KG: We're back! Sup people! Sorry can't talk right now! And...action!
Naruto: Ayane-chan, I'm sorry I can't see you anymore.
Ayane: Why not?
Naruto: It's because, it is my destiny to find Samui-chan. I have to find her so that we can fulfill her prophecy.
Ayane: What's so important about her? I can make you happy too.
Naruto: I love you Ayane-chan, but this is something that must be done.
Ayane: Then...I'm going with you!
Naruto: No, I can't let you do that.
KG: More emotion!
Ayane: You can't talk me out of this idiot. I'm going with you. I'll make you love me just as much as her. We'll go out with a bang.
Rachel: Did someone say bang? DIE!
Naruto: Shit she's here! Rachel, where is Samui-chan?
Rachel: You are too late blondie. She had transcended above what you have seen. She is our salvation. Here, let me show you just a glimpse of the power she's given me. RAH!
KG: Cut!
Everyone: Whew
Ayane: Why are we doing this again?
KG: Because we're traveling around the world as a troupe. However we are still inexperienced. Get your sleep then we will continue.
Naruto: Thank goodness. Rachel-chan hits hard enough as it is.
Rachel: Consider it for that slap to the face you gave me the last time. It still hurt you know.
Naruto: Sure, remember every last detail why don't you.
Quote: "Friends can help each other. A true friend is someone who lets you have total freedom to be yourself - and especially to feel. Or, not feel. Whatever you happen to be feeling at the moment is fine with them. That's what real love amounts to - letting a person be what he really is," by Jim Morrison.
Namikaze House
Ayane groaned and opened her eyes to the rays of sunlight. It had been a good three days since Platoon 13 had gotten back from Taki and it had also been at that time that Naruto had informed the Sandaime and Jiraiya about Itachi and Konan who had attacked him. This had gotten the two old men rather anxious about that news and Ayane could tell by herself that those people were not to be trifled with. That's why when she had asked what their purpose was and she had been told then she resolved to herself to get stronger. These people were all Master Ninja level, as she had figured. What Naruto and Samui told her was that, a Master Ninja level was around Kakashi's level of jounin in the village. They were Kage-level. It only helped in getting Ayane to push herself harder. Not for just herself, but for Naruto.
"Well I won't do that by laying here all day. At least we had the next few days off. I can spend that time learning about this chakra thing," Ayane said to herself before she woke up from the bed. She could hear sizzling downstairs and decided to make her presence known. She grabbed a robe, brushed her hair slightly, and walked down the steps.
"Good morning Ayane-chan," Naruto said getting a nod from Ayane. She could see that the blonde was sitting on the couch with a scroll in his hands. He was only wearing a T-shirt and shorts. Naruto placed the scroll down and adopted a thinking pose. Ayane could see that he was busy so she turned her attention to Samui, who also wasn't fully dressed either. She was wearing a red robe and slippers. She was cooking some fish as well as preparing rice and a small bowl of noodles for three people.
"Glad to see that you are awake," Samui said not taking her eyes off the food. Ayane just nodded and Samui felt her do so. "I don't like to stay in bed all day when I can train," Ayane said and she saw Samui nodded with an affirmative grunt. "That's good. Cause the three of us are going into the preserve later," Naruto said coming into the conversation. Ayane glanced at him as did Samui. The latter narrowed her eyes before shrugging and continuing.
"Speaking of which, I haven't seen your partners for a while. Where are they?" Ayane asked suspiciously. Naruto might've changed a bit of her perspective on fiends, but she knew that they wee just as dangerous to him as they were to everyone else. But then again, people who had the power to actually destroy and entire village, be a one-man army, or have the guts to leave their village were more dangerous than that.
"Don't know right now. That's one of the reasons why we're going. I need to check up on Tenka. Haven't see the guy for a while," Naruto said and Ayane just nodded while Samui prepared the table. "Breakfast is ready you two," Samui said. Naruto instantly stopped his working and stood to his feet. He walked over to the table. Ayane did the same thus allowing everyone to say their grace before eating.
"Naruto, do you know if Zabuza-san has contacted the resistance leader yet?" Samui asked and the two ladies noticed Naruto narrow his eyes as his chopsticks stopped just short of his bowl of rice. The blonde stayed silent for a little a few minutes. In those few minutes neither Samui or Ayane could touch their food before they saw Naruto take a sip of his tea. "No he hasn't. I think I should be a little worried, but I'm not. If what I know about him then Zabuza will be alright. I can wait for a few days. Besides I doubt their leader won't be skeptical of what Zabuza will be offering them. Konoha had refused to help before so they might be wondering about the sudden change in attitude from us. Still I think it'll be good," Naruto answered.
A few drips of the sink could be heard before eating resumed between everyone. "Okay, but that thing you spoke about, that Konoha will definitely get involved. What is your plan for that?" Ayane asked and Naruto twitched. In all truth he never had a plan on how to get them involved and he had used the past few days to try and come up with one, but he was still thinking. "You just leave that to me," Naruto said giving a confident grin. Ayane and Samui narrowed their eyes, but the decided that it was for the best.
"Very well then. We shall leave it to you Naruto. However don't hesitate to come to us for help. We're all family here," Samui said and Ayane nodded her head. "I'll keep that in mind. Thank you Samui-chan. You too Ayane-chan," Naruto said before his feet flinched. He looked down and he noticed Mikata smiling at him letting him know that he had her support as well. The blonde chuckled and slowly nodded to her help as well. The three continued to eat their breakfast and once they were finished, they each got dressed and made their way outside and towards the intimidating walls in front of them.
"Alright so what are we learning?" Ayane asked as they disappeared into the trees. Naruto guided them through the forest as he spoke. "Well I'm going to be learning fūinjutsu from one of my father's scrolls. I'm not ready for his Hiraishin technique just yet. Samui-chan said she was interested in some taijutsu from Kaa-chan. You, Ayane-chan, will be learning to climb trees," Naruto told her. Ayane just narrowed her eyes as she knew what he meant by that. She would be learning to use this chakra thing. Of course she could already physically climb, run, and jump trees so it stood to reason that he would be teaching her to use chakra since she was interested in it.
"I see. Well that's good then," Ayane commented. Soon enough, the three came into a large open field. A lone, tall tree was in the center and it was right next to a pool of cold water. The three felt the wind blow and the heat of the sun against their bodies. "Well let's get to work. We have a long day ahead of us," Naruto said with a grin.
Ayane, not knowing how to go about anything, just waited as Samui stepped forward. She turned back to Naruto before shrugging and crossing her fingers. She quickly made a single clone with enough chakra to hold a decent spare with. Samui moved her head to the side to indicate to the clone where they would be practicing and the two stepped on the water. A good chakra control exercise and perfect for practicing taijutsu.
"Alright Ayane-chan, follow me," Naruto instructed and Ayane followed him towards a tree. Naruto, sometimes, doubted if he could actually teach someone, but he wouldn't know until he tried. They both went under the shade of the tree as Naruto touched the trunk of it. "As much as I can tell, chakra and ki are similar in the way that we use them, but what is different is the principles. Ayane-chan, chakra is the combination of physical and spiritual energy. Utilizing it then we are able to use it to "stick" to the surface of most things. The first exercise here will be you discovering your chakra. It will take some time for you to learn the different source between chakra and ki. I assume you know the handsigns used for techniques right?" Naruto asked.
Ayane nodded to his question and the blonde continued. "Good then we can skip than. Now then, as I said you will be discovering chakra and the finding the differences between it and ki. Most likely your ki is higher than your chakra input and output, but your coils should be just as good as Samui-chan's if not a bit bigger. Now then a tree is completely solid. Most genin do this exercise first. Now when you send chakra to your feet you must find the correct portion to it and keep that chakra constant to grip to the tree. To little and you will slip off. Too much and you will damage the tree. Most would use a kunai to mark their progress, but I know you're more of the impatient trial-and-error type, just like me," Naruto said getting a small blush from Ayane before she straightened up.
"Alright, I understand. Just make sure not to rush right?" Ayane asked and Naruto nodded. "That's the first part. When you learn to walk then you'll learn to run. Let's just start there. I know you would want to get some other training done so do this for a good two hours. Try to balance between the training so you get an equal time," Naruto said and Ayane nodded as she stood forward. Seeing her good, Naruto walked off to the other part of the field. He could hear the water splashing in the background from Samui and her clone as they went through their spare.
Sitting down, Naruto opened his scroll and began to read. He didn't get far before he lightly snickered as he heard Ayane curse. "This is going to be a funny two hours," Naruto thought to himself.
With Pakura and Maki
"I really miss Fu-chan," Maki said as the student-teacher pair was back in Oto much to both of their weariness. "It will be alright Maki. Fu will get stronger by the time we see her again. I just hope that when we see her, it will be under better circumstances. I think that our apartment is still in check so we should be fine for the most part. Come on," Pakura said as they ascended the stairs. Both came up to their door, opened it, and were pleasantly shocked at how cleaned it looked. Pakura turned on the light switch and both looked around. It wasn't as dirty as they had last left it. The table was clean, so was the floor, the couch, everything.
"Umm how long were we gone?" Maki asked and Pakura just blinked before shaking her head. "Oh you're back. Umm I didn't have a place to go so I...cleaned up. Do you like it?" Both turned to see Sasame smiling at them and scratching her cheek.
"You did all this for us?" Maki asked and Sasame nodded with a smile. Pakura narrowed her eyes before she gave an appreciative smile. "Thank you," Pakura said, but Sasame shook her head.
"N-No, it's fine. It was the least I could do for you since you saved me," Sasame said before she noticed the lack of one member. "Where is Fu-san?" Sasame asked getting a slight frown from Pakura and Maki. The orange haired girl widened her eyes as she thought that the young female might've died while they were away.
"Fu is currently away on some business. That's all. I'm sure we'll see here again," Pakura and Sasame nodded her head before walking off. "So Pakura-sensei, how are we supposed to...complete our objective?" Maki asked and Pakura frowned a little more. She tried to remain stoic, but it was sort of difficult. She knew that finding a way to meet Orochimaru was borderline impossible for anyone. There was a reason why most couldn't find him, but if they had any chance of doing so then it would he would've been caught long ago, however Pakura knew that since her last escape from Oto with Maki and Fu that they had erected a sealing barrier, one that Pakura deliberately had herself and Maki step through. So if anyone knew they were back then all Pakura had to do was wait.
"Just leave it for right now Maki. It'll be alright. This girl said that she had an affiliation with Orochimaru to begin with. I don't think he'll be able to resist the Hero of Suna nor your recently discovered bloodline," Pakura said and Maki just slowly nodded while holding on of her hands to her face. In her body were the genes that connected her to the Sandaime Kazekage. Something that Temari would currently be looking into. No wonder that bullshit council wanted her back.
"Alright Pakura-sensei, we'll wait. Still, do you really think that the resistance will go with Zabuza-san's report? I mean I'm glad that Suiren-san came over to our side for our ambition, but I can't help but be worried for Naruto," Maki answered getting a nod from Pakura. "Well we'll just have to see now won't we?" Pakura asked and Maki just smiled with a nod of her head.
Back in Konoha, Hokage Mansion
"Are you sure about that Kyoko-san?" Sarutobi asked. This was his last full day as the Hokage when Tsunade would be taking over. He was happy for that and to start his retirement, but he knew about his current duties as Konoha's protector. He also knew that Tsunade still had a lot of reservations about becoming the Hokage, but she was a woman of her word if nothing else. She had lost so she had accepted those consequences.
"You can bet your ass old man. I had heard it from the old man, Shiden. It took some talking with him since I was one of the people assigned to help the Hayabusa Village with their repairs. This blonde woman named Rachel told me that the Mugen Tenshin Clan was attacked. I don't know who it was by, but apparently the heir, Hayate, is in a coma and hasn't woken up for a few weeks now. Also she told me about some tournament. I believe it was called Dead or Alive run by a corporation named DOATEC. However she told me not to inform you simply because Ryu told her that 'something should be handled by a clan and not its allies. They have a personal stake in this," Kyoko said folding her arms. Sarutobi sighed as he intertwined his fingers.
"I guess we will just have to respect their wishes then. If they don't want us to get involved then we won't. Also Konoha has no personal stake in this. If they need hel then we will right there for them when they call. Thank you for informing me," Sarutobi said and Kyoko nodded, though obviously not happy with the recent development she kept that comment to herself.
"Speaking of informing, are we going to tell the brat and his two occupants?" Kyoko asked with a grin referring to Naruto, Samui and Ayane. Knowing who she was talking about, Sarutobi shook his head and looked at his desk. "Did Shiden-dono say anything?" Sarutobi asked and Kyoko frowned.
"He said not to bother Ayane with things that don't concern her anymore. He said that she's a Konoha shinobi and...she should focus on things that concern her as such," Kyoko growled out letting Sarutobi know exactly how she felt about it. "I see. Then we shall respect his decision. We will not tell them and not have them worry about such a thing, but Kyoko-san I want you to tell the shinobi already there to keep Konoha posted on the recent developments from them. Whether they try to deny it or not, they are our allies as well as the Hayabusa Clan's friends. We all carry the Will of Fire," Hiruzen told her. Kyoko nodded, spun around, and walked out of the door. Sarutobi only looked out of his window and a grim expression came on his face.
"What is this sense of foreboding? Something tells me that this...this...DOATEC is no bound to be a problem in the near future," Hiruzen thought before shaking it off and continuing his work.
Uchiha Compound
"That's another lose for you Sasuke. How do you like me now? That's 2 to 0. You still haven't beaten me once hehehe," Sasuke growled as he backed his head against a tree. He had one of his rivals closest to him and yet he had never beaten him once. That lone thought had continued to intrude into Sasuke's conscious. He couldn't defeat Itachi like this. How could he when he couldn't even defeat Naruto? It was bullshit. He was a chunin just like Naruto and he had the levelheaded thinking of one, but he couldn't stand it. When he had fought against Itachi he had been thinking rationally. He didn't rush into it like some amateur, but where was he to go.
"Dammit, Dammit, Dammit!" Sasuke shouted each time and his banged his head to the tree. "Sasuke! What are you doing?!" Mikoto shouted as she came from a room. She had heard Sasuke shouting to himself and came out to find her son doing this.
Mikoto grabbed Sasuke and pulled him away from the tree quickly much to the Uchiha's protest. "Kaa-san let me go! Let me go right now!" Sasuke shouted, but Mikoto continued to pull him into the house as they struggled. Mikoto and Sasuke came into the house before the young Uchiha heir slipped across the floor as he and his mother crashed into the couch. "Sasuke stop! Please, you're scaring me! Please stop," Mikoto pleaded against Sasuke's struggling. It took a few minutes, but the Uchiha finally calmed down and the only sound could be huffing heard.
"It's not enough," Sasuke mumbled. Mikoto opened her concerned eyes and glanced towards Sasuke and she noticed Sasuke clenching his teeth. "It's not enough Kaa-san," he said a little louder. Mikoto caught her breath to answer her son and slowly released her hold.
"What's not enough Sasuke?" Mikoto asked wanting to know her son's concerns. Growing up, Sasuke never hid anything from his mother. That continued even to the Uchiha incident. Mikoto had done it all. She had graduated academy, been a genin, then chunin, an anbu, then settling for jonin. She could sense when her son was in distress, but this was probably the first time that she ever wished that she had payed attention. "Not once. Not once have I ever beaten Naruto Kaa-san. In the academy, they were all damn draws and the last academy fight was when he beat me. The chunin exams he beat me. Why can't I win Kaa-san? If it continues I'll never be able to change anything with Itachi," Sasuke said and Mikoto frowned.
"Sasuke I told you the truth about the Uchiha incident. Itachi saved the village and us from...," Sasuke interrupted his mother by saying, "I know that! I know. You did tell me. Father and the rest of the Uchiha Clan were planning a coup and they had to be taken care of. I know, but how can I ever match up to Itachi if I can't even match up Naruto. All the training I've done has felt meaningless," Sasuke said and Mikoto glared. She looked at the ceiling and closed her eyes. An unusual silence came over the area that seemed to shake Sasuke that his mother thought he was ungrateful for what she taught him. That wasn't it at all. He was happy to be trained, but he wanted more. He didn't want to lose anymore.
"I see. That's right you're a chunin now aren't you? Very well. Sasuke, get up," Mikoto ordered. Sasuke widened his eyes before he looked at his mother. He could see her stern glare to his face and quickly stood. Mikoto leaned up and stood in front of her son. "That's right. Uchiha do have their pride Sasuke. Overconfidence is a downfall, but pride is nothing to be ashamed of. Alright Sasuke, we'll step up your training effective immediately. Get out into the field. I'll put on my former jonin vest and we'll see just where you're getting this emo-loathing from," Mikoto said and Sasuke widened his eyes. He saw his mother's smile and nodded.
"Understood Kaa-san," Sasuke said before the temperature dropped and Sasuke could see his mother's sharingan intensifying her gaze on him. "That is Mikoto-sensei to you Sasuke. Understood?" Mikoto asked leaving no room for an objection. Sasuke just nodded and walked out into the field while Mikoto went up the stairs. She wouldn't let this sense of helplessness from Sasuke come out anymore. If he wanted to get stronger then he would get stronger from his mother. Not from anyone else, least of all Orochimaru.
"Get ready Sasuke. I'm about to show you why I was called the Flame Mistress of Konoha," Mikoto said in her thoughts as she walked up the stairs. She entered her room grabbed her jonin vest and grabbed a sword that she used in her anbu days.
Namikaze Compound, Inner Walls
Naruto watched as Ayane ran up and down the tree several times now. She had stuck to it perfectly and like he knew she would, she had gotten it in little to no time at all. She was already a ninja so this was just adding on to what she already knew. Ayane had gotten the idea in basically an hour and a half. She had discovered her chakra and had been working all morning up the tree. Like Naruto had said, her coils were large enough to maintain ki and chakra. It was true. There wasn't a real difference between the two. Ayane just had to expand her thinking on the matter. Naruto was more than happy for her in that aspect. So was Samui as they had both seen the hilarious action of Ayane falling on her head multiple time before she figured that with each slip she should just backflip off. It hadn't been fun for her at all.
"Alright Ayane-chan, you got that easily enough. Now we will move on to...OH GOD!" Naruto shouted as Samui and Ayane quickly turned. Their looks of surprise suddenly came down as they noticed, and heard, Naruto laughing. The reason he was laughing was completely founded as Samui and Ayane noticed Tenka had pushed the blonde into the water. They also saw Mikomi.
Naruto emerged and growled. " You think that's funny? Oh I'll show you funny Tenka!" Naruto shouted and Tenka ran off through the field while Naruto ran after him yelling about ungrateful partners and the such. Samui shook her head before she noticed Mikomi slowly walking up to her. "Sorry I haven't been around Mikomi. It feels good to see my partner again," Samui said as she patted Mikomi's nose. Mikomi grumbled lowly signifying her approval and happiness as she laid next to Samui. Ayane just wanted the action of the two blondes and shook her head. However, somewhere she wondered if she could get partners like that too. Maybe she could one day.
Naruto huffed and panted while he fell to the ground. He glared and Tenka before snorting. "Ahh forget it. You're no fun anyway. You...damn dinosaur," Naruto said while Tenka walked up to him. He leaned close and Naruto patted his head feeling Tenka's scaly body again. "Good to see you too," Naruto said and Tenka bucked his head in a nod.
After all the playing was done, Naruto and the others collected themselves near the pond. Samui had referred to Kushina's scroll on taijutsu multiple times as she had used the clone to check stances, blocking, striking attacks and other things. She still felt off, but not as much as that morning. However, she couldn't use the water anymore. What reason was that? Well it was someone else's turn.
"Alright Ayane-chan, now that you've done tree-walking, now you will do water-walking which adds a touch of difficulty because water, unlike the tree, is always in motion. You have to keep a constant flow of chakra through the soles of your feet and distribute it through the water to stay afloat. It's a lot hard than it looks, but you got tree-walking down so I think you'll be able to do this before the day is over," Naruto told her and Ayane nodded. She quickly added chakra to her feet and was about to go before she was grabbed by Samui who held up a scroll. "Before you go, you might want to wear this," Samui said and then went back to what she was doing. Ayane blinked at the scroll before she unfurled it and her eyebrow twitched. Naruto got a furious blush on his face as he wondered if his wife had done this for the purpose of training or just for trying to see him get the hots for Ayane as inside the scroll was a swimsuit. A white bikini top and bikini shorts for her.
"What? She expects me to wear this? In front of him?" Ayane took the swimsuit and out of the corner of her eye, Samui was observing the reaction that she was looking at. Yeah, Samui knew how to have fun too if she really got into it. She didn't let the small smile show before she turned back to her own training.
Ayane slowly turned her head and she noticed Naruto's blush as his eyes swam around the field. "He...wants to see me in a swimsuit? Tell me that wasn't what she wanted me to do. Ugh, why me?" Ayane asked in her thoughts before she got up and walked off. "I-I'll be right back," she said getting a gasp from Naruto. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't find the words for it before letting her leave. The blonde was speechless as Ayane disappeared behind the trees.
"Oi Samui-chan, what are you doing? Why would you give her that?" Naruto asked and Samui just glared at her husband before blinking. "If she likes you then she should have no qualms with doing it. Besides, don't you want to see her that way? I would want you to see me that way sometimes," Samui said and Naruto stuttered against his wife's reasoning. It wasn't even a very good reason at all, but when Samui just spoke it then it seemed like it would even work against someone like Shino or Shikamaru.
"Naruto, you have an interest in her as you do me. You have to show her that you can not only love her for how she is, but for how she looks around you. You'd better show more interest or you'll lose her. Something that I wouldn't really mind as your current wife, but I want to take your feelings and mine into consideration. I will have no wishy-washy feelings in this marriage. It either is or it isn't," Samui said and Naruto just glanced at his wife before slowing nodding. He couldn't refute that either, but he wanted Ayane to go at her own pace, but he could also show a little more interest. It was a fact that he loved Ayane. Samui was right maybe he should take a more proactive approach.
"C-Can we get this training down now?" Naruto and Samui turned around and the former instantly dropped his jaw. Kyuubi's eyebrow twitched while Nibi whistled. Tenka and Mikomi blinked as Ayane was standing in front of everyone with her white swimsuit on and her hands around her waist. "Hmm great female specimen," Kyuubi said from inside Naruto's mind before he flinched. He looked behind himself to see Nibi glaring at him as she cracked her knuckles.
"But she's got nothing on you Matatabi! You're the only one for me, I swear," Kyuubi said while Nibi chuckled with a nod and grabbed Kyuubi's fox ears and pulled him upstairs much to the Kyuubi's protest. "I know I am Kyuubi-kun. That's why I want to talk with you about how I want you to keep your eyes inside your damn, perverted head unless their own me. Un-der-stood?" Nibi asked and Kyuubi grimaced as he wasn't ready for the heavy tongue lashing from his demon cat wife. He would never understand women.
Ayane turned her head to gauge Naruto's reaction and she saw that he was lost in her beauty. It almost made her uncomfortable to be that exposed, but the look of attraction on Naruto's face had indeed made her happy that she was physically appealing to him. Well, she sort of knew that when he had kissed her the first time, but this was more to her liking. That she sexually appealed to his eyes. "A-Ayane-chan you look amazing," Naruto said completely surprising the urge to nosebleed at the sight. "Thank you. I'm glad you find this so appealing," Ayane said trying to sound irritated, but there was a lot of mirth in her voice.
"A-Alright then Ayane-chan. Like I said before, just walk on the water and you'll be fine for that exercise. After that we'll focus on you running on water. Lastly you'll fight and that will have mastered the exercise," Naruto said quickly turning around. Ayane seemed amused and nodded as she swayed towards Naruto. "I want to thank you for this training Naruto. I'll have to reward you later," Ayane said slipping a finger under his chin before walking off with a little sway in her hips.
"Damn I got a hard-on. I've become Ero-sennin!" Naruto shouted mentally as he wondered where that wrong step had been taken.
Ayane added the chakra to her feet as were Naruto's instructions. She felt the energy center around her feet and with confidence she lifted her foot slightly into the air before she tapped the water and...
SPLASH!..sank down into the water. Samui resisted the urge to crack a smile while Naruto still seemed preoccupied with some earlier thoughts. The splash broke him from his thoughts and he noticed Ayane was nowhere to be seen. Naruto sighed and chuckled while the surface of the water bubbled. Everyone watched her come out dripping wet. "Damn you Samui," Naruto and Ayane said for two separate reasons. Naruto, for seeing Ayane more erotic than usual and Ayane, for being on the receiving end of that little grin on Samui's face.
"Alright try again Ayane-chan. You'll get it I know," Naruto said and Ayane just snorted before nodding. She faced the water again before trying to add her chakra to her feet again to try the exercise one more time.
Meanwhile, Naruto had taken the field with Tenka. "Alright Tenka, you're my partner so we're going to be practicing some combinations. I'll have to call on your help sometime and we'll work like the team we are won't we?" Naruto asked and Tenka nodded his head. "Alright, you can shoot fire, roll, bite, and do tail swipes. Add that to your tough body and we have a deadly combination. Yeah we'll work out just fine," Naruto thought to himself.
"Okay Tenka. We're going to be doing a Katon jutsu. Now I don't know Katon techniques so we rely on you for that. Basically we're going to our first basic combination. Mikomi-chan, Mikata-chan will you help us out?" Naruto asked the female fiend and snake. Mikomi and Mikata agreed as they came together through the field. Tenka growled while Mikomi roared. Samui and Ayane stopped their training as they turned around.
Mikomi and Mikata charged at Naruto and Tenka. Tenka snarled and charged at Mikomi while Mikata charged for Naruto. The blonde wasn't going to use a weapon this time so he dodged to the side to avoid Mikata' venomous fangs. He saw Tenka and Mikomi head-butted each other as they growled against each other. Tenka swiftly turned his body and slammed Mikomi with his tail. Mikomi, to everyone's surprise, jumped over the tail swipe and kicked Tenka in the jaw sending him to the ground. Tenka seemed surprised also as Mikomi roared. She opened her mouth and launched a spitfire at Tenka. The fiend glared before Naruto cursed.
The blonde quickly jumped over Mikata's long body and dashed for Tenka. He quickly did some handsigns and appeared in front of his partner. "Suiton: Mizu Shibuki no Jutsu( Water Release: Water Spray Shower)," Naruto called out and Ayane watched as the water rose from in front of her and came between Mikomi's fire and Naruto's body. A heavy steam came over the field as Mikomi and Mikata growled.
"There!" Mikata shouted to Mikomi. Being a snake, the she could lock on to Naruto, even in this thick steam. It wasn't that hard when she had been trained to do it all her life. They both opened their mouths as Mikata send a blast of poison from her lips. Mikomi sent a powerful fire at the two before they saw another fire approaching. The same one from Tenka, that was until they saw Naruto behind him. "Fūton: Daitoppa," Naruto shouted as a blast of heavy wind came into contact with Tenka's fire. The fire grew in size before it overtook Mikomi's and pressed against her and Mikata's body. The field exploded in front of them while Naruto and Tenka allowed the mist to settle.
Ayane and Samui narrowed their eyes at the action before they noticed Mikomi was fine and a former scaled body of Mikata remained. The snake bursted from the ground and hiss violently. "That wasn't nice!" She called out while Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah sorry about that. It wasn't meant to be that bad. We'll work on it," Naruto said getting a groan from Mikata as she shook her head left and right. Mikomi just stared at Tenka before slowly walking and licking his cheek.
"I guess that's good enough for today. It wasn't meant to be a full session. Nice work Tenka, but I'm sorry I have to do this," Naruto said as he touched Tenka's body. Instantly the Galla fiend slammed to the ground and grumbled. "Gotta get stronger buddy right?" Naruto asked and he just got a growl from Tenka as a response to his question.
Three days later, With Pakura
Pakura was currently dragging shopping bags back to the apartment for Sasame and Maki. In those three days, Pakura had waited for anyone to try and find her to take her to Orochimaru, but it seemed that nothing had been happening. It had put her on edge for the most part, but she had to be patient. To Orochimaru she was just a piece on a chess board to be used for him or against him, but the sannin would have to realize that he was only a small piece on HER shougi board.
Pakura walked through the streets before she suddenly stopped. She was being followed. Followed very discreetly. The former Hero of Suna narrowed her eyes before she just continued on to walk. It had taken her some time, but she had left the streets that were bustling with people and quickly made her way into the woods. However she had a though of what was going on since the presence seemed to be...hesitating in following her. "Hmm so they know I'm trying to lead them away. If it was anyone else then they would follow readily since they don't know me, but only one person whose seen me is from here. If that's the case then this person is probably-"
Pakura snapped from her thoughts to leave them for later. She nodded to herself before she abruptly stopped. "Alright come out here right now! You can stop following me," Pakura said turning around. Out of the shadows of the dark trees she remained stoic as Kimimaro came out of the trees. Pakura noticed that a bone sword was in his hands. "You escaped me once. You will not do it again," Kimimaro said glaring. Pakura growled and folded her arms.
"He's still trying to get me? Don't you ever quit?" Pakura asked and Kimimaro's silence was her answer that he never would. She just considered her options before closing her eyes. "Can you promise that he won't do anything to Maki? If you can then I will go with you," Pakura said while Kimimaro tried to search for a lie, but Pakura had been at the job a lot longer than him so she was able to mask her intent a lot better. Kimimaro retracted the sword and nodded. "I promise that no harm shall come to your student," Kimimaro said and Pakura was surprised at that. When dealing with Orochimaru, then the words 'no' and 'harm' never went together. However she couldn't detect a lie of sorts.
"Very well. I will get Maki and we'll go, but I go before her. No more, no less," Pakura said and Kimimaro agreed. He just had to get them to Orochimaru. He could care less about the order of how they went. "Very well then. Glad you are cooperative," Kimimaro said before he spun on his heel and asked for Pakura to lead him to her house which she did.
The walk wasn't long, but it was very tense. Neither said nothing as Pakura just walked with the loyal Orochimaru bitch. She climbed up the stairs with Kimimaro right behind her. Pakura fished for her keys and opened the door with them. She walked through and placed the bags on the table. She saw Maki practicing her use of iron sand by making it into kunai or shuriken. "Maki, come here," Pakura said and Maki stood up. She instantly saw Kimimaro in the doorway and flinched before managing to keep her cool. After all that her sensei had taught her in the months then it was time to put them to use. "Maki, this is Kimimaro-san. He'll be taking us to...meet with some people," Pakura said trying to feign that Maki didn't know much better which Maki could understand. She turned back to Kimimaro and noticed that he was just quite taller than her by either four or five inches.
Maki turned back to Pakura and bowed. "Umm alright Pakura-sensei," Maki said as Pakura took her by the hand and Kimimaro guided the two women out. Maki had left a note for Sasame about where they were since the girl was gone for the day. They quickly landed into the streets as they followed Kimimaro. The Kaguya knew the direction to the lair by heart and he continued to lead them there as such.
"S-So ummm Kimimaro-san, who wants to see us?" Maki asked in confusion though she wasn't. She knew that she had to play her intelligence right. She couldn't sound too stupid or too smart then it would just be downright unbelievable to anyone. Pakura wondered what Maki was trying to figure out as the younger female glared at Kimimaro's back as he responded.
"Your presence is to be seen by Orochimaru-sama and I am to take you to him. He has an interest in both your abilities. Why I do not know, but it is up to him. I am merely to take you to him. I was gibe no details of why," Kimimaro spoke while they left the city and came into the forest again.
"Our abilities? I guess that makes sense since Pakura-sensei is quite strong. You seem to be as well," Maki said, but Kimimaro didn't respond. Maki and Pakura glanced to each other before the latter just shrugged her shoulder and shook her head. Maki decided to stay silent through the walk. It would be a couple of hours before they came up to the place, which happened to be a building in the ground.
"Right this way," Kimimaro said and the two nodded their heads as they followed him descending the stairs. Kimimaro pushed a door open and the two former Suna kunoichi were greeted to the sight of a long hallway filed to the brim with torches. "Welcome to the true Otogakure," Kimimaro said and Pakura raised an eyebrow,
"True Otogakure? So what's the place that we just left called?" Pakura asked as they followed into step behind Kimimaro. "That is the Surface Otogakure. This is the place where the true Village Hidden in the Sound is located," Kimimaro said getting a nod from Pakura.
Maki felt more than a little anxious and she had reason to be. She was just about to meet and S-rank criminal. One of the most dangerously mentioned ones too. Never in her life had she thought that this would be happening as she always thought she'd have a life in Suna, but with a lot of developments then here she was. She felt like she was walking towards her death, but she shook her head. She was a spy network member and she had her sensei with her. They would be fine, she hoped.
As Kimimaro guided the through the maze-like structure of the underground base, Pakura's mind was going a mile a minute trying to process everything. They were directly on their way to completing their objective, but it was bound to be a lot harder. No doubt Orochimaru would be suspicious of her and Maki, but she had hoped that having Maki as a seeable weakness for Pakura might lessen his guard on her. She could only hope that it would. But then again, she had been wrong before.
"This is the door. Please go inside," Kimimaro said snapping Pakura from her thoughts. They were in front of a medium-sized wooden door. Maki swallowed the lump in her throat while Pakura calmed her breathing. "As per our agreement, I shall try not to let any harm come to Maki-san," Kimimaro said getting wide eyes from Maki as she turned to see Pakura nod just in time. Maki patted her shoulder getting a smile from Pakura.
"It will be alright Maki. It...will be alright," Pakura said to her student. Maki nodded, but she was sure that Pakura was trying to tell that to herself that.
"I must confiscate your weaponry. You will received it when you come out of the room," Kimimaro said cautiously as Pakura and Maki took out every single last weapon that they had. They didn't need it anyway. Nope, not when they had their own special abilities to make up for it.
Pakura grabbed the door handle as she twisted it causing it to open. She walked inside and Maki followed her while Kimimaro kept the rear and closed the door.
They were all in a large room and the smell of anything having to do with science or medicine filled the room. Pakura's nose twitched as there was even the smell of blood in the air. She narrowed her eyes dangerously as before she took notice of the fire in the room at the side. Pakura raised an eyebrow before she noticed a mop of hair that was just over head of the chair signifying that someone was sitting down in said chair. "Ara ara, look who we have. I'm surprised that you wanted to meet us Hero of Suna or Pakura-san,"
Pakura turned her head and she immediately recognized the voice and the face. The voice filled with lies, deceit, and any other unworldly thing that she could think of. "I did not expect to see you here, Kabuto Yakushi. You were considered a medical prodigy by everyone in Konoha as well as Suna. Now you left and your a missing-nin working with an even bigger missing-nin," Pakura said and Kabuto chuckled as he pushed his glasses with his finger.
"I'm glad that I'm known by a woman who was supposed to be dead from her village more than three months ago. Also I see why the little girl is a missing-nin. Couldn't part with her sensei could she?" Kabuto asked and Maki narrowed her eyes, but stayed silent. "Kabuto, that is enough. We must treat our guests well," Kabuto agreed and backed off before the chair somehow turned around despite being bolted to the floor. Pakura and Maki could see a middle-aged man in bandages. The only way that Pakura knew it was Orochimaru was from the way that Kimimaro bowed and from the snake eyes that were glaring at the both of them.
"T-This bloodlust. He's not human," Maki said in her thoughts shivering. Pakura seemed to deal with it better. "You look like you've seen better days Orochimaru," Pakura said. She was about to wrap around the idea that it was him so she just decided to get it over with while she still could. Orochimaru snickered in his chair and tapped his fingers against the armrest.
"Kimimaro, leave us," Orochimaru said and Kimimaro bowed before quickly leaving the room without so much as a word which made Maki wonder just how much of the man was already a slave to Orochimaru's mind tricks as it already was. Kabuto smirked, but said nothing to indicate that he was in the conversation. He simply continued with his work which was more important at the moment.
"As to your statement Pakura-san then I find that life is too short. Which is why I will prolong my life as much as possible. You know the feeling of being betrayed don't you?" Orochimaru asked getting an growl from Pakura.
"However I digress so I'm sure you wonder why you're hear. Well I know of you and your student's abilities. They...have use to me. I have come here to ask fro you to join me. Join me and I will make all your dream realities," Orochimaru said from behind his face mask. Maki resisted the urge to snort at such blatant bullshit. She'd been around for a good while and the thing about traveling, you got to see just what type of jerks lived in the world. It had been one of the many reasons that she had been convinced that Naruto's dream of bringing peace to the nations was such a big deal for her.
"I see and why would we interest you? Don't think we don't know about the crimes you've committed or the things that you've done even before that," Pakura said and Orochimaru snickered. "You have something you hate don't you Pakura-san? I can destroy it for you. I have the necessary power to do it. I have the necessary resources. Face it, you will be caught by Suna one of these days. You and Maki will be put on trial and you will be killed for kidnapping Maki-san. Can you really live with the consequence that she might die because of you?" Orochimaru asked. Pakura closed her eyes and Maki fumed.
"Bullshit! Pakura-sensei didn't kidnap me. I left with her! If we're caught then I will be ready to die with her! Don't twist my sensei's intentions," Maki bellowed. Orochimaru turned a glance to her and Kabuto smirked behind as he continued to write some notes in a notepad. "Well that's not the way that Suna is going to see it. Is it...Maki-san?" Orochimaru asked.
Maki stayed silent and balled her fists, but didn't say anything. She couldn't say anything. No, not to a man like this. He was older than her, by a lot. He had the experience and he knew human nature more than she ever would. It just pissed her off to twist her sensei's words the way that he did. This all stopped as Pakura spoke. "Give me that power,"
Maki widened her eyes and Kabuto narrowed his eyes, but a devious grin went across his face. Orochimaru glared at Pakura and he noticed the light fire under her eyes. "You have that power then let me have it too. I want the power to protect Maki. To protect myself and to destroy any Suna shinobi that dares to come after her. I will not allow Maki to be caught," Pakura said and Orochimaru chuckled underneath his bandages. He knew human nature right now to a tee.
"P-Pakura-sensei, what are you saying? You can't possibly think that-," Maki saw Pakura's most serious face and she felt a bit of her world crumble. She knew that they were missing-nin, but for her sensei to forsake all that they were doing and to just go with this was...it was...impossible?
Maki widened her eyes and glanced towards her sensei again. Pakura just kept her stoic face while Orochimaru snickered. "First tell me where your other guest is. I believe that you had the Nanabi jinchuuriki with you. I would like to see her," Orochimaru said and he noticed Pakura straighten up before an irritated look appeared on her face.
"She said something about family in Kiri and ran off to go and join the resistance. I don't know what she's doing at the moment. We had her, but she got away. Don't change the subject," Pakura said and Orochimaru just nodded his head slowly.
"It is not my intention. Forgive my curiosity. I just wanted to be sure that I wasn't being tricked. Never turn your eyes off a snake," Orochimaru warned and Pakura nodded. "That's right. You would know that snakes are reptiles right? They need warmth from the sun to get moving in their daily plans or they cool down and wither, then give me that power and I will be the sun to your ambitions," Pakura said and Orochimaru, now, couldn't stop the grin from appearing on his face. The Hero of Suna as well as a possible descendant to the Third Kazekage, the only thing he could ask for more was from a certain Uchiha.
"Very well. I shall give you what you desire. The power that you want to topple anyone in your way. It's as good as yours this day," Orochimaru said and Pakura, much to a lot of her distaste, fell to one knee and bowed. "Hai Orochimaru-sama," Pakura said and more than all of this threw Maki for a loop as she wouldn't have expected this from her sensei.
"But I want Maki with me at all times. She is my precious student and I will continue to train her. I do not care about who you place with me, but I humbly request that Maki stay with me. She is all the family I have left," Pakura said and Maki frowned while Orochimaru snickered. "Very well. I can grant you that. Kabuto, show them to their rooms," Orochimaru said.
"Hai hai," Kabuto said getting up from his seat and made his way towards Pakura and Maki before the latter, much to the surprise of the other three, bowed also. "I request it also!" Maki pleaded and Pakura widened her eyes while Kabuto raised an eyebrow. Orochimaru glared at the younger female as she spoke. "I want the power to protect myself. I don't want to rely on Pakura-sensei. I want the power to protect her as well. I'll do anything for her. Also please tell me, research me, I don't care, but I want to know why my village was always cautious of me. I want to know why the council kept checking up on me. Tell me why!" Maki pleaded and Pakura narrowed her eyes. Kabuto adjusted his glassed and Orochimaru smiled.
"Yes, we will do it all for you. Don't worry your little head Maki-san. You will discover the truth to everything that you wish. For now you will go. You will have your assignments in a few days," Orochimaru said as Pakura and Maki bowed before leaving.
Once the room was silent Kabuto smirked. "Orochimaru-sama, that was a little too easy don't you think?" Kabuto asked suspiciously. "I've seen it all before Kabuto. The love between a teacher and student to protect the other. I will give them both what they want and they will give me what I want. Their bodies to use for my own. Pakura is already a powerful shinobi as it is. I look forward to the things she will accomplish," Orochimaru said and Kabuto turned around.
"What about Maki-san?" Kabuto asked. "We will use the love she had for her sensei to drive her there. Once I take Pakura's body I will have her trust and then I will use the Satetsu of the Sandaime Kazekage to destroy the very village that betrayed Pakura-san. It's the best type of irony. Destroyed by the one thing you were hoping to control. Now Kabuto go. I have expectations of those two," Orochimaru said and Kabuto bowed before leaving.
A little later, as they left the room, Pakura and Maki walked a few feet before Maki chuckled and grabbed her stomach. "I want the power to destroy any Suna shinobi that dares come after her? Really Pakura-sensei? I didn't know you took acting classes. I had almost thought you were serious. You already have that power," Maki laughed and Pakura just snorted while folding her arms.
"I played on his twisted use of affection. No doubt he'll try to do something to drive a wedge between us trying to make us hate each other, but we have a strong bond don't we?" Pakura asked and Maki settled. She straightened up before getting back her professionalism.
"That's right Pakura-sensei. We have a strong bond. We're not his shougi pieces. He's OUR shougi piece," Maki said while Pakura nodded. "Sorry for the long wait ladies, please follow me," Kabuto said smiling as Pakura and Maki followed him. They were in and now they would just have to stay in until it was fully time to pull out.
Kirigakure
Suiren and Tayuya bowed while Kin looked tense. Yagura narrowed his eyes dangerously from behind his desk and turned to look out of the window. "So Zabuza was indeed in Taki. He had been trying to get Taki to finance a few supplies for the resistance. Just as I would expect of the Demon of the Mist. It seems you were telling the truth, Kin Tsuchi-san. I apologize for my accusations against your person. You were not at fault," Yagura said and Kin bowed.
"You are too kind Yagura-sama," Kin almost chocked on those words as she couldn't believe that they had come out of her mouth. However she had to do her part. "Suiren, Tayuya you have confirmed it and I will be sending a note to Taki about this. No doubt they will try to cover for him, but it's worth a shot. You are both dismissed," Yagura said and the two spun on their heels before leaving.
Having left, Tayuya groaned and rubbed her neck. "Finally we have that shit out of the way. Now we can just relax for a little bit. No doubt we'll be called away soon enough," she said getting a nod from Suiren.
"That is true, but keep on your toes. Yagura-sama is the Mizukage for a reason. Also Kin-san, what is your affinity?" Suiren asked and Kin blinked. "Ahh umm well it's...Doton just like Tayuya's," Kin said and Suiren nodded.
"I see well go to the library. There probably isn't much but we have a few Doton techniques. I'd just rather be more safe than sorry," Suiren said and Kin nodded before she began to leisurely walk through the Mizukage Mansion until she disappeared from their view. "You really think that Kin's going to need those techniques?" Tayuya asked and Suiren nodded.
"I have a feeling that with Naruto-san's plan then it will only be a matter of time before things start to kick off. Kirigakure is already on the losing side as it is. We'll have to move quickly when we learn that the resistance contacted Konoha. I just hope that Naruto-san is able to convince them," Suiren said worriedly. Tayuya just smirked and placed her arms behind her head.
"Don't worry about him. He'll get his shit done. He always does for us. He's a shithead, but he'll come through for us. I know he will," Tayuya said getting a nod from Suiren as the two walked off.
Konohagakure, Hokage Mansion
Naruto and Shikamaru widened their eyes while Samui glared. Ayane didn't see what the big deal was, but she could tell that this was important concerning Naruto and the others. "Baa-chan, what do you mean Sasuke's not a part of Platoon 13 anymore?" Naruto asked and yes it was true. Tsunade was sitting right behind the Hokage desk were a snarl on her face. She really didn't get two shits about this job, but she just couldn't get out of it. Her fault for doing something so damn stupid.
"It's like I told you brat. It was discussed yesterday. Even though it is unconventional in nature, Sasuke Uchiha will be under the apprenticeship of Mikoto Uchiha thus he will be temporary reassigned from Platoon 13. It actually works this way since now the team is balanced. You have Ayane-san with you and the team dynamics are sure to be better. We can't afford to be sending shinobi around needlessly," Tsunade said while Naruto leaned back and snorted. He didn't know what the guy was thinking. Man he would find him and get an answer out of him when he saw that guy again. Now then, if that's all then platoon 13 has a border patrol tonight. I want all of you there in approximately-," The door was knocked on and Tsunade sighed.
"Come in," she grumbled and the door opened to show Shizune with a scroll in her hands. "Tsunade-sama I have just gotten a scroll just a few minutes ago. It's from...Kiri's resistance. They have asked Konoha to help them in the civil war," Shizune said and Tsunade widened her eyes while Naruto, Samui and Ayane glared. The two females turned to Naruto while Tsunade took the scroll and examined its contents. She went down it before closing her eyes.
"The old man told me that they had done this before. Dammit they are persistent. Don't they understand that we can't be involved in their problems. Ugh, Shizune I'll think this over," Tsunade said and Shizune bowed before leaving. "The rest of you brats are dismissed," Tsunade said. They all bowed and quickly left while Tsunade massaged her temples. She then opened one eye to see that Naruto was still in front of her.
"I said you're dismissed brat," Tsunade said and Naruto scratched his cheek with a nod. "I know that Baa-chan, but hear me out in this. For the good of Konoha, you're going to want to agree to help them out,"
KG: Yeah I know shorter than what you thought. I wanted to give the DOA thing a break and not make it consistent with each and every chapter. I don't really have much to say. Just that Maki and Pakura will be going through some stuff. No they won't be experimented on or tortured or any of that shit. Just want you to know.
KG: Also honestly, I have some prior engagement stuff to deal with. I have to find a damn suit, a cake, plan shit for my engagement. You know how it is. I wanted to put this chapter off till tomorrow, but in the morning it felt weird not typing anything so I just did it, much to my fiancee's irritation. Which is weird because she's my beta. Hehe umm again I'll make it a little longer next time. Now then, action!
Rachel: Let me show you the power that she had bestowed upon me!
Naruto: You won't get away with this!
Rachel: Try and stop me!
Ayane: This power, it's over 9000!
Naruto: 9000 what?
Ayane: I don't know. But it's over 9000!
Samui: You just said that.
Ayane: Because I need you to believe it.
Naruto: We don't believe it.
Ayane: I just told you to believe it!
Samui: Yeah we know, but we don't.
Ayane: JUST FUCKIN' BELIEVE IT!
Rachel: Really? My power is that high? Well, even I don't believe it.
Ayane: KILL THE NON-BELIEVER! (charges)
KG: And cut! That's a wrap people. We're done here. Stay Breezy, protect what's important to you, review and SEND ME CREAM SODA! Also money, money for our movie! We have to do it! It's what keeps us alive. Also we have special guest Gaara. Take it away.
Gaara: If you don't respect the cream, we will kill you.
KG: See ya.
