Umigakure.
'Ah, man.' Toru couldn't help but smile fondly.
Naruto had met up with Karin and Sakura first.
There were no tears here — just relief that the worst was behind them and happiness, too. But then again, they had seen each other before, in the Naraka Realm.
Not that the idea of Hell being real appealed much to Toru, frankly. Didn't that mean most shinobi would end up going there…? Well, if they didn't remember anything about the whole thing, perhaps…
Nah. It still sucked.
And-
Toru averted his eyes. Karin and Naruto were really too chummy in public. Had they never heard of decency…? Uchiha didn't really do public displays of affection; Toru just thought he was liberated enough not to bother with hiding them entirely, but still…
Then Naruto kissed Sakura. There was nothing friendly about that kiss.
"What the hell?!" Toru jumped.
They blinked. All three of them.
"What is it…?" Karin asked.
"You and Sakura…?" Toru asked.
"Why not?" Naruto smiled.
Sakura glared at Toru. Her mismatched eyes definitely made it more impressive.
"What's so surprising about it?" She asked frostily.
"No — It's not — I saw Ino's memories!" Toru said hotly. "There was nothing about that."
"Ino's not quite as bad as you are at keeping some things out." Sakura said snidely.
"Yeah, there were a few memories we really could have lived without ever seeing." Karin piped in.
Toru ignored her. He just massaged his temples in circles.
How far would this Uzumaki menace go…? He had been such a nice boy, once.
Toru remembered all of the barbs, the practical jokes.
…Okay, maybe not that nice.
They walked through the streets.
"Now…" Naruto blinked. "What the hell happened to Umi…?"
"…Ino happened." Sakura said.
"Huh…? You know it already?" Toru asked.
She snorted. "I don't need anyone to tell me… The entire place is simply too… pretty. Who else could it be?"
Umi was full of life, plants and flowers. It seemed that the central part's landscape was full of color, now.
From the walls, the sidewalks, houses and buildings, as well as the bright clothes of the people who were living there themselves — Cloaks of Shifting, some of them crafted by Toru himself.
(There were many, many faces Naruto didn't recognize.)
The bright contrast of the village — a small city now, really — and the azure sky made Naruto smile.
He was quickly recognized, of course, and so were Sakura and Karin. Before they knew it, people began to gather around them. They were all talking over each other, in a confusing mess of sounds.
Naruto laughed, promised he would explain everything...
He did not. He got them out of here.
And then…
A familiar face.
Frozen.
Hanabi dropped the book she was reading — and she was reading a terrible one, right now, Toru noticed. In public, too.
Shameful.
"No way." Hanabi breathed out, looking at the three newcomers. "It… worked…? This half-baked anchor thing…?"
Toru felt relieved. To think that even Sakura had ended up in their… their… whatever that was.
Hanabi was drawing closer, speed-walking toward them.
Finally. Toru breathed out in relief.
"I thought I was seeing things, at first." Hanabi shook her head, accelerating. "But that couldn't be, because—"
"You are Hyūga and your eyes can see whatever — yes, we know." Naruto grinned. "Nice shot, last time, by the way — Please don't slap me for the whole summoning thing."
"Thanks — I have half a mind to." Hanabi growled.
Ah. Someone who made some sense. Toru smiled.
Hanabi smiled brightly at the two other women, as she drew closer. "Karin! Sakura! I—"
They returned eerily similar grins.
At least, Hanabi would have an explanation that would allow Toru to—
His smile froze.
(Toru's world-view was turned upon its head.)
The usually very dignified Hyūga glomped Naruto.
Toru almost sprained his neck.
She wasn't letting go.
"…love you — Don't make me do this sort of shit ever again." Hanabi mumbled. Naruto chuckled, unsurprised.
"I love you too." He smiled, embracing her. "And I'm sorry."
Toru blinked again, owlishly. His mouth hung open.
And suddenly, everything she had said the other day made more sense. There was one man who could meet her impossible standards, apparently.
"Her too, man?!" Toru breathed out in consternation.
"Fuck off, Toru." Hanabi mumbled. Karin laughed.
…He needs to be stopped.
Ino finished writing the abstract.
"—efforts in the shinobi and non-shinobi world […] is the assumption […] foster individual strengths through a focus on […] Now, given that the development of these institutions has direct implications for psychology as a whole, and not only its shinobi applications, this paper begins to draw attention to the potential of a new type of psychology within these systems. Throughout the paper, it is suggested that a focus on the nature of chakra may serve as the nexus between the movement in more recent psychology branches still; searching to promote positive human development and the institutions—"
Ino's hand stopped moving — she was using one of Toru's pens. As was anyone in the house, really. They were simply better. Toru knew what he wanted in his pens, all of them.
And when it came to furniture, his rocking chair was a miracle—
Ino stopped moving entirely.
There were people coming closer.
Her stomach knotted.
'No.'
She knew these presences.
'No way.'
Ino heard noise outside.
'No fucking way.'
Laughter and screams.
'No fucking way.'
Ino's hand clenched and went to her chest.
She slowly stepped out of the house. Hanabi was tearfully clinging to—
Blond hair.
Red hair.
Pink Hair.
Her heart stopped, or so it seemed.
"Hey, Ino." Uzumaki Naruto greeted, managing to sound casual.
Another missed beat.
"We're home!" The two women who had come with him chorused, with almost matching grins.
Ino thought she was about to vomit.
Time resumed.
The bonds snapped back into place.
They were here. Alive and well.
She didn't even question it, at this point. This was the sort of shit they would pull.
It had worked after all.
"You bastards!" Ino snarled. She was furious.
Ino barreled toward them.
"All of you! How many times did I tell you not to leave me in the dark…" She hissed.
A pause.
"…To — To leave me…!" Ino spat, repeating herself.
A sniffle.
"To leave me…" Ino said quietly.
Full-blown tears.
"Welcome home!" She was weeping.
Ino jumped into their waiting arms. The six of them fell to the floor, in a tangle of limbs, laughing and crying.
Unsurprisingly, Naruto got a stinging slap right after. Sakura snickered and Ino slapped her too.
"—Six months. How dare you?!" Ino raged, her finger stabbing him in the chest repeatedly. "Six months! Sure, your anchor thing worked in the end, but this was the most harebrained shit—"
He just grinned stupidly.
The others went inside right away.
Ino didn't move.
"…Are you staying?" She asked quietly.
Naruto turned to face her.
"Are you really staying for good?" She repeated. "With me… with us?"
There was only one thing to say.
"Yes." Naruto promised. "Always."
She chuckled tearfully. "Yeah… You said something like it back when we were kids."
"That friendship promise?" Naruto tilted his head, smiling. "Yeah. I'm going to keep that one, too. Didn't I come back, in the end?"
"I know, stupid." Ino sniffled. She wrapped her hands around him and he pulled her close.
"I love you, Ino." He smiled into her hair.
"…I love you too. Don't leave me."
They had a few things to tell each other.
"…Like in Hell Hell?" Ino gasped. "It actually exists…?"
"Sakura was burning on the third lowest level." Naruto supplied helpfully.
Ino let out a strangled chuckle. This day was shaping out to be weirder and weirder. Was she dreaming…?
"For real…?" She asked incredulously.
That was terrible. At the same time, though…
"I don't remember much of it, so he could be lying." Sakura grunted.
"I told you you would!" Ino crowed.
"…Maybe you were right this time." Sakura growled. "A broken clock, something…"
"Hey there! I heard that something weird was happening in town—" Another woman popped in.
Anko saw all of them gathered in the room.
Anko stared.
Anko promptly turned away and left.
"…What was that about…?" Ino blinked.
"She's a big softie, I'm sure she doesn't want us to see her cry." Naruto grinned.
"She really is." Karin smiled an identical grin.
"I met with Shach— Yoisen, by the way." Naruto said casually.
Ino grimaced. "That white-haired devil…?"
"She's not that bad." Naruto looked away.
"Did she try seducing you?"
"…Not really."
Ino squinted her eyes.
"Did she eat any babies in the meantime…?"
"Come on, now." Naruto frowned. "You know she doesn't do that when there are people around." He deadpanned.
"Great. Where was she when we were duking it out in the sky…?"
Naruto shrugged. "Okay, maybe she can be a dick. Anyway, she gave me—"
Anko came back with a pile of papers.
"Here's the succession paperwork. Already signed by yours truly." Anko said, hiding the slight shaking of her hands.
"What…?" Naruto blinked.
"Starting tomorrow, you're the leader of Umi again. Deal with your own shit." She finished, before rummaging through their cupboards, fiending for some tea.
"…What?" Naruto blinked again. "Uh, I think I'm good, frankly."
"So you just throw some ideas around… stir some shit, and then you leave, forcing other people to deal with your problems?" Anko glared at him.
Naruto stared back.
A small grin began to pull on both of their lips.
"Well… I am Orochimaru's student too, am I not?"
Anko grinned, sniffling a bit from the dust in the air. "I guess you are, too. Boss."
Well, she made it sound like a fair thing.
"Oh, I almost forgot." Naruto slapped his forehead.
"More good news?" Anko asked, pouring herself another rice beer. If there ever was a time to celebrate, the day she was set free was certainly one.
"Yeah, I guess. I have an extra Rinnegan." Naruto said.
"Uh… Okay."
Sakura's mouth opened.
"We're not going to put it in anyone, before you guys ask."
Sakura's mouth closed.
"What are we doing with it, then…?" Toru asked.
"I'll stash it away, where nobody can reach it as a backup… and find a way to link it to us so that we can use it. Might take some time, though."
"What's the use of it…?"
Naruto shrugged. "Four of the eyes among us should be enough to power all of the chakra absorbing clones we can summon, shouldn't it…?"
A pause.
"You motherfuck—" Anko began angrily.
"What?" Naruto laughed. "Did you really think I was going to spend the rest of my life doing village leader shit…? I've got better things to do. Like living."
Naruto would make sure all of his clones would only give him the important information. He didn't feel like dealing with living multiple days at once. And he didn't need their accumulated fatigue, either.
Naruto stared at the scene, unblinking.
The scene Toru and his clones were playing for the rest of them.
"And then the Kazekage was like… Looking at both me and Sakura with a conflicted expression." Toru said, watching the scene unfold with the rest of them.
Toru-Chigusa stared at Toru-Toru and Toru-Sakura with shining eyes. She spoke.
"Peace has a cost as well, Mirage Blade Toru." Toru-Chigusa said quietly.
Toru-Sakura nodded resolutely. Toru-Toru turned to face her again, dramatically.
"I know damn well." He gritted out, his brilliant red eye shining in the darkened — Toru's illusion — room. "…Better than anyone. I died for the dream."
Toru-Sakura gasped and put a hand to her mouth at the painful reminder. Toru-Chigusa looked as though she finally understood the extent of Toru-Toru's resolve.
"You…" She breathed out, something like lust and fascination shining in her eyes. From the back of the room, Hanabi groaned in disgust. Toru-Chigusa continued, breathlessly. "…What did it take from you…?"
"Besides my life, you mean…?" Toru-Toru asked. He then let out a manly chuckle. Toru-Sakura began to weep. "Nothing I wasn't willing to give." He said, walking toward the door dramatically. His voice was an entire octave lower.
Toru-Sakura just nodded slowly to Toru-Chigusa before departing as well.
Both were crying.
Not Toru-Toru, though.
The illusion faded away and the clones dispelled.
"And that's how it went." Toru smiled.
Ino stared. Sakura stared. Hanabi stared.
Naruto clapped enthusiastically, and so did Karin and Anko. Toru bowed.
"Thank you, thank you!" He grinned.
"Did anything… anywhere close to this happen?" Hanabi deadpanned.
"…More or less." Sakura confirmed.
Konoha.
"…and Naruto is apparently… alive, too." Sasuke said incredulously. To say he was baffled was an understatement. "He sent me a thought. And… I think he might be getting pretty drunk by now."
Which didn't really happen to jinchūriki, usually.
Shisui groaned in helpless frustration. Of course the bastard had done it. Pulling himself back to life, really…? He was worse than a cockroach.
Sasuke paused.
"Toru definitely is."
"What?"
"Drunk, I mean. He's making no sense at all. Mumbled something about Susanoo and I didn't get much of the rest."
"That's just his typical nonsense." Shisui muttered.
Umi.
The group ended up roaring drunk, with more and more people seemingly pouring into the house.
They ended up moving everything outside.
Naruto was not entirely sure who had invited them — but would blame Toru and/or Anko the next day, once his first real hangover in this life had started to abate — but didn't mind much.
People kept handing him drinks; he kept on getting drunker. He was not even sure how much alcohol he was imbibing, but tonight, he found he didn't care.
There was nothing urgent they had to do.
Anko was currently doing an impromptu — and unwanted, as far as Naruto was concerned — rendition of a popular Konoha song. Naruto would call it drunken screaming, but an equally drunk Karin told him to play nice, before beginning to set up a small stage on the lake's shore. Hanabi was trying to sing along, but was unfortunately not as tone-deaf as Anko was.
Toru… was drunk as shit. Naruto felt an arm slide around his shoulders, and he felt Toru hang on to him for dear life.
He looked down at the smaller man, and turned his head away when he smelled the amount of rice wine on his breath. Man, at the rate he was going, Naruto would have to pull him out of Hell by the end of the night.
"Man, I'm really glad that — that…" Toru slurred.
"I think that liquor is winning this battle, Toru." Naruto said, not as steady on his feet as he would have liked to be.
"That you guys are all here." Toru finished with a drunken grin.
Naruto blinked. He felt the same exasperated fondness that he had always felt for Toru. Only a bit stronger.
"I — Please, don't throw up on me."
"I'm good." Toru laughed himself silly. "I'm good."
Ino slid herself under his other arm. She was pretty drunk, too. And a bit more touchy than she would usually be in public.
"Ino… Maybe not—"
Her lips met his and he forgot about the thought. Who cared if her mother was about to give Ino more shit tomorrow…? Naruto was pretty good at tuning her out, anyway.
"Ah come on, not now, guys…" Toru mumbled.
"Forehead thinks she's a pirate again." Ino laughed drunkenly, pointing vaguely at a table where Sakura was indeed drinking like a fish. She saw them looking at her and just winked. She was definitely cheating again, if the men around her, lying half asleep next to the table were any indication.
Shinjiro was not a lightweight. And neither was Takaya.
Naruto would wonder what the point of pretending to get drunk was, but then again, it was Sakura, so…
Oh gods…
Someone brought out the fireworks. And that someone could only be Anko.
…Or Karin, apparently.
Well… It was a nice night for it.
Sakura slipped into Naruto's room silently, passing through the window, not wearing anything.
She landed on the floor, with nary a sound. Unlike her, Naruto was pretty drunk. He would not notice her before she woke him—
Four pairs of glowing eyes stared back at her from the bed.
"Are you fucking kidding me?!" She raged.
"Fuck off, Forehead, we're full." Ino laughed.
"You fuck off! I waited for a long—" Sakura began.
"That's on you." Hanabi quipped. Sakura ignored her.
"—While you… animals just took whichever bed you could find. Mine, mostly. The least you could do is scoot over."
"As you wish." Naruto grinned. "It's a large bed."
Karin grinned the same predatory smile, one that made Sakura wonder if this was such a good idea after all. But well, bluster was Sakura's oldest friend.
"…Least you could is fuck me properly, then." Sakura muttered. "And put your back into it."
"I like your spirit."
There were hands reaching out to touch her, and Sakura let out a long sigh.
There were lips on her body, several pairs of them, and Sakura's own parted.
There were bodies pressed against her own, and Sakura's own lifted, as taut as a koto string.
The motions were slow like a song; and they were fast, too.
Legs wrapped around her own, fingers massaged her, hands grasped her, digging into pale skin.
Someone brushed her face with a delightfully light touch, someone's hand tangled in her matted hair. Someone's hair trailed across her skin. Lips upon her breast. He was entering her, slowly. She held on to his neck, pulling him closer.
Sakura was writhing under them, above them. Her sharp nails dug into the flat muscles of his back. A sigh toward her ear. Another's lips upon her throat.
She was arching, trembling…
"Again." She called, panting.
"My, my…"
"See, that's what always happens with the repressed ones." Naruto said, shaking his head.
"How would you even know that…?" Ino grunted.
"…Let's not get into that now." Karin decided, before Naruto could say something stupid.
"…Again!"
Maybe Anko had a good instinct for this kind of thing.
Silencing seals or not… Drunk or not… Toru swore that this was the last time he slept on their couch. Akemi on the other hand, had slept through it. Or at least she pretended to.
Naruto woke up blearily, extirpating himself from the pile of limbs.
It was very cozy, he had to admit. Maybe he'd have to make the room bigger…?
Well, this was likely not going to be a daily thing, but Hanabi apparently lived here, now.
Now, where did they put the hangover pills…? There had to be some. Anko drank like a fish when she did, usually, and she would not take any chances.
He blinked, seeing Toru's pale face.
"Didn't sleep much…?" Naruto asked, yawning.
"Don't." Toru warned.
Naruto hid a chuckle.
"Alright, I suppose I won't bother talking about the Shadow Clone technique's more interesting—"
"Don't. Hangover pills are under the counter."
"Thank you very much."
Naruto turned more serious.
"But once Ino's up…" He began. "There's something I need both of you around for."
"Okay…?" Toru asked dubiously.
"Well, mostly Ino, honestly, but you can come too, I guess."
Toru made a rude gesture at him.
There were three things to do. One was a promise… two were closer to something he would call fairness.
Unnamed Island. Not that far from Umi.
The three of them flew over the water.
They reached the chain of tropical islands after a short time.
And they didn't have to look for Fū for long.
"You again." She growled.
I'm really getting déjà vu.
"Hello, Fū." Naruto greeted.
She didn't look very different. Her hair was longer and her skin was tanner, her build wirier, but that was about it.
"What do you want?" She asked.
"We have come to free Chōmei."
"To kill me, you mean."
"Did I stutter…?" Naruto frowned. "I said I would find a way to free a Bijū without killing its host. And so I did."
Fū laughed shrilly.
"I see that the time alone has done wonders for your mind." Toru grunted. She really rubbed him the wrong way.
"We both know there's no way you're going to let me go." She continued to laugh.
Naruto sighed. "Yeah, I'm kinda having second thoughts about this already."
Naruto flashed forward and reached for her seal.
Fū froze in place and Naruto dove inside, along with Ino and Toru.
There was the sound of six great wings beating together.
"Fū-chan?" Chōmei asked.
"Not exactly." Ino answered, facing the Beast that had terrified her, once.
"I have seen you before, Tōshiteki woman."
"Indeed." She said dryly. "You tried to kill us."
"Ah, but luckily, this is all in the past."
Ino pinched her lips.
"You have Father's eyes. Well. Sort of."
"Does all of this make us brothers…?"
The Beast laughed.
"No."
Naruto shrugged.
"So you came to free me…?"
"Yes."
"I do know that I cannot face you. Still, do not harm Fū."
Naruto and Toru shared a look.
"So you do see harming the one you care about as a bad thing, in the end." Toru said.
"Of course."
"What about eating people…? Who taught her that?"
"Well, I did, of course." Chōmei laughed.
"Don't you see some sort of… contradiction, perhaps…?"
"Why would I? I do not care about these people."
Toru closed his eyes in consternation.
The three of them communed. There was one way to free the Beast and avoid a complete shitshow.
Unfortunately, the catch that came with it was setting Fū out in the world.
They brought Fū into her own mindscape.
"So here's the deal." Naruto began. "Ino here is going to bind you to a promise."
"Why should I?"
"Because otherwise we kill you and free Chōmei anyway."
"I do not agree with that." He was buzzing angrily.
"Then all she has to do is listen."
Chōmei seemed to work on pretty simple logic, and Naruto picked up on it.
"I don't care." Fū spat.
"Listen to him, Fū-chan."
"…"
"You won't kill, harm or do anything you know to be harmful, or tends to be considered harmful… to any human."
"Let's include any animal, to be broader." Toru added. The two other Umi ninja looked at him. "What? She can just forgo meat, can't she?"
"Whatever."
Fū glared at them.
"That includes anything you wouldn't want done to you. Swear so and we shall set you free." Naruto shrugged.
"What will happen to Chōmei?" She asked.
"I will create a smaller body for him to inhabit, one that he will be able to enter and leave at will - it should be able to change shapes, too. One that makes it much harder for anybody to try and seal you away or trap you — it will leave a pretty nasty surprise. I shall announce that Chōmei is under my protection, as well."
"Then I will bind part of his chakra to your seal, so that you may live. It's a link that goes both ways, both of you will be able to transfer chakra to the other. One small part will be bound to me as well, so that I may actually be able to know where Chōmei is — the other Bijū did the same thing to me apparently, including Kurama."
"So if you're in trouble… I'll come — if your newfound ability to warp away proves not to be enough. Not for you though, Fū-chan, you're on your own. Once you finally die, the chakra will return to him."
"…I like it." Chōmei finally said.
"Good." Naruto grinned. "If you accept all this, I will bring you to the mainland. Whatever you do after that is your problem."
"You like it? Well, I don't!" Fū raged. "At all."
"Oh, I almost forgot." Naruto slapped his forehead. "If Chōmei does any of the aforementioned things, you will die. Both of you may defend yourself without escalating the level of threat. Reasonably. Do not go bombing countries because of someone's words. You need to be in actual danger."
She blinked.
"Well, yeah." Naruto shrugged. "It's much harder to bind a Bijū to a promise than a human."
"Your terms are bullshit. Why should I die if I—"
"It is easy." Chōmei laughed. "We do not kill people."
Fū pinched her lips.
"It's not that hard, Fū-chan."
Naruto slammed his hands together.
"Yin-Yang Release: Creation of All Things!"
A miniature Chōmei appeared.
"Am I to inhabit this body, then?" He asked, from inside it.
"Yes."
"I quite like it."
"I'm glad." Naruto smiled slightly. "Let's drop you guys somewhere on the mainland, then."
"You know, it really won't be that bad." Chōmei buzzed excitedly. He was finally free. "See it as a new adventure. I was getting pretty bored of that island, anyway."
Fū was angry, he could tell. She had access to her own chakra again, and his too, so he was not sure he understood. Fū-chan was weird!
"That Uzumaki guy is not as bad as you told me, really."
"Please don't talk to me right now."
"Okay! Where shall we go…?"
One done, two more to go.
Shin Kumogakure. Umi.
"Hey, Yugito, I'm back!" Naruto greeted.
His powerful chakra suddenly flooded the room. His eyes were boring into hers.
"You — YOU — How?!" Yugito went through half of her whole emotion palette in less than a second.
'Breathe.' Yugito thought.
She had gone to bed early last night, and had heard rumors about a party from her hesitant secretary. It had seemed of no consequence, but now…
"Trade secret." Naruto laughed. "Nah, I just died… And came back to life. I probably won't die the way you mean it in your lifetime, actually. I mean this literally."
Yugito slumped in her chair. He sat on top of her desk, facing her, shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows, looking entirely at ease in her office.
"…Anything else…?" She scowled.
"Sure. We killed the Tsuchikage." Uzumaki Naruto said evenly.
"What?!" His reply left her stunned. Her stomach felt full of lead.
"Ah, come on. We're ninja." He laughed, low and dangerous. Maybe it sounded like this only to her. "And let's not pretend you liked the guy."
"Of course not! But even then—" She began.
"He was trying to fuck the peace up." Naruto said, amusedly. "Don't tell me you're really surprised. I told you we would wipe out the people trying to get in our way."
She slowly got her composure back and stared at him. He stared back, entirely relaxed. His purple eyes seemed to pierce through her soul.
"What do you want…?" She asked, feeling tense.
"Relax, you look like I'm going to attack you. You wouldn't have noticed me, if I wanted to." Naruto joked, rolling his eyes.
It didn't help.
Yugito hissed. He was such an arrogant—
…No. It was the truth, loath as she was to admit it.
Yugito sighed and calmed down.
"So...?" She said, raising an eyebrow. "What do you want?"
"You know what I want."
Yugito blinked.
Naruto said nothing else. He was looking at her intently. Her throat felt dry, and her heart was pounding in her chest. What the hell was he doing…?
"Take your shirt off, Yugito." He said quietly.
'The nerve!'
A million thoughts raced through her mind in that instant.
His eyes locked into hers.
'What the hell am I thinking…?!'
Matatabi was definitely staying far, far away from this.
"What?!" She hissed.
"Oh, of course. Where is my mind? I've devised a way of extracting a Bijū without killing you — and I know your seal is on your belly too. You in?"
A small smile threatened to pull his lips up.
He was an asshole of massive proportions.
'That fucking bastard.' She raged. He knew exactly what he was doing.
She put her face in her palms.
"Of all the shit…"
"I tried it with Fū — the Seven-Tails' jinchūriki. It works perfectly. You can keep the link with Matatabi, if you feel like it."
"…You know she is hearing us, don't you?"
"Of course, but if I remember well, she says she doesn't want to talk to me, so…"
"You're doing it on purpose."
What she meant with these words… didn't matter.
"Well… Did you intend to keep your friend trapped…?" Naruto shrugged.
Yugito sighed.
"No. I didn't."
"If you're worried about bullshit like Kumo's military power…"
"Got a solution for that…?" She sneered.
Naruto put his hand on her shoulder gently. It felt burning, to her. She straightened her back.
He looked at her very seriously, eyes shining with something that looked full of empathy. Gods, she hated when he looked at her like this. She rubbed her legs together, and hoped he didn't notice.
"Of course, I understand your unique position and I have a solution for you." Naruto nodded.
"…Alright. What is it?" She asked.
"Go train some more, you lazy cat." He chuckled, breaking the moment entirely.
"…What?" She hissed.
"I'm going to take care of this whole peace stuff anyway, but you're still a Kage or something, right? Get used to fighting without Matatabi's power."
"…I really hate you." She spat, slapping his hand away.
"Eh. Not that much, I'd wager." He smiled.
She ignored him. "Let's do it, then."
He made preparations.
"Oh, I can also finally break this pesky bond between us." Naruto offered.
"Pesky…?" She asked, not really sure why she felt a bit irritated. Probably because he was just taking decisions as he pleased, once more. Then again, every word out of his mouth felt like a trap.
"Well, yeah. Naruto nodded. "I can do it right now, if you want."
"Oh. I… see." Yugito said.
"So?"
"…Will I lose the ability to use that ethereal fire to craft—"
"Yes."
"…Then I don't think I'm ready to get rid of it yet." Yugito finally said.
"It's a pretty nifty one, it's true." Naruto nodded sagely. "Did you use it a lot…?"
"Yes."
(That was a lie, and she hoped he wouldn't realize.)
"You're lying." Naruto said evenly. "I'd bet you never even really used it properly yet."
She didn't answer. 'Prick.'
When he was done, a small nekomata laid upon her desk, lazily.
"Will you be staying?" Naruto asked.
Yugito felt offended again. And disappointed, too. After all the shit, she had thought that maybe…
"Well of course, you offered m— Kumo citizens to live here, I assumed—"
"Not you." He laughed. "Matatabi."
Yugito's fists tightened. The cat opened one eye, looking displeased at being called out directly.
"Did I perhaps allow you to use my name…?"
"Would you prefer I call you Two-Tails, Matatabi? I don't care either way."
The cat ignored him. "I shall stay with Yugito a little while longer, before I make my way to the mountains."
"Alright." Naruto smiled.
"Your eyes…"
"Your father's eyes, I assume…?"
"Hmpf." Matatabi snorted in derision. "The eyes of a fool is what I meant to say."
Naruto chuckled. "Well, I didn't ruin myself, did I?"
"There's plenty of time still, isn't there…?"
"You're lonely, aren't you?" Naruto asked Yugito, once Matatabi went to do whatever it was she intended to do on an island.
"…Get out." Yugito sighed.
The life of a jinchūriki could be pretty lonely, and so was the life of a Kage. She had lost many friends when Nagato came for Kumo, too.
Now, with all of them gone, she was back in the same place she'd been in before, long ago. The place where most of her life consisted of work… and having far too much time to think.
Maybe a bit worse, even, because people respected her too damn much, now. It was a bit hard to socialize with Kumo's people.
Umi itself was better, because most of them had been so used to having their mighty leader — as well as one that had come after — mingling with them, whenever he felt like it.
And Toru tended to make it hard for the citizens to take the infamous group too seriously. Likely on purpose, too; she had known Killer B well enough to know when somebody was playing the fool for their own amusement.
Finding equals… was something workable. Mei was someone she could tentatively call a friend, but she was rarely around. Itachi seemed like a reasonable guy, too, if a bit of a bore.
Boredom and loneliness were nagging at her, usually.
But she didn't need Uzumaki Naruto to remind her of it, far from it.
"I do get it, I think." Naruto shrugged.
"Do you…?" She asked, scowling.
Maybe once, he had. But now... Everybody on the island knew just how many people seemed to hover around their home — which had been expanded again, apparently.
"More than you think." Naruto smiled slightly. "Now, I won't insist on it."
Naruto stood up to leave.
"Come around the house, if you're bored." He just said.
That's what she hated most about him. When he was like this, too full of understanding.
Because she could almost forget why she was angry at him in the first place.
There was one more Bijū to free and link himself with. Hopefully Sasuke wouldn't be too difficult.
Konoha.
"Sasuke!" Naruto greeted.
The man blinked.
Many emotions surged through him. The fight was over now. They didn't have any reason to get along. He still had killed many from Konoha. Naruto still was his former teammate… and possibly Toru's closest friend, especially outside of his clan. Sasuke began, tentatively.
"Naruto. You're really here then—"
"Let me cut to the chase. We can talk about all the other stuff later." Naruto cut through what was undoubtedly going to be a long, emotionally-confused tirade.
"…You really are an ass." Sasuke sighed.
Naruto nodded evenly. "Sure. I've devised a way of extracting a Bijū without killing you. You in?"
"Of course! Yes, please, I mean." Sasuke nodded quickly. "The sooner you can do it, the better."
Naruto blinked.
"…Great…? Let's call this the favor you owe us and we're even here."
"How… kind of you." Sasuke said dryly.
"I stabbed you in the gut and all that, in case you forgot."
"I didn't." Sasuke scowled at him. Asshole.
"But… first." Naruto said. "I'm going to tell you exactly what I'm going to do, as well."
He tensed.
"Oh… I think I have some idea." Sasuke said dryly.
"And you think…" Sasuke began. "That I'm going to let you do as you please…?"
"I'm just asking because I'd rather not have to beat you up again. And you know it's the better, only workable solution."
"It doesn't mean I agree."
'Typical Asura 'logic.'' Naruto thought. 'Just because you're correct doesn't mean you're right.'
Naruto didn't roll his eyes.
"It doesn't." Naruto acknowledged. "But you also know exactly how I intend to do things, since you've seen my memories."
"I could try to stop you." Sasuke said.
"Try being the key word." Naruto said evenly.
Sasuke stared at him. He knew it too.
"What's it going to be…?" Naruto asked.
"Why would I even want to hand Shukaku over if that's what you—"
"Do you think it's going to change anything?" Naruto laughed. "Do you remember how strong we were, when we fought Nagato?"
"Yes." Sasuke said flatly. Naruto had been stronger.
"Have you become much stronger since then?"
"…I wouldn't say so."
"Because I have." Naruto just said. "And I'd rather avoid fighting at all. I won't even call on that favor you owe—"
"You just waved it off." Sasuke grunted.
"…Owed us." Naruto finished.
Sasuke didn't say anything for a long while. Which was a good sign.
"That makes no sense." Sasuke frowned. "Where would you even have trained…? You were dead until last week."
"…Don't ask."
"Nice to meet you, Shukaku." Naruto said.
This was a demon; hatred given physical form. Something that had killed thousands of people. Something that should probably be kept locked up somewhere, far from humans.
(Sasuke didn't know which one of the two he was referring to.)
The miniature tanuki glared at him. At both of them, really.
"Now… I would suggest you stay out of trouble, settle down somewhere…peacefully." Naruto warned.
"Why should I…?" The Beast growled.
"Because I'll come after you, little one. Don't make waves." Sasuke warned, Sharingan spinning.
It really hadn't been the warmest of relationships.
"Be nice. I'll be watching." Naruto shrugged. "Otherwise I might have to split you into two small, friendlier little Bijū. Maybe foxes, who knows…? Heard you loved them. Two little kitsune, to match your brother."
Shukaku was angry, this much was clear. He also wanted to live, though.
"That's your invitation to leave." Naruto said, pushing the small creature with his foot. "Don't forget our words, though."
"I missed your wedding, apparently." Naruto said, once Shukaku had left. "Sorry."
"…What makes you believe you'd have been invited..?" Sasuke stared in disbelief.
"You wouldn't leave your old teammate hanging." Naruto chuckled.
…Maybe he would have. Konoha had very mixed feelings about Naruto. Sasuke too, frankly.
"Would you invite me?" Sasuke asked.
"A wedding isn't in the works for me."
"Of course not." Sasuke muttered, looking away.
He already felt as though he knew too much. How could Hanabi be fine with this…?
"But yeah, I would have invited you."
"I don't really believe it." Sasuke shrugged.
"Fair enough." Naruto laughed.
Silence stretched.
"Wanna stop at a tea shop before I leave…?" Naruto asked.
Sasuke thought about it.
"…Sure, why not."
"So tell me. There's something that's been on my mind." Naruto began, as they walked away. "Are you guys still naming the first one Toru now that he's alive…?"
Sasuke began to laugh.
Later on. An empty field.
Naruto, entirely alone, roared.
"Heed my words, Nine-Tails!"
No answer came.
"...Kurama!"
No answer came.
"...I have fulfilled our bargain! All of the Bijū are now free!"
Silence.
"I am now released from my obligations!"
Silence. Naruto hesitated.
"…Don't kill people, alright?"
No answer either.
Maybe they didn't get their physical bodies back, then…?
Feeling a bit foolish, and very ridiculous, Naruto cursed and went away. He'd figure out a way to contact the Bijū using his link-
He could swear he heard a deep chuckle, though. And a few more, trailing off after it.
Assholes.
It was more than time to set up some kind of education system for people who wanted to learn about chakra, but did not want to sign up to become child soldiers, Naruto felt.
This was one of the first things he would do once he truly announced his return to the world.
The infrastructure for it was already in place, and he saw no reason not to use it.
There would be complaining, but what were they going to do, exactly…?
Naruto settled into this strange, new, comfortable routine.
He meditated as often as he could, too. Not only because Nagato's defeat had reminded him that the World's Pulse itself was the strongest force he could draw on.
Not only because he was pretty average at doing so to reinforce his own body.
But sure… it did play a part.
A few days later.
"You should marry us." Ino declared. "We decided that it just… makes sense."
Naruto blinked.
"…Should I?" Naruto asked, furrowing his brows.
"It's about time you take responsibility, yes." Karin added.
"…Am I not already…?"
"The people are starting to talk." Ino said.
"Oh please." Naruto said evenly. "I know you never gave a shit about what people said about you."
"Even then." She smiled.
"I—"
"Take good care of me." Sakura said, fanning her face in a falsely demure way.
"It is only fair." Hanabi nodded. "Are you going to leave all four of us unmarried for the rest of… the next few hundred years or so…?"
Well…
"…Huh." Naruto pretended to think about it. "That's a bit unconventional, isn't it?"
"You make the law, here." Ino said, hands on her hips. And at the rate they were going… Everywhere, soon enough. "That means you get to decide what's conventional or not."
"I wouldn't want to set a bad precedent." Naruto mused, hiding his own amusement. "What if every young man believes that marrying four women is a good idea…?"
"That's on them." Hanabi shrugged. "Most won't manage."
"They could learn about Shadow Clones…" Naruto rubbed his imaginary beard.
"That's not what I'm talking about." She laughed.
"And here I just wanted to go see the world, learn new things…" Naruto sighed.
"You can do that with your new wives." Karin decided.
"Oh… I don't know." He sighed dramatically. "What would poor Yugito think…?"
"Who cares about what she thinks?" Ino asked flippantly.
"Ah, she has very conflicted feelings for me alread—"
"She hates you." Sakura piped in.
"That's what I said. She also wants to—"
"We know. Well…" Ino mused. "She's already part of the bond. You do you. Just don't bring any more women in the bond — unless it's for that immortality thing — got it…?"
"We got enough sister-wives already." Sakura nodded.
"…There might be room for one more, still." Naruto said, laughing.
"…A certain immortal…?" Ino groaned in disgust. "Why her…?"
"I don't kiss and tell."
"I don't mind sharing our bed with a few other women, really." Karin shrugged.
A pause.
"What? It's not the same as a bond. They're no threat. It could be fun… like having a pet. No, that's a bad comparison. Rude." Karin amended herself.
"Most are not on the same level as we are, it is true." Sakura drawled, mock-haughtily. "They do not even matter."
Hanabi nodded very seriously, as though this was the most obvious thing in the world.
"What the fuck are you idiots talking about…?" Ino shook her head in disbelief.
"And here I thought you were safe in your bossy bitch role." Sakura rolled her eyes.
"I am."
"Prove it." Karin laughed.
"Fine! Bring me Yugito, Naruto." Ino decided.
"…Why should I…?" Naruto blinked. Did she not notice she had been tricked… again…?
"Whatever you do… No more secrets." Hanabi finished.
"Fine, fine…" Naruto chuckled. "Let's have a big wedding, then."
"See?" Karin crowed. "It's not that hard."
Naruto pretended to rummage through his pockets. He pulled out…
"I just so happen to have four pairs of earrings… that happen to match the one pair Ino gifted me." Naruto said casually.
"…You remembered…?" Ino gasped.
"…Your mother gave me a few unwanted lessons about Yamanaka clan traditions." Naruto admitted.
"I'll forgive her this time." Ino said, magnanimously.
There were a few parents that wouldn't be too happy about it, including Noriko herself. That was not what she had in mind when she told Naruto about the earrings, likely.
Too bad for her — and them.
The Umi ninja gathered.
"What is this about…?" Sakura muttered. "It's way too early for this, anyway."
"We're going to be pretty busy." Naruto said.
"Ah." Toru blinked. "How long…?"
"It shouldn't be too long, really. A few hours, at most. I would say." Naruto scratched his chin.
"Alright, spit it out." Anko said. "…Boss."
"Yeah. What are we going to do, exactly?" Toru asked. "…Boss."
"Nothing much." Sakura said. "…Boss?"
"We're going to take over the entire world." Naruto finished, ignoring their barbs.
Toru cackled.
"Oh, man, you still crack me up with your dumb jokes, sometimes." He wiped a tear from his eye. "I was afraid that you became a total killjoy or something, with that Madara and Indra stuff."
Naruto just stared at him, amused.