Author's Notes

Yeah, I really went on a spree with writing the last three chapters less then a month. I'm kinda surprised in myself.

Uploaded

08/26/2021

Revised as of 03/06/2022

LEGEND BELOW

"In the beginning..." = Normal speech.

''I kinda wanted to know.'' = Normal thoughts.

"You dare to defy me!?" = Bujuu/Naruto talking.

''That's what I thought.'' = Bujuu/Naruto's thoughts.

Chapter 10

Playtime is over

"Please, get inside quickly! This rain isn't going to let up!" After their dastardly encounter with the dangerous missing ninja, Zabuba, team 8 quickly made their way to the house of their charge.

At some point along the journey a terrible rainstorm began to fall, making the already dark and humid atmosphere of Wave even worse. And of course, most ninja from the Hidden Leaf dressed very lightly due to the climate there.

By the time they arrived at the oceanfront house the girls were drenched and cold. Tazuna wasted no time in getting a warm fire going, while they took a moment to unpack their gear.

Sakura had decided to fully embrace the Kubikiribōchō she procured from Zabuza, and had lugged the weapon all the way to the old man's house. Her legs were shaking by the time she arrived, and she had burnt most of her energy simply carrying the damn thing.

Ino suggested she throw the damn thing out. Sakura disagreed completely with her suggestion, and stubbornly kept the sword. She'd become strong enough to wield it like Zabuza did if she continued using it. It would push her to become stronger.

With that viewpoint, Ino couldn't find it in herself to deny the girl any more.

With Sakura and Ino occupied, Kurenai set out to secure the house. If their enemy knew they were there and viewed them as a threat, she was sure that someone else would come soon enough.

She needed to learn the entire layout of the building, any secret escape routes, and sight-lines. Luckily his house had a second story attic, the roof of which would prove perfect for keeping an eye on the surrounding lands. They couldn't have set up a better location for a base.

At least with the time frame given.

Hinata had Naruto warm the house by increasing his internal body temperature, something the other girls on her team were unaware he was capable of doing.

Ino and Sakura were wiped out, although that could be easily explained in Sakura's case. That being said, they'd been walking and running around for hours on end now. Exhaustion was finally hitting them.

"You two can sleep, I'll take first watch." Hinata offered. Both girls wanted some rest, but didn't want to ask Hinata to stay up on watch. So she offered to instead.

Ino and Sakura shared a glance, but didn't object to her offer. "If you say… so girl." Ino yawned. Sakura bowed out of thanks, before joining her blond friend in the other room.

Hinata hadn't seen Kurenai since about an hour ago, but assumed she was busy herself. But with Sakura and Ino resting, she supposed she should take to her end of the deal.

"Come on, Naruto-Kun… We've got to keep watch tonight…" She said softly, moving for the roof of the house. With the little space given in the house, Naruto once again shrunk to fit accordingly.

The house was quiet now, with the only sound coming from the rain that continued to assault the house. Ino and Sakura were out cold, and Kurenai was not anywhere to be found. Tazuna had gone to sleep as well, the man having collapsed not long after arriving home.

She took to the roof of the house, taking cover underneath an overhang. The storm raged around her, but not a drop hit her. From where she sat she could see everything.

It would be a long night, but she was prepared for it…

When the next day arrived the storm from the previous night had subsided, taking with it most of the mist. Tazuna wanted to get to work on the bridge as soon as possible, because the longer he waited, the higher the chances that Gato would send men after him.

With that in mind, early next morning saw Team 8 and the bridge builder situated at the construction site. With how badly Gato had a hold on the people of the land, you would believe that few would volunteer to help build the bridge for fear of their lives.

Unfortunately for Gato, many of Tazuna's men had little Gato could use against them, seeing as they had already lost so much. The only thing the evil tyrant could do now is kill them all, which was precisely why the old man requested The Hidden Leaf's help.

So a couple hours into the morning, and Tazuna and his men had yet to see hide or hair of any of Gato's goons. Perhaps the man had been scared off after his strongest ninja fell in battle? Whether that was the case or not remained to be seen, but Tazuna still worried.

Kurenai and her team however were preoccupied with standing guard. There was only one direction non ninja combatants could come from, and that was where the unfinished bridge met land.

They were obviously prepared in case more ninja appeared, but Kurenai judged it unlikely.

Hinata had been instructed to use her Byakugan at consistent intervals, that way anyone within a certain distance would be spotted before they had a chance to rally any sort of attack. But with the small Kyuubi sitting atop her head, her attention was being pulled. He was being distracting, and he knew it.

Sakura stood guard at the bridge entrance, her tiny figure made terrifyingly imposing with the mighty weapon she had resting at her hip. Ino stood next to her, her ability to mind transfer would prove useful to stop any would be attacker.

While they were occupied with their part, Kurenai took this time to gather information on their enemy. Out of all of Tazuna's men, some of them must have had more information then the bridge builder himself.

True, their mission there was only to protect the man until the bridge was completed. But she wasn't go to allow Gato to continue unpunished as he was. If what everyone was saying was true, and the evil tyrant truly had girls and women locked up, torturing them or worse…

She wasn't going to sit back and watch, knowing what she did. When Naruto stated that he'd continue with the mission after hearing this, her heart soared.

Ino had brought up the potential backlash that might occur were they to deviate so far from the original mission, and her other concerns over it. But Kurenai had convinced her otherwise.

This mission continuing at all already deviated from the original mission perimeters, and letting Gato continue to exist would potentially prove to be a threat to Konoha sometime down the line.

It would continue relatively uneventful like this for three days, Team 8 guarding and occasionally assisting Tazuna with the bridge, and at night returning to his house for rest. Things seemed to be looking up, but Hinata couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was coming…

"Good morning, Naruto-Kun… We've got to leave again… Tazuna says that the bridge is almost complete, so he doesn't want to wait any longer…" It was early morning once again, and the rest of her team had already left for the bridge.

"Are you certain you wish to have me here instead?" He asked quietly. Although he was sure that the threat they'd face at the bridge was minimal, he didn't want to leave her alone.

"Yes. With Tazuna's grandson here, I don't believe we should leave him alone." She said. He hummed, but had to agree with her.

When she finally departed, the house fell silent. This early in the morning, the fog from the ocean enveloped everything, and the sun had yet to fully rise.

There was a shift from somewhere upstairs, little footsteps pitter pattering down the hall. In the darkness of early morning, a little boy came slowly wandering into the living room. He'd waited until everyone else had left, including his grandfather.

He'd seen the ninja his grandfather had returned with, hoping that they could protect him from Gato.

But he knew. He knew better then the old man. These ninja wouldn't be able to save him, not from Gato, not from the power Gato held over everyone.

What did power even mean? His father was a strong man, and he too was killed by Gato. What could these ninja and their stupid magic do that his papa couldn't?

Tears started to fall from his eyes. "Why…?" He muttered angrily, eyeing the little sleeping fox in his living room. "Why can't your stupid friends just go away? You're all gonna die…"

He knew it was probably dumb to yell at a stupid fox, however magical it was supposed to be, but he didn't care. He was angry, angry at the ninja for even daring to give him and his people false hope.

Gato was just too strong to stop. Didn't they know that? They were ninja, they were supposed to know everything!

"Gramps believes in you… But you're wasting your lives…" He felt as if it was his responsibility to warn them, so that maybe they could escape before Gato got to them too. He didn't want to see the pretty pink haired girl die…

"Hey! Are you even listening to me!?" He screamed. The hot sting of tears burned at his eyes, but it didn't make the pain feel any better.

He felt his energy finally retreat from him, leaving him feeling empty. "Please… Just go away.. Before they get you too. My mama's already gone… Gramps is next…"

A sudden knocking echoed throughout the house, spooking the boy. In his surprise, he turned away from the sleeping fox. If it wasn't the ninja people, then who could it be?

The knocking echoed again, this time louder. Maybe it was one of the villagers, coming to look for Tazuna? He had to check, just in case it was.

He approached the door cautiously, opening it just a crack.

"Hel-" He barely managed half a word, before the door was kicked open, slamming into him and throwing him back. The boy landed with a thud, cradling his bleeding nose.

"Well well well. Look who we found hiding all alone…" The boy looked up in horror, spotting two men. They both wore ragged clothing, and were armed with katanas.

"Looks like your ninja buddies all left… That's too bad.. I was hoping to rough them up a little. Maybe have my way with that pale looking one with the huge tits. I bet she'd be a good one in bed…" The shaggy long haired punk laughed, slowly drawing his sword. The other man, the one covered in scars and tattoos let out a barking laugh, ignorant of the sudden rise in temperature.

"Gato is getting sick and tired of your old man's games, so he sent us here to take you instead. I'm sure the old bridge builder would stop if we threaten his only grandson…" A sick twisted grin slowly grew on the lanky ones face.

"Don't fight boy, otherwise you might end up losing a leg. Gato didn't specify getting you intact." The other man laughed. "Or do fight, my sword arm is getting rather… itchy…"

The boy barely had a chance to scream as one of them grabbed him by his shirt, hoisting him up into the air. He went silent when he felt the cold steel of a sword placed against his throat.

"Now now, we can't have you screaming… You don't need those vocal cords, do you?" The boy's blood ran cold, unable to fight back as the blade creeped slowly closer.

"I-I won't tell you anything!" Inari screamed. "S-So go ahead! Do your worst!"

"Stupid brat! Who do you think you're protecting?!" The thug that held him snarled. "There's no one here that can save you, so shut your mouth and come quietly!"

But then, the man suddenly stopped. The sounds of ceremonial bells chiming in the wind caught his attention. It was faint, but he heard multiple of them.

Wind chimes? No, that couldn't be it. Nobody in Wave had those…

Then what?

"Now then.. What am I supposed to do with you two, I wonder?" A elegant and cheery voice piped up from behind them both. The one not holding the boy spun around, swinging blindly in an attempt to quickly defeat their attacker.

"Good grief. You could've taken someone's eye out with that…" The voice sighed lightly, their cheerful disposition having remained unmoved. The thug's eyes widened when he came face to face with what could only be described as some sort of shrine deity or guardian.

It was dressed in long flowing royal red and black garments, adorned with a thick rope like black belt around his abdomen and multiple bells and chimes hanging around him, including the two on his large golden white fox ears. Nine massive fox tails billowed in the wind behind him, colored the same as his ears.

Golden cross slitted eyes stared back at him, the dashing face of which was decorated with red eyeliner and red lines that made the whisker marks on his sharp cheeks stand out drastically. The bell that hung from his thick furred collar chimed with every little movement he made.

Now, with everything that the thug's malfunctioning brain was trying to take in, the mythical looking being's appearance wasn't what caught his attention, nor what made him fear for his life.

No, it was the cheerful look on his face as he effortlessly stopped the sword aimed at his throat with nothing but his sharp red painted fingernails. That's what made him quiver in his sandals. Those same fingernails then proceeded to completely shatter his blade, as if his sword was nothing but a toy.

The shrine guardian giggled to himself. "Oops… I hope you didn't need that."

The boy was dropped as the other thug lunged at him. "You bastard! Die!" The man's relief was short lived, when the fox boy caught his weapon with his open palm. He was forced to watch in horror as his sword too was shattered with nothing but the being's own physical strength.

"Wh-What are you!?" Both men fell back in fear as the mythical looking teen's eyes suddenly turned deep red. And that's when it hit them. This teen, no…

This demon was simply playing with them. And that's when their simple untrained bodies were assaulted by his hyper focused killing intent. And in their fear, they lost control of their bowels.

"Now then. Did I hear that right? You two strapping young men came here today to capture little Inari here?" He cooed, inching closer to them. They shook in terror, but found themselves unable to look away. Their mouths moved, but no words came forth.

"Ah, I see. I do apologize boys, but your actions here today seem to have set me off. I'm afraid that I won't be held accountable for what I'm going to do to you if you do not answer me…" That warning, said with some kind of cheerful gushing, did nothing to help their case.

His face finally dropped its preconceived cheer, and was replaced with his real current emotion. He snarled, a vicious bitter sound, his large fangs glinting in the early morning light. He didn't even move his hands, as instead his tails rushed forward from behind him, hoisting them both up into the air by their throats.

They kicked and screamed, but it was to no avail. They looked away, unable to stare the holder of their fate's in the eyes.

That, of course wouldn't do, and they suddenly found their heads forcibly turned to face him, curtiecy of his other powerful tails.

"You look at me while I'm talking to you!" He roared, tightening his grip around their necks. "If you value your pathetic human lives even a little, you will answer my questions."

He was unable to keep up the charade any longer, and found himself snarling lowly. If it was even possible, their eyes widened even further in horror when literal fire began seeping out past his lips with every breath taken.

"Y-Yes y-yes! It was us! We were ordered to-!" The bulky man yelled frantically, before he was silenced by a tail that shoved itself in his mouth. Naruto dragged his gaze from the first man, to the shaggy punk. The man didn't need to be motivated to speak any further.

"Gato! H-He ordered us to take the kid! He promised us anything we wanted if we di-!" He too was suddenly silenced. The bulky thug suddenly found his mouth free again.

"I-I-I'll tell you anything! His hideout! How many slaves he has! The secret bunker where he hides his favorite toys! Just don't k-!" And again he found himself silenced. Naruto didn't blink, staring holes into to shaggy man's head.

"It's a hill just off the east coast of Wave! His base is hidden by the forest! Please! You can't k-!"

The fox boy's gaze lingered between both of them, contemplating something silently. Then, finally, he smiled.

"Goood gooood." He cooed, but this time it sounded even worse then before. He actually went to set them down, before something stopped him. There was something nagging at him, something someone here had said only moments ago. Something that required punishment.

"Hmm… Inari-Kun.." The nine tailed fox guardian turned to face the boy that had been silently hiding behind him the whole time. The little boy flinched at that, but respectfully looked up to his powerful savior.

"Y-.. Yes Kitsune-Sama..?" He questioned nervously, resorting to honorifics. Naruto grinned a little on the inside, he liked this boy. He was different then many back in the Hidden Leaf.

The fox tilted his head to the side, eyeing the boy questioningly. "When I was sleeping earlier… I swore I heard them say something. Inari-Kun.. Tell me.. Which one mentioned my lovely pale looking Princess?"

The air around the thugs went deathly silent. That only seemed to egg the fox on further.

Inari glanced up to the fox boy's face, confusion evident. "Err… I'm not sure what you m-mean, Kitsune-Sama.."

Naruto hummed, contemplating something once again. "Ah, I see. I speak too kindly with her name, as I should. Who here mentioned that they wished to have their way with the pale looking one with the huge tits?" He repeated almost verbatim what they said. Inari's eyes lit up with recognition, rather ignorant to the dirty slang. "It's such a abhorrent way of speaking of her, and I'm afraid it's made me rather mad, in fact."

"Oh! That one, that man right there!" The boy pointed assuredly at the shaggy looking thug, the man having gone pale as a ghost. A glint entered the fox's eyes.

"Thank you, Inari-Kun. You can go back inside now…" Naruto said offhandedly. Focusing solely on the dead man living.

"W-Wait! What a-are you planning on doing to them..?" The boy whispered. Naruto frowned, hoisting the punk higher into the air.

"Oh, don't worry your cute little head over it. These men deserve to be punished for their transgressions, in fact…" He stated clearly.

Inari didn't fully understand what the fox was getting at, but he knew that he should listen to him. The boy didn't stick around longer then that, instead running back inside. He had to fix his bleeding nose after all.

The moment he was out of earshot, the thug knew it was all over for him.

Naruto's head tilted to the side, eyeing the man in question. "You were going to rape her. You were going to beat and torture her, weren't you?" He seemed to question. The punk shook his head so hard he was sure it would come off, but it didn't matter. He wasn't questioning him, but merely stating a fact.

Naruto raised a hand, flames appearing out of thin air around his red painted fingernails. "You wouldn't even think twice of what you would do to her, and then you'd go back to your base, and do just the same to whoever else you have locked up there." His features leveled out, leaving only a disgusted sneer across his elegant face.

"But those girls won't have to worry about you anymore. No, they definitely won't have anything like that to fear…" He stated clearly. Before adding. "At least.. Not from you."

The Kitsune tilted his head to the side. "Anything left to say..?" He asked. "No? Then perish, I suppose."

Before the pathetic waste of a man could even raise his voice to plead for his life, one of the fox's nine tails rushed forward at breakneck speed, impaling him through the chest. Naruto didn't even blink, staring the man dead in the eyes as he thrashed within his grasp, his expression neutral.

The tattooed thug could only watch in gut wrenching fear as his partner in crime died, and there was nothing he could do. Then when he finally stopped moving, the fox threw him to the ground, flicking his tail clean of the blood. He then flung the small orbs of fire he had conjured earlier at the body, and in mere moments all that remained of the man were ashes.

The oceanfront house fell silent, as Naruto stared at the remains of his first real kill. Completely nonplussed, he slowly dragged his attention back to the only one of Gato's goons remaining in the area.

The man screamed. "Y-You're a monster! A d-demon!" The Kitsune's eyes twitched, and his entire form fluctuated. Golden white fur bled into a vile orange, his eyes turning red as he lost control of his anger. Along with this came the full extent of his oppressive presence and overwhelming vile red chakra that seeped into the atmosphere around him.

"You pathetic worm! You do not get to call me a demon!" The booming voice roared, nearly blowing out his eardrums. "The only reason you still live is because you are useful to me. But dare to confuse me with people like you again, and you will learn firsthand what it's like to be burned alive!"

The enraged Kitsune took a few moments of deep breathing to calm back down, and even longer to regain his golden form.

He said nothing as he stared at the man, silently doing Hinata's recommend way of calming himself down. That, of course, consisted of him mentally counting the number of things he loved about his Princess, and so on and so forth.

There was a creaking to his side, Tazuna's front door slowly opening. Naruto caught sight of the wide eyed Inari gaping at him, the boy seemingly speechless. It seams in his anger he momentarily forgot about the boy, and had just completely transformed in front of him.

That being said…

"W-Woah! What was that?!" The boy gaped, completely and utterly awed. "A-Are you like… Some kinda K-Kami?"

Naruto sighed, glad that the boy hadn't run off screaming bloody murder. "No... However, suppose that could describe me in a way…" He muttered a half explained statement. It was apparently enough for Inari, and he accepted it completely at face value.

"That's.. That's so cool! So.. are you gonna save Wave..?" He exclaimed, before questioning hopefully.

Naruto sighed, his ears twitching atop his head. "Was thinking about it…" He said off handedly, even though he had made it apparent that it was his plan. "Now, you need to go back inside. Don't open the door for anyone but your grandpa or my ninja team. Got it?"

Inari threw up a childish yet determined salute. "Yes, Kitsune-Sama!" Naruto grinned light heartedly at him, before the boy vanished into the house.

The nine tailed Kitsune then turned his attention back to the scared shitless thug still held tightly within the grasp of his tail, and his expression went neutral once again.

"Now then. You are coming with me…" The irate fox muttered. With the newfound knowledge he had gained from his… interrogation, he needed to update his team.

What was more worrying was why Gato had sent his thugs over. If the vile human believed that now was the perfect time to capture the bridge builder's grandson, then he feared what might be taking place at the bridge.

He was sure an encounter was to come, if not now then soon. However, unlike his encounter with Zabuza, he wasn't going to play around…

"You know, despite my concerns… I think this is coming along pretty good…"

"Yes, three days have passed uneventful, Tazuna-San…" A smooth and soft voice retorted. The bridge builder snorted.

"Yeah well, three days might not seem like much to you, yah pretty princess, but out here it means everything." He griped, not stopping in his work. Hinata frowned lightly.

"You've been very consistent with your work. I believe someone of your skills would be heavily appreciated in the Hidden Leaf." The Hyuuga princess mused, twirling a strand of her long lavender haired absentmindedly.

Tazuna stopped for a moment. "After this is all said and done, do you think your Hokage would have any jobs lined up for me?" He questioned seriously.

Hinata hummed in thought, glancing at her purple painted fingernails out of habit. "I am sure Hokage-Sama could make use of your skills. I certainly know that my clan has been planning on a few projects. Perhaps I can convince them to allow you to for us…"

She paused, a stray thought hitting her. "Kurama-Kun has been wanting to have a place of his own built…" Tazuna nearly tripped, yet she didn't seem to notice. "I believe you fit the bill, what with your advanced skills in that department…"

Tazuna paled at the idea.

The conversation seemed to catch the interest of one Yamanaka. "Does Fluffy-Kun have plans to make a big room or a small one…?" Ino yelled from down the bridge, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Hinata blinked. "What brings up that question?"

Ino blushed lightly. "Uh.. Well… You know. I wanna have somewhere to hangout when I'm bored…" She responded a little lamely. Hinata giggled quietly.

"Yes Ino-Chan, I do love sleeping with him too." The heiress responded. The blond blushed indignantly.

"What? He's really comfortable to relax on. He's like, a huge living pillow!" She defended, her cheeks red. Was she getting worked up over something little? Probably. Was she going to deny she loved sleeping atop the heiress's nine tailed fox? Absolutely not.

"It's not that you enjoy when he sleeps in his human form at all. It couldn't possibly be that." Hinata mused aloud.

Tazuna cleared his throat nervously. "N-Not that I'm one to turn down a well p-paying job… But I'd…" The man slowly trailed off, a sharp shiver going down his spine.

A dense fog had suddenly and without warning rolled in, and there was nothing natural about it.

Kurenai snapped to attention. "Hinata, end of the bridge! Sakura, Ino, defend Tazuna!" She wasn't waiting around this time. If Zabuza wanted an easy fight, then he was going to be sorely mistaken.

Hinata quickly positioned herself at the bridge entrance, eyes bulging and veins pulsating angrily with the power of her people. Her fingertips were glowing blue with deadly chakra, ready to disable, and or kill anyone who threatened her.

Sakura leapt from where she stood, taking a stance directly in front of the old man. With two chakra charged hands she hefted the Kubikiribōchō over her shoulder, ready to unleash it upon whoever dared to attack Tazuna or herself.

Ino crouched behind the pink haired mute, two kunai drawn and ready to provide defense if anyone managed to get through Sakura's defense.

Kurenai, after giving out the command, herself vanished into the mist.

A deep chuckle echoed throughout the mist, seeming to come from every direction. "It seems that I've misjudged you, Ice Queen. You aren't as stupid as you look!"

The clang of blades striking blades echoed in the mist. Appearing as if from nowhere was Zabuza, with a sword drawn and ready to decapitate the little ninja that stole his legendary weapon. But standing in front of the man, with a sword of her own was Kurenai, who stopped his blade with her own.

Despite her shaking hands, the dark haired woman didn't even flinch, staring the missing ninja down with a cool and calculated expression.

"I was simply toying with you the first time. But don't think I'll make that mistake again." The man laughed, deftly jumping away from the sword wielding Jonin.

Something about the man's cocky attitude sent warning bells off in her head. And not a moment later would her fears be granted a reason, and a familiar looking masked ninja stepped out of the mist, taking a stand next to the ninja.

It was the Hunter-Nin from before, the one that took Zabuza away.

Her eyes narrowed. Now it made sense why she didn't simply decapitate Zabuza when she seemingly ended him the days prior.

"Team 8, defend Tazuna!" Kurenai shouted, before rushing the mist ninja…

CHAPTER

10

END