Previous Translations: Yorokobi - Pleasure/Delight/Joy
Yokubo - Desire/Lust
Kajo - Excess
Shifuku no Kurushimi - Blissful Throes/Blissful Suffering
Tatakainouta - Song of Battle
Zeitakuna Kutsu - Luxurious Torment
Hentai-ryu: Erokenho - Pervert Style: Erotic Fist Art
Konton - Chaos
Kanzen - Perfect
Henka - Change
Harakainokeru - Dispel
Aka-en - Red Flame
Aoi-en - Blue Flame
Kiiro-en - Yellow Flame
Orenji-en - Orange Flame
Tankoshoku-en - Pink Flame
Maho - Magic
Chishiki - Knowledge
Unmei - Fate
Nozomu - Hope
Hoho no Chenja - honestly this one is a mess, but roughly means Changer of Ways
Ryuketsu - Bloodshed
Chikara - Strength
Meiyo - Honor
Budo - Martial Arts
Ikari - Rage
Jumon - Incantation
Himitsu no Sewanin - Secret Caretaker(Keeper of Secrets)
Sento - Combat
Same no On'na - Shark-Woman
Maebure - Harbinger
Shibari no Ashikase - Binding Fetters
Kanpeki - Perfection
Reikan - the closest English word would be Inspiration, but it specifically refers to 'a divine creative impulse'
Sekkyo-sha - Preacher
Aijin - Lover
Kaen Hosha-ki - Flame Radiator (Flamer of Tzeentch)
Himeiwoageru - Which Screams (Screamer of Tzeentch)
Shikkan - Disease
Ai - Love
Zetsubo - Despair
Mi Haito - Undivided/Not Divided
Shibo - Aspiring
Koki - Exalted
Chakra no Bato - Coruscating Chakra/Chakra of Coruscation
Gyokai - Industry
In case someone somehow doesn't know, Hi - Fire
Don'yoku - Greed/Avarice
Yokuatsu - Tyranny/Oppression
Yami no Chichi - Father of Darkness/Dark Father
Raimeiton - Thunder Release, what Naruto has decided to name his mix of wind and lightning chakra
Shuryoju - Hunting Beasts (same word for plural or singular), an alternate name for Fiends of Slaanesh, best word I could find for them
Konton no Omo - Lord of Chaos
Kemonojin - a very jank way of translating Beastmen into Japanese, basically would mean Animal-Human
Gyumao - Ox Demon King
Eiyu - Hero
Gyumahime - Ox Demon Princess
Kajomahime - Excessive Demon Princess
Tayuya was bored, unsure why she was shopping with Kin. The younger former Oto kunoichi had dragged her along, insisting she help carry groceries home for once. The dark-pink haired girl thought this was boring, and would much rather be training or playing her flute. She really did not understand why other girls were so interested in shopping, at least Karin seemed a bit more practical about what she purchased compared to Kin who was now looking at yukata and shoes.
"I'm pretty sure clothes aren't groceries." Tayuya grumbled dryly, wanting her shopping partner to hurry up already.
"Hinata-chan gave me extra money for any clothes I felt like buying for myself or others." Kin answered with equal dryness, unlike Tayuya who still wore the outfit she'd worn under Orochimaru the dark haired spoil of war preferred to wear casual yukata. She still liked the snake pattern though, as her current yukata was of similar pattern to her old outfit with a violet sash.
Tayuya sighed, taking some comfort that Kin wasn't completely impractical, having some shuriken subtly stashed in her sash that likely only shinobi would notice. The hair being up in a bun similar to Haku's when the pretty boy expected to fight was a nice touch, as were the senbon stashed there like ornaments, one of them even had a bell for that kage senbon trick Kin liked to do.
Then the black eyed girl held up a dark-pink yukata to the brown eyed girl and Tayuya's eye twitched, "I'm not wearing that." she said bluntly, "Buy blondie-chan some girly clothes, he seems into it." she added.
Kin rolled her eyes since yukata weren't explicitly female clothing, "You're such a tomboy." she complained as she put the clothes back, "Even Haku-kun is more girly."
"That pretty boy is more girly than anyone." Tayuya retorted without a hint of sarcasm, "That yukata probably isn't even girly enough for him, he prefers much more feminine clothing." she pointed out.
Kin put the yukata back, considering other options as an old lady manning the store approached them, "Do you young ladies need help?" she asked, her tone confused Tayuya as she wondered why a merchant would be concerned for customers.
Kin frowned at the tone as it confused her as well, "Just browsing for clothes." she informed plainly, not too keen on the old woman helping pick out clothes.
The old woman pursed her lips, "Not the kind of help I mean," she said, glancing around to see if anyone was watching, an action Tayuya thought was useless in a shinobi village, "what I mean is, would you two like help getting away from that awful bakemono who enslaved you?" she offered.
Kin bristled as Tayuya cackled at the old woman, startling the grey haired lady, "As if!" the dark-pink haired girl rejected, "Mind your business, hag." she added dismissively, prompting an offended gasp from the woman.
Kin nodded in agreement, "We're quite happy with free shelter and food, despite appearances Naruto-kun is not a bakemono, yokai, or akuma." she said in a crisp tone, irritated with the old lady already.
The old woman looked annoyed and offended, "That one is no good, I warn you." she continued, "You've clearly been brainwashed-" she attempted to reason poorly.
"Fuck off," Tayuya interrupted with a grin as she flipped up her middle finger on her right hand at the scandalized old lady, "blondie-chan is a way better master than the last one I had. If anything I'm more free than I've ever been." she informed plainly, Kin shrugged and nodded in agreement, "If you care about enslaved and brainwashed people so much, go pick a fight with Orochimaru." Tayuya added as she turned to leave and the old woman went pale at the idea.
Kin followed Tayuya out of the store, no longer interested in buying clothes from that particular store. She supposed they should finish the groceries, but the encounter with the old woman soured her mood for the rest of the shopping trip. To her annoyance more than one shop keeper shared the sentiments of the old woman, it was a good thing they didn't send Isaribi out to do the shopping like this.
"How do you even put up with this place?" Tayuya asked once they returned home, directing her question at the horned blonde who was enjoying a smoke with slightly bloodshot eyes and a dazed expression. The former kunoichi found the place itself nice, and the shinobi weren't constantly trying to alter the pecking order which was also nice, but the civilians annoyed her. She wondered if civilians in other hidden villages were as bad.
Naruto shrugged, "It's home." he answered vaguely, "Besides, I can't prove the people who doubted me wrong if I just leave." he pointed out before passing his pipe to the clearly agitated former kunoichi.
Kin took the first drag as Tayuya sat down and sighed, "Sure you can, why couldn't you?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
Naruto frowned as he couldn't think of an answer, "Well, I'm a Konoha shinobi anyway, I can't just leave." he pointed out after Kin passed the kiseru to Tayuya, "I do still want to be Rokudaime Hokage." he pointed out.
"Why?" Tayuya asked with a cough, voice deepened as she spoke with a lungful of smoke.
Naruto blinked owlishly, he hadn't considered that question in a while. Most people either laughed at the idea when he was younger, only more recently did some shinobi acknowledge his capability to achieve this dream. The blonde frowned as his dazed brain tried to come up with an answer, "Hokage is the strongest ninja, if I'm going to be the perfect shinobi it's only natural I become Hokage." he finally decided on.
"Wouldn't the perfect shinobi surpass the entire Gokage establishment?" Kin pointed out with a raised eyebrow, from the surprised expression on Naruto's face the two former kunoichi assumed he had not in fact considered that. Maemi smirked at the discussion, she didn't even need to encourage the thoughts as the harem her master was building up did it for her.
Even sober, the discussion Naruto had with the two former Oto kunoichi bothered him. The blonde considered it, but the thought process ended up with Orochimaru actually being the ideal shinobi. The man was hidden, capable of waging guerilla war against one of the greater hidden villages, arguably the greatest of all, and was not only considered a ninjutsu specialist, but had invented a few ninjutsu and even kinjutsu of his own apparently.
This obviously bothered Naruto as he really didn't like the man, sure he thought the guy was kind of pretty, pale face, golden eyes, good facial structure, but the snake-like man had killed Hiruzen Sarutobi. The Sandaime Hokage was one of the few people who had been kind to Naruto growing up, he'd also attacked his team, attempted to kill him, and tried to kill Tsunade and Jiraiya too.
Despite this the man was strong, no doubt about it, but Naruto definitely preferred Jiraiya. The white haired Sannin was strong too, despite his faults, and apparently even knew some esoteric ninpo called Senjutsu. Something which apparently few others knew, if anyone else did at all.
Maemi secretly enjoyed Naruto's current confusion, she hoped he reached the conclusions she wanted him to without much prompting from her. If the blonde thought he was being manipulated he might rebel against that, so it was important that Naruto do what he wanted.
With those thoughts in their heads the ninja and his Muse walked towards the Kajo Dojo, the blonde planned on doing taijutsu training for a few hours with Lee, but he saw something that startled him. It looked like Gai, but the scent was completely different. Naruto frowned as he approached the man, "Hey," he said and the man jolted in surprise, looking alarmed to be called out to, "why are you disguised as Gai-sensei?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
The man looked very alarmed at that accusation, the accusation itself catching the attention of a few other shinobi, "W-what are you talking about! Of course it's me!" he insisted.
"You aren't even copying his mannerisms very well." Maemi pointed out dryly, unimpressed by the imposter. This helped a few others notice the henge and the man was swiftly surrounded by a small group of Anbu.
Anko appeared in a shunshin and draped her left arm across the man's shoulders, a kunai in her left hand held up to his neck, "Wow, how embarrassing for all of us that a genin was the one to notice you." she mused, "Unlucky you, blondie here has better senses than most Inuzuka and he knows the guy you're impersonating, now why don't we have a long chat?" she asked, licking her lips as her right hand grabbed the left elbow of the man before he could attempt to weaponize the limb.
The imposter began to sweat as he was dragged away by Anko with an Anbu detail, "Whoever was on gate guard is probably gonna get an earful from Tsuna-baachan." Naruto mused with a chuckle, then he continued his journey towards Lee's dojo. However without the distraction of an imposter the blonde found himself being introspective again, he wasn't sure he liked being introspective.
Naruto enjoyed sparring with Lee, the older genin was strong. If he limited himself to taijutsu and they were both weighed down the horned blonde could barely keep up, he was curious about which of them would win if they both went all out though. What Naruto enjoyed most though was the sound of the Tatakainouta, taijutsu sparring with Lee was even more of a dance than any other fight the blonde had been with.
As an added side benefit his mind wandered less, his focus entirely on trying to match Lee in taijutsu. The older genin had noticed the blonde didn't use ninjutsu or genjutsu in their spars, nor did he draw any weapons, but didn't seem to mind and merely enjoyed the match as much as Naruto did.
Maemi watched the two genin clash, considering his lack of aptitude for ninjutsu Lee's stamina was impressive. If he was an angrier person he might appeal to the blood god, but she was glad he was excessive and obsessive enough to be marked by Slaanesh instead.
Lee managed to land a solid right side kick against his opponents guard and noticed something, "Naruto-san, you seem distracted." he pointed out, to the surprise of both the blonde and his Imp.
Naruto scratched behind his second right horn, "That obvious?" he asked hesitantly.
Lee nodded, "You ability to avoid direct hits is usually much better, comparable even to the vaunted Sharingan." he praised earnestly, "Are you well?" he asked with a concerned tone.
Naruto was surprised and touched that the older genin was concerned about him, "Yeah, don't worry about." he assured with a nod, "Just stuff on my mind, I guess." he confessed vaguely, not wanting to discuss it. The older genin nodded in understanding before the two resumed sparring, their stamina allowing them to continue all day, or more usually until someone came to force them to take a break.
Hanako glared at Shizune as the dark haired woman performed her check up, she didn't have anything particularly against the iryonin specifically but she needed something to glare at and Shizune was there. The white haired woman did not appreciate the fact she had been given brain damage, as near as could be ascertained it had given her rather extreme mood swings that she couldn't control.
The former nukenin hated it most of the time, but what scared her was that sometimes she enjoyed the peace of living in Konoha. Hanako didn't need to worry about anything really, food was prepared for her and she wasn't confined to one room due to the abilities of her captors. It was strange not to feel constant killing intent from surrounding mist while in a hidden village too.
"Well, you're being well taken care of physically." Shizune mused, noting the look of irritation on the white haired woman's face at the words, "How are you adjusting to being a ward of the Uzumaki?" she asked idly.
Hanako continued to glare as her lips pursed, "It's nice here, but I hate it." she answered, knowing it was contradictory, "I'd almost rather that blonde brat had just given me a warriors death." she grumbled.
Shizune frowned, "We can't let you fight, but I'm sure Naruto-kun would be fine with you training." she pointed out.
"I hate that too!" Hanako snapped, "He's so damned cocky! But I can't do anything to him! I was only a genin myself when I defected to avoid being killed by my own home, I abandoned my clan to let them die against Chigiri, and in the end I can't do anything!" she ranted, eyes watering, "I'm powerless, training is meaningless at this point." she added.
Shizune felt bad for the woman, "Training can be good for the mind, Naruto-kun can be confusing, but he means well." she tried to explain, "I don't think he fully understands the implications behind slavery, or if he does he's intentionally using old traditions to save enemy kunoichi he finds interesting and attractive."
Hanako scoffed, "Being saved by my appearance instead of my skill, practically an insult to a kunoichi." she complained with a sigh, "I hate that I'm flattered." she added dryly.
Shizune couldn't resist a smile at the last part, "Just try to keep your chin up, do things that you enjoy." she advised, "Find an art and pursue it to perfection."
Hanako looked surprised at the suggestion, seeming to consider it for a moment before she scowled, "I'm a shinobi, not some invalid." she hissed.
"So perfect your shinobi arts," Shizune suggested, much to the surprise of the white haired woman, "Naruto-kun seriously won't mind you training." she reiterated, "Have you tried just enjoying living in Konoha? Maybe I'm a little biased but it's a really lovely place to live."
Hanako rolled her eyes, "Right, yeah, let me just enjoy listening to those brats fuck every night." she said crassly, prompting a slight blush from Shizune, "What's even the point of training? That blonde brat can hear me no matter what, I even tried sneaking off while he was busy fucking and he still caught me before I got far." she grumbled.
Shizune frowned sympathetically, "I get you might feel trapped, but Naruto-kun isn't cruel. He might be strange, morally speaking, but Naruto-kun captured you because he didn't want to kill you." she tried to explain, "Abandon despair and rage, just, you know, try to enjoy it here." she suggested before a sly smirk crossed her lips, "You could even join those 'brats' in their nightly activities." she added.
Hanako flushed at the suggestion, "W-what!? No way!" she denied immediately, "They're all way too young for me!" she insisted.
"Isaribi-chan is actually closer to your age than theirs, despite her appearance." Shizune retorted as she packed up her medical supplies, the statement stunning the former nukenin into silence, "Also apparently Naruto-kun is physically an adult now." she added in a wry tone, although even she didn't seem like she believed it fully.
As the iryonin turned to leave, Hanako had a final question she'd been afraid to ask, "If I'm healed, I'd be a slave though, wouldn't I?" she asked, eyes downcast.
"Do Kin, Tayuya, or Haku seem like your average slaves?" Shizune asked dryly with a raised eyebrow.
Hanako didn't verbally respond, she wasn't sure how to since the dark haired woman had a point. She'd seen Haku scold Naruto for minor things, Kin and Tayuya both talked back casually to their supposed master too. Shizune smiled at the look of realization and turned to leave, letting the white haired woman think things over alone.
Haku watched Naruto stare off into space in the bath with Isaribi and Maemi, the other girls had shared a bath already that day and were already waiting for the three of them in bed. Except for Hanako who had bathed alone, but with Naruto and Hinata both home Haku wasn't too concerned about the woman running off without being noticed. The horned blonde was clearly distracted and lost in thought though, which was rather uncharacteristic of him.
"Naruto-kun, is everything alright?" Haku asked with concern, catching Isaribi's attention as the girl had been enjoying a relaxing bath with the two of them but had also noticed how the young master of the house seemed out of sorts lately.
"What is a Daimyo?" Naruto asked suddenly, startling the other two humans with his question. Maemi had expected it, but assumed she would be asked privately. She'd explained it to him a while ago while catching his education up to his peers, but the blonde had difficulty committing certain things to memory unless he was interested in them. The Imp was glad he was finally taking an interest in such things at least.
"Well, I guess they're noble land owners." Haku answered vaguely, a little uncertain himself, "I think the lands they rule under are technically under their ownership, so the Daimyo of Hi no Kuni is considered particularly powerful because of the size of the land he controls." he explained what he could, wondering why the purple eyed blonde was curious.
Maemi nodded, "The 'myo' is short for 'myoden'," she added, confirming the root of the words being a 'great private land' despite the word reading as 'great name', "they grant land to lesser nobility, usually with a title, but everything else they lease out. Hidden villages are an interesting system where the Daimyo accepts a reduced tax in exchange for military service." she explained.
Naruto frowned in confusion still, "Tax? I thought that went to Tsuna-baachan and I'd stop paying it once I'm Hokage." he confessed, clearly not liking the idea of continuing to pay property tax his entire life. Isaribi frowned as well, not being too educated on such matters herself.
"Nope, some of it stays in Konoha, but the village still owes a small stipend to the Daimyo." Maemi explained, "The Shodai Hokage worked this deal out with the Daimyo of his time, it was an unprecedented idea, but many shinobi clans became land owning nobility themselves, such as the Hyuga, Uchiha, Nara, and even clans of other villages."
Naruto continued to frown, "What happened with the Uzu no Kuni Daimyo?" he asked, the connection to what little he knew of his family coming to the forefront of his mind. Haku understood why, Naruto was an orphan who had no negative memories of family or clans, only seeing families living happily in Konoha for context.
"I don't really know," Maemi confessed with a shrug, "information about Uzu no Kuni is sparse even in the library here. Presumably his family was wiped out when Uzushiogakure no Sato fell, if they didn't sell out their own ninja for a deal with the ones who did it." she explained, stating the last part in a rather conspiratorial tone.
Naruto scowled and closed his eyes, scratching his head behind his second right horn, "I hope they're dead then," he said coldly, "for their own sake." he added with surprising venom, "Still though, what stops the people from rebelling?" he asked.
"Nothing." Haku answered simply, "Rebellions happen, regimes change, wars are fought everywhere." he said sadly, "People fight and die for many reasons, but generally when the Daimyo is good and kind, the land is peaceful." he explained.
Naruto supposed that must mean the Daimyo of Hi no Kuni was a good one, but something still bothered him, "Why don't the Daimyo answer to the strong who gave them their position?" he wondered out loud, "I remember Haruna-chan's court, I'd be fine with letting her handle the boring politics if I was in charge of her country. For that matter, why does Tsuna-baachan have to do so much paperwork? Why can't she have someone she trusts sign off on things?" he asked, still confused.
Haku did not have an answer for that, and was surprised by the questions. On the surface they seemed like the usual childish questions of 'why does it have to be this way' but as the pretty boy couldn't reasonably answer them, he had to concede Naruto had a point. Isaribi was confused as well, she didn't understand any of the conversation at all.
Maemi suppressed a grin, "Funny you say that, because delegating jobs to lesser nobles is exactly what a Daimyo does." she pointed out, "Haruna even had you assist in that matter, so you could say you've had experience with such a thing." she explained. Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, as he hadn't considered that.
Haku frowned in concern, "There's more to it than just being strong, or else every Daimyo would have been overthrown by now." he pointed out.
Maemi nodded in agreement, "Oh of course, as I said a good leader knows how to delegate jobs they can't do to others, and thus they must have the charisma to pull such people to themselves." she explained with a slightly sly smirk, and the dark haired pretty boy realized that Naruto had that charisma. The blonde himself still seemed thoughtful, and Haku wasn't sure what to make of that.
Isaribi was still confused, but she understood Naruto was being praised in someway and felt happy for him. So the purple haired young woman smiled happily as she moved to wash the blonde's back, all the talk of politics was uninteresting to her.
Kakashi noticed Naruto looked more thoughtful lately, which was odd since the blonde never seemed to think things through so something was clearly bothering the hermaphrodite. Just because the jonin knew this, didn't mean he knew what to do about it though. He considered it as he went to meet with Danzo, the man had made a habit of inviting him to join him for drinks at a location of Kakashi's choosing, not that the old cripple ever drank anything.
Still, none of the advice Danzo had given had set off alarm bells so far, and even Jiraiya confessed it was all very sound and basic advice. Kakashi was too embarrassed to admit that a lot of the teaching advice was actually useful, especially the things Jiraiya had referred to as common sense. He knew different people had different skills, but he had no idea his natural ability to teach was no subpar, thankfully he'd recognized it and was working on it now.
The jonin was a decent drill instructor at least, but basic things like explaining in simple terms, or even explaining at all, tended to slip his mind. Kakashi had not really considered that instructions like 'focus chakra here' was generally not enough for most people when learning ninjutsu, and explaining how it felt to move the chakra there was helpful to others. Of course, Sakura had perfect chakra control, Sasuke was a prodigy, and Naruto had a Daemon for a tutor so it was a bit late for Kakashi to be learning such basics, but he still tried to apply them when he could.
Danzo was already at the bar when Kakashi arrived, of course he was as the jonin was fashionably late, "Kakashi-san, kind of you to finally join me." the old one eyed man said in level, neutral tones.
Kakashi wondered how late he'd have to be to ruffle the man's feathers, but decided not to try finding out, despite what people thought he had better things to do, "Black cat crossed my path." he lied flatly.
Danzo sighed, "Your casual white lies are impressive, but unbecoming for polite company." he scolded lightly, "You really should move on, but I will not fault your honoring the heroic dead." he said, prompting the silver haired jonin to tense up.
Kakashi sat down, he figured Danzo would know about why he was usually late, but he did not appreciate it being brought up, "I'm surprised you approve of such things." he retorted dryly.
Danzo raised an eyebrow, "You think me heartless?" he asked.
"Yes." Kakashi answered without hesitation.
"Good, it is the air I cultivated for years as a shinobi." Danzo responded with a nod, surprising the jonin with his casual admission, "I have worked hard to distance myself from emotions, but do not mistake this for a disregard for life." he scolded to the surprise of the Hatake.
"You're being surprisingly loose lipped about yourself." Kakashi mused with a raised eyebrow, "Well, if you're being honest at least." he added dryly.
Danzo took a deep breath and exhaled it as a sigh, "I do not know why you and Jiraiya-san resent me so," he began.
"You scolded Sakumo Hatake for saving his teammates lives." Kakashi said in a cold and level tone.
Danzo's eye widened in realization, "Ah, I understand now, you blame me in part for his death." he said, "Well then, perhaps we should discuss that before I continue advising you, would you like to know why I scolded him?" he asked rhetorically, "It was because his failing that mission to save his immediate teammates cost the lives of other Konoha shinobi, jeopardized other missions, as well as causing our village to lose face. I hoped he would learn to weigh the value of things better." he explained.
Kakashi's eye narrowed at the other one eyed man, "You really are heartless." he almost growled the words, his hackles raising at the explanation.
"Humor an old man with a thought experiment, Kakashi-san." Danzo requested and the jonin fell silent with consent, "Both of us would lay down our lives for the village, but do you think I would sacrifice myself for your genin?" he asked.
Kakashi couldn't help but scoff, "Not a chance." he responded without hesitation.
"That is where you are wrong," Danzo retorted, noticing the Hatake didn't believe him did little to concern him, "it is a simple matter of logistics. I am a crippled old man, I can still be a threat in a fight, and I am capable of one handed signs, but I am well beyond my prime and I recognize this." he began to explain, "Naruto Uzumaki is an odd personality to be sure but an asset to the village, especially if you train him right. Sasuke Uchiha is the last chance our village has to return the Sharingan as a Kekkei Genkai of Konoha, despite his rudeness. Last and unfortunately least, even Sakura Haruno is a genius, I am aware of her grades and chakra control, the only shame is her vicious and nigh uncontrollable temper." he explained.
"So because they're useful to the village, you'd die for them?" Kakashi asked skeptically with a raised eyebrow.
Danzo nodded, "Old men should plant trees they know they will never sit in the shade of." he said with wisdom that surprised the jonin across from him, "Now, continuing, if you could only save two of them, who would you choose?" he asked callously.
"I'd rather die." Kakashi answered bluntly, to his surprise the aged Shimura merely nodded again.
"An expected response, yet what if sacrificing yourself could still only save two of them?" Danzo asked curiously, "Let us presume for a moment, that attempting to save all three would somehow lead to the death of all three of them?" he asked and noticed how angry the man he was speaking with became at the suggestion, and also that there was no answer for a moment compared to the immediate responses of before, "You would hesitate, you would freeze up and cost all three their lives because you cannot measure their value objectively." he explained.
Kakashi struggled not to grit his teeth, reigning in his temper as best as he could at the accusation. However he couldn't deny the truth of it, which was part of why he was so angry. The silver haired man tried to come up with a retort, but his mind came up blank, nothing witty sounded good in his head.
"Now, let us say there is an invasion, like what happened with Oto and Suna," Danzo continued, "you spot a group of young shinobi in training, not even genin, mere children still in the academy, being attacked by an overwhelming force that the chunin attempting to evacuate them cannot deal with." he began another hypothetical, "The enemy outnumbers them even if you interfere, and your own genin are fighting an enemy you know little about, but among the enemy attacking the academy students is an S rank shinobi well above your own caliber. What do you do?" he asked.
"I trust my students to handle their enemy, and sacrifice myself to allow the academy students to get away." Kakashi said simply, much to the surprise of the one who gave the hypothetical.
"Good," Danzo praised with a nod, "that is the correct response." he agreed as he took note of Kakashi's surprise at his approval, "I assume you think I would not do the same, that I would presume myself more valuable than untrained children I know little of the potential of," he guessed and the Hatake nodded bluntly, "however it is precisely because they are untrained that I would do so. They do not know me, so my death will not impact them psychologically, however if I were to inspire just one of them to become even half as powerful as I was in my prime, then it would be a valid trade." he said pragmatically.
Kakashi had not expected that, he didn't fully believe the honesty of Danzo's words but it was unexpected if it was true. Danzo could tell he was being doubted still, but made no comment on such a thing. The old man spoke honestly, he only wanted Konoha to be strong, it was his home after all. The one eyed man didn't buy into viewing the entire village as family however, he couldn't understand how others could either, such a thing would mentally break a human. In Danzo's mind it was far better to emotionally distance oneself from the individuals, that way it would hurt far less when they died.
Jiraiya sighed as he went to find Naruto, he really wanted to peep on women but work came before pleasure. According to Tsunade the younger blonde was always either training or at home, from what else he'd heard the white haired man did not want to go to the Uzumaki household, not for a few years at least.
Naruto was at a large training ground, trying to practice shunshin and the leaf sticking exercise at the same time. Jiraiya was surprised and impressed, "Yo, how's Hari Jizo coming along?" the man asked as he approached, the blonde turning to face him with a grin before he even spoke.
Naruto showed off how much he'd progressed, revealing that he could grow his blonde mane to actually cover most of his upper body by now. As his hair grew longer and his chakra control got better he'd likely be able to do more, but Jiraiya was tentative to teach him another ninjutsu already. The Sannin considered how best to continue Naruto's training, when it came to genjutsu the blonde could recognize them easily enough but seemed to have difficulty breaking them, another matter of chakra control that would become less of an issue over time.
Jiraiya rubbed his chin as he considered it, "You should practice with your Rasengan more too, don't assume you've mastered it until it's perfect." he advised vaguely, figuring it was safe enough to leave it at that for now. So the white haired man decided he'd run the blonde through some taijutsu drills, the blonde didn't need much help with the physical aspects of being a shinobi but it never hurt to brush up on such things.
The Sennin noticed his apprentice was distracted during these drills however, but before he could ask what was wrong the blonde spoke up himself, "Ero Sennin, what's our Daimyo like?" he asked, he'd seen the wife of the man in the village, as catching her cat was an alarmingly common D rank mission, but he didn't know much about her except that she was bad with animals.
Jiraiya had not expected such a question, "Well, uh," he struggled to think of an answer that wasn't insulting, "he's nice enough." the man decided on vaguely, "Why?" he asked.
Naruto frowned at the answer, "I guess I'm curious, the guy is supposed to be in charge of the country I live in, but I don't know much about him." he confessed, "I don't even know his name." he added with some embarrassment.
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow, "Most people just call him Daimyo-sama, so that's fair, but his name is Shinji Madoka." he explained, assuming that Naruto was interested since he planned to be Hokage one day.
"How did he become Daimyo exactly?" Naruto asked next, unsure of the details there.
"His grandfather rose to power with the aid of the Senju and Uchiha, in exchange Shodai-sama was allowed to form Konohagakure no Sato." Jiraiya explained, not having expected training to become a history lesson but unbothered by answering such questions even if he thought the blonde should know from the academy. Maemi had hinted that Naruto's education was sabotaged, from what the Sannin could gather it was likely the doing of Mizuki before the chunin had died.
Naruto looked confused, "Why?" he asked, surprising the author he was questioning, "Why do shinobi let people who can't fight or protect themselves rule? Wouldn't it be better if the Daimyo could protect themselves?" he asked curiously.
Jiraiya had heard such sentiments before, but hadn't expected the question from Naruto of all people, "Daimyo develop different skills, and work with many advisors. They also have bodyguards to fight for them." he explained, noticing the young blonde didn't seem to like the answer.
Naruto indeed did not like the answer, to him the Daimyo sounded imperfect for the job, but he kept that thought to himself. Even he knew not to voice such sentiments, so for the time being he decided to set aside concerns about the Daimyo because he had another question, "Hey, if you knew Kushina, you probably knew the man who impregnated her with me too, right?" he asked and the Sennin flinched at the rather sudden topic change.
"I do," Jiraiya confessed hesitantly, "but please wait, I'll tell you about that when you make chunin alright? I'm sure you'll pass the next exams, and they aren't too far away." he promised, not wanting to open that particular can of worms just yet. Truthfully he dreaded the discussion, and he put it off for his own peace of mind rather than Naruto's safety at this point, which served to make him feel guilty.
Naruto pouted, debating using his Oiroke no Jutsu to convince the white haired man to spill the beans, but decided he could wait a bit, "Fine." he conceded in a grouchy tone, taking his stance to show he was ready to continue training. He'd make certain he passed the next Chunin Selection Examinations, then he'd rely on his perverse ninjutsu to get his way.
AN: So sorry for the long wait for this chapter, this time I do have an excuse though. My hard drive crashed and my computer was out of commission briefly, it's all fixed up now though and thankfully I didn't lose any data.