A/N: I'm baaaaaaaaaack!
I would like to thank all of the people who chose to stick with this story. It was intentionally meant to be a difficult read, one I'd hoped was filled with twists of logic and surprising turns without being overbearing or grief-heavy. Yes, there are sad moments. Yes, there were moments meant to draw you in and twist you in another direction and I can't honestly say that I succeeded to the level that I wanted.
In the end, I hope that you enjoyed the journey as I tried to learn from my writing mistakes. Many of you have said as much. Many, many more have said that they just couldn't, that the story was beyond something they wanted to invest the time into, and that's okay.
For those of you who stuck it out, this interlude before the wedding is for you as I close out just a few more loose strings in this journey and provide some insight into how Naruto has accomplished some of his objectives in this "Slide."
Along the way, we even managed to bring along 1,091 of our closest friends. 1K+ follows, 985 favs (at the time I started cleaning up this chapter). I am incredibly honored with how many of you got into this brand of crazy.
For this particular type of story, I think that's amazing and I promise that NotSB is and will be an easier read when I finally make the turn back to it. To those waiting for me to resume that story, thank you for your incredible patience. Soon, I promise.
Thank you. A thousand times (oddly enough) thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Since my breaking a couple of fingers and failing to learn to type with my toes (thanks for the suggestion Narutorasatard) has delayed this long enough, I will stop jabbering and move on to why you came back.
And as always, enjoy as you will.
~ Siva'atasi
Review Corner
I would respond to Muhd Indra Moraga here but, based on his review of Chapter 2, I do not believe they will ever make it this far. Also, the answer is no, the story does not get easier to understand and does not follow a linear fashion. What professional ninja assassin would ever be so mundane and predictable?
Bahiagmc: I answered you in a PM but, if you ever reach this chapter, no, the story is not one big tragedy. Like any decent work, there are highs and lows, both wins and losses.
Atengawchok: Kakashi is definitely walking a fine line between service and execution.
TheAmbientInTheDark79. Thank you and welcome to my corner of FF.
Champblaze: Thank you. I will try not to disappoint you when that chapter you're looking forward to posts. It's coming soon.
Thor94: Good to see you again. This chapter specifically takes a look at that aftermath right before the final arc, which I call the Redemption Arc (in my head anyway).
To the Guest review on CH59: Kakashi banished Jiraiya but it was not intentionally mentioned. Shino knows because his father is grooming him to be the next clan head and shares more than life lessons with him in order to make him a better clan head. Shino was just my vehicle to drop that little Easter Egg. Whoever you are, good eyes. It was originally planned to be discussed in this chapter.
~Next Chapter: 59 - A New Day in the Life
~III~
"The two hardest tests on the spiritual road are the patience to wait for the right moment and the courage not to be disappointed with what we encounter."
- Paulo Coelho
~III~
~ One Year, Three Months Post-Konoha Exodus: Nadeshiko ~
The hallway floor was made of dark cherry wood stained and polished to a glistening shine. Running along the center of the hallway, expensive rugs custom woven with a swirling ocean motif in multiple hues of blue cradled the bright red swirl of the Uzumaki Clan symbol along the entire length of a passageway wide enough for three to walk abreast without touching. Every so often you could spy a side table holding cheerful flowers or portraits along brightly painted walls portraying people in groups from just a few to an entire mob, their faces alight with laughter and joy.
All of it reflected the joy of the homeowners, or guests in this case, of a clan trying to re-establish itself in a world that once tried to end them all because of superstitious fear.
At the far end, early morning sunlight filtered in through brightly colored stained glass windows, and motes of dust danced slowly in the early morning rays of gold. You would have to look closely to see that the beautiful panes were protected by seals of the finest Uzumaki craftsmen, as several would-be assassins found out before zealous Hatchlings snuffed out their lives.
It was a gilded fortress awaiting the first sounds of morning still peaceful in the early hours of the day.
At the opposite end of the hall from the stained glass window and on the left of the hallway, an ornate wooden door cracked open silently to disgorge a half-dressed figure still in his sleeping Yukata as he backed into the walkway. With a soft click, he turned from the single door towards the large double pair just to the right of the room he'd just crept away from.
Wide of shoulder but sporting a lean gymnast's build, Naruto scrubbed one hand through his unkempt mass of golden spikes, the tips darkening to a brilliant crimson, while the other hand fought to close loosely hanging robes.
Despite the love in his eyes, his mouth was wrinkled in concern and unease.
The hand gripping his dual-toned hair reached out to rest against the bedroom door he'd just closed as his mind wondered if his current course was right. There were more Uzumaki despite the horrible loss of life. Did they need to be so desperate? It definitely wasn't moral but no one else among the Uzumaki other than Uba-san ever voiced a conflicting opinion.
Perhaps the fact that she objected at all should have been enough of a warning?
Among their new allies, the clan was growing nicely. Being civilians and visiting dignitaries, they weren't obligated to challenge and marry the Kunoichi who ruled over the tropical island. With frequent trips under heavy armed escort for folks to find spouses, at least eight percent of their mending population was expecting and another five percent were preparing to take that next step.
So why was he still being forced to rebuild the royal clan literally over the course of half a year? He suspected the answer but would his own family be so unsupporting? Did they really doubt his resolve so much?
He, Fuka, and Anko were wed six months prior and both were already expecting their first cementing both the Uzumaki and Namikaze heirs with Fuka just in her first trimester of pregnancy. Karin and Tayuya were never intended to marry him but had been given the important task of providing additional heirs to the royal throne should anything happen to the growing royal family. They hadn't conceived yet - that he was aware of - but he hoped it would be soon so that other matters could take precedence and he could finally move past the incredibly disgusting feeling the whole situation gave him.
He frowned briefly wondering if rumors of Tayuya and Karin intentionally refusing to get pregnant didn't have a grain of truth to them.
Another time.
Shaking his head, his mind floated to Shizuka of Nadeshiko. Shizuka was once again pressing her treaty rights with greater urgency as the big day approached in Konoha but he understood her concerns more than the others.
The Big Day.
He couldn't fully suppress a huff of amusement and couldn't really blame her either as she wasn't the only one concerned with the crown prince heading back into that den of snakes with minimal protection. Kakashi calling the restriction of his honor guard to twenty "a strict adherence to diplomatic protocols" fooled no one on his side of the bargaining table and many more repeatedly called the sadistic prick out on it. Naruto saw it for what it was and resisted the urge to accept the many offers for a political assassination to end the hostile standoff.
That one-eyed comrade killer was turning the entire village into one big kill box.
It wasn't as if the bastard hadn't tried to murder them all before and here his eyes narrowed just a touch at the memory of his two deceased Sirens.
Finally stepping away from the closed door and the soft sounds of the female sleeping gently behind it, he turned towards his own bedroom not more than five paces away and most likely filled with the sweet-smelling bodies of his female Guardians. True, he needed to put this legacy nonsense to rest soon. Still...
His mind saw images, flashes of color from the previous night, and the large amounts of alcohol he'd consumed in order to be... pliable enough for what he was ordered - no begged - to do. Damn the laws of succession!
Wars for the crown could ruin them if this wasn't done correctly and he still could be forced to marry one of the four remaining women, well, three if last night was a success, now carrying his child.
At least he hoped it was a success since he didn't think there was enough sake in the entire island to make him drunk enough to do that again.
It just wasn't right. Was it?
One of them would have to be a legitimate bride to maintain the royal crown but the marriage would have to come after their last trip back to Konoha to reduce the threat of infighting. Aaaaah! Politics got really painful at this level when it involved family and he hated every minute of it.
He also hated having to return to Konoha in order to marry Ino but the girl was crystal clear in her last response stating that she was going to "include her family in her big day!" She would be seen as an equal or not at all. Apparently, she'd compromised enough in their relationship and refused to budge despite the risks to any Uzumaki caught unawares inside Konoha's walls.
It took months to peel Keina off the ceiling enough to keep her from cutting Ino out of the whole process followed by other... concessions. At a minimum - and no matter how much she insisted - there would be no seniority among his brides. It didn't matter since the woman found other ways to make Ino pay for what Keina labeled as female pig-headedness.
Keina settled for making sure Ino would be low enough in the line of succession that any of her children being eligible for the Uzumaki throne was a very, very, very distant possibility just a hair above a Nadeshiko heiress which meant never. It would take another full purge of the clan for that to happen.
If Keina had her way, she would have been last if not for the fact that everyone agreed that marrying them all in Konoha was too big a risk. The only thing the collective Uzumaki Council was in agreement upon was that Nadeshiko could not and would not inherit the throne. That would be the death toll of Clan Uzumaki and could never be allowed to pass. All the more reason that construction of their new home continued with as few delays as possible.
Good thing that it wasn't all doom and gloom on the wedding front.
His possible imminent murder at the hands of Leaf Nin aside, Anko didn't want a huge ceremony but her best gals from Konoha were brought out to observe her joint marriage to and with Fuka. Plus a very happy Koyuki Kazehana was added to the list of potential brides two months after that kicking off a very productive alliance negotiation. Despite being very unhappy about having to wait, Shizuka accepted that she would have her glorious day once they came back from Konoha hence the growing concern with the Leaf's ongoing attempt at politically maneuvering Nadeshiko's favor to the oldest standing hidden village and away from Uzushio.
Again, Lines of Succession were a monster of a headache but both Ino and Shizuka would each have their own day so he hoped it would ease some of the hurt feelings to come.
He hoped.
With one final shake of his head, he opened one of the double doors to his own bedroom and stepped inside to get ready. Naruto would begin his day with a hot scrub in the bathroom before steaming clean his flesh in his personal onsen.
Nadeshiko had no want for water resources that was for certain.
Besides, there was still a lot to do before the boat left for the Land of Fire and he needed to convene his council of advisors one last time to be sure everything was in order. A little self-care was warranted.
There was still so much to do...
~III~
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~ Konohagakura General Hospital, Village Hidden in the Leaves ~
"Gah! There's still so much to do!" Ino's normally lively gaze was crinkled up with near-panic as one hand absently alternated between fisting and tugging her platinum blonde ponytail.
Kneeling not three paces from where she fretted was her now constant companion, the young woman's flowing pink locks tied up and away from her face and the grasping hands of her many adoring patients staying in Konoha General's Pediatrics Ward. Far too many of her very likable customers spent the majority of their time slobbering on knotted handfuls more often than she liked.
Without turning away from her current focus, a precocious six-year-old boy named Hiroki, who often swore she would be his wife when he got old enough, Sakura snorted out her response, "You've been saying that for the last four months."
"Yeah... So?!"
Ino was hyper-defensive this morning, which was understandable given the laundry list of details she'd drawn up with her mother's help, a list that seemed to never stop growing. Admittedly, it was a huge task, one apparently important enough that the Daimyo was sending some fourth cousin underling to attend on his behalf. The man would have come himself if not for the troubles Iwa was stirring up around that little strip of land Hi no Kuni shared with Kusa and Taki.
At best, it was no more than five miles wide and thirty miles from Fire to Earth as the crow flew. None of that mattered to Iwa as they'd reportedly amassed some five thousand shinobi just inside Earth Country, five thousand shinobi that were being used to probe infiltration and logistics routes leading up to but not crossing the Fire border.
Ino sighed resolutely and heavily. War may be coming, but - come hell or high water - she was getting married, damnit! She'd done her time and this was the payoff!
For her part, Sakura could see past the thin skin of her frenemy and hear the defensiveness in her spastic voice. She'd tried multiple times to talk her out of this craziness, to convince her to run away with her real-life Prince to some far-off romantic getaway. None of her attempts worked and Sakura was failing to understand why Ino dug her heels so much when challenged about it. You'd have to be a complete moron to miss the growing sense of anger building to the Uzumaki's return and both women were too attentive not to pick up on the mob-like animosity surrounding the upcoming event.
Rumors of Konoha repeatedly selling out the banished clan, over the last year, had become something more than the usual rumor mill. At this point, it was a near-tangible truth everyone knew about but seldom discussed in the open for fear of incurring the Hokage's attention.
Given the man's bijuu-level animosity towards the clan, no one protective of their own freedom wanted his scrutiny. Ever.
Standing even as her hands brushed away minute traces of dust from her standard-issue blue shinobi pants, Sakura decided it was best to avoid another passion-filled Yamanaka rant and chose discretion. Besides, after taking the early shift just to clear her calendar for another mandatory Yamanaka wedding excursion extravaganza, it was far too early for this nonsense and Sakura wanted it over and done with as soon as possible so she could sleep for tonight's duty shift.
"Nothing. Never mind Ino." Her bright green eyes turned to glance over her shoulder at the curvy platinum blonde worrying at her lower lip. "Where are we off to today?"
Sakura lightly ruffled the child's head indicating their weekly routine was done before closing the distance with an expectant grin on her face.
Ino's easily distracted smile was nearly blinding by then.
"Cake tasting!" she nearly crooned.
"Of course~, cake tasting." Sakura shrugged her shoulders thinking it might have been a lucky break that she didn't pack her normal high protein meal today thinking she'd need the sugar rush by the time they swung by to check the final wedding dress alterations.
How Ino planned to stuff her monster melons into that tight-fitting dress was still a mystery.
Shrugging off the white long coat with one more rueful glance at her almost non-existent chest, she had a feeling it was going to be a very, very long day with loads of black coffee in her future.
~III~
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~ Nadeshiko Ambassadorial Complex: Uzumaki Consulate ~
Naruto had to admit that Nadeshiko was accurately named. The entire island was one big horticulturist's wet dream with enough pollen in the air to choke a dozen horses.
He'd been fortunate, as were most Uzumakis, in that his natural hereditary tolerance was further bolstered by his Kurama-boosted immunities. That small inheritance from his Senju grandmother didn't hurt either and the most he ever suffered were mild headaches due to the heady floral fragrances when the island was in full bloom.
Which was often even after living on the island for over a year now.
The rest of his growing clan made do with heavy subscriptions of anti-allergy medications, also a thriving business on the island nation.
Living - as they were - in the Uzumaki Ambassadorial compound commanded a lovely view of premium real estate. The entire village of Nadeshiko was split among three flattened hills rising above the forested island. Space was already at a premium but to share one of the Earth islands with the royal family was not an unpleasant surprise despite the heavy fortress feeling the walled population centers gave. The only other compound was another place reserved for visiting Ambassadors, which was currently occupied by the small but steadily growing Kumo contingent.
Over the years, the population of Nadeshiko was beginning to take over the forested floor below. What was once a few sparse farms had become an entire agricultural village. While the kunoichi above were trying to get a handle on the security requirements for the sprawling collection of farms, vendors, and infrastructure, the plateaued city above remained a veritable fortress and, over time, had become the first defense for the hidden village.
True, it was a necessary precaution given the high prices Nadeshiko women garnered in the shinobi slave markets but it did make getting to those scenic views difficult unless you lived in a building tall enough to see over the walls. Most made do with building their own little garden paradises in whatever way they could, hence the cloistered fumes.
Given that the island lay within the grey "contested territories" in the northeastern corner of the Kaizoku Sea, Nadeshiko took every precaution they could to keep the squabbles from the Lands of Lightning and Earth from spilling over into their backyard. Both nations alleged ownership of the dozen or so internationally unclaimed islands making up the Water - Nami - Uzu - Nadeshiko political warzone and tempers tended to run high from time to time as a result.
The walls helped to prevent "accidents" from happening when the two nations vigorously debated this issue.
Once again, a necessary precaution.
The middle island housed the vast bulk of the Nadeshiko business and political population buffered by the military branch. The far opposite land mass, by far the largest, housed the vast majority of the working population and the only legal entrance into the village making it that much more arduous to get to the power centers of the village.
Oh, did he forget to mention that climbing the hillside and the fortress-like walls of any of the village centers carried the death penalty?
Naruto smirked briefly at the lengths Nadeshiko went to in order to protect its people but the half-smile never lasted long. It always ended with him looking back at what happened to his own clan followed by the self-reprimand that their paranoia at the rest of the shinobi world was justified.
Completely.
Working his way from the living quarters near the rear of the compound (only the garrison buffered them from the rear wall), he passed through the first open area via elevated and covered walkways. Below was a healthy green area filled with small gardens and fruit trees surrounded by a large koi pond crisscrossed by small stone bridges. He could already hear the happy voices of the next generation even though not everyone was happy with the new occupants.
The Nadeshiko gardeners were a bit put out at being relieved of their duties when the Uzumaki moved in. They were then outraged when Opal helped remove over sixty percent of the non-functional greenery in order to replace it with functioning fruits, vegetables, and herbs bordered by various fruit trees at Keina's request, a process that afforded Naruto much of his current proficiency with the inherited bloodline.
Maintaining the whole thing made for excellent practice and proved that the kekke genkai could be useful for something other than killing.
Out of the blue, Naruto stopped walking suddenly and sniffed the air cautiously, an act that caused his escorts for the morning - Kaen and Ishi this time - to pause while gripping their blades.
Another cautious sniff, another pause, then a shrug of the shoulders. Then he was moving again and everyone seemed to relax.
Now where was he?
Oh, yes!
Nadeshiko, by and large, didn't seem to mind their loss of control over the garden of the compound as much once the new tenants began sharing the overproduce as a result of the island nation's eternally tropical environment. Most of those fruits, courtesy of the little-known bloodline, were native to the former Uzumaki homeland and hadn't been available for decades.
Chuckling as he walked past the Dōji tending to the morning harvest, he quickly made his way through the functional spaces of the compound to his personal office on the third floor. As usual, he had to smile and nod his head every five steps or so given the flurry of activity which quickly became the norm given the sudden inrush of bodies to help and protect the rapidly growing Uzumaki Clan in the Land of Flowers.
A Dōji or four here.
A hatchling or two on patrol there - the garrison now held over two hundred.
A gaggle of laughing Uzumaki children running through the halls over there.
The sounds of joyous life were everywhere and it made his heart blossom with warmth. Naruto Uzumaki was so close to having the family he'd always wanted. He only had to live and die three times before it could happen for real.
Fighting off a depressing sigh, he made the final push towards a day of expected political mediocrity.
Hatchling guards opened the double doors leading to his office with a deep bow. The garrison provided round-the-clock security for the entire compound and members trained constantly to keep their meritorious posts. Those proven skilled enough could extend their tours an entire year before mandatory rotations forced them back to the Grotto.
He was confident that there were no spies in their temporary home. Hatchlings tended to be diligent in screening out the unwanted and deadly to the defiant.
"Good Morning, Naruto-sama."
Haku's soft voice snapped him out of his internal reflection, her smiling face behind her desk always brought a smile to his lips. As he stepped past the opulently-furnished sitting room for people waiting to meet with him, she greeted him with a small stack of paperwork and a hot tea service.
He smiled leaning forward to peck the slender girl on the cheek, his hands relieving hers of their gifts. "Good morning, Haku-chan. What's our schedule look like today?"
Free of his morning reports and tea, she took up a white clipboard littered with blue snowflakes and red fox stickers. She didn't even blush anymore whenever he teased her over the decorations.
"You have an hour before your advisors arrive to talk some sense into you followed by two state visits before your usual lunch."
Cue side-eye from the slender brunette.
Naruto tried to hide his wince of pain at her first comment, a failure that made the kunoichi giggle at his discomfort.
"Your last meeting before your afternoon training is with Tsunade-san."
He nodded once to indicate he got it all before silently creating a clone to parse through the morning reports, his free hand cracking open the door to his personal workspace. "Just send them in, Haku-chan. The sooner we get started the better."
As the two identical figures disappeared behind the deeply polished door, the smile faded from the Yuki's face as she contemplated one of those meetings and whatever nonsense Kiri had to offer this time.
~III~
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~ Land of Fire, Konohagakure Council Chamber ~
Kakashi tried very hard not to roll his one good eye at the crying and wailing going on in his council chamber. Really. They were supposed to be grownups not a bunch of screeching third graders.
It was all becoming very tiresome at this point and more than once he'd considered which ones needed to die by Chidori.
"Shut. Up."
He didn't yell but, then again, he didn't need to. Executing a former high-ranking shinobi tended to give a person that "Don't Eff With Me" persona forcing people to listen when you chose to speak or excised a little Killing Intent.
He purposely waited two minutes before sitting up straight in his chair to meet everyone's gaze.
"Now, does someone," he paused to lift his hand showing one finger pointing to the ceiling, "ONE! person, want to tell me what this is all about before I set fire to this entire Council?"
Several of the more timid civilians gulped nervously without their precious Elders to defend them. As one they all turned to the pudgy one that tended to sweat even more lately. He'd never bothered to remember any of them deeming them all a horrible waste of village resources. He was sure that the Council served some sort of practical purpose but, aside from the occasional walking joke, couldn't understand why he or his predecessor kept them around.
Not even the round man's shaky attempt to stand straight made him smile anymore.
"Ahem, Hokage-sama," he began in nervous gulps and sputters.
Kakashi merely waved the hand not supporting his head on the desktop in the universal "hurry it along" motion.
"Well... yes... it would seem that we've lost another three businesses since the... betrayers... left the village." Everyone knew to carefully choose their words when referring to the hated Uzumaki and the disloyal Sarutobi in the presence of their Hokage.
Too bad they weren't the only ones with the departure of the Akimichi six months later much to the shock of everyone not tied to the Nara or Yamanaka. Either way, it was a heavy blow to Konoha's military and culinary power, both of personal importance to the rotund councilman.
The village was still dealing with the rippling fallout. He hadn't realized how many of the big-boned clan made up their ANBU roster. He was still getting hate scrolls from the ANBU Commander over that discovery.
Two of their premier shinobi outfitters closed and evacuated in between the Uzumaki and Akimichi departures. Higurashi's shop - while being one of the smaller - was known for both its quality across the elemental nations and throughout the ANBU ranks as its main supplier. Additionally, the skilled craftsman brought in lucrative external contracts the Council could snipe from time to time without much blowback provided they paid a fair commission to the Higurashis.
A major bank, along with its three financier outlets, buckled under the financial pressure once the larger clans departed. It was mostly due to the Akimichi and the rather large number of restaurants they took with them. The colossal financial vacuum left in the market districts might never be closed not just in the eateries but also in the suppliers owned and operated by branch Akimichis.
Konoha was still scrambling to make up the one hundred million Ryo they lost on those land and lease purchases.
Worst still came the loss of both the Golden Oak and the Golden Leaf and the shocking realization that the Akimichi and the Uzumaki held joint ownership of those formerly glorious businesses. The Golden Oak was undergoing "renovations" after the new ownership tried to pass off the entirely new staff as the original. Customers long used to the ridiculously high standard of quality knew the difference immediately turning what would have been their sterling debut into a near riot of epic proportions.
In the end, Konoha was forced to admit the change of ownership and strike down the original name or face being sued for false advertisement and copyright infringement.
The Golden Oak closed under similar circumstances with the new owners shutting the doors permanently. Apparently, they couldn't afford the astronomical costs of completely rebuilding the former club nightstand which was being broken up into smaller lots to make a civilian flea market.
Kakashi, disappointed in the huge financial hits the village seemed to be taking lately, blinked back to awareness just in time to hear the sweaty one summarize the latest list of complaints and debts.
"And what may I ask do you expect me to do about any of this?" Kakashi bluntly asked as he interrupted the man's meandering bout of whining. The name Sweaty-moto or Tubby-moto flickered through his mind as the heavy civilian nervously cleared his throat.
"But... but you're the Hokage-sama, Hokage-sama."
He waited patiently hoping the one-eyed killer would get the message succeeding only in making the silent reflection drag on uncomfortably.
"...and?!" Kakashi impatiently responded.
"Well, um, aren't you supposed to take care of these problems... Hokage...-sama?" His voice ended in a near-silent squeak.
"Unbelievable," was the Godaime's initial response. "You lot spend decades undermining the Sandaime's authority then turn around and expect the Hokage to fix your mess ups?" His now angry eye panned the civilian side of the room unmercifully.
"You're supposed to advise me about these sorts of things. If you don't advise me, how can I react in time to keep stuff like this from happening?"
A lot of meek eyes turned to the floor, all except for the newly appointed Councilor of Finance. The mousy little guy always reminded him of the former Rat ANBU executed almost two years before.
"These and our continued financial losses are a direct result of your shoddy leadership!"
The little man was on his feet and huffing in righteous indignation, an amusing sight to the one-eyed Shadow.
"These losses within our walls! The ongoing silence from Suna when we should be pressing our invasion claims following their failed sneak attack! They are all direct results from your actions, or inactions should I say, and shoddy decisions!"
The man's chin jutting upward ever so slightly at the end of his rant nearly broke Kakashi's iron facade. Kakashi tried not to laugh as the man's face began to turn a bright shade of red from his angry accusations but it was hard not to.
"Careful Councilor, you are dangerously close to being in contempt."
"These cowards may hide from you but I won't!" The mousy little man's chest began to rise with renewed courage as his right arm rose to point an accusatory finger at the village's leader. "It's been your ridiculous campaign against the Uzu-."
SCHWINK!
THUD THUD
Everyone froze as the man's unattached head bounced off the wooden floor immediately followed by his body crumpling along next to it.
Kakashi merely shuffled the papers in front of him before turning back to the frozen crowd apparently unaffected by the unwarranted beheading.
"Does anyone else have new business to bring or feel disappointed by my 'shoddy leadership'?" He waited the obligatory two minutes with no response expected.
Silence.
"No? Excellent then."
He rose and strode calmly out of chambers with a jaunty, "I call this meeting to a close."
Hatake walked out without another glance.
~III~
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~ Nadeshiko, Consular Office of the Uzu Daimyo ~
Naruto was standing near the rear of his office with his hands folded calmly behind his back. His vacant stare out of the near floor-to-ceiling window looked out over the full brace of children running helter-skelter through the garden and over the small bridges but, in reality, was focused inward processing the memories of the clone no longer sitting at his desk.
If not for the sound of his office door opening, he might have stayed there to ponder what he learned from this morning's intelligence reports but that would have to wait.
Turning from the bright light of day, he was greeted by the smiling faces of his cousin Karin helping Old Nana (as she liked to be called) into a comfy chair. Behind them filed in Anko waddling around her growing belly, and his adopted mother followed by a man sporting dull red hair streaked through with bands of bright silver, a very old Uzumaki indeed.
Naruto smiled then nodded once to Saito Uzumaki, his mother's great uncle, then glanced quickly past his traditional Uzumaki blue robes with red highlights to greet Junpei Uzumaki, one of the Nadeshiko Three. Having been the oldest of three surviving Uzumaki married to Nadeshiko Kunoichi, he'd been appointed to be the voice of their host nation in these meetings and through these meetings shared much in the way of "getting along" with the native inhabitants. It was also through these meetings that the Uzumaki Clan found its three instructors for the children under Saito's very strict supervision once their familial loyalties were affirmed.
Rounding out the group, to his surprise, was his wayward Godmother, Tsunade, but his eyes snapped to Karin as she took up a seat next to Nana, a cup of tea warming her perpetually cold hands.
"Tayuya not going to make it today?" Everyone could see the concern in his eyes.
Karin shook her head but indicated a second set of notes she'd unsealed next to her normal batch. "She wasn't feeling all that great so she asked me to cover any questions for her."
Deep down, he couldn't feel too bad about that news. He desperately hoped that it meant what he thought it did.
One less obligation to fulfill.
"Let's get started then," he mentioned as he moved from behind the large block of polished wood that doubled as his desk. He felt the Old Man did that too much in the Hokage's office and believed it made him unapproachable.
There was a time and place for brinksmanship and Naruto felt there was no place for that with family unless it was being used in conjunction with a disciplinary measure.
Like most offices, a pair of cushioned chairs stood guard on the far side of his desk but beyond those lay a long coffee table framed by two extremely comfortable couches. Everyone here for this meeting sat on one of those while he spun around one of the chairs by his desk.
Too bad Nan didn't wait for him to refill his teacup before jumping in with, "I still think this is a huge mistake!"
Naruto smiled knowing Nan was never shy about speaking her mind and could see where his mother got her alleged personality from.
"I think we all agree with you, Nan," he gently responded.
"But you're still going to go?!" She seemed dumbfounded then even more so with his casual response. Her gnarled hands were flapping around like an angry bird.
Naruto shrugged casually in response. "More or less. Besides, the boats are ready to sail and we've already paid the deposit for the temple so it's too late to back out now," he replied with a toothy grin.
"GAH!"
Karin did her best to calm the Uzumaki Clan's leading senior citizen while shooting him a quick glare of her own.
"Let's deal with today's business, shall we?" Naruto turned to Saito and Junpei. "How are the students coming along?"
The younger of the two stood with a nervous glance to the agitated elder looking for his perfunctory head nod before clearing his throat. "We are at the halfway mark for the first years and we've made up a lot of ground from where they were under Kumo's 'care' to where they should be."
Everyone could hear the clear disdain in his voice. The partial alliance with their new neighbors still sat poorly with many of the survivors but it was a necessary evil that all understood the need for.
"We should be able to fully catch them up by year three and then move on to expanded training in years five and six. We're working very hard to keep them together and predict only a nine-month extension to cover all of the extra subjects we feel they'll need to become full-up members of our defense force." The middle-aged Uzumaki fought hard to keep down a blush of pride knowing the kids worked very hard to get where they were so Uzu could have its first round of serious military power apart from the Hatchling army.
They were thankful despite hating the need for dependency and this was the first step to correcting that.
Naruto nodded. It had taken most of the first six months to deprogram the young out of Kumo's militaristic model just to make them somewhat normal Uzumaki children. From there they'd found perhaps forty percent willing to move beyond the basic training all Uzumaki get concerning their family and clan traditions. That forty percent would become the first cadre of next-generation defenders for the village to come.
"Do you have what you need?" Here Naruto's eyes focused sharply on both men as Saito answered.
"We have more than we can normally expect given our circumstances." Saito's baritoned but the ambivalent response mirrored his shrugging shoulders. "What we need is to return home and rebuild our academy without the extra eyes and ears documenting everything that we do."
Naruto couldn't argue with that and understood the "years five and six references" from Junpei; they were delaying as much of their children's formal education to keep as much hidden from their hosts as possible. The only reason they were making ground was that clan secrets were being taught individually out of sight and on the weekends to prevent theft even among their allies.
"Soon," and his answer produced matching nods of relief from everyone in the room. "Speaking of home, Saito-Ōoji, what's our progress there?"
"Just over twenty percent. Your friend does good work but the reinforced structures take time. He says the pace will increase greatly once they can begin the above-ground work."
Good. With their current alliances, the elemental nations would be hard-pressed to cause trouble a second time around but certain corrections needed to be implemented first. Despite the limited agreement scope, Kumo was showing signs of recovery and he was thankful that Ay would be very resistant to rocking the boat thereby crippling Kumo's depression recovery. This just left Iwa and a few minor competitors to worry about so long as Kiri maintained a hopefully neutral stance.
Naruto swore he'd do his utmost to prevent another Second Shinobi War invasion, whatever it took.
"Are you going to let your perverted god-," Tsunade paused to correct herself, eyes closed as she whispered something to herself, before restarting. "Are you going to let Jiraiya settle there? You know he won't stay away and Spring will put up with his shenanigans for only so long."
Everyone knew that the term Godfather was a touchy subject with the Uzu Daimyo.
Naruto's only response was a terse, "We'll see. For now, it makes our other alliances easier if his name isn't brought into the picture."
Jiraiya getting banished for "treasonous support of Konoha's enemies" by Kakashi early in his tenure wasn't unexpected but it did benefit the growing clan. Jiraiya, despite his depravity, was the eyes and ears of the Hidden Leaf. The fact that he'd also been banished from all of the major and minor villages - they all welcomed him as a potentially powerful asset only to end up treating him like bad fish after three days - didn't make establishing new treaties any easier in his wake of perversion. Other villages appeared to be less inclined to support his particular brand of "research."
However, with him gone Kakashi was forced to grow a spy network from scratch, something that took considerable time, that the old Toad found easy to saturate with his own double agents, and Naruto's shadow network infiltrated with childish ease. The old toad's absence was a double-edged ninjato and it never stopped the crusty old bastard from using to "get in good" with his alleged godson.
Even though it wasn't necessary, the pervert tried to ingratiate himself with the Uzumaki by sharing the occasional intelligence report on really big matters of state. For now, Spring was providing him political safety from a very annoyed Hokage looking to undo one of his earlier mistakes, and that provided all the justification he needed to keep the old Sannin at arm's length.
For now.
That said, Koyuki having to deal with the pervert hoping to win brownie points was unfair to her nation. A more permanent solution would need to be made before too long. Turning to Karin for inspiration, he pushed the old hermit out of his mind temporarily.
Picking up on the cue, she leaned forward to pick up the top summary sheet of her personal notes.
"At least we have some good news." Pausing to sip her own tea, Karin smiled warmly hoping to ease the earlier tension.
"Tetsu has agreed to our trade alliance with the verbal statement of mutual defense so as to not outwardly breach their long-standing oath of non-interference in the shinobi nations."
Naruto did smile at that considering that Mifune and the vast majority of his shogunate viewed the Uzumaki more as hybrid samurai siblings and less as the atypical shinobi clan trying to set themselves apart. This would be a huge boon given their location as a buffer and potential emergency resource to soothe Kumo when the usual winter panic sets in.
He nodded with a clear smile on his face as she continued on.
"Spring, Wave, Wind, and Lightning have all submitted final revisions to their embassy plans along with prioritized location requests based on the tentative village layouts our Ambassadors presented." She looked up from her sheet to lock eyes with him. "All of those were returned undamaged and unaltered. Each confirmed the prints never left their positive control but we can't completely rule out that any of the participants went into that meeting without the ability to memorize large amounts of blueprint data."
Another nod followed by a brief grimace. Sometimes risks needed to be taken to shore up a more peaceful future but this had been a huge debate over building buy-in with future allies over village security for the clan. Even the bijuu sealed in his gut called him an idealistic moron at least two or three times before ultimately nodding off to sleep again.
"Aaaaand finally, we have reports of the third Oto hideout being trashed in as many months."
This piqued Naruto's interest with a curious response of, "Oh? Where this time?"
"Sea Country."
A grunted, "Hnh," was all he gave after that.
"Use your words, Sochi. We are not aspiring Uchiha with limited vocabularies," Keina chided through a smirking grin bringing about a round of soft laughter at his expense.
"Oh, I was just thinking that the snake must have made someone extremely angry to chase him across the elemental nations in order to destroy all of his little hidey holes."
A round of unsurprised but begrudgingly accepting head nods was the only response.
~III~
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~ Early Morning, The Land of Grass, Udorando Province ~
Kuro, aptly named as he was the ninth male child in a farming family boasting twelve children, enjoyed his peaceful life as a Fulong Temple sojourner based deep in the southern grasslands of Kusa. In a nation where opportunities for the poor farmlands in the nation's capital were few for those not politically well-connected, temple life presented a more favorable option for those disinclined to the back-breaking life on the farms. Where an army of brats made the country life more tolerable, it would be a curse in the more crowded villages.
If it wasn't the farms or the very competitive shinobi village conveniently located by the capital, then it was the temple life for the unambitious.
Samurai were far too political and you needed the same types of connections to ever rise above the rank of grunt so Kuro discarded that option long before he left his family farm just a few days to the northeast of his temple home.
No, life was good here so long as he kept his head down and worked at an acceptable pace, a pace far more lenient than the before-the-sun backbreaking labor his family preferred just to stay competitive for government resources. Instead of tending daikon fields, he was allowed to study literature and could read and write the sutras without needing a tutor or translator. Working in the kitchens with the other novices taught them basic mathematics he lacked while reinforcing basic communication and teamwork skills. Best of all, he'd been trained in the use of chakra-supported combatives like the rest of his all-male brethren, an area he apparently excelled at.
Having abandoned his family on his tenth birthday, Kuro happily entered temple service less than a week later, after dropping his family name and claiming orphan status, then taking only two years to master the basic chakra release and control exercises used in rudimentary temple maintenance. It took only another three years of advanced study to get invited to the novice sojourner ranks, the introductory level needed to serve in the temple's primary role:
Temple monks were responsible for the long-term care and fire service of Kusa's grasslands, the nation's biggest resource.
Most of it involved putting out the random brushfire using a series of elemental scrolls purchased from the Uzumaki, scrolls dating back between the first and second Great Shinobi wars, a really fantastic invention from the deceased clan much to Kuro's disappointment. His knowledge of sealing was elementary at best but to have been able to meet or speak with a real Uzu native on the subject...
He would give anything just to be able to ask them about the scroll mechanics. To learn how the unbelievably intricate inscriptions worked together to form localized and controllable weather patterns, a.k.a. rainstorms, would be his greatest dream realized.
Unfortunately and much like the Uzumaki, that ship sailed many years before he joined the temple.
As it was, the temple used more commonly available scrolls that duplicated the original seals to what they called "service scrolls" currently in use by the sojourner patrols to respond to grassland fires. It reduced the risk of losing one of the three original treasures and provided enough resources to field full squads of the twenty monks needed to handle the large-scale fires known to destroy thousands of acres if left unchecked.
And that's why Kuro was smiling to himself as he followed along behind his squad brothers south from the temple to Sake Lake where the first two squads of five would refill their working storage tanks. These tanks would fuel the Stormbringer Jutsu generated and directed by the remaining control scrolls they would use to build two separate storm sets.
If they moved quickly enough, perhaps the damage could be handled in one sitting provided some overzealous farmer hadn't caused too much damage trying to clear old stumps from his back acres using shoddy dynamite or flea market destruction tags purchased from disreputable or wandering shinobi. At least, that was the thought tumbling through Kuro's mind after hearing the massive explosions off in the distance to the southeast halfway through the morning meal. Of course, that was right before the emergency ringing of the temple gong sent squads scurrying for their equipment leading to their dash across the open grasslands.
Now, having stopped to tank off at the massive lake covering a full fifth of Udorando Province's western border with Ame, the entire water brigade was using the temple's distance devouring Plainswalker Jutsu to skim along the blade tips of the high elephant grass. Without this technique, the temple would never be able to meet its obligations and each monk knew this in their bones as the kilometers turned into leagues, the toes of their cloth shoes barely disturbing the shoulder-high grass beneath them.
Before long, clear blue skies gave way to rancid dark smoke as the monks slowed to a respectable pace just beyond what appeared to be someone's attempt to build a new lake in the middle of the open prairie of southern Kusa.
'Kami be praised! It smells of rotted and burning meat!' Kuro pushed down a fresh batch of worries and edged forward with his temple brothers.
They passed the nearest farm several miles before and the only real town was Doroshi Village another couple hours to the east so why would someone do this in the middle of unclaimed grasslands? Kuro's confusion lay squarely on his face, his dark brows crinkled up in confusion above the dark brown orbs they protected as he glanced around with his nineteen brothers in shock.
'Why isn't there more fire than this? If it's not a roaring blaze, then what is generating all of this horrible smoke?'
While there were huge gouts of acrid smoke billowing into the skies, there were only a handful of places still burning. Most of them could be extinguished without relying on more than the water storage scrolls. Instead, he tried very hard not to choke and gag on the rancid aromas clogging the area as his brothers began to spread out, their eyes searching the ground starting at what would be the northern edge of this unnatural depression.
The crater was several hundred meters across and probably fifty deep at its center with an oddly even bowl-shaped circumference. What confused Kuro even more as he wandered about channeling small amounts of water to help put out the smoke-spewing flames dotting the crater's circumference was that he couldn't help but notice the oddly colored slabs of stone mixed in with the crumbled earth, orange-ish brown slabs with odd spiraling scribbles carved into the surface of the few mostly unbroken pieces he could find.
It wasn't until he found his first crushed and mutilated human arm that his natural propensity for curiosity took a sharp turn toward shock and fear.
Another limb not five paces from the first didn't even appear human. The flesh was dark and twisted and, from what he could tell, not by the heat of the flames pockmarking the ground.
Fear blew all of his vaunted meditational training out the window and gave rise to fresh panic.
Turning to yell out for the senior monk, he paused with mouth wide open as he caught sight of a tall figure wrapped in a dark cloak, their face hidden by a fancier version of the wicker hats he often wore to keep the sun from his bald head in the heat of the temple work day.
What he found more unbelievable was that just before the figure exploded into a flock of angry cawing crows, Kuro swore he saw the figure's face pulse with an angry red glow where their eyes should be right before the birds flew off into the overcast sky.
~III~
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~ Nadeshiko Central Market, the Apple Blossom Bistro ~
By now, Naruto was numb to the ever-present giggling and whispering that followed whenever he strolled through the Administrative Quarter with his lunch partner per their standing lunch routine. Such attention was especially commonplace when one strolled arm-in-arm with the current ruler of the small island nation, each escorted by their single agreed-upon shinobi escort.
It had become so commonplace that Tokiwa no longer butted forehead protectors with Soyo-chan and the two instead speculated behind snarky comments on how spoiled any child from their unavoidable union would turn out.
Tokiwa hinged her winnings on the next uber-powered Nadeshiko leader.
Soyo-chan was leaning more toward juvenile delinquents.
It was a pleasant stroll following his latest round of morning meetings if you discounted all of the distractions along the way to what had become their favorite informal eatery. It was a small streetside eatery that specialized in finger foods and unique blends of tea but it was the mild mix of lavender scents that ofttimes reminded him of another time with another dark-haired beauty that helped mellow him out after a trying morning with the old Uzumaki nanny.
Kami bless her stubborn, old arse.
Before he knew it, the four were seated at their usual table, the blissfully wide umbrella spread to shade them from the relentless sun.
"You look especially fatigued today husband." Shizuka's dulcet tones had a softer quality to them lately. She'd become less intensive sounding since she'd dropped the "Future" section of his title.
One glance confirmed the woman's unusually keen gaze was fixated on his responses. The sad part was that he probably understood why and that this was her way of indirectly asking about it.
"Just another intensive round of meetings," he began as the host set out a chilled pitcher of water laced with lemon and cucumber slices. "Our Kumo delegates seemed bound and determined to press their worries over the upcoming trip. If that wasn't enough, Shiroi mirrored the conversation during her weekly meeting right after Mabui."
His sigh at this point brought little sympathy from anyone at the table but he projected the "put-upon emperor" image anyway punctuating his previous concerns.
"I think my acquaintances are secretly meeting behind my back to plot strategy against me."
He meant it as a light-hearted jibe but did not miss the pointed glances shared by all three of his lunch party and intentionally ignored the cackling of his inner furry as a response.
"I cannot fault them. This trip is pure folly." Shizuka's tone was sharp and biting.
Furthermore, he refused to believe that the ever-stoic Shizuka just rolled her annoyingly beautiful emerald green eyes. She simply did not.
"What is worse is that you openly admit that the gambit is pure folly and expect that rotten cesspool of turncoats and traitors to make attempts on your life as a result." Her incredulity was becoming blatant at this point and he was having a harder time denying it.
The cheery atmosphere took a rather chilling plunge as the gorgeous green-eyed brunette quietly raged.
"We will be prepared," he tried to counter but was nonetheless cut off when she snorted her frustration with his usual line of thought. It couldn't be helped since she was not in on the really detailed planning sessions supporting this trip.
They did have a plan for what was coming.
"Let us not dally on such pointless discussions." Her eyebrows knitted up in that way he abjectly refused to call cute. "I do not wish to mar what may very well be my final luncheon with you on something I clearly have no power to positively affect in any way, shape, or form."
Ouch.
Shizuka snapped open her menu, which she'd read through hundreds of times by now, in an effort to hide her flushed face and the clear frustration etched across its every surface.
She refused to admit that she'd actually grown to care about the stubborn idiot. No, she flat-out refused.
"Damn."
'Yeah. Damn,' the container opined to his inner conscience.
Talk about a political guilt trip.
Trying to shrug off the sudden dip in the atmosphere, lunch proceeded at a much more sedate pace after that.
~III~
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The stroll back to the embassy was considerably less hospitable than the journey to the café.
Although walking together, much in the same way they'd arrived, Naruto's left arm was missing its customary place sandwiched between Shizuka's arms and pressed firmly against her warm bust. Instead, there was an unobstructed meter of open space between them and Shizuka held her hands firmly clasped in front of her body, her eyes looking neither left nor right and her jaw clenched firmly shut in annoyance. It was a posture Naruto was keenly familiar with.
Shizuka used it whenever her attempts to force him to give up on Ino and Konoha in general became unsuccessful. It was a posture he'd seen with increasing regularity the closer they'd come to his departure tomorrow for Ino's summer wedding spectacular.
It wasn't that Shizuka despised the girl. Quite the contrary, she'd expressed her fondness for the blonde mindwalker believing her a welcomed addition to the little royal family. Her encounters with the young Yamanaka during the Chuunin Exam Festival had quite impressed the Nadeshiko ruler. A sharp mind, a keen wit, and an impressive beauty made her a welcomed sister-wife. What was not to like?
That answer was easy and also the leading source for their current and ongoing source of contention: the girl's irritating desire to prove a point by having her wedding in the middle of a village that clearly wanted to kill her future husband and wipe out the remains of the man's recovering clan.
The whole affair was exasperating!
However, since he refused to put his foot down and she refused to senselessly let him sail off to die, they were once again at a cooling-off point in their relationship.
Shizuka claimed that it had nothing to do with any sort of growing affection for him. Claimed repeatedly that she was simply living up to the expectations of her country and honoring her obligation based on their duel. It was too bad that the recurring heat that turned her cheeks bright red stubbornly announced her a liar despite her best efforts and both Soyo-chan and Tokiwa-san repeatedly enjoyed pointing this fact out to her every time they argued.
So, as was her custom, Shizuka stubbornly jutted her chin into the air and marched on as if nothing in the world bothered her. If he could be pigheaded, then so could she.
What's more, Naruto knew and could see all of this happening in real time yet could do nothing about it. When he opted to "try something different" with his love life this time around, he'd promised himself to see it through to the end. Part of that promise had been a commitment to the stubborn blonde back in Konoha that he loved and, unfortunately, as things turned out, it meant going back to a place he'd much prefer never to see again.
And, yes, he was willing to admit that he cared for her enough to call it love. He could realistically see it no other way.
Sad to say that Ino refused to marry unless her entire family could be part of her big day even knowing the risks involved. She claimed it to be her decision but there was a itching feeling at the back of his head that something else was driving this.
Oddly enough, Kyuubi kept quietly nagging in the back of his mind that he was doing to Shizuka the same sort of thing that had him in his current predicament with Ino.
Each time she did he just as quietly cut the link and ignored her picking, much to the bijuu's growing ire.
At any rate, his mood continued to drop so much that, by the time they politely, if not coolly, parted ways at the Ambassadorial Compound entrance, not a word had been spoken since departing the cafe and Naruto found himself shortly thereafter in the open garden surrounded by all of Clan Uzumaki as they bid farewell to Senju Tsunade and her apprentice.
It was the Sannin's farewell dinner and it was being conducted picnic style in the open compound yard.
Naruto blinked once then snapped his eyes to Soyo-chan. The ivoryette merely smiled politely from her position just behind his right arm before shoving him forward just enough to get his feet moving.
Resigning himself to a long night of soulless socializing, the evening became a quick blur.
Food was shoved into his hands by his faithful Dōji, but he tasted none of it.
Smiles and polite conversations flowed like wine throughout the evening, but he remembered none of it.
Even the final hugs shared with his departing Senju relative barely registered to his distracted mind so lost was he in his musings. Why was it so hard? Why couldn't people understand his position and why were there so many conflicting demands?
Multiple times throughout the party Naruto had to ignore his tenant's pointed reminders that, while he never sought the responsibility of Daimyo, he'd always wanted to be a ruler of sorts and no matter the role there would always be conflicting interests and priorities. He would never be able to keep everyone happy all the time and the sooner he resolved himself to that, the less unhappy he would be.
Oh, what a bitter pill to swallow. Guess the grass always looks greener from the wrong side of the fence.
Not that any of it distracted him enough to enjoy the gathering so, rather than continue being a wet blanket on the affair, he excused himself claiming that he needed to complete his evening calisthenics.
The moment he uttered those words he knew they were a lie yet he found himself standing quietly in the smaller garden he'd used as his personal training area, Soyo-chan standing silently off to the side. He'd stopped walking in the center of the yard, the very middle of it covered in reinforced stone sealed to withstand the harsh punishment that usually resulted from his training sessions.
Standing there in the very center of the training circle dressed in his formal robes, the melancholy Daimyo snarled suddenly as his Fang appeared in his right hand with a small explosion of white smoke.
"Stop wasting both our time and come out. You've been watching me long enough."
Never lifting his eyes from the grey stone at his feet, Naruto turned to his right just enough to line up that side of his body with the newcomer hiding in the bushes of his training yard. There was the soft rustling of leaves and branches followed by the shuffle of sandaled feet. Then the smell hit him and the young Daimyo had to force down his gag reflex at the potency.
Death. Rot. Corruption.
Naruto lifted his gaze to meet the mottled purple and sickly green complexion of his former Konoha classmate and fought to keep down the food he didn't remember tasting from the party. The hair, what remained of it, hung plastered in oily curtains to the side of his head, what hadn't already fallen out by the fistful. What skin was visible given the short-sleeved, open-front shirt being held closed by a purple rope belt, was covered in previously mentioned fist-sized bruises of deep purples and green splotches, his dark veins visible as blackish rivers across his chest and up the right side of his neck and cheek. While never the most muscled of Genins, Sasuke's skin hung loosely off too-thin limbs near the elbows and knees. None of that, however, compared to the foul stench that wafted from his emaciated form like some poisonous stench nearly forcing the Uzu Prince to gag as his body attempted to purge the intruder's mere presence from his system.
"Well, that explains why Itachi has been destroying your bases in an attempt to find you." Disdain and disgust warred for dominance on Naruto's face.
The hunched figure's response of, "Kukuku," got a raised eyebrow but his visitor appeared to take no notice. "Itachi-kun has been annoyingly persistent in his outrage."
The emaciated figure's chuckling was violently interrupted by a body-contorting round of hacking coughs and phlegm spitting. With disapproval written all over his face, Naruto made a note to cleanse that corner of the training yard with fire.
Once the figure stopped coughing and could wheezingly breathe again, it stepped forward as ruby-red eyes swirled to life. "But that's not what we're here to discuss, are we, Naruto-kun."
~III~
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[Points of Interest and Author's Comments]
Final Comments: I know, I know. Not a lot of action in this chapter but we are in the final arc. Besides, I thought this was a better way to deal with the time skip than the usual training montage/ grind.
At least I left you a little teaser at the end. :D
Again, sorry for the delay but it's impossible to type well with a full hand cast. See you all soon!
(and stay safe out there!)
~Siva'a