Another chapter to cut your teeth on. I was going to leave some witty remark here, but I forgot what it was...oops. I'll probably remember much later, and then forget again.

Also, if I wrote an omake every now and then, how would you all take it? I've considered them, and they'd be a bonus to the chapter length rather than a filler used to reach the mark, but if you would all just rather that I focus on the story, I'll go with that instead.

Review response time!

1. Generation Zero: Yeah. Like I've said before, I appreciate a moral scale in shades of shade and lighting, not a dark or overly positive Naruto. Sometimes, his decisions make rational sense; sometimes, they don't. That's what it means to be human. As for Sage Mode, Naruto hasn't gotten it quite yet...but I have an idea that's probably stupid, and you may understand it once you've read this chapter.

2. SSJ3 Kyuubi Gohan: I thought about it. Hell, I've thought about doing several threesome pairings. I'm trying to keep it a running gag in this fic that just about any semi-plot-important woman could conceivably want to get into Naruto's pants, and Tayuya's mild jealousy over it. As far as Naru/Tayu/Ten, though, where this fic is concerned...I'm gonna have to go with a, "sorry, no dice." In the future? Who knows. As a monogamous person, though, I just don't really get polyamory. More power to those who practice it, but to me it's the mental equivalent of a line of question marks running across my eyelids like that shitty Windows 98 screensaver.

3. Guest: Eh, call it, "creative liberties." I figure, as much as I've fucked with canon here, something like character height is a little weird to question...but, hey, do as you will. Shoot, you pay more attention to the fic than I do, I forgot that I wrote that line. Keep in mind, though, this Naruto is two years older than canon, so he's 16 instead of 14; Naruto's at his Shippuden height right now, while Sasuke hasn't grown as much since male puberty hits hardest in the mid-late teens. Hell, I was 4'10" as a sophomore in high school, and junior year I shot to 5'7" and suddenly I was taller than all the girls in the school who weren't on the volleyball team. Hell, I was taller than one of them.

Shit's fucked, my dude.

Let's get this trainwreck moving.

"Oh, god damn it..." Jiraiya groaned. "Uzumaki and their Fuinjutsu. I should have known that woman would teach him something."

The last thing he remembered, he'd been unable to pacify Naruto and been forced to fight his student in relative seriousness. Dried blood coated various places across his body, but Jiraiya didn't let it get to him too much; the real problem would be finding Naruto. The blond didn't know the sequence to reverse-summon his way back to Suna, where they'd left from. That meant he was still somewhere on the mountain, and if Jiraiya was in luck then he'd be talking with the toads. Maybe even training.

That was the problem with power. Once you had it, you would use it, and you always wanted more. Naruto's growth had been highly accelerated due to the use of the Kage Bunshin, and the fast turnaround had left him feeling hungry for more power rather than sating his desire to learn. Jiraiya had run out of things to teach him, save for the much more advanced Fuinjutsu techniques...but based on the final display before Jiraiya's mind blanked, Oboro had taught him plenty in that regard.

Sealing was a very free-form art anyway, mostly inherent to the user's interpretation. One explosive seal could be as small as a grain of rice, or as large as a house, and there was no telling which one would be more powerful. The intricacies of calligraphy, and the penmanship required, gave each Fuinjutsu master a specific style of sealing. Jiraiya's handwriting was terrible, meaning that his seals had to be larger than normal in order to correct all the mistakes that he'd make. All through his life, it was something that had irritated him, particularly when Minato's seals were so neat and lacking in any sort of error.

Naruto's penmanship was horrific, even worse than Jiraiya's, and yet he just seemed to understand Fuinjutsu. Whether that was his Uzumaki blood, or whatever sidelined training he'd done with his grandmother, it made Jiraiya fume. He'd studied the art for almost four decades, only to be surpassed by two of his students, and their son, in a lifespan that barely exceeded his own. In raw study, Minato and Kushina had learned Fuinjutsu from him for six years apiece, and Naruto was barely into his second year.

Was that just Naruto's fate, to exceed the limits others tried to place upon him?

Jiraiya shook the thought from his head, finally moving from the hole his body had made in the ground. Naruto had really managed to do a number on him, even with overdone Senjutsu having hardened his body nearly to the point of becoming a statue. Naruto's savagery, only fueled further by the incarnation of hatred that was the Kyuubi no Kitsune, had still nearly killed him.

Staggering away from the relatively small, former battlefield, Jiraiya resolved to find Naruto and return to Suna as quickly as possible. When Tsunade arrived, he would inform her that the training trip was over, and to integrate Naruto back into Konoha's regular forces.

There was nothing more that Jiraiya could do; if Naruto was so embedded in hatred for him, then it would be nearly impossible to dissuade him from that.

Where had he gone wrong?

"Most of the Toads have affinities for Suiton and Katon techniques." One of the two Toad Elders, Fukasaku, said to Naruto. "I happen to have a Futon nature, myself. We can also teach ya how to use Aburaton, in combination with Futon and Katon techniques."

Naruto grinned; the scale of destruction for that sort of joint attack, and the chakra it would take, was something right up his alley. With shadow clones, the task would be even easier. Oil and wind were both accelerants for fire, and to combine all three was to invite absolute devastation into the battlefield.

Then, a thought struck Naruto; while Jiraiya had mentioned that the oil used for Senjutsu training evaporated quickly when taken outside of Myobokuzan, it was truthfully a more potent weapon on its own. The ability to overload someone's tenketsu, effectively a reverse of the Hyuuga's Jyuken techniques, was more lethal than a firestorm that hid the enemy and could deceive the caster into believing their enemy was dead.

That was a lesson that Yagura had taught him. He wouldn't make the same mistake twice. He was Tayuya's rock, and she was his cause. Without him, she was lost, and without her, he had nothing.

"Is it possible to use the Senjutsu oil in those techniques?"

Fukasaku looked puzzled.

"Yes, I suppose. It'd need a few different hand seals, but why? To my knowledge, nobody's ever tried to do that."

"Are you...are you serious?"

"Yes. In all my eight hundred years, nobody's ever thought to use the Senjutsu oil in any Aburaton techniques."

"Why?" Naruto didn't question why the Elder had mentioned his age. Old people did strange things.

"Well, there's a certain level of veneration we give to the statues surrounding that pool." Fukasaku explained. "Each one's a human or toad who failed to master Senjutsu training. Did that boy, Jiraiya, ever tell ya the lethality rate of the training?"

"He said that only about a third of the people who tried were able to survive."

"That number is actually closer to one out of every ten. Jiraiya is the seventh human to be given the title of Gama Sennin...you saw the number of statues there."

Another thing Jiraiya had lied about.

"Yeah."

"I won't stop you from learning how to use it, but...it would do you well to have respect for those who came before you."

"Not many of them are actually worthy of my respect." Naruto countered. "Tsunade hides her age behind Genjutsu because she doesn't think that a middle-aged woman is a proper image for a leader. Jiraiya is a compulsive liar and he hasn't really given me much reason to trust him beyond some bullshit loyalty to me due to the fact that my parents were his students. The Sandaime, much as I appreciate all he tried to do for me, really fucked me over with that law he passed. Turned me into the village pariah, and under pain of death, nobody was allowed to tell me why. I can count on one hand the number of older ninja who I respect."

Itachi, Zabuza, Mei, Yugito and Kirabi.

Kakashi was working his way up the ladder, but that would have to wait until Naruto's official return to Konoha so that the Copycat Ninja could fulfill the promise he'd made. Itachi's addition was fairly recent, with Naruto's realization of his motives during the battle in Kumo. Some younger ninja had Naruto's respect as well. Tenten, Neji, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Lee, Samui, Gaara, and Haku were all on that list. If Naruto were to sit down and think about it, there were likely to be a few more names to write down, but he couldn't be bothered to try at the moment.

There were more important things to do.

"I'm sorry ya feel that way. Still...is there really anything I can do fer ya? I can only really offer a couple Ninjutsu, and a little help with Senjutsu training. You and your clones'll probably manage to get it down pat without me."

"Teach me history." Naruto said. "World history. The Elemental Nations, the Warring Clans era, the time between the Rikudo Sennin and the Warring Clans era. Tell me about the times before the Rikudo Sennin, before the gods died. As much as you know."

"That would take too long." Fukasaku said. "I'm not averse to teaching ya, but ya said you're on a time limit, ain't that right?"

"Yeah. It'll just have to wait until later. For now...I guess we can stick to those oil-based techniques, and whatever else you can teach me."

The two shook hands on it, making a deal.

"Now, boy, it's time to take you to the Lord of the Toads. He's been expecting you."

"Oboro." Tayuya said.

The twins were running around in the streets below, playing with some of Suna's native children their own age. Oboro watched them loosely, as though she was a mother who trusted her children to play nicely.

"Tayuya. What is it?" There was no harshness in her voice. "This is rare for you. You normally just keep to yourself, or with Naruto."

"I...wanted to talk."

"About?"

"You know what about!" Tayuya blushed. "About Naruto."

"Are you worried?"

"No, it's...oh, god, never mind." She didn't know what to say to the woman's blunt answers, words that went nowhere.

Tayuya wheeled around and prepared to leave the room, but Oboro's voice stopped her.

"Tayuya, please. Tell me."

The younger kunoichi sighed, turning back to face Oboro.

"Well, the way things are going...I know we're young, and it's not likely to happen for a few more years, but...I wanted to ask for your blessing."

"Direct. I like that about you, Tayuya. While you're crude and foul-mouthed to him, you cling to Naruto like a security blanket. As callous as he is to others, the care he takes in his approach to you is proof of how he feels. I've seen you train your conjunction techniques with Rei and Kouga, and you complement each other well. The only question I have left to ask is whether or not you're certain."

"I am." Tayuya said, unflinching as she looked at the woman who would be her grandmother-in-law. "I've never been more certain about anything."

"Then of course you have my blessing, dear. Still...I think Naruto will want to ask you, though, not the other way around. Are you really content to wait for that?"

"Like I said, it's probably not going to happen for a few more years. That doesn't bother me."

"Even after what happened in Kirigakure?"

Tayuya frowned.

"I...I think so. That was an act of desperation. I was willing to die rather than live in a world without him. I still am. But now...even with as little training as I've gotten in controlling the Sanbi, we're both much stronger now than we were then. It won't ever come to that again."

"Don't say that." Oboro said. "No matter how strong you are, there is always, always someone stronger or more cunning. Josuke was the head of our clan, the strongest Uzumaki of us all, and he was stabbed in the back by that conniving vermin Danzo."

It was clear that, though she'd tried to move on, she was still haunted at the fact that she was alone in a world without her husband.

"I'm sorry."

"No, it's alright. You wouldn't understand. I hope that you never do."

"Me too."

Tayuya left the room, but she felt closer to Oboro than she had minutes ago. Wishing that Naruto would come back soon, she walked further down the halls of the Kazekage mansion; Gaara had been insistent that they stay in his family's home.

Knocking at the single door on the left side of the hall, she heard a muffled, "Come in."

Temari was sitting at a desk, though she'd turned to see who was approaching her.

"Ah...hey."

"Hey, yourself."

This was the first time both kunoichi had been alone in a room together, and only the second time they'd met since their battle near the edge of Hi no Kuni. There was no tension between them, as orders were orders and the fight was long over...but the two both felt awkward.

"So, what are you doing?" Tayuya pulled over a chair and sat just far enough away from Temari that she wouldn't be able to see whatever the blonde was writing.

"Filing taxes. Can you believe it? My brother is the Kazekage, and I'm filing a tax return. This is ridiculous."

"I thought only the civilians did that, though?" Tayuya asked.

"Not here. Suna's been poor, or wracked by famine, for almost my entire life. We're one of the five Great Nations, but when the Daimyo started to outsource missions...we were sent into poverty, and Konoha began to prosper again. That was just after I was born, and Konoha was recovering from the Kyuubi attack. Once they were back on their feet, though, the mission overflow to Konoha didn't stop. They kept taking more and more from us, until we had almost nothing. So everyone files taxes, unless you want to take an even bigger cut on your paycheck after you complete a mission. Hell, if you do that, sometimes Suna might even end up owing you money. Isn't that crazy?"

"Yeah." Tayuya admitted.

Of all the things she thought she'd talk about, finance absolutely wasn't one of them.

"Is there anything else you want to talk about?" Temari asked. "I've got all day, really...and, hell, I could stand to spend it with you. Nothing better to do, you know?"

"Hmm...well, fuck. I don't really know what, 'normal girls,' talk about when they hang out. Boys? Fashion? I'm not much for either, I've got the only one I need and I don't give a rat's ass about the second."

"He means that much to you?"

"Yeah. It didn't really start to happen until after...you know..."

She could still feel the burning sensation in her memories, the knowledge that wind shouldn't be touching her broken ribs.

"We should have done more for him. We could have crushed them in a full-blown battle...Kankuro and I, we owe Naruto almost everything we have. After he beat Gaara, when the invasion of Konoha failed, something changed. Gaara wasn't unstable anymore, he didn't keep trying to murder people in cold blood. We stopped being afraid of passing our own little brother in the hallway. He gave Gaara back to us...we should never have let it come to the point it did."

"What's done is done." Tayuya said. "My only issue with it is the part where that piss-brained fucker gave up."

"Yeah...anyway, though, boys. Boys aren't really my strong suit."

"Girls?"

"Not really my strong suit either. Wouldn't mind, though."

"Please don't tell me you're a weasel-fucker. I remember that bullshit summoning, that's the shit that should have killed me."

"God, no!" Temari's expression was one of horror. "No, I just, well...being the daughter of one Kazekage, and the sister of another, doesn't land you many dates. The village is warming up to Gaara now, but plenty of people remember how he acted as little as a year and a half ago. Anyone who'd be willing to ask me out is terrified of him."

"Well, I mean...is it because he's overprotective?"

"Maybe. He's trying to make up for the fact that he tormented us for half of his life, but both Kankuro and I already forgave him...he's really become a big sweetheart. I don't know how many times you've heard this, but if you didn't have that guy nailed down to the floorboards-"

"Holy fuck, what is it with every goddamn woman in the world and her absolute need to get with my boyfriend?"

Sakura was her only true friend. Only Sakura could be trusted not to lust after Naruto.

Sakura was pure. Sakura was flat. Sakura was justice. Sakura was...Naruto's former crush, which meant that Tayuya couldn't really trust the pink-haired kunoichi after all.

In the game of husbands, you won or you settled for an average-looking man. Or you cut your losses and said that men weren't worth the effort. Or you were a lesbian to begin with.

Tayuya wanted to win.

"Hey, I didn't say that!" Temari laughed. "I'm just grateful to him. Doesn't his little sister have some code or something, debt and repayment? Well, Gaara may owe him the most, but I still feel more indebted to him than I'll ever be able to repay."

"So your answer is to fuck your way out of debt? Kinky."

"I...what? No, I, um, I-" Temari sputtered, and Tayuya laughed at the deep blush across Temari's face.

"Relax, Goldilocks, I'm just teasing. Besides, there's got to be someone you're looking at. If you go after them first, they're gonna be hard-pressed to say no."

"But that's not proper!" Temari exclaimed. "I want to be romanced, not the one doing the courting!"

"Eat your wheaties and grow up." Tayuya grinned. "Besides, who is it? Or is it multiple people? Ooh, make yourself a harem! The princess of the desert, surrounded by her concubines of both sexes! Being fed grapes as one topless servant shades you with a big leaf, and another uses Futon jutsu to keep you cool! Women with nothing but strips of cloth to cover them dancing vicariously for your enjoyment! Being taken back to your chambers on a litter before the nightly orgy begins!"

For someone who'd tried to kill her, and who she'd tried to kill, Tayuya was certainly having fun teasing Temari.

"It's nobody! Just a boy who works at a restaurant I go to on the weekends."

"Oh my god, a civilian?" Tayuya giggled.

She didn't know exactly why she was so gung-ho about this, all of a sudden, but she liked it. It was a much more Naruto-esque thing to do than she was used to...she was worried for a moment; maybe his stupidity was contagious, too.

Putting those thoughts aside, she continued to tease Temari throughout the day after making her promise that they'd go out to the restaurant together the next time she went.