I don't own Naruto, or any of the characters of the Manga or Anime. If I did I wouldn't have so many damn fillers.
A Price for Peace
Chapter 15: The Leopards in the Hollow Mountain
Naruto looked around in awe as Yuneko, the Matriarch of the Snow Leopard summon clan took them deeper into the mountain cave. Regardless of how deep they were underground, strangely there was still light, almost like the ice walls were glowing to greet the leopards home. Another rather obvious thing Naruto was noticing, was that the temperature was increasing rapidly. Naruto was already feeling stuffy in his large thermal jacket and pants.
"We are almost to the village. be ready because the temperature is quite drastically different to what you have experienced outside. We Snow Leopards may be in our element in the cold and snow, but we love nothing more than a warm place to sleep." Yuneko said as the path took a steep decline.
They came out in a large stone cave, a massive open area that rose high up with what looked like smaller caves that had been turned into homes scattered around the edges. The sizes would descend, with the largest Leopards living on the bottom level and growing smaller as they go up until there were small holes only big enough for a cub right at the top. A large river of steaming water traveled through the middle of the giant cave, lit by crystals that bathed the giant open area in a bright blue glow. Both Naruto and Karin were bug eyed at the sight. Snow leopards of every size lay around from place to place, a few sending the two shinobi lazy stares. 'There is so many of them, certainly more than the toad clan.' Naruto thought in wonderment.
"Kami it's hot in here." Karin complained gripping the neck of her jacket trying let more air in. Naruto simply unzipped his jacket and stored it away in his back pack. Karin eventually deciding to do the same.
"Yes the our underground village is heated by hot springs, each individual leopards cave has their own hot spring for warmth and a bath to suit the leopards size. We will prepare a cave for your stay once we meet with the elder." The giant snow leopard explained. It said a lot about the sheer size of the place that Yuneko was barely tall enough to reach a quarter of the way to the top if she was standing on her hind legs.
"So where does this elder live?" Naruto asked in his usual brash manner.
"The elder has a private chamber at the far end of this hall, we will be there momentarily." The large leopard answered. When they arrived at the far end of the hall two large passageways curled in either direction, leading up to the caves that littered the walls. In between them, a larger path led down further underground, where a dull red glow could be seen and the heat radiating from below was intense. "The elder lives down here." Yuneko stated as they crossed into the new cave leading down.
The path curled around, the walls seemed to reflect even the dullest light to illuminate their path. It opened out into a thin hall of jet black stone, the glowed with a red tint that came from a thin creek of lava. The room felt like a sauna, steam was rising from small cracks in the floor. At the far end of the hall Naruto was surprised to see a large stone house with intricately carved statues of large leopards lining the pathway. The entrance was of course large enough for even the biggest of the leopards to enter.
As they approached a regular sized leopard came out to greet them. "You brought them Yuneko-sama?" the new feline asked in a deep masculine voice, despite not having the commanding power of the massive leopard before him it held a sense of authority.
"Of course I did, Namayu. Is he ready to see them?" Yuneko asked.
The now named Namayu nodded once. "He is, but he desires to speak with them one at a time. He has things to discuss in private, and a summoning contract to hand out to the girl. Please send in the young sage."
Naruto, guessing that he meant him, jumped off Yuneko's back landing in front of the much smaller cat. "You mean me right?" he asked.
"This is the boy? He doesn't look like much. Maybe Elder-sama is getting a little too old I see nothing special about him." Namayu said dispassionately.
A tick mark formed upon Naruto's head, being looked down upon was always a pet peeve of the blond. Yuneko laughed but soon became serious. "He defeated the mountain guardians at the eastern pass, with ease I might add. Nobody has done that since-"
"Hm very well, you may enter boy." Namayu interrupted the larger feline much to her annoyance, yet she let it go for now.
Naruto just shrugged and walked past the smaller leopard while mumbling something about being talked down to by a fur ball. 'You act as if that doesn't happen all the time.' Kurama taunted picking up on the blonds annoyance. The inside of the house was another large hall, however this was very poorly lit, giving Naruto very little to see in front of his face.
'It's different if it's you Kurama, he was judging me without even knowing me.' Naruto answered.
'So you're saying that I can talk down to you more often than I do already, oh what fun.' The large fox guffawed.
'Yeah but no matter how much you do, you still have to live with the fact I beat you in a fight and stole your chakra.' Naruto replied jokingly.
Kurama scoffed at Naruto's response. 'Whatever, don't get too confident, I could always stop helping you. Anyway look sharp, you're being watched.'
'Yeah I know, I can feel it, something moving in the shadows, the stealth is amazing to not make a single sound despite where we are.' Naruto agreed. A few steps later and a large empty cushioned pedestal appeared, light shone down on it from above and illuminated the hall.
Naruto spun around to catch his stalker who had chosen that moment to move. He was surprised however to see an elderly leopard, thin and battle scarred. "You knew I was following you?" the leopard asked in a croaky voice.
"Well, you could say I am a bit of a sensor, although the truth is I have nothing on Karin." Naruto admitted.
"You are the child I have been waiting for, I knew from the moment you stepped into my hall." the elder cat said with a victorious smirk before leaping gracefully over Naruto and onto the large cushion in the centre of the hall.
"Why have you been waiting for me?" Naruto asked curiously.
"You boy are fated for great things. The saviour of a world must die in one only to be reborn in another." the elder said matter of factly.
Naruto was completely lost. "What are you talking about? Are you planning on trying to kill me, because I am not going down without a fight!" Naruto declared his eyes taking on a tint of red as Kurama was ready to jump in and defend Naruto if need be.
The elder leopard laughed loudly, although not in a threatening way "You miss understand me boy. You died, did you not? Faked your death and ran away? You leave one world behind to travel to another. You are the child of destiny chosen by fate."
"Fate huh, I am not a big believer in that, the last time I listened to a prophecy it told me I would die. Yet here I am, alive and well. The only fate that is definite is death, and it's one we all share." Naruto replied.
"But I just told you, you did die. To the people of your world, their saviour died." The leopard retorted.
"Because I wanted to bring peace, the prophecy of the Toad Sage said that my death fighting Sasuke would be the catalyst for a great era of peace. I made a promise that I would bring peace to the world. I promised my sensei, and my fellow disciple that I wouldn't give up until I did. I never go back on my word." Naruto said in a huff, he gave up his dreams of being Hokage, a future in Konoha for them to have peace.
"Yes and that is what brought you here, you... the one who brings balance. The Toad clan are not the only ones with a seer, and the future that any seer sees can be misinterpreted. Visions in the end are just that, visions. They give you a glimpse, but not the full story." The elder said happily.
Naruto didn't exactly follow him but decided the discussion was pointless. "What do you want with me then?" he asked.
"To tell you that your trials are not over, in the future you will encounter a situation where you will make a choice, and your answer will decide the fate of millions." the elder decreed.
Naruto was filled with anger, that wasn't directed at anyone. "Why! I don't want this anymore. Haven't I sacrificed enough? I am sick of having fate and destiny forced upon me. I will live my life the way I see fit, I am not looking to be a hero anymore." he said, his voice cracking slightly at the end.
"If when the time comes and that is your answer, then so be it. I have no more to say, but before you go think on this. War is a horrible thing, but no wars are fought over nothing. In a world where people with equal wills have conflicting views on the world, there will be no answer but force." The elder paused for a moment letting his words sink in. "Please send the girl in, Namayu will show you to your bedchamber."
Outside the giant stone house Karin was waiting by the entrance, Yuneko had since left and now she stood waiting with the much smaller Namayu. "They're taking forever." Karin complained rubbing her hair in frustration. Truth was she was feeling anxious. She had never really spent much time around summon creatures before, so realising that she was expected to become a summoner to this clan made her nervous, she wanted to make a good impression.
Fortunately she didn't have to wait any longer, Naruto appeared from the entrance, looking rather thoughtful, he certainly wasn't his usual bubbly self. "Looks like it's your turn, good luck." he said halfheartedly.
Karin looked to the Namayu for confirmation. "Yes you may enter now." The cat said ushering Konan inside. He reappeared a few moments later and walked over to Naruto. "I trust your talk was enlightening?"
Naruto shrugged in response. "It was something, hard to know what to make of it for sure though."
"Is that so? Well follow me, I have been entrusted with the task of showing you to where you will be staying. That girl will be awhile, she needs to sign the Leopard contract as well." Namayu said candidly and just stalked off expecting the blond to follow.
Meanwhile Karin was approaching the large pedestal where the snow leopard elder was lounging. "Uh um hello." She said tentatively.
"Ah young lady, at last we meet. Come closer so I can get a good look at you." The old leopard said in his croaky voice.
Karin complied somewhat hesitantly. "Were you expecting me?" she asked slightly confused.
"Oh of course child. We of the Snow Leopard clan have never had a summoner before, the last person capable... Did not have the required personal traits that we look for." The elder said with a minor reflective scowl, as if he was thinking of a bad memory.
"But I have these traits you desire?" Karin asked skeptical that she had anything special.
"Yes, you're determined and loyal, yet you crave independence." The old feline said confidently.
"That doesn't really sound all that much like me, Naruto maybe, but not me." She replied honestly.
"It's true, that young man has such qualities in spades. But he has a powerful summoning contract already, and we Snow Leopards are a possessive type, we do not like to share. Perhaps these qualities we seek are a trait of your family." The elder mused.
"Family? What are you talking about, we're not related. We came from completely different parts of the Elemental Nations." She said with some finality.
"You are not directly related no, but your chakra share traits of a clan, I am sure distantly you came from the same group of humans." The leopard replied.
Karin didn't like the idea that she might be related to Naruto, although she had no idea why. The thought just seemed wrong to her. "You're mistaken, there is nothing similar about our chakra. His is bright and powerful like the sun, nothing like my own."
"So you have learned to see, but not to feel. The way you see his chakra is a personal reference to the type of man he is, not where he came from. The feel of chakra determines family bonds, and to the highly trained can give a look into someones past. The feel of your chakra and the young sage is similar, you are from the same clan of that I am sure. That is why you, who have been abandoned many times before feel drawn to him." The elder said lazily.
Karin still couldn't accept this, they were so different, besides she was an orphan from Kusa, Naruto was the son of the Yondaime Hokage and a prominent member of the Uzumaki clan. 'That had many branch families that have scattered all over the Elemental Nations, even before the destruction of Uzu.' A small voice spoke in the back of her head, that she tried her best to ignore.
"Could it be that you are worried about your compatibility with that boy?" The leopard asked, the smallest glint in his eyes appearing.
Karin's face burned red. "Of course not, he may be kind, and he has saved my life... What I mean is, he's an idiot! Like I would fall for someone like him." She said, flatly denying his accusation.
"I see, regardless the truth is you are no closer related to him by blood than a man from a different clan. After all a clan is a group of families that share traits and experiences. That's why clan members mate with other clan members all the time." The old leopard replied with a smirk.
'He's right, during the clan wars most marriages were solely within clans, it was how they kept their bloodlines strong and if any family did marry out of it the new extended family would become part of the clan. Even today some clans mostly marry between branch families to protect Kekkei Genkai, like those Hyuuga from Konoha.' She realised. Without even catching onto the fact that she was feeling a whole lot better. "I told you I don't like him, so why are you telling me this?" she asked half angrily. Her angered expression softened however to an almost sad one. "Besides, he wouldn't see anything in me anyway, I just get in the way and slow him down."
The old leopards eyes narrowed in thought. 'That is not true, he is strong that one. But even the strongest people need someone to confide in. He needs you, more than you know.' "The young sage is important to this world, but not even that young man can do everything on his own, remember that."
"I'll do my best." Karin replied.
"Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, it's time to ask, are you prepared to sign the Snow Leopard contract?"
"I do, it's really an honour. I can't thank you enough for the opportunity."
The snow leopard elder smiled, quickly pressing his paws together before placing them on the ground summoning a giant scroll. The scroll opened up in front of Karin enough to see the first part of the scroll was blank. "You need to mark your fingertips, and write your name in blood." he instructed. Karin slowly did as she was told, lightly cutting her thumb and dipping each finger in the blood before placing them atop the exposed section of scroll. "Good now write your full name in blood underneath."
"Full name, but I don't have a family name." Karin replied.
"I already told you that you do, you have to accept that fate. Now write your name, and become our first summoner." The elder spoke firmly.
Karin wrote the first part of her name then hesitated. She sent a questioning gaze to the old feline but he was just intently watching the scroll. Letting out a loud sigh she slowly wrote down Uzumaki. "There that's it right?" she asked calmly.
"Yes congratulations, you will still need to learn how to perform a summoning, but that can be learned in time. I am sure that the young sage can teach you the process required." The elder leopard said somewhat disinterested all of a sudden.
"Is there anything else you need me to do?" Karin asked.
"No, for now you must continue your journey. I do hope you enjoy the rest of your stay here. Namayu will be waiting outside to escort you to your accommodation... Before you go remember, you are now an ambassador of our clan, your actions will reflect on us, keep that in mind" The elder said firmly.
"I will. Thank you again Elder-sama." Karin said with a bow before turning to leave.
"Farewell Karin Uzumaki, I am sure we will meet again." The old leopard said under his breath not even loud enough for the kunoichi to hear.
(Konoha)
Tsunade stood in the centre of a cold sterile room, on either side of her were two bodies that lay perfectly still, they were so tranquil that at first glance it appeared that they were only sleeping. Tsunade had a clipboard in her hand and an angry scowl on her face. The report she had read on the two fallen shinobi was by her standards sub par. While all the standard tests were done, bloodm and chakra type, they were less thorough than she, Shizune, or even Sakura could perform. She had been in that morgue for hours redoing so many of the tests that should have been done the first time.
"This is making no sense at all, I need something that will give me a proper answer, there are too many conflicts, one report test says it is Naruto but much of the physical evidence is inconclusive. Also there is not even a single trace of the seal, or the Kyuubi's chakra. That leads me to believe that this cant be Naruto. Also this wound, it's all wrong. Judging by Sasuke's body shape and height he did not cause this injury."
"Then who did?" Tsunade spun around to see Kakashi standing there in full Hokage robes including the hat.
"Based on the facts and evidence, then I believe that it was Naruto." Tsunade replied.
"He committed Seppuku? I refuse to believe that. He would never do something like that." Kakashi said with complete certainty.
"I agree, but the injury caused by Sasuke's blade that conducts chakra was coated in Fuuton chakra of high potency, like Naruto's. Also the height and strength requirements suggest it had to have come from Naruto." Tsunade replied.
"How can you tell, if he killed himself most of his strength wouldn't show, it's not possible to srike yourself with all of your strength." Kakashi reasoned.
"Which is why I don't think this is Naruto at all. The only way for this death to be possible, was if Naruto had killed himself using a clone. That is physically impossible. All clones dispel regardless of their type if the main body comes under intense stress. I don't know what this thing is, but it's not Naruto." The Godaime declared.
"Do you remember during the war when the Zetsu clones attempted to assassinate the medical teams. They were able to clone someone so perfectly that everything matched right down to the tiniest degree. This could be nothing but a Zetsu clone, I have had this thought for some time. The question is, how did Naruto get his hands on one? Not to mention get Zetsu to listen to his orders." Kakashi replied.
"I read the reports of what happened in the war after I lost consciousness. Once Madara and Obito were defeated all the remaining Zetsu clones lost all consciousness and were eliminated. Perhaps they were willing to react to Naruto but nobody else?" Tsunade theorised.
"It is possible, but how could we know for sure. It's also possible that both Sasuke and Naruto were able to fake their deaths in this way if they decided to do this together." Kakashi mused.
"That may be the case, but I don't think so. If Sasuke was working with Naruto he would have been the one to strike the blow, it would make no sense for him to kill himself if Sasuke was there to make it look more believable." Tsunade reasoned.
"Unless of course Sasuke was in such a state that it was impossible for him to do the job. We saw the place where they had been fighting, it was a barren wasteland after they were finished." Kakashi proposed.
"Well then I guess there is only one way to find out." Tsunade said and quickly removed a small piece of muscle tissue from each of the bodies.
"What are you doing?" Kakashi asked.
"I am going to check for my Grandfathers DNA, or traces of his chakra, as opposed to trying to prove that it's Naruto. That's all the Zetsu clones were, constructs of my fathers genetic structure. Even if they copy Naruto perfectly, underneath everything if you look deep enough, a fake will show it's true colours." Tsunade spoke as she began running various tests with the tissue samples she had removed. "Now all we have to do is wait." She said. Now that she had something specific to look for she was so confident that she could prove that the blond laying on the operating table wasn't Naruto.
"How long will it take?" Kakashi asked.
"Only a few minutes, you may want to stick around, this is it, I can feel it." Tsunade answered with a confident smirk.
The minutes passed away in silence as both ninja waited with baited breath. Suddenly a sheet of paper appeared, printing out the results of the tests through the use of seals. Tsunade slowly approached the sheet and began reading. About half way through her expression fell. "No luck?" Kakashi guessed feeling slightly gutted.
Tsunade scrunched up the paper, her monstrous strength grinding it into a pulp in her grip as her face turned to one of anger. "That little bastard, when I get my hands on him he is going to wish he really was dead." she said her face transforming once more into a triumphant smirk. "He's alive!" she declared.
Kakashi let out one of his famous eye smiles. "Thank goodness, I'm so glad that my beloved student is still alive." he said with a smile.
"But I am afraid to say, that this is indeed the body of Sasuke Uchiha. I'm sorry Kakashi." Tsunade said with some sympathy. Despite the fact Sasuke had fallen so far she new the loss hurt. she felt something similar when Orochimaru had been reported to have died. The fact was she hated the Snake Sannin, yet it was still upsetting to hear he had died.
"It's alright Tsunade-sama. I knew it was a long shot, but it always hurts to hear that your student has died. Minato-sensei, Jiraiya-sama, both experienced this, I guess we just can't compare with Hiruzen-sama to raise three shinobi that all outlived him." Kakashi sighed.
"So what are your orders Hokage-sama, what do we do with this information?" Tsunade asked.
"We do nothing. Naruto had his reasons for leaving, of that I am certain. I need to believe in his choice, so we will hide this information as an S class secret." Kakashi answered calmly.
"Are you sure? He's out there all alone, everyone in the elemental Nations have heard of his name by now, most of them will know his face, he can't even henge those whisker marks of his. Let me go find him, at least so he knows that he will always have a home here in Konoha." Tsunade said with a steely determination.
"As far as I am concerned I have no right to order you to stay, you are my superior as Godaime Hokage. I will accept your request, but I must ask that you stay until after we hold a funeral for this Naruto. I believe he will return one day, but until that day comes we have to keep this secret from everyone, nobody else can know that he is still alive. After the funeral I will come up with a mission that you can undertake, that will have no set amount of time to complete. Actually I already have the perfect one. All I have to do is call a team back from the field and give you their mission." Kakashi said quickly coming up with a plan.
"It means Naruto will have a few more days to get away from me, but I accept. Call the team in field back, they will need to give me a proper report if I am believably going to take their mission from them." Tsunade suggested.
Kakashi nodded and made for the exit to the morgue before pausing. "I will go to my office at once and send out the messenger hawk. Remember to tell Naruto I will be waiting for his return, I'll even save an Anbu mask for him if he want's to keep his identity hidden. What do you think he would prefer, Gama or Kitsune?"
"Maybe you should hold onto both and let him decide. If it was me I would give him a parasite mask as punishment for leaving." Tsunade replied with a short laugh.
"Just be sure to find him then. Oh and do try to at least act sad during the funeral." Kakashi said, and with that he disappeared in a puff of smoke.
'A shadow clone?' "Dammit Kakashi if you let me catch you using clones to talk to me again, I will kill you!" She yelled loudly enough that the whole village could hear.
Kakashi sat in his office and a sweat drop formed as he had taken out a form to have the group sent after Karin returned. 'Maybe I should have waited until I was out of the room to do that.' he thought with a little worry.
(Underground Cave)
"Hear we are, your quarters for your time here in our village." Namayu said with a slight bow. They were about half way up the side of the massive hall containing the homes of the leopard clan. It was approaching dusk and the felines were becoming more active as the night approached. Several cubs were mock fighting down below and several of the larger summons were heading outside to keep watch over the mountains during the night.
"Thank you Namayu, I am sure it will be wonderful. It can't be any worse than our cold tent." Karin replied.
"I hope you are satisfied. Elder-sama has also told me to inform you that your accommodation has a private hot spring for you to bath at your convenience." The leopard spoke with a bow.
Karin nodded, bid farewell to the summons and turned to face her temporary lodgings. There was no door, but a thick curtain with a slit in the middle gave privacy from those outside. She wondered for a moment whether or not she could trust the Snow Leopards to grant her that privacy, but in the end she decided that they wouldn't do anything to upset their new summoner.
Pushing through the folds in the curtain she came into a lovely room, while it still looked like a cave, it had certain homely touches that couldn't be ignored, like a raging fire pit ready to cook her food, and best of all in Karin's opinion was a large double bed with luxurious looking blankets and soft pillows. 'It's been such a long day I am going to go have a bath and jump right into that bed, dinner can wait, Naruto has all the food anyway.' she thought blissfully. Her thoughts lingered on Naruto as she got undressed. "Kami what am I supposed to tell him. 'Guess what I found out we are from the same clan? Impossible.'" 'Well he's from the main house of the Uzumaki clan that were cousins to the Senju clan, he's more closely related to Tsunade of the Sannin than he is to me, even if we do share a last name.' That thought made her smile a bit, truth was she liked the fact she had a connection with Naruto. She sighed happily "Still I wonder where he's staying?" she asked herself as she pushed passed another curtain and into the bathroom wrapped up in her towl.
What she wasn't expecting was an answer. "Where who's staying?" a small voice asked, coming from the waters edge.
Karin froze as her eyes slowly glided to the source of the new voice. There sat a small yellow toad with a very inquisitive look on it's face. What was worse there was Naruto sitting in the water red faced and doing his best not to look... although he was failing magnificently, and another dark orange toad. "Yo Boss, I didn't know you did stuff like this? I thought it was Jiraiya-sama that was into peaking on women and that sort of stuff." Gamakichi said questioningly.
At the time it was probably the worst thing in the world that the toad could have said. "You think it's funny sneaking into my bath Naruto?" she asked with fire in her eyes.
"I didn't I swear, this is where I am staying." Naruto pleaded, making an extra effort to avoid staring at her ample exposed cleavage and the incredibly short length the towl covered of her legs.
"Namayu said this was my apartment during my stay, so that makes this my bath, now get out!" Karin ordered.
"Uh, he said the same thing to me. Maybe they expect us to share?" Naruto replied.
Karin froze half ready to beat the blond half to death. 'That's true, beside I have no reason not to trust Naruto.' she thought. Then something else came to her mind. "B-b-but there is only one bed." she stammered, her face going red with the implication, sure it was big enough for two people but if Naruto was telling the truth then the Snow Leopards had prepared the room for a couple rather than two singles.
Naruto's eyes widened slightly, his mind winding up in the same place, firmly in the gutter. Face rapidly reddening her waved his hands defensively in front of his face. "It's alright I can sleep on the floor, you can have the bed, they're your summons so you take priority." He said silently wondering if he was starting to become more like Jiraiya as he couldn't help but hope that some force of nature would cause her towel to drop.
Karin felt slightly disappointed at this. 'What am I thinking, do I actually want him to share the bed with me? No I am just feeling guilty for making him sleep on the floor. Get over it Karin, he's just a kind hearted idiot, nothing more.' she thought. "I guess that will work. Since you're already in the bath I guess I can wait. Just don't take to long!" she said in a bossy attitude before leaving in a huff. Once she was out of sight she took off in a blur running around to collect all of her clothes she had mindlessly discarded while undressing.
"So Boss, who's the girl? Fukusaku-sama told Tou-san that you were traveling alone." Gamakichi asked, swelling from a small toad that would fit into Naruto's hands all the way into one twice the size of the blond.
"Ya, She's pretty, but a little scary. Still I like her better than the pink haired one, she at least waits for an explanation before attempting to hurt you." Gamatatsu said nodding in agreement.
Naruto laughed at the toad's description of Sakura. "You better not let Sakura-chan hear you say that. To answer your question that is Karin, I met her awhile ago, she was even more desperate to get out the the Elemental Nations than I was, so she's tagging along with me. She may not have seemed it there, but she's actually really nice." 'And kind of cute too.'
'Dammit Naruto, don't make me give you a talk on teenage hormones. At your age any half naked women would be 'Kind of cute'.' Kurama scowled.
'Ah leave me alone Kurama. I know you don't like her, but why not at least give her a chance?' the blond replied.
The giant fox just huffed in reply. 'I'll think about it.'
"Well I better get out, I have been soaking in here for awhile and I don't want to end up like all wrinkly like a prune. Next time I'm somewhere warm I'll summon you both again, it was great seeing you guys." Naruto said while standing up out of the water and wading to the edge.
"Yeah catch ya round Boss." Gamakichi said before disappearing in a puff of smoke.
"Next time can you have some snacks?" Gamatatsu questioned.
"I'll do my best." Naruto replied with a laugh.
"Okay, bye Boss, Bye pretty lady!" Gamatatsu said with a wave before he too disappeared.
On the other side of the curtain Karin almost had a heart attack. 'That toad saw me.' she gasped. She was going to barge in and demand to know how long Naruto was going to be but when she saw him slowly stand up out of the water from the crack in the curtain she stopped to enjoy the show. 'Dammit my heart is beating so quickly... oh shit he's coming out I need to relax.' she told herself quickly running over to the bed to distance herself from the bathroom.
"Hey Karin, you can have the bath now." Naruto said appearing from the other room. He had on his ninja pants but his top was thrown over one shoulder, with his seal clearly visible on his navel. Unconsciously Karin licked her lips, something that didn't go unnoticed by the blond. "Are you hungry? If you wan't I can prepare something to eat, the Snow Leopards gave us some meat so we can eat well for a few days again." He asked clearly as clueless as ever.
The question awoke Karin from her stupor. "Huh, yeah sure. make anything you want." she said in a tone that was a little too close to the one she used to talk to Sasuke with for her liking. "If you peak on me you're dead." she said quickly before running off to take a bath and hopefully cool off.
End Chapter!
Madara had some serious date rape face when he felt Hashirama's chakra, I fear for the poor Shodai's chastity. still I am half guessing that we will have three chapters before they arrive and splitting Madara and Obito up again will basically lead to yet another scene change. He needs someone to start playing that wrap it up music they have at award shows when people have been talking for too long.