A love in time 16

"What do you want to know?" Naruto sat across Jiraiya, a dimly lit fire between them as they settled in for the night. She had been quiet or avoided the conversation the entire time they were on the move. Jiraiya didn't press her either since he knew she would talk eventually.

"How much are you going to tell me?" Jiraiya countered, leaning back against the tree as he observed his student shuffle. She was nervous.

"Enough, I guess," Naruto mumbled, breaking eye contact with Jiraiya.

"Naruto," Jiraiya sighed, unfolding his arms and relaxing his shoulders. He leaned forward slightly and with a gentle tone he said, "You know you can trust me. Hell, you even let me close enough to listen to what you had to say to Itachi. Part of me thought you wanted me around to stop you from killing the kid,"

"He's innocent," Naruto muttered, finding a loose thread on her pants and starting to pick at it. "Itachi-sensei is innocent,"

Jiraiya felt pity for the blonde, "Hey, kid-"

"I know how it sounds but it's true. I snuck in underground and almost died getting evidence of the Uchiha Massacre," Naruto, eyes wide open, pleaded with the Sannin to hear her out. With a deep sigh and a heavy heart, Naruto channelled chakra to her wrist revealing a seal. "I…I haven't told anyone about this. Well, Shikamaru found out by accident when I left my shit laying around the place," Biting her thumb, she smeared some of it on her seal and released a scroll before tossing it towards Jiraiya. "It's the original copy."

As he caught the scroll, Jiraiya could hear the tremble in her voice. Glancing between her and the scroll, Jiraiya unsealed the scroll when a black-bound book appeared. "That's a lot of work to hide a small book," He joked to ease Naruto's tension, however, his shoulders soon stiffened when he began reading. Jiraiya didn't speak for the next half an hour as he read the entirety of the report twice over. Rubbing his face tiredly, Jiraiya voiced through gritted teeth, "Sensei approved this?"

Pulling her knees to her chest, Naruto replied quietly. "Ji-chan approved a meeting between the clan and himself representing the village. He was aware of Danzo's movements behind the scenes and allowed that man to get to Itachi-sensei." Naruto didn't like to think about her beloved Ji-chan's betrayal. It was too much for her to dwell on. "Ji-chan is to blame just as much as Danzo."

"I'm sure things are missing in this report," Jiraiya acknowledged and Naruto nodded, "But, what about the Elder Council? Where were they in all of this? Last I checked, Danzo had them in the palm of his hand."

Naruto winched, although she and them didn't like each other, Naruto liked to believe there was mutual respect between the two parties. "They probably have a hand in the massacre. I can't be too sure. Danzo tightened his security once he realised there was a breach and I haven't attempted to break into his facility since I almost died."

Jiraiya was surprised Naruto admitted to almost dying. For him, it seemed unheard of.

"Please don't tell Kakashi-sensei. He'll freak out," Naruto pulled up her shirt to reveal her scarred chest. The marks were exactly above her heart.

"Did the Kyuubi heal you from being stabbed through the heart," Jiraiya felt his gut drop. For anybody else, that was a fatal wound. "Did they?" He pushed for an answer as she dropped her shirt. He felt his heartbeat harder and just realised that his student could die. Even with all her tricks and smarts, she was capable of dying.

"I had to hide in the Forest of Death for a week while Kyuubi mended my heart," Naruto confessed. It was the most hellbent week of her life. It was like reliving having the seal engraved onto her back but for the entire week. "Anyway, me dying doesn't have to do with Orochimaru. Almost dying was an ego thing. I realised my arrogance too late," Finding determination, Naruto firmly looked Jiraiya in the eyes. "Has dad ever spoken to you about time walkers?" Seeing his confused look, Naruto sighed, "It might take all night to explain."

"I'm up for it," Jiraiya shrugged.

Madara

"This is getting ridiculous," Madara muttered to himself, kicking his blanket off his body and rubbed his face in annoyance. It had been over a month since he last saw Naruto. From what she explained to him, their times never lined up. A month for him could mean just an hour or some other variation of time. "Even so, isn't she being careless," He was annoyed she never came to seek him out. She had the personality to uncover whatever interested her. Madara was sure she was interested in his behaviour.

Getting out of bed, Madara entered his private garden. Heading towards the koi pond, Madara leapt into the middle of the pond, not disturbing the water as he reached the middle and sat on the giant rock that occupied the space. "If that Blondie can do it then so can I," folding his legs, Madara took a deep breath and tried finding that odd energy the blonde showed him.

Taking a deep breath, Madara was unaware of the sweat gathering on his forehead. He wasn't sure how much time passed either when he felt a flicker of uncertainty surrounding him, "Found you," he quietly mumbled before lashing out towards the feeling and aggressively locking onto it. Madara felt his inside get sucked in before he felt the air change. It felt harsher and smelt of the sea. "The sea?" Opening his eyes, Madara looked around and found himself on a large carrier boat. The sea was on the rougher side as he walked around. The crew, fully ignoring him, as they ran about to do their jobs.

He could feel the unease grow as he moved towards the front of the ship. He spotted her before he realised. Her blonde hair was flying in the wind as an older white-haired man threw a blanket over her shoulders. Biting the inside of his cheek, Madara saw a genuine smile as she looked at the older man. They seemed friendly though Madara didn't see the resemblance.

As the older man moved inside, Naruto stayed behind and Madara took this as his chance to approach. "Your Master seems kind towards a heretic,"

"Your greetings are as pleasant as ever," Naruto glanced beside her. Her time companion was dressed loosely in a sleeping kimono. Naruto didn't hide the fact she was blatantly staring at his wide chest. She chuckled when he tightened his belt. "How precious,"

"You never came," Madara got straight to the point, "I've been waiting a month for you to show face,"

"A month?" Naruto felt like laughing, "That's such a short time,"

Madara felt embarrassed for the first time since his childhood. He could feel his cheeks heating up. "My wait is valid. Unlike you, who seems more carefree than before, I have more responsibility on my shoulders,"

Naruto's smile dropped, "Madara,"

The Uchiha gulped at her cold look. Clicking his tongue, he looked ahead towards the sea. He could just see the coastline. It should take another day to reach land.

"I told you I would wait until you sought me out. I don't go back on my word," Naruto didn't tolerate his behaviour, the orange glow of the sunset reflected on the water. The sounds of the water, the scent and the scenery were rather relaxing. Naruto genuinely felt more relaxed than he had ever felt in a long time - she was glad Jiraiya delayed their trip by another day to unpack everything she told him. With a faint smile on her lips, Naruto felt silly hiding something so important from her Master. Perhaps she did seem more carefree. "And now you've found me. What do you want to happen next?"

Taking in a deep breath, Madara replied, "We're going up against Godly beings and seeing the creation of chakra. It's a lot to process. What happens once we've found an end?"

"We go back to our normal timelines." Naruto already thought ahead, "Where the only person that knows me in your time is just you and I will read about you in books. Then, we'll meet again when I die,"

"I'm in your generation's books," Madara arched a brow, feeling a smirk tug on his lips. "I must be someone important," He glossed over the blonde woman dying in the future.

"You shaped history," Naruto was vague, though it was entertaining to see the Uchiha's head get inflated. "Modern shinobi wouldn't be possible in the Fire Country if it wasn't for you and one other,"

"Tch," Madara folded his arms, "History only needs me. As curious as I am, that's not why we need to talk." He frowned, his voice becoming firm, "If we're truly going to become a team to take down Gods, no matter how ridiculous it sounds, we need to get stronger than ever. For that to happen, we're going to have to build trust between each other and know each other's strengths and weaknesses. I suggest we start training together whenever possible."

"You do realise what you're suggesting is dangerous," Naruto picked up on his words immediately, "If we're to work together with trust then I believe we should be honest that we won't reveal each other's trump card to take one another out should either of us betrays the other,"

Madara's chest bubbled in mirth, "It's frightening how much I'm starting to take a liking to you, Blondie," He gripped his forearms tighter, understanding the dangers their relationship could pose for one another. Especially if affection grew between them. "You better be careful or I'll go save that clan of yours,"

Naruto laughed lightly, "Your jokes are distasteful," Gesturing with her head to follow her, Naruto led Madara through the ship and towards her cabin. It was a generous size with her bathroom. Feeling Madara's warmth on her back, Naruto didn't move as his hand snaked around her neck and gripped her throat firmly. An involuntary groan left her lips. She knew he was testing her but he was testing her patience.

Leaning down, Madara whispered in her ear, "You should never invite a man into your room who isn't affiliated with your clan…or in your case, I guess comrades fit a lot better," She didn't even try to relieve the pressure on her neck. Madara found her actions rather amusing as anyone in her place would be panicking and clawing to get his hands off them. "No matter their appearance, always assume the opponent is stronger than you."

"Then you should know," in a blink of an eye, Naruto gripped Madara's wrist, twisting his wrist and threw him over her body before pressing her hand to his chest and summoning a seal. Sitting comfortably on his hips, Naruto looked down smugly as she activated the seal in his confused state. "To never provoke me. I'm sure you've noticed, but we're the same. We thrive on the battle."

"Heh," Madara paled as he struggled to breathe. Whatever she placed on him was making it difficult for him to breathe, "What did you seal?"

"Your lung capacity," Naruto released her seal before getting off Madara, "I have more tablets for you to translate,"

Sitting up, Madara rubbed his chest as Naruto dumped different stones or scrolls before him. "Not even I would desecrate so many temples," Looking at the nearest sheet, he activated his Sharingan and began reading. "Though, now that I know they're screwing me over I wouldn't mind burning one or two."

"Leave that to me," Naruto frowned, the history books already have a bad name for the Uchiha. Naruto felt that if she provoked him to add more the man would throw a fit in his grave. "These are from all the temples within the Fire Country and a few are from the Wind Country. I had to stop for a while since security got buffed up," Sitting across from Madara, Naruto asked him, "What are your nature affinities? I understand Uchiha's are usually fire natures."

"Jumping right in I see," Madara sighed, "Fire is my main affinity. I also have skills in lightning and water,"

Naruto nodded, his nature releases made for some good combinations and cancellations. "My main affinity is wind. I'm also highly proficient with water release and Iryō Ninjutsu."

Madara frowned, he could sense the bottomless pit of chakra that was contained within the blonde. To be able to use Iryō Ninjutsu with her chakra capacity was a feat he only witnessed with his rival. Hashirama Senju. Even Madara wasn't sure how Hashirama pulled it off. "How is that possible with your chakra reserves?"

Naruto replied, "I'm not just an orphan. I was also raised in the red light district. I'm sure you understand that humans will do anything to survive. Simply mixing herbs wasn't enough. I'll do whatever it takes to survive,"

Madara saw the burning desire in her eyes to live. "You live for yourself?"

"If I did, I would've been dead a long time ago. Even I have precious people, just like you have your brother," Naruto pointed out, making Madara uncomfortable, "If anything happened to them," a cold smile grew on her lips, "I might just burn the world to the ground,"

"Oi oi that's not funny," Madara felt a bead of sweat slide down his neck, his grin crooked as he spoke. "Though if something happened to my brother, I can't deny my feelings would be the same."

Naruto's eyes widened at the crazed look in Madara's eyes, it was even more intimidating since he has his Sharingan activated. In his hyped-up state, Naruto gulped when his eyes morphed into the Mangekyo Sharingan, "Oi oi," she repeated what he said, "You're getting too excited. Your eyes have mutated,"

Madara covered one of his eyes with his hand. He didn't expect to reveal them so soon. "If I'm in your history books, then you must know about these eyes," He was surprised when she shook her head.

"The Uchiha clan are secretive about their kekkei genkai. From what's known in the public, not every Uchiha gets the Sharingan and only intense emotions can activate the Sharingan. There are no public records about your eyes,"

"Yet you don't seem surprised," Madara pushed.

Naruto bit the inside of her cheek. She wasn't sure what gave it away but this made it clear there is still a lot of distrust between them. Naruto had to remind herself, although he was still young, he is set to be one of the founding fathers of Konohagakure. "My former sensei is an Uchiha. He taught me how to fight against Sharingan users and he admitted to the Mangekyo Sharingan though he didn't tell me much about it."

"What an arrogant brat teaching an outsider how to defend against these eyes," Madara scoffed as he released the chakra towards his eyes. "Then you aren't aware of how we obtain the Mangekyo,"

"Madara," Naruto said carefully, "Times have changed, though you should know the Uchiha kept their jutsu fiercely guarded. Itachi-sensei isn't what you'd expect from an Uchiha, he's a rather gentle person underneath."

"Just because an Uchiha is gentle, should they be let off?" Madara growled, "We're in the middle of a war!" He slammed his fist on the floor, "The privilege of giving away clan techniques is non-existent! The carelessness! The audacity!" Reaching forward, he grabbed Naruto by the collar and dragged her forward, "What did you do? Did you seduce him with your charming smile and honeyed words?! Do you plan the same for me?"

Naruto was quick to tie Madara down with her chains. "That's enough!" Throwing sealing papers towards the four corners of her room, Naruto sealed her room shut and prevented anything from leaving. Madara was hyperventilating, his eyes flaring dangerously yet the man still had enough reason not to activate his dojutsu. Grabbing his head in her hands, Naruto slammed their foreheads together hard enough to knock anybody else out. "There is no war here! You were the catalyst to stop all the fighting in your time! Whether you believe me or not, it has already happened!" Seeing his breathing even out, Naruto spoke firmly, "Itachi-sensei taught me how to protect myself and I'm sorry to burst your bubble but the few rotten apples ruined the barrel,"

"You cheeky brat. Insulting my clan like that," Madara gritted his teeth as he regained his composure.

"Hmm but I'm not lying. Out of all the Uchiha I've met, only Itachi-sensei hasn't given me the urge to cave their fucking heads in," Naruto released Madara and retracted her chains. "My first encounter happened when I was a kid, in your time. A group of adults planned on destroying the food supply chain. A rather sly move,"

"We're at war. Anything goes,"

"Even the starving children," Naruto's lip twitched when she caught Madara off guard, "I'm sure a clan as big as yours will be okay. Plenty of food to go around." Kneeling before him, Naruto mocked. "Anything goes,"

"You're not better than me," Madara snarled, "I watched you kill those priests and priests-in-training. Even when they begged for your mercy. You didn't need to kill them,"

It was Naruto's turn to grit her teeth.

"Don't get all high and mighty with me, Blondie. I'm sure if you were in my position, with your clan still alive, you'd do whatever is necessary to keep them safe. Didn't you say you'd burn the world for your precious people? Don't act like you're an Angel." Madara humbled the blonde. It felt good to see her lose her composure. The blonde would get arrogant, she needed to know her place. "Are we done bickering?"

"When I die and we find each other again in the netherworld, I'm fucking beating your ass," Naruto snarled, Madara kept his tongue when her eyes flashed momentarily red.

He was familiar with his clan's dojutsu and what he saw wasn't it. They had a lot of learning to do from each other. "You know a lot about my clan. I don't know a lot about yours,"

"Urgh," Naruto groaned and pointed towards the work they needed to be done, "Can we discuss this after translating these," Madara just stared at her, "Fine!" she was getting annoyed with him, "What do you want to hear about? The Uzumaki clan-"

"I want to hear about the Namikaze," Madara interrupted, "All I know in my time is they're a quiet but powerful tribe that even the bigger clans in the Land of Lightning avoid them. I did some digging on them. They have a God they worship dearly, though lately, the Namikaze has been acting differently that its causing tension in Lightning,"

"Their God was recently assassinated by the New Gods," Naruto didn't care about the Namikaze in the past. They weren't of interest to her. None of them were time walkers. It was only Momo, who was only ¼ Namikaze. "They're probably freaking out." Ruffling her hair, Naruto explained, "Takeminakata-sama is their God and the Namikaze also descend from him,"

Madara let out a low whistle, "That's some pedigree," The Uchiha held up his hands when Naruto brought out a chakra chain, "I'm not into that sort of play, Blondie,"

"Ha Ha," Naruto laughed dryly, "Have you ever seen the Adamantine Chains before?"

"Not yet, though I am aware of them," Madara looked over the chair as Naruto manipulated it towards him. Allowing him to touch and examine the chain.

"Well, from what I've gathered those black markings aren't part of them. Those marks are the marks of Takeminakata-sama. I don't use them often but one function can drain the opponent of their life-force and are covered by the markings - making them appear cursed,"

Despite hearing that, Madara didn't stop touching the chain. It glowed beautifully between his fingers. They felt heavy and strong in his hands. Wrapping the chain around one of his hands, he gestured toward the blonde, "Try it,"

Naruto arched a pretty brow, "Why?"

"You didn't have to tell me this much about your clan to appease my ego of you knowing mine,"

"I'm glad you recognise you have an ego,"

Madara smirked, "Think of this as a trust exercise between us,"

Naruto gasped as Madara activated his Mangekyo and was suddenly wrapped in a dark blue humanoid skeleton made of pure chakra. The skeleton held a blade to her throat, tapping her chin teasingly. "So, you'll kill me if I take all your lifeforce."

"That's a given," Madara felt his competitiveness reveal its head, just as her blue eyes burned darker in excitement. "Go on," He tugged on her chain, daring her to try to kill him, "Curse me,"

Naruto could see why the history books didn't have much nice to say about him. His approach to life was rather unhinged. Channelling her chakra, Naruto started carefully as she syphoned his lifeforce and brought it towards her, filling her soul. "Oh," She breathed out slowly, flexing her fingers as Madara started to pale. Naruto could feel his energy entwine with hers. It was rather scary how in sync his aura was with hers. They were truly bound by more than time. "I wonder if I'll be able to master that jutsu now. I'm going to take a bit more from you,"

"Heh, it'll be nothing," Madara said through gritted teeth, clenching his fists as the black marks started slowly making their way up to his arm. It was an indescribable feeling that Madara could almost place it as pure dread. Dread from what? The possibility of dying? Madara wasn't sure but this feeling would have the enemies' moral fall seeing this blonde on the other side of the battlefield.

Naruto breathed out slowly, her breath visible in the room as her hair slowly turned white and her eyes glowing coldly, "Ice Palace," Naruto muttered as the ice started to cover every inch of the room greedily, causing the temperature around them to plummet at a surprising rate. With precise manipulation, Naruto was slowly raised as a throne made of ice lifted her up and on either side of her appeared Ice Knights with glowing blue hues hidden behind their visor. Looking at her arms, Naruto felt a tug on her lips as she turned them around, "Amazing,"

"What is this?" Madara, despite never being able to interact with her world, was affected by the cold. Walls of ice started to form around them until it looked like they were in a Great Hall. He had never seen or heard of such jutsu before. He doubted even a bloodline could reach this potential. From what his eyes picked up, Naruto was mixing ninjutsu and genjutsu but there was another component he couldn't place.

Crossing one leg over the other, the Ice Knights straightened their posture and released a crushing pressure. "Usually, the blood in my veins would burn from the coldness of this jutsu," Naruto explained, observing the new colour of her hair. "I won't take any more of your life force but with the small amount I have of yours, I could probably cover the sea and summon more knights." With a regretful sigh, Naruto slowly released the jutsu before she unsummoned her chain.

As her chain disappeared from Madara's hand, he released Susanoo and tried to catch his breath. "What have you created? It was a mix of jutsu. I've never come across something like this before,"

"I wouldn't be surprised. As far as I know, it's the first of its kind," Naruto sucked in a sharp breath as her body started to experience the residual throbbing pain as if the ice was flowing through her veins. "On my own, I can probably cover a large room and hold Ice Palace for about 15 minutes, if I'm being generous before my chakra coils are burnt to a crisp." Standing up, she gestured her hands towards Madara, he gave her a sceptical look, making her roll her eyes. "What's the point of that trust exercise if you're still going to be a tight ass about it?"

Glaring at her, Madara stood up as he found himself holding hands more often than he liked. "How do you expect one to react to you after witnessing such a dangerous jutsu? Those Knights looked very real for a genjutsu,"

"They are real," Naruto replied as Madara slipped his hands into hers. Holding them firmly, Naruto explained, "By nature, I don't possess the Hyōton kekkei genkai, however, I do have wind and water release. When I was a fresh shinobi, I was curious about anything and everything that had to do with the shinobi world. I learnt and created my Iryō style, I experiment with fuinjutsu, so naturally, I started looking towards improving the area I have absolutely no talent in, genjutsu," Closing her eyes, Naruto took in a deep breath as her adamantine chains made their appearance one more and wrapped around their linked hands. "It's taken me a couple of years, but by mixing ninjutsu, fuinjutsu and genjutsu I'm able to make my genjutsu a reality. I also learnt the perfect ratio of wind and water nature to create Hyōton, though there are drawbacks,"

"It stings," Madara sucked in a breath as he started to feel the sharp pain flow through his body. Closing his eyes, he started to control his breathing as he allowed Naruto to do whatever she planned. Madara planned to return the favour when it was his turn. He could feel Naruto drawing on his life force, though frowned when he noticed something warm flowing into him. "Is this your life force?"

"Yes," Naruto replied, raising both of their arms, Naruto eased them both into a few kata formations. There was some resistance from the Uchiha before he figured out what she was doing and allowed her to lead. "A lot of things don't make sense between us, but what I've figured out today is," With a sharp thrust forward with their hands, Naruto and Madara felt chakra leaving their fingertips and opened their eyes. "Being a descendant from the God of War has its advantages when we're together."

Where a desk once stood, was now a pile of scorched ash as the metal drawer handles glowed bright red as they melted.

Madara picked up instantly what Naruto had done between them, "You mixed your water nature with my lightning nature," The blonde nodded, "Jinton (Storm Release)," He was impressed, looking down at their entwined hands wrapped in chains, Madara felt excited but also burdened by the sight. They would be extremely powerful together. The two of them together, with some team training, would be able to take down any of the New Gods that stood in their way. Madara knew for Naruto, it was her entire life plagued by these beings but for Madara, it was a minor nuisance. His priority, at the end of the day, was making sure his clan survived the war. "Give me a day to convince you to fight my time's war with me,"

"I refuse," Naruto was quick to reject Madara.

Madara chuckled, "It was worth a try. Why are you doing this? Taking on this responsibility? If I were you, I would use this chance to exploit the future or better yet, learn from the past to prevent future mistakes." Once the chains disappeared, Madara released the blonde's hands when she looked up at him.

"Why?" Naruto frowned, "Ahh I guess I haven't told you. Perhaps it's because we're descendants of a God but it's always the Namikaze clan that become time-walkers." The news surprised Madara. Naruto wasn't expecting to get this close but she learned she needed to stop keeping things to herself, "I'm not entirely sure of the purpose behind it all but every Namikaze that has walked back in time has failed in whatever they were supposed to do."

"You know why they failed, don't you," Madara pointed out, finding himself easily picking up the unsaid from the Uzumaki.

Naruto nodded, running her fingers through her hair in a huff, "They kept falling in love with the past. So much so, they didn't want to wake up."

"What's to say you won't fall in love with me? Oi," Madara pointed at her face, not liking her cold reaction, "I'm well aware of my appearance."

"Yes," Naruto said dryly, "You're handsome," She didn't deny, "But I have no interest in the dead."

Feeling a tug on his body, Madara said, "I'm being woken up. Follow me,"

Naruto grimaced at the wicked look in his eyes. Whatever was going to happen next wasn't going to be fun. "At least let me get into bed first,"

Little did Naruto know, Madara did indeed pay her back by making her spar against him in his Susanoo form.

Tobirama

Hiding in the shadows, Tobirama observed the suspicious handmaiden as she crudely dug up weeds in the Concubine's garden. He pursed his lips, having observed the woman ever since Naruto brought it to his attention. Over the past two weeks, Tobirama has been systematically removing the weeds and limiting the supply for the handmaiden to harvest. He watched as the handmaiden, in the beginning, panicked after realising the dwindling supply over the days.

Due to the panic, the handmaiden had easily led Tobirama to the Feudal Lord's wife's back window. He had listened in as the handmaiden reported to the furious woman; who ordered the servant to continue poisoning despite the delay.

Tobirama had enough evidence to frame the Legal Wife but as Naruto mentioned, his clan wasn't able to protect the Concubine even if they wanted to. They were at war and their numbers were spread thin already. Tobirama was only here as a courtesy towards the Feudal Lord and showed off that the larger clans still had to abide by his law.

"Are you truly not going to step it?"

Tobirama heard the smooth voice beside him. He wasn't surprised. Glancing over briefly, the long pale blonde hair caught his eyes immediately with pale blue eyes. His guest was awfully pretty for a man that he could pass for a woman if it weren't for his solid build. A Yamanaka. "Aren't you sick of following me around, Inosuke?"

Inosuke chuckled, "No, I find you interesting," The blond looked towards the handmaiden as she seemed to gather enough plants for the time being, "Won't you stop her?"

"Why won't you? You've been watching her movements too," Tobirama replied.

"It's interesting how love works," Inosuke said, "and I do mean in the negative sense. Jealousy, envy, possession, anger. It's all very fascinating watching it all unravelled before your eyes." The blond followed Tobirama back to their shared dorm. "The longing in the handmaid's eyes borders on desperation yet she masks it so well before the man she loves. The jealous wrinkles of the Legal Wife and passionate anger that flares, whenever she thinks about the Concubine, is hilarious. In the end, they'll both be caught and punished."

"Then you agree we don't need to interfere,"

"I give it a month before the handmaiden crumbles and reveals the dirty whispers of the Legal Wife," Inosuke brought forward, nodding towards the pair of guards they passed. Tucking his hands behind his back, Inosuke sighed lightly, "I can't wait to get out of here. Just a couple more weeks and we're free from that damn woman," The blond kept his voice low but he knew his companion agreed. They were sick of servicing the Feudal Lord's daughter. "I'm surprised you're not warming her bed now,"

"Don't go there," Tobirama warned with a dark look, "We may be allies now but should we meet on the battlefield I may accidentally cut you down,"

"Oh~ that's a scary look you've got there," Inosuke backed off, sweat gathering behind his neck. "I was sure with the princess' personality you would be her favourite. Everyone whispers you're able to satisfy her in one round and she knocks out straight away. What're you doing to her?"

Tobirama refused to answer. It would do no good to let others know it was a genjutsu trick he picked up from Naruto and perfected the genjutsu by visiting the whore houses. The princess' guards simply believed he brought normal candles into her room to set the mood. If one didn't know how to use them, they were simply candles.

"Aww come on, Senju. Give me a hint. It's my turn tomorrow night," Inosuke tried pleading with the white-haired man. "I'll owe you a big favour,"

"Not interested,"

"Tch, you're stingy." Pausing, Inosuke pointed out, "Other women may like your cool and distant behaviour but I'm willing to bet the woman in your heart won't take to it one bit." Inosuke felt his lips stretch into a menacing grin seeing the Senju stop. He decided to make one more comment, "Don't think you'll get very far with just your face."

Biting the inside of his cheek, Tobirama didn't want to take the bait. He truly didn't.

"Seeing as you're stuck here with the princess, I bet your lady wasn't very happy. I wouldn't be surprised if she is using this time to meet someone more….compatible for her,"

"What do you know?" Tobirama snarled over his shoulder. The shadows of the night made the glare of his red eyes stand out more.

Inosuke couldn't believe it. He heard all the rumours surrounding Tobirama Senju - the unmovable bachelor. The man was known to only be interested in the development of his clan and is considered a genius when it came to jutsu creation. There were even Suiton users in the Water Country that looked up to Tobirama Senju. From all his interactions with the Senju, Inosuke had only known Tobirama to get annoyed when the princess was brought up. This was the first time Inosuke had seen genuine annoyance on Tobirama's face. He knew it instantly. There was somebody the unmovable bachelor was interested in.

"Oh?" Inosuke arched his pretty brow, causing the Senju to grind his teeth. "Well, it's obvious you're not the only man in the world and you're a busy man. The world is changing. Lovers are no longer waiting for their other half to return. There's no guarantee that the one they long for will be the same when they return. A few women in my clan explained it as," Inosuke tapped his chin, "A memory is more wonderful than the true thing. The memory should remain a memory than allow it to be tarnished by the present. Something along those lines,"

Tobirama couldn't argue back for the simple fact Naruto wasn't his lover. They were each other's dearest friends. "We're not lovers, so that doesn't apply."

Inosuke was surprised Tobirama replied. He believed the man was going to storm off after hearing him out. "It's just a label, but what doesn't change is the feelings. It's the person that changes. They won't linger,"

"They will come back," Tobirama was confident in his answer, "They will always come back,"

Inosuke was interested in Tobirama. He wasn't sure where the man's confidence came from but Inosuke could tell his belief was firm. Whoever this woman was in Tobirama's mind was no ordinary woman. "And you? Will you return to them?"

Tobirama thought back on the time Naruto ignored him that he resorted to trapping her. She even hid from him behind a tree and Tobirama was more than capable of disregarding her opinion to see her, but he didn't. He waited patiently for her. Even when she said she was leaving his side, Tobirama waited to see her again. Seeing her recently, Tobirama couldn't hold back his thoughts and spoke of his distaste of her leaving his side. Tobirama always knew his answer, "That's a given. I will always go back. Even if I have to grovel at their feet,"

Inosuke wished he knew the woman who captured Tobirama's attention. "You'll have a lot of grovelling to do after this mission,"

Reflecting on the dangerous look he saw in Naruto's eyes when she spied him with the princess, Tobirama only smirked, "I'm well aware."