Alright… well I feel bad for everything that happened with having to take the story down so I'm going to pump this chapter out ASAP. After trying to update the fight scene in chapter 2 between Naruto and Asuma, the chapters for my story were put in the wrong order, and I've been having major issues with FanFiction lately in regards to Doc manager and being able to change my content from within the website. I apologize for the troubles this caused. Its' been a very long week for me, my T.V broke Monday, then work got all screwed up, then this happened… so yea. Enough of Authors Notes, time for the chapter, the first interaction between Konoha and Akatsuki, and the return of an Uchiha. For any returning readers, check out chapter 2 if you already haven't I updated the fight, which practically caused all my issues, so I hope it was damn well worth it aha!
"B-but Itachi is a criminal, he slaughtered his clan, how could he still be working for Konoha!" Yugao said, causing Naruto to sigh.
"Yugao-chan… there are certain things pertaining to the Uchiha Massacre that are almost as big a secret as my heritage." Naruto said, he then glanced at Tsunade, who in turn nodded, knowing what Naruto wanted. "I'm going to ask both you and Gai-san to not interrupt me as I explain everything that happened prior to that night; can I get a guarantee from both of you for that?"
"Of course Naruto-kun." Yugao said, as Gai nodded his head.
"Thank you… It pretty much started during the time of the Second Hokage when Tobirama-sama created the Uchiha Police Force, and forced their clan to the outskirts of the village. Having believed they were the most powerful clan in Konoha they took it as an insult that they were forced to the outskirts of Konoha. From that point onward the Uchiha felt segregated from the rest of Konoha, they received constant suspicion and discrimination that eventually led to their hated of the village. They planned to use Itachi as a spy for the Uchiha clan, but Itachi was smarter then they though, he knew that an uprising of the Uchiha would most likely lead to another Shinobi war, so he became a double agent, telling Konoha of the Uchiha's planned coup d'état." Naruto started, surprising both Gai and Yugao, before Kakashi continued.
"Itachi was convinced by Danzo that killing his entire clan was the only viable option for stopping the rebellion, and Itachi agreed to it under the terms that Sandaime-sama would watch over and care for Sasuke. After the massacre Itachi infiltrated the Akatsuki, and has been providing Konoha with information on them ever since." Kakashi said, making Tsunade nod, confirming his explanation.
"Did Itachi manage to say who discovered him? Or who is currently following him?" Naruto asked, earning a nod from Tsunade.
"Yes, in his scroll he said that he was confronted by Pein, the supposed leader of Akatsuki, and engaged in combat till a time when he felt he could escape. He is currently being followed by Kisame and a woman named Konan." Tsunade said, causing Naruto's eyes to widen.
"Fuck, that isn't good, both Konan and Kisame are extremely dangerous opponents. You all know Kisame is an ex Kiri no Shinobigatana (Seven Swordsmen of The Mist), and is nicknamed the tailless Biju for his massive chakra reserves, but Konan is someone we don't have a lot of info on. Itachi stated that she primarily uses long range Paper Ninjutsu, something she was able to create after fusing her chakra into origami creations. She is known as the Angel of Ame, and supposedly is very intelligent when it comes to combat." Naruto said, "She is also close to their leader Pein, and is usually always by his side."
"Can you tell us anything about Pein Naruto-kun?" Gai asked.
"I will tell you this once, if for whatever reason Pein is with Konan and Kisame, we will be forced to either flee, or fight to the death. Pein is the only known person who wields the Rinnegan, the legendary Dojutsu of the Sage of the Six Paths. Even fighting together our odds of winning against him are slim without knowing the full capabilities of his eyes." Naruto stated, shocking those present.
"The Rinnegan… I thought that was just a myth." Kakashi said.
"It was believed to be a myth because no one had been born with the Rinnegan since the Sage, however Itachi says he had seen it with his own eyes… and that's not something Itachi would lie about." Naruto said. "I'm going to assume you called us here so we could meet with Itachi at the extraction point right?"
"Yes, however I also called you because most of you have experience fighting with Akatsuki, or Ninja close to that calibre. Gai has fought with Kisame before, and with Yugao being a Kenjutsu expert, having them fight against Kisame would work well I think. You are both close ranged specialists, and according to our reports Kisame relies mainly on Kenjutsu, but don't let your guard down. That leaves Kakashi and Naruto to take on Konan, both of you are skilled in both long range and short range fighting, giving you an advantage in whatever way the fight turns out." Tsunade said, earning nods from the group. "Naruto, since you have the most experience with Akatsuki I want you to lead this mission, should things go south during the mission, your main priority will be to get Itachi back to Konoha safely, we will deal with everything else then alright?"
"Hai, should things go bad, I'll send a toad in advance to let you know what is going on. Hopefully we will be able to get Itachi out without having to fight. If we are forced to fight hopefully we will be able to make them retreat, with Itachi helping us that shouldn't be too much of an issue. That being said, I'm going to get Itachi to help Yugao and Gai fight Kisame, having been partnered with him Itachi would know of his fighting style, as well as any weaknesses he has." Naruto said.
"Whatever you think is best Naruto-kun, you should all get moving though, it will be a few days trip to get to the Border of Fire Country where Itachi is going." Tsunade said
-With Itachi-
Itachi flinched as he felt the first of his clones pop out of existence. Konan had been… less than friendly… about taking care of him, and judging by the look on her face the clone saw before dispersing she was anything but pleased. While dealing with Konan herself probably wouldn't have been an issue for the older Uchiha, he knew Kisame was with her as well, tilting the scales in their favour should a confrontation happen. He just hoped his message had reached Konoha, and that Tsunade would send him suitable back up. The clone had managed to lead Konan and Kisame a fair amount of distance away from the real him, but if they were to catch on the his actual trail he would only have a few days before they caught up with him. Giving a sigh he stood up, stretching his body after the short break he had taken, before continuing on his way towards the border of the Land of Fire. He had had a feeling that Tobi knew about him still being loyal to Konoha and working undercover in the Akatsuki, the masked man may have acted like an incompetent fool but Itachi knew he was not someone to be provoked.
If Tobi knew I was a double agent, he would have known for a long time… why would he wait till now to bring that fact to light, something must have happened to force his hand. Itachi thought, something big was happening, and he hoped he would be able to find the answers back in Konoha.
-Few days later-
Naruto and his team were on guard as they approached the Anbu safe house from the cover of the forest. Stopping at the edge of the clearing Naruto turned his head to Yugao before flashing a through a few Anbu handsigns, sending her a silent message. Nodding towards her blonde teammate, Yugao closed her eyes and sent out a few waves of her chakra, looking for any signs of Itachi, or the two that had been following him.
"I only sense one presence Naruto-kun. Its' already inside the safe house, so I'm going to assume its Itachi." Yugao said, earning a nod from Naruto.
"Alright, I agree that it's most likely Itachi, but don't let your guard down. Yugao-chan, keep your senses alert even after we go inside, let me know immediately if you sense anyone outside. I'll go in first; Yugao-chan will be behind me, followed by Gai with Kakashi-sensei bringing up the rear. This safe house is still in operation, so be wary of traps." Naruto said, earning a collective nod before they left the cover of the treeline and made their way towards the entrance. Naruto's hand went towards the entrance but stopped as he felt a presence from right behind the door, tensing and preparing for the worst; Naruto retracted his hand and watched as the door opened to reveal Itachi.
"Hello again Naruto-kun, I'm kind of surprised Tsunade-sama would send you here, I told her two high level Akatsuki members were after me." Itachi said emotionlessly as he stepped out of the bunker, no longer wearing his Akatsuki robes.
"I see you took some of the supplies that were left here." Naruto said as he gazed at Itachi who was dressed in a standard Anbu uniform minus the mask. "As for why I was sent here… I'm not the same person I was the last time you saw me Weasel."
"I see… if you know that name then you must have been in Anbu, fairly high ranking as well." Itachi said, if he was surprised he didn't really show it.
"Maybe I was… Maybe I wasn't you will have to wait until we return to Konoha to get information like that." Naruto said.
"It would appear so. I'd recommend leaving as soon as possible, after escaping from Pein I created a couple shadow clones in hopes that they would lead Konan and Kisame away, one was dispelled a couple days ago, the other one ran out of chakra and dispelled on its own, leading me to believe that Konan and Kisame have found my actual trail." Itachi said, earning a nod from Naruto before a voice stopped them all.
"It took me a while to find you Itachi-san; it would appear that Konoha was able to send help. That won't make a difference, you will die here today." A woman said as she landed in the clearing, large wings made of paper formed out of her back.
"Konan-san, if you are here then I'd guess Kisame isn't too far behind." Itachi said, as if on cue a large blue man stepped out into the clearing.
"It's a shame you had to betray the Akatsuki Itachi-san; I really enjoyed being your partner." Kisame said with a toothy grin, showing off his shark like fangs. "It would seem Konoha sent some high level Shinobi to assist you, including the Kyuubi Jinchuriki… the brat sure has grown since the last time I saw him."
"Itachi, I want you to help Yugao and Gai fight Kisame, the three of you together should be able to either kill him or seriously wound him. Kakashi and I will deal with Konan." Naruto said, earning a nod before the group split off to fight their respective opponents.
-With Naruto and Kakashi-
Naruto and Kakashi raced through the trees, hoping to lead Konan away from the others so they could focus on their fight with Kisame without having to worry about Konan interfering. Landing in a clearing a short distance away, Naruto and Kakashi stood back to back, waiting for Konan to make her move. They didn't have to wait long as a hail of Paper Kunai rained in from above, forcing them to use Kawarimi to dodge. Looking up they saw Konan hovering slightly above the treeline, face set into a deep frown.
"I didn't expect Konoha to send their Jinchuriki, along with Sharingan no Kakashi, this could complicate things. I'll have to take care of you both quickly and help Kisame with Itachi." Konan said as she floated down to the ground and got into an offensive stance.
"Don't think that you will be able to defeat us so easily Konan-san." Naruto replied as he unsealed his Ninjato while Kakashi pulled up his forehead protector, revealing his Sharingan eye. They stood across from each other unmoving, almost as if they were sizing each other up. On an unspoken marker Konan flew towards Naruto, who smirked as he pumped some Katon chakra through the blade, giving it a light red glow. Naruto slid under the paper kunai Konan had slashed at him with as thrust his sword up into her paper wing, detaching it from the rest of her body as she fell towards the ground, tumbling a few times before coming to a stop against a tree.
Picking herself up off the ground Konan spit a bit of blood out of her mouth before releasing her still intact wing. Glaring at Naruto she made a few Kami Bunshins (Paper Clones) and sent two of them towards Kakashi, while she engaged Naruto again with the other following close behind.
-With Itachi and the others-
Yugao, Gai and Itachi stood in a triangle pattern surrounding Kisame, who in turn just stood there with a smirk on his face.
"Samehada is hungry Itachi-san, I've spent years studying the way you fight, figuring out way to beat you, today is when I will get see how far I've come!" Kisame said as he pulled the large sword off his back, before the bandages fell to the side, revealing the large scaly sword. "She has wanted to taste your chakra for a very long time now."
"I don't think I need to tell either of you to be careful from here-on-out, Kisame is one of Akatsuki's strongest members. Be wary of his sword Samehada as well, it's a sentient sword that eats chakra; growing in size at it does so. This fight would be best fought close quarters, but don't let his sword get too close or it will expand and he will be able to shave the skin off your bones with it." Itachi said as his onyx eyes turned Sharingan red, Yugao and Gai nodded before assuming their respected offensive stances.
Gai was the first to move, rushing at Kisame from behind hoping to catch the large man off guard with a quick series of jabs and kicks. Kisame was ready however and used Samehada to block Gai's attacks before swinging the large sword in a horizontal arc, attempting to shatter a few ribs. Gai was ready for this however, and dropped low to the ground as the large sword missed overhead, before using both hands to propel himself into an up-kick that Kisame barely managed to dodge moving his head back at the last second. Kisame then grabbed onto one of Gai's legs before throwing him over his shoulder, slamming him into the ground. Gai rolled out of the way as Kisame brought his foot down, creating a small indent where his head had just been, before distancing himself from the large shark-like man; attempting to regain the breath he had lost being slammed.
"I won't be forced to retreat like the last time we fought." Kisame said as he looked at Gai, causing the green clad Jounin to raise an eyebrow at the declaration.
"We've fought before?" Gai asked, causing Kisame, and to a lesser extent Itachi, to sweatdrop.
"All brawns no brains it would seem." Kisame said to himself before being forced to duck under a slash Yugao had sent at the back of his head.
"It's not very nice to sneak up on people like that when they are talking." Kisame said as he attempted to sweep Yugao's legs out from under her before engaging her in Kenjutsu, pushing the smaller woman back with his powerful strikes.
Ducking and weaving between Kisame's strikes, Yugao waited patiently for an opening to use her speed for a counter attack. The moment came when Kisame made a rookie mistake by overextending his reach with a stab, enabling Yugao to duck around the large man leaving a large horizontal cut across his gut. The gain in momentum was only temporary however, as Yugao found Kisame's foot planted in her gut as he landed a heavy back kick and sent her skidding across the ground.
Kisame smirked as he turned towards Itachi.
"The beast with no brain is still trying to catch his breath, while the pretty little Kenjutsu user probably won't be getting up for a little while, looks like it's just you and me now partner." Kisame said with a toothy grin as he rested Samehada on his shoulder.
"Indeed." Itachi replied emotionlessly as he un-sheathed the Ninjato strapped across his back. It had been a while since he used this particular weapon but he hoped it would be enough.
"That puny blade won't work against Samehada for long, and I know to avoid looking at your Sharingan Itachi-san, you may be able to catch others off guard but it won't be as easy with me!" Kisame said as he charged at Itachi.
"You don't have to look in to my eyes for them to be effective; I can still sense where your movements are coming from." Itachi said as he sidestepped a large downward slash, before slashing Kisame across the arm. Using his speed Itachi disappeared from Kisame's vision, reappearing behind him and leaving a large diagonal slash along his back before quickly disappearing again. Growling Kisame did a complete 360 with Samehada, hoping to catch Itachi as he reappeared, much to his surprise though; Itachi reappeared momentarily on top of Samehada, before Kisame felt a sharp pain in his gut. Looking behind him he saw a smirking Yugao, Ninjato blade deep in the small of his back, causing his eyes to widen slightly before coughing up blood.
"You made a rookie mistake Kisame, believing an enemy was incapacitated without solid proof, and now you're going to pay for it." Itachi said, bringing Kisame's attention back to the older Uchiha; who was still standing atop Samehada, tip of his Ninjato poised to strike at Kisame's jugular.
"Heh…" Kisame breathed out heavily, "It would seem that even after all these years…. Your still stronger than me eh Itachi-san."
"In a one on one fight it might have ended differently, but you were at a disadvantage from the start, fighting against two a ranked Shinobi as well as myself, you should not have come here Kisame." Itachi said, but his eyes narrowed when he saw Kisame smirk.
"Whoever said the fight was finished." Kisame said before dropping Samehada, throwing Itachi off balance, and quickly spun to knock Yugao away again.
"It was fun Itachi-san, but you should know it won't be that easy to defeat me." Kisame said before gathering a large amount of chakra.
"Suiton: Bakusui Shoha!" Kisame shouted as he spit out a large amount of water before going through another set of handsigns.
"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!" Kisame shouted as a large torrent of water shot towards Yugao and Itachi, who quickly picked Gai up and got out of the way.
"It would seem this fight is over Yugao-san, we should wait for Naruto-kun and Kakashi-san to return." Itachi said as he looked out over the clearing, not seeing any traces of Kisame.
"I agree with Itachi-san, the two of us are in no condition to fight Yugao-san." Gai said from his seated position, "I trust in both Kakashi and Naruto-kun, they will be fine."
-With Naruto-
"It would seem that Kisame was forced to flee Konan-san, I would recommend doing the same." Naruto said as he destroyed another one of Konon's Kami Bunshins with his Ninjato.
"Kisame was fighting against not only Itachi, but two other high ranked Konoha shinobi as well, I've got both you and Kakashi-san separated and that gives me the advantage." Konan replied as she sent a few exploding kunai towards Naruto. "While I will admit the information we had on you was off, you have not shown me anything that leads me to believe you will defeat me."
Naruto smirked as he used Kawarimi to get out of way of the exploding Kunai before going through his next set of handsigns.
"Kiri Gakure no Jutsu" He said, creating a thick layer of mist that covered the clearing.
"It's a shame that you have fallen so far since being Jiraiya's student Konan-san." Naruto said through the mist, causing Konan's eyes to widen. "I don't think this is the path he wanted you three to go down. I know that Pein is just Nagato's puppet, but what happened to Yahiko, Jiraiya said there were three of you, but from Itachi's information there are only two of you left."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Konan said, causing Naruto to scoff.
"Don't play dumb with me Konan; I know exactly who you are. Orphans from the Second Shinobi war, Jiraiya found you three and instead of killing you like his teammate Orochimaru suggested decided to train you three. He had hoped that with Nagato's Rinnegan he would be the child of prophecy that the elder toad had told him about… but it looks like Nagato has succumbed to darkness and is now going down the path of self-destruction." Naruto said, earning a snarl from Konan.
"How dare you speak of Nagato like that! You have no idea what we went through as children. Yahiko's dream was to create a world of peace, but when he died Nagato took over his dream and is working on fulfilling it." Konan replied through the mist.
"By gathering all the Biju to create a weapon of mass destruction, I may have been an idiot before Konan but even I know that creating a weapon like that will do anything but bring peace to this world." Naruto replied as he appeared behind Konan, slicing the back of her knee causing her to drop to one knee. "I also know how the two of you came into power in Ame, destroying a major part of the village in your fight with Hanzo, killing lots of innocent families. Since then Nagato has ruled Ame like a tyrant, he may have freed the people from Hanzo, but they still live in fear of him."
"You have no idea what you're talking about!" Konan shouted as she tried to stand; only to be struck down again Naruto buried his fist in her stomach.
"I know more than you think Konan-san, I'm not going to kill you, but when you return to Ame take a walk around the village… Not as the "Angel" as they so appropriately call you, but use a henge and go as a regular civilian, interact with the people and see what they think of your glorious leaders rule." Naruto said, and Konan couldn't help but blush lightly at Naruto's choice of words about her nickname. "While you're doing that, think about what kind of weapon Nagato is currently trying to build, its' a weapon of mass destruction, not a weapon of peace, what good would a world without wars be if there is no one alive to enjoy it."
"You know nothing of peace." Konan spat.
"You're absolutely right, I don't know what peace is, nor do I know how to achieve it." Naruto started, "But I have people who believe that I will be able to achieve it, and I can't let my friends down. One last word of advice Konan-san, be wary of the man with the spiral mask, he is not who he seems to be. There are larger powers at work in this world, and as of right now, Akatsuki is the least of my worries."
That was the last thing Konan heard and her world went black as Naruto delivered a quick chop to the back of her neck before ending his hidden mist jutsu. Letting out a sigh Naruto expanded his senses, locating Kakashi and the rest of the group back in the clearing they found Itachi in. Naruto used a Shunshin to get to the clearing quickly, before doing a quick once over of his team. Kakashi seemed a little tired and had a few cuts and bruises around his body; Yugao was breathing a little heavy and holding her side, while both Gai and Itachi seemed to be somewhat ok.
"How did it go Naruto?" Kakashi asked.
"It went fine, we fought a bit, I talked to her about a few things, then I left her unconscious with a message to deliver to Pein, and hopefully a lot on her mind to think about." Naruto replied, "We should get back to Konoha though, we can discuss everything else there."
-3 Days Later, Konoha-
After sneaking Itachi in relatively easily, Naruto and his team could be found standing in front of Tsunade, reporting how their mission went.
"So… let me get this straight, you three." Tsunade started, pointing at Gai, Yugao and Itachi, "Fought Kisame and forced him to retreat."
"Hai Tsunade-sama." Yugao clarified.
"While the two of you fought Konan and a few of her clones." She continued, pointing at Naruto and Kakashi, "Kakashi was able to end the fight relatively unscathed from what you told me, You decided to let her live in hopes that she would deliver a message to Pein, and to think about what you told her?"
"Errr… Yea." Naruto said, hearing it from Tsunade it really didn't sound like the best plan ever, but he had his reasons for it.
"I can't think of a reason why you would do something like that… on second thought, I don't want to know." Tsunade said with a sigh, "I'm getting to old for this shit."
"In all honesty Tsunade-sama, Konan didn't come across as an evil person… she is blindly following her last remaining friend as he is going down a dark path, leading her to do the same. I wanted her to take my advice in hopes of… pushing her… so to say, back on the path that Jiraiya had hoped they would go on; whether or not she does is up to her, I will not spare her a second time should another fight between us occur." Naruto said.
"Make sure that you don't brat. Now we just need to figure out what to do about you Itachi." Tsunade said as she looked at the older Uchiha, "there are two ways we can do this… we can tell the village about the planned coup d'état, and the roll that you played in making sure it didn't happen. You would probably be welcomed back as a hero. If you do not want the village to know about it, then it won't be as easy, I could probably get the sentence brought down from execution to jail time, but I couldn't guarantee how long it would last." Tsunade said.
"I would prefer to not let the village know about what really happened that night… The Uchiha Clan had fallen far enough from grace before I killed them, but my other option isn't that great either, the most likely case is I would be thrown in jail and have my chakra sealed off until I was released, making me unable to serve the village." Itachi replied, earning a nod from Tsunade.
"May I suggest something Tsunade-sama?" Naruto asked.
"Of course Naruto-kun." Tsunade replied.
"I suggest leaving the announcement of Itachi's return to the village until I've been named the new Uzumaki clan head, after that you can explain to the village and the council that Itachi came back willingly and that I've taken him as my responsibility." Naruto explained.
"The council still won't like that; they will probably argue that he came back in an attempt to kill you, or someone else, before disappearing again." Tsunade said, receiving a nod from Naruto.
"Alright… then how about this, the Uzumaki clan has a seal similar to the caged bird seal that the Hyuuga use, however I'm able to link it directly to a certain part of the person's body. If I was to say… link it to Itachi's heart, I would be able to kill him without a second glance should something happen. Itachi is loyal to this village, that much is certain, but the council and civilians will still be in fear of him, with my seal it will at least give them a means of security. It would also be safe to assume that the council would want Itachi close to me as much as possible, so he would probably be coming on missions with me, as well as being a temporary resident in my compound." Naruto said, "And before you ask, the only person able to use a seal that has been placed is the person who has placed it, so Itachi will not have to worry about someone else trying to kill him."
"That could work… how do you feel about it Itachi?" Tsunade asked.
"Having to have the seal placed would be less than satisfactory, but from what I've seen so far, Naruto-kun has grown in leaps and bounds since I last saw him and I'm willing place my trust in him… Given my other options I don't really have much of a choice if I want to still be an active part of Konoha's shinobi forces anyways." Itachi said, earning a nod from Tsunade.
"Alright, well I will call a council meeting in a few days then, just lay low till then. Naruto's compound should have everything you need to last a few days, training grounds included." Tsunade said before she dismissed the five of them.
"C'mon Itachi, might as well show you your new hideout for the next few days." Naruto said as he grabbed Itachi's shoulder and left via Shunshin, followed shortly by Yugao.
"So..." Tsunade started, "Either of you want to make a bet on when Yugao or Naruto will confess their feelings for one-another?" Tsunade asked with a smirk.
"Hopefully not long, Tsunade-sama… I think it would be good for the both of them." Kakashi replied with Gai nodding in agreement.
-With Naruto-
Naruto and Itachi appeared just inside the gate of his compound, and not being one for admiring scenery Itachi requested being shown to his room right away. After putting his things away Naruto gave Itachi a quick tour of the house and the yard, making sure Itachi knew where each of the training fields was located.
"Well… that's pretty much it Itachi, if you need anything else just ask me or Yugao. Breakfast is usually prepared around eight am, and supper is usually around six, depending on if we have a mission or not." Naruto said, after receiving a nod from Itachi he set out to find Yugao, who he had felt enter shortly after arriving with Itachi.
"Yugao-chan are you in here?" Naruto asked as he knocked on the door, not getting a reply but hearing a slight rustling in the room he opened the door, only to go rigid in shock. On the far side of the room, Yugao was bent over rummaging through something in her drawer in nothing but a wet towel that left almost nothing to the imagination. Naruto's eyes trailed up from the floor, following Yugao's long silky smooth legs right up to her heart shaped rear end. As Yugao straightened up Naruto noticed how her long purple hair flowed to the small of her back, and he had to admit that it looked a lot better let down. Then she turned, going as stock still as Naruto had, giving him time to take in her beautiful curvy figure from the front; taking in the way her breasts bounced slightly from her sudden stop, before looking up to her beautiful face that had gone a shade of red not even Hinata could match.
"N-NARUTOOOOOOOO!" Yugao yelled, breaking Naruto out of his trance.
"Ah fuck I'm sorry Yugao-chan, I had no idea!" Naruto shouted as he dodged the various amount of things Yugao found to throw at him.
Where the fuck did she pull that sword from? He thought to himself as a Ninjato imbedded itself in the wall directly behind him.
"That doesn't excuse the fact that you were staring at me in nothing but a towel!" Yugao argued.
"I said I was sorry, I was just captivated by your beauty that's all!" Naruto said honestly, causing Yugao to stop throwing things and blush once again.
"R-really?" She stammered out.
"Yea… I didn't know you had just gotten out of the shower, I just wanted to know if you wanted to train or something." Naruto said, "I'll be downstairs whenever your dressed come find me and we can talk."
"S-sure, but you owe me for this Naruto-kun." Yugao said. Naruto just waved it off and left, leaving a flustered Yugao alone in her room.
H-He said I was beautiful…
-Sometime later-
After Yugao had gotten dressed, the two of them decided to waste a little time doing a little Kenjutsu practice; and after nursing the numerous cuts and lacerations Yugao had left over his body Naruto had offered to take her for a walk around Konoha in the early evening light, eventually winding up on the Yondaime's head. The two of them laid there in relative silence as they gazed up towards the sky as the stars began to line the night sky.
"You know…" Yugao started, gaining Naruto's attention, "Aside from that little stunt you had walking in on me earlier, I had a lot of fun this afternoon Naruto-kun, thank you."
"You aren't going to forget that for a while are you?" Naruto sighed out, earning a slight giggle from Yugao as she shook her head. "Whatever… I'm glad that you did, because I did to, it's been a long time since we have been able to hang out like this…"
"Yea…" Yugao said, in the Anbu they hardly had time to hang out as just regular friends with all the missions and training they were forced to do, but she had always enjoyed the moments of peace they had managed to share over the past three years.
"Hey Yugao-chan, can I ask you something?" Naruto said.
"Of course Naruto-kun."
"I need to talk to Hinata about how I feel, but I don't know how to tell her without destroying what little confidence she has left." Naruto started, "While we were never really talked during my time in the academy, I still consider her a friend. I want to let her down her down without hurting her too much."
"I think that… no matter how you tell her, you are going to hurt her." Yugao started, causing Naruto to sigh, "That girl, whatever her reasons may be, has devoted herself to you. I watched as she used to follow you everywhere when the two of you were younger, she watched as your hard work and determination overcame the obstacles in your early life, and I think that she wanted to eventually be like you, in hopes that she would gain your attention and would return her feelings."
"I see… I don't know what to do Yugao-chan… I've faced S ranked criminal after S ranked criminal and never faltered… but when it comes to girls I turn into a complete idiot." Naruto said, causing Yugao to giggle at his antics.
"I'm sure you will find a way Naruto-kun, you always do." Yugao said with a smile.
"Thanks Yugao-chan." Naruto said, earning a nod from said purple haired woman, before she slid a little closer to Naruto and rested her head on his chest, enjoying the sound of his heartbeat.
"W-what are you doing Yugao-chan?" Naruto stammered as he stiffened slightly at the feeling of Yugao's head on his chest, earning another giggle from her. Looking up Yugao noticed the slight red hue on Naruto's cheeks, and after a moment of hesitation decided to go one step further as she reached up and cupped Naruto's cheek, earning a curios look from the blonde before his eyes widened as he felt her lips press against his. It took Naruto a few moments to realize what was going on, but as soon as he did he returned the kiss, making Yugao smile on the inside. The kiss held no lust, no want, just years of pent up emotions, no words were needed to describe what the two of them were feeling, the kiss was doing that better than words ever could.
"Does this mean that…" Naruto started, but was stopped as Yugao put a finger up against his lips.
"I want to take this slow Naruto-kun, I'm not sure what I feel for you right now, but I don't want to miss this chance. For now… lets' just enjoy this." Yugao said as she placed her head back on his chest, a soft smile graced her lips as she felt Naruto wrap his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to his body.
Yea… I could get used to this. They both thought.
Annnnd done, I really wanted to get this chapter out either last Thursday of Friday, but for some reason the fight scene took a hell of a long time for me to get right… Originally I had Kisame die, then I was like Nah, Kisame is a BAMF, he deserves to have a better death then what I had, plus after watching his first fight with Gai he forced him to open the sixth gate at only 30% power so it didn't seem that realistic. I know I didn't focus a lot on the Konan fight, it was never really my intention to spend a lot of time, and I wanted Naruto to use her as a message to Pein that he wasn't one to be defeated so easily. At the same time though since I'm most likely going to be writing Konan in as the final pairing, I wanted a bit of their interaction to be him giving her reasons to doubt Pein, either way I've got how they will end up down already, and that will come later. Got some Naru/Yugao fluff at the end as well… No this doesn't mean they are dating yet, and while both Naruto and Yugao feel something akin to love for each other they are both afraid to show it, I've got the path leading up to a confession already planned out, and I hope you guys enjoy the ride. I had to do a lot of research into both Konan and Kisame's characters for the fights, so I hope they both seemed believable. Naruto walking in on Yugao was a spur of the moment thought I had because while I want my story to be a serious one, there has to be a little fun thrown in there as well. I don't really think I did a good job of describing Yugao, so let me know what you thought of that, and any pointers you might have as readers to help me better get my descriptions across. Anything else I might have missed feel free to chew me out in either the reviews or over PMs. Not sure when the next chapter will be coming out, I'm going back on shift tomorrow but I'll get it out to you guys as soon as I can, so until then take er easy and stay safe! The talk with Hinata will come next chapter, I felt that this was an appropriate place to end this chapter without having to drag it on with another 3-4k word count, most of you should know I don't write crazy long chapters like that.