Chapter 16: I Sea Trouble
Author's Note: So you know, Naruto is currently sixteen and Haku and Kimimaro are eighteen. The main time skip has not occurred yet, just getting rid of some filler episode things first before that happens.
A rather large man with a neatly trimmed beard dressed in formal clothing sat silently while observing the man sitting across from him. The offer was truly ludicrous, why would he even think that such a thing was even remotely considerable? Did he intend to pressure him into making this deal because he was a shinobi? He hoped not, this man was known to be dangerous and he wasn't sure whether his impressive guard of samurai and few shinobi guards would be enough to save him, but he wouldn't show fear here – shinobi like this man thrived on fear.
"The Land of Rain may be in a state of civil instability and unrest, however, do not make the assumption that we are economically weak because of it. We are situated on the border of several other countries and thus, our lands are used often as trade routes. The rainforest we live in provides an excellent natural defence for our buildings and landmarks which also adds to this land's desirability. Finally, due to the constant rain our country experiences, our lands are perfect for growing rice during all seasons, amongst other things – all these factors make us very powerful economically, what makes you think you can simply buy this country from me?"
The figure seated opposite him silently pulled an envelope from his cloak, slowly and deliberately so he did not scare the man, and slid it across the small table. The man eyed the envelope warily for a few moments before opening it, curious as to its contents. As his beady eyes read over the contents of whatever the envelope contained, his shock overcame any sense of propriety that he was expected to uphold, he fainted on the spot.
The 'Feudal Lord' of Rain Country was awoken by his guards not a few moments later and after several moments of silence where he collected his thoughts, he spoke.
"What could you possibly gain from purchasing this country? What would you have me do if I accept?"
The cloaked man eyed the person sitting opposite him from under his straw hat before speaking in a calm and, slightly cold voice.
"Your country's hidden village is being run and controlled by criminals, no longer are you in control of your own country" he began "Once I purchase this country, you will reroute seventy five percent of your B to S ranked missions to other countries secretly, and cut funding and supplies to Amegakure no Sato by an equal amount and sell it instead to other countries."
The man looked at him in shock, clearly confused "Why would I cripple my own country's military might like that?"
"It is rather simple, it is because regardless of what you believe, Amegakure's military might no longer equates to your own. The people of the village believe their leaders to be Gods and would sooner follow their orders then your own."
"Even if I do this, what makes you think someone so obviously powerful would not just kill me for crippling them like this and take over themselves?"
"Other then the fact that killing you will serve absolutely no purpose now that I own the country?" the man didn't dispute this "you may use the money given to you to hire elite shinobi to guard you from several other countries" the cloaked man knew that this would help little, but he also knew that Akatsuki would realize killing the Feudal Lord would be detrimental to them and not do it anyway, he merely needed the man to be calm.
"I hope you know what you're doing…you're virtually destroying a once powerful shinobi village in one move…"
Namikaze Naruto smirked from under his hand and behind his cloak "I know."
Naruto arrived in a thoroughly damaged clearing where Kaguya Kimimaro and Haku were virtually passed out, as they lay panting on their knees facing each other.
"Been sparring I see" Naruto commented, chewing on a 'pizza' flavoured Pocky stick. As Haku and Kimimaro turned to their unofficial team leader, they collectively winced when they saw the flavour of the Pocky box he was holding.
"Hai Naruto-sama" Naruto's eye twitched at the respect and devotion in the older shinobi's tone; ever since waking up and realizing his cursed seal had been virtually removed and his disease cured, he had treated him like he was a god – despite the fact that Haku had cured the disease and not him.
"Did you do what you had to do?" Haku asked; Naruto had not thought it necessary to divulge what his long term plans were unless it was absolutely necessary and the two of them not knowing would hinder them, so they simply ignored it for the most part. Besides, they couldn't be tortured for information they simply didn't have…
"Hmm" Naruto hummed in an positive tone "So you say Orochimaru relocates his base of operation every time he thinks there has been a leak in his security?"
"Hai Naruto-sama, and approximately once every six months regardless, he is a very paranoid man…"
Naruto nodded "Majority of the world wants to kill him; I can understand why" he mused "well, you leaving would probably be considered a security risk so we are back at square one."
"What news is there of your mother's location?" Haku and Naruto had seen it fit to inform their new companion on all their immediate schemes and recent encounters so the boy wouldn't be surprised by anything at the wrong time, not like it mattered though; the white haired boy would probably jump off a cliff if Naruto said it would be beneficial.
"Hmm, Danzo is remarkably efficient when he puts his mind to it" Naruto complimented "They have narrowed down her location to Water Country, apparently they have reports of someone that fits her description, unfortunately, he's not the only one tracking her down…"
This caught the two panting shinobi's attention "Who then, Naruto-sama?" asked Kimimaro.
"Akatsuki of course, they think by capturing her they can trade her for the rings, that or just kill her for my meddling I suppose" he said in such a callous manner that it sent shivers down Haku's spine. How can an orphan speak so coldly of his own mother? He then remembered who they were talking about and scratched that thought.
"You obviously don't see her as your mother, why expend so much trouble in finding her?"
Naruto paused as the pizza flavoured pocky was making its way to his mouth ever so slightly before he resumed munching. His silence showed the two that he was ignoring the question entirely. Kimimaro assumed he honestly didn't know the answer while Haku believed otherwise, though he chose to keep those thoughts to himself.
"Where to now then?" Haku asked, as he regained his strength.
"Sea country - my sources tell me that Orochimaru had a base of operations there at one point, we'll go and investigate."
No further word was needed as the three shinobi made camp to rest for the night, the next day they would make their way to Sea country.
Mitarashi Anko sighed as she was finally free of her temporary 'team' for the moment. If she was honest with herself, the bug boy was alright; he may be a little creepy, but he listens to his superiors, only speaks when necessary and is an excellent scout. Aburame Shino was definitely a competent shinobi in her book, but the other two had her contemplating homicide on more then one occasion.
Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura would simply not shut the fuck up! The both of them are supposed to be shinobi, Chunin at that, yet their arguments would give away their position to enemy shinobi that were five miles in any direction, not to mention that god awful pink hair and red clothing acting as a beacon for attacks. The platinum blonde hair and purple dress of Yamanaka Ino didn't really encourage much stealth either; fucking kunoichi these days are a disgrace, its no wonder opinion of them is at an all time low. As much as she despised her late sensei, she was still proud of the fact that he had chosen a kunoichi such as herself to be his apprentice, because despite being a fucked up, paedophilic, insane and generally evil son of a bitch, he was a legendary shinobi, and that she couldn't deny.
She had sent the brats earlier to scout out the town to find any information on this 'Kaima' monster that was terrorizing the local populace and attacking ships whenever they set out from the village.
Suddenly, Anko's cursed seal flared up, releasing a torrent of memories directly into her mind as the pain coursed through her body. Orochimaru telling her that the Sandaime had caught onto his experiments, Orochimaru bringing her here and showing her one of his research laboratories…Orochimaru's human experimentations…
As suddenly as it came, it stopped, leaving Anko a panting mess. After a few moments when she was sure the pain had disappeared, Anko leaned back and rested against the rocks of the hot spring she was relaxing in. She never told her bratty team where she'd be so hopefully she could relax while they were gathering information; even though she was quite certain bug boy already knew, hopefully he would exercise a little self-preservation techniques and choose to not interrupt her in here.
Her eyes opened wide with shock as a presence suddenly appeared directly behind her.
"You should know better then to sneak up on a woman taking a bath…" she warned, while her right arm slowly snaked to the kunai hidden behind her back under the water. It was for naught though as her body froze up completely, removing any ability for movement on her part.
"Imagine my surprise…" began an all too familiar and infuriatingly calm voice from behind her, only to continue from a different location above her "…when I arrive in Sea Country, minding my own business, only to find my favourite snake summoner, naked as the day she was born, for all to see" finished Naruto as he lay on the branch of a tree that hung over the hot spring while looking down at her from under his thrice damned hat.
Anko smirked at the brat for his sheer audacity, it had been a while since she'd seen him and honestly, it was a welcome surprise.
"You know, some people may consider what you're doing an act of perversion, and I'm not sure whether your title for me should be much of a compliment considering the competition" she said, grinning up at the 'dangerous' criminal, not in the least modest about her nudity, even if it is partially obscured by the steamy waters.
"Some people would be right to consider this an act of perversion, I am, after all, blatantly watching you bathe and, from my position, you are quite naked" he said, only the slightest amount of amusement in his voice as he lifted hit hat off his head and began to spin it on his finger, his eyes never leaving her own as he spoke. Anko suppressed a shiver at those demonic red eyes peering down at her, so much like a demon's yet completely lacking the malice that would normally accompany such eyes.
"My, my, you've grown into quite the little pervert then, those books have rotted your mind" she chided, not at all offended, those books were damn good when you were by yourself at night and in need for some…relaxation.
"One could argue that those books have done quite the opposite if I were to find myself in a specific situation" Naruto replied with a raised eyebrow. Anko wanted to laugh out loud, not at the attempt because honestly, someone as powerful as this boy flirting with her was kind of a turn on, but the fact that Namikaze Naruto, Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune and 'S-classed' criminal was indeed flirting with her was so absurd that she just wanted to laugh.
"Mm, one could argue that" she purred, delighted when she noticed his body slightly stiffen at the sound of her voice; hah, she still had it! "Normally, I would castrate you for the viewing fee, but seeing as I would be in your debt if you were to actually have come through on our little agreement and that I wouldn't be able to catch you anyway, I honestly find myself not caring either way, so, either start speaking or scram, I was enjoying my time alone for your information" she wondered if the kid had come through on his promises about the seal, she doubted it but it was still a nice thought.
"Hmm, if I were to say that I have already discovered a way to remove a curse seal's influence on the bearer, what would be in it for me?"
Anko's eyes widened momentarily before she reprimanded herself for daring to hope, he was still flirting with her and probably looking for a quick screw. Sorry Namikaze Naruto but Mitarashi Anko was no paedophile like her wayward sensei and she wasn't as easy either.
"Play time's over lover boy, I am not in the mood for your empty promises, besides, I have nothing to give…" she bit out rather coldly, only to stop dead when a Naruto shadow clone knocked her out from behind.
"Then I guess you'll owe me" he muttered, all traces of playfulness gone from his voice as he carried a very naked Mitarashi Anko away from the hot spring.
"GODAMN IT! WHERE THE HELL IS ANKO-SENSEI?!" yelled an extremely frustrated blonde haired kunoichi, whose feelings were mirrored by her rival in love.
"I dunno, but I'm going to pound her into the ground when we find her" the girl threatened 'SHANNARO' an annoying voice in her head agreed with her.
The only sign of Shino's feelings towards the situation was a slight twitch of his eyebrow behind his glasses, but what he was exactly annoyed at would remain a mystery.
The boy silently replaced himself with a clone and left the two girls to search all they wanted, Anko was a Jounin, if she didn't want to be found she won't be.
To say that Haku and Kimimaro were shocked to see Naruto casually walk into their campsite with a very naked, very beautiful and very passed out kunoichi in his arms was an understatement. Even more surprising was when he didn't even offer an explanation, merely depositing her unconscious corpse in a wide open clearing before he unsealed his sealing tools and got to work.
Haku suddenly recognized the woman and the sealing design when he looked again, hiding a blush as her glorious assets were bare to the world.
"This is his Ashikonda no jutsu, the technique to exorcize Orochimaru's soul from a cursed seal. He used this on you…but it severely drained him the last time he used it…"
"I am prepared for the backlash this time around and Anko-san not having been in contact with Orochimaru in some time will have weakened its hold on her, not to mentioned the fact that she's never used its powers before so it shouldn't be too difficult" Naruto explained, as he often did when using his Fuuinjutsu.
"Won't the backlash alert enemy shinobi to out presence?" Haku asked as Kimimaro looked on in interest, having been the recipient to said technique while passed out, perhaps he could finally see why Haku speaks so highly of Naruto's skills.
Ignoring the question, Naruto pulled out four kunai, each with a seal marker on it, and threw them at random places around him roughly creating a square.
Naruto performed a series of hand seals before calling out his technique, mainly for Haku's and Kimimaro's benefit then his own.
"Fuuinjutsu: Kyuuten no Shouheki (Barrier of the Heavens? I guess…)" as he held the last seal, blue light engulfed his hands and raced in four separate directions to each seal marker. Upon contact, the seal markers also exploded in light, bathing the clearing in it and forcing the three conscious shinobi to cover their eyes. When the light died down, Haku and Kimimaro were surprised to see a large cube like barrier surrounding the immediate area.
"The barrier won't hold back anything physical…nor will it hold back any chakra attacks either…" he commented offhandedly "however it will distort any chakra signatures and pulses created from within so we can move once the procedure is done and not be at risk of being discovered" he finished explaining, looking around the barrier and making sure it worked correctly.
The removal of the soul piece from Anko's curse seal went smoothly, more so then Kimimaro's with Naruto being prepared for the struggle the soul piece would put up. After the soul was extracted and destroyed, Naruto collapsed near the still naked Anko, sweating but with more energy then the last time he had performed the technique.
Kimimaro looked slightly sick at the procedure "That was in…me…at one point?" he asked in revulsion, referring to the piece of Orochimaru's soul that had inhabited his body. Naruto nodded, removing his cloak and shirt to cool down, the procedure having made him sweat quite a bit and become uncomfortable, his overbearing cloak wasn't helping any.
"What information could you two gather on the island Kikaijima and Orochimaru's presence there?" he asked his two comrades, after regaining his breath.
"A man resembling Orochimaru's description was apparently seen with a youth we believe to be Uchiha Sasuke not long ago sailing towards Kikaijima. The reason why the villagers had taken note of this is because apparently, anyone that has ever sailed too close to the island has disappeared forever…" Haku frowned, leaving the rest of the explanation up to the newest member.
"The townspeople say that anyone who sails too close to Kikaijima is attacked by some 'Kaima' monster, it seems more likely that there is some research facility on the island and anyone approaching too close is abducted for experimentation. I also spotted two shinobi who I have witnessed in Kabuto-san's company previously back at Otogakure in the vicinity. I was able to follow them to Kikaijima itself where they disappeared into the island from an underwater tunnel."
Naruto nodded at Kimimaro's assessment "How do you rate these Oto shinobi?"
Kimimaro scoffed "They are trash, barely Chunin level."
Naruto had to grin at that, Kimimaro's attitude to anyone he didn't like and was weaker then himself was always something he enjoyed listening to "What of this 'Kaima' monster?" asked Naruto, sounding unimpressed.
"A team of Konoha Genin have been asking questions regarding it also in the town, I assume Anko-san is the Jounin in charge of the mission" Haku said, motioning towards the now covered Jounin, still sound asleep while using Naruto's
dark grey cloak as a blanket. Haku and Kimimaro shared an amused glance when he had covered her so; Naruto did his best to ignore it.
"Haku, deal with any troublesome Oto shinobi from the outside, Kimimaro and I will infiltrate Kikaijima and try to find any clues to Orochimaru's whereabouts."
"What of the Konoha shinobi? Anko-san may not attack, but I fear two of the Chunin seem to be quite… hot headed… should they attack me?"
Naruto shrugged "Deal with them, if they are too stupid to realize when they are up against a superior opponent and still attack, they shouldn't be shinobi."
Haku nodded "I hope you do not have anything… improper planned for Anko-san when Kimimaro and I vacate the premises?" Haku teased, getting a snort from Naruto.
"I could ask the same question in regards to you having anything 'improper' planned for Kimimaro when you vacate the premises Haku-chan, did I forget to mention he enjoys dressing up as a woman and going on dates with young boys Kimimaro?"
Kimimaro looked to the annoyed Hyouton user warily, nodding in thanks to Naruto for the warning before leaving the area, no doubt with his but cheeks clenched rather tightly.
"Youknow I'm not gay, why do you keep telling people that? Now he's going to be uncomfortable around me" Haku said with a sigh as he too disappeared, his body seemingly becoming ice and shattering into thousands of icicle shards, leaving nothing behind.
"Hmm, he's getting better at using his Hyouton bloodline, no doubt his dragon companions have been helping him with that…don't you think Anko-san?"
The Jounin in question merely snuggled into his coat further, relishing in the warmth it provided. Naruto looked to his left, then to his right before sniffing the air, making sure he was alone before proceeding with his next task.
He slowly lifted his cloak from Anko's grasp and smirked when he got another eyeful of the purple haired Snake summoner – he wasn't a pervert…just a curious teenager with uncontrollable hormones…yeah, that's it…
"Why has Zetsu decided not to grace us with his presence yet again?" Hoshigaki Kisame asked, sounding as annoyed as he looked. Their 'leader' constantly called them through their rings for progress reports that they just had to deliver, yet bug boy seemingly always got out of attending, especially lately.
"Zetsu has been destroyed, his ring stolen as well. I hardly think I need to inform you on how this came to pass…" Pein's deep yet monotone voice sounded through the chambers, the only part of his silhouette that could possibly be used to identify him were the numerous rings of his Doujutsu.
"Hn, Naruto-kun is proving to be more trouble then he's worth…" Itachi muttered, his voice barely a whisper yet it carried through the entire cave.
"Why don't we alter our plans and apprehend him next, if we give him time to get stronger it will only be to our detriment" Kakuzu offered.
"Enough, I have a plan to lure the Kyuubi to us, what better way to capture an orphan then to use his family?" Pein replied to Kakuzu's offer.
"You assume too much dickhead, what if he doesn't bite?" Hidan sneered, everyone in the cave visibly tensed, how Hidan kept insulting Leader like that and getting away with it only the two would know.
"If he doesn't bite, then I will kill them all, then I will kill him for interfering, he is no match for me" he stated in such an unsympathetic way that the other shinobi in the room couldn't help but agree.
"What progress have you made on finding the brat's mother?" Kisame asked, changing the topic.
"Not as much as I would have liked unfortunately, Zetsu was the one who was investigating her current location, with his death went all information he had gathered…with resources spread thinly already as they are with the lack of income coming from the village, I need to find another way to locate her."
Their reports given, the members of Akatsuki all left the meeting, leaving empty spaces where their shadows had once been. Konan remained in her corner in the shadows frowning at Pein with several conflicting emotions warring within her.
The Hokage of Konohagakure, the most revered and respected kunoichi in all of the elemental countries, granddaughter of the Shodaime Hokage, grandniece of the Nidaime Hokage and the single person responsible for the discoveries of cures for several dozen known diseases was currently sitting at her desk with an empty bottle of sake in one hand and a saucer in the other stone drunk. To say that this had not been a good few months for her would be an understatement, in fact, she often found herself fantasizing about what her reaction should have been to Jiraiya asking her to become Hokage – it often involved a severe beating of some kind and his genitals, in a way that he would not have enjoyed.
Actually, his behaviour towards her would suggest that he had masochistic tendencies so she wasn't so sure…
If the fact that she was practically assaulting anyone that walked through her door by any means necessary wasn't a sign of her mood, then the state of her office would definitely tip someone off. Papers and files strewn amongst the floor, important documents being misplaced and switched because they were merely stamped once and ignored, and technique scrolls unrolled or almost destroyed were what one would find if they tried to navigate their way through the office. Yes, she was in a very bad state.
First she finds out that some random ex-citizen turned super shinobi, the Kyuubi container of all things, had desecrated the bodies of her ancestors and turned them into his personal play things, regardless of whatever permission he had received, it was an insult to her as well as them and she would not have it. She didn't think it necessary to send hunter-nin after him specifically, especially since the first group to encounter him yielded a few dead shinobi and one mentally scarred yet thankful one.
Her decision to call off the hunter-nin had not been received well by the majority of the shinobi elder council who saw the Namikaze boy as either their property, considering what he contains and what they had let slip, or a black mark on the clean record of the village hidden in the leaves that had to be snuffed out. The reports that he used no such chakra that held the same maliciousness that the Kyuubi's had caused them to rethink their views on him being an actual demon, that was a plus in some ways, but that still didn't settle the hostility several shinobi harboured for him for 'abandoning his village'. Yes, a six year old having the audacity to live and grow strong after his village tried to kill him, the nerve!
Then fucking Jiraiya had to give her a report that she most definitely didnot want to hear, that one of the shinobi often seen with Namikaze Naruto had in his possession the contract for the dragons, a summoning contract that has only ever appeared in shinobi folk tales and legends. Not to mention that the very same boy controlled a bloodline limit that allowed him to utilize Hyouton techniques. The two of them made a very formidable pair.
If the council's almost retarded fear of the boy causing them to force on her irrational and foolhardy decisions wasn't enough, her personal man in the ANBU corps had just reported to her something that only served to increase her headache. The crippled war hawk, Danzo, has been diverting funds from the village's yearly budget into his 'Ne' unit for a mission that no one knows about, one that has seemingly occupied most of his time as he has officially stopped busting her nuts during council meetings about mundane issues.
Aside from the political bullshit giving her problems, there is also the military aspect of the village where the Hokage word is supreme and the council has no say in, only to advise if necessary. The problem is that the village was in such a shitty state when she took the helm that it really isn't her fault that Konoha has declined in military power since her instilment. She often wondered if her ancestors would be ashamed of her, but to be honest, she didn't know how she could do better.
Village moral was at an all time low after the Sand-Sound invasion's partial success and so was numbers. They had lost many a promising and powerful shinobi that day defending against Orochimaru's forces that it was quite surprising Iwa didn't take full advantage and invade immediately afterwards. The only positive of the whole shit storm was that the snake Sannin probably took an equal smacking to his forces so it wasn't just one sided.
Then there was the problem with the lack of missions coming in as of late, the numbers severely decreasing over time with only a slight pick up recently as the Rain country shipped some of their missions over to them, not even remotely enough to boost them economically to the level they need to be at.
The reports of an organization that Jiraiya had given her that seems to be a group of powerful 'S-classed' shinobi taking on missions for a much cheaper price then villages offer and in large quantities doesn't help their situation either. An organization she would have to deal with soon whether she liked it or not, seeing as one of their more powerful members was an ex-Konoha shinobi Uchiha Itachi.
"You know, drinking your problems away won't help any princess" an all too familiar and annoying voice said from the window; a voice that soon yelped in surprise as she hurled the empty bottle of sake in its direction.
"Fuck off Jiraiya, if you had to deal with half the shit I put up in a single day in this office in your whole life you'd probably keel over and die of a heart attack" she muttered bitterly, pulling out another bottle of sake before her evil assistant came back and forced her to do her work again.
"Probably" Jiraiya began, he really didn't think it necessary to reveal that it was all his idea to put her in said office in the first place; he had no plans of dying any time soon thank-you-very-much.
"So what brings you back here? And if I hear any reports of an old and creepy white haired man giggling near the women's hot springs within the next few days, expect to have your life span severely shortened, I am not in the fucking mood" she warned as Jiraiya chuckled nervously, perhaps his stay wasn't going to be as long as he had first planned.
"You know I have to give my customary report, and I figured I could pop back for a few and see how my old flat-chested team mate was doing and have a drink" he aptly dodged a paperweight "I can see my humour isn't appreciated."
"Enough of your shitty jokes you limp-dicked bastard" she hissed angrily, her glare would have killed lesser men.
"Now, now Tsunade-hime, don't go insulting little Jiraiya-who-isn't-so-little until you give it a 'test drive'" he dodged another paperweight "not that I'm implying that you will anytime soon" he dodged another metal projectile, man she had a lot of those things handy "or ever…"
"Well, what news do you bring?" she asked, sounding as exhausted as she looked.
"Hmm, well I've figured out what Danzo is up to if you're interesting in knowing – of course you are" he added hastily at her glare "it seems that he's been searching for a friend of ours for quite some time, the reason why I can only speculate, but she isn't safe where she is anymore – I am, of course, talking about Kushina" he reported grimly.
"Kushina, what the hell does Danzo want with her?" she asked, perplexed.
"Isn't it obvious? Danzo wants to control the Namikaze brat, he thinks kidnapping his mother and holding her hostage is the best way to do that" he commented with a shrug.
"You don't sound worried" she observed with a frown.
"I've sent one of my summons to collect her and take her to a safe house, it should be there within a few days, she's in safe hands" he assured "though one must wonder if Danzo has a death wish, he's practically asking for Namikaze to stick him good, not that I'd complain to be honest, and by the looks of you, I don't think you would either."
Tsunade shrugged, not allowed to say such a thing officially; however, she won't deny it.
"Anything else?" she asked, glad that her old friend would be safe for the time being.
"Yeah" he began with a frown "no doubt you've noticed the influx of missions from Amegakure, Konoha isn't the only village to receive such a bonus from them, the word is the country is under new management" he sighed "to what point and purpose though, I have no idea. The Land of Rain is under constant heavy guard, I won't be able to get in easily and I have no reliable contacts on the inside, whatever happened there though has crippled that war-torn village even more" he frowned "a good seventy five percent of their missions have been diverted onto the other shinobi villages in the elemental nations."
"I don't like the sound of that…something's coming…" she sighed as she took another sip of her drink "Amegakure huh? Brings back memories…" she chuckled; Jiraiya too chuckled as he remembered their younger days.
"Why do I get the feeling this is a lot bigger then any of us thinks, and it all has to do with the Namikaze brat?" Tsunade asked tiredly.
"Because it probably is and it probably does princess" Jiraiya affirmed with a chuckle "to what extent though remains to be seen, what news of the Uchiha brat?"
Tsunade shrugged "I refuse to expend any resources to bring back a fool of a brat that left on his own accord, let the hunter-nin deal with him, if they love him so much the council better hope they bring him back alive, I couldn't care less either way to be honest" she said coldly.
Jiraiya just chuckled "You're not worried about Orochimaru having the Sharingan? Or him resurrecting the Uchiha clan within Otogakure?" he asked turning serious.
"No" Tsunade said coldly "Hopefully they'll raise one just like Konoha's Uchiha raised Itachi and they'll wipe out the whole village for us" she said with a chuckle which Jiraiya shared.
"I always imagined the bastard's ambition to be the end of him on day" he said sombrely "he'll piss off the wrong person one day and not even Kami himself will be able to save him."
Tsunade twitched in annoyance at that "What exactly makes you think Kami is a man?"
Jiraiya just grinned "He made the woman body and hot springs, what else would he be?" he chuckled perversely. Tsunade had run out of paperweights to throw at him so she just sighed, trying to get the image of a robed Jiraiya watching over the planet out of her mind's eye.
Why wouldn't that damn headache go away?!
Anko's eyes fluttered open from what she thought to be the best sleep in her life. Never could she remember a time where she felt so refreshed, light and free of burden. She couldn't explain it, but something made her want to jump for joy and communicate said joy to the world from the top of the Hokage monument.
That thought stopped dead when she felt, rather then noticed that under her very warm and very comfortable blanket, she was completely nude. Memories of what occurred before she was sent into the land of dreams caused her to open her eyes wide in shock and sit straight up from her lying position.
Namikaze!
He had ambushed her in the hot springs the second she let her guard down!
Did he have his wicked way with her?
She certainly didn't feel like he did…
Realizing her upper torso was exposed to the world, she quickly covered up with the cloak…wait, cloak?
Looking at the cloak, she immediately recognized it to be the property of a certain blonde haired, red eyed criminal.
"So you're finally awake then" stated an all too familiar voice from the other side of the clearing. Instinctively reaching for a kunai she didn't have, Anko observed her surroundings to find Naruto standing on a tree branch above her snacking on a stick of pocky. Judging by the sun's position in the sky, it was still early morning; did this kid live of pocky?
She really couldn't judge, given that she practically lived off Dango, but there was a difference! Dango was the food of the gods!
Suddenly, it finally clicked the situation she was in. She was but naked, in the middle of a clearing with no idea where she was covered in that bastard's cloak feeling happier then she'd ever felt before for some unexplained reason.
"What the hell did you do to me?" she hissed, getting up from her seated position and donning the cloak she had slept in, not caring in the least that he got another free peep show, he's seen it already anyway, what did she care? It was rather chilly though…
"You mean other then remove Orochimaru's control over your cursed seal?" he asked offhandedly, causing Anko's mind to come to a screeching halt.
Did he just say what she thinks he said?
Bullshit.
There's no way.
But for the life of her, she couldn't feel the draining and tainted presence of the curse seal at all. She could still feel it but it didn't feel necessarily bad…
"Unfortunately, through my studies I found that removing the seal is quite impossible, it is ingrained into your chakra pathways and doing so will probably kill you" he commented "but the portion of Orochimaru's soul that inhabited your
body can definitely be removed and destroyed, which is what I did" he commented with a shrug "you've never used your seal before so it wasn't as difficult as the other one I've removed; you should know though that the pain of removing and destroying a piece of one's soul is excruciating."
Anko's eyes widened at the implications.
"You mean…?"
"He felt every bit of it and it probably left him bed ridden at least" he said with a shrug as Anko grinned maliciously.
Seeing her silence he continued "You'll probably find your chakra easier to control and your physical stamina to be greater then it once was now that the seal has been rendered ineffective."
Naruto saw out of the corner of his eye that Anko's own eyes were shimmering with unshed tears, tears she refused to let fall in his presence. How odd.
"I…I don't know what to say…" she said in a voice barely above a whisper "what can I say to the gaki who has done more for me then my own home village has…" she said, her voice sounding hollow.
"Hmm, it wasn't for free, you owe me one" he said, tilting his head "but you can take your time in repaying me, say…in two years, you can repay me in two years time" he said, a small smirk gracing his features.
Anko's eyes narrowed "You wouldn't happen to be sixteen years old would you?"
Naruto shrugged innocently "I may be, I don't see how that is relevant though."
Anko eyed him shrewdly before snorting in amusement. The snort turned into a chuckle and the chuckle turned into a full blown laugh. Not one of those laughs you have at a well placed joke, but a laugh that came from the depths of her soul, one that left her breathless yet still wanting for more.
"You think you can handle me gaki?" she asked with a grin, as she sauntered over to him "I'm way…" she quickly leapt onto the branch he was standing on and moved right next to his ear "way…" she ran her tongue along the side of his face "out of your league."
Naruto showed no outward signs of being affected but his heart was beating a million times a minute. He just hoped she wasn't able to pick up on it; it would ruin his image if he was to be affected by her so easily.
Unfortunately for him, Anko did pick up on his pulse quickening, a feat Orochimaru had taught her when she needed to pick out liars if necessary. With a grin that clearly spelt her satisfaction, she hopped off the branch and began to walk away.
"You don't mind if I keep this do you? You did, after all, neglect to take my clothes with you when you kidnapped me" she said playfully. Naruto just shrugged in response.
"Keep it, call it the viewing fee" he said, and to her shock, he was grinning right back at her. The expression almost looked foreign on his face as his grin didn't show any malice or killing intent, just playfulness.
She had that effect on him?
Oh yeah, she still had it.
"Sure thing lover boy, see you around" she was almost out of hearing range when his no nonsense voice reached her ears. It was slightly shocking that his almost whispered voice carried so far but she had noticed that the wind had conveniently changed directions the second he began to speak.
"We too have a mission here; keep your comrades on a leash less something happens to them…"
In an underground base in an undisclosed location within Rice Country sat a red headed girl no older then sixteen with half lidded shockingly red eyes aimed at the ground. It was not her striking red eyes that garnered one's attention at the moment however; rather it was the fact that her porcelain like skin was marred with bruises, cuts, burn marks, gashes and stab wounds.
The girl in question had no means to defend herself from the enraged Snake Sannin however as her arms were tied behind her back and her legs together allowing her the movement capacities of a slug rather then a normal human. Her back rimmed glasses were broken in two and her lip was swollen, marring her usually beautiful features.
"Be glad Karin-chan that you are still useful to me" hissed the Serpent Sannin before licking the entire side of her face with his enlarged tongue "for if your usefulness should ever end, there is always an army of male shinobi who miss the touch of a woman, a young woman, but a woman nonetheless…"
The girl lowered her head so the Snake Sannin couldn't see her tears. Why her? What had she done to deserve this? Had she not researched and provided results on the curse seal like ordered? Had she not managed the Northern Facility to satisfaction? He had promised her that if she did a good job she would send her back to her mother, a mother she hardly remembered, but her mother nonetheless. Instead, she was ignored and lately, beaten within an inch of her life before his lackey would heal her to functional health.
"You better hope that Sasuke-kun will accept you as breeding stock Karin-chan or your usefulness to me will have come to an end, and you know what will happen to you if that happens, don't you? You remember Asuka-chan don't you?"
The mentioning of her very first friend enraged her, but she didn't let it show less she be punished further. Asuka had been her very first friend and was until the age of thirteen when her usefulness had come to an end. Orochimaru had literally thrown her to the wolves that were the sex depraved Oto shinobi and she was their little lamb. She had killed herself within two months of being at her new post, not that Karin would blame her, it must have been hell…
"Aww, don't hate me Karin-chan" he cooed, licking her face again before cackling in that god awful voice that seemed like nails on a chalkboard to her "if you want to blame someone for your treatment…you only need blame one person…" he said softly, a grin splitting his features as he continued.
"You only need blame Namikaze Naruto, a constant thorn in my side and…" he waited until she locked eyes with him before finishing.
"Your twin brother…kukukuku" he cackled as her eyes showed grief, anger, hate, hope, and happiness all after the other. Orochimaru frowned when her eyes settled on showing hope and determination, did she think he was coming for her.
"No one is coming to save you Karin-chan, he doesn't even know you're here and he never will" he hissed, cackling mentally when another tear escaped her eyes, he loved breaking his prisoners like this "Sasuke-kun has also shown a dislike for you, saying something about Uchihas not meant to be having red hair… I wonder…"
Orochimaru left Uzumaki Karin in her temporary prison cell as Kabuto entered to treat her wounds, she was useful after all and her research allowed for the creation of the second level of the curse seal.
Karin was left to rest and recover while dreaming of a life she could have had. Where was her brother? Where was her Nii-chan? She had never met him before, had no idea what he looked like or even what kind of person he was, but she couldn't help but feel a connection to him, one that she had always known existed yet never known the meaning for. Would he abandon her like her mother had? Would he forsake her just like the rest?
Uzumaki Karin cried herself to sleep in the privacy of her own room, for no one else was ever permitted to see this moment of weakness.
The last thing she saw before darkness claimed her was a flash of fire accompanied by a soothing melody that immediately put her worries at ease.
She fell asleep with a small smile on her face.
Anko's earlier mood was destroyed when she had arrived back to her temporary team. Shino was okay and bought her excuse, well, at least she thought he did, he didn't press the matter after all. However, those damn girls…
Let's just say that they're damn lucky she didn't feel like becoming some hunter-nin's target any time soon…at least not yet. These two might actually push her over the edge if they didn't shut the fuck up soon.
"I can't believe her!" muttered Sakura to her friend "thinking she can go spread her legs for the town in the middle of a mission and just ditch us to do all the dirty work!"
Shino resisted the urge to palm his face, this girl, for being the top ranked kunoichi in their graduating class in terms of book smarts, she wasn't very smart.
A kunai suddenly flew past her face, cutting her cheek ever so slightly otherwise harmlessly passing by her.
"Care to repeat that?" Anko hissed in a deadly voice while leaking enough killer intent to make the Kyuubi shift uncomfortably. Sakura and Ino were finding it hard to breathe while Shino, from behind his cloak and glasses, seemed to be sweating slightly.
"Y-you heard what I said" Sakura stuttered out, in what she probably assumed to be an act of bravery – it was anything but.
"You're calling me a whore? You, who would no sooner spread your legs for your traitor of an Uchiha in the middle of the village in high noon if he asked you to – which he wouldn't by the way, fags tend to be that way – and you have the nerve to even insinuate that I'm a whore?" she reached for another kunai, ready to put the brat in her place.
"Sasuke-kun is not a…a FAG!" Ino screamed, appalled at the insinuation.
"Will. You. Shut. The. FUCK. UP!?" she hissed out, emphasising every word of her rhetorical question with a hard poke to the girl's forehead "You're shinobi, what the fuck do you think you're doing screeching like banshee and gossiping like morons in the middle of a mission? Did you skip the god damn lesson in the academy which told you a shinobi utilizes stealth? If your god forsaken hair styles, perfumes and clothes weren't enough to give away out positions, your voices sure will be!"
Just as Sakura and Ino were about to launch into an indignant tirade, reminding their team leader that they were Chunin and not some rookie Genin, a large geyser erupted from the ocean, almost capsizing their little dinghy were it not for some quick thinking on Anko's part. When the water subsided, it revealed two men standing in their path on the water, both wearing glasses and Oto forehead protectors.
"I'm afraid we can't let you go any further Konoha shinobi" taunted one of them in a sing-song type of voice "you should have returned when you had the chance, don't think we didn't see you gathering information on the mainland."
Anko recognized someone familiar out of the corner of her eyes and hid her smirk well as her temporary team got ready for a fight.
"Deal with them" the other one said, seemingly to the water only to have, what Anko could only explain as, a fish-girl leap out of the water and fire several water missiles at them, only for them to stop mid air and change direction, back at the two Oto shinobi.
Before they could even regain their bearings, a burst of water shot the three of them up into the air, leaving them prone to attack. The leaf shinobi sans Anko watched in awe as a masked boy came into their view controlling the water and bending it to his will to attack their attackers.
It was then that Sakura recognized the boy "YOU! You're supposed to be dead! Sasuke-kun killed you!"
Completely ignoring the girl, Haku commanded the ocean water with a wave of his hand to circle and trap the two shinobi and one girl in a water prison. The leaf shinobi watched, flabbergasted, as three spheres of water floated in mid air with their prisoners within.
"Why are you guarding this facility?" Haku asked in an amicable voice, however, his captors weren't feeling so charitable. The girl's fish like features receded, leaving her looking mostly normal with a few scaly patches of skin. She didn't answer the question and only looked away from her attacker in defeat. It was hard to tell with her being encased in water, but he thought he saw a tear escape her eye.
The two Oto shinobi merely sneered at him "You're technique will run out eventually you piece of trash, and when it does, we'll crush you."
"I see" Haku's voice was suddenly as cold as the ice he commanded "is that you're final answer?"
Seeing that he was getting no response from the two, he sighed sadly before applying chakra to two of his water prison. To the shock of everyone watching, the spherical prisons froze over ever so slowly, turning into ice and rendering those captured within as nothing but ice cubes, or spheres, rather. When the freezing process was over, Haku willed the two blocks of ice to smash into each other, shattering the two prisons into millions of pieces, including their prisoners.
Shino merely raised an eyebrow at the boy's power and how effective the technique was. He wasn't sure, but he thought he remembered reading about someone with abilities similar to those he had just witnessed in the Bingo book, but as long as he made no aggressive moves, he should have no reason to attack them.
Ino and Sakura looked sick at how brutally efficient the method of killing was, it didn't even leave a mess! How could someone be so callous towards human life and kill so easily? Ino made her thoughts on the matter quite clear.
"You…you monster, how could you kill them so easily? Couldn't you just disable them or something? That wasn't necessary!" she accused, sounding both revolted and sick to her stomach at Haku's actions.
Haku merely turned to them in amusement, an eyebrow raised behind his mask at the girl's accusation. He then turned to Anko and as if by some form of telekinesis, she understood his question.
"Ignore them, they still think being a kunoichi is a glorious job that will win over their little Uchiha fag they have a crush on."
"Uchiha-san?" Haku question, his voice somewhat muffled by his mask "What a coincidence that Uchiha Sasuke-san's two biggest fan girls would be in the vicinity when he himself was visiting this village not long ago…"
The comment shocked the leaf shinobi somewhat, all for different reasons; Shino because the one that almost caused the death of some of his closest friends was callously walking around free while they were still in the hospital, Ino and Sakura because they were that much closer to finding their crush and Anko because where Uchiha Sasuke was, Orochimaru would not be too far behind.
"Tell us what you know about Sasuke-kun!" ordered Sakura, cracking her fists in an attempt to look menacing, a stance her friend took also.
"You don't need to tell forehead, but if you don't tell me, we're going to have some problems" Ino threatened.
To Shino's surprise, Anko merely got comfortable in the boat and watched the proceedings with a happy smile on her face while humming an unrecognisable tune. When he sent her a questioning look, she just looked at him with amusement.
"What? You can't honestly say you aren't looking forward to the two of them getting their asses handed to them can you?"
Anko's grin only grew in size when instead of denying her claim; Shino just readjusted his glasses and got in a better position to see what would happen next.
Without even blinking, Haku willed water to capture the two idiot girls and trap them in sphere prisons similar to the fish girl's, who was still seated inside the prison silently, a glassy expression on her face. The water in the prison also seemed to be oxygenated because the three prisoners could breathe in the water as if it were air.
"What can you tell me of the research facility on Kikaijima?" asked Haku again to the imprisoned girl, who continued to remain silent. Seeing as she refused to answer any questions and was working for the enemy, Haku was about to finish her off in a similar way to the other two Oto shinobi when Naruto and Kimimaro suddenly appeared atop the water not far from them carrying a bound scientist.
"Release her Haku-san, she is no more threatening then a civilian" Kimimaro stated "she was merely acting on the orders of Amachi-san here under the pretences that he would cure her should she comply."
"An act which he would have never fulfilled" Naruto chose to add, much to the shock of the girl in the prison "you were used like a tool Isaribi-san, I am sorry."
"Traitor" mumbled the captured scientist in Kimimaro's direction. The aforementioned teen chopped him on the back of the neck, knocking him out for now, in annoyance.
"What do I do with them?" Haku asked, pointing to Sakura and Ino who were looking around frantically and screaming obscenities from their watery prison. Isaribi had been released from her prison and swam over towards the boat, clinging onto it while watching the proceedings.
"Kill them and be done with it, we have other matters to attend to" Naruto ordered, causing the frantic screaming of the two trapped kunoichi to only increase.
Anko knew she would regret what she was about to do, but she really wasn't in the mood to have two Chunin die on a mission she was in charge of on her watch, not with all the shit she already has to put up with, so she decided to try and save them.
"Namikaze!" she called, shocking the leaf shinobi who recognized the name "don't kill them will ya, it will be a hassle for me and only come back to bite me in the ass if you do so…"
Haku paused, interested in seeing how this would turn out, Kimimaro looked interested also.
Naruto merely looked at her with amusement as she walked on over to him, a puppy dog look in her eyes as she did so "And why should I do that? Aside from the fact that biting you on the ass should be a right reserved solely for myself" he replied with a drawl, eyeing the kunoichi whose grin only widened at his response, making her way towards him.
"Because if you let them live" she started, before leaning in to his ear and whispering seductively "I may let you exercise that right you believe you have one day…"
Her grin turned almost maniacal when she saw how her teasing affected him, as his heart rate increased yet again from the close proximity and hot breath on his ear "You're playing a dangerous game Anko-san, I am a high ranking criminal after all…" he trailed off, no malice in his words however.
"Is there any other kind of game?" she challenged, still whispering in his ear. Haku and Kimimaro shared bewildered looks, yet remained silent. Their 'tender' moment was interrupted when a mad cackle sounded from below them.
"You let that whore of a girl distract you, and now Sea Boss will deal with you! NO ONE CAN DEFEAT SEA BOSS ON HIS HOME TURF!"
Incensed that his little game was interrupted, Naruto turned to their captive swiftly and with a super chakra enhanced punch, smashed Amachi right in the face. The three Konoha Chunin winced as his scientist's face was literally crushed by the force of the blow, leaving him a dead, bloody mess.
Unfortunately, he wasn't lying as a huge blob like creature rose out of the water to attack them like a tidal wave of goo, its only distinguishable feature being its nucleus in the centre of its body.
Naruto closed his eyes and sighed deeply in annoyance at this second interruption "Haku?" he questioned, after calming down. Seeing he had the boy's attention, he continued "take care of it please?"
Haku grinned behind his mask as he cit his finger with his canine and went through several hand seals.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu" he slammed his hand into the ground with his small blood sacrifice causing a seal array to appear on the surface of the water before they were all engulfed by a large cloud of smoke.
When the smoke cleared, Naruto, Kimimaro, Isaribi and the Konoha shinobi were treated with the sight of a humongous ice blue dragon with large scaly dark blue wings with several spikes covering its body.
"What is it you summoned me for Haku-chan?"
Naruto smirked at the summon beast's name for Haku, oh he definitely like this dragon.
Ignoring the dragon's taunt, despite how annoyed he was, Haku spoke "Azuregos-sama, please deal with that pesky sea creature advancing on us."
Without further prompting, the fifty foot dragon spread its huge wings and flew directly at its equally sized foe. The Sea Boss tried to bend around the dragon to avoid its talons, but Azuregos was too manoeuvrable in mid air to be avoided. The result was the dragon picking up the large jelly like creature and throwing up into the clear blue sky. As it started to fall back down, Azuregos took a deep breath and blew out a large stream of high pressured Liquid Nitrogen, practically freezing the enemy summon on contact. With a swing of its mighty club like tail, Azuregos shattered the now enormous ice cube destroying the creature instantly. Without even waiting to be dismissed, it disappeared in a puff of smoke after it so casually destroyed the enemy summon, leaving a group of either bewildered and amused spectators behind.
"At least we know where he gets the ideas for his new techniques from" Naruto commented to Kimimaro who could only nod his head in assent.
"He did mention something about his initiation ceremony with the holder of the contract involving a test of whether he could perform a technique similar to the Dragon's…" Kimimaro commented.
After all threats were gone, Naruto eyed Anko one last time before turning to his companions "We leave."
Haku nodded as he released his two captives and used Shunshin to appear over by Isaribi, grabbing a hold of the shocked girl and disappearing again.
Naruto and Kimimaro disappeared in kind leaving a group of bewildered, drenched and awed Konoha shinobi behind.
"Mission complete then" Anko commented with a cackle "always expect the unexpected when you travel with Mitarashi Anko!" she finished with a ridiculous pose that left her team gaping incredulously at her.
After stealing all of the research documents in Amachi's lab and burning it to the ground, the trio and their prisoner were speeding away, heading towards the docks so they could get a boat back to Fire Country before Naruto stopped dead in his tracks and closed his eyes. His ears twitched as if he was listening to something only he could hear.
Suddenly his eyes opened and they were like two chips of ice "We are parting ways for now" he commented "A lead of mine has proved successful and I intend to follow up on it…" seeing his two companions about to protest he spoke up again "alone" he said with finality "take Isaribi-san and work on her like I know you want to, I will meet you in one week's time in the land of wave."
Right before he was about to leave, he paused and looked over to Kimimaro before reaching into his cloak and pulling out an orange book "This is the latest edition of 'Icha Icha Paradise'" he commented as he threw the book and the white haired youth with a grin "I won't have time to read it, you may though, it will help, I assume, with your only company being Haku-chan."
Before either of the two could protest, a gust of wind blew and he was gone.
"He can be so troublesome sometimes…" Haku said with a sigh, deciding it would be best to make camp for the night before proceeding further. Kimimaro discreetly pocketed the book, promising to read the literature Naruto-sama had given him in private.
"What did he mean 'work on me'?" their captive finally asked, breaking her silence and sounding truly scared. Haku removed his mask and gave her a gentle smile, approaching the girl in a non-threatening way.
"I like to think I am very accomplished in the arts of medicine" Haku began in a warm voice, hoping to ease the girl's worries "I never like to see people like you suffer when it is unneeded, I intent to read into Amachi-san's research notes and while I very much doubt I will be able to remove your…unusual abilities entirely, I don't think it impossible to complete your transformation to be exactly like Amachi-san's so you won't stand out as much – that is, if you want me to."
The girl offered him a true smile and hugged him tightly, tears pouring from her eyes "Oh, thank you so much!" she sobbed into his chest as she held onto him with dear life.
Not used to such public displayed of affection, Kimimaro felt out of place and slightly awkward before trying to calm the girl himself "Haku-san is very good at what he does Isaribi-san, he himself cured my disease when, who I believed to be the greatest medic in all of Rice country, couldn't even come close to doing so."
It was a stretch of the truth, but she didn't need to know that. The sole remaining Kaguya felt a warm feeling spread through his chest when the girl looked to him with her watery eyes that were so full of hope and gratitude. He wasn't sure what to make of them so he simply walked away from the clearing, deciding to meditate on these thoughts.
"Did I do something wrong?" the girl asked, looking at Kimimaro's retreating form.
Haku gave her a reassuring smile and shook his head "Kimimaro-san, like both Naruto-san and I has also had a hard life, he is unsure how to act around people normally, but he is trying."
It had taken nearly all of his skill and cunning to arrive here undetected, having to dodge all manner of traps, alarms and guards in the process, but he had done it.
Before him was a fairly modest sized house whose sole occupant was completely unaware of his arrival. He had sent the toad summon that had so graciously lead him to this hidden location within the mountains of Water Country as soon as he arrived as to not alert his target in any way to his presence – he wasn't sure if the toad had seen him or not.
Sneaking past all traps and guards, the cloaked figure snuck into the house, making no noise as he moved and using the wind around him to make sure his movements were also cloaked to one whose senses have been attuned from years of being a shinobi.
He happened on a kitchen where his target was chopping some vegetables for a stir fry while humming a tune, her long red hair reaching down to her lower back while she was dressed in some worn clothes and an apron, the perfect
picture of a house wife. If he didn't know who she was, he would never pick out the fact that she was a powerful shinobi – one of the best – in her time.
Suddenly, the figure chopping the vegetables disappeared in a puff of smoke only for a cold metallic object to be held to his throat from behind.
"I'll admit you're good, to get so far without being detected, but you're not good enough to get past my senses" the voice of a woman spoke from behind him.
"Hn" was the silent assailant's only response as he too disappeared in a puff of smoke. The red haired woman, in her shock, spun around to look for her target behind her, it was a mistake she would not regret for long as she immediately locked eyes with what seemed to be the devil himself before darkness claimed her.
She awoke to the sound of silence, the statement seemed like an oxymoron but there was no other way to describe what she was hearing. Nothing, she heard nothing, and yet she could smell an array of different scents surrounding her, the main ones that seemed to assault her senses were five different fruits.
Peach, apricot, jujube, plum and chestnut; what a weird combination of fruit to smell…
It was then that she remembered what had happened, she had sensed someone sneaking up on her in her home and had in turn, snuck up on him, only for the perpetrator to switch with a clone and capture her with a Genjutsu. She must be held captive somewhere…but why wasn't she bound?
Suddenly, the first sound assault her senses since waking up did so…and it was the sound of a crunch. The first crunch was followed by another, then another and finally a fourth before the sound of swallowing was heard…someone was eating?
Looking up and rubbing her sore eyes, she was greeted with the sight of a figure seated on a large wingback chair with a straw hat covering the top half of his face and a dark grey cloak covering the bottom half that was open just enough for him to be eating… a stick of Pocky?
According to the box held in his left hand, it was the limited edition 'Five Flavour Pocky' series, this particular flavour being Goka, a combination of Peach, apricot, jujube, plum and chestnut. Well, that explained the smell…
Her gaze focused on her captor who began to slowly remove his hat revealing an angular face marred with blonde hair and slitted red eyes. If it weren't for the eyes and whisker like marks on his cheeks, she would have sworn her dead husband had come back to life, as it were though, she knew exactly who this was – Jiraiya had practically given her a play-by-play of all his known fights and a rough sketch of what he was supposed to look like.
This was…
"Good Afternoon…" he captor greeted in a deep and monotone voice "Kaasan…"
Author's Note:
I suddenly can't be fucked finishing this story, this is the end…
LOL
If you want me to continue, all my female readers have to send me nude pics…
LOL
I'll update when I get a few more KIP chapters done, next chapter will be last before time skip and what not, need to set them up for what they'll be doing for the next two years. Proper romance will begin between Naruto and Anko after the time skip, you heard her, she's no paedophile…
