Kin was surprised she was even alive after that battle, but she was even more surprised Naruto survived the attention of Orochimaru for even one attack. Shizune moved to heal the young genin as Jiraiya and Tsunade looked around, both confused by the actions of the traitorous Sannin.
It wasn't like Orochimaru to simply retreat like that, so they both suspected a feint. But it soon became apparent that he'd expected them to think that, using that to aid in the escape of Kabuto and himself. Maemi gathered up and sheathed Naruto's weapons as his left leg and arm were healed.
Once the young genin was up, Tsunade took off her necklace, "I was a bit out of it, but I definitely saw you perform a complete Rasengan." she began, "I won't ask you to do it again," she continued, suspecting he likely wouldn't be able since she could tell he was starting to suffer the after effects of a chemical compound she hadn't seen used in battle since the war, "and I'll uphold what I wagered this time." she promised, handing over the necklace.
Naruto accepted the necklace and looked at it curiously, "Well alright then!" he laughed with a cheerful grin, "I heard you acknowledge I'd be Hokage, so I guess you'll be coming back to the village to heal people, finally." he said the last part with a bit of a sigh.
Jiraiya approached Kin, but even he felt uncomfortable with the idea of picking the bound girl up, "What do we do about the prisoner?" he asked and in an instant the horned genin was there.
"Hey! This is mine! Get your own, Ero-Sennin!" Naruto insisted protectively and possessively, "I caught her fair and square y'know!" he added petulantly.
Jiraiya rubbed the bridge of his nose as the others gathered around, "You can't just keep a prisoner for yourself, she'll have to go to the Torture and Interrogation division back in Konoha." he explained.
Naruto pouted, "Why? I caught her, so that makes her mine." he insisted possessively. Kin's eye twitched as she blushed in embarrassment, angry with herself for being caught by such a childish genin.
Maemi approached carrying Naruto's swords, "Wait, do shinobi not do spoils of war?" she asked curiously, concerned at her plans being foiled before they could begin.
"Only in times of war, and not for enemy who might know something." Shizune pointed out, annoyed with the Muse as she assumed the Daemon was the reason the young blonde even had the idea.
Naruto frowned, "We are at war though, Konohagakure is at war with Otogakure." he pointed out, "Besides, I can get whatever information is needed out of her, just let me talk with those interrogation guys and I'll sort it out." he decided with a nod.
Jiraiya wanted to argue, but he also remembered Maemi was a living lie detector and he didn't want to spend all day arguing with his pupil, "Alright fine, she's your responsibility though so if she escapes it's on you." he agreed with a sigh, "Also, you're the one who is taking her to talk with Ibiki-san." he added, taking the opportunity to avoid work for himself. Mostly he just didn't want to be seen carrying the much younger girl while she was tied up like that, it would murder his reputation.
Naruto grinned, "No problem!" he agreed, recognizing the name. Then he frowned as he noticed something, "Oh, that's what Tsunade-baachan really looks like." he mused, startling Jiraiya who hadn't noticed the blonde woman returning to her natural age.
"I'm completely out of chakra." The tired old woman said with a sigh, "Let's just get back to town and rest up." she requested.
Naruto shrugged and picked up Kin in a bridal carry, "Yeah, alright." he agreed as the kunoichi prisoner blushed indignantly, "I'm just surprised y'know." he said, looking at the old woman again, "From what I heard I figured you must have aged like milk, not wine." he laughed as he turned to town.
Jiraiya smirked as he noticed the stunned expression on the currently wrinkled blonde woman, "I think this one is my greatest pupil." he said proudly, although with a hint of annoyance since he'd never managed to get that kind of expression from Tsunade when they were younger.
Back at the inn Naruto had his first real hot shower in a week, Maemi picking out some of his other clothes he'd packed for the journey as he did. Jiraiya was passed out on one bed, and Kin was still tied up and on Naruto's bed with an annoyed expression. Tsunade and Shizune had returned to their own rooms to rest and clean up, giving the Muse an opportunity she was eager to take advantage of.
Maemi hummed to herself as she inspected Kin, enjoying the way the kunoichi shivered under her gaze, "How cute, Naruto-sama will enjoy you I'm sure." she said with a perverted giggle, "Don't worry though, he'll wait until you want it." she added to the alarmed girl, "Naruto-sama is such a kind young champion, you're lucky he caught you so early in his life." she continued quietly.
Kin scowled, "You're one of those Daemons I've heard about." she said bluntly, it was a statement not a question.
"Correct!" Maemi confirmed with a grin, answering it anyway, "Now what has me curious is you, but I think I see what had your old master so curious." she continued with a pout, "Damn scientists thinking they know things they don't understand, getting me excited." she grumbled, "You're just in between multiple domains without being balanced enough to be undivided." she explained with a sigh.
Kin blinked in confusion, "What?" she asked, not understanding that at all.
Maemi shrugged, "Don't worry about it, just set aside your despairs, hopes, and your wrath." she instructed, "You'll be much happier worshiping Yokubo-hime, as a servant of my master." she said with a kind smile, starting her attempts on converting the kunoichi. Kin was clearly confused, but the Muse had done enough to keep her from falling to one of the other powers or becoming undivided for now.
Then the shower stopped and Naruto stepped out of the bathroom wearing his new necklace and fresh boxer shorts, white ones decorated with ramen toppings, and drying his hair with a towel. Even with iryojutsu assisting it his recovery speed was absurd, although at first Maemi had been disappointed by the apparent lack of a boon for defeating Kabuto the Muse quickly realized it was a far more subtle one than any previously earned blessings. Maemi decided she'd keep quiet about this one, it probably wouldn't come up for a while and she wasn't even sure how to describe or explain it. It was unique to this world after all, chakra alterations weren't exactly a blessing that could happen in other worlds.
Kin stared at the topless genin in shock, not having expected the very slight swell of budding breasts on his form. Combined with his increasingly toned musculature, particularly the shoulders, the kunoichi was very confused by the androgynous form of her captor, a blush of embarrassment creeping up her confused face.
If Naruto noticed he didn't care, or even seem bothered to be in his underwear in front of his captive, and simply pulled on a plain violet kimono, tying it with his deep purple sash before grabbing his kiseru and packing it with his herb mixture. The clothing went down to his knees and he didn't feel like wearing more than that if he was just supposed to relax, so he sat down on the couch in the room, leaned back, and enjoyed a smoke while recovering from the after effects of using his combat drugs.
The horned hermaphrodite finally seemed to notice Kin staring at him, "What?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Are you a boy or a girl?" Kin asked with a confused expression, wondering why it was so hard to figure it out.
"Or?" Naruto asked with a smirk, which was technically an answer in itself but the captive kunoichi still seemed confused, "I'm the divinely blessed Kajo no Ninso, I'm not limited by one or the other, I'm both!" he announced proudly.
Kin frowned since that explanation just confused her more, although from what Orochimaru had learned of the Konton no Kami the most appealing did seem to be the one that just demanded seeking pleasure. Compared to the others the Kajo no Kami seemed the most benign, followed by the Henka no Kami.
"Oh right, I'm supposed to get information out of you." Naruto suddenly announced with a surprised expression, apparently only just remembering that detail. Then he stared at Kin for a moment before frowning, "How do I do that?" he wondered out loud, scratching the skin around his left horn since his right hand was still holding his kiseru.
Kin snarled, "Torture me all you want, I'll never talk!" she insisted hotly.
Naruto blinked owlishly for a moment, "Damn, you're kinky!" he laughed, making the kunoichi blush, "I didn't expect you to ask to be tortured, you must be more of a masochist than me." he assumed as he tapped the ash from his kiseru into an ash tray, "I guess physical torture is out then, I didn't really want to do that anyway honestly." he added with a shrug.
"Are you seriously a shinobi?" Kin asked incredulously.
"I'm a Ninso!" Naruto bragged with a cheerful grin, quite attached to the title since he considered it a title that connected him to Slaanesh, "Let me think, I could bite you, but I don't actually know what my venom does." he mused, "Kabuto survived, but that jerk is a freak so who knows if anyone could survive it." he continued, rubbing his chin thoughtfully with his left hand, "I guess I could just starve you, but then you might die or something, although if I give you water you should last for a bit but I don't feel like risking it." he grumbled as he tried to think of something, "I can't just leave you tied up forever either, you'll have to go to the bathroom eventually." he added idly.
Kin's eye twitched as her captor listed and dismissed very basic and boring torture techniques, "You could just let me go..." she grumbled dryly.
Naruto nodded thoughtfully to the surprise of his captive, "I could, but you clearly just want to be able to run away and escape." he pointed out to the increasingly exasperated kunoichi, "I could just strip you and leave you in the shower with the water pressure really low." he pondered and Kin raised an eyebrow at that one, "Fingernails would grow back if I plucked them so that's an option I guess..." he considered with a frown, "Maemi-chan what do you think?" he asked.
Maemi smirked, "You could always torture her with a mix of pain and pleasure, that's usually humiliating for proud warrior girls like her." she suggested, the Oto kunoichi's eyes widening in alarm at the perverted suggestion, "From her reaction it'd work too!" the Muse added quickly.
Jiraiya suddenly shot up, "Ah! What a good rest!" he said with a panicked expression, "I'm going to find some hot springs to get some proper relaxation in." he said quickly, the conversation he'd been eavesdropping in on becoming uncomfortable even for the perverted old man. It'd make great research if his pupil and captive were just a couple of years older, but what he'd heard could already be decent enough material.
Naruto stared at the window Jiraiya left out of for a moment, "How long was he awake?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Pretty much the entire time." Maemi answered with a smug grin, "Anyway, go for it, Naruto-sama, she's all tied up and defenseless." she encouraged with a perverse grin.
Naruto shrugged and got up to approach his shivering captive, the kunoichi was actually afraid now. The genin considered how best to go about the chosen method, "Pain and pleasure, huh?" he mused, he knew there were all sorts of perverse things he could do for his own pleasure but he found the idea of forcing himself on her distasteful.
The horned blonde decided that if he was going to get pleasure from her it would be because he convinced her to give it, not because he had taken it. Figuring that just taking it for himself in this context implied an inability on his own part, Maemi sensed this and was amused by his reasoning so she didn't speak up or argue.
So, Naruto decided to start with pain, but he didn't want to damage the fair skin of his captive. The idea of damaging something he found beautiful was unappealing, so he started simple and flipped the tied up kunoichi up and over his knee. He hadn't seen it much but he knew a method parents used to scold their kids, and so he started spanking Kin with a bored expression.
His choice of torture had Maemi struggling not to laugh, her cheeks puffing out as she watched the display. Kin's cheeks were red with humiliated embarrassment, a furious and indignant expression on her face. Naruto kept this up, subconsciously giving each of Kin's clothed cheeks six spanks before he realized the clothing was in the way.
So he tore her snake pattern skirt and pants around the rope before he raised an eyebrow at the panties, "I know I'm in no position to judge, but really, snake pattern everything?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Shut up you pervert!" Kin snapped, struggling to believe that of all methods this was how the blonde had chosen to inflict physical pain and torture, it was far more psychological than physical. Maemi was just struggling to contain her amusement, worried that if she laughed the entertainment would halt.
Naruto shrugged and gave another hard smack, eyes widening at the sound of bare flesh being spanked for a moment before he continued. Kin was mortified to realize he was effectively using her ass cheeks as a percussion instrument, her eyes watered at the humiliation as both sets of cheeks turned redder. Finally Naruto decided the pain section was done and considered how to inflict pleasure, his hand drifting lower.
"Don't touch me there!" Kin snapped before she could stop herself and almost wished she'd held her tongue as she realized her outburst gave away how well that would work, to her surprise Naruto pulled his hand away.
"Alright, jeeze you're snippy." The horned blonde grumbled, lifting his captive up into a sitting position and placing one hand on either shoulder. Maemi fought hard to contain her urge to cackle at Kin's baffled expression as Naruto started giving her a massage, "You ready to talk about Orochimaru's hideouts yet?" he asked, trying valiantly to relax the stiff shoulder muscles of his captive.
"N-never!" Kin stammered, surprised again when the horned genin didn't stop the massage with her refusal. Naruto shrugged, he wasn't entirely sure what he was doing but he had an idea of how a massage worked so he just kept pressing into the shoulder muscles in between the rope bindings.
Kin struggled to stay strong, but squirming just served to grind the rope binding her into places that were now even more sensitive than they had been, and as much of an amateur at it as Naruto was a massage was exactly what her stiff muscles needed. Finally, against her will, the kunoichi gave a sigh of pleasure before quickly biting her lip and hoping she hadn't been heard. The fact the massage briefly stopped indicated Naruto had definitely heard her, and when he kept going he focused more on what he had been doing when she made the noise.
Soon Kin was letting out whines and quiet moans, and to her continued humiliation her captive was practically using her as a musical instrument again, "Well, what about the secrets of those Oto weapons? That gauntlet thing your teammate had back then was kind of interesting, any ideas how that works?" Naruto tried a different approach.
Kin's head lolled to the side, "Oh, I don't even know, that's the research and development departments job." she answered before her eyes widened in alarm as she hadn't meant to say that much but as soon as her shoulders stiffened the horned genin applied pressure there and she shuddered under his ministrations.
"Damn, that would have been cool to have." Naruto grumbled, he'd been asking about that one just for himself, "Oh well, what did you have then? I was out of it for most of your fight with my teammate, but your teammates had some cool abilities." he pointed out.
"I just use bells," Kin answered with a sigh of content, "I mean, none of your-ah!" she tried to resist but the blonde squeezed her shoulders closer to her neck, the kunoichi bit her lip to avoid saying anything more.
Naruto sighed and released the kunoichi, "Alright, I guess I should switch back to pain." he decided and Kin was an odd mix of relieved and terrified, "Doing the same thing over and over again is boring though." he complained.
"Candle wax when hot can hurt," Maemi spoke up suddenly, "but as long as you drip it on her skin from like, the length of your wakizashi should work, then you won't burn her." she explained in an excited tone.
Kin's eyes widened in alarm as she realized exactly what the Daemon was advising Naruto on, she realized with growing alarm that she was being tortured with what some lovers would call foreplay. Naruto didn't see anything wrong with the idea and put his captive down on her front, brushing her long dark hair aside as Maemi handed him his wakizashi before moving to grab a candle for him.
Before using it to measure distance, the blonde unsheathed it and cut the back of Kin's shirt away, "Snake pattern for the bra too?" he asked, recognizing the pattern on the back straps. The kunoichi only shivered in response this time, so with a shrug Naruto left it where it was and accepted a lit candle from Maemi before he proceeded to drip the melted wax carefully.
Kin winced in pain, deciding that the wax definitely hurt worse than being spanked, "Ready to talk yet?" Naruto asked, "I really just need something to give T&I," he explained, "come on, I don't want to have to give you up to Ibiki-san." he tried bargaining as he lazily used the dripping wax to make the symbol of Slaanesh.
Kin stayed quiet but she could feel what was happening all too well, her captor was at least keeping the wax out of her hair but he'd started up near her shoulders and was working down, occasionally going back up to hit areas he'd missed. But soon the wax would hit her still red buttocks, "I don't even know anything!" she cried out desperately.
"That's a lie." Maemi cheerfully announced a sing song tone.
"Fine!" Kin confessed, "I don't know much, just don't-" he words were cut off by a cry of pain as Naruto experimentally let some of the wax hit her still bright red right ass cheek, "Don't do that!" she begged, "I'll talk alright!" she insisted desperately.
Naruto raised an eyebrow and, wondering what the big deal was dripped some wax on his own arm, "Huh? This isn't even that bad," he mused, "kind of pleasant actually." he added, "Ah well, I guess I am a masochist." he chuckled as he put the candle down. Then he started carefully removing the dried wax, leaving the symbol of slaanesh for last, "Alright, start talking then, where are Orochimaru's hideouts?" he asked.
Kin gave away everything she knew as he worked, Maemi writing things down and staying quiet to only interrupt if the girl lied, and every time she did lie Naruto gave another spank. Soon enough the kunoichi was insisting she'd said everything she knew, which the Muse confirmed.
Naruto wasn't sure exactly what the pleasant smell coming from Kin was part way through the torture, but decided he'd ask his Muse later. The horned genin was quite proud of himself, Maemi was very proud too but for completely different reasons. Their captive was just flustered and annoyed, and also a bit pent up after that.
"Can I have that cold shower now?" Kin asked dryly, Naruto was confused by that but Maemi cackled and agreed to help the kunoichi with that so that they could leave her tied up. While they did that, the blonde got properly dressed in some leopard print pajamas. When the shower stopped running Maemi came out to take a towel and Naruto's violet kimono to protect at least some of the modesty of the captive kunoichi, not that the Muse particularly cared but she considered it a reward for eventual cooperation.
Jiraiya looked between his grinning blonde student, the captive kunoichi who was still tied up in a shibari style rope harness but was now wearing a kimono over that and what appeared to be nothing underneath, arms not even coming out of the sleeves due to the way she was tied up, and the information Maemi had written down. His eye twitched as he realized how valuable this information was, the information even included how to train to use some minor sound based genjutsu.
The Sennin decided immediately that Tsunade must never know the methods by which this information came about, he knew he'd be blamed even though he'd had nothing to do with it. Technically he'd let it happen but he had valiantly retreated from the situation to go peep on more full figured women.
"So I can keep her right!?" Naruto asked expectantly, like a child who had been promised a pet dog and found a stray. Kin seemed indignant, but more humiliated and embarrassed than anything.
Jiraiya sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "I need to confirm some of this information," he decided, mostly he just wanted to be gone by the time Tsunade and Shizune realized what had happened, "get some help from Tsunade-chan regarding preparing your, uh," he struggled to think of a word that wouldn't be slave.
"Slave." Naruto insisted bluntly and Kin's eye twitched at his shamelessness.
"...Right, yeah, fine, gotta go." Jiraiya agreed, retreating from the situation as fast as he could. Maemi giggled, for a lecher he was surprisingly uncomfortable with such indecency being performed.
Naruto shrugged, "Maemi-chan could you get Tsuna-baachan?" he asked and the Muse hopped up to obey, leaving Naruto alone with Kin for a moment.
The horned blonde decided to have another smoke, and was almost done by the time Tsunade arrived, "What in the-?" she began with a startled expression, "What did you do?" she asked with narrowed eyes, "Are you smoking!?" she added in a scolding tone.
Naruto blinked owlishly, "Yeah," he answered, "it's a really nice blend actually, the cloves and lavender in particular have a nice flavor." he explained, taking another puff, "Want some?" he offered after he breathed out a cloud of smoke.
Tsunade sighed, "No." she said sternly, "You shouldn't either, it's bad for your lungs and teeth." she scolded.
Naruto raised an eyebrow, "I like it though." he said simply, a childish argument if ever there was one.
Tsunade rubbed the bridge of her nose, "Whatever, why is your prisoner like that?" she asked, deciding that convincing the young blonde not to smoke was a waste of time.
Kin saw an opportunity, "He's a pervert!" she insisted, "He did all sorts of naughty things to me!" she added with crocodile tears, Tsunade's eyes widening in horror at the words.
Maemi scoffed, "Oh please, Naruto-sama was torturing you for information, and even then he still avoided touching you down there when you told him not to." she rebuffed bluntly.
Naruto finished his smoke and tapped the ash out of his kiseru and into the tray, "I just used pain and pleasure to interrogate her." he added, although that helped Kin's story more than anything.
Maemi smirked, "His idea of pain was spanking, and his idea of pleasure was a shoulder rub once Kin-chan begged him not to touch her down there." she revealed, clearly finding it amusing.
"The candle wax was what broke her, Ero-Sennin went to go confirm some of the information I got." Naruto finished the explanation with a shrug and then yawned
Tsunade rubbed her temples, "Why am I not surprised?" she grumbled rhetorically, "Alright, let's get your prisoner into actual clothes and bindings." she sighed, approaching the bound kunoichi.
"What's wrong with the bindings Maemi-chan tied?" Naruto asked obliviously.
"They're perverse." Tsunade answered bluntly, then she realized Naruto wasn't leaving or turning away, "Are you just going to watch?" she asked in an irritated tone.
"Did you want me to help?" Naruto asked, clearly confused.
Tsunade's eye twitched and she decided the modesty of a prisoner of war was not worth the headache of trying to explain this to Naruto, especially since he was technically a hermaphrodite, "No, actually you just explain this whole Konton no Kami thing to me." she decided, "Jiraiya told me what he learned from Kakashi and, well, if I'm going to be Godaime Hokage I should know what they are, especially if three of my genin shinobi have power from them." she clarified.
Naruto grinned as Tsunade started stripping the humiliated Oto kunoichi to give her a check up and remove the ropes, "Slaanesh-kaasama is the best of all of them!" he insisted with blatant bias, "Yorokobi-sama, Yokubo-hime, Kajo no Kami, whatever you want to call my Kami, beautiful beyond all comprehension!" he continued excitedly, "The joy of now, and the vindication of life! Set aside wrath and despair, release the empty promises of change!" he laughed, "All Slaanesh-kaasama asked is that I pursue my arts, enshrine all that I find beautiful, and find pleasure in as many things as possible." he preached happily.
Tsunade got the impression that the blonde and his Muse would be far too biased to give her accurate assessments of the other three, Jiraiya had told her that Kakashi didn't even know any titles of the fourth except that he held domain over despair. So the older blonde analyzed Naruto's words, on the surface Slaanesh seemed the most benign but pursuing your vices too much could be dangerous in its own way.
All in all though, the blonde Sannin decided she liked Slaanesh the most. She wasn't even going to try pronouncing the true name though, it sounded downright eldritch to her and she wondered how Naruto's tongue was able to make such sounds. Kin seemed interested in the Yorokobi no Kami as well, and Tsunade finished her check up to let the kunoichi get dressed properly before applying new rope bindings in a far less indecent manner.
"Well, sounds like my kind of Kami," Tsunade acknowledged dryly with a smirk, "but I still need some rest before we head back to the village tomorrow, so I'll hear about the rest from the others when we arrive." she decided, turning to leave.
Naruto grinned happily, "Oh! Kin-chan gave off a weird smell I didn't recognize part way through the torture." he added quickly, "That could be a medical thing right? Your check up didn't reveal anything about that?" he asked, concerned for his prisoner.
Tsunade raised an eyebrow and heard Maemi give a perverse giggle, "Physically speaking she's fine, surprisingly Orochimaru didn't even modify her body." she answered, having an idea of what Naruto might have smelled from the amusement of the Imp and the mortified expression from Kin.
Naruto grinned again, "Oh good!" he said cheerfully, no longer concerned about what he'd smelled.
Maemi decided to explain, partially because the humiliation of the Oto kunoichi amused her and partially so Naruto would recognize the scent in future, "That was the scent of arousal, Naruto-sama." she explained with a perverse grin.
"Oh." Naruto said, nodding in understanding, "Wow, she is kinky." he laughed and Kin started trying to smother herself in the pillow, Tsunade could tell she wasn't trying very hard and left them alone.
The return to Konoha was much faster than the search for Tsunade was, even with a prisoner tied up. Jiraiya had been surprised to learn that the information, at least what he could confirm, was legitimate. Unfortunately Orochimaru had apparently anticipated what the girl knew and the nearby lab she was aware of had been cleared out and abandoned, but left hidden and trapped.
The white haired Sannin showed Tsunade the information Maemi had written down from Kin's bizarre torture session, there wasn't all that much that was useful but the Oto kunoichi had really given away absolutely everything. It seemed Otogakure no Sato wasn't a village so much as a collection of laboratories and research bases. For his part, Naruto was finally living up to the reputation of Konoha shinobi being soft with how he treated his prisoner.
Jiraiya decided not to mention that the horned blonde intended to keep the girl as a slave, he didn't want to be around when that discussion eventually happened. He did think it was probably a better deal than most prisoners of war ever received, mostly due to how Naruto didn't seem to have any interest in abusing things he found beautiful.
Soon enough the group was standing on top of the Hokage tower with the teammates of the late Hiruzen Sarutobi, the two aged ninja having acted as advisors for the Sandaime and due to their prestige were the councilors, "Konoha's changed." Tsunade said wistfully, a slight frown as she remembered Naruto's words about change, "From now on, I'll be the protector. I am Godaime Hokage." she said, mostly to herself.
Homura, the male of Hiruzen's former team, was surprised, "I can't believe you talked her into it..." he confessed, having half expected Jiraiya to return empty handed or not at all.
Jiraiya just laughed, "All it took was a few words from this good looking mug of mine!" he lied shamelessly, Maemi considered calling him out on it but decided it wasn't worth potentially getting dispelled again. Naruto just looked annoyed with the white haired old man for the lie.
Koharu, the kunoichi of Hiruzen's old team, spoke up next, "We must inform our Daimyo of this immediately," she began, "and hold a celebration for the official appointment of our Godaime Hokage." she decided simply, "Aoba, Genma, inform the rest of the villagers." she ordered and the pair of shinobi, one of whom Naruto recognized as the proctor for the final phase, agreed and left in a hurry.
Homura coughed, "Also, we should probably transport your prisoner to the Torture and Interrogation division." he informed.
"No need, I already got all the information!" Naruto said proudly, puffing his chest out.
Jiraiya sighed, "Yeah, surprisingly he managed that." he confirmed, surprising the two councilors, "Kin Tsuchi is his, uh, spoil of war." he reluctantly informed.
Koharu seemed disappointed, "What have you been teaching Naruto Uzumaki?" she asked dangerously, knowing well enough the reputation of the white haired lecher.
"Not that!" Jiraiya insisted before he pointed accusingly at Maemi, "It was the Imp I tell you!" he added frantically, shoving the blame as far away from himself as possible.
Maemi pouted, "Naruto-sama deserves a servant." she insisted, crossing her arms, "I can't do everything, I can't get too far from him, and my cooking is, uh," she hesitated to confess.
"Too spicy." Naruto said bluntly, "I think I'm getting used to it, but I prefer ramen." he added with a firm nod.
Kin blinked owlishly as what they intended her to do dawned on her, "You want me to be a maid?" she asked, eye twitching in irritation.
Koharu supposed that was a better deal than most captured kunoichi got, but she still raised an eyebrow, "Is the Godaime Hokage amenable to this idea?" she asked, hoping the younger woman would disagree.
Tsunade shrugged, "Honestly? I don't even care anymore." she said bluntly, "The information he got was legitimate, Jiraiya confirmed it with what he knew and labs we were close enough for him to quickly scout out." she revealed to the surprised councilors, "Orochimaru anticipated this and abandoned such locations by the time we arrived though." she added with a shrug.
Maemi grinned at Kin, "Set aside your despair, shojo," she whispered teasingly, "you'll find Naruto-sama a pleasant master if you behave." she added.
Naruto grinned, "I'm glad we're all on the same page." he said cheerfully, "Now, Tsuna-baachan can you come heal people now? I heard Kakashi-sensei is still bedridden and I don't want bushy brows falling to despair when he has such beautiful taijutsu." he added more seriously, his nickname for the woman surprising the councilors and annoying the woman in question.
"Would you stop calling me -baachan?" Tsunade asked but she did start moving down the stairs, Naruto in tow followed by Jiraiya, Shizune, and Kin, with Maemi bringing up the rear to keep an eye on the prisoner just in case.
"Make yourself closer to my age and join my harem, then I'll consider it!" Naruto laughed, his shamelessness surprising only the councilors at this point.
"In your dreams." Tsunade retorted with a scoff, surprising the councilors further that she didn't reprimand or scold the horned genin for his ridiculous suggestion.
At the hospital they ran into Sasuke and Sakura, the Uchiha hadn't changed much in the time they'd been gone besides getting his hair cut back to what it had been before the third phase of the chunin exams. The pink haired kunoichi on the other hand had gained some muscle definition and was followed by a small armored creature barely taller than Maemi.
"Your blonde teammate looks like a girl." Genkei told Sakura bluntly, glaring at the Muse.
Maemi blinked in surprise, "I'm both and neither." Naruto retorted dryly, "Sakura-chan you got a Familiar now?" he asked.
Sakura sighed, "Yeah, meet Genkei-kun, he's been a real help with my training." she said, glaring at Naruto, "But did you know that with Kakashi-sensei out of commission, and you off on a fucking adventure, Sasuke-kun and I have been stuck with D rank missions!?" she snapped angrily.
Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Calm down," he ordered, having learned that the kunoichi was at least willing to listen to him, so it had become his job to keep her from killing anyone, "while he was probably busy with his mission, we got stronger." he said with a smirk, eager to put one up on the blonde.
Naruto grinned at the challenge, "I trained while on the mission too!" he insisted, "I even beat a former chunin from Iwagakure, the Densetsu no Annin!" he bragged, not able to remember the actual name of the man, "Oh and did you guys know Kabuto was a spy for Orochimaru? I beat him up too! I even learned a new jutsu that's even stronger than the Chidori!" he laughed proudly.
Jiraiya sighed, "Alright, enough," he said, stopping the metaphorical dick measuring contest, "you only beat Kabuto because he was already injured and tired." he added to take some of the wind out of the sails of the hyperactive blonde.
"I'm here to heal your sensei," Tsunade spoke up, "I'm sure he'll be happy to see all of you when he wakes up." she added, walking into the hospital with purpose and authority. Sasuke and Sakura joined the rest of the group in following her.
"Wait, what is that bitch doing here?" Sakura asked, finally recognizing Kin, who started to sweat nervously.
"Mine!" Naruto insisted possessively, "Get your own spoils of war." he added, surprising his teammates with that.
"You pervert." Sakura growled, reaching for her axe.
"Down, Sakura." Sasuke interrupted as if he was scolding a dog, surprisingly the pink haired kunoichi obeyed. Genkei grumbled, not happy with how much his master listened to the servant of a rival god but even he was not immune to the wrath of the pink haired kunoichi if he spoke out against her beloved Uchiha.
Kakashi opened one eye blearily, recognizing pretty much everyone in the room. Even Gai was there although the man looked rather impatient, Sakura's new muscles told him he'd been out of it for a while lost in the nightmares caused by Itachi's genjutsu. Seeing Tsunade and Shizune back in the village was a surprise, but it explained why he was awake.
"Getting beat by a couple of thugs," Tsunade began with an understatement, "I thought you were a natural, but I guess even you're only human." she said lightly, clearly trying to cheer him up.
Before Kakashi could respond Gai spoke up, "Forget him!" he said callously, "Please take a look at my pupil, Lee!" he insisted. Kakashi couldn't really blame Gai, he'd probably be just as desperate if one of his students had been the one to be crippled by Gaara.
A glance at the brass choker around Sakura's neck reminded the silver haired jonin that he didn't need to worry about his own students too much, they had even more powerful beings than himself looking out for him. Kakashi couldn't help feeling morose about that as Gai and Tsunade left, Shizune following behind with Tonton in her arms.
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at the dour mood Kakashi seemed to be in, "How are you holding up? What did Itachi even do to you?" he asked, curious about what could have left Kakashi comatose the entire time they were looking for Tsunade.
Sasuke perked up at that, eager for information about his older brother, "Ocular genjutsu," Kakashi began simply, "his Sharingan really is on another level." he added, reaching up hesitantly towards his closed but uncovered left eye.
"Did the doctors seriously leave your mask on?" Naruto asked, annoyed by that detail, he was curious about what was under the mask. Sakura was similarly annoyed by that, but didn't want to verbally agree with the blonde.
Sasuke was curious as well but he was more interested in the ocular genjutsu, "How did Itachi's genjutsu work?" he demanded to know, trying blatantly to steer the discussion back to what he cared more about.
Kakashi frowned, "It was on a completely different scale to anything I've ever seen before." he began to explain, "He had absolute control over a false reality he trapped me in, for seventy-two hours he had free reign to torture me but it passed by in an instant for everyone around us." he revealed.
"That must take even him a lot of chakra, no wonder he ran off when Jiraiya arrived that day." Sasuke mused, mentally analyzing the jutsu and trying to come up with a counter for it. Unfortunately if Harakainokeru didn't work then the only thing the young Uchiha could think of was breaking the genjutsu with his own Sharingan, something that also might not be possible but having two possible defenses was better than having one or none.
Kakashi got out of bed with a groan, "Well, I better talk to the other jonin, get myself filled in on what else I missed and find out if anyone was decided for chunin while I was out of it." he grumbled tiredly, "Also lying in bed for over a damned month, what a travesty, waste of damned time, and after I put in so much effort getting my body back in shape too." he complained to himself.
Jiraiya was surprised, he'd never heard Kakashi complain so much before. He supposed he couldn't blame the man, considering what had happened.
"You want to get ramen with me, sensei?" Naruto asked eagerly, "I'll treat you this time!" he insisted with a grin, having made more money than he'd spent while out on the road with Jiraiya he was practically rich. Neither of the Sannin could believe the astounding luck Naruto had, and the white haired lecher figured out that at least some of it was raw gambling instincts.
Jiraiya wondered if he should convert to Slaanesh, he practically already followed the tenets to a degree. Kakashi just sighed in response to the question, "You know what, sure." he decided after a moment, "I should probably eat, as Tsunade-sama said I am only human." he agreed.
"Alright!" Naruto cheered, "Ramen, hell yeah!" he added, startling his new servant with how excited he was getting for noodles, "Come on, Kin-chan, you can have some too! Teuchi-jiji made a new flavor just for me, it's great!" he insisted, dragging his prisoner and sensei away.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "Who the hell calls their slave by such affectionate terms?" he asked, turning to the white haired Sannin for the answer. Sakura blinked owlishly at the realization that Naruto had a slave, she'd been distracted by relief that the blonde wasn't insisting she come along too.
Jiraiya shrugged, "Apparently Naruto does." he answered, "I'll go let Ibiki-san know where to find the bull-headed brat, he'll want to double check things." he added as he moved to leave as well.
Sakura glanced shyly at her remaining teammate, "Sasuke-kun, do you want to get something to eat with me?" she asked, suddenly demure. Genkei found it sickening, but he knew the kunoichi would dispel him if he voiced such a thing.
Sasuke sighed, "Katsuobushi Onigiri," he agreed, "you're paying." he insisted, knowing that keeping the girl moderately pleased was essential to making sure she didn't kill any fellow Konoha shinobi. Besides which free food was free food, and the girl seemed happy to pay for his food as long as he spent the time with her.
Naruto found Iruka on the way to Ichiraku Ramen and insisted the chunin come along as well, where Naruto filled in his two sensei on what had happened. Iruka was clearly concerned and alarmed, while Kakashi just seemed bored with the explanation. Surprisingly the jonin hadn't even bothered putting on anything but his pants and sandals, leaving his Sharingan eye closed in lieu of his hitai-ate.
Kakashi further surprised his company by simply lowering the fabric covering his face to eat, he simply couldn't be bothered to do his usual tricks of eating so fast it was impossible to make out his face. Iruka in particular was startled, while Ayame simply stared in amazement at the features of the jonin with a slight blush on her cheeks.
Naruto frowned, "Hey! How come you were hiding such well defined features from me!? You know I like beautiful things, Kakashi-sensei!" he whined with a pout. Maemi frowned at the dulled emotions she felt from the jonin.
"That's precisely why I hid them from you." Kakashi bluffed, he had his own reasons for always wearing the mask but he very recently decided to simply get over it, "So, did the jonin decide if anyone was promoted to chunin while I was out?" he asked the scarred chunin eating with them, curious about that since he had been comatose.
Iruka was still getting over his surprise at Naruto having claimed an enemy kunoichi as a spoil of war and Kakashi's change in attitude after being comatose, "Ah, well, two of your genin were considered, surprisingly so was Shino Aburame." he revealed, "Kiba Inuzuka didn't put on a good enough showing unfortunately, the jonin all thought he was being a bit too much of a show off against his opponent. I think it's a shame he and Shino-kun didn't get to show their abilities more." he explained at length, "But at the end of it, no one was promoted. Sakura Haruno was rejected out of hand for her, uh, temper issues." he continued, putting it lightly, "Sasuke Uchiha was considered but it was determined that he spent too much time testing himself against his opponent instead of actually trying to win." he added with a sigh.
"What about me?" Naruto asked, wondering why he wasn't getting the promotion.
"You very clearly went into that fight with a grudge and intent on humiliating your opponent instead of simply winning." Iruka scolded bluntly, "Chunin are supposed to be squad commanders, although out of everyone you probably came closest to being promoted," he confessed, "too many Hyuga were against it though." he decided to reveal with a smirk.
Naruto pouted, "Damned politics..." he grumbled, annoyed that he'd be stuck as genin for even a bit longer. Kin just quietly enjoyed her miso ramen, wanting nothing to do with the conversation. Maemi was as annoyed as Naruto, as far as the Imp was concerned her horned master deserved the promotion.
Tsunade felt bad about it, but after examining Rock Lee she had to tell the truth to the crippled genin and his sensei. The boy with bushy eyebrows had asked if there was any chance so she continued with the honest approach, "Fifty percent, that's the odds I'd succeed." the legendary iryonin informed, "If I fail, you'll die." she added as a warning, "Even if I do succeed, you'll be out of commission for a while." she explained carefully.
Gai was clearly distraught by this and Lee himself shivered, "I see..." the genin said sadly before he stopped shaking, "Then if I die, I die." he said with resolve that startled the two older shinobi, "I want to be a splendid ninja, who uses only taijutsu." he continued, "Naruto-kun called my taijutsu beautiful. I will not give up on my dreams because of something like death, such a thing is an ever-present threat to shinobi anyway." he explained with surprising calm.
Tsunade frowned in concern for the genin, "Give it some time to think about it." she said, "If you're certain, then I want some time to come up with something that might improve the odds, even just a little bit. You should also rest up so you have as much energy as possible for the surgery." she explained before the genin could argue.
The Godaime was surprised by how Naruto seemed to have inspired the genin she just inspected, it was remarkable how the young blonde could give someone the resolve to face the threat of death without even being in the room. She just hoped it didn't lead to the death of Lee, but she could tell that he would rather die than retire from being a shinobi.
Gai seemed to be in anguish, but held his tongue. The jonin had nothing to say really, he was proud of Lee but he didn't want the boy to die. He could only hope Tsunade succeeded.