Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Last Airbender.

Bodyguard of Azula

Chapter 55: Getting there and Setting up

"Talking"

"Thinking"

"Bijū/spirit talking"

"Bijū/spirit thinking"

(Location: Konoha & Kiri teams)

They walked quietly and quickly through the forest. "How far away are we, Jiraiya?" Azula asked. It had been two days since they met up with the team from Kiri and they were making good time. But the fact that they had no idea when the Underground Auction would occur kept making them want to go faster.

"We should be just on the outskirts of the city," he answered as he looked at the map. "If I'm reading this thing right, we should be coming up on the edge of the forest."

"You know if you wanted someone to really make sure of where we are, you could've given the map to Sokka," Naruto pointed out. The Tribesmen was the designated map guy after all.

"I can read a map, Naruto," he retorted as he put the map away.

"Hey, I'm just saying."

"I think I can see the edge of the forest," June said from the front, atop Nyla. As everyone followed to where her finger was pointing at, they could see a break in the trees. They quickly made their way over to the break too see if it was the clearing.

They got their answer when they saw the city of Masu down below them. It looked like the ideal coast city. They could see the beach stretching down the edge of the city while the buildings were big and tall. The ocean was a beautiful turquoise blue and birds flew overhead. Suigetsu whistled with appreciation as he took it all in. "Now that's a pretty sight!" he declared. "Is anyone else besides me up for hitting the beach?"

"We are here on business, you dumbass!" Karin yelled at him. "Not for pleasure!"

"Karin, I don't think he cares," Jūgo told his teammate. The look on Suigetsu's face said it all. If he could, he probably would've made love to that beach. (The mental image of that particular idea was not something that worth saying out loud. It made even Jūgo shudder.)

"Can you blame him, Jūgo?" Sokka asked as he stared at the ocean. "Just look at all that water! It's practically calling me to it." He had a very strong urge to swim in it, but that might just be his heritage working on him. One couldn't be a part of the Water Tribes if they didn't know how to swim.

"We can possibly do something about that," Anko said as she too stared at the ocean. "I mean, not everyone needs to go and meet Jiraiya's informant."

"We still need some of us to go with him, to make sure we get all the information," Raimu said. Even though he didn't say it, they all knew he meant someone from the Kiri team.

"Look, let's get into the city and find a hotel to stay put in," Azula said. "Then we can worry about who is doing what with who." No one could find anything wrong with that idea. They quickly made their way down the hill they were standing on and walked into the city. It was even more beautiful up close then from a distance. The marketplaces were full of people and the streets seemed to be full. The air smelled incredibly clean and faintly of the sea.

"It's almost hard to imagine this place would host something like the Underground Auction," Suki commented as they walked through the streets. It was quite a spacious street, with a lot of room for people to walk.

"You'd be surprised, actually," June told her. A few of the people had given her an odd look, mostly because of Nyla. "But what I would like to know is why the shinobi haven't taken care of the organized crime here." She gave Jiraiya a pointed look.

"That's mostly because if we did get rid of organized crime, we'd lose a majority of the missions given to us," he answered her question. "Organized crime in the Elemental Countries is currently the reason why shinobi are still around. They're a necessary evil."

"That's a poor excuse," Azula argued.

"It might be, but we will use that excuse in order to keep our village alive and our stomach full."

"The same goes for Kiri," Chōjūrō told her with a firm tone. "We'll take any mission that keeps us paid and not starving." Both June and Azula could tell that neither of them was going to back down from what they said. They had spent enough time with Jiraiya and Naruto to know that shinobi meant what they said.

"Hm, I wonder what I could get from the marketplace," Sokka mused as he walked through the crowds. Akela stayed by his side and most people assumed he was just a large dog. Both wolf and human were eyeing the fishes being passed around in the market. They were trying desperately not to drool when they saw the bigger fishes being sold and carried away.

"Food later, Sokka, mission first," Suki reminded him. She knew if you tried to deny Sokka food, he would only keep coming back to it (that one day at Ember Island made her learn that lesson well enough).

"I know. I just can't help it," he practically groaned. "It just looks so tasty!" Akela barked in agreement. The meat around here was just begging to be eaten.

"Food later, Sokka."

"Alright, alright," he said, forcing himself to look away. Akela followed suit with a small whine.

"Is he always like that?" Jūgo asked Naruto in a whisper.

"If we blindfolded Sokka and waved a piece of cooked meat underneath his nose, he would be able to tell us what kind of meat it is, how it was cooked, how long it was over the fire, how fresh it was, if spices were used and if so, what kind and how, and the best way to eat it," he answered with a straight face.

"You're kidding."

"No, I am not. If there was a deity of meat, Sokka would be his first disciple." He could still remember that one night in Ba Sing Se. The guys decided to have an eating contest, just for the hell of it. By the time they had gotten to the second serving, Zuko, Naruto, and Jiraiya could only watch in stunned fascination as Sokka ate everything that was put in front of him. He would eat the vegetables, but his main focus was on the meat. They were fairly certain that if he could, he would've taken the plate and shove everything down his throat (they were thanking both Kami and Agni that Sokka knew table manners).

"Nyla, no," June reprimanded her shirshu, who started sniffing with interest at the market. "You can eat later." Nyla gave a small hiss of frustration, but that was all. He knew very well that when she said no, she meant it. He learned that lesson the hard way.

"There's a place we can stay at," Jiraiya pointed to over to one of the larger buildings that was just done the street and looked to be just by the beach. "It's a hotel, so we won't look suspicious."

"Um…looks expensive," Chōjūrō noted. The others could see where he was coming from. The front of the hotel had doors that were complete glass and was about twice their size. The carpet that led to the doors was of high quality and wasn't cheap.

"Not gonna be a problem," he declared before walking down the street and towards the hotel, the others close behind him (June stopped briefly outside to get off of Nyla and ordered him to stay). He walked through the doors with no hesitation and went straight the reception counter.

"Hello sir, welcome to the Coastal Hotel. How may I help you?" the receptionist asked with a bright smile, which briefly reminded those who had been in Ba Sing Se while Long Feng was in power of Joo Dee. The only difference was that the receptionist's smile was a lot less creepy.

"Yes, I would like three of your penthouse suites," Jiraiya told her. The smile fell from her face and was replaced with an uncertain look. No one had ever ordered three penthouse suites before because anyone who came in for a room before couldn't afford it.

"Three penthouse suites?" repeated Karin under her breath. "I thought we were going to stay inconspicuous."

"We're just a couple of people getting rooms," Jūgo replied. "What's wrong with that?"

"It's three penthouse suites!" she hissed at him.

"Would the two of you keep it down?" Suigetsu told them. "You're going to scare the nearby kids." Both Jūgo and Karin glanced over to the side and saw that there were a couple of little kids standing off to the side who were watching them with nervous fascination.

"I think they're just scared because they saw your face," Karin retorted.

"The three of you knock it off before I whack you all upside the head," Naruto ordered, not bothering to turn around to look at them. They heeded his order, mostly because they knew he could (and would) do it.

"Thr-three penthouse suites, sir?" repeated the receptionist. "Are you sure that is what you want?"

"Yes, it is," Jiraiya answered. Ever since he had walked into the hotel, his stance had changed from that of an easygoing and carefree person (which described him quite well on most days) to that of a man who radiated confidence, power, and demanded respect without saying a word.

"How long will you be staying sir?" she asked, trying to remain professional. She was new to this job and she instantly knew that this was the kind of man who would get her fired if she got anything wrong.

"Indefinite, for now."

"Do you have a means of identification on your body, sir?"

His gaze hardened as he looked straight at her. "What do you mean by that?"

She gulped. "It's standard policy for the hotel, sir. Once a customer reaches or goes past a certain amount, we are required to ask for identification," she hastily explained.

"I see." He reached into his vest and pulled out an ID. It was a fake, but only he and the squad of shinobi behind him knew that. He held it out and she hesitantly reached out for it. "Hurry up, girl! Neither I or my company have time to waste!" he all but barked out.

"Yes sir!" she squeaked as she quickly examined the ID, noting to details of it. "Everything seems to be in order, sir." She handed back the ID, which he took from her hand and placed it back in his vest with no wasted movements. "Here are the keys to the suites. The full amount you will have to pay will be given to you when you leave." She handed him the keys, which he took and threw two of them behind him without looking. As the keys sailed through the air, both Anko and Chōjūrō caught them with ease. "Please enjoy your stay at the Coastal Hotel." She finished with a shaky smile.

He turned around and started walking away, not saying a word to her. The rest of the group fell in behind him. "Lord Jiraiya, was it really necessary to get suites that are at the top of the hotel?" Anko asked as she walked behind him. "Taking all those stairs are going to make us exhausted by the time we get to the top."

"Actually Anko, the Coastal Hotel has installed a new invention, something called an elevator," he replied, gesturing over to several openings in a nearby wall that led to a small room with one person standing next to a large lever. "It supposedly shortens the time it takes to get up to the higher floors."

"Really?" asked Sokka, who started examining the elevator with interest. "Do you know how it works?"

"Not really. But you'll probably find out once the thing gets started." He walked over to the elevator and entered it. Everyone else piled in (making it a little cramped. They had to be careful not to step on Akela) and the operator closed the door. "The thirtieth floor please," Jiraiya told the operator.

The operator nodded and pulled the lever. Everyone in the elevator felt a quick shudder all around them and then the elevator began to go up, the sight of the lobby quickly disappearing from their sights. The only noises that were heard while they were in the elevator were the sound of it going up the chute it was in. Finally it stopped, and the sounds faded away. "Your floor, sir," the operator announced.

"Thank you," Jiraiya told him before walking out of the elevator into a small hallway with a door at the end with the rest of the group behind him. As the elevator went back down, he took the key he had been given and unlocked the door. "Here's the first suite," he announced as he walked in.

As the others followed him, they looked around. "Nice place," Suigetsu whistled as he looked around. The suite was quite spacious. There was ample walking distance between the living room and the small kitchen. There were enough bed rooms for at least four people, eight if people planned to share the same bed (which Naruto, Azula, Sokka, and Suki planned to do). The bathroom held a shower stall that you could tell was luxurious just by looking at it. The large windows that was by the living room also led out a balcony long for a couple of people to sit down on the chairs comfortably.

"Okay, here's how we're going to split up the suites," Jiraiya declared, getting everyone's attention after they had taken off their packs and put them down. "Anko and her team will take the top suite, the Kiri team will take the middle suite, and my team will stay here in the bottom suite."

"Oh great, we'll be using the elevators a lot then, won't we?" Suigetsu grumbled. In his mind, it was going to be a pain using the contraption just to see what the others were planning and making sure his team know what was going. Judging from some of the looks the others were wearing, they were thinking the same thing.

"No, we'll only use the elevators to get to our own personal suites."

"Then how will we talk to the other teams, oh wise and powerful Toad Sage?" he asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Knock it off, Suigetsu, before I kick your head off again," Naruto threatened him. Suigetsu clamped his mouth shut, already nervous about the blonde. The rest of Team Paragon (including Jiraiya) all looked at Naruto. Whether he had realized it or not, he had defended Jiraiya, one of the many he had said that he didn't want to be near. They weren't if he had done it on purpose or not, but they hoped that it was a small step towards becoming cordial with the Konoha shinobi again.

"Thank you, Naruto," Jiraiya said to him. "As I was about to say, the balconies on the outside of the suites are close enough for a shinobi to leap up the side to get to the next balcony. That's how you will talk to the others. We'll high up enough that people on the ground won't notice us."

"And what about those who aren't shinobi in the group?" asked Sokka. "I'm pretty sure that we won't be able to just 'leap up the side' as you've put. Azula could probably do it by using her Firebending to fly, but the rest of us would be stuck."

"Not to worry, Sokka. I thought of that and packed this just in case." He pulled out a scroll and held it up in the air for everyone to see. "I've sealed a couple of ladders in this thing. I figured we'd have this kind of situation sooner or later."

"Only you would seal ladders in a scroll," Naruto said with a roll of his eyes. However, he also had a small smile on his lips.

He threw a mock glare at the blonde. "Hey, you never know when the most random of shit will save your life. Have I ever told you the story of how I managed to get myself, Tsunade, and Orochimaru out of a bad situation during the Second Shinobi World War using nothing but a rubber ducky?"

The looks on everyone's faces were a mixture of disbelief and WTF as they all stared at him. "No, no you have not," Suki finally said. She was almost pushed to ask what the hell had happened that made him use a rubber ducky to get out of a bad situation, but she wanted to focus on the mission they were given.

"Huh, I thought I did." He shrugged. "Oh well, remind me to do that one of these days. We could probably use the humor."

"If we want humor, F.S.-sensei, we'd throw you into the women side of the hot springs and let them beat you into a bloody pulp," Sokka told him in a completely deadpan tone.

"You could do that, and I could beat you to the ground and make you make beg for mercy," he replied. Both Naruto and Sokka shuddered at his words. They had tossed him into the women's side once (they had caught him by surprise). The next day, he had practically left them for dead on the training ground and claimed it was sparring practice. The last thing the two of them saw before falling unconscious was the smug grin June wore.

"Okay, moving on then," Naruto said, not really wanting to continue that conversation. "What are we going to do, now that we're here?"

"I know what I'm doing," June said as she walked back to the door. "I'm going to take care of Nyla before he makes a scene. I think we can all agree that a shirshu causing chaos in the middle of a city is not a good thing."

"Try not to take too long, June," Jiraiya warned her.

"Relax, I've done this before. It should only take a half-hour. I'll meet up with the group who isn't meeting the informant at the marketplace." She walked out of the suite, closing the door behind her. They faintly heard the sound of the elevator arriving and then leaving through the door.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Azula asked Jiraiya. Everyone else more or less gathered around him so they could hear what he had to say.

"I'll need to make contact with my informant to see if he has any information on the Underground Auction," he told them. "I'll need a member from the two other teams to come with me so they can properly inform their teams when we're done, so Anko and Chōjūrō are with me."

"Aw, but I wanted to go look at that beach!" Anko whined, pouting for she was worth. "Do I have to go?"

"Anko-sensei, you're not a child so please don't act like one," Karin groaned into the palm of her hand. There were times her sensei could just embarrass her to no end, like she went on a dango eating spree (which was never funny for her or Jūgo, as they had to make sure she didn't go overboard if Iruka wasn't with her).

"It's fine, I'll take Jūgo instead," Jiraiya assured the redhead. "Just make sure Anko acts like an adult in public."

"I'm not that bad, Lord Jiraiya," Anko protested.

"Then what was that just now?" he asked her. "Moving on, I'll also take Chōjūrō with me as well."

"Why him?" asked Raimu.

"Because right now, he's the only on your team that's not liable to get punched," he answered with complete seriousness. "Anybody got anyone questions? No? Good, I didn't want to hear them. Jūgo, Chōjūrō, with me," he ordered as he walked towards the door. Both Jūgo and Chōjūrō fell in behind him.

"What about the rest of us?" Suki asked.

"Get the lay of the land and if you want to take a look at the beach while you're at it, be my guest. We'll be back as soon as we can." They left the suite, leaving the rest of the group in the place alone.

"Okay, I'm assuming nobody really planned to hit the beach when we got this mission, right?" Sokka asked, looking at the others. They all shook their heads. "I thought not. So that rules out the beach party idea."

"We're not here to party," Raimu curtly reminded him. Ever since the Kiri team had joined up with them, his attitude hadn't gotten any better. He kept looking at Suigetsu like he was the most disgusting thing he had ever seen and was still a little hostile to the Konoha teams. If he didn't rein it in, they would end fighting one another. That was the last thing they needed if they were going to cooperate.

"I realized that, Raimu," he replied. "But we need a good excuse as to why we're going to the beach."

"We could say that we were drawn to it, and we couldn't help but go towards it," Suigetsu suggested. They could all tell that he really wanted to that beach.

"Oh, come on, there is no way anyone would pay that," Karin told him, annoyance clear in her voice.

"She's right," Azula agreed. "No one will believe that to be a good excuse. Ty Lee could've come up with a better one." Those who knew Ty Lee also knew that she was probably the least likely to lie, period. She might deceive and she might omit, but she wouldn't lie.

"Eh, it's good enough," Sokka declared. "If people ask us any further questions, we'll improvise."

"Not going to say anything, kit?" the Kyūbi asked his host with a small smirk.

"Nope, not a single word," Naruto replied. He knew if he did say something, either mentally or publically, something was going to happen to them. This was just one of those situations where it did (a good example was what happened in the capital of the Land of Fire).

"It would be a simple answer to a lot of possible questions we might get," Suki admitted.

"Thank you, Suki. That was what I was going for here," Sokka praised her, making her smile. "So then, we'll take a look around and hopefully meet up with June in the process."

"Let's get to it!" Suigetsu shouted before charging out of the room, all but tearing the door off its hinges and slamming it close behind him.

The others just stared at the door. "Man, he really wants to go to that beach," Naruto commented, making the others laugh a little. Raimu, however, just stifled a growl.

"We're not just going to stay here talking, are we?!" Anko demanded.

Karin groaned. "No sensei, we're not." That was all Anko needed to hear before charging after Suigetsu, leaving the room within seconds. Karin didn't say anything; she just went after her sensei.

"We might as well follow them," Azula said with a roll of her eyes. "Let's go, people."

"Actually, Raimu and I need a moment alone," Naruto said, surprising the Kiri shinobi. "We'll catch up with you."

The rest of his team gave him all a brief look before shrugging. If Naruto wanted to talk to Raimu alone, they knew he had a good reason for it. "Alright, we'll see you outside," Sokka told before he and the others left the suite. Azula was the last one out. Before she closed the door, she gave Naruto one last look, asking a silent question. He shook his head and motioned for her to go. She nodded once and closed the door.

"Alright, what do you want to talk about?" Raimu asked. While he didn't show it, he was weary of the blonde. He had heard of his exploits before he ran away, and he had heard of his duel with Orochimaru. When Kiri heard of the new Fire Daimyo bestowing the title of Shinobi Kikan on him, all Raimu could think of was "How appropriate."

"I just want to ask you a question, that's all," Naruto told him. "Why exactly do you hate Suigetsu?"

"…What?" he all but growled. He unconsciously brought his hand closer to his holster, as if he was prepared to fight.

"Why exactly do you hate Suigetsu?" the Fire Paragon repeated the question, remaining calm. Now wasn't the time to be sarcastic. He just wanted an honest answer.

"Why should you care if I hate Hōzuki?"

"We are working together," the blonde pointed out. "I just want to why you hate him."

"He's a Kami-forsaken traitor, that's why!" he snapped. "He left the village just so he could things on his own!"

"I thought he was kidnapped by Orochimaru and was experimented on," Naruto replied, remembering the near fight that happened around the campfire. Ever since that day, Suigetsu and Raimu had made an effort to keep away from each other (the fact that Chōjūrō would glare and place a hand on his sword when it looked like they were going to fight helped).

"That's what he says, and I'm not inclined to believe him," Raimu said with a snort of derision.

"So, you hate him because he left the village?"

"No, I don't hate him because he left the village. I hate him because he left the village and when he was brought back, he was given the choice to serve when he should've been executed on the spot."

"Now that would be a waste of a good shinobi." Even he knew that executing a good shinobi without the offer to come back to the village was just plain stupid.

"That's what they kept telling me. You'll have to pardon me if I have a hard time believing it," the Kiri shinobi growled at him. He didn't like where the conversation was going. "Are we done here?"

"No, we're not," Naruto told him.

"Then what the hell do you want to know?" he demanded. His temper was about to be lost and if that happened, there was no promise of him holding back from attacking the blonde. He wouldn't care if he couldn't beat him to a pulp, if he got some damage, he'd be happy.

"Suigetsu isn't the only one you hate. I know that much."

"Yeah, you're right. I hate all traitors who abandon their village, which means I also hate you," the Kiri shinobi declared, staring Naruto straight in the eye.

He could only smirk in response. "No, you don't. If you did, you would've said something to my face earlier. I think you only hate traitors from Kiri, namely Suigetsu and Kisame Hoshigaki."

The mere mention of his uncle's name made him grow angry. His hands shook at his sides as he tried to hold his calm. If he stayed in the same room with Naruto, it would be a losing battle. "We're done here. Let's join the rest of the group." He all but stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

"And what exactly was that all about?" the Kyūbi asked Naruto. "The last time I checked, you were not a therapist."

"I just wanted to be sure of who he hated, fox. That's all," he answered as he walked towards the door.

"Now that's a lie and we both know it. You wanted to know why he hates his uncle and see if you could get rid of that hatred. Are you trying to make up for your supposed failure with the Uchiha?"

"Shut up, it's not that," he said as he opened the door and left the suite. He would never admit it, but the fox knew that was what he was doing. He just decided not to push it. It was better to focus on things involved in the mission, like how Raimu's behavior could possibly affect the mission. What Naruto had in Konoha could be dealt with when he was in the village.

"Here we are," Jiraiya declared as they stopped in front of a store that faced the ocean.

Jūgo stared at the sign hanging from the front. "It's a fish store," he said in amazement. It was indeed a fish store. They could tell by the smell coming from inside and the word "fish" was a part of the sign.

"Of course, it's a fish store, we're in Masu. What were you expecting, a brothel?"

"Um…you are sort of infamous for that kind of thing, Lord Jiraiya," Chōjūrō pointed.

He groaned, shaking his head and scratching his hair. "You peek in a couple of bathhouses, and they never let you hear the end of it."

"If I'm not correct, I believe it was more than a couple, Lord Jiraiya, and not just bathhouses," Jūgo told him.

"Oh whatever, I'm not having this conversation with a pair of kids. Let's go." He walked into the store, leaving the two of them outside. They felt mildly insulted by being called kids, but then realized that to anyone who wasn't the same age as Jiraiya and had gone through the same things as he did, they practically were kids. Then they realized that he had left them outside and quickly headed in.

Jiraiya walked up right to the counter and got the attention of the person standing behind it. "Can I help you, sir?" the worker, who looked to be his early teens and a little nervous (most likely because he wasn't used to working in front of people, if Jiraiya had to guess) asked him.

"Yeah, you can," he answered. "Get Ryōshi. Tell him an old friend wants to see him about a common foe. Tell him those exact words."

"Yes sir." The kid quickly scuttled away, disappearing through a door in the back.

"Is your contact a retired shinobi?" Chōjūrō asked Jiraiya as they waited for said contact.

"Nope, he's a retired fisherman," he replied, not even turning to look back at the Kiri shinobi.

"Then…what was all that about a common foe?" He didn't know how a shinobi and a retired fisherman could have a common foe. It would've sounded absurd if Jiraiya had sounded completely serious.

"We have a common foe because we once spent three months fishing for the same fish, which kept disappearing on us whenever we were close to getting him," the Toad Sage explained. "To this day, we're not quite sure who the one who finally caught him was."

"Speak for yourself, Jiraiya," a voice spoke as a man Jiraiya's age walked out of the door in the back. "I still say that I was the one who caught him."

"You and I both know that our lines got tangled that day, so we don't know who got him," Jiraiya told the man, who simply shrugged his shoulders.

"You've got your story and I've got mine." They stared at each other for a minute before laughing. "It's good to see you, Jiraiya."

"It's good to see you, Ryōshi."

"So, are you here to relax? I still got my boat lying around." The grin on his face was almost boyish.

"Sorry, here on official business." He gestured to Jūgo and Chōjūrō to emphasize his point.

The grin disappeared and was replaced with a look of disappointment. "Of course, you are. One of these days, you're going to have to come on for a vacation. You can't keep coming here on business."

"You know I have a lot of work, especially nowadays," Jiraiya told his contact. He sounded like they've had this conversation before, and it always ended the same way.

"You say that every time," he replied with an almost accusatory tone. "Are you ever going to come here for pleasure, just once?"

"Ryōshi, I know how you feel about me, but my heart will always belong to the ladies," the Toad Sage said with such a solemn expression, he had to be mocking the retired fisherman.

"And I was married, you asshole." It looked like there was going to be a fight between the two of them before they smiled again. Both Jūgo and Chōjūrō realized that these two were old friends from way back and they were practically strangers in comparison. "Alright, now that we've gotten that out of the way, what do you need to know?" Ryōshi asked.

"I had that the Underground Auction was in town," Jiraiya answered, his mood becoming serious.

He knew what that meant. "Kid, I'm taking a break! You or one of the other guys needs to take the front!" he shouted to the back. He walked around the counter without waiting for a response and walked out the front door. Jiraiya and the other two were right behind him.

They walked through the streets, moving through the crowds at a leisurely pace. While the shinobi needed to know what the information was, they knew if they were impatient, they would get noticed. Soon, they arrived at a small café and sat down at a table. "I didn't think you were the kind of guy who came to this kind of place, Ryōshi," Jiraiya commented.

"I'm not. The owner of this place lets me take a break here once in a while free of charge," he answered. "I usually don't order anything. I just stretch my legs."

"How'd you get something like that?" Jūgo asked.

"He used to work for me," he answered with a shrug. A waitress came out to take their order, but he waved her away.

"Most of Masu has either worked with or for you," Jiraiya pointed out.

"That's why I work for you on the side."

"So, what do you know about the Underground Auction?"

"Only the bare minimum. You got lucky, Jiraiya. The thing starts in a week." The relief on the faces of the three shinobi was obvious to anyone who looked in their direction when they had heard that.

"Do you know where it's being held?" Chōjūrō asked.

He shook his head. "Sorry, kid. I don't know that. Anybody who's involved in the Underground Auction is being very tightlipped about it. The fact that I could find out about when it's going to happen is a surprise just by itself."

"Have any of the crime families come into town?" Jiraiya asked. Many of the families would just come to make sure that the things that they were auctioning off were actually bought. But still, if they could capture one of the family members (preferably high enough to know where the Underground Auction will be, but low enough that no one will miss if they have to "dispose" of him), they could find the location of the Underground Auction and get there beforehand.

"Nope, we would've known if they have. They're always telling us to get out of the way unless we have a death wish. Honestly, it feels like a Kami-forsaken parade sometimes," he grumbled.

"You mean the Underground Auction has been held here before?" Jūgo asked. He had thought that this would've been the first time that Masu had held the Underground Auction. If they had held it more than once, then the families might use the same place as before.

"Of course they haven't," Ryōshi told him. "Nearby is one of their yearly meeting spots. So naturally, they stop in Masu either before or after the meeting. Kami help us if they decide to do both."

"Is it…bad?" Chōjūrō asked. He wasn't quite sure if he wanted to know the answer, but he still had to ask.

"They don't kill or rape anyone if that's what you're asking. That's a surefire way of getting the entire place pissed at them. The worst they do is trash someone's place and not bother cleaning up after themselves or even pay for the damages. It just gets annoying after a while."

"I'm sorry, Ryōshi," Jiraiya apologized. He didn't like to see one of his old friends have trouble and he would help if he could, but most of the time the retired fisherman would tell him to mind his own damn business and leave him alone.

"What the hell are you apologizing for, you old pervert? It's not like you were the one who were wrecking places here," the retired fisherman admonished him.

"I've told you countless times, I am not a pervert. I'm a Super Pervert!" he declared loudly for everyone to see, standing up from his seat. Everyone who heard him looked briefly at him before turning away. The women looked at him a bit longer with disgust before turning away and quickening their pace.

"And he wonders why we're surprised when he doesn't take us to a brothel or a hot springs to meet one of his contacts," Chōjūrō muttered to himself. If that was the way he acted, it was no wonder he had that reputation. He would've been surprised if he actually had gotten any (Naruto and Sokka would have plenty of stories to regale him with about his exploits though).

"I heard that, Chōjūrō. And you'd be surprised at what the ladies think of me," the Toad Sage said as he sat back down.

"I find that hard to believe," he told him with a straight face.

Ryōshi could only chuckle at the exchange between them. "That brings back memories," he remarked, remembering the time they had spent trying to catch that fish. "Are you still trying to see if that urban legend is true, Jiraiya?"

"Nah, not the way I used to. I'm not as young as I used to be," he told him with a shake of his head. "Nowadays, it's just a passing hobby."

"I would've thought you'd be chasing that rumor until your dying days." He could still remember the days where Jiraiya was camped out at that place, desperately trying to see if it was turn (it would've been funny and pathetic if he hadn't been curious too).

"Well, I'm older now," the old shinobi said with a shrug. "I have more sense now to not let it be all-consuming."

"Apparently, you don't have enough sense to let it go completely."

"Would you?"

"Fair point," he conceded with a smirk.

"Could we please remain focused here?" Jūgo asked.

"The kid's right," Jiraiya admitted. "Do you know of anyone who might know the location of the Underground Auction, Ryōshi?"

The retired fisherman thought it over. "Well, there might one person who could know. Do you remember a guy named Nezumi?"

"Small guy who had a high pitched voice and an attitude that made you want to punch him?" He had memories of that guy, and they weren't all pleasant.

"Yep, that's him. He's always been going on about how he's practically a member of one of the families. No one bothers to ask which one. If what he's says is true, then he might know where it's being held."

"Has he been acting strange in the past couple of days or weeks?" Chōjūrō asked. He had learned a bit about behaviors before he had become a Swordsman and always wondered if he would be able to put it to good use.

"Now that I think about it, he's been more quiet than usual in the past couple of days. He's still pompous but he hasn't really spoken. It's kinda odd."

"I think we've got our person. If I remember correctly, Nezumi was always the squealer. If we put enough pressure on him, we'll find out where the Underground Auction is. Does he still go to that same club?" Jiraiya asked Ryōshi.

"Yeah, he still does. I guess you know what that means."

He winced. "Yeah, I do. Kami, I'm going to have to come up with a good one to get through there. I'd thought they would've torn that place down, considering its bad reputation."

"You could use that reputation to your advantage," Ryōshi pointed out, though he looked like the idea was a bad one.

"Have you been drinking?"

"It was just a suggestion, Jiraiya. That's all."

"Pardon me, but could the two of you tell us what you're talking about?" Jūgo asked. He didn't like the implications the two were talking about and he wanted to make sure he wasn't mishearing or misinterpreting what he had heard. Judging by the look on Chōjūrō's face, he wanted to know the same thing.

"I'll tell you when we're back with the others," Jiraiya told him, not even looking at him. That was enough to send warning bells off in the two shinobi's minds.

"If that's all you need, I gotta get back to the store," Ryōshi stated as he stood up. "Odds are one of the workers did something wrong and I have to fix it."

"Don't you have any faith in your workers?" Chōjūrō asked him as he, Jūgo, and Jiraiya stood up as well.

"Very little," he answered. "But I don't pay them to make me have faith. I pay them to work."

Jiraiya knew what he was talking about. He might be a stern boss, but he was also a fair boss. "Bye, Ryōshi. I'll see you again," the Toad Sage told his old friend.

"Maybe next time, it won't be for business," he replied with a smile before walking away.

"What do we do now?" Jūgo asked.

"I think that should be quite obvious. We go find the others and tell them of what we learned. After that, we discuss options." He walked away from the café after leaving a tip despite the fact they hadn't ordered. Both Jūgo and Chōjūrō didn't hesitate, they were right behind him.

Juen had convinced Nyla with little trouble of waiting for them in the forest outside of the city (the trouble was making sure he got out with creating a huge problem). Now she was leaning against a wall in the marketplace, waiting for the others to arrive. "Hey baby, how about you and me go somewhere else to have some fun?" a guy said suggestively as he walked up beside her and tried to throw his arm around her.

"How about you leave while your balls are still in one piece?" she suggested, pulling out a knife and placed it between his legs. The confidence he had disappeared faster than you could blink. "Get lost," she ordered, which he obeyed all too gladly. She put the knife and continued waiting her arms folded. That was the third guy who tried to pick her up in the past fifteen minutes. While she didn't mind the attention, she preferred it when she wasn't on a job. If she wasn't busy, she would flirt to her hearts content. But she was on a job, so flirting was not going to happen (they also didn't try to flirt; they went straight for the innuendos).

As she waited, a trio of girls walked up to her. "Hey, loser, where did you get those clothes? Was it the Pathetic Store?" the girl in the lead said. The other two girls laughed at her supposed joke, sounding like a pair of hyenas. June didn't say anything, she kept waiting. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" the girl asked with a smirk, which disappeared when she realized she was being ignored. "Hey! Are you stupid or something!?"

"Don't you have anything else better to do?" June asked, finally looking over at her. "Or are you that jealous that guys are trying to get into my pants and not yours?" The girl was about to answer, but she raised her hand. "You know what? Don't bothering answering. I think I already know the answer. Now go away, I'm waiting for someone and I don't need to talk to an idiot like you."

"EXCUSE ME!?" yelled the girl. Her hyenas looked shocked at the fact that someone was talking like that to their leader.

"You're excused. Now scram."

It looked like she was about to throw a tantrum or try and attack the bounty hunter, when Raimu appeared behind the three. "Is something the matter?" he asked with a scowl, making the three cower and then scatter. It was a little amusing to watch, if they were being honest with themselves.

"Thanks," June said to Raimu. "They were annoying."

"Why didn't you make them go away yourself?" He knew that June was a strong woman who had no trouble knocking people on their asses (she had told them many a tale of those around the fire, some of which even got him laughing), so he knew she could've handled them by herself.

"Come on, they weren't trying to run from me or trying to fight me. They were just a group of annoying girls who were jealous because guys kept hitting on me and not them. But you scared them off, thanks again."

"You're a teammate, and teammates watch each other's back," he told her with a small shrug.

"Right and that explains how you've been trying to kill Suigetsu with a glare every time the two of you are in eyesight," she replied with a small smirk. Even though she hadn't been at the fire the first night, she had heard the commotion.

The scowl returned in full force. "That's completely different."

"If you say so, it's none of my business."

"Good, because I've already had one of your teammates try to figure out why I hate him." He mentally growled at the memory.

"Let me guess, Naruto?" His quiet growl was his answer. "Thought so. Just be glad it wasn't Sokka's sister who was doing the questioning."

"How could she be worse than him?" He had been through a couple of therapists who tried to figure out why he hated his uncle. He had managed to infuriate them to the point where they had simply given up on him. But Naruto was the only who managed to irritate him. How could Sokka's sister be worse than him?

"She would grab hold of the issue and not let go of it. Trust me; I've heard all the stories." She had even heard about when Katara tried to talk to Naruto about Konoha during the time they spent on Ember Island before the Comet and during the month they were in Ba Sing Se discussing the potential fifth country. From what Sokka and Azula had told her, Naruto had avoided or dodged the Waterbender's questions every time she started up. Eventually, she stopped after he had told her to knock it off unless she wanted to get thrown off the Outer Wall without Aang around to save her. That was one of the few times Katara didn't succeed at understanding someone. "By the way, where are the others?"

"I think they're trying to pull Hōzuki and Anko away from the beach. They should be in a moment, maybe a couple of minutes," he told her with a frown.

"Why aren't you there? I'd thought you'd be making eyes at that beach too."

He glared at her. "Just because I'm from Kiri, does not mean I take a look at every single good beach I come across."

"So, you take a look at some good beaches." She smirked, making him more annoyed. "Oh relax, don't get your panties in a wad. You know, you really should lighten up. You're reminding me of this one gloomy guy I know, except his uncle's not evil, just nuts about tea."

"Can we stop talking about uncles?" He was being reminded of the few good memories he had of Kisame and he didn't want to be reminded. They always led to the day he had left. That day was the one that made him what he was today.

"Fine, we'll stop. Look the others are coming." She pointed down the street. Sure enough, the rest of the group was coming towards them.

"Anko-sensei, did you have to sic one of your snakes on that guy?" Karin asked with a groan. They had been looking at the beach and enjoying the view, when Anko noticed a guy nearby looking at her with lust in his eyes. So naturally, she sent one of her snakes after him.

"I'm taken, Karin. You know that," Anko replied.

"And he didn't! He was just looking at you!"

"He was doing more than that! He was undressing me with his eyes."

"Anko, every guy who doesn't know you undresses you with his eyes. You've got the body for it!" Azula told her. It was true. Anko had a killer body. She was making heads as she walked by and didn't pay the slightest bit of attention to it. Both Azula and Suki were fairly certain that if she actually tried, she could even make women lust after her (they were glad she hadn't tried it on them, they liked having boyfriends).

"That may be, but there is only one person who can undress me and that is my sexy Iruka!" she declared in a loud voice. Behind her, Naruto looked like he got an image in his head that he didn't want or need. He shuddered and tried not to think about it.

"You have got one crazy sensei," Suigetsu told Karin. "Kami forbid she meets the Mizukage. I don't want to think about the insanity those two would cause."

"On that, we can agree," she replied. At that point, to any outsider they would've looked like good friends if not outright boyfriend and girlfriend. To anyone who actually knew them they knew that while the two of them still claimed to hate each other, they were slowly working towards liking each other. It was just a matter of time.

"Hey look, there's June and Raimu," Sokka pointed out. The rest of the group looked over to where he was pointing and saw them as well. They walked over to them, weaving through the people on the street and staying close at the same time.

"Hey, everything okay?" Suki asked as they got closer to June and Raimu.

"Yeah, pretty much," June answered nonchalantly. "Raimu here just told me about how Naruto talked to him about why he hates Suigetsu." While everyone else looked at the blonde in surprise, Raimu was trying to glare the bounty hunter to death.

"Are you trying to channel my sister, Naruto?" Sokka demanded while Akela simply rolled his eyes.

"No, there was no channeling of Katara. Besides, what me and Raimu talked about is between ourselves." His tone was firm and told everyone to drop the subject. They did and Raimu gave him a brief nod of appreciation. "By the way, I've been meaning to ask you something, Suigetsu," he said, changing the subject. "When we first met up and you told us how you became a Swordsman again, you called yourself the Kirigakure no Kijin. Didn't that title belong to Zabuza?"

"It did and it didn't," Suigetsu told him. "Zabuza did embodied the title, but the wielder of the Kubikiribōchō always has the tile of Kirigakure no Kijin, just like the wielder of the Hiramekarei always has the title of Kirigakure no Hogosha."

"So each of the Swordsmen have a title?" Sokka asked, curious about the group.

"Yeah, they did. The wielder of Kiba was the Kirigakure no Gekido (Rage of the Hidden Mist). The one who had Nuibari was known as the Kirigakure no Ito (Thread of the Hidden Mist). The person wielding the Kabutowari was called the Kirigakure no Kyōki (Madness of the Hidden Mist). The Swordsman who had the Shibuki was the Kirigakure no Bakuhatsu (Explosion of the Hidden Mist)." His voice became more and more prideful as he spoke of them. He was proud of the Seven Swordsmen, even though their history wasn't exactly stellar.

"And I'm guessing the wielder of Samehada was the Kirigakure no Same (Shark of the Hidden Mist)?" Naruto asked. The question made Raimu tense up a little.

"Yeah, they were." The pride went out of his voice as he looked over at Raimu, who didn't make eye contact. Things fell into an awkward silence in the group. No one really knew what to say.

Thankfully, a distraction came in the form of Jiraiya, Jūgo, and Chōjūrō as they walked up to the group. "Is everyone here?" Jiraiya asked as he scanned the group, mentally checking off every face.

"Yeah, we're all here," Anko told him.

"Good. Let's get back to the hotel. We have a lot to discuss."

As Jiraiya and his team entered their suite and closed the door, they waited for a few minutes. The others had gone to their own suites so they could avoid suspicion (they didn't know if they were being watched, but it didn't hurt to be sure). Within a few minutes, they heard knocking on the window that led to the balcony. Both Anko's team and the team from Kiri were standing on the balcony (making it a little cramped). Sokka was the closest one, so he opened the balcony window to let them in.

"So what did you find out?" Raimu demanded of Jiraiya as they all walked into the living room and took seats on available chairs.

"Jūgo, Chōjūrō, and I probably have found the person who knows where the Underground Auction is being held," he began. "It's a local man called Nezumi. For years, he's been telling everyone who listens to him that he's a part of one of the crime families. If that's true, then there's a good chance that he's been told of what's going on."

"There is evidence that supports all this," Chōjūrō chimed in. "According to Lord Jiraiya's contact, Nezumi has more quiet than usual for the past couple of days. If he has been told and was also told to keep quiet about it that would explain his behavior."

"How do we get to him?" Sokka asked, mentally beginning to figure out a plan. It would get fleshed out as details were given to him.

"There a place that he frequently visits. It's a mix between a club and brothel," Jiraiya said. "You see people on stage and if you like them, you can pay the owner and take that person to a private room. Nezumi has been a regular patron in that place for many years and one of his visits will be in three days."

"So one of us has to get onto that stage, put on a show that entices him and try to have him pay to take upstairs," June summarized before looking over at the other girls in the group. "Anyone want to flip for it?"

"Actually June, Nezumi doesn't go there for the girls."

She grew confused when she heard those words. "What else would he go there for?" she asked.

"He goes there for the boys."

There was stunned silence within the group as that little tidbit of information went through their heads. "I'm sorry?" Naruto asked as a dawning look of horror showed on his face as well as the other boys in the group as they realized what that meant.

"You heard me. That means Anko and I've got three days to teach you how to seduce a guy."

End

Author's note: Thank you for all the reviews you have sent me.

If you think about it, probably most of the higher ranked missions shinobi get have to do with organized crime. How many times would they have to help overthrow a corrupt ruler, or a powerful criminal? Probably a lot of times if they keep taking missions like that. But if it gets you paid, it gets you paid.

I'm not sure if they have elevators in the manga or the anime (besides the first movie), but I wanted them to be in a big hotel and quite frankly, nobody wants to take the stairs up to the 30th floor every single time. So, I'm going with the early kind of elevator, where you had an operator in it.

I know what Jiraiya said about the rubber ducky was weird. But let's face it, like those days you don't want to remember, there are also those stories that have to be told. However, with both you don't have to go in full detail. You just have to throw out a couple of random details that would look and sound funny together and let the reader's imagination do the rest.

I'll come back to the urban legend Jiraiya was pursing later. It actually has to deal with the ending of this arc and why he is the way he is. With any luck, it'll be amusing to you all.

I did that last part to change it up a little. Honestly, how many times have you read a part where the girls have to seduce the target? I want to see how the boys handle it. It should be terrifying for them and funny for us.

I'll see you all next chapter!