Wuddup ya'll
Hope you're all safe.
MASSIVE shout out to all of you. You're all fantastic people :)
Note: Legend class is another way of saying double S rank.
Enjoy…
CHAPTER 18
05:45PM
Flat 042
Waning Crescent Street
Southern region
Dark country
Kushina Uzumaki grabbed onto the doorknob of the front door of her humble flat and the seals on the knob recognized her hand and fingerprints, allowing her to turn it. The door opened with a soft click and she peeked inside.
"I'm home." She flicked on the lights and opened the door, allowing her uncle to enter the somewhat narrow entrance hallway. Kushina took off her shinobi sandals and placed them by the door, next to a neatly arranged row of sandals, sneakers and boots. The redhead proceeded down the hall and turned when she got to the end, looking at the person looking around, scratching his chin. "Please, come in."
Naruto entered the apartment and slipped off his sandals, politely keeping them where he had observed his niece keeping hers and plodded inside on the rigorously vacuumed, soft textured, dark green carpet. He moved to the end of the entrance hallway and entered the living room, catching Kushina as she entered the kitchen.
"Your roommate, isn't she around?"
Kushina went to the fridge and read a note attached to the front by a small magnet. "She went shopping." She hummed and tapped the piece of paper. "Apparently, we're low on fish, seasoning, sealing scrolls and she wants to get a lawnmower for the backyard."
Naruto idly nodded to what she was saying, casually looking around. The living room had the same carpeting as the rest of the house, three chairs and a couch, a television and the Leader saw the notable small, white crank that was the temperature regulator of the house, which explained why it was warm but not swelteringly so in the house. "Have there been any problems since you two moved here?"
The woman's head jutted out of the kitchen and she rolled her eyes. "We've been here for six years, uncle; we're fine."
"I'm just saying…" like a good uncle slash father figure, Naruto snooped around his niece's flat, looking for anything out of place. "You moved out too early-"
"I was fifteen," Kushina called from the kitchen, setting a kettle on the gas stove. "And I was a chunin, basically an adult."
Naruto lifted up a cushion on the chair, dropped it back in place, walked to the television and dragged his pointer finger along the top, rubbing the near non-existent dust between his index finger and his thumb. "If it were up to me…you'd be in the house until you were sixty."
Kushina laughed to herself, knowing that her uncle was, once again, scrutinizing her home. "I don't think auntie would have liked that."
Naruto grumbled sourly; Sueki had been the one to strong arm him into the ground, submitting and letting his precious niece move out of the house and move in with her long-time friend into a pleasant, fairly quiet three bedroom flat in a warm district in the southern region, where the cool air blowing in from the sea washed over the houses, spreading the faint aroma of freshly baked bread. Most of the people in the region were from the panther clan, though the row of flats Kushina and her friend lived on were occupied by mostly members of the ink clan, some Uzumaki and a small cluster of clanless.
Anything they really needed was close by and accessible; a pharmacy and clinic, a shopping centre, a market area-fish market was by the sea and the rest was a short distance away-, training grounds spotted about, with target ranges, a small though comprehensive library, retail shops and restaurants. The last point was a given, seeing as the southern region was dominated by the food loving Pansa-Senshi clan.
The police patrolled the streets and there hadn't been any sort of serious incident since, especially because the street Kushina had moved to had several ninjas and retired shinobi on it as well. There was a Defence Corp regional office some miles east of the street, still in the southern region.
The apartment itself was connected to the country's electrical grid and water board, the protective seals had long since been keyed in to Kushina and her roommate, there was a landline at the end of the hallway in case of emergencies and on the occasion of a power outage, the southern region-like the other regions-had a backup generator that would automatically go on, restoring electricity. Broken appliances could be fixed at a fair price but overall, living in the house cost almost nothing, except for the small percentage of money taken from Kushina and her roommates salaries after each mission as Country Tax; there were thousands and thousands of working adults in Darkness, so tax could be taken down several notches. The payment was wired to their accounts immediately after a successful mission and the tax was taken out every month.
Some miles from their district was a day care, a kindergarten and a children's park, as well as an actual park was closer.
Naruto didn't want to admit it, but he couldn't have chosen a better place for his niece to live in.
Kushina and her roommate, Shimara Kuma, had been searching for a good place to stay in since they got their chunin flak jackets and an agent in the Housing Allocation Office in the Civilian Division had taken into account all of their preferences and conditions, recommending them a few houses and they ultimately chose the one they were living in presently. The Civilian Division was the one in charge of building, maintaining and distributing houses to those that applied for an accommodation but didn't know which location would suit them better. Those that were unsure of where they wanted to live in such a large place like Dark country, were directed to that office and, given time, a summarized list of locations would be provided. That particular office had not been set up to divide or share clans and clanless indiscriminately in the country but rather to simply and only give houses to those that didn't know where they wanted to live.
For someone like Naruto that was pretty well-off financially and mentally, and who was also a vital part of Dark country's daily life, all Sueki had to do was hold off sex, food and her company.
Naruto caved in spectacular fashion.
The man coughed into his fist as he reached a wall in the parlour where pictures of the redhead and her former teammate hung, with images of their families and friends.
A familiar smile came to Naruto's eyes as he saw his niece in a picture with her former teammates, Shimara Kuma and Ran Tomo-also known as Epic Mist-, holding up their newly administered chunin flak jackets and grinning proudly. They were fifteen at the time and were just finding their feet in the country's Shinobi Force; their team specialized in frontline combat and they could also break through enemy ranks with pure, unbridled power. The team had not been compatible with dark country's more covert and silent arts because only one member of the team had been blessed with being able to use Assassination Techniques-namely, Shimara Kuma-and the other two had been born outside of Darkness, so they couldn't use the secret techniques of their assassin comrades. Naruto and Sueki had organized a party to congratulate the members of former Team Nineteen and held it at the teenager's favourite restaurant.
There was another picture of Shimara in a sleeveless dark brown vest, red shorts, wearing bright red boxing gloves and a comfortable pair of red shoes, delivering a jab to her opponents liver while guarding her chin with her other fist. Her eyes were narrowed, focused; this was during a martial arts tournament in Bear country. Kushina had opted not to participate, choosing to support her friend in the crowd. The bear girl had been in a group of three chunin that had been selected by Naruto to participate and their group had ranked third in the end, though they made a spectacular showing, enough for the Daimyo of Bear country to request Shimara become an ambassador for dark country in Bear, even if the two country's didn't ally. Shimara ultimately refused, seeing as being an ambassador would stunt her when she became a member of BLAK.
It was at that time that Kushina told her guardians that she was planning to move out of the house. Her and Shimara would find a place to live in together and share the responsibility of maintaining the house.
As expected, Naruto put his foot down and forbade his youngest student from leaving the nest but, after getting his arm twisted behind him by his mostly expressionless vampire wife, he reluctantly gave them his blessing.
Though the couple felt something off.
It was a few hours before the Spring Festival that Kushina came clean...
Flashback: Seven Years ago
Kushina stood before her uncle and aunt with her torso bowed forward and her eyes lowered, Shimara was behind her in the same posture. The two chunin were out of uniform and in casual civilian garb; the bear girl was in a slim fitting, soft pink and white formal kimono with a small black bear symbol on her right chest, long sleeves that passed the tip of her fingers, a pair of knee socks and light blue sandals on her feet. Around her torso from under her chest to a bit above her waist was a dark red and black obi (sash). The formal dress displayed her slender form both proudly and modestly. Kushina was in black pants and a white shirt with red converse.
They were before the front door, as the two refused to enter until they had heard them out. Sueki kept her face neutral, unfeeling, and her red eyes hovered over the bowed forms of the two younger females, while Naruto had his eyes narrowed dangerously.
His niece forced her eyes to stay down and Shimara couldn't muster up the spirit to glance at the two legend class shinobi.
Naruto frowned and said. "Kushina, what is the meaning of this?"
"Uncle Naruto, Aunt Ketsueki…"
The man and his wife felt their hearts drop as they heard their niece call their full names.
"Shimara and I…" Kushina swallowed, ready for the explosion. "Are going out."
The Uzumaki's eyes bugged out, still bowed, as her uncle and auntie sighed in relief and collapsed into each other.
Naruto had a hand to his heart, his head tipped back and his glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, and Sueki had a hand to her forehead, her eyes closed in relief.
"Dear kami, Kushina, don't scare us like that again." The vampire muttered in a somewhat controlled voice; Kushina's eyebrows furrowed when she sensed concern and anxiety from her cool and collected aunt, and those emotions weren't caused by the news. Naruto had his left arm draped over his wife's shoulder and he swiped the back of his right hand on his forehead, cleaning away the sweat.
The redhead looked up and glanced at her aunt and her uncle. "You're….you're not mad…?"
Naruto laughed aloud, jolting his fifteen year old niece and her girlfriend. "Come now, Kushina, why would we be mad?"
"Then…?"
Sueki spoke first, her lips lifted in a small smile and her red eyes positively shining. "Kushina, honey, we thought you were doing drugs."
"What!" it appeared the Kuma girl was just as surprised.
Naruto came forward and swept the girl into his arms, extending his reach and dragging Shimara into the embrace as well. Warmth ebbed from his body and his niece soaked it all in, curling her fingers in his grey button up long sleeved shirt, and her girlfriend too didn't seem to mind the approval sent over to her through the hug. "You don't need our permission to date anyone, Nana."
"We wanted your approval…" the girl buzzed and Naruto chuckled, sliding back and ushering them into the house as the sounds of the festival began filtering into their suburban home all the way from the heart of the capital. The girl had a small flush on her cheeks as her face parted from his chest. "And Uhm…" she looked to Sueki for help as the pair plodded into the house, taking off their shoes at the front and proceeding to the parlour. The vampire smirked invisibly.
"She wanted my help wearing her grandmother kimono."
"Ah, yes, I see." That night was the country's very first Spring Festival anyway, understanding Kushina's logic; it would be improper to not look her best while on a date with her girlfriend during the festival. This was also going to be the first time his niece would be wearing a kimono of any kind, besides the ones her mother wore for her, so she wanted to do it right. "We haven't started using your bedroom for anything, so it's mostly untouched. You can go there."
"Thank you, uncle." The tomboy bowed politely. She then turned to her girlfriend and said. "Why don't you stay downstairs and talk with uncle?"
Shimara beamed and waved the girl off. "Sure, hurry up and get dressed. The festival awaits."
Kushina waved back and clambered up the stairs, Sueki followed behind at a controlled pace.
It was as if all the light and joy in the room had been dragged out as the two ladies went upstairs. Then the light flicked back on. Shimara felt a harsh chill run up and down her spine for a split second; she exhaled and saw her own breath.
She whipped around, as warmth and radiance returned to the house, and saw her girlfriend's uncle sitting on a seat in the parlour, smiling merrily at her.
"Take a seat, Shimara."
"Thank you, sir." She ambled to a chair on the other side of the square centre table, adjusted her delicate kimono and sat down gently so as not to leave any wrinkles. She hesitantly pointed out. "A-And you can call me Shi-Bear…like usual…"
Naruto, holding his smile, cocked his head to the side lightly. "…Shimara."
The bear girl's finger flopped down in defeat and she nodded. "Yes, sir."
"How long have you been dating Kushina?"
"A few weeks now-"
"How long is 'a few weeks'?"
"Five weeks, sir."
"Ah, is that so…" the man raised his left hand and rolled his wrist. His ninjato flicked onto his hand from out of nowhere. The black handle rested comfortably in his hand and the silver blade glinted in the light, the single sharp edge was died black from the man's bloodline. Deep black smoke ebbed from the lethally sharp edge and the two whirlpool seals on tip of the ninjato and just under the guard-less handle, also oozed with toxic smoke. Naruto, keeping his sparkling blue eyes on the bear girl, dragged the pointer finger of his other hand on the lethally sharp side of the sword and the smoke pulsing out gradually stopped. "Is…that…so…"
Shimara, playfully called Shi-Bear by the man across from her, cleared her throat, uncomfortable. "We've wanted to tell you and Lady Ketsueki for a while now but-" she momentarily stopped as the man rolled his other wrist, holding a palm sized whet stone in his other hand. "-Kushina was scared you won't approve. S-S-So…"
Naruto dragged the stone up the sword with a soul chilling sshhhhing!
"Y-Yeah, Uhm…that's about it." she coughed into her left fist, feeling cold sweat drop from her forehead. "Ah…sir."
Naruto raised his eyebrows. "Oh these?" he motioned to his ninjato and the whet stone. "My…blade was just dull."
"Of course, of course." Shimara bobbed her head, trying not to flinch at each painfully hard drag up the blade. The poor girl then said, changing the subject. "Ehem, what other weapons c-can you-"
"What are your plans for my little girl?"
Her spirit inflated hopefully. "W-Well, I found a great spot on a hill we can have a night picnic and watch the fireworks. Ran," Epic Mist. "Will join us after midnight."
"Tell me, Shimara," a light shower of spark flew off the blade after a particularly sharp drag. "How did your parents react?"
The girl visibly perked up. "They-They aren't going to stand in my way." Naruto mutely raised an eyebrow and her shoulders deflated. "Baba doesn't like it but he said if I'm happy then he won't hold me back. Mama…" the girl felt a fond smile spread on her face as she recalled her mother's reaction. "Mama was very happy for us."
Naruto stopped sharpening his impossibly sharp ninjato and slowly dropped them onto his table. "I'm going to be straight with you, Shimara, I always knew you were into girls and I suspected my little girl might have been as well. I don't mind, I really don't, but what's bothering me is that you two were scared of telling us."
Shimara then felt guilt set itself deep in her heart at she saw the shaded sadness in the man's blue orbs.
"Sir, I'm-"
"But enough of all this sappy nonsense." Naruto said as Shimara made to apologize for momentarily forgetting the kind of people Naruto and Sueki were. His grin sparkled and he motioned to her. "Have you been able to get into BLAK recruitment?"
The boxer teetered and shook her head. "Admission is very strict. I-I tried my best."
Naruto furrowed his eyebrows. "It can't be that hard for someone like you."
The horned teen shrugged limply. "I'm not what they need right now. The Coordinator of the BLAK Recruitment Camp in the eastern region, Captain Octopus, said I should work on my sealing and my kenjutsu."
The Leader tapped his chin, deep in thought. "I can put in a good word for you."
Shimara shook her head; her long, wavy blonde hair shook with it. "I appreciate your help, sir, for everything you've done, but I want to get in on my own strength."
"…If you say so."
The girl then smiled widely. "Ah, yes, are you ready to tell me about White Noise?"
Naruto raised an eyebrow and settled back in his seat, crossing his right ankle over his left knee. "That's my personal Hiden technique, kid; I'm not telling you anything."
Shimara clasped her hands together and pleaded. "Can I at least see it? One more time?" Naruto kept quiet, only perching his elbow on the arm of his chair and resting his chin on his palm. "Pleeeeeeaaaaaasssseeee."
"We're indoors." If he intended to destroy the house with a jagged, blazing white bolt of lightning screaming down from the heavens, then he would have done so in a heartbeat.
"We can go outside."
"The festival." Naruto reminded her with a laughing smile.
"Da-Dang it." she cursed, correcting herself mid-sentence as she remembered she was in the presence of a superior in rank. "What about tomorrow?"
"Meeting with my council for the whole day, something about a Bi-Annual Evaluation of National Development, or something like that…Its super important though, I know that for sure. So it might take up most of my day."
"I…I can set an appointment with your office assistants."
"Appointments like that are only for important issues, Shimara." Naruto warned and the girl whimpered back into herself, a pouting glaze came to her eyes. "I commend you for being stubborn, kid, but White Noise is my secret technique."
To use White Noise Naruto first had to shroud his body with his chakra and send up a bolt of lightning from anywhere on his body, which would mix with the nature chakra in the air, form thick black storm clouds and return the white bolt of lightning, this time saturated with atmospheric nature chakra. The bolt would hit the nape of his neck and spread into his nervous system, resulting in the shroud of chakra over his body seeping under his skin and framing his 'soul'.
Naruto's chakra was dangerous in on itself; it could burn chakra paper and it could leave permanent burn marks on other besides himself, Sueki included. His chakra wasn't dangerous to him and, normally, it wouldn't be hard to absorb his chakra and make it frame the interior of his body but with the addition of the nature chakra of the storm clouds, White Noise was able to 'feel' and 'cover' his 'soul'.
If he was to remain in place, outwardly he wouldn't be that different; only with burning white eyes that crackled with electricity and a spider web of veins that spread out from the corner of his eyes to his ears, noticeably pulsing with white energy.
But if Naruto was to actually move, even a single step, his 'soul' would leave his body at about several notches faster than the speed of sound.
Almost, dangerously close, to the speed of light.
His 'body' would move at a slightly slower pace-mid to high jounin-and follow the last movement of Naruto's Soul Form. Naruto 'body' would still be fast enough to leave afterimages but his 'soul' was too fast for even that. Naruto didn't have to split his attention between controlling his 'body' and his 'soul' at the same time.
The fire jutsu Naruto used while in his soul form that passed his 'body' though him and turned it into an insane fire zombie was taxing, even for someone with Naruto's chakra reserves. The jutsu essentially destroyed Naruto's 'body' and to reform his 'body' Naruto had to reshape the nature chakra inside his Soul Form and bring it outwards, which was basically the reverse of what he did to enter his White Noise form.
While in his Soul Form, the only way Naruto could actually be touched was if his opponent was able to see him.
Else, Naruto was invisible to the eye and untraceable by sensory abilities.
It was terrifying to think that Silent Night was more powerful than White Noise.
Shimara had only seen this jutsu once, after weeks and weeks of begging and pleading and pestering Naruto, and she had been in awe.
It shouldn't be natural for any human to have that kind of power.
It made her wonder…what sort of training regimen Naruto had gone through to get to where he was now.
The Ghost in Glasses was truly one to be feared.
The girl shook her head and diverted the conversation to another point. "So, sir, how are you and Lady Ketsueki going to celebrate this festival?"
"We'll watch the fireworks from the roof; we've already got a blanket and a food basket ready."
The boxer smiled. "So romantic~"
Naruto smirked teasingly. "You're one to talk."
An embarrassed flush came to her face as she realized herself. "W-Well, mine is different."
Naruto scoffed, an infuriatingly jovial glimmer entered his sky blue eyes. "No, it's not."
"It is. Kushina and I are not married-" she stopped as she realized herself again, but it was already too late; Naruto sat forward on his chair and grinned, it was almost light the light in the room brightened and the air about him danced happily. Shimara coughed into her fist. "U-U-Uhm…"
"Speaking of marriage…" Naruto trailed, his eyes casually wondering about the room.
"Uh-oh."
"When's it going to happen?"
Shimara raised a shaky finger and answered, a large sweat drop grew on the side of her head. "A-Ah, sir, we're only fifteen."
"And? The legal age for marriage in this country is seventeen!"
The bear girl laughed nervously. "You…you just made my point for me, sir."
"It's never too early to plan for the future." Naruto flopped back into his seat and rolled his right wrist in the air, looking idle but speaking purposefully. "I'm just saying…when are you going to make an honest woman out of my little girl and put a ring on her finger? Or…she puts a ring on your finger…? I'm not sure how this works to be honest, but I'm pretty sure someone puts a ring on someone's finger." He crossed his arms, proud of his depth of understanding. "Yeah…sounds about right."
"Kushina and I have only been together for five weeks, sir."
"Five weeks is basically for life, lil bear."
"I'm…I'm pretty sure it's not…" she held in the stubborn anger at the other familiar name Naruto called her, glad that he was over his former sadness. Shimara stood up abruptly when Kushina entered the room, dressed in the ceremonial kimono her late grandmother had willed to her…
Flashback end
Naruto gratefully collected the mug of tea and sipped, somehow doing so through his mask and not-from Kushina's own understanding-having any lips to actually sip with.
"I still don't know what to think, with you living with your ex and all."
The redhead shrugged. "I'm really just glad that Shi-Bear and I were still able to stay friends." She stood at Naruto's side as he looked over the wall of pictures and memories. "She's my best friend, uncle. I'm not sure what I'll do without her."
The masked Leader glanced at her from the corner of his eyes and jabbed his elbow into her side. "There's no one I won't trust to look after you than Shimara and Ran."
Kushina laughed into her mug, hiding her blush. "I don't need looking after, I'm a big girl, remember?"
The reason she had given him for breaking up with Shimara after eight amazing months was that her conscience kept berating her for leading her friend on; she still harboured a crush for her idol and it refused to leave her even to that day. It wasn't that she was in any way disinterested from other women, as Naruto could attest that his niece was comfortable flirting with them, and it wasn't that she was interested in men.
Just one man.
It was confusing.
Kushina was a great wing woman for both Shimara, her ex-girlfriend, and Ran, her male best friend. It was a good thing too; the Uzumaki didn't know until it was too late that her two friends were awkward flirts.
Naruto wanted to know how his niece was so good with the ladies…but…
At the same time, he didn't.
He really, really didn't.
The blonde tipped the last drops of his tea into his mouth and smacked his 'lips'. "Welp, I think we're ready to head back into town for round two, don't you think?"
"Hai," the young woman collected his cup and scurried to the kitchen, saying in a loud voice over her shoulder. "We should probably try another restaurant; the chef in the last one looked pissed." Kushina's appetite was understandable; she was the Kyuubi holder and a holder of a unique strain of chakra from her clan, a combination that burnt any sliver of food that entered her stomach. Naruto on the other hand was an anomaly; he always had a large appetite, even for one in the Kemuri clan, who were widely 'normal' when it came to food intake. The undisputed fact was that both uncle and niece had powerful metabolisms. "Oh, I know!" she skipped back into the room and grabbed her uncle's hand before the courage to do so could flee her. She pulled him to the exit. "I know this amazing food stand over at the Shinobi Stop district that serves the best ramen."
"Oh~" Naruto hummed, a spring in his step as he tossed on his ninja sandals; the Shinobi Stop district of the southern region was a popular place where ninjas of the country and allied nations came by for a quick, easy and affordable bite. The district itself was lined with food and, as per the busy lifestyle of the average shinobi of Dark country-genin included-the place was well-known for being a quick stop, cool-down and recharge. There were other similar streets, districts and corners around the Silent Nation that provided this kind of service.
The two ninjas leaped out of the flat, hand-in-hand and smiling ear to ear, and skipped to the revered source of food.
Naruto and Kushina loved food.
The Shinobi Stop district will learn this the hard way.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
A few days later
Sunagakure
Exactly a week before the Third War began, Dark country had officially been recognized as a Wealth Nation by all its allies and some non-allies that had a vague idea of what was happening inside the Hermit country. Non-allies like Kumogakure, Bear country, Grass country and Hidden Chill.
Being a Wealth Nation meant that Dark country was economically stable as well as still gradually progressing at an even rate, the organization of officials was strict-Darkness's own being extremely centralized and hierarchical-, the standard of living was evenly above average, the value of their ryu didn't fluctuate abnormally, the National Bank had a deep reserve that could keep the whole country afloat for at least ten years in case of a crisis, mortality rate was reduced and birth rate was fairly average, literacy was at an approvable level, more than eighty percent of the working class were working or doing some other questionably legal activity to rake in money for themselves and their country but most importantly. For a country to be declared a Wealth Nation by a majority of the continent, or a majority of important countries on the continent, was that they possessed a loyal military force that could and would defend the country's border, internally and externally, without fail. Roles, ranks and mission classes were outlined in detail and the organization of the people at the top, namely Naruto and his council, spread down to the people. Land mass wasn't a factor,
Being a Wealth Nation did not mean that Darkness was among the Five Great Shinobi Villages but rather a list on its own that comprised of countries and villages that held all the character traits for being a Wealth Nation.
Before Darkness was added to the list, there were four Wealth Nations in total; Snow country, Iron country, Hidden Chill and Wave country, all in order from first to last. Though, Wave had lost its footing when it had been invaded from all sides and used as a battleground for the powerful warring factions, destabilizing everything. River country used to be in the list but the immediate former daimyo had willingly stepped out for his own personal reasons.
Dark country, though ever still secretive from the first day Naruto had taken up the reins of leadership, had been inducted into the list as the fourth wealthiest. This conclusion had been reached from evaluating the sturdiness of the borders, the high trading value of their ryu, the wisdom of the traders outside the country and the high demand for their products.
It was argued that the Wealth Nations were more power than the Five Great Villages.
Konoha had opposed the list of Wealth Nations since the very beginning.
Mainly because the first and third were close allies, the second was neutral and Wave, the fourth, was argued to be a weak merchants nation, like River.
Now that Dark country was added to the ranks, Hidden Leaf wasn't happy.
It had expressed its distaste by diverting a substantial amount of its war efforts in finding and destroying Dark country merchant's shops.
The hard part was positively identifying what was and wasn't Dark country owned, for the merchants outside of the silent nation were few and far in-between. A large number of them had already fled back home or were rescued by Ninjas of the Dark.
Presently, Naruto was on an official visit to Suna.
The man had just finished an important meeting with his Suna Leader counterpart and was leaving the tower.
Waiting for him outside was a crowd of people, a wild mix of Suna indigenes, Dark citizens and other people living in Hidden Sand. This crowd was larger than the one that had seen him enter the tower.
The Dark Leader, donning his ceremonial cloak and wide brimmed hat, smiled lightly and waved to the cheering crowd, even as his guards and Suna ninjas forced a clear path for him to pass. The diligent ninjas caught some that were trying to leap over them, aiming to at the very least touch to the blonde man that had helped turn around the state of living in the desert village.
Rasa shook his head as the people hooted and screamed for Naruto's attention. Naruto laughed and slapped the man's back, pointing at a section of civilians that were waving placards for the Kazekage to take them out on a date.
The younger Leader rolled his eyes.
A particularly eager group of people called and beckoned to Naruto, waving Kurono to him.
Naruto recognized them as Dark born Suna civilians, and he merrily waved back to them with his hand forming the country's revered horned sign. The two men walked at a steady pass in the path created for them. The reputation of both men had gone up tenfold as time went; Rasa was apparently more popular than his father for how he was spreading out wealth and increasing funds to Suna scientists collaborating with Dark scientists in finding cures to diseases and ailments. Naruto had already been popular when he had entered office but with how Dark country had become a member of the illustrious Wealth Nations just after seventeen years of becoming Leader, the people found it harder and harder to find fault in his laws and decisions.
Fourth place on the Wealth Nations list wasn't something to scoff at.
It essentially meant Darkness was certifiably moving towards being a super power.
Non-allies questioned the reclusiveness of Naruto's country but, as an official member of the Wealth Nations, they couldn't hope to oppose them unless they were backed by at least three Great Hidden Villages, of which Darkness was already allied to two-Kiri and Suna-, this wasn't even considering Uzushio-who were more or less a Great Hidden Village allied to Dark country that had refused to be ranked.
Naruto pushed up his glasses and kept an ear for Rasa as they both spoke about the Dark Sands performance in protecting The Suna Farm.
"We love you, Lord Naruto!"
"Sir! Sir!"
"My Lord!"
"Look here, my lord! Look over here!"
Naruto hid his smile and said in a low voice. "The Dark Sand is doing a commendable job safeguarding your farm, Rasa. What's your secret?"
The man eyed his friend darkly. "Like you don't know."
"Oh you know, I only provide some of the ninjas, ordering them around is another issue by itself."
"They work for the farm, protecting it is their only order." Rasa reminded Naruto with a scoff. "Besides, defying an order from either of us is punishable by suicide."
"You should try smiling more, it'll make this," Naruto motioned to Rasa's face. "Look more appealing for the ladies."
The man had a sharp, venomous retort ready to unleash on Naruto but he instead asked. "Did you get my last correspondence? About the explosion on one of my oil fields and the coal mine caving in?"
Naruto nodded. "Normally, both of those things have nothing to do with me." Rasa nodded, actually appreciating how frank Naruto was being with him; the Ghost in Glasses held nothing back. "But I've got money and men in those two things." The blonde man adjusted his half mask and murmured to his Suna counterpart, tuning out the rancorous cheering of their fans. "Dark Sand is looking into the explosion with your shinobi, correct?"
"Yes, I had to make a contract with Lady Ketsueki," the Commander of BLAK and Dark country's Director of Dark Sand, the Suna Director of Dark Sand was a puppetmaster named Chiyo. "The explosion on the oil field was caused by a cigarette we found close by. It's not the brand your country produces," which was mainly purchased by Suna and Uzushio. "And even if it was, my workers are smart enough not to smoke at work."
"What brand?"
"It's somewhat hard to discern but we scraped it together. It was an imitation of Black Tobacco."
"Imitation you say…"
"Any adult that smokes in Suna would be able to differentiate between Black Tobacco and an imitation." He lowered his voice and said to his old friend. "We were able to analyse the tobacco used for the cigarette and compare it to the ones made in Grass and they match." He smirked under his turban when he didn't see Naruto's blue eyes jump to conclusions. "The cigarette from Grass is supplied all over the continent."
"I…see…"
"The fire also burnt away any DNA."
"What about fingerprints?"
"My ninjas and Dark Sand are still dusting it off for anything."
"Most likely someone infiltrated your borders and planted the cigarette to create some sort of doubt in your ninja's ability to defend your oil workers." Aside from Naruto's country investing a lot of money in Suna's oil fields, gas reserves and coal mines, with Hidden Sand's loan and all, Suna's oil, gas and coal were precious goods sold across the continent and the only rival-though the word 'rival' was stretching it a bit too far-was Hidden Swamp's oil. The money poured in by both Naruto's country and Rasa's village increased quality, reduced the price of it being sold within Suna and Darkness but increased to anywhere else. The People of the Sand had confidence in the oil, gas and coal and in turn had confidence in the Kazekage for making those three expensive products almost equal in value to gold. Yes, coal wasn't declining in popularity as gas and oil demand increased, so Rasa and his village's coal experts were devising ways to turn coal into diamonds for sale as it was or to sell as jewellery.
For a village that had an abundance in natural resources but was unable to fully utilize them at a point in time, dependent on another village that exploited them and left them with almost nothing, Suna wasn't going to waste any morsel of coal no matter how unpopular it became. Especially with the country they were allied to that aided them in digging up this coal, Darkness, had given them every avenue to not fail.
The difference between the Dark-Sand alliance and the Sand-Leaf alliance, which was still a thing for some reason, was evident.
Suna got along better with Dark country; from the billion ryu loan to their assassin counterparts actually lending a hand in building The Suna Farm, and a small handful of other facilities, the so called 'alliance' Suna had with Konoha was now more of a formality to keep the latter village off their backs.
Sure the explosion would slow down output but Rasa had many more oil fields scattered around Suna that would have to work double time to keep up with demand until the one that went up in flames restarted operations. Naruto then added. "Don't worry, old friend, we'll get to the bottom of this and feed the perpetrator his own heart."
"I'll stuff him with my gold sand."
Naruto laughed at the grisly image and continued. "Let's talk about that later, what about the coal mine? Was it because of the explosion on the oil field?"
"No, they're too far apart for the shockwaves to reach."
"Then?"
"The cave fell in from an explosion to the roof." Rasa then clarified. "Someone dropped a bomb from high up."
"How many people were killed in the cave in?"
"Well…we've found twenty three bodies and seven injured." There was a strict protocol set up against the event of a coal mine falling in on itself; the workers would keep an eye out for the signs and even the faintest of suspicions was followed through accordingly. The bomb came at an unknown time from an unknown person, so the miners underground had no time to flee. Naruto's blue eyes dimmed grimly; it didn't lessen the blow that only five of his citizen's had been killed in the blast and the subsequent cave in. Suna citizens were good people, no one deserved to die like that. The blonde's face cleared of all emotion and he flexed his fingers. Rasa, vaguely aware of the professionally tight lid Naruto was keeping on his emotions, said. "Their oxygen masks did not snap but most of the rocks fell on their heads. Thankfully, they didn't suffer."
The gold sand user too was struck hard by the attack on his mine. Much like Naruto, he kept a cap on his feelings.
"Lady Sueki had a hunch and asked my permission if she could have a few of your Gado ninjas look at the blast zone."
"What did they find?"
Rasa stopped at the end of the crowd of cheering fans and turned to his friend, fixing him with a firm eye through the darkness of his brown and yellow camo turban. "…Clay. Explosive clay, to be exact."
Naruto felt a small twitch on the side of his left eye and he frowned. "Iwagakure's Explosion Corp…" Naruto looked down slightly and a dark, twisted smirk turned up on the corners of his face.
"The Gado ninjas tracked the clay all the way from a glade in Hidden Swamp."
"That Tsuchikage…he might be pulling a Waterfall on you."
"A Waterfall…?" Rasa asked.
"Remember when I halved Waterfall's everything?" the Kazekage nodded his head. "Well before that, the Leader of Waterfall informed Kakuzu that he would be made a missing ninja if he failed, that he acted on his own." The Suna Kage slowly nodded, understanding where Naruto was coming from.
"So…the person or people that blew up the coal mine…would seem to have acted out on their own…"
"Personally, I didn't care for proof back then. I halved Waterfall to make a statement." The aforementioned statement worked; no one was willing to mess with Darkness. "There also wasn't a war back then."
Rasa tiredly rubbed his forehead, idly watching as he and Naruto's guards formed a wide circle for them, giving them some semblance of privacy from the few civilians trying to listen in on their talk. "I understand what you're saying, Naruto."
Naruto was all in favour of retaliating indiscriminately, for that was what he had done all those years ago when Iwa infiltrated his borders. This time, if Suna were to retaliate, it would mean that the Sand village was actively introducing itself to the war, more countries and villages would take it as a chance to lay siege on the uninvolved desert oasis.
"This leaves three options." The Kazekage said mutely.
"Yup."
"Sabotage an important Iwa mission that would result in equal damage to what has happened to my village," Rasa pointed out first. "…Attack Iwa but make it look like it was from another village, or even better, defectors of Iwa." Dissatisfied ninjas of Iwa could be framed for any attack on their home village. A specific ninja would not be named but all clues would lead to it being a domestic attack of terrorism. This would throw light on the problems of village from those the disgruntled. A chain reaction of civilians and ninjas alike realizing the faults of their village and the fault of their Kage would occur and it would rattle Hidden Rock to its core. Rasa then highlighted the last option. "Or both."
"The second one alone sounds very tempting…" Naruto mused silently. "It's up to you."
"The first option would take too long; intercepting war mission orders from the Tsuchikage, gauging how much damage it would make and making sure no Iwa ninja discovers our involvement." The turban covered man shook his head. "Suna has better things to do with its resources than commit to that kind of long term revenge scheme."
Naruto rubbed his hands together. "Second it is, then."
"Yes."
"Since this attack happened on your home soil, I'll leave the main retaliation to you but, for the sake of my people that were killed in the mine, leave the cover up operation to my ninjas."
"That can be arranged."
The two men then steadily proceeded to the Kazekage's mansion. Naruto's mind wondered to his first student.
Sueki enjoyed working for him, it seemed. The harder she worked that day-or that week-, including missions she went on and the number of lives she had ended, then the harder the sex.
Naruto wasn't complaining.
It was a good thing Kushina had moved out; it gave the couple freedom to dirty up their house however they wanted.
Thankfully, they cleaned up after themselves when their appetites had been sated for that moment.
The man didn't pile up work and duties for her, for being Commander of BLAK and Director of Dark Sand was more than enough work for any normal human being.
It was different for Sueki.
In almost every sense of the word, Ketsueki Sakenomi, Naruto's wife and his first student, was a true vampire.
Except for the aversion to sunlight, holy water or holy symbols, the red eyed lady broke out in hives if she makes the mistake of ingesting garlic. It had happened on two particular occasions; when they were still struggling orphans in Ame and once some years ago in a party to celebrate Daichiharu Pansa-Senshi's youngest cousin becoming a Defence Corp Officer.
It was a 'normal', allergic reaction.
She could somewhat lessen the affliction with her Blood manipulation ability.
Sueki was immortal.
Plain and simple.
The Sakenomi family of the Chui-Inku clan, though few in number, had been eradicated to only Sueki and her parents due to their family water reservoir being poisoned with concentrated, grounded garlic. Konoha ninjas ran over the family compound and slaughtered them.
Else they were not meant to die in the first place; their family's second head was still very much alive for that matter, hundreds and hundreds of years later.
Though, for what they enjoyed in longevity, they suffered for in low birth rate.
There wasn't anything wrong with their bodies and their vampirism prevented them from acquiring any sort of genetic disease from a non-Sakenomi, so it shouldn't be hard to conceive a number of times without losing their youth or vitality.
Except it was.
Naruto and Sueki had been trying for years to have children.
The man was ever patient but the woman, though not always showing it, fretted that not being able to bear for her husband would make her lose him. It was a way of thinking she had since her mother had explained the sacred heritage of their family.
Their family doctor, Yuma Nakamura, had said that neither of them had any underlying problems with their reproductive systems. Naruto had no problem 'getting it up' and 'finishing the job' and Sueki could say that she had 'seen stars' multiple times a night. The couple stayed fit, exercising daily and lightly sparring whenever they found the chance, with each other or with their subordinates. They drank plenty of fluids and their diet was fairly healthy-not counting the few splurges Naruto makes a few days a week-.
There wasn't a problem.
Except there was.
Naruto had taken to assuring his wife that even if they didn't end up having children, he wouldn't ever leave her. There wasn't any pressure to bear kids and even if it ended up that they couldn't have kids in the end, he still wouldn't be sad.
Also, having children with her hero had been a dream of hers she held to that very day.
Sueki appreciated her husband's loyalty but, secretly, she had been consulting with the family doctor on alternative ways to have children. Naruto knew of her sneaking out of the house or branching from her office in BLAK HQ to the hospital, and infidelity never once crossed his mind. Recently as well, the BLAK Commander had been taking trips to her family's deserted branch compound in the Chui-Inku compound, eastern region. There, she would scour the exclusive Sakenomi Family Archives, sifting through ancient texts, tomes and scrolls for any sliver of information, any Hiden jutsu she wasn't already aware of that could aid her in her quest.
She wanted a child dearly.
Naruto could respect her privacy concerning her family's private library, but he grumbled in displeasure when he was reminded that Yuma, their doctor, was keeping his mouth shut unless Sueki gave him the go ahead to speak about their meetings.
Unknown to Naruto, Yuma laid out the options to her.
She chose one.
She could only hope she could convince her husband.
Naruto and Rasa finally arrived at the tower. The masked blonde smiled widely and grunted as Sueki came at him with a tight hug. "Hey, Su~. What's up?"
"Sensei…" She looked up at him, her serious red eyes cleared his face of any playfulness. "We…need to talk…"
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
A trench somewhere in Angel's Tundra
Hidden Chill
Frost country
Minato clenched and unclenched his fingers, peeking out from under the grey and white camo blanket he was underneath to the distant Chill shinobi team sweeping the area for traps and replacing them.
Speckled around the general area were other Konoha ninjas lying in wait, mentally preparing themselves for their superior's signal to lunch their ambush.
The only reason they weren't freezing to death was because of the glitch-y heating seals Minato had drawn on the camouflage blankets to protect them from the snow but not melt the ice falling on them.
Yet another blizzard was rolling through Chill and Minato looked down to a small pad and pen.
He picked up the writing instrument and began scribbling down a letter to the last person on the planet he trusted.
Dear Mikoto,
This should be my thirtieth letter to you, I think…
It's only been five months and I feel like I've probably gone mad; I haven't sent any of the other letters anyway, but for some reason I always expect a reply back.
Writing to you, even though you'll never see these letters, is the only way I can stay sane in all this senselessness.
I don't know who to turn to anymore.
Commander Jishou almost caught me sneaking back into my sleeping bag yesterday. The clone I left in my sleeping bag ran out of chakra and dispelled just as I came in.
This damn snow is messing with my chakra.
I can't feel my fingers.
It turns out that the seal tag in Wave still works; I got there and the fighting there is even worse, if that's even possible. I broke into the private library of some fat piece of human waste.
I don't know why I'm insulting him.
He ran away.
…Or he's dead.
This snow is messing with my head.
I haven't been able to sleep lately.
I'm sorry, I'm rambling.
Minato flexed his fingers and painfully cycled chakra through them, just to get feeling back into his numb limbs.
He picked up his pen and continued.
His place was trashed, looted probably. Clothes all over the place, some parts of his home were burnt down and I think I smelt semen in his pantry, I'm not sure. If it sounds crazy, it means I've finally gone off the deep end.
…I was able to find his office.
Remember my last letter? When I said I snuck into the Grass daimyo's palace and stole a bunch of his history books? Well, I was looking through the fat fucks book collection and most of the books he had about…Naruto…basically said the same thing as the Grass daimyo.
Orphan, had to fend for himself and his friends, became The Ghost because of necessity. So that his name would scare away people from hurting his friends…
I'm trying not to be a sheep.
There's no way in hell…Naruto…was able to manipulate the Grass daimyo and this shit eating slime ball.
Why am I insulting him again?
…Why was there semen in his pantry…?
What was I saying again…?
The Namikaze dropped his pen and rubbed his eyes. His heart was in a painful frenzy. His mind would only ever allow him five minutes of sleep before he was jerked back awake to sneak out of the camp to answer more of the questions he had on his paper pad.
His shaking hands picked up his pen.
Naruto…has killed so many people.
I feel like he doesn't care how much blood he has on his hands.
One thing all those books agree on is that he has killed, he will kill and he will keep killing as long as it protects those he holds close.
I've found out so much these past five months, Mikoto.
I've answered so many questions!
A hard grin cracked on Minato's light blue face and his cerulean eyes churned.
Konoha manipulated the last Daimyo of Darkness and annexed the whole country. Konoha took so much from Darkness; trees, obsidian, silver, crops, people…the people of Dark country tried their hardest to push Konoha back, hell, to push everyone back, but it was a losing battle. Konoha raped, enslaved, stole and crippled. People, whole families, ran away from their homes because of what Konoha started.
The Second War wasn't even happening in Dark country!
Then Konoha came, demanded for shit and the stupid, fucking, weak kneed daimyo gave it to them like a simpering puppy.
I read in at least eight separate books from eight separate places that it was because of Konoha, my Konoha, that Ketsueki is the only remaining Sakenomi.
A whole family…gone.
Just like that.
They looked like nice people.
I don't even want to talk about the Kurama clan.
The Civil War would have gone on, just like the Second War…until…until…until…Naruto…and Ketsueki came.
The blonde dropped his pen again as his fingers cramped from the cold. He shook his hands and peeked out of his blanket. He could scarcely see anything through the blizzard. He saw the glint of a forehead protector from a Chill shinobi and how the man bent down to adjust a trap Minato had personally laid.
Minato blinked numerous times as his vision blurred. He rubbed his left hand down his face and muttered.
"Get a grip, man."
His eyes flicked down and he picked up his pen.
Mikoto…I want to tell you something. Promise me you won't tell anyone else, ok?
Promise?
Ok…I'm finding it harder…and harder…to think Konoha has ever been in the right…
Maybe, just maybe, Jiraiya lied to me.
The pen dropped from his hand as he blazed out from under his protective blanket, a split second before his commanding officer could give the order to attack.
A layer of snow blew over the heating blanket and cries of agony lightly filtered through the howling din of the snow storm.
In a camp somewhere in Snow country, Jiraiya shivered.
A chain of distant explosions went off.
Orochimaru looked at him with a raised eyebrow and Tsunade narrowed her eyes. The assembled ninjas around the command table felt uneasy at the chill that had visibly gone through the Toad Sage's body.
Was it a bad omen?
"What the hell was that?" Tsunade hissed under her breath and all eyes fixed on Jiraiya, who chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his neck.
"Someone must be thinking about me." He patted Orochimaru's shoulder and the scientist dusted off the place the other man's hand had touched. Jiraiya ignored the rude gesture and said. "Please, continue."
Authors note
That's the end of this chapter, my dear readers.
What do you think?
Leave a review on your thoughts, would you so kindly. Please stay safe, wherever you are in the world, and I will see you when I see you.
Foy.