Still don't own Naruto
Chapter 82 Where to Hide Three Jinchuuriki?
It had been several days since the jonnin counsel met for the war summit and Naruto was more excited today than he had been in weeks, in fact it had almost been a year since he had felt this excited. Which was the day he had been reunited with Yugito. But despite the fact that his clan compound was almost finished and he would soon be able to move in, that was not the reason he was so excited. No he was excited today for a different reason, today was the grand reopening of Ichiraku Ramen.
'Man I am going to eat so much, I haven't had Ichiraku's in months, not since before I went to Uzu' Naruto thought as he happily walked down the main center of town in the direction of his favorite restaurant.
Just when he thought he was going to be able to go and enjoy his meal without any disturbances, three showed up determined to keep him from his delicious meal of brothy noodle's. "Heya Nii-san" came the voice of one Konohamaru Sarutobi.
"Uh hey Konohamaru, what's up?" Naruto asked halfheartedly.
"Oh nothing much, say could you do us a favor?" Konohamaru replied.
Naruto narrowed his eyes guessing he would probably not like what he was about to hear. "That depends what do you want?"
"We want you to train us... Oh and Udon wants a interview from the village Hero for his magazine he wants to bring out. It wont take long" Konoha said.
"Sorry guys, I am busy, I still have to go help finish my house and I also have to go see Baa-chan about something" Naruto said not wanting to tell them about the up coming war, even though as he looked around he could see the jonnin running around and gathering what ever extra weapons they can find.
"Well then how about just the interview then" Udon asked.
"Uh interviews are not really my type of thing" Naruto said. It was the politest way he could think of, to say that he would rather sit though another jonnin counsel meeting than give an interview. Well maybe that was a bit extreme, maybe half of a meeting.
"Aw come on boss, we need to get an interview from you. We have them from everyone else" Moegi pleaded.
"Do you have one from Jiraiya sensei? Or Baa-chan?" Naruto asked.
"Well... No, but we have the gate guards, Ebisu sensei, Iruka sensei and Neji. Except Neji's interview made no sense at all, we asked him about you and he talked about how he used to be mean to his cousins for about thirty minutes" Konohamaru said.
"I think you missed the end of that story. Look why don't you go ask Kakashi sensei or Yugi-chan for an interview. You will find them both over at my new clan compound" Naruto said, then immediately began kicking himself for mentioning the clan compound to three people he was sure could not keep there mouths shut.
"Clan compound? Are you saying you are a clan head now Nii-san, that is Soooo Awesome!" Konohamaru said
"This is something people will want to know about in the interview" Moegi said happily.
"What interview, I didn't agree to this" Naruto said. 'Why is this happening, I just want to eat some ramen. Why do you hate me Noodle Kami's!' Naruto cried internally as he tried to look for a good way to escape.
"So come on boss, just a quick interview it wont take long" Moegi pleaded.
"Ah alrig- Hey Look! a distraction!" Naruto yelled and pointed behind the three younger ninja.
"Huh where" they all said eagerly and turned around.
"Hey there is no distraction over there!" Konohamaru yelled turning around to face Naruto but he was gone.
"He tricked us!" Udon whined.
"What did you expect, Boss is a tactical genius after all" Konohamaru said.
"Let's stop talking about this and find him" Moegi said. And the three ran off in search of the blond.
Naruto however was not as far away as they thought and simply walked out from the wall and dropped his chameleon jutsu. 'Man I cannot believe they fell for that, well Konohamaru I can sort of understand, but Udon is supposed to be smart' he thought shaking his head.
(Hokage Tower)
Tsunade was sitting behind her desk with Jiraiya sitting in the windowsill going over several strategies and suggestions to put forward when the next meeting was called between the Kage's, so far they were just waiting for Kumo to retrieve Killer Bee from his unscheduled holiday.
"I can't figure any of this out, where are we supposed to hide three jinchuuriki, put them together and there chakra signatures will stick out more than Gai's spandex" Tsunade said.
"Well, there is Myobokuzan, but I do not think the toads would appreciate us using there home as a jinchuuriki hideout, it is shocking enough that Fukusaku and Shima allow Yugito-chan to stay there when Naruto goes to train, and I don't know how well they will respond to someone like the Raikage's brother" Jiraiya added.
"Yes, and we cannot put this weight on there shoulders, they may be yours and Naruto's summons but they're not pawns that we can use in this war as we like. And if the Akatsuki found them there they would not hesitate to attack them there no matter how powerful the toads are" Tsunade agreed.
"Well, looks like we will have to hope one of the other Kage can find somewhere, because if we have to divide our forces so that a large number have to keep watch of them we will be severely weakened" Jiraiya said.
There was a knock on the door and after a call of "Enter!" from Tsunade the door opened to reveal a Shizune who for once was not weighted down by a large stack of paperwork.
"Shizune what is it?" Tsunade asked.
"We have received a message from Kumo. The Raikage has called for a meeting to discuss tactics and a battle plan. It is to be held in Kumo in a weeks time" Shizune informed the two Sannin.
"Thanks Shizune is that everything?" the Hokage asked.
"Uh just a reminder that there will be a limit of two bodyguard's, just like at the Kage summit" Shizune said.
"Ok that seems acceptable, but this time I think I should take Shikaku, he is the best tactical mind Konoha has so he will be of great help in this meeting" Tsunade said.
"Very well and who will your other guard be?" Shizune asked.
"I think I will take Jiraiya, he is just about ready to return to action now" Tsunade said.
"About time, if I am going back to war I am going to need to train, good thing I have a perfect training partner" Jiraiya said.
"Don't over do it, and make sure Naruto doesn't either, I know what he is like" Tsunade ordered.
"Fine, you don't have to worry about us so much" Jiraiya said.
"Of course I do, you are both reckless idiots" Tsunade said with a small smirk.
(With Naruto)
Naruto was completely stuffed, he had never eaten so much ramen in his life. "Man that was good, I think you're getting better old man" Naruto complimented.
"Why thank you Naruto, I am glad to be able to please our best customer and the hero of the village. In fact because everyone knows you eat here we are getting a influx of new customers. It might even be a good idea to advertise that this is your favorite place to eat. I mean we were getting some good business from some of your more obsessed fan girls but since we reopened this morning we have been non stop busy" Teuchi said.
"Well just glad I could help I guess" Naruto said happily.
"Hey there he is! Boss you wont trick us again so easily!" came the unmistakable yell of Konohamaru from outside the stall.
"Uh hey guy's I guess you got me. Oh my Kami! It's Kakashi sensei without a mask on!" Naruto said shocked and pointing down the road.
"Really?" they all yelled and turned around to see only to see an empty street.
"Hey damn it Nii-san that's not funny" Konohamaru said turning around angrily only to once again find Naruto had ditched them.
"He did it to us again didn't he" Moegi said lowering her head in shame.
"How does he keep getting us so easily, we are supposed to be smarter than this!" Udon moped.
"Oh please, Kakashi sensei without a mask, who wouldn't fall for that" Konohamaru said defensively.
"You're right, we are just dealing with a superior intelligence" Udon said.
"Oh please compared to you three, my washing up water is a superior intelligence" Teuchi said from inside the store.
"Uncool old man!" Konohamaru replied.
"He cant run forever, we will get our interview, just you wait and see" Moegi added loudly.
"I was the smartest in our graduating class, how could washing up water be smarted than I am?" Udon asked himself not realizing that it was a joke.
The Konohamaru Korps took off again in search of Naruto and Teuchi just stood there amused at there determination. "There gone Naruto, you can come out now" he said once the three ninja were out of sight.
Naruto poked his head out from behind the counter and looked around, after he was sure the coast was clear he stood up completely. "Thanks for the save Teuchi" Naruto said.
"Any time Naruto, but it is probably best to lay low for the rest of the day so they cant find you again, I doubt they will fall for that again" Teuchi suggested.
"Nah I will be fine, I know Konohamaru, he used to chase after me in a square rock with eye holes cut in it, I think I can out smart him a few more times yet" Naruto said confidently.
And he did, over the course of the day the Konohamaru Korps found Naruto four more times and every time they were distracted in a different way. The last of which being transforming a clone into a giant, Free Scarfs, Glasses, and Hair ties, this way sign that had them spend the remainder of the day searching for the store the sign was talking about.
'I can't believe they are ninja. And what makes this worse is I helped train them, oh I am a horrible sensei' Naruto thought as he sat back enjoying the show as they went from store to store asking if this was the store that was giving away Free Scarfs, Glasses, and hair tie's.
(Two Day's Later)
"This is useless, we have tried every store in town, nobody is giving away free scarfs" Konohamaru pouted.
"Say you don't think that boss tricked us again do you?" Udon asked.
All three of them came to the realization at the same time. "Fuck!" they all yelled in frustration.
While this was going on, Naruto with the aid of his clones was putting on the final touches to his clan compound. Meanwhile he had Tenzo help him grow several trees thought the compound to start off a garden and Jiraiya began placing the intruder detection seals around the walls.
"Damn it Naruto, where did you come up with half of these seal's they are ridiculously complex" Jiraiya yelled as he struggled to decipher a seal that was supposed to keep the garden from becoming over grown, as well as control a water jutsu so that the plants wouldn't die.
"Most of them are not my design, they are the same as on the old Uzumaki complex in Uzu, I just added a few of my own and some minor tweaks to the designs here and there" Naruto called back.
"Then why don't you do it, you probably understand these things better than I do" Jiraiya complained.
"Oh you just want me to do it so you can go off and perv on the women at the newly opened bath house" Naruto replied.
"Shut it kid, my research is vitally important" Jiraiya said.
"Yeah to you and Kakashi sensei" Naruto scoffed.
"I will have you know all of my books are best sellers apart from the one you like" Jiraiya retorted.
"So you keep telling me, but you always seem to use my money whenever we go anywhere" Naruto yelled.
"That is payment for me to train you, you are just ungrateful for all that I have done" Jiraiya replied.
"I am grateful but you spend all of my money on whores" Naruto said.
"What were we talking about again?" Jiraiya asked suddenly.
"I have completely forgotten" Naruto said scratching his head.
While this was going on Yugito was giving the compound a walk through while Naruto's clones finished up the painting inside. It was a massive building with five bedrooms a secure library in the basement, the area that Tsunade had supplied them had enough room to build multiple more houses as the clan grew. 'This is my future, a life living here with Naruto. Children and grandchildren all living in this compound' Yugito thought with a happy smile as she looked around there large lounge room that was not furnished yet but was all ready for them to start buying furniture.
"This place is going to look so nice, but you should really add more flowers to the gardens" came the voice of Ino waking her from her internal musings.
"Oh hey Ino. Yeah it could probably use a few more flower's but then again it gives us something to think about later" Yugito said.
"Gotta say, I am jealous. Huge house, hot fiance, and the future wife of the next Hokage. It doesn't get much better than that" Ino said.
"I hope he doesn't become the Hokage too soon, I have seen the way A-sama and Tsunade-sama work" Yugito said.
"Naruto working hard? If you ever saw him in the academy you would not think it was possible. But at the same time he was the dead last, so it just goes to show how much he has changed" Ino said.
Over the next few day's Naruto and Yugito slowly filled the house with furniture and moved themselves in. they planned a small get together with all the people who helped with the build when Tsunade and Jiraiya came back from Kumo.
(Kage Meeting)
All five Kage and Mifune were sat around a large table in Kumo with there bodyguard's standing behind them.
"As we do not know where the Akatsuki are hiding themselves they have an advantage in that they are aware of the location of our villages while they could be hiding and preparing anywhere!" A said.
"I believe we will need to create a single group comprising of shinobi from each village to scout and gather information, and return it to one place where the information can be shared between all six country's" Shikaku said.
"Yes it would do no good if we don't pool our information, we can not afford to waste resources sending multiple teams to investigate the same area's" Oonoki agreed.
"We still need to come up with a location to hide the jinchuuriki while they are not involved in the fighting" Mei informed.
"There is nowhere in the Land of Fire that I could be sure that Madara would not be able to find them" Tsunade informed the group.
"That is a similar situation to the Land of Wind, we have no secure locations that could successfully hide three jinchuuriki for any extended period of time" Garra added.
"We have several underground cave's where locating anyone would be difficult. However Han used to use them a lot and the Akatsuki were able to capture him. Although it is unclear where or how they did" Oonoki said.
"The land of water is isolated and difficult for anyone to get to without our knowledge. However with the Akatsuki's past exploits there I am unsure how safe it would be from Madara" Mei admitted.
"I know a place. It was considered a stronghold for Kumo, but it has never been used as such. It is an island that is constantly moving so it is impossible to locate on a map, the only way to find it is to know where it is going to be" A said.
"That seems like the safest choice, it has the Isolation that the Land of Water has along with its natural defenses, and being in Kumo it is far less likely that the Akatsuki know of it's existence, although when you have been alive for as long as Madara there is no telling what he may know" Tsunade said.
"Yes it is the perfect location, but several ninja should still be placed with them for extra protection" Garra agreed.
"Well, I volunteer, besides Naruto is going to need to get the Key to his seal from me if he wants to control the Kyuubi" Jiraiya said.
"I also believe it would be a good idea to take a member of the Konoha Anbu named Tenzo, he has the Mokuton bloodline and will be able to help if things do not go according to plan" Tsunade added.
"I think that will do, It is bad enough we have to keep the three jinchuuriki out of the action, but hiding away someone with the skills of Jiraiya and a Mokuton user who could be useful as we still have no idea how Madara plans to use the Bijuu could weaken our efforts" Oonoki said.
"There will be several low ranking Kumo ninja there as well, probably just some genin that need to take on some easier missions before they are ready to join the war effort" A said.
"That is a good idea, an important mission to test the reliability of a genin team before allowing them to enter the fighting, perhaps we could work out a rotation policy for separate villages to send there ninja there to prepare them" Mei suggested.
"I can agree with that, if we have any weak links in our front lines the whole army will be weakened so this will be a relatively safe assignment that will still be important, and should anything serious occur they will have several elite ninja there to help them out" A said.
"Next I think we should make plans to secure key locations, like major bridges for supply's and strategical area's like Taki, if the Waterfall village falls into the Akatsuki's control they will have a highly fortified base with only one real entrance" Tsunade suggested.
"A very good idea, but will Taki and some of the other nations agree to our help? Some of them can be rather stubborn" Oonoki said.
"Taki should comply, we have been ally's with them since they sent Kakuzu to assassinate my grandfather. Although they do have some questions to answer about the way they treated and lied about the safety of there jinchuuriki" Tsunade said.
"Are there any other issues that will need to be discussed here before we start to work out how to put our plan's into action?" A asked.
"I don't think so, but I have a warning of another threat, but I am not sure at the moment how dangerous he is. Kabuto Yakushi, from what I can gather he is no ally of the Akatsuki, but he is every bit as twisted as them, he injected himself with the cells of his former master Orochimaru and seems to be turning more and more like him every day. I have a team out hunting him at the moment, just in case he becomes a problem. Tsunade informed the group.
"He can be dealt with later, he is only one man after all" A replied.
"One man? Madara Uchiha is one man. We may not know what Kabuto is up to but I doubt he will not try to use this war to his advantage" Tsunade argued.
"Tsunade-Hime, might be right, the Akatsuki became this powerful and dangerous because they were ignored, we should not risk creating a bigger problem for ourselves" Mifune said.
"Well, I agree, but if Tsunade-dono already has a team looking for him we can wait for more information on his location and plans before we make a move" Oonoki said.
The Kage and Mifune spent the next several hours discussing various battle plans and army strength. This soon lead to Shikaku being elected as the head strategical adviser to the alliance.
(Unknown Location)
Sakura was brought into a dark room by a White Zetsu. Looking around the room she couldn't make out much apart from Madara sitting cross legged in front of one of the creepiest statues she had ever seen.
"Um, you wanted to see me?" Sakura asked the Madara tentatively.
"Ah yes, I want to know if you have any information I don't already have on Konoha's military force" Madara answered.
"Well I know a bit as I was the Hokage's apprentice, but I was only a chunin and more of a medic than a combative, but I can still hold my own against most ninja" Sakura said.
"Well let's see, for starters who are the current Jonnin commanders. And Head of the Anbu department's" Madara said.
"Um, I know that the three top ranking ninja are Shikaku Nara, Kakashi Hatake and Jiraiya of the Sannin. As for the Anbu department's. I know Ibiki Morino is the head of the Torture and Interrogation. Tsume Inuzuka is the head of the Hunter ninja. But I am not sure of the heads of the other department's" Sakura said.
"Interesting, nothing I didn't know already, but you didn't lie and you are not hiding anything. So now let me ask how does Naruto train? He is far stronger than any sixteen year old I have ever seen, and he has no Kekkei Genkai to help him" Madara asked.
"I am sorry, I don't know. Jiraiya trains Naruto in the home of the Toad summons, and he has not given out any training secret's" Sakura replied.
"Very well, so far you have not been of much use, but we still have quite a lot to discuss" Madara said and signaled for her to sit down.
"This is going to be a long night, but once we are done I will know everything you do about Konoha" Madara said and continued his questioning.
(Konoha One Week Later)
Naruto was still placing various security and privacy seals around the Uzumaki Namikaze clan compound. He was also busy placing several Uzumaki Swirls around the building in area's he could remember them from the old clan house.
There was a loud knock on the door and Naruto stopped working and went to see who it could be. Opening the door Naruto came face to face with not only the remaining members of his graduating class, but also Jiraiya, Tsunade, Tazuna, Kakashi. And everyone else that helped out with the build along with there sensei's.
"Hope you don't think we are going to let you get away without having a House warming Gaki, so we thought we would invite ourselves over to make sure you didn't forget" the Hokage said.
"Well I was planing on doing something, but I guess now is as good of a time as any" Naruto said before inviting them in.
"Hey Yugi-chan we have visitors" Naruto called out
"Who is it?" Yugito's voice called out from upstairs.
"Everyone" Naruto replied.
Thirty seconds later Yugito was at the top of the stairs. "Wow you weren't kidding, but why are they here?" she asked curiously.
"Well simply put, this is our house warming" Naruto said.
"And engagement party" Ino added loudly, followed my murmurs of agreement from the other guests.
"But we are not ready for a party, we don't have any food or anything" Yugito replied.
"What do you think I would force a party on you and not plan for something like that?" Tsunade asked.
"Well then, where is it then Baa-chan" Naruto said skeptically.
"It's on the way brat, I have quite a wide selection of food being delivered, in fact the father and daughter of your favorite place are coming to supply all the ramen you want, along with a huge delivery from the best dango place in the village. That is if Anko doesn't get to them first" Tsunade replied.
Sure enough moments later there was another knock on the door and Teuchi and Ayame were there along with several delivery men with large boxes filled with dango.
"Hey old man, Ayame Nee-chan. Come in" Naruto offered the two ramen cooks before creating several clones to accept the boxes from the delivery men.
"Wow this is some place Naruto-kun. I was not expecting something like this" Ayame said in awe of the blonds new home.
"Yeah, it is almost exactly the same design as the Uzumaki compound in Uzu. The grounds here are bigger though for room to build new buildings and homes later on" Naruto explained.
"It's amazing" Teuchi admitted.
"Thanks old man, oh by the way, you don't have to cook anything if you don't want, I can send a clone to go out and get something else, you are both more than welcome to join the party without having to work" Naruto assured the father and daughter.
"No we offered to do this, Tsunade came to us and asked us if we wanted to come to the party and we said we would then we asked her if she had sorted out the catering and when she admitted she hadnt we jumped at the idea" Teuchi said.
"Really? Well thanks for the help then. Here I will show you to the kitchen" Naruto said and escorted the two ramen cooks through the lounge room and into a large kitchen that was the same size and Naruto's first apartment.
"This is bigger than our entire restaurant!" Ayame said with a gasp.
"Well it was designed for a big family, and I want this place to stand for hundreds of years long after I am gone, so I want my decedents to be comfortable" Naruto said.
"After leaving Ayame and Teuchi in the kitchen Naruto went out to join the party. The guests talked amongst each other casually but Naruto felt that something was missing. "I think we need some Booze, but uh this is a new house so keep it away from Bushy Brows, I have heard the story's about you when you have even a small amount of Sake" Naruto said.
"That is a most unyouthful accusation, Naruto. And unfortunately entirely true" Lee said lowering his head in shame.
Naruto sent a clone to pick up a large quantity of alcohol, after all Tsunade and Jiraiya were with them, it was the only way to be sure they had enough. After that it turned into a real party and everyone had a good time. Every so often Ayame would join them to talk to some of the people who would often come into the Ichiraku Ramen, or simply bring out more of the noodles for everyone to enjoy. She even prepared some sushi for Yugito knowing it was her favorite food.
"So Tsunade-sama, did you and the other Kage decide on where we would be living during this war" Yugito asked.
"Yeah, A-dono has a place. There is an island that can be moved around so it cant be found unless you know where it is going to be" Tsunade said.
"Oh I know that place, I was sent there as a little girl to learn how to use Nibi properly, but I never went through the complete training like Kirabi. It isn't really a island at all, in fact it is a giant turtle" Yugito said.
"Giant turtle, that's awesome. Is it like some super boss summon or something?" Naruto asked.
"No it cant be, I have the turtle contract and the turtle king is not much larger than I am" Gai said over hearing the conversation.
"No I think it is just really old, but all of the animals on the Island are massive, and from what I can remember lots of them have really eccentric personalities" Yugito said.
"Wait so you are telling me that we are going to spend the next, Kami knows how long alone on an island filled with giant animals that may or may not be eccentric. You know I am liking this plan less and less the more I hear it" Naruto said.
"Oh it wont be so bad kid" Jiraiya said walking over.
"Really? And why is that?" Naruto asked.
"Because I am going to be there the whole time along with you both" the elder sage said happily.
"Please don't make me go Tsunade-baachan, look at me I am begging you" Naruto pleaded on his knees thinking about the prospect of spending at least the next few months with Jiraiya who had no bath houses or brothels to keep him from attempting to perv on him and Yugito.
"Man up gaki, besides this is the best place for you to learn how to control Kyuubi's chakra. And you will need Jiraiya because he has the Key. Also the Raikage's brother will be able to help you as well" Tsunade informed him.
"Hm I guess that doesn't sound too bad, alright I'm back in, but I swear to kami, if you so much as accidentally catch a side glance of Yugi-chan when she is either having a shower or getting changed, let alone when ever we are together. You will be spending the rest of your life unable to process solid foods" Naruto warned.
Jiraiya gulped and nodded in acceptance, mostly out of fear. The rest of the party went without incidences, and once the night got late and turned into the early morning the party guests all started to leave at varying levels of intoxication. In the end Jiraiya had to help Tsunade out of the house as she had drunken far more than anyone had predicted.
"Well I am glad that's over" Naruto said.
"So am I, I have wanted some alone time with you for the last four hours" Yugito purred in his ear.
"Well we haven't christened the new bed yet, I think tonight's the night" Naruto whispered back a small smile on his face as he began to nibble on her ear.
"I think that is a great idea" Yugito said and grabbed Naruto hand and began to lead him upstairs.
End Chapter!
Bit of a filler but meh, I will get back on with the story next chapter.