NARUTO

Nox Noctis Ingredior

Moving Out

The specifically formed Team 7, along with Zabuza and Haku looked on with sweat-dropped expressions at the pair of ninja sitting tied up in front of them. When Naruto had managed to catch up with his group after his apparent brush with the chakra apparitions of his father and mother, he was presented with a rather peculiar sight. Encompassing the specific tree they had passed by earlier in the week on their way to the Wave Country, the group, for the second time, encountered the two brothers, The Demon Brothers, who had attempted to ambush them.

However, there was a minor difference in the situation this time.

Having completely forgotten about them after tying them up to the tree and having been left there for the whole week, Naruto, Hinata, Shino and Kurenai were now looking at a pair of rather disgruntled and embarrassed Chunin.

Wearing only their underpants and masks, Gozu and Meizu stared up at the people surrounding them, looking quite nerve-rattled and agitated.

"Well… it's about damn time!" Gozu grumbled, glaring up at the group. "Have you come to finish us off or rescue us?"

"Master Zabuza is with them, so it could go either way," Meizu replied.

"What the hell happened to you two?" Zabuza asked, arms crossed and looking down at the two youngsters with a raised ridge-brow.

"Where should I start…hmm," Gozu began, before moving in a sarcastic tirade vividly describing the entire scenario over the course of the past week. "It all began when you sent us on that mission to assassinate the bridge builder known as Tazuna on his way back to his country, and after seeing him being escorted by a group of kids and a kunoichi, we figured quote, 'Hey… easy prey. This will be no sweat,' unquote. My brothers exact words."

"We then tried to ambush them, just to be safe…" Meizu said, before glaring across at his twin brother. "Unfortunately, my dimwitted sibling here didn't account for the weather conditions earlier this month…"

"As a result we got found out, and that yellow haired brat did a dance routine on my head till I was knocked out cold…" Gozu snarled, glaring at the Genin responsible.

Zabuza snorted, while Haku suppressed a laugh. Team 7 on the other hand, was chuckling and giggling in amusement, all accept for Shino, but still, finding the story very amusing.

"After that I was yanked out of hiding and clothes-lined, before we were both tied up and had our wallets stolen!" Meizu said. "That was a five-hundred ryu wallet! I want it back!"

"Oh… sorry about that," Naruto replied, reaching into his jacket and pulling out the two leather cash and I.D card holders, and tossing them to the ground at their feet, before pocketing his hands again. "Please… continue…"

"Anyway… by the time we regained consciousness, our target was gone, and so were our weapons. As a result we couldn't escape and over the course of the next week, were tormented by various kinds of passer-byres!" Gozu began audibly shouting, obviously pissed at this point.

"We got crapped on by birds, peed on by wild animals, eaten alive by mosquitoes and ants, and had our clothes stolen by a bunch of hoodlums!" Meizu complained, before trying to adjust his sitting position. "And I've got an itch that has been driving me nuts for four days now, and I can't f#king scratch it!"

At this, Zabuza and everybody else except Shino burst out laughing. Gozu and Meizu were fuming where they sat, feeling a draft, and also a few other skin inflammations that were annoying them.

"IT'S NOT FUNNY!" Gozu shouted. "We are starving and we smell like shit!"

"Okay… alright… sorry," Zabuza chuckled, letting out a sigh and wiping a few tears away from his eyes. Of course, he knew the Demon Brothers were good lackeys, and did jobs without fail until they met Team 7. He couldn't just leave them out here.

After regaining his composure, he went around and cut the ropes, and gave them some C-Rations he still had on him. Gozu and Meizu inhaled the food in seconds, before wheeling on the group responsible for their misfortune. However, after speaking with their master and learning of the situation, and finding out the job has been completed (so to speak), decided to head on their own way, and after getting back their weapons, and a couple of ponchos from Team 7's supplies, headed back to Zabuza's old hideout which they had now inherited.

Pleased at the results, Team 7 and their allies then continued on their way to Konohagakure. They were through the gates within the hour, despite some small hassles at the gates, and proceeded for the debriefing within the next half…

Hokage's Office…

"Hmm…"

Sarutobi sighed and rubbed his aching forehead and sore writing-hand. For the past week he had been metaphorically kicking himself in the shin to find himself a successor before he died sitting at his desk from all the paper-work he was doing. Seriously, Hiruzen Sarutobi: Loving Father, Caring Husband, Great Hokage, Workaholic (Death by Paperwork), did not look good on a tombstone.

Of course, it's the thought that counts. Instead of mellowing it over in his head, he looked back up at the tired Team 7 standing in front of him, including a happy-looking Haku, and a annoyed looking Zabuza standing behind them at sword-point, surrounded by the resident squad of on-duty ANBU Black Ops, his sword sitting in the corner.

"Okay…hmm…"

The Third Hokage furrowed his brow and looked from left to right at the group. He then passively and dramatically took his pipe out from his pocket, lit it and put it in his mouth. After several inhales and exhales of the delightful tobacco, he continued staring at Team 7, every so often emitting a murmur, and nodding his head.

He did this for the next twenty minutes.

After which he then took out his pipe and placed it next to him, before propping his head on his hands, and staring at the group. He then looked away and down the mission specs, and slowly licking his finger, turned the page.

"Uh-huh…"

"OH GOD! CAN WE JUST GO?" Naruto shouted.

"Mmm-hm…I see…"

"Honestly! This is pointless!" he yelled again.

Sarutobi let out a sigh and looked back up at them and shook his head. "Do I really need to ask what happened on the mission?"

"NO!" Kurenai, Naruto, Hinata and Shino shouted at the same time.

"Naruto… if you're going to be bringing in random, dangerous missing-nin into my office on a routine basis, then maybe I should just put a list of specific forms related to you on a roller. Would that be fine?" the Third asked.

"Honestly, it wouldn't bother me," Naruto replied, shrugging. "But I still think it's a little bit excessive…"

"Uh-huh…" Sarutobi then looked up at Zabuza standing under watch by the ANBU, hands up and shown. The old man then furrowed his brow and pointed in his direction. "Zabuza Momochi… right?"

"Yes…" the tall man replied, returning the look given to him with his stoic one.

"Missing-nin and Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist member, correct?"

"Yes…"

"Hmm…" Sarutobi leaned back in his chair and, twiddling his fingers in different ways, began thinking intensely. His gaze never left the group in front of him, and he remained in his seat for the next few minutes. Of course, the long waiting was getting even on the ANBU's nerves, and the group guarding Zabuza turned to stare at their great Kage, waiting for an answer.

"Mmm-hmm… interesting…" He then leaned forward in his chair and glared at the swordsman. "Let's try this again…you're Zabuza Momochi…"

"OH! COME ON!" Naruto shouted.

"You have got to be kidding, Hokage-sama!" Komachi shouted, lowering her blade and throwing her arms out, exasperated.

"Okay, okay… I'm joking…" the Third exclaimed, sitting up again. "I may be old, but I still love playing a little joke every once in a while…"

"Well… don't do that one again, sir," Kurenai stated.

"We thought you were stroking out there for a moment," Komachi continued.

"Ugh… can't have any fun around here," Sarutobi shook his head, before looking back up at Zabuza. "If you intend to join our village, then we're going to have to go through the standard foreign ninja protocol… again…" The Third then gave Naruto a dirty look, the boy putting his hands behind his back and whistling in response, rocking back and forth on his feet nonchalantly. "Don't worry… it's just a few hours of routine questioning and nothing more. We just need to fill in the blanks, as well as take measures to make sure your stay here is comfortable. Of course, you may find that this village isn't exactly like your own…"

"I've noticed that," Zabuza replied. "My village is dreary, wet and miserable, while yours is sunny, has outstanding architecture, and the ANBU here have mustard stains on their katanas…"

"Oh dammit… is it still there!" the masked ANBU standing behind the smirking swordsman muttered and looked down at his weapon. Using a piece of his clothing, he began trying to rub out the yellow stain at the end. "The maker said it was stainless steel! Stainless steel my ass!"

The Third Hokage felt like whamming his head on the surface of his desk again, but held himself back. Letting out a breath of air to compose himself the old leader of the village fixed his gaze on the ANBU again and quickly assigned them their orders. Simply speaking, he waved them out, and directed his words to Zabuza.

"The ANBU will take you down to Ibiki's Interrogation Center for questioning. If your intentions to join the village are true, then we will be able to fill in the necessary forms to have you join the Konoha Ninja Forces. I trust there are no complaints," Sarutobi asked.

"None whatsoever," Zabuza replied.

"Good…" With a hand wave, Zabuza was escorted out. During which, Haku went over to the wall and fetched the man's weapon, carrying it over to where Naruto and his friends were and propping it beside him, and leaned on its hilt. It was then, the village leader then glanced over at the boy and smiled. "So… I take it you are Zabuza's apprentice?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then I believe I should direct this next question to you," the Third continued. "Is your master's intentions true to his word, and to what the young man beside you is saying?" Hiruzen asked, while gesturing towards Naruto. The brown haired teen nodded his head affirmatively.

"I will bet my life on it."

"Excellent… so there will be no problems as far as that…" Sarutobi said with a nod, but then paused in mid-sentence, looking down at his desk in thought. "Even though he has no eyebrows, he reminds me of Kakashi…"

"What was that, sir?" Haku asked curiously, not really catching onto the words.

"Never mind," the old man sniffed and focused attention back on Team 7. "I will have the usual paper-work processed between us, so we can settle this situation as quickly as possible. But as far as I am concerned, the mission was a complete success."

"Yes sir!" the Team replied, all of them nodding their heads, including Kurenai.

"Then congratulations, Team 7 is dismissed…" Sarutobi replied with a wave of his hand. As the group was walking out, the old man then smiled at the blond haired boy. "Oh, and I will send the new lease over to you as soon as I get it registered…"

"Thanks old man!" Naruto replied with a wave, before departing with Shino, Hinata and Haku, all of them helped to drag the giant sword out the door. Kurenai departed with a salute, leaving Sarutobi to his devices. However, just as he was returning to the work on his desk, the old man could have sworn he saw an orange and black tarantula follow the troop out the door, which made him do a sort of double take. Believing it to be just a trick of the light, he then proceeded on with business as usual.

The Third looked back down at his desk and flipped the mission specs over to the next form underneath, where he found the page Naruto had left in the file detailing his need for a bigger residence. The old Hokage chuckled and wheeled around in his seat, looking out the window.

"He will need a new building for his new family… since it's getting quite a bit crowded," the Third mused. "Let's hope he finds his old apartment still in one piece when he gets there…"

Outside Naruto's Apartment…

"NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO!" Naruto shouted as he sprinted up the front stairs to his apartment block, easily breaking the 1500 meter sprint record when he caught a whiff of something familiar burning coming from this direction. Hinata was in absolute shock at the speed in which she watched her teammate run in. Shino was just as passive as always, and Haku was just confused.

As soon as Naruto burst in through the front door to his apartment, he received a face-full of smoke filling his lounge room. Huffing, he leapt for the kitchen, and when he swung in round the bend, he saw Ryoko standing over a completely destroyed stove, its gas line busted open and spewing fire, and the front completely blown to bits. The red-haired woman, in her first and failed attempt at cooking, had a pot on her head, and was wearing a white, over-sized t-shirt top over a pair of pale pink panties, and a maroon apron up front.

Little Haru was sitting at the table at the time of the blast, reading a book, but was now looking up at a scorched and shocked looking Ryoko, whose front side was completely blackened with ash, and holding onto a handle, which was the only remains of Naruto's treasured frying pan. Her surprise was indicated by the white of her eyes against the soot on her face.

"Something tells me that was the wrong ingredient," Ryoko said to herself, reaching up with a cloth and wiping her face down.

Blinking, the young woman turned around, and saw Naruto standing at the entrance to the kitchen, slack-jawed. Little Haru, watching her averted gaze, turned in the direction the swordswoman was looking in, and saw Naruto. Face lighting up, the Rinnegan girl leapt from the table and ran up to the unresponsive Naruto, and enveloped the boy in a big hug.

"Naruto-nii-san! Welcome back!"

"Y-Yeah… Little Haru …" Naruto murmured, subconsciously rubbing the top of the girl's hair.

Ryoko grinned sheepishly at the boy and waved. "Oh… hi roomie…"

"OOOOOOooohhh! What the hell, Ryoko!" Naruto groaned, hobbling into the kitchen with Haru clasped around his leg now, and stopping in front of the smoldering stove. Snatching what was left of the frying pan out of her hand; he looked down at the handle and sulked. "This was a present from Rin-chan she gave me on my 4th Birthday… said I would need it one day. Now look at it, the Greasy Flat Head is now a Greasy Nothing!"

"S-Sorry about that," Ryoko replied, pressing her fingers together and looking down in shame. "I…I didn't know… I was just… trying to cook up something…"

"(Sigh)… that's okay, Ryoko…" Naruto replied, tossing the handle away and placing his hands on his hips, while inspecting the damage. "They were old; I was planning on replacing them…" He then noticed a cook book sitting on the kitchen desk beside him in an area that wasn't scorched, and picked it up; curious as to what the swordswoman was making that would cause the stove to cave in the way it did. He raised an eyebrow at the section she had it opened to. "Chapter 1 of Jiraiya's Erotic Cook Book: A Beginners Guide to Cooking a Romantic Dinner…"

"THAT'S NOT MINE!" Ryoko shouted, snatching the book out of his hand and, opening the window, threw it out. After which, she turned away and began humming nonchalantly, rocking back and forth on her feet, and blushing heavily. "I was… trying to cook uhh… dinner for tonight…"

"And I was supervising!" Haru exclaimed, still clinging onto the boy's leg and smiling up at him. Naruto looked down at the girl and grinned, picking her up and, with incredible strength even for a Genin of his caliber, propped her on his shoulder. When he did, he ruffled her hair playfully again, earning a giggle from the Rinnegan girl.

"Well… at least you did a great job," Naruto stated, before glancing up at Ryoko again. "Don't worry about the stove, but I am still a bit upset about the frying pan… meaning I have to go shopping again later in the day…"

Ryoko looked at her feet in shame, but the blond walked over to her and thumped her in the arm.

"Aww, come on! Don't be like that! You're one of the toughest ninja I know! A little accident isn't should be such a big deal for you…" Naruto said, giving the older woman a bit more encouragement.

"It's not that… it's just…" Ryoko rubbed her arm and looked away, not only ashamed now, but also more embarrassed then ever. This was the first time the blond had seen the tough-as-nails swordswoman so down under the dumps, and she seemed very vulnerable at the moment. "I…well…I spent so much time as a ninja… as a tool used by my village leader… after all these years…I never learned how to cook a descent meal…" She blushed harshly and closed her eyes, upset. "I never learned… how to cook… or to act… womanly… not at all…"

"Hey… it's alright," Naruto said, stepping up to the girl and wrapped an arm around her in comfort. In spite of being half her size, the boy tried to maintain sincerity and as a person whom could listen to her plight. "Just because you're not like other women, doesn't make you any different. Take my sensei Anko for example; her place is a dump, she rarely dresses up, eats out most of the time, and is the biggest tomb boy I know. But even still, she does have her moments where her softer side makes an appearance…"

Ryoko wiped her eyes and looked down at the boy, blinking. "R-Really?"

"Sure. But don't tell her I said that," Naruto began whispering; now looking about looking a little bit scared. "She has a reputation to keep, and I'm not sure I'm in the mood of getting on her bad side."

Warmed up by his words, Ryoko smiled at the boy, and sniffed away the rest of her uncertainty and negative emotions. "W-Will do, gaki…"

"That's the spirit!" Naruto said, nudging her. Setting Haru down, he then walked over to the dining table and sat his butt in the nearest chair. It was at that moment, Hinata, Haku and Shino also entered the kitchen, with Hinata depositing herself in the nearest chair, and Haku excusing himself to use the restroom. Before he left, he waved to Ryoko on his way out of the room, earning a grin from the woman. Shino on the other hand just waited patiently by the dining room entrance, and watched the quiet commotion unfold before him. "Now while you're still in the kitchen, make me a sandwich. Let's start from the basics…"

"Okay…" The woman replied, rubbing her hands together and swooping over to the fridge. When she opened it, she began scanning what was left on the shelves. "Hmm… let's see, all we've got left is a half eaten packet of Kettles, a can of beans, two jars of pickles, half a roll, and a wrapped pie… which looks to be… apple! Yup…definitely apple! Oh… and an assortment of sauces."

"I have a packet of Kettle chips?" Naruto asked, looking over at the woman who pulled herself out of the fridge and shrugged in his direction. "Since when? And why is it in my fridge?"

"Dunno…"

A rapping at the kitchen window caught the group's attention, and Naruto, Ryoko and Haru looked in its direction to see Kakashi perched on the frame, giving them a wave. It was quite a surprise, especially since he was carrying something very familiar in his hands.

"Hi all…" He then held up the article in question. It was the cook book. "I believe you dropped this, miss…"

Later that day…

At the park…

It was around four in the afternoon, and after an hour or so of cleaning up his kitchen and depositing his bags back into his room, the blond and the residents decided to cool off for the rest of the day and spend some time around the park.

Naruto took Haru out to have some fun, and allowed her to go play around with the other kids on the playground, while he sat back on the bench and looked out for her. Ryoko, Haku, Hinata and Shino also joined him, with Hinata sitting beside him, leaning against his shoulder, Shino standing next to them, and Ryoko trying to order some ice-cream and buy a newspaper from the mini-kiosk on the side of the footpath near the entrance to the park.

Unfortunately or to her good fortune, she got distracted by a small collection of porno magazines next to the Sports section, and was reading through one precariously.

"Hmm… 10% off on Jiraiya's Complete Collection, plus a great deal on The Tale of a Gutsy Ninja… huh," she shrugged her shoulders, before turning over a page. The swordswoman kept the title of the magazine out of sight, which actually red Lesbian Weekly."If I can get my hands on the next Erotic Cook Book, I'll be happy…OH HELLO!"

The owner was looking at her oddly over the newspaper he was reading, but decided to pay the eye-patch wearing woman no mind.

As Naruto watched Haru play around with the kids and having a good time, Hinata nudged the boy and smiled at him.

"How do you think Zabuza-san will do in the Interrogation?"

"I'm sure he'll be fine…" Naruto replied. "Like all great ninja, they have a way of botching up a good questioning. Yamato just stares at you endlessly, Shikamaru's dad falls asleep, and anything they ask Zabuza goes through one ear and out the other. Besides, it's just a bunch of random questions, nothing to get so hyped up on."

While Naruto and Hinata were speaking with each other, Haku came along and gave them all ice-cream, even Shino. He then started speaking with the bug user, whom had decided to hang around since he didn't have anything better to do. Well, he really did begin to regret ever coming with them when Little Haru, secretly rounding up a bunch of kids, unexpectedly tackled Shino to the ground in a fit of laughter.

A flash from a camera drew Naruto and Hinata's attention around, where they saw Anko walking up with a grin on her face, and Sakura trotting not too far behind her.

"Jack Pot!" Anko exclaimed, taking the photo she just took of the pile-up on the usually stoic Shino, who was now squirming around underneath the kids, and pocketing it. "I'm saving this one for later…"

"Sensei!" Hinata exclaimed, waving at the purple haired woman heading their way. Sakura whooshed past Haku and the still incapacitated Shino, and glomped Naruto in a tight hug.

"Naruto-kun!" she exclaimed.

"Hey…Sakura-chan!" Naruto replied, returning the hug by picking her up and spinning, earning a laugh from the girl before putting her back down. "I missed you…"

"Same here!" the pink-haired girl replied, detaching herself from her teammate.

"How was your mission?' Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow at the girl. "Did you finish it successfully?"

"Yeah… but it was kind of boring," Sakura replied, relinquishing the boy's shoulders. "Those mercenaries did not cooperate whatsoever, so we had to bring them down. I got a few good hits in, even beat a couple of them one on two! How did your mission go?"

"Oh…so-so…" Naruto exclaimed, before gesturing over to Haku. "I picked up some old friends on the journey; two of them. That's Haku… and uhh… the other guy is at Ibiki's Place. You know, standard protocol and all."

"R-Really?" Sakura asked, looking over at the rather feminine looking teenager and blinking. She then looked back at Naruto and nodded in the stranger's direction. "Are they… crashing over at our apartment?"

"Well… yeah," Naruto exclaimed, shrugging. "But it won't be our apartment for long; I've got us a new place… one that is much more spacious! We'll be moving in later tonight, once old-man Hokage gives me the new lease."

"That's great!" Sakura exclaimed, throwing her fist up. "Hoosha! I hope I get a room of my own! This is going to be so awesome! I've never moved houses like this before!"

Naruto grinned and chuckled to himself, before looking back over at Shino to find him lying helplessly underneath a pair of kids, with Haru planting a mini flag on his back with a suction cup, declaring him Haru's Mountain, or so it read on the flag.

"Well… it's more then spacious… I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when we get there…"

Later that afternoon…

As the sun was beginning to set over the horizon, the Third Hokage personally lead Naruto, Sakura, Hinata, Haru, Ryoko, Haku and Anko to where the Uzumaki's new apartment was. He had collected the group from the small apartment, and telling them not to bother with the packing until tomorrow, took it upon himself to escort them to their new place of residence. Although Anko commented that she would be crashing over at the new place every once in a while, didn't really want to make any crack pot jokes about it.

The group was lead round the village and up a hill path behind the Hokage Monument Mountain. It was on the blind side of the cliff-sides, but not in complete isolation from the village or out of sight of it, the Third stopped off at what appeared to be the entrance to a mansion. Well, that was the group's first impression of it.

When Sakura and the others first looked at it, they received quite a surprise, noticing the inscriptions, Uzumaki carved in the surface of the plaque board hung up above the entrance to the large home. Naruto grinned as he admired the three story structure, the classic archways, open windows, yellow framing and green tiling, not to mention the variety of statues built into every corner and apex. The main building was quite spectacular, and the other buildings that branched out of it made the structure look more like an estate. With half of it going into the side of the mountain, this left a large backyard circulated by a walkway, a large pond in its center, and bamboo and cherry blossom growths planted here and there. Although he couldn't see the rest of the building, Naruto assumed it had to be significantly bigger. He also marveled at the perimeter fences surrounding the estate, which was covered in sealing tags to prevent infiltration of any kind.

"I personally customized the security on the household," the Third exclaimed proudly, smiling down at the young blond. "Not to mention your parents placed a number of defensive seals on it themselves, just in case. Their fuinjutsu is much more advanced then mine though, which should make you feel more comfortable."

"Don't sweat it, old man… thanks a bunch," Naruto said, placing his hands on his hips. "I guess it's been a while…"

"It has…" Sarutobi said, looking back up at the building. "This was your parents' home away from home. The Kyuubi destroyed their old house, but they still had this one, built not too far away from the shack where your father kept you and your mother safe when he went to stop the Nine Tails."

"It's the thought that counts," Naruto replied, before looking up at the smiling Hokage. "You even changed the family name…"

"For your protection, your father's name was replaced with your mother's… so no one will be able to find out about their son," Sarutobi stated. "I hope that's okay with you."

"It's perfect." The blond then turned to look at his family of friends. "So… what do you guys think?"

"This is a palace!" Ryoko gawked.

"How can your parents afford a place like this, Naruto?" Sakura asked, looking down at the blond. The young Genin in question rubbed the back of his head and grinned in response.

"It's uhh… I can explain later when we're not outside where everybody else can hear us," Naruto said, before looking over at Hinata.

"I-It's incredible," Hinata murmured, smiling down at the boy. "You are really lucky, Naruto-kun. I never knew your p-parents were so rich…"

"They weren't exactly wealthy," Naruto pointed, shrugging off that little note. "It was a reward given to them for all their hard work… not to mention my mom spent all her life savings and inheritance from her old village to make this. She had big plans for our clan… but I don't think it ever came to fruition."

"Well… it is still very beautiful," Hinata smiled.

"Thanks a lot…"

"How many rooms are there exactly?" Haku asked, blinking as he looked the buildings over.

"Over fifty, from when I last counted," the Hokage said, before pointing towards the entrance they had just walked through. "We can look at them later. But first, there is one little note I think you should all be aware of. The barrier around these grounds is rare, specialized security, and can only be used on small scale in isolated places like this. Unlike Konohagakure, which has a security-alert barrier encompassing the entire village, including the sky, this estate uses an electric field barrier, almost like a prison cell, only it flows through not only the fences, but the air above it, meaning it forms a defensive, dome shield. The original owners put great effort into constructing it, and will only let those with a key through."

"Meaning only I and the Hokage have the key to this place, for now," Naruto pointed out, holding up his hand and pumping chakra into it. He showed the group a series of sealing patterns stretching over the back of his hand and the front. "However, it will recognize those who have accompanied me through it."

"Wow. That sounds quite elaborate," Haku exclaimed.

"It's an intelligent barrier, which came right out of Uzushiogakure," Sarutobi added. "We rarely use it though. It's quite complicated."

"Well, it's fine with me?" Anko exclaimed, grinning and placing her hands on her hips. "Good security, big place, spacious… it's got almost everything. Tell me though, Naruto … does this place have a hot spring?"

"Yup, around the back," Naruto said, thumbing over his shoulder in a notable gesture. "One of the other reasons my parents chose this spot, since it sits right over a hot spot."

Ryoko vanished in a cloud of smoke, like they do in many animated cartoons, leaving a dust outline of her standing in her place for several seconds before vanishing. The group watched as she ran up the front steps, and attempted to break into the door, but couldn't get in, even though she hacked at it with her sword. Naruto shook his head and followed after, with the rest of the group proceeding in his wake.

Things were looking up for everyone at this point…

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note:

Character's killed/defeated by Naruto Uzumaki (Nightwalker) so far, method of death and instance: Danzo (Death by kunai gauntlet, Caught off Guard), Homura (Death by Shuriken, Caught off Guard), Koharu (Death by Shuriken, Caught off Guard), Mizuki (Death by Decapitation, Caught with his back turned), Kajika (from the Naruto OVA: The Cross Roads) (Death by possession and self-destruct, Defeated by Naruto, before being possessed), and for all the others, see the Bingo Book chapter during the Land of Waves arc.

And for those who need a refresh, yes this is a harem (light romance first). So far we have: Sakura, Hinata, Ino (still developing), Katsumi (from the Naruto Game) Ryoko... and a few others still under construction, meaning there are more to come.

Hope you've enjoyed the story so far and thanks for reading. Update will be coming ASAP.