata rubbed his shoulder, trying to ease the mood. "I'm sure they'll be happy to see you when we return," she said.
The sound of small feet pounding into the ground and a cry of, "NARUTO-NII-SAN!" were the only warning Naruto had before a small fox girl came at him in a flying tackle glomp that knocked him flat on his back. "Yay, found you!" chirped Mayu as her tail waved happily in the air.
Hinata couldn't help but giggle at the sight, Mayu was dressed in a green kimono with golden colored thread and bits of black fabric to form a circuit design. Hanzo and Cassandra came around a stall, chuckling at their daughter. They were both wearing a dark blue kimono with green leaf pattern and had their arms entwined.
"Sorry Naruto, she caught your scent on the wind and got away before I could catch her," said Hanzo.
"No problem, she knocked me out of a bad mood," said Naruto as he used chakra to hop to his feet with Mayu clutched in his arms before spinning her around.
"Ah, Hanzo and Cassandra, glad to see you made it," said Chiyo as she rounded the corner with Iris by her side. Both of them were wearing a purple kimono with black lotus flower print and carrying hand fans. "And this must be Mayu, she's grown so much since the last time I saw her!" Mayu giggled and wiggled out of Naruto's arms to throw herself at Chiyo and hug her leg.
"Aunty Chiyo! Can you give me some more dancing lessons tonight?" she begged, causing Chiyo to chuckle and ruffle her hair.
"Maybe, little one, if you aren't too tired out from the festival," said Chiyo with a smile. Mayu grinned, only for her eyes to slide over to focus on Iris. Both little girls stared at one another for a moment before their faces blossomed in a pair of grins as their tails started wagging in synch.
"Uh-oh, I know that look," muttered Naruto to Hinata. "It's just like what Sakura and Ino looked like before dragging you off for a shopping spree."
"Hi, I'm Mayu/Iris!" exclaimed the two girls at the same time before giggling at their synchronization. "Wanna be friends?" the two chorused once again before smiling. Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly as he was beginning to get the same vibe from them that Konohamaru and Hanabi would give off when they were about to act up. Before any of the adults or teens could say anything, the two girls had locked hands and dashed off into the crowd, leaving a pair of giggles echoing behind them.
"Oh dear," said Cassandra. "I know Mayu has been wanting a friend her own age, but to form that kind of connection so quickly..."
Chiyo rubbed her nose and sighed. "Iris is farther along than most of the girls her age and hangs out with the older girls, making the girls her age shun her, I should have seen something like this happening."
Naruto sighed as he crouched a bit, shifting his kimono a little to free up his legs. "I'll catch up to them and keep them from going overboard... I hope," he said before vanishing in a Body Flicker. Hinata shook her head and activated her Byakugan to follow his progress, a smile on her face.
(0o0o0)
"What should we try first?" Iris asked Mayu as they slowed down and found themselves by the stands selling food.
"Takoyaki!" exclaimed Mayu. "I'm always getting Western style snacks, I want some Japanese stuff!"
"Okay, then for my pick we get some crêpes!" said Iris, pointing to a stand advertising several different crêpes with various toppings and fillings.
"And how are the two of you going to pay for all of that?" asked Naruto as he landed behind the two girls, causing them both to let out a squeak of surprise before glancing at one another and turning to gaze up at him with wide eyes.
"Could you pay for it o-ni-chan?" chanted the girls in synch as they made their lips quiver a bit. Naruto staggered from the double whammy of little sister puppy dog eyes and grimaced.
"Fine, but Hanzo and Chiyo owe me," muttered the fox boy as he headed towards the takoyaki stand with the two giggling girls, each grabbing one of his hands, which allowed Naruto to discreetly place a Hiraishin seal on both girls to make finding them easy if they got away from him. With snacks in hand, he led the girls through the festival, Hinata and their parental units catching up after a few minutes.
"Oooh, goldfish catching!" exclaimed Iris, her tail wagging at the sight of all the fishes in a tank. The two girls quickly thrust their unfinished snacks into their parents' hands and darted forward towards the stand, eager to try to catch some fish. Naruto couldn't help but frown slightly at the look of the guy running the stand, especially the large number of paper nets he had in a bag beside him. Mayu and Iris were oblivious, each of them trying to catch a fish. Sadly, both their scoops broke after two attempts, prompting them to try again with the same results. A third try caused the vendor to smirk, which made Naruto's eyes narrow as the two girls' eyes were starting to tear up.
"Oi, old man, let me give it a shot!" said Naruto as he stepped up to the tank with the fee in his hands. The vendor grinned and took them money.
"Okay kid, see if you can do better than these two!"
Naruto rolled up the sleeves of his kimono and crouched over the tank, eyeing the fishes swimming around inside while holding his scoop and bowl. Invisible to everyone but Hinata with her Byakugan, Naruto channeled chakra into the scoop before his arm blurred and five fishes were in the bowl. The vendor's eyes widened as Naruto looked up at him. "I get to keep going as long as this isn't broken, right?" seeing the man nod, Naruto transferred the fish to a bag of water that he handed to Mayu before his hand blurred once again and five more fish were in the bowl with his scoop unbroken. Iris happily accepted her five fish and Naruto's arm once again was a blur and five fishes were caught for Hinata. The vendor's face grew darker and darker as Naruto kept on catching five fish with the same scoop, handing bags of fish off to Chiyo, Cassandra, the various kunoichi he'd gotten along with, Ranko, Miyuki, Kimiko, Cinnamon, and Lucia when she showed up to join her family. Within twenty minutes, Naruto had emptied the tank and the vendor's face was red with anger. Snatching the scoop from Naruto, the vendor prodded the flimsy paper only to have it break without Naruto's chakra flowing through it any more. Naruto was gazing at the hand that had held the scoop, a sensation like water flowing over his skin.
"Alright kid, you've done good, but you've put me out of business! So how about a wager?" asked the vendor, catching Naruto's attention. Seeing he had Naruto's attention, the man placed a smaller tank on the ground with a tarp on top. "You catch all the fish in this tank bare handed and you get to keep all the fish. Fail and you have to pay for all of them." Naruto stared at the tank, which was giving off a faint scent of ozone and reached up to rub the back of his neck where the hairs were standing up, discreetly activating a small temporary water blocking seal to prevent his Jusenkyo curse from activating.
"Alright, you've got a deal," said Naruto, causing the man to grin and whip off the tarp to reveal half a dozen electric catfish swimming in the tank.
"No backing out now, either catch them all or pay up!" exclaimed the man, only to blanch as both of Naruto's arms shot into the tank and he came up with a catfish thrashing wildly in each hand. Naruto tossed the two fish into the air before his arms blurred and he was grabbing another two fish and tossing them into the air before grabbing the last two and then starting to juggle the fish with his eyes locked on the vendor before letting all six fish land back in the tank. The vendor's face had grown pasty white as Naruto juggled the fish and he made no protest as Naruto stood up to applause from the crowd that had surrounded the booth. Naruto made sure to discharge all the gathered electricity into the ground as he stood up, resulting from everyone around him getting a small unnoticeable jolt before he grabbed Mayu and Iris's hands, leading them away from the rigged game.
"Very well done, Naruto-kun," said Hinata once they were out of hearing range. "You managed to keep your chakra from showing even when using such a weak medium. All those chakra control exercises are paying off."
"And you pulled off Dad's Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken to catch five fish at a time and not get wet," added Miyuki as she eyed her fish, which appeared very nervous.
Naruto nodded, watching Iris and Mayu dart towards a throwing booth and each win a stuffed bear by throwing a dart at a bullseye. The bears were taken by Hanzo and Chiyo with smiles, allowing the girls to scamper to the next attraction that caught their eye, a karaoke stage. Each of the girls did a solo, then a duet together. Mayu dragged her mother and sister on stage for another song and Iris finished up by singing a song with Hinata.
Everyone was just getting ready to sit down for a meal when a cry swept over the festival that sent a chill down their backs. "SWEETO!" as numerous female cries of rage started to reach the group's ears.
Alright, that's a wrap, next chapter features the return of the pervert even Jiraiya can't stand!
Bonus: Can you list all the references the named kunoichi besides Rachel are? I honestly just grabbed a Eurpean name for her.