* thanks to Obsidian for beta-reading this*
The 150 hunters all stood in a massive group on the western border of Iron Country. They were trying to section themselves up into smaller groups, and the country into smaller regions that each group could handle. They were failing at it because it wasn't very organized.
Their problem was solved when one of the older hunters got in front of them all and got their attention with a chakra surge. "Afternoon, I have come up with a plan for our little journey. As you all know, the land of rock is a massive country. However, most of the country is uninhabitable mountains, so we don't have to worry about sweeping it."
The sighs of relief were loud.
"Our area of sweeping is roughly 50,000 miles. It's still massive and so we are receiving much more help than the smaller countries. Our numbers will be bolstered to 500 strong. It is still a lot of land to cover, but this way we only have to sweep 100 miles a person compared to 300.
Finally, as requested by the Tsuchikage, those with the strongest chakra will be allowed into the main village. Once those three are done in the village, they will leave and form a grid sweep around the village with the village's shinobi."
Naruto immediately felt the bloodlust come to life in the group of men, no one there felt like going through mountain terrain if they had a choice. Plus, they all knew what those that went to the hidden village got. "No fighting, if I see even one jutsu or hand thrown you will be demoted or thrown out of the association."
The Uzumaki almost laughed, the old man was handling the group like a class of preschoolers. While holding in his laughter, a plan was formed within his mind. He would wait for the others to flare their chakra to get a good point before he did his own.
He had more chakra than all of them combined, and it wasn't even a competition, but a random bounty hunter having over Kage level chakra wasn't something you usually saw.
He did have to wait for a while though, as most of them were slowly letting out their chakra, so many that it was annoying the hell out of him. At last, almost everyone flared theirs and he popped his sword out its scabbard. "Go ANBU level."
The teen quickly released enough seals to get to that point and flared his own. The old man proved to be a sensor as he immediately locked onto him and another person within the crowd. With a whistle and a motion, he told them both to come up to him
They walked up and Naruto studied the other person on the way. The person seemed to have no outstanding features. Their haircut was so normal, Naruto could swear he'd seen it hundreds of times. Whenever they got next to each other, he extended his hand for a handshake. It was common courtesy after all.
The person seemed almost offended. "There's no room for hospitality in this business. Don't tell anyone who you are or what you can do unless you wanna get hurt." Naruto retracted his hand from the now-identified woman.
'What a prune.' Was Naruto's first thought but he realized she had a point. With all of the hospitality he had been getting, he'd forgotten just how cruel the world could be. It seemed that he'd need to readjust again. While thinking of how to readjust to said kindness, he made another realization.
First, Deidara had shown him how he was accidentally mixing personalities, and now this woman had made him realize another mistake. It seemed that when a woman came into his life, his mind became clearer. Creating a mental note to keep Deidara in his life, he shuffled to a stance.
Another thought invaded his mind while he waited for the last member to be called, what would his life be like if his mom was still alive? Would he have even left Konoha? Would he have created so many fake selves? He didn't want to think of it, it just made him sad.
The teen looked down and felt something warm flow down his cheeks. A quick look for rain proved he was just crying. A small laugh almost left. He could barely remember the last time he cried, but it wasn't a feeling he liked to show.
A silent thank you was given to whoever gave the idea for masks, they were now his savior. Breaking Naruto from his mood was the old man looking him up and down. "How old are you, son?" Naruto just went with the age on his id card.
"16, sir." The old man held a bitter smile behind his mask. "Make a promise to me. Don't die, too many young bucks like you die in this profession." With that, he turned around and faced the group. "You there, you are the third person on this team."
The man ran up and stood beside Naruto. "You three may go ahead. I assume you know the way?" The woman nodded while the two males shook their heads. "You two, follow her. I wish you luck."
Naruto nodded to the woman and the other man that came up, signaling them to start a run towards the inwards of Earth country. They both understood and took off. While running, the third member tried to introduce himself. "I'm Koi, nice to meet you two."
The woman didn't find that very interesting. "Keep your name and abilities to yourself." Naruto decided to jump in and fuck with her a bit. "How do we speak with each other then? Do I just call you lady or ma'am?" She looked like she was about to slap him and he took pride in it.
"We'll refer to each other with numbers. I'm one, you're two, and he's three." The teen shrugged, it worked for him. 2 was as good a number as any. To keep himself occupied, he thought of the number two and things he associated it with. It was mostly second place finishes in ramen eating contests but then it turned to shinobi things. He couldn't remember two being a team in Konoha.
There were 7, 8, 10, but he couldn't remember the rest, certainly not a team two. The teen found himself amused, he had just named off the Konoha 12 teams without realizing it. His old friends were quite the rookie powerhouses.
A dry laugh left his throat. Friends? The only ones close to friends with him were Shika, Chouji, and Kiba. Memories of the academy began flowing, skipping class with them to watch clouds on the roof only to be caught by Iruka-sensei once again and be put in detention that they just slept through.
The nostalgia made him wonder how they were doing. He hoped they were doing well.
*In Konoha*
The remaining members of the Konoha 12 walked out of the Hokage's office. They had just finished a briefing on a mission from Lady Hokage. The mission was to go to the other villages in a shinobi swap to increase comradery.
Their briefing was more of just general knowledge, things like Kumo was the only refusal in every village and the small villages offered their best. One thing was quite a shock to the Konoha shinobi, Iwagakure agreed. They thought Iwa hated "tree huggers", as they liked to say.
Those were the current thoughts of the black-haired heir to the Nara clan. Well, until his taijutsu-obsessed friend interrupted. "You guys wanna go get something to eat?" Lee asked, the stomach growl telling them he'd missed any prior meals.
"Barbecue is always an option," Chouji remarked. The others knew what he meant by that, it was what he wanted. In other words, there was no option, Barbecue was what they were having, and they were going to like it.
"Barbecue it is then," Lee said, already imagining some nice beef. The 10 continued on their way with little conversations about mundane things until they saw a blonde child run past.
It was like shellshock for them all and immediately, a bubbly little whiskered kid popped into their minds. Shikamaru turned his head around. "Sakura, what is going on with Naruto these days?" The girl shrugged. "The last I heard, he was in eastern fire country. Tsunade-sensei told me that they were doing some secret training."
Shikamaru chuckled. "What type of secret training puts you in the bingo book?" The others turned to him with questioning gazes. The heir was offended to say the least. Did they not read up on the bingo book? What shinobi didn't?
He answered his only question within his mind, 'a shitty one.' Chuckling to himself, he explained to the 9 shinobi. "Naruto was put in the bingo book a while back. 15 million Ryo for his capture and delivery to Otogakure." Their faces were confused, still. "Otogakure? The ones who invaded us during the chunin exams? What would they want him for?" Ino questioned.
"Sasuke, probably. The leader of Otogakure is Orochimaru after all." Tsunade said with a sudden appearance. Before any formalities could be made, Sakura spoke. "Does Shizune know you're out of the office?" Tsunade gave a cheeky grin reminiscent of Naruto's.
"The Kage Bunshin is a wonderful jutsu." She said before quickly changing the subject. "Anywho, what were you guys talking about Naruto for?" Shikamaru answered their Kage. "I informed them of his bounty, and we just started talking about it."
The woman nodded along. "I found the bounty strange as well, until I remembered how much of a creep my old teammate is. He probably wants Naruto for.." She stopped herself and quickly covered it up. "Sorry, my mind went blank." The Senju walked silently for a second while thinking of something to say. "Ah, I remember now. He probably wants Naruto for his precious little student." The shinobi could see it, Sasuke always had a thing for trying to fight Naruto.
With the topic of Sasuke being brought up, everyone glanced at Sakura. Although the girl was trying to work over her crush for him, they knew her feelings lingered. "I forgot to tell y'all but you need to set out in an hour or so," Tsunade mentioned, giving a sweet smile that promised pain for some reason.
"Yes, ma'am." was a cadence among them. The woman bid them a safe trip before skipping off. The teens knew where she was heading. She was going to the liquor store and there was no other possibility. Whenever she was gone, Chouji picked up speed. "Come on guys, we don't have much time to eat."
Shikamaru smiled. Chouji was still Chouji after all the years, he couldn't say the same for the rest of them. They'd all changed, in some ways bad or good. Once again, his thoughts were interrupted by one of his comrades. It was becoming a troublesome pattern.
The other troublesome part was that it was Ino talking to him.
"Shika, can I see your bingo book?" The Nara would ask her reason but it would be too troublesome for him so he just handed it over with no resistance. The Yamanaka started flipping through the pages while muttering fashion-type comments like "Out of date" or "Who wears that type of green?"
The small comments stopped when she got to the fourth page. "Look, this one has the same fashion sense as me." She said, flicking her hair for extra effect. The pinkette beside her grabbed the book and read off the information for the rest to hear.
"S-rank missing nin of Iwagakure. Former captain of Explosion Corps. A known user of explosion release. Crimes include terrorism, theft, and treason. This girl is only two years older than us."
Shikamaru was starting to get annoyed. "How are you going to give all that and not a name or bounty amount?." Sakura grew a stank face. "20 million and Deidara, her name is Deidara."
*In Hirakori*
Said former blonde was sitting on her couch, eating potato chips. Not much she could do with her arm in its current state, even with medical jutsu. The place didn't have very good medical ninja, which was kind of surprising considering the amount of very dangerous professions that were based there.
"Are you gonna lounge all day now that your boyfriend is gone?" Sasori asked, sitting at the kitchen table and leaning to poke his head out the room to see the former blonde. Deidara just shook her head with a blush.
"That no longer works since we're official." She said, quickly following it up. "Also, what can I do with a broken arm?" The regret was almost immediate. "Chakra control exercises, you could finally learn chakra threads as I've suggested."
Sasori had been trying to teach her the chakra thread technique and teach her about puppets. She was guessing he wanted to convert her to his definition of art. It was proved correct when he spoke. "Maybe if you did that then you'd realize that art is eternal."
The girl clapped her hands together, carefully, and looked up. 'Please don't make me go through another argument with this old termite-infested doll.' As if a god heard her prayer, the doorbell rang.
Deidara was up immediately and went to open it, only to find a couple of people from her class. She figured that maybe she left something at the dojo, until she noticed the girl in front holding something. Said girl was holding a little basket of goodies with a get well soon card on it. "We heard what happened. We're sorry."
The girl said, holding out the basket. Deidara took it and questioned the girl. "Thanks, I guess you got told by the instructors?"
The girl nodded. "We just heard it was a training accident." A guy in the back answered. The Harumyo was about to shoo them away without saying anything else but her plans were foiled by Sasori "Come on in. It's too cold for the human body out there."
Deidara unwillingly stepped aside as the 5 or so people entered her home. Her thoughts strayed as she saw a few look at the floor. 'If anyone says a thing about the carpet, they're getting a C1 spider down their throat.' She threatened in her mind. "Go ahead and take a seat. I've got some tea if you're thirsty." Sasori said, heading into the living room.
The former blonde, who had just closed the door, took notice of the looks the girls had. They were thirsty alright. "It's good to see you again, Kiyoko." One of the girls remarked, sliding her hair behind her ear.
"Likewise. Now, you guys sure you don't want anything?" A few nods were given and he took a sip of his own drink. "Well, I guess I should tell you guys more about the incident. The bokken Ahma was using had a hairline fracture that broke when she tried to block it. The doctor said she'll be out for 5 weeks at least." Deidara nodded in respect at the brushoff. The redhead noticed her pride and almost felt sorry for what he was about to do. Almost.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a project to work on. Feel free to stay if you like." Sasori could feel Deidara's glare on the back of his head as he left to go upstairs, but it only made him smile. Messing with that girl was his favorite pastime.
When he got into his room, he slid open the closet to show a medium-sized workshop for his puppets. "I should get this one done by 5:00." He said while grabbing a smaller puppet that was for one of the orphanages. "I've got 30 minutes."
*With Naruto, a couple of hours later*
The three had been running for about 2 or so hours and Naruto could see signs of fatigue on the other two. Nonstop running did that to people without a healing factor, after all. The Uzumaki, on the other hand, hardly felt any stamina drain because his muscles were being instantly healed.
It was truly a magnificent thing for him to have. He kind of wished he could heal Three, the man looked like he was gonna pass out. Said man looked back "I see a road ahead." Naruto jumped up a bit and saw said dirt road.
"ETA 3 minutes." The teen mentioned to the other two. They nodded in understanding and continued. Once on the road, a small carriage pulled up to them. "You guys need a ride? You look horrible." The driver mentioned.
One walked up to the side, "Are you heading to Iwagakure?" A nod was given. "It's only 15 minutes up the road. Go ahead and hop in the back." The three did as he instructed and found it pretty comfortable for a wooden supply carriage.
"Try and regain your stamina as much as possible." One said, moving into a meditation position. Naruto followed suit and closed off his senses.
In all honesty, he loved the complete silence that meditation offered. The Uzumaki slowed his breathing, and soon got to the sweet point that he loved, the state of complete peace. Unfortunately, it was cut short when he got dragged into the Spirit Dimension.
The bright sun blinded the teen as he found himself in the yard at what appeared to be mid-day. In front of him sat both Kyuubi and the spirit with a table sitting on the ground. "Tea?" The spirit offered, holding up a cup to the teen.
Naruto almost yanked it from his hand but decided to be calm. He took it carefully and took a sip, it was kind of salty with a bit of a floral taste. It was some of the most refreshing tea he'd ever had. Glancing in the cup, there was a Sakura blossom. The teen had to ask what was on his mind. "What's your obsession with Sakura blossoms?"
The spirit outstretched his hand and caught one of the said blossoms. "It's all I could witness of the outside world before I got my wings. They represent freedom to me, and I just like the taste of the tea."
Naruto took another sip and shrugged. The Sakura blossom was beautiful, but his emotions would always turn sour when he saw it no matter what. Thinking about it, his mood turned bitter while staring at the blossom. His sudden mood change was picked up by the spirit.
"Tell me, what is with your emotions towards Sakura Blossoms?" The Uzumaki took a deep breath. "Long story, you mind?" The spirit shook his head and even cupped his ear to show he was listening.
"Where I grew up, a girl named Sakura was my crush. We were good friends, often playing with each other on the playground.
Anyways, one day she began to ignore me like almost everyone else once her parents got to her, and eventually, I never existed to her. When we got into the academy, she did take notice of me but saw me as a bumbling idiot and never an option for romance.
In her defense, I was a fool that did nothing but dumb pranks. When we graduated, I was put on a team with her and her crush, an arrogant bastard of the Uchiha clan.
Most of our genin days were me and him saving her because she didn't want to train. She had this mindset of keeping her body slim, and that any training would make her a muscle head. Now, that I think about it, she might've been anorexic.
Staying on topic, after our chunin exams, Sasuke abandoned the village for a rogue ninja called Orochimaru. Sakura was there when he left, and tried to go with him. She was willing to throw away her life for a boy that showed no emotion.
Don't even get me started on how she pleaded with me to get Sasuke back to her, which resulted in him performing an assassination jutsu on me.
That big ass scar on my chest? Yeah, that was from him. You know, when I was in the hospital after that mission, I don't remember seeing her once. After that, I left Konoha and never spoke with her again." He felt a lot better after that, venting was a good thing to do. Especially with how many years he'd pent that up.
"I never had a girl like that in my life." The spirit responded. "The woman in my life lusted for blood on the battlefield, and for some reason, lusted for me even more. Growing up with her was…quite the experience." He took a big sip of his tea and placed it down onto the table. "Her looks weren't the best, but she had a personality that fit mine and whenever you're ugly as me, you take what you can get."
Naruto spit his tea out and began to laugh. "What? Did I say something humorous?" The spirit asked, getting able from the teen. "Yes, you called yourself ugly. You're one of the best looking people I've seen in my life." The spirit smiled and nodded to the teen.
"So you say but after so many years of feeling useless, I developed Body Dysmorphia so to me, I will never be good looking." The somber mood appeared and the spirit sighed.
"Anyways, I ended up marrying her after almost 15 years of being together. Our life was quite nice, and we even had a few kids. Sadly, we were all casualties of the fight between Indra and Asura. I'll never forgive myself for not being able to save them." Kyuubi sensed Naruto's upcoming question.
"Indra and Asura were the sons of the Sage Of Six Paths, and the founders of the Uchiha and Senju clans respectively. They fought over who would take over their father's position, which caused a lot of destruction. Don't worry about it too much though, it's been years."
Naruto shook his head at the use of 'years'. Years to the Kyuubi were probably multiple human life expectancies together. "Go ahead and finish your tea, your comrades just jumped out of the carriage."
The teen drank his last sip before putting down the cup. "Grab some Sakura tea while in Iwa, they have the biggest export of it and it helps grow my chakra in your curses," Kyuubi said, slurping his tea out of a small dish.
"Flower tea helps grow your chakra?" Naruto questioned, with a confused face. That was the last thing he'd expect. Blood of the innocent sounded more like it, but tea? It didn't make much sense. Before he got his answer, he was sent back to the real world.
Back in the real world, he saw the three hunters were now in front of the gate of Iwagakure.
The Uzumaki jumped from the carriage and followed One through the entrance. Oddly enough, they weren't stopped for an ID check, but Naruto heard footsteps behind them after a while. Heavy ones that walked with purpose.
"Oi, you three." Their heads turned and caught sight of a heavy-set Iwa shinobi waddling towards them. "Follow me, I have been designated as your guide." He stormed past them and they just followed.
It seemed they caught him at a bad time considering he was a little angry and Naruto's nose picked up the scent of urine. The teen had to be honest, he'd be mad too if he had to stop a piss to go take some foreigners through his village.
Their walk was short, and kind of boring. Everything was so bland in the village. So bland that the three minutes it took them to get to the tower felt like forever. The village seemed small compared to Konoha where it took at least 10 to even get near the tower. Naruto supposed it did decrease mission time since the mission office was commonly within the tower.
Once in the tower, they went up a pair of stairs and their guide turned to them. "Be respectful." The Iwa shinobi informed them before opening the door to the office. Whenever they entered, the Uzumaki studied the room.
It was bland. Very bland in fact, the only thing colorful within was the clothing on the small Tsuchikage and even then, it was just some red. The blandness was making him depressed. "Sit." The old man's commanding yet kind tone echoed through the room. It was like he was forcing himself to be nice.
The three hunters obeyed and the Kage floated up from his seat. He floated his way to them and held out three small files. "I understand that you three are the best hunters sent to my country?" They gave nods.
"There is a specific criminal hidden within my country that I'd like you to dispose of." He spoke while handing out the files. "He goes by Naruto Uzumaki, a shinobi of Konoha. His master and he have been sighted in my country for months and have ignored all of my warnings to leave."
The three knew where he was going. "His bounty is for capture and return to Otogakure? Considering your tone, you want us to kill him." One mentioned, causing the man to pop his jaw in annoyance.
"I will pay you the same amount if you kill him and make sure he is dead." Naruto decided to put his input, they were hunting him after all. "Sir, with all due respect, the bounty's sensei is a sannin. We do not have the strength to defeat, much less kill, such a shinobi."
The Kage's head swiveled to him. "Your mission isn't to kill the sannin, just the Uzumaki. I've had scouts watch over them for the past week and the only moment they're together is dinner time. Jiraiya spends the rest of his time in brothels." One set the file beside her and sat up. "We will consider it if we get all of your information."
The Tsuchikage held amusement on his face, the woman knew how to speak in the situation. "They have been in a supply town not even 10 miles from here for the past week. I have refrained from sending too many shinobi to not disrupt the town or cause a war with Konoha."
Naruto chuckled in his mind. How did he plan to kill the jinchuuriki of another nation and not cause war? 'Well, they wouldn't know I'm the jinchuuriki anyways.' The teen thought to himself.
"Do you have anything else?" One questioned. The old man nodded. "We have a Konoha shinobi coming in to distract Jiraiya. We are going to tell her that we want him out of our country and no bad relations."
Naruto had a sudden feeling he knew this shinobi but before he could ask, One stood up. "Very well, please send us to our rooms and we will complete the mission in the morning." The Tsuchikage nodded with a grin and they left to meet their guide outside.
Whenever their guide didn't leave the tower, they were a bit confused. "Where are we going?" One questioned. "Your rooms," The shinobi escorting them was a bit short with his answer and it made Naruto think.
There was no hospitality from the Iwagakure citizens. Shinobi and civilians alike didn't like foreigners that much. It made the teen wonder if it contributed to Deidara's defection along with the overall depressing color schemes. Wondering wouldn't give him his answer so he'd have to ask her about it when he went back to Hirakori
Closing out that thought, he found himself at the bottom of another stairwell. "Your rooms are these three doors on the right, each one has the necessities. You'll have to purchase your food, soap, and other things."
Naruto shook his head, they didn't exactly have necessities if they didn't have soap. He couldn't speak his mind though, as the guide left up the stairs. "Check your rooms for bugs before taking off your mask." One said before entering the first room. The two males shrugged at each other and entered the remaining rooms.
Naruto opened the door to his room and smelt chemicals. The room reminded him more of a cell or examination room than a guest room. The walls were solid gray concrete and the only furniture was a metal-framed bed. The pillow even had stripes on it along with the mattress. Besides the bed, the only decoration was a clock on the wall.
He would be better off staying at a hotel. The teen liked that idea, keeping a shadow clone there and going to get a hotel room for himself. Before that, he needed to change his clothes and entire look.
Before he started undressing, he figured it'd be best to get out all he needed. First was his civilian clothing, which consisted of a basic dark blue kimono with a black haori. The second was an undercover kit. This undercover kit was a small box with supplies to change their appearances such as contacts, a couple of small prosthetics, and wigs.
Just as his hand went to his mask, he remembered to look for bugs. The easiest way to do so was to unsheathe his sword. Although the spirit could use Naruto's senses, Kyuubi couldn't unless the sword was out of its scabbard.
It was weird to Naruto, it made him wonder if the scabbard was some kind of seal. He tried to question the spirit before but he ignored him. Speak of the devil, the spirit spoke. "- said that there is a listening device within your pillow."
'As long as there isn't a camera or other person in here then I don't care. I can pick and choose what I say.' The listening device served no purpose the moment Naruto entered the room.
The teen didn't speak much to others, even less by himself so it really wouldn't capture anything. Said Uzumaki thanked the spirit and bijuu before resheathing the sword. As he walked to the bathroom to change, the kit fell out of his hand.
Naruto just assumed he was just clumsy so he bent over to pick it up again. With his hand in view, he saw it shaking horribly. The teen cursed under his breath and picked up the kit with a tight grip. He barely made it to the bathroom as the kit was dropped onto the side of the sink along with the clothes. Naruto slid off his mask and reached for his pills with his hands barely working.
Another curse was given when he saw there were no pills left in the bottle. He couldn't do anything with his hand tremors and needed help to do anything. "Summon a clone," Kyuubi suggested, earning a shrug from Naruto.
It was worth a shot. One Kage Bunshin jutsu later, a clone stood beside him with no shaking in his hands. "Perfect. You know what to do." The clone nodded and proceeded to help his creator put on prosthetics to change his facial structure, a wig, and a new outfit.
The wig was a dirty blonde that his clothes matched very well. Once everything was completed, his clone was dispelled, and out he went. When out, he started seeing people in black attire crowding. Naruto managed to stop one and question him. "It's the 16th anniversary of the massacre." The teen was confused for a minute until he thought about an event that happened to Iwa 16 years before.
It was the massacre that his father laid out against them in the Third Great Shinobi War. That would explain the black attire. He didn't feel right being there whenever it was caused by his blood.
Upping his pace, he headed to the nearest convenience store. It took him a little while to find them in the store but once he did, the vitamins were purchased.
Heading outside, he popped a couple of them. It would take them roughly 30 minutes to be absorbed into his system, so the teen walked around a bit before heading to a restaurant. While waiting for the vitamins to kick in, the Uzumaki strolled into a jewelry store for Deidara.
The store seemed to also sell Sakura tea which was much in Naruto's favor, as he needed it too. "How can I help you tonight?" An employee asked. "I'm trying to get a gift for a female friend, she's a shinobi so something practical would be great."
The employee pointed to a case on the right side of the store and walked over to it. "This is the case for shinobi, everything in here is durable, small, and non-reflective. The right side of the case is for females."
The Uzumaki looked through the case and found a nice crystal necklace that was shaped like a crescent moon. It was a purple crystal with a nonreflective metal bent around it and weaved into a necklace.
"May I see this one?" The jeweler pulled out the necklace and set it down. "This is 6205 Ryo." Naruto nodded and picked up the necklace to look at it. It was nice, the chain was small enough to not hang too much but not too small to choke someone.
"I'll take this one. May I get some Sakura tea while I'm at it?" The jeweler nodded. "Most certainly. How much would you like? Each package holds 30 blossoms and are 250 ryo a piece."
Naruto checked his wallet before responding. "Let me get two." Walking out with his purchase, the teen headed to a restaurant as his shaking was gone. He found a nice-looking place and entered to find a giant line.
One of the hostesses walked up to him. "I'm sorry sir, all of these people are the same party so we should be able to let you in if you would like to wait a short period of time." Naruto nodded. "I don't mind, how long?"
The hostess did some thinking before responding. "Five minutes." The teen nodded and walked outside to wait. Stepping outside, The breeze hit him and created the feeling of peace that he loved about the night.
After setting up beside the entrance, he took notice of more people on the streets in normal clothing, it was like the event never happened. The Uzumaki simply shrugged it off, he didn't know their traditions and didn't care.
It wasn't like he'd ever come back. "You don't know that, you could be sent back for a bounty in the future." The spirit within his head said. 'Yeah, I guess you're right, but what's the point of learning about the anniversary of my father killing a bunch of them?'
"There is never any harm in learning something, for there is always a chance for it to become useful later." Naruto rolled his eyes, he hated when the spirit went over the top with his wise old man mumbo-jumbo.
"Don't roll your eyes at me. I am giving you very wise advice." Naruto shook his head and noticed a bright-colored hair while doing so. The same bright-colored hair that he hadn't seen for many years.
The pink shade always reminded him of his childhood. He snapped out of his nostalgia when he saw the girl head towards him. A slight panic appeared within his mind. Why was Sakura there and heading towards him of all people?
His thinking didn't go far before she got up to him. "Your hair is marvelous. May I ask what you do to keep it like that?" Naruto was in shock and also interested at the same time.
Was she seriously asking a stranger for his hair routine? A quick restart of his brain later, a response was formed. "Uhm, I don't do anything special. I just use normal shampoo, I don't even use conditioner. Why do you ask?" Sakura looked saddened until a look came into her eyes.
Naruto didn't like the look at all. "I think you'd look like a model with some proper care. I'll provide that care if you're willing." The teen was speechless, he didn't know how to respond until a response formed.
"I don't mean to be rude but I'm currently on a date right now." Sakura's face flushed, she was embarrassed, heavily. "Sorry for bothering you." With that, she was gone. The Uzumaki felt weird, as he watched her walk away, he wasn't sorry for rejecting her but instead he was quite happy about it.
"Serves her right, I guess." He mumbled to himself. 'Oh, I didn't know we were on a date, Naruto-Kun." Kyuubi said in a girly voice. A face of horror appeared on Naruto's face and he gagged a bit. 'Please don't do that.' He said, drinking down the bile.
"Am I too ugly? You know just how to break a woman's heart." The Kyuubi's voice cracked up and he burst into laughter just after. 'Weird fucking fox." Naruto thought, taking off toward his lodgings, his appetite had been ruined by the bijuu.
Along the way, memories of Team 7 kept coming up in his mind. Unconsciously, he reached up to rub the scar from Sasuke's Chidori while thinking of the fight. The Uzumaki chuckled lightly, it was quite ironic.
He had tried to prevent Sasuke's defection despite having plans to do it himself. With some extra thought, the teen realized they weren't that different. They were both shunned, lonely, and quite capable shinobi.
Another thought came to mind. What would've happened if he fought Sasuke with the intention of killing him? Sasuke knew more jutsu but Naruto had more stamina. The emo had an evil hickey and the blonde had a tailed beast.
"You would win with ease because of my help. I am not being defeated by an Uchiha ever again." Naruto found that interesting. 'Do you really hate the Uchiha that much?' He questioned. "They have caused the death of both of my previous containers."
The Uzumaki stopped in the middle of the road. Both? His mother was one of those. 'What do you mean? The Uchiha caused your attack?' Kyuubi sighed. "I shall tell you the whole story when we can meet face to face."
Naruto quickly upped his pace to his lodgings and soon arrived. While walking to his room, he saw Three's door cracked open and an eyeball watching him. Upon walking closer, the door opened more and he was face to face with Three.
"I left some stuff in your room." The man gave him a nod before closing his door. Naruto was just confused but didn't bother. All he wanted to do was find out the cause of his mother's death.
Going into his room, he found a bag on his bed and a bunch of things within like soap and toothpaste. A silent thank you was given to Three before he placed them in the bathroom and sat down on his bed.
"Just go ahead and lay down, go to sleep so your body can rest." Kyuubi suggested, which Naruto hurriedly did. "At least brush your teeth and take a shower." The spirit said in a disgusted tone, earning a groan from Naruto.
A few minutes were spent doing those two things before he found himself back in bed. Once in bed, Naruto realized his plan to get a hotel was forgotten. The bed was as good as any though, it actually made him relax better knowing it was free. Just when his eyes closed, the teen was blinded by a bright yellow light.
Opening his eyes, he found himself in the Spirit's little house. Across from him sat Kyuubi with his own little bowl of some liquid. A quick sniff told the Uzumaki it was sake. No words were exchanged for a while as the fox drank the liquor.
Finally finishing it, he looked to Naruto and sighed. "Well, here we go. When a female jinchuuriki gives birth, it weakens the seal greatly. Your parents knew this and Kushina was taken to a secret location to give birth.
With the help of many guards, nurses, the old monkey's wife, and your father, they were to start. The birth was very successful and your father observed the seal the entire time. It wasn't until you came out that a man appeared.
He murdered all the guards along with the monkey's wife, leaving just your parents and you. The man took you hostage and got him to move away from Kushina. He threw you into the air, baiting your father.
Minato grabbed you and found explosive tags on your blanket. He used his hiraishin to bring you to safety, leaving the man with Kushina. In that short amount of time, I had already been taken from your mother's seal and placed under a genjutsu of pure rage.
I had been cleared of the rage when your father beat the man but my mind was still foggy, leaving my body with just basic instincts. During that time, my body reacted in self-defense against Konoha shinobi and your parents when they tried to seal me."
The fox drank even more sake that he created from thin air, burping a few times before looking at Naruto. "When I fully awakened, your parents were impaled on my nail and I was being sealed within you."
Naruto sat, looking at the ground while he processed all the information. Looking up, he questioned the fox. "Who was the man?" The question remained in the air as the Kyuubi had blacked out.
"Lightweight." The spirit said, sitting in the corner with his own bottle. Turning to Naruto, he offered the boy some. "You look like you need some, come drink with an old man." The Uzumaki crawled over and took a dish of the liquor.
Taking a shot, he embraced the burning of his throat. The spirit watched with curiosity. "I take it this isn't your first drink?" Naruto shook his head. "I spent two birthdays with Pervy Sage and each time, I drank toad sake from Mount Myoboku. I cannot begin to describe the horrible hangovers I had even with Kyuubi detoxing."
The spirit grinned. "Kyuubi's chakra doesn't detoxify liquor anymore. He drank so much that it took that effect away. Hence why he passed out." Naruto laughed and poured a cup for his senior. "So, did you know your parents?"
The spirit took the drink and slammed the cup onto the floor. "I did not." His tone was more bitter than the sake. "I was abandoned at birth because of my legs. That woman that you saw taking care of me was my aunt."
Naruto sighed, he didn't mean to bring the mood down more. "You ever heard of Kiku no Hana?" A smile grew on the spirit's face. "Boy, are you challenging me?" The teen nodded, watching as the spirit created the five cups and one chrysanthemum.
The game of Kiku No Hana consisted of the cups being flipped over and the chrysanthemum being placed under one and then mixed up. The goal was to not pick the cup with the flower but every other cup.
If you picked the flower then every other cup that was upside down had to be filled with sake and drank. "Let us begin." The spirit said, mixing the cups as fast as he could. Naruto followed the cup with the flower and chose a cup that didn't have it.
The spirit lifted the cup to show the flower. "Fuck." Naruto cursed as the spirit flipped every cup and filled it with the liquor. "Drink up." The teen sighed, it was gonna be a long night.
A grin threatened to cross the spirit's face. His plan to get Naruto's thoughts off his parents and the Uchiha was successful. Plus, he got to destroy the teen in a drinking game.
*The next morning*
Naruto found himself up bright and early as someone was knocking on his door. Getting out of bed, he wobbled his way over while scratching and yawning. The door was opened to an Iwa shinobi holding a stack of clothes.
"Put this on and be ready at 0700." An outfit was placed in Naruto's arms and the man walked away. The teen closed his door and threw the clothes onto the bed. First things first, he needed to go piss.
After relieving himself, he was awake and ready to start the day. To start, he brushed his teeth and fixed the wig that he'd slept with, it was a little messed up after all. When he finished, the Uzumaki made his way to the bed where he laid out the clothing.
It was an Iwa shinobi outfit and he had to say, they had no taste in clothing. The outfit was a dark red top with two long sleeves, red pants, and brown sandals to match. Whoever designed it didn't understand a thing about fashion.
Naruto ignored his fashion sense and put the abomination on. He did it before with his jumpsuits after all. Once dressed, he put on his equipment and threw on a pair of gloves to cover the curses on his hands.
The teen was going to leave his sword there as it was unique and just take the one he'd been given with his hunter outfit but he watched as it turned into a standard-issued sword given to shinobi. "It is best to keep it on you at all times." The spirit said. Naruto shrugged and put it on his belt.
While checking everything, he stole a glance at the clock which told him it was 0700. Not long after, another knock was at his door. He responded and was led out. It seemed his fellow hunters were led out as well since they were standing in front of the Tsuchikage.
"The Konoha shinobi is within my office waiting for a briefing. Before I give her that, I must give you your briefings. As I said, she will distract Jiraiya while you three along with a couple of my shinobi go for the kill on Naruto. You will break off when you meet the scouts.
I will tell her that you will meet her outside the town to escort Jiraiya out, so try and hide your signatures once you split off. You will head out to meet up with another scout to be led to the location. Try to make the kill quick and blow up the building after. Best case scenario, Jiraiya thinks his student died in the explosion."
They all nodded to the plan and were led up to the office. "These are the shinobi that will escort you out of my country." The Tsuchikage said, floating to the side for her to see them. When she saw Naruto, she blushed slightly.
Naruto sighed, it was going to be an awkward mission. "The town is 10 miles away, you should reach there soon. Upon arrival, you will meet with the shinobi keeping an eye on them and they will give you the location. Once you receive the location, my shinobi will break away and meet you at the south end of the town to leave."
Sakura nodded at the Kage's plan. "Very well sir. I thank you for taking the diplomatic option." The Tsuchikage just nodded and they left for the mission. The group walked through the village until outside where they began to run.
Their approximate travel time was 10 or so minutes to get there if everything went smooth. Smooth also meant no distractions so no conversations were made on the run. Naruto soon got bored and just started thinking about random things.
One of them happened to be the night he spent drinking with the spirit. He'd learned a lot about the old man. Mostly that he held his liquor very well, almost concerningly well. Other than that, the spirit had told him how he was a teacher during his life.
Apparently, he had taught all of the children within his village how to read and write along with a few other useful things. The thoughts wandered around for a few minutes and eventually, Naruto found himself at the beginning of a dirt path.
After enough running, they saw three Iwa shinobi at the end of the path. When they got close enough, the one on the left spoke. "Jiraiya is in Ken's brothel on the main road, and Uzumaki is still in the hotel asleep."
One of the shinobi with Naruto told Sakura they were heading out and did so. Once they were a good distance away, they hid their signature as much as they could and waited for the scout. He showed up soon and led them.
"The target is on the second floor, room 202. I have already cleared the civilians out and they have been replaced with clones." It didn't even take them a minute to get to the hotel and they split up. It seemed the operation was going to be a very fast one.
Out of the 18, 10 went to plant explosives and the other eight went to kill "Naruto". The hunters were within those 8 along with the scout, he was their sensor after all. "The target is moving through the hallway, we are going to enter through the hallway window."
The eight quickly made their way through the window and into the hall. The "Naruto" was standing at an ice machine on the side of the hall so half of them went to his other side for a pincer movement. The real Naruto popped a bit of his sword out and heard one last thing from Kyuubi before his vision turned bright red.
"NARUTO, THE EXPLOSIVE TAGS!"