Naruto sat in his training area, leaning against a sleeping Ryuda as a small bird flew down to land on his head.
"Hello there," he murmured as the bird hopped down onto his shoulder. Ryuda cracked an eye open momentarily to see who Naruto was speeking to, watching as the small blue bird chirped in reply. "Shouldn't you have flown south already?"
The blue bird chirped again and Naruto nodded. "Oh, that's too bad. Well, if you want, you can stay with me until they come back in the spring."
The bird chirped happily and flew circles around Naruto's head before once again landing on his scalp, nestling itself in his wild hair. "I'm Naruto, by the way. What's your name?"
A lazy chirp sounded from atop his head and Naruto grinned. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Jinsoku. Do you mind if I call you Jin?"
Jinsoku chirped and huddled closer to the warmth coming off Naruto's head while Ryuda went back to napping until he smelled someone approaching and felt Naruto tense against his side. The person smelled vaguely like Sakura, but she was taller and heavier judging by the sound of her footsteps through the snow. Not sensing any danger, Ryuda kept his eyes closed, but remained on alert when Naruto took significantly longer to relax.
"Of course you would be out talking to animals."
"They always did make for excellent company during my childhood," Naruto replied smoothly. "How can I help you, Haruno-san?"
"Don't you go playing coy with me, boy," Mebuki Haruno replied. "I know you're the one behind Tsunade-sama barring the civilian council from returning to their duties."
"Now why would I do something like that?" Naruto asked, sarcasm dripping from his craggy voice.
"You know why," Mebuki seethed. "You've finally weasled your way into having a little power and now you're using it to get back at us."
"Whatever would I have to get back at you for, Mebuki-san? We've barely spoken outside of council meetings."
"This isn't over, demon. You're behind this, and I'm going to put a stop to it."
"I am, and you won't."
Mebuki was forced to do a double-take as Naruto openly admitted to her accusations. Standing up he patted Ryuda on the side, indicating he was about to leave. Ryuda stood up, making sure to stretch out and yawn dramatically to remind the pink-haired howler monkey just how large and dangerous a creature he was. He and Naruto walked back to the village at a leisurely pace, and Ryuda forced down a growl as he spied several glares being thrown their way.
"Those ungrateful…" he began only for Naruto to cut him off.
"Don't worry about it, Ryuda. They're just chafing under the new way things are being run. They'll learn soon enough to get with the program."
Raising his right hand, Naruto lazily caught a snowball that rocketed toward him from out of nowhere and grinned as he vanished, only to reappear a moment later with a squirming Haku in his arms.
"Naruto-kun, put me down!" She screeched as Naruto ran his fingers up and down his ribs.
"Would you look at this Ryuda," Naruto said with a smirk. "It seems someone was trying to ambush us."
Haku continued to laugh and screech as Naruto tickled her drawing the attention of many people on the street, most of whom smiled at the cute sight. She calmed down as Naruto ended his assault and turned her around in his arms before placing her gently on her feet.
"I see you've made a new friend," Haku observed as she smiled to Jin who had fluttered down from Naruto's hair to land on her shoulder.
"Yeah, this is Jin-chan," Naruto said. "She lost her family and her boyfriend during their migration and is going to be staying with me until they come back."
Jin tweeted happily and darted back into the warmth of Naruto's hair while Haku giggled.
"So are you terribly busy right now?"
"Well, I was going to explore the rest of the island," Naruto said. "My clones are working on some different projects and we haven't really gotten a chance to see much of this place since we got here. I kinda wanna see if there's anything leftover from when the Uzumaki clan lived here."
"That sounds fun," Haku said. "Do you mind if I come along?"
Naruto grinned pulling Haku closer to him and pecking her on the lips. "Not in the least."
"If you two are going to be all lovey-dovey, I'm gonna head back," Ryuda said. "I can only tolerate so much."
"Alright, Bro," Naruto replied, reaching out and stroking his hand down Ryuda's snout. "Don't get into too much trouble."
"Could say the same to you," Ryuda grumbled, disappearing in a burst of smoke.
"He seems moody." Haku and Naruto turned to greet Kurenai as she joined them with a smile. "Anko's locked in another debate with the Ichirakus over them not selling dango at their ramen store, so I thought I'd come find you."
"He's just grumpy because Owryudan-ojisan isn't letting him train with us until he finishes his next stage of studies, and he doesn't have clones who can help like I do. Turns out leading the Dragon Clan is more than just being the biggest and strongest," Naruto explained. "Sekki-chan and I were just about to go explore the rest of the island around Uzu, you wanna come?"
"Sounds fun," Kurenai replied. "Where are we starting?"
"Why don't we start with those mountains north of the village?"
Kurenai and Haku nodded, and the three of them took off out the gate and around to the north side of the village. Going at a more leisurely pace as they wove their way through the trees, Naruto couldn't help but stop and stare as the sun reflected off the snow and draped Kurenai and Haku in a golden light. He watched, fascinated as Kurenai turned and said something to him, but was too lost in the strange feeling welling up in his chest to notice what she said.
"Sorry, what did you say?"
"I said that Ryuda must have his work cut out for him if he's studying up to replace his father one day," Kurenai repeated. "Are you alright, Naruto-kun?"
"Yeah, sorry I was just watching the two of you, and kinda got caught up in the funny feeling it gave me," Naruto replied honestly, scratching the back of his head as he returned to walking. "But, yeah, Ryuda's got a lot of work ahead of him if he wants to take Owryudan-ojisan's place someday. The Dragon Clan are sorta like the supervisors of all the other summons, so he has to have a really good understanding of all the contracts and visit all the different summon realms to familiarize himself and learn from other summons. He hates it though, says the toads made him eat bugs for a solid week and it was the worst thing he'd ever experienced."
"If he hates it so much, why does he want to lead the Dragon Clan so badly?" Haku asked, her and Kurenai having shared a heated look at Naruto's blunt, oblivious statement about their beauty.
"I don't think he hates it, so much as he didn't expect their to be so much work involved, and he's worried he won't be up to it," Naruto said, smiling at a rabbit that scurried across their path. He stopped and kneeled down, reaching his hand out to the rodent and grinned when it hopped over to sniff him before leaping into his arms.
Kurenai smiled as she watched Naruto gently caress the rabit and resume walking. He held out his finger, using his wood release to create a small branch with berries that grew out of the tip and feeding it to the rabbit. Smiling with a bit of mischief, she decided to see if she and Haku could probe for more information on how he felt about them. Sidling up next to him as he continued to walk towards the nearest mountain with the rabbit in his arms, she pressed herself close enough to smell that intoxicating smell that always came off of Naruto.
"Naruto-kun," she asked innocently. "When you said you felt funny seeing Haku-chan and I, what did you mean?"
Haku caught on to what Kurenai was up to and exchanged a smirk over Naruto's back as he bent down to replace the rabbit on the ground. "Well," he said thoughtfully when he stood back up. "There was the normal feeling I get when I see you or any of the other girls, but there was something else too."
"And what was that?" Haku asked, leaning against his other side.
"You see, normally when I see you, Sekki-chan, or you, Tenshi-chan, or the other girls, I feel this weird twisting in my chest. It doesn't hurt or anything, but it makes me feel like my chest is suddenly too small for my heart. At the same time, there's this happiness that makes me feel all warm, like I can do anything, but what I want to do is just keep you in my arms and listen to you talk. But when I saw you two with the sun and everything, it was like… I dunno, kinda like when we're kissing and there's that really hot feeling that runs through you and settles in your core. Only this time, it was kinda like there was also a voice talking to me as well."
"What did the voice say, Naruto-kun?" Kurenai incquired. She was incredibly flattered, and more than a little willing to take him right here and now after hearing his words, but the mention of another voice in his head set off enough alarm bells that she had to keep probing to see if there was anything going on in Naruto's psyche they needed to be aware of.
"It didn't say anything," Naruto replied. "Not really. It was more like, feelings –or instincts –that were both my own, and not. It was like, something was telling me to hold you close, and kiss you, but more than that. I felt like I wanted to almost… mark you or something. Leave something that would let everyone know you were mine. To tell people that touching you meant dealing with me. But that doesn't make sense, because you aren't mine. People aren't things to be owned."
"Are you feeling that way now, Naruto-kun?" Haku asked.
Naruto nodded. "It had eased up, but I noticed that you both started to smell really good, and that feeling is back, sorta like a drum or something in the back of my head."
Looking at him, Kurenai and Haku both saw that his pupils had narrowed down to slits while his nostrils had flared. They both flushed slightly as they realized that his sensitive nose must have picked up the smell of their arousal at his words, though they would need to discuss this primitive side of him that seemed to be trying to direct his actions. Sitting down at the base of a tree facing the bottom of the mountain, Kurenai leaned against Naruto's chest and reached up to cup his cheek, delighting in the strange rumbling sound coming out of his chest as her thumb stroked his whisker marks.
"How do you feel now, Naruto-kun?" She whispered as Naruto's pupils returned to normal and his eyelids grew heavy under the soft stroking of his girlfriends. Kurenai noticed that he seemed to be unconsciously projecting some of his fire release as his body grew warmer and he pulled them both closer to his chest.
"Really good. Like I wanna sleep, but hold you both to make sure your safe."
"Then you should do that," Haku murmured. "Just relax and fall asleep, Naruto-kun. We'll be right here, safe in your arms when you wake up." Naruto's chest continued to rumble while the air traveling through his damaged throat rattled slightly from his steadying breaths. "What do you think is going on with him?"
"I think he's picking up more than just fighting skills from those dragons," Kurenai replied. "Did you notice his eyes when he was aroused? Those weren't the same kind of slits he would get when using Kurama's chakra, not to mention that he wasn't using any of it in the first place. Those were reptilian slits."
*(OoO)*
"What does this mean?" Konan asked. Naruto, Kurenai, and Haku had returned after Naruto had awoken from his nap and realised that it was nearing sundown. Wanting to eat dinner with Tsunade, Shizune, and Kurama, they had reluctantly returned to the village where Naruto bid them farewell with a soft kiss on the lips and an extra tight embrace. Kurenai and Haku then immediately went in search of the other girls and called for a meeting in the small house Kurenai shared with Anko and Konan when they weren't spending the night in Naruto's room in the Hokage Tower.
"Do you think this more… primitive part of him is going to affect his efforts with the Coalition?" Anko added.
Kurenai shook her head. "No, it seems that Naruto has perfect control over it. He was speaking completely calmly about it even as he mentioned that it was beating like a drum in the back of his head. I think this… animalistic side of his is more linked to his emotions –something Naruto makes a point of never letting cloud his judgement –and he only really feels its effects around us."
"What do you mean by that?" Hinata asked.
"When we were walking in the forest, though I don't think he was perfectly aware of it, Naruto described his desire to… take us, as his mates," Haku replied embarassingly. "He said that he wanted to do more than just kiss us before leaving a mark to tell others we were his."
"Something he quickly discarded as he thought that the urge he was feeling was to own us like slaves," Kurenai added.
"He does know about sex, right?" Tayuya asked worriedly.
"One of the projects he and his clones are working on is an Anti-Rape Seal," Anko offered. "So he must know something about it."
"It could be that his knowledge about it is purely academic," Hinata suggested. "Think about it, when in Naruto's life would he ever have had the opportunity to learn about the strange things he's feeling? Other than Tsunade-sama's monthly visits, everything he knew before becoming a shinobi was from either overhearing other people talk about it or reading it in a book."
The others frowned sadly as they were reminded of how terrible Naruto's life had been during his childhood. "It's easy to forget sometimes that as intelligent and mature as Naruto is, he never really received any education concerning many things we take for granted."
"Well, I dunno about you girls, but if being Naruto's mate means getting to be with him like we already are, only with the added benefit of crazy wild sex, then sign me the fuck up," Tayuya proclaimed, smirking as they all turned to look at her in bewilderment, various shades of red tinging their cheeks. "What? It sounds hot. Naruto is already extremely protective of each of us while respecting our decisions, and if you ask any of those Inuzuka bitches, they'll all tell you that he's, like, the prime example of an Alpha to him."
"Don't you think it would be kind of, you know, degrading?" Haku asked.
"Look, if I didn't give a shit about what people thought of me sharing my boyfriend with six other girls, then I sure as hell don't care what he labels the relationship as," Tayuya countered. "Naruto's the best guy I've ever met, and I kinda like that he's more in touch with his wild side, while still keeping complete control over it. It lets him look at things from a different perspective while still being able to make informed decisions."
"When you put it that way, it does sound… enticing," Anko replied salaciously. "Ladies, I do believe that I've found my next conquest."
"You know if we're right about this, you'll be the one being conquered, right?" Kurenai deadpanned, already used to her best friend's antics.
"I'd like to see him try," Anko shot back.
"Not before I have a go at him first," Tayuya exclaimed.
"This can only go wonderfully," Guren muttered sarcastically, even if part of her was already fantasizing about what a night with Naruto would be like.
"Alright, I propose a challenge," Anko announced. "The first one to get into Naruto's pants and be marked by him while still being respectful of him –that means nothing overt, no forcing him, or otherwise manipulating in any way that you know would make him uncomfortable –will get first dibs on his next five free days. The last one to do it, has to take last dibs at his next five free days after that. The other condition is that he has to be aware of the bet before consenting."
Kurenai sighed as one by one they all put their hands in over Anko's, Haku, Hinata, and Guren all blushing madly as they did so while Konan looked intrigued and Tayuya looked downright giddy. Reluctantly, she finally put her hand on top of the others, blushing as she thought about what they were about to do.
"Ladies," Anko looked around the room, a mischievious smile on her face. "Let the games begin."
*(OoO)*
Inside the Hokage Tower, Naruto was seated at a table in the living quarters next to Tsunade and Shizune while Kurama lay curled up on the ground near the heater, slurping up a bowl of ramen when a shiver crept up his spine. Raising his eyebrow at the strange sense of dread that filled his bones, Naruto shoved it and the bolt of excitement that followed aside and returned to his lovely, lovely ramen.
*(OoO)*
"This aside, do you think we should tell Tsunade-sama?" Guren asked after they separated and returned to their seats.
"Naruto's pretty open usually," Anko replied. "If he hasn't told her already and he brings it up to one of us, we should just ask if he's spoken to her about it. Frame it in a way that makes him think it might be something that could impede his ability to protect his precious people and he won't stop until he's found a solution to it."
"Now that we've cleared that up," Kurenai said. "Has anyone made any more progress on our mission from Tsunade-sama?"
"I saw him speaking with Mebuki Haruno," Haku said. "He seemed fairly tense even when he was acting calm and composed."
Konan sighed. "Well, it's a start, I guess."
"Naruto-kun has been generally trying to keep away from the majority of the refugees he brought back from Uzu," Hinata supplied morosely. "On top of that, there are still plenty of them left in Nagakita that we haven't seen."
"True, but Naruto doesn't live in Nagakita," Tayuya countered. "I thought the point of this mission was to find the people who were making Naruto feel unsafe in his own home."
"It's to figure out who from the old establishment we can trust," Anko said. "There are too many people here and in Nagakita for us to properly vet, even with Kurama's ability to read their intentions. If we can find the people who willingly took part in the torture of a child, then it would be easy to blacklist them and those who support them."
"What about the clans?" Guren asked. "It's clear that they're chafing under the new way things run. What are we going to do about them if they suddenly decide they don't like how little influence they now have?"
"Then they can leave or take it up with Naruto, and the many S-Ranked fighters who support him," Anko replied bluntly. "Our job is just to figure out who hurt our boyfriend and try to gather enough evidence to press charges."
"So long as I can be part of the people doling out the punishment, I don't really care either way," Tayuya growled sadistically.
*(OoO)*
Naruto and Tsunade sat her in her office with Shizune, Kakashi, and Ino. Both had brought the reports on the autopsy of the deceased from the attack on Konoha and the reading of Obito's memories respectively, while Ino was there to offer her thoughts as the one who conducted the reading, and were waiting while Naruto and Tsunade read through them before trading and reading the other.
"How did you finally end up figuring out the cause of death?" Tsunade asked, eyes not leaving the folder in her hand.
"That was actually thanks to Guy-san," Shizune replied. "As a frequent user of the Eight Gates, he recognised the signs of the damage that came with having them opened. Near as we can tell from examination of the victims' injuries, those creatures somehow have the ability to forcinly cause a person to open the seventh of the Eight Gates: The Gate of Wonder. The creature then proceeds to extract every ounce of the victim's chakra from their body, while simultaneously injecting just a little bit of its own. The agony from having a foreign chakra forced into their body causes the victim to writhe in pain, tearing their body apart as the multitude of torn muscles that are a result of the Gate of Wonder being opened are aggravated over and over. Finally, once it has finished feeding, as Naruto-kun's eye-witness testimony states, the creature becomes overloaded with chakra and explodes, usually disintegrating any trace of the victim in the first place."
Unfortunately, this just gives us more questions than answers, Naruto signed. I doubt these creatures are born from nature, so we have to figure out how, and where they are made. Chikanari has already shown that he has the ability to summon monstrosities and abominations, but we don't really know anything else about him.
"There's also the matter of the man you saw with him who killed Hiashi," Tsunade added. "The way he spoke made him sound like he thinks he is doing the right thing by assassinating world leaders and destroying their cities." Placing the medical report on her desk, she turned her attention to Kakashi and Ino. "Tell me about what you found in Obito's memories."
"As you thought, Naruto, Obito was not the one behind everything," Kakashi reported. "Though it may come as a surprise, the true mastermind behind Obito's corruption and the Akatsuki was, in fact, the real Madara Uchiha."
"What? How is that possible?" Tsunade demanded.
"H-He said that he had merged his cells with the First's, Hokage-sama," Ino stuttered. Her face was pale and there was sweat dripping down her neck. Naruto immediately stood up and grabbed her, pulling her over to the nearby couch and channeling his chakra into refilling her strained reserves. "He said that your clan and the Uchiha clan were founded by two brothers and-and by combining Shodai-sama's cells and chakra with his own, he was able to extend his life and gain access to the Rinnegan."
"That is concerning," Tsunade murmured. "What else did you find?"
"Madara Uchiha planned on recombining the nine Tailed-Beasts into the Ten-Tails and becoming its Jinchuriki," Kakashi continued. "He was going to use its power to cast a powerful genjutsu called Infinite Tsukuyomi that would trap the entire population of the world in a realm of illusion where their greatest dreams would come true. He knew he wouldn't survive long enough to see his plan to fruition though, even with the increased longevity he received from your grandfather's cells, so he indoctrinated Obito and implanted his Rinnegan into the current leader of the Akatsuki. Obito was to either manipulate Nagato into using his Rinnegan to bring Madara back to life, or take his Rinnegan and do it himself once the Tailed-Beasts were all collected."
"So that means that without Obito, Madara's plan has failed, correct?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama," Kakashi replied. "Though we should remain on the lookout for Obito's partner, Zetsu. It's an artificial lifeform made out of the cloned cells of your grandfather and has been acting as Obito's handler while Madara is dead."
Zetsu will abandon Obito once it learns that he no longer has any chakra, or thinks that he's dead, Naruto signed, his face thoughtful. It's entirely possible he will continue manipulating Akatsuki, and if there's a chance of that happening, then we still need to make sure that they are a top priority to be on the lookout for.
"Ino found several other pieces of information that should be of use to both Uzu and the Coalition and included them in the report," Kakashi supplied. "I would recommend taking a closer look at them when you have the chance."
Tsunade nodded and smiled in Ino's direction. "I will, and thank you Ino for helping us with this extremely important task."
Ino smiled shakily, the colour slowly returning to her face. "I'm sorry that you had to come to me, Hokage-sama. There are others in my clan who would have been much more qualified to do this without nearly collapsing from chakra exhaustion, if only they'd get their heads out of their asses."
"They just need time to adjust to the way things work here," Tsunade replied, waving off the apology. "In the meantime, you have proved yourself to be an exceptional Kunoichi."
Ino smiled and was about to reply when Haku's distressed voice rang over Naruto and Tsunade's voice seals.
"Naruto-kun, Tsunade-sama, I need you here immediately. There's trouble with the Hyuga Clan and Hinata-chan needs help."
Naruto vanished from the room before she had even finished speaking while Tsunade quickly dismissed everyone, ordering Shizune to come with her as they sprinted toward the western edge of the village where the Hyuga had made their home.
Naruto landed within the new Hyuga compound in time to block a stray Gentle Fist strike and bind every person within a thirty foot radius in powerful coils of wood.
"What is going on here!?" He roared, his voice carrying an undercurrent of primal rage.
Hinata and Haku –the only two not bound by aggressive flora –looked up at him from their position on the ground while Neji shouted from his bindings.
"Stay out of this, Uzumaki! This is Hyuga business! That traitor to our clan wants to undo generations of tradition and bring about the end of the Hyuga!"
Tsunade and Shizune arrived just as Naruto growled, his pupils narrowed into slits. Putting a calming hand on Naruto's shoulder, Tsunade looked out among the gathered crowd, noting that a good chunk of them were members of the Main House while only a select, devoted few from the Branch House were agreeing with Neji's words. Many of the others, including Hanabi Hyuga she noticed, looked conflicted.
"I'll remind you, Genin Hyuga, that Hinata is not a member of the Hyuga clan anymore. Which means that whatever issue you and your compatriots have with her is to be taken up with myself and the council."
Neji quailed slightly under the authoritative tone in her voice but resolutely kept glaring at Hinata. "Fate has put us on a collision course, Hinata-sama , and fate will show you that you're efforts to dismantle the clan your forefathers built are doomed to fail."
"How can you say that?" Naruto growled. "Don't you want to be free of that seal on your forehead?"
"Unlike many of the others of his generation, Neji understands the necessity to protect the most powerful of the bloodlines," a taller Hyuga who looked slightly older than Hiashi spat. Naruto saw that he was a member of the Main House and felt his anger rise.
"Anyone who lays a finger on a citizen of Uzu outside of a consentual sparring match in one of the training areas will have me to answer to!" He shouted, flaring his, Kurama's, and Isobu's chakra in a brief maelstrom of power. "And once I've beaten the stuffing out of you, then I'll be bringing you before the Hokage, the Shogun, and the Princess of the Land of Fire who will all decide how best to remind you that attacking a comrade is amongst the highest of offences!"
The wood receded and the Hyuga all scurried back to their semi constructed homes while Naruto kneeled down next to Haku to closely examine her and Hinata. "Are you alright?" He asked softly as he held them both close.
"Yes, we were just a little startled is all, and knew that you and Tsunade-sama would be the quickest way to avoid a brawl in the streets."
"I'm sorry I brought all this onto us," Naruto murmured. "Uzu was supposed to be our safe place. A new beginning."
"Don't ever apologize for saving lives, Naruto-kun," Hinata told him, staring into his brilliant sapphire eyes, not wavering as the reptilian slits of his pupils stared into the lavender depths of her soul. "You did a great thing saving them from sharing Konoha's fate, they're just afraid. So much is changing around them, and now those changes are threatening the few things that they've always known to be true."
Naruto nodded and hugged her and Haku close. Haku saw the look on Tsunade's face as she observed them and knew that they would be having a discussion with her later concerning her son's bestial rage and their easy acceptance of his rapid shift in temperament. Nodding minutely and mouthing the word tonight Haku turned her attention to the crowd of regular bystanders, frowning as she felt a pair of eyes watching them, Naruto specifically, from somewhere nearby. Unlike the curiosity of the civilians watching them, this feeling she got was tinged with the slightest hint of killing intent. The feeling passed and she saw a head of brown hair walking away in the general direction it had been coming from, but scowled as she lost the observer in the parting crowds.
The world blurred momentarily and Haku suddenly found herself beneath the tree where she, Naruto, and Kurenai had taken a nap the week before. Naruto pulled away from them, and Haku noticed that his eyes were still slightly slitted.
"Naruto-kun, are you still having those feelings like you did last week?" She asked softly, taking care not to push him.
Naruto paused and looked thoughtfully into space before returning his attention to them and nodding. "Yeah, I am. They were really strong when I thought you two were hurt, and it sorta felt like there was a part of me that wanted to tear anyone who had tried to hurt you to shreds, but now it just sorta feels like I want to keep you close. Also there's that really good, really weird feeling I get when we kiss as well."
"Naruto-kun, those feelings are alright," Hinata murmured with a smile. She pressed a kiss to his lips and whimper when he returned it with vigor. "It's a natural reaction. That's your body telling you that you find us attractive, a-and w-want t-t-to, you know, p-p-procreate." Her cheeks lit up as she slowly lost her nerve, determinedly looking anywhere but at Naruto as he processed what she was saying.
"Oh," he said, astonished. "So that feeling I get is just me wanting to have sex with you girls."
Now it was Haku's turn to blush, even as Hinata swooned and lost the ability to form coherent thoughts. "Th-that's right, Naruto-kun." God, she wished Anko or Tayuya could be the ones having this conversation with him. They were both shameless and would have a much easier time explaining to Naruto that he was feeling aroused by their presence. Then again, there was always the bet to keep in mind, and either one of them were liable to take advantage of the situation to give Naruto a more… immersive explanation of what he was feeling and how he should act on them. "Naruto-kun," she asked, shifting gears. "Along with those feelings of desire, have you spoken to your mother about these more… primal feelings you've been having?"
Naruto frowned, his eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "Primal?"
"Yes, the way you describe some of these feelings, don't you think they sound familiar to anything you've studied on animal behaviour?"
"When you put it that way, yeah, I guess they sorta do," Naruto conceded. "Maybe that's what that scroll Owryudan-ojisan gave me meant."
"What scroll?" Hinata asked, finally regaining cognisance.
"When I unlocked the fifth stage of my Kunshugan, Owryudan-ojisan gave me another scroll that was supposed to help me with mastering the changes that came with entering the second half of the Kunshugan's maturity."
"Can we see it?" Haku requested.
Naruto nodded and reached inside his robe, unsealing the golden scroll and unfurling it. The scroll itself was blank, but Haku's unspoken question was answered when Naruto activated his Kunshugan and began reading aloud.
"As the Dragons rule over the various realms of summoning, so too does the Kunshugan provide its wielder with the instincts to rule their brood.
As the Kunshugan matures, the user will become more and more in tune with the world around them. The Inner Dragon will slowly come forward, taking the soul's form and consuming the energies therein, growing as power without consciousness feeds it and pushes both man and beast past their limits.
The Kunshugan will grow with its wielder, strengthening body and mind as it does sight. More than a presence, the wielder of the Kunshugan will see the paths the spirit takes as it merges with the body. As the previous stages of the Monarch grant complete control of the energies within, the more mature stages grant greater control of those without.
Fear not the instincts of beast as they merge with the wisdom of man. The union is one of balance, and thus both sides must be accepted. To deny instinct is to fall to the beast and its rage, to deny wisdom is to fall to the man and his folly. To deny oneself is to fall to the weakness within."
*(OoO)*
"Well, that certainly clears things up," Tsunade muttered sarcastically. Naruto had gone out for a walk with Jinsoku, deciding that now would probably be the best time to explore some of the surrounding landscape without being distracted by attractive girlfriends or world affairs. None of said girlfriends were particularly worried about him, considering the few people within the village who could go toe to toe with Naruto without him holding back were all firmly in support of him, and despite many of the villagers quickly getting over their gratitude from being miraculously saved from a gruesome death –finding problems left and right with their new lives to constantly complain about –none of them were anywhere near stupid enough to try attacking him, realising that they no longer had any form of defence. This gave Tsunade and Shizune the perfect opportunity to meet with them in Kurenai and Anko's house, joined by Kurama, Isobu, and, surprisingly, Owryudan in his human form. "Owryudan-sama, do you have any idea what this means?"
"While I have no experience with these sort of developments," Owryudan said. "It seems to me, that as the Kunshugan matures, Naruto will develop a second facet to his personality. We often refer to our more base instincts as our Inner Dragon, and warriors of the Dragon Clan train tirelessly to master it."
"Master it how?" Kurama asked. "Do you supress your instincts in favour of rational thought?"
Owryudan shook his head. "Not quite. Warriors of the Dragon Clan do train their minds and meditate in order to keep their composure in the heat of battle. But there is more to mastering one's Inner Dragon than merely keeping yourself from being consumed by bloodlust. Dragons are creatures unique in the power of our minds and spirits being just as great as that of our bodies. That is why we are the true masters of natural energy. We train endlessly to achieve balance within and extend that skill to the molding of sage chakra. To master the Inner Dragon means to find the balance between the primal instincts of an animal, harnessing the raw strength that comes with it, and the wisdom of the mind, controlling that strength and directing it usefully to accomplish our goals. But for a human to have developed one is unprecedented."
"What did it mean by the dragon would consume Naruto-kun's soul?" Shizune asked. "Is he going to turn into a dragon in a human's body, or something?"
"In a sense, he already has," Owryudan replied. "He has already claimed seven mates, and yet waits to mark them as his. He has shown an aptitude for the various nature releases and natural energy, and his skill in battle is only matched by his ever growing intelligence. And if you pay close attention to the wording, the scroll said that Naruto's Inner Dragon would take the form of his soul and consume the energies within his body."
"So that means that it's going to consume his chakra," Konan surmised. "Is that bad?"
"Not at all," Owryudan replied, reassuring the people around him. "I believe that it is written with a hint of metaphor. As Naruto and his Kunshugan develop and mature, I expect that his chakra signature will change to start matching that of a dragon. Though, Kurama and Isobu may wind up finding themselves significantly lacking in power so long as they choose to remain outside of Naruto's body."
"Why's that?" Kurenai asked.
"Because, Naruto's body is absorbing our chakra and merging it with his own," Kurama informed them. "Without our spirits inside him, our chakra is nothing more than two massive pools of energy sitting inside of him. Eventually, they will be assimilated into Naruto's own chakra reserves as his body works to correct the fact that there are three separate pools of energy that all respond to his will."
"That would put trememdous strain on his body!" Tsunade exclaimed.
"On a normal human, you would be right," Isobu countered. "But we can already feel Naruto's spirit consuming our chakra, and because of the conditioning Kurama-nii's chakra gave him as an infant, mixed with his astounding healing factor, his body quickly adapts to the increase."
"How long do you think it will take to completely absorb your chakras?" Tayuya incquired.
"Isobu's will probably be gone within the next month or two," Kurama replied. "Mine will take significantly longer."
"And you're both alright with that?" Anko asked. "Having all of your chakra sucked up like that?"
Kurama sighed and stood up walking into the middle of the group. "The way I see it, I'm more likely to keep the freedom Naruto has given back to me if I'm not able to be seen as some powerful weapon for you humans to destroy each other with. My chakra will be consumed and converted into Naruto's own chakra, which means Akatsuki's plans will have no chance of success, and there is no one I would trust more in the world to hold that kind of power than my Kit."
"So, what should we do moving forward?" Guren asked. "Will this Inner Dragon impede Naruto's desire to achieve his dreams?"
"I will begin training him in the Realm of the Dragons," Owryudan answered. "Ryuda will soon reach the point where he must learn to master his own Inner Dragon, and I'm sure they would both prefer to do it together."
"Doesn't time move faster in your realm though?" Tayuya questioned. "What happens when he leaves to train and winds up coming back an old man?"
Owryudan chuckled. "It is nothing quite as dramatic as that, I assure you. I propose that Naruto split his time between training in our realm and doing missions in yours. This will speed up the process of him safely assimilating Isobu's chakra, derailing the remainder of Akatsuki's plans, and allowing you to keep him as the political leader of this Coalition he is intent on building."
"How long would he spend in your realm?" Tsunade asked.
"With his healing factor, I believe he would be able to tolerate traveling between our two realms every week of your time. That should give him roughly two weeks with me to train his Inner Dragon before returning here to resume his duties around the nations already allied to you."
"That seems agreeable," Tsunade replied. "Though, I think he should stay in your realm until the rest of Isobu's chakra has been absorbed, that way we can deal with Akatsuki at our leisure. So perhaps him spending a month or two of our time with you would do some good."
"In that case," Owryudan said. "He and I will leave as soon as he returns. He will bid you all farewell, and we will leave to begin his training immediately afterward."
A/N: And there we go. We approach a time skip and get to have a few moments of fluff and humor as the ladies start considering different antics to get Naruto to take them on a one way trip to pound town. I wanted to add a little levity in here after the series of heavy events Naruto and the gang have gone through, so that'll be fun to inject in as things starting taking a turn from bad to worse and the world slowly approaches the chaos of war. It also was a decent opportunity to take a peek into the other ways Naruto's blessing is affecting him, and how his character will change as he walks the line between beast and man. On top of that we get more information about Chikanari and his organization, but it only leads to more questions than answers, and tensions are seen to start simmering underneath the surface as the refugees try to become accustomed to their new lives. Anyway, hope you liked it and thanks for reading/ reviewing! I'll see you all next time!