So, after a bit of a mishap where I sent the story to the wrong person to be looked over, we finally have the next act of Sealkeeper.

Late?

Perhaps.

But here none the less.

Of course, I'm also aware that with the late updates we actually seem to have very nearly lost a week, which means I'll have to find some way to make up for that. Haven't decided how yet, perhaps an extra double length or a few extra thousand words on a couple chapters, but regardless of how it's done it WILL be done-

Eventually.

Thanks, as always, goes to ncpfan for all his help.

Raise the curtains!

Things had not gone at all as he expected them to.

That was not a bad thing.

Quite to the contrary, he found himself rather enjoying the dinner with his guest. Not only was it enlightening- no wonder he had managed to draw allies strong enough to take down one of Konoha's clans from the shadows- but it was a pleasant change to have someone who he could look at as an equal.

Not of status, of course, he was the head of the Hyuuga and the boy just had powerful friends, but of skill. Truly there were too few players in this game. Well, not exactly, there were plenty of them- a surplus, in fact- the only thing was that very few of them were any good.

He had always thought that to be a damn shame, for he did enjoy the subtle messages and hidden moves that the game was made of, promises and threats alike hidden within compliments and pleasantries.

There really was no better pastime for those such as himself.

And now he actually had an opponent.

A worthy one, at that.

Tempted was he, already, to make moves against the young man just so that their game might begin in full.

That, unfortunately, was a rather foolish move and one most unbecoming of the Hyuuga head. No, he'd have to do things properly and let the game make itself in its own time. Most certainly it would be a better game then if he could refrain from rushing into it now.

But oh how sorely he was tempted to do it anyway. The field of battle where their words would dance and strike would be lessened, but so much sooner would they be able to play

And that was just one of the reasons he was secretly grateful for his daughters action and, if she had any idea what it was she had granted him, her insight. He wouldn't be too surprised if she had some inclination to what was going on, as even Hinata had remained in the kitchen until such a time that their guest returned with the heiress.

If the daughter that had never even reached the stage where he would begin to teach her in the ways of the game could read into the events around her well enough to act properly than there was no possible way that Hanabi hadn't.

That is, as long as she hadn't been completely smitten by the boy.

Hiashi grimaced slightly.

He had never had to deal with something like this and it had never crossed his mind as a possibility. He knew his daughters would one day marry, it was expected as the daughters of the head, but never had he really considered either of them having romantic interests.

Especially not with the one opponent he had been able to find within Konoha. Hiruzen and Danzou were here, obviously, but not only was it bad form to get between two opponents- especially when they had been playing their game for so damn long- but going against the Kage could be considered bad form and any association with Danzou was usually seen poorly by, well, everyone, really.

Every Shinobi, at least, and any civilian who wouldn't mind wouldn't think enough of the old war hawk for him to be seen as a suitable opponent of the Hyuuga head.

No, neither would do but now that he had found someone his youngest daughter- who really was still too young for that sort of thing- seemed to be rather taken with him.

Admittedly, he too had struggled to look away from the young man who was, undeniably, very attractive. Truly Fate had smiled upon him to give him an opponent who could both act and look the part he was to play.

Then again, the Hyuuga deserved no better.

And if Hanabi really was taken by him then he could accept that. Not only would it add more dimensions to their game but Hiashi didn't have anyone else who matched up to the boy at the moment. For now, at least, he was the best suitor she could have. That could change, of course, but if she wanted to have her crush now then so be it. Either she would get over it by the time he found someone better of her, he would prove to be the best choice in the end, or she would be married to someone else anyway.

That's how it was for the daughter of the Hyuuga, she would expect no less.

Which meant, of course, she accepted the risk of the situation- if that's what it had been- and if she proceeded it would be on her own head.

Well, that was if she was really trying to send such messages to him, he supposed.

He had spent the evening starting his first game in many years and his mind was working overtime to analyze everything that happened tonight.

That said, it was possible he was seeing things that weren't there, subtle messages and signals that only existed because he believed them to.

Hanabi and Hinata weren't the players, but they were on the board and that counted for something, right?

Right?

Maybe he needed to take his remaining time in peaceful solitude to calm down-

But just a little.

Couldn't be letting his guard down around the boy, now, could he?

While he knew for a fact his face was exactly the same way it had been for the duration of the dinner- almost serenely unchanging, only faintly interested, and with the lightest of polite smiles- but he was also well aware that his eyes must have been dancing with victory.

From the moment he had returned to the dining room, trailed after by Hanabi, Hiashi's countenance of a polite host had slipped the barest amount and a frown that transitioned between thoughtful and displeased would ghost over his face for a fraction of a second every so often.

His eyes, despite attempts to keep his attention firmly on his guest, would look between him and his youngest daughter as if it would explain the change that had taken place during the young man's brief recess in the garden.

Naruto wasn't worried about the older man assuming he and his daughter had been behaving improperly- they were opponents, after all, and they were still starting the game- but it was obvious he suspected something had happened between the two of them.

He just couldn't figure out what.

Amused- not that it showed beyond mischievously pleased eyes- Naruto had decided not to volunteer any information to the man. If he wanted to know he could ask or, better yet, play the game in a way that brought it to light.

Of course, he could not remain both suspicious and the gracious host for the entire night if he ever wanted to get the game truly started.

"I admit, Naruto-San, I find myself pleasantly surprised." Started Hiashi "I knew you were an exceptional young man already, you'd have to be to stand up for my daughter and make the…connections…you have, but you have greatly exceeded my expectations."

"Thank you for such kind words, Hiashi-Sama" He inclined his upper body forward slightly. "You are most gracious to gift them upon me."

Still, his eyes practically sung with victory and Hiashi didn't for one moment believe in the boy's false humility.

"It is no burden upon me to speak the truth, Naruto-San. You deserve my praise and more not just because of your actions with my daughter but also because of what you've managed to accomplish since then."

"Surely you know graduating the academy is no arduous task, Hiashi-Sama. You yourself went through it at the beginning of your own career, did you not?" His blank face slipped enough for a small smirk to tug at his lips- it was beginning in earnest now.

"Of course, of course." The frown was brief and quickly replaced by a ghost of a smile on the face of the Hyuuga head. "But we both know you've been up to quite a bit more, haven't you?"

"Have I?" He feigned confusion only the barest amounts. "I'm afraid I couldn't possibly know what you are speaking of. Just a simple boy starting his Shinobi career. Terribly dull, really, for a man in your position."

"Oh, don't go selling yourself short now, Naruto-San." The smile was now fully displayed. It was small, yes, but it was plainly visible- a rare thing indeed. "You declared yourself against an entire clan and managed to come out unscathed, sparred against a Kunoichi that had been trained by one of Konoha's finest for years, and have found yourself running missions on occasion with Tokubetsu Jounin Mitarashi Anko. There are few people who can claim to be in her favor, you know, the fact that a Genin knows her personally alone is already incredible."

Hiashi wasn't particularly fond of the woman, but neither did he hold anything against her. She had a job she did and she did it damn well. She was eccentric- crazy- but most Shinobi and Kunoichi- regrettably- were. And while he spoke of knowing her, the most impressive thing was that he had survived her. She was a violent woman with a rather bad temper so either the young man at his table was very good at reading others and acting accordingly or he was very, very skilled ad dodging and hiding.

Then again, maybe he was good at both.

"Perhaps I am merely fortunate." Suggested the young Daimyo.

"Perhaps…" conceded Hiashi. It was small, too small for his liking, but they were both starting to stretch in preparation. They had viewed the water earlier, now they truly tested it.

Soon, hopefully, they could dive in.

But not today, unfortunately, this would be as close to the true game they would come this night. And so it was, the rest of the dinner passing calmly. It wasn't long until he was thanking his hosts and going on his way.

Only two of the four were happy with the results.

It was actually a bit concerning, because for the first time in many, many years he truly didn't know what to think.

Considering he was a Nara, one might understand why such an event was so strange to the man. It went against his very nature to be unable to simply analyze something- anything really- and come to a conclusion about it. In this case, however, he was at a complete loss.

Moves were being made around Konoha- nay, the land of fire, at the very least- but to what end? Who were the players, what was the game, and who would be caught in the middle?

Tsume and Inoichi had been talking loud enough for him to overhear it all and he was smart enough to understand everything they had said well enough to know Tsume had chosen a side and Inoichi wanted her help to do the same.

Of course, he also knew that neither was a player in the game. Not truly, anyway.

That could be attributed to the fact that the game he spoke of, the real game, was the one that spanned the entire world. They played their own games, yes, but they couldn't really be considered players at this point-

Only pieces with more freedom than others.

But if that was the case, who was the player they were allying themselves with, or were they too not even the player but rather a higher ranking piece?

There wasn't enough information and he had not participated- as piece, player, or otherwise- in quite some time. It would be easy for him to join in and he could do very well.

But should he?

Was it worth it, whatever prize was currently held for this game being played so close to his home? It was a small game still, things were neither too calm nor to hectic for it to be too large at this point, but it would undoubtedly grow until the victor joined as a true player of the game- unless they already had.

And if it was a player who just so happened to be working in Konoha for whatever reason now did hew really feel up to the challenge it would be to start at the beginning as a mere clan head?

Shikaku didn't like this, not at all.

"Tch, troublesome."

If there was a state beyond complete boredom Kato Shizune was there.

Or, rather, had been there.

For a very, very long time.

Never before would she ever have dreamed of missing being dragged around fire country and babysitting one of Konoha's Sanin. But, if nothing else, at least she was doing something then.

That's not to say she didn't do anything here in Konoha over the past four years, but she hardly called working part time in the hospital exciting. Useful, yes, she had helped plenty, but she had done the same when on the road.

And those who didn't have regular access to highly trained medical personnel were also a damn more appreciative of what she did for them, especially when she usually couldn't bring herself to change them for her services.

The people here, both Shinobi and civilian, were just a bunch of entitled assholes.

But that really wasn't the problem, was it?

No, the problem was that she was beyond bored and had no ideas on how to change that.

She still lacked friends for the most part, filling up what time she wasn't looking after her master with hospital shifts, but even those few she had met didn't tend to do much. One might think that as a Shinobi village there was plenty to do, but it really just meant there were plenty of bars and that you could pick up two-packs of Kunai in any convenience store.

Shinobi, it would seem, were a rather boring bunch when not on missions and not much was provided to help change that.

No wonder so many of them were crazy, there was nothing else to do!

She had tried her hand at writing but wasn't too fond of it, reading but was too restless, and she had even tried to follow her master's footsteps and get completely wasted –

And she was still bored!

There was nothing, she had decided, to do in Konoha.

Or, if there was, it was hiding very well from her.

Not for the first time she wished she knew of a gambling den here in Konoha. At least that was something to do and she was a great deal better than her master. And even if that wasn't too entertaining, she could at least busy herself shopping with her winnings.

The thought of money led her to the boy she had seen all those years ago picking pockets. They ran into each other every now and again and were on pretty good terms if she said so herself, but they weren't really friends.

Maybe she could find him one of these days, that could help. He might know of any less than legal local gambling dens she could sneak away to for an hour or so and he might even know what people did around here for fun. She might be able to offer him some training if he wasn't too busy with whatever team he was placed on and if it came down to it she knew just how successful he was in his first profession- not that being a Shinobi was too different, it just had additional facets- and may even be able to convince him to give her a loan.

A shopping spree really did sound pretty good right now, after all.

Something was wrong. Very, very, very wrong.

Her father had started taking more responsibility from her shoulders as she started her career as a Genin but he had recently started backing off more and more. Beyond that, he seemed to spend as much time as he could around both she and her mother. Previously he had been very good about giving them attention but now he was almost smothering them.

This wasn't her father- something had happened.

Or something was about to happen.

It was almost as if he didn't expect to be around for much longer and was trying to make the most of his remaining time.

And that scared her.

Not just because she would lose her father or because her mother would lose her husband, but because there was only one group she could think of that would elicit such a response form the man.

The House of Wolves.

What had he done?

It didn't take too much work- not with the access and resources she had within the clan as acting head, even if Kushina outranked her- to discover the disappearance of three clan members. One returned.

By the time she went to confront him about the disappearance he was gone.

And so was a sizable chunk of their limited funds.

Kushina made sure the clan needs were met, but anything extra was hard to come by. Simple theft seemed obvious, but Yamanaka Ino wasn't going to believe that for a second.

Between the way her father was acting, the two missing Shinobi and the fact that the third had returned only to vanish again she knew something had happened or, better yet, that something had failed.

Something against the Wolves.

Internally she cursed.

She thought her father of all people would know better but it would seem recent events had gotten to him and begun taking their toll. She didn't know what he had decided was a good idea or how it had backfired enough that the only remnant of it vanished with enough money to set up a new life but she did know that in some way it was going to affect her clan.

Once again, the jaws of the Wolves were posed over their throats.

And she didn't even know why.

Unlike Ame, which was forever cursed with hot air from Hi no Kuni, Nami no Kuni was blessed by colder sea breezes that kept humidity down and made for an all-around more pleasant experience.

It also served to taunt her with all of Ame's flaws when that was her next destination, almost as if it was trying to convince her to stay in the land of the Wolves- something she'd be all too happy to do if it didn't mean sacrificing inside knowledge of an S-class organization that may at one point pose a threat to Naruto and the Wolves.

Still, if nothing else, it was a nice reprieve before she had to return to the land of rain.

Getting there had been easy enough as a Kunoichi, though she and Naruto had at one point discussed giving her the carriage to ensure it returned safely to Nami no Kuni. The idea was scrapped, both because she needed to get back to the land of rain and because his trip wasn't over yet, but Mikoto wasn't sure if she preferred it that way or not.

On one hand the journey would have taken forever and, from what Naruto had told her, was absolutely maddening in its boredom.

On the other she'd get to spend that much more time away from Ame.

Had she mentioned how little she liked Ame yet?

Her hatred for the tiny, historically war-torn country aside, Wave was much more pleasant and she had thus far had very little trouble in her journey here. Trice had she seen Wolves and thrice had they not even made a move to approach her or impede her travel. She had to wonder when it was word of her had been sent back to their territory, because her welcoming hadn't been nearly this warm- warm in the impassive, we hold nothing against you but you still aren't important enough for us to make any sort of effort toward you sense- when she approached Naruto's carriage week prior.

Not willing to look a gift horse in the mouth, however, she merely carried on. The town itself surprised her somewhat, as it would not be long until she needed to start calling it a city, but other than that nothing really stood out.

Well, other than the scaffolding that was rising prominently above the treetops in the distance. She hadn't heard anything about that, but then again she really didn't hear anything about Naruto's operations.

That could be attributed both to the fact she never really asked and that it was a bad idea to send such information to a spy. The point was to have intel coming from them to give you some sort of advantage, that was rather soundly negated if the flow went both ways.

Of course, as had been said, she really hadn't asked either. She was far more interested in Naruto and his well-being than whatever things he was having his Wolves do. She recognized the importance of the Wolves, naturally, but only because they were important to him.

That is, after all, why she had agreed to deliver this letter for him. She couldn't, however, help but think there was more to his request than he had let on. Was it really because she was there and wouldn't be accompanying him into Konoha that he had asked her, or did he need her to be in Nami no Kuni for some other reason?

The first thought to come to mind was that he wanted the Wolves to become accustomed to her and her relation to him, their leader. That could also be said as 'he wanted to introduce her to the Wolves'.

Then again, she knew how important these Wolves were to him- practically his children- so perhaps it was more along the lines of him wanting to introduce the Wolves to her.

Both accomplished the same, though the meaning behind them differed.

Still, that really wasn't the point. She had a letter to deliver on his request and so that's what she needed to do. She could puzzle out his reasons later or, better yet, simply ask him in her next letter.

With any luck, he may choose to give her an answer.

With that in mind, it wasn't all that hard to find the Wolves. Not only did they come and go freely from the forest but every civilian there was more than capable of pointing her in the right direction. The Wolves likely would too, but she didn't bother asking any of them.

It was In a rather open clearing that the mansion of the late Gato could be found and despite being fortified it struck her as odd that they had claimed this place to serve as their seat of power, even temporarily.

The entire thing just screamed 'target' to her.

Of course, there weren't all that many other options for them, were there? Even now they focused more on building up the civilian parts of the town and finding ways to make trade easier to perform for their country with more warehouses and docks. Perhaps they simply lacked the necessary funds at the moment and had decided to focus on the aspects that would draw in more resources to allow them to do what they needed to-

Namely building a hideout that could properly keep them safe.

Or at least make an obvious residence more suited for her Naruto. This place was nice, admittedly, even from the outside, but Naruto was a Daimyo now and that meant he needed something a bit more spectacular.

In her opinion, at least.

And we all know her opinion mattered the most when it came to this.

She was let into the manner without issue and quickly shown to the temporary office of one Commander Sai by a woman- Tsunami- who reminded her very much of herself. It was actually a bit disconcerting, though she had to wonder if her ass looked anywhere as good as the civilian mother's.

It should, she was a Kunoichi, after all, her body was in the best possible shape-

But was it?

Concerns about the appearance of her rear aside, the woman was quiet and polite but, even better, wasted no time in getting her to where she needed to be without question.

Occasionally she'd mention something about the surroundings- details on a certain piece of the late Gato's artwork or where a pair of Wolves were caught doing something stupid (which happened more than she would have thought, apparently)- but the double doors of one of the- relatively- smaller rooms soon met them and with a nock Tsunami proceeded to open the door, not even awaiting a response.

Mikoto wasn't certain if that was a mistake, proper procedure here, something between the woman and whoever this Commander was, due to Tsunami's own relation to Naruto, or even because of her.

What she was certain of was that Tsunami wasn't bothered in the slightest about doing it and walking off, leaving her to enter he Commanders office alone.

Once again, she found herself rather surprised, though she honestly shouldn't have been. The Commander, Sai, was within two years of Naruto's own age- still far younger than anyone would expect one who held such a position to be.

"Ah, Mother Crow," She didn't really like the name she had chosen on the spot when going to visit Naruto – mainly because it reminded her that she was indeed the mother of the crow when that hadn't been her intention with it. The mother part? Yes. Mother of Itachi? No. – still, if it got her in to complete the task begged of her by Naruto she'd deal with it- for now. "Some of the patrols reported your imminent arrival. What can I do for you?"

"Naruto-Kun asked me to deliver a letter when we parted ways." She proceeded to hand over said letter before resting her weight on one hip and crossing her arms. She'd wait to see if it had anything to do with her before going but if it didn't she needed to get to Ame before she got to comfortable here and it became impossible to tear herself away.

Raising a single brow, Sai was quick to open it, scanning over the words with a snort before tossing it onto his desk. At Mikoto's inquiring look he shared.

"He wants me to limit the guard I send after him." He explained. "He says that I'm not to send a single operative above two full guards but he'd prefer it be further limited to a single guard."

"And how many would you assign him?"

"If I had my way or if the Wolves had their way?" Asked Sai.

"What's the difference?"

"If I had my way he'd have ten full guards, a High-Captain for every five and a full guard for both High-Captains."

She didn't think that sounded too bad actually. At least he would be safe.

"If the Wolves had there was, however," he continued. "We wouldn't be able to call it a guard, he'd simply be surrounded by his entire force at all times."

Admittedly, she liked that even more, but she was able to realize how impractical it was. Still, having her new son guarded by an entire army? It would have been a comforting thought.

"Sounds reasonable." She commented. Sai didn't initially say anything to that but his lips twitched into a small smile and she could see the amusement in his eyes, which said enough. Still, his voice eventually picked up after a moment of thought.

"Let there never be any doubt, Mother Crow," he said. "That you are one of us."

It certainly didn't sound at all like an insult so with a grateful nod she accepted it as a compliment. Of what sort she wasn't quite sure. Perhaps she should have learned more about the forces of her son.

Silence stretched out for a few uncomfortable moments before she spoke up inquiring about any additional content that may have been featured within the letter.

"Anything else in it?"

He raised a brow.

"Maybe, why?"

"Anything that has to do with me? I want to make sure he didn't have anything in there for me before I head back to Ame."

Sai nodded in understanding.

"Ah, yes, of course, I understand. Depending on how much you want to get back to Ame this could be either good or bad news but he's made no mention of you within the letter. This may have been because he didn't initially plan on having you bring it or because you have other things to attend to but I wouldn't be able to say either way."

"Then I suppose my business here is done. Is there somewhere I could obtain provisions before I leave?"

"I don't know exactly what your relation to Tsukiyomi-Sama is but he seems to accept you." That really didn't answer her question at all- "Our storerooms and armory are open to you."

Ah, much better.

Though, she did find it odd that he would refer to her son by that name when it was obvious she already knew his true identity. A safety measure, perhaps, but from what? They were all Wolves- and she guessed Tsunami- so why would that be a problem?

"Thank you," Still, he was giving her unrestricted access to their own supplies, so at least she could show some gratitude. Naruto would likely kick the boy's ass if he didn't, but it was still appreciated that he had done so without her threatening him with her son. "I'll seek out Tsunami again to guide me there."

He gave a nod of confirmation at her intentions and turned back to the papers on his desk. Before he could even resume writing footsteps sounded down the hall as a young woman in her late teens entered the room without so much as a knock.

"You really should keep the doors closed, Sai, the head of security's been having fits that we'd willingly leave ourselves with one less barrier for any assailants or spies to get through." The girl hadn't looked up from whatever folders she was holding and instead walked blindly across the room to the Commander's desk as if she had done so a million times. "Anyway, did you take a look at those folders I sent you? I really need your opinion and, better yet, your approval on- oh?"

Having finally looked up she spotted the guest that had been just about to leave.

"Ah, I'm sorry, who's this?"

It would appear that this was the reason Sai refrained from mentioning Naruto's name.

And an Inuzuka?

She really needed to sit down and talk with her newest son about all the things he'd been up to lately.

I look forward to seeing you all next week.