A/N: My apologies for the long absence, these past few months have been a rough ride for me, as such I kept falling into a mix of a lazy slump and writer's block. I am trying my best to overcome it and am working on other projects, including Empathy, Masters and Chains, and T&I Uzumaki. Thank you all so much for your continued support and all the amazing reviews you leave me.
Big thanks to Midnight Lost, my friend, soundboard for fic ideas, and for BETAing thing chapter for me. Please check out his fics sometime.
Reviews and feedback are always appreciated.
Chapter One: Pilot.
In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi was looking at two sets of paperwork. One involved the recent failure of Naruto Uzumaki in the Academy, when the boy failed to perform the Clone Jutsu… but wasn't ever offered a more advanced variant to attempt in order to pass.
The Academy was meant to accommodate students with certain limitations, such as Rock Lee and Maito Gai's inability to use Chakra in the same capacity as most people. In Naruto's case, the boy's Chakra was so strong that it could overload most if not all basic Jutsu. Hiruzen strongly suspected that the teacher's were giving preferential and/or biased treatment of certain students, and poor Naruto was the unlucky one to have the deck stacked against him.
Fortunately for young Naruto, the Hokage planned to give him a chance to prove himself soon. The second piece of paperwork was a report of something significantly more sinister. It seemed that a human trafficking ring was planning to bring their 'merchandise' into Konoha, more specifically Konoha's Red Light District where the 'merchandise' in question would be used and exploited
From what Hiruzen could find out, it seemed that this ring bounced around from village to village in order to stay active and avoid arrest. Tricky little devils. But he wouldn't let them get away without a fight. He just needed to get someone close enough to find the evidence needed to put the bastards away for life, and he had just the person in mind for the job. Someone that knew the Red Light District backwards and forwards, someone that wouldn't stand out in such a place, someone who knew the people there and how things worked there and be able to pick out any unfamiliar faces.
The Sandaime's musing was cut short when a knock came from his office door. "Yes. Come in." The aging Hokage called out, prompting the door to open revealing the form of one Naruto Uzumaki who seemed to be a little downcast, undoubtedly still feeling disappointed by his earlier failure for the graduation exam.
"Ohayo Jiji. You wanted to see me?" The blonde asked in a dull tone, his hands stuffed inside his pockets. The Sandaime gave a patient smile and gestured for the boy to take a seat, prompting the blonde to plant himself in a chair resting in front of the Hokage's desk.
Hiruzen took a quick drag from his pipe and spoke "Graduation didn't go so well, eh? Failed because of the Clone Jutsu, is that correct?" The blonde frowned even deeper, though it sounded like the Sandaime's questions were more akin to statements.
The Uzumaki crossed his arms and grumbled "Yeah. It wasn't my fault though. I tried and I tried to practice, but no matter how much or how little Chakra I use… the damn clones keep coming out wrong." At the boy's words, Hiruzen gave a nod of understanding since he had already anticipated such a response.
"I see. I guessed as much. Which brings us to why I summoned you… how would you like to take a mission to earn your Headband?" The Hokage asked, his question prompting the whiskered boy's face to almost instantly light up.
"Seriously? A mission? You're not pulling my leg right? I'll do anything if it means earning a headband and becoming a Shinobi!" Naruto half-shouted as he leapt to his feet, earning an amused grin from the Hokage which then melted into a stone-faced mask of seriousness which made the blonde gulp a little.
"I am pleased by your enthusiasm, but first, you need to know the mission parameters. Your mission, should you choose to accept, will be to investigate the presence of a human trafficking ring that has decided to pay Konoha a visit. Bring me evidence of said ring, and I'll take care of the rest. I advise being on the lookout for anyone you don't recognize or is behaving in an unusually suspicious manner.
If you succeed, you'll not only be given a handsome monetary reward, but you'll be given your own Shinobi Headband and will be personally tutored by a trusted Jonin. Any questions?" When Hiruzen had finished speaking, the Uzumaki squared his shoulders as he stood tall and straight, and then gave a quick salute.
"No questions. I'll get right on it." The blonde replied before taking off as fast as his legs could carry him. Hiruzen leaned back in his seat and quietly mused to himself. Sure he could have given this mission to a more experienced Shinobi… but Naruto lived in and knew the Red Light District better than anyone. Perhaps more importantly, if Naruto was even a fraction of the Ninja his parents were… then he wouldn't be able to develop properly in a damned classroom. What Naruto really needed was to be challenged and tested.
"Neko, follow young Naruto. Keep him safe, but don't intervene unless absolutely necessary." The Hokage spoke towards a shadow that was hidden in the corner of his office. A certain purple haired figure nodded and then vanished in a swirl of leaves to carry out her duties.
With Naruto.
In the middle of the Red Light District, atop a secluded rooftop, Naruto watched from the shadows as he observed the various people going about their business. Plenty of Johns looking for a prostitute to get their rocks off, plenty of prostitutes looking for Johns to take money from.
Pretty much an average day in the Red Light District. Kind of place where people go for discretion and where people know better than to ask questions. Regular visitors were pretty easy to recognize, tourists would also come by on occasion. Mainly traveling merchants who were looking for 'company'.
The blonde hummed quietly as he took mental notes of everyone he could see, being sure to keep a close eye out for anyone unfamiliar which would probably be his best lead… but then again, perhaps his thinking was backwards. First thing one should know about Prostitutes, is that they practically show themselves off and flaunt their assets to attract potential customers. These traffickers though, they'd have to be much more subtle, they'd have to have another means of finding clients, and more importantly, they'd need a place to hide the girls to do Kami knows what to them.
He shouldn't just be looking for strangers, he should be on the lookout for places they could hide the girls. There were in fact, a number of different buildings that were left abandoned; if the people being trafficked were to be hidden anywhere, there was a strong likelihood they'd be in such a place. With that in mind, the Uzumaki began leaping from rooftop to rooftop, taking great care to observe for anything suspicious.
So far, nothing really seemed out of the ordinary… then the blonde noticed something odd from an old building that he knew with certainty was abandoned… could it really be this easy? The place was flickering with lights as far as he could tell. The building in question used to be some kind of a club back when the village first opened, he believed it was called a Cabaret club, though he couldn't remember why it closed, not that it really mattered.
Chances were that some squatters or homeless people were trying to find a place to sleep for the night undisturbed, but it was always best to be thorough. Deciding to take a closer look, the blonde approached said building and began to take a peek through one of the windows to see the source of light… it was then he saw a man walking around as if on patrol with a katana in one hand and a flashlight in the other, and the guy definitely wasn't a vagrant given his neat and expensive looking clothes, looked more like a triad type… Definitely suspicious.
"Now, what could you be guarding in there, stranger?" The Uzumaki whispered to himself and decided to slip inside and take a look, his instincts telling him that he may have hit paydirt. As soon as the guard turned the corner, the blonde quickly jimmied the window lock open thanks to his special set of lockpicks and let himself inside and quietly thanked his buddy Anko for the birthday present.
He quickly but quietly made his way down the hall, his ears perked up for any signs of noises such as footsteps or voices but heard nothing. He ventured a little deeper and took a right where he found himself in what appeared to be a private booth that was overlooking a stage and in front of the stage was a large dining area with numbers booths and seats that appeared to be rotting from lack of care… But amidst said dining area there were many medical gurney's spread about the place, each one having a female figure that were cuffed to their respective gurneys.
The girls could be heard moaning and groaning softly, most likely being drugged half out of their minds so that they couldn't fight back. Naruto's first instinct was to leap down there and start picking the locks on their cuffs, but in his head, he knew that if he started freeing them and their captors took notice, then it could land the girls in a worse situation, or perhaps even worse than that, their captors would pack them all up and take them away before they could be arrested. As much as he hated it, Naruto knew he had to be smart about this.
It would be best to slip out unnoticed and alert the Hokage about this, who could then scramble the Anbu and get these girls out safely. Before the blonde could depart, he noticed a pair of men enter the area who began surveying the girls, probably doing a headcount to make sure everyone was still there, hadn't tried to escape, and make sure they're all drugged properly.
"Jeez. Look at all these damn hot babes! Where the fuck does the boss find all these chicks?" One of the guards spoke to his partner, from his reaction he was probably a new hire, hadn't gotten a good look at all these women yet.
"Hell if I know. Remember newbie, you can look, but no touching. Least not until AFTER the clients had their turn. A lot of these chicks are virgins, so the clients will pray premium to get first crack at popping their cherries. They should be here tomorrow night. Till then, keep your dick in your pants." The other guard spoke, showing that he'd been around a lot longer.
The newer one gave a disappointed groan but then replied "Yeah, I can wait. Be better that way when I start railing these bitches." At their words, Naruto bristled angrily at how they basically objectified these poor women, almost as if they were cattle or toys to be used and abused. These assholes won't be so cocky when they're in prison where they'll be gelded by Anko.
At the very least, he had time to report to the Sandaime… he then felt a presence nearby and slowly turned, where he found the form of the Anbu Neko sitting near him. "The old man sent you to shadow me huh?" Naruto asked in a whisper, earning a quick nod from the Anbu who had taken the liberty of following her charge inside to ensure his safety… and apparently he was met with wild success in his search since he had found the traffickers in what could only be described as record time.
"Hai. Good work Naruto-kun. You start freeing the girls, I'll handle the guards. Once they're all taken care of, I'll call the Sandaime and report in. He will handle everything else." Neko whispered back and unsheathed her katana which seemed to hold a sinister gleam now as she vanished into the shadows, obviously planning on slitting a few throats. The blonde waited quietly for a few moments and then heard a pair of wet splattering sounds, followed by the soft thumps of what he believed to be bodies hitting the floor. Seemed like she had already claimed her first two victims.
The blonde then leapt down from his hiding spot and approached the nearest gurney in reach as he pulled out his lockpicks. His buddy Anko had repeatedly told him that lockpicking would be a very valuable skill as a Shinobi… he was certainly glad he had listened to her. He could always count on her for good advice.
He looked down at the girl in front of him who appeared to be pale skinned with distinctive snowy white hair. He tried his best not to look further down and stare at her naked body as he began working on the handcuff attached to her wrist. It seemed like these traffickers didn't want to use heavy restraints to avoid injuring the girls, furthermore the girls appeared to be clean and well-fed showing that they wanted to keep them healthy too. The biggest hurdle the girls would likely have to overcome would be any mental trauma they may have sustained and flushing the drugs out of their system.
"Wish I had practiced more on handcuffs." Naruto muttered to himself as he fiddled around with the inner workings of the cuffs which seemed to stir the girl from her drug induced slumber. Her eyes fluttered open revealing a set of blue eyes that stared up at the whiskered boy, the blonde felt her gaze on him and looked back at her with a comforting smile.
"Hey pretty lady. You stay quiet now. I'll get you out of here as quickly as I can." He spoke softly to her, trying to keep her calm and quiet in case Neko wasn't finished with any remaining guards yet. The white haired girl burbled something, her face turning a little green which was followed by something that sounded like 'I don't feel so good'.
"Don't you worry, we'll get you to a doctor soon to get ya fixed up. What's your name? I'm Naruto Uzumaki." He whispered, trying his best to keep the girl calm, which seemed to work a bit as the girl swallowed hard, her eyes refocusing a bit as she replied "Lisanna… my name is Lisanna… where… where is my sister? Where's Mira?"
At her question, the blonde looked around a little bit and saw another girl across the way with the same snowy white hair as Lisanna, who the Uzumaki guess was her sister. "I think I see her, just over there. I promise, you, your sister, and all the other girls are gonna be fine. I'll see to it you're all taken care of. Just hold on for a bit longer." He spoke soothingly, earning a nod from Lisanna as she seemed to fall back into a drug induced slumber, although her face appeared to be much more serene and peaceful now.
From the looks of these girls, they wouldn't be going anywhere for a while, but it would probably make things easier for the soon-to-arrive medics if these cuffs were off, although Naruto wished he could replicate himself. It would make things go significantly faster. With a click, Lisanna's cuff came off, now it was time to move on to the next girl.
Before he could start, Neko had returned, her blade covered in blood that she was currently wiping off to clean her katana. "The guards are all taken care of. The Yamanaka's can memory scan their brains for information. I've also alerted the Hokage, he'll be here with help shortly." The purple haired Anbu announced. As expected of an Anbu Captain, she worked fast and efficiently.
Naruto nodded as he and Neko worked together to remove the cuffs off the captive girls as they waited. A short while later, the Sandaime arrived with more Anbu to quarantine the area along with medical staff and one Inoichi Yamanaka.
The Yamanaka clan head was assigned to examine the bodies of the dead men to see if he could find any useful information. The medical staff then began gathering up the girls so that they may be taken to the hospital for more thorough examinations and care while the Sandaime supervised everything to make sure things were running smoothly.
"Good work Naruto-kun. You have done a great job in finding these poor girls. You have definitely earned your Shinobi Headband." The Sandaime spoke with a smile and then offered a Konoha Headband to the boy who smiled gratefully as he accepted it and tied it to his forehead… he could scarcely believe that he was a ninja now… but his excitement was curtailed by his concern for the girls as he cast a glance in their direction.
"Will they be okay?" Naruto asked in a concerned voice, his question prompting the Sandaime to start stroking his beard thoughtfully before sighing and answering in a somber tone "Difficult to say. It depends on a number of factors. We'll know more later, but at the very least they're safe now."
The Uzumaki slowly nodded in understanding as he watched the poor women get rounded up. Hopefully they would know more once they regained consciousness. They then saw the form of Inoichi reporting, and judging from the look of mild frustration in his face, it would seem that he wasn't bringing good news. "Hokage-sama. I scanned the brains of the deceased men and I am sorry to report that they had no relevant information in regards to the structure of the trafficking ring or their boss. They were instructed via a dead-drop to come here and guard the women until the clients came to deliver their payments and have their 'fun' with the girls."
Damn. Seems like this wouldn't be the end of this, at the very least these girls were safe, so that was a positive. "Any chance the girls might know something?" Hiruzen questioned since they may have a clue about their captors.
"Once they're all awake and lucid, I'll ask them." Inoichi promised as he made a quick note to question the girls later on. For now though, priority one was getting them to a more secure location and giving them proper treatment.
One by one, the women were freed from their restraints and wheeled away on their respective gurneys in order to be processed and delivered to the local hospital. "Naruto-kun, I think it best that you go home for tonight. If you wish, you can check on everything tomorrow morning at the hospital, I'll see you there." Hiruzen suggested since there was little else the boy could do at this time, earning a reluctant nod from the Uzumaki as he departed with his hands in his pockets.
The next morning. Konoha Hospital.
Naruto yawned as he approached the hospital while rubbing his eyes a bit, he had spent a restless night at home tossing and turning in his bed. He couldn't get that Lisanna girls face out of his head, nor could he forget that look in her eyes or her pleas for her sister. He hoped that they were all okay. Well… he was about to find that out.
He came up to the reception desk where a nurse seemed to be going through some paperwork of some kind, the Uzumaki asked in a polite tone "Excuse me? Do you know where I can find a group of female patients that were brought it last night?"
The nurse's eyes flicked up towards him, a glimmer of recognition in her eyes as she had immediately noticed who he was… if she wanted to say anything nasty to him, she seemed to swallow it back upon noticing that he was wearing a Shinobi Headband. Without saying a word, she grabbed a sticky note and scribbled something on it before handing it over to the whiskered boy, the note showing a room number. "Thanks." Naruto replied before heading off to find the appropriate room, shouldn't be too hard if he followed the appropriate signs.
Naruto took notice of a hospital map mounted on the wall and gave it quick look-over for directions before nodding to himself and continuing on his way. After a few turns and a flight of stairs, he arrived at a set of double-doors that were marked with the same room number as the note. He opened the doors and found himself in a large room where he could see the formerly captive women huddled around in various areas.
Some were reading books, playing card or board games, or were watching television. Seemed like a good sign as far as he could tell. They all turned and took notice of him, and then a woman with distinctive caramel colored skin, blue markings on her cheeks and blonde hair approached him and asked in a stoic yet polite voice "Can we help you? Are you lost?"
The whiskered Uzumaki rubbed the back of his head and replied "Sorry if I'm disturbing you ladies. I came by to check on all of you. Seems like you all bounced back pretty quickly." At his words, a girl with short white hair approached that he immediately recognized as Lisanna.
Lisanna stared at him for a few moments and then her face lit up in joy as she shouted "I remember you! You're Naruto-kun! Everyone! This is the guy that saved us!" At that, the others quickly jumped up from their seats and began expressing their appreciation. Some gave verbal thanks, others offered promises of repayment, and some bowed in gratitude to the blonde.
Before he could get a word in, some of the women grabbed him by his arms and dragged him over to a nearby couch where they planted him as the women all gathered around then started bombarding him with questions. A few questions he was able to pick out involved how he had found them, or how old he was, and a few commented that his parents must have been proud of what he did. That last one made the blonde smirk a little, whoever his parents were, he was certain that they would indeed be proud of his accomplishment.
"Please ladies, calm down. I can't understand you when you're all talking over each other." He spoke, trying to quiet the ladies down which seemed to work as they settled down into a respectable silence that allowed the Jinchuuriki to finally speak without interruption.
"To answer some of the questions I heard, the Sandaime Hokage asked me to search for anything suspicious since I live in and am very familiar with the Red Light District. I saw lights in the building you were being held in, which seemed odd to me so I went to check it out and got kinda lucky. I'm currently thirteen and… well… I hope my parents are proud of me wherever or whoever they may be." He answered the last part while scratching his cheek with a lone finger.
"You mean to say that you're an orphan?" Asked a young woman with blood red hair, earning a nod from the Uzumaki.
"Yeah. I pretty much grew up taking care of myself. But enough about me, I came here for you girls. Are you all okay?" He asked out of concern and curiosity, however from what he could tell, everyone seemed to be okay.
"Ah. We're fine. Our captors didn't violate us, though they would often speak of the things they'd do to us when the clients were done. Disgusting swine." Spoke a woman with brown skin, silky long black hair and elf ears.
"It was still scary. They kept pumping us full of these drugs… it's all kind of a blur from there." Spoke another girl… that had a set of bunny ears atop her head with an accent that Naruto didn't recognize but he liked the sound of her voice.
"Erm… excuse me? Ms? I don't know if this is a weird request… but can I touch your bunny ears?" Naruto requested as he felt a powerful urge to start petting the brunette girl's rabbit ears.
The bunny girl paused for a moment then smiled sweetly as she approached and tilted her head, putting her ears within the Uzumaki's reach as she replied "Sure thing luv. Just be gentle."
"Lemme know if I'm being too rough." Naruto spoke and then began to gently rub the girl's bunny ears with his fingertips, the girl seemed to tense up, but then she quickly relaxed and seemed to shudder in pleasure as the blonde rubbed her velvety soft ears. "Wow… they're so soft and fluffy." Naruto commended earning a giggle from the bunny girl.
"Enjoy all you like luv. My name's Velvet! Nice to meet you." The now identified Velvet spoke, enjoying the blonde's tender ministrations.
The other women started to giggle amongst themselves commenting about how sweet and gentlemanly their savior was. "So… where did you all come from? I've never been outside Konoha so I'd kinda like to hear about your homes." Naruto asked out of innocent curiosity, his question prompting the women to start exchanging some looks.
"To be perfectly honest, we can't remember much about where we came from or how we got to where we are… were… I suppose. We aren't sure if it is a result of the drugs we were given or not. Your Hokage promised he would try to locate our friends and family so we could go home." Spoke a woman with dark chocolate colored skin and purple hair.
"I see. I hope you all find a way home soon." Naruto replied as he released Velvet's ears… mostly because she seemed almost ready to melt into a puddle of goo at any moment. At this moment, the Sandaime arrived with his hands clasped behind his back and a small smile on his face.
"Ohayo Naruto-kun. I see you're getting familiar with the lovely ladies." The Hokage spoke in a teasing voice, earning a small blush from the Uzumaki who was now waving off Hiruzen's little joke.
"Well ladies, my people are now hard at work. With any luck, you can be sent home in due time. Until then, you're all free to stay in Konoha as our guests, or if you wish, you may take permanent residence. The choice is yours." The Sandaime spoke, earning nods of appreciation from the various ladies as Naruto approached with a grin.
"I almost forgot… thanks for giving me a chance to prove myself and for giving me this headband." Naruto spoke as he pointed towards the aforementioned Headband, which was now proof of his status as a Shinobi.
Hiruzen chuckled and replied "You earned it. Thanks to your quick work and good instincts, you saved these ladies from a hellish fate. Now then, there is something else I wish to discuss, as a small gift from me to you, I wish to teach you the Shadow Clone Jutsu."
At the mentioning of the word 'Clone' Naruto's shoulders slumped a bit as he spoke "Clone Jutsu? I can't pull off the damned Clone Jutsu if my life depended on it."
"No, no Naruto-kun. This isn't the Academy taught Clone Jutsu. This is the Shadow Clone Jutsu." Hiruzen gently corrected which earned a puzzled expression from the boy.
"I don't get it. What's the difference?" The Uzumaki questioned, clearly not having been taught that there are different iterations of the Clone jutsu. Hiruzen suspected that the boy had a certain pair of Chunin 'teachers' to thank for that.
"Well Naruto-kun, the Academy taught Clone Jutsu that you're familiar with is a pretty basic technique that allows the user to create illusionary duplicates to confuse the enemy. However there are numerous and more advanced forms of the technique. The one I'm about to teach you is the Shadow Clone Jutsu, a much more useful variant which can produce solid replicas that can assist you." The Sandaime explained, which caused stars to twinkle in Naruto's eyes.
The Hokage then showed the boy the necessary hand-sign for the Jutsu and instructed him to give it a try. Naruto nodded as he made the needed hand-sign and muttered "Shadow Clone Jutsu." And then in an instant and in several puffs of smoke approximately twenty duplicates of himself appeared behind him. The ladies quickly applauded him for his accomplishment, clearly impressed by the demonstration as Naruto blushed a bit then took a quick bow.
Hiruzen was smiling as he thought to himself 'Huh. He got it on the first try. Quite impressive. When I was first taught the technique, it took me a few tries and a lot of Food Pills before I finally got it right. Given the right Sensei, Naruto-kun will certainly become a splendid Shinobi.'
"Wow. That was shockingly easy." Naruto noted as he dispelled the current set of clones, then cast the jutsu again causing a new set of clones with ease, almost as if he had already performed the technique a million times.
"There's another difference that separates the Shadow Clone jutsu from the basic Clone Jutsu… Chakra consumption. The former technique eats up a LOT of Chakra, so much so that the average Shinobi can only make three or four at a time. Any more than that and they run the risk of death via Chakra Exhaustion. As such, the jutsu is broadly considered exceptionally dangerous and has even been classified as a Forbidden Jutsu." Hiruzen noted, causing the blonde to adopt a thinking pose.
"That so? But I don't even feel winded… damn… I must have a crap-ton of Chakra then." Naruto mused, earning a slight nod from the Sandaime.
"Indeed. Having such a large amount of Chakra comes with certain advantages such as being able to use High Ranking Jutsu with little to no fatigue. Remember though, while it is good to have a variety of Jutsu to use, it's a much more worthy investment to take the time to master said Jutsu. After all, there's not much use in having a technique if you don't know how to use it to its full potential." Hiruzen spoke in a sage-like manner, earning a nod of understanding from the Uzumaki.
"Investment… investment…" Muttered one of the girls in the background earning the attention of everyone as they turned towards a young girl with black hair and milky eyes that suggested that she was blind. As if sensing that all eyes were locked on her, the girl spoke up "Sorry. What you said about an 'investment' struck a familiar chord in my memory. I just remembered that while we were doped up and being shipped, some of the guys holding us prisoner said that we were an investment. That their boss spent a lot of time and resources gathering us up."
"I remember hearing something similar." Another woman spoke up and they all began agreeing amongst themselves that they could recall hearing those words.
"An investment huh? I wonder… you think that means this 'boss' might try and kidnap you again? If that's the case, it might be safer for you ladies to stay here in Konoha." Naruto suggested earning some murmurs of agreement from the ladies since there would be little point in returning home only to be snatched up again.
"Naruto-kun brings up a valid point, we should probably stay here where we'll be safer." Spoke an adult woman with black hair and a pair of cat ears atop her head.
Another woman with crimson eyes and black hair let out a small 'hmph' and spoke "I don't like the idea of waiting around, however, if the people who kidnapped us come for us again, we'll be ready for them. It would be best if we all stuck together as closely as possible so that we may watch each other's backs. Strength in numbers as they say."
The women all voiced their agreements prompting Hiruzen to turn towards Naruto and ask "Naruto-kun, would you be willing to supervise these lovely ladies during their stay?"
The whiskered boy turned towards the aging Hokage and asked "I'd be honored to, but why me?"
"You already rescued them from captivity and enslavement, they seem ready and willing to trust you. That makes you an ideal candidate. Additionally, think of all the new friends you'll have." Hiruzen pointed out at the end, knowing how lonely the poor boy was. At that, the Uzumaki snapped his fingers in realization and gave a quick jerk of his head in acceptance.
"We should try and find a domicile or place of business so that we may earn money for ourselves. We should try to retain independence and avoid taking advantage of our host's kindness." Spoke a crimson haired young woman with green eyes, earning agreement from her compatriots as they began tossing around ideas for what they may do to earn a living here in Konoha until the day comes when they can confront their kidnappers.
"There's one more thing Naruto-kun… if you're willing, I'd like you to take an undercover job at the Academy." The Sandaime asked, earning a puzzled expression from the newly instated Genin, prompting Hiruzen to clarify "Simply put, I wish for you to pose as a student and spy for me. I want you to determine how the students are developing under the care of the teachers and see if the curriculum is too lax or if the teachers are truly incompetent or both. Whichever the case, the teachers would never expect you to be spying on them on my behalf. Not to mention you'd have ample time to train before taking on more dangerous or risky mission assignments."
Naruto gave a broad grin as he replied "Sure. I'm game. This may also give me a chance to get some payback on those asshats Iruka and Mizuki. By the way, who's gonna be my Jonin sensei?"
"I'll assign you a teacher shortly, for now, I think you should assist your new charges in getting settled." The Hokage suggested, his promise of a Sensei making Naruto smile as the boy headed over to the crowd of women. The Sandaime chose to take this moment to slip away so that he could make any needed arrangements for both Naruto and his new companions.
"Here Naruto-kun! You can sit with me!" Spoke a blonde woman with an extremely curvaceous figure and a small beauty mark on her face. The whiskered boy accepted the invitation and was quickly pulled down so that he would be sitting in her lap, her large breasts squishing against the back of his chest. "I'm Rangiku Matsumoto! Nice to meet you." The woman introduced herself with a cheerful smile.
Naruto could only smile back as another girl with long golden blonde hair spoke "Hey, we all know Naruto's name, but he doesn't know ours. We should all start introducing ourselves. I'm Yang Xiao Long, this is my little sister Ruby, and that's my mom Raven Branwen." Yang pointed towards a girl with black hair with some reddish color and silver eyes, and an intimidating looking woman with black hair and red eyes, the one who had suggested that they stay together.
"I am Tia Halibel. My compatriot is the one with green hair. Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck, though you may refer to her simply as Nel for short." Spoke the woman who had first greeted Naruto upon his arrival and then gestured towards the aforementioned green haired girl who gave a friendly wave.
One by one, the ladies began introducing themselves to Naruto as he tried his best to memorize them all. Once they had all finished introductions, they then decided to discuss their next step. They talked for a while, bouncing around potential ideas for their place of business with Naruto occasionally chiming in, offering his own thoughts.
A few suggested joining the Village's military like Naruto, but this idea was quickly rejected since it meant swearing loyalty to the Village and none of them wanted to make any kind of commitment until they were absolutely certain. From what Naruto gathered, almost everyone present had varying degrees of fighting experience, he strongly doubted any cheap thugs could have brought them down, but this was a mystery for later.
They continued passing around ideas for a while, and then out of nowhere Rangiku decided to throw out her own idea "Ooh! How about this? Why don't we run a Hostess Club?" Naruto glanced back at the busty woman as if she had grown a second head. He wanted to ask her where she got that idea from, but was interrupted when the others showed interest in the idea. Wait… what?
"Not a bad idea. By using this club, we may be able to gather information from our customers, it would also be a reliable source of income for us. It could also serve other purposes as well." Raven spoke as she crossed her arms beneath her bust, prompting the others to murmur their own agreements.
"I dunno… won't we have to do dirty stuff?" Asked a girl known as Katara, earning some giggles from some of the other ladies, evidently Katara didn't fully know about Hostess Clubs.
"Nah, nothing like that. We just drink, chat, and have a good time with the clients by helping them relax. You'd be amazed at how many people just want someone to talk to and have a friendly drink with. That aside, if they try any funny business that we're not okay with, we can toss them out on their asses." Yang spoke as she slammed a clenched fist into her open palm.
"I say we vote on it!" Velvet chimed in and raised her hand in approval since it sounded like fun, after a few moments they all unanimously raised their hands in agreement much to Naruto's own surprise… but unbeknownst to him, what would come next would knock him for a loop.
"Since we're all in agreement, I suggest that Naruto-kun become our Manager." Spoke the form of a dark skinned woman named Yoruichi, earning some squeals of delight from the other girls.
"Eh?! Me? I don't know the first thing about being a manager much less for a hostess club!" The Uzumaki protested, prompting Lisanna and her elder sibling Mirajane to make pouty faces.
Lisanna had some tears in her eyes as she spoke in a hurt voice "But you promised you'd help take care of us." At that, Naruto felt like he had just been speared through the heart. He did indeed promise to help them… as both a Shinobi and a man, he couldn't afford to go back on his promise.
"Yeesh. Way to lay it on thick with the guilt-tripping. Okay, I'll do it if you want me to, but again, I don't know anything about running a hostess club." He replied in defeat, prompting the Strauss sisters to flash some victory signs.
"Aww, that's okay Naruto-kun! None of us really knows how to be Hostesses either, think of it as a learning experience! That aside, most things in life you learn best by doing. Though… a little bit of study or preparation never hurt either." Rangiku spoke causing the others to nod in agreement. If they were to be hostesses, it would be best to learn and study a variety of subjects to engage their customers in lively conversation.
Learning mixology for tending a bar would be good too. Maybe some karaoke booths would be nice to have too. As they continued bouncing around ideas for their club, Naruto could only shake his head in amusement since this would be quite an interesting experience.
"Say… what should we name the club anyway?" Mirajane asked since that would be a good starting point. At that, Naruto raised his hand earning everyone's attention.
"How about..?" He asked and then paused for dramatic effect making the various women stare at him in anticipation he then grinned and continued speaking "Kitsune Haven?"
"Ooh! That sounds like a lovely name! How did you come up with it?" Kali Belladonna asked as she clapped her hands together with the others murmuring their own agreements about the name.
"I always liked foxes. More importantly, this won't just be a club for us. It'll be like our home, our own little haven that we'll be safe in and care for each other in. As your new manager, and more importantly as your friend, I'll do my best to care and protect you all and any other girls that may come our way." At his words, the girls cheered in unison and began tossing the blonde boy into the air while chanting his name, causing Naruto to laugh boisterously in amusement.
It was at this moment he came to realize he had found something more precious than any Shinobi Headband or Kage mantle… he had found friends and perhaps even a family.
Two years later.
"Naruto, pay attention!" Shouted the voice of one Iruka Umino who tossed a piece of chalk in the blonde's direction. The undercover Genin was broken out of his nostalgia as he leaned to the side, deftly avoiding the projectile with ease.
It had been a long and almost grueling two years. For two years he had been training in the utmost secret while working in the Academy as a spy, while at the same time running his club.
For his 'second year' at the Academy, he observed how the teachers behaved around and taught a largely Civilian class. From what he could tell, the teachers seemed to have the misconception or perhaps more accurately the delusion that they had the ultimate power in the class. Their class, their rules, being a common trend between Iruka and Mizuki.
They had basically dumbed down the tests and exams to an unbelievable degree. The classes mostly consisted of history lectures and monthly class spars and Kunai/Shuriken practice. In essence, they were being far too lenient with the students while Iruka did everything in his power to humiliate or otherwise sabotage Naruto himself, even bestowing the title of 'Dead Last' on the Uzumaki.
Now it was his 'third year' at the Academy and he was now fifteen years of age in a class filled with several clan heirs. While the teachers weren't as lenient, they did little to nurture the class' development… case in point, the cancerous presence of Fangirls. Enough said about that the better.
On the upside, the Hokage was satisfied with his reports and decided that it would be best to pull the plug on their class. Very soon, it would be their last day as teachers, and Naruto was very much looking forward to humiliating the two Chunin himself, in fact, he already had a small prank in mind.
"Did you hear a word I said?!" Iruka shouted, apparently having finished some long winded rant that the blonde hadn't paid attention to.
Naruto had to suppress a roll of his eyes and fell back on an automated response of "Screw you. I'll show you when I become Hokage!" At his words, most of the class laughed at the blonde due to his past 'failures'.
'Sure. Go ahead. Laugh at me you little shits. I'll be the one getting the last laugh in the end.' Naruto thought in his head while being sure to memorize the faces of everyone that dared laugh at or otherwise mock him.
For two years, two hellish years, he had put on a mask of a hapless and potentially mentally damaged ramen-loving, Hokage obsessed loser. He had done everything possible from being a 'poor aim' during target practice, to a 'consistent loser' in class spars, and being 'unable to perform even the simplest Jutsu.'
That last one was the easiest thanks to the basic Clone Jutsu. Imagine Iruka's face when the creep learns that he can use the more advanced Shadow Clones.
In the background, Iruka scoffed at the blonde's response and continued his lecture. Meanwhile, Naruto was busy surveying his class, aside from the Clan Heirs, most of these kids didn't have a chance to become Shinobi, much less Genin hopefuls.
Naruto had recommended to the Sandaime that the whole class should have to repeat the year due to Mizuki and Iruka's machinations. The Hokage had considered his suggestion, but ultimately wished to handle this quietly.
If word got out that something was wrong in the Academy, it could hurt future recruitment, or worse, potential enemies of the village might take advantage of this news in some way. So for now, it was best to err on the side of caution and handle things on the downlow. Rest assured though, he would order the Jonin senseis not to hold back on their potential teams and to thoroughly test them and train them. If they could make the cut, then they had a chance to prove themselves as worthy Genin.
While it wouldn't be wise to send half-baked Genin hopefuls into the fray, Naruto understood that it was a necessary evil to maintain public image and trust. While he agreed to do things the Sandaime's way… he ultimately felt that keeping secrets was an even worse way of losing trust.
Trust was like building a glass sculpture. You spend time shaping it and forming it and building it, but it is also quite fragile. One mistake or bad decision, and the whole thing could crack or even shatter. And no matter how you try to rebuild or repair it… the 'trust sculpture' isn't ever the same again.
The blonde teen's musing was cut short when the bell finally rang, signaling the end of the School day. Finally. Now he could go back home and be with his family… and perhaps most importantly make a phone call to set up his ultimate revenge against Mizuki and Iruka.
A bit later, at Kitsune Haven.
Music could be heard playing in the background as the sounds of light-hearted conversation could be heard with numerous customers sitting in their respective booths along with their hostesses. In one particular booth, Tia Halibel could be seen sitting next to a middle-aged man who seemed to be enjoying the booze… perhaps a bit too much. He had already bought three bottles of their most expensive liquor. Seemed like he was playing loose with his wallet today.
"Quite the spender, aren't you sir? Something good happen at home or at business?" The blonde woman asked as she swirled her own liquor in her glass. For some reason… she never seemed to get drunk. No amount of alcohol seemed to generate so much as a buzz for her, but then some of the other hostesses, and even Naruto shared this trait as well. Perhaps they had a natural resistance to alcohol? Who was to say? Nevertheless, it was a good business advantage.
Not only did they retain their senses since they couldn't get drunk, it also meant that big spenders like this client would keep on drinking and drinking, driving up their sales on alcoholic drinks. Additionally… drunk customers had loose lips.
"Ah, that's right! Business has been good at the bank." The man spoke as he took another swing of booze, his face red from the alcohol as he glanced at the caramel skinned woman. "Holy shit, how can you drink so much? You don't even look tipsy." He slurred out, earning a slightly amused twinkle in the blonde woman's eyes.
"Superior conditioning. You know, the other day, I met a client who expressed concern that his bank was going under. You don't share the same concerns?" Tia asked out of curiosity, her client letting out a small chuckle as he shook his head.
"Must be one of those scrubs from a smaller bank. A business associate of mine, a real big-shot, has been bringing me in clients left and right, no way in hell we're gonna close down. In return, I run his books and erm… help cut through some red tape for him." The client explained, the booze obviously making him rather talkative.
From what she could discern, it sounded like someone was getting chummy with this manager and his bank in order to cut corners… undoubtedly for less-than-ideal reasons. Definitely something to file away for later. While it had nothing to do with traffickers that had taken her and her friends two years ago… it was still amazing what a hostess could learn on the job.
"Interesting. Who might this 'big-shot' be? Must be someone quite important and influential." She asked, her question seemed to perturb the customer a bit as he seemingly sobered a little, his face paling as he jerked his head from side to side.
"Sorry, but I don't think we should continue with this conversation… erm… client confidentiality, NDAs, that sort of thing." He muttered defensively, earning a small nod from the caramel skinned woman. Evidently, this fellow was scared of his client, or what said client could do to him.
"Of course, my apologies if I overstepped. Tell me more about your bank, my manager may be interested in your services." Halibel spoke, her words causing the man's face to quickly light up at the mentioning of a potential client. Just like that, he began talking shop with her with excited fervor while she pretended to listen, occasionally nodding her head along. Fortunately, the… gentleman had but a few minutes left and then she would be free of him. At the very least, this client seemed to like talking about his business instead of trying to feel her up or flirt with her.
There were far worse kinds of clients to deal with, fortunately, they knew how to handle themselves quite well. "Excuse me, sir? Your time is up and clients are queuing up to meet Halibel-san." Spoke the friendly voice of one Kali Belladonna who had appeared to send the man on his way and gave a warm smile, the man frowned a bit as he rubbed the back of his head and nodded in acceptance, deciding that it would be best to leave, knowing full well that it wasn't wise to test the girls patience.
Once he scooched out of his booth, he found himself almost immediately replaced by a teenager with whisker-like markings. "Seem kinda young to be playing with the lovely ladies here." The man spoke with a small huff, only for the blonde to roll his eyes.
"Old enough to join the military, old enough to drink, smoke, or enjoy the company of a gorgeous woman." The blonde spoke with a sigh, earning a small shrug from the bank manager as he departed. Kali gave a small bow to her manager and then moved on since it was her job to coordinate the clientele and hostesses for the day, leaving the two blondes alone.
Naruto reached into the pocket of the hideous jumpsuit he wore at the Academy and pulled out a cigarette, prompting Tia to pull out a lighter, after quickly igniting it, she lit the Uzumaki's cigarette. He took a drag from it and exhaled smoke while rubbing his temples tiredly. "Another long day at the Academy?" Tia asked, her question earning a small chuckle from her fellow blonde/
"More like, I'm feeling relieved that my undercover job is coming to a close. I want the Strauss siblings' schedule clear tomorrow night. I have a special plan for them, be sure to inform them to expect a pair of particular clients." The whiskered teen spoke, earning a slow nod from the caramel skinned woman.
"Of course. Everything will be as you desire it. If it interests you, my previous client mentioned that he was working with a certain client, helping him 'cut through red tape'. Sounded suspicious." She informed him, earning a thoughtful 'hmm' from her manager and friend.
"Tell everyone to keep their ears open about this. Could be important. The old man expressed concern that the Civilian Council may try to monopolize the banks to line their pockets. Might be related." He replied since the Sandaime often came to him, inquiring about any incriminating information that the girls may have picked up from their clients. If he didn't know any better, he'd actually say that the Sandaime was starting to rely on him as a potential spymaster.
"As you wish. Is there anything else I might do for you?" Tia asked, prompting Naruto to exhale smoke and place his cigarette into the nearby ashtray and then placed his head into her lap with a sigh. Without a word, she began to gently stroke his head, running her fingers through his hair comfortingly.
Try as he might… he always craved for love and affection, that was perhaps one of the few things that he couldn't grow out of. Nevertheless, she and the others would always be there for him, just as he was there for him when they needed him most. And they would always love and care for him. Always.
End chapter one.
Guest characters so far:
Tia Halibel. (Bleach.)
Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck. (Bleach.)
Yoruichi Shihon. (Bleach.)
Rangiku Matsumoto. (Bleach.)
Kali and Blake Belladonna. (RWBY)
Velvet Scarlatina. (RWBY)
Yang Xiao Long. (RWBY)
Ruby Rose. (RWBY)
Raven Branwen. (RWBY)
Olga Discordia. (Kuroinu.)
Lisanna and Mirajane Strauss. (Fairy Tail.)
Erza Scarlet. (Fairy Tail.)
Katara. (Avatar: The Last Airbender.)
Toph Beifong. (Avatar: The Last Airbender.)
(More to be added.)