The Nine

Chapter 7

The atmosphere was grim at the docks. Smiles were long forgotten as the ocean waves roared with fury against the rocks nearby.

Naruto stood at the front of his group. The other jinchuuriki stood smileless behind him. Kakashi stood in front of Naruto, grasping his gloved hand firmly, "The loss of a comrade is hard, I know it well. But I believe in you, Naruto. If anyone can make it through this, it's you. You're a born leader, lead them well."

Their hands parted, his words to Naruto sunk in deep. A born leader? Him? He'd already lost two people. The other jinchuuriki would never trust him with their lives now.

Kakashi watched Naruto's face as a range of emotions flashed through his eyes. Grasping his shoulder lightly, he gave it a squeeze, "I'm proud of you, Naruto." Naruto's eyes widened and he looked up at Kakashi. "You've surpassed all my expectations. You and Sakura are the best students I could've asked for."

Kakashi released his shoulder and Naruto gave him a slight grin, albeit a sad one, "You make it sound like you're gonna die, Kakashi."

Kakashi's eyes curved upwards in a smile, "Well I am getting quite old." He shared a chuckle. "Anyway, I'll tell Tsunade what's going on. I'll send a messenger hawk to keep you posted. Although, I doubt she'll like your refusal to return home…"

Naruto gestured toward the beautiful village behind him, "This is my home now, it's where I belong."

Kakashi nodded understandingly, "Very well. Good luck, Naruto. See you when I see you!" He gave a small wave to the group of young jinchuuriki and stepped onto the deck of the ship along with a group of volunteers from the village to sail the ship. Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru and Kiba stepped up to Naruto.

Sakura looked at him, eyes filled with sadness, "So this is goodbye?"

Naruto shook his head and hugged her tightly, "No. This is 'see you later'." He released her and saw her frown turn into a small smile as she joined Kakashi on the deck.

Ino spoke next, "I still need to repay you for saving my life, you know."

"Well, how about you treat me to some ramen next time you see me?"

Ino sighed and placed her hand on her hip, "Some people just never change do they? Okay, ramen it is. I'm still going to try to get an official re-assignment though!" She turned around, winking, and walked onto the deck.

Naruto gave her a small smile as she left.

Shikamaru grasped Naruto's hand, "It was good to see you again. It's a shame you're not going to return with us though. I guess that's mission failed, how troublesome."

Naruto released his hand and patted him on the shoulder, "Don't worry Shikamaru, the sooner you get back the faster you'll be able to go cloud watching again!"

Shikamaru nodded, seemingly with renewed vigour, and joined the others on the deck of the ship.

Naruto looked back down to see Akamaru staring at him expectantly. The big white dog whined at the jinchuuriki sadly. Naruto scratched his fluffy head, earning a satisfying groan from the big dog. He barked happily and jumped onto the ship.

Kiba was the last to go. He stood there staring at Naruto without moving. Just as Naruto was going to ask if he was okay, Kiba suddenly hugged him tightly, "I'll miss you man! I can't believe you're not coming back!"

Naruto patted him on the back, "It's okay Kiba, you'll still see me..."

Kiba released him and looked him on the eye, "Good. We still haven't done the ultimate prank on Tsunade-sama yet."

Naruto grinned nervously, "Oh yeah, you mean the day we die."

Kiba joined his team on the deck and pulled the plank onto the ship. The sail dropped, allowing the ship to disembark on the journey back to Fire Country. The Konoha ninja waved from the rear of the ship shouting their goodbyes.

Naruto stood there for several long minutes, watching the ship sail into the distance. He felt like a part of him was leaving with that ship. He did leave Konoha in the first place, but telling his friends he wasn't coming back was even harder.

I'm proud of you, Naruto.

A warm sensation spread in his chest. Someone was proud of him. Through all of the darkness and sad thoughts in the day, there was still a glimmer of happiness. Even though two of his closest friends have passed away, he WILL protect the rest. He will protect his precious people.

"The wind is strong today; the whirlpools will be out in full force."

Naruto glanced back at Yagura. Fuu put her hands behind her head and spoke, "Think they'll make it?"

Naruto glared at her, "Of course they will, the volunteers are ex-sailors from Water Country."

Fuu glared back, "Alright, Mr. Leader, someone's prepared."

Gaara stepped between the two, "Now is not the time. We must prepare for the coming battles with Akatsuki."

Akatsuki. Naruto's eyes hardened. He will kill them all, every last one of them. Rage boiled within him, threatening to explode in a fiery volcano of death. Why did they return? Why now? Madara was dead! He saw him die with his own eyes!

"Calm yourself, you're losing control."

Naruto took a deep breath, trying to calm his heart rate. He guessed the fox had uses after all, acting like his conscience.

Yagura appeared in front of his vision with a worried look, "You alright, boss?"

Naruto wiped the sweat from his forehead. Gaara and Fu were already walking up the steps to the village. Naruto put his arm over Yagura's shoulder and walked with him, "Of course, just a little tired."

Yagura raised an eyebrow at him, "Tired? You look like you just fought with Akatsuki twice over. Get some rest; I'll come get you when the others get back."

The duo came to a crossroads in the path. One street led to their house and the other led to the jinchuuriki meeting hall. He really was quite tired. Not getting much sleep for the past four or so days can have that affect on people. He removed his arm from Yagura's shoulder and spoke, "Fine, fine. Make sure all of the preparations are met, I'm counting on you."

Yagura nodded with a determined look and took off down the street towards Gaara and Fu. Naruto started down the street which led towards the market. Due to the high winds, the whirlpools would be out in full force today. This meant the other jinchuuriki would be late. Naruto was going to take this opportunity to rest and recuperate. He had high stamina, but he needed to rest at times too. Sighing to himself, he navigated through the crowds of the market street towards his home. Looks like he'll be sleeping in one of the spare rooms…

Yagura was excited. He had been given authority by Naruto! This was his chance to prove himself to Naruto. Running up alongside his two fellow jinchuuriki, he interrupted their conversation, "Guys! Naruto's gone to get some rest; he's put me in charge."

Fu facepalmed, "Oh great, Mr Fishy is in charge."

"I have faith in him, so should you Fu," Gaara looked at Yagura and continued. "So what's the plan? I assume the normal arrangements shall be made."

Yagura nodded, "Yeah, the finest sake to be laid out on the table. Are there any notices for Naruto from the other countries?"

Fu sighed loudly, "I'm surprised you don't want fish food on the table too."

Ignoring Fu's comment, Gaara replied, "Yes. I'm not sure who they're from but they're addressed to Naruto. I'll put them in front of Naruto's seat when we get there."

Yagura glared at Fu but chose to be mature due to his newly-acquired authority, "Good, good. I'll go to the cliff and keep a look out for the others. You two get to Whirlpool Castle."

The two jinchuuriki nodded and separated from Yagura.

Four hours later, Yagura walked through a large ornate double door. The building he entered was similar to a castle, albeit a lot smaller. It was the only original building of the former whirlpool country left and the jinchuuriki used it as a base of operations. It was built from stone and was very sturdy; if only it's survival of the destruction of the former Whirlpool Country was any indication. Naruto named it Whirlpool Castle.

He walked through the candle-lit hallways until he came to a wooden door and opened it.

The meeting hall was a large room with a high ceiling. The walls were made from the same stone as the outside, signifying the age of the building. There was a chandelier with lit candles, portraits on the walls and two large paned windows on one wall. In the centre of the room was a large round table with nine seats around it. On the chairs there were numbers on the backs ranging from one to nine. Bottles of sake lined the table, several for each chair.

Gaara and Fu were already seated on the chairs with the number that represented their tailed-beast. Gaara had his arms crossed and his eyes closed, whereas Fu had her feet on the table and had an annoyed look on her dark face. Yagura sat down two seats away from Gaara and spoke, "They'll arrive soon. Where's Naruto?"

Fu shrugged, "No idea, thought he'd be with you. He better not sleep through the meeting."

Gaara opened his eyes and spoke, "He won't sleep through it, he never misses a meeting."

Yagura nodded, "You're right, he doesn't miss them." He poured himself a cup of sake and took a sip. "So how many messages are there?"

Gaara pointed to a pile of envelopes and small scrolls next to him.

Yagura paused mid-sip, "Woah. Why so much?"

Gaara shrugged, "I assume hiring ourselves out as jinchuuriki to the highest bidder for missions has caught a lot of attention."

Yagura leaned back in his chair, "I thought the trade mission that the others went on was the last one we'd be doing?"

Naruto took this opportunity to enter the room, garbed in his black and red outfit, "It is. We just needed the cash to support the village." He sat down next to Gaara and continued. "To be honest though, we're going to need our own ninja for missions. The money we have now will help keep the villagers wages stable. Thankfully a special type of fish lives in the waters around Whirlpool Country due to the whirlpools so our fish trade is booming at the moment."

Yagura nodded listening to his every word, "So how will we get our own ninja?"

Naruto sighed and poured himself a drink, "I just don't know. I refuse to hire out ninja from the smaller countries. Our best bet would be to create a ninja academy. It's one of the issues I'll be addressing in this meeting."

Gaara poured one also, "Yagura, when will the others arrive?" Gaara wasn't an inpatient person, the exact opposite actually. He just enjoyed the company of his fellow jinchuuriki and wanted to address the issues of the village. He was a nice guy really.

Yagura pulled out a small blue book and replied, "They should've docked by now." Gaara nodded content with the answer. Yagura opened the first page and began to read. Gaara recognized the cover.

"What's that, Yagura?" He narrowed his eyes.

Yagura didn't look up from his reading, "Nothing."

Gaara reached for the book, "How did you get it? We don't sell that in this village."

"Kakashi-sama gave it to me before he left; it's a milder version of the one he first gave us."

Naruto's eyes widened. Kakashi-sama? He looked over at Yagura and noticed the familiar book.

Yagura, dodging Gaara's attempts at reaching for it, spoke again, "Stop it; you can have it after I'm done!"

Naruto glanced at Fu. She hadn't noticed yet. Thank god Yugito wasn't here; she'd kick their asses for even holding that book.

Gaara halted his advances on the book and sighed. He only wanted to read a little bit, he was merely curious. Sitting back down in his seat he sipped his sake.

Yagura smirked triumphantly. He turned another page and continued to read. Kakashi was right; this book was a lot easier to read! He hasn't even got a nosebleed yet.

Suddenly the doors opened.

"Yo! Killer Bee is here! Don't look so surprised you look like a dear!"

Naruto stood up and grasped his brother's hand, "Bee, how was your trip?"

Yugito walked in and replied, "Boring! Not even a bandit attack."

Naruto smiled at the blonde woman and hugged her. The two jinchuuriki took their respective seats and poured themselves sake. The last person to enter walked up to Naruto and blew a bubble from his pipe. He popped the bubble with his finger and spoke, "What's up?"

Naruto smiled and patted him on the shoulder, "The usual, Utakata."

Utukata smiled softly back at him and took his seat next to Fu.

Naruto sat back down and looked around the table. Two seats were empty. Sadness overwhelmed the room as the band of jinchuuriki shared a mourning silence for their lost brothers. Naruto poured another cup of sake and stood up again to speak, "Today we lost two great friends and comrades. They helped bring us together to become the family none of us ever had. They will not be forgotten."

He raised his glass in the air. The others stood and raised their glasses. "For Roshi and Han!" They all cheered and downed the sake.

They sat down together, saying their own silent prayers. Naruto looked up at his fellow jinchuuriki and spoke, "Now let the meeting begin."

Gaara pushed the pile of papers and small scrolls towards Naruto, "This is all that came. Everything's here." Chatter broke out among his family. He'd have to read all of the documents first before he could address any issues with them.

Naruto eyed the pile of documents. He sighed; this must be what it felt like to be Hokage.

Hokage.

Did he still want to become Hokage? It seemed like a distant dream now. He looked around the room at the jinchuuriki. They were all hated as children, the same as him. For the first time they were accepted by their fellow countrymen. Could he really leave them again?

Putting the thoughts aside for now, he opened the first sealed envelope on the pile.

He read letter after letter, signing his name where needed. Most of them were just requests for certain high-value civilians to leave the village to go on trade runs or see family. High-value civilians were those that helped keep the economy flowing; such as farmers or business-owners. He allowed all of them because it was the least he could do since they were all putting their faith in seven ninja to protect them. Most people would look for protection from one of the mightier hidden villages.

Naruto unrolled one of the two scrolls on the pile and a smile broke across his face. Looks like they'll be getting active ninja after all. It was a message from the leader of a band of rebels in Snow Country. Apparently they were Whirlpool ninja back in the day and are requesting to rejoin the ranks.

It did seem fishy though. Why would they suddenly ask to rejoin after all these years? Perhaps all the other hidden villages rejected them.

"Or maybe they are working for Akatsuki."

'You could be right, I'll send two.'

Naruto rolled up the scroll once more and held it in the air, halting all conversation in the room.

"Mission. Two volunteers. Snow Country."

Yagura scrambled to raise his hand, but was beaten by Utukata and Gaara. Naruto knew how much Yagura wanted to go to Snow Country, but rules were rules. When missions were given out, the first ones to raise their hands would be given the mission. The rules were only broken if circumstances called for it. It was much like a democracy; it was all they could do without proper politicians running the country.

He handed the scroll over to Gaara who eyed him suspiciously, "I thought we were no longer taking missions."

"We aren't. But this is an exception. Be careful though, something doesn't sit right with this one. All of the details will be within the scroll. Just go investigate the rebels and send me a report via messenger hawk."

Gaara nodded, content with his answer.

Chatter resumed amongst the jinchuuriki. Yagura took to sulkily reading his newly-loved book at the lost opportunity at going to Snow Country.

Naruto began to unfurl the final scroll.

'Utukata and Gaara, the two quietest of the group. That'll be an interesting mission.'

"You just sent the two least-sociable jinchuuriki on a mission which could, in multiple scenarios, lead to diplomacy? An interesting leader you are."

'Yeah thanks. I do try.'

Cutting out the fox's voice from his thoughts, he read the last scrolls contents. His eyes widened at the contents. Looks like there would be two missions issued this meeting.

"Mission. Two volunteers."

Several raised their hands. Yugito's was the first to go up. She looked at the person who raised their hand second, "Naruto?"

"Looks like it's you and me, Yugito. Gonna be just like old times, eh?" He rolled the scroll up and placed it within back on the table.

Yugito analysed him with a cat-like gaze, "Why are you going, shouldn't you stay here?"

Naruto shook his head, "Bee will be fine holding the fort, won't you buddy?"

Killer Bee pumped his chest, "Yeah bro! Don't worry about thing, because I'll be wearing all the bling!"

Naruto looked at him incredulously. Maybe putting him in charge wasn't a good idea…

Fu narrowed her eyes at Naruto, "So you say we aren't taking anymore missions and now you've given out two? What gives, Naruto?"

Naruto met her eyes unwavingly, "This mission is important too, very important actually."

Fu tore her eyes away from his, fighting the tiniest trace of a blush. Yugito crossed her arms and asked, "So where is this oh-so-important mission?"

Naruto smirked mischievously, "Fire Country."