HunterX097: The rewrite from a crossover from another author with permission, but it will be a MASSIVE rewrite. In this story, Naruto and Sasuke don't lose their hands. Chakra exists everywhere, but it won't be unlocked if they aren't trained like shinobi in the Elemental Nations. By the way, the Empire isn't in a different dimension, it's just far away from the Elemental Nations.
Please review it if you have any ideas
Disclaimer: I own nothing. All rights go to Masashi Kishimoto and Takahiro.
The harbor of the Imperial Capital
"Wow!" A young man with spiky blond hair yelled in surprise as he came out from the ship.
"I have to admit I have never seen anywhere bigger than Konoha." Kurama commented, surprised as he saw the huge capital.
"Indeed." Saiken nodded in agreement
"So this is Imperial Capital." Naruto said as he looked at the travel map book, "Not too bad for a travel outside The Elemental nations."
Songoku sweatdropped as he saw his amusing smile, "You should have been in the office of the Hokage tower now. But instead, you put it on your lazy teacher and leave for a journey. Unbelievable" He stated with a deadpan
"Meh, I'm still young. I want to enjoy my free as much as possible before I become too busy and only remain in an office." The blond man retorted.
"I'm a little surprised by that. Isn't that your dream since you were a child?" Choumei asked with confusion
"Yep, I still want to become Hokage, but after I'm satisfied with my travel."
Naruto looked upward with a smile. There were two and a half years since the Fourth Shinobi War. Finally, Naruto now not only was an elite jounin of Konohagakure but brought his best friend and brother in all but blood, Uchiha Sasuke, back to the village. After releasing from jail, Sasuke decided to travel to atone his sins no matter how many times team 7 had already tried to convince him that he didn't need to do it. Before he had left, Naruto who had been a chuunin at that time had given his hitai-ate back and a promise that they would meet and have a rematch someday. Never in my life did Naruto think the last Uchiha would hug him and call him 'Ototou'. It was a little uncharacteristic for an Uchiha Sasuke who was always cold and emotionless. However, Naruto was still very happy at his brotherly action, so he hugged Sasuke back without hesitation.
After Sasuke had left for his redemption, Naruto had started his training and studies for gaining promotion to his next shinobi rank. He was promoted to jounin in the next year.
Tsunade was going to give him the position of a Hokage, but Naruto asked for a postponement, saying that he wasn't ready for being a village leader when he was just 18 and that he had a lot to learn. In addition, the young jounin wanted to spend time traveling for a while before he took the hat.
Although the Godaime Hokage didn't really want her godson to go somewhere far away, she knew he liked adventuring much like his dear father when he was young, especially after Naruto had read his journal of the voyage, so she agreed to his request. The Hokage position then was delivered to a certain lazy silver-haired jounin despite his opposition.
After getting consent, Naruto had secretly left the village at night, starting his own travel. Sometimes, he still sent some letters to Tsunade, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura.
Although Naruto set off his journey alone, he was never alone as he still had Kurama the nine-tailed fox inside him, and other tailed beasts that usually communicate with him via Deep Psyche.
"Hey, Naruto!" Naruto turned around and looked at the ship captain who just called him, "Have fun on your journey!" He yelled with a wave.
"Thank you so much, old man. Tell Tazuna-jiisan and Inari my thanks. See you later!" Naruto replied cheerfully as he waved back at him before he started walking and entered the capital.
The Imperial Capitals
As the weather warmed, Naruto took his short-sleeved long white haori off, revealing his full outfit inside. He was wearing a standard Konoha-nin uniform with two bands on both of his sleeves, a green flak jacket, a black forehead protector, blue sandals, and two shuriken holsters on his right knee. He was carrying a traveling backpack on his back which was full of storage scrolls that contained his clothes, shinobi weapons, food supplies, etc...
"Well, this is better than your old jumpsuit and boring clothes you used to wear." Son Goku commented as he looked at the appearance of the blond.
"I'm jounin now. Of course, I will have to pay attention to my personal appearance more than before, though I still want some orange on my clothes." All tailed beasts snorted at that except Choumei who just chuckled.
Naruto walked in the middle street. Looking around, he easily realized the capital was really big and quite busy with lots of people, but every person looked miserable, frightened, humble,... and a little killing intent in the air. Paying closer attention, the blond young man could see many groups of soldiers were going on patrol on the streets, and some of the civilians looked...pretty upset when they saw them.
"Look like this place isn't really nice as we thought it should be." Kurama stated with a frown.
"Yep. From the outside, it is a beautiful and prosperous city, but from everyone's looks and expressions...I doubt it..." Naruto whispered under his breath.
Walking for some time, he caught the sight of a crowd. Raising his eyebrow in confusion, Naruto approached and then saw three wanted posters on the wall, "Night Raid?" He mumbled as he stared at posters.
"An interesting group name." Shukaku remarked in amusement.
"First time you see these?" A man approached Naruto and spoke out, which made him turn around.
"Eh, yeah. Do you know who they are?" Naruto asked curiously.
"They're a group of assassins that's terrifying the imperial capital. Those posters are just three of them. They attack their victim at night and they mainly target strong people. You better be prepared, just in case you become your target." The man answered with a firm tone, pointing at the poster of the girl with long hair, "Especially this girl, she is the most dangerous."
Naruto took a look at the poster, "Akame." He then glanced at two other ones, "Bulat, Najenda..."
"Causing a stir and receiving publicity. That group of assassins isn't surely underestimated." Shukaku remarked.
'Yep.' Naruto replied with a nod before leaving from there.
While he was walking around and finding a place to stay, Naruto caught a young teen with brown hair and green eyes who got kicked out by a man in the military uniform. He wore a vanilla-colored sweater vest, a white shirt, navy blue pants, brown boots, and having a backpack with a sword hanging on it.
"What was that about!? Why not test me out?" The boy yelled in discontentment.
"Don't be ridiculous! Due to the recession, we're flooded with applicants...there are limits as to how many we can hire!" The officer shouted angrily.
"Eh, really?" The brown-haired boy asked with an idiotic face.
"If you get it, scram, you damned brat!" The officer screamed, slamming the door shut behind him.
"Damn it! That jackass." The boy growled lowly.
Naruto approached him, "Hey, do you need help?" He asked as he lent him his hand.
"Oh, I'm okay, but thanks." The boy said politely as he took the hand and stood up, "By the way, my name is Tatsumi." The boy, Tatsumi, introduced with a smile.
"Namikaze Naruto..." Naruto introduced with a fox grin
"He looks strong." Isobu stated interestingly
'Yeah...' Naruto replied as he took a look at Tatsumi's sword on his back and sensed his chakra, 'A very good fighter. Surely potential.'
"Hey, you two."
Two males turned around and saw a woman with blond hair. She had big breasts, two long bangs that framed the sides of her head, and yellow eyes. She had a scarf and knee-high brown boots. She also had a belt that radiated some odd auras.
'Her breasts...so big.' Tatsumi thought with a redded face.
'This woman...' Naruto narrowed his eyes a little as he observed the blond woman carefully.
"You guys seem troubled. Should this onee-san here lend you a hand?" The woman asked with a friendly tone.
Tatsumi was blushing as he stared up at her breasts from his position on the ground, 'S-so this is the Imperial Capital's...' He thought with a pervy face.
'He reminds me of Ero-sennin whenever he looked at baa-chan's boobs?' Naruto thought with a drop of sweat behind his head.
"What's wrong with you?" The blond woman asked in an inquisitive tone, "Drawn by dreams of making it in the capital, you came all the way from the country?"
"How do you know!?" Tatsumi asked as he got up quickly.
"I knew at once. If you've lived in the capital long enough, you can identify outsiders. Anyway, I know a quick way to get hired for government services." The woman offered with a wink.
"Seriously?!" Tatsumi said with an exciting expression
'Mah, this boy is just like me when I was a little boy.' Naruto mentally smiled interestingly.
"Want to know how?"
"Yes, Yes!" Tatsumi replied as he nodded his head violently.
"Then treat onee-san to a meal!"
Naruto sweatdropped at her antics, 'Why do I have a bad feeling?' The young jounin thought while following two people.
A few hours later, in the bar
Naruto and Tatsumi were staring speechlessly at the woman who was nonstop drinking lots of alcohol in front of them
"Aw man!" The blond woman cheered as she slammed her empty mug of beer down onto the table. A ruddy red blush covered the buzzed woman's face. "Having a drink in the middle of the day is the best!"
'Wow.' Tatsumi thought as he gained a sweatdrop on his face.
'Great. Another drunken is like Tsunade-baachan.' Naruto facepalmed with a sigh.
"Drink up young men!" The woman exclaimed in excitement, leaning forward in her seat and giving them a very generous view of her exposed cleavage, "Let's live it up a little!"
"Thank you, but I don't drink." Naruto refused politely as he took his teacup and sipped.
"Just tell me how to get hired by the government!" Tatsumi demanded strongly.
Naruto slightly glanced at the brown-haired boy next to him, 'Why does he want to get hired by the government so much?' He mentally wondered.
"Well, that's simply...having connections and money."
"M-Money?"
Naruto narrowed his eyes, 'Bribery eh?' He recalled recommendation letters for the promotion to becoming a jounin and gifts from wealthy families or some lords who had their child in the Shinobi forces had been sent to Tsunade many times before. He was glad the Godaime rejected them frankly. No way such unsuitable people could be on a par with true ninjas who went through hardship and challenges to archiving their positions.
"This country is most likely having such problems." Kurama commented as he rolled his eyes.
'Yeah, I suppose we should watch it closely if we want to see or know much more.' Naruto replied, still observing the conversation.
"I know a guy in the military. If you give him cash, it'll be real quick." The woman said with a smirk
"I get it. Then...would this be enough?" Tatsumi asked as he took and put his money bag on the table.
"Of course!"
"Wow, you're pretty good." Naruto commented as he looked at the bag of money.
"Yep, I collected some rewards for slaying danger beasts and hunting down bandits." Tatsumi stated with a proud tone
"What about you, fox face?"
"Me?" Naruto asked and the blond woman nodded cutely, "No thanks. I'm just a normal traveler, I have no desire to join the army."
"But you're a fighter too, right? I can see that you have weapons." The woman pointed at the triple-prong kunai at the belt loop.
"Yeah, something like that." Naruto replied quietly. He didn't want someone strange to know about his status as he doubt she would know the existence of ninjas and the Elemental Nations.
"I see. Well then..." The blond woman stood up and took the money, "...I'm gonna go take care of your money, so wait for me, okay?" She said, making her way towards the bar's exit.
"Alright! Thank you so much!" Tatsumi cheered in a happy tone as he waved at her.
Naruto only stared at the door after the woman disappeared behind it, "If I didn't know, I could be fooled like you." He murmured with a sigh
"What do you mean?" Tatsumi asked inquisitively.
"Tatsumi, that woman...she is a fraud." Naruto answered as Tatsumi widened his eyes in surprise.
"WHAT!?" He yelled as his eyes bulged out, "You mean that I was just swindled!?" Naruto nodded his head while sipping his tea, "Oh my god! Why didn't you tell me that sooner!? My moneyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!"
Naruto, however, only smiled in reply, "Mah mah, calm down. Your money is still in here." He then took out a bag from nowhere and put it on the table, "Feel free to check it out. I don't take any ryo."
Tatsumi was dumbfounded while staring at the bag in front of him before opening it and looking inside. When he found all his money in the bag, he threw himself upon the blond man, hugging him tightly.
"Thank you so much, Naruto! You saved my life!" He said with anime tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Nah, it's no big deal. I'm glad I could help you." The blond replied with a foxy grin
"But...what about the bag I gave her? I'm sure I still felt its weight at that time."
Naruto just gave the young boy a smirk, "Oh, it's my gift for her. Maybe she will learn a lesson that not everyone is easy to trick." He said with a mischievous glee in his eyes.
Somewhere near the bar
"That was too easy!" The blond woman exclaimed as she ran out of the bar and into an alley. She couldn't believe that boy was willing to give up his money just to enter the military. She pulled out the bag of money and opened it.
...Only to see small rocks instead.
Her jaw dropped as she collapsed to her knees. Never before had someone given her fake money. Leone then recalled that she had slightly caught sight of a snigger on the face of the blond man who was with Tatsumi as she had left the bar.
The woman gritted her teeth while growling in anger, "THAT SON OF A BITCH!" She screamed loudly.
Naruto easily heard her furious scream with his incredibly sensitive hearing and he smirked, thinking that the busty blond must've opened the bag. He let out a chuckle, which got Tatsumi's attention.
"What's up?" He asked inquisitively
"Just imagining that woman's face will have once she finds out what I put in that bag." Naruto replied as Tatsumi sweatdropped at his answer, "Oh, right. Why do you want to join the army too much, Tatsumi? From what I saw, I don't think it's a good choice for you."
Tatsumi let out a sigh, "I know, but I don't have much of a choice." He answered with a frown, "My homeland is a small village far away from here, most of the villagers have been living in poverty for a long time, so I and my friends decided to leave and go to the capital. Our purpose is nothing but to make money and save our village."
"Your friends?" Tatsumi got a sad expression as he nodded his head slightly.
"Yeah, Sayo and Ieyasu. They're my best friends and we spent our whole childhood together. We set off this journey, but we become separated when ambushed by bandits, leaving me alone now."
Naruto couldn't help having a pinch of sympathy for the young guy in front of him. He could easily see that Tatsumi valued his friends and he knew how he was feeling as they were on the loose now.
"Don't worry. I'm sure you will meet them again soon." He softly said in an attempt to comfort Tatsumi.
"Thanks. I hope so." Tatsumi replied with a smile, "What about you, Naruto? Why do you come to the capital? Work for a living?"
The blond slightly shook his head, "Nope. I'm on my journey to travel around the world." He said, smiling gently, "I have an idea. Why don't we share our stories in my adventures with each other?" Naruto was naturally friendly, so he made many friends during his journey. Tatsumi looked like a nice and approachable person, so he wanted to establish a good relationship with him.
For Tatsumi, he quickly nodded his head in agreement as he was simply interested in Naruto's adventures.
Several hours later
"So you learned the basics of swordsmanship from a former soldier of the Empire military."
"Yeah. Not only swordsmanship but also various things such as how to smith. You know, making it easier for me to make money in the capital." He said.
"Heh, you must be skilled skillful to have learned how to do all that."
"Thank you, you're very great too. You travel everywhere at such a young age."
Naruto let out a giggle, "When I was young, I just mostly went around my village. I've been always curious about the outside world." He admitted as he scratched the back of his head, "By the way, my godfather who taught me how to fight was a traveler. He told me a lot about his travels, interesting and interesting experiences he got from them, so I have been thrilled about having my own journey once I get the chance."
"How long have you been gone around?" Tatsumi asked.
"For almost two years I think." Naruto replied as he rubbed his chin, "I spent about a year and a half traveling through my motherland before coming abroad and venturing to faraway places."
"Wow, that means you crossed the sea to here. Where do you come from?"
"A village far from here in the East."
"Sorry guys, but we're gonna be closing soon." The bartender said as he finished wiping down a table.
Naruto peeked out the window, "Well, it's pretty late now. I don't realize it." He then took his money and paid for him and Tatsumi before leaving the bar with the young boy.
"You don't need to do that you know. You just helped me." Tatsumi said.
"Nah, it's okay, just taking it as my welcome gift." Naruto replied with a foxy grin, "Now...why don't we find a place to stay?"
One hour later
"Oh come on, how the hell isn't there any inns or boarding houses that open!?" Tatsumi exclaimed in irritation as he and Naruto were crossing a bridge.
"It's past midnight already after all." Naruto spoke out while receiving memories from his shadow clones that he had secretly created, "Look like we have to sleep outside tonight." He stated as he laid down on the ground
"I suppose you're right, it's not a big problem for me though." When Tatsumi was about to lay down next to the blond man, they suddenly heard a carriage come to a halt in front of them.
Both Naruto and Tatsumi stood up, the former eyed the carriage suspiciously while the latter looked confused as a girl with blond hair stepped out. She obviously came from a rich family if her clothing was any indication.
"I don't think those people have a place to stay...poor them." The girl said to one of her guards.
"Again lady?" The guard asked, avoiding the young girl's gaze.
"I can't help it. It's just my nature." The girl said as she walked up to two males. "Did you come from the country? If you guys have nowhere to live, would you like to stay at my home?"
"We don't have any money..." Naruto was interrupted by the girl.
"No need to pay. I just want to help you two." She said with a warm smile.
"Aria-sama never ignore people that need the help." The first guard stated, smiling slightly
"You best accept her generosity." The second guard said as he felt a chill run down his spine, 'If two kids knew what was in store for them, they would run like a bat out hell...'
"Well..." Naruto once again was interrupted as he was about to talk. This time was Tatsumi
"We accept." Tatsumi said while offering his broad smile, "It's better than sleeping outside."
Naruto, meanwhile, couldn't help to feel something off from the young lady and her bodyguards, but he wasn't going to leave Tatsumi alone with them,
"Alright."
"It's settled, then!" Aria exclaimed cheerfully, "Step into my carriage, and we'll take you to my home." She then came back to her carriage. Tatsumi followed after her, and Naruto tagged along with him. None of them noticed the probing gaze of the blond young man aiming at the girl and her guards.
10 minutes later
"W-Wow." Tatsumi was overwhelmed when he and Naruto stepped into Aria's home. In fact, it was more a mansion than a home. The foyer alone was massive enough to fit a normal-sized house inside it. "So huge."
"Yup." Naruto nodded in agreement, he wasn't so surprised though because he saw many mansions and even castles throughout his journey.
Two males followed after Aria as they were going to the living room. The door was opened and they saw a couple are sitting by the fireplace. From their appearance, Naruto was sure they were Aria's parents. Once again, he got the same feeling that he vaguely felt from their daughter before from the couple.
"Oh, Aria brought someone back homes again." The middle man, Aria's father, said while giving her a kind smile.
"Well, it's her way." Aria's mother said with a warm smile. "How many does this make it now?"
'Those older guards must be must be really strong...' Tatsumi thought as he observed the guards stationed around the large manor.
Naruto, however, got a different opinion, 'They don't look so strong, genins even are able to knock out them easily. This place is indeed completely different from the Five Great Countries.'
"Please sit down." Aria's father said as Naruto and Tatsumi sat on the sofa. "What do you want, young men?" The man asked.
Tatsumi started explaining his reasons and what he had gone through on the way to the capital. Naruto pretended to pay attention to the conversation, but he was actually sensing around them. Sometimes, he glanced at the window where he felt some strange and...very weak auras from.
'What is that? I have a bad feeling.'
"I see." Naruto was snap out of his thoughts as he heard the voice of Aria's father, "So you want to find a job to make money eh?"
Tatsumi nodded his head, "Yes, I need the money for helping my village and search my friends." He said while scratching the side of his head.
"Well then...I'll recommend you to an acquaintance in the military, and investigate those two as well." The man stated, smiling slightly.
"Thank you so much!" Tatsumi replied as he bowed respectfully.
"Oh no, there was no need to bow on me. I'm just glad I can help you."
"Thank you for letting us stay here. Is there anything we can do to help?" Naruto asked in a polite tone.
"Oh. What about you be my bodyguard tomorrow?" Aria offered.
"Sure." Naruto and Tatsumi both replied, though the former actually wanted to watch out for his new friend than protect the lady whom he was suspecting.
"That's good. Gauri-kun, I'll let you handle it!" Aria's father said to the guard next to him.
"Understood." Gauri replied with a blank face as he bowed his head respectfully
Naruto only stared at the family and their guards with slightly narrowing eyes, 'I don't trust those guys.' He mentally mouthed.
"Yeah, I can easily feel those lies and a hint of evil intention from them." Kurama stated while still watching from the mindscape.
"What's your plan, Naruto?" Son Goku asked warily.
'We're going to find out at night when everyone goes to sleep.'
After having a luxury dinner, everyone went back to their room. Several minutes later, the door of the room which Naruto and Tatsumi were currently in opened, and a blond head poked out of, looking around cautiously before leaving there, walking outside.
"I sensed something that is similar to the presence outside, but it's pretty faint." Kokuo stated with seriousness
"Then I'm going outside." Naruto replied quietly as he carefully went outside, "Where is it?"
"The red storehouse there." Matatabi said as Naruto's head turned right, trying to sense through the red storehouse and he sensed something that made his eyes widen.
'What the fuck? I sense dead aura over there.' Naruto was going to approach the red storehouse, but he was caught by some guards.
"Hey!"
'Damn.' He then turned around and saw some guards approach to him.
"What are you doing here at night!? You should be sleep!" One of the guards spoke out sternly.
"Oh, I have trouble sleeping, so I want to walk around and chill a little." Naruto lied, watching the guard's expression carefully.
"You're not allowed to go outside in the forest without Aria-sama's permission."
Naruto scratched his head shyly, "Sorry. I will come back to my room now." He replied as he carefully walked inside the house, 'That was close.' He thought to himself.
"What does that guy mean not going forest without permission?" Kokuo asked with suspicion.
'No clue. This family really has something very weird.'
"Don't worry, you can check it the next night"Kurama stated with a grimace
"Can't be helped." Naruto replied with a sigh, watching the storehouse over his shoulder once more before he went back to his room.
The Next Afternoon; Capital's Shopping District
"Hurry! Let's go to the next shop!" Aria cheered, pointing out another store just up ahead.
"Please wait Aria-sama!" The guards, who were carrying her numerous purchases, exclaimed as they lagged behind due to the sheer number of things that she wanted to buy.
"Tch, it looks like we'll be staying home next time." The guard, Gauri, grumbled as he was standing next to Naruto and Tatsumi
"Miss Aria sure bought a lot..." Tatsumi spoke as he stared at the mountain of boxes with widening eyes, "The amount is utterly ridiculous."
"It's not just Aria-sama." The guard explained, watching the young blonde girl enter another store, "All young girls are like this."
"You're absolutely right about that." Naruto commented as he thought of a certain pink-haired medic who was his old teammate and her blond friend, especially the latter, 'Poor Sai...'
"Really? The ones I know pick out their clothes right away." Tatsumi said in a confused tone.
"Never mind that, kid. Look up." The guard said, gesturing towards the palace that towered over them. "It's the royal palace."
"It's freaking huge!" Tatsumi exclaimed, finally getting a good look at the imposing building. "That's where the emperor lives?!"
"No..." The guard said, causing Tatsumi and Naruto both to raise an eyebrow in confusion. "Not quite...true, the emperor lives in the palace. However, he is just a child. He's being manipulated from the shadows by the minister. He's the one responsible for all the corruption and decay of this once great country." The guard's eyes shifted around to make sure no one was watching and leaned closer to two younger males, "You two better watch what you say around here. They'd have our heads if they heard us talking like this."
"Then..." Tatsumi said through grit teeth, as he tightly clenched his fists. "The heavy taxes that are plaguing my village are also..."
'As expected, this place isn't nice like its appearance...and the minister. Who is him? If what the guard said is true, I can imagine we have another Danzou in here.' Naruto thought with a sigh.
"Are common knowledge in the capital..." Gauri said as he pointed over towards a nearby wall, "There are also those guys we have to worry about."
"Night Raid?" Tatsumi asked, turning to face the guard
"I heard that name before." Naruto spoke out.
"Who are they?"
"A guy told me that they're a group of assassins that's terrifying the imperial capital. He also said that they always attacked their victims at night..."
Gauri nodded his head in agreement, "Exactly. And they target high-ranking government officials and wealthy families, so you best be on your guard."
"No problem." Tatsumi said with confidence and determination.
"Anyway, let's go back to Aria. We have our work as her bodyguard." Naruto stated as he walked back to the carriage.
"Yeah." Tatsumi replied, following after his companion.
Several hours later
After making sure Tatsumi was deep in their sleep, Naruto quickly got up and started preparing for his own investigation once again.
"To be safe, I'm using the Sage Mode." Naruto said while activating the Sage Mode, "Alright, I'm able to sense everything remotely now." His eyes then widened in horror that he sensed weak auras from the storehouse and...someone calling the name of Tatsumi, "What the hell!?"
"Just as I thought." Kurama stated with a grim tone, "There is something off with that family."
"I have to go finding Tatsumi..."At that time, Naruto heard screams from the backyard, "Or not. Looks like we have some guests here..." He said as he sensed the chakra, "They're quite strong, maybe that's..."
"Night Raid." Son Goku said in a grimace tone.
Meanwhile, there were two figures were running towards the storehouse. They were the guard Gauri and the young lady of the mansion, Aria.
"This way Lady!" Gauri yelled as he pulled Aria towards the storage shed.
"W-What's going on?" Aria asked in a frightened tone.
"We must get you inside the storage shed, you'll be safe inside there!" The guard exclaimed as the shed came into view.
"Miss Aria, I finally found you!" Gauri and Aria turned around to see Tatsumi behind them; panting heavily from running the whole way there.
"Tatsumi!" Aria exclaimed happily
"Perfect timing Tatsumi! You can help us to hold..." Gauri couldn't complete his words as a figure landed directly in front of three of them.
Taking a look at that person, Tatsumi saw it was a young girl with raven hair and red eyes, "Wait the minute. You're...Akame of the Night Raid!" He exclaimed as he recalled the girl on one of the wanted posters he had already seen in the capital. Akame only stared at him emotionlessly before unsheathing her sword and shooting forward, "I guess I have no choice!" Tatsumi yelled as he took out his sword
"Not a target." Tatsumi looked dumbfounded as he heard Akame's monotone voice before the girl leaped into the air and used his back as a springboard, sprinting towards the guard and Aria.
"Damn!" Gauri pulled out his gun and started to fire on Akame. However, the raven-haired girl easily dodge all of his bullets as she was approaching her targets at a rapid pace.
"Target..." Akame started to say once she was close enough to Gauri, "Eliminate." She slashed the guard, splattering blood all around.
Aria could only cower away as Akame approached her, "Eliminate." She swung her sword and was about to deliver the final blow, but she had to backflipped away as Tatsumi's sword nearly slashed at her.
"You're not a target. There is no need to kill you." She said monotonously as she stared at Tatsumi, "But if you get in my way, I'll kill you."
"But that doesn't mean I can just leave her!" Tatsumi shot back, pointing his sword at Akame.
"I see...then you've made your choice." Akame said, brandishing her katana and rushing to the boy and the girl
Tatsumi gaped at her speed before he raised his sword, readying to fight. However, a certain blond shinobi beat him as he got there on time Akame was in front of the young brown-haired boy and blocked her strike with something like...half-dagger half-brass knuckles...
Akame slightly widened her eyes at the sudden appearance of the person in front of her, 'Who is this? I didn't sense him before.' She thought with a hint of surprise.
"Naruto!" Tatsumi exclaimed in relief when he saw his savior.
"I guess I'm just in time." Naruto spoke with a grin as he glanced over his shoulder at the boy before looking back at his opponent, "Akame of the Night Raid eh? Not too bad I can say." His kunai pushed Akame's katana without even trying, which sent the raven-haired assassin flying backward.
'Strong.' She thought to herself as she slightly narrowed her eyes, 'Whoever this man is, I must be quick or I won't have to have any chance against hi...' Akame had to snap out of her thoughts as Naruto suddenly appeared in front of her from nowhere with his punch.
Despite her shock, Akame still managed to dodge his attack and was about to attack with a simple strike to the neck, hoping to end it with one shot...just to feel a pang on her right cheek a couple of seconds.
'What? I dodged his attack.' The raven-haired assassin thought in surprise before jumping back and landing a few feet away from her opponent.
"There's no reason for us to kill each other, so why don't we end it there and have a peaceful talk?" Akame raised her eyebrows while Tatsumi looked astonished at the suggestion.
"What're you saying, Naruto!? She wants to kill Miss Aria!"
"Get away from her Tatsumi! She's very suspicious.!" Naruto ordered sternly as he glared at Aria
"What?" Tatsumi asked dumbly
"Wh-what are you talking about!? I don't know anything!" Aria nervously denied in fear.
Naruto narrowed his eyes, "Really? Then you should have no problem with me taking a look inside it." He stated grimly as he looked at Aria beginning to get nervous and anxious as if the blond got a hold on her.
"Naruto? Tatsumi?" A familiar voice spoke out with a hint of surprise. Two males turned around and saw the blond woman whom they had met in the capital before.
"Leone." Akame said monotonously.
"HEY! You're that big boobed!" Tatsumi yelled when he recognized who the woman was.
"That's right. I'm that pretty lady before~" Leone said with a sweet smile before walking towards the storage house, "Looks like you were worried about us hurting an innocent girl..." When Leone reached the storage shed's locked door, she swiftly kicked it open. "...I wonder if you can still say that after seeing this."
Naruto and Tatsumi both walked up to the storage shed and gazed inside. It was an action the latter immediately regretted while the former widened his eyes in horror at what he saw in front of him.
'What the fuck!?'
"Damn! And I thought the mummy's laboratory are the most sickening one I used to see in my life." Kurama said with a disgusting expression.
"This family...they're far worse than him!" Matatabi stated furiously.
"Wha-What the hell is this?!" Tatsumi said, almost too stunned to speak.
"They lure unidentified people who came from the country with their sweet words and subject them to their hobby of torture and toy with them until they die. That's the true nature of those of this household." Leone explained as her face became darker.
'So that's why she always brings people home.' Naruto thought to himself.
"S-She's obviously lying!" Aria pleaded, struggling against Leone's grasp. "I never even knew this place was here. Are you going to believe me, the one who saved you, or them, Tatsumi, Naruto!?"
Looking around, one figure hanging from the ropes caught Tatsumi's eye.
"S-Sayo...no! Sayo!" Sayo was hanging naked from the rafters, the ropes cutting into her wrists as she hung there lifelessly. She was covered in bruises and had multiple cuts all over her body.
Without hesitation, Naruto immediately rushed over to the girl, using his chakra knife to cut the ropes that were holding her up before holding her in his arms.
'Her breathing is getting weaker...' He thought with a frown while checking Sayo's wounds, 'But it's still possible to save her with my healing chakra.' Naruto then applied his hand on Sayo's body and sent his chakra into it.
Sayo's skin was regenerated and scars were getting disappeared slowly until her body returned to normal as if she had never gone through any torture yet.
"...Tatsumi." She called with a soft and weak voice as she saw her best friend.
"Sayo!" Tatsumi cried out with happy tears as he charged forwards and embraced her tightly, "Thank god, you're still alive."
"T-Tatsumi." Spoke a voice, which was croaked and nearly unrecognizable yet familiar to Tatsumi
"Ieyasu!" Tatsumi exclaimed upon seeing one of his best friends locked inside a cage, looking bloody and beaten.
Naruto rapidly shot towards the cage, cutting its bars with his knife before picking Ieyasu up and putting him on the ground.
'Easily cutting those steel bars only with a dagger. Interesting.' Leone thought with a slight smirk.
"Who...are...you..." Ieyasu asked while struggling for breath
"I'm Tatsumi's friend. Don't worry, you'll be fine." Naruto answered softly as he started pushing his healing chakra to the boy's body. His pink skins were gone quickly and his injuries were healed completely, "There, I took out drug of him. He'll be fine, but he needs more rest."
Tatsumi was happy that his friends were brought back alive, "Thank you, Naruto." He said as he tried his best to stop his cry.
'This guy...he just cured two people who should have been beyond saving. Who is really he?' Akame thought as she observed the blond man.
"Mah, it's not a big deal." Naruto replied with a foxy grin as he patted Tatsumi's shoulder before looking around at a certain young lady who was sneaking away but being grabbed by Leone, "Now I think you should give us your explanations, Aria-san, I'm pretty sure they're anything but good ones though."
"That girl approached me and Sayo..." Ieyasu started explaining as he glared at Aria furiously, "She led us back to her home and drugged us with a meal. When we woke up, we were in here." He told as he gritted his teeth.
"And what is wrong with that!?" Aria shouted, slapping Leone's hand away. "You guys are just useless country bumpkins! You're no better than livestock! I can treat you however I want!" She got an almost demonic look on her face as she continued her rant, "And for just a farm animal, that girl had beautiful straight hair and too much attitude while I have to suffer from this kinked hair of mine! So I made her pay for it! You should thank me for how thorough I-!" Aria could never complete her speech...because her head got sliced off by Tatsumi's sword.
"Don't tell such disgusting things about my friend." The young boy said coldly as he stared at Aria's death body.
'After what she did to innocent people. She deserves that.' Naruto thought with a sigh, "Alright, now..." Naruto made the familiar cross-hand sign, "Shadow Clone Jutsu." About 50 clones appeared in front of him.
"What!? There were lots of of you." Tatsumi exclaimed in shock as he saw many Narutos in front of him
"Carrying the deceased and burying them somewhere far away from here." Naruto ordered with a serious tone
"Yes, sir!" All clones started collecting collect the bodies before jumping into the horizon and getting away.
Naruto turned to look at two assassins, "So...I suppose we have to go with you two. After all, we saw your face."
Leone smirked at that, "It's good that you know that. It will make everything easier for us." She replied, "Join Night Raid, you two."
"Why?" Tatsumi asked as he was still on alert.
"Because you guys have both great skills." Leone answered with a smile.
"Naruto, go ahead. They don't have a bad intention for you." Kurama informed his friend
"Before we give our answer, why don't we leave here at first?" Naruto offered as he was sure the authorities were on their ways to come here
"That means you say yes." Leone replied with a wink
On the roof near there
"You're late! What were you doing? And who are those guys?" A girl with pink hair asked annoyingly as Leone came with Tatsumi in her hand while Naruto was carrying Sayo and Ieyasu like sacks of rice.
'This girl...so cocky and arrogant.' Naruto mentally remarked as he shook his head slightly.
"Our new members!" Leone replied with a cheerful smile.
"Huh!?"
'That was quick.' Tatsumi thought with a deadpan.
"From now on, you guys are one of us. Congratulations on becoming a member of Night Raid!" Leone shouted.
"Why is this happening to me!?"
"Give up. Once she's made up her mind. Leone won't give up." Akame said coolly while still staring at the blond jounin.
"As expect, you know me so well... Bulatcchi, I'll leave him to you," Leone said as she gave Tatsumi to a man wearing armor.
"Let go of me!" Tatsumi yelled in protest as he tried to struggle.
"It'll be okay. In fact, I promise it'll get better." Bulatcchi said sweetly.
"Wh-what...?" Tatsumi asked dumbly
'What the hell is he talking about? Why do I have the feeling I shouldn't be too close to him?' Naruto wondered as he stepped away from Bulatcchi.
"What about you, Mr. Sunshine? Do you need to lift?"
"I'm okay. I can travel like you guys." Naruto stated merely, 'And it even can be quicker...but it's not the time for showing off.'
"Mission completed. Time to return the base." Akame stated emotionlessly as Night Raid jumped on their way to their base with Naruto following behind them.
"What's up with this turn of events!?" Tatsumi shouted as he was carried by the armored assassin.