Chapter 55 Building a Future Part 3

Time seamed to move by in a haze as Naruto Namikaze titled back a bit in his swivel chair. He was currently in his Onikage office on the top floor of the main government building. He looked out his frost-covered window down at the snow-covered streets of Shimagakure. It has been almost seven months since the end of the war in the Land of Animals and yet he was still dealing with the fall out.

"So the Land of Iron is upset about the death of Mifune?" asked Naruto to Temari as she sat across from him in a red leather chair. The only thing separating the two friends was the large solid cherry desk covered with paper work.

"Yes, their new leader wants answers about the Identity of the man who killed his father and almost killed his second son." confirmed the woman who was in charge of the diplomatic relations for the land of Granite. "The King and Queen of the Land of Animals have asked for advice from us about what they should tell him."

"Wait Mifune had a son?" asked Naruto as Temari nodded her head as she flipped open one of her files. "What is his name?"

"Mifune the 5th." Reported Temari as Naruto blinked "Mifune is a family name and all first born boys members of his family take it. It doesn't matter they don't want some investigators from the Land of Iron in their nation asking questions"

"I see, well we could have them tell them that it was some mercenary group which they paid for and they are now working for the Daimyo of the Land of Granite." offered up Naruto "We are already covering ourselves pretty good so we should be able to hide from another pair of eyes looking our way."

"True." confirmed Temari "And if Sasuke's and Shino's hunch is right it is somewhat true. Do you really think this is a good move?"

"No." confirmed Naruto "And I am not even sure they are alive but the more forces we have down here when the war comes the better. Shikamaru's defenses are nothing without people on the walls and archers on the wall will not be enough."

"We simply need more trained ninjas no matter where they come from." Grumbled Naruto before smiling "Besides what is the worst that can happen Sasuke and Karin get some sun while we freeze?"

"More than likely he will have his ass bite to death by insects." Laughed Temari

"He should be in the Land of Swamps right now right?" inquired Naruto

Far to the North Sasuke Uchiha and Karin Uchiha moved through the thick forest of jungle forests and tall grass of the land of swamps. The land of swamps was heavy forested but very few areas of dry land; five of the great rivers which flowed across countless nations all joined together or came close to each other here. The area was full of countless bugs, snakes, turtles and crocodiles but thankfully very few people.

"I hate this!" cursed Karin as she slapped her back of her neck to kill another bug. The two of them had to use their chakra to walk on top of the water since the trees were unable to support the weight of anything larger then one of the small monkeys, which called them home.

"Me to. There are so many bloodsuckers I am amazed they don't drink people dry," cursed Sasuke as the two of them kept walking across the still water. "Are you sure it is him?"

"Yes, I don't know how but that baka, Suigetsu is alive. He is about two and half miles due North of us along with a large group of people." reported Karin as she used her chakra sensing ability to judge the numbers "At least seventy five people."

"Well lets go say hello." Added Sasuke with a grin as the two of them kept moving toward a large clump of trees where according to Karin's ability their target was. It only took the two of them a few minutes to reach the clump of trees. The ground here was sort of a cross between hard ground and mud, instead of sinking up to the knees like normal ground in the land of swamp here it only went about an inch.

"I guess this is the hardest ground they could find." reported Karin as the first signs of human habitation appeared, thin strips of wood lied across the ground to make a mud free walk way.

"Where are they?" asked Sasuke

"Two groups of four are fifty yards to our right and left but most are gathered straight head." Reported Karin as Sasuke nodded his head, he had learned a long time ago to trust his now wife in matters like that.

As the two of them neared the area, they could see small houses made out of drift wood and animal skins. A few people came out of their homes and to Sasuke's surprise a fair amount of them where women and even a handful of children.

"Sasuke-kun." Whispered Karin as she reached for a weapon she had been training with, the chain whip. The held the metal chain in her hand letting the pointed tip hang down as she prepared to fling it forward.

"Don't worry, Karin-chan." reassured Sasuke as he gripped one of his two swords which hung off his belt before turning toward the group of armed men and women who was now surrounding the two of them. "I need to speak to Suigetsu."

"And who asks?" came a voice as a man who appeared to be a year or two older then the two of them appeared. His white hair was longer and he had stubbles marking the start of a beard but his deep purple eyes where the same.

"Who do you think." said Sasuke as he reached back to his pouch and tossed his old teammate a drinkable yogurt container.

"Sasuke and the bitch." laughed Suigetsu as he looked back at the yogurt "Blueberry my favorite."

"Well we could have brought you a cuttlefish." added Karin only to get a death glare from Suigetsu.

"Oh…how I didn't miss you bitch," laughed Suigetsu as he waved of his forces.

"Watch your tongue Suigetsu she is one of my wives," advised Sasuke as Suigetsu looked back and forth between his two old teammates.

"Well someone has to deal with her I guess." observed Suigetsu "So why are you here? What business do you have with what remains of Madara's army?"

"To offer you and anyone else who is willing to fight a job and a hell of a lot better place to live," explained Sasuke "Unless you enjoy eating alligator meat?"

"You have my attention," said Suigetsu "Talk"

Back in Naruto's office Temari was finishing her briefing to him about the situation around the world most of information for came from Shino. They had just finished talking about the new joint Leaf, Samurai and Water operation to finally put an end to the civil war in Lightening and now it was time for his next meeting. From the information they had the operation was going slow but they were gaining ground, clearing out one part of the land of Lightening before moving on. Temari did not even leave her seat as Shikamaru entered the room carrying a large handful of folders.

"Good morning Naruto." greeted Shikamaru as he sat down beside his wife.

"So Shikamaru how are all the construction projects going?" inquired Naruto as Shikamaru looked down at his notes.

"Well we had a set back there, yesterday Tazuna shut down bridge construction due to the weather and it looks like it will be down for the season." reported Shikamaru as his wife groaned a bit at the news.

"Don't they only have what fifty feet of bridge flooring to put on before they are done?" asked Temari

"That and a final inspection." confirmed Shikamaru "But with the crashing waves, high wind and ice it isn't safe to work on the bridge."

"And the inconvenient isn't worth someone's life." added Naruto as stood up and looked out the window, from this location he could see the whole city with its main circular wall and plus sign shaped outer defense wall. Inside that outer wall sat the train station which until the bridge was finished was all but worthless. "And the other defenses?"

"The main defense at black snake pass is going well but we don't have to worry about waves or as much ice," explained Shikamaru "The defenses of the harbor are already done and so are the walls, next summer we will begin work on the coastal road defense."

"So the bridge is slightly behind due to weather but everything else is going good?" asked Naruto

"More or less, the only issue is that we have a bunch of families from the Land of Bronze moving across the border to that small makeshift town we have by the construction of the wall." reported Shikamaru "They are traveling between their new home and their jobs in the Land of Bronze."

"I am not surprised, while conditions are improving in the land of bronze thanks to our deal with them it isn't a place I would want to live." reported Temari "Who knows maybe we can make this temporary city into a true one. That would build a stronger link between us and the land of Iron in the case of war."

"Keep me inform." ordered Naruto as the brief meeting came to an end as Shikamaru and Temari stood up to leave. As his two friends left he looked down at the day planner located in the corner of his desk beside the clock. He did not even have time to look back up before the door opened and Choji walked in to discuss farming, food production and other items.

Far away from Naruto's office Sasuke and Karin where also discussing food however in this case it was the lack of it. The two of them sat across from Suigetsu in the largest building in the community, it seemed to be like some kind of communal dining area. There was a small BBQ pit where something was slowly cooking.

"Let me take a guess a crocodile?" inquired Karin

"No you're not that luckily, it's slow roasted monkey," reported Suigetsu as he sat down across from his two old teammates.

"So how did you get all these people together?" inquired Sasuke as he looked out at the crowd of people gathered together to watch the three of them talk.

"After every war there is always soldiers who are on the losing side." explained Suigetsu "And unlike the other wars this was a war where every ninja nation was on the same side, so you are looking at the remains of missing ninjas and their families, now we are bandits, robbers and murders."

"And your just the people we are looking for." stated Sasuke "So unless your happy here why don't you come with us, we could use you."

"And how is that?" asked Suigetsu

"I assume you have heard about the demons?" inquired Karin as Suigetsu nodded his head.

"And that you two are demons, we could make a lot of money by turning you in." noted Suigetsu "Luckily for the two of you, I don't feel like meeting my maker today."

"Good, then maybe you can work for us," stated Sasuke "If you're willing to leave we can have a ship here to take you all away in a couple of days to take you and your people to a new home."

"And what would be our job?" asked Suigetsu

"Simple sooner or later there will be a war and when that comes you will fight for us." Explained Sasuke

"Food, a home and pay for your very limited skills." reported Karin throwing in an insult at the same time.

"Under you?" inquired Suigetsu as he looked at Sasuke who shook his head.

"I am second in command of the military but you will be under the direct control of Naruto." Explained Sasuke "It is all for the best I wouldn't want to deal with all the paperwork and political bull shit, so do we have a deal?"

A couple of hours later far to the south Naruto's work day was finally coming to an end as Naruto stood up and put on his winter jacket. He did a quick glance out the window to double check the weather and was rewarded to see that the snowfall had picked up along with the wind.

"I hate winter." Grumbled Naruto as he put on his gloves and buttoned his coat all the way up to his chin before heading out into the cold. He fought his way through the snow which was building up fast it was already up to his ankles and the forecast didn't show any improvement in the near future. He made his way through the streets cursing the snow and the wind. It took him longer then normal but in time he was closing his front door.

"Naruto make sure you take your shoes off we don't want snow all over the floor." yelled Hinata's voice from the kitchen as the smell of freshly baked bread also came from.

"So what sort of bread did you make tonight?" asked Naruto as he kicked off his shoes and hung his snow-covered coat on its peg beside the others.

"A garlic and herb and I made it." came Ino's voice as the calmer of silverware and plates being rested on table reached his ears. "Seams like something good to have with spaghetti and homemade meatballs."

"Of course you're having that on my night to do dishes." laughed Naruto knowing that the kitchen would be full of pots and pans which he would have to clean. As he entered the kitchen to find Hinata sitting at the kitchen island with a newspaper with Ino standing in front of the oven. Sakura was setting the table and since she was the nearest to him he kissed her first before moving to kiss Hinata before finally reaching Ino.

"Feeling better today?" inquired Naruto

"Little better but there really isn't anything for this." expressed Ino with a smile as she thought back.

Flashback

The night sky was totally clear and the stars where clear as day and a half moon shinned on down on the ground fall below. While the view was breathtaking to her the better view was of the man she loves resting under the tree, which she had planted only two weeks earlier. Ino moved out into the garden leaving Sakura and Hinata to another one of their pointless arguments. She stood over Naruto who lied under the shade of the tree listening to the sounds of the summer night.

"So how much longer do you think those two will be at it?" asked Naruto as Ino sat down beside him before laying back and resting her head beside his.

"Depends on how much they want to fuck each other tonight." Explained Ino as Naruto laughed.

"Those two seem to enjoy their arguments." Commented Naruto "I have a hard time understanding why they fight so much and then cuddle together at night."

"If I was to guess kind of has to with the struggle to be number one," explained Ino "The whole first one of the three of us to get pregnant gets to be the 1st mate and all the perks that go along with that."

"If that is all of it then how come you're not in there with them?" asked Naruto

"Because I have more of the whatever happens, happens outlook." explained Ino with a laugh before suddenly stopping. "The thing is that their argument is kind of pointless."

"Because of all the rules right?" asked Naruto knowing that there were rules so that the 1st mate couldn't oppress the others but even with that the first had a lot of perks.

"No, not that totally." said Ino with a smile as she took Naruto's hand and guided it to her stomach. She smiled as Naruto's eyes widened as his mind process what Ino was telling him.

End Flashback

Naruto kissed Ino before placing his hand on her stomach, even though it was over six months along thanks to their longer life spans, which doubled the length of everything she only seamed just over three months along.

"So tomorrow is the doctor's appointment right?" inquired Naruto

"Yes, we find out if it's a boy or a girl." confirmed Ino with a grin, which caused Naruto to raise an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Well…you know how we wanted to have the appointment today so Sakura and Hinata could be there?" asked Ino

"Ya, but today an appointment opened up and since all three of us where already at the hospital we took it." explained Ino as Naruto blinked.

"Sorry but we kind of jumped at the chance." defended Sakura as she moved to stand around the kitchen island beside Hinata "So do you want to know?"

"I wanted to be there," explained Naruto

"Well your just have to be there next time." laughed Hinata as Naruto's head snapped toward her.

"Yes, Naruto-kun there is a little plus sign on her and mine test." confirmed Sakura with a grin as Naruto blinked at the news.

"Wow." said Naruto as he sat down on the nearest chair trying to process the information. "All three?"

"Told you we should have waited until he was sitting down." added Ino with a laugh "Oh well cats out of the bag now."

"True and he isn't the only guy in for a surprise tonight." explained Sakura as she remembered some of the names on the tests "Half the tests we are doing now are pregnancy tests."

"Wow…my God." said Naruto for the second time as he tried to wrap his mind around the news that in a short amount of time he would have at least three kids. Then he thought about what brought up the news in the first place. "Wait is it a boy or a girl?"

Ino smiled as she picked up the pot of noodles to carry it to the table.

"Well you're going to have paint the nursery..." started Ino

"No, wait I want to be surpise." said Naruto with a huge smile on his face.

"Ok then." said Ino with a shrug

"Come on lets eat." advised Hinata as Naruto moved to stand only to fall over. Instantly Sakura moved to his side checking his vitals before laughing.

"He passed out." laughed Sakura "He has fought against the strongest ninjas in history but this causes him to pass out?"

"Ok, let's all agree we are never going to let him live this down." offered Ino as she looked at Sakura and Hinata.

"Agreed," Confirmed Hinata as Sakura nodded her confirmation before all three of them carried the father of their unborn children to the living room couch.

Thousands of miles away from their dining room a middle age woman with short brown hair and light brown eyes sat behind a large counter in a room filled with floors and items for sale. She was counting the money in the register in preparation for closing up the store and head home for the night when the shop door opened.

"Welcome to The Hidden Vein Flower shop how can I help you?" asked Mrs. Yamanaka as she turned around to see another woman and a young girl standing there.

"Kurenai." said Mrs. Yamanaka with a smile at one of the few people who she still considered her friend, most of her friends had turned their backs on her along with her husband's clan when she refused to condemned her only daughter, Ino. "And how are you and little Mirai doing today?"

"We are doing great," said Kurenai as her and Asuma's daughter, Mirai moved to smell some of the flowers set out.

"So how can I help you today?" asked Mrs. Yamanaka

"Well Mirai's birthday is coming up and she wants some flowers for her party." explained Kurenai "Problem is she doesn't know which ones she wants."

"I was about to close up but you two are welcomed to look around if you don't mind me doing a few things while you look." Offered Mrs. Yamanaka

"If you let her do that she will want them all." laughed Kurenai as Mrs. Yamanaka moved to a small pile of letters which she hadn't been able to get to earlier in the day. "So how is business doing?"

"While I may be hated personally, people still love my flowers." reported Mrs. Yamanaka as she opened the first letter with a letter opener. She scanned the bill for a moment before putting it aside. "I even get to do the Hokage's wedding."

"That is a honor," reported Kurenai as Mrs. Yamanaka rolled her brown eyes.

"Not when your suppose to do it for free since she is the Hokage." stated Mrs. Yamanaka as she opened up a letter from an address she had not seen before. She cut open the top and pulled out the single postcard sized photo, instantly her eyes widened before breaking out into tears.

"What?" asked Kurenai as Mrs. Yamanaka handed over the photo, it took Kurenai a moment to understand the image but then she smiled before turning it over to read the message on the back.

"Mom." said little Mirai as she pulled on her mom's sleeve "Why is she crying?"

"She just found out she is going to be a grandmother." explained Kurenai as she handed the ultrasound photo with the hand written message from Mrs. Yamanaka's missing daughter.

"Mom, I can't tell you where I am and it took a lot of convincing to get you this letter but you needed to know that I am safe and soon you are going to be a grandma. I hope that someday you will be able to hold your granddaughter or grandson but sadly, it is not this day. I love you mom, Ino"

Well I hope you liked this chapter and the little development I had, Naruto is going to be a dad not once but three times. Now I would like to thank everyone who reviewed and I ask that you keep reading. Thanks Wilkind75.