A/N: Hello there honeydoodles! I apologize for my long hiatus, I have been swamped between drama and my AP class and getting ready for college and all that jazz. I would like to thank everyone, who faved, followed and reviewed!
Infinite Katalyst: Haha, I never meant for Sae to be a reference to that, but it is quite funny. And as for Setsuna's brother, well, you'll see.
NicolaiGrey: I suppose your theory makes sense, but you'll just have to wait and see what happens, mwahaha!
Stallion6: Iwa is already having a civil war, actually.
Gohan108: Thank you!
Two days later, Ino stood in the training grounds, wiping sweat off her forehead. The Chunin worked her pretty good, definitely having improved some in such a short amount of time. Hajime, her new medical disciple even seemed to pick up things just by observing. It was somewhat difficult to teach him lessons while simultaneously teaching the Chunin, but the visual approach seemed to work for him.
Gathering materials into her bag to get ready to go back to the hotel, suddenly she heard an 'ahem' behind her and turned to face a blonde middle aged civilian woman.
"Can I help you?" Ino asked, confused by her presence in the training grounds. The woman scowled.
"My name is Tarimi Yasutake, and you've been training my son Hajime, without my permission."
"You haven't allowed your son to study medical training?"
"No, his father and I expect him to take over our law firm actually. He only attended the ninja academy to get a basic education. So, stop filling our son's head with ideas that he can be a medical ninja, before he goes and gets himself killed like the rest of your village after that stupid war!"
Ino was flabbergasted. "If your son wants to be a medic, who am I to deny him the opportunity to become one, especially since it seems he doesn't want to be a lawyer!"
"You don't have the authority to make decisions for him, I do as his mother! And my decision is that I will not allow you to corrupt Hajime's mind anymore, you whore!"
Before Ino could speak, Kiba was at her side, Akamaru's tail brushing against her leg. The Inuzuka looked Hajime's mother right in the eye, intimidating her with his height and feral look.
"Listen, bitch, if your son wants to be Ino's student, let him. He's capable of making his own decisions and if you care about him half as much as you claim, you'd respect his damn wishes. Also, Ino here is not only, not a whore, but also quite capable of corrupting the hell out of someone's mind, and trust me, if she was doing that you would know."
"This is none of your busin-" Hajime's mother began, but was cut off by Kiba again.
"I'm not finished! It may be easy for you in another village to dismiss the war as stupid, but unless you want to live in a world as a Zetsu clone than you should thank your lucky stars that millions of ninja from ninja villages like ours died defending your ability to get into stupid arguments over what career your son will have!"
"We didn't ask for your protection," Tarimi spat before turning on her heel and exiting the training grounds.
Kiba snuck a look at Ino hesitantly. She was kneeling besides her bag once again, packing her tools away. "So what are you going to do about this?"
She shrugged, her back still to him. "I honestly don't know. I have no clue what Hajime's mother will do if I continue to talk to him. Although, it's clear to me that the education system in this village is very flawed. There's no civilian academies, and there seems to be few opportunities for higher learning."
"Or maybe she's just crazy."
Ino frowned at Kiba. "She sounds like a supporter of that nonsense going on in Tani."
"Well maybe I came off as a bit of an asshole," Kiba said, running his hands through his hair with a frustrated look on his face. Ino lifted her bag onto her shoulder. "Kiba, you always sound like an asshole. But, thank you."
With that, she left the training grounds, obviously upset about what the woman said to her.
Nakina heard Sae utter a quiet "wow" as the group of Ryu ninja approached the Konoha gates. Nakina had to admit, the village was much larger than she had expected. Turning to a sign-in stand where two Chunin were posted, Nakina cleared her throat.
"Can we help you?" asked a Chunin with wild hair and bandages on his face.
"I'm Nakina, the leader of Ryugakure and I need to speak with the Hokage."
"Yeah, she's expecting you, see that building right there? Well that's where you gotta go, a secretary will direct you from inside the building."
Nakina thanked the gaurd, and started to head down the bustling street.
"Well they seemed pretty lazy," Toru muttered. Sae shrugged, but looked around at all the people. "I've never seen so much activity..." she said.
Nakina tried not to seem cowed by the size of Konoha, moving along down the street towards the large building with the red roof. She estimated Konoha to be 2 or 3 times bigger than Ryu, even though they'd suffered heavy casualties in the past year or two. There was something very vibrant about the place, and the people seemed somewhat happy as they went about their errands.
Two civilian girls walking by winked at Toru, causing the young ANBU leader to blush a shade of red that matched his hair. Sae shot him a questioning look.
"Toru those girls looked about as old as your teenaged sister."
"I don't know what girls you're talking about Sae, there's lots of females in the area." the redhead replied, a pink sheen still gracing his cheeks.
Nakina rolled her eyes at the antics of her bodygaurds and pointed up ahead. "We're almost to the Hokage building, start acting your ages!"
Once inside the building, it was easy to find the Hokage. A secretary called Shizune down to guide them upstairs, and the trio followed her silently, shooting weird looks at Tonton, however.
"Tsunade-sama's office is right through those doors, and you'll find Gaara-sama waiting inside as well. They've been expecting you."
Nakina nodded in thanks and entered the office, finally seeing Tsunade and Gaara in person for the first time. Both were quite intimidating, despite being far apart in age.
"Nakina-san, thank you for joining us," Tsunade spoke, gesturing the Ryu leader to sit in a chair in front of her desk. Gaara stood, looking out one of the Hokage's large windows. "Please, tell us everything you can on the summit."
"Well firstly, he's formed an alliance with Ishigakure. The purpose of the summit was to get other small villages to join his alliance, in order to band together and fragment the Five Great Ninja Villages. He's the one responsible for the civil war ocurring in Iwagakure right now."
"Did anyone join his alliance?" Tsunade asked, surprisingly calm as she took a swig of sake.
"No, Tsunade-sama. The villages with no clear alliances all met and signed a pact of neutrality. My village and two others were not represented at the meeting."
"He wanted you to come here," Gaara spoke for the first time. "That's why he invited your village, he wanted you to tell us."
"I don't understand," Nakina started, clutching the bottom of her jacket slightly as she did when she got nervous. "Why would Katsutoshi want you to know what his plans are?"
"Probably to dare us to do something about it. Taking action on our part would show the small villages exactly what he wants them to see of us." the Kazekage pondered, as he stepped away from the window.
Tsunade nodded. "That makes sense. If we were to take out Tani, we would make a martyr of his cause."
"But what about Iwa? Surely you can't do nothing?!" Nakina said, fearing her village being trapped between Ishi and a Katsutoshi controlled Iwa.
"I've received a message that Naruto and Kurotsuchi are on their way here to tell us precisely the situation. Once we have the facts, we can make a decision." the blonde Hokage replied, pouring another glass of sake.
"For now, the best tactic is to not do anything to provoke the smaller nations, however, I fear we should meet with A and Mei to discuss this." Gaara said, before nodding goodbye to Nakina's group and exiting the office.
Nakina's eyebrows knit together in confusion. Tsunade could see bags under her eyes, and she could tell the woman was confused by the actions of the Kazekage.
"He's probably going to talk to his brother and sister. Maybe his fiancée. I'm not sure, but while that seemed pretty rude, some of my subordinates are a lot worse, entering whenever they please. Especially that Naruto, bah!"
"I see..."
"For now, there's no use waiting here for Naruto, it could be hours or days before he arrives. Feel free to get food and lodgings, Shizune will come fetch you when he gets here."
"Well there you are, I've been looking all over for you!" cried an overweight nursemaid to her charge. "Your father is back and he wants to talk to you!"
"And what if I don't want to talk to him?" the girl asked, never looking up from the book she was reading. Her normally loose light brown hair had been tied up rather sloppily to keep out of her darker brown eyes, and her clothes screamed comfort rather than style.
"Kuzuri-chan, you know that will get both you and me into a lot of trouble! Your father is not a patient man!"
"Nor was my mother, Fusayo, but that's why I have you."
Fusayo the nursemaid harrumphed. Her Kuzuri-chan always said things like that, mentioning her mother in passing, as if Nobara's desertion had not hurt her feelings. Wrapping her arms around the girl, she stroked some hair out of her face, and looked her in the eyes. "Your father is expecting you in his office, dear. The book will wait patiently."
The girl sighed rather dramatically, and rose from the chair, leaving the book open on the desk. Entering her father's office, she sat into the chair in front of him unceremoniously, her crossed arms conveying impatience.
"Daughter," Shogo greeted, smiling disingenuously.
"Yes, father?"
"As you know, I've been to a summit recently hosted by our ally Katsutoshi. You remember Katsutoshi?"
"Crazed look in his eye, sure."
"Well, anyhow, he had the brilliant idea that to join our villages closer together, he should have your hand in-" he was cut off by Kuzuri beginning to laugh. "What's so funny, girl?"
"Do you honestly expect that him marrying me will do anything but give him a claim to Ishigakure?"
"I expect it, Kuzuri. Unfortunately, when your mother conned me into marrying her, she told me she was "pretty sure" you were a boy. You're obviously female, and the slut ran away before she could have another kid! Therefore, as my only daughter, your husband needs to be somebody I trust to run the village after my death."
"...or the village leader could be chosen democratically like in other villages."
"Are you trying to spit on the bones of your ancestors, girl? How dare you say such a thing! Our family has run this village since day one in the time of the-"
"Yes, yes, the Honorable Isao who built the village with his own earth jutsu after being denied the leadership of Iwa because he was too powerful, you've told me this a million times, father."
"Besides, Katsutoshi won't rule Ishi for too long, only until your son is old enough to do it himself."
"You expect me to reproduce with the guy?! The kids will probably be as crazy as him! Why can't I lead the village? Some other girl can pretend to be me, he'd never know otherwise!"
"Kuzuri, you're a girl."
"And your point is?!"
"You're too weak to protect the village!"
"I'm pretty sure the Hokage Tsunade and the Mizukage Mei could kick your weak ass before you could blink."
"You insolent girl! Don't speak of those imperialist heathens to me! You are leaving tomorrow to marry Katsutoshi, and that's final!"
"I expected you to send me away sooner or later, unfortunately. As usual, I was right." Kuzuri said coldly, slamming the door behind her, headed for her book again.
Naruto looked back to his traveling partner, who seemed worn out from the many consecutive days spent traveling almost nonstop. Naruto and Kurotsuchi had only been traveling together 4 days, however, she hadn't gotten much rest after traveling from Iwa before setting off again for Konoha.
"Kurotsuchi, we're so close I can practically smell Ichiraku ramen!"
"That's wonderful, but I'm pretty sure I can't feel my legs."
"It's ok, only a few more minutes and then you can be healed and get rest and eat."
Naruto was correct, it only took about 15 more minutes until they reached the main gates of Konoha. The night gaurds were set up at the kiosk, but snoozing happily to themselves. The blond rolled his eyes, but began hopping from rooftop to rooftop towards the Hokage building, Kurotsuchi following close behind.
"I hope she got the message I sent an hour ago," he muttered to Kurotsuchi, who smiled weakly. He was trying to speed up the process so she could rest as soon as possible.
Once the pair reached the center of the village, Naruto jumped through Tsunade's window, which he presumed she had opened for him. Seeing Tsunade, Gaara and Nakina waiting in the room he smiled brightly in greeting, and moved so that Kurotsuchi could collapse herself into a chair.
"Kurotsuchi, shall I call a medic? You look as if you could use a night in the hospital."
"I ok for now, Tsunade-sama. I just want to tell you guys what's happening in Iwa."
"Go ahead, then."
Kurotsuchi looked at her hands sadly. "My grandfather was assasinated in his sleep. In the aftermath, the Iwa council immediately chose Kitsuchi as his successor, however, a faction of ninja and civilians demanded a man named Yutaka be chosen. They started a violent riot and killed several council members."
"And how did this lead to civil war?" Nakina asked, standing behind Tsunade's desk along with Gaara.
"Well, when Kitsuchi tried to take command of the rioting, Yutaka's supporters began to riot even more. Eventually, all of the council members were killed, and all the ninja voted on new members. Most of these new councilmen supported Yutaka, and refused to allow Kitsuchi to have any control. Two factions developed, one supporting Kitsuchi and the other supporting Yutaka, and the confrontations became more and more violent, each faction taking over a different half of the village. Some civilians are getting involved, but others are fleeing to smaller villages."
"What the situation as you left it?" Gaara questioned.
"Kitsuchi and his supporters were getting ready to move to an abandoned mountain stronghold, as Yutaka seems to be steadily gaining more and more control. Kitsuchi sent me to tell you what was happening, as he considers the group he is leaving with the true government of Iwa, and therefore your ally. He hopes you may be able to help end the destruction ocurring in the Land of Earth."
There was a pause in the room, as the leaders pondered what Kurotsuchi had said. She looked to them hopefully. "You will be able to help, right?
"I'm not sure how much," Tsunade began. "This civil war is ocurring because of a man in Tanigakure, by the name of Katsutoshi. Earlier today, the three of us came to a consensus that until we have talked with Kumo and Kiri we should not do anything at all, lest we provoke the smaller nation and make a martyr of his cause to weaken the Five Great Nations. Unfortunately, yours was the first target."
"So you aren't going to do anything?!" It was Naruto who spoke instead of Kurotsuchi. Tsunade looked at him sadly, but unsurprised at his outburst.
"Naruto, we aren't sure what course of action is the best yet. We plan on holding a summit soon to figure it out, but we do not want to cause more conflict!"
"Bullshit! You're appeasing Katsutoshi and using the excuse of not wanting another war!"
"Naruto," it was Gaara who spoke. "I have no intention of allowing Katsutoshi to weaken our villages. Frankly, we could crush him easily, but it would show to the small nations that if they take a stance we don't agree with, we could just be rid of them. That sort of thing will only breed more of what we're trying to prevent in the first place."
"At this summit, I want to be there to represent Iwa," Kurotsuchi said, standing. "I want to do anything in my power to get help for Kitsuchi."
Tsunade looked at Gaara, before looking back to Kurotsuchi. "Very well, but on one condition."
"What would that be?"
"You spend the night resting in the hospital. We plan on leaving tomorrow afternoon, and if you're so determined to help it'd be best not to slow us down."
Kurotsuchi accepted Tsunade's condition, and was dismissed to be taken to the hospital by Shizune. Naruto sat in the chair the kunoichi had recently vacated, and looked to the woman he considered a grandmother.
"Naruto, you are to be in charge in my absence. Shizune will help you, and I will leave instructions with her. You need the practice. Nakina-san, I'll have a team escort you home to help with whatever is needed training-wise. Your people need it now more than ever."
After Tsunade finished giving her orders, she dismissed them all from her office, and for the first time all week, headed home at a reasonable hour to sleep in her bed.
A/N: Thanks for reading kidlings! Once again, I'm sorry for my hiatus, life just tends to get in the way! I hope you all enjoyed, and review!
I've closed my poll and the results will be posted next chapter on who the best Ryu character is!
-MyHikari