Her savior chapter 9! It's been a while since I updated this story and I apologize for that. Life's been pretty hectic lately. I hope this chapter makes up for it. I want to thank you all who reviewed and I'm glad you like the story so far.
Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Naruto!
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"Sir, the attack has commenced and Uzumaki Naruto was spotted heading towards the Main Gate." Informed a messenger to his boss.
Said boss grinned evilly in the shadows, "He's wide open!" He cackled in glee for reasons unknown. The messenger took a step back from his commander. Whenever he gets like that it isn't wise to be in his presence.
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Unaware of someone wishing bad things happening to him, Naruto continued on his path towards where the attack was happening. He saw ninjas left and right, all heading towards the gates. A small group disengaged from the rest of the ninjas and headed towards Naruto once they spotted him amongst the crowd.
Naruto turned towards them and immediately recognized them, "It's good to see you guys."
Said guys were the Ino-Shika-Cho team, Ino, Chouji and Shikamaru.
Ino spoke up, her mood sour and her hair all messed up,"What the hell is going on? I was having my hair done when my entire bathroom fell on top of me. I'm so killing whoever attacked this village!"
Chouji laughed and he felt sorry for the poor guy who will feel Ino's wrath. Shikamaru seemingly ignored Ino's rant. He was too focused on the fight ahead, his mind already coming up with a possible battle plan for whatever they will face once they reach the Main Gate.
"I'm in the dark just like you. Heads up, we are here!" said Naruto, snapping Ino out of her murdering rant and make her focus on the job to come. They jumped over the last building that obscured their view of the Main Gates and the attacker.
They landed on top of nearby store, near the gates and their eyes widened when they saw who or what was attacking.
They looked up and saw snakes? Three of them to be exact, all of them battering their heads against the stone walls erupted by nearby Shinobi. They didn't have time to ponder why snakes and who the hell was controlling them, "Does anyone of you have a summon that can go toe-to-toe with one of them?" asked Naruto.
He got three negative shakes of their heads. He expected as such, summons of that caliber aren't available to anyone. His formation of a plan was cut short when he felt his sensei arrive on the scene along with Gai.
"Kakashi-sensei, glad to see you came on time for once." Smirked Naruto.
"It just so happens that my road of life led me here." Eye-smiled Kakashi but then turned serious and looked towards the snakes.
"Where are the summoners?" asked Kakashi.
"So far I haven't seen or sensed them. It's possible they are hiding in order to ambush us later or something like that." Responded Naruto who was getting all fidgety doing nothing but standing there and watching the snakes rampage.
Kakashi noticed that and sped things along, "Alright then, Naruto can you take the summons?"
Naruto shrugged, "Probably. Gamabunta did say he needed to stretch his legs so he'll be happy to help."
"No way, you ain't taking them on all by yourself. I want one. That fucker ruined my haircut and my day." Growled Ino menacingly.
Naruto laughed nervously and took a few steps back from the raging Ino, "Uh, sure thing Ino just don't kill me."
Ino cracked her knuckles, "Alright, let's get this show on the road. I want the one on the right. Let's go Chouji, Shikamaru."
Naruto chuckled at Shikamaru who didn't want to do anything. He was happy with Naruto doing all the work. He was tired dammit. But then again, when is he not?
Kakashi smiled, "Gai go with them and make sure they don't do anything stupid." Oh who was he kidding. Sending Gai only increases the chance of that happening.
"Yosh my rival!" he sped after Team 10 in a trail of dust.
That done he turned towards Naruto only to find him gone. He shook his head in amusement. It's a miracle he lasted this long doing nothing. He jumped after him, ready to protect his home.
"Summoning Jutsu!" Naruto slammed his hand on the ground and in a poof of smoke there stood the Chief of Toads, Gamabunta.
"What the hell gaki? What took you so long to summon me again? It's been years dammit!" scolded Bunta. The morale of nearby Shinobi soared when they saw the protector of Konoha and his summon. They got this in the bag!
Naruto chuckled while standing on top of Bunta's head, "Sorry about that but I've been really busy. Besides there wasn't a worthy opponent for you to fight but now there is. Look!" pointed Naruto towards the snakes.
A switch went off in Bunta's head, "Gaki, you just made my day. I've been wanting a snake wallet since I was a tadpole. Too bad I couldn't get Manda's but this exiles will have to do."
Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Exiles? What do you mean?"
Bunta explained, "See the mark on their forehead?" questioned Bunta.
Naruto squinted his eyes. He saw a quite big blue scratch on the middle of each of the snakes' forehead, "Yeah, what about it?"
"That is the mark for those who are no longer part of the Snake Clan. They got exiled because of something they did or didn't do. From my experience they just didn't cut it. Snakes don't tolerate weakness among their ranks."
Naruto nodded in understanding, "I see. They do look weaker and smaller than the ones Orochimaru used to summon."
"Which only further proves my theory about them not cutting it. Exiles wander the world in search of a potential summoner. It seems these 3 little fledglings found one."
That was enough information for Naruto. It was time for some action, "Alright, time to shine!"
Naruto jumped down from Bunta's head and landed next to Kakashi, "Here Kakashi-sensei, use this!"
"Summoning Jutsu!" Another poof of smoke later, there stood Gamahiro. Gamahiro is a huge toad, easily towering over buildings and trees. He has an aquamarine skin tone and yellow eyes with grey markings around them and two distinct, circular markings on his shoulders. He also carries two huge katanas on his back, which are his main weapons with an orange sash around his stomach.
On top of his head stood Naruto and Kakashi, "Hiro would you mind lending us a hand against those snakes?"
Hiro nodded, happy to be able to help his favorite summoner.
Naruto grinned, "Great! Thanks, I owe you one." Naruto leaped back on Bunta's head and let Kakashi to fight the other snake with Gamahiro.
"Alright Bunta, let's get cracking!" Bunta nodded and gripped the sheath of his sword. In a burst of speed, Bunta threw himself against the nearest snake and drew his sword, aiming to stab in the face. The brown snake saw it coming and coiled around the sword and Bunta's hand. It tried to break his hand but Bunta let go of the sword and jumped back.
"Why you little…" growled Gamabunta.
Naruto went through some handseals for one of his wind jutsus, "Fuuton: Daitoppa!" Pumping twice as much chakra as needed, he turned the C-rank Jutsu into a B-rank one. The powerful gust of wind hit the snake dead on and sent it crashing into the forest.
Seeing an opening, Bunta jumped forward, grabbed his sword mid-air and leaped towards the snake, his sword poised to kill the damn snake.
That plan foiled itself when the snake regained its bearing and dug underground, evading the killing blow from Bunta.
"It just won't stay still…"
Naruto smirked when he saw the snake disappear underground. It just made things a lot easier for him.
Finishing the handseals needed for the technique, he yelled out, "Doton: Yomi Numa!"
The ground turned into mud and trapping the snake underneath it. Naruto smirked. This fight was over. The snake continued to struggle and in a show of strength, it broke through the swamp created by Naruto. But its fate was already determined when it chose to fight Naruto. Breaking free of the swamp, the snake wasn't ready to evade the attack sent by Bunta. The sword of Bunta's sliced the snake's head clean off, ending the fight.
Gamabunta grinned in satisfaction, "That felt so good! I wish I could have done that to Manda but beggars can't be choosers. I'll take what I can get."
Naruto smiled at his friend. Something caught Naruto's eyes. A figure was rushing through the forest and it wasn't a Konoha ninja.
Narrowing his eyes, he spoke, "Bunta go back and help the others. There is something I need to do."
Bunta nodded. Naruto jumped off of him and pursued the unknown assailant.
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"Baika no Jutsu" yelled Chouji, increasing massively in size. "Nikudan Sensha" Tucking in his arms and legs, Chouji transformed into a ball of mass destruction. Said ball rushed forward at amazing speed towards the designated snake. The snake had time to react so dodging wasn't a problem. Chouji missed the snake by a wide margin but he was lucky that his spinning body protected by vicious bite from the snake who was momentarily stunned by its failed attack.
Chouji continued on its path and then switched direction to head back towards the snake. If the snake could talk or have facial expressions of a human it would have probably smirked confidently at seeing the human attack with the same technique.
The snake tried to dodge the human tank but found it couldn't move. Using all its strength proved to be futile, although it did put a massive strain on Shikamaru who was cursing the fact that he picked this plan to take down the snake. He didn't know he would have to make an effort to keep the snake immobile.
His suffering ended when Chouji slammed into the snake and sent it upwards into the sky. The snake hissed in pain and couldn't wait to land so that it could devour them all. If the snake paid attention it would have noticed a figure behind it.
Ino let out a yell from the gods and slammed her heel into the snake's head sending it crashing to the ground. Another hiss of pain and some blood was the evidence of the strength behind Ino's attack.
The snake crashed into the ground with enough force to create a small crater. It once again let out a hiss but a kunai that went down its throat promptly shut it up. On instinct the snake ate the kunai.
"No more hissing from you." Said Shikamaru lazily. "Kai!" The lower half of the snake's body exploded in a shower of gore and blood. The snake died instantaneously.
Chouji reverted back into his normal form and grinned victoriously. Ino landed on the ground next to the snake's head.
She cursed, "Dammit, I wanted to kill it. It seems my strength still isn't perfect. " She started stomping angrily on the snake's head in an effort to calm her nerves. It worked. Meanwhile Gai was watching the team defeat the snake from the sidelines and was proud of them. He was only there to step in if things looked bleak but no such thing happened. Asuma would have been proud of them.
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The last exiled snake and Gamahiro with Kakashi on top off him were currently in a standoff. Neither made a move. The snake tensed its body and that was a sign for Gamahiro to take off. His two swords drawn in a flash, he tried to slice the snake in two. The snake weaved in between the strikes and tried to bite the toad. But Gamahiro isn't one of the top Toads for nothing. Opening his mouth, Hiro bombarded the snake with his tongue. The snake hissed and moved out of range of the deadly toad.
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" A large fireball from Kakashi made it so that the snake didn't have time to rest. The snake tried to get away but its tail still ended up burned. The snake hissed and leveled a murderous glare at its opponent.
This time the snake went on the attack. Speeding forwards it evaded the two slashing strikes from the toad and coiled around the toads body. Grunting in effort it took to immobilize the toad, the snake took this chance to devour the human on top of it.
Despite the enormous head and fangs currently approaching him, Kakashi remained calm and only extended his hand and silently whispered, "Chidori!"
The snake ate the puny human but soon realized its mistake albeit too late. The head of the snake exploded courtesy from the lightning current of Kakashi's chidori.
The snake dropped to the ground as dead as a doornail.
Kakashi sighed. He was covered in the snake's gore and he wasn't too happy about it. But that's just part of the job.
"Thanks for the assistance Gamahiro-sama. You may go now. We've got it covered from here." The toad croaked in understanding and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Kakashi turned towards Team 10 and Gai and saw Ino beating on a dead snake and sweat-dropped.
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The unknown man ran through the forest, blissfully unaware that he was being followed until he dodged a kick to his head that would have blown it right off. He did a few back flips in order to get some room between him and his attacker.
Naruto stood there unmoving and faced his opponent. The man had black hair and black eyes. He had a scar going down his right eye but wasn't detrimental to his sight. Both of his eyes were still fully functional. He wore a black jacket over his torso. He wore black pants and black sandals to match his outfit.
The man spoke, "Well well, it seems you found me, Uzumaki Naruto." A satisfied smirk appeared on the man's face.
Naruto spoke in a calm but commanding voice,"You have me at a disadvantage here. You know my name but I don't know yours."
"I'm just a guy on a mission." Smiled tauntingly the man.
"And pray tell me what is your mission?" asked Naruto.
The man wagged his finger in a scolding manner, like he was scolding a child, "Ah,ah,ah, that is a secret."
"I'm guessing you are the one that summoned those snakes. Why?" asked Naruto in a dangerous tone but the man wasn't affected by it.
"To fulfill my mission, duh." Smirked the black-haired man.
"Destroy Konoha?" asked Naruto.
"No, my objective wasn't Konoha, at least not yet. But why tell you when you can figure it yourself?" responded the man in a taunting manner.
Naruto silently growled at the man, he was ready to beat this guy into oblivion but he needed information out of him and he can't get it if the man was half-dead.
"If your objective wasn't Konoha, then someone or something inside of it was. That means you were a decoy, you were stalling for time. " theorized Naruto.
The man clapped his hands, "Well done, Uzumaki Naruto. On your first try too. True, I was there to stall for time and to lure you out, Uzumaki." Smirked the man.
Naruto was on edge now. Why lure him out?
"Why?" asked Naruto.
"My client is a very rich man who gets everything he wants. It seems you offended him and he didn't like that." Responded the mystery man.
"You will have to be more specific than that. I offended a lot of people in my day." Responded Naruto.
"Oh, this happened very recently. In fact, I think it happened a week ago." Explained the man.
Naruto racked his brain for what happened a week ago. He frowned. He doesn't remember insulting anyone except that midget who wanted for him to marry his daughter. But it couldn't be because of that, right? I mean, that's just stupid!
"Does your client happen to be a small man with a bad breath and even worse attitude?" asked Naruto.
"Ti-din-ding, correct. Nailed it." Laughed the man.
"Are you telling me you attacked Konoha just because I said 'No' to the man? What kind of bullshit reason is that!" growled Naruto.
"Yes and no. It's true my client wanted revenge for that but he also wanted to teach you a lesson." Explained the dude.
"Why are you doing this? You don't like the kind of man that would work for a guy like that." growled Naruto, his anger slipping. He couldn't believe they put innocent lives in danger because of an asinine reason like that.
"It serves my purpose." Shrugged the man.
"What purpose?" said Naruto, narrowing his eyes. This man was an enigma. At first he thought he was just a random guy fulfilling a mission given to him by his client but there was more to him. He had an agenda himself. It seems he was just using his client to further his own goals, whatever they were.
"Don't worry about that. You should worry about yourself and your closed ones." Smirked the man.
Naruto tensed, "What do you mean by that?"
"Don't you wonder why I was stalling for time? Why only I attacked Konoha? My client isn't beneath to resort to dirty tricks to get your attention." A satisfied smirk came upon his face when he saw Naruto's eyes widen.
Naruto growled, "What did you do?"
The man looked at his fingers, checking for any dirt under his fingernails and looking smug about it, without a care in the world, "Oh just a little extraction of a person of interest." Grinned the man.
Naruto moved to attack the man, having enough of him but the man raised his hand to stop him, "Are you sure you want to do that? You are wasting valuable time speaking to me already. Fighting me will just make it worse."
Naruto growled once more. He was right. He knew he was right. Whoever they were after, they could have already got to him. 'Dammit!' screamed Naruto internally.
"Well, it's time for me to go. Places to be, things to do. Oh, by the way, that lady friend of yours, the red-eyed lady, she's a beauty, a keeper. It's no wonder you spend so much time with her, I would too. It would be a shame if something happened to her, wouldn't it?" smirked the man evilly.
Naruto's eyes widened. Impossible! Not her!
Without a second thought Naruto turned around and rushed back towards Konoha, ignoring the man for the moment. His time will come.
The man cackled gleefully at Naruto's misfortune, "Soon Uzumaki, your time is coming…" The man disappeared into the shadows, his objective complete.
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'Dammit, dammit, dammit!' screamed Naruto in his mind. How could he let this happen! He should have figured it out before. Who would attack Konoha by themselves? No one because that would be suicide.
Naruto gritted his teeth. He hoped that the man was bluffing but he didn't really believe that. Yellow chakra formed around him in a protective shroud and he blew through the forest and through the Konoha Gates.
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"Was that Naruto?" asked Ino who was moments earlier kicking a dead snake on its head and cursing loud.
Kakashi frowned, "Dammit, I knew this was too easy." He jumped and proceeded to follow Naruto.
Ino looked confused so she turned to the smartest man in Konoha, "Shika, what's going on? We won, didn't we?"
Shikamaru sighed, "Yes we won but we were supposed to. These snakes were only a decoy so that a team could sneak into Konoha. We were fooled."
Ino growled, "Come on, let's find out what they were after."
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'Come on, where are you Kurenai?' thought Naruto desperately. He stopped in front of the evacuation zone, "Did anyone see Kurenai and her son Asuma?" yelled Naruto at the group of people in front of him.
A man with bald hair, in his mid-fifties stepped forward, " She joined us on the way here but we got separated from her when a building collapsed on top of us."
Naruto growled, that was the work of that team of ninjas, "Where?" ordered Naruto.
The man pointed to the east and Naruto took off like a rocket.
'Come on Kurenai, give me something!' thought Naruto.
He came upon the downed building the man spoke of but no sign of Kurenai.
"Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!" Naruto crossed his fingers in the cross seal and 5 Naruto's appeared around him.
"Find her!" The clones nodded and took off in a random direction while Naruto took the alleyway next to the destroyed building.
When he came out of the alleyway he came upon a battle site. A couple of holes in the building and the ground were proof of that. He followed the trail of destruction down the street where his eyes widened.
In the center of the street was a dome made of rock and his senses were telling him someone was inside. He sped forward and destroyed the rock in one hit.
His worse fears were confirmed. Inside lay a motionless Kurenai and no sign of Asuma Jr. Kurenai had a nasty gash on her left leg and her clothes were torn in quite a few places. It seems she fought like a madman to protect her son.
He dropped to his knees and cradled Kurenai in his lap. He checked for pulse and his heart jumped in joy when he felt one. At least one good news.
"I'm so sorry. It's all my fault." Apologized Naruto to the unconscious Kurenai in his lap. Tears fell down his face and on Kurenai's face. The sound of rubble moving attracted his attention.
He turned to the left and saw an injured man coming out of some rubble from a nearby house. He could feel the evil intent rolling off him but it wasn't directed at him but rather towards Kurenai.
He put two and two together. He gently laid Kurenai on the ground and stood up to face the man. The man was barely standing. He was leaning against the wall of the house for support. It seems Kurenai did a number on him before her defeat. His team must have cut their losses and made their escape while they still could.
Naruto growled at the man and the unknown ninja finally noticed Naruto. The man's eyes widened in fear. Rightly so!
Naruto sped forward and grabbed the man by his throat and slammed him against the wall with enough force to crack it. The man choked out blood, he was on the verge of passing out.
Naruto spoke, "I'm only going to ask you once. WHERE did you take Asuma?" his voice gravelly courtesy of Kurama.
The man was shaking in fear. His whole life flashed in front of his life. The Killer Intent was unbearable. It was crushing his skull and he could barely breathe.
He cracked," We took him back to our client's mansion to the south of here. Follow the river towards the ocean, you can't miss it. Please don't kill me." Begged the man in fear of his life.
"That right is reserved for someone else." If anyone has the right to kill this bastard of a man is Kurenai.
A quick punch in the gut knocked the man out. He turned around and went back towards Kurenai. He took of his jacket and wrapped Kurenai with it. He sat there with Kurenai in his arms, beating himself up for his stupidity.
"Asuma…. Don't take my son… Asuma…." Naruto could hear Kurenai talk in her sleep, a nightmare probably.
He shushed her and tried to calm her down. Her features softened a moment later, "Don't worry. I'll bring him back. That's a promise of a lifetime."
A few minutes later Kakashi dropped down next to him. Kakashi had a solemn look on his face. It seems he was too late. He put a hand on Naruto's shoulder, waking him from his musings, "Naruto, we need to take Kurenai to the hospital."
Naruto nodded and slowly stood up with Kurenai in his arms, carrying her bridal-style. He made a motion with his head towards the unconscious man near him and Kakashi understood.
Kakashi nodded at him in understanding which was Naruto's cue to take Kurenai to the hospital.
Kakashi walked towards the beaten man and shunshined away with him towards the Konoha Interogation Facilities.
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"Kurenai-sensei!" yelled Kiba, storming into the hospital room which housed Kurenai. The rest of the team was close behind him, all worried for their sensei.
They saw Naruto sitting next to her bed and holding her hand gently in concern. He looked towards them with a sad look. He looked lost, defeated but there was still fire behind them, they could feel it.
"What happened Naruto? Who did this?" growled Kiba, barely restraining his anger. His blood was itching for revenge against the guys that did this.
Naruto shook his head, " I don't know. The attack at the Main Gates was a decoy. A second team entered Konoha unseen and attacked Kurenai. They took Asuma."
Team 8 eyes widened in shock. It seems bad news keep piling up today.
"Why?" asked Hinata meekly, her heart broken seeing her closest friend like that. Kurenai was her role model, a mother figure.
"To get to me." Was Naruto's response. His tone was heavy, guilty.
"What do you mean?" asked Kiba who was clenching his fist in rage.
"They attacked her and took Asuma to get revenge against me."
They saw that Naruto was beating himself over this, thinking he was to blame. Similar thought ran through Kiba's mind but knew that there was nothing Naruto could have done. This was an act of a scumbag of a man who will pay for what he has done.
Team 8 each took a seat around the bed. They were all silent and contemplated what to do now. They also noticed how gentle and caring Naruto was to Kurenai. His eyes never left her figure. They didn't know if it was because he felt guilty or because of something else. Nonetheless they saw another side of Naruto they never saw before.
"What will you do now, Naruto?" asked Hinata.
"I'm going to kill them all." Said Naruto without missing a beat. The tone of the voice sent shivers down their spine and if it was any other situation they would have felt sorry for the enemy but not in this case. Those bastards deserve the fate that Naruto will bring down upon them. It's been a long time since they saw Naruto this angry.
"How do you plan on doing that?" came the voice of Shikamaru from the window. Team 8 turned around and saw team 10 standing there.
"We know the location of the enemy." Said Tsunade entering the room with Kakashi, Gai and his team, Sakura, Shizune and Sai. The elites of Konoha were gathered.
She continued, "Naruto captured a prisoner and he spilled the beans rather quickly. You can thank Anko for that. It seems she was extra motivated after hearing what happened."
The occupants could hear loud footsteps approaching the room. Moments later both Anko and Yugao came racing inside the room, both worried for their friend.
"Oh Kami, Kurenai…" said Yugao, slowly walking towards Kurenai's bed and kneeling beside her. Tears pooled in her eyes . Anko was gritting her teeth in anger and they could feel the barely restrained rage coursing through her body.
"Where is their base?" asked Shikamaru who for once wasn't looking lazy.
"To the south of here. Follow the Nagawashi river towards the ocean. When the river splits into two, go west towards the mountains. The base is right under the mountain ridge." Explained Tsunade.
"I'm going." Declared Anko, not leaving any room for objections.
Tsunade looked around the room and saw that each and everyone was ready to go and teach those bastards a lesson.
She sighed, "I can't send everyone. Because of the recent attack I can't send out my best Shinobis. The perpetrators could strike again and this time it won't be just a decoy. I will send out two teams. That is the best I can do right now. Kakashi, you will lead Team 10 and Anko you will lead Team 8. You leave immediately. Oh, and once you catch up to Naruto please try to restrain him from destroying the entire continent."
All eyes turned towards the Naruto who was still in the room. He couldn't be a ….
Naruto nodded at everyone and sent one final look towards Kurenai and then disappeared in a puff of smoke. Eyes widened in surprise. They should have been used to that by now but he always finds a way to surprise them with that technique.
Tsunade sighed and shook her head. She couldn't blame the brat for going out by himself. She noticed the gaki is very protective of Kurenai and her son. Kidnapping said son was the worst thing those idiots could have done right now.
"He's probably halfway there by now so there is no time to waste. Find the mansion, rescue Asuma and try to leave the area intact. Ah, never mind, go nuts!" grinned Tsunade.
The shinobis chosen for this mission all nodded and disappeared. As their commander said, there was no time to waste. Every second was precious right now.
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Naruto was racing across the country, his mind set on bringing Asuma back no matter what. He knew it was foolish and selfish of him to go out alone but he felt compelled to fix his mistake. His heart wouldn't forgive him if he let anything happen to Asuma. Since he came back he really felt connected with the Yuuhi family, Anko and Yugao included because she is family to Kurenai. He wanted to help Asuma on his journey to become a man since his father wasn't around. He knew what it is like to grow up without a father. When he was kid, he wanted nothing more to have a father or mother to tell him that they love him and that they support him. Naruto knew he could never replace Asuma and he didn't want to. But that didn't mean he didn't want to help Asuma Jr. become the greatest he could be.
Anko was Anko. She was a sister to Kurenai, one of the few she really trusted beside Yugao. He knew of her painful past and understood why she pushes people away. The pain of betrayal is something unimaginable. In all honesty, her crazy behavior isn't that bad once you get used to it. It just shows she cares for you in her own way. That doesn't mean she won't gut you if you get on her bad side because she will without blinking.
Yugao was the same. While she may not be bat crazy like Anko she too had a painful life. Losing a husband, the love of her life left her scarred. She found solace in her friends, they are the ones that kept her sane and not revengeful. She was on the verge of slipping over the point of no return but the people she calls family brought her back. Naruto can easily count her as one of his friends even after only knowing her for a short time.
Kurenai was a whole different story. He has no idea what to think or feel about her. He respects her as a kunoichi and a woman. She did a remarkable job raising Asuma by herself while juggling her shinobi life. But does he only respect her or is there something more there? Would it be wrong to feel more about her? Would he betray Asuma?
Naruto shook his head to try and rid his head of these thoughts. Now wasn't the time to ponder about that. He needed to have his mind clear for what is about to come.
He was heading towards a trap, that much was obvious. Kidnapping Asuma was all just to lure him to them. But there wasn't much he can do about it now. Sometimes the best way to defeat a trap is to spring it. He just hoped his decision won't come back to bite him in the ass.
If he paid more attention to his surroundings instead of his thoughts he would have noticed a group of eyes watching his movement.
As soon as he sped past them, a group of shinobi seemingly materialized out of nowhere.
A man with white hair spoke, "The trap is sprung. No one gets past this point."
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Naruto arrived at the mansion. He stopped at the edge of the clearing where the mansion stood. He was analyzing the mansion from a high tree from where he had a good view over the entire mansion. If it could even be called a mansion. It was more like a small fortress.
The mansion grounds were covered by protective walls with outposts on each corner that surveyed the forest around it. There were guards everywhere you looked, either patrolling or just staring out in the space, watching for any kind of movement. The guards didn't look the shinobi type but looks can be deceiving. He did notice a few shinobis that were directing orders or keeping order amongst the guards. He could spot shinobis from Iwa, Kumo and Kusa, all missing nins of course. There were probably more but so far he didn't spot them.
The mansion itself was huge. It was 3 stories high and stretched the limits of good taste. As expected from Shinji Nakamura. He only met the guy once but he struck him as the man who liked to show off his wealth and power to others.
On the left side of the grounds, away from the main facilities, stood a housing complex for the soldiers judging from its more barbaric design and from the guards littering around. A hallway connected it right to the main house, probably where the owner lives alongside his family or trusted confidants. Another hallway to the right led to a more beautiful scenery. A lush garden with a beautiful pond in the center of it. It looked serene, a total contrast to the rest of the atmosphere. Shinji didn't strike Naruto as the kind of man that would enjoy gardening so he figured that was his daughter's own little slice of heaven.
Naruto focused on the main house. Everywhere he looked there were either guards or shinobis, even on the roof and on the chimney for Christ sakes. Talk about paranoid.
Getting in there could prove to be a challenge but he had confidence that he could pull it off. Finding Asuma and getting out is a whole other story.
He could find Asuma easily using Sage Mode but he isn't exactly fond of being a human beacon for the shinobis inside. Increasing his chakra levels, sensors or not is bound to attract attention. He will have to take a more hands-on approach.
A plan forming in his mind, he dropped down to the forest floor. He took one last breath and steeled his nerves. This was it.
A moment later he disappeared underground.
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The end! Next chapter is the stage for some action. Review please!