Author's Ramblings: New chapter... surprising, no? :P

You are about to notice some of Naruto's personality quirks, among them, the way his puppets look and act. The minute, unnecessary motions the puppets make are only partially conscious on Naruto's account... they are something of a developed reflex as he actually makes them seem lifelike to confuse his enemies. The actual actions they make are either Naruto not wanting to bother, or hims trying the same as above. He will also often refer to puppets by 'name' in public, and they will respond by action.

A some of you might have noticed, Habuse was somewhat inspired by the fictional city of Roanapur from Black Lagoon, but mostly as a dark, seedy place where crime, drugs and the like are nothing new. Well, enough about it. Enjoy the chapter

Chapter 5 : Work and Future Plans

The seven figures walked quickly in the faint noon sun. The early onset of winter brought forth colder winds, though the mist remained unabated, a sobering reminder to the two bodyguards just why the hidden village of water country bore it's name.

The four they were escorting were traders, unusually enough, working with normal goods, rather than the lucrative ones, mainly silk, cotton and spices, goods in high demand throughout Habuse. Personally, they were carrying very little, apart from the travel documents, which in themselves was enough to get killed over, and other documents relating to a trading deal they were going to sign.

Naruto and Yugao stuck to the sides of the group, the third figure that walked belonging to Naruto's puppet, the Guardian, now dressed in a dark, billowing robe with a large straw hat covering a masked face and a large naginata strapped to his back. The merchants, as well as any potential enemy would think him nothing more than simply someone who wanted to keep his identity secret, something normal in these turbulent times, and would doubtfully be able to identify him as a puppet, even if they had an idea that something was wrong. He had sparred with Yugao enough times to make the motions of the naginata as natural as possible, and as effective as possible, while still enforced with a number of fiendish devices meant to kill, maim or disable.

Naruto Uzumaki, alias Mezuro Kaichi operated along a very simple principle... if your enemy underestimates you... don't give him the time to regret that decision. If he doesn't, bring to bear against him as much firepower as you can afford. The less your enemies can predict, the more off their reaction will be.

Yugao watched her two years younger partner with a mixture of pride and curiosity. For six months she drilled him, and in turn, he helped her train and improve.... but there were a few things that unnerved her. First was the way he trained himself, something that she, even with all her effort couldn't match. What had a started as a hundred pushups and pullups quickly ballooned into a training regiment Maito Gai would be proud of. He acted with purpose, planning and plotting his path, asking her for help in specific things. The basic training she put him through was done in less than a week.

The other was the fact that she was sure that he had made a plan of some sort, though she hadn't found an opportune moment to speak about it.

The last one was the way he acted. Towards her, and towards small children, he acted warmly, friendly, but towards anyone else, he was cold, hard, cynical, distrusting. As if he built a wall around those he held close and didn't want to let outsiders in.

A slight twitch on her sleeve brought her from her thoughts. Naruto was reminding her that she shouldn't drop her guard by using a completely invisible string of chakra attached to her sleeve... one that he would detach as soon as fighting began. She gently pulled on her sleeve, which was the agreed upon response, sending a weak, but perceptible signal back.

They walked on, taking the well-used path that followed the coast. The landscape was unsurprisingly barren... after all, little could grow on pure rock, but it also left precious little room for ambushes... though both knew that Mist had spawned more than a few ninja well versed in underwater combat.. Yugao from her training, and Naruto from the fact that she drilled every bit of information either of them had available about Water country into his skull.

So both kept close guard on the sides and back, ignoring the sound of their feet hitting the small puddles of water scattered over the road. In front, the silent figure of Naruto's only unsealed puppet walked on, now using the long handle of the naginata as a walking stick while brushing off some dust of his robe. It was those little quirks, Naruto realized early on, that fooled people, and he wanted them fooled. All it took to stop someone in combat was one moment...

The four merchants walking to his right were.. irritating to say the least. They were loud, slow and remarkably foolish, discussing their finances like this in the open. While he personally didn't give a damn as to what happened to them, he decided that they should survive, otherwise it would look bad on their record... in Habuse, rumors spread like wildfire, and if they messed up, chances were they would be hard pressed to find a new job, a luxury they didn't have. So he watched like a hawk, using every trick he could think of to make sure that these four sheep (as far as any shinobi was concerned) arrived safe to their destination.

His hopes however, would be dashed quickly.

All the instincts he had developed over the several years of training, while nothing compared to veterans, were enough to notice and alert him to a projectile coming straight at him.

Yugao was looking to her right, almost expecting someone to pop out from the rocky shore. It was a small stretch of land that connected the two islands like a bridge, artificially built during the times that Water country was still a growing, prosperous land. Her eyes widened instantly when she felt the far stronger tug that came over the string... one that had her immediately grasping her sword as she head Naruto yell

"Duck! Tenre, Kisagi cover the clients!" he ordered, hands instantly armed with a kunai in one hand, and a pair of shuriken in the other. That was a crossbow bolt that he narrowly dodged, and it came from the water rather than the shore. The four merchants were now covering in the middle of the road while Naruto, Yugao and the puppet assumed a close defensive formation around them. Neither he nor Yugao could notice their attackers... until they both noticed a veritable hail of projectiles coming their way. Without saying anything, Naruto and Yugao grabbed a merchant each, while the Guardian moved to hoist the remaining two over his shoulders, all three of them moving further along the road to dodge the numerous kunai, shuriken, spears and other, less easily discerned objects that now dotted the ground, leaving small holes in the stone. What was concerning though, was the fact that they all melted away into water seconds later, without revealing the attacker, again. And this time, the projectiles came from the direction they came from, which meant land. Likely there were two attackers.

A strange, tense silence engulfed the area, interrupted only by the sounds of breathing and waves crashing against the rocks.

"Two?" Naruto asked his partner, and unconsciously made the puppet nod. Yugao quickly shook her head in agreement while whispering back

"I'd guess three most likely" she whispered, preparing herself for an attack from any of the directions not already used. Naruto deferred to her judgment as a more experienced ninja. Yugao always knew what she was talking about, so he kept his guard up and prepared to retaliate as soon as the enemies revealed themselves, because for now... he had no other option.

"Mezuro, remember that trick you showed me last time?" Yugao quietly asked, and received a nod in return.

"Now's the time to use it" she continued, and Naruto felt the need to slam a palm to his head for being such an idiot. Still, it took him months to figure it out, but it was a good opportunity for a field test.

He quickly threw the kunai into the mist before his hands moved through the several handseals he still required for it. He felt the backward tug ash he decided his new position, and the shadow that instantly reformed in his place as the real him was pulled by the high speed shunshin to another location. Afterimaging, the one skill he really wanted to master even during his days back in Konoha, but lacked the proper skills. Shadow clones were ideal for it, and the fact that one of the scrolls that Sarutobi had packed had a plethora of tricks with that specific jutsu helped out greatly. The clone left behind knew it's job, stay close, and run the puppet. Yugao would have done the same, but she never managed to pull it off in the same, completely undetectable way Naruto did.

He quieted down as he landed on the ground, some twenty meters away from his group. He didn't know just how they were being tracked, but he couldn't risk anything. One of the seals he had found worked with suppressing chakra... though it couldn't work on him, a slight (and accidental) modification gave it a rather entertaining purpose. It kept his impressive reserves from leaking out and making him pretty much invisible to anyone but a diehard tracker in that account. Combined with his silent water walking, he was ready to begin the counterattack. He only hoped it would not be too late.

Yugao was keeping herself calm. The shadow clone near her was nothing to be underestimated, she had learned that herself the hard way. The real Naruto should be nearing whoever was attacking them so far.

The location of her opponents was impossible to discern, and their tactics were brilliant, though she still wondered just how they knew exactly where her team and clients were. No attacks had come for almost twenty seconds now, and every second passed like an eternity to her. Even her sensei back home agreed that she was never good at these waiting games, except when it came to swordsmanship. There her pride and stubbornness did the job just as well.

Her tension reached it's peak as she heard the ever-so-slight sound of sizzling paper, and recognized it as the signal that things were about to go even crazier.

Naruto kept his face calm as the bloodied corpse of what he assumed was likely a chunin level ninja flew towards the road, bones shattered by the explosion and rain of water and blood that was now already behind him. He was grateful for the mist, for while it offered cover to his enemies... it also granted him the option to hunt them down invisibly from it's embrace. An open fight, he could likely win, but it would take time... something that would likely be labeled as 'unsubtle assassination' tactics were more to his advantage. Inwardly he grinned as he picked up a strong scent belonging to one of the enemies... that of crude oil.

Even strong scent of the sea, such things were perceptible to him, it was only a mater of training to extend the range at which he could perceive the scent, and track it down to it's point of origin.

Putting up his hands into the handseal meant for the shadow clone jutsu, he created a small puff of smoke, an instantly dismissed clone, his own equivalent to a communication method, as the memory of his current plan was instantly fed to the other clone and hence to Yugao. He had no trace of the third enemy... yet.

Focusing all strength on the task at hand, Naruto silently pulled out a scroll from his vest, rapidly smearing blood on the surface of the paper. Time to stop playing around.

The barely perceptible twitch of the Naruto-clone's eye was the only indication that anyone would get as to the change that was about to happen.

"Third. Find and kill" Naruto quickly ordered, and Yugao nodded, immediately breaking into a run towards the location she expected the third opponent to be. At the same time the clone moved to the front of the quartet of frightened merchants, idly counting off how long this fight had lasted. Thirty-five seconds.

She grasped the hilt of her sword, furiously pulling out the long blade as she prepared to attack the one place where she noticed her opponent move for a short moment. It was little more than a glance, but there was a reason why Yugao managed to become ANBU at such a young age. The man, or at least she thought it was one, not bothering to waste mental capacity on such unimportant maters right now, was shocked at the ease with which she found him. He had probably expected for them to stay glued to their clients, and for his two partners to pellet them with projectiles the whole time, while he remained hidden, dealing the final blow once their guard was down.

He never got the chance as a nimble blow parted his head from his shoulders. Had he stayed alive a few seconds longer, he would have heard the loud scream of his third partner, as he was, unknown to him, electrocuted into unconsciousness. It was over.

The merchants watched in a mixture of horror and awe as Naruto pulled two bodies out of the mist, the first, a burned corpse, the other, a visibly shocked, but alive body. On the other hand Yugao brought a beheaded corpse, the head having rolled away... somewhere.

'Kisagi' brutally slapped the still living one a few times, apparently hoping to bring him out of his unconsciousness, but failed.

"So Tenre, you look like you had fun" Naruto calmly stated, rummaging through the belongings of the charred enemy. It was only common sense not to let equipment go to waste, and besides, he might have something unusual on him.

"Look who's talking" she grinned back at him, unperturbed by the fact that his face remained set in stone "Ranks?"

"One chunin and two genin if I had to guess. Still, unusually well equipped" he offered back, showing off a bracer with a crossbow constructed around it. "I'll be taking this as my part. Anything interesting on your side?"

"Naah. A bottle of sake though. Everything else is useless. No paper trail, no indications. Mercs like us most likely"

"Likely. So dear clients" Naruto spoke, turning towards the four still frightened merchants "any ideas who is after you? Did you piss off someone that badly?"

One of them, the apparent leader of the group got up from their relatively safe spot on the floor.

"N-no... we kept our business fair and square. We even pay the protection fee to the pirates!" he finally finished. Both understood what he meant by the last part... the pirates here were organized enough to form a true faction of their own, however, they were uninterested in actual political power, their unknown leader content with making a decent bit of profit. Any merchant who paid the dues the leader set up to one of his agents would not be attacked by the pirate ships... and any outsiders who dared to attack any of the ships under their 'protection' soon found themselves relaxing at the bottom of the sea. A harsh world, with harsh rules that were brutally enforced. These fools were most likely freelancers then.

"If that's true, we shouldn't encounter any further opposition during our trip... but just to be on the safe side, Tenre, would you politely ask the man what he has to say about it?" Naruto flatly asked.

"Hai... you just give me a few minutes, and I'll be back." Yugao responded.

The leader of the merchants, Tamaho Kemeri looked at the group strangely. Usually mercenaries followed a set chain of command, but here, things were weird. The leader was obviously Mezuro as he was the one giving the orders, while the two older ninja followed them without question. The man Mezuro referred to as Kisagi hadn't spoken a word since their journey began, and he didn't fight much either. However, his very presence was utterly unnerving. Finally, Tenre, the only obvious woman on the team was carrying a large katana over her shoulders, constantly using it as a rest for her arms and chewing on a straw half the time. And yet, when trouble came, these three didn't panic for a moment, instead working like a well-oiled fighting machine, quickly and brutally taking out their three attackers.

Tamaho wasn't a fool, he had more than a bit of experience concerning ninja, and these three had no insignia that would tie them to any village, meaning they were most likely ronnin, ninja who trained outside the classic village system. Of all the people in the business, these were generally the most unpredictable... and at times the most dangerous.(1)

And this time, the team was willing to work for what he knew was a rather low pay. He made a mental note to give them a bonus should the trade agreement go through.

Naruto remained silent as he sat down into a meditative position and waited for Yugao to finish her friendly conversation with the enemy. He stilled his muscles to stop the coming shivers at the fact that he had killed again. Two months ago, he had killed for the first time, a bandit on a small island relatively close to their own, during one of their shorter visits for supplies they couldn't make or adapt for. He remembered what Yugao told him. 'Look him in the eyes as his life leaves him. Know that you took his life, and know that this death saved someone's life, if only yours. Respect the life you took, if only for those who suffered so that it would continue.'

He asked her whether the pain he felt, the sorrow that shook him, the shivers up his spine would end, and he still remembered how she shook her head answering that they will fade over time, but that he shouldn't enjoy killing. As long as there is even a twinge of regret for the deaths instead of pleasure... he was still human.

'Four' he counted in his head, before turning his attention to the crossbow he had salvaged. Burnt and melted in places from the explosion, to his pleasure, most of the original mechanism was still operational. At least that would bring some fun.

(20:00, Habuse, confiscated warehouse )

Yugao sighed as she finished making the calculations on their budget... which was sorely limited, even with the cash they earned today... just enough to cover the price of buying the small warehouse along with the land it was on, and leaving them with enough to cover food for the next few days... she could only be grateful that Naruto was busy fishing and that he could cover a part of their expenditures that way.

Thankfully, Habuse was a city of politics, and even if the two of them were virtually unknown there, the fine job they did with the merchants would help them out with their reputation during the coming days... a crucial thing for any mercenary. But the weird part was how much Naruto was delighted by a simple crossbow. She couldn't really believe that he hadn't come across one before, as they, while not that common, were still widely used. 'The mechanism' she realized, chuckling. He could be such a kid at times.

Taking a sip from the freshly liberated bottle of sake, she resealed the papers and packed them up. A city of politics thrived on information, and therefore, espionage and theft. One did not leave things simply lying about, and she was sure to remind Naruto of that at every opportunity.

But now, she would kill for a good meal, and Tamaho had recommended a local tavern for their excellent and well priced roast. She was itching for some creature comforts.

Naruto on the other hand was unusually relaxed, his mind lost in the myriad ideas he had while a piece of string was attached to the toe on his foot, the bait for a fish he wasn't overly enthusiastic about catching. It was something to pass the time as he lazed at the dock, a straw hat he nicked off of his puppet covering most of his face. But only a fool would assume he wasn't on his guard. Yugao had impressed upon him (at times quite literally, with her fist) that he should not drop his guard here, and he was more than inclined to listen.

He had realized one very interesting thing during his training with Yugao. The things he learned from the scrolls were in some cases, for the lack of a better term, outdated. Some of the tricks for chakra control were no longer in use, replaced by what was believed to be better practices, some jutsu as well. Several medical herbs were no longer used as it was later discovered that they slowly poisoned the body (that one had him rechecking every single tincture and ointment he had with him.), as well as many others. Unsurprisingly, the details on tactics, metallurgy, woodworking were first class, easily matching those that the contractors who delivered for ANBU used, at least according to Yugao, and when he compared her weapons to the ones he had made, the quality was at least equal, though his own tools were more... specialized.

Then, there was the subject of Kyuubi... the fox that so far hadn't made any sign of existence other than the side effects of the seal, such as his whisker marks and the fact that he healed much faster. Now that he thought about it actively, he remembered the fact that he was never cold and the fact that he never got sick. But, if there wasn't a big damn seal on his stomach, he'd have no way of knowing for sure that there was the mightiest of all the bijuu trapped somewhere in him.

He heard the door not far from him slam, and lifted the rim of his hat to notice that it was dark already. Just how the hell did he spend the better part of four hours daydreaming and fishing?

Shaking his head in defeat he got up, removing the fishing utensil he had used so far, and putting on his footwear. Water country was visibly colder than he was used to in Konoha but it wasn't by much, and to him, it didn't really mater that much.

"You look like you have plans for tonight Tenre" he stated, his eyebrows quirked in a rather rare (for him at least) show of emotion.

"Yep, and you're coming with me. We're going to celebrate our first successful job here" Yugao retorted, a wide smile on her face.

"That sounds... interesting" he commented, picking up the empty fish bucket that stood nearby, before sighing, and throwing it towards the warehouse. There were things people didn't bother to steal.

"So, when do we leave?" he asked curiously as the two of them walked on.

The tavern, named 'the Silver Carp' was a rather pleasant place. Built beneath the ground level, with a single stairway serving as the only entrance, it's low row was obscured by the fine smoke of many lit cigars and saturated with the smell of roast meat as well as fish soup, both mouthwatering fresh. The pair settled down in one of the corners, content to retain some privacy.

The tavern-keeper, a burly man in his early forties soon came, and after a short discussion, both ordered a decent amount of food to be shared between them..

Naruto however, was enjoying not only the food and the atmosphere. At a table near them were a number of merchants, and with them, a few mercenaries as well. And their talk about a person named Gato, and his interests in several small areas. The man was apparently a shipping tycoon, though that served as a front for his cartel, as he, just like almost every other well standing criminal dealt in one of the three, his choice were slaves. The area of most interest to this... businessman was a small country at the border of Water country, named Wave. That interested him little.... he knew his limitations and facing a powerful and influential criminal and his legion of cronies in battle was beyond the scope of his abilities for now, but what really interested him was the amount of money the man possessed... and his mind went through the myriad (and utterly useless, thanks to his lack of knowledge on the subject) ways to 'liberate' said capital for his and Yugao's use. Besides, he didn't have much fondness for slavers. Such blatant disregard for life was something disgusting to him, even with the conundrum of such words coming from a paid killer that he in essence was.

What was his reason for doing what he did? He had no great, noble goal in mind that would justify what he was doing. Apart from becoming the world's greatest puppeteer, something he had decided to do in tribute to the man who left so much for him. But other than that.... what did he want to do? His eyes turned to his partner who was eating, oblivious to the thought process going through his head. He wanted to protect her, he realized. Not shut her in some cage and stand guard over it, but let her experience life as she wanted it, and merely be there to ensure she didn't get herself killed by a kunai to the back of the head.

But there was another thing... something that had been brewing in his mind for a while now. As he was no longer in Konoha, nor with an opportunity to become a Leaf ninja, he had forsaken his old dream of becoming Hokage. He realized that his own strength, no matter how powerful he became would never be enough... so why not gather a group? They had started out as mercenaries.... what about a larger mercenary company? Or better yet... oh that idea would work, but it would take time and planning. And Gato's money would go a long way in that direction. But no, the two of them alone wouldn't be able to pull it off. With a few more years of experience, perhaps, but just like this no. Deciding on a course of action, Naruto promised himself that he would keep his eyes open for potential allies from now on. That, and he'd have to start checking the few puppet scrolls he had avoided reading so far. The plans and designs for the Collection were among them.

Yugao, even though she wasn't obviously paying any attention was slightly worried for Naruto who had seemingly spaced out, though the content, if slightly serious look he bore as he munched on a piece of meat was any indication, he was once more planning. She had learned much about Naruto's mannerisms during the five months spent training. When he made a plan he wold usually lounge like that, face twisted by the obscure and unreadable thoughts that happened behind the clouded veil that were his eyes, while the rest of the body moved on auto-pilot, doing whatever it was doing. The disturbing part was, that it could continue doing absolutely anything. Once she even caught him making fixes to the firing mechanisms in his puppet while spacing out, and it was in perfect condition once he finished. She mused whether it was actually possible to have muscle memory to that level.

"Hey, Mezuro?" she probed, trying to catch his attention.

"Hmm?" Naruto retorted shortly, not really paying that much attention and picking up the cup of water he had been drinking.

"I've been thinking about tattooing my breasts. What do you think?" she asked casually, barely holding her laughter in once Naruto's thought process came to a grinding halt when what she assumed was the image of said scene popped up, causing Naruto to nearly choke on the water. He glared back at her once he regained control

"You did that on purpose..." he growled, but the slightly peeved expression was soon replaced by a smirk, one that promised mischief and sent shivers up Yugao's spine

"Do something stupid, and I'll make you regret it" she threatened instantly, quite literally afraid of ending up a the target of a prank from Naruto. After he described some of the things he pulled over the years, including the exploding trap he had set up in his old workshop, she decided that she did not want to play a target to his cunning and devious mind.

"Who said I wold do anything stupid, hmmm Tenre-chan?" Naruto purred back. Yugao was once more uncertain what he was going to do, but she knew that there would be a number of sleepless nights thanks to it... she just had to shoot of her mouth, especially now that she knew she had no leverage to stop him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Naruto woke up with a groan, shaking his head from yet another nightmare... not that he could remember just what he had dreamed. Since they now owned the small warehouse, it was no longer an issue whether they were stay there for the night or not. But still, he was surprised to notice that Yugao hadn't caught much sleep, still going over some of her papers. Did he really fool her with the teasing? And to think that he was just messing around. Still, her growing interest in improving her skills was something he wholeheartedly supported, even if she was working only on theory right now.

Rubbing his eyes, he looked out the window, mildly annoyed to note that the sun was just rising... so it was between six and seven in the morning. He sighed, noting that he could have used a bit more sleep as he picked his shirt and pants, dressing himself quickly and efficiently before donning the sandals he wore outside of work and the black vest he loved. He decided it was time for breakfast, and if their rather pitiful store of food was any indication... he'd have to go fishing, and seriously this time. 'How... troublesome.' he thought, his mind running back to more peaceful days back in Konoha... to his old friends. He wondered how they were doing.

He knew Yugao would be leaving the warehouse in a few minutes to go and find them some work, most likely another escort job, or a short bandit hunting mission. He would be patient.... he hoped.

Yugao sighed for the hundredth time since Naruto left to sleep last night. She just couldn't shake the feeling that he was plotting something, a nasty little revenge for that joke last night. He wasn't the vindictive type, but he could be remarkably stubborn at times. She still shivered at the memory of the 'incident' when she 'accidentally' dropped the last incredibly hot pepper she had in her supplies... though she couldn't for the life of her remember just why she had it there, she used it. The revenge was... best described as quick, sharp and brutal.

She kept her mind from it by focusing on the few pieces of paper that contained her notes on improving her sword skills, namely, by trying to integrate ninjutsu and genjutsu into it.

It was then that she realized that she had spent the better part of six hours working on it and that Naruto had just woken up. He would likely go and catch something for breakfast, as their supplies were nonexistent at best. Why again didn't they stock on food back on that island before they left? At times she wondered if the shinobi traded common sense for chakra at birth...

Still, it was part for her to do her part of the job, and that was go out and find them another. Money didn't grow on trees, and they were strapped for cash now. Picking up her jacket and fantasizing about a cup of warm, pleasant coffee, she walked out of the warehouse office that doubled as their apartment, making sure to pick up everything important she had as she did so.

"Oi! Mezuro! I'm going out. Try and catch us some fish for lunch"

"I hear ya!" Naruto responded to her shout. He was thankful that it was still early autumn and that it wasn't too cold to fish. Winter would soon be there, and if they didn't have a good source of income till then, there would be problems.

So, he calmed down, focusing his mind on one of a number of problems he had and waited for the fish to start biting.

.

Author's Notes: I know, shorter chapter than usual, but I can't really cram anything more meaningful here. Just enjoy the fact that two chapters came out within such a short timespan as it's unlikely to happen again.

Read, review, give me your thoughts on the story.

Oh, and I'll wait for the next chapter to full reveal Naruto's newest puppet, along with a full profile on it.