Edit 6-24-2019: I've had such a shitty year that I honestly didn't do any edit notes as I typed this until now. I can promise it won't be another year before the next chapter, but I'm also still having a lot of life problems, so I can't promise when the next chapter will be out. As of now, things are essentially calm so I should be able to type a bit here or there. However, I do have something I had written a very long time ago that I'm going to post at the end of the chapter. It's a rant so skip it if you want.

This chapter is shorter than intended but I really just want to move the story along at this point. Not my best work, fair warning.

Full Tilt

Blood and Water Arc

Chapter 7: We'll Tell you Stories of a better time

"You're nothing but a monster..."

Her words made his heart skip a beat. Yet the pain didn't reach his face. He simply gazed upon her with the same stoic look he had since the first one fell. His eyes were empty.

"I trusted you...I loved you..." Every word was filled with venom and hatred, yet the tears on her face screamed her true feelings. She was betrayed.

"I love you too. I always have. I always will."

"HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT?" The flames around them burst upwards with her yell. "How...how can you look me in the eyes and tell me you love me...how can you know love and do something like this?"

"I..."

Naruto was snapped from his thoughts as he and Naruko entered the clearing where Mizuki was waiting.

'Fuck...they're starting again.'

"Naruto-kun, those memories..." Kurumi started in his mind, worry evident in her voice.

'Don't worry about it for now. We'll deal with it tomorrow.'

Kurumi frowned but didn't argue. If she knew her partner as well as she thought she did, then she knew that tomorrow would be extended until he eventually wrote off whatever he had just remembered.

Within the clearing, Mizuki stood in front of what appeared to be a large boulder with a white tarp over it. He smiled as the two began to approach him.

"Hey, you're late! Was afraid you wouldn't show." He called with a friendly smile. Naruko and Naruto both rolled their eyes on the inside.

"We just took our time to make sure no one saw us, is all." Naruko answered. The chunin nodded, smiling even more at them making sure there would be no witnesses.

"What's that sensei?" Naruto inquired to the tarp behind the man. Both he and Naruko felt a small genjutsu but couldn't sense what was beneath the tarp. They smelled something odd though…

Mizuki grabbed the tarp and removed it, revealing a medium sized picnic setup. Both Naruto and Naruko's eyes widened at the food, obviously not being something they expected.

"Surprise!" Mizuki called, losing all tension. "Figured what better way to celebrate a graduation than with a feast! Er...well, as much as I could afford."

Sandwiches, salad, chicken and sides galore were spread on a big blanket. Both blondes mouth began to water at the immaculate looking food. Even more, there were a few ramen dishes as well.

Showing their bodies honesty, both teens stomachs growled, much to their embarrassment and Kurumi and Mizuki's mirth. The chunin sat down and motioned for the two to join him.

"Don't be shy! Dig right on in!" He picked up a sandwich on a plate that was already in front of him. The twins didn't need to be told twice and immediately dove into the food.

Naruto chuckled as Naruko devoured her food with just as much gusto as himself. They both knew the food was drugged with a slow acting sleeping poison, but knew their tenants would take care of it.

On his end, Naruto was genuinely surprised about the food. He didn't have any recollection of Mizuki doing something like that within the past few billion years at least. The closes had been taking him to Ichiraku's to endear himself to him. Looking to Mizuki, Naruto's eyes narrowed a bit. The man seemed a bit conflicted, but his hatred was still strong.

'Interesting...we should try something...' Naruto slowed his movements. Naruko noticed and began to do the same. She looked into her brothers eyes and noticed that he wanted her to play along with something. A quick flash of a smirk on her face let him know she was on board.

Mizuki looked at the gullible teens in slight satisfaction. He was a little put off by how eagerly they ate, almost as if they hadn't eaten in days. However, he shook the thought away as he remembered exactly who the teens were. Then his mind drifted to his fiance and a small pang of guilt entered him again.

Tsubaki had been aware of his plans and had pleaded with him to stop. He had tried to convince her that the twins were the reincarnation of the Kyubi, but she wouldn't listen. She simply saw them as children that deserved a chance like everyone else. Unfortunately for him as well, she had done a fairly good job at convincing him, especially since he wasn't absolutely convinced of their nature himself. However, his hatred for the village was just as strong. Though he was conflicted with what he was seeing, it wasn't enough to deter him from his path.

His thoughts were interrupted as he suddenly heard sobbing. His eyes widened when he noticed both Naruto and Naruko stop eating and begin crying. His heart actually skipped a beat seeing their tears. 'What the hell is this?'

"M-Mizuki-sensei...why does the village hate us? Why do you hate us?" Naruto asked through his tears. He frantically tried to wipe them. Naruko leaned over and pulled her older brother into a hug. Her gaze found Mizuki's, asking the same questions.

"Wh-what are you talking about? I don't hate you!" He tried to laugh but it only came out as a nervous chuckle.

"We know...the food is poisoned sensei..." Naruko spoke. Naruto nodded.

"We knew from the beginning...but we had hope...Hope that you were different. And that you actually cared about us." Naruto's tears stopped but his voice became hollow. "We don't mind anymore though...you're going to kill us right? And make this pain stop?"

Mizuki's world froze. The hazy look in both teens eyes let him know the poison was starting to take effect, even if only a little. They had knowingly ate the food. The tone of Naruto's voice was that of someone whom had given up before. Someone that had been in that position before.

A tightening in his chest made him cringe.

'What the fuck? Demons don't cry...this has to be a trick! But...' Looking at the teens as they simply leaned against each other and awaited their judgment from him, Mizuki's hatred began to waiver.

'Dammit! Now's not the time to be showing sympathy! They made this even easier for me...'

As much as he tried to tell himself to press on, however, seeing the two before him ready to accept their death, he couldn't help but see himself and Iruka in them when he was younger. He couldn't help but see them as just kids.

Almost as if a cold bucket of water had been thrown on him, Mizuki reeled from an epiphany. 'What the hell am I doing? Betraying this forsaken village is one thing but damning two kids for Kami's sake?'

The older jinchuriki looked at the silver haired shinobi and smirked a bit. 'His conviction seems just as weak as Ino's mother from the last time line…'

"I..." Mizuki began. "Shit...look, I don't know what you two are playing at but, I wasn't planning on killing you. I was going to take you to Orochimaru. You two can't be having a good life here and I don't know what Orochimaru actually wants with you, but it can't be any worse than what you're going through here."

"Orochimaru of the sannin?" Naruko questioned. She didn't seem to shook up about Mizuki's change in attitude all of a sudden. Naruto loved that she adapted to everything as fast as he could.

Mizuki nodded. "If you two want to know the reason the village hates you so much, just let the sleep powder work. When you wake up, Orochimaru-sama will explain everything."

'This could be interesting. I could meet Orochimaru earlier in this timeline. Plus if he tried anything against Naruko, I could easily kill him. But Ino and Hinata wouldn't approve of me going off without them, especially in this loop. Dammit, what to do, what to do...'

In his musings, Naruto barely noticed the presence of Iruka moving closer to them. He paid it no mind, ultimately forgetting that it would make going with Mizuki impossible. Naruko whispered into her older brothers ear about the man approaching, finally gaining his full attention.

'Oh. Well damn. I guess I should try to save Mizuki this time. He could be useful later.'

"Mizuki-sensei...someone's coming." Naruto called tiredly with a yawn. Seeing Naruto play up the sleep Naruko began to slump down into his lap, nestling her head into his stomach, much to his slight amusement.

Not even a few seconds later did several kunai come flying out of the canopy. Mizuki jumped back and drew his own kunai. Iruka landed several yards behind the seemingly sleep teens.

"Mizuki...what's the meaning of this?" Iruka's eyes narrowed as he saw Naruto and Naruko slumped on the ground. 'The Hokage was right...'

"Iruka..." Mizuki whispered his soon to be ex-best friends name. Things had already gone to shit. He wasn't supposed to feel anything for the demons...no. The teens. As much as he hated to admit, his own hatred for the teens was only superficial. A by product of his honest hate for Konoha. Now Iruka's appearance made his despair grow. He had no intention of fighting his best friend.

"You were trying to kidnap them...you're a traitor Mizuki?" Iruka's voice was strained. He hadn't wanted to believe what he was seeing. He had been called to the Hokage's office a short while after the academy had let out earlier that day…

-Flashback-

Hiruzen didn't know why, but something in his mind was telling him to look in on the genin graduates that day. Usually, he'd simply wait for the report to be given by the instructors on whom had passed or not, but something was off this time. It was an intuition that he had learned not to ignore years ago. Something that kept him in the seat of the Hokage for as long as it had.

So with slight trepidation, Hiruzen pulled out his crystal ball and began to watch the proceedings of the academy graduation. Everything seemed normal at first. He let out a small smile at the genin and their parents enjoying what would possibly be the last easy moments of their careers. So many potential shinobi and kunoichi, and only the best would truly enter into the villages military force. They were some of the most promising candidates to date, with most of them being clan heirs to boot.

After a while of thinking that maybe his intuition had been off that day, Hiruzen's attention was suddenly drawn to the twin jinchuriki. They were approached by Mizuki. The Hokage knew the man held great disdain for the twins, and even more so the village itself. He wasn't given much after his own parents had been killed by the Kyubi. Aid was limited, yes, but Hiruzen didn't spare any extra expenses for shinobi that had become orphaned during the attack. The funds were greatly needed for in village missions to ensure his shinobi and kunoichi didn't get complacent. They needed to put up a strong front right after the attack to ensure no other villages would try to take advantage of their weak moment.

Digressing, the Third watched and listened as Mizuki propositioned the twins to come with him later that night.

'Foolish man. And even more foolish children...' He thought with a wry smirk. The old man wasn't Hokage for no reason. He knew Mizuki wasn't completely loyal to the village. He simply allowed him to do as he pleased so he would get sloppy. He was sure the man worked for his former student, Orochimaru. 'However, I cannot allow you to take the twins. If Orochimaru were to get his hands on them...' He didn't finish his thought. A shiver went down his spine. His former student was one of the best out there, proven so for how long he had evaded capture.

Once Mizuki left, Hiruzen used his crystal ball to follow him. He knew the twins were gullible enough to fall for a simple trick. Anyone showing them some form of affection would probably be able to convince them to do anything. He would need to work on that. Especially since he didn't want to face Jiraiya's ire once he returned to the village.

With a puff of his pipe, Hiruzen put the crystal ball away. He stood from his chair and moved to the window, gazing out at the village with a calm gaze. "Anbu, bring me Iruka."

He remained standing at the window for the few minutes it took for the chunin to arrive. Once there, Iruka's demeanor was somewhat dark. His aloof glare let the Hokage know he was still upset about their previous encounter.

"You called, Hokage-sama." He strained the words. Hiruzen held back a smirk. His anger was still amusing.

"Yes. I would expect you to be happy, seeing as there is something to be done for the twins." He got straight to the point, knowing that bringing up the twins would put the chunin's worries at rest a bit. Undoubtedly, he hoped, it would renew his respect.

"What's going on with Naruto and Naruko?"

"It seems you're colleague, Mizuki, is not as noble as yourself when it comes to those two. I assume he plans to either capture or kill them tonight."

"Wh-what? Mizuki wouldn't do such a thing!" Though Iruka spoke in defense of his childhood friend, he had also noticed how bitter he had become throughout the years. He wasn't blind to the way Mizuki looked at Naruto and Naruko, but he had hoped it was only mild disdain. A part of the chunin knew it wouldn't be much of a stretch for the grey haired shinobi to hold true hate for the twins, much like many of the other teachers. But to attempt to murder them?

"Unfortunately I have had reasons to believe of his treachery a for a long time. Though I may be wrong, I will leave this matter up to you, Iruka."

"What? What about the ANBU? Or just bringing him in now?"

"I don't see the need to involve ANBU at the moment, and I want you to follow them if you truly believe Mizuki to still be innocent. Confirm with your own eyes and perform your duties as you see fit." The Hokage sat back in his chair and folded his hands, leveling a stern glare at the chunin.

A shadow cast over Iruka's eyes as he understood the hidden meaning behind the Hokage's words.

Mizuki had been one of, if not his closes friend since they were genin. They had been promoted together and even had tried out for ANBU together. Though Iruka did make it in, he turned down the role when Mizuki failed. They decided that teaching the next generation would be something they could do together. Iruka was even there when Mizuki proposed to Tsubaki, right in the Akimichi families bistro.

However, those joyous memories always tainted themselves with how Mizuki would glare at the twins. The sneers he sent and hateful words he spoke when he thought no one was listening. The signs had always been there. Yet, he ignored them. Something he knew he shouldn't have done. As much as he cared for the twins, his friendship with Mizuki was something that had existed just a tad bit longer. But now his doubts were going to be put to rest.

As Mizuki seemed to slowly drift away from him, the twins had slowly been filling in that small hole in his heart. There was no doubt about his choice. If Mizuki was really going to hurt the twins…

...he would kill him with no remorse.

-Flashback End-

"A traitor...I'm the traitor Iruka?" Mizuki's fist shook as he held back a lone tear at the tone of his ex-best friend. "After this village all but turned its back on us?"

"What are you talking about? How has the village abandoned us?" Iruka shouted back. His anger was the only thing keeping him from screaming in frustration at Mizuki's look. There was anguish in the traitor's eyes…

Yet they held each others gaze, neither looking away.

"After the Kyubi's attack...we only had each other to rely on. Since we were both already genin, we had to do missions almost day in and day out to survive. No financial help. No shelter. How long did we live on the streets Iruka? Yet were still expected to serve the village? While starving? While cold?"

Iruka flinched at Mizuki's words at first, afraid of what he may have revealed to the twins, but hearing the bitterness of his words afterword made Iruka realize he still held a grudge towards the village.

The scarred chunin couldn't lie either. There was a time he hated the village for how it treated its ninja after the Kyubi attack all those years ago. He had cursed the Hokage and the council for years afterward. However, there was one thing that made him keep going…

"Even though we had those rough times Mizuki, we still survived. And we survived because we had each other." Iruka called seriously while drawing a kunai, making Mizuki pale. "However, regardless of what we went through together, those twins over there have had it ten times worse. You've had time to get over the hell we went through. They are still surviving theirs."

"I don't want to fight Iruka!" Mizuki pleaded. He even dropped his kunai and shuriken pouch. "I had no intention of harming them, I swear!"

"Then what were you doing with them?" Iruka's grip tightened on his kunai as his emotions began to get thrown out of wack.

"..." He didn't know how to respond. If he truly said anything about what he had planned, he would be labeled a traitor for real, if he already wasn't. Now with time to think and seeing Iruka's reactions, he knew Tsubaki would be effected by his decision too. "I wanted to free them." Mizuki called. "To get them away from this hell, as you put it."

"We would have went willingly."

The voice drew both chunin's attention. To their surprise, both Naruto and Naruko looked wide awake sitting side by side.

"H-how?" Mizuki was shocked speechless. They had consumed enough poisoned food to put a boss summon down for a few hours. Then realization hit him. 'The Kyubi even burns through poisons that fast?'

While he was in thought, Iruka rushed to the two, dropping to his knees and pulling them both into a hug, though only Naruko was truly shocked by his reaction. Naruto just smirked, glad that Iruka seemed to care for them as much as the previous Sandaime had in the last time line. Naruto cheated just a little bit and connected to Iruka's chakra, gaining a little insight to how far the chunin was willing to go for them. To his pleasant surprise, if he had to choose between the village and the twins, Mizuki wouldn't be the only traitor.

"Naruto, Naruko, you're not hurt are you? And what you just said..."

"We're fine Iruka-sensei." Naruko answered, a blush on her face at being hugged by someone other than Naruto or Hinata.

"And we were serious." Naruto continued. "We can't take this anymore...how this village treats us..."

Iruka leaned back and looked to the two in the eye. He kept his senses on Mizuki but was surprised the man hadn't moved from his spot.

The scarred chunin smiled at the blondes and shook his head. "I can't imagine what you two have to endure but I promise you, from now on I'll do everything in my power to protect you both. And I'm sure you're friends would say the same. You have people who care about you here, and as much as I know it hurts to be surrounded by those that hate you, I can promise you things will change."

Naruto caught that Iruka didn't say that things would get better. He gave the impression that he had something planned, just as Jiraiya. Naruto knew then he needed to clue Iruka in on what his surrogate father had planned for his return, whatever it actually was. Naruto kinda hope Jiraiya would kill the Third like he did in a time line several millions years ago. It had been a fun time with Jiraiya establishing a dictatorship over Konoha and having the council publicly executed. However, this was somewhat of a neutral loop, leaning more towards a 'saintly' one. He would try to avoid unnecessary bloodshed if he could. Besides, he definitely didn't want to cause Naruko any unnecessary troubles either.

To his surprise again, Naruko was the first to hug Iruka back. Naruto followed suit and took note that he needed to spend more time with his younger twin. She needed affection far more than he did.

"Iruka...I won't run..." Mizuki finally spoke up. Before Iruka could stand and face him, Naruto and Naruko gripped his arms.

"Iruka-sensei, Mizuki-sensei really only wanted to set us free! We technically aren't fully ninja yet until we get our hitai-ate, so it's not really illegal is it?"

Iruka flinched at that. His doubt for his friend cleared up in that instant. If the twins were willing to defend him, then so would he. "Unfortunately, there are other circumstances..."

Naruko leaned in to Iruka's ear and whispered. "Is it about what me and onii-chan hold within us?"

Iruka's entire being froze. He immediately looked back at Mizuki but only received a confused gaze in return. Naruto pulled his attention back to the twins. "We've known for a while. But please don't tell anyone else we do!"

Naruto was placing a bit of trust into both Naruko and Iruka. He hadn't expected her to let the chunin in on them knowing about their burden. But it wasn't too much of a bad thing. He would've told the chunin sooner or later regardless, once he let him know about their training under Jiraiya. There was one big thing bugging Naruto, however, yet he pushed the thought away. With how things were going down, he didn't want to think about what could happen within the village even before the chunin exams.

Iruka himself could only sigh at the two. If they knew of their burdens but still went around like everything was okay, they had to be truly desperate to seek liberation from Mizuki. Whatever reservations he had about what he wanted to do in regards to them was also killed. He needed to be there for them as much as he had always wanted to, village laws be damned.

"Mizuki..." Iruka stood and turned towards the silver haired man. "You're under arrest for attempted kidnapping. Come quietly and you won't be harmed." Iruka took out another kunai and had to steel himself when he heard the twins protest.

Mizuki himself only nodded solemnly. Hearing the twins call for Iruka to let him go made everything he had been feeling for the past few moments burn within him. He had lied about wanting to free them before, but now he knew they truly needed a way away from the village. Iruka's words did get through to him too. The twins were suffering worse than the two chunin had at their age. They needed people there for them. Mizuki promised that he'd be one of those people, even if he would probably spend a decent portion of his life behind bars.

"I surrender." He knelt and put his hands behind his head. "But Iruka...take them to Tsubaki. I promise you she had no idea about tonight..."

Naruto perked up at the name of the chunin's fiance. She was such an inconsequential existence in their travels that it actually interested him how much she could help them. None of the looping trio had spent time with the woman extensively, save for torturing and killing her to piss off Mizuki. Since she wasn't someone they focused on, anything having to do with her would be completely new and fresh for the jinchuriki.

After the confrontation, Iruka bound Mizuki and lead him to the Hokage office. However, he made sure Naruto and Naruko remained outside of the building. They made it clear they didn't want to see the Hokage at the moment and luckily enough, he didn't require their presence. They saw Mizuki being escorted towards the ANBU prison and caught a glimpse of his regretful eyes. Shortly after Iruka came out and took the two to Ichiraku's. He invited them to stay at his own house for the night but the twins insisted they were alright to go home. They wanted time to themselves, even if just for the night. The chunin hesitantly agreed and gave them their space but told them he would be coming to escort them to the academy for their team placements. Though they told him it wasn't necessary, he insisted until the twins relented. Their short walk home would be spent in silence…

She was many things. Clever. Tomboyish. Headstrong and incestuous. But if anything, she was observant. For the past week, Naruto knew something had been up. Though she did believe the explanation her brother gave her about his sudden power gain, there was still a lot that she had noticed.

First, he, Hinata, and Ino seemed closer than they were before the incident. They thought they were being subtle but she caught their gazes a few times with each other. They were extremely comfortable around each other, somewhat more so than she was with her own brother. Hinata she could partially understand. She knew Hinata had a crush on her brother and to a lesser extent, herself. She was someone she wouldn't sharing her onii-chan with.

But the Yamanaka.

Her thoughts of the girl were on the fence. On one hand, she still wanted to snap her neck and spill here guts for what she had done. But on the other hand, Naruto and Hinata had pretty much begged her to forgive the girl. Something else that made her realize that the two held the girl in a much higher light than they had previously. All three had changed after the incident and Naruko couldn't understand why. Sure Naruto had said something about meeting their parents in the afterlife but what did that have to do with Hinata and Ino?

On top of that, Naruto himself had changed the most. Before the incident, her onii-chan had been the meeker of the two. She was the one usually speaking up for them both and sometimes even consoling Naruto when the villagers decided to get truly nasty. However, once again, after the incident, he was the one taking the lead and acting like the onii-chan she had always dreamed of. Not that she disliked him before. She would always love him, even if he decided to betray their friends. 'Though onii-chan would never.'

Even with all of these thoughts though, Naruko couldn't help but feel like the changes weren't a bad thing. She was now stronger than most general ninja in the village and she could only imagine her onii-chan was somewhere up there with the elite jonin. She giggled and blushed as she remembered the kiss.

"What's so funny?" Naruto asked, making the girl squeak and her blush to extend down her neck. She had forgotten he was still there with her.

"N-nothing! Just thinking..." She paused. "Actually...onii-chan, we said we wouldn't keep secrets right?"

Naruto nodded and gave her his full attention.

"Then...what's going on with you, Hinata, and Ino? I...I may just be reading too much into it, but you three seem a lot closer than you were before...the incident."

The timeless blonde was only mildly surprised Naruko had caught on to them. He had wondered if she had seeing as though they had been careful, Naruko was always close to them generally. She was bound to notice. They could've taken a few more precautions to ensure she remained in the dark, but this could also be a good thing.

"...No secrets..." Naruto started. Naruko tensed at his words. "Truthfully, Ino and Hinata are dating and I found out their secret just after the incident. Hinata broke up with Ino but I got them back together a few days ago. I wasn't supposed to tell anyone especially since...they both have a thing for us too..."

Naruko's head spun at the revelation, her entire body heating up red and steam bellowing from her ears. "Wh-wh-what?! Ino and H-Hinata-chan? B-but when? And why? I thought Ino liked Sasuke!"

"She did, to an extent. She only went after him because her mother wanted her too mainly. Ino confessed that she wanted to be with us just as much as she wanted to be with Sasuke. And that she and Hinata had only gotten together a few months ago. They didn't tell you because they didn't know how you'd react."

"B-but, the incident! And her words! They couldn't have been fake!" Naruko was still processing the information as she flailed a pointing finger at her brother. Then she blushed even more when she realized that Naruto said both girls had wanted to be with the twins. "Wait! Does that mean they don't care if we end up together too?"

Naruto released a bit of his aura to calm the girl down. Trying to explain things to her while she was flustered would only prolong what he wanted for the evening. It seemed to work as she visibly relaxed a bit and blushed at the implications of her own last statement.

"She was only doing what her mother told her, imouto. That's why she was so adamant on apologizing to us that night. You can ask them yourself but promise you won't snap at them for keeping this a secret. I'm literally the only person that knows and I'm breaking their trust by telling you this..."

Naruko could only frown at that. Though they said they would never keep secrets from each other, she realized it shouldn't extend to secrets that were entrusted to them by others. Something like this should have been something Ino or Hinata came out and told them about. Even with her current feelings towards the blonde mind walker, she couldn't help but feel like she deserved at least that much, and especially Hinata.

On Naruto's part, he hated lying to the girl so much but keeping the peace was a bit more important. He could easily tell Naruko the truth about everything, but that would only lead to her wanting to join them in destroying everything. It happened way too many times beforehand and they found it safer to keep the girl in the dark. At least, 9 times out of 10.

"I'm sorry, onii-chan. I didn't mean to pry about something like that..."

"It's okay, imouto. We promised each other we wouldn't keep secrets from each other and I trust you. I know Hinata would too."

"What about Ino?"

Naruto smirked. "I'm pretty sure if you put her face between your legs she won't care either."

The blush that flooded Naruko's body made him laugh. However, her glazed over look made him worry. Not even a minute later and the girl fell back unconscious, a perverted grin on her face and blood in her nostrils. He paused.

"Well shit, there goes tonight's fun..." He mumbled before taking the girl to their shared bed. He tucked her in and placed a kiss on her forehead, watching as she transitioned into a peaceful sleep. "But that's alright. We've got all the time in the world."

So this rant is actually for the next chapter of All Mighty Maelstrom, but since it also applies here, I'm going to post it here. The reviews mentioned below are also from All Mighty Maelstrom, so this same thing will be posted on the next chapter of AMM. I typed this a few months ago so bare with the tone please.

-RANT-

Sup everyone. I know it's been a while but life hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows. Honestly speaking, I'm not in the best position to be writing fanfiction at the moment, but I just want to see if it can clear some of the darkness flooding my life for a little bit.

And unfortunately since some people just didn't get it, I can't be nice anymore. I don't give two flying fucks what anyone thinks about the polyamorous relationships I have planned for the story. The fact that people were screaming...you know what, I'll just post a few and address them with my answer.

Don't worry, I won't be doing this often. I'm just making sure people understand their words won't change what I want.

Well fuck you too! If you don't want Naruto to have a Harem then DON'T DO IT! It's just that simple. You obviously just don't understand the story that you are writing. So FUCK YOU! FUCK OFF FANFICTION and FUCK YOU AND YOUR SHITTY WRITING!

I laughed at this the first time I read it. I don't understand the story I'M writing. It's still funny actually. But he's right about one thing. If I don't want to write a harem, I shouldn't do it. Ironically, as I stated in the last chapter, I'm NOT writing a harem. Polyamory is different from a harem. Just like it's also different from polygamy, which is the marriage of multiple people. Polyamory in simple terms is the capacity to love and hold relationships with multiple people. As for my writing being shitty, nobodies perfect. But I'm not a shit human being at least. Don't know about you…

Great story. But having the girls with other guys makes Naruto a bit of a cuckold and that's just an awful thing to add to a story.

Thank you for your honest opinion. However, it makes the girls a cuck by saying they can only have Naruto and no one else. That's a two way street. Plus, once again, polyamory is a relationship all on its own. (Admittedly with multiple different levels of a relationship, some even resembling a harem relationship and such.) I get that most people are used to the publicly advertised monogamous relationships our society says is the only way to have a 'healthy' relationship. But that's still not an argument anyone here can use if you do support 'Naruto can have any girl he wants but they have to devote themselves to him and only him.'

Yeah...no If you are going to write a harem story then write a harem story. But I cannot stand having a harem story where the girls get to fuck any guy she wants while being with the main person. Good luck with the story but I'm out.

Not a flame really. Somewhat respectfully told me they were done with reason. I respect this. But my answer is the same as above as well. I'm not writing this story to cater to anyone's self-insert masturbation harem fantasy. Honestly, I wasn't writing this story to cater to anyone. IT'S ALL STILL A RANDOM MESS OF IDEAS. It was only taking shape because I was enjoying it, but that came to an end when things got too busy for me.

So for the record, if anyone else says anything along these lines, I won't even acknowledge them anymore. I will continue this story for as long as I want and I will write how I want. If you want to get a rise out of me again, come back with some new material please. I'm too old to try and teach children how not to be human scum.

But if you want to boost my review count, be my guest!