-AN-

Sometimes you just have to make the step and get things done. Time waits for no one after all. Naruto gets no rest. We hop around the nations for a bit, and Danzo?

-Story Start-

Naruto could admit to himself that the last few days had been even more taxing than he had expected them to be. Being knocked out by a long lasting clone, figuring out she had become independent and had made a friend and love interest and bringing them back to Uzushio had been enough all on its own. Then the bombshell that a portion of his mother was sealed inside of him, and more, she had passed along a message about a secret scroll under the shrine. That had been an interesting if uneventful journey and retrieving the scroll was easy enough. Now with said scroll sealed away on a special seal on his thigh, Naruto relaxed in the bath while the others slowly filtered in. Karin and Honoka were cuddled into his sides, chatting with each other while he gentle held both of them around their shoulders. Between the warm water and their warm bodies, he could probably fall asleep if he wasn't careful. Out of the water and off to the side Kotohime and Koyuki are being attended to by clones. Each girl getting a mixture of back and foot rubs while they chat quietly together.

Honoka pokes Naruto in the side as she can see him start to nod off a bit, "Shouldn't you go and rest? You've been really pushing yourself lately."

Karin agrees with her, "We wouldn't mind helping you back to your room ya know." Wiggling her eyebrows at him, Naruto smiles and shakes his head.

"Great offer, but I'm honestly pretty good. I wanna enjoy as much time with you all as possible." Every day would be a busy one from here on. Being a leader was no easy task. Even with clones, he still felt stretched thin.

Kotohime turned her head to look over towards him, "We've certainly enjoyed the extra time with you my love." Next to her a dozing Koyuki mumbled and nodded in a half dazed state.

From the entryway they all turned at the sound of feet slapping on the tiles, and were met with a cautious looking Fuu wrapped in a towel and a brash and confident Naruko leading the way. "Yo!"

Naruto raised a hand, "Yo!"

Karin rolled her eyes, "His idiocy does multiply."

Naruko laughed as Fuu gently lowered herself into the water, "I'd like to think I'm the better version."

Naruto tilted his head at that, "How do you figure? I'm the original after all, which is the best as everyone knows."

Motioning down to herself, Naruko smirked, "Cause I'm the upgrade. Look at me. Everyone knows women do it better." Naked and willing to show off, she had no reason mentally to feel shame. She knew she was hot.

Naruto shook his head, "Yeah, women do in fact do it better. But you're more like a spore." He misses Karin and Honoka sigh and edge away into the deeper water, making their way towards Fuu and out of the conflict zone.

Ignoring Fuu trying to persuade her to relax, Naruko gave him the finger, "What was that?"

"Yeah, maybe a parasite code name for your radio would work best for you." Naruto couldn't help but return her smirk with a single finger salute of his own. "Should I start calling you Spore-chan instead?"

"You're just lucky I don't have a permanent body yet. Maybe you're scared I'll take all the girls from you." She misses Karin and Honoka pull Fuu off to the side, well out of thrashing range.

"Yeah, you're missing something if you want a chance at that."

"Girls do it better jackass, let me tell you."

"I'd rather not know more details about you than I need."

"Those are my memories asshole! Scrub them out!"

"We've been over this! I can't you ditz!"

Ignoring the new siblings coming to blows, Karin and Honoka sit with Fuu in between them, "It's good to have you here Fuu, have you adjusted alright?"

Nodding and doing her best to ignore the attractive blondes wrestling together, Fuu turned to the others with a flush, "Yeah uh…It's been lots of fun. Uzushio is such a friendly and beautiful place and the sea is so big! I've never been to the ocean before." She made a face of disgust though and stuck out her tongue, "But the water is so salty."

Laughing, Honoka nods at the other girl's pain, "Ocean water is very salty, it'll actually kill you if you try to drink to much of it. You should get in touch with one of the Undertow teams, they can take you down and show you to reef. It's a really beautiful area to see and explore. And all the fish are so vibrant and lively."

Still relaxed and moaning as one of the clones pressed a bit harder into her back, Kotohime locked eyes with Fuu, "I do hope you plan on staying for a long while. Beyond when Naruko finally gets a real body of her own." She was idly listening in as Naruto and Naruko were still somehow exchanging barbs back and forth. So crude.

"We've thought about it." Fuu starts off before turning to watch Naruko disappear under the water, "Naruko does consider this home, so if we do start wandering around and exploring, we'll still come back often. Plus, she's excited about the babies." Fuu considered that one as well. While in Taki, she had never considered finding love or children and the like. Now that she was free to go and do as she liked? Well, it was a possibility.

More distractions as another group appeared at the entrance, Tayuya and the others had returned to Uzushio. Tired and ready to relax themselves, the freshly cleaned up group took in the sight of the bath and slid into the water. "We're home!" Hinata called out as Tayuya and Ino waded their way towards Naruto who casually tossed Naruko back towards Fuu. "We have additions?" Having just returned, they weren't up to date yet on the newest arrivals.

Tayuya and Ino capture Naruto's sides, each latching onto him tightly, "The desert sucks!"

Tayuya nods at Ino's complaint, "The sand, it gets everywhere! I don't know how Suna girls deal with it." She'd have to ask Temari next time they were out there.

Chuckling and hugging both girls tightly, Naruto looks up to Hinata and explains the situation with Fuu and Naruko. He leaves out the more gruesome details and anything related to Danzo for now, but Naruko gaining her sense of self, exploring, finding Fuu and making a connection with the girl was all in there. Ending with the fight and escape from the Akatsuki members. "So through all of that, I've gained a little sister, some interesting info about the Uzumaki, and Fuu a defectee from the land of Taki and the container of the seven tails."

Bashfully waving to the three new girls looking her way, Fuu smiled while Naruko crossed her arms with a wide grin, "Yo!"

Hinata turned to bow lightly to the girl, "Welcome to the family then, Fuu. I'm sure Naruko will take good care of you."

Fuu being sent into a blushing mess of giggles, Naruko leveled bored eyes towards Hinata, "What about me? No hello? Confusion if I'm really a person or not? Questions about what I'm gonna do?" Suddenly Hinata was very much in her personal space, "Uh…"

"You aren't Naruto, but you have all of his memories yes?" Hinata watched as Naruko nodded, "So that means, much like him, you have a reckless streak a mile wide right?" Another worried nod, "But Fuu is such a cute and trusting girl, you wouldn't want to worry her right?" Nodding faster now as a dark aura started to surround the pale eyed girl, Hinata finally smiled brightly, "Then all my questions are answered. Welcome home, Naruko." Wading off with a smile, Naruko released a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"What the hell? I can turn into a nightmare monster, and she still scared the shit outta me."

Karin nodded as she floated by, "Hinata is just special like that."

Fuu finally pulls Naruko down into her lap, wrapping her arms around her middle, "I'm just happy we're being accepted. We have more friends now! And family! This is awesome! Maybe my plan of pulling all of the Jinchuriki together wasn't so outlandish after all." Though she had thought she had mumbled the last part to herself, the others heard her clearly.

That catches Naruto's attention, "You wanna get all the Jinchuriki together?"

"Yeah!" Fuu pumps a fist into the air as she draws everyone's attention. "I always thought that, you know, there isn't really anyone who understands exactly what we go through, except for each other ya know? So I thought. Maybe one day, we could all find each other. Maybe we could be friends?" Fuu turned hopeful eyes towards Naruto, who decided to nod and give her a thumbs up.

"I like it, sounds like a good plan to me!" Of course, politically it might cause a storm of problems, but that was for lesser men to worry about. He was striving to be the strongest after all, to protect all of his friends and family, and his people. Why should he worry about what some dusty old men thought about him?

'Indeed. Why worry about the weak. Crush them all and build the world to your liking.'

'Something you'd do, huh?'

'Not really. I'd rather take a nap for a few hundred years.'

'Lazy ass.'

'Work-a-holic.'

Pulled from his thoughts, everyone is startled as there's a puff of smoke just behind Naruto's head. None really worried at first, since no one outside of them or Uzumaki blood could shushin in here, but the small form of a toad standing there in brown robes was certainly a surprise. Naruto blinked, and then sighed, "Uh, hey Fukasaku, long time!"

"Don't you long time me boy! You're late!"

Wincing, Naruto gently shakes himself free from Tayuya and Ino, "I uh. I know. Can't I at least, ya know, in the morning?"

"No can do. At this rate you'll never come, and you're training will be even harder to complete later. This has to be now."

Sighing heavily, Naruto turns to the others as the room goes quiet. They had all known that he would be leaving soon for this, but perhaps not so suddenly. "Guess I have been a little too busy lately."

Sniffing, the elder toad turns away from the others, "That's putting it mildly. You've already requested that we accelerate your training however we can, best not to put it off anymore before you're not able to train at all." Fukasaku knew he was being a bit harsh, but in his age he knew the truth of it. The more excuses Naruto found to stay behind, the longer he would continue to put off training, until it was too late to complete it at all. "You're chakra control and reserves are well above par, so you might just make your self inflicted deadline."

"Hai. Alright, let me say goodbye to everyone." Seeing the toad nod and hope away towards the entrance, Naruto turned to the others. "Guess this is it. Sorry everyone."

Wading through the water Hinata is the first to pressed herself into him, hugging him gently before pressing her lips to his in a soft kiss. "Worry not." Pulling away with a smile and teary eyes, she hugs herself, "We'll hold down the fort here, and await your return."

Ino is next, another soft kiss before joining Hinata, "I'll make sure thunder tits doesn't get too lonely."

"You'll turn green one day you gorilla."

"Shush."

Tayuya shakes her head and comes forward to hug him next and enjoying his arms around her as well. Another kiss before she pulls away, "I'll make sure things run smoothly and no one goes crazy. I'll keep our ninja in line."

Naruto nods as he watches Koyuki and Kotohime enter the water to join them, "You better. Don't overwork yourself okay?"

"Like you?" Koyuki snipes at him as she receives her own hug. "You'd best hurry back. We all have certain, cravings, you'll need to catch up on." Whispering huskily into his ear, the Spring Daimyo grins at the flush on his face as she joins the others and let's Kotohime have her moment.

"You'll do your best, right my Lord?"

Naruto nods, initiating his kiss with Kotohime as she moans into his mouth. "Sure will. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"I believe in you." Teary, Kotohime gives space to Karin and Honoka who decide to hug him together. Though it's Karin who gets her lip time first, followed by a shy Honoka.

"You better praise us a lot when you get back. We'll have things running so smoothly you'll have no choice but to take us on a super awesome vacation." Karin had no problem crying openly, while Honoka nodded in agreement. "Got it?"

Naruto nods, watching all of his girls coming together, sticking close as he starts to rise from the water, "Got it. Make me proud huh? And I'll do the same." His eyes travel to Naruko and Fuu, and he smirks at his pseudo sister, "Watch out for them, will ya?"

Naruko pouts, hands on her hips, "You didn't even have to ask. I woulda done that anyway." She stabs a finger towards him, "You better not drag your feet, or I really will start stealing them away from you."

Fuu started shaking her by the arm, "Don't start picking a fight now! Be nice."

"This is me nice. Wanna see me mean?"

Tayuya snorted as Karin poked her in the side, "Sound familiar?"

"Blow it out your ass."

Chuckling at their antics, Naruto walks around to the entrance where Fukasaku jumps onto his shoulder, "Let's go tadpole, before you get cold feet."

Naruto shook his head with a grin, "No chance of that. I'm fired up like never before." He had the complete faith of his family behind him. No way he would be letting them down. "I'll show ya, I'll complete this training and be back before a month is out."

"Bold words tadpole, let's get you dressed and see if you can live up to em." And then they were gone, walking into the changing room where Naruto would dress and the elder toad would reverse summon them to Mt. Myoboku.

Inside the bath, the girls have all sat in the warm waters, taking what comfort they could while the person they loved most was actually gone. Down and mopey, it is Ino who stands suddenly and pumps a fist in the air, "C'mon ya'll! This is our big chance!"

Tayuya looked at her like she was crazy, "What big chance? To do shit tons of paperwork?"

"No you brawler. Think about it. We gotta show Naruto that we can support him, that he doesn't have to do everything alone." She trails eyes across all of the current Foxden girls, a bright but teary smile on her face, "We aren't aiming to just keep things running. We should improve and streamline things as well. When he comes back, he should be so impressed he'll shower us with pampering for years!"

Kotohime relaxed back into the water against the edge of the bath, "I rather like this idea. Naruto did once say he's striving to be the strongest. He should be surrounded by the strongest as well."

Koyuki motioned down to herself, "That is your division, I'll continue to be strong in the political sphere thank you." But it would be good to throw some weight around, Frost needed some prodding and while the Land of Water's ninja village was willing to ally with them, she and the Water Daimyo haven't had a chance to speak just yet. That needed to change.

Karin and Honoka leaned into each other, "Guess no rest for us huh? Time to ramp up our own training then."

Honoka nods with Karin, "I can already feel my chains itching."

Hinata has a thoughtful look on her face before she snaps her fingers, "Naruto is counting on us. He's wanted us to be able to stand on our own without him, so we better prove that we can. This is a major test for Uzushio." Her own seal training was entering a new path, she was thinking of a way to integrate it with her juken.

Tayuya nods, "I may be stuck with paperwork for a while, but I won't be slacking off either!" She'd just have to order the Chinoike and the Hotaru around a lot to make up for it. They'd get so many missions done even Naruto would be impressed.

Fuu however is worried about a situation more personal to just Naruko, "There is a slight problem though…" All of the girls outside of Naruko look at her questioningly. "Naruto was the only one who could recharge Naruko's chakra fully. Eating food helps, and I uh…we have a small method as well, but it isn't enough on its own." She blushed at the end, not wanting to come out and say how they figured out how to recharge her nightly.

Naruko shrugs her worry off, "I can always go out and hunt. Bandits are just about always a thing." Not that they would give her enough chakra. She needed some real ninja for that. But it might tide her for a month or two and be low risk enough to keep her from popping.

Now the girls of Foxden are even more confused, and Ino voices the question, "How does hunting help you? Do animals give you more chakra?"

Naruko chuckles darkly, "A certain animal, yeah. I'm something of a chakra vampire until I have a real body. So uh. Yeah." Having fun or not, it was still awkward to come out and say that she had to eat people.

Fuu had no such reservations if it meant keeping her favorite person around, "She can't regenerate chakra like us. No body, no chakra core."

Tayuya figured it out quickly enough, "Ah…well I'm sure we can have you both tag along on some low level missions and bandit raids whenever you get close to needing a recharge."

Ino takes a minute as Naruko begins to chuckle in the same way Naruto would when he figured out a particular explosion based problem, "She's like a darker more murderous Naruto."

Hinata nudged her in the side, "Kami help whoever we point her towards."

-b-

Making their way through the main gates of Konoha, Team Seven gives thanks that their mission is over and done with. Sasuke and Sakura lean against each other while Kakashi smiles and waves them off with a salute.

"I'll be making our report to Lady Tsunade, you two get some rest." Plus it would be good to see Shizune, and prepare her for the coming whirlwind that was Sakura.

"Hai Sensei." Sakura spoke up for both of them and watched as the cyclops performed a shunshin, leaving in a burst of leaves. "I could sleep for a few days straight."

Sasuke nods, "Sounds like a good idea. Should I walk you home?"

Sakura shook her head, "You know I'm going with you right?"

"I'm just headed home…" Seeing the frown that was beginning to build on her face, Sasuke nodded, "You know you don't have to be there for this."

Sakura just grinning and laced her hands together behind her back, "I promised you that I would stick by your side. Through the bad stuff and the good stuff."

"Alright, I…I appreciate it." He was curious about what that clone of Naruto might have left for him, and as they weaved through the early evening crowds to make their way towards the Uchiha compound, his thoughts focused more on the problems he now faced. The contents of the letter still on his mind now that he wasn't worried about their mission, his earlier decision to leave the Leaf was weighing on him. He knew without a doubt that Sakura would follow him, and Naruto would accept them no question. But after that? What sort of problems would that cause. Would there be a bigger rift between Konoha and Uzushio? Would a war spark from this? Or, should he finally act as a member of the council and formally cut ties as he was legally allowed? He'd have to think on it heavily, perhaps after they dealt with tonight.

Crossing over from the rest of Konoha and into the quiet and empty Uchiha grounds, Sakura poked him as they came across small paper arrows arranged on the ground. "Um, think the clone wants us to follow these?"

Just knowing Naruto's prankster streak couldn't help itself, Sasuke nodded, "Watch for traps, just in case."

Sakura shuddered, "Naruto wouldn't blow us up, right?"

"Not outside of a spar." Sasuke almost added the maybe before stopping himself. He didn't need to jinx it and he was relatively sure Naruto would respect his clan's resting place. That clone on the other hand. Shaking the thought from his mind, they walked along following the arrows on the ground first to his home, and then through it and out of the back door, towards the lake where he used to train his grand fireball technique. Off to the side there was a tree where he would rest and cloud gaze when he was worn out, but tonight there was a final arrow pointing to a new wooden trap door at its base. "Huh."

Sakura nodded, "When the hell did the clone or Naruto have the time to build a bunker in your backyard?"

"Better question, how did they do it and make sure I didn't see them?" Both looked at each other before shrugging and leaning down. Sasuke pulled it open carefully, and when no traps were apparent, they both looking down into the darkness. A few inches of dirt gave way to dense stone, though they could just barely see the bottom. Sasuke can't help but sigh, "Naruto has way to much free time on his hands."

Sakura is the first to leap into the darkness, "You'd think he'd be busy with all of his wives!" Down she went, and Sasuke jumped after her. Feeling a moment of vertigo before contacting a stone floor, Sasuke looked up to see the entrance was maybe 5 meters above them.

"Not that deep."

Sakura tried and failed to pierce the darkness, "Dark as hell though." As she finished her sentence, seals lit up along the floor before torches lit up along the walls of the five meter by five meter space, showing them just what or rather who the clone had left for Sasuke. Blinking owlishly, Sakura whistled, "Well shit."

Sasuke looked upon the beaten and broken form of the Konoha council elder, Danzo, and grunted. The man was chained to the back wall of the small chamber, and looked for all purposes, dead. "Some present…" Having a dead council member near his home wasn't something he could claim to look forward to, but there was some type of note on his chest that Sasuke walked forward to rip free from the senbon holding it in place while Sakura looked the council member over.

"He's alive."

"No way." Sasuke gives her an incredulous look while said girl holds up a glowing green hand while raising an eyebrow. Ah, right. Medical ninja. Shaking his head as he reads the note, his own eyebrows begin to rise.

Heyo Sasuke! So I might have gone a little overboard, buuuut I made sure not to break your new toy completely. There's a seal on his chest that'll keep him in stasis until you remove it. He might be in a little bit of pain, so cover your ears. Sure I took his arm, but there's still one intact sharingan in his skull, it's yours, use it. Also, have fun! He's all yours to do with as you please!

-Naruko-

Sasuke finished reading the note before handing it to Sakura so he could step forward to inspect the bare chest of Danzo for the seal. Finding it, he pokes it tentatively and sees it flare a bright red but it stays active. "You're being rather calm about all of this Sakura."

Sakura can't help but nod instantly. Sure, some part of her was repulsed by the brutality of what had been done to the man, but at the same time, well. "He's responsible for a lot of suffering and pain. Especially for the two men that I find the most important in my life outside of my dad and kakashi-sensei. That he's made it this far is a miracle, because if I could give him a biju sized enema, I absolutely would." Pausing as she grinned and put her hands on her hips, she shrugged, "If anyone actually deserves to be tortured and killed, it's probably him." Sasuke was the love of her life, and Naruto was like a crazy yet super loving brother she never knew she needed. She'd die for either one of them and she had no hesitation in believing that they both would do the same for her.

"I think being around me and Naruto has finally corrupted you completely." Dodging the slap headed his way, Sasuke nods and takes a moment while pulling up Danzo's right eyelid and seeing the sharingan eye there, "How the hell did he get this? And why would Naruto say he's leaving it for me?"

That perked Sakura's interest, "If Naruto says it's for you, there's a reason for it. I'll carve it out of his head and store it safely in the meantime." Whether she was worthy of it or not, she'd get to have her own bit of blood out of the plotting councilor. Stepping forward and digging a scalpel from her pack, she tried not to grin like Naruto. "You're probably right about the corruption, your fault anyway."

Sasuke did his best not to shiver at the murderous look on Sakura's face and gave thanks that he wasn't the focus of her ire. Thinking back completely to their last conversation which coincided with his earlier thoughts, what was the point in staying in Konoha? Danzo might be dead in a few hours, or days maybe after Sasuke worked out his anger and asked a few questions of his own, but then what? Not wanting to mentally go in circles, Sasuke reminded himself to talk with Kakashi and maybe make plans to cut ties with the council. Perhaps, after making sure with Naruto that he could transport the entire clan compound like he had done with the Uzumaki Shrine.

Sighing with relief, it was quick work to seal away the bloody eye in a stasis scroll before walking back towards the quiet Sasuke. Laying a gentle hand on his arm, she offers him a kind smile, "I'll be at the house making some dinner." She lays a gentle kiss on his lips, "Take all the time you need." And then she was gone, an easy jump out of the basement, before replacing the trap door as she left. A seal flashed blue there as it closed, sealing all sound within the chamber.

Alone and being able to focus, Sasuke walks up to Danzo and deactivates the stasis seal. It takes a minute, color returning to his face and low moans fill the chamber before as Sasuke steps back out of reach, Danzo's screams quickly fill the space. As he shook and strained against the chains, their metal scraping against each other and the stone, Sasuke watched on with a detachment that was only accomplished by focusing on his rage for this man. Waiting for a few minutes while Danzo gets himself under control, his remaining eye rolling in his head before lazily focusing on Sasuke. Drool rolling down his chin and blood leaking from his empty right eye socket, the old ninja gave the best snarl he could to the teen.

"Heh, so she gave me to you did she?" Spitting blood on the floor, Danzo was panting and hanging limply on the chains, "Do what you will. I'll die knowing I did everything I must for the Leaf and her continued prosperity."

Sasuke shrugged, moving to pull his sword from its sheath, "So killing my clan was for the good of the leaf?" His eyes bled red into his dojutsu, each eye with three full tomoe. "Harvesting them for parts? Lying, cheating, stealing. All just for the leaf huh?" Focusing completely on the man, letting his rage boil in his mind, the teen gripped his weapon tightly, "Truly some pathetic last words old man." With his rage was also memory. This was one of the men that ordered the death of his clan, every man, woman, and child besides himself and his brother. That loss, that emptiness, it all still haunted him. Unnoticed, his eye began to bleed.

"There's a storm coming boy. You won't be enough to hold it back."

Sasuke finally steps within striking range, a wide grin stretching his face and causing a look of fear to cross Danzo's face, "Don't you worry about what comes next Danzo. You worry about me. My rage. My hate." The tip of his sword was now pressed against his other remaining arm, "Until I'm satisfied, every bit of this is going to be painful." Exhaling a thin stream of fire onto his blade, the metal began to glow a cheery red with the heat. The sizzle of burning flesh filled the air as Danzo grunted and tried to hold back more screams. "Why don't you give me whatever information you have left. I might be merciful." No chance of that of course. Maybe he would have to thank Naruto for this little gift. Later. After he cleaned up all of the blood.

-b-

A new day and deep below the Uzumaki tower, Tayuya is followed by Karin as they make their way towards the prison ward. Though the hallways are well lit, it still feels eerily similar to their time in the Sound bases. Maybe they'd add some color down here to break things up. Make it a little cheerful.

Karin power walks slightly behind Tayuya's right shoulder, a worried look on her face, "There's only a few prisoners here, what's the rush?" Tayuya's pace was brisk, and Karin was forced to lengthen her strides to keep up with her.

"Things have changed. We know Kumo is on the move with something, and I'd like to have any and all information for Naruto from Yugito that we can get." Tayuya sighs as she scratches at her head, "Plus we need to decide what to do with Kabuto, that snake in the grass is going to be dangerous even sealed up and chained to the wall."

Karin nods along with that thought, "Kabuto is only in it for himself after all. Maybe. Maybe we should kill him and be done with it."

Tayuya nods instantly, "I'd say yes right away, but, well. Naruto would at least like to give him a chance. Just one. Like that Sai kid." Though that was when Naruto was apparently unbalanced. Maybe she should ask again when Naruto was truly whole and himself.

Karin pulls a small booklet from her pouch at the small of her back, "Ino says Sai's therapy has been going well. No promises on if he'll ever be better or back to normal. But he is at least past thinking Danzo is everything in his life."

"Some good news at least."

"He won't be on his own for a long while, but it's a start."

Tayuya shrugs, "Uzu can use him as a bargaining chip against Konoha in the future. He did try to blow us up." Not that he would have been able to, at all. Uzumaki seals were special like that.

Karin knows this as well. Uzushio was never in any real danger, "Sounds like a dirty move." They both stare at each other as Tayuya finally slows down, before they share a laugh that echoes off of the hallway walls. "We are ninja right?"

Tayuya wipes a tear from her eye and nods, "Damn straight. Now then." coming up to Yugito's room, situated in the nicer area so to speak, she knocks on the door twice, "Yo! It's Tayuya and Karin, coming in!" Opening the door, both girls are treated to the sight of a mostly bare room. The walls were a bright sea blue while the floor and ceiling were white. There was a bed along the right wall covered in soft white linens, while to the left was a doorway with a small bathroom and shower. In the middle of the room was an art easel, surrounded by paints and currently hosting a painting being worked on by a smiling Yugito. Dressed not in her ninja attire, instead trading in her weapons and armor for blue silk pants and a blouse with long sleeves, the woman looked almost at home in the small yet cozy space.

Bowing to the pair, Yugito turned on her stool to face them, "Hello. I must thank Naruto again for allowing me supplies to paint. It was a hobby I never got the chance to really explore."

Tayuya looks over said painting, a crane over a bright sunset, "Naruto did want you treated more like a guest than a prisoner. So if you need anything else, let us know."

Yugito nods, bowing deeply to them both, "I will keep that in mind. So. Please. What do you need of me today?"

"Straight to the point huh? Okay." Tayuya nods and adopts a more relaxed pose, "What're the odds Kumo will attack Uzu directly?"

Yugito doesn't have to think about that one at all. The Raikage was confident, but cautious. "All but nill. Kumo won't come directly for Uzushio themselves. No. Kumo will utilize proxies to fight their battles first. So if you start to get harassed from smaller countries, suspect Kumo is behind it. Kumo has a…talent, for riling up smaller nations."

Tayuya nods as Karin is taking notes in her notebook, "Do you still want to kill Naruto?"

Yugito shook her head quickly, "I never wanted to kill him in the first place." Here she looks both young women in the eyes, "Loyalty and Honor, powerful drugs don't you think?" In her mind the Matatabi's voice rings out.

'Don't forget about my demands! Mama needs her nookie!'

'You horny cat.'

'Hush and get to talking!'

Sighing, Yugito nods along, "My biju has a request of her own. A bit, personal."

Both girls blink and wonder what a biju could want of them. Tayuya of course waves a hand, "Well what's up? Hopefully we can help."

Yugito looks away, a bit embarrassed, "I broke my word to her. So, for any future help from her, she wants a night with Naruto, if that can be arranged…"

'Just one night!? That's not enough at all!'

'You're making me ask these women to pimp out their husband! Be happy I'm asking at all!'

'Don't yell at me, you've done this to yourself you stubborn girl.'

Blinking again and trying to process what they just heard, Tayuya and Karin turn to look at each other before looking back towards Yugito. Karin adjusts her glasses, "Your biju…"

"Wants to get laid, yes." Being straight and to the point was the only way to power through the embarrassment right now. The flush on her face could probably start a fire.

Karin pulls Tayuya aside so they could whisper to each other, "We could probably just seal the nibi away tighter and not have to deal with this."

Tayuya shakes her head, "That'd be wrong, for a lot of reasons, and Naruto would never go for it."

Kain agrees, knowing Naruto wouldn't want that. The nibi didn't do anything wrong after all, the biju had been sealed away against their wishes. Blocking them off further from their surroundings wouldn't do anyone any favors. She turned back to Yugito to address her directly. "Do you, have feelings for Naruto?" They should at least get the basics out of the way.

Yugito shook her head, now with a smile back on her face, "No. At least, not the ones you think. He is very powerful, confident, a born leader. But that's more Samui's thing, not mine." Yugito tilted her head a bit as she thought about what she wanted, "I can't say I'm in the mood to settle down as of yet. Maybe in the future. In my heart, I want to travel, wander a bit, figure out who I am. You understand?" Seeing both girls again nod and relax a bit, Yugito continues, "It would be nice to not have to watch over my shoulders for hunters or wannabe despots after my biju."

Tayuya thinks it over some more. One night versus gaining an ally and a friend? A powerful one at that? She'd have to talk with the others, but she had a feeling what they might say. "We can talk about it. Your biju just needs one night? Well, we might be able to work out a deal."

Karin is actually surprised that the most attached one of them, Tayuya, was willing to let someone else in, even a little bit. Pulling her aside again, Karin has to know why, "Are you sure Ta-chan?"

Tayuya nods, not bothering to lower her voice, "Yugito is just as much of a pawn in all of this as we used to be. If we can get her to defect and the price is some biju satisfying sexy time, well, it's for Uzu. Wouldn't we do anything for Uzu?" Turning back to the blushing woman, Tayuya points a finger at her, "You'd be willing to work for Uzushio for a short while. To pay back your debt to us? You know, for trying to kill Naruto in the first place?"

Yugito doesn't have to think to hard about it, not really having any choice in the matter. Well, she could just die she supposed.

'Again with that shit? Knock it off!'

'Hai hai.'

'And take the deal! I better get the best pawn curling night of my life!'

'Hai hai.'

Yugito has no problem agreeing to the terms in the end, she just felt like annoying the Matatabi. "The terms are fair, depending on the length of my sentence."

"I'll consult with the others, but I'm thinking a few years, no more than 5 I think." Tayuya looked back and winked at Karin. "Fair enough?"

Yugito bows again, "Very." Both girls prepare to leave, but Karin motions to the door.

"You've been very easy to deal with and upfront about everything. Maybe we can move you to an actual hotel room, under guard still of course." The seal placed on her made it impossible to leave Uzushio, but a guard presence would normalize everything and give her someone to maybe talk to.

Yugito smiles, "That would be wonderful. Maybe some books as well?" Seeing the girls nod as they leave, Yugito returns to her painting, a more hopeful look in her eyes.

Outside of the room and closing the door, Tayuya sighs as they walk away. "That went better than I expected."

"You did have to pimp out our husband."

Groaning, Tayuya waved her hands in the air, "That stamina freak won't mind. Maybe. Hopefully." You'd think he'd be a complete horn dog by now. Surprisingly he wasn't, at least until they got his motor going.

Karin giggles, "You get to tell him that when he returns."

"Oh c'mon, you can help me out right?"

"Nooope, you're in charge, not me."

"I can order you to."

"Try it, see what happens."

Tayuya thought about that. Sure, Karin and Honoka both liked to be ordered around a bit but that was by Naruto and him alone. They certainly didn't take that from anyone else. Including the other girls. And they were the tinkerers of the group. Who knew what sort of pay back they would dish out. "Yeah, damnit, I get it. Still. Not fair."

"Heavy is the crown."

"Screw this. Naruto is getting this responsibility back as soon as he gets back. That and a few days worth of pampering."

Karin smiles and juggles her notebook a bit in her boredom as they walk to their next destination. "So. Kabuto?"

Tayuya takes a second to focus, mind switching gears as she thinks about the medic and spy, "Yeah. He's next and won't be nearly as fun." It was shaping up to be a long day.

-b-

It has been a few days of heavy training on Mt. Myoboku and while Naruto is currently resting at the end of a long training day. Sitting cross legged, he has a heavy scroll in his lap and is pouring over it. Having decided that he would read over the Uzumaki scroll during all of his downtime, he was finding it fascinating. Not just even more complicated seals and theories that the him of a couple of years ago wouldn't have been able to even begin making heads or tails of, but the history of the clan was laid out here. He had skimmed it at first, but now he was getting a good read of it, wanting to soak up as much of it as possible. Properly at that.

This was the scene Fukasaku came upon, sitting among the rocks outside of his home and next to Naruto, "What's that tadpole?" The smell of a good dinner was wafting from the small home where Ma was cooking, though Naruto might not agree with him on that one. "Seems to have your concentration and attention just as much as sage training does."

Naruto holds up the scroll for a second to show off the swirl patterns along its black backing, "It's a scroll detailing the long and forgotten history of the Uzumaki clan. Seems to date back a real long way. Even before the clan split away from the Senju." And wasn't that a kicker to learn. He'd tease Tsunade about it later.

Fukasaku is a bit surprised that a scroll like that had survived so long. "What have you learned so far?"

"Not much. It's hard to read in some places. But it's weird. The longer I read it, the easier it seems to get to read the parts that are fuzzy. Like my eyes are adjusting to the old script and ancient seal arrays." Naruto wouldn't put it past the Uzumaki to put seals in place to require something like read time or certain knowledge to be needed in order to finish the scroll.

Fukasaku however was paying closer attention to Naruto's eyes, the rinnegan fully mature in his left eye, but now, unnoticed by the boy, his right eye was beginning to change as well. Blue bleeding away to purple, though no ripples there as of yet. Curious and worrying. He wouldn't bring it up, better to let nature take its course. "Try not to push yourself to hard will you? We still have a lot of training to get too, so rest when you must."

"Of course elder, I will." Watching the toad hop away back inside, Naruto turns back to the scroll while waking up Kurama, 'Apparently Granny and I really are related. Even if it's distantly.'

'This scroll has a lot of information in it. Some forbidden and ancient knowledge at that.' This stretched all the way before to possibly even before the Biju's time. Which was saying something. For the wealth in knowledge that was now resting in Naruto's lap.

Naruto nods, 'Yeah. There's a section in here simply labeled as the "world ender" and I get the feeling it's absolutely not to be taken lightly if even the Uzumaki have labeled it as forbidden. So much in fact that I can't read it at all beyond the name.' Naruto shook his head as he focused again, 'I'm going to read through as much as I can. This is important.'

'If you get far enough back and have questions, I may be able to fill in some blanks.'

'What could you fill me in on?'

'Oh you know. Little things. My creator, Hagoromo for one.'

'Your creator? That's a little thing?'

Chuckling, Kurama settles in to go back to sleep, 'Read Naruto. When you've completed your sage training and make me whole again, I'll fill you in on my history.'

'Got it old man. I'll hold you to that.'

Kurama twitched at that. 'Stubborn brat.'

'Lazy old fart.'

'Manwhore.'

'Jackass.'

Friends though they may be, this would continue for some time. They had come to an understanding.

-AN-

I realized, somehow, that I never finished Bleach. So I'm now playing catch-up and reading the entire manga little bit at a time. I loved Naruto, duh, but Bleach was a close second. One Piece doesn't count, it's always on the list.

So, where do we go from here. Uzushio has to learn to manage on their own. Naruto is focused on his training and learning about his clan, and the rest of the world moves along as they can.

-OMAKE-

Anko could say that she was having the best vacation that she had ever had in her life up to this point. Free of her seal thanks to that whiskered brat Naruto and having celebrated for a few days straight with nothing more than hot and steamy sex on every available surface with her boyfriend, Anko and Iruka now found themselves relaxing at a cafe across from the Uzumaki tower. Dressed casually for once, Anko is in good spirits while Iruka is drained and tired.

Anko can't help but reach across the table and play with his ponytail, "Don't tell me you're wiped out already. That was only what, two days, three max?"

"Go away you succubus. I have to eat, recharge."

"Are you saying you give?"

And give up soul shattering sexy time? No way. "Death before dishonor." Though it was mumbled into the table, she heard him clearly and smirked.

"That's what I thought." Anko looks over a menu they had been given and wonders at the options, she wondered if she could make requests.

Walking between busy tables with a smile, Keiko, the proprietor of this cafe, made her way to the couple. Short blonde hair swaying and adjusting her flashy sunglasses that matched her husband's, she stood before the pair with a grin, "What can I get ya? Think you're ready to order?"

Anko looks up to the strong sounding woman and nods, "Do ya'll serve dango?"

"Sure thing." Jotting that down, Keiko looks at the slumped form of Iruka. "He good?"

Giggling, Anko waves her concern away, "Just been celebrating is all."

Keiko gets the message right away, "Ahhh. Wore him out did ya? Good girl. We have a selection or hearty food and some ninja level energy drinks if ya'd like."

"That'd be great, thanks, we'll go with whatever you recommend." Anko ignored Iruka's muttering as Keiko jots down more notes on her work pad.

"I sure wish my own husband took his duties so seriously. My poor daughter shouldn't be an only child after all. Have fun now, I'll be back in a bit with your order." Chuckling as she turned and left, Iruka finally sat up straight and gave Anko a tired stare.

"You can't kill me before we get married."

"Oooh, you wanna marry me do ya? So sure of me?"

Iruka knows bait when he sees it, and decides to call her bluff, "Yup. I'll absolutely marry you. You're strong, confident, loyal, a little crazy." Iruka offers her a roguish grin that whether he knows it or not, sets her heart fluttering, "You're everything I could ask for in a woman. I'd hate to let that go."

Caught off gaurd and refusing to even blink at the moment, Anko's mind is left buzzing. Long enough even for Keiko to return with their order and Iruka's smirk to grow to Naruto levels as he mentally scores a point for himself for finally making Anko speechless. Such a rare thing that. As Keiko sets down their foot and gets ready to leave, Anko's hand raises and stops her. "Yes dear?"

Fingers latching onto the woman's apron, Anko finally turns determined eyes towards the older woman, "Say. Where's the nearest shrine?"

Keiko had to think about that for a second, "Well, there's the Uzumaki Shrine, just outside of the city proper. Though that's only accessible by the clan itself."

Anko nods quickly, plans already forming in her mind, "Naruto won't mind I'm sure. This is for his big bro after all." Leaning over the table, she grabs and begins to shake Iruka back and forth, "So you meant it right? You aren't fucking with me? Right now. Say you weren't joking."

"I'm. Not. Joking. Anko." Getting a reprieve as she stops shaking him by his shirt, Iruka smiles softly, "I'll marry you, first chance we get."

"Hell yeah! To the shrine we go!" Leaping over the table to tackle her man to the ground, beginning a hot and heavy make out session, she makes sure not to knock over the food. Wouldn't do to piss off the owner after all.

Trying and failing to ward off the wolf whistles and uproar from the other patrons, mostly other Chinoike members at this time of day, Keiko leans down and separates the pair, "Oh for the love of. Go get married first before doing it on my cafe floor!" Honest, kids these days, no self control. Though it might be nice if En would get all lovey dovey with her like so from time to time. She spies her daughter at the counter, giggling and cheering the laughing and blushing Anko on as she still tries to latch onto the tired and happy looking Iruka. Yeah, her daughter needed a sibling or three.