"A mistake is simply another way of doing things." -Katharine Graham
Chapter 25: Downtime?
Two days after the invasion the damages had been assessed all over the village and the defences of Konoha had been weakened. However, because of Naruto's stalling tactics, as pitiful as they seemed, they had prevented a large amount of collateral damage from being inflicted. As such, the real damage done to the village was where the three headed snake and Gamahiro had made their short fight. Luckily, that was in the abandoned Uchiha district which was not much of a concern as no one lived there.
Naruto's contribution to the invasion did not go unacknowledged. The majority of the civilians did not believe the claims of Naruto's clones helping people out. Alternatively, the younger generation looked at Naruto with a new light, seeing something other than the horrible prankster he had been made out to be. He still recieved glares but now some of the younger generation stared at him in confusion and, in some cases, awe. It wasn't much of a change but it was something.
The only thing on people's minds was whom would be promoted to chuunin. The main reason for the exams had been shown and the judges had seen almost every fight, however, nothing had been announced. The Raikage was still within the village with his small entourage, but all of Suna's shinobi had fled back to their villages with the injured having been returned by the Hokage once the information that Orochimaru had impersonated the Kazekage had been released.
So, it was with this mindset that had Naruto excited to be within the Hokage office after the invasion, believing he had managed to be promoted. Not that it made much difference now that Jiraiya's apprenticeship had been announced a bit more publically to the ninja corp. Jiraiya had told him the day after the invasion of the announcement he had made, and Naruto had surprised the man with a strong hug, in honor of their newly minted official relation, much like the one he had given Kurenai.
Naruto stood proudly as he looked at the Hokage, Jiraiya, Kurenai, the Raikage, and his two bodyguards, plus Yugito, whom was standing near the well endowed busty blonde. "Thank you for coming Naruto-kun." the Hokage said. Naruto nodded, "Now, I know your probably thinking this is about the chuunin promotions but I'm sorry to inform you that this has nothing to do with that." Naruto blinked in confusion, "The reason I have called you here today is that you have been requested for a mission." he said seriously, causing Naruto to tense slightly, it was almost unheard of for a genin to be requested for a specific mission.
"What mission, Hokage-Jiji?" Naruto asked, showing a bit of respect since there was a visiting Kage in the room, plus that guy who looked like the Raikage had to be some sort of jinchuuriki going by the feeling of his chakra.
Sarutobi chuckled as did the Raikage, "This brat seems to know you well Hokage-dono, I think I chose an interesting one for my escort." the Raikage said in his deep voice. Naruto turned his eyes onto the Raikage and they narrowed in suspicion as the Raikage then stopped chuckling and stared Naruto down.
The group in the room felt the tension rise as the two shinobi stared at each other. No killing or malicious intent was felt, merely a wave of questions flying between the two, flowing and ebbing quickly until Naruto nodded curtly at the Raikage, "I accept, Raikage-dono, whom else shall accompany us upon your departure?" Naruto asked, once again thanking Shika for his mini dictionary he had written for him.
The Raikage smirked, "I only wanted you but..." he said sending a glance at Kurenai and Jiraiya.
"Kurenai and Jiraiya will accompany you along with two others to the border." the Hokage interjected, causing Naruto to turn to him and the Hokage to turn to the Raikage, "Now would you please excuse us Raikage-dono, I have business with Naruto-kun." he said while standing and gesturing for him to leave the office. The Raikage, seemingly, took no offense at being dismissed while he and his bodyguards left the office with Yugito.
Naruto looked at the Hokage as he activated some seals around the room as soon as the Raikage had left. Naruto's eyebrow rose as he watched the seals activate. The Hokage then fixed Naruto with a determined stare as Jiraiya folded his arms, Kurenai seemed to be the only one whom hadn't moved. Naruto gulped slightly, "Hahaha, you're about to get grilled about our pact Brat, this should be fun to watch." the Kyuubi taunted from its cage. Naruto rolled his eyes at it, mentally.
"Shut up you stupid fox, I'm trying to figure out what exactly I should tell them." Naruto retorted.
"Don't insult me you imbecile! I am still the Kyuubi no Yoko and can deny you access to my youki, or did your pitiful mind forget that small fact?" the Kyuubi roared in defiance, Naruto flinched slightly from the volume of its roar.
"Kyuubi annoying you Naruto-kun?" the Hokage asked calmly. Naruto nodded slightly as he tried to block out Kyuubi's roars before he froze and turned his full attention on the concerned glares that were now being given to him by the other three people in the room. Naruto cursed in his head and the Kyuubi laughed its malicious laugh.
"Good job Brat!" it said as it fell quiet. Naruto sent feelings of reproach towards the great beast before he ignored its chuckles.
"So, how long have you been in contact with the Kyuubi and what exactly is its relation with you?" the Hokage asked, though his voice was calm there was the same tone he had used to reprimand Naruto when he was younger. Naruto flinched slightly, he hated that tone. It was the tone of disapproval, a tone of voice he was all too familiar with.
Naruto took a shuddering breath before looking at his teachers and the Hokage, "I first came into contact with Kyuubi when my team encountered Orochimaru in the Forest of Death." he says, causing them to nod. "Now, I didn't explain the fight but basically the snake bastard kicked our asses around until he placed the curse mark on Sasuke." Naruto said, which caused nods all around again, "Once he did, I tapped into Kyuubi's youki again and managed to hit him and disorient him long enough to switch with a clone while placing a small Genjutsu on myself to keep me hidden." he said, which caused looks of appreciation to come to light and one of pride in Kurenai's.
"Anyways, my clone held off Orochimaru for a bit longer but it was obviously a futile effort. He managed to ensnare my clone then placed some odd seal over the seal on my clone's stomach. The backlash of which caused me to fall unconscious." Naruto said, Jiraiya stepped forward.
"Was this the seal?" he asked as his fingers glowed with kanji. Naruto nodded and the Hokage motioned him to continue as Jiraiya stepped back.
Naruto then explained how his mindscape looked and how he had moved through the darkness and the short speech he had with the Kyuubi. When Naruto mentioned a pact, the three shinobi grimaced and looked at Naruto in worry. Naruto continued before they could continue, recalling the event.
Flashback
"Let's talk... terms." Naruto said.
Kyuubi blinked before a chesire grin appeared on its lips, "What is it your pathetic mind can think of that will allow me what I want?" it said.
Naruto frowned slightly, "Well, I think we should establish what we each want." he said after a slight pause. "So, what do you want?" he asked.
"Freedom from this seal!" Kyuubi roared. Naruto rolled his eyes.
"And you say we ningen are the dumb ones, do you teally think I'm dumb enough to let you out of the seal knowing full well anything I get from it would kill me?" Naruto asked and Kyuubi shook its massive head.
"I know little about this seal but the one thing I do know is that this seal is tied to both of our lives, the only way for me to have complete freedom would be for me to force my way past the seal when you are at death's door you stupid brat." the Kyuubi reprimanded to Naruto's wide eyes. "I want freedom of this cage, senses, a body, any way you can think of to bypass this seal and allow me access to the outside world and that will be one point that I am willing to make a pact over." the Kyuubi said.
Naruto thought about it for a few minutes before saying, "And I want your youki to stop affecting my bloodline so I don't die when I'm fifty. Also, access to your youki when I need it." Naruto demands.
Kyuubi smirks, "If you can find a way to grant my freedom in some way then I will grant both of those requests." it says. "Furthermore, there will be a mental connection between the two of us after this pact is formed so you will be capable of communicating me without having to return here." Kyuubi informs him.
Naruto nods before thinking for a few seconds and finally says, "Can you tell me about your powers?" he asks, Kyuubi looks at Naruto before smirking as if it had just gained a delicious meal. Naruto shivers as he looks at Kyuubi's grin.
End Flashback
Naruto is looking at the surprised looks of Jiraiya and the Hokage. Kurenai was regarding him with a critical eye and Naruto waited until they had taken in all of his information.
"Turns out that each of the Bijuus' youki grants complete control over one thing when controlled correctly by the bijuu or with the jinchuuriki cooperating with their bijuu, like the sand from Gaara's Shukaku." Naruto says, causing the other three to raise their eyebrows, "Kyuubi's youki allows for it to alter reality to how it sees fit, it holds true that the fox is a user of Genjutsu only it makes its illusions real in order to increase its killer capabilities." he explains.
"So, thats how you made your Genjutsu real during the invasion and how you managed to put Shukaku to sleep instead of Gaara-san?" the Hokage asked, having been briefed about Naruto's fight from people who watched him incapacitate Gaara while fighting in the stands. Naruto nodded.
"The ability to make Genjutsu real... something Genjutsu masters have been attempting to do for generations and Naruto figures it out after only having been under my tutelage for some months." Kurenai says to herself as she chuckles at the irony of it.
Naruto smiles slightly, "It's not quite so simple, there are genjutsu that I cannot make real because of their conditions and even the ones I can make real are limited to how much youki I can control into the constructs that need to be made." Naruto says, repeating Kyuubi's words as he had told him when explaining his power.
"So, you are limited in how many or how complicated an object you make because it uses more concentration and youki to make more complex items than something simpler." Jiraiya said, causing Naruto to nod once more.
"Can the Kyuubi influence you at all besides speaking to you, which, I feel I must tell you, is something I am not comfortable with?" the Hokage asked, Naruto didn't hesitate to shake his head in the negative.
"Very well Naruto-kun, raise your shirt so Jiraiya can inspect the seal." the Hokage ordered. Naruto grimaced at the order, slightly sad he had forced him to order him instead of asking him like last time but Naruto complied and Jiraiya only took one look at the seal before standing back up and nodding.
The Hokage let loose a sigh of relief before fixing Naruto with yet another stare, "I don't like you keeping secrets Naruto-kun, especially one so important as you communicating with the Kyuubi." the Sandaime reprimanded.
Naruto grimaced and words slipped out before he could stop them, "Just as I don't like being lied to Hokage-sama, but it happens." he responded and his teachers sent a worried look at the Hokage. The Hokage had looked down, no one could see the man's eyes.
"Indeed it does Naruto-kun." the Hokage said sadly still not looking up at Naruto, conscious of the stares being lain upon him he looked back up, sadness reflecting in his eyes but he soldiered on as the kage he was. "Now, I had hoped to leave all Genin out of missions for a week to allow them to let the invasion pass but it seems my hand has been forced in your case Naruto-kun." the old man said tiredly as he looked down again, "The Fire Lord was impressed with your fight, especially with your abilities shown during the invasion and made a direct request that you attend to a specific mission." he informed the slightly shocked Naruto, Kurenai and Jiraiya were frowning.
"I had asked him to reconsider setting you such a mission so soon but he feels it would be a great experience." the Hokage ground out, not seeming to like the mission much himself, Naruto narrowed his eyes.
"What's the mission Hokage-jiji?" he asked. The Sandaime sighed heavily before looking up.
"Genin Uzumaki Naruto, you are hereby ordered to take along a team of three persons plus yourself to the border of Fire Country and Sound Country. Upon arrival, you and your team are to locate and destroy the Bandit group known as the Crimson Hand, which has been plaguing the countryside around there for much too long. You are required to bring the head of the Bandits' leader as proof of success." the Hokage said with steel in his voice. Naruto's eyes widened once again as he looked at the A-rank mission folder he had just been handed, "Approximate troops for the bandits and a picture of the leader has been included in the mission dossier. This mission commences as soon as you safely escort the Raikage to the border of Fire Country." he finished.
Naruto looked slowly to his two teachers. Jiraiya looked worried but Kurenai was looking grimly at him. He looked back down at the mission folder and then back to the Hokage, who was frowning. A tense silence filled the room as Naruto's head swiveled around a few more times before, "Why is it A-ranked?" he finally asked.
The Hokage grimaced and Jiraiya spoke, "Look at the amount of bandits within the group Naruto." he said, a serious tone denoting his demeanor. Naruto slowly opened the mission dossier and nearly fainted as he looked at the number of approximate troops.
"Fif-fifteen hundred bandits!" Naruto stuttered slightly as he gripped the desk he was near to steady himself. Naruto's eyes darted over the mission dossier, there was an upside, the bandits almost definitely didn't have any ninja but still, with only four people that was over 300 bandits a person that would have to be killed. This type of mission was more suited for a team of jounin. He may have waylaid three hundred bandits before but he had passed out shortly thereafter from the strain of such an attempt. But he knew he didn't have any choice as to taking this mission, otherwise the Sandaime wouldn't have even handed it to him. Naruto took a deep breath.
"Who can I bring?" he asked. The sandaime smirked lightly.
"I already chose your group. People I think that will help you the most during your fight, they will meet you at the village gates. I hope you don't mind." the Hokage said. Naruto shook his head, of course the Hokage would have a better idea of who to would help him the most. "That is all I needed to see you about Naruto-kun... Good luck." he said as the seals surrounding the room faded and Jiraiya and Kurenai stepped up next to Naruto and Naruto turned as they proceeded out of the room to meet the Raikage entourage at the gate, along with Naruto's team.
The three made their way down the main street, Naruto was considerably happy to have his two teachers with him. "Why didn't you tell us about the Kyuubi Naruto-kun?" Kurenai asked softly as the three walked down the almost deserted road, since it was so early in the morning.
Naruto glanced at her and Jiraiya, both of them looking at him expectantly and he sighed softly, "Honestly, I was going to tell you after the exams, I meant to never use its power." he said quietly, "I hadn't wanted to tell you because..." he trailed off thinking back and trying to figure out why exactly he hadn't wanted to tell them when he had told them everything else but nothing came to mind, he looked away from them, "I don't know why I didn't tell you. I just felt I shouldn't for some reason." he said honestly after not being able to come up with something.
Kurenai frowned and Jiraiya looked up and away from him, "Okay Naruto, please don't withold anymore secrets, despite your previous teachers we have done nothing to not gain your trust." Jiraiya scolded lightly as he motioned to Kurenai and himself, Naruto looked back up at him. "I trust you to hold my jutsu in secret and so I expect to hold your secrets, that is the bond between teacher and student." Jiraiya said as he favored him with a small smile, "Right?" he asks lightly. Naruto ponders that for a few moments and can see Kurenai looking at him with an odd look in her eyes.
"I'm sorry." he says after having remained silent for a few more minutes.
"It's okay Naruto, I know I don't have the same relationship you have with Kurenai but I expect you to be able to confide in me eventually." Jiraiya says as he looks back at Naruto, "At least, I hope that trust will emerge on your part, I already trust you Naruto." he says with a smile as he then smirks, "I'll let you two talk, meet you at the gate." he says as he disappears into a swirl of leaves.
Naruto looks back down at the ground, not able to meet Kurenai's gaze. He can feel her eyes on him even as they walk but he cannot figure out why he didn't tell her and it hurts him to be holding secrets from her, not only because she was his sensei but because she was also his girlfriend.
She stops next to him, allowing him to take a few steps away from her before he turned and faced her, noticing she had stopped but he still doesn't meet her gaze, "What's wrong Kurenai-chan?" he asks.
Kurenai steps closer to him and bends down onto one knee to reach his height, still Naruto turns his head so he doesn't look at her, "I know we haven't been able to see each other since the invasion, but why won't you look at me Naruto-kun?" she asks lightly, though a tone of hurt could be heard hidden within her melodious voice. Naruto's eyes flicker before they slowly move to the right, inching across her face until her red orbs enter his field of vision and they lock eyes for the first time since Naruto had admitted to not telling her everything.
Naruto couldn't place the look in Kurenai's eyes but he could sense a hint of hurt along with disappointment within her ruby eyes. He almost looks away but her gaze holds him, enrapturing him as it always did. He takes a shuddering breath as Kurenai speaks, "I can try to understand why you wouldn't tell us about being capable of using the Kyuubi's youki... it is hard but I can try to picture that within my mind and I would be frightened of telling anyone myself." she takes a breath before continuing seeing Naruto's slightly widened eyes, "So I can try Naruto-kun, but it still hurts to know you can't tell me everything." she admits softly.
Naruto shakes his head, "It's not that I didn't want to tell you Kurenai-chan... it's just that..." again he trails off and attempts to look away but Kurenai's gaze still stops him. Under her gaze he is powerless and he can feel the truth being ripped from him without him even realizing what he is saying, "I was so afraid that you would hate me for using the demons youki." he says with a soft gasp from Kurenai and his own eyes widening as he continues speaking, a rush of emotion and purpose rushing through him, "I know it was stupid but I just couldn't help thinking that you would turn on me like everyone else had..." he says shame gracing his gaze as he still looked into her eyes, "It was something I knew wouldn't happen, but deep down... I just couldn't help but think you would leave me like everyone else." Naruto admits in a whisper as his eyes turn away from Kurenai's own. He shamefully kicks at the ground, knowing that he had just hurt his girlfriend's feelings and knowing that he had done it hurt him.
He waits for a few moments, expecting Kurenai to rebuke him for doubting her but she just reaches forward and wraps him in a hug, pressing her lips to his furiously. So surprised is Naruto that his eyes widen comically and he flails his arms slightly but Kurenai's grip can't be broken and she shoves her tongue into his mouth when he opened it to talk to her. He moaned into the kiss before she pulls her lips away from his, leaving a small bit of saliva to connect them, she licks her lips to clean them and fixes him with a smoldering yet fierce gaze as she speaks.
"I will never leave you Naruto-kun." she declares as she rests her forehead against his, forcing his gaze into her red eyes, he can see her emotions roiling behind them and he feels his doubts of her crashing as she holds him close, despite their public setting. "Even if we don't work out." she says softly, her eyes softening as she sees Naruto's eyes dim from that thought, "We will always be teacher and student, never forget that." she says vehemently. Naruto stares at her for a few moments, silence reigned as the two stared into each others eyes.
"I'm sorry Kurenai-chan." Naruto says softly, "I shouldn't have doubted you." he admits.
Kurenai smiles softly, "It's okay Naruto-kun, all relationships have their ups and downs, this was one of our downs... lets try to avoid this though." she says happily as she nips his lips and stands back up. Naruto nods and the two continue down the road toward the village gate, the air surrounding them much lighter and infinitely happier than the one that had been hanging since their departure from the Hokage's Tower.
The gates of the village came into sight much sooner than Naruto would have liked, despite being in such a public place it had just been himself and Kurenai during their walk and Naruto had been happy to relax his guard slightly while enjoying being in her presence once again. It seemed he got so little time to be with her recently. Despite all the time they spent training, they got very little time to spend just being boyfriend and girlfriend. He sighed as he attributed that to their lifestyles, something they had both chosen and pushed the thoughts from his mind as he stepped closer to the group awaiting them. Naruto shuddered suddenly as he looked at one of the two people who were supposed to accompany him on his mission.
"Ah! It's Nai-chan's boy-toy!" Anko shouted as she appeared behind him, crushing her bountiful breasts against his back and whispering huskily into his ear, "You know," she said, "We never did get to finish our conversation from before." she smirks at how he blushes and stiffens from her words and actions.
Naruto froze as he feels Anko's breasts press up against his back, feeling those wonderful globes of flesh pressing against him, he can feel his heartbeat increase and his blood rushing through his veins as Anko's words filter through his head. He blushes even further as she rubs herself against him and he hears Kyuubi giggle in his mind. That stops his thoughts for a moment before Kyuubi giggles again and his eyes widen as he recognizes the tone which Kyuubi's deep guttural voice usually holds now carries. Almost at the same time as he realizes this, does he hear Kurenai clear her throat and he suddenly has a shiver run down his spine.
"Anko." Kurenai barks, Naruto is surprised at the tone which Kurenai holds. Her normally melodius and smooth voice holding an unknown emotion as she speaks to the, now, frozen Anko. "Let go of Naruto-kun." Naruto blinks as, just as suddenly as she appeared, Anko disappears and reappears where she had been, chuckling sheepishly.
"Sorry Nai-chan." Anko says contritely but the gleam in her eye has Naruto on edge as he turns to look at Kurenai, who was eyeing Anko with a cold fury in her gaze. His senses tingled as Anko spoke again, "Didn't mean to take your spot." she says suggestively. Kurenai, to her credit, only has a slight pink dust her cheeks as she glares at Anko.
Naruto was blushing a deep red as his mind pictured Kurenai doing exactly what Anko had just been doing and his heartbeat increases even more, his blood rushing downstairs yet the giggle in his mind has him brought back to reality before anything could happen that would be noticeable. "Pervert." he states in his mind, hearing a great snort he smiles slightly.
"I am not perverted you stupid brat, I merely respect beauty in all its forms. It wasn't by my plan that females were the best thing ever to come into being on this world with the exception of myself." the Kyuubi retorts. Naruto isn't convinced but drops the point as he isn't interested in fighting with the Kyuubi right before this mission.
With this in mind he turns to the final member of the team that is supposed to accompany him and another smile graces his face, "Yugao-chan!" he exclaims with enthusiasm, catching sight of the purple-haired kunoichi now standing next to Anko, who was sticking her tongue out at Kurenai.
Yugao smiles at Naruto, wearing a normal jounin attire with a sword strapped across her back she cuts an imposing figure but the kindness in her eyes strikes Naruto, "Hello again Naruto-kun, how have you been?" she asks.
"Pretty good." he says before noticing the Raikage looking at him intently. He turns his gaze on the Raikage and spares a glance at Anko before stepping forward and bowing slightly, "I apologize for my teammates' attitude, please excuse her." he says, which causes Anko and Kurenai to look over at him, even if he couldn't see them.
The Raikage chuckles, "Don't worry about it Naruto, Bee here will have a much more extravagant attitude by the time we reach the border, I hope you'll be able to put up with him." he says as he thumbs the guy who Naruto had noticed looked like the Raikage. Naruto nods after he stands back up and smiles lightly.
Jiraiya steps in then, showing his leadership of the mission, "Raikage-san, if you are ready, I believe we can set out now." he says, to which the Raikage nods, "Well then, we will have a diamond form-" Jiraiya says before the Raikage shakes his head and cuts him off.
"I'm not worried about your protection Jiraiya-sennin." he says dismissively, "if anyone dares to attack a group made up of 3 S-rank shinobi, 4 A-rank shinobi, and 2 high-C-rank shinobi then they deserve the fate which befalls them. I wish to talk with Naruto-san during our walk otherwise I'm not concerned with your escort." he admits as he then begins to walk down the path away from Konoha. Jiraiya blinks before shrugging.
"Okay, Naruto talk to the Raikage, otherwise just enjoy the leisurely walk we have." Jiraiya says as he pulls out his book and begins to write in it, glancing at the five kunoichi surrounding him, making it obvious what he was doing.
Naruto glances at his supposed team, recognizing the glares they were sending towards Jiraiya he hurries forward and out of their range of ire. Naruto may not be completely social savvy but he was aware of glares such as those, ones that Sakura had been giving him during the Academy.
Of course, Naruto speeding up, landed him directly next to the Raikage, who had Bee and that big breasted blonde walking next to him. Naruto remained quiet for a few moments, walking in silence and feeling a small bit of tension in the air before saying, "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, pleasure to meet you Raikage-dono."
The Raikage glanced down at him with a smirk on his face, "Don't stand on ceremony with me Naruto, I'm not one of those old stuffy politicians that require you to show respect. The name's A and I'm the Yondaime Raikage. This is my brother, Killer Bee." he says as he gestured to the look-alike next to him. Naruto glanced at him and nodded in his direction, noticing the guy was definitely a jinchuuriki, as he nodded back. "This here is one of my most trusted jounin and arguably the best Genjutsu user in Kumogakure, Samui." he says, pointing to the big-breasted blonde next to him, she gave him a cold stare in response to his nod of acknowledgment. "Of course, you know Yugito already." he says as he gestures to the genin walking behind them slightly. Naruto nods in her direction and she smiles back at him.
Naruto turns back to the Raikage and sent a look at Killer bee which wasn't missed as he turns to the man, "You're a jinchuuriki aren't you?" he asks quietly. The Raikage doesn't seem surprised that he would know, as a matter of fact, the only person whom didn't seem surprised Naruto had figured it out was Samui, who had taken a defensive posture upon hearing his question. Naruto didn't react to her and the Raikage waved her off.
Killer Bee smiled at Naruto, "Yo bro, are you glad to finally be meeting the mighty Eight-o!" he raps which causes Naruto to sweatdrop.
"I see what you mean A-san." Naruto deadpans as he looks at Killer Bee. The Raikage sighs lightly. "So, he holds the eight tails?" Naruto asks quietly.
The Raikage nods, "Yeah, Bee can't seem to keep that secret when he meets another like him, so I requested to see you as we returned home so you could talk. He seemed quite interested in you. It was a little odd, on the way here both my jinchuuriki couldn't wait to meet you." the Raikage comments, stroking his beard, as he glances at Yugito then Bee, "Though for different reasons." he says.
Naruto chuckles, "I'm quite popular am I?" he says with a hint of irony, "Your spy apparently discovered what I did in Wave, I was trying to keep that secret." Naruto admits. The Raikage smirks down at him.
"Tough luck kid, you ran across the best in the business, I almost didn't believe him when he first told me the story, nor even the Genjutsu you managed to catch him in for a split second before he broke it." the Raikage admitted. Naruto smiles, proud of his ability.
Killer Bee stepped closer to Naruto, drawing his attention, he could feel the Raikage watching closely as Bee spoke, "As we go around this bend, let's become friends!" he says out of the blue. Naruto blinks in confusion before looking around and noticing they were at a bend in the road but he guessed that Killer Bee wanted to become friends with him.
"Uh, We don't really know each other, you want to just become friends like that?" Naruto asks a bit warily. He wasn't immediately trusting of people but he wasn't opposed to the idea of gaining another friend, even one from another village.
Killer bee didn't seem deterred at all as he smiles at Naruto and thrusts out a fist, catching Naruto a bit off guard, "To get over that hump, just give my fist a bump." he raps yet again. Naruto blinks before looking at Bee's fist and then back at Bee. A sliver of suspicion ran through him but he felt no ill intention from the guy and his chakra wasn't circulating anymore than before so he smiled lightly and fisted his own fist.
He thrust his knuckles against Bee's own lightly, tapping them and he felt a connection for a split second. Through that connection he grasped a feeling of contentedness along with the feeling of friendship and happiness overflowing from behind the guy's fists. He gasped lightly and stumbled before regaining his step and looking back at Killer Bee, his eyes shining as he smiles at the man before nodding and turning away from his newest friend.
The Raikage stared sternly at Naruto. Naruto felt his gaze but figured the man would talk to him when he felt he had something to say, Naruto had nothing more to talk about with him. Initially, he had only wished to talk about how he was found out at Wave, which he admittedly, got little information about. He looked back at Kurenai, Yugao, and Anko, noticing that Jiraiya now sported black eyes and was limping rather badly, though he still held a perverted grin as he scribbled in his book. Naruto shook his head as he saw the three kunoichi were whispering between the three of themselves. Though Naruto had no idea what they were talking about, he felt an odd shiver run down his spine as the three cast a glance at him. He smiled at them and they all returned it as they began conversing with themselves again and Naruto turned back to the front. A thought occured to Naruto and he put his hands in his favorite handsign and out popped ten clones who slightly surprised the surrounding shinobi until they hopped into the branches surrounding the path and created a loose perimeter.
He felt the Raikage's gaze still on him and he spoke with a shrug, "I figured it would be better to be cautious." he says, "Despite the fact that if any force big enough to harm us would be easily detected." he admits. The Raikage seemed satisfied but his gaze was still set on Naruto as he continued walking, as if trying to figure something out about the blonde.
The group continued in relative silence, Yugao, Kurenai, and Anko being the only ones who were really talking as Jiraiya and Bee muttered under their breaths to themselves. Yugito seemed satisfied to simply walk along in relative comfort and the Raikage was not staring at Naruto but casting him glances every once in awhile while stroking his beard.
It was the cold looking blonde, Samui who broke the silence, "Naruto-san." she says, drawing the attention of Naruto, and unknowingly to Naruto, Yugao, Anko, and Kurenai's attention as well, "I am curious about something during your fight." she says, her cold exterior causing Naruto to raise an eyebrow at the fact she was speaking but he nods his head to her.
"If it's something I can answer, I'll try." he says.
Samui inclines her head to him, "I'm curious about your fight with the Hyuuga, Neji I believe his name was." she says, causing Naruto to nod to affirm his name, "I've never met anyone who attempted a Genjutsu against an active Byakuugan, I was wondering what exactly drove you to attempting a Genjutsu." she states more than asks.
Naruto blinks before looking back towards the road, taking in her question and thinking about his answer, "Truthfully?" he says after a pause, turning one eye on her he smiles lightly, "I didn't expect it to work." he says which causes the congregation to turn disbelieving stares on him, minus Yugito who smirks in amusement, having fought with him gave her a pretty good idea of how he worked.
"If you didn't expect it to work... then why did you use it?" Samui asks, unkowingly voicing Kurenai's own question.
Naruto smirks, "If you don't try then you never know what might work." he answers, most of the congregation nods their head in agreement, acknowledging the wisdom of such a philosophy. "Besides," he continues, "if I couldn't trap him in a Genjutsu I didn't think I could actually beat him." he admits lightly, "my taijutsu is a new style and the fact that I flipped him actually was one of the tricks that would really only work once on a taijutsu expert as Neji. On top of that, my ninjutsu was pathetically limited because of the circumstances." Naruto says.
"If you couldn't trap him in a Genjutsu what would you have done then?" Kurenai asks almost immediately after that, fixing him with a questioning gaze. Naruto shrugs.
"Done the best with what I had and then either forfeited or been beaten, despite the fact that the proctors said it was life or death you couldn't actually get killed because the proctor would declare the match before anyone is in real danger." Naruto responds, "In the real world, I would have retreated or used traps or cover to attempt to beat him but, if you think about it, that arena is much too suited to straightforward battle types than the ones who like to use stealth or traps." he says as he looks at the sky, contemplating on the stadium he had fought in. Most of the shinobi are agreeing with him, but most genin aren't known for anything other than straightforward tactics.
"You said your jutsu was narrowed down, why is that?" Samui asks. Naruto comes back from his contemplating to fix her with a slightly narrowed stare.
"I'm sharing information with potential enemies. Samui-san, do you really expect me to answer that question." he says to her, which she takes in stride, not even offering an apology for the offense she presented to Naruto.
"That is true Naruto-kun, but..." Yugito speaks, sparing a glance at the Raikage who nods, "but we are in the process of making an alliance with the two of our villages, which would benefit your village highly. Especially since you just lost your only allies." she says. Naruto turns an eye on Jiraiya, looking for confirmation.
Jiraiya nods to Naruto and he sighs as he looks back at them, "I won't tell you that, but I will tell you the method I used against Neji, would that help Samui-san?" he asks, Samui shrugs.
"I was curious about the Genjutsu but if you explain how you managed to get a Byakuugan user into a Genjutsu I suppose that would be even better." she admits.
"Very well, please remember this act of good faith when the treaty is placed before you then A-san." Naruto says, which causes the Raikage to smirk as he nods lightly, apparently pleased with Naruto's attitude. "I tried to anger Neji in the beginning." he admits, "By doing this it served a twofold purpose. I had done extensive research in the Konoha archives to figure out what would be the best way to combat a Hyuuga. I'm sure you are aware of the best method..." Naruto states, allowing for one of the Kumo ninja to speak up.
"Fight them from a distance and tire them out before closing in for the kill." the Raikage supplies, causing Naruto and Jiraiya to nod.
"Exactly, but I could only carry so many weapons on myself and, though I have the chakra to be able to cast nonstop jutsu, just as Bee and Yugito do, I didn't have the correct jutsu to use." he admits, "So, I researched about their bloodline and discovered something that would help me," he stops for a moment, wondering if he should really be sharing this with enemies, despite how friendly they were when Jiraiya gives him another subtle nod. He idly wondered why Jiraiya was so supportive of Kumo but continues nonetheless, "I discovered that their perception while using the Byakuugan is reliant upon their ability to remain calm and collected, hence the reason they seem like such sticks in the mud." he says to a few giggles and chuckles. He smiles lightly as well.
"Anyways, so I figured getting him angry would make him sloppy plus lose his focus to where I might be able to catch him in a Genjutsu because his perception would be messed up." Naruto says, "I was honestly surprised he fell so easily into the Genjutsu, I was expecting a much longer and harder fight than what he put up." he admits.
Samui blinked, "So, you weren't trying to obscure and confuse him with the amount of chakra you pumped into the arena as you used the Kage Bunshin and the Genjutsu?" she asks with a hint of surprise.
Naruto blinked in surprise himself before bringing a finger up to his chin and thinking for a moment, "You know, that probably is why my Genjutsu caught so easily, I hadn't even thought of that." he says, which causes Samui to sweatdrop and Yugito to giggle at Naruto. Naruto blushes slightly as he looks down.
"Needless to say, it was still an impressive plan even without that extra part, you should be proud of your pupil, Jiraiya-sennin." the Raikage praises.
Jiraiya shakes his head, "You really have to thank Kurenai-san for his abilities, I taught him the ninjutsu he knows plus a few more things but most of what he just showcased was what Kurenai trained him in." he says as he waves in Kurenai's direction. Kurenai smiles at the praise from the Raikage and Jiraiya, both respectable and powerful shinobi.
Samui turns an eye on Kurenai and nods to her, "Konoha's Genjutsu Mistress, not surprising you are training the only Genjutsu talent in your village, such a shame our branch doesn't hold more interest." she says to which Kurenai nods. Naruto smiles lightly as the ice seemed to be broken from the group and they continue walking down the path, Samui dropping back to converse every once in awhile with the Konoha Kunoichi and Yugito sped up to walk next to Naruto. Jiraiya, Bee, and the Raikage relax a bit more as they continue on their way to the border.