"You cannot be serious."
Koharu's words, while perhaps a tad impolite in delivery, were supported by all those present, save for Onoki himself who rolled his eyes at the elderly woman.
"Must you insist on doubting me at every turn?" Onoki asked.
Koharu quirked her brow at him. "Until you start making a lick of sense, yes."
Hiruzen stifled a laugh. "Now, now. Why don't we at least hear him out in full before we question it too harshly," he said, motioning for Onoki to elaborate. In truth, these past couple of weeks of playing peacekeeper among even his own advisors was getting old. He valued his comrades' wisdom and council, but there was a limit to his patience.
Onoki crossed his arms with a huff and continued. "Well, since you made it abundantly clear that the Uzumaki boy is off limits, I figured it wouldn't hurt to see if someone else might be suitable."
"You have someone in mind then?" Homura asked.
"No," Onoki admitted. "Hence why I suggested my granddaughter stay here as a representative of Iwa during our discussions of peace. Should anyone catch her eye in that time, then we can look into creating a true alliance between our villages."
Not a terrible offer, all in all. It was much more reserved than the one made by Suna, still, Hiruzen couldn't help but wonder about the nature of it. "Why is the marriage of your granddaughter of such importance to you, lord Tsuchikage? Surely, she would hold respectable stature in your own country. Could a better suitor not be found within your own borders, assuming the decision need even be taken from her own hands. Would you not rather her choose someone on her own accord?"
Onoki averted his gaze and mumbled something under his breath that sounded an awful lot like a string of curses.
"Speak up you old fool. The Hokage should not have to strain himself to hear you," Koharu quipped.
"I already tried all of that," Onoki said, his voice louder but with a distinct defeated tone. "I love my granddaughter, I do, but she is a thorn in my side like no other has been in all my years. She would sooner beat a boy bloody than let them try to woo her. Her ambition lies only in her career as a kunoichi and her apparent desire to take my place as Tsuchikage. Any hope I have of finding her a successful suitor is quickly fading the stronger and more stubborn she grows. The royals of our country are already too afraid to make any attempts as it is."
"And yet she seemed awfully accepting of young Naruto?" Homura asked curiously.
"She's a schemer at heart. That Uzumaki brat put on quite a show when we first made contact with him. Lineage aside, his potential speaks for itself. If Kurotsuchi is duty bound to wed someone for the sake of this alliance, then it might as well be the one that earns her the most status. Anything that gets her closer to taking this damnable position from me," Onoki explained. "Now that he isn't an option, it seems only fair to let her seek out someone else that sparks her interests."
"So, this was as much a ploy to palm off your own flesh and blood as it was to get your claws on the son of your village's greatest enemy?" Koharu asked with disdain. "Are there any lows you will not stoop to?"
Hiruzen coughed and silently scolded Koharu with a stern look. Turning an amused smirk to the Tsuchikage, Hiruzen allowed himself a soft laugh. "I guess you are finally reaping the rewards of your own stubbornness, lord Tsuchikage. You should have known such things would be passed down the line."
Onoki groaned. "Don't remind me. My son was bad enough until he found a good woman and made something honest of himself. I heard your own son isn't much different. I've no intention of letting my granddaughter parade around and make a fool of herself if I can help it. Should Konoha be willing to assist me in this personal endeavour, I would be inclined to offer more favourable terms with the alliance."
"And what, pray tell, can you possibly offer us that would be worth such a headache?" Koharu asked. "Permitting a foreign shinobi to live among us is trouble enough, let alone it being someone of such importance. Should anything unfortunate happen to the girl, you and your own are likely to blame us and demand restitution, assuming that was not the plan to begin with."
Hiruzen nodded. "A good point. We would need assurances to even consider this proposal."
"You have my word as Tsuchikage that although Kurotsuchi will be under your care, anything that becomes of her, so long as can be proven at no fault of your own, will not incur retaliation from Iwa," Onoki said. "I admit my words likely mean very little to you on their own, so allow to me offer something in good faith. Firstly, I would not leave my granddaughter here alone. Roshi will stay as her protector and council, while also continuing to provide training to your own jinchuuriki. Given the challenges we are likely to face in the near future, this will be arguably the most important facet of our alliance, so it's best we do not hinder it whilst other matters are tended to."
"A wise choice, and one we will happily agree to," Hiruzen said, getting accompanying nods of approval from his council. "Your words lead me to believe that you have something else you wish to say?"
There was an air of arrogance surrounding the Tsuchikage as he tilted his chin up confidently. "The second, and possibly most important reason for my being here and attempting to forge this alliance, is the Akatsuki."
Koharu frowned deeply. "Yes. That much was clear. Rather clever of you to try and orchestrate for your one remaining jinchuuriki to be left here under our care for the time being, effectively removing your village as a possible target for the group. Regrettably, this also puts Konoha at a disadvantage. Akatsuki might very well come after us with more force should we be housing both jinchuuriki."
"Akatsuki will be inactive for a little while. Two years at least, four at most," Onoki said smugly, stroking his beard as all eyes regarded him curiously.
"You know this how exactly?" Homura asked.
"Oh? You mean the famed Konoha, with its renowned spymaster, hasn't even gotten this much information?" the short old man gloated. "Well, I guess Iwa may have more to offer you than I first thought. You see, losing one of our jinchuuriki was a truly regrettable turn of events, but not one that I was completely unaware could transpire. With that in mind, I ensured some contingencies were in place."
Hiruzen pressed his lips into a thin line. He wasn't sure how comfortable he was with someone like Onoki having something so important to hold over Konoha's head. When the opportunity arose, he would have to confer with Jiraiya and find out the validity of the Tsuchikage's claim. If Akatsuki truly were going to have a period of time with their heads kept low, then that did offer them a moment of respite to get a handle on things before it got out of control. It did, unfortunately, mean that Hiruzen himself would not be around to help his village in what was to come. At least he would have a chance to make sure those left were ready to tackle the challenges that lie before them.
Onoki was grinning wide by now, no doubt watching the gears turn behind Hiruzen's eyes. In that moment, Hiruzen understood the level of preparation the old fence-sitter had managed to ensure before coming all this way. His attempts to get his hands on any part of Naruto might have been shortsighted and ill-planned, but it was silly to assume that a Kage would come asking for peace without having a significant bargaining chip in their pocket. The question now was what kind of chip it was. Information, obviously, but of what nature? How could he claim to know anything about the inner workings of Akatsuki? There was one possibility, and it didn't sit very well with the Hokage.
"Tell me, Sarutobi… how valuable would a man on the inside of Akatsuki be to you?"
{I}
Temari watched as Naruto, well, the army of Naruto's really, carefully snaked their way around the storm of kunai and shuriken hailing down around them. An easy task for anyone fast enough, but not so simple when you had to orchestrate all of your movements with a few dozen perfect replicas of yourself, all of whom would try and act in the same or similar ways. Temari hadn't understood at first, but now that they were a few days into it, she was beginning to see the benefits to this type of training. Naruto was too used to using his clones as sacrificial lambs and relying on his chakra reserves to keep replenishing his numbers. Training to keep all of his clones in action for as long as possible on the battlefield would help with not only his chakra, but also strategic thinking, as well as keep the enemy guessing as to where the real Naruto was.
It also stopped Naruto from relying on his healing factor, which pleased Temari to no end. Even if he could walk away from most wounds like they were a minor inconvenience, it didn't make Temari any more comfortable knowing that he was constantly getting hurt. That, and constantly having to clean blood out of clothes was annoying as hell, and Naruto somehow got more claret everywhere than even Gaara did at some points. Thank the gods Naruto took care of cleaning up after himself, for the most part.
Her attention shifted to the one responsible for the endless hail of blades, Tenten. Temari had to admit, introducing the two had been one of her better ideas. While it had gotten off to a rocky start, especially considering Tenten's preconceptions of Naruto. Luckily, there was no need for them to be friendly just yet. As soon as she heard the plan, Tenten was more than eager to oblige. She got to practice her precision, as well as blow off some steam, and Naruto got to learn how to avoid the human equivalent of a pissed off porcupine. A win-win for everyone involved.
Tenten pulled two scrolls from her pouch and placed them at her sides. With a couple of hand signs, she was enveloped in a cloud of smoke. "Twin rising dragons!" The scrolls unfurled up in a twin spiral, the smoke taking the shape of dragons. If what Tenten was raining down on her opponents before was bad, then this was hell. She jumped up between the scrolls, unsealing an obscene number of weapons that proceeded to be launched across the field with bullseye accuracy. Temari almost felt bad for the targets.
"Lava style: Quicklime Wall!"
Kurotsuchi spat out a large cloud of quicklime that shaped itself into a large half dome before hardening. The mass of blades aimed at her clanged against the rock-hard wall and fell to the ground. The Iwa-nin let out a sigh of relief as her defence held strong, giving her a much-needed break from dodging. It was short lived, as Tenten threw a cluster of kunai from each hand that sailed around the cement wall, each one with an exploding tag tied to it. With a smirk on her face, Tenten pulled back with her hands, threads of ninja wire going taught around her fingers and whipping the kunai around the half dome and into the ground right behind Kurotsuchi.
Temari held back a laugh as Kurotsuchi was enveloped in an explosion with a loud, hilariously girlie squeal. With any luck, forcing the girl to partake in their training would dissuade her from constantly following Temari and Naruto around like a lost puppy. Nothing against Kurotsuchi herself, but Temari hadn't realised that being halfway nice to her would lead to them all but babysitting her the entire time. Such a shame that Tenten was a soft touch and had training safe explosive tags. A few days in the hospital might have earned Temari some peace.
On the other side of the field, Naruto seemed to fair a little better. He and his clones had learnt better than to try and escape Tenten's barrage, let alone attempt to put something between himself and her. Losing sight of the bun-haired girl was a recipe for pain. Anyone who trained every day against the all seeing byakugan and still managed to hold their own was not to be underestimated. Each Naruto took turns in catching weapons out of the air, using them to deflect as much of the bladed rain as they could. One by one, the clones vanished in plumes of smoke, until there was only one.
Tenten landed on her feet as her technique finished, wasting no time in unsealing another weapon as she faced down the last remaining opponent. The weighted ball of steel spun around above her head on the chain held in her left hand while she held the sickle tightly in her right. Naruto excelled at close combat, so keeping him at a distance was smart. Temari crossed her arms and focused. It would be interesting to see what strategy Tenten had concocted to handle Naruto. Much to the weapon mistress's chagrin, this was the part of the spars where Naruto would always get the better of her.
Naruto stood there, wiping the blood from a fresh cut on his cheek with the tattered remains of his sleeve. He had avoided taking any direct hits this time around, but there were still more than enough nicks and cuts littering him that were already healing. Tenten had learnt quickly that she didn't have to hold back with Naruto after their first session. Watching him walk off any injuries she managed to inflict within a couple of hours had both disturbed and excited her. A few words of encouragement from Temari also went a long way.
"He's done," Roshi said from his spot beside Temari.
"You sure have a lot of faith in someone who you are currently helping train," Temari retorted.
Roshi shrugged. "I ain't training him to deal with this crap. That's between him and that cyclops, or the pervert. My only focus is getting him and that bundle of fur in his gut to work together."
"And you are letting us take from your valuable time, why exactly?" she asked.
"It's entertaining. Plus, it gives me a break to do my own thing while you brats help wear him down. Calling on a bijuu's chakra is a hell of a lot easier in the early stages when you exhaust your own reserves. Kid's a natural, but every little bit helps," he said.
Temari rolled her eyes and turned back to the fight. Naruto was doing his best to close the distance between him and Tenten, not that he was making much progress. She winced as the steel weight smacked Naruto's hand and forced him to drop one of the kunai he had. He took the chance and fought through what must have been a broken hand to grab the chain while it was in reach, pulling it tight and driving the knife in his other hand down through one of the chain-links and into the ground. Tenten cursed and dropped the sickle as Naruto charged her.
She unsealed a naginata and was immediately locked into a heated back and forth with him. Her weapon gave her the better reach, and with her skill it would have been enough to handle almost any other ill prepared opponent. By all rights, Tenten should have had the upper hand in this one. Then, just as every other time, Naruto proved to be the one thing that Tenten was not well equipped to deal with… an idiot. She twirled the polearm around expertly, and right when Naruto should have dodged or deflected, he charged. Tenten freaked, twisting the blade just in time to not cut Naruto's head in half. The flat of the blade slapped against his cheek. Naruto grabbed the weapon by the pole and twisted it out of her grasp, stepping in close and moving to bring his kunai up to her throat only to stop short.
He looked down at the short sword Tenten had held in her hand, the tip of the blade pressing just enough against his neck to draw blood. The cut across Naruto's face was bleeding heavily, and despite a clear victory on her part, Tenten looked less than pleased. If anything, she looked worried. They remained that way for an agonizing few seconds, neither daring to move for their own respective reasons. It wasn't until Temari marched onto the field, clapping her hands loudly, that they finally broke apart and Tenten took a few cautious steps back.
"Nicely done," Temari said, smiling at Tenten and gesturing to the sword. "You're making more backup plans. Now we can start removing some of the limitations in the spars and see just how prepared you can be."
For obvious reasons, neither Naruto nor Kurotsuchi had been permitted to use everything in their repertoire. It would have been hilariously unfair for the weapon mistress to try take on both a jinchuuriki and a kekkei genkai user simultaneously. The purpose of this whole thing wasn't to beat Tenten down, but rather to see how she could adapt to incrementally increased challenges that she was unfamiliar with. Taking todays little victory into account, Temari was confident Tenten would go on to surprise a lot of people.
Tenten smiled at the compliment for a moment, only to frown and turn warily to Naruto. He was still glaring at her sword even as the cuts on his face and neck healed. "I'm sorry," she said somewhat stiffly.
Naruto wiped his face with his sleeve again, unphased. "It's fine," he mumbled, peering over to where Roshi was. The older jinchuuriki was gesturing for them to move on. "You don't need me anymore, do you?"
Temari shook her head with a smile. "Nope. You're good to go. Just try not to be too late for dinner this time," she said, winking at him.
As Naruto took his leave, Tenten furrowed her brow. "Still creeps me out that he lets you talk to him like that."
"Like what?"
"All friendly like," Tenten said, sealing away her sword and starting the process of picking up her scattered weapons.
"It's not like he has much of a choice. We are married now. He's gotta get comfortable with us acting like a couple," Temari said, smirking to herself. "Besides, it's worth it to see him get all bent out of shape when I catch him off guard with it. You should see him try to look scary when he blushes. Priceless."
Tenten gave Temari a concerned side-eyed glance. "You had a rough childhood, didn't you?"
"Yes. Now, back to you," Temari began cheerfully, pointing over to where a pouting Kurotsuchi was patting the ash and dirt out of her clothes. "Good work handling her barrier. Those wires are a neat trick."
"Thanks." Tenten beamed. "You actually gave me the idea with the chakra threads. No guarantee that I'll be able to learn that, so gotta make do with what I have."
Temari smiled. It was so nice to finally have another kunoichi who took things seriously and had a good head on her shoulders. Not to say there weren't plenty of those in Suna, it was just that Suna bred a specific quality of shinobi in general. Only the strongest survived in the desert, and the strongest were not often the friendliest. The men were one thing, but the women… well, if you weren't the target of seduction then you would be hard pressed to say they were pleasant outside of carefully formed and close-knit circles. Those in Konoha were much more relaxed and openly friendly by comparison. An annoying reality in some ways, but one that Temari was happy to take advantage of.
"Was that really necessary? I'll have to soak in a bath for ages to get the smell of smoke off of me," Kurotsuchi whined pitifully.
Tenten shrugged. "I could have used ink bombs. What's your favourite colour? I bet you'd look absolutely stunning in some bright pink, or maybe a nice baby blue."
Kurotsuchi stuck her tongue out at the girl. "Don't make me melt your face off, tree-hugger."
Temari shook her head and looked at Kurotsuchi curiously. "Aren't you going to follow them?" she asked. It had been a habit by this point. After every session, Roshi would snatch Naruto up and Kurotsuchi would follow along for whatever reason. Temari had tagged along once, only to find the girl watching Naruto's training session from afar.
The Iwa-nin hummed to herself. "Not today. Those two have been seriously boring lately. They just beat the snot out of each other and then meditate for hours. It's so lame," she said, perking up a little as her attention returned to the two Konoha girls. "I thought we could hang out this time. I can spy on the jinchuuriki another time."
Tenten quirked her brow. "I think one of the main points of spying is not telling anyone that you're doing it."
"Maybe. I neither care, nor am I worried," Kurotsuchi said. "Roshi is loyal and trustworthy, but he is also not one for stressing over details. Since we are both going to be stuck here for the foreseeable future, I have been tasked with keeping up to date on everything to keep my grandfather informed. No big deal, and not something I have to keep quiet about what with our villages soon to be in alliance."
That was news to Temari and Tenten. "You're staying? The both of you? When was that decided?" Temari asked.
"Today, probably. Me and Roshi were informed of grandfather's plan last night. He should have already discussed it with your Hokage by now. I doubt Konoha would let the chance for peace slip by them, so guess I'm stuck here. Figured I'd try make some friends so that I'm not completely bored all the time." Somehow, despite her nonchalance, Kurotsuchi still managed to make her situation sound somewhat depressing. She just either didn't realise or didn't care. "So, what do you guys do for fun around here?"
Temari shared a look with Tenten, both quickly realising that neither of them was the right kind of person to come to when looking for fun. They both took their careers too seriously and were happy to spend their spare time training or studying. That was part of why they got along as well as they did so quickly. If Kurotsuchi was going to be hanging around for an extended period, then the girl would need to make some connections and find something to keep herself busy sometimes.
'Sorry Tenten,' Temari thought to herself quickly. "That's a good question," she said, turning to the bun-haired girl questioningly. "What is there to do around here for fun?"
Tenten's eyes widened as both foreign kunoichi looked at her with such expectant gazes. "Umm, I don't know," she said meekly, earning two odd looks from the girls. "B-but I know who to go to find out."
Temari flashed Tenten an apologetic smile before turning towards Kurotsuchi and shrugging. "She's our best bet. If we help her clean up, then we'll get our answer faster."
That seemed to do the trick. Before long, the trio had cleaned up the training ground and sealed everything away before heading back into the village. As they walked, Temari had to ponder just who it was Tenten was referring to. She hoped it wasn't anyone too vexing. Temari could handle a headache, as had been proven time and time again, but Kurotsuchi was much more brash with her actions. As funny as a small brawl might have been to watch from the sidelines, no one needed to deal with that nonsense today.
She sighed. Sometimes she missed when the only person she had to worry about was herself.
{I}
Naruto and Roshi sat back-to-back in the middle of a small clearing on the edge of the forest of death. They had been permitted access to this training ground for the simple reason that their constant use of bijuu chakra was starting to turn too many heads when used in the traditional training areas. Bijuu chakra had a tendency to taint the environment around it, lingering for some time after its use. Nothing harmful, obviously, but it was enough to trigger the more sensitive of Konoha's shinobi from time to time; those still prone to reliving the memories of the Kyuubi attack.
So here they were, tucked away from the world, just how Naruto liked it. Out here, no one ever bothered him, and nothing he did mattered so long as it was contained within the perimeter of the training ground. Unfortunately, this time wasn't quite as far away as he would have liked. Naruto couldn't see them, or sense them, but he could feel the eyes on him from somewhere in the forest. It seemed that so long as he was accompanied by Roshi, Root truly would not let him out of their sights.
"Pay them no mind, boy," Roshi said. "Being kept tabs on is just part of life for a jinchuuriki."
"I am well aware," Naruto grumbled, closing his eyes and returning to the meditation. He slowed his breathing to match Roshi's, their heartbeats quickly following.
Naruto could enjoy the silence of this part of the training. The physical contact, however, could have been avoided in his opinion. Unfortunately, even the Kyuubi agreed with Roshi's justification of it all, so he had no choice but to deal with it for the time being. This would be the third time they had attempted this particular routine and Naruto was still not sure how necessary it was. Surely there was something better they could be focusing on right now.
"Being able to do this without my assistance will be valuable in the future, especially if we come across any other jinchuuriki or bijuu," the fox said. "Every little bit helps, and nothing is without value."
That much Naruto could understand. He could appreciate that there were things that would prove beneficial to him, even if he didn't understand how. What he was being told to work on now was one of those things… apparently. He steadied himself, shutting out the world around him as much as he was willing to allow. Roshi had told him to close everything out, but Naruto's paranoia simply wouldn't permit it. Instead, he settled for focussing solely on a certain aspect of the world. The earth.
Progress with his elemental chakra training was coming along very well, perhaps even too well according to Temari. As it stood, there were likely very few within Konoha who could match Naruto adeptness with precise earth manipulation, and the other elements would follow once he had the time to focus on them. His senses extended out from beneath him, spreading out in all directions through the dirt. The network of tree roots that existed under the forest of death was immense, unmappable even, but within the thick maze were some notable outliers. A series of tunnels, all emanating from the tower at the forests centre and extending out towards each of the gates surrounding the training ground. That explained how the chunin exam proctors were able to get to the tower without worry.
He drew back before things got too overwhelming. Sensing wasn't his forte after all. Naruto's focus turned to what was directly below him. The forest of death wasn't just home to some strange flora and fauna, it was also a place that contained oddities of other sorts. The earth here was dense, full of nutrients, tainted with a chakra that seemed to harmonise with the Kyuubi's chakra within him. Hashirama's chakra. The Kyuubi had told him as much, and it made sense really. Naruto wondered if Roshi had sensed it as well, if the chakra acted similarly with the Yonbi.
"Not quite the same, but it's having an effect," Roshi answered, chuckling as Naruto stiffened against his back. "You think really loud, kid. You need to calm your mind for this to work. Try to go to sleep if that's easier for you."
"Why do we need to do this if you're already here?" Naruto asked.
Roshi sighed deeply. "Look, this is only a temporary gig, okay. At some point, I'll go back to Iwa, or Akatsuki will makes its move. After that, everything goes to shit, and the likelihood of us getting any time near each other drops to zero. You're an annoying little shit, but you ain't so bad, so I'd prefer to be able to check in on you from time to time without politics getting involved. Plus, who knows who else we will run into along the way. Might be nice to be able to have a chat with some of our other friends."
Maybe. Maybe not. So far, the only experience Naruto had with his fellow jinchuuriki was Gaara, who most likely still wanted to kill him, and Roshi, who wasn't a complete ass but certainly could have been nicer on their first meeting. Naruto knew he wasn't exactly all sunshine and roses himself, and he knew that jinchuuriki the world over were not treated well throughout history. Running into the others wasn't necessarily at the top of his to-do list, and the Kyuubi didn't seem concerned about it either.
"They are strong enough to handle themselves, and if not, then they've no one to blame but themselves."
Understandable, if a little bit cold. Above all things, Naruto and the Kyuubi could agree on one thing; their survival came first.
Naruto shook his head and went back to trying to empty his mind. This time he resorted to something that would truly numb his brain. A small ball of dirt formed in front of him, hovering ever so slightly off the ground. He ran through the standard shapes, sphere, pyramid, cube, cylinder. After a few rounds it got boring, so he moved along. Moving an element, even forming complex shapes out of them, wasn't as challenging on the small scale. If anything, after you got it perfected, it became extremely dull. Dull enough, in theory, to help someone clear their mind.
"Fascinating."
Naruto's eyes shot open. He knew the Kyuubi's voice like his own, and that wasn't it. What he opened his eyes to, however, was not the forest. Instead, he found himself sitting in the middle of a seemingly endless expanse of empty white. There was a surface beneath him, but other than that everything felt incredibly wrong. Did this place even have an up or down?
"Yeah, it's a little rough the first few times," Roshi said, getting to his feet and stretching. "You'll get the hang of it."
Naruto felt woozy as he got to his own feet. He turned to Roshi and was a little shocked by the sight before him. Towering over the redhead was a giant monkey type creature, four tails curled up behind it. The Yonbi, he surmised. But if it was here, then surely-
"Son Goku," the Kyuubi said from behind Naruto. The fox was larger than its lesser tailed kin, towering over the other three attendants of this little meeting. There was a strange expression on its face, a look in its eyes as it's nine tais calmly coiled around its feet. The fox looked… calmer?
"Kurama," the Yonbi greeted. "How fitting to see that you have befallen the same fate as the rest of us. It seems even your strength was no match for the humans."
Kurama growled. "My capture was not as easy as yours, of that, I'm sure."
"And yet, the end is the same." The monkey peered down to Roshi. "Why have you brought me here?"
Roshi shrugged. "Reunion? Just wanted to teach the brat how to get here for future reference. Figured you two might as well meet while it was possible."
Naruto rolled his eyes at the man's antics. It was good to see that he didn't show anyone any modicum of respect, even the bijuu. He glanced towards the Kyuubi questioningly, silently asking for some kind of guidance.
"Do as you like. This space is as much yours as it is our own," he said.
Great. Naruto didn't know what he was supposed to do with all this… emptiness. And he thought the seal realm had been bland. At least in here the Kyuubi had some semblance of freedom, no longer stuck behind bars like a caged animal. He was quick to notice Roshi smirking at him and realised that he was going to get an answer to his question whether he wanted it or not.
"This place is… a little weird. Not just in the typical sense either," the older jinchuuriki began. "It connects all of the bijuu together, no matter the distance or whether they are sealed away. If they want to communicate, they can, and we, as their vessels, are granted access. Consider it a parting gift from the old sage."
"Sage?" Naruto enquired.
"The sage of six paths," Son Goku answered. "The being who created the nine of us. Our father."
Naruto tilted his head a little. "Fair enough."
The Yonbi snorted in amusement and looked up at the Kyuubi. "I see you've already damaged your vessel. Hopefully it isn't irreparable."
"He was merely smart enough to listen without judgement," Kurama said smugly, eyeing Roshi with some level of judgement. "I see your vessel could have benefited from some advice in his earlier life. Are you content being represented in such a way?"
"I've little say in the matter."
"Oi!" Roshi exclaimed. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."
Naruto and Kurama shared a knowing look, both suddenly very thankful for the way their own partnership worked. Whatever dynamic Roshi and Son Goku had, it clearly wasn't new, and dealing with that for who knows how many years had to be frustrating. "What else did you mean by strange?" Naruto asked, trying to pull the situation back to something he could benefit from.
Roshi flipped the Yonbi off and turned back to Naruto, muttering some choice words about ungrateful monkeys. "Right, strange. For starters, time here doesn't work. By the time we finish in here, only a few seconds will have passed back in the real world. So, if you ever need to clear your head or think about something for a while, this is a great spot for it."
If nothing else, that would be worth all the beatdowns Roshi had given him. The only issue was that he technically already had a place like this: his seal. He couldn't imagine choosing this space over the other. For one, Naruto enjoyed privacy, and if the other bijuu and jinchuuriki could waltz in here without issue, then that could prove annoying. Also, despite everything, Naruto couldn't see himself reaching out to Roshi very often once they parted ways. He was appreciative of the man's willingness to teach him what he knew, but outside of that, the man was not his preferred type of company.
"Is that all?"
"Pfft. Brat gets access to a realm outside of time and has the gall to ask, 'is that all?'. Can't you at least act a little bit impressed?"
Naruto squinted at Roshi. "That depends on if that's all this place is good for."
Roshi crossed his arms with a huff. "There is more, yes," he grumbled.
"Unlike the space within the seal, there are few limitations here," Kurama said. "Chakra acts as it normally should. Theoretically, you could use this space to safely create and practice jutsu, within reason."
Now that got Naruto's attention. His head whipped around to glare at the fox so fast his neck cracked. "And you didn't think I could have used something like this before?"
Son Goku chuckled. "Kurama wouldn't come here unless it were absolutely necessary. His pride wouldn't allow it." The Yonbi ignored the way Kurama growled at him, turning his attention to Naruto. "This place was made for us by our father with intention. We were young. Naïve beings with unimaginable power at the tips of our tails. Father thought it best that we have somewhere to learn in peace, experiment with our abilities without threatening the world around us, and most importantly, a way for us to never lose each other in a world where nothing would understand us."
Kurama clicked his tongue. "You are awfully forthcoming with our secrets. Am I to understand that your jinchuuriki already knows more than he should?"
"Sure do," Roshi responded proudly. "Big guy thought I was too drunk to remember anything he said. Severely underestimated my abilities. After that, it was just a matter of annoying him until he spilt the rest."
Naruto spared the Yonbi a pitiful look. "I can see how that would have been too much, even for you."
"Oi!"
"You appear to have gotten lucky with your own vessel, Kurama. Quite the respectful little thing."
The fox actually grinned at that. "I raised him well."
Naruto ignored the bijuu and brought his attention back to Roshi, who was busy pouting like a child. "I trust you had a reason for bringing me here?"
"Of course I did," Roshi said. "Been bouncing the idea around in my head ever since you sucker punched me with your dads stupid rasengan. You already having that mastered actually helps out a whole bunch. Watch –" Roshi held his hand out as if to form a rasengan of his own, only for a chakra shroud around him. Small bubbles of red chakra split off from his hand, hovering over his palm. One by one, the orbs joined together, growing in size. Just when Naruto thought the trick was over, with Roshi holding a single sizeable bubble of chakra above his hand, the orb collapsed in on itself, compressing down into a small black marble.
Naruto's eyes widened a little. It wasn't too dissimilar to the rasengan, but so much more powerful. He could feel it.
"This is a bijuu-bomb. Well, sort of. Obviously, they can make one of these much bigger, but for us this is plenty," Roshi explained. "Making one of these out there would raise too many eyebrows, and depending on how bad you mess up at first, probably level more forest than we can make a good cover story for."
Naruto wasn't going to argue with that. There was no way the people of Konoha were going to sit by quietly if he started suddenly getting more proficient with the Kyuubi's chakra, at least in a way that was too hard to ignore. A bijuu-bomb sounded like a good trump card to have. "Where do we start?" he asked.
Roshi grinned. "First thing's first. Forget everything you know about the rasengan."
Naruto's eye twitched. Training sessions were about to get a whole lot worse.
{I}
Ino was invested. More so than she normally was when interesting things happened within her jurisdiction (the whole village). Unlike anything else that might have piqued her interest, this particular situation actually came to her front door, literally. Now, Ino would usually be the first one to question the idea of fate, but today was feeling especially special. It was as if the gods themselves were delivering her a gift, and she was not about to question it.
"Remind me again how this is supposed to be fun?" Kurotsuchi asked.
Ino was about to shoot the Iwa girl a look that could melt flesh from bone but finding that the others were wearing matching expressions of curiosity, she thought better of it. She sighed deeply, leaning back against the smooth rock edge of the pool as she sunk a little further into the steamy water. Was she going to have to teach these poor, uncultured girls the ways of womanhood?
"This isn't about fun. At least, not yet," Ino replied, observing those bathing alongside her carefully. Tenten she was somewhat in the know about; a training obsessed kunoichi who idolised Tsunade Senju and detested anything too girly or distracting. Ino had declared her a lost cause, which made it all the more intriguing that this outing had been her idea to begin with. "You all came to me for help in finding something fun to do, but you can't have fun without first relaxing. So, sit back and let nature take its course. Trust me and trust the process."
"Way ahead of you," Temari said, draping a wet towel over her eyes and slumped back against the warm rock.
Ino smirked. Temari was a newer puzzle piece, but Ino was quickly beginning to appreciate the mystery that was the newly wed Mrs Uzumaki. While the two had interacted very little since Temari's move to Konoha, Ino had kept her feelers out for any information on the young couple. She hadn't learnt much, sadly. Outside of being cordial in public, and spending an absurd amount of time training, the pair were just as much of a mystery as always. Ino did, however, enjoy one tiny piece of information that she had managed to scrounge up, and after having seen Temari in this less than formal setting, she could understand how the Suna kunoichi could get Naruto Uzumaki of all people to blush.
Kurotsuchi shrugged and followed Temari's lead. Ino wasn't sure what to make of the Iwa girl, at least not yet anyway. She was loud and brash, just like anyone could expect from someone raised in Iwa, but there was a cunningness lurking underneath that tomboyish exterior. It had been a good laugh having to convince the workers at the onsen that Kurotsuchi was, in fact, a girl. Funnily enough, the poor thing was rather sensitive about being mistaken for a boy. Less funny was how completely without shame Kurotsuchi turned out to be, barely thinking twice about stripping to prove her gender before marching into the female side of the onsen. Ino could respect the act but would never be caught dead doing anything of the sort.
"How long does this usually take?" Tenten asked. "There's other things I could be using this time for."
Ino raised an eyebrow at the weapon mistress. "Other things?" she inquired, perhaps with a tad too much tone. It wasn't that she disliked Tenten; on the contrary really. Ino had immense respect for all of her fellow kunoichi of Konoha, no matter how they chose to spend their spare time. Still, there was a bond that all kunoichi should acknowledge, a sisterhood. In a world that held so few powerful women on pedestals, it was up to them to have each other's backs. That unity, that camaraderie, was important. Little moments like this, easily overlooked and seemingly unimportant, were what made all the difference. By the days end, Ino would make sure they understood.
Tenten nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah. I'm this close to finishing up a new formula for my sealing scrolls. If I can just make it work, then I can make the scrolls launch weapons automatically when unsealed. Imagine the possibilities," she explained, stars filling her eyes.
Ino grimaced. "Sounds… lovely," she mumbled. Actually, no, it sounded like hell. Ino had heard about and seen more than enough of Tenten's fighting style to know that adding more flying sharp objects was inviting trouble. Gods help the world if the weapons mistress ever became a trapper, or heavens forbid, a seal master.
"And I am here why exactly?" Sakura asked in an annoyed whisper, being careful so that only Ino heard her.
"Are you saying you don't want to be a part of this?" Ino retorted. "This could be our only chance to find out anything about them."
And just like that, the lights turned on behind Sakura's eyes. Ino smirked. Her partner in crime was all but solidified, and now all they needed to do was bide their time and ask the right questions. There was so much beautiful dirt just waiting to be dug up, and Ino and Sakura were the shovels.
"You two really suck at espionage," Tenten said quietly, suddenly appearing beside the two in a disturbing display of stealth.
Ino smiled innocently. "I've no idea what you're talking about."
Tenten rolled her eyes. "Did you honestly think you're the only ones trying to figure these two out?"
"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.
It clicked for Ino rather suddenly. She was embarrassed to admit that she had assumed no one else was as interested in the newly weds and their little foreign friend. Obviously, people were interested, it was just that no one seemed to be putting any real effort into finding anything out, until now. Ino would never have guessed that Tenten was the curious type. Actually, Ino hadn't guessed a lot about Tenten, including how cute the brunette looked with her hair down. She would have to invest some more snooping time into the weapons mistress at a later date. For now, other targets took priority.
"I've been training with them for a little while now. So far, nothing out of the ordinary, save for the fact that they'll be monsters in a couple years," Tenten said.
Sakura frowned. "You've found nothing out at all?"
Tenten pouted. "I was busy trying not to die. They take training really seriously," she said.
"What about Naruto and Temari? Anything?" Ino probed hopefully. Normally she wouldn't care at all about the Uzumaki's personal life, especially if she cared about keeping her bones in one piece. She had learnt early on that no one pried into the jinchuuriki's life without some sort of consequence. Sadly, things had gotten too interesting to simply leave it be any longer.
"Not really. They seem… normal enough."
Well, that wasn't helpful at all. Ino sighed and the three went back to observing Temari and Kurotsuchi through the steam. Surprisingly, the two foreign kunoichi were taking a little too well to the idea of relaxing. That was fine. It gave Ino time to think about how to continue, what she could rope them into in order to prolong this oh so promising opportunity.
"Alright girls, we need to work together here," Ino said, getting nods from the other two. "We aren't leaving without some answers."
{I}
Troubling didn't begin to describe the situation Konoha now found itself in. It was everything Hiruzen could do to maintain his composure in front of everyone who didn't need to be burdened by the knowledge of what was going on. Now however, in the comfort of his own home, he could finally let his shoulders sag under the weight. If only the people could see just how weak he had gotten, how low the passage of time had dragged him even before he sealed his own fate with that jutsu. Yet here he was, fighting to remain a pillar of strength for those who looked up to him, who sought guidance and assurance from the one in his position. He sorely hoped that whoever took his place would handle it better than he had.
"I must admit, even I never saw this as a possibility," Danzo said. "To think that we would still be alive at such an interesting time."
Hiruzen chuckled. "Yes. Because the two of us are the true definition of alive." At their age, in their conditions, it was laughable to call them as such. Both were running on borrowed time; one of them much better than the other. Still, Danzo was right. For them to see so much as a hint of what the future could hold was a blessing of itself. Sure, they had each dreamed of being an important piece of what shaped the future for the better, in their own ways, but never had it seemed quite so real as it did now.
Danzo tapped his cane and from the shadows emerged two Anbu with blank masks, a man and a woman. "What will you do?" he asked, the two Anbu wordlessly coming to the Hokage's side and assisting him to his bed. Their hands glowed as they carefully tended to the old man, though their efforts were nothing more than a pointless kindness. Treating the pain was all anyone could do at this point.
Every night was like this. Danzo wasn't in attendance every time, but his servants ran like clockwork, finding Hiruzen no matter where he was and administering an extra quality of care. It was an indirect way for a strange old man to show how much he cared about his dying friend. Hiruzen could only wonder what their sensei would think of them if he could see them now. All those years of being at each other's throats, of being in constant rivalry, and now it was as if none of that mattered anymore. Despite death looming right over his shoulder, it felt good to have his friend back in all the ways that mattered.
"I am undecided for the moment," Hiruzen admitted. There was a lot riding on the decisions to be made in the immediate future, too much to risk making any of them hastily. "There is much council for me to consult with before I can begin to move in the right direction."
Another tap of Danzo's cane summoned a third Anbu who knelt at his side. "Whoever you need to speak to, I can have them brought here at once."
Hiruzen smiled. "Always with such little tact, old friend," he said amusedly. "The only person I need to talk to is already right here."
Danzo was unphased. "This is no time for jokes."
Hiruzen ignored that comment. "You always were the forward thinker of us, Danzo. Always the one preparing for any outcome, no matter how pessimistic it made you appear. If you were in my position, what would you do?"
A mischievous part of Hiruzen wished his teammates were here, if only so he could see the horror on their faces at realising their council was not being sought for in this moment. That wasn't to say Hiruzen didn't trust his teammates or their wisdom. When it came to the village, he didn't need to look any further than his personal council. Sadly, much more than the village was to be considered, and that meant all manner of council needed to be regarded, carefully and in full. Danzo may be a little reckless at times, heartless even, but there was no questioning that the man could get results. Paranoid though some would call it, perceptive was how Hiruzen preferred to interpret his rival. Seeing threats where there may have been none wasn't much of an issue when it gave someone the gift to sniff out almost all the real threats in the process.
"An alliance, no matter how concrete, is still an opening that any would be foolish to overlook," Danzo began. "Iwa could be intending to play the long game. Months, years, decades; time is of no concern considering how long the five villages have already played at peace. Once we let our guard down, or when they have drained us of everything they desire, they will strike, and we will be unable to respond in time."
"Does that go for Suna as well?" Hiruzen asked.
Danzo frowned. "No. They tried their hand at that, and we proved our superior might. Believe it or not, your mercy towards them has only doubled down on that fact. Regardless of how they feel about us, none in Suna would try us again. To turn on us again after being given such leeway would make them look weak in the eyes of the world. Without the alliance they were graciously given, they would be torn apart."
The Hokage matched his old friend's expression. As macabre as that outlook might be, it was, sadly, spot on. Suna had dug themselves into an unfortunate hole with their actions, and Hiruzen's acceptance of their peculiar alliance proposal had only cemented them in their place. Whether either was happy about it, Suna and Konoha were bound together for the foreseeable future. Until they could each walk away from one another on equal terms and without bad blood, the alliance would stand strong. For the next generation, this would seem to be the result of bonds formed through friendship and forgiveness, love even, with Naruto and Temari at the heart of it. A good cover for the darker truth of the world.
"And on the off chance that there are no ulterior motives to be found?" Hiruzen asked.
"A fools dream. Nothing is without purpose to furthering one's own standing," Danzo said with certainty, grumbling to himself quietly as Hiruzen's refused to stop smiling at him expectantly. "But… if the world was more… optimistic, then Konoha would only flourish with strong allies in such strategic locations."
Flourish was putting it mildly. Hiruzen and Danzo both knew what could come of their newfound position in the constant power struggle that was the world. Were Konoha able to secure the alliances in question, it would make the triad the most imposing force in history. Suna to the west, Iwa to the north, and Konoha right in the middle. In time, the smaller lands intersecting the three would be forced to either join or band together into a larger power of their own. Nothing substantial of course, and nothing that a bit of force couldn't resolve if necessary. The smaller lands weren't the issue.
An alliance between three of the big five greater villages hadn't happened before for good reason. Strength invited challenge, and challenge had a tendency to incite the most unpleasant sides of people. Kiri was small but deadly. They had supposedly resolved their civil war at some point and were well on the path towards recovery. Not a threat yet, but certainly not to be left unsupervised. Their position left them open to too many opportunities. They might very well seek to join this new, larger allied force out of necessity or security, but that could present more issues and sour old unforgotten wounds.
Kumo was where the true worry laid. No one was fooled into thinking that they had been as quiet as their outward appearance would imply. The Raikage sought the strengthening and betterment of his village above all else, no matter the actions required to obtain it. Konoha and Kumo were already at a tense stalemate ever since the attempt to kidnap Hinata Hyuuga. Hiruzen could still feel the headache that particular incident had caused him. The Hyuuga clan were thankfully stable for now, though their trust in their Kage had diminished over the years.
Should the three-way alliance be allowed to form, it would no doubt be seen as a threat to the other villages. Kumo would attempt to bolster its own forces, integrating as many of the smaller lands and villages into itself by whatever means necessary. There was always the possibility that they would drag Kiri in under their banner as well, through whatever threats or false promises they needed to make.
"It will be war, Sarutobi," Danzo said. "Big or small. One way or another. Tensions are too high to avoid the inevitable. Whatever move we make, conflict is on the horizon."
Hiruzen sighed deeply. That was what he was afraid of. "Is humanity doomed to always resort to violence in the face of peace?" he asked to no one in particular.
"Yes."
Lovely. Just the response he could have bet on. Sometimes Hiruzen found Danzo's ever constant stance of opinion quite comforting. It was good to have predictable and strong-willed people around. Regrettably, it seemed Danzo was correct this time, and his wisdom in the oncoming storm would prove invaluable for the village. Hiruzen supposed that it was fitting that he, a Kage that strived so long and hard for peace, would be the one to usher the world back into conflict.
"I trust you will do everything in your power to help her?" Hiruzen asked, receiving a silent nod from his lifetime rival. "Good. Good. Whatever you need from me to prepare, consider it yours. I might as well make myself useful with what little time I have left." If only he could make himself useful in a more practical way. "How are your other investments coming along? No problems I hope."
Danzo's one visible eye tried to roll into the back of his head. If groaning in contempt wasn't beneath him, he would have done so, loudly. "The Uchiha is… fine," he grumbled. "Had I been given authority over him earlier, this wouldn't be a problem. The years of neglected trauma and emotional baggage will be difficult to work through, but nothing I cannot handle. So long as Itachi doesn't interfere again."
"I will get in touch," he said. Hopefully, Itachi was still in a reasonable enough mood to communicate with. Ever since his departure, the rogue Uchiha had been a challenging young man to predict and consort with. Word of his younger brother's wayward actions would likely have reached half the world by now, especially those keeping their ears to the ground for such information. Hiruzen would get Jiraiya on the case of making sure the Uchiha didn't become a potential threat to the village.
There was no doubt in Hiruzen's mind that Itachi knew about Sasuke. How the young prodigy would respond was the real question.
{I}
Bloodshed was nothing unfamiliar to Kisame. Growing up in Kiri at the height of its strength, becoming one of its most formidable shinobi, claiming one of the seven legendary swords as his own; all of this prepared him for the brutality of the real world. There was no act of violence or cruelty that he had not enacted or taken part in throughout his life, and yet, as he watched the bodies pile up and the pools of blood grow by the minute, he had to wonder if perhaps he hadn't been living up to his true potential.
He had known of Itachi's supposed history when the upstart first joined Akatsuki. Slaughterer of the entire Uchiha clan, his own family and friends, women and children alike. It was quite the little story for a fresh missing-nin, and one that Kisame had chalked up to exaggeration in parts. Sure, Itachi was skilled, terrifyingly so, but to kill an entire clan of Dojutsu wielding shinobi, in the middle of one of the strongest ninja villages, with no one finding out until he was long gone; it had to be some kind of cover story, of which Itachi was the unfortunate scapegoat.
Kisame respected that. He didn't need to pry into the man's personal life to know that Itachi was one of the good ones, whatever that meant. Loyal to his own morality. Even now, after being thrown aside by his own village, with almost no family left, Itachi still maintained some level of loyalty to his old home. It wasn't much. A diversion here, a lack of information there; nothing that caused significant problems for Akatsuki, though not nearly as perfectly hidden as the Uchiha thought. So far, as long as he was directed at anything not related to Konoha, Itachi was the most useful of the rabble Akatsuki had managed to scrape together, which made his flaws easily overlooked. Besides, Samehada enjoyed the Uchiha's chakra and Kisame enjoyed being partnered with someone who didn't blink at his more bloodthirsty tendencies. Bloodthirsty tendencies that were currently being put to shame by someone noticeably less threatening in appearance.
"Where is he?" Itachi asked once more, his voice just as flat as every time before.
The one being questioned, the last one standing in this miserable dump, just blinked dumbly at Itachi. His eyes glazed over, and when they refocused only a second later it was all they could do to widen as his head toppled to the ground, cleanly removed by a single swing of a blade. Itachi sheathed his sword and spun on his heels, striding past Kisame without a word. Kisame chuckled quietly to himself as his partner left him in the room. He looked around at Itachi's handiwork with a level of admiration.
One of Orochimaru's bases, strategically sniffed out, infiltrated, and ruthlessly dismembered by one man, all in less than twenty-four hours. It was beautiful work. Kisame was starting to think that the stories of Itachi killing all of the Uchiha were a bit more real than he had first thought. Why his partner was suddenly showing such a vested interest tracking down Orochimaru was neither here nor there. Some nonsense about his still living little brother. Leader saw no issue with allowing them to continue with this little side adventure, and Kisame had nothing but high praise to report back to his superiors. If Itachi had his own agenda for all of this, then it wasn't interfering with Akatsuki's business, and it certainly wasn't distracting Itachi enough to make him a liability. Crossing Orochimaru off the list of future problems was a big bonus too.
Samehada shuddered from beneath its bandages. "I know, girl. I'll make sure you get some of the action next time," Kisame assured. That was, of course, if Itachi gave him the chance. If their little hunt proved fruitful, then maybe he would be able to feed Samehada some of Orochimaru's chakra, and a limb or two while he was at it. He nudged one of the decapitated heads littering the ground with his foot. "This makes me kinda hungry."
That probably was something better left unsaid. Oh well. No one was left alive here to judge him. Maybe Itachi had worked up an appetite as well. There had to be somewhere good to eat between here and wherever the next shithole on Itachi's list was. Damn he hoped that Itachi wasn't in so much of a hurry that they couldn't eat. Hunger pains were no joke.
{I}
Ino had been right. All it took was a little bit of relaxation for Temari to find something fun to do. The onsen had been an excellent start, and from there things had only picked up. It had been painfully obvious what the three Konoha girls were attempting to do, though their combined efforts proved to be more cute than effective. Temari enjoyed playing oblivious to it all, and Kurotsuchi was all too happy to join in the game. All in good fun, and completely harmless for the most part. Ino did look ready to pop a blood vessel at a few points, but that was out of Temari's control.
After the soothing soak in the onsen, Ino and her cohorts had almost completely undone the relaxation by dragging Temari and Kurotsuchi to more than a handful of clothing shops. Apparently, if the two were going to live in Konoha, then they both might as well dress the part, whatever that meant. Hilariously, the odds turned against them as Tenten was quick to join Temari and Kurotsuchi in their utilitarian outlook on attire, the three of them refusing to alter their style in any significant way. The group had of course been forced to band together in order to drag Tenten away from a weapons shop that had a new delivery, but outside of that things had remained rather uneventful, and most importantly, uninformative to one Ino Yamanaka.
Even now, as they all sat in a booth at a rather nice restaurant, Ino looked far from pleased with what little she had managed to learn during the course of the afternoon. Temari did her best not to look smug about it. Just knowing that she was getting under the Yamanaka's skin was all the validation she needed right now. If only she could figure out exactly what it was that Ino so desperate to learn, then Temari could have some real fun.
"Alright, that's it," Ino said, slamming her hands down on the table and locking her eyes onto Temari. "I need to know."
Temari sighed. Of course, she was the primary target of the curiosity. That made figuring out what Ino wanted to know a lot easier to determine. Why her? Why could she never know peace? She smiled innocently and sipped at her drink. "Know what?" she asked.
"About you and Naruto," Ino said.
Yep. Just as she thought. How awfully predictable.
Kurotsuchi snorted. "Is that what this whole thing has been about? Really?" she asked, shaking her head. "Here I was thinking someone was finally interested in me for a change."
"Oh, we're still plenty curious about you," Tenten chimed in, trying to come across as much more confident than she was while staring down Kurotsuchi. A short-lived endeavour, as she crumpled instantly under Kurotsuchi hardened gaze. "Umm, not in a bad way, of course. Just, you know, casual stuff."
Ino didn't seem to care that much about Kurotsuchi in comparison, leaning in and narrowing her eyes at Temari. "What's it like?" she asked. "Being with him."
Temari remembered, rather uncomfortably so, why it was she never bothered trying to extend her social circles back in Suna. The men were, well, men, and the women were either cold, heartless bitches, or whatever this was supposed to be. Temari despised gossip. Not just because fussing over the small intimate details of people's personal lives should have been beneath her, but also because the whole process annoyed her. If someone wanted to know her better, they needed only ask. Temari would tell them her thoughts straight to their face. This convoluted girls' day out was completely unnecessary. That being said, the all-expenses paid bathhouse and lunch experience was almost worth it.
"It's fine," Temari answered casually. There was no need to lie, not to them. She still wasn't entirely sure as to what made anyone's romantic situation so interesting, especially her own.
Ino groaned. "Come on. Throw me a bone here. Surely there are some juicy details you can give us?"
"Juicy details?" Kurotsuchi laughed. "You have been reading too many romance books."
"Have you kissed yet?" Sakura asked.
"No," Temari said. "Hasn't been a need for anything like that."
Not to say the thought hadn't crossed her mind, if only for the sake of amusement and morbid curiosity. The more comfortable she got with Naruto, the further she discovered she could push certain boundaries, and the more Temari wondered just how far she could take things before Naruto cracked. He never argued about holding hands, as minimal as that show of affection was. A hug though, or an unexpected kiss; the responses she might get from those were still waiting to be seen. If she was lucky, it might be enough to finally stump the otherwise unflappable jinchuuriki. 'Might have to give it a try later.'
"What about a hug?" Tenten asked innocently.
"Why do any of you care exactly?" Temari asked. "No offense, but I'm pretty sure you aren't his friends, and you aren't mine either —" she paused at Tenten's slightly worried expression "—yet." Of the ever-growing number of young kunoichi Temari was becoming acquainted with through her years, Tenten was high on the list of friend material. She was a smart and devoted kunoichi, this singular instance notwithstanding. The other two, however, Temari wasn't sure about yet. "So, why don't you tell me why you're so curious about me and Naruto, and I will consider humouring you."
Ino shrugged, an amusing attempt at appearing less invested than she actually was. It didn't fool anyone. "Well, we grew up with him, but no one really knows anything about Naruto," she said, taking a sip of her own drink, the name of which was too long and fruity sounding for Temari to have committed to memory. It did smell nice though. "All we knew was that he was the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. We were told to stay away from him, and those that didn't usually ended up hurt. You saw what he was like in the chunin exams. Not exactly Mr socialite."
That was the polite way of saying it. Temari remembered the chunin exams very well, for a multitude of obvious reasons. The only person who was less approachable than Naruto during that time had been Gaara. Actually, Temari was pretty sure the two jinchuuriki had set a world record for a death stare competition. That being said, these were others from his village, two of them classmates from Naruto's academy years. No one knew anything at all. Had any of them even tried to befriend him?
Her own experience with Gaara didn't come into play here. From what Temari understood, Naruto didn't go around killing people for the sake of it. He was just a little extra violent, which, considering that they were raised to be shinobi, was quite ordinary. How soft was the Konoha academy? Surely someone would have braved the risk of befriending the village jinchuuriki. No one interacted with Gaara due to the rule of the Kazekage, but Temari couldn't see anything like that holding anyone back here in Konoha.
Ino's eyes hardened a little as she continued. "So, imagine our surprise when you show up— after an attempted invasion, might I add —and are suddenly engaged to Naruto of all people. Then you two go galivanting out of the village with Jiraiya of the freaking Sannin, only to come back with Tsunade Senju in tow. As if that wasn't bad enough, you went with his team on the mission that brought the Tsuchikage and one of Iwa's jinchuuriki straight to Konoha. Then the village gets flooded with the news that Naruto is actually the son of the fourth Hokage and…" Ino stopped to take a deep breath. "Look, a lot of stuff has happened in the past few months and some of us are just curious."
Temari understood that. She was actually a little surprised more people hadn't become heavily invested in Naruto's and her life since everything became public knowledge. Ino did make a good point, however. Whether intentional or not, Naruto and Temari were drawing a lot of attention in a very short amount of time. If they weren't careful, that could make things moving forward challenging.
"Aren't you his teammate?" Kurotsuchi asked, nodding her head at Sakura. "Surely you would have gotten to know him by now. You telling us that he never once bragged about being a Kage's son?"
Sakura smiled nervously. "We, uh, don't talk much. If at all, really," she said. "I think the longest conversation we had was when he came to me for advice on how to get a girl to like him."
"Oh?" Temari was the curious one now.
"Yeah," Sakura dragged the word out and refused to look Temari in the eye. "It was right after you two had your little fight on the Hokage monument. He wanted to know how to make up for, and I quote, 'almost killing you'."
Temari's lips curled into a cruel smile. "Dinner conversation is going to be fun tonight," she said. No matter how Naruto reacted, it would be worth it.
Tenten was the only one frowning at Sakura's words. "You guys fought?"
"Barely," Temari said. "I broke his nose."
Kurotsuchi laughed. "Nice."
"We are getting sidetracked," Ino cut in. She smiled at Temari in a way that made the Suna-nin start to fear for what the next words out of her mouth would be. "Have you two discussed having in the future?"
Time froze. Temari's jaw dropped ever so slightly. The audacity of this girl.
"Eww," Kurotsuchi said, scrunching up her face. "Kids are bad enough. Can't imagine what kind of abomination you and Naruto would make." She squinted her eyes at Temari judgingly. "It would be too blonde."
"What have you got against blondes, huh?" Ino snapped.
"Aside from being too loud for their own good?" Kurotsuchi asked, crossing her arms. "Let's see— stuck up, self-righteous, immature, nosey. Brunette and black are where it's at. I have no comment on pink though. Hurts my eyes a little." Kurotsuchi winked at Tenten and gave Sakura a neutral passing glance.
Tenten blushed. Sakura could only furrow her brow as she tried to figure out whether she had been insulted or not. Ino looked ready to start the next great shinobi war with nothing but her vicious vocabulary. "Why you little…"
Temari zoned them out. Regardless of whether she had just been insulted, she had more important things on her mind. Children. The thought had crossed her mind before, Temari was sure of it; probably before or during the stress of getting married. Now that things had calmed down— sort of — Temari could think about it all a little clearer. The marriage had been at the forefront of her mind so much that she had forgotten that it was only the initial part of the alliance. The alliance was meant to be long term, lasting for generations, which meant there needed to be an addition to the next generation that kept the spirit of the alliance alive.
She sighed. There was no room to complain sadly. She had known everything that might be expected of her going in, so it wasn't like this was a surprise. The thought of having a child though… well, there would be some years before that could reasonably be demanded of her. Plenty of time to rise in the ranks and prove herself as a formidable kunoichi before she was sidelined. It wouldn't be all bad at least. Naruto was still young, with many years of growth and development in front of him, and the fourth Hokage had been known to be quite attractive in his day. Not to boast, but Temari knew she was doing alright in the looks department, even at her age. Whatever children they did end up having would be well off, no doubt. Temari just hoped Naruto got a little bit taller was all.
"Hello? Earth to Temari," Kurotsuchi said, waving her hand in front of the blonde's face. "You still in there? Don't tell me the idea of kids is enough to break you."
Temari swatted the hand away from her face. "I'm fine, I'm fine," she said, smirking as an idea popped into her mind. An evil idea. "Just got distracted thinking about who I'd have to rope into being babysitter." The way everything went silent told Temari all she needed to know. She smiled at Ino. "You seem awfully interested. Care to lock in the position?"
Ino paled. "No. I'm good."
"Aww, come on Ino. Just think about it. A couple tiny Naruto's running around, scaring the other children, breaking some bones here and there," Temari said whimsically. "I'd like to say I'd be able to raise them better, but between Naruto and their uncle Gaara…"
Everyone else paled at the realisation. Any children Temari and Naruto had; they were doomed to be monsters. Whether that was figurative or literal, only time would tell. Either way, it promised pain for the village at large.
Temari smirked as the others all started to look genuinely worried about the implications. That would teach them to try and corner her into answering their ridiculous questions. If it didn't, then they would just end up targets in the future. Temari had no qualms about using child soldiers to enact revenge, especially if they were her own children enacting her own revenge. The people of Konoha would learn, just as those in Suna already knew, Temari was not an easy target for anything.
Now, where the hell were those chestnuts she ordered.
A/N:
Wooh, another chapter down. Sorry for the wait guys. Finding time to write has been a challenge lately, but I will never stop no matter how long it takes to finish a chapter.
Now, this chapter is really more of a setup to some ideas I have floating around for what direction this story might take in coming chapters. As it stands, there are probably only a couple of chapters left before I get to pull the old time-skip trick and kick it up a notch. Itachi is out for blood, Hiruzen and Danzo are prepping for war, Naruto is taking his first steps to growing his potential as a jinchuuriki, and Temari is making some 'friends' in her new home. All good fun.
Throwing some hints at a few things as it is. Might do Temari and Naruto's first kiss soon, who knows. I bet everyone can guess as to why Kurotsuchi has something against blondes, and also who is acting as the Tsuchikage's spy within Akatsuki. Depending on what I decide to do with Itachi, it could be interesting to write something about two infiltrators having to deal with each other.
Anyways, hope you all enjoyed. Looking forward to hearing what you think so don't be shy about leaving a review.
Till next time.
Praise the log.
Soul out.