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Sealkeeper: He Who Binds

Chapter 138-A "Sunshrine"

Patron Release 2021.04.20

The back room had been saved specifically for her use, the wooden floors covered in the best rugs available to them and the electric lights removed entirely. It was unfortunate that they had to pick a building without windows to serve their purpose- a place like this should be bathed in Au's light whenever possible- but it became infinitely more difficult to hide when anyone could gaze in and see you.

Perhaps they could utilize some combination of mirrors and thick tapestries to direct light into their sanctuary without allowing anyone to see into it. They would have to experiment if they ever relocated. In fact, a skylight might be useful if they hung something just below it to cut off line of sight but allowed light to spill in across the ceiling.

Yes, that was a much more attractive option.

Not that the current arrangement wasn't comfortable. The warmth of the room mixed with the dim light and a heady mixture of spices and incense made the room- if anything- too comfortable. It was a good thing her new servants entered only briefly in their duties for even she, Akishi the Manipulator - fifthborn of Glorious Au himself, felt eyelids that she shouldn't have grow heavy in the room.

Very little work was done in this room but that was also by design. This was a room of rest, a sanctuary from the sanctuary - a place she could escape her duties just long enough to recuperate and recenter herself as she prepared to shoulder them once more.

Beyond what short naps she had managed to take- by necessity rather than choice for it would seem her strength waned now that she was no longer in the sacred realm of Augoku- this was actually her first time making use of the room while awake. She may have been tempted to take another nap- and her new body was desperately pleading with her to surrender into sweet oblivion for even just a few minutes- if she wasn't expecting a gathering of her faithful shortly.

Her influence was not growing nearly at the rate she would have liked- or had expected when she set off with her task from the High-Priest himself- but considering just how long this world had been without the faith of Au she still considered that progress a success.

To be perfectly honest, any progress was good progress even if it only resulted in the strengthening of the faith for current believers rather than bringing more people into the light of Au. Of course it was somewhat difficult for those approached to not believe in Au when they gazed upon her form. Just basking in her presence filled them with a fervent religious zeal. There were not many orders and faiths in which you had access to physical proof of your deity's power.

Unfortunately she couldn't be the one to directly approach those who would be brought into the fold which meant her followers and the other serpents had to find those with open enough mind to accept their teachings- or at least not dismiss them entirely- before bringing them into her presence. At that point it came down to whether they were willing to serve or if they thought her to be some sort of monstrosity.

Those that believed the latter were struck down for daring to insult a form crafted by Au himself, yet another reason they had to carefully choose who they approached. At the moment their best options were those with no friends or family who were open and receptive to the words of her servants and yet would not be missed should they reject them in the end.

Not the greatest sort of individuals to be brought into her service, admittedly, and certainly doing her no favors in procuring faithful in higher social or political stations but at the moment it would have to suffice. Rushing into things would bring it all crashing down before a full, propper temple to Au could be constructed and with the High-Priest doubtful that they would succeed at all there was no limit to the time she had to lay a proper foundation beyond his own mortality which still gave her roughly a century to work with.

She could manage something in that sort of time, assuming he wasn't otherwise removed from the mortal coil by other means. She would just have to put her faith in those Wolves of his or, more specifically, in the fanatical devotion they had when it came to him. Akishi had no doubts that they would do everything in their power to keep him safe in her absence- she just had to hope it would prove to be enough.

Perhaps these grunts and social rejects she was gathering to her father's banner might have later use in further protecting the High-Priest. It was an honor far beyond any they truly deserved but she could always replace them with more capable individuals as they came under her influence.

Lifting herself above the pile of pillows that served as her bed she arched her back, frowning in distaste as the red Yukata she now wore strained against her. Regardless of its quality- though she had been assured it was indeed quite fine for something created by humans- she found it to be rather confining and uncomfortable.

Almost as uncomfortable as her back.

While strong by human standards, her back- and specifically her spine- was now much weaker than the remaining serpentine body she possessed. There had never been any real hope of it comparing but she hadn't expected to have issues with her sleeping positions- and she was still trying to figure out how to best arrange herself when she slept- or the general aching it gave as she kept her body upright throughout the day.

Yet another thing to get used to as, unfortunately, the first Ak'Gyun in millenia couldn't go throughout the world on her belly.

Perhaps she would need to ask one of the servants what humans did when- and if- they encountered the same issues. Hopefully it wasn't something exclusive to her new form and was instead just a consequence of having the torso of a human.

Or, perhaps, it was simply additional punishment from Au. She tried not to dwell on that possibility too much, mostly by reminding herself that Great Au wanted her to succeed and would refrain from any punishments that might hamper such efforts until after she had succeeded.

Having relieved her back as much as she was capable of on her own, Akishi took a quick glance around the room to ensure everything was still in order. While it was her personal quarters- of a sorts- the servants still came back here to maintain it and to access the most important object here- the Sunshrine.

That was, without a doubt, the accomplishment Akishi was the most proud of. It had not been easy for her to have a suitable Sunshrine crafted by human hands but she had managed to use her new servants to secure the talents of a skilled craftsman who had been able to follow the specifications she provided exactly and the product was exquisite.

It had also cost her everything the new faithful had been scrounging together for as long as she'd been here in Erai Onsen Kyūden Ichi - which was a name she was going to beg the High-Priest to change if he intended to stay here after she had taken it over for him- but the results were well worth it and more. The main body of the Sunshrine was the copper-gold alloy coiled in the same design as the High-Priest's amulet, rings of the reddish gold twisting together like a serpent in a perfect circle. Unlike the amulet which left the center hollow, the Sunshrine was filled with a thin sheet of gold that had been carefully polished and treated to a mirror finish. Six rubies each the size of a human eye were spaced evenlyt apart and behind each thin triangles spread out like sunbeams in a much more red alloy.

Of course, the most important contribution had been from herself as she blessed the finished collection of metal and precious stone with the Light of Au to truly turn it into a Sunshrine.

An absolute necessity in any temple to Au, it did far more than just represent the Great Golden Serpent God and allowed the resplendent light of Au to fill the temple at all times. Normally it would be positioned under an opening allowing it to catch the light of the sun naturally throughout the day but in this case they didn't have that option so three chosen servants would have to take it outside each day and spend thirteen minutes before and after the minute of the sun's- Au's- zenith reciting the prayers that would allow it to retain his light.

Even now, hidden away from the rest of the world as she was in this back room she could feel the presence of Au emanating from the Sunshrine. It was in no small part why this room felt so comfortable to her; it was as if she were back on Mt. Aogi rather than temporarily banished to the physical realm.

What she had not told the servants, however, was that because Au's light came from the Sunshrine even when it was stored away in her chambers his light continued to touch their current residence which meant he was aware of everything that happened within it. There could be no hiding from Au within his temple, even a temporary one such as this.

Hopefully he was as pleased with her progress thus far as she was.

She didn't like to think of the consequences if he wasn't.

It wasn't often he left himself work he realized, looking down at the letter on his desk bemused. Only the most important or most interesting things were set aside by his clones for him to personally review on the very slight chance that the clone might make a poor decision. Naruto supposed there was some merit to that, simply because a single clone might not have the full picture of an issue that Naruto could have gained from one- or both- of the others.

It also guaranteed that it would be brought to his attention, avoiding the possibility of the fact that it was opened and read being buried in memories of other tasks that had been completed throughout the day.

Still, he had to wonder why the clone had decided this plain envelope required his attention.

Flipping it over he paused, blinking in surprise. Oh, yes, that would catch his attention.

Naruto of the House of Wolves, Palace of Nami no Kuni

He couldn't remember the last thing he had received in the mail actually addressed to him personally and was absolutely certain no one had ever sent anything to him as a member of a house of Wolves rather than the head.

How strange.

Opening the envelope he fished out the letter, making note of the cheap paper and the slightly smudged ink. Despite mentioning the house of Wolves it seemed a rather mundane letter, all considered. The sort of thing sent between friends catching up or wayward sons to their family rather than any formal sort of communication.

The first time his eyes traversed the paper he quickly scanned it for any key words that would give him an initial idea of what this was about but all that caught his attention was the word 'assistance' and, most strangely, 'Naruko'.

More confused than before he took a seat at his desk and set about reading it properly, his brow steadily rising. By the time it was done his raised brow had been replaced by an amused grin. Oh, yes, definitely a first.

A Kirigakure Kunoichi reaching out to him to request 'assistance'? Ignoring the fact that they were looking for financial assistance for their long-term mission in Mizu no Kuni's capital Namihime, just the fact that they would approach him of all people was nearly baffling. The identity of this specific Kunoichi, however, helped it make much more sense.

Chunin Yuki Haku of Kirigakure, Apprentice to Momoichi Zabuza of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shū and close friend of Uzumaki Naruko.

Close friend? He had to hold back a snort. That position was pretty much default for anyone who was friends with his sister considering just how few she actually had. Sakura might be considered a friend instead of just her teammate but he remained skeptical. Assuming Haku really was a friend- and considering their last conversation Naruto suspected she might be a bit more- she was likely Naruko's only friend.

Why she had decided she should ask him of all people she didn't really get into in the letter and he was almost tempted to write back to ask but in the end it really wasn't that important. What was important was whether or not he was going to grant such a request.

On one hand it would be helping Kirigakure in a way but on the other he was amused that she had even tried. She'd been the one to keep Zabuza from further delaying him in Kirigakure too, or was the one he suspected anyway. He supposed those together were deserving of at least some consideration.

He could only imagine the confusion it would cause if Kirigakure were to learn that he of all people was funding one of their missions. That was a thought almost as amusing as Haku's request and he was very tempted to grant it on that basis alone.

You know what? Fuck it. He had more than enough money doing absolutely nothing, he could spare a bit for her so long as she agreed to let Mei know who was funding her current mission. Another chance to step on Kirigakure pride was more than worth it.

Making a note to send her the funds and instructions to report them back to Kiri he took a second to look around his office. More strange than leaving work for him was the fact that his clone wasn't here and- as far as he could tell- there was no note left behind for anyone looking for him either.

He had to wonder where Naruto had gotten off to and what he was doing.

"I think I saw him move to one of the meeting rooms on the second floor but I hear his son looks a lot like him too, so maybe it was the prince." Rikabe wasn't one of the servants- slaves, really- who advocated their situation under the Wolves but neither was she one of those who were looking for a way to escape. She knew she couldn't survive on her own as she was now and while her family would possibly take her back in she had very little desire to put herself under their roof again when they had been the ones to sell her in the first place.

No, Rikabe had decided she would spend a few years working here in Tsukuyomi's palace learning what she could under Tsunami and taking whatever lessons she could squeeze in from those in the kitchens so that when she did manage to leave she would have skills that she could use to support herself in any restaurant or inn throughout the elemental nation. With experience working for the Daimyo of Nami no Kuni she might actually swing a position in the palace of some other Daimyo, even a lesser one.

The work itself wasn't bad, after all, and she might go as far as to say she actually kind of enjoyed it but she would much rather be paid for the work she was doing. They were taken care of here with comfortable rooms and good food- both of which was probably better than it would be elsewhere- but she would rather have worse food and bare quarters if it meant having the freedoms money could provide in her life. It would be nice to decide what she ate, what she wore, and where she lived.

Until then, however, she would bide her time and make the most of things here in the palace. This was a setback, perhaps, but it was also an opportunity and only idiots wouldn't see it for such and take every advantage they could from it.

Idiots like Itana and the girls who were trying to squirrel away supplies to make a break for it. There was no proof, of course, and Tsunami seemed entirely too busy to bother tracking down the slight discrepancies between inventory records and their actual on-hand supply but Itana was hardly subtle when she wore that smug grin of hers after every delivery to the palace from Hanahime.

Rikabe was half-tempted to bring it up to Tsunami- or maybe one of the Wolves, they were sure to take affront to anyone stealing from the palace and, thus, stealing from Tsukuyomi himself- but considering the Wolves here were actual Shinobi and even Rikabe was able to tell what Itana was doing it was likely that they were completely aware.

She did wonder how she planned to get out, though. Maybe she was going to try hitching a ride out in the cart that delivered the supplies? If that was the case she couldn't help but question why they hadn't done so already. Even if they were getting away with their thefts and the Wolves didn't suspect them- by some miracle- they were only risking being discovered each time they didn't take the opportunity to run.

Maybe they needed the supplies to bribe the driver? Wouldn't matter if they just snuck on, though, so that didn't make much sense. It wouldn't be that hard for them to escape Nami once they reached the city. Supplies or no, there were ways to pay for passage out of Nami no Kuni if they were that determined to leave.

Then again, maybe it was a good thing Rikabe didn't understand what the hell Itana was planning. It wouldn't speak well of her intelligence if she understood whatever harebrained scheme that the girl- because it was hard to think of the idiot as a woman with how naive and short-sighted she was- had managed to piece together with her little friends.

"I don't think the prince goes to any of the meetings, though." Was Hiyaki's contribution. "The only time he's down on the lower levels he's either going to the kitchens for a snack or he's off to visit his family in Hanahime."

Kiyake was a bit younger than both Rikabe and Itana, somewhere between fifteen and seventeen though Rikabe had never bothered to ask and Kiyake hadn't volunteered the information. Like Itana she was a bit naive but her beliefs went in the complete opposite direction.

As she saw it, the Wolves had rescued her from a life of poverty and a family that would sell her just to continue on living in the country for just a bit longer rather than getting out. If they had used the money they received from the Wolves to flee with her younger siblings, Kiyake had admitted, she wouldn't have been able to resent them for selling her as they did. They didn't, maintaining instead the family home that was ready to fall at any moment after years of neglect. It was fortunate that the Wolves had soon thereafter taken control of Nami no Kuni because her parents hadn't had any more daughters to sell and Kiyake would have hated to know her younger brothers had been forced into the streets.

The only thing her parents had done right was to sell her to the Wolves instead of to Gato or his thugs but even that, she suspected, was more due to the prices the Wolves offered rather than any attempt to see that their daughter would suffer less.

All in all, she considered her new position in life to be an absolute blessing. She was kept warm and dry, she never went hungry, and she had a nice, soft bed to retire to at the end of every day. As far as she was concerned, she was working at the palace in exchange for a life of practical luxury.

Rikabe didn't exactly agree but she could understand where the younger woman was coming from and was much more supportive of those beliefs than those of people like Itana.

Some people, she knew, were simply the sort that enjoyed serving others and there was nothing wrong with that. If she enjoyed her position and it provided her a better life than she'd had previously then Rikabe couldn't really fault her for her opinion and wished her all the best.

"Do we know what family he has in Hanahime? It's strange that they would be in the city instead of here in the palace." Ajirita leaned more towards Itana's opinion that they were slaves than needed to escape- they were. Slaves, that is- but like Rikabe she admitted that they were well taken care of and as much as she'd like to leave it was best to wait until they could support themselves out in the world on their own.

Also like Rikabe, she was more than willing to put in her fair share of work in exchange for the food and lodging that they were being provided. Not only was it fair on their end- and gods knew the Wolves were being more than generous with expected work and what they were being provided with- but it was only fair for poor Tsunami who was tasked with looking over them.

People like Itana liked to spout off that they were here against their will and wouldn't stand for kidnapping and slavery, refusing to do a majority of the tasks assigned to them in 'protest'. They had no problem, however, taking advantage of the full kitchens and comfortable rooms. As scary as an angry Tsunami could be, the woman always hesitated to dish out any punishments, too sympathetic to the young woman under her authority.

Even Rikabe who most certainly didn't want to be here a minute more than she had to thought those girls needed a swift kick to the rear and to put in at least some work for Tsunami's sake if nothing else.

As it was the woman had already taken up all their duties on the upper floor, greatly reducing the work the rest of them had to do. 'Seeing to the Daimyo personally', Tsunami had said. There were many days in which Rikabe- and the others- wondered just how 'personally' that ended up being.

In the end she supposed it probably wasn't any of her business if the mistress of the palace was willingly sharing the Daimyo's bed.

Of course with Tsunami taking the topmost floor none of them were ever allowed up there and considering that all of the important guests had permanent rooms up there and few of them came down regularly it led to more than a little speculation between the servants when the work was done.

"I think I've heard of a brother." Said Kiyake "But wouldn't that make him a prince too?"

"Could be a half-brother." Was Rikabe's suggestion. "If the woman who gave birth to Gaara was already a mother or if she lost favor and had a son with someone she found after being kicked out from the palace. Would explain why the prince has to visit them instead of coming here."

The other two nodded in understanding, that made sense.

"I heard some of the others mentioning that his brother lives with his father-"

"Makes sense."

"But they were referring to the prince's father." Kiyake and Rikabe shared puzzled frowns.

"That makes less." Rikabe huffed. "Just what the hell is going on with the Daimyo's family?"

"You think Tsunami might know?" It was a bit hopeful but that was nothing new coming from Kiyake.

"Possibly," Rikabe admitted, crossing her arms. "But would she tell that to us?"

"Only one way to find out." Ajirita stood up from the crate she had claimed. "Come on, break's over. Next one to see Tsunami-sama gets to ask her."

"And if she doesn't know?" Kiyake brushed off her work apron. Tsunami took great pride in both the quality and appearance of the workers under her and one of the fastest ways to upset her was to be seen in a dirty or otherwise disheveled uniform. Kiyake had too much respect for the woman to do that to her.

Ajirita shrugged. "I don't know, you could ask the prince the next time he's in the kitchens if you're feeling daring. Maybe he won't be too upset being bothered by a slave."

The three shared a look and Rikabe gave an amused snort. Yeah, like any of them were going to be trying that anytime soon. They'd stick to hoping Tsunami was willing to be forthcoming, thank you.

"So you've been using three clones every day?"

"I've only added the third- myself- two weeks ago. It causes a bit of a headache each night but it's more than manageable." Naruto-the clone- answered with a nod.

"And clones have different eye colors?"

"That's right. You can tell we're clones because the Chakra the original uses to make us affects the color our eyes turn out. The gold eyes on the first clone you met were because of Karrua- the Ichibi."

"I remember that." Mai had thought he had meant that Karura's chakra was changing his eyes at first which was rather disappointing considering just how pretty she found his purple eyes but that Naruto had proven to be a clone while the real one was off in Mizu no Kuni. Finding out like that had been terribly stressful. "What are the teal eyes from?"

"Isobu-Hime, the Sanbi." He explained. "I ripped her from Yagura while I was in Mizu no Kuni which is how he died. There's no real defence for having your Biju unsealed beyond not letting it happen. All I really had to do was restrain him enough to make contact with his seal for a second. After that there was nothing he could do."

Mai hummed in understanding and took a sip of whatever the clone had poured for her. She hadn't bothered to examine the bottle and she was too distracted by her thoughts to even taste what she was drinking. All she really knew was that it burned her throat pleasantly and that was good enough for her.

"Two of us are created using Isobu-Hime and one using Karrua. We could all be created using just Karura but Isobu wants the chance to help out too."

"Then why not just use the Sanbi's Chakra?"

"Isobu, please." He corrected. "She's my daughter. Karura enjoys it when I use her Chakra and I would hate for her to feel neglected."

"Isobu, of course." She paused with a question on the tip of her tongue, wondering if she should even ask, before she gave a half-shrug, downed the rest of her drink, and just asked anyway. "So how did she come to be your daughter anyway?"

"Karura." It was a one-word answer as if it should explain everything- which it didn't- but perhaps realizing that his explanation was lacking he elaborated. "Karura encountered Isobu soon after she was sealed within me and while they're technically sisters- of a sort- Karura decided to become her mother figure. Something about Isobu-Hime being too adorable to resist. Of course by the time I met little Isobu Karura had already convinced the girl I was her father and I really had no way to tell her otherwise."

He smiled gently as he remembered their first meeting before returning himself to the conversation. "It's given Gaara another sister, too, one not fulfilling the role of mother in the real world. I think that might have been the real reason she did it. She really does care for that boy."

"Is it...safe...for you to have two Biju within you?" She'd like to assume he hadn't been doing anything that might put him in danger but she knew who she was dealing with. It was inevitable he'd end up doing something sooner or later that might prove rather detrimental to his continued survival just because he thought it would benefit the Wolves.

Jinchuriki was not an area many people- even sealmasters- specialized in and being as new as they were- within the last hundred years or so- there wasn't a whole lot known about the effect they could have on their hosts. Mai hadn't ever heard of someone being a host to more than one Biju, either, so that was completely new territory.

With a wave of his free hand he dismissed her concern. "Oh, it's fine. Neither is actually 'in' me, there's just a connection between me and the dimensional space they currently occupy. Technically that connection could be destroyed without withdrawing the Biju from the seal. The dimensional space, no longer defined by the seal, would quickly collapse and the Biju should, theoretically, be pushed back into this realm." He paused to take a sip of his own drink before negligently adding; "Well, it should, anyway. Considering the space-time implications and the sheer amount of energy each and every Biju represents they could end up anywhere or anywhen and there's no real way to tell for sure without testing it. Would allow the removal of a Biju without burning out the host, though."

"...And that makes it less dangerous?" She was- perhaps rightfully- skeptical.

"...To me, I suppose." Was all he could really offer. "The Biju can be disconnected from me if there's an issue and I won't be in any danger but they could cause massive damage somewhere or somewhen else. I would also be worried about Isobu-Hime and Karura during the process. I can't imagine it would be comfortable and it would probably be a rather distressing experience."

Mai shot him a fond smile over her glass. "Only you, Naruto, would be worried about the well-being of Biju."

He only shrugged.

Sealkeeper: He Who Binds

Chapter 138-B "Lakes and Lumber"

Patron Release: 2021.04.23

"There's no way," Juugo shook his head. "No fucking way that we can make that sort of progress unless they expect us to be running twenty-four seven with a full crew and that's going to require at least another half-dozen workers and some way to light the tracks every night."

From beside him Yaiji patted his shoulder. "Welcome to Crew Lead where we make the impossible possible or get executed trying." The senior Crew Lead drained the rest of his drink and peered back down at the papers Juugo had spread over the booth in the town's better restaurant. That wasn't exactly saying much, honestly, but it was mostly clean and most of the riff-raff stuck to the other location due to ever so cheaper pricing.

The privacy was worth spending a few extra yen on the piss they were passing off as beer. He hadn't felt like tempting fate and ordering any food but from the corner of his eye he could see Kari in another booth picking at whatever she had ordered which told him he had probably made the right call.

He was really missing the last town they had stayed in, things were much better there.

"I don't suppose we have anything left in the budget, do we?" Juugo looked up from the papers and shot a look at his former boss that came very close to daring to be hopeful. He wasn't expecting anything to be that simple, of course, and Yaiji was proud of how quickly Juugo had adapted the mindset of management.

In that sense, the "hopeful" expression was really more "pleading" than anything.

"Let's put it this way," Yaiji started. "Topping up on coal yesterday came from my paycheck."

Juugo cursed and turned back to the papers, staring down with unseeing eyes. For a few quiet minutes he pondered the situation, what would have been silence interrupted by the occasional scrape of Kari's utensils against her plate and a few murmurs from locals on the other side of the room.

"...Hey...Yaiji..?"

"Yeah?"

"...What sort of authority do we have in Yuki no Kuni?"

One of Yaiji's brows rose in surprise. "Not a whole lot, really. What are you thinking?"

"Resources. Natural resources. Are there limitations to how we can utilize them if we're the ones to gather them?"

"We really don't have any rights to things like the mines if that's what you're thinking. There aren't any protected forests or lakes so hunting and fishing is pretty much just a free for all, but I don't think you'd be able to raise anywhere near what we need with that."

"I was thinking more lumber." Juugo admitted. "We already have to clear a large number of trees to get through the valley, is there anything to stop us from making use of it?"

"Hmmm." Stroking his chin in thought, Yaiji tried to think of any reason they wouldn't be able to. "The bosses might not like you selling it but as far as I know there's nothing saying you can't. Could probably get away with trading it more easily, they're bound to overlook us trading trees that were in the way in exchange for coal or replacement tools for our work."

Nodding, Juugo continued to frown down at the papers. Specifically at a map of the area they had to get through. "And what about to build structures?"

"...What sort of structures?"

"Some sort of cover would be fantastic, we lose a lot of time each day trying to clear the night's snow so we can work. A solid fence on either side of the track would help with snow sliding down the hills, at least a little bit. We also have to consider the lake. I understand it's often frozen but I know there are fishing seasons here in Yuki where the ice thins considerably. Doto wants it to cut directly across the lake here-" He pointed to the center of the map where a large lake sat in the middle of a bowl of mountains. Only a valley path at the south-west and north-east allowed access unless you were up to some mountain climbing. "If we build some sort of loose bridge across and then place the tracks atop it we could spread the weight of the tracks and trains across more surface area and hopefully not lose any."

He looked up to catch Yaiji's eye. "Unless you think we have some spare steel we could use to create supports down to the bottom of the lake."

"I fucking wish." The senior Crew Lead thought for a minute before sighing. "It all sounds really good but before committing it would probably be best to speak with Tanaka-san. He'll be able to confirm and if we're really lucky maybe we can convince him for more supplies or a few extra workers from one of the other projects."

"Can we speak to him soon? If we're going to do these we need to start as soon as possible or we'll be even more behind."

"Depends," Yaiji gave a slightly defeated grin. "How do you feel about taking the ol' rustbucket over to the railway offices? We can split the coal."

Ah. it was going to be one of those nights, then.

"You sleep there I sleep on the way back?" Juugo proposed. Yaiji's face immediately lit up.

"Deal!" He grinned. "I like the way you think. I'm going to grab some blankets and maybe a change of clothes for tomorrow in case things take a while. Meet you at the train in half an hour?"

Juugo was going to agree when Kari managed to catch his eye and mouthed something to him. "...How about an hour?"

Yaiji's grin became knowing. "Yeah, yeah, that's fine. Have fun you two."

Juugo pretended not to know what he was talking about. Kari didn't bother and let her own smile speak volumes. "Oh, we will." She assured him. "I'll have him back to you soon."

There was no denying the work here was tough and that the mission Juugo had been given wasn't going to be easy but as Kari started dragging him back to their shared room Juugo realized he wouldn't be willing to trade it for anything in the world.

"Gentlemen." Naruto greeted them as they entered his personal dining room. "Thank you for meeting with me."

Sasori and Deidara shared a look before shrugging and taking seats at the table across from the young Daimyo. "Er, sure, no problem Daimyo-sama, yeah."

"It's only polite." Sasori agreed.

"Of course, of course." Naruto rested his lips against entwined hands and looked between the two of them for several seconds. Sasori looked remarkably similar to Gaara, now that he took the time to examine him, and that probably helped the group avoid more attention when they were traveling.

Deidara, well, as far as Iwagakure Bingo Books were concerned Deidara was a man but Naruto had his doubts. Probably helped the appearance of 'family' Gaara's group had during their vacation though he wondered if either he or Rasa was aware that people probably thought the Mad Bomber was the mother.

Naruto would try to avoid bringing it up.

"I'm sure the two of you can probably understand why I've asked to speak with you today. It may be quite a bit later than I would have liked but I've been rather...occupied… as of late." Technically yes, but also not. With clones doing the actual work he- the original- had plenty of time he could have set aside to meet with them but had instead used it on many of the individuals who were after his attention.

He preferred dealing with them anyway so it was no real surprise who he had chosen.

"Uh, no, yeah. I have no idea." Deidara paused for a second before adding -as if to confirm what he'd just said- "Yeah….?". He didn't sound too sure of himself.

Sasori sent the Iwagakure Nukenin a sideways glance that screamed accusations about the blond man's intelligence before he answered. "Because you have recently found yourself with two S-Ranked Nukenin in your country, both of whom were members of Akatsuki." He paused for a second, considering, before deciding it was in his best interest to remain as polite as possible if the man across the table from him caused Biju to cower from him in terror. "Tsukuyomi-Sama."

"Exactly." Naruto nodded, pleased that at least one of them was aware of the because someone was S-Ranked or had managed to avoid Hunter-Nin for any length of time didn't necessarily mean they were smart and Naruto really wasn't in the mood to deal with two overpowered idiots.

He'd sent Kisame back to Ame, after all. His patience was not without limit.

The whole "spying" thing was more of an excuse to get rid of him than anything else.

"If it's not too much trouble, I would like to hear from the two of you why you decided to follow Gaara and his family back and what it is you're intending to be doing during your stay in Hanahime and my country."

"Oooooh," Deidara's head bobbed in understanding. "Yeah, I could see why you might want to know something like that."

"Considering you're known as the "Mad Bomber"," Naruto shot him a pointed look. "Yes, I very much would like to know who was here and what they intended to do."

The blond gave a sheepish chuckle and rubbed the back of his head nervously. Yeah, that probably should have been obvious.

"Perhaps we should start with you, Akasuna no Sasori?"

"We had been seeking out Gaara as the holder of the Ichibi but lost them in Shimo no Kuni. We ended up coming across them but, not recognizing them, instead ended up asking for directions. Well," he shot another look towards Deidara. "Deidara did. Told them we were looking for someone we thought might have gone to Kaminari no Kuni and they directed us towards the town of Shima and pointed us towards Kaminari no Kuni. Before we left Deidara admitted we were looking for the Ichibi Jinchuriki which is when...your son...mentioned he was the former Ichibi Jinchuriki."

"I see."

"I thought he might have been mistaken at first but everyone there was certain you had taken the Ichibi and were very skilled in seals. There also came the possibility of you possessing a second Biju, that the Ichibi was terrified of you, and that the Kyuubi was...being punished." Even in a puppet body Sasori looked distinctly uncomfortable at even the idea of that being the case. "When Rasa mentioned that you were also Orochimaru's godson we realized that even if Akatsuki was paying really, really well that we really didn't want to deal with this mess you had made out of what was supposed to be a rather straightforward mission."

"And so you decided to join them?"

"It had been a long time since I was able to speak with a puppeteer and I quite enjoyed it. With nothing else to really do I accompanied them on their vacation and, eventually, back here. I've been quite interested in the project you've given to Shizune-Sensei and her team, especially due to how much it reminds me of how I've made use of Hiruko over the years."

Naruto nodded. That made some sense, he supposed, and if all he had to do to keep the man out of trouble was ensure there were puppeteering projects going on, well, he already needed to do that to keep Clicky occupied and give Shizune's team further purpose.

"Don't harm any of my citizens." Was Naruto's warning before turning his attention to Deidara. "And you?"

"Well, it was the same, yeah? We met them and all but we didn't want to deal with trying to get the Ichibi from you so we just went along with them. I didn't have anything better to do anyway, yeah."

"And what are your plans?"

"...To do what Temari says?"

Naruto's incredulous look prompted Sasori to add his own opinion.

"That girl is scary, Tsukuyomi-sama."

"She's at most Chunin. Somewhere between C and B rank. You're both infamous S-rank Shinobi."

"But she's scary, yeah?"

Not for the first time, Naruto wondered just what the fuck was wrong with Shinobi.

If there was one thing Tanaka Hyuran hadn't expected it was to be woken up in the middle of the night by his two best Crew Leads who were supposed to be stationed at a project three towns away. Blinking bleary black eyes in surprise he shook his head and moved to the side so the two could come in out of the snow.

"Juugo, Yaiji," He greeted them. "I didn't expect you to be dropping by."

"Sorry." Yaiji gave a sheepish grin. "We were trying to figure out some problems with resources and staffing and we thought it best to run some of the solutions by you before implementing them."

"Of course, of course." Tanaka shook his head, well aware of how impossible some of the tasks their crews had to deal with were. That two of his Crew Leads were apparently up all night to get things in order really shouldn't surprise him. "Take a seat, I'll put a kettle on." The man went deeper into the house while Juugo and Yaiji claimed positions close to the small fireplace. The embers hadn't quite died out yet and the two were more than happy to take advantage of the added heat.

Yaiji had just hung up his blanket near the fireplace in hopes of it drying before the return journey when Tanaka came back in with three cups and a kettle of tea. He set them down on his coffee table before moving to turn on a lamp in the corner and then took a minute to restart the fire with the smallest piece of wood he could find.

"So," The project lead took his own seat, leaning over to pour himself a cup of tea. "What were the problems you were encountering and what solutions did you come up with that would require you to run them by me?"

"First, we were wondering if you could confirm whether or not we can utilize natural resources we encounter while working. Specifically things we have to remove anyway such as lumber."

"Technically? No. You can't touch anything that isn't directly tied to the railroads. Unofficially we don't have orders for what to do with anything else that ends up being gathered while you work. As far as Doto and his people are concerned we're using the trees for railroad ties, scraps for firewood, and everything else has been set aside to rot. They'll probably assume it was harvested by local villages for firewood should it go missing, if that's what you're worried about."

Juugo nodded. "I had thought about selling off the lumber for further funding but I think it might be more prudent to use it in other ways."

"Oh?" A bushy black brow rose. "What would you use it for?"

"There are a couple things that would help us reach the deadline on our current budget. Mainly we need to keep nature from undoing our work. To that end I think a cover over the area we're working would go a long way. The problem with that is, of course, we either have to make it cover the entirety of the railway or it has to be moveable so we can relocate it section by section." Juugo paused to make sure Tanaka was following along.

"In a similar vein, if we put barriers to either side it could help keep snow from building up on the tracks, catching that which slides down the hill. As we're in the middle of a pretty narrow valley it would be wise to do it on either side. When it comes to structure, however, we may have an issue crossing the lake."

"Wait, wait." Tanaka sat up, startled, and nearly spilled his tea. "What do you mean 'lake'? There was no talk of any lake when we were planning the project."

Juugo and Yaiji shared a look before the latter pulled out their papers from the leather bag they were stored in and spread them over the coffee table.

"This here, in the center," Juugo pointed to the location on the map. "That's a lake. Cartographers only went to the edge of the valley as far as we can tell and must not have seen the lake under the snow that had built up. We sent people ahead to mark the trees that needed to be removed and confirm the distance could be covered by the supplies we had. It can, barely, but only if we cut directly across the lake. Right now it's fine but come fishing season…."

"Gods be damned, the whole thing's probably going to end up being swallowed." Tanaka looked like he was a second away from throwing his cup of tea into the fire. "We don't have anything else to spare, either." He stared at his cup for a second before placing it down on the table in disgust before reaching into a nearby cabinet and pulling out a bottle and three cigars.

"I keep these for special occasions or for when I'm overly stressed." He used a hand to silently invite them to take one for themselves. "In this case it's the latter, let's hope your idea can turn it into the former."

Juugo examined the cigar curiously, watching as the other two lit there own and began pouring something a bit stronger than tea. With a shrug he stuffed it into his shirt and started laying out his plan.

"Preferably we'd be able to get our hands on enough steel to use as supports for a proper bridge but considering the cartographers missed the fact that there's a lake there I doubt they know how deep it goes or how much steel we would need for the supports. We could try to use any trees we cut down for the same but they won't be as strong and even treated I don't think they would last long beneath the lake before rotting away. Instead we can create a bridge just over the ice but spread it out to help disperse the weight across a greater surface area. With any luck it will be enough to allow trains to pass over without falling into the lake. They'll need to be treated, though, or the moisture from the snow could have them rot out pretty quickly. Not as bad as the lake, but we'd probably be swapping out within the year just to be safe."

Tanaka nodded, following along, and Juugo brought out one more idea he'd had.

"Another option is to get rock from the mines. We could build up a path that cuts through the lake and lay the tracks on that. We'd essentially be turning one lake into two and I'm not sure how we could keep the rock together well, but it gives the mines somewhere to dump it and doesn't require anything more expensive like iron or steel. Of course, after that the only real option is to go around the lake and unless we want to try convincing Doto that the valley would make an excellent location for a tourist resort and that the money spent in moving the tracks towards the mountains could then be made up by people paying for passage to said resort, well, we don't have anything else to try."

"That's….that's not a bad idea." Tanaka gave Juugo a strange look. "None of those were bad, really. I don't suppose you have other ideas that might improve how the railroad is built, maintained, or used now would you?"

"I have...a couple...I suppose."

"I'm not going to promise anything, especially not results," Tanaka warned them. "But in the morning I'll reach out to a few people and see if we can get a few minutes of time from one of Doto's advisors. You tell him all your ideas and maybe he'll like one or two of them and be able to get Doto to go for them." He looked between the two crew leads. "Because of travel, however, sending you back just to need to recall you again would be foolish. Yaiji, you're going to be in charge of both teams. Send Juugo back some of his things if you can." His attention moved to Juugo. "You'll be here for the next day or two, at least until we can confirm when we have an audience." His voice dropped to a whisper. "If we can get an audience."

Shaking his head he continued at his regular volume. "You can take the couch in the meantime, I'll find something for you to do in the morning."

Not exactly what Juugo had planned but if it got results he couldn't really complain. He just had to hope Kari wouldn't be too mad at him for not coming back.

She had really hoped that with Kisame being sent back to Ame to take up her role of spy that she would be able to spend more time with her son either in Konoha or during his visits to Nami no Kuni.

Mikoto hadn't even been able to keep ahold of that fantasy for a week before it came crashing down on her. Kisame was a powerful fighter, a skilled swordsman, and generally a pretty decent person to hang out with all things considered.

What he wasn't was a spy.

He had all the subtlety of a rampaging Bijuu- fitting considering he was known as the Tailless Bijuu- and hsi reports were beyond lacking. So, with heavy heart, Tobi had returned from her personal business to resume her position in Akatsuki once again. There wasn't a whole lot going on in the organization at the moment as they continued to track down the Jinchuriki but it became immediately obvious to her that the locations of Akatsuki members had adjusted drastically which Kisame had missed entirely.

Kukazu, for instance, was not in Kuma no Kuni but was now skulking around Kawa no Kuni following rumors that the Rokubi Jinchuriki had been in the area, probably hiding so he wouldn't be pulled back to Kirigakure. Mikoto couldn't say she blamed them for trying to avoid that mess.

Kawa, however, was quite a bit closer than Kuma and having an S-Ranked Shinobi who belonged to an organization hunting Bijuu nearby was the sort of thing that needed to be communicated back to the Wolves.

As she recently learned that Naruto was back in Nami no Kuni that was even more important. He did, after all, possess two of the Bijuu Akatsuki was searching for.

Of course, it also came to her attention that two of those Akatsuki were currently in Nami no Kuni, too. The only reason she wasn't more panicked was because she hadn't learned that through Akatsuki which meant they probably weren't supposed to be there.

She did, however, need to figure out why they were there.

Which is why she slipped off again- hopefully Kisame would manage to hold things down for at least a few days- to find out for herself.

The chance to see Naruto again was just a pleasant coincidence, really.

One se fully intended to take advantage of but a coincidence nonetheless.

Fortunately the Wolves had become used to her and didn't question when she showed up in her orange mask and her Akatsuki cloak, moving out of her way and clearing the path to the palace. She didn't need to ask where he would be. While Naruto ensured his Wolves received attention he remained an overall private sort of person and, like in Konoha, he was most comfortable in his own little domain.

In this case that meant the upper floor of the palace, a place reserved solely for him and his personal guests in the same manner his sprawling apartment in Konoha had been used.

She continued up the various stairways without breaking stride, though the presence of so many people she couldn't recognize caused her to frown behind her mask. They weren't Wolves and they didn't strike her as Shinobi- in which case they would have to be really, really good Shinobi to hide that fact from her- and from the way the stopped and stared at her in surprise and no small amounts of fear she felt pretty confident in assuming they were civilians.

Which begged the questions of why these civilians were scurrying about her son's palace. Servants she could understand but he already had servants. She really doubted he'd suddenly found himself desperately needing so many more and even then she wouldn't be able to understand hiring middle-aged men to perform that task.

The last time she'd checked all of the palace servants were young women under Tsunami's command. It seemed much more appropriate for her son to be surrounded by pretty young women and she was sure Nami hadn't completely run out of them. There was no reason to resort to older men.

Unless, perhaps, the men stuck down to the lower levels and he used the young women exclusively on his private floor. That, she admitted, she could understand even if she thought it would be better to keep them all similar. Even women around Tsunami's age- and she very carefully ignored the fact that the woman was probably younger than her by a few years- would be preferable.

She set the matter aside for now- it was minor compared to figuring out what Sasori and Deidara were up to or visiting Naruto- and instead focused on finding Naruto. It wasn't quite mid morning yet so she figured his office was probably a damn good bet.

She was right- four times over.

Mikoto paused in surprise as she opened his office door and was greeted to the sight of four Naruto's leaning over the desk, obviously having been in some sort of discussion when they turned as one to see who had interrupted them.

"Ah, Mikoto."

"It's good to see you."

"I wasn't aware you would be stopping by."

"Is there something you required of me?"

To their credit they didn't speak over each other and it almost came across as a greeting from a single person but Mikoto found it to be more than a little surreal. She had seen clones, of course, but that was reserved almost exclusively for combat. They were rarely just out and about as part of daily life and she had never seen someone consulting with them before.

The four Narutos shared a look before one of them- Mikoto assumed he was the real one- spoke. "Well, I do believe we can end this here for the time being. We'll resume the meeting later, perhaps tonight before dispelling?" He proposed.

"Unless any of you are up for a working lunch?" Suggested another. They all shared looks again before nodding.

"Working lunch it is. Until then, gentlemen." The four of them gathered up folders and notebooks before one of them sat at the desk, two others passed her with a quiet "Good Morning Mikoto", and the final Naruto approached and gave her a brief hug.

"Come on, we can take over my library." He must have seen the confused look she gave the Naruto sitting behind his desk. "Don't worry about him. I set a clone for my paperwork so that I can see to other things throughout the day."

"Ah, of course." She didn't really think that was entirely wise but the last thing she wanted was for him to think she doubted him. "They deal with some important things, then. I would have expected you to want to handle such personally."

"I am, technically." As if sensing the skepticism hidden by her mask he paused and turned back to look at her. "They're Kage Bunshin, Mikoto. I receive all of their memories and they behave just like me. If something's especially important they'll set it aside for me to review."

Ah, that made much more sense. She was surprised he had managed to get his hands on a Konhagakure Kinjutu but then again maybe it wasn't really so hard to believe considering how many connections he had in that village. Even the Sandaime favored him- to a degree- so it wasn't hard to believe he may have provided that near the beginning of Naruto's Shinobi career.

"Oh, I see. No wonder you trust them." Narutro nodded in agreement and opened the door to the library, waving her in. Two off-duty Wolves looked up from near one of the shelves and took their leave from the room with quick, respectful bows towards their lord and Naruto directed the Uchiha matriarch - he wasn't completely certain that was accurate but with the only other Uchiha alive being Sasuke who was currently being used as the body of Orochimaru Naruto thought there was a good case for Mikoto being the head of the clan, assuming they still were a clan- to a seat.

"So, not that it isn't lovely to see you Mikoto but I'm assuming you probably had a reason for stopping by beyond a social visit."

Tossing her mask onto a nearby couch Mikoto pouted. "Can't I just stop by to visit my son?"

"Did you?"

Her arms crossed her cloaked chest with a huff. "...No." He gave her a gentle smile for her honesty.

"In that case let's get business out of the way so we can visit properly." He crossed one leg over the other and leaned back into his chair. "So tell me, Mikoto, what brings you to Hanahime?"

"To clear blue skies, warm afternoons, and zero humidity." Rasa's raised dish quickly found itself being tapped by another.

"I'll drink to that." Its owner spoke up. "To that, no rain, no fog, and no crossing any damned oceans."

Rasa shivered. Yes, he'd forgotten to add that last one. "Damn right. Kanpai!"

"Kanpai!"

Two dishes found themselves back on the bar and Rasa glanced over to his unexpected drinking partner. They looked familiar. Like really, really familiar but it still took a second to recognize them.

"You-you're one of Orochimaru's, aren't you?"

Kabuto gave a nod, his attention firmly on the two dishes he was refilling from his bottle. "That's right. Orochimaru's right hand and research assistant. One of the greatest spies he had and a fully trained Medical Shinobi and where am I? Pulled into this wet-ass country to serve as a glorified errand boy. I can't even continue any of my projects here."

One thing in particular stood out to Rasa.

"And you don't like it here because it's wet?"

"Damn right."

Rasa nodded and reached for his dish. "I'll drink to that."

Erai Onsen Kyūden Ichi - Great Spa Palace City

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Critical AN;

As some of you may have heard I lost my job about two and a half months ago and had been searching for a new one. I found one after a month or so but work didn't start until about a week ago. Originally it was going to be a matter of five eight hour shifts, pretty standard stuff, but it has quickly grown until it is now six twelve hour shifts followed by six day off- supposedly.

This is mostly due to a lack of employees but it has given birth to unlimited overtime for the time being. With this in mind, I intend to take advantage of the offered overtime for the foreseeable future in an effort to pay off some- or hopefully all- the debts I've accumulated over the years. This means I'll take as few day off as possible- each day I take off costs me $300 I could have earned- and so I'll only have about an hour or so free time each day.

Predictably, this is going to dramatically reduce how much writing I get done and how often chapters are posted so while I'm not necessarily "going on hiatus" my update schedule is going to be massively slowed down and fairly unpredictable for anywhere between the next week or two to the next few months. Current Patrons will not be charged- billing has been paused- for the time being and I urge anyone who was thinking of joining to hold off until it resumes otherwise it will take your first payment and there will be no early chapters.

I'm hoping this lasts long enough for me to clear up my debts and get some savings going but no matter how long it takes I'm looking forward to being able to share new chapters with you all.

Until I next have your attention, I remain,

-Eyazahrid