I'm afraid I'll have to beg your forgiveness for the lateness of this chapter. I was supposed to have 138-A finished and posted last week after which this was going to go up but as you can see that didn't exactly happen. Instead I spent some of Monday morning and a large portion of Tuesday getting 138-A done so I could update everything.
I'm looking to have 138-B done by Friday (It has, just now, become Wednesday as I get this chapter ready to post.) so the next public chapter should be on time. Sorry again and thank you for your patience.
Sealkeeper: He Who Binds
Chapter 137-A "Sleeping In"
Patron Release: 2021.03.31
He hadn't pulled his curtains closed he realized blearily, his unobstructed right arm moving to cover his eyes and make a valiant attempt at blocking out the light of the sun. He supposed he was lucky that the largest window in the room faced to the west, otherwise he would have been woken by that damnable light of the sun far earlier than he'd been.
Naruto smirked slightly, barely able to smother the chuckles that wanted to escape him at the irony. Au and his children seemed intent on making him the High-Priest of whatever lost religion had once worshiped them and yet had no idea how much he abhorred the light of the sun itself.
Well, he assumed they did not know, as he could not fathom why they would continue wanting him to fill the position if they were aware.
Knowing that his efforts were futile Naruto accepted the fact that he was now awake and regretfully removed his arm so he could observe the room. Despite all that happened last night he'd still gone to bed much earlier than he usually managed and he suspected he'd been left to sleep longer than normal too, both things reminding him that he was really in no place to complain to being woken now.
It was certainly better than having a panicked Wolf burst through his room with word of some sort of emergency, that was without question.
A soft warmth burrowed closer to his side to provide another reason why this wasn't such a bad way to wake up. Even from the corner of his eye he could see the wild, sandy-blonde hair that covered the majority of her face and spilled across his pale skin. He was aware of his left arm under her weight, his hand resting on the curve of her hip.
There were definitely worse ways to wake up.
He smiled as he turned to face her properly, a small, genuine upturning of his lips. He'd come to suspect he might have underestimated just how strongly she had been impacted by his actions back when he first saw Gaara again here in Nami but last night he had learned exactly how much she had appreciated them.
He'd been happy enough with the results of that work before and it really hadn't been any trouble but he also wasn't fool enough to turn her away when she was both eager to thank him and seemed to enjoy it just as much herself. She was free to thank him for as long as she felt necessary.
Moving his sight past the Kunoichi he had brought back to his bed last night his purple gaze fell onto an occupant he knew he hadn't and certainly wouldn't have expected to be there. Lips moving into an amused smirk and eyes crinkling slightly in fondness, he realized Gaara's sprawled out form had taken up a majority of his bed at some point in the night. He had no idea when that was but he had a feeling that he'd come in here to be closer to his mothering sister. It couldn't have been because the boy couldn't sleep considering he could enter his mindscape at a moment's notice and allow his body to rest wherever it fell so he had to have woken up at some point and left to find her.
He'd succeeded, Naruto thought wryly.
Fortunately- unlike the other two occupants in the bed- Gaara was fully dressed in a pair of silk pajamas in a seafoam green, a small cartoon racoon on its breast pocket. He was also sleeping atop the sheets, having kicked the comforter off the bed completely.
Thank the gods for small mercies. He pulled Temari's form- wearing infinitely less clothing than his son was- closer to him ever so slightly and she released a content sigh. He wasn't a hundred percent sure whether she still slept and probably wouldn't even be able to see her eyes with her untamed hair in the way should she open them but either way he took no small pleasure in the simple matter of close physical contact.
A low, keening whine caught his attention and it didn't take long to find its source. A half-undressed - which really didn't say much considering her preferred sort of attire- Anko squirmed restlessly in a chair near the door- he would put money down that she had dragged it in from his private sitting room just beyond said door- watching the current occupants with a desperation he recognized easily enough.
It was with no lack of amusement that he realized the only thing that had kept her from joining them last night was the presence of Gaara. He couldn't say if it was because he was in the bed and she wasn't comfortable with him there or if it was a simple matter of there not being any room for her to join them. Knowing her as he did, he had a suspicion it was actually the former.
Most obviously because there was still room on him and Anko had never hesitated to crawl atop him while he was sleeping.
That was, without a doubt, one of his favorite ways to wake up.
And the activities that tended to follow were the best way to start a day.
He shot her a smile which only made cross her arms with a huff. "Come on," She whined quietly, at least courteous enough not to wake the people in the Daimyo's bed. "I've been waiting for hours. Come join me in my room."
His gaze drifted from her to the sleeping Kunoichi against him and then back again. "Perhaps when she wakes up, Anko."
The woman frowned- he was smart enough to know that calling it a pout might make her genuinely upset in this situation- and gave a small huff before nodding.
"Fine, but I expect to see you in my room before you start working."
He shook his head as she left with as much dignity as she could- something completely ruined by her pout- and he knew it had probably been hard enough for her to wait this long. Unfortunately he had another full day of work no doubt already waiting for him on his desk so any visit he paid to her this morning was going to have to be a quick one. He simply couldn't afford to put off the work of an entire country.
Well, his own work as Naruto hadn't been too much he realized with a thoughtful frown. If he was finishing around mid afternoon lately then starting a bit later wasn't too much trouble. It mostly came down to the work he was doing for Hana and Sai but he wasn't the one doing that anyway.
Calling upon Karura's chakra he brought out Tsukuyomi who smirked down at him in amusement, just as naked as he. With a roll of his eyes he let the golden chakra return from his system back into the seal and sought out his daughter's Chakra which she was only too happy to provide. Within seconds San had joined- he was putting down brainstorming new names on the calendar for tomorrow, damnit- Tsukuyomi with a similar smirk.
They were probably just trying to use their amusement to hide their jealousy.
Well, that or they'd noticed Gaara's presence and knew nothing else was going to be happening in this bed until the young man left the room.
Naruto was about to release Isobu's chakra when he paused, a sudden thought striking him. He was going to be in bed doing nothing particularly mentally demanding for a bit so there wouldn't be a whole lot of extra mental strain if he were to….
Sparing a shrewd glance to his clones, a third joined them. Tsukuyomi and San blinked in surprise before turning questioning brows towards the original.
"Tsukuyomi, San, Naruto" He pointed to the three as he said each name. They, being himself, came to a quick understanding but it didn't stop Naruto from asking; "Then who are you?"
"I," The original answered as he pulled the sheets up from his waist to his chin. "Am sleeping in."
Through snickers of amusement the clones had at least been kind enough to close his blinds as they left.
"I thought I told you to visit me before starting your work, damnit." A less than pleased Anko stood in his office doorway, arms folded and glare in place.
"You did." Naruto nodded in agreement, sparing her only a brief glance before returning to his work. "Which is why I'm still in bed and not doing my work."
"You're…..?" It took her a second to realize what that meant. "You're a clone, aren't you?"
He looked back up, giving her enough time to realize his eyes were a light teal instead of his usual vibrant purple. "Yes, he was making the usual when he realized there he could be getting work done while he waited for Temari to wake."
"I see." She still frowned at the news but she wasn't angry anymore. Disappointed, yes, she'd hoped for him to join her in her room by now, but at least he wasn't drowning himself in work instead of spending time with her. That would have made her quite upset.
As it was she was half-tempted to drag the clone away for the meantime and, perhaps knowing how she thought, the clone was quick to point something else out to her.
"You know Gaara woke up about an hour ago, I think he went to visit his brother in Namihime."
Why did it matter where Gaara….
Oh.
Oh.
Delaying only enough to give the clone a quick, appreciative kiss in thanks she was just as soon out the door to join a now much more spacious bed.
The clone- Naruto- just shook his head and returned to work. Perhaps he wouldn't be getting out of bed today after all.
The original sand city had, apparently, not been quite ambitious enough for his children and Naruto found that they had torn the original down to start again. As it was, they had already made substantial progress in their exact replica of Hanahime. Taking into account the presence of the Ocean that represented Isobu's seal they had started at the coast- including half a bridge that went out into Isobu's domain- and begun work on the most western parts of the city.
The world within his seals had never really had cardinal directions before- he'd never really needed them- but now he supposed it had obtained them through the city his children delighted in building.
Isobu had grown tired and had returned to Karura's palace last night, the reason Gaara had awoken and learned that his mother- sister- had never joined him in the bed they shared.
Seeing her energy now as she pulled her parents through the city Naruto had a hard time believing it. Maybe she grew tired because she used it all in such large bursts? Gods knew if he used up even a fraction of the childish energy that bubbled from her in an hour or two he'd be out for an entire day.
As she continued to pull ahead, the hands of her parents in either of hers, Naruto realized he really did need to find a way to let her safely explore the physical world- if only because she seemed to get increasingly upset about the fact that he didn not, in fact, know what the street was supposed to look like in the real world.
He'd never exactly toured the capital city of his country, nor did he know if the other streets had proper names. Unless he wanted to find out, he was going to have to let little Isobu see the world she wanted to recreate first hand.
Karura shot him a brilliant, beaming slime as she laughed at her daughter's exuberance and Naruto knew just having them there with him in the physical world would be reason enough.
He was going to need to consult with Orochimaru again as soon as he woke up.
And visited Anko.
If she learned he'd visited her old master rather than spend time with her there would be hell to pay, he was sure.
The next two weeks passed surprisingly quickly despite the fact that he was technically experiencing closer to two months of memories. The first night after keeping three clones active had been...less than fun...but so long as he had them dispel each day the buildup wasn't too bad and the headache would fade after a few minutes of his favorite- and only- Iryojutsu.
He'd quickly fallen into a routine that took advantage of those clones which allowed him to finish all the work for Nami no Kuni and the House of Wolves while still seeing to the various individuals who needed- or simply wanted- his attention. With memories from his clones returning to him while he slept and journals to read for overviews- which he could do either before bed or whenever he needed a refresher of their activities- he spent his days between the Wolves and the non-Wolf individuals he had influence over.
When night fell his body would rest and he would spend a few hours with Isobu and Karura as the memories from the day found their proper places inside his mind. Afterwards he'd spend an hour or so with Karura alone in their bedroom- or the dungeon depending on her mood- before they retired to bed and allowed him a few blissful hours of nothingness to rest his mind.
When he woke up the cycle started all over again and while he wouldn't say he was completely happy with the way everything was going at the moment he would be lying if he tried to claim he wasn't feeling pretty content with the past half-month. It may not have been what he planned but it was all working out well enough from what he could tell.
The biggest thing he regretted about those two weeks was that he'd not found the time to try out his Kusari no Juin. Well, that wasn't completely accurate. He, the original, had time in the day that could go to it .What he didn't have was time he was awake in which his clones were not and he'd decided he didn't want to have to be dealing with the memories of accidentally dispelled clones on top of whatever issue he might run into when he attempted it for the first time.
If he was going to use it he would either have to do so in the evening after his clones were gone- and his headache had been banished- or he was going to have to just wait until Sai and Hana returned so he was no longer making clones to cover their work.
It wasn't as if he really needed to utilize an active form of the seal, he supposed, both because he wasn't really doing any field work and because it was already providing what he'd hoped to use it for in its dormant state. Really, there was no point to it beyond sating curiosity.
Unfortunately that's exactly why he did want to try it. But it probably made more sense to wait for Hana and Sai to return. At least then if something went horribly wrong and he was indisposed for a time than they would be there to cover their duties. If that happened while he was gone it would be up to Mai and Hanabi to handle it all and that wasn't really fair to them. His curiosity simply wasn't worth the trouble it would cause them.
Thankfully he did have other projects- beyond his normal work- to keep him occupied - though Anko was more than willing to help him fill any free time he happened upon with some of her own fun- such as his latest attempts to look into ways to bring Isobu and Karura out of their seals. Orochimaru had seemed genuinely interested in the idea which would serve to motivate the man beyond it being a project bestowed upon him by his prince.
That fact alone was plenty of reason for him to give it his all but the fact that it was something that appealed to his own curiosity gave him a zeal he would otherwise lack, for which Naruto was quite glad. It was a project he considered a great deal more important than others, even to the point where he felt confident in saying he would cease his work in Yu no Kuni if it meant progressing in it.
The ability to safely draw the Biju from their seals, even as temporarily as he was aiming for, held within it far more potential than a new base he intended to vanish into.
He didn't have any plans for using such an ability- though doubtless there were many possible applications- beyond allowing them the simple freedom of visiting the physical world in their preferred human forms but considering this was for his family- and his direct, immediate family at that- then that fact alone made it a worthwhile endeavor.
There was very little- and some might argue that it was instead absolutely nothing- that Naruto would not do for the benefit and happiness of his family.
Kabuto used the back of his knuckles to announce himself at the door but didn't bother to wait for invitation before removing the barrier between Tsukuyomi's palace and Orochimaru's current domain.
Back in Oto- or in any of the many outposts Orochimaru had scattered throughout the world- he would never have dared but here in Nami no Kuni Kabuto was expected to serve the interests of Orochimaru, Oto, and Tsukuyomi to the best of his abilities and that meant he could- should he desire- come and go as he please.
Considering the guest room Orochimaru inhabited wasn't incredibly spacious- especially not after he'd moved in a rather large desk and extra bookshelves to house his more sensitive files for his projects- and that Kabuto knew Orochimaru well enough- which, really was a very scary thought indeed- to know better than to spend any length of time with the Sannin in close proximity that you didn't absolutely have to he typically avoided the room altogether.
Even with his current task, he was more than a little tempted to get someone else to do it for him. It was, after all, just a delivery.
Unfortunately it was a delivery that involved Orochiaru's beloved prince and that made it something that he would need to personally ensure made its way to the man's hands. At least, he knew, he could earn some favor from it. Not the delivery, of course, but his part in creating it for the young Daimyo.
It was always a good idea to stack up as much favor as you could when it came to Orochimaru, it tended to serve as a desperately needed shield when something went wrong and his displeasure was directed towards you.
Kabuto might not have been very fond of where he was currently living but he still liked living damnit. He had no plans- or desires- for that to change anytime soon.
Not if he could help it.
Of course, he'd never just trespass into Orochimaru's domain unless he was bearing something that would distract Orochimaru from his transgressions so he made sure the delivery he'd just received from Oto was before him- half shield half placating offering to a potentially irritable deity- as he entered the room.
The man he was looking for was at his desk, predictably, pretty much the only place he ever was outside of Tsukuyomi's immediate presence. Considering his current body, Orochimaru spent a vast majority of his time in his own rooms and Kabuto couldn't quite say if that was preferable to Orochimaru hanging off young Naruto in a female body.
If nothing else, he probably got more work done this way though he would be lying if he said Orochimaru wasn't far more bearable- and sometimes even slightly more safe- when they were able to get more attention from the object of their obsession.
As weird as it was- and as hard as it could be to wrap his head around at times- Kabuto's job- whatever that actually was these days- actually became infinitely easier when he was a she vying for Tsukuyomi's attentions.
He tried not to think of that too much.
"Orochimaru-Sama." Kabuto announced his presence once again as he stepped fully into the room and closed the door softly behind him. By the time he turned back he was greeted by the narrow stare of his master who was no doubt wondering why he'd been interrupted- and considering the heat in this particular glare it was probably a project for Tsukuyomi rather than one of the man's own distractions- but was fortunately be patient enough to give Kabuto a chance to explain himself before striking down the young man who served as his right hand. "This has finally arrived from Jirobo. I thought you would want a chance to examine it yourself and, perhaps, even be the one to deliver it to Denka-Sama."
That caught Orochimaru's attention and any irritation seemed to vanish at the mean mention of his prince.
"He found something?" Asked the Sannin. He hadn't received any recent updates from the overseer on his team's progress so he hadn't been expecting anything.
"I'm not sure." Came Kabuto's answer. "I've not asked. This is something I requested from his team for Tsukuyomi-Sama."
"Oh?" Oochimaru took the box and set it atop the papers scattered over his desk, ignoring those that were pushed off. He reached in and was greeted by fabric which he unfurled only partially but that's all he needed to realize what it was. "A flag?" He asked, raising a brow at his second in command.
"Yes, Orochimaru-Sama. Some of the Wolves thought he should have something that represented him beyond just Nami no Kuni and I worked with them to design this for him. I sent the design to Overseer Jirobo to have it made."
The Otokage considered it for nearly a minute, frowning lightly at it in thought, before giving a nod. "Not the sort of gift I would normally give him." He admitted. "But if my gift is the aiding of his children to procure this for him, that, I think, is something I can proudly present to him."
"Of course, Orochimaru-Sama." Kabuto gave a nod that slipped ever so slightly into the realm of a bow. "Shall I leave it here with you, then?"
"Yes, yes." Orochimaru's absent nod told Kabuto that the man was trying to think of the best way to present it to his prince already and would probably be distracted for some time. That someone like him could be so easily diverted from his current tasks seemed distinctly wrong to Kabuto, going against the man's status as a legendary Shinobi, but when it came to the prince it took almost no effort to distract the man.
It was a glaring weakness, a point that could be pressed by any of Orochimaru's numerous enemies across the world, and Kabutohad to wonder if those people would even believe him if he were to surrender such a glaring weakpoint to them.
They would probably laugh in his face and call him a liar, it was too unbelievable to be true even when it came to Shinobi.
Perhaps they just didn't understand the depths of the Snake Sannin's obsession.
Kabuto hoped he never did either.
He'd debated for, perhaps, longer than what was appropriately warranted for the situation but Orochimaru couldn't help it. All of his gifts- all of them- had represented something extraordinary and this was just a flag. He shuddered just thinking about it.
What would his poor prince think of him providing something so mundane? It wasn't something that represented himself, it wasn't something he felt Naruto necessarily wanted- or needed, for that matter- and in the end the only two facts that made him proceed were that the Wolves had come up with it- and he wouldn't dare withhold anything those children had made for their father- and he was still desperately behind on gifts that were suitable for his beloved prince.
Of course, then he'd been forced to deliberate on how it should be presented to Naruto. Did he leave the box with a note like he used to? Just walk in and hand it to him? Maybe he should gather up all those that had a hand in it's creation and they would present it together- but that would mean splitting Naruto's attention - and appreciation- between himself and other, lesser, existences.
No, that wouldn't do at all. He needed better options.
Were it not for the fact that Naruto wouldn't know who was behind it Orochimaru might have just had some Wolves run it up the flagpole and just let Naruto see it that way; though who knew how long it would take for the young Daimyo to actually take note of its presence without it being pointed out to him. He didn't exactly leave much and Orochimaru had spent enough time in Naruto's room- unfortunately when the prince was absent- to know that none of his windows overlooked the flagpole outside of the palace so the chances of him even seeing it- let alone noticing the change- was already pretty damn low.
Were he still in his last body the answer would have been easy enough and then, if he didn't like it, Orochimaru would have been able to drop the flag from around them and give Naruto something he knew the young Daimyo liked. Maybe he could find some way to convert this body into a woman instead? It had some merit, he thought, though it could also be strange if Naruto had known -or, heavens forbid, had any sort of personal or professional relationship with- Uchiha Sasuke previously.
He accepted his 'godmother' Orochimaru easily enough but he hadn't known Orochimaru before the change either so there was no telling if he simply hadn't been bothered at all or had just adapted quickly.
The Snake Sage could probably just ask his prince but there was the risk- though slight- that whatever answer he received he wouldn't care for. It was easy to throw away his other goals when his new goal was just to keep Naruto happy but it would be difficult for him to work towards that if he started having any negative thoughts about the young Daimyo he had devoted himself so entirely too.
Not that he wouldn't continue working towards Naruto's goals and doing his best to ensure he had everything he needed, it would simply be hard for him to do when he was preoccupied with beating himself up about whatever failing Naruto's words might reveal to him.
In the end he settled for the most straightforward approach he could, safe in his confidence that he couldn't mess up just being the courier. If Naruto liked it he would reveal his own hand- through the influence of his followers- in it's creation and if not he could just keep quiet.
He still didn't really want to be associated with something so plain, though, it just wasn't worthy of being presented to Naruto.
At least, not by him.
Unfortunately he didn't exactly have anything else at the moment. He really needed to figure out what sorts of gifts he could reasonably provide for his crimson prince when they would be spending an eternity together.
Then again, they did have all the time in the world to figure that out, didn't they?
Unlike some of the other residents of Tsukuyomi's palace, Orochimaru had very quickly become used to the fact that there was more than one Naruto running around at any given moment and he made a point of familiarizing himself with how Naruto utilized them. As they stuck to the same schedule- more or less- every day that hadn't been very hard. Any Naruto at a desk was likely to be a clone- and that spared him the trouble of interrupting them to check the color of their eyes- and the chance that Naruto was in his room fluctuated between 35 and 86.5% depending on who you encountered throughout the palace on your way to find him. If you couldn't find Tayuya, Anko, or Temari by the time you hit the top floor it was practically guaranteed they had pulled him into his room already.
Assuming he'd managed to escape that morning.
It was for that reason Orochimaru tended to just start there and work his way down the palace when he needed to find the young Daimyo. The fact that his own room was also on the top floor also helped that decision quite a lot and save plenty of time.
It came at no surprise, then, that he found Naruto in his room. What was surprising was the fact that he was alone. Surrounded by pillows and leaning against his headboard, Naruto looked up from his book as Orochimaru entered from the sitting room that separated his quarters from the rest of the palace.
Not for the first time, Orochimaru wished he had held off on taking Sasuke's body and instead had used his previous body to its limit. Considering he had finally reached his goal of obtaining the Sharingan maybe it was time to return his focus onto the other key to learning every Jutsu in existence- immortality.
He had a form of it now, of course, and that was impressive enough as it was but it could be so much better. He had no real intention of giving up his body-snatching when interesting abilities showed themselves but it would be nice if they lasted longer or, perhaps, he had a single body he could return to infinitely after getting what he wanted.
Or maybe a series of bodies so he could change things up depending on Naruto's mood.
And while having those options would certainly be a benefit for himself, he was also painfully aware that if he wanted any hope of convincing Naruto to join him in immortality he was going to have to find a way to maintain his prince's body.
Being forced to watch his children grow old and die would be hard enough for him, Orochimaru knew, forcing him to change bodies every few years to continue enduring that? No, Naruto would never go for it.
He had a much better chance convincing him to remain to look out for the future generations of Wolves as an immortal- which fit the Wolves' current believes perfectly already- but he supposed if it did come down to it they would be honored to give their lives so that their body might host their deity. There was no questioning that they would be overjoyed at such a chance to show their devotion to him and maybe they could convince him to start swapping bodies- even if in the end it wasn't into Wolves- so he could keep caring for them.
It would still be preferable to keep his current body, though.
Orochimaru was quite fond of it.
"Did you need something, Orochimaru?" Just hearing his prince speak his name was enough to bring a smile to the Sannin's face as he shook his head in response.
"No, nothing for me. I come bearing a gift." He approached the bed and set the box gently by Naruto's side, carefully watching for the young man's response.
Raising a brow Naruto marked his page in his book and set it to the side before reaching for his gift. He looked surprised at first, an expression quickly overtaken by amusement, and finally a smile forced itself across his lips.
Yes, it looked like Orochimaru would be taking credit for Kabuto's involvement after all.
Sealkeeper: He Who Binds
Chapter 137-B "Embarrassing"
Patron Release 2021.04.12
The voice pulled her from her work and directed her attention to the doorway which was once again occupied by the current body of the Snake Sannin. As it was, Mai would admit she should probably be surprised she didn't encounter the man more frequently considering neither of them had a tendency to even leave the top floor of the palace let alone the palace itself. The close proximity only seemed to be defeated by the fact that they both had a tendency to remain in the privacy of their own quarters rather than the more public areas of the Daimyo's personal floor.
"I thought you said you would be limiting his work?" Orochimaru's words were filled with obvious accusation as Mai looked up from the desk she had claimed and brought into her room to create a personal office. It was a bit small, admittedly, and she did have a more proper office just a floor below but she found things to be much more peaceful up here on the top floor- especially now that some of the other offices were being filled with public servants and the teams Sai and Hana had but together to help run Nami no Kuni.
"I did and I have been." She gestured to the stacks of unreviewed reports and unsigned requisitions that she had been busy working through. A quick glance at her clock told her it was just about time for a break anyway but with Orochimaru here obviously upset about something Mai didn't suspect she'd be having any opportunity to take one.
Or, rather, this was her break. How unfortunate.
"Then why is it his desk has been filled with paperwork for the last week straight and any time he's not either sleeping or working at it I hear he's in meetings sorting things out for Nami no Kuni? That doesn't sound like reduced work to me, Mai."
She really didn't appreciate the way her name practically dripped from the tongue of Orohimaru- or perhaps from Uchiha Sasuke, more accurately- like some sort of thinly-veiled insult nor did she appreciate the accusation or the information that somehow Naruto had still managed to end up with more work than he was able to handle.
Of course, she also wondered exactly how much Orochimaru was actually checking up on Naruto considering he- much like herself- had been in his own quarters busy working on some project or another. Gods knew what he actually got up to but even she knew he didn't spend much time outside his room.
He could be wrong about what Naruto was up to and Mai would like to believe he was considering she had been taking extra work to lighten Naruto's load- as was Hanabi- but knowing him as she did the chances were good that he had found something else that needed his attention and was busy working away at it in addition to his normal workload.
"I don't know, doing a portion of his work on top of my own duties has kept me here for the most part. I haven't had anything that I needed to take to him personally, either." Mai frowned as she said that, realizing that outside of a few meals they had shared sporadically in his private dining room she really hadn't seen him over the past week unless she wanted to count passing him in the hall.
Even then that was just seeing him, she had hardly had a chance to interact with him during that period.
She supposed she probably should have been suspicious when his new free time hadn't led to him getting into any sort of trouble but where the hell was he getting more work from?
Mai paused, blinking as she processed something Orochimaru said earlier. "Wait, he was going to meetings?" She looked for clarification.
"Yes."
He'd never needed to go to meetings before only Hana- and very rarely Sai from what she'd learned- had actual meetings they had to attend but now that she thought about it she hadn't seen either of them for the last week either.
While that could be attributed to the time she was spending on her work or the fact that both Hana and Mai had offices on lower floors that she rarely ventured to- Mai had a suspicion as to what had happened.
"Gods above," She all but moaned in disappointment. "Please tell me he didn't send Sai and Hana on vacations at the same time, did he?"
"What?" That wasn't really the sort of thing Orochimaru was likely to be aware of, such arrangements entirely escaping her notice unless it came up in a conversation somehow. The Snake Sage tended not to pay attention to the matters of the Wolves so much as they paid attention to Naruto, not that it had brought this development to his attention as far as Mai could tell.
Really, Mai should have expected something like this from her Lord; it was exactly the sort of thing he would do and she blamed herself for not checking into the possibility sooner. How she had missed the fact that both were out of the country she couldn't say- perhaps a missing report or she had been distracted by work when a Wolf brought the matter to her attention- but she didn't like it.
She'd have to figure out why that sort of report had somehow missed her desk. Mai barely managed to bite back a groan as she realized she was probably going to have to go through the work she had been doing for the last two weeks to make sure she hadn't actually received it and either forgot about it or missed it in one of the stacks.
Or she could set a few Wolves on it, that sounded like a much better idea.
"I think I've figured out where the work is coming from, he must be covering for Sai and Hana." She broke herself away from her thoughts to explain her suspicions to the Sannin, her expression showing just how displeased she was with her own answer.
"So he's essentially running the entirety of Nami no Kuni and the Wolves?" There was a flush to Orochimaru's- Sasuke's- face as the question was asked and Mai did her best not to dwell on the reasons that might be behind the occurrence. Her first suspicion was that the idea of Naruto being solely responsible for managing a country somehow aroused the Sannin and, unfortunately, she really couldn't get the thought to vacate her mind.
"Just about." Mai agreed, eyeing her stack of work. Hanabi had a similar one on her desk, no doubt, but beyond those two stacks and whatever her admin team had gotten to already Naruto really was handling both sides of Nami no Kuni.
She was reminded that Hanabi's team only took care of matters related to the Wolves, too, and that didn't make her feel any better about the situation.
Beyond that, however, there was another feeling that settled uneasy at the pit of her stomach. If Naruto was taking on the majority of the work for both the country and his Wolves without issue -He was overworking himself, sure, but that was just Naruto. He was still managing to hold it all together otherwise this would have been brought to Mai's attention much sooner- and between he and Hanabi had also managed to hold matters together in Konoha was she even needed?
She'd rushed home early from the vacation he had arranged for her because she was worried about how he was handling the Wolves when they were faced with an exodus from their home but he'd had it all under control and now that she was back not only had Hanabi's new system drastically dropped the amount of work that made it to either her or Naruto but even with that work he was taking on that of Sai and Hana too.
Sure, she had a portion of his work on her desk but she wasn't so ignorant to believe the amount he'd taken from Sai and Hana was not substantially larger then what she had reduced his workload by.
With that in mind, he probably could handle the full load of his work without issue and that made her feel more than a little unnecessary. She was quick to shove that feeling away, however, as she had more important things to worry about at the moment.
Mainly the fact that able or not he was supposed to have less work so he would have the opportunity to recuperate. He needed rest, damnit, and this wasn't helping.
Of course, she was also aware that it was going to be damn hard to ensure that rest until Hana and Sai returned and resumed their own duties because as it was she really didn't have anyone else she could split the work between to help lighten Naruto's load.
Next time she saw him- which would be later today, dammit- she was going to smack him upside the head for taking on the work of two other people in addition to his own.
What the hell had he been thinking?
"I'll talk to him about it when I see him next." Mai assured Orochimaru, briefly wondering why she cared enough to do so when the Sage held her in obvious disdain. "Hopefully this time it will stick and he'll start taking better care of himself."
She really didn't hold any hope in that happening but it was always nice to dream. Mai would just need to be paying closer attention to him going forward to keep him safe from his habit of taking on everyone else's work.
At this point she was very tempted to take a page out of Kato-Sensei's book and tie him down to a bed.
That would certainly come as a surprise to him, she didn't think he was aware she'd learned about that. The Wolves who'd told her had been quite amused and so had she when they were finished but the most important thing was that she now had a secret weapon to use against him when he got himself into trouble.
He'd never see it coming.
"Wrist looks good, fingers are moving nicely." Clicky spoke aloud for the benefit of Shizune who was marking down the findings. Those with backgrounds in puppetry were transfixed on the test being conducted and the other two individuals in the room were medical professionals- or as professional as any medic in Suna could be considered in the case of Rusty- and were thus not trusted with any writing that needed to be legible.
Shizune had only made that mistake once with Tsunade, thank you.
By some miracle- perhaps her administrative skills or because between her and Tsunade someone had to be capable of writing- her own handwriting was neat and quite legible so there should be no issues reading through the results later or copying them to be perused at Tsukuyomi's leisure. He was sure to want to know how the project he'd assigned them was going and she'd be damned if they couldn't provide something just because they couldn't read the results from tests they had spent the time performing.
"Rotation of forearm….." The words trailed off as the movement was closely inspected and Shizune could hear the frown in Clicky's voice as the results were made known. "It's moving but it's a bit rough. We'll need to either reshape parts near the wrist and elbow or sand it down a bit more so it's not as close when the pieces move."
Sanding was the easier option, Shizune had picked up that much from her time around Clicky and through her own participation in her team's projects, but not only did that reduce the amount of material in a piece- and thus its strength, even if only slightly- it also meant that it wasn't really suitable for field work. If you had to create a larger gap just for it to barely work smoothly then it was inevitable dirt and the like was going to make its way between the pieces and hamper- if not completely prevent- the desired movement.
Considering this was a project to provide armor for the Wolves that simply wasn't acceptable.
"Noted." Shizune spoke up only to let Clicky know her suggestions had been marked down so they could go over them later when they went back to the drawing board and the woman gave her a nod to thank and acknowledge her.
"Elbow has full range of motion and then some." The frown hadn't left her voice. "Fifteen- sixteen and a quarter degrees beyond standard human movement. Could become an issue." Clicky briefly looked up to catch Rusty's eye before she prompted him for his opinion with a raised brow.
"I'd recommend reducing it to no more than five degrees." Was the contribution of Shizune's pseudo-apprentice. "Even then it could prove dangerous. The armor is supposed to be strong and is intended to take quite a beating. If something has enough force to push the armor back beyond what its wearer can match it's going to cause massive damage."
Clicky gave a nod to indicate she had heard him and Shizune spoke up from her position. "Reduce movement of elbow joints to standard human range. Did we want to make a note to reinforce the area further? Springs or pneumatics, perhaps, in order to support the natural movement of the arm and help the user better control the weight of the armor?"
"Not a bad idea." Sasori shot her an appreciative look. "That should definitely be considered as we redesign the area." Shizune took that to mean 'yes' and included her idea in the official notes.
"How's the shoulder holding up?" Kankuro's patience had depleted leaving only his curiosity behind. It may have also been a matter of pride considering the prototype they were working with- or this piece of it, anyway- had been based on a design he had come up with. Clicky rolled her eyes at the younger puppeteer but nevertheless resumed her inspection.
"Rotation is good, vertical movement too. Not seeing any gaps in the armor as it shifts but I can't see into it well enough to know if we've eliminated that weakpoint that was showing up when we raise the arm upwards."
"I don't foresee many situations in which a Wolf should be lifting their arms above them during combat. If it's to block then the attack isn't going under their arm anyway so there's little to worry about and even slightly weaker sections of armor are still well above and beyond not being armored at all." Tsunade spoke up for the first time during the test to share her opinion, not seeing why they were focused on that particular 'issue' at all. "I'd be more concerned about them being able to use it. Have any of you puppeteers come up with a way for them to move it more smoothly or do we need to start training the Wolves in puppetry so they can wear their own uniforms?"
Sasori and Kankuro shared a look before Kankuro shook his head. "No, we hit a snag with the physical Chakra strings. Not only did the thin strands of Chakra metal add up to a considerable cost for each suit, the number of movements they had to translate from the armor quickly made things too complicated to be feasible. Would have been easier to teach puppetry at that point. We thought about using studs of it at various points that would match up to Tenketsu in hopes that it would follow the natural movement of the body but some of the pieces that weren't in direct contact were causing others to snag. Not to mention the fact that you had to practically be releasing Chakra from all your Tenketsu at once. Didn't make for a very stealthy- or sustainable- suit."
"And you had to be completely naked." Was Clicky's helpful addition as she let the arm drop, her tests on the piece complete for now. "Not comfortable or practical."
"Yeah, there was that too." He admitted with a sheepish grin. "But hey, if it had worked then it worked. We weren't about to complain about achieving desired results. You know, if it had and all."
"So what's the current plan for getting this to work?" Asked Tsunade. "Or are you just hoping to make movement so natural and smooth that they just need to wear the armor and everything will be fine?"
From her tone it was obvious she expected the answer to be the latter suggestion and she was skeptical of them being able to pull off anything close to it. She would be right about not being able to pull that off, of course, but knowing that they had turned their attention to more viable options.
Even if they didn't fully understand them.
"Clicky and Rusty here-" He'd never called them anything else so whether or not he knew his fellow former Suna Shinobi no one could quite say. If he did, he was no more forthcoming with their actual names than they had been when they were first assigned to work under Shizune. "Did good work on their previous project and in the end their pieces were controlled through a sealing matrix of Tsukuyomi's design, from what I understand. They told me of the results and if we can get the same on the armor not only will it be superior to anything else but with paired matrices then it would be impossible for anyone not bearing a specific seal to make use of the armor. The safety of that alone should be more than worth it."
"You just have to convince Tsukuyomi of that and then hope he has time to see to it." Shizune's words weren't necessarily filled with doubt for the convincing part but she didn't know how busy the man was these days or how long it would take for him to come up with something.
Then again, how quickly had he whipped something up that first time for Inoichi's prosthetics? She was there with him as he did it and while a whole suit would be more complex he could probably have it figured out within a few hours at the most. After that it would just be a matter of copying it for each of the suits they were making and applying whatever this paired seal was to the Wolves who would wear them.
She supposed it was probably something like the spine they had made for Inoichi to tie everything together and give him a point from which to control his new limbs. Not that it had been used, Naruto had bypassed that part entirely and now it looked like they were going to have to ask him to do so again to bring his project to life.
The fact that he was going to be so vital for the completion of a project he had tasked them with didn't really sit right with Shizune but there wasn't a whole lot they could do about it unless they wanted to provide subpar results. If he wanted the best- and he did- they were going to have to make use of every available resource at their disposal- including the young Daimyo of Nami no Kuni.
Hopefully he wouldn't mind.
He didn't need to look up to know someone was in the doorway- he could practically feel them glowering at him- and he likewise didn't need to look up to know who it was.
There was, after all, only one person currently in his palace- that he knew of, anyway- who would be so secure in their position to shoot him such a look.
"Did you need something, Mai?" He looked up after he asked, mostly to confirm it was in fact Mai standing there, only to move his attention back to the desk to avoid the displeased look she was wearing. He wasn't entirely sure what he had done this time but she obviously didn't appreciate it very much.
"I just came to see how your work was coming. No issues, I hope?" Normally he'd believe her but for some reason her words and the expression on her face didn't exactly match up leaving him to wonder which he should be focusing on. Had there been some sort of issue with his work he missed and was coming back now to bite him on his ass? He wished he could say it wasn't but unfortunately it was entirely possible.
Jotting down a reminder to go through his personal project notes again soon he moved them out of the way and, more importantly, atop the sketch he had done of Tsunami stretching to reach the top of a window she had been cleaning earlier. She had been wearing clothes then, his sketch was not. While Mai probably wouldn't have minded he wasn't about to take the chance when she already appeared to be in a bad mood.
"Oh, I'm already done for the day." He answered easily. This had been more common as of late but he wasn't about to question the string of good fortune that was gracing him. "In fact, I'm usually finished before the others. I just hang around in case someone needs to reach me. It's easier if they know they can always find me here in my office, though I have been spending some of my own free time in the library. I usually leave a note or tell one of the Wolves when I do."
Her look told him she didn't believe him. As great as what he said sounded- if he was just in his office because he could be that was up to him, certainly- she knew he was working through the day. She would admit to being impressed that he could handle the workload of three people in a single day but it wasn't something she- or anyone else who cared for him- wanted him doing.
"Done early? Free time?" Her hands found her hips in a pose he was far too familiar with. "I know you're doing Sai and Hana's work while they're away and there's no way you're getting all of that done early."
"Well, no." He frowned. "I get my work done early. Hana's work is typically done around four thirty and Sai's work is done between three and six depending on how much of it is figuring out why the budget never matches up." He frowned. "We still haven't figured that out, actually. I think it might be some sort of curse on his desk from an angered spirit or something. Might have someone try it in their office at some point to test that."
"What do you-" He could see the exact second realization struck. "Clones. You're using clones."
A moment passed and she blinked twice to clear her vision before leaning in slightly to examine his eyes, quickly correcting herself. "You're a clone, aren't you?"
"That's right." Naruto- the clone- nodded. "The original was just making one for Hana and Sai's work at first but he realized that with Isobu-Hime's help there was no reason he couldn't make an extra for his own work." A second later he amended his statement. "Well, beside the headache it gives him, but that's a small price to pay for the amount of time it gives him in return. Definitely more than worth it."
A moron. She felt like an absolute moron. Of course he would be using clones. She even knew he was capable of clones since his had dispelled itself while he was in Mizu no Kuni. She wasn't aware that he could make more than one- though that seemed like it probably should have been likewise obvious - but if he was going to use them for anything it would be to ensure he kept up with his work.
Something else, however, stood out as being much more important at the moment.
"...Isobu-Hime?" Perhaps it was none of her business what women Naruto was spending time with considering they weren't currently in a relationship and she had already been aware that there were plenty of women willing to share his bed but the fact that she hadn't even heard the name before struck her as strange considering how rarely he went out and that she wasn't aware of anyone really coming to visit.
Maybe it was another Konoha ANBU he had befriended and he'd received the help he talked about before they left Konoha? Seemed like a stretch, really, but it was currently her best guess.
"Hmm? Oh, my daughter." He answered absently, pausing when he noticed the confusion on her face growing.
"You have a daughter…?" That was something she damn well should have known about, relationship or not. How had she been unaware that her lord had a child? Well, he had his "son" in the prince. That she was aware of but unless there was some other girl he had taken as his child that she'd somehow never met then she had to assume it was actually a child of his.
She was pretty sure Anko hadn't been pregnant and that she hadn't been sent on vacation so the Tokubetsu Jounin could give birth without Mai being aware, but maybe it had something to do with Orochimaru?
He's mentioned they'd helped him, though, which was also strange. How did this daughter help him make more clones? That didn't make any sense if it was really his daughter.
Naruto's frown mirrored her own. "We're going to have to start sitting down and spending some more time together, Mai."
She nodded in agreement. Yes, they certainly were.
Well, it was certainly a lot more...pink...than he had envisioned. That was for damned sure, mostly because he hadn't planned on any pink and yet at the moment it made up the majority of the structure.
Ganju scratched the back of his neck nervously, not really sure if he should be proud of the progress they had made or disappointed in the fact that it had come down to a suggestion from Tsukuyomi and the special abilities of Guren to get the base in anything closer to working order.
It did sort of sting his pride a little though he did his best to soften it with the fact that he had never built an entire base and certainly not one that was underwater before. It would be a lot easier- he assumed, anyway- to build one above ground and lower it in but this- fixing one that was already submerged? It was proving to be quite tricky. He should really be grateful for the fact that Guren was able to use her ability to seal any questionable areas so they could focus on other work for the time being but it still felt a bit cheap to him.
The fact that her smug smirk had yet to fall wasn't doing his pride any favors either. This was supposed to be his project, damnit.
It still was, really, he just didn't like the fact that for all the work he and his boys had been doing- with the help of the fish-girl Orochimaru had sent their way- was being outshone by the fact that Guren could produce material in any shape they needed instantly and it would stay indefinitely. She could practically make Tsukuyomi a whole new base with that ability so long as he was good with the whole thing being pink. Ganju and his boys were only needed because they were trying to salvage Orochimaru's old work. All it would take was a letter back to Tsukuyomi proposing a fresh base that way and they wouldn't need to be here at all. Well, except for maybe decorating the new base or something.
Still, he couldn't really complain that much. Guren had been kind enough to completely envelop the base in a large, hollow crystal structure that they were currently draining of water so they could work on the outside of the base as easily as Isaribi had been. It would speed up their work tremendously and because Guren had coated everything inside the base with a thin layer of crystal they just had to look out for the pink color on the outside to identify areas with holes and leaks.
All in all it really was quite nice and incredibly helpful for the project but did she really need to shape it into a giant pink heart beneath the water? That was just embarrassing.
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-Eyazahrid