ch. 51

"Pain in the ass!" The orange and yellow blur thought as it swiftly ducked behind a rock.

"I'm not helping you out of this one. You brought this on yourself." The deep voice in his head taunted.

"Thanks a lot freeloader. Shoot, they're on to me!" A lightning bolt flew through the air and demolished the hiding spot.

"Kind of excessive there, Omoi." Naruto said as he landed among the fresh debris.

Naruto looked much the same as he did three years ago. He still wore an all orange jacket and pants combo, but this one had some black streaks on the side. Unlike three years ago, Naruto chose to wear the jacket open, with a tight black shirt underneath. Naruto finally had a growth spurt and stood at a respectable height but perhaps the biggest difference was the growing bit of facial hair on the young man's chin. He stroked it proudly, while staring at his friend.

"God that goatee is stupid." Omoi thought with embarrassment. Omoi still wore the standard issue military uniform of the cloud village but thanks to a recent promotion he wore the chunin version of the uniform.

"Come on." Naruto taunted, motioning with his hand. Omoi charged in with a stab but Naruto dodged to the side. Omoi quickly turned around and tried to catch Naruto but his sword was blocked by a kunai that Naruto had hidden in his sleeve. Naruto quickly produced another kunai hidden in his other sleeve and blocked an overhead slash coming from behind him, courtesy of Karui. Like Omoi her wardrobe hadn't changed much in the years, choosing to wear the standard issue chunin uniform.

"Would you two take it easy on me if I apologized?" Naruto asked. He channeled some chakra to his feet and jumped high into the air.

"Fire style: phoenix flower jutsu!" Karui shot several small fireballs toward Naruto.

"I'll take that as a no." Naruto created a shadow clone and jumped off it's back to avoid the fire balls. He was suddenly tackled out of the air and slammed into the ground.

"Haku!? What the hell!?" Naruto asked, shocked.

"DOGPILE!" Omoi yelled before he body slammed the two. Karui followed his lead and Naruto was squished underneath his three friends.

"Shit, I know why Karui and Omoi are pissed but why are you coming after me?"

"You three looked like you were having fun so I decided to join in." Haku answered. The years didn't do much to change Haku's feminine looks. He still had the long flowing hair, and he wore a pink samurai style kimono with a white undershirt. Unlike Naruto, Haku hadn't gained much height in the last three years. He was now slightly shorter than Naruto. A fact that made Naruto very happy.

"Will you guys get off of me if I apologize?" Naruto asked.

"Yes." Omoi answered.

"Maybe." Was Karui's answer.

"Okay. Omoi, I'm sorry I gave your little brother that dirty magazine. You're his older brother and that was your responsibility to give him that sort of thing."

"Apology accepted."

"Karui, I'm sorry for borrowing your lotion with out permission. You can have it back now."

"Fuck that. You're buying me another bottle, pervert."

"Fine."

"If you pull that shit again I'm gonna stick my sword up your ass... While it's on fire. You got it?"

"I got it." Everyone stood back up.

"Shouldn't you be at the academy, Haku?" Naruto asked.

"I had the day off today."

"What's the occasion?"

"The new feudal lord asked to be introduced to the head of each of the villages clans. Although I'm the only one left, that includes me as the head of the Yuki clan."

"Right, I forgot all about that. When is he supposed to get here?"

"He's due to arrive later tonight. Lord raikage expects you to be there too."

"I'll be there. Now if you'll excuse me, I was in the middle of something important when these two jumped me." Naruto ran toward his home and left his three friends behind.

"He really stole your lotion?" Haku asked Karui.

"Yes. It was an expensive one too. Fucking pervert."

"At least you didn't catch him using it." Omoi said.

"Thank you for that mental image, asshole." Karui responded with an angry glare.

Naruto got home quick and ran up to his room. He was alone in the house, since his sister was currently on a mission, though she was due back any day now. He sat down at the desk between his and Haku's beds and bit his thumb. After flashing through a series of familiar hand signs he summoned a toad that held a letter.

"What took you so long? You usually summon me quicker after you get a letter."

"I was a bit preoccupied with something. Here's your payment." Naruto tossed a piece of candy in the air and the toad caught it in it's mouth. The happy toad handed Naruto the letter and teleported back home. Naruto began excitedly reading the letter.

"Dear Naruto

Remember my little sister? The one who kicked you in the face when we brought Gaara back to the village?"

Naruto rubbed his jaw for a second after reading that line.

"That brat's kick hurt like hell too."

"Well, I was on my way to my shift at the hospital and I saw her talking to a boy with a blush on her face. I think she has a secret boyfriend, isn't that cute? I wonder how my father would react if he knew that his daughters were in relationships behind his back. He'd probably go insane. He always tells me and Hanabi that he wants our husbands to be ninjas that are at least as strong as him, so that he knows that they could protect us. As if we need protecting, right? I worked so hard so that he would acknowledge me but he still treats me like a child sometimes. I'm sorry if this comes off as a bit ranty. I just get a little frustrated when it comes to my father.

Hugs and kisses, Hinata." Next to Hinata's name was a lip shaped smear of lip stick. Naruto kissed it and then put the letter away. He looked out the window and started daydreaming about her.

"I wonder when I'll be able to see her again?"

Naruto's mind may have been filled with thoughts of Hinata but Hinata's mind was preoccupied with something a little more important at the moment. That something was the super human punch from Tsunade that was coming at her head at that moment.

"Ah!" Hinata gasped as she barely dodged the attack. She countered with a strike to Tsunade's torso but the Sannin easily avoided the attack and countered with an arm throw, sending Hinata flying. She would have slammed right into one of the trees scattered around the training grounds had Ino not caught her.

Hinata and Ino had both grown considerably since they were kids. They had both developed beautiful figures and they both dealt with that fact in different ways. Ino relished in the new found attention. She wore a purple top and bottom combination that tightly hugged her athletic figure. Her top was so small it didn't even cover her stomach. She would occasionally joke that it was the same top from when she was still a genin. It wasn't but some people believed her.

Hinata on the other hand had taken to hiding her developing figure with an even baggier coat than she had all those years ago. There was only one man she wanted to look at her in that way and he was nowhere near the village at the moment.

"Thank you Ino." Hinata graciously thanked her friend as they slid to a halt next to a tree.

"Watch out!" Ino threw Hinata away right in time for them to both avoid one of Tsunade's earth shattering axe kicks.

"Leave it to me!" Sakura proclaimed as she rushed Tsunade. Tsunade stood her ground and pulled back for one of her legendary punches. Sakura however was not afraid and pulled her own fist back in the same manner.

"Are you nuts forehead!?" Ino yelled at her.

Sakura and Tsunade's fists clashed and for a split second it looked like they were even. It was soon apparent however that Sakura was no match for her hokage and she was sent rolling across the grounds before being caught by Ino.

"I got you forehead." Ino said as she cradled her friend.

Sakura, like Ino had kept to a similar color scheme from her childhood days. She still wore red, although she ditched the girly outfit from her youth and began wearing a more combat appropriate top with black shorts.

"That's enough for today." Tsunade said. All three girls lined up in front of their master and bowed.

"How did we do today, lady Tsunade?" Hinata asked.

"You all performed admirably. Hinata, you have made significant improvements to your taijutsu, though still not quite on par with your cousin. Ino, you looked after your teammates very well and got them out of some tough spots. Teamwork like that is an important asset. Sakura, Even though your last attack was very foolish, I'm impressed by how far you've come in the short time since I've taught you how to enhance your punches like me. You can all have the rest of the day off. You've earned it." The trio of girls bowed as their sensei left. When she was out of earshot the three girls let out a sigh.

"Tsunade has really turned up the pressure during these combat tests." Ino said, her voice showing her fatigue.

"I know. Even father doesn't work me and Hanabi this hard." Hinata said, her voice even softer than usual.

"Speaking of hard working, I'm gonna go. Sasuke and Kakashi should be training nearby. I'm gonna go kick the shit out of them."

"See ya." Hinata and Ino waved goodbye while the brash banshee walked in the direction of her team.

"What are you gonna do Hinata?" Ino asked.

"Well... I'm kind of hungry." Hinata replied, followed by a low grumble coming from her stomach.

"Want some company? Asuma is on a mission and the other two are probably bumming around Choji's house.

"I'd be delighted." Hinata and Ino left in the direction of the village and soon arrived at Ichiraku ramen. A place that Hinata started to regularly visit after Naruto told her about it in a letter.

"Welcome! What can I get you young ladies today?" Old man Ichiraku greeted.

"The usual for me, Teuchi." Hinata replied happily.

"I'll have whatever she's having." Ino said as the two sat down. While Teuchi started cooking Ino and Hinata started talking.

"So Anko has been gone for a lot longer than usual. Do you think she's okay?" Ino asked.

"We received a message from her recently. She thinks she may be closing in on her main target. I hope she returns soon."

"Anko isn't a jonin for nothing. She'll be just fine."

"You're probably right but I can't stop myself from worrying when a friend is on such a dangerous mission."

"Order up!" Teuchi placed the girl's order in front of them with a smile and instantly brightened the mood.

With a smile, the girls thanked him and began their meal. Unbeknownst to them, Hinata was right to worry about Anko.

That night the super sexy kunoichi known as Anko stood triumphantly over a pile of sound village bodies. Her team of four ANBU were raiding the warehouse they were standing in for whatever the sound village was hiding here.

"Have you guys found anything yet?" She questioned to her team.

"We've found some weapons and narcotics but nothing out of the ordinary." One ANBU answered.

"That prisoner we took said that there was an important set of weapons here, hidden in storage scrolls. You guys keep searching the ground floor, while I go upstairs and see if I can find anything in the office." Anko disappeared after giving her order and the team of ANBU continued searching the place.

"Do you really believe what that prisoner told us? One of the ANBU asked another while they opened up a crate filled with drugs.

"I don't know. We won't know until we search every inch of this place... Where did Bear go?" The ANBU looked across the warehouse at where his colleagues were mere seconds ago.

"... I could have sworn he was right over there with Gorilla. Do you want me to go search for them?... Rooster?"

Anko was looking through some paperwork she found in the warehouses office when the lights suddenly switched off.

"Shit!"

She quickly ran out of the office and jumped down to the ground floor. As she feared her team had joined the sound ninja on the pile of bodies they stacked up.

"I'll be damned. I know you." An unknown voice said in the darkness.

"... So I take it you're the big bad wolf I've been hearing about?" Anko dodged to the side and avoided a crate that came flying from behind her.

"And you're the snake's old pet." The unknown voice taunted.

"I'm no one's pet!" Anko threw a kunai in the direction of the voice but hit nothing but air.

"That's not what I heard. Orochimaru had a pretty extensive file on you. It even detailed some of your... more primal pass times." A barrage of shuriken came out of nowhere and Anko skillfully managed to block all of them.

"I'm not the only one with that kind of hobby. I know about your little harem." Anko started slowly making her way toward a nearby exit to escape the pitch black room.

"What can I say? I was born and raised in a place where that sort of thing was cool."

"You mean the whorehouse?" Anko questioned with a smile while she tried to scan the dark warehouse for her enemy.

"..."

"That's right. We may not know much about you, but we know about your mother. In fact, I know a couple of guys who had her."

Anko barely dodged a spear that was aimed for her head and she dived through the door out onto the docks that the warehouse was on.

"At least I can see out in this moonlight." She thought. Dodging another spear that flew out of the door she just used, Anko managed to grab hold of it as it flew past her and readied herself for the fight she was about to have.

"Come on out Tadakatsu."

"As you wish." Tadakatsu flew out of the building with a spear in hand and he clashed with Anko.

"What the hell is up with this guy?! He's supposed to be a teenager!" Anko thought while she took in the sight of the man in front of her. Who she thought was going to be a skinny teenager was actually a very muscular man, Taller than her by a few inches. His spiky red hair reminded her of Naruto but his eyes were filled with hate. His open blue coat had red spots, no doubt blood from her team. His coat was open, His chest covered only by a chain mail undershirt. Tadakatsu pulled back and started stabbing at Anko. She managed to dodge him well enough but he eventually caught her by surprise with a low kick that sweeped her and knocked her on the ground. Tadakatsu came down with his spear to impale Anko through the gut but she managed to avoid it by grabbing the spear and deflecting it to the side. She snaked her legs around one of his arms and rolled him into an arm bar. Tadakatsu managed to block it by locking his hands together. Anko tried as hard as she could but she wasn't strong enough to break his grip and get the proper hold.

"You're a pretty deceptive fighter. Just like the other snake." Tadakatsu said.

"Shut the hell up!" Anko spat back. She hated being compared to Orochimaru.

"Struck a nerve?" Tadakatsu suddenly rolled over so that his body was over Anko's. He lifted her up and slammed her into the ground as hard as he could. Anko yelped in pain and Tadakatsu grabbed her by the throat and took out a kunai.

"You remind me of my mom, so I'll make it a quick death." He raised the kunai but before he could bring it down, Anko grabbed the hand that was choking her and a snake came out of her sleeve and bit Tadakatsu's hand.

"Son of a bitch!" He cursed. He jumped away and ripped a section off of his coat so that he could wrap it around his wrist to try and stop any poison from circulating.

"I'll admit, you're a tough one, but if there's one thing Orochimaru did for me, he made me a damn good ninja. You and the rest of the sound village are nothing but a reminder of one of the worst criminals in history. It's time I put you down for good."

Anko took out a kunai and charged at Tadakatsu but stopped suddenly.

"We'll call this one a draw. I'm not in the mood for a three way tonight." Anko threw a smoke bomb on the ground and disappeared.

"You aren't going to go after the bitch?" Tadakatsu turned around and saw a familiar face.

"If she's even a quarter of as sneaky as Orochimaru I wouldn't be able to catch her. Let's just secure the weapons and get out of here Tayuya. I need to get to Karin so she can analyze my hand for poison."

Tadakatsu wasn't the only one who had an astounding growth spurt in the last three years. Tayuya had turned from a foul-mouthed shrimp into a foul-mouthed bombshell. She was just as tall as him and her chest was filling out considerably. Her hips were wide, perfect for bearing children. She dropped the sound four uniform years ago and replaced it with a tight, black leather jacket and pants combo. The back of the jacket had a white sound village insignia on it and she had small spikes going down the side of her arms and a holster on her pants that held her flute. Probably the biggest change was her hair. Her long flowing locks were gone, replaced by a punk rock style mohawk. Most guys would have probably been turned off by such a huge change. Tadakatsu is not most guys. He hungrily looked her up and down. He wanted her, but he would have to wait to have her.

"Are we gonna go get those two assholes or are you going to just stare at me all night?"

Elsewhere in the world, Naruto was standing next to Haku in the corner of the raikage's ballroom. The two friends awaiting their chance to meet the new feudal lord. The raikage was walking him around the ball room, introducing him to all of the clan heads. Naruto and Haku looked over the man as he walked around. At first glance he didn't seem too noteworthy. He was a little young for the position but the women in the room didn't seem to mind. Many a giggle could be heard from the younger girls who thought that the new lord was cute. His hair was short and blonde, while his skin was a golden tan. He also had an infectious smile that seemed to spread to whoever he was talking to.

"This guy may be the greatest bullshit artist I've ever seen." Naruto inwardly conversed to Kurama.

"I know what you mean. Something about this man is off. Everything about him seems fake. I know that he's a politician and that's par for the course with them, but still... I don't like this guy."

"Something is strange with his chakra too. You remember in the movie we saw that one time, when the sexy kunoichi have to break into the museum and they trick the guard watching the security camera by using a little machine that freezes the picture on the monitor?"

"The only thing I remember about that movie is the shower scene."

"... Anyway, it feels kind of like that with this guy. His chakra is too static. Like it's there to fool sensory types like me."

"Look sharp." Haku broke Naruto out of his talk with Kurama just in time for their turn to meet the new lord.

"Lord Nathair, I'd like you to meet Haku of the Yuki clan, and Naruto of the Uzumaki clan." A introduced the two and lord Nathair bowed respectfully.

"It is an honor to make the acquaintance of such fine shinobi. I've heard stories of your valor."

Haku bowed back and thanked the lord for his kind words. Lord Nathair turned his attention to Naruto who just stared back at the man for a few seconds. Stealing a glimpse at Haku, Naruto knew exactly what he was thinking with one look.

"I know you're suspicious but play it cool."

Naruto knew his friend was right so he also bowed to the lord and thanked him for his compliment. With a smile that Naruto and Haku recognized as fake, the new lord and the raikage left them alone once again.

"Something is definitely not right with that man." Naruto thought as he watched lord Nathair leave.

Elsewhere, Tadakatsu sat quietly while Karin administered an antidote to his hand that Anko's snake bit earlier that night.

"You think he ever did it?" He asked his brainy lover.

Karin had grown taller in the past three years but the physical changes end there. Her body was lean and petite as opposed to the now curvaceous Tayuya, a fact that bothered Karin more than she let on. She wore a much less attention grabbing outfit than Tayuya, consisting of a normal purple top and black shorts, though she wore the top in a way that showed off her belly button, at Tadakatsu's request. She also wore long black leggings that tightly covered her long legs.

"What are you talking about?"

"That Anko woman was beautiful. Do you think Orochimaru ever nailed h"

"DON'T TALK ABOUT NASTY SHIT LIKE THAT!" Karin smacked Tadakatsu upside the head.

"What!? I was just curious if you think Orochimaru ever nailed" Tadakatsu shut his mouth when Karin raised her hand again.

Although her physical changes were small, Karin had developed a bit of an angry streak as she grew. Not many things could set her off, but anything to do with Orochimaru was one of them. She would hate that man till the day she died for separating her from her cousin.

"Sorry... Are you done with my hand?"

"Yeah, it'll be fine now. Where's Tayuya?"

"Waiting for us in the bedroom."

Karin grabbed a hold of Tadakatsu's arm and they began walking to their room to have their fun for the night. Unfortunately for them, someone was about to crash their party.

"This place hasn't changed much." A hooded figure commented as it entered the hide out.

"If I know Tadakatsu, he'll have taken the room with the biggest bed, which is right down this hall." The mysterious man made his way through the dark corridors of the lair.

The sound of a toilet flushing got the man's attention and he stopped in the middle of the hall. One of the doors opened up in front of him and a woman walked out, drying her hands with a paper towel.

"Tayuya?" The stranger thought, barely recognizing her. She noticed him and they both stood around for a few seconds just staring at each other. Eventually Tayuya was the one who broke the silence.

"Who in the mother of fuck are you!?"

"Tayuya... You used to have such beautiful hair. Why did you do such a fool thing to it?"

The stranger removed his hood and Tayuya was scared out of her mind.

"Y-Y-Y-YOU!?"

"Y-Y-Y-Yes, me. Make yourself useful and get Tadakatsu. I've got something important to speak with him about. It involves you so I'd hurry up if you want to live."

Tayuya's body was covered in black marks all over and she got into a battle stance.

"FUCK YOU OROCHIMARU!" She jumped at him and came down with an axe kick that was easily avoided.

"I never understood how someone so gifted in the complicated arts of genjutsu could be such an idiot." Tayuya was backhanded away easily. but flipped and landed on her feet.

"Look at me you fool. Did Orochimaru have white hair?"

"What the hell is going on here!?" Tadakatsu finally arrived with Karin and he stood watching the mysterious stranger with interest.

"Are you... Kabuto?" He asked, bewildered. His facial structure resembled Kabuto, but his skin was pale like Orochimaru's and he had the same snake like yellow eyes with purple outlines.

"Hello Tadakatsu. We've got a problem."