No More Chapter 50, a naruto fanfic

A/N: As this story is as relatively close to the end as "Nature of the Savage Beast" is to the beginning, I will be focusing on this particular tale until it wraps. I am surprised it took soo long to post the wrong chapter in one of these two fictions as it did but I am resolved to not "mix up my draft versions" again.

Again, my apologies for that literary slip of the tongue.

I also needed to correct the name of Hiruzen's oldest son, the one you've all become familiar with as the Ram-faced ANBU. It isn't Matsuda, that's another nin in another fiction still on my drafting board. As revealed during the Sarutobi training scene, his name is Kyousuke, Konohamaru's father and the guy that was supposed to replace Hiruzen as Hokage.

As I've written out the rest of the story in one large chunk before breaking it up into bite-sized chapters, you'll note reference marks beginning with [1] annotations. This is not meant to cover the whole story but the rest of the story from this point moving forward. You'll find explanations for those marks at the end of each chapter if you're curious about its origin.

BIG NOTICE-LOOK HERE!: I'd also like to announce that I'll be ending this story with a challenge offering, my first. Since I've heard in the odd comment of how "someone would have gone a different way," I'm going to ask those of you brave enough to try to "put your money where your word docs are."

Details will be posted at the end of the final chapter. Until then, enjoy as you will.

~Siva'a-tasi

~III~

Standard Disclaimer: My petition for ownership of the franchise (minus Boruto) has fallen on deaf ears. I am a sad panda.

Chapter 50: The Decisions We Make

~III~

~ On the Outskirts of Konohagakure no Sato ~

[Konoha Crush]

Flying. Maybe not so much flying but he was gliding effortlessly through the thick branches that made up Konohagakure's heavy canopy, the light crackling of its leafy horizon in the gentle summer breeze the only sound accompanying the rushing wind in his ears.

It was a liberating feeling this ability to temporarily escape the inescapable pull of gravity unto the hard earth below. Combined with the enhanced senses gifted by his lifelong association with the fox-like chakra monster in his gut, the surreal sensation was made all the more exhilarating by the clarity provided as he glided silently through the leafy boughs created by the greatest practitioner of Mokuton the Leaf ever knew.

The Shodaime.

He had enormous boots to fill, this was true, but he still had time to come into his own first. His recognition would come in time now that he knew the secret kept from him along with his birth.

The Yondaime.

Shaking away the unfathomable task of meeting and surpassing that man, he shrugged it away and focused on the high-definition passage of Konoha's greenery at nearly eighty-kilometers per hour. Chastising his momentary lapse in focus, he flicked his sight over his left shoulder compensating as the disorienting view canted to confirm his mirror touching down near silently on a branch he'd passed not two seconds before.

Good. Things were proceeding as planned.

It would be dawn soon and they needed to be in place to deal with their sector soon. They had guests to greet and it wouldn't do to be a poor host.

Coming down out of the higher branches, the world view shifted with a gut-lurching plummet as both shadows formed a half-Ram seal running headlong into a particularly thick tree trunk. Instead of splattering into bug paste, both figures passed into the tree itself...

...and emerged fifty feet below on another branch.

Gods above the Mokuton was impressive and their lessons together were only just beginning. He'd need to thank-.

He shook his head once to clear the thought. That wasn't his responsibility but the lines blurred so often it was... difficult... to keep things straight. Sometimes it was very hard to remember who was the original and who wasn't. Instead, he focused his vision through the remaining fifty meters of branches to the clearing below it.

The snakes were finalizing their setup, a large summoning circle inscribed in the clearing with six-no-seven Oto nin crouched at each point of the array. In each crouching figure's mouth was a small scroll.

'Well, that just won't do.'

Settling in to wait for the signal, each figure took a rough headcount before stilling their breathing and reaching out very slowly, very carefully to ascertain who was still hidden.

'Nine' the first tapped out on the tree branch.

'Ten' the second corrected pointing to the bored and inattentive scout a hundred yards off to their left.

The first nodded and they both spent another twenty minutes moving with painstakingly slow effort until they were positioned above and behind the sentry respectively. They then settled in once more to wait, this time their sights choosing their respective strike points.

'Feint to the heart,' came the first in slow hand signals.

'Lunge to the kidney,' confirmed the second.

'Muffle then snap,' finished the first.

Both nodded then split up before digging in. They would need to be fast once the signal came and it would be coming soon.

Below them, the Oto nin in the lead was grumbling loudly about their missing Suna counterparts, the second's shift in position placing him close enough to hear. The first tried not to laugh as the plan was working even up to the final moments.

The sentry shifted catching their attention. He'd nodded off in the high branch and a foot slipped. Boredom could be a killer, literally.

It was as the sentry was settling down once again that the signal came, a brief prickling at the nape of their necks as the clone observing the stadium generated then popped a clone to signal the invasion had begun.

They didn't pause. The first lunged catching the sentry's attention as the second, who had crept silently up the trunk from below sprinted the last two paces and pushed off with both feet to intercept the backward-retreating and very surprised nin.

The [Ghost Step] was a vital part of the Silent Killing Technique for a reason.

His kunai took the distracted nin in the left kidney, the shock cutting off his primed scream meant to alert his comrades to attack. Before the pain could register and produce a different type of scream, the first had clamped strong hands, one over his mouth and the other at the back of his skull, and twisted harshly.

Blue eyes stared into a matching pair as they waited to see if the clearing's activity changed to reflect the now dead sentry. They counted to thirty apiece before gently hanging the dead weight across his former perch.

Wouldn't do for someone below to stumble on him in passing.

Breaking from the branch into a free fall, one followed the other as they plunged into the hard earth with the distorting ripple of an earth jutsu.

It wasn't difficult to zero in on the chakra of the ceremony casters so they broke off to take one each, the break-off point the signal to begin counting.

Thirty.

Earth flowed past his sight like water as the warm chakra of a caster settled in above him.

Slowly does it now...

Twenty.

Ever so gently, so as to not disturb the chakra weave pulsing through the earth above him, he slowed to a stop beneath the kneeling figure seeking to do his village harm.

Ten.

One slow hiss of air to clear any dirt from his mouth.

Five...

Four...

Three...

Two...

One...

Hands surged upwards and grabbed on to a pair of tense ankles before jerking downward. There was an indignant squawk as a weight shifted above attempting to escape but he couldn't pause now.

His grip tightened mercilessly, bones giving way with a crunch beneath punishing fingers.

His feet started cycling furiously, his body moving slowly at first until enough momentum built up to propel him up from the earth's smothering embrace until his head, shoulders, then arms cleared the ground.

Before he could come fully up out of the earth, his left hand clamped onto the now bodiless head's mouth his palm slapping down on the scroll held in the person's teeth. Though he could not see this unfortunate soul's face, he could see its head snap backwards at the sudden contact though his muffled screams were blunted by the scroll now held forcefully in its awkward placement.

Their head snapping backwards was fortuitous as it allowed the kunai now held firmly in his right hand to pass smoothly beneath their chin and across an undefended throat in one clean slice.

He was clear of the thirsty earth with the now slobbery scroll in his left hand as spurts of red soaked into the ground before the fading life of another nameless enemy. With a grimace, he torched the scroll to ashes as a similar scene was playing out across the large summoning circle with his twin.

Nearly a dozen eyes grew wide with shock, heads flickering back and forth between the two demons rising from the ground to slay their comrades. They had maybe five seconds grace before all hell broke loose.

A kunai shot past his left ear as he ducked to avoid the strike.

Okay, three seconds then.

The burning hiss of a tag cooking down produced an automatic [Substitution] reaction. Too bad for the Oto Chunin trying to concentrate on his part of the summoning ceremony that he was selected in place of the Holy Log. There was a brief squawk of indignity that was brutally cut off by the tag's detonation and then all hell broke loose.

Bodies were scrambling in all directions, the ceremony successfully disrupted and temporarily forgotten as Oto invaders sought to regroup. One gathered enough wherewithal to produce a fireball and send it in the directions of the nearest clone to distract and perhaps buy some time for a coordinated expulsion of the Konoha threat. Everyone knew where there were two Leaf nins there were more.

The first clone performed a sealless [Doton: Doryūheki], stomping his foot on the ground to raise a wall of rocky earth three meters high and a meter wide. The flames, meager by even the lazy Uchiha standard of mastery, sputtered to an impotent death on the far side while the second clone leapt to the crest of the wall retaliating with a brutal [Fūton: Renkudan] of his own.

The unprepared nin, being more focused on whether or not his lackluster fireball pierced the earth wall than paying attention to his surroundings, caught the speeding mass of death square in the chest resulting in a burst of flesh and gore, some of which splattered on the nearest enemy producing more rage and frustration as their comrade exploded.

Eyes twinkling with malice, both figures drew a second blade and prepared to cause as much mayhem as they could knowing that there would be no five-story serpent rising from the earth at this location to plague Konoha's defenders.

Locking eyes with the nearest (and now fully-enraged) Oto nin, he snarled wide clearly baring enlarged canines then charged...

~III~

"Weapons, being instruments of ill omen, are not the tools of the cultured,

who use them only when unavoidable."

– Tao Te Ching, Laozi.

~III~

Naruto's eyes snapped open with an accompanying steep inhalation of breath.

Immediately he recognized a great heaviness on all his splayed limbs and, for a second, his adrenaline began to spike dangerously along with his chakra as his sluggish mind struggled to recognize his location. That initial confusion, that surge of fear as the mind awakens from a truly body-numbing sleep, lasted only a moment as the figured draped along his muscular body moaned, shifted, then settled back into a comfortable sleep of their own.

Large room.

Familiar rafters.

Very familiar flower and leather scents draped all over his body. He was clearly in his room.

What was that before? A dream? No, it was all too real. The sensation of free traveling through the upper branches, the taste of earth, the smell of fear... Those were the memories of a clone - one of his eight sent out to cause interference with Oto forces plotting evil beyond the walls of his home.

Being able to mix the much denser Uzumaki chakra into the clones had produced some very interesting results, very interesting indeed. Eight Kage-level clones wreaking havoc throughout enemy forces produced some very interesting memories.

He'd deal with why they were still bleeding over into his dreams later. Naruto figured he'd assimilated all of those memories by now but the final day of the exams was a pretty busy one after all.

'How had it come to all this?'

'Given as much as you've tinkered with this particular timeline, as you saying you're shocked by the outcome?'

Naruto blinked pleasantly at the interaction. The Nine Tails more and more seemed contented with watching his life unfold during this edition of misadventures over being an active distraction. He could almost picture her forepaws crossed daintily right below the jaunty tilt of her head as she smirked with her trademark vulpine grin.

'Morning Kurama. I've missed your company.'

Her snorted rejoinder was not that unexpected but it was a pleasant reminder to what once was. Reluctantly he pulled away from the tentative connection bringing his still groggy mind back to the present.

This current "Slide" had been dubbed as the "Expedition," an opportunity for him to test the envelope, for lack of a better term. His intentions and the plan for his "Jumpers" had been to cover as much experimental ground as possible with little to no concern for the timeline itself. The caution "Bend But Don't Break" had been tossed right out the time continuance window with little regard to paradoxical blow-back.

His unexpected relationship with Ino was a pleasant change, despite his remembered love for Hinata, but Shino would be good for her this time around. A small part of him was curious as to how she would evolve in that relationship.

Tazuna's death at the incompetence of not one but two Jounin-led Genin teams had been a depressing turn of events. It seemed that luck had played a much larger role in his first encounter with the Demon of the Mist than he thought, or was it Fate?

He shivered that earworm away. There was still more good than bad this time around, the Umihebi a huge reminder of such that some change can be good.

Getting assigned to an Infiltration team out of the academy actually would have played well into supporting the overall theme, had it not started off on such unstable ground. An admittedly hostile sensei can and had been overcome (with a little pain) but it took considerable effort to sublimate one of two teammate turncoats. To be honest, he wasn't completely sold on the Nara still even after all they had been through to date.

All told, an infiltration team - despite its design intention of being light on combat activities - turned into quite the blessing. He had just enough combat activity to test his training program on a recurring basis, more than believed possible given their primary mission profile in all reality.

That explained the shockingly low mortality rates for infiltration teams. He would shake his head in sleepy-eyed disappointment if his head wasn't currently trapped by one of his bedmates.

He still needed to ramp up his training if he was going to live long enough to fight off Akatsuki. As it stood right now, he might be able to clean the clock of a level-two-seal-curse-bearing Sasuke...

'Oh, that's right. Princess Mc-Broody is about due for his massive temper tantrum, isn't he?'

He could literally feel the sage-like head nod from his resident Kitsune. The memory alone of the fustercluck that was the Sasuke Retrieval Mission brought back painful sympathy pains from the very first, and extremely naive, attempt to recover the little sociopath, pains being soothed by the very soft and equally impressive pair of mammaries being smashed into his rock-hard chest by their sleeping owner. It was almost impossible to avoid the shudder at the thought of Sasuke's arm driven up to the elbow in his chest, and the resulting anger that came about as a result of the fool's callous disregard for a comrade and his own blind belief that Sasuke ever felt any of the brotherly love for him that he once did for the emo wonder.

There, to date, was not a consensus on whether or not Uzu would support Konoha on effort moving forward, let alone that wasted errand, but he was certain he'd never again make that insipidly insane mistake. No more would he value the life of someone not in his immediate family over his own safety, and his family included every semi-warm body attached to Clan Uzumaki.

Family came first.

For now, he had other more pleasant sensations to work out even if the initial concern that he wasn't really dead in some barren section of Konoha's forest gave way to his current bedroom situation.

Taking a deliberate but slow breath meant to help clear away the morning fog, his eyes swiveled down from the heavy beams of his sleeping chamber to the bright red mane of the naked woman draped across his front, her chin tucked into one side of his neck and her left arm snaked around the other side of his head fisting his spiky mane.

Her shifting about had clenched her abdominal (and lower) muscles and brought very clearly to his attention that she was again grinding in that sweetly painful manner against his morning protuberance.

The last three nights since the invasion had been a blur of clutching affection from his female Guardians. Even the stoic males of his cohort stayed exceptionally close during the day, Umi doing his best to keep any and all unfamiliar faces at a safe distance with a steady scowl or more (for the really determined). Fewer still of the more familiar ones escaped his clingy need to protect "his Walker."

For his part, Naruto was still dealing with the "what" of the situation even if he knew the "why" of it all. The remaining Guardians sharing his bed pinning both of his arms between their chest pillows strongly disapproved of his headstrong plan to fight without them and the risks came a bit too close to reality for their tastes, a point they were all too eager to argue over with Keina stating that Naruto's safety was their primary responsibility; when push came to shove, they answered to Naruto - even if they respected her - and would answer to Poseidus for failing in their duty should ill come to him.

That they would very plainly not allow coming to pass. All six made it very clear they would not be leaving him vulnerable again even if for the sake of Konoha.

They would need to resolve this at some point but he had to admit his body being swamped in the soft yet firm curves and bulges of the feminine variety was definitely a better way for him to wake than dealing with the still-assimilating memories of his clones and their bloody tasks out in the forest perimeter before the attack.

A lot happened to move them closer to his overall goal but they weren't quite home free yet. There was still the matter of important people being "kept in Konoha for their safety" until the Hokage could arrange for their guarded return home under escort and a clear villain from the Daimyo's camp had not been identified with the good Captain's continued silence.

Furthermore, there were too many competing interests too close to form an accurate picture. He needed distance but that would be tough with the State Dinner tonight. Before he could come up for fresh air and sort out the half-dozen decisions necessary for his fledgling clan to survive long enough to become its own country again, he needed room to think and he held no illusion that he'd find room to breathe at this party.

Too many people were looking to sink their teeth into him but he'd have to weather the storm and move on. If it wasn't greed it was hatred and if it wasn't hatred it was envy. None of that was anything new just unpleasant.

Just look at Iwa this time around... and just like that, his temper flared again. Damn that Onoki! He should have known the stubborn bastard would stick around to cause trouble.

Flashback - Northern Forests of Konohagakure no Sato

Onoki's march couldn't have happened under more perfect weather.

Even as his five-hundred elite shinobi made their way through the devil-voodoo enchanted trees of Hi no Kuni, he wasn't overly concerned. His son had been left behind in case something went wrong - chain of succession and all that.

To his left and slightly behind strode his grim-faced granddaughter, Kurotsuchi. Onoki tried not to let her incessant arguing to return home dampen his mood as he noticed the increased puckering of her face. Fortune favored them today and he'd take full advantage.

That's what shinobi did, didn't they?

To his right strode the indomitable Gobi jinchūriki, Han. Nearly two-and-a-third meters of metal-covered shinobi packing a chakra-beast powerhouse.

No way Konoha survived today with Iwa piling on. If Suna and Oto hadn't razed the village to the ground already, he'd make sure Iwa added the necessary fuel so he could piss on the Old Monkey's ashes.

He'd waited decades for today and Kami help the idiot that stood in his way.

Looking back on it all years later, it was unclear to the diminutive ruler when such a glorious day gave way to pessimism and concern. They had to have been... five miles away from the hidden village's walls? If his scouts hadn't marked their trail on the way out, Onoki's forces might not have found their way back to Konoha given the heavy Genjutsu and Fūinjutsu saturating the forest defense. It was bad enough they had to stop and search around a few times to confirm they were on the right track.

Then the great walls came into view and his smile returned... at least until Kurotsuchi complained about it being too quiet. For a village filled with the dying screams of its citizenry, it was far too still.

Onoki had opened his mouth to harshly shout her down when it clicked in his mind that it was in fact quiet enough for his annoyed rant to give away their position to a passing patrol if he yelled loud enough. That's what struck him as odd given that there shouldn't even be a concern about patrols in the treeline.

Every Konoha patrol should all be focused on repelling an invasion to their home yet the northern wall of the great hidden village appeared untouched. The word pristine came to his mind and that shouldn't have been at all in the realm of possibility.

"Pristine" and "War" were never two words used in conjunction. Onoki, a veteran of two wars that he was, had seen the handiwork of such conflict first-hand. Men and women crying in agony as their bodily functions failed them, their innards and life-giving blood coating the ground in a thick, soupy miasma.

That was the brutal reality of war and there was nothing beautiful about it. What he was seeing in the treetop covered distance clearly did not meet his expectations.

Wasn't that an explosion that heralded the beginning of their glorious march from camp? Its thunderous sound had carried over tens of kilometers to reach their sharp ears. Konoha shinobi should be futilely fighting and dying gloriously by the score, fresh for Iwagakure to swoop in and help crush what was left beneath hardened Iwa sandals!

Maybe he couldn't see what was going on because of all the damnable greenery!

Onward Onoki stubbornly trod with his elite force of Jinchuuriki-led Jounin and Chunin equally grim-faced behind him. He marched - now with purpose - until the treeline cleared and the great village was unobstructed for the last five-hundred meters that stood between the stupidly large trees and a village that should be a smoking husk.

"Is something wrong, Jiji?"

Onoki sighed as if he were being unfairly put upon. "I don't know, Kuro-chan. Why do you ask?" He was trying to bite back his natural sarcasm, honestly, he was. Couldn't she see for herself that things weren't as they were supposed to be?

"I don't know." She sounded nearly panicked. "Shouldn't they be... I don't know... a bit more panicked right now? Where are the fires? The dead and dying?"

He resisted the desire to close his eyes and grimace. "Yes, Kuro-chan, you..." he paused as the obvious lack of noise registered ominously to the short Kage, "... you... make a fair... point."

There was a very pregnant pause in which many sandals behind him shifted uncomfortably before someone spoke up.

"Shouldn't we either join in or... or maybe get out of here before they realize what we're doing?"

Onoki wanted to strangle the owner of that voice but he wanted to make sure he was not being deceived before he made any rash judgments. Today was too precious a day to withdraw without being absolutely sure.

At his advanced age, he may not get this chance again.

Just then a nervous throat cleared itself somewhere well behind him. Onoki pointedly ignored it as he was currently deep in thought. This disturbing lack of people screaming in death was very important-.

The same nervous throat cleared itself again along with a nervous, "O-Onoki-sama."

He ignored the throat trying to distract him. Either they could get to the point or they could damned well shut up so he could-.

"Ahem!" His eye twitched violently. "Onoki-sama!" they offered just a bit louder.

"What?! Speak your mind or be...quiet..."

Onoki's rage faded like steam from a fresh pork bun even as he cursed the hazy blanket of chakra that distorted his perception of even his own shinobi standing nearby. It evaporated once he spun about to see dozens of Konoha green and blue figures standing in the treeline behind his force. A few of the faces he recognized even if he couldn't get an accurate count of their numbers.

Being the experienced campaigner that he was, Onoki's mind immediately switched to damage control as he planned match-ups in his mind.

Hatake he knew he could take. Han would need to face off against the green-wearing nut job but it could be manageable. This didn't appear to be too much of a problem.

Then the damnable throat cleared itself once more and he realized this time that it was Kuro-chan.

"What. Now?!" he groused through gnashing teeth.

The round-eyed girl merely pointed over his shoulder with one shaking hand.

With as much dignity as he could muster, Onoki of Both Scales straightened his robes, took a deep breath, then slowly spun about to face a combined Suna and Konoha shinobi force led by Jiraiya of the freaking Sannin, a force that easily dwarfed his own.

Twigs being intentionally snapped to both his left and right plus the smoldering face of Gekido's flaming lizard peeking out through Konoha's now open Northern Gates cinched the situation for him. Onoki didn't even bother to count heads to his flanks. He was out-gunned and knew it.

His only thought was that worthless Suna dog caved! Then Jiraiya, that bastard, spoke the words he would hate until his dying day.

"Drive them all the way back to Iwa at kunai point!"

The dying screams of his shinobi began almost immediately, some bursting into crimson fountains close enough to paint large swathes of his elite company in warm liquid. A roaring gout of flame somewhere off to his right helped spur a sense of urgency and the good Tsuhcikage cursed whoever thought teaching people that lived in a forest that using fire was a good idea.

Knowing when he was outmatched and refusing to die in this kami-forsaken forest, Onoki spun about, seallessly molded a ridiculous amount of chakra, then sent a half-dozen boulders into the force directly behind his own. Once he recognized the gap he wanted to open up, he scooped up his granddaughter and ran, er... flew along the ground praying to the Earth Mother that his soldiers had the common sense to keep up.

Despite Konoha calling off the pursuit perhaps a day into the chase, he would not stop running for three.

Not all of his shinobi would survive the effort, their dying screams (and Han's mocking laughter) adding incentive for the survivors to keep running.

Flashback - Kai!

~III~

'Oh well, he's another problem for another day.'

For now, he needed to extricate himself from this tangle of flesh and see to getting something edible.

Looking left then right then center, yup, they were still peacefully asleep. The first night had been Soyo-chan with her face tucked into the crook of his neck, the gentle scent of her body and hair as pleasant a surprise as the redheaded one with her firm body currently draped over his own. The second night it was Nisshoku-chan - a night for each as the center of his attentions, each body as decadently pleasant to feel pressed against his own flesh as the last.

Gnashed teeth and iron will fought to keep back the raging hormones compelling him to squeeze or stroke something. 'Another time...'

The argument (negotiation) leading to this sexually-charged bedroom atmosphere (that still remained unsettled) began once they'd finally been released from village lockdown and he'd finally staggered into the house under near exhaustion. He promptly found himself forced into a comfortable chair, a cool drink plopped into one shaky hand, and a very focused Haku straddling his lap and shoveling mouthfuls of food into his face while Keina haggled with his three female Guardians over why they should bed him before he weds and who would be first.

Maybe it was the alcohol in the mixed drink he was wiping from his chin after that opening segue?

Maybe it was the fatigue from fighting all day and the near-death experience with Captain Ushida?

Maybe it was the tense standoff with Suna's near-murderous Ichibi until he convinced the angry sand tanuki of Orochimaru's continued betrayal by his henchmen?

Maybe it was the follow-on stand-down with Iwagakure?

He knew he should have fought the whole notion but he was too drained to care. He should have at least protested reminding everyone he wouldn't be sixteen for another three months (hoping by then he'd be legally engaged and spared this whole pimping-out by his adopted mother figure) but the alcohol soothed away his battle fatigue and the slender female feeding and gently soothing him with gentle strokes to his neck and shoulders lulled him to the land of lullabies.

When he fitfully awoke next, he was now in his bedroom, half-conscious, and being gently undressed for bed under the tender ministrations of his female Guardians, one nervously pecking at his lips with her own. Still in the grey no-man's land between awake and asleep, his questing hands found soft and willing female flesh managing unintentionally to encourage the actions of the Guardian trying desperately to bring him back to full coherency.

All three of them failed much to their shock and disbelief.

In the end, it was a sleep-driven haze of arousal the led to blissful unconsciousness and his first morning following Oto's invasion ending up pretty much like the last two had been: him buried fully beneath the heated and frustrated flesh of his female Guardians.

Soyo-chan was less than amused as were her sister Guardians.

Of course, the realization set off a rapid series of red flags in the young heir's mind. If he wasn't awake, did it constitute consent? And why was he so tired that he couldn't remember? With Kyuubi bolstering his biology, drugs weren't a concern so was he truly that tired? The sense of frustration was maddening.

Even more so that the next two nights ended exactly the same way.

This was beyond coincidence and he'd need to get to the bottom of it before night fell again but, for now, he had other matters to attend to.

With a resigned sigh and a gentle but firm shifting of bodies resulting in his reluctant freedom, he staggered his way to a warm - scratch that - cold shower, a fresh change of clothes, and a hot meal. He was pretty sure his immediate family could handle matters while he ran a few quick errands.

Totally.

Maybe...

He pointedly ignored the Kyuubi's dignified snort of amusement.

~III~

Haku's dark chocolaty eyes fluttered open with the gentle shaking of her right shoulder.

"Mmnh," her mumbled moan pried from her lips because of the languid stretch of her slim body brought a surprised smirk from her temporary bedmate but the sensation was worth it. Cracking open one eyelid revealed the warm smile of her disheveled cousin, Shiroi, and the morning's merciless rays of light.

Having no real preference of male versus female, she could appreciate the striking beauty and slightly fuller curves of the second Yuki member. Haku knew her worth and, despite Naruto-sama's concern for her mental health, would never willingly debase herself to gain an edge.

Now, if he'd asked her to get on all fours and perhaps wear a collar...

She hid her pleasurable shaking away of the naughty daydream with another stretching twitch of her body, her back arching enough to push her semi-rigid nipples up through the silky layer of cloth partially covering her body. Her thoughts often drifted to her reluctant master but he'd been more than generous and she needed to focus on her family with the time off she'd been given.

Haku, although enjoying the decadent time of relaxation her beloved Naruto-sama had gifted her, time she'd more than well-spent with Shiroi, was seeing an increase in worry behind the gently puckered eyebrows of her slightly older relative - if one year counted much in the way of seniority. More and more the pretty girl had been gently prodding for insight or trying to spend a few moments here and there with the Lord of the estate as she was about to do with the hesitant parting of her succulent lips.

"Are you sure," the slightly curvier kunoichi began only to be silenced by being forcefully dragged into an early morning hug by her still ecstatic cousin Haku.

"Stop worrying," Haku giggled softly. "Naruto-sama told me to spend what time we have together."

Shiroi's eyebrows twisted up into clear disbelief. Haku knew that her cousin held all men (in general) in the same light; men walking around with the "sama" tag at the end of their name didn't care a whit for the young women kept under their thumb, at least until age took its toll on their less than attractive (and drooping) feminine charms.

She would have to make her see for herself what made Naruto-sama different and that started during the first night that they stayed up late catching up by swapping stories. Of course, she shared her first and second meeting with her new master complete with "show and tell" for her barely noticeable battle scars.

While Shiroi's opinion of the Uzu Daimyo continued to inch closer to tacit approval, it would not be enough to change her ultimate mission of seducing the Daimyo, bearing his heir (hopefully before anyone else), then assassinating him so that Kiri could drag his entire estate to the Land of Water.

She would be saddened by the death of the man that saved her cousin from certain death, but her duty as a kunoichi came first.

"So... you normally sleep in his bedchamber?"

Haku's smile held a touch of mischief as she considered the question. It was clear that Shiroi was fishing for information and that any information she obtained (beyond the generic knowledge she picked up through daily interaction with the family) would eventually find its way into her Kage's perky hands.

Agh, she hated the woman's eye-grabbing chest! It was bad enough that she had to contend with a house of full-breasted attention mongers. Now she had to fend off wenches from other villages!

And don't get her started on that blonde tart from Kumo! Perhaps Naruto-sama would never see her?

Uh-huh, fat chance of that. The girl's chest turned a corner before the rest of her body like Anko-nee-chan and that purple-headed look-alike on the Siren Squad, but she was getting distracted...

"Normally, yes, I do sleep close to my master but I am not the only one."

She caught the brief flash of surprise on Shiroi's face followed by a quick flip of worried emotion to determination.

Good.

She just realized that she had competition for her master's affections. Haku tried not to smile as she rose from the admittedly very comfortable bed in the room she'd been given but never used before. Sloughing off her barely hanging-on sleeping robe (she wasn't going to change her habits even for Shiroi, whom she loved immensely) and stepped naked as the day she was born into the private shower.

Her equally naked cousin would join her shortly so they could plan out their afternoon of exploration.

~III~

Sakura's steps rang hollowly in her own ears as she plodded along the "main artery" of her home village. The extended market was still available, however, the thronging crowds had begun to simmer down over the past few days. Many of the visitors still huddled within the enormous walls of Konohagakure but the Hokage, during the brief message he put out the day of the attack, told them that things would return back to normal once they were sure any threat to Konoha had been rooted out.

'Wow,' she thought to herself, 'what a crazy few days they had been.'

As if the Chunin Exam Festival wasn't crazy enough, Otogakure tried to invade them. 'Just what were they thinking anyway? I mean... to pull something like that on their own without backup from another more established village? Lunacy!'

'And we know a bit about lunacy, don't we?'

Sakura flinched to a stop, her eyes blinking sheepishly as they darted about the semi-congested thoroughfare hoping no one could hear the extra voice in her head. She always worried that people could hear it or that she spoke aloud without realizing she'd done so.

What would they think the people of her own village if they could hear some of her less than savory thoughts?

'They'd lock us away faster than Chouji could inhale a fresh protein bar and you know it.'

Despite the shiver crawling up her spine, Sakura had to agree with her inner advisor. The two didn't always see eye to eye but there wasn't much she could disagree with at that statement.

Every shinobi and kunoichi in service to Konoha underwent an initial psyche evaluation and periodic reviews to "test their suitability for service." To be honest, Sakura had no idea how she passed her mind walk by the blond horde of Yamanakas that descended on her academy class.

Perhaps they just overlooked Inner Sakura?

'Sure, let's go with that.'

Shaking off the dark chill raking its talons along her spinal column, the pinkette resumed her heavy-hearted trek to Konoha General, her mind trying desperately to erase the painful memories of just a few days before during their final team meet up.

'He was extremely upset, wasn't he?' It was bad enough her inner monologue wasn't yelling at the top of her lungs anymore but the unsettling giggle accompanying her latest comment was... unnerving.

That didn't make her wrong, however.

Kakashi's lackadaisical announcement that Team Kakashi, a.k.a. Team Seven, was being permanently disbanded due to his surprise appointment as the Godaime Hokage was, at first well-received. Chouji heartily congratulated their sensei, even after it became clear that another sensei was not coming forward to take the reins relegating them all to the reserves. They could petition then for an open spot or seek apprenticeship as they saw fit.

It was at this point that the wheels came off the proverbial cabbage cart.

Sasuke apparently felt he deserved to be the apprentice of the Godaime Hokage and felt insulted that Kakashi hadn't immediately offered the solution.

Kakashi politely laughed in his face and walked away.

'Man! The words that came out of poor Sasuke-kuuuun's face when that happened... HA!'

Outer Sakura winced at both the surprise increase in volume and the still stinging memory of that particular event. Sasuke-ku-... Sasuke unleashed his anger on anyone and everyone in sight and it was a horrific thing to behold or be subjected to.

Chouji, smart man that he was, grunted disgustingly at his raven-haired teammate and left mid-rant. Sakura would hear the next day that he'd put his name in for heavy combat.

'None were spared, not even his most devoted servant.'

Sakura's face twisted up in anger. 'I am no-one's servant!'

'You sure about that?' Inner cooed. 'You've pandered to his every whim. You've followed him around for years catering to his ungrateful needs, oftentimes at great cost to yourself and what has it gotten you?'

She wanted to yell back, to argue against the claims but her shame knew better. Some of the things he yelled at her, though spiteful, were undeniably true. Some things, however, could be changed. Sakura swore that day she'd never need anyone's charity again. She'd find her own way and show him what his narrow-minded view of the world missed out on.

She was neither worthless nor holding him back.

'That-a-girl.'

And that pledge is what brought her to the front lobby of Konoha General where her first day of training in medical ninjutsu was about to begin. Soaking up the sterile atmosphere of the lobby, her heart just a touch lighter than before, she nearly choked on her own spit when she caught the stern face, folded arms, and enormous chest of the legendary Slug Princess staring off into the distance.

Having sensed the tense atmosphere in the room as patients tried to contain their groans, moans, and coughs, Sakura figured her time was better spent heading up to the third-floor training wing where Shizune-sempai would be holding class in the next ten minutes.

She could be envious of Tsunade-sama's gravity-defying boobs later.

'See? You're smarter already.'

Sakura pointedly ignored her inner demon. She was done holding herself back for a boy that didn't want her.

~III~

"I hope you're proud of yourself."

The words, mocking and condescending as they were, sounded odd when uttered through the immature vocal cords of an eight-year-old. Stranger still that such comments failed to produce an adult rebuke or response given the large number of adults easily within earshot, that is until you considered the silent target of those comments.

"Nothing? You have nothing to say for yourself?" The venom dripping from her metaphorical fangs was especially toxic and un-Hyūga-like.

This had been some of her closest family to betray her. To betray her father.

Hanabi Hyūga, freshly freed from her kidnapping stasis, was livid and had been livid for the last two days as she vented her displeasure upon the heirs of each Elder responsible for her family's suffering. Her grandmother coming out of her reclusive retirement to help train her descendant had been a huge boon in that regard since someone needed to teach her how to apply the Caged Bird Seal to the children of her hated enemies without killing them outright.

Only one had died right away. Her grandmother thought the other would recover in time.

Nervous and still-angry fingers ghosted lightly across her own forehead where the ink had been still wet right before her own grandfather was preparing to charge the seal before Hokage-sama's summons had interrupted the process. If the panicked had not burst into the chamber stating there was a team of Tracking ANBU (ANBu known to be very sensitive to chakra fluctuations) at the gates...

She shook away the memory knowing there was still had a great deal to learn but, for now, her focus was on the unmoving person she used to call "Sofu."

At the moment, unfortunately, she did not care that her behavior was very "un-Hyūga-like." She was far too busy harassing her grandfather through the bars of his medium-security ANBU cell.

The figure in question was sitting placidly on the uncomfortable cot of his shared living quarters, his shoulders squared defiantly with his face and eyes turned resolutely to the opposite wall of his cell. The equally despondent Hansuke sat wordlessly across from his former patron on his own cot, his matching eyes locked on the dull bricks of his new existence.

Hoshiko, the sole Elder not either dead or incarcerated, was doing her best to hold back her granddaughter. Her very hostile eyes, on the other hand, were attempting to sear her former husband's flesh from the safety of the hallway. Hoshiko-sama had all but washed her hands of the self-decimating clan and retired to a small cabin in a far corner of the Hyūga's vast estate, but her smallest family member needed her now more than ever.

Her divorce documents, handily signed by the new clan head, came conveniently delivered with the Sandaime Hokage's approving chop affixed to the bottom and in perfect timing with her canceled retirement.

Her eyes narrowed even further at the idiocy of a man she'd once grown to care for but never loved during their arranged marriage and could see the arrogance that would destroy his own family for the undiscerning love of clan over all else. In that moment of perfect clarity, the misery of such a realization almost broke her spirit.

Such a waste. It was all such an avoidable waste.

Hoshiko swore at that moment, with a clean slate and no other elders to corrupt her latest student... her last student... that she would teach the child better and accomplish what the men of the clan refused to do. She had demonstrated that dreaded seal and applied it to the children of the former elders to protect her granddaughter under the strongest oath that the girl could give that she'd never use it again. She wanted an iron-clad blood oath that this horrible abomination would die out with this last generation in return for closure and she'd obtained it.

A spiraling heiress unable to avenge the death of her father and sister could never start fresh. There would be too many wounds to haunt her nightmares. Even in her self-imposed exile, reports of the surviving Uchiha heir and the disaster that was his life reached Hoshiko-sama's ears.

She wasn't a fool either and just a verbal promise meant nothing in the world of the shinobi. To that end, she employed the harshest security measure available to her clan and even that borrowed from the fabled Uzumaki: the Kishoumon Blood Seal[1].

Hoshiko shivered remembering the day her own blood oath Fūinshiki had been applied between her then-budding breasts as a newly promised kunoichi bride. Though the barbaric practice was thankfully abolished with the death of poor Hitomi-chan, she had no compunction about reviving it if its use insured the death of a far worse one.

The Caged Bird Seal needed to die a horrible death and, to do that, she'd rely on a lesser seal, though the term lesser was relative.

Both seals caused death. The Kishoumon didn't actually summon the Shinigami to effect it but death was most definitely assured. Using blood and chakra from the person to be sealed, it created a simple three-element array.

The first element was a simple chakra battery that siphoned passive chakra castoff to fill itself over time. Usually, a year was sufficient to fully charge the element for what would be needed since the victim's blood and chakra synched itself to the host to prevent the person bearing the seal from "fighting off" the final consequences of the second element; the Contract.

The Contract was exactly what it said. "If I fail to do 'A,' then 'B' occurs." Going into the creation of this element, there were certain contingencies that could lead to a spiral evolution creating an element hosting upwards of hundreds of logic vectors, depending upon how thorough you needed to be in its crafting. Hoshiko didn't need complicated but she did need concrete in the form of, "You will never apply the Caged Bird Seal to another living person so long as you live" sort of concrete backed by a handy ranged trigger - up to ten kilometers - should she need one. Which brings us to the most important element of the dreaded blood oath, the spike.

All of that chakra served a purpose. The fact that it was synced to the host meant that you couldn't fight or resist it when triggered, either remotely or directly and why it was always positioned either on the forehead or the over the heart.

It was a concentrated pulse of chakra meant to explode either the brain or the heart of the host should they break the contract. While a direct trigger could be difficult to achieve, hence the sometimes need for hundreds of logic vectors and definitions, the chakra sequence for applying the Caged Bird Seal was very specific and could be "programmed" directly into the contract. As there were only two Hyūga alive - and with enough freedom - with the ability to apply the seal with impunity (and she was one of them), it made containment moving forward a very simple problem.

Glancing down at the clenched jawbone of her new charge, Hoshiko was infinitely pleased that young Hanabi could not reach through the bars of her grandfather's cell to apply the curse directly to his forehead.

It would be a shame for the girl to spike herself to death over an unnecessary case of revenge.

placing a gentle but firm hand on the girl's shoulder to steer her away from the two men that would be dead by the end of the day.

It had been very satisfying to hand them both their own personal copies of the Execution Order signed by the new Hyūga Clan Head granting Konoha the right to behead them publicly right before burning them into dust and scattering their ashes along the floor of the Forest of Death, a former shinobi lord buried among other nameless thieves, brigands, and traitors.

It would be a fitting epitaph.

Hoshiko did break her vaunted Hyūga discipline enough to smile for that.

~III~

Seated comfortably on a stool in the hotel-sized bathroom scrubbing his hair with shampoo ended with an extra pair of hands massaging his scalp, the owner's heavy breasts pressed into his back. Another pair took charge of his left side while the last pair commandeered his right. Naruto couldn't deny their skill and the soothing benefits as each girl massaged the stiffness from protesting muscles. It was the fact that he couldn't be allowed to manage on his own anymore that bothered him.

He'd managed just fine in his first two lives. Hell, he was managing just fine up until recently in this one. He didn't want to feel like an invalid. It wasn't a sensation he relished.

Kaa-chan kept insisting that, as a Daimyo, he should get used to the attention as it would become his life moving forward before it eventually worsened, a comment that never failed to set his teeth on edge. The incessant pampering was almost as bad as his morning and afternoon workouts being curtailed to a single two-hour session.

If he didn't figure something out, they were going to dull his edge and that would be horrible once Akatsuki came to call. Worse than that, it could be fatal to those that he loved.

His thoughts, along with his mild glare, were washed away along with the shampoo by the bucket of water dumped on his head. He'd have to revisit his thoughts when he had a free moment to think without being surrounded by supple flesh and questing hands as he was now.

The flesh was so distracting, especially when it was wet. It tended to squeak and slide across his skin in such-.

Naruto had to withhold a heavy sigh. Mornings used to be a simple affair but now...

What used to take no more than five minutes now took almost an hour and that was with the help of his "new" personal body servants wearing barely more than the smirking Guardians toweling off their glistening bodies. Still, he stood as still as possible and bore through it at the request of his beloved adopted Kaa-san as the Guardians were only the first wave.

The Sirens were dutifully waiting to pounce on him once he emerged from the tub of steaming water and pressed flesh.

Akimi helped him slide on the pristine Juban kimono once the fair Kaiyo-chan finished toweling him dry. Once Akimi placed his hand along the starched edge of the under kimono to help hold it in place, the ruby-eyed Maeko-chan moved in from his back with the royal blue Montsuki kimono while the honey-eyed purplette, Ōzuoku-chan, stepped in front of him to tie on the traditional haori-himo.

It was a dance, a beautiful dance of cloth and silk as the four women who'd mastered their trade of seduction and ceremony dressed him in the garb of his office.

The finely-striped salt-and-pepper hakama and snow-like tabi followed swiftly after as Akimi put the finishing touches with the Uzumaki-marked battle fan tucked into his hakama-matching obi. His new zori sandals would await him at the entry foyer as his escort for the day made their final checks. Two pairs of hands affixed the dark blue haori so that it wouldn't slide off repeatedly, taking extra care to flatten the quintet of Uzumaki-Namikaze mon so that each shown clearly - one each to the front and one larger Uzu sigil in the middle of the back bordered by two smaller Namikaze on either shoulder blade.

Only royals wore five and the distinction still annoyed the former orphan but he shrugged it off. He had "normal" things to do today and couldn't afford to get bogged down in the minutia. No more moping for him.

He wanted to visit Yugao-nee and start the process to extract her from the hospital's evil clutches. He needed to submit the paperwork to place Karin officially within the Uzumaki Clan. He wanted to visit Ino now that the Daimyo issue, so he'd been told, was resolved. Afterward, he might even visit his office in the ambassador wing of the Hokage Tower.

He had soo much already on his plate for the day.

Naruto felt optimistic as he slid downstairs only to find a stern-faced Keina in her Kage robes staring heatedly at the closed front door.

Moving on to the generally-recognized morning meeting spot of the home - the breakfast nook - he passed by without giving her distraction another thought. If she wanted him to know, she'd tell him.

It must have been a "Kage-thing."

[Main Entry to the Uzumaki Estate, Five Minutes Before]

Keina, as always, began her mornings before dawn running through her own specially tailored, S-ranked training program. Now that she was the Uzukage, she'd make sure that sloth never took away her edge. More than ever she needed to stay keen as a katana's edge.

Her fledgling family demanded no less.

The house was already a-bustle with activity as the latest additions to the house garrison but she couldn't have been happier. The Umihebi had been extremely gracious upon finding out that their "Walker" was already being beset upon by enemies, gracious to the point of providing a rotating force augmentation of one hundred hatchlings to bolster their sentries. Their six Guardians remained the pinnacle of Umihebi foot soldiers but one-hundred A-borderline-S-ranked shinobi guards under her direct control until the Uzumaki were back to full strength? That in and of itself was a huge benefit as his personal Guardians and Sirens could focus solely on Naruto without wearing themselves thin standing evening security watches.

From Ellamus' telling of it all, Poseidus had his talons full whittling down the volunteers to just that hundred as the entire hatchling colony was threatening to storm Konoha's walls in order to protect their fledgling leader. Never again would they suffer their beloved Walker to dangerous fools and the Boss Summons had to finesse some fancy flipper work to prevent another hatchling uprising this time around.

With the "One Hundred" as they were already calling themselves now chosen, Poseidus announced that the assignment would be merit-based, meaning that others could be chosen to fill the roster if they proved their skill worthy, and the roster would be revisited annually regardless to rotate in fresh members. Those that excelled stayed. Those that fell behind would be replaced. This gave both hope and incentive as the Grotto's training grounds rang with the sounds of effort and strain of next year's batch.

Forty at a time would rotate into the temporary tent village being established on the grounds until a more permanent structure could be built. Twenty at a time would break up into daily watches and keep the guard.

Once established on the grounds, they relieved so much of the day-to-day stress that she was free to focus on more pressing items... like finding enough servants for the house that she could actually trust or the crane-faced ANBU bracketed by two very untrusting katana-wielding Hebi hatchlings standing just beyond her door.

She would have to be extra-appreciative to the surly Boss summons; his band of hatchlings were extra diligent in their duties.

"..."

She could out-wait the sour agent's silence.

"..."

As the senior figure, she was under no hurry to speak first but the hatchlings, dressed in similar garb to the Sirens as only the elite Guardians wore their very distinctive gear, grew impatient and calmly laid calloused palms to freshly oiled sword hilts. Though the nervous ANBU got the intent of their gesture, she'd have to speak with them about keeping the oil to a minimum so they didn't lose their grip at an inopportune moment.

A gloved hand holding a summons floated up from the agent's side prompting a thin eyebrow to rise in turn.

"The Candidate Hokage has summoned Genin Uzumaki to his office," the agent nearly croaked out. Dealing with the former Commander being terrifying enough, he could hear the leather bindings on the swords behind him creak ominously letting the visibly nervous agent know just how short his "leash" was in this early morning encounter.

Ignoring the overwhelming urge to ask who the Hokage's replacement was going to be, Keina instead focused on her pique at the man (or woman's) hubris.

"There is no 'Genin Uzumaki' here." She let her clipped tones end there, her arms folding across the flattening pillows of her chest instead of reaching to take the missive.

"There is a Daimyo here that, in your case, answers to the name 'Naruto-omo' or 'Uzumaki-omo'," she continued briskly, "or 'Daimyo-omo', but no 'Genin Uzumaki'. If he wishes to speak with our Daimyo, he can schedule an appointment like anyone else or he can arrange to meet with me, the Uzukage-dono."

Her emphasis on each suffix was made painfully clear that disrespect in any form would be short-lived.

Without another word, despite the rise in the masked figure's shoulders as they inhaled to speak, she closed the door on his face and left him to the tender loving care of the two growling and aggressive A-ranked hatchlings breathing down his neck. It's time Konoha learned some manners when speaking to someone of a higher station even if that person didn't have the same military or political pressure the larger village could bring to bear.

A very dark smile graced her pink lips knowing that such a national disparity was quickly being done away with given Naruto's panache for making alliances. Her eyes narrowed to match her predatory grin as names like the Land of Flowers, the Land of Spring, and the Land of Wind (believe it or not) crossed her mind.

It was a good start.

And that was how Naruto found her when he reached the ground floor in search of a morning meal.

~III~

"For the record," the figure trudging miserably along to his left began, "this is a very bad idea."

If it wasn't such a pain to keep twisting his head about enough to view Asuma Sarutobi's angst with his one uncovered eye, Kakashi would have done it simply to glare unrelentingly.

"Sack up, Sarutobi. I need your father to come out of his self-imposed exile so we can actually start his turnover." Kakashi's signature orange distraction was nowhere to be seen as he trudged along with his hands thrust deeply into standard Konoha tactical gear. "The sooner you rip the band-aid off, the sooner you all can move on with your miserable lives and I can clean up the mess your clan left for me."

Asuma bristled at the insult.

Kakashi could literally feel the irritation rolling off of his peer. Good. Perhaps he could understand how the one-eyed elite had been feeling for the better part of two decades even if most of that time had little to do with Clan Sarutobi.

Even better that he kept his trap shut as they stalked through the main entry to Konoha General and straight to the high-security ward protecting their target for the day.

While elevators weren't ancient miracle technology, they were cost-prohibitive for all but the obnoxiously wealthy or significantly larger villages. Konoha only had the two - both in the hospital - and they both were used to move critical patients.

Only one went to the restricted floors.

It also required extreme levels of security clearance not to get immediately wrecked by the squad of ANBU assassins waiting at the end of the only hallway leading from the elevator doors to the single V.I.P. room covering most of the secured wing.

As the prospective Godaime Hokage, Kakashi stepped past the four silent killers without breaking stride and would have continued unhindered if not for the sound of a gloved hand slapping to the shoulder of his fellow visitor. He tried not to scowl overly much as he listened to the unnecessary drama play out behind him.

"Hey! What are you doing?! That's my brother and my father in there!" Asuma was justifiably perturbed.

"You are not on the approved visitor's list," hissed the wolf faced ANBU blocking his path.

While Asuma's eyes shot to the back of Kakashi's head, the three killers in ANBU Black never took their eyes off the middle Sarutobi.

"Leave him." Kakashi's voice sounded very much put-upon but the emotionless guards eventually relented. The conversation needing to happen inside the room was going to be tough enough as it was.

It took a hearty tug on the reinforced handles to open the door, the high flow negative ventilation system intended to keep the atmosphere inside as germ and contaminant-free as possible. Once the door closed behind them with the seal-sucking sound of reverse pressurization, both shinobi were presented with the hardened scowl of the Sandaime Hokage.

The old man's voice was anything but conciliatory.

"You are not welcome here."

Kakashi's visible eye narrowed by the barest of margins. He didn't really have time for all this family drama.

"C'mon pop, I had nothing to do with this! I had my hands full enough trying to keep my Genin team from killing each other." Then his darker brows knitted up and he jabbed a finger towards the heavily sedated figure safely tucked under scratchy hospital blankets as he growled out, "and that's my flesh and blood just like yours."

Kakashi noted that Old Man Sarutobi's posture never relaxed, his stance firmly entrenched between his elder son sleeping peacefully beneath the eerie green glow and his next in line. If this was going to end amicably, he'd need to lend a hand.

"He's telling the truth you know."

Red-rimmed eyes beneath snow-colored brows twitched in the cyclops' direction. "And you are positive of this? You'd guarantee your life in the surety of his claim of innocence?"

Well, that clearly changed the tiger's color. Kakashi swore the old man's right hand twitched in preparation for an offensive seal of some sort but he nodded positively and pressed on. "I used Pakkun to set up a meet between Enma and myself."

This did get the old man to turn his head.

"It seemed he wouldn't show up if Asuma called. Kept sending some lackey saying he'd only come when you pulled your stubborn head out of your-."

Hiruzen interrupted the rest of it with an annoyed snarl. "Foolish primate!" the old man hissed. "He betrays me then faults me for the need of it?!"

Asuma surprised the last Hatake and screwed up some courage from some hidden well to face his old man.

"He used your own words, or some very similar to what you told the Daimyo yesterday, against you." The younger Sarutobi, regardless of Kakashi's opinion of him, didn't back down from the second hateful glare sent his way. "He said a summons that cannot trust his summoner to do the right thing is less than worthless."

Shock snapped Hiruzen's eyebrows upwards as rheumy eyes tried to blink it away. "Do... the right thing?"

Kakashi settled in near the door hoping the momentum could continue without his aid. He had a schedule to keep after all.

"He complained you had not one but two chances to do something about Orochimaru and failed both times. When nii-san," here Asuma had to force down a swallow, "came to him with a plan to stand up in your place, King Enma agreed to it and supported him saying something like, 'It was long overdue' and that you lacked the conviction to follow through with what needed to be done."

Watching the older Sarutobi gape like a land-bound Koi fish was rather painful but Kakashi shrugged it off. The old man wasn't necessarily innocent in his book anyway. As far as he was concerned, this was Karma reaching around to take its pound of flesh.

It took another few minutes to get the old man moving in the right direction but it did happen. It was peace but Kakashi would accept the ceasefire to meet his personal objectives. He would protect his sensei's legacy since no one else seemed to give a rat's arse.

Outwardly oblivious to the Sandaime's turmoil, he kept both clan starlets shuffling down the elevator and towards the exit praying that nothing else impeded their progress.

Then "Hurricane Tsunade" struck and he had to stifle a vitriolic stream of curses.

~III~

The village itself seemed to be holding his breath Naruto noticed as he covered the distance from his estate to the hospital. People moved about cautiously, their bodies tensed to flee as if expecting an attack from any direction at any moment. Shinobi seemed to find any street corner or rooftop justification enough to linger and glare menacingly at anyone casually standing about, almost as if they expected hostilities to strike up at the drop of a kunai. It was almost as if all of Konoha had taken one monumental breath before preparing to dive right back into a world of chaos and bloodshed.

It was almost as if the previous two days of peace had been a horrible lie just waiting for the Shinigami to return and pull back the fake veneer covering a disgustingly cheerful day. It was as if Death itself waited to pull the rug of life out from beneath their very feet in a moment of churlish pettiness.

Naruto paid superficial attention to the bowstring-taut nerves of Konoha's citizenry though he did take note. They played very little into his mental calculus of the day's agenda.

With Umi once again bulldozing his way through any of the crowd foolish enough to impede his Walker, great progress was made by the whole Uzu procession in his wake. Soyo-chan, Nisshoku-chan, and Kira-chan formed his inner right, left, and rear orbits respectively, while Sanda and Ishi formed the slightly wider base of the three-point outer triangle made by the larger males. He was not lacking for protection, especially with the Sirens taking to the rooftops, much to the delight of his personal protectors.

It did make things awkward like when Lee wanted to gift him with a youthful greeting - which was rapidly aborted by Umi's "Warning Snarl, Grade Two" (he has seven if you're curious). Or when one of the vendors still intent on making his life miserable tried to accidentally dump out a bucket of wastewater on the passing dignitary only to end up with Umi lacing the incoming deluge with chakra so that he could send it back to its sputtering owner, the same owner being pinned to the stoop of his shop by no less than two of the Sirens while another Guardian unsheathed her sword in preparation for his beheading on the spot.

A passing ANBU squad was able to diffuse the incident with a stern warning to the shop owner's execution before the purplette Siren could inflict more than a half-dozen bruises on his sniffling and swollen face. All Konoha ANBU involved pointedly ignored questions concerning what would have happened if it had been Daimyo Shijimi having dirty dishwater heaved in his direction and everyone moved on from there.

Crises averted, Naruto strode further unimpeded into the entryway to Konoha General to catch snippets of Tsunade reading the Konoha Riot Act to Hiruzen, Kakashi, and Asuma who was standing there with an utterly confused look on his face as he glanced frantically from his father to the one-eyed Jounin.

Snippets like, "Why wasn't she released with all of the wounded Suna nins yesterday if she's not under arrest?" and, "Now I understand why you have my staff keep her under Iryo sedation and that ends now!" caught in his bijū-enhanced hearing as he passed by. Not wanting to get drawn into the discussion clearly not meant for him, he moved smartly on making his way to Neko-chan's room hoping to hear the good news of her recovery.

When Hana tore open the door and thrust a kunai through space his head formerly occupied, he realized that good news was far from the norm for today. Dodging her strike stopping Soyo-chan's return thrust by grabbing her wrist turned out to be more difficult than he imagined but he succeeded.

"Whoa! Whoa! It's me!" Naruto tried not to flinch at the strong push from Soyo-chan's arm.

Glancing past the angry Inuzuka's shoulder showed a slowly relaxing Anko and Kurenai lowering, but not stowing away, similarly clutched weaponry.

"Prove it!" the dog nin barked out defensively.

Naruto blinked at the retort but chalked it up to frayed nerves and the lack of her Haimaru Brothers since the hospital refused to allow them inside its controlled environment. He'd humor her.

"Um... I made the mistake of staring at your cleavage the first time we met and you made your dogs chase me half-way across Konoha."

Hana, despite the rapid-blooming blush hitting her cheeks, slapped her kunai home into his carry pouch and promptly zipped up her normally open vest. She'd put up with the added pressure on her chest for now.

Once the normally docile kunoichi backed away, he dropped his defensive palm, released Soyo-chan's wrist, and stepped (cautiously) in the room motioning for his personal escort to stay put in the hallway, an order they clearly disagreed with given the Inuzuka's greeting. He knew the Sirens would be watching the outside and he'd be (relatively) safe inside with these three aggressive women.

"Okay," he chimed out once he greeted the other two standing guard, "someone wanna tell me what happened to earn me that kind of welcome?"

Hana mumbled out a testy, "Sorry," but didn't elaborate so he turned to Anko for an answer - after she buried his face in her chest to make up for Hana's violent hello. She had no issues with Naruto ogling her cleavage.

"As you know, we've been watching over "Sleeping Beauty" here since they patched her up. Never did figure out why they keep coming in every twelve hours to dope her up but the med nins keep saying, 'It's by order of the Hokage' and move on about their business." She surrendered a helpless shrug then turned to Kurenai who picked up the story.

"Last night I was watching over her and got up to use the bathroom down the hall." She sighed heavily. "When I returned because I wanted to refill my water bottle while I was away, I found a Suna nin approaching her bed with a kunai gripped in his right hand."

"He must have been watching and waiting for an opening," Anko proffered by way of explanation.

"...and we've been tripled-up ever since!"

Naruto nodded at the angry dog kunoichi's summation and locked eyes with an extremely weary Anko who appeared frustrated beyond belief and bordering on tears, something he never thought he'd see on the hardened Tokujo.

"We're running out of time, Gaki. Hatake keeps pressuring us to return to active duty and I've only got another week of leave time as it is." She limply flapped an arm in Kurenai's direction. "Hana's mom says her clan will support her but she can't do it by herself and Nai-chan is dipping into savings for this."

Suddenly, Tsunade's raging evisceration of Konoha's leadership in the lobby made more sense as his mind pieced together the puzzle.

Yugao was on administrative leave without pay pending investigation which meant she couldn't leave Konoha until the investigation was concluded. It also meant that she couldn't, unless the Hokage authorized it, make use of ANBU services and facilities meaning she'd be kept here in minimum security unless there was a specific threat to her life or she was a wanted criminal herself. Things didn't quite fit until he added in the continued chakra-induced coma, allegedly for her own protection, and the minimum security of her current room.

They wanted her alone and were expecting her to be helpless hopefully so that the issue with Suna could resolve itself without having to publicly give her over as a peace offering. Apparently, with the Suna delegation - and all of their shinobi - bound to leave the day after the state dinner, which was tonight, friends of the Suna nin she killed in a fit of rage were getting antsy to put an end to her and avenge their fallen comrades.

And Konoha was going to allow it, or even facilitate, this revenge on a crime that came about because of a crime no one in Suna would be forced to atone or be held accountable for due to international politicking. The whole mess sickened him.

So much for the vaunted Will of Fire.

His eyes narrowed as he wrapped his arms around Anko's waist, his face turning to lock gazes with Kurenai over her bulging mound of mesh-wrapped flesh.

"Is she safe to move?" he asked.

Hana's growling-filled pacing came to an immediate halt and he could feel Anko tense momentarily, her arms tightening around his shoulders.

"Um," Kurenai began hesitantly, "doctors say she can be moved at any time as soon as the sedation order is lifted."

"You can consider the order lifted," came the still-pissed voice of Tsunade Senju from the still-open door to the room.

Naruto spun to look over his shoulder without releasing Anko from his embrace and met eyes with the Slug Sannin. "Then release her to my custody, effective immediately."

On cue, three higher-ranked kunoichi began to protest and sputter that he didn't need to risk his family this way before he silenced them with one raised palm, his eyes never leaving Tsunade's curious stare. It was a good thing he was a Daimyo and could pull rank.

"Her tab needs to be settled up before we can release her," the busty blonde cautioned.

"Since Konoha kept her forcefully sedated unnecessarily, you can send the bill for that portion to the Hokage with my condolences." His face broke out into a cruel smirk. "The rest I'll happily pay for."

With a returning smirk of her own, Tsunade stepped into the room without another word, the palm of her left hand glowing a brilliant emerald green as she placed her fingers along the temple depressions of the sleeping kunoichi just long enough for light brown eyes to flutter open in groggy surprise.

"See me at the front desk when you're ready to square up the bill, Gaki," she grunted out as she strode by. She even managed to bury her desire to crush him in one of her patented bear hugs as she passed by him the second time.

Rather than argue, Anko latched on to Naruto's face and began trying to vacuum the air from his lungs with her lips, much to the unhappy growls from his heavily armed security detail still in the hallway. Not even Yugao's confused, "Ngh, what-what's going on?" could make her laugh enough to ease up on her lip-lock.

The need for air would, however, be enough and as Naruto stumbled his way to the front desk, Anko assured him that they'd get her cleaned up and to the house in short order.

It was good enough for him.

~III~

Though Kakashi was pleased enough with Hiruzen's final return to the office, it was clear that the man's mind was not on business but instead the condition of his eldest son, and with good reason.

Kyousuke, if barely and with help from Tsunade, survived a lethal poison administered at the tip of Orochimaru's notorious Kusanagi no Tsurugi, the Grass-Cutting Sword. Surviving the rather lethal application by stabbing was not without follow-on hazards as the poison turned out to be a particularly nasty strain of the necrotic sort and the blade was close enough to nick the left ventricle. A nick as it turned out was more than enough for the poison to begin digesting what was once a strong shinobi muscle: his heart.

Quick-acting ANBU were able to place him in a stasis scroll for rapid transfer to the hospital and a patiently-waiting Sannin. It would not be enough to prevent irreparable damage to the heart wall and force Tsunade to medically discharge the next Hokage from active duty before his reign could even begin.

Hiruzen, of course, would take the news very poorly lashing out at any and every person he thought had a hand in his reverse summoning and detention by his own summoning clan. Most notably he would lash out repeatedly to the Toad Sage for the powerful Fūinjutsu inscribed on the pillow delivered to him by Neko that enabled his temporary paralysis and transfer the moment smoke bombs blocked all vision of the Kage box.

Even worse would be his unshakeable belief that ANBU agent Yugao Uzuki was complicit up to her prettily arched eyebrows. That belief would lead to the "casually mentioned" solution provided to Suna's senior military member still in Konoha following the failed Oto invasion: the Suna Jounin Baki.

'If only her nosy friends weren't still lingering about,' Kakashi silently lamented. 'This would all be resolved by now.' He didn't dislike Yugao but politics appeared to be a Hokage's bread and butter and her situation was spoiling the feast.

His heavy footsteps followed behind the man he once trusted above all others, his single eye narrowed as it flickered to the calendar open to the current month of July. Twenty-seven more days and he wouldn't have to listen to either the old man or the spoiled Senju brat and he could get started with one last personal project.

Even as the old man settled in to walk him through the day's mountain of paperwork gibberish, Kakashi forced on a smile and tried to pay attention.

He could handle this for four more weeks if it squared things up with Minato-sensei. Just four more weeks and the imposters would pay...

His hand almost habitually touched the spot of his vest covering the manila envelope stored in a small seal.

The sound of Kuren thumping to the floor haphazardly startled all three men out of their respective daydreams, Kakashi having completely forgotten about the younger Sarutobi male seated petulantly on the office sofa. He'd have to deal with the chain smoker later as his future agent seemed a bit "scuffed up" at the moment.

"What happened?"

Kakashi bit his tongue, his eye flickering to the current Hokage while he checked for the same response.

"Ahem," the lanky ANBU tried to regain a stoic posture for his report, "the subject's guardian reacted poorly to the summons."

Hiruzen blinked in shock.

"Whom were you trying to summon and why?" The old man's eyes narrowed when he distinctly noticed the agent, one of his agents, looking pointedly to Kakashi and waiting for an approving nod before answering.

He'd make the youth pay for that later. For now, he wanted answers.

"Genin Uzumaki at the prospective Hokage's direction, Hokage-sama."

The air in the room chilled to an impressive degree and Kuren, to his credit tried not to flinch. He failed then flinched again at the Hokage's decree of punishment.

"Report to Bear for remedial training."

That pronouncement actually caused the three ANBU hidden in Hiruzen's office as his personal guard detail to flinch violently; Bear was a training nut believed to be secretly related to Gai Maito or at least he was the one semi-sane graduate of the man's homicidal training program.

With a head lowered in abject misery, Kuren vanished in a wobbly [Body Flicker] technique leaving Hiruzen to turn his glare on an unrepentant Kakashi.

"Have you gone insane?"

Kakashi, for his part, refused to answer and instead walked calmly from the office stating he'd return tomorrow when the Hokage was feeling more reasonable, much to the stunned disbelief of the Sarutobi Clan members (and Hokage guard) left behind.

~III~

Despite the fact that he'd been showered a second time and the second fact that his robes had changed colors to a burgundy kimono bracketed by royal blue hakama and haori accouterments, the frown on Naruto's face hadn't changed one single bit. The two smaller mon on his back had moved to the elbows of his kimono but Kaa-san informed him that this change was in fashion at the moment and, while he didn't need to be flashy, he needed to be contemporary otherwise it would reflect poorly with customers.

He relented with a sigh realizing he'd probably never get to pick his own clothes again.

For the state dinner, not every attending dignitary came from a village big enough to have a Kage but they were allowed to bring a single escort for security purposes. To balance the Kage disparity, those Daimyo fortunate enough to have one were "encouraged" to bring the Kage as their "plus one." Encouraged but not required.

The dust-up that began once the Uzu Delegation was announced - complete with Uzukage - centered around the age-old argument of why were the "Big Five" the only ones allowed to have Kages to begin with, especially if the uppity Uzumaki could just appoint their own?

"So much for bedazzling them with my beauty and charm," Keina grumbled under her breath.

"That's okay Kaa-san," Naruto chirped, "because I find you extremely beautiful and that's all that matters."

He was gentlemanly enough to ignore her blush as they blended in with the Hors d'Oeuvres crowd, Naruto's nimble fingers snagging two oddly shaped spoons with shorter handles that curved upwards to provide a tea-cup style grip. The seasoned rice topped with a tiny sashimi morsel was held together by a mild cream base and went well with either green tea or sake, the latter of which Keina agreed they needed to stay away from for the night. They'd need their wits about them, a fact that became readily evident once the quiet bickering ended and the overly-polite smiles started to appear on people's faces as they sought Uzumaki graces to go with fresh Uzumaki seals.

Naruto, who had been looking for another wandering tray to pilfer from, noticed Keina stiffen next to him and brought his half-filled cup up to his lips as he turned to face in the same direction she was and nearly choked on his tea.

"Uzukage-dono," Hiruzen tilted his head smoothly even as the Lord of the Land of Fire did the same in his direction. The Uzu representatives reciprocated concluding the initial moves of political politeness.

"We are honored for the invitation," Keina responded through a strained smile.

"Please, Uzu no Kuni and Hi no Kuni are ancient friends." Daimyo Shijimi's smile simply oozed sincerity as he spoke. "It was the least we could do!"

Naruto caught the fingers of her left hand twitching from his vantage point and was pretty sure Hiruzen could as well. He was also fairly sure that all three men were aware of how touchy she was about Konoha's heavily-debated "delay" in sending help to the beleaguered nation once Iwa, Kumo, and Kiri attacked with the support of a half-dozen smaller villages, some of which had dignitaries milling about this very gathering.

Choosing discretion over an international incident, Keina gripped his shoulder and moved to pointedly steer them past the anxious smiles of their Konoha hosts pausing to hiss one final afterthought before gliding them both away.

"No, the least you could have done would have been to answer our call for help two months in advance of the invasion that ransacked our home, Allies." That last word was a smoldering hiss. "The least you could do is release back into my custody the guardian sent with the messenger of that plea you ignored."

The two men in question were left shocked, confused, and blinking stupidly into space.

Then they were free right into the open arms and smiling face of Ay, the Yondaime Raikage of Kumogakure.

'Kuso!' both Uzushians mentally chimed.

~III~

Across the room, the veins around his right eye partially hidden by the eye patch and odd hairstyle, Ao flinched enough for his lovely Kage, who was standing with her back to the buffet table and facing him, start.

"What?!" she hissed past a false smile filled with clenched teeth. "What happened?"

He cleared his throat nervously before speaking. "Your Uzukage friend is rather angry with Hiruzen." He allowed his covered Byakugan to regress slowly so the rapid decrease of chakra didn't alert too many nearby shinobi.

"That could be good news for us," Mei began, her face already relaxing as a smile crept across her mouth.

"She is angry with him over Konoha refusing to help Uzushio during the joint operation." Ao refused to call it an invasion even though that's clearly what it was. "Operation" always sounded more socially acceptable, almost sterile in terms of language affectation.

"Oh," came the noticeably deadpanned response.

Any advantage Kiri might have had just imploded courtesy of a fifty-kilogram explosive note. She promptly responded by snatching the nearest sake saucer.

"It is fortunate that you secured an agreement with the Uzu Daimyo for just such an occasion," Ao mentioned softly attempting to bolster his Kage's flagging confidence. It appeared to work as she downed her sake in a single gulp and squared her shoulders, which did amazing things for her bustline.

"Just so," she replied with a wan smile.

"Should we rejoin Daimyo-sama?" he asked almost hesitantly. The snide look and tilt of her head implied he'd taken leave of his senses.

"Why do you think I'm over here with you and no longer slouching uncomfortably?"

Ao merely nodded in acceptance and reached for another thick slice of crusty bread covered in tomatoes, light oil, and fragrant herbs. Whatever it was, it was delicious.

The grabby Water Daimyo could fend for himself for a bit longer.

~III~

Naruto's good mood was quickly dwindling to nothing and they hadn't gone more than a dozen steps into the ballroom hosting the dinner. At this point, all he wanted was to reach the buffet table in peace, and chances of that were looking slim to nil. Then, for the first time since the Chunin Exam Festival began, he caught full view of Samui standing next to her Daimyo from the Land of Lightning.

And scowled like a wounded bear.

"What is she doing here?"

Keina wanted to slap a palm to her face (and the slow closing of her eyes said as much). Any hopes at diplomacy had gone right out the window if Ay's surprised eye blinking were any indication, their Daimyo looking completely lost as he glanced back and forth between Ay, Keina, and the fuming Uzu Daimyo.

It's was Ay's random bout of laughter that caught everyone else off-guard, including Naruto whose gaze switched from keen hatred directed at the abnormally quiet Samui to sheer incredulousness directed at the chuckling mountain of muscle.

"What?" Naruto's outburst was precluded by Keina's firm grip once again on his left shoulder asking him to be still.

"Please, allow me, Daimyo-sama."

It wasn't a request despite the wording but Naruto acquiesced with a soft, "Hai, Kaa-san."

The admission caught the attention of every Kumo resident not chuckling loud enough to cover up the exchange at the moment.

"What, may I ask Raikage-dono, do you find so humorous?"

"Ahem, *cough* I find it funny that your Daimyo is so competitive that he can't let go of a failed-mission loss to a better kunoichi like Samui-chan here." He folded his thick arms in pride.

Samui covered her face with one hand in annoyance.

"Ah, I see now," Keina responded softly.

"See what," the foreign Daimyo piped up so not used to be left out of anything remotely important or interesting. He certainly didn't want to start now.

Blink, blink. Ay's good humor was fading to confusion and partial embarrassment at missing something key.

"You have no clue why he's so upset with her and believe his 'wounded male pride' to be the cause," she summarized.

Ay snorted as if it should be obvious. "And what else could it possibly be?"

Keina looked into the knowing, and embarrassed, faces of the two kunoichi from Cloud and smirked.

"Funny, I knew that the Namikaze had several branches. Five if I'm not mistaken, yes?" Her eyes were locked on the silver-haired Mabui, slim figured and large-breasted (proportionately speaking) as she was, she struck several similarities to the even curvier Samui standing hip-to-hip with her.

"Which branches are you two from?"

There was absolutely zero humor in Ay's frown but what was more telling was the stunned silence from Naruto who was now looking up at her in clear disbelief. Keina made a mental note to work on his poker face with a round of Strip Texas Hold-em. She was positive the girls at the estate would be happy to help.

"Oh, don't be soo surprised, Ay-dono. I've been a part of Konoha's shinobi force for quite some time and I'm well-read in, as it were." The women didn't answer her but they didn't need to.

"The fact that you knew but let her take the mission shows that you have some humanity in you... somewhere." She stepped intimately close to Naruto and placed both hands on his shoulders keenly aware that her right breast was brushing against his left shoulder blade and hoping that it might be enough to distract him from his anger enough to listen.

"Unfortunately, it also shows that you aren't as quick on the draw as I'd hoped." She gently patted Naruto's shoulder. "Shall I clear up the confusion about the failed Namikaze escort mission Naruto still bears a grudge over and why your Kunoichi are embarrassed that you brought them hoping they'd help you get back in our good graces?"

Ay's face grew grim seeing his "well-planned motives" so easily uncovered.

"Shall I use a story? I apologize that my storytelling isn't as good as my Sochi's but I'll do my best." She took the time to grab a sake saucer from a passing tray breaking her self-imposed abstinence for the night as the two older males across from her did the same.

"This story goes back just after the Third Shinobi War early into the Yondaime Hokage's reign. You see, his notoriety during the war reached even Kumo where the main branch of the Namikaze originated from."

She paused to sip sparingly from her drink uncaring that neither joined her just yet.

"One of the main branches of the Namikaze had a son and his family set up shop in Konoha during the second and third wars so, I suppose, you could say this story actually started before the Third war. At any rate, Minato Namikaze's original name had been hidden under so many shinobi rules of secrecy and lies very few knew who he really was or where he came from but that didn't matter to Hiroto Namikaze. Minato was adopted into the family but opted to make a name through martial prowess instead of using his considerable intellect in the family trade.

"You see, the Namikaze branch in Konoha came from the silver Hiroto line of Kumo, the civilian side." Her eyes swept over Mabui's silver hair once again fully aware that the woman's chakra reserves were the result of hard work and tons of training, even if they were still smaller than the average Jounin.

"That didn't stop them from picking up the unwanted orphan seeing as his odd coloring of golden blond hair and deep blue eyes made him unusual enough to not be mistaken for a Yamanaka. Being kind-hearted and generous despite their family trade in military-grade metals and weapons, they had plenty of love for the young Minato." Her hand idly stroked Naruto's golden mane and this time Ay toke note as did his three companions.

"His success despite it being a military career made them proud and soon word reached back to Kumo. As a result, once a year, the patriarch of the branch began making a pilgrimage to Konoha to visit with his first son under the pretenses of reviewing the branch operation. In reality, it was an annual reunion held under the happiest of occasions, even as the family began to die off mysteriously one by one." She cut a nasty glare to Ay knowing his father lay behind most of the trouble, the paranoid bastard.

"In the end and with only Minato left in Konoha, they still came as word reached Hiroto-san that Minato had secretly taken a bride, a fiery-haired Uzumaki princess named Kushina.

"I am told that the family adored her, and looked forward to the birth of their son once that news reached Kumo. A grand reunion was being planned shortly after the time of his expected birth but..." She paused while sad eyes took in Naruto's rapt expression.

"The Kyūbi struck and tragedy fell. With no surviving Namikaze reportedly in the village, the visits stopped and the Namikaze estate went into escrow until an heir could step forward and claim them."

She sipped once more to wet her throat.

"Time passed and the Namikaze kept dwindling as more family members took up the sword under Kumo's continued militarization. Soon, three of the five branches had either been fully wiped out or absorbed by the remaining two until there was only a handful left but, at the last, a flicker of hope returned to the once-proud clan.

"You see, word once again reached Hiroto-san about a blond Academy student with the most peculiar shade of golden hair and the deepest shade of blue to his eyes. Even in a land filled to the brim with blond-haired, blue-eyed Yamanaka, the particular shade of coloring was of strong interest - so I'm told - to the ancient patriarch."

All four Kumo residents snapped their gazes to the very still and very attentive Daimyo yet to take his eyes from his "apparent" mother and the Daimyo in question reflexively downed his drink reaching for another as a tray passed by within reach.

"The visits began up again as the organization once run by the Namikaze scion of Konoha was still being run as part of a trust fund for an unidentified heir. This sparked their curiosity but Konoha refused to reveal any other information other than 'it was deeply classified,' meaning it was not to be discussed, which made no sense to the patriarch and his family unless this mysterious heir was perhaps, oh, I don't know," she paused to send a peevish glare to the Raikage, "a shinobi perhaps?"

"The visits continued and, during the final year of the blond's attendance at Konoha's academy, one final visit was planned. Correspondence indicated a special request was being made by the ailing patriarch who was, by now bordering on what? His eighties?

"He didn't have too many trips left in his weary bones. As it was, old Hiroto-san was relying on palanquins and porters to make the trip with the assistance of his remaining close family."

"Keina." Hiruzen's stern voice cautioned from over her left shoulder and she pointedly ignored the warning.

"It's no longer your secret to keep, Hiruzen." When their brief stare war ended with her victory, Keina returned to her story.

"Wait a minute," Mabui began. "As Raikage-sama's aide, I helped negotiate a couple of those visit requests and the only person I spoke with was..." her eyes ballooned in shock as the quietly smiling redhead nodded once.

"I was always impressed with the professionalism of your writing," Keina returned enjoying the rapid ballooning of Ay's eyes as he finally chugged his drink with a cough.

He'd never been much of a drinker beyond the quad-daily protein drink. That didn't stop him from reaching for a refill.

"Where was I?" She feigned confusion before picking up with, "Ah, yes. Hiroto-san was coming for one last visit.

"As per the usual agreement, a Konoha team would meet with the Kumo escort at the buffer town of Yugakure where custody would be transferred for the final leg back to Konoha with one small change from previous trips; for this last visit, Hiroto-san requested our Daimyo's team." She calmly tapped his shoulder to reinforce the subject of her story.

Naruto's face tightened noticeably as his eyes finally broke from Keina's face to lock once again with Samui's miserable grimace.

"The after-action report stated that rather than depart immediately, Hiroto-san wanted to stay the evening and have a formal dinner with Naruto-sama here. He wanted to a chance to speak quietly, him and his son, and their two children but he never got the chance to explain why." Here she looked up again with annoyance at Ay.

"You know why, don't you?"

Ay fidgeted but didn't respond as his Daimyo's head turned to regard him with suspicion.

"You sent a team to eliminate the family, a second-team meant to strike then depart hoping that you could blame the fiasco on Konoha but Naruto arrived right as a particularly busty blonde and her squad was finishing off the visiting Namikaze.

"You know the rest. Karui sliced the throat of Aya, the daughter he learned wanted to be a cat doctor, and Naruto, enraged at the sight, engaged seriously wounding - I believe his name was Omoi - and critically wounding... Karui was her name, yes? I hope I'm not butchering the poor girl's name too terribly."

Samui nodded once.

"Okay then, critically wounding Karui before Samui subdued him with Raiton chakra then evac'ing her team for medical attention."

"... no choice." Samui's voice was barely a whisper. In his rage, she painfully remembered that her distant cousin once tried to rip out Karui's heart by punching through her chest muscle.

It was faint so Keina decided to nudge her. "I'm sorry dear but if you're going to interfere at least be brave and speak up."

"She said that she didn't have a choice," Mabui stated trying to help out her cousin.

"That's nonsense. Everyone has a choice. She could have refused the mission." Keina was remorseless despite the obvious flinch of the quiet blonde. "I'm not familiar with Kumo mission protocols but we weren't at war. Another team could have gone in her place."

"Another team was originally picked to go in her place," Mabui countered. "It was a Kumo Death Squad."

Keina winced knowing the rumors but Naruto hadn't heard what he needed to hear in order to connect the last few dots yet so she pressed on. "And? What would she care about some old civilian family?"

Mabui tried to ignore it as her Daimyo frantically flagged down another drink server, her keen eyes noting the conflict building on the face of her Kage as he warred internally with stopping this catastrophe and hoping Mabui could pull out a desperately needed win for Kumo.

Samui took a deep breath, which did little to distract Naruto, and interjected with, "My last name isn't originally Abe. It's Namikaze."

That statement blew the air from Naruto's lungs as his legs collapsed at the same time that Keina's strong arms slipped around his waist to hold him up.

Mabui picked up the story afterward. "You know the reputation of a Kumo Death Squad. I saw it in your face." Her eyes fell with sympathy on the unfocused eyes of the blond male she desperately wanted to reach over to and embrace as long-lost family, adopted or not.

"A Death Squad would have been required to... question... them for information before killing them. They would need to be absolutely sure that state secrets weren't being given to an enemy."

Every student going through the academy was briefed on threats from each village. Kumo's Death Squads, their answer to Konoha's ANBU Hunter nins, were notorious for being merciless in their extraction methods and Naruto was coherent enough to recognize this.

One particularly diligent "Murder Squad" was reported to have kept their victims alive for a record-setting seven days trying to wring every last scrap of information they could from what turned out to be harmless honeymooners.

Even a three-time time traveler can be surprised and, right now, he was flabbergasted.

"You did it to not let them suffer," he croaked out and the resounding silence afterward was deafening.

Samui tried to step forwards, one hand reaching out towards Naruto but she froze at the gentle shake of Keina's crimson mane. The single word "tomorrow" mouthed by the Uzukage gave her a sliver of hope as the still groggy male was carried easily over to a nearby chair to catch his breath and regain his senses.

Ay's hateful, "You knew" wasn't a question. It was a condemnation directed at the unflinching face of his Konoha counterpart and it was a damning one.

The vaunted Daimyo of Kaminari no Kuni, realizing their chances at patching up things with Uzu were smashed to ruins, turned away to quietly vomit in the nearest refuse receptacle, which happened to be a potted plant.

Hiruzen snorted. "Don't blame me. I'm not the one murdering harmless civilians due to unfounded paranoia." With that, the elder Kage turned and glided away on silent feet.

"Tell me now," Ay spoke to his equally-distracted aide-de-camp through gnashed teeth without tearing his eyes away from the back of his longtime nemesis. "Can you fix this enough so that we can make a deal?"

When he finally turned to match stares, Mabui noticed that there was desperation barely hidden behind his eyes he hadn't seen before but she could take a wild guess as to why it was there. They were out of sorts with Iwa now and largely dependent upon imports to keep Kumo afloat. Konoha, Suna, and Uzu - which they could never fully crack to start using as an agricultural resource - were... less than agreeable due to Kumo's more aggressive international policies.

Kumo had been set up with defensibility over sustainability in mind. Kumo was expected, after all, to conquer the other elemental nations in a few short years in lieu of the decades the task had become.

By the time they could send anyone back to colonize the demolished island nation, the island's defenses were back up to full power and those cursed spies had been snatched up by Iwa and Kiri meaning Kumo was locked out. It wasn't too bad he supposed since the spies either couldn't or wouldn't get their former allies back onto the island again. Still, that didn't help Kumo out very much and Kamanari no Kuni's economy had been limping sluggishly along ever since while her "allies" bled them dry with tariffs and import taxes.

He was a ruler trying to clean up the horrible legacy he'd been left behind with but instead of a heroic song of victory it was becoming a mournful death knell, the deliberate withering of an entire society.

Either way, he didn't seem to care for her reflective delay.

"Can you fix this and get us a shot? All we need is a shot, Mabui." Ay knew deep in his gut that he could turn things around for Kumo and all he needed was a fair chance.

Mabui and Samui locked eyes for a moment.

"We can get you a chance but I make no promises beyond that," the Silverette whispered. She hoped that her voice came across more confident than it sounded.

Ay nodded resolutely. It would have to be enough.

~III~

An hour after the big dust-up in the ballroom, Mei finally stepped out on the balcony of the fifth-floor ballroom. Although it was large enough to fit a dozen people easily, the vast majority was empty in the dim light of the quarter moon. Most of the visiting Daimyo's had already secured their female company for the evening and what was left, the Daimyo of Frost she believed, was slinking away at that very moment with a partially-willing Jounin from his hidden village.

She sneered in disgust knowing what awaited the poor girl in the Daimyo's quarters sending her a brief prayer in passing. She would have cursed over the balcony if not for the shifting shadow in the corner behind her.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you two back there." She made an effort to bow her way to the far end of the balcony. The glowing water of the swimming pool below almost reminded her of the moonlit beaches of her home and she really didn't want to be anywhere near her own Daimyo otherwise she might have to turn herself in for regicide. Hopefully, Chōjūrō didn't have too much trouble dragging the lecherous drunk back to his suite.

"Leaving so soon?"

The voice was soft-spoken but clear enough for her to make out his words and identity, her steps pausing as the turn of her pretty red head swung flowing crimson locks out of the way.

"I thought you had something you wanted to speak with me about? You're about the only one that hasn't yet."

The golden mane of Naruto Uzumaki swung forward from the shadows, his body hunched upon the bench pressed firmly into the corner.

"Sochi, shouldn't we wait until..."

Her words cut off but he understood what she wanted to say. 'Until you are recovered.'

Instead, he answered with, "I have strength enough for this."

An uncomfortable silence dragged on for several minutes before...

"I am not Eito Terumī," she simply stated.

"This I know."

"Do you?" Her green eyes sparkled in challenge.

"If I didn't, this meeting would never have happened with the Kage from one of the villages responsible for the destruction of my clan."

"Fair point," she acknowledged.

"The fact that you returned Mito's body in perfect stasis went a long way toward goodwill with specific members of my clan and the Umihebi." His mind went back to the black-bordered scroll most ANBU and retrieval teams referred to as "Cadaver Bags." At most, they held enough chakra at a time to preserve a corpse in perfect stasis for a week, which meant someone had been refilling this one every week without fail for years, hell... decades.

Furthermore, the body showed no signs of tampering or experimentation. She could be buried with honor among the Umihebi. Ella had nearly smothered him to death in her cleavage.

It was no small gift.

"I was hoping to gain your attention with the seriousness of my proposal," she lilted out.

He sat straighter, the intensity of his blue eyes taking her by surprise in one so young. 'If only he were a few years older...'

"You have it."

She swallowed almost imperceptibly as he continued, her palms suddenly sweaty and cold.

"Now what?" he gently prompted.

'Here goes. It comes down to this one chance.' She stepped forward a half pace and squared her shoulders secretly applauding him for keeping his eyes above her neckline.

"Trust won't come easy for you, and I don't expect it to, but I'm willing to reach out to my family." She paused to set her next words and took another breath.

"I can't undo what my father did and neither can he now that he's passed on. I don't think there is anything that can undo what greedy and fearful men did to our clan-."

"OUR clan?!"

Keina's voice was coming through gnashed teeth, she could tell.

"Yes, our clan!" Mei retorted without fear. "I was your age when my family fled and I didn't know why. I didn't know why we were running, why our friends and family were dying, or why I couldn't go home after. I was trapped in Kiri and didn't know why my father was a self-made outcast in our new home, not until years after his death and, by then, it was too late.

"I was among many Kiri kunoichi but I was never one of them."

She took another gentle step forward pausing when she saw Keina tense.

"Now, I am in a place to make a change for the better. Our bloody war is behind us and, I pray, that a better future is ahead of us. I pray," she paused to take one last step and kneel before an intently staring blond Daimyo, "it starts with the addition of my last remaining family."

Naruto blinked. "Your mother?"

Her head shook gently. "She died at the hands of loyalist shinobi."

He seemed to think it over for a very long time as blue eyes delved bright green.

"Trust comes slow," he answered back.

She snorted and smiled up at Keina saying, "or in some cases not at all." All she got in return was a snarky grunt confirming the obvious.

"I'm planning to ask Kumo to a summit in Tetsu."

His words surprised her and produced a hiss of angry air from his "Kaa-san," especially his next question.

"Give me one good reason why I should include you?"

Mei tried not to let her hope show in her eyes but green orbs like hers tended to react to emotion all too well and this was very much important to her. Not trusting her own words, she slipped two fingers into the bustier of her gown beneath the bulging mass of her left breast producing a small puff of smoke and an ivory scroll case banded by thin black and green bands at the ends.

When she bit a thumb and dragged it across the blood seal, the runes dissipated to reveal an Uzumaki swirl.

"I hope this will convince you of my honesty." Setting the scroll on the bench just to his right side, Mei rose and backed away turning so that he could get one last look at her profile as she paused to impart one last caution.

"I couldn't trust anyone in Kiri with the contents of that scroll. I recommend very strongly that you have a good healer present when you open it."

She kissed her palm then made to blow it in his direction before stepping from the balcony and back to the party proper.

A shocked Naruto was still staring after her curvy hips up until a shocked gasp from Keina drew him away. "What is it, Kaa-san?"

When she didn't speak, her hand pressed to an open and gasping mouth, he stepped around to look at the scroll only to freeze at the kanji centered within the blood seal.

The name "Saito" blinked back at him in alternating red and black script.

The heavy sigh leaking from his lips wrapped up a fairly hectic day that had started with such promise.

~III~

Somewhere Deep in the Former Land of Rice

Another roar of soul-piercing agony rent the air in the tomb-like structure immediately followed by the sound of metal piercing flesh. The heavy thud that followed did little to alleviate the tortured grunts and moans that followed.

An underground warren of smoothly planed stone cut at regular angles crisscrossed its way through murky earth, the walls splattered with spiral after spiral-like some morbid ode to the Uzumaki. Only the ruling inhabitant of the compound knew whether or not the marks were a show of respect or just an odd preference of the architect.

At the moment, none of the medical staff scurrying around in the large chamber with the screaming occupant was paying any attention to the decor.

Several were cleaning up the bloody mess left on the floor, a bloody mess caused by the bloody corpse of their eighth-best medical practitioner. They knew he was the eighth because seven previously more-skilled med nins had been stabbed to death by Lord Orochimaru in this very room.

Eight of the last fifteen med nins in his entire employ and none of them had come close to breaking the seal setting fire to his chakra network at the same time it kept him a prisoner in his own body. The black marks spider-webbing out from his chest, across his shoulders and back, along his arms and legs before creeping up his neck to ink up his face surrendered no clues, only more pain.

Attempts to break the seal failed, producing gouts of flame from Orochimaru's throat and blood from his eyes, ears, and nose. The first three attempts certified those results while surrendering the lives of the first three medics to Lord Orochimaru's knives.

Attempts to deaden the pain never lasted more than a half-hour. His own monstrously high immunity to toxins seemed to also work on pain relievers making him even crankier than before. Another four victims died as a result.

This latest failure arrived with a relatively ingenious idea; the medic would try to temporarily pause Lord Orochimaru's body while under brief sedation to allow him to enough of a window to "jump bodies" into an un-cursed one. Lord Orochimaru's entire body actually caught aflame and, once the pain and fire died down, medic number eight had joined his seven predecessors.

"No more!" Orochimaru's voice cut across the enormous medical chamber and the relief through the remaining seven medics was almost palpable.

"Sakon!"

The blue-grey mop of hair belonging to the co-joined twins shimmered into view with the rest of its kneeling owner. "Hai, Orochimaru-sama."

His eyes never left the spiraled earth at his feet.

"Do we have anyone left in Konoha?"

Sakon blinked in surprise. "Just the escape contingent, Orochimaru-sama." He blinked some more wondering where this was headed.

After Tayuya got pinched, they took a good look at what was left of the Oto spy ring in Konoha. Careful prodding over thirty-six hours revealed one survivor.

"Get word to him. Prepare the contingency. I have a very specific target I need him to bring me if I'm to survive this affliction and they'll need to spring Tayuya to make this work." The Snake Sannin's breathing was ragged and raw.

Though Sakon harbored doubts as to the loyalty of their missing Gate, he buried them deep in his heart. Contradiction of the Snake Sannin was not done lightly given his foul temper as of late.

So he nodded from his kneeling position once to indicate compliance since anything else was a certain death sentence.

"Once they're free, the rest of you will need to be ready in order to get them here in time." He paused to fight a particularly brutal coughing fit that ended up with more red splotches on the table and floor.

"Bring me... Amachi," he rasped.

*Wheeeeeeeze... "There can be no... *cough-cough*... failures."

Orochimaru's eyes seemed to glow with demonic fever when he glanced up briefly to show that he understood. After bobbing a quick bow to avoid looking at the cracked and bleeding arms of his master, Sakon vowed to avoid the same man's ire as long as he could.

If anything, he desperately began lining up the list of potential sacrifices he could offer in the event Orochimaru-sama died, and one of his cursed seal bearers needed to be employed as the failsafe.

He decided that he never liked Kidōmaru's elitist attitude all that much.

~III~

A/N: Remember to read, follow, and review if you are so inclined.

~III~

[Jutsu Used In this Story]

[B-Rank] Fūton Renkudan (Drilling Air Bullet): This is the B-Ranked version of the technique used by Shukaku, the Onte-Tailed Bijū. Naruto (or a clone) pounds on its stomach with its arm, producing a loud sound. The external pressure from the pound forces a ball of wind from their mouth, firing it like a cannonball. The wind, highly compressed and imbued with chakra, travels in a straight line, reacting violently with whatever it hits.

[B-Rank] Doton: Doryūheki (Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall): [Tiger → Hare → Boar → Dog] This technique allows the user to create a protective wall out of the earth. One method of doing this is for the user to convert chakra in their body into an earthen material that they spit from their mouth; the more skilled the user, the greater the volume of earth that can be created. The earth quickly piles up into a defensive wall, blocking incoming attacks. Although the muddy material is solid on its own, it is further fortified with a coat of chakra, making it more resistant to fire and water than it would otherwise be.

A second method of performing this technique is to instead manipulate pre-existing earth directly: by placing their hands on the ground, users can raise the ground as a barrier in front of them. Walls erected in this way are typically featureless, but users can alter the appearance if they choose; Kakashi Hatake adorns his with bulldog sculptures. Users are not limited to strictly defensive uses for this technique, as they can create walls behind targets to prevent them from escaping or even to entirely surround and encase said targets. The anime shows users creating these walls from afar.

[Low-Rank Chakra Training Technique] Yūrei to Issho ni Aruku (Walk With A Ghost): The commonly referred to "Ghost Step" is not a technique used or described in either anime or manga (hence the poor nomenclature).

Progressing along the theory that focusing chakra at one's extremities is difficult for novice chakra, the Ghost Step is a more advanced version of the Leaf Floating Technique intended to prepare the practitioner for the next stage of chakra control exercises: Ki Nobori no Shugyō, or Tree Climbing Practice.

Once both Leaf Floating and selective limb reinforcement have been mastered, students proceed to what is called "Layering" exercises, which means building up successive layers of chakra at the targeting location to provide the desired effect. In this case, the desired effect is to silence one's footfalls enabling rapid movement without sound, the multi-layered chakra intended to cushion or smother noise. Experienced practitioners can move over a bed of dried leaves without leaving a trail as the multi-layered chakra acts as an air cushion preventing damage to the underlying foliage.

It is a necessary precursor to mastering the art of Silent Killing and is surprisingly effective when combined with wall climbing.

~III~

[References of Note]

[1] Japanese: 起請文(Kishoumon) - Reference is drawn from Samuraiwiki courtesy of work by published author Mark Ravina.

Kishômon were a type of blood oath regularly sworn by samurai retainers in the Sengoku and Edo periods, swearing fealty to their lord, and inviting the wrath of the gods should they violate the oath. These oaths were not only signed by name, in ink, but also in blood, typically by thumbprint.

Daimyô frequently swore a three-part oath, swearing to obey all shogunal laws strictly, to keep their own house from wickedness, and to serve their lord (i.e. the shogun) diligently. The oath was sealed with blood, and ended with a formulaic statement, common in Edo period oaths, listing deities which would exact retribution against the speaker should he violate the oath. Daimyô required similar oaths of their retainers, in turn.

~III~