Chapter 54 Building a Future Part 2

It had been an interesting past few days for Shikamaru Nara after spending a couple days watching the beginning construction of the main defense line in the Black Snake pass, once that was started he hit the road. He had traveled across country to the eastern coastal road, which while a smaller more dangerous path through the mountains it was still a way through the mountains and a path for invasion. He had spent a few days scouting the most likely defensible positions, he had a map of the land made by Omoi but the first two positions that he thought would work would not work for what Shikamaru had in mind, luckily, the third one was. Once he picked the sight the master architect went to work laying out the blueprint for his next greatest project.

Once he was done with that he journey down back down the coastal road, the coast itself was almost the same as most of the coast of the land of Granite, straight vertical cliffs that on occasion had a pebble beach at the bottom. The cliffs where made of the same black stones as the inland mountains, which was good for them since it would stop anyone from climbing up them.

Finally, he returned to Nadeji but he did not go into the city itself instead he went toward Black Spear point, which shot out into the sea and was the entrees to the straights and to the port. He walked through one of the gates which he was glad to see was almost finished before moving toward the point. The point itself was on top of rises, which lead up from the harbor to where the cliff line normally ran. On top of that, rise was a newly rebuilt lighthouse, which was to guild ships away from the rocks and into port, but instead of going up the rise he moved to a small outbuilding of the port.

"Welcome sir." greeted a guard as Shikamaru walked inside what looked to be a normal out building was in fact the entrees to the only truly finished line of defense the village had. The outbuilding leads into the hill itself.

"Well look like the cat dragged in." came a voice as Shikamaru looked toward the massive Aldhard door which was the main entrees to the newly built underground base which had the task of defending the harbor.

"Kurotsuchi." said Shikamaru to the second in command of the hidden base. "How are things here?"

"We are still moving in some things but we should have everything in place in a week to ten days." reported Kurotsuchi

"Anything malfunctions?" inquired Shikamaru as the two of them headed into the base itself.

"We are still getting a salt taste from the desalination unite," reported Kurotsuki "The water is drinkable but salty."

"Luckly we are not in a war yet but still get it fixed," ordered Shikamaru as he began his tour of the almost finished base.

Far to the North Rock Lee was doing pushups in the middle of a training field, he still wore his green jumpsuit with wrist and arm weights. However, his normal jonnin vest was resting against a nearby tree while he wore his orange weighted training vest. The first couple of leaves had started to fall marking the end of summer and the beginning of fall.

"1,482." Said Lee as he started feeling the 150 extra pounds in his vest

"So still at it." came a voice as Lee looked up to see the Hokage standing there flanked by two ANBU guards. "Don't you normally do sit ups in the afternoon?"

"That was last month, I rotate my workout." explained Lee as he kept going.

"Lee, we need to talk." ordered Hanabi as Lee pushed off the ground with such force that he was back on his feet looking down at the shorter woman. "I have a mission for you."

"And what is that?" asked Lee

"You heard about the death of the Fire Daimyo and the near assassination of the Lightening Daimyo, correct?" inquired Hanabi as Lee nodded his head "Well I want you to put a team together to scout out and locate any rebels so that we can take them out in one go."

"I thought the council didn't trust me?" inquired Lee remembering how he had been stopped multiple times from going on missions because of the risk that he would become a missing ninja and join with the demons.

"They don't but I know that you, Guy and all the others friends Naruto and the others had or still have here could have escaped long ago. So you must not know where they are." explained Hanabi as Lee nodded his head. "I don't know why you decided to stay but you did and I plan to make use of you more than just the fitness instructor for the academy."

"I for one don't know where they are and I am glad for that." admitted Lee as he bent down a picked up a bottle of water.

"Why is that?" asked Hanabi

"Because as long as they remain hidden they are safe." Explained Lee

"Lee, I know you believe that we want to hurt them but we want to help them." Explained Hanabi as Lee did something very unlike him, he rolled his eyes at his Kage. "Remember my sister and my cousin are with them, the demons have control over them and the demons want to rule the world."

"If that was true then how come Naruto didn't make any moves along those lines or any of the other jinchuriki." countered Lee

"Because they needed more than just 9 of them to take over the world," explained Hanabi as Lee decided this conversion was destined to go nowhere and decided to just drop it.

"When do you want me to leave for this mission?" inquired Lee

"Three days at the latest." Answered Hanabi "Report back in no later than one month, this will be an A ranked mission, no radio contact we have reasons to believe they have the ability to hear or radio broadcasts."

"Understood." confirmed Lee as he turned and walked away from his Kage.

"Lady Hokage, why do you let him talk to you like that?" asked one of the guards as Hanabi simply laughed.

"Simple because he is one of the best ninjas I have left and whenever he is given a mission he does it." Explained Hanabi not adding that the problem will come up whenever they find her sister and the others, getting him to fight terrorists was one thing raising a hand against his friends was another.

"I wonder where my sister is right now?" thought Hanabi before heading back toward her office.

The gentle rocking of the ship felt almost like gentle hemic swinging as Naruto lied in bed, he knew he should get up, that he should be up and on deck getting ready to disembark once the ship made port in Nadeji harbor. He knew he would spend most of the rest of day visiting the families of those who died in the campaign but the bed was too warm and he did not want to miss this view. He was lying on his back in the center of the bed with Hinata sleeping on his left and Sakura on his right.

They had left the land of animals a couple days ago and pretty much the moment he rested his head on the pillow he had fallen asleep. The next morning he woke up as a hand ran up and down his chest, slowly he opened his eyes only to see Sakura standing over him fully dressed, her hands at her side.

Flashback

"What is going on?" asked Naruto half asleep.

"Well, Naruto-kun I have to go checkup the wounded." Explained Sakura bending down and kissing him solfty on the lips "And you need to relax a bit and since Hinata is free and she hasn't had some one on one time with you lately."

With that, Sakura moved toward the door as Hinata rolled on top of him, pressing her body against his.

"Hinata-chan if I can ask a favor?" inquired Sakura at the door as both of them looked toward her. "Save some for later tonight, we could do the three way we were planning last night, tonight."

"I make no promises, Sakura-chan," purred Hinata with a hungry look in her eyes.

"Well she seams to be in an extra horny mood." Laughed the Kyuubi

Mature

Hinata leaned forward until her nose was right against his, she tilted her head and pulled him into a deep kissing. When she pulled away, she began planting kisses down his face and neck before finally pulling back into a sort of sitting position with her knees on either side of Naruto's hips.

"Like what you see Naruto-kun?" asked Hinata as she reached for the small metal clips, which held the two sides of her simple black bra together. Naruto never said a word instead; he grabbed her by the hips and with one quick movement changed positions so that he was on top. Hinata let out a quick gasp of surprise however; it quickly changed to moans as Naruto placed kisses down her neck before gently biting the soft spot of her neck. While he kissed Hinata's neck her hands where running down his sides before grabbing his ass Naruto's hands reached around and undid the clasp in the front of Hinata's bra.

With her breast, free Naruto began to move his kisses lower and lower down her body planting each one tenderly on her body before finally reaching her belly button. The next step was clear to both of them but Hinata still arched her back and moaned his name.

End Mature/Flashback

Naruto smiled as he remembered that morning and the night that followed, Sakura lifted her head up her longer pink hair draped across her face.

"What time is it?" asked a half asleep Sakura as she lifted her hand off Naruto's chest and moved her hair out of her eyes.

"Time to get up." Complained Hinata without lifting her head up as a voice came over the load speaker.

"All hands to docking position, we will be making port in twenty minutes." came the Captain

Meanwhile on shore Kuria walked through the massive market with a large black cloth bag under her arm; it was already halfway full of food. The market was circle with the main government building in the center, normally she would go into the shops to buy but the weather was so good that most shops had set up stands outside to sell their goods. She stopped at one and picked up some fresh cherries before moving on.

"I must admit that Choji and his farms are doing a supred job." Said a voice as Karui turned her golden eyes to see her old teammate now turned national teasurer Samui as she picked up some fresh bread from another store. "I wouldn't expect all this so soon."

"Well, all the credit shouldn't go to just him." stated Kuria to her friend and former teammate as she looked at some the clothing and home good stores who were also out selling their goods. "I don't think there is a plant that can grow all of that."

"True, I arranged small business loans and there is a huge market here at the moment." explained Samui "Most people left their old homes with only the cloths on their backs and they want to replace what they lost."

"And people are buying a lot of baby stuff." noted Kuria as she looked at a large group of women shopping at a baby store.

"Well our population is three quarters female and only a quarter male," stated Samui as they passed another shop, selling woman clothing. "Add to that the older demons where left out of the ark so oldest person who we have is 39. So we have a young population and they know a war is coming."

"A sort of reverse baby boom, have kids before the war in case the person you love doesn't come back alive." Stated Karui as Samui nodded her head. The two of them chatted a little bit before Karui brought up something she wanted to ask. "So I heard that Omoi asked you to marry him."

"Yes, he did." stated Samui as if she was talking about the weather and not marriage.

"So what did you say? I mean he has always said that he would not get married and he suddenly changes his mind. What happened?" inquired Karui as the two of them stopped at a heath store as Samui picked up some vitamins.

"Pending fatherhood changes minds," reported Samui as Karui blinked before looking at her friend's flat stomach.

"Ok…what the fuck did someone put something in the water or something!" yelled Karui as people stopped and looked at her "Everyone is getting fucking pregnant!"

"Like I said people want a family before the war comes and since our now longer life means pregnancy takes 18 months. Add to that a war will likely start in three in and half years, we have a short window to start a family." stated Samui calmly before moving over to an almost empty shelf in the front of the store and picking up a bottle. Inside it look like some sort of red tea mix and the instructions said to add hot water. "As for something in the water some have been using this."

"And what is this?" asked Karui as she was looked at the red tea mixture which Samui had handed her.

"Some sort of herbal cocktail which is supposed to increase the likelihood of conception." explained Samui as Karui looked at the empty shelf, all the price labels was the same meaning that the whole shelf used to have this tea mixture. She flipped the bottle over and looked at the instruction and the ingredients. "If you and that wolf man of yours want pups I have been told this works."

"Do we want kids so soon?" thought Karui as she spun the bottle around in her hand.

"Is this what you used?" asked Karui as Samui rolled her eyes.

"No, fucking broken condom as simple as that." explained Samui "Wasn't trying to get pregnant but fate is fate."

"So are you going to marry him?" asked Karui still looking at the bottle.

"Not sure yet, need to think about it some more." explained Samui as she went to pay for her stuff.

"Excuses me," came a voice as Karui looked to see a woman about her age with short red hair "Are you getting that or not."

"What?" asked Karui

"Well I was going to get that tea mix if you don't want it do you?" asked the woman as she pointed to the ferity tea in her hands.

The sound of the front door opening caused Ino to lower her glass of water to the kitchen island; she waited for a moment until finally the sound of three pairs of steps caused her heart to sing. She knew the heavy footsteps of Naruto, followed moments later by him dropping a bag on the floor like he always did. She could also tell Sakura by the way she would pick up the bag and put it where it was suppose to go. Last was Hinata who followed the Hyuga tradition and tapped her shoes off dirt before taking them off.

"We are back." Yelled Naruto

"In here." Yelled Ino back as the three of them entered the room, Ino wrapped her hands around Naruto giving him a kiss before doing the same with Sakura and Hinata. "I am so happy your back."

"Good to be home." confirmed Hinata

"I am just sorry I can't stay longer." expressed Naruto as Ino blinked "I need to visit the families of the people we lost."

"How many?" asked Ino fearing the answer.

"31 Dead." explained Naruto "Most of them where the archers, only two where ninjas."

"Anyone we know?" asked Ino fearing the answer.

"Not among the dead but Konohamaru was badly injured," reported Sakura as she put on her doctor's voice as she put some emotional distance between herself and her injured friend. "He will live but without an arm, he can never be a ninja."

"He lost an arm?" asked Ino stunned.

"Everything from the shoulder down." confirmed Sakura "Even the Fourth Raikage had his arm minus the hand. I can't medically clear him for combat, maybe a desk position but not combat."

"Let's worry about that later, we have 31 people who died." said Naruto

"Archers so they are mostly regular humans." reported Ino knowing that a lot of the regular humans had taken up the bow in defense of their new Daimyo, Kage and their homeland.

"Yes." said Naruto "I already visited with the lovers of the two ninjas and a few of the Archers but I still need to visit 17 of them."

"I'll come," said Ino "Just let me get dressed."

"I'll come as well," offered Hinata

"Normally I would say yes but this is more a task for the Kage and the Daimyo," commented Ino as Hinata nodded her head in understatement. "Besides someone has to enjoy all the work I did while you three where gone."

"What?" asked Sakura confused as Ino tilted her head toward the double doors, which lead out of the kitchen and into the back yard. Slowly the three of them followed Ino out the door into a newly expertly planted guardian. The centerpiece of the yard was a red maple tree just like the one Naruto's parents married under in secret all those years ago. The tree was still small but it would grow with time. Sitting around the tree was three groups of flowers, red roses that came from Ino's family garden in the Leaf, Sakura's favorite the pink lilies flowers and Hinata's favorite the violet colored Lilacs. Two bird feeders graced the yard and a large Blue jay had already found it.

The rest of the guardian was expertly lied out with a small koi pound in one corner and some more flowers and a larger gathering of roses however this time not limited to just red in one of the two back corners by Ino's conservatory. A Cherry tree and an apple tree had been planted here but most of the area had been set aside for a future garden.

The other corner was mostly open grass for running around in however three walnut trees had been planted around the edges and the boarder fence of the yard was now lined with sunflowers.

"I left this area here for running around in." explained Ino to the stunned Hinata, Sakura and Naruto.

"Wow." said Naruto as he looked at all the work "How did you get this all done?"

"Oh…I am not done yet, I still need to do the front but that is a smaller area. Maybe some simple hedges there and some more flowers." explained Ino "Or maybe some evergreen trees so that there is always something green."

"Whatever you decide if it is anything like this it will look great," confirmed Naruto with a smile until he remembered that he had to go see the families of those men and women who had died. "I just wish I could stay longer."

"Right, let me get dressed and we will leave," confirmed Ino as she rushed back inside.

It took a few hours for the final group of fighters to unload and while Naruto and Ino went visiting the families of those who died in battle. It fell on Sasuke to manage the unloading; finally, when it was done he went home. When he and Karin walked into their own house as he found Tamaki into his arms as best he could, since one of his arms was in a sling he could not hold her close. He placed his free hand on her still flat stomach, knowing that his first child was growing inside.

"You told him didn't you?" asked Tamaki with a smile as Karin laughed a bit.

"Sorry it kind of came out when I was cursing him for jumping out of a window," explained Karin as Tamaki laughed before seeing the father of her child arm in a sling.

"Just a broken wrist I will be fine in a couple of days." reported Sasuke as Tamaki grinned at Karin.

"They came in yesterday?" asked Tamaki as Karin smiled "I go them earlier today."

"What did you get?" asked Sasuke

"Well remember a week before we left how you ripped off my top when we were in bed?" asked Karin as Sasuke nodded his head as he jumped to the logical answer. "Well I had to get a new one and Tamaki-chan's birthday is in two weeks so I got her something early as well."

"I like this even more." reported Sasuke

"It isn't that," laughed Tamaki "We didn't get lingerie we have that already, it's some new dresses."

"Dinner then to celebrate?" offered Sasuke as the two women smiled all three of them knowing what was likely to happen after dinner.

Well I hope you all had a good Christmas and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Now I hope you keep reviewing and I will likely post next in 2015 so have a Happy New Years as well. Thanks Wilkins75.