Author's Ramblings: Well, it would seem my muse is back, at least for the time being. This chapter is slightly rushed because I won't have access to internet till Tuesday, due to my impending visit to the countryside where a part of my family lives for Easter. So, I wanted to leave you with something to read in the mean time (that, and I'd get very annoyed with a half finished chapter being left like that while I have the inspiration to write :P). I will likely write stuff in my notebook while there, so I shouldn't lose too much time.

I was slightly disappointed to the very limited reaction to Tora having a litter of kittens. Oh well, looks like I need some more work on my humor :P

Conversely, this chapter has only a small bit to do with Wave country, but it is the aftermath of the events there...

Well, without any further ado, here's the last chapter of the Wave arc. Where devious plot twists occur, blond puppeteers have fun on the account of aged perverts, and a not-so-small organization appears.(you know how much I love messing around)

Enjoy!

Chapter 11: Wave : Birth of a Mirage

Indeed, it was time for negotiations. Tensai and Hinamori nervously stared at the three identically dressed figures that stood before them. The only bit that was visible were the eyes, and all three sets were cold and calculating.

Now, Gato Tensai, while not overly capable in combat, was a very shrewd merchant. When he was ten, his father had already begun teaching him the ropes of the business in hope that he would be of some use. Himura was never a kind, caring man, and he saw the world through money. If something wasn't getting him profit, it was worthless. And so, in an attempt to improve his own standing, he taught his son the tricks of the trade, how to deal with people, how to haggle, how to negotiate, how to handle sums of money both small and great... everything one needed to be a merchant. Now, at twenty years of age, he had a decent amount of experience behind him, and even something of a respectable reputation throughout the capitol city. He had been threatened before, and he was already prepared to meet the Shinigami mere hours ago. He would not be cowed.

"What is it you want?" Tensai asked in a serious, but calm voice. He didn't really care that much that his father was likely a corpse now. The bastard cared little for him other than as a means of profit. The trio remained silent for a few moments, the two figures on the sides looking at the one in the center.

A quiet sigh could be heard coming from the center figure as it's hands moved to remove the straw hat, and after that, the porcelain white mask that covered the face, revealing it to be Naruto. The green eyes were still cold, but the calculative gleam was gone, and instead, all he could see was determination. He would have no issues with killing both him and Hinamori, and he doubted his two subordinates would be any different.

"I will be short and blunt, since right now I have neither the time to waste nor the patience to waste it." Naruto began coldly "Right now, we are in possession of any and all applicable resources within this building. We have taken out the entirety of Gato Himura's mercenary force and himself as well, and are ready to blow this place sky high. The only thing that decides whether the two of you stay here and get a front row seat to the blast is decision you will now make." Naruto finished, making a dramatic pause to let the idea sink in. Yugao and Haku helped him write the damn speech, and he knew he'd be in big trouble with the two of them if he didn't use it.

"It is obvious that we can't take advantage of all the financial resources here, and our organization would benefit from having access to them. Our offer is simple, you will start working for us by putting these resources to use as instructed, and in turn we not only spare your life, and that of your lover," queue a pair of slight blushes "but we also offer a place in the organization, as well as access to a part of said finances. What is your decision? You have a minute to decide, starting now." he finished, lacing his fingers beneath his chin.

Tensai noticed that his eyes kept one more quality he had only now noticed, a mischievous glint hidden under all that ice.

"And what guarantee do I have that you would hold your word?" he countered

"You don't" Naruto shortly answered "I could give my word, but what weight does that have to you? The only guarantee I can offer is that if you cooperate, you would become too useful for me to kill. And if keeping you cooperative means keeping your girl there alive, then so be it."

"I see. I don't have a choice then, do I? I will accept" Tensai responded finally, mildly disturbed at the happy, childish smile on the trained killer's face.

"Good. You seem like the decent type, I wasn't looking forward to killing you. We'll discuss details later on. Oh," he turned to Hinamori " and my apologies for spiking your sleeping pills shinobi-san." he shortly offered with a bow "Escort them outside, and let's get the hell out of here" he finished, putting up the mask and hat once more, while Haku immediately escorted the two outside. He and Yugao remained within to set the final part, the main detonators, which would delay the explosions so that they would be simultaneous. Finally ready, Naruto lit the fuse, and the two of them hightailed it out. It would be five long minutes before the place exploded, and none of them wished to be close by.

The surviving Mist clones dispersed, Naruto's hands quickly moving to summon a shadow variant. One final move had to be made for this victory to be complete. Not to mention a little thank you.

(9:00 AM, with team Asuma and Tazuna's family)

There was no lack of reaction as the explosion sounded from the southern part of the island. Asuma scowled, almost biting through the cigar in his mouth. The reinforcements weren't yet there... they wouldn't be for another hour, and by then, whatever happened would be over, with them none the wiser. He had overheard the words of the locals, the building that was destroyed served as Gato's base, which meant that someone had attacked him, and very likely won. He himself knew of few buildings that could survive an explosion like that.

"Sensei?" Chouji shortly asked, though Asuma merely stood still. As much as he wanted to check it, protecting their client came first.

"We stand watch over the village Chouji. Nothing else to do for now." Asuma grunted out in an irritated tone. And that irritation would only turn to shock as a figure clad in black appeared on the roof of Tazuna's home. In an instant, Shino and Shikamaru stood beside the family with Chouji and Asuma blocking the figure off. However, it no longer moved, choosing to stay silent for a few moments before speaking in a muffled voice, something that Asuma recognized as one of those modulators used by their ANBU. Of course, nothing stopped others from using similar technology, so that knowledge was a moot point.

"Greetings people of Wave, Konoha shinobi. I come bearing gifts." the figure spoke, holding out a scroll in it's glove-covered right hand. Asuma was the first to react

"Who are you, and what do you want?" was his quick question.

"Relax shinobi-san, I am here as a representative, not to fight. The Mirage group has taken care of Gato Himura, as he had begun interfering with our own business. Neither he, nor most of his mercenaries will disturb you any further, though it is possible that we missed a few. As a token of good will, we are leaving roughly sixty percent of the finances the man had behind. We believe you will be able to make good use of them."

Not giving the shinobi a chance to react, the figure quickly landed with well practiced steps, a second hand making it's way from the sleeve to roll open the scroll on the floor, and begin unsealing the contents. To the growing shock of Team Asuma, a quickly growing pile of gold bars showed up, accompanied by several small stacks of paper.

"Now that my job is done, I bid you farewell. Oh, and send a greeting to your Shadow, shinobi-san. I would appreciate it if you would deliver this to him." he finished off, threw a second, much smaller scroll to him, leaving the others no time for questions, shortly bowed, and vanished in a plume of smoke.

"A...clone?" Shikamaru spoke. Wonders were not about to cease, however, as a certain very quiet person spoke up again

"That was Naruto" Shino stated with absolute certainty in his voice. For a second, Asuma actually checked if the two others were pulling a prank on him, before he was sure it was Shino speaking. The usually calm, emotionless face now had the slightest signs of a smile present.

After going through the initial shock of the idea, Shikamaru and Chouji could only smile. If anything, Naruto had done well for himself. The only one out of the loop, yet again, was Asuma

"Naruto, as in Naruto Uzumaki?" he asked quietly, and when he received a nod from Shino, he himself calmed down. He was an ally for now, and the scroll he had given him was going to his father. 'Things just might turn out a bit more interesting....oh, wait a second, if that was Naruto, that means he left us the...'

"That little conniving bastard" Asuma muttered

"What's wrong Asuma-sensei?" Shikamaru asked

"He left us with the cleanup job" Asuma groaned, and Shino and Chouji joined him moments later as they understood what he had meant. Shino was still eerily quiet, though the hint of the smile never left his face. It was Naruto after all. And if things went well for him, he wouldn't be the one to complain.

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Several kilometers away from shore, a relatively small boat with five people on it sailed away from the island and towards the east..To the untrained eye, they seemed like ordinary people getting from one place to another. The relatively calm weather allowed for an uneventful voyage, and the cover of mist allowed for safety, while the navigational equipment stashed inside made sure that they didn't lose their way. Hinamori took control of the ship, claiming her skills were sufficient to get them back to civilization, and after a few minutes, Naruto's team understood why. Where they had struggled with the ropes and other ship parts, Hinamori took mere seconds to take control of the entire ship and keep course, occasionally taking a look at a small compass in her hand.

They had taken of their masks and disguises, returning to the clothes they wore originally. They were after all, more comfortable than those black robes and overly large hats.

"Uhm, something just occurred to me... I never asked your names...?" Tensai attempted to start a conversation, though he was curious as to their names. So far, they had picked up his name from Himura's journals and Hinamori's from their conversations, but he knew next to nothing of them.

"Sigh... fine, why not? We're going to be working together anyway, right girls?" Naruto accepted with a mock annoyed tone, something the young merchant picked up, though the fact that he was actually jovial surprised him.

"My name is Mezuro Kaichi, by profession, mercenary ninja, with no village history" Naruto started, nodding to the two.

"Tenre Kasadi, mercenary ninja swordswoman" Yugao shortly added, not overly interested in speaking now. She was more interested in taking a short nap.

"Haku, mercenary ninja as well, I suppose" Haku added herself, even if she was still somewhat uncertain of her position in the group. To her left, Naruto nearly smacked himself in the head at the thing he forgot to do. Promising himself to bring her up to speed as soon as they had a good opportunity, he focused on the man in front of him.

"Now, let's discuss business." Naruto spoke calmly, taking a seat on one of the wooden beams that gave support to the boat.

"Right now, we have a minor fortune in our possession, correct? From what I understand, you have a decent understanding of your late father's finances."

"We... do." Tensai started, still slightly unused to the way he was being treated. More like a partner than a subordinate. Not that he minded the change "Though with the imminent collapse of Gato Shipping, the trade bars..." Tensai began, only to be interrupted by Yugao

"Trade bars?"

"The gold bars you took from the vault."he clarified" As I was saying, they are only worth their weight in gold. Now, if you had a group, with a solid reputation backing them, their value would certainly grow. Also, many of the papers you took are deeds to pieces of land, many of them with small villages or even mines and plantations on them. I am also certain that there were the ownership papers of several trading ships there as well. From where I stand, you have several options." he stated finally, now completely immersed into his subject. Naruto immediately recognized the state of mind, as did Yugao. After all, with Naruto carrying such a look on his face every so often, it was hard not to.

"Go ahead"

"Option number one." he said, putting up one finger"Liquidate the entire estate and turn gold into usable coin. Easiest, lowest risks, but the lowest profit, and leaves you without any reliable income. Option number two." two fingers were raised this time "Retain ownership of it all and wait. Not such a bad idea, but you'd be taking a big risk, and with potentially massive losses ahead should something go wrong. And finally, my favorite, option number three. You allow me relatively free reign over the resources. I invest, run the businesses and attempt to turn the sizable fortune into an even bigger one,as well as providing you with the political and economical cover. Not to mention the backing of a sterling reputation of a say, new trading company with a mercenary division?" he completed his listing, the crowd rapt at attention.

"I think I like option number three" Yugao tentatively stated.

"Likewise" Naruto and Haku simultaneously added.

"However, I want to know how you intend to pull it off first." Naruto quickly ordered, and was pleased by the slightly mischievous smile on the young man's face.

"Right now, I possess something of a reputation within some of the political circles. With the death of my.... Himura," he skipped saying father, a look as if he had chewed on something sour covering his face "I am legal heir to his estates and resources. And there are already rumors present of our... disagreements on how the family business should be ran. That leaves me with a solid base to start a new company, by simply overtaking an already existing infrastructure. Several people would have to be removed first..." he trailed off, nodding shortly at the 'leave that part to us' look that Naruto gave him

"But shortly put, I would found an interest group of sorts, using the resources already at disposal, and build up from there. Trade, especially in these war torn times, can be very lucrative. I would assume you wouldn't mind having additional resources at your disposal?" he asked rhetorically. What freelance ninja would?

"That sounds acceptable" Naruto retorted "Several conditions though."

"Listening.."

"No slave trading, no drug trafficking, and we," Naruto stated, pointing at himself, Haku and Yugao "retain the right to overrule any decision you make. Understood?"

"Do I have a choice? Though that does give me an idea..." Tensai answered, brow furrowed in thought.

"Yes, yes, yes, you made your plans, now could you please shut the fuck up?" Hinamori growled from behind them "I would prefer not to crash us into a reef" she added at their surprised expressions, which quickly turned slightly pale (or more than slightly in some cases). It was going to be a long trip home.

Naruto chuckled, inwardly wondering what Barok was going to say when they met her again.

"Mirage" he muttered finally.

"Mhmm?" Yugao mumbled from next to him.

"That's the name I chose after last night. That will be the name of not only our group, but of the company that Tensai will found within a few days. Hey Tensai, can you by any chance keep the company under the radar for at least a few days after it is established? You know, make it look like it was there for a while and only now opened itself to the public?"

"I could... and I think I see where you're going with this. Good idea, let's make it a month then." he stopped speaking for a moment"Mirage. I like the sound of that." the merchant added, returning to the stack of papers they had supplied him with, and frantically writing notes. Yugao took one long look at him and sighed. Great, now she had two obsessed men in the group. What was next? A mascot of some sort? Still, the name sounded... cool, at least.

(Three days later, 21:35 Habuse)

Naruto sighed gently at the sight of the city ahead. It was surprising, but he had come to think of this place as a home in such a short time that it was almost funny. Almost.

Is perch atop the roof of the passenger ship was shared by Yugao and Haku, while Tensai and Hinamori boarded normally. Right now, they couldn't afford to be connected to one another.... yet.

Just as the ship approached the harbor, the trio jumped from the ship, silently landing on the water. What the captain didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

To Naruto's surprise, Tensai had only asked for the amount of money he would need to start up everything. He seemed genuinely interested in this, though he wasn't completely sure about him yet. Foolish giving of trust was a dangerous thing for a shinobi, but blind distrust of everyone was equally dangerous. For the time being, he would give the man a chance to create this company. Right now, the potential benefits greatly outweighed the risks.

He shook his head from such thoughts. It was one of the reasons he had wanted someone capable to do the job instead. He preferred combat, and his work.

The trio remained relatively silent as they prowled towards their warehouse home, all of them very much looking forward to sleeping in a familiar place. And good food too. Naruto was looking forward to trying a new variety of pocky, and hoping beyond hope that someone opened a ramen stand in the mean time. Yugao and Haku would be content with a decent meal at the 'Silver Carp'. Not to mention picking up their payment from Barok.

"Let's split up" Yugao offered "I'll go get the food, Haku, you can clean up the place a bit, and Mezuro, you go get our paychecks, okay?"

"Why not? I could go with a walk now" Naruto responded, while Haku nodded and continued towards the warehouse.

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Barok's Tattoo Parlor hadn't changed a bit in the few days Naruto was gone. It was still a seedy place, ran by a scantly clad tattoo artist/mercenary handler. The few windows were still nearly opaque, and Naruto could spot the once more sleeping figure of Reiko sitting in a chair in the front of the place. As he approached, Reiko barely opened an eye

"Mezuro-san? You're here to see Barok-sama, right?" he asked.

"Mhm" Naruto confirmed with a nod.

"She's in the back. Go right in." Reiko added, closing his eye again

"Thanks" he muttered, going on in. Naruto was tired, not physically, but mentally. The whole mess that started with that small village, and later Wave country left him exhausted. And he had a feeling Barok would once more go around messing with him.

So, he was very surprised to find an incredibly calm and concentrated woman, dressed in rather conservative clothes going over a ton of papers.

"Hum?" she turned, and only then was Naruto sure that it was indeed Barok "Oh, Mezuro-kun. You're late" she stated with mild annoyance.

"Sorry, we were held up a bit."Naruto apologized, only slightly sorry.

"A bit? You're nearly a week late, so no bonus for you." she responded "However, I do have something to discuss with you while you're here"

"What is it?"

"Well, I might have a useful piece of information, or two. Depends on how cooperative you are."

"And what would my cooperation require?" Naruto asked calmly.

"The answers to a couple of questions. They stay between us, this is merely for my personal curiosity. I was informed that a certain shipping magnate was killed some three or four days ago, while the mansion he resided in was blown to pieces. You wouldn't happen to know anything?" she asked innocently.

"I might know the perpetrator" he retorted with a smile. She understood.

"Clever kid. I do hope you took his cash... it would be a shame for it to go to waste. Now for the other one. Would you by any chance know a certain Jiraya?"

"Not personally, but I know of him... why do you ask?" Naruto asked, now slightly concerned

"He paid me a visit yesterday, and asked me to set up a meeting with you and your group. He never gave any reasons, apart from the tidbit that you might know someone he is looking for. He is someone it is usually wise to cooperate with, but I didn't tell him more than I had to. After all, we do kinda work together, don't we?"

"True. But he's right. I might know someone." Naruto responded, finally dropping his guard.

"Would that person by any chance be a certain Naruto Uzumaki, jinchuriki of the Nine Tailed Fox?" Barok asked in a calm voice.

"And how would you know that tidbit of information?"

"Oh, I hear things. But don't worry Mezuro-kun. Your secret is safe with me. Jiraya is staying at an inn nearby for a few more days. He told me to tell you to visit him when you could." she explained, passing him a small piece of paper with an address.

"Now, for your information. Do you know who the former leader of Kirigakure was?" she asked, grinning conspiratorially.

"Ehm, wasn't it a man named Yagura? I don't really know much about him, apart from the fact that he was Mizukage." Naruto tried, though was disappointed in his own lack of knowledge

"True, but that's not why he should be interesting, to you at least." she continued, still grinning "Did you know that Yagura was not just a jinchuriki, but one of the few throughout the ages that had complete mastery over his powers?"

Now that, he didn't know.

"What are you aiming at Barok-san?" Naruto asked, clearly intrigued.

"Rumor has it that the man had left behind a tome, one containing a number secrets he had gleamed from the mind of his bijuu, as well as what allowed him to use said power. Rumor also has it, that he hid that tome in a shrine somewhere in Water country before he vanished, and that the location is in his journal in Kirigakure. " she explained "I just thought that you might be interested, for reasons obvious."

"I... see. That is indeed interesting." Naruto retorted, a content smile making it's way to his face. He now had yet another objective.

"Though until the war is over, it's a moot point." Barok added "Well, nice to see you again, tell those girls of yours I said hi. Oh, and I nearly forgot your pay for the mission. Do come by in a few days. I might have something interesting for you"

Waving quietly he walked out, only then taking a moment to look at the cash he received. The bonus was there, to his surprise. And Barok, as the last time, still remained beyond his ability to understand and predict. And he couldn't say that she didn't intrigue him. Just why did she help them?

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"Reiko, are my clothes ready?" Barok turned to her friend after Naruto had left. A curious little brat he was. And he did make life interesting. Who would have thought that he'd have the guts, not to mention the skill to simply take out Gato? Not to mention do it just to claim his resources as his own... and then there was the fact that he was the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. And that he had drawn the interest of one of the Sannin.

He just might prove to be what she was looking for.

"Yes Barok-sama, all is prepared." Reiko came out, carrying a carefully made package "Your tailor send a courier with this"

"Good. Now, let's see what my dear sister has in mind. I'd hate to be seen as impolite to keep someone of her standing waiting." she muttered, taking off the long coat she was wearing. There wasn't much time to spare, unfortunately, and this was one of those meetings she wasn't overly looking forward to.

After all, when your sister was currently fighting off political opponents left and right in an attempt to become Daimyo, how pleasant could a meeting be?

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Naruto could safely say that he wasn't looking forward to the talk they were about to have. And for once, he had slowed down his usual flurry of eating, to a seemingly civilized rate. Ever since Yugao told him what she said to Haku while they were waiting for him to return, he knew it would soon be time to tell Haku a few key details.

For one, he didn't like the idea of said knowledge spreading. Two, while he had come to trust Haku, as a potential partner at least, he knew that not telling her would prove a risk in the long run. Trust was a hard thing to gain, and easy to lose, especially in the world of the Shinobi. And if she was to stay with them, she had to be aware just who she was working with. That in itself was also a risk, considering what she knew now.

"Hey, what's with the two of you? You've been sulking ever since we sat down to eat" Haku not too subtly asked.

"Ehm, Haku... there are a few things we didn't say about ourselves" Yugao began.

"So? I haven't said a lot about myself either." She responded, making the two actually blink in realization "You actually didn't' think about that?"

"Uhhh" Naruto trailed off, somewhat stupidly, all the while scratching the back of his head. Yugao was little better, though a little more dignified.

"How bout this, I trade a bit about myself, and you say a bit about yourself. Fair?" she tried diplomatically.

"Okaaay. Sure. Who's gonna start?" Yugao asked.

"I will" Naruto countered instantly, moving his fingers to his eyes to pop out the contacts, revealing is blue eyes "My name is Namikaze Naruto, son of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina, and the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. Also, I am a former citizen of Konoha, in voluntary exile. As an added note, my hair is actually blond, not brown." he finished, a light smile on his face, while Haku was simply confused.

"And that's what you were concerned about? I picked out half of that just from watching you" she muttered under her breath. "Alright then, my turn. My name is Haku, no last name since I can't remember one, and my family is long gone. I have no formal shinobi training, but my mentor was Momochi Zabuza of the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen of the Mist, until his death a year ago. I am the last surviving wielder of the Hyoton, or Ice Release bloodline."

"Fine, I guess I'll join in as well. I'm Yugao Uzuki, former ANBU of Konohagakure. I have a number of skills, but I want to finish eating before discussing anything more." Yugao stated with a rather angry glare aimed at the two who interrupted her meal. Naruto and Haku could only gulp, and nod in agreement. All three of them knew that it was Yugao who kept order in this household, and of course, neither were in the mood to run away from a pissed off sword wielder.

A while later, Naruto was once more enjoying the pleasure of lying comfortably on the roof of their warehouse with a pillow under his head. If the region wasn't so well known for sudden rains, he would have gladly slept outside. Still, peace and observation of the starts above was not to be had, apparently, as two figures made their way out the windows. 'Both Haku and Yugao came...wonder why?'

"Beautiful night" Yugao commented as she dropped next to him, Haku doing the same on his other side.

"While I don't mind the company... did you want to say or ask something?" Naruto asked after a few seconds.

"Uhm... not really" Haku lied. She had wanted to ask him something, and from how it looked to her, Tenre, no, Yugao did as well.

"Just thought I'd take a look at what you saw in the skies every night you were here... never could figure it out till now." she giggled lightly "It really is beautiful" she finished. Perhaps she really didn't have anything to ask. And silence descended... not that anyone really minded though.

Both girls found a surprising amount of comfort just being around the blond

Author's notes: Weird, I know. This chapter was needed as a base for several events that would happen in the relatively close future. And yes, the confrontation between Jiraya and Naruto is left for next chapter, because I'm evil like that. And I don't have the time to do it justice in this one.

Also, A bit more is revealed about Naruto's plans, financial future, Asuma's team, Barok, and a few other choice maters. I hope that will be enough to keep you content for a while.

Oh, and to answer one potential question immediately. No, it wasn't Naruto who came up with the entire plan, it was a join effort of the entire team. The 'speeches', were mostly done by Haku and Yugao.

Also, I'd give you a fair warning NOT to assume everything just by the stuff you read. :D

You'll likely figure out what I meant in a while.

Oh, and I thought I'd give a hint that might interest you. There will finally be serious shinobi battles in the following three chapters. Several of them in fact... and Naruto, Yugao and Haku will finally show a good chunk of their ninja skills.

Read and review ladies and gentlemen. I look forward to reading your reviews. :D

Till next week... bye-bye!