Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto Franchise that belongs solely to Masashi Kishimoto; I do not own Heaven's lost Property, High School DxD or any other Anime I borrow themes from. The only thing I claim is my OC's and original Story Plot.


Author's Note (A/N): Hey everyone I'm back once again and with a very long chapter to kick off the Land of Snow Arc with a bang and to make up for the dry period of inactivity. A lot is explored in this chapter that sets up the tone for the rest of the Land of Snow Arc. In this chapter we get to see Naruto once more caught between his duties as a shinobi and his more personal and important duties as a father. His foster children aren't very happy with the upcoming assignment Naruto is being presented with but he gains support from a very reliable and surprising source who lays down the law for the children in an emotional scene. We will also get to see Naruto travel back to a very familiar location before setting off for his intended destination. This chapter is the calm before the coming snowstorm ladies and gentlemen so prepare yourself.

So sit back, relax, and enjoy!


Chapter 84

Journey to the Land of Snow

'This was not how I expected things to turn out.' Naruto thought to himself as he just left the meeting area for his team. Team 7 was assigned the mission of protecting actress Yukie Fujikaze and her production crew on their filming tour all the way up to the far northern country called the Land of Snow which was located near the north pole of the world. It was well over 2,000 miles away making it the farthest Naruto has ever gone from home. It was going to be quite the trip to undertake and one Naruto wasn't so sure he wanted to make for a number of reasons.

As it turns out actress Yukie Fujikaze wasn't the picture-perfect idol that Naruto imagined her to be. She was cold, cynical, and generally unpleasant to be around. Now Naruto understood that this was a rather childish reason to not want to go on this mission especially when you factor in the fact that he was still upset that not only could he not get the autograph he always wanted out of her, but he watched her crush the hopes of a bunch of children who also wanted her autograph. If that had been his children, then fan or no fan he would have torn the arrogant actress a new one.

Another reason that bothered him and perhaps the one that was the most important was the sheer distance that he was going to be traveling and the amount of time away from the village he was going to be spending. This trip was going to be incredibly long and the toll that would take on his six foster children was something he didn't even want to think about. He was going to need to have a very long conversation with them about this. They would most definitely not stay quiet about his long absence once this mission started.

Other than that, Naruto just had general concerns about the importance of this mission. It was a tall order that was being asked of his team which was why he was coming over to discuss it with Hinata who was at home. Yesterday was an amazing day that Naruto would never forget but now that their day of bliss was behind them it was time to get back to business.

Showing up at the Hyūga compound was going to become the norm for Naruto as the guards at the main gate didn't give him too much hassle at all. After a few minutes Naruto found himself in Hinata's bedroom conversing with the heiress who was very much happy to see him.

"So, how long are you guys supposed to be gone?" The main topic of conversation between the young couple was of course the long mission Naruto was about to embark on and how it would affect everything. "The mission is going to be an A – Rank and it's going to take us somewhere upwards of three months to complete from start to finish." Hinata had to sit down after hearing of that statement. 3 months away was a very long time… it was the longest time that they've ever been away from each other or away from home before. It was a bitter pill to swallow considering the fact they just had their first date. Now they had to go three months without seeing each other? The universe was cruel to them.

"Three whole months…? Why is it an A – Rank mission again?" Hinata whispered in bewilderment as she sat down on her bed to take in the heavy news. That was far too long, not to mention it raised other concerns that she had. "Well apparently to get to the Land of Snow all the way up by the north pole we have to take a ship and travel pass the coast of the Land of Lightning and we'll also be passing by the perimeter of the Rishi Maze. Because of the inherent dangers associated with the area and the fact that we aren't really friendly with the Hidden Cloud has made this mission a lot more difficult than it needs to be." Naruto revealed with a sigh that was mirrored by Hinata who understood just how complicated the situation was.

The Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning were neutral to each other at best over the years and that relationship was further strained with the Hyūga Affair that ended up with the death of Hizashi Hyūga, Neji's father. It all came about when Hinata was kidnapped by the interim Jōnin Commander of the Hidden Cloud Village. Hiashi killed the man instantly while he was trying to escape with Hinata and as a result the very militarized shinobi village of the Land of Lightning immediately called for the head of Hiashi Hyūga in compensation for the death of their own. This ultimatum was put in place to avoid a full-blown war that the Hidden Cloud was threatening the Leaf Village with. In the end Hiashi's identical twin younger brother Hizashi Hyūga was offered up as a secret sacrificial offering to stop the potential conflict before it began.

Ever since then the two countries and respective village's have been on bad terms with each other and to avoid any more potential conflicts they have politically declared themselves neutral to each other in the eyes of the public. With the actress and her crew taking a voyage around the coast of the Land of Lightning it could cause a lot of political tension if it was discovered that there were leaf ninja on board. This context didn't even take into consideration the fact that they would also be traveling close to the perimeter of the Rishi Maze Archipelago. That was uncharted and unsanctioned waters that not many people traveled to due to the heavy culture of piracy in the region. The fact that Shion and her crew made it through that region of water was surprising.

"I see… but what about your birthday. October is in 3 days and it's coming up in just two weeks. I was looking forward to celebrating it with you now that we're a couple." Hinata sighed sadly as she felt Naruto place his arms around her shoulders. Naruto's birthday was October 10th. It was a date Hinata was looking forward too now that they were a couple. Not to mention they now had so many kids in the house to add to the equation. They could have turned it into one giant party. "I know… to be honest I don't know if I'll be back in time before December to celebrate your birthday. Anything can happen out there that might extend the length of our mission." Naruto reasoned as Hinata's birthday was December 27th and that was three months away from where they were now. It wasn't certain how long the mission would truly last, so the possibility of missing her birthday was also very much on the table.

"I understand… I just wish it didn't have to be like this." Hinata frowned and seeing this Naruto planted small kisses onto her cheek to bring her out of her funk. "It's going to take at least a month and some days give or take to make it to the Land of Snow because the crew is going to be stopping off at a lot of preplanned destinations to film scenes for the movie. When we get to the country, we will spend another month and at least two weeks give or take filming the rest of the movie. Then it will take us a few weeks to travel back down south to get back home since traveling on foot through the Land of Lightning is just begging for problems." Naruto explained as he went over the itinerary that he was given that the film crew would be abiding by. It was a tall order and one he was sure was going to exhausted him beyond belief.

"That's a lot… what about the kids? Are you okay with leaving them behind?" Hinata asked as she allowed the blond-haired boy to nuzzle her in what was quickly becoming the couples favorite romantic gesture to perform on one another. "I've thought about it all day and I've made up my mind. I'm taking them back to Hōrai Island to stay with my villagers there. Lady Miya will watch over them while I'm away." It was a hard decision that took a lot of time to consider as he also took into consideration the fact that Hinata had informed him she was slated to have a long-term deployment Chūnin duty that would keep her out of the village for quite some time. So, it wasn't like she could watch over the kids while he was gone. Shoko was now an active duty member of the village once more after Tsunade reinstated her. She was exclusively being given very difficult S – Rank missions to bring in large dumps of revenue to help the village in its recovery period. Anko was also busy with her assignments which made being at the apartment unsuitable for the six half demon children. Only Aria would be around for any significant amount of time and Naruto couldn't place the burden of protecting and watching over them onto the witch's shoulders all alone.

The last time Aria was left home alone with the girls for a night Gaara attacked them in the apartment and nearly killed them. That was something Naruto wasn't willing to risk again, and he couldn't keep them cooped up in the casino under Dino's watch all that time either. The only viable option that Naruto had up his sleeve to ensure the complete safety of his children would be to send them back home to Hōrai Island where Miya and the rest of the surviving refugee villagers could take care of them.

"Does this decision have anything to do with me not being here?" Hinata was very sharp and it helped that she knew Naruto's thought process as the boy nodded partially in confirmation to this statement. "Not only that but also I don't quite think it is safe in the village for them while I'm not around. Koharu and Homura on the council made a big fuss about Iris and Chaos when I first revealed their existence many months ago and then that Danzō guy also made a big fuss when I brought the kids with me from Hōrai island. I don't want those old dirt bags doing anything fishy while I'm away for so long. They could do any number of things to slip by Aria's detection. I don't want to risk that chance and I also think this is a good opportunity to get them out of the apartment and have them go back home." Naruto explained himself as in the end he only wanted what was best for his new children. He wouldn't let anything harm them.

"That's understandable… if that is what you think is best then I'll support you on this. I'll even be here with you when you give them the talk about your decision. I'm sure they're not going to be completely happy about this." Hinata offered as she knew just how much of a strain Naruto's duty as a shinobi was causing on his relationship with his foster children. When it was just Iris and Chaos this wasn't a problem since Naruto has no choice but to take them along as that would leave himself vulnerable because of the weakness of the girls being separated from him would cause. With the Hōrai orphans it was a completely different story. They couldn't defend themselves at all as their powers were very underdeveloped. Not to mention the fact that Naruto wanted to spare them anymore hardships after everything they've had to endure.

It was a tough parental decision that he's had to make but he was also glad that Hinata was here in his corner like always. Her help and support were very much appreciated. After a few minutes of silence Hinata picked up the conversation by pulling out a large world map from one of her shelves in the room. Laying it out on the coffee table she began to explain to Naruto about her mission. The Land of Fire and the Land of Wind were in talks with each other to mend the broken relationship that came about following the Hidden Sand's failed invasion.

To fix this problem the two villages were conducting joint patrol missions to foster a working relationship between the ninja of both villages. These teams would be patrolling in the same sectors and Hinata's team was being asked to patrol on the Land of Wind's side of the border. She would be responsible for patrolling the north eastern border to the country that shared its borders with the Land of Rain and Land of Stone which was a protectorate state of the greater Land of Earth. It was a very turbulent region that was dangerous for any shinobi to be in considering the named countries that call that area home.

"You aren't being given an easy task either. That area is dangerous and after what just happened with the false invasion as it's being called the rest of the countries are all very tense with those in that region being downright paranoid. If you encounter any Hidden Stone shinobi, I want you to stay safe." Naruto advised as genuine concern could be easily detected within his voice and it was enough to cause a warm smile to grow on Hinata's face. It was sweet of him to be so worried and she would expect nothing else from him. "I will… it's not like you'll be there to rescue me after all." The indigo haired girl teased as she poked Naruto in the ribs who squirmed away from her. "I'd come running no matter the distance if you ask me too." He flirted in a cheesy manner as Hinata laughed at the bad delivery the blond Jinchūriki was going with.

"C minus for delivery… do better next time." Hinata snickered seconds later as Naruto dramatically flopped down until his head was in her lap. He placed a hand over his heart as if he was wounded by the girl's words. "Meanie… but hey I was just thinking. If you're going to be over their in the Land of Wind, then you might have a chance to run into Gaara. If that's the case then, I want you to check up on how he's doing for me. I'll write a letter for you to deliver if you could do this favor for me. I haven't had the time to do so ever since the invasion." Naruto revealed as it would be nice to know how his fellow Jinchūriki was doing. He hopped everything was turning around for the better regarding the former child weapon.

Hinata couldn't help the smile that came to her face at the thoughtfulness of her boyfriend. It was so like him to be concerned about others and she knew it meant a lot to him considering the shared burden that they shared being Jinchūriki. They had a bond that no one else in the world could fully understand except for the other few hosts out there. "Of course, it would be my pleasure." The first chance that she got she would seek out Gaara for Naruto. It wouldn't be a problem at all.

After giving Hinata a more affectionate thank you in response to this the couple let silence overtake them for a few minutes before it was brought to an end once more by Hinata. "Is it time to go tell the kids about what's going on? I'll be here for you the entire time." Hinata offered as the children were here at the compound with them. They were introduced to Hanabi, Neji, and Hiashi who all did their best to accommodate and acclimate themselves to the six very different children who were very different that Iris and Chaos who were catching up with their best friend in Hanabi. Neji and Hiashi have never gotten the chance to interact with the twin celestial beings before so this was a novel experience for them on top of the six additional faces to entertain. The Hyūga clan hasn't been this lively in a long time… Naruto was just counting his lucky stars that Hayate wasn't here to throw a fit. That would have been a total disaster.

"Yeah… I'm not really looking forward to this."


He was right… the kids didn't take this well at all as Roku and Dai through a big fit which degraded into a shouting match between them and Naruto as he tried to get them to see reason. Ai was left crying her little eyes out which was a sight that no man could take while Moegi looked to be on the verge of a panic attack. With his attention split between the angry boys and the distraught girls Naruto was quickly losing both the argument and his patience. He completely understood the boys pain and they were undeniably justified in their anger. He didn't disagree with them on that as he could sympathize but their constant back and forth arguing wasn't getting them anywhere and with Asagi unable to rein in her younger siblings since she was trying to comfort the two youngest girls it looked like the conflict would only take a turn for the worse. That is until Hinata stepped in…

"Boys! That's enough! Listen to your father!" It was a very rare occasion for Hinata to raise her voice and given her very soft natural voice and disposition you'd think it wouldn't be very effective, but you'd be wrong as in that instant both half demon boys immediately brought their attention onto Hinata who had a very stern glare that didn't match her soft and delicate features plastered on her face.

"I understand that you are very upset with his decision. It's not easy to be apart from the ones you love. You need him and his attention I get that. But the job he does puts food on the table and it keeps everyone including you safe. We're not asking you to like it because no one should, we're asking you to be big boys and understand it." Hinata laid down the law with the twin half demon boys and a profound silence overtook the family room that this argument was taking place in.

Hiashi just like with last night had his jaw slightly unhinged as he's never once in his entire life seen this side of his eldest daughter before. She was a completely different person than what he was led to believe. She was growing up and evolving right before his very eyes. Who was this young girl and where was his daughter that he thought he knew? She was supposed to be a very meek and shy individual but here she sounded like a true mother scolding her children. It was a sight to truly behold and this warmth flowed into the older clan head's heart at this epiphany. It was a bitter sweet warmth that he would need to take time to get used too.

Hinata's very soft voice didn't allow her to yell at a very high pitch or loud pervasive tone but despite that fact her voice carried with it a base in it that quelled the twin half demon boy's anger in an instant. The stern glare that was on her face rooted all of the kids to their spots with even Iris and Chaos leveling their soft-spoken mother figure with a look of surprise.

"But it's not fair that we have to be without him all the time because he has to be off playing hero for a bunch of strangers. We need him! He promised us he'd always be here for us and that we'd have a better life than what we came from!" Roku cried as he pointed an accusing finger towards Naruto who had Moegi in his lap. The girl was on the verge of a panic attack and he was going everything he could to curtail that eventuality. The olive-green girl was the most emotionally damaged and attached to him. She "needed" his attention and very presence more than the others did. She was far to traumatized and mentally scared to function without a guide in her life. Before, she could just rely on her siblings to get her by, but they could never actual fix her or comfort her in her times of need.

When Naruto came along and presented himself as this pillar that they could all latch onto she took that leap of faith as he proved himself to be trustworthy and reliable when he saved them and helped defeat the Four War Gods which was a task none of them actually thought would ever be possible. They lived their entire lives underneath those demons regime with no hope of ever escaping. To have him completely uproot their lives and prove to them that things could change was a profound experience on Moegi in particular and it was something that Naruto wasn't fully aware of. He left a lasting impression on the young girl and the sheer influence that he had over her was something he was only scratching the surface at.

She needed him and the same could be said for little Ai who was only four years old. She needed a parental figure in her life to guide her. Shion needed a strong alpha male role model in his life as a growing young boy and the same could especially be said for Roku and Dai who are emotionally stunted and defensive. Asagi was the oldest of them and previously held the burden of looking after the entire group. Now that she no longer had to do so freed her up to act her age. She was only a year and a half younger than Naruto and the others, but she too was very much emotionally compromised as far as being a child went. Her struggle was learning how to rely on Naruto to be her pillar and father figure. She was having a difficult time distinguishing what role he played in her life.

"Your life is better whether you believe it or not and it will continue to get better but to reach such a future takes sacrifices. His sacrifices that only he can make as this is the only life he is allowed to live. He doesn't play hero as you call it for a bunch of strangers because he wants the glory or because he doesn't want to be around you. He does it because he has such tremendous power at his fingertips. It's the right thing to do to help others who can't help themselves when you have the power to do so. The proof of that is in his actions of saving you all. But he can't do it on his own… he needs your love, support, and understanding to get him by every day." Hinata reasoned as she walked over to the two boys and grabbed their hands into her own.

Squeezing down on them just enough to get the twins to look at her Hinata nodded her head over towards Naruto and their siblings. "Arguing and disrespecting your father won't make this any easier and look at what your anger has done to your little sisters. They need you two to be strong for them. They need you right now and instead of being there for them you are throwing a temper tantrum. How do you think that makes them feel?" Hinata questioned as the boys both looked down at their feet in absolute shame.

Hinata was the same height as the boys so it wasn't like her presence was intimidating but, in that moment, she appeared to be a giant mountain compared to the boys who felt like tiny ants. She put them in their places and they knew it. She placed things into a clear perspective and that was enough for the twins to realize that they were wrong. They could see the hurt and self-loathing in Naruto's eyes. The older boy didn't like this situation either, but he was trying to do the best that he could and their anger towards him wasn't making things any better. "I want you to apologize to your father and sisters right now… is that understood." The only way this could be resolved would be through an apology and acceptance and Hinata was going to impart this lesson onto the young boys as their tempers and the sheer need of attention that they held for their father was the source of this loud conflict and the ones from the past.

"Yes mom…" This uttered phrase came out of Dai's mouth as he took his hand away from hers. Hinata has been with the children since the beginning. With her significant relationship towards Naruto the foster children could easily tell just how much their father cared for her. After the question Ai posed to Naruto weeks back when they brought Tsunade back about Hinata being their mother it actually caused the children to have a serious debate on the subject. Was Hinata their mother figure? Their family dynamic was already an incredibly strange one to begin with as no outsider could fully understand it so in the end the group came to a consensus that Hinata would play the role of their mother.

Turning to their father the twins walked up to him and got on their hands and knees before bowing with their heads touching the tatami mats of the room. "We're so sorry dad. We didn't mean to let things get this out of hand." The boys apologized with tears in their eyes as Naruto sighed in sadness. He didn't like to see any of the children cry… it broke his heart.

"Boys… it's ok… I forgive you. If things could be different then trust me I would do so. But this is the life I lead… this is the life that all shinobi live. It comes with sacrifices and all I'm asking of you is to understand… understand that this doesn't mean I don't love you guys any less. You guys give me even more of a reason to be a ninja so that I can make the world a safer place for you as well as put food on the table." Naruto preached as the two green and orange haired boys cried even harder with Shion and Asagi going up to them to wrap them in hugs. Little Ai was now in the care of Iris and Chaos who were silent through this whole affair. Nothing they could say would make this any better. They were required to go with their father wherever he went or else it would leave all of them vulnerable. They had a luxury and privilege that none of the others had. It wouldn't be right for them to interfere in this matter as they themselves were technically apart of the overarching problem.

"Here… how does this sound? I want all of you to name off something that you want to do exclusively with me today and we'll do it. We'll make it into a tradition for everytime that I have to take on a mission outside of the village. We'll always spend the day together doing anything you want." Naruto suggested as this declaration caught the attention of everyone present. Hiashi was still silent as he let this scene play out in front of him. Naruto's parental skills were far removed from what Hiashi has ever done with his own daughters or experienced at the hands of his father Hayate who was cold and stern.

"Really? You'd do that?" Roku mumbled in shock as Naruto got up while holding onto Moegi in his arms and walked over to the kneeling boys. "I'd do anything for you my son. I don't care how long it takes, I'll beat it into those thick skulls of yours that I love all of you. Nothing is more important to me in life than my family. I was born without one and without anything to call my own. I understand what you're feeling better than you may think. I will never abandon you." Naruto whispered in a love filled tone that completely tore away the last of the restraints holding all of the children back. Tears fell from everyone present as Roku and Dai latched onto Naruto's arms with Moegi sandwiched in the middle. His shirt was going to be drenched after this, but he didn't care. It was all worth it in the end.

It was a heartwarming scene to behold as the others dogpiled Naruto in the middle while Hinata with Evangeline on her shoulder watched on with misted over eyes. She was proud to call Naruto her friend… he made a wonderful father. 'This boy is truly special… I see that now.' Hiashi thought to himself with pride swimming beneath the surface of his eyes and heart. Naruto was definitely a keeper and he was going to keep him around to ensure Hinata's happiness no matter the objections anyone else in his clan or the rest of the village had. Hiashi knew a gem when he saw one.

Naruto could barely move an inch with eight children crushing him with their love, but he could still move his neck and head and as such he turned to Hinata and mouthed a silent thank you for her help. A beautiful and heartfelt smile and a silent your welcome was her response to Naruto who smiled and closed his eyes to bask in the feeling he was being drenched with. It felt good. "How long can we stay like this dad?" Roku asked since as a boy he felt a little embarrassed and uncomfortable with showing this much affection in front of everyone. Especially since he had so many sisters as siblings… he didn't want to lose his masculinity.

"There's no time limit on love and acceptance Roku… that's an important life lesson I want you to always remember… so we can stay like this for as long as you all will like."


Land of Waves [1 Day Later]

It's been quite a while since Naruto was last in the Land of Waves. They only stopped off in Otaru Town the previous week which was located on the mainland side to the entrance of the Great Naruto Bridge. Seeing his name on the bridge was quite the shock for Naruto and quite the story that he was able to tell his children while they traveled through the revitalized country. Since they had time to spare Naruto stopped off at Tazuna's house to greet the bridge builder and his family that he learned so much from.

It took them well over six hours of fast shinobi travel to get from the Hidden Leaf down to Otaru Town by the coast. Naruto wasn't alone in his traveling endeavors. He wasn't allowed to leave the village on his own because of his special status as the Nine Tails Jinchūriki among other things so Tsunade arranged for Naruto to travel with Patrol Squad 9 who were more than willing to act as Naruto's escorts. The group along with Aria who came along with Naruto made good time to the Land of Waves as Naruto planned to arrange transportation back to Hōrai Island. It was a simple errand to run and no one had any objections to this task.

"Hello Ms. Tsunami. It's been a while hasn't it?" Naruto's warm smile was truly a sight Tsunami wasn't expecting to see as she squealed before catching the young Shī-ō in a bone crushing hug that nearly popped his back out of place. It's been many months since she saw off the young hero of her country. The fact that he was making a return so soon was a welcomed surprise to the young mother. It was also a surprise to see so many additional new faces accompanying him. The only ones that she recognized was Iris and Chaos.

"Oh, my goodness! Hi Naruto… come in! Come in!" Tsunami accommodated as she stepped aside to let the huge group enter her home. "Dad! You'll never guess who is back!" Tsunami yelled out as an irritable old man's voice responded in kind. "Who is it?" Tazuna as per usual came stumbling into the living area with a drunken gate about him with a bottle of sake in one hand. His glasses were sliding off his face and his shirt had beer stains on it.

"You're kidding me, right? It isn't even nighttime yet old man and you're already hammered? You'll be in an early grave before Inari becomes an adult." Naruto patronized in disbelief as he wasn't expecting the old master builder to be drunk this time of day. "It's my house you little brat! I do what I want!" Tazuna hollered back in a belligerent tone of voice as he corrected his glasses while staring at Naruto for a long minute. Recognition soon dawned on the old man as he seemingly sobered up in an instant.

"Naruto! Is that you my boy?" Tazuna blurted out as he grabbed Naruto into a back breaking hug just like his daughter a minute ago. Naruto wasn't sure just how much more he could take of this loving abuse as the smell of liquor wafted into Naruto's nose. Naruto crinkled his nose in discomfort as he pushed the old man off of him. "It's good to see you to old man? Do me a favor and lay off the liquor." Naruto wheezed as his children all huddled up by the doorway with caution in their eyes.

Who were these people and how did their father know them? "I've got a liver of steel boy. I'm going to be alive and kicking for a long time to come." Tazuna grumbled as he plopped himself down into one of the many chairs of his living room. Naruto couldn't help but roll his eyes at this statement as Tazuna was just as stubborn as he remembered him to be. "Naruto who are these kids with you and where are your teammates?" Tsunami asked in curiosity as Asagi and the others cautiously looked around the house with trepidation in their eyes. They've never been to another person's house before other than the Hyūga compound. These were new experiences for the children who have had limited exposure to the greater outside world.

Naruto smiled at this fact as he panned his arm out to gesture to the orphans who perked up once they were called upon. "These are my new foster children Ms. Tsunami. I adopted them a little while ago after rescuing them from some really bad people." Naruto explained as the young mother placed her hand over her heart in sympathy. "My goodness… you little ones must have had a hard time. Come sit down and make yourselves comfortable." Tsunami invited as the thought of Naruto rescuing people or getting himself into such a situation didn't faze her anymore. She already had to accept the fact a 12-year-old boy had two 6-year-old daughters and that he was capable of extraordinary things even beyond the norm of regular shinobi. Him adopting six more children wasn't something far out of the realm of possibilities for Tsunami to wrap her head around.

The hesitation was clear in the children's eyes as Chaos grinned and placed a curse down on Shion who jumped forward with the feeling of ticklish feathers assaulting his body. The young boy flopped onto the nearby couch with a yelp of panic and surprise while the little Angeloid laughed at her brothers' misfortune. He was her favorite victim to target among her new siblings.

This comedic act broke the tense atmosphere in the room as Naruto encouraged the rest of the kids to take a seat while introducing his teammates and Aria. "My teammates are back in the village. We're actually about to set out on a very long-term mission and I didn't want to leave my kids home without a lot of supervision, so I decided to take them to visit some relatives of mine in the area." Naruto explained as Kosuke and the others found seats of their own to make themselves comfortable in. "Thank you for having us ma'am…" Hayama greeted as he along with Tekuno, Kosuke, and Aria introduced themselves to their host with rounds of introductions following in the case of the six half demon children getting the spot light.

"Congratulations on your promotion Naruto… I'm not surprised that you are moving up in the world." The topic of Naruto's promotion was brought up and of course his hosts were happy for him as the new Chūnin had a thought buzzing in the back of his head that needed answering.

"Ms. Tsunami… where is Inari?" Naruto wanted to catch up with the young boy who he started off on the wrong foot with. There was so much to say as the boy grew up over the course of their mission here. He changed for the better and he did promise that he'd come back one day. Today was that day now.

"Inari? Oh… he should be coming back in any minute now. He was out fishing at the docks with his new friends." Tsunami explained and as if right on que the sound of the front door opening filled the house as Inari walked into the house with an entire bucket filled with fish. He had on a pair of overalls to help protect his clothes from the water he was so used to as he took his boots off at the front door.

"Mom! I'm home!" Inari called out as he walked down the hallway to the main living area as his mother called out to him with giddiness in her voice. Upon hearing his mother say they had guests the young boy quickened his pace to appear in the doorway a moment later. "Naruto!" Inari's eyes immediately zeroed in on Naruto in a matter of seconds as the young boy threw himself at the blond haired Shī-ō who met him halfway with a giant hug. "It's good to see you squirt. You've been stepping up to the plate while I've been away?" Naruto greeted as he tussled Inari's hair beneath his favorite bucket hat with a grin in place while Eva subtly sprinkled the boys hair with water as a prank.

"Hey, don't wet my hair! I've been doing more than stepping up to the plate. I'm a fisherman's apprentice now and I've been helping out around town." Inari revealed with a puffed-out chest as he's been gaining notoriety around town for his helpful and reliable nature. People looked up to him with pride in their eyes as he was starting to turn into the great man that his father Kaiza was. "That's great to hear Inari… I'm proud of you and I'm sure your father would be too." Naruto said in a softer tone as he pulled the younger boy into another embrace. He was turning his life around for the better instead of brooding and crying in his room all the time about the harsh cruelty of the world. Now he was out and about doing things to make it better. The young boy was on the right path now.

Inari smiled in gratitude at the kind words spoken to him before another voice spoke up causing his entire body to freeze. "Yeah I agree. That's great to hear Inari." Iris joined in as she made her presence known to the young boy who in an instant had a massive blush on his face. Turning rigidly to face the beautiful blond-haired girl Inari awkwardly waved his hand to the goddess in disguise. "Hi Iris… it's nice to see you… you look beautiful… I mean…" Inari was a complete mess as Iris quirked an eyebrow at the boys terrible stuttering problem all of a sudden as she bashfully and gracefully blushed at the beautiful comment. She always did appreciate such compliments even though the ones that mattered most to her came from her father.

Immediately a shift in the atmosphere and temperature of the room could be felt as Inari suddenly felt the freezing cold hand of Naruto placed down on his shoulder. "Hey Inari… maybe we should have another talk like the one we had before I left huh?" Naruto suggested in a far to chipper and pleasant tone that sent bolts of fear up the young boys spine who was cursing the fact he had this uncontrollable crush on Iris. It wasn't his fault that she was quite literally the prettiest girl he's ever seen. Everything about her stood out to Inari and what he didn't realize is that these uncontrollable feelings he was having was caused by the fact that Iris wasn't human.

She had a natural alluring and attracting aura around her that held traces of her divinity in it. Mortal minds usually couldn't function properly around her and, in some cases, they would become asphyxiated on her in the form of attractions or obsessions. Hanabi, Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon all to a certain extent have experienced this same factor while being around their best friend but for them they have a stronger mental fortitude afforded to them being children training to be shinobi while Inari was a complete civilian with a weaker mind due to the trauma that he has suffered.

It was easier for him to fall prey to Iris's unintentional and non-malicious aura that affects both genders without discrimination. Even Hanabi who is Iris and Chaos's closest female friend feels a slight unexplainable pull and non-sexual attraction towards Iris who has been friends with her for a long time.

Inari never stood a chance when it came to his feelings as being in the presence of an all-powerful primordial being with an essence stronger than the gods themselves was something he could never fight against. His current plight was also something he couldn't fight against as he turned to Naruto with fear in his eyes.

"Pfftt… such a wimpy kid." Chaos giggled as she covered her mouth in hysteria while Hayama, Tekuno, and Kosuke all looked on in amusement. So, the kid had a crush on Naruto's daughter huh? He was a dead man walking. 'This little boy is being affected by the little misses aura. But it is cute to see even though he's totally about to be dead meat.' Aria thought to herself with a fit of internal laughter. She knew better than anyone just how powerful Iris's aura actually is. As a supernatural creature Aria could feel a broader scope of Iris's aura and it is the main contributing factor to why she is so subservient and submissive to the twin girls. Their power and status in the hierarchy of the universe is beyond her standing by miles. "Wait does that guy like Iris?" This question was posed by Dai who whispered this to Asagi who grinned in feminine delight. These sorts of scenes were the lifeblood of females.

"I think so… isn't that cute?" Asagi cooed as the twin brothers rolled their eyes in annoyance and jealousy. "What does he have that we don't?" Roku grumbled while Shion mumbled in his own brand of annoyance as well. "So not cool." It went without saying that the three brothers all had innocent crushes on their new foster sister and it all started from the photo Naruto showed them back on Hōrai Island when he first met them. The same phenomenon that was affection Inari was also affecting the boys as well but from a different perspective.

Their feelings are derived from their instincts as half demons. The same instincts that affect Aria and make her subservient and obedient towards the girls and Naruto was also affecting them in this regard as their half demon blood could sense Iris's divinity and her place at the very apex of the food chain compared to them who were at the very bottom. Living with her under the same roof also doesn't help matters either and this was a subject that Naruto has had to address with the boys soon after taking them in. He didn't want their feelings getting out of hand as he too has experienced them since the day she was born.

"So, how have things been since we left?" The conversation was progressing nicely so far, but Naruto was very curious to know how things have been for the family and the rest of their country since Gatō was removed from his power. He took a walk through the village on his way to their home and he could see a tremendous improvement to the town and the inhabitants. They all looked happy and free, that sight alone filled Naruto's heart with pride and happiness to see these people back on their feet.

Taking a moment to ponder this question Tsunami went on to explain a multitude of events and good fortune to befall the Land of Waves after Team 7 left. From more fishing contracts with legitimate business to more employment for almost every single citizen was the first of the major improvements. They were able to completely revitalize their infrastructure and expand their town to be even bigger than it ever was before. Tazuna even received the position of being the new Daimyō of the Land of Waves following the assassination of the previous one at the hands of Gatō and his thugs. While initially reluctant in the beginning, the perpetually drunk old man eventually conceded to his peoples demand and took office.

In doing so with his decades of experience he was able to quickly facilitate the revitalization of his entire country with his management skills. He didn't want a palace or anything to denote his status as a royal and as such Tazuna and his family opted to remain in their humble home free of the hassle of anything larger. As a further testament to the countries growing success Tazuna was hired to build three more bridges in other countries since then that he has completed with a vigor not seen since his youth. The amount of money they were bringing in was a vast improvement compared to the previous years they were in poverty.

"Oh! I almost forgot. There was this one time a traveling group of performers came to our village and entertained the children and villagers for us. It was a group of three. They were very nice people and quite unique if I do say so myself." Tsunami noted as so many things happened to them over the course of these long months that she was beginning to forget all of the smaller things of importance.

"Really? I've never met a group of performers before. What were they like?" Naruto questioned as this was very interesting to Naruto, he's missed out on some of the more normal things and simple pleasures in life growing up with his less the stellar childhood. He's always wanted to watch performers display their craft and talent to the world. If he ever got the opportunity to do so in the future, he would love to share in this novel experience with his children to give them something he never had. If such an event ever came along it would mean the world to him.

"Well they were each quite unique characters. Their performer and singer was this beautiful woman, quite possibly the prettiest I've ever seen. She had long dark black hair tied up in the traditional way with brown eyes and nice red lipstick and makeup. She also wore this expensive blue kimono and other accessories. She was quite the singer when she was catering to the children." Tsunami described in earnest as Iris who was busy talking to Inari suddenly perked up which in turn caused Naruto to stir in his seat when he felt his daughters grace fidget and churn within his body.

"The other two were men. One was a handsome young man with black hair that he had covering the left side of his face. He was quite tall and had on this nice white and green hooded jacket and nice running pants. He also had a pretty pendant around his neck." At this descriptive response Iris was now silent as she paid express attention to Tsunami who was so far oblivious to Iris's reaction, but Naruto and his colleagues weren't as Naruto felt a nagging feeling in the back of his head.

"The last of them was this cute old man with a bald head. He reminds me a lot of my father… well… except for his alcoholic tendencies. He played a lot of games with the children while they were here." At this point Naruto's attention was half split between his host and his daughter who was now looking at him. Walking over to her father Iris unexpectedly plopped herself down in his lap without a word. This was quite strange and yet familiar at the same time. This stranger behavior was the same type of behavior the twins would usually perform when they knew something. This notion was accentuated by the fact Naruto could feel his chakra network calm down now that Iris was in physical contact with him.

"They were even over here at our house. I showed them around and told them about the story of you all and everything you did for us. They took a look at the picture of you and your group over there on our mantle." Tsunami pointed out and this caused Naruto to look over to the mentioned area and sure enough he could see a large photo of all of the shinobi who participated in the liberation of the Land of Waves. Right there in the center he could see himself with Iris and Chaos latched onto his pants legs with smiles on their faces.

"They took one look at Iris and commented on just how otherworldly her beauty is. I must say I agree with them. It's almost like she's not human with looks like that." The mother giggled while Iris's eyes turned their verdant emerald green with an unusual intensity to it. "Iris… are you okay?" Naruto knew what was happening, but he didn't want to have this conversation in front of his guess, so he instead just squeezed his daughter closer to his chest which caused her eyes to revert back to their standard color. "I'm ok daddy… just a little tired is all." Iris lied as she sent a pointed look to her father who got the message. This was a conversation for another time.

Time flew by after this as Naruto spent the rest of the day with Inari and his family catching up with the lovely family who allowed them to stay the night in their house, as predicted Naruto had a simple "chat" with Inari that left the boy freezing like a popsicle when he returned to the main group which got fits of laughter out of the vast majority of the individuals present including his own mother and grandfather. But despite the so called talk that Inari received at the hands of the overprotective and jealous father it did nothing to stop the fisherman boy from trying to woo and interact with Iris. It was quite the sight to see Naruto silently stalking Inari around the house spying on him and Iris who was being led all around the place by Inari who had a million things to talk to her about. Of course, Naruto wasn't alone in this endeavor as his three sons not so subtly joined in on this fiasco while Asagi, Moegi, Ai, and Aria were left to watch from the side lines as their family embarrassed themselves. As for Chaos and Eva, the dynamic and dangerous sister duo were pure instigators in this affair as they would do everything possible much to Naruto's anger to force situations onto Inari with Iris as the victim in order for him to witness her in embarrassing situations.

Everything from sudden unexplainable gusts of wind inside of the house that lifted up her dress to downpours of rain in the clear sky that would ruin their clothes were happening to the two children at the hands of Iris's sisters who were milking this scenario and Naruto's ire for all that it was worth. The best part in this for them was the fact that they knew Iris held no romantic feelings for Inari at all. In fact, neither Iris or Chaos has ever shown the slightest bit of interest in any boy whatsoever that wasn't their father Naruto.

It's long since been established that the two of them with Iris being the more obvious and blatant in this regard have harbored massive paternal crushes on Naruto. They're both daddy's girls at heart with Iris taking this fact to the extreme but a contributing factor to this claim is the fact that shared between Naruto and the girls', their souls are merged together and has been since the day the twin girls were "born". They share a special bond that no one else could possibly understand since they share a telepathic link with each other that allows them to talk and understand themselves on a deeper emotional level than most people could ever hope to achieve.

This fact didn't make Naruto, or any of the others feel any better about the situation as Iris was indulging the fisherman boy in his endeavors and generally enjoying herself. She had no clue just what her mere presence was doing to the boy or her family around her and that notion made the negative emotions Chaos was absorbing from everyone else around her all the more sweeter in comparison.


The very next morning Naruto and the children could be seen at a remote dock in an isolated corner of the Land of Waves. He didn't want to scare any of the citizens away by what he was about to do. Hōrai Island was far off in the middle of the ocean safe from the view of any person. It was hidden under a powerful cloaking barrier that prevented its physical presence for being sensed. He didn't want to reveal the location of his sacred ancestral homeland to the whole world by having the island itself physically move to come pick them up.

Instead to mitigate this fact and solve the issue of transportation Naruto went ahead overnight and mentally requested for a particular new ally to come and pick them up. "So… how are we getting to Hōrai Island Naruto? We don't have a boat." Hayama asked as he watched as his subordinate was sat cross-legged in a meditative position on the boardwalk. They were waiting on this mysterious transportation that Naruto vaguely spoke of.

"Our transport is here now." Naruto smiled as he opened his eyes to see a massive dark spot churning beneath the surface of the ocean before them. 'What on earth?' Whatever was beneath the water was unbelievably massive as Hayama looked over to a nearby cliff at least 200 yards away and the dark spot could be seen stretched out all the way out there as well.

A loud deep baritone of a moan was heard as the creature began to rise above the surface of the water and a thick greyish brown turtle shell could be seen with large sharp spikes rising from its thick armored surface, massive craters dotted the surface of the shell that led down into organic crafted barrels that could fire powerful electric orbs of great power. "Grrrrrrr!" Gōra was back and the massive island turtle demon craned its long neck down to be more at level with the small humans on the dock. His deep animalistic growls vibrated the waters in the early morning atmosphere. "My god… what on earth is that?" Tekuno was flabbergasted to see the sheer size of the great demon before them. 'This is a great demon. How on earth can he command this creature?' Hayama pondered as Gōra rubbed his head against Naruto's hand in a sign of affection.

'This turtle… this is Gōra the guardian of the Uzumaki Clan.' Kosuke reminded himself as he was old enough and well-traveled enough to recognize the entity before them. He's even had the distinct honor of meeting the powerful turtle nearly thirty years ago. 'Master has control of something like this… he never ceases to amaze me.' Aria pondered in her mind as she shook her head in disbelief at the feats her master was capable of. He was always full of surprises.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Gōra the Island Turtle. He's the sacred guardian of the Uzumaki Clan and Hōrai Island for hundreds of years." Naruto introduced to the god smacked ninja who were accompanying him. It took a few minutes, but introductions were made with Naruto having to coax his children into getting on Gōra's back. They all remembered their earlier years living in fear of the behemoth turtle who would patrol the waters around the island keeping them in line without the chance of escape. But times have changed now, and Naruto wanted to improve the relationship between his children and their island's guardian.


Hōrai Island [Early Morning] (9:00 AM)

For well over two hours the group were resting on Gōra's back as he pushed along to where he could instinctively sense Hōrai island to be. Being it's guardian deity Gōra had a symbiotic link to the island that allowed him to instinctually sense wherever it is anywhere in the world as well as sense what's going on with it at all times.

Before long the group reached the sacred island of the Uzumaki clan just as the sun was getting high into the sky. "Lady Miya it's great to see you again." Naruto bowed to the goddess in disguise as she along with several other individuals greeted him at the beach to the front of the island. Gōra growled out his signature groan before taking off to begin swimming around the island. Naruto wasn't sure what Gōra usually did in his unlimited free time or where his resting place was. Most of Hōrai Island was still very much unexplored by Naruto. There was so much that he wanted to see of his ancestral homeland and looking above his head he could see the four which used to be five sky islands floating in a clockwise formation in a perfect orbit around the mainland. They were massive in their own right with Gōra surprisingly enough being smaller than those floating landmasses. Those magical floating islands were one of the places Naruto wanted to explore the most.

"It's good to see you again as well Lord Naruto… I see your trip here has been eventful." Miya giggled as a peculiar look was in her eye that Naruto was quickly become familiar with. The goddess panned her gaze down to Iris who was latched onto his pants leg and amusement twinkled in the priestesses eye. 'She knows about the nonsense going on between Iris and Inari… of course she does.' Naruto grumbled in his mind with an annoyed twitch of his eye as it was quickly becoming apparent to Naruto that Miya enjoyed reading his mind. It was like some form of vindictive amusement for the ancient goddess and it was something he was going to need to get used to. If what she said was true, then it was a phenomenon out of her control.

He had Iris attached to his hip after leaving Tazuna's house as his overprotective and fatherly jealousy was acting up upon seeing Inari trying to gain the princess's attention. She was of course oblivious to Inari's true intentions as he was trying and horribly failing to flirt with Iris who to her credit laughed at the boys plight. Iris was a simple soul at heart very much not unlike her twin sister Chaos. There was only one boy on the entire face of the planet that had her attention and that was her father Naruto. She was six and a half years old. She wasn't interested in romance of any kind. While this notion was very sweet and comforting to Naruto it still didn't make him feel any better about what her very presence does to people around her.

Even Naruto himself wasn't immune to Iris's natural alluring aura that affects anyone without discrimination. Ever since he first laid eyes on her as a newborn infant he's felt this tug on his subconsciousness. She was very good at unintentionally manipulating him to her bidding as she got older. He's had to learn his lesson on not giving in to his natural instincts to succumb to her every whim.

Naruto blushed a bit at the way Miya referred to him as he is the Shī-ō of the Uzumaki Clan which makes him the sovereign ruler of the Land of Whirlpools. He was recognized royalty in the world and to his people and because of the symbolic ancient relationship that the Shī-ō shares with the High Priestess it causes them to be equals. The High Priestess has served as the Shī-ō's spiritual advisor and confidant as well as being the spiritual leader of the entire Land of Whirlpools as a whole since its inception nearly 1000 years ago.

"Yeah… it was eventful to say the least. Lady Miya these are my squad mates who accompanied me here; I hope you don't mind me bringing them onto the island?" Naruto introduced as he wanted to make sure he wasn't offending the goddess by bringing outsiders onto the island. It couldn't have been helped last time when the rescue team dropped onto the island to find Naruto as Miya wasn't awake at the time. As it stood now Naruto was going to be very cautious of who he let onto the island. He wanted to ensure the safety and integrity of the island and its inhabitants.

"Why not at all… these gentlemen here are no threat to us. Any friend of yours is welcome onto the island… just be mindful of your judgement moving forward." Miya invited as she could sense everything about the men before her and knew they weren't a danger to anyone on the island. At the same time, she was also advising him to be careful of who he wanted to invite to come to the island.

"It's an honor to step foot on the sacred grounds of our ancestral allies. Thank you for having us High Priestess." Hayama bowed as he himself has never had the privilege of being on Hōrai Island back while it was still standing. But despite that fact he still respected and honored the clan for their contributions to the founding of the leaf and the support that they have given them years later into the future. He wasn't present during the fall of Hōrai Island and the onset of the Third Shinobi World War but Hayama did find himself on every major battlefield since then.

"The pleasure is all mine young man… please do enjoy your stay on our island. All I ask of you in return is to please respect the natural nature and wildlife of the land and to be mindful when interacting with the villagers. They've been through a lot over the years and aren't used to outsiders. You'll find that they are a distant but welcoming bunch. I do encourage you to at least try to interact with them. It would do them some good." Miya requested as the refugees were a very guarded and secluded bunch. Other than the rescue team that came to retrieve Naruto a while back they have not had any outsiders on the island since the outbreak of the last great war.

Acknowledging this fact, the members of squad nine escorted the orphans with them into the makeshift village at the base of the lake. It was a long walk, but it left time for conversations to be had as Miya engaged the young orphans and the ninja in an animated discussion to help the children feel more at ease with being back on the island. One thing of note that Naruto picked up on was the fact that Miya didn't really interact with Iris or Chaos much since meeting them. She's talked to everyone else for long stretches of time besides the girls who only got short conversations out of the goddess.

Naruto found this strange as even then between the two twins Chaos got more exposure to Miya. Was their something going on between Miya and Sōkyoku. The priestess made it plainly obvious that she was old enough to know of Sōkyoku's existence so why was she avoiding talking to her within his presence?

Reaching the small run-down village near the lake the group was allowed to disperse and mingle with the locals which was something Naruto also wanted to do as well. He wanted to get to know his people as their leader. The same four individuals that he met the first time he was on the island appeared before the group once they heard of their Shī-ō's return.

"Lord Shī-ō, it is great to see your return." The one to speak this was a very tall dark-skinned man with sharp purple eyes, typical demonic pointed ears, and pure white hair with a noticeable and lustrous silver sheen to it tied into a high ponytail on his head. This man was a Bat Demon and his name was Tsukuyomaru Hyakkikoumori. It took Naruto a moment to recall this particular individuals name but when he did, he smiled in recognition. "It's good to see you again as well Mr. Tsukuyomaru." Naruto wasn't able to talk much with the many villagers the first time he was on Hōrai Island but now that he was spending the rest of the day here before he had to return back to the village, he sees this as the perfect opportunity to get to know these survivors of the old Hidden Whirlpool Village better.

Kneeling down onto one knee the dark-skinned humanoid demon bowed his head. "You don't have to address me so formally Lord Shī-ō. I'm just glad to see you return to us." Tsukuyomaru said in a submissive tone that once more caused Naruto a general state of discomfort. He's not used to people showing him such devoted amounts of loyalty and respect. The only one who does this for him is Aria and he had to get used to her antics in the last few years since he met her.

"Just Naruto is fine with me. I'm not much for formalities myself then." Naruto conceded as he wasn't that big on the uptight nature of formalities in society. He only used them in the situations he absolutely had too, such as during the dinner at the Hyūga manor. The mentioned man looked like he swallowed a sour lemon at Naruto's statement as he bowed even lower in response. "I could never address you so informally Lord Shī-ō. Our lands ancient customs forbid me from doing so." This very pointed rebuttal caused a sweat drop to form on Naruto's face as in retrospect he should have seen this kind of stubborn response coming. It would seem he had his work cut out for him.

Chuckling Naruto scratched the back of his head as he sensed two very familiar chakra signatures enter the village square with him. "It would seem like we are at an impasse then Tsukuyomaru. But not for long, now if you'll excuse me for a quick second." Naruto politely disengaged from his conversation with the respectful Bat Demon at just the right moment as he was then blindsided by a flying red blur that tackled him into the dirt around them. Looking up with a groan Naruto came face to face with his familial cousin Karin Uzumaki who was grinning down at him with a warm and happy expression on her face. Her red eyes were staring into Naruto's blue ones with a look of joy as Naruto found it within himself to be happy at seeing the excitable girl again.

"Hey stranger…" A chuckle escaped Naruto's lips at Karin's casual greeting as he pushed the girl off of him as to where she was now situated more in his lap. "Long time no see Karin. How have you been?" Naruto wasn't going to pretend and say he didn't miss his cousin. The red headed full blooded Uzumaki girl was a polarizing character to enter his life. He never would have thought he'd meet a living relative up until encountering the girl for the first time at the Chūnin Exams. He sensed her very presence from the moment she stepped foot inside of the village but at the time Naruto was airing on the side of caution in not approaching her since he had just had a rather tense and hostile run in with Gaara. Getting to talk to her briefly after rescuing her in the Forest of Death and having her return the favor by using her scrolls to allow Hinata and Team 8 to progress to the preliminary stage. It was an act of kindness that endeared Naruto and the others to the red head.

"We're doing just fine blondie. Hey handsome!" This answer wasn't from Karin like Naruto was expecting, instead this very peppy and energetic response came from the happy go lucky mint green haired Jinchūriki to the Seven Tailed Horned Beetle. Looking over his shoulder Naruto came face to face with Fū who was smiling down at him with her patented happy smile in place. Her very presence exuded positivity and happiness. It was almost blinding. An exuberant and unexpected chastised peck to his cheek came next and the blush that formed on Naruto's face was instantaneous. He should have expected something like this from his fellow Jinchūriki.

"Nice to see you too Fū." Naruto dryly greeted with amusement and twinges of embarrassment in his voice. He was truly regretting the fact that such a diverse group of girls were all interested in him. He didn't asks for this unwanted attention from this many girls, yet somehow, he now has it. He had the girl of his dreams in the form of his best friend Hinata; it made all of this extra unwanted attention embarrassing. Albeit the inner male pride inside of his heart couldn't be happier at the fact he had such an attracting aura to females. He wasn't going to lie and say he didn't take a slight amount of pleasure in this natural phenomenon.

"What took you so long in getting back. I've been so bored here without you big bro. I just got this latest volume of Icha-Icha: Paradise Island. It's so good and I wanted to read it with you." Karin giggled perversely as she pulled out three thick novels with the beautiful art of an island very much reminiscent of Hōrai Island on its front cover. The books were a combination of orange and blue in color with graphics and writings on the front cover advertising the name of the volume. Only one person wrote that perverted ecchi-romance series and that was his perverted master and godfather Jiraiya. It couldn't have possibly been a coincidence that he just got into an argument with the Sannin over his poor taste in literature the other day on his date with Hinata.

"Karin no! I do not want to read any of pervy sage's dirty books." Naruto was adamant about not getting anywhere near his master's chosen hobby. That smut was something he didn't want any of his children getting anywhere close too. Chaos was already very gullible and attached to Jiraiya as it is. His little girl just loved to test his patience by dabbling in everything she knew she wasn't supposed to do.

Pouting in response to this Karin tried to push the book into Naruto's face but the young Shī-ō wasn't having it. He could do without that smut in his life. "Oh, come on party pooper. The stuff in this book is really good. Karin and I have been testing some of this stuff out on each other; and I have to say it's really fun." Fū persuaded as she took the book out of Karin's hand and opened it up to a specific page. Naruto didn't want to say he actually wanted to look at the contents of the page being put in his face, but when his eyes started to wander down through the very descriptive and prolific paragraphs in the erotic book Naruto would be lying if he said that he wasn't phased at all by what his brain was digesting.

It wasn't half bad… but it was far from anything Naruto wanted anything to do with. But with that notion in mind another stray thought immediately struck Naruto's brain like a lightning bolt. "Wait! Wait! Wait! You've been testing this stuff on each other!?" Naruto's voice cracked as it took on a higher pitch with the insanity that was encroaching upon his mind being that catalysts. The stuff in that book were things that he instinctively knew were more mature and sexual in nature… and Karin and Fū were experimenting in this field?

A decent light rose tint of a blush crossed Fū in embarrassment while Karin also bore a similar visual representation of embarrassment but unlike the Seven Tailed Jinchūriki, Naruto's cousin's response was more bashful as a perverse grin started to make its way onto the red headed Uzumaki's face. Where did this girl get her perverted side from… she wasn't even 13 yet?

"Well… it is a fun activity to do while passing the time… and it feels…" Fū began to explain as while the happy go lucky girl was a very open and transparent girl by nature, even she knew what the concepts of embarrassment and self-modesty were. She was a young girl after all. "Never mind I don't really want to know!" Naruto cut the wind from Fū's sails before they could really get going… he didn't want a repeat of some of the more mortifying conversations he's had in the past with Anko, Shoko, and even Jiraiya much to his dismay to rear their ugly heads again. The embarrassment that he felt back then was suffocating and now he didn't need to know what his cousin and her best friend were getting up to in their spare time. Iris, Chaos, and the rest of the children were around, and he would be damned if he had one of them try and ask him anything about this subject. He'd sooner face the Four War Gods again than go through this it were allowed to continue.

"Oh, don't be that way big bro… you could always join us. I've been needing a male test subject for a while now anyways and what better person that the strongest individual on the island?" Karin purred as her glasses reflected the sunlight and gleamed menacingly in the afternoon atmosphere. Karin had dabbles of drool pooling at the corner of her mouth as Naruto's skin turned bone white at the audacity his living relative would so brazenly display in front of a populated crowd of people. "Have you no shame girl! I have a girlfriend Karin!" Naruto screamed as he pushed his perverse cousin out of his lap who tumbled across the ground into a heap with fits of giggles escaping her lips at the predictable response from her new family member.

'Does he mean that Hyūga girl? Hinata? They're best friends from what I remember when she came along on his rescue mission… they also seemed really close during the test in the Forest of Death.' Karin noted to herself as she struck up a brief but informative and nice friendship with Hinata from their few meetings over the last few months. She was able to learn a lot about Hinata during that time as the young Hyūga heiress was singularly focused on rescuing her best friend and children. Even back during the incident in the Forest of Death the indigo haired girl was sticking close to her recently discovered cousin.

"Are you talking about Hinata? I knew you two would get together. That's even better actually since the end of this volume has this one scene between four people…" It was at this point that Naruto froze Karin's lips together after slapping his hand over her mouth with a potent glare of mortification burning a hole into her skull. He did not want to know anything else about this perverted scourge on literature. He didn't think his poor heart could take much more of this conversation.

"Daddy? What is this lady talking about?" Little Ai's squeaking voice caused the very breath of life to leave Naruto's lungs as he turned to see Chaos leaning away from Ai's amphibian like ears with a devilish instigative facial expression on her typical eerie face. The little Angeloid of the Apocalypse was up to her same old tricks again and instead of taking out his cold-blooded fury on his mischievous daughter which in the end would only end up feeding into her own desire for attention and nourishment of food, Naruto instead decided to unleash his impending explosion onto the defenseless form of Karin who was busy trying to pry the thick sheet of frost covering her lips.

What happened next couldn't be described as Naruto returned to the town square after whisking his cousin away in a burst of his vaunted High-End Skill. Right away it was noticeable that he didn't have the pure blooded Uzumaki with him and that a sicky and pleasant smile was unnaturally plastered on his face, but no one had the guts necessary to point that out. Not even Fū who wanted to ask where he took her best friend but thought it would be best to keep quiet when he gave her a pointed look when she tried to approach him.

Everyone got the message not to bring up the subject again as Fū flew off in search of her partner and best friend while Naruto returned to his conversation with the Bat Demon citizen of his island. He would rather forget about what he just had to endure at the hands of his cousin and if his mood didn't improve anytime soon, he might have to revisit Chaos's little bum with a well-deserved spanking for trying to drag her new little sister into her typical schemes. Corrupting the youth was strictly off limits. She's already set her sights on Shion and in the past she's always gone after her own twin sister in the form of Iris. He couldn't allow Chaos to have a total monopoly on all of her siblings. With that amount of potential negative energy, she could very well become invincible and untamable for him to handle her.

Making his way back over to the humanoid bat demon Naruto put on a charming smile while engaging the man in a conversation. It didn't take long for the other three familiar members of his group to join in on the conversation as well. "I'm only going to be staying the rest of the day before heading back, but I've wanted to ask a favor from one of you." Naruto informed as he eyed the tall silver haired man with the face mask in particular.

Curious looks greeted Naruto at this statement as he began to explain himself. "I don't know much about you all and the same could easily be said for you towards me. I can tell that each of you have a lot of experience in battle and I want to know what that might be like first hand. I would like to have a spar with one of you if you please." It was a request that Naruto was in no physical condition to make the last time they all met since he had just survived a brutal death match against Kyōra of the Four War Gods. He overexerted himself and his body needed time to adjust to having Miya's soul and that of the Cauldron of Resonance blending with his own.

Now… now was different. He could have a simple spar with one of his clansmen to see just how powerful they were. They were some of the very last warriors on the entire island. They stood above the rest and were able to escape the wrath of the Four War Gods. While he knew individually, they were not on the same level as their oppressors that didn't mean they weren't powerful individuals in their own right. He wanted to know just what the old Hidden Whirlpool was capable of.

"A spar…? You want to fight one of us?" Tsukuyomaru quirked an eyebrow at this in interest while Shishinki the demon with a face mask scoffed in annoyance. "Yes… a spar. I want to get a feel for what my new subordinates are capable of. We could spend all day talking about this but as a Shinobi and as a person I've always learned and experienced more by my actions." Naruto explained while taking keen notice of Shishinki's attitude. That was something that was going to be addressed real soon.

The others looked between each other for a moment while Shishinki himself backed away from the group in disinterest leaving Tsukuyomaru as the only one to step forward. "It would be my honor my lord to spar with you. My wife and child are also present, and it would be an honor if I could display my skills before them." The bat demon announced as he pointed over to his family who were in the crowd amassed around Naruto and his group. Looking over Naruto saw a gorgeous young woman who on first glance alone looked completely human surprising Naruto as he could sense a modest reserve of chakra from her which was much more than what the average civilian would have.

She had long straight black hair and fair skin with small sharp brown eyes that spoke of caution, intelligence, and an ever so slightly jaded outlook on life. He couldn't really blame her given the life they must have lived through on this island under their oppressors. Despite the look in her eyes the woman still looked very beautiful. Looking at her hands with his sharp and observant eyes Naruto was able to see just how rough and calloused they were, it appeared that the young mother was a very hardy and hard-working woman who was built of sturdier stuff than most woman in her standing. For her clothes Tsukuyomaru's wife wore a green and gray patterned Kosode that reached down to her ankles. She was also barefoot and wore a gray Mo-bakama around her legs. All in all, she was a very attractive woman who was also sporting curves in all of the right places, particularly around the hips.

"My lord, please allow me to introduce you to my beloved wife Shizu and the light of my life… my daughter… Shiori." Tsukuyomaru introduced with an elegant yet proud flourish as he pointed out his wife Shizu who was currently holding the hand of their daughter Shiori who had quite the striking appearance causing Naruto to gasp ever so lightly in surprise and curiosity. To put it bluntly, Shiori looked like a carbon copy of a female version of her father. She didn't share much in the way of looks with her mother other than the style and length of their hair and general facial and eye shape.

Shiori had dark brown skin just like her father with pure white hair with a lustrous silver sheen to it. Unlike her mother who had smaller more weary and narrow brown eyes, Shiori had large curious purple eyes that were an exact match for her father's. Another unique characteristic from the young girl was the fact that she appeared to have lipstick on as her lips were a very noticeable and prominent red color that didn't look quite natural in saturation. For clothing Shiori had on a grey Kosode to match her mothers with a diamond pattern to it. To finish off her looks Shiori had two small blue ribbons on either side of her hair that added to her charm.

The was the poster child for a beautiful young girl and Naruto's sons surely agreed if the prominent and blatant blushes on Roku, Dai, and especially Shion's faces were any indication. Shiori was around 8 years old making her the perfect age for Shion who was now hiding behind Asagi's back in shy embarrassment. They already had quite a bit in common such as their skin tones and similar hair color. Maybe they could be friends?

"It is a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Hyakkikoumori. I'm sorry we never got a chance to get to know each other the last time I was on the island. But hopefully we can fix that today." Naruto smiled as he took notice of Shizu's weary handshake that she gave him. She never once took her eyes off of him nor did she let go of her child's hand. She was a very cautious woman and just like Naruto earlier scouted out when he shook her hand, he could feel the rough texture of her skin. She was a hardworking and rowdy woman from what he could tell. She knew her way around a house and a field if Naruto's intuition was correct.

"It is a pleasure as well Lord Naruto… please be careful when facing my husband." Shizu's reply was laced with her weary tone of voice and Naruto had to quirk an eyebrow at this. Was she naturally this way? Judging by her face she looked like she was a person with a very beautiful smile. Why was she so distant and on edge?

"Make this quick Tsukuyomaru. I don't have all day." Shishinki huffed while leaning against a recently rebuilt food stall and indifferent facial expression smeared across his face. "Do you have a problem with me Shishinki? If you do, then come out and say it." Naruto wasn't going to let a person's foul mood or personal feelings towards him ruin the festive mood everyone was experiencing right now. It was unrealistic to have everyone on the island be happy to be around him since he was practically still a stranger towards many of the refugees, but if someone had a problem with him then he wanted them to come out and say it.

Naruto's outburst was enough to cause the general commotion in the town square to come to a grinding halt. Worried glances and expressions were being shared with the civilians all around as Shishinki himself grew a scowl on his face as he marched up to Naruto who didn't budge an inch.

"You damn right I have a problem with you boy!" The demon's narrow red cat like eyes bored into Naruto's skull as he in turn stared up at the much taller man with an air of indifference. He was going to hammer out all of these kinks and disagreements with his new villagers. If they had a problem with him… then he wanted them to come out and say it. He's spent his whole life dealing with individuals who scorned and hated him without ever telling him why. They talked behind his back and held in their grudges against him without ever having the guts to confront him face to face with the truth, and when they did decide to speak up it was almost always to scorn and abuse him.

He would not tolerate that behavior and lifestyle from his new villagers. These were his people, these were the last surviving remnants of the old Land of Whirlpools. They were a treasure… a treasure that he would covet and protect. But in no way shape or form was he going to take crap and abuse from anyone ever again, especially from his own surrogate community relatives.

"How can I swear my loyalty to a leader that is not even here? You don't act like the typical Uzumaki, nor do you give off the same presence that they once had. They were warriors who fought and bled for their brethren. Ever since freeing this place where have you been? Off playing ninja for a village that has forgotten all about us?!" Shishinki's scathing remarks were hotter than the molten slag Tsuchimikado burned him with weeks ago and Naruto while understanding and sympathetic to the valid points Shishinki was bringing up; he could not condone the man's attitude.

"You're right. I'm not here all the time and I won't be here consistently either. I'm a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village, I was born and raised their and for better and for worse despite everything I've ever had to endure at the hands of those villagers I still love them and my home. I've fought, sacrificed, and bled for them just as I've done for you all. I was tortured and beaten in the dungeons beneath our feet, the same dungeons you all have suffered in. I may not be what you were expecting Shishinki but what you see is what you get. I nearly died trying to free this island and our people, and I will do it over and over again no matter what… believe it." Naruto's rebuttal speech was accompanied by a harsh and stern glare that bore a hole straight into Shishinki's head who stumbled back in shock.

The demon had no words for his very young Shī-ō who wasn't quite done with him yet. "You come off to me as someone who responds to action and power Shishinki so let me put things into perspective for you then." Naruto challenged as his eyes flashed a striking silver and white. A massive pressure settled down onto the shoulders of everyone on the island causing mostly everyone to come crashing down to their knees. Shishinki compared to everyone else felt the full brunt of Naruto's attention as a familiar feeling that everyone on the island has felt before entered their collective consciousness. It was the presence of the Cauldron of Resonance. The sacred relic of the Uzumaki Clan produced an energy signature that every citizen of Hōrai Island has consistently felt since the day they've been born.

Miya cracked a small unnoticeable smile on her face that was matched by the one worn by Iris whose eyes were glowing an ethereal emerald green. The ancient goddess approved very much of Naruto's display of dominance as Shishinki looked up at Naruto from his forced kneeling position with awe and fear in his eyes. "Do I feel like an Uzumaki now?" Naruto asked as he glared down at Shishinki who bowed his head in submission.

"I know I'm not around a lot and that will continue to be the norm for right now. I am a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf and I know that you have your resentment towards the leaf because of the past that my mother went through. She also held a love for the Hidden Leaf after becoming the Jinchūriki to the Nine Tails and now history is repeating itself with me… but I'm going to tell you this right now… I don't plan on dying anytime soon. I have too much to live for Shishinki… including you and everyone else here now." If any objections were going to come out of Shishinki's mouth at that moment it preemptively died in his throat at the intense yet passionate glare being directed his way. Naruto was dead serious and his convictions were easily conveyed to the entire crowd who couldn't keep the similar facial expressions off their faces that were mirror images to the one worn by Shishinki, and that was a perpetual state of awe.

"Please forgive me my lord… show mercy." Shishinki groveled as he planted his face in the dirt at their feet while everyone else in the town square all copied his actions in an act of total submission which caused Naruto's glare to ease up into an uncomfortable frown. He wasn't used to people submitting themselves to him. He didn't want to be a dictator or hold such supreme authority over another person… but with the title of Shī-ō over his head it would seem like this was to be the norm. The title was legitimate royalty in the Land of Whirlpools and it was recognized as the sovereign ruler in relation to that fact. This was a hurdle Naruto was going to have to get over.

"I've already forgiven you… please stand up Shishinki; everyone please stand. Don't dirty your clothes." Naruto said in a softer tone that was at a low octave. His personality wasn't a compatible match to this high society ruler life that he was entering. He needed to get used to the notion of leading people and ruling over them. He's a Chūnin now which meant he needed to take on more responsibilities including leadership roles and now being the Shī-ō to his homeland he had to get used to the idea of ruling over an entire nation of people. It was a stepping stone and good learning path on his way to one day becoming the Hokage. It was a dream he didn't mention often but he aspired to hold that title from a young age as he wants to use it to help people all across the world with his position while also gaining the respect, recognition, and love of his people in the Hidden Leaf.


Rising to their feet Naruto watched as Shishinki moved off to the side clearing a large open space in the small township for this exhibition match to take place. The Bat Demon Tsukuyomaru calming took his position across the town square. Naruto was busy eyeing the sword at the dark-skinned demon's waist as an electric surge of excitement traveled up Naruto's spine in anticipation. It's been a while since he was able to have a non-life-threatening friendly spar with another person. The recent few weeks and months have been incredibly hectic and chaotic for Naruto with life and death situations around every corner.

Naruto felt a small tug on his pants leg and looking down he came face to face with Iris who was giving him her patented smile. "Do you want to handle this on your own daddy?" Iris could feel her fathers excitement coursing through his chakra network as her holy grace that naturally flows through it became agitated. He was worked up at the idea of having this spar with such an interesting opponent. "Yeah, it's just a simple spar sweetie so you and the guys stay back. Aria can you put up a barrier to protect the crowd." Naruto replied while rustling Iris's hair causing the beautiful blond-haired girl to pout at her father. She loved and hated the fact Naruto always messed up her hair.

On the other hand, Aria smiled faintly in compliance as she raised a relatively strong translucent barrier in the shape of a dome that surrounded the entire town square giving Naruto and Tsukuyomaru more than enough space for a contained spar. Shishinki and his colleges were standing near Miya with Iris and her siblings crowded around the very edge of the barrier all trying to get a clear view of the battle about to take place. In all honesty there weren't that many refugees that survived the downfall of the old Hidden Whirlpool Village. As things stood now there were less than 100 people left on the island and they were all currently congregating around the town square in anticipation for what was to come.

'Let's see what you're made of once more Naruto.' Hayama thought to himself as he and Tekuno along with Kosuke were especially eager to see Naruto fight once again. They were highly impressed by his sheer determination and drive to fight off such a superior force of shinobi in a heavily disadvantageous situation. He fought for his very life and came out on top with his head held high. They wanted to see that glint in his eye once more.

"I promise not to disappoint you my lord." Tsukuyomaru intoned as he drew his sword with a fluid motion that caused Hayama to raise his brow in respect. "I highly doubt that you could… lets get this started." Naruto challenged as he slid into his Taijutsu stance. His form was loose and highly adaptable with one leg advanced forward with his back leg closer to his base. One arm was extended forward with his palm facing outward with his other arm held closer to his head while that hand was closed into a fist next to his head.

"Let this match begin." Miya announced as Naruto rocketed off from his position like a bullet with several shadow clones popping into existence in the blink of an eye. "Ninja Art: Shadow Shuriken Clone Jutsu!" In total Naruto had six clones flanking him and they all created mass copies of their thrown shuriken causing a literal hailstorm of flying metal to rain down from above causing Tsukuyomaru to tighten up his stance. 'He's trying to prevent me from jumping up into the air to dodge. Smart move my lord.'

Flowing into his stances that he's perfected over the course of his life the strong bat demon began to deflect the hailstorm of shuriken with a blinding dexterity and speed that left the crowd astonished. "Kenjutsu: Arctic Blade Dance!" This was the opening Naruto was looking for as he darted across the open square with blinding speed with his twin swords made out of ice forming in his hand quicker than he's ever done so in the past.

The sound of their swords clashing resounded throughout the run-down village as Naruto immediately ducked down underneath the dark-skinned demon's follow up swing that displaced the last wave of incoming shuriken. Several dozen clashes between the two combatants happened over the next thirty seconds as Naruto unleashed a relentless barrage of strikes that was proving to be difficult for Tsukuyomaru to counter. Spinning on the ball of his feet Naruto spun around the sword in his left hand behind his back blocking a horizontal slash from his opponent while lashing out with a backhanded kick that was aimed at the taller man's leg.

Tsukuyomaru felt Naruto's strike impact his dominant leg causing him to lose his balance which was exactly what Naruto wanted. "Ice Style: Icicle Spear Jutsu!" A thick spear made out of ice rose from the ground around Naruto's feet with its sharp point ready to impale the taller demon in his stomach, but it was at the exact moment that Tsukuyomaru decided to unveil a special piece of his anatomy. What Naruto and the others first originally mistook to simply be Tsukuyomaru's cloak actually turned out to be large leathery bat wings that unfolded at the last second giving him the boost in levitation to evade the danger he was in.

"You can fly!?" Naruto exclaimed as the bat demon took to the air with his wings spread wide keeping him in a steady hover. The others were in great shock as well as Naruto took in the appearance of Tsukuyomaru's wings. They were a dark burgundy on the inside with thick organic veins and spinal ligaments on the inside holding the entire appendages internal structure intact.

"Yes, my lord. Our species have wings for flight and other functions." This explanation was accompanied by the loyal demon dive bombing Naruto who tensed his legs in preparation. "Ice Style: Ice Wall Jutsu!" Slamming his hand onto the ground Naruto raised up a thick glacial wall of ice that caused Tsukuyomaru to veer off course while Naruto took this opportunity to jump to the top of his newly formed wall to gain the higher ground. "Water Style: Wild Water Wave Jutsu!"

A surge of water came rushing out of Naruto's mouth as he managed to catch his opponent from above with a wave of water that drenched the humanoid bat in gallons of water. Sputtering in surprise Tsukuyomaru banked to the left which put him on a crash course with Naruto's wall of ice. "Yōjutsu: Freeze Vision." Using his eyes as a medium just like Eva can do naturally Naruto used the moisture and water splashed onto his opponents body as his source to freeze him in midair causing frost to build up on his wings rendering them useless. Crashing directly into the wall before him the demon groaned in discomfort as more frost collected itself across his body slowing down his movements with each passing second.

"He's getting way better at using my natural moves… it's all I've wanted him to do all of our lives together." Eva commented from Iris's shoulder as she smiled in pride at her other half who was coming into his own with the usage of the Winter Fairies natural techniques. She could perform these techniques from birth with the added assistance of actual training of course, but these were abilities that she was always going to eventually unlock. It took Naruto a long time to master these techniques in comparison as the instinct to utilize her powers didn't come naturally to him in the same way it does for her, not to mention Naruto started to learn shinobi Ninjutsu which put his Yōjutsu training on the back burner.

"Daddy is improving at a dramatic rate. This spar was good for him. After the battle with those criminals from the Hidden Stone, he's been on edge. He needs to cut loose once more but in a controlled and safe environment so that he can take the edge off while exercising his newly growing powers. I'm happy for him sister." Iris responded in kind as her naturally glowing sapphire blue eyes were busy tracking the high-speed battle going on before her, she could track every movement being made with painful ease while Chaos's retina scanners weren't even being given a workout. As the most technologically advanced thing on this planet the little Angeloid rarely ever got the chance to utilize her body to its fullest extent.

"Come on papa you can win!" While this more serious conversation was happening between Iris and Eva a more lighthearted peanut gallery was being put together by Ai and the rest of their siblings as they cheered on Naruto who even in the midst of his battle couldn't help himself with cracking a smile at the innocence and devotion his foster children were giving him.

"Come on daddy don't stop here!" This prominent cry came from Shiori herself who was then pulled back by her mother in embarrassment as the cautious woman looked like she wanted to withdraw in on herself. "Honey…" Narrowing his eyes in determination Tsukuyomaru began to flex his might as a silver white sheen of aura surrounded his body in response to his inner feelings. Naruto himself could feel the rise in his opponents Yōki and rising to the challenge he flexed his own massive reserves of hybrid chakra in response.

"Vibration Magic: Sonic Vortex!" This attack was chanted by Tsukuyomaru who began to release sonic vibrations from all across his body that shattered the frost built up on his person in an instant. The ground shook next as a vortex of vibrating molecules began to swirl around the bat demon loosening the structural integrity of Naruto's large ice wall which he could feel beneath his feet shaking violently. 'Incredible… I've never seen this kind of technique before, so this is the kind of magic a bat demon can use… I want to see more.' Naruto shook in excitement as he blurred through a familiar sequence of hand signs before gathering chakra into his mouth that he mixed and transmuted with the saliva to create the effect he was looking for.

"Water Style: Water Wall Jutsu!" Releasing a massive tidal wave of water from his mouth Naruto flooded the town square with hundreds of gallons of water in seconds. An immediate effect could be seen by everyone as the water crashed into the swirling vortex of sonic waves that began to ripple out across the incoming surge of water displacing the liquid and preventing it from taking its full affect. "I'm not done yet my lord. Yōjutsu: Boomburst!" The dark demon opened his mouth that had a silver ball of energy building in it and seconds later he released a massive sonic beam of sonic waves that cut through Naruto's tide of water and slammed into the ice wall beneath him shattering the construct with little difficulty in the slightest.

Reacting on instinct Naruto jumped from the wall while forming several discrete clones that were hidden from Tsukuyomaru's view by the mass of water separating him from his young Shī-ō. Racing across the dirt clearing in the rundown makeshift town Naruto dragged his blades through the dirt before flinging it up at the purple eyes of the bat demon who caught the dirty move to the face while flailing about. "Kenjutsu: Accelerated Decapitation!" Naruto's next move was textbook and natural to him as he blurred from the view of the audience watching only to appear behind the dark-skinned demon with a light blue translucent aura surrounding his body in its cloak. His swords were inches away from their target when the much taller man leaned out of the way at the very last second causing the young Uzumaki to miss his target which was a rare occurrence for him when using this move.

Spinning on his heel in seconds Naruto spawned off his favorite kinetic clones for a follow up attack. "Tempest Turn!" Four light blue glowing clones of Naruto shot off from his body towards Tsukuyomaru who using his wings managed to backtrack and gain some distance with relative ease. "Yōjutsu: Boomburst – Scatter Shot!" In seconds the silver haired demon launched several small sonic blasts from his mouth in consecutive rounds that with deadly accuracy impacted against the incoming kinetic clones before they could even get remotely close to him. 'He's blind right now! How could he even track my Tempest Clones when they move at such high speeds?' Naruto didn't think something like this was possible, but he could see the dirt covering Tsukuyomaru's face and eyes with them being closed shut for protection. How could he tell were his clones were coming from?

"Did he use sound waves to detect the presence of Naruto's clones? Bat's use those to navigate and see right?" Tekuno speculated while looking towards Hayama who nodded in agreement to his best friends assessment. "Yeah, I believe that is the case. If he is a bat demon, then it stands to reason that he has adopted much of their traits and biology. He can see through the sound waves around him by using echolocation. Sneaking up on him is going to be nearly impossible." The veteran Jōnin praised as he watched Chaos who was near him grin a darker more unnerving grin. It was unnerving for him but if he were to ask Naruto for his opinion, he was sure the young father would biasedly defend his daughters obvious unhinged state of mind and her mannerisms by calling it cute or saying he was used to it. Both accounts would be correct as Naruto is very much used to Chaos's scary facial expressions, to him they are normal and actually refreshing especially after a long stressful day when he just wants the normalcy and comfort of his children.

'Ok, calm down Naruto and think straight! All of his attacks so far have been sound based, so it stands to reason that he used sound to detect the location of my movements… if that's the case…' Naruto wasn't done yet as he unleashed the full extent of his High-End Skills. "Double Accel Turn!" Flaring up his Accel Turn to its maximum output Naruto then shot off his Tempest Clones once more while charging in with them while purposefully stomping his feet on the ground creating a lot of noise and vibrations that he could finally see start to affect Tsukuyomaru who flinched and held his sword protectively in front of him.

Quickly maneuvering into position Naruto's tempest clones rushed in towards their prey leaving the crowd in awe as they've never in their life seen such a technique before. It was something none of the old Uzumaki were capable of and it seemed so unique and exclusive. "Vibration Magic: Sonic Vortex!" It was a very smart move on Tsukuyomaru's part as a vortex of sound waves began to swirl around his body emanating from his outstretched wings that tore into Naruto's kinetic clones with a vengeance causing them to explode prematurely but this was the opening Naruto was looking for as he used chakra at the soles of his feet to dampen his approach while skating and running across the remaining ice from his previous wall.

"Kenjutsu: X – Scissor!" Naruto roared as he crossed his blades and unleashed a massive pressurized blast of razor-sharp chakra and wind that came from behind the bat demon as opposed to his front like he originally thought. Naruto's accelerated speed was a blessing at times like this as he decided to flank his opponent first before launching his attack. It could be said that Tsukuyomaru was in a precarious position and you would be right, but he had an answer to this attack as a red glow came from his chest as he slammed his sword down into the ground.

"Forbidden Yōjutsu: Hyakkikoumori Sacred Barrier!" A ruby red barrier spawned into existence around Tsukuyomaru's body stopping one of Naruto's most powerful attacks cold with the razor-sharp blades of air shaking the hastily constructed barrier for a few moments but quickly dissipating soon after. "Incredible… it reminds me of Chaos's Aegis barrier." Naruto mumbled to himself in awe as it wasn't often to come across offensive battle-ready barrier techniques in the shinobi world. Barriers were tricky and hard to maintain and were instead often used on static stationary locations and objects. To be able to project one on command in the heat of battle was a rarity and it made those specific individuals quite formidable.

"I'm glad I've impressed you my lord. Let us bring our spar to a close shall we." Tsukuyomaru's suggestion was met with a competitive grin from Naruto as he watched the man wipe his eyes clean of the dirt obscuring his vision by splashing some of the leftover water from his earlier attack onto his face. He was ready to go now and so was Naruto who summoned his swords to his hands with his subordinate doing the same with his own weapon.

Taking off from his position Naruto engaged the much taller demon in a deadly dance of death that enthralled the audience watching causing most of them to hold their breath. They were evenly matched that much was for sure from the observations of Hayama who as an accomplished sword master could appreciate the display being demonstrated before him. They were causing sonic booms with each clash of their blades as the seemingly phased in and out of existence to the naked eye of the civilians watching while the shinobi of the ground could easily track the very fast-moving fighters.

Jumping back to get some space Naruto summoned several more clones to his side which caused his opponent to smile in humor. "You aren't the only one who can duplicate himself my lord. "Vibration Magic: Duplicating Resonance!" Four identical clones of Tsukuyomaru came to life from his body with their posture matching their creator to perfection causing Naruto to smirk in anticipation. "Is that so… let's see who's are better." It was on open invitation at this point as the two opposing forces clashed in the middle of the clearing, but the perfect balance would soon be broken as Naruto twisted, ducted, dived, and weaved his way through the crowded mess of a battle taking place between him and Tsukuyomaru.

Jumping back at the first chance he could take Naruto smirked as he uttered one word. "Boom." Naruto's clones weren't the regular variant… instead they were exploding shadow clones which detonated taking their opposing counterparts with them while sending the real bat demon flying back with burn marks all across his body and wings which were hanging lower behind his back in pain.

"Daddy!" Shiori cried out in worry while Shizu clenched her fist in worry. She hasn't seen her husband in combat for a very long time and now seeing him getting hurt was too much for the woman to take. It was just a normal spar but even then, that notion didn't comfort the human wife of Tsukuyomaru in the slightest.

Rushing in without a second of mercy on his end Naruto disappeared in a burst of speed to dodge one of his opponents follow up attacks. "Wind Style: Hurricane Fist!" Getting in close Naruto slammed several straight punches into Tsukuyomaru's stomach in rapid succession causing the demon to cough up spit and saliva in blistering bouts of pain. "Yōjutsu: Resonating Tempo!" In response to this the bat demon launched several rhythmic dizzying punches to Naruto's body with his fist emitting delirious soundwaves pitched at an elevating octave that assaulted Naruto's ears as he was being pushed back in this bout of Taijutsu.

'That wasn't a normal attack pattern. He matched his rhythm of punches to mine to catch me off guard. He basically copied me in a manner of speaking.' Naruto deduced as the rhythm and tempo of Tsukuyomaru's retaliating strikes were the exact same as Naruto's own attacks that he just landed on the Bat Demon. 'Bat Demons are no joke. No wonder he survived under the reign of the Four War Gods. Killing him would not only have been a waste but a hassle on their end if they decided to put forth the effort. I'm just glad he wasn't my enemy back in the past.' Naruto comforted himself as he jumped back to gain distance once he saw his opponent charge up another attack.

"Ice Style: Ice Wall Jutsu!" Once more another wall of ice came up just in time as Tsukuyomaru unleashed a powerful sonic blast. "Yōjutsu: Boomburst!" The powerful beam of sound slammed into Naruto's wall of ice shattering the glacial barrier after a few seconds of resistance as the silver haired man decided to press his advantage. He was met by Naruto launching several barrages of ice kunai at him, but he wouldn't be deterred. Naruto's only recourse was to raise another wall of ice to buy himself some time as Tsukuyomaru ticked in annoyance. He wasn't sure what his new lord was thinking by using the same tactic over and over again in succession, but he would teach him a lesson.

"That won't protect you my lord. Take me more seriously! "Vibration Magic: Transmigrating Resonance!" Tsukuyomaru's entire body glowed a silver sheen as it began vibrating at an incredible rate. Rushing directly at the newest barrier of ice in his way the demon had everyone in suspense as they thought that he was either going to smack directly into the physical obstruction in his path or shatter it somehow with blunt force, but what no one was expected was for him to phase straight through the ice as if it wasn't even there.

The dark-skinned demon's body began to phase out of the other end of the wall of ice as he saw Naruto's eyes widen in surprise before they narrowed down into mischief. Looking down below him the bat demon could see that the ground and the actual surface of the ice he was coming out of had razor sharp spears protruding from its surface with paper bombs pasted down on the surface.

'He tricked me… you are as crafty as the Uzumaki of old Lord Shī-ō.' Tsukuyomaru praised as he finished phasing through the wall of ice before spreading his wings out wide allowing him to take to the air just as the bombs went off causing him to be pushed further into the air as he watched Naruto make several hand signs down on the ground.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough Jutsu!" At first Tsukuyomaru was only expecting to hear this shout from one direction but instead he heard it simultaneously from two separate directions as he looked behind him to see another Naruto that jumped from the top of the ice wall to be behind him in midair. The bat demon didn't even have time to properly think before he was caught in between two opposing concussive blasts of wind that paralyzed his wings and froze him in midair as he was battered from both directions by violent currents of wind that tore into his body with a vengeance. He was suspended in the air in a vulnerable state with no way to escape as the wind from both directions were keeping his wings hyperextended and locked in place with equal amounts of pressure being applied to both sides of Tsukuyomaru's leathery buoyant appendages.

It felt like it would last forever but eventually after most of his armor and clothes had rips and tears in it did the loyal bat demon finally find reprieve from the concussive blasts of wind. Slumping over the dark demon began to fall out of the air when he heard a distinct and legendary sound that he didn't think he'd ever hear again in his lifetime. Two more Naruto's were in the air above him that had also been shadow clones disguised in the rubble of ice and dirt that had obstructed Tsukuyomaru's vision earlier in the fight when he went on the offensive against Naruto.

One was the real Naruto while the other was a clone with the others participating in this multi-pronged attack being the same clones he hid near the beginning of the fight. A Rasengan was in Naruto's hand as he let gravity assist him in gaining momentum against his battered opponent whose eyes were widened like saucers in both awe and dread. 'He truly is their son… Minato and Kushina's heir… the new Shī-ō of the Land of Whirlpools… my new master.'

"Forbidden Yōjutsu: Hyakkikoumori Sacred Barrier!"

"Rasengan!"

These two forces clashed in the air above the town square causing a massive shockwave to ring out against Aria's barrier that rattled in protest to the powerful energies within its confines. Momentum and gravity was on Naruto's side in this clash as he drove Tsukuyomaru, barrier and all into the earth below them with his Rasengan drilling into the ruby red obstruction that cracked and shattered once they both hit the ground. A shockwave and explosion rung out in the area blocking everyone's vision of the battle with an intrusive dust cloud that slowly over time dissipated enough to allow the combatants to be seen.

A picturesque scene awaited the audience watching the battle going on as Naruto stood above Tsukuyomaru's defeated and slumped in body that was embedded into the ground with the palm of his hand pressed into the demons now broken chest plate that was ripped apart by his dissipating Rasengan. Sweat was billowing down Naruto's face but it didn't stop the triumphant grin from making its way onto his face as he raised his fist into air with the roaring cheers of the civilians around him serenading him in their praise and awe.


"Our master. Lord Naruto Uzumaki is the winner of this exhibition match. Offer praise onto your Shī-ō." Miya declared in her commanding voice as Aria released the barrier protecting the town from the battle allowing everyone to rush Naruto in a mob like swarm which only served to overwhelm the blond haired Uzumaki.

A little indigo haired missile in the form of Ai slammed into Naruto with giddiness written all over her face. "Papa that was amazing! You're so cool!" The little aquatic girl was nuzzling her face into Naruto's stomach with the other kids coming to join in on the fun. "You are learning well my young apprentice." Chaos giggled with a mysterious hood and cloak over her head. She taught the little orphans that the only way to greet their new father was to divebomb him with their affectionate tackles. It was the same principal she's always lived by which Naruto would vehemently protest against due to his aching back.

The cloak was ripped off of Chaos's body by a passing Iris who had an irritated look on her face. "Stop doing that sis." Chaos's signature giggles were the only response Iris got back as usual as she gave a warm smile towards her father while flashing her eyes green in a message that he easily caught. Sōkyoku was proud of him.

"That was an excellent match my lord. It pleases me to know that my master is so powerful and resourceful." Tsukuyomaru coughed out as his extended hand was grabbed by Naruto who then proceeded to lift the heavy grown man out of the damaged ground beneath them. "I could easily say the same about my subordinates. Hōrai Island is in good hands if it has people like you fighting for it Tsukuyomaru. Lady Miya can you please heal him up really quick." Naruto complimented in all honesty as he was given a real challenge by this very experienced demon who has undoubtedly lived for quite a long time.

While this was happening the proud and humble demon was being propped up and supported by his wife and daughter who were doting all over him with their concerned cacophony of words and frantic actions. His family meant the world to him and he was entirely devoted to them.

"Of course, leave it to me." Miya was more than willing to heal the undoubtedly proud demon right now who just got to confirm that his master was strong and capable. "Excuse me Lady Miya but if you let me, I'll get this bum back on his feet." A playful voice called out bringing Naruto's attention and that of the others over to a very curvaceous woman with aquatic features. She had gradient blue hair that changed color and saturation the further it got from the tips of her hair while her ears were in the shape of gills. Her skin was a healthy snow-white complexion while certain strips of her skin were pure gold and sprawled out in a mesmerizing pattern across her body like tattoos. Lastly the woman's lower half was that of a fish and her scales were a beautiful rainbow color that reflected the sun's rays perfectly. This woman was Laira Lorelei and she was the Queen of the Mermaid Kingdom that called the coral bays of Hōrai Island their home. Dozens of generations of sea folk have been born on the island since they first joined the Land of Whirlpools hundreds of years ago and in all of that time Laira has been alive and the queen of them all. She was the oldest living member on the island besides Miya.

"Ms. Lorelei…" Naruto spoke out slowly as he jogged his memory for the woman before him. In retrospect a small voice in the back of his head was asking him how he could possibly forget such a stunning woman like the one before him now and his guilty conscience was more inclined to agree. She was very unforgettable. She was far too striking and distinct to ever forget her dazzling appearance.

"Yes, my lord. But you can just call me Laira. I've had a symbolic relationship with the Shī-ō of the Uzumaki Clan going back over 800 years now. We our sworn allies and friends." Laira spoke up while being propped up on a small wheelchair. She did have normal human legs, but she preferred not to use them. It felt more natural to her to be in her natural aquatic form. Bowing in acknowledgment to this fact Naruto became puzzled when Laira offered out her hand for him in a strange manner.

"You're supposed to kiss my hand my lord." Laira giggled when a cute expression of confusion came to Naruto's face. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do in that moment but now understanding it a healthy blush came to his face. Laira was ridiculously beautiful with a massive bust that was almost as large as Tsunade's. In fact, it was about the same as Shoko's which Naruto felt shameful for even knowing but after spending so many years next to his surrogate mother it just became natural knowledge for him. Leaning down he kissed Laira's hand while missing the very dark and mischievous smile that played out across the mermaids face. Iris and Chaos caught this look as they in turn shared a look with each other. If only Naruto knew what he had just done…

"I look forward to serving you my lord. I'm sure we will get along just fine." Laira giggled mysteriously while retracting her hand before summoning several shining balls of water that she sprinkled down onto Tsukuyomaru who began to rapidly heal before everyone's eyes. "Is there a chance in the future for us to fight as well Laira?" Naruto mused as he felt Iris heal his wounds with her glowing golden hands wrapped in fire. The clingy little girl had a tranquil expression on her face while doing this with Chaos now hanging off of his back by teleporting there.

"If you desire it so Lord Shī-ō, but I must inform you that while on land my power is diminished to about a level that could match the strength of the Four War Gods. In the ocean where my domain lies, I am nearly invincible and unbeatable. I regret the fact that I was never able to purge those vile demons from our home. They never came to our underwater caves and I was instructed by Lady Miya to go into hibernation to hide my presence and that of our mermaid clan from their senses. If we were destroyed, then there would be no hope for anyone on the island as we are responsible for keeping the ecosystem of the island intact." Laira explained in a solemn tone as she was the strongest fighter on the island but her true power was solely dependent on her environment. On land she was sure she could kill Kyōra and possibly match Jūra's sheer brute strength though she was hesitant on that notion and fighting against sword wielding opponents was never her favorite thing to do and with Lightning Magic on his side Ryūra was sure to fatally wound her or outright kill her with his siblings if they were to all gang up on her and for all of her strength she wouldn't be capable of stopping Gōra one on one without assistance, not without having to use every ounce of her true maximum power.

She was caught between a rock and a hard place so her only recourse was to follow Miya's instructions and go into hiding with the rest of her kingdom of mermaids to prevent their extinction. It still didn't stop them from trying to swim away from the island but the threat of the whirlpools and Gōra patrolling the area kept them held hostage in their own home.

A sad smile graced Naruto's lips at this admission as he hugged the woman to his side in comfort. "I know you would have loved to do more, but you've done enough by surviving. You can help lead us into a bright future. I feel safe leaving the island in your hands while I'm away." Naruto said tenderly to Laira who blushed ever so slightly in surprise. "My, my… so chivalrous and mature. You please me greatly my lord." Laira giggled as she turned away from Naruto to hide her blush. She may be over 800 years old, but age was just simply a number for a being like her. The age of others never affected how she became attracted to them, especially due to the nature of her species and how they view males of other species.

"If you are that powerful then I'm itching to fight you all out in the future. I have ways of evening the playing field." Naruto challenged as Laira's eyes glowed in amusement to this challenge. Even the previous generation of Shī-ō over the years held a respect for her power and never offered to fight her in her own domain. This would be the first in a long time.


Time passed by after this with Naruto spending the rest of the day with his children getting to know the rest of the villagers of the old Whirlpool Village. There were some interesting characters that they came across with all of them having their own quirks and personalities. It made him all the more excited to get to know them better with time. He was eventually joined in this endeavor by Karin and Fū who were keeping on their best behavior now that Naruto had them in his iron sights. The first sign of a perverted slip up from either girl and he was going to unleash his wrath upon them once more. He wouldn't allow them and in particular Karin to corrupt his children with their perversion.

As it turns out there are two beautiful beaches on Hōrai Island that the family and extended group found the time to visit and Naruto was pleasantly surprised to see that each of the beaches were different in appearance. The first one they went to was at the bottom of the sheer cliffs that make up the circumference of the island. The sand beneath their feet was deep and rich in color with natural vegetation sprouting up in the area. The setting sun would soon be setting in this location giving this beach the perfect picturesque view of not only the sun but of one of the floating sky islands that was orbiting the island. Naruto was sure that it would be a five-star view. Perhaps he should build a tourist resort and casino on the beach?

The second beach was an entirely different beast all together. The sand was a tranquil white the reflected the peaceful and pure ambience of the area while dozens of tropical trees and vegetation added to the finished product. Rolling green hills with beautiful flower fields marked the backdrop of the beach with it's crystal clear water inviting the family to jump in. The thing about the beach that caught Naruto's attention the most was the presence of several species of Yōkai that called the area their home. There were so many, and Naruto felt the desire to learn about each and every one of them.

Sadly, there wasn't enough time in the day for Naruto and the others to visit the floating mythical sky islands floating above their heads which left Naruto miffed. The child in him was calling for adventure and new discovery in the form of those islands but unfortunately it wasn't meant to be. Naruto was determined to explore those islands the next time he came back onto his homeland. Everything wasn't a total waste though for Naruto. He got to explore more of the island than he original did. He even returned to Ilex Forest to pick some of the exotic fruits that grow in the mysterious and mythical forest that had strange and exotic fruits and vegetation. The Morelull and Shiinotic that call the forest home along with several other Yōkai were surprising hospitable and accommodating of the large group traveling through their territory.

Eventually all good things had to come to an end as the very next morning Naruto was ready to set off. He had to get back to the village in time to meet the deadline for when Yukie Fujikaze and her crew would set out for their filming tour. With Gōra's help he would stay ahead of schedule, so he wasn't so worried. A heartfelt tearful goodbye greeted Naruto in the form of all of his children dogpiling him under their bodies. He was going to miss them, and the feeling was very much mutual as Naruto had made it a point to spend time with all of his kids in one on one settings the previous day while they were exploring more of the island. They all benefited greatly from this extra shine of attention with Moegi and the twins Roku and Dai especially appreciating this effort on the part of their father.

Aria was staying behind on the island with the children since she was their primary caretaker whenever Naruto wasn't home to begin with and he didn't see the point in stopping her from fulfilling her duty now. It was also a valuable experience for Aria to be on an exclusive island surrounded by various humans and supernatural creatures of all walks of life. After spending the last three almost four years with him in a village predominantly dominated by humans that she couldn't reveal her true heritage to was something Naruto didn't want for her. She deserved to be in an environment in which she could embrace her true self.

While he was sad that he had to leave his friends and family on the island for three whole months Naruto didn't despair as he was also leaving the villagers with a gift of his own. Ever since embracing his title and responsibilities as the new Shī-ō of the Land of Whirlpools Naruto has been busy brainstorming ideas on how to revitalize the island and the village. For weeks now, he has on his own personal time drawn up sketches and schematics of what a potential new village on the island could look like. He added his discoveries and thoughts on the two beaches to his overall notes which he spent all of last night composing which he compiled into a large scroll that he left with Miya.

He left them instructions on how to begin the initial construction on some of the basic buildings and structure that would need to be added in the coming months. There was a lot that needed to be done to begin breathing new life into the island and Naruto had full faith and confidence that the villagers could get it done.

It wasn't long after that final exchange that Naruto and the members of patrol squad 9 could be seen riding on Gōra's back away from Hōrai Island with the waving villagers growing smaller and smaller overtime until they along with the island slowly faded out of sight into a mirage created by the natural cloaking barrier of the island generated by the Cauldron of Resonance. The island was still there as both Naruto and Gōra could feel it due to their symbolic and spiritual ties to the land mass but physically it couldn't be detected or approached due to the barrier and whirlpools that natural exist around the perimeter of the island.

Traveling through the whirlpools for the first time was nerve wracking for Naruto as even with Gōra's massive hulking form the powerful pull of the whirlpools were battering his dense shell and pummeling his body. With his girth he was able to plow straight through the whirlpools without taking serious damage, but this was the action he would have to take anytime he was traveling too or from the island with passengers on his body. If a man-made ship tried to do what Gōra did though… the results wouldn't be pretty which was another phenomenon that Naruto wanted to look into as the island would have a lot of trouble with international trade and commerce if ships couldn't get close to the island to dock because of fear of being annihilated by the deadly whirlpools.


Land of Fire / South Fork Wharf Town – Docking Bay 3

'We're back here again…?' Naruto thought with an aggravated huff as he along with Team 7 were back together finally after such a long hiatus. This was the last place he wanted to be but unfortunately South Fork Wharf Town had the largest commercial trading hub on the eastern coast of the Land of Fire. This was the only place they could set sail from and it was the only dockyards large enough to accommodate the massive privately-owned crew ship that belonged to Yukie and her filming company.

It was a warm welcome to see his two teammates again on an official mission with Sakura sharing in Naruto's enthusiasm while Sasuke had a slightly more subdued ambience about him that Naruto tried to shake off of the emotionally withdrawn boy by wrapping him in a brotherly hug that Sasuke begrudgingly and embarrassingly returned as he secretly appreciated the gesture.

This mission wasn't exclusive to the members of Team 7 though; Section 2 were tagging along on the request of the Mafia as Naruto was tasked with transporting the finished prototypes and blueprints of the experimental chakra armor up to the Land of Snow at the behest of their client. At the same time the girls went through a round of successful surgeries at the hands of Tsunade, Shoko, and Shizune who managed to infuse the new prototype armor to their exoskeleton which proved in the testing afterwards to dramatically improve their health and fighting prowess. Only time would tell just how successful this improvements would be for the girls.

"That's an impressive ship…" Sakura whistled in awe as the personal ship of the world renown actress was massive in size with Naruto easily agreeing to this notion as if it were to be placed side by side with Shion's Royal Yacht it would dwarf the young priestess's ship by a fair margin.

It was a pleasure cruiser that measured in at just over 120 meters making it quite the ship. It had over 7 decks with inside theatre and set rooms for shooting scenes for the movie and the top deck was renovated to be one large set as well. The bottom decks were reserved for the crew and passengers and had several luxury suites in it that really exuded the expensive and glamorous lifestyle that Yukie lives. On the stern of the ship was a built-in contraption Naruto's never seen for. It was primitive in design, but a retractable ramp was in place that led into a small bay that could store large quantities of cargo. Naruto and the others could see the film crew and the many aides and background workers loading up their carriages, transportation vehicles, high capacity cargo containers, and heavy filming equipment that would all be used during the trip. The ramp and by extension the back of the ship lined up perfectly with the dock they were standing on allowing the locomotion and storage of all of these items to be fluid and less time consuming.

'Wow! That's so cool.' Naruto was busy geeking out in his mind over the logistics and engineering marvel of the ship and the dockyards that was bringing all of this to life. Spending that time interning under Tazuna while guarding him and spending his entire life growing up on the streets having to learn the in's and outs of renovating and fixing up his own apartment has left Naruto with a deep passion and respect for engineering and logistics which he has turned into a hobby over time.

It was the only thing he could do growing up as it necessitated his ability to survive so it's become second nature to Naruto to gravitate towards this field in life. If it wasn't his destiny to become a shinobi, he was sure he would probably have found himself enjoying a life as an engineer and carpenter. The hectic hustle and bustle of that lifestyle somehow filled Naruto with a tranquil nostalgic feeling as it reminds him of pretty much his whole life growing up.

"I'm really glad we could all be together to do this mission guys. It seems like forever since the team has been together." Sakura commented with a sweet smile on her face while leaning against a nearby rail. They were keeping a vigilant eye out for all of the crew coming and going from the ship. This was a basic exorcise Kakashi and the academy drilled into them from a young age. You have to take stock and catalog every event you see for each and every individual you come across. They had a detailed roster of every member of the crew of the ship and it was an unspoken task for the three young shinobi to train their eyes and observational skills to memorize and scan everyone at the dock to ensure that no suspicious or shady individual tried to sneak their way onboard Yukie's ship or if one of the crew members were acting strange because they may potentially harbor ill intent for their main client.

Small unspoken skills like these were ones that all shinobi were expected to learn and cultivate over the years with experienced Jōnin being masters of this art form. From a very young age the children training to become shinobi are taught how to channel chakra up to their brains to stimulate the organ and increase their intelligence and brain functions. By doing so they can selectively increase and stimulate their observational skills to help them in this endeavor. The goal is that over time you would eventually come to be able to perform this task without the aid of chakra and only when you were in combat or in a very high stakes situation would you risk using chakra to help boost this skill of yours and risk detection by Sensory Type Ninja.

"It has Sakura… I'm glad to be back with my old team again. I can see that you've gotten a lot stronger. That time spent interning under Kurenai Sensei and the other Jōnin has done you a lot of good. I heard that even Shizune dropped by and gave you a few pointers and lessons along the way. I can't wait to see you in action." Naruto smiled to the pink haired girl who grinned in return while flexing the noticeable and budding muscle system bulging in her arms. She's been working out heavily ever since Team 7 was put on hiatus following the end of the Chūnin Exams. Even before then Naruto and Sasuke took a full month break being taught exclusively while Sakura was left behind. Now that Naruto was promoted to Chūnin which came as a great shock to Sakura, he's had a lot less time to be with his team as she herself was falling way behind.

This significant passage of time since then has done wonders for Sakura who has taken her training as a shinobi seriously. She wasn't the same kunoichi that she was at the end of the preliminaries and even during the invasion. While she contributed in the assault on the Hidden Sand's forward command base, she wasn't able to show off or land a heavy dent to their enemy. Now, things were starting to change for the young girl. She wanted to improve herself and catch back up with her friends and teammates. That fire that was in her eyes was something that Naruto could easily see, and it pleased him greatly that his teammate was coming into her own.

Giggling in delight Sakura snuggled up against Sasuke who grunted with a semi-embarrassed and annoyed expression on his face. "Well, I want to get stronger so that I can catch up with you guys. I want us to be a team in which we can rely on each other fully with all of us pulling each other's weight fairly. I want to stand with you both." It was a warm sentiment to be expressed and Naruto could see the faintest twitch of Sasuke's lips upwards in a positive light as he too liked what he was hearing and so did Naruto who patted Sakura on the back with pride in his eyes.

Nudging Sasuke in his other shoulder Naruto wiggled his eyebrows in a gesture towards Sakura causing an almost invisible blush of embarrassment to form on Sasuke's pale skin. He would never be caught dead blushing so noticeable to the degree Naruto and Hinata do towards each other. He was far to stoic and laid back for such actions, that and he would never hear the end of it from Naruto if that were the case.

Before Naruto could get into a teasing spree against his other best friend, he was interrupted by the arrival of Section 2. They would be tagging along. Time was winding down and after going over brief introductions to refamiliarize his teammates with his colleagues from the mafia the larger group finally joined the rest of the crew on the ship. It was time to leave and after a final security check of the ship the massive vessel took to the ocean on its long three month long maiden voyage filming tour. If only they knew just how eventful their trip would be.

"Ms. Yukie turned you down for an autograph again?" Sakura murmured to a dejected Naruto who was watching the mainland slowly fade out of sight over the horizon. He was turned down by the actress who locked herself in her personal room soon after getting onto the ship. She didn't even want to hold a conversation with him which was soul crushing considering the massive fan crush he had on her. She was his idol and he wished she didn't act this way. She was a person he wanted to show his children her movies. It was a turbulent feeling that Naruto was feeling in his chest at this hostile interaction with this idol of his. He didn't know how he was supposed to feel.

"Yeah… I don't know why she acts like this. All I want is to get to know her. She's my idol and I'd love to make some lasting memories with her. I've never been able to do something like this before because of my childhood. I just want something positive ya know." Naruto confessed to Sakura who patted him on his back in sympathy. "I know… growing up I didn't have a lot of money to do these sorts of things either. Given my father's troubles and my sickness it just never worked out. But I'm sure something good will come out of this. You just have to hold your head up." Sakura comforted with a warm smile on her face that caused one to grow on Naruto's face in return.

"Look at you… you really have changed Sakura." Naruto mumbled as he pulled the girl into a one-armed hug which got a decent blush of embarrassment and gratitude from the bubble gum haired girl who returned it in an amicable way. "I hope I can show you everything I've changed about myself." Sakura mentioned as Naruto hummed in thought. "Like the courage you've taken to going on a date with Sasuke?" Naruto cheekily jabbed causing Sakura's face to nearly explode in flaming hot eruptions of embarrassment.

"Don't worry, when we get to the Land of Snow maybe you can find a nice date location for you and Sasuke. I'll help look for you." Stutters were all Naruto got in return as it appeared that he broke his teammate who had steam coming out of ears. "Off on another adventure again Naru… do you feel that pull that I'm feeling. It feels familiar and I bet you a hundred cups of ramen that it's more than likely coming from the Land of Snow." Eva whispered to her beloved partner who hummed in thought. "Yeah… it's just another hurdle put in our way that we're meant to overcome. Lady Sōkyoku would say something like that huh." Naruto mused back as Eva snorted in amusement. Their life sucked.

She couldn't explain it, but she was feeling a strange pull towards the land that was thousands of miles away now that the notion of traveling there was planted in their minds. Through their link Naruto could feel this same instinctual gnawing feeling in his soul which could only mean one thing and that was this simple mission was going to become needlessly complicated and spiral out of hand fast. Just his luck… maybe he should blame Lady Sōkyoku for this. He had no doubt in his mind that whatever was waiting for them over the horizon was something Sōkyoku has already foreseen already.

"Well… let the Journey to the Land of Snow begin."


To be continued...

[Land of Snow Arc]


Jutsu Library

1.) Ninja Art: Shadow Shuriken Clone Jutsu - The user creates a thousand shadow clones from one shuriken, striking down the enemy. This is a technique that combines ninja tools with Ninjutsu. Compared to normal shadow clones, clones of material objects are said to be on a far higher level. There is no need for preparations beforehand, like stocking up on shuriken, or kunai, yet since the shadow clones are real and not illusions, all the shadow blades that fly around are equally lethal. Because the clones form in just an instant, completely evading them is next to impossible. This technique can also be used on Fūma shuriken, increasing its lethality.

2.) Kenjutsu: Arctic Blade Dance - Naruto's own version of Shoko's Hazard Blade Dance. By using his twin swords made of ice Naruto reenacts the same attack as Shoko but the difference is that crescent waves made of ice are launched from his swords with each swing and they will flash freeze anything they come in contact with.

3.) Ice Style: Icicle Spear Jutsu - This Jutsu that was created by Naruto is actually another construct of his Ice Make Jutsu. However, it can be made in his hands or in midair. It cannot be made through the ground however as that is another Jutsu entirely that Naruto created as well.

4.) Ice Style: Ice Wall Jutsu - An Ice Style Jutsu that Naruto uses. He slams his hands onto the ground and pumps a sizable amount of chakra into the ground beneath him. Out of the ground in front of him a large thick wall of ice will appear that is very thick and highly durable. Because of the fact that Naruto's chakra is in fact mixed in with his own Yōki that his body creates the Ice wall's durability is further enhanced. However, it can crack if hit with a high amount of pressure and velocity such as Eva's giant water wave. Also, it can be cut in two by Eva's thin beams of water from the attack that she just learned.

5.) Water Style: Wild Water Wave Jutsu - A basic water style Ninjutsu the user molds water nature chakra into their mouth before spitting it out into a small-scale wave powerful enough to sweep grown men off their feet and knock down lightweight objects not tied down or secure to the ground.

6.) Yōjutsu: Freeze Vision - A mirror copy of Eva's own technique, this attack allows Naruto to freeze targets caught within the center of his line of sight. Because this ability is a natural technique of the Winter Fairy species it comes with difficulties that Naruto has to contend with. As a person who doesn't possess a Dōjutsu or any special ocular ability the process of channeling his Yōki rich Chakra through his internal network to his eyes to make this technique work comes as a very difficult challenge. His ability to wield pure Yōki is lacking in comparison to his normal chakra related skills. As such, when using this technique it takes far longer to freeze a target than if Eva was to do the same thing on her own.

7.) Vibration Magic: Sonic Vortex - A powerful omnidirectional offensive and defensive technique employed by Tsukuyomaru that allows him to vibrate the air molecules in the surrounding environment around his body to form a lethal vortex that can defend against most conventional attacks while simultaneously lashing out against the attacker. It shares some similarities with the Hyūga Clan's Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation technique of the Main House. It to can attack and defend at the same time if used correctly. This technique also emits a low audible hum as the air molecules vibrate wildly. The source of the technique typically originates from Tsukuyomaru's wings which have special organic muscles in them that can channel his magic properly for his sound based techniques.

8.) Water Style: Water Wall Jutsu - This defensive technique creates a wall of water around the user. Enemy attacks are completely intercepted by a fence of water blown out from the mouth and is raised from below with tremendous might. The water is blown out in the form of a circle around the user, and it makes for a defense without openings. It is also possible for the user to control the amount of water and duration at will. The wall's strength and resistance change following the quantity of chakra poured down into the water, so a skillful shinobi will be able to build a sturdy one. Furthermore, because the field of vision is maintained even while defending one can easily go on to the next move, which is a great advantage. The wall can also be formed from a pre-existing water source.

9.) Yōjutsu: Boomburst - A very powerful and lethal offensive technique that is Tsukuyomaru's primary attack option. Opening his mouth he generates a silver ball of condensed Yōki at the back of his throat that he shoots off in a powerful cylindrical shaped blast of supersonic waves that can plow through most defenses including sturdy barriers such as Naruto's Ice Walls. The sound waves from the technique vibrate at such an intensity that they can weaken the structural integrity of whatever physical object stands in its way. A powerful wail like cry is the sound that accompanies this technique being used and because it is a natural ability of all Bat Demons Tsukuyomaru can use this attack with both ease and added power granted to him for being a Daiyōkai or Great Demon.

10.) Kenjutsu: Accelerated Decapitation - A move that Naruto came up with in the heat of battle mixed in with his determination to escape a dire situation he found himself in. Coating himself in his Accel Cloak Naruto who has a sword or bladed weapon in his hands {It can be a real weapon, or one created from his Ice Style} disappears in a burst of speed granted to him by his Accel Turn and swiftly decapitates his target in one fluid and quick motion. The victim will have no time to react since this technique is used at point black range and it is used during the element of surprise which will catch the opponent off guard.

11.) Tempest Turn - Tempest Turn works by storing Kinetic energy in one's own body, reinforced by their own internal energy (Chakra, Yōki, etc.), and then giving form to that energy using their internal energy and shooting it out of their body. With this technique that is unique to only Naruto he can create multiple afterimages of himself that function similarly to Shadow Clones. However, they cannot interact with their environment like normal Shadow Clones. They are literally made up of the energy cloak Naruto creates whenever he activates his Accel Turn. The after images energy wise are indistinguishable from their creator but visually they have a light blue glow to them. The copies have a sizable speed advantage, but they are not moving at the same speed as when Naruto uses Acceleration. Also, the copies take up so much energy that Naruto can only create up to four copies with this move. Also, while using this move to its fullest Naruto is unable to use Acceleration because all of it is being used to maintain Tempest Turn.

12.) Yōjutsu: Boomburst – Scatter Shot - A rapid fire short burst version of Tsukuyomaru's signature Boomburst technique. By staggering the release of the initial blast by opening and closing his mouth in intervals he is able to shoot off multiple short micro-bursts of his attack that can hit multiple targets at once. The overall power of the technique is reduced in comparison to its parent technique but the overall speed and wider firing arc of this technique gives it its special quality.

13.) Double Accel Turn - The first variant of Accelerating Turn that works the same way as the original. The user stores up kinetic energy in their body but the difference is at this point. The user separates the built-up energy into two separate pockets surrounded by a shell of the user's internal energy (Chakra, Yōki, etc.), the two bubbles of kinetic energy is pressed up against each other and concentrated at the user's feet creating which in turn creates tremendous amounts of pressure on the body. Once released the added pressure results in a massive shockwave of kinetic energy that propels the user forwards at incredible speeds. The user then releases the second and final bubble of kinetic energy after the first gets depleted allowing them to speed back up again. Because of this there is a brief amount of lag in between each jump but the lag spike is so short that only experienced fighters would be able to notice or counter it.

14.) Kenjutsu: X – Scissor - A technique that Naruto created that allows Naruto to cut an opponent in an "X" formation leaving an "X" shaped scar across the user's body. For ease of use it works best when dual wielding.

15.) Forbidden Yōjutsu: Hyakkikoumori Sacred Barrier - The secret technique of the Hyakkikoumori Clan and that of the Bat Demon species as a whole. The Hyakkikoumori Clan has a precious heirloom in the possession called the Blood Coral Crystal that is passed down to each generation of clan leader and guardian of the tribe. The crystal allows the guardian to erect an all powerful nearly invincible crimson barrier that can block and deflect almost any kind of attack in the world. The crystal also stores the power of the previous generation of guardians in its depths making each successor stronger in the long run as a failsafe to preserve the clan and its power. The barrier itself is not invincible however. If the current user is not in possession of the actual Blood Coral Crystal then it doesn't matter how powerful the user is their constructed barrier will always be weaker and inferior in comparison to the current holder of the heirloom. The barrier is also powered by the will of the user and it takes a tremendous amount of energy to sustain which means that it is infallible and capable of being broken by powerful offensive techniques such as the Rasengan if used under the right conditions. The barrier is also permeable as the user can choose to expel anyone under the protection of the barrier if they so choose making it a very versatile technique.

16.) Vibration Magic: Duplicating Resonance - Another use of Vibration Magic. By vibrating the molecules inside of his own body Tsukuyomaru can duplicate himself into multiple copies of himself that can act independently of their creator much like the Shadow Clone Jutsu. A drawback of the technique to note is the fact that these clones do not possess any of Tsukuyomaru's strength and they themselves cannot use any of his techniques. Since the molecules inside of their body are constantly vibrating at a high rate they are also unstable and a solid enough impact will cause them to dispel.

17.) Wind Style: Hurricane Fist - A low level Wind Style Jutsu that causes swirling winds to form around the user's fist. Although it is a Ninjutsu it is mostly used in Taijutsu combat to augment the users punching strength. The winds generated by the Jutsu are strong enough to launch opponents away and send them flying. The winds can also be concentrated in the user's hands to palm thrust opponents or to grip, catch, or push things away from the user.

18.) Yōjutsu: Resonating Tempo - A unique technique that allows Tsukuyomaru to fight on equal footing with opponents that are superior to him in Taijutsu as that is his weakest area. The technique shines in the fact that it allows him to copy the rhythm of his opponent that allows him to match their speed, dexterity, and attack patterns after receiving an initial barrage from his attacker. The technique itself can't be used if Tsukuyomaru isn't attacked first which is a weakness that he keeps hidden.

19.) Vibration Magic: Transmigrating Resonance - A very powerful and advanced technique that allows Tsukuyomaru to vibrate the molecules inside of his body at such a speed that he can then phase through physical objects and obstacles in his way. The ability to phase through solid objects allows Tsukuyomaru to travel anywhere unimpeded which gives him an unlimited vector of attack against his opponent as any physical obstacle that they place in his path won't affect him in the slightest. The technique itself only has a time limit of 1 minute due to the strain this powerful magic places on his body as vibrating all of his molecules takes an immense amount of concentration and energy. This phasing ability can also work against Tsukuyomaru in the case of when he first used it against Naruto who laid down a trap in the exact location Tsukuyomaru was phasing through which prevented him from dodging it.

20.) Wind Style: Great Breakthrough Jutsu - A technique that simply creates a ferocious gust of wind, whose scale and usage varies depending on the user. If used by a superior shinobi, it has enough destructive power to knock down a large tree. The wind from the squall can blow away all things in the user's line of sight. The technique can also be used in the form of a devastation stream of wind expelled from the user's mouth.

21.) Rasengan - The Rasengan is a spinning ball of chakra formed and held in the palm of the user's hand. Once it is formed, it also does not require any additional chakra to sustain it, which means that there is no definite limit to how long the Rasengan can be used. Though the Rasengan's shape is consistent from user to user, its size varies from only barely large enough to be noticeable to much larger than the user's hand. With greater experience with the Rasengan comes a larger size. On contact, the Rasengan grinds into its target, propels them along the Rasengan's trajectory - either away from the user or into the ground beneath them - and at some point, bursts causing severe damage at the point of contact.


Author's Note (A/N): Sorry for how long this chapter turned out but there was a lot that needed to be covered before the full weight of the Land of Snow Arc could be delved into. We find out that this A - Rank Mission will last upwards of over three months from start to finish which is the longest mission Naruto's ever been on to date and it's also the longest time he's ever been away from either the village or his family as Hinata remarks. They go over each others respective assignments with Hinata revealing the fact she has a long term deployment mission to the Land of Wind where she will be helping to rebuild the broken relationship between the two countries. Naruto warns her to be careful of the dangerous area that she is in while also asking her for a favor of checking up on Gaara.

Naruto and Hinata then tackle the emotional rollercoaster ride of convincing the foster children to go back to Hōrai Island while he is away on his mission. This clearly doesn't go well with any of them with Roku and Dai voicing their displeasure at this which dissolves into a shouting match that withers away at the patience of Naruto until Hinata steps in and lays down the law for the twins. Her very presence is enough to tame the boys as she lectures them in a way that shocks her father and everyone watching. In the end Hinata gets the twins to apologize to their father which turns into a heartwarming scene that showcases the bond of the Uzumaki family.

The next scene shows Naruto visiting Inari and his family down in the Land of Waves. This is his first visit to the country since his mission their many months ago and a dramatic change could be seen. Tazuna was made the new Daimyō of the country even though he doesn't act like it. Tsunami even mentions the three mysterious individuals who visited her and her family after Naruto and his team first left. Inari himself reunites with Naruto who is glad to see him all the way up until the point that he sees Iris again and his crush on her returns. Naruto is understandably left in yet another jealous rage which he is surprisingly enough not alone in as Roku, Dai, and Shion are all overprotective of Iris due to her natural divinity influencing their minds.

In the end Naruto sets off for Hōrai Island while riding on Gōra's back which shocks Squad 9 who are honored to meet the giant turtle. They make it to the island where they are greeted by Miya and the villagers. After a brief teasing exchange between the Goddess and Naruto in which he notes she's purposefully not speaking to Iris in his presence they head off to the village to meet the villagers. It is there that Naruto is reunited with his cousin Karin and Fū who he allowed to stay on the island following the conclusion of the Fire on the Mystic Island Arc. The duo have changed slightly in all of that time as they are both very perverted with Karin displaying her antics to Naruto who rebuffs her at every turn. He discovers that the two friends have entered a pseudo relationship of their own as they have been experimenting on each other with the information that they've learned from Jiraiya's erotic novels which blows Naruto's mind so much so that he unleashes his wrath upon Karin after Ai who was being influenced by Chaos started to ask questions about Karin's actions.

After calming down Naruto requests a spar with one of his new subordinates with Tsukuyomaru being the one to volunteer after Shishinki displays his displeasure at Naruto's presence. This conflict is soon confronted by Naruto who calls the demon out on his attitude. Shishinki reveals that he is angered over the fact Naruto is their leader yet he isn't here with them and they are alone. He criticizes him over not being like the Uzumaki of old which causes Naruto to retaliate with his own words and a show of force by calling upon the presence of the Cauldron of Resonance that causes Shishinki to submit to Naruto who is able to talk sense into the villagers while apologizing for not being there for them.

Naruto and Tsukuyomaru then have their spar which is Naruto's first fight in a long time that isn't a life or death battle. Right off the bat Naruto shows off his more mature and developed skills from being in so many high level battles as he dominates the early fight against his opponent who pushes back by revealing the special abilities of the Bat Demons. They can wield Vibration Magic that allows them to control sound waves in the same way that normal bats use them to navigate with echolocation. Tsukuyomaru proves to be more than a match for Naruto as he takes the fight to him while Naruto begins to use ihs shinobi like mind to outwit Tsukuyomaru who is eventually overpowered by Naruto in the end who finishes the match with a Rasengan that manages to break his barrier.

One of the last remaining fighters on the island Laira Lorelei is given her speaking debut in which she reveals she is the Queen of the Mermaid Clan that has lived on the island for more than 800 years. She is the oldest person on the island besides Miya. Laira engages Naruto in a conversation where it is revealed that she is easily on par with the Four War Gods but due to her physiology and Miya's orders she was unable to stand up to them when they attacked. Laira also has Naruto kiss her hand for an ulterior motive that no one knows about as of now. Why did she do that and what was her real goal in getting close to Naruto?

Naruto and the group then spend the rest of the day exploring more of the massive island that has much to offer. They visit both beaches on the island that are very different from each other while also traveling back to Ilex Forest to pick fruits. Unfortunately Naruto is unable to explore the floating Sky Islands orbiting the island which leaves him disappointed. However, in return he vows to explore then the next time he comes back after his mission. Before leaving Naruto leaves behind a highly detailed and extensive compilation scroll filled with instructions and diagrams on the construction of the new village. He puts his faith in the villagers that they can begin the project with the promise to help when the time is right.

The chapter spirals down to a conclusion when Naruto and Team 7 return to South Fork Wharf Town to board Yukie's ship. Naruto of course is displeased to once again be back in the town so soon while he converses with his team who he hasn't been on a mission with since before the exams. They are all happy to see each other with Naruto and Sakura conversing excitedly with each other. Naruto even tries to crack Sasuke's shell by teasing him about his closeness to Sakura as of late.

The chapter comes to an end with Naruto and Sakura talking about her improvements in personality and skill in recent months and they open up to each other about their past and Naruto's disappointment in Yukie turning him down for an autograph once more. After causing Sakura to explode in embarrassment Naruto and Eva then speak to each other as the little fairy brings up the fact that they are feeling an unnatural and familiar pull towards the Land of Snow which has the two partners cautious as this is an obvious omen that this mission is going to turn out just like all of the other ones that are in some way going to shape Naruto's future.

I hope you guys enjoyed this long relaxing chapter and the spar between Naruto and Tsukuyomaru. I put a lot of effort and thought into that fight as I wanted to show how far Naruto's come with all of the life or death encounters shaping him and forcing him to grow while giving him a safe environment to do it in. It also gives us the perfect opportunity to see what one of the characters on the island is capable of. A lot is coming for this Arc and the final one that is to follow which is the Sasuke Retrieval Arc which is the last of this story before we move on to the future.


Next Chapter: Chapter 85 (Mending Hearts of Love)


That's the end of Chapter 84 I sincerely hoped you enjoyed it.

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Published: 4/2/2019