I apologize for the long wait. It take me a little while to "step into the shoes" of new characters, and there is quite a few of them in this chapter. On top of that, someone I know in real life decided for personal reasons that they weren't going to read HotE anymore. That was...hard. It pretty much killed my enthusiasm for writing anything for almost two weeks. But I pushed past that, and now I'm ready to write once again.
On a positive note, I have a beta now, so you should (hopefully) see the number of grammatical errors take a sharp drop.
AU changes: Isaribi's powers changed a bit. Check the bottom of the chapter for more meta-level information.
Without any more delay, here's the next chapter. Chapter 41: The Best Laid Plans
A week later Chojuro, Naruto, Hinata, Haku, and Sakura arrived on one of the cliffs overlooking Kirigakure. The village Hidden in the Mists was an impressive sight. Almost quite literally hidden by thick mist, the Kiri was located in a fertile valley that was ringed by jagged mountains. Most of the buildings in the village were tall cylindrical towers made of light brown stone. Windows dotted each tower, and on top of each building grew carefully tended gardens.
At the center of the village was the massive building made out of white stone. It's rounded edges conveyed a sense of strength, yet it was also elegant in it's design. The symbol for Kiri gleamed proudly on the large sign that dominated a portion of the multilevel structure. It was obvious, even from this distance, that the sign was old. Yet, it shined bright in the sun, telling the world that Kiri had not yet fallen.
Heading into the village, Naruto couldn't help but notice how quickly the Kiri citizens moved from place to place. Unlike Konoha, where many strolled from shop to shop, the Kiri natives quickly walked to their destinations. Having just fought a brutal civil war only a few years prior, they faced the unenviable task of rebuilding their shattered home village while also maintaining a strong front for prospective job assignments. Given that their village was remote, getting ninja contracts over the more accessible shinobi villages had always been a struggle. And that was before the isolationist policies had even further isolated the village, rightfully earning the term 'the Bloody Mist' under the leadership of the Fourth Mizukage,Yagura. Eventually a civil war was sparked by Yagura's tyrannical rule.
Despite those hardships, Kiri always looked forward to the future. Under the direction of their new Mizukage, Mei Terumi, Kiri's internal policies had been completely changed. She had abolished the caste system, created job and housing incentives for bloodline users, and spearheaded a renovation project. The current, and mostly completed, goal had been to reduce the village's reliance on outside sources for food.
Still, there hope in the air, having finally emerged victorious from the five year civil war, Mei had won the love of her people with her courage, honesty, and determination to change the village for the better. Despite being a woman in a male dominated society, Mei was one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful Kiri ninja.
"This is going to be a good meeting." Naruto nodded to himself, "Mei sounds like she would benefit from creating an alliance with Konoha and/or the Uzumaki faction." Casually shoving his hand into his pocket as they followed Chojuro down the street, the Uzumaki pulled a small pebble from his pocket. It looked like a completely ordinary pebble, completely unnoteworthy, except for the perfect smoothness of it's perfectly round shape. A small, barely detectable flick of his wrist sent the stone rolling across the street and into a darkened alleyway.
A few minutes after the group past the alley, a tiny smoke cloud puffed from the stone. When it cleared, Clone Sixty Three was standing in it's place. Quickly performing a Henge, the disguised clone set out to look for the nearest housing realtor. It had been ordered to investigate the price of land and housing by Naruto, and it wasn't going to fail in it's mission. Knowledge was power, and Clone Sixty Three was determined to gather all it could so that Boss could make the best decision.
Dropping Chojuro's teammate off at the hospital, the Mist ninja lead Naruto's group towards the Mizukage Building. Heading inside the building, Naruto had to crane his head back to look at the arched ceiling. Painted reliefs depicted Kiri's ancient victories and deep brown oak pillars held up the ceiling. "Wait here." Chojuro requested, "I'll check with Mizukage-Sama to see if she is available."
Mei was having a rather stressful day. She had started early, hoping to finish her paperwork early, and perhaps even go looking for Chojuro who was nearly three days late. But everything had conspired against her. Three new reports had come in just as she finished signing the last paper. Each of the three reports were basically the same. A ship had been attacked by an unknown enemy, and all hands had been lost. The latest reports marked the twenty-seventh ship to go missing over the last two years. On top of the increasing pressure to find out what was attacking the ships, the Water Daimyo had sent a message that he would be visiting Kiri in two months.
Given that he would be traveling by boat, she really needed to figure out what was attacking the ships before an international incident happened while the Daimyo was traveling to Kiri…
Glancing up as her door opened, Mei spotted Chojuro as he entered. Brightening up as the young swordsman entered, the auburn haired kage stood from her desk. Denying she felt a twinge of protest from her back, she stepped from behind her desk to pull the surprised Chojuro into a full body hug. "Chojuro-Kun. I'm glad you are back." Pulling back from the hug, she whacked him on the head. "You were supposed to be back from that scouting mission days ago!" A frown creased her lips, her blue lipstick contrasting starkly with her pale skin. "What happened?"
"We made good time for the first week and a half," Chojuro began as he stood at attention, "And we reached the Loyalist Camp without any complications. After determining that they were still believers in the old regime, my team and I headed back towards Kiri." Chojuro took a shuddering breath before continuing. "It all happened so fast. We were moving over River Delta when they attacked. The Loyalists hit us from both sides, and we were caught in the crossfire. Kiyoshi died from the first attack. The rest of us hopped in the water and let the river carry us downstream."
"We climbed out after two or so miles, and tried to make our way back." Chojuro's fist tightened, "But we didn't move fast enough. Ten Loyalists attacked and we fought them off, but…" The young swordsman closed his eyes, "One of them was rigged with suicide incendiary seals. I can still hear Namiko's screams as she burned." Chojuro took a deep breath before continuing, a slight tremble to his voice, "We had to flee when more showed up. Eventually the main Loyalist force surrounded us."
"Shiro and I fought them for what seemed like hours. Eventually Shiro took a bad hit and fell unconscious." The swordsman's fingers flexed around an invisible hilt. "I decided to make my last stand there. I took out perhaps a dozen or so of them, but I was overwhelmed when I started to run low on chakra."
"How did you survive?" Mei asked softly, knowing what Chojuro was feeling all too well from her own missions that had gone south.
"I had been knocked down by a Loyalist swordsman when he was blasted off of me by a wind attack." Chojuro shook his head, still amazed at what he had seen that day. "I was rescued by Naruto Uzumaki."
Mei blinked. "I thought he was on vacation."
"He was." Chojuro couldn't help the slight blush at Mei's - in his humble opinion - cute look of confusion. "But he heard the battle and came to help."
"And what do you think of his fighting style?" Ao, Mei's taciturn and sometimes harsh bodyguard, spoke up for the first time since Chojuro had entered the room. "What are his capabilities?"
"It was…" Chojuro searched for an adequate word, "...Humbling." Looking at the wall, he gazed into the past, remembering the sheer power that Naruto and group had inflicted. "It was like watching the stories of old shinobi come to life. The Loyalists never even touched them. It was a one sided...slaughter." The young swordsman finished lamely, feeling distinctly embarrassed by his praise of someone other than his beloved Mizukage.
"Is that all?" Ao frowned at Chojuro, "Is that all you have to report?"
"No." Chojuro shook his head, "One of Naruto-San's group, Sakura Haruno, was able to heal Shiro enough that he was able to make the journey back with us. We dropped him off at the hospital and then I brought Naruto-San over to see you."
"Naruto Uzumaki is here right now?" Mei demanded as her eyes widened, "I wasn't planning on meeting him so soon." Chojuro nodded, confused to why Mei was so worked up. "You don't understand. I have to make a good impression." Running a hand through her hair to shake out any tangles, Mei continued explaining, "Naruto is very important. Not only is he the son of Minato Namikaze, the greatest fighter of the last Shinobi World War," The auburn haired woman straightened her dress, the silken material that hugging her figure shifted slightly.
Normally she had the low bustline of the dress show more than just a hint of her breasts, but given that Naruto had three girlfriends who were, more or less, as beautiful as she was readjustment was necessary. Even more importantly, subtle seduction wasn't going to work. While Mei hadn't whored herself out for Kiri, she saw nothing wrong with using her assets to assist her when making deals. And this deal with Naruto Uzumaki would change the future of Kiri forever.
Mentally reviewing the information she had on Naruto and Konoha that her spies had gathered over the last few months, Mei began to form a strategy for the negotiations that would soon be occurring. "From what I know, Konoha's factions have been having trouble with each other. Over a month ago there was a disturbance within one of the training grounds that involved Sakura Haruno, Hinata Hyuga, and Haku the Uzumaki Servant." The Mizukage blinked. "There was tensions rising in the village after that, and then abruptly Naruto, Sakura, Hinata, and Haku all went on an extended 'vacation'. I had originally assumed it was because he had to flee due to a loss of political clout, but in light of Chojuro-Kun's report, perhaps it was something else...what if something happened to Hinata, Sakura, and Haku?" A slim finger tapped her chin in thought. "What if they were attacked and Naruto - given his track record for protecting them at all costs - almost retaliated?" Nodding to herself, Mei continued the line of thought. "If that was the case, Tsunade would most likely seek to temporarily remove the object of the village's ire, and also protect her godson at the same time. And when he is abroad, Naruto can gather allies to consolidate his power."
A smile creased the redhead's lips. "Well done Tsunade."
"Mizukage-Sama will see you now." Chojuro reported, "Please come this way." Leading Naruto, Hinata, Haku, and Sakura into Mei's office, he stepped off to the side, revealing the leader of Kiri. Standing at five feet and seven inches, the naturally alluring woman could easily command the attention of a room with a mere glance. Her deep auburn hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall, and her bangs framed her face. A part of her bangs hung over the right side of her face, covering one of her eyes, lending her a mysterious aura. Still, there was an intelligence and cunning hidden within her jade colored eyes.
"Naruto-Sama." Mei extended her hand, "I'm so glad I am finally able to meet you." Naruto firmly shook the offered hand, meeting her gaze without any glances at her bosom. Secretly pleased that he hadn't snuck a peek, Mei let the genuine smile crease her lips. "You can sit down." She directed as she dropped her hand and moved to stand behind the desk.
After exchanging pleasantries and small talk, Mei launched into the question that had been burning within her. "Why did you save Chojuro-Kun and Shiro-Kun?"
Naruto shrugged. "They needed help." To him, it was a simple truth. But to Mei, it was an earth shattering revelation. She had assumed that Naruto Uzumaki was gathering power to challenge his village, but now it was clear he instead used power as a tool to protect those he cared about.
She had thought he was like his father, brilliant and charismatic, wanting to change the world by building a better future. Naruto was something else. He cared little for what the world had been, only seeking to insure that no child suffered what he had. And in the end, if he could help, he would. Not because it was advantageous or painted him in a better light...no, it was simply, incredibly…'Because they needed my help.'
Blinking, she discarded all of her pre-planned speeches, choosing instead to speak from her heart. "Naruto-Sama," Her jade colored eyes searched his, "Why did you come here?"
"I want to create a world where children aren't forced to fight." There was something compelling in Naruto's tone, "I want to create a world where people don't die for a name." His bright blue eyes met Mei's, "And most of all, I want to protect those I care about." The blonde Uzumaki nodded, "That Mizukage, is why I am here."
"You...don't care about Konoha?" Mei clarified, "Isn't that what you just implied?"
"Konoha is where the important people in my life live." Naruto carefully replied, making sure to not give any hints about his true feelings on the Leaf.
"I see." The Mizukage's mind raced as she attempted to discern why Naruto was really in Kiri. Then a sudden, almost inconceivable thought occurred to her. "Wait. You didn't just come here to take a vacation, did you?"
"Mostly." Naruto wasn't sure what the big deal was. "I mean, we also visited Haku-Chan's old town and I'm checking the prices of land around here, but other than that, it's basically a vacation for the five of us."
"Five?" Mei's sculpted eyebrow lifted, "There is was supposed to be four in your team." Unfortunately for Mei, she had never met Naruto before, and was unprepared for how simply he view events around him.
"Oh," Naruto dismissed, "That's Honoka Uzumaki. We rescued her from a time barrier on a forgotten island."
At this point all of the Kiri ninja in the room were staring at the blonde Uzumaki. "I'm...I'm sorry?" Mei was more than a little concerned that Naruto had some serious mental issues. "A time barrier?"
"Yep." Naruto nodded.
At Mei's openly baffled look, Naruto began explaining the events on the forgotten island that led to the rescue of Honoka. Once he had finished, he briefly summarized the events that had happened once he and his team had reached Kiri's main island.
"Well," Mei stated what all of the other Kiri ninja were feeling, "I can see that you don't do anything simply." Privately, she mused, "And it seems like those rumors of Naruto-Sama's sealing prowess are true." Outloud however, she simply stood, signaling that their meeting was over. "But since you all came here to relax, I won't keep you any longer." Quickly writing a note on a spare piece of paper, she handed the note to Naruto. "Take this to the First Kiri Hotel. I kept you longer than I should have, and please accept the five-star accommodations as recompense."
Despite his slight confusion to what she was talking about, Naruto accepted the note none the less. "Thank-you." The group headed towards the door when Mei's voice called out after them.
"Naruto-Sama, if I may be so bold as to ask one more question before you depart?" Naruto halted and turned around, confusion written across his face. "They got hurt, didn't they?" After a moment of continued confusion, Naruto suddenly understood what Mei was asking.
"Yeah, they did."
"Thank-you for indulging my curiosity, Naruto-Sama." Mei bowed deeply, "If there is anything I can do to help with your vacation, please let me know." Naruto thanked her and the group headed out, Hinata's face blank as she attempted to discern the hidden meaning behind the Mizukage's question. After the door closed and he was certain that they were out of earshot, Ao turned to Mei.
"Mizukage-Sama, are you certain it is wise to let them access to the city without a guard?" The eyepatch wearer tapped his chin in thought. "Why, back in my day…"
"Ao," Mei smiled gently as she cut off his rant, "Shut-up or I'll kill you." Having temporarily silenced the man's rant about the 'good old days', the auburn haired woman explained her reasoning. "I don't have guards on them for three reasons." She raised a finger. "First, I have a feeling that Naruto wouldn't try anything." A second finger was raised. "Secondly, the First Kiri Hotel is directly in the center of Kiri. If we are attacked, they will also be attacked by proxy. Thirdly," Another finger joined the others, "Naruto Uzumaki is the Jinchuriki of the Kyubi. We can't afford to provoke him without reason." She paused, gathering her thoughts for a moment before continuing.
"Given that I'm almost certain that Sakura, Hinata, and Haku were attacked by genjutsu in Konoha, which caused the chain reaction that caused Naruto to take a 'vacation', I'm certain that he won't cause an issue." At Chojuro's blank look that clearly showed that he didn't follow, Mei elaborated. "Given how strongly Naruto reacted when he saw someone he didn't even directly know was in danger, if people he deems as 'his important people' were attacked and harmed by a third party, it would get...extremely messy. We would have heard about a portion of the Leaf village being destroyed. Since we didn't, it means that the attack had to have come from a source that isn't easily traceable. Genjutsu would cause damage, but is not likely to kill."
"You are wise as always, Mizukage-Sama." Chojuro praised, amazed that Mei had planned all that out while still keeping up a conversation.
"Oh stop." Mei smiled at the teenager, "You're going to make me blush." She winked before giggling, the sound throaty and almost sultry, "Who knows what I'll do to someone who makes me blush…"
"Mizukage-Sama!" Ao was agast, "I know that you are not as young as you used to be, but you cannot be considering Chojuro." Still sounding disapproving, he continued, "Back in my day…"
"Ao." Mei wasn't smiling nearly as gently as before, "Shut-up or I'll kill you."
As his beloved Mizukage threatened Ao, Chojuro couldn't help but glance out the window towards the First Kiri Hotel. "Naruto-San, how did you get so strong?"
"This is amazing." Haku breathed as she ran her hand against the smooth marble wall, "I have never seen anything like this." The room they had been given was actually a grand suite. Four bedrooms led into a main area that had a kitchen, dining room, living room, and a large shared heated pool. Heading into the kitchen, the ice user was practically ecstatic to see that it was fully stocked with every kind of cooking tool she could imagine. "I will cook my finest meal for everyone."
Elsewhere, Sakura was examining the bed in one of the rooms. It was a large king-sized bed, with silk sheets and high posts. It was the most comfortable looking bed she had ever seen, and reaching out to place her hand on the bed, Sakura noted that she had been correct in her assumption. "I'll try it out just for a moment." Carefully climbing on the bed, the pink haired teenager rested her head back on the down pillow. "I'll just close my eyes for a moment."
"Sakura-Chan?" Honoka glided into the room, "Are you awake?" Pausing as her eyes adjusted to the dim light in the room, the Uzumaki kunoichi couldn't help but smile as she spied Sakura's sleeping form. The pink haired teenager looked more at peace than Honoka had ever seen. While Honoka was beyond thankful that there wasn't constant bloody battles in this era like in her time, she was starting to see that the era she now found herself in had just as many problems, only they were different than the ones in her era.
Lacking Haku's or Hinata's bloodline, Honoka had watched Sakura push herself again and again, seeking to match the others' skill level. And amazingly, she was succeeding. Granted, her fighting style was different than Hinata's graceful precise strikes or Haku's flowing ice techniques, but Honoka freely admitted that Sakura had a wider spread of skills than herself. But looking at the peacefully sleeping pinkette, Honoka couldn't help but feel reaffirmed in the belief that Naruto was right; That children shouldn't be forced to become soldiers.
Carefully backing out of the room, Honoka softly closed the door and headed back to the others. She was certain that they wouldn't begrudge Sakura for falling asleep.
Naruto let out a content sigh as he lay on his bedroll. Having set the bedroll on the suede leather couch, he marveled on how comfortable the couch was. Heck, it was as comfortable as his bed, if not more so. Now that he was alone, the blonde Uzumaki once again puzzled over Hinata-Chan's and Haku-Chan's expression when it had been decided that he would take the couch and they would take the rooms. "They looked disappointed?"
He tapped his chin. "I mean, the couch is comfortable, but the beds are at least as comfortable this is." After searching his mind for several more minutes, Naruto resolved to ask Jiraiya in their next correspondence. He would have preferred to ask Kakashi, Iruka, or Asuma, but they didn't have the Toad Summoning Contract. Since both he and Jiraiya had the Toad Summoning Contract, Jiraiya and Naruto were able to exchange letters using one of the messenger toads.
Messenger toads, unlike other summon types, were able to summon themselves to a target location to deliver messages. "Come to think of it, Jiraiya should be sending a messenger toad tomorrow morning since it will be a week since we last exchanged letters." The blonde Uzumaki resolved to be up before the messenger arrived. "I wonder how exactly the messenger toad moves from one location to another?" The last messenger toad hadn't known, but Naruto was confident that one of them would understand how they were able to travel distances in an instant…
"Well, he didn't know." Naruto shrugged and carefully opened the letter Jiraiya had sent. Having fed the messenger toad and given him the letter for Jiraiya, the blonde had sent the toad off. Flipping open the folded paper, Naruto began to read.
Naruto,
I got them. I captured all of the people who attacked your girlfriends. I'm taking them back to Konoha, and they'll stay there until they go to trial. I have more than enough evidence to keep them locked up, and once you and your girls get back (no rush), we will have the trial.
Naruto felt a surge of satisfaction. "They'll pay for what they did to Haku-Chan, Sakura-Chan, and Hinata-Chan." Nodding to himself, the blonde continued reading.
In other news, the Inuzuka Clan has expressed interest in joining the Uzumaki Faction. Apparently your friend Kiba and his sister Hana (single by the way) convinced their mother (also single) that the Uzumaki Faction was closer aligned with their goals.
Speaking of the Uzumaki Faction, perhaps it's time to call it something else? It's not just the Uzumaki clan anymore, and the faction name should reflect that. I can't think of any names off hand, but I'm sure that you'll think of something.
Tapping his chin in thought, Naruto made the mental note to discuss ideas for changing the faction name with the others.
Lastly, remember the missing nin that attempted to attack Ino Yamanaka? As it turns out, during an entire shift at the western gate, all of the gate guards are Humanitarians. Interesting isn't it? I'm investigating that angle, so don't worry about it. Enjoy your vacation. Side Note: Most of the Kiri women are gifted in the...assets department, so you should checkout the hot springs.
Let me know if you have any questions or concerns about what's going on back in Konoha.
One last thing: Could you get a picture of Mei for me? Preferably one with her being undressed (get it?) if possible.
-Jiraiya
Idly Naruto shrugged to himself. "I suppose I could always ask Mei for a picture. She can always say no." Hearing the sounds of the others waking up, the blonde Uzumaki began to create a basic list of activities he would like to complete over the next few days. Once everyone was awake and alert, he would ask them to add the things they would like to do as well. This was, after all, a vacation.
Two days later Mei was pleasantly surprised to be notified that Naruto was requesting a meeting. Having spent the last two days meeting with her advisors to figure out the best course of action in regards to Naruto's goal. It was a worthy goal, everyone admitted that, but not many believed it was possible. But...the more Mei had thought about it, the more she found herself wanting to believe that Naruto Uzumaki's vision for the world was possible.
And the end, Mei had made a choice.
"Our rebellion wasn't guaranteed to work. In fact," The Mizukage met their eyes, "It was almost guaranteed to fail. The odds stood against us. The old Loyalist faction was better equipped, had stronger ninja, and more supplies then we could ever hope for."
Mei's eyes burned with determination. "But we knew that. And yet...we still dared. We dared to believe that we could make a difference. We dared to believe that we could change the 'Bloody Mist'. We dared to defy."
"And you know what?" A smirk danced across her lips, "We succeeded."
And now...Mei and the council was daring to believe in a brighter future.
"Send Naruto-Sama in."
"Naruto-Sama," Mei greeted, a pleased smile creasing her lips, "What can I do for you?"
"Well," Naruto scratched his head, "I've been exchanging letters with Jiraiya, and he asked me to get a picture of you."
"Oh?" A sculpted eyebrow rose, "Did he say what kind of pose he wanted?"
"Errr…" Naruto was at a loss for words. "He...didn't say...exactly."
"Ohhh…" Mei smirked, "I think I know." Standing, the auburn haired beauty reached for one of the thin straps of her dress. "Should we take it right here?" Slipping the strap off her shoulder with a slim hand, the alluring woman gave Naruto an innocent look as she exposed her satin smooth shoulder and back. "Do you think he wants a shot of the front or back?" From his position, Ao made a strangled noise of distress.
"Uhhhh…" Even Naruto's obliviousness couldn't stop Mei's intent from getting through. "No, that's quite alright. You don't need to do that."
"Are you sure?" There was still that innocent look on her face, "I can slip this off if you would like."
"It's quite alright." Naruto wasn't sure exactly what to think. "Did Jiraiya plan this, or did he actually want a picture?"
Giggling to herself, Mei slipped the dress strap back on, much to Naruto's barely hidden relief. Settling herself back down in her chair, Mei sighed happily. "Thanks. I needed that."
"You're welcome?" It came out as more of a question than a statement.
"I'll get you a picture for Jiraiya-Sama." Mei promised, "I'm sure it will be exactly what he wants." She then shifted slightly, readying herself for the question she was about to ask. "Naruto-Sama, I would like to speak to you about possibly signing two alliance contracts."
"Two alliance contracts?" Naruto blinked, tilting his head slightly as he attempted to figure out what that could mean, "What do you mean?"
"Kiri would like to see if we can create an alliance contract with Konoha." Mei took a deep breath, "And we would like to also create one with you."
"Me?" Naruto was baffled, "Why me?"
"Because we dare to believe in your vision of the future."
Naruto nodded, understanding what Mei meant. "Ok." The Uzumaki Clan Head looked over at the Mizukage. "While I am not able to sign any contracts on behalf of Konoha, I can help you with the contract details if you would like. After that," Naruto smiled his true smile, "We can see about the alliance contract with the Uzumaki Faction."
"Sounds like a plan Naruto-Sama." The Mizukage agreed before a thought occurred to her. "Naruto-Sama, if I may, I have a question for you." Naruto gestured for her to continue. "Please keep in mind that I am not judging, just merely curious. Why didn't you use non-lethal techniques against the Kiri Loyalists?"
"Why would I use non-lethal techniques against them?" Naruto was baffled, "They attacked me and my precious people."
"You didn't have to kill them." Mei pointed out, her voice not accusing, "You and your team are obviously skilled enough to have done so if you wanted."
"Hmmm…" Naruto gave her question some thought. "It never really crossed my mind to be honest." He admitted, "Back in Konoha we are taught that making sure your enemy doesn't attack you again is best practice." Tilting his head, he considered the question further. "But I guess knocking them out would have done the same thing." Making a mental note to start attempting to knock people out when possible, the Uzumaki Clan Head refocused. "But we can talk about that later. I have a few hours before Hinata-Chan, Honoka-Chan, Haku-Chan, and Sakura-Chan are done with the hot springs. Shall we get started on the Konoha contract?"
"Of course Naruto-Sama."
Three days later Naruto was stopping in to finalize Kiri's alliance contract with the Uzumaki Faction - although the faction name would change once Naruto figured out a good replacement name - when he saw Mei's tired posture. Despite looking like she hadn't slept since the last time he saw her, Mei still straightened up and smiled at him. "Naruto-Sama. Please come in and sit down."
Pulling out the contact, the Mizukage flipped to the second page. "If we could look again at Section E, I would like to clarify it a bit more." Passing a copy to Naruto, she waited for him to flip to the second page.
"Before we do that," Naruto shifted the papers to the side, "What's going on?"
"It's not a big deal." Mei smiled tiredly, "We just have a bit of a water monster problem. I'm going to be sending out a team to see if they can locate what's attacking the ships and killing the sailors. We haven't had much luck before, but the attacks have increased in frequency over the last week, so hopefully we can find the monster."
"Let me help." Naruto offered, "My team is awesome, and has capabilities that your teams don't have." The Mizukage considered the offer. "Think of it as a trial run for our alliance." Naruto bartered, having sensed the opportunity for action. While he enjoyed the quiet and peace, he also enjoyed the adrenaline pumping action of intense missions as well.
"Alright." Mei nodded, realizing just how valuable the assistance Naruto and his team was. "I'll speak with the team leader. They are planning on leaving at first light. Is that alright?"
The Uzumaki nodded. "Yes." Shifting back to the papers, he flipped to the second page. "Now what part of Section E did you want to clarify?"
Arriving at the designated meeting location just before dawn the next morning, Naruto assessed the Kiri ninja that they would be going on the mission with. The leader was perhaps in his early thirties and had a white porcelain mask hooked to his belt. The mask only had the symbol of Kirigakure on it, but it was fairly obvious that other markings had been painted over. His team also had similar masks hooked to their belts.
"Naruto Uzumaki I presume?" The brown haired leader stepped forward and extended his gloved hand, "Mizukage-Sama informed me that you would be accompanying us on our mission to find whoever is attacking the ships." Naruto shook his hand. "My name is Hiromasa Hanta." Gesturing to his fellow teammates, he introduced them. Pointing at the larger man of the group, Hiromasa started. "This is Akio." The big man grunted and waved a single massive hand. "He's not much for talking. Very good with tracking though." Akio grunted again, pride edging the noise.
Moving to the next two, Hiromasa introduced the male and female, who looked to be siblings. "This is Masato and Misato Katsuragi." Other than being obviously different genders, one of the few differences between the two siblings was their hair color, Masato had dark blue hair while Misato had purple hair, and their style of clothing. Masato preferred the standard Kiri attire that consisted of a blue striped shirt and white/grey pants while Misato wore a form fitting black dress and a silver cross pendant hung from her neck.
Misato waved cheerily while Masato acknowledged them with a calm nod. "It's nice to meet you all." Naruto grinned at them, before introducing himself. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki." Pointing at each of them, he introduced his girlfriends and clanmate to the Kiri team. "This is Haku, Sakura Haruno, Hinata Hyuga, and Honoka Uzumaki." The girls bowed slightly.
"Well, we can discuss plans along the way as well as each other's' capabilities." Hiromasa directed as he triple-checked his weapon pouch, "But we need to get moving. There are ships coming into different ports over the next few days, and they would be the best places to try and pick up the person's and/or team's trail."
As they headed out of Kiri, towards the first harbor, Naruto couldn't help but ask Hiromasa the question that he had been wondering since their introductions. "You don't believe that there could be a monster of some kind that is attacking the boats?"
"Depends on the definition of the monster." Hiromasa replied, being careful to keep his voice low as he glanced at Misato who was happily chatting with Sakura, "Do people who do monstrous things, and thus could be called monsters, exist?" He nodded, ghosts of terrible memories whispering in his ears, "Yes." He glanced over at Naruto. "But do monsters, as in creatures from beyond, exist?" A head shake. "No. They don't exist."
Isaribi felt it stir within her. Kaima, the water monster. It had been with her as long as she remembered, but that wasn't much of a comfort. Her memories, up until the last seven years, were fuzzy and indistinct. Making her way back to the small cottage that had been her home for the last six years, the black haired girl endured the silent sneers and whispered insults as she made her way through the small village that was near her home. The fact that she had her bandages on to hide the places the scales had permanently formed on her skin didn't garner any sympathy from the townsfolk.
She just wanted to go home and sleep. Having to hunt for oysters in hopes of finding pearls to make a living, she had also been ordered to start attacking ships once again. The sight of the blood that was on her hands from the people she had killed didn't seem to ever wash out, and it sickened her. But that was her human side. The Kaima side of her reveled in the carnage and bloodshed. "Don't think about what you have to do. Amashi promised that once this is all over, he would have the cure ready." Isaribi hated herself; hated how she was a monster. But with Amashi's cure, she would be human once again, and she wouldn't have to be a monster.
Even now she felt her Kaima side stirring within her, angered by the hurtful words of others and it wanted to lash out; to taste their blood. Her muscles tensed with the strain of holding it back, and her teeth ached.
Breaking into a run, Isaribi sprinted through the last stretch of town, finally free from their hurtful words. She kept running all the way until she reached the cottage, her home; her place of refuge. Fumbling with her keys, Isaribi finally inserted the key into the old lock and turned it. As she pushed open the heavy door, some part of her whispered a word of caution, but it was easy to ignore those feelings. She was home, and home was safe.
"Hello Isaribi." Amachi grinned, his smile full of teeth and lies, "Welcome home."
"Wh-What are you doing here?" Isaribi clutched her bag close, "Why are you in my house?"
"I'm hurt," Amachi feigned a look of confused hurt, "You don't want to see me?" He shook his head sadly. "After all I have done for you…" Still looking hurt, the grey haired scientist slowly pushed himself off of the couch. "I guess that I'll just have to go…"
"He wouldn't leave me like this, would he?" Panic jolted through Isaribi. "No! I-I didn't mean it." Her hand darted out to clutch the scientist's lab coat. "Don't go." "Don't leave me like this. Don't leave me a monster."
"Well," Amachi smirked ever so slightly, "If you insist..." Making his way back to the couch, he twisted slightly to look at Isaribi. "By the way, several people from Oto will be arriving shortly. They are such good friends of mine, and I hope that you will treat them like you treat me." There was a knock at the door. "Oh. It must be them." Resettling himself on the couch, the grey haired man waved his hand dismissively. "Get the door will you?"
Some part of her seethed at his tone - this was her house - but she couldn't risk him getting angry and refusing to cure her. Turning back towards the door, Isaribi carefully placed her bag on the small end table before opening the heavy door cautiously. "Yes?" She blinked a moment later after seeing Amachi's 'friends'. A blue haired woman that was wearing a green dress and a red turtleneck was standing there, impatiens written on her face. Slightly behind her was a young boy, perhaps twelve or thirteen, who had magenta eyes and long, pale green hair. Upon seeing the bandages on Isaribi's face, he almost took a step forward, a look of concern flashing across his face, but the blue haired woman's arm rose slightly to block him, instantly halting his progress.
Behind both of them was a dark haired man with a large blue scarf wrapped loosely around his neck. A small smile creased his lips, seemingly content with watching the proceedings. Four rough looking ninja flanked him, appearing to be bodyguards. One was a rather large man with a flat face, while another wore a gas mask with two filters. The third bodyguard was extremely strange looking, having pale, almost grey skin and white hair. He had on a pair of round, blue rimmed glasses with orange lenses, and some sort of strange rectangular device strapped to his arm. The last guard was a slender, effeminate man with pink hair dressed in what looked to be a grey bodysuit.
"Is Amachi in?" The blue haired woman spoke, clearly dismissing Isaribi as a useless child.
"I'm not a child." Isaribi wanted to snap back, "The Kaima stunted my growth. It's not like I want to look like this." Outwardly however, she just meekly nodded. She couldn't afford to have Amachi leave. "Yes. He's inside." She ignored the snarling within her mind as she bowed politely, "Follow me."
"Ah, Guren." Amachi greeted from his comfortable spot on the couch, "So good of you to stop by."
"Amachi." Guren returned, "Did you get the letter?"
The scientist nodded before raising his voice slightly. "Isaribi, go outside and take Yukimaru with you." His face betrayed nothing. "The adults need to talk."
Isaribi bit down on her inner cheek hard enough to taste blood in an effort to avoid lashing back at Amachi, knowing if she did, he would never cure her. Instead she swallowed the angry words that stirred from the monster within her, and guided the boy out of the cottage. After the door slammed shut, Guren turned to Amachi. "Is she safe?" A pause. "She won't attack Yukimaru will she?"
"She follows orders like a good little fish." Amachi smirked, "After all," His smirk widened, "She wants the cure…"
"As long as she knows her place." Guren reverted to her impatient demeanor, "What have you gathered in regards to Orochimaru-Sama's orders?"
Amachi's demeanor shifted into a professional mask as he unsealed a folder from the small scroll on his belt. Passing the folder over, he began explaining. "I was able to narrow down the area where the Three Tails has presumably hidden itself." Guren opened the folder and located the map. "I couldn't narrow it down any further due to Kiri ninja being in the area." He shrugged innocently, "I'm not a soldier like you after all."
Guren narrowed her eyes at the falsely innocent expression on his face. "And you are providing the distraction like you were ordered?"
"Of course." The grey haired man chuckled, "Well, technically, Isaribi is, but it's basically the same thing." He leaned forward as the professional mask settled back over his features. "Let me show you where the Kiri outposts are on the map…"
"Are you hurt?"
Isaribi snapped her head over to look at Yukimaru. Narrowing her eyes in suspicion at the apparent concern - she refused to believe it was real, it couldn't be real - in his magenta eyes, she shook her head. "I'm fine."
"O-Oh." Yukimaru hung his head, "I'm sorry for bothering you. I was just worried since you have bandages on your face, arms, and leg." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry."
"Whatever." Isaribi ignored the pang of guilt at her harsh tone, "I'm not hurt so go away." She wasn't sure why he was pretending to care about her, but she wasn't going to fall for it. Her experience with other people had taught her that no one cared about anyone but themselves. She wasn't going to fall for an act like his, no matter how much some part of her wanted to hear the words.
Uncomfortable silence covered the pair as they waited for the others to finish with their discussion. Feeling her Kiama side stir in response to her mood, Isaribi shoved the anger at being treated like a child deep down inside. "Damn them." She pushed back against the urge to let the scales form on her skin, "Damn them all."
"And that about covers all of my knowledge of the area." Amachi settled back on the couch, "I'm more of a beach person myself." Pausing as he considered something, he glanced up at Guren, slyness lacing his tone. "Out of idle curiosity, what's with the kid? Is he a new experiment of Orochimaru's or something?" Putting on his best, most charming smile, he leaned towards Guren. "I am in need of new research subjects, and I am quite rich…"
Rage flashed across Guren's features, and for a brief moment she considered killing the slimy man. But that would displease Orochimaru-Sama, so she settled for the next best thing. "If you even think about touching a single hair on Yukimaru's head…" She held up a clenched fist and began to slowly unclench it. As she did so, a pink crystal began to form in the center of her hand. "...I'll kill you. Slowly."
"Let's not be hasty." Amachi verbally back peddled, "It was just an offer. I won't touch him." Guren's glare didn't abate. "I promise." He raised his hands, "I swear on my mother's grave." The purple haired woman made a disgusted noise, but turned away from the paling scientist.
"Let's go Rinji." The crystal user ordered her scarf wearing partner, not wanting to be near Amachi any longer than she had to, "We're done here." Following the still angry woman, Rinji shrugged at Amachi in vague apology.
"She's grown attached to the kid." Another unconcerned shrug. "These things happen sometimes." He paused glancing back at Amachi, "But take my advice. She was once being considered to be Orochimaru-Sama's new host. He picked someone else in the end, but her bloodline, Crystal Release, is powerful. Orochimaru-Sama wanted it for himself before he found a better host." He paused, his carefully hidden intelligence appraising the scientist for a moment. "I wouldn't upset Orochimaru-Sama if I were you."
"But of course." Amachi nodded seriously, "I would never do anything to upset Orochimaru-Sama." After Rinji's back was turned, the scientist's expression shifted for the briefest of moments into something vaguely hateful. "Of course, that would be true if I still considered Orochimaru my leader. He'll pay for canceling my water ninja creation project. But you have no idea what opportunity you have just presented me with…Rinji." Once he was sure that the Sound ninja were gone, he reached for a blank piece of paper, and began sketching out a few rough ideas on how he could use Yukimaru for more experiments. Guren wouldn't be coming back, given that Rinji was on her team.
"It's good to be back." Kisame commented as he breathed in the rich sea air, feeling his skin hydrate and dampen. Glancing over at his partner out of the corner of his eye, he was secretly relieved to see Itachi breathing easier, the Uchiha's breath not coming out in short, silent gasps. More importantly, Kisame hadn't seen Itachi cough up any blood since they had boarded the passenger ship a week and a half ago. Now that the passenger ship, The River Song, that they were on had arrived in Kelan Port, their hunt would begin.
Pain had somehow gotten word that the Three Tails was free and hiding somewhere in Kiri. For some reason - although Kisame suspected that Pain knew more than he was telling - it was without a Jinchuriki. Given that one of it's abilities was to hide itself in a special dimension until it wanted to come out, Kisame had originally thought that going to Kiri would be pointless. However, Pain explained that Orochimaru had experimented on several dozen children over the last decade with the express purpose of creating a child that could bring the Three Tails out of it's dimension and could possibly control it as well. Apparently the Snake Sannin had succeeded with one child named Yukimaru.
Given that they knew the rough location of where the Sound ninja would be searching, Kisame planned on taking his time getting to the location. After all, why should they waste their time searching when they could just let the Sound ninja search for them? And he didn't mind the vacation. And perhaps most importantly - not that he would ever admit it - the salty air would do Itachi good. Plus, there was plenty of sightseeing opportunities that his teammate should see. "This is going to be great."
Itachi took a deep breath for the first time in what seemed like forever. The shortness of breath that endlessly plagued him over the last few years had greatly diminished over the last week and a half, and he hadn't coughed up any blood in the last week. Taking his morning pills with a practiced flick of his hand, Itachi's eyes scanned the horizon for one of his crow summons.
He had sent the summon to check in with the numerous other crows that were keeping watch over Sasuke. Itachi had feared that his little brother would notice the black birds, but after several months, Sasuke hadn't made any indication that he suspected that not all of the crows moving about outside of the various Sound bases were flesh and blood. Over the past two and a half years Sasuke had bloomed into a powerful ninja. He had perfected the Chidori and, to Itachi's pride and amazement, pushed the technique far beyond a mere assassination jutsu, creating new attack and defensive options of the technique.
And that was the least of Sasuke's growth as an Uchiha. He had been trained in close combat techniques, sword techniques, and a variety of jutsus. Strangely - or it was strange for Itachi at least - Sasuke tended to avoid using his Sharingan when on missions, only using it if he felt it was absolutely necessary. Still, the drive to make himself stronger was undeniable. Spotting the crow on the horizon, Itachi couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement as he saw his summon moving to land outside of the port town. "How much have you grown since the last time I heard of your status. Little Brother?"
It was midmorning when Naruto, his team, and the Kiri team arrived at Kelan Port a week later. Following the plan he and Hiromasa had agreed to, Naruto and Sakura headed off to scout the town. A short time later Haku and Honoka would be entering the town. Given that the two pairs of ninja would stand out, and thus attract attention, it would give Hinata and the Kiri team plenty of time to enter the village and begin to search the area to see if they could locate anything related to the water monster.
Given that the Kiri ninja firmly believed that it was a group of enemy ninja, probably Loyalists, who was attacking the ships, the plan was to have Naruto, Sakura, Haku, and Honoka survey different sections of the port town. The Kiri ninja would be talking to their contacts in the town, while Hinata would be using her bloodline to scan for high concentrations of chakra.
The town was...dirty, Naruto decided as he moved through his section of town. The paint was peeling on many of the buildings, and drunken sailors dotted the alleyways. Women with far too much makeup stood on several street corners, and the streets were muddy. The entire town looked like it was being viewed through a filthy window. Passing a bar, Naruto created a shadow clone with a moment of concentration. The clone, having been created with the mental idea of scoping out the bar, headed to the nearby alleyway to henge into a nondescript male of no particular interest. Naruto, in the meantime, was already halfway down the street, continuing his search.
"I can't believe that we let that...thing walk around in our village." Naruto blinked as his enhanced hearing picked up the angered comment. He didn't think anyone knew who he was. Looking around, he located a couple standing on the corner. Surprisingly, however, they weren't glaring at him, like Naruto had expected. Instead, they were glaring at a girl who was doing her best to not attract attention as she made her way through the town. Upon closer inspection, the blonde Uzumaki noticed that she had bandages wrapped around her arms, legs, and a portion of her face. Her hair was dark purple, and her bare feet slowly padded down the dirt street. A worn but well maintained blue sleeveless tunic covered her upper body, and her brown pants looked to have been given the same care. It was obvious that she had repaired her clothing many times judging by the slightly uneven sides of the clothing.
More importantly however - to Naruto at least - was the fact that she seem exhausted, barely able to put one foot in front of the other. Then two men stepped out of the alleyway near the girl, and the Uzumaki's dark blue eyes hardened.
Isaribi fought to keep her eyes open and every step threatened to unbalance her. One lone thought pushed her onwards, the thought of her warm, safe bed in her home. She had attacked a small ship early in the morning, hoping to merely disable the vessel, saving the crew while also satisfying Amachi. But then one of the panicked sailors had clipped her temple with a heavy piece of wood, and she had fallen into blackness…
Isaribi groaned as she slowly awoke. Wincing as she carefully sat up, she carefully probed her left temple with a feather light touch. It had already started swelling, and she could almost feel the rapidly darkening bruise that was continuing to form. Blinking in confusion, the purple haired young woman surveyed the empty beach she had awoken on. Not recognizing the sandy area, she stood and brushed off the dry sand that clung to her back and sides.
There was something in the distance on the beach. Padding closer, Isaribi realized it was a sailor. Something whispered at the edge of her mind, but it slipped away like mist when she tried to grasp it. Refocusing on the sailor, she noticed that he was on his side facing away from her.
Moving closer, the young woman grabbed the sailor's shoulder and pulled him onto his back. Half exposed ribs gleamed wetly in the sunlight, and the meat of his stomach and chest had been torn open by some animal. Something whispered again in her mind, telling Isaribi that this was important.
Suddenly she became aware just how full she felt.
Flashes of memories echoed through her mind.
Rage. They would dare attack her?
Flash.
The screams of the sailors as they were torn apart echoed across the water. Impossibly sharp teeth and razor blades of water rent them limb from limb.
Flash.
There. That was the one who had hurt her. He would die last, and in endless agony.
Flash.
Blood slicked the deck, making it impossible to escape her wrath.
Flash.
There was only one left now. Feeling almost euphoric being surrounded by the heady scent of blood, she let out a bloodthirsty roar.
Flash.
At last she had found him, the one who had hurt her. He had tried to escape and hide, but he didn't hide the scent of his bloody, oozing wound.
Flash.
Her scaled hands gripped his throat, ready to rend him into pieces, when the urge surfaced.
She was hungry. So very hungry.
Bile bubbled up in Isaribi's throat.
"Oh god."
Spinning away from the body, her stomach convulsed as she fell to her knees. Burning tears coursed down her cheeks as she retched, her entire body shuddering with violent heaves as she expelled the half digested meat from her stomach. Her throat burned, and bitter tears clouded her vision.
Once there was nothing left to vomit and no tears were would come, Isaribi collapsed. "I'm a monster."
Eventually Isaribi had forced herself up, knowing that she still had to search for pearls. Even though the mere thought of food sickened her, she knew she would need to eat at some point soon, and Amachi had contented himself with consuming all of her hard earned food. She wished she could tell him to leave and never return, but...she didn't want to be a monster anymore.
A sudden shove knocked Isaribi out of her memories as she tumbled back, instinctively curling her thin frame around her bag to protect the few pearls she had found. Letting out a muffled yelp as she slammed into the dirt, the young woman's tiredness evaporated as she stared up at the large familiar man who had knocked her down. He grinned cruelly down at her, sending a spike of fear shooting down her spine.
Stifling a scream of pain as he gripped her hair and starting using it to pull her to her feet, Isaribi had no choice but to abandon her bag and not resist the sneering man, least he pull her hair out. Then, abruptly, upward pressure stopped..
"Let her go." Glowing blue eyes flashed as the Jinchuriki's hand tightened on the man's wrist, "Or I'll make you."
Isaribi froze as she felt her tormentor release her hair with a curse of pain. Quickly scuttling back several feet, the young woman peered through her strands of disarrayed hair at her blonde rescuer and wondered what he wanted from her. It wasn't possible that he had stepped in out of the goodness of his heart - people didn't do that - so what was his reason?
"Now," The Uzumaki's hand twisted the man's wrist, "I'm going to ask you a few questions." His tone was cold, final. "If you answer them honestly, I will let you go." Naruto loosened his grip slightly. "What's your name?"
"Yoroi." The man spoke, "Yoroi Akado." The freakishly strong blonde ninja was familiar somehow, and some part of Yoroi screamed caution.
"Why were you hurting that girl?"
Yoroi hesitated as he looked up at his captor. The blonde had on a Leaf forehead protector, and given the fact that Orochimaru-Sama would be...considerably displeased if his plans were ruined, Yoroi had no choice but to lie.
"The village hates her. The reason she chooses to go through town instead of going around it is beyond me." The best lies had a grain of truth to them. "I was just reminding her that she wasn't wanted here."
"Oh." Something stirred within Naruto, "I see." Releasing Yoroi's wrist, the blonde allowed him to stand. "And what, exactly, is the reason the village hates her?"
Once again Yoroi was torn. Normally the proud ninja would have just attacked his harasser, but he was attempting to stay undercover. But he couldn't exactly say the real reason why the village hated Isaribi. It would bring up far too many questions, and those questions could impact Orochimaru-Sama's plan. "I don't completely know," He began slowly, "But I think it has to do with the strange markings she is hiding under those bandages."
"I see." Naruto nodded to himself before refocusing on Yoroi. "Don't ever hurt her again." Taking Naruto's words as a dismissal, the man headed off. Twitching his second and third fingers forward slightly, Naruto directed one of his disguised clones to follow the man. There was something...vaguely familiar about the man, and Naruto suspected that there was some other reason than mere anger that drove Yoroi. Turning to the girl who Yoroi had been attacking, Naruto made his way over to her.
When he got close, the jinchuriki smelled a strange mixture of tears, fish, human, and buried under the scent of cheap soap, the iron scent of blood. Still, someone's scent wasn't enough for Naruto to not help them. "Are you alright?"
Isaribi was confused. The blonde had chased Yoroi away, and now was looking at her with concern. "What does he want from me?" "Yes. I'm fine." Without taking her eyes off the blonde, she reached down and grabbed her bag, hugging it to her chest.
"My name is Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto smiled, "What's yours?"
"Isaribi." The dark purple haired girl almost sighed, pushing back the painful memories, "Just Isaribi." She paused before asking the question she had been wondering since Naruto had saved her. "What do you want?"
"Huh?" Naruto blinked, "I just saw that you were in trouble, so I decided to help."
"No." Isaribi shook her head, frustrated, "That can't be it. What do you want with me?"
"I wanted to help you?" Naruto was baffled. What other answer did she want? Isaribi's face didn't change. "Well," Naruto started to back away, "I have some things I'm still looking for, so I'll be going." Heading past Isaribi who tensed up as he got close, "Have a nice day." The Uzumaki waved as he headed out, intent on checking the section he had been assigned before lunch.
"What's his motive?" Isaribi watched the blonde leave without harming her. Wanting to leave the area before Yoroi came back, she couldn't help but wonder, "Just who are you Naruto Uzumaki?"
"What the hell was that?" Yoroi demanded to his partner the moment he entered the alleyway, "Why didn't you back me up Misumi?"
"Because I wasn't about to tangle with Naruto Uzumaki?" Misumi's tone was almost, almost bordering on condescending, "You know, the Jinchuruiki of the Nine Tailed Demon Fox?"
"Oh shit." Yoroi breathed, feeling extremely grateful that he had listened to his caution and not tried to siphon Naruto's chakra, "What do we do now?" He had vowed to serve Orochimaru-Sama, but attacking the Nine Tails' Jinchuriki was basically suicide…"I'm not going to mention that I told him my name."
"Let's talk to Amachi." Misumi decided, "He'll have an idea what we can do."
So what did you think? Drop a review and let me know.
On Mei: I had a bit of trouble nailing her character down. I wanted to strike a balance between her naturally sultry personality and her intelligence and cunning as a leader. Plus, for the most part, she is shown to be a good person in canon, so it doesn't make sense for her to try to seduce Naruto. That being said, Mei hasn't fully grasped - yet - just how important Naruto is.
On Isaribi and her Kaima side: In canon, Isaribi attacks ships and kills people to get cured. However, objectively speaking, other than having a few scale patches - that can stop a knife - she didn't have a very bad deal. For HotE, I turned it up to 11 and treated her Kaima side more like a werewolf or something like that. I wanted to give her a real reason why she is willing to do anything to get a cure.
To my reviewers direct questions:
Animaman: I would love to do a chapter focusing on the younger generation, but I'm not sure if it would fit the same tone as the rest of HotE. Yeah, Naruto got the two swords his is currently using from his parent's house. He has been using them since the Sound/Suna invasion. Finding out who destroyed his parent's home is actually an important moment that Naruto will be finding out relatively soon.
mattchew: To be honest, I didn't really plan on there being a love squareish thing. It just kinda...happened.
Nin-Guest: I'm glad that you enjoyed the "back to Konoha" chapter. And yeah, you guessed correctly. The "spark" event will kick off the next arc, and shake up the Naruto-verse at large. At that point it will be more or less completely AU territory. I'm curious to know what you think of Isaribi, given that you liked the slightly different take I took on Yakumo.
Shadow .X. Heart: Correct. When I was first sketching the outline for this entire fic, I ran into the issue that Naruto got too powerful too quickly. Memory transference allowed him to rapidly train himself and he quickly outpaced basically everyone. So given that I had to either power up his enemies (and then only Naruto would be able to face them) or to drop the memory transference aspect. I chose the latter.