Chapter Thirty-One - The Return of the Prince
"Good morning, Uzumaki-dono."
Naruto shot a playful smirk at Kakashi upon receiving his formal greeting and bowed back at the older man. "And a very pleasant morning to you, Hokage-dono. You're looking very exhausted, has the job not been treating you well?"
Kakashi gave a deep exhale. "I have just figured out that I can use a Shadow Clone to do the paperwork, I still have to handle mission deployments daily as well as reforming the Academy into a more modern curriculum. Why didn't you tell me they had taken out chakra nature manipulation as a course subject? That has always been a fifth and sixth year subject since the founding of the village."
Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "I was in a class filled with clan heirs and heiresses, most of them had an inheritance or family back home to help with extra subjects like that."
Kakashi sighed as he realised that was quite true in the blonde's case, which judging by the Third's notes, was intentionally done so that Naruto could meet and establish some kind of connection to the next generation of clans. It served well as many of the young clan members had either a neutral or positive respect for the young boy that now wielded as much power and influence as any other Kage or Daimyo.
Naruto motioned to direct the man's attention behind him to Isane and Izumi who were standing with their personal Enforcer guards and infant children held in their arms. "These are two of my wives and my children. Isane-chan is holding my eldest Itori-kun, while Izumi-chan is holding our twins, Kokomi-chan and Erin-kun."
Kakashi smiled under his mask and leaned over to look at the children, finding only Kokomi awake with charcoal eyes staring up at him. Each child had whisker marks upon their cheeks, but only Itori had Naruto's blonde hair though it was a much paler shade than his father's. Kokomi and Erin both had their mother's hair but considering only Kokomi was awake, he couldn't see if Itori and Erin had inherited Naruto's blue eyes or their mother's eyes as Kokomi had.
"What cute babies," Kakashi cooed and smiled as Kokomi seemed to hold her mother and twin brother. "Hello, again, Izumi-san, and nice to meet you, Isane-san."
He bowed to each and they dipped their heads in return. He turned back to Naruto when he remembered something and decided to ask. "How is Sarutobi-sama?"
Naruto frowned for a short moment before turning to his wives. "I will be talking to Kakashi for a bit, we will meet you at the restaurant in half an hour?"
Isane and Izumi smiled and the former nodded her head before both of them gave a kiss to his cheeks.
"Don't take too long," Izumi told him softly before leaving with Isane and their guards.
Naruto was left alone with Kakashi as his guards knew he was safe in the village, and that even if anything were to happen he was more than capable of taking care of it. Only a year ago, he had eliminated the majority of a minor village single handedly after all. Yukigakure was a little over half the size of Takigakure with a population of 4,500 people, which was highly militarised, its forces, both active and reserves, making up some 3,800 of that number. Of that four and a half thousand people, only six hundred had been spared and of that number only one hundred thirty of those were trained ninja who had survived the cleansing.
How exactly Naruto had pulled off such a complete extermination in such secrecy and with such efficiency was still a mystery to the rest of the ninja world, with villages like Iwagakure calling the act "barbaric" and "a blatant operation to to increase Uzushio's sphere of influence". Amegakure and Kusagakure labelled Naruto an S-rank threat with a flee on sight order for their ninja whereas Iwagakure had opted to not outright make the blonde their enemy. To Kakashi, he felt this was the work of Kurotsuchi as the girl likely tried convincing her grandfather to not be too hasty and create a dangerous enemy. The smaller villages have been silent, Hoshigakure keeping relatively to themselves in Bear but word out of Yumegakure in the Land of Forests seemed to suggest they were dedicating significant intelligence resources towards finding out more about the young Prince and his clan.
"Hiruzen-ojichan is being taken care of in his home by Tsunade," Naruto began speaking and his tone remained flat but his eyes stared ahead away from the gaze of his old teacher. "He will not last much longer and any attempt by baa-chan to extend his life was met with dismissal."
Kakashi raised his eyebrow. "He refuses treatment?"
"He said, 'I have lived a long enough life, outliving the ages of my predecessors and my successor. I wish to meet them..'." Naruto took a deep breath and exhaled softly. "We are just making his last few months as comfortable and painless as possible. That's the most we can do for him right now - ease his passing."
Kakashi pulled his former student into a hug and held him firmly, closing his uncovered eye when he felt the younger boy grip his robes tightly and shudder. "You have done all you can, Naruto. Even now, Sarutobi-sama wants to go out on his own terms and the best thing we can do is listen to those wishes."
"I know," Naruto sobbed and shook more. "But it still hurts. He's been a grandfather to me for years. He did his best to protect me."
"And you will carry that memory with you. You will be the continuation and living proof of the legacy he wished to impart on this world." Kakashi ruffled the blonde's hair softly and whispered softly. "He always said you were a living avatar of the Will of Fire that he so firmly believed since his youth. He believes with all his heart that you will lead the world into a better age, whether it was as Hokage or perhaps even as something greater."
"He believed in me?"
"So much so that he has practically groomed you to take up the position of Hokage at some point," Kakashi told the teen and pushed him away to look at his face. "He kept you by his side when he did his duties as Hokage not because you were the Jinchuuriki, not because you are his successor's son, but because he wanted you to inherit the hat and know all that wearing it entailed. He knew what you would be once you came into your own, and even now I know that he is proud of the man you have become. You are not Minato-sensei or Kushina-sama. You are Naruto Uzumaki, the Lord of the Uzumaki Clan and the Prince of Uzushio. You have grown to walk no path but your own and you have your entire life ahead of you to forge your way to a destination no other man has beheld."
Naruto gave a watery smile and pulled Kakashi into a firm embrace. "Thank you, Kakashi. I really appreciate your words."
"I only spoke the truth," Kakashi smiled back.
The two leaders then moved on to discussing what happened during the year within Konoha.
The village had slowly regained its financial footing resulting in the taxes on the civilians loosened into a more lenient percentage once a financial reserve was established. The civilians had begun realising how easy they had it and while were very vocal in the beginning of their disapproval of the measures made by Kakashi to keep the village afloat they had long since quieted down. There were still a few mutters and whispers by the more disgruntled civilians that had been profiting from the prior more lenient laws and for that there was a measure signed into being by the Council.
It seems that the clans were beginning to take the position of the village as a military centre more seriously and a police force was reinstated heavily modelled after how it used to be with the Uchiha. This time though it would be a department all on its own rather than being overseen by the Anbu Commander like it was a decade or so ago, and it would be filled with Chunin as a way to provide experience in unknown situations and leadership roles. Kakashi appointed Anko as the commissioner, allowing her to finally gain her promotion to a full Jonin after passing a separate test to show she was ready and capable.
The police force would have the ability, with a warrant from the Hokage, to enact justifiable search and seizures of civilian properties as well as arrest and detain until a process of trial can be started. Importantly, to prevent too much centralisation of power, they did not have any jurisdiction over actual shinobi affairs, leaving that in the jurisdiction of the TI Division. They also provided a proper garrison for the village as a deterrent against another invasion as while Chunin would not be the biggest defence it would be better than the little to nothing they previously had. It also would help propel the Chunin of Konoha to a higher quality compared to those from their fellow shinobi villages via the increased training that would be provided to those who choose to take a position in the police force.
On top of that, Kakashi had found and retrieved the ten true masks of the Uzumaki Mask Temple. However, it was after he gained them that he found out what the true purpose of the masks were and he was unsure if he wanted anyone trained in that power. Still, after discussing the matter with Naruto he had come to the agreement that its original purpose was necessary and that the precautions put in place made it as safe as it could be considering the circumstances. Thus far they have been able to choose six Masked Agents they mutually agreed upon while the other four masks will find go to owners the Six choose once they gain enough experience to be entrusted by Naruto and Kakashi with such a monumental responsibility.
The first six masks chosen to be the first generation had been personally chosen by Naruto and their functions explained to Kakashi and together they had formulated proper containment protocols and failsafes in case those wielding them went on a rampage. The six masks were each named after the demon sealed within; Samyaza the Endless Watcher, Beelzebub the Lord of Flies, Yaldabaoth the Endless Devourer, Samael the Great Accuser, Agrat Bat Mahlat the First Succubus, and Lilith the Vampire Queen.
Shikamaru Nara was chosen to wear the mask of Samyaza the Endless Watcher due to their compatible natures. Samyaza was known as the Watcher before his fall from the Heavens due to his unique ability to see possible outcomes, an intuitive knowledge of all objects native to the dimension in which the mask was donned, and the power to summon his "children'' the Nephilim. The Nephilim were a race of pale-skinned giants whose stature towered over Konoha's largest buildings and who exerted an immense magical pressure.
Kakashi and Naruto had agreed that Shikamaru's natural genius was the right fit to utilise the abilities granted by the demon mask. The contingency for Samyaza gaining control was a single caged box Naruto granted to the village. He did not share its nature but he told the older man that it is not from their world and if witnessed by Samyaza would cause the vessel to break down before passing out.
Beelzebub the Lord of Flies was given to Shino Aburame for… obvious reasons. Beelzebub granted the user control over a unique type of locusts that can appear as if by an omen. The user can also become a swarm of locusts, shedding their physical body temporarily. If desired by the user the locusts summoned or transformed into also carry a type of pestilence or plague that can depopulate entire countries if deployed indiscriminately. Because of this the teen was not allowed to train his abilities in populated areas or without a med nin versed in hazardous materials handling and biological weapons procedures present - of which they had to be trained by Uzushio emergency staff.
The containment method Naruto gave was an odd but honest object developed by Uzushio mages. A can of bug spray laced with holy water and Tears of the Goddess. Of course, because of the holy water and Tears it is also able to weaken or annoy any of the other demons.
Yaldabaoth the Endless Devourer was arguably the darkest demon of the group not because of its morality (or lack thereof) but because of its intrinsic abilities and nature. Yaldabaoth's nature was to always seek to consume to grow powerful due to its constant hunger, a curse said to have been laid by the Heavens themselves for a sin it committed aeons ago long forgotten by mortals. While it was debated whether Choji would be able to properly keep in check the hunger that came with the mask, it was assumed that because the boy eats all the time already it would be of small consequence to keep himself satiated and thus Yaldabaoth from seizing control, as it was known to do during moments of ravenous hunger.
Yaldabaoth's mask granted Choji the ability to devour weakened enemies. In this sense, while in end result comparisons may be drawn to Naruto's own power, in method it was nothing alike in how Naruto devoured souls. No, Choji would have to actually cannibalise his victims to gain their power, which would sate his hunger for a time determinant of the power of the one he consumed. For this, Naruto had developed an incense that would end up causing intense nausea to the possessed boy should the failsafe be needed.
Samael the Great Accuser was once a very important inhabitant of the Heavens but his fall was in part due to the role he was entrusted with; an Arbiter, a role which was tasked with testing humanity's loyalty to the Heavens. He found the flaws he witnessed after many years of watching humans develop made them inferior and not a perfect being like himself or his brethren, and questioned the wisdom of allowing one of them to be the one to fulfil the destiny of the Prince Who Mantles the Will of the Heavens. In response to his great heresy of seeking to usurp fate rather than guide it he was cast down. He was superior in terms of strength and fighting prowess against all but Yaldabaoth and one other demon mask which Naruto has decided to keep in reserve, unsure if such a power should ever be allowed to enter the world.
Sasuke was entrusted by Naruto to win the allegiance of this demon mask and so far has developed a cooperative relationship with Samael. His physical and martial prowess had evolved beyond even Kakashi, before even taking into account his control of the Divine Light magic that was a trademark skill of the Great Accuser. A silver tongue is also an ability granted by Samael but one that would not cause as much issues.
The failsafe for Samael was a golden orb encrusted with many jewels and inscribed with various seal magic too ancient for anyone to recognize or decipher. The orb would weaken the demon's resistance to his own Divine Light, debilitating him and weakening his powers enough to contain him back into the mask.
Agrat Bat Mahlat the First Succubus was once the wife of Samael and was thought to be the first to employ charm magic and teach it to the priestesses that worshipped her who in turn taught it to their many lovers. Those that earned her favour became Succubi and Incubi with an innate otherworldly beauty as well as a natural "allure" that can bewitch the weak-willed so long as they were attracted to the gender of the user. It did not work across species, however, so is not effective against spirits like the Biju or against monsters like the Ancient Beasts and Summons, though some exceptions existed such as species that were born human only to be later transformed.
Agrat was given to Hanabi Hyuuga as Naruto decided to honour the private petition of Hiashi when he came to him in secret not long after he brought Yukigakure to heel and became known as the "Butcher of the Crimson Snow". The man did not want to condemn his youngest to the Branch Seal that she would by tradition and the machinations of his own clan's elders be marked with once she passed the Academy. While Hinata was planning to do away with the tradition it would be far too slow to implement to spare Hanabi her fate - indeed Hiashi confided to Naruto that he suspected they wished to mark Hanabi as a way of controlling and dissuading Hinata from bringing her plans to fruition. He decided to allow it so long as she shows the ability to control her demon mask, as much like Jinchuuriki, by Founding Law bearers of the mask held no allegiance but that of their Hokage, removing Hanabi from Hyuga Clan jurisdiction and making any attempt to seal her tampering with a wartime deterrent of the village.
And oh boy was Konohamaru in a bit of trouble. With the influence of the progenitor of all Succubus, Hanabi had the aged body of a young woman ideal to any male or female and the young girl knew that. She had a pastime of teasing the young Sarutobi heir with her sexual beauty and new charm powers but due to the final power she would not be able to even kiss the boy even if she wanted to.
You see, the charm powers and beauty of Succubi and Incubi are for a single purpose; to suck the life force of their victim to further empower themselves. But until control was learned and she could refrain from that nature, she was unable to embrace anyone even for something as simple as a hug. To help her, a sealed necklace was given so that she would not end up killing those around her or influencing them with charm magic. The seal, which only Kakashi was taught to use and activate, would block off all "tantric energy" within a target, neutralising all powers connected to Agrat.
Lastly is Lilith the Vampire Queen. Vampires were common in Gaal and rumoured in legends to also be numerous from the Uzumaki's mythical lands of origin in the far west, far beyond the Endless Wastes. For some reason, Vampires were believed to have avoided the Elemental Nations even before the emergence of chakra. That did not mean Lilith did not appear in their own legends, however, her most common name, one under which she was worshipped as a deity, was Jashin. A being of blood and immortality who demands nothing less than utter death and destruction.
Choosing someone to control this Demon Mask was tricky as the control of vampiric powers bestowed would be disastrous for anyone with a close family. The call to drink their blood might be too great, indeed this can be shown in the Jaishinist belief that one's family and neighbours are the most ideal target. For that, they decided to choose Tenten for this as she is an orphan who lived on her own in a secluded part of the village. She was granted her mask after she was briefed and agreed, as this was one of the Demons Naruto felt needed to be discussed prior to being given.
For some reason that Naruto did not understand, the Library did not specify why the specific symbol that served as this mask's failsafe weakened Lilith and other vampires. A cross made of silver kept in a cloth made with the skin of a goat is to be kept on hand in case Lilith and Tenten lose control. For some reason, the symbol is tied to some innate divine power that the Library did not elaborate on. Either way, it was strong enough to weaken Lilith enough for containment.
Thankfully, during Naruto's absence nothing untoward had happened and the failsafes did not need to be enacted. If anything the Mask Bearer's were exceeding Naruto's wildest expectations.
"I wanted to ask, where have you been?" Naruto glanced at Kakashi with a raised eyebrow, silently asking the older man to elaborate. "What I mean is that after what happened in Snow… killing an entire Hidden Village, even if it was one of the minor ones, as well as forging an alliance with the Daimyo, you came here to choose the Masked Agents and give the containment procedures before leaving and, by all reports of any and all intelligence sources Konoha has, seemingly disappearing into thin air alongside the companion you gained in the Land of Sky. No one has seen either of you for over a year and your home had been suspiciously quiet, even Ichigo would not speak on your whereabouts even after your return."
"I went for a bit of an adventure," Naruto shrugged his shoulders in response to the man.
"You aren't gonna share it with your old sensei?"
Naruto laughed at the man and shook his head. "No, some secrets only hold value when held by two, after all the bonds of a co-conspirator can be surprisingly intimate, wouldn't you agree?" He replied with a wicked smirk full of hidden promise, but his eyes were distant, his mind obviously elsewhere, or Kakashi suspected, thinking of someone else.
The Next Day, Hokage Office
"What's up, Kakashi, you sent a messenger for me?"
Kakashi turned from his other guests and smiled at his former student. "Naruto, so good you made it quickly. I want to introduce you to Master Bansai-san and Grand Master Chiriku-san. They are from the High Fire Temple and friends of the village - Chiriku served the Twelve Guardian Ninja for a time alongside Asuma."
Naruto knew of his clan's ties to the High Fire Temple from Ginrei and Retsu's lessons, so he bowed his head in a respectful greeting. "Greetings, honourable Masters."
"Greetings to you, Uzumaki-dono," Chiruku greeted the young boy with his own bow. "I'm glad we were able to catch you here at this time. Sadly, it could not be any sooner."
Naruto understood the start to a serious conversation and decided to take a seat in the chair brought by one of the Anbu guards. "What is wrong that requires my presence? While my clan and your temple have always enjoyed a close relationship, face-to-face meetings not organised sometimes years in advance are fleetingly rare after all."
"The Tenets to the Heavenly Sphere are failing," Chiriku answered swiftly, his eyes remaining trained on the blonde. "The Heavenly Sphere is a miraculous artefact from an age long passed and we have dedicated our order to protecting it and monitoring compliance with the Tenets. When the balance of the world is threatened in some way, the Tenet Rings will begin to wobble in their rotation and revolve off-axis. Currently, Tenets one through three are showing symptoms of failure. A year ago, it was just the first."
"So something is threatening everything but the continuation of life," Naruto surmised, his eyes drifting at the implications.
Something dangerous is happening.
"There is a glimmer of hope, however," Bansai said this time and pulled out a scroll and handed it to Kakashi. "A year ago when you were said to be in Snow, the Heavenly Sphere's orb began glowing orange with a new chakra. We believe it ties to a prophecy held a long time ago, and it involves you."
"How do you know?" Naruto asked without giving any outward reaction. "Prophecies are hard to recognize until they are about to come to fruition and more often than not it is still disputed after the fact whether they have been fulfilled due to multiple conflicting interpretations."
"You are different, though, are you not?"
Naruto's eyes met the gaze of the Grand Master and they stared at each other for a bit, waiting for one to speak or reveal their true intentions. "Elaborate, Chiriku-san."
"It's your chakra. I can sense the natures of chakra and auras and have gotten good at noticing what is normal and not. Yours is not normal, Uzumaki-dono. Nothing like a human's, nor that of your Biju." Chiruku paused and his eyes seemed to grow distant, searching beyond just the physical. "Pure. All-consuming. Radiant, yet listless. It is beyond the body you have. It has settled, almost content for now. But it is growing restless again."
"Hmm," Naruto sat back and looked at Kakashi as the man finished reading the scroll. "Kakashi?"
"It's true, the signs it mentions point to you." The silver-haired man sighed and sat back in his own chair to look at the two monks. "What happens?"
"We give our support to the Child of Prophecy," Chiriku announced sternly.
"The Prince Who Mantles the Will of the Heavens," Bansai said but he now looked at Naruto with squinted eyes. "The Heaven's Avatar. No, not a sage but a god."
"Alright, stop," Naruto raised his hand with a sigh and pinched his nose. "I have the title, I bear it proudly. But I am not going to become a god. I do not wish to become one."
"It is beyond your choice," Bansai countered calmly.
"I think we can stop there," Kakashi butted in to stop any possible heated conversation. "Either way, Naruto, what I wanted to bring up to you is that there was a vote among the Hidden Villages. We are having issues with Hozuki Castle in Kusagakure, a prison for dangerous shinobi, and want a representative to go and check the operations of the facility. Winning a vote with the support of myself, Terumi-dono, A-dono, and Gaara-dono, we elected you as our representative."
Naruto blinked a few times before smirking at the man. Now I have an official reason to go.
Ironic that everything is falling into place for you, Prophecy Child.
Shut your snout, you overgrown rug!
"Thank you for accepting this task, Naruto. With tensions high due to the bounty hunter organisation comprised of high level Missing Nin known as the Akatsuki regularly violating borders in order to kill high value bounties and Iwa escalating the military presence upon their borders for the past year I don't think I'd be able to send someone from Konoha to take care of themself without being accused of attempting to slip an agent behind 'enemy' lines. Off the record, I believe that something weird is going on in that prison because when I looked at the records they have a significant percentage of fatalities whose cause of death has been officially recorded as only 'indeterminate', 'unknown' and on a few chillingly callous occasions 'inconsequential'."
Naruto hummed to himself when he heard that. "Most likely the prison has a systemic problem with guards getting too violent or abusive with the inmates and a cover up is afoot, but that theory should be pretty easy to confirm or put to rest, all I need to do is shake down the warden and I'll get my answers."
"Hokage-sama," a woman's voice spoke through Kakashi's reception system. "The Agents are back."
Kakashi looked at Naruto for a brief moment before pushing the mic button. "Send them to Debrief Room 2."
"Understood, Hokage-sama," the receptionist said.
Kakashi smiled and stood up before bowing to the monk Masters. "I am glad we were able to meet and talk but I must debrief a team. Have a good day, Chiriku-san, Bansai-san."
Naruto and Kakashi left the room with the older man leading the way to the debriefing room that is reserved for specific need-to-know clearance missions and deniable asset black operations as well as meetings with the upper brass of the Anbu as well as any other personnel or intel that is deemed Hokage's eyes only or that answer to the Hokage directly. As they reached the room, they could hear a ruckus building in the room and the two men stopped outside and exchanged a meaningful glance at the commotion.
"I said I was sorry!"
"Those people will be traumatised for years, Choji! A sorry won't fix what they saw!"
"Come on, Sasuke, calm down."
"How can I be calm, Shikamaru? Choji ripped into those guys who were barely alive like a midnight snack right in front of the royal family!"
The men decided that was enough to hear and entered the room, causing the shouting to stop immediately and everyone turned to look at them. While Kakashi looked amusedly exasperated, Naruto gave a smile as he analysed each of his former classmates. And Hanabi.
Shikamaru slouched in a chair towards the back, his arms crossed over his chest with his head lowered in boredom. Shino was sat next to him in a spare undershirt and pants due to his clothes and equipment from operations needing to be decontaminated or burned by the hazard division as standard procedure whenever his mask's power was invoked. Choji himself sat to the side with the front of his shirt and his sleeves covered in blood and judging from the content of the prior shouting Naruto knew that it wasn't the boy's own. Sasuke had been pacing at the front and was now staring at Naruto with a look of relief and surprise. Tenten and Hanabi sat together, their outfits made to accentuate their bodies and feminine charm though there were points of difference; Hanabi's was much less concealing practically flaunting her body while Tenten's accentuated her curves and feminine traits in a manner that hinted at what lay below but never truly confirmed it, making her exude a muchmore regal sense of sensuality.
"Naru-oniisama!"
Naruto caught Hanabi in his arms as she jumped from her chair and threw herself at him within a moment. The blonde chuckled and hugged the girl comfortingly. "Hello to you too, Hanabi-chan. I hope all of you are performing your duties well."
"A few hiccups but that's to be expected," Shikamaru sighed as he sat up straighter.
"Report," Kakashi ordered as he slipped into a more serious demeanour.
"The mission was successful, the kidnappers were eliminated and the VIP's were safely extracted. The Trauma Therapists at the hospital were notified of shock with the possibility of PTSD due to what the Waterfall Daimyo's family saw of our abilities, specifically Choji's hunger."
Kakashi rubbed his chin as he inwardly hoped a Yamanaka would be able to heal the family's mind. "What could you glean from the kidnappers? Any allegiance?"
"Sixteen kidnappers in total, ten of which are former shinobi; five from Iwagakure, two from Kumogakure, two from Kusagakure, and one from Amegakure. The other six were unmarked but had clear supernatural abilities."
"Magic, Shikamaru," Tenten interrupted the boy. "Naruto-sama had taught us how to recognize magic and that's what they had."
"Right, right, magic," Shikamaru sighed with a wave of his hand. "I believe they are from the Land of Demons because they spoke of praying to a High Priestess which I remember from Naruto's lecture on the ruling classes of various nations."
Naruto found that bit of information more interesting and useful than Kakashi did, and he wondered if anyone knew of the significance any mages from Gaal let alone Demons appearing in the Elemental Nations posed. While Gaal has been very secretive of their powers and weapons of war that has kept the balance of the two continents in check, the Land of Demons was filled with religious zealots who would not leave their continent without approval from their High Priestess. The High Priestess is currently Shion, inheriting the position from her grandmother with the death of her mother, and it was their special ability to see into the future that has many people praying to her for some kind of omniscient protection.
That meant that there was a reason the mages were working with missing-nin in the Elemental Nations. But he could not understand the reasoning why they would assist in the kidnapping of the Waterfall Daimyo for the life of him. Waterfall is a smaller and less economically powerful nation and has been allies with Konohagakure, who is regarded as the powerhouse of the Big Five, for nearly three decades since Saindaime took office after the Second Shinobi War. Add to the fact that Uzumaki presence in Gaal is growing with their foothold solidified in Sky thanks to Aizen and the Fourth Division, Demons would not be ignorant to Uzushio's ties to Konohagakure should a call to arms be needed.
Why risk a war with not one or two but three nations? What are you planning, Shion?
"Who was leading the operation?" Kakashi asked as he tried to think of what mages from another continent could be doing in the Elemental Nations.
"One of the mages, an elder that we could not capture," Shikamaru gave a flat annoyed stare at Choji who tried to sink into his chair in embarrassment.
Kakashi nodded his head in acceptance. Even though it was desirable to take a prisoner for interrogation in situations such as these to retrieve intel, it wasn't unexpected that they would fail to do so since priority was rightfully given to completing such a high profile mission as a success would help them in gaining favour with a foreign court which would in turn raise their profile within that court's nation, leading to an increase in missions and preferential treatment being bartered for more backing and finances in return.
"It's fine, you succeeded in your mission and the hostages are safe. Their memories will be dealt with so they will think it was all a bad dream." Kakashi then looked at the masks each of them had hooked into their belts. "How is your training?"
Everyone glanced at one another at that before they all turned to Shikamaru for him to answer for the team. The young boy sighed and muttered to himself. "Troublesome."
Everyone chuckled at the boy.
"Nothing much to report on. We are rapidly gaining more control over our abilities and even the biggest hindrances we had are being overcome with time. I guess our biggest problem at this stage is gaining field experience but that is easily remedied."
"Good," Naruto said before turning to Kakashi. "How would you feel about a joint diplomatic mission to a nation that you have had no previous contact with?"
Uzushiogakure, Uzushio
"Feeling good, like I should. Went and took a walk around the neighbourhood. Feeling blessed, never stressed, got that sunshine on my Sunday best. Everyday can be a better day despite the challenge. All you gotta do is leave it better than you found it. It's gonna get difficult to stand but hold your balance. I just say whatever 'cause there is no way around it."
Naruto hummed to the rhythm of the song he was singing as he did his paperwork for the day before he had to leave for Hozuki Castle. It feels good to be back in his office doing stuff for his home again. It felt like years that he'd been gone for even if in reality it had only been fourteen months. If he was honest, though, he did miss the people he met even if deep down he knew he'd be back to see them. It was only a matter of time.
"Some days you wake up and nothing works, you feel surrounded. Gotta give your feet some gravity to get you grounded. Keep good things inside your ears just like the waves and sound did. Just say whatever 'cause there is no way around it."
Naruto stretched in his chair and looked outside his office window to see the beautiful village he had rebuilt nearly three years ago. It took a long time and he privately doubted if it could be done but his people continued on and made sure that their dreams became a reality. Not all buildings could be saved as the damage dealt during the invasion had left a lot of infrastructure with compromised foundations that left them collapsed or sinking into any of the many rivers cutting through the village.
And yet here they were, a prospering nation that took on three villages pursuing a joint campaign of extermination and still they had not only survived but had begun to thrive. They may have once been brought to their knees but they had recovered and with every breath they ensured that they would never be brought low again.
"Uh, hello?"
Naruto blinked as a timid voice broke him from his reverie and he swivelled upon his chair to see who had entered the room as most never made it so far, being weeded out and redirected to a more relevant official by Maya. What met his eyes was a girl his age, maybe slightly older, with brown shoulder-length hair and brown eyes with purple markings on her cheeks.
"Ah, it's nice to see you again… Rin."
TRUST THE PROCESS! I see you questioning the ending! Everything will be explained in time I promise. Just give it time but we are moving on further for the next part of this story. I swear there is a reason for everything.
PraetorXyn: I have a few ideas how Spring will be used in this story, mostly because the industrial revolution has already happened with Uzushio and the prospect of such a thing in Spring makes it a production powerhouse for advancement in technology.
Demonic Rebel: I appreciate your response and I know you won't see this but there's an off chance, right? Anyway, I appreciate you leaving a kind review even if it was to say you don't like the way I went. As for what you've said, a lot has changed from what the story was to what it is now as at first it was just for my enjoyment and I didn't plan to post it. Then I did and people liked it and most of what I was writing was just late-night insomniac ramblings that were made into a coherent story so while I am not completely satisfied with the beginning like you I don't really mind it as it sets up a good beginning for me. I'm still growing as a writer and the story is advancing more than I expected it too. I had originally planned for the ending to be the Chunin Exams with some kind of epilogue but I felt that was no longer the case since I've grown invested into the story as well as quite a few readers. You can see I don't do relationships, it's not my biggest strong suit as I write action and adventure, but that doesn't mean there aren't ships that I wouldn't want to see so I don't ruin my story by writing the little stuff like that. Either way, I appreciate your review but do check back, maybe I will write something you do like! :D
LAzHellRaiser, Primarx, WhateverPlus, dbtiger63: Thanks to all of your for liking the story and chapter :D
Guest: Kurama is a fox... a young fox is a kit... Naruto is a kit to Kurama... o.o"