Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any properties in this work that I did not make myself.

Harold of Konoha

Chapter thirty-nine: While the guys are away, the girls get to play (AKA Being a Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak is not something that's limited by age)

"…Thusly," Naruto said as he read aloud from a letter that he was holding as he sat at his desk in his office at the Hokage office building in Konohagakure, "I believe that it would be a fantastic gesture of Konoha showing goodwill if Inoichi, Tsume, Kuromaru and I were to take Sakura with us on our trip to go visit my student Luna. Sincerely yours, Harold Fisher." (1) Lowering the letter that he held, Naruto looked up to his three advisors, Sasuke, Shikamaru and Shino. To Sasuke specifically, the sixth Hokage said, "So this is the letter that Mr. Fisher wrote and asked you to give to me before he left with my dad, Mrs. Inuzuka, Kuromaru and Sakura?"

Giving a single curt nod in the affirmative, Sasuke replied, "Yes, Naruto. Apparently, Sakura's uncle had arranged to bring Sakura out to where his music student lives so that she could heal some injury on one of the legs of the student's younger brother."

Naruto let out a resigned sigh before saying, "At least both Sakura and Kuromaru are with them to keep an eye on them. I shudder to think of what they'd do while without supervision while they are representing Konoha on the international stage."

"My guess would be that they'd either steal animals from a local zoo and ride them," Shikamaru began as he crossed his arms over his chest, "Get into a car chase in the streets of whatever city or town they're going to, or get involved in trying to play hero in stopping some insane plot that some local villainous fellow is trying to pull off." Giving a single nod that showed he felt sure of what he had said, Shikamaru remarked, "Mark my words. Those guys would turn the world itself on its head if given even half a chance."

"And ice cream trucks the world over will all crash and burst into flame," Naruto remarked in a tone of agreement as he nodded a few times. The current Hokage folded the letter he got back up, slipped it away into a drawer in his desk, and then closed the drawer before looking back up at his advisors. "So then," Naruto began, "Aside from that little bit right there, what else is there on the schedule today?"

Holding up a clipboard that he was holding, Shino said, "Oh, we're expected to meet with a delegation from the Land of Soda later today." Lowering the clipboard back down, Shino said, "The new leader of the Land of Soda, some fellow called Lord Yuki, wants to meet with us so he could get a feel for how he can run things since he took over for his predecessor, the late Lady Kohaku." (2) Gesturing to Naruto, Shino continued, "On the subject of the late ruler of the Land of Soda, you've been invited to attend her funeral by Lord Yuki. As a side note, Kiba, Choji and I have also been invited, since our respective wives, who are also going to the funeral, were Lady Kohaku's handmaidens."

"So that explains why Hinata told me she was going to see her father about borrowing a set of black-colored men's kimono robes for me to wear," Naruto remarked. Letting out a resigned sigh, Naruto continued, "Well, I guess that I ought to work on what to say to Lord Yuki when I attend the funeral for his predecessor." Arching an eyebrow as he looked as Shino, Naruto asked, "I guess that you already have something to wear to the funeral yourself?"

Smacking himself in the forehead immediately after Naruto had asked his question, Shino exclaimed, "D'oh!" (3)

Sophia Fisher, the beloved wife of Harold, was enjoying some tea with her friend Michelle Yamanaka, the beloved wife of Inoichi. The two older women were socializing, talking to one another as they wondered what exactly their respective husbands are up to while they're off representing Konoha on the international stage. "I bet that Harold will have so many stories about what he and Sakura had done when they get back with the others," Sophia remarked to Michelle.

Nodding in agreement, Michelle said, "I bet that Inoichi will likewise have a lot of tales to tell his and my grandchildren when he returned." (4)

"You know, Michelle," Sophia began, "I think that we ought to-" The Fisher matriarch was cut off midsentence when there was a knock at her door; Sophia had invited Michelle over. Getting up from her seat, Sophia made her way over to the door and answered it; when she got there, Sophia was pleasantly surprised to see her and Harold's grandnephew Haru standing there. "Is Uncle Harold here?" the Uchiha boy asked, a hint of concern in his tone, "Something really bad almost happened, and I think he can figure out who it was that tried to do the bad thing and put a stop to it before things get out of hand."

"Haru, sweetie, your Uncle Harold isn't in the Land of Fire right now," Sophia proceeded to explain, "He and his friends took your mother with them to visit someone on the international stage to go heal some critically injured boy, and they won't be back for quite some time." With a look of concern on her face, the Fisher matriarch asked, "What happened, though?"

Waving his arms all over, Haru said, "There was this big blast at a meeting where dad, the Hokage, and a few other important guys met with the delegation from the Land of Soda. Nobody was seriously hurt, but now the village is on high alert while shinobi are investigating what or who was responsible." With a concerned look on his face, the Uchiha boy went on, "The reason that I came here is because Uncle Harold and his friends have a knack for figuring things out in situations like this and saving the day. But since they aren't here, I don't know who else to ask."

Sophia turned back around to look into her and Harold's living room, where Michelle was sitting. Getting the older Yamanaka woman's attention, Sophia said, "Hey Michelle, did you hear all of that?"

Michelle replied with a nod in the affirmative. Both Michelle's face and that of Sophia's were bearing amused, knowing smiles. "…Are you thinking what I am thinking, Sophia?" Michelle asked as she got up and walked over to join the Fisher matriarch.

"Indeed," Sophia replied before turning to face Haru. "Young man, my friend here and I will be looking into this matter," Sophia said to her grandnephew, drawing a surprised look out of him.

"You and Shikaru's grandma are going to try and figure out what's going on?" Haru asked, clearly surprised, "But neither of you are even shinobi." (5)

Gently shaking her head, Sophia said, "You're right, Haru. Neither Michelle nor I are ninja." With a confident smile on her face, Sophia continued, "Regardless, that will not stop the two of us from trying to get to the bottom of the attack."

Haru beamed a bit, impressed by the awesomeness of the older members of his family. "No wonder Uncle Harold and you are married," Haru said, "The both of you are pure awesome!"

Sophia chuckled in sincere amusement by her grandnephew's praise of her determination. After Haru had taken his leave, Sophia and Michelle both went about getting ready to head out to look into the matter of the attack that had rocked the meeting between the delegation from the Land of Soda and the delegation based in Konoha. Once the two women had what they felt that they were going to need, they took their leave to go look into the matter.

Sophia and Michelle stood around the outdoors area that was rocked by the blast that nearly hurt the folks from the Land of Soda, as well as Naruto and his advisors. "A delegation from the Land of Soda was visiting," Sophia remarked, "And some of Konoha's most important people were here for the meeting. Not to mention the fact that Konoha is one of the participating parties in the current war against Kumo."

Nodding a few times in agreement, Michelle remarked, "Yes. Whoever tried to launch the attack must have been pretty gutsy to try and do something so dangerous, and at an event that would undoubtedly have loads of security."

The two older women looked around, saw that some folks from the Land of Soda were still being interviewed by Konoha shinobi that were on scene. One particular person stood out from the folks from the Land of Soda; he wore a white men's kimono top, matching leggings, sandals, a white-colored waist-length haori coat, and he wore his pale yellow blonde hair slicked back. All of this clothing had golden-yellow trim, and he wore a necklace that had a charm that was crafted to look like a fancy family crest.

Sophia and Michelle, both suspicious of this man, decided that they would talk to him once he was free to speak with them. After a minute or so, the Konoha shinobi broke away, allowing the two older women to walk up and talk to the man that had their suspicions. "Ah, you are local elderly citizens here in Konoha," the suspicious man greeted, "I am Lord Yuki, new leader of the Land of Soda. How may I help you?"

"Oh, you're the new leader of the Land of Soda?" Sophia asked, "Well, that would certainly explain why those men were talking to you just now."

"Yes, I was almost hit in the attack that had occurred earlier," Lord Yuki confessed, "I mean, that does come with the territory, you know? Being the ruler of a nation makes you a prime target for assassinations and whatnot." The way that Lord Yuki spoke made Sophia and Michelle think of him as some haughty, arrogant man that felt as if the world revolved around him; he spoke as if he were better than anyone who he may interact with, which right now were the two older women themselves. Holding up a hand in a gesture to cut off argument, Lord Yuki said, "Oh, but enough about me and how above the common rabble I am."

"Actually, I was a bit interested in how things are run over in the Land of Soda," Sophia remarked, "I know very little about your nation, even though the Land of Soda has been allied with the Land of Fire back when Lady Tsunade was still the active Hokage." There was a slight hint of suspicion in the Fisher matriarch's words as she spoke to Lord Yuki, not that he had noticed any of it. Michelle, on the other hand, picked up on it right away, and knew how to play along with her friend's line of questioning.

Gesturing to Lord Yuki, Michelle said, "Yes, actually. I'm interesting in how things are run in your nation as well. As the ruler of the Land of Soda, surly you must have some say in how things are managed."

Nodding in confirmation, Lord Yuki said, "Oh, I dabble in a little bit of everything. My predecessor, the late Lady Koharu, left a lot of things to specific government people, but as the new ruler, I want to have a more active role in managing my nation. You know, to have a better understanding of how to better lead my land and my people to new heights."

"Do…" Sophia began as she gestured to Lord Yuki, "…You have any idea on if there are any persons who may not be all that fond of the idea of you trying to have more of an active role in the day to day managing of pretty much all aspects of your nation's government?"

Lord Yuki went wide-eyed with shock at the Fisher matriarch's question. "You think that this attack might have been aimed at me?" Lord Yuki nearly exclaimed.

"Well you are a new ruler to a nation," Michelle pointed out, "And you're trying to shake things up a lot over in the nation that you now rule. Maybe there are some persons who may not be all that fond of what you're up to."

Lord Yuki briskly shook his head, clearly denying the ideas of the two older women. "That is by far one of the silliest things I have ever heard," Lord Yuki declared firmly, "Anyone wanting to put an end to my life, just because they don't agree with what I am up to. Seriously, the local shinobi here thought to ask that as well." With a 'humph' in his tone, Lord Yuki said, "Maybe the locals here aren't all that fond with how the government of this village runs things, that they think that Konoha is on the wrong side of the fifth great ninja war and should jump ship to assist Kumo in winning the conflict."

Both Michelle and Sophia took a step back out of shocked surprise upon hearing what the new ruler of the Land of Soda had just suggested. "You do realize that Kumo is the reason why the fifth great ninja war even started," Sophia began, "Don't you? Not to mention all of the terrible things that Kumo ninja have tried to do in the times preceding the fifth great ninja war."

Shrugging indifferently, Lord Yuki said, "I'm just saying." Lowering his arms, Lord Yuki went on, "Now then ladies, if the two of you will be so kind as to excuse me, I must be going. It's bad enough I was forced to wait around the area where I had almost lost my life in the attack a few moments ago, but I will not wait around a moment longer." Without another word, Lord Yuki had turned around and walked away, leaving Sophia and Michelle be.

After the new ruler of the Land of Soda was gone, the two older women turned to face each other. "…Is it me," Michelle began, "Or is there something about that fellow that just strikes me as off? I mean, he did suggest that Naruto ought to support Kumo instead of our traditional ally of Suna in the current war."

"There's also the fact that Kumo tried to kidnap Naruto's wife on multiple occasions because the Kumo ninja wanted to get ahold of the Byakugan," Sophia pointed out, drawing agreeing nods out of the older Yamanaka matriarch. (6) Gently shaking her head, Sophia said as she crossed her arms over her chest, "There's no way that Naruto would ever want to ally Konoha with Kumo, especially given their previous history in trying to harm his wife."

"…We ought to look into this some more," Michelle remarked, drawing nods of agreement from the Fisher matriarch.

The two older women, once they had figured out where Lord Yuki was staying, managed to sneak their way into his room. Despite how neither of them were shinobi, Sophia and Michelle were able to avoid being spotted, caught in the act, or anything that would have otherwise blown their cover. As Sophia and Michelle searched Lord Yuki's room at the hotel that he and his group were staying at, it was Sophia that found a folder that was labeled 'big plans to make the Land of Lightning the best land over all forever'.

Putting this folder into her purse, Sophia made her way out of the hotel room with Michelle. The two older women managed to get out of the hotel without arousing suspicion from anyone, then they eventually got back to Michelle's place; Ino, Michelle's daughter, and Hinata, who is married to Naruto who Michelle and Inoichi adopted (7), were both over visiting. They even had Shikaru and Natsu with them.

While the kids were out in the living room playing against each other in video games (Natsu was winning, btw), the two older women had Ino and Hinata meet with them in a room further down the hallway. Assured that they were alone, Sophia took out the folder that she had lifted from Lord Yuki's hotel room and opened it so that she, Michelle, Ino and Hinata could all take a look at what was contained within.

"Holy…" Ino said under her breath as she and the others read all that was in the folder, "…We need to bring this to Naruto's attention, like, now!"

"Both Lady Koharu of the Land of Soda and her successor Lord Yuki were actually murdered by Kumo shinobi," Hinata said as she gestured to the files, "And a Kumo ninja had taken the form of the late Lord Yuki, using the transformation jitsu, in order to get into Konoha in an effort to kill off all of the important government figures in Konoha. The other men that are with who is actually a Kumo ninja are all plane clothes disguised Kumo ninja." Gently shaking her head, the Uzumaki matriarch said, "Naruto is in danger!" (8)

"Especially considering that the explosion attack earlier was not only secretly caused by the Kumo ninja, but that it was aimed at Naruto and his advisors," Ino pointed out, "Meaning that Shikamaru is also in danger. Same goes for Shino and Sasuke." The four women all nodded in agreement that they had to get to Naruto and the others and tell them what was going on, with Sophia even putting the folder and all of its contents back into her purse.

The four women all ran out into the living room to head for the front door, but stopped short when they saw that Shikaru and Natsu weren't there; their respective video game stuff was, but not the kids themselves. The women did, however, find a note laying on the coffee table in the living room, which was using Natsu's Playtendo Swap Lite as a paperweight. The women all walked over to the table, and it was Hinata who picked the note up and read it;

Look, we know that it was you two old ladies who stole our plans for weakening Konoha by knocking out its command structure. Bring the plans to the enclosed address here in the village, and we will return the brats unharmed; we won't even take the Hyuga girl's Byakugan, as a sign of good faith. Also, tell NO ONE about any of this; trust us, we WILL know if you told anyone about any of our plans.

Sincerely yours, the ninja of Kumogakure

P.S.: Look on the bright side, you'll be helping to bring Kumo victory in the fifth great ninja war! This is the result that everyone in all the nations wants, so why impede it? Also, if you all take too long in bringing out plans to us, we'll go ahead and take the Hyuga girl's byakugan anyway. More for Kumo, we always say!

"They…they kidnapped the kids," Hinata said in a shocked tone of disbelief, "And they're threatening to take Natsu's eyes as well."

"We can't do anything that would risk putting the kids in any danger," Ino said, a grim look of knowing on her face, "That being said, we're going to have to go and do this alone."

The four women all nodded in agreement before leaving the house. After they made their way down the front steps, they were met up by Haru. "Hey, Mrs. Uzumaki," the Uchiha boy greeted, "Do you know where Natsu is?"

Gently shaking her head, Hinata said with a hint of strained worry in her tone, "Sorry Haru, but I have no idea where Natsu is at. Now if you'll excuse us, we have to get going." Before they could be stopped, the four women all took off, leaving Haru standing there with a look of sheer confusion on his face. He never recalled seeing any of those women act like how they did just now, and it had him worried.

Later, at a somewhat secluded location in Konoha, Sophia and Michelle led Ino and Hinata into an abandoned warehouse. "…Well, this is the location in the ransom note," Sophia said as she and the others all looked around, "I still can't believe that all of what happened since the attack earlier was all the doing of Kumo ninja."

"I know," Hinata remarked, shuddering a bit as she recalled some less than pleasant memories from her past, "I just hope that nothing bad will happen-"

"And it won't," a male voice called out, cutting Hinata off and making her jump a bit. Likewise, Ino, Sophia and Michelle all jumped a bit out of surprise as well. Stepping out from the shadows were half a dozen Kumo shinobi, all dressed in the standard uniform for shinobi from their village. In the middle of the row, being person number seven, was Lord Yuki, or as was revealed when he poofed up in a cloud of white smoke that denoted the undoing of a transformation jitsu, a seventh standard Kumo shinobi.

Holding his right hand out in a gesture to show he wanted something handed over to him, the middle Kumo shinobi said, "Provided, of course, that you did as you all were told. Now, give us our file containing our plans to destroy Konoha from within." Hesitantly due to being a mix of scared and nervous, Sophia walked up to the Kumo ninja, pulled the file out of her purse, and handed it over to the middle Kumo ninja.

He received the file, handing it off to the Kumo ninja on his right. "Good job," the middle Kumo shinobi said in a haughty, condescending tone as he gently patted Sophia on the left side of her face with his right hand, "You see, this is how you all ought to behave to us from Kumo. You lot are a model of good behavior that ought to be observed by everyone once Kumo wins the war."

"And what makes you all so sure that Kumo will win?" Michelle asked, angry with how vile the Kumo shinobi were, although she was hiding her feelings out of fear that the Kumo shinobi might be inclined to attack if they feel so much as a shred of disrespect towards them.

The middle Kumo shinobi turned to face the older Yamanaka woman. Arching an eyebrow as he looked at Michelle, the middle Kumo shinobi said, "Because that's simply how things will be. No one can top the power and glory that is Kumogakure. We will not stop until all that we are owed has been attained, even if we have to wipe everyone else out in the process."

"And with so much opposition facing you down?" Sophia asked.

Turning to regard the Fisher matriarch, the middle Kumo shinobi merely laughed in a sort of sinister chuckling. "…They will be made to learn, sooner or later," the middle Kumo shinobi said, "They will be brought to kneel before Kumogakure. It doesn't matter if it'll take the rest of the year, or until the heat-death of the universe." Holding his arms out at length at his sides, the middle Kumo shinobi said, "We of Kumogakure will not stop. We will not surrender. We will standing at the top of all in the end, and there is nothing that any force can do to-"

*CRASH*

"GO, GO, GO, GO, GO!" a random male voice shouted as dozens of Konoha shinobi began to pour into the warehouse, surrounding everyone. Without warning, the seven Kumo shinobi were all subdued by the oncoming rush of Konoha shinobi, one of which was Sasuke. After he was able to confirm that the seven Kumo shinobi were all subdued, the Uchiha patriarch turned to face the four women.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Sasuke said to Sophia, "You and the others here had Haru worried, Mrs. Fisher. He said you were all acting suspicious but he had no idea why, so I decided to have you all trailed." Jerking a thumb over his back, Sasuke said with an amused smirk, "I suppose these fellows have something to do with it? Shikamaru, Shino and I found two of their fellows in a hotel room with Shikamaru's son and Naruto's daughter, so re swiftly rescued the both of them. They are both safe and unharmed."

"Also, we captured the two Kumo shinobi guarding the kids," Shikamaru said as she stepped forward; upon hearing her husband speak, Ino realized that it was Shikamaru who had shouted 'go' repeatedly as the Konoha shinobi rushed into the warehouse. Looking over to the seven Kumo shinobi, Shikamaru said, "Just like we're capturing these seven here."

As Sasuke and Shikamaru got some statements from the four women, Shino jogged over to them, carrying the file that Sophia was made to return to the Kumo shinobi earlier. Handing the file over to Sasuke, Shino said to him and Shikamaru in a very serious tone, "The three of us are will be wanting to bring this to Naruto's attention pronto."

Sasuke opened the file, and he and Shikamaru read its content. Letting out a whistle, Sasuke said, "Yeah, this is some serious business." Closing the folder, Sasuke said as he addressed the four women, "Well, we ought to get you all out of here. Come on." Sophia, Michelle, Ino and Hinata were all grateful to get out of there, and were likewise grateful that the kids had been rescued. (9)

A few days later, Sophia and Michelle were sitting and talking with Harold, Inoichi, Tsume, Kuromaru and Sakura, all five of which had just gotten back from their trip to out of Konoha and over to where Harold's student in the dank ways of awesome and rock lives. Harold had just gotten done with telling his and Inoichi's respective wives about what all he and his group had done over in the Royal Woods area. Setting down a can of beer, the Fisher patriarch said after he had finished telling his story, "Now, what's all this about Kumo trying to destroy Konoha from within while the lads and I had Sakura with us in Royal Woods?"

Sophia and Michelle then proceeded to explain what all had happened while Harold and company were all out of Konoha. The two older women left no details out, and by the time that the both of them were done, Harold, Inoichi, Tsume and Kuromaru all had looks of shock on their respective faces. Only Sakura did not look shocked, and she explained that she was given a debriefing of the situation by Sasuke.

"That would explain why Konoha forces are thoroughly investigating the Land of Soda to root out any possible leftovers from this plot by Kumo to try and weaken us to the point where things will be much easier for them in the war," Tsume remarked. (10)

"Well those bastard Kumo bastards were all foiled," Inoichi said. Gesturing to Michelle and Sophia, the Yamanaka patriarch continued, "And we got me and Harold's respective wives here to thank for that. It's due to them investigating that Konoha even found out what was really going on with the Land of Soda, discovered what Kumo had done."

Nodding in agreement, Harold continued, "And we also got some POWs that Konoha can use to try and barter to get back some of our village's POWs that are being held by Kumo." (11) The seniors and Sakura all agreed that some good had come of what Sophia and Michelle had done while the group was away, but both women said that they weren't in any mood to try and go on another adventure, something everyone agreed to.

END, CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

Author's notes:

1. The events of 'We must protect the Runestone!' are relevant to the letter that Harold wrote.

2. See chapter 14 of 'Guess who's back?' for more on this.

3. …Naruto is going to choose to take this as a 'no'.

4. Oh, like how he (spoiler for event in 'We must protect the Runestone!)?

5. Sophia is an OC who I created not to be an actual shinobi, and from what I could find, there is no evidence of Ino's mom ever having any formal shinobi training.

6. This actually happened in the manga and anime for the series proper. It actually happened twice in the anime, if that one filler episode featuring Neji and Hiashi is to be believed.

7. …Look, you're going to have to be caught up with a lot of this story to understand this one here.

8. Ehh, it'll take a lot more than all of that to put someone like Naruto in danger. She's a little confused, but she's got the spirit.

9. A good thing Haru got worried about how the women were acting, huh?

10. The Land of Soda will also need some help getting its government back on its feet, what with all that Kumo did to screw it up from within.

11. POWs are a common element in wars, you know. They can often make for excellent bargaining chips in negotiations between two or more opposing forces.

So yeah. Without Harold and the lads in Konoha, someone had to do the crazy adventure in this chapter. So I figured, why not have Harold's wife and Inoichi's wife do the adventure instead? I was toying around with trying to throw in Tsume's husband Banyo and/or Mikoto Uchiha, but neither of them worked out in the end. Anyway, since Harold and friends are back in Konoha, I can go ahead and get to work on the fortieth chapter of this story, which will help further solidify 'Harold Fisher: Legend of Konoha' as a part of a much larger overall narrative.