A/N - Okey dokey, figured it was finally time to upload a new chapter for this story! It's been a while. lol

Anywho, this chapter is another short one, only coming in at 6593 words. Still, I did the best I could with it, considering I was running a blank for most of the chapter. XD Here's to hoping that you enjoy it, regardless.

This chapter explains a little about the enigma known as Rihoshi, as well as the return to Konoha and other such thingymabobs. Should be fun! lol

Not sure what else to say. Pretty out of it right now. x.x Sooo, read on and enjoy? lol

Chapter 14 – Rihoshi of the Darkness Blade

Naruto was scared. No, that didn't quite cover the fear he felt when faced with the wrath of Rihoshi. He was truly and utterly terrified of his new foe. He still remembered the horrifying feeling he had when faced with Rihoshi in the Chunin Exams. Then there was the fact that he made the normally stoic and composed Shino break down into tears from the sheer fear he felt.

Willing his legs to work, Naruto leapt out of the way of Rihoshi's first attack. When he glanced back at the attack, a tidal wave of darkness given life, the blonde stared horrified as it turned and chased after him. Chancing a glance at his opponent, Naruto steeled his nerves and began dashing straight towards the evil being before him.

"Kill Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze. Orders. Kill." Rihoshi repeated as he called back his darkness faster than Naruto had expected.

Calming himself down, Naruto drew his Shi no Tacchi blade and steadied himself. All I need is one cut. One cut and he'll perish. He thought to himself, trying to psych himself up for the battle. Then why do I feel so worried? Can he survive a cut from this blade? I don't even know what the heck he really is. He can't be human…

As he watched Rihoshi's darkness flail about, looking as if it was just waiting for the opportune moment to strike, he decided to try and get his opponent talking. "Who do you work for? Why are you after me, Rihoshi? Weren't we allies?"

Rihoshi tilted his head and said, "Allies? Not quite. Master Tobi commands. Listen to orders. Naruto must die."

Frowning in confusion, Naruto slowly inched closer to his assailant and said, "I don't understand. Who is this 'Tobi'? Why do you obey him?"

"Tobi is Tobi. Master is master. He orders. I listen. Simple as that." Rihoshi replied. "Now, enough talk. Kill Naruto."

When Rihoshi sent his darkness out to attack Naruto again, he quickly cut through it with his Shi no Tacchi before dashing towards his opponent. When the darkness began to coalesce once again in an attempt to ensnare him, Naruto created two shadow clones and had them throw him towards Rihoshi. It was then that he did it. The Shi no Tacchi pierced cleanly through Rihoshi's heart.

Quickly withdrawing his blade, Naruto hurriedly rushed back to his girlfriends and waited for Rihoshi to perish from his injury. However, when he began to chuckle, Naruto's eyes widened in horror, and he began to shake. "No. That's not possible. Shi no Tacchi never fails. Besides that, I stabbed him through the heart! What the hell is he?!"

Rihoshi chuckled darkly and said, "Master Zetsu made me. I am their puppet. I will be useful to them."

Tsunade eyed Rihoshi for a time, trying to get a good read on him. Taking a few steps towards him, she paused when Naruto held out his arm, stopping her. "Tsunade-sama, his darkness is all-consuming. If you are going to fight, don't let yourself be caught by it. I don't know exactly how it works, but it seems to be an incredibly powerful kekkei genkai. My sword should have killed him. All I need is to cut an enemy a single time and they'll die in a matter of minutes. Rihoshi took a blade through the heart, which should have been fatal regardless. So be careful."

The older blonde nodded and proceeded to crack her knuckles. "If that's the case, then working together seems to be our best option for taking this creature down. No Human is capable of such things. As he said, he was created, most likely in a laboratory somewhere. And if he can't die via conventional means, then we'll have to get creative. Perhaps burying him alive would do the trick?"

Naruko shook her head and said, "He could just use his powers of darkness to emerge from that unscathed. He was once buried under a rockslide and escaped via a strange portal of sorts. Just like he used to get here in the first place."

Tsunade's eyebrow twitched sporadically as she looked out of the corner of her eyes at the younger woman. "You have to be freaking kidding me? How the hell do we kill this thing? How do we at least stop it?"

Naruko frowned in thought for a time before saying, "Well, he never did like the cold. If we had some kind of ice technique, that would probably have helped. Other than that, he's not very fast. He prefers to use his darkness to get around from place to place. It's sort of like Gaara's sand barrier. Rihoshi's darkness protects him from all sides, but it's not a complete defense. If we attack from all angles, he can't stop us all. But…"

Jiraiya scowled and said, "Whoever he targets is going to be in deep shit. And since he's so focused on Naruto…"

Naruto looked at his sword and said, "I can use Haku's ice one, maybe two more times. Then his spirit will vanish and move on to the afterlife. If we're going to do this, I need to make every attack count. If you can keep him distracted, I'll hit him with my best shot. I just hope it's enough."

Tsunade frowned in thought before looking back at Jiraiya. "Can you make a seal to cut off his connection to the darkness? If you can do it even temporarily, that would work wonderfully. I get the feeling that's probably going to be our best shot."

Jiraiya frowned for a moment before nodding his head determinedly. "I think I can manage that. If you can keep him busy for about five minutes, I can get it ready. Might not be the easiest thing in the world to do, but I believe in all of you."

Naruto nodded in understanding before he said, "I just need a clear shot at him. I can't waste my attacks, only for his darkness to swallow my attack whole. If you girls can get me a clear shot, I can freeze this bastard in place long enough for Jiraiya to disable him. Think you can do it?"

The girls around him nodded before they each went on the attack. While Kurotsuchi spat balls of lava at Rihoshi, Shizune slipped around behind him and tried to nail him with some poisoned senbon, only for Rihoshi's darkness to absorb them into itself. Kurotsuchi's lava balls failed to make a dent as well. Scowling at this, both women resumed their assault, probing his defenses in the hopes of finding some kind of opening they could exploit.

Tsunade slowly approached Rihoshi, a determined look on her face. "You're a threat that needs to be neutralized. I don't care what it takes. If I have to rip off your head to stop you, I'll do it."

Rihoshi simply stared into her eyes blankly. Pointing his finger at Naruto, he said, "Only here for him. Anyone who gets in the way is to be eliminated without prejudice. Starting with you…" Here, he turned to Naruko and made his darkness latch onto her leg, slowly pulling her deeper into his darkness.

Naruko's eyes went wide as she struggled to escape Rihoshi's grasp. "P-Please…no…" she begged. Thankfully, Naruto slashed with his sword, temporarily cutting through the darkness and allowing his sister to get away unscathed. Breathing a sigh of relief, Naruko shakily stood up and stared at her brother. "T-Thank you, Naruto-kun."

"Of course, sweetheart. Looks like we all need to be careful. Hit and run tactics seem like the best option here until we can force an opening. I didn't think this would be so hard." Naruto said as he flipped out of the way of a tendril of darkness that came shooting after him.

Tsunade scowled as she thought over her options. After a moment, she shouted for the others to get back before she slammed her fist into the ground, causing it to crater underneath Rihoshi, temporarily forcing him off balance. Afterwards, she leapt up and came crashing down with an axe kick while Rihoshi was distracted. When her leg hit his barrier of darkness, she saw that he was struggling to hold her back.

Seeing that all of his focus was on stopping Tsunade, Naruto dashed forward and summoned Haku's ice powers before slashing through Rihoshi's chest, encasing his body in ice. When his darkness receded within him, he leapt backwards, just to be safe. "Jiraiya, how's the seal coming along?!"

"It's almost done! Do you think your ice will hold for about 30 more seconds?" Jiraiya questioned.

Naruto and the others watched Rihoshi and saw the ice beginning to crack. "Umm, might want to hurry it up, Jiraiya. I don't think we have a lot of time."

Glancing at their opponent, Jiraiya saw the ice covering Rihoshi's left eye break off. The creepiest part about it was the fact that the eye kept darting around, looking at each of them. "Yeah, that's not good." Jiraiya said before he immediately went back to work on the seal, trying to finish it quickly, but cautiously.

As the ice began to crack and fall off in more places, little by little over time, Naruto clenched the Shi no Tacchi tight and muttered, "This is going to suck." All the others could do was nod in agreement with that assessment.

Once the ice was down to encasing only his left leg, Jiraiya proclaimed, "Finally! Here goes nothing!"

Tsunade glanced at him and said, "We'll try to buy you an opening. As soon as you get your chance, slap that damn thing on him and strip him of his kekkei genkai."

"Roger that, Tsu-hime." Jiraiya said before watching as Naruto and the girls went on the attack once again.

As soon as Rihoshi was free, he started shaking as his darkness lashed out violently at everything around him. "C-Cold. Don't like cold." He said. Narrowing his eyes, he focused on Naruto and pointed a finger at him. "Naruto must die." And with that, a tendril of darkness shot forward, impaling Naruto through the chest, narrowly missing his heart.

Coughing up blood, Naruto stumbled backwards, unable to believe how fast that attack had been. If he hadn't moved when he did, he knew he would have died. Or maybe not, depending on what Yure would choose to do. Still, he'd rather not risk such a thing.

Seeing the blood, Tsunade froze in horror and began to shake. Seeing this, Shizune hurried over to Naruto and ran a diagnostic technique to determine the extent of the damage. Turning back to Tsunade, she exclaimed, "Now isn't the time to be freezing up, Tsunade-sama! You need to work through your fear and help him!"

Quickly shaking it off, Tsunade nodded once before she moved over to Naruto and looked over his wound. "Shizune, what's the extent of the damage?"

Shizune frowned at her and shook her head. "It nicked his heart. If he hadn't moved when he did, he'd probably be dead now. As it stands, we need to act fast if we want to repair the damage. I'm honestly more worried about them." She said, looking back at the others as they fought with Rihoshi, trying to create another opening for Jiraiya to get close.

Tsunade frowned and said, "They've got their work cut out for them. We need to focus on Naruto right now." Turning back to face him, Tsunade helped lie him down on the ground before she and Shizune went to work, trying to repair the damage done to him. "Just hang in there, Naruto."

Meanwhile, Ino was just waiting for an opening to use her Mind Transfer Technique. When she saw her chance, she performed the familiar hand seal and was about to use it when Jiraiya shouted out to her. "Don't even try it! If Shi no Tacchi couldn't kill him and take his soul, then it's likely he doesn't have a mind for you to control! You shouldn't risk it. There's no telling what could happen to you."

Ino frowned and asked, "Then what are we supposed to do?"

"You know some elemental techniques, don't you? Use them and work together with Naruko and Kurotsuchi to give me the opening I need." Jiraiya replied.

Nodding once, Ino proceeded to perform a few hand seals before slamming her palms to the ground. After declaring her technique, the ground began to crack and crumble as the earth split in front of her. As it raced along the ground, she watched as Rihoshi was caught off guard and was sent stumbling as he tried to find even footing again.

Thanking Ino for the opening, Jiraiya moved as fast as possible and slapped the seal tag on his chest and activated it. When Rihoshi collapsed to the ground, unmoving, they wondered if he was even still alive. Kneeling down to check, Jiraiya was soon forced to leap backwards as a strange plant-like being emerged from the ground and lifted the creature up and over his shoulder. "Hmph. I see we'll have to work on overcoming his weaknesses. You may have won this round, but we will be back to finish what we started." The plant being said before suddenly vanishing into the ground, escaping with Rihoshi.

"Tch. That must have been Zetsu. To think Rihoshi was a puppet for the Akatsuki all this time. This isn't good." Jiraiya said. Turning around, he walked with the girls over to Naruto and watched as Tsunade finished healing his injury. "How's he doing?"

The busty blonde smiled and said, "He'll be just fine. Naruto was incredibly lucky. He could have died if he had moved a second too late. For the time being, he just needs to rest. Let's return to the hotel and let him get some sleep. He should be fine by tonight, if his recovery goes well."

Naruko and the others breathed sighs of relief. "Oh, thank Kami. Thank you, Tsunade-sama." Naruko said. "I never expected Rihoshi to be like that. He seemed like a quiet, reserved sort of person. But if he's been working for the Akatsuki all this time…"

Jiraiya shook his head and said, "No, I don't think that's it. I think he's loyal to this Tobi person and Zetsu only. I get the strangest feeling that he was created for a specific purpose, meant to be used by solely those two. I doubt the other Akatsuki are even aware of Rihoshi."

Tsunade frowned deeply and said, "You're going to need to tell me about everything. I don't like being left out of the loop here. As for Rihoshi, what purpose could he have been truly made for? I somehow doubt it was to kill Naruto. There has to be some purpose to his existence."

Jiraiya shrugged and said, "I wish I knew, hime. For now, let's get to the hotel so we can discuss everything. You deserve to know what's going on." And with that, Jiraiya gently lifted Naruto into his arms and began walking back towards the village of Tanzaku Quarters.

Naruko paused for a moment as she glanced back towards where Rihoshi had first appeared. I will never forgive you, Rihoshi. One day, we will defeat you. We'll find a way to kill you. And with that thought, she turned and followed after her teammates.

One Week Later

The party of seven entered Konohagakure, they were immediately greeted by the Anbu. "Hokage-sama wishes to speak with you. All of you."

Jiraiya nodded in understanding and said, "Well, let's get going. I'm sure she'll be pleased to know we succeeded in our mission. Though I doubt she'll be pleased to hear about the Akatsuki and Rihoshi…"

Naruto nodded in agreement and said, "Yeah. She's not going to be happy, that's for sure. First Kabuto escaped, then Rihoshi disappeared, only to show up and attack us. Then there's the Akatsuki. There's just way too much going on."

Naruko said, "Oh, she's going to be PISSED when she hears that you nearly died. Rihoshi and the Akatsuki are going to be number one on her shit list."

Chuckling softly, they continued to make small talk as they made their way towards the Hokage's office.

Upon arriving in Kushina's office, Jiraiya smiled at her somewhat awkwardly and said, "Well, the mission was successful. But, we kinda ran into some complications along the way."

The redhead scowled and said, "Rihoshi disappeared. We lost all trace of him. If you know anything, then tell me now."

The white-haired man nodded and said, "Trust me, we'll get to that in a bit. And please, please wait for us to finish our report before you get too angry."

Kushina quirked a brow, but motioned for him to proceed. "Thank you, Hokage-sama." Jiraiya said. "Shortly after arriving in Shukuba Town, I left to speak with a contact about the whereabouts of Tsunade. However…"

When Jiraiya glanced at him, Naruto looked into his mother's eyes and said, "Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, both members of the Akatsuki, attacked me. They wanted the Kyuubi. I challenged Kisame to a duel and managed to kill him with the Shi no Tacchi. Itachi slipped away, however. And, as you can see, Naruko-chan took Samehada from his deceased body."

Kushina shot a quick glance at Jiraiya and he immediately understood the meaning behind said look. Oh yeah, she's pissed. We haven't even gotten to the Rihoshi part, yet.

Naruko took over at this point. "Thanks to Jiraiya's contact, we managed to track Tsunade to Tanzaku Quarters. Some things were said, and I took Shizune with me to try and force Tsunade to get over her fear of blood. However…"

Ino scowled at this point and said, "Rihoshi appeared. He had apparently been given orders to kill Naruto-kun. He mentioned he was working for somebody called 'Tobi' and a Master Zetsu. Jiraiya-sama seems to know more than we do."

When all eyes turned on him, Jiraiya decided to just get it over with. "Zetsu is a member of the Akatsuki, a group of S-rank shinobi that are out to collect all the bijuu for some unknown purpose. 'Tobi' is acting behind the scenes, playing the role of the Akatsuki's true leader. While officially, a man calling himself Pain is the leader, Tobi works behind the scenes, giving orders to Pain. According to my spy in the Akatsuki, Tobi is an incredibly powerful Uchiha. It's my belief that he's the one that unleashed the Kyuubi upon Konoha 14 years ago. The one that referred to himself as Madara."

"Anyways, we battled Rihoshi…but for some reason, he just wouldn't die! Naruto stabbed him through the heart with the Shi no Tacchi. And yet, Rihoshi was completely unaffected. It's my belief that he is without a soul or a mind of his own. He acts more like a puppet than anything. And…" Jiraiya continued, not quite sure how to break the bad news to Kushina.

Tsunade scowled and said, "Rihoshi damn near killed Naruto. If Naruto hadn't moved when he did, Rihoshi's attack would have impaled him through the heart."

Kurotsuchi clenched her fists angrily and said, "We barely managed to defeat Rihoshi. Before we could even think to finish him off somehow, Zetsu showed up and took him away. Rihoshi will be back someday, and I want to be ready for him when he shows himself again."

Kushina's hair began swaying as her temper began to flare. "Damn them. I'm putting Rihoshi in the bingo book as an S-rank criminal. I don't care what it takes, he NEEDS to be stopped. Of course, I'll add a note to be cautious and to flee on sight if need be. I don't want people needlessly throwing their lives away in an effort to cash in on his bounty."

"Tsunade, I want you to begin giving classes on medical techniques and ideology. I want every team to have at least one medic in the mix. I refuse to let our ninja die because those old bastards refused to implement the medic nin program you had proposed. I also want you to teach them how to fight smart and carefully. Medics need to be able to defend themselves as well as heal their teammates. I'm counting on you, Tsunade."

"Jiraiya, I know you have a spy network to run, and I appreciate that. However, when you're in the village, I want you to teach students fuinjutsu. It's not a mandatory program, so you'll be taking volunteers. Fuinjutsu is such a powerful, yet underestimated shinobi art. The more people understand it and use it, the better. Don't take it easy on any of them. If they screw up, do what it takes to ensure they get it right the next time. And if I hear you skipped out on your classes to go and peep on women in the hot springs or you felt like writing your books, you will regret it. Is that understood?"

Jiraiya gulped, but nodded his head in response. "Of course, Hokage-sama. Who knows? It could be kinda fun."

"Good. Naruto-kun, girls, we're going to need to up your training. We need to make you stronger. If you ever want to stand a chance against the likes of Rihoshi and the Akatsuki, you need to become at LEAST Kage level, if not stronger. So, no matter what it takes, we're going to work you as hard as possible. Within reason, of course. You'll still be given missions outside of the village, and I expect you to complete every one of them."

"We're going to step up everyone's training, not just yours. From now on, there will be no more slacking from anyone. If a Nara so much as utters the word 'troublesome', their training will be quadrupled for weeks at a time. If a girl whines about a broken nail, I'll quadruple their training as well. I'm going to make damn sure we're prepared for every possible circumstance. If that means we have to prepare for an eventual war to break out, then so be it. I won't allow our shinobi to perish because they were underprepared." Kushina said.

"I'm also going to give the academy a major overhaul. I'm changing things up and making damn sure that our future Genin can survive out there." Looking into Naruto's eyes knowingly, she continued. "Naruto-kun, I know you copied the contents of the Scroll of Seals. I want you to study each of those techniques. This does NOT mean that you should recklessly make use of them just to sate your own curiosity. I will determine if a technique is safe to use for you or not. I simply want you to understand how they work and perhaps alter them in some way if need be. We also can't be sure who might have seen such techniques before. I wouldn't put it past Kabuto to have somehow gotten a hold of the Scroll of Seals somehow and jotted down some notes."

Looking around at everyone, Kushina asked, "Does anyone have any questions? I think we've just about covered everything." When everyone shook their heads to signify that they had no questions to ask, she smiled pleasantly at them and said, "Good. Jiraiya, Tsunade, I will give you a list of every team in the village so you can determine who would be a good fit for your lessons. The rest of you are dismissed. I'll give you two weeks to relax and recover from your harrowing mission. After that, we'll begin your training in earnest. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama!" everyone declared. As they prepared to leave, Kushina called out for Naruto to remain. Looking into his mother's eyes, he asked, "What's up?"

Kushina smirked at him and said, "Mikoto's pregnant. Congratulations, Naruto-kun. You've officially knocked up one of your future wives."

Blinking a couple of times in shock, Naruto stammered for a moment. "P-Pr-Pr…Miko-chan…p…" And with that, he fainted on the spot, his body crumpling to the floor.

Kushina giggled to herself and thought, Now's the perfect time for some Naru-kun fun time of my own. Dismissing her Anbu and putting up silencing seals, she walked around her desk and knelt down in front of her darling Naruto-kun. Slowly helping him out of his clothes, she licked her lips as she took in the sight of his rod. "Oh yeah, this is going to be fun."

Naruko

"I wonder what Hokage-sama wanted to talk with Naru-kun about?" Ino wondered aloud.

Naruko shrugged and said, "Knowing mom, it could be anything. Whatever it is, it was probably important enough to warrant his immediate attention."

"True. Though I get the feeling there's more to it than just that." Kurotsuchi said.

Jiraiya began to giggle like a pervert and said, "Oh, the inspiration!" Of course, this resulted in the women clobbering him for being such a hopeless pervert.

Kurotsuchi frowned as she looked down at the beaten Jiraiya. "As perverted as he is, he has a point. Kushina-sama probably took full advantage of the moment to 'play' a little."

Naruko giggled pervertedly to herself and said, "I know I'd love to 'play' again."

Ino facepalmed and groaned out, "We all remember what happened last time you 'played around'. The entire village could hear you and Hinata screaming his name from atop the Hokage Monument. Next time, please have sex somewhere quieter."

Giggling even more, Naruko slung an arm around Ino and winked at her. "Just wait until you get your turn. You'll understand exactly what it's like then."

The blonde blushed at the thought of making love to her darling Naruto-kun. "That does sound nice."

"See? I knew you'd see things my way! Now, let's go get something to eat. Jiraiya's treat!" Naruko exclaimed before she began leading the way to one of the many restaurants in the village.

Jiraiya quickly shot up and stared in horror at them. "The hell it is! Get back here! You're going to pay for your own damn meals!"

Each of the girls, Tsunade and Shizune included, simply smirked dastardly at him and said, "Your. Treat. Understand?" Seeing him not feverishly, scared to death to say another word, the girls smiled sweetly at him and said, "Good." And with that, they continued on their way, a sulking Jiraiya following behind them.

Elsewhere – Unknown Location

Obito frowned as he looked over Rihoshi. Zetsu's creation had easily recovered after the seal had been removed. However, he was weakened from his fight and that was highly disappointing to the maniacal psychopath.

Looking from Rihoshi to Zetsu, he said, "We're going to need to work to remove his weaknesses. We can't have something like this happening again. I assume you know what to do?"

Zetsu nodded as he looked over his creation. "Yes. It will take some time, but we can fix his flaws."

"Good. Then get on it. I want Rihoshi to be ready for the next mission I send him on. I won't accept failure again, Zetsu. So, get it right this time." Obito said before he walked off.

Once Obito was gone, Zetsu scoffed and looked back at his creation. "Foolish child. He doesn't know just how useful you can really be. Once he has outlived his usefulness, Obito will be replaced." Chuckling to themselves, both halves of Zetsu went to work on their puppet. For a test run, Rihoshi had done rather well. Next time, he wouldn't lose.

Later – Konohagakure

When Naruko and the others stepped into their shared home, they were a bit shocked to see Mikoto Uchiha vomiting into a trashcan. Walking up to her, Kurotsuchi asked, "Umm, Mikoto-san? Are you going to be okay?"

Giving them a shaky thumbs-up, she said, "Of course. It's just a little morning sickness, nothing to wor—blegh!"

As she vomited again, Naruko's eyes widened and she exclaimed, "Holy crap! You're pregnant?! With Naru-kun's baby, right?"

Mikoto nodded after she finished vomiting. "Y-Yes. I'm so happy. Hate the morning sickness, though."

Naruko giggled and said, "I'm sure. Congratulations, Mikoto! I'm happy for you."

It was at this point that Hinata walked into the room wearing nothing but a t-shirt and panties. She yawned and stretched her arms out above her head, causing the shirt to ride up a little and reveal her underwear of choice for the day. Glancing towards her housemates, she smirked and said, "Hi there. Naruto-kun came back a little while ago. He looked absolutely exhausted. I'm planning to cuddle with him, but I desperately need to get some water."

If it wasn't for the fact that he was terrified of pissing off the women of the household, Jiraiya would have taken out his notebook and jotted down details of the absolute babe before him. The luscious legs, her pert behind, and the way the t-shirt slipped up just enough that you could see her toned belly…it was all just too much NOT to write about it! Slowly reaching for his notebook, he soon felt a blade pressed against his jewels. "Don't even think about it." Naruko warned.

Jiraiya quickly nodded and said, "Right. No peekie at the goods and no notes. Roger that ma'am!"

"Good." Naruko said before she sheathed her blade again. Then, casting a look at Hinata, she asked, "And do you really need to go around dressed like that? There are men in the house, you know?"

Smirking at her fellow Naru-lover, Hinata said, "Oh, I know. I just don't care. Besides, Naruto-kun's the only one that can have all of this." Motioning up and down her body, she soon turned and walked into the kitchen to get something to drink.

Facepalming, Naruko wasn't sure what the hell she could say. I swear, she's more of a pervert than I am.

The Next Day

Tsunade frowned as she looked over Neji Hyuga's extensive injuries. Her scans revealed to her that he likely would never be able to fully recover from his wounds. In fact, his tenketsu had been damaged in such a way that he would never be able to mold chakra again for any purpose. Looking into his eyes, she said, "I am sorry, Neji Hyuga, but I cannot repair the damage done to you. From my findings, you'll never be able to mold chakra properly again. You can no longer climb up walls, walk on water, or perform the simplest of the Juken techniques. Perhaps if you had not antagonized your cousin, this could have been prevented."

Neji clenched his fists tight and snarled out, "That lousy bitch had no right to do this to me! I was always more talented than her! It was her fate to lose to me! How could she possibly defy fate in such a way?! She was a weakling and should have stayed that way! What she did to me can NEVER be forgiven. She's just like the others. Spoiled, arrogant, evil."

"Wow. They were completely right about you. It's a good thing you can't perform your duties ever again if that's the attitude you're going to take. As far as I'm concerned, you got exactly what you deserved. It's obvious you didn't learn from your defeat. Such a shame." Tsunade said before she turned to leave the room. However, when she reached the door, she glanced back at him and said, "For the record, Hinata grew tired of your abuse and the abuse she suffered within that wretched clan. It was her right to do what she did to you. Just as it was her right to leave the clan and join the Uzumaki's. Remember that, Neji Hyuga."

Neji scowled as he watched Tsunade leave the room. Gritting his teeth and clenching his fists tight, he thought, I'll kill you, Hinata! One way or another, even if I can't use chakra anymore, I will end your wretched life!

Jiraiya

Jiraiya stared with a deadpan at the students before him. Only three Genin had approached him, eager to learn the art of fuinjutsu. Shino Aburame, Choji Akimichi, and Sakura Haruno. Looking at them, he could tell that out of the three, Choji was the least likely to proceed far in his teachings. Sighing softly, he asked, "Is it really just the three of you? I thought there would be more volunteers."

Sakura shook her head and said, "I'm sure more will be joining soon, Jiraiya-sama. Maybe not today, but if we keep at it, I'm sure a lot of people will become interested in learning what you have to teach us. I know I'm eager to learn!"

Jiraiya looked into Sakura's eyes and asked, "Haven't you decided to learn medical ninjutsu as well?"

The pinkette nodded and said, "Definitely. I'm going to really push myself until I'm strong enough to stand by Naruto-kun's side as his equal. So, please don't take it easy on me, Jiraiya-sama."

"I had no intention of taking it easy on any of you. I just hope you know what you're getting yourself into. You're going to be exhausted by the time you finish your training each day. We might have to teach you the Shadow Clone Technique to make things easier on you." Jiraiya stated.

Sakura's eyes were practically sparkling at this point. "Oooh! You mean I'll be able to use shadow clones like Naruto-kun?! I can't wait!"

Jiraiya chuckled softly before saying, "It won't be that easy. I expect you can make one, maybe two maximum. However, by learning the technique, you can be in two places at once. What that means is that, what one of you learns, the other will as well once you are finished for the day. However, I expect the real you to train with me each day, understand?"

Sakura tilted her head cutely and asked, "Why's that, Jiraiya-sama?"

Jiraiya set down a piece of paper and gave her an inkbrush and a full inkwell. "Write your name for me, please. I promise I'll explain when you're done."

Sakura quirked her brow at the strange request, but complied regardless. Once she had finished, she looked into his eyes and asked, "What's next, Jiraiya-sama?"

The white-haired man looked her writing over for a moment before he used the inkbrush on another piece of paper, writing her name just as she did. Holding both papers up so the three of them could see, he asked, "Do you see the difference?"

Choji nodded and said, "Yours looks much neater. It's almost flawless, actually."

"Precisely. When it comes to seals, even one mistake when drawing them up can have catastrophic consequences. For instance, if you were trying to make a restriction seal to capture a target, you could accidentally end up electrocuting your target to death if you made a single, tiny mistake. So, your first lesson is learning how to write your names until I deem your writing acceptable. I know this may sound boring, but in order to learn fuinjutsu, you must first master the basics. The same can be said of any other ninja art. You just need to keep at it, and you'll be able to become truly great. I aim to make all of you into the next great seal masters." Jiraiya explained.

"Yes, sensei! Thank you." The three exclaimed as one. Afterwards, they each began to practice writing their names. While it was a bit on the boring side, they weren't going to complain. They wanted to make Naruto and the others they cared for proud of them. They weren't about to give up already!

Two Days Later

Sure enough, Naruto had taught his girlfriend the Shadow Clone Technique, as per her request. In fact, in order to help everyone at once, he taught all of them his technique. On top of that, Tsunade's and Jiraiya's classes began in full. The two of them had been working each of their students as hard as possible, refusing to let them slack off or give up partway through. So far things had been going rather well. Sadly, there was a small problem today.

When Hiashi learned that his wayward daughter had not only moved out and into the Uzumaki home, but she had already had sex with Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze! Without protection! And now she was learning fuinjutsu and medical ninjutsu. He just couldn't handle the fact that she was breaking tradition in such a way. In his mind, she was rebelling against him, and it was time to remedy the situation.

Currently, the father/daughter duo were currently staring each other down, both parties angry at the other. Sitting a small distance away, in her chair, was Kushina. "You know, I'd really prefer it if you didn't try to tear up my office for a petty family squabble. I thought we had already gone over this, Hiashi. I invited Hinata into my home and I'm not about to let you slap that wretched seal of yours on her. As for having sex with my son, I fail to see the problem with that. Hell, if she's pregnant with his children, that's really none of your business. You forfeited any right to play the role of her father when you abused her so thoroughly. Now, are you going to behave and apologize to her? Or do I need to get violent?"

"These are clan affairs that you're interfering in, Hokage-sama." Hiashi bit out sarcastically. "I recommend you return her to me so I can do what needs to be done. If you refuse…"

Hiashi couldn't say anything more as he was suddenly forced to his knees by Kushina's killing intent. Walking around to stand over him, she glared down at him and asked, "Or what? Go on, Hiashi, tell me what you'll try to do to me. I am the Hokage! And unlike Hiruzen, I'm more than willing to meddle in your clan affairs. Hell, if I so choose, I can abolish that wretched curse seal of yours and free every last one of the Branch family members. And you know what, Hiashi?" Leaning down so she was only a few feet away, she smirked at him and said, "You. Can't. Stop. Me."

Snarling at her, Hiashi went to strike her, only for Kushina to grab his wrist tight and snap it at a horrible angle, breaking it and causing Hiashi to scream out in sheer agony. Afterwards, she stabbed to senbon into his eyes before she gripped him by the throat and threw him through the window. As he fell towards the ground below, she waited for the satisfying sound of the crunch of bones. When she heard the fool hit the ground hard, she clapped her hands together and said, "And that takes care of that nuisance. Good riddance."

Hinata blinked in shock and asked, "Um, Hokage-sama? Was that wise?"

Kushina shrugged and proceeded to retake her seat. "Do I look like I care? Hiashi was a problem and he's been dealt with. I'll deal with the Hyuga clan soon enough. For now, I suggest you return to your lessons. Should your grandfather or the other elders of the clan decide to harass you or hurt you in any way, do be sure to let me know. Okay, Hinata?"

Nodding once, Hinata bowed in thanks before she turned and left the room. As soon as she was gone, the crimson-haired beauty summoned her Anbu and gave them the command to remove Hiashi's body. Let this be a lesson to you fools. Don't piss me off.

A/N - Like I said, pretty short chapter. lol. Still, hopefully you enjoyed it. I honestly wasn't sure how to end the chapter or what I should do next. So I'm choosing to end it there. *shrugs*

As you can see, a lot of different things happened. Mikoto is pregnant, Rihoshi is damn near unstoppable, and Hiashi went boom. Fun stuff! lol

Like I said before, I'm pretty out of it right now. I did what I could. Hopefully you enjoyed it. If not, I'll try to do better next time. For now, I think I'm going to relax with a nice game or something.