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 25: The Competition
"Are you sure that you're alright? Shima-Baachan can be quite brutal when she's sparring." Naruto asked. He and Karin were slowly heading back towards the village they both rather battered from their training although neither showed it by looking at them.
The red headed kunoichi nodded her head. "I'm fine. Actually the truth is, I think I needed that beating." She chuckled lightly. "I never knew how far I was behind everyone. Blindly following Sasuke and Orochimaru while never really understanding just how far out of my league our opponents really were." Karin finished with a sigh.
"Oh well, you have all the time in the world now to get stronger. So how did you do in Shima-Baachan's test?" Naruto asked tentatively.
Karin let out a disappointed sighed and hung her head "Not... not well. In almost all areas I am no more advanced than an average Genin. Only my tracking and sensor abilities gave me the small boost I needed to avoid some of that crazy old toads attacks." She admitted.
"Don't feel too bad, I mean the first time I sparred with Shima-Baachan she destroyed me, honestly I was pathetic, just running in blind using my clones haphazardly. That was less than a year ago." Naruto laughed, somewhat embarrassed at how poor he was even up to the time he had been sent to learn sage mode from the toads.
Karin sighed feeling a little better, still she knew that there was a difference, Naruto may have been beaten by Shima, but at the time he had far more battle experience and had at least some training in Taijutsu. "I guess that help's. At the very least I know it's not too late for me."
"You will be able to get up to speed in no time at all, although you may want to avoid fighting the toad elders again. Maybe you should summon one of the Snow Leopards to help your training? Most summons have their own unique style of Taijutsu and Ninjutsu. They usually have to be earned though." Naruto said in deep thought. He had been accepted to be trained by Fukusaku and Shima because Jiraiya chose him as his successor, he wasn't sure how other summons decided who was worthy of training. 'The only other summon clan jutsu I can remember was Anko's Hebi style taijutsu, but she was Orochimaru-teme's apprentice, he probably taught her.'
The village was buzzing when the pair emerged from the edges of the forest. The children were all loudly laughing, a far cry from the events of the day before. The vast majority of the townsfolk had converged on the centre where the large fire had been the previous night. "What do you think's going on?" Karin asked.
Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "Your guess is as good as mine. But we won't find out by just standing here and talking about it, let's go find out." Naruto cheered merrily and took off at a light jog, hopeful to see what all the fuss was about.
'Kami he act's just like a child at times, whatever it is it can't be that interesting.' She thought, shaking her head in amusement. Despite her attempt to detach herself from the situation she couldn't help but sigh and run off after the blonde. It turns out that Naruto's enthusiastic attitude was infectious.
The blonde came to a stop at the back of a crowd, still unable to see the source of the commotion. 'This isn't working. I need to get up higher to have a better look.' He thought and quickly looked around for the closest building overlooking the town centre. "That will do." he whispered to himself before heading towards a small single level wooden home, that was just as run down as the rest of the village.
It turned out that the villagers were gathered around four people Naruto had not seen in the village before. The most noticeable was a tall older who looked to be in his mid to late fifties. He had short light brown hair that was greying at the edges and a short goatee to match. He like the other three arrivals all had large bows running across their backs.
"So what is it?" Naruto turned his neck as Karin made her presence known.
"I'm not sure yet, but nobody looks worried, so it doesn't look like they are a threat." The blonde answered a little relieved. Two rescue missions in as many days would be a bit much even for him. His attention turned back to the next member of the group. A man, that Naruto guessed was around Kakashi's age, the most noticeable features he had were his jet black shoulder length hair and a large scar that ran down his right arm, it had the unmistakable signs of a bite mark meaning that whatever had bitten him had been large.
"Didn't Cho say something last night about hunters that gather food for the village? Maybe this is them?" Karin suggested.
"Oh yeah, that would explain why everyone came to see them, they want to get their fair share." Naruto agreed.
"Well you can't really blame them, living in poverty like this, it's probably rare that they get a decent meal." Karin sighed a little sympathetic. She knew what it was like to only just get enough food to survive from her time spent with Orochimaru.
"Well we don't need to take any of it from them, we can get our own." Naruto said, his attention finally turning to the last two members of the hunting party. A young woman perhaps a year or maybe two older than Naruto, and a small boy, both had the same straight brown hair and blue eyes that instantly tagged them as siblings.
"Ah it's good to be back." The oldest member of the group said loudly, stopping to take in the scenery. "Things look... different." he said as his eyes stopped on the frame of the house that Naruto had built that morning. He was instantly suspicious, things very rarely changed in the small village and never so much as the construction of a new building.
"Cho, what's going on here? Who built that?" The younger man asked loudly so that wherever the afro haired man was in the crowd he would hear.
"That would be our two newest members of the village, they are rather unique." Cho replied moving to the front of the crowd.
"New members? Where did they get sent here from? I thought this village was classified as being full in the inner circles." The eldest member of the group of hunters asked.
Cho paused for a moment contemplating if he should tell the truth or lie. "They were not sent here from anywhere. The truth is, they came from the other side of the southern mountains." He eventually admitted.
"What!? That's not possible." The old man replied in shock.
"I can assure you it's the truth. They are are both rather unique. I think they will be able to help this village, we wouldn't have let them stay otherwise." Cho said firmly.
"Even if I believe you, It's still two more mouths to feed. Then there is the mercenaries to think about, when they see a brand new building in the village they will raise the amount they want us to pay." The younger man reasoned.
"We can worry about that when the time comes, but even then I am more than confident that those money hungry mercenaries will be quiet in this area for awhile." Cho replied.
"What are you getting at Cho?" The black haired man asked.
"It means our new arrivals arrived the same day as one of the mercenaries 'Tax collection days.' and they followed them back to their hideout and forced them to disband." Cho said still barely believing the scene he had witnessed for himself.
"Do you know how dangerous that is, if the higher ups find out it was us we could be in some serious trouble." The elderly man said urgently.
"Don't worry, they have no idea that we are living here. Besides if anyone else comes I will just have to chase them off again." Naruto yelled from the rooftop Announcing his presence.
"So you two must be the so called new additions to the village. What's your name boy?" The old man asked loudly.
Naruto and Karin jumped off the roof and landed effortlessly in the centre of the clearing. "I'm Naruto Uzuamki, and this is Karin." The blonde said holding his hand out in a friendly greeting.
"Isho Wakana" The elderly man said accepting the hand shake tentatively, he had been taken back at seeing the two young shinobi leap such a distance with ease and end up unharmed.
"Nice to meet you." Karin said politely.
"So tell me what did you do to the mercenaries? Oh and I'm Tenji by the way." The younger man said not wanting to sound pushy or rude.
"I just made them realise that they were in the wrong line of work." Naruto answered.
"Most of them do not always have a choice. But in any case you have done us a great service." Tenji replied.
"Ah it was nothing really, I couldn't just sit by and watch them take advantage of this village." Naruto said honestly.
"What a short sighted fool." The young woman said, a hint of bitterness in her voice.
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked a little shocked at the overall harshness in the older teens voice.
"Just because you were able to knock of some small fry, doesn't mean the job is done. They will be back, and this whole area will suffer for it. People like those mercenaries don't just give up you know." The woman lectured.
"Then what? Do you suggest that everyone just sit back and let them take advantage of you for the rest of your life?" Naruto asked stiffly.
"It's better than the alternative. We might not live in luxury, but at least we're alive. If they ever find out it was us, then this village is finished. They will kill us and burn this place to the ground to set an example to anyone else that would defy them." She answered angrily.
Naruto stiffened up and glared back at the older teen. "No they wont, because I will make sure this place is safe."
"You are one person, even if by some miracle you are able to fend off the mercenaries, that just means that the royal family will send members of military here then we will have no choice but to flee." The young woman scoffed in reply.
Naruto opened his mouth to respond but Karin placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "That's enough Naruto-kun. We're sorry. We acted without thinking. It is just difficult for us, seeing people getting pushed around, like the people of this village were. So we apologise... Um uh sorry I don't know your name."
"It's Rea. At least one of you have some sense. I hope you can keep your idiot partner in line. As I said this may not be the best place to live, but things can still get a lot worse. We live like this, because it is how things are. Now if you will excuse me I have been out of the village for almost a week so I would like some rest." The elder teen said sadly before walking off, her brother following close behind.
"She's the foolish one. Giving up on making her life better." Naruto said bitterly.
"You might be right but was there any need to be so aggressive about it?" Karin asked.
"Maybe not, but she has clearly stopped believing that the world can change. She want's something to believe in again. If there is something that you want, something that can make you happy then you can't simply give up on it. All that means is that you have to fight harder for it. Believe that with enough hard work things can change." Naruto said firmly.
"You really believe that?" Karin asked.
"Yeah, if it is a choice why not go for the one that will make you happier? Rea was angry but only because things have been so bad for so long." The blonde answered.
"If that's the case, then why did you fake your death and flee the Elemental Nations? Wouldn't you have been happier to stay in Konoha and be seen as the hero of the war?" Karin asked honestly.
Naruto paused in thought, she had a point. He would have been happy staying behind in Konoha, he could have fulfilled his dream, to be Hokage and lived a relatively easy life as a hero to not one but all the major nations. "It was my sacrifice, I traded my happiness for that of the Elemental Nations. They couldn't find peace while I was still around the great toad sage showed me that. I can still be happy though, if I can find a decent life for myself here, then I will take it, I'll fight for it if I have to." Naruto admitted.
"You are an interesting one, Naruto Uzumaki, I for one hope you succeed in making this place a home, but be careful, others have had similar dreams out here in the outskirt districts and each time the people have rebelled, only to be crushed by the military, it is not a pretty sight when it has happened." The elderly man, Isho said having overheard most of the conversation while handing food out to the villagers.
"Don't worry, I don't intend for things to end that way. There has to be a balance that can be found somewhere, without the need to rebel." Naruto replied.
After declining the offer of a percentage of the hunting parties catch. Naruto and Karin agreed to help distribute the rest to the remaining villagers to help feel like members of the community. The group slowly dispersed as they collected their meat leaving only a few of the younger villagers behind.
Among those that stayed behind were a group of teens including Mikka who took advantage of the situation to approach Karin. "That was rather tense. I wouldn't give Rea to much thought if I was you. She doesn't really get on very well with anyone." The sandy haired blonde said with a small chuckle.
"She had a point though. We acted without even thinking yesterday. Naruto-kun can be quick to act, and he doesn't always think things through." Karin said in response.
"Well he does seem like someone who would fly off the handle. Are you sure it's safe to keep him around. It's our entire village that is at sake." Mikka questioned seriously.
"I don't really know how to answer that. It is possible that having Naruto around isn't all that safe. In the past he has attracted trouble. But in truth I never feel safer than when he's around, he will do anything for his friends, and after awhile you just begin to believe that he can do anything." Karin answered truthfully.
"Well it's not my decision anyway. Oh on another note, I wanted to ask you something. A bunch of us" Mikka pointed to a small group of teens around their age, mostly boys. "Well we are going to a little get together tonight. Just some friends and some drinks. We can't get the expensive stuff they get in the inner circles but Shiea one of the locals makes some pretty strong stuff. Do you want to come too? Think of it as a little get together to get to know some of the villagers better."
"Sure, it sounds like it could be kinda fun, so why not. I bet Naruto-kun would be like to get to know everyone a little better too." Karin said happily.
Mikka's face fell slightly at the mention of the spiky haired blonde, but he covered it quickly before Karin noticed. "Sure why not, Shiea runs the place like a bar that you will find in the district capitals and inner districts, but it's only open once a week so anyone can come. We take advantage of it when we can."
"Alright I'll go tell Naruto-kun. " Karin replied.
She found the blonde who had been talking to Cho and Isho. "Hey Karin-chan, good news, I found where we need to go to get the remaining building supplies, Isho said he will take us there tomorrow." Naruto said happily.
"Well we need to go to the district capital to sell the animal hides we collected, that is the only place where you could buy the things you will need to complete that home of yours." Isho added.
Karin smiled happily, it would be nice to have a proper place to call home for the first time in as long as she could remember. "That's good news, looks like we won't need to be in your home much longer Cho. Oh and Naruto-kun, we were invited to some sort of party tonight. I thought it might be fun."
That night Naruto and Karin arrived at the makeshift bar. Naruto still only had winter gear which Karin could only think would be uncomfortable as the night was rather hot. Karin on the other hand was wearing a tight white shirt and light purple jacket with a some rather short shorts and thigh high black stockings leaving a small amount of skin exposed between them and her shorts. She realised that it was probably not the type of outfit she would pick if she was on date, in truth it was close to her old ninja outfit, but she was comfortable regardless.
The building in which they were walking towards seemed to be the largest in the village. Lights and music gave the place a festive feel it seemed like most of the village were there already when they entered the bar. Immediately they were called over to where Mikka was sitting with a few other older teens in the village.
"Glad you could make it." Mikka said making room for the pair to sit down.
Naruto looked around at what appeared to be a massive hall filled with tables. It seemed like most of the villagers that were there had split up into small groups that were sitting back and drinking animatedly. "Thanks for the invite." He said taking a seat at the opposite side of the table.
"Don't mention it. You came just in time for the start." Mikka replied.
"Start of what?" Karin asked.
"Monthly drinking contest. The buy in is twenty dollars, winner takes all." Mikka said placing his money on the table.
'Just like Ero-sennin and Baa-chan, even if Ero-sennin could never win.' Naruto thought fondly remembering the many times that his sensei and adoptive grandmother would go out drinking untill the sun would begin to rise, Tsunade would have to go to her office using Medical jutsu to sober up while Jiraiya would usually rest at the bar. At the time it annoyed Naruto, but thinking back he was glad that they had that time together, and it was now a fond memory of two of the most important people in his life.
'On the plus side, you can't possibly lose.' Kurama informed the blonde.
'Huh what do you mean? I have never been in a drinking contest before.' Naruto asked.
'My presence in your seal means that you will metabolise any alcohol before you could possibly end up so drunk as to lose a drinking contest. Even with my help you could probably only get a little drunk.' The fox replied.
'Then it wouldn't be fair to the others if I compete.' Naruto replied. "Sorry guys, I'm out. I can't get drunk, I have a... let's call it a medical condition. It's physically impossible for me to get drunk no matter how much I drink. I'll still drink with you guys if you want but it would be unfair for me to take your money."
The others at the table looked at the spiky haired blonde like he had grown a second head, only Karin knew what he was talking about. "I would believe him if I were you. Hell he can't even get sick." she said deciding to give the other firm warning.
"Alright fine, but you still have to drink, I want to see if what you're saying is true." A teen about the same age as Naruto with short black hair said. He now had a look of interest. Both of the new arrivals to their village seemed so different to him, but not in a bad way.
"Sure, this should at the very least be interesting." Naruto replied with a chuckle.
And so the night began and the drinks began to flow. Each hour passed with a different drinking game and happy chatter. It wasn't until about four hours later that anyone dropped out. Each time someone backed out, or needed to throw up it was greeted by a round of half hearted jabs and cheers at the person that backed out's expense.
It was well after midnight before the group was down to the final three, Naruto, Mikka, and Karin. However with Naruto not in the bet there was a small deal of competitive banter between the two remaining competitors. "You're no...t going toosh win." Mikka slurred, clearly feeling the effects of the alcohol.
Karin on the other hand was in a far better off position. "Fat chance, I want that money, and I am prepared to fight for it." She laughed. While clearly drunk herself, she was not slurring her speech like Mikka was. Karin had an unfair advantage that even she was not fully aware of. Her ability to control chakra gave her a tolerance to alcohol, it was for this reason that most shinobi drank only the strongest Sake. Couple that with the fact that being an Uzumaki, her strong physical energy made it harder for her to get drunk meaning that it was only ever going to be one outcome and even thought they were still going, the kunoichi won their little match.
"Wha eva itsh only a matter of t-time before I win thish. I don't even feel remotely dr...drunk " Mikka said attempting to sound sober, and failing badly.
Karin chuckled at the drunk teens declaration. "Just give up, hell if you back out now I'll even give you your money back. I will feel bad taking your money."
As far Naruto could tell they were both drunk. It was interesting to watch the slow progression throughout the night of their attitude and the way they spoke to each other. One by one the two downed more drinks at an ever increasing rate, until finally another hour later Mikka's head hit the table unconscious in a sign of surrender. "Looks like you win Karin-chan." Naruto said casually.
"Looks-s like it, hic." She said finishing with a small hiccup.
"We should probably go. It's only a few hours before we have to meet Isho and the group heading for the district capital." Naruto suggested.
"Yeah alright, jhust let me grab my winningsh. Oh kami I just slurred." Karin said cupping her mouth realising just how drunk she was. Karin stood up and almost immediately lost her balance, the world was spinning.
As she fell Naruto swooped quickly to grab her before she hit the ground. "Easy there, looks like you lost your footing." he said with a small laugh.
"N-Naruto-kun?"
Naruto smiled down at the clearly intoxicated kunoichi. "Don't worry I got you. But it looks like I'm going to need to carry you to bed then."
"Will you come to bed with me?" she asked giggling at what she thought was well thought out innuendo.
"Well we sleep in the same room, so yeah I will be." He said clearly missing the hidden message Karin wanted to get across. He quickly readjusted Karin so he was carrying her on his back and left the bar.
The early morning air was brisk and held the chill of the mountains. Immediately Karin gripped onto Naruto's back for warmth while Naruto walked slowly back towards Cho's house. "Hey Naruto-kun?"
"Yeah?"
"Did you mean what you said today? That everyone should fight for the things that would make them happy?" She asked half asleep, leaning forward on her back to look into his eyes.
Naruto paused for a second, the feeling of Karin's chest pressing against his back made his heart race while enjoying the feel of her body, even through his thick winter gear. "Of course, everyone has the right to be happy." The blonde replied.
"Alright then, I've decided." She declared.
"Decided what?" The blonde asked.
"I've decided that I will fight for what I want from now on, nothing's going to stop me." She said squeezing Naruto tightly, resting her head on Naruto's shoulder.
Naruto opened his mouth to reply but the feel of Karin's breath and the sound of a soft snore stopped him. 'She's fallen asleep, just like that.' he thought fondly. The rest of the short trip went in silence. He made sure to sneak into the house careful not wake Cho or Karin.
Naruto gently rested the kunoichi on her bed, but the sudden movement and loss of his body warmth woke the red head. "Naruto-kun are you still here?" she asked once she readjusted herself with the world still spinning.
"Yeah I'm still here. We only have one room, so where else could I go?" Naruto replied from his bed. Karin rolled over until she was right next to the blonde. "Uh Karin-chan what are you doing?"
"You're really warm, and comfortable, can we please just stay like this... at least for tonight." Karin pleaded.
There it was again, Naruto's chest tightened ever so slightly at the feel of her touch. "Alright... you know this does feel nice." Naruto agreed, letting the kunoichi wrap her arms around his chest.
"I really like you Naruto-kun." She whispered in her drunken daze.
Naruto was a little confused by what she meant, but the small confession felt really good. "I like you as well Karin-chan."
"Good, because I'm going to fight for you." Karin said softly as she once more faded into unconsciousness.
Naruto just smiled down at the kunoichi asleep in his arms, for the first time suspecting that she might actually feel something for him after all. "Sleep well Karin-chan." He stayed awake for a few minutes watching her sleep. 'She really is beautiful.' he thought as he pulled a strand of her hair away from her face.
For once Kurama didn't say anything, he simply sighed in acceptance. Naruto fell asleep soon after, but the sun was close to rising, so three hours later the blonde reluctantly woke knowing all to well that he had to go meet up with Isho's group. Luckily he was used to getting by on a small amount of sleep from missions. He did however face a different problem; getting out of bed without waking Karin.
It was a mission that he inevitably failed miserably, the moment her torso lost Naruto's warmth her eyes fluttered open. "Naruto-kun? Are you going out to train again?" she asked still half asleep.
"No I'm going out with Isho to buy what we need to finish the house, I'm not sure when I'll be back but you don't need to come, you can stay and rest for the day if you want." Naruto said.
That had the effect of bringing her to full attention. "I wan't to come too, I just need to get changed, I'm still in my clothes from last night so give me a second to get ready." she said already removing her stockings.
"Alright you get changed in here, I was going to get dressed in another room anyway." Naruto replied.
"You can just stay here, I don't mind." Karin replied before going beet red. "I mean, it's uh just more convenient and we... we have already seen each other... you know... when we were on top of the mountain right? So it's no big deal." She added in a rush trying to cover for what she had said.
Naruto had also turned a shade that matched Karin's hair at her statement. He was spluttering trying to put together a few words. "It's uh... not proper for me to um... be here while you change... I'm not a pervert, but I uh, I don't know if I could help myself." he admitted weakly before grabbing an change of clothes and running from the room.
Karin was stunned for a moment but then beamed with hope. 'He must at least find me attractive then. I meant what I said last night, I am going to fight for what I want!' She declared silently.
Meanwhile Naruto was in another room, his heart beating crazy. 'Dammit what's wrong with me? Kurama are you doing something to my body?' He asked.
'No it's not me. Unfortunately this is all your own doing. You went and fell for that red headed annoyance, just like I warned you not too.'
'You're telling me that I am in love with Karin-chan?' He asked in shock.
'Well I won't go that far, but it's clear from your reaction that you certainly feel something for her, more than you ever did for that horrible screeching one, or for the timid Hyuuga girl.'
'Oh Kami... what am I supposed to do now!?'
End Chapter!
Alright, another chapter down. Truthfully didn't get all I wanted done in this chapter, but for some reason this felt like a good place to stop. Probably because it leaves a certain amount of tension and some questions that need to be resolved. Need something to keep everyone reading lol.
Now some bad news... I'm going away over the Xmas - New Year period so I don't know how much writing I will be able to do hopefully some but if not I'm sorry in advance. I'm going to try and get at least a chapter of Nightfall done before I have to go, but in case I don't I will see you all Next Year with new chapters.
Spoiler Alert!
Madara has no eyes but could still use Sharingan techniques somehow? Controlling Bijuu And Susanoo no less, the jutsu that requires both eyes to use he pulls out with none... Way to give a giant middle finger to the way Sasuke went blind and Itachi died. That's not all, anyone see the massive double standard that is continuously set for the sole purpose of drawing things out? Everyone else comes back the way they died with Edo Tensei, except Madara. Madara comes back and is young, which I could take as it was explained as Orochimaru and Kabuto doing experiments similar to those that they did on Danzo leading to the face of Hashirama appearing on his chest, like Danzo's arm. Then Madara beings himself back to life and low and behold still has the results of Kabuto's experiments, and can now somehow use Senjutsu without any training? That should have nothing to do with having Hashirama's cells in his body.
This all really comes back to nobody doing anything while Naruto was fighting Obito, they just let Hashirama fight alone while doing nothing, as soon as Naruto changes his target people suddenly think that it's alright to get involved now.
Now I'm not saying that I haven't enjoyed the last few chapters, in fact they have been the best in awhile. But it's the same old shit over and over again where previously established rules get broken for the sole purpose that Kishimoto apparently feels like making the Uchiha or at least Madara and Obito a little bit more Overpowered. I get it, you love the Uchiha clan, but please go into more detail than... "The Sharingan did it." because at this point all other Bloodlines seem to be very distant in quality. Even Mokuton, one senju get's it in 100 years, yet most Uchiha end up with the Sharingan. Originally I liked it, predicting movements and copying jutsu, was well balanced with other bloodlines. Now however it's just like saying even if you are the worst ninja alive, if you have the Sharingan you are now an amazing Kage level ninja with no effort at all. Cough* Obito Cough*
This is the same thing that they did with Dexter, lower the quality bit by bit, until we just want it to be over and be put out of our misery. I Loved the first few seasons of Dexter up to the Trinity Killer (Amazing Season) which got me hooked. Then things go down hill, and you still wanna know what happens but become more and more apprehensive with each passing episode.