There will be an Author's Note at the end of this chapter and I would highly suggest reading it. Alternatively you can obtain similar information either on my Patron page or on my website.
Sealkeeper: He Who Binds
Chapter 118-A "Tsukuyomi"
Patron Release: 2020.05.25
A tense silence had fallen as soon as that word had left Mai's lips, the other occupants of the room sharing glances as their Kage continued to stare down at the picture of a young man from Konoha. Her eyes briefly glanced to the side of the picture and she let out a humourless chuckle.
"He's not even 16 yet." Red hair shook with her head. "And he's a Genin- a bloody Genin."
Zabuza gave a shrug and in an effort to calm the woman offered what little wisdom he had to spare. "I was, what, seven when I slew that graduating academy class?" He asked. "Age shouldn't have anything to do with it. Hell, he's from the same village that make Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Itachi- I can't say I'm that surprised."
Ao gave a single nod to show hsi agreement. "Exactly. We're Shinobi, we start young."
Haku, on the other hand, more closely followed the thoughts running through Mei's head. "Starting, yes." Haku's counter began. "But Tsukuyomi is far from just starting. He's conquered a country, fought off two S-rank Shinobi at once, and killed Yagura." She also added her own insight to the other detail Mei had mentioned. "I doubt he would have had time to both earn his Chunin rank and lead the Wolves, based on the size of his file it doesn't look like he went on many missions."
Mei hadn't even noticed that yet and with a sudden curiosity she flipped further into the file. "...Mitarashi Anko…..Mitarashi Anko…" She frowned. "Every mission on here includes a Tokubetsu Jounin, even when he was assigned to a Genin team."
That was odd but not what caught Zabuzas' attention.
"When he was assigned?" The man asked. "Are you telling me he graduated and wasn't placed on a team?" Seemed like a waste of potential to Zabuza, though he might be just a tad biased. How much were the other Genin going to learn if he was there breezing through everything?
Wll, maybe not. He doubted the kid had been able to fend off S-ranks when he was Academy-fresh. Still, that much skill didn't magically appear in, what, a year? Year and a half tops? That sort of potential was a little unnerving, even for him.
"He was on the reserves," Confirmed Mei. "And it looks like this Mitarashi Anko took a shine to him. Her reports are positively glowing."
"Then it would make sense for him to be more advanced than-" Ao was interrupted and the other two wondered if Mei even knew the man had been talking or had become so used to tuning him out that she now did so instinctively.
"More than just a shine." A slight dusting of pink stained her cheeks. "Some of the comments she left in here are...less than profesional."
"Oh?" Zabuza leaned over for a better look and was promptly swatted back by his daughter. Mei was reading and her love for juicy gossip was well known. This wasn't exactly the same but Haku had no desire to drag her father to the infirmary when he inevitably made a swipe for the file himself.
Of course, as soon as Zabuza was out of the way Haku leaned in herself to see what had been written. "Pretended to be lovers? Shared a bed? Bathed each other in a nearby stream….." Haku continued to scan though the reports, her own blush making itself known as she mumbled her findings.
Ao looked like he had choked on a whole lemon as he heard what the two had gotten up to during missions. Not only was the fact that they did so at all wholly inappropriate, but the fact that it had been a Toklubetsu Jounin and a Genin was even more so.
Zabuza just let out an impressed whistle. "Guess he had an early start on more things than we had realized." His observation was met with three unimpressed glares to which he could only offer a helpless shrug. "What? I'm right, aren't I?"
"So it would seem." Mei grudgingly agreed as she finished flipping through the reports. There really wasn't a whole lot there but all of it did indicate someone far too competent to be a Genin. Haku was probably right about him being more focused on his role as Tsukuyomi than doing missions, though it was also undoubtedly due in part to not having a team to perform regular missions with. Probably wouldn't have had a team for the Chunin exams in the first place and there was little chance of a field promotion after less than a dozen missions even if the reports sung him praise.
It wasn't just this "Anko" in that regard either. The Copy-Nin Hatake Kakashi also had nothing but praise for the young man who completely overshadowed his teammates in the report. In fact, other than a single mention of both and the fact that their names were on the top of the report as part of Konoha Cell 07 there was nothing on them at all.
There was something strange going on there, but it really wasn't their business at this point. What was there business was the fact that Tsukuyomi now had a name. "Naruto…." The word felt strange on her tongue and she thought it was unsuited to the beautiful young man who stared back at her from the front page. "No family name." She muttered.
"Haku, do you know what happened between him and his family?" Even as she asked she flipped through the file again for any clues she might have missed. The last Yuki answered as she found a single letter from Hi no Kuni's Imperial Fire Court addressed to the office of the Hokage.
"I tried not to pry too much when I stayed with the Uzumaki and it didn't really come up. I was hoping for permission to inform at least Naruko if it turned out to be him and asking then. I don't know how Kushina-san will take it so I didn't want to break the news without running it by Naruko first."
"That's sound thinking," Mei agreed. "But whatever happened they weren't the ones to kick him out at least." She waved the paper across her desk. "This is a letter from the Imperial Fire Court informing the Hokage's Offices that they have both received and acknowledged the renouncing of one Uzumaki Naruto's claim to the Uzumaki name by his request. It doesn't say why but it's apparent he left them."
Haku frowned at that. Naruko had mentioned she missed her brother before and it was obvious from her stay with the Uzumaki that Kushina was deeply troubled by something. If she had to bet, it was something to do with the former Uzumaki. But what had made him cut his ties to a family that obviously still cared deeply for him? She'd have to ask Naruko when she next saw her or, if that wasn't possible, at least include it in a letter. Regardless, she would need to know what had been discovered here today.
Or, at least, confirmed today.
"It's okay that I tell Naruko about his identity, right?" Mei gave a dismissive wave to Haku's question.
"It's fine, I have no use for keeping it a secret. If anything perhaps the world knowing might slow him down a bit. I'll be writing to the Hokage about it immediately."
That was good because Haku intended to send a letter to Naruko about it regardless. If anyone deserved to know it was her.
She just hoped it didn't cause too much distress, she was rather fond of the Uzumaki.
Naruto and Orochimaru had ended up working long into the night tio cover all the functions they were going to need the new Ten no Juin to perform. Briefly they had discussed the possibility of renaming it but had decided that was better left until they had actually managed to successfully create the seal.
Due to how late- or early, if you wanted to get technical- they were up it came at little surprise that when the Wolves requested from Nami arrived at daybreak their lord was fast asleep.
They had only missed him by ten minutes but no one decided to tell them that. It was the general consensus that it was good they hadn't arrived any earlier because then he would have been up longer sorting them out. No, instead they had been informed that Tsukuyomi was resting and went about doing what they could to relieve other Wolves currently on duty.
They were going to be up until they could report to Tsukuyomi anyway, might as well make themselves useful in the meantime. When he was ready for them they would be present.
Also present would be a letter from Commander Sai, set carefully upon his desk. He had been intending to send it anyway so the request for Wolves from Nami had been a convenient opportunity to do so. He probably should have sent it much earlier, like before making the decision himself, but what is it they said? Better to ask forgiveness than permission? Something like that.
Besides, he wouldn't mind too much, would he?
The light of the sun could go fuck itself Naruto thought irritably as his eyes were assulted by the light of the heavenly body. It was too goddamn early to be up.
A glance to hsi clock proved him wrong. It was too late in the day to be asleep.
With an almost pitiful whimper followed immediately by a disgruntled groan he pushed himself from the sheets and into a sitting position. It was well past noon at this point, far later than any of his Wolves should have allowed him to sleep in. He had work to do, damnit. Both Mai's and his new project with Orochimaru. How was he supposed to make progress on either if they let him sleep the day away?
It wasn't their fault, of course, and he didn't really blame them but he did wish they had woken him up earlier just in case he had wanted more time in his day so he could get enough work done to go to bed at a decent time tonight, Instead it looked like he'd be up late again and his internal clock was going to be skewed for a while yet unless he did something to address it immediately.
Like staying up until tomorrow night and going to bed normally. Probably best to get it out of the way as soon as possible before it simply became habit. It didn't matter much as Tsukuyomi but he was still technically part of a Genin Cell even if he had been skipping trainings and Kakashi hadn't mentioned any missions lately. When he reached Chunin- assuming he managed to start devoting enough time to his Shinobi career to do so- he could have whatever sleep schedule he pleased but Genin cells were a bit more uniform and tame to ease them into the Shinobi lifestyle before they ended up drowning themselves in it. Last thing they wanted was a team of konoha Genin being entered into the Chunin exams only to remember they hadn't seen the light of day since their academy graduation.
That tended to serve as a pretty large disadvantage when the Chunin exams were about spectacle and thus were held in the light for the audience and judges to watch. Having your team blinded by the afternoon sun made for a pretty poor showing.
Slightly more aware of his surroundings he forced himself from the bed completely- the separation was almost painful for his weary body- and headed straight for his closet for something to throw on. He'd like a shower before getting started for the day but not only was he lacking in time he knew a hot shower was likely to put him back to sleep and he really didn't feel like even entertaining the thought of a cold shower even if it would do wonders to wake him up.
It just didn't sound very pleasant at the moment.
Granted, that's the part that would ensure he was awake but if just skipping the shower entirely would prevent him from being too relaxed and keep him from the cold spray of the water that was good enough for now. He'd grab one after he'd looked over Mai's work and before he went back to the Ten no Juin. He should be more awake then.
He hoped.
Naruto stumbled out of his room on his way to his office only to be stopped by Wolves who looked beyond relieved to see him. They also looked about as tired as he felt, even with their masks dutifully on.
It took a moment for his brain to catch up to his eyes and realize some of these Wolves hadn't been here when he had retired to his chambers.
It took another for him to make the connection and realize the Wolves he sent for from Nami had arrived.
"Ah," Purple eyes briefly widened with awareness as he processed that. "You're here." It was a statement, more to solidify it for him than to confirm but one of the Wolves spoke up regardless.
"Yes, Tsukuyomi-sama. We arrived at dawn." He stepped forward from the wall he had stationed himself- no doubt so he would know when Naruto eventually managed to crawl out and face the day- and gave a crisp Konoha salute.
Naruto heard the words- he swore he did- but even then it took a long second for them to properly register.
"How...How long have you been up, child?" If they arrived at dawn he was willing to bet they had traveled all night and with how long he had slept that had been almost the whole day again. Purple eyes narrowed at the Wolf before he could speak, daring him to lie.
"O-only nineteen myself, Tsukuyomi-sama. They woke me up right before we left." He shifted his weight around nervously before continuing. "Kitsu and Jukse are approaching thirty-six."
"You idiots." Naruto gave a sharp, dismissive gesture down the hallway. He didn't actually know where the rest of the Wolves were but it got the idea across well enough. "Go get everyone who Sai sent me and get. Your. Asses. To. Bed."
What the hell had possessed them to arrive and then not rest? He blatantly ignored the fact that they had probably learned that trait from himself.
"But, Tsukuyomi-sama, didn't you have a task for-"
"Now" He left absolutely no room for argument and the Wolf scrambled off to obey. With a shake of his now much clearer head Naruto continued to his office.
How the hell were they supposed to keep him from making stupid choices if they were starting to emulate his? He needed to have them spend more time around Amaterasu.
Or maybe time training for administrative roles with Hanabi would remind them that he was the only one allowed to temporarily neglect his health for the good of the Wolves'.
Actually, maybe they should keep it up.
Then when Mai started chewing them out for stupid descisions the lesson might stick a bit better.
Of course, he'd probably be chewed out too for being a bad example but if that kept them from being stupid it might be worth it.
...They'd try the Hanabi route first, though. As adorable as Mai was when she scowled at him he had no real desire to make her mad. She had enough to deal with without him adding both his and his children's stubborn stupidity.
A black eye snapped open to stare at the wooden floors of Naruto's room. Orochimaru had been aware for over an hour by the time his prince had returned to the waking world and he had stayed put for several minutes after a freshly dressed Tsukuyomi had staggered into the hallway.
It wasn't what orochimaru would have prefered but most unfortunately sleeping on the floor next to Naruto's bed was as close to sharing the bed he was going to be able to enjoy while in this body. Even then, there was a reason he had waited for Naruto to leave before moving himself.
It was better to ask forgiveness than permission and all that.
If Naruto didn't know he was sleeping next to the bed Naruto couldn't tell him not to.
It also meant Naruto couldn't just sigh and hold up the covers so Orochimaru could join him but the Snake Sage was reasonably certain that wasn't going to happen. The body he had before the one Naruto had met? Possibly. The body of a former classmate? Probably a bit more than the young price would care for.
As tempted as Orochimaru was to just go for it and see how things went, the risk simply wasn't worth being separated even further from his prince. If he couldn't be in the same bed he was at least going to be in the same room, damnit.
Orochimaru pushed himself off the ground with a groan quickly followed by a series of unsatisfying pops from his back. The body might have been young but the floor was the floor. He took a moment just leaning against Naruto's bed- and more than a little tempted to crawl into it for a bit- and his eyes inevitably found themselves looking curiously at Naruto's closet.
He'd left without shutting it and while he didn't have much variety the outfits that were in there were distinctly Naruto.
Or Tsukuyomi.
Same thing.
Orochimaru might not be willing to risk losing his opportunity to sleep near his prince but there was a risk here he could take. He hadn't exactly packed any clothing, after all, and his current body was probably close to Naruto's.
With a grin many thought Anko had originated he slunk into the closet to pick out something to wear. If Naruto didn't like it he'd have to go pick up some regular clothes of his own from one of the shops, so he needed to make this first pick count because he might not get a chance to wear his prince's clothes again.
He knew just what to wear.
His office was not empty when he reached it, a young woman sitting at one of the chairs before hsi desk with a stack of papers. She didn't look to be getting much done and seemed more than a little distracted.
Naruto thought he had a pretty good idea why, something that was confirmed as soon as the young Hyuuga became aware of his presence.
"Ah!" Hanabi jumped up from her chair, spinning to face him. There was surprise there but mostly asn eager excitement. "Naruto-Nii, my Wolves arrived!" She announced. It was obvious the only reason she hadn't already started teaching them her new system was because he had yet to inform them that Hanabi was going to be their direct superior. He had a feeling she had already tried to start earlier and had been denied solidly.
As far as the Wolves as a whole were concerned, she was just a guest of Tsukuyomi kept at the apartment to keep her safe from former branch members of her clan.
And just in case something happened with Hinata and he needed a claim over the Hyuuga clan, but that wasn't something openly mentioned even in the deepest crevices of the largely abandoned Den.
"They have," He nodded. "Early this morning, from what I understand."
"C-can I start training them?" She was very close to bouncing with the energy that filled her small form. He didn't know why administrative work had her so excited but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Maybe it was more the lack of organization here she hated, so it was the chance to get rid of that and not the fact that she had to reorganize everything.
That made a bit more sense to him, but who knows what the real answer was. The Hyuuga were a weird bunch.
"They're getting some much needed rest." He shot her down immediately- at least for the day. "They can begin helping you with some of Mai's work tomorrow."
The disappointment was plainly visible despite her attempts to keep a neutral face. "Oh, well, I guess I'll get things ready for tomorrow then." Scooping the stack of papers she tucked them to her chest and started for the door only to be stopped by a hand on her shoulder. White eyes looked up to meet piercing purple.
"If they'll be with you in the morning perhaps it would be best for you to go over the new system with me fully so there are no conflicts with tomorrow's paperwork." He had already started making minor changes to his work in preparation for the full transition but she hadn't fully explained her new system yet. As he said, it would make things go much more smoothly if everyone working together was on the same page but it would also give Hanabi a chance to share her ideas with someone.
That, Naruto felt, was probably something the young woman desperately needed at the moment. She didn't exactly have many to interact with here in the apartment- at least around her age or similar to her- and while he was sometimes tempted to allow her to visit Hinata having her seen by the populace of Konoha would raise more questions than he cared to deal with.
Maybe the next time Hinata came to visit he would let the two spend some time together? That seemed a reasonable thing to do, he thought, especially if they were going to be transitioning to a new base in the future.
Then again, some might call it cruel to give them a chance to reconnect knowing they would soon be separated again. With how badly he'd misjudged previous views of himself and his House, however, he couldn't really bring himself to care all that much what people thought of him. All that mattered were results and even if the happiness was only temporary it would probably do both sisters some good.
Beyond being fond of both of them, from a practical standpoint it also made sense to keep the sisters in high spirits as they worked for him. They both played rather large roles, after all.
"Y-yeah!" Her face brightened immediately at the prospect of fully explaining the system she had been working on for the Wolves. It wasn't quite the same as making that first step into the actual transition but it was much better than sitting around her room or Mai's office wishing the clock would tick by faster so she could.
She also couldn't see any drawbacks to Naruto doing his paperwork in a more proper fashion. The sooner they niped that part of the bud the better as far as she was concerned.
"Come, you can explain it as I start going through my work." He should be drawing close to the end of his day's work, not starting it.
It was going to be a long night.
Supplies were still being unloaded from the ship but that hadn't stopped Kirigakure Shinobi from starting work on basic shelters. They had already been sorting through the rubble of old Kirigakure for anything even remotely usable. Chunks of concrete, stone, wooden beams, and metal scrap had been pulled out and organized into rough piles to be repurposed and, most importantly, free up space for new buildings to be made once they had what they needed.
Any trees in the areas surrounding Kirigakure had been completely removed so they could be stripped of bark and used for Kirigakure's good. Unfortunately that mostly meant providing heat and something to cook what little food they had managed to scrounge up for their starving people.
A waste of those trees, perhaps, but they didn't have much of a choice.
Now that Konoha had sent more refined material, however, they could start making some actual progress. They weren't permanent structures by anny account- more framed tent than anything- but it would allow Kirigakure residents to escape the few overcrowded buildings that currently existed and the shelters were much better than the makeshift tents that had popped up around the Mizukage tower when those buildings had reached their absolute limit.
None too quickly, too. The last thing Kirigakure needed was some sort of sickness spreading when it's entire population was crammed into little more than a city block. That would have certainly spelled the doom of Kirigakure.
Food, too, was more than welcome from the Hi no Kuni vessel and other Shinobi had already set about distributing it as best they could. Their system had plenty of room for refinement but with an entire city to feed it was going to be hard to ensure everyone got a fair share and that those who needed it most received it first.
After one's self and one's family the average person held very little care for anyone else.
Still, they did the best they could to see everyone fed which had the city in better spirits than it had been in weeks. They were a far cry away from being what they had been before Yagura's reign but with enough hard work they would get there eventually.
It would probably be years though.
Many, many years.
Mei watched all of this from her office window, beyond grateful for Konoha's help even if it was under the expectations that Kirigakure would stand with them if Iwa or Kumo tried to oppose their rapidly expanding global influence. Regardless of their reasoning Konoha's supplies would be the thing keeping her people alive. If that meant they had to support what was currently the largest country in the world so be it, there were worse allies to have.
Another group of her Shinobi made their way through rubble-filled streets to drop off everything they had been able to carry in a designated clearing. For defensive purposes Kirigakure had originally been built with no sea access and that was to their detriment this time. FOrtunately they weren't too far from the coast, something that had been necessary when actually building a village so separated from the rest of the world. They had to get their supplies somehow and Mizu no Kuni wasn't an environment that played nice with a lot of the things they had come to rely on over the years.
On the other hand it was nice and defensible, much more so than places like Konoha. In fact, Konoha and Iwa were probably the most open villages to reach. It seemed odd but Konoha continued to stand tall against any would-be aggressors. Why Iwa had done something similar was a topic of much debate but there would always be the few popular theories.
Basics like not having planned it better or just copying the first of the Hidden Villages to be created and more complicated possibilities like meeting Konoha on even ground as part of their rivalry. Somehow Mei doubted both Konoha and Iwa had left themselves easily found so they could attack each other but that didn't make the theory any less popular.
Somehow.
Kirigakure, Kumo, and Suna on the other hand had taken the concept of :Hidden Village" and applied it a bit more literally. If nothing else, they were at least somewhat difficult to reach even if these days the locations themselves were well known to just about everybody.
Good for Shinobi business, bad for just about everything else.
It hadn't been much of a problem when Kirigakure Shinobi were in high demand as assassins and massively detering security and the extra income more than made up for having to have most things they wanted shipped and carted to the village propper but now that they had been set behind so much it was going to be difficult to get back.
Namihime was probably going to be one of their best options considering it already did a lot of trade as Mizu no Kuni's capital but then they needed to transport those goods across the entirety of Mizu no Kuni. She had contemplated making use of a nearby fishing village and their closer proximity to Nami no Kuni before, perhaps it was time to actually do it.
Yagura had controlled Namihime as there hadn't been a proper Daimyo so it was likely he could still have supporters within the city. She also had no idea- and she should probably have a few spies in place to keep an ear out- who was going to end up taking over the position of Daimyo now that Yagura was gone. The former Daimyo's family or one of Yagura's surviving supporters was the most likely outcome. Regardless, as she didn't know who they would be or what they would do it made sense to have as much independence from Namihime as possible.
Just in case.
If that meant relying on Konoha and getting supplies through trade with Nami no Kuni so be it, at least that would provide Kirigakure with two additional parties interested in their wellbeing.
As much as she absolutely loathed the Wolves she doubted they would act against a customer. Client? Absolutely, they had proven that with Gato and Yagura. But if you were a customer you were beneficial to them and as far as she could tell the House of Wolves was very much directed by whatever was best for them.
Opening trade with them through the people of Nami and that vishing village- she still didn't know its name- would be a good way to indirectly secure themselves against further issues with the Wolves in the future.
It would also give them easier ins if they ever needed to infiltrate Nami in the next decade or so.
Kirigakure might not be in any position to act against them at the moment but they would never forget and, one day, they would be able to do something.
It would be so much more satisfying if they made use of Nami no Kuni to get to that point.
Sealkeeper: He Who Binds
Chapter 118-B "Breakfast"
Patron Release: 2020.06.01
"Mei-sama, how did you want to inform the Hokage about Tsukuyomi?" Haku asked from the doorway, interrupting Mei's thoughts as she gazed down to the activity Hi no Kuni's ship had brought with its supplies.
From up here it wasn't quite like ants but it was close.
That was a good question, actually. Her first plan had been to just send a letter letting him know that one of his Shinobi was actually a Daimyo but that just seemed...lacking. Imagine providing that sort of claim through a letter of all things. Not only was it the sort of information you didn't want not reaching them but how were they supposed to take a letter like that seriously?
At the very least, she'd need something delivered by one of her people. By default, that would be Haku.
Sometimes Mei wondered if she relied upon the young woman too much, she also wondered if it was because Haku was one of the only other women Mei interacted with regularly or just because everyone else was so unsuited for the things Mei needed.
The idea that she very well could be relying on the last Yuki too much was only supported by the fact that she had another mission for the young woman already planned, so she would have to delay it a bit and send her there as soon as she had delivered the news to the Hokage.
It was understandable at least, she thought. Haku was the daughter but more importantly for Mei's argument his apprentice. She had spent her life being trained by the Demon of the Hidden Mist, without a doubt one of the most capable fighters under her command at the moment. Haku had also learned what not to do from her father, transfering the man's mastery of silent killing over to the social subtleties he sorely lacked.
The best of both worlds, without a doubt. Haku was her most balanced Kunoichi both mentally and in combat. A rare thing in Kirigakure, especially after Yagura had taken it upon himself to fuck everything up even more.
Maybe Mei should have Zabuza take on another apprentice in the meantime? Haku's second assignment was going to be rather long term so it might be good to give the man something to take up most of his attention in her absence.
And who knew? Maybe that new apprentice would learn to reign in Zabuza too, that would be infinitely helpful.
She'd like to know where Kisame had gone so she could see if he'd be willing to do the same- he had been willing enough to help them during the civil war before he had vanished during his fight with Tsukuyomi- but she didn't even have a way of knowing if the man was alive. The thought that he might be dead was almost absurd but no one had seen hide or….scale...of the man since that day and Mei already knew Tsukuyonmi- this "Naruto"- had been holding off both Kisame and Zabuza.
When you thought about it like that the idea that he may have slain Kisame wasn't all that out there .
Turning from the window Mei gave Haku an apologetic smile. "How does another trip to Konoha sound?"
"You want me to tell him?"
"I'd like you to at least deliver a letter, though I think it's appropriate we return Gennin Uzumaki's file. We have no further use for it."
"Ah, of course." There wasn't much they could have used it for anyway if Haku was completely honest, it's not like there was enough there for them to do anything with unless they were going to start going after Tsukuyomi's Genin team or those he'd gone on missions with before. In both cases they would be moving directly against Konoha and the House of Wolves. They couldn't afford that, not in the slightest. "Have you already written your letter?"
Red lips pulled into a small frown. "No, not yet. I'll get right on that while you pack for your trip. Can you return in about an hour?"
"Of course, Mei-sama." Haku went to leave but was stopped as Mei remembered the mission she was going to have after this.
"Oh, Haku."
The young woman turned to her name, one brow rising. "Yes, Mei-sama?"
"I had a mission planned for you, I'm going to need you to head to Namihime after you've spoken with the Hokage."
Haku understood why immediately but double checked just in case. "Eyes and ears, Mei-sama?"
Mei smiled. There was a godsdamned reason she always found herself relying on Haku. "Yes, exactly. You may want to tell Zabuza about that mission but I'd advise against the first."
"I wasn't planning to, Mei-sama. I'll be back in an hour."
That girl was a lifesaver, Mei would have to find a way to thank her for all her help one of these days. Maybe she could invite her friend over here to Kirigakure? Green eyes peered out her office window again, making note of the large piles of rubble that hadn't even been sorted yet stretching as far as the eye could see.
No, even ignoring the fact that Haku's friend happened to be the biological sister of Tsukuyomi this was a horrible impression for Kirigakure to make. Wouldn't be much of a reward for the last Yuki. Maybe just a vacation to Konoha? A long-term diplomatic assignment, maybe?
She was already halfway there.
With a sigh she abandoned both that train of thought and her place near the window to slip into her chair and get to work. She had a rather important letter to write, one she hoped wouldn't come to bite her in the ass later.
Hanabi's explanation had taken a little over an hour as Naruto applied it to the work that had patiently awaited his attention. When he was sure he had understood and Hanabi was satisfied with the way he was filling it out she had left to prep for training the Wolves in the morning.
It would take some getting used to but he could already see the benefits of her system even as he worked. Offering her sanctuary among the Wolves back when he first met her was more than paying off. Of course, as soon as she had left he finished up his current stack- her first, most simple suggestion of only having one thing on his desk at a time had been a massive change in itself. Who knew filling your workspace with all your work for the day was detrimental to actually getting it done?- and had immediately turned his attention to the letter that had been sitting on the dark wood since his arrival.
There were only a few people whom he had given the seal of the Imperial House of Wolves and he had a pretty good feeling that Mai hadn't been the one to send official correspondence from her vacation. A letter? Quite possibly. Something sealed like this? No, that would be rediculus.
And that meant Sai.
Even though Sai was the other person with the seal and managed all the Wolves in Nami no Kuni it was still rare to see him using the seal. Normally he just tucked his reports into the stack of reports from the rest of the Wolves and Naruto read it as a summary for the rest of them. It had worked so far and he briefly wondered if Hanabi's need for propriety had already stretched out to Nami no Kuni.
That or Sai had really fucked up and resorted back to formalities to be as propper as possible. If you'd already made a mistake it was generally advisable to avoid making any others, so that would make sense.
Sai knowing he'd made that sort of mistake, on the other hand, didn't make as much sense unless someone had pulled him to the side to discuss his finances.
Again.
Of course, this could have been from Hana, too, simply borrowing Sai's seal. If she wanted to reach out to him directly it seemed like the sort of thing she might do. Normally she just asked Sai to include something with his but if anyone was going to be doing things properly over in Nami no Kuni it was going to be the Inuzuka heiress .
He supposed he'd never actually know if he didn't just open the damn thing and read it for himself.
Grabbing a small knife from his desk drawer he pried the seal from the paper envelope and removed the parchment from within.
That...was not normal parchment, either. Naruto blinked in surprise at the parchment, not even looking at the words. He had ordered some very special parchment from the Imperial Fire Courts' official stationer that already had their seal faintly visible across the page. It was very official and far from cheap so he had only ordered five pages each for those with the Jitsuin of the House of Wolves.
The fact that one was used for this letter meant it had to be damn important, otherwise he was going to personally make a trip to Nami no Kuni to kick Sai's ass for wasting such expensive material for something menial.
He scanned the page at first, looking for the reason it was sent in the first place and not being too concerned with the details until that had been established.
And then he read it.
And again.
It was during the third reading of the letter that Naruto was forced to admit he was indeed reading what he thought he was. With a shake of his head and a small chuckle he carefully folded the paper back up and slipped it into its envelope.
It was by no means something that should have used that paper- though he would admit Sai had done a wonderful job of actually writing something that seemed official- but he supposed he could overlook that for now. He'd still chew Sai out for it later but it wasn't worth a trip to Nami no Kuni quite yet.
He glanced at the innocent envelope.
Or, specifically, wasn't worth a trip to Hanahime just yet.
Naruto had to wonder how Hana had reacted to the news and how she had found out in the first place.
If he had to guess, he'd say probably the same way the rest of Nami no Kuni learned. Poor girl.
Maybe...maybe he'd send her a letter. Apologizing for Sai but congratulating her on having a city named after her. He should probably send word to Mai and Tsume, too, but for all he knew Sai already had. Even if he hadn't, they were on vacation. He could fill them in when they returned if Sai- or Hana, he supposed- hadn't sent a letter to one of them.
Of course, if he learned that Sai had not only sent letters to them but used more of this parchment for it he really was going to be on his way to Nami no Kuni immediately to give the young man a piece of his mind.
The letter quickly found itself slipped into his desk drawer and he leaned over for the next stack of work neatly placed beside his desk. He heard the door open and when he straightened back up with his fate for the next hour he was greeted by a grinning Sasukemaru...wearing his favorite furs.
There was a platter in his right hand with what Naruto could only assume was a breakfast of some sort. Seeing it reminded him that he hadn't eaten since...lunch, yesterday? That sounded right. He had been too busy with working on redoing the Ten no Juin to eat dinner and he had gone to bed early this morning.
That, however, wasn't important right now.
He knew his own skin was quite pale, was that how much of it he showed when he wore that fur top? He knew his lips were pulling into a slight frown as he examined it on someone else. Maybe that wasn't the sort of thing he should be wearing as a Daimyo. As Naruto it was fine, but it seemed entirely inappropriate for official business.
Good to know.
"I see you've found my closet." he commented dryly. Orochimaru gave him a slightly sheepish smile in response.
"Hope you don't mind too much, Naruto-kun. I grabbed everything I had on the Ten no Juin and rushed here. I didn't pack any clothes for myself."
He didn't see why not, another hour wouldn't have made that much of a difference and he wouldn't have known. Why someone like Orochimaru would forget to grab essentials seemed somewhat off but Naruto couldn't deny that the man being so focused on immediately addressing his godson's request that he ignored them in favor of expedience did sound like something the man would do.
It was also just as likely he had "forgotten" in hopes of wearing Naruto's clothes. He couldn't put that past the Snake Sannin either, though he could confidently say he would be much more comfortable with Orochimarus' last body wearing his clothes.
With how much work he had on his plate at the moment, however, it was probably best that wasn't the case.
"So be it." Naruto placed the work on his desk and turned his complete attention to it. It may have been getting into early evening but he had only been up for a little over an hour. As far as he was concerned it was still too early for Anko eccentricity which meant it was also too early for Orochimaru and Tayuya. He needed another hour and at least two cups of coffee before he was ready to deal with their particular brand of insanity-
No matter how attractive he normally found it.
Dealing with it coming from Sasuke's body just made it weird on that front, something he hoped wouldn't taint it from the others. He was quite fond of it, after all.
Orochimaru frowned- which was actually more of a pout, something that didn't belong on Sasuke's face ever - at the lack of a response and made his way to the desk where he took a seat on the edge, sliding the platter onto an empty portion of the desk as out of the way of Naruto and his work as he could manage.
"Aw, don't be like that Naruto-kun. Don't I look good in it?"
"In your last body, perhaps, Orochimaru." his frown deepened but with a defeated sigh he accepted the answer. His prince had made it clear he was only interested in women, it was too much to hope that he would be able to catch his eye in this body too. Maybe there was a way he could modify this body to fit Naruto's tastes while he was in it? He was Orochimaru, after all, how difficult could it be to turn his current body into a woman? In fact, if he found a good way to do it then every body he took from now on could be desirable to his Crimson Prince.
Or, at the very least, he wouldn't be as staunchly opposed to a bit more physical affection in them. That might be a project for Orochimaru to work on while Naruto was busy with his work for the Wolves and didn't really need him to do anything for the Ten no Juin.
Assuming Naruto wouldn't just give him a list of things to figure out about their new seal while he was busy going through reports. That was certainly a possibility though Orochimaru wouldn't mind in the slightest if it meant easing some of Naruto's burdens or expiditing the project so that his prince could have what he wanted sooner.
Both would no doubt result in a pleased prince, which Orochimaru was quite partial to.
Of course, if he did just leave Orochimaru to his own devices then figuring out how to modify his body should also please the prince. Maybe not in this body even after the change just because of who it had once been but definitely future bodies. If Orochimaru did a really good job he'd find a way to switch back and forth at will so that it would never matter what body he took.
That would be quite convenient once he finally managed to obtain his immortality and, should he be so lucky, gaining that sort of control over the human body might be a good step into achieving that goal.
"Fine, fine. I guess you're going to be like that until I have boobs again, aren't you?" When his only response was a brief, unimpressed glance before Naruto returned to his work Orochimaru moved on. "I brought you some breakfast." He gestured to the platter where two red bowls sat in sharp contrast to the shiny silver.
Naruto wasn't even going to bother questioning where that platter had come from, he hadn't seen one the last time he used the kitchen. Admittedly that was some time ago, he'd been too busy to cook lately and his Wolves always delighted in doing whatever they could for their father anyway. It would be cruel to steal that away from them.
"I saw that, thank you." He made no move to claim a bowl for himself, continuing his work steadily. The pouty frown growing on Sasukemaru's face was, thankfully, missed entirely by the young Daimyo.
"Come on, Naruto-kun." Pleaded the man. It wasn't as odd with the younger body unless you had known Sasuke or were aware that the person inhabiting it was in his fifties. "Won't you take a few minutes to share a breakfast with your godfather after he went through all the trouble of making it for you? It's going to go cold."
Purple eyes rolled up to peer into the black orbs of Sasuke's body, red brows nearly hiding them from sight. After a few seconds of staring he gave an exasperated sigh and his chair pushed away from the desk with a small squeak.
And to think, he had once been afraid of accidentally insulting this Sannin.
"Very well, let's eat." With a quick handseal he created his only Kage Bunshin who immediately took his spot and resumed his work. He was probably going to end up regretting that later but he couldn't bring himself to care just yet. He grabbed the platter and headed out of the room, a delighted Orochimaru trailing behind.
His prince was such a considerate godson.
She was still there Sai realized as he continued his work. He was doing his best not to actually look- or at least not let her know if he did- but it was really hard to ignore the glaring Inuzuka heiress leaning against his office wall.
His office was not a big one.
Not in the slightest.
What's worse is the fact that she hadn't said anything to him since his announcement. A foolish man might take that as a good sign but not Sai, he knew she had to be planning something.
He just couldn't for the life of him guess what that could be.
Maybe he should have at least given her a bit of warning before going along with it? Or received a response from Tsukuyomi approving it so that she couldn't hold it against him?
At this rate it might end up being safer for him to retreat back to Konoha for a bit claiming needing to discuss urgent matters with Tsukuyomi personally.
Or a vacation. Now would be a very good time for one of those.
Either for him or for Hana. As long as it kept the two of them apart that would be good enough for him. No, scratch that, definitely for Hana. It would harder for her to be angry at him after spending a week or so on vacation especially if he was the one to arrange it for her and she knew it.
That was almost like an apology, right?
A sudden issue with that plan made itself known- he had no one to replace her while she was gone and there was no way in hell he'd be able to manage Nami- specifically Hanahime- the way she did. It was a shipping city, after all, a place with huge economic power.
Economics and Sai did not mix.
Ever.
Even he knew that, though he wondered why they hadn't taken his- admittedly limited- financial responsibilities from him. They had been wise enough to reduce it already,how much harder would it be to just remove it from hsi desk completely.
Or just get him an accountant.
….Did the Wolves have an accountant? Did they have a treasurer? They had a country, surely those were the sorts of things they would need. Maybe hHana had those sorts working under her, which would explain why her leadership of Nami no Kuni went so smoothly.
He'd ask but, well…. He took another glance over to her. Yep, still glaring just as hard as earlier…..Yeah. That. Maybe he'd ask when she was in a better mood, now didn't seem like the best of times.
After that vacation, then. He needed to get to work on figuring that out.
Using the Kage Bunshin- something he'd been mostly avoiding since recovering from his trip to Mizu no Kuni- had allowed him to finish his daily work by a decent time that night, even with a needy Orochimaru trying to horde his attention to himself. The inability to make any physical expressions of his affection was obviously having an affect but wouldn't be resolved until his next change in three years.
Naruto wasn't entirely sure he would be able to deal with such a needy godfather for that long, so he might need to force himself past the fact that it was the face of Uchiha Sasuke staring at him lovingly and provide the same opportunities to be physical that he did to his children.
Sharing a bed with Sasuke like he did his Wolves was going to be strange but if it solved a problem he didn't have much of a choice. He'd just have to make sure there were other Wolves with them, too. Until Orochimaru was back to being female he wasn't about to be in bed alone with them.
Sharing with one of the other girls was probably also a cruel thing to do, so he'd have to keep it to Wolves his relationship hadn't deviated from parent and child with. At least while Orochimaru was around, though he had a feeling that might be much more for the foreseeable future. Not only was he helping with the Ten no Juin it was obvious he had left otogakure without a second thought to join Naruto. If the man was that comfortable leaving his village in the hands of others- probably Guren, if Naruto had to guess- then he probably wasn't going to be in any sort of hurry to return.
But by employing his Kage Bunshin he had been able to finish his work the same day. It may have been only by a matter of minutes but that was much, much better than what he had expected. It also allowed him to get up around the same time normal people did even with the exhaustion from utilizing the Kage Bunshin.
He was still tired and very much wished to crawl back into bed but knew that if he did he would continue to perpetuate a less than desirable sleep schedule.
He'd also miss out on the opportunity to watch Hanabi take charge of her new team, though he had a feeling if he had ended up sleeping longer she'd have been so bold as to wake him up if only to give those Wolves their new orders.
She was getting more and more relaxed in her new position and he wasn't sure how to feel about that. It was probably for the best, really, she was Mai's assistant and was going to need to be used to wielding her new authority. He supposed that also meant getting used to getting away with things when it came to him, which was a given for all his Wolves honestly but especially applied to those at the top.
He tollerated much more from Mai and Sai than any of the other Wolves and he allowed Ganju to do more simply because it was obvious he was being backed by one of the siblings. He wouldn't have had the gall for his first project without permission and every one since had only made him more daring.
Sort of like Hanabi, now that he thought about it.
He should probably stop allowing himself to be so lax about those under his command but even as an army they were his family first. He couldn't help but indulge them.
Katsuri, well, he'd probably allow more from her than the other High Captains like Keigo but that was for...other reasons. Perhaps a bit biased and unfair to the others but that's simply how it was. As much as they might claim otherwise, parents still had their favorites -especially when you had several dozen children.
But family matters aside, the Kage Bunshin and the opportunity to grab a few hours of sleep were what nwo allowed him to stand in front of his desk, a line of Wolves fresh-ish from Nami no Kuni standing at relaxed attention before him and Hanabi trign very hard not to show how eager and excited she was about this on the right side of his desk.
"Good morning…" he nearly called them 'children' but quickly remembered Hanabi was present. He hadn't gotten around to telling her yet, he'd get to it sometime after she finished with the Wolves. It probably wouldn't disrupt her system too much.
He hoped.
"I'm sure you're all curious as to why you've been summoned from Hanahime." He was going to try to refer to the city as much as possible going forward instead of the country just to get used to the new name. At the rate things were going the city was likely to span a majority of the country before long so it would more or less replace Nami no Kuni from hsi vocabulary entirely outside of formal applications.
'The Daimyo of Hanahime' didn't sound too bad, though, Sort of rolled off the tongue. He'd keep that in mind, he may end up changing the country's name to match once the city had grown enough.
Naruto took a moment to turn to Hanabi, gesturing to her with his right arm as she straightened further in an effort to convey an air of properness.
"Some of you may be familiar with Hyuga Hanabi, formerly a guest of the House of Wolves. She has recently been elevated to the position of Mai's personal assistant and has already been hard at work revising many of our systems to lessen the workloads of Mai, myself, and Tsukuyomi." Hsi arm fell. "You are here because she requires a team to take over administrative duties for the House of Wolves and fully implement this system. You will be answering directly to her until instructed otherwise by me or Tsukuyomi himself."
"Any questions?"
"No, Naruto-sama!" Chorused the Wolves. They gave Hanabi a few questioning looks but kept whatever comments they had to themselves. If they did have any questions they might be holding them due to her presence, which would make sense. Best not to piss off your boss before even introducing yourself.
"Very good." Naruto gave a satisfied nod before meeting the Wolves' eyes one at a time with a pointed gaze. "If any questions do arise feel free to see me for clarification. That is all, I'll leave you to your new supervisor and the duties she has for you. Hanabi?"
"Yes, thank you Naruto-sama." Hanabi stepped forward until she was even with him. "We'll be moving to Mai's office to go over what I'll be having you do so Naruto-sama can continue using his without interruption. Start heading there and I'll join you momentarily."
"Hai, Hanabi-sama." They snapped off a salute to her but then immediately turned to Naruto with much greater enthusiasm. "Naruto-sama!" He gave them a nod to excuse them from his presence and allow them to fulfill their orders. They spun on their heels to face the door in sync and filed out of the room. When the footsteps had faded enough down the hallway Hanabi's shoulders relaxed with a slump and she released a small sigh.
Like this she seemed a bit nervous which he figured was understandable. She was about to take command of a team much older than her wielding the authority of the highest figures in the Imperial House of Wolves. That was quite a bit more than her lessons to take over the Hyuga clan had prepared her for.
"You'll do fine, Hanabi. I have faith in you." He placed a comforting- he hoped so, at least- hand on her shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze, earning a small smile from the young woman.
"Thanks, Naruto-Nii." Leaning over she wrapped her arms around his waist and gave a squeeze of her own. "I won't let you down, I promise."
"I doubt you could. Now, I do believe you have a team waiting on you. Show them the capability you've shown me and let's do our best for the House of Wolves."
"I will." She gave him another brief hub before centering herself with a sharp exhale and putting on a serious face. She had a team to take charge of and she wasn't about to let the faith she was being shown be misplaced.
With brisk steps she made her way out of Naruto's office to start her work.
And now it was time for Naruto to return to his.
A Note From the Author
These seem to be becoming increasingly rare from me these days and I could not honestly say if that's good or bad. Unfortunately, the subject of this particular AN leans towards the negative.
If you're one of the nine people who read the 2020.06.07 Update or if you read the public post on my Patron page you may be aware of what's happening. Considering how many people actually read this, I'd say it's a fair assumption to believe that's very, very few of you.
Continuing that theme, there won't be many who actually read this now that the chapter is over but for those of you who are and haven't seen those other posts I'll provide details here as well.
To be blunt and to the point, future chapters of Sealkeeper may be delayed.
That's not to say I'm quitting or going on Hiatus, just that for the foreseeable future my update schedule may end up being thrown off. I've been busy trying to help a friend get back on their feet while trying to get my own shit together and am also looking for a second job so I can pay off my mounting debts faster and- one day- finally be able to own my own home.
I may also be swapping positions within the company I currently work for and while that should- hopefully- improve things in the long run it will take some getting used to.
As it is, I've taken a leave of my Discord in an effort to focus on everything else I need to be doing and I'm strongly considering packing away my gaming rig for the next few months to avoid temptation there too.
I will be trying to maintain my current writing schedule for both regular releases and the Patron early access but with so much going on I simply can't guarantee it and I figure it's better for you to learn this now instead of after I fall from the face of the earth for a few weeks.
With any luck this will soon be behind us but until then and until I next have your attention,
-Eyazahrid
Thanks goes to my Patrons for their continued support as I get my shit together.
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