Summary: A year has passed since the siege of Konoha by Orochimaru failed. And as the Leaf village continues to rebuild and grow stronger, so does a certain blonde Genin and his two-perverted Sensei's guiding his training. Traveling the many lands of the world the three shinobi all strive to grow stronger and return as soon as they can to the land they call home. Konohagakure; the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
Naruto vs. Sasuke: The Aftermath
Chapter 50: "Naruto's Good Intentions Pt.1"
In the late hours of the evening, an alarm blared to life in the village of Estrogenia. This small village tucked away in a hidden valley was unique for the fact that it was entirely ruled by women. Men were treated as second-class citizens, with no voice of their own to govern themselves. So it was a small victory to the men of the community when the three male strangers who had entered their village days earlier had now thrown the women dominated hamlet into such an uproar by pulling off a daring prison break and escaping.
The sun was cresting the horizon, as it rose majestically indicating the start of a brand new day, when three figures suddenly appeared on the roadway. Two of the men were panting heavily and attempting to catch their breath, while the third man merely glared at the other two. After a moment, a tall man with extremely long and spiky white hair tied back into a ponytail and wearing horned forehead protector with the kanji for 'Oil' spoke up in labored breath.
"I, I think we've put enough distance between them. I don't think they will chase us this far!"
"I hope you're right Master Jiraiya."
Declared the other panting man who sported tall and spiky silver-colored hair and using his forehead protector to cover his scarred left eye, while the bottom half of his face was covered in a black mask.
Meanwhile, the third individual a young blonde man wearing his forehead protector around his muscular bicep continued to glare at the other two before snorting in disgust and turning away from them in anger. Both Jiraiya and Kakashi saw this and exhaled weary sighs, as they knew Naruto was extremely upset for having to rescue them from Estrogenia. In as contrite a voice as possible, Jiraiya pleaded with the young man.
"Naruto we're sorry, I don't know how many more times we can say it."
Naruto inhaled and exhaled a deep breath to calm himself down before stating in no uncertain terms and stomping off down the road.
"Fine, you're both sorry, but I'm telling you right now the next time you two get thrown into prison by a mob of angry women because of your pervy-ness, I'm just going to let both rot in there...forever!"
"Man, the little gaki is really pissed off."
"I think he's bothered by what he had to do to free us Master Jiraiya."
"Hmph, I don't why he's so bothered? All of those women were gorgeous and I'm sure Hinata won't mind the new skills he's acquired to use on her."
Instantly a shout rang out and echoed through the surrounding forest.
"Fuuton Hebi Shuushuku no jutsu!" (Wind Snake Constriction Technique)
Suddenly, both Jiraiya and Kakashi were each slammed by a thick column of air, which wrapped around their bodies and began to compress in on them. Looking over, they saw Naruto walking with his arms outstretched towards them and a murderous glint to his eyes, as he growled out with fury.
"Hinata-hime is never to learn of what I had to do to free you idiots; she would hate me forever if she found out! I promise you both what those women back in Estrogenia had planned to do to you guys is nothing compared to what I will do if she ever does find out about it!"
"They were talking about executing us Naruto; I don't think you could do much worse than that!" Kakashi cried out, as he felt the column of air constrict a little tighter around his body.
"There's such a thing as a quick painless death or a long and agonizing one Kakashi-Sensei. Which one would you like?"
"We promise gaki, we won't say a thing to Hinata about this….ever! Now come on and release us already. We can't very well train you some more if you kill us now can we?"
A few seconds later, Naruto deactivated his jutsu and stomped back down the road, while Jiraiya and Kakashi just stared at him in awe before the Toad Sage finally commented with admiration.
"Ever since Orochimaru's invasion of the Leaf over a year ago, that little gaki has been cranking out one deadly futon jutsu after another. Did you know he had that kind of jutsu in his arsenal Kakashi?"
"No I did not, it must be something he came up with on his own….as usual."
"You got that right; I don't even want to imagine some of the jutsu's he's come up with besides the ones we've already taught to him."
"True Master Jiraiya, he's just like his father in developing new and creative jutsu's in a short time span."
"He's even faster than Minato at creating them thanks to the Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."
"Well, there's no denying that Naruto has now reached Jounin status in strength, skill, and power."
"That's true Kakashi, but we've barely scratched the service of his true potential. I've no doubt in my mind once we've finished our training of him, he'll surpass any Kage level or above shinobi, and what's more he will do it with ease."
Later on in the day, Naruto, Jiraiya, and Kakashi stopped to rest when the sounds of battle had caught their attention. Stopping at the top of a hill overlooking a road, the trio was greeted with the sight of several dozen armed men attacking a horse driven coach and its guards. The men protecting the coach were heavily outnumbered and one of the armed attackers had managed to reach the door of the horse drawn carriage and rip it off its hinges. Instantly, a scream ripped through the air, as the attacker grabbed a woman and began pulling her out of the coach. Upon seeing this damsel in distress, Naruto charged forward yelling to his Sensei's.
"That lady's in danger, we've got to go help her!"
"Stop Gaki!" Jiraiya yelled.
"No Naruto…wait!" Kakashi called out.
However, it was no use, as Naruto was already halfway down the hillside charging directly towards the attackers. Upon reaching the bottom of the hill he cried out, while thrusting his arms forward.
"Reppushou!" (Gale Wind Palm Technique)
Two powerful gusts of wind erupted from Naruto's hands and impacted two large groups of the armed attackers with tremendous force causing the men hurtle through the air and smash into the trees of the surrounding forest. The rest of the attackers turned their attention towards the oncoming blonde-haired young man rushing towards them with a silver-haired man trailing behind. They attempted form up into defensive positions to combat these strangers, but it was to no avail.
An instant later the remaining attackers suddenly found themselves in a melee with Naruto and Kakashi. The two Leaf shinobi using their exceptional taijutsu struck all of the attacking men at once. After a couple of minutes most of the attackers began fleeing into the recesses of the forest surrounding them. They were over matched and they knew it by both this blonde and silver-haired warrior and made any attempt to getaway. Unfortunately, a few of them were unable to escape and were captured by the remaining guardsmen who had been protecting the carriage and its occupant in the first place. Just as Naruto exhaled a sigh of relief, a high-pitched squeal erupted behind him.
"MY HERO…!"
Turning around, Naruto was suddenly glommed onto and tackled to the ground by over 250 pounds of the grateful young girl who had been residing in the coach. Naruto took a look at the girl now embracing him with gorilla like strength in a bear hug and he nearly choked on his tongue at what he saw. Besides the young girls impressive girth, she also had dirty greasy dark hair and a wart on her nose with hairs growing from it. Struggling to get out from underneath this ugly behemoth and regain his breath, a shout sternly called out.
"Princess Portlia, release that young man and show some decorum befitting the only daughter and sole heir of Lord Tyrannus."
"Oh Kang, you never let me have any fun!" The young woman openly complained and pouted before getting off of Naruto who gasped for life, as he attempted to suck air back into his body.
As Naruto struggled to regain his breath, he looked up to study Kang. He was a tall muscular man with dark hair and eyes. Kang bore a marred left eye and one could see a jagged vertical scar running down it. The rest of the man's attire consisted of a heavy iron chest-plate over a chainmail shirt along with gauntlets on his arms and knee high thick leather boots on his legs. The chest-plate bore an insignia on it that the rest of the guards did not have signifying his status as lead guardsman. However, before Naruto could examine the man any further a voice called out.
"Iruka, are you alright?" Kakashi asked in general concern.
"Hai oniisan (brother), I'm ok." Naruto replied, as he saw Kakashi and Jiraiya walking towards him.
"I bid you welcome strangers and wish to thank you for your assistance in driving off that rebel scum."
"You are most welcome…ummmm?"
"Kang, my name is Kang and I'm the lead bodyguard of Princess Portlia the only daughter and sole heir of Lord Tyrannus, the ruler of this land."
"Well Kang, as I was saying you are most welcome. I heard you say that it was rebels who my sons helped to drive off. Is your land currently under some civil war?" Jiraiya openly questioned.
"We are under no civil war, there are just some minor factions who are proving to be an annoyance to Lord Tyrannus, but we will deal with that rabble soon enough. So it is your sons I have to thank for their assistance."
"Yes, my name is Hanzo and this is my oldest son Obito and that blonde-haired gaki who helped you out is my youngest son Iruka."
"Oh Iruka-kun, you were so brave in fighting all of those men!" Princess Portlia exclaimed, as she attempted to wrap her beefy arms around Naruto who quickly ducked and rushed over to where Jiraiya and Kakashi stood, as the one-eyed Leaf Jounin whispered to Naruto with humor.
"Who's your new friend Naruto?"
"Shut-up Kakashi-Sensei, she's no friend, but an ape wearing a dress." Naruto quietly snapped back at his teacher much to the Jounin's amusement.
"May I ask what brings you and your family to our lands Hanzo-sama?" Kang inquired, while warily eyeing these three strangers.
"We are but simple travelers and were heading west when my son came upon your caravan being attacked. And being the reckless youth many people are at that young age, he chose to intervene."
"I am most grateful that he did Hanzo-sama. Had I known the rebels had grown so brazen as to dare to try and kidnap the princess, I would have assigned more guards for her escort."
"Well, I'm glad we were able to assist you Kang and that no harm befell the princess of your land. We won't take up anymore of your time and will resume our journey to the west, while you and your men complete your task of escorting your princess to safety."
"Nonsense Hanzo-sama, you simply must accompany us back to daddy's kingdom. I know he will want to thank you all personally for saving me and reward you for your services." Portlia announced to everyone.
"That's most kind of you to offer princess, but we don't wish to be a bother."
"You will not be a bother at all I assure you. Plus it will give me and Iruka-kun a chance to get to know one another as we travel." Portlia declared with a gleam in her eye, as she looked over Naruto and licked her lips.
Naruto gulped nervously under the intense gaze of the princess and silently prayed that Jiraiya would refuse the offer. Unfortunately, Naruto's prayers went unanswered when he heard the Toad Sage say.
"If you say we won't be a bother princess, then we humbly accept your invitation to accompany you back to your kingdom."
"Then please Hanzo-sama, you and your sons join me in my carriage for the ride there. Iruka-kun can sit next to me, while you tell me of your travels." Portlia beckoned to the three Leaf shinobi before waddling over to the horse-driven coach.
All three Leaf shinobi looked on in awe and trepidation as they watched several guardsmen attempt to lift Princess Portlia extremely large and portly frame back into the carriage. Upon finally getting inside the coach, the princess stuck her bulbous face out the window and with one eye winked at Naruto. That was enough for blonde youth who turned on his heels and was about to make a break for it, when suddenly two hands each of which belonged to his Sensei's grabbed onto Naruto's collar and began dragging the young man towards the carriage ignoring the howls of protests coming from him.
Although the carriage ride to the kingdom of Tyrannia lasted only a couple of more hours to Naruto it felt like a couple of weeks, as he attempted to fend off the grabby hands of the princess. However, Portlia's physical advances on Naruto were nothing compared to the shock and revulsion the trio of Leaf shinobi saw and felt when they entered through the main gate of the kingdom of Tyrannia.
There in the center of the village was a mammoth castle towering over all other buildings with an immense stonewall structure encircling it. However, the rest of the town surrounding the fortress was an example of poverty, disease, and squalor the likes of which they had never seen before. Naruto resisted the urge to gag, as the smell of the village wafting into the carriage was repugnant beyond description. Even Princess Portlia had ceased her physical assault on Naruto and now held a handkerchief over her mouth and nose, while ordering the driver of the coach to hurry up and get them to the castle.
As Naruto, Jiraiya, and Kakashi gazed out of the carriage's windows they were stunned into silence at what they saw.
The kingdom of Tyrannia was simply put….. a slum. The land surrounding the castle was a heavily populated urban area characterized by substandard housing and squalor. The majority of the buildings were little more than improvised shacks with a few run down, yet more permanent structures strewn throughout the village. One could see that the town lacked even the basic amenities such as clean water, electricity, sanitation and other basic services. In fact, the amount of garbage allowed to accumulate in such huge quantities was so vast; the unsanitary conditions were an ideal breeding ground for a plethora of diseases.
However, as bad as the land and housing were, it paled in comparison to the people living in this urban decay. Everywhere one looked you could see the telltale signs of poverty, illiteracy, and unemployment etched in the morose faces of the villagers. So poor were the living conditions that it provided a perfect setting for crime, drug addiction, alcoholism, and mental illness to flourish. The main source of income for many of the people came in the form of street vending, drug dealing, domestic work, and prostitution. One could even see people attempting to recycle the trash for a living. It broke Naruto's heart see children taking part in such activities as they brought up memories of when he had sift through garbage to survive as a young child.
"Ugggh, filthy little mongrels rummaging through the garbage like that!" Portlia exclaimed with bile and disgust in her voice, as she closed the carriage window curtain to block the disturbing sight of her homeland.
Naruto was about to say something in defense of those children when a curt look from Jiraiya told the young man to hold his tongue for the time being. A few minutes later, the massive gate of the stonewall was opened and the carriage rode through into the courtyard. After exiting the coach and then watching several men attempt to extricate the princess from it. A voice called out from a balcony on the castle.
"Portlia my dear, why are you over an hour late to arrive and where are the rest of your bodyguards? What is the meaning of this Kang?"
Everyone turned to look up and see it was Lord Tyrannus himself asking these questions. Tyrannus was an older man near sixty, but with an incredible physique for his age. He has a full head of black hair and a thick black moustache, and a blue tint to his right eye, while wearing an eye-patch over his left. His attire consisted of a blue, full-length military issue coat and slacks with black dress shoes. Also strapped to the side of Tyrannus was a sword in a scabbard. A simple glance at the man and one could sense the power and control over all of his surroundings he held like a king would possess. However, the Leaf trio quickly surmised this was no king standing above them, but a brutal dictator.
"My apologies Lord Tyrannus, we were delayed in arriving by an armed faction of rebels who attacked Princess Portlia's caravan. They attacked in superior numbers and killed several of the guards my lord. It might have been a dire situation, but these three traveling strangers happened upon us and drove away the rebels before they could complete whatever nefarious plans they had in mind for the princess." Kang explained to his ruler, while bowing to the man in utmost reverence and respect.
"You have my gratitude strangers for your assistance. What are your names and what brings you to the lands of Tyrannia?"
"Greetings to you Lord Tyrannus, my name is Sarutobi Hanzo and these are my sons, the oldest one here Obito and the younger one there is Iruka. We are but simple humble travelers heading west and merely stopped in your lands to offer our assistance when we saw Princess Portlia's caravan attacked." Jiraiya contritely stated, as he made the introductions.
"It was very fortuitous that you came along when you did or else who knows what that rebel scum had planned to do with my lovely daughter."
'Lovely daughter, who is he kidding, she's a pig!' Naruto thought to himself.
"We are glad we could be of assistance Lord Tyrannus. We won't take up anymore of your valuable time and shall continue our journey out west."
"Nonsense Hanzo, it's late in the day and surely you don't wish to travel at night. Besides, I wish to thank you properly for saving Portlia. So you and your sons will attend a banquet tonight thrown in your honor for your deeds."
"There's no need to thank us with such an extravagant event. The princess is back home safe and we are content to have helped. We should just be on our way rather than trouble you any further."
"You misunderstand me Hanzo, I'm not asking you to attend, I'm insisting."
The underlying tone of Tyrannus voice left no doubt that he would brook no further argument from Jiraiya. The Toad-Sage realized and humbly bowed before saying.
"If you insist Lord Tyrannus, then I and my sons thank you for the honor."
"Excellent, Kang show them to the guest quarters where they can rest and get ready for the banquet this evening. I promise you Hanzo, you and your sons will enjoy the festivities."
"This way gentleman." Kang stated, while escorting them into the castle.
A short time later, Naruto, Kakashi, and Jiriaya were sitting in a lavish room adorned in the most opulent and perhaps decadent décor they had ever seen. The guest quarters were over 3,000 square feet with five levels and had an additional 1,000 square feet of balconies and terraces. It gave a glorious view of the entire village and one could truly see how decayed the town had become. While it only had three bedrooms, five more can be joined to it.
The cupola styled roof itself was entirely hand-frescoed, and the fifth floor featured the master bedroom, a terraced study that was paneled in Italian walnut and a living room. The remaining bedrooms were decorated in deep red and gold, with silk-covered walls, a large sitting area and a crystal chandelier. The stained glass windows in the main living room showed various depictions of Lord Tyrannus engaged in some heroic battle or accomplishing some incredible feat. The downstairs also has a private kitchen, and the dining room features an antique Murano glass chandelier, a private wine cabinet and an antique mosaic-tile-covered dining room. And for a final touch the guest quarters were provided with its own butler at beck and call 24 hours a day.
"Kami, if the rooms for guests are this opulent I can only imagine what the rooms are like for Lord Tyrannus and his daughter." Kakashi commented in amazement.
"Forget about how nice the room is, what are we going to do about….."
Jiraiya quickly raised his hand interrupting his student to signal Naruto to be quiet. The Toad-Sage then went through a series of hand-seals before a wave of chakra flashed from hands and enveloped the room.
"Alright, I've thrown up a sound-silencing jutsu so no one outside of this room can hear what we have to say."
"Is that necessary pervy-sage?"
"I don't know gaki, but better safe than sorry."
As if to confirm Jiraiya's suspicions, in another part of the castle a lone guardsman looks up from the receiver he was manning and said.
"I'm sorry Commander Kang, maybe the equipment is malfunctioning, but I'm no longer receiving any sound transmissions from the guest quarters."
"Hmmm, I would be more surprised if you did. Keep monitoring our guests, they're more than just simple travelers of that I'm sure." Kang ordered before walking off and thinking to himself.
'It's been nearly 25 years since I saw him last and I can't be certain it's him, but has your legacy finally tracked me down to exact your revenge Sakumo?'
Meanwhile back in the guest quarters, the trio of Leaf shinobi began to debate about the current situation they were in.
"What are we going do pervy-sage, Kakashi-Sensei" Naruto exclaimed in frustration.
"What do you mean Naruto?"
"I mean look at this village and its people Kakashi-Sensei, they live like animals and it's all because of this Lord Tyrannus guy. We've got to help them!"
"If I recall gaki, it was your reckless over-zealousness to save your new girlfriend that got us in this mess in the first place! Maybe now you'll remember what Kakashi and I have been trying to teach you all these months! You need to quit rushing off half-cocked until you fully understand what the situation is that you will be placing yourself in!" Jiraiya shouted in reprimand of his grandson.
"Master Jiraiya." Kakashi said in a calm voice to gain the Sannin's attention.
Jiriaya turned to the silver-haired Jounin and saw him tilt his head towards Naruto's direction. Looking over the Toad-Sage saw Naruto sitting in a chair with his head hung low staring at the floor before he heard the young man say in a choked voice.
"Your-you're right pervy –sage, I screwed up. I didn't think about what was going on? I just saw the caravan in trouble and under attack and I wanted to help. I didn't know the people I was helping were the worst kind of scum ever."
Jiraiya pinched the bridge of his nose and inwardly berated himself for coming down so hard on Naruto. Wisdom comes with age and experience and the Toad-Sage thought about how he would have reacted to the same circumstances when he was Naruto's age.
"I'm sorry Naruto, I didn't mean to snap at you like that. Truth be told I probably would have rushed in and done the same thing as you did at your age."
"You don't have to apologize pervy-sage, I deserve it. I messed up…..messed up bad. I should have just minded my own business when I saw that caravan getting attacked." Naruto replied in a guilt-ridden voice.
"You're wrong kid. Part of what makes you so special is your willingness to help people in trouble. Don't ever become so jaded that when you see someone in danger that you choose to ignore them rather than help. You're too much of hero like your father not to help someone in their time of need."
"You, you really think so?"
"I know so gaki, if this was twenty years ago, I've no doubt I'd be yelling at him for doing the same thing you did, ha ha, ha!" Jiraiya jovially replied, before wrapping Naruto up in a headlock and rubbing his knuckles over his student's head playfully.
"Cut it out pervy-sage!" Naruto groused as he extricated himself from Jiraiya's clutches before asking.
"So what are we going to do?"
"First we're going to rest and get cleaned up before our host's dinner. We need to gather some intel before we plan anything. Now listen closely Naruto, no matter what we might see or hear during this dinner you need to remain calm and in control. We won't be able to do anything or help anyone if you fly off the handle. Do you understand?"
"I understand."
Good, because that includes not getting upset with anything your new girlfriend might say or do."
"Argh, would you quit calling her that! I'd sooner go out with Chouji than that pig of a princess!"
"Well, Chouji is smaller than the princess." Jiraiya commented in mirth.
"He's prettier too." Naruto absently stated.
"I guess Hinata has some competition from Chouji when you get back, ha ha ha."
"Gaaaah, that's not what I meant and you know it pervy-sage. No one is prettier than my Hina-hime!"
After Jiriaya's laughter died down, he looked over to see Kakashi leaning against a wall with his arms folded in deep contemplation about something.
"What's going on Kakashi? You been awfully quiet since we got to the room."
My apologies Master-Jiraiya, I've just been thinking about that Kang character we met. Let me ask you something, do you remember my father's last ANBU team during the Third Great Shinobi war?"
"Only by reputation, I never got a chance to meet Sakumo's team before the…..incident."
"That's too bad, I was hoping you had. It's been nearly twenty-five years and my memory has grown dim since that time."
"What are you trying to remember Kakashi-Sensei?"
"Not a what, but a who Naruto. I'm trying to recall a member of my father's ANBU team who disappeared during the war. He was a Jounin by the name of Kleve and this Kang fellow reminds me of him."
"So you think this Kang might be Kleve."
"I'm not sure yet? The last time I saw Kleve he had two functioning eyes."
"Well if he is Kleve, what's so important about him?"
What's so important is that if Kang is Kleve, then I've found the man who betrayed my father's ANBU team during the war and put them in peril. Causing my father to abandon the mission to go save them, which ultimately led to his dishonor and eventual death!"
"Well if Kang is Kleve, then I need you to remain calm and in control as well Kakashi." Jiriaya sternly said.
"I'll remain in control Master-Jiraiya, but if Kang does turn out to be Kleve then I won't be leaving Tyrannia until I've killed him!" Kakshi replied in an icy tone of voice that left no room to argue otherwise.
A short time later, Naruto, Kakashi, and Jiraiya were seated in a large opulently decorated banquet hall. The great hall was a large one-room structure with a loft ceiling. Tapestries and shields and banners displaying coats of arms decorated the walls. Different colored paints were used to decorate the room, but it seemed Lord Tyrannus had a particular passion for gold paint, which was a luxurious item that he used in vast quantities. He was also fond of the decoration feature called Wainscoting, which was a process of wooden panels used to line the walls of the room four feet from the floor. Tyrannus had also employed several artists to create wall paintings above the Wainscoting. Like the stained-glass in their guest quarters, the paintings once again depicted the castle lord in some scene of heroic triumph.
Inside the great hall, there were two large oak communal dining tables and matching chairs one on each side of the room running parallel to one another. A third table sat horizontal of the others atop a second level of the floor about three feet high, which allowed the people sitting here to look down upon the other two tables. Special guests such as the three Leaf shinobi were seated at the high table and silver goblets were used for drinking wine with pewter tankards used for drinking ale. The tables themselves were covered with a white cloth of the finest silk imaginable. The tables were also adorned with silver candlesticks of artistic design. The candles were insufficient to illuminate the spacious hall, and it was therefore lit up with splinters and flambeaux, which were carried about by the attendants and hung on the walls. The platters and plates were also of silver, as were the dishes, cups, and saltcellars, wrought in curios devices that glistened upon the tables. Once again everything was of artistic design and were prime examples of the wealth Lord Tyrannus must possess to have spent so much money just to create such lavish detail in the simplest of items.
Pages and female servants waited on the tables, as well as ensured the hall was cleaned, the fires were laid, and that the lighting was adequate at all times. Entertainment during the dinner was a major feature for Lord Tyrannus. Everywhere one looked there was music, dancing, troubadours, jugglers, acrobats, and jesters. Heralds, or Harkers, would vocally present all visitors as they arrived for the actual dinner itself consisted of a three-course feast with ale and wine brought to your table throughout the meal by very beautiful and voluptuous dancing wenches. However, to signify the dinner as merely three-courses would be an understatement, as the first course contained seventeen dishes, the second with twenty, and the third with twenty-three various culinary delights.
During the dinner Jiraiya was able to learn that the ancestors of Lord Tyrannus had come to rule over this land over 100 years ago. Tyrannia had started off as an agricultural community with the Tyrannus family acting as overseers or lords of the land under a feudal system of control. And this functioned perfectly for nearly 80 years until the current lord decided that his family should receive a larger portion of the profits the people made growing and selling their agricultural wares. So Lord Tyrannus had raised the existing taxes to such inconceivable levels that soon the people found they could not pay such fees and continue to farm. And once this happened, the village of Tyrannia began its slide into poverty, decadence, and hardship.
However, Lord Tyrannus and his family cared nothing about the plight of their people. The taxes were still collected and if a person couldn't pay then other means to cover their debt were employed, such as drug trafficking, prostitution, and even human slavery. Naruto was appalled at hearing Lord Tyrannus speak of this in such a blasé tone of voice and it was all he could do to keep his promise to Jiraiya not to explode in anger. In fact, if it wasn't for Princess Portlia sitting next to him and constantly attempting to fondle the blonde shinobi under the table all night long. Naruto was sure he would have lost his temper at the lord already, if he weren't busy trying to fend off the hands of his bloated pig of a daughter.
Kakashi was also disgusted listening to history of Tyrannia be told and how this family and their cohorts had usurped the land and turned into the wasteland that it is now. However, like Naruto he remained calm and focused his mind on other matters, one in particular being Lord Tyrannus number-one guardsman Kang. Periodically, Kakashi would covertly steal glances at the man and then delve into his memory of the man he knew as Kleve many years ago. Unbeknownst to Kakashi, Kang was also doing the same thing with him and he racked his brain trying to remember the only son of his ANBU Commander years ago. Sitting next to Kang was a tall teenager with bleached hair and bleached eyebrows. He bore a tribal-type tattoo around his right eye and cheekbone and had three earrings in his left ear, a ring in his nose and a ring on his lower left lip. The young man glared incessantly at Naruto and the flirtatious princess throughout the dinner. Kakashi noticed this and nudged Naruto before whispering in his ear.
"Have you noticed the young man sitting next to Kang at the end of the table?"
"You mean the bleached freak with rings on his face; yeah I've noticed, what about him?"
"He's suppressing it, but I get the sense of a lot of killing intent directed towards you from him."
"Yeah, I noticed it too; I wonder what his problem with me is?"
"I don't know, but be careful. If he's connected to Kang then you shouldn't underestimate him."
"I won't, by the way have you figured out if that Kang guy is Kleve?"
"No, not yet, but I still have time. I have to be sure it's him because I don't want to kill an innocent man."
"None of these people are innocent." Naruto grumbled under his breath, before reaching down to remove Portlia's hand from his crotch.
Everyone was brought out of their train of thought when Lord Tyrannus stood up and raised his golden goblet and announced to the room.
"I wish to propose a toast to Sarutobi Hanzo and his son's for helping to save my daughter today from falling into the hands of that rebel scum that has been plaguing us for the past several months. Rest assured they will soon be dealt with for daring to oppose me! However, that is for another time. Now I want you all to raise your glasses in honor of my guests, as I wish to personally thank them for saving my beautiful Portlia, as well as reward them for their good deed, to the Hanzo family!"
"Here, here, to the Hanzo family!" The crowd of people in the great hall shouted in unison, as they toasted Jiraiya, Naruto, and Kakashi."
A moment later, Tyrannus signaled two servants to bring over a small oak wooden chest with brass hinges roughly two x three feet in size, as they placed the box in front of Jiraiya to which Lord Tyrannus said.
"A small token of my appreciation to you and your son's Hanzo-san for saving my daughter."
Jiraiya then opened the strongbox to reveal it brimming with gold and silver coins. Being a savvy businessman as well as exceptional shinobi, the Toad-Sage quickly estimated there must be at least half a million worth in the container. A small token of the man's appreciation indeed Jiraiya mused, before turning to the lord of the land and saying.
"A most generous gift you bestow upon me and my family Lord Tyrannus. We thank you for this and hope you have not set your coffers back drastically by rewarding us so handsomely."
"Ha, ha, ha, your concern for my finances is touching, but you need not worry. What I have given you here this evening is but a pittance of the wealth I have at my disposal."
"I see, still this is a most kind gesture from you."
"Think nothing of it Hanzo; in fact there could be more riches for you in the future if you and your sons would consider staying in Tyrannia. I can tell you all would make excellent warriors at my disposal and my daughter seems to have taken a liking to your youngest son Iruka."
Jiraiya took a quick glance over to where Naruto and Portlia were sitting. What he saw made him cringe, as Portlia seemed to be part octopus, as she blatantly grabbed and groped at Naruto who did his best to fend her off without causing a scene. Jiraiya knew Naruto was really taking one for the team by enduring this and knew he would have to make it up to his grandson in the future. Right now all he could do was smile and comment with as much fake sincerity as he could muster.
"I can see that, in fact Portlia seems quite….determined to get what she wants Lord Tyrannus."
"As well she should, I've taught her that if you see something you want, you don't ask for it, you take it!"
"That's an interesting philosophy, however before I make any decisions regarding my family; I need to discuss your proposal with them first."
"Fine, fine, take your time with the decision; it doesn't need to be made right now. This night is one of merriment for you and your sons. I hope you all have enjoyed the festivities I've provided this evening?"
"Yes, you have been a splendid host Lord Tyrannus. The festivities you've provided have been exceptional."
"Good, but the celebration hasn't finished yet. I have something special in mind for you and everyone to still witness before the night is through."
"I look forward to it." Jiraiya uneasily replied, as the gleam in his host eyes suggested he was not going to like what Tyrannus had planned.
Jiraiya did not have long to wait to confirm his suspicions when Lord Tyrannus barked out a command with authority.
"Remove the pit cover!"
Everyone watched with fascination as four chains were dropped down from the ceiling while several men took up position on a large hand-winch in the corner of the great hall. Jiraiya, Naruto, and Kakashi then observed some men hook the chains up on some o-rings in the corners of a 30x30 foot square in the center of the room. Once the chains were secured, the men on the winch began turning the mechanism and a slab of concrete began rising into the air revealing a pit in the center of the room. Inside the pit sat five bloodied and battered men who the trio of Leaf shinobi recognized as some of the rebels they had incapacitated earlier that day in rescuing the princess. Both Jiraiya and Kakashi looked on with trepidation and Naruto gulped nervously at what Lord Tyrannus had in store for the men.
"Ooooooooh, watch this Iruka-kun! Daddy is about to punish those mean men you saved me from today." Portlia cooed, while snuggling up against Naruto's shoulder as Tyrannus announced with authority.
"Behold, what you see before you are some of the rebel scum that dared have the audacity to attack my daughter's caravan earlier today. The impudence these vagabonds have in daring to oppose me and my family shall not go unpunished. Tell me Kang, were you able to extract any information about where their cohorts are hiding?"
"No my lord, as you can see we tried several different methods to get them to talk, but they are a stubborn breed of vagrant and refuse to do so."
"No matter, we shall have the information of where they are hiding before the sun rises in the morning. Bring in the other prisoner."
A door off to the side of the great banquet hall swung open and two guardsmen gripping the arms of a disheveled girl marched towards Lord Tyrannus and threw the prisoner to the floor in front of him. The girl was a teenager of average height with brown eyes and long waist-length burnt orange hair. Her most noticeable physical trait is her surprisingly curvaceous figure for a teenager, especially in terms of her large breasts. The girl wore her hair in bangs tucked behind her ears with hairpins and her attire was that of one of the servants. Upon seeing who the prisoner was Portlia stood up and asked with confusion.
"Daddy, what's going on? Why is Michiru my personal attendant now a prisoner?"
"Because Portlia my darling, she is the one who told the rebels the exact route your caravan would be taking upon returning to Tyrannia. Now sit down and pay attention and you might learn something." Tyrannus answered in a demanding tone of voice.
"Now Michiru my dear, I will offer this only once. I will spare your life and the lives of the filthy rabble in the pit behind you, but only if you tell me where the rebels are hiding. You have exactly one minute to decide."
"Tell that bastard nothing Michiru, you know he won't keep his word and let us live!" One of the men in the pit shouted.
"Don't be foolish girl, you have 30 seconds and I can assure that if you don't tell me where the rebels are then those men will die!"
For her part Michiru gazed up at Lord Tyrannus bearing a determined and defiant look upon her face, before she spat on the floor and shouted.
"I will tell you nothing, I'd rather die first!"
"So be it you stupid wench! Kang, if you would be so kind and do the honors, in fact use that technique with the fire you're so famous for. I'd like our special guests to see your talent and skills in action."
Kang looked uneasy as his eyes darted towards the three Leaf shinobi and was hesitant in revealing his technique to the strangers for fear they might recognize it. However, he knew he couldn't refuse his lord and master's request. Standing and walking over to the pit, he looked down with contempt and disdain at the prisoners before flashing through some hand-signs and calling out.
"Gouryuuka no Jutsu!" (Great Dragon Fire Technique)
A moment later, Kang expelled from his mouth five separate dragonhead fireballs, each one hitting a rebel in the pit and igniting their entire body in flames. The screams of agony coming from the pit made several of the people in the room sick to their stomach. While it was all Jiraiya, Naruto, and Kakashi could do to remain composed and not unleash their fury upon the people in the room. Soon the screams died off and only the stench of burnt human flesh now permeated the banquet hall. Taking a handkerchief and covering his nose, Tyrannus quickly ordered the pit cover to be lowered once again. Once that was done, he then turned his attention back to Michiru who was on her knees weeping and said with a sneer.
"As you can see Michiru, I'm a man of my word. Now the only reason you are not dead with your rebel comrades is that I wish to partake of that delectable body of yours for my pleasure. So you have a second chance to save your life. Do well in pleasing me this evening and tell me the location of the rebel base and you will live to see the sunrise in the morning. Because if you don't, I promise your death will be just as painful as those fools behind you suffered for their ignorance. Guards, take her away and get her cleaned up. I want this bitch fresh when she is brought to me later on this evening."
As Naruto watched the guards drag Michiru away, he shot Jiraiya a pleading look wanting desperately to save the young girl. However, the Toad-Sage merely shook his head slightly and signaled Naruto to wait. Sighing in frustration, Naruto knew he could only wait so long before his patience would run out, as he blamed himself for the gruesome deaths of those men and the plight Michiru now faced. Glancing over at Kakashi, he felt a slight killing intent coming from the one-eyed Jounin who was staring intently at Kang. But before he could inquire further with his faux brother, he heard Jiraiya announce.
"Lord Tyrannus, I humbly thank you for this banquet feast held in our honor and of the gift you have bestowed to me and my family. However, we had traveled quite far before we stumbled upon your land and are weary. If you could please excuse us, we shall call it an evening and retire to the splendid guest quarters you've provided us. I wish to discuss with my sons your very enticing offer from earlier."
"By all means Hanzo-san, you and your sons may go and I hope the conversation with regards to my offer goes well. We'll discuss it more tomorrow for I too need to take my leave and get ready for Michiru's visit later on." Tyrannus smugly replied, with a hint of lust ringing in his voice.
As Naruto and Kakashi rose to accompany Jiraiya back to their room, Portlia jumped up and latched onto Naruto's arm before huskily whispering in his ear.
"I will send a servant around later on tonight to fetch you to my room. Don't overdress, it won't be necessary."
A shiver went down Naruto's spine upon hearing this and he hesitantly smiled at the princess before extricating himself from her grasp and moving off to catch up with Kakashi and Jiraiya. However, before he was able to, the bleached youth with several facial piercings who had been sitting at the far end of the table with Kang stepped in front of him and in a hushed tone of voice threatened with a sneer.
"A word of advice, my name is Katsuro, son of Kang and I would stay away from the princess, she is to be mine and I will not let some buffoon of a stranger from another land take her from me. For if you try, I can promise you will live to regret it!"
"First off Katsuro don't threaten me or piss me off, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry. And second, I'm not after the princess so she's all yours. So back off before you get hurt, because after the day I've had, I'm ready to hurt someone!" Naruto angrily replied, staring directly into Katsuro's eyes, as they stood nose to nose with one another.
After a minute, Katsuro finally blinked to which Naruto smirked at the youth before stepping by him and returning to his guest room along with Jiraiya and Kakashi.
After returning to the guest quarters and Jiraiya had reactivated the sound-silencing jutsu Naruto exploded in a rage.
"Oh Kami, that guy needs to go down and go down now! Did you see that freak of a lord order the deaths of those men like he was ordering off of a menu? And there's no way I'm going let him rape and kill that girl, I don't care what you say pervy-sage, we've got to save her!"
"I haven't said anything yet gaki, but if you would sit down, shut-up, and listen. Then I'll tell you that we are going to save that young girl and the entire village if we can. However, we need to come up with a plan to do that and you screaming your head off isn't going to help!" Jiraiya fired back with authority and conviction.
"You, you mean it pervy-sage, we're going to save that girl and her people."
"Yes we are because this Lord Tyrannus, his fat daughter, and all of his cronies have pissed me off as much as they have you kid."
"Alright, that's awesome to hear, what about you Kakashi-Sensei?"
"I agree with you and Master Jiraiya, but whatever plan we come up with we need to make sure I am the one who takes down Kang."
"So you've figured it out, Kang is Kleve your father's former ANBU comrade."
"Hai Master Jiraiya, his little demonstration of using a Katon jutsu to slaughter those men sealed his identity to me. That jutsu is a high B-ranked jutsu that only a Jounin level shinobi can use. After watching him use it with such ease, I remembered my father once telling me that Kleve was highly-skilled in the use of Katon jutsu's and his proficiency with them was ranked second only to the Uchiha clan. Kang is Kleve of that I am sure and I will avenge my father, this I swear on the Hatake name."
"I understand Kakashi, Kang is all yours. Now let's sit down and come up with a plan to free these people from Tyrannus once and for all!" Jiraiya vehemently declared.
"That sounds good to me!" Naruto exclaimed, before huddling up with his Sensei's to figure out how accomplish their personal missions to set Tyrannia free.
Author Notes: No way, I didn't really end the chapter there did I? Well, yes I did, but let me explain why I did this before you all come after me with pitchforks and torches. This is the 50th chapter of my story, so I wanted to make it a momentous one. Hence the unbelievable struggle I've had in writing this chapter, as I must have written and tossed a dozen different ideas during its creation. To say I had writers block at times would be an understatement, more like writer's mountain sitting on my shoulder.
Unfortunately, in my zeal to produce such a grandiose chapter, that it kind of got away from me. I still haven't finished the chapter, yet at one point I looked down and discovered it was over 20,000 words long and that's without my usual extensive author notes. To be honest, I'm not sure how many of you like chapter lengths of 15-20,000 words? So I decided for this chapter to break up Naruto's adventure into two chapters. Essentially, consider this chapter the appetizer to the main course coming next.
Now I do this for a couple of reasons. One it will allow me from your reviews on this chapter to see if I need to make any drastic changes or revisions to the rest of Naruto's adventure. And second it will allow me the time to finish off the adventure properly and answer all of your reviews from the last chapter, which I normally try to do before I post my newest chapter. Sadly, time got away from me and I figured you would much rather see this chapter posted first then me spending the next couple of days answering your reviews of chapter 49 before it was posted.
Now I do wish to thank everyone both old and new readers who took the time to review my last chapter. For those of you who did review, you all had a lot to say about it and I'm pleased that this story has such a strong fan base with readers who actually write out well thought-out reviews. The reviews that actually force an author to think about something are the ones that are most helpful to us. Because of that, I enjoy reading many of your reviews, so please leave lots of them, as they do help a writer get an idea of the thoughts and opinions of the fans of a story. They also can help lift the spirits of an author as well. Also, to any readers who are staff members to any C2 communities, please feel free to add my story to your community if you feel it is worthy of it. I won't mind, I swear. I'll even pinkie swear if I need to?
Breaking News
News:
A couple of my readers and fine authors themselves brown phantom and Zentary have set up polls on each of their accounts asking the question.
Who is the best Naruto fanfic writer on this site?
They have each listed 50 authors and you're allowed to vote for 10 choices on each poll. Both authors have graciously placed my name on both polls. So I humbly ask if you feel I'm worthy of being one of your 10 picks to please place a vote for me. I thank you in advance for your support and the links to the profile pages for both brown phantom and Zentary are listed below. Just replace the word . with an actual . to get to their pages.
brown phantom www.fanfiction.net/u/1634435/
Zentary www.fanfiction.net/u/2022054/
Now, If you didn't already know, I've been writing a revised version of a Naruto/Bleach crossover story I was co-writing with my fellow author NeonZangetsu. The new revised story is called "Do I Have A Purpose Anymore?" If you're both a Naruto and a Bleach fan I think you will really enjoy this story. So far I've posted eight chapters of the revised story, so catching up if you wish to read it will not be time consuming for you to do.
Now, onto everyone's favorite section Kingkakashi's rants on the manga yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!
Once again I have very few positive things to say about the last few issues of the Naruto manga!
*Warning I do give away some spoilers in my rants, so read at your own risk.
#541 – This chapter starts with a continuation of Tsunade and Ei intercepting Naruto and Killer Bee. Naruto and Ei start arguing about whether Naruto and killer Bee should be allowed to participate in the war, before Naruto the Raikage start fighting. They then argue some more before Ei decides he must kill Naruto to keep Madara from achieving his goal. Just as the Raikage is about to land a death-dealing blow onto Naruto, Killer Bee intercepts it and offers up his life instead to foil Madara's plans. Ei argues that he'd rather kill Naruto than his brother and then we get flashback of how Ei and Killer Bee first met. Overall, not a bad chapter as the insight into Ei's and KB's past was cool to see.
#542 – This was a really good chapter, as we get an even more detailed look into Ei's and killer Bee's past. You also get a cool scene of them squaring off against Naruto's Dad and I have to wonder if the Inuzuka with Minato could have been Kiba's Dad. Anyway, Minato takes on both Ei and Killer Bee and is easily beating them before he's ordered to retreat. Before he leaves he gives the two brothers some advice. And the chapter ends with Ei and Bee contemplating Minatos' words.
#543 – This chapter starts off with Ei ignoring Minato's words and attacking him almost costing Killer Bee his life in the process, but Minato shows mercy and spares him. Then the chapter does a flashback to the present with Naruto and KB still fighting Ei to go and participate in the war. The two of them gain a slight upper-hand and the Raikage finally calls to Tsunade for assistance. Tsunade finally decides that Naruto is right and joins with him and Bee against the Raikage. Ei and Bee square off once again and then we get another flashback of those two after Ei's father has died. There's a lot of introspection throughout this and the last two chapters regarding Ei and Killer Bee. Which finally culminates at the end of this chapter with them using their prized lariat attacks to see which one is the strongest. Overall, this was a pretty good chapter and even more shocking that Kishimoto managed to put together three chapters in a row without giving any of the villains a power up of some sort.
#544 – This chapter was ok, but the majority of it was just Naruto, Killer Bee, and Tsunade still trying to convince the Raikage to let them fight in the war. They finally do convince Ei after Naruto uses the Hirashin to dodge the Raikage's quickest attack just as Minato had years before. Meanwhile, Shikaku Nara finally figures out that only Naruto can sense and flush out all the Zetsu's impersonating Alliance shinobi and is needed for the war. Then we get to the ending and what a shock! It's Madara and what's he's getting from Kishimoto? You guessed it another power-up and this in the form of the six former Jinchuuriki's the Akatsuki had captured and killed being revived and getting both a Rinnegan eye and a Sharingan eye to use. Come on, I mean seriously how insanely strong does Kishimoto love to make the bad guys. It's so over the top that it just reinforces my belief that its beyond the realm of even remote believability that the good guy's can win against such overwhelming forces and when they do it will just seem utterly ridiculous to me when it happens.
#545 – This chapter starts off with Shikaku correctly deducing that Madara use of the Zetsu's impersonating Alliance shinobi is a ploy to lure Naruto out in the open. However, they have no choice as stated earlier he's the only one who can sense and flush out all the Zetsu's. Shizune and Sakura also figure out that the Zetsu's are being created and powered up by the captured Yamato. Tsunade and the Raikage return to Alliance HQ and learn of Madara's use of the first Hokage's DNA. At which point Tsunade all but confirms that Madara for all essential purposes is immortal. I guess you can call that another power-up from Kishimoto. Anyway, Naruto and killer Bee join the fight and start taking out the Zetsu's impersonating Alliance shinobi. Naruto then starts whipping out some cool moves with variations of the Rasengan, Kage Bushin, and the use of a summoning. Overall, a pretty good chapter other than Kishi's power-up of Madara.
#546 – This chapter starts off with the story finally returning to Gaara and the Third Tsuchikage Oonoki about to take on the Edo Tensei revived Second Tsuchikage, the Second Mizukage, the Fourth Kazekage, and the Third Raikage. Like most of the Edo Tensei warriors in Madara's army, the four Kages really aren't happy with being revived and don't wish to fight, but they have no choice. The battle starts off with Gaara against his father and the Oonoki against the Second Tsuchikage. The chapter ends with a face off of Gaara and his father. Overall, this is a solid chapter, as it's primarily a set-up chapter for the upcoming epic battle between Gaara and his father and the two Tsuchikage's.
(Rants on #547 - #553 will be shown in the next chapter.)
Yes, I'm still thoroughly disgusted that Kishimoto hasn't done anything yet with Hinata's confession to Naruto now reaching 109 freaking issues!
Now I'd like to give a shout out to a couple of stories of quality work that I recommend. I urge all of you to checkout these fine works when you have the time.
Recommendations:
"Stalker" by hinatasgreatestfan: Don't let the title throw you, this is a well written, creative, and original NarutoxHinata story. And I can say this after only two chapters so far. So catching up on the tale is quite easy for anyone to do. There is some lemony goodness to the story, but it's done extremely well and is tasteful. So if you're in the mood for something unique with Naruto and Hinata then this is definitely a story you should checkout and review.
"Prove Them All Wrong" by Hypno: I'm recommending this story for two reasons. One it's a good tale with a lot of angst, emotion, and drama to it. The second reason is that the author doesn't think it's that good of a story. I've told him I thought he's mistaken is having this viewpoint and he's assured me that the story isn't dead and will be updated again. However, it's been almost three years since the last update. The funny thing is even after three years of inactivity, it's still Hypno's highest reviewed story. So I'm hoping a new set of readers (i.e. all of you) will checkout the story and leave many positive reviews and that it will light a fire under Hypno to return to the story and begin working on it again.
Now please be kind and leave precious valuable reviews on these stories.
As always, if anyone wants to discuss my story in greater detail, just shoot me a PM. I enjoy talking about the story with any readers who really have an interest in it. I'll try to respond back to you as quickly as I can.
Take it easy and be good!
Kingkakashi
School Time:
Flambeaux
Definition: A flaming torch for use at night in illuminations, processions, etc.
Etymology: French 1625
Part of Speech: Noun