A/N: And the reboot is up.

Hopefully it's still up to snuff.

…

[Kaibutsu Mori, Hi no Kuni]

It was always risky business, the slave trade; doubly so for the poor fool that had to transport their products between locations.

A good number of transporters found that armed guards were worth the added expense; not so for Kitamura Rikichi. He never did trust his fellow man…hired bodyguards were unreliable, and guides could betray him at any given opportunity; in either case it just meant less money in his purse. No, he preferred to rely on good old-fashioned stealth and speed than any outright defenses…after all, the best armor was never being hit at all.

Even after he'd been given the recommendation to swallow his pride and get the bodyguards, he was steadfast in his belief that nothing was ever going to happen to him. He'd traveled these lands, and not once had he ever encountered a spot of trouble, especially given that he was travelling light so as to present a smaller, less noticeable target on his back. It was risky, but the payoff was more than worth it.

To that end, his only condition was that the product was to be kept quiet in some form before they were shipped off. Some were drugged, others were under the influence of certain jutsu, but none were making noise or even struggling, and they would be sold in optimal condition. A single noise from any of them would mean death when he made a promise on discretion, speed, and keeping his products intact; all this on top of the fact that he compensated his smaller carrying capacity with quality slaves.

The last stop he'd made just an hour ago was weird. In addition to several Konoha natives, his usual client in Hi no Kuni had given him a baby, and was willing to part with the package for dirt-cheap…evidently, the kid's parents had pissed off his client to no end. He had no idea who his parents were, and neither did he care what they did; they could be the Yondaime Hokage and his alleged wife for all he cared, and he'd still sell the baby for a premium before he was noticed.

To be attacked by a Yōkai in the Iwahoshō was a scenario he'd wanted to avoid as best he could; the place had deep ravines, which was unsurprising given that it approached the borderlands between Kusagakure and Takigakure, and his route would have given him a hidden path to Tsuchi no Kuni. A single misstep there, and he would not live to sell his wares to the underworld in Kusagakure, and maybe Iwa or even Taki if he were lucky. But first, he had to get out of the forest and hope he didn't run afoul of any Yokai; after that, it was simply a matter of navigating the narrow pathways of the highlands before he could relax a bit. If luck favored him tonight, then he would survive long enough to make a killing.

…

[Hours later]

Hiruzen sat at a stump, ANBU operatives surrounding him while the scouting party went ahead. While their faces were hidden behind their porcelain animal masks, he did not doubt for a second that they shared in his concern for the baby's wellbeing.

Young Naruto was taken from his crib just a day after Hiruzen had been reinstated as Hokage. It was discovered after a thorough investigation that Takenaka Genzaburo, Hanbei Toshiie, and Aikawa Mutsuki had been plotting this for quite some time, Genzaburo being the mastermind of the whole thing. The plan to kidnap the babe had been largely unchanged; it's just that the aftermath of the Kyūbi Incident had given them a significantly wider opening to do it. It was a gamble, and their hopes of getting away with their crime had been dashed the second Naruto was discovered to be missing.

That Genzaburo would personally spearhead this travesty was no surprise; the corpulent businessman was already being investigated for conspiracy and corruption charges while Minato was alive. He was not shy about his hatred for the late Yondaime Hokage either, and did everything in his power to make his life hell…only to wind up humiliated at every turn. Overall, it was nothing new to Hiruzen that he would do this, it was no secret that Genzaburo was interested in a seat at the civilian council; it's just that accusations of running a human trafficking operation had denied him his seat at the table.

No, Genzaburo being a corrupt monster was not the surprise; that dubious honor went to Toshiie and Mutsuki having a hand in this at all. To his knowledge, the two of them were good people, keeping their fellow shinobi on the straight path…until tonight. To think that they would be involved in Genzaburo's human trafficking ring was beyond upsetting…that they too hated Minato was a shocker, though they apparently hated Kushina more. In hindsight, Hiruzen should have seen that coming…the two of them were originally from the upper crust, and were evidently only friendly with him because he was from a prominent clan.

Last he'd checked, the three of them were like pathetic little rats, their bodies turned into veritable tapestries of enhanced interrogation; Ibiki had truly done good work, to the point that he almost felt bad for the men he'd sent his way…emphasis on almost. At the end of the day, Hiruzen reminded himself that they were human traffickers, and he had absolutely no patience or sympathy for their ilk…not when they'd sold numerous innocent lives off to a variety of people. After what he'd seen in the past few days, he was going to pull the weeds out of Konoha: no more were there going to be such incidents as what happened to poor little Naruto. He was going to make these men pay for what they did.

"Hokage-sama," said a voice from behind.

Hiruzen turned to regard the speaker; a white-haired ANBU operative with a dog mask. "What have you got to report?"

"We have found Kitamura's wagon," replied the ANBU, "The good news is that it hasn't even left Hi no Kuni yet, and is still in the Kaibutsu Mori; the bad news is that it's a mess."

"What do you mean by 'mess?'" Hiruzen asked, almost dreading the answer.

"You're going to have to come and see."

Hiruzen nodded at his escort of ANBU, beckoning them to follow him.

It was indeed fortunate that Rikichi's wagon never left Hi no Kuni. The Iwahoshō Highlands were known for their deep ravines, but according to Genzaburo, his partner Kitamura Rikichi had found a smuggling route that allowed him to cross into Tsuchi no Kuni without Kusa or Taki noticing. If they set foot on those borderlands, the odds were good that they would have a diplomatic incident on their hands.

The second he arrived at the scene, Hiruzen could see what Inu meant when he said it was a mess.

The team that Inu had brought with him were already working on canvassing the area, trying to uncover clues as to what had happened, but experienced eyes told the story. Rikichi's wagon had a hole smashed into its side like an overripe melon, and his ill-gotten cargo nowhere to be seen…Rikichi himself however, was not hard to find as his corpse was the only body left behind. From the way it unfolded in his mind, Hiruzen surmised that the assailants hit the wagon hard and fast before leaving without a trace; by his estimate, it would've taken maybe five minutes to kill Rikichi, put a hole the wagon, take everything of value including Naruto, and then leave with the horses. In short, a very fast and efficient smash-and-grab.

"Hokage-sama?" called out an ANBU in a mouse mask, waving her hand at the Hokage, "I think I've found the footprints belonging to our attackers."

Hiruzen regarded his escort party and nodded in the direction of the ANBU, silently ordering them to accompany him. "What have you got, Nezumi?"

"From what I gather, Rikichi was hit by four people," began Nazumi, careful not to lay her hands on the ground, "They're pretty big, heavy too…judging by how deep those prints are, I'm guessing between 180 to 210 centimeters tall, and upwards of 100 kilos per individual. I think they were hit by Yokai."

That last statement had drawn the attention of everyone gathered, and not without reason. For all the bluster man had over their mastery of chakra, they had nothing on the Yōkai; a category of spiritual beings that had been co-existing with humanity since the dawn of time. The generations humans had spent to understand the spiritual energy was barely a week in comparison to the millennia the Yōkai had spent to truly become intimate with its secrets. A jutsu that would've taken a long string of hand-seals for a shinobi to perform with both hands, was done intuitively by the Yōkai with one.

Hiruzen thought about the location, and combined that with the dimensions of the attackers…his irises had shrunk to the size of pin pricks with realization. "We need to leave now."

"Hokage-sama?"

"These are Oni tribe lands," Hiruzen answered, earning him a look of terror, "To be more specific, these are Senmori lands."

Of all the Yokai races in existence, few had elicited more terror than an Oni tribe on the warpath. It was said that the majority of deaths caused by Yokai during the Sengoku Jidai were at the hands of Oni warriors that took out entire clans in retaliation for shinobi incursions into tribal lands that caused the deaths of civilians. Such was the prowess of their warriors that it took nothing less than three Genin teams just to fight evenly against one of them.

There were five major Oni tribes, one for each major Shinobi Nation, though their territories tended to overlap with a few of the more minor ones as well. Given the power of their warriors, the general consensus between commanders was that picking a fight with one of the tribes' villages was tantamount to suicide; even if the village was destroyed in the conflict, the costs would be so great that the Shinobi Village in question would be too weak to fight off their rivals.

"But what about Naruto?" asked a female operative in a cat mask.

"Forget him! These are Oni tribe lands we are in," countered a male operative in a chicken mask, "If they catch us on their lands, they'll kill us as trespassers."

"Hokage-sama, if I make a suggestion," Inu interjected, "Why don't we continue with a smaller party as a diplomatic envoy? I know our relations with the Senmori Tribe have soured after that failed assassination attempt on their chieftain, but I think it'd be a waste to go home without at least trying to speak with them."

Hiruzen ruminated on what Inu was saying, and found his suggestion to be sound. They'd come too far to come home empty-handed, might as well try to make peace with them. He nodded at a nearby ANBU with a pigeon on hand.

"Send a message to the Senmori Village," he said, "Tell them a diplomatic envoy from Konoha is coming."

…

[Senmori Village, several hours later]

Hiruzen landed with an escort of four ANBU consisting of Inu, Nezumi, Hebi, and Usagi.

The locale before them was a veritable city built atop a foothill; calling it a 'village' didn't do the place justice when it was in reality a veritable fortress, made up of layer upon layer of high walls made out of thick, hand-carved, seal-etched stones with sentries at the top. Attacking the Senmori Village was tantamount to suicide; in addition to their specialty as heavy infantry, Oni were particularly known for their mastery of earthworks.

Waiting for them were the guards sent to meet them at the tall double-doors. Each Oni was a tall, muscular humanoid with a horned head, and every single one of them was extremely strong. Despite their brute strength, they were capable of such feats of speed and agility that enabled them to match a shinobi, and still pummel them with little trouble wielding brutish weapons like the infamous kanabo. In terms of chakra ability however, they were known to favor Nature Transformation jutsu, their shamans being exceptionally powerful users of the art.

Most of the guards were large men with metal quarterstaves, but the one who stood out among the men was a slender woman he eyeballed at around 185 centimeters tall, with a large, single horn poking out of long, sea-green hair from the right side of her forehead. She eyed the group cautiously with a pair of yellow eyes, the only weapon she had on hand being a large, triangular shield almost as tall as she was with an oni motif on the boss and sharpened on all three edges. Her generous assets were restrained by the breastplate she wore over a vest and a pair of black trousers with knee pads. It was hard to forget her face, considering that she was there to help fight off the assailants during the botched assassination attempt; and given what he knew of her hobbies, Hiruzen had a pretty good idea where Rikichi's horses went.

"You have a lot of nerve showing up after what happened in your village," she said, her anger veiled under her laid-back demeanor.

"Believe me, Hoshiguma, I don't blame you," Hiruzen replied, unfazed by the accusation, "But we're expected by your chief."

"I know, he sent us to be your escort," Hoshiguma replied, "Still, I suppose this conversation had to happen eventually; we can't stay angry with you forever, after all. So I don't think I need to tell you that if you misbehave at any point during your visit, it's not gonna end well for you."

"No worries, trouble is the absolute last thing any of us want out of this visit."

Hoshiguma regarded the rest of her escorts, silently ordering them to open the doors. The second he set foot in the village, Hiruzen could feel everyone's eyes on him as his diplomatic envoy walked the stone-paved streets; he could feel such hostility that he worried there would be an attempt on his life. The worst part was that he couldn't blame them if they did try to kill him—while he did not -and most certainly would not!- sanction such an attempt, it still happened on his watch.

"We're here," she said, getting everyone's attention.

The structure they stopped at looked like a round amphitheater surrounded by eight pillars and terraced walls to allow for seating. At the bottom of the amphitheater was a large fire pit that Hiruzen knew was used for ritual sacrifices, to the ancestors. Beyond its ritual significance, the fire pit was used to keep attendees of political meetings warm whenever the weather got cold; if that's the case, then offerings tended to be made while the fire was still being stoked.

Waiting for him at the fire was a large figure sitting by the fire, much of his warm tanned skin exposed to show off an intricate array of chakra-infused tattoos that contrasted against stark-white, close-cut hair. Besides the hakama and cape, the chieftain only wore an intricately-carved jade pendant around his neck, exposing a body made completely of thick, heavy muscle; but Hiruzen had seen him in battle enough times to know he was not a slow, stupid brute. Unlike Hoshiguma who had a single horn, this individual was taller and sported two impressive-looking horns sprouting from behind his head before coming to a stop in front of his head like a crown.

He looked down at the diplomatic envoy with barely-veiled hostility in his red eyes, a pair of fangs poking out slightly from his lower jaw like tusks. "The only reason my people haven't torn you apart right about now is because your successor saved my daughter's life. Now what do you want, Hiruzen?"

"Can't I just come here to talk, Daichimaru?" Hiruzen replied, taking a seat across from his Oni counterpart.

"You never come here just to talk," retorted Daichimaru, his eyes narrowing in suspicion, "State your business."

"As I'm sure you are aware, the criminal Kitamura Rikichi was assaulted by your patrols a little earlier," Hiruzen began, "I'm fairly certain Hoshiguma is enjoying the newest additions to her stable." The woman in question coughed into her hand, looking around innocently as her chieftain leveled a glare at her. "I don't particularly care that you attacked him; what I do care about is that he was going to sell people off to the highest bidder in Tsuchi no Kuni, along with a baby. I'm here to negotiate for the release of the people he was transporting so that we can send them home, including the baby."

Daichimaru stroked his chin in thought before turning to regard Hiruzen. "You can have the slaves, but the Jinchūriki stays." Hiruzen was gobsmacked. "The Kyūbi Attack happened not too long ago, and then you come here personally almost a couple days later specifically asking for a baby? Did you think I would never figure it out?"

"Daichimaru, please be reasonable…"

"…I am being reasonable!" interrupted the Oni chieftain, anger clear in his voice, "And I am also thinking for the sake of the boy as well. I haven't forgotten that incident, and I never will, which is why I am keeping him here."

Hiruzen sighed in frustration. He thought he'd made it perfectly clear that he did not want anything to happen to Daichimaru during the talks; that after they talked strategy on how they were going to deal with the bandit Shuten Dōji and his gang, they were going to talk diplomacy. Evidently, some people thought that meant 'kill the chieftain and his retinue before they even talk' and so a group of ANBU had appeared in his apartment, in an attempt to assassinate him.

The entire incident was an embarrassment for Konoha, establishing distrust in the village over the apparent inability to defend diplomats; but the fact that Hiruzen didn't even sanction the assassination attempt made him look like a fool. Truly, if it had happened to any other chieftain, they would have declared war on the spot even if it had failed, and he wouldn't have blamed them. That Daichimaru decided not to was a testament to his patience and the old Kage's luck…or lack thereof, as his oni counterpart decided to call off any and all dialogues in the future for the incident.

He had no idea who greenlighted the attempted assassination, and he had yet to find all the people responsible, but Hiruzen had a feeling that Danzo may have had a hand in it. Either way, it was thanks to that incident that Shuten Dōji and his gang remained at large; without the alliance with the Senmori to put an end to their reign of terror, they were able to rape, pillage, and burn with impunity.

"I've already apologized numerous times for that incident," Hiruzen explained.

"And all your apologies will fall on deaf ears until everyone involved in that conspiracy faces justice!" Daichimaru nearly shouted, "See, if it were any other day, I probably would have laughed off the assassination attempt as a bad joke; but those fake ANBU also tried to kill my daughter that day! And now, after what I've heard has been happening since my last visit, there's no way I'm trusting the boy's safety to that den of vipers you call a village. So no, I will not release the boy in your care, when it's perfectly clear to me that you can't keep your own house in order."

"I'll be honest, your distrust is justified," Hiruzen admitted, "I may not have sanctioned that assassination attempt, but it still happened on my watch; and now, after what had happened not too long after I was put back in office, you have earned the right to not trust me or the village. But I cannot let you have the boy; so what's it going to take for you to release Naruto back into our custody?"

Daichimaru broke eye contact with Hiruzen, stroking his chin in thought before sighing. "The boy will return to your village, but he will not be going back alone; he will be raised and cared for by a number of my tribesmen who will be moving into your village. This is non-negotiable."

"Why do I feel like that's not what you really want?" Hiruzen asked.

The oni chieftain grinned. "I've only had him in my house for a couple of hours, but I've come to like your boy; and as it just so happens, my daughter just gave birth to my granddaughter today. So I was thinking…"

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow at the implication. "That in exchange for returning the boy, you want to arrange a marriage between him and your granddaughter?"

"You've always wanted to build bridges between your village and my tribe," Daichimaru reminded, "Agree to this, and not only will Naruto be going home, but if things go well with this exchange, it will go a long way towards regaining my trust in you and Konoha."

There was silence as Hiruzen thought of his choices. He could in theory organize or even improvise an attempt to get Naruto out of the village, but they were far too risky to undertake…to say nothing of the fact that this could potentially end in a war that could unmake Konoha. No, the diplomatic solution was the best here. "I'll accept your terms."

"Wise choice," Daichimaru said, turning to regard Hoshiguma, "Get the boy; bring him here."

Hiruzen sat up from his seat, his mind a jumble as he thought about what had occurred as he nodded to Inu, silently ordering him to go find Daichimaru's house to pick up Naruto. A part of him felt bad that he had effectively sold the boy off for marriage, but it was overshadowed by the fact that he was already making progress in his crusade for peaceful relations with the Senmori.

As he thought about it, it seemed like a waste to pass up this opportunity…

…

A/N:

The chapter's done.

Let's see how the new pilot episode is received.

I will find a way to implement the things I wanted to do in the original, but some things will not change…including befriending Zabuza and Haku.

…

Translations/References:

Kaibutsu Mori―the location is literally written as "Monster Forest" (怪物森).

Iwahoshō Highlands―the name is written as "stone sentinel' (岩歩哨)

Shuten Dōji―the Oni bandit terrorizing Hi no Kuni is named after one of the most dangerous Yōkai in Japanese mythology…and unlike in "Fate/Grand Order" Shuten Dōji was never originally female, though Ibaraki Dōji's gender is up for debate.

Hoshiguma―originally from "Arknights".