Hey fellas, guess who's back!
1k follows! Dammmmnnnnnnnn.
I feel like it's a real big achievement that a thousand people actually acknowledged the fact that my story might be worth reading. I promise to keep at it at the best of my abilities.
I've caught a bad habit though. In order to make it more perfect sometimes I get stuck on a few paragraphs for days. Forget days, even weeks pass by and I don't get enough time to sit and actually think about it for a few hours. Only when I'm like "Fuck it, whatever." that I can actually build a flow, although a bit more crude. As time passes, I tend to sway towards the latter. But when I go back and read it, I feel like quality matters a lot over hurry. So I'm confused as to what the solution is. Try making it better and slow down, or pick the pace compromising with the fineness. Any suggestions are welcome, or again, nevermind.
(Fair warning : Some sequence of events may be too intense or dark for some people to read. Proceed at your own risk. I know this warning doesn't mean crap to anyone because they will read it anyway but still, I've done my part)
(Also , another fair warning for a boring technical sequence in the end related to social sciences. It adds to the story but I know some people might have had enough of that at school already. Proceed at your own risk before you may or may not lose interest in the story.)
Now getting onto the story...
Being completely honest, I picked up the general idea of the end part of this arc from some fanfic (don't remember which at the moment...if the author of that fic is reading this and thinks that this is taken from there, message me I'll give the due credits), and also the credits for a specific sequence of scenes is given at the end of the chapter which I remembered.
@HereForSmutLemon :
Thanks for the patience, dude. You liked that scene? I had put so much thought into it just to make it seem like he had really died. It was so worth it. I read it so many times and I'm surprised I was able to write that. Not to toot my own horn, but that came out really damn awesome. :)
Yep, but if you think you know what's gonna happen to Gatō, think again. It's going to be much more ruthless.
Naah, no way the lemon was that good. I was expecting something like "Nevermind, forget the lemons. Don't you ever try that again. Don't you desecrate the sacred beauty of lemons! *clenches head* Aaaahhhhhh..." lol.
I'm glad though that you still think I can write lemons. I can assure that they're gonna be a lot better than this one, when I really get into it. About "Waraji", you know she saw his face all the time during the act believing it was really him and if I didn't mention it to be the mercenary then the whole act would seem totally uncharacteristic with the young guy forcing her. I know it's a lot better with Naruto being the protagonist but I didn't want to ruin the fun by naming him just yet. It was just a trailer, at best.
Hell yeaaahhhh, I'm also as excited about the next one. Stick with me for some more time, we'll get lots of action. And thanks again for always keeping support. It means a lot, truly!
@WhateverPlus @Borello :
I believe in Valar Dohaeris. And I am pleased that I could follow up to that. :)
@OrigDayday :
Completely agreed. I don't even need to be told that this lemon is highly unrefined. This was my first time attempting it, after all. Is it that bad though? The story is based around a lot of fights and lemons (later on), so I'm a bit concerned about it. Of course, writing the other scenes (like fight scenes) is also a first time for me, but I enjoy doing that a lot more. I'd have to read seriously into the proper way of writing literotica because it's different when it doesn't come naturally.
Yep, you got me. This had to be evident since I ended the chapter at a not-so-good checkpoint. But I just couldn't write anymore in this single one, so I'm okay with it. Hope you like the next chapter.
P.S. - There's also the fact that I never truly planned to make a lemon here, just wrote it on a whim. The passion is zero too here, he's mostly persuading her and she's doing it out of lust, so that's a detrimental factor. On retrospect, I can assure that this was something I didn't really thought much into, and the ones later are going to be quite different. For good or for bad, will be up to all the readers to decide.
@marquis.shax :
Dude, damn. I feel like I've got a serious critic. Thanks for reading into it so deeply. I would be happy to clear your doubts, wherever I can. Don't assume I like the way you phrased it all, I'd appreciate being more suggested to rather than argued with.
Firstly, I'll keep quiet about the chakra that Tsunade felt. No comments.
Next, "lack of fucking imagination" when it comes to teams? Yeah let's try going a bit wild into imagination. My team will comprise Meliodas leading the team 69 alongwith Naruto, Ichigo and Light Yagami as apprentices. Add Chopper as their pet. And then they'll enter the Tournament of Power to get admission into U.A. High School where they can be taught by Onizuka so as to become Keijo champions. Is that enough of imagination? Making it more and more complex is not good unless you know exactly what you're doing and can follow up with something which complements it perfectly.
Look, I try to keep it as close to the original storyline to not mess everything up. The characters, the arcs, whatever. So if Kakashi can't use Wind style, go ask Kishimoto why. My theory is that it's an unreliable one to use as this element is tough to control unless you have the affinity naturally and are well trained. "Mastered" doesn't mean he can now use every damn justu relating to that nature or can whip up any new jutsu at will, it just means that he has practiced enough to have good command over it.
Next, I purposely had to go back to the letter to see what you're talking about. It's not that he's forcing his son to take up his name literally or legally ffs, it means that if he reveals the Hiraishin to the world, then everyone will automatically relate him to the Yondaime, as a Namikaze.
I think that should sum up all of your doubts.
@Kurokawa Uzuna :
I'm not sure what you mean, since I've already kept the rating as M since the start. Lemons had to be there eventually, just not right away. But if you're cool with it, so am I lol.
I'm glad you like the story, more so my writing style. You do get what I'm trying to portray. This is how I'd have liked the protagonist to be. The goofy/funny personality is great in my opinion, only if backed by a smart, cool Naruto when it matters. Otherwise, there'd be no option to be left with except Talk no jutsu or some Tailed Beast bombs.
I'm sure the character will be the same as it has been, although it will evolve with the story. I can't guarantee against some slips here and there. To err is human, dattebayo. Hope you'll have fun later too.
@fozyok :
Or should I call you cookie? ;)
To start off, this review made my day. Or night lol, just that I had a tiring day and thought of checking out my story and found this. Now, I think I'll sleep a lot better tonight. So thank you, it means a lot.
To proceed, I'm pleased to hear my "puns" are getting the desired effect along with the comedic punch lines. I thrive on humour, so this is what I want to make the best of in my story.
I know that some parts may get stale, repetitive, overdone (yeah, I re-read my story and felt that I could've altered a bit of the Namikaze mansion part, just a little bit; yet I strongly feel that it was an important factor in getting the flow right as I didn't just want to drop the letters from nowhere, so even if given the chance to go back in time I'll go for it again as many times as I have to) and all kinds of fallibility that exists in a novice's work, but the neat part is that I am aware of it and constantly working on overcoming them. I respect you back for respecting my way of writing and appreciating the effort despite it not being anyhow a literary treat, yet.
Lemons, to be honest I didn't care about them exactly in the initial parts, but now I have built an opinion that for all round realistic development, I probably will write them when the need arises. It's still a long way though. As you said, I'm still in the process of slowly building individual characters and their bondings. I can't promise it will move on as smoothly as the story progresses on, because there will be a hell lot of more character interplays with every new one introduced. Initial parts of harem will get good character development (I hope I can do that) and I'll try to carry that on later, but can't say for certain as much about that right now. Romance is as crucial a factor as lemons are in my opinion, so I definitely won't be skipping on it. I love the intense fights though, so you can expect me to be better at it than other elements, which surely doesn't mean I'm ignoring them altogether.
So if you stick with me long enough, you'll definitely get the character development you like. That is why I already warned everyone in the summary, that this is going to be a really really long one. The fruit of patience is sweet.
In the end I must say that it's certainly reassuring to see that -- oh nice fat finger prank there you naughty thumb, my review count upped by one thanks to you, gimme a high five xD -- someone has such high expectations from me. I can promise that I will keep writing to the best of my abilities, and also wholeheartedly accept the flowers that I probably don't deserve, but still am gifted with such love.
Thank you, dear reader!
(P.S. : I usually don't expect anything from anyone here, except a certain few guys who have been constantly supporting my story and I eagerly wait for their opinions (appreciation as well as criticism) each and every time. I would like to say that you're added to that list. Be it flowers or embers, I'll be waiting. :) )
@Bluenait :
Wait lmao what? Ok my bad I guess, Naruto is of course a beta to the Hokage, I mean yeah it could have been better to have him as the Fifth Hokage as a newborn when he'd have killed the fox spirit on his own using the power of Ramen. Now, having proved your point you can proudly fuck off to wherever you want to move on.
Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto and never will (yes I've accepted the fact). All rights are reserved to the author Masashi Kishimoto and the franchise. Peace.
Another disclaimer : If anyone feels uncomfortable reading the sequences, I strongly suggest to avoid reading the story altogether. Nothing in this fanfic is related to real life and I strongly oppose any sort of illegal or unethical activity. I am not a bad guy or anything, lol.
Final (summary) disclaimer : This is just a stupid fanfic, nothing to be taken seriously. Deal with it. xD
Now let's move on to the finale of the Wave Arc!
Chapter-17
A woman sat perplexed in what was a mere restroom adjoining a hall full of rowdy men, oblivious to the developments that took place inside. These might very well be the occurences that would turn their world upside down in a matter of time. Regardless, they were enjoying themselves cheering away for someone who was half-dead dozens of miles away.
She reassured herself of the reality looking at all the surroundings. The dimly lit washrooms with their chipped off plasters, unremovable stains on the walls despite the best efforts of the women to get rid of them and of course, the vague noise of the crowd that managed to pass through the door behind her.
She remembered everything clearly. All of which happened to her right there. It wasn't a dream, it wasn't a nightmare. Hell, how she wished it was one. But despite pinching or slapping herself, nothing seemed to change. And whatever was happening outside couldn't be just a dream either.
She had closed her eyes, knowing that there was no going back on what had already occured. Her mind was playing games with her, unable to overcome her trauma. She just had to believe that whatever happened, did happen. There was just one thing here that didn't make sense, and he probably wasn't real.
"Uhh, Miss are you listening?"
She mentally shook herself, trying to let go of this figment of imagination. How could even someone like that be here in the first place? Someone so bizarre, so young, yet so……handsome……
'No! What am I thinking?! I'm going delusional. I definitely am.', she thought.
There was no way a blonde boy with such ocean blue eyes and a dishy structure would just pop up out of nowhere--
"Excuse me Miss, but I really would suggest you don't space out right now. It's a bit of an urgency--"
That was enough. He certainly wasn't just a delusion and if he were, she definitely had gone crazy beyond help. Better to confirm than sit around.
She opened her eyes and hurriedly stood up taking the support of the door, resting her palm near the handle, in case she had to make a run for it.
Yet, she couldn't help but be entranced by the person standing in front of her. If it was just her mind playing with her, she patted herself for having such great imagination. He was a young boy, in his early teens at best. Yet he stood with an authority that few people could. He carried a weapon which hung around his waist, and wore a headband on which a leaf was engraved.
Naruto knew that it was an expected reaction out of her.
"Easy there, Miss. I'm not here to hurt you. Just wanted to talk. That's all.", he said raising his hands up slightly as a gesture that he meant no harm.
She wasn't convinced though. She didn't even know what could make her be convinced, or what exactly was she trying to be convinced of in the first place? All she knew was that nothing made sense and unless he cleared it, she would be on alert. Not that there was much to be afraid of. She was already a slave to the mercenaries. Worst case scenario, he was one of them. Still, unexpected occurences always build anxiety.
"How can I believe you?", she asked. A small part of her rebellious will had resurfaced.
Naruto sighed.
She couldn't even imagine, let alone see, when a kunai crashed into the door handle beside her. Even her best reflexes wouldn't have been able to save her, had her hand been on the handle. In any case, the path was now physically blocked, which held little significance as she realised how powerless she was in front of him. He was probably not human after all, just her brain playing around.
"As you can see, I could have already hurt you if I wished to, but that's not the case. I just want you to listen to me first. You can make the decision later to believe me or not. So please, until then, don't make any move that could jeopardize our chances here.", he said.
His phrasing might have been one of pleading or request, but the ascendancy with which he spoke those words implied that it was only wise to listen to him at the moment than do the opposite. Whatever spirited attitude she had conjured looking at the boy, she bottled back up.
She nodded in response as she gulped and asked, "Who……are you?"
Naruto took a sigh of relief this time. At least she was not going to throw a tantrum. He knew someone from his own team who would screech the place to hell.
"Glad to meet you. The name's Naruto Uzumaki and I'm a shinobi from Konohagakure. What's your name, Miss?"
She blinked twice wondering why a shinobi from the Land of Fire would be wandering around her for. Was this a coincidence? Was he lost? Was he here on purpose? Was he a messenger? Was it to help them or was there an entirely different purpose for him to be here? There was a lot of questions, but her mind was diverted towards something else.
This was the second instance in such a short span of time that she was asked this question, and she felt a comfort in it, despite the sheer simplicity of the query. However, she blushed suddenly when remembered the first time this was asked and the circumstances that followed.
"Is something the problem?", he asked concerned.
She couldn't resist as her mind superimposed his face over the one in her memories. Now it wasn't the brute anymore who had defiled her but the boy who had passionately pinned her against the wall. With much effort, she resolved to cut off all thoughts which might have followed and let her mind wander off in unintended directions. Why it did happen, even she didn't know as it had never happened once before.
"Margaret. That's my name.", she replied.
"Okay, Margaret-san. I know that it would really be inconvenient for you right now but I need your help.", Naruto said.
"Naruto-san from Konohagakure, was it? What exactly do you need my help for? And I don't even know why you're here.", she said.
She'd heard of the shinobi that inhabited the hidden villages in various great nations, but never really had any personal interactions as the Land of Waves didn't have one of its own. Judging by the leaf pattern on his forehead protector, she assumed he was telling the truth. Although she wondered why these villages make such little kids work at jobs as dangerous as these.
"Why I'm here? To rescue everyone, of course.", he replied.
She had her jaw dropped not merely by his statement, but also because of the nonchalance that accompanied his claim. He acted as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
"Are there more people like you here in this place?", she asked bewildered.
Assuming that she probably wasn't talking about his Kage Bunshin no jutsu or something, he replied, "Nope. Just me."
Now she was even more staggered. He might be trained, but there were dozens, scratch that, hundreds of mercenaries out there. It would take an army to bring them all down. This was unquestionably a direct path for suicide, from what she could interpret. Making little kids with no judgement and backfiring overconfidence soldiers was dumb even more so for great nations, she inferred.
"You seem to be in some misunderstanding. This is probably not the place you'd want to be in. Please leave before someone outside sees you. They will either capture you or even kill you.", she warned.
Naruto smiled at the concern she displayed over his safety. He knew full well that there was no reason to be worried, he had regained enough stamina since he had boarded that ferry. Yet something about the caring motherly attitude warmed his heart. Maybe because it was something he could never experience. Maybe not.
"Margaret-san, there's no mistake here. The bridge connecting to the mainland will be finished soon as everyone in the town fought against Gato's men and have defeated them. The supply chain will be restored and there's enough for everyone until then.", Naruto said, "All that's left is to rescue the rest of you here and leave as soon as possible. I'm the one who is in charge of the rescue operation, you could say."
She heard him go at all in one breath, as if to brief her about the ongoing situation. A trained soldier, he sure was one. But she wasn't another soldier who'd just take all of that in one go like nothing happened.
Far from analysing his strategy, she couldn't even control herself as she burst into tears. This was way too much to take in, in a good way though.
A few minutes later, Naruto was consoling her as she had cried her eyes out onto his jacket. She didn't know why it happened but if one had to guess, she didn't want to let go of a hope that had secretly entered their miserable lives. The warmth of his body was also another reason she didn't want to be seperated from right now. Nonetheless, she released him as she calmed down, having the light of hope returned in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, I was just so dejected after that mercenary declared that they had destroyed the bridge. I thought everything had been lost. Not that I'm saying I don't believe you. I would trust someone like you over him any day of my life.", Margaret said.
Naruto smirked, "Don't believe just about anyone you've met, Margaret-san. And especially a ninja. We're the ones who excel at deception."
Margaret smiled, "Haha, but you telling me this makes you believable even more."
"And what if I tell you that the one you believe in and the one you don't are both the same?", he asked.
She frowned, "What do you mean by that?"
He didn't waste any time transforming into the same hideous ruffian that he had chosen well before. Despite him transforming back into his original body soon after, Margaret was now nothing short of terrified. She felt a very chilling shiver crawling up her spine.
"Th-that can't be possible.", she said with her heartbeat rising every passing moment, "It was you who entered the hall with the drunk man? It was you who bet on breaking me out there? And it was you……who dragged me in here?"
"In my defence, it wasn't my intention to make any bets or anything, but yeah. All of it happened, without a doubt.", he accepted the facts as they were.
She couldn't believe her ears. How could someone who has come to save them, treat everyone with such cruelty? If this was the case, how was he better than any mercenary who abused women for their selfish pleasures?
Her voice almost cracked. "And whatever happened after we were inside was real too, then?"
"Did it feel real?", came a plain reply.
"Yes, it did…..", she said, "It surely did."
"Then it might as well be.", he confirmed.
The colour from her face drained. And her gut twisted so much she could throw up. After all, someone who came to save them had also used her merely for satisfying their own lust. Should she be thankful that at least they could be saved, and that this was a small price for that? Or that there was no one worth trust in this whole of humanity?
It was a dilemma she didn't have to conclude, thankfully.
"Needless to say, it was your reality. Not mine.", Naruto said.
She held back the most of her tears but some made their way out anyway. "And what does that mean? Is that some sort of an excuse that would make me feel less bad or maybe justify your cruel actions? Keep it to yourself, if that's your intention.", she lashed out.
"No excuses, just the truth. Cent percent. Reality is what you brain perceives, after all. Your mind experienced something different than what was happening to everyone else. So that's your reality.", Naruto explained, "All that time, you were under my Genjutsu."
She didn't know if she should be relieved or angered right now by the explanation, because nothing made sense, for better or for worse.
"What? A Genjutsu? You mean, like I was hypnotized?", she asked, trying to decipher it as good as she could.
Naruto slowly waved three hand signs and then clapped his hands once. Suddenly, the taps on all the basins were blasted off and the water sprayed all over the room. Both of them were caught in it and Margaret was bracing herself from the water jets from many directions.
'What is he doing? Has he gone crazy?', she thought, as the water soaked her entire clothes.
As she reached one corner where she could ease up a bit, she saw Naruto making no movements and just standing there unfazed. On a closer look, water didn't seem to wet him at all. It was as if the water jets were passing right through him.
And then suddenly, she found herself standing right back at the place where she started. In the blink of an eye, everything turned back to normal. It seemed all it took for Naruto was to snap his fingers in front of her and she was released from the illusion.
"So you see, a Genjutsu. It's a pain explaining all the principles, nor do we have the time. But basically, I can make you sense whatever I want to. Not proud to say this, but I'm not very good at this thing.", Naruto said.
She couldn't just deny what she had just experienced, yet there was no option but to believe him. Even so…..
"Does that mean you made me think what I was thinking all that time? Everything was what you made me imagine?", she asked.
There was less of anger and more of an embarrassment in her voice this time, for some reason, which may or may not have something to do with her blushing expression. In any case, she was more at ease than before.
"That's an excellent question. But the answer is complicated, as much as it is interesting.", Naruto said with a gleam on his face, "Normally, Genjutsu is all about twisting a person's senses to your own liking. But I already said that I'm not very good at it, so I can't make elaborate changes properly."
He added, "However, I devised a way to overcome that for the time being. It's can be used with shinobi too, but works like a charm if the target is someone like you who doesn't know about a Genjutsu at all, no offence. What I do is that I activate the limbic system…..sorry……I mean certain areas in your brain linked with emotions. These directly help me alter your perception in a real easy way. So I didn't have to basically anything, I was just directing your mind to do something to itself, and whatever it did worked good."
She frowned even more and put her hands on her waist, as she said, "I didn't really understand a word of all the scientific ramble you just spouted. I did get the gist though. All said and done, you didn't do anything to me directly. Whatever happened was in my mind?"
Naruto nodded and replied, "Sorry about the scientific talk….ahem…..Yeah, everything that happened to you was in your mind. It might not have been the perfect dream, because I needed your brain to make it seem completely real. So to sum up, it was the most pleasurable experience that you subconsciously thought that could actually occur in your given environment. No one, even I don't know what exactly happened except for you."
She took a deep breath and sighed in relief.
"Although, everybody heard how you reacted to it.", he added with some sheepishness.
He subtly pointed in the direction of the door from where some noises could still be heard.
She became red faced again. Out of embarrassment? Anger? She didn't know. For the most part, she must have been screaming like hell for no reason whatsoever and he was just sitting there enjoying it like a show. Everyone outside was in the same impression that something did happen to her.
"Why couldn't you just make everyone imagine that everything was okay and then we could sneak out easily? This is much easier than what all you did with me.", she said.
Naruto plainly replied, "Easier said than done. Be my guest, if you think anyone can do it. Otherwise, it takes years of practice to learn Genjutsu well. I can't possibly alter the reality for dozens or hundreds of people at once according to my wish. I'll mess up somewhere and that will be a red flag. They'll know something's wrong."
She became even more redder though, this time surely out of mortification. She actually realised that it was not only her screams that comprised of her reaction but also her bodily response. She was absolutely drenched down there. Her underwear was completely soaked, and her clothes got the rest of it. After all, she couldn't even remember the number of orgasms she had. It was only her apron that covered the evidence from anyone else.
She covered it up by leading the conversation away. "What was all this about? If for a moment we assume that you can fight with all those men, then go do it in the first place. Why put on the act of becoming one of their own? Don't tell me you wanted to see how fun it is to try doing what these people enjoy doing to us."
Naruto didn't back down resorting to light conversation this time. "Of course not. The moment I entered the place, all I saw was misery and melancholy. It took every ounce of resistance to not smash those guys' asses into the ground. But there's a reason I can't outwardly act and rampage onto them. I must ask you this. Have you ever been trapped in an immediate hostage situation?"
She was caught by surprise at the question, but replied in negative as she shook her head.
"I suppose not. So here's the thing. I can not fight them with my full concentration if there are hostages among them. And even if I clear them up like flies, all they need is the neck of one person on the edge of their blade to turn the tables. The women are all around serving them, over their laps, under their tabl-- ahem…..you get what I'm saying.", Naruto said, "The psychological pressure on the one taken hostage is immense, as he or she is the one responsible for everyone else's lives. And having all the power to win, I still wouldn't be able to fight them. I'd be killed or captured, just like everyone else here. I hope that satisfies your doubts."
She understood that under these circumstances it was best to accept whatever the trained shinobi had thought to be most suitable. Still, there was one doubt that remained in her mind and she couldn't help but voice it.
"That's totally fine, I understand now. But was there any reason to not let me in on it before? I would have gladly helped you any way I could.", Margaret asked and blushed, "Maybe there wouldn't have been any need for you to play mind games on me."
Naruto shrugged and said, "Maybe you would have, but maybe you wouldn't. In these circumstances, I don't want to take any extra chances, that too with someone I don't know. I still apologize for all the trouble I caused you."
She realised that she was maybe being too harsh on someone who was actually trying to save them. "Oh, no need to apologise. I'm not angry, I was just curious."
"I know. I was watching you all the time. You seemed to be enjoying it well."
She was taken aback as he looked at her with a mischievous smile on his face. He was now playing around with her, and she realised that. In response, she started slapping him playfully to which he started running away. In the end, both were laughing at the situation, keeping the sound to a minimum of course.
The laughter died down as both of them looked at each other with a solemn look.
"What do I need to do? It's obvious that you must need me to do something, otherwise you wouldn't have talked to me at all like this.", she said.
"You're right on point. I do need you to secure all the hostages. And I mean all of them, each and everyone. You seemed to be someone all of them looked up to, so you need to guide them carefully. Now I need to know some of the things. How much of them are here and their locations, do you know that?", Naruto said.
Margaret contemplated over it a bit, and then said, "I think you've been in at quite a good time. Most of the women are brought in here at lunchtime, and it's the same with those mercenaries. The men slaves are made to do physical labor but they are locked into a room in chains during lunch. I am positive that if we can handle them here, then we will surely be freed."
She added hesitantly, "I know I said that it was good according to your wishes, but I still think it's a bad idea. You should probably let them disperse in the base and then we can rescue everyone one by one. We don't need to fight them, we'll just run away."
Naruto waved her off. "Perfect. I appreciate your concern, but I've decided. It ends here. Now, I've formed a plan of action and I hope it will work nicely. I expect that you can handle it well. Here's what we'll do …….."
He went on to explain to her quickly about what she had to do. There was a time restraint as lunch time was already up and the men would inevitably get back to work even though there was a reason to celebrate. She nodded as she completely understood her role and promised the boy that she wouldn't fail him.
Naruto smiled as her and have her a thumbs up.
She smiled back, but something felt off to her. She didn't know the boy until just now, but she could tell that he was hesitant about asking her something. It could be attributed to her womanly instincts, nothing else.
"If something's the matter Naruto-san, you can tell me.", she said.
Naruto was surprised she picked up on that, but replied nonetheless, "Uhmm, I've been wondering. They said you didn't get…..involved with them at all for a long time. So why have they kept you around until now? I supposed they'd rather avoid having someone around who'd oppose them or fight back. You know, if they left one around the others would follow suit in the example. Would be a headache, just saying."
She seemed to pick up quite easily what he was trying to say, alongwith the fact that he was quite shy when it came to these things. He was constantly trying to convey his thought with minimal words in an indirect manner, probably cautious so as to not offend her in any way. She on the other hand, wasn't going to hold anything back.
"Oh, so you think I'm just an old bag of bones that can be dumped off just because I denied them of violating my body?", she said, getting cocky.
Naruto didn't know what to say. He did believe that it was the only reason they kept women around, but he couldn't say that to her face. "I didn't exactly phrase it that way. If I did know, I wouldn't be asking you in the first place."
She caught his diplomatic reply in a flash. She was having fun teasing him now that she knew what point to exactly poke. Still, it wasn't the time nor the place to extend it any further.
"It's not only about their dicks, there are other ways to pleasure the mind. It is about the palate too.", she said, "They don't say it outright, but they are used to eating the food I make. Luckily, they don't have any alternative here right now. The young girls may be all curvy and tight, but they don't know crap about cooking. I had to feed my kids, so I have far better cooking skills as any mother would be proud of."
Naruto just laughed and shook his head at such a simple answer. It was something beneath the eye, but Margaret was even more of an indispensable servant than any other. You never know what skill could actually happen to save your life.
"I would love to taste your cooking someday, after all the praise I've heard.", Naruto said playfully.
He wasn't used to the risque comebacks though, one of which he was subjected to once again.
"You are the knight in the golden armor. You save us from these damned scoundrels, and I'll let you eat whatever you want to~" , she said with the last statement coming off in a really slow, sensually suggestive manner.
She didn't know why she was doing this, except that she didn't feel forced for the first time in years. Maybe it was because the situation was posed to her in such a way that all of it didn't seem too much realistic. Somewhere in her mind, she was in doubt that their plan will fail someway or the other.
The word of an unacquainted shinobi from a far off land could assure oneself only as much. Still, she wanted to live what might be the last moments of her life in a carefree manner, while she could. She had longed for the moment when she could have a light-hearted laugh freely without the fear of someone ready to punish them listening around the corner. Only with sheer confidence, Naruto made her feel that protection at the moment.
Meanwhile, he shivered and caught himself warming up at the same time as blood rushed to his face, and instantly covered it up by transformation jutsu. He had once again converted to Waraji, which suggested that they were going out soon.
"One more thing, you might want to change your appearance before you go out. Maybe a little like you've been forced or such?", he asked.
Margaret looked at her clothes and realised that she was almost exactly the same as when she had gotten inside, except for her puffy red eyes. She looked at the lone tear that remaining her dress, which he had created when they were still outside. She could see her own cleavage perfectly through the split.
She pulled both the sides of the cloth apart showing majority of her upper breasts, and said, "You did a great job at that before. Why don't you help me do the rest?"
He turned away as soon as he saw that wink of hers and tried to open the door, only to struggle as he himself had rendered the handle useless with a kunai earlier.
She laughed heartily one last time as she knew that the following moments could decide the difference between life and death for every last person present as a captive there.
Everyone looked towards the noise surprised as the door crashed out of the washroom.
A man came out of the door, and made his way to the table he was seated on before. He had an irritated look on his face as he said, "Fuck this place, why can no one even manage to get a damn jammed door fixed?!"
"Hey hey, you were the one who banged it in the first place when you went in. Don't blame others. You'll be the one to pay for it.", someone said.
He was about to make a snigger when the drunkard butten in, "Fuck the door. You banged a much better thing than that, didn't you Waraji?"
He seemed to lose his irritation which was replaced by a gratified expression, "Yeah, now that you remind me, that was one hell of a time I had. I'm totally relieved now. I had this buildup I didn't think I could have released if not for someone good enough. You guys probably won't believe me though, you were quite skeptical before then."
"Now now, don't mock us like that. All of us heard that satisfying shriek that woman made when you made her submit. And then those moans which seemed to get louder every moment. She can't fake that, it was damn real.", the drunkard said, "Although it was quite a pity you had to do that in there. We'd have loved to see her face as the unbreakable bitch cried her eyes out, hahahahaha……"
Everyone started laughing, and Naruto had to join in to keep his cover but then added, "Yeah, yeah. I heard enough on that already. Next time I'll do her right here on the table. You can watch all you want."
He assessed the situation in the hall. Many a women were still near the mercenaries, and he had to carefully separate each of them before he could make his move. Moreover, many of the men had finished their meals and were preparing to move out soon. Now was the time when he had to commence the plan.
He yawned loudly and then shouted, "Hey! Come out and make me something good to eat!" and then reverted back to normal voice, "I didn't feel like eating anything before but now that I've fucked good enough, I'm starving."
Slowly, a woman came out of the door with her hands covering her body as much as she could with her bare hands. No, she wasn't entirely naked, but the condition of her clothes made it seem like she was.
The gown was in tatters, with her thighs and legs open to public view. The only thing blocking their view was the apron which was only mildly tore but still did it's work as a piece of cloth. The shoulder fabric was ripped off on one side revealing a part of the back, while enough remained on the other side to keep it held in position.
The tear in the blouse which Naruto had made initially was still evident, showing off her huge cleavage like nothing else mattered. And if all of this wasn't enough, she was partially drenched. This made her clothes stick on her skin revealing more of her curves than ever before.
Her hair were completely all around the place and her eyes were completely puffy and red, undoubtedly as a result of crying. She looked like a complete mess.
A hot, sexy, fucked mess, to be precise. And who's better fuckable than the one who just got pounded like a bitch.
Even Naruto was surprised by how believable she made it seem.
Every one of them went hard just by looking at her. Many of the men couldn't control themselves at such an alluring sight in itself as they shouted calling her from everywhere around. She, however, ignored them promptly and went on towards the kitchen.
"Hey stupid whore, didn't you listen to us? Want me to come over there and push my dick down your throat myself?!", someone shouted.
She ignored him too, showing no signs of acknowledgement as she walked to the kitchen swaying her round ass almost as if intentionally.
Naruto facepalmed. 'Damnit, who told you to dress up like that, Margaret-san? I did but I thought you'd keep it in moderation. These guys will actually go overboard if I don't do something. I guess that's what she's hoping, that I'll handle it somehow. Come on, this is a serious situation. How can you be so ignorant during all this?'
He decided to handle it on his own. "If you don't remember, I'm the one who just did that to her, dumbass. And now I told her to go make me something to eat. So she'll listen to me, obviously. Unless you can cook me something better, nobody better disturb her in between."
"Huh?! So you're now giving us orders? Just because you managed to do her once, you think she's your property? I don't think I can sit back and let you have whatever you want.", the guy said.
A few murmurs were in his support.
"I ain't giving no one orders. But I know that at this moment I'm hungry as fuck. And if someone does interfere when my food is being made, I hope he's ready to be pounded into shit.", Waraji growled, "To answer your question, yes. I do claim her. I'll do it whenever I want. Wherever I want. I don't care who has her rest of the time. I broke her the first time, it's only fair that I get to keep the same. So anybody still wanna pick up a fight?"
He unsheathed his sword partially to show that he was being serious.
The other guy gulped and sat down mumbling. He was too much of a wuss to actually accept a duel with the big guy. Whatever murmurs were supporting him, suddenly quieted down.
"Hahahahaha, you are one scary man, Waraji.", the drunkard said, "But worry not. This is your day, as we said. Just for today though, whatever you say works. Let's not get into fights and enjoy this day. The Land is now ours and so is everyone and everything in it."
The annoyed man seemed to cool off a bit. "Good. I just don't want anyone to fuck up the atmosphere. I'm in a really good mood today."
He suddenly stood up trying to change the situation. "Let's forget whatever happened. Everyone, drink up as much as you want! All of the booze is on me today."
Some of the ones on his table were surprised, as one of them said, "Hey hey. You know that'd cost a lot, right? We might be free to do a lot of things but still we'll have to report to boss about where all that liquor went."
Waraji just seemed to chide it off saying, "It's fine. I'll plunder those villagers even more until I square all that money up. There's no limit to exploitation, is there?!", and then started laughing.
And then he slapped the ass of a random girl passing by who was getting back to the kitchen in a hurry. "Hey you! Bring the best booze on the table!"
He moved his hand around in every direction as he ordered, "Every one of you better hurry up or you'll regret it big time. We ain't got all day."
With some support in the form of cheers from the crowd (after all not everyone is dumb enough to reject the offer of free alcohol), the women hurried to the kitchen in a frenzy. Some exited the hall, as they were meant to be sent to the storage room for bringing all the extras.
It would have been a lot easier if the kitchen was blocked from the view of the mercenaries in the hall. He could have easily banged the door shut once everyone was inside and then taken on the bad guys.
However, there was a clear view of the inside as they were connected not by a solid wall but merely a window grill. Moreover, there were always two persons stationed inside at a time to prevent any funny (lesser word for poisonous) business with the food by the workers.
Most of them were muscleheads, but it looked like at least some had a general idea of managing a working structure.
He kept on engaging in small talk with the men, while the women kept oscillating between the halls with empty and refilled beer glasses. After sometime, it was Margaret who came outside and she had a plate of food in her hands.
Everyone was disappointed as she had wrapped a dry sheet around herself under the cooking apron. She still looked as neutral faced as she had any day before this one.
She came to his table and put the plate in front of him without saying anything, just looking at him with anticipation. He took the spoon and tasted the dish.
Not a few seconds passed and he smashed the spoon on the table. "What the fuck is this?! This thing doesn't have any salt at all. You think I can eat this? Go and add salt to it so at least it's edible. I'm too hungry to wait for another one, else I'd have smashed this on your face. Now, what are you waiting for, huh? Get going!"
For some reason, she didn't seem to mind at all. She took the plate and walked back calmly from where she came.
"Haha! Looks like you fucked up too much of her that it's showing in her cooking now.", the drunkard sneered.
Naruto ignored the remark completely as he was too focused somewhere else. Not half a minute later, the kitchen door went shut and bolted from the inside. It was Margaret who did that.
Everyone was surprised and someone shouted at once, "Hey, what the fuck? Open that damn door or I'll see to that you're fucked when this is over. We got the whole town now, we'll get someone else to cook for us."
She came to the window grill and showed him the middle finger. "I'll see who's fucked when this is over! Certainly not me, you piece of shit!."
The man turned red with rage as he jumped up from his seat and exclaimed, "That's it! I'm going to fucking kill her."
As he had almost made his way towards the kitchen door, he was abruptly stopped by the big mercenary who appeared there out of nowhere. He was surprised but then even more angered, said,
"Hey Waraji, you bastard. You still going to defend her after she said all that? What did she do, turn all of your rotten brain into a mushy slime? As if there wasn't one there already. Get the fuck out of my way!"
"Now now, that isn't a very polite way to address someone if he's your friend. Let me show you some proper etiquette.", Waraji said, right before he kneed the man in the gut.
He was surely not prepared for this as much of his chugged beer came right back up with that hard impact. The burly man picked him up by the back of his vest and tossed him away into the crowd. He crashed onto some tables before he fell on the floor and was knocked out.
Everyone got hostile at once.
"You better have a good reason to do that, Waraji. Because if you don't, you'd better be ready for some serious punishment. Boss already said that he won't allow us fighting one another like this.", the drunkard said, "Nothing personal, but you took things too far. Just because we said it's your day doesn't mean you can do whatever shit you want and get away with it. So either tell the guy you're sorry or it won't end pretty for you."
Waraji just cracked his neck before he said, "Okay guys, it was nice meeting you and all but….. playtime's over."
Before anyone had the chance to ask anything, Naruto dropped his henge.
(A/N : That's the end for the Waraji cosplay, so I hope those detesting him being the temporary main character must feel relieved now. xD)
Everyone was dumbfounded as the man vanished into a burst of smoke and all that was left seemed to be a weird child with whiskers on his face.
"Is…..is that a new magic trick you learnt or what, Waraji?", someone voiced.
Naruto was too bored to explain to them that their friend was knocked out somewhere in town miles away from here. However, immediately afterwards, one of the observable ones caught eye of something that would explain their doubts.
"Look out, he ain't Waraji! He's wearing a shinobi Hitai-ate. I've seen ninjas changing their appearance completely. That would also explain why the big guy was acting weird today. Well, more weird than he normally does, at least."
Everyone looked at the boy filled with vexation, as they quickly realised that an enemy had infiltrated their base and he was a ninja, to add to that.
"So what? We'll clobber him in no time. He may be a ninja but we're mercenaries too. And there's more than a hundred of us. How did you even think you'd get out of here alive, you little punk?", someone shouted, trying to sound confident.
It worked. Most of them agreed with him as they pulled out their weapons while some overconfident ones proceeded believing that their bare fists were enough for someone of his stature.
Hoping to be the one to take the credit, that guy launched himself blindly onto the ninja. He started off with all his might, trying to wrap it up himself straight away. However as expected, it was all in vain.
Naruto dodged his attacks effortlessly, before he said, "Apparently, there are two ways to deal with people. There's this easy way, and there's this hard way."
He raised his fist into the air as he said angrily, "But the only way that would work on people like you would be the Beat-the-shit-out-of-them way.", and then punched him into the ground with a single strike, breaking half the bones on his face instantly.
Apparently, some of the women had gathered near the window grills out of curiosity, one of which was, no surprise here, Margaret. Still unsure of what was going to happen in the end, they were astounded to witness the young ninja's strength which was writ large in their expressions.
The mercenaries reflexively took a step backward, but since there wasn't an option, they started charging into him directly counting on the fact that they would be able to overpower him with the sheer numbers behind them.
Naruto was also fired up as he let loose into the arena. He was having fun absolutely destroying each and every last one of them, after what crimes he had witnessed them committing without as much as a grain of remorse. Their weapons were totally useless against his superior agility, as one at least has to be able to follow the enemy in order to attack them.
He didn't hold back on them, not minding the least in leaving them with everything but fatal injuries. As he cleared through most of them with ease, the rest got the idea through their skull that it was beneath their strength to deal with the young shinobi who seemed to have inhuman abilities. As expected, they turned towards the last resort.
"Hey you! Stop right there or she's dead!"
Naruto threw a guy who crashed on the wall of the other side before he heard the voice. He looked in the direction to find a man who had kept a girl in his grasp with a knife on her throat. The girl got scared out of her life when he pressed the tip on her skin as she dropped slack losing her consciousness.
Naruto clenched his teeth as he said quite audibly, "What? I thought I told them to get away as soon as they could. Leave her alone, you dumbass. Or I'll see to that you don't get out of her in one piece."
The mercenary pressed the knife on her throat even more as he replied laughing, "You really think I'll take up your bluff?! There's nothing you can do to save her. And I'm sure as hell you won't be popular with those girls once you let one of them die just because of your cowardice."
Naruto looked like he could curse someone right now, as he was backed into a corner. He couldn't use his power unless he allowed that girl to be killed. Slowly but reluctantly, he raised his hands above his head in defeat.
Everyone looked at each other in relief. It would have been disastrous had they not got their hands on the hostage when they did. One of them promptly marched forward to subdue the enemy, which was also the part where they would pay him back for all the nuisance by beating him senselessly.
As he reached out his hands to handcuff Naruto's, he was suddenly immobilized as the enemy swept him off his feet down on his kneels before he found himself painfully held by a tight grip on his hair.
Naruto changed his expression into a smirk as he whistled, "Just kidding."
Right after he said that, the enemy holding the hostage was suddenly elbowed in the gut, due to which he fell down on the ground coughing out blood. Everyone blinked as somehow the girl had not only regained consciousness but also acquired enough strength to take down one of them.
One of them caught a glimpse of the kitchen among all that chaos. And he called out loudly,
"Hey look! That girl is in there. How can she be outside at the same time?!"
They looked at the girls with genuine curiousity as nothing at the moment seemed to be clear. However, their expression turned to that of horror when the girl outside suddenly changed form and another one of the same blonde ninja came out of the smoke, following which all of the other ones did the same.
The whole bunch turned pale as they could see no one but Narutos all around them. There was no sign of any of the girls that were scattered among them a few moments ago. Apparently, the ninja had somehow used one of his deceptive tricks to fool all of them.
There was nothing they could have done as they realised that there was no chance of winning here. Disgraceful as it may be, all of them chose to flee rather than fight at this point. After all, the supposed hundred-to-one advantage they had (which wasn't working too in the first place) didn't seem to be applicable now either.
However, soon after, they found out that running away wasn't a choice they had been permitted to do.
"Shit! How can this door be jammed at a time like this?!", one of the men who tried to pull the door shouted.
Little did they realise that it was purposely done, by none other than the Kage Bunshin on the outside. There was no way they were getting out of that door.
It was signalled clearly by Naruto as a man crashed into the ones trying to flee, effectively knocking them all out in one go. The crowd looked hopeless as they couldn't find any possible exit from their fate.
"Nobody's going anywhere today. I already said it, right? The party's on me today.", Naruto said as he punched his palm cracking his knuckles.
And then the carnage began.
As the events unfolded on one side, everyone on the other side of the partition was equally astonished. The women were pushing into one another to take a peek at what was the clamour all about.
Among them, Margaret stood in a trance remembering how perfectly the plan had been formulated and executed, all while the young man delivered on his promise.
(Flashback)
"……Now, I've formed a plan of action and I hope it will work nicely. I expect that you can handle it well. Here's what we'll do.", Naruto started.
"First, I go out there being transformed into the same form, start up a conversation, act all leisurely. On my cue, you have to come outside and walk straight away to the kitchen. This is where it all starts. Talk to all of the workers, and get across just this one point : No one, absolutely no one should be present in that enclosed hall while I deal with them. You don't have to explain everything, keep it brief. How you do it is entirely up to you."
"I'll give them an excuse to clear away. Once you're out, don't get back in. That's it. I'll take care of the rest of it.", he finished.
"All of that is fine but don't you think they'll get suspicious once no one comes in to give them their drinks? I know for a fact that many would raise havoc in under a minute if that happens.", Margaret cross questioned, "Judging by how you seem to want it go so smoothly, I think that it won't be enough."
Naruto had a knowing smile on his face, as he couldn't seem to help but digress a bit.
"You know, when I was training I used to read all these manuscripts and mission reports that were in the records. And that was after I had read all the principles involved in site infiltration and a hostage rescue. Safe to say that I've come to understand a lot just by doing that, even though this is the first time I'm executing it. Now the only problem here was that there were a lot of people involved in the rescue, and even though infiltration is possible, the record of a fully successful rescue mission was rare, if at all present.", he said.
He raised a finger to indicate that she let him complete his talk first, as she was tempted to interject.
"However, the people we're against are fortunately too dumb, at least in my opinion. And luckily, I've got just the thing that would let me work in more numbers than just one person. Let me show you a magic trick!"
He raised his left hand to form half of a sign which though was enough to accomplish what he wanted. In a matter of seconds, the cramped space was filled with a dozen people identical to Naruto. To her surprise, all of them poofed once again and now there were standing many of the girls that were gloomily working with her outside just a few minutes ago.
Something clicked to her as she realised what he was so confident about. No one would notice if the hostages were just replaced by identical clones. That was something so simple, yet so unreal that it couldn't be looked as an obvious thing.
"I realised that I have just the perfect technique in my arsenal to execute this plan. I can be any number of people that I want. Now, I just hope this works well enough.", he said.
She just stood agape awed at his trademark jutsu.
When he knew that she had understood everything, he added, "We'll take care of the two guys inside the kitchen in an instant, so that'll be no problem. And we'll keep replacing mostly outside the door whenever some goes out to fetch the booze in storage. Yeah, and before I forget, I need to give you the confirmation signal too."
"A confirmation signal? You can't do something like that, they'll know directly that you're trying to do something you're not supposed to.", Margaret asked in confusion.
"Hey it's not like I'm asking you to look for a thumbs up or anything.", Naruto said as he laughed genuinely.
He added, "Look, we need to be very subtle. I know what we'll do. While you're in the kitchen, cook something. That will buy us good time while you'll have an excuse to ask around for stuff. Waste some more time letting it get stale. Bring it to me. If the work isn't done, I'll ask you to go back and get the food re-heated. That way we can get more time to evacuate."
"And if it's done? Wait, how are you going to know that in the first place?", she asked.
"Don't worry about that. I can sense people's presence.", Naruto replied.
She looked at him unable to understand anything of that sort but wondered that what exactly was that he actually couldn't do.
"And well, I can't just sit there and compliment you for the good cooking. I'll have to send you back. So I don't know, maybe I'll just complain about salt or something? You just go back and shut the door, lock everyone in.", he said.
"And then what?", she asked, hoping that he won't give her the same answer again. She still thought it was a bit of an overconfidence that he'd be able to take on all the mercenaries. But his reply was one in which she couldn't have found an ounce of hesitancy.
"Just sit back and enjoy the show."
(Flashback ends)
She was pulled back from her thoughts when someone came flying down the air and crashed into the window in front of them. Everyone took a step back reflexively.
It was the drunkard who had brought their menace of an enemy into this place. He was already knocked out as blood tricked down his head while he slided down and fell onto the floor.
Apparently, he was the last one out of them all. After a few minutes of ruthless (pleasing, to the other side of the wall) thrashing of the ruffians, it was over. The clones disappeared out of existence one by one after all the punching, kicking, throwing and suplexes they did.
The only one left standing in the arena was the one and only young shinobi from the Land of Fire.
He was short of breath, as he calmly stood there observing everybody around him. No one was getting back up anytime soon, that was for sure.
He walked slowly towards the kitchen where all of them were locked in. Even though he saved them, a lot among them were still scared of the guy. Who wouldn't be scared of some monster who single handedly crushed an entire camp of hired-guns?
Not her though. Not Margaret.
She pushed away the rest of them as she hurried on through the crowd to let their saviour inside. After all, this would be the first time in their life that they wouldn't be scared walking through this very door, and it was all thanks to him.
She unlatched the door and opened it to find him waiting in front of it patiently. He trudged inside after giving a nod of acknowledgement. Everyone backpedaled to give him way to wherever he wished to go.
He looked around a little bit as if to locate something, and then promptly moved towards the sink. Once he reached there, he started washing his hands. Midway through, he paused as he felt a little odd with all the stares directed at him.
He turned back a little and said, "Well, what are you waiting for? I thought everyone wanted to get out of this place as soon as they could. Now all you are just standing there staring at me."
He resumed washing off the blood that had blotched on his hands while whistling out a tune. Once he had finished doing that, he turned to find everyone just standing there looking at him.
"What? I know this is a kitchen but I didn't think anybody was going to use this place any longer. Don't tell me you people plan to use this place for living or something!", he asked.
The crowd looked at him with an indiscernible expression. The assumption was in itself extremely ridiculous yet rib-tickling and they would surely have laughed only if not for the fact that they were totally confused as to what the hell was exactly going on.
One of them voiced her doubts. "Umm…..excuse me, whoever you are. We are grateful for what you have done here but there are even more people outside--"
She was interrupted in between as a horde of people entered the hall in a hurry. Those present included the women who were made to exit the hall as well as the ones working outside, alongwith the men who were made to do gruelling physical labour and then chained inside. They could be seen as heavily malnourished, deprived of the bare minimum food, as one could make out the number of ribs just by watching them.
Some people were related to each other. There could be seen brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, husbands, wives and their children. Some were made to leave their families by threatening to harm them, thus having to work in this hellhole alone. Still, at the end of the day, they were all people of the Land of Waves. Everyone was concerned of their as well as others' well being. And it showed in their expressions.
Naruto sensed the anxiety as he told them calmly, "There's no reason to panic. I have taken care of every mercenary that was around these parts. Now, there's no one to stop you from going back. You're as free as a bird. Go back to your families. Go back……home."
"But….. they'll come back for us. And the people in town--"
"ARE completely fine. It was me who said that the bridge builder had been killed. I was lying. The people sent to destroy the bridge have been defeated. Not only you, the whole land is now liberated. And the people of the land itself are the ones to deserve the credit.", Naruto declared, "Now, get going as soon as you can! The weather is getting worse."
Everyone looked at other to reaffirm, before they broke into rejoice. The place erupted into cheers as Naruto was subjected to countless amounts of handshakes, hugs and kisses, much to his discomfiture. Many of the young women took extra effort and time to show their appreciation as a way to cozy up, from what Margaret could clearly see.
Eventually, everyone huddled out of the establishment though, as they didn't want the mercenaries to get back up before they fled and also the weather really was getting worse, as Naruto had rightly pointed out.
The only person left in the place was Naruto, except for one other.
"Margaret-san, why are you still here? You should leave with everyone else, or it might be dangerous.", he asked.
"I certainly will. But I'm sure I'll feel even safer going with you rather than everyone else combined, if we're talking just about the danger here.", she replied.
"Not happening. I don't plan to go back to town just yet. I have yet to do the most important thing out of all.", he said.
Without context, Margaret caught the wrong impression.
She turned different shades of red as she thought, 'Most important? Here? W-wait, there's just the two of us in this whole place. Could it be….that he wants to……No! I shouldn't think like that. He's just a young boy. But again, he's young so he might be curious. He can even force me to do whatever he wants. Not that I would particularly have any problem with that……but hey, he's not that type of a person!"
Naruto looked around as he was drying his hands and spotted something he was seeking. He walked to the plate of food that was lying around for sometime now, although it was prepared specifically for him. He took a seat on the granite counter top, mumbled a quick Itadakimasu and started gobbling it down his palate. It didn't look like he wanted to eat in a hurry, but subconsciously he was getting impatient.
'Oh, he was talking about food. How silly of me!', she facepalmed.
However, Naruto picked it up from her reaction. He could've come up with some witty remark, but the situation called for being more earnest.
Correcting her misconception (the actual misconception though, he didn't get), he said, "I wasn't talking about the food, no offence. But there are more pressing matters at hand. Just like the people here, there are more in other places. Most of all, I have to find Gatō at any cost."
It didn't take a moment for her to brush aside the statement about the food as she was stunned by the fact that he was trying to take down the head of this wickedly criminal organization all by himself. Now she didn't have a doubt that he wasn't your average person, but shinobi have their limits too. After all, he was visibly breathing heavily as he was overstressing himself on chakra again.
"Look, I would love to do that too more than anything else. But I don't think you are in the best condition. Rest for today and go save them tomorrow. I don't think you came alone here so bring along more help too, it will be easier that way.", she said.
He didn't change his expression as he finished the food and pushed aside the plate.
"No can do. This ends today, no matter what I have to do. I have come too far to just leave it in between.", he replied, completely unfazed.
She wanted to protest but knew that he was too much of a stubborn guy to persuade. "Fine. Do what you want. But I don't think you know as much about here as you should until now. I can help you with that if you let me come with you."
"No way that's happening. I need all civilians to evacuate as soon as possible, which includes you as well…….phew….but I guess you're right.", he said, "Tell me whatever you know about the rest of the outposts. I hate to bother you about this but I think it's better to go as prepared as one can be."
"Well, in that case you got lucky.", Margaret said, "All of the small fry from camps were gathered here today because they wanted to fight some strong guys like you on the bridge, I think."
"There must be some left. Gatō wasn't here, after all.", Naruto asked.
"Of course, he isn't going to be. This is only the base from which the mercenary strategies were planned and carried out. There are two more levels of operations above this one up the ladder.", she explained, "The one on top will be the headquarters where, needless to say, you can find Gatō."
Naruto hurriedly interjected, "Then that's where I need to go. We can skip the other one. If Gatō is done for, everyone else in his organisation will flee out of fear. Tell me where it is!"
"Listen to people when they're trying to talk. That's what you get for being impatient, loss of your own precious time.", Margaret said with an annoyed look, "Gatō is very cautious about his whereabouts, and only a handful of men are allowed to communicate with that place. At least that's what the rumours say. But I'm sure that nobody here had hold of that information. You will have to go to the other one, if you want to have any chance."
Naruto clenched his teeth as he said, "I don't care what I have to do or where I have to go, that son of a bitch is not going to get away from me at any cost."
She gave a tiny smile before she continued, "But that's no easy task. The man in charge of that place is bad news himself."
"And why is that? Since you're saying this even after seeing what I can do.", Naruto asked.
"Not that I doubt your abilities. But you should know about him. Rumours say that Gatō specially brought him from somewhere really far away. He is the mastermind behind all of what happens in our land. And it is because of his condition that his younger brother be taken care of, that Izquierdo was put in charge here. Even though there were more suitable persons for that role, Gatō must've been really in need of the elder one's service to compromise on the position in this way.", she replied.
"So basically this Izquierdo guy was actually endorsed by his elder brother to lead the hired guns. Everything that goes around from trade to smuggling is under the command of the other guy. Gatō just sits around comfortably planning the next land he wants to plunder.", Naruto said growling.
"You could say that. So be careful, even more than now.", she said, "He's like the 'right' hand man of Gatō in all sense. Do you know what his name is?"
Naruto thought for a second and made a crunched up face as he said, "I know life sometimes sends puns directly at you, but I could've never imagined that they'd be this bad."
She giggled a little before she said,
"Also, there's something else that I want to tell you……"
[P.S. : For those who don't get it, Izquierdo means 'left' in Japanese. So you can guess the other one, 'right'? ;) ]
Scene Break and Time Skip
A wagon stopped in front of the huge concrete building that stood imposingly upon the hundreds of people working underneath.
"G-Good evening, Sir!"
A guard saluted the person inside the wagon.
In the midst of an inclement weather, they were initially alerted by the approaching horses against the upwind. However, after confirming the identity of the person inside, they dutifully stepped aside.
An attendant held an umbrella over the short statured person while he walked to the inside.
"Apologies for the inconvenience, Sir. We would have been able to attend to your convenience better but I'm afraid we didn't get word that you'd be here.", he said.
The short guy waved off his bodyguards now that he was inside a safe place and then replied,
"The weather suddenly changed outside when I was going back to my place, and now it looks like there can be a thunderstorm anytime. Do you really think I'd get the time to send a messenger?", he said, "Moreover, this place belongs to me. I can do whatever I want and wherever I want. So next time I find some dumbass like you lecturing me, I'm going to throw him into the sea."
The man quivered under the reprimand as he said, "Apologies for my wrongdoing, Gatō-san. We're pleased to have you here. I request that you take a seat and make yourself comfortable while I fetch him."
"Yeah, go get your boss. It's been a few days since he came over with the reports. I'd like to have an update on what's happening in the town as soon as I can.", Gatō said with some apprehension.
"Yes, Sir. Please excuse me.", the attendant said as he hurried away.
The place was nowhere near as lavish as Gato's own headquarters, the reason being the latter place as more of a residential setup for the man. On the other hand, this building was more of an office workspace where everything relating to the surreptitious affairs of the shady business was dealt with.
"I've got some stiff joints sitting in that carriage all day. Might as well take a walk.", Gatō said to nobody.
Scene Break and Time Skip
"Gatō-san! There you are. I've been looking all over for you.", a deep voice echoed in the wide room.
Gatō turned and looked at the man who had called out. Apparently, he was the one in command of the whole base, and he sure looked like it. However, the short statured man was unfazed by his presence as well as the state he was in.
Before he was interrupted, he was molesting a girl. No kidding, he was standing in front of a table on which a girl was bent on her back. She was probably working there, judging by her attire. She was looking the other way helplessly in disgust and embarrassment while Gatō was roughly groping her breasts.
"I know. I was waiting for you but then I saw something that grabbed my attention. And then I couldn't resist grabbing something back.", Gatō said releasing her and straightening his clothes a bit, "That ass was something I just couldn't ignore."
"Haha, Gatō-san, I think you're stressed a bit by the bridge builder and townspeople's doings. I don't usually see you get so impatient over just a girl.", that man said.
"You're right. I don't know what's happening there. Moreover, that Kiri swordsman might be called as one of the best or whatever, but I don't trust him a bit.", Gatō said, "Anyways, I'm still not done with this girl."
He looked at the girl who was whimpering with fear, "You're going to be coming with me. Pack your stuff and say your goodbyes, whatever. Although you're not going to need those clothes anyway, haha. You're going to be used better for pleasing me rather than doing this work."
The other man looked at Gatō who left the room asking him to come with him, and then at the girl as he said, "You heard what he said. Do whatever you want within an hour and then we'll be throwing you with his other stuff in the carriages."
The girl could almost feel her heart burst by the fear as she bowed and nodded obediently while the guy left.
She fell down instantly as the door shut, while her legs gave out due to the fear. She took a few deep breaths as she remembered just how she had landed into this state…..
(Flashback)
The girl sighed as she opened the door to the huge room. This had been her daily routine as a janitor. There were only spared a few janitors for the whole establishment, and thus the responsibility on each one was as big as a mountain.
Granted, it wasn't like just three or four people, but only enough were assigned to cover everything humanly possible and she knew that she definitely was overworked.
Today, the girl had the duty to clean up and dust off the archive room. This was one of the once-in-a-while tasks and it was going to take a whole day to finish it up properly. Even though this place was rarely used, inefficient work was highly intolerated here, and she knew it very well. Oversight wasn't overlooked.
She had just started to dust off the cartons and folders when she heard the sound of a window being closed.
"Hello, is anyone else here?", she asked loudly.
She was a bit creeped out as nobody was so weird enough to hang out at a place like this.
'Probably another janitor, must've mixed up the schedule. I'll let them know that my duty is here today.', she thought.
As she turned around the corner, she ran into another person who was of the same size as her. Being surprised, she lost her balance and fell down on her butt.
"Watch where you're going!", she said aloud instinctively.
When she looked up, she encountered a sight she couldn't imagine even in her dreams, and only one thought ran through her mind, 'I'm good as dead.'
The man standing in front of her was none other than Gatō, the head of the entire organization under which she had been made to work. Why was he here? This was noplace for someone like that to roam around.
"Care to say that again, bitch?", Gatō asked annoyed.
She jumped right back up and fell down on his feet crying, "Gatō-sama, please forgive me. I didn't know you were here. I really am sorry. I would do anything to make up for it. Please don't kill me. I'll do anything!"
Gatō looked at her with anger but then slowly calmed down as he oogled her body.
She was a young woman, maybe in her early twenties at best. She was also short in height, thus he felt more of a sort of confidence in dealing with her. She had long blonde hair, but it seemed that the visual was more due to her own small size than the length of her hair. Also, she had sparkly blue eyes which looked perfectly pretty on a heart shaped face. The freckles seemed to diminish a bit of her beauty, else she'd easily be eligible to become a model, one could say.
"You got some nice curves there. You should be used better than cleaning some old rooms. What is that guy doing?", Gatō said.
She shivered and said, "I am incredibly honoured, Gatō-sama. I'd keep doing my work diligently as always. Please forgive my rudeness this once."
"Uh uh. You're not going to be let away that easily. If you want to be forgiven, you'll have to work for it.", Gatō said in a lecherous manner.
She knew there was no way out of it. The fact that her life was being spared, even if conditionally, was something she could take as a relief. She knew it could have been really worse if their boss had caught her like this. He was ruthless in himself and the one she had just insulted was even his superior.
She neared him while on her knees and tugged at his belt. She had had this kind of experience before like other women and it wasn't pleasurable at all. The men would use their mouth like it was a free for all pussy and then dumped her after they were satisfied.
In this camp, work was strictly disciplined. No one was to interfere in anyone else's work, be it the workers or Gato's men. However, if they are off duty, Gato's men had complete freedom to do whatever they wanted with whoever they wished.
She was almost about to puke as she broke down remembering the previous times. A hand made its way on her head. Her heart shrank even more following that gesture. This was going to be even worse than she had hoped.
However, the hand started moving on her head slowly and soothingly, almost as if reassuring. She didn't need to look up as Gatō suddenly sat down and looked in her eyes with a smile.
Of course, it was creepy as hell. Still, the development was unexpected on his part. What was he doing? Did the top guy of the corporation play dirty jokes or something? Or did he have bipolar personality?
"Shh, it's okay...I didn't mean to scare you. But I needed to check that you weren't a spy sent on me. Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you. If anything, I want to save you.", he said.
"What?", she asked meekly, confused.
"Okay, I'll tell you. Just promise me you won't shout.", he said.
She nodded following his orders. After all, it was best at the moment not to piss him off. But then suddenly, he burst into smoke and someone else appeared.
(A/N : Okay, wait wait! I know I'm back with the Transformed mc vibes with Gatō again right after I switched back from Waraji but hey, it's important for the story. xD)
A young boy, a little older than probably half her age. He was wearing a headband and had whiskers on his cheeks. Although, what striked her was that the smile Gatō had given her the creeps with, seemed to fit almost naturally on this handsome boy's face.
Still, she was too much surprised to control her reflexes as she shrieked. Thankfully, Naruto was just in time to cover her mouth so that nobody could've heard her.
He released her when she looked like she had calmed down enough and said, "I know it must be very confusing as to what is happening, but there's not much time. Listen to me very carefully."
"No! No, wait. Who even are you? Why should I listen to you? Kid, whoever you are this is not the place to be playing around. Get out of here and I won't tell on you.", she said quickly.
"I am a shinobi from the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and I am here to rescue everyone. I'd appreciate if you support me.", Naruto stated, tired of being called a kid everywhere.
She started laughing as he said that. "A shinobi? As in, a ninja? Hahaha, I don't think I can believe that. Even if you are, what could a ninja do among hundreds of enemy soldiers. Go back and hoodwink some travellers if you want. That might let you rip off some money if they're dumb enough to be tricked."
Naruto frowned at her statement. "What did you say?"
"Exactly what you heard. Ninjas are a bunch of frauds who deceive people into giving them money. I heard that they even have whole villages like that in big nations. Thank goodness we don't have those kinds of people. I'd rather work forcibly rather than being fooled by the likes of you.", she said.
Naruto grabbed her by the collar and pushed her down on the table. Before she could get up, he was above her.
"Listen here, you little ignorant miss.", Naruto said with a glare that was enough to shut her up.
It wasn't the one threatening to kill her. She had seen a lot of them, and this fact set her heart at ease. The look in his eyes could never in a million years could be of someone who could causally take a life.
Yet, it was intimidating as hell. You could absolutely not be dumb enough to talk back to him, that was for sure. He had already made an impression on her as her heart started beating faster, though she wasn't sure if it was in a good or a bad way.
Oblivious of all that, he continued, "I don't have the time to waste on someone like you. I wouldn't even be talking to you if we had that luxury, because there must be someone more sensible than you here. Although, I can't restrain myself from telling you one thing. Don't ever make false accusations about shinobi, and even more so out of ignorance. I know for a fact that you have never even seen a ninja with your own eyes, have you?"
She shook her head quickly as she said, "N-No, my uncle used to tell these kinds of stories to me whenever he was drunk. He said he heard them from other people."
"I guessed so.", Naruto said, "Now, listen carefully."
She gulped again as she prepared to listen to whatever he said. His tone was so authoritative that she could've stripped right that moment if he asked.
"I have to rescue each and every one of you people out of here. And for that I'll need complete support and bit of appreciation if possible, certainly not mockery.", he said irritatedly, "Now I am going to tell you exactly what you have to do, so listen carefully."
She listened to his plan intently and then nodded quickly as she understood what she had to do. It wouldn't be going too far to say that she was impressed with his skill and aptitude, even more so due to her low standards for what she considered of a shinobi.
Suddenly though, they heard the creaky sound of the opening of a door.
There was no time to talk anymore, but Naruto was thankful that he got just enough to convey the evacuation plan to her.
"Forgive me, I hope you don't keep it against me. I have no choice but to do this.", he said.
She was surprised as he turned into the same stunted old man but even more so as she shrieked when he grabbed both her breasts and squeezed them hard.
"What--"
"Gatō-san! There you are. I've been looking all over for you."
(Flashback over)
And that's how she ended up like this.
There was some doubt in her mind over taking the word of a complete stranger, and that too while her opinion of shinobi wasn't too good earlier.
Nevertheless, she couldn't forget the deep blue eyes that bore into her own. Those were enough for her to know that he too was risking his life by coming here, all just in order to save everyone.
Now it was upon her to inform everyone of the same, and not get in the way of the young ninja in any way, at the very least. With this in mind, she got up and hurried to play her part.
Scene Break
"Please make yourself comfortable, Gatō-san.", the burly man said politely.
"Oh, I will. This isn't as comfortable as I'm used to though.", Gatō replied as he dropped down on a couch in the man's office.
The man laughed at the comment as he said, "We can only make the best from what we are supplied with, Gatō-san. That is up to you to decide how much we can spend on things here."
"Heh, I suppose yes. I'll think about it once I look at how well things are going around here. With the situation in town and your brother being there, I can't seem to sit around idly, Derecho.", Gatō said.
"I agree with that. You looked restless just ago with that bitch too. Anyways, I'll bring the files if you're so intent on it.", the man said, "Although, one thing I must ask. You always call us Der and Iz, what's with the formality?"
"Well, I thought I'd rather address you properly at least in front of your subordinates. The younger one I'd still call Iz, he's too dumb to even care haha.", Gatō said.
The reply came in the form of a cackle. "I guess he is."
The man stood up and went to an almirah. Naruto saw the expression of suspicion on his face for a moment, right before he turned. While he was fumbling with the keys, Naruto remembered the conversation he had with Margaret before he left...
(Flashback)
"A demon?"
"Yes, that is what I heard.", Margaret said.
"What do you mean by that?", Naruto asked.
"Look, I've been at that place once. It's nothing like what you saw here. There's complete discipline in the whole facility, because the one in charge is nothing like his brother. He has instilled such fear inside the minds of his workers that no one dares to disobey him.", Margaret explained.
She continued, "I was terrified of the place myself. It was like there was nothing wrong yet you could feel the fear creeping up your spine like something will grab you by the throat right around the corner. I heard that if anyone broke any rules, then they would be punished so severely that most of them would die. The boss himself broke the arms of one of his slaves because he asked for an extra bread slice. Each and every rule is to be followed to the letter. Naruto-san, if you sneak in there then please be extra careful."
Naruto was listening to her seriously but was also kind of amused at her talk. "Really? What else did you hear?"
"I didn't pry much, I was scared. The women working there weren't unfriendly, I could just see that they were equally frightened of being found engaging in idle gossips. All in all, that place is very dangerous. You should stay careful at all times. That man is not good news, he's strong and clever.", she replied.
Naruto turned away and it looked as if he was deliberately ignoring everything she just said. However, it didn't take a moment longer to have her doubts cleared.
She looked at his fists which were clenched so hard he could bleed, and there was a dark aura that seemed to be emanating around him. She couldn't see anything, yet she could feel the chills.
Naruto turned slightly and looked back at her.
"Reach home. Take care of your children. Don't worry about me. If anything, the one who's going to see a real demon is not me. Stay safe, Margaret-san."
Even if it was just for a moment, she could look far deeper in his eyes than she'd ever seen anywhere. And there was something in that look that told her it wasn't merely a bluff.
She could just remain there frozen as he disappeared into the whirling leaves while her words vanished into thin air.
"Take...care... Naruto-san."
(Flashback over)
The man pulled out two thick folders and put them in front of Gatō.
"Here, I've categorised them for easier interpretation and calculations. One is for goods, other for services.", Derecho said.
Naruto didn't quite get what that was, but he played along nonetheless as he nodded. His primary focus was to buy as much time as he possibly could, although he also wanted to uncover the truth of the workings of the organisation.
A knock on the door interrupted them. A man poked his head inside right afterwards and nodded at Derecho.
"We've checked, sir. It's alright.", he said.
Derecho just nodded back and waved at him to go away. The man responded quickly as he closed the door lightly after giving a salutatory nod.
"What was that about?", Gatō asked.
Derecho just laughed loudly as he said, "Forgive me, Gatō-san, but I am not a very trusting person. When you suddenly dropped by, I had to cross check at your residence. And you were acting a bit out of the ordinary since the start. However, I do apologise for all this. As expected though, they informed us that you left quite a while ago and were headed in the vicinity of this area."
Gatō eyed him for a moment and then said, "Even so, if I'm right here in front of you how come you can't tell it's me or not?"
"The world is strange, Gatō-san.", Derecho said, "I once met a magician who could imitate oneself so precisely you couldn't even tell. He turned into my brother and I couldn't tell the difference. Even the voice was same. Maybe it wasn't magic, I've heard those shinobi villages teach these types of things to their soldiers. Still, we should be cautious."
Naruto was one push away from smirking so widely that his whole plan would've been ruined. Yet, he couldn't hide the gleam in his eyes as the informant outside the door vanished into smoke.
As the memories of the clone rushed in, he knew what had happened. The men at the communications had contacted Gato's hideout, but Naruto's clones intercepted and took care of them right away. Gato's office was easily conveyed that it was just a service check to see if the line was still working smoothly. One clone had transformed into the man and deceived Derecho of the truth.
Setting aside the thoughts, he focused on the files in front of him. He picked up the one labelled "Goods" and opened it. As he kept reading the matter, he didn't know if he was more surprised by what they were doing or how they were doing it.
The records were quite detailed with all the major transactions, all cleverly handled even including the technicalities of the bribes. How all the goods were smuggled across the lands, how the people were exploited at the expense of unethical politicians and businessmen.
He remembered the old saying which said that ironically there is actually more honesty going on in the works of corruption. How true that reverberated in this situation, he could see.
"Now that the townspeople are almost out of our way, we can bring in the dope stuff. Everyone will be tripping out in the nights. Once the young ones get used to them, we can sell them the junk at high prices.", Derecho said.
(A/N : I know this kind of vocabulary might seem totally funny to you guys, but I for one have never dealt with this kind of stuff so my knowledge is pretty much anything I could scrounge on the internet. Deal with it lmao.)
"And then when they'll be licking our feet to give them some crack, we'll get them to lure in the travellers. They're the ones to make hefty money from.", he added, "Gatō-san, I must say, I've never seen a more shrewd businessman than you in my life. Your thinking is quite logical yet conventional."
Naruto was angered but he knew the reality. This was one of the many tricks to make people addicted to drugs who are then forced to get more money in exchange for just enough drugs to keep them hooked. No wonder Gatō had such a bad reputation. Still, he was relieved that drugs hadn't yet reached this small town and fortunately their influence will never be spread in the young generation.
"I know. Let's hope we can speed up the process. The earlier we ignite the embers, quicker will be the spread of fire. By the time our distribution chain is ready, we'll have most of them dying for it. Loads of profit, easy way.", Gatō said.
"Haha, damn right. Lots of profit. Once we're connected to the Land of Water, we can easily smuggle anything as much as we want into the Land of Fire. And then we can extend our network into the smaller lands. Hopefully they won't be like the Land of Lightning, where the Daimyō sent his army to bust up our business.", Derecho said.
"Easy there. One step at a time. We'll get there eventually.", Gatō said rolling his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah I know. It's just that I feel so excited once things really get going my way. Nothing gives me more pleasure than doing what I want without any restrictions.", Derecho said, "And it's all thanks to you. I thought I'd spend my whole fucking life behind the bars but you somehow busted me out of there. I couldn't stand those stinking foods and filthy clothes. Hell, I had to forcefully make use of some dudes to keep myself in check, or I'd have gone crazy, you know what I mean."
"Yeah, whatever. Don't bring that up in front of me, I really don't care. It's repulsive, if anything.", Gatō said, putting his emotions into words.
"Haha, I'm sorry about that. But now because of you, my good-for-nothing brother has a good enough work to do. And me...I can eat what I want, wear what I want and kill who I want to.", Derecho said in a deep unsettling voice.
'I can't ever let these guys destroy the future of the children of this country.", Naruto thought.
He remembered the faces of the children he met in town and their innocent expressions. The ones who had stayed righteous against all odds and adversities. He wasn't going to let them fall into the unending loop of substance abuse, even if he had to burn Gato's whole business to the ground.
However, if he imagined that was the extent of it, then that thought was thrown out of the window. That was apparent on his face as soon as he had opened the "Services" file.
"Gatō-san, is something the matter?"
Naruto realised that he was so angry that he was about to smash the guy's face in when he recovered his neutral expression, albeit with the highest difficulty. The reason for the slip-up was evident, as the file contained information on people.
Slaves, to be precise.
There was listed everything that could be seen on a regular product's packaging data. Height, weight, age, built, characteristics of each individual and finally their price. Even more, they were divided into different categories.
While men were classified on the basis of their muscle power and strength, women were classified on their housework skills and even their body figures. What they were going to be used for, wasn't something too complex to figure out.
Half of them had 'approved' seal on their respective sheets, which possibly meant that some buyers had already settled prices for them. These people were about to be shipped to different lands, not only to the criminal organisations but also some noble families of faraway lands.
Naruto was angered beyond his limit, yet he only contained himself out of concern for the safety of the people inside the facility. Partly also because he knew he was going to put an end to this once and for all. After all, there was no lasting damage to anyone.
"No, nothing's the matter. I was just wondering why umm...this group hasn't had any buyers compared to the rest of them?"
He was trying his best to lead him into more conversation, but there wasn't much he knew about the trade. Not that he'd ever want to know more about this.
"Haha, now don't put the blame on me, Gatō-san.", Derecho said, "I told you to put the ugly bitches with the strong men, and throw some weak men in the good chicks. Now that you've grouped everything good together, why would anyone buy shit?"
"I see. Then do as you wish. You certainly have been spending a lot of time thinking on these things, so you know better. I was mostly concerned about capturing the town the past few days.", Gatō said.
"Yes, yes Gatō-san. I am so glad you appreciate my efforts. On that note, I would like you to see my latest experiment. You would certainly be interested.", Derecho said as he clapped his hands thrice.
Naruto wasn't listening to him as much as one shadow clone had poofed, flooding his mind with memories.
'Good, it's going well. All of them have been rounded up, now all that's left is for them to make a run for it. Hurry up, I don't think I can listen to his nonsense for much longer.', he thought.
In a few seconds though, someone came into the room carrying a silver set of kettle and two cups. A young girl was carrying the paraphernalia, who Naruto assumed to be about his age, although she seemed a bit weird looking. She also had this dull lifeless expression on her face like everyone else. There were a few different coloured sachets in the tray, alongwith a dark brown concentrate in a small bowl.
"And here it is. I already had called for it the moment I heard about your arrival. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.", Derecho said.
Naruto was alarmed at the unexpected drinks, which were purposefully called special. What if someone had got away from the clones and sent poisonous tea for him? Additionally, he couldn't understand what exactly was different about the ingredients.
The sachets contained sugar cubes and other condiments, which seemed a bit luxurious but nothing shady. Plus, from what he could smell, the brown liquid was nothing but the extract of sweet birch bark which was used in some places to enhance the flavour of tea.
Therefore, either the tea wasn't poisoned or the poison used was so well prepared and inconspicuous that only someone of the likes of Shizune would be able to prepare it. Since the latter was a remote possibility for these kind of people, he took a sip out of the cup.
"What do you say, Gatō-san?", Derecho asked.
"I don't quite understand what you wanted me to say, but I've had much better tea in my life than this one. I'm disappointed, if anything.", Gatō said.
'I said the truth. This isn't anything uncommon for a tea. Maybe he's trying to bluff me into accepting his lie. I won't be trapped.', Naruto thought.
For some reason, Derecho started laughing loudly.
"Enough of the jokes today, Gatō-san. We both know that the tea is your regular one.", he said.
"What I'm talking about is this thing.", he added.
Naruto's gaze followed the eyes of the man only to end up on the only other person in the room. It was the young girl who stood beside the man silently. Before he could think of anything, the man grabbed the girl's ass and shook it violently. The girl did not whimper or budge at all, the most she did was that she just tried to maintain her balance.
"Do you not see the fine piece of art I have created here?", Derecho asked.
He pulled the girl on his lap with a jerk and made her face Gatō. Slowly, he slid a hand upwards inside her clothes and started groping her, while the other hand was still busy squeezing her rear.
Naruto couldn't believe what he was seeing, what was happening or what he should do. He hadn't imagined in his worst dreams of something like this. Barely a few words were able to escape his mouth.
"Wh-what are you talking about? What are you doing to her? She's not even...", he asked.
"This is my most successful experiment, sir. It might not be completely perfect, but it's still worth a lot if we can use it well.", Derecho said evilly, "This is a master creation. A hole as tight as you can get anywhere, with no restrictions on the use. No complaints, no struggles. It will moan when you want and it will keep quiet when you want."
"How could you...?"
Naruto was hyperventilating at the moment, trying his best to collect his thoughts about what exactly was happening and all the ways on how it could not be real.
"Oh, that? I found this retarded one around here. Quite a fighter she tried to be. And if there's one thing I don't like, that is disobedience. Beat her up and made her know her place. Since there was no use for her, I thought I might as well use her in some way, you know. Moreover, you might already realise that my experiments are not only mental.", Derecho kept going proudly.
Naruto didn't want to think about it, but he already did. The moment she had entered the room, something about her seemed off. By the looks of it, she wasn't that old. However, her body seemed to be growing much faster than it should. Especially the parts which should be more developed in adults.
Derecho kept going on and on propelling his own side of the conversation, entirely missing the other side.
"I had sent for some new hormone drugs from the black markets. This is the result as you might enjoy. Although it's not as good as they claimed, still you can see some developments in the right parts. It's all because of you. I still remember what you told me. 'Women, children, sick, weak, old. Theft, robbery, rape, murder I don't care. Nothing matters, do what you want. All I want is good work from you. Keep my money flowing in, and you can treat the world like shit for all I care.' That really hit me good. I could finally do whatever I wanted."
"Do you..."
"And all of this is just like the prototype. We can get more like her and break them till they're like this. Then we can teach them anything we want to do like an animal and they'll just obey. You know, even when I almost choke it, there's not a single tear in its eyes. I have trained it so well that even the survival instincts are gone. It's your choice not to kill it or not. I'm sure some twisted fuck would actually kill one or two of them just because they couldn't pull out because of the pleasure."
"...not have any..."
"See here, I can't exactly show you that but here's an example.", Derecho said.
He grabbed the girl by the throat and lifted her up. She just protruded her tongue out and waited for the man to release her to let her catch breath. However, as he said, there were no signs of struggle. One could almost feel the last of survival instinct crumbling in the corner of her eyes, probably because of how much she would have had to endure all of this.
"As I said though, artificial drugs work only as well. I have been trying to get it done the natural way, you know every night I try my best. But I guess it's not just matured enough to start her cycle. Once that happens, I'll knock her up and then her body will take even better shape. We could even use her to--"
There was only a split second difference between the moment he saw Gatō move and when his world was knocked over.
"...shred of humanity left?!"
The people were forced to be dispersed in the front courtyard as debris was sent flying all over the place. Some of them were grazed or bruised by that, but no one encountered serious injuries.
Everyone looked at the source of the shockwave that flew through the wall.
Near the exit of the premises, a person was lying on his back, fighting unconsciousness. Blood was seeping through his hair and all over his face, the source of which was most probably a head injury.
He could feel the pain jolting through his body, from the limbs to his midsection. From what he could feel, one of his forearms was broken, a shoulder was severely dislocated and a few ribs were cracked. Occasional blackening of his vision also meant there was some concussion to his head.
He looked at the gray sky, thunder roaring at its full rage warning everyone of a brutal approaching storm. It seemed like a nightmare which was waiting to devour them and purge them of their sins.
A sharp gust of wind hit his face as his eyelids fluttered open.
"Huh? What is happening? What am I doing here?", he asked himself.
He closed his eyes and tried to recall what had just happened to him. He forced his mind to move back a few minutes to remember what he was doing. After more than a few seconds, he finally got it.
The last thing he saw when he turned was Gatō jumping up from his seat and then feeling a shock in his body like never before. He further remembered a punch coming his way in the end. Probably that was the source of all this trouble. But why would Gatō --
No, it wasn't Gatō. As his memory cleared from the concussion, he remembered seeing a blur of bright yellow hair. And then those eyes, scarlet red. It was as if death itself had knocked his daylights out. Even imagining those eyes once again sent a chill creeping up his spine.
Unbeknownst to him, everybody around was currently experiencing mixed emotions. They were told that the evacuation was going to be completely smooth and they wanted it to be the case. Yet, presently that didn't hold much merit. The source of all their fear lied right in the midst of their escape path.
However, this was only one side of the coin.
As far as anyone could remember, they had never seen him in this lamentable state. They watched him cautiously as he stood up on his wobbly feet, possibly more due to the effect of the concussion rather than fear. Or this is what he wanted to believe.
As they followed his gaze, all of them converged on a single point, from where he was flung outside. Standing on the edge of the hole was someone they had never seen, but they didn't have a hard time believing that he was the one behind the attack.
It wasn't the least but due to his innate physical appearance, but the evil aura emanating out of him which almost took a physical form. His eyes burnt bright red, whiskers took a more beastly form and the edges of fangs could have been seen under his lips.
Most of all was the killer intent radiating from his entire being, intimidating every single soul present there. Some could feel their heart throbbing, others took a few steps back and no one could meet eyes with him.
Except for Derecho. Through his hazy vision, he could see the bloodlust in his predator's eyes pretty clearly. Yes, he had already realised that he was the only prey here. He was stuck between the whirling dilemma of how he had got here in the first place and what could he even do to get out of this situation.
He looked at the headband that was tied around Naruto's forehand. He couldn't make out what nation he belonged to, but figured that he was undeniably a fearsome ninja. One that wasn't to be meddled with.
In the blink of an eye, the spot where Naruto stood was empty. Everyone was baffled, but Derecho knew. He didn't need his eyes to feel the evil killer intent directed at him. Every impulse of his instinct shouted at him to scamper away, but in the end he knew it'd be in vain.
Naruto was standing right on top of him, just behind his back. He could have beheaded the guy in a millisecond, if he wanted. Yet, it would've been too far a light punishment for his heinous crimes.
"P- Please, stop! Whoever you are, I don't know what you want, but I can give it to you. Money, contacts, information, drugs, women, slaves. Name it. I'll pay you double of whoever hired you. Let's negotiate.", Derecho said.
He was truly desperate to save his own skin so much that he was willing to trade anything for his life right now.
However, his only reply was a kick hard enough to send him gliding over the ground before he came to a stop in the middle of the courtyard.
"Sure, if you can."
Naruto almost growled in a deep voice. It seemed that despite being taken over by the Kyūbi chakra, he was still in possession of his own conscience.
"Give these people back their lives. Bring those people who were dear to them who had been killed back in this world. Take back all the suffering they have endured all this time because of you."
Derecho coughed up blood as he had a hard time breathing forcefully. Every effort to take in air was accompanied by shearing pain in his lungs. Moreover, that kick in his back had, without a doubt, caused permanent damage to his spine. This was because he wasn't feeling any sensations in his right thigh, although he could clearly see that it was dislocated.
Naruto grabbed him by the hair and dragged him to the front of the building. He lifted his head and made him open his eyes by twisting his arm.
When he opened his eyes in pain, he saw that the little girl was standing in front of him, near Naruto's shadow clone. She was looking at him with a blank expression, as if wondering what she was supposed to do in this kind of situation. It had never happened in that place before so everyone was at a loss.
"You want to negotiate? I dare you, give this little girl the smile she deserves on her face and I will leave you alone.", Naruto said.
Despite all his pain, Derecho started laughing madly.
"Smile? Have you lost it? That's no run of the mill brat wandering about in town giggling and laughing. I have been seeing it since the last few years and I've never seen an expression on that stupid fucking retard's fa--"
He suddenly shrieked in agony as Naruto lodged all his fingers into the ground with the use of senbon needles. Naruto shoved his head to the ground with his foot.
"Thought so. I don't need to hear another damn word from your mouth about her. And next time you refer the young girl as some object, will be the last sentence you ever speak.", Naruto said.
Everyone was quietly listening to the wails of the savage who had tortured them day and night. After all they had been through, nobody was particularly enthusiastic on enjoying any form of violence, but this had to be done. They knew hearing his cries was the only thing that would keep them from breaking cold sweats and nightmares in the future. It was necessary to know that he was as much flimsy a human as they were.
"I'm not going to kill you right away. You should stay here and repent the last moments of your life writhing in agony as you recall what barbarity you've brought upon these innocent men and women.", Naruto said.
By this time, the red aura around him was dissipating into air. His facial features were turning back to normal and his eyes had once again taken the usual shade of blue.
Derecho started laughing while coughing up blood at the same time due to his injuries as he said,
"Celebrate while you can. Gatō-san is not so naive that he will fall into any of your traps. He has called up numerous notorious mercenaries to crush the Wave Reform once and for all. Even you will be powerless when you face them. You had me by surprise, otherwise I could have let you taste a bit of my own strength. Regardless, you should have gone to the town to save your people. Instead, you stumbled upon here to save these few useless shits. My brother would have taken control of the whole town by now."
A deafening bolt of thunder roared across the sky.
Naruto looked at the warning of the impending storm and calmly replied, "Don't underestimate me. You're not the only one who's resourceful. Gatō will get what's coming for him, and no power in the world can save him now. I have already been to the bridge, and everyone has been saved from the attack."
"You can't be serious. There's no way someone could do all of that in a single day.", Derecho replied.
Nevertheless, Naruto didn't have any change in his expression. Despite repeated cries of the trounced criminal, there was no changing the truth. In the end, the man had accepted defeat.
All the eyes present there only held him in contempt, and nothing else.
Naruto snapped his fingers and shouted, "Show's over, poeple. Now scram like hell. There's no telling how bad this weather can get, it would be better to reach as close to home as possible before the downpour begins. When I reach back tomorrow, I expect every last one of you to be there. So watch out for each other until everyone's safe."
A moment or two later, more or less everyone got the message.
Naruto looked at the young girl, who was still blankly staring at the half-dead figure of her master.
"It's alright now. You can leave. You don't have to listen to him anymore.", Naruto said.
He took her hand and pulled her towards the people to hand her over.
"Come, everyone is here to help yo--"
He was stopped in his tracks when he felt a sting in his forearm. Looking back, he found the girl biting him in order to free herself. He immediately released her to which she reacted by turning back and running to the building.
"What's up with her?", he instinctively spoke aloud.
"She won't come with us, no matter what you try."
He certainly wasn't expecting an answer, as he turned towards the source of the voice in surprise. It was a woman from the crowd, looking at the little girl.
"And why is that?"
"For that you'll have to know about her. After that, you will realise it yourself.", the woman said.
Naruto looked at the darkening sky above him. Yet, he was surprised with himself when he nodded without any hesitation.
The woman smiled at him weakly before she started.
"It happened years ago, some time after Gatō had set foot on this island nation, and alongwith he had brought this menace.", she said looking at the man lying in a pool of blood, "The girl's mother wasn't one of us. She was kidnapped from somewhere far away and made to work onboard a ship that brought them all here. She managed to sneak her only child into the cargo, and even managed to keep her hidden in the facility in one room or the other. We knew about her and nobody gave away the slightest hint about any girl being there. Many a times people just went and played with her. Her smile made people hope to survive the next day."
"However, one day, he saw her mother stealing some food from her own meal and taking it somewhere. It's sad that the girl had to be mentally challenged, else she would have easily sent her to make a living for herself in town by doing menial jobs, even if it meant denying her heart."
"He found their secret, and he abused the mother in all possible ways one could think of. She took it all without fighting back, if it could mean saving her child. However, he had no intention of leaving the kid alone. 'She's clearly no use of us as labour with that weak body and stupid mind. Shall I throw her away with the trash or let's see, can I make some other use of her?' I remember that's exactly what he said. Infuriated at his suggestion, her mother lost her composure and flung at him."
The woman gulped a lump in her throat and started sobbing. "I don't want to remember how it happened, but she was beaten to death right after. Watching her mother in a state like that, the girl started screaming and shouting in panic. He slapped her and dragged her alongside himself. 'Looks like I'll have to take care of this myself.' That was the last thing we heard before he had taken her away. We were worried about the girl but everyone was powerless to do anything. Since that day, she hasn't ever smiled."
A drop of water ran down Naruto's cheek. He looked at the sky. It had started drizzling. Was it the rain, or was it him?
"But it doesn't end here. After that, a cheerful young woman had also been brought here to work. Hearing the girl's story moved her more than any of us. She had decided to get her out of the place even if it cost her life. Slowly but gradually, she befriended the girl enough to make her trust her. Nevertheless, that was also a trap. His men already informed him of their fishy behaviour. On the night of her escape, he ambushed them and killed the woman on the spot. After that, he took the girl back to his room like nothing had ever happened. He's been conducting some sort of human psychological experiment on her since then. The girl doesn't take to anyone since then, and any attempt to make contact with her goes useless."
The woman started crying. "She's just too empty. It would be best if you would leave her somewhere in the forest and forget about her. That is probably what's best for her. Let's have her rest peacefully."
Naruto clenched his fist as he said, "So you're telling me to abandon her, just like that? After all you've seen, how can you say that? What's best for her? Bullshit, you just don't want to take responsibility. How could you just leave her to die--"
"Because that's the only way to end her suffering!" , the woman shouted in rage.
Naruto was taken aback by the statement. He realised that she didn't care about the girl any less than he himself did.
The woman calmed down, and said, "We would like nothing more than her to live life as a normal child. But everyone knows it's not possible. We can't stand to watch her in agony. All she's ever known is now gone. Before long, she'll try to kill herself. Please, I beg you. Take her away."
Naruto placed a hand on her shoulder. "If you think so, I can't change your mind. If you want to leave her, leave her here. Please evacuate as soon as possible. The weather could get worse any second. Before you leave though, I'd appreciate if you could tell me her name."
"Tsu- Tsuki."
The woman couldn't look at him in the eyes and cried loudly. Everyone else felt her emotions, as they too were of the same opinion. However, some of them understood the seriousness of the situation and started mobilizing everyone out. Hesitantly, everybody left the compound and the only people left there were the girl, Naruto and probably a corpse.
Naruto put on a cheerful smile on his face as he approached the little girl.
"Hey, guess what Tsuki-chan. There's this really good ice cream shop in town. If you come with me, we can try all the different varieties they have. You should come, or I'll take someone else to eat them all. So are you ready to get some really tasty snacks?"
The girl kept staring at him vacantly, as the rain started picking up the intensity.
"You really should say something. If you talk, I can help. If you don't tell me anything, what can I do? See, I know you might think that it's bad to leave, but there will be good people to take care of you there. This place is not meant for anyone anymore. Do you understand, Tsuki-chan?"
She nodded her head in response, however it didn't seem as convincing as he'd have liked. Still, anything was better than nothing. He extended a hand to prompt her to willingly decide to leave with him.
However, merely wishing for optimism doesn't always mean one will get what they want. The girl ignored his request and followed with something quite unexpected. She approached him and started tugging down at his belt, as if trying to open it.
Naruto was at a loss for words. He instinctively grabbed the girl's hands and stopped her. Although, she was still trying to get him to release her so that she could conduct what was supposedly her work.
"What...are...you..." , were the only words that could escape his mouth.
Suddenly, there was this sound of a laugh. It was not even loud enough to catch one's attention, just enough to be faintly heard through the echoing sound of the rain drops violently striking the ground.
Naruto slowly turned his head towards the only other person present in the courtyard. He saw Derecho looking at them with a bleeding eye while his mouth showed a few broken teeth. He was unable even to expel enough air from his lungs to actually be able to laugh in a normal manner. Yet, he was looking at them like he was enjoying watching them suffer.
"You really think that...*coughs*... anything you can do will change her mind? Haha, the only fault in here is that she doesn't have a mind. She's trying to please you in any manner she can, that's what she has always done. And ...*coughs* ...that's what she'll always be doing regardless of what you ask or tell her.", he said.
"Shut up! No one asked you anything. You don't know that's true. I can help her, she just needs to realise that.", Naruto retorted.
It wasn't just out of impatience that he didn't ignore the guy altogether because there was a feeling of doubt in his own mind. He had been trying to turn a blind eye to the assumption, but there was no running from the truth, whatsoever it may entail.
"Hahaha, exactly. If she could realise whatever the fuck you're talking about, she could have probably been helped. That's not a human though. It's an experiment. It's one of my successful creations. A mindless human robot that would listen to each and every command without any complaints. It's the perfect version of a slave. Watching you struggle in vain as you try to attempt something is outright hilarious. Hahahaha..."
Naruto looked at the guy in disbelief wondering how low can a human being fall. As he watched the man wriggle around supposedly having fun in his final moments, Naruto couldn't help but wish to get back at him.
"Do you remember I told you that I had already been to the bridge and the townspeople have been saved from the attack of mercenaries?"
Derecho wondered why he brought up the topic now but replied, "So what? Even if it's true, that doesn't make any difference. Even if the attack was repelled today, Gatō-san will just multiply those numbers and vandalise the whole place with brutes later. How long will you stay to protect these people? Not forever."
"Weird, huh? Last time I checked, multiplying anything by zero doesn't make a difference.", Naruto replied.
"What do you mean by that? Do you mean to say that those puny townsmen killed everyone? Horseshit! Like I'd believe that.", Derecho said.
"Nope, the people didn't kill anyone, but still there's no one left alive. As for your brother, I'm sorry to break it to you but he's probably floating somewhere in the ocean with a knife in his gut. He was killed by the Demon of the Mist in cold blood. You believe that he can't do it too?"
The muscular guy was looking at him in disbelief. "You're lying. You're lying, aren't you? Shinobi have done nothing but deceived people since the beginning of time to fulfill their agendas. You just want to break my will, don't you?"
Naruto replied with silence.
"Liar! That can't be true! My brother must still be alive. He has been hurt many a times but always managed to survive. He can't die before me. There's no way he's gone. I have been doing all this so that we could both get money and power and everything we ever wanted. We can't...he can't...this can't be..."
After more whining and shouting and crying, Derecho came to terms with the fact that everything he had was snatched away in the blink of an eye, and that no one in this world was there to support him in this pitiful state.
He just lied there drowning in his own emotions waiting for his last breath.
For some reason, that didn't please Naruto at all. However, he was glad that he won't have to listen anything bad about the young girl.
"Tsuki-chan, say something. Do something. Smile, laugh, cry, shout, scream, run, jump, fight. Anything. Don't just...stand there... lifeless."
Naruto was completely in tears by now. He knew it wasn't just the rain, his eyes had started to hurt. Nothing he could do which could bring the girl back to being human. She was staring into oblivion as if she was able to look in a different reality. Judging by her look, it didn't seem she was living a life like anyone else, if at all.
He knew. He had noticed from the beginning. For some reason, whenever the Kyūbi chakra flowed through his body, he was able to sense much more than just chakra. It was as if he could feel people's emotions. Love, anger, malice, fear, joy, anguish. Everyone had some sort of emotions going on in their head, no matter what the situation be.
Only thing was, he couldn't feel anything from Tsuki. There was nothing going on inside of her. She stood there, as soulless as a doll, which existed only to obey her master's wishes. Neither did she feel joy at being saved from her tormentor, not did she feel any sorrow at being abused for the longest time, be it verbally or physically.
A shell was all that was left of her existence in this world.
Naruto looked around in angst, addled at the situation in hand. He had worked hard all his life so that he wouldn't be helpless when the circumstances demanded. Yet, for all his ability and skill, there was nothing he could do to console the young girl. She was too far away to reach.
He knew that it wasn't something you could ever train or learn to handle. Even if the Hokage himself was stuck in such a situation, what could he even do, he wondered. The pressure of searching for the right solution was slowly but surely reaching him.
However, in the end he understood that there was no other way from the beginning. No one was there who could help her from this insuperable predicament. Her mind was subjected to torture and her body was violated so much it was virtually destroyed.
For a moment, he remembered what the people had suggested him. That it would be best to leave the girl alone somewhere far away in the woods. Or rather just leave her at this very place. He realised why they chose that option. It wasn't because it was best for the girl, rather because of the fact that it was the best way to avoid responsibility. Everyone knew that there was no optimistic solution, and that is why no one wanted it on their conscience.
Naruto had no doubt in his mind that he would not be able to go with that option. After all, if he turned back on her now, he'll be a coward in his own eyes for the rest of his life. His goal, his dream, the title of the Hokage. How could he wear the hat of the Kage knowing that he could possibly turn his back on the village one day, just like he did back then. If he couldn't face the responsibility of a child, how could he be entrusted to shoulder the future of the entire village?
He reached for his sword and pulled it out of the sheath. Never in his life had his hands trembled so much while handling a blade. It wasn't easy, he wanted to let go of it every passing moment. Yet, he knew that it wasn't just possible. It had to be done. And no one was going to do it but him.
The sound of the rain had ceased to reverberate in his ears. He looked at the mercenary mildly. At a glance it may have seemed he was dead, but he could still notice slight movement of his chest. The latter didn't have much time though, he was almost at the brink of death.
As he looked around, he could notice the emptiness of nature around them. There was not a single bird or animal nearby, all having taken shelter under this cruel storm. He looked at the girl once again. There were only the two of them, staring at each other with emotionless expressions.
Naruto lifted his sword at the young girl and aligned the tip at the center of her chest. As the tip of the blade made contact with her, she looked at him with a confused expression. She did not know what she was supposed to do. She stood there as calmly as she had ever been. On the other hand, Naruto felt palpitations in his chest. How ironical! He was losing his focus, hyperventilating out of his lungs and struggling to find balance.
He couldn't accept the reality of what he was about to do.
"I don't know if it's the right or wrong thing to do. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I don't even understand what and why I am doing in the first place. All I know is that I have decided to take action out of my own will and that I will have to take full responsibility."
Naruto's voice cracked while completing the sentence, as he had to take a moment before he continued.
"You don't have to bear the burden. You were never wrong, Tsuki-chan. The world is what had wronged you. You were just a kind soul who had to bear the world's hatred. You have endured enough. And if I can do anything to relieve you of your suffering, I would gladly do so. So please, it's a request. You don't have to forgive anyone. You don't have to forgive me. I just...I just ask of you one thing. Please..."
He clutched the sword with all his strength and drove it through her heart. He didn't think twice after saying these words, lest he could never go through with the ordeal. There was no going back. He had done it. He had never imagined that he would have to take an innocent person's life, let alone willingly. It broke his heart more than anything else. Yet, he believed that the price paid would be well worth if only she could...
"...rest in peace."
The girl felt her chest suddenly contract as something just went through her body forcefully. She wasn't aware of the specifics, but it didn't feel alright. She was confused as to why it did happen, as she must've done something bad to get some punishment.
Naruto pulled out the blood soaked sword from her body and dropped it on the ground, as he looked at his hand which was covered in red.
As soon as he had done that, a spurt of blood ejected from the wound and eventually stained all of her clothes crimson. Profuse bleeding started to occur through the wound as her heart was cut through on both sides.
Consequentially, a sharp pain shot up to her brain which analyzed the sensation as one that would, without a doubt, lead to imminent death. All her survival instincts shut down as she processed her final moments free of any inhibitions. There was nothing that could keep her in shackles anymore, as she would be liberated by death itself. Her final moments were probably one of the most relieving time of her unfortunately short life.
Nevertheless, she had yet to see something she always wished to. Something she had always kept locked up in the depths of her persona, shielded by the protective mechanisms her mind had adapted to survive. Something that couldn't be reached by anyone, no matter how much they break her body or spirit.
A wish.
A desire.
A prayer.
She felt as if she had truly opened her eyes to the world once again, for the last time. And that's when she met the eyes of her saviour. Or her murderer? She didn't think as much. All she saw were what she believed to be the eyes of someone who cared about her. She had seen that look before. The elder sister like girl she had met all those years ago, who had cared about her. No, it was from even before that.
Those were the eyes of her late mother, one who was taken away from her. She believed that in the final moments of life, she had been given back her loving mother. After all, who else if not a mother who lost her child would shed tears from their eyes as if a part of their soul had been severed from this world?
Naruto held the girl in his arms who didn't have enough strength to stand on her own anymore, as he looked at her eyes while crying uncontrollably. Through the hazy vision, he felt as if he saw life in the eyes of the young girl for the first time. He wasn't sure if it actually happened or was his mind playing tricks on him, as a protective mechanism in order to minimise the trauma he endured.
Nevertheless, the doubt was rendered pointless when a weak yet genuinely honest smile appeared on the girl's face. Now, he was sure that he saw a different kind of light in her eyes that he never hoped to be able to catch sight of. It was almost as if a doused flame had rebound to be burnt brightly in its final moments, a reminder of the boundless tenacity and perseverance that a human can manifest.
Using up all of her remaining strength, she lifted both of her arms and flung them around him. Naruto could tell that even though she couldn't find any more strength in her body, her spirit was so unyielding that she held him as tightly as she could as if never letting go of her mother again as long as she lived.
Naruto could feel her breathing getting shallower every second as her blood soaked his vest more and more. It was evident the bleeding was seeping into her lungs. As he got over his initial shock, he immediately hugged her back as tightly and lovingly as she did to him. He didn't want to let go of her, after he saw her the life in her eyes return. He could never forget the feeling of an innocent soul dying in his arms, with his own hands stained with the blood.
He felt when she inhaled as much air as her drowning lungs permitted before something wet his shoulder where she rested her head. He didn't even have to see if it was blood from her wound diffusing upwards or not, because he knew.
It wasn't.
With the purest form of tears in the inhuman world she was about to say farewell to, she happily forced herself to properly address this one person one last time.
"Okaa-san!"
Naruto felt her grip weaken as her hands fell out of his embrace and her body suddenly losing all tension even though her head rested peacefully on his shoulder. He clutched her tightly as if to keep her from unleashing his emotions out all at once. He knew that she had passed away, as she lied lifeless in his arms.
And he believed from the bottom of his heart that her soul had left the world peacefully.
He did what he had to do.
He chose to run a sword through the girl's heart and take the sin upon himself to free her from suffering rather than abandon her where her entire life was taken away.
He chose to give her life back for a moment in her death in exchange for a part of his soul.
He chose to accept responsibility.
In the radiating pool of blood flowing away with the rainwater, all the bubbling emotions in his head suddenly took control as he let every power in his body flow uninhibited for a moment. His scream may have died out in the clatter of the storm, but the sheer force of a sinister chakra reverberated in the whole land like never before.
Scene Break
"What was...that?"
Zabuza suddenly clutched his chest as he let out an involuntary gasp from his lungs. It seemed as if something had gripped his heart and threatened to crush it before he could say 'demon'.
Haku was perplexed as to what had happened to his master. One minute he was walking normally and the next one he was down on his knees as if he had a heart attack. He worried if it was some after effect of his lethal fight with the men on the bridge.
However, on the other hand there was one other person who felt the same thing as the Demon of the Mist.
As soon as he felt the presence of approaching chakra, he had slid his hand into the pouch containing his ninja gear. Yet, in the next moment when he actually sensed the form of the chakra, he was dumbfounded. The chakra spike was so humongous, evil, dense, and filled with such killer intent that even the greatest of warriors would be brought down to knees.
"Huh? Sensei, something wrong?", Sakura asked casually as she noticed Kakashi turn back in surprise.
However, her teacher completely ignored her as he looked in the direction of the origin of the chakra with a wide eye. He was lucky enough to have his hand concealed within the pouch, otherwise his students would have seen it shaking in fear, unable to grab on to anything. As he stood there exasperated with the entire turn of events since the preceding week, currently his only thoughts were out of concern for his student.
'What happened to you, Naruto?'
Scene Break and Time Skip
"Gatō-sama! Gatō-sama!"
Gatō was startled as a man flung the door open and broke into his room. He saw that the man was one of his close security personnel cum assistant and seemed to be panting, as if he had to run for miles with a lion on his tail.
"You better have a damn good explanation for disturbing my sleep like this.", Gatō said.
True enough, Gatō was dozing comfortably on his double sized bed as it was well past nightfall. Since it was raining cats and dogs outside, he had to cancel his plans quite early to visit the town or set up a meeting with his right hand man to assess the situation.
"Sir, this is no time to rest. There has been a problem."
Gatō raised an eyebrow, as he said, "Is it something regarding the men we sent to destroy the bridge?"
"Uhh, yes. Kind of.", the man spoke with a pause, "We have information that the whole mercenary unit sent to capture the bridge has been wiped out. Every single one of them has been killed."
Gatō was shocked to hear that. "What do you mean killed? We sent fifty trained mercenaries alongwith that sorry excuse of a drunkard brother. Who was there capable to doing such a thing?"
The man replied, "We were informed that everyone was killed by the Demon of the Mist, alongwith Izquierdo. Once our men arrived, Konoha ninjas backed out from the fight with Zabuza."
Gatō clenched his teeth as he growled, "We underestimated him. I thought that the Konoha shinobi squad would be able to weaken him so we could take him out alongwith the town. Next time, we'll be more prepared. Inform all the gathered mercenaries at the base to be ready to mobilize tomorrow. We'll launch an all out attack on them. Demon or not, I don't care. I'll finish him and take the land in my control. Once that happens, all my work will come to fruition."
"About that, Sir. We have been informed that all of them had engaged in a tussle and have been beaten badly. None of them is in any condition to fight anytime soon. Every captive from the mercenary base has been freed, and they have joined the townspeople."
"What?! Those stupid bastards. I pay them to work for me when I need it and that's when they have to engage in some infighting. Fuck. Fuck those dumbasses.", Gatō said.
"I believe there is some misunderstanding, Gatō-sama. There was no infighting. All of them were supposedly defeated by shinobi from Konoha."
"Konoha? Just how much is that village interfering into this matter? I left the Land of Waves nothing that could let them pay the shinobi village handsomely, so why are they sending so much reinforcements?"
The guy flipped a page in the notebook he was holding in his hand and said, "Gatō-sama, this might sound unbelievable but the reports state that there were no reinforcements. One of the ninjas who was present on the fight on the bridge infiltrated the base and defeated each and every one of the mercenaries."
Gatō was caught off guard by the statement.
"A single shinobi? Are they sending their elite forces after us? This is just getting more and more puzzling. I shouldn't take any decision in a hurry. Call Derecho and fix up a meeting with him as soon as possible. Tell him that he should come here at once, after this storm passes. I hate the weather here, once I've established control over the place I'm leaving to live somewhere better. Although, I wonder if the bridge will even be able to handle this storm, maybe it'll just crumble by itself haha."
The man dropped his head as if in regret more than disappointment as he said, "That... won't be possible either, Gatō-sama. Further reports aren't very clear, but it seems that the shinobi hadn't stopped at the mercenary base. A worker from the operations base established contact with us just now. According to him, all of our men there were done for and nobody knew what had happened. He said that he was going to flee alongwith a few others who are still able to, because as per his eyewitness report, he saw...the dead body of Derecho-san. He was lying in the rain out in a battered condition right outside in the front yard."
Gatō felt as if the earth had been pulled from beneath him.
"Wait...Derecho has been killed? But...how? What's happening out there? How can a single shinobi neutralize two of our entire base of operations and save the bridge on the same day? I don't believe it. Send someone to contact Derecho, I'm sure that the information is not valid. Nevertheless, for once, I'm thankful of this storm. Otherwise, we'd have been at risk for an enemy attack today itself, judging by how the situation is being reported."
"About that, Sir..."
Gatō became too irritated by his constant hold ups and shouted at him,
"What is it now? Don't dawdle around, get to the fucking point already."
The man got scared as he said, "Well, actually I was in a hurry because it seems that the ninja has already entered our --"
Suddenly, the ground shook with such force that both Gatō and his assistant lost their balance and hit the floor. It seemed at first that an earthquake might have been the cause for such an occurrence, however the shockwave with which the whole building shook insinuated that the cause was much more organic.
Even with the sudden development, Gatō had listened enough that he could make out what exactly was going on. He immediately stood up and ran towards the direction of the huge hall in the middle that could be seen openly from all the floors. His assistant took after him a second or two later.
As Gatō reached the parapet in a haste, he looked over to verify the cause of the circumstances that he was told. He didn't want to believe for a second that all that was happening was real in any sense. Maybe he was still sleeping and had a nightmare? That he would wake up the next day to find the bridge destroyed and the Demon of the Mist killed.
However, he saw something more of a demon than he'd ever thought he'd encounter in his entire life. And he still couldn't believe his eyes.
"How? How did he get here? There's a fucking thunderstorm out there. I can't even see or clearly hear what's going on with that sound, and you mean to say that he travelled through all that and came here?! That is not even an elite ninja, he's a small fucking shrimp."
The assistant stopped right behind him out of breath but had heard his question.
"Sir, the guards reported they saw a red luminescence approaching the headquarters. It turns out that was the shinobi that has been causing all the trouble. However, despite all attempts to restrain or injure him have been futile. He has just been walking towards us without anyone being able to halt him. Many of the guards surrendered and run away at the first glance, and he didn't do anything to them. Everyone else who attacked him is now completely defeated."
Gatō could see that everything he heard was the truth.
He saw the blonde kid stare at him in the eyes. And for the first time in his life, he felt frightened. Not the usual scared, it was the scared for own life kind. He knew at that moment, if the ninja caught him it would be the end of him without a doubt. He had to be stopped anyhow, right here and now.
However, watching the writhing bodies of the best mercenaries he had hired behind the boy seemed to dampen his hope a lot. He was now sweating like a pig. Still, he had decided to use everything at his disposal to somehow counter this adversary and muddle through the situation unharmed.
"Come on out, you guys! What are you doing? Don't let him get through. I'll pay ten times the amount of money to whoever brings me his head!", Gatō shouted.
In a few moments, five people appeared in between Naruto and Gatō with agility and acrobatics which wouldn't be seen in any regular mercenaries. However, Naruto kept walking as if he had known about their presence all along, he just didn't care enough.
"No need to worry, Gatō-san. We didn't run away or anything. We were just a bit surprised with the shockwave, so we had to scout the area for enemies.", one of them said.
They didn't wear any headband, but the best guess was that they were rogue shinobi who were working for money like the other hired mercenaries.
Another one added, "However, it seems that there's just this measly kid. Probably one of the Genin that the villages send to gain field experience. He probably used some explosives to scare everyone away, but that won't work on us."
"Unfortunately for you kid, your field training gets finished here. Along with your life. You got some bad luck running into Chunin level shinobi. It would be the best for you to wait nice and quiet until we end your life. If you cooperate, we'll make it less painful as we can.", another one pointed out.
Another one finished, "Gatō-san, you really didn't have to raise the bounty for this punk. I guess even smart businessmen sometimes give into fear. Nevertheless, we'll be happy to take on your offer hahaha."
Naruto was just walking towards them without any emotion on his face, as if their presence didn't matter at all to prevent him from reaching Gatō.
The latter sensed this as he shouted, "Shut the hell up, you idiots! If you can run your mouths that much, use your feet too. That kid is anything but normal, don't take him lightly. Use your full power. Do whatever it takes but stop him right now!"
The one who didn't say anything was the one to charge at Naruto first. He seemed to be the one with most muscular strength out of all of them. He had a huge spiked club in his hands which he intended to use on the ninja kid with full strength, judging by the full arc he swung with.
"Shit, we were too late in gossips. He's getting the bounty now, the kid is dead in one blow.", rest of them said among themselves.
However, Naruto just countered him nonchalantly with his own sword as it sliced through the weapon as well as the wielder in one swoop. And then over the unconscious body that had started to bleed heavily, he kept on walking as if nothing had happened at all.
Not only Gatō, but the rest of the ninjas were alarmed at the development. After watching the strongest of them being overpowered like a bug, first thing they ruled out was a Genjutsu. Distressed at the reality of the situation, all of them assumed full battle stance.
As they charged forward, their only plan was to attack from different angles in complete synchrony. There was a possibility that Naruto would be able to counter one of them but the rest can end it in a moment. With their respective weapons which they were most competent, they launched a simultaneous strike on him.
Unfazed as ever, Naruto countered them with the utmost level of precision. It seemed as if his focus was intensified multiple times than he'd ever felt before. Due to that, his chakra control too was at it's best. That was probably the reason why he could go on so effortlessly even after running low on chakra.
The first weapon to reach him was a poleaxe from his left. He moved his head slightly forward to evade the weapon as it grazed his hair, and swung his fist sideways from the front to deliver a devastating punch to the ninja's face which sent him flying backwards taking alongwith another guy who was coming at him from the back with a tomahawk.
He had already shifted his focus to the other ones as soon as he dodged the weapon, who were going for his head and midsection simultaneously. He blocked the one on the right with his sword, who was using a flail to rip his gut and ducked under the mace that the one in front swung at his head.
Using his sword as support, he flipped and delivered a tight kick onto the front which threw the guy several metres away into the air. The last one didn't even realise what had happened before Naruto grabbed his head and threw him onto the wall, which resulted in that guy losing consciousness immediately.
Naruto just exhaled and kept on moving forward with only one goal in his mind.
Now, this might seem a bit complicated to us but to Gatō it was simple as day and night. All he saw was everyone attacking the blonde ninja and the next moment they were all beaten down in a single blow. His best possible defence was entirely annihilated in less than a second.
He stepped back reflexively in fear as he shouted, "Everyone! Stop him no matter what happens. Don't let him come any further."
That was a desperate call on his part, as there were very limited men left to protect him. Many of them were already thinking of giving up rather than risking their lives after watching the shinobi get beaten. However, a few of them were still loyal to Gatō who moved before their fear could freeze them.
Thanks to these men, Gatō could buy more time. He had left all hope of fighting the ninja who had this kind of monster strength. He turned back and ran as quickly as he could in order to throw off the hunter on his trail, as only one thought came to his mind.
'How the fuck did I even get in this situation?'
It was still some time until midnight, but the sky was darker than ever. The gale had brought in clouds which were pouring torrents after torrents and one could only hope to find a suitable shelter until the storm passes away, before they themselves do.
Amidst the downpour in the darkness, two faint lights could be seen moving slowly. On a closer look, there were two men holding lanterns in their hands who were moving into the woods. Since there would be no animals to hunt in this rainstorm, there was only one explanation.
They were the prey.
The short one looked back for a moment as he tried to move against the ample force of the wind, and said, "Hey, shouldn't we put off the lanterns? What if he sees the light and follows us?"
"Gatō-sama, we have no other choice. We won't be able to see even one step ahead if we don't use the lanterns. We don't have any moonlight to help us. It's pitch dark everywhere!", his assistant shouted as his voice almost died down in the rain.
"God damnit, how long until we reach there?!", Gatō asked impatiently.
"Still a long way to go, Gatō-sama. We can't locate the minor landmarks in this weather, so we'll have to move slow and cautious.", the assistant replied.
"Oh, fuck this. Damn it all!"
Gatō was trying to get to a small ferry which was docked at a secret pier they had built for such an emergency situation. It was situated inside a cave like enclosure which would help protect it from the weather directly and also cut off the intensity of the violent sea waves.
Although there was a way through a dirt road which could be used with a horse carriage, the circumstances weren't normal to go for that option. Instead, they used the woods which would not only guide them through a shorter path but also keep them cover from the enemy. However, Gatō still wanted to run away and hide somewhere as safe as possible, because he knew that the shinobi would come after him sooner or later. That's why he couldn't help but look back over his own shoulder time and time again out of fear.
"Look Gatō-sama, there's the halfway mark. We just have to turn around this tree like this and we'll see a boulder that --"
He stopped talking and halted suddenly as Gatō who was looking back didn't notice and crashed into him.
"You moron, keep moving. We can't afford to rest, he'll have defeated everyone by now. If we don't hurry, he may catch up to us. Even though there's this weather, I can't help but fret that he might be onto us somehow."
His aide didn't reply but Gatō saw his feet which were shaking a lot. Wondering why was he acting like he had seen a ghost, Gatō moved beside him as he was too short to look over his shoulder.
All the colour drained off his face just like his companion when he saw a familiar figure sitting on the boulder, with his hands resting lightly on the sword which was wedged slightly into the ground, as if waiting patiently for someone. The lantern he was holding dropped to the ground and was doused at the impact itself.
Gatō ran away without sparing a single moment to look at the beast who had come to take his life. He was far too scared to confront the enemy. If he was beheaded from the back while running away, then so be it. But he'd die of a heart attack first if he looked into the monster's eyes. His assistant took after him immediately after in fear of being caught first.
However, Gatō abruptly came to a stop when he saw the same person standing on a tree branch a few dozen metres in front of him. He changed his course again only to find the same guy blocking his way to escape.
Desperately, he ran around in many directions but he could only find the same experience over and over. Frightened, he looked back only to find the woods occupied with the same person everywhere. And moreover, the most terrifying fact about them were their glowing red eyes.
He ran away once again where he thought he could escape, as he didn't want to accept the reality of the inevitable confrontation. However, he felt hopeful for once when he saw a bit of light coming into the woods. He felt that it was the exit they had been looking for, and that there was still a chance to escape.
Fortunately, he didn't encounter the boy this time and he didn't dare to look back to check anything. He felt relieved when he stepped out of the woods, but his blood ran cold when he realised that he had expected too much for it to be actually true. What he had found was merely a clearing at the edge of the forest which ended as a steep cliff adjoining the ocean. The sea came violently crashing into the rocks and it was plain as day that there was no way to escape into it.
He heard a thud behind him and jumped in fear as he looked back reflexively. He sighed momentarily in relief when he only saw his aide who had fallen on the ground after he had stumbled on a tree root in the darkness. But as he was trying to get back up, a hand grabbed his leg and pulled him into the woods once again. All Gatō could do was scramble backwards as he heard his only companion's voice die down slowly and cease to resound completely.
Subsequently, emerged from the forest a figure that he had desperately attempted to evade yet failed miserably. The blond ninja had advanced towards him all the same since the beginning, no matter what he threw in his path. In the end, Gatō had also come to believe that he didn't have any possible way to run away from this situation. He was purposely led here by the ninja, and this was also no mere coincidence.
But maybe there was a way to bribe his way out of here...
"Look, we can negotiate. I can give you everything I ha--"
A deafening loud thunder roared as lightning cracked in the dark sky, illuminating all of the region for a brief moment. Gatō had got only a glimpse of the ninja's face, but that was more than enough for him. Dealing in business since forever, and a shady one at that, he had developed a somewhat accurate sense of guessing the other person's state of mind by judging his expressions subconsciously.
And he had no doubt, this was not a guy to negotiate with. He could make out absolutely no expressions on his enemy's face, only pure hatred and a resolve to carry out his ordeal. No matter what happens, he wouldn't change his mind.
He swore he could have seen his eyes change colours in those few milliseconds when he had blinked. That seemed too unbelievable even to himself, he wondered if he was really losing his mind now? Or was there something unnatural about the kid? Looking at his blood stained body, weapon and attire, he seemed nothing less than a monster.
Naruto took a deep breath and sighed. He had been through many obstacles throughout the whole affair, but now he had finally reached his target. It had only been a day since he had set out on this self-declared mission, but taking into account what he had to go through, it felt like ages to him.
He watched Gatō crawl on the ground backwards, slowly nearing the end of the cliff. The latter had a raincoat on under which he only wore a single piece of nightwear which showed his repulsive body shape too well. Without his tiny sunglasses in the darkness, he looked only worse than ever.
Naruto lifted his sword as he reached Gatō who was too scared to move backwards and reach the edge of the cliff. He pointed the sword at Gato's chest and nudged at it.
"Do you know that I had to kill someone with this very sword with my own hands? She was used as a subject for human experimentation by one of your men. She was just an innocent little girl. It happened all because of you. You allowed all these things to happen."
Gatō felt the anger directed at him through the sword, as he was unable to meet his gaze. He felt that Naruto was desperately trying not to ram it in straight away, as it was shaking slightly. He had accepted his fate, that he was going to die in the same manner that the girl had been subjected to. He would have to feel the same pain that she had to go through. From any perspective, it fit too perfectly well. He was waiting for Naruto to lose his patience and just kill him instantly.
Nonetheless, he was shocked when the sword was removed from his chest and lodged into the ground in front of him. He opened his eyes to look at Naruto pulling taut a length of ninja wire in his hands. He was relieved to see that at least there were no sinister red eyes looking back at him.
However, before he knew what concurred, Naruto looped one end of the ninja wire tying his hands together and threw the other end with a kunai on a tree. And he didn't have any time to guess as Naruto grabbed him up by the collar and flipped him roughly over the cliff as hard as he could.
The wire extended as much as possible and then pulled taut from both the sides at its limits. Gatō was suspended over the cliff and the knot over his hands tightened further to the point where he felt like his wrists would be severed from the limb. He was moving his legs wildly in desperation of finding some footing, but the efforts were in vain.
Naruto walked to the edge of the cliff and calmly sat down looking at the raging sea in the horizon. The noise of the rain and thunder were the only things that were keeping his inner rage dampened. He was thankful for that very occurence, because only for that reason he could think clearly.
"You may have thought that I was going to kill you with my own hands, didn't you? At some point, that was truly my intention. I was lost in fury over the death of the child. But as I came for you, I realised that I was not the only one who wanted to exact revenge upon you."
Naruto said this as he looked at the storm which looked like it was about to reach its peak as the wind had gotten stronger and the rain was hitting the ground as violently as it possibly could. The sea looked like it could engulf the whole Island nation in the same night. The clouds didn't seem to have and end to the water they rained in the downpour, and the wind could give rise to a cyclone if it blew any harder.
"What nonsense are you spouting?! There is no one else besides us. Let me out of here right now!", Gatō shouted.
As he said that, the tempestuous waves from the horizon had completed their approach and crashed into the cliff. The colossal force behind the water was alone enough to turn Gato's world upside down. But furthermore he felt the pain jolting through his body as crashed into the hard rocky cliff alongwith the sea. As the waves receded to return with even more force, he gasped out of breath with water in his lungs and injuries all over his body.
"I'm not talking about any single person. You have wronged not only one individual but the entire land and its people. Now, it's only right that the land is giving you back what you did to them. It's about time that you also understand the power of the wave.", Naruto said. (pun intended)
He looked as the coughing dwarf struggled to flex and curl his torso in order to reduce the impact of the next wave on his body. However, he was unable to do so with his frail physique and ended up in a full collision with the rocks once again. He had evidently started bleeding from multiple places as the rainwater dropping off of him was beginning to stain red.
"So, tell me Gatō. Was it fun subjecting all those villagers to such barbarity? To snatch their peace from their hands by deceiving them and then making them work against their will? Making slaves out of all of them and denying them of basic living amenities? Violating women of their bodies and thrashing hungry kids who have to beg in order to survive? Was it fun to watch? Tell me, how did your humanity not call out to you even after watching all of that?"
Naruto wasn't expecting a reply, he was only looking for a way to keep in check the swirling emotions inside him.
"I was just like that as a child. My mother was a nobody who whored out her body in exchange for money and then had me by accident. She wanted to kill me before I was born but failed. I was born with severe development defects because of that. She died of some chronic illness by the time I was able to understand things. I did not have any other way to survive. The only way I knew was to steal from people who had money. I did what I had to do. I did not become like this by choice.", Gatō replied.
Naruto could sense truth in his voice, which was only probably because he was on the verge of his death and had no reason to lie. It was not even a remote possibility that Naruto would let him go if he could fake a sad childhood story or something.
"Still, that doesn't excuse you from the deeds you've done. Those crimes you have committed since so long have nothing to do with just your survival. Even though it's not right, you could have been excused if you were fighting for your own life. But at some point you did reach the point where you had enough to come clean and live the honest way, yet you chose to walk the wrong path. You are not a victim, you decided to become a criminal fully aware of its meaning and the consequences that would ensue."
Gatō could say nothing in his defence that would actually sound legitimate, not that there was anything like that in the first place. Another wave crashed into him and threw him into the sharp rocks. At this point, the rain had slowed down a bit, but the wind had picked up a notch.
"You...*coughs* can kill me. You can kill one more. Ten more. Hundred more. There will always be someone like me, as long as this world exists. If you think ...*coughs*...killing me will change anything, you're just a naive little kid. That dream utopia of people like you can never become a reality.", Gatō said gasping as he was approaching a semi-conscious state, due to the water filling up his lungs and thus the lack of oxygen to his brain.
"Oh, I know that too well. I know that you're not even the worst of them. There will surely be someone who won't think twice about doing ten times of what you've done. There will be countless number of them starting anew even if I get rid of all the existing ones, which is pretty much impossible in itself.", Naruto said, "But now I understand. The goal is not to remove the bad in this world. It just isn't possible, good and bad are two sides of the same coin. As long as the good reigns over, that would be enough. My purpose here is not to kill you, but to let the people know that no evil is more powerful than good. If I can show the children that they can triumph over any evil with virtue and perseverance, that would fulfill my cause."
Gatō wasn't even in a state to talk as he was overwhelmed by the pain coursing through his entire body after being hit so much by the sea. He had gashes all over his stout body and his vital organs may have been internally damaged. Dislocation of a joint or two was inevitable given his situation, and there isn't even a need to mention that he had suffered fractures in multiple bones throughout his body.
"You executed the man who stood up against you and chose to walk the path of righteousness even if it meant certain death. His name was Kaiza. You thought it would crush the spirit of the people and they would bow down against you, knowing that they were powerless.", Naruto continued, "However, you can never overconsider the resilience of us humans. The people stood up against you once again as they built the bridge even if it meant risking their lives. His death signified that no matter what happens, they won't give up again. Today, it wasn't me who defeated you. It was the perseverance of the souls of the people that consolidated into a force that swept you."
He stood up and looked down at Gatō who was on the verge of losing consciousness. His movements had already been diminished to a minimum. It was only a matter of time before he would lose all sense of happening and be out of the count for good.
"I wanted to finish you off myself so badly. After what happened today, I will never hesitate to kill anyone if it means I can protect the ones who are precious to me. Nevertheless, your life is not mine to take. Your final judgement will be carried on this land itself. I am done with you. Your fate now rests with the Spirit of the Wave. Farewell, I hope we never cross paths in this life."
He turned back and walked away from the cliff after taking his sword and finally putting it back in the sheath. Since he had accomplished here what he came to do, his body started showing signs of fatigue that weren't being noticed anywhere earlier. With the wind blowing hard against his face and the rain obscuring most of his vision, he felt his body losing strength. He wanted to lie down on the ground and close his eyes, letting his body recover all the lost strength.
'No, I can't. I promised...Kakashi-sensei... everyone. They're waiting...for me...'
Yet, he found the strength to take one more step. And then another. And yet another. He had swore to the people that he would return by dawn, and he wasn't the one to go back on his word, no matter what.
Therefore, withdrawing strength from pure determination, he set out to reach his comrades.
He set out to reach the bridge.
He set out to reach the people.
Back on the cliff, Gatō was hanging on the brink of unconsciousness. He wanted to believe that it was all a dream, and that he'd wake up in his bed from this nightmare. Although, he suddenly felt as if death had approached him.
He forced his eyes open to see if it were really true, and unfortunately his instinct was right on spot. The last thing he saw was the most humongous wave he had ever seen in his life, and it was right on top of him.
The wave crashed as high as almost upto the top of the cliff, and the whole ground shook courtesy of its absolute sheer force. It was enough to wipe away any blot on the Land of Waves and wash off any number of sins that had to be swept away.
As the wave receded, there was no sign of any life form anywhere on the entire cliff.
The sea had engulfed all of the evil.
A new beginning could now be created in the chapters of Nami no Kuni.
Scene Break and Time Skip
Naruto was at his limit.
He had traveled back to the bridge after he somehow found the small ferry that Gatō was planning to use to escape the land. He had to do that because he knew there was no way he could go back on foot, it was plainly impossible.
He remembered the directions fairly well and managed to reach the bridge by dawn. Fortune favoured him quite well, as the storm had slowed down considerably by the time he reached the ferry. Otherwise, it'd have been impossible to navigate the waters in the violent storm. Currently though, there wasn't even a sign that there had been a storm last night.
He had docked the ferry by the bridge and walked up to the land in hopes of meeting everyone else. When he reached the dirt trail though, he was quite shocked. It showed the directions to reach certain places which were located on the mainland. This was important because it would mean he had reached the wrong side of the bridge, and set foot on the mainland instead of the Land of Waves.
Exasperated, he was almost about to leave hope and settle down somewhere around to rest when he caught sight of something he couldn't believe.
'I thought I saw the bridge and that's why I turned towards this side. Since I reached the mainland, I thought my mind was playing tricks on me before. But what's this? No way it doesn't seem real.', Naruto thought.
As the morning fog cleared up a bit, he saw the outline of the bridge on this side of the land. Unable to believe his eyes, he walked in the direction of the image. However, no matter how close he got, it seemed less and less of a Genjutsu. He had reached the end of the path and the bridge had commenced right afterwards.
He took a calm breath and set foot on the bridge. The foothold was sturdy as anything. He took another step and then another. It was real, all of it! But the question still remained. How? Just yesterday morning he had left the thing in a different condition.
While he stood there perplexed, the sun cleared up all of his doubts. The first rays of sunlight in the morning pierced the mist and started to illuminate the land and the sea. He could make out the whole length of the bridge starting to be visible as it stretched across the waters.
However, what was more surprising and uplifting at the same time was the scene that played before him. He saw all of the people of the town present on the bridge, alongwith his superior and his teammates. Tsunami was offering drinks to her father Tazuna who looked quite exhausted, while Inari was running around playing with some kids.
Everyone looked almost as fatigued as him, but they had a smile on their faces which stemmed from a genuine sense of accomplishment.
Kakashi was the first one to notice him, as he started walking towards them. He could see the people taking notice of him one by one, and the crowd didn't seem to cease getting louder and louder. He was on his last legs, but that was the last thing on his mind right now. He could even catch sight of some of the people that he had rescued from Gato's direct subjugation.
After a comfortable while, the noise had died down. There was just a tranquil understanding between the people and Naruto. Both of the sides had successfully and diligently fulfilled their roles. Despite the harshest circumstances, they didn't give up and muddled through to achieve their goal.
The people had decided to show him their resolve as he risked his life to save from from the misery, and Naruto was pleasantly overjoyed at the revelation which was evident just by a look at the smile on his face.
As the sun shone brightly upon the land, he formed a fist and raised it high up in the air signifying their victory.
Everyone replicated the gesture in affirmation.
They had won.
Scene Break and Time Skip
His eyes fluttered open as sunlight shone through the window and onto his face. He had woke up a few minutes ago, but the drowsiness had still not left his eyes as he preferred to keep them shut until now. He felt comfortable within the comfortable futon and the sheets, and then there was this presence in the room which was so peaceful.
"Finally woke up eh, sleepyhead?"
Naruto sat upright while he looked at none other than Tsunami, who looked like she was knitting something before he had come out of his sleep. She looked far more happy and content than she had looked back then...
'Wait, how much time it has even been?'
"Good morning, Tsunami-san. I suppose I've been out for some time now. How long has it been since then?", he asked.
"Good morning to you too, Naruto-kun. Right away with the questions the moment you wake up, just like a proper soldier. You shouldn't worry about it though, that was just the day before yesterday.", Tsunami said, "Your friends and teacher are also here, waiting for you to wake up. You should probably apologize to Kakashi-san though, he was worried the most when he saw you in that condition."
Before Naruto could reply, Kakashi himself walked into the room followed by his teammates.
"Naruto, up and about? How are you feeling?", he asked.
Naruto stood up and stretched his body.
"Never felt better. I'm back to one hundred percent. I could go on an another mission right now if you want.", he said giggling.
"Not the time for jokes, Naruto. You have to rest your body and mind, or you'll wear yourself out pretty fast.", Kakashi replied.
Tsunami felt that there was some official business they might have to attend to, so she took her leave after uttering an "If you'll excuse me, I have to make some preparations for breakfast."
"Yeah, no kidding. I'm fine though, thanks for the concern. But you don't need to worry about me, I don't feel anything wrong anywhere at all.", Naruto said as he watched Tsunami walk away from the room.
"That's good to hear.", Kakashi said, "Also, if you're well enough, I suppose you can tell us what happened."
Naruto observed that even though Kakashi had put up the question, both of his teammates were equally inquisitive about the events that had transpired in their absence.
"Nothing much.", Naruto said, not knowing what to tell them.
All of them were surprised at his answer. They were expecting something or the other but not "nothing".
Sakura was the first to express her opinion.
"You can't be serious. All of us saw you fall unconscious as soon as you reached the bridge and your clothes were in such a mess that you could squeeze blood out of them. Something ought to have happened."
Naruto felt nauseated as he felt the recollection of memories associated with the previous day surface in his mind, but pushed it back forcefully. That didn't go unnoticed by Kakashi, but he chose not to force anything on his student.
"Well, I managed to rescue everyone that was held captive at Gato's hubs of operation. They were distributed at various places, so it was a tiring job. I fought a lot of guys, so don't make that big a deal of that blood. I wasn't hurt for the most part, so it all ended well.", Naruto said.
"And what about Gatō?", Sasuke asked.
Kakashi could tell that Naruto wasn't telling them something, or a lot of things. He decided to ask him about it when they reach the village. Meanwhile, he also had the same question in his mind as Sasuke did.
"He's probably dead. Or again, maybe not. I don't know.", Naruto said, "Who knows, I didn't think about it when I threw him into the sea."
That didn't go well easily with Sasuke.
"If anything, you should have made sure that he was dead before you did that. That's the first thing taught to us while in training."
Naruto got irritated by his question as he blurted out, "Well, if you know that much about it why didn't you go and take care of him instead of me?"
Sasuke was pushed on a backfoot with that response. It was true that he had done nothing to contribute in that mission in the first place.
Naruto realised his folly and corrected it quickly, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. By the way, how are you holding up now? You were also wounded in the battle."
Sasuke frowned and turned away as he said, "Hmph, that much isn't enough to take me down. If you have time to think about anyone, worry about yourself, dobe."
Naruto saw that even though Sasuke tried to sound condescending, he was just embarrassed a bit to admit his loss in the battle of the bridge. He left the room after saying that and was followed by none other than Sakura.
"So, what about this mission? We have taken quite a lot of our sweet time here. I think Jiji would be concerned. Shouldn't we go back as soon as possible?", Naruto asked.
"Don't worry, I've contacted Lord Hokage and made him aware of all the details. He also offered to send a backup squad but I refused. There wasn't enough time for them to reach this place before everything happened, so they would've been useless. I have been ordered that we can leave at our own discretion, so we'll do whenever I think you are well enough to travel back.", Kakashi informed.
"That's good. Are Zabuza and Haku still here?", Naruto asked out of curiosity.
"They didn't leave until you came back. The kid was very concerned about you. However, as soon as it was confirmed that you didn't have any major wounds or mortal injuries, Zabuza decided to leave alongwith him. According to him, they were still being followed by hunter nin and it was risky for them to stay at one place after exposing their identity in public. He did say that you were an excellent healer, and asked me to extend his thanks to you. Also, he mentioned that he has written your name in his bingo book, so you should be careful now."
Naruto had just nodded in acknowledgement and laughed for some reason when Inari suddenly barged into the room.
"Hey, you're really awake! I thought Mom was just joking. I'll go and tell everyone!"
He didn't even stop to listen to Naruto who sweatdropped before he took off as fast as he had dropped by.
Kakashi and Naruto looked at each other before the former said, "Looks like things are soon going to be lively around here."
Scene Break and Time Skip
A night of celebration was the one thing that everyone in the land unanimously wished for. And it was the evening.
All of the people of the town had gathered at the square in front of the town hall. There wasn't probably a single soul who wouldn't have wanted to join the whole town in the night of the celebrations.
The arrangements seemed modest, but with access to the limited resources they had, the people had put their hearts behind the work to make the night as much enjoyable and comfortable for their children and elders respectively.
The shinobi from Konoha had been invited as honoured guests to be present at the occasion, although everyone's prime focus was their hero, Naruto. They were escorted to the venue by Tazuna and his family, where everyone hogged around Naruto to talk to him, much to the annoyance of his teammates.
The Konoha shinobi were seated in the front while the family of the bridge builder had also been invited to take seats beside them.
"Ahem! Your attention please, ladies and gentlemen."
Everyone turned to the source of the voice which was directed from a makeshift stage. The anchor was a middle aged man who seemed to be one of the lively ones. Excited to hear the opening ceremony, the crowd quietened down real quick.
"I humbly welcome all of you on this joyous occasion, when we have finally achieved complete freedom of our nation. For years and years, the tyrant Gatō had been exploiting the land and its people mercilessly, and we were powerless to do anything about it. The bridge that would connect us to the mainland was out only hope and I would like to thank Tazuna-san, the bridge builder as we all know, who worked tirelessly day and night to fulfill the dream that we all wished would come to fruition one day."
A round of applause echoed through the crowd as the anchor bowed to him out of respect. Tazuna just waved his hand off lightly when the anchor offered him to say a few words, in an attempt to show some modesty.
"However, it would be a lie if I say that it would have been possible with only with our strength. At the time of crisis, we sought aid from Konoha. Despite knowing that we had deceived them and they would be in grave danger once they set foot on our land, all of them risked their lives and decided to help us in an act of humanity. I would like everyone to applaud the shinobi from Konoha who came to us in the form of our saviours in this dire situation."
A loud applause was heard and a few enthusiastic cheers arose from the crowd.
"Having said that, we all know that there was one among them whose contribution in liberating our homeland and rescuing our people was second to none. I don't have any doubts over the fact that no one will have any reservations even if I say that we owe him our lives and nothing less than that.", he said in an ever increasing loud voice, "Even after crossing blades with the Demon of the Mist, he chose to shake off any concern over his own well being and ran off to rescue those in need without a second thought. Each and every person in our land, be it children or the elderly, he gave them back their families and thus their happiness. We will forever be indebted to him, and we are grateful for that."
"A true hero, in all manners. I would like to have the honour to present to you our saviour, our lionheart, our paragon. Please welcome with your cheers, the one and only, Naruto Uzumaki!"
The crowd erupted into cheers and claps and howls like never before, and all of them were chanting in unison.
"Naruto!" "Naruto!" "Naruto!" "Naruto!" "Naruto!" "Naruto!"
Naruto was rubbing the back of his head sheepishly as he looked at Kakashi. The latter gestured slightly in affirmation as he allowed Naruto to take the stage and address the audience who was crazy over the blond ninja.
As he looked at Naruto walking to the stage, he had only one thought, 'I have a feeling that he's isn't just going to utter a thanks and come back. This should be interesting.'
Naruto confidently walked up as the anchor happily handed over the stage to him and joined the audience.
"A very good evening to all the citizens of the Land of Waves. I would have liked to say 'Let's get this party started already!', but unfortunately for you guys I'm going to take my sweet time today.", he said.
A few chuckles were heard from the audience. No one was impatient today, all of them wanted to hear him say whatever he wanted for as long as he did.
"First of all, I can't thank you enough for having us here invited to this occasion and giving me so much love. I'm overwhelmed right now. It wasn't just me who helped for the cause of making this nation sovereign and drive back the people who wanted to rob you of your freedom. Each and every person came out courageously to defend their homeland from a foe which was far more stronger than them, and that is the only reason why we're standing here today with our fate in our own hands."
"If anyone should get the credit, it ought to be the builder Tazuna-san. He undertook the mammoth task of constructing the bridge that would mark the first step of retaliation against the tyrant businessman as his own responsibility and worked extensively and diligently at the risk of his own life at such age, so that the countless children of his country like his own grandson could live with their heads raised in pride. At the threat of the enemies, he took the journey to Konoha alone so that the hopes of the people who had put their faith in the bridge would not get crushed. You have done a great service to your nation, Tazuna-san. Everyone is proud of you."
'I never thought that I would have to hear that from a child, but oh well. I guess it's okay this time.', Tazuna thought with a chuckle.
"Now, coming to my focus of this talk, I would like to ask all the people something.", Naruto said as everyone kept a pin drop silence in order to listen to him, "What is going to prevent such a tragedy from befalling this land once again?"
The people were confused at the question and the brief manner in which it was presented.
The anchor was the first to become the voice from the crowd as he said, "I'm afraid we didn't get the question, Naruto-san. We thought that Gatō was already done for, and we will fight again if we have to..."
Sensing how the guy had trailed off in the end, Naruto knew he had to prompt the answers himself.
"Gatō wasn't the only bad person in the world, as I'm sure you all know. However, I would like to ask you how would you 'fight off' the enemy of it happens again? Take all of your farm equipments and utensils to the bridge in order to fight trained mercenaries? Struggle for years to fulfill a single hope such as the bridge and live a life of misery until date somehow grants you the freedom you 'deserve'?"
Everyone was still silent. No one had any answers. True, they were going to celebrate the freedom they had achieved after such a long time, but no one had taken a single moment to worry about the future. Everyone knew it was inevitable, but no one had the courage to voice their thoughts.
"The fact that you have achieved complete freedom right now is nothing more than a fluke. Also, it's so transient that someone or the other like Gatō would probably already be planning to take up his place, and by the time we're done with these celebrations they would be on our doorstep. Gatō was totally caught by surprise, and all of his hierarchy and organisation was demolished in a single day. That was the only reason he lost. But it was a fortunate incidence for us, because in real life that doesn't happen a lot, if at all."
"Warfare is never only physical, especially on such a large scale. In a long drawn conflict, the masses are the ones who suffer the most. I heard that even Gatō hadn't used force to capture this town initially, he was strategically building up his connections and contacts to cover the entire region. Tell me, who is the one that gave him access to the ports where he docked his ships? Or the community houses where he filled up his subordinates? Or even the minor pieces of land distributed throughout the region where he built his offices and supply houses?"
The people were silent at first, but Naruto didn't proceed. He wanted to hear something, this was an interaction and not a seminar.
The anchor once again voiced the public as he gulped and said, "We have a municipal corporation that leases the ports and community centres. Since we're a port town and this land is a prime hub for transport, we were delighted to accept the generous amount of money we got in exchange for that. As for the lands, Gatō bought them from the people at such a handsome price that no one had any reason to refuse. How could we have known that it was a trap to lay siege on our land?"
"You proved the point pretty well, thank you. Gatō played with his mind, he knew that nobody was looking even if some places were under his control precisely because this place is just a bunch of peace loving people who think that the world is as naive and pacific as them. And the bigger point is, even if someone or the other noticed, what would they even be able to do by themselves? It isn't common that everyone gather together and listen to a single person with such interest as fortunate as me today. So, tell me what you would to protect the peace you have fought so hard to achieve?"
Everyone looked at one another but no reasonable explanation or plan came to their mind.
After a long pause and the dying down of the murmurs within the crowd, a person finally stood up and said, "None of us seem to have an answer, Naruto-san. You have helped us a lot already and we certainly don't expect more from you, but if you have a solution, we humbly request that you enlighten us."
All of them nodded in acknowledgement. If the ninja had posed such a question to them quite elaborately and yet in simple terms, he would surely have a proper solution to the dilemma too.
"Despite many of you who may believe that there's too many alternatives to choose correctly from, that's apparently not the right way to approach at it.", Naruto said as he gave them all a glance, "Elect a leader. That is the only solution."
There was a commotion in the crowd as the babble of conversations didn't make anything properly or clearly audible, yet the uproar caused a disturbance in the quiet atmosphere of the place.
Naruto raised one of his palms in the air and that was enough to silence the crowd. Everyone looked at him once again in order to learn more about the reason behind this suggestion. After all, they were sure that something like this would have never ever crossed their minds, given how much radical the idea was.
"I'm sure many of you would want the system to somehow work smoothly as it has been for long, because that would give every individual the right to do whatever they would want to, without being under the condition of serving or bowing to anyone.", he said, "However, being subject to a government would instead enforce law and order in the land and show everyone that all of the people are united under a single body. That would actually help to keep in check any outside influence that would threaten the peace and freedom of the people."
"Also, the government being formed by the people of this country itself would have no other propaganda except for the welfare of the people and the progress of this country. Therefore, the autonomy of the individual would not be hindered in any way, except for restraining the unruly elements who would be punished under the rule of law."
"I feel like I am overexplaining a bit, but if this helps you understand the importance to governance then it's fine. This is nothing new. Every other land which has been involved in dealings with other nations have their own forms of governments, efficient or not. Even the shinobi village I come from, Konohagakure no Sato, is presided over by a man named as the Hokage. Wonder what'll happen if every ninja is left on their own to do whatever they want."
"Anarchy is the ideal form of functioning of society in a utopian world. On the other hand, it is undisputedly the worst form in this real world we live in today. Hence, with everyone gathered here today for a single cause, that is to celebrate the freedom of the nation, I put forward the suggestion that you choose a leader that would govern over the Land of Waves and its people."
Everyone was captivated by the young man's sagacity and grasp over the workings of the geopolitical and administrative systems of a state. Even the kids were impressed with him, because he had explained it to the people in a brief and understandable manner. They had been made aware of the dire need to form a body of governance which would rule their land.
A young woman from the crowd made a suggestion.
"If we're talking about governance, democracy would be the best option to choose. It is not common around but it seems like the perfect one."
Naruto smiled at the woman, who blushed reflexively in response.
'I'm glad that the people are starting to think about all this. Their participation in this matter is the key to getting them where I want this discussion to end.', he thought.
"Theoretically, yes. A democracy is the government of the people, for the people and by the people. The leaders would be chosen by the people for a term, and then they would have to be re-elected after a certain amount of time. This would ensure that they have to constantly work for the welfare of the community or the people will remove them from a state of power.", he said.
The woman got a few pats on the back from her friends and some acknowledgement from the people.
"However, Miss I'm afraid to say that this would also not be the best course of action to take. Re-elections after a certain period of time need a lot of infrastructure and workforce to be conducted properly. It isn't like all of you will gather here again after a few years to choose another leader with a unanimous opinion. There are factions and then there are conflicts, even riots for political power. Even if everything goes peacefully, the elected leaders would always be trying to incentivise the people to stay on their good side rather than focus on actual growth and development. These are the major drawbacks of this type of a system."
"As I said, in theory a democratic government would be great but that would probably take a lot of time, maybe generations before we can implement it correctly and plug the loopholes of its flaws. In this era we live in, there is little merit in adopting such kind of a system."
The people understood his point as they discussed among themselves what could be the best approach to find the right solution. Naruto stood there quietly as he waited for the populace to come up with a suggestion.
An old man stood up from his seat and said, "Why must we look for alternatives right now? We are a much poorer and backward nation right now as compared to other countries. Rather than to experiment with unseen systems, we should adopt the system followed by virtually all of the other nations."
The people were about to raise questions on the issue but Naruto beat them to it.
"Bingo! That's some real life experience right there. He's absolutely right. I too am of the opinion that this land should adopt the system used by every other nation. In short, the head of the land should be the Feudal Lord, or as we know them, the Daimyō."
The anchor immediately cross questioned him.
"But the title of Daimyō has been passed on to the royal family members of every nation since time immemorial. They are not elected by the people, but only rule them. How can we just start electing them and then not call it a democracy?"
Naruto knew this would need a little bit more explanation
(A/N : See, I gave a warning in the opening author's note that there was going to be a social science lecture. But I can already hear people cursing at me from the future. Okay, okay. I'll try to keep it short. xD)
"You can't re-elect anyone here, that is the difference. To keep it simple, I want you all to make someone your ruler in a standing decision and then follow or obey them for the rest of your life. The next time a ruler will be decided will either be at the will of the current one or the people once again, if he is no more. This is not just a decision you can overturn in a matter of some time, so make a choice like your life depends on it. Thank you very much for listening to me, that is the end of this monologue." , he explained.
All of them looked at each other with blank faces, as if unsure of what to do. Neither had anyone ever formed connections with the people at such a large scale that they could claim to lead the whole country, nor anyone knew of a political leader that they could vouch for. On top of that, they had just been told that it wasn't something to be taken lightly.
Unsure of the answer herself, one of the women asked her child playfully, "What do you say, dear? If you had to listen to someone else except Mom and Dad for your whole life, who would you choose?"
No one expected the first response to be as quick and easy, and the mother was surprised too as she didn't expect an answer at all. The child had raised his finger and pointed it in a certain direction, as if the answer was clear as day.
All of the people who had noticed the seemingly insignificant occurence smiled as they instantly got their answer. Many more fingers were pointed and in a matter of few seconds everyone had formed their opinion.
Naruto was visibly shocked as the whole of town square pointed his fingers at him, and he didn't even realise initially as to what was going on. He had certainly not expected this kind of development to occur, that's for sure. He looked left and right, and everywhere he saw the fingers pointing at him.
The anchor jumped up his seat excitedly, "So what will you do now, Naruto-san? The people have chosen their leader as you have asked. Now, what is your answer to the people of this land who have put their entire trust into you? Let us hear it, Naruto-san!"
Kakashi chuckled slightly looking at the scene around him.
'You must've had some plan in mind when you started this, Naruto. But by the looks of it, now you've landed yourself in trouble. The people have decided to put their faith in you. That means much more than just being a hero. Now, let's see how will you be able to refuse them politely without breaking their hea--'
"Alright, I accept!"
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"What?!" "Whaat?!" "Wut?!" "Wawt?!" "Whaaaaaaaaa-?!"
His teammates almost fell down to the ground on account of the sudden bewilderment that Naruto dropped upon them in those words. Kakashi stood up from his seat in surprise, while the bridge builder and his family were also very much flabbergasted.
From a normal perspective, it would be a no brainer. At the age of twelve, (and even at the age of hundred for that matter) who wouldn't willingly accept an offer of becoming the ruler of an entire country by the conscious and voluntary choice of the entire people of the land?
Yet, it was one hell of a shock when Naruto did that, after all the times that he had announced to the village about going to become the Hokage. It was possible that Naruto had found it a marvelous once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and grabbed it just in case. However, everyone who was acquainted to Naruto knew that he wasn't such a shallow person to take that decision out of greed, or without thinking it through properly.
"Yes, you heard right. I am overwhelmingly grateful to the citizens that they chose to entrust their lives and their future in my hands, so I'm quite unable to refuse this offer. I will always keep in my heart the welfare and goodwill of the people of this land for as long as I live, I promise you that. Citizens of Wave Nation, do you accept me as your leader, and pledge to serve your country with all your strength, live for it's prosperity and die for its cause if I demand you to?"
The people had just been asked if they were willing to give up their lives for him, but everyone knew that there was only one person present in the entire land for whom the masses felt they owe their life, and would gladly lay it down for him.
"HAAAAAAAI, NARUTO-SAMA!"
Someone shouted really loudly from the crowd, and then everyone followed as the whole town echoed the chants of his name.
"Naruto-sama!" "Naruto-sama!" "Naruto-sama!"
"Naruto-sama!" "Naruto-sama!" "Naruto-sama!"
A young girl walked up the stage and approached Naruto as the noise died down.
"Chitose-chan, how've you been?", he asked, surprised to find her.
"Not good. Everyone was so scared for you that day. But we're glad that you came back in one piece.", she said.
"Thanks for the concern. But I had no choice, I did promise to come back after all.", Naruto chuckled.
"Anyway, I believed that you would. And we will finally be free.", she said, "So when the adults were working on the bridge, I made this as a symbol for all of us so that we can wear it and also put it on our bridge."
She handed over something to him which he looked at with the utmost curiosity. It was a piece of white cardboard on which there was an elementary design of the waves in the sea. She had glued a ribbon on the backside of the artpiece, and then a safety pin to attach it just like a badge. It might have seemed pretty basic but the effort put into it had been real.
'An insignia that is representative of the core of the emotions flowing within the people right now.', Naruto thought as he couldn't stop a grin forming on his face, 'I can't even imagine how better this day could get."
"Thank you very much, Chitose-chan. This is awesome!", Naruto said.
"Hehe, you're welcome. Won't you wear this right now though?", she asked.
Sensing her disappointment, Naruto assured her with a smile, "Don't worry, the Daimyō of Wave is going to wear this with pride and honour. You'll just have to wait a little bit. Now go back with the others, and thanks again."
Chitose grinned and returned to her grandfather who was sitting near the bridge builder.
"As everyone witnessed what just happened, I suppose there would be no need to explain. As the Daimyō, I hereby declare this insignia as the emblem of the Land of Waves. For ages to come, when the people of the land look at it, they should be filled with pride and honour to be an upstanding citizen of this country. And this very badge in my hands is the identity of the Daimyō.", Naruto announced.
"Now, there is just one last thing for me to do for the day. Since I am the Daimyō, no one should have any problem with any decision I make.", Naruto said as he performed a double flip and jumped down the stage.
He was facing the public directly in which the front row was formed by the bridge builder and his family. All of them stood up to acknowledge the young boy.
"Ahem! Greetings, and congratulations to you, Daimyō-sama.", Tazuna said.
"Thanks, congratulations to you too.", Naruto replied.
Tazuna was confused at the remark as he asked, "What for?"
Naruto just winked at him and mysteriously said, "You'll see."
Next up was Tsunami, who had a proud smile as she said, "I knew you had it in you, but I didn't think you'd be this good. Congratulations on becoming the Daimyō!"
"I guess I shouldn't make a 'No you' remark here.", Naruto said as he almost laughed, yet not in a joking manner.
Everyone looked at him in a manner as if they didn't understand if they should be able to understand what he was talking about or not, because in all honesty, nobody had a clue.
"What do you mean by that, Na--"
"Well, I resign."
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"..."
Okay, everyone heard him this time, but there was still no one who could believe what they heard or someone who didn't think that it would surely have had to be a joke.
Nevertheless, Naruto kept a straight face as he further explained,
"As you all must have heard clearly, I hereby declare my resignation from the position of the Daimyō. Therefore, as per my authority as the vacating seat, I would like to kindly request a certain person to take up on it."
He gracefully moved his left hand behind his back and bowed courteously in the royal greeting manner as he lifted his right hand to present the emblem to the person in front of him and said,
"It is an honour to be able to hand this invaluable artefact to the Daimyō personally. Please accept if you will, my lady."
Everyone forgot about Naruto for a second, as they looked at the supposed recipient of the article. Except for one, who was looking at everyone else left and right. Finally, she looked at Naruto again to verify his intentions.
"WAIT, ME?!"
Tsunami felt as if she was just a spectator one moment and next she was being handed the stage without any prior notice (which is a poor simile/metaphor but whatever). But this wasn't even about a stage, she was intended to be responsible for the entire nation for contemporary times and then generations to come.
She stumbled back a step or two until she couldn't because of the crowd pushing around to know what exactly was happening out there.
"No wait, is that supposed to be a joke or anything? You're not serious, are you?", she asked.
Everyone around her, especially her family members were as much baffled if not more. Inari's jaw had hit the floor and Tazuna couldn't believe his ears. All of them had the same question.
"Why yes, of course! I am completely serious about this. I have no idea why you might assume it to be a joke.", Naruto said in a completely non-believable voice.
Tsunami replied, "But even if you somehow resign, why do I have to be the Daimyō? There are so much more... intelligent, knowledgeable and experienced people other than me."
Tazuna added, "I agree with that, definitely. What do you take my daughter for? She's been a housewife for years now, and she doesn't know anything about politics or whatever."
Only Naruto's team members were the ones who, unlike everyone who was holding their breath subconsciously, had sighed in relief. At least he had made clear that he wasn't going to remain the Daimyō of the land, so it was easier for them to sit back and just enjoy the drama which would be sure to unfold here.
Naruto grabbed Tsunami's hand and pulled at it while slowly led her on the top of the stage as he said, "This is the biggest mistake that the people of this land made and could make once again. My ultimate goal is to prevent exactly that."
Once both of them were on the stage, he didn't waste any time and started,
"I know all of you must be completed confused at the moment, which is all definitely my fault. Guilty as charged. But I'd like to defend myself here and tell you that it wasn't to joke around or play with your emotions. Just hear me out, and then whatever you decide I will gladly accept."
Everyone stood still without making a sound, their silence an affirmation for him to keep going.
"I am very deeply honoured that all of you chose me to become your leader. However, I still cannot concur with the opinion that it was the best decision in your interests. Even though it feels pretty weird saying something like this about myself, I think I need to make it clear that I am an outsider. I really did not have anything to do with your land until last week, did I?"
"If you don't want to fall victim to someone who would try to take over your land again, the first thing you should do would be for someone to lead the right whom you can fully trust and is one from amongst yourselves. Never should you entrust the future of your nation to someone who hasn't loved their country as their own for their entire life."
The people talked amongst each other and nodded heads. They didn't lose their trust in him, if anything it only increased because he wanted to look out for them so far ahead into the future. However, there were still a lot of doubts and unanswered questions.
"It's completely understandable that you want one of us to be the Daimyō as a citizen of the country. But why does it have to be her if it could be any of us? Can't I become the Daimyō then? Not everyone wants her to be the Daimyō, and not everyone wants me to be. That's the same thing then.", a grumpy old man asked.
Not everyone would have sounded that rude, but there sure was that doubt lingering in their minds.
"No, you sure can't. All of you had unanimously elected me to be the Daimyō. The decision is not in your hands anymore, it's in mine. I have complete authority to name whoever I wish to be my successor. Whether I wish to continue or not, is also entirely upto me. You'll have to listen to the leader regardless of who it is and what they ask of you. If you don't, the pledge you took to behold for the reform of your motherland will itself be reduced to dust."
The public looked at him with scrutiny. While it took others some time, a few bright ones added the two and two together and it wasn't difficult to deduce what was going on.
Naruto had played them, but it was in a way for their own benefit. Earlier, there was only one person who everyone unanimously agreed to elect. No one in the land would directly get as much support from the people. That is why he took away the choice which would have been the source of disagreement between the people and that could escalate into something serious, now or later. Now, the people were bound by their own oath to serve and obey whoever was the Daimyō of their country.
Naruto sensed that there was only a little more he needed to push to get his point through and said, "Nevertheless, since all of you entrusted me with your lives, I would never make a decision that would harm any of you, directly or indirectly. I have chosen a good candidate for you to be the next Daimyō. No one is perfect from the start, but that's great as you'll observe your progress alongwith her. Let me cite a few reasons, which would probably make you believe the same thing too."
"First and foremost, she has been a citizen of this country from the day she was born. Just like all of you, she also has the same bond with the land which she calls home. She works in her household and is a responsible mother. Who better to take care of the sobbing child that is the people than a mother who has been working hard for the future of her own child tirelessly for years? Moreover, she is the daughter of the man whose determination led to the creation of the bridge that granted the land its first hope of freedom. Neither too young to be considered immature and nor too old to be considered approaching senility, I think everything about her makes her as good a candidate to take good care of the land as there can be. Those of who know her personally would definitely know what I'm talking about, and those who don't will do in the near future, I'm sure of it."
No one had any issue with his decision by now, as there wasn't any better alternative in anyone's mind. There might have been equally conceivable or suitable options, but not better. And after Naruto had declared the decision as his own, this one gained much more authenticity.
However, the most troubled person there couldn't refrain from making an argument.
"But as I said, like you there are many knowledgeable people around --"
Naruto cut off her claim in the middle as he said, "That's actually the least logical reason for you or anyone to express any dissent over the matter, no offence. Gatō, for example, was much more shrewd, intelligent, cunning, knowledgeable and clever of a person than any of you might probably be. That wouldn't change the situation at all, if they exploit the people and the land for their own agendas or benefits. What the people need is someone who they can blindly trust and follow, someone whose word is the voice of the people themselves."
"Your heart is what should be one with the spirit of the Wave. It's not the knowledge or experience, but the unyielding power of love for one's nation should be within you. If the people are with you, you can do anything to protect your nation."
Tsunami was surprised how mature the young ninja seemed to look right now. The whole populace was spellbound and enchanted by the weight of each word that carried with itself as it left his mouth. Naruto's charisma had completely captivated the crowd.
"So, I'll ask again.", Naruto said as he had already taken up the bowing pose, "Would you be willing take up the responsibility to rule this country and its people and pledge to lead them to a bright future?"
Tsunami looked around only to find everyone expecting an answer from her. Whether they wanted a positive response or a negative one, she couldn't tell from the distance. Nonetheless, she had to give a reply of her own accord regardless of anyone else's opinion.
It was almost nightfall and yet the celebration was due. She felt a spark of patriotism from within, when she looked at the endless crowd of commonalty like her own self in the town. She was given a chance to lead her people out of misery and alleviate their pain. It was also a responsibility to keep true to her intentions of making the land a better place for her own son and the children alike.
Moreover, Naruto had shown belief in her and placed his trust to protect the land he had risked his life to save.
"I do accept. It's an honour.", Tsunami said.
The crowd was just waiting for her to say these words anxiously before it erupted into cheers. Men, women and children alike were roaring with excitement and lauds and hollers. The whole Land of Waves was exhilarated at the coronation of their new ruler.
Tsunami watched as someone suddenly appeared beside Naruto from the crowd. Apparently the latter had gestured for her to come upon the stage.
Naruto handed over the insignia back to its original designer, Chitose. He asked her to put the badge on Tsunami herself.
"As promised, your badge will be worn by the first Daimyō of the Land of Waves, and then many more to come.", he said.
Tsunami was surprised as she said, "First? But you handed over the position to me. Shouldn't you have been the first to wear it?"
Naruto just chuckled as he said, "Let's just consider that a temporary thing and leave it at that. The seat that I want to achieve is that of the Hokage and none other. It would be better to leave this land in the hands of its own people, in history as well as the future."
With that, he didn't give her enough time to reply and prompted Chitose to do the work as everyone was impatiently waiting, although in a good way. The girl planted the badge onto Tsunami's dress before the Daimyō herself picked the girl up and hugged her.
"It's an pleasure to be in your presence, Daimyō-sama."
Tsunami looked at Naruto as he kneeled on one leg and bowed his head slightly like a knight while he put his hand on his heart as a mark of respect.
Immediately after, the whole crowd assumed the same stance and the noise was automatically silenced on its own. She looked at everyone who was now under her care or jurisdiction. She was now in a position of authority as well as responsibility.
With a content smile on her face, she knew that enough had happened for the day and there was only one thing left to say.
With the top of her voice, she shouted, "What are we waiting for? Let's get this party started!"
Time Skip(A little bit later)
All of them were enjoying the celebration like they had never before. Despite the recovery phase they were still suffering from, there were supposedly no limits to either food or booze for the night.
Naruto was looking at the people from a corner lost in some thought when someone tapped him on the shoulder. Shaking himself out of the trance, he imagined it would be just some other girl asking if he was single for the umpteenth time this evening.
However, he had almost guessed by the aroma registering in his brain slowly before he saw the person standing beside and greeted her.
"Margaret-san! How've you been? Oh, thank you very much.", Naruto said as he happily took the plate that she was holding for him.
"I've been just fine, thanks to you. Just quite worried about you in fact, after everyone saw you in that condition the other day.", she replied. "Even today, I assumed you'd be standing around in some corner letting everyone else enjoy the feast before yourself, so I brought you some of the special dishes that I made myself."
Naruto took a bite out of the food before he said, "Thanks, I appreciate it. I just thought that I should let the people enjoy the celebration freely, since they'd surely be concerned about me more than themselves if I joined them. Ahem, so... you're a volunteer cook for tonight, I assume?"
"Yup, we got the reason to celebrate such a big event in this town after such a long time. Everyone wanted to contribute as much as they could, and that includes me. It's a thousand times better than cooking for those bastards.", she said.
"Easy, easy there. Try to forget all that happened before. You will only hurt yourself if you remember those times. Try to live your life in a new way from now on, and focus on your family more.", Naruto replied, "This curry is delicious, by the way."
"Yeah, you're right.", she said with a sigh but then had a mischievous grin on her face, "Speaking of which, I saw all that happened today. You must have some balls to be putting a whole country at stake just for the sake of flirting with a single mother."
Naruto almost choked on his food as he coughed hard before she gave him some water.
"Shy as always, I see.", Margaret said as she went near the boy and rubbed his back.
It was almost lost in the noise of the crowd but as she whispered in his ear Naruto could've swore he heard something which went like "But tell me honestly, are you really not into girls your age or do you have some other unusual wishes--"
Fortunately or not, someone grabbed his attention in the middle of the sentence as his jacket was tugged at. He looked at the source, and to his surprise he found someone he didn't expect.
"Kiko-chan!", Naruto exclaimed and right behind he also spotted her older sibling, "Ichiro!"
"How've you guys been? I hope you didn't give that old man any trouble after that time.", he said.
Both of the kids were as much excited to see him as they hugged him which he gladly returned back.
"Not at all. We kept our best behaviour the whole time, until you saved everyone from the bad guys. We will always be grateful for what you've done for us.", Ichiro said, always the sincere one.
"Yes, Nii-san told me that you went to fight them all alone to save everyone. Thank you for bringing our mom back.", Kiko said.
"Yeah, I did want to bring everyone back but I can't say that I didn't have you guys in mind when I left.", Naruto said sheepishly with a forced chuckle, "But hey, come to think of it, your mom must've been very concerned about you guys all this time. You should introduce me someday. I'd be happy to meet her."
Kiko gave him a confused look and said, "What are you talking about?"
Naruto was caught a little off guard at the question and was about to shrug it off but then caught sight of Ichiro who was looking at him the same way.
Perplexed, he looked at the only other person present with them to check if there was something only he didn't get. To add to his puzzlement, she was just covering her mouth to cover the grin which formed on her face.
He was too tired to think about it, so he looked at Kiko back to ask her directly what exactly did she mean by that. Before he could ask anything though, a realisation struck him like lightning. He looked at Margaret once again after sparing a glance at Ichiro, and he knew why she was laughing and what Kiko was talking about.
The similarity was too much to go unnoticed if one looked them side by side. He had wondered before where he had seen Margaret but it was actually not her that he had seen.
Naruto took a step back and said, "Oh, don't tell me..."
"Hahaha, that face is priceless. Although, you guessed right. These two are my kids. Flesh and blood. I wanted to tell them about you but it looked like you were already acquainted.", Margaret said.
Naruto felt completely uncomfortable around the kids knowing what he did to their mother. Granted, it was the necessity of the situation and he didn't directly do anything, but it doesn't take much to make the situation a bit awkward.
"Whoa, who could've guessed. Anyways, it was nice talking to you guys. I think I should leave now. You must have a lot of work to do. Enjoy the night!", he said as he tried to get away from them.
However, Margaret was too quick to catch up on his subtle expressions of embarrassment and thus grabbed his arm to stop him.
"Wait! You don't need to go anywhere. We're done here anyways, let's go kids. Come on, I'll be right behind."
The kids nodded and walked away as she kept holding on to his arm. Naruto couldn't speak anything because he was blushing in embarassment by now. It was due to the fact that she held him too tightly and his elbow was pressing too much into her big bosom.
"Fine, I'll leave for now. But remember, I don't want to be indebted to anyone, including you. Since I heard all about how you saved my children, I'll make sure repay you next time you come around here in the best way I can. Good night!", she said before she winked and walked away.
Naruto just turned his head away from the sight of her wiggling butt, which might or might not have been intentional.
"Hmph, what are you getting all flustered about? It's not like I did anything on purpose.", he said to himself.
He looked for his teammates as it was getting late into the night and easily located them in a group near the stage. He approached Kakashi who looked like he wasn't exactly enjoying the small talk very much but was courteous enough to sit with them through the night.
"Welcome, Naruto! Everyone's been talking about you and you weren't seen around very much. Come join us!", Kakashi said.
Naruto instantly perceived his intentions, though.
'Oh really, Kakashi-sensei? You want to make me sit here so that all attention is diverted to me and you can slip by easily. Not happening.", he thought.
"Sorry, but that won't be possible Sensei. I'm too sleepy right now since I am not completely recovered yet. I'll need some extra sleep. You guys shouldn't worry about me though, keep the people company for me.", he said with a wide grin.
"Yeah, yeah. No problem, Naruto-san. Please take care of yourself. We'll make sure your friends enjoy this party till the end!", a young man in the group exclaimed and then rest followed in agreement.
Kakashi had his eye smile on his face as he thought, 'Damn you, Naruto. You're too clever to fool. I should've tried someone else. Now I'm totally stuck.'
Naruto was having fun knowing his teacher's inner frustration while he noticed Sasuke and Sakura watching a traditional group dance from the other end of the stage.
"Hey, you!"
Naruto was surprised when someone shoved him in the chest, but restrained himself when he saw who the person was.
"Don't go around calling me old in front of everyone. I'm not that senile. My grandson isn't even ten years old yet."
It was Tazuna. Apparently, he had drunk too much and he wasn't in control of his actions at all. He looked like he was barely able to stand after taking the support of a chair and still being wobbly on his feet.
"Sure, sure. You aren't that old, but if you keep drinking so much you'll have to face life threatening diseases much earlier in your life. Keep it in moderation, for God's sake.", Naruto replied without expecting an answer and gently pushed him down on a chair to stabilize him.
He looked at Inari who was still playing with the other children, but the most important person in the land didn't seem to be found at all.
"Where did Tsunami-san go? I can't seem to spot her at all.", Naruto asked Kakashi.
"Oh, her. She left early saying that today was a bit hectic for her, so she wanted to get some rest. She headed home afterwards.", Kakashi explained.
"I see.", Naruto said before he put his hand on Kakashi's shoulder and continued, "I'll be leaving, Sensei. Too tired. Enjoy the event for me too."
As he watched Naruto walk away, he opened the piece of paper that the latter slid over his shoulder a few seconds ago and read it.
We've overstayed enough. We'll leave tomorrow morning. It was only an excuse just now, I'm perfectly fine and ready to travel. Try to slip away soon, or you won't be able to get enough sleep.
Naruto
'Phew, so that's how it is. If Naruto's fine, then there's really no reason for us to stay here. I guess I should let Sasuke and Sakura know... But before that, how the hell should I excuse my way out of all these people pouring down hospitality to no ends?!'
Scene Break and Time Skip
Naruto didn't waste much time as he Shunshin'd his way back to the bridge builder's home. He knew that he was now completely recovered, but he'd like to have a proper amount of sleep before they had to travel back to Konoha.
As he was about to enter the house, he spotted the shadow of a human sitting at the edge of the pier. Knowing who the person was, he decided that it would be for the best to have a word or two.
"Having a good time, Daimyō-sama?"
Tsunami looked back in surprise to find none other than the blond ninja smiling at her. She sighed and turned her her again before she said,
"I guess I am. This is probably the last day I can do this."
While he slipped off his sandals and folded his trousers upto his knees, Naruto said, "And why do you think so? In my opinion, this is the first day you are having an experience like this. It's only going to stay the same."
She replied, "Yeah, as if. I don't really know what I was thinking back when I accepted your proposal. I guess I did want to do something good for my nation and be in a position of authority, but doesn't everyone just sit back and home and dream about that? It's entirely different to actually be in that place and run an entire government. I can't even decide what should I make for breakfast tomorrow, so how the hell would I know how much taxes we need to do on imports or stuff like that. I feel like I've made a really big mistake."
Naruto calmly slipped his legs into the cold water in the same way as the woman, and then said,
"Tsunami-san, if you ask me, I can say with certainty that no Daimyō in the entire Five Great Nations would alone be intelligent enough to run an entire country on his own. It's just not possible. To be able to rule doesn't mean that you should be able to know everything that's happening everywhere in your land everytime."
"You should probably come here every night like this and relish the feeling of relaxation in your body as the waves wash off all the unwanted anxiety from one's being. I think that all you need to do is keep the welfare of your people in your mind and heart, rest all will follow. You'll find capable people soon enough who will further distribute the responsibilities to efficient people, and that's how a system is created. As for the guy who knows the economics behind the taxes on imports, I doubt he'd be able to make tomorrow's breakfast as good as you do."
Tsunami was listening intently the entire time but couldn't repress a chuckle at the statement in the end.
She replied, "Of course he won't, but if I'm busy making breakfasts and lunches and dinners, who knows how long it'll be before we can even reach the baseline levels of sustainable livelihood, let alone further growth."
"Rome wasn't (or won't be, lol the timeline issues) built in a day. It would take a lot of time and hard work to push growth back on track. You should institute a good council which will brief you in on everything, while you assign them specific roles for different sectors in terms of development. Even if you hire people from outside on a payroll, it would be fine as long as their work is properly scrutinized.", Naruto said, "I think I remembered a perfect quote which can help you pretty well. 'Be it a clear stream or muddy water, the fish who swim in the right direction always come out on top.' So it's not about the pace at all, but actually the way you're going that matters."
Tsunami didn't even look at him this time as she laughed and said, "You are like, a teenager, barely. Why you always sound so wise and prudent has always baffled me."
"Haha, thanks for the compliment. People sometimes tell me I sound mature for my age, but then sometimes they tell me that my pranks are too childish for my age. So I don't know, maybe it's a mystery.", Naruto said, "Still, I think this would be the perfect time to hand you over what's rightfully the property of the people."
Tsunami looked in puzzlement as Naruto pulled out two scrolls from his pouch. One was black in colour and the other one was white.
"What are these? And what do you mean these are the property of the people?"
Naruto grinned widely and said, "When I infiltrated Gato's headquarters, my clones gathered a lot of information and data about the manner in which that guy manipulated the naive people and defrauded a lot of resources out of them alongwith the system in an indirect way. In this white scroll, you'll find all suitable records and files containing confidential information regarding the transactions. If you manage to find a competent person to help, he'd easily be able to backflow all that capital into the assets of the government directly."
He continued before he could be interrupted, "About the other one, it contains hard cash. An absurd amount. Millions of Ryō lying around in crisp currency. In my opinion, it can be used to accelerate the process of procurement of goods from other lands, as well as in the form of payment to hired services from outside. Like Konoha, for starters. It may sound deceitful for the people whose money was stolen, but they may consider it to be a necessary contribution in the formation of the governing body that protects them in the future. However, it's up to you in the end to do whatever you see in the best interests for your people."
He concluded, "I think that would jumpstart your economy to the baseline you were talking about. Further plans should be made along the way. So, would you be able to sleep peacefully now that you've gained somewhat of a benefit than five minutes ago?"
Tsunami was so flabbergasted that she wanted to jump into the cold water to come back to her senses. She even regretted for a moment that Naruto resigned from the seat of the Daimyō. The guy had literally thought of everything from miles away.
"But...you were injured badly while you fought Gatō. Still, you kept in your mind the well being of the people over your own safety. As the Daimyō, on behalf of the people, I have to say that I am indebted to you, at this present moment and in the times to come."
Naruto just laughed nervously and shrugged it off with an expression of 'No big deal.' on his tired face.
"Honestly, I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't shown up in our times of need for help.", Tsunami sighed, looked at the horizon and said calmly, "It's amazing how the sea was so turbulent a few nights ago that we thought even our house would be wrecked away, and now it's just so soothing to the eye and the soul. I feel a lot less stressed than before. Thanks!"
"Of course! I'm going to be the Hokage, until then the best work I can do is to help as much people as I possibly can.", Naruto said, "Also, it's good you mentioned that storm, I almost forgot about this one thing."
Naruto pulled out a small pouch from his regular one and placed it in Tsunami's palm.
"This one...is a gift from myself to the Daimyō of the Land of Waves. It's got nothing to do with the property or fortunes of the people. Let's just say it's a personal gift to butter up to the Daimyō.", he said.
Tsunami raised her eyebrows in curiosity.
Although, judging by Naruto's mischievous grin, she figured it would have had to be a prank.
"Sure. Well, just remember that the Daimyō will get real mad if there are empty candy wrappers insi--"
She almost dropped the pouch into the sea when she peeked into the contents of the said container. Her hands shook as she tried to open it once again, because she still couldn't believe her eyes. The contents were sparkling brightly in the moonlight, as if pearls from the deepest reaches of the ocean.
The glow was unmistakable to characterize.
Diamonds.
"Naruto-kun, how and where did you get your hands on these things?", Tsunami asked.
"I would have liked to say a good proverb right here but I just can't seem to remember it right now. Oh well, what happened at the time I confronted Gatō was that I had already conjectured he'd take something with him which would be the easiest to carry yet the most valuable item he could possess. I had already known that he had invested most of his money he earned from those shady businesses into buying these rare diamonds. I had enough time to swipe it off his belt in the end.", Naruto explained nonchalantly.
"Ev- Even so, why are you giving this to me? You defeated him so you should keep it for yourself.", Tsunami asked.
"Heh, if I take this I'll have to bring them to the Hokage who will decide what to do with these entities. Worst case, he declares them as the property of the village. Best case, I get to have some share of the money that would be earned after auctioning these things off. Even if I somehow manage to hide them and sell them off without being found out, I really don't want to do that. I have enough for my needs and I'll earn much more. I have a whole life ahead to do that.", he replied, "And as I said, let's just say that I'm giving it to you as a gift in order to get into the Daimyō's good books. I've heard of nobles doing these things, so I guess a commoner also has the right to."
"I'll have to keep quiet about these in my mission report, so I'd request you don't mention it anywhere to Konoha either. Let's just keep this between ourselves. Deal?", he added in a whispering voice, although there wasn't anyone for miles listening to them.
"What do you mean, a gift? Isn't this supposed to be for the benefit of the people? Or maybe for those whom Gatō had wronged even before?", Tsunami asked.
"I don't even care if you throw it into the sea right now.", Naruto said in the most nonchalant way possible, "I already told you, it doesn't matter now where these came from. I defeated Gatō and took them from him. Finders, keepers. And from my own choice, I have given them to you as a present, out of goodwill. What you choose to do with them is none of my business. Not every interaction is professional, you'll need to learn that as you handle your work as the Daimyō or you'll lose sense of yourself as an individual. Live life in every moment."
Tsunami couldn't restrain herself as she lunged over Naruto and embraced him in a tight hug.
"I don't even know what to say to you anymore.", she said, "I wanted to ask one thing though, why'd you choose me to be at the top? And don't give me that explanation from before, you could have had other options."
"Well, what can I say? It's just that the biggest wave I have ever heard of is a a Tsunami. Simple enough.", he said and laughed.
Tsunami also laughed with him as she now knew he didn't have any particular reason to choose her, except for the fact that he appreciated her enough to give her the responsibility.
"Thank you very much. You certainly are in my good books now."
Initially, Naruto was happy about the embrace being merely a show of gratitude but soon enough his cheeks were burning up. He really hadn't noticed until then how much casually she was dressed in her nightwear, and with the close proximity (don't get started on the tautology, grammar freaks :), it's commonly used) they were sharing right now, he was more than flustered.
"It's late into night. I think we should go to bed.", Tsunami said as she released him and and stood up.
"Huuh?! ...Oh, sure.", Naruto said, quite disconcerted after he misunderstood her statement due to the thoughts swirling in his mind.
Tsunami glanced at him and easily inferred by his red-faced expression what he was thinking about. She walked away towards the house but not before she said,
"My, my. You have some naughty thoughts in your mind, don't you Naruto-kun? Too bad you made me the Daimyō, now feel a lot more like I'm entitled to luxury. Maybe a commoner like myself would once have considered letting you share my bed. Now you'll have to reach much higher if you want to indulge in the affluence of someone such as the Daimyō. Oyasumi, Naruto-kun!"
Naruto jumped into the water to cool off while his entire head would've gone up in smoke. Fortunately, the water also helped to cease the nosebleed or he'd have drowned unconscious into the sea.
Scene Break and Time Skip
Almost all of the townspeople had gathered on the end of the bridge to bid farewell to their heroes.
Naruto had dropped the news on them like a bombshell. He had made it sound like they were summoned back to Konoha on orders rather than as if it was a voluntary decision. The people had no choice but to let them leave on such a short notice.
"Just last night you seemed to be enjoying so much, we thought that you were happy with our hospitality. I suppose we were wrong.", an old man spoke.
Naruto stepped forward and replied, "In all honesty, I have been overwhelmed by the love shown by the people of this land. It's not about the hospitality at all, but the fact that we've been on this mission for quite longer than we expected. It's about time we'll have to go back to our home."
Everyone was sad but they wanted to say their goodbyes with a smile on their face.
"Will you come back to meet us, Nii-san?"
Naruto saw that it was a kid among the crowd who had put up the innocent question.
He gave his signature grin and made a victory pose as he shouted, "You shouldn't have any doubt about that, dattebayo! I'll surely come back, that's a promise. But for now, goodbye everyone!"
Everyone shouted goodbye and bid him farewell in cheers.
Naruto left alongwith his team after that and all those left were the people of the Wave.
"Lady Tsunami, I would suggest that it would be appropriate if you name this bridge we have worked on for so long today itself. It's your first day in our land as the Daimyō, so the occasion is as good as any other.", another old man said.
Tsunami looked at the fading silhouette of the blond shinobi into the horizon and gave a hearty smile.
"I might be the one to formally announce the name but I think that there's a consensus among everyone already on whom the bridge should be named after.", she said looking at everybody.
The people looked at each other and then back at her after which they nodded at once.
"It's decided then. We'll call it...", she said aloud.
"NARUTO BRIDGE!"
The boy glimpsed back wondering if he had heard hundreds of people calling out his name in the distance.
Scene Break and Time Skip
"Ahhhhhh, we're finally back home. It's been so long since I've relaxed. I feel like I can fall over any second. The first thing I'm going to do is take a nice long shower.", Sakura said stretching her hands wide and then added, "Also, I'm never going on a mission like this again, ever in my life."
After a fortunately uneventful journey, Squad 7 had finally made it back into the gates of Konoha.
"Me too, Sakura. For once, I agree with you."
The team looked at Naruto with surprise and concern who just stared into the distance when he said that.
"Kakashi-sensei, I'm going home. I'll let you handle the report to the Hokage's office.", he said.
Before anyone could make a remark, he vanished into a swirl of leaves.
"If he can skip, then we can too. It won't matter if the whole team isn't present there anyway, right?", Sakura asked.
Kakashi just sighed in exasperation and said, "Suit yourself."
Both Sasuke and Sakura were relieved on being permitted to leave for their respective homes. Both of them had only one plan and that was to rest and have some free time. They deserved it after such a turnaround of the mission profile.
"Sasuke-kun, would you like to go on a date tonigh--"
Sasuke left the group ignoring her completely. She could do nothing but go in seperate direction towards her home with a slightly dejected face. She had imagined that Sasuke didn't agree everytime for a date because he had to train, so maybe he'd be fine with it when he was taking some time off.
Kakashi, although continuously observing the interactions of the team, had his mind focused on Naruto.
He had noticed his favourite (he can't say this out loud, but everyone knows xD) student completely disconnected with the team or anything else, as he kept his distance and showed no expressions on his face. Far from being the most hyperactive and talkative person, he silently followed behind everyone while traveling and vanished for a time being when they set up camp. When asked where he'd been, he told them he already had dinner and went directly to sleep.
There was something wrong for sure. The fact that it wasn't even inconspicuous made Kakashi feel even worse. He wanted to do something for his student but Naruto never even gave him a chance.
Setting aside the worry from his mind, and in the hope that the blond will come around to his natural personality, he departed to check in their arrival to the headquarters.
Scene Break and Time Skip
(Hokage's office)
"Welcome back, Kakashi. I heard you arrived in Konoha yesterday. I hope your students are safe and sound?", the Hokage asked.
"Yes, sir. They have sustained minor injuries, a lot of them in fact. However, there is no lasting damage. They're strong shinobi, so they'll pull through in no time.", Kakashi replied.
"I suppose that's why you're alone here today, without your squad?", the Hokage said.
"Yes, sir. I thought it was best to let them rest and recuperate after they've been through such a nightmare.", Kakashi replied.
"That's fine by me. You here to fill in the mission report?", the Hokage asked.
"I have finished up the report, Lord Hokage, but there is a problem.", Kakashi said.
The Hokage inhaled a huge puff from his cigar and then exhaled it out in a cloud of smoke.
"Let's see. It's Naruto, isn't it?", he asked.
Kakashi blinked twice before he replied, "Uh, yes. But how did you know?"
The Hokage pulled his drawer open and took out a headband. He tossed it to Kakashi who was confused at first, but opened his eyes wide when he inspected it.
"This is Naruto's...did he drop by to see you yesterday?", he asked.
The Hokage said, "Appraently he did drop by, although it wasn't to see me. Quite unusual, since he's always eager to barge in on my office and announce his presence in the most loudest way possible. An ANBU guard stationed in the office said that he walked in through the window, removed his headband to put it right here and then made his way out as quietly. I was actually wondering if you would know something about that."
"Unfortunately, no. I've been noticing him getting distant since we left the Land of Waves but always shrugged it off telling myself that he'd come around.", Kakashi looked even more worried now as he said, "Also, I've been trying to reach him since this morning, but there's no trace of him anywhere. You may not believe it, but I asked at Ichiraku's Ramen and they told me that there's no way Naruto's back in town because the first thing he'd have done is to eat his beloved ramen."
"Why were you looking for him, by the way? You just said you wanted to let them all rest.", the Hokage asked.
"The mission report, sir. I have prepared what I could and observed, but something major happened while I wasn't there. Neither were the other two. Naruto infiltrated the enemy territory alone, broke out the captives and only when he returned we got the news that Gatō was apparently dead.", Kakashi said, "I have no idea what could have happened, and Naruto's evasion on this subject made me feel that I shouldn't pressure him too much."
"I see. It's not something we should ignore.", the Hokage said, "All the more if he had a reason to skip ramen."
Kakashi said, "Yes, of course. But where would we start to look for him?"
The Hokage put on his hat and gestured the masked ninja to follow him.
"Sometimes, you'd find the answers in the most unexpected places."
Scene Break and Time Skip
The duo was standing in a corridor which opened into many doors.
Kakashi wanted to knock but the Hokage opened one of them without any prior heads up and entered the apartment.
Kakashi couldn't hide the discomfort on his face for a moment when the smell of old dust stirred up in the air. He wondered what the Hokage was thinking, although he had a good idea already. Both of them walked through the dark and damp way that led to the center of the house.
Kakashi wanted to find his student as soon as possible, but even he wished that they don't find him in such a despicable place such as this one. However, he was proved wrong as they found the boy in a corner, sitting near the bed.
He didn't pick up anything in his surroundings, and just sat there staring deep into space like a doll. It was only when the Hokage approached him that he realised and reacted.
"Hey, Naruto. Not feeling well today?"
"Huh? Oh, Jiji. And Sensei. Please sit down and have some water...or whatever. I don't have anything else here at the moment."
Kakashi looked at him lamentably, while he observed that his student was in fact wearing exactly the same clothes he had been wearing the day before. It seemed that he didn't bother to go anywhere else but here, maybe only taking water and not even food. It looked as if he had cooped himself in a lonely corner at this miserable place, giving up his meals and sleep in exchange for crying his eyes out going by the state of his face.
The Hokage too noticed everything right away, but tried to tackle the situation in a friendly manner.
"Naruto, I suppose you should take a good shower and then we can sit down and talk over some ram--"
"Enough of that. I know what you want to ask of me."
Both of the veteran shinobi were surprised at how calm yet hostile that statement sounded. They spared a look at each other and agreed in the fact that it was best to let Naruto speak whatever was on his mind.
Initially expecting some sort of an argument, Naruto let out a sigh when he didn't get one. He grabbed an open notepad that was lying on the desk with a pen on top of it, which the guests just noticed.
Naruto offered it to the Hokage as he said, "Here's everything you wish to know. All of it. I wrote that down because I don't think I can speak about that. I would appreciate if you never bring it up again."
The Hokage accepted it without any hesitation, and they were startled when Naruto started walking away to the exit door.
"Naruto, wait. Where are you going? We just found you.", the Hokage said.
Naruto halted and replied, "I suppose you would be curious enough by now to read it right now, and I really don't want to hear any discussion about it. What happened, happened. I don't think I have the heart to go through it ever again."
Kakashi was the one who lost his composure as he impatiently asked, "What does that mean, Naruto? I don't like the sound of it. You even left your headband with Lord Hokage. Don't you know that a headband is the pride of a ninja and you should never part with it?"
Naruto chuckled slightly and then suddenly laughed loudly, the reason for which even he couldn't explain .
"I don't think this needs any beating around the bush. It's precisely what it looks like. I'm done with being a ninja. I knew that the path to being a shinobi was cruel, but I guess I couldn't fathom the depth of it. I drowned in that apparently shallow stream of fantasy of mine, which was in actuality a deep and dark lake.", he said, "It was fun being with you. Even Sasuke and Sakura. I wish I would've just kept doing D-rank missions all my life."
He slowly walked upto the very exit and stood there once again, before he quietly said,
"Jiji, I think that the people were right all along. I'm not fit to be a shinobi. Perhaps I took the responsibility of being a soldier far too lightly in my childish foolishness. I'll be better off thrown into a cell in some dungeon of Konoha, and chained up like the monster should be. That way, at least I could be some use to the village. Even if I don't become the Hokage, if I can contribute something just by survival, I'll be content."
The Hokage opened his mouth to deny him of his opinions, but he figured every word said would just be empty reassurances unless he gets to the reason behind his former student's sudden and irrational change in behaviour.
Naruto looked back at their faces and said, "Don't worry. I'm not hiding anywhere. I'll go take a shower and then maybe get some fresh air outside in the village. You'll be able to find me easily, should you wish to."
With that, he disappeared into a swirl of leaves.
.
.
.
Both of them took a moment to register that Naruto had left them wondering and all of that still didn't make any sense. Fortunately, he had left them something and it was the only document they needed to solve this unsettling puzzle.
The Hokage walked to the window where there was some dimmed light entering the room. Kakashi followed suit and waited eagerly as the Hokage opened the notepad.
A few minutes later, their facial expression undergoing changes every turning page, the report was finished. None of them knew what to say, as this was entirely out of their expectations.
"This can't be...wait...no..."
Kakashi was now hyperventilating as he had enough of killing girls with blades through their hearts (lmao xD), and it didn't take much for his mind to replay that particular scene back to him from long ago.
The Hokage gulped down and put the report in his robes. He looked at one of his most trusted shinobi as he said,
"You know, Kakashi, I suppose I was quite more perplexed at Naruto's behaviour than I wanted to show. It was because I did not believe that there could be a reason good enough to display this kind of cowardly behaviour. I did wonder what could've happened which would intimidate such an ambitious child.", the Hokage said sadly, "I must painfully admit that I was wrong to doubt the boy. What he must've gone through alone! And yet despite all of that, he still has the composure to maintain the dignity of a shinobi. Any other person would've been broken and gone insane beyond reach. It is not his weakness but his strength that can suffer through all of that and still remain loyal to Konoha's well bring over his own."
Kakashi placed his palm on his forehead in frustration and said, "I am equally at fault. I never should have left him alone. What was I thinking?! He always leaves such an impression on me that I can't help but believe that he could do everything right, but he's just a kid. It never occurred to me what could happen to him in order to fulfill his mission."
His voice turned to sadness as he said, "You're wrong, Lord Hokage. That's not strength. That's not tolerance. That's not willpower. No matter which way he goes, it will only get worse if we don't do anything about it. Lord Hokage, please let me talk to him. I have gone th--"
"I know, Kakashi. Did you think I'd just forget about that? You had to go through something like that. It didn't end up well for you until a long time, did it? Anyway, I've learnt from my mistakes too. I don't plan to leave the boy in ignorance.", the Hokage said, "I hope you don't take it the wrong way, but I'm not going to let you handle this. I think I have a better person in mind. If this person can't get the message across, I don't think anyone will."
Kakashi couldn't bring himself to look at the Hokage with a guilty expression.
"Now, after all I've said there is one thing I'm sure of. I've known the boy for as long as anyone else, so I know him better than anyone. He may be a bit lost under the clouds, but his goal of achieving greatness can't be left that easily. We just need to shed some light upon it."
Kakashi looked at the Hokage as soon as he heard these words, who was gazing at the sky as the sunlight breached through the clouds and shone brightly upon the land.
With a smile on his face, he finished, "He'll come around."
Scene Break and Time Skip
It was just another random night as the streets were bustling with people. The shops and markets had turned on the usual decorative lights to lure in the customers with their dazzle.
However, all of the colour seemed so very dull to one person among the crowd, more than anyone else. Someone who was usually in a festive mood even without having a reason to remain exultant.
He had reached his home unnoticed by anyone, and cleaned himself up well. Not wishing to go outside in broad daylight, he had drawn the blinds and waited out the day looking at the ceiling of his room.
Finally, he couldn't get away with the suffocation that was slowly beginning to manifest physically, that he decided to leave in order to get some fresh air.
He wondered if the proximity to the people enjoying the evening in the village would elevate his mood somehow, but it didn't seem to work a bit. At the moment, he couldn't imagine what it was like to have fun or enjoy anything. His mind was oriented in a completely different manner in the present.
Gradually, as he passed through places which were crowded with people, he felt more and more suffocated than he ever did. He felt as if he'll pass out from the dizziness he had ignored for some time now, if he did not do something quickly.
Therefore, he left the place promptly and found himself on some empty road in the outskirts of the village. He felt minutely better than he did a few minutes ago, but still he couldn't say that he was relieved now.
However, he kept walking in order to distract himself somehow from this pain. For the first time, he was scared of the pain that arose from within him and he didn't know how to go about dealing with it. If he didn't, it would be only a matter of time before he'd go to sleep one day and never wake up to witness the next morning.
While he was sulking, he was surprised by the loud shriek that pierced his ears.
"No, Mom! Please! You got me one of the big ones, we won't find another one like that. I want it back, bring my balloon back!"
Naruto looked at a young girl in the gates of a park who was crying in front of her mother, while the latter was trying to pacify her, although mostly in vain. Apparently, the girl had lost her balloon which got stuck in one of the trees.
"That's enough, dear! You know we've tried to reach it but it's too high. I'll get you a new one later, but now we need to get home. It's getting late and you need to go to bed.", the mother told her off as she dragged her daughter away who was reluctant to leave her newfound toy but complied nonetheless.
As they were walking towards their home, the girl was trying hard to control her tears but she couldn't forget about her plaything. Her mother wasn't exactly unconcerned but there was nothing she could do in the given situation.
Once they turned around the final corner before reaching their home, the girl and her mother alike were surprised to find a balloon tied to the branch of one of the nearby shrubs. The girl ran towards the balloon and carefully pulled out the thread from the shrub.
"Mom, look! My balloon! It came here looking for me. Now I can play with it tomorrow.", she exclaimed happily.
The mother smiled at the (pleasant) coincidence which would save her the trouble of looking for a way to soothe her daughter and also make the latter happy.
"That's great, dear. It looks like Kami-sama looked out for her cute little child and sent someone's balloon to you. Now let's hope your balloon makes its way to some other child so that everyone is happy.", the mother said.
"No, Mom. This isn't anyone else's. It's the one I lost at the park. See, here is the cute puppy design on it.", the girl said.
"Hmm, you're right. It does have the same pattern. Still, there's no way it came here on its own. Probably a lot of balloons of the same pattern are being sold these days. Anyway, as long as you're happy, I'm happy. Now let's go, it's bed time.", the mother said.
The little girl looked at her mother merrily and nodded before they walked away hand in hand.
Unbeknownst to them, a person was watching them sitting on the branch of a nearby tree. He had been the one who was responsible for leaving the balloon here for them to find.
It had seemed so long since he returned home, and it was for the first time that he felt something other than emptiness. It was only for a fleeting moment, but he felt a genuine spark of joy in his heart when he saw the little girl's smile. Only in that instant did he feel as alive as he had been his entire life, attempting to hold on to hope.
Nevertheless, an image of the young girl with a smile while spitting out blood flashed in his mind, while the sword that pierced her heart held tight in his hands. He found a sudden retch in his gut, while his breath had stopped for a moment.
Losing his balance, he fell from the tree branch which was fortunately not too high. He couldn't suppress the urge as he threw up right then and there for a good whole minute. Luckily or not, he hadn't eaten anything as of yet so there wasn't much of a content. It was evident that his problem arose more from a psychological origin rather than any other aetiology.
Heaving himself away, he trudged along a dirt path which would lead to some place away from people in general. In the end, he didn't even have the strength left to go any further and dropped down on the grass near the road.
The place was at a higher altitude as compared to the center of the village and a good distance away from it too. He was glad that at least people wouldn't be here to make him uncomfortable. Closing his eyes, he lied down and wondered what he was going to do now.
He knew he told the Hokage to throw him into a prison cell somewhere, but he was sure the Hokage would never actually agree to that. Also, he didn't want to just rot away waiting for senility or death to eat him up.
It wasn't often that Naruto was plagued by questions he couldn't guess the answer of, but this situation was one of them. He felt as if he was having a migraine attack with his whole head pulsing wildly which could explode any mo--
"Not having an enjoyable evening, I assume?"
He opened his eyes to the voice of a sudden intruder breaking his chain of thought. Once he recognised the face looking at him over his head, he used his arm to cover his face and quietly said,
"Please leave me alone, Iruka-sensei."
Iruka didn't seem surprised with the tone in which he said that, as he replied,
"I see how it is. It hasn't even been that much time since you left the academy and you're already starting to ignore me, huh. That doesn't sound too mannerly now, does it?"
Naruto kept lying there trying to ignore his teacher hoping he'd just up and leave after some effort.
"Lord Hokage told me everything."
Naruto's expression changed as he facepalmed internally.
'Of course he did. That's why you're here. I was wondering why you'd stumble into me in the middle of the night at a place like this. Great, now I'm sure he won't leave.'
"I guess he did. So, what now? You're here to counsel me or something? If you really think you can make me forget it all, be my guest.", he said out loud.
"Huh? Make you forget what? I don't seem to remember being a hypnosis expert.", Iruka said nonchalantly.
"Don't play dumb. You know as well as I do what I'm talking about.", Naruto said, all while lying down quietly.
"Well, I really don't. Maybe the stress that kids like you give me everyday is taking a toll on my mind. Would you care to elaborate for me?", Iruka asked.
Naruto couldn't stand it. Here he was away from everyone trying to forget what had happened and his teacher was actually forcing him to recall the past events. He sat up with a jerk and angrily looked at Iruka.
However, he found out that Iruka wasn't as nonchalant at all as he sounded just now. He had the most serious face on him that Naruto had seen in his life. But for some reason, it pissed him off even more to know that he was making a mockery out of the situation despite realising how grim it was.
Naruto was so overwhelmed by everything right now that he didn't know what he was supposed to do. He punched the ground in frustration. And then he did it again...and again...and again...
"Chikusho! Chikushoooo! Chikushoooooooo!"
(English translation is "Damn it!" but this sounds way cooler. If you've heard Thorfinn do that, you'll know what I'm talking about.)
In the end, he hit his head on the ground as his tears started falling freely.
"Why?! Why are you doing this to me?", he asked desperately.
Iruka sighed and put his hand over Naruto's head.
"I'm not doing anything, Naruto. What's happening is something you're doing to yourself. As long as it remains something you're afraid to face, you will always be weak and cowardly. That's only if you manage to somehow live with yourself at all, which is mostly not the case.", he said.
"So what then? What should I do? Where should I go? I can't get over it. How can I forget the fact that I'm a murderer?!", Naruto asked loudly.
"Easy enough when you look at it this way. You don't. To be honest, you can never do. You have killed someone, and you can never change that fact. But hey, you chose to do this work when you knew that you'll have to face that someday, didn't you?", Iruka said.
"That's different! I always thought we were going to fight against the bad guys. I never imagined there would come a day when I have to...", Naruto said but couldn't bring himself to say it.
"Maybe it is different. But again, maybe it isn't. I have seen many shinobi who were unsettled after they had killed someone, but you have to accept it like everyone else. Stay true to the righteous path, but in the end you gotta do what you gotta do.", Iruka said, "To be honest, I couldn't believe my eyes when I read that report. I know it's been hard on you. I know that you've handled it well until now."
He continued, "However, I can see that you're heading in the wrong direction. It might have been best if the whole chain of events didn't occur at all, but now that they have, you just have to accept it and move on. You can't undo what you've done, and even if you try to forget about it, you will have to face it sooner or later. You can think of it as if you fell into a river, and now you're being pushed into the current. Try to oppose the flow, and you'll only get tired like you are right now. You may build a wall around you to block it, but someday it will get you undoubtedly. Your only choice is to go with the flow and accept your fate."
"No, I can't. I just can't, Iruka-sensei. Whenever I think about it, I just can't help but blame myself for it. I feel as if my heart's going to explode anytime now.", Naruto cried even more.
"I understand. That's why I'm here. You're not alone, Naruto. I'm here to hear whatever you want to get off your chest. I'll listen to you. I'll talk to you. I won't let you suffer through this alone.", Iruka said.
"Sensei, that girl. Tsuki was her name. I killed her. It's as simple as that.", Naruto said.
"Is it? From what I heard, she wasn't grown in an environment which couldn't be considered anywhere near suitable for a child. I would be surprised if I were told that she was either mentally or physically able to live a long life.", Iruka said, "It's the same as that for someone suffering from a genetic morbidity which can not let the person live past their childhood. What you did was free her of the suffering she was destined to endure."
"I know that she wasn't in good health. Even if she could have been helped to come to her senses again, her body had been subjected to so much abuse that there was no saving her completely. She had few years at best, not even that.", Naruto said with a mournful voice.
Although, his voice suddenly got louder as he said, "But that's not the point! It doesn't matter how much time she had left or not. It doesn't change the fact that I killed her. Who am I to take even a moment of her life?! The only one who has the right to take a life is the one that can give life himself. Is this the trial every human has to go through, Kami-sama?!"
Once again, he choked on his voice as he was unable to conceal his despair. He clutched his chest as if his heart couldn't take any more of this. Iruka felt as if he shouldn't force Naruto but then he heard the boy say something as quietly as he'd ever heard him.
"If a girl that young could find more happiness in death rather than in life, what kind of a world are we living in?"
Iruka was struck by the depth of the question, and to such an extent that he knew there wasn't any correct reply to this query. It was something that each and every individual had to find out for themselves and hold on to the belief for as long as they can.
Still, he knew that the only straightforward answer he could give his student was nothing very complicated to understand or believe.
"The world...is cruel.", Iruka said, "There's nothing more to it than I can say."
Naruto exhaled a deep sigh and said, "I think I wanted to hear that somewhere deep down. So now, does that mean I am one of the murderers that add to this world's cruelty? If that's true, wouldn't the world be a better place if I didn't exist? I don't even know if I even deserve to live or not."
Iruka had a mild change of expression on his face. For some reason, he looked better than before. The slightest upturn on his lips indicated that he knew he was making progress in showing Naruto the right path.
"At the same time, Naruto, the world is also a really beautiful place. The sky, earth, forests, birds, animals, rain, the sun, the moon. You name it. Everything. But if you were asked to name one thing, especially, what would you say?", he asked.
"I don't know.", Naruto replied.
"The hearts of the children.", Iruka said, "You deny it but you do know, right? Didn't you find a glimmer of happiness when that little girl found her balloon back?"
Naruto looked at Iruka shocked at his revelation.
"I was watching you all along. I waited to let you collect your thoughts together and see if you could get through this on your own. However, when I saw that you were feeling worse with passing time, I decided to sit and have a talk with you.", Iruka explained.
He continued, "Regardless, you saw how fragile and gifted children can be. They find happiness in the smallest things and also feel sadness after losing something as trivial and replaceable as a toy. You may not know it, but this is the reason I decided to become a teacher. I want to make sure that the children I teach become strong enough to fight not only against enemies, but life itself. You are also one of those students, Naruto. So fight, fight against anything you may feel wrong. Become strong enough to stand up for righteousness, and show everyone the true substance of virtue."
Naruto started to feel within himself a newfound drive to make some good use of his life to ensure a better future for the children of tomorrow rather than hold on to remorse and waste his Iife away.
He stood up and looked at the village from the distance. Once again he could feel and appreciate the sparkle of exuberance while gazing at the beautiful colours and radiance of the heart of Konoha.
"Your life isn't just composed of yourself, Naruto. A lot of people are concerned with your life. All of us are connected to someone else in one way or the other. Don't try to question your life so easily, ever again.", Iruka said.
Naruto closed his eyes, calmed his breathing and wiped his tears off. He remembered the young girl once again, but this time he focused only on her happiness. He came to terms with what he had done, and that he could never take it back. What he could do to atone for his actions, he knew now.
"I'm sorry Iruka-sensei, you had to come up here and struggle so much to hammer this silly thought out of my head. But it's clear to me now. If I hang on to the past, I can never emphasize enough on the future. I have realised what my goal should be.", Naruto said.
Iruka smiled at his student when he saw a fierce determination in his eyes, which would undeniably prove to shine brighter than any flame in the Land of Fire.
"I will create a world where no child will have a reason to cry ever again."
That's it!
Well, Wave Arc is finally fucking over. In all honesty, I must accept the fact that I stretched it too long to keep enough interest in the arc which might be reflected in the writing. Whatever, let's just keep moving forward.
I realised quite a lot later that according to proper English/Old French vocabulary, blond without the 'e' in the end is used mostly for males. Although it seems I have been using "blonde" for Naruto wherever I have used the word. Please bear with that for now. I will try to rectify this error and also my habit in the future chapters.
[Part of the chapter was inspired by the fanfic "Namikaze, Senju or Uzumaki" by Vanor (Chapter 29). Due credits to the author and reference given here.]
I saw the part where he had to question his humanity as he killed the girl but that's what it means to be a ninja. The world is cruel, what better way to show that. It's a bit too dark, not exactly my forté in writing, but it fits better like this. This was the most fitting way I thought that Gatō should die (or before that Naruto should get his first kill; as I already said, Gato's atrocities aren't shown as much as they should've been, but again, canon isn't M-rated). It creates a good impact. The more darkness there exists, the more light will shine in contrast.
Next chapter draft is ready. Just kidding, I don't make drafts or anything. It's all in my mind, as much as I'm able to formulate it on paper (or screen) is quite spontaneous. I'll try penning (typing) it down shortly. Also, there is no proof reading or whatever by anyone else. It's just me re-reading the freaking 50k word chapters 5 times to make sure everything's alright. Yet, something or the other might miss my scrutinizing gaze, so please be humble enough to overlook that.
But man, after completing this long Wave Arc, I felt such a wave of fatigue as if I had just completed the whole story. I'm going to take a break and then begin again. So, it's going to take some time. Just wanted to let you guys know. :)
With this, I take adieu once again. I'll see you in the next chapter. Sayonara!
