Underneath the Underneath
By: FlameXFullmetal
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and I will never have enough money to do so either.
A/N: What's up everyone? I'm back. As I said in Second Chances for those that read my other Naruto story, I took some time to enjoy my birthday, attend my father's wedding and completely plan out the rest of the story to try and prevent me from getting writer's block from not knowing what to do next. So I hope I can get back to some semblance of a schedule without making you wait month's for an update. Now then you know the drill by now!
HeavensHellRazor: I can see your concern that Naruto might just be walking all over the other souls that he needs to collect. So I hope that I can put some of your concerns to rest. Yes Naruto has a powerful dojutsu, however, the progress he makes with it will begin drastically slowly due to the requirements necessary to unlock each stage. He will not have the full form of his new eye until around the last couple of chapters to the story. With his chakra chains he will not be spamming their use, preferring to keep that as a last resort if he can for a considerable amount of time. While they seem useful in cannon they actually had very little in ways of usability overall. He will eventually incorporate them into his fighting style but not for a while.
While Naruto does have two contracts, The dragons and foxes have vastly different skill sets and will be used in different situations. I assure you he will not be gaining anymore contracts so the toad contract will not be one that he summons. He will, however, learn senjutsu just not from the toads but that is still a long way off. I had every intention of eventually reuniting Kyubi's yin and yang halves that is just the one thing I haven't decided on how to do that yet. Just keep in mind that I will eventually have to make sure that he can fight and kill Madara in the end as part of his deal with the shinigami. Something that not even Sasuke and Naruto combined with the allied shinobi forces could do. Madara is pretty much a god. He won't be able to kill him alone, he will need help but he stills need a decent power boost to do so. I hope that eases some of the concern.
10/27/19 - Edited a lot of the grammatical, spelling and sentence structure errors that I noticed or were pointed out in reviews.
"hello" people (bijuu in human form) speaking
'hello' people (bijuu in human form) thinking/coded hand signals
"HELLO" bijuu (full demon form)/summoning/deity yelling
"hello" bijuu (full demon form)/summoning/deity talking
'hello' bijuu (full demon form)/summoning/deity thinking
hello jutsu
***************Ripples in the Water*************
In the days following the exams, Minato had been working diligently to finalize the the treaties between Kumo, Suna and Konoha. He had found some amusement in between all of it when the jonin in charge of Katsuki had barged into his office demanding that they release his genin from the seal trapping him. Minato had found pleasure telling him in no uncertain terms that the seal could only be undone by Katsuki and watching as Onoki burst in not a second later and drag the screaming jonin from the room biting out an apology and promising punishment to the man before disappearing. All in all Minato was beginning to remember why he loved his job. The people he dealt with daily were hilarious when things didn't go their way.
Minato wasn't the only one that was hard at work, either. The genin had doubled down on their training after the exams upon seeing just how outmatched they were compared to their classmates. Especially Aimi who was focusing on increasing both her reserves and control in order to be of use in prolonged battles. All of the genin had found something that they needed to improve on and had been diligently training, well most of them. Some had yet to learn their lesson. Now, however, they were slowly gathering at Yakiniku Q for the explanation that Naruto had promised. When they had arrived they were surprised that they had been placed in an area was quite secluded, offering a bit of privacy.
"Well, I think that everyone who was coming has arrived then." Naruto said after waiting for almost ten minutes following the last person to arrive.
"Indeed it appears that way." Shino stated. Leaning back against the seat Naruto smiled at the gathered genin and nodded.
"You have questions and I will answer them to the best of my knowledge and ability."
"Do you truly have Kyubi sealed inside of you?" Aimi asked hesitantly.
"Yes. Although, my coils were struggling to hold the nine-tail's power when I was younger so at one point some of it was siphoned off and into Kimiko-nee-chan for my safety. So she has access it to some degree." Biting her lip Aimi tilted her head.
"How does that work? Sealing a bijuu in a human I mean?"
"Fuinjutsu!" Naruto declared proudly before laughing at the expressions he was getting. "How does a storage seal work?"
"A seal matrix stores whatever is being sealed inside of it in a pocket space until it is released. Well, that was my understanding of it when Ebisu-sensei tried to explain it."
"Basically. In essence a human with a bijuu sealed inside of them, often referred to as jinchuriki, act as the scroll while the bijuu is the item being sealed. While the seal matrix is well the seal matrix. It is just a lot more complex and contains far more parts to it then a storage seal. Furthermore, it is absolutely vital that a proper seal contain filters to protect the host's mind to keep them from being driven insane or allowing the bijuu to control the host. It also requires a filter seal to make the chakra that will inevitably leak from the seal less harmful. A lock to keep them from escaping, and a way to access the chakra behind the seal in cases of emergencies. That's just the basics."
"Wow. I see why the Yondaime needed to do the seal then. It would need a seal master to seal a bijuu after. Is that why they are in such high demand from all the villages?" TenTen whispered in surprise.
"Partially. A poor seal could result in something far worse than the bijuu rampaging. Which is an out of control jinchuriki. Bijuu would usually try to kill their opponent before finding somewhere else to rest, but an out of control jinchuriki is liable to attack everything that moves without regard to their safety or anyone else's. The other reason is that a seal master would be able to improve the quality of their seals and as a result increase their longevity and usefulness. After all, would you rather carry a thousand kunai in a backpack, a ten scrolls with a hundred kunai each or just a single scroll?"
"A single scroll." The whole group chorused.
"That is the difference between a seal master and someone who isn't. Of course, the Uzumaki are the best at anything fuinjutsu related." Naruto found himself bragging without meaning to. Shikamaru snickered before straightening out.
"Naruto, did you really have to deal with all that crap?"
"...and then some. It was actually because of an attack on me when I was a kid that I met Kyubi. I was trying to escape some drunks and wound up in the forest at midnight. Slipped, fell landed on my head. The injuries from the fall would have left serious damage if Kyubi hadn't fixed them. I kind of owe the fox you know?"
"How are you so optimistic?" Ino whispered.
"I'm not. I'm a realist that leans more towards optimism. I just refuse to look at the things that happen behind me in order to see what is coming at me. It's not healthy to live in the past. Besides, do you really think that a restaurant would suddenly develop a rodent problem on the same day as the yearly inspection? Or that a business would "suddenly" discover an employee was embezzling?"
"You...that...was..." Ino said pointing in shock.
"Why get angry and seek revenge when you can aid karma in happening faster? Throw me out on my head and I'll make sure that you can't bribe or hide the health violations any longer. Accuse me of stealing from you when I hadn't done anything and I'll make sure that the business knows who the real thief is. As far as Kyubi and I are concerned not only was it allowing me to vent and not turn out homicidal, it was training in stealth, information gathering and trapping skills. Plus, we counted them as mock missions to practice in the event that I had to frame someone for a mission. Kyubi isn't that bad, just grumpy. Besides I only know how to read and write thanks to the fox teaching me. Something about not wanting a stupid container."
"That explains why you are so far ahead of us." Choji whispered in surprise.
"Nope! I'm as far ahead as I am because I took this career path seriously from the beginning. Since I didn't have any friends growing up, training was really how I kept myself amused. I also kept in mind that in the event I did find someone to be my friend or even a girlfriend they would be in danger just by being associated with me. So I had to be strong enough to protect us both. I am ahead of you because most of you didn't even start training seriously until the last year or so. A lot of the kinds in our class thought that the life of a ninja was easy. It's not."
"Trust us we know." They chorused making Naruto frown.
"No you don't."
"What do you mean about that, Naruto?" Aimi asked seeing Ino getting angry.
"I went to Uzushiogakure. The birthplace of the Uzumaki clan and the oldest ally that Konoha had until its fall in the second war. I saw the aftermath of war. I personally buried uncles, cousins, aunts, grandparents that I didn't even know I had. Ninja and civilians alike. Men, women and children. All killed because people were afraid of what could happen if they broke their neutral stance and joined Konoha in the war. They were murdered in their own home because people were afraid. No other reason. Also, what I said about fighting and killing Orochimaru in the forest during the preliminaries wasn't a lie. My team was able to trick him enough to make mistakes in anger and capitalized. He was planning to invade the village during the finals." Naruto said seriously watching their faces.
"Holy shit." Haru whispered as his words sank in.
"Despite everything you have learned you still don't realize how serious this is. Otherwise, Ino still wouldn't have moments of regression back into the way she was at the academy, Shikamaru wouldn't be wishing he was anywhere but here right now and Choji would be a little more focused on he conversation instead of the food they are bringing over here." Everyone jumped at the reprimand and the ones mentioned blushed.
"Trust me I get it that the Akimichi rely on calories for the jutsu, however, Choji you eat almost as much and as frequently as your father with less than a quarter of his activity level. You do that because you are afraid of hurting people and use food to comfort you when you are nervous, scared or upset. That means you are hindering your own training by consuming more calories than your body and jutsu need. In addition to that, you focus a lot on junk food for snacks that lend absolutely no benefit when being consumed. Despite popular belief there is a difference between the "fat" and "muscle" that the Akimichi clan has. However, there has to be a balance. The muscle must always be a higher ration than the fat. Right now your muscle to fat ratio is reversed and heavily in favor of fat."
"Did you just call..." Ino started in shock.
"No I didn't call him fat. I said that he had fat. Everyone does. Not having fat in your body isn't healthy and means that you are starving to death or decomposing." The silence was deafening in the room as even Choji processed what was being said. "I would suggest talking with your clan and physician on what changes can be made to your diet as well as increasing the amount of training you do in order to remedy the problem before it gets to the point that you have to chose between your health and your career."
"Also, you don't have to be afraid of fighting your friends. You saw Hinata and Samui's match right? They're friends. They use the differences in their strength and exploited weaknesses to get stronger. Yes, someone may get hurt during a spar. Accidents happen. However, I'm sure you didn't enter the academy with the notion of never being hurt. If they get hurt figure out where the mistake was made and make strides to correct it. Plus, you can keep sparring for when your jonin is present in order to help keep an eye on things to make sure that serious injuries don't occur until you are confident enough to spar on your own. The one who got hurt can also use the experience to find ways to prevent it from happening again."
"I never thought of it like that." Choji admitted as the group went about arranging some of the food on the grill.
"It makes sense to me. You know Hinata used to be a lot like you. She hated the idea of hurting people. She still does but it was even worse when we asked her to spar with us. She didn't want to because she was afraid. We had this conversation with her to. Except, since she wants to be the team medic she had an even bigger reason not to hesitate. If she did her patients might die. It was no longer her life that was on the line. Just think of the alternatives. You are the heavy hitter on your team so if you fall your teammates have been placed in peril. That alone makes your training vital to the teams survival. Ino is your sensor. She detects the threats before they reach you so you aren't taken unawares."
"However, Ino is far to focused on the immediate area and gossip to truly use her sensory ability the way it was meant to be used. As things stand now, Shikamaru is the strategist and as such shouldn't even be on the battlefield or participating in combat. However, he is because without him or Choji holding the opponent in place Ino's clan jutsu can't be used effectively. The problem with that is that all the countries are aware of that and will purposefully aim at him to get him off of the field. That means so long as the two of you can't keep up, Choji's attention will be split between the enemy, the two of you and fighting his own fight. You are supports in the Ino-Shika-Cho combination, but that isn't all you are. You are also shinobi and need to start acting like it before it gets someone killed." Naruto said knowing he was being harsh and yet honest with his friends.
"You can't just.." Ino started before Emi held her hand up.
"Ino. You saw just how much Aimi and I changed in ten months didn't you? We did that, with minimum tools available. Unlike you and Shikamaru we don't have a clan library or clan members to ask advice from. Aimi is the first shinobi in her family. Yet, in all that time with just the public and shinobi library and our jonin the two of us who were weaker than you in the academy have made almost three times as much individual progress as you and Shikamaru combined. Naruto's not saying this to be mean. Even I can tell that. He's trying to motivate you so he doesn't have to attend your funeral if a mission goes south because you faced an enemy that knows how to counter your clan's combinations." Emi stated making the blonde freeze at her words. Slowly sitting back she began to contemplate what had been said as Shikamaru tightly gripped his chopsticks as the truth settled in no matter how much he tried to disprove it. It was true his team had made barely any progress at all. As a team and individually.
"Troublesome. I hate to admit it but you're right. We haven't managed much of anything have we?"
"Since you recognize that now start doing something about it." Katsu said shrugging. "No point in beating yourself up over something that you have time to fix."
"Good point."
"Any other questions?"
"How do you handle knowing that they hate you for protecting them?" Asuka asked quietly.
"I ignore it to the best of my ability. Kyubi once told me something that I asked dad when he woke up. It is in human nature to fear what they don't understand. When they fear something they become angry at the thing that they are afraid of. When a human becomes angry they tend to begin to hate what they fear. It isn't me or the Kyubi that they hate. It's their own fear. When I think of it that way it is easier to ignore and understand. Granted some people do it just because that is their personality but there is nothing that can be done to change stupidity. Otherwise, Sakura would be a more productive kunoichi."
"Good point."
"Can you use it's power?" Airi asked timidly.
"Yes. I can if I want to. However, I have no training in controlling it and I would prefer to go my whole life without ever needing to. If I can't succeed and make it through life with my own power I have no right to force another to fight my battles for me. If you get a summoning contract you should keep that in mind. Battle alongside your summons and respect them. If you have them fight all your battles for you then none of your victories are yours. Plus, it makes you a horrible person like Orochimaru who spent his life trying to make everyone else's power his own through experimentation and desecrating graves."
"What if you do have to use it?"
"Airi, if we are on the battlefield together and I am pushed to the point of needing to use the Kyubi's power I will buy as much time for you to put distance between us. Until I have absolute control I will never allow someone to be on the battlefield with me when I do use it for their own safety." That seemed to brighten her mood considerably as she sat up.
"Don't feel bad for being afraid, either. Bravery is knowing you are afraid, admitting you are afraid and confronting your fear instead of running away. The bravest man in the world is not one without fear but the one who does everything in his power to confront their fear when faced with it. If it is the Kyubi you fear then just admit it. If you ever face the Kyubi just remember that it is fine to fear it but..."
"Don't let my fear control me or my actions." She finished happily as Naruto nodded. After a few moments of silence, Daiki raised his head and opened his mouth to speak only for Naruto to cut him off.
"Don't apologize. You were kids and didn't know any better. Was what you did acceptable? No. Should you be punished for doing as you were told by your parents and teachers? Absolutely not. Will I forgive you and give you another chance? I'm sitting here with you now aren't I?" Smiling in relief the group of classmates returned to their meal as the conversation quickly turned from the past to possible changes in training and the village that could occur with Minato back in charge. It was just as the group was finishing up that an ANBU dropped down in front of the table.
"Uzumaki-Namikaze you have been summoned to the Hokage's office for a mission briefing."
"Call me anything but Naruto again and I will dye all of your uniforms bright pink and alter them all into flamingo outfits." He threatened before standing, paying off the bill in it's entirety and leaving. The ANBU was frozen in place before growling loudly.
"I KNEW HE WAS THE ONE THAT PUT ITCHING POWDER IN OUR MASKS!" He suddenly yelled before quickly leaving the room in a swirl of leaves. The genin just sat there staring at the odd interaction that had just occurred. After a few minutes Sai shook his head and looked at the rest of the group.
"I think that we should be heading off to finalize any changes to our training with our jonin." The others just nodded dumbly and left the restaurant silently.
Naruto was humming happily as he walked up the stairs to his father's office knowing that the ANBU would be after him for that sort-of confession he had made to the string of pranks that had hit the ANBU HQ after some of the ANBU had decided to forget to protect Naruto. He smirked as he entered the office to see a fuming boar masked shinobi and Minato smirking in amusement.
"Itching powder?" He asked trying not to laugh.
"They started it." Shaking his head he straightened up and slipped on a serious expression.
"Naruto, before I give your assignment I want you to know that you have been promoted to chunin congratulations." Naruto merely blushed before accepting the flak jacket and looked back at his father expectantly. "You will be leading the team for this mission. Kimiko will be going with you since we still don't know the distance that you can safely go from one another and to be honest your mother has been smothering her in affection lately. I think she may be on the verge of making me single again."
"Sounds about right for Kimiko-nee-chan."
"I have been going over the state of the village ever since my return and the one thing that I noticed is the state of our medical force and hospital. We have nowhere near enough medics and the hospital is deplorable. So I want you to track down Tsunade, deliver this scroll and escort her back to the village. Permission is granted to drag her back kicking and screaming if necessary. Also, if Jiraiya happens to be in the area or you stumble across him deliver this to him as well. I'm not asking you to get along with either of them."
"Will do. Is that all?"
"Yes."
"Team members and time constraints?"
"If you think you need anyone else besides Kimiko let me know who so I can place them on the mission officially. As for time, no more than two months."
"Hinata. Her byakugan could come in handy. Kimiko is the only one that can possibly fight her if she resists. I can easily initiate contact but Hinata's eyes will prove useful in pinpointing her as I need to know the chakra signature before I can track them effectively right now. If possible I wouldn't mind borrowing Aimi, either, so she can get some experience and away from Kiba who has been driving her nuts."
"Very well thought out. Any other reason?"
"She has been working on increasing her reserves and control which are two things that can be trained on the go and with Hinata's eyes still needing development for that, she would be able to assist in Aimi's training as well."
"Training for the team while on a mission. There is something else isn't there?"
"I think that she has the potential to be a sensor and I want to teach and train it in a real life scenario. This way she gets the hang of it faster and will be able to protect herself in the event that Kiba or Sasuke get some unsavory ideas."
"Good thinking. Gather your team head out. Also inform them that they will be getting their promotions when they get back. I just needed to do yours early so that you could leave without your jonin." Nodding Naruto turned and headed out of the office.
Less than an hour later the group of four were already putting the village behind them as they darted through the trees in search of their target. Naruto led them in silence for almost an hour before coming to a stop in a clearing.
"What do we know of the target?"
"Early to mid fifties, blonde hair and blue eyes. Unmissable bust size. Very accomplished medic and capable of leveling a building with her finger." Aimi stated sweat dropping at the end.
"Uzumaki temper and stubbornness to match." Kimiko dead panned recalling her memories of the girl from within both Kushina and Mito.
"Traveling with her apprentice and the niece of her late fiance, Shizune Kato. If the rumors are to be believed she is also traveling with a very well pampered pet pig." Hinata followed making them groan.
"Good you remembered the mission briefing quickly. Last thing to add. Tsunade is addicted to both alcohol and gambling. This has led to her never staying in one place to long as she tries to escape from the debt collectors. She is very difficult to track down as she has a special henge that allows her to change her perceived age at will. Appearance wise she is most commonly traveling around with the appearance befitting a mid to late twenty year old woman. Occasionally offers her and her apprentice's medical skills as a way to make money and in exchange for room and board. According to Konoha's intelligence she was last seen within Hi no Kuni's borders. Due to her addiction we will be checking towns well known for their gambling halls and casinos. While paying particular attention to towns and cities that are hosting tournaments especially with large rewards." Naruto summed up making them all nod.
"She sounds like she has more than a few problems that she needs to sit down with a Yamanaka to deal with." Aimi stated with a flat tone. All respect she may have had for the woman had just been shattered.
"She does and the Sandaime was lenient enough to allow her to continue duty without it. In any event while we travel we will also be training. Hinata I want you to work with your byakugans and your personal training to achieve that. However, I also want you to help Aimi perfect her control while I work on raising her reserves. We don't want her losing any control in favor of reserves. Kimiko, I want you to work on reducing the presence of your chakra as you are still visible at least a couple dozen miles away. I'll also be working on control and masking."
"How are we going to do that?" Aimi asked in interest.
"I assume you have mastered the tree-climbing and water walking at this point so we are going to try something new I have been playing with." He said raising a water balloon he had brought. "Once you get the hang of forming chakra strings, the two of us are going to try and keep this off of the ground by forming, connecting and maintaining chakra strings between us. I have the reserves to hold them indefinitely but not the control to stabilize them. You have the control to keep them stable but not hold them indefinitely. This also serves another purpose. I think you have the capacity to be a good sensor nin. This will help you get used to the feel of chakra that isn't your own. Hinata will be monitoring you so you don't drop to low on chakra."
"However, the hard part is that to connect our strings together we have to have the same amount of chakra at the same width or the larger, more chakra filled string will weigh down the lighter one and make it break. If we make it as far as getting it even consistently, then we work on making them invisible to that the balloon appears to be floating on its own."
"By sensing the difference in the amount of chakra both of us are using I can help you minimize chakra usage while maintaining the jutsu at the same strength right?"
"Precisely." Nodding the group began their journey once more as Naruto explained the basis behind sensing and the chakra strings to Aimi to get her started. As far as Naruto was concerned the mission would be a very productive one.
It was almost two weeks into the mission when the team finally got their first break. One of the many gambling dens they had visited had mentioned that Tanzaku Gai, a city well known for it's casinos was having a large tournament with a massive pay out and somewhat low buy in. With that information the team had forgone their normal training and sped to the city to get there in time. When they arrived they were pleased to see that they had made it a day and a half before the tournament began. Standing on the roof across from the casino Naruto and his team were contemplating on how to go about getting Tsunade's attention when Kyubi began to beam.
"Naruto, do you know how to play poker?"
"No. Why?" He asked with suspicion.
"Do any of you?"
"No...those kinds of things were beneath the Hyuga so no one is allowed to play in the clan." Hinata confessed.
"Geeze Hinata, how are you so well adjusted when your clan has an issue with living?" Aimi asked a strange expression on her face. "In any event, I do. My brother taught me. I'm not very good though?"
"Cause I'm going to turn you into pros before the tournament. Then the four of us will enter and try our hardest to make it to the table Tsunade is placed at. This way we have a higher chance of getting her attention and sucker her into a bet she can't win."
"Why would we do that?" Aimi asked in confusion.
"That's simple. Tsunade is so bad at gambling if you dangle a big enough carrot in front of her she will accept without thought to try and get her money back. As for the sucker's bet anything that makes her leave with you will work. Even if it is a four hour private lesson on iryo-jutsu that she has to personally hold. Otherwise she will force it on Shizune's shoulders."
"What do we give her in exchange for the it though? It would have to be something that she wants."
"That's easy, all of your winnings. Trust me she isn't good enough to achieve that victory."
"Just one problem." Aimi said after thinking it over and blushing. "I don't have that kind of money..."
"It's for the mission. Thus it comes out of the mission fund. Even if it didn't as team leader it would be my duty to ensure you have everything you need for the mission. That includes the buy in. Furthermore, if you think you might not be able to continue confidently feel free to bow out."
"What about what we win?"
"Yours to keep and do with what you please." Naruto said smiling. Nodding the quartet got hotel rooms for their stay and spent the rest of the time occasionally scouting while learning the intricacies of poker.
By the time the tournament started the four were dispersed throughout the area sharply glancing around to try and find their target. They knew that the woman wouldn't be able to resist the pay out and true to their thoughts they quickly caught sight of her weaving through the crowd and smirked, it was only a matter of time. After sitting at their respective tables they began to play while subtly keeping their target in sight, fully aware that they were being watched for any signs of cheating. They were shinobi, it was expected. Hours upon hours of hand after hand was causing the number of players to dwindle slowly and surely until all four members of the team were at the same place. Tsunade of course was also at the table and Naruto was grinning as he noticed her look of surprise at the four Konoha headbands at the table.
"Never seen so many genin in one place before, let alone gambling." She grumbled before looking down at her cards.
"Not genin. Granted I was the only one promoted pre-assignment but all the "genin" at the table are all newly minted chunin I'll have you know." Naruto replied smirking as the three remaining members jolted and looked at him in shock. "Whoops, did I say that out loud?"
"Since when?!" Aimi cried in surprise.
"Since you clearly passed through the chunin exams in good showing. I was just promoted early so that we could leave to get to our mission." Naruto said shrugging. "You'll be officially promoted when we return."
"Awesome!" Aimi exclaimed before smiling and noticing Tsunade's discomfort disappearing among irritation. Shrugging she glanced at her cards and threw some chips on the table. The chatter died down as the game progressed, Tsunade losing more and more until it was down to the last hand. By that time both Aimi and Hinata had excused themselves seeing no more reason to be there. That left just Kimiko and Naruto with Tsunade who was quickly becoming annoyed. How the brats were that good was baffling the medic. She was starting to think that the academy was beginning to teach a course on gambling. Glaring as she noted just a few chips left in front of her she glanced at her two competitors and twitched at the large stack. Shizune was beside her begging her to leave before they lost the last of their money.
"Let's make this last hand all-or-nothing and to even the odds I'll even throw this in." She challenged holding up her necklace despite Shizune's protests. Glancing over at Kimiko, Naruto raised an eyebrow at her expression. Snickering Kimiko stood and glanced at Tsunade.
"No thanks. I'm happy with the way things are now. I wouldn't feel right stealing from an old woman."
"OLD?!" Tsunade snapped.
"Well...you are older than me." She snorted knowing that wasn't true. Growling Tsunade looked at the blonde across from her almost daring him to accept. Even without the girl's winnings, the blonde had more than enough to make up for her loss.
"I suppose I could but in all honesty I'm not very interested in the Shodai's necklace. However, as you are using it as collateral to make up the difference in monetary value, how about we take the wager farther? Some rules if you will. First, we use the hand dealt. Second, if you win I will not only give you my chips but all the money I have on me. Third, if I win you must give Hinata and Aimi some lessons in iyro-jutsu for no less than four hours. Deal?" Tsunade narrowed her eyes at the boy. Surely he couldn't have that much money on him, right?
"How much money do you have on you to make you think it would make a difference?" She snorted.
"I've done several C-ranks that have escalated as high as A-rank and I have one third of the bounty for Orochimaru and pay for catching several traitors to the village sealed in a blood seal on me right now. You know Orochimaru's bounty so you tell me." Naruto said cheekily making Tsunade's eyes widen in shock.
"What the hell?!"
"So you in?" After a few minutes of mimicking a fish Tsunade sat down and glared at the boy.
"Deal."
"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune gasped in shock. She couldn't believe the older woman would gamble something like her grandfather's necklace.
"Okay then shall we?" Naruto said glancing at the dealer who just shrugged after a minute. Dealing out the cards Naruto watched as Tsunade glanced at her cards and smirked.
"Full house, three tens and a pair of eights. Not many hands beat that, kid." Tsunade gloated. Only three hands beat that and to get them right out of the deck the odds were next to impossible. Alternatively, he could get a higher full house. Sighing Naruto calmly flipped the cards one at a time to reveal...
"Four of a kind, kings. I win." Naruto intoned whiled smirking as Tsunade's face turned red with rage at the sight of her hand being beaten.
"That's not possible you had to of cheated!"
"Unless the dealer or business said that I cheated than I didn't cheat. Alternatively, you'll notice I never moved my hands past the area my cards are at, so you could have your assistant check for chakra usage. However, the only thing she'll find is that my tenketsu have been closed for close to six hours now. So, are you going to admit defeat like an adult and a shinobi or whine like a spoiled child?" He bit back making the woman growl before storming out of the building Kimiko in hot pursuit having already cashed in her chips. Quickly the remaining three did the same, Aimi's eyes widening at the amount that she hadn't even payed attention to before thanks to her laser focus on the mission. Darting after the red-head they laughed to see Tsunade attempting to glare Kimiko to death.
"Well then why don't we go to dinner and talk about our plans and the mission we were sent on. Also, no alcohol since I'm paying." Naruto said turning and heading to a nearby restaurant. As the group of six and one pig sat down Naruto glanced at the waitress as she approached.
"I'm paying so no alcohol for those two, irregardless of how much they try to get around that rule." The waitress nodded as she quickly took their orders laughing as Tsunade attempted to try and get even with Naruto by ordering an expensive meal only to realize she would have to order more food than she could eat. Naruto had clearly thought this through. Just as the food arrived and hey started to eat Naruto smirked at the medics in amusement.
"So then we can discuss the mission later. For now the lessons. Hinata is a Hyuga and has amazing control in addition to very large reserves. Aimi here is the first ninja in her family and has very good control and is steadily approaching the area of excellent control. We have been working on her reserves and control simultaneously so she doesn't lose any of her control. Kimiko and I on the other hand have far to much chakra and no where near enough control to go anywhere near iryo-jutsu."
"So I am working with a civilian born and a Hy...HYUGA?!" Tsunade exclaimed sputtering as the name finally registered. "I thought the Hyuga were against that!"
"They are, I am not. I have every intention of destroying all of the clan traditions holding the clan back and turning them into the shinobi they can be by encouraging experimentation and exploration into other shinobi areas of study." Hinata declared to Tsunade's reaction.
"Well, I'll be. I have wanted to get the Hyuga in the medical corp for some time. Though I doubt a few hours will change anything."
"Tsunade! What a coincidence meeting you here! Did you happen to take in more apprentices?" A voice rang out that made Kimiko's eye twitch in annoyance and her lips to curl in anger.
"Jiraiya...no I just lost a bet." Tsunade grumbled. Jiraiya raised an eye and looked closer at what he believed to be genin before freezing at seeing Naruto who looked annoyed to see him. His eyes slowly slid over the rest of the team. A quick glance at the kunoichi who appeared to be civilian born yielded, in his eyes, nothing of importance. As his gaze landed on the Hyuga though he giggled and raised an eyebrow. The Hyuga heiress so far from home with no jonin nearby? Was his sensei going crazy? However, when his gaze met Kimiko's his body tensed and his blood turned to ice in his veins. However, before he could say anything Kimiko beat him to it.
"One word pervert and you'll be arrested for discussing S-class secrets. Your choice." She snarled. Jiraiya recoiled as if he had been struck before inviting himself to sit near Tsunade and Shizune. Flagging the waitress he went to order before Naruto's voice cut him off.
"No alcohol for him as he is intruding at my table and he is paying for his own meal." The waitress nodded as Jiraiya grumbled under his breath about ungrateful brats.
"You should be glad that we had a secondary mission involving you otherwise I would have told you to take a hike for your lack of manners, Jiraiya." Naruto nearly snarled. Aimi looked confused at the change in behavior and was going to ask but Tsunade beat her to it.
"What's with the attitude brat? I know that he is a pervert but you are acting like you are speaking to an Iwa nin or something."
"Oh not really." Kimiko replied drawing attention to herself. "He speaks to Iwa nins a lot more politely than that. The problem dear Aimi, Tsunade and Shizune is that this worthless shinobi just so happens to be Naruto's godfather and this is the first time that he has seen him since he was born."
"WHAT?!" Aimi yelled before turning a glare to the sannin who was fidgeting nervously. "You abandoned Naruto, knowing what he was?! How could you? Have you no shame?!"
"I had duties I had to attend to! A spy network to run! I couldn't be there all the time and sensei promised to take care of him!" Jiraiya meekly defended. Kimiko glared at the man baring elongated canines at him.
"You know that is a load of crap, pervert. Sarutobi promised nothing of the sort and that you came back to the village every few years to deliver your reports and check in with the village. Furthermore, you are also well aware that eighty percent of the time is spent in brothels and with prostitutes or spying on bathhouses. None of which has anything to do with your job. Finally, you were in the village ten months ago when there was an assassination attempt on Naruto's life and never bothered to check in on him. You showed up to a meeting demanded answers and then left to spy on the bath houses for five days before leaving the village once more. So don't you dare lie to those that don't know what you are like." She snarled in anger. Standing she sent a look to Naruto before disappearing from sight.
"Well, you just had to open your mouth didn't you?" Naruto said before looking down at the table and noticing that the plates were empty. Standing and paying the bill he tossed a scroll to the pervert before signaling his team to follow.
"Oh well. Secondary mission complete. We'll continue the discussion tomorrow Tsunade-san after we have had time to cool down. Please don't make us chase you down." As the group of three headed for the door Naruto suddenly paused before looking back at the sannin. "Oh and Jiraiya one more thing. If you ever look at my girlfriend like that again I'll tear your dick from your body and force feed it to you before informing Hiashi that you were inappropriate with his eldest daughter and heiress. I'm sure you wouldn't want that now would we?"
************T.B.C.************
A/N: Well how did you like it? I hope it wasn't to disappointing. This will conclude in the next chapter and after that will begin a new "arc". The smaller arcs are being done in one to two chapters because well, let's face four or five chapters of this length on average per arc is ridiculous. Things like the mission to the land of snow most certainty do not need to be drawn out. In any event let me know what you think and I'll see you in the next chapter! Ja ne!