"Is it true!? Oh happy day!" Rock Lee cried as he pulled Naruto into a bone crushing hug. "I cannot believe it! To think that you would ever have kids!"
"L-Lee, you're crushing me," Naruto breathed hoarsely.
After going to collect Team Guy, it had not taken long for them to arrive at the Hokage's office and get brought up to speed. The Fifth Hokage watched with somewhat sadistic amusement as Naruto was brought low by the impressive grip strength of Lee. Might Guy, Team Guy's sensei, stood off to the side, manly tears of joy running down his face.
"Kakashi, you've one-upped me once again!" the bowl cut jonin clenched his fist tightly as his longtime - and exasperated - friend grimaced. "How did you do it? How did you get someone who would marry a ninja like Naruto?"
"Hey- huuuuugh," the blonde ninja deflated like an airbag as Lee's hug tripled in strength before he was finally released.
"No offense, but are we sure this is a good idea, Lady Hokage?" Tenten spoke up.
Tsunade quirked up an eyebrow at the girl before sighing. "We have little other choice. Let alone that Naruto needs to take responsibility for what he's done, spurning the Land of Demons might be an unwise decision. The last thing we need right now is anti-Leaf sentiment flittering about."
Tenten acknowledged that with a simple nod, but the final member of Team Guy, Neji Hyuga, was not so easily placated.
"Are we sure it's wise to send a squad of ninja so far away at such a critical time? I understand that Naruto himself must leave, but why us too? You even said it yourself that the Land of Demons is a mostly peaceful region now."
Insightful one, Tsunade thought to herself. "It's only a precaution. With our allies in the Sand, and the recent strides we've made in repairing the village, I'm hoping that we can afford to send you all off. Rest assured, you would return immediately after. However, I'm still not sure what you may encounter on the road."
"The Land of Demons is a distant region that does not take most of the main trade routes. Opportunistic ninja and bandits alike may be watching the area for easy marks," Lee added.
With a shrug, Neji conceded and returned to staring out the window. Sakura fiddled with her hands anxiously, wishing that the Hokage would send her with them. They had already lost Sasuke to Orochimaru, what if Naruto never came back? She didn't want to lose the rest of her original team.
"Lady Hokage," she finally spoke up. "Are you sure that I cannot leave with them? If we're worried about dividing our forces too much then I can-"
"I'm sorry, Sakura, but you're a valued medical ninja and my pupil. There are things I still need to teach and your medical expertise will prove invaluable if any more of our people become injured. This is not a permanent arrangement, but rather a temporary show of cooperation to the ruling body of the Land of Demons."
The pink-haired kunoichi looked downcast, but acquiesced to the words of her superior. Kakashi patted her back and stepped forward.
"With your permission, Lady Hokage, I think they're ready to set out."
"Indeed," she nodded. "Guy, Kakashi, stay here for a bit. Sakura you too. As for Team Guy and Naruto-"
She stepped forward, placing one hand on Tenten's shoulder and the other on Naruto's. With a brief flex of her monstrous strength, she pulled them into a close huddle. Not quite a group hug, but caring nonetheless.
"Be careful, you four. See yourselves and Nobuo safely back to the Land of Demons. And Naruto?"
"Yeah granny?"
Tsunade smiled softly. "Say hello to Shion."
Naruto perked up, a grin breaking out over his face. "Sure thing granny."
"This is truly a wondrous moment!" Lee cried out, wrapping Naruto in another hug.
"Wait, Lee I- Ack!" the blonde shinobi's protests were silenced with the sound of cracking bones.
0-0-0-0
The Fifth Hokage watched the assembled ninja and emissary go, already making their way to the main gate. It filled her heart with a mixture of pride, sadness, and worry. If only Jiraiya could have been here for this. She was sure he would have had plenty to say about this whole situation.
But wants and what-ifs were rarely a comfort. She had learned that after a lifetime of loss. Maybe it was too sentimental or hasty of her, but she didn't want Naruto to make the same mistakes she did. Better to be alive with a family than dead as the world's strongest ninja.
"Lady Hokage, not to question your wisdom but are we sure this is wise?" Guy said seriously, his cheerful facade gone now that his pupils had left the room. "In regards to the nine-tails."
"The Leaf Village is weak right now. I'm not sure how much Naruto has left in him or if he could afford to save us from another attack like Pain's. And now with these reports of people collecting the jinchuriki, the village was quickly becoming a prime target," she faced towards the window, back to them both.
Kakashi nodded. "I agree, but is it still a good idea to have them running around? Within the village, Naruto was still relatively safe."
"Maybe, I won't deny this is a gamble. The Land of Demons is isolated, off the beaten path, and it doesn't have much to make it stand out. It's why I wanted to keep this knowledge insular."
The two jonin glanced at each other before turning back to their leader. Tsunade folded her arms and turned back around to face them.
"From here on out, I want you to keep the nature of this situation a secret. Only top-level jonin and Anbu are to be allowed full-disclosure to this situation. For all intents and purposes, Naruto and Team Guy are on a short mission to the Land of Mint in the East."
"You intend to fake out the enemy?" Guy asked.
"As much as possible. They'll discover eventually, but with Naruto so far away I hold out hope that we may find them before they figure out the ruse. If necessary, we'll set an ambush with the Sand Village's jinchuriki, Gaara, to capture them."
Kakashi hummed to himself. It was a bold move, one that carried a lot of risk. Without Naruto in the village, there was no telling if they would be able to help him in time if he needed it. On the other hand, the Land of Demons was the last place they would expect to find him. The problems out there were nothing his student couldn't handle on his own, but if they did encounter any resistance then there were few other teams equipped to handle it than Team Guy.
"I have to hold out hope that this will work. The boy has lived his entire life having been treated like an outcast. I've read his files, his medical reports, and it doesn't surprise me that he was so small for his age. Malnutrition, pneumonia, and even bronchitis were common illnesses of his. I'm sure the Third did what he could have, but…" Tsunade breathed out a sigh. "He deserves to have a family of his own."
On that, the two jonin agreed.
0-0-0-0
The team of shinobi landed just outside the gate where Izumo and Kotetsu were checking passports for those wishing to enter the village. Since Pain's attack, the "main gate" had been partially rebuilt. It wasn't the towering symbol of might that the original had been, but it functioned and it was sturdy.
"Heading out on a mission guys?" Izumo waved. "What's it this time?"
"Just a short capture and retrieval mission," Neji answered briskly.
"I see. Well good luck, we've had a lot of traders coming through these days. Apparently some big storm is getting kicked up way, way in the North. Sounds like a whole lot of trouble to me."
"Trouble?" Naruto asked.
"Folk are tight-lipped about it. Seems like some new Warlord is doing his thing again. I expect this to take care of itself in a matter of months," Izumo waved his hand flippantly.
"What do you mean by-"
"Oh, hey guys!" a familiar voice called out to them.
Turning around, Naruto's stomach dropped as Iruka walked towards them. The older man had a bright smile on his face, a small paper bag clutched in his other hand. Neji glanced between them before stepping away, deciding this was a battle for Naruto to fight on his own.
"Another mission?" he asked Naruto.
"Y-Yeah, something like that," Naruto had never been comfortable lying to the man. Since the beginning Iruka had watched out for him. Had wanted to see him at his best.
In all his life, there were very few people who he could say had wanted that for him before he became the village "hero". It didn't feel right to withhold things from him, especially not something like this.
"Lady Tsunade's running you guys ragged, huh? Well I guess I'm pretty busy too these days," he laughed and scratched his cheek. "Even with half the building leveled, classes don't stop. Education waits for no shinobi."
"R-Right."
Iruka cocked his head to the side. "Are you alright Naruto, you look a bit sweaty? Don't tell me you drank more expired milk!"
Naruto's neck burned at the reminder.
"N-No way! It's not that, geez," he huffed.
"Woah, talk about touchy. Let me guess, Sakura cleaned your clock again hm?" the older man leaned in with a cheeky grin.
How am I going to tell him? When am I going to tell him? Naruto internally panicked. They were about to leave for who knows how long. What, was he just going to drop a truth bomb on his teacher and run away? Iruka's heart wasn't going to be able to handle that, he was old!
"Oy, did you just call me old?" Iruka's eyebrow twitched angrily.
"L-Look, I, uh, it's not that. I just, um, look, it's complicated," that blush on his neck had spread to his cheeks and head.
Forget Sakura, Iruka would clean his clock if he found out he had gotten some girl in another country pregnant! It would be a beating an order of magnitude bigger than anything he had gotten from his teammate.
"Woah, hey, Naruto, are you alright? Do you need to talk about it?" Iruka stepped forward and Naruto instinctively moved back.
"I-I-I-I, I mean- uh, I…" the blonde shinobi sucked in a breath and steeled his nerves. "I can't tell you right now, so just wait!"
The shout echoed across the courtyard, stunning Iruka and causing Team Guy to cringe. Heart hammering in his chest, Naruto turned on his heel and ran out of the gate and into the woods surrounding Konoha. Team Guy was forced to sprint to keep up with him, leaving the shocked chunin teacher standing alone.
"Was it something I said?"
0-0-0-0
"Not your finest exit, Naruto," Tenten giggled. "I thought steam was going to come out of your head for a moment."
"Whatever," he grumbled embarrassedly.
"It is okay, Naruto. Everyone gets embarrassed about these sorts of things!" Lee gave him a motivational thumbs up.
Neji cut into the argument before it could get started again. "We've been making good time for the past few hours. At this rate, we'll reach the Land of Demons within the next few days."
"I-Indeed," Nobuo huffed, sweat dripping down his face.
The man had been near-silent since they had left the village, only focused on getting back to his country. However, he was no ninja and probably hadn't pushed himself this hard in his life. Naruto slowed down before finally stopping on a tree branch.
"We can pause here for a few minutes so you can catch your breath, Nobuo."
"P-Please, do not m-mind me," despite his words, the man accepted the break gratefully and sat down. "Forgive me, I was chosen due to my athleticism but this is more than I'm used to."
"That reminds me, you didn't tell us what you do in the Land of Demons, Nobuo," Tenten said to the man.
"Ah, yes. I'm one of the royal guards, chosen from my village due to my prowess and skill. I can't compete with ninja like you all though. However, since the Ghost Army arose and many of our warriors were wiped out in the attempt on Lady Shion's life, I have trained extensively to pick up the slack. Our country is the weakest it has ever been in recent times."
Naruto could remember that fateful night with crystal clarity. The battle had been fierce, decisive, and ruthless. Yomi's little henchmen had cut a bloody swathe through Shion's guards like they were nothing. It was a sad fact of life in this world, that so many were helpless before a trained shinobi.
But they were all long-dead by now. A crew of madmen who had flown too close to the sun. Yomi was gone and so was his ilk. Moryo was sealed. It was over. It was fitting that Lee and Neji had accompanied Naruto on this mission, as they had during their first visit to the Land of Demons.
Naruto jumped down to Nobuo and glanced back at the way they came. No followers, and he sensed no eavesdroppers either.
"So, how are things in the Land of Demons? How is Shion?" he asked, curiosity finally forcing him to articulate the questions.
"Despite our weakness, the region's stability and isolated geography has served to aid us. There are very few who would or could attack us full sale, and even less reason to do so. As for Lady Shion… her constitution was so frail we thought for sure she would not survive childbirth. It was a very blessed day when the news arrived that she and your sons were in optimal condition."
Naruto's heart skipped a beat. She had almost died?
Nobuo saw the look on Naruto's face and continued. "Before I left, she was in a joyous mood. Fawning over her twin sons. She insisted on waiting for you to arrive before naming them, as she didn't want to leave you out of such a prestigious moment."
"I see…" Naruto cleared his throat. "And her Foresight? Does she still receive visions of the future."
"Indeed, Lord Uzumaki. Although in recent years it has, thankfully, gotten easier for her. As of late, she's witnessed events completely unrelated to the demise of any of her attendants."
That piqued his curiosity. "It changed?"
"We do not know how or why, but Lady Shion requested that we keep it quiet. At least to the people of the land. If anyone were to find out, it could make her and our country a target."
Naruto nodded, pulling out a small flask of water. Offering it to the man, he watched as the young man guzzled it thankfully. Neji dropped down next to them, his usual look of ambivalent stoicism still etched into his face.
"We'll continue up ahead and make camp near a valley off the Northwestern road. It has freshwater streams so we can replenish," he said to them both. "From there, it will be another day or so until we arrive at the Land of Demons capital."
"Alright, let's get moving!" Naruto cheered, giving his team leader a cocky grin. "We'll be there faster than greased lightning, believe it!"
Neji sighed. "As always, your energy remains unblemished. Nobuo, are you…?"
"Ready and waiting to go, sir."
With their group rested, they took off once more. The upside to the local geography was that it was relatively tame in terms of weather and layout. Naruto had always thought the locale was something to admire in and of itself. The last time he was here, he had to contend with a world-conquering army of stone soldiers which dampened the mood considerably.
But now though, he was given a chance to truly admire the lay of the land. Large oak trees pierce up from the ground, providing numerous perches to jump along above the craggy, moss-covered ground below. The sky was a perfect shade of blue, free of any clouds and the wind was mild to boot. It was the perfect day to just sit back and enjoy oneself.
I wonder if she's enjoying herself right now, Naruto thought quietly. He wondered if she were reading stories to her sons, telling them of their father's return. Or maybe she was sitting out on her balcony, taking in the fresh air after such a draining ordeal.
Such an odd thing to think of, at the moment. Yet, he couldn't seem to tear his mind away from her. When they had… become intimate, it hadn't been something deep. Passionate, yes, but long-lived? Soulful? He… wasn't sure. Shion was a beautiful woman, of course, and he would admit to having bragged about his conquest more than once.
But he couldn't think like that anymore, could he? She wasn't just some notch on his belt, or some story he could share with his buddies. This was serious. He had kids now, kids he needed to raise and take care of.
Naruto kicked off another branch and threw himself higher, nearly to the tops of the trees. It provided a brief look at the mountains ahead. He could almost imagine the capital city nestled between the great stone cliffs.
"Naruto, you have been quiet for awhile," Lee observed, coming up beside him. "I'm sure you must be anxious, but do not worry. You hold the Will of Fire and have defeated many powerful enemies, I have faith that you will succeed!"
Bushy-brow's enthusiasm helped bolster his confidence. Naruto smiled again and shook his head. "Just thinking. I'm not sure how much I really know about Shion, you know?"
"Well, we didn't have much time to speak on personal terms in the heat of the moment."
"Right. I have to wonder… is she really happy with a guy like me? I mean, when we had sex I left the day after. I can't even remember if we spoke," shame flickered like a dim match in his chest.
Lee hummed sagely. "I can understand where you're coming from, but think of this: if she did not want to see you again, then why go through the trouble of bringing you back here?"
"Maybe she didn't want to raise her kids on her own?"
"Geez, you really are a blockhead," Tenten huffed from below. "What's the point of admitting defeat before we even get there? You're just being your own worst enemy."
"Tenten is right, focus on our journey. This land may be peaceful, but we cannot assume that our enemies will not follow us," Neji reminded them.
That's another thing, Naruto mused. What about Sasuke? What about the Akatsuki?
They were still out there, hunting jinchuriki. They could go after Gaara, or Octopops. Or, worse, they could come after him and his new family. Was it really wise to risk putting his children in the line of fire?
Grandma Tsunade has to have a plan. I know she does, the reassurance felt weak.
A day to go before he met his children.