-AN-

I might have watched spirited away with my daughter recently, which influenced this chapter a bit. Not much, but, ya know how it goes. Anyway, let's see how an Uzumaki vacation plays out.

-Story Start-

True to his word Naruto had transported the group to the Land of Hot water for a relaxing vacation. Having attempted to do things properly he had sent a clone ahead to explore and reserve a suite in a resort that would accommodate them all. Having found that, he now led the way high onto a misty mountain that he was telling the others was supposed to be rather elusive but offered great privacy. The girls were egging him on a bit, saying that he was being very proactive for once, and Naruto would only quip back that he was always proactive. Sorta. Most the time.

"I wanna treat you all as you deserve, that's all." Heartfelt sentiments voiced and hearts set a flutter, Naruto continued to lead the way with a much more curious group.

Tayuya bounced along besides him, "Should we be worried about Uzushio?"

Shaking his head Naruto pulled her into his side, "Nah. I left detailed instructions behind with a few clones that might last a some days. The Hotaru are going to take over on border guard duties while the Chinoike clan is going to take more out of country requests." Naruto pauses to think about things while the normally feisty girl at his side was currently swooning at his more assertive demeanor, enjoying his firm grip on her waist while the others looked on and giggled. "Tsunami has things in hand on the paperwork side of things, though I'm sure my inbox will be full when we return."

Karin chimes in, "We'll have to do something nice for Tsunami when we return. Maybe throw a party for her?"

Ino shook her head, "We should send her here instead, let her get pampered and relax for a few days."

Jugo, Kin and Sasame nodded, "We wouldn't mind running guard duty for her as well."

Kotohime shook her head, "We do have other ninja for that, plus, we're going to be running missions when we return. We'll all be very busy for the next few months to maybe a full year."

Naruto nodded at that, still on the fence about the toads and their offer. He had been putting off sage training. But with his eye apparently evolving he was thinking it might not be best to put it off anymore. Sage training would surely help him out.

It is not long before the group makes their way up the mountain trail to come out on a wide well kept road. The trees part and before them over a chasm in the mountain is situated a bridge. Wide and inviting, it leads to a tall bathhouse sitting alone on a rock pillar. Steam could be seen spilling out from chimneys while the bright red and white building gave them all happy vibes. They couldn't see many people however, which considering how high up they were it was a sure bet that only the most fit civilians or ninja frequented this location. Nice for privacy indeed. The group crosses the bridge while enjoying the chilly breeze and marveling that they can already smell the inviting fragrances from the bathhouse.

Barely a minute later finds the group inside before a shorter older woman with very poofy hair and an equally fluffed up blue dress. Smiling the woman bows to Naruto and his group.

"My name is Yubaba and welcome to my humble bath house, we thank you for your patronage."

Naruto nods, "We have a room ready yes?"

"Absolutely, I've already had my staff prepare it, please, right this way." Several very large rings adorned her fingers while her aging face twisted as she smiles. "You'll not find a better selection of baths here, from indoor to outdoor accommodations, private rooms as well as in your suite, a more intimate setting it available." The old woman gave a dry chuckle that had the group smiling weakly.

Nodding along Naruto waves it all away, "I'm sure we'll love it. You came highly recommended from the Daimyo."

"Did we? I'll have to make sure to keep that in mind." The rest of the trip was quiet, a few stairwell trips and a couple of elevator rides later and the group was being led to a room on the top floor. "The entire floor is yours for your stay. Your retainers are situated in this slightly smaller room on the right, while your room Lord Uzumaki is here on the left. Your other guest is already here."

Naruto nodded and bowed lightly, "Thank you for your consideration Yubaba, should we come down for our meals?"

Yubabe shook her head, "No no. I'll send one of the girls up when meal time is close to take orders and food will be brought to you. If you wish not to be disturbed until later, please hang the offered tile on the door if you would." Seeing Naruto nod, the manager left with quick strides while Naruto and the girls open the door to their room. There they are met with a smiling Koyuki who's already jumping into Naruto's arms with a laugh.

Hinata watched the older woman leave, "She seemed nice."

Ino shrugged, "She looks like a witch." Hinata smacked her nearly instantly, "What she does!"

Naruto rolled his eyes as he carried the giddy Daimyo inside followed by everyone else. "Well let's get situated, plan things out and enjoy ourselves. I'm thinking at least a week here before we get back to it."

Koyuki nods along, "I'm just happy to be able to relax for a few days. Thank you for coming and getting me."

"Of course Koyuki, you know I wouldn't leave you out of the fun." Naruto watches as the girls enter and explore the wide open room while he turns to Jugo and the Fuma girls, "Think you'll need any help getting situated?"

Jugo shakes his head, "I think we'll be alright Lord Naruto." He's pulled off balance as Kin is already tugging him away, Sasame at his back pushing as well.

"Don't worry about this big lug, we got him." Kin was grinning much as her sister would.

Sasame nodded as well, "We'll meet you later as long as you aren't, busy." Sasame flushed a bit as she said it, having overhead some of the plans of the other girls. So bold.

Naruto however smirked as Kotohime lingered by him a bit, "Just so you know, your room does have separate rooms for each of you." Here Naruto wiggled his eyebrows, "Though you don't have to use them all, feel free to shack up together."

Kotohime nodded, "I'm sure my little sister won't mind that arrangement."

Blushing and stammering, the threesome disappeared out of the door to the laughter of Naruto and Kotohime. Kotohime sobers first, kissing the boy lightly before jogging to catch up with the others, leaving Naruto to admire the room.

The main room was a wide sitting area with a low table while off to the right were couches and chairs and a long balcony that looked like it stretched the length of the wall even towards the back room. He could hear the girl's voice from there, so he followed along and walked inside. The room itself was massive, the bed taking up a good portion of space while to the right there was in fact balcony access and against the near wall was a couch. In one corner was a table while at the left wall was a wide space with a large tub that looked like it would fit at least five people. There was another door at the rear of the room, and through the glass he could see some type of outdoor seating area. Good bet the balcony wrapped around the building to connect there then.

He was ignoring the fact that all of the girls were either in the middle of changing or already naked, pulling on bath robes while they chatted and made plans for the day. Grinning, he knew without a doubt that Jiraiya would kill him to be in his spot right now. Naruto would gladly kill Kami right now to stay right where he was. He was a man damnit, judge him not.

Noticing and turning to face him, a happy looking Hinata turns to face him, wearing a smile and not much else, "Oh, Naruto. Us girls are going to explore the baths for a while. Think you can keep Koyuki company for the afternoon?"

Naruto nods slowly, "Yeah uh. I can handle that."

Ino leans into his vision, "You're looking a little distracted there Naruto." Her eyes turn downwards on him, "You've gotta wait till after the baths though."

Naruto waves her off, "Tease later, or else we'll never get to enjoying the bathhouse."

Tayuya called out from here she was pulling on a robe, "I don't mind getting sweaty before a bath."

Shaking her head, Karin was already dressed and waiting, "I remember the last time at home we had to drag you and Ino out of our own bath. You overheat to fast."

"Well, maybe I just need conditioning is all."

Karin shook her head again, "More like you need to stop being such a sl-"

Kotohime had leaned over to pulled the shorter Uzumaki towards the door, "Why don't we start making our way downstairs. There were a lot of options for baths and I'm sure we all want to explore more than a few." Dragging Karin kicking and screaming through the door with a hand over her mouth, the two were gone in moments. Ino and Hinata weren't far behind, blowing kisses to Naruto while Tayuya came up to him directly.

"Don't get worn out before we meet back up." Softly she leaned against him to share a kiss.

Naruto shook his head as she pulled away, "No worries there." Watching the girl leave like the others dressed in a striped white and blue robe, that eventually left Naruto alone with Koyuki herself, who was already slipping into a bathhouse robe. Naruto turned and watched her change for a moment before remembering that he needed to change.

Koyuki caught his staring however, "Are you going to spoil me this trip?" She took the time to sit on the edge of the bed, not yet tying the robe closed and showing off a lot of creamy skin. Naruto cursed the fact that somehow the not completely naked aspect of her was somehow just as alluring as her being completely naked. Damn hormones.

"Absolutely, though I'm sure you want to hit the baths first like everyone else?"

Koyuki grinned impishly, robe slipping down one shoulder as her long hair spilled out behind her, "I don't know. I wouldn't mind a workout before a bath."

Naruto was already pulling clothes off, "That a request?"

"That's an order, Uzu-kage."

"Yes ma'am." It was going to be a long day, Naruto decided.

Downstairs and several minutes later found the girls together in a large open air bath, relaxing while chatting away with each other. There weren't many people here as they thought, but there were a few. Most likely ninja, Karin had mentioned, but no one was concerned about problems here. Everyone know how determined the Hot Water ninja were to keeping the peace. Through the mists as they get comfortable Ino and Hinata make eye contact with a group of girls they had met before, Ino's eyes going wide while Hinata blushed a bit. "Yo! Samui, imagine seeing you again!"

Said blonde flushed only a little as she recognized the pair, now with a larger group of women, "Hello again, fancy meeting you here." Huh, if they were here then they must be ninja, they were wrong about that before.

Karui was already up, "Yo Ino my girl! How are ya?"

"Oh you know, another day to be worshiped." She missed Yugito and Samui blushing heavily at that. "Meet the family, these are my co-wives, Tayuya, Karin, and Kotohime." All of the said girls waved with smiles.

Karui raised an eyebrow, "Co-wives?"

Tayuya nods, "Yeah, the man really knows how to run things when he's motivated." Personally she was looking forward to later. Naruto had mentioned he had something planned for them all.

Yugito had floated over to Hinata and Ino, bowing lightly to both, "I apologize for the interruption last time."

Hinata waved her off while Ino just looked on confused, "Don't worry about it. We should have put out the do not disturb sign at the least." Hinata looked over to see Ino confused, "Oh, it was them last time we were at that other resort. Remember when someone knocked on the door?"

Ino however couldn't remember that. All she could remember was the sensation of being filled, repeatedly, and body tingling bliss. "Uh, right, yeah. No sweat."

Hinata however knew the other girl didn't remember, "Like she said, it's no problem."

Yugito bowed again, "Thank you. So you're on another vacation then?"

"We finished our remodel, so we're celebrating that. Though this might be the last vacation for a while now that we can get back to work." Hinata wanted to enjoy every minute of this time off and certainly didn't want any interruptions.

"That must be nice, to celebrate when you want." Yugito was a ninja after all, if it wasn't for this mission she'd probably be in some dank sewer right now chasing after some bounty or other.

Ino grinned, "Work hard, play hard. That's our motto." Ino remembered why the other group was hunting around themselves, "Have you had any luck finding your friend?"

Yugito shook her head as they watched Tayuya and Karui flex on each other, "No, but we're close, we can feel it."

Hinata smiles as Karin tries to get in the middle of defuse what looks like tempers flaring, poor peacekeeper, "Well good luck to you. We know how hard it can be to be worried about a dear friend." Naruto pulled enough crazy stunts to make them all worry more then not.

From the changing room another pair was walking into the space. Sighing heavily the mists part to reveal a worn out pair of Kurotsuchi and Suzumebachi. Karui catches sight of them and snickers while the Uzumaki group looks on in curiosity. Kurotsuchi looks up and sees the lightning group, but her rage is long gone. "It's you lot."

Karui can't help herself and chuckles, "It's just us girls this time. No need to get your panties in a twist."

Samui shakes her head, "Play nice Karui."

Karui shrugged, "What? This is me being nice."

Kurotsuchi and Suzumebachi ease themselves into the water, though Suzumebachi leans over to whisper into Kurotsuchi's ear. Perking up a bit, the Iwa girl sits up a bit straighter while eyeing the Uzumaki group. "I'm Kurotsuchi, this is Suzumebachi, nice to meet you."

Kotohime takes the lead on this one and bows lightly, "Good afternoon. I'm Kotohime. These are Tayuya, Karin, Ino and Hinata. We're on a vacation trip, how about yourself?" Kotohime was not liking the energy these girls put off. They were trouble, unlike this other group of girls they had been chatting with.

"On a hunt actually. Looking for this Maelstrom asshole." Kurotsuchi shrugged and let some real frustration show, "Honestly I don't know why his rating is so high since all he seems to do is hide. Guy can get bent at this point." She was laying it on a little thick but she wanted to see if she could get a reaction out of these girls. Suzumebachi claimed they had the Maelstrom's scent on them. Did that mean he was here?

A tick mark formed on Tayuya's forehead, though the other girls controlled themselves much better. "I think you're just made he's obviously talented enough to stay far away from you."

Kurotsuchi saw she struck a nerve, point for her, "What. You a fangirl of his? Maybe get some better tastes in men."

"Find a flat chest like you berating my choice in men to be pretty funny."

"Who you calling a flat chest you gorilla?"

"Just calling it like I see it sir."

Suzumebachi leaned over while the two more outspoken girls traded barbs back and forth, "I'm just here to collect a paycheck, I really don't care about any of this."

It is a sympathetic Karui who pipes up, "I know what you mean, we're kinda in the same boat at the moment."

Ino finally rolls her eyes, knowing Tayuya just wanted to scrap with anyone who was willing. Hauling the other wife off to a corner, Ino soothes her a bit, "Now now, let's you and me have a wrestle and cool off."

"That bitch needs a beating!"

"Hai hai, maybe later."

Kurotsuchi smirked,"What's her deal?" She'd met fangirls before and never had any respect for any of them. She'd started the trash talk purely because of that alone. It was looking like however she might have her answer. The Maelstrom was most likely here, which meant these girls could be bargaining chips.

Kotohime sighed, "Let's just say she is a bit of a fan is all." Things settle down from there. The Uzumaki girls somewhat frosty towards the Iwa group while the Cloud ninja couldn't care less either way. Samui and Yugito recognized now that the Uzumaki girls were ninja as well while Karui seemed oblivious to it. They'd have to get her up to speed after this. Later. When they left the bath.

Not far away and mingling in a coed bath, Naruto and Koyuki have eased themselves into the water with smiles. Naruto patting himself on the back for a job well done while Koyuki was easing soreness. "You're going to break me."

Naruto grinned, "You'd love every second of it."

Koyuki nodded and leaned into him, "Most likely." Leaning into his side and enjoying their closeness, Koyuki brought up some stuff from home she had forgotten about. "A group of Spring engineers are coming to Uzushio soon. They've been playing around with your explosive seals as propulsive devices. Also they heard from Tazuna he needs specifications for airship platforms."

Naruto nods, "Yeah, I wanted to give a reason to actually use the airships for civilian purposes. The engineers and I will have a meeting."

"Good, that way they can stop bugging me. I don't understand any of what they talk about, that's your thing." Koyuki hummed with delight as his arm snaked around her waist to pull her close. "This is nice."

Naruto agrees, "Absolutely." He certainly wasn't going to complain about having a few days alone with his favorite people.

Koyuki lays her head on his shoulder, a hand idly trailing along his well formed chest and abs, "Do you think, is Uzushio ready to go public yet?"

Naruto shakes his head, "Not yet. I want to make a trip to Kiri, obtain one more sponsor among the major villages, and then we can I think. I'll check with Tsunade and Gaara if I've forgotten anything."

"Keep me posted, if I need to be prepared for anything on my end, I want to be ready. Hopefully things won't go too crazy." Knowing them however, things were liable to spiral out of control quickly.

"It they do, I'll protect you all with my strength."

"You better make sure to take care of yourself as well. We can fight out battles as well, you don't have to do everything."

"I'll try to remember that." And he would. He was strong, growing stronger everyday. So were they and he didn't want to forget that. Together they relaxed and enjoyed the soothing bath for a while, embracing each other while they let themselves rest. In the distance they could hear the chaos that usually was related to the rest of their group.

Koyuki giggled, "Should we be worried about them?"

"Nah, they'll be fine."

-b-

Later that night and sneaking along the roof of the bath house, Kurotsuchi and Suzumebachi are making their way to infiltrate the penthouse suite. Kurotsuchi motions for them to halt and looks back again at the insect user, "You're absolutely positive that the Maelstrom is here?"

Suzumebachi didn't dare roll her eyes, but she really really wanted to, "Yes my Lady, he's here."

Kurotsuchi grinned, "Good. Grandfather said he just wanted me to observe. But after all this bullshit and everything that's happened, I'm taking this asshole out and bringing his corpse back for study. He's not that tough." She had it all planned out. Swoop in, encase his head in ash and maybe melt off a limb or two with some lava. Easy peasy and be gone before the Hot Water ninja can hunt her down. Seeing an open window, Kurotsuchi's grin widens even more. "Stay here and only come after me if it looks like something has gone wrong."

"As you wish."

Kurotsuchi applies chakra to her hand and rolls over the roof's edge, using her momentum to sail through the window where she was already welling up chakra. She wanted to make this quick.

She was not prepared for the sight that greeted her. Nor the noise. If she had been more aware, she would have noticed that her chakra had been forcibly cut off.

Naruto had been nice enough to set up a combination sound barrier as to not disturb the rest of the patrons, as such, when Kurotsuchi entered the room she was met full force by loud moaning and near screaming of several women all at once. So much moving flesh, how many clones could this guy make? Why was that girl bent that way and how many clones was she taking at once? Head spinning and thoroughly distracted, Kurotsuchi uttered a small squeak that drew the real Naruto's attention, taking a slight break while an exhausted Ino panted on the bed next to him. Eyes locking onto the intruder, the mood in the room changed near instantly. Several new clones of Naruto burst into existence, all angling towards Kurotsuchi while the occupied clones switched from fun time to defense time, moving or dragging their various partners out of the room. Startled cries or protests met deaf ears as Kurotsuchi was caught flat footed and tossed back out of the window with several naked clones in pursuit. Standing and dressing quickly, the real Naruto unseals his sword and tosses his jacket over Ino while a new clone stays with her. "I'll be back! Protect the girls!"

"On it boss!"

As Naruto leapt from the window a purple barrier sprung to life around the room. Nothing would be getting in or out from then on. Focused as he was, it was easy to avoid a kunai from a new assailant. Making a new brace of clones to take care of them, Naruto focuses on the first intruder, diving into the forest below them and following the sounds of explosions. He's cut off however by several summoned insects. "Oh for fucks sake." Charging chakra into his sword, he swings, "Kaze no yaiba!" A supercharged blade of wind makes short work of the summons, but it gives his pursuer time to catch up. A younger girl with a mean look and a wide forehead greets him.

"Sorry about this, but I can't let you continue!" Summoning a swarm of bees, Suzumebachi is ready to stand her ground. She misses a clone landing behind her, seals on its wrist glowing.

Naruto smirks, "You picked the wrong fight Iwa-nin." Watching the clone catch her and her bugs in an explosion, he unseals and tosses a suppression tag to the clone, "Catch her alive. Don't kill her."

"Got it!" With a cruel grin, the clones are off to harass the insect summoner, already bleeding and burnt a bit.

Suzumebachi watches as the real Naruto runs off after Kurotsuchi, trying to well up chakra in order to summon a new insect in order to stop him, she's interrupted by several kunai headed her way. Aborting her technique and hopping quickly from tree to tree, she's forced on the defensive. "You fakes can't hope to stop me, you know that!" A gentle hand is placed on her back accompanied by a voice that sends a shiver down her spine.

"You picked the wrong night to fuck with me bitch." Another explosion sends Suzumebachi hurtling through the air in an uncontrolled arc. While another clone has finished making seals.

"Futon:Daitoppa!" Inhaling a great breath, it releases all of its chakra into the technique. Said great wind connects, sending the woman down into the dirt to bounce harshly with an accompanying crack of broken bones. Mercifully Suzumebachi was unconscious by the time she hit the ground, but she'd be in for a world of hurt when she awoke. A clone came down to slap a seal on her forehead, beginning to drag her back to the bath house. The clones had no sympathy for the woman who had interrupted them, and were taking bets on if any of the girls would rip her apart or not when they got back to the bath house.

Naruto himself had caught up with Kurotsuchi, watching as she was defending herself from the dozen clones very well. He couldn't say she wasn't skilled at the least. Using several earth techniques to defend against explosions while fire and ash techniques were used with great affect to destroy clones. Down to now four of them, he makes a new dozen and sends them off.

Kurotsuchi was frowning as the new wave of clones came rushing in. "Is this all you got!" Stomping her foot and applying chakra, none of them were prepared for a wall of literal lava to come up and destroy six of them at once. "I'll burn you and everything you've ever wanted to the ground at this rate you fake!"

Naruto twitches but just makes more clones, keeping the total number of clones to a dozen, "You saw that, but you can't even find the real me!" Watching the short haired woman dodge wind attacks and exploding clones, he didn't want this to turn into a war of attrition. He would most likely win that, but at the cost of pissing off his girls. That wasn't allowed.

"Just cause you're a coward who hides from a real fight! I'll have you beaten and I'll drag you back to Iwa for study in no time!" Another short burst of fiery ash incinerated three clones at once before she was forced to backflip away from an ax kick from a different clone. This one met its end to an earth spike. She was getting dangerously low on chakra here. "No clue why you have a flee on sight order, grandpa must be getting senile in his old age."

Ah, so the Tsuchikage's grand daughter came for him. That complicated things a tad. He couldn't kill her. But he could certainly kick the shit out of her. "You know, now that I know for sure you're from Iwa, I think I'm going to have to continue the family tradition."

"Oh yeah?" Destroying yet another clone, the panting woman grimaced, "What's that? Bitching out?"

Welling up chakra and applying some to his eye, Naruto prepared to leapt towards the woman and held out a hand, "Slaughtering enough Iwa-nin to burn a generational hole in your collective psyche. Dad did it. Guess it's my turn." With Kurama's gentle coaxing and blood leaking from his eye, Naruto felt out for the connection and then, pulled. "Bansho Ten'in!" Leaping towards the woman who was suddenly pulled off of her feet towards him, Naruto grins as his eyes shine.

"What?" Caught completely off guard, she's unable to mount a defense against the large sword that's swung like a bat to connect with her broadside to send her flying into a thick redwood tree. Bouncing off with a groan and most assuredly a broken collarbone, she's caught again by a clone wielding explosive seals. Bounced around the forest a few more times, she's eventually allowed to drop to the dirt. Covered in soot, bleeding and breathing harshly, the real Naruto walks up to her calmly, eyes shining in the dark and a manic grin on his face.

"Oh you have no idea how badly you fucked up." Here he leaned in close, sword piercing the ground next to her neck, "But you'll learn. Oh yeah you'll learn." It was hard to reign in his emotions when combined with Kurama's chakra as he was. This woman had threatened his wives. He wanted nothing else than to rip her apart. That could wait however. Some revenge was best left to stew and marinate for a bit. Danzo was learning that lesson as well. Placing a suppression seal on the woman and standing to his full height, he rests his sword on his shoulder as several Hot Water ninja drop into the woods around them. "Took you all long enough."

The lead ninja, an older man looking to be in his forties stepped forward to bow to Naruto quickly. "My apologies, we've already gotten an update both from the bath house you're taking residence in and the clone you had with that other intruder. We'll take over from here. Do you have any requests or information to share?"

Naruto nods, sealing away his sword and thrusting his hands in his pockets in frustration. "They're from Iwa. Apparently they were specifically after me." Naruto looks down at the battered kunoichi, "The seal on her forehead is a suppression seal. She'll stay asleep as long as that seal is on her. Take it off and she'll wake up at most within an hour."

The man nods, motioning to one of his subordinates to pick her up and carry her away, "You have my word they will be punished accordingly and sent back to Iwa."

Naruto nods, "This one is apparently related to their Kage, keep that in mind."

The man tenses slightly but nods all the same, "Thank you, we'll take precautions then." Great, this was going to be a political nightmare later. "By your leave then, One who Sees Truth." Getting a nod from Naruto, the squad of ninja are gone silently into the night.

Naruto himself shakes his head, "Man they move quietly. Guess it makes since in a country like this." Taking a deep and steadying breath before releasing it slowly, he let his chakra circulation return to normal. "Man that burns."

Kurama nodded from within the seal, 'You're still having to force it, so it's going to hurt. It isn't complete yet.'

'Still, it's helpful in a pinch.'

'Yeah, but only in an emergency. Don't rush this. You could damage it early and then really be shit outta luck.'

'Thanks for the tip, I'll try to stick to everything else in my arsenal.' The real kicker for Naruto had been that he couldn't kill her. He was trying to gain legitimacy here and killing a family member to another Kage would probably be frowned on. Especially spouting off that he wanted peace. Taking to the trees and making his way back to the bath house, Naruto could already tell that the barrier was down around the suite. It's a few minutes before he's back through the window and sighing with relief seeing all the girls, while only in their robes, at least they were armed. Jugo and the Fuma girls were completely dressed and armed, though they relaxed when he showed back up. "Hey everyone."

Jugo bowed, "Lord Naruto, it's great to see you returned safely."

Naruto nods, walking inside to collapse into a chair in front of everyone, "Yeah. That chick from Iwa wasn't bad. But they're headed back to their village now and I have some leverage to use against the Tsuchikage in the future."

Hinata and Karin were at his side, Hinata running a glowing green hand over his eye where she could see blood while Karin was running another glowing hand over the rest of him on his right. Hinata was frowning, "You were a bit reckless."

Karin nodded, "He's uninjured otherwise."

Naruto sighed, "I could have told you that."

Tayuya gave him the finger, "We have to make sure for ourselves, so just put up with it whiskers."

Kotohime stood and thanked Jugo, "We have him from here. Go on and get some rest."

Jugo seemed to want to go against that order, "My Lady, our duty is to protect you. This area has been compromised."

Kotohime shook her head while pointing a finger towards the roof, "Can't you feel them? Hot Water ninja are now patrolling the area. We're safe for tonight. Go and get your rest." Kotohime winked at her sister, "This is still our vacation."

Naruto groans and rubs a shoulder, "Go on Jugo, we're good here and even with the Hot Water ninja I have clones seeded everywhere now, we're good."

Jugo bowed deeply, "By your leave then, Lady Kotohime, Lord Naruto." The Jugo group turned and left, relieved looks on their faces as no one was severely injured. Naruto's own injury seeming to be self inflicted.

That left Naruto alone with several frustrated women. "Sorry girls, I know tonight was supposed to be special and-" He's silenced as Hinata leans over and places a soft finger to his lips.

"Worry not beloved. Let us take care of you. We can always continue tomorrow. We're here for several days correct?" Naruto nods, "Then all is well."

Tayuya sighed and nods, not so secretly very relieved that Naruto was okay, "C'mon, let's get your ass back to bed and we'll pamper you for a while." She couldn't speak for the others, but she certainly wasn't in the mood at the moment. All she wanted to do now was make sure with her own hands that he was fine, and then bed. Sleep wouldn't come easy to anyone that night, but eventually sleep they did.

-b-

A new day dawns on the misty bath house high in the mountains. Unable to sleep in unlike the exhausted girls, Naruto decides to take a walk among the grounds. Only a little sore the robe clad ninja rolls his shoulder to work out some knots. Maybe he could convince Hinata to give him a massage later. Finding himself on a trail that led a bit more up the mountain, Naruto eventually finds a quiet lookout point that gazes out over the bath house itself. Watching quietly as the sun slowly rose over the horizon, Naruto could admit that the view was amazing. The early morning yellows and oranges reflecting off the misty landscape was a sight to behold. To bad he wasn't much of an artist, this would be a great picture to sketch out.

From behind him there's a gentle cough, and Naruto turns back to see a tall darker skinned man standing there with a grin on his face, "Mornin' Yo!"

Naruto chuckled, "Mornin' Yo." He watched as his visitor joined him in watching the sunrise, though Kurama's voice echoed in his head.

'Careful brat, he's a container.'

'Got it.'

"It's a beautiful morning out, isn't it?" Naruto decided to enjoy the peace while he could, he'd figure out why another container had found him eventually.

"So is every morning where we aren't in mourning. Ya dig?"

Naruto nods, "This side of the dirt where life reminds us things can hurt?"

B grinned brightly, "You get it young dude, you've got the right attitude!"

Naruto shakes his head, "I can never seem to attract normal people huh?"

B waved him off, "Normal is for normal people yo." B pointed directly at him, "For men like you and me Mr. 9? The chaos is our lifeblood."

Naruto sighs, "So what's this all about then." Here he turns to the man fully, "I'm sure you know about last night, so know I'm no pushover here."

The older ninja nods, grin still in place, "You and me gonna have it out, no doubt, but today ain't that day so pray." Here his demeanor changes, everything about him less cheerful. "I'll get to the point, Obviously I know you hold the kyuubi. My village wants you for themselves."

Naruto shrugged, "First, his name is Kurama, get it right. Second, get in line, I've got my own city to worry about." The older ninja surprises Naruto by nodding and turning to look back out over the forested countryside.

"I get it. Really I do. Honestly I don't want to confront you at all. I'm doing the bare minimum here so I can honestly say I attempted the mission. Be warned though, little bro, more people are going to come for you, my village on that list still. Which means you might have to face off against us at least once."

Naruto sighed, realizing what the older ninja was trying to tell him without using words. "Got it. I'd rather we could find some common ground, as friends ya know?"

"I'd like the same. But for us jinchuriki, life isn't so simple right?"

"Ain't that the truth." there's silence for some time, both men enjoying the temporary peace they could enjoy for the moment.

B however does rub the back of his head as he feels a bit embarrassed, "Uh. Also, sorry about last time. Walked in on ya at the last resort."

Naruto was more than a little confused about that, but chuckled, "Ahhh, so you were at the door last time. Forgot to put up a silencing seal last time." He had been in a hurry. They all had been. "Don't sweat about it."

"Sure sure." B's attention is drawn to two women walking up the winding pathway, "I believe some of your group are coming to find you."

Naruto nods, "That'd be Tayuya and Ino. Great girls, strong. Loving." Naruto sighs again, holding out a hand to the ninja, "I really do hope we can find a peaceful solution for this." B hand is firm as they shake once before parting.

"I hope for one as well, little bro." Saluting the smaller ninja as Naruto turns and jogs away to catch the girls and head back, B himself decides play time was over. It was time to gather up the teams and head back to Kumo. He had a report to file.

Behind him Naruto grins as the smiling faces of Ino and Tayuya greet him. "Hey whiskers, time for breakfast." Tayuya is quick to latch onto his left arm and start pulling him back down the trail.

Ino nods, taking his other arm, "Plus, now that we're all awake, we were thinking of maybe breaking in the personal tub."

Naruto smiles and tosses all the political nonsense out of his mind for now. "Anything for you girls." This week was for them, no one else.

-AN-

One peaceful resolution while another get's feisty. But the gang gets some downtime before it's a planned sprint of work and an eventual debut of the Uzushio nation. Stay tuned, and I hope you all are well.