Getting answers out of Tanzo was a lot easier than the captured duo... or at least that's what Naruto thought. Especially since Naruto only had to tie Tanzo down to a log and break out a paddle before he started singing like a songbird about Gato, Wave, the opression, his unhealthy fascination with feet, the shoe size of everyone in his family, and the names and addresses of every girl in the village that was on the market and their preferences. Fortunately Naruto was able to sort through all the excess to get to the immediately useful information.
Some of the rest he just filed away for future use, after all he was a hormonally normal boy. And while he was waiting for Kakashi to arrive from questioning the duo, he listened to Tanzo crying for mercy and screaming out any information he thought Naruto might find useful. He was half tempted to paddle the trader just to shut him up already.
Kakashi returned halfway through the telling of Tanzo's life story, tucking two black scrolls with the Konoha seals into a lacquered box. "Didn't expect to be using these today... I only brought a handful just in case something went mildly wrong..."
Pausing he seemed to finally notice that Tanzo was going on about something or other. "So... did he give you any particular reasons why some mercenaries are out to kill us? Or was he just useless?"
Naruto sighed as he pulled himself up from where he'd been resting against a tree. "Mostly useless... he did mention some conglomerate mogul named Gato locking down all of Wave's shiping, while he's building a bridge to the mainland..."
"That sounds like a illegal group moving into the area... I hope it's an illegal scroll group, those are easy... but it sounds more like a black market for slave trading..." Kakashi grumbled while settling down next to the fire, pinching a nerve on Tanzo's neck to shut him up in mid-word. "They move in, seal off the lines of trade, and then jack up prices on everything until they have to sell their children off to afford food and other essentials..."
"That's horrid..." Naruto growled, his eyes taking on a red hue as he thought of forcing families to sell off their children whether they wanted in the lifestyle or not, just so the others could survive. That wasn't right, that wasn't what this was about... that was... was...
"Just like in the dark ages... slaves stripped naked and paraded about for public auction right in front of the family. Worse still the illegals only give the family a marginal amount... probably enough to afford food for a week," Kakashi explained while pointing to a spot across the fire from him. "Sit down, calm down, and listen... we might have to fight other masters when we get to Wave, so I want to be sure you know what to do in a Master's Duel."
Naruto sighed and settled into the indicated spot, a quick scrub of his face and a search of his memories pulled up the information he'd read about after being kicked out of class for breathing too loudly. "Master's Duels... is a combat between two masters in which the wagered stakes are usually slaves chosen by the opposing masters prior to combat. Any and everything can go in such duels, but it is frowned upon to kill the opponent unless they've broken the code. In which case all properties they owned are given to the victor, usually after a small Justicar's fee when officially sanctioned..."
"Good, it seems you're familiar with the general rules... we're going to be fighting unsanctioned master's duels most likely. Which means it's not just our properties on the line, but ourselves as well. I'm going to count you as my sub-master for the rest of this mission... that means in duels you can not only aide me, but fight in my stead..." Kakashi explained with a heavy tone of voice, his eye looked distant and unfocused for a minute, before returning to sharp focus on Naruto. "Now... I only have a few minor slaves with me... and my dungeon's deed..."
"I... I have my apartment's deed and... myself..." Naruto answered after a moments pause, and Kakashi's subtle hand wave to find what Naruto owned. The look of pure shock on Kakashi's face would have had Gai proclaiming that Naruto would be his eternal rival from that moment forth... but thankfully we dodged that bullet.
"You're kidding right?" Kakashi asked dryly as he stirred the fire slowly, at Naruto's sheepish look, Kakashi debated trying to strangle Sarutobi, before remembering that this was supposed to be a no-combat mission. "Guess not... We'll try and keep you out of combat as much as possible."
The rest of the night was spent planning out the rest of the journey. Thankfully for the both of them, the next day was uneventful, and Naruto got to sleep first. After all, he only needed four hours, unlike Kakashi that wanted to get at least six. As expected he arrived in the dungeons where he'd always found Kitsune and Lady waiting for him. The rose petals on the approach were a nice touch, as were the wall sconces lighting the way.
What he found curious was the small fact that Lady was sitting back, watching a strange device he didn't remember leaving here when he left. You'd think he'd remember a padded table with two ankle shackles, chest straps, and entire arm binders. All of which were currently holding Kitsune down while she squirmed painfully around with a swollen stomach and a plug firmly between her cheeks. "Do I want to ask Lady?"
"Oh, she was being a little problematic... so I am correcting it for her... she has another ten minutes to go... Something on your mind Master?" Lady asked with a casual indication of Kitsune.
"Yeah... I did something strange today, and wondered if you knew anything about it..." Naruto started, before explaining the fight he'd gotten into shortly after his last departure. "Anything you can figure out about it?"
Naruto noticed that Lady was strangely silent, while shifting nervously in her seat. Kistune seemed to be snickering behind the ball gag that was currently silencing her. "I remember once meeting a family of Masters and Mistresses that could do something like that. They were from the country of Whirlpool, the clan Uzumaki... I suspected you might have been related to them, but I couldn't say until I was sure... I'm sorry."
"It's okay... I can just get trained from them I guess..." Naruto answered with a shrug. "I just wanted to know more about it..."
"See... that would be difficult as you are the last one alive..." Lady stated softly, while wrapping the boy into a hug. "I can try to help you train if you'd like, as I saw them in action."
Lady broke the hug and walked over to Kitsune, who was still snickering behind the gag, at least until Lady pressed down on the distended stomach firmly. Then her snickers turned into moans of pain as the added pressure reminded her of her current punishment. "And what made you think you could laugh like that?"
"Just make sure you don't do anything permanently damaging to her, okay? I've grown fond of Kitsune..." Naruto ordered while stroking the bound woman's cheek lightly, wiping up a slight trail of drool while he was at it. Petting her head lightly, he smiled at the glare she was shooting him. "She is rather cute... isn't she?"
"Oh yes... yes she is... especially under all this lovely latex..." Lady answered while pinching Kitsune's nipple through the latex suit. Changing her tactics she took and stroked the lovely curves of the lovely little foxy woman bound to the table. "I promise that I won't break her... but I will push her to her limits."
"Is... is there a way I can talk to you without having to fall asleep? I mean it's useful being able to learn from a skilled mistress such as yourself, but... sometimes I figure I'll need to ask you questions that I can't wait until bedtime for..." Naruto asked curiously as he caressed the poor girl's ass cheeks gently, flicking his fingers over the plug teasingly.
"We will see... I will do what I can to contact you while you're awake..." Lady answered after watching Naruto play with the still severely pained bound and gagged Kitsune for a few minutes.
"Speaking of which... it's time for me to wake up..." Naruto countered while he felt a subtle tug on his body, alerting him to the end of his sleep cycle.
"Until tomorrow Master..." Lady said as she took a firm hold on the plug and prepped to yank it out, right before Naruto vanished.