"Well that last job sure paid fucking great for doing fuck all," Tayuya said as she sat at a table in the inn they were staying at, while counting the money from their last mission.
"Yeah… and the best part is that I didn't even have to kill anyone," the blond replied as he sat opposite her eating a small bowl of ramen at a sedate pace… after all, it just couldn't compare to Ichiraku's.
"Yeah, well as I recall you've already fuckin grown desensitized to the fuckin bloodshed you can cause," the redhead said with a small smirk.
"Yeah, yeah, that doesn't mean I like it though."
"Tch, as long as you don't fuckin hesitate to kill any shitheads that get in our fuckin way, then I don't give a fuck if you don't like it," she claimed as she finished counting the wads of cash and splitting them into a pair of even piles, before giving one to her partner, who immediately placed it in his toad wallet, "not that I'm complaining, but why the fuck don't you ever fuckin count your share?"
"Huh? Oh I do count it… I've always had to manage my own money so I've gotten to the point where I can figure out exactly how much I've got just by looking."
XXX
"So the jinchūriki is still alive, Danzō-sama will be relieved," a masked man said as he and the other three members of his team observed the duo sitting near a window, from a rooftop across the street.
Continuing to watch the duo, reading their lips like they had been taught, they noticed the redhead palm her face and shake her head before their target stood up and his lips moved in a very clear message, 'fuck you, I'm going to get some fresh air'.
"The targets leaving the inn, let's go," the leader stated, resulting in the group heading to the door, seeing the young blond exit the establishment before following him.
Eventually the blond left the bustling town and made his way into the forest surrounding the small town they were resting.
"The target is isolated, commencing ab" the leader stated, unable to finish before suddenly bursting into a torrent of blood as both him and everything around him was diced in an instant.
"You ROOT assholes just screwed with the wrong mercenary," Naruto stated as he looked straight at the remaining three, with eyes as cold as glaciers.
With a simple flick of his wrists, his razor sharp strings proceeded to jerk and flow, once again slicing everything in their path as they proceeded to surround the dodging ANBU, before caging them in and with a simple retraction, eliminate Danzō's puppets.
"That was pathetic, I was expecting more from ANBU," Naruto said coldly as he left the newly created clearing and headed back to the inn.
XXX
"So, who were the motherfuckers spying on us?" Tayuya asked as the blond returned to their table.
"ROOT, they've finally caught up with me," Naruto said quietly as he waited for the genjutsu mistress to finish her dessert.
"(sigh) did you kill those fuckers?"
"Yeah. If they've caught up to me now, then it's safe to assume that it's no longer safer to go to places I haven't before… so I want to go to Nami, I want to see some people there again."
"Alright then, we'll set off tomorrow," the redhead replied, causing the blond to let out a small chuckle, "what's so fuckin funny?"
"Sorry, it's just that that was the first time I've ever heard you say a sentence without swearing."
"Look here shithead, I can speak without fuckin swearing! Do you fuckin understand!" the foul mouthed redhead nearly shouted.
"Then stop swearing all the time."
"Why the fuck should I stop fuckin swearing?"
"To prove you can talk without it," Naruto stated, earning a glare off the redhead, "and if you prove you can talk without swearing for two months, I'll let you have a seventy five percent cut on the missions."
"(sigh) fine then, I'll stop fu- I'll stop swearing all the fu- all the time," she said, almost slipping up twice in just one sentence.
"This is going to be fun," the blond thought, waiting for her to make a full slip up to torment her about.
XXX
Sakura was exhausted. She had just finished her most gruelling training session with the Hokage and was simply trying to remain standing courtesy of her fatigue.
She knew why her training session was so harsh this time, Tsunade had once again attempted to appeal the daimyo's decision to banish Naruto from Hi no Kuni without success. And then there was the fact that Jiraiya's loyalty lay with Konoha and without his spy network, the village would fall apart, something he wasn't prepared to see happen.
Sakura herself understood that Jiraiya's network was vital to the smooth running of Konoha, however she didn't understand why he would just abandon Naruto after going so far as to teach him the Rasengan and Kuchiyose.
Letting her thoughts drift to her banished teammate, she couldn't help but let tears fall from her emerald eyes, remembering how she had begged him to bring Sasuke back but had done nothing to help, all because she was too weak.
Just like she was now. She might have gotten stronger, but she was still too weak in her mind.
So once again, she went to her bed and simply cried herself to sleep.
XXX
"What do you mean there is a new mercenary on the rise?" Tsunade asked her old teammate as he stood before her with a serious expression on his face.
"(sigh) they call this guy the 'shi no tenshi', apparently he has wiped out entire bandit camps without even touching a single victim… they say he simply dances and his enemies die," the old man told the drunkard of a Hokage.
"Crap… not only do we have Akatsuki taking missions to raise funds for whatever they're after, but now a new guy as well. Have you heard anything about Naruto?" the busty blond asked almost desperately.
"(sigh) I'm sorry Tsunade, I'm keeping my ears open, but I've not heard anything since he left, to be perfectly honest, I think Danzō could already have him," the white haired pervert told her with his head held low.
"Don't… you… dare say that!"
"I'm sorry Tsunade, but you have to admit that it is a distinct possibility."
"I refuse to believe that!"
"(sigh) You're going to have to face the reality sooner or later Tsunade… even if Danzō doesn't have Naruto, it's a harsh world and I don't think the gaki can survive on his own, especially with the skills he had when he left… if Danzō doesn't have him then the chances are that he is already dead," Jiraiya stated as he turned his back on the furious Kage and left her office.
XXX
Naruto was beginning to think his bet was a bad one. It had been two weeks and Tayuya hadn't sworn, the only consolation was that he still had six weeks for her to slip up and save his cut.
Then again, now that he thought about it, he didn't really need her anymore. Nearly every mission they had taken since the first massacre had been completed by Naruto without any assistance.
Realising that, Naruto began to question why he still travelled with the redhead. She did nothing but shout at him, count the money and swear… nothing that was actually helpful. Sure she was more aware than him, but that was something he was already working on with Kage bunshin playing hide and seek on a regular basis, simultaneously improving his awareness and stealth skills.
Realising this, he decided what he would do if he lost the bet.
XXX
"The fuck?" Tayuya said as soon as they arrived to the bridge that connected Nami with the mainland.
"Eh hem," came the response from the smirking blond.
"Fuck."
"Looks like I won the bet," Naruto said happily as he looked at the redhead.
"Fuck you Blondie. That isn't fair!" she shouted pointing towards the plaque that told everyone the name of the bridge.
"The name of the bridge caused you to swear?" Naruto asked, before looking at the plaque himself, "the great Naruto bridge… damn, I never thought they'd name it after me."
"You mean to tell me you didn't even know that there was a bridge named after you?"
"Yep. This is the first I've ever heard of this."
"(sigh) don't you have someone you want to see?"
"Yeah, let's go," Naruto said, finally over the idea that they had named the bridge after him, 'and I guess Tayuya hasn't realised that she's stopped swearing after three weeks of constantly having to catch herself before saying anything."
XXX
Tazuna might have been getting too old to be doing all the work he was, but he was happy. Despite having to work thirteen hour days in an attempt to get Nami back on track, he could see the country recovering from Gato's rule before his eyes.
Where once the streets were filthy and filled with homeless children and sick elders, they were now clean and the homeless now had their homes back. The stores that were once deprived of even the most basic of supplies were now stocked with meat and produce from all around the world.
The buildings that had been neglected due to the construction of the bridge were still being repaired but the number had decreased to less than ten in the entire country.
However what was most important, was Nami's finance. Now capable of selling its products without the ridiculous export charges that had been in place before allowed the country's balance to grow exponentially as they made the most of what they had.
Sitting in a chair in his family's home turned inn, Tazuna let out a contented sigh as he proceeded to down a few glasses of Sake after a long day of work.
"Father, you can't keep working like this, let the younger men do more," Tsunami said as she brought him a large meal.
"I do let the youngsters do a lot, but there's just so much that needs done that I can't just sit back and let them do it all alone… besides, what would Kaiza think if he saw me just sitting back and doing nothing to help the country I love?"
"You don't have to do nothing, just don't do so much, you're not a young man anymore, you can't keep pushing yourself," the dark haired woman scolded.
Before the conversation could continue, they were interrupted by the sound of their newly installed front door bell, indicating that someone had either entered or left.
"Wow… to think this place has become an Inn since I was last here, things sure have changed," a familiar voice sounded from the entrance, causing Inari to suddenly perk up, "Hey! Tazuna, Tsunami, Inari? Are any of you here?"
"In here!" Inari shouted excitedly.
Soon the door opened revealing a certain whiskered face they hadn't seen in a long time.
"Naruto, it's good to see you again," Tsunami said before giving the young blond a friendly hug.
"Nii-san!" the youngest shouted before latching onto the blonds legs, while Tazuna simply placed a hand on his head.
"Although it's good to see you again, what are you doing here?" the oldest in the room asked.
"Long story short, a bad guy tricked the daimyo into banishing me from Hi no Kuni so he could try and kidnap me. Right now I'm living as a mercenary with her," Naruto said pointing towards Tayuya, "following me."
"The Fuck you- ouch!" the redhead started to say before finding herself face first in the ground courtesy of an angry mother with a frying pan.
"Do not swear in front of my son! Inari, if I ever find you copying anything she says, you will wish Gato was still around!"
"I bet your glad I made you practice not swearing now huh?" the blond whispered to low for anyone but Tayuya to hear.
"For once, I'll agree with you."
"So Naruto, do you need a place to stay? If you do then you're always welcome here," the older woman told him with a kind smile.
"Thanks Tsunami, and if you ever need help just tell me and I'll do everything I can!"
"You've already done enough for us Naruto, even if we wanted to we couldn't ask you to do anymore."
"Even if you paid me?" Naruto asked, earning a contemplative look off the adults in the room, "what? I'm a mercenary, I usually get paid to do jobs, if you don't want me to help you as a friend then you can always hire me as a merc."
"I think we could accept that perspective," Tazuna said after contemplating what the blond had said.
"How long are you going to stay Nii-san?" Inari asked the older child.
"However long I feel like Inari," he responded ruffling the child's hair.
XXX
Two weeks later on the outskirts of Nami, we find a pair of men standing at the site of Momochi Zabuza's grave.
"Heh… to think the little devil would die in a shithole like this," the taller of the two said humorously.
"Are you going to take the sword?"
"Nah, it's just a piece of shit that would get in my way."
"Very well then, Zetsu confirmed that the Kyūbi jinchūriki is here, let's go Kisame."
"Sure thing Itachi."