-AN-

Sunday's sometimes mean ya'll get a double update, and guess what, here we are. We're gonna skip ahead a bit by a few months, more development and world building Uzumaki centric chapter here. Hope you all have a wonderful day and let's make it through this next week.

-Story Start-

Today was bright and clear, barely a cloud in the sky and the sea breeze kept the heat away with ease. For the island nation of Uzushio, this was peak 'be outside' weather. For Tsunami and Temari who were walking out of the busy and still under construction train station and making their way down the main road, it was a welcome breath of fresh air. Sure the ride from Wave to Uzu was only half an hour but that was still a long time underground for those not used to it.

Temari took in the atmosphere, the train yard was so busy with people and equipment, probably just as busy as Wave's port if she was being honest. "You people sure don't know how to slow down do you?"

Tsunami walked along with her hands linked behind her, "We're a busy nation. Thankfully without Naruto and the others going on any new raids and no new migrants our population has begun to stabilize a bit. Just as well with the completion of the first rail line between Spring and Uzu, we are now getting steady shipments of both provisions and people back and forth." Tsunami had noticed people looking for manual labor work seemed to prefer Uzu and Wave, while craftsmen and heavy thinkers were going to Spring. It was a good thing to see the civilians making their own way like this and it was going a long way to diversifying their lands.

Temari noted as they walked away from the heavy industry of the train station and started to pass large open fields that the road they were on was just as large as everything else, "Even out here it's so busy. What about your military?" She was working now full time as the ambassador between Suna and Uzu, someone else taking over with Konoha. They were still on the hush hush, Uzushio still not well known among the larger nations. She had a feeling that was going to change soon.

Tsunami couldn't answer her question, lack of knowledge on the subject tying her hands, "You'll have to ask Naruto and the others about that. That's not my area of expertise. I'm more of an ambassador myself so I deal with civilians and public affairs." Pausing to smile at the young woman next to her, Tsunami continued to lead the way, "Think of me as the mayor of Wave. I deal with movements between the two countries and some ancillary tasks." They continue their walk, Temari watching a work crew adding smaller rail tracks along the center of the large road as they entered the residential area. Tsunami caught Temari watching the work crews, "We're going to be adding in smaller rail cars in order to provide mass transit to the population."

Temari nodded, "Something like this. Spring really is going to be making money hand over fist if they keep innovations like this coming."

Tsunami sure hoped so, waving at a group of children running along the sidewalks, "We've found there are innovations all over the nations that just haven't been brought together all in one place. So we're taking all those ideas and utilizing them." As they walked and weaved through the lightly populated residential area, the street began to fill with people as they entered the commercial district. The main tower was now in sight as well.

Temari was frowning however, "Is it just me or is the road curving slightly?"

Tsunami nodded, "My father and Naruto designed the city into the shape of a spiral, commemorating the Uzumaki clan itself." Underground however there was a much more practical subway tunnel network that was still growing and set up in a much more practical circular grid pattern. Naruto wouldn't say what it was all for, but a good portion of it was for evacuation and hardened shelters. Coming out into the city center, Tsunami waved a hand at the tower, "This is our main administration building, affectionately named the Uzumaki Tower. It serves as both commercial office building, central government building, and the Uzumaki mansion." She motioned out to the city around them, as more children run by while greeting the long haired woman by name. "We've started civilian schools throughout the city, though a ninja training facility is on hold for now." She pointed forward back towards the Uzumaki Tower, "At it's front, besides the entrance is the Uzumaki Memorial."

Temari took in tall reflective black spire with the bright red Uzumaki crest at its base. As they walked up to the entrance she looked over the inscription.

'Laid to rest are the bones of the betrayed, but their dreams of peace live on. We are a people of resilience, of strength, of love. For the peaceful future we all wish for, never forget the fallen.'

"Beautiful." Temari made sure to keep a short distance from the monument as to not step on a host of flowers that had been set at its base. "This isn't an anniversary is it?"

Tsunami shook her head, "The people have taken to almost always having some flowers here in recent days." Tsunami had crossed the distance to one of the many doors leading inside, someone politely holding the door open for her as she bowed to him, "It might have started when some civilians saw Ino leaving flowers here once they moved in. There's been a petition already about building a planter around the monument to having living flowers there instead."

Temari nodded, bowing to the polite man as well as they entered the busy space of the interior, "Would be a great tribute I think." Looking upon the organized chaos of the administration floor. There was plenty of natural light from the wide open glass walls, the construction of the building being mostly concrete and glass from what she could see. "Looks as busy as ever." The first floor ceiling rose above them for a bit, bright lights hung there, currently off and unneeded in the daylight.

Tsunami weaved through the space, "Naruto wanted construction to at least pause for a while so everyone could take a break and focus on civilian matters. He wants to begin rebuilding the other islands next year, but that'll take more planning and resources."

"So what's all this about?" Temari was looking around at all the civilians and tried to focus past the idle noise of people.

"The first floor is meant to be something of our welcome center. Here we handle new arrivals along with simple matters like registration, information requests, and civilian job boards." Tsunami leads Temari to the center pillar dominating the space that housed a wall of doors. "Let's head up."

Temari raised an eyebrow, "Elevators huh?" Tsunami called one and they both entered with no one else joining them. "Where's all this power coming from?"

"A gift from Spring, generators based on the one's they used to thaw their country. They provide all of our electricity needs for the moment. Karin was talking about upgrading to thermal generators in order to use the Earth's natural heat deep underground." Tsunami made a face that showed she didn't really know much about it, "Karin and my father talked about it once at great length. All I could gather was that in an emergency they wouldn't have to worry about ever losing power." Pressing the button for the top floor, they began to ascend.

Temari leaned against the wall, the vibrations from the elevator working feeling good against her back. "So what about the rest of the tower?"

"The second and third floors are being furnished and reserved for the future civilian bureaucrat business and civilian law enforcement. It's coming along, but we haven't needed it yet. The fourth and fifth floors are going to be for ninja business, so mission intake and assignment along with record storage." Tsunami motioned down with a finger as well, "There will be sub-levels for more secure storage as well, but again, not under my management." Tsunami hummed a bit as the lights on the control board moved from the fifth floor to the sixth, "From here to the tenth floors are going to be utilized for civilian businesses. I've been seeing that civilian businesses needed to be abnormally close to the city center and the admin building. So in order to bring in some money we'll be leasing out spaces here."

"Generate money and provide space for work for your civilians, smart."

"We try. Above that, the eleventh through thirteenth floors are fake."

"Fake? Why waste the resources on fake floors?"

Tsunami shrugged, "Something Naruto and Koyuki decided on with my father, something about buffer floors between everyone else and the Uzumaki estate on the upper levels. They'll be furnished as in tower relaxation areas and to provide a good view for tourists and the like. For now this is going to be the tallest tower in Uzu, so you can see pretty much everything from here." Reaching the thirteenth floor, the elevator pauses and dings, the door opening and Tsunami holding out a hand to keep Temari from leaving. They're greeted by a wide open space with glass windows and an amazing view, but not much else. Tsunami removes a slip of paper from her pocket and presses it against the button panel. It chimes again and the door closes and they continue upward. "Can't have just anyone able to reach the mansion of course. Plus the Uzumaki family has other means to reach their home anyway." Finally reaching the fourteenth floor, they open up into a large foyer where they can see staircases on their left and right with a wide hallway stretching out ahead of them. "And this is the Uzumaki mansion." the space was brightly lit and felt inviting. Warm.

They can hear people's voices echoing from somewhere and while Temari looked around the luxuriously well done space, they almost miss Tayuya walking across the hall from one doorway to another. "Yo red!" Temari's voice calls out.

Tayuya pauses, looking back and spotting the pair, "Yo fan girl! Tsunami." She waved a hand for the two to follow her, "We're all settling in for a short meeting, come join us." They followed after her, down the hall to pass on their left an open doorway showing a massive dining room while on their right another door showed a larger than life kitchen. At the end they opened up into a large seating area, their living room, where across several couches and seating cushions everyone was chatting away with each other. Here Temari can see all of the currently known Uzumaki. Tayuya has jumped over the back of one couch, joining Karin and Ino in a talk about something weapon related, though there were a lot of weapons magazines out mixed with some clothing related ones. In front of them at a low table Naruto sat flanked by Koyuki and Hinata, going over paperwork and pointing at things back and forth. Naruto seemed frustrated and also seconds from flipping the table. On another couch Jugo was flanked by Kin and Sasame, one girl trying to feed him while the other was trying to get him to drink something. Both were occasionally firing death glares at the other while Jugo pretended not to notice. The last of the group was Kotohime who was on another couch reading from a book until she looked up and noticed the newly arrived pair.

"The fan girl is here." That got everyone's attention.

"Temari!"

"Fan girl!"

The greetings were all a mix of the usual, though her eyebrow twitched at the double meaning behind her nickname. So she made a pass at Naruto once or twice, she worked hard dammit. "What's all the hubbub about?" She's looking at the group with Naruto, while Hinata leans back with a sigh.

"Funds. Our industry is coming along and things are getting better…but we're going to need an influx of cash to provide a much needed cushion and soon. Farms in Spring are coming along, but we're still having to import food and Wave has been doing a great job of coming up with the money through shipping. But it's going to come up short soon we fear."

From her spot next to Jugo Kin leans forward, "I vote we start taking down some bounties for now, make a name for ourselves so we can start getting some missions from outside our borders." Sure closed system economy sounded nice, until things stagnated. They needed to pull money in from elsewhere if they wanted to continue to grow.

Across from her Sasame takes the chance to lean against Jugo who blushes, "There are some missions available through Tea, we could work through those."

Koyuki follows Hinata's lead, leaning back away from the table with a smile, "Taida from the Land of Hot Water also has some work that needs doing as well."

Naruto finally has it, hands scrubbing through his hair before he flops down on the floor. "There's enough of us, we should just do everything. We can hit missions and bounty hunting and put together a team to head out to Hot Water while another stays here to defend Uzu."

Ino has a senbon out, cleaning her nails with the end, "The Chinoike clan has been wanting to get to work soon, this could be a good time to put them to use doing something. Their head, En, said something about a half baked plan they had considered before coming here."

Naruto's eyes went wide as he had nearly forgotten his scouting trips to the other islands, "I need to talk to them too. One of the islands has a spring that has conditions pretty close to where they used to live, though much more livable. They might like it."

Through it all Temari finally shakes her head. Even running a nation Naruto was just as chaotic as ever. Stepping forward she pulled a letter free from her kimono and handed it to Naruto, leaning over and intentionally giving him a decent view, "From my brother, also with a message. The Kazekage would like an official visit from you sometime soon."

Naruto blinks and accepts the letter, eventually shaking himself and unsealing two new hiraishin tags to hand over to the other blonde, "Make sure those make it somewhere safe. I'd suggest one in your Kage tower and the other in your clan home."

Temari smirked and nodded, stepping back, "Will do. Guess I'll make myself useful for the next couple of days before I have to head back."

Tayuya shook her head, "No way bitch. You should stay with us. Hang out, relax, then you can head home."

Ino agreed, "Trust us, once you get Naruto working again he just won't stop. This'll be the last bit of relaxation we'll have for a while."

Naruto grumbled, "I'm not that bad."

Hinata turned calm eyes down to him, "What did it take in order for you to agree to relax for the last 3 months?"

Naruto's eyes crossed as he thought about that, "Uh…we holed up in a hot spring resort for two days."

Ino giggled, the memories overwhelming her in moments, "I couldn't walk straight for days."

"Lucky bitches." Temari noted that the same sentiment came from multiple people all at once. She didn't let it faze her, but she was curious however because she was sure Tsunami's mouth was moving as well. Huh.

Hinata placed a soft hand on Naruto's chest, "You've indulged us and we've actually relaxed for 3 solid months. It's about time to get back into the swing of things."

Ino mumbled, "Mmmm swings."

Tayuya turned predatory eyes on Naruto, "Do I have to go second form and tie you down?"

As another well hashed conversation begins Temari shrugs, "Staying for a few days doesn't sound so bad."

Tsunami giggled, "You'll have to get used to a certain custom of the Uzumaki's while you're here."

"Can't be that bad."

Tsunami turned to head into the kitchen, feeling peckish, "We shall see."

-b-

Far away towards the heart of Fire Country, Tsunade is standing on a platform built by the efforts of several earth chakra users. A crowd of civilians and ninja before her as behind her 5 people are held to their knees, bound and gagged. Amplifying her voice, she decides today needs to be done and over with.

"Citizens of Konoha, by now some of you have questioned and taken notice that some notable ninja have been on extended leave and our Daimyo has made several trips to and from the village. Today I stand before you to lay rumors to rest. Behind me are traitors to the Leaf Village, guilty of defrauding and stealing from a prominent Konoha clan and enriching themselves for their own personal gain. Those actions led to an assassination attempt that had one of our beloved clans fleeing for their safety. Now found guilty by trail, there is only one punishment for treason in the Land of Fire." Throwing a hand and turning to motion to the group, Tsunade steels her heart, "Death by fire! Our ancestors believed that through this act their sins would be cleansed away, their souls released to be judged by the Kami. Today we will see that done." Stepping away and out of the line of fire, she listens as the crowd offers their own thoughts and emotions on the matter. Honestly, she wasn't surprised someone had linked the explosion at Naruto's apartment with the boy no longer in the village. Eventually some of the people who had been saved by the boy had gotten curious and had started to ask questions. Questions that couldn't be answered right away. It had all culminated into this, people nearly worked into a rage over one of their village's saviors run out of the village over council members' greed. While Naruto hadn't asked for their deaths, the people surely were. Watching the waiting for Anbu to take up their positions, Tsunade raises a hand. Quiet takes over the square, until she lowers her hand as that of the executioner's ax. Five Anbu members release grand fireball techniques, incinerating the bound prisoners on the spot. The stone construction holds up as it should and after ten seconds the techniques are release, nothing but ashes left that are soon blown away in the wind.

Tsunade returns to the center of the stage, the Anbu remaining at her back, "I hope each and every one of you can take this lesson to heart. Konoha is many things, but we will not tolerate traitors, especially when harm is done to our own. The Will of Fire does not include those who hold malice or greed in their hearts. Keep true to our teachings, and rekindle your spirits." Here she bows to the people before standing tall, "That is the end to this. Please return to your duties or your day." With that she turned to leave, dismissing the Anbu back to their own duties now that the execution was complete. Someone would be there soon to return the stage back to its place in the ground.

Among the crowd the general sentiment was positive towards the Hokage. Several commented that she seemed stronger now, more in control of things. Some wished that she had done this sooner, while others mentioned that it was good that she followed the law as she did, which meant it probably took time. Overall while an execution of civilians was never wanted, everyone knew it was necessary, while some hoped this meant they were on the path to having their lost clan return.

Tsunade wasn't worried about any of that, joined and flanked by Shizune and Kakashi as she returned to her office within the tower. Not a word was exchanged between the three on the way up. Waiting until they reached her office, Shizune locking the door behind them while Tsunade reached her chair and nearly fell into it with a heavy sigh. "What a clusterfuck."

"Tsunade-sama…"

"Oh hush Shizune, you know it is." Tsunade watched the two before her before sighing heavily and reaching into her desk. "Kakashi."

"Yes Lord Hokage?"

"I have a mission for you and your team if you're up for it." Seeing him nod she holds out a scroll and waits for him to take it. "In the Land of Honey, the Daimyo's wife Kayo has gone missing. I want your team to look into it and give us a good showing."

Kakashi nods and tucks the scroll away, "We'll get it done. Anything else?" Seeing Tsunade shake her head, the man turns to leave. He shares a look with Shizune for a brief moment before he is soon gone and out the door, leaving the pair of women alone. One of which is leering at the other with a smirk.

"Oh ho, what's this? Something going on between my oldest apprentice and the resident heart throb?" Watching Shizune blush and stammer lifted her heart somewhat. Maybe there was hope for the younger woman yet.

"We uh, well." Shizune finally gave up and took a deep breath, "We've talked, had a few dates. It's not serious just yet. We're just happy our plotting friends have left us alone for now."

Tsunade shrugs, starting back into her never ending paperwork, "Well I hope you take this seriously. You deserve to find your own happiness." Here Tsunade seems to wilt a bit, "Especially having to put up with a old washout like me for so many years." Seeing Shizune trying to spin herself up to defending her Tsunade waved her off, "No. I wasted years of not just my life, but yours as well. You deserve to find whatever happiness you can while we're here. I don't want to uproot us again without a real good reason."

Shizune leans forward, "You deserve happiness as well Lady Tsunade. Why, don't think I haven't noticed you've actually been, nice, to Lord Jiraiya."

Tsunade grins, "Pervert retraining is a, constant, effort. Don't you worry about that."

Shizune shivered and hoped she never learned what sort of efforts that required. "Well, just don't forgot, you deserve love as well."

"Hmmmm." Tsunade pauses from her work, looking at her apprentice, "Well my advice to you? Better snatch up Kakashi while you can. Never know. I've been so lonely lately, maybe I could break him in a bit for you?" Cackling as Shizune retreated, claiming her teasing was to much. Scoring a point for herself mentally, the old woman did truly hope her dedicated student did something for herself soon. This world of theirs was harsh enough. Best to find what love and happiness they could while they could. Not everyone made it to old age after all. Speaking of, maybe she would share a drink or two with Jiraiya the next time he was in town. Getting back to work, idly reminding herself that she had a message to pass along to Naruto later about the Fire Daimyo, she settled in for another long day.

-b-

Nighttime in Uzushio was an interesting time for many. The street lights dimmed after a certain hour, the nights were usually clear to reveal the star filled sky, and for many who were winding down it was wonderful to sit out and just enjoy the atmosphere. For the Uzumaki family, that usually meant their slowly becoming most enjoyable tradition. Family bathing.

Tazuna had heard about their little gatherings and had decided to go all out on their bath. The top floor had been split into two halves. The front half was the access stairs, the changing rooms, as well as showers, a sauna, and a steam room. The rear half was dedicated completely to a large swimming pool sized space, a long bank of one way windows gave them a view of the city and the outside world, while above them a glass roof gave them a clear view of the night sky. Tonight's gathering however was soon to be joined by a serene Tsunami and a relaxed Temari as they walked out of the changing room and came out into the large bath. Temari had her eyes closed as she breathed in the heated steam that smelled of either lilacs or jasmine.

"Mmmm this is nice." Temari was removing her towel as she opened her eyes, ready to relax with all the girls and maybe gossip a bit. On display, she paused as she locked eyes with Naruto, a smirking Koyuki in his lap. "Uh."

Naruto raised a hand, "Yo!" He was doing his best not to react to the woman sitting sideways in his lap, but he was failing.

Blush now at full power, her towel was immediately closed, "Wa-wa-wa-what?"

Tsunami however was lowering herself into the water, towel folded up and joined in a line with many others, "I did warn you. The Uzumaki love to bathe all together. It's actually becoming something of a social norm in Uzushio." Many of the civilians were emulating the Uzumaki family, for better or worse. She had heard more than a few worries about children wanting to take up explosive arts like their Lord Naruto.

"I…yeah. Guess you did." Temari had a debate with herself, before she did much of the same, eventually removing and folding away her towel and joining Tsunami in the bath. "Somehow I feel like you're description could have been more detailed."

Karin is grinning as she overheard the other woman, "Where's the fun in that?"

From her lap perch, Koyuki looks around a bit, "So we're slotting the next month to work on missions and bounty hunting, should we discuss that for a moment?" Something hotter than the water was starting to press against her and she was doing her best not to let on she knew what she was doing to Naruto. Heh.

Naruto picks up the conversation, eyes moving away from the usual wrestling match between Ino and Tayuya. He waves a hand towards Jugo, "Since the Land of Tea has requests for us, I think it's best if Jugo, Kin, and Sasame handle that. Plus any bounties that might be in the area while they are there." Naruto winked at Sasame, "I know you aren't an Uzumaki, but you'll help out Jugo right?"

Sasame blushed but nodded, "Of course!" Everyone could tell she had feelings for the bigger teen, even if she hadn't come out and said it, yet. "Is the plan still to share some of the missions with the Fuma clan?"

Naruto nods, "That was the agreement, we share missions and what profits we get from those shared missions. We want to make friends and allies. That also means making sure our allies are doing well." He didn't want a repeat of the meltdown between Suna and Konoha.

Tayuya pipes up, pulling Ino's arms back while a foot was in the small of her back, "Me, Karin, and Kotohime can go hunt down some bounties. We're probably the most self sufficient grouping outside of you. Unless you're going to do some bounty hunting." She had to defend herself as Ino eventually twisted free and turned the tides on her.

Naruto shakes his head, wrapping an arm around Koyuki both to bring her closer to him and to also stop her maddening wiggling. "There's a request from the Land of Hot Water that might require lots of man power. So I'll be handling that one with Ino and Hinata."

Tayuya pouted, "Those two get to go to a hot spring again? Laame. I wanna go."

Naruto smirked, "How about if your group brings in some good bounties, or even better, if anyone finds another ninja clan to bring in, we'll go to Hotspring for a vacation during our next break period."

That amped up Tayuya instantly, throwing Ino off of her as she pumped a fist in the air, "Hell yeah! I want pampering and relaxation too!"

Karin rolled her eyes, "You act like Naruto doesn't pamper you."

Tayuya chuckled, "Well, I mean, yeah he does. But vacations are different ya know?" Ino latched onto her back and both girls disappeared into the water.

Taking in the controlled chaos with a smile, Temari finally speaks up, staying low enough in the waters to keep things covered but offer a view nonetheless, "Please make sure Naruto, you need to visit my brother at least once sometime this month."

Naruto nods, "Will do. Get those seals placed and I'll come when I have a few days free." Naruto gains a thoughtful look, "After this next month, this might be one of the last times I've got the free time to be outside of the city. Especially as we start building up ninja forces."

Tsunami nods at that, working hard not to doze off in the happy atmosphere, "You'll have to be more present soon in the day to day operations of the city. At least until we come up with a civilian governance body." She'd need to get on building that up, she needed an Uzushio counterpart.

"Yeah I know. I have to thank you and your father, you've been some major help through all of this."

Tsunami waved him off, "We're your people my Lord. Though father has said if you want to thank him, then fill these halls with little feet soon and he'll call it even."

Naruto coughed while in his lap Koyuki made a show of leaning into Naruto more fully, "Oh we'll get right on that Tsunami. No worries." Several of the other girls blush, but it's Kotohime who begins to wade towards them.

"I wouldn't mind assisting with that now as well."

"Hold on there mega milk, there's an order here! An order!"

Karin looked out the window, watching a large serpentine shadow move through their coastal waters. Reminded of the conversation with Tazuna, she began to make her way forward as well, "I think it's more of a first come first serve."

Tayuya was already tossing Ino away, "It's we're gonna brawl over it let me-" second form coming out, she smirked, "-slip into something more appropriate." All the good food on a more regular basis was helping her fill out much more appropriately. Naruto certainly liked the view.

Tsunami sighed as she began to pull Temari away who was watching the ensuing brawl gearing up, "Is it always like this?" Temari was asking while wondering if she wanted to get in on this soon.

"More or less. Usually Naruto ends up making clones and placating the girls with massages and back-rubs." True to Tsunami's words, Naruto did just that, a crew of clones taking each of the girls and taking them to lay out on the tiles to be attended to. Koyuki small smile as she leaned down to kiss the boy softly. Temari and Tsunami were approached by their own towel clad blondes. "You'll get used to it, maybe." Tsunami was happy to be led away. Sure she wasn't a member of Fox Den, but getting pampered never hurt.

Temari took the offered hand and let herself be led off to the side to get a back rub, idly noting that Jugo, Kin, and Sasame were all blushing and talking to each other quietly. Huh. Skin ship was big with the Uzumaki, wasn't it? When in Rome she supposed. And she'd need to ask about that fox head tattoo on Tayuya's ass, it looked similar to the one on Hinata's lower back that she could see.

-b-

In a different tower hundreds of miles away, Nagato and Konan stood alone in his office while Hidan and Kakuzu left after giving them an new update on civilian villages. Their next mission would be a bounty hunt job which should keep them busy for a while.

Nagato sighed, "Something is moving in the background."

Konan nodded, "Do you think it's something to worry about? We're just about ready to start really making a push to start capturing the biju and sealing them away." She thought back to Itachi and Kisame's encounter with the blonde container of the kyuubi. That of course led to Deidara's plea that they capture the boy and not seal his biju.

"I'm, not sure yet. It's why I also sent out Sasori and Deidara to have a look around. Someone is making waves with civilians, saving them, moving them away from combat zones." Nagato frowned only slightly. Someone was changing things, better for the civilians, but the ninja villages were beginning to catch on and it was bothering them. As if less people suffering was a bad thing.

"Do you want me to look into it?" She wouldn't mind getting out of the tower for a while, maybe be paired up with one of the others. She wouldn't mind trying to drag Itachi along with her.

Nagato could feel the woman's emotions and sighed. Maybe he would need to help out his longest living friend. "Possibly, but we need to have a better idea of where things are going first before we move. Building a weapon so terrible it puts the major villages at a pause is a massive undertaking all on it's own. But…" It was here his thoughts strayed, thinking it over. Someone was saving people, preaching peace while also being willing to kill. If more civilians can get behind those hopes. Maybe a few of the villages as well? Would they even need to go through with this? For the first time in a long time he was unsure. "For now I've heard both rumors going around the country of Wave, and the country of Spring." Here he looked Konan in the eyes, "Head to Wave, alone, and have a look around discretely. Then return, I don't want you gone for long and avoid conflict at all cost."

"It'll be done." With that she left the office as well, travel plans filling her head. Maybe she could stop over in the Land of Tea, pick up some of their special blends. Guess this also meant she'd have to ditch her usual attire if Nagato wanted her to keep things quiet. What should she wear? So many decisions to make.

-AN- We have a little bit of a skip here, as we build up to some conflicts coming on the horizon. Poor Jugo is gonna have to figure love out while Naruto does his best to balance work and leadership with his growing family and love life. For those asking, the Fire Daimyo, Danzo, and Hiashi are going to have some time coming up, but we have more important matters to get to.

-OMAKE-

Tayuya was finding herself spending more and more time helping out around Uzushio whenever it came to requests involving children. As such, today at one of the local schools they had needed an extra hand watching over the children during their recess period. Happy to help, she was sitting on a hill overlooking the school yard while rowdy children ran back and forth playing with each other. Behind her Naruto has arms around her neck, hands laced with her own as he embraced her and relaxed under the noon sun.

"This is nice." His voice was quiet, but she heard it clear as day. There was an emotion there she couldn't place but she had a feeling it was much like her own. A note of longing, lost opportunities.

She grips his hands a little tighter, "You know. Maybe having kids wouldn't be so bad." She had a lot of worries surrounding being an actual mother. Unsure if she would be worthy, or even good at it. Naruto hugged her a bit tighter.

"If that's your wish, we'll make it happen one day." Thankfully she couldn't see his blush, but he did lean forward to kiss the top of her head. Hearing her coo told him that was the correct thing to do.

"So do you want me normal, or maybe we should go at it with my curse form?" She couldn't see his face, but she knew there was a blush there all the same.

Naruto hums before shrugging, "You know…I love you, no matter what form you're in. You don't have to use it to get my attention. Unless you want to of course. I'll never complain either way."

Flush finally reaching her face the normally outspoken girl shook her head, "Sweet talking shit. You're lucky kids are here." Speaking of the little devils, a group of them were sprinting towards them.

"Tayuya-sensei! Come play with us!"

Tayuya pounced up, leaving Naruto alone and pointed towards him in a dramatic fashion, "Actually, Lord Naruto needs lots of hugs and teasing right now! Get 'em!"

"HAI!"

Naruto barely had a chance to make it to his knees before he fell under an avalanche of children, "Traitor!" He was lost to laughter as the kids attempted to hold him down and tickle him to death. He was getting better at humoring them just as Tayuya had.

Tayuya herself just watched the sight while several of the teachers just shook their heads and one fretted about their Lord. Tayuya tuned them out, humming and walking back towards the school with one thought in her mind.

She was going to ride that man until one of them broke one day.