Chapter Nine: Academy Revolution. (Part one.)
All was quiet within Naruto's bedroom, save for the quiet snoring of the two blondes that cuddled closely in the bed. Their faces but inches apart and their legs were entwined. Naruto's eyes slowly fluttered open as he woke up with a small yawn and then he smiled upon seeing Chloe's peaceful expression.
Beyond all doubt, he wanted to stay, Kami, he would love nothing more than to stay in bed with his girls and waste the day away, but he still needed to go to school. Not wanting to wake her up, he tried to untangle his legs from hers and tried to separate himself from her, but her grip on him tightened as he tried to pull away. "Nooooooooo. Don't go. Too comfy." The Half-Elf whined out, her words making him chuckle a bit.
"Sorry Chloe, but I gotta get ready and go to the Academy." He responded, trying to reason with her. In response her eyes slowly opened and she gave him a small glare and a frown.
"Play hooky and skip school or something." She grumbled making her fellow blonde smirk a bit, but he could only negatively shake his head.
"Would if I could. But I don't want to give the teachers any more reason to make things harder for me in school." At his words, Chloe sighed in defeat and released him since she knew that he had other obligations and responsibilities… though she still wished they could have continued cuddling.
She yawned and sat up from the bed, stretching out her limbs as her master got dressed for school. There was a gentle knock at the door prompting the Uzumaki to respond "We're awake. You can come in." At his call, the door opened revealing Hinata who was in the nude, save for an apron covering her.
"Good morning! Me and Ran-Mao are making breakfast for everyone." The Hyuuga spoke with a sweet smile as the scent of food filled the room. It had an almost hypnotic effect on Chloe as she got out of the bed and marched towards the dining area, the delicious smell causing her stomach to rumble.
Naruto wasn't far behind since he knew that going to the Academy on an empty stomach was a bad idea. When they entered the dining area, everyone had already taken their seats and were happily gorging themselves on the delicious foods. Fried eggs, bacon, ham, waffles, pancakes, cinnamon buns and more were available for everyone to enjoy.
"So much yummy food! Happiness!" Ruu-Ruu shouted gleefully, her plate stacked with a generous amount of pancakes that were smothered in butter and maple syrup.
Olga smiled softly as she sipped some tea and popped a cinnamon bun into her mouth, a small moan escaping her lips as the warm bread and icing seemed to melt away inside of her mouth "Mmm, Hinata-san, these cinnamon buns are absolutely divine!" The fallen queen praised the Hyuuga who bowed in thanks since everyone had been praising her prized recipe.
Naruto sighed in relief since it seemed that Hinata fit in almost immediately and was quickly adjusting to her new role. He sat down in his seat and then found Celestine sidling up to him with a warm smile "Come on now Naruto-sama. Say 'aah'." The High Elf spoke sweetly as she raised some food to his mouth, evidently taking it upon herself to feed him this time.
He opened his mouth and allowed the fallen goddess to slip a bite of food into his mouth, if he were honest… he supposed that he was getting used to and coming to enjoy being pampered like this. "Good. Good. Be sure to eat a lot." Celestine cooed as she continued to feed him his meal.
"So Chloe… how was the young master?" Olga asked her loyal aide teasingly, the blonde half-elf blushing as she twirled a lock of her hair.
Chloe nervously laughed a bit and then replied in a somewhat flustered voice "W-We didn't actually have sex. We just… cuddled together. And kissed a bit."
"Awww. That's all? I was hoping to tease you about it. No matter, you won't be able to resist the urge to try out his manhood." Olga spoke with a lewd smile and blew a kiss in her master's direction, making him blush a bit as he recalled the time Olga seduced him not too long ago. And she was right… sooner or later another girl would want to have sex with him. It was only a matter of time until the temptation became too much for them.
A few minutes later, after a hearty and filling breakfast, it was time for the Uzumaki to leave, if he delayed any longer then he would run the risk of being late. "Well, I'm heading out. I'll be back after school." The Uzumaki spoke, his announcement prompting Ruu-Ruu to dash off to acquire her battleaxe and then appear at his side before he could leave.
"I'm ready Naruto-sama! Shall we go?" She asked excitedly with a small spring in her step, he raised an eyebrow at her and asked her "You want to come with me?"
At his question the Halfling nodded her head and replied with a toothy grin "Yes! Ruu-sama is Naruto-sama's bodyguard! Wherever you go, I must go with you." The Uzumaki smiled a bit since that was awfully kind of her, and her highly energetic and enthusiastic personality was quite adorable, but sadly he didn't think it would be a good idea to bring her since the teachers would question her presence… not to mention he didn't think bodyguards were allowed anyway.
"I appreciate the thought, but you can't come with me. The teacher's will use any excuse they can to get me in trouble. Hell, they watch my every move these days and Iruka is somehow able to find me no matter where I am." He explained with a tired sigh, the suspicion in his voice being evident, especially since the scarred Chunin has been the bane of his existence since the first moment he stepped inside the Academy.
"Then Ruu-Ruu will beat up this Iruka bastard! I will find him, and I will bite him!" The Halfling shouted as she hefted her axe and gave it a few swings for emphasis of her violent intentions.
She was stopped when Celestine placed a hand on her shoulder and piped in "Let's not do anything that could endanger the young master or the other students. You go on ahead young master, I'll bring you a nice bento later." The High Elf promised as she gave a serene smile that caused animated sparkles to appear as Celestine gave off an aura of purity.
"Thanks. I'll be seeing you guys later." Naruto spoke as he departed, leaving his strange little family behind who had some looks of concern. He closed the front door behind him, and after waiting for a few moments to be sure he was out of earshot, Celestine clapped her hands together with a loud snap that earned the attention of everyone.
"All right now ladies. We should discuss Naruto-sama's situation in school immediately." The High Elf announced, the others being a bit surprised by her taking the initiative. There appeared to be a small but ferocious spark in the Fallen Goddesses eyes, for Ruu-Ruu… it reminded her of a mother bear coming to the aid of her cub.
Olga was stunned for a brief moment but quickly regained her composure as she coughed into her hand and began to speak "Celestine is right. We had concerns about his schooling before, but never took the time to speak of it till now. As I recall, Naruto-sama once mentioned about his past failures in the Academy. Something about being unable to master a certain technique, yes?"
At Olga's question, Hinata raised her hand, signaling that she had something to say and then spoke up "Yes. The Clone Jutsu. It is a basic Jutsu that allows the user to create illusionary duplicates of him or herself. Whenever Naruto-sama tries though… they keep coming out sickly and wrong, which caused him to fail the past two years. And none of the teachers will give him any kind of help. Iruka in particular seems to have some kind of grudge against Naruto-sama and seems to target him exclusively."
The others listened carefully and absorbed this information since that was definitely suspicious, while Ran-Mao cracked her knuckles and said "Find suspicious teacher. Torture. Break bones. Force confession." Her words earning a loud 'YAY' from Ruu-Ruu as she pumped a small fist in the air as the others sweat-dropped at them.
"Let's use that as a last resort. Since we're Naruto-sama's slaves, then whatever we do will reflect on him or something like that, right?" Hinata asked, making the others hum in thought since that was a valid point. If they went around and picked a fight, then they could be getting their master in trouble.
"Then we must find proof that the teachers are in the wrong! Hinata, you were a part of his class, you know the Academy far better than any of us. Can you help?" Hannah spoke up as everyone turned their attention to the young Hyuuga.
"Of course. I pretty much know the layout of the whole building. If there's any proof, it'll be in the Iruka's office." Hinata said confidently, which made the others nod in acknowledgment since that made sense. And even if the evidence they needed wasn't there, there could at least be a clue that could point them in the right direction.
"A smaller group would attract less attention and can maneuver more easily. Both myself and Ran-Mao will go with Hinata to investigate this Iruka fellow's office. The rest shall hang back and observe Naruto-sama from a distance or provide backup as needed." Olga instructed, causing the others to speak a collective 'hai' since that was a sensible plan.
"There's one more thing, it would probably be best that we don't tell Naruto-sama our intentions. If he's in the dark, then he can claim full deniability. That should mitigate some of the damage on the off-chance we are caught. At the very least we shouldn't alarm him until we have found proof." Celestine suggested which earned some murmurs of agreement.
Chloe crossed her arms beneath her bust, a look of conviction upon her face as she spoke "Naruto-sama has cared for us, treated us decently, and is going out of his way to protect us and make us happy. We should all be willing to do the same for him. For Naruto-sama!" She shouted out at the end, which made the others shout in unison 'For Naruto-sama!'
With that said and done, they had their mission. One way or another, they would ensure their master's own safety and happiness. They owed him that, and far, far more for everything he had done for them. And for his sake… they would not fail.
Meanwhile, Konoha Academy.
Naruto sighed yet again as he slumped a bit in his seat, he could almost swear that both Iruka and Mizuki were watching him like a pair of hawks, looking for an opportunity to swoop in on their prey. What a pair of pricks. Kami, he wished that he could have stayed home and cuddled with his girls all day. He also cursed himself for forgetting to bring his books on sealing, that would have been a productive use of his time.
He looked off to the side and saw Sakura conversing with some other Fangirls, all of whom were busy swooning over Sasuke with hearts. If this whole 'Fangirl' routine was an act for the Haruno… she had it down pat. Her smile, her body language, the annoyingly high pitch of her squeals, everything about it was perfect. For all intent and purposes, she wasn't just pretending, she was fully immersed into her role.
Talk about faking it till you made it. The pinkette in question glanced over to him, giving him a frown… however her eyes held a tiny twinkle of amusement in them. She seemed to glance around to ensure no one was watching her and then gave him a quick wink. He got the message and stuck his tongue out at her, followed by a wink of his own.
Most obviously they couldn't openly communicate since Sakura wanted to maintain the facade. They would need to speak in a more private setting sometime soon. At the front of the class, Iruka shouted for everyone to quiet down and settle into their seats, after a few moments the classroom fell silent, allowing for the scarred Chunin to say his piece.
"Most recently, Hinata Hyuuga has dropped out of the Academy for undisclosed reasons and we should wish her the best. Incidentally, we have a new student joining with us today." The Chunin spoke and then called for the new student to enter inside.
The classroom door opened as a young woman with silky blonde hair stepped inside, she was a rather buxom and classy looking woman with a pair of spectacles that seemed to add to her charm. Her face was an emotionless mask as she took in her new class while a number of the students whispered about the new arrival with many of the boys saying she looked cute.
"Hot damn. Look at them knockers." Mumbled the form of Kiba who was rather openly ogling the newcomer as his face turned red.
"Kiba. Don't be a creep. First impressions." Naruto grumbled as he elbowed the Inuzuka in the ribs, which seemed to snap him to his senses as he muttered an apology and straightened up… but still he couldn't help but keep stealing glances at the newcomer's large bust. Not that Naruto could blame him, she was rather gorgeous but he didn't want her to get a bad first impression. Now that he thought about it… there seemed to be something familiar about her.
Iruka cleared his throat for a brief moment and then continued to speak "This is Satellizer L. Bridgette. She will be joining us for the remainder of the year, I hope you can all get along with her." At the mentioning of her name, a lot of the students began to whisper amongst one another due to the familiarity of her name.
As they recalled, the L. Bridgette family was an exorbitantly wealthy family from Snow Country. If the rumors were to be believed, the L. Bridgette's were working on tech that could cause the current levels of technology by years if not decades. One such example being a phone that was small enough to fit into your pocket that you could use almost anywhere.
Naruto hummed quietly to himself as he thought it a little strange that someone from such a rich family, a foreign nation no less, was joining Konoha's Academy. There must have been a reason for it. But what could it be? As he thought about this, he couldn't help but look at Satellizer's deep blue eyes. He saw that they held deep scars, pain, and loneliness… something he was all too familiar with. So familiar that he could instantly recognize the signs with but a glance.
His musing was broken when he heard Iruka instruct her to take the open seat that was previously owned by Hinata. The blonde woman nodded stiffly as she began walking towards her destination, as she passed by Naruto, she stopped and then looked down at him, her eyes lighting up in recognition as she muttered "It's you… Naruto…"
It took the whiskered teen a second to register the fact that she had just addressed him by name, and then as if he had been struck by lightning, he remembered where he had seen her before "I remember, we met briefly on the roof." He replied which caused the spectacled girl to nod, indicating that he was correct. She then adjusted her glasses and continued on as the class began to whisper amongst themselves once again, this time it was in regards to the newest addition to the class already knowing Naruto.
This came to an end as Iruka called for silence and began a history lecture about Konoha's founding. Naruto however paid little attention to it as he sighed in annoyance… once again it would be another tedious and boring day at the Academy. A large part of him hoped that something interesting would happen… unknown to him… something was indeed going to happen.
Meanwhile, In another classroom.
"We should be alright here." Spoke the form of Hinata as she guided everyone inside an empty classroom, through their brief journey, she informed them of everything she remembered of the teacher's behavior towards Naruto and gave them a description of Iruka Umino, their prime suspect and the most frequent tormentor of their master.
As they all entered the room and took a seat at the empty desks, Olga frowned a bit as she drew her finger along the top of the desk and took note of the heavy layer of dust which suggested that this classroom hadn't seen much use recently.
From what Hinata described, this particular classroom often hosted something called the Chunin exams and thus was almost always empty unless said exams were taking place. This room would give them the privacy they needed, and quite fortunately it was rather close to the stairway that led to where the offices of the various teachers resided.
"Right then, we all have our assignments and we're clear on what needs to be done. The sooner we finish the better, so let's not waste any more time than necessary. Olga-san, if you would?" Celestine spoke as she took the lead on this, prompting her longtime rival to nod and clap her hands together, muttering under her breath as a mirror-like object materialized out of thin air.
Olga then clapped her hands again and muttered another spell before addressing her companions "This is a scrying mirror spell, simply tell it what you want to see, and it will show you. Use it to watch over Naruto-sama's class or track the movements of people, should the teacher's leave you can use the mental link I just established to warn us if they're heading our way. Any questions?"
The others shook their heads but Hannah couldn't help but comment "Your skills in magic are impressive Olga-san. I'm amazed you can do things like this." The Fallen Queen scoffed a bit as she ran a hand through her hair, but still accepted the praise with a small smirk.
"Such magic was easy for me before I lost my powers. Thanks to the mana I gained from Naruto-sama, my powers are returning full force. But enough about that, we have a job to do." Olga spoke and then gestured for both Hinata and Ran-Mao to come with her, they both gave a quick 'hai' as Hinata led the way since she was most family with the building.
Once they had left, the others turned to the scrying mirror with Celestine speaking "Mirror, please show us our master, Naruto Uzumaki." The mirror vibrated for a few moments and then the image of their beloved Master became clear as day as they saw him sitting in class, a bored expression on his face as they could hear someone droning on about the village's history.
Barely a minute of listening in and Hannah muttered "This is what the young master must endure day after day? Is he even learning anything at all?" The maid asked out of concern since this monotonous method of teaching didn't seem to have the desired effect on their master, much less the rest of the students given how most of them appeared to be half-asleep or worse, as their eyes appeared, for lack of a better term, lifeless. As though they were little more than mindless zombies.
"I think I can feel myself getting dumber just from hearing this." Chloe commented as she could almost swear she could feel all of her motivation and energy being sapped by the very sound of the teacher's droning.
Celestine agreed with them and decided that to preserve their sanity, it would be best to cut the sound off. "Mirror, let us hear no more of that man's voice." She requested, and in response the mirror complied and filtered out the sounds of the teacher's lecture, much to everyone's relief.
"Now mirror, please show us a teacher called Iruka." Celestine requested since it would be prudent to see the man with their own eyes, the image shown in the mirror panned over to the side showing a man with a prominent scar across the bridge of his nose just as Hinata had earlier described. As they observed him lecturing the class, they couldn't help but notice that his eyes kept glancing in the direction of their master. And each time he did so, a flash of hatred would appear in them.
"School's boring. Why does Naruto-sama attend?" Ruu-Ruu asked as she dipped into their supply of snacks, she grabbed a bag of chips and began to indulge in it as they waited.
Celestine loosely laced her fingers together and answered "Naruto-sama explained that he wishes to join this village's military so that he may one day become this village's leader, the Hokage. But in order to do so, he first needs to graduate from the Academy."
After the brief summary, Ruu-Ruu popped a chip into her mouth and chewed on it for a few seconds before speaking "Ruu-Ruu doesn't get it, but if that's what Naruto-sama wants then Ruu-sama will support him all the way! But… what's Naruto-sama gonna do after he gets what he wants?"
The Halfling's question was innocent in nature, but still posed a valid point. Even if their master became the Hokage, what would he do next? And more importantly… would being Hokage really make him happy? The fallen goddess was silent for a few moments until she answered "I'm not sure. He didn't say."
Afterwards, silence fell upon the group as they continued to observe their young master through the scrying mirror as they waited for the others to return. All the while… Celestine couldn't help but worry a bit about her master's future.
Meanwhile, Olga's group.
"This is the place." Hinata spoke as she pointed towards a door that was marked by a nameplate that read 'Iruka Umino'. With any luck, the proof they needed would be somewhere in here. The Hyuuga was certain of it.
Ran-Mao jiggled the handle a bit and found it to be locked, no real surprise there. "Olga-san. Magic. Unlock." The Chinese woman whispered, prompting the Fallen Queen to step forward and mutter a quiet incantation as she pointed her index finger at the lock.
A purple spark leapt from her fingertip and then the locking mechanism opened with an audible click, signaling that they were now free to enter. Once again, Ran-Mao turned the handle and opened it, granting their group entry into Iruka's office. The place appeared to be almost barren save for the basic necessities.
A desk, a chair, a cup full of pens and pencils, a few filing cabinets and not much else. However, the place had not a speck of dust to be seen, suggesting that it was cleaned regularly and the scratches on the desk's surface showed that it had seen a lot of use.
"Start with the cabinets while I check the desk. There should be something here." Olga spoke as she began opening the desk drawers and began perusing for anything noteworthy while the other two opened the cabinet drawers and began slimming through the contents.
"The cabinets have files on the students. I might have something about Naruto-sama." Hinata announced as her fingers traced over the neatly and alphabetically arranged files. If her hunch was right, then Naruto's file should be in here somewhere. She quickly skipped over to where his file should be. When she finally found the file in question… there was only the most basic of information inside, seemed quite odd for his file to be so bare boned..
"Odd. Not much here. Why? Hidden?" Ran-Mao asked as she quirked up an eyebrow. The others narrowed their eyes a bit and came to the same conclusion… the important stuff was hidden away for a reason. But where could it be? Logically speaking, it would have to be close by for easy access.
Having a hunch, Hinata muttered "Byakugan." Causing the veins around her eyes to become noticeable when her Dojutsu activated and used her eyes to begin scanning the room for any hidden secrets. Almost immediately she found a space in the wall that had a hidden alcove and inside was yet another filing cabinet. Seemed like Iruka didn't want people to find this one.
She took notice of some wiring that was connected to the opening mechanism of the hidden doorway and followed it to a button hidden beneath the desk. With a small smile, she reached under and pushed the button, causing the secret door to slide open with an audible clicking sound. "Jackpot." Ran-Mao muttered as she gestured to the hidden filing cabinet.
"Well done young Hinata. Now let's hurry this up. We shouldn't linger." Olga spoke, the former heiress smiled as she accepted the praise and then the three began digging through the content of the hidden cabinet.
The first thing they found was numerous papers, tests and exams actually. Each one being signed by Naruto Uzumaki, and each one marked as a failure. There were also various notes, some mentioning Naruto's performance in class and spars, others keeping track of who he associated with.
And then they found numerous letters and correspondence. They glanced over the contents and found that Iruka was receiving large sums of money on a monthly basis from an unnamed benefactor to spy on Naruto and to keep him trapped in the Academy for as long as possible, and if anyone got suspicious of him or called him out on his behavior then he was to play as the 'concerned big brother'.
Additionally, there was an entry that mentioned a tracking seal had been placed on Naruto which would allow Iruka to keep track of his movements. Something that Iruka himself admitted was very useful whenever their master went on one of his pranking sprees. Then, the Chunin teacher began making suggestions of adding other seals… the kind that could mentally condition Naruto to be more docile and obedient. They weren't just going to make a slave of him… they were going to take away his free will.
"The Hokage needs to see all of this. Right now." Hinata spoke as her hands curled into a pair of fists, her face red with fury as the others nodded their agreement.
Olga placed two fingers to her forehead and sent a mental transmission to Celestine through the link she had earlier established 'Celestine. We have the proof. And it's worse than what we initially believed. Keep Naruto-sama away from the teachers, especially Iruka, at any cost! He wants to make the master into a slave! We'll be getting help.' She then showed mental images of their discoveries and sent the needed information to her former rival.
Olga then muttered a quick incantation, causing the evidence to begin floating in the air and then sealed inside of a bubble for easy transportation. Now they had to take this to the Hokage with all haste and get this matter sorted out as quickly as possible… before something bad happened to their master.
With Celestine's group.
Almost immediately after receiving Olga's telepathic message, Celestine informed the others about what the Fallen Queen and her group discovered… "The bastard! Filthy Human! I'll whip him until I tear the flesh from his bones!" Chloe shouted as she gripped a bull whip in her hands. Unsurprisingly, none of them were taking the news rather well.
"Damn teacher! I will cut him up, and I will bite off his penis!" Ruu-Ruu shouted angrily as she began to wildly swing her battleaxe around. Hannah remained silent at this time, but there seemed to be a cold fury in her eyes as she pondered over the most painful methods of dispatching this Iruka person.
"Now girls, I'm angry as well, but we should let the proper authorities handle the situation. Our priority is the young master's safety." Celestine spoke out, prompting the others to reluctantly nod in agreement. The Fallen goddess cleared her throat and then said "I shall take the master's bento to him as I promised and escort him here so that we can guard him until the other's bring help."
The others nodded in agreement since that seemed to be the safest course of action. Hannah silently reached under her skirt and pulled out the bento that they had earlier prepared for the master and passed it over to the High Elf. The maid's ability to store and pull out various objects from her person was strange to say the least, but still quite useful. Without another word, the High Elf made her way towards Naruto's classroom while the others stayed behind since one lone slave would attract less attention than a whole group.
The last thing they wanted was to alert Iruka to the fact that they were onto him. The Fallen goddess walked through the Academy's halls, all the while a saddened expression falling on her face as she thought about her poor master. She couldn't begin to imagine what kind of monster would sabotage a child's education, much less desire to take away his free will.
More importantly, who was the mysterious benefactor that was paying Iruka to begin with? And why? It didn't make any real sense to sabotage the education of an innocent boy… unless the goal wasn't necessarily to sabotage his education, but to control the rate of his growth. From the first moment she had met her master, both herself and Olga could almost immediately sense the great power that slept within him. The fact that Olga's powers had so quickly been restored by his mana was proof of this.
If others were aware of Naruto's gifts or any abilities he may possess, then it was probable that they would wish to control them for their own purposes. And by controlling his growth, it would make him easier to manage without them being overpowered by Naruto himself.
However, this was merely speculation without solid evidence, so for now she would push her thoughts to the side since she had arrived at the appropriate classroom as marked by the sign above. She peeked through the window and saw that the students were pulling out their own bentos since it seemed that their lunch break had arrived, talk about impeccable timing.
She put on a serene smile and entered the classroom where her master was waiting and announced "Ohayo young master!" Upon hearing her, the whiskered teen looked in her direction and grinned, his face seemingly lighting up upon seeing her.
"Holy shit! Look at the size of them titties! Where the fuck do you get hot ass slaves like that?!" shouted a random boy from the class as the males began to openly ogle her, the lustful looks made the High elf feel a bit embarrassed and uncomfortable, but she did her best to ignore them as she made her way towards her master with his bento in hand. Though during this time, a certain spectacled blonde frowned deeply at the mentioning of the word 'slave'
The Uzumaki uncomfortably scratched the back of his neck and spoke "Thanks for coming Celestine, and… sorry about the 'attention' you're getting." His words helped put her at ease as she smiled sweetly. She supposed that it couldn't be helped since she was indeed beautiful.
"I suppose it is, erm… unavoidable given my appearance and a lot of these boys are at 'that age'." She spoke in an understanding tone, knowing full well that a number of them weren't in full control of themselves due to the teenage hormones coursing through them. She then cleared her throat and spoke "Young master, there is something I must discuss with you in private. Would you please come with me?"
The Uzumaki nodded in agreement since he could tell that it must have been important, as evidenced by the look of urgency in her eyes despite the smile on her face. The two then quickly departed together, although Naruto could almost swear he saw Iruka glaring at him out of the corner of his eye… or maybe that was just the feeling of the jealous looks he was getting from the other boys in the class. He honestly couldn't tell anymore.
As the master and slave pair left, in another part of the classroom, Satellizer was watching the form of Naruto with a scrutinizing gaze. Her hands clenching and unclenching her face scrunched up in agitation but at the same time confusion. 'That boy… Naruto… he owns a slave? Hmm… I wonder…' She thought to herself and got up from her seat, deciding to follow the two to confirm something.
She carefully followed the pair while keeping a respectable distance from them, as she followed them she caught snippets of some light conversation with the whiskered teen asking how some girl called 'Ruu-chan' was settling in with the blonde woman who replied that the girl in question was doing just fine.
The conversation between them seemed light hearted in nature, showing that they were comfortable in each other's presence. Usually, one would expect a slave to be fearful of their master or something of that nature, but not with these two. There seemed to be something different about them. Of that, Satellizer was certain.
The pair stopped near a set of doors where two brown skinned women and a small girl were waiting with Naruto speaking "Hey girls. What's up? I wasn't expecting to see all of you here. Is there something wrong? You kinda seem on edge." He noted since they seemed upset about something, of what though he wasn't sure yet.
"Celestine-san will explain everything. For now Naruto-sama, you should get inside. We don't want to make a scene in front of the snoop." Spoke the brown skinned one with the blonde hair, her crimson eyes glaring at Satellizer as both Naruto and Celestine turned around as if acknowledging her presence for the first time.
"Something you need Satellizer-san?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow, wondering why she had followed him here. For a few moments, the spectacled woman said nothing, her eyes flicking between the various girls with an appraising look.
"These women… are all your slaves?" The spectacled woman asked in a blank tone, a small chill swept over the area as the Jinchuuriki suddenly felt as if he had a foot in the grave.
Fortunately, he was saved when Hannah spoke "Not all of us. I am the young master's maid, and Ruu-Ruu here most recently appointed herself as his bodyguard. If you hate slave owners, then that is understandable. But before you make any assumptions about Naruto-sama, you should know that he is a kind and gentle soul that treats us all like family and would never force himself on any of the girls."
"It's true! I hated humans and slavers, but the young master is a good person!" Chloe chimed in as well, adding in her two cents. There was a pregnant pause in the air as Satellizer continued staring at the group. From what she could tell, these women didn't appear to be lying nor did they seem to be pressured into saying those things. They really and truly meant it.
"I see. My apologies for bothering you." The spectacled woman spoke and then turned on her heel to leave, but was stopped when she felt a hand placed on her shoulder that made her freeze up, much like a deer caught in the headlights as she looked over her shoulder and found the form of Naruto looking at her with a small smile.
"I think I get it… you were concerned about the girls and wanted to make sure that I was treating them right. I'm glad to know that there's people like you around that care about the welfare of people trapped in the life of slavery. It seems like there's a lot of people who are too… accepting of it." Naruto grumbled at the end, earning some nods from the girls.
The Jinchuuriki then said in a happy voice "Thanks for checking on my girls, it means a lot to me actually that somebody cares." He pulled his hand away from Satellizer's shoulder as she slowly raised a hand up and rubbed the spot where he had touched her.
"You… you… touched… me…" She muttered quietly, causing the Uzumaki to raise an eyebrow and then realize he may have offended her or something when he grabbed her shoulder.
"Ah! I'm really sorry about that. I wasn't thinking." He tried to apologize and then bowed to the L. Bridgette to express his sincerity… however she didn't seem to hear him as she continued to mutter 'You touched me.' over and over like a broken record. The atmosphere became quite awkward as Naruto turned towards the members of his family who could only shrug their shoulders since they were as confused as he was.
Finally, Satellizer seemed to snap out of her own stupor and spoke in a quiet voice "Excuse me… I have to go." And with that, she departed without a word further. The group all looked at each other once again with Chloe commenting "That was… rather odd."
"Yeah. Not sure what that was about." The whiskered teen replied as he scratched at his cheek. Deciding that it would be best to move on he turned towards Celestine and asked "So what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?"
In response to his question, the High Elf ushered him inside the empty classroom while the others stayed outside to stand guard. When they were inside, Celestine locked the doors behind them and spoke "My apologies for any inconvenience, young master, but I thought it best for us to be alone for what I have to say to you."
"Sounds serious. Especially with the others guarding the doors." He noted as he gestured to the locked double doors, prompting the High Elf sigh as she reluctantly bobbed her head in confirmation.
"Me and the others were concerned about your education and potential mistreatment by the teachers, mainly your Iruka Umino. Olga, Hinata and Ran-Mao went to investigate his office and found incriminating evidence." She explained to him, and then reported the findings of Olga's group as her master listened quietly, slowly absorbing this information with a thoughtful expression.
When she had finished, her master let out a rueful laugh as he spoke "That damn Iruka. I always knew he had a stick up his ass, but I never thought he'd be that far gone. Still, that does explain a few things, like how he's always able to find me after a pranking spree.
You know, I once tried poking around in his office to see if I could find if he had any skeletons in the closet, he caught me red-handed and threatened to expel me if I ever tried again. I knew he was hiding something then, but I didn't want to risk getting expelled over it. Still, I never would have thought the bastard would recommend putting mental conditioning seals on me."
Celestine sighed as she ran a hand through her hair and spoke "Indeed. It is truly horrible. In my homelands, I always tried to see the best in people… but in doing so, I neglected to see the potential evil in them as well. Perhaps in a way, that led to the fall of my home." She mused more to herself as she bit her lip.
Naruto took notice of this and figured that something else besides his own situation may have been bothering her. She then sighed and turned to him with a small smile as she spoke "My apologies, I was just thinking out loud. At any rate, the other's should be reporting their findings to your Hokage and then everything will be alright. Until then, we'll protect you."
There was a brief silence in the air until Naruto replied with a curt "No." At that, the fallen goddess could only blink her eyes in confusion and asked him "What do you mean 'No'?"
In response, the Jinchuuriki clarified "I'm not just going to sit here like a coward and wait for the storm to pass. I wanna take a shot at Iruka and let him know exactly what I think of him." He spoke as he cracked his knuckles.
"Are you sure that's wise? You could get hurt." Celestine spoke in a worried tone as her master smile in appreciation for her concern. She was always such a kind and caring soul and had a motherly aura to her. Even so, this was a fight that he wouldn't and couldn't run from.
"I could yeah. But it won't compare to all the other ways I've been hurt over the years. And Iruka was responsible for a lot of that pain, I just want a chance to pay him back. That aside, if things get too out of hand, I'll have backup." He spoke as he gestured to the doors where the others were waiting. And then he continued to speak as he added "Besides, since he's got that tracking seal on me, he'll be able to find me anyway. The least I can do is take the fight to him first so I can get a few good swings in."
Celestine bit her lip in worry and spoke "If you're sure about that… I won't stop you. Just… please master. Don't overdo it. And for heaven's sake, eat something! You can't fight at your best on an empty stomach." She said and then pushed the bento she was holding into her master's chest, making him chuckle a bit since she was right.
"Don't worry Celestine, I know what I'm doing." He spoke reassuringly as he began to dig into his bento. The High elf still felt concerned for her master's safety, but at the same time… she had a feeling that he would be fine. And if anything happened to him, she and the others would be there to help. Additionally… She was kind of looking forward to seeing what her master would do.
"Young master? If I may, I'd like to ask you… what will you do after you become Hokage? What would you do next?" She asked him, the whiskered teen looked at her with a somewhat confused expression, his silence suggesting that he didn't really have an answer to her question.
"You know… I never really thought about that part. I hadn't ever put much thought into what I'd do after becoming Hokage. What brought on that question?" He asked, prompting the High Elf to shrug a bit.
"Just something that Ruu-Ruu brought up a bit ago. The reason I asked is because that while it is good to have a goal, you should think about what you will do afterwards once you accomplish it. Where do you go from there? What do you do when you're in a position of power? That sort of thing. More importantly, I should warn you that positions of power and authority can be, in a way, prisons unto themselves." Celestine explained in a patient tone, her words seemed to puzzle her master further as he absentmindedly chewed away at his meal.
Sensing his confusion, the fallen Goddess decided to elaborate "Let me explain. Back home, I was the centerpiece of an entire religion that believed I was the reincarnation of a goddess. This belief was furthered by the fact that I received visions of the future. My every word, my every decision, my every action influenced the hearts and minds of thousands of people. And each and every one of those actions always carried consequences. In some ways… I myself am responsible for the fall of my homelands.
Young master, if you wish to become a leader, the first thing you should be wary of, is that your choices can affect the lives of others. Not just yourself. Is that what you truly want to live with? Will being Hokage truly bring you happiness? If it is what you want, I'll always support you. But… just be careful. I don't wish you to be chained down by anything or anyone against your will like we were." She warned him, making the Uzumaki hum in thought since she had shared some good advice with him.
He would have a lot to think about, but that was still a ways off in the future, for now. It would be more prudent to deal with immediate problems, like Iruka. The man had spent years as an Academy teacher or paper pusher. He was likely out of shape and out of practice. While Naruto didn't know any forms of martial arts or taijutsu styles, he did know where to hit someone where it hurt, he knew how to break bones, and he knew how to fight dirty. After all… in a real fight, a fight for your life, the term 'fair play' was irrelevant.
That was likely something the Chunin himself had forgotten, and Naruto was ready to give him a very rude awakening and a long-deserved beatdown. He had a lot of anger and rage pent up from all this time at the Academy, it was about damn time he let loose some of that on the scarred man for his sins.
Meanwhile, the Hokage's office.
Hiruzen drummed his fingers as he looked over the paperwork on his desk, reviewing over what had been discovered in regards to the mysterious bulk sale of D-Rank slaves, all of them being female. With Scarlet's help, they slowly peeled back the layers and managed to shine some light on it as the name of a particular organization kept cropping up time and time again, 'Nomad'.
Nomad was an extremely Shady and insidious organization, while he wasn't fully aware of their activities, he knew with absolute certainty that they were rotten to the core. To his knowledge, they didn't have an active presence within Konoha, that is… until recently.
But what was it that they wanted exactly? What were they up to? Hiruzen decided that the best course of action would be to contact the Taimanin. While they had no affiliations with the Shinobi Villages, they were still powerful in their own right and had a longstanding history of fighting against Nomad. Any help the Taimanin could offer would be of immense aid.
The Hokage's musing was cut short when a knock sounded at his door. The aged Hokage cleared his throat and called out "Come in." Prompting the door to open revealing the forms of Hinata, Ran-Mao and a brown skinned woman that he didn't recognize.
"Welcome my dears. Is there something you or Naruto-kun need? And what might your name be Ms..?" He asked politely, guessing that they most lively came on their master's behalf.
The tall brown skinned woman replied "Olga Discordia. I am… or was a queen prior to my enslavement. Our master is in need of your help, we have evidence proving that one Iruka Umino is corrupt." The Dark Elf made a swift motion with her finger and deposited the bubble containing their evidence on the Hokage's desk.
The bubble dissolved with a gentle pop, allowing Hiruzen to pick them up and read through them. His eyes widened for a few moments… and then narrowed angrily as his nostrils flared.
This was completely unacceptable. Sabotaging Naruto's education in itself was a serious crime, but accepting bribes and spying? That was completely unexpected.
He had always had a feeling Iruka was motivated by a grudge against the Kyuubi but there was no proof of any wrongdoing up until this moment. Whoever was behind the bribes must have known of this and taken advantage of it.
Whoever this mysterious benefactor was would have to wait for now. At this moment… it was now time to clean house inside the Academy. "Ladies? If you would, please come with me. I am going to have some very strong words with Iruka before I strip him of his headband and have every single bone in his body smashed into powder."
The trio of slaves nodded in agreement as they followed the Sandaime back to the Academy. The three being very eager to see justice done and their master's smiling face.
Elsewhere. Undisclosed location.
"Ugh. What a disappointing waste of time." Grumbled the form of Oboro as she released her claws with a sharp 'snikt' sound, she felt a very strong urge to cut something up and/or find some unfortunate soul to torment.
For once, Ingrid agreed with the devious Taimanin. Ever since their discovery with the angel in the Hyuuga estate, they had been told to 'remain on standby' until they were given fresh orders. And so here they were, twiddling their thumbs as they had no choice but to wait… but what were they supposed to wait for?
The Hell Knight, pursed her lips as she polished her blade. In spite of her stoic demeanor… she had to admit that she was starting to feel restless. They couldn't just sit around and do nothing at all. There had to be something productive that they could do.
"Screw this. I'm not sitting around any more." Oboro snarled as she began marching off somewhere, making the brown skinned Knight look at her suspiciously.
"And where do you think that you're going?" Ingrid asked, knowing full well that her 'partner' was of an untrustworthy nature and needed to be closely watched at all times. At her question, the purple haired woman scoffed with a small snarl and turned towards the pinkette.
"I'm going to find something worthwhile to do. I'm not going to sit on my ass this whole time. I think I'll find that cute boy with the whisker markings and have some fun with him." Oboro stated with a sadistic grin, earning a harsh glare from the dark skinned woman.
"Your definition of 'fun' usually involves something of a highly sadistic nature. You lay a hand on that boy, and there will be hell to pay." Ingrid stated as she kept a tight grip on her sword, her words earning a cocky grin from the traitorous Taimanin.
"That a threat or a warning?" Oboro asked as she put her hands on her hips, a small part of her wanting the Hell Knight to take a swing at her, if only to help ease her boredom. She wasn't going to let herself get fat and lazy after all. She did have a figure and reputation to maintain.
"A bit of both. If you do anything to that boy, the Shinobi of this village will be breathing down our necks, and Asagi and her crew won't be far behind. Attracting unwanted attention could ruin Edwin-sama's plans, or at the least make life more difficult." Ingrid explained as she glared at Oboro, additionally she had a strong hatred for those who harmed children, and Oboro was known to be morally bankrupt.
The devious purplette smirked as she spoke "Relax Ingrid, I'm not stupid. I wasn't going to hurt him. That'd defeat the whole point of getting him to join up." Her words caused the pink haired knight to cock an eyebrow which prompted the traitorous woman to continue speaking "That boy could be very useful to us if we convinced him to work for us. His powers would be nothing to sneeze at, that's for certain since Jinchuuriki are infamously known as weapons of mass destruction. Just think of how Edwin-sama may reward us if we were to gain access to such a powerful weapon."
Ingrid scoffed a bit, while it was true that having such raw destructive power at their disposal could please their leader, she had to point something out "That may be difficult. He didn't seem to like you very much when we spoke with him last." The Hell knight pointed out, earning a dismissive wave from the purplette.
"Perhaps so, but it wouldn't be fun without some challenge to it. A young man like that is bound to have some kind of weakness. Something I can exploit and use to my advantage. If I can find that, it would be possible to convince him to serve us." Oboro spoke with a small cackle, it would be quite fun for her to turn him into a willing servant.
Branding him with a slave seal would only make him resist at every turn. Brainwashing him was out of the question since a Jinchuuriki's mental state and emotions were the key to their powers. And she had no idea if drugs would work since it was said that Jinchuuriki had enhanced bodies thanks to the Bijuu chakra coursing through them. No, it would be far more effective and entertaining to have him willingly serve them of his own volition.
She could already picture herself, on a throne, that young Uzumaki boy licking at her feet like a puppy as he faithfully worshiped her and treated her as his goddess. And poor Ingrid, or better yet, Asagi would be mindless breeding stock for him to pump his babies into to make sure the tailed beast would have other potential vessels.
As she mused to herself, Ingrid saw the gears turning in Oboro's mind and felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. She would need to watch her very closely and ensure that she didn't screw everything up. Additionally, she had the distinctive feeling that their longtime foe Asagi and her group couldn't be far behind them, and careless actions would only hasten their arrival.
Kami, she hated this. If you leave Oboro alone or give her too much free time, then she starts thinking. And when Oboro starts to think, she starts to scheme, and when she starts to scheme… no good ever comes from it.
End chapter nine.
Naruto's Slaves/Servants:
Ran-Mao, Slave. (Kuroshitsuji aka Black Butler series.)
Hannah Annafellows, Maid. (Kuroshitsuji aka Black Butler series.)
Ruu-Ruu, Bodyguard and Pet(?) (Kuroinu.)
Olga Discordia, Slave. (Kuroinu.)
Chloe, Slave. (Kuroinu.)
Celestine Lucross, Slave. (Kuroinu.)
Hinata Hyuuga, Slave. (Naruto.)
Guest characters:
Scarlett, Head of Konoha Branch Slave market. (Final Fantasy series.)
Satellizer L. Bridgette. (Freezing.)
Mey-Rin, kutzy maid and sniper assassin/bodyguard. (Kuroshitsuji aka Black Butler.)
Ingrid. (Taimanin series.)
Oboro. (Taimanin series.)
