Chapter 9: Love and Promise
After Kakashi and I arrived at the front porch of Tazuna's home I spoke, "You don't need to sugar coat the story to my teammates sensei. We're a team and we'll stick together regardless of my penchant for decisiveness in dealing with hostiles." I speak. "They may not have that mindset just yet, but I'd rather they get used to it in a seemingly benign mission than on one that goes horribly wrong, and we have to kill our way out. At least this way they can come to terms and learn to accept it without the stress and worry that kind of situation might bring." I finish and knock on the door.
We hear some shuffling and Sasuke knocks back on the door in code. I knock back with the response, and he opens the door to let us in. "What took you so long?" He asks me. "I had to help Kakashi Sensei escape a rather precarious situation he found himself in. We also had to make sure to destroy the body and keep the head for the bounty ya' know?" I replied after sitting at the table. "Another kill? How come it comes so naturally to you, Naruto? I can't imagine myself doing that just yet..." Sakura responds from her seat at the table. "It's alright Sakura, if all goes as I predict, you won't have to for at least a few more weeks. But I want you to start internalizing that part of our job and finding a way to deal with the aftermath of doing something like that. It's not easy, but it'll get more manageable as time goes on." I respond.
I then get introduced to Tsunami and boy is she a fine looking milf. The anime did this poor woman no justice, that I guarantee. But sadly, I won't be getting much tail until I turn at least sixteen, which is still a whole four years away at this point. "Hm... Maybe I can come back for a booty call sometime after the training trip?" I muse to myself as I check her out as subtly as I can.
After the pleasantries I head over to where Haku is being kept and steel my nerves and resolve. "She will be a part of my harem, she will have my babies, and I will have my dreams of a pervy harem of Naruto Waifu's fulfilled! Don't fret Haku-chan I will love you as I love all of my other future wives!" I hype myself in my head, which is admittedly rather corny, but I decide to just roll with it. I then open the door to the room and find Haku giving one of my clones a death glare and my clones looking like they wanted to be anywhere but there. As soon as it saw me, they dispelled. "Ah, so that's why." I think to myself.
"I'm sorry for that, can't be too careful when dealing with enemy shinobi, ya' know?" I ask, referring to my clones removing part of her clothing to look for hidden weapons. She only glares at me harder, which looks admittedly sexy on her soft features. I sighed.
"Zabuza is dead." I start, leaving subtlety at the door. "... I see... " She says after a few moments. Her features then turn sad. "What do you wish from me then? I am nothing but a useless tool who failed to protect her precious person..." She begins to tear up. "What I want is to know why you and Zabuza took this job, knowing what it would do to the country. Where yours and Gato's bases are, and why you think yourself a tool. In that order." I tell her in a no-nonsense tone.
She looks at me, defiant and refuses to talk. I decide to step closer and try a different approach. I look right in the eye and place my hand on her cheek, caressing it. "You don't have to talk if you don't want. But protecting Gato after your master is already dead will do nothing but hurt innocents further." I continue my caresses and speak in a soft tone. I have one of my clones use a subtle Genjutsu to make her feel more cooperative. My clones had already slapped a Chakra Suppression Tag when they bagged her.
She seems to resist for a few moments but then she spills everything. And I mean, everything. It only took around two hours for the interrogation to run its course. After which she promptly fell asleep, dried tears on her cheeks and a small smile on her features. I left her tied up with some clones for security and went to talk with the team.
"Well?", Kakashi asks me after I come down the stairs. "I think we should have this discussion elsewhere", I say and point to Inari. "Let's go to our room." I walk back up and my team follows.
Once we're all inside of our designated guest room I close the door and activate a privacy seal I placed on the door, along with a layer of noise cancelling Genjutsu just to make sure. Kakashi and the rest look at me impressed. "You know, Naruto. One of these days we should catalogue your skillset for future missions. You seem to be quite resourceful with seals and obfuscation methods", He states and Sakura nods. Sasuke seems a little jealous and I chop him on the head. "Jealousy isn't a good look on you, Sasuke. We all have things we excel at. Some just have more they do in than others. Focus on what you can do and you'll be surprised how far that will take your own skills.", I lectured him and Kakashi gives me an eye smile, while Sakura pokes her not-boyfriend on the cheek and gives him a reassuring smile.
He pouts. He actually pouts. "I wish I had a camera for this, this is gold." "I know that. It just bothers me that I'm only good for battles and interrogation. Sakura is on her way to be a respectable medic, along with being good at traps and long to mid-range support." He explains and I nod, understanding his feelings a little better. "And that's fine Sasuke, you're pretty good at taking charge and making plans too, I just happen to be taking point on this mission. We'll all get our chance to show our skills in short order. Besides, I often count on your quick thinking and battle IQ for my plans to work so you bring more to the table than you may realize." I finish and give him a small caress on the cheek with a smile. He blushes and looks to the side, embarrassed with his whole face blushing the color of his favorite food. Kakashi takes a step back in shock, while Sakura starts to get a nosebleed and takes out a notebook to write stuff down. "Ah yes, my corruption of the once pure maiden has reached its defining moment" I think to myself. And yes, Sasuke is in fact bisexual. It was the only reason I got him to stay friends with me after the massacre. I had to seduce him to stay open to others and not close himself off completely. I, on the other hand, am not. But if I were to pick a guy to be with, I'd be hard pressed to find someone I'd be more comfortable with... other than maybe Shikamaru, but I digress.
"Ahem. Can we get into why you called us here, Naruto?" Kakashi decides to do away with the comforting atmosphere. Sasuke glares at him, as does Sakura. I just chuckle. "Sure thing Sensei." I reply, going back to mission mode. I then explain everything that I learned from Haku about Gato's plans, his location, and also about Zabuza's hideout and how they came to be together. I explained my desire to let Haku live and become a part of my clan in a few years, and to let her either come with us to the village or stay here in Wave to live and train in relative seclusion from the shinobi world. Kakashi had no problems with this since Haku never really attacked us or caused us any harm, but he did want to inform the Hokage to which I had no issues.
"Alright, now that my own personal request is out of the way, I think it's time we decide what to do with Gato, and fast." I continue after a brief pause. "What do you mean, Naruto" Sakura inquires. "He means that Gato should be arriving at Zabuza's hideout any moment now for a status update, and if he doesn't find him, he may hire more rogue Nin to cause us trouble." Kakashi states, and Sasuke follows. "You want us to impersonate Zabuza and Haku at their hideout so that we can kill Gato when he visits." Getting it right. "Yes" I confirm, "But I also want to have you use your 'Sharingan' to put him under a Genjutsu and squeeze every bit of information on his businesses, his account numbers, his documents, his illegal under the table deals, anything and everything that we can get our hands on to both help Wave, and bolster the village economy, be it in the form of missions, or otherwise." I then finish giving my thoughts and Kakashi looks proud.
My teammates look at me with stars in their eyes. "Wow Naruto... you're amazing... " Sakura begins and I blush a bit. She then comes closer and gives me a small peck on the cheek, blushing softly. Sasuke seems pleased at this. "Oh... you have got to be kidding me. That's what he wants?!", I rage internally. "Just great. Both my teammates are perverts." I think to myself. "You speak as if you yourself weren't one, brat." Kurama decides to chime in, helpful as ever. "Hush you!" I reply internally. "Grrr" He growls without the usual heat.
I cough to get everyone - me - back on track. "So, Kakashi Sensei, what do you think?" I ask. "I think this is a good idea. Let's make a plan and head over there. Sasuke, here's your time to shine." He motions to the table and has Sasuke draw up the plans, with occasional input from me and Sakura. Sasuke looks pleased at the plan, and we share his satisfaction. "This is a good plan, but who is going to keep watch of the bridge builder and his family? We also can't forget our prisoner." Kakashi asks, poking the only hole in Sasuke's plan. He stumbles for a second before he says "'Shadow Clones'" and takes a pause. "You and Naruto can make a few clones to keep watch of things here while we go and execute our plan. You'll be notified the moment something happens if it does, and I know Naruto can teleport using some Jutsu." He says and Kakashi looks at me wide-eyed, "You mean..." he asks, leaving the question open. I nod, "Yeah, I thought I told you already. Although it isn't exactly 'mission ready' quite yet. I just recently started to work on it." "I could have sworn I said something about this earlier... hmm… Maybe not?" I think to myself after speaking. "Uh... yeah, no. You did mention the other one... I just didn't internalize it meant you could know others." He stammers out and we're left in an awkward silence for a few moments. "Alright then, let's get going, the sooner we do this, the easier this mission will get." "Yes, Sir!"
It's been about two weeks now since we killed Gato and took everything we possibly could from him. I used my dad's Jutsu to go to the Hokage Office and handed the Old Man a preliminary report, along with all of our findings, and my own special request. He was worried at first, but was elated at how well things had gone, and what I had just done for both our village and the village of Wave. He promised me to get me that special weapon and armor set I had been wanting for some time once we got back to the village in about a months' time. That was about a week ago since it took us a whole week to go through everything.
Haku and I got to know each other pretty well and I told her about my ideas for her to create new Jutsu for her Ice Release, many of which were inspired by those used by the ninja in the Land of Snow. I also taught her how to master both her water and wind affinities to make her Bloodline even stronger. She was very happy with my input and started to get rather handsy with her appreciation. Pretty soon after she would kiss me and ask me to touch her which I was not reluctant to do seeing as she had initiated.
I'm certain that something happened when I came to this world, because I know the people in this world aren't that horny. Or maybe it's because the story was geared towards kids that these things weren't explored all that much. Although, it does make sense considering how strongly people feel their emotions, so it could just be that.
I then took the liberty of spending time with Haku and charming her to the idea of joining my girlfriend in becoming mothers to my children when we got older. She was a bit conflicted at having to share and that I was already with someone else, but I got her to agree with the idea after telling her my girlfriend would agree and they would like each other. I did not play a hand in this other than charming her as I'd been doing initially, with kindness and understanding. I'm not a degenerate, I do not manipulate girls into wanting me romantically. I just create the opportunity to have the possibility of something developing.
Another thing that happened was that I caught Sasuke and Sakura making out and doing some rather heavy petting. I watched unashamed and wrote down my observations for my own set of pervy stories I was going to give to Jiraiya. Thankfully, Kakashi seemed to have either not noticed, cared, or bothered to investigate why we were all spending so much time together in pairs outside of the house. That said, Sakura has some very, very nice assets if you know what I mean. Expertly hidden in plain sight with her Qipao shirt and biker shorts, and with the way she's been looking at me ever since that first day, I think I may get to explore those. Although I'm reluctant to help her cuck Sasuke, even if he seems comfortable about the idea. If he still defects somehow, I'm going to town on her though.
So yes, I can say without a doubt that this team is in fact much, much closer and tight-knit than the canon ever was.
Fool around wasn't the only thing we were doing with our respective partners though. We trained. And trained. And trained. And trained some more. After the full month it took to finish the bridge, Sasuke had mastered his lightning affinity and was making great progress with his fire affinity. Sakura, likewise, had mastered both of her affinities, and was getting much better in her medical prowess. My own notes and study materials being of profound influence on her learning. Sasuke had also managed to fully master the use of his 'Sharingan', thanks to us and Kakashi. I had also managed to get Kakashi to teach both Sasuke and I the 'Chidori' after we came upon the question of whose lightning affinity was stronger. Sasuke's natural, or my developed? Kakashi seemed curious about this too, and we made it into a competition. Mine was stronger, by a very large margin, though why that is I haven't the foggiest. I also suggested that once we learned the Jutsu, we should all try to create our own variants and teach them to each other. We also decided to do the same with a water Jutsu I had created so that Sakura could also have a combination attack with the rest of us. At this point, I daresay we should be able to fend off Orochimaru in terms of teamwork and not get manhandled like in the canon.
I also started laying the seeds for when I came back in a few years and took Tsunami for a ride. I gave her compliments whenever I had the chance, spoke to her about things that interested her, asked her about her day, and generally treated her with kindness and affection. I also told her that I thought she was too good a woman to stay single for the rest of her life and that I wanted to be with her once I tuned the legal age for shinobi - this being 16 for males, and 15 for females. She looked happy at first but wasn't sure if I'd want to be with "an old lady like her" at that point. If only she knew. I then told her what my dream was, and that I wanted her to be a part of it. She said that if I was sure, that she would wait for me.
Then, after a long talk with both Tsunami and Haku, they both decided to stay in touch via messenger bird and to let Haku stay with them and Tazuna while she trained to become a stronger shinobi. I also gave Haku my restriction seals that I decided to create, because I thought that standard weights were just horribly inefficient for training. I had done this with all of the rookies, Tenten and Lee as well back when I had first made them. Even if it took some convincing for Sasuke and Sakura, considering they weren't training with us at the time. Although I hadn't let them activate them until after they had graduated and put a cap on how many levels, they could initiate themselves. Each new level required me or any other certified seal specialist to loosen the security system.
Another thing I forgot to mention is that around a week after Gato's death, the thugs had decided to try and invade the village. Haku, Sasuke, and Sakura all got their first kills that day. I myself took about 50 of them down while using both the Executioner's Blade and my old bō-staff that I used to use to train with the Old Man. Sasuke and Haku had done 15 each and they both did so fantastically. Using a combination of their Ninjutsu and their respective Taijutsu skills. While Sakura had a respectable 20 after having practiced fighting with the Demon Brother's claws. We dubbed them the Demon Claws, and she took the name seriously, the way she clawed her victims apart with single swipes or used her chains to stick to opponents and dismember them was a sight to see. I was proud, and apparently Sasuke was horny, because he made out with her right after. I swear, if this Sasuke defects, I'll spank him on top of the Hokage Monument.
"Wait..." I stop and think for a moment. "What if I make sure that he gets the Mangekyō sooner and without any deaths? It's worked in a few fanfics, so I don't see why it wouldn't work here if we took the necessary precautions... Hm... something to think about, though I'd like to wait a few more months before I decide on this." I finish my train of thought as we arrive at the gates to the village and check-in.
"Naruto..." The Old Man looks at me with a dead pan. "Just what are you teaching those teammates of yours? I can feel the change in their chakra and it's like they are two different people." "I don't know what you mean Old Man" I totally do. "I'm just training them as hard as I train myself. I know that Hinata-chan and Ino-chan are doing the same, since they've spent the most time with me. I know Lee and Tenten are also rather high up on the skill meter. Not too sure about Neji with his fate crap though." I respond. He stares at me and looks for something. He doesn't find it and sighs while deflating. "You're upsetting the balance here Naruto. It's good that your generation is taking its training and Shinobi duties seriously. But you're setting an almost unprecedented standard that I fear other shinobi won't be able to follow." He tells me. "Ah, so that's it" I think to myself. "Anyone can become great Old Man. They just need to have the guts and determination to put their all into their training and not be afraid to fail. We all have different learning curves, and we all have things that we can become good at. It's just a matter of time before we realize what those are." I impart some Shonen brand wisdom.
"Right you are, my boy. I believe my shinobi could learn a lot from your words." He says after a brief moment of contemplation. "Right then, I believe Jiraiya should be coming back just before this year's Chunin Selection Exams. He will be training you in the month in between the second and third rounds, should you decide to enter when Kakashi nominates you." He informs. "What makes you think he'd nominate my team so soon? We might be stronger than the average Genin, but we're still pretty fresh." I tell him, already knowing the answer. "You're being modest, Naruto. We both know why." He leaves it at that. "Fair point" I conceded.