Naruto frowned as he felt a pair of eyes watching him while he trained. They had elected to hole up in a smaller hotel near the edge of the capital after their turbulent, yet surprisingly productive visit to the Daimiyo of the Land of Hot Water. Tonight, Naruto had found himself a nice little clearing in the surrounding bamboo forests to practice his lightning style. Currently, it and fire were the two most difficult primary elements to use, if only because he hesitated to really let loose with them for fear of collateral damage. He had heard enough about the many grievances common folk had with shinobi to know that he was a lot less likely to endear himself to the people he hoped to help protect if he obliterated their homes and livelihoods in the process.
At the moment, he was trying to work on his control over lightning. His current abilities mostly relied on him using his chakra to create a charge in his hands and using that to supplement his close combat techniques. If he wanted to use lightning chakra at a distance, he had to dramatically increase the charge in his hands and basically hope that he directed it properly. Granted, ever since Ryuzuka started stopping by every once in a while to assist him with his water manipulation, he had found that his understanding of the other elements had started improving. Figuring the fundamental similarities and difference between the different kinds of natural energy that flowed through the different elements had dramatically improved his abilities with them, but he knew this wouldn't be something he figured out on his own anytime soon.
Practicing with creating progressively stronger arcs of electricity between his two hands, Naruto smirked as his voyeur moved to switch positions and focused on guiding the lightning in his hands towards the bush they were hiding behind and chuckled when a brown-haired blur launched out of the hiding place with a yelp before crashing to the ground with a groan.
"What's the big idea?!" Kanagi shouted as he rose to his feet, rubbing his backside while his muscled twitched slightly from the excess energy.
Naruto smirked and shrugged his shoulders before growing serious as he crossed his arms glared down at the boy (a small vindictive part of him cheering that he was taller than Kanagi now). "Why are you spying on me?"
Kanagi scoffed. "Please, why would I spy on a low-life like you? I was just out here looking for Sakura. With that red-eyed prick gone, I'm in the market for a rebound. I know she talked to you last time we were here, so I figured you'd know where she is."
Naruto narrowed his eyes. He didn't like the predatory gleam in Kanagi's eyes, and instead elected to reach over and grab his staff from where it was casually standing perfectly straight next to him. Comforted by the increasingly familiar feeling of his staff interacting with his chakra, he pushed aside the prickling along his stump, glaring quietly at the boy.
It didn't take Kanagi long to wilt under the strength of Naruto's gaze, and he was forced to look away while upping his boisterous façade. "Fine, don't tell me. Though, I may have to remember to mention to the real Hokage-sama that she was seen conversing privately with a known criminal and missing-nin. I can only imagine what Hiashi-sama would do if he thought that she was withholding pertinent information on Konoha's enemies, especially after that whole Sasuke business putting her and her mom on shaky ground as it is."
"She's your teammate," Naruto growled angrily. "Why would you do that to her?"
Kanagi shrugged. "She's my teammate at the moment. It's only a matter before she gets killed or retires her commission. After that, she'll be useless anyways."
"What do you mean useless?"
This time, it was Kanagi's turn to smirk. "Sorry, that's classified information pertaining to Konoha and its shinobi forces."
Naruto rolled his eyes and turned to walk back to the hotel. He had dealt with Kanagi and these little exchanges for the better part of the last two weeks while they worked directly with Imada, who had come from Yuga on the Daimiyo's orders, to surveil the streets of the capital. Pretty much every day, Kanagi confronted him at some point to try and see if he could rattle Naruto enough to get a reaction, and every day he wore on Naruto's patience. Naruto had yet to figure out what Kanagi gained from constantly antagonizing him, but he had yet to fall for Kanagi's not-so-subtle attempts at manipulation.
Yet another thing to add to the long list of things to figure out later, I guess, Naruto thought to himself as he strolled back into the village. He kept his senses honed, partly in case there was any trouble, but also because he didn't totally trust that Kanagi wouldn't take the opportunity to try and take a free shot at his back. His hopes for a peaceful walk back to the hotel were dashed as he breached the forest and saw several people dressed in black dashing between buildings. He could sense Kanagi several yards behind him as he leapt into the air and followed the shady individuals from the rooftops. So far, he counted seven people, five men and two women, dashing through the shadows of the closely packed buildings that occupied the capital's business district. He followed them as they headed towards the slums, and watched as they split up, each of them carrying a bag full of something that they were handing out to whoever they could find.
He narrowed his eyes as one of the women pressed whatever she was handing out into the hands of a seemingly unwilling young boy. He heard the crinkling of plastic as she curled his fingers around the package and reassured him that it was a special medicine that would make him forget all about how hungry he was. Rage threatened to consume him as he put two and two together and looked around the street, confirming his theory as many of the homeless people on the street opened the little bag of drugs these people handed out to them. His enhanced eyesight allowed him to see a small symbol on the bag that held the strange paste. He focused his sight as the emaciated boy opened the bag, making sure to take deep breaths to keep from doing anything stupid.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing peddling that poison to these people?"
Naruto groaned quietly and dropped his head. Freezing time, he extended his senses for the nearest bearer of one of his voice seals, and noted that Kiba was only a few blocks away. Activating his voice seal as he created a contingent of shadow clones, Naruto got the feeling that whatever they had been looking for unsuccessfully, was about to find them.
"Kiba, I need you to hurry to my location and help me keep Kanagi from getting killed in a mob."
"Aww, do I have to?" Kiba whined.
"Yes," Naruto replied. He watched as Kanagi tried to engage the seven dealers, but their superior numbers allowed them to overwhelm him easily while a mob of angry, doped up citizens started descending on him.
Kiba arrived minutes later and tore through the crowd alongside Akamaru with a Gatsuga. He heard Kiba exchange barbs with Kanagi as they fought and frowned as the mob descended on them. His frown deepened as neither Kiba nor Kanagi took many procautions concerning the group of inebriated civilians at risk of being caught in the cross fire.
"Kiba, what are you doing? Get out of here before you and Kanagi hurt someone," Naruto ordered as he jumped down behind them.
Kiba didn't answer except to growl as he spun through the air, tearing up the groung along the way, and further angering the mob. Naruto's frown flickered into one of confusion, followed momentarily by realisation. Activating his Kunshugan, he noticed a similar aura to the one covering the Daimiyo's castle, only this one was more violent and angry as it seeped into the chakra pathways of anyone nearby.
Acting fast as he saw Kanagi prepare a fire technique that would doubtlessly incinerate everyone before him, Naruto completely released every restriction on his body and dashed between the now terrified crowd and the massive fireball flowing down the street. Planting his feet, Naruto ducked into his fire style and faced the fireball head on. His left hand burned slightly as he fought Kanagi's chakra for control of the element, but ultimately he won, splitting the flames and twisting them around him before extinguishing them with a deep breath. As soon as the first person recovered their sense from the amazing sight of Naruto effortlessly stopping an attack of that size, the fighting was about to begin anew before Naruto flexed his chakra as far as he could while discretely creating clones to gather up the abandoned drugs that the mob had left to gang up on Kanagi and Kiba. The pulse of chakra went throught the entire street as well as a few blocks in every other direction, calming the masses while Naruto apologized for his associates' foolish actions. Without another word, he grabbed Kanagi and Kiba roughly by the shoulder and shunshinned them back to the hotel, startling Jiraiya and Tsume as they appeared before them in the hall outside their rooms.
"Does one of you want explain why we just saw a massive fireball technique light up a street on the other side of the city?" Tsume growled, causing Kiba and Akamaru to shrink in fear.
"What happened is that I came across a group of people selling drugs to homeless people on the street, and this idiot stopped me from taking them out!" Kanagi shouted angrily while Naruto remained unfazed.
"I stopped you from setting the entire capital on fire," Naruto growled.
"I didn't see you do anything to stop them."
"Because I was going to follow them and find out who they were. My clones were ready and waiting to take care of those people, whether to confiscate the drugs or help anyone already suffering from its affects. You're just lucky that I managed to find a clue, otherwise we'd all be chased out of here faster than you can blink."
"What kind of clue, Naruto?" Jiraiya asked.
Naruto pulled out a small bag and tossed it to Jiraiya. "It's got the symbol for rook drawn on it."
"Another gang?" Tsume wondered. "This could get ugly fast if the others catch wind of someone trying to claim the capital as their territory."
"Especially if all four gangs wind up here," Naruto added.
"Four gangs?" Kiba asked. "I thought we've only seen three."
"We have," Jiraiya replied. "But if the gang we encountered in Mutsunai was called the Lances, and this one was called the Rooks, it would stand to reason that there are at least two others."
"The bishop and the knight," Naruto concluded.
"Anko and the others should be back soon," Jiraiya said. "We should talk this through."
Naruto frowned and nodded. He waited for everyone to gather together before sharing what they had learned. He was pleasantly surprised by Sakura's anger as she yelled at Kiba and Kanagi about their carelessness. Jiraiya gave them all orders to be on the watch for more gang activity, but to draw as little attention to themselves as possible.
The next day, after being chewed out by Imada, Naruto found himself walking through the capital, trying to find the street where everything had taken place the night before. He stopped when he finally arrived only to find the street looked like a warzone. There were clear signs of battle all over the place, far more than Kanagi and Kiba had left, and people were milling about trying to clean up what they could. Adjusting his robes, Naruto ran in and grabbed a stack of wood before the older gentleman carrying them could teeter over from their weight.
"Thank you, son," the man wheezed as Naruto effortlessly carried the wood over to the few people helping with the reconstruction of the already worn down buildings.
"No problem," Naruto replied, dropping the wood. "What happened here?"
"Gangs," the man said, shaking his head. "Someone caught the Rooks sneaking around trying to hand out some of their poison to attract new customers, and the Bishops didn't like them doing business in their territory. By the time the shinobi forces got involved, I'm surprised any of the buildings here are still standing."
Naruto scowled momentarily before schooling his features. "Would you mind terribly if I helped with the clean up?"
The man shook his head and Naruto spent the rest of the day using his clones to help clean up and fix any damage. By the time the sun was setting, he had become fast friends with many of the people on the street. He had just sat down to take a breather when a feeling of dread settled over the air. Turning his head, he watched as a large group of people strutted into the middle of the street, making all the other civilians freeze in fear.
"Alright, listen up!" Called a rather slimy looking man at the head of the group. "As last night proved, there are people who would like to cause the good people of this part of town harm. As such, the Bishops have taken it upon themselves to increase protection for you all. Of course, increased duties such as these are not cheap, so we'll expect your increased support when we come around looking for donations."
"You're already bleeding us dry!" Shouted one man. "How are we supposed to keep up with paying your extortion fees when we can hardly make a living? Especially when you come around destroying our livelihoods!"
"Well," the greasy man replied, and Naruto felt chakra being molded. "You can either make do, or my friends here can demonstrate just what we are protecting you from."
On cue, another man stepped out from behind him and flashed through hand seals before blowing a stream of flame at the dissident. Everyone in the crowd gasped, and the poor man screamed as the fire burned through the air towards him, only to open his eyes when the feeling of being immolated never came. Standing between him and the gang was Naruto, his staff left where he had been sitting as he dispersed a stream of fire for the second time in as many days.
"I dunno who you are kid," the slimy man snarled. "But you just made a big mistake."
"Maybe," Naruto replied, his gravelly voice travelling through the air. "But I've just spent all day helping fix this street, I'm not about to let it all go to waste. So, why don't we all just leave each other in peace?"
The man laughed ad Naruto felt someone creating another aura with their chakra nearby. Calming down, he fixed an angry look on Naruto and growled, "Get him."
The twenty or so gangsters shouted as they charged and Naruto sighed. Flexing his chakra to protect the regular people from the frenzy-inducing effects of the chakra settling over the street, he drew Eclipse and focused his wind chakra through the blade. Scanning each of the approaching enemies, he planned each of his attacks and swung Eclipse just as the first gangster reached him. A series of dark streaks blurred through the air simultaneously as Eclipse slipped inside the first man's guard and ran through his heart. In a matter of moments, all the gangsters save the slimy man dropped to the ground, dead. The slimy man tried to run as Naruto cleaned off Eclipse and sheathed it, only to find his legs trapped by winding tendrils of wood that slowly grew out of the ground.
As if on cue, Imada himself and several of his shinobi arrived, scowling at the scene before him.
"You really don't know the definition of discrete, do you?"
"Imada-sama! This young man here saved us!" The older gentleman whom Naruto had helped when he first arrived exclaimed. "These miscreants wanted to extort more money out of us and he stopped them before they could hurt any of us or our homes."
"Is that so?" Imada asked.
Naruto shrugged and smiled sheepishly. "I'm not a fan of people who use their strength to hurt others."
"Well, in that case, you're work is done here, boy. My men will take this suspect in for interrogation."
Naruto frowned as Imada and his shinobi vanished with his captive, and created some clones to dispose of the bodies on the street. He went back to helping the people with their reconstruction for a few more hours before graciously declining many invitations to dinner in order to return to his hotel. He focused on maintaining a calm demeanor, purposefully slowing his pace and leaning more on his staff as he wound through the streets. He didn't let the mask slip even a bit until he was already inside Anko and Guren's hotel room, having dragged Jiraiya with him away from the hot springs once again, and drawing layers upon layers of security and privacy seals. Finally certain they were secure and no one could listen in on them, Naruto turned to face them, a seious look in his eyes as he signed to his team.
We have a problem.
*(OoO)*
Tsunade sighed as she reclined in her seat. She had spent almost all her time since relocating to Uzu playing politics and working with Fujika and Yazawa to gain the loyalties of various nobilities and promonent businesses around the Land of Fire. They faced constant opposition from Hiashi and his delegates, but it seemed that having the Shogun and princess of the country on their side really helped. Fujika was a staunch believer in Naruto's ideals, and therefore had been travelling all around the country trying her best to unify as much of it as she could by lending the aid of Yazawa's samurai to whoever they encountered. She and Yazawa had even set up base with Danzo in a small town near the coast, less than a day away from Uzu.
Meanwhile, Tsunade was also dealing with the issues that came with starting an entirely new village on an island nearly inaccessible by boat. She had spoken with Tsunami, who had taken over Gato's shipping business and was turning it around to be a force for good, and managed to negotiate a deal that made Uzu the new headquarters for her business and helped bring in money and goods to Uzu for when they really started growing. At the moment, they could live off the land, but once Naruto inevitably started charming people into wanting to come live here, they were going to need something more sustainable. Luckily, Karin had an amazing analytical mind, and after returning with Hiruzen, Konohamaru, the Ichirakus, Tsunami, Inari, and Tazuna, had immediately volunteered to put that mind to work. Karin now worked as Tsunade's right hand when it came to anything involving numbers, and had already managed to draw up a rough outline of a budget using the funds Tsunade had brought with her when she left Konoha.
It helped that she was able to send everyone else on some of the higher profile missions she had also brought with her. There were a few of them that were too dangerous to assign at the moment, but after pulling Itachi and Kisame out of the Akatsuki due to them not being able to dig up any more information and Nagato becoming more paranoid after Konan's disappearance, she now had three S-Rank shinobi that could be covertly assigned to the higher ranked missions to bring in funds for Uzu as well as form good will with the clients. Itachi, Kisame, and Konan were all adjusting to life as official shinobi again, though they mostly kept to themselves (with the exception of Kisame who could sometimes be found sparring with Zabuza, instructing him in his own brutal, condescending way).
Tsunade couldn't have imagined that her life would turn out like this before she met Naruto all those years ago, yet now, after having lived with the hyperactive boy for a while, starting a completely new village that housed three of the strongest criminals in the bingo book was somehow not all that surprising. Her thoughts turned to her son, and she fought down that familiar feeling of worry that clawed at her chest when he was away. Naruto was incredibly smart and strong for his age. Besides, he had Jiraiya, Anko, and Guren with him, and they weren't exactly on the most dangerous of missions. They were acting as glorified police officers for a bunch of civilians in a tourist trap of a country, how bad could things be?
As if to answer her question, there was a small whoosh of air being displaced and she looked up to see Anko, Guren, Jiraiya and a pale Naruto standing before her.
"Oh, cool," Naruto murmered. "It worked."
He suddenly slumped to the ground, and Tsunade was across the room before Jiraiya could even reach down to catch him.
"What the hell did he do?" Tsunade growled as she placed his head in her lap and started a diagnostic jutsu.
"Don't worry," Jiraiya said placatingly. "Minato was the same when he first attempted the Hiraishin. He just needs practice."
"You mean he finally figured it out?" Tsunade asked.
"He's been spending a good chunk of free time since our talk with the Daimiyo of Hot Water wrapping his mind around it. If he wasn't working or training, he was summoning dragons over and over to figure out exactly what was going on. He's only feeling weird because he didn't put enough chakra into the technique."
"Why are you all here anyway?" Tsunade asked, relieved once she saw the colour returning to Naruto's face as he stirred in her lap.
"Had to tell you… Walrus is evil… Wants to rule the springs…" he murmured, causing Tsunade to raise an eyebrow and Jiraiya shrugged.
"Naru-kun, I need you to focus on me," Tsunade said softly. "What are you talking about?"
Naruto groaned and lazily moved his hands through the air. Imada is the one behind it all. Probably wants to rule Hot Water Country.
"How do you know?" Anko asked.
"Felt his chakra," Naruto said quietly, slowly regaining his faculties. "Was helping out around the capital when a bunch of gangsters from the Bishops tried to threaten the people I was with. I felt someone nearby using that technique to try to stir up a frenzy. When I had taken care of the gangsters, the chakra signature approached and I saw that it belonged to Imada."
"Why would the leader of a country's hidden village orchestrate this kind of thing?" Guren wondered. "What does he have to gain? Especially in a peaceful country like Hot Water."
"The bigger question is what we do with this information now that we know," Jiraiya replied as Tsunade moved Naruto up to lay on the couch in the corner of her office.
"I say we stay the course," Naruto suggested. "Even if Imada is the one behind the shinobi using the Daimiyo's technique to affect people's behaviour, there are still four gangs ramping up to turn the capital into a warzone. Ero-Sennin and I can figure out a seal that should keep us and the others from being affected by their jutsu, and inform the Daimiyo so that he can get to work figuring out what he wants to do with Imada."
"What about the others?" Anko asked. "Are we going to tell them about this too?"
Naruto shook his head. "Tsume already told us that Konoha is using this mission as a way to open up negotiations and strong arm Hot Water into being on their side. If Hiashi learns that the Daimiyo knows of a technique that can make people complacent and docile or stir them up into a frenzy he'll march on Yuga and then the capital without a second thought. As for Taisa and the others, their village is already suffering, I'd rather not have someone make things worse for them in an attempt to get back at them."
"That's very wise, Naru-kun," Tsunade said proudly, turning to the others, she crossed her arms. "Naruto's suggestion is sound, and I'm approving that course of action. If at all possible, work to keep any collateral damage to a minimum. In the meantime, I am issuing chunin Uzumaki a probationary field promotion to squad leader. Follow his orders unless Jiraiya says otherwise. Naruto, this is going to be a test to see how well you do in an actual position of command, I expect a full report on your performance from your team when you return."
"If that's the case, I'd like to request Kurenai be sent with us as backup," Naruto replied. "She's a master of Genjutsu, and can help Ero-Sennin and I with the development of our seals as well as using her illusions to keep our activities out of the public eye."
Tsunade considered the request for a minute before replying. "If you want Kurenai with you, you'll have to pick someone to leave behind. Kurenai was going to be sent to Yume with Tayuya to act as our ambassadors while they discuss whether or not to accept your offer of refuge as well as investigate their claims of the Nine-Tails destroying their village."
Naruto narrowed his eyes and frowned in thought. "If that's the case, I'll take both of them and you can send Hebi-hana and Ero-Sennin to Yume. Both are experts at gathering information, and our investigation is finished for the most part. Ongaku-chan and Tenshi-chan would be more useful with Keshho-hime and me."
"Alright," Tsunade replied after a moment of thought. She activated her voice seal and called Kurenai and Tayuya into her office. When they arrived, she explained the situation to them both and smirked internally when they noticeably brightened at the mention of traveling with her son. "Kurenai, you will have veto power over any of Naruto's commands if he explains his decision to you and you find it lacking. Other than that, you both will follow him."
Kurenai and Tayuya nodded and Tsunade watched as all three women placed a hand on her son before vanishing into thin air.
"He'll be fine," Jiraiya reassured her.
"I know," Tsunade replied.
*(OoO)*
They arrived back in the hotel room and Naruto stumbled once again.
I have no idea how my father ever used this to fight. Let alone against Dad.
Shaking his head, he turned to the three women behind him and got straight to business.
"Remember to keep a low profile. If anyone asks, you arrived because Anko and Jiraiya needed to be called off for a different mission. Use your voice seals to keep in contact at all times and try not to be caught on your own. I'm gonna assign some clones to figure out that seal and train so I'll see you three in the morning." He smiled and hugged them each before exiting the room, leaving several of his security measures in place for them. He left the hotel once again and made his way back to his little clearing just outside the capital. Once he arrived, he summoned Ryuda, and was surprised to see his familiar was not alone. Standing next to Ryuda was a man with long, spiky black hair that reached down to the small of his back. He had piercing blue eyes that Naruto could have sworn glowed, and other than a pair of baggy white pants that tucked in just below his knees, he wasn't wearing any clothes. The multiple bracelts on his wrist jingled as he moved his arms and smirked.
"So Ryuzuka wasn't lying when she said you were getting the hang of natural energy," the man observed in a deep, rumbling voice.
"Ryusanda-sensei, I presume?" Naruto replied with a smirk of his own.
"Got it in one, kid," Ryusanda replied. "Ryuzuka said that you've been making some steady progress with manipulating water and applying what she's taught you to other aspects of your training, so I thought I'd drop by and lend a hand too."
Naruto smiled and bowed to his latest sensei. "I won't let you down, Sensei."
Ryusanda grinned and dropped to the ground while Naruto sat down across from him. "Alright, now lightning can be a tricky element to master. As with the others you can create it with your chakra by vibrating it at a high frequency and building up a charge." He demonstrated what he was talking about by raising his hand between them and covering it in a cloak of electricity that sparked and flashed before fading as he lowered his hand back to his side. "Unfortunately, there are a few drawbacks to doing it like this, the first one being how difficult it is to control. Unlike water, for example, the energy in lightning doesn't want to be controlled. Water can be manipulated and guided, but lightning represents an imbalance and will naturally move towards restoring that balance."
"What do you mean by an imbalance?" Naruto asked. "Aren't you just converting your chakra into energy like with wind and fire?"
Ryusanda shook his head. "Not quite. Chakra is all about balance. It's created by balancing your physical and spiritual energies within your body. That's why mastering natural energy is so difficult, because you need to completely rework that balance to incorporate a third element when molding your chakra. Lightning is created when there's an imbalance of positive and negative energy, when you vibrate your chakra, it's like rubbing socks on a carpet. You create an imbalance of positive and negative and then use your chakra to guide the attack towards your opponent."
"Is that why lightning release techniques aren't actually as fast as real lightning?"
"Yup. What I'm gonna teach you is a different way to do it, though." Ryusanda smirked as Naruto's eyes shone with excitement. He leaned forwards and gave his undivided attention to his teacher as Ryusanda stood up in front of him. "Unlike wind and fire, which are both energies that can draw power from emotion, lightning requires peace of mind. You need to be in complete control as you manipulate the energies within yourself. Now, activate your Kunshugan and tell me what you see."
Naruto did as instructed and watched as Ryusanda slowly waved his arms around himself in large circular motions, completely different from the sharp piercing moves Naruto had studied when he was trying to develop his own lightning style. He watched as Ryusanda gathered his chakra and split it in two directing both halves to his hands. The chakra in his hands started to change, and Naruto narrowed his eyes as he tried to figure out just what was changing about them. Ryusanda wove his hands through the air and his chakra started to gather on the outside of his hands as well. He swirled his hands in front of his chest and Naruto watched, amazed, as lightning started flowing out of his finger tips in circle from one hand to the other. Finally, Ryusanda spun in place, pointed his right hand up into the air while his left touched his wrist and flowed down his body until it was pointed at the ground, and a bolt of lightning erupted from his outstretched fingers and ripped through the air.
"Woah," Naruto whispered. "So you molded your chakra and split into your hands to use them as sort of conductors for the positive and negative energies, then combined them at the point where the lightning came out of. No wonder it looked so similar to my water style."
"That's right," Ryusanda said. "The fluid motions help with the generation of lightning, while the piercing ones you use now are for directing it. Now, what I want you to start working on is separating your energies. As I said earlier, chakra is made out of spiritual and physical energy. These two energies are also known as Yin and Yang chakra."
"They're what's used for non-elemental techniques, right?"
"Correct. They also are composed of positive and negative energies. Your goal is to be able to add each to a separate hand, keeping them equal at all times. When you have managed to mold the energies, you will direct them through your body, always making sure to avoid flowing through your heart, release them. At long ranges, this technique requires less control as you are simply directing the lightning, and should therefore move at speeds close to natural lightning. Once we start working with sage chakra, you will find that controlling your lightning will be far easier as the natural energy creates the link between your positive and negative energies and the energies around you, granting you the control of any other lightning user as well as the power of natural lightning."
Naruto nodded and immediately got to work. He closed his eyes and focused on the chakra within him. He imagined his Yin and Yang energies swirling around each other as they mixed to form the sea of energy inside his body. Hours passed as he meditated, focusing his senses to see his chakra not as one energy, but a swirling mixture of the two. He vaguely registered entering his mindscape, and the warmth of Kurama's tails curling around him. He watched his father's chakra join his own and split into its two components, giving him an example to work with. He wasn't aware of how long passed before he finally tried his hand at separating the two energies. He pictured the swirling mass of chakra as he molded it within himself, and focused on the two energies separating and converging in the palms of his hands. He watched through his mind's eye as twin balls of flame sprouted to life in his hands, one red and the other blue.
Smiling, Naruto turned his senses back outside of himself and noted the presence of Guren sitting a few feet from him, leaning against Ryuda as she watched him meditate. Opening his eyes, he looked up and realised that it was early morning and Ryusanda was nowhere to be found. He smiled as he got up and joined Guren against Ryuda's side as the young dragon slept peacefully.
"Tayuya has been annoying Kanagi with her flute all morning," Guren explained. "I came here for some peace and quiet."
"So long as she doesn't start an incident, I'm fine with that."
"I think we both know that Tayuya is an incident," Guren quipped.
Naruto chuckled and shed his robe, wrapping it around her shoulders as she leaned against him. No words were exchanged between the two of them for the remainder of the time they spent just sitting there, and when Guren's lips found Naruto's, they remained silent, allowing their actions to speak for themselves as they embraced beneath the light of the rising sun. Guren shifted to lay on top of him at some point, and Naruto was on the verge of falling asleep when Kurenai's voice roused them both through their seals.
"Naruto-kun, I think you better come back to the hotel. There's someone here to meet you."
There was an edge to Kurenai's tone that made Naruto and Guren shoot to their feet and shunshin back to the hotel right away. They arrived in his hotel room a moment later and Naruto was frozen in place by the sight of Imada holding a struggling Ryuka in the air by her neck while Taisa and Yomito lay at his feet, unconsious.
"I guess I have your attention."
A/N: Alright, next chapter's gonna be the conclusion of this arc and I'll be revealing why I've been dragging three extra characters around and how they related to this whole thing to begin with. There will also be a decent amount of fighting which hopefully make up for how slow the past few chapters have been. I'm not really happy with Guren's first kiss, but I wanted it to be an actual moment of serenity in contrast to the forced peace that the Daimiyo instills and the chaos Imada is sowing. Also, in case it wasn't very clear, Naruto still by no means has mastered the Hiraishin, though he is finding that he's not really a fan of it for anything other than transportation reasons. Anyway, that's all for today, thanks for reading and reviewing, I'll see y'all next time.