Still don't own Naruto
Chapter 72: Letters.
Naruto arrived at a large village inside Demon Country. The village was located at the base of a small valley and there were several waterfalls falling around the edges which all joined up into a large river that ran through the center of the town.
'Look's peaceful, and there are no ninja in this village so a problem like what happened in Kigakure shouldn't happen again. I need to find who ever is in charge of this place, I think it's a priestess or something' Naruto thought as he descended from atop a high cliff into the village.
Unlike the other villages Naruto entered without incident, nobody even seemed to care that he was there. He did receive some on the double takes and looks of lust from some of the women, but it was nothing Naruto couldn't ignore.
In fact the only problem Naruto could see was the fact that he was completely unsure of where he was supposed to go.
Naruto stopped at a small road side stall to ask for directions. "Uh excuse me" Naruto said politely to the man working at the shop.
"Oh yes, how may I help you today sir" the man said.
"I was just wondering where I need to go to find the person who is in charge of this village?" Naruto asked.
"Oh you must be looking for the Priestess, Shion-sama. She lives in the tall tower directly in the center of the village, you can't miss it. May I ask what a Konoha ninja such as yourself is doing in our peaceful village?" the man said.
"Oh not at all, I am here because the Hokage has a request for your leader to help Konoha, I'm afraid I cannot tell you more than that, but we have no intention of causing any problems for this village" Naruto said honestly.
"Ah that is good to here, not many shinobi come to the Land of Demons after all" the man said.
"Well, I better be off, the sooner I finish here the sooner I can return home" Naruto said with a smile and changed his direction so that he was heading right towards a large pillar that towered high above the rest of the village.
Naruto arrived at the tower and for the first time since he entered the village saw an armed guard. 'I guess it would be rather careless to leave there leader unprotected' Naruto thought as he approached the guards.
"Good day Konoha shinobi, may I ask, what is your business here" the guard asked in a friendly manner.
"I have a message from the Hokage to deliver to the priestess Shion, I request an audience with her at the earliest available time" Naruto said.
"That should be easily arranged, she is busy at the moment in a meeting with a delegation from Kiri, but you should be allowed in once they are finished" the guard said.
"Kiri?" what are they doing here?" Naruto asked.
"I believe they are here to work out a shipping trade agreement, to the east we have a small port village that Kiri is hoping to use to import good's, I believe they think we will be cheaper than there current deal they have with Yugakure, and the Land of Hot Water" the guard explained.
"Oh fair enough, is there anywhere that I can wait for my turn?" Naruto asked.
"Yes follow me, I can lead you to the waiting room, right this way" the guard said happily and beckoned Naruto to follow him.
They traveled up four flights of stairs before the guard stopped in a large room that looked like it was more of a large apartment than a waiting area. There was some rather comfortable looking couches spread out in a rather homely looking area, there was even food and drink placed out as if they had been expecting Naruto's arrival.
'Probably because of the team from Kiri' Naruto thought to himself as he took a seat.
"If you will excuse me, I will go tell Shion-sama of your arrival" the guard said with a slight bow before leaving the room.
(Outside of Konoha)
In the forests surrounding the village a single root member was entering a small underground base.
"What news is there from Konoha?" Danzo asked when the Root Anbu entered the main chamber of the base.
"The Raikage has called for a meeting between the five Kage's in the land of Iron. And the Kyuubi jinchuuriki is currently outside the village, but I was unable to find his current location, I can safely presume that he was in the Land of Wave's, but has since left" the root Anbu reported.
"Very good, you are dismissed" Danzo said with an expressionless face.
'A Kage summit huh, that's perfect, I can take out that pest Tsunade, along with all the other Kage in one go, we will easily have them out numbered even with there Samurai watching over the meeting, I will just have to wait for the opportune time to strike' he thought.
Most of his men did not care what Danzo had planned, he was there leader and they would follow him to the end, there was one person however that seemed to get cold feet.
'I thought we were supposed to be operating for the benefit of Konoha and to keep it safe by doing the things that needed to be done without questions. Now it seems all that we are, is a private army to help Danzo-sama become hokage and take over the world' Thought Sai from where he was listening to Danzo's conversation.
(Konoha)
Jiraiya and Yugito, had just cleared a large area of land for Naruto's clan house.
"Well it took awhile but I don't doubt Naruto will be happy with the spot we picked out, his designs should lead to the master bedroom on the top floor looking out over the Hokage monument" Yugito said.
"Yes but it took us forever to find a good place, We could have just built the compound next to most of the other clans, it would have been more official that way" Jiraiya said.
"I don't care! This is the perfect spot and I have already checked that there are no large buildings over two stories tall going in to obscure Naruto's view from the third floor bedroom, besides who wants to be boring and just do what the other clans do" Yugito said.
"Well I am sure the Anbu who have to gather the clan heads when there is a meeting will care, we are over the other side of the village from the other clans" Jiraiya said.
"Oh let them have a cry. They're ninja aren't they, it should not take them much longer, besides Naruto is not an official clan leader of Konoha, he may be a clan leader of a extinct clan from Uzu but that is different. I take it he will have some work to do once he get's back to make the new clan an official part of Konoha" Yugito said.
"That's true he sill, but it wont be difficult, the fact Minato was Hokage makes Naruto eligible for clan status in Konoha anyway. And the fact that the Uzumaki clan and Senju clan have always been the best of friends and there was even a Senju clan compound built on Uzu to show how good friends they were. In any case, most of the work to form the Namikaze clan will already be done, all Naruto will have to do is register the fact that he is making it the Uzumaki-Namikaze clan by bringing the two families together" Jiraiya said.
"Well anyway, let's go pick a builder, I am sure who ever we pick will do a good job" Yugito said.
The pair went to leave the area to go find Tenzo who would most likely be supplying the timbre needed for the building. He would know for sure who the best builder was, they had even considered asking Tenzo to build it for them but unfortunately the design was not something he could understand and there was also large sections of stone and cement in the building, something that no amount of skill with Mokuton could perform.
They had just left the sight when an old man in a straw hat accompanied by a teenage boy around Konohamaru's age walked over. "Hello there, are you Jiraiya?" he asked.
"Why yes I am, from the east to the west my name makes women go weak at the knees, I am the Toad Charmer of Myobokuzan, the Gallant Master Jiraiya" the white haired man said performing an exuberant song and dance.
"He is also a good ninja if you can get past the idiot part of him" Yugito said shaking her head.
"Hey Oji-san, do you think it's really them, there is no way Naruto-Niisan could have been trained by that idiot, although the Hokage did say he would be with Nii-san's girlfriend, and she is definitely pretty enough to be her" Inari said.
"Hey I will have you know I am a world famous shinobi gaki. Only I could make Naruto what he is today, he is my prized pupil. Granted I have, said that twice in the past. One of them died, and the other turned out evil, but I have a good feeling about number three" Jiraiya said.
"Look it doesn't matter. I am here because Naruto, told me that you would have some work for a master builder" Tazuna said.
"As a matter of fact we are, and I take it you are the master builder then?" Yugito said a small hint of skepticism in her voice.
"Ah that I am, My name is Tazuna, the super builder of the Land of Waves. And as a favor to Naruto I am going to take on the building of his house at a discounted rate" Tazuna said.
"Well we cant argue with that, here I will show you the designs" Jiraiya said
(Demon Country)
Naruto had been waiting for around fifteen minutes before the door opened and in walked a girl slightly younger than Naruto with light brown hair and lavender pupil less eyes.
Upon coming into eye contact with Naruto she stopped in her tracks. "You... But how?" she stuttered.
"Excuse me, have we met before?" Naruto asked clearly confused by the girls reactions.
"No, but you are supposed to be dead, I saw it happen you were killed by a man with red hair and purple eye's, how is it that you are alive" the girl demanded.
"I don't know what you are talking about, but Nagato did not kill me, I think that much is perfectly obvious, the question is how do you know about any of this?" Naruto said.
"Shion-sama has the power to see death, she has never been wrong" a man entering the room said.
The man was followed by three people Naruto recognized, the Mizukage, Ao, and Chojuro. "Power to see, death. What does that mean?" Naruto asked deciding to ignore the appearance of one of the five Kage's for at least the moment.
"When I sleep my dreams show me how people will die. There deaths cannot be avoided, they are fated. So tell me how you are alive!" Shion ordered.
"Fated huh? You sound just like a Hyuuga I know, he was always complaining about fate and destiny, well I am going to tell you the same thing I told him. I don't believe in destiny, or fate, I make my own. You say I should be dead but I stand before you. And as for what happened with Nagato, re repented his way's and saved the people of my village bringing them back to life" Naruto said.
"Impossible, nobody has power over life and death" Ao said being the first person from Kiri to speak.
"Well you have obviously never had the pleasure of meeting someone with the Rinnegan" Naruto replied.
"Rinnegan? But that is nothing but a myth isn't it?" Mei said finally speaking. She was very pleased to find that the emissary from Konoha that she came to great was none other than the man who had escaped her in Iwa.
"Far from it, Nagato had the Rinnegan alright. He was the figure head behind the Akatsuki acting as it's leader" Naruto replied.
"Truly amazing and what happened to this man?" Mei asked.
"He died. Used up all of his chakra and died from exhaustion, he used the last of his power to return the people that had died during and before our battle in Konoha back to life" Naruto said slightly saddened by the memory of Nagato's sacrifice.
"Then that means the Rikudou Sennin was real as well and not just a child's story" Mei said.
"Well I don't know about that, but I definitely had to fight a Rinnegan user" Naruto replied.
During this time Shion had not spoken she was still just staring at Naruto like she was seeing a ghost. 'He changed his own destiny, how... It make's no sense at all, I saw him die' she thought as she watched Naruto give a quick brief description of what the Rinnegan actually looked like up close to the Mizukage who seemed rather more interested in Naruto than what he was saying.
"Why are you here" Shion said finally.
In her current state of shock at seeing someone she thought was supposed to have died standing before her made her seem rather rude.
"Oh I'm sorry, as you may or may not have gathered from our small talk about Nagato, Konoha was almost destroyed and I was sent here with a message from the Hokage to ask for aid in the rebuilding efforts" Naruto said.
"I will think about it, for now leave. You will be summoned when a decision has been made" Shion said shortly.
"Oh alright then" Naruto said and went to leave the room. 'Man why is she so upset, is it just because I didn't die when I was fighting Nagato?' Naruto asked himself as he approached the door.
"Wait one moment, I will accompany you" Mei called to Naruto after saying a quick farewell to Shion.
"I'm curious Mizukage-sama, why are you here? Surely a simple trade agreement wouldn't require you to come here" Naruto said.
"Well that is true, normally I would have just sent a team of ninja or even some counselors to work out an agreement, but as I needed to be on the mainland for the Kage summit I figured I could run this little errand myself, and I believe I can remember myself telling you to call me Mei, Naruto-kun" Mei said.
"Kage, summit? What is that all about?" Naruto asked.
"Oh it's fairly straight forward, but I thought you of all people would know about it, after all it dose have to do with the Akatsuki. I promise I will tell you all about it, if you would accompany me to dinner tonight that is" Mei said with a small seductive smile.
"Ah I don't know Mei, that is probably a bad idea" Naruto said.
"Oh and why is that? Think your girlfriend wont approve? Or is it Tsunade-dono who wouldn't want you spending time with me" Mei said.
"No I am sure they both wouldn't mind if it was just a dinner, but um how do I know all you want is dinner" Naruto said.
Mei frowned at this, Naruto had caught her out, she did indeed want something more than just dinner. "Nothing else even cropped into my mind Naruto, I just wish to spend time getting to know you a bit better, this meeting of the Kage's is being brought about because of the jinchuuriki, so
I would have thought you would like to enjoy a meal while I tell you about it" Mei lied convincingly.
"Well I guess if that is all, then sure, that would be fine, it's better than eating alone after all, these solo missions can sure get lonely" Naruto said.
"Well then I guess I will see you tonight" Mei said before she began to walk away from Naruto swaying her hips ever so slightly because she knew Naruto was watching her leave.
'Why is it that every place I have been has had complication's, I should have been back in Konoha today, not fighting missing ninja and psychopaths, at least here the only thing holding me up is the leader deciding what aid she will send' Naruto thought as he turned away from Mei's retreating form to look for a hotel room.
(With Shion)
Shion-sama why did you hesitate, it was a simple request, surely you could have approved or denied the Konoha ninja then and there" Taruho said.
"No, that boy, Naruto. I want to keep him around. He has the ability to defy his destiny, I need to know more about him" Shion replied.
"But Shion-sama, he is a shinobi from an allied Hidden village, we cannot keep him here for long even if you do find him interesting" Taruho said.
"Well maybe I will just have to add a little condition to our agreement to help Konoha. Get me our fastest messenger Hawk, I have a letter to write, I want to know all there is to know about you Naruto, Uzumaki Namikaze" Shion said to herself as she sat down at a desk and began hastily scribbling out a letter to Konoha.
(Konoha Several Hours Later)
Tsunade was sitting at her desk, she was filling out all the paper work that was building up with all the new buildings that needed to be built and job requests that had come into the village while the reconstruction was going on.
"Good to see you're as busy as ever" came the voice of Jiraiya as he jumped through the window.
"Shut up Jiraiya I need to get all of this stuff done before I leave to the Kage summit in a two day's time, and what makes things worse, my first choice bodyguard hasn't come back yet, although from the report's I received from the lands of Wave and Tree's, it's no real surprise that he isn't back yet" Tsunade said.
"So who are you going to take if he doesn't get back in time?" Jiraiya asked.
"Well I was going to pick Kakashi and Naruto but now I guess I will go with Shikaku, he will be usefull in the highly unlikely event that we actually get something done other than squabble amongst ourselves" Tsunade said.
"Shikaku is organizing the rebuilding efforts, sending workers to where they are needed, it might be better to find someone else who is less important to the rebuilding of the village" Jiraiya suggested.
"You're right, but who? You are the obvious choice but I will not allow it until you are completely healed, besides you have to run the village while I am gone. Next there is Shizune and Sakura, Shizune would be helpful in organizing where we will be staying and making sure we are on time, but neither she or Sakura would be considered top body guards" Tsunade lamented.
"Yeah you're right about that, besides the Raikage is the one calling for the read of that Uchiha, Sakura likes, taking her could cause problems" Jiraiya said.
It was at that moment three hawks each flew in to the Hokage's office one after the other and dropped off letters.
"That's strange, most letters are sent to the Information department before they come to me, these must be for my eye's only" Tsunade said picking up the three unopened scrolls and taking the first one in her other hand began to inspect it.
The three messages were completely different, the first seemed to be written on high quality paper that screamed elegance. Holding the letter sealed tight was a tag with the seal for the Land of Demons on it.
"Well this must be Shion's response" Tsunade said in presumption as she slowly opened the scroll.
It became clear as she was reading it however that while it was a response to there request for aid, it did however come with a condition, and a big one. "look at this" she said flatly handing the scroll to Jiraiya who began to read.
"Well she doesn't ask for much does she" Jiraiya joked sarcastically. "So what are you going to do about it" he continued.
"Well, Demon Country is only a small way out of the Land of Iron, I am going to tell her that I will be arriving to discuss her demand" Tsunade said.
"What you're not just going to write back and tell her to stuff it? Why go there?" Jiraiya asked.
"Because, Naruto is there. I can pick him up to be my guard for the Kage summit" Tsunade explained.
"I see, well what about these other two what are they" Jiraiya said indicating the other two scrols.
Tsunade picked up the next one and her eyes went narrow. "It's from Kiri, what could they want I wonder?" Tsunade asked herself as she opened the scroll.
"Well what is it?" Jiraiya asked.
"It's a proposal for an alliance and the terms are rather good, we are given free trade to Kiri along with several of there secret jutsu as well as access to there weapon makers" Tsunade said.
"Well that's generous, what does the Mizukage want in return?" Jiraiya queried.
"She want's... To marry Naruto" Tsunade said flatly.
"She what! Damn that kid, he gets all the attention, where is my screaming horde of fan girls" Jiraiya moped.
"Maybe you would have some if you didn't get caught so often peeking on women" Tsunade said.
"That's for research, and I may not even have to do it for my next book" Jiraiya said.
"Keep telling yourself that, pervert. What's so special about your next book that you plan on staying away from the hot springs anyway?" Tsunade asked.
"It's a sequel to my first book, I'm thinking of calling it 'The Adventures of Naruto'" Jiraiya said.
"So you're going to have a go at writing something that isn't smut. I'm impressed, but I bet some of your loyal fans wont be" Tsunade said thinking about the way Kakashi would never be seen without Jiraiya's book's.
"Well, I think it is time that I make a family friendly story again" Jiraiya said.
"Heh, maybe you are growing up at last" Tsunade said.
"Hey! I will have you know that I am very mature... When I need to be" Jiraiya said with a smile.
"What ever, but how do I reply to Mei's proposal, it is after all very generous, it's not something I can just turn down without thought, but at the same time I can't accept it for various reasons" Tsunade said as she began to read over the proposal again.
"Yeah that's a tough one. You could say you can't afford to let Naruto leave to go to Kiri. She is a Kage, so she cant leave either, that would work" Jiraiya suggested.
"No, she has thought of that, after the treaty is signed and they are married, she will find a suitable replacement and step down before moving to Konoha" Tsunade said.
"Damn, that is a good treaty, a political marriage, with Konoha not only gaining trade, but also a Kage level ninja. I can see the dilemma, but if you were to proceed with this you would have at least one angry jinchuuriki on your hands, possibly two depending on how Naruto takes the agreement" Jiraiya said.
"That's not all, there is also this" Tsunade said removing a small box from under her desk and removing several scrolls handing the first one to Jiraiya.
"What's this?" he asked as he accepted the scroll she was handing him.
"Just read it" Tsunade ordered.
The further Jiraiya got down the scroll the more his eyes seemed to widen. "Well, this is certainly interesting. This could be the answer to how you turn Mei down, it's perfect and cant cause too many complaints" Jiraiya suggested.
"Perhaps you're right, but at least it will be easy to talk to her and explain the decision" Tsunade said.
"Do you think you will have enough time for that, at the Kage summit?" Jiraiya asked.
"Oh I don't need to, Mei is also in the Land of Demon's at the moment, I will send a letter back to both telling them that I will be there to discuss there letter's tomorrow after noon, but I want you and Yugito to come as well. This involves her after all, and you are Naruto's god father" Tsunade said.
"Plus, until the Akatsuki are delt with you need either Kakashi or myself to accompany her while she is out of the village" Jiraiya said.
"Well yes, you may still not be able to fight but most people still wouldn't want to take you on, and besides, nobody knows that you are still injured anyway" Tsunade said.
"Well then, I guess I better go get Yugito and tell her to get ready for a trip, oh before I go what was in that last letter?" Jiraiya said.
"Oh right, Hm, well at least there is no formal seal on this, so if it is a wedding proposal, it shouldn't be difficult to turn down" Tsunade joked.
This final note was written on shabby paper that looked like it had been torn off the bottom of a larger scroll, but for Tsunade this was the most interesting letter yet. There were only three words written on the paper and it looked like it took the person many tries to finish what he was writing because the lettering was so disjointed and almost forced. However the message it portrayed was clear.
"Look at this!" she said unfolding the letter on to the table for Jiraiya to see clearly.
In the center of the page the writing read 'D-a-N-ZO Att-ack Su-Mm-it' "Why is the writing like that?" Tsunade asked.
"There is a seal on all Root members that prevents them from talking or giving out information regarding Danzo. My guess is who ever wrote this really wanted to warn us, but couldn't, so he wrote it in at different times and with large spaces so that it would not activate his seal and prevent him from continuing. Is there any clue as to who sent this?" Jiraiya said.
"Yes a small drawing of a mouse on the other side" Tsunade said turning the page over, but much to the bust Hokage's surprise the mouse was gone. "What the?" she said disbelievingly.
The mouse had not left however, in fact it had simply come to life on the paper and scurried down the table onto the floor. It then however made its presence known, this was after all the person the letter was meant for.
"Would you look at that, an ink mouse jutsu, that is quite clever, surely there cant be many ninja who have that ability" Jiraiya said once he saw the small ink creature return to the desk.
"You're right, I know who this belongs to now. Sai" she said.
Upon hearing the name of his master the mouse scurried over to a piece of paper and fell into it, revealing a new letter far better written than the three words sprawled in the first one.
Tsunade got up and collected the letter before beginning to read.
"He want's out of root, but cant escape. If he openly betrays Danzo they will kill him. We need to stop this bastard, if he does attack the Kage summit, I will be ready, and I will make sure the others are ready as well" Tsunade said a determined look coming across her face.
End Chapter!
Not one of my best, sorry. Weekend chapter's seem to get me, probably because I am always either hung over or drunk.
Anyway, this was the start of my transition to the Kage Summit Arc should wrap up the fillers next chapter.