I don't own Naruto, or any of the characters from the Manga or Anime.
A Price for Peace
Chapter 36 These Days are Numbered
Tetsu once more stood in front of Gouhara's palace, the fields surrounding it were filled with older officers sparring and running battle simulations. The rest of his team were waiting a few feet behind him hoping to recieve new orders. They had been greeted by the same member of the royal family as last time, who had since gone to inform the princess that the rust coloured hair shinobi had arrived.
"Man this is taking forever. There is less than two months until the exams, and we are standing around doing nothing. Can't you give us some training exercises to do while you go meet the princess sensei?" Koha sighed in frustration.
"Patience is a virtue Koha. We are still on a mission, and it doesn't end until the report has been given to your commander. You will need to learn this if you want to be part of a black ops squad," Tetsu lectured.
The younger brother huffed in annoyance, he clearly didn't like his brothers decision. "But we won't be allowed in anyway, so why not just let us go train while you report to the Princess?" he asked pleadingly.
"Because we are a team. We succeed, or fail as a team, and that means we report in as a team," Tetsu replied firmly. He wanted to make sure that his entire squad knew how he would run his squad, even if he may only be their sensei for just a few more weeks.
"Aw man, but we need to be ready for the exams. You told us how dangerous they are yourself, so we need to be prepared," Koha complained.
"Yes they are, it will probably be the most dangerous thing you ever do in your career. But my job is to teach you how to be a member of the military, and that includes acting as a squad," the sensei answered with a hint of finality.
Koha huffed knowing that he was not going to change his brothers mind. So instead he started impatiently pacing around, while waiting for the member of the royal family to return.
"Oh would you please stay still!" Kara yelled after about a minute.
"Just leave him, if he want's to waste his energy like this then all the better. He will be easier to deal with during our sparring session later," the last member of the group, Muki reasoned.
"I don't care, it's annoying... it's not going to make the time go any faster. Besides how much energy do you actually expect him to lose doing that?" the kunoichi sighed.
Muki didn't have to respond as the door to the small palace opened and the dark haired Shougo came out to greet them. "Gouhara-sama is ready to see you now, Tetsu."
Tetsu nodded and quickly turned to his team, "I shouldn't be too long, just wait here and I'll be back in no time. That means now wandering off Koha. I'm warning you, little brother or not I will right up a report for ignoring a direct order," he warned before following the royal family member. "So what took so long Shougo? Don't tell me she is torturing someone else for once."
"Not getting jealous are we Tetsu?" the dark haired man, Shougo asked with a slight smirk.
"You know me too well old friend," Tetsu joked.
"The truth was she was busy finishing up her paper work for the officers that are going to be in attendance for the exams. Just to warn, you it hasn't left her in the best mood." Shougo said a little more seriously.
"So what else is new, I'm guessing she's going to cut me up either way. What could upset her more than usual?" Tetsu laughed half heartedly, the truth was he did not relish the prospect of facing the princess when she was in a bad mood at all, in fact he was terrified. The last time he had almost lost his arms and needed to be in the hospital for a week.
Shougo shrugged, he seemed rather indifferent about the whole thing "It seems her daughter has decided that she will be attending."
"You mean the the prodigy of clan that last year became the ruler of the sixth district, and seventh in line to the throne? I never understood why they don't get along... well other than her daughter being higher ranked in the royal family," Tetsu said a little hesitantly.
"Well... they do tend to try and kill each other at least once every few years. It's possible that might have something to do with it. But I have been wrong before." Shougo replied.
"I really don't get it, how are you so normal when your family is so crazy?" Tetsu questioned seriously.
"Maybe it's because I was born without any real talent, I mean you were able to defeat me when we fought to be squad captain when our sensei won promotion. They don't let you live something like that down when you're a member of my family Tetsu. Besides, I have no desire to try and be the next emperor, why would I want to try and risk my life for the possibility of having to fight to the death when Ojii-sama kicks the bucket." Shougo chuckled lightly.
They came to the door to Gouhara's meeting chamber, Shougo gave his friend a reassuring pat on the back before turning to leave. Tetsu let out a sigh knowing that he had just given him a silent signal that there would be medical attention waiting when he came out.
The room was in better condition than the last time Tetsu entered the room, there were no deep cuts in the floor or walls that he expected. Gouhara sat in a large throne, her snow white hair falling around her shoulders and down her chest making it look as though she was a light in the dark stone room. "You've returned Tetsu, I hope you have good news for me," she said.
Tetsu gulped, the lack of the affectionate 'Chan' suffix she used was always dangerous, he knew he would either get out completely unharmed on in pieces. "Yes Hime-sama, I found the man responsible."
The princess nodded with a small smile that have the officer a glimmer of hope. "And?"
"And what?" he asked hesitantly.
This was obviously the wrong thing to say as a large gash appeared on his cheek and the wall behind him cracked. "And tell me about him fool!" she roared, her attractive features twisted into a angry scowl "I don't want to have to repeat myself Tetsu now tell me what you found out!"
Tetsu bowed deeply, using his bloodline to stop the bleeding, at least momentarily. "Of course Hime-sama, I apologise. The man responsible is a boy in his late teens, I would say eighteen give or take a year or so. He's physically strong, and even without any chakra I would say he would be strong enough to take on new graduates, he could probably take on a small squad of them by himself."
"Without any chakra... did you see him use chakra or get a good read on his skills?" Gouhara asked calmly but her icy tone offered the promise of pain should she not like what she heard.
"Well not exactly, he was skilled, so much so that he could hide his chakra even from me." Tetsu replied almost fearful of what that might mean for him.
"Well that is disappointing," Gouhara said with a voice like ice, her anger rising again.
"He was weary, everyone in the outer regions is weary of the military. With that said I have the utmost confidence that he is the one I was sent to look for. There were things about him that were weird," Tetsu replied.
Gouhara was, for the time being at least stated in her rage, this had piqued her interest. "Weird how?" she asked.
"The way he acted, it was like he had no idea how the empire worked, but he was perfectly confident, he would say things that any sane person wouldn't have the balls to say to a member of the military, not if they valued their lives anyway. He was especially displeased with the mistreatment of the residence of the outer regions," Tetsu answered.
"So someone with a sense of justice, what a waste of a life to care about such peons. We have been given gifts Tetsu, gifts that entitle us to rule this world. That foolish boy must have been blessed with a gift like no other if he was able to master chakra control to a high enough level to be able to hide from even you, and without any help it would seem. He has wasted that gift, and because of that he will suffer the consequences," Gouhara replied casually.
Her mood was increasing slightly and she stood up from her chair, her pure white hair falling back behind her and falling to the middle of her back with just a few long terraces framing her face. "If I was to put him at a rank, then I would say it would be a middle level officer, but without seeing him fight or being able to feel his chakra, then that is just a guess," Tetsu added hoping to avoid any other outbursts from the princess. 'Then there was that look he gave me in the house that day. It may have been because I wasn't expecting it, but it scared me more than Gouhara-hime does,' he added in thought, suppressing a small shiver.
"Well that is a shock, what does it say about us being able to keep the peace if a simple peon can achieve that level of power," Gouhara mused.
Tetsu nodded and was feeling a little more brave than he had been when he first stepped foot in the meeting chamber. "Then think of what he could accomplish if we left him alive. Naruto seems to want nothing more than a peaceful life out in the furthest reaches of the empire, he is no threat to us, but he could be a useful asset to the military."
"Ah Tetsu-chan, are you asking for me to spare the boys life?" Gouhara cooed a hint of amusement in her voice.
"I am suggesting that we give such a unique talent the chance to join us, or simply return to his mundane life. Killing him during the exams could cause disruptions and he poses no real threat to the empire," Tetsu reasoned.
"Oh you poor little foolish man. Today's farmer or peasant is tomorrow's terrorist, one may not pose a threat alone, but when you allow him to gain followers... to teach others about chakra, or how to fight well then we have a problem. It is better to pull the weeds when they are thin on the ground, rather than when they grow thorns. This Naruto, is a weed that will spread if not dealt with properly and he must die," Gouhara said in a sickly sweet voice that seemed to long for the moment she had the chance to do the deed herself.
"If that was the case why didn't you simply let my team and I deal with him? Surely there is less risk that way," Tetsu questioned.
"What, and miss the chance to see this unique young man for myself? No I don't think so. He may need to die, but I would like to test him for myself, maybe I could even use him and the others in part of the test... now that is an idea... a bonus prize for the team able to capture him," Gouhara mused happily.
"Are you sure that's wise Hime-sama? We have no idea just how strong he is, the recruits could get hurt," Tetsu replied.
"Do you forget how these tests work Tetsu-chan? A good portion of the recruits will die regardless. We can throw the other people you gave tickets in with them. We'll give a prize money for every civilian killed, and for this, Naruto to be captured alive... we offer a chance to pick their own squad," She said with glee.
"I am sure the crowd will love the idea," Tetsu said a little melancholic, it was more senseless death, the empire was consumed by it, they used death to consummate their power, make sure nobody was getting to big to challenge them. Yes Tetsu knew how it worked, but he felt powerless to do anything about it.
"Don't sound so disappointed Tetsu-chan, you could earn a shot at a promotion for this. It may even revolutionise the way the exams are run, we can weed out any potential threats, and strengthen the empire in a single go," Gouhara replied happily.
"I'm honoured that you think I would be ready to challenge for another promotion, but it was hard enough to earn my last one, and there are not many ranking officers left above me that are not members of the royal family," Tetsu replied.
"That hasn't stopped you before. Now you better go train those recruits of yours up, it wouldn't look good on your record if they were to die in the exams," The princess said dismissing the officer with a wave of her hand.
Shougo was waiting for him on the other side of the door with a large med kit, bandages already in his hands. "So how was it?"
Tetsu relaxed and blood began to pour from his cheek. "Not as bad as I thought it would be, but this one is really deep."
"Yeah that's a nasty cut right there. It's probably gone through your cheek, try sticking your tongue out out it," the raven haired man said with a laugh. Tetsu gave him a deadpan stare which told him everything he needed to know. "Okay, I was just joking, you should probably go see a doctor, but I know you wont."
"Damn right I wont," Tetsu declared firmly, making it perfect;y clear that the the conversation was over before it had even begun.
(Elsewhere)
"Why the hell did you want to come here?" Anko asked skeptically as she looked across the still heavily scarred landscape that had been the sight of Naruto's Battle with Sasuke.
"To look for clues," Hinata said flatly, her Byakugan already activated. The land was barren, but grass had reclaimed the land that had been destroyed when the two former teammates and rivals fought for what would be the last time. Even if there had been any clues around here at the time a year was almost an eternity when it came to finding someone's tracks.
"Clues for what?" Anko queried.
Hinata didn't particularly want to answer the snake mistress but she knew Anko wasn't someone that she could just ignore. "I'm looking for signs that could tell me where Naruto-kun has gone."
Anko was mildly surprised. "You're looking for Naruto huh? Well the search is over, he died."
"No he didn't! He is still alive!" The Hyuuga heiress snapped back.
"You know denial is one of the stages of grief right? Everyone saw his body at the end of the war. Tsunade-sama inspected the body for herself," Anko replied.
"Yes, then she conveniently went on a mission that had no time limit," Hinata replied.
"Yeah, but think about it kid. She did the same thing when her little brother died in the third shinobi war. Even if she didn't lose it again, I happen to know the specifics of her mission, and she aint looking for no dead Gaki, she's hunting the last member of the Akatsuki," Anko reasoned.
"What if it was a black flag, a fake mission to hide the real one? Maybe Kakashi-sama just didn't want people to know he was alive," Hinata persisted, still scanning the land for clues.
"You've lost it little lady, the Gaki is dead! Do you think that little screw up could possibly hide this long? He walked around in a fucking orange jumpsuit that was more recognisable in the forest than his teammates fucking neon pink hair!" Anko yelled hoping to bring the young girl back to reality.
"Take that back," the younger kunoichi hissed.
"Not gonna happen princess, your Hyuuga servants might indulge your fantasy's but I sure as hell wont," Anko scoffed.
For the first time in her life Hinata could honestly say she was angry, not she had gone passed angry, she was livid, who was this woman to insult Naruto like that, after all he had done. She ceased scanning the barren landscape and turned the full force of her Dojutsu onto the snake mistress. "Take it back, now!"
"Oooh scary, but no, you're gonna have to do a little better than that," Anko scoffed, almost teasing the young Hyuuga.
It had the required effect, Hinata shot forward at Anko, crossing the gap between them in an instant. Of all that remained of the Rookie nine, Hinata had improved the most over the last year since the end of the war, while others seemed to be relaxing and enjoying the peace after the war, Hinata had been practicing, improving every day in hopes that she would be able to find Naruto and bring him back home to Konoha.
Anko however was one of the most experienced kunoichi in the village and thanks to her training from Orochimaru, she was probably the most well rounded fighter in Konoha except Kakashi, capable to competing with anyone in any field, or exploiting their weakness. She easily spun around the attack from Hinata and wrapped send a wave of snakes towards the younger kunoichi.
Hinata had been expecting this and with her hands moving faster than the normal eye could see began striking each snake as it came within range, effectively dispelling it. "Well well, not bad at all, I'm almost impressed," Anko said lazily, appearing directly behind Hinata.
Hinata spun on the spot but her hand went right through the spiky haired kunoichi. "Clone," she spat.
"Never thought I would see a Hyuuga get tricked by a academy jutsu," Anko laughed nearly falling out of a nearby tree. "Then again you couldn't have been the sharpest kunai in the holster if you went and fell for the Kyuubi gaki, kid was the biggest idiot I had seen, its a surprise that he even lasted as long as he did."
"What is wrong with you!?" Hinata yelled in response, tears forming at the edges of her eyes, wasn't it bad enough that Naruto had died, and now she is mocking him.
"Me oh you know, I don't really play nice with people, especially those who can't see the truth when it's staring them in the face," Anko mused. Hinata frowned and again threw herself forward at Anko who casually swung away to another tree. Each time Hinata would get close Anko would simply put on a burst of speed to avoid getting close to the Hyuuga. 'Man all Hyuuga are so predictable, all you need to do is stay away from them and they're useless, they think so highly of Taijutsu they often ignore other areas, only learning a few defensive Ninjutsu.'
"Why don't you fight me?" Hinata asked, she had never wanted to actually hurt someone before now in her life, but Anko was really pushing the right buttons.
"I don't see a need to," The older kunoichi replied casually. She was being extra careful to stay a fair distance away. "You need to wake up accept reality princess. The gaki is dead, he died right here at the end of the war. You're looking for answers that do not exist, and you're wasting my time, and your own. Think hard about Naruto, do you really think he could keep all that chakra of his hidden for a whole year? Not one sighting of anyone that looks even remotely like him, and don't tell me he could disguise himself because even his Henge had whisker marks, He's probably the most recognisable, well known shinobi in all of the Elemental Nations now."
Hinata couldn't think of anything to say in retaliation, Anko was right. She knew Naruto just about as well as anyone, except maybe Sakura, Kakashi and Tsunade, and everything the snake mistress had said about Naruto was true, he couldn't suppress his chakra for a whole year, and if he had just been off hiding somewhere there would have been some sort of rumoured sighting of him by now she was sure of it. This time tears really did start to fall from her eyes, as an unwelcome realisation struck.
Hinata felt her knees go week and she began to fall only to be caught by Anko, surprising the younger kunoichi. "I'm sorry princess, I know what he meant to you, and I didn't mean any of those things I said, but you needed it," Anko said sadly. Hinata openly wept in the older woman's arms, with Anko feeling sort of uncomfortable. This was really more of Kurenai's thing, but Anko could tell that Hinata needed her at the moment. First, to stop her living in a dream, and secondly to help her through it, give Hinata an outlet for all the pent up frustration anger and sorrow. Of course Anko had no idea that Hinata had been right all along and Naruto really was alive. "What do you say we go have fun for the rest of our three month training mission? I hear there is some good casino's around here, how about it?" Anko asked once Hinata had dried her eyes.
"I... I would like that Anko-san," Hinata replied with a weak smile and still red puffy eyes.
"Ah don't go all formal Hyuuga on me princess, just Anko is fine," The snake mistress replied slowly releasing the younger woman from her embrace.
"Alright... Anko. I would like to have some fun, but I don't know if we should gamble, the Byakugan makes it too easy to cheat and we could get into some serious trouble.
"Oh Hinata," Anko said with a big grin, wrapping an arm around the younger kunoichi's shoulders. "I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship."
(Several Weeks Later)
"Come on Karin-chan, faster!" Naruto said enthusiastically as he leaned back out of the reach of one of the red headed kunoichi's kicks.
"I'm going as fast as I can, you need to slow down," Karin complained. Since the member of the military had left Karin and Naruto had been almost inseparable, they continued to sleep in the same bed, they ate together and since Karin learned the basis of the Leopard style Taijutsu, they had been training together while Naruto's clones continued his other training.
"You asked me not to go easy on you, so I'm not," Naruto replied firmly blocking a powerful kick and spinning on the spot, taking out her balancing leg before pinning the kunoichi to the ground. "So what's the score," he whispered into her ear earning a slight shiver at the rather intimate contact between the pair. Naruto had become used to it now and he seemed to finally have his more baser instincts under control, for the time being at least. He still hadn't found the best way to bring up his rather unique condition with Karin yet, and was beginning to think that the only way it was going to work would be to just come out and say it.
Karin pouted cutely under the blondes steely gaze but she broke free by replacing herself with a nearby log and wasted no time going back on the offensive. Trying to kick Naruto while he was down only to have her attack blocked as he spun around from all fours to a crouching position. 'Damn I thought I had him that time,' the kunoichi thought, quickly retreating to avoid one of the blondes powerful strikes.
The Leopard style was based around speed and quickly incapacitating their opponents, so it was at a disadvantage in long drawn out Taijutsu battles, and was better adapted to a style of Kenjutsu where the strikes could be accented with a blade. Unfortunately finding a suitable weapon had proved to be tough as all that either shinobi had was a single kunai that Naruto had saved from his ninja gear before departing.
Naruto moved in a blur, she may not be that great at Taijutsu, but most Jounin wouldn't be able to keep up with how fast Naruto was able to move, and he wasn't even using any of his power ups. He had become significantly faster since they had first arrived on this side of the mountains thanks to the bulk of lean muscle he had put on.
He was behind the kunoichi before she knew it and only out of experience from their recent spars knew to roll forward to avoid being grabbed from behind. Naruto would never move to strike her in their training, only ever grabs and pins, he couldn't bring himself to hurt the kunoichi even if she had asked him not to go easy on her.
He jumped out of the way quickly to avoid her counter attack only to see that instead of Taijutsu Karin was running though hand seals. 'When did she learn offensive ninjutsu?' Naruto wondered in mild shock.
'It doesn't really matter now, does it?' Kurama replied trying to snap his friend back to reality.
'Yeah I guess not,' Naruto replied. 'Plus this gives me a chance to work on some of the Fuuton jutsu that Fukusaku-sensei has been showing me,' he grinned. But what ever Naruto and Kurama were expecting it wasn't this, thick chains shot out of the red heads back and flew towards the blond. 'No way!' he thought stunned by a jutsu that he had seen another red head use once before.
By the time Naruto reacted it was almost too late. He had planned on using a Fuuton jutsu to counter whatever Karin had been planning but that was out of the window now, All Naruto could do was dodge, using the trees as a shield. 'I never thought I would see someone with that ability again, you know what this means don't you Naruto?'
Naruto nodded the affirmative and after running though some hand deals of his own took a deep breath in and released a powerful burst of wind that sent the chakra chains off course. "You're an Uzumaki," he said in shock, landing in front of Karin once the chains retracted back into the kunoichi's body. "You have the same Kekkei Genki that Kaa-san had," he added still not quite believing his eyes.
While she knew about being an Uzumaki thanks the the leopard elder, learning that Naruto's mother could use chakra chains was news to Karin, who stammered trying to think up a response... "I... Um, well I did find out I was an Uzumaki a little while back," she admitted.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Naruto asked a little hurt that she would keep this from him.
"Because I was afraid it would mean you wouldn't... like me," she replied earning a raised eyebrow from the blond. "I mean as more than a friend, I mean we're only very distantly related, your actually more closely related to Tsunade Senju than me so it's not weird or anything. Plus most clans marry within themselves to strengthen the bloodlines, look at the Hyuuga clan in Konoha," she added fervently as Naruto still stood with a blank expression on his face.
Naruto slowly walked up to the kunoichi and wrapped her in a loving embrace. "It doesn't matter," he whispered softly.
"Really?" she asked searching for confirmation.
Naruto shook his head. "Of course not, I can't do anything about who I fall in love with. But there is something I need to tell you as well."
Karin didn't care what it was at this point, she quickly kissed the blond. "Whatever it is I don't care," she said with finality.
"Well it involves the real reason why I was avoiding you before Tetsu and his team arrived," the blond began to explain still not sure how to go about doing this. "You know how I am Kurama's jinchuuriki right?" Karin nodded her response. "Well Jinchuuriki tend to pick up traits that take after the Bijuu."
"Alright, but I'm not really seeing where this is going," Karin said calmly.
"Well Kurama is a fox right, and it turns out that uh..." Naruto paused feeling rather embarrassed about what he was going to admit. "Foxesmateforlife!" he said so quickly that karin couldn't quite understand.
"What was that?" she asked seeing the deep blush on the blonds face. "Come on Naruto-kun, tell me," she ordered with a small pout.
"Foxes, they uh, mate for life. Once they have chosen the right... uh mate," he admitted much slower. 'Uh man I hope this is right, I mean we're both Uzumaki, she even has Kaa-san's bloodline limit.'
'Relax Naruto, she's not a blood relative, even if she's from the same clan. Foxes can't imprint on family so the simple fact that you chose her proves she is not directly related to you. The Uzumaki clan has been around for a hundred years they're are many families that all held the same bloodline but were not really related. From what I can remember from your mothers memories, eighty percent of her home village were all Uzumaki,' Kurama said deciding that what he was going through was hard enough without having to think about anything else.
This time it was Karin's turn to blush as she finally understood where the blond was heading. "So... your saying that you picked me right? And that means your mine for life?" she said confident she already knew the answer.
"Well yes, but the process isn't really complete until, we uh consu... consummate the ugh imprinting," Naruto said trying to explain the process without being to forward.
Karin however knew exactly what he had meant and once the initial shock had died down nodded in response and grabbed the blonds hand in her own. "That's why you wanted to take things slowly right?" she asked earning a nod from her partner.
"Yeah but it was hard for me to do that, I get these primal urges to complete the imprinting and well I am a young man so you can add puberty to that list," he chuckled still not very comfortable talking about this, but he wanted Karin to know why he had been acting so distant.
"So you used training to help you ignore them," she said completing the blonds train of thought.
"Yeah that's about it," Naruto replied rubbing the back of his neck.
"Alright I get it, and I'm willing to wait for... that, but I want this so whenever you're ready, then so am I," Karin replied. Naruto smiled and lightly kissed her forehead before freezing in fear as one of his clones dispelled without his permission. "What is it?" Karin asked, a look of concern on her face.
"Well, to put it lightly I'm about to die," Naruto said with a heavy sweat drop.
Karin began to look scared herself and the sound of someone moving through the trees behind them forced her to hide instinctively behind the blond. "Naruto Uzumaki!" came an angry roar as a tall blond woman, who appeared to be in her early thirties burst through the tree line.
"H-h-hey Baa-chan, long time no see."
End Chapter!
Cue evil cliffhanger laugh. Gonna have to wait until next time to find out what will happen. But I think I closed up quite a few open sub plots that have developed in recent chapters. Resolved the coupling issue and added an angry grandmother into the mix.
How do you think I handled the scene with Hinata and Anko, I consider them polar opposites in terms of character, so I thought having Anko get under Hinata's skin when she started searching for Naruto was a believable outcome. Let's face it I set it up so only someone genuinely Unique would be able to cross the mountains, Naruto because he's a jinchuuriki, Karin because she was with Naruto and he kept her alive, and Tsunade because she can't be killed if she uses her Creation Rebirth seal, plus she's a Medic and would know the best ways to stay alive in the freezing cold.
This is something that neither Hinata or Anko could do, so instead I decided to have Anko make Hinata see some form of reason and accept that Naruto might just be gone. It leaves me with some things that I can play around with should I decide to bring Naruto back to the Elemental Nations later on. I prefer to build from context so if I decided after several hundred words that I wanted Naruto to go back to Konoha for what ever reason, I wouldn't have to completely rebuild the world around him again and explain the changes. Plus I think it's a nice change of pace every so often for a little side story of what's happening in and around Konoha. Tell me what you think anyway.
Chapter is out before the cannon this week so no need for a spoiler alert, sorry to the people who enjoy reading my rants, and a you're welcome to those who don't like them.