I don't own Naruto, or any of the characters from the Manga or Anime.
A Price for Peace
Chapter 29 The Princess
Naruto rested against a tree, his mind was racing from what had just happened. He slowly looked back at the kunoichi who was kneeling beside him. "I uh... um, thank you. But why?" He stuttered still in shock.
"Isn't it obvious?.. I like you Naruto-kun." She replied. Naruto still looked confused and was about to speak when Karin put her finger to his lips. "You shouldn't have to ask why. You have saved my life so many times, in more ways than one. You are the most amazing person I have ever met, so don't ask you dare ask me why I like you."
Naruto nodded. "I... need some time, but at the moment I am really happy, and I think I like you too, but I want to to sort out my feelings. I promise I'll let you know soon."
Karin smiled in understanding. "Alright but, don't keep me waiting too long, I have never been a patient person." She said kindly before leaning in and stealing another quick kiss. "Just in case I don't get to do it again for awhile." She could tell by looking at Naruto he didn't really want their embrace to end, but decided to pull back. 'It's up to you now.'
"We uh, we didn't finish our training... So I guess, w-we should continue." Naruto said, still struggling to regain his composure.
Karin had been so caught up in the moment she had completely forgotten that they were out there to train and felt a little embarrassed at the fact. In an attempt to cover for this fact she spun arround again and fell into a rather sloppy defensive stance that Naruto thought seemed somewhat familiar. He decided that she must have picked up during her time with Sasuke's group. "Oh yeah, let's go!" She said with fake confidence.
"Well I guess the first lesson would be... to not leave so many holes in your defence." Naruto sighed finally getting to his feet.
"What are you talking about? I copied Suigetsu's defensive stance perfectly." The kunoichi queried.
Now it was Naruto's turn to look puzzled. "Suigetsu? Who was that again, I don't think I met him? but I think I have seen someone use a similar stance as that."
"He was in Taka with me. He could turn his body into water. I'm sure I have told you about him before." She explained, a little frustrated.
"Well that alone should tell you why he would not care so much for his own safety. You can't turn yourself into water so you need to be more careful. When you're copying someone else you don't always know why they are using a certain technique. The truth is there is still so much that I don't know myself, I am still a Genin after all. But rather than copy someone else you should find something that works for you." Naruto said closely inspecting her stance. "Here try this." Naruto came around behind Karin, and slowly repositioned her closing most of the openings that he had seen in her stance, both sporting a blush from the rather intimate closeness they were sharing. Once satisfied he quickly moved back and reassessed her stance. "Much better. From this position it should be easier to block most types of attacks. Why don't you practice moving into this position until it feels natural."
Karin nodded and set to work, her first few attempts were quite sloppy and Naruto had to correct her stance, after that she could at least find the right positioning without too much trouble, although it still didn't feel Natural. 'Well I can see how this position would make reacting to attacks a little easier but it still feels so awkward.'
"Alright, looks like you have the basics down so keep going until it feels natural, I am going to meditate." Naruto replied. He moved to the edge of the small clearing he had created and sat down under a tree closing his eyes.
Instantly he found himself standing in front of Kurama. 'You never were one for meditation without a purpose.'
'I mastered the art of meditation when I was able to master sage mode. I am perfectly capable of meditating without purpose.'
'Then why are you here?' The fox replied already knowing the reason.
Naruto rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment 'I... ugh I guess it's-'
'About the girl. I know already. I wanted you to say it, but now you're just frustrating me.' Kurama scoffed.
'It's just I'm so confused. I think I like her, but how do I know if it's love that she feels for me, or it's just because we're so close now, and she doesn't want to be left alone. If I can't even understand my own feelings how could I possibly understand hers?'
'So you come seeking my advice? I have no experience in love, there is not much call for it being an entity of pure chakra. Still you I can tell she holds no negative feelings for you. You are an empath search her feelings for yourself, my chakra opened the door but you can master it, just like Mito Uzumaki before you.'
'I don't even know where I am supposed to start.'
'Don't be an idiot, you start with your own emotions, the reason you can only sense the negative is because they are the emotions you are most familiar with. If you have truly mastered meditation then use it to answer your questions, it will be the first step in mastering your strength, as strong as you are you can still grow, become the true successor that Rikudou-sama saw in you.'
Naruto bowed his head and nodded in acknowledgement of the Kyuubi's wisdom. 'Those are big shoes to fill, I better get to work.' Naruto faded away leaving Kurama all alone.
'He will make you proud old man, then again he already has, hasn't he. You are still watching over him, so I guess you don't need me to tell you that.'
" He's such a stubborn child, the two of you are so similar in that regard Kurama." A new voice echoed through the foxes chambers causing Kurama to smirk.
'I knew you were watching old man. When are you going to show yourself?'
"It is not my place. We spoke out of necessity during the war, but I do not wish to involve myself again." The voice added.
'He will need your help, I can't teach him everything he needs to know in the future.'
"Others will seek him out in time, friends and foe alike. But you will not be alone for long. As for Naruto-kun, there are things he needs to discover for himself. Life is full of hardships, his may have only just begun. But he will grow and earn the right to reawaken his full potential."
'Is that why his chakra returned to normal after the fight with Madara?' Kurama questioned.
"That's right, I awakened his full potential in the Senjutsu of six paths prematurely. In truth he was not ready for it at the time so I needed to seal it away once the fight with the one you called Madara was over."
'It's a move that almost killed him.' The fox replied a little annoyed at the spectral voice.
"I had no choice. I knew that Indra's reincarnation would not turn from his path despite my gift, I needed to seal their powers away to prevent even more destruction. But I knew Naruto-kun would come out on top, he still had some chakra from your brothers and sisters with him."
'So then how does he reawaken his full strength? Naruto want's to think this place will be somewhere he can live a more peaceful life...'
"But you know better..." The voice reasoned. Kurama nodded an affirmative. "Well I would say you're right, that city was rife with the foul stench of oppression. Those in power, seek to stay there by whatever means, Naruto's existence will not remain a secret to them for long. But as for reawakening his full strength... it's hard to say, my seal was not meant to be long term but for the time being it's still in place."
'Well for now I don't see it being a major problem, but if he's even in a bind, you better be able to remove that old man.'
"My my Kurama, you really have grown up, to think you would ever threaten me." the voice chuckled.
(Meanwhile)
Far to the north a small group of imperial shinobi were back on the road, the team leader a tall man with rust coloured hair was leading his small squadron of young graduates, they had left the small village before the sun had risen and were moving at top speed across the landscape.
Large farms were scattered along the sides of the road, mostly owned by wealthy merchants who traded with other sectors of the empire. On the odd occasion they saw a worker in the field this early in the morning they would instantly bow in recognition of members of the military.
"We're getting close, these farms are a dead give away. Gouhara-hime's fortress is surrounded by some of the finest farms in the empire, she only eats the very best foods." The commander explained to his pupils.
"You talk like you know her sensei." The young kunoichi said eager to find out more.
"The princess chose me to join her branch of the military once my training was complete. This was before she became one of the twelve governors of the empire of course." The leader replied.
The younger boy who also had rust coloured hair seemed a little confused. "So how did she do that?" he asked.
The other two graduates shook their head in embarrassment that their comrade could be so stupid. "The same way all promotions are decided. They fight, and the winner takes control." The kunoichi explained.
"That's right, but in the royal family there is a little more to it than that. The rank dictates not only military responsibility, but also their position in line for the throne. Gouhara-hime is the ruler of the twelfth providence, meaning she is the thirteenth inline to be emperor." Their leader explained.
The rust haired teen was still confused "Thirteenth? shouldn't she be twelfth if there are only twelve governors?"
"Geez Koha, how did you graduate." The dark haired girl asked in shock.
"The emperors eldest son is first in line, he receives private training every day to ensure he is the strongest warrior in the empire. The first in line for the throne does not need to worry about being a guardian for the people, just about being the strongest." The final member of the team explained, his short brown hair seemed a little messy and his emerald green eyes were a little dull from having less sleep than normal the night before. "Oh and to answer your question Kara, Koha graduated by finishing in the top ten percent in all the practical fields in the academy, he would have been in the elite group, training with members of the royal family right now, if he didn't have a mind like a siv that is."
"Wow I had no idea. That must mean you will be picked for one of the main military suppression teams once this year of field training ends." The raven haired Kara said a little impressed.
"No way, I want one of the black ops infiltration and elimination squads, all the strongest warriors end up there, right Nii-sa- I mean sensei." Koha replied eagerly.
"They do have a higher percentage that go on to become elite soldiers, but that does not make them the strongest, that is up to the individual, and how much effort they put into their own training." Their sensei explained.
"Pfft whatever, those squads have the best sensei to train them, and their squads are always selected from the strongest recruits, it's only natural they end up as the best." The younger rust haired teen replied.
The group leader sighed at the youngsters obvious lack of understanding. "Koha, you should pay attention when your sensei gives advice. I was in one of the black ops squads, so when I tell you that it is nothing to do with what squad you're picked in rather your own desire. Those picked for the black ops are done so because they are the strongest at the time, which usually means they put in the most effort before hand." His words were once more lost on the young teen, he seemed to be lost in a world of his own. 'Oh why do I even bother?' He sighed.
Guessing their conversation was over the group turned their attention back to the task at hand. "I wonder what kind of place this princess lives in. Oh I bet it's really nice." The raven haired Kara wondered.
"Well I guess it's nice, most of it anyway." The sensei mused. "You'll be able to see it any minute now for yourself." Sure enough about an hour later the road weaved into a thick forest, so dense you could not see five feet either side of the path. One would be forgiven to think they would be entering into a large expansive wooded region, but after ten short minutes the trees disappeared. In front of the group were large stone walls, only slightly shorter than the trees that obscured their view. "Well it looks like we're here."
"It's really cold looking, I expected something a little more grand for one of the seats of power in the empire." The dark haired kunoichi replied a little disappointed by the thick well fortified walls.
"Looks can be deceiving, at first glance this place appears to be nothing special, but wait until we get inside those walls." The rusty haired man said with a small smile. He was trying to be optimistic, even though he was less than eager to deliver their report from the southernmost region of the empire.
The gates were surprisingly small, only just wide enough to get a traders cart through. It was clear upon closer inspection that this castle was designed to withstand an onslaught from a large force. As the walls were almost as thick as they were tall.
Two bored looking men stood in front of the gate as the small group approached. The tall one was easily in his fifties, his once dark brown hair was beginning to grey and there were a few noticeable wrinkles on his face "Heh didn't think you would be coming back here anytime soon."
"It's a matter of security, I'm just following protocol." The squad leader explained.
The elderly man was about to laugh but the look on the teams sensei showed how serious he really was. "You uh, better head on in then. Hime-sama will want to see you immediately."
The two guards effortlessly pushed the heavy looking doors allowing them entrance to the fortress. Once passed the walls they found themselves in a large open field, training posts littered the area, and military personnel were busy training. In all their were only three buildings, two large halls that looked almost identical, and a smaller house. What the house lacked in size it more than made up for in luxury. The workmanship that had gone into the building was obvious even from the far end of the complex. "It's made out of solid marble." The sensei explained upon seeing the stunned look of awe on his students faces.
"Wow, I can't wait to see what's inside." Koha said eagerly.
"I'm afraid that's impossible, only members of the royal family, and those with express permission are allowed to enter. We will be met at the entrance and if we're lucky, I will be allowed in alone." The sensei said.
The three students chest fell in disappointment but nodded their understanding. Sure enough as they began to approach the entrance to the marble house the door opened and out walked a man in his late twenties in a white suit with a small fan embroidered over his chest, and shoulder length black hair and eyes that matched. "Well well if it isn't Tetsu Kurogane. What brings you here old friend.
"I have an urgent report for Gouhara-hime. There has been a rather peculiar incident in the capital city in the southern region." The Sensei explained with a bow.
"Well you better come in then Tetsu, I do hope this offers some entertainment." The dark haired man sighed beckoning him to follow as he turned to enter the house. "Leave your squad here." He added once he opened the door.
Tetsu nodded and signalled for his squad to stay behind. If the solid marble exterior was impressive, it had nothing on what waited for him once he entered the princesses home. The walls were lined with the finest timber and exotic artefacts were scattered around the foyer, each looked like it had come from a different area of the kingdom. The object that immediately caught Tetsu's eye, was a set of blood red battle armour in pristine condition. "That's new."
"Gouhara-sama had it brought here, it's the armour of the former ruler of the southern kingdom. She likes to show off the spoils of her victories." The dark haired man explained, but didn't stop long enough to go into anymore depth as he continued walking up the large set of stairs, forcing Tetsu to follow closely behind. They moved along a large passage, lined with various paintings with gold frames and the odd plant. At the end of the hall the dark haired man stopped. "She's in there, this is where I leave you. Wait inside the audience chamber, and Gouhara-sama will be with you shortly."
While the rest of the house was luxurious, the room Tetsu now found himself in was a little dark, thick stone lined the wall that looked like it have been badly damaged, as there were deep cuts scattered liberally giving the large room a rather oppressing feel. The audience chamber was completely empty apart from a small throne that sat at the far end made of the same dark stone that lined the wall. "I really had hoped that I wouldn't have to come back here anytime soon." Tetsu sighed, shuffling his feet uncomfortably.
"Aw are you really that unhappy to see me again, Tetsu-chan?" A cold yet silky feminine voice replied. Tetsu spun around on the spot but saw nothing. "Looking for me huh? You should know better than that, after all the training I put you through."
"That's what you call it huh, training?" Tetsu said with a grimace.
"Oh but you were always my favourite little toy, so much more... durable than all my other charges." The spectral voice replied with a chuckle.
Tetsu flinched again as he spun his neck in search of the woman. "Please Gouhara-hime I am here on important business, we don't have time for this."
The princess laughed, her voice carried around the room giving no indication of where she was hiding. "Oh but where is the fun in that? What could be so important that it takes precedence over our little game?"
Once more the rust haired man flinched. "A murder in the southern capital." He answered flatly.
"That all? Every single day there is murder in that cesspit. There better be more to it than that." The bodiless voice replied, a hint of venom lacing her words.
This time Tetsu took a few steps back, his eyes darting around while his body tensed. "They were killed with chakra... a jutsu that required chakra control of the highest level. I have photo's, here see for yourself." He tossed out a small photograph of the crime scene in the southern capital.
Out of nowhere she appeared as though hidden by the wind, her arm outstretched to grab the photo. She wore a long black dress with a large fan in the centre of her back, thats colour matched her snow white hair that ran down to her thigh and swayed lightly with eash step she would take. Her eyes were as black as onyx and porcelain skin made her look more like a doll than a powerful warrior despite being in her mid thirties. "My my isn't this interesting. It's certainly not a common attack that caused this much damage. It is hard to tell from a photograph but it's almost as if their body was shredded from the inside out... how delightful, oh I am impressed." The princess said licking her lips as if she could almost taste the results of Naruto's Rasengan herself.
"As you can see that is certainly a wound caused by a powerful jutsu. Something that despite my rank and abilities, am incapable of. This was also someone outside of the training teams sent to the southern capital." Tetsu explained seriously.
"Oh this is fantastic news." Gouhara replied with glee. "It has been so long since we have had something so interesting happen. Oh what fun we can have, a good old fashioned hunt, or should we place a trap... so many options are coming to me."
Tetsu was stunned, he had not expected her to be so happy about a potential threat to the empire. 'Oh what the hell am I thinking, why would she be worried at all. Even if they can use chakra... those wounds were caused by one person, a single soldier could not take on the might of the empire.'
"Hm, if I offer a reward for his capture the black ops teams will have a field day and I won't be able to meet the genius who caused this." The princess replied with a greedy almost hungry expression gracing her flawless features.
"Forgive me Hime-sama, but wouldn't it be best to start your investigation by checking if there are any members of the military that have gone awol recently? Then we might at least be able to get a name." Tetsu suggested.
"Who do you think you are talking to!" Gouhara-hime bellowed a deep scratch appeared heading away from the princess along the stone floor and right up the wall as if appearing due to her anger. "I am Gouhara-hime, twelfth in line for the throne. Do not take me as some low level weakling I have full access to everything that happens in the empire! There has been no deserting's in years." Her anger was palpable.
"I'm sorry Hime-sama." Tetsu replied as a small trickle of blood appeared on Tetsu's cheek.
Gouhara's mood immediately changed, she beamed a victorious smile and in an a shimmer of the wind she was behind Tetsu slowly dragging her finger across the wound. "You lost your composure Tetsu-chan... looks like I win todays little game, and here I thought I would have had to cut you so many more times... your losing your touch Iron Blood.
"I guess my blood release is just is no match for you Hime-sama." Tetsu replied submissively.
"Well that is not entirely fair, I think I may have over reacted earlier. I am just so excited to have a new little pet to play with. Oh however will I choose to catch him? I want to be there to watch him squirm, I want to be the one to slice him to pieces." She said with unbridled glee licking her lips once more.
"But surely that is overkill, I came here to tell you of my suspicions because it is protocol, however I am confident that I would be able to find the killer and bring them to justice myself." Tetsu replied.
"Are you sure about that?" Gouhara asked curiously.
"Yes Hime-sama, worst case scenario they are an old deserter that has finally resurfaced. But It's far more likely that it is just a mutation like my own blood release. That has occurred in the civilian population." Tetsu theorised.
"Your blood release was a mutation from your families already existent Kekkei Genkai. That was why they were allowed to join the military when my ancestor formed the empire. Still a potential new mutation could be interesting. I could let you investigate, but there is really no guarantee you will be able to find our culprit." Gouhara mused. She slowly approached the throne and took a seat crossing her legs with her arms folded over her well endowed chest.
"That's true, but a full scale man hunt would allow him to slip through. As expansive as our military is, cracks would open and there is a chance he could get away. You would have to conduct a search on the down low. The problem there is the villages outside of the major population centres, are small communities, our presence would be almost impossible to hide." Tetsu mused.
"You talk as if he is trained in avoiding our hunter teams. Still though you do have a point... so we need a trap that doesn't look like a trap... Tell me, when are the next group of recruits set to be evaluated for squadron selection?" The Princess asked.
"It's a little under a year, about eight months." Tetsu answered truthfully.
The princess rubbed her chin in contemplation. "Well that gives us some time for a less invasive search."
"That's true, but I am not entirely sure that I follow you." The rust haired man queried.
"It's simple, you will return to the capital for two months, where you will either have found the man responsible, or it's evident that he was able to escape the city and got away. So after that time you will have six months to search the other villages. You will rotate to a new village each week. I want you to meet the people, and of course search for anyone who you think may be capable of using chakra." Gouhara continued.
"So when I find someone who I suspect I kill them?" Tetsu questioned.
"Not at all. You will give them an invitation to come witness the final evaluation of your squad for their placement, a gift from a member of the Military cannot be refused. Then I can wipe all the potential suspects out in a single strike, it will be a glorious way to resolve the situation, and it will also wipe out any potential future threats that may appear later... Oh I can hardly wait." Gouhara answered with giddy excitement.
Tetsu was a little stunned by the princesses declaration. "But you would also kill a lot of innocent people in the process as I would have to offer tickets to more than one person or they will become suspicious."
"You sound just like that fool of a brother of mine. All I am doing is some weeding of my garden. We need to show that we're in charge, and unlawful use of chakra will not be permitted. If that means I get the pleasure of doing the getting rid of them myself all the better." The princess laughed.
'She really is insane, but I can't defy her orders, otherwise a few cuts will be the least of my worries.' Tetsu thought analysing the situation. "Very well I will be sure to find the culprit for you Hime-sama." He added with a bow.
"See that you do. I would hate for this to be your first failure, it would look so bad on your record... and mine. Now you best get back to work, I can't spend all day here with you as much fun as that sounds." the white haired princess laughed. "Besides your control can't hold out forever, you need to tend to all those wounds."
"As you wish Hime-sama." Tetsu said bowing deeply before exiting the room.
He was met outside the room by the same man who had shown him into the house. In his arms were a large number of bandages. "I figured you would need these. She does like to cut that body of yours up, you can relax now."
Tetsu let out a long breath and visibly relaxed. Immediately large cuts appeared on his arms and face where there where he had no clothing. "I have to admit she's getting better, the first time we met my clothes were torn to pieces. Thanks, Shougo." He said taking a seat on the floor so the dark haired man could wrap up his wounds.
"And you almost died, let's not forget that little detail." Shougo chuckled as he wrapped up Tetsu's now bleeding wounds. "You did well to hold your blood in this long, some of these cuts are quite deep."
"How deep the cut is, is no concern to me. My blood is my weapon and also my shield if I see fit. I only bleed if I lose my concentration like you said." The rust haired main replied with a hint of pride.
"Whatever, you're all patched up now. Shall I show you to the entrance?" The dark haired man replied.
"Thanks, but I think I can show myself out." Tetsu replied.
Shougo chuckled and nodded his approval. "So... what's the mission?"
Tetsu arched an eyebrow. "How you so sure that I've been given a mission?"
The dark haired man laughed and gave Tetsu a rather hard pat on the back "Please Tetsu, we may be friends but I am still a member of the royal family, you can't hide anything from me. I know Gouhara-sama would have given you a mission. Otherwise you would be in much worse shape right now."
"Yeah I got a mission, it's more of a pain in the ass rather than interesting. If I could I would have turned it down, but that's not really an option considering who gave it to me. All I know for sure is I am going to be spending the rest of the year in the south." Tetsu sighed as the pair arrived at the door.
(That Afternoon)
Naruto was finishing work for the day on his and Karin's home. 'Well things are going well, at this rate, and with the help of my clones I could have this place almost finished by the end of the week... I should start a construction company.' The blond chuckled as he began dispelling his clones.
"Wow it's actually looking like a proper house now... or at least the bare bones of one." Karin said admiring his handiwork.
"Yeah not bad, if I do say so myself. How did you go with the Kata I left for you to train in?" Naruto asked, he hoped to avoid the topic of what had happened that morning, at least until he could understand his own feelings.
"Well I think I am getting the hang of it. Still your clone had to keep correcting my mistakes all the way until after lunch." She admitted.
Naruto laughed, smiling happily. "I was the same, although Ero-sennin would just hit me and tell me to get it right. But the problem is, eventually that style wont suit you. I told you before your best option would be to learn your summoning clans style."
"What, then why am I spending so much time learning these stances and Kata? I should just ask them to train me now." Karin replied in shocked annoyance.
"Trust me, that wouldn't work, if you don't have a basic understanding of taijutsu learning an advanced style would be impossible. I know it's frustrating, but we have all the time in the world, hell in one short year I bet you will far be better in all areas believe it!"
End Chapter!
Don't know where to start with this chapter, It didn't really focus on Naruto, rather the first glimpses of the royal family. I also decided to add some more of the cannon, with a twist in the form of the Rikudou Sennin being a conscious entity that exists within Naruto's mindscape as opposed to where ever it was that Naruto met him in the cannon... some sort of limbo. I also restricted his new power by saying it had been sealed back away. Just thought he was strong enough for now, and it lets me explore a way of unlocking it later on. It doesn't seem like much of a stretch to me, Madara didn't awaken the Rinnegan until he was an old man despite having both brothers chakra for a long time. Only reason Naruto and Sasuke were able to gain them now is because of the Rikudou Sennin, Meaning it was only a short activation for the purposes of defeating Madara.
Spoiler Alert!
Wish I knew more about the Senjutsu of Six Paths that Naruto now has. I want to know how it compares to the Rinnegan... which I am somewhat annoyed that Sasuke has and Naruto doesn't. It seems when the younger brother gains the older brothers power, he gains the Senjutsu while the older brother will gain the Rinnegan. Really looking forward to see what happens next though. And see just what Naruto's new power can really do. Saw Lava and I think that was Sand he used so I am guessing it has a larger range of elemental chakra transformations, but that may just be because of Goku and Shukaku. Which then brings me to Question if you need chakra from all the Bijuu to gain the Senjutsu of 6 paths... or is that just a bonus he's received because he has power from all the Bijuu.
Sasuke's Rinnegan seems to be different to Nagato's, it looks like he's teleporting, but if he's somehow copied the Hirashin or some BS like that I will be annoyed constantly making things easier or Sasuke seem stronger than Naruto when for awhile now I have wanted him to take a beating and make him a little more humble, he would be so much more likeable of a character.